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For where your treasure is, there your heart is also.

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He's saying where your treasure, where your finances are,

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is a revelation in which direction your heart is aligned.

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If all of your treasure goes to you and yourself,

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now you've identified yourself as somebody who is selfish

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and you are your own God.

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And Jesus put this money anointing connection.

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Man did it.

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Welcome to the City Light Church podcast.

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Thanks for joining us today as we look into God's word

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and discover the hope and truth that he has for us.

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If you want to connect with City Light Church,

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feel free to visit us at citylightnyc.com,

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that citylightnyc.com.

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Pastor Boyan Jansik and his team believe that the power of the Holy Spirit

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is already working in our hearts and minds.

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As you listen to today's teaching,

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remember that you are deeply loved by God,

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that you are surrounded by His grace,

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and that He has a real hope and a future for you.

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Last week I ministered on the Lordship of Christ.

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Welcome everybody, by the way, and those of you joining us online.

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Welcome to you.

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As I was ministering, as I was ministering on the Lordship of Christ,

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I got this week's message.

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I knew that I would have to preach on this topic.

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And I want to preach on the topic of the tithe.

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Look at that overwhelming, resounding...

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When have you ever heard me take an entire Sunday on just the tithe?

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Good Lord.

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Did you record the first service?

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Can you just play that? I'm going to go catch brunch with my wife.

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And the tithe is something, yes, it's misunderstood.

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And maybe you have this experience,

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either typically in church,

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it's all the pastor ever preach is about,

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and somehow finds its way in every single sermon,

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or the pastor is afraid, and it's never ever touched on.

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And so people are consequently robbed.

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They're robbed because they don't have a revelation

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on biblical tithing.

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And we have a reputation, this is going to be our 22nd year here in March,

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that we don't want to come to finances.

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We've had 22 years of integrity.

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We have 22 years of unquestioning integrity.

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And we don't hype the people up, guilt the people,

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manipulate the people.

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God has always provided for us.

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God has been very, very good to us,

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provided for us so much that we can adopt other missions programs

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around the world and help other people have outreaches,

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have inreaches, have people on staff,

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and minister to the people that call city life their home.

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But I want to get these truths out because if I don't,

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if I was just to keep silent on this issue,

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God would hold me accountable.

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Amen.

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For robbing his people.

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And I don't want to stand before God

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and hear him say, why did you touch on so many subjects

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but you never touched on this subject?

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Amen.

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Hallelujah.

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So this sermon is more in a Q&A question and answer format

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but the questions have already been asked for you.

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There are questions that I have compiled

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over the last couple of decades of questions

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that I've often been asked.

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So are you ready?

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Amen.

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God's going to get you something.

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I understand you, I'm the pastor here

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and a message like this can seem self-serving

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but God is going to minister to you.

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Amen.

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Amen.

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Number one, what is a tithe?

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That's a fair question.

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A lot of people don't know.

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A lot of times people use the term tithe

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interchangeably with just a gift.

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They can rub two nickels, put it in the offering

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and say, I tithe this week.

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What they really mean is I gave this week.

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But a tithe is specific.

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What is a tithe?

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One-tenth of your income that is to be set aside

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as holy unto him.

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And let me just say this because we laughed

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in the first service.

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It was a different flow.

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Something that I'm dealing with here is we have,

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we have a lot of spill over too.

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Double dippers, double dippers.

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I want you to engage see what's happening here.

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A lot of double dippers are also double,

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double dippers are close to me.

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And so you've heard this once before

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and you want more so you hear again.

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But maybe you're not as hungry as you are first service.

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So I feel like I got to preach over you,

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but I don't want to skip you guys.

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What I'm saying is pull on the anointing, amen?

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Yeah, yeah.

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If you're going to double dip, be alive and double dip, amen.

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Where was I even going with that?

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I had a point before that.

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Can you help me pass them up?

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Oh, I was saying there was a different, no, no.

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I was saying there was a different flow.

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And we were joking in the first service,

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because I don't mean to make a thing.

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There's lots of guests all over, but you brought a guest.

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And I'm sure there's a lot of other people.

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This is your first time.

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And maybe you hear, you brought a guest.

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You've been praying all year for your guests to come.

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They're like, man, and I laugh because we chuckle.

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You brought a guest.

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And then always used to happen to me and my dad.

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I was 16 years old when I became a Christian.

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My mom came quickly.

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But my dad, he loved the message of the gospel,

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but he hated anything having to do

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with it costing him anything.

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All of a sudden, all of a sudden, his favorite pastor,

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we would love when he would come to, he would love.

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But the moment money was brought up, what a crook.

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What an awful crook.

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Let me see what kind of car he drives.

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What a crook.

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All that's, so I feel for you.

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If you're a guest, I encourage you to check out our podcasts

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and our YouTube's and see that we have a very

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biblically balanced buffet here.

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Amen.

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Of all sorts of topics.

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But God in His infinite wisdom

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saw it right and proper to have you here today.

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Imagine that.

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So this isn't what we're always talking about,

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but it is important.

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And we are going to talk about it because guess what?

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Jesus did not shy away from the subject of money.

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In fact, he talked about it a lot.

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I have the stacks on how much he talked about money.

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He talked about hell actually twice as much as he did

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about heaven.

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But he talked about money, offerings, talents, lands,

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more than heaven and hell combined.

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Why?

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Because money is what you have to deal with

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while you are on this side of heaven.

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So why does he have to talk about money?

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Because you're not in heaven yet.

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I mean, when you have to pay your mortgage or pay your rent,

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why don't you write him a letter and say,

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why do you always have to talk about money?

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Why does it always be a go-to-hole food?

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Fill up your whole cart and just walk right out and say,

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why is it always about the money?

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You guys, you're always talking about money.

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You can't do that.

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And Jesus knew that.

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And so he gave you, in his word, wisdom

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on how to live a life of abundance.

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Not unbearably get along street because that's not God's will.

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Somehow over the centuries, religion got in there

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and religion did what religion does best,

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which is bring death and cobwebs.

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And there's this thought that prosperity and abundance

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is not of God.

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Yet you look throughout the scriptures

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and what you always see is that wherever Jesus goes,

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what does he bring?

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Poverty, death, no.

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Prosperity and abundance and life, hallelujah.

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We talked about, was it last week or a couple of weeks ago,

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the wedding in Cana of Galilee?

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And Jesus turned the water into wine.

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And then it actually tells you how much water he turned into wine.

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So six water jugs each containing 20 to 30 gallons a piece.

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That's anywhere from 120 to 150 gallons of water that was made wine.

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How big of a wedding was that?

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I've been to some weddings.

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I've been to some weddings where wine was served.

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150 gallons, I don't care if the whole village came out to that wedding.

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If all of Cana, that was too much wine.

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What is Jesus saying?

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This is my style.

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This is who I am.

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This is how I do things.

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I always over give.

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You look at any of the providential miracles of Jesus.

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Anything on one of them.

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And you'll find one thing in common.

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It's always more than what was necessary.

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He always gives too much.

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When the 5,000 were fed, it says they were fed,

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and I love this part in the Bible, and they were full.

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So you know, you guys know, we're Americans.

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Some know better than others.

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What it is to walk away from the table full.

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Those of you wanting to go out of Mala, right?

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Many times.

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We walked away in the most biblical sense.

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We were full as we waddled back.

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It says they were all fed, and they were full.

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And on top of that 12 baskets of leftovers were taken up.

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That's his way.

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Peter, with the miracle catcher fish,

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the net began to break, and the boat began to sink.

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Peter had a high-class problem.

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He got too much fish, supernaturally.

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What is Jesus demonstrating here over and over again?

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That's what he wants to do in your life.

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If you will dare to believe God, if you will believe him,

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quit listening to the voice in your head,

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quit doomsday scrolling and hearing about how awful it is out there.

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I don't care where you are in the world, what country you live in.

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God showed himself when he caused water to come out of a rock,

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a flinty dry rock.

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It's what he specializes in, amen.

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And so people around you may not believe it,

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but you be the wild one who says,

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I'm going to see it in my life.

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In fact, I'm seeing it in my life,

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and I'm going to see more of it in my life, amen.

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Oh, God, I got that out of my system.

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What is a tie?

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The tie is one-tenth of your income

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that is to be set aside as holy unto him.

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Thank you.

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Number two, here's a good question.

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Why 10%?

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A tie is a 10th.

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Why 10%?

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A 10th is indicative of the whole.

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Look at our numeric system.

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If you can count to 10, you can count to 100,

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you can count to 1,000, you can count to a million.

