Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002824
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00:09 It's been 2,000 years since the glorious light of the cross
00:12 illuminated a world veiled in darkness and confusion 00:15 about the character of God, 00:17 and still today, the greatest need of mankind 00:20 is a revelation of God's love 00:21 as revealed in the life of Christ, 00:23 Amazing Facts presents "The Everlasting Gospel" 00:26 with Pastor Doug Batchelor coming to you each week 00:30 from Sacramento Central Church in sunny California! 00:33 Discover hidden treasures in God's Word today. 00:38 Have you been hearing something about the unusual weather 00:44 that we've been having across the country? 00:48 They don't call it a 100-year flood... 00:52 A couple of years ago, here in Sacramento, 00:54 we had what they called a 100-year flood. 00:56 And they are telling us now, in Iowa, they've had a 00:59 500-year flood and I don't know who they are interviewing 01:04 from 500 years ago, to know what it was like, 01:08 but that's the number that they've picked. 01:10 Maybe they're looking at the marks on the riverbank 01:13 to see when they think the last major flood was 01:16 of this magnitude in Iowa. 01:22 They say that because of the cold fronts, 01:25 and the lining up of the low pressure systems, 01:28 it has created an unusual environment, 01:31 not only are they having record rains, 01:34 this year they are having a record number of tornadoes. 01:37 A few years ago, someone coined the term, " the perfect storm," 01:43 the arranging of those ingredients. 01:47 Well today, we're talking about an "economic storm," 01:51 and more specifically... how do we survive 01:55 an economic crisis? 01:58 I think most of us have seen some of the statistics 02:01 that are lining up. 02:03 If you haven't seen them, you've probably been 02:06 to the pump recently and I paid over $63.00 yesterday 02:12 to fill up my car and just - what like - 15 gallons! 02:21 Pretty frightening! 02:23 I actually drove by one pump, they had a better price, 02:26 but the cars were lined up. 02:27 Would have had to wait an hour to fill it up! 02:30 Someone else told me this week... 02:33 fights breaking out at the gas pump because of the lines. 02:38 People waiting for gas. 02:41 Well you know, we're heading according to what a number of 02:44 economists are saying... 02:47 Newsweek Magazine this last week - "Recession" was the title 02:52 Some of you probably saw that... 02:55 And a number of economists, even the ones who are 02:58 generally ALWAYS optimistic, have some sobering, at least, 03:02 short-term outlook. 03:04 Not only the skyrocketing oil prices, 03:07 that then, of course, affect the food prices, 03:11 and all of the commodities; record home foreclosures. 03:15 We are living right now with record credit card debt. 03:19 I'll talk more about that in a little bit. 03:22 Rising unemployment; increased overseas competition 03:26 for products. 03:28 We're in the midst of an expensive war. 03:30 Of course, I've never heard of a cheap war. 03:34 And this all points towards inflation, 03:36 and the volatility and stagnation in the stock market; 03:40 the ups and downs. 03:43 Some people are worried about the economic future. 03:47 So I thought - Well you know, the Bible has got a lot 03:49 to say about economy. 03:50 As-a-matter-of-fact, I understand that 50% 03:53 or more of all of the parables that Jesus told, 03:56 had to do with economics and stewardship. 04:00 So the Bible has a lot to say about this subject, 04:03 and there are a number of stories in the Bible 04:05 that we could look at to give us some clues 04:08 on how we can successfully survive an economic 04:12 or financial crisis. 04:14 Now I personally believe we are heading towards 04:17 a financial crisis and I think you need to be 04:22 intelligent about what to do. 04:23 There are some Bible clues on what you can do to know 04:26 that you'll be sustained during those times. 04:29 I don't know if you want to takes notes, 04:30 but I'm going to give you some 04:33 key texts that I think will help you. 04:35 Maybe I'll even post this at the church website. 04:37 Have any of you been to the 04:38 church website since it has been upgraded? 04:41 Is that beautiful? 04:42 I want to thank Eric and Debbie for all the work they've done. 04:45 All right, here's tip #1... 04:48 How you can survive the perfect economic storm, so-to-speak. 04:54 Remember the poor. 04:56 Now you might be thinking... 04:58 Pastor Doug, how is that going to help my finances, 05:01 to remember the poor? 05:03 Well you know, it's amazing, some people think 05:05 when hard times are coming, what you're supposed to do is 05:08 stop giving... that's backwards thinking. 05:12 Let me give you some verses, if you believe the Bible. 05:14 Do you believe the Bible? Audience: Yes 05:16 "Blessed is he who considers the poor; 05:19 the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. " 05:24 And it's understood from the context here, 05:26 that if you take care of the poor during their time 05:29 of trouble... what's their problem? They're poor! 05:31 ...that God will watch over you in your time of trouble. 05:35 So one of the keys to remember is to REMEMBER that even though 05:40 you might be going through hard times, 05:41 don't stop giving! 05:43 I'm going to give you some stories in a little bit 05:45 that will bear that out. 05:46 Next verse... Proverbs 19:17 05:51 "He who has pity on the poor, lends to the Lord, 05:56 and He... the Lord... will pay back what He has given. " 06:02 So when you consider those who are less fortunate that you, 06:04 even during times of economic trial, you're giving to the Lord 06:09 and He will take care of you! 06:12 Sometimes that requires a test of faith, 06:14 and God will bless you for remembering that. 06:16 And then, of course, these are the teachings of Jesus... 06:19 1 John 3:17... "But whoever had this world's 06:23 goods... It doesn't say how much but if you've got SOME 06:26 of this world's goods, and you see his brother is in need, 06:30 and you shut up your heart from him, 06:32 how does the love of God abide in him?" 06:35 We need to learn not to tighten our fist and become miserly 06:41 when we see that economic times are coming, 06:43 that is exactly what the devil would want you to do... 06:45 that is the OPPOSITE to the key of success. 06:48 The key of success is DO NOT STOP GIVING! 06:53 THAT opens the way for God to give to YOU during those times. 06:58 Then of course, there's the practical 07:00 admonition in the Bible. 07:02 Some people have economic crisis because of 07:04 lack of industriousness in diligence. 07:08 Plan CAREFULLY and be industrious, work hard! 07:13 Proverbs 13:4... "The soul of a lazy man 07:17 desires and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent 07:20 will be made rich. " 07:21 That's not governed during just economic times. 