Participants:
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021809A
|
00:34 Good morning, friends,
00:35 and welcome to Sabbath School Study Hour 00:37 right here at the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:40 I'd like to warmly welcome 00:41 all of those who are joining us online 00:43 across the country and around the world, 00:45 also our Facebook friends who are studying along with us. 00:49 Those of you on Facebook, 00:50 we are gonna have a few moments of question and answer time 00:53 later in our study. 00:54 If you'd like to post a question 00:56 related to the lesson, you can do so 00:59 and we'll try to answer as many of those questions 01:01 as we can depending upon time as we study together. 01:05 I'd also like to welcome our members and visitors 01:07 right here at the Granite Bay Church. 01:08 It's always good to see you week after week gathering here 01:11 early in the morning to study the Word of God together. 01:14 We've been studying through our lesson courtly 01:16 entitled, "Stewardship: Motives of the Heart." 01:19 Today we find ourselves on lesson number nine 01:22 which is entitled "Offerings of Gratitude" 01:25 and that'll be our focus for today. 01:27 For friends who are joining us, 01:28 if you don't have a copy of today's lesson, 01:30 we have a new website, we'd like to direct you to. 01:33 It'll take you directly to our study for this week 01:36 and that website is simply study.aftv.org. 01:41 Just study.aftv.org 01:45 and you'll be able to get the lesson for today 01:47 and study along with us. 01:49 We also have a free offer 01:50 for those of you who are joining us in North America 01:53 a book entitled, "The Surrender of Self." 01:55 And if you'd like to receive this, 01:57 just give us a call on our resource phone line. 02:00 That number is 866-788-3966 02:04 and you can ask for offer number 153. 02:08 That number again is 866-788-3966, 02:11 ask for offer number 153, 02:13 we'll be happy to send that to anybody who calls and asks. 02:17 Well, before we get to our study this morning, 02:19 we'd like to begin by lifting our voices in song. 02:21 I'd like to invite our song leaders 02:22 to come join me on stage. 02:31 Hello and we are so excited to join with you in song, 02:35 those of you around the world and those of you here. 02:38 So today we're gonna be singing 02:40 "Come Christians join to sing." 02:42 You'll find that on number 10 in your hymnals. 02:45 If you have one of those at home, 02:46 pull it up, we're gonna do all three stanzas, number 10. 04:53 We're looking forward to that day 04:56 when we will get to sing together 04:57 on heaven's blissful shore. 05:00 At this time Pastor Ross will be having our opening prayer. 05:12 Let's bow our heads for prayer. 05:13 Dear Father in heaven, we thank You once again 05:15 for the opportunity together to open up Your Word 05:17 and study this very important subject 05:20 dealing with motives of the heart. 05:22 Father, we pray for Your Holy Spirit 05:23 to come and guard our hearts and our minds, 05:26 for we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 05:29 Our lesson this morning is gonna be brought to us 05:31 by Pastor Doug. 05:33 Good morning, everyone. 05:34 I'm glad to see you here 05:36 studying with us at Granite Bay. 05:38 I want to welcome our friends who are studying online. 05:41 We have some extended class 05:43 that study with us through the internet. 05:46 I also want to remind our friends 05:47 that are watching the live stream right now. 05:49 You can go to the Facebook page 05:50 if you want to Facebook any questions, 05:53 and I'm gonna remind people 05:54 'cause these are questions that deal with the subject 05:55 of stewardship and the lesson, 05:58 getting questions about marriage 05:59 and all kinds of things, 06:01 then send them in 06:02 and we have the technology back there 06:04 where they will try and type them in 06:05 in the last third of the lesson 06:07 I'll try and take some of your questions. 06:08 We appreciate that. 06:09 I want to welcome our online members. 06:11 There are people who are members of this church, 06:14 a lot of folks around the world have no local church 06:16 where they can attend, 06:17 but because of satellite television 06:19 and because of the internet, 06:20 they said, "Look, we want to be part of a church family, 06:23 we have a mechanism to do that. 06:25 If you'd like to know how you can be a member 06:27 of the Granite Bay church family, 06:29 one of our digital members, 06:31 then just go ahead and contact us 06:33 at GraniteBaysda.org, 06:37 we'll talk to you about that. 06:39 And we're gonna get right into our lesson, 06:42 we have a memory verse. 06:43 The lesson today is dealing with Offerings of Gratitude, 06:46 lesson number nine. 06:49 I bet you know the memory verse. 06:51 It's John 3:16. 06:53 How many can do that without looking at it? 06:56 Or shall we say it together? 06:58 "For God so loved the world 07:01 that He gave His only begotten Son, 07:04 that whosoever believeth in Him 07:07 should not perish but have everlasting life." 07:11 And, of course, 07:13 the key to that is God so loved He gave. 07:18 We're talking about giving, 07:20 talking in particular about offerings, 07:22 and we talked about tithe 07:25 in several of our presentations. 07:27 Now we're gonna talk a little more 07:28 about offerings and the spirit behind it 07:31 and what's involved there. 07:35 One of the first things we learn here 07:36 as we take a look at the lesson 07:38 is how much of the Bible has to do with giving? 07:42 I remember when I first started coming to church 07:44 I thought, "All these preachers, 07:45 all they do is they talk about giving and offerings." 07:48 And soon as they pass the plate, 07:50 it seems like 10 minutes later, they pass it again. 07:52 And they're having an offering for this 07:54 and for that project and this mission project, 07:57 it just seemed like it was all about money. 08:00 And someone did a study and they said... 08:04 When you go through Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 08:08 one out of every six verses deals with money. 08:12 Did you know that? 08:13 Of the 29 parables that Jesus tells, 08:16 16 deal with a person and their money, 08:20 so the Lord evidently talked about it. 08:23 Matter of fact, Jesus talks about money 08:24 five times more than any other subject. 08:28 Why is that? 08:29 It's because you can tell how a person value something 08:34 by how they spend their time and their means. 08:39 It's incredible 08:40 people manage to have money for what they want. 08:45 You know, there are folks who will say, 08:47 "Boy, just I have nothing to give for the Lord." 08:52 But you ask him, "Well, do you have a television?" 08:54 Oh, yeah. 08:56 I just can't afford to pay tithe. 08:59 Do you have a car? 09:01 "Oh, yeah." 09:02 There's so many things in our culture today 09:04 that we think are necessities, 09:06 but we have nothing for God 09:08 because we're trying to keep up 09:09 with a very materialistic society. 09:13 But when God is first placed in your heart, 09:16 you find the ability to do what you want to do, 09:18 that's a law of life. 09:19 People kind of do what they want to do. 09:21 People have time for what they want 09:23 and they have means for what they want. 09:27 Yeah, let me tell you a quick story 09:29 before I get into lesson 09:30 because it provides a good introduction 09:32 for what we're talking about. 