Participants: Dwight K Nelson
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP160611A
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00:08 >> Holy Father, we invite You into this place. God, this is who we are. 00:15 We're here to give You praises for saving us this week, for bringing us here to worship Your 00:22 worthy name. I ask that you bless us, take care of us, and keep us as Your 00:27 children. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. And I just want to continue by 00:32 welcoming you to church on behalf of Pastor Dwight Nelson and the staff. 00:36 Welcome, and enjoy your worship with us. [ Intro to "O Worship the King" 00:43 plays ] 01:07 [ Congregation sings ] 03:15 [ Music stops ] [ Intro to "Our God" plays ] >> You may be seated. 05:58 [ Music slows ] [ "Our God Reigns plays ] 07:11 >> Join for "our God reigns." [ Congregation sings ] 07:45 [ Music fades ] 08:01 [ "Enough" plays ] 09:43 >> Amen. 11:04 >> ♪ More than enough ♪ More than enough 11:17 [ Music stops ] 11:22 >> Good morning, boys and girls. Nice to see you on this beautiful -- At last, it's 11:26 hot -- summer Sabbath. Glad you're here. Thank you, Deacon Milan. 11:32 I'm gonna but a picture on the screen for you. I want you to tell me what it is 11:35 when you see it on the screen. What is that? >> A frog! 11:41 >> That's not just any old frog. That is a green tree frog from Australia. 11:49 This happened just a few days ago. Yep. 11:53 Min Tims, she was riding her lawnmower in Australia -- Because it's winter down there, 12:01 but they're still mowing the lawns because it's a hot place. So she's riding her lawnmower, 12:05 just mowing the lawn, back and forth, when all of a sudden she realizes what has just happened 12:11 before she could even see, before she could stop, before she could react. 12:15 She said, "Oh, I don't know what I'm gonna do!" She turned the lawnmower off. 12:19 She looked underneath. "Oh, no. This is what I have done!" 12:25 She picked up the little tree-green tree frog. She picked it up, she ran into 12:33 the house, she punched the number of her niece. She said, "You're not gonna 12:37 believe this. I just ran over it. He's still alive, but I just ran 12:39 over a green tree frog. He's cut bad. Do you know what we can do?" 12:45 She said her niece said, "Auntie, stay right there. Stay right there, Auntie. 12:48 I'll be right over." She came over. "Oh, we've got to wash this. 12:51 We've got to wash this. Oh, he's gonna die if we don't do something." 12:54 "Well, lets put some Band-aids or something on it. Oh, yai yai yai." 12:58 "Wait a minute! Do you know what I heard? I heard that in Cairns" -- 13:02 that'd be 800 miles away -- "I heard that in Cairns, there is a frog hospital." 13:08 Go figure. There is a Frog Safe. It's called Frog Safe. 13:12 It's a hospital for frogs. She said, "I heard that!" "No," Auntie said. 13:16 "You can't be serious." "Yes, I'm telling you the truth." 13:19 "All right." [ Imitates dialing a phone ] "Hello, are you the frog 13:22 hospital?" "Yes, we are." "We got a frog." 13:24 "Bring it in." "Bring it in? We're 800 miles away." 13:28 And that began a series of phone calls... [ Imitates dialing a phone ] 13:31 ...calling airlines. Finally found an airline that went from Mount Isa, were they 13:35 were living, up to Cairns. And the airline said, "We'll fly that frog for free." 13:39 Well, that's not bad for an airline to fly a frog for free. [ Laughter ] 13:42 I kind of like that thought. And they got three other business, "We'll pay for the 13:47 frog's hospitalization. Does a frog have insurance?" "None." 13:50 "Okay, we'll cover it." And, guys, that's exactly what happened just this week. 13:56 They got the little green froggy ready to be released to the jungle. 14:01 And I want to see a picture of the now-ready -- Oh, there he is. 14:05 If you look carefully, you can see a white scar where that ugly wound had been. 14:12 The froggy is gonna be all right. You know what? 14:17 Jesus said somewhere "Are not two frogs sold for a penny?" [ Laughter ] 14:23 And if the Father takes care of two frogs, how much more does He take care of you? 14:28 >> More. >> Oh. If God takes care of little froggies, and they spent 14:33 all that money to save a frog, don't you think God is gonna spend a whole lot to save boys 14:39 and girls like you and me and the whole world? Oh. God says, "And I need you to 14:45 help Me. You love them for Me. You reach them for Me. 14:49 I give blessings to you, you give to them." What a God -- saves frogs and 14:54 children. Who would like to thank this Jesus and say, "Oh, Jesus" -- 15:00 Tony, I'm gonna grab you today. "Oh, Jesus, I thank You for being a God who not only cares 15:06 for frogs, You really care for children." Let's close our eyes and fold 15:13 our hands with Tony as he prays. >> Dear Jesus, thank You for this day. 15:20 Thank You that You can help all the little children of the world. 