WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:02.520 Father, we welcome you in the word. Now we just 2 00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:06.440 welcome you to make a deposit in us through the 3 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:13.080 Word and grow us up into the fullness of Jesus. 4 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:18.199 Grow us up, grow us up, grow us up, grow 5 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:25.199 us up, stretch our faith, build edify, strengthen our inner man. 6 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:30.000 We ask in Jesus' name, and everybody said, a man, 7 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:42.880 you may be seated. My focus is on offerings again today. 8 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:51.439 And here's what barn And Research says. Do you know 9 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:53.679 who George Barney is? Anybody know who George Barne is? 10 00:00:54.479 --> 00:01:00.520 George Barna is upholster so like gallup. Have you heard 11 00:01:00.520 --> 00:01:05.680 of the galloper? Heard of the gallop? Okay, George Barne 12 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:13.560 is a polster like gallop. According to Barna Research, twelve 13 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:20.000 percent of born again Christians and five percent of all 14 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:29.439 Americans tied. Twelve percent of born again Christians. Yeah, can 15 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:35.120 you believe that twelve percent? So I think the assumption 16 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:37.799 is as long. You know, we had a saying when 17 00:01:37.799 --> 00:01:42.599 I was growing up. When I was growing up, there 18 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.239 was acute little saying that church members would joke about. 19 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:52.000 Because my dad was a pastor, and so church members 20 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.519 had a little saying. They would say, Lord, praying for 21 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:01.599 their pastor. They would say, Lord, you keep him, We'll 22 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:07.799 keep him poor, and you keep him humble. Oh yeah, yeah. 23 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:12.479 Can you imagine what would the church be like today? Right? 24 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:18.439 If one of Christians gave a tithe of their income. 25 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:23.080 Can you imagine how powerful the church would be? What 26 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:27.879 an influence the church would be in our nation? If 27 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:33.000 imagine these churches that are you know, suffering. I've told 28 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.840 you seventy five percent of all churches are by vocational 29 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:40.240 in America. That means the pastor has to work full 30 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:47.000 time and lead the church, lead the building project of 31 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:51.759 the church, care for all of the flock members, do 32 00:02:51.879 --> 00:02:55.719 all the hospital visitation, pray for the sick, preach a 33 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:59.319 sermon that has to be perfect on Sunday. And then 34 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:03.319 his wife has so lead worship and lead the worship 35 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:07.520 team and lead the children's ministry. Yeah. I mean they 36 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.840 got right, They got a million things going on. Uh, 37 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:15.719 and there run and work full time. You know my 38 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:25.120 dad Uh if I remember right, I'm trying to remember Marcola. Yeah, 39 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.520 I don't think my dad never pastored the church where 40 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.319 he didn't have to work full time in a career 41 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:35.520 of ministry and assimbly of God. Churches. He never pastored 42 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:39.360 to church where he didn't have to work to to 43 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:46.319 pay the bills. But what what if uh, I don't know, 44 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.960 you hear what I'm saying. Isn't that crazy? So I 45 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:54.240 think part of this is there's so much unbelief woven 46 00:03:54.439 --> 00:04:01.479 into the church. We are we are ununder a blanket 47 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:05.560 of unbelief. And fact is, if you just go to 48 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:11.840 if you just go to any of your web browsers, 49 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:18.120 right and just start typing in some stuff about giving offerings, 50 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:25.079 tithing or anything like that, immediately you run into the 51 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:32.120 common theological position of the church today across America, which 52 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:39.800 is that God does do not give to get, do 53 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:43.399 not expect anything from God if you give to God. 54 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:49.120 And that's bananas. 55 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:53.920 Thank you, Terrell. That's beautiful, that's beautiful. That's better than amen. 56 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:00.000 That's bananas. That kind of theology is bananas exactly. 57 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:06.360 So, you know, and just all of this, and I 58 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:09.439 think that's part of the problem. The other part of 59 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:15.720 the problem is this, this this negative view toward the future. 