Exodus: How God Builds A Sanctuary

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Let's pray together.

Lord, when we say things like that to you, what we're saying is that we understand the gospel.

We understand that our lives are a blank check that there be laid down before you and say, Lord, do with this whatever you desire.

Because we've been bought with a price, and therefore the gospel commands us to glorify God with our body.

We're not our own.

We can't say it's my body, it's my choice, it's what I want to do.

So what we do with our days, what we do with our life, what we do with our intellect, our head, our hands, our heart, all of that is affected and influenced by the gospel, by the good news of Jesus Christ, by the liberating truths of Christianity.

And so we come today to open up the Bible and ask the Bible to open us up, to set us free in areas where we're in bondage and to bring us into places that we've never thought about before.

And so, Holy Spirit, come this morning.

Say something that has our name on it, and uh we'll think about that, and we'll put that into our lives, and we'll begin to respond to you and relate to you as your children.

We're not slaves anymore, we're sons and daughters of God.

So we've come today to hear from our good, good Father.

And so for that, we're grateful and we anticipate hearing from you now in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

You can have a seat.

If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open up to Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

If you're our guest today, we're preaching through the book of Exodus.

We, about 90% of the time, we we practice what's called expository preaching here at Grand Parkway, which means that about 90% of the time we're actually going through a book of the Bible, pretty much verse by verse, and we're going through Exodus episodically, which is kind of episode by episode, all the way through to the end of the book.

And we're to Exodus chapter 25 today.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

And so I want to talk to you today about how God builds a sanctuary.

How God builds a sanctuary.

You say, What do you mean?

You'll see that when we get into the text, but let me just, by way of uh, we practice full disclosure here at Grand Park Way, and so I want you to know kind of, hey, people ask, hey, what's the plan?

What are we doing here?

Because if you look around, it gets kind of full in here.

Amen.

Some of you are like, I prefer an empty seat beside me, and there's a person sitting there.

Introduce yourself, okay?

It's okay, they won't bite you.

Uh, and so uh if you're our guest today, just relax.

If this is the first time you come to church in a long time, you're kind of like, oh, I can't believe they're talking about this.

Uh let me just say, big picture.

Uh let me ask this question.

How many of you are here when I started as a pastor a little over 10 years ago?

Would you stand to your feet?

Don't raise your hand.

Stand up.

Yes.

So the people that are seated look around, but the people that are standing, look around, how many new people have joined us?

Uh uh, we are outnumbered.

Uh so you can have a seat.

Some of you remember this.

It was a little over 10 years ago.

I started in 2006.

In the original, we're elder-led church uh because I'm not supposed to be in charge.

The Bible puts a big emphasis on an elder-led church.

In other words, a plurality of leadership.

Back then, the elders were myself, a man named Jim Privet, who's since moved away, Tommy Hammer, and a man named Brad Dibble.

We meet in a little conference room right over here, and over a series of meetings, we begin to ask, God, what do you want us to do?

Because when I started, this church was not in a good way financially.

We were not even paying the principal on this building, we're just paying the interest.

Uh, but because of God's leadership and the people of God that just stood up just a few minutes ago.

Uh uh my first Sunday, there were 238 people here.

Uh, and in about eight weeks, I grew it down to about 130.

That successful.

Yes, I know, I know.

You're like, oh, what a winner.

Uh and and and and and people were saying, You're ruining this church.

And I was like, maybe, I don't know.

Uh, but we we think we're doing what God's told us to do.

So back then, we just wanted to kind of do what God said to do.

We're kind of governed by four principles as elders: clarity, alignment, focus, and movement.

So we want to be clear.

Uh we want to get aligned with what the Bible says, uh, which is you'll hear more about that this morning.

Uh, the focus.

We want to focus on what God says to focus on and then move.

We don't start moving and then kind of figure out where we're trying to go.

And so back then we uh we just owned the property this building's on and that parking lot all the way that way, a little over six acres.

Uh God gave us a little over nine acres right next to us, so our property is like a big L.

It goes all the way back in the woods back there.

Uh and so we felt like God said, hey, pay off this building and invest in this building.

And so this building looks really nothing like it looked 10 years ago.

