The Danger of Transactional Faith: Why Hardship Isn’t Always a Curse

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning Freedom House!
[00:01:04] We have been in a series called Kingdom Logic and I love it because what the world would describe as logic, the Bible says is not logic, it's earthly.
[00:01:16] God gives us wisdom and so we've been talking about the things all month long that the world says and how God has a different perspective on it.
[00:01:24] So excited to dive into that today, but before I do that, I wanna welcome everybody who is online that is joining us.
[00:01:33] Sometimes we don't realize how big the reach is here.
[00:01:37] It's not just the four walls of this auditorium.
[00:01:41] We've got campuses across the city, and we've got North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Nevada, New York,
[00:01:51] Florida, my friend Sabrina's joining in, Texas, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands.
[00:01:59] Let's give them a hand.
[00:02:01] We are so glad that you are tuning in today for Kingdom Logic.
[00:02:07] And I thought I would kick this off today just by telling on myself a little bit.
[00:02:14] There's some things that I'm pretty good at.
[00:02:17] you know I'd like to think I'm pretty good at but then there's some things I'm just really terrible at and one of the things I'm really really terrible at I don't know if anybody can feel me on this but I'm really terrible with directions like really bad unless you tell me what mall it's by I'm probably not gonna get there and
[00:02:41] That's even with having GPS.
[00:02:44] Now back in the day when you had to print off directions, do you guys remember that?
[00:02:48] Okay, it was a nightmare for me.
[00:02:52] But I am directionally challenged.
[00:02:56] And there's even this time where I was headed back from the lodge.
[00:03:00] How many of you have been to the lodge before?
[00:03:03] so if you don't know what the lodge is that is a property that our kingdom builders purchased in 2021 and it was because of the attack that was on men trying to demasculize our men to turn our men into a bunch of wussies so we as a church stood up and said we're going to make men men again and we bought a place
[00:03:27] we bought a place 45 acres in the foothills of Asheville that is just incredibly gorgeous beautiful mountains amazing the men just got back i think last week from being there but we bought a place where the men could hunt the little camera has caught like eight point deer bears every kind of animal you can imagine tons of turkey are on the property they better watch out for next week
[00:03:56] But all these different animals, the men get to go up there.
[00:03:59] They get to, I think, 6,000 rounds of ammo they fired off last week.
[00:04:04] They get to fish.
[00:04:05] There's a pond on the property and streams on the property.
[00:04:09] But it was just such an incredible place and a blessing.
[00:04:13] And I was there at this particular time because I was decorating it, getting it all ready for the grand opening for the men to come in.
[00:04:22] Well, I'm leaving the lodge, and you know, GPS, you're just supposed to follow the blue line, right?
[00:04:30] Follow the blue line.
[00:04:31] It seems simple in theory, but I was coming back from the lodge, and you know, the lodge, Asheville, my home, Davidson, and I realized something was off when I saw
[00:04:51] that I was in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
[00:04:57] I had been talking on the phone, I had just been listening to music and it's nowhere near, Spartanburg is nowhere near Davidson in case you're wondering.
[00:05:07] Nowhere near.
[00:05:08] And I realized that I had gotten off course because I didn't follow the blue line and I was too busy probably talking on the phone to hear rerouting
[00:05:24] But I know I'm not the only, anybody else directionally challenged in here?
[00:05:28] Okay, thank you for not making me feel, she's not being honest, okay.
[00:05:33] It's all right, we'll talk about what happens when you're not honest today.
[00:05:38] In the Bible, I see people that had some directional challenges.
[00:05:45] One of them is the Israelites.
[00:05:47] God gave them a very specific plan, a very specific purpose, and sometimes they got it right, and sometimes
[00:05:55] They didn't.
[00:05:56] And I want to talk to you today starting in Joshua chapter 5.
[00:06:01] What is happening here is the Israelites were about to enter into their promised land.
[00:06:07] This is the place that God had promised them from the beginning.
[00:06:11] This was called the land of Canaan and this was a region it wasn't just a city there were lots of different cities in Canaan and God told them you're going to cross over the Jordan and you're going to cross into your promised land well during this time of year it was the time of harvest and honestly the river swelled up so huge that it was impossible to get across for anybody
[00:06:36] but God dried up the river and the Israelites walked across into the promised land and when people who were in the first city which was Jericho saw that God had dried up the land for them they knew they were coming for them and their city was already the most fortified city in all of Canaan so they get to Jericho and the Bible says that they were like sick in their heart
[00:07:07] The people of Jericho were sick in their heart because they had watched God's hand be upon the Israelites and they knew even though they had the most fortified city of all in the land, they could sense that something was gonna happen.
[00:07:22] So they get across on the other side and they go to Jericho and God doesn't say, hey, pull your swords out.
[00:07:32] The walls were impenetrable.
[00:07:33] You couldn't get through Jericho's walls.
[00:07:37] But what does God do?
[00:07:38] He shows them how to worship.
[00:07:42] And I think that's what God wants to do to us today, is show us the right way to worship.
[00:07:47] Not how we think, but how He thinks.
[00:07:54] And so they get across onto the other side and they begin to march around the walls.
[00:08:03] And God's like, don't pull out your swords, your spears.
[00:08:07] I want you to go around the walls, but the first thing is I want you to send the Ark of the Covenant, which is where the presence of God was housed.
[00:08:17] Right?
[00:08:18] Old Testament.
[00:08:20] The presence of God was housed in the Ark of the Covenant.
[00:08:23] It was holy.
[00:08:24] It represented God's presence.
[00:08:28] And he says, send that ahead.
[00:08:32] And then I want you to send the priests and I want you to worship.
[00:08:35] Don't pull any of your weapons out.
[00:08:37] I want you just to worship around the walls.
[00:08:41] And they go the first time and they're kind of looking at each other like, anything happened?