60 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.519 You know, we believe that the church, we believe that 61 00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:27.199 the church season is essentially over. We believe that we 62 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:32.199 are at the cusp of the Antichrist taking over. We're 63 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:37.720 going into one world government, one world money. We're going 64 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:42.360 into the appearance of the anti Christ. We're going into 65 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.240 a preparation for tribulation, and that's going to be great 66 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:47.639 because we're all going to get out of here right 67 00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:50.800 before it happens, anyway. I mean, this is the mindset 68 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.439 of the common Christian across America is they have this 69 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:59.800 very pessimistic view toward the future. So why in the world, subconsciously, 70 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:03.720 why would I invest my money in the church? Why 71 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:07.000 would I invest my money in a sinking ship? Like, 72 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:11.279 why would I really sacrifice for something that's about ready 73 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:13.600 to kind of fold up? Anyway? And we're all going 74 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.800 to ride off in a fivery chariot in the rapture anyway. Right, 75 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.079 So you got this pessimistic view of the future, which 76 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:24.600 is if you're a New Horizon, I you know, that 77 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:30.319 is not the thrust of New Horizon. The thrust is 78 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:36.399 an expanding kingdom, a growing kingdom, a billion soul harvest. 79 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:45.399 We listen, We're not even gonna throw France out. We're 80 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:49.879 not even gonna throw France to the to the dogs. Right. 81 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:54.319 You heard about the opening ceremony for the Olympics. You 82 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:57.759 heard it was just a big queer show. And you 83 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:01.199 know you heard about all of the garbage was going on, right, 84 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.160 did you hear about it? Anybody in the building heard 85 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.920 about it? All right? Well, those of you that didn't 86 00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:12.399 be informed, France is the apex of hell in the 87 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.319 world right now, So okay? 88 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:14.480 So? 89 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:17.879 And it was clear across all of the world with 90 00:07:18.439 --> 00:07:22.399 billions of people watching, right, And they had they had 91 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:28.800 the drag. Folks did a mockery of the Lord's Supper. 92 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:32.879 If you didn't see it, I mean it was open mockery. 93 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:35.839 They had Moloch on the platform. I mean it was 94 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.879 they had open mockery of everything that is good in God. Right, 95 00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:47.759 guess what they're in for a big surprise because God 96 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:55.959 is not done with France. God is not done with France. Now, 97 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:00.600 God is done with Satan, but he's not done with France. 98 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.199 And I think they they just marked themselves with a 99 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:12.639 big old branding iron of revivals, coming, revivals, coming, Revival's 100 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:20.000 coming and awakening. Who is coming to France? And that's 101 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.040 the kind of kingdom we want to give into. Right. 102 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:26.639 This is Isaiah nine seven through nine Isaiah and nine 103 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:32.159 Isaiah nine seven through nine. We will call him wonderful 104 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:37.600 counselor Almighty God, Prince of Peace, Almighty God. And of 105 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:42.120 the increase of his government of peace. There shall be 106 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:49.279 no end from that day until it's accomplished. Is what 107 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:52.080 it was. What it says, from the day of Him, 108 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.679 until it's accomplished. The increase of his kingdom is here. 109 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.480 We're living in the days of increase, not the days 110 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:05.320 of darkness. So that's you know, that's part of it. 111 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:08.720 If we shift our heart toward a growing kingdom, then 112 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:12.679 we will know that every dollar that we're sowing in 113 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:18.759 the kingdom endeavor is well worth it. If Elon Musk, 114 00:09:19.480 --> 00:09:24.679 an unsaved, ungodly guy, can put forty three million dollars 115 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:28.759 a year a month, he's investing forty three million dollars 116 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:33.399 a month into a conservative platform and the advancement of 117 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:37.639 a conservative president. Surely we can bring a dollar or 118 00:09:37.720 --> 00:09:41.000 two and make a difference for the Kingdom of God 119 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:48.639 by building the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Malachi 120 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:56.480 three seven through twelve. I mentioned last week. There's two 121 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.960 things mentioned in Malchi three. I want to allude to 122 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:04.120 those again because we're going to focus again on offerings, 123 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:08.159 not on tithing, but on offerings. Though I told you 124 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:11.799 something super important last week theologically, I want you to 125 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:15.879 study it for yourself. I'm not ending this message as 126 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.879 we did last week. I'm not ending two weeks in 127 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:20.840 a row. I'm not ending with an offering. This is 128 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:25.879 not about coercion. This is not about convincing. This is 129 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:30.559 not about trying to get more money from you. This 130 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:33.159 is all about money, trying to get more money to you. 131 00:10:34.559 --> 00:10:41.039 And this is about entertaining just the purity of your mind, 132 00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:45.080 with drawing you in to look at the scripture yourself, 133 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:48.799 be a barean and see what the Bible says, because 134 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:51.639 the Bible will shed a lot of light on people's opinions. 