1 00:00:14,099 --> 00:00:17,339 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,399 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:26,580 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:34,799 --> 00:00:42,479 So if you could turn to Acts chapter four, and it's a short message today with all that's happening. 5 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:49,439 Some of you are saying, good, I came on on the right day. But Acts chapter four and 6 00:00:51,659 --> 00:01:01,259 God's great grace is upon us. Amen. There's something about grace, God's unmerited favor. 7 00:01:02,259 --> 00:01:08,819 His blessings, his benevolence. I once heard that a great acronym for grace is God's riches 8 00:01:08,819 --> 00:01:16,799 at Christ's expense. You've probably heard that before. And it really is, God just pours on his 9 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:24,040 blessings. And the response really is for us to also be generous to others. And we're going to see 10 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:30,939 that in today's verses. We're only looking at a few verses and we see the culture of the early church, 11 00:01:30,939 --> 00:01:38,319 how it's just exploding with generosity because great grace was upon them. They said, you know, 12 00:01:38,659 --> 00:01:43,799 like these things I hold on to, they're just temporary. They're so insignificant compared 13 00:01:43,799 --> 00:01:49,219 to eternity. You ever just been so blessed that you just have to give away? It reminds me, 14 00:01:49,260 --> 00:01:55,319 remember when King David was, you know, the kingdom was going phenomenal. He had peace on 15 00:01:55,319 --> 00:02:01,060 every side and he's just blessed. And he's like, I just don't deserve this. Like who am I? A 16 00:02:01,060 --> 00:02:06,939 little shepherd kid, the eighth son of Jesse. You know, I mean, this is like, and yet, you know, 17 00:02:07,019 --> 00:02:12,819 and then he asks, isn't there anyone of the household of Saul I can bless? Because I just 18 00:02:12,819 --> 00:02:17,400 need to give back somehow. And even though Saul tried to kill him for years, okay, 19 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:23,300 he still realized Saul was a part of his stepping stone to becoming king and the Lord used him 20 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:31,439 for this. And so they said, well, yeah, he has a, you know, Jonathan's son lives in Lodabar. And so, 21 00:02:31,439 --> 00:02:38,219 you know, the story that, you know, King David brought Mephibosheth to his house. He restored 22 00:02:38,219 --> 00:02:46,020 all of the land that belonged to King Saul to Mephibosheth. And here Mephibosheth was a disabled 23 00:02:46,539 --> 00:02:54,800 man at that point. And yet he was restored all of his land. And he also was restored his servants 24 00:02:54,800 --> 00:03:01,699 that King Saul had. And not only that, but he ate to eat at the king's table from that day on. 25 00:03:01,879 --> 00:03:06,620 He was considered like family. That's the whole picture of like, just saying, man, I don't 26 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:12,280 deserve this. Just like David, look around and say, how did I get here? I have to give something 27 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:17,539 back. You know, we're going to see a little bit more of that deeper into this. So let's pray. 28 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:26,560 Father God, as we turn to Acts chapter four, Lord, we ask you to reveal to us this, this 29 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:33,240 perspective and this generosity of the early church and Lord God, that we can replicate that 30 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:39,620 in our own hearts and be generous to others because you've given so much to us. And we thank 31 00:03:39,620 --> 00:03:48,479 you for that in Jesus' name. Amen. So let's just dive right in to verse 32. And we're going to be 32 00:03:48,479 --> 00:03:56,960 finishing in verse 37 of Acts chapter four, sharing in all things. Now, in the, now the 33 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:06,520 multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul, neither did anyone say that any of 34 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:15,800 the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power, 35 00:04:15,819 --> 00:04:25,399 the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all. 36 00:04:26,039 --> 00:04:34,279 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked for all who were possessors of lands or houses, 37 00:04:34,300 --> 00:04:42,560 sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles' feet. 38 00:04:43,439 --> 00:04:51,839 And they distributed to each as anyone had need. And verse 36, and Joseph, who was also named 39 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:58,699 Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, a Levite of the country of 40 00:04:58,699 --> 00:05:06,220 Cyprus, having land sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. 