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If you can count to 10, you can count to any number.

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So the 10th is indicative of the whole.

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When you give the 10th, you're saying, Lord,

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you have all of my finances.

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Lord, you have my whole life.

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Hallelujah.

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Number three,

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and aren't you glad that God gave a percentage

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in out an actual amount?

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An actual amount wouldn't be fair,

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but a percentage is fair.

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And when you really think about it, a 10th,

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it's really not a big ask.

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We tip our waiters and waitresses 20%

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without thinking about it.

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10% for God should not be, oh, oh, it's costing me.

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God's not looking to take anything from you.

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He's looking to get something to you.

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Amen.

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Question number three, and this is a good one.

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Why is tithing important to God?

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Cause the reality is, is he doesn't need the money.

264
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He's fine, all by himself.

265
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Why is tithing important to God?

266
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Let's look at Matthew 621.

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I accidentally skipped an important one

268
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in the first service that you double-dippers

269
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and you in the second service will be able to get,

270
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I don't know how, too many jokes, I think.

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And I skipped an important one, an important question.

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Here's Jesus, for where your treasure is,

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there your heart is also.

274
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He's saying where your treasure,

275
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where your finances are, is a revelation of,

276
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in which direction your heart is aligned.

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If all of your treasure goes to you and yourself,

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now you've identified yourself as somebody

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who is selfish and you are your own God.

280
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And Jesus put this money anointing connection.

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Man didn't.

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He said where your treasure is,

283
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there your heart will be also.

284
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Luke 1611.

285
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Therefore, if you have not been faithful, again,

286
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the words of Jesus, if you have not been faithful

287
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in the unrighteous man, man is money.

288
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It's actually been identified in the scriptures,

289
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and man was the name of a God, lowercase G,

290
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of a demon spirit, the money God.

291
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It's still the God, many people, they don't admit it,

292
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but they worship today.

293
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It's what they think about, it's what they obsess about,

294
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and it's why it can get very, very uncomfortable

295
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in a service like this, because you're messing

296
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with people's God.

297
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I'm having the time of my life preaching this message

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because I have the word, and I'm a thither,

299
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but somebody right now is feeling,

300
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is feeling like the usheres came by

301
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and it's not cold as a fire underneath their chair

302
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and they're getting real hot.

303
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And also, by the way, I have this habit,

304
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if you're a guest, I try to look at everyone

305
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when I'm preaching at them.

306
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In a message like this, the office gets emails,

307
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he was looking right at me.

308
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I know, he was looking, right?

309
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Pastor Moe, oh, oh, the stuff that I get accused of

310
00:13:59.760 --> 00:14:01.680
that wasn't even in my head, like I'm thinking

311
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of Jesus right now, his word, and I'm having fun,

312
00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:06.520
and someone's like, he was going through the finances,

313
00:14:06.520 --> 00:14:08.960
and he was looking right at me, I just know it.

314
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I don't know who tithes and who doesn't,

315
00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:12.720
unless you tell me.

316
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There are some big gifts that I made aware of,

317
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but other than that, I treat everybody

318
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as though they were the biggest giver in the church.

319
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So if you see me locking eyes at you,

320
00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:23.960
it's just because you're so handsome,

321
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or so beautiful, I'm just drawn to talk to you,

322
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but there's nothing other than that, amen.

323
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So again, back to the scripture,

324
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can you see that there is a connection

325
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between finances and the anointing?

326
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Because Jesus said, if you don't treat money well,

327
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who's going to entrust you the true riches?

328
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What are the true riches?

329
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The power of God, the anointing, the kingdom of heaven?

330
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Those are the true riches, but he's saying,

331
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the way you handle money, it's actually indicative

332
00:14:56.120 --> 00:15:00.080
of your trustworthiness and your character.

333
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So when you tie, you're showing your faith.

334
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Listen, when you tie, you're showing your integrity,

335
00:15:07.280 --> 00:15:10.160
when you tie, you're showing whether he can trust you

336
00:15:10.160 --> 00:15:11.160
for more.

337
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Imagine asking God for more,

338
00:15:14.680 --> 00:15:17.640
but you're mishandling what He's already giving you.

339
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Use flash, more isn't coming.

340
00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:22.240
It's not, I know you want to think

341
00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.240
you've got a powerball mentality,

342
00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.320
and you're thinking, your day's just a coming.

343
00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:28.680
My ship is coming in, you've never sent a ship out,

344
00:15:28.680 --> 00:15:32.880
but oh, lucky number seven, your ship's gonna come in,

345
00:15:32.880 --> 00:15:35.120
and you've been found unfaithful with the little,

346
00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:37.680
why would He make you ruler over much?

347
00:15:37.680 --> 00:15:39.160
I'm sorry you had to hear it this way,

348
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I got nothing but love in my heart,

349
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but it'll be wrong for me to tell you otherwise.

350
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When you tie, what you're actually doing

351
00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.160
is you're bending the knee and you're demonstrating

352
00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:53.760
headship, you're saying there is a God above,

353
00:15:53.760 --> 00:15:55.320
and He gets the tenth.

354
00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.120
You're demonstrating that you have a Lord over your life

355
00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.960
that it doesn't all end with you.

356
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Hallelujah, every time I tie,

357
00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:08.160
I'm demonstrating, Lord, you come first,

358
00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:10.480
and thank God you didn't ask for the whole thing,

359
00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:13.400
you asked for the tenth, which is indicative of the whole.

360
00:16:14.760 --> 00:16:16.960
And so He's gonna keep increasing me,

361
00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:18.400
and keep increasing me.

362
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Hallelujah.

363
00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:23.840
I made a decision when I was 16 years old,

364
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about two weeks after I got saved,

365
00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:27.840
because that's when I learned about tithing.

366
00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:30.720
I was working at the gap.

367
00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:35.720
Why are you laughing so hard at that?

368
00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:38.720
Because you could see it?

369
00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.720
Because it just sounds like something I would've done, right?

370
00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:49.720
1992 gap on Austin Street in Forest Hills, Queens.

371
00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:58.720
And I got excited because I was gonna be able to tie.

372
00:16:58.720 --> 00:16:59.920
By the way, we were joking about this,

373
00:16:59.920 --> 00:17:03.320
a minimum wage back then was 3.25 an hour,

374
00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:06.480
and I was making 550 at the gap.

375
00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:11.480
It was like, big time, junior year in high school, big time.

376
00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:17.680
But I made a commitment, it's funny now.

377
00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:20.840
I made a commitment to tie, then I haven't stopped.

378
00:17:20.840 --> 00:17:23.760
I haven't, I don't say this for a religious path,

379
00:17:23.760 --> 00:17:25.800
but I haven't stopped.

380
00:17:25.800 --> 00:17:29.200
And God has opened different doors of revenue for us.

381
00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:34.200
He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams and imaginations.

382
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Hallelujah.

383
00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:37.800
Let me ask you something, would you trust me

384
00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:40.400
if I didn't tithe, even without this message?

385
00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:42.600
If I just casually, we were out together a bunch of us,

386
00:17:42.600 --> 00:17:45.200
and I just said, you know, tithing, I just, sometimes I do,

387
00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:46.920
but other times, you know, times are tough,

388
00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:51.680
whatever I come first, I would completely be discredited.

389
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:54.600
What if Pastor Moe said, don't tell Pastor Boi,

390
00:17:54.600 --> 00:17:57.760
because he doesn't check the records, but I don't tithe.

391
00:17:57.760 --> 00:18:01.600
Would you ever, would you love him as much as you do?

392
00:18:01.600 --> 00:18:03.800
Because it's a revelation of your faith.

393
00:18:03.800 --> 00:18:07.600
It's a revelation of, oh boy, you're, you're, you're,

394
00:18:07.600 --> 00:18:09.520
this is not to put condemnation on anyone.

395
00:18:09.520 --> 00:18:13.200
Some of you are in the process and maturing and growing,

396
00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:16.680
but this is why, actually, in order to be on staff,

397
00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:21.000
you have to be a tithe, and that's when we do check the records.

398
00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:22.320
Because if you want to come on staff,

399
00:18:22.320 --> 00:18:24.760
you have to, we have to know that Jesus comes first

400
00:18:24.760 --> 00:18:26.480
in every area of your life.

401
00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:30.040
When I was dating Emily, I asked you the question.

402
00:18:30.040 --> 00:18:31.480
It's one of the first things I wanted to know.

403
00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:33.880
Not, no, not will you marry me way before that.

