Foreign

Praise

the

Lord.

Praise

the

Lord.

We're

in

a

series

called

Hustle

to

Holy

God's

Plan

for

Financial

Overflow.

Last

week

we

started

this

series

on

this

topic

or

area

of

our

important

area

of

our

lives

of

finances.

How

many

of

you

know

finances

are

important?

Amen.

You

have

bills

to

play

pay.

You're

earning

a

living.

You

have

dreams.

You

have

trips,

vacations.

You

have

projects

that

you

want

to

get

involved

in.

And

recently

I

started

a

few

months

ago.

I

think

I

looked

at

myself

over

the

past

year

or

so,

just

I

started

looking

at

myself

and

how

many

ever

look

at

yourself?

You

look

at

yourself.

When

you

get

ready,

you

look

at

yourself.

And

I

was

like,

wait

a

minute.

This

is

not

what

I

envisioned

growing

up.

And

this

is

not.

I

was

skinny

and

scrawny.

I

found

an

old

high

school

baseball

team

picture.

I

was

literally

a

twig.

And.

And

now

it's

like

a

typical

dad

bod.

And

I

was

like,

what's

going

on

here?

And

I

was

like,

something's

got

to

change.

You

know,

Sharon

was

making

comments.

And

when

your

wife

makes

comments,

you

know,

you

start

to

listen

a

little

bit,

right?

Anyone

believe.

Okay,

if

you

don't

start

listening

to

your

wife.

But

if

the

husband

makes

any

comments,

let's

be

careful,

don't

make

any

comment.

Husband's

a

tip.

Don't

make

any

comments.

Be

wise,

be

careful,

say

it

in

a

very

strategic,

loving,

cute

way.

Right?

Let's

move

on.

So

I

decided

to

make

a

decision

to

invest

some

time

and

money

into

going

into

the

gym.

And

I

started

going

a

few

months

ago

and

I

started

going

by

myself

and

thought

I

knew

what

I

was

doing

and

did

the

typical

stuff

and

thought

I

was

feeling

good.

And

then

I

started

saw

a

little

bit

of

a

difference.

Then

I

started

going

and

somebody

heard

that

I

was

going

and

they

said,

oh,

I

have

membership

to

the

same

gym.

I'll

come

with

you.

I

was

like,

okay,

great.

Then

I

started

going

with

the

dear

brother

somebody

from

the

church

and

started

going

with

them,

and

they're

much

bigger

than

me.

And

I

was

like,

man.

Anyway,

I

started

doing

what

I

was

doing.

And

he

looked

at

me

and

said,

what

are

you

doing?

I

was

like,

I'm

just

doing

what

I've

been

doing.

He's

like,

well,

your

form

is

off.

Your

form

isn't

right.

And

I

realized

I

was

doing

a

lot

of

things,

but

I

was

not

doing

it

the

proper

way.

And

just

for

me,

doing

things

the

same

old

way,

if

I

don't

have

the

form

right,

there's

not

going

to

be

any

results.

And

that's

why

I

was

wondering

how

come

my

chest

isn't

getting

stronger

and

my

arms

are

not

getting

more

round?

And

you

know,

why

aren't

these

things

happening

the

way

it's

supposed

to

based

on

doing

these

exercises?

And

you

realize

the

form

wasn't

right.

And

when

he

started

showing

me

the

form

for

some

of

those

exercises,

oh,

this

hurts

much

more

now,

like

when

you

do

the

exercises

the

right

way,

it

will

actually

start

to

make

a

difference.

And

you'll

feel

it

in

how

you

do

it.

And

while

you're

doing

it,

you'll

feel

it.

But

also

down

the

road,

if

you

do

it

consistently

and

you

do

it

long

enough,

you'll

see

the

results

in

the

physical

sense.

You'll

see

it

on

your

body,

you'll

see

it

in

your,

in

the

mirror.

You'll

see

the

difference

because

you

got

the

form

right.

Amen.

Just

because

you

say

you

go

to

the

gym

and

you

do

this

and

that,

if

you're

not

doing

it

the

way

it's

supposed

to

be

done,

there

really

is

not

going

to

be

much

fruit

except

saying,

I

went

to

the

gym

and

I

spent

whatever

many

dollars

in

that

gym.

And

I.

You

have

the

emotional

satisfaction

of

I

went

to

the

gym.

But

there's

no

physical

transformation

in

your

life.

Amen.

So

today

I

want

to

bring

part

two

of

this

series

Hustle

to

holy

titled

Focus

on

the

Form.

What

is

it?

Focus

on

the

Form.

I

want

to

start

with

the

one

thing,

the

reality

that,

listen,

we

all

need

a.

I

don't

want

to

say

personal

trainer,

but

I

think

it's

good

to

have

someone

that

has

some

experience.

It's

good

to

have

someone

that

has

some

knowledge.

It's

good

to

have

someone

that's

done

it

before

kind

of

guide

us

in

this

aspect

of

training,

physical

training,

lifting,

whatever

you're

doing.

If

someone

that

knows

what

they're

doing

tells

you

it

doesn't

feel

good

at

first,

but

it's

for

your

good.

Amen.

And

every

time

that

brother

now

tells

me,

hey,

do

this

and

do

that,

some

of

it,

listen.

There

was

one

day

we

went

and

he

told

me

to

do

certain

things

and

I

said,

all

right,

I

can

do

it.

I'm

still

young.

Then

quickly

I

learned.

I'm

in

my

mid-40s.

And

that

day

I

started

getting

light

headed.

I

had

to

lean

down

on

a

pillar

of

the

building,

I

had

to

drink

my

Powerade.

Everything

was

fine,

but

I

just

did

the

workout

stopped

right.

Very

quickly

I

realized,

wait.

And

then

next

time

the

person

tells

me

to

do

certain

things

like

no,

I

just

say

no.

