Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180007A
|
00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls." 00:13 And to, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God 00:17 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is, 00:27 Stewardship, Motives of the Heart. 00:32 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn, and we welcome you once again 00:35 to the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:38 You know, so many of you have written or called 00:40 and said this is one of your favorite programs 00:42 and we are glad 00:43 because it's one of our favorite programs to do. 00:47 It is so much fun to, 00:49 with people we work with daily to get together 00:52 and really study the Word of God. 00:54 So let me introduce our panel to you. 00:56 We have Jill Morikone, 00:58 Danny Shelton is joining us again, we are so glad, 01:01 Mollie Steenson, and Pastor John Lomacang. 01:04 Good to be here. 01:05 And thank you all for the study that you've put 01:08 into this week's lesson. 01:09 We are studying the first quarter of 2018, 01:12 this is "Stewardship, Motives of the Heart". 01:16 And if you don't have a quarterly, 01:18 you can go to ABSG.Adventist.org 01:25 and download the quarterly, 01:26 or better yet, go to your local Seventh-day Adventist church, 01:31 get a quarterly from them, 01:32 and maybe, do you even want to join them 01:34 for the Bible study, 01:35 it's so much fun. 01:37 Well, what we would like to do before we begin, 01:40 this is lesson seven, 01:41 in this coverage, the week of February, 01:43 the 10 through the 16, 01:45 and it is titled, "Honesty with God". 01:48 And what I'd like to do is, 01:50 I'm gonna have Jill open with prayer 01:52 and then we'll get right into our study. 01:54 Let's pray. 01:55 Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus 01:57 and we thank You for the privilege 01:59 of being able to come into Your presence 02:01 as Your sons and daughters. 02:03 Right now, we ask for the anointing 02:05 of the Holy Spirit 02:06 that You would open up our minds and hearts 02:09 to what You have in Your Word 02:11 and that we would receive it with gladness 02:14 and put it into practice what you show us, 02:17 and we thank You in Jesus' name. 02:19 Amen. Amen. 02:20 Before we do our memory text, I want to set this up 02:24 for people who may not know what this is about. 02:27 Jesus was telling a parable about the sower. 02:30 And there were four different kinds of soils, 02:33 places where, when he cast his seed, where it landed. 02:36 The seed He explained is the Word of God. 02:40 Now there was some seed though 02:43 on the wayside, on the pathway, 02:45 and the devil came and snatched it up. 02:47 These were people 02:48 who did not really let the Word penetrate their heart, 02:52 they refused to believe. 02:53 Then there was seed that fell on the rocky ground. 02:57 It had a little thin layer of dirt 03:00 and it sprung up quickly, 03:01 but then when the sun came out, it withered up and died 03:04 because it just didn't have any roots. 03:07 These are people who believe it when they hear it 03:10 but they don't do anything about it. 03:12 Then the ground that accepted it 03:16 and started off with the good crop 03:19 let the thorns come in, the weeds and the thorns, 03:23 and it began to choke out the life of the seed. 03:27 And Jesus said that this was people 03:29 who received the Word with gladness 03:32 but then they get the world's concerns 03:35 and maybe the allure of materialism 03:38 actually begins to choke off the Word. 03:40 But then He said, "There is some that lands on good soil 03:45 and this good soil, 03:46 these people hide it in their heart 03:49 and they encourage the growth of the seed 03:52 by meditating on it 03:54 and it may persevere through testing and temptation. 03:58 So let's read together our memory text 04:01 because this is about the good seed. 04:03 And He says in Luke 8:15, 04:07 "But that on the good ground are they, 04:10 which in an honest and good heart, 04:14 having heard the word, they keep it, 04:17 and bring forth fruit with patience." 04:20 Here's the good news though. 04:22 Soil can be improved, soil can be tilled up, 04:26 soil can be fertilized. 04:28 And if you come to God and just say, 04:29 "Lord, give me a new heart." 04:31 He will. Amen. 04:33 So what we are going to do is, 04:34 study this spiritual concept of honesty 04:39 through the practice of tithing 04:41 and we are going to see 04:42 why tithing is so important to our Christian life 04:45 and to the church. 04:46 I have Sunday's lesson, so let's look at that. 04:49 Sunday is called a matter of simple honesty. 04:53 One thing that we all have in common 04:55 is we don't like dishonesty, do we? 04:57 When you see it manifested in somebody else, 05:00 you kind of avoid that person if they are dishonest. 05:03 But you know something that's interesting? 05:05 Sometimes we don't recognize it in our self. 05:08 Maybe we've exaggerated just a little, 05:10 or maybe we are kind of wiggling around something, 05:13 and we make excuses. 05:14 Well, I didn't want to hurt their feelings. 05:16 What we've got to do is 05:19 know that we might fool our self some of the time, 05:21 but we never fool God. 05:24 E.G. White said in Testimonies for the Church, 05:27 "Dishonesty is practiced all through our ranks 05:30 and this is the cause of lukewarmness 05:33 on the part of many who profess to believe the truth. 05:36 They are not connected with Christ. 05:39 They're deceiving their own souls." 05:42 So our lesson points us to Luke 16:10, 05:45 let's look at Luke 16:10, 05:49 and here Jesus is the one who is speaking and He says, 05:55 this is a principle that Christ is going to clearly state, 05:59 He says, "He who is faithful in what is least," 06:03 with the little things, "Is faithful also in much. 06:07 And he who is unjust in what is least, 06:12 is unjust also in much." 06:15 So what He's doing here is exhorting us 06:19 to be trustworthy with the use of our resources. 06:23 No matter how little we have, 06:26 and our faith is measured by what we do 06:31 with what God has supplied to us, right? 06:35 So we can only be trusted with more 06:39 when we develop the habit of being faithful with a little 06:44 because the habit follows as, you know, some people think, 06:48 "Oh, if I were rich, 06:49 I would give generously to support 3ABN, 06:52 or I'd give generously to support this charity 06:56 or that charity." 06:57 And you are only fooling yourself 06:58 because if you are not faithful with a little, 07:02 when you get a lot 07:03 you're not going to be faithful. 07:05 Jesus clearly says that that this is a biblical principle, 07:10 so if we're careless and unprincipled 07:13 in the way we support God's work now, 07:16 if we neglect God's work, 07:18 wouldn't matter what God gives us, 07:21 we'll be careless with eternal matters as well. 07:25 So the time, and the talents, and the treasures 07:27 that God has given to us are really, 07:32 He has entrusted them to us 07:34 to use for the benefit of the church 07:38 and we are to be the stewards of the divine things. 