Proverbs 3:1-12

Let's pray for the Lord's help.

Instead, he finds God's holy law, his joy and great delight.

Amen.

Well, I've chosen just to preach on two of those verses from Proverbs 3.

Let me read those verses again, verses 9 and 10, and then I'll explain why.

It says,

Now, to be honest, a number of quite mundane reasons I wanted to preach on this.

Partly, we're about to start a new series in our youth group this term on money in the book of Proverbs.

So I kind of wanted to refresh my own thinking on it.

Partly, it's much easier for me, with clearly no vested interest, for me to talk about giving to you than it is for others.

Perhaps your elders here are bolder than I would be, but you know what I mean.

But partly, this is just something which I've discovered in the Scriptures, to be a wonderful thing.

To be a surprising testimony to just how generous and gracious God is.

Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.

Then your barns will be filled with plenty.

And your vats will be bursting with wine.

A year or so ago, we kept hearing in the news about the cost of living crisis.

I think we hear about that less in the news now, because it's become our new baseline.

That prices are higher.

And petrol costs more.

And food seems to drain the bank account.

Now, if you're a child, you might not realise this, because your parents are the ones, rightly, who worry about it rather than you.

But children, your parents probably have, over the last few years, become armchair economists.

Worrying about money.

Worrying about the shopping.

Checking the smart meter.

I find smart meters a very alarming thing.

You know how it tells you how much you've spent today on energy?

Every time you look at it, you think, oh, can that really be the case?

But the good news from the book of Proverbs, the good news from God's word, is that God's economics are not our economics.

In fact, all economics, if you're studying that perhaps at A-level or something, or if you work in that field,

all economics are wrong if they bracket out God and his providence and his care and his power.

Now, at a time where people are feeling the pinch, we may feel it's a time where we look at the balances and think,

hang on, I need to tone down my giving to the Lord, giving to the church.

But I want to show us from Proverbs chapter 3, this is a time not to stop or reduce giving,

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

but a time to carry on giving to the Lord.

And here's why.

The book of Proverbs has lots of obvious lessons about money.

So just hear these things and think to yourself, does this sound like an obvious teaching?

Chapter 14, verse 23.

In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.

I don't think you need to be a Christian to know that that's true.

Chapter 10, verse 4.

A lazy hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Chapter 13, verse 11.

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

Even chapter 11, verse 25.

I think this is less obvious to the average person, but it still rings true.

A generous man will prosper.

He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

You can see how, you know, if you're supporting somebody when you're doing well,

then you might be the kind of person who others support when you need to be refreshed.

But chapter 3, verse 9 to 10 is not obvious.

It's not intuitive at all.

If you were to say this to one of your neighbours or someone you know from school,

they would say,

that doesn't make sense at all.

Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.

Then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will be bursting with wine.

I think when we think about giving to the poor or to the work of the church,

we tend to be motivated by things like need.

We say, there's a building that needs to be built.

There's an appeal that needs to get that thing up to the very top of the thermometer on it.

Then we can build the building.

Or we need to employ this new post.

Or we've got to pay the bills to keep the lights on.

There's a need.

Or perhaps we feel motivated by guilt.

We think, well, somebody probably ought to do this,

because otherwise the minister's poor children will starve or something like that.

Or, just by bare duty.

We know that God's word says something about giving.

We don't really know why, but we're just going to go along with it anyway.

Proverbs chapter 3 gives us a far more appealing and far more true and far more gracious motivation than that.

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

Honouring the Lord by giving to him, giving to him, that is giving to his work, brings blessing.

The motivation is, I want to be blessed.

Both materially and spiritually.

Or to put it in the pithiest way, the one who tithes thrives.

Now, perhaps you're hearing that thinking, hang on a second.

Hold your horses.

The rest of the sermon, I'm just going to spend answering the many objections that you're probably already thinking of in your mind.

And I've thought of at least 14.

So, let's see how far we get.

They're quick.

Don't worry.

Here's the first one.

You're just tricking me.

This is just manipulation.

Both the verse itself and this sermon is just somebody self-interestedly saying, give me money.

Now, that is a cynical objection, but it is a real one.

It has to be addressed because it does happen.

One, incidentally, if you're somebody who's here, who's not a Christian, one, I'm glad, delighted that you're here.