I

said

nope,

because

I

know

what

they

can

do,

but

I

know

what

I

can't

do.

Say

no,

I'm

not

there

yet.

I'm

not

ready.

How

about

this?

I'm

not

ready

yet,

but

I

want

to

get

there.

But

to

get

to

where

they

want

me

to

get

to,

I

have

to

be

able

to

do

the

smaller

things

in

the

right

way

long

enough

so

I

could

build

my

strength,

my

endurance,

my

every

capability

and

capacity

to

get

to

the

point

that

when

I

was

lifting

at

£3.

So,

yeah,

so

easy

that

I

can

now

eventually,

eventually.

Oh

no,

I

can't.

I

still

can't

lift

40.

I

still

can't

lift

40

pounds.

A

40

pound

dumbbell.

But

I

can

lift

20.

What

is

this?

30?

I

can

lift

30.

It's

hard.

I

felt

something

in

my

elbow.

But

you

feel

that

you're

doing

something,

but

you

have

to

know

at

first

they're

telling

you

for

your

good.

That's

what

the

Lord

is

saying

in

3

John

chapter

one,

verse

two.

Can

you

turn

your

Bibles

to

3

John

chapter

one,

verse

two?

And

we're

going

to

read

this

verse

from

the

amplified

version

just

because

it

kind

of

elaborates

the

simple

thoughts

that

is

written

there.

It

says

beloved.

What

does

it

say?

Beloved.

Sounds

like

a

love

letter,

doesn't

it?

Beloved,

I

pray

that

in

every

way

you

may

succeed

and

prosper

and

be

in

good

health

physically,

just

as

I

know

your

soul

prospers

spiritually.

Let's

read

it

again.

Beloved,

I

pray

that

in

every

way

someone

say,

every

way

you

may

succeed,

someone

say

succeed

and

prosper.

Someone

say

prosperity

and

be

in

good

health

physically,

just

as

I

know

your

soul

prospers

spiritually.

The

Word

is

telling

us

just

as

he

wants

to

see

our

spiritual

man

prosper,

God

wants

to

see

our

physical

estate

and

physical

matters

and

every

area

of

our

life

prosper.

Let

me

just

say

a

word

right

now

just

to

cut

off

any

wrong

ideologies.

I'm

not

here

to

stand

on

the

pulpit

and

not

with

this

church.

Ever

teach

you

a

prosperity

theology?

That's

not

what

this

is

about.

But

the

Bible

here

that

I'm

reading

and

that

we're

reading

in

different

version

says

that

God

has

called

us

to

prosper.

Don't

let

the

abuse

of

the

Word

and

the

abuse

by

other

people

in

the

kingdom

of

God,

pastors

and

leaders

that

abuse

this

aspect

of

money

taint

the

way

that

the

Lord

intended

us

to

live.

For

I

know

the

plans

that

I

have

for

you.

It

is

not

to

harm

you,

but

it

is

to

prosper.

We

love

that

verse.

We

also

let's

love

the

word

of

that

verse.

It's

to

see

us

prosper.

So

God,

if

he

was

a

spiritual

trainer

in

our

life,

he

wants

to

see

us

live

in

prosperity.

Is

that

okay?

God's

goal

for

our

finances

is

summarized

in

one

word,

prosperity.

So

the

true

prosperity,

if

you

can

go

back

to

that

verse,

Team,

sorry,

one

second.

Is

true

prosperity

is

not

just

spiritual

and

it's

not

just

physical,

but

it's

both

physical

and

spiritual

that

is

true

prosperity.

But

there

is

a

religious

mindset

that's

gone

on

in

the,

in

the,

in

the

church

of

the

big

C

church

and

saying,

if

you

want

to

be

holy,

you

have

to

be

living

in

poverty.

That

is

not

a

scriptural

mindset.

That

is

a

wrong

human

made

mindset.

You

don't

have

to

live

in

poverty

to

be

holy.

You

could

be

holy

and

you

can

be

wealthy.

Amen.

I

pray

that

all

of

us

lives

in

wealth.

Don't

let

that

religious

mindset

get

us

off

track

in

what

God

has

intended

for

us.

Failure,

defeat

and

poverty

is

not

the

will

of

God.

We're

called

to

live

victorious.

We're

called

to

live

in

what

God

has

called

for

us.

And

that's

why

we

have

to

take

a

hard

look

at

this

tool

that

God

has

given

to

us

called

Someone

say

money.

Someone

say

money.

Money

is

not

evil,

folks.

Money

can

be

sanctified

and

be

used

for

the

glory

of

God.

In

Matthew,

chapter

6,

verse

24,

there's

a

verse

that

Jesus

is

saying,

you

cannot

serve

God

and

mammon.

If

you

can

go

to

that

verse,

if

you

have

it.

Matthew,

chapter

6,

verse

24.

No

one

can

serve

two

masters.

For

either

he

will

hate

the

one

and

love

the

other

or

else

he

will

be

loyal

to

the

1.

Verse

25,

Sorry

and

despise

the

other.

You

cannot

serve

God

and

mammon.

In

different

versions

you

might

say

God

and

money.

But

let

me.

Mammon

is

not

the

Greek

for

money.

Mammon

is

not

the

Hebrew

for

money.

Mammon

is

actually

a

spiritual

force.

Mammon

is

a

God

that

the

people

of

that

time

believed

in,

that

was

tied

to

the

wealth

and

the

money

of

that

time.

So

it's

not

that

you're

loving

money,

it's

that

you're

loving

or

you're

being

controlled

by

the

spirit

that

loves

money.

So

mammon

is

more

than

money.

It

is

an

evil

spiritual

power

that

enslaves

his

people

through

money.

And

that's

why

the

remedy

to

that

is

we

found

in

First

Timothy,

chapter

six.

Because

our

attitude

towards

money

will

reveal

our

true

attitude

towards

God.