07:42 Now, let's look at Leviticus 27:30, 07:47 and this is a very important text, 07:49 Leviticus 27:30, 07:53 and it says, "All of the tithe of the land, 07:57 whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, 08:02 is the Lord's." 08:03 It is holy to the Lord. 08:05 Tithe is not a human invention. 08:08 Tithe is a command. 08:11 Tithe is 10% of your increase, it belongs to God. 08:16 You know, somebody said, 08:17 "Well, why does God give us His money?" 08:21 And I'll tell you why. 08:23 I think, it's because He's trying to develop in us... 08:27 Tithing is a powerful antidote to overcome selfishness. 08:31 Absolutely. 08:32 It is a powerful reminder 08:34 that we need to be honest and disciplined 08:36 and that everything comes from the Lord, 08:39 but that 10% that He gives us that is His, 08:43 we don't pay tithe, we return the tithe. 08:48 Amen, that's right. 08:49 So there's a story that is written in Genesis, 08:52 the first book of the Bible, 08:54 and it is the story about Abraham. 08:56 And as Abraham goes out, he meets Melchizedek, 09:00 who is a priest 09:01 the Bible says for ever. 09:03 And obviously, Abraham was used to the principle of tithing. 09:08 He paid a 10% tithe to Melchizedek. 09:13 Now when we look at Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, 09:17 the grandson of Abraham, 09:20 Jacob also, he was in exile and a fugitive 09:23 but he pledged to God to pay 10% of all of his incomes 09:30 upon his safe return. 09:32 And that's found in Genesis 28:22, 09:34 he says, "Of all that you give me, Lord, 09:37 I will surely give the tenth to you." 09:41 Now, when Israel was established as a nation, 09:43 after they had left Egypt 09:45 then what we find in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, 09:49 is that God reaffirmed, is the way to say it, 09:55 God reaffirmed tithing 09:57 and as the divine institution that it was, 10:00 and explained to them 10:01 that their prosperity depended upon it, 10:04 so returning tithe has always been a very important part 10:08 of religious worship. 10:10 And during the reign of King Hezekiah, 10:14 a great reformation broke out 10:16 and the first thing the people did 10:18 when their hearts were touched and reformation broke out 10:21 was to return the tithe to the Lord. 10:24 Now the New Testament assumes the validity of tithing. 10:30 There is no New Testament writer 10:34 that does away with tithing. 10:37 Jesus approved tithing, let's look at Matthew 23:23, 10:41 Jesus said, in Matthew 23:23, 10:45 He is upholding tithing as necessary and He says, 10:50 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 10:54 For you pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cumin, 10:57 and have neglected the weightier matters 11:00 of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith," 11:04 then listen to what He says, 11:05 "These you ought to have done," in other words, 11:09 paying the tithe of your mint, and your cumin, and the anise, 11:14 but He says, "These you ought to have done 11:17 without leaving the others undone." 11:19 Yes. 11:21 So the most, to me the most compelling argument for tithing 11:27 is found in Hebrews 7 11:30 as far as it being in the New Testament, 11:32 because here in Hebrews 7, it is comparing Christ 11:37 to the order of the Melchizedek, 11:39 as a priest forever, 11:41 and it repeats the story of Abraham paying the tithe, 11:45 and it is, you know, it sets it up 11:49 that we are to pay tithe to Christ 11:52 as a divine institution. 11:54 But it is so casually mentioned that it shows you 12:00 that the New Testament church 12:02 was already used to paying tithe, 12:04 you know, this is a good indicator 12:07 that this at the early state, the church was doing this. 12:11 So here's my question for all of us. 12:14 Would you be brash enough to rob God? 12:17 Turn to Malachi 3:8, 12:22 Malachi 3:8, 12:25 this is probably 12:26 one of the most important scriptures there is on tithing. 12:31 And this is God speaking, "Will a man rob God? 12:37 Yet you have robbed me! 12:39 But you say, 'in what way have we robbed you?'" 12:43 And God says, "In tithes and offerings." 12:47 The tithe belongs to God. 12:50 It is used for His purposes, and He equates, 12:55 when we don't return that tithe to Him, 12:57 He equates that to robbing him, 13:01 and if we know that we're supposed to pay a tithe 13:04 and we don't, 13:05 then we are breaking the eighth commandment, 13:08 "Thou shalt not steal." 13:10 So everything that we have belongs to God 13:13 and if we selfishly held on to a 100% of it, 13:17 we are just saying, 13:18 God, we don't trust you to take care of us. 13:21 Let me just quickly go through this, 13:24 the lesson asks, 13:26 "How can paying tithe help you remember 13:28 who ultimately owns all that you have? 13:31 Why is it important?" 13:33 Never to forget who owns all of our positions, 13:36 stewardship is a privilege that has been given to us by God. 13:39 It nurtures Christian maturity, 13:42 it increases a responsible attitude, 13:45 it develops His self-sacrifice and love in us, 13:49 and it gives us victory over selfishness and Covetousness. 13:53 Amen. 13:54 God hasn't trusted us 13:56 with time and opportunities, positions, and abilities, 14:00 and we are to be a blessing. 14:03 All the earth's resources that He has given to us, 14:06 we're just managing His estate here. 14:09 It's in a estate we're going to inherit 14:11 because we're going to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ. 14:14 So tithe and offering represents a proper attitude 14:21 toward all of our possessions being God's, 14:23 and Christians have a great motive 14:26 to return the tithe and give God offerings 14:30 when we consider everything that God has done for us, 14:35 and when we're faithful in our tithe and offering, 14:37 guess what happens? 14:39 Jesus Christ becomes our partner 14:41 in everything that we do. 14:42 Amen. Amen. 14:44 That's beautiful, Shelley, thank you so much. 14:46 What a privilege we have... Amen. 14:47 To return to God our tithe 14:49 and, I know, in a subsequent lesson 14:52 we'll look at offering as well 14:53 and that's a tremendous privilege. 14:54 Where you talk about honesty and tithing, 14:56 I know, Mr. Danny, you have faith in tithing. 14:59 Mollie, you're talking about holiness in tithing. 15:01 And, Pastor John, revival, reformation, and tithing. 15:04 And my day, initially, you would think, 15:06 has nothing at all to do with tithing, 15:08 we're talking about the life of faith, 15:10 that's Monday. 15:11 Let's look at Genesis 22, 15:14 if you want to turn in your Bibles with me, 15:17 Genesis 22. 15:19 I kind of divided this segment up into three parts. 15:23 We're going to look at tested faith, growing faith, 15:28 and joyful faith. 15:30 So as we have the journey of the life of faith, 15:33 we'll look at tested faith, growing faith, 15:36 and joyful faith. 15:37 The first faith, the tested faith, 15:39 we see this ultimate test. 15:41 Abraham, when he was called by God 15:43 to sacrifice his son Isaac upon Mount Moriah. 