09:33 I was driving to a town 09:36 to go to the hospital, make a hospital visit. 09:38 On the way down the highway, 09:42 traffic came to a standstill 09:44 and as I thought there had been an accident, 09:48 it turned out it was a terrible accident. 09:51 What happened was 09:52 a logging truck going one way on the highway 09:56 struck a family that had rented a U-Haul 10:01 going the other way on the highway, 10:02 it was head on collision. 10:05 And it was so bad that the U-Haul, 10:07 the sides just completely exploded open, 10:10 all they were moving, 10:12 all the home goods and everything that they had, 10:15 the pressure of it just blew the sides out of the truck 10:18 and their possessions were just all over the road 10:23 on both sides of the road, 10:24 the logger I learned later had died in the accident, 10:27 he had swerved. 10:29 Then I went to the hospital to make this visit of a member 10:33 and while at the hospital, 10:35 I met the family involved in the accident. 10:38 And what happened was a family that quit their job, 10:44 they were moving to southern California 10:46 to take up a new job, 10:47 all their earthly possessions were in the moving van. 10:50 They had two vehicles, 10:52 the mother and I think one of the child 10:54 was in the car out in front, 10:56 the father and the daughter was in the moving van. 10:59 The mother every now and then 11:00 would look in the rearview mirror 11:01 and she would see that U-Haul 11:04 and her husband 11:05 and her daughter were back there. 11:06 And then all of a sudden 11:07 she looked in the rearview mirror 11:09 and there was nobody behind her 11:12 and she wondered what had happened. 11:14 And she turned around and she came back 11:15 and saw the terrible carnage of this accident. 11:19 Her daughter was alive. 11:20 Her husband was alive seriously injured. 11:23 And she told me this firsthand 11:25 she said she could not believe being here 11:28 her husband is in the road, he's laying there, 11:31 he's bleeding, he's possibly mortally wounded, 11:33 and daughter seriously injured, and the truck driver is dead. 11:38 She said, "Our stuff is all over the road," 11:39 she said, "People were stopping 11:41 and putting their stuff in their cars." 11:44 They're just loading up her stuff 11:45 not to bring it to us but driving off with it. 11:49 And her husband did survive and she said... 11:56 She said, "I kind of know how Job feels." 11:58 She says, "We've lost everything in one day." 12:00 We moved, we lost our friends, 12:04 lost our health, lost our earthly possessions. 12:07 She said, "If it wasn't for God, 12:08 we wouldn't have anything." 12:10 And so I have an opportunity 12:11 to visit that family a few times 12:13 while they were there in this, 12:15 for them, a strange town, recovering from this accident. 12:18 But why would people do that? 12:24 Why would you stop 12:25 and, first of all it's stealing. 12:29 And they just figured, well, if it's on the road, 12:33 you know, finders keepers I guess. 12:35 The Bible says, 12:37 "Where your treasure is that's where your heart is." 12:40 Matter of fact, we're gonna go to that verse 12:41 and that's the section. 12:44 Matthew, someone's gonna read for me 12:45 in just a moment Hebrews 10:34, okay. 12:49 And I'm gonna read Matthew 6:19 through 21. 12:53 Jesus said, 12:54 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, 12:56 where moth and rust destroys 12:59 where thieves break through and steal. 13:01 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 13:04 where neither moth or rust destroys 13:06 and where thieves do not break in and steal. 13:09 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 13:12 You know, everyone worries about 13:14 how secure are my investments. 13:17 At the time of this broadcast, 13:19 the stock market has gone 13:20 up and down thousands of points 13:22 it looks like in a week, 13:24 well, over a thousand points in fluctuations 13:26 which is, you know, unheard of 13:28 and people are very worried about their investments. 13:31 If your investment is in heaven, 13:33 do you ever have to worry? 13:36 You know, if everything you have is in heaven, 13:39 you don't ever have to be afraid 13:41 that someone's gonna break in and steal. 13:43 You don't have to be afraid if your alarm system's working. 13:48 You don't have to be afraid of the stock market. 13:50 If your treasure is in heaven, you've got a very secure bank 13:54 that is guarding what you have. 13:57 Everyone lives based upon where their treasure is. 14:01 Let me give you one more verse here, 14:02 Colossians 3:1 and 2. 14:06 "If then you were raised with Christ, 14:08 seek those things that are above, 14:10 where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 14:12 Set your mind on things above, 14:14 and not on things of the earth." 14:16 So again there's a verse 14:17 which talks about where is your treasure, 14:19 we need to be focusing on that which is gonna last forever. 14:22 Why would you want to have your treasure be so temporary? 14:27 How long is 70 years compared to eternity? 14:32 Karen and I were having worship last night 14:36 and it wasn't very structured, 14:38 I just grabbed the book, 14:39 Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing 14:41 and we read a section in there 14:42 and it happened to be the section 14:45 where Jesus shares a Parable of the Rich Fool 14:49 who Lord blessed him abundantly, 14:53 his crops, he had these bumper crops, 14:55 and his crops were so big and the harvest so great, 14:59 he couldn't fit in the barn. 15:01 And so he said, "What will I do?" 15:02 Said well, I guess I'm gonna have my servants 15:04 quickly tear down my barns and build bigger barns 15:07 and I'll just jam it all in there 15:09 and I'll have such a surplus that I can say, 15:12 "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, 15:15 take it easy, eat, drink, be merry." 15:18 And then God says, "You fool, 15:21 this night your soul is required of you, 15:24 then whose will those things be for which you provided." 15:27 Here he thought, you know, I've got it all stored away, 15:29 I've got my treasure secure, 15:31 and God said, "No, 15:32 actually you're gonna die in your sleep tonight." 15:34 Then what are you gonna get? 15:37 Instead of thinking when he had this bumper crop, 15:39 how can I give to others, how can I share with others. 15:42 His only thought was for self. 15:44 And so for the Christian, it's all about giving, 15:49 storing your treasure in heaven 15:50 because you're giving to God, you're giving to others, 15:52 you're trying to save up that which is gonna last. 15:55 All right, go ahead read for us Hebrews 10:34. 15:58 "For you had compassion on me in my chains, 16:02 and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, 16:05 knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession 16:09 for yourselves in heaven." 16:11 You know, I like the way Paul says this. 16:12 He said, "You joyfully endure the plundering of your gifts," 16:15 you know, of your goods, you can picture soldiers 16:18 when they invade a city and they conquer a city. 16:21 They go from house to house 16:22 and they take everything of value 16:24 and they stored away and that's called plunder. 16:27 And Paul was saying, 16:28 "You know, when I traveled maybe with Silas or with Luke, 16:32 and we stayed, 16:33 you had to take care of feeding us, 16:36 and you took care of helping clothe us 16:38 and you made all of your goods available, 16:40 and so he's using, 16:41 he's overstating that's called hyperbole. 