07:24 You know, there are some people, you look at the history 07:27 of ups and downs of economy and there are some people 07:30 who make their wealth during times of economic crisis; 07:34 that's when they make their wealth. 07:36 God blesses them during those times. 07:39 During our Scripture reading, we talked about a time 07:42 of great economic trial in Egypt when there was a famine. 07:48 So you know, during that time of economic trial in Egypt, 07:51 the Pharaoh became fabulously wealthy during that time 07:54 because of Joseph's industry. 07:57 Isn't that right... you know the story, 07:58 and so, some people, they prosper even during the 08:03 hard times if they're industrious, 08:05 and with God's blessing. 08:07 Proverbs 12:11... He who tills his land 08:10 will be satisfied with bread, 08:12 but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding" 08:16 ...so keep working during those times! 08:19 And you know what else is a principle... 08:22 During times of economy, certain economic trial, 08:27 certain basics become more valuable. 08:30 Now people are actually having to put padlocks 08:33 on their trucks and their tanks. 08:37 Farmers around Sacramento have diesel tanks that they use for 08:40 running their water pumps for irrigating their crops. 08:42 They used to just leave them 08:43 unlocked and are going to lock them now 08:45 because people are stealing their diesel. 08:46 It sells for $6.00 a gallon; diesel is more than gas! 08:51 And they're going to turn on their water pumps 08:54 and someone is stealing it from them. 08:57 I don't know what that has to do with being industrious, 08:59 I just thought I'd share that with you. 09:01 2 Thessalonians 3:10... "For even when we were 09:05 with you, we commanded you this; that if anyone will not work, 09:09 neither shall he eat. " 09:10 You notice it doesn't say, "those who cannot work" 09:13 Some cannot work; it's talking about those who 09:15 can that won't; those who will not work. 09:19 John 6:27... "Do not labor for the food 09:21 that perishes, but for the food that endures to everlasting life 09:25 that the Son of Man will give you. " 09:27 So part of that industry that gets you through the 09:29 hard economic times is not just working for your 09:32 temporal food, but keep working for your spiritual food; 09:35 meaning studying the Word of God. 09:37 Genesis 32:10, Jacob says, "I am not worthy of the least 09:41 of all your mercies and all the truth that you have shown 09:45 your servant; I crossed over this Jordan with 09:47 my staff and now I have become 2 companies. " 09:50 When Jacob left home, how much did he have? 09:54 Staff in his hand - he had a stick; 09:57 rock for a pillow, remember? 09:59 Was Jacob industrious during that 21 years; 10:03 I guess it was even more than that, 10:05 that he was in Laban's household? 10:07 He worked - he worked hard! 10:08 He recited how hard he worked and his sleepless nights, 10:11 and taking care of the flocks and watching over them, 10:14 and watering them. 10:15 And when he came back home, was he now a wealthy man? 10:19 Was he a wealthy man because he inherited it from Isaac, 10:22 or because of his industry? 10:25 God blessed him; he was faithful and he worked hard! 10:29 And he got to where he had 2 companies. 10:32 He had 2 complete families and the servants and all the cattle. 10:36 And you notice, he gave a tithe of everything; 10:38 and he came back to his brother and he still had an abundance. 10:41 All right, now another important thing to remember, 10:44 how to survive an economic crisis - 10:47 Keep divine priorities; don't let the world dictate 10:52 what your priorities are. 10:55 Here's a story I'd like to direct you to about another 10:58 economic crisis. 11:00 1 Kings 17- you read about a famine that lasted 3-1/2 years 11:04 during the time of Elijah. 11:07 The people were famishing as they do during famine; 11:11 starving; the animals were dying; 11:15 the ground was dusty; it was barren; 11:18 the skies were dry and people were dying from hunger; 11:23 starving to death. 11:25 During this time, God miraculously fed 11:28 His servant, Elijah. 11:30 First, He fed him miraculously by ravens bringing 11:35 him food twice a day. 11:37 He showed him a brook that continued to flow. 11:40 But the famine was so severe, even that brook dried up, 11:42 and God directed him to go and to stay with a widow 11:46 who lived up north of Israel in Serafat, 11:50 and when he went there, he had a very unusual request. 11:56 As she is there coming out of the city to gather a few sticks, 12:02 he asks her to go and get him a drink of water. 12:05 Well, they still had a little water in the well, 12:06 so that was a very common request for a stranger, 12:10 and you should NEVER turn down 12:12 someone who asks for a drink of water. 12:13 But even during a famine, water is pretty scarce. 12:17 And as she is going to get the water, he says... 12:19 And when you come back, bring me a cake of bread 12:22 in your hand. 12:23 Oop... that's too much! 12:24 Everybody's starving, she thinks and can tell from his 12:27 attire he's one of the prophets of Israel. 12:29 They dressed in this uniform of camel fabric with a leather belt 12:37 and she recognized he was an Israelite, a man of God; 12:41 and you know, sometimes people give to the Buddhist monks 12:45 ...the "sons of the prophets" that they had in Israel, 12:47 they would often give offerings to them. 12:49 And she says, "I can give you a drink of water, 12:50 but we're starving, I can't give you anything to eat. " 12:52 And listen to what Elijah says to this woman... 12:55 Well first, she says and this is 1 Kings 17:12... 13:01 She says, "As the Lord your God lives... 13:04 You notice - she says, the Lord YOUR God. 13:06 "I do not have bread... We haven't baked any bread, 13:10 there's nothing stored... All I have is a handful 13:13 of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar, and see... 13:18 You know, right now, I'm out gathering a couple of sticks 13:22 that I might go and prepare it for myself and my son 13:25 that we might eat it and die. " 13:28 Now what do you think? 13:29 Was this a time of a financial crisis? 13:34 They're getting ready for their last meal; 13:36 they got one handful of flour left, 13:38 just a little bit of oil to mix with that. 13:41 She's going to get... she doesn't say a bundle 13:43 of wood, just a couple of sticks. 13:45 When I used to cook on an open campfire, 13:48 when you're just building a fire enough to cook, 13:52 a couple of long sticks, you break them up in pieces, 13:54 and you can bake a loaf of bread right there. 13:57 So I know exactly what she is talking about. 14:01 Listen to what the AUDACITY of Elijah - listen to what he says. 14:04 She says, I'm going to eat DIE... 14:07 You want my last piece of bread? 