15:47 So we pick up the story in Genesis 22:1, 15:51 "Now it came to pass after these things 15:53 that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' 15:58 And he said, 'Here I am.'" 16:00 Now let's pause a moment, the word for tested, 16:03 most translations say God tested Abraham, 16:07 the King James would say, God did tempt, 16:09 that's right, Mollie, 16:11 God did tempt Abraham. 16:13 In the Hebrew, 16:15 the word literally means to test, try, or prove. 16:18 But it is not a term to invite someone to do evil 16:23 rather it's to test a person to develop positive qualities 16:28 in that person. 16:30 To me that's fascinating, 16:31 because God looks at Abraham and he says, 16:34 "There is positive qualities in you that I want to develop 16:37 and that I want to bring out." 16:39 So God is not testing him to bring evil, 16:42 He's trying to bring out the positive qualities, 16:45 the good in Abraham. 16:47 And God said, Abraham, 16:48 and Abraham said, what did he say? 16:50 "Here I am." 16:52 It reminds me of Isaiah 6. Yes. 16:54 Remember the call of Isaiah, 16:56 "And he saw the Lord, high, and lifted up, 16:58 and the holiness of the Lord filled the temple, 17:00 and he said, 'Woe is me, I'm undone!'" 17:03 And remember God called to him and said, "Who will go for us?" 17:06 And what did he say, 17:08 the same thing Abraham said here. 17:09 "Here I am, send me." 17:12 And as we talk about tested faith, 17:15 to me there's five lessons that I learned from Abraham's test. 17:19 The first is to answer God with a yes. 17:21 You might be going through a test right now 17:24 and you might want to say no. 17:25 You might want to say, 17:27 "God, I don't want to go this direction," 17:29 but answer God with a yes. 17:31 Let's look at verse 2, 17:33 then He said, meaning God, 17:35 "Take now, your son, your only son, Isaac, 17:39 whom you love and go to the land of Moriah 17:41 and offer him there as a burnt offering 17:43 on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 17:46 Now initially, when I look at this, Mr. Danny, 17:48 this seems kind of harsh. 17:50 "Take now your son," like God's giving a command, 17:53 but if you look at the word "now" in Hebrew, 17:57 it's actually please. 17:58 Oh, wow. 17:59 Or I pray you, or I besiege you, 18:02 So God's saying, "Please, take your son, 18:05 your only son, and offer him as a sacrifice." 18:09 Now, what God was asking Abraham to do 18:11 is definitely against anything in the Word of God. 18:15 Human sacrifice is clearly forbidden in God's Word, 18:19 and not only in God's Word, 18:21 in ancient times, in the pagan culture, 18:24 we know that they did childhood sacrifices, 18:27 but they never sacrificed people 18:29 who were more grown, 18:30 they would do maybe an infant sacrifice. 18:32 So God is asking Abraham to do something 18:34 that's forbidden in the Word of God. 18:36 And he's also asking him to do something that, 18:39 even the heathen cultures would not do. 18:42 Now, if I were Abraham, I'd be going, "Is that God?" 18:45 Yeah, I would do it. 18:47 Did I really hear God's voice? 18:49 Is that God talking to me? 18:51 So how did Abraham know it was God's voice? 18:55 First he had heard God talk to him before, 18:57 he had communicated with God before. 19:00 You look previously in Genesis, you see that, 19:03 he had communicated with God. 19:05 The other thing is that Abraham is identified in James 2 19:09 as the friend of God. 19:12 You know, if I'm in a crowded, say a crowded restaurant, 19:15 there's a lot of people and Greg's way across the room 19:18 and he says something, 19:19 guess what? I know my husband's voice, 19:21 because he is my friend, because I know him, 19:24 and instantly, I would recognize his voice. 19:27 So Abraham, even though the command seemed contrary 19:30 to everything in God's nature, 19:32 he said, "I know God's voice, I recognize His voice, 19:36 and I will obey." 19:38 So the second, 19:40 the first is to answer God with a yes, 19:41 the first lesson when you're being tested, 19:43 the second lesson is learn to identify the voice of God 19:47 and you learn to identify the voice of God, 19:49 by becoming His friend, by spending time with Him. 19:53 Third is to walk in obedience. 19:56 We see the next verse, verse 3, 19:58 So Abraham rose early in the morning 20:00 and saddled his donkey. 20:01 I think I'd want to be like Jonah. 20:03 Greg and I don't have kids 20:04 but if God said, "Sacrifice your child," 20:08 I'd wanna run away. 20:09 And yet, Abraham rose early in obedience 20:13 to a command he could not even understand, 20:16 that is tested faith. 20:19 His faith was surely tested at that moment, 20:22 so he walked in obedience. 20:23 Lesson Number four, withhold nothing from God. 20:26 We see that in verse 12, 20:28 we won't go through the whole story 20:29 but we know he went up to Mount Moriah, 20:31 he actually, Isaac's on the altar 20:34 he held out his hand with the knife. 20:37 Verse 12, God said, 20:38 "Do not lay your hand on the Lad 20:40 or do anything to him. 20:42 For now I know that you fear God, 20:43 since you have not withheld your son, 20:45 your only son from me." 20:47 So withhold nothing from God, give Him everything. 20:51 And Lesson Number five 20:52 is to trust God in spite of everything. 20:56 When it's the end of your hopes and dreams 20:58 and you're in a testing time, 20:59 it seems like, it's dark 21:01 and you don't even know what God is doing, 21:03 trust Him anyway, 21:06 one of my favorite quotes from Ellen White 21:08 is Desire of Ages 225, 21:10 it says, "Of all the gifts that heaven can bestow upon men, 21:13 fellowship with Christ in His sufferings 21:16 is the most weighty trust and the highest honor." 21:20 So you might be being tested today, 21:23 trust God, in the midst of your testing time 21:26 as Abraham did. 21:28 Now we talked about tested faith, 21:30 now we have growing faith. 21:32 Faith is not static... That's right. 21:35 We can't say that I wake up today 21:37 and I can just continue, 21:38 we're either growing, developing strength, 21:41 and deepening, 21:42 or my faith is atropine. 21:44 My faith is getting smaller and weaker. 21:48 Let's see, if you all can look up some scriptures, 21:50 Mr. Danny, can you take Romans 10:17? 21:53 Shelley, can you take James 2:17? 21:57 Pastor John, will you take Romans 4:17? 21:59 And, Miss Mollie, can you take Romans 12:3? 22:04 Romans 12:3. 22:05 And we'll start with Mollie's, 22:07 I should've given you, yours first, 22:08 I apologize for that. 22:10 Romans 12:3. 22:12 Romans 12:3, 22:14 "For I say, through the grace given unto me, 22:18 to every man that is among you, 22:20 not to think of himself more highly 22:22 than he ought to think, 22:24 but to think soberly 22:25 according as God has dealt to every man, 22:29 the measure of faith." 22:31 So God has given what each one of us, 22:33 a measure of faith. 22:36 Everyone, you at home, 22:37 have been given a measure of faith. 22:39 How do you help that faith to grow? 22:42 Mr. Danny, you have Romans 10:17? 