[00:08:44] Do you see anything?
[00:08:45] I don't see anything.
[00:08:45] The walls were huge.
[00:08:51] After the seventh time, you hear this rumbling and the walls began to crumble and fall.
[00:08:59] Not because of their might, not because of their weaponry or their skills to fight, but because the Word of God was listened to so they were able to win the battle.
[00:09:13] And then here's what God says next.
[00:09:17] He says everything in the city is to be destroyed except for the gold and the bronze and the silver.
[00:09:24] I want all of that brought back.
[00:09:27] into the church and at the time their church was portable because they hadn't conquered the cities yet and built and had Jerusalem where the church would be so they had a mobile church and let me tell you i understand that we did that for nine years it's a lot of work man thank you jesus for a building
[00:09:50] But they were portable and God said, I want you to bring all of the gold, silver, bronze, and everything else is to be destroyed, set on fire.
[00:09:59] Well, Israel, Joshua spoke to them very clearly and he said, you are not to take the devoted things.
[00:10:12] Joshua 6, 19, all the silver, the gold are holy to the Lord.
[00:10:17] They must go into the treasury of the Lord.
[00:10:20] but everything else, you better burn it.
[00:10:23] Now, think about you've been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
[00:10:29] You get to this city and oh my gosh, they've got grain, they've got wheat, they've got cows, they've got all of these animals, they've got fruits, they've got vegetables, they've got olive, they've got oil, they've got lamps, they've got equipment, pots, pans.
[00:10:46] I mean, I might want some of that.
[00:10:51] especially if I've been without that for a long time but see God had taught them in the wilderness how to rely on him they had manna that would rain down from heaven and manna literally means what is it because when God started sending it down they're like what is it so they called it manna which means what is it so this manna would rain down but God would say listen on the first day of the week
[00:11:21] You are not to go out and collect because the first day I want you worshiping.
[00:11:28] That's my day.
[00:11:29] I want your first.
[00:11:31] Did you know that's why we are here today on Sunday?
[00:11:36] Because we are honoring something God established which is giving Him our first.
[00:11:42] We give Him our first and we believe that He blesses the rest.
[00:11:47] We give Him the first of our week, we believe that He blesses the rest of our week.
[00:11:54] So they had already understood this principle of the first.
[00:11:59] Because we also know that when Moses was leading them out of Egypt, he said, hey, you guys have been in slavery and bondage a long time.
[00:12:08] We're gonna worship right here.
[00:12:10] We're gonna put the altar out and we're gonna sacrifice to the Lord.
[00:12:17] Leviticus 9 24 this is what he said they sacrificed they put things on the altar this will be our altar
[00:12:26] And then what does the Bible say that happened?
[00:12:28] It says, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed, everybody say consumed, the burnt offering and the fat on the altar.
[00:12:40] And when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
[00:12:48] You see, they had been in slavery for a long time and now they're free to openly worship their God and He's reminding them how to do it.
[00:12:57] You've just come out, give me the first.
[00:13:01] And what happens?
[00:13:02] He consumes it.
[00:13:04] And when God accepts something, He will consume it.
[00:13:10] And he's saying, that's mine.
[00:13:12] That belongs to me.
[00:13:14] And then we see in Leviticus 27, 30, just a little down from that, he says, the tithe of the land is the Lord's.
[00:13:23] It is holy unto the Lord.
[00:13:25] Look at your neighbor and say holy.
[00:13:29] So before Joshua ever takes them to the promised land, he reminds them of what God said prior.
[00:13:36] Hey, do you remember?
[00:13:38] Remember what happened when we came out?
[00:13:41] Hey, and not all of you were alive or born yet, so it's been 40 years.
[00:13:46] Let me remind you as we go into this new city.
[00:13:51] As we go to take this territory, let's go in the right way.
[00:13:57] Let's do what God is asking of us.
[00:14:01] Now, let me tell you those two words that I made you call out.
[00:14:06] Consumed and holy.
[00:14:09] Because those are very important words.
[00:14:13] And I want us to make sure we understand them because sometimes in our English language we use blanket statements for words when in Hebrew, which is what the Old Testament is written in, it's very specified.
[00:14:29] When they use a word, like they just don't say, I love a cheeseburger and I love my husband.
[00:14:36] They're separate words for love.
[00:14:38] They are way more definitive than our English language that just would expect you, you just have to know the difference between the hamburger and the husband.
[00:14:48] And some days the hamburger might win.
[00:14:52] Do you understand how our language varies?
[00:14:55] So let's talk about these two words because Joshua is reminding them.
[00:15:00] That word, consumed, is the Hebrew word, a call.
[00:15:06] And it means to be burned up or devoured by fire.
[00:15:12] In other words, it is meant for destruction.
[00:15:15] It is consumed only by the Lord.
[00:15:21] Then let's take that word holy there in Hebrew.
[00:15:24] It's Kodesh.
[00:15:26] And it means sacred.
[00:15:27] It means set apart.
[00:15:29] It's exclusively God's.
[00:15:33] Holy unto the Lord.
[00:15:35] It means this is sacred property that cannot be repurposed.
[00:15:39] It cannot be kept.
[00:15:41] It cannot be used for anything else because God has claimed it.
[00:15:47] And things that are holy, they're not common.
[00:15:50] They're not for personal use.
[00:15:52] They are not to be consumed by the giver.
[00:15:57] that is why God is so specific and he says the tithe is God's to consume and only his now let's talk about this for a second because Jericho is the first city that they're about to conquer of many cities and what God is saying is listen this is the first that one is mine
[00:16:25] I know you haven't had all of the animals and the food and the grains and the vegetables and things that you longed for.
[00:16:32] But it's the first city.
[00:16:36] It is mine.
[00:16:38] You do not get to keep it.
[00:16:40] It belongs to me.
[00:16:42] It's an exact picture of the tithe.