135 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:56.080 The Bible will shed a lot of light on denominational opinions. 136 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.159 The Bible will shed a lot of light on preachers 137 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:06.320 who think they know more than the Bible. So I 138 00:11:06.360 --> 00:11:09.240 talked to you about tithing and about offerings. One of 139 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:12.679 the things that I said, I humbly presented again is 140 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:16.759 that you haven't given an offering until you've given a tithe, 141 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:21.039 because the tithe means that it's something you freely bring 142 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:25.919 above and beyond the tithe. So the tithe is ten 143 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:31.919 percent of your increase, and the offering is something above 144 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:36.960 that ten percent. So if I'm not tithing, I'm not 145 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:41.000 giving offerings because an offering means I've got a tithe first, 146 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:46.120 then I give an offering. So and my focus, though, 147 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:50.679 is on the offering because the offering is so crazy 148 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.720 significant and what it does in our lives is significant, 149 00:11:56.120 --> 00:12:00.440 and so I'm focusing on that again this morning. Malachi 150 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:02.399 three seven through twelve. Return to me, and I will 151 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.000 return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. But you say, 152 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:11.360 how shall we return? By the way, where America has 153 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:20.519 been heading is not far from France. Where America has 154 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:26.679 been heading is not far from France. And the change 155 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:30.679 doesn't start at the White House. The change doesn't start 156 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:34.399 at the courthouse. The change doesn't start at the Olympia House. 157 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:39.320 The change starts at your house. And Jesus said, it 158 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.879 starts with your money. He's going to know where your 159 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:47.240 heart is by looking at where your treasure is. Wherever 160 00:12:47.320 --> 00:12:50.279 you put your treasure, that's where you put your heart. 161 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.360 If you're not putting treasure in what he wants to build, 162 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:58.519 then your heart isn't with him. So when we see 163 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:03.080 twelve percent. Another study, the van Co study, it's another 164 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:11.360 surveyed don based on actual giving through credit sources, actually 165 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:15.120 says it's even worse. It says only five percent of 166 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:26.759 the Christians or those who attend church in America tithe crazy. Right. 167 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:32.679 So I'm just saying that for us to partner with 168 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:36.759 God for the growing kingdom and the increase of heaven 169 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:42.919 on earth, right, then, really the repentance starts right here 170 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:45.440 in this room. It starts with us, with this house, 171 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.200 not the White House. It starts with this house. And 172 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:52.320 it starts with our house, our personal house. When we 173 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.039 say me, for me and my house, we will serve 174 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:58.639 the Lord, it means that we gladly bring the tenth part, 175 00:13:58.919 --> 00:14:04.159 and we gladly bring offerings. And God loves not a 176 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:09.679 loathsome offering bringer, but he loves a hilarious offering bringer. 177 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:13.440 And I've said it to you before. The only way 178 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:18.440 you can possibly be a hilarious offering giver is if 179 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:23.720 you know what an offering's doing, how God's actually using 180 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:29.639 an offering to bring you increase. God's using your faith 181 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.039 woven up in an offering to leverage you forward to 182 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:40.080 bring you increase. Return to me, and I will return 183 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:43.639 to you, says the Lord. How we'll return in tithes 184 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:47.240 and offerings. Two things in tithes on offerings. Then he 185 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.000 goes down below. He says, test me in this, says 186 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.039 the Lord of Hosts. If I will not open for 187 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.840 you the windows of heaven and pour out for you 188 00:14:55.919 --> 00:15:01.919 a blessing until it overflows. Does anybody in this room 189 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:09.639 believe that? Because I'm telling you this is you know 190 00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:11.600 it's all about seed, and I'm going to get there 191 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:14.840 in a minute, but you know the offering is about seed. 192 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:17.480 But I want you to I just felt the Holy 193 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.840 Print spirit just on me so strong this morning that 194 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:28.200 the breakthrough we need is a breakthrough of believing. The 195 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:32.279 breakthrough we need is a breakthrough of believing. Because we've 196 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:37.120 looked at these scriptures and then we've heard in the 197 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:42.399 back of our head then they saying of this person, 198 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:47.360 that person, the other person, this theologian, this commentary, this writer, 199 00:15:47.799 --> 00:15:51.200 this speaker, this radio teacher. We've heard in the back 200 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.799 of our head how we aren't supposed to expect anything 201 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:58.440 from God. And so when we read this stuff or 202 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:02.799 we hear that we should expect from God, then like 203 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.879 we've got this big argument. And as long as you've 204 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:10.480 got an argument, you haven't conquered. You're stuck in unbelief. 