22:45 I do. 22:47 Okay, 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, 22:51 and hearing by the Word of God." 22:53 So how does our faith grow? 22:55 Comes through hearing, 22:56 and then it says, "Faith comes by hearing 22:58 and then hearing by the Word of God." 23:00 So our faith grows 23:02 when I spend time in the Word of God. 23:04 That's right, Miss Shelly, you have James 2:17. 23:08 "Thus also faith by itself, 23:10 if it does not have works, is dead." 23:13 So faith grows by our actions, 23:16 faith is not faith if we just sit on it. 23:18 We have to step out and act on that 23:22 and as we do that, our faith grows. 23:24 Pastor John, you have Romans 4:17. 23:27 "As it is written, 23:29 I have made you a father of many nations 23:32 in the presence of Him whom He believed. 23:36 Even God, who gives life to the dead 23:38 and calls those things which do not exist 23:41 as though they did." 23:42 So faith grows as we spend time in the Word of God, 23:45 faith grows as we exercise it, 23:48 and faith grows when we speak God's Word over our lives. 23:53 We speak His word aloud over our lives. 23:56 We talked about tested faith, we talked about growing faith 24:00 and I'll do one verse for joyful faith 24:03 because I'm out of time. 24:04 Hebrews 12:2, 24:06 we know, Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter, 24:09 and then Hebrews 12:1 24:10 talks about the great cloud of witnesses, 24:12 those men and woman of faith 24:15 who have run the race with endurance, 24:17 and you and I are called to do that as well. 24:20 Verse 2, "Looking unto Jesus, 24:21 the author and finisher of our faith, 24:23 for the joy that was set before him 24:25 endured the cross." 24:28 Why did Jesus endure the test, the trial and the cross? 24:31 Because of the joy that was set before Him. 24:35 God is working something in your life that, 24:37 even right now, you cannot see. 24:39 So trust God in the midst of 24:41 while your faith is being tested, 24:43 trust Him to grow your faith 24:46 and you can be joyful in the midst of it. 24:48 Wow, that's beautiful. Amen. 24:50 You can take as much of my time as you want. 24:52 I can just sit down and learn, 24:54 I'm learning a lot, I don't know about you at home, 24:56 but mine is a statement of faith 24:59 and tithes and offerings are indeed a statement of faith, 25:01 because faith is something that continually grows 25:06 and our giving, if we think about it 25:09 who gives to something that you don't believe in? 25:12 So it's a statement of faith 25:13 because I'm not going to give 25:15 to something I don't believe in, 25:16 so when I give my tithes and my offerings to God, 25:20 I am showing that I believe in God, 25:23 that I believe in the work of the church and ministries 25:27 that our commission is to do what? 25:30 Take the gospel into part of the world. 25:32 All the world. Oh, thank you, Jill. 25:33 It's right, all right. 25:35 Into all of the world. 25:36 So it's an action and it's a growth process, 25:40 and so I'm so thankful for that. 25:42 But when, it's just like this 25:45 if I tell God, "I really love You, Lord, 25:47 I love you, I praise Your name." 25:49 I can lift my hands up, I can shout, I can do a dance, 25:53 I can do all of these things 25:54 but if I don't show Him that I love Him, 25:57 how does He say to show us that you loves Him? 26:00 In John 15:14, He says... 26:02 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 26:05 14:15. Keep my commandments. 26:07 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 26:10 So you all, you women have your husbands', 26:14 if your husband say to you, "Mollie, I love you," 26:17 "Jill, I love you," 26:20 "Shelley, I love you," JD says, 26:23 but he's never nice to you, he's not kind to you, 26:27 he never spends time with you, 26:30 he never puts you in place of him, 26:35 then does he really love you? 26:36 Absolutely, not. 26:38 So we've already gone through 26:39 which was one of the scriptures I had, the Malachi 3:8-10, 26:44 so what God is saying is 26:45 if you love Me then let's see some action 26:49 and this action is not for Him. 26:51 Does God actually need our tithes? 26:55 He doesn't, Shelley, you kind of hit it, 26:56 it keeps us from being too selfish. 26:58 Yes. Really. 27:00 And the principle of tithing 27:02 was started in the Old Testament. 27:04 We can look back 27:05 at all the firstfruits and things they did 27:07 and how the Lord even said, 27:08 "Go off to a place and get in my presence, 27:10 and do all of these." 27:12 So it's really interesting for me 27:13 when you're studying for these things, 27:15 'cause you learn, we learn ourselves. 27:16 Hopefully, we're working with you in learning together, 27:21 but the principle of tithing is the Old Testament, 27:24 I think, it's very interesting that we just said that, 27:28 if you love Me, keep My commandments 27:29 but if I watch and some of you probably do, 27:31 I watch sometimes, 27:33 especially if I'm traveling in a hotel 27:35 and you turn on the television, there'll be televangelist. 27:38 Now, people know televangelists, 27:39 some of them say, "What are you talking about? 27:41 You all are televangelists." 27:42 Well, I guess if you preach on television, you are 27:44 but some of them make a specialty. 27:47 John out of, I'm glad you're not that way, 27:50 but televangelist, 27:51 and the fact is that they hit this tithing thing 27:55 from a totally different perspective. 27:57 Many of these televangelists say, 27:59 when you talk to them 28:01 about keeping the commandments of God, 28:02 they say all those commandments there're, 28:04 that's Old Testament. 28:05 I don't believe in the Old Testament. 28:07 We don't, you know, I don't subscribe to that, 28:10 you don't have to keep the Sabbath anymore, 28:12 that's the Old Testament. 28:14 But boy, when it comes to tithing and offerings 28:17 they really believe in the Old Testament. 28:19 They all go back and tell you about all the firstfruits 28:21 and all the things that God will bless you, 28:24 so we use the Bible sometimes when it fits us 28:28 to what we really want. 28:29 So I wonder, well, if they're consistent, 28:31 if they really believe in the tithing system, 28:33 because they do, 28:34 because it sometimes turns into great wealth. 28:37 So what I really want to hit on today is 28:39 why do we give tithe, 28:42 and what's our purpose and what our motives. 28:45 The Bible is clear but, excuse me, 28:48 but there is so much teaching that's very confusing 28:52 when you watch television and listen to radio. 28:56 And that's, you give your tithes to get. 29:00 Right. 29:02 That's called the prosperity gospel maybe. 29:03 Yeah, it is. Right. 29:04 Healthy, wealthy and wise. 29:06 You know, name it, claim it. 29:08 This type of things, so people will preach, 29:11 they are preaching all the time, 29:13 if you, well, one preacher said, 29:14 I heard him, 29:16 "If you'll give me your Cadillac," 29:17 one of his members had a nice, really nice Cadillac, 29:20 he said, "you've got a nice Cadillac," 29:22 and he named the guy by name, reached out in the audience, 29:25 there must have been a thousand people there. 