41 00:05:07,199 --> 00:05:14,079 And so we see this great burst of generosity and sharing. And I'll just mention, 42 00:05:14,439 --> 00:05:18,560 this is the first time we hear the mention of Barnabas and he's going to be instrumental 43 00:05:19,199 --> 00:05:24,879 in the book of Acts. And he's also going to be instrumental in Paul, the apostle Paul's 44 00:05:24,879 --> 00:05:32,939 journey as an apostle. And so as we're reading this, this idea of generosity, 45 00:05:34,639 --> 00:05:42,399 I've heard socialism seems to be on a gaining momentum again. I mean, it ebbs and flows 46 00:05:42,399 --> 00:05:47,600 through every generation, it seems. But I've actually heard a politician once say, 47 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:55,319 well, the early church, they were socialists. And just look at what we just read, they gave 48 00:05:55,319 --> 00:05:59,920 everything. Well, I won't get too deep into it, but obviously there's a difference between a 49 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:07,199 government taking from you and them deciding where it goes with no accountability, by the way, 50 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:15,319 and a difference between the Holy Spirit urging people to give out of their heart, 51 00:06:15,319 --> 00:06:23,600 to give out of their free will, because of the surplus. They're overwhelmed with gratefulness 52 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,680 to God and they give out of their heart. So comparing this to socialism and government 53 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:36,100 interference and ruling over people and taking their property away, it doesn't work. So we 54 00:06:36,100 --> 00:06:41,079 can just end that with there. I had all kinds of examples of this, but for time's sake, 55 00:06:41,079 --> 00:06:49,819 I think we should dive right into what we just read. And the first is we see this idea of the 56 00:06:49,819 --> 00:06:59,879 early church laying things at the apostles' feet. And what does that mean? What does that represent, 57 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:06,000 people laying things, their possessions before the apostles' feet? And I think there's a lot 58 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:11,939 of symbolism in this. And first of all, I want to mention, it really shows a picture of submission 59 00:07:11,939 --> 00:07:18,240 to authority, because these apostles, they had authority. We read that a few weeks ago, 60 00:07:18,660 --> 00:07:23,579 how they said we have to choose people who had been with Jesus and who have the same testimony 61 00:07:23,579 --> 00:07:31,480 as us and so forth. And so the new saints deliver these things to the apostles because 62 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:40,040 they had authority and they were submitting to this authority. And I have some examples of this, 63 00:07:40,540 --> 00:07:48,019 but first, the Lord, he does raise people up to have authority in the body of Christ, 64 00:07:50,059 --> 00:07:55,939 because Jesus Christ is the head of the church. There is no person who's the head of the church, 65 00:07:56,500 --> 00:08:05,360 but it's his body of Christ that he raises some up to fill certain offices, to inspire, 66 00:08:05,639 --> 00:08:13,399 to encourage, to lead others in the body of Christ. We read this in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 67 00:08:13,399 --> 00:08:21,939 to 13. And it says, and he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, 68 00:08:21,939 --> 00:08:29,319 some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the 69 00:08:29,319 --> 00:08:36,860 edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 70 00:08:36,860 --> 00:08:45,539 of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature and the fullness of Jesus Christ, 71 00:08:45,539 --> 00:08:54,039 that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine 72 00:08:54,039 --> 00:09:01,840 by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth and 73 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:11,100 love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ. So the Lord has chosen people 74 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:17,659 in the body of Christ and many people carry several different offices. You know, in fact, 75 00:09:18,179 --> 00:09:23,279 I don't know how you could be an apostle without being an evangelist, right? Because what are you 76 00:09:23,279 --> 00:09:28,220 going to do when you get there? Okay. If you're not an evangelist, there's preachers, teachers, 77 00:09:28,460 --> 00:09:33,340 prophets, but we see this picture of this fivefold ministry in the body of Christ, 78 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,779 but the Lord chooses these and we just read why to lead the church, because new believers 79 00:09:39,779 --> 00:09:44,179 and even believers who have not really been growing the way they should in their faith, 80 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:52,080 they can follow others that they submit to who have that authority. And that's the picture really 81 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:59,480 in this culture, in the Jewish culture, laying things at the feet is really a sign of submission. 