205 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:13.879 And as long as you have unbelief, then even though 206 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:17.720 you might give, you can't partner your faith with the giving. 207 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:20.320 And if you can't partner your faith with the giving, 208 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:25.200 then the giving cannot produce. You are killing the seed 209 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:28.440 instead of igniting the seed because you don't see it 210 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:32.000 providing sufficiency for you. You don't see God moving because 211 00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:37.519 of your sacrificial seed giving. You see that you're just poorer, 212 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.200 and that's a real pain. It's a pain that I'm poorer. 213 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:48.360 And that's what you're seeing, and that's what's even determining 214 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:53.399 your offerings. Your offerings are actually small because we have 215 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:56.039 to twist your arm to give an offering, and so 216 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:02.240 after we get it up to a certain height, you say, okay, okay, enough, 217 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:09.640 would you stop the offering? Message, I'll put in ten bucks. 218 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.799 And so you're not partnering with your faith with the 219 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:16.160 Holy Spirit and calling it seed that will produce a 220 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:21.400 great harvest. Instead, you're giving out of being worn down, 221 00:17:22.039 --> 00:17:27.200 being constrained, being convinced, being talked into it, and feeling 222 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:29.640 like okay, well, others are given to all right, Okay, 223 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:33.440 well I'm a worm. If I don't, who wants to 224 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:39.640 be a worm? Honey, write them a check for twenty bucks. 225 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:42.759 How much you spend it on your mags this week? 226 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:47.920 Three thousand, But don't tell anybody. Those are special billet aluminum, 227 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:51.759 specially made for aim. You don't even know what billet 228 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:54.359 aluminum is. Uh huh. They make a mag out a 229 00:17:54.359 --> 00:18:01.039 one junk of aluminum. Oh, it's called billet. The lathe 230 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.799 cuts it out of one piece of aluminum. But I 231 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:12.480 put in twenty bucks in the offering. I'm a good guy. 232 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:19.279 He wants to overflow. What he's saying is that even 233 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:23.640 in our drawing near to him, when we're drawing near 234 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:27.359 to him, and we say that we're drawing near, and 235 00:18:27.400 --> 00:18:31.200 we're establishing more prayer and more devotion, and we're setting 236 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:33.799 aside time with him, even in all of that, if 237 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:37.680 we don't bring our money, then he truly doesn't have 238 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:41.359 our heart. And if he doesn't have our heart, he 239 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:46.519 can't fully pour out all that he wants to upon us. 240 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:54.559 We're actually closing the windows of wisdom, opportunity, self control, 241 00:18:54.880 --> 00:19:02.519 risk taking, insight, understanding, creativity, we're closing the release of 242 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:10.799 those things over our inner man because we're withholding gracious giving, 243 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:16.680 gracious giving. But if we turn that loose, Wow, what 244 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:24.440 would happen? So crazy enough, he calls scripturally, by the 245 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:29.200 Holy Spirit, he calls the giving of an offering. This 246 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.799 is an offering, not a tithe. But he calls the 247 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:36.720 giving of an offering. Everybody say offering. He calls it seed. 248 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:41.839 Everybody says seed. Now the moment he calls by the 249 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:45.160 Holy Spirit the giving of an offering a seed, he 250 00:19:45.319 --> 00:19:48.880 creates this metaphor. And remember, the Bible was written in 251 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:56.039 two metaphors, only two metaphors, agricultural metaphor architectural metaphor. That's 252 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:00.640 the Bible. The whole Bible is either agricultural or ur textural. 253 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:04.160 So when he starts talking about a seed, this is 254 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:08.279 an agricultural parable or metaphor. He wants us to get 255 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:12.680 a picture and understand what's happening. Every time we give money, 256 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:17.799 every time we give offering money. Every time we give 257 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:22.119 offering money to the poor, to the needy, to the outreach, 258 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:31.119 to the building, to the evangelist, to the profit. Every 259 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:34.000 time we give money like this to the prison ministry 260 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.200 to the mission. We've been pouring money into missions. I mean, 261 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:40.079 we get these phone calls. We got a phone call 262 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:42.640 the other day us AS needed two thousand dollars to 263 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:46.400 license the clinic, and then they a bunch of their 264 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:52.240 crops failed. And literally, you know, if we don't get 265 00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.039 money over there, so we can take money right and 266 00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:00.599 we can convert it into that which blesses them, and 267 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:06.559 he calls it sowing seed. So and there's you know, 268 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:12.279 there's other instances where we see, like in Luke eight eleven. 