16:43 He says, "You accepted our plundering your goods." 16:47 You ever have a visitors come over 16:51 and then when they get done, there's nothing left. 16:54 If they're teenagers, 16:55 there is no food left in the refrigerator. 16:58 They've plundered your goods. 16:59 And Paul said, "Look, 17:00 you didn't mind supplying our needs," 17:03 is what he's saying, 17:04 "because you know you have an enduring possession 17:07 in heaven." 17:09 And so when we give to God, when we give our offerings, 17:15 we're really storing treasure in heaven, aren't we? 17:19 In Hebrews 11, 17:22 here's another example of where your treasure is. 17:26 He says, "By faith, Moses, when he became of age, 17:30 he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 17:33 choosing rather to suffer affliction 17:35 with the people of God 17:36 than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 17:39 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches 17:43 than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward." 17:46 Which reward was he looking to? 17:48 The earthly reward or the heavenly reward? 17:51 And Moses quite literally did that, 17:53 he turned his back on all of the treasures of Egypt 17:58 and they were one of the wealthiest kingdoms 18:00 back then. 18:01 Egypt now is comparatively poor. 18:03 They don't have all the oil of the Middle Eastern, 18:06 but back then it was a great trading center. 18:09 And so many of the goods from Africa came down the Nile 18:12 and it was a very powerful kingdom. 18:14 They had a temperate climate 18:15 where they were able to farm there by the delta, 18:18 and they had great food resources. 18:20 Remember the story of Joseph. 18:22 At its zenith, 18:23 I mean you look at the big pyramids they built. 18:26 And just King Tut's treasure, King Tut was a poor king. 18:31 Look at all the gold that these monarchs had. 18:35 Moses turned his back on all of that. 18:38 And he said, "I don't want that treasure. 18:40 I don't want to be king of the world. 18:41 I want the treasure that's in heaven." 18:45 Did you hear this last week? 18:47 A lady won the lottery, 18:51 roughly half a billion dollars, 18:54 400 and something million dollars 18:57 and she's fighting in court, 18:58 now I haven't heard the outcome if she succeeded or not. 19:00 She wants to remain anonymous 19:03 because she thinks, "My life is gonna be destroyed 19:05 once everybody finds out I've got all this money, 19:07 and I'm not gonna be able to live my life anymore." 19:09 And so she's fighting through the courts 19:11 to remain anonymous. 19:15 She's probably all stressed out now. 19:18 Here she's got $500 million coming in 19:20 and she has no peace. 19:23 She's all wrapped up in the court system 19:26 because she's realized 19:27 what's gonna happen to her life after this. 19:29 Isn't that ironic when you think about it? 19:32 Wouldn't you like to have that problem? 19:36 Here Moses is saying, "I want the heavenly reward." 19:40 2 Corinthians 4:18, 19:43 "While we do not look at the things that are seen, 19:45 but the things that are not seen. 19:47 For the things that are seen are temporary, 19:50 but the things which are not seen are eternal." 19:52 You might say, 19:53 "How do I know I'm gonna have that treasure in heaven?" 19:57 How do you know? 19:59 God said so. 20:01 He said, "Yeah, you've got a reward," 20:03 it's like Jesus said to that rich young ruler, 20:05 "Go, give what you have to the poor, 20:06 you'll have treasure in heaven." 20:08 If Jesus says that, you need to believe it. 20:10 If you are willing to forsake everything for Him 20:13 and that ought to excite you if the Lord makes that promise. 20:17 Look in Colossians 3:1 and 2, 20:20 "If then you were raised with Christ, 20:22 seek those things that are above, 20:24 where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 20:27 Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. 20:31 What's the rest of that verse? "Seek ye first..." What? 20:35 "The Kingdom of God and His righteousness." 20:39 You know what I think Jesus was thinking about 20:40 when He said that verse. 20:41 A lot of what Christ said, 20:42 He's alluding to the Old Testament. 20:44 You remember when Solomon first became king 20:49 and he made a great offering to God. 20:52 This story happens 20:53 after he makes his great offering, 20:55 I forget he like offers a thousand bowls 20:58 which is a very lavish offering, 21:00 show God his gratitude. 21:01 God appears to him in a dream and give him at night. 21:05 And it says, Solomon loved the Lord, 21:07 walking in all the commandments of the Lord. 21:09 And God says to him, 21:14 ask what I shall give you. 21:17 Now what would you ask for? 21:20 It's kind of like, you're kid, 21:24 you hear about, you know, rubbing the genie bottle 21:27 and the genie pops out and says, "What do you want?" 21:29 So God says, "What do you want? 21:31 You want to win the lottery? 21:33 What do you want? 21:34 You want a new car?" 21:37 What would you ask for, better newer house, 21:40 with bigger bank account? 21:42 I mean, how many things could you say? 21:44 You know, it's one thing if you've got a rich friend 21:46 and he says, "What do you want?" 21:47 But you've got God saying, "What do you want?" 21:49 I mean that's called a blank check, right? 21:53 I mean one time 21:54 Hezekiah brought a message from the Lord... 21:56 I'm sorry 21:57 Isaiah brought a message from the Lord to Hezekiah, 21:59 he said, "What sign do you want from God? 22:01 You want the sun to go down 10 degrees, 22:03 you want the sun to go backwards," 22:05 I mean, "what do you want?" 22:06 He says, yeah, we'll have the sun go backwards. 22:09 So here God says, "What do you want?" 22:11 What do you ask for? What did Solomon ask for? 22:15 You know, the key is, it says Solomon loved the Lord, 22:18 and Solomon loved the people of God 22:22 because his answer is, he says, 22:23 "Here you've made me king in the place of my father 22:25 and I'm just a child, 22:26 I don't know how to go out or come in 22:28 and here I'm king over this people of yours." 22:31 Solomon says, "They're your people. 22:33 They're like the sand of the sea 22:35 and I don't know how to govern your people." 22:37 And so he prays for an understanding heart 22:40 to know the difference between good and evil, 22:42 to govern God's people. 22:43 So what is he seeking? 22:44 He's seeking first the kingdom of God 22:47 and he said, "I need to know the difference 22:49 between right and wrong." 22:50 He's seeking the righteousness of God. 22:53 And so because he saw it first, 22:55 the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God, 22:57 what does he get? 23:00 God says, "Because you saw at first 23:01 My kingdom and My righteousness, 23:03 I'm gonna give you things you didn't ask for, 23:06 like nobody else before you." 23:08 And he ends up becoming the richest king 23:10 who's ever lived, richest earthly king 23:13 because he'd made that his priority. 23:15 So this is what the principle is here 23:17 in seeking first the kingdom 23:19 and making sure your treasure is in heaven. 23:23 Now when we're talking about Offerings of Gratitude, 23:28 what's the most important thing we can give? 23:31 Give our heart? Give our service? 