Here's

the

aspect

of

this.

We

have

to

choose

between

God

and.

And

the

love

of

money.

First

Timothy,

chapter

6,

verse

9

through

11.

If

you

can

turn

your

attention

there,

let's

read

that

together.

First

Timothy,

chapter

6,

verse

9

through

11.

But

those

who

desire

to

be

rich

and

fall

into

the

temptation

and

a

snare,

and

into

many

foolish

and

harmful

lusts

which

drown,

keep

going,

man,

in

destruction

and

perdition.

Verse

10.

For

the

love

of

money.

How

many

know

this

verse?

For

the

love

of

money

is

the

root

of

all

kinds

of

evil,

for

which

some

may

have

strayed

from

the

faith

in

their

greediness

and

pierced

themselves

through

with

many

sorrows.

You

see,

money

is

not

evil,

but

the

love

of

money

is

evil.

When

you

make

make

your

pursuit

for

wealth

and

riches,

if

that

is

what

you're

pursuing,

then

we're

on

the

wrong

track.

The

church

talks

very

highly

about

all

the

other

sins

and

all

the

other

commandments,

but

rarely

do

we

talk

about

the

simple

things

like

stealing

and

lying

and

covetousness

or

the

danger

of

idolatry.

And

that's

why

the

Gospel

In

Matthew,

chapter

6,

verse

21,

says,

for

where

your

treasure

is,

there

your

heart

will

be

also

in

Matthew,

chapter

6,

verse.

Sorry,

1

Timothy,

chapter

6,

verse

9

through

11.

It

also

gives

us

the

remedy.

What

can

you

do

to

break

this

hold

of

the

mammon

spirit

in

our

life?

It

is

to

pursue

righteousness.

It

is

to

pursue

godliness

and

pursue

faith,

love,

patience

and

gentleness.

It

requires

radical

obedience.

And

when

you

and

I

are

able

to

say,

listen,

I

can

seek

God

and

the

things

of

God

first,

then

I'm

letting

go

of

my

hold,

or

the

hold

of

money

has

on

my

heart

and

my

life.

We

can

get

easily

stuck

and

bound

by

the

things

that

money

signifies

and

symbolizes.

But

I'm

telling

you

right

now,

in

that

scripture,

Jesus

says,

you

can

either

serve

God

or

you

can

serve

mammon.

You

can't

have

it

both

ways.

Love

God

and

despise

mammon,

or

love

mammon

and

despise

God.

In

that

scripture,

we

see

there

is

no

neutrality

there.

It's

either

or.

So

today

I

want

to

ask

you,

before

we

proceed,

ask

ourselves,

who

will

we

serve?

Will

we

serve

God

or

Mammon?

The

spirit

in

which

the

devil

wants

to

take

a

hold

of

our

hearts

and

our

lives

and

get

us

gripped

and

stuck

to

the

love

of

money.

So

as

you

ponder

that

question,

I

want

to

also

remind

you,

lay

a

foundation

for

something

that

we

need

to

think

about

this

aspect

of

lifting

weights

and

training.

In

my

journey,

in

this

recent

journey,

you

know,

I

didn't

start

at

20

pounds.

I

didn't

start

at

3

pounds

either,

by

the

way.

I

didn't

start

at

5

or

8.

I

think

I

started

at

15.

This

10

feels

a

little

light.

I

think

I

started

at

15

and

now

I'm

up

to

about

25,

30

comfortably.

But

I

want

to

encourage

somebody

here

today.

Start

where

you

can

start,

but

commit

yourself

to

grow,

where

the

Lord

allows

you

to

grow

to.

Amen.

Start

where

God

is

asking

us

to

start,

but

commit

yourself

to

say,

I'm

not

going

to

keep.

If

I

have.

Let

me,

let

me

put

it

this

way.

If

I

have

the

ability

to

pick

up

20

pounds,

why

would

I

keep

picking

up

three?

Three

is

not

going

to

do

me

any

good

in

building

up

my

strength

or

my

endurance.

But

if

I

have

the

ability

to

do

£20,

I

want

to

keep

doing

23

sets

of

10

and

keep

doing

it.

And

then

maybe

a

few

weeks

later

I

can

get

up

to

30,

maybe

three

sets

of

five,

whatever

it

is.

But

don't

say,

hey,

this

is

where

I

start

and

this

is

where

I'll

stay.

Because

God

is

going

to

give

you

the

spiritual

muscle

and

the

faith

muscle

to

say,

I

am

going

to

trust

you

to

get

me

to

grow

to

the

next

level.

And

I

want

us

to

look

at

this

aspect

of

offering

and

tithing

and

giving

as

not

as

a

rule

or

a

legalistic

principle,

but

first

off,

let's

make

sure

we

see

it

as

worship.

Amen.

Let's

see

it

as

holy.

Because

in

Exodus

chapter

23,

verse

14

to

15,

you

see

where

God

is

establishing

three

festivals

for

the

people

of

Israel

every

year.

They

had

to

go

to

the

temple

of

God

at

three

festivals

and

say,

I

need

you

to

bring

your

best

to

me

and

I

need

you

to

bring

it

at

an

appointed

time,

certain

times

of

the

year,

a

certain

way

and

in

a

certain

place.

He

said

no

one

should

come

here

without

something

to

offer

to

the

Lord.

And

that

basically

told

me,

no

one.

When

we

come

into

the

house

of

God,

when

we

come

to

worship,

we

should

not

come

empty

handed

in

our

worship

because

empty

handed

worship

is

incomplete

worship.

Amen.

I

know

it's

not

going

to

get

a

lot

of

Amens

and

all

that,

but

I'm

telling

you

what

scripture

is

saying

and

the

truth

that

we

can

draw

from

scripture

when

we

come

to

worship.