[00:16:46] When something is holy or set apart unto the Lord, it is placed on the altar for God to consume.
[00:16:56] Now, anything you consume that isn't yours will eventually consume you.
[00:17:04] Now it's very simple here.
[00:17:08] It's very simple.
[00:17:10] The word tithe actually means tenth.
[00:17:16] And when God says that we are to tithe, we are to give 10% of our income back to His house and lay it on the altar for His use.
[00:17:29] It's very simple.
[00:17:30] People say to me sometimes, oh, well, I tithe 20%.
[00:17:33] I'm saying, no, you don't.
[00:17:35] And they're like, yeah, yeah, Pastor, I do.
[00:17:38] I tithe 20%.
[00:17:40] And I said, no, you don't.
[00:17:42] Nobody can tithe 20%.
[00:17:44] Tithe means tenth.
[00:17:46] Now, you can give 10% over and above your tithe, and that could equal 20%, but you don't tithe more
[00:17:57] Let's talk about it.
[00:18:13] Net is after your insurance has come out.
[00:18:18] It's after your 401k comes out.
[00:18:22] It's after all of your taxes get paid.
[00:18:24] Do you think God wants to be paid after the government?
[00:18:30] After your health insurance?
[00:18:34] No, He wants first position.
[00:18:38] He wants the first.
[00:18:40] And I just tell people, I say, listen, if you even have to grapple with that, what that means is there's a concept that you don't understand.
[00:18:49] First, you can't ever out give God.
[00:18:52] And second, I would rather have a gross blessing than a net blessing.
[00:18:57] That's what it boils down to.
[00:18:59] Like when we start trying to nickel and dime God,
[00:19:04] There's usually a deeper issue at hand, but understand the tithe is designated for the altar, not for our pockets.
[00:19:19] Let me just show this to you in a demonstration.
[00:19:22] I know my husband did a demonstration, but I think mine today is gonna be better than his.
[00:19:28] So I have 10, $10 bills.
[00:19:32] And I did it easy because this is just gonna represent a monthly income.
[00:19:38] And what some people do, my husband showed a few weeks ago, if you were here, is some people go, okay, I've gotta pay the mortgage, that's a few of these.
[00:19:49] We need food, we need some clothing.
[00:19:51] Man, ballet and soccer practice has been really expensive, so then we have that.
[00:19:58] My motor on the car had some issues, had to get some stuff replaced.
[00:20:03] And then the dishwasher broke, and that was a few hundred dollars.
[00:20:08] and man and then you know i got a bill that i wasn't expecting and then man this other thing came up that i wasn't expecting and now i've got a leak and it's like well god sorry there's just a lot of things that happened this month i mean i love you and i put you first and i want you to know god i put you first but there's just a lot of unexpected things that happen god i know you get it
[00:20:37] God, you're a gracious God.
[00:20:39] You understand.
[00:20:40] Do you know that's what some of us do?
[00:20:45] But the truth of the matter is the reason why God said, hey, you don't get to touch Jericho because it's the first.
[00:20:56] Understand what the first principle looks like.
[00:20:59] The tithe isn't just 10%.
[00:21:03] It's the first 10%.
[00:21:07] and when we say okay God I am we don't do you know we have that word generosity but do you know that's not actually technically correct you're not generous when you tithe you're obedient
[00:21:20] Generosity kicks in after that 10% because that 10% the Bible declares is God's it never was mine I mean all of it's technically his he said I can steward 90% but that 10% goes on the altar it goes back to the house now let's understand this principle
[00:21:44] The tithe is holy.
[00:21:45] It's set apart.
[00:21:48] It's a call.
[00:21:49] What does that mean?
[00:21:50] It means it gets consumed.
[00:21:53] It's separated.
[00:21:56] And here's what I know.
[00:22:00] That sacrifice, that giving back to God what's already His, it's going up.
[00:22:13] It is meant to be consumed.
[00:22:14] It is a call.
[00:22:17] It is holy.
[00:22:18] It is set apart.
[00:22:20] Here's the question we need to ask ourselves.
[00:22:25] Do you want it going up on the altar of God or do you want it going up next to everything else and you stuck it in your pocket?
[00:22:37] Because it's going up.
[00:22:40] It's going up.
[00:22:41] We just have to decide.
[00:22:43] Is it going up on the altar or is it going up because it's in my pocket and everything else that was in my pocket is going up with it?
[00:22:55] Understand, we cannot repurpose what God set apart and called holy.
[00:23:02] It's not for personal use.
[00:23:06] It's for God to consume and only God to consume.
[00:23:10] And anything that you consume that isn't yours will eventually consume you.
[00:23:21] The tithe is designated for the altar, not our pocket.
[00:23:27] And holy things must go into God's house, not our house.
[00:23:35] not our pocket every sacrifice is going to get consumed we just have to decide where will it get consumed that's a big question that we need to ask ourselves will it be consumed in your house or will it be consumed on God's altar now let's go back and jump into this story in Joshua chapter 6
[00:24:02] Because you start to see where the blue line, the GPS isn't getting quite followed.
[00:24:11] All of us would say, God, we want the promised land.
[00:24:14] In essence, God, we want what you have for us.
[00:24:17] We want your blessings to flow in our life.
[00:24:20] And sometimes we think that promised land looks like taking what looks good.
[00:24:27] God, why would I have this grain?
[00:24:29] Why would I burn this?
[00:24:30] Why would I spoil this?
[00:24:32] Why would I not take all of these things?
[00:24:34] Because God is saying, I need you to learn just like you needed to learn before in the wilderness, every day to wake up and trust me for provision.
[00:24:45] And if we can give God the first, he will bless the rest.
[00:24:53] I like what Pastor Troy said a few weeks ago.
[00:24:55] He said, I would rather live on 90% blessed than have 100% that's cursed.
[00:25:03] And I completely agree with that.