Somebody that stood, remember that?

Uh it looks really different.

We we we made upgrades, we closed in the walls, we changed everything and painted and carpet and all that good stuff.

And then uh we believe in manageable debt.

We would love to be debt-free.

Uh by the way, speaking of debt, let me show you.

This is our current building debt, is what we owe.

It's$3,880,000.

Our equity, debt to equity ratio is great.

I think I want to say it's our our equity is like a little over$11 million.

So, whatever that comes out to.

And so, why do I tell you that?

Uh, because back then we we had all this property, look up almost 16 acres, and we said, God, what do you want us to do?

And God said, Hey, I want you just to mow it.

I want you to build out your campus.

And so we paid off this building.

We saved enough money for a down payment.

We built a warehouse, which is our our child our youth ministry building in the distance back there.

And after we pay that down to where we could build a children's building, we built the children's building right there.

And then the last phase of campus development is a new sanctuary, which is gonna go right there.

And by the way, we're not gonna build the Taj Mahal.

We're gonna build something that's simple, biblical, functional, practical.

Uh, and but we have to pay this down to where before we can start on that, because we're not gonna just build something.

We didn't we don't take our cues from movies.

We don't say if we build it, they will come.

We don't do that.

And so uh just wanted you to know that's where we are, that's the plan towards that.

And so we started over a year ago in Exodus.

We get to Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

Uh, and by the way, people have been asking, hey, what are you gonna do?

The church is growing, it's filling up.

Yes, best we could tell, we can fit maybe 220 more people crammed into really not that y'all are looking like 220 people again?

No, in the first and third service.

We ain't got any room in this service, okay?

But use it, we could add about 200, 220 more people, and then we're at max capacity.

And one of my friends who goes to church here said, Well, I guess you'll have to add a fourth service, to which I said, You'll have to find another pastor.

Y'all about to kill this man.

Uh and so that's just kind of the plan, that's where we're going.

We don't have a timetable in mind.

We've got to be responsible towards that, okay?

And so, and then my friends that I play golf with and said, Well, what are you gonna do?

What's your strategy for building a sanctuary?

And I said, actually, we're gonna get to that in the book of Exodus.

Well, what's the Bible got to say about building a sanctuary?

Exodus 25, verse 1.

Exodus 25:1

The Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel that they take for me a contribution from every man whose heart moves him, you shall receive the contribution from me.

And this is the contribution contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goat's hair, tan ram skins, goat skins, achaea wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and stones for setting for the ephod and for the breast piece.

Uh, and let that let excuse me, and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst, exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

And so, this is where we are in Exodus.

God's got these people, he saw them in bondage, he heard their cries, God delivers them as slaves because you and I were not created to be slaves, we're created to be sons and daughters of God.

And as sons and daughters of God, you relate to God differently than people that are in bondage that relate to God as a slave.

Does that make sense?

And so God delivers them, takes them on a journey out of Egypt into the promised land.

He gives them the law, the Ten Commandments, and He says, Hey, this is not a condition for freedom.

You're free.

This is how you stay free, or this is how you flourish as God's people.

And now they're getting ready to go.

They're on this journey into the promised land.

And God says, build a tabernacle.

Now, by the way, God doesn't need a building.

Matter of fact, the Bible says in Isaiah 66 that God does not dwell in temples made by human hands.

So why does God tell them to build a sanctuary?

There's some people nowadays that are like, oh, churches shouldn't have building.

We should just meet out in the field or whatever.

That's the hill you want to die on.

I say, good luck.

But here's why God tells them to have a tabernacle, have a place, take an offering to build a place where you can gather as the people of God to worship God.

Not that God needs to build him, but it's where the church comes together and where the church exercises and practices biblical community.

And so, what does the Bible tell us about how this process should happen?

Well, the Bible tells us three things this morning from this passage.

Number one, uh, it tells us that obedience in the area of stewardship is something we should talk about in church.

Obedience in the area of stewardship is something we should talk about in church.

Look at verse 2.

The Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel that they may take for me a contribution.

Now, God says very clearly, speak to the people of Israel.

Stewardship involves two things: it involves the tithe and it involves the offering.