It's

easy

to

worship

when

the

songs

are

going,

but

it's

hard

to

worship

when

the

baskets

are

passing.

But

don't

mistake.

The

basket

passing

is

not

for

the

church's

budget.

The

basket

passing

is

to

require

us

to

follow

the

principles

of

the

scripture

and

say

we

are

not

called

to

come

empty

handed

into

the

house

of

God.

We,

when

we

come

to

worship

empty

handed

worship

is

incomplete

worship.

Psalms

96,

verse

8

through

9

says,

Give

to

the

Lord

and

the

glory

due

his

name.

Bring

an

offering.

What

does

it

say?

Bring

an

offering

and

come

into

his

courts

or

worship

the

Lord

and

the

beauty

of

holiness

tremble

before

him

all

the

earth.

Bring

an

offering

and

come

into

his

courts.

First

off,

it

says,

give

glory

to

God.

Give

to

the

Lord

all

the

glory

that

is

due.

Bring

an

offering.

That

offering

allows

you

to

come

into

the

courts

of

praise.

If

you

look

into

the

Old

Testament

temple,

they

could

not

enter

the

courts

if

they

did

not

have

a

lamb

to

offer

at

the

altar.

Amen.

They

could

not

enter

the

courts

of

praise.

Aren't

you

glad

there's

not

an

access

fee

at

the

front

door

here?

Amen.

How

many

of

you

go

to

the

restaurants

anytime

recently?

Anyone

go

to

restaurants?

And

how

many

of

you

know

that,

or

if

you

don't

know,

they

charge

you

for

the

meal

that

you

have

there?

I

know

that

some

of

the

kids

don't

know

definitely

because

they've

eaten

in

places

that

we've

never

eaten

in

our

lives.

I'm

like,

man,

what

a

life

you

guys

have.

But

for

you

to

enter

that

place,

there

is

an

expectation

on

you.

There

is

something

waiting

for

you

at

the

end.

Amen.

Thank

God

that

we

can

come

into

this

place

and

there's

no

expectation

like

that.

Amen.

There

are

churches

that

have

principles

like

membership

dues.

These

are

things.

I've

heard

things

like

that.

There's

nothing

like

that

here.

We

don't

pressure,

we

don't

force.

But

if

you

call

this

church

home,

you

have

a

responsibility

to

your

house

and

you

have

a

responsibility

to

the

word

of

God.

Bring

an

offering

and

let

us

have

a

hand

full

of

something

to

give

to

the

Lord.

And

you

know

what?

The

Lord

is

watching.

I'm

being

honest

here,

okay?

Listen,

I've

gone

to

meetings

and

I

did

not

expect

they

were

going

to

receive

an

offering.

Has

anyone

ever

been

in

that

situation?

Like,

wait

a

minute,

there's

offering

at

this

meeting.

Can

I

just

be

real

with

you

what

I

do

if

I

don't

have

anything

and

I'm

not

usually

carrying

around

a

lot

of

cash.

I

just

look

at

it,

take

the

basket,

hold

it

and

pass

it

on

down.

Sometimes

the

thought

came

to

mind,

hold

my

hand

like

this

with

nothing

in

it.

Act

like

I'm

putting

something

into

it,

you

know,

sly.

Be

very

sneaky

about

it.

Anyone?

Not

anyone,

sorry.

Let

me

be

sneaky

about

it.

I'll

act

like

I

dropped

something

into

that

basket.

While

I

grabbed

the

basket,

I

just

passed

it

over

to

the

I

was

like,

it's

better

not

to

do

that.

It's

better

to

say,

lord,

I'm

not

ready

today.

But

the

next

time

you

have

this

opportunity,

I'll

be

prepared

to

give.

Don't

be

sneaky

about

it,

don't

be

sly

about

it.

Don't

be

too

creative

about

it.

Just

take

it,

pass

it,

say,

lord,

I'll

be

ready

the

next

time.

But

it

says,

the

Lord

is

watching.

In

Mark,

chapter

12,

Jesus

sat

next

to

the

treasurer.

Jesus

sat

opposite

the

treasury.

Oh

my

goodness,

I

never

caught

this.

In

this

story,

we

focus

on

the

widow

that

gave

the

two

might

coins,

right?

And

we

focus

on

the

people

that

gave

out

of

their

abundance.

But

I

didn't

catch

that

first

part.

Go

back

to

that

first

part.

It

says

that

Jesus

sat

opposite

the

treasury

and

saw

how

the

people

put

money

into

the

treasury.

Let

me

tell

you,

just

as

Jesus

sits

next

to

you

during

the

high

point

of

worship,

he's

sitting

next

to

you

during

offering

time.

I'm

sharing

this

with

you

so

that

we

understand

that

Jesus

watches

how

we

give.

He

commended

the

women,

sorry,

the

women

that

gave

two

coins.

But

he

also

asked

the

disciples

to

check

who

gave

more.

Did

the

widow

that

gave

two

coins

or

did

the

people

that

gave

out

of

their

abundance,

who

gave

more?

The

widow

with

the

two

coins

because

she

gave

everything

that

she

had.

The

people

that

gave

out

of

their

abundance

gave

maybe

a

little

bit.

But

those

that

the

one

that

had

only

this,

she

gave

everything

and

she

had

nothing

left.

But

the

one

that

had

abundance

gave

this

and

still

had

all

this

left.

So

who

gave

everything?

The

widow

with

the

two

coins.

God

is

measuring

what

we

give

by

what

we

keep.

Amen.

God

measures

what

we

give

by

what

we

keep.

So

offering

is

part

of

worship.

Second

thing

is

this.

Honor

God

first.

Honor

God

first.

There's

a

principle

in

scripture

called

the

first

fruits

or

the

principle

of

first.

It

is

a

biblical

principle.

It's

a

biblical

mandate.

It's

basically

tied

to

Matthew

6:33.