14:09 And Elijah says to her, "Do not fear, go do as you have said, 14:14 get your sticks, bake your bread but make me a small cake 14:18 from it FIRST" Who does he think he is? 14:23 I mean, it would be one thing if he said, 14:25 "Break off a crumb and share, or you eat and maybe 14:29 there will be some left - I'll work a miracle. " 14:31 But before there's even a miracle, he says, 14:34 "Make the first cake for me. " 14:37 Talk about a TEST! 14:40 Does that make any economic sense at all? 14:44 What was the economic secret here to her survival? 14:47 PRIORITIES - put God first. 14:52 Some people think... Well, you know, during 14:53 hard times, I like to help the church 14:55 and all, but during hard times... 14:56 Why do you even go to church? 14:57 If God isn't first, why are you going? 15:00 God has to be first, and that's the smartest 15:04 thing in the world to do because you need a miracle anyway! 15:06 I mean, after all, if you're making your last loaf of bread, 15:08 and you're going to die, what have you got to lose? 15:11 Give it to the prophet and see what happens! 15:14 He gives it to her with a promise... 15:17 He says, "Bring it to me first," and then he promises her 15:20 that the barrel of meal will not fail, nor the jar of oil 15:25 till God sends rain on the earth. " 15:27 Trust the Lord - put Him first, 15:29 and see if He doesn't provide for you. 15:32 So she does that, and that's not easy. 15:35 By the way, I think there's some interesting 15:38 parallels in this story. 15:39 What does a woman represent? A church. 15:43 Who do you think Elijah represents here? Jesus 15:47 Elijah - His name means, "My God is Jehovah" 15:51 And what does oil represent? Holy Spirit 15:56 What does bread represent? The Word of God 16:01 Do you remember another time in the Bible where the 16:03 disciples brought bread to Jesus, 16:06 and that bread was not unleavened bread, 16:08 it was probably made with oil; 16:09 and He blessed it, gave it back to them, 16:11 and when they handed it to Jesus, it turned into more. 16:15 Does that still happen? 16:17 Now bread represents sustenance. 16:22 Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word... 16:25 And, as we put God first in giving Him... 16:28 I mean, if you're starving to death, can you eat money? 16:31 What do you buy with your money if you're 16:33 starving to death? Bread 16:36 So what we're talking about is really the essence of life. 16:39 Why is money even valuable? 16:42 Because you can buy bread with it - you can't eat it. 16:44 They've got a new commercial on T.V. "Quiznos" 16:47 It shows somebody gobbling down a $5 bill... 16:51 They said - "You can get a sandwich for $5, 16:53 wouldn't that taste much better?" 16:55 By the way some people hoard their money, 16:57 you would think they were eating it. 17:00 Priorities - Jesus says, Matthew 6:33, 17:05 "See ye FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 17:09 and all these other things will be added to you. " 17:13 Now, did she listen to Elijah? She did 17:17 It might have been a tough test. 17:18 She represents the church. 17:20 If we put God first with our substance, 17:23 He then multiplies it and we get bread and oil; 17:27 we get the Word of God; 17:28 we get the Spirit back from Him. 17:30 Not only that, her son dies and Elijah resurrects her son. 17:35 This is all the gospels wrapped up in that one story 17:38 of when Elijah stayed with that widow. 17:41 But it happened during a time of an economic crisis, 17:44 and she was sustained all through that time 17:46 until rain came upon the earth. 17:48 Why? Because of the priority of putting God first. 17:52 He said, "Bring the cake to me first. " 17:56 How often I've heard people say... 17:58 When times get tough and they're out of work, 17:59 their wages are cut, their sales are down, 18:02 or inventory is bad or whatever the problem is, 18:05 they say, "You know, Pastor Doug, 18:06 I can't really pay my tithe or do any offerings right now 18:10 because you know, when things pick up, 18:11 and God prospers again... " 18:13 Well no wonder you're having problems! 18:15 God is not your priority! 18:18 You put God first, don't seek Jesus second. 18:23 If you seek Him at all, seek Him First, 18:24 you'll be miserable if you seek Him second. 18:27 Acts 20:35... "And remember the words 18:31 of the Lord Jesus, He said, 18:33 It is more blessed to give than receive. " 18:35 This is an interesting verse. You know why? 18:38 It's in red letter - if you've got a red letter edition; 18:41 it's quoting where Jesus says "It's more blessed 18:44 to give than receive. " 18:45 Who wants to tell me where in the Bible 18:47 Jesus says it's more blessed to give than receive? 18:53 Right here - Acts 20, it's not in the Gospels. 18:57 These are words of Christ that are not in the Gospel 18:59 but Paul got them from Matthew, Mark or Luke or somebody. 19:03 And Jesus must have said this, but you won't find it 19:05 in the Gospel, isn't that interesting? 19:06 But Jesus did say that - 19:08 It's more blessed to give than receive. 19:10 Of course He teaches that principle in all His parables. 19:13 Another key to surviving an economic crisis is 19:17 avoid the slavery of debt! 19:21 Some people even in the best of times, 19:23 have their own economic crisis because 19:25 they're in credit to the limit. 19:27 And I've got to be very gracious as I talk about this... 19:30 There are 2 of you I'd like to speak to today 19:32 specifically about debt. 19:35 Some of you are in debt because of some unforeseen calamity, 19:39 business failure, unexpected expense; 19:43 maybe there was a death that left great expenses, 19:46 it could have been a divorce, 19:47 something that you really couldn't control. 19:49 And my heart goes out to you, it's very difficult. 19:52 Some people, because of circumstances, 19:54 they did NOT have control of, 19:56 they have had to borrow money, 19:58 their credit card limit is high and there are some very 20:03 good Christian ministries I recommend that have 20:06 priorities and principles on how you can get out of debt 20:09 following these Biblical principles. 20:11 One I'm happy to recommend is "Crown Financial Concepts" 20:15 "Crown Ministries" 20:16 And if you go to their website, I'm not going to try and 20:18 reproduce or plagiarize what they already have; 20:20 they do as good a job as I could ever do 20:23 in giving you biblical principles on what you can do, 20:26 the steps you can take to be 20:27 liberated from the slavery of debt. 20:30 Then there's the other group! 20:32 Those of us who are in debt because we thought 20:35 we had to have everything and we wanted it right now, 20:38 and so we thought - I'll own it now, pay for it over time, 20:42 and that's a bad practice! 20:48 For one thing, our idea of the necessities in America 20:55 is really not a realistic idea of necessities. 20:59 Some people are in debt because they had to buy a new car. 21:02 A car is not a necessity. 