82 00:10:00,059 --> 00:10:07,100 We see it in Revelation chapter four, when the 24 elders are, when it's really neat, 83 00:10:07,100 --> 00:10:14,240 if you ever get a chance, read in Revelation chapter four, you'll see the cherubim and they 84 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:19,679 start worshiping God, worthy, worthy are you. And as soon as the 24 elders hear it, 85 00:10:19,700 --> 00:10:26,299 they fall on their faces and cast their crowns before the throne, okay? Because of that submission 86 00:10:26,299 --> 00:10:33,059 to Jesus Christ who is on the throne, that submission. We don't have time to get into who 87 00:10:33,059 --> 00:10:39,759 those 24 elders are, but the picture is people who are in authority realize that they're not 88 00:10:39,759 --> 00:10:46,340 really in charge, Jesus Christ is in charge and they cast their golden crowns before the throne, 89 00:10:46,399 --> 00:10:52,820 because like this isn't mine, this really belongs to you. In fact, sometimes having responsibility 90 00:10:52,820 --> 00:11:00,960 isn't necessarily an easy thing, it's a lot of weight to it. And so we see this submission 91 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:06,720 to the apostles and it's really a beautiful thing when you think about it. 92 00:11:07,460 --> 00:11:17,799 I picture when the woman, when Jesus Christ was in the house and the Pharisees were watching him, 93 00:11:18,059 --> 00:11:25,559 and suddenly the woman, the woman who was a sinner came with the alabaster jar of oil 94 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:32,700 and fragrance worth like a whole year of wages. And she breaks it open, which that means it can 95 00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:39,440 never be used again, and she pours it over his feet, submitting to him this picture of like, 96 00:11:40,899 --> 00:11:45,340 Jesus is worth all of it, you know, that fragrance. And of course, 97 00:11:45,399 --> 00:11:50,779 Judas is saying, what a waste! This could have been used for the poor or for your own pockets, 98 00:11:50,779 --> 00:11:58,940 Judas, because he was stealing from the treasury, as we know. And so it's a picture of submission, 99 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:05,500 but what also is it a picture of? It's really a picture of trust, isn't it? Because they're 100 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:11,220 bringing their stuff, they sold their land, okay, and they're saying, well, here we go, 101 00:12:11,419 --> 00:12:14,919 and they're bringing it in and they're laying it at the feet of the apostles saying, 102 00:12:15,479 --> 00:12:22,580 do with it as you will. I trust you with it. What used to be mine is now the churches, 103 00:12:22,919 --> 00:12:29,879 and we trust that you will be good stewards with what we are surrendering to you. So it's trust, 104 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:39,100 it's a big picture, really, of trust, isn't it? I remember when Jill and I were engaged and 105 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:46,200 and we were planning the wedding and she was working, but I was six years older than her, 106 00:12:46,340 --> 00:12:53,299 and I made more than her, so I was paying for everything most of the time, right? And she 107 00:12:53,299 --> 00:12:59,240 was working and it was interesting, at one point, when we were getting closer to the wedding, 108 00:13:00,139 --> 00:13:04,080 she suddenly, back then, they didn't have auto deposit of your checks, by the way. So 109 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,779 she had her check and she goes, why don't we just deposit it in your bank account? 110 00:13:09,199 --> 00:13:17,580 And you know what's interesting? I'm like, wow, we really are going to be one. She trusts me, 111 00:13:17,639 --> 00:13:21,460 and I know that sounds silly, but I guess I was a little untrusting with money, 112 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:28,299 and when she said, let me just give it to you because you'll know how to spend it properly, 113 00:13:29,139 --> 00:13:35,519 and I'm like, wow, I really appreciated the trust and I felt honored, 114 00:13:36,379 --> 00:13:40,399 and she knew that I'm going to be the provider of our family and so forth, 115 00:13:40,740 --> 00:13:46,259 and she trusted me with that money, and that was like, wow, and it drew us even closer. It made 116 00:13:46,259 --> 00:13:52,740 me really appreciate her even more that she trusts me that much, and that's the picture here. It's 117 00:13:52,740 --> 00:13:58,600 like saying, here, apostles, we trust you with how you're going