404
00:18:33.880 --> 00:18:36.920
Are you a tithe, because that was gonna save me

405
00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:39.080
a whole lot of time in trying to figure out

406
00:18:39.080 --> 00:18:40.600
where she is with the Lord.

407
00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.040
She said, yes, I knew exactly then.

408
00:18:44.040 --> 00:18:47.680
She has a God above that she's bending the knee to,

409
00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:49.920
and she's constantly saying, with every tithe,

410
00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.520
you come first, and you have the whole of my heart.

411
00:18:53.520 --> 00:18:57.680
Talk is cheap, but it's demonstrated with that.

412
00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:04.160
Amen, why it's a test of credibility and accountability

413
00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:05.480
with finances.

414
00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:10.480
Number four, why is tithing called holy in the Bible?

415
00:19:11.520 --> 00:19:13.240
What does the word holy mean?

416
00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:17.760
We think holy means clean, or holy means pure.

417
00:19:17.800 --> 00:19:18.960
And it can mean that.

418
00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.320
That's often a secondary or tertiary meaning.

419
00:19:21.320 --> 00:19:24.040
The real meaning of holy is set apart.

420
00:19:24.040 --> 00:19:26.040
Sanctify, it's different.

421
00:19:26.040 --> 00:19:27.560
It's set apart.

422
00:19:27.560 --> 00:19:29.920
And over and over again, the Bible calls the tithe,

423
00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:32.280
holy, look at Leviticus 27, 30.

424
00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:37.800
And all of the tithe of the land,

425
00:19:37.800 --> 00:19:40.280
whether of the seed of the land,

426
00:19:40.280 --> 00:19:43.760
or of the fruit of the tree is the Lord's,

427
00:19:43.760 --> 00:19:47.240
it is holy to the Lord.

428
00:19:48.760 --> 00:19:53.000
Why is it called holy because it belongs to God?

429
00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.560
So I'm actually not giving something to the Lord.

430
00:19:57.560 --> 00:19:59.440
I'm paying him back.

431
00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:01.640
It already belongs to him.

432
00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:04.160
He wants to see me give that portion back.

433
00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:07.120
Can he be trusted to give it back?

434
00:20:07.120 --> 00:20:12.120
And when I do, then I qualify to be trusted with more.

435
00:20:12.120 --> 00:20:15.720
And I firmly believe that should be long term,

436
00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:16.400
not overnight.

437
00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:19.640
You don't just start tithing, and you're taking selfies

438
00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:21.160
with a Bentley.

439
00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.320
Some people presented that way.

440
00:20:23.320 --> 00:20:26.840
But long term, your life should be on the increase.

441
00:20:26.840 --> 00:20:29.960
And you can release your faith that Lord, your favoring me.

442
00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.560
Lord, I've met the right place at the right time.

443
00:20:32.560 --> 00:20:34.680
In the book of Haggai, it talks about people

444
00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:36.040
who don't prioritize God.

445
00:20:36.040 --> 00:20:39.360
Everything they take to save, they put it in a bag

446
00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:43.800
with holes in it that describes a lot of Americans today.

447
00:20:43.800 --> 00:20:45.480
It's the same thing at the end of every month.

448
00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:46.960
They all say the same mantra.

449
00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:48.960
Where did it all go?

450
00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:51.040
Where did it all go?

451
00:20:51.040 --> 00:20:53.320
And in Haggai, he says, you put it in a bag.

452
00:20:53.320 --> 00:20:56.960
Well, I have a message called Papa got a brand new bag.

453
00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:01.040
He put it in a bag with holes in it.

454
00:21:01.040 --> 00:21:03.920
And it says, whatever they had left, I blew it away.

455
00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:06.080
Because they didn't prioritize me, and they're giving.

456
00:21:09.080 --> 00:21:10.080
Thank you, Lord.

457
00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:20.000
I skipped number five, which actually my son asked me.

458
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.880
Several times, I shared once when he asked me.

459
00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:25.800
And he did this thing.

460
00:21:25.800 --> 00:21:27.440
One was at like a month and a half ago.

461
00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.360
He did it once, and I was like, Emily, no more.

462
00:21:30.360 --> 00:21:36.280
He did this thing, and he was on the equalizer, the show.

463
00:21:36.280 --> 00:21:38.040
And it happened so by accident.

464
00:21:38.040 --> 00:21:38.800
How did it start?

465
00:21:38.800 --> 00:21:41.640
He just wanted, he got an interest in,

466
00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:43.480
I think he liked, you know, the kids.

467
00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:48.800
So he watches Ace Ventura, pet detective, and then the mask.

468
00:21:48.800 --> 00:21:51.160
And he got all into Jim Carrey.

469
00:21:51.160 --> 00:21:54.760
So in 1990s, makes my heart sing.

470
00:21:54.760 --> 00:21:56.440
And Emily thought it would be a good experience.

471
00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:58.280
So where did you go?

472
00:21:58.280 --> 00:21:59.040
Some website.

473
00:21:59.040 --> 00:22:02.480
Next thing you know, he's in Brooklyn at 4 a.m. recording

474
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:03.960
on the equalizer.

475
00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.760
And I only said last time, because that whole industry is just

476
00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:09.320
like, no, thank you.

477
00:22:09.320 --> 00:22:11.720
May the Lord send his fire and purge and cleanse it.

478
00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:13.080
And then he can dabble a little later.

479
00:22:13.080 --> 00:22:16.280
To have a night-year-old flirting in that industry is not,

480
00:22:16.280 --> 00:22:19.120
so I have a lot on my mind already.

481
00:22:19.120 --> 00:22:20.360
It's not another thing.

482
00:22:20.360 --> 00:22:24.000
But here's the thing, he's on the equalizer.

483
00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:25.560
A little bit part, right?

484
00:22:25.560 --> 00:22:30.920
But they paid him $150.

485
00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:33.440
And I asked, I explained the tide here already, knows.

486
00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:34.880
And I said, but we also give offerings.

487
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.160
How much do you want to give?

488
00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.080
He said, 30.

489
00:22:37.080 --> 00:22:38.200
I said, that's a double tide.

490
00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:39.960
You sure he said, yes.

491
00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.920
And then he said, but dad.

492
00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:45.000
How are we giving it to God?

493
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:47.680
Like, how does it get to God?

494
00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:49.720
And I'm like, you're asking really what a lot of adults

495
00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:51.240
are secretly asking.

496
00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:54.000
Like, because everybody says, let's give unto God now.

497
00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:56.120
It's like, well, no, I'm in a material place

498
00:22:56.120 --> 00:23:01.120
making a material check or holding a material smartphone.

499
00:23:01.120 --> 00:23:03.720
And I'm actually giving to an earthly organization.

500
00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:06.920
Why are we told that we are giving to God

501
00:23:06.920 --> 00:23:10.360
when the money is going to the church and earthly organization?

502
00:23:10.360 --> 00:23:13.120
Very fair question, a question that everybody

503
00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:16.200
nine and above should ask.

504
00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:22.480
Let's look at Proverbs chapter three versus nine through 10.

505
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:28.120
Here's what it says, honor the Lord with your possessions.

506
00:23:28.120 --> 00:23:33.440
Not honor a man, not honor a church, not honor an organization.

507
00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:38.440
The scripture it's saying is, when you

508
00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.280
give in the name of Jesus to an organization that's

509
00:23:41.280 --> 00:23:45.800
using it to expand the gospel for the right reasons,

510
00:23:45.800 --> 00:23:48.080
you're giving it to God.

511
00:23:48.080 --> 00:23:51.640
You cannot make a check out to Jesus Christ.

512
00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:53.680
But you can give to the cause of Jesus.

513
00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:55.760
And in that way, you're giving to the Lord.

514
00:23:55.760 --> 00:23:57.920
Honor the Lord with your possessions

515
00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:00.880
and with the first fruits of all your increase.

516
00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:03.280
And then the promise, whenever the Bible asks you

517
00:24:03.280 --> 00:24:06.360
to give something, it comes with a promise.

518
00:24:06.360 --> 00:24:09.880
So your barns will be filled with plenty

519
00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:13.440
and your vats will overflow with new wine.

520
00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:15.200
Check out Hebrew 7.8.

521
00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:20.000
It just finishes telling the story of how Abraham,

522
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:22.760
the original patriarch, he came across

523
00:24:22.760 --> 00:24:24.880
a mysterious figure called Melchizedek.

524
00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.800
The Bible says he had neither beginning of days,

525
00:24:26.800 --> 00:24:29.400
nor end of days.

526
00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:31.920
King of Salem, which means king of peace,

527
00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:33.280
likened to the son of man.