23:35 What did God give? 23:36 God so loved the world, He gave His Son. 23:39 Can you give the son? 23:43 Sort of. 23:44 What did Jesus mean when He said to the disciples, 23:46 "I give to you the keys of the kingdom?" 23:49 Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. 23:51 Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 23:53 Are apostles given literal keys 23:55 or are we given the keys in the truth 23:57 when we share Christ? 24:00 So the most important offering we can give 24:02 is when we give Jesus to others 24:05 'cause you're giving life, 24:06 that's why I still pinch myself 24:08 that I'm involved in the most important work 24:10 in the world 24:12 that I could share life with people. 24:14 It is so exciting to hear the stories 24:16 and we hear the testimonies, 24:18 and I never get tired of it of people that say, 24:20 "Because you were preaching the Word, 24:23 I found the Lord" and that's the short version, 24:25 I hear all kinds of interesting ways it happened. 24:28 But here we've got some verses that deal with that. 24:31 Ephesians 2:8, 24:33 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 24:35 and not of yourselves, it is the gift." 24:37 What is salvation? It's a gift. 24:40 It's a gift of God. 24:42 2 Corinthians 8:9, 24:45 "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 24:47 that though He was rich for your sake He became poor, 24:51 that through His poverty we might become rich." 24:55 We get these riches of His grace in salvation. 25:00 And then one more in 1 Peter 4:10, 25:05 it says, "As each one has received a gift, 25:08 minister to it to one another, 25:10 as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 25:15 You know what a manifold is, 25:16 I think most of the men here know what a manifold is. 25:18 You've got an intake manifold and exhaust manifold, 25:21 we call the manifold. 25:22 It's similar to the word mini, minifold, 25:25 it means it's got mini outlets in 25:27 and mini outlets out. 25:29 You can have, you got an eight cylinder. 25:31 You got a bigger manifold 25:32 then if you have a four cylinder. 25:34 And I want to talk about the manifold blessings of God. 25:37 He's talking about all these different avenues 25:40 through which God gives us His blessings. 25:42 And they're a gift. 25:44 I'm gonna jump on to the next section here 25:46 where it talks about our best offering. 25:47 We still got a lot to cover. 25:49 I see some questions that came in. 25:51 I see one question there 25:52 that's actually coming up later, 25:53 so I'm holding on that one 25:55 until I get to it in the lesson. 25:58 What is the best offering you can give? 26:01 If you were to give 100% of your money, 26:04 is that the best offering you can give? 26:07 What does the Lord really want from us 26:09 as the most important offering? 26:12 I think I've got it here in my lesson. 26:14 Yeah, Psalms 116:12, 26:18 "What shall I render to the Lord 26:20 for all of His benefits toward me?" 26:23 It says, "I will take the cup of salvation, 26:25 and call upon the name of the Lord." 26:28 And so what is it that we offer to God? 26:31 We take the cup of salvation. 26:32 The most important gift that we can give 26:35 is by receiving the gift of salvation. 26:38 Someone's gonna read for me in just a moment, Exodus 25:2. 26:43 You'll have that, okay. 26:44 I heard a story about... 26:47 There was a youth camp and at the youth camp, 26:50 after they took an offering 26:51 among this large group of youth, 26:53 the deacons were in the back 26:55 and they're going through the offering 26:56 and they saw a picture of a girl in there, 26:58 and they thought we know what happened, 26:59 one of these teenage boys, he snag some girl's wallet 27:03 and threw her picture in there, 27:04 it's a practical joke 27:05 that teenagers, you know, play on one another. 27:07 And they picked up the picture and they pulled it out 27:09 and they turned it over 27:10 and it actually was put in by the girl, 27:12 she said, "Look, I have no money to give 27:14 but I'll give myself." 27:16 And so she put her picture in the offering basket. 27:20 Isn't that really what the Lord wants us to do? 27:22 To give ourselves. 27:23 All right, go ahead read for us, please, 27:24 Exodus 25:2. 27:27 "Speak to the children of Israel, 27:29 that they bring Me an offering. 27:31 From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart 27:34 you shall take My offering." 27:37 Now a... 27:40 What's the difference between tithe and offering? 27:44 Should the tithe be given whether you're cheerful or not? 27:50 Should the tithe be given whether you're willing or not? 27:56 Yeah, some people say, 27:58 "Well, the Lord loves a cheerful giver, 27:59 but he'll take it from a grouch." 28:04 I remember reading about this girl 28:06 that when she went to church, 28:07 her parents were trying to teach her 28:09 the principles of giving, 28:11 and so on the way into church, 28:12 her mother gave her two coins, 28:13 one was a large silver dollar and one was 25 cents 28:16 and she knew the difference. 28:17 And she said, the mother said, 28:19 "Now I want you to give one of these 28:22 during church today." 28:24 And so after the offering 28:26 and after church, they're on the way out 28:28 and mom said to her daughter, 28:29 "So what did you decide to give?" 28:31 She said, "Well, I was gonna give the silver dollar," 28:35 but during the offering appeal, 28:37 the pastor said, 28:39 the Lord wants us to be cheerful givers 28:41 and I realize I was gonna be a lot more cheerful 28:43 about giving the 25 cents than giving the silver dollar. 28:47 So I threw that in instead. 28:51 It's true that there is a difference 28:53 between offerings and tithe. 28:56 In that the tithe is specified 29:01 and the offering is unspecified, 29:05 both should be equally given faithfully 29:09 because the Bible says, 29:11 "You can rob God in not paying tithe." 29:13 And it also says in Malachi, 29:15 "You've robbed Me in offerings as well." 29:18 Now we should give our tithe cheerfully. 29:21 We should give it all cheerfully. 29:23 It's like this little girl, very little girl 29:26 and her parents gave her some money 29:29 and she started counting out the money. 29:30 She had 10 pennies, shiny pennies 29:32 and she said, "This one is for Jesus," 29:35 and the parents said, "Oh, she understands tithe, 29:37 it's very nice." 29:38 And then she said, "This one's for mommy, 29:41 and this one's for daddy, and this one's for Jesus." 29:44 And the parents said, 29:45 "Well, you already gave one for Jesus." 29:47 She said, "No, that was my tithe, 29:48 this one's a present." 29:50 And so she kind of got the concept there 29:53 of tithe and offering. 29:55 Our Lord loves a cheerful giver 29:58 and there you have it, 29:59 2 Corinthians 9:6 and 7, 30:02 "But this I say, He who sows sparingly 30:04 will also reap sparingly, 30:06 and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully. 30:09 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, 30:12 not grudgingly or of necessity, 30:15 for God loves a cheerful giver." 30:17 Lord wants us to give from our hearts 30:20 and if He's got your hearts, it is cheerful. 30:22 And again, you find Exodus 34:26, 30:25 "It's not to be the last thing you do, 30:27 it should be the first thing. 30:29 It says, 30:31 "The first of the firstfruits of your land 30:34 you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God." 30:38 Now there's a story that we're asked in our lesson 30:40 to consider, 30:43 and you find it in Luke 7:37. 