29:27 "You've got a really nice Cadillac 29:29 but if you give that to me, God will give you a better one. 29:32 He'll give you some better car, but you need to..." 29:35 Another preacher said, 29:37 because these are things I have heard, 29:39 I have witnessed with my own eyes, 29:42 but he said to his audience, "You need to give, 29:45 you have to sow into my ministry, 29:47 you have to sow into my ministry. 29:49 God wants you to sow into ministry. 29:52 So here's what I want you to do, 29:54 I don't really need the money, I have five homes. 29:57 He said, I have a piano that's gold plated, 30:00 but because you need it," 30:02 there must have been 30:03 2,000 or 3,000 people out there, 30:04 "because you need blessed, and you want to sow 30:08 so God will bless you, make you wealthy like me, 30:10 when the offering plate goes around, 30:12 women, I want you to turn your purses upside down. 30:16 Every penny in there must go in that offering plate. 30:20 Men don't hold back a penny. 30:23 Open your wallets, put it all in there. 30:25 Now, do I need it? 30:26 I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for you." 30:28 But guess pastor, who took the money home? 30:31 He did. 30:32 He took the money home, maybe got the sixth home. 30:36 So why do we give? 30:38 We give tithes because we love God. 30:40 That's right. Amen. 30:41 And because we have faith, it's a statement of our faith 30:45 that we believe that Jesus is coming very soon 30:48 in the clouds of glory 30:49 and in order to get the gospel to the world, 30:53 it takes finances. 30:55 And so we encourage you, we thank you 30:59 for finances that you send here to 3ABN. 31:03 Because without it, 31:04 we couldn't take this great gospel, 31:06 the kingdom into all the world. 31:07 So we're gonna study later about tithes and offerings, 31:11 and all of this is giving. 31:13 Again, and it's really not, 31:14 God doesn't have to have our money 31:16 because money won't finish the work, 31:19 but God finishes work through His people, 31:22 if we allow Him to work in us and through us, 31:25 and when we're willing to give out of a good heart. 31:29 He says He loves a cheerful giver. 31:32 I want to read a couple of, 31:33 my time, I'm talking a lot here, 31:34 many time is, Jill, you're much more organized 31:37 and you go right to the point, 31:38 and I get more down 31:40 to what I've seen and what I've heard. 31:41 But I'd like to bring it to practicality... 31:43 It's Good. 31:45 And why we tithe. 31:47 It's not out of the legalistically 31:48 that Jesus gave numbers of scriptures 31:51 and we won't read them all, 31:52 but you can write some of them down 31:53 if you want to. 31:55 I have some of them down 31:56 but I do want to read 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. 31:58 If Jill, maybe you'll read that for us. 32:01 Yes. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. 32:04 "But this I say, He who sows sparingly 32:06 will also reap sparingly 32:08 and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 32:11 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, 32:14 not grudgingly or of necessity, 32:16 for God loves a cheerful giver." 32:19 So the point here is that 32:20 we give because we want to give, 32:22 not because we have to, 32:24 but a lot of these preachers I've been talking about, 32:27 they use this and they use scripture 32:29 like the Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42, 32:33 you can write those down and look them up later, 32:35 Luke 18:12, 32:37 and when Jesus is talking about in the New Testament 32:42 about tithes and offerings, 32:44 He basically was getting on to 32:47 and you covered it, both of you some, 32:49 getting on to the scribes and Pharisees 32:51 because he says you're given legalistically 32:53 but you are passing basically, justice, 32:57 you are passing mercy, 32:58 you're not saying justice, you're not saying mercy. 33:01 You're standing out on the streets, saying, 33:03 "Lord, I'm glad I'm not as other men, 33:04 as you brought out." 33:06 And so we're missing the big point, 33:08 the love of God. 33:09 So it's legalistic, 33:11 so maybe, we should ask ourselves 33:13 and ask yourself, 33:15 why do you give your tithes and offerings. 33:17 And why do you give? 33:18 There is something else that I want to bring up 33:20 in the last minute and a half 33:22 and there's so much I'd like to bring up 33:23 but I'm not too organized today 33:25 but, I think, this is really important, 33:27 is we're talking about finances, 33:30 but how about of what your gifts and your talents? 33:33 We should be tithing our gifts and our talents to God. 33:37 What is that that you can do, 33:38 you can volunteer in a prison ministry. 33:42 We have prison ministries here, 33:44 quite a few people are involved in that. 33:46 Nobody's getting paid for that. 33:48 We're giving time to others, 33:50 you can be a deacon, you can be an elder, 33:52 those who sing, those who teach, 33:54 those who volunteer, 33:56 you can be a good neighbor to someone, 33:58 I think that God expects us to do spiritual tithing 34:02 is probably better for us than the physical tithing. 34:05 It's good. 34:06 Because spiritual tithing draws us close to Jesus 34:09 because we keep our eyes on Him, 34:11 so turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face 34:15 and the things of earth will grow strangely, 34:17 dim in the light of His glory and His grace. 34:20 So tithing of ourselves, not just our finances 34:23 but say, "Lord, here I am, send me." 34:26 And I promise you that 34:27 if you do that, God is going to send you out, 34:29 the fields are waiting to harvest 34:32 but the reapers, where are they? 34:34 So today, I know that you want to be a reaper, 34:36 we do here at 3ABN. 34:38 So I want to thank you for your love, 34:40 and your prayers, and your financial support, 34:42 and prayers 34:43 and those of you who come and volunteer, 34:45 we appreciate that also. 34:47 Appreciate that, Danny, 34:49 stretching the, defining of tithing 34:52 past just the financial aspect 34:54 but every aspect that God has blessed us with. 34:56 That's right. 34:57 That's being good stewards 34:59 of everything God has made available to us. 35:02 Well, I have Wednesday and Wednesday is honest tithe, 35:07 holy to the Lord. 35:09 And I'm going to read Leviticus 27:30, 35:12 just to lay it as a foundation, you know, 35:14 Shelley covered earlier, honesty 35:18 and how we want to be around honest people, 35:22 and people that have shown us dishonesty in their life, 35:26 we become very suspect of anything they say. 35:29 So let's look again, laying the foundation, 35:32 Leviticus 27:30, 35:35 "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land 35:39 or of the fruit of the tree is the Lord's. 35:43 It is holy to the Lord." 35:45 Two important points here, 35:47 the first 10% of our increase is who's? 35:53 God's. 35:54 It's God's, 35:56 doesn't belong to us, it belongs to God. 35:58 Amen. 36:00 The first 10% of our increase is holy. 36:06 Now here's a quote from Angel Rodriguez, 36:09 he's the stewardship ministries department 36:11 at the General Conference. 