to spend this money, 118 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:03,840 okay? And of course, we just read how it went out to people who had need. 119 00:14:04,919 --> 00:14:12,659 Another picture is really surrender. It's surrendering what we have, because 120 00:14:13,419 --> 00:14:18,779 they didn't have to surrender the proceeds. In fact, next week, we won't get into Ananias and 121 00:14:18,779 --> 00:14:26,039 Sapphira today, but they sold land and they lied to God, and that's the big sin that we're going 122 00:14:26,039 --> 00:14:32,419 to read about next week that is severe, really, when you read that, like, whoa, you know? Because 123 00:14:32,419 --> 00:14:37,919 they could have done anything with that proceeds, okay? They pretended they gave it all to the 124 00:14:37,919 --> 00:14:44,879 apostles, but they didn't have to, but this is that surrendering only, giving it over, saying, 125 00:14:44,879 --> 00:14:51,220 I trust you with this, and I'm giving it completely. No strings attached. 126 00:14:53,600 --> 00:15:00,679 And back to King David, you know, we mentioned Mephibosheth, but when Jonathan was alive, 127 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:08,360 and we read how David conquered Goliath, what a great picture that is, 128 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:18,240 and Jonathan was so like, who is this kid? Like, how did he just do this? Like, there was 129 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:24,299 no one in our whole nation who was willing to go out into that battlefield against an at least 130 00:15:24,299 --> 00:15:34,940 nine foot nine inch giant who was just, he grew up in battle, okay? He knew how to fight, 131 00:15:34,940 --> 00:15:39,159 and there he was. He was tougher than Leo. I'm just going to say that right now, 132 00:15:39,220 --> 00:15:49,000 and so there he was, and he's like, and David, you know, didn't just like cower in front. He ran 133 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:56,419 into the battle. He ran. Can you imagine that? He ran into it, right? And Jonathan was probably 134 00:15:56,419 --> 00:16:04,659 saying, like, where is his courage coming from? And we read how Jonathan, when he realized this 135 00:16:04,659 --> 00:16:13,039 this is someone who is not normal. He's anointed. He surrendered his armor and his weapons, 136 00:16:13,759 --> 00:16:19,259 and his armor was, not many people had armor in those days. In fact, almost none. You know what 137 00:16:19,259 --> 00:16:24,899 they fought with? Like, rakes and sickles. They hammered them into weapons because they 138 00:16:24,899 --> 00:16:33,179 didn't have weapons. Jonathan gave his armor and his weapons to David and said, 139 00:16:33,740 --> 00:16:40,679 these are yours. Like, that's how much you realize David's the man, you know? I have a role here, 140 00:16:41,059 --> 00:16:48,779 but he's the man. He's the one. I'm giving this stuff to him. That's the idea, really, of just 141 00:16:49,539 --> 00:16:55,240 surrendering it, and that's what Jonathan did. He surrendered it to him. I think that's so 142 00:16:55,240 --> 00:17:02,159 beautiful when you realize they can use this better than I can. I remember when 143 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,480 Jesse used to, my Jesse, we've been talking about a couple of Jessies, but 144 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:16,680 Jesse Bonner, he used to lead worship at our old church, okay? And at one point, there was this 145 00:17:17,460 --> 00:17:25,220 woman that went to our church, and she was very wealthy, so we kind of gathered. And 146 00:17:25,220 --> 00:17:32,920 she played, but she wasn't great or anything, but she had a lot of guitars, and she was very wealthy, 147 00:17:33,579 --> 00:17:41,539 and so she said to Jesse, I want to give you something. And because of his worship ability, 148 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:48,680 she gave him this extremely expensive classical guitar. I mean, I don't think you ever found out 149 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:55,200 how much it was worth. You kind of searched around and so forth, but unless you want to 150 00:17:57,299 --> 00:18:04,920 do it, but it was worth a ton of money. But this woman, he went into her studio and saw all these 151 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:11,880 guitars like, oh my goodness, and she gave him one of the best she had because she saw he's going to 152 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:18,259 use it for the Lord, and she just gave it to him. I mean, pretty amazing, just surrendered it. 153 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:24,980 That's the picture. This used to be mine, but the Lord knows how to use it better. They're all 154 00:18:24,980 --> 00:18:30,799 metaphors, really, for just giving to the Lord, saying, the Lord knows how to use this better 155 00:18:31,460 --> 00:18:38,720 than I do, and I want to just surrender it to the Lord. And that's the picture. The early 156 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:45,960 saints just said, you know, these apostles, we trust them, we're submitting to their authority, 157 00:18:46,820 --> 00:18:53,660 and we're surrendering our things to them. And then finally, one other thing I believe this 158 00:18:53,660 --> 00:19:02,480 represents really is unity. Unity. Because, you know, all these believers were coming together, 159 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:08,319 and they were going up to the apostles in front of everyone and surrendering these things. 