30:48 "Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when..." 30:51 And this is included in that book 30:53 that we often give away here on Mary Magdalene. 30:56 "A woman in the city who was a sinner, 30:58 when she knew that Jesus sat at table 31:00 in the Pharisee's house..." 31:01 You read this gospel in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, 31:06 you compare them, 31:07 and you realize this is the house, 31:08 this is Martha's house at Bethany 31:11 and it was Mary was their sister. 31:14 "She brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 31:17 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, 31:19 and she began to wash His feet with her tears, 31:21 and wiped them with the hair of her head, 31:23 and she kissed His feet 31:25 and anointed them with fragrant oil. 31:27 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, 31:29 he spoke to himself, 31:30 'This Man, if He was a prophet, 31:32 He'd would know who and what manner of woman 31:33 this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.'" 31:36 By the way, 31:37 Judas also said something about the gift, didn't he? 31:40 He said, "Why was this terrible waste made? 31:43 This offering could have been sold for 300 denarii 31:46 and given to the poor. 31:47 He goes on to saying, "John..." I think it's John 12, 31:50 he didn't say this 31:51 because he cared about the poor, 31:52 he was a thief. 31:53 This is where it's finally revealed 31:55 he was a thief. 31:56 Mary's generosity was a rebuke to Judas' greed. 32:02 So back to Simon, he's there. 32:06 And Jesus knew what he was thinking 32:08 and He said to him, 32:09 "Simon, I've got something to say to you." 32:11 So he said, "Master, say on." 32:13 "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. 32:15 One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty." 32:18 One owes 10 times more. 32:20 "And when he had nothing with which to repay, 32:23 the creditor freely forgave them both. 32:25 Tell me therefore, 32:26 which of them do you think will love him more?" 32:28 Simon answered, he said, 32:29 "I suppose the one that he forgave more." 32:32 And Jesus said, "You have rightly judged." 32:35 Then He turned to the woman and he said to Simon... 32:37 He's looking at the woman but He's speaking to Simon. 32:39 "You see this woman? 32:40 I entered your house, 32:41 you gave Me no water for My feet, 32:42 but she has washed My feet with her tears 32:45 and wiped them with the hair of her head. 32:47 You gave Me no kiss, 32:48 but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet 32:50 from the time I came in. 32:51 You did not anoint My head with oil, 32:54 but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 32:57 Therefore I say to you, 32:58 her sins, which are many are forgiven, 33:00 for she loved much. 33:01 But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." 33:05 That's a very important principle. 33:08 He who has forgiven much loves much. 33:11 People who understand the sacrifice 33:13 that Jesus made for them 33:14 have no problem giving offerings. 33:18 When you think about the price the Father paid 33:21 for your salvation. 33:22 God so loved the world He gave His Son, 33:24 and then we tighten our knuckles 33:27 around our dollars 33:30 and think, "You know, 33:32 I don't want to let go of this." 33:33 You don't appreciate how much was paid for you. 33:37 He's not saying, 33:39 "You need to go out 33:40 and become some kind of just the terrible sinner, 33:43 and then you repent, you come back 33:44 and then you appreciate salvation." 33:47 We already are guilty of the blood of His Son. 33:51 I know I talked about this story one time 33:53 when I met a lady after the service 33:54 and she said, "Pastor Doug, you've got a testimony, 33:58 you know, you're out there in the world, 34:00 then you were converted, now you're enthusiastic. 34:02 And I feel like, I've been raised in the church 34:04 and I've got to go out there 34:05 and just, if I go and live a prodigal life 34:09 and then I'm converted and I come back, 34:11 then I'll really appreciate salvation. 34:12 I just don't feel like I appreciate it now. 34:15 And I said, "Sister, God forbid," 34:16 I said, "You don't need to go out there 34:18 and be a big sinner and then repent and come back." 34:21 I said, "You just got to realize 34:22 you already are a big sinner." 34:24 She says, "There are no little sinners 34:25 because all of your sin doesn't matter 34:27 if you've grown up in the church, 34:28 your sin whatever it is 34:29 was big enough to put Jesus on the cross all by yourself." 34:33 And when you realize that 34:35 God so loved the world, He gave His Son 34:37 for you and your sins already, 34:39 then you appreciate. 34:40 He who is forgiven much loves much. 34:43 Say it this way, he who realizes 34:45 how much he was forgiven loves much. 34:47 Isn't that right? 34:49 And this story is also amazing in that. 34:53 It's recorded in the Bible that two people kissed Jesus. 34:57 Judas who complained about the gift of Mary, 35:02 he kissed Jesus' face 35:04 and betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver. 35:07 Mary was willing to kiss His feet, 35:09 and she gave this lavish gift. 35:12 And what a contrast between the two. 35:16 Anyway, I got a couple of questions 35:17 I see it coming in. 35:18 All right, let's take one, this came in on Facebook. 35:22 "How do I find the faith to give?" 35:25 Well, the same way you learn arithmetic. 35:27 You may start with little things. 35:30 And as you discover that 35:31 God takes care of you in little things, 35:33 your faith will grow. 35:35 Some of the questions we get... 35:38 People are saying, "Pastor Doug, you know, 35:40 after I pay all my bills, I have nothing left to give." 35:44 Ah-ha, that's the problem. 35:46 After you pay all your bills, you have nothing left to... 35:50 Are you supposed to give your last fruits 35:51 or your first fruits? 35:54 If you would make God first, 35:55 you'd find something happens miraculously 35:58 before you get to the rest of your bills. 36:00 And He will multiply the other 90%, 36:03 but if you wait until you pay all your bills, 36:06 you say, "I'll see if I have 10% left," 36:08 you've made God last. 36:10 That takes no faith. 36:13 And so as you exercise faith in the little things, 36:16 then your faith will grow. 36:18 Another question came in. 36:20 "What should one do with the wages they receive 36:22 if they work in some medical or emergency services?" 36:25 I'm guessing like doctor or nurse. 36:26 "Should it be given as tithe or offering? 36:29 Please provide Bible verses." 36:31 It's going to be hard to provide a specific verse, 36:34 I'll think about that. 36:36 What they're asking is 36:37 obviously there are certain necessary functions 36:40 if you're a doctor, 36:44 and, you know, you are required to work on Sabbath, 36:48 or do some emergency work, 36:49 or nurse, 36:52 or some of these other medical services, 36:55 and you, you know, hospitals are set up 36:56 where they pay you those days also, 36:58 even if it's the Sabbath, 37:01 should you turn that in as tithe, offering, 37:03 keep it, or just pay a tithe on it, 37:04 or what do you do? 37:06 Well, I tell you what I believe. 37:10 Now Karen is a physical therapist, 37:12 and at one point when we were living in Covelo, 37:15 she would drive down, 37:16 and she was on rotation to work 37:18 at one of the Adventists hospitals 37:19 there in Ukiah. 