Seek

first

the

kingdom

of

God

and

his

righteousness,

and

then

all

these

things

shall

be

added

unto

you.

We

talked

about

that

last

week.

So

let

me

focus

on

Proverbs,

chapter

three,

verse

nine

and

ten.

Proverbs,

chapter

three,

verse

9

and

10.

Honor

the

Lord

with

your

wealth,

with

the

first

fruits

of

all

your

crops.

Then

your

barns

will

be

filled

to

overflowing.

Someone

shout

overflowing.

Overflowing.

Then

your

barns

will

be

filled

to

overflowing.

Honor

the

Lord

with

your

wealth,

with

the

first

fruits

of

all

your

crops.

And

then

your

barns

will

be

filled

with

overflowing

honor

God

with

our

first

fruits

is

an

essential

principle

in

the

Scriptures.

It

means

giving

God

the

first

and

the

best,

recognizing

that

our

giving

reflects

our

worship

and

our

trust

in

Him.

Second

Corinthians,

chapter

nine,

verse

six

and

seven

says,

basically,

God

loves.

How

many

of

you

love

that

verse?

Heard

that

during

offering

time

here

we

say

it,

we

declare

it,

for

God

loves

a

cheerful

giver.

But

it

also

says,

do

not

give

to

the

Lord

grudgingly

or

sparingly.

If

you

showed

up

to

work

every

other

week,

would

you

get

paid

every

week?

If

you

showed

up

to

work

every

other

month,

would

you

get

paid

for

all

the

times

you

didn't

go

to

work?

So

give

to

God

consistently,

faithfully,

because

God

has

given

you

the

ability

to

go

to

work,

earn

a

living,

and

do

what

you

are

able

to

do

and

receive

what

you're

able

to

receive.

Giving

grudgingly

and

sparingly

dishonors

God.

And

let's

look

at

the

simplest

practical

way

that

we

could

put

God

first

in

our

finances.

The

simplest

and

most

practical

way

and

scriptural

way

is

in

the

idea

or

the

truth

of

tithing.

Someone

say

tithe,

Someone

shout

tithe.

The

definition

simply

means

a

tenth.

In

the

Hebrew,

it

simply

means

a

tenth.

It's

setting

apart

a

tenth

of

what

God

has

given

to

you

for

God.

Let

me

ask

you,

let's

just

do

a

little

Bible

quiz.

Or

from

what

we

know,

is

it

the

first

tenth

or

the

middle

tenth

or

the

last

tenth?

If

we

just

talked

about

the

principle

of

first,

it

is

the

what?

First

10th.

How

many

of

you

glad

it's

also

the

10th?

10th

meaning

what?

What

does

10th

mean?

10%.

That

simply

means

like

this.

How

many

of

you

are

not

really

great

at

math?

I

struggle

with

percentages.

I

struggle

with

odd

numbers.

I

see

a

few

hands

going

up.

How

many

of

you

grateful?

Just

simple

math

that

God

does.

Here

I

am.

Here's

a

simple

thing,

guys.

Look

at

your

paycheck

and

just

move

the

decimal

point

one

place

to

the

left.

How

many

of

you

are

grateful

for

simple

math?

Let's

just

practice

this.

So

those

that

are

in,

listen.

100.

The

tithe

of

100

is

what?

Move

the

decimal

one

to

the

left

and

is

what?

In

case

you

get

this

much

or

whenever

you

get

this

much,

move

it

one

to

the

left

and

you

get

what?

All

right,

now

let's

do

this.

This

is

a

hard

number.

How

many

would

like

to

get

to

this

number?

Move

one

to

the

left

and

what

is

your

tithe?

Okay,

now

let's

do

this.

Thank

God.

God

didn't

say

7%.

At

least

for

this.

What's

7%

of

this?

Okay,

math

people,

it's

$100.

7%

of

100

is

7.

Okay,

now

let's

do

7%

of

this

number.

Oh,

everyone's

taking

your

calculators

out.

Do

7%

of

this

number.

Now

you

get

the

scientific

calculators

out.

I'm

grateful.

It's

just

a

simple

10%.

All

I

got

to

do

is

move

the

decimal

point

one

to

the

left.

I

want

to

ask

you

this

week,

go

back

to

your

pair

of

direct

deposits,

go

back

to

your

pay

stubs

you

get

electronically

or

however

you

get

it,

and

check

if

you

move

the

decimal

over

one

place

to

the

left,

not

to

the

right.

Oh,

my

gosh.

Imagine

if

we

move

to

the

right.

Would

you

be

serving

this

God?

I'm

just

being

real

with

you.

Thank

God.

He

just

asked

us.

Move

it

to

the

left.

Oh,

move

it

to

the

left.

So

I'm

asking

you,

practical

thing,

this

week,

whenever

you

work,

whenever

you

earn

your

check,

look

at.

Did

you

just

move?

If

you.

If

you're

doing

this

already,

great.

Move

it

to

the

left.

Then

look

at

what

you're

giving

to

the

Lord

and

say,

hey,

do

these

numbers

match?

If

they

don't

match,

then

you

wonder

why

things

are

off

in

your

finances.

Because

if

you

and

I

can't

get

this

simple

scriptural

principle

down

first,

the

Lord

can't

trust

you

with

the

90.

If

you

can

trust

him

with

the

10,

he

cannot

trust

you

with

whatever

you

keep

if

you

cannot

trust

him

with

the

10

that

he

requires

of

us.

I'll

come

back

to

that.

It's

a

practical

way.

The

scriptural

foundation

of

tithing

is

found

not

in

the

law,

but

in

the

time

of

Abraham.

In

Abraham's

time,

he

tithed

to

Melchizedek,

who

is

a

representation

of

Jesus

Christ

in

the

New

Testament.

So

Abraham

set

a

precedent

before

the

law

even

came

into

establishment.