And two, I just want to make it really clear that you should not be giving to the church to the work of Jesus Christ,

unless you consider that Jesus is your Lord and your great high priest.

Because I think that's what giving to the Lord is.

It's testifying, not with our lips, but with our bank statement, that Jesus is my Lord.

Proverbs is a book that's written by King Solomon.

In other words, it's not written by the people who benefit from the first fruits and the tithes.

Chapter 31 of 2 Chronicles, it's one of the kings, another king like King Solomon, King Hezekiah,

who leads the people in doing just this, in bringing in the full tithe and first fruits into the priests and the Levites.

Now, King Hezekiah, presumably, was the richest man in the entire country.

He didn't stand to benefit at all from giving money to the priests and Levites.

And yet he led the people in doing it.

Proverbs is not, these words are not the words of somebody self-interested.

Solomon himself stood to gain nothing by giving the first fruits of all his many lands and wealth.

Except that he did.

Because we all have a vested interest in these verses, if they're true.

All of us.

If it is true that the Lord fills the barns of those who honour the Lord with their wealth,

then we have a vested interest in this.

Second objection.

This is clearly not always true.

Now, Proverbs recognises this.

In fact, the very nature of a proverb is it's saying something general,

rather than something kind of ironclad, universal law.

Proverbs recognises it in places like chapter 28, verse 6,

where it says,

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity,

than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.

Throughout the whole book of Proverbs,

it's plain that it's possible to be rich and wicked.

But it's possible, perhaps even common, to be poor and righteous.

So it's clearly not always true, yes.

And Proverbs recognises that.

Even in this very reading that we heard,

chapter 3, verse 11 and 12,

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline,

or be weary of his reproof.

For the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.

Even in those verses, we see that God brings hardship,

as discipline,

on the children whom he loves.

Now, that hardship must include,

or at least possibly include,

some financial hardship and difficulty.

God brings those things,

as he brings all trials on us,

as an opportunity to learn to trust him,

to learn to rely on him,

and to walk in his ways.

So yes, this is clearly not always true.

It generally is true, though.

We tend to read Proverbs and say,

yeah, I recognise there are some exceptions to this,

and move to,

well, it's just all random.

Whether people end up happy or sad,

rich or poor,

righteous or foolish,

that's just random.

It's up to you.

You have to pull yourself up

by your bootstraps.

You have to be the one who gets lucky.

But those things deny

the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ,

who sits enthroned,

ruling over everything,

all of the powerful angels and authorities,

all of the powerful governments

and financial institutions,

and all of us,

he has not stepped back

from our individual financial affairs.

He knows what's going on

in your work

and in your bank account.

He not only knows,

but he cares.

He not only cares,

but to some significant

and important degree,

he controls it.

Third objection.

Isn't this just in the Old Testament?

Well, yes, Proverbs is in the Old Testament,

so on one sense,

yes, that's true.

And not just in that sense.

Not just that it's in this book

rather than in the book of Matthew

or in James.

Because in verse 9,

it refers specifically

to the first fruits

of all your produce.

Now, the law of Israel

stated that

before the people could eat

a single thing

from the lands

and fields that they had,

they first had to bring

the first and the best produce

from their lands

to God.

They brought not only

the first fruits,

but a tithe,

that is a tenth,

of all that their land produced

and brought it to the Levites

and the priests.

Now, at least to some extent,

that's therefore connected

with the promise of the land, right?

The reason they had those fields

in the first place

was because God had given them,

their specific tribe,

their specific family,

this specific field.

And yet,

this idea that there is

a cycle of blessing

is not one that's limited

to the Old Testament.

Proverbs, I think,

if you think about the whole book,

it's an instruction

from a father

to his son.

And in a way,

it's an expansion

of the fifth

of the Ten Commandments.

Honor your father and mother,

this is the first commandment

with a promise,

that it may go well with you

and that you may live long

in the land.

Proverbs is about that.

It's a father saying,

if you heed my instructions,

you will be wise

and you will be blessed.

You will have long life.

Length of days,

verse 2.

You will have blessings.

Honor the Lord

with your wealth.

But that quotation

of the fifth commandment

I just gave you

is not from the Old Testament.

I've quoted it

from Ephesians chapter 6,

Ephesians 6:2

verse 2 and 3.

Honor your father

and your mother.