37:21 And she, every now and then, would have... 37:22 People had surgery, 37:23 and the next day would be Sabbath and she... 37:25 They need a physical therapy, and you have to do it. 37:28 She just decided that any work she did on Sabbath 37:30 was non-remunerative, 37:32 meaning she'd get the paycheck but it went to the Lord. 37:35 So the reason that's a good practice is because 37:39 if you're in the practice of being paid, 37:42 whenever you work on Sabbath and keeping that, 37:45 you're going to be tempted 37:46 to just keep on booking your Sabbaths. 37:48 If you realize, "Any work I do Sabbath, 37:50 I'm going to consecrate to the Lord," 37:52 you're going to be careful that you don't get booked every week 37:55 on Sabbath. 37:56 Even for those in the medical field, 37:57 if you're booking out every Sabbath, 38:00 and you're on rotation where you're just... 38:02 You're not going to church, 38:03 that's going to hurt you spiritually. 38:05 You need to try and arrange your schedule 38:06 so it's the exception and not the rule. 38:09 Of course, there has to be people to do those things. 38:11 And there's a lot of unbelievers 38:12 that work in hospitals too. 38:14 I'd say, "Let the dead bury the dead." 38:16 That's a bad analogy, isn't it? 38:20 But I'm glad someone's working at the phone company 38:23 and that my phone works on Sabbath, aren't you? 38:26 I'm glad there's somebody 38:27 keeping the lights burning today, 38:28 or we'd all be in the dark, right? 38:31 But I'm not going to do it. 38:34 You let the dead bury the dead. 38:36 You see, you know what I mean when I say that. 38:37 Kind of overstating it. 38:39 All right, do we have another question? 38:40 "Should I make my kids tithe on their earnings?" 38:44 What do you think? Sure. 38:46 Or do they only start obeying when they are adults? 38:49 Yeah, I think that you teach them, 38:51 "He that is faithful in that which is the least 38:54 is also faithful in much." 38:55 Teach them to be faithful in the little things, 38:58 and have them be paying tithe 39:00 or whatever their allowance is, 39:01 you remind them, pay tithe on that, 39:03 and be faithful in the little things. 39:05 Another question, "How do I find the faith 39:08 to let go of the things of this world 39:10 and know it's going to be okay 39:12 to give everything over to God?" 39:15 Well, when you really completely surrender 39:17 to the Lord, and you say, 39:18 "Lord, all that I am, and all that I have is Thine." 39:21 That's actually in the Bible 39:23 where King Ahab said to another king, 39:27 "All that I have, and all that I am is yours." 39:30 It's a great statement to make to the Lord. 39:33 When you make a complete surrender, 39:34 and you take up your cross, 39:35 and you're crucified with the Jesus, 39:36 once you're dead, 39:37 you're not afraid of anything else. 39:40 Can anyone do anything more to you 39:41 once you're dead? 39:43 And so if you really laid all on the altar, 39:45 meaning your heart and your life to the Lord, 39:48 you have nothing to fear after that 39:50 'cause you are fully consecrated to God. 39:52 And it all belongs to Him. 39:55 I have another question here. 39:56 We're going to get back to the lesson here, 39:57 but I'll try and take a few more questions. 40:00 "If my spouse is the sole provider 40:02 but he's not a believer, 40:04 how do I tithe?" 40:07 Well, that is a difficult situation. 40:10 It's especially difficult if your spouse thinks that 40:13 because you may do work around the house 40:17 that he is the sole provider, 40:21 that would be sort of a terrible tyranny 40:22 to live under 40:23 where one member of the family says a 100% of it is mine. 40:27 When you're married, you become one flesh, 40:30 and the Bible says you're not even supposed to say 40:32 your own body is yours. 40:34 So for one spouse to tell the other 40:36 100% of the income is mine 40:38 because I'm the one with the job, 40:40 that's a bad relationship. 40:42 And so typically, our paycheck comes in my name. 40:46 Karen's also working part time too. 40:49 But I've always understood 40:52 that she's got some of the money, 40:55 as a matter of fact, 40:56 she takes care of the whole checkbook. 40:58 She knows more about how much money we have 40:59 than I do. 41:01 That's the truth. 41:02 And so I would say to your spouse, 41:04 "Look, what do I have for my budget? 41:07 Is any of this mine?" 41:08 There needs to be some agreement to say, 41:10 "Yeah, you've got some discretionary money 41:12 that is yours. 41:13 You pay tithe on what is yours." 41:15 And if not then you get marriage counseling. 41:18 Because you ought to be able to say, 41:21 "Some of this belongs to me." 41:23 Is that right? Yes. 41:24 Yeah, I just... 41:25 I think that if you're going to have a happy marriage, 41:28 otherwise one person is sort of hoarding everything, 41:30 and that's pretty greed. 41:32 "If I'm not able to tithe because of all my bills, 41:35 should I sell my belongings or sell my car 41:37 so I don't have a car payment?" 41:39 Well, there's two things 41:40 that are kind of embedded in this. 41:42 One is, as I mentioned, put your tithe first, 41:46 and see what God does to bless what remains. 41:50 The other question is, 41:52 if you're buying outside of your income, 41:55 you know, if you have a lot of payments 41:56 on different things, 41:58 you might need to downsize 42:00 so that you can live in the budget, 42:01 and part of your budget is paying tithe. 42:04 I'm sorry, friends, 42:05 if you'd say, "Well, Pastor Doug, 42:06 this tithe business is really difficult." 42:08 You're going to have to take it up with the Lord. 42:09 It's not my idea. 42:11 Isn't that right? Yes. 42:12 This is from the Lord. 42:13 It's His plan for blessing you 42:16 and for the propagation of the gospel around the world. 42:20 All right, back to our study. 42:21 We got a few more minutes to cover these things. 42:24 Proverbs, and this is another one 42:26 about the firstfruits. 42:27 Proverbs 3:9 and 10, 42:28 "Honor the Lord with your possessions 42:30 and with the firstfruit of all your increase. 42:34 So your barns will be filled with plenty, 42:37 and your vats will overflow with new wine." 42:40 So what's the promise if we do the firstfruits? 42:43 It says, your barns, 42:45 you know, the barn is where they store the goods of vats 42:47 when they had the wine 42:48 or they had vats that stored the oil, 42:50 he said, "You're just going to have the abundance. 42:51 God will bless what remains 42:53 if you honor God with the first fruits." 42:56 That's a promise you need to prove the Lord on. 42:59 Now, what's the motive for giving? 43:02 What should be the motive for giving? 43:07 Needs to be gratitude and love. 43:08 You know, one of my favorite stories in the Bible 43:10 is the story of Naaman and leper. 43:12 Here you have the Syrian General. 43:15 He comes down to Elisha 43:16 'cause he's heard that Elisha can heal someone from leprosy. 43:20 And first, reluctantly, he leaves it, 43:23 but he agrees to obey. 43:24 He washes in the Jordan River seven times, 43:27 his leprosy is cleansed. 43:29 Now when he came to Elisha for cleansing, 43:31 he brought this fabulous amount of money 43:33 'cause he had come from King of Syria, 43:35 and he has an armed escort with him 43:37 'cause they're guarding all of this wealth. 43:38 They've got silver, they've got gold, 43:40 they've got clothing and gifts 43:42 to give to Elisha for his healing. 