Jacob,

his

grandson,

committed

to

giving

a

tenth

as

a

response

to

God's

provision.

And

Jacob,

who

started

with

a

staff,

ended

up

with

thousands,

if

not

hundreds

of

thousands

of

wealth,

livestock,

cattle,

and

blessings.

He

started

with

a

small

staff,

but

as

the

Lord

blessed

him,

he

responded

with

a

tenth

to

the

Lord.

And

when

you

respond

with

a

tenth

to

the

Lord,

God

has

no

other

choice

but

to

bless

you

on

everything

else

because

you

decided

to

obey

him.

Obedience

better

than

sacrifice.

Thank

you,

Lord.

In

Deuteronomy

and

Leviticus,

it

says

the

tithe

was

declared

holy

to

the

Lord.

And

you

see

in

the

New

Testament

that

Jesus

is

the

priesthood

of

Melchizedek.

In

Hebrews,

chapter

6

and

verse

7,

tithing

is

a

way

to

honor

and

acknowledge

Christ's

priesthood.

It

affirms

our

dependence

on

God

and

our

commitment

to

to

his

kingdom.

When

you

and

I

are

practicing

tithing,

you're

simply

declaring,

christ

is

my

priest,

Christ

is

my

king.

He

is

my

Lord.

In

Malachi

Chapter

3.

If

you

could

turn

your

attention

to

Malachi

Chapter

3,

which

is

the

most

popular

portion

on

this

topic,

and

I'm

going

to

go

through

it

quickly

but

systematically

and

challenge

us

here

in

this

moment.

It

says

In

Malachi

chapter

3,

verse

7

on

it

says,

yet

from

the

days

of

your

fathers

you

have

gone

away

from

my

ordinances

and

have

not

kept

them.

Return

to

me

and

I

will

return

to

you,

says

the

Lord

of

hosts.

But

you

said,

in

what

way

shall

we

return?

And

he

simply

said,

in

verse

eight

it

says,

will

a

man

rob

God?

Yet

you

have

robbed

me.

But

you

say,

in

what

way

have

we

robbed

you?

In

tithes

and

offerings.

Withholding

the

tithe

is

as

equal

to

robbing

God.

And

the

robbery

of

God

in

verse

9

says,

it

will

bring

a

curse

for

you

have

robbed

me,

even

this

whole

nation.

As

soon

as

we

can

get

this

principle

down

and

the

earlier,

the

better

it

is

for

you

and

for

your

generations.

Amen.

I'm

standing

here

teaching

and

preaching

about

this

because

I

learned

it

early

on

from

my

own

home.

And

now

I'm

getting

to

pass

it

on

to

my

kids.

Let

me

just

be

Can

I

be

frank

with

all

of

you

this

morning?

Looking

at

the

stats

not

of

our

church,

of

the

big

church,

and

when

you

study

it

and

when

you

look

at

all

the

current

stats,

I

don't

want

to

say

afraid

because

it's

God's

church,

it's

not

our

church.

God

will

take

care

of

his

church.

Amen.

But

I'm

afraid

to

see

where

the

future

of

our

churches

are

because

our

kids

won't

know

how

to

give

to

the

Lord.

Amen.

If

our

children

don't

know

what

to

do

and

how

to

do

it,

I

am

afraid

for

the

future

of

the

big

church.

Based

on

all

the

stats

that

we're

seeing

and

reading

and

learning

as

pastors.

Where

is

the

future

of

the

church?

So

I'm

telling

you

and

encouraging,

but

also

challenging

our

church,

which

I

can

only

be

responsible

for.

It's

better

to

practice

this,

teach

it,

and

show

it

to

your

home

and

to

your

children

because

not

only

will

they

be

blessed,

but

the

kingdom

of

God

will

be

blessed.

Tithing

is

a

test

nowhere

in

the

Bible

from

what

scholars

say.

There's

nowhere

else

where

it

says

that

God

says,

test

me

in

something.

He

says,

test

Me

in

this.

There

are

churches

that

do

a

90

day

challenge.

They

challenge

the

church.

If

you're

not

practicing

this,

practice

for

tithing.

90

days,

for

the

next

90

days.

And

if

God

doesn't

move

in

your

life

in

some

way,

they'll

give

all

your

money

back.

A

money

back

guarantee

for

90

days.

I

thought

of

bringing

it

here,

but

then

it's

like,

I

don't

know.

I

don't

know

if

our

council

will

be

ready

for

that.

But

it

also

says

there's

a

blessing

in

the

tithe.

It

says

in

verse

10

there

is

a

blessing

that

overflows.

Bring

all

the

tithes

into

the

storehouse,

that

there

may

be

food

in

my

house.

Whose

house?

Whose

house?

God's

house.

Not

your

house.

In

God's

house.

And

try

me.

God

is

saying

in

this,

says

the

Lord

of

hosts,

if

I

will

not

open

for

you

the

windows

of

heaven.

How

many

like

open

heavens?

I've

heard

pastors

and

people

pray

open

heavens

over

this

house,

over

this

church.

I

want

open

heavens

over

your

home.

Open

the

windows

of

heaven.

You

can't

ask

God

to

open

the

windows

of

heaven.

When

you

have

your

hands

clenched

to

the

tithe

that

God

has

asked

you

to

give

to

him

and

pour

out

for

you

such

a

blessing

that

there

will

not

be

enough

room

enough

to

receive

it.

He

will

bless

you

to

overflow.

Number

two,

verse

11,

he

will

protect

you

from

the

devourer.

How

many

of

you

ever

said,

hey,

I

got

enough

money.

But

then

by

the

end

of

the

month

you're

like,

where

did

all

that

money

go?

And

you

realize,

oh,

an

unexpected

bill

came

up,

an

unforeseen

situation

at

the

house,

or

something

with

the

car

came

up.