[00:25:07] So here's Joshua as they've gone in, they've now taken control of Jericho.
[00:25:16] Chapter six, verse 18, it says, keep yourselves from the devoted things.
[00:25:21] Remember,
[00:25:23] Kodesh don't touch the holy things they aren't meant for us to consume and then a few verses later in in verse 24 it says and they burned the city with fire and everything in it now your natural mind that is not natural logic that is kingdom logic because God said your natural mind is going what a waste
[00:25:52] What a complete waste.
[00:25:56] And sometimes we can think, why would I give and lay it on the altar when my hard talents, my energy, I did all of this to make this money?
[00:26:07] And God is saying, oh no, no, no.
[00:26:10] I gave you the breath in your lungs, your health, the fact that you can walk, the fact that you got up this morning, that is from me.
[00:26:22] and he's saying all you had to do was walk around this city and I gave it to you don't you forget that the least you can do is return what I'm asking of you says they burned the city with fire everything in it only the silver and gold and the vessels of bronze and of iron they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord okay
[00:26:51] they did that they brought it they put it into the house of the Lord they did what God said they were following the blue line so now it's on to the next city the next city man that's easy Jericho was the one we were worried about because of all of the cities Jericho wasn't the wealthiest the ones that were uh more by the water those were the ones that had the most
[00:27:21] But Jericho was the most difficult because it was so fortified.
[00:27:26] Now God says, AI, that's your next one.
[00:27:30] That's your next city that you're to take.
[00:27:32] And you know, they're like, that's not even really that fortified.
[00:27:37] That is so easy.
[00:27:38] That is so simple.
[00:27:40] We're gonna go take AI and it's gonna be our city.
[00:27:45] And they go to take AI and something happens.
[00:27:50] It's...
[00:27:51] Crazy!
[00:27:52] Because they know God had told them, this is your promised land.
[00:27:59] They go to take Ai, a much weaker city than Jericho and they fail miserably.
[00:28:06] They lose and 36 of their men are slaughtered.
[00:28:12] And Joshua, man, he is upset and he's on his face before the Lord.
[00:28:18] He tore his clothes and he's grieving.
[00:28:20] You say, God, what is going on?
[00:28:24] I mean, you brought us out from Egypt, put us in this wilderness and now you take us over into the promised land and 36 of the men just died and we were annihilated?
[00:28:40] God, what's going on?
[00:28:43] How many of us, when something doesn't go the way that we thought it should, we're like, God, I thought you were there.
[00:28:50] God, I thought you cared.
[00:28:53] You told me to bring this into your house and I did.
[00:28:58] Why is this not working?
[00:29:01] What's going on?
[00:29:05] But if we read a little bit further, one chapter over in Joshua 7,
[00:29:12] Verse one, God lets Joshua know what happened.
[00:29:17] He said, but Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord.
[00:29:26] A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites.
[00:29:38] There's a couple of things that I want you to understand about this.
[00:29:44] The first is God doesn't say I'm angry with Achan.
[00:29:51] He says I'm angry with Israel.
[00:29:56] Why is that?
[00:29:58] Because what Achan did is he brought something that was meant for fire back into his house and when he did it he cursed the whole.
[00:30:11] Do you know that's why it's so important for you to watch what comes in and out of your house?
[00:30:18] It is extremely important.
[00:30:22] Joshua is responsible for what comes in and out.
[00:30:27] And because of one man, they all had to pay a price.
[00:30:33] And you say, well, that's not fair.
[00:30:37] it is the leader's responsibility if you are the the head of your household men maybe we have some single moms here maybe you're a single person it is your responsibility to guide to guard to govern what comes in and out of the house and here this man had brought some things in and there's no way somebody didn't see it
[00:31:04] One of the things he brought in was this beautiful work of art coat.
[00:31:10] Now I looked it up and I said, what would this coat have been worth in today's market?
[00:31:17] $15,000.
[00:31:23] Now, let's just put this in perspective because some of us are going, I still wouldn't have taken it.
[00:31:29] Okay, just hear me.
[00:31:32] You go in and there's a $15,000 Chanel coat laying there and you set it on fire.
[00:31:42] Do you know what a lot of people would have done the same thing that Achan did?
[00:31:45] They would have thought, I mean, who would want this piece of art to get burned in the fire?
[00:31:54] I'll just take this and I'll grab this and I'm gonna bring this back and nobody's even gonna know anything it'll just be a little secret and I'll take a few pieces of the gold I mean most of it can go to the treasury but I'll take a few pieces of gold and silver nobody will even know when Joshua found out that it was because of Achan
[00:32:22] He was furious.
[00:32:25] He was absolutely furious.
[00:32:27] And before we start to go, well, how is it fair that one man, understand the same thing happened with Paul.
[00:32:34] Paul was on a ship and the Bible says that one man saved the whole ship.
[00:32:41] What we do affects all of us.
[00:32:45] When you bring something contaminated into your house, it affects your household.
[00:32:52] Joshua was furious.
[00:32:56] And here's the thing I want you to understand.
[00:32:58] God was angry at Israel as a whole because Achan didn't just sin personally.
[00:33:03] He violated what God called holy and he brought it back into the camp.
[00:33:10] It was God's and it was God's alone.
[00:33:13] So he caused the entire covering for the nation to lose its protection.
[00:33:23] you guys we see this with our president one man can cause an entire nation to lose our covering that's why we should be praying for him praying over our households praying over our city man there's a lot of garbage going on right now in charlotte
[00:33:45] And we need to be breaking that in the spirit.
[00:33:48] We need to pray over our city, pray over our counties, pray over our state.
[00:33:55] And God said, when you bring things that are meant for fire back into your home, how did you not think it was going up?
[00:34:05] I told you.
[00:34:11] So when Joshua finds this out,
[00:34:14] He's very upset and God says, go bring Achan and all of his things.