21:05 We think it's a necessity, but you go to a lot of the world 21:09 you'll find out that most people don't have cars. 21:13 In our lifestyle in America, we're just like... 21:14 Aw, you didn't have a car? 21:16 Most people have MULTIPLE cars! 21:19 Or they go into debt because 21:21 "we want to own a home" that's good. 21:22 And you know, if there's an area where you would want 21:25 to carefully take on some debt... 21:29 you want to do it very carefully. 21:30 Sometimes with the price of homes in California, 21:33 the only way you're ever going to get a home 21:35 is you need to take out a loan and I can understand that, 21:38 but some people buy a whole lot more home 21:40 than they can afford and they plan on 21:42 paying for it for 50 years. 21:44 The devil has stolen a fortune from the coffers 21:50 of God's Kingdom by enslaving God's people with paying 21:55 unnecessary debt. 21:57 You know how much money could be in the 21:59 Kingdom of God spreading the message of God around the world 22:03 if God's people didn't feel like 22:05 we've got to have everything right now; 22:07 all these creature comforts and all these possessions 22:09 and... Oh Pastor Doug, come on, let's face it 22:11 ...Flat screen TVs, it's a necessity! 22:15 Or high definition, I mean, you know, 22:17 if you don't have high definition, 22:18 if you're in the stone age, it's a necessity. 22:20 And you gotta have a DVD, who has VCR anymore? 22:24 I still have one. I still have 8-track... No 22:29 I don't.. I still have a record player that plays records. Yeah 22:35 You know my mom has a whole collection of records. 22:37 The only way I could ever play the records 22:38 and things she wrote is gotta keep the record player working. 22:42 But we all feel like gotta have everything... 22:45 By the way, when we're going through a recession in 22:49 North America, in many countries of the world, 22:53 what you think is recession-living is royal-living 22:57 in most of the world... you listening? 23:01 When people talk about what recession-living is, 23:04 for most of North America, that would be considered 23:07 royal-living in much of the world. 23:10 Do you believe me? I've been there - trust me. 23:15 Americans driving around in our cars with cruise control 23:20 and air-conditioning complaining about the price of gas 23:23 and how little disposable income we have. 23:26 2 Kings 4... Another time of economic crisis. 23:31 "A certain woman of the sons wives of the prophet 23:34 cried out to Elisha saying, "Your servant, 23:37 one of the sons of the prophets.. 23:38 my husband is dead," and he didn't have any life insurance, 23:43 and he was in debt before he died and it would have been fine 23:46 if he was alive, he could have worked us out of debt. 23:48 Be careful men about taking on too much debt 23:52 because YOU might have the confidence, 23:54 you can work your way out of it over time, 23:55 what if something happens to you? 23:59 You can end up leaving your spouse with a lot of debt. 24:02 "He's dead and you know your servant, my husband, 24:07 feared the Lord and the creditor is coming 24:09 to take away my 2 sons to be his slaves. " 24:15 We ought to be avoiding debt. 24:17 Proverbs 22:7... "The rich rules over the poor, 24:22 and the borrower is servant to the lender. " 24:25 Romans 13:8... "Owe no one anything except to love 24:30 one another for he who loves another, has fulfilled the law" 24:34 As far as possible, now there may be things, like I said, 24:36 buying a house or maybe it is necessary for your job 24:39 to have a car, you might need to incur some debt, 24:43 avoid it like the plague! 24:45 In other words, if you have to go into a bank 24:49 and take out a loan, pretend you're going into a leper colony 24:55 You want to pay it off as quickly as you can. 24:59 Do not be buying other niceties for yourself while you have debt 25:04 Make your priority to get out from under that debt 25:07 because debt is a burden. 25:09 So what did this woman do who was in debt? 25:11 She needed a miracle! 25:13 Praise God for His miracles! 25:16 Some of us have gotten ourselves into debt and we just 25:19 don't see how we're EVER going to get out. 25:21 You make God your priority, you seek first His Kingdom 25:23 and He can work miracles for you. 25:25 For one thing, she started with what she HAD. 25:30 She said, "What am I going to do?" 25:31 And he said, "What do you have?" 25:32 "What do you have in the house?" 25:33 All I got is a little cruet of oil. 25:35 All right, take what you have. 25:38 You invest very carefully what you have. 25:40 You go in through the community and you get all these 25:42 empty vessels and you bring those empty vessels 25:44 in and you begin to pour out what you have, 25:46 and keep filling all those and God worked a miracle 25:49 ...By the way, that's also an illustration 25:51 for what a Christian should do. 25:52 We should open our homes, 25:54 bring all these empty vessels into our home; 25:56 pray for the Holy Spirit, that's the oil, 25:58 pour it into them and as she did that, 26:00 she then sold the oil. 26:01 She had enough to pay her debt with extra left over! 26:05 So you notice what happened, she had a crisis; 26:08 she was in slavery, they were going to take her sons; 26:11 she brought the problem to Elisha. 26:13 He's like us bringing our problem to Jesus. 26:16 As-a-matter-of-fact, Elisha's name is very much 26:18 like the name of Jesus. 26:20 Jesus' name is Ya Shua - God is Savior, 26:24 Yahweh is Savior. 26:25 His name was Elohim Shua. 26:28 Elishua - God is Savior, same name. 26:31 Bring your problem to Jesus. 26:34 Repent of anything you've been doing that gets you in debt 26:38 and stop those buying practices 26:40 if it means baking your credit card in the microwave 26:47 or whatever you've got to do, get rid of your credit cards 26:51 if you're tempted to buy things you don't need. 26:53 It just ends up digging the hole deeper. 26:56 And God got her out of that. 26:59 Another thing to remember tonight, 27:00 we started with this illustration of the famine 27:04 in Egypt; Genesis 41, we know, of course, there was an 27:10 economic disaster during that time of Joseph. 27:12 Joseph and his family prospered during that time 27:16 because he planned ahead. 27:18 It's the Methodist principle of economics. 27:22 John Wesley - give all you can; 27:26 make God your priority, save all you can; 27:33 earn all you can. 27:34 So being industrious, earn all you can. 27:37 Make good use of your time, invest well. 27:40 Don't speculate with a market that's going to go up and down 27:42 or you'll learn what it means to lose all you can. 27:46 There are things you can do that are a little safer 27:48 than playing the market or Lotto, 27:51 hopefully, nobody is doing that... 27:53 or Reno or Thunder Valley... 27:55 I pray nobody is going over there. 27:58 It's amazing how suddenly we legalize gambling in California. 28:03 Give all you can... if you're God, just think about this 28:09 for a second, and you want to bless people, 28:13 and the way that you, as God, bless people is you give 28:18 through people. 