43:43 It was like a very high medical bill 43:45 he expected to pay, 43:46 kind of like medical bills today. 43:48 Can you imagine how much you could charge 43:50 if you could cure a person from leprosy? 43:53 And so it was very expensive. 43:56 But here, Elisha tells him, "Just go wash in the Jordan." 43:58 He washes, he comes up, he is clean. 44:01 Now he's already on his way back to Syria, 44:06 he is so thankful. 44:08 The Bible says his flesh was restored 44:10 like the flesh of a little child. 44:12 If you're dying, and you know you're dying, 44:14 and you're dying from leprosy, you're dying in degrees. 44:16 You're slowly falling apart. 44:19 And you can't embrace your children 44:21 'cause it's contagious disease. 44:22 You are unclean and you're dying. 44:24 That'd be terrible. 44:26 You're terminal. 44:27 All of a sudden, you're completely healed, 44:29 not only are you healed, you're better than before, 44:31 you got baby skin, right? 44:34 How happy are you? 44:36 Now he could have taken his money 44:39 and just going back to Syria. 44:40 He got no bill from the doctor. 44:42 Elisha didn't give him a bill. 44:44 But Naaman is so thankful, 44:46 he doubles back 44:47 to go just for the purpose of thanking the man of God. 44:52 He had no other reason to go back. 44:54 He not only wants to thank him verbally, and praise God, 44:56 he says, "Now take a gift from your servant." 44:59 He hadn't gotten a bill. 45:02 So what is his motive for giving? 45:06 Joy, love, gratitude. 45:09 He said, "I've been given life, 45:12 I will give everything to be cleansed from leprosy. 45:14 Everything I have, you can have it, 45:16 and I'll still be happy." 45:18 How happy was Naaman before when he's dying of leprosy, 45:22 and he's very wealthy, 45:24 and he's very famous, wasn't happy. 45:26 What profit is it if you got all those things 45:27 and you're dying? 45:29 So there's a lot of miserable millionaires 45:31 out there, did you know that? 45:33 And I grew up... 45:35 My father was one of them. 45:37 Drank himself to sleep every night, 45:39 had millions of dollars. 45:40 And we knew a lot of people that were in that world. 45:44 Happiness does not come from money, 45:46 but if you've got life, 45:48 then Naaman, he's so happy. 45:50 He gives for the right reason, gratitude in his heart. 45:54 All right, someone's going to read for me Proverbs 11:25, 45:57 and I'll be reading, just before that, 46:01 Luke 6:38, 46:02 "Give, and it will be given to you, 46:05 good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over 46:08 will men put into your bosom. 46:10 For with the same measure that you use, 46:12 it will be measured back to you. 46:15 The generous soul will be made fat." 46:18 Now he's not talking about the kind of fat 46:19 you worry about today. 46:20 He's taking about 46:22 the generous soul will have in abundance. 46:24 And so God says, He will give to the givers. 46:26 This is a principle that Jesus shares also. 46:29 Please read for us Proverbs 11. 46:31 "The liberal soul shall be made fat. 46:35 And he that watereth shall be watered also himself." 46:39 Sorry, I stole part of your verse just by memory, 46:42 but I like the second part there. 46:44 "He that waters will also be watered himself." 46:47 On the streets, we used to say, 46:49 "What goes around, comes around," 46:52 "You get what you give." 46:55 There's the ricochet effect in life 46:58 that whatever you put out is going to come back. 47:01 And so it is a biblical principle, 47:03 you know, some people call it karma. 47:05 I don't like using that terminology 47:06 but it is true 47:08 that you tend to get what you give. 47:10 And if you're generous, 47:12 and you care about the poor when they cry, 47:14 God says, "When you cry, I'll hear your prayer." 47:17 And so that's something that stays with us. 47:22 It doesn't make sense but God... 47:26 Things are multiplied through subtraction 47:29 when you give. 47:30 I think it was a... 47:32 Mother Teresa said, 47:33 "If you give what you do not need, 47:35 it isn't really giving." 47:37 One where our offerings are all composed of leftovers, 47:41 there's really no sacrifice involved in that. 47:43 "He who gives what he would readily throw away, 47:45 gives without generosity, 47:47 for the essence of generosity is in self sacrifice." 47:52 And CS Lewis put it this way, 47:54 "I do not believe one can settle 47:55 on how much we ought to give, 47:57 I'm afraid the only safe rule 48:00 is to give more than we can spare." 48:02 People kept writing to CS Lewis saying, 48:04 "How much exactly should we give?" 48:05 He said, "I don't think there's a safe rule. 48:07 The only thing I can come up with, 48:09 'give more than you can spare.'" 48:11 'Cause that means it hurts a little bit, right? 48:13 You're giving so that you sacrifice, 48:15 that's what Christian giving is. 48:18 And the promises in Philippians 4:19, 48:20 "My God will supply all of your need 48:23 according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ." 48:27 I think Victor Hugo said, "As the purse is emptied, 48:30 the heart is filled." 48:34 What about the experience of giving? 48:38 There's a joy that comes, isn't there when we give? 48:45 1 Chronicles 29:13, 48:47 "Now therefore, our God, 48:48 we thank You, and we praise Your glorious name. 48:50 But who am I, and who are my people, 48:53 that we were able to give to offer so willingly as this? 48:56 For all things come from You, 48:58 and of Your own we have given You." 49:00 There's a joy and the satisfaction 49:01 when we give. 49:02 And, you know, in reality, 49:04 you don't get to keep unless you give. 49:07 I remember reading about Sadie Saker. 49:09 She was working in the Philippines, 49:11 a sort of a mother in an orphanage, 49:13 a mother of a home. 49:15 And she loved to read, 49:16 and she had a great collection of books. 49:17 And there are some books 49:19 she was willing to share and lend 49:20 that she had a bookshelf, 49:22 and the book she was willing to lend 49:23 she had it in bookshelf. 49:24 But she had certain books she really treasured. 49:26 And she was afraid she'd lend these books 49:28 and they wouldn't come back, 49:29 she said, "These are the books I'm not giving, 49:31 I'm not lending to anyone. 49:32 I don't want to risk losing them." 49:34 She kept them in a footlocker under her bed. 49:37 And after many months of working in this mission, 49:41 she woke one night, and she kept thinking, 49:42 "I keep hearing this strange noise," 49:44 and she listened and listens, said, 49:45 "What is that noise?" 49:46 And after weeks of hearing it, 49:48 she kind of tracked it down to the foot over her bed, 49:50 and it was coming from her footlocker. 49:52 And she opened up her footlocker, 49:54 and it was full of termites. 49:57 She had heard the little grinding noise of termites, 49:59 and what the termites had done is 50:00 they had eaten through all of her treasured books. 50:04 The books on the shelf she shared, 50:06 she still had, 50:07 the ones she hoarded were lost. 50:11 I think it was Martin Luther who said, 50:13 "I have held many things in my hands, 50:15 and I've lost them all, 50:16 but whatever I placed in God's hands, 50:18 that I still possess." 50:20 That's a good principle. Amen. Well, we're out of time. 50:22 I want to remind you that we have a special gift, 50:25 and this is at the heart of what we've studied today, 50:27 it's called the Surrender of Self. 50:29 If you'd like a free copy of this book, 50:31 just call the number, 866-788-3966, 50:35 ask for offer number 153. 