You

know,

I

know

those

things

can

happen

and

I'm

never

saying

anything's

coincidence,

but

let

me

tell

you,

if

you

trust

God

in

the

area

of

the

tithe,

I

will

see.

I

promise

you

there'll

be

less

of

those

things.

And

allowing

you

to

make

sure

you

have

more

in

your

hand.

He

will

rebuke

the

devourer

for

your

sake.

He

will

not

destroy

the

fruit

of

your

ground,

nor

shall

the

vine

fall

to

bear

fruit

for

you

in

the

field.

He

will

bless

you

to

overflow.

He

will

protect

you

from

the

devourer.

But

in

verse

12,

you

will

be

a

testimony

for

the

nation.

And

all

the

nations

will

call

you

blessed,

for

you

will

be

a

delightful

land.

Last

week,

after

I

shared

the

message,

it

was

the

first

time

in

a

long

time

and

many

people

came

to

me

and

said,

thank

you

for

sharing

that.

We

were

basically

as

families

nudging

each

other.

God

was

speaking

to

us

through

this

word

or

this

message.

Some

of

you

shared

your

testimonies

in

the

lobby

with

me

even

afterward.

So

I'm

grateful.

For

what?

What

God

is

doing.

There's

a

testimony

sitting

here.

We

talked

about

Jacob

earlier.

His

testimony

was

that

he

started

with

the

staff

like

I

shared

earlier,

but

he

ended

with

abundant

wealth.

God's

promises,

when

you

honor

him,

he

will

bless

you.

There's

a

word

in

there.

The

storehouse.

Bring

your

tithe

to

the

storehouse.

And

I'm

going

to

touch

on

this

quickly.

Where

should

we

bring

our

tithe?

The

storehouse

simply

means

in

the

biblical.

In

that

meaning,

it

says

the

place

where

you

receive

spiritual

nourishment

and

are

equipped

minister

to

others.

Where

you

receive

spiritual

nourishment

and

are

equipped

to

minister

to

others.

And

where

is

that

place

in

the

life

of

your

life?

It

is

your

local

church.

Let

me

simply

put

it

like

this.

You

don't

eat

at

Wendy's

and

pay

Chick

fil

a.

Anyone

do

that?

You

don't

eat

at

Wendy's

and

pay

Chick

fil

a.

You

pay

Wendy's

when

you

eat

at

Wendy's

and

you

give

to

Chick

fil

a

when

you

give

to

Chick

fil

a

when

you

eat

there.

I'll

let

you

think

and

ponder

on

that.

Tithing.

This

is

something

I

shared

years

ago

in

one.

In

one

of

my

teachings

on

this

topic.

And

I

basically,

I'm

repurposing

this

for

right

now

because

many

of

us

were

not

there

years

ago.

Tithing,

the

tithe

is

simply

meaning

tithe

equals

trust.

If

they

can

put

that

up,

tithe

equals

trust.

The

next

one,

the

tiThe

is

a

tenth.

It

is

saying,

God,

I

am

God,

you

are

first.

You're

testing

him

in

this.

It

is

a

holy

portion

that

is

set

apart

for

the

Lord.

And

there

is

an

eternal

value

and

a

weight

to

it

that's

from

God's

side.

From

our

side,

we

are

trusting.

We're

saying

we're

giving

it

in

a

timely

manner.

Every

time

the

Lord

blesses

us,

we

give

it

to

him

in

a

timely

manner.

But

also

every

time

when

we're

in

need,

he

provides

in

a

timely

manner.

That's

my

testimony.

That's

our

family's

testimony.

That's

this

church's

testimony.

The

moment

that

we

shifted

even

in

our

church

finances

to

set

apart

a

tithe

10%

to

missions,

we

have

seen

God

bless

every

other

area

of

the

church's

finances.

Rest,

rest,

rest.

Knowing

that

God

is

in

complete

control

over

everything,

understanding.

I

know

this

is

hard,

naturally

speaking.

But

I

want

to

ask

you

to

Trust

the

Holy

Spirit

to

give

you

a

heavenly

understanding

so

that

you

could

trust

him.

It's

hard

and

it's

painful

at

first

to

try

it,

to

do

it,

to

practice

it.

But

if

you

could

start

practicing

the

spiritual

muscle,

I

promise

you

will

be

in

a

stronger

position

later

on.

To

be

not

just

an

obedient

give

bringer

of

tithe,

but

a

generous

giver

to

the

kingdom

of

God,

supernatural.

Bring

him

the

natural

of

the

10,

and

he

will

do

the

supernatural

with

the

90.

And

it's

also

training.

It's

simply

a

starting

line.

The

best

is

yet

to

come.

I

called

it

the

on

ramp

to

generosity.

And

let

me

just

clarify,

the

tithing

is

just

the

light

lifting.

Guys,

how

many

of

you

can

lift

three

pounds?

I

think

Lily

at

home

tried

to

lift

up

this

five.

If

she

could,

she

couldn't

lift

up

the

eight.

Maddie,

you

want

to

come

up?

Quick,

quick,

quick,

quick.

What?

Can

you

lift?

Yeah,

yeah.

All

right,

let's

go.

Can

you

do

the

10?

Oh,

whose

kid

are

you?

Can

you

do

the

20?

Nah,

that's

okay.

That's

good.

That's

good.

Can

you

do

the

three?

Oh,

that's

easy,

right?

That's

easy.

Thank

you.

What

did

you.

What

did

you

end

up

with?

10.

Good

job.

10.

That's

a

good

number.

Isn't

10

a

good

number?

Thank

you,

Maddie.

Start

with

the

10.

Start

with

your

10.

Let

me

also

say,

if

you

can

go

back

to

the

previous

tithing

is

bringing

back

to

God

what

belongs

to

him.

And

generosity

is

giving

to

God

or

wherever

you

want

to

give

what

belongs

to

you.

Let

me

just

clarify

something.