[00:34:20] He didn't just say the things that he brought that he shouldn't have.
[00:34:26] Because he mixed them.
[00:34:31] the whole thing was now contaminated and God said all of it's going up every bit of it is going up and all of it was burned all of it was destroyed it's because of disobedience when you bring the first into your home regardless of your intentions
[00:34:58] We bring with it what the Bible calls strange fire.
[00:35:02] And I'll talk to you about that in a minute.
[00:35:05] Even when it's in secret and you think nobody knows, even when you think well it's not that big of a deal, it will blow up.
[00:35:15] And this isn't just about Achan taking a few items.
[00:35:19] Understand, it's not about that.
[00:35:23] He violated a principle that God had established.
[00:35:28] He violated order.
[00:35:30] He consumed what was meant for the altar and God takes huge issue with that.
[00:35:38] You see him over and over again take issue with violating an order.
[00:35:46] He consumed what was not his.
[00:35:49] And then everything else ended up getting consumed.
[00:35:53] Achan had a problem.
[00:35:54] Adam and Eve had the same problem in the garden.
[00:35:58] They consumed what God said was not theirs.
[00:36:02] And it's symbolic of the tithe because they had to tend the tree, they had to take care of the tree, but they weren't allowed to eat the fruit from that tree.
[00:36:12] God said you can eat the other trees but you can't eat that sometimes there can be something in us this part of us that thinks we get what God said no to that somehow I deserve it and just like Adam and Eve there is a price we pay for disobeying God and it's steep
[00:36:40] When you take what belongs to God, it will not bless you.
[00:36:45] It will burn you.
[00:36:46] This is why we honor God with the tithe.
[00:36:50] This is why we honor God with the first.
[00:36:53] This is why we honor God with the first of our week.
[00:36:57] It is not accidental that you and I, we come to church on the day that we come.
[00:37:02] It's the first of our week.
[00:37:04] We are giving it to God saying, God, I give you this time.
[00:37:09] You are the most important.
[00:37:13] There are two things I can tell you that will let you know everything you need to know about your spiritual walk.
[00:37:20] Show me your calendar and show me your register of your checkbook.
[00:37:27] Everything you need to know are in both of those.
[00:37:30] Where you spend your time and where you spend your treasure.
[00:37:37] I like what Pastor Troy said.
[00:37:40] He's so spot on.
[00:37:41] I would rather have 90% and have it blessed than keep 100% and have it cursed and go up in flames.
[00:37:52] That's why Malachi is so strong in its language.
[00:37:56] Malachi 3, starting in verse 8, it says, Will a man rob God?
[00:38:02] And it says, you are robbing me in tithes and offerings.
[00:38:06] He's saying something that is holy is being mishandled and he calls it robbery.
[00:38:14] Why rob?
[00:38:16] Why use such strong language?
[00:38:17] Because he's saying it wasn't yours.
[00:38:22] And God takes this as a big deal.
[00:38:25] If you consume what was meant to be consumed by God, you bring the wrong kind of fire into your finances.
[00:38:34] You see, God's fire is good.
[00:38:36] It's a good fire.
[00:38:39] It's a sign of acceptance.
[00:38:41] I accept this.
[00:38:42] It's favor.
[00:38:43] It's blessing.
[00:38:44] But then we see this thing called strange fire, which is bad fire.
[00:38:51] It's judgment, it's lack, it's a curse, Nadab and Abihu.
[00:38:56] That's what happened with them.
[00:38:57] The two of them, they tried to like just kind of do things their own way and improvise with God's finances and with God's holiness.
[00:39:09] And God didn't like it and the two of them, boom.
[00:39:13] God doesn't play.
[00:39:15] Achan took devoted things
[00:39:19] and the Lord was hot over it.
[00:39:22] And he made an excuse of why he did it.
[00:39:24] He said, well, I saw that these things were beautiful.
[00:39:28] Doesn't that sound like the garden?
[00:39:32] I saw that the fruit was good for food.
[00:39:38] We use our earthly logic instead of kingdom logic that says don't touch what belongs to God.
[00:39:45] And here are some of the excuses or reasons that you and I can make sometimes.
[00:39:50] Here's the excuses.
[00:39:52] Just like they said, but I saw, I mean, I noticed.
[00:39:56] We can say, well, I can't afford to tithe.
[00:39:59] I can't afford to.
[00:40:02] Let me just tell you, you can't afford to keep this and have it all blow up.
[00:40:09] That's what I would say you can't afford.
[00:40:13] because the Bible in Malachi says that God will rebuke the devourer for our sake and I just always even though I know like you automate what's important so our tithe is automated just like my mortgage or whatever we automate what's important and if something breaks or something happens and I know it's automated but I'll still go babe
[00:40:38] Just checking, because he handles the finances.
[00:40:41] He's like, babe, we're good.
[00:40:43] God's got it.
[00:40:44] And I'm like, okay, that's all I wanted to know.
[00:40:48] If you're going through a hard time right now and you're not tithing, I can tell you, chances are you're going through that hard time because you didn't put God first and you were a poor steward.
[00:41:01] It's not, well, I can't afford to, and then when I do, then I can.
[00:41:08] It's about stewardship.
[00:41:09] It's about honoring the Lord.
[00:41:13] Maybe you've got too much debt.
[00:41:15] Maybe you made unwise choices or you spend more than you bring in.
[00:41:20] Maybe there's a fear because of the way that you grew up of not having enough money.
[00:41:25] Maybe there's a issue of lack of discipline or lack of organization.
[00:41:30] And isn't it interesting how we think?
[00:41:35] You know what?
[00:41:35] But God understands.
[00:41:37] God understands I'm a single mother.
[00:41:41] Or God understands I had some expenses that came up.
[00:41:45] Or God understands I had to put this in my business because my business was suffering.
[00:41:49] God understands.
