El Shaddai - Week 3: My Source, Not My Supply

Well, let's pick up with week number three of this series we've been in.

If you're just now joining us, this is the third week.

We started a series entitled El Shaddai, The God Who Is More Than Enough.

And literally, what I said in week number one is that we are declaring war.

Now, I don't mean that we're just in a boxing match, but we're literally declaring war on something that I'm calling the not enough mentality.

And we could say the the the spirit of lack, but I want to attack and target and declare war on this not enough mentality.

What is that?

It is a mindset that views everything in life through the lens of lack.

Not just in our finances, but in our relationships, in uh in the favor in our lives.

There's a tendency to always divert toward what I don't have instead of what I do have, and more importantly, who I do have.

And so we took time to introduce you to a side of God that many believers may not actually know.

He introduces himself in Genesis chapter 17 as El Shaddai.

Genesis 17 · chapter mention

The first time we see that name.

Now we see Elohim before that.

We see other names of God before that, but for the very first time, God introduces himself to a man by the name of Abram, and he says, I am the Almighty God, which is El Shaddai.

And we told you that name El Shaddai literally means the Almighty God who is all-sufficient, who nourishes, and who cannot be moved.

Somebody else.

Thank God for that, man.

And so we took time to introduce you to who that God is and then how he operates in our lives.

And then last week we went back and looked at the fact that God doesn't multiply what we don't have, he multiplies whatever we're willing to surrender to him.

He didn't multiply what we don't have, which is why we don't spend all of our time talking about what we don't have.

He's willing to multiply a little boy's lunch and make it feed 5,000.

And we looked at last week the story of a widow woman over in the Old Testament who her husband was what they call one of the sons of the prophets.

He was a prophet in training.

He passed away prematurely and he left behind a lot of debt for his family.

And back then there was no bankruptcy, there was no working out payment arrangements.

If a person died and did not have the money to clear their debts, they would come and take their children, take their family members, and put them into slavery, into indentured servitude, and would make them work free of charge until they paid off the whole debt.

So this woman comes to the prophet, she says, My husband died, and they're about to take my two sons.

Now you would think the next thing that comes out of the prophet's mind is, What can I do to help you?

How much do you need?

But if you go back and read the story, this is what he says.

He says, What do you have in the house?

In other words, let's not focus on what you don't have, let's focus on what you do have to work with.

And this is what she says.

She starts talking from her not enough.

She says, All I have is a little jar of oil.

Now, this is not like crisco oil.

This is, you know, like perfumed oil that you can go and actually sell at the market.

She says, All I have is a little jar of oil.

And this is what he says.

He says, Go and borrow as many vessels as you can.

So she and her son start going to their neighbors.

Can I borrow a jar?

Can I borrow a jar?

Can I borrow a vase?

Can I borrow?

They borrowed as many jars as they can.

They came back to the house.

And I love this.

The Bible says when they got to the house, they closed the door behind them.

Can I tell you what that means?

That means that everybody can't go with you to your miracle place.

Can I just let you in on a little secret?

Everybody ain't happy for you when God starts blessing your life.

And you know how neighbors can be.

What that girl borrowing them jars for?

Let me go see.

So they closed the door, and this is what the Bible says.

She took that one jar she had and started pouring it into other jars.

And even though it was initially just one jar, she started pouring it.

And as long as she was pouring, it kept pouring and it kept pouring and it filled up another jar and it filled up another jar and it filled up another jar and it filled up another jar and it did not stop until she ran out of jars.

I believe that woman had had more jars, she'd still be pouring right now.

What are you trying to say?

God took what felt like it wasn't enough, but when she took her not enough, come on, somebody.

She took her, come on, somebody, she took her not enough and put it in the hands of somebody who is more than enough.

He was able to multiply her more than her not enough and turn it into more than enough.

And what's amazing is the the the oil didn't multiply when it was in the jar, it multiplied when she started pouring it out.

Well, what does that mean?

That teaches us that God doesn't multiply what we don't have, he multiplies what we surrender to him.

See, we need to understand this.

And today I want to I want to take you down this line right here.

We understand that the oil multiplied for her, but here's a question I have: who are we really trusting to keep the oil flowing in our lives?

I know the answer you give if I came down there right now.

You at church.

If I came under the microphone, who are you trusting?

To keep the oil flowing, keep the money flowing, to keep the resources flowing in your life.

I trust God.

I trust him, Shada.

I ain't talking about the Sunday answer, I'm talking about your Tuesday answer.

I'm talking about your Thursday afternoon answer.

I'm talking about the answer when you go to the mailbox and you pull out uh a bill that you weren't expecting, and you start calculating how much you have to get through the end of the month versus how much now has to go out.

I'm asking, who do you trust to keep the oil flowing when it looks like it's not enough to take care of all the needs?

So I want to help you identify the difference between your source and your supply.

Let me give you a definition.

A source is where something originates.

A supply is the channel that it flows through.

The source is where something actually originates.

The supply is the channel that it actually flows through.

Kind of like the faucet in your kitchen.

I mean, no, it's not the source of your water.

It's the channel, it's the place that water comes out.

That's why if the faucet in your kitchen breaks, you don't panic and think you're getting ready to die of thirst because you know I can go to another room and turn on a different faucet.

Or better yet, some of you remember this, you know, back in the day for some of you young people.

Back in the day, kids used to play outside.

The most amazing thing you've ever seen in your life, man.

We rolled these things called big wheels.

Anybody have a big wheel?

We played outside, man.

And when we used to play outside, you know, you play outside in the summertime, you get hot, you run the house, you get just some water.

Then you go back out and play for 30 more minutes.