528
00:24:33.280 --> 00:24:36.040
This was a personage of Jesus Christ

529
00:24:36.040 --> 00:24:40.200
and the first thing he did after his victory,

530
00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:45.040
great Abraham knelt down and gave Melchizedek a tithe.

531
00:24:45.040 --> 00:24:46.640
And here's what the Bible says.

532
00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:51.440
Here, mortal men, ushers go up in the aisles.

533
00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:58.440
Mortal men receive tides, but there he receives them.

534
00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:00.920
I have never, ever given my tithe.

535
00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:02.520
I've tied through a lot of different churches

536
00:25:02.520 --> 00:25:05.160
before planting city light 22 years ago.

537
00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:09.560
I've never, ever given to a man, to an organization.

538
00:25:09.560 --> 00:25:11.840
Always it has been with love.

539
00:25:11.840 --> 00:25:14.760
This is the only way to get a harvest from the Lord.

540
00:25:14.760 --> 00:25:17.080
Get it out of your head that you're giving to man.

541
00:25:17.080 --> 00:25:19.720
Yeah, make sure a man is doing right with it

542
00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:21.680
and man isn't spending it on frivolous things

543
00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.520
and ulterior stuff, but ultimately know

544
00:25:24.520 --> 00:25:26.920
you're giving to the Lord.

545
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:29.880
Here, mortal men receive tides,

546
00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:32.480
but there he receives them,

547
00:25:32.520 --> 00:25:35.360
of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

548
00:25:35.360 --> 00:25:36.360
Amen.

549
00:25:38.520 --> 00:25:39.680
Hallelujah.

550
00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:53.240
Let me just do a temperature check right now.

551
00:25:55.040 --> 00:25:55.880
All right.

552
00:25:58.040 --> 00:25:59.040
Number six.

553
00:26:00.040 --> 00:26:04.040
When it comes to tithing, all of a sudden everyone

554
00:26:04.040 --> 00:26:08.200
becomes a theologian and the difference in the covenants

555
00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:09.200
really, really matter.

556
00:26:13.960 --> 00:26:14.960
Hallelujah.

557
00:26:17.240 --> 00:26:20.440
My wife and I, we have a personal goal this year.

558
00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:25.240
In one shot, we want to tie $500,000.

559
00:26:25.240 --> 00:26:29.320
I'm telling you right now we're gonna see it happen.

560
00:26:29.320 --> 00:26:31.320
We're going to do it.

561
00:26:31.320 --> 00:26:33.120
It'll be the biggest tie that we've ever given

562
00:26:33.120 --> 00:26:35.960
and I'm just, I'm gonna celebrate that.

563
00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:38.200
Hallelujah.

564
00:26:39.520 --> 00:26:41.440
Hallelujah.

565
00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.120
We're living in wild times.

566
00:26:46.120 --> 00:26:47.120
Thank you, Lord.

567
00:26:50.800 --> 00:26:51.800
Thank you, Lord.

568
00:26:52.800 --> 00:26:56.800
If tithing is an old covenant commandment

569
00:26:56.800 --> 00:26:59.800
and we are no longer under the law, right?

570
00:26:59.800 --> 00:27:01.800
Because this is a grace church,

571
00:27:01.800 --> 00:27:03.800
a church that lives under the new covenant.

572
00:27:06.800 --> 00:27:08.800
Why are we still tithing?

573
00:27:08.800 --> 00:27:10.800
If we're no longer under the law,

574
00:27:10.800 --> 00:27:13.800
why should I tithe under the new covenant?

575
00:27:13.800 --> 00:27:15.800
I'm so glad you asked.

576
00:27:15.800 --> 00:27:17.800
Let's go to Genesis 2820.

577
00:27:17.800 --> 00:27:19.800
Because here's the truth.

578
00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:24.480
The tithe isn't an old covenant principle.

579
00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:29.040
It predates the old covenant by hundreds and hundreds of years.

580
00:27:29.040 --> 00:27:32.080
It is way before the law of Moses.

581
00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:35.240
The tithe was from the very beginning.

582
00:27:36.120 --> 00:27:38.480
Abraham, he tithed.

583
00:27:39.520 --> 00:27:42.800
Isaac, tithe, the patriarchs tied

584
00:27:42.800 --> 00:27:45.480
all before it was in the law to tithe.

585
00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:48.480
And we should not tie this though we're under the law.

586
00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.480
The law is you have to

587
00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:55.480
under the threat of a punishment

588
00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:58.480
under the new covenant is you get to.

589
00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.480
And I had one I was arguing with one pastor who really

590
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.480
is like, no, you can't say that.

591
00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:04.480
Do I have to or don't I have to?

592
00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:06.480
About the tithe.

593
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.480
He believes you have to and you go to,

594
00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:10.480
you have to.

595
00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:13.480
No, you get to.

596
00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.480
Well, what if they don't?

597
00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:17.480
Well, if they don't,

598
00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:23.480
they're frustrating themselves and the grace of God in their own life.

599
00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:28.480
But are you going to be cursed with a curse?

600
00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:30.480
Well, how can you be blessed?

601
00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:33.480
Born by the blood of Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit

602
00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:35.480
and still cursed.

603
00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:38.480
You can't be.

604
00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:40.480
Your pocketbook could be.

605
00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:41.480
But you yourself can't be.

606
00:28:41.480 --> 00:28:43.480
There is a difference.

607
00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:44.480
It's all in nuance.

608
00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:45.480
No, there is a difference.

609
00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:48.480
You yourself, if you're cursed, you're not going to heaven.

610
00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.480
You're not cursed, you're blessed, you're a saint.

611
00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:54.480
But you'll be struggling all your life.

612
00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:58.480
Or you'll actually have, but it'll never satisfy.

613
00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:02.480
See, the Bible says the blessing of the Lord makes one rich

614
00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:05.480
and he adds no sorrow to it.

615
00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:07.480
All throughout New York City,

616
00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:09.480
a lot of people who are quote-unquote rich,

617
00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:12.480
but it's like sand in their mouth.

618
00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:14.480
Still, they're not satisfied.

619
00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:18.480
Then Jacob, this is in the old covenant,

620
00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:20.480
then Jacob made a vow saying,

621
00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:24.480
if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I am going

622
00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:28.480
and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on

623
00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:31.480
so that I come back to my father's house and peace

624
00:29:31.480 --> 00:29:33.480
then the Lord shall be my God.

625
00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:38.480
And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house.

626
00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:43.480
And of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you.

627
00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.480
This is pre the law.

628
00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:47.480
This is pre old covenant.

629
00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:49.480
Yes, I know it's in the old covenant,

630
00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:53.480
but pre the establishment of what we today call the old covenant.

631
00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:55.480
Amen.

632
00:29:55.480 --> 00:30:00.480
Hebrews 8.6.

633
00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:02.480
Let me ask you something.

634
00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:04.480
You're under the new covenant, right?

635
00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:06.480
Is it a better covenant?

636
00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:08.480
Why is it better?

637
00:30:08.480 --> 00:30:10.480
Because under the old covenant,

638
00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:12.480
all the pressure was on you.

639
00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:16.480
You had to try to keep God's law across every tea, right?

640
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:18.480
That, every eye.

641
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:20.480
You would mess up. The hammer would come down.

642
00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:23.480
Under the new covenant, it's not about what you do.

643
00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:25.480
It's about what Jesus has already done.

644
00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:27.480
Under the old covenant,

645
00:30:27.480 --> 00:30:29.480
you couldn't be filled with the Holy Spirit.

646
00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:31.480
Under the new, he comes and lives inside of you.

647
00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:33.480
Under the old covenant, one mess up,

648
00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:35.480
the covenant is disturbed and broken.

649
00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:37.480
Under the new, even if you mess up,

650
00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:39.480
Jesus is holding it together forever in your place.

651
00:30:39.480 --> 00:30:42.480
If that's not better, I don't know what is.

652
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:44.480
Under the old, they just had an atonement,

653
00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:46.480
the covering of sin.

654
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:49.480
Under the new, you have total remission of sins.

655
00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:52.480
Under the new, you have imputation of righteousness.

656
00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:54.480
He puts his righteousness inside of you.

657
00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:58.480
The new is better in every way.

658
00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:02.480
When the Bible calls it the old covenant,

659
00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:05.480
it's not calling it the old covenant because of its age.

660
00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:07.480
When I first got saved, I thought that old.

661
00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:09.480
Okay, the new, because it's newer, right?

662
00:31:09.480 --> 00:31:11.480
Old means old.