15:24 Amen." >> Amen. Thank you, Tony. Beautiful prayer. 15:27 And, boys and girls, as you go quietly and reverently back to your seats, you say that in your 15:31 heart -- "Thank you, Jesus. Oh, what a wonderful God You are." 15:41 [ Piano plays ] [ Violin plays ] 18:15 [ Music slows ] 18:31 [ Music stops ] >> Amen. [ Applause ] 18:43 >> Thank you, Carlos and Analiz Lozano, for that beautiful, beautiful piece. 18:49 All right, let's pray. Father, thank You for Your call to the human race. 18:55 You're our creator, through Christ, our saviour. And You call us all for the 19:02 humble little gifts we have. We exercise these for you. So, we have another story today. 19:09 Let the story do what You need the story to do, and may Jesus be front and center. 19:13 We pray in His name, amen. In Lancaster County, 19:18 Pennsylvania, they tell the story about a Pennsylvania Dutch 19:26 minister who didn't have his own parish. 19:28 He went around and filled pulpits. 19:30 They called it "pulpit supply." So he would go around when there 19:33 was a vacancy and just fill in until the next full-time pastor 19:35 arrived. One Sunday morning, he took his 19:37 little boy with him. They jumped on the trolly. They rode out of town to a 19:41 church that needed the supply pastor to be present. As he stepped into the 19:46 vestibule, we call it the narthex here, he saw a box, very noticeable. 19:50 It had two words on it -- "poor box." Now, the man had none of this 19:56 world's accoutrements and gifts, but he reached into his pocket, pulled out a thin quarter, and 20:02 he dropped it in the poor box, whereupon he stepped into the sanctuary. 20:06 The deacons ushered him up front. He led in the service. 20:08 When the service was over, the deacon came and led him out into the vestibule. 20:14 And the deacon said, "It is our custom in this church that, when we have supply preacher with us, 20:18 we give him the contents of the poor box." And so the deacon reached over 20:23 and unlocked the box and tilted it over, and nothing came out except one, lonely quarter. 20:31 He handed it to the minister. The minister, with a wry smile, put it in his pocket, and he and 20:36 his boy walked down to the trolly station. And as they were walking, the 20:39 lad looked up into this father's face and he asked, "Daddy, you would have gotten more out of it 20:47 if you had put more into it, wouldn't you have? [ Laughter ] 20:52 That's a great question -- Wouldn't you? I mean, come on. You would have gotten more out 20:57 of it if you had put more into it. The story of this widow today -- 21:01 widow number two, by the way, in this little miniseries of three -- is living proof of 21:07 that. So let's go. Open your bible to 2 Kings. 21:10 We were in 1 Kings last week. Now we're in 2 Kings today. 2 Kings 4. 21:15 2 Kings 4 -- We'll pick it up in verse 1. I'm in the NIV. 21:19 Oh, this is such a dramatic story. 21:21 Grab the pew bible. It's page 255 in the pew bible 21:24 if you want to track along. 2 Kings 4:1... 21:42 "'Your servant my husband is dead...'" In 1967, two psychiatrists, 21:50 Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe, decided to study whether or not stress contributes to illness. 21:57 They surveyed more than 5,000 medical patients and asked them to say whether they had 22:03 experienced any of a series of 43 life events in the previous 2 years. 22:09 Each event was called a "Life Change Unit" and had been assigned a different weight. 22:13 The more events the patient has survived, obviously, the higher the score. 22:17 And the more heavily-weighted the events, the more likely, as well, for the patient to become 22:23 ill. The number-one life-changing event, you guessed it -- Weighed 22:28 at 100 by these two psychiatrists, is the death of a spouse. 22:33 It's the number-one. Nothing in human experience significantly impacts and 22:38 stresses a person's life and health more than the death of his or her spouse. 22:45 Widows and widowers go on living with all the attended stresses that come with losing your life 22:52 companion. I cannot imagine what it would be like going through life 22:56 without my love, my young love, Karen. We just celebrated this week our 23:02 42nd anniversary. We were children when we got married, and it's been a joy to 23:07 share those 42 years. I can't imagine what it would be like. 23:10 "'Your servant my husband is dead.'" But she goes on, "'...and you 23:16 know that he revered the Lord.'" He was a member of the school of prophets. 23:23 And Elijah the Prophet, he was our hero last week, sort of. The widows are the heroes here. 23:29 But Elijah the Prophet, and now, along with his successor, Elisha, they have essentially 23:35 restored the worship of Israel's God, Yahweh, against the backdrop -- the dark backdrop -- 23:42 of Ahab and Jezebel's apostasy. So now these schools of the prophets are flourishing. 