50:38 And we'll send this to you. 50:40 Then read it, and share it with a friend who talks about 50:42 what it really means to surrender all 50:44 and to put your life on the altar. 50:46 God bless you, friends, 50:47 we look forward to study in His word with you again 50:50 next Sabbath. 51:02 Have you ever heard a mouse howl like a wolf? 51:06 Well, what would you expect would happen 51:08 when a creature changes its destiny 51:10 from the hapless prey to mighty predator? 51:14 From the outside they look very much 51:15 like just an oversized field mouse, 51:18 cute brown fur, white on the underbelly, 51:20 nice little beady eyes, 51:22 but that's where the similarity stop. 51:24 Grasshopper mice are very unusual 51:27 making them the objects of great interest 51:29 for animal researchers. 51:32 These furry little creatures are found in the harsh deserts 51:35 of North America. 51:36 They're very territorial in nature. 51:38 And they will monopolize and fend off 25 acres. 51:42 They don't build their own homes 51:43 but sort of confiscate the burrows 51:45 and the homes of other creatures. 51:48 They're not called grasshopper mice 51:49 'cause they hop around. 51:50 But it's because they eat a lot of grasshoppers. 51:52 In fact scientists have discovered 51:54 grasshopper mice are the only mice 51:56 that are purely carnivorous. 52:00 They hunt much like cats or weasels, 52:02 stalking their prey in a predatory fashion, 52:04 and when they pounce, they are ferocious. 52:07 Sometimes even taking on snakes, 52:09 and scorpions, and centipedes. 52:12 When a grasshopper mouse gets into a fierce battle 52:15 with a snake, or a scorpion, or centipede, 52:17 they may be bit or stung several times. 52:20 But what is amazing to researchers is 52:22 they've noticed when they are bitten, 52:24 they somehow shake it off 52:26 because they convert the toxin and the venom to pain killer. 52:31 I think you can understand why this information 52:33 would be of special interest to scientists 52:36 that are trying to discover new ways 52:38 for people to deal with chronic pain. 52:41 One of the most intriguing characteristics 52:43 of these little creatures 52:45 is when they're defending their territory 52:47 or celebrating a victory over some adversary, 52:50 they'll threw back their head 52:52 and let out this earthshaking howl. 52:55 It's a mousy howl. Check it out. 53:04 The grasshopper mouse is not the only member of creation 53:07 that can survive encounters with venomous predators. 53:10 In Luke 10:19 it says, 53:12 "Behold, I will give you authority 53:15 to trample on serpents and scorpions, 53:17 and over all the power of the enemy. 53:20 Nothing will by any means hurt you." 53:22 We don't have to be the biggest and the strongest 53:25 to defeat our enemy and led out that victory roar. 53:28 When God called David to be king, 53:30 no human would have guessed that he had it in him. 53:32 He was young and insignificant, 53:34 from the outside he looked like there was no greatness in him. 53:38 But when God looked at his heart, 53:39 He saw courage, humility, compassion, and love. 53:43 David wasn't perfect and he made mistakes 53:45 but through God's power, he was able to conquer giants. 53:50 Friend, God does not intend 53:51 that you live out the rest of your life 53:53 cowering and trembling like a little field mouse. 53:56 If God can take the grasshopper mouse 53:58 and give him courage so that he fights snakes, 54:01 and scorpions, and centipedes. 54:03 If God can put in the heart of David 54:04 the courage to fight giants like Goliath, 54:07 then He can give you that same courage. 54:10 The scripture say, 54:11 "God has not given you the spirit of fear 54:13 but of power, love, and a sound mind." 54:17 And you can have that peace in your heart 54:18 when you invite the Prince of Peace 54:20 in your heart. 54:21 Why don't you do that right now? 54:32 Let's face it, 54:33 it's not always easy 54:34 to understand everything you read in The Bible. 54:37 With over 700,000 words contained in 66 books, 54:41 The Bible can generate a lot of questions. 54:43 To get biblical straight forward answers, 54:46 call into Bible Answers Live, 54:47 a live nationwide call-in radio program 54:50 where you can talk to Pastor Doug Batchelor 54:52 and ask him your most difficult Bible questions. 54:55 For times and stations in your area 54:57 or to listen to answers online, visit bal.amazingfacts.org. 55:10 Amazing Facts, changed lives. 55:17 I grew up here in New York City. 55:20 I guess dealing with all the temptations 55:23 that you would have in a big city. 55:24 Everything that you could imagine 55:26 that you could run into, 55:28 drugs, crime, it was always here. 55:32 When I was at a young age, 55:33 I actually got into trouble with the law, 55:36 and my only out was to join the military at the time 55:40 in order to not do time. 55:42 So I left New York 55:43 and traveled the world a little bit 55:46 while I was in the military. 55:48 Eventually I came back, 55:50 having grown up as a hip hop kid, 55:53 I eventually found myself 55:54 working in a music business actually. 55:57 I worked at a couple of major radio stations, 55:59 hip-hop, reggae. 56:00 I was at all the big reggae shows 56:01 working then. 56:02 No matter what I did to try and satisfy myself, 56:05 nothing really worked. 56:08 I remember I used to play at this one club in Manhattan. 56:12 I used to play there every Friday night. 56:14 So I came home one Saturday morning 56:17 after leaving the club, 56:18 and I turned on the video channel 56:20 like I usually do. 56:22 So it was this guy in the video channel talking, 56:24 and he was definitely out of place 56:25 but the things that he was saying 56:28 just totally amazed me. 56:30 I never heard anyone speak about the Bible 56:33 like this before. 56:34 So I started coming home early on Saturday mornings 56:37 just to catch this show. 56:39 I found the things that he was saying 56:40 absolutely amazing. 56:43 To the point where it literally made me stop 56:46 and start to think about how I was living my life. 56:50 So I found that all of these things 56:51 that I have been doing to try and find happiness 56:55 were actually not making me happy at all 56:57 but were really just leaving me empty inside. 57:00 When I started reading the Bible 57:02 and it started to make sense, I started to make changes. 57:06 I even tried to keep the Sabbath 57:08 which I failed at miserably. 57:10 So I was actually invited by Amazing Facts 57:13 to go to see a live series at one of the local churches, 57:18 but after going the first night, 57:19 I ended going up another night, and another night. 57:22 I stayed for the entire series. 57:24 That was there I made a decision 57:26 that changed the rest of my life forever. 57:28 I gave my life to Christ, 57:30 and everything was different after that. 57:32 I made a decision to give up the music business, 57:34 stop hanging out or roll at the clubs. 57:36 I made a decision that was eternal for me 57:39 and for my family. 57:41 I started going to church. 57:45 I got a position in church where I was actually in charge 57:47 of the personal ministries department 57:50 in the same Amazing Facts studies 57:52 that changed my life. 57:54 I actually got to share them with people 57:56 and sit down with them and tell them about Jesus. |
Revised 2018-02-26