This is the first commandment

with a promise,

that it may go well with you

and that you may live long

in the land.

The instructions of Proverbs

are not just for them,

they're for us.

They're for Christians

living in the New Testament too.

Besides that,

there's a clear parallel

given in 1 Corinthians 9

between giving to support

the Levites and the temple

and giving to support

the church

and its ministers.

You can see that

in 1 Corinthians 9, 13 and 14

where it says,

do you not know

that those who are employed

in the temple service

get their food

from the temple

and those who serve

at the altar

share in the sacrificial offerings.

In the same way,

the Lord commanded

that those who proclaim

the gospel

should get their living

by the gospel.

More than that,

there's clearly

some obligation

to continue to give

according to our means.

That's what 2 Corinthians 8 says.

Now here's the thing,

wouldn't it be strange,

wouldn't it be just unlike

the God that we know

if he'd left us

with the obligation

to give according

in proportion to your means

but taken away

the blessing?

The New Covenant

is not a downgrade

from the old.

It's an upgrade

in every way.

And that includes

in this way.

Objection number 4.

Doesn't Jesus warn

against riches?

Yes, he does.

In fact, Jesus has more

to say about riches

and the danger of riches

than almost anything else.

He speaks a great deal

as well about self-righteousness

but it seems that for Jesus

in his great wisdom

riches and self-righteousness

come hand in hand.

So yes, Jesus warns

against riches

but so does the book

of Proverbs.

Proverbs 30 · chapter mention

Chapter 30 says,

Give me neither poverty

nor riches

but give me only

my daily bread.

Otherwise,

I may have too much

and disown you

and say,

Who is the Lord?

Or I may become poor

and steal

and so dishonour

the name of my God.

So great

is God's blessing

both in the Old Covenant

and the New.

So great is his blessing

that the chiefest temptation

for us

is that we turn around

having received the things

he's given us

and say,

I did this by my own hand.

I did this.

I worked hard.

I pulled myself up.

And the Lord says,

No,

I gave you everything.

I gave you the bootstraps

and the hands

to pull them up

and I gave you much more

besides.

So yes,

it is a great danger

and I don't want to

underplay that danger.

If you heard that verse,

Then your barns

will be filled with plenty

and your vats

will be bursting with wine.

Does that remind you

of any stories

that Jesus told?

For the children,

we have a book

of the man

who built the barns

and they got bigger

and bigger.

But in the end,

the man died

after he built

the biggest barn of all,

Luke chapter 12.

Luke 12 · chapter mention

And what did God say

to him?

You fool.

You fool.

You,

the opposite of Proverbs.

Not the wise man,

but the fool

building your barns

bigger and bigger.

That's why it says

in verse 9,

honour the Lord

with your wealth.

The man in the parable

honoured his wealth

with his wealth.

He wanted his wealth

to grow yet more and more.

He honoured his pleasure

with his wealth.

He wanted to eat

and drink

and be merry.

It's honour the Lord,

not honour yourself,

not honour your wealth,

not honour mammon,

but honour the Lord

with your wealth.

We are to seek wisdom first.

We are to seek understanding

for,

chapter 3, verse 14,

the gain from wisdom

is better than gain from silver

and her profit

is better than gold.

Get wisdom.

Seek wisdom.

Which is, of course,

the same thing as to say,

get Christ.

Christ.

Seek Christ.

Now again,

who else says that?

Seek something first.

Jesus himself,

in Matthew 6,

says,

seek first

the kingdom

and righteousness.

But that's not where

that verse finishes,

is it?

Jesus goes on,

seek first the kingdom

and righteousness

and all these

material things

will be added

to you.

So yes,

Jesus warns against riches,

just like Proverbs.

Number five.

We will get quicker,

don't worry.

Number five.

Isn't this the prosperity gospel?

Perhaps one night

you've been flicking

through the channels

and you get to

some late night

allegedly Christian channel

and you see somebody

saying,

donate to me,

donate now,

send in via this text message

and I will buy

a private jet

which will help me

to spread the gospel

and God will also

double your money

and you'll see that

I pledge to you.

That's what the prosperity gospel is.

People openly appealing

to greed

and desperation

saying that the gospel

is a means

to wealth.

But Proverbs 3

isn't the prosperity gospel

like that.

I hope that what I'm saying today

is not capable

of being heard

like that.