663
00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:14.480
You know your old phone? You don't use it.

664
00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:15.480
It's old.

665
00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:17.480
Still in your kitchen cupboard,

666
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:20.480
somewhere in the drawer, in the corner there.

667
00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:24.480
The old covenant that system is done.

668
00:31:24.480 --> 00:31:28.480
But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry

669
00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:32.480
and as much as he's also mediated of a better covenant.

670
00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:36.480
So under an inferior covenant,

671
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:39.480
they had to give 10%.

672
00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:45.480
So what should we give under a better covenant?

673
00:31:45.480 --> 00:31:49.480
A better offering or a lesser offering?

674
00:31:49.480 --> 00:31:52.480
See, some people view the tie this punishment,

675
00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:54.480
they'll go, oh, thank God I'm set free from the law,

676
00:31:54.480 --> 00:31:57.480
and now I'll just give 2%.

677
00:31:57.480 --> 00:32:01.480
You're missing it. This isn't for God.

678
00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:03.480
It's for you.

679
00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:05.480
So I have made a decision.

680
00:32:05.480 --> 00:32:07.480
And by the way, some people,

681
00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:09.480
some people, their hearts,

682
00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:11.480
they really need to experience the love of God

683
00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:15.480
because their hearts are just so cold and icy and locked up.

684
00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:19.480
And so anything that doesn't end in them immediately being better,

685
00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:21.480
like actually helping people, giving out,

686
00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:23.480
they just lock up and they don't,

687
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:29.480
error code 404 just doesn't compute.

688
00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:35.480
And also people judge you through their own wickedness

689
00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:39.480
and their own offenses.

690
00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:43.480
Hallelujah.

691
00:32:43.480 --> 00:32:45.480
And as much as he's also mediated of a better covenant

692
00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:49.480
which was established on better promises,

693
00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:51.480
so the decision that I've made

694
00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:53.480
is that if this is a better covenant,

695
00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:55.480
10%, is not my end point,

696
00:32:55.480 --> 00:32:57.480
it's my starting point.

697
00:32:57.480 --> 00:32:59.480
Under an inferior covenant where they were told

698
00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:01.480
they were rebuked, well, a man robbed God,

699
00:33:01.480 --> 00:33:03.480
yet you have robbed him.

700
00:33:03.480 --> 00:33:05.480
How have we robbed him in ties and in offerings?

701
00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:07.480
You have robbed him?

702
00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:09.480
That's not something I ever want to read to City Light.

703
00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:13.480
That was a passage of sharp rebuked.

704
00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:15.480
That's not how we should receive our ties.

705
00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:19.480
The ties should be received with joy, with delight.

706
00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:23.480
If that's not you, please keep your money.

707
00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:25.480
Don't put George Washington with tears running down his eyes

708
00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:27.480
and boogers coming out his nose

709
00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:29.480
because you've been squeezing that dollar bills so hard.

710
00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:33.480
Don't put that in the, have mercy on our offering counters.

711
00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:35.480
They don't want to touch that.

712
00:33:35.480 --> 00:33:37.480
Come let the Lord work on your heart

713
00:33:37.480 --> 00:33:40.480
when you can really give it with gladness and in faith

714
00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:43.480
and knowing that you make a living by your giving

715
00:33:43.480 --> 00:33:45.480
and that you're worshiping him

716
00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:47.480
and declaring headship and lordship.

717
00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:49.480
Amen.

718
00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:51.480
Hallelujah.

719
00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:55.480
All right, do you see allotions who really love people

720
00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:59.480
with the old, you know, the response,

721
00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:01.480
the freedom is greater under the new,

722
00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:03.480
but the responsibility is actually more.

723
00:34:03.480 --> 00:34:11.480
Luke 1142, here's Jesus speaking about the tithe.

724
00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:15.480
But woe to you, Pharisees, for you tithe,

725
00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:18.480
mint and ruin, all manner of herbs,

726
00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:21.480
and pass by justice and the love of God.

727
00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:23.480
So someone will stop right there and say,

728
00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:27.480
see, God just wants us to be nice.

729
00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:30.480
Justice and the love of, can we all just get along?

730
00:34:30.480 --> 00:34:31.480
Just be nice.

731
00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:33.480
That's not what Jesus is saying only.

732
00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:36.480
He's saying, yes, justice, the love of God.

733
00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:42.480
These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.

734
00:34:43.480 --> 00:34:46.480
So it's telling the Pharisees, you're missing it

735
00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:48.480
because you're nasty tithers.

736
00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:51.480
You're just tithing, but you have no mercy and justice in your heart.

737
00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:56.480
You should have mercy and justice in your heart without stopping to tithe.

738
00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:59.480
Do you see that?

739
00:34:59.480 --> 00:35:02.480
Praise God, amen.

740
00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:07.480
Hallelujah.

741
00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:13.480
Number seven, where should I give my tithe?

742
00:35:13.480 --> 00:35:16.480
Hallelujah.

743
00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:20.480
It's amazing how much joy I have right now.

744
00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:23.480
No, it's the Lord.

745
00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:28.480
He's messing with me because it has nothing to do

746
00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:30.480
with how I feel the message is going.

747
00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:32.480
It's the Lord is so kind.

748
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:35.480
No, really, I feel like the Lord is so kind

749
00:35:35.480 --> 00:35:38.480
that when he asks me to do something like this,

750
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:40.480
he's like blows on me

751
00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:42.480
so that I wouldn't say no next time, I think.

752
00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:44.480
When he asks me to go out on a list,

753
00:35:44.480 --> 00:35:46.480
so he's just like filling me with joy

754
00:35:46.480 --> 00:35:49.480
and also whether you know it or not,

755
00:35:49.480 --> 00:35:52.480
it's for your benefit.

756
00:35:52.480 --> 00:35:55.480
Listen, different.

757
00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:58.480
When City Light first started, there was this couple.

758
00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:01.480
The first, we had no money.

759
00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:02.480
There was this couple.

760
00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:05.480
There was this couple that asked me out to dinner.

761
00:36:05.480 --> 00:36:06.480
I said, yes.

762
00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:11.480
And during dinner, City Light was two weeks old.

763
00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:15.480
And during dinner, we're just talking and he goes,

764
00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:18.480
my wife and I, we like to tithe, so here's our tithe.

765
00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:20.480
I mean, when he said we like to tithe,

766
00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:23.480
I mean, my only thought was, well, I like to receive your tithe.

767
00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:24.480
That seems great.

768
00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:26.480
I'm a young church planter totally broke,

769
00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:29.480
living back with my parents, starting in Midtown Manhattan

770
00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:32.480
and a hotel ball, and it was for $10,000.

771
00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:35.480
Listen, at 26, as a broke church planter,

772
00:36:35.480 --> 00:36:37.480
that could have been a million, I'm there,

773
00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:41.480
I'm getting dizzy looking at $10,000.

774
00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:42.480
Right?

775
00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:45.480
And that, that, that, that bought so much for us

776
00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:46.480
in those first few months.

777
00:36:46.480 --> 00:36:47.480
And guess what?

778
00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:48.480
They left.

779
00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:50.480
Like, less than a month after that.

780
00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:52.480
They got offended and left.

781
00:36:52.480 --> 00:36:55.480
And my first thought as a young church planter

782
00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:58.480
was, how are we going to make it now?

783
00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.480
I'm going, I'm going somewhere with this.

784
00:37:01.480 --> 00:37:07.480
And immediately the Lord made up for it and brought it more.

785
00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:10.480
And that's how it's always been that way.

786
00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:12.480
That's why I'm, do you notice we don't have like

787
00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:14.480
the money people section?

788
00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:17.480
In some churches, there's the big giver section.

789
00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:18.480
There is.

790
00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:20.480
It's like they never read James, you know?

791
00:37:20.480 --> 00:37:23.480
We don't, I'm getting equally close.

792
00:37:23.480 --> 00:37:25.480
I just assume everybody's the biggest giver.

793
00:37:26.480 --> 00:37:28.480
But he taught me early on.

794
00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:31.480
But sometimes I do know, if somebody's always throwing down,

795
00:37:31.480 --> 00:37:34.480
it's going to, can't not know.

796
00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:36.480
The team tells me, we will write a thank you note,

797
00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:38.480
whatever we know.

798
00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:41.480
But they'll always leave eventually.

799
00:37:41.480 --> 00:37:42.480
It's weird, some weird for now.

800
00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:44.480
But what I'm saying is the Lord has always taught me

801
00:37:44.480 --> 00:37:46.480
not to look at man.