28:19 God wants to use people to reach people. 28:21 He wants to use people to bless people. 28:24 That's how He teaches us children, 28:25 who are normally selfish, to be generous! 28:28 You're going to look down there and say, 28:30 "Who on earth are the ones that I can use 28:33 as a conduit of blessing? 28:35 Who are the people down there that I can give through?" 28:38 And you're going to see the ones who are faithful in sharing 28:42 their 2 mites and you can say, "This person is a giver. " 28:46 It doesn't matter how much... 28:47 "He that is faithful in that which is least, 28:48 is faithful also in much. " 28:50 And you can say, "I'm going to give them more 28:51 because I can trust them that they'll share. " 28:53 You see how God is thinking? 28:55 So if you're a giver, if you're faithful; 28:58 if you're considering the poor and you're sharing, 28:59 God is going to give you more because you are trustworthy 29:02 that He can give through you! 29:04 I mean, if you were God, isn't that what you'd do? 29:07 If you wanted to give to people through people, 29:09 you'd look for the people that were giving, 29:11 and you'd give more to them because you can trust them. Okay 29:15 Earn all you can - we talked about being industrious; 29:18 pray that God will guide you, give you wisdom and opportunity. 29:22 And save - Joseph during this famine, 29:27 during the years of prosperity, they stored. 29:30 I thought it was interesting ... the numbers. 29:31 Genesis 41:54... I'll read 54, 55, I'll probably 29:36 jump down to verse 57. 29:38 And it says, "The 7 years of famine began as Joseph 29:43 had said... oh wait a second, no. 29:45 I want to start with Genesis 41:34... 29:48 Genesis 41:34, please, just a few verses back. 29:54 "Let Pharaoh do this, during the years of prosperity... 29:57 Let him appoint officers over the land to collect one-fifth 30:02 of the produce of the land of Egypt in the 30:06 7 plentiful years. " 30:08 So during the years of plenty, what were they doing? 30:10 Saving! Saving for the economic crisis that might come. 30:16 Saving for this need that was unforeseen. 30:20 Collect one-fifth. What percentage is one-fifth? 30:25 20%... You're checking your math - you're not sure. 30:28 Yeah, don't be afraid. It's 20% 30:31 What is tithe? 10% is your tithe. 30:36 Is tithe the only giving we do with God? 30:40 Tithe... what's beyond tithe? Offerings. 30:43 Now in Israel, typically what they did is 30:46 it was called a second tithe; it was a second 10% 30:48 covered all the different things under the category of offering. 30:51 One was mandatory, in the sense that God says, 30:54 This is Mine, return it, it's My property; 30:56 that I'm asking you to give cheerfully. 30:58 And the priests, when they stipulated what the needs were 31:00 for the poor, for the temple and the different things, 31:02 they called it pretty much a second tithe. 31:04 So what is two-tenths? 20% 31:08 How did they get through their financial crisis? 31:12 They were giving 2 groups of 10% during the time of 31:16 prosperity. 31:17 When the time of crisis came, they were fine. 31:22 I have this theory that those that are faithful in their 31:26 tithes and offerings, God sustains them. 31:28 As-a-matter-of-fact, it's not just a theory. 31:31 Read with me... These are the keys to heaven's treasury. 31:35 Malachi 3- last book in your Old Testament 31:42 Malachi 3:8... you've heard this many times, 31:47 but some maybe have not heard it. 31:49 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! 31:53 But you say, In what way have we robbed You? 31:55 In tithes... that's one-10 and offerings, 31:59 that could be up to the other 10. 32:01 Some people have given a double tithe; 32:03 some more - it depends on every man as he purposes in his heart. 32:07 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, 32:10 Even this whole nation. 32:13 Bring the tithes into the storehouse, 32:15 that there might be food in My house, 32:17 And prove Me now herewith in this, says the Lord, 32:21 If I will not open for you the windows of heaven 32:24 And pour out for you such a blessing 32:25 There will not be room enough to receive it. " 32:28 What are the keys to unlock heaven's storehouse? 32:31 Faithfulness in giving! 32:34 STORE - during that time, you're storing 32:36 treasure in heaven and He is going to open the heavens. 32:39 And He will pay again; it's like God said there 32:41 in Proverbs: "And I'll rebuke the devourer for your sake 32:45 so that it will not destroy... " Your car will get 32:48 better gas mileage - that's the modern version. 32:52 "So it will not destroy the fruit of your ground, 32:55 Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in 32:58 the field, says the Lord. 32:59 And all nations will call you blessed for you will be 33:02 a delightful land, says the Lord of Hosts. " 33:05 All right, so this principle of faithfulness, 33:08 especially during the times of prosperity, 33:10 in tithes and offerings, God promises to open the 33:13 windows of heaven and bless us. 33:14 You notice He says, You are cursed with a curse 33:16 if you don't and I'll bless you beyond what your 33:19 capacity is if you do. 33:21 Now, something I've discovered personally 33:23 and through observation... 33:25 There are varying degrees of blessing and cursing. 33:29 God doesn't have a big switch in the sky where He looks down 33:32 at you and says, Ye forgot the... 33:35 He only gave 90% of his tithe. Cursing is on now for him. 33:39 Or, you know, he's paying his tithe and he's paying 33:44 his offering but not as much as he could; 33:46 100% blessing, 100% cursing! That's not how God works. 33:48 It's not a switch light off and on. 33:51 It's a graduated scale. 33:54 Some of you are blessed; you are paying faithful 33:58 tithe and offering - pretty faithful, sort of faithful. 34:03 But you could be a whole lot more blessed 34:06 if you were 100% faithful. 34:09 Some of you are a little cursed; 34:12 you're not, you know, it's not famine. 34:14 You're not going out to gather your last 2 sticks 34:16 to make your last loaf of bread. 34:18 But BOY, seems like everything is going wrong and you just 34:21 can't keep ahead and maybe you're under a partial curse 34:25 because you're only being partial in your giving. 34:29 I don't know where you are on that scale, 34:31 but everybody here is probably somewhere along that scale. 34:34 But I've observed and I'm certain enough to share 34:36 this with you - it's not just blessing or cursing, 34:39 it's anywhere in-between; 100% blessed and 100% cursed. 34:43 Based on what your scale of faithfulness is. 34:47 REAL unfaithful, real curse. 34:49 REAL faithful, real blessed. 34:52 Praise the Lord, I was hoping it wasn't total silence! 34:58 I believe it's true. Did God bless Joseph? 35:02 Yeah, and he was faithful in what he did. 35:06 Why did Jesus talk to His disciples about their giving? 