36:14 Tithes belongs to the Lord and therefore is holy. 36:18 It does not become holy through a veil 36:22 or a consecrated act. 36:25 It is simply holy by its very nature, 36:29 it belongs to God. 36:31 No one except God has a right to it. 36:35 No one can consecrate it to the Lord 36:38 because tithe is never part of a person's property. 36:44 We don't own that tithe. That's right. 36:45 Who owns that tithe? God. 36:47 See that's God's tithe and it's holy, 36:50 not by anything we've done 36:52 but nature of who it belongs to. 36:55 We don't make the tithe, we return to God, holy, 36:58 God already did it. 37:00 He has that right. 37:02 As stewards, all we are doing is 37:05 returning to Him what is His. 37:08 Tithe is dedicated to God for a specific task, 37:12 holding it for any other designation is, 37:17 now remember what my title is, honest tithe, 37:21 withholding that tithe or holding that tithe 37:25 for another purpose is dishonest. 37:29 There's the word. 37:30 How many of you want to be honest? 37:31 Amen. 37:33 We want to be honest. 37:34 Okay, we've covered a couple of times this 37:37 out of Hebrew 7:1-4, 37:40 where the Apostle Paul gives an account 37:42 of Abraham and Melchizedek. 37:44 And I just, 37:45 first let's look at it for just a moment, 37:48 I only have a few minutes 37:50 for Melchizedek, this is Hebrews 7:1, 37:54 "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of," 37:57 what? 37:59 "Priest of the Most High God, 38:01 who met Abraham returning from the slaughter," 38:03 you know what, Abraham was coming back 38:06 with a huge bounty that he had received 38:12 from this war that he had just been. 38:15 And you know what Abraham did with this huge bounty, 38:18 all that he had taken, he gave a 10%, 10% of, 38:24 he tithed to the Melchizedek. 38:27 Now, did Melchizedek ask him to tithe to him? 38:32 Do we have any indication that Abraham was instructed 38:35 to tithe it to Melchizedek. 38:37 It was just a biblical principle, Abraham knew, 38:40 and he learned, and he lived by, 38:42 he knew that biblical principle that 10% of this is God's, 38:47 and so what did Melchizedek do in return? 38:52 He blessed him. He blessed him. 38:54 How many of you want to be blessed of the Lord? 38:58 Now, let me ask you this 38:59 who was Abraham really tithing to? 39:03 Was he tithing to a man, was he tithing to God? 39:07 That's right. 39:11 And then I want to, I want to do a parallel. 39:16 We have Abraham tithing to Melchizedek 39:20 and really tithing to God, and why is he doing this? 39:23 A biblical principle that has been embedded 39:25 in Abraham's heart, 39:27 he didn't have to be told to do what he already knew to do. 39:31 Now, I want to parallel the Sabbath and tithing. 39:36 You know, there is a parallel between the two. 39:40 As the Sabbath is holy, is the habit Sabbath holy? 39:44 Remember the Sabbath to... 39:46 Keep it holy. Keep it holy. 39:48 Now we are Seventh-Day Adventist 39:49 here at 3ABN, 39:51 and something we teach adhered to and hold to 39:56 is remembering the Sabbath. 39:58 Danny, should we worship on the Sabbath? 40:00 Absolutely. 40:01 It's that part of the in time message 40:03 God has committed into the... 40:05 Everyone should. 40:06 We should teach, proclaim, 40:09 and share this truth of the Sabbath. 40:11 Well, the word holy means set apart for sacred service. 40:16 The Sabbath and the tithe are connected in that. 40:21 We set apart the Sabbath day, Sabbath as sacred, as holy. 40:27 And we set apart the tithe as God's sacred possession. 40:32 And what did it say in Leviticus? 40:35 It is holy unto the Lord. 40:37 Do you see that parallel? That's right, that's good. 40:39 And we are so strong as Sabbath keepers 40:44 to instruct and to drive the point home 40:47 of keeping the Sabbath. 40:49 The paying of our tithe, of returning 40:52 it's not paying, it's retuning, 40:54 it's giving back to God what is already His. 40:57 It is just as sacred and just as holy. 41:00 Now who made this Sabbath holy? God. 41:03 Who made the tithe holy? God. 41:05 God did. 41:07 God has sanctified the seventh day, 41:09 that specific portion of time set apart by God himself 41:14 for us to give to Him and it continues. 41:17 Is keeping the Sabbath as sacred today 41:21 as it was the day that God hallowed it? 41:24 Yes! Amen! 41:25 Key is returning our tithe unto God 41:29 just as sacred today as it was in Leviticus. 41:33 That's good. 41:36 Sister White tells us 41:38 the New Testament does not re-enact the law of the tithe 41:43 as it does not that of the Sabbath 41:45 for the validity of both is assumed 41:49 and they are deep spiritual import explained. 41:52 Well, we as people are seeking faithfully to give God the time 41:58 which He has reserved as His own. 42:00 Shall we not also render Him that portion of our means 42:05 which He claims, the parallel of the two. 42:08 Now I want us to go back to Malachi, 42:11 I want to look at a command 42:13 and I want to look at a promise. 42:15 And I know we've looked at this, this is Malachi 3. 42:18 And I want to start with verse 6 says, 42:21 "For I am God," Malachi 3:6, 42:25 "For I am God I change not." 42:30 And then he says, verse 8, "Will a man rob God?" 42:35 And how on earth could we be robbing God 42:39 and what does He say, what? 42:40 By not returning our tithe under Him. 42:44 And verse 9 is what we did, we hadn't touched on yet. 42:48 If you don't return your tithe give that tithe back to God. 42:53 What does it say in verse 9? 42:55 You are cursed with a curse. 42:58 We don't want to be cursed and it says, 43:02 "For you have robbed me, even the whole nation." 43:05 Now here is a blessing, 43:06 listen at what happens when we bring our tithe. 43:10 Verse 10, "Bring all your tithe in to the storehouse 43:13 that there may be meat in my house and prove me now." 43:18 You wanna prove God, 43:19 "Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, 43:22 if I will not do," what? 43:24 "Open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing 43:29 that there shall not be room enough to receive it." 43:31 Now I've got a little time so let me do this. 43:34 I want to show you the promise concerning the Sabbath 43:39 and that's in Isaiah, Isaiah 58:13-14. 43:44 Now we have this promise concerning paying our tithes, 43:48 "Prove me," says the Lord, 43:50 "If I will not pour you out a blessing 43:53 that you won't even have room enough to contain." 43:56 Well, now concerning the Sabbath, 43:58 I love the parallel between keeping the Sabbath 44:01 and paying our tithes. 44:02 So Isaiah 58:13-14, 44:05 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, 44:07 from doing your pleasure on my holy day, 44:10 and call the Sabbath a delight, 44:11 if you do this," Isaiah is saying, 44:14 "the holy day of the Lord, honorable, 44:16 and shall honor him, not doing your own ways, 44:19 nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words." 