[00:41:52] It is amazing to me how we think the Bible always changes and morphs based upon our current situation.
[00:42:00] Our reality versus His Word.
[00:42:05] And since I'm a equal opportunity offender, let me just go here.
[00:42:10] I had somebody tell me whose wife had passed away years ago.
[00:42:13] He had been a member of the worship team, and this is in the early days of the church, and I got a call that his new girlfriend, his car was outside of her house all night.
[00:42:31] So we called him, said, hey.
[00:42:33] What's going on?
[00:42:35] And he's like, well, you know what I went through with my wife and how horrible that was and her sickness and all of that.
[00:42:41] And I talked to God and he just understands because of what I've been through.
[00:42:49] Oh, he is changing his whole word because of your situation.
[00:43:00] Isn't it interesting how we go there?
[00:43:03] that God's gonna change every part of his Bible to appease our situation.
[00:43:09] Listen, you will never come in second by putting God first, ever.
[00:43:19] Not tithing, it does not save you money.
[00:43:22] It actually exposes you to more loss.
[00:43:26] And that's the thing we have to understand.
[00:43:28] God doesn't tell us not to have sex with somebody that we're not married to to keep us from having fun.
[00:43:36] There's a protection and a safety that He puts in that He wants us to understand.
[00:43:42] God doesn't tell us that we need to tithe because He wants to take from us.
[00:43:48] He's actually wanting to bless us, but He wants us to get outside of our own logic and learn to trust Him.
[00:43:55] Fire will hit the unprotected areas first.
[00:44:05] Here's the second one.
[00:44:07] Tithing is Old Testament.
[00:44:10] It's Old Testament, so I'm not gonna tie this Old Testament.
[00:44:14] Well, first of all, that's not true.
[00:44:16] Some people say, well, oh, it's under the Mosaic Law because I read to you Leviticus.
[00:44:22] It was actually never under the Mosaic Law.
[00:44:24] It actually predated the Mosaic Law and goes back to the garden where Abel was tithing.
[00:44:31] And Cain was mad because God accepted Abel's offering and rejected Cain's.
[00:44:41] Because the Bible says Abel brought the first.
[00:44:44] It says Cain just brought something.
[00:44:48] So please understand, tithing predates the law.
[00:44:51] and it outlives the law you also see where Jesus is talking about tithing so for people to say it's not new testament Matthew 23 23 and Luke 11 42 is Jesus saying to the Pharisees hey great yeah you're tithing you're giving of your mint you're giving of your herbs you're giving of your dill all of your great you're tithing as you ought to Jesus's words
[00:45:19] He said, but you're also missing some of the greater things in your heart that you need to be looking after.
[00:45:26] Never one time in the Bible do you read where it says that it's done away with.
[00:45:34] Usually when I hear people say that, it's because they live with a closed hand instead of an open hand under heaven.
[00:45:42] Romans 11 16 it says and if the first fruit is holy this is we were talking about before if the first fruit is holy the rest will be holy and then it says if the lump then then so will the lump and then it says if the root is holy so will be the branches the first fruit is what we give to God first all right
[00:46:13] Let me just take this a little bit deeper for you.
[00:46:15] You ready?
[00:46:17] Malachi 3, 6 through 11.
[00:46:20] It says, For I, the Lord, do not change.
[00:46:24] He's the same God.
[00:46:26] Same God in the Old Testament as the New Testament.
[00:46:29] Now, the blood of Jesus is why we don't have to sacrifice on the altar anymore.
[00:46:37] But it's not like sacrifices was done away with.
[00:46:41] It was ratified.
[00:46:43] Do we understand?
[00:46:43] Thank goodness you and I don't have to still sacrifice animals.
[00:46:47] Praise Him, somebody.
[00:46:50] We don't get to designate our tithe.
[00:46:57] Kingdom builders is what we call people that give over and above.
[00:47:02] But you don't get to take the tithe and put it over into the kingdom builders category.
[00:47:09] It is a separate thing.
[00:47:12] Some people think, oh, well, you know, here's the next one.
[00:47:16] I can give my tithe wherever I want to to whoever I want to.
[00:47:21] Malachi 3.10, bring the tithe into the storehouse, the local church.
[00:47:27] I've had people say things to me like, oh, well, I give to the church that I grew up in.
[00:47:31] Okay, is that church feeding you, taking care of you spiritually?
[00:47:35] Well, no, I mean, it's back in, you know, Minnesota.
[00:47:41] or how people say, oh, well, you know, I really like the guy on TV.
[00:47:45] I mean, I get a lot out of him, so I give to his ministry.
[00:47:51] Here's the thing we have to understand.
[00:47:53] You can't give the tithe to kingdom builders.
[00:47:57] You can't give the tithe to a friend that's in need.
[00:48:00] You can't give the tithe to a TV preacher.
[00:48:03] You can't give the tithe to a place that's not feeding you, that's from your childhood.
[00:48:10] that's bringing strange fire and I think one of the things that we don't understand is that that TV preacher when you're in the hospital and you're sick he's not showing up your local churches they're bringing you meals they're helping look after the baby that you had they're doing the funerals for your family
[00:48:35] They're caring for your family.
[00:48:36] And I think what happens is we can become Christian socialists.
[00:48:46] Now, we understand, we watched what just happened in New York, and we would say, we don't believe in socialism, we believe in capitalism.
[00:48:53] Because as a man works, right?
[00:48:57] Your energy, your time, your effort.
[00:49:00] In this country you can work as hard as you want and there is opportunity for you.
[00:49:07] What socialism says is let somebody else dictate everything to me and give me a handout.
[00:49:15] And I don't think we as the church should be Christian socialists.
[00:49:19] What does that look like?
[00:49:20] The church is here when you need it.
[00:49:22] The building, the worship, the people, the ministry, the outreach, the missions, and most importantly, the presence of God.