When

you

touch

the

tithe

and

want

to

delegate

it

out

to

something

else,

that's

not

tithing

and

that's

not

giving.

You're

touching

what's

holy

to

the

Lord

that

is

set

apart

for

the

temple

of

God.

That

is

obedience.

If

you

want

to

give

to

anything

else,

I'm

not

putting

any

name

on

it.

If

you

want

to

give

to

anything

else,

that

is

the

offering.

When

you

and

I

come

into

the

house

of

the

Lord,

our

hands

cannot

be

empty.

Based

on

the

scriptures,

we

either

have

our

tithe,

our

offering,

but

you

cannot

replace

your

tithe

with

an

offering.

An

offering

is

above

and

beyond

what

we

have

to

bring

back

to

God.

Here

you

go.

Thanks.

I

just

gave

Danny

my

phone.

Danny,

can

I

have

it

back?

Thanks.

Appreciate

it.

Whose

was

that?

This

is.

This

is

my

phone.

He

gave

me

back

my

phone.

Let

me

get

your

phone.

Thanks.

Now

he

gave

me

what

is

his.

This

is

a

gift

to

me.

This

is,

he

says,

giving

back

what

belongs

to

me.

This

is

his

gift

to

thank

you.

Danny,

don't

think

because

you're

giving

back

to

God

what

already

belongs

to

him,

that

you

gave

something,

you

just

brought

something

that

already

belongs

back

to

Him.

When

you

give

of

what

is

left

in

your

hand,

that

is

your

offering.

I'm

teaching

here

today.

Our

tithe

is

not

our

offering,

and

our

offering

is

not

our

tithe.

Our

tithe

is

our

tithe

and

our

offering

is

our

offering.

You

don't

see

our

church

do

a

lot

of

offerings,

special

offerings,

because

we've

tried

to

make

a

shift.

But

there

are

times

when

we

say

we're

going

to

receive

a

love

offering.

Anyone

hear

us

say

a

love

offering

and

we're

going

to

bless

the

servant

of

God

or

there

is

a

special

need

for

a

missions

thing,

even

that

we've

cut

it

down

a

little

bit

because

we

want

to

start

encouraging

and

challenging

and

teaching

our

church

to

practice

tithing.

If

we

tithe,

there

will

be

more

than

enough

in

your

house,

and

there

will

be

more

than

enough

in

this

house.

Giving

to

the

poor

is

great.

You're

storing

up

treasures

of

heaven.

And

based

on

Luke

chapter

12,

please

give

to

the

poor.

Please

give

to

missions.

Please.

There's

offerings

and

then

there's

alms.

Alms

or

charity.

In

Luke

chapter

12,

there

is

all

that.

But

that

is

the

heavy

lift

that

we

have

to

do

after

this

has

been

set

apart.

When

we

want

to

do

all

that,

that

is

us

doing

the

heavy

lifting.

Like,

oh,

my

gosh,

this

is

hard,

but

it's

sacrificial.

But

I'm

gonna

do

it

anyway.

Even

though

it's

painful,

I'm

gonna

do

it

because

I've

trusted

God

with

this.

Now

I

can

give

out

of

this,

I

could

save

out

of

this,

I

could

invest

out

of

this.

I

could

prepare

for

the

future

out

of

this,

I

will

spend

out

of

this

as

well.

Let

me

tell

you

something.

God

is

not

asking

for

everything.

I'm

glad

he

only

asked

for

10.

It's

hard

to

survive

on

a

hundred

right

now.

Oh,

it's

hard

to

survive

on

a

hundred,

isn't

it?

How

am

I

going

to

survive

on

90?

But

I

promise

you,

if

you

do

it

his

way,

God

will

take

care

of

everything.

Generosity,

tithing

is

what

I

call

lightweight

lifting.

Generosity

is

heavy

weight

lifting.

And

that's

where

we

have

to

focus.

Before

we

get

to

the

heavy

stuff,

we

got

to

get

our

form

right

with

the

light

stuff.

Focus

on

the

form

is

this

part.

I'm

not

gonna.

I'm

not

teaching

you

on

this.

This.

When

the

Lord

enables

you,

empowers

you,

and

leads

you

do

it.

But

I

can

tell

you

to

get

your

form

like

that.

Brother

told

me,

hey,

your

form

is

off

at

the

gym.

Like,

no

wonder

it's

not

working.

No

wonder.

Our

life

is

going

through

some

struggles,

not

just

in

finances.

Don't

make

this

just

about

finances.

There

are

other

areas

of

our

life.

When

we

get

this

area

right,

he'll

bless

you

in

every

other

area

of

your

life.

Get

your

form

right.

Get

your

form

right.

Church

with

love

and

with

hope

and

with

trust.

I'm

telling

you,

I'm

telling

generation,

I'm

telling

my

kids

generation,

I'm

telling

even

we

tell

our

kids,

all

three

girls,

whenever

you

get

something,

make

sure,

what

are

you

doing

now?

They're

coming

to

us.

When

they

get

something

like

dada,

make

sure

you

give

me

the

tithe.

Whatever

I'm

supposed

to

give,

I'm

like,

okay.

Thank

God.

Teach

them

young.

Practice

it

consistently.

Build

your

spiritual

and

your

giving

and

your

financial

muscles.

Now.

Do

it

now

so

that

later

on

it's

gonna

get

harder

when

the

numbers

get

bigger.

Let

me

tell

you,

if

you're

not

tithing

at

$100,

you're

not

gonna

start

tithing

at

a

thousand.

Because

it's

hard

to

give

up

the

hundred

versus

it

is

to

give

up

the

ten.

So

I'm

telling

the

church

right

now,

trust

him

with

the

tithe.

Trust

him

with

your

giving.

Trust

him

in

this

area.

Because

if

you

want

to

see

a

breakthrough

and

overflow