44:23 Look at verse 14, 44:25 "Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord 44:28 and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, 44:33 and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, 44:37 the mouth of the Lord has spoken to be blessed." 44:40 You've got to have an honest heart. 44:43 You in the honest heart, 44:45 you return that honest tithe unto the Lord you are blessed, 44:48 if you don't, you are cursed. 44:51 And if you keep the Sabbath, 44:53 you'll ride on the high places of the Lord, 44:55 isn't that what we want, 44:57 be in right relationship with God. 44:58 Amen! Halleluiah! 45:00 Thank you, Mollie. 45:01 Wow, you guys have left me some crumbs 45:03 but I'm gonna try to find some, praise God for that. 45:06 Just to dive right into it when we talk about 45:09 the relationship we have with God, 45:11 it is a covenant, it is not a membership. 45:13 That's right! 45:14 You think of membership, but it is a covenant. 45:16 Covenant relationships have obligations. 45:18 Membership, you could have a membership to gym, 45:21 a membership to a bi column, 45:22 a membership to American Airlines, 45:25 you could, that's optional. 45:27 You could take what you want and leave what you want, 45:28 but in a covenant relationship there are no options. 45:31 First of all, God never breaks the covenant He makes. 45:34 We cannot say we are in a covenant relationship 45:36 and break it or violate the conditions of it. 45:39 Let's go back to what Mollie talked about the Sabbath 45:41 is sanctified, is it not? 45:42 It is. Amen! 45:43 Because it's holy, 45:45 therefore if the tithe is holy it is also sanctified. 45:47 Yes, it is. 45:48 If you say you are 45:50 in a sanctified relationship with God 45:51 you don't, tithing is not optional 45:52 as a Sabbath is not optional. 45:54 But we live in a world today 45:55 where the Sabbath has become optional. 45:56 Yes. 45:58 And therefore the tithing, to many, have become optional. 46:00 Now here's the quandary. 46:02 How can people honoring Sunday say that Sabbath is optional? 46:06 How can those who keep the Sabbath 46:07 say tithing is optional? 46:09 That's right. 46:10 Notice the devil says, "I'm going to get those 46:12 who say the Sabbath is optional, 46:14 they keep another day." 46:16 I'm going to get those who keep the Sabbath 46:17 to say that tithing is optional, 46:19 so I will give what I want. 46:20 That's good. 46:22 So there is a demonic, you know, the boat, Danny 46:24 whatever side you fall out of. 46:26 Right. Yes. 46:27 So when the church that says they keep the Sabbath 46:30 say tithing is optional, 46:33 they are just as guilty 46:34 as those who say that Sabbath is optional 46:36 and keep Sunday. 46:38 So you cannot be a Sabbath keeper 46:40 that recognizes the sanctity and the holiness of the day 46:44 and say that Sabbath is not optional, 46:46 so I am gonna keep it, come what it may. 46:49 I am gonna keep the Sabbath because my mother did it, 46:51 my dad did it, this is my obligation, 46:53 God says it's holy, I have no option to violate it. 46:57 But we say we're in the Sabbath covenant 46:59 but we're not in a tithing covenant. 47:02 We are falling out of the boat anyway. 47:03 That's right, yes. 47:04 The other thing is, 47:06 and I want to correct something, 47:07 I know what you meant, Jill, 47:09 but the Lord did not try to bring out any good in Abraham, 47:12 because there is no good in Abraham, 47:14 there is no good in any of us. 47:16 So God does not bring out the good in us, 47:20 he tries to develop us so that they will be good. 47:24 Thank you, that's what I meant. Thank you. 47:25 And I know that's what you meant. 47:27 Because Jesus told the rich young ruler, 47:30 "Why do you call me good, there is none good but one 47:33 and that is God." 47:34 And then the Apostle Paul, and Psalms, 47:36 and two other Old Testament writers says, 47:39 "None of us, there is none that does good, no not one." 47:43 So what's the purpose of the Sabbath, 47:45 the purpose of the Sabbath is to sanctify us 47:47 so that the reflection of Jesus' character 47:49 will be reflected in us. 47:51 Now let's look at the tithing in the very same way. 47:53 How much did Jesus give to save us? 47:56 Everything. Everything. 47:57 So that He didn't hold back a thing for our salvation, 48:02 how can we hold back anything 48:04 if we say we are in a saving relationship? 48:06 Amen! 48:07 So that's why He said, 48:09 "You robbed me in tithe and offering." 48:11 He didn't say, "Well, you kept back some tithe. 48:13 Well, you kept back some offering." 48:15 When I sit down with my treasurers 48:17 and I have intentionally, I have, as the Pastor, 48:19 I have the right to look at the giving of every membership, 48:23 of every member. 48:24 You know the Levites could not be Levites 48:26 if they were dishonest in their giving 48:29 and nobody could serve in the conference. 48:31 Nobody could be on the executive committee 48:33 if they are not financially supporting the church. 48:35 How can you verbally say this is what the church does 48:40 if you don't even financially support the church? 48:42 Absolutely. That's right. 48:43 Am I right, Mollie? Absolutely. 48:45 You can't give your word if you don't give your heart. 48:49 And tithing is not a test of the pocket, 48:53 it's a test of the heart. 48:54 Where your treasure is, 48:56 there is your heart going to be also. 48:57 Also giving is evidence of a covenant relationship, 49:00 not a membership. 49:02 You know, the Lord gave Deuteronomy 18:18, 49:04 I am moving fast, Deuteronomy 18:18, 49:07 look at the covenant that God made, 49:10 "And you shall remember the Lord your God 49:12 for it is He who gives you power 49:13 to get wealth 49:16 that He may establish His covenant 49:19 which is for to your fathers as it is this day." 49:23 The Lord made a covenant, 49:25 so when He gave the Israelites the power to get wealth. 49:29 It was to establish the covenant. 49:30 It was a covenant, 49:32 it wasn't just because He liked them. 49:34 He said, "I didn't choose you 49:35 because you are a greater number 49:37 or because you are better than everybody else." 49:39 He made a covenant with them, so the covenant relationship, 49:42 and even there are still people today that says, 49:44 "The Lord is gonna bring the Jews back in 49:45 because He made a covenant with them." 49:48 Well, the Lord makes a covenant with anybody 49:50 who makes a covenant with Him. 49:52 Let me go further, He makes a covenant with everybody, 49:55 but we have to accept that covenant. 49:57 He's coming back the second time for those, 50:01 this is powerful tithing, 50:02 who makes a covenant with Him by sacrifice." 50:08 And there will be no evidence of your sacrifice 50:12 if you say you are in a covenant 50:13 but you do nothing to evidence that covenant. 50:16 Let's look at this, 50:17 let's look at the evidence of the covenant. 50:22 Isaiah 66:16, let's look at something, 50:26 now this is powerful, 50:27 we are talking about sanctification. 