The Bible uses the word like contribution or collection, uh, but but it's basically the same thing.

There's the tithe and there's the offering.

Now, by the way, we need to use the right word when it comes to describe our behaviors around these two things, because the tithe is this the tithe literally means the tenth.

Uh all through the Bible, God kind of sets this precedent and God's people set this kind of standard.

They say, hey, God says a tenth of your produce, you're gonna you're gonna give back to me.

Uh and so when it comes to the tithe, that's just about obedience.

The the the the offering is about generosity, about being generous.

Allow me to explain.

I have friends of mine that aren't Christians, and I love being around them because they make me a better Christian.

They make me kind of think and kind of engage the culture.

And my friends that are not believers, they say to me pretty consistently, McClendon, they never call me by my first name.

I'm like, what are we like?

High school football players?

What's up, McClendon?

Uh, let's put on eye black and be macho together.

I'm like, dude, we're sitting in Chili's.

It's kind of hard to be macho in here.

Hey, McClendon, you're the most generous person I know.

And they just go on and on about because one of them asked me the question, he says, Hey man, you're like the pastor of a church.

Do you have to give money to the church?

And I said, No, I don't, I don't have to, not what I have to do.

I'm a Christian, and as a Christian, I know stewardship is kind of a part of the way I express my faith.

Man, you're the most generous person I know.

Let me ask you a question.

Are you ever around people and they say things about you that aren't true and you know they aren't true, but they feel good?

Because I'm set in that environment, they're just going on and on about how generous I am, and part of my flesh is kind of like, yes, I am pretty generous.

Matter of fact, I'm gonna buy y'all lunch to prove my generosity, yeah.

But then this little voice in me says, Hey, you're not generous, you're just obedient.

Neil, if you tithe, that's not generosity, that's just obedience.

I mean, that that's just that's the word.

Tithe is about obedience.

Generosity starts after I tithe.

Generosity is what I do with my money after I give God what belongs to God.

And we'll sh I'll show you that in the Bible in just a minute.

By the way, relax.

If this is the first time you come to church in a long time, don't roll your eyes and go, take those to church talking about money.

No, no, no, no, no.

It's about something bigger than money today.

It's about your heart.

And we'll get to that towards the end, okay?

And by the way, let me tell you, I'm not gonna roll out pledge cards.

I'm not gonna have a picture on my pup on the screen with a thermometer painted on the wall as you give, this little red line goes up.

We don't do that here.

We don't do building programs or pledge or capital stewardship campaigns.

We don't disparage those that do.

I know some of you come from churches that did that, and you say to us, hey, my last church did this.

Here's why we don't do that.

Because if you sign a card that says, I'm gonna give this much money over the next three years, then I have to know what you give, and that's none of my business.

The Bible says they listed off the people that they gave, says some gave gold and silver and bronze, and some gave goat hair.

I'll give the goat hair if you'll give the gold.

Amen.

And by the way, here's why the Bible lists off all these things that they give, because some people all they had to give was gold hair, and some people they could give some gold and some silver and some bronze.

And so the Bible puts value not on the amount, but just on the person's sacrifice, their obedience.

And so you say, What do you mean?

Obedience in the area of stewardship is something we should talk about in church.

God says to Moses, hey, speak to the people of Israel.

I want to speak to you as your pastor this morning and say, I want you to understand stewardship.

It involves both the tithe and as your heart moves you, it involves the offering, an offering.

You cannot be generous without being obedient.

And said differently, generosity starts after the tithe.

Second thing the text tells us is that most people rarely give an offering because they don't experience the blessing of tithing.

Let me say that again.

And and and don't don't think, oh, now I know where you're going.

No, you don't.

Let me say it again.

Most people rarely give an offering because they don't experience the blessing of tithing.

And by the way, it's not because they're stingy.

It's not because they're stingy, it's because they don't experience they don't experience what I call lanyap.

My Cajun friends, lanyap.

Uh I've heard it said different ways.

Anybody know what lanyap is?

Anybody besides me?

A little something extra.

There you go.

There's a Cajun, got a little cool cool in them right there.

Lanyap is a word they use in Louisiana.