[00:49:33] I felt the presence of God in worship today.
[00:49:36] The tangible presence of God was here.
[00:49:40] And when you showed up to church today, you expected a few things.
[00:49:45] You expected the lights to be on.
[00:49:48] You expected the plumbing and the bathroom to work.
[00:49:54] Right?
[00:49:54] You expected for there to be a chair that you got to sit in so you don't have to sit in the floor.
[00:50:01] You expected your kids to have classrooms and chairs and tables and little goldfish crackers and apple juice and equipment and teachers and crafts and high chairs and bouncers and extra diapers and wipes.
[00:50:18] You expect that.
[00:50:21] We expect the musicians to be up here, the equipment, the LED screens, the live stream to go out all over the world.
[00:50:30] There's certain things we expect.
[00:50:32] We expect someone to be up on this platform that is gonna teach and preach the gospel.
[00:50:40] Do you know how much cheaper it is just to stream somebody over all the campuses?
[00:50:45] Reduce overhead?
[00:50:47] We don't believe that's what God has called us to do.
[00:50:49] Every campus there's a live person, pastor, speaking, teaching, and preaching the Word of God.
[00:50:58] Air-conditioned, cooled, heated, and thank God there was a paved parking lot when you came in because kingdom builders did that.
[00:51:07] We used to have pebbles out there.
[00:51:11] There were golf carts and shuttles that picked you up from your car and brought you to the front door.
[00:51:19] Those are things we expect.
[00:51:20] We expect on Christmas Eve.
[00:51:22] We want that hot cocoa bar.
[00:51:24] We want that petting zoo.
[00:51:26] We want the Clydesdales coming in and giving us our carriage rides.
[00:51:32] We want the music going out there.
[00:51:34] We want all the stuff.
[00:51:37] We want Easter, the bunnies.
[00:51:40] The little chickadees that your kids dropped, splat on the ground.
[00:51:47] We want all the stuff.
[00:51:50] So here is where Christian socialism comes in.
[00:51:55] We expect all of that, but we want someone else to pay for it.
[00:52:08] Christians expect to be served but with no personal contribution that is socialism that has invaded the church we reject socialism in the government but yet we practice it in the church the tithe goes to the local church the offering can go anywhere you the other 90 percent
[00:52:33] You can do whatever you want with it.
[00:52:35] I would suggest you be a good steward so God knows that you're faithful.
[00:52:40] But that can go anywhere you want it to go.
[00:52:42] The tithe, however, is designated.
[00:52:47] And here's the thing.
[00:52:47] Here's the thing.
[00:52:49] We say sometimes, well, I don't trust, so number four, I don't trust churches with my money.
[00:53:00] Listen, I see things on TV just like you do.
[00:53:04] I know there are some places that aren't trustworthy.
[00:53:09] But here's what I learned a long time ago.
[00:53:13] You are responsible for the giving and the leaders are responsible for the handling.
[00:53:20] You will not be responsible for how it's handled.
[00:53:23] God will hold the leaders of the church and God will hold the giver both responsible and accountable separately.
[00:53:35] And I think sometimes we're going, well, I just don't know if I can trust the church with my money.
[00:53:39] And I think God is actually going, I'm trying to find out if I can trust you with my money.
[00:53:46] We tend to project things onto other people that are a problem for us.
[00:53:52] And I'm just gonna say this, your obedience is to God.
[00:53:55] It's not to Freedom House or whatever church you have come from.
[00:53:58] Your obedience is to the Lord.
[00:54:03] And if this isn't a place where you feel safe, that you can tithe, where you can lay it on the altar, then I would tell you and I would even suggest that you find some place it is so you're not blowing up everything.
[00:54:19] And if there is no such place, might I suggest, if everywhere Bob goes, Bob has a problem, Bob could be the problem!
[00:54:32] Please don't get in trouble with the Lord because you were hurt somewhere else or they mishandled you or they abused you or whatever.
[00:54:42] Don't block God's potential in your life because of disobedience when there are so many other cities left for you to take.
[00:54:53] Don't get hung up on the first one.
[00:54:55] When we understand that, we can put things in perspective.
[00:55:03] And let me just be open with you for a minute.
[00:55:06] I know that Michael who was up here, who earlier today shared around the giving of the church.
[00:55:14] We did just go through our financial audit.
[00:55:17] And every year we get like one or two like small things and understand how large the organization is.
[00:55:24] Where they'll be like, hey, there wasn't a receipt turned in for somebody that purchased cleaning supplies.
[00:55:31] And we gotta go hunt that down or whatever.
[00:55:34] Where was that?
[00:55:35] Who had that?
[00:55:35] What was it for?
[00:55:36] This was the first year, and you guys know, if you have any sort of dealings, most companies don't audit their finances externally.
[00:55:47] When we went to get the Ballantine building, they said, can we have three years of your finances?
[00:55:53] We said, do you want three years of finances or do you want audited finances?
[00:55:57] They were like, you audit?
[00:55:59] You audit your finances every year?
[00:56:02] Every year.
[00:56:05] Every year.
[00:56:06] Accountability is huge.
[00:56:10] And just in case you were wondering, Pastor Troy and I have other stuff that we do because I don't plan on being 85 years old and having to have the church pay me a salary.
[00:56:22] We're good stewards with everything that he has put into our hand.
[00:56:26] This church brings in slightly over $8 million a year.
[00:56:30] I should say did last year.
[00:56:33] I pray and believe for way more this year.
[00:56:35] But let me just, if you're struggling, let me just help you out.
[00:56:40] Let me just help you out with this.
[00:56:43] We have over 50 employees and contractors on our team.
[00:56:47] We have six buildings.
[00:56:49] We have this campus, the central campus, which is on 27 acres.
[00:56:54] We have the house that Vertical and Movement use, which is across the pond over on the other side.