160 00:19:09,079 --> 00:19:13,619 And it was unity. It was building more and more 161 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:23,039 benevolence. It was building more and more generosity. Now, there can be some downsides to 162 00:19:23,039 --> 00:19:29,200 that, doing things in public, which we'll read next week, okay? Because suddenly, a lot of times, 163 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:35,420 people say, wow, look at the accolades they got. How do we get the accolades without really 164 00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:41,119 surrendering, you know? Without really surrendering, but pretending we are. And that's where anything 165 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:50,039 in church becomes fleshy. When people look at the accolades of people upon someone, 166 00:19:50,039 --> 00:19:56,059 and then they say, I want that, you know? Like Simon the Sorcerer saying, you know, 167 00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:02,859 you know, how do I lay hands and bring the Spirit upon people so that I can get all these accolades? 168 00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:08,640 Because you guys are rock stars here in Samaria. Anyone know what I'm talking about? A little bit. 169 00:20:09,180 --> 00:20:14,220 But, you know, so how do I have that? Well, so that's the negative to it. But at this point, 170 00:20:14,220 --> 00:20:19,779 it was just like here, and it was in public, and it was unified. Because they said, 171 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:28,779 I just want to deliver all of it to the Lord, you know? When you see this picture of unity, 172 00:20:30,779 --> 00:20:40,420 I was thinking about how when Moses led Israel out of Egypt, and they're at the base of Mount Sinai, 173 00:20:41,060 --> 00:20:47,880 and he goes up, and he's up there for 40 days and 40 nights. But during that time, okay, around Exodus 174 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:58,319 25, the Lord is giving him a lot of instructions, okay? And one of them is, I want you to collect 175 00:20:58,940 --> 00:21:03,480 for the tabernacle that you guys are going to build, okay? In fact, I don't know if we have 176 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:10,319 that verse up there. Exodus 25, one, there we go. And then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 177 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:17,819 speak to the children of Israel that they bring me an offering from everyone who gives it willingly. 178 00:21:18,380 --> 00:21:23,400 Back to that socialism thing. You know what I'm saying? Who gives it willingly with his heart. 179 00:21:24,420 --> 00:21:32,920 You shall take my offering and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. And they 180 00:21:34,079 --> 00:21:39,039 will gather together, you know, the gold, the silver, the bronze, the blue, the scarlet, 181 00:21:39,380 --> 00:21:45,200 and all the different garments, and also the skins of the animals and the wood, all that stuff. 182 00:21:45,579 --> 00:21:52,039 He's telling them, make sure you collect these things, okay? But something happens while he's up 183 00:21:52,039 --> 00:21:58,980 on the mountain, okay? They didn't get the collection yet, and the people at the base 184 00:21:58,980 --> 00:22:04,160 are coming up with their own ideas on how to use that gold. Do you know what I'm talking about? 185 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:12,460 The golden calf, right? Like, I can use the gold the way I want to use the gold. I think I want 186 00:22:12,460 --> 00:22:18,180 to use the gold to build this idol. You know how many people fall into that? Really? It's like, 187 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:25,240 I can use my money better than God can use my money. I can use my stuff better. I know better 188 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:33,480 than God does. And we start doing very foolish things with our possessions. And we see while 189 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:38,819 Moses is up on the mountain getting instructions for the tabernacle, how to build it, what to collect, 190 00:22:39,319 --> 00:22:46,480 they're down there building their own idol, a golden calf. And then finally, after that all 191 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:52,279 gets dealt with, Moses comes down, takes the collection, and they gathered so much. This is 192 00:22:52,279 --> 00:22:59,279 how much the hearts of the people change during that little bit of time. So much that they said, 193 00:22:59,299 --> 00:23:04,059 you got to stop. It's too much, okay? And we see that whole picture again when they were building 194 00:23:04,059 --> 00:23:10,240 the temple in the Promised Land. Same thing. They took the collections and everyone came just 195 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:17,420 with a willing heart saying, here have it. You know how to use it. Build the Lord's house. 