23:48 He was a member. The deceased father, the deceased husband was a worshiper 23:52 of the True God, reminding us -- though we did not need the reminder -- that as 23:56 Harold Kushner put it in best-seller years ago, "Why Bad Things Happen to Good 24:01 People" -- They just do, even today. To widows. 24:06 "'And you know,'" the widow tells the prophet, "'that he revered the Lord.'" 24:10 But she goes on. "'But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his 24:16 slaves.'" Now, ladies and gentlemen, time out, please. 24:18 This is not an evil creditor. This is -- This is not a pagan creditor. 24:23 This is a believer creditor. And, by the way, if you're a believer creditor, be as 24:27 compassionate as you know how to be. But, you see, the Law of Moses 24:32 made provision for if you're in over your head, you can actually go into debt to another 24:37 Israelite. You won't become a slave, you won't become a bond servant, but 24:42 you'll become what they call a hired servant. Your wages will be used, as you 24:47 work, to pay off the accrued debt. So it was a provision. 24:52 And, by the way, as soon as the debt is paid off, you're no longer a hired servant. 24:56 Or -- by the way, Athenian law and Roman law did not have this -- when the year of Jubilee 25:01 comes every 49 to 50 years, all debts are cancelled. You're all freed. Debt's gone. 25:08 So, this man, who has not forced the living husband to pay the debt -- he could have -- now 25:14 comes, 'cause the bread-winner is gone, and he says, "Listen, I need those two boys. 25:19 They'll work around my house. I'll take care of them." But the woman who has already 25:24 lost her husband cannot, cannot fathom the thought, perish the thought to have to lose my two 25:30 boys, for a while even. "So what am I gonna do?" she asked the prophet. 25:35 And I love Elisha. He's so different. He's so different from Elijah. 25:39 Thunderbolt, firebrand, bushy-bearded Elijah. And here you have probably 25:49 shorter, bald-head Elisha. But he has the heart of a pastor. 25:54 Elijah was a loner. Elisha just hangs around people through the whole story. 25:59 And so he looks at her, and he asks a pastor's kind of question -- Verse 2. 26:05 "Hey, lady. Lady. What do you want me to do for you?" 26:10 And then he says, "I got an idea. Tell me, what do you have in 26:15 your house?" Let's hit the pause button right there. 26:20 "Woman, what do you have in your house? She shoots back. 26:25 Her candor. Look at this. "'What do you have in your house?' 26:29 'Your servant has nothing here at all,' she said, 'except a small jar of olive oil.'" 26:36 I used to think that was cooking oil. You know, I got to have some 26:38 cooking olive oil. I'm wrong. The Hebrew is clear, it is 26:43 anointing oil. Remember when the old-man prophet Samuel was looking for a 26:47 king to take the place of Saul who didn't turn out? He finds this young shepherd 26:51 boy, and he pours over those dark locks of future king David oil that spilled over his crown 26:59 and down his face. It's anointing oil. She and her husband had been -- 27:06 Some conclude that they, in fact, had a little cottage industry going, producing this 27:10 aromatic anointing oil, because at the school of prophets, you're gonna need oil. 27:14 "Come on. Stop by our place. For just a couple bucks, we'll send you on with some oil." 27:20 That's all she has left. And, by the way, she's been selling it all off. 27:23 She's been selling it off to try to stave off bankruptcy, but now she has left only one little 27:29 flask of oil. And you know what Elisha says to her? 27:32 "Yo, that's perfect. That's perfect. Now, listen to what I tell you, 27:37 let's do this." And I want to hit the pause button right here before we even 27:39 read the verse, because this is God. This is so God. 27:46 Have you noticed that, if God has His druthers, He'd rather start off with a little 27:52 something than with nothing. Now, I understand, we have our theologian friends across the 28:00 mall here. And they all speak about "ex nihilo," which means "from 28:04 out of nothing." I know that God created the earth out of nothing. 28:07 I know that God created His universe out of nothing. But, here's the point -- If God 28:13 had His druthers, He'd prefer to work with what's already in your hand. 28:18 "Yo, Moses. What do you have in your hand?" "Just a rod." 28:25 "Perfect! You're gonna use that rod to set My people free." 28:27 And, boy, it became a hot rod in his hands. "Yo, Master of Ceremonies, what 28:33 do you have?" "Oh, six empty stone jars in the corner." 28:37 "Oh, perfect. Let the wedding feast go on. We got wine now. 28:42 Yo, Pete. What do you have in your hand?" "Oh, just a little fishing line 28:47 and a hook on the end." "Perfect. Put that in the water. 