[00:57:00] right it's a 5 000 square foot house that where the creative offices are held and it's also where vertical and movement our young adult and youth hang out and meet we have our south end campus we have our Ballantyne campus we have our Lake Norman campus and we have a 45 acre lodge in the mountains let me keep going we have shuttles and golf carts and youth vans and box truck box trucks
[00:57:31] and trailers for transporting, lighting, sound, LED walls, broadcast equipment, and a minimum of everything that comes to this church, 10% of it goes right back out, 10% minimum.
[00:57:45] So let me ask you, with 8 million coming in, the math is doing the mathing for me.
[00:57:53] If there's anything nefarious, this would not all be happening, I can tell you.
[00:58:00] Are you hearing me?
[00:58:02] And if you have a problem, either ask the question or go somewhere where you don't have a problem so you're not bringing a fire into your home.
[00:58:14] It's as simple as that.
[00:58:16] And I say that with all the love in my heart.
[00:58:18] I care about your family.
[00:58:22] I care about how you're leading your family.
[00:58:24] This is the last thing and then I'm closing out.
[00:58:29] The last excuse we make, I'll give when I have more money.
[00:58:34] If you won't give $10 out of 100, you most certainly will not give 100,000 out of a million.
[00:58:43] It won't happen.
[00:58:44] Obedience doesn't start later, it starts where you are, right now.
[00:58:53] Don't bring what is not yours into your home and blow up your home needlessly.
[00:58:59] And Luke 16 10 answers this question.
[00:59:03] It says, He who is faithful in what is least will be faithful also in much.
[00:59:08] And he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
[00:59:15] Be faithful where you are right now so God can bless you with the other cities that are to come.
[00:59:22] Will you stand on your feet?
[00:59:26] The number 10 in the Bible is the number of testing.
[00:59:29] That's why God says the tithe is 10%.
[00:59:34] It's always the number of testing.
[00:59:36] It is a test to see who you trust more in.
[00:59:40] Do you trust on your skills, your ability, your job, your 401k, or do you trust that God is your provider?
[00:59:51] I asked our finance team.
[00:59:54] I wasn't prepared for the answer if I'm being honest.
[00:59:57] But I texted them on the way into church this morning as I was praying.
[01:00:02] And I asked them, I said, hey, are you guys able to tell me what percentage of our church is tithing?
[01:00:10] And I'm not just talking about a bucket plunker.
[01:00:15] I give $5 here, I'll give $10 here.
[01:00:18] I said, are you able to tell me what percentage of our church is tithing?
[01:00:24] Because I don't have anything to do with any of the finances, so I just wanna know, can you tell me that?
[01:00:32] And they said, five percent.
[01:00:36] Five percent.
[01:00:39] And I said, hey, did you mean to have a zero on here?
[01:00:43] And I said, how do you know it's five percent?
[01:00:48] like how do you know like where and they said we take the average of what's in charlotte income households and that's just an average i said oh my gosh i was shocked i was shocked that tells me five percent of the people are carrying the load
[01:01:18] and 95% of the people, maybe they, you know, tip God.
[01:01:23] Here, God, I'll give you a tip.
[01:01:28] But actually tithing, let's do this today.
[01:01:34] Let's close our eyes and bow our heads.
[01:01:38] I think the first question that God wants to ask is how are we doing with the tithe?
[01:01:49] Listen, there is no condemnation here.
[01:01:51] I'm not here to beat you up, but I am a pastor, I am a shepherd, and I do care about your family.
[01:01:59] And I want you to ask yourself, check yourself before you wreck yourself, as we say.
[01:02:07] God, how am I doing with that?
[01:02:12] And somebody asked me, they said, do I need to go back and rectify all the years?
[01:02:17] And I said, no, you do not.
[01:02:21] start today though ask the Lord for forgiveness ask him where you've gotten off and start new don't go into this next season and not be faithful over what is least and if you need to ask forgiveness for that just do it right now under your breath say just God man God I'm sorry God I want to be faithful
[01:02:51] And the last thing I want to say.
[01:02:52] This is so profound.
[01:02:58] God even tithed.
[01:03:01] The Bible says that He gave Jesus as the first fruits.
[01:03:05] The first.
[01:03:06] His best.
[01:03:08] His only.
[01:03:09] He sowed Him.
[01:03:12] And what did He do?
[01:03:14] Laid Him on the altar to be consumed.
[01:03:19] Why?
[01:03:21] because he hoped that the rest would come.
[01:03:24] That means you.
[01:03:25] That means me.
[01:03:27] That's why he gave his best.
[01:03:30] He didn't say, hey, is there an angel up here somewhere with a broken wing?
[01:03:33] Let's send them.
[01:03:35] Hey, Gabriel, you'll do?
[01:03:37] He sent his best.
[01:03:43] Why?
[01:03:43] He gave his first and only, his begotten son.
[01:03:49] laid him on that altar to be sacrificed in hopes that you and I would come to know him and with every head bowed with every eye closed I want to ask you today if you don't know the Lord if you want to make things right in your life and you want to accept the Lord today you want a fresh start you want to do over
[01:04:16] I just want you just to lift your hand today, right where you are.
[01:04:19] Just say, God, I want a fresh start.
[01:04:21] Thank you.
[01:04:22] Who else?
[01:04:23] Thank you.
[01:04:24] Anybody else?
[01:04:25] Thank you.
[01:04:26] I see your hands.
[01:04:27] Anybody else before I pray?
[01:04:28] Thank you.
[01:04:30] Let's pray.
[01:04:32] Say this loud with me.
[01:04:33] Say, Heavenly Father.
[01:04:35] Thank you for your Son.
[01:04:37] Thank you that my past is wiped away, that all things have become new.
[01:04:46] Wipe away the slate.
[01:04:48] I ask for forgiveness.
[01:04:50] In your precious Son's name, in Jesus' name, Amen.