802
00:37:46.480 --> 00:37:49.480
And he always, he always makes up for,

803
00:37:49.480 --> 00:37:52.480
basically what I'm saying in a very clumsy and prolonged way

804
00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:56.480
is the Lord has taught me and trained me now,

805
00:37:56.480 --> 00:37:59.480
that though he uses people,

806
00:37:59.480 --> 00:38:02.480
I don't have to worry about people.

807
00:38:02.480 --> 00:38:04.480
And so when I preach a message like this,

808
00:38:04.480 --> 00:38:07.480
it's not because our giving's down.

809
00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:10.480
It's not because they just raise the lease on this place.

810
00:38:10.480 --> 00:38:14.480
Before the Lord, I can honestly tell you it's for your benefit.

811
00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:16.480
It really is for your benefit.

812
00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:17.480
Amen.

813
00:38:17.480 --> 00:38:20.480
If you decide I'm not tithing, we'll be here.

814
00:38:20.480 --> 00:38:22.480
We'll be celebrating a 30th anniversary,

815
00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:24.480
40th anniversary.

816
00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:26.480
Only just a little bit more just for men around.

817
00:38:26.480 --> 00:38:28.480
And we'll just, I'll just stay here.

818
00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:29.480
Amen.

819
00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:31.480
And keep waving and keep naming the name of Jesus.

820
00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:33.480
He'll always cause us to survive,

821
00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:35.480
and not just survive, but thrive.

822
00:38:35.480 --> 00:38:36.480
Amen.

823
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:39.480
Oh, where should I give my tithe?

824
00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:41.480
That's a good question because some people are like,

825
00:38:41.480 --> 00:38:44.480
well, I don't want to give to just one place.

826
00:38:44.480 --> 00:38:46.480
You know, how about some online ministries?

827
00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:48.480
My aunt Agnes is having a really rough year.

828
00:38:48.480 --> 00:38:50.480
I'm going to give a portion of my tithe to her,

829
00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:52.480
which really isn't a tithe.

830
00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:54.480
That's an arm when you're helping people.

831
00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:56.480
Where do you give your tithe?

832
00:38:56.480 --> 00:38:58.480
The answer is in Malachi 3,

833
00:38:58.480 --> 00:39:01.480
what is largely agreed upon, 310,

834
00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:03.480
if you can go right there.

835
00:39:03.480 --> 00:39:04.480
Thank you.

836
00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:07.480
Bring all the tithe into the storehouse,

837
00:39:07.480 --> 00:39:11.480
that there may be food in my house.

838
00:39:11.480 --> 00:39:15.480
So it is largely agreed upon that the temple

839
00:39:15.480 --> 00:39:19.480
was foreshadowing not just the body of Christ,

840
00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:21.480
but the local church,

841
00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:23.480
because the church capital C is the body of Christ,

842
00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:25.480
church, lower KC,

843
00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:27.480
or all the little lower case churches,

844
00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:30.480
the tithe belongs to the local church.

845
00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:32.480
So you really can't give it to a bunch of other places.

846
00:39:32.480 --> 00:39:34.480
That's an offering.

847
00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:37.480
But to put it in somewhat of a crossway,

848
00:39:37.480 --> 00:39:39.480
you pay where you eat.

849
00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:41.480
Like imagine going to a Thai restaurant,

850
00:39:41.480 --> 00:39:43.480
ordering everything in the menu, eating,

851
00:39:43.480 --> 00:39:45.480
and then walking across the street,

852
00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:48.480
and then paying the Italian restaurant.

853
00:39:48.480 --> 00:39:49.480
Amen.

854
00:39:49.480 --> 00:39:51.480
The tithe belongs to the local church,

855
00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:52.480
to the storehouse.

856
00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:54.480
And by the way, it also says why there,

857
00:39:54.480 --> 00:39:57.480
that they may be meat in my house.

858
00:39:57.480 --> 00:39:58.480
And thankfully, and by the way,

859
00:39:58.480 --> 00:40:00.480
this is just a teaching message.

860
00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:01.480
This isn't a rebuke message.

861
00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:03.480
There's meat in this house.

862
00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:05.480
Because of the titheers.

863
00:40:05.480 --> 00:40:06.480
What is meat?

864
00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:08.480
There is sustenance and substance.

865
00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:11.480
And so we have staff that's never missed a paycheck,

866
00:40:11.480 --> 00:40:14.480
we're debt-free, we have outreaches,

867
00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:17.480
we have inner-reaches, we have the missions,

868
00:40:17.480 --> 00:40:20.480
we keep going, we're growing every year,

869
00:40:20.480 --> 00:40:22.480
we baptize over 100 people.

870
00:40:22.480 --> 00:40:25.480
That's because of the meat that's in this house.

871
00:40:25.480 --> 00:40:27.480
Amen.

872
00:40:27.480 --> 00:40:31.480
Hallelujah.

873
00:40:31.480 --> 00:40:32.480
Number eight.

874
00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:34.480
I'll quickly go through this one.

875
00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:38.480
What should I tie on the growth or the net?

876
00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:40.480
I...

877
00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:47.480
I joke, I said, it's kind of a gross question.

878
00:40:47.480 --> 00:40:51.480
What's so funny that I made something?

879
00:40:51.480 --> 00:40:53.480
Oh, just everybody has that question.

880
00:40:53.480 --> 00:40:55.480
I was about to skip it, but everybody,

881
00:40:55.480 --> 00:40:57.480
listen, you do business with God.

882
00:40:57.480 --> 00:40:58.480
All right.

883
00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:02.480
But I just, I approach everything that I want to challenge myself.

884
00:41:02.480 --> 00:41:05.480
I want to see God's word come true in my life.

885
00:41:05.480 --> 00:41:07.480
So we made a decision.

886
00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:10.480
I want a gross blessing, not a net blessing.

887
00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:12.480
I want people to see my life as a ghost.

888
00:41:12.480 --> 00:41:13.480
That's gross.

889
00:41:13.480 --> 00:41:15.480
The way you live.

890
00:41:15.480 --> 00:41:17.480
The way you're provided for.

891
00:41:17.480 --> 00:41:18.480
Gross, man.

892
00:41:18.480 --> 00:41:19.480
You call yourself a preacher?

893
00:41:19.480 --> 00:41:21.480
Yeah.

894
00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:25.480
Amen.

895
00:41:25.480 --> 00:41:28.480
Listen, the Bible says the first.

896
00:41:28.480 --> 00:41:31.480
It also uses the term the whole tithe.

897
00:41:31.480 --> 00:41:34.480
If I tithe, and I don't like to get legalistic,

898
00:41:34.480 --> 00:41:36.480
you get with the Lord, all right?

899
00:41:36.480 --> 00:41:37.480
But this is just how I see it.

900
00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:40.480
If I tithe after I have honored investment,

901
00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:42.480
other investment vehicles,

902
00:41:42.480 --> 00:41:46.480
the New York MTA, because my metric card comes out of my pre-tax dollars.

903
00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:51.480
And, you know, whenever, when the bank asks you how much do you make,

904
00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:54.480
you don't give them the net amount, you give them a gross amount.

905
00:41:54.480 --> 00:41:57.480
When you want to brag to your family members,

906
00:41:57.480 --> 00:41:59.480
your cousin, how much you make, you don't give the net amount,

907
00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:01.480
you give the gross amount.

908
00:42:01.480 --> 00:42:03.480
That's the actual dollar amount you make.

909
00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:05.480
That's what I want to tithe on.

910
00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:10.480
I don't want to tithe on leftovers there by giving God the leftovers.

911
00:42:10.480 --> 00:42:13.480
Amen.

912
00:42:13.480 --> 00:42:17.480
Hallelujah.

913
00:42:17.480 --> 00:42:21.480
Nine.

914
00:42:21.480 --> 00:42:27.480
Why does God place an emphasis on the tithe being given first?

915
00:42:27.480 --> 00:42:29.480
Why this whole talk of the first?

916
00:42:29.480 --> 00:42:32.480
The answer is found in Romans 11-16.

917
00:42:32.480 --> 00:42:38.480
We already read how Jesus, he called money unrighteous maman.

918
00:42:38.480 --> 00:42:41.480
Do you know that's the default state of money?

919
00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:43.480
Is that it's unrighteous?

920
00:42:43.480 --> 00:42:46.480
I used to not know that. I used to not believe that.

921
00:42:46.480 --> 00:42:48.480
I was taught money is neutral.

922
00:42:48.480 --> 00:42:50.480
So if a bad person has money, it's bad.

923
00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:52.480
And if a good person has money, it's good.