28:50 The first fish you catch, open its mouth. You'll have enough money to pay 28:53 your taxes and Mine. Let's go. Hey, yo! Andrew! 28:56 What do you have?" "Oh, nothing but five loaves and two fish." 29:00 "Perfect. I can feed 15,000 with that. Give it to Me." 29:05 Have you noticed that God prefers to begin with what you already have? 29:10 We disparage what we have and say, "Oh, man. My gifts are nothing. 29:15 I'm a nobody. I can't do anything." And we are dead wrong. 29:21 "Give Me what you have, and I'll work a miracle on this planet." Give it to Him. 29:28 Ah, listen to this. "Desire of Ages." I love this. Put this on the screen. 29:31 By the way, there's a study guide in your bulletin, which you'll take home and have all 29:34 these quotes. "Desire of Ages." 29:50 Can you believe that? What a blessed promise for widows. 29:54 What a blessed promise for all of us desperate souls who pray the desperate pray, "Dear God, I 30:01 don't have enough. This little will never be enough." 30:06 "Just give it to Me." Next line, same quote. "If the work" -- And I'm 30:11 inserting the word "prayer" here -- "If the prayer be of God, if the work be of God, He 30:15 Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple 30:21 reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service 30:26 of the Lord of heaven will increase" -- Isn't that something? -- "will increase in 30:31 the very act of imparting it." It grows. My. 30:36 Give the little you have left, like the widow last week reminded us, and what was that 30:40 line? God will take care of you. Whew. 30:46 The little you have increases as you give it. Here's one more line from that 30:50 page, "Desire of Ages." "If we got to the Source of all strength, with our hands of 30:55 faith" -- Look at this -- "hands of faith outstretched to receive..." 30:59 It's not wrong to go like this in prayer to God. It's not wrong. 31:03 Some people say you should never ask. Are you crazy? 31:06 He wants to be asked. It's not wrong. Put your hands out. 31:09 "...your hands of faith outstretched to receive..." If we go, "we shall be sustained 31:15 in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and we shall be enabled to give to 31:21 others the bread of life." God not only will take care of you, but through you, He'll take 31:25 care of the rest. What a God. All right, verse 3. 31:33 "Oh, I have nothing but a little flask of oil." Elisha says, "Good. 31:38 Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars." And I want you to notice that 31:44 next line. How's it read? "Don't ask for just a few." 31:49 I mean, come on. That's our problem. Too often, we quit asking too 31:56 soon. 31:59 We say, "Well, I didn't get anything. No more." 32:00 No, no! Don't ask for just a few. "Well, I got a little blessing." 32:05 No! No, there's more where that came from. Don't ask for just a few. 32:09 After all, the bible declares that God is able to do immeasurably more than all that 32:13 we ask or imagine. Why don't you -- In the presence of a king, why don't you ask for 32:22 the king's gifts? He doesn't give coupons out of Wheaties cereal. 32:29 He's got something to give you, but you got to ask him. Don't ask for just a few. 32:36 Like the widow, are you down to your last nickel? Are you down to your last 32:39 prayer? Are you down to your last hope? Keep asking. Keep asking. 32:45 John Newton -- he's the one who composed "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound." 32:48 Same John Newton. Put the words of his hymn on the screen for you. 32:52 Oh, I love this. 33:05 Hallelujah. What do you say? Hallelujah. You can never ask too much. 33:09 Don't ask for just a few. Verse 4. [ Clears throat ] 33:14 Then, after he's given that little lesson, then Elisha goes on. 33:33 Did you catch that? Elisha the Prophet says, "Yo. I want your kids in on this 33:38 thing." Parents, I want you to get that. Too often we think that our 33:43 adult walk with God is just between us and God. I mean, come on. 33:47 Kids, just trust that we're connected to God. And in the process, we subtly 33:52 send the message that heavy lifting -- you can't be a child and do heavy lifting. 33:57 You got to be an adult. You got to be a grownup to do heavy lifting. 34:00 And so we've raised a generation now who even come to this school, standing on the 34:04 sidelines saying "I guess I'm still too young to do something big for God." 34:08 We make a terrible mistake, moms and dads, when we leave our children out of the 34:13 conversation. I would like to suggest even the economic survival conversation. 34:19 We need to let them know we are calling upon the God of Israel to intervene in our lives. 