And I I didn't understand it until before I became the pastor, I traveled and preached all over.

And so I'd be I would drive.

If I was within four hours of the house, five hours, when I got done on a Wednesday night, I would drive all the way home.

And there was a pit grill.

Anyone ever eating in a pit grill?

It's like a little joint, and there was a little pit grill in East Texas, and I would always come back through there and I would pull there inside.

It'd be midnight, two in the morning.

And this waitress there, she had more ears than teeth, and she would she knew I was a preacher, and then I stopped by there.

And so I don't tell my wife this.

I would have uh chopped steak and eggs and then a piece of pie for dessert.

Because I need some caffeine and sugar to get me on home, obviously.

And so she knew I was a preacher, and I'd order the cherry pie, and she would put a big dollop of vanilla ice cream on it, and she'd always bring it, and she'd lean, she'd lean against me, and she goes, There you go, preacher.

I got you a little lanya on top of that.

And the first time she said it, I was like, What?

Did the cook sneeze?

What is this?

And she said, I'm from South Louisiana.

I can't even do it.

I'm from South Louisiana, and that's a little something extra.

I just wanted you to have it.

You don't have to pay for it.

I just wanted you to have it.

I know you're a preacher and you're going home, so just you know.

And I was like, Oh, thanks.

That's awesome.

The first time I met her, we got an argument over a styrofoam cup.

Because I said, Can I get some coffee to go?

And she said, You've had enough.

They don't talk to you that way, Texas Roadhouse.

You gotta go to the pig grill to get disrespected.

She's like, You had enough coffee.

You've been here almost 45 minutes, you've done drinking coffee the whole time.

And I'm like, What are you, my mother?

She goes, I ain't getting you no cup to go.

You've had enough.

And I'm like, I'll pay you for it.

No, you need to go on home.

I had to go by there every time I would drive out of my way to go by there.

Now, why do I tell you all this?

Most people rarely give an offering because they don't experience the blessing of the time.

They get to the end of the week or the end of the month, and there's just nothing left over.

There's no little bit extra.

And again, it's not because people are stingy, because I believe this people want to be generous, but you can't be generous unless you first embrace the call to be obedient.

Do you hear the difference in the two?

You say I want to I want to show you a principle in the Bible this morning.

It's what I call it the law of the first.

Some people don't like that, so I call it the priority of the first.

And by that, the law of the first, what I'm referring to is the firstborn, the first fruits, and the first gift.

The firstborn, the first fruit, and the first gift, or what some people call the tithe.

I call it the first gift.

Uh by the way, you pay first the person you fear the most.

That's why for most of us, we pay our mortgage.

We pay the people who have our car note.

Uh, the Bible says the first gift or the first thing we should, we first check we should write, should be our tithe, because that's the that's the first fruit of our increase.

And we'll get to that just in a minute.

But let me just show you a little biblical history.

And by the way, uh, mom and dad, when since it's family worship day, let me just say this: be careful because if you kind of pay the mortgage company and this people and that people and that people, and you get to the end and go, well, we got 10 bucks.

Here you go, God.

Um, you what you're really saying is, I trust me, God, more than I trust you.

And your children will grow up and trust what they see you trust in.

Like I did this yesterday.

I like to say crazy things to my kids just because they kind of like, whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait.

I went in the bedroom of my 18-year-old daughter and who's going off to college uh later this summer, and we gotta get her a car because apparently you can't walk to college.

And so uh I walked to the bedroom and I said, Hey, you want a new or used car?

And she's like, What kind of tricky dad?

Whoa, whoa.

I said, What color do you want?

She said, Well, like navy or white or silver, not really silver, but I'll take silver if you get silver.

And I'm like, if you don't want silver, why say silver?

Okay, navy or white, and and I don't know, new use uses fine.

I mean, I'll drive sugar in my old truck.

It's my old truck sugar, it's a white fork pickup, it's a 2002.

The roof leaks.

Okay, and my kids like, ah, and I'm like, why do you say that?

Do you not want a car?

Why, Dad?

I'll just take whatever.

I'm just uh here's what she's saying.

I'm just glad to be here.