196 00:23:18,699 --> 00:23:28,759 Back to David. I know he's coming into this a lot, but David, when this is after his failure and so 197 00:23:28,759 --> 00:23:37,799 forth, but he still is just looking and he's seeing a tent that the Ark of the Covenant is in. 198 00:23:38,559 --> 00:23:46,500 And he's like, this isn't right. I'm living in a palace. And God's holy Ark 199 00:23:48,259 --> 00:23:58,599 where the amazing things are stored there, the manna, the butted almond branch, and the manna, 200 00:23:59,299 --> 00:24:06,400 and the Ten Commandments. And they're in there and I'm in my house looking down on this tent. 201 00:24:06,519 --> 00:24:13,700 This is not right. I have to build God a house. And he goes to Nathan. He says, listen, 202 00:24:13,700 --> 00:24:18,240 I have to build something spectacular for the Lord because I don't belong 203 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:25,460 up here and he belonged down there. It should be the opposite, right? And so Nathan finally tells 204 00:24:25,460 --> 00:24:30,559 him it's a great idea, you know, but it's not for you to build, but he started taking the 205 00:24:30,559 --> 00:24:38,359 collections. And finally Solomon, his son would build this magnificent temple for the Lord. 206 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,599 And really that's what it's about. It's about building. And I just want to show you 207 00:24:44,239 --> 00:24:52,880 second Psalms 7.16. What did I just say? Psalm, Samuel, sorry. 208 00:24:54,920 --> 00:25:00,240 So, oh, put the verse slide before that. And now came to pass when the king was dwelling in the 209 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:07,000 house. And we just shared that, you know, at peace. He said, I got to build this house. 210 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:14,299 And so the Lord told Nathan, like David's going to build me a house. Like I need someone to build 211 00:25:14,299 --> 00:25:26,779 me a house. Okay. Of cedar. But you know what? I respect that, that desire to build a house for me. 212 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:34,299 And you know what? I'll take you up on that someday. But let me tell you about your house 213 00:25:34,299 --> 00:25:44,319 that I'm going to build for you. And then we have second Samuel 7.8, I believe that next slide. 214 00:25:46,180 --> 00:25:52,420 16. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne 215 00:25:52,420 --> 00:25:56,799 shall be established forever. And of course, he's talking about the lineage of David, 216 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:02,220 which is Jesus Christ. But you think about this, like David just wanted to build a structure 217 00:26:02,220 --> 00:26:11,240 for God. And God respected that desire so much that he said, you know what? I'm good, 218 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:18,519 but watch what I do for your house. Watch what I do for your lineage. Watch what I do for you. 219 00:26:18,799 --> 00:26:24,960 And that's what the Lord wants to do. He wants to build a house for all of us that he can thrive. 220 00:26:25,180 --> 00:26:28,599 And of course we are the house now, you know, we are the temple, the Holy Spirit. 221 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:35,980 And you know, this message comes at an interesting time, okay? Because I was planning this week to 222 00:26:35,980 --> 00:26:42,500 go right into Ananias and Sapphira and blend these things together. But on Tuesday night, 223 00:26:43,199 --> 00:26:48,619 we had an elders meeting. And as we were discussing the budget and so forth, 224 00:26:50,319 --> 00:26:56,559 Dan, who oversees the budget, he says, you know, our tithing is down over 30% for the first 225 00:26:56,559 --> 00:27:06,559 quarter this year. I'm like, well, okay. Well, and now none of us elders have any clue what anyone 226 00:27:06,559 --> 00:27:10,880 gives, including me. Like, I don't know what anybody gives. So, you know, if you're suddenly 227 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:18,539 you see me, you don't feel like, you know, I don't know. Okay. So, you know, the good thing is, 228 00:27:18,619 --> 00:27:23,579 you know, everyone gets treated, I hope, with love and respect and honor. And it doesn't, 229 00:27:23,579 --> 00:27:30,240 I don't know anything. And I want to keep it that way, you know. So, but it's just a matter of why, 230 00:27:30,380 --> 00:27:36,099 you know, like why is this happening? And I know as a church, we neglect preaching about tithing. 