34:26 Your faith increases their faith. Your obedience increases their 34:31 obedience. Why hide it? "I want your boys in that room. 34:35 I don't want you sending them outside. I want them to watch what 34:39 happens." Wow. "Come, children," she says. 34:43 "Come, come, come. We must pray." Oh, I try to picture that 34:46 moment. I love this picture in my mind. That poor young widow mother 34:52 racing down the hot and dusty road, her dark widow garments flared like an airport 34:57 windsock behind her. She can hardly wait. She gets in, slams the door. 35:03 [ Breathing heavily ] "Boys, come here. I just talked to the prophet. 35:07 Now listen to me very carefully. We are to find every empty jar in this village, do you 35:13 understand me? I want you to go to every neighbor's house, I want you to 35:16 tell them we'll give the jar back. We just need the jars right now. 35:19 Do you hear me, boys? Bring as many jars as you can. 35:23 And wide-eyed, four feet pound that empty house floor, out the 35:29 door. And minutes later, here they 35:32 come, two or three or four jugs each. 35:34 And Mother says, "All right, line these up right here. 35:36 Line these up right here. Close that door. 35:38 Close the door." Mother picks up the little flask, wide-eyed all three, 35:45 because Mother is watching this, too. What is gonna happen? 35:49 All three watch as Mother's nervous hand pours out a smooth, shiny stream of anointing oil 35:55 out of that small flask that she owns into the wide-open mouth of an empty jar on the floor. 36:04 "Quick! Quick! The jar's full! Slide another here. We can't waste a drop." 36:08 And they slide another one under. And Mother's hand continues to 36:12 pour. That little oil flask now is cocked in a perpetual position 36:17 of pouring, and it just keeps pouring. "Hey, Mama! W-Will the oil 36:23 stop?" "Shh! Don't even ask that. I need more jars. Go!" 36:28 Boys go while she's finishing up the last jars. They're out. 36:31 They're hunting down. They come back arms full. They just line them up right 36:35 here, on they go. Perpetual position of pouring. A few minutes later, "Boys, I 36:39 need more jars. Quick, quick, quick. More jars." They go, more jars -- You know 36:43 the drill. That little floor is now covered with jars glistening to their 36:48 brims with anointing oil. And then verse 6 happens. Verse 6. 36:56 "And when all the jars were full, Mother said to her son" -- her eldest, obviously -- "'Bring 37:03 me another one.'" But he replied, 'There is not a jar left in this county.' 37:10 And then the oil stopped flowing." And she went, Mother did, and 37:17 told the man of God, and he said, "Good. Now go, sell the oil and pay 37:22 your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left." 37:27 Did you catch that, by the way? God not only miraculously provided the resources to pay 37:35 off the widow mother's debt, but after the debt was paid off, He provided resources to keep her 37:43 and her two boys living. Apparently, it's absolutely true. 37:47 God will take care of you. 37:52 It's called God's arithmetic. I'm gonna give you a little formula. 37:56 Never forget it for the rest of your life. I'll put it on the screen for 37:58 you. God's arithmetic. "When we ADD" -- Let's read this 38:02 out loud together. Come on. "When we ADD, God MULTIPLIES." 38:10 Isn't that amazing? Keep it on the screen. They kept adding jars. 38:14 God kept pouring oil. When we add, God multiplies. Mother's giving her oil away, 38:18 and it keeps coming back in spades, which as it turns out, as Jesus points in the 38:23 Sermon on the Mount -- listen to this. Put the words on the screen for 38:27 you. You'll see the formula, God's arithmetic, right there. 38:32 Jesus is speaking. These are all red-letter words in the bible. 38:34 Jesus says, "'Give'" -- Okay, that's when we add -- "'Give,'" when we add, "'and it will be 38:40 given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,'" 38:44 that's God multiplying, "'it will be poured into your lap.'" Ooh, I love that word "poured." 38:47 It's almost as if Jesus had just read this story and said, "You know what? 38:50 You just give to God, and He'll just keep pouring into your life. 38:54 He'll keep pouring into your life. You add, and God will multiply." 39:01 Wow. When you add, God multiplies. It's God's arithmetic. 39:06 When the little widow adds, He multiplies. When you add, He multiplies. 39:11 One more text. Just one more. Let me run this by you. Go to the last book of -- We're 39:15 in Kings, so go to the last book of the Old Testament. That would be the book of 39:19 Malachi. Just before Matthew and we get into the New Testament is 39:22 Malachi. Take a look at this. Malachi -- This is Malachi 3. 39:26 I want you see this. The same arithmetic formula is embedded in these words. 39:31 You'll spot it immediately. This is Malachi 3:10. God is speaking. 39:37 "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,'" when we add -- There it is -- Jot it down. 39:43 When we add, "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. 