Proverbs 3 is true

so long as we don't make

God's generosity

a license

for loving money.

So long as we don't

neuter Jesus' teaching

that the good life,

the wise life,

the happy life

is

denying yourself,

taking up your cross

and following me.

That the good life

means losing your life.

That the good life

means

leaving behind

houses

and fields

and family.

So long as those things

are not neutered.

This is not the prosperity gospel.

It's just the way

that our generous God

has set up

his gracious,

grace-filled

world.

A sixth objection.

Isn't this just

works righteousness?

It sounds like you're saying

you've got to do

these good things,

give some money,

do some religious stuff

and then God will bless you.

Absolutely not.

Or at least

if you read it wrong

and misinterpret it,

it is.

But that's not how God

has ever operated.

Everything we have,

every breath,

is by God's grace

only.

The fact that we

profess Jesus Christ

and follow him

if you do,

the fact that we do that

is by God's grace only.

We've received his

gift of righteousness

by faith

only.

And yet that faith

which he's given to us

is not all

that he's given to us.

He's given us

his Holy Spirit

precisely so that we can

walk in his commands.

Precisely so that we can

live the happiest,

wisest way

which is

to walk in his commands.

the wisdom

which comes from the fear

of the Lord,

the good works

which come from faith

are done

by God's grace.

It's God's grace

which produces

in us

good works.

It's God's work

in your heart

which produces wisdom

and a wisdom

which is not just

in the head

but which works out

in every area

of your life.

Now again,

just step back from that.

That's how generous

God is.

He gives you the grace.

You receive

his gift of extraordinary

and perfect righteousness

by faith.

He gives you

his Holy Spirit

so that you can walk

in his commandments

and then he rewards you

for walking in his commandments.

Not just in this life

but in the life to come.

Let's not sell short

the generosity of God.

God is full of grace

at every step

in the chain

along that.

And the grace

which will

bear fruit

in eternity

is a grace

which we can

as yet

barely imagine.

So those are kind of

I suppose

theological objections.

The next few

are quicker

and they're more

practical objections.

So the seventh objection.

I'm worried

that if I do this

I'm just doing it

to get rich.

I'm worried about

my motivations.

Well I want to say

to that

that God has actually

set up this

precisely to prevent

that.

In other words

if you do

have a tendency

to love money

you don't have to be rich

to love money.

You can be

desperately poor

and still love money.

If you do

have a tendency

and a temptation

to love money

and you give

to the Lord

first

I don't think

you can do both

of those things

for long.

God has set up

honouring the Lord

with your wealth

precisely

to put to death

the sin

of covetousness.

It's designed

to purify

our motivations

because we have

to say

I love you

first.

I honour you

more than anything.

I need you

Lord

more than I need

anything.

It's anything.

Not even money

not even bread

not even my livelihood.

An eighth objection.

If I did this

I wouldn't have

enough to live on.

Now I want to be

really sensitive to this

because I do think

there are real

circumstances

where people might say

I wish I could honour

the Lord with my wealth

but I truly don't

have any wealth.

All my wealth

is someone else's wealth.

I don't have

a penny to live on.

Think of those

many slaves

in the New Testament

who were converted

to follow Jesus Christ.

But they didn't really

have any possessions.

They were slaves.

They didn't earn

any money

week to week

for the most part.

But

remember Jesus'

story

in Luke 21

well not a story

but something he saw

and pointed out

to his disciples

he saw a widow

going to the

temple treasury

and putting in

just two

small copper coins

and said

and these words

ought to echo

in our hearts

he said

having seen

people pouring in

their gold coins

he said

I tell you

she has put

in more

than all these.

God's economics

are not

our economics.

and he says

honour the Lord

with your wealth

and first

put that first.

My mum is involved

with Christians

against poverty

she helps out

with that a little bit

and she says

I was talking to her

about this a few months ago

she was surprised

that one of the first things

when they're trying

to get somebody out

of a horrendous

situation with debt

one of the first things

they do

to put into their budget

is giving.

It's a recognition

a pretty bold recognition

on the part

of an organisation

that's trying

to fight poverty

that God's economics

are not our economics

that God owns

the cattle

on a thousand hills

that God has

an infinite supply

of life

and money

he has enough

he has enough

for himself

he has enough

to overflow

to every creature

in the world

he has enough

for you.