35:09 Because He was concerned with their blessing. 35:13 He wanted them to be blessed. 35:15 Also, the whole Gospel revolves around giving. 35:19 God so loved the world that He gave... 35:23 Love gives. 35:26 And the other thing is, we're naturally stingy. 35:30 The opposite of love is what? Selfishness. 35:35 The opposite of LOVE... Love is GIVING 35:38 Selfishness is the opposite of that. 35:40 Yeah I know, we think the opposite of love is hate, 35:42 but, you know, I read an amazing fact.. 35:49 Her name was "Stingy Hetty Howland Green" 35:54 They wrote a book about her called her a mad genius. 35:59 She lived from 1834-1916. Her father was an investor 36:03 on Wall Street and she was watching 36:05 the ways he was investing even as a little girl. 36:07 And she just managed to wrap her head around 36:10 careful investing and she became FABULOUSLY successful 36:14 in investing. 36:16 They called her "The Witch of Wall Street" 36:19 because she was the most miserly person alive. 36:24 Paul Harvey did a story about Hetty Green one time. 36:28 He talked about this woman going up and down the streets 36:30 pushing a wagon with her son, who had broken his leg, 36:33 and it had become infected. 36:34 She went from one hospital to the next 36:37 trying to find a place where she could get free care 36:40 for her son whose leg was becoming gangrenous. 36:43 The reason that his leg was gangrenous, 36:49 was because she didn't want to take him to a hospital 36:51 because she didn't want to pay the money, 36:52 that she'd have to pay a doctor to fix his leg properly, 36:55 so she tried to do it at home; 36:56 she didn't know what she was doing; 36:57 it got infected, then for days, she went trying to find a 37:01 hospital, finally got a hospital that gave him free care, 37:03 and they said it's too late, they amputated her son's leg. 37:06 In the meantime, she had the equivalent in today's standards 37:09 of 17 billion dollars in the bank. 37:12 SO CHEAP! She spent all night looking 37:17 for a 2 cents stamp that she had misplaced. 37:21 I mean, the stories I could tell you about 37:22 Hetty Green and how miserly; went around her house 37:25 with clothing in the wintertime bundled all over 37:27 because she didn't want to put any coal in her stove. 37:29 So everybody was always shivering in her house. 37:32 Wouldn't throw anything away, just CHEAP, cheap, cheap... 37:37 Sounds like a chicken cheap, cheap, cheap! 37:42 But you know, we all got a little bit of 37:44 Hetty in us, don't we? They used to call it "Scotch. " 37:50 Oh I'm just "frugal. " 37:54 Mark 8:36, "What will it profit a man if he gains 37:57 the whole world and loses his soul?" 38:01 Would you like to be a billionaire the day you die? 38:07 If you knew you could sell your soul and be a billionaire 38:10 the day you die, would it be worth it? 38:13 What about a week before you die? 38:16 When you think about it, if you knew that 38:18 you were going to trade eternal life 38:19 in order to be a billionaire, and when you get your 38:22 billion dollar check, you know that every day 38:23 you're marching towards oblivion 38:25 and eternal destruction, would you enjoy it? 38:29 Well, how could you enjoy selling your soul 38:31 for all the pleasures of this world. 38:33 You wouldn't enjoy those pleasures. 38:35 What profit is it? 38:38 Jesus then tells the parable, Luke 12:16, 38:41 I'm going to read that one to you, the whole thing. 38:47 Luke 12:16, "The ground of a certain rich man yielded 38:51 plentifully, and he thought within himself saying, 38:54 "What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?" 38:58 "So he said, "I'll do this; I'll pull down my barns, 39:02 and build even BIGGER barns and there I'll store 39:05 and hoard all my crops any my goods; 39:08 And I'll say to my soul, "Soul, you've got many goods 39:11 laid up for many years," you notice, he thought 39:14 he had many years; you wonder what he would have done 39:17 with his crops if he thought he had 24 hours. 39:21 "You got many crops for many years, take your ease, 39:24 eat, drink, be merry. " "But God said to him, 39:28 You fool... you know the Bible says 39:30 it's the fool that says in their heart, there is no God. 39:32 Some of us would never verbalize that there's no God, 39:36 but in our finances, we say there's no God, 39:39 and we are fools in our finances. 39:43 God said, "You fool, this night your soul will be 39:45 required of you, then who will those things be 39:48 for which you have provided?" 39:49 You had a chance, God blessed you that you might 39:52 give to others but you hoarded it all, built bigger barns, 39:55 so you could hoard it even longer! 39:56 And that's the attitude of many. 39:58 You know, we hear about the rich and the famous; 40:01 you know, the magazines and the stories about these 40:04 incredible homes and incredible wealth and I was watching the 40:09 Discover channel the other day and they talked about 40:12 this guy who sold some dot-com company for billions of dollars. 40:15 He went from nothing to a billionaire by selling 40:17 his company and the first thing he said is, 40:19 "I'm going to go out and buy the best jet," 40:21 and he bought a Gulfstream... I'm a pilot you know, 40:23 and I've been on a couple of jets. 40:25 My dad sold a couple of jets to millionaires in Saudi Arabia 40:29 and I went on these jets with leopard skin seats 40:32 and I mean - real leopard! 40:35 I know that sounds kind of oowee now yeah, 40:37 that's bad, politically incorrect but it was 40:39 not a problem back then. 40:40 Anyway, and so in my heart I felt that little bit of 40:45 Hetty Green... But man, private Gulfstream Jet, 40:50 wouldn't that be something! Aughh! 40:52 What profit is it if you gain all that and you lose your soul? 40:56 "Whose shall those things be" and then Jesus ends by 41:03 saying in verse 21, I'm still in Luke 12:21 41:07 "So is he who lays up treasure 41:09 for himself and is not rich towards God. " 41:14 Now this is the balance, you know how to work 41:17 and earn all you can; you need to know how to 41:19 give all you can; you need to know how much do you save. 41:22 You should save but you shouldn't hoard. 41:25 We need to keep giving and have that balance and pray God 41:28 to give us that wisdom to know that. 41:32 Mark 12... "He that is faithful in that which is least 41:36 is faithful also in much. " 41:37 If we're faithful in pennies, we'll learn 41:39 to be faithful in dollars. 41:40 Mark 12:41- I want to talk about being faithful in least. 41:44 You know the story... Jesus sat opposite the treasury 41:49 and he saw how the people put money into the treasury, 41:52 "And many who were rich put in much... " 41:56 And you know, when a billionaire 42:00 gives $100, it's not that impressive, is it? 42:04 I remember one time, the smallest church I ever 42:08 preached in was in Key Largo, Florida. 