I'll just take whatever.

I said, You're like Oliver Twist.

More.

More?

I'm your dad.

You've only got so much more time at home.

I'm always going to be your dad, but experience my awesomeness while you can.

I went back in 20 minutes later and said, Would you like cloth or leather interior?

And she looks at me like, what kind of game are you playing here, dad?

Have you been in mom's cooking cherry again?

No, that's not strong enough.

Well, I mean, leather's better, but I just take whatever.

And in that exchange, I hear a lot of people that go to church.

I just take whatever.

I'm just glad to be here.

I'm just see, be careful that you don't think like a slave and you don't think like a son or daughter.

Now hear what I'm saying, but don't hear what I'm not saying.

And so I just closed my daughter's door and walked out.

Because I know she'll go to her mom and kind of go, hey, dad said this to me.

Can you believe that?

And my wife will go, I can't be responsible for what your father says.

No, he's just, just don't worry about it.

But see, here's the thing.

I want my kids to see us trusting in God.

Because when they get out of our house, they're gonna look back, regardless if it if they get off the reservation or not.

Uh I want them to realize, hey, you know what?

My mom and dad trusted in God, and that seemed to go okay for them.

Maybe I can trust in God.

Don't turn there, but the story of the prodigal son, remember that?

He goes to his dad and says, Dad, give me my share of the estate.

The father gives, splits it, gives half to the older brother, half to the younger brother.

The younger brother goes off, pledges of fraternity, gets an ankle tattoo, wrecks the car, bounces checks all over town.

You got to go pay all the fees.

And that's sucker, and finally is junior year after he's changed major three times, changes majors again, and you're like, listen, I'm gonna come up there and beat you half to death.

Get out of college.

You're not doing four years in a victory lap.

You're killing me, son.

And then he calls you one night and says, Hey, I'm in jail.

And you're like, good, that's a great place for you.

Stay there.

Your wife's mad, your wife's not talking to you.

I mean, that's a prodigal son.

He hits rock bottom, he gets a job feeding pigs.

The Bible says this.

And he came to his senses and he said, How many of my father's hired men have more than enough food to spare?

And here I am starving to death.

I will get up and go back to my father.

Now, don't miss this.

The Bible says he didn't even reference his mom and dad.

He said, Hey, the hired men, the people that work for my dad have it better than me.

He didn't, he couldn't even fathom how good his mom and dad had it.

He just said, the people that worked for my dad got it better than me.

And that understanding motivated him to come back to the father.

See, mom and dad, we got to live our life in such a way that our kids get out of the house and they go, you know what, I didn't agree with everything they said, but there's something about my mom and dad.

They had a little lineup on top of their life.

They got a little something extra.

The blessing of God seemed to be on that.

Here's why the goodness of God will outreach the badness of your children.

It just will.

And they see it, they don't have words for it, but if they get off the reservation, they hit rock bottom, they'll have that moment where they say, Hey, how many of my dad's hired me and have more than enough food to spare?

Here I am starving to death.

I'm gonna go back to my father.

Why?

Because the goodness of God is better.

So that's what I mean when I say, hey, your kids will trust in what you trust in.

It may take some of them a little bit longer than others, but eventually they'll come around to it.

Here's the law of the first, the firstborn.

If you're in Exodus 25, turn back to the left to Exodus 13.

I want to show you something.

You still with me this morning?

This is Exodus 13, verse 1 and 2.

Exodus 13:1

The Lord said to Moses, Consecrate to me all the firstborn.

Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both a man and a beast, is mine.

That is what I call the law of the firstborn.

Or some people call Dudley Hall is a man I first heard it from.

He talked about the law of the firstborn.

I was like, what in the world is that?

So I started looking in the Bible.

Look at Exodus 13, verse 11.

Exodus 13:11

It says, When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, he shall give it to you.

You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb.

All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord's.

Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb.

And if you will not redeem it, you shall break its neck.

Every firstborn of man among your sons, you shall redeem.

Now, here's the deal.

That's the only two options.

And if for it to be redeemed, uh you had to take a lamb and sacrifice a lamb for that for that animal's redemption.

You with me so far?