231 00:27:37,619 --> 00:27:44,359 And because for one thing, it's not our distinctive at a Calvary Chapel. We don't 232 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:48,799 ask for money. We don't beg for money. We don't pressure you or, you know, try to, 233 00:27:48,799 --> 00:27:52,519 you know, burden you and give a 10 minute 234 00:27:53,660 --> 00:27:59,819 sermonette on giving and all this stuff or promise you this, the world, if you just give 235 00:27:59,819 --> 00:28:04,539 money now, you will have everything you want in life. And, you know, we don't do any of that. 236 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,460 You know, there's no manipulation. There's nothing. Okay. And I don't know about you, 237 00:28:08,539 --> 00:28:17,319 but I resent that. And yet, unfortunately, it works. It works. It's weird. It works. 238 00:28:17,319 --> 00:28:21,279 I've been at messages saying, Oh, here we go. Here we go. And by the end of it, 239 00:28:21,339 --> 00:28:26,180 I'm like, all right, here's my credit card. Just stop already. Just stop. Yeah. Well, 240 00:28:26,279 --> 00:28:30,880 you know, I, I, I cave to it, you know, but we don't do that here. And we're still not going 241 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,700 to do it. We're not taking another collection at the end of this service. Now that I've 242 00:28:34,700 --> 00:28:40,539 marinated you with some guilt, it's just, no, no, no, no, no. You give because you 243 00:28:40,539 --> 00:28:46,000 willingly in your heart want to give. But at the same time, you know, we do want to at 244 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:51,779 least make it known that, you know, the church has to operate on something in this world. Yeah. 245 00:28:51,819 --> 00:28:56,460 The Holy Spirit's awesome. But he also uses some filthy mammon, you know what I mean? It 246 00:28:56,460 --> 00:29:01,400 talks about that, you know, use filthy mammon to win friends and influence enemies for eternity. 247 00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:06,819 Right. So, but I just share it because just so that you know, to keep it in your mind, 248 00:29:06,859 --> 00:29:11,380 because there is naivety. Like when I got saved as a Baptist, the first thing is I got, 249 00:29:11,380 --> 00:29:17,039 here's your envelope. All right. And make sure you give because it's part of worship. It's part 250 00:29:17,039 --> 00:29:23,700 of being a believer. And I know Christians don't hear that anymore. And I don't want to preach it. 251 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:27,279 The only reason I'm talking about it's so interesting. We're in the elders meeting. I'm 252 00:29:27,279 --> 00:29:35,119 like, oh my goodness. The next section is about giving. Wow. The timing of this. Next week, 253 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:39,779 you're not going to hear another message about tithing. Okay. Because we don't do this. Okay. 254 00:29:39,779 --> 00:29:44,619 But I just want you to know that. Think about this. Look at your budget. You're saying, 255 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:49,339 if this is out of whack, I promise you, I will promise you from personal experience 256 00:29:49,339 --> 00:29:55,579 when you can't outgive God. Remember what the disciples said, you know, we have given you 257 00:29:55,579 --> 00:29:59,380 everything to follow you. And he goes, you know what, you will be replenished a hundred fold. 258 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,819 And he's not necessarily talking buck for buck, you know, not a hundred dollars for a dollar. 259 00:30:03,819 --> 00:30:10,180 What he's talking about is the joy and the experience in life. What you give to the Lord 260 00:30:10,180 --> 00:30:19,599 gets paid back in dividends. And he said, both in this world and beyond. So the dividends pay down 261 00:30:19,599 --> 00:30:24,880 here and they continue to pay up there. And so I just want to encourage you. If you look at your 262 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:30,220 budget, you see what's out of whack here. I don't have any extra money. Start giving. 