39:48 And test Me in this,' says the Lord of Hosts, 'and see if I will not throw open the 39:53 floodgates of heaven and pour'" -- There's that word again -- "'and pour out so much 40:00 blessing'" -- There He goes again, multiplying. When we add, God multiplies. 40:07 "'I will pour out so much blessing,'" as the Old King James reads, "'that you 40:11 will not have room enough to store it.'" When we add, He multiplies. 40:19 How can you beat a deal like that? You a businessman? 40:23 Could you survive on that? God can. 10%. 40:29 And, by the way, this is amazing, because this is God's 10%. 40:33 Hey, boy. I don't have to give you a thing. 40:36 This is mine. Don't act like you're doing me a favor. 40:40 This is mine. But no, no! He says, "Listen. You return what's Mine, and I'm 40:45 gonna -- You add, and I'm gonna multiply." Wow. 40:50 "I'll open the floodgates of heaven." Which, by the way, begs the 40:53 question "Then why?" Come on, listen, listen, listen. "Why am I so hesitant? 41:00 Why am I so hesitant to give? Why am I so hesitant to return God's tithe if the formula is 41:09 when we add, He multiplies?" So, again, I'm gonna tell you this. 41:16 Just last week, I sat down. I said, "Okay, God. I have a blank piece of paper 41:19 right here and I have a sharpened pencil in my hand. Let's go. 41:22 I need to ask you a question. I need you to tell me why this is such a big deal. 41:27 I mean, I understand this nickels and dimes stuff. I understand that. 41:30 But I want to know why Jesus talked about money and giving more than any other single 41:36 subject He ever discussed. Why is giving such a big deal to You? 41:42 In other words, God, I'm gonna assume that there's something hugely beneficial when we do 41:49 this. But now come on, God. Don't check out on me yet, God. 41:54 Here's the deal. If we're living at the end of time -- and dear God, I believe 41:57 we're living at the end of time -- if we are living at the end of time, and You are 42:04 waiting, as the bible says, "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord all over the planet," I 42:10 get that part, too. But if You're waiting to make ready, to prepare a people, then 42:17 what place does giving have in this maturing -- What does the bible call it? 42:23 The sanctifying process. What place does it have? I said, "I'm ready now. 42:28 Let's go." And I began to scribble. Now, look at it. 42:32 This is not inspired, what I'm about to share with you, but it's what I scribbled down. 42:36 It's on the study guide. You'll have it. You don't need to look at it 42:40 now. I'll put it on the screen for you. 42:44 Number one -- What's the big deal about giving, God? Number one... 42:56 God says, "Come on. I love to give." What's it? 42:58 John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." How about 2 Corinthians 8:9? 43:04 "For you know the grace of Christ Jesus, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He 43:08 became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich." 43:14 He's a giver. And this is my favorite. Do you now Galatians 2:20? 43:17 I think everybody knows Galatians 2:20. We got songs. "I am crucified with Christ" -- 43:21 Remember that one? "I am crucified with Christ -- Nevertheless I live, 43:25 yet not I, but Christ lives in me -- and the life I live, I live by the faith of the Son of 43:29 God" -- Now, hold on, hold on -- "by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave Himself 43:37 for me." Said, "I'm a giver. You want to be like Me? 43:42 Then give. The more you give, the more like Me you'll become. 43:45 Give. I'm not talking about the amount, I'm just talking about 43:49 the practice. The more times you give, the more you're growing into Me." 43:53 I scribbled it down. Here comes number two. 44:03 God will take care of you. 1 Peter 5, "Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you." 44:08 Please. Philippians 4:19, my favorite of all favorite promises. 44:12 Oh, I hope you go home and look this one up. Philippians 4:19, "And my God 44:15 will meet all your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus." 44:20 "I'll take care of you. Girl, boy, give. Come on. Let me know that we're partners 44:25 in this. I will take care of you." Number three -- "Giving declares 44:29 I believe that it all belongs to God," as our doxology sings, "'from whom all blessings 44:35 flow.'" God says to the children of Israel. 44:38 They're just going into the Promised Land, and in Deuteronomy 8:17-18, God says to 44:42 the children of Israel, "By the way, you're gonna have lots of crops. 44:45 You're gonna be build big farms. You're gonna have sprawling estates. 44:48 But when you get over there, you're gonna be tempted to think 'I did all this myself. 44:52 I earned this. I worked hard. This is mine.'" "No," God says in verse 18. 44:58 "Know the truth -- I gave you your wealth. The wealth is from Me. 45:03 It's all Mine. And I gave it to you. Remember from whence it comes." 