Now, remember that we went through Exodus, we went through the plagues.

There were ten plagues.

The tenth plague was the plague of the firstborn.

Thank you, one person.

It was a plague of the firstborn.

And God killed all the firstborn of Egypt of both man and beast.

Now, it's easy to read that and kind of go, why did God do that?

He's not like a bully.

That's the law of the firstborn.

Every firstborn of man and beast has to be sacrificed or it has to be redeemed.

Why didn't God kill Israel?

Because remember what he said to them in Exodus 12 at the Passover, Exodus 14 back then?

He says, Hey, after you have Passover, after you sacrifice your lamb, take the blood and put it on the doorpost of your house, and the death angel will pass over that.

Remember that?

Look even further forward.

In the New Testament, John the Baptist is baptized in one day, looks up, and Jesus comes walking up.

You remember the first thing John the Baptist said?

The way he introduced Jesus?

Introduced Jesus.

He said, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

For all of us who were born into sin, we were redeemed by a lamb.

That's the law of the firstborn.

It has to be sacrificed or it has to be redeemed.

You were redeemed by a lamb.

That's this principle that God kind of sets into motion in the Bible.

The second one is just the law of the first fruits.

This is Exodus 23.

If you're in Exodus 25, it's just two chapters back.

Exodus 23, 19.

He says, God says, the best of your first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

Now hear that again.

The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

He's not saying give a little bit to this and a little bit of that, you know, your favorite TV preacher, and a little bit.

He says, hey, the best of your first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

Proverbs chapter 3, verse 9 and 10.

Proverbs 3:9

Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce or your increase.

Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Now, why does the Bible say that?

The law of the firstborn, the law of the first fruits.

Let me give you an example from the from the lives of these people we've been talking about in the book of Exodus.

Eventually they're going to get into the promised land.

You realize that?

They're going to make it there.

Now, the first city they encounter in the promised land is called what?

Starts with a J.

Thank you, Jericho.

Jericho is five miles from the Jordan River.

And the Jordan River is where they kind of crossed over.

It's the first city they encounter in the Promised Land.

Now, remember the law of the first fruits?

God says the first fruit belonged to me.

Remember what God told the Israelites about Jericho?

He said, You're going to go take this city.

It was this big, impregnable fortress.

By the way, boys and girls, Jericho, the walls of Jericho were so thick you could drive a chariot around the top of them.

Can you imagine the walls of your house being that thick?

I mean, it was like, I mean, 10 feet, 12 feet in some places.

Fortified city.

And the Bible says it was a, I mean, the archaeology has kind of bore this out.

Some of it fell, but some of it was just shoved straight down into the ground.

God told the people, walk around it seven times, and the walls are going to fall down.

That's exactly what happened.

But before they did that, God said, You are not to take any of the spoils from the city of Jericho.

He said, All the silver and all the gold that comes from that is mine.

Why?

It's the first city that they conquered.

It's the first fruit.

God says, Hey, the first city you conquered, that belongs to me.

You can have everything else.

But there was a knucklehead in the group named Aiken.

Remember him?

Achan thought to himself, Achan, like the guy that works for Chevron, that thinks, Chevron's not going to miss these pins.

They're going to miss this coffee mug.

Pretty soon you'll convince yourself they're not going to miss this computer.

They're not going to miss a couple hundred dollars on an expense report.

And so Achan was the guy, though, into Jericho, he took some of the gold and some of the silver.

He hid it under his tent.

The next city that they came to was a little town called Ai, spelled AI.

Ai.

It's about as big as Booth.

Have you been to Booth?

I mean, it's just a little, look, look, and they got routed.

I mean, they got their heads handed to them, and they went to God and said, Hey, God, you told us we were going to conquer all these cities.

Matter of fact, you said you'd drive them out in front of you.

And God said, One of you knuckleheads took what belongs to me.

Translation, you violated the law of the first fruit.

The law of the first fruit says, that belongs to me.

I told you all that silver and gold, that belongs to me.

You can have the rest of whatever the cities you conquer, but the first fruit belongs to me.

And so the people got together and prayed, and they realized, hey, you know what?

This is what happened.