263 00:30:30,700 --> 00:30:35,839 Suddenly you'll have extra money. I promise you. You know, I know someone who said years of their 264 00:30:35,839 --> 00:30:42,500 faith has always been kind of like a yo-yo and they suddenly were, I guess, on a downward spin. 265 00:30:42,700 --> 00:30:45,599 And they're like, you know what, I'm sick of giving. This is ridiculous. You know, 266 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:51,220 why am I given? And he stopped giving. And I just saw what happened. He's always in debt. 267 00:30:51,839 --> 00:30:57,279 He spends money on the dumbest things. And whatever he buys, it ends up cluttered 268 00:30:57,279 --> 00:31:03,079 somewhere in the garage, never used again. It's just junk. It's junk. We spend a lot of money 269 00:31:03,079 --> 00:31:10,839 on junk, don't we? On golden calves. You know, that's what we do, right? And so I'm using this 270 00:31:10,839 --> 00:31:15,819 time really just to encourage you not to guilt trip you at all. And we're not, again, we're not 271 00:31:15,819 --> 00:31:18,380 going to suddenly, all right, we're going to bring the baskets around again. You know, 272 00:31:19,279 --> 00:31:22,759 reconsider. You know, no, we don't do any of that. But I also want to say, 273 00:31:22,759 --> 00:31:29,460 you know, all the people that serve in this church, okay, all of them, there's not one full-time 274 00:31:29,460 --> 00:31:35,400 person being paid in this church. Not one. In fact, most people get paid a smittance or nothing, 275 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:42,059 volunteer. And I love it that way. That's the way church should be. People should be just serving 276 00:31:42,059 --> 00:31:49,900 because they can. Remember, we don't got to, we get to, right? We get to serve God. And that's 277 00:31:49,900 --> 00:31:53,500 what I really want to just encourage you. And as a worship team comes up, 278 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:03,440 I hope this word was received okay. And if you've been here a while, you know, we don't do this. 279 00:32:03,619 --> 00:32:08,619 We don't ask for money. We don't talk about money. We just, but at the same time, you know, 280 00:32:09,220 --> 00:32:15,960 you need to know. You need to know. And I think it's a blessing because, you know, 281 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:20,720 because if we're not trained in something, in a discipline, even of giving, 282 00:32:21,339 --> 00:32:29,319 then we really miss out, don't we? We really miss out. So let's pray and 283 00:32:32,900 --> 00:32:36,920 thank the Lord for what he's done. Father God, I thank you so much for 284 00:32:40,319 --> 00:32:45,779 this opportunity, Lord, to talk about a Godly principle of tithing, Lord. 285 00:32:48,359 --> 00:32:56,599 And everything we have you've given us. Nothing we have really belongs to us. Yeah, 286 00:32:56,619 --> 00:33:05,420 we're stewards over it. But it's on loan from you, Lord. It all belongs to you. 287 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,420 And I pray, Lord, that you would really bring 288 00:33:12,839 --> 00:33:22,180 just an abundance to this church so that we can do more things with it. And actually to everyone's 289 00:33:22,180 --> 00:33:31,480 finances, Lord, as we obey and trust you, Lord, that you will really bring prosperity to each 290 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:38,920 one of us, Lord, that you will give us raises in our jobs, that you will give us advancements in our 291 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:45,200 careers, Lord, that you will give us more clients, more customers, Lord, that you will give us raises 292 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:51,660 in an area that we never even knew about. And even random finances would just come pouring in 293 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:58,579 through the mail, Lord. I mean, you could do so many amazing things, Lord. And we just trust you, 294 00:33:58,579 --> 00:34:03,539 Lord, that you're going to do these things. And, Lord, we're not worried as a church, Lord, 295 00:34:03,619 --> 00:34:09,019 God, we don't worry about anything because, Lord, you always provide, Lord. 296 00:34:10,199 --> 00:34:14,860 You know, he who began a good work, Lord, God, according to your riches and glory, you will 297 00:34:15,579 --> 00:34:22,340 provide everything that we need as a church body. And Lord, we'll sacrifice and surrender 298 00:34:22,340 --> 00:34:29,380 what we need to, Lord, to bring your glory. And, Lord, we just ask you for a great, 299 00:34:29,380 --> 00:34:35,059 great abundance, Lord, God, not to keep or squander on ourselves, as James says. 300 00:34:35,860 --> 00:34:44,039 We ask amiss, not for that, but, Lord, so that we can be overflowing with generosity to others 301 00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:53,960 who truly are in need. So, Lord, God, we ask you to just bless us and give us a generous heart, 302 00:34:54,159 --> 00:35:01,780 Lord, God, that we can give to others, Lord, God, not even waiting for something to be repaid, 303 00:35:02,380 --> 00:35:06,639 but giving as we're giving to you as the least of these. When we give it to them, Lord, God, 304 00:35:06,639 --> 00:35:13,980 we're actually giving it to you. And we thank you and we love you in Jesus' name. Amen. 305 00:35:14,380 --> 00:35:18,960 Let's give the Lord a round of applause. Let's stand on up and work. 306 00:35:22,820 --> 00:35:28,260 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His word. 307 00:35:28,940 --> 00:35:34,440 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. 308 00:35:34,440 --> 00:35:37,539 Be blessed and have a great day!