A ninth objection

I will do this

but I need to

pay off my debt

I need to pay off

my project first

again

I want to be sensitive

to that

that might be

the right thing

to do

and in some ways

Christians against poverty

is trying to sort

out people

in that situation

but notice what it says

in verse 9

honour the Lord

with your wealth

and with the first fruits

of all your produce

however we work out

our giving in practice

we ought to be trying

to say

in some way with it

Lord you're the first person

before I put a morsel

in my mouth

I'm honouring you with it

I'm testifying

that you gave it

I'm professing

that you

have provided for me

a great high priest Jesus

and I belong to him

that's the first thing

we do with our money

so I want to

if that's the case

of saying

I can't give now

because I'm still

paying off my student debt

or I need to pay

for this conservatory

or something

I want to gently ask

how or who

or what

is your highest

and first priority

in life

tenth objection

somebody who says

look I'm doing this

I am giving

but I'm just getting poorer

now

this may happen

over the long term

because the Lord

in his sovereign power

disciplines people

just how he wants to

but I want to say

that if Proverbs

is true

generally true

then it probably won't

that somebody who gives

generously to the Lord

who honours the Lord

with their wealth

probably won't

be getting poorer

and poorer

over the long term

because God's economics

are not our economics

perhaps you're someone

like me

who looks at graphs

and reads things

in the paper

and thinks

the economy is going

down the pan

and it seemingly

has no bottom

do you think

that that can outrun God

I don't

there are a lot of things

though

that are better

than wealth

in Proverbs

if you say

I'm giving

and I'm getting poorer

look at all the other

blessings God

may have poured

on you

Proverbs says

that peace

a peaceable house

a good wife

that wisdom itself

are better than wealth

if you're giving

and gaining those things

you are giving

and gaining

in blessing

an eleventh objection

sorry

we're getting through them

an eleventh objection

how do I actually

calculate this

and I don't think

this is a

just a theoretical objection

because I

from my own

personal experience

there is an extraordinary

barrier

from hearing something

about what God

says about giving

to going home

and having a conversation

about it

to actually firing up

the old bank app

and then you realise

you've lost that little

calculator thing you need

and then you forget

about it because of the children

and then six months later

you haven't actually done it

and then you think

well

I don't even know

how to calculate

what I should give

to the Lord

what does in proportion

to my wealth

actually mean

now our verses

don't address this directly

although

when they brought

the first fruits

in ancient Israel

they also brought

a tenth

of the year's

profit or increase

now again

they must have

some years

not been able

to bring very much

because the plague

of locusts

had eaten their

crops

or an extremely

strong

and heavy tax burden

had cut down

what that meant

but whatever else

first fruits

implies

it certainly implies

that we

review these things

regularly

that we honour

the Lord

with our wealth

by checking

our wealth

by checking

our giving

and saying

yep

I'm reviewing

this

to honour

the Lord

I'm reviewing

this

in gratitude

to him

I think

I'm increasingly

convinced

that the

tenth principle

the tenth

of all your

increase

applies

and is a

gracious

and freeing

thing for

Christians

as well

I'll happily

talk to anyone

about that

afterwards

but I think

here's the

real bottom

line

something that

Jesus said

with the

measure you

use

it will be

measured

to you

that you

reap

what you

sow

again

people do

not believe

these things

because they're

a deep

principle

hidden in

the world

which Jesus

has revealed

to us

Jesus himself

who gave

up everything

and then

received

eternal life

with the

measure you

use

it will be

measured

to you

so yes

you do

have to

calculate

and you

do have

to do

something

about it

and you

do have

to find

that little

calculator

don't sweat

it too

much

but yes

you should

I'm happy

to speak

about that

more

a twelfth

objection

some people

would say

look I'd

like to do

this but my

wife or my

husband or my

parents they

won't stand

for it

they just

don't think

we should be

doing this

perhaps you're

married to

someone who's

not a

Christian

perhaps your

parents have

different views

on this

to you

now again

I've got a

great deal of

sympathy for

that

not for

personal reasons

I should say

but I do

understand that

that's a

real burden

to bear

I would suggest

that if you're

in that situation

that would be a

great thing to

raise with one

of the elders

of this church

and to talk to

them about it

but here's what