We've grieved God because somebody didn't believe what God said.

That's the law of the first fruit.

The third thing is the first gift.

What do you mean, the first gift?

Some people call it the tithe.

This is what the Bible says in Malachi chapter 3, verses 6 to 12.

Malachi 3:6–12

Hear this.

For I, the Lord, do not change.

Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

From the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

But you say, How shall we return?

Will man rob God, yet you are robbing me?

But you say, How we robbed you and your tithes and contributions, your curse with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house, and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts.

If I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing till there's no more need, I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.

Then all nations will be blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

Now, there's three things I want you to notice in this passage, okay?

Number one, notice this, first of all, that God does not change.

He says right off the bat, for I, the Lord, do not change.

Now, why do I say that?

Because I have some friends of mine who spend more time reading the internet than they do reading the Bible.

Uh and they say, Well, you know, I don't believe in tithing because tithing was introduced under the law.

We're no longer law anymore, we're under grace.

So I just asked a simple question.

Well, the Ten Commandments were the law.

So are those no longer applicable because we're under grace?

Is murder no longer a sin because we're under grace?

Because the more you talk, the more I fantasize about murdering you, but I'm not going to because I'm allergic to clown blood.

They're like, oh, that ain't funny, McClendon.

And I'm like, no, you cherry-pick things that benefit you, and you sound theological because you get on the internet and you got some Yahu who teaches people from his living room via some webcam and goes, Oh, you shouldn't do this.

God says, I the Lord.

First thing God says is, I the Lord, do not change.

I do not change.

In other words, if I said it back here, I still mean it here.

I the Lord do not change.

Second thing I want you to notice is notice the word God uses to describe their behavior when it comes to not tithing.

What does he say?

He says, Hey, you're robbing me.

You're robbing me.

I've got a simple question for you, beloved.

How can I be guilty of robbing you if I don't take something that rightfully belongs to you?

That makes sense to anybody but me?

God says, you're robbing me.

In other words, God thinks about it in terms of that belongs to me.

That's mine.

And for me to keep it, because my friends, they're just, I mean, they're nice people, but they they set their life, they believe everything they believe benefits them.

These are the guys that say to me, hey man, you work at the church.

You shouldn't have to do all that.

Like, hey, I don't tithe because I'm a preacher or I work at the church.

I tithe because I'm a Christian.

Oh man, I don't I don't know about that.

God says, hey, this is the word I use to describe when it comes to night.

You're robbing me.

Third thing I want you to notice is the two things God mentions when he says we're robbing him.

He says, in tithe and contributions are offerings.

Now, I told you earlier, the tithe is about obedience.

The contribution or the offering is about generosity.

Now stay with me.

This is not going to a place of guilt.

If this is your first time to come in this church, we don't believe in guilt or manipulation or trying to manipulate people or all that foreboding kind of stuff.

Here's what I want you to think about.

Notice the two things God mentions when he says, You're robbing me.

What I want you to see here is that God sees us as being able to do both because we experience the blessing of obedience when it comes to this area of our lives.

Let me say that again.

God relates to you and I because he sees us being able to tithe and give an offering when we're prompted to do that.

Why?

Because that's the way God relates to us.

God sees us at a place where it's not our duty, it's not a guilt offering, it's not a requirement, it's not a tax, it's not a legislative decision like our president made this week about who uses what bathroom.

Uh-oh.

Yeah.

Don't they just gall you when people in Washington, and it's not even a law.

And by the way, I wrote our superintendent a letter this week, uh, Mr.

Dupree, like the man I just said, hey, I'm praying for you because I don't think you guys realize that it, and it's not a law.

I said, but if y'all start pressing this issue, what's gonna happen is good moral people are gonna abandon the public school.

And this is where it's gonna hit you.

It's gonna hit you where you love because the more students you lose, your federal funding goes down.

Now, our president, he will keep funding sanctuary cities, he won't take their funding away to make them comply with the law, but you try to pass immoral, godless laws because we create a special class of people based on their appetites or their deviant behavior.

And what we're gonna have is when people, moral people, start leaving the public, the the public square, the public school, you're gonna have a school full of people that no teacher wants to teach.