45:09 And finally, I said, "God, number four." Here it is, last one. 45:14 Oh, boy. 45:25 That's it. I can't speak for you, but I'm telling you, I am wired -- I am 45:30 wired to look out for myself. I am wired to hang onto everything that my little, 45:36 grubby fingers can latch onto. Hang onto it. The day's coming when I'm not 45:40 gonna have it. Hang onto it. I am wired to serve me. 45:45 Giving is a frontal assault on that inbred wiring to preserve ourselves. 45:53 Jesus said in Mark 8:34-35, "If anyone wants to follow Me, let him, let her deny herself, 45:57 let him take up the cross and follow Me. For if a man saves his life, 46:01 he'll lose it. But if he loses his life for My sake and the gospel, he will 46:04 save it." "I'm gonna confront selfishness, Dwight, in your life to the 46:08 core, and I'm gonna ask you to give." Now, I know what some of you are 46:12 thinking. You're thinking kind of like me. "Well, I already give. Huh. 46:17 Too late. I'm in." Okay. Hold that thought. 46:22 I'm gonna end with this quote, and then I'll sit down. 46:24 "Christ Object Lessons," the little classic on the parables 46:26 of Jesus. What is this? Page 351. 46:30 This will blow your mind. In fact, when I get to the end of it, you're gonna say, 46:36 "Dwight, did you have to even read that today? What were you thinking? 46:39 We were really on a high note till you blew it." Okay. Take it up with Him. 46:44 Here's the quote. Put it on the screen for you. 46:56 And you're saying, "Oh, duh. Dwight, come on. We already knew that. 46:59 You didn't have to tell us that." No, it's what follows. 47:03 That's the easy... Okay, come on. Just read on. And this is written with 47:09 Dwight's name all over it. 47:19 Hit the pause button. That's what I do. I fill out my tithe, boom. 47:23 I fill out my offerings, boom. And then I drop it in that offering plate, and I say, "God, 47:28 You go. Good luck with this, because the rest is mine." 47:35 I have thought that way for years, until Karen and I were having worship about a week or 47:39 two ago and we came across this line, and I said, "I can't believe it." 47:45 Now, you need to understand, the line does not say "Give Me 20%, 10% and 10% offerings maybe." 47:51 "Well, the other 80%, then, God, is mine." No, no, no. 47:56 The quotation is saying it's that thinking. I'm not asking for the other 48:00 80%, so you can take a deep breath now. I'm not asking for the other 48:04 80%, but notice what she says. "Some think that only a portion of their means is the Lord's. 48:11 When they have set apart a portion for religious and charitable purposes," unlock the 48:14 pause button, "they regard the remainder as their own, to be used as they see fit. 48:20 But in this, Dwight, you mistake. 48:24 "All we possess is the Lord's, and we are accountable to Him 48:27 for the use we make of it. In the use of every penny, it 48:31 will be seen whether we love God supremely and our neighbor as 48:36 ourselves." Huh? That's rather -- I know what 48:43 you're saying. "Dwight, you could have gone all day and not read that." 48:48 God's not asking for the other 80%, ladies and gentlemen. Come on, brothers and sisters. 48:51 He's not asking for the other 80%. But you know what he's asking me 48:54 to do? He's says, "Dwight, you see this 80% that's left? 48:56 I want you to treat that as Mine, okay? You go ahead and spend it. 48:59 You go ahead and buy what you got to buy. But I want you to remember I 49:03 died for this. I died. I died for the 80%, as well. 49:06 That's Mine. Just spend it in a way that glorifies Me." 49:10 Loving Me supremely, and my neighbor as myself. Ooh, that opens up all kinds of 49:15 doors for giving, doesn't it? And He said, "Dwight, why are you in this kick?" 49:19 Here's the deal. I'm gonna repeat it. I believe Jesus is coming soon. 49:24 And I believe what the bible says. The bible says God is making 49:27 ready a people prepared for the Lord. And with all my heart, in my 49:31 prayer times with God, it just is like a heavier and heavier burden on my heart -- Are we as 49:36 a people being shaped into readiness for the return of Christ? 49:41 When it comes, it comes just like that. There won't be, "Oh, now let's 49:45 move into prepare mode." No, no. Now is the prepare time. Giving is obviously critical in 49:53 God shaping me into His likeness. Hey, let me remind you, there 49:57 are two lakes in Palestine. Two lakes. I'll sit down after this. 50:00 Two lakes. One lake up north. Give me the name of the lake up 50:03 north. What's the lake up north? Galilee. 50:06 Into it, the melted snows of Mount Hermon pour. What does Galilee do? 50:10 At the bottom of Galilee there's called the -- What river is it called? 50:12 Jordan River. And it just take that live-giving water down, down, 50:16 down. There's one more sea in Palestine today. 