I will say

about it

you may have

to go to

your husband

or wife

or parents

and apologise

I personally

would have to

apologise to

as Jenny and I

have spoken about

this in the past

to say look

I've been stingy

in the past

towards the Lord

because I've been

scared

and I thought

well I've got to

keep the money

back for myself

because I

dare not give it

away

we don't have

enough

I'm sorry

because I've

dishonoured the

Lord in doing

that

and here's what

I want to do

differently

13th

I'm not sure

who I should

give to

well Galatians

Galatians 6:6

chapter 6

verse 6

says

let the one

who has taught

the word

share all good

things with the

one who teaches

I think if you

don't consider

your own church's

ministry

the kind of

obvious port of

call for giving

then that's

probably a bit

of a red flag

about something

but you are

genuinely free

to give

you're free

to give

not under

compulsion

God loves

a cheerful

giver

14th

do you know

this isn't

actually really

an objection

perhaps you're

somebody who

hears these

things

from Proverbs

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and says

do you know

I've been doing

this for the

last 50 years

or 70 years

or 15 years

and now I

think about

my life

and realise

that I've

prospered

far more

than I can

really explain

that God

has given me

more than I

really deserved

I was never

that good at

my job

I never

really made

much progress

I didn't

really check

my pensions

and my savings

that carefully

and I never

realised there

was a

connection

if that is

you

can I

encourage you

to do

two things

first

give thanks

to the

Lord

praise him

recognise

that his

grace

is from

grace

to grace

that it's

overflowing

and abounding

but secondly

share your

story of

God's

kindness

with others

to encourage

them in the

walk

there will be

young people

here

young being a

kind of relative

term

who just

can't believe

this

they look at

the economy

they grumble

about boomers

they think I'm

never going to

own a house

because of

something to do

with fiat

currency or

something

encourage those

people and say

look God's

economics are

not our

economics

hear my

story

I was talking

to a guy

back in our

church about

this

who'd worked

in a low

level job in

the charitable

sector for all

of his life

was talking about

these verses

and said

do you know

I think that's

what God has

done to me

and now I

realise how

generous and

gracious God

has been to

me

and I said

to him

well look

tell other

people who

are here

too

that God

really

is

gracious

and kind

I read an

amazing stat

it's from

2012 but I

assume it's

even more

true now

that the

over 60s

are more

than six

times more

generous to

charity including

to churches

than the

under 30s

and ten years

prior to that

it was just

three times

more

six times

more the

over 60s

their proportional

generosity to

the young

young people

need to hear

your encouragement

in this

they need to

hear God's

encouragement

from chapter

3 verse 9

that to some

meaningful extent

giving to the

Lord

honouring him

with our

wealth

is a

no brainer

on every

level

promised not

just for this

life

but for the

life to

come

and more

fundamentally

they need

to hear

we need

to hear

every one

of us

needs to

hear

that God's

economics

are not

our

economics

God is

not stingy

if you're a

Christian

just shake

your head

and think

is God

stingy

he who

did not

spare up

his own

son but

gave him

for us

all

is he

stingy

God who

created

every single

atom in

the universe

is he

underfunded

is he

wanting

or lacking

for anything

it's

Satan

who wants

us

not to be

blessed

either spiritually

or materially

God

is infinitely

rich

and prodigally

generous

he did

not

spare

his

own

son

but

gave him

up

for us

all

now God

just wants

us to

prove that

we know

that

and he

wants the

proof

to be in

our bank

statement

and here's

the crazy

thing

sooner or

later it'll

be in your

bank statement

in both

columns

in and

out

now just

imagine that

multiplied

and compounded

across hundreds

of people

and across

the generations

I always think

there's a kind

of chicken and

egg thing

when we talk

about and pray

for revival

on the one

hand when

revival comes

people consecrate

themselves to

God and that

notably includes

their wallets

on the other

hand revival

comes when

people humble

themselves and

consecrate

themselves to

God including

their wallets

imagine that

is that not

what we long

for in this

area of

London across

our whole

land and

across the

whole world

well it

begins with

people among

other things

who honour

the Lord with

their wealth

and with the

first fruits of

all their

produce and

their barns are

filled with

plenty and

their vats

will be bursting

with wine

imagine that

well let's pray

that we won't

have to just

imagine it

let's pray

a