So, Dr.

Dupree, I'm praying for you.

I'm not angry, I'm not calling you names, I'm just saying y'all need to stand up and use some backbone, or we're gonna have to show you ours.

Somebody goes, What does that mean?

I don't know.

Go to a school board meeting, just speak up, don't pick it, don't get mad.

I mean, we we can't leave the public square, Christians.

You gotta stay there.

We sang a few minutes ago, take my intellect.

You've got to engage the culture in a meaningful dialogue.

And it's hard to for people to think you're meaningful if you're screaming.

Does that make sense?

And it's just hey, you gotta help people understand the ramifications of their bad decisions.

You are going to lose federal funding, you're gonna have to fire teachers because you can't afford to pay them.

And then you've really got a bad situation because if the salt and light leaves, what's left?

And I said, I'm not, I'm I said, I'm not telling my people what to do.

I'm not gonna say homeschool your kids or go to private school, but that's what's gonna happen.

People are just gonna say, I've had enough of this, we're not gonna take it anymore.

But now, why do I tell you all that?

Are you still with me?

Some of y'all kind of like, oh, where are you going?

Hey, you need to pray for that man.

I wouldn't take that job for$10 million a year.

I mean, every week I get an email from him going, hey, this is what's going on this week.

Hey, some of you may have heard about this, in the media, this, blah, blah, blah.

I'm like, thank you, Lord.

I work on this side of the highway, not that side.

I know some of you teachers are kind of like, tell me about it.

Give me a break.

My three favorite reasons for teaching June, July, and August are coming.

Now, why do I bring all your attention to that?

What's that got to do with all this?

Here, here, look at this.

What does God do?

God doesn't pass some legislative decision and say, hey, this is what everyone has to do.

So, what what how does this get done?

Where does this motivation come from?

It's my third and final point this morning.

The motivation comes from the heart.

Look at Exodus 25.

Read it again.

The Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel that they take from me a contribution from every man whose heart moves him, you shall receive the contribution from me.

From every man whose heart moves him.

Now, by the way, God has more confidence in your heart than you do.

Because what God says he's doing here is I'm gonna relate to you in such a way that your heart is gonna be so moved.

It's not gonna say, hey, this is by executive order of the lame duck president, this is what's gonna happen.

If you want to see how crazy this is, ask yourself this question.

Can you imagine the IRS sending you a letter next year and say, just send us whatever your heart moves you to send us?

Hey, business owners, when it comes to payroll tax, just send us whatever your heart moves you to send us.

And yet that's what God does.

Now, what does God know that the IRS doesn't?

God knows it's not this external pressure, it's not a religious guilt trip, it's not you trying to do some good to offset your bad.

It's you living with a deep-seated understanding of the principles God's established in his word and experiencing the blessing thereof.

And receive from me a contribution from everyone who, every, every man, it's a general, it's every every person whose heart moves them.

Now, by the way, that's not just in the Old Testament.

Let me just read to you from the New Testament what we done this morning.

This is 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verses 6 to 8.

2 Corinthians 9:6–8

Paul says, the point is this whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one must give as he's decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

So, beloved, here's what it comes down to this morning.

The question before us is simply this Has God so worked in your heart that you've been captured by an ethic of obedience to what God says in this area of your life?

Let me say it again.

Has God so worked in your heart that you've been captured by an ethic of obedience when it comes to stewardship?

And if not, then ask yourself, what does God need to do in your heart to change how you think about this area of your life?

Does that make sense?

It's just has God captured your heart.

Tori, this is this this is a cheerful, this is a hilarious opportunity for you.

And if not, what does God need to do in your heart?

Because what you'll see in the Bible is God relates to his children from this place of, hey, I want I want you to be in such a place where both of these are a consistent part of your life.

Because that's that big dollop of juicy God goodness, I want to put on top of your life.

And so, what does God know about you that you don't believe about yourself?

Stand to your feet.

Let me speak a blessing over you.

Hold your hands out.

God trusts you more than the IRS.

That's why it works on your heart.

Your heart is redeemed and it's free.

Depart now and live in life of these two beautiful truths.

In the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you, you're dismissed.