924
00:42:52.480 --> 00:42:55.480
But Jesus called it unrighteous money.

925
00:42:55.480 --> 00:42:59.480
Unrighteous maman.

926
00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:01.480
But the scripture says this is the principle.

927
00:43:01.480 --> 00:43:05.480
For if the first fruit, the first fruit is holy,

928
00:43:05.480 --> 00:43:09.480
the lump is then made holy.

929
00:43:09.480 --> 00:43:13.480
And if the root is holy, so are the branches.

930
00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:20.480
So when you give the first, the remainder is sanctified and made holy.

931
00:43:20.480 --> 00:43:25.480
So when you tithe, you now have a blessed and holy 90%.

932
00:43:25.480 --> 00:43:27.480
What is holy, the devil cannot touch.

933
00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:29.480
What is holy, the wind cannot blow away.

934
00:43:29.480 --> 00:43:34.480
I would rather have a blessed and holy 90% than a cursed 100%.

935
00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:36.480
An unrighteous 100%.

936
00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:39.480
That's why there is such a strong emphasis on the first.

937
00:43:39.480 --> 00:43:45.480
So much so that there must have been in some way communicated to Cain and Abel.

938
00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:48.480
Because Cain killed Abel.

939
00:43:48.480 --> 00:43:53.480
Can you believe the first murder in the Bible was over money and an offering?

940
00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:57.480
Cain killed Abel because God didn't respect Cain's offering.

941
00:43:57.480 --> 00:43:59.480
Why didn't God respect Cain's offering?

942
00:43:59.480 --> 00:44:03.480
Because he said in the course of time he gave.

943
00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:07.480
Happazardly, later, when he felt like it,

944
00:44:07.480 --> 00:44:12.480
whereas Abel, he ran and said he gave the first fruits of the ground.

945
00:44:12.480 --> 00:44:16.480
There's something about honoring him with the first.

946
00:44:16.480 --> 00:44:19.480
Hallelujah.

947
00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:21.480
Number 10.

948
00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:28.480
What should I do if I can't afford to tithe?

949
00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:33.480
What should I do if I can't afford to tithe?

950
00:44:33.480 --> 00:44:40.480
There's been times like the early church planting times where I felt I couldn't afford to tithe.

951
00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:45.480
Personally, I made a decision that I couldn't afford not to tithe.

952
00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:53.480
If you give yourself an out, you can never afford to tithe.

953
00:44:53.480 --> 00:45:01.480
But you can try by faith to start with a smaller percentage with the goal of seeing the Lord increase you

954
00:45:01.480 --> 00:45:05.480
to where you started five, then go to seven, go to eight, go to nine, go to ten.

955
00:45:05.480 --> 00:45:11.480
If that's talked to the Lord about it.

956
00:45:11.480 --> 00:45:13.480
I hope you're blessed.

957
00:45:13.480 --> 00:45:18.480
I hope you know no matter where you are financially with the decision you've made, he loves you.

958
00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:20.480
I have to say these things.

959
00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:24.480
When it comes to salvation, he loves you.

960
00:45:24.480 --> 00:45:28.480
He's already purchased your salvation with his own blood.

961
00:45:28.480 --> 00:45:30.480
Nobody here should walk away condemned.

962
00:45:30.480 --> 00:45:34.480
But perhaps a chunk of you should walk away convicted.

963
00:45:34.480 --> 00:45:35.480
They're not condemned.

964
00:45:35.480 --> 00:45:38.480
I know that you can always come to him.

965
00:45:38.480 --> 00:45:40.480
You can always talk to him.

966
00:45:40.480 --> 00:45:43.480
You can always pray and receive answers to prayer.

967
00:45:43.480 --> 00:45:44.480
But I don't want you.

968
00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:47.480
I just don't want people living a low life.

969
00:45:47.480 --> 00:45:49.480
I want you to live the high life.

970
00:45:49.480 --> 00:45:59.480
People who are fearful and stingy or they live low lives.

971
00:45:59.480 --> 00:46:01.480
Everything is itty bitty.

972
00:46:01.480 --> 00:46:05.480
Itty bitty hearts, itty bitty vision, itty bitty faith, itty bitty.

973
00:46:05.480 --> 00:46:07.480
Everything is scrawny.

974
00:46:07.480 --> 00:46:11.480
The Bible says the liberal soul shall be made.

975
00:46:11.480 --> 00:46:14.480
That's hallelujah.

976
00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:17.480
That's scrawny, fat.

977
00:46:17.480 --> 00:46:19.480
Amen.

978
00:46:19.480 --> 00:46:26.480
The liberal soul to be very clear, liberal meaning generous.

979
00:46:26.480 --> 00:46:27.480
Amen.

980
00:46:27.480 --> 00:46:32.480
The conservative liberal soul shall be made fat.

981
00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:41.480
The liberal, the generous, the giving soul shall be made fat.

982
00:46:41.480 --> 00:46:47.480
And he that waters shall also be watered himself.

983
00:46:47.480 --> 00:46:49.480
God will still love you.

984
00:46:49.480 --> 00:46:51.480
But make a decision.

985
00:46:51.480 --> 00:46:53.480
I want to live big.

986
00:46:53.480 --> 00:46:54.480
I want to give big.

987
00:46:54.480 --> 00:46:56.480
I want to achieve goals big.

988
00:46:56.480 --> 00:46:59.480
I want to just relieve suffering everywhere I go.

989
00:46:59.480 --> 00:47:01.480
I don't want to be a little liver.

990
00:47:01.480 --> 00:47:03.480
Amen.

991
00:47:03.480 --> 00:47:06.480
Hallelujah.

992
00:47:06.480 --> 00:47:09.480
Here's a good one.

993
00:47:09.480 --> 00:47:14.480
Why do some tithers?

994
00:47:14.480 --> 00:47:19.480
I hate to see this when somebody is tithing but there is no movement.

995
00:47:19.480 --> 00:47:23.480
And sometimes by the way there is movement but they just come to you in a time of frustration

996
00:47:23.480 --> 00:47:25.480
and they feel there is no movement.

997
00:47:25.480 --> 00:47:27.480
But God is always moving.

998
00:47:27.480 --> 00:47:32.480
Why do some tithers not seem to be experiencing the blessings of tithing?

999
00:47:32.480 --> 00:47:34.480
Because here are the blessings of tithing.

1000
00:47:34.480 --> 00:47:38.480
There should be overtime and increase in every area of your life.

1001
00:47:38.480 --> 00:47:40.480
In your finances.

1002
00:47:40.480 --> 00:47:42.480
In your own Christian development.

1003
00:47:42.480 --> 00:47:44.480
There should be forward momentum.

1004
00:47:44.480 --> 00:47:47.480
Of course there are seasons where that can get interrupted, where you will get tested,

1005
00:47:47.480 --> 00:47:50.480
where sometimes it's two steps forward, three steps back.

1006
00:47:50.480 --> 00:47:51.480
There are seasons.

1007
00:47:51.480 --> 00:47:53.480
But I'm talking about overall.

1008
00:47:53.480 --> 00:47:55.480
Life isn't a polaroid picture.

1009
00:47:55.480 --> 00:47:58.480
It's a video.

1010
00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:01.480
Overall there should be increase.

1011
00:48:01.480 --> 00:48:03.480
And talking through people throughout the years.

1012
00:48:03.480 --> 00:48:08.480
When somebody has like really, and this is rare, very rare, but no change in their life.

1013
00:48:08.480 --> 00:48:10.480
And they're still tithing over and over again.

1014
00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:12.480
It's the same thing.

1015
00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:15.480
They're not doing it with joy.

1016
00:48:15.480 --> 00:48:18.480
They actually don't like to tithe.

1017
00:48:18.480 --> 00:48:21.480
But feel like they got to.

1018
00:48:21.480 --> 00:48:23.480
And there's no love and joy there.

1019
00:48:23.480 --> 00:48:30.480
And in that case, tithing should be like one of the funnest times of your week.

1020
00:48:30.480 --> 00:48:33.480
It should be where you go, this is not mine.

1021
00:48:33.480 --> 00:48:34.480
This is the Lord's.

1022
00:48:34.480 --> 00:48:37.480
And I have faith that God receives it as such.

1023
00:48:37.480 --> 00:48:40.480
And I have faith that when I tithe, things are changing around Him.

1024
00:48:40.480 --> 00:48:43.480
I'm like, I can't wait to give.

1025
00:48:43.480 --> 00:48:45.480
And nobody knows who I give.