50:19 And what's the name of that sea? Dead Sea. Do you know why it's a dead sea? 50:23 Because it hoards. Dead Sea keep the blessings it gets and never lets them go. 50:29 Dead Sea embraces the blessings and say, "These belong to me." And the Dead Sea is, guess what, 50:34 dead. Dead. And I am concerned that if we 50:40 don't get this giving lesson, some of us are gonna lose our souls. 50:44 Can I just be -- Can I just be... If you're not tithing right now, 50:48 you'll lose your soul someday. If you continue not tithing, and you know that God has called 50:52 you and you're not tithing, you're disobeying Him, and you will die. 50:57 I'm sorry. That's the truth. If you are not giving right now. Oh, all I do is tithe. 51:01 If you're not giving right now, the spontaneous giving, you'll die. 51:06 Now, look. I'm talking to a widow here who says, "I got two kids and no 51:09 husband." Look, nobody says you have to give like the guy that has 51:14 portfolios coming out his collection. But you, too, must give. 51:22 The poorest of the poor must give. That's how we become like the 51:26 great giver of the universe. We become just like Him when we give. 51:31 I am praying for you. I am praying that if this is an area in your life right now that 51:38 the Holy Spirit is speaking in your mind -- and trust me, if it's an area in your life, you 51:42 already know it. You didn't need me to stand up. I just triggered a memory, and 51:46 now the Holy Spirit is full time, full time talking to you. If you hoard, you are dead. 51:52 If you hoard, you are lost forever. It's not about raising money. 52:00 It's about saving souls, and it's your soul on the line. Sir, it's your soul, your 52:07 choice. 52:14 What should we do? Give. When we give, He multiplies. 52:21 He could not make it any more attractive than that. "Just give Me whatever you got. 52:25 I'll multiply that. I'll multiply. I will take care of you. 52:29 Just give, girl, boy. Just give to Me. I will take care of you." 52:34 Ladies and gentlemen, He will. Amen. Oh, God, forgive us. 52:42 Oh, forgive me. I thought the rest of it was mine. 52:48 It's mine to steward and manage, but, oh, God, it's all Yours. And why would I be complaining? 52:54 You have emptied the treasury of heaven. You have offered me eternal life 52:58 that will never end in a perfect paradise where the heartache that we're living with now will 53:04 never happen again. You're offering it free of charge if I'll just give You my 53:09 life and my all. And so, Father, I pray for a people that you are making ready 53:15 for the return of Christ. Please, let there not be a man within the sound of this voice, 53:19 let there not be a woman who steels her heart and says, "I will not give. 53:23 I will not give the stuff..." 53:28 Please, dead God, don't let us be foolish on the cusp of the Promised Land. 53:36 Teach us the truth and grant us the grace and the joy of Christ, to gladly follow wherever He 53:44 leads. We add, you multiply, and we are grateful. 53:50 In Jesus' name, let all His friends say "Amen and amen." 53:56 [ "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" plays ] 53:59 [ Congregation sings ] 56:24 [ Music stops ] >> If you would like someone to lift you up to that Jesus, at 56:28 the end of the service, you have a need for yourself or for somebody else you love or know, 56:32 our prayer team will be standing right up here. Come up to them, and they will 56:36 be honored to pray on your behalf. Jesus ends the entire bible with 56:40 His words. Here they are. "He who testifies to these 56:45 things says 'Yes, I am coming soon. Amen.'" Come, Lord Jesus. 56:51 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. 57:00 >> May I take an extra moment with you to let you know how grateful I am you joined us in 57:03 worship today? I hear from viewers like you all across this nation and 57:07 literally around the world, and I'm thankful. If you'd like to explore further 57:11 what we have just shared, I hope you will visit us at our website. 57:14 It's an easy one to remember -- www.pmchurch.tv. 57:19 We're the Pioneer Memorial Church here on the campus of 57:22 Andrews University. So that's www.pmchurch.tv. 57:26 Click onto that website, and you'll be able to listen to a 57:29 podcast of this material, you can download the presentation, 57:32 you can print off the study guide. 57:33 You may have a special prayer need that you wish to share with 57:36 our prayer partners, or you may wish to partner with us through 57:39 a personal donation to help reach this generation with the 57:41 everlasting good news of Christ. If you'd rather talk with 57:45 someone, call one of our friendly operators. 57:47 Here's the toll-free number -- 877, and the two words 57:50 "His will." 877-HIS-WILL. 57:54 In the meantime, may the grace and peace of Jesus be yours 57:57 every step of this adventurous way. 58:02 ♪♪ |
Revised 2017-06-21