42:14 I was a camp pastor for a cystic fibrosis camp, 42:17 my brother started; my father came down to check out the camp. 42:20 I said, "I'm going to be preaching 42:21 this afternoon, dad, if you want to come by. " 42:23 This was the first time my dad ever heard me preach as a pastor 42:25 So he came... You know every son wants to have their dad 42:28 come and see them preach and I've preached to 42:29 thousands of people! 42:31 First time my dad comes and there's about 8 people 42:32 in the church. 42:36 And, my dad came and then he brought my stepmother. 42:43 My brother came, brought my sister-in-law. 42:46 My cousin, Danny Batchelor, came and then pretty soon, 42:49 I looked around... They were all on their way 42:51 back to Miami - they said let's stop and hear Doug preach, 42:53 this should be entertaining! 42:55 Little-bitty church, I was so nervous. 42:59 I still remember, I preached about Naaman and the leper. 43:01 What profit is it to have all that money if you've got leprosy 43:03 My dad is sitting right there! Multimillionaire 43:07 There were more Batchelors in the church than regular 43:10 members that day. Really! 43:13 So the offering plate goes by and the guy who is the deacon 43:18 is also the Sabbath School Superintendent 43:19 and he's the head elder too, I believe... LITTLE CHURCH! 43:23 And so he takes up the offering and he comes by my father 43:25 and my father pulls out a wad; he always kept a wad of like 43:27 $100 bills - in case, I don't know, he needed to bribe 43:30 some highway patrolman or something, I don't know why. 43:33 So he takes $100 bill and puts it in the plate... 43:36 And this guy... Oh this is the whole church budget for a month! 43:41 But I knew better, I wasn't impressed. 43:43 My dad had a whole wad of them. 43:46 And so you know the Lord, when you're giving, 43:50 He's not looking at the amount you're giving, 43:53 He's looking at the amount of sacrifice. 43:56 Are you giving so that it means self-denial? 44:00 That it means that it's a sacrifice for you? 44:04 This woman comes in and she throws in 2 mites, 44:11 2 little bronze copper coins and He called His disciples 44:15 to Himself and he said to them.. 'You see that woman, 44:19 I say this poor widow... she's a widow no husband, 44:22 has put in more than all of those who have given 44:25 to the treasury, for they have all put in of their abundance, 44:28 but she, out of her poverty, has put in ALL that she had,' 44:33 her whole livelihood, everything in the world she owned was there 44:38 Now, there have been a couple of times where I told myself 44:42 I was really generous because I dug into my wallet, 44:45 and gave everything in my wallet, 44:48 but I know I got more in the bank account. 44:52 When she went by the treasury box, she closed her account. 44:57 She gave everything and you might wonder, 44:59 why did she do that? Was this an offering 45:03 or was it tithe? 45:05 Maybe it was just faithfulness and she said, 45:07 This is my tithe even though it's the last thing 45:09 I have, I want to give it to God. 45:10 Maybe she said, You know I love the Lord and I want to 45:12 do something; I want to worship Him. 45:14 Who knows? But anyway, she decided to be faithful. 45:17 She felt impressed by the Spirit to give. 45:19 Even though - WHAT pastor, including myself, 45:23 would counsel a widow - she might have had 45:26 children at home, who says, You know, I want to make 45:28 an offering; all I've got left is 50 cents. 45:31 Of course, I'd probably say, If's that's all you've got left, 45:33 you may as well give all. 45:34 Right? You're not losing much. 45:37 But I've actually, you know, we've had people 45:39 at Amazing Facts and even here at Central Church that 45:41 they get carried away with zeal for God, 45:43 and they say... You know, we're not going to pay 45:45 the electric bill this month, we're going to do without 45:46 electricity because it's summer and we don't need 45:48 the air-conditioner; we're going to give an offering, 45:50 and you know, we say to them, "Brother, sister, let's talk. " 45:55 I think that, you know, God bless you for your generosity, 45:58 you need to take care of your family. 45:59 We've had to tell people; we've sent checks back 46:02 to people when we found out how much they sacrificed, we have! 46:05 We said, "No, you shouldn't do that. " 46:09 This woman gave everything. 46:10 Now, did Jesus tell her, "Don't do that?" 46:12 Did Jesus stop her? No, He highlighted her, 46:17 and He brought attention to her and He said... 46:21 "Everywhere the gospel is preached... 46:23 People are going to hear about this. " 46:24 You know how many billions of dollars, think about it, 46:27 that woman went by the treasury that day and she said... 46:29 No one is ever going to know what I gave. 46:31 It's not much Lord, but it's from my heart, 46:33 I pray that you'll accept it, it's all I've got, 46:35 I wish I could give more... And she probably was thinking 46:39 it's never going to amount to much, no one will even know, 46:41 it won't make any difference. 46:43 Did it make a difference? 46:45 Think of the billions, billions of dollars that have poured 46:48 into the treasury of God over the centuries as people 46:52 have looked at the story in the Bible of what that one widow 46:55 was doing - she thought, in secret. 47:00 Does the Lord see our faithfulness? 47:02 Does He observe it? 47:04 Wouldn't you like the Lord to look down at you 47:06 in your faithfulness and say, "Behold my servant," 47:10 "Behold my servant, Job. " "Behold this widow. " 47:13 You know the Bible doesn't go on to say what happened to her. 47:15 Did God open the windows of heaven for her? 47:17 Did He feed her children? What happened? 47:20 I believe He did! Don't you? 47:22 I believe He took care of her, you know why? 47:25 Cause God is faithful. 47:27 I've got a lot more I could share 47:28 with you, but I have run out of time. 47:30 You know my last point is this... 47:32 You don't need to worry about financial security if you're 47:35 faithful in the priorities because your Father 47:39 owns the bank... Isn't that right? 47:44 Everything you could possibly need - He owns the bank. 47:48 He's going to take care of His children. 47:50 "When I was young and I'm now old and I've not seen 47:53 God's seed forsaken or His children begging bread. " 47:55 That's what King David said. 47:57 Psalm 50:10, "For every beast of the forest is Mine" 48:01 Their wealth was measured in livestock back then. 48:05 "Every beast of the forest is Mine' not only the wild ones, 48:10 but the cattle on 1,000 hills, the domestic ones. 48:14 "I know all the birds of the mountains and the wild beasts 48:18 of the field are Mine; If I were hungry, 48:20 I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, 48:23 all the gold in it and all the silver. " 48:25 Haggai 2:8, "The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, 48:29 says the Lord of Hosts. " 48:30 God is just asking us to demonstrate our faith in Him 48:34 by being faithful stewards of the little bit that goes 48:38 through our hands during the little time 48:40 we're alive here on this earth. 