50:28 He says, "He is coming back for those 50:30 who make a covenant with Him by sacrifice." 50:33 Tithing is intended, 50:36 tithing is intended to show 50:38 that your covenant with God is in fact a valid one, 50:42 all right? 50:44 I am going to bring about, 50:45 I am going to talk about the values 50:46 in just a moment here. 50:48 But Isaiah 66, 50:49 we have often quoted this text to bring out the swine. 50:52 You know those who eat swine and eat unclean things, 50:56 but it's deeper than that. 50:57 Isaiah 66:16, Mollie, do you have it? 51:00 Isaiah 66:16? Yes. 51:02 "For by fire and by His sword 51:05 will the Lord plead with all flesh 51:08 and the slain of the Lord shall be many." 51:10 Why? Look at verse 17. 51:12 "They that sanctify themselves..." 51:14 Okay, let's stop right there 51:16 because this is all I want in the verse. 51:17 Because it talks about swine, flesh, and idols, 51:19 and all the abominable things. 51:20 But those who sanctify themselves, 51:22 now let's get even deeper, 51:23 the Sabbath is sanctified, is it not? 51:25 Yeah, it is. 51:26 Because it's holy, the tithe is holy, 51:28 therefore it is sanctified. 51:29 If I am in a relationship with God 51:30 and I am not living up to the covenant, 51:34 I am gonna sanctify myself. 51:36 So in my own sanctification I say, 51:38 "I don't have to give the tithe," 51:39 because the conditions of my sanctification are these. 51:43 But if we are sanctified by Him, 51:45 He has established the conditions 51:46 of our sanctification, 51:47 so we don't say, "Well, you know, 51:49 I can't afford to give." 51:52 There's a text in the Bible, I want to find very quickly, 51:54 go with me to, go with me to Psalm. 52:00 Let's go ahead. 52:02 I want to, no Ecclesiastes, 52:05 because we were using the phrase here quite often 52:08 and I want to go ahead and hit this one. 52:12 Yeah, it is... 52:15 Let me go and type it in here, I got it. 52:18 I was looking at this early and I thought, 52:20 "Wow, how wonderful this is." 52:21 That when we make a vow, it's better not to make a vow 52:24 than to make a vow and not to pay, all right? 52:27 The Lord has said, 52:29 "If you make a vow, be quick to pay that vow." 52:32 But if you say that 52:33 that vow does not require any kind of obligation... 52:36 Here it is, okay. 52:38 When you make a vow. 52:39 What verse? 52:41 Ecclesiastes 5:4, thank you, Lord. 52:44 Ecclesiastes 5:4, 52:46 one of the most ridiculous things is that 52:49 we stand up on baptismal day and make a vow. 52:53 Look at this Ecclesiastes 5:4, 52:58 "When you make a vow to God, do not delay," to do what? 53:03 Pay it. 53:04 He could have said to live it, 53:07 but here He is talking about something deeper 53:09 than just live. 53:10 "Do not delay to pay it 53:13 for He has no pleasure in fools, 53:16 pay what you have vowed." 53:18 Now, we don't want to pay tithe, we return it, 53:21 but through out we saw that 53:22 the Pharisees paid tithe of mint and anise 53:25 and all these various things 53:26 as an evidence of their "Jewish covenant with God". 53:30 The sanctifying covenant as a Christian, 53:32 look what He says in the very next verse. 53:35 "Better not to vow," verse 5, 53:38 "than to vow and not to pay, 53:40 do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin 53:44 nor say before the messenger of God 53:46 that it was an error. 53:48 Why should God be angry at your excuse 53:51 and destroy the works of your hands." 53:53 Now what is the covenant with God when we return tithe. 53:58 Did He not say it Malachi? 53:59 Just look at how this connects. 54:01 Now the works of our hands 54:02 God promises to bless, does He not? 54:04 He just said, 54:05 "If you don't follow the covenant that you are in, 54:07 if you say I am going to covenant with You and pay 54:10 and you don't, 54:11 I am going to destroy the works of your hands." 54:13 But what is the covenant promise in Malachi? 54:15 I will rebuke the devour for your sin. 54:18 Amen! 54:20 And He will not destroy the fruit of your ground. 54:24 So the Lord will the keep the enemy 54:26 from destroying your work. 54:27 But if you're not, if you don't keep your covenant, 54:29 He will destroy your work. 54:31 That's powerful. 54:33 So when you think about the covenant relationship 54:34 when it comes to God, 54:36 remember this point, 54:39 if we hold back from God what He ask of us, 54:42 we cannot expect Him to respond to what we ask of Him. 54:46 Amen! 54:47 If we don't honor the covenant that we have made with Him, 54:52 He will not honor the covenant that He has made with us. 54:56 And tithing is simply the evidence 54:59 that the covenant is made between two individuals. 55:02 And both, God has always keeping His obligation 55:05 and, so must we 55:06 if we are in a covenant relationship with God. 55:08 Good. Amen. 55:09 You know, thank you, John. 55:10 That was so beautiful 55:12 and this whole lesson on honesty with God 55:13 has been so beautiful. 55:15 When you think about that the unifying theme of scripture 55:18 is that God is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. 55:22 And His, there is a progressive Revelation, 55:26 His covenants all build one upon the next, 55:30 and when we mention that validity, 55:34 the New Testament writers 55:36 didn't just have to come right out 55:37 and say to tithe, 55:38 it's because you know what scriptures they use 55:41 for this New Testament's church? 55:44 They were using the Old Testament. 55:46 The Old Testament still vary valid 55:48 the New Testament wasn't even written. 55:50 I have to just say one thing, 55:52 when we were thinking about Abraham 55:54 and God testing him to give up his grown son Isaac, 55:58 big boy, Isaac have to really trust his father 56:01 that his father had heard God's voice. 56:03 But do you ever wonder 56:05 why does God ask us to do this kind of thing? 56:08 Listen to Hebrews 11, 56:10 and I am gonna start with verse 17, 56:11 "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, 56:14 offered up Isaac, 56:15 and he who had received the promises 56:18 offered up his only begotten son, 56:20 of whom it was said, 56:22 'In Isaac your seed shall be called.'" 56:25 So he knew this was God's gift to him, 56:29 and here he is God's asking him to do something unheard of, 56:34 but see Abraham trusted God 'cause he knew God's heart. 56:39 Jesus said, "Abraham saw my day and was glad." 56:43 So when God was making covenant with Abraham 56:46 and passing between the torn parts of the animals, 56:51 Abraham knew that God's was going to give his only son. 56:54 In verse 19 says, "He gave him up concluding that 56:58 God was able to raise him up even from the dead 57:02 from which he also received him in a figurative sense." 57:06 Abraham knew God was going to give his only son. 57:10 God gave his son for you, 57:12 and we hope that you will accept 57:16 the gift of salvation that you will turn to the Lord 57:19 and enter in to covenant with Him. 57:21 We thank you so much for joining us today 57:24 and we ask that you join us next week 57:27 as we continue in our Bible study. |
Revised 2018-01-31