269 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:16.079 So when he says this, it's interesting because then we 270 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:22.160 get this interesting understanding about money when money is given 271 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:27.359 as an offering. And like in Luke eleven eleven, he 272 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:32.799 says that the word of God is seed. That's the 273 00:21:32.839 --> 00:21:34.319 parable of the sawyer. Have you heard the parable of 274 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:38.200 the sower? Does it seem weird to you that the 275 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:44.240 Word of God could be a seed? Anybody? No, So 276 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:46.599 if we tell you the word of God is a seed, 277 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:51.200 and that that word of God gets sown like the 278 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:53.640 word of God doesn't do you any good under your arm. 279 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:57.319 The word of God has to get sown in the 280 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:02.079 soil of your heart. Then the word of God can produce. 281 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:07.480 It can produce a harvest, right, so that we start 282 00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.599 learning all sorts of stuff about the power of the 283 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.359 Word of God. Well, the Word of God is a seed, 284 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:15.240 and we understand other things about the Word of God. 285 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:24.720 Like Galatians Galatians six. Everybody said Galatians six. So Galatians six, six, seven, 286 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:29.839 and eight says, do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. 287 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:36.519 Whatever a man shows that will he also reap. So 288 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:39.279 Genesis one starts its way too, that as long as 289 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.359 the earth remains, there will be seed time and harvest. 290 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:45.759 Then in Genesis one it says another thing it says 291 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:50.079 about the word. It says that the fruit has the 292 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:54.880 seed in it, and that the fruit always, according to 293 00:22:54.920 --> 00:23:03.359 the seed, reproduces in like kind. Right, it always produces 294 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:08.400 after its own kind. This is a monitor right here. 295 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:12.599 It's not a sound monitor. Did you know that that's 296 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:17.519 a TV screen in there? You didn't know that. So 297 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:24.119 the Word of God produces after its own kind as well. 298 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:28.799 If you read on righteousness, it begins to grow righteousness 299 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.640 within you. If you read on love, it begins to 300 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:35.240 grow a capacity of love within you. If you read 301 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:40.160 about mercy, it begins to grow a capacity of mercy 302 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:44.519 in you. Right? Why because seeds always produce after their 303 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:47.599 own kind. Here he says, don't be deceived about that. 304 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:57.720 They always produce after their kind. Right. So that means 305 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:06.799 if you sew money, if Paul and if Solomon called 306 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:11.920 money a seed, if you sow money, then you can 307 00:24:12.039 --> 00:24:16.480 expect like a farmer. Right, do you know of any 308 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:22.440 farmers that sow seeds and don't expect a harvest? Did 309 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:25.200 you know? Did you know that Jesus is the word 310 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:29.720 of God, meaning he's seed. Jesus is the fullness of 311 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.720 the Word of God, meaning he's the fullness of seed. 312 00:24:32.680 --> 00:24:36.480 That's why he said over himself in John twelve twenty four, 313 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:43.640 if the seed is not sown into the earth and dies, 314 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.079 then the seed will abide alone. But the seed has 315 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:49.920 to be sown. If the seed is sown, then it 316 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:53.839 produces a great harvest. He was speaking about himself, because 317 00:24:53.880 --> 00:24:57.559 he is the fullness of the Word of God, and he, 318 00:24:57.799 --> 00:25:02.240 through death was sown. And even the father expects a 319 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:09.119 harvest on what he sows. The father expects a harvest. Now, 320 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:13.200 that's not like a nasty thing, that's not like a perverse, nasty, 321 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.200 naughty thing. I don't know a farmer that doesn't expect 322 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:19.319 a harvest on what they sow. There isn't why because 323 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:24.480 it's called the law of reciprocity, right sowing and reaping. 324 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:29.319 Sowing and reaping is actually a law, just as sure 325 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:35.400 as the law of gravity. Sowing and reaping is called 326 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:40.839 the law of reciprocity. So the moment he calls an 327 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.960 offering a seed, he's telling you that you should actually 328 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:50.480 partner your faith with your giving, and you should believe 329 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:55.720 that God will multiply that seed back to you, and 330 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:59.119 that there will be a harvest, not only a reward 331 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:04.599 harvest in but there will be a harvest of economic 332 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:12.880 increase over you. Otherwise you'd run out of money. Otherwise 333 00:26:12.880 --> 00:26:15.599 you'd run out of money. But what he's trying to do, 334 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.960 