48:43 In the Judgment, remember we give account to God 48:46 for 2 simple things, your time... 48:49 You've got some choices to make over how you use 48:52 your time for influencing people for God's Kingdom. 48:55 You can use your life to influence people, 48:59 and how you use your means to influence 49:02 people for God's Kingdom. Isn't that right? 49:04 Those are the only 2 things that we'll give an account for. 49:07 What do we do with our time and what do we do with our means, 49:09 and everybody has some influence. 49:11 I want to be faithful to trust God. 49:14 If you follow these principles friends, 49:16 God is not going to forsake you, though there might be 49:18 economic ups and downs. 49:20 And by the way, in case you think I'm saying that there is 49:23 going to be an economic disaster and the world is going to end, 49:25 I'm not saying that - I think there are going to be 49:28 economic disasters. 49:29 There's going to be wars and rumors of wars. 49:31 There's going to be highs and lows, but don't think 49:33 an economic disaster means the world is ending the next day. 49:38 The way I read my Bible, just before Jesus comes, 49:39 it's in a time you THINK NOT. 49:41 Before the flood came to Noah, they were eating and drinking 49:45 and BUILDING - BOOMING economy! 49:47 Before the destruction came to Sodom and Gomorrah, 49:52 everybody was employed - it doesn't say that, 49:55 but it looked like the economy 49:56 was just fine - see what I'm saying? 49:59 So this idea that the economy is going to spiral down 50:02 a famine and then the Second Coming, 50:04 is not really what the Bible teaches. 50:06 It's going to happen suddenly. 50:08 But I just want God's people to be faithful 50:10 during the hard times too, Amen? 50:12 Let's remember, "This is Our Father's World," that's our 50:14 closing hymn - I'm going to invite our singers to come out, 50:16 #92... I love this song, don't you? 50:20 Let's sing this from our hearts and read the words as we do. 50:24 Make it a prayer - let's stand together as we sing. 50:44 This is my Father's world, And to my listening ears, 50:53 All nature sings, and round me rings, 50:58 The music of the spheres. 51:02 This is my Father's world; I rest me in the thought 51:11 Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; 51:16 His hand the wonders wrought. 51:22 I'm going to pause in these verses here, 51:25 and just ask you to respond in a simple way. 51:28 First, I'd like to ask, if the Holy Spirit has spoken 51:32 to you and you're saying, 'Lord, I'm wanting to be 51:34 faithful but I want to be 100% faithful, 51:37 I want to be 100% blessed. 51:39 If there's any area in my life where I'm being a little 51:42 careless in being a faithful steward of Your means, 51:45 I want to be 100% for you, Lord. ' 51:47 Is that your desire, friends? Let's sing verse 2. 51:54 This is my Father's world, The birds their carols raise; 52:03 The morning light, the lily white, 52:08 Declare their Maker's praise. 52:13 This is my Father's world; He shines in all that's fair; 52:22 In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, 52:27 He speaks to me everywhere. 52:33 Before we sing the last verse, I'd like to offer 52:38 the opportunity for you to respond in maybe 52:40 a little more tangible way. 52:42 Some of you might be struggling with debt; 52:45 some of you may be doing well, you might have money in the bank 52:49 but you want to be more faithful. 52:52 You know that there could be financial tough times, 52:55 and you need wisdom so that you can know 52:58 how do you save and how do you give and how do you earn, 53:02 how do you invest. 53:03 You know the Bible says the Lord is the One who gives 53:06 His people the ability to get wealth. 53:09 It's the wisdom of God and the blessing and the 53:11 Spirit of God that blesses His people. 53:14 You know, in Romans 12, in order for you to 53:18 give what you have, you first give your heart. 53:20 You present yourself a living sacrifice. 53:23 If God's got your heart, He's got everything. 53:25 You'll have the right priority. 53:27 As we sing this last verse, if there's some that would like 53:30 special prayer - that you could put all that you are, 53:32 and all that you have on the alter today, and be faithful; 53:35 maybe God help you out of debt and you need special prayer, 53:37 come to the front, we're going to close 53:39 this service with that prayer... Verse 3 53:46 This is my Father's world, O let me ne'er forget 53:56 That though the wrong seems oft so strong, 54:01 God is the Ruler yet. 54:06 This is my Father's world; Why should my heart be sad? 54:16 The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! 54:21 God reigns; let the earth be glad. 54:28 AMEN! I want the Lord to bless you. 54:33 I think He can. No matter what happens 54:36 in the economy of the country or the world 54:39 or North America or California or Sacramento, 54:41 He can still bless YOU. 54:44 I believe that God can bring you ahead 54:46 if everyone else is going behind 54:48 if we follow His principles and priorities. 54:50 Do you believe that friends? 54:52 People in Israel might be starving but there is 54:54 where Elijah was, there was bread. Amen? 54:57 Are you willing to say, 'Lord, by Your grace, 55:00 I want to put my heart and life on the alter,' 55:02 and that means all that you are and all that you have, 55:04 and seek first His kingdom, is that you're prayer? 55:07 Father in Heaven, Lord, these are Your people. 55:11 You fed them in the wilderness. 55:13 We believe that You can easily take care of them during 55:15 times of prosperity and even times of adversity. 55:19 All things are possible with You. 55:21 Lord, I want You to bless Your children today. 55:24 There may be some struggling here with debt, 55:26 maybe because of poor planning, 55:28 maybe circumstances they could not control, 55:30 whatever the case, work miracles for them, 55:32 and give them wisdom and I pray that You'll remove 55:35 that bondage. Bless your people 55:37 Lord, I pray that you'll give us wisdom 55:39 so we can know how to earn all that we can 55:42 for Your cause and Your Kingdom; 55:43 How that we can know how much to save and save all that we can 55:48 And also, how to balance things 55:50 so that we can give all that we can and we can be channels 55:52 of blessing to the world around us. 55:55 Lord, bless Your people. Be with Your children here. 55:58 Lord, I pray the promises we see in Your Word, 56:01 and others I have not touched on, 56:02 that we'll find them, we'll give cheerfully, 56:04 and that You will open the windows of Heaven 56:07 and pour out a blessing so there is not room enough to receive it 56:10 We're claiming this promise now Lord, 56:12 help us to do our part to be faithful. 56:14 We ask in Jesus' name... Amen |
Revised 2014-12-17