1026
00:48:45.480 --> 00:48:47.480
All you're going to get.

1027
00:48:47.480 --> 00:48:49.480
I'm going to write one letter.

1028
00:48:49.480 --> 00:48:53.480
I mean it from my heart to thank you letter to our finance officer that sends it directly to you.

1029
00:48:53.480 --> 00:48:56.480
But I'm never, I'm never going to go, hey man, thank you.

1030
00:48:56.480 --> 00:48:58.480
Without you, we couldn't have done it.

1031
00:48:58.480 --> 00:48:59.480
Who cares?

1032
00:48:59.480 --> 00:49:00.480
Who cares what I know?

1033
00:49:00.480 --> 00:49:01.480
Who cares what I think?

1034
00:49:01.480 --> 00:49:02.480
None of that.

1035
00:49:02.480 --> 00:49:04.480
What only matters is God.

1036
00:49:04.480 --> 00:49:06.480
And what he thinks, he sees everything.

1037
00:49:06.480 --> 00:49:08.480
He's got every penny, nickel, and dime.

1038
00:49:08.480 --> 00:49:09.480
He's got great accountants.

1039
00:49:09.480 --> 00:49:12.480
Heavenly accountants, they got little green caps on backwards, all that.

1040
00:49:12.480 --> 00:49:21.480
You got to give with joy or else what's the point?

1041
00:49:21.480 --> 00:49:25.480
You should feel like your tithe is burning a hole in your bank account or your pocket.

1042
00:49:25.480 --> 00:49:27.480
And you can't wait to do it.

1043
00:49:27.480 --> 00:49:32.480
And when you do with the right heart attitude, after all God is not after the money, he's after your heart.

1044
00:49:32.480 --> 00:49:34.480
He doesn't need the money.

1045
00:49:34.480 --> 00:49:36.480
You know what the Bible says about money on earth?

1046
00:49:36.480 --> 00:49:39.480
It says money answers everything.

1047
00:49:39.480 --> 00:49:42.480
It sounds like something like a line in a rap song, doesn't it?

1048
00:49:42.480 --> 00:49:44.480
Money answers everything.

1049
00:49:44.480 --> 00:49:46.480
Ugh.

1050
00:49:46.480 --> 00:49:48.480
Ugh.

1051
00:49:48.480 --> 00:49:51.480
But that's actually in Proverbs.

1052
00:49:51.480 --> 00:49:56.480
People who sound so unholy, no, it's pretty holy, it's in the holy Bible.

1053
00:49:56.480 --> 00:50:00.480
You got a problem, got a question, money's got an answer, money answers everything.

1054
00:50:00.480 --> 00:50:02.480
But in heaven, we don't need it.

1055
00:50:02.480 --> 00:50:04.480
And he doesn't need it.

1056
00:50:04.480 --> 00:50:07.480
So what about the tithe blesses him, the money or the obedience?

1057
00:50:07.480 --> 00:50:10.480
The obedience.

1058
00:50:10.480 --> 00:50:12.480
And you know what else it says?

1059
00:50:12.480 --> 00:50:17.480
It says, if you're willing and obedient, you will eat the fat, there it is, fat again.

1060
00:50:17.480 --> 00:50:21.480
You will eat the fat of the land.

1061
00:50:21.480 --> 00:50:26.480
So some people are obedient, but they're not willing.

1062
00:50:26.480 --> 00:50:29.480
You have to be willing and obedient.

1063
00:50:29.480 --> 00:50:31.480
Get happy about it.

1064
00:50:31.480 --> 00:50:33.480
Get in the Word.

1065
00:50:33.480 --> 00:50:42.480
Without giving and get excited, let it thrill you what God is capable of doing what he wants to do in your life and in your finances.

1066
00:50:42.480 --> 00:50:44.480
Number 12, we'll close with this.

1067
00:50:44.480 --> 00:50:49.480
Hey, usheres, can you get the communion elements out?

1068
00:50:49.480 --> 00:50:51.480
You know what?

1069
00:50:51.480 --> 00:50:52.480
All right.

1070
00:50:52.480 --> 00:50:54.480
Get the communion elements out.

1071
00:50:54.480 --> 00:50:58.480
What should I expect when I tithe?

1072
00:50:58.480 --> 00:51:01.480
I feel like I've answered this already.

1073
00:51:01.480 --> 00:51:06.480
Worship team, come on up.

1074
00:51:14.480 --> 00:51:21.480
Whenever you tithe, have an expectation of increase.

1075
00:51:21.480 --> 00:51:29.480
One of the biggest enemies to supernatural increase is people looking at their paycheck.

1076
00:51:30.480 --> 00:51:34.480
Please do not look to your paycheck. God is above that.

1077
00:51:34.480 --> 00:51:40.480
There are so many surprises, so many what we call different avenues of revenue.

1078
00:51:40.480 --> 00:51:42.480
I never dreamed.

1079
00:51:42.480 --> 00:51:47.480
We gave, we were giving 20%, at one point my wife who does all of our finances.

1080
00:51:47.480 --> 00:51:52.480
She's very generous, but she said, 20 is kind of like feeling like a lot now.

1081
00:51:52.480 --> 00:51:55.480
I just said, my spirit, I feel like we need to.

1082
00:51:55.480 --> 00:52:02.480
I never dreamed that in May of 2019, I would be laying in my bed in the morning buying one whole big coin.

1083
00:52:02.480 --> 00:52:04.480
That's when it all started.

1084
00:52:04.480 --> 00:52:05.480
I never dreamed.

1085
00:52:05.480 --> 00:52:08.480
How that, how that even came to me.

1086
00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:14.480
It's such a weird, just, where it just spurred, I just said, I'll get a whole one.

1087
00:52:14.480 --> 00:52:19.480
Didn't even know, didn't even know what it did.

1088
00:52:19.480 --> 00:52:21.480
Then I began studying it.

1089
00:52:21.480 --> 00:52:27.480
Then I realized this is, I think the greatest discovery since electricity.

1090
00:52:27.480 --> 00:52:29.480
Then I started buying.

1091
00:52:29.480 --> 00:52:34.480
This is still a while back when people, my family joked, my father who's in the market.

1092
00:52:34.480 --> 00:52:37.480
He's worked for a hedge fund for four decades now.

1093
00:52:37.480 --> 00:52:43.480
My father yelled at me and said, this is Tulip Mania.

1094
00:52:43.480 --> 00:52:46.480
I said, Dad, Tulip Mania was only a year and a half.

1095
00:52:46.480 --> 00:52:48.480
Bitcoin's now 10 years old.

1096
00:52:48.480 --> 00:52:50.480
Now it's 15, by the way.

1097
00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:53.480
That's not a Mania.

1098
00:52:53.480 --> 00:53:01.480
I started buying with both arms and feet and teeth and I didn't dream that.

1099
00:53:01.480 --> 00:53:03.480
I couldn't have predicted that.

1100
00:53:03.480 --> 00:53:05.480
That it would transform our lives.

1101
00:53:05.480 --> 00:53:08.480
That's just the point of the story.

1102
00:53:08.480 --> 00:53:13.480
Is that if you limit God to your paycheck, then you're limiting God and how he's going to bring you the breakthrough.

1103
00:53:14.480 --> 00:53:22.480
What should I expect when I tied, expect witty ideas, expect doors of opportunity open to you,

1104
00:53:22.480 --> 00:53:30.480
expect uncommon favor, uncommon increase, expect different things.

1105
00:53:30.480 --> 00:53:31.480
Amen.

1106
00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:34.480
This is the City Light Church podcast.

1107
00:53:34.480 --> 00:53:40.480
If you've missed any part of today's message or if you would like to find out more about Pastor Boyan Jansik and City Light Church,

1108
00:53:40.480 --> 00:53:43.480
visit us at citylightnyc.com.

1109
00:53:43.480 --> 00:53:46.480
That's citylightnyc.com.

1110
00:53:46.480 --> 00:53:49.480
Feel free to visit us online or in person anytime.

1111
00:53:49.480 --> 00:53:52.480
We would love to connect with you.

1112
00:53:52.480 --> 00:53:54.480
We pray that you have been encouraged today.

1113
00:53:54.480 --> 00:53:57.480
That you have been reminded how much God loves you.

1114
00:53:57.480 --> 00:54:00.480
And that you are surrounded by grace.

1115
00:54:00.480 --> 00:54:02.480
Thank you for listening.

1116
00:54:02.480 --> 00:54:08.480
Make sure that you subscribe to City Light Church podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts worldwide.

1117
00:54:10.480 --> 00:54:13.480
You