he's trying to get more money to you by rewarding 335 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:26.720 your righteousness. So he's converted an offering to a sde 336 00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:31.119 so that you could partner with your offering with your faith, 337 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:35.039 so that he could then partner with you to bring 338 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:38.480 you more increase, so that you would have more to 339 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:44.920 sew in the future. Let's read it second Corinth end, 340 00:26:45.000 --> 00:27:23.720 chapter nine. I'm intentionally calming myself. Helu jah. See I 341 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:26.759 get all wound up. Then they turned the microphone down. 342 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:36.440 Then I get more wound up. And I'm living proof 343 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:39.480 of this. Joel and I are living proof of this. 344 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:44.640 Many of you in the building are living proof of 345 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:49.119 God's goodness, living proof of God's goodness. And guess what, 346 00:27:49.799 --> 00:28:00.680 He's not done. He's not done. I just feel like 347 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:02.759 I need to say that you didn't miss anything yet, 348 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:08.839 because today and tomorrow you can begin to dive into 349 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:19.200 God's goodness in a new way. Now this, I say, 350 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:24.880 the one who sews sparingly will also reap sparingly. No 351 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:29.319 is that true? No? No, no, no, I mean farming talk. 352 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:40.880 Farming talk. Joel's relatives over in Spokane. You know, they 353 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:44.519 had about a thousand acres, but then they were prospering, 354 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:47.119 and so then they got like another thousand and then 355 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:50.559 you know, if you're prospering, then you can lease other 356 00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:54.559 parcels from other neighboring families, you know, and next thing 357 00:28:54.599 --> 00:28:56.599 you know, you got three thousand acres of wheat grown 358 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:59.359 over there. You know. But if you go out and 359 00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:04.440 you just oh, a hundred of those acres, are you 360 00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:17.400 going to reap a thousand acre? Reaping. Sometimes we think 361 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:20.880 that way, like, you know, why hasn't God come through 362 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:24.839 for me? You know, I can't believe it. I've been 363 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:27.799 putting in ten dollars every so often, and I can't 364 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:30.599 believe I'm not having these crazy breakthroughs in my life. 365 00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:39.880 Like Pastor says, we should have. Well, God has Spokane 366 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:42.880 or anybody over in the Columbia Basin with a large 367 00:29:42.920 --> 00:29:46.480 farm and asks them to get a thousand acre harvest? 368 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:52.720 Can they do that with a hundred acre seed? Not 369 00:29:52.759 --> 00:29:57.000 gonna happen, right, So this I say, the one who 370 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:00.279 says sparingly will also reap sparingly. In the one who 371 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:08.079 says generously will also reap generously. Each one must do 372 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:11.319 what he's decided in his heart, whilst not reluctantly or 373 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:16.000 under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Now, remember 374 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:18.279 I talked about this passage. This is coming out of 375 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:21.559 second from the chapter eight, that's the preceding part of 376 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:25.799 the story. Because in chapter eight they were going there 377 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:30.920 to collect a offering for the saints in Jerusalem who 378 00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:35.599 were suffering. They weren't collecting a tithe for the leadership 379 00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:38.599 of the church. They were collecting an offering for the 380 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:42.920 saints in Jerusalem that were suffering a year before. Now 381 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.319 they're coming to collect what they purposed in their heart 382 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:52.039 to give a year ago. And God is able to 383 00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:55.440 make Now he's encouraging them, right, He's like He's gonna 384 00:30:55.480 --> 00:30:59.160 lay this stuff on them, this truth, on them, to 385 00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:03.599 encourage them. And I mean today we would call this 386 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:07.519 like crazy preaching, Like this is what all of the 387 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:11.519 Internet is blown up against. Just go read on the internet. 388 00:31:11.519 --> 00:31:16.480 You'll find that common Christians of today don't believe this 389 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:23.519 stuff at all. So that means they're completely contrary to 390 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:25.720 the man who wrote a third of the Bible, you know, 391 00:31:25.759 --> 00:31:28.000 a third of the New Testament, and who was caught 392 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:34.000 up to the Third Heaven, and of whom we've got 393 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:39.079 all of our new Creation theology from. And this guy says, 394 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:41.519 God is able to make all grace overflow to you, 395 00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:46.599 so that always having all sufficiency and everything, you may 396 00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:51.799 have an abundance for every good deed, as it it's written. 397 00:31:51.839 --> 00:31:54.000 And then he quotes like out of Psalm one twelve, 398 00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:57.440 he's scattered abroad. This is what the righteous man does. 399 00:31:57.880 --> 00:32:03.319 The righteous man scatters abroad seed talk again, seed he 400 00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:10.559 gives to the poor. His righteousness endewers forever. Sam one twelve. 401 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:14.880