Then you run back in 30 minutes later, get some more water, then you play for a little while.

Then you come back in 30 minutes, then after a while, your mother will say, Look, look, you ain't gonna start running in and out of his house.

Why says when she banned you from coming in the house, you didn't think that your water was cut off.

Because on the side of the house, come on, you're dating yourself right now.

On the side of the house was a little spigot.

And when you turn it on, you could angle your head just like this.

Come on, you get all the water you wanted coming out of the side of that house.

Why?

Because the house was not the supply, the source, it was just one supply.

And just like that, hear me out when I say this.

Your job is not your source.

Come on, your paycheck is not your source.

Give me a better amen, somebody.

Hear me out.

Your spouse is not your your source.

Your savings account, your 401k, your side hustle, your parents, your clients, your government check, all of those things are supplies.

None of them are your source.

This is what I need you to know: God alone is your source.

I thought I'd get a bigger amen than that from somebody.

In fact, lift one hand towards heaven, say this out loud.

I declare that God alone is my source.

Say it again, say, I declare, God alone is my source.

Now say it with your chest.

I declare, God alone is my source.

Now look at your neighbor and say, hello, friend.

You sat in the right seat today.

I need you to know God alone is your source.

Look at the one on the other side.

Say hello, second choice.

I need you to know, God alone is your source.

If you really believe that, give him a shout of praise in this place today, man.

Now, watch this.

This whole not enough mentality, this spirit of lack, it has a root.

And it always shows up.

Watch this.

Whenever we put our trust in something that was always capable of running out.

That's the thing about God.

He has no capacity to run out.

But anytime we attach our trust to a job, to a bank account, to a relationship, something that has capacity to run out, and our trust gets invested there, that's how we end up drifting to this not enough mentality.

Listen to this.

Never confuse your source with your supply.

Your supply may run out, but your source never runs dry.

Come on, that's good.

And let me help you understand the difference between your source and your supply.

First thing I need you to know is this you gotta always remember who gave you the power to get what you have.

Always remember who it is that gave you the power to get what you had.

Remember a couple weeks ago we talked about children of Israel and how God took them through what I call the money test.

He gave them all this money when they left Egypt.

He gave them silver, he gave them gold, he gave them fine linen.

They were literally a rich nation coming out of Egypt.

But then he sent them into a wilderness where they didn't have anywhere to spend their money.

They couldn't buy water, they couldn't buy food, they couldn't buy an army to protect them.

And I told you, every day God demonstrated that I'm the one who can take care of you, whether you have a little or you have a lot.

So every day he rained down food from heaven.

It was called manna, type of food that came from heaven.

And that means every day they got up to come and gather their food for that day, which means while they slept, they had to trust God and sleep well, knowing that when I get up in the morning, I don't see it tonight, but when I get up in the morning, God's gonna take care of me.

So he took them through a process where they had to learn that whether you have a little bit or you have a lot, God is our source.

But then something changed because after they left the wilderness, they went into the promised land.

And now in the promised land, God is not raining down manna every day.

Now in the promised land, they are planting their seed and they're harvesting their seed.

So they no longer have to get up and trust that in the morning God's gonna have the food there.

They're planting their seed themselves and they're harvesting their seed themselves.

And so Moses here in Deuteronomy 8, which we're gonna read, he had to warn them, watch this, that prosperity can sometimes be more dangerous than poverty.

And I tell you this, some people were better Christians when they were broke.

I'm gonna show you in a word.

Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 11.

Deuteronomy 8:11

This is what he said.

He said to them, now that you're in your promised land, beware that you do not forget the Lord by not keeping his commandments, his judgments, and his statutes, which I command you today.

Lest watch this when you have eaten and are full.

In other words, you're no longer looking for where your meal's gonna come from, you're no longer overnight having to get up and trust that there's gonna be men out there in the morning.

Let's bring it home.

You're no longer getting any shut-off notices and any eviction notices, you're no longer hearing, you know, phantom sounds of beep, beep, beep.

Think they come to get your car in the middle of the night?

Now you made it to a place where you got a little something, something, got a nice, steady job, got a little money in the savings account.

He said, and you now have built your beautiful houses and you're dwelling in them, and your herds and your flocks have multiplied for us.

It's your savings accounts, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and everything you have is multiplied.

He said, Watch it so that your heart doesn't get lifted up, and you end up forgetting the Lord your God who brought you out of the ghetto land of Egypt.

Anyone know it's God that brought you out of the ghetto land of or wherever you came from?

I said, Anybody know it was God that brought you out?

I can't hear you.

I said, Does anybody remember that?

Come on, somebody.

I know you're looking good in church today, but does anybody remember that it was God who found you in that and he brought you out?

Verse 17 says, Then you end up saying in your heart, my power did this.

The might of my hand did this.

My agricultural skills made all this come up out of the ground.

Or watch this, my master's degree got this for me.

My ability has gained me this wealth.

Watch this.

He said, but no, no, no.

You shall remember the Lord your God.

Watch this, because it is He who gives you the power to do what?

To get wealth.

Yeah, I know you're the one that got up and went to work.

I know you go to work every day, you work hard, you work 40 plus hours a week, 50 hours a week.

I know you make good, sound decisions, you've invested your money well, but can we just get back to the root, though?

It's God that woke you up to even be able to go to work.

Come on, it's God that protected you on your way to work when that car was gonna take you out.

Come on, it's God that, come on, it's God that gave you the mindset to even be able to, it's God that gave you the witty ideas, it's God that took you into that boardroom when they were trying to undercut you and backstab you, but he gave you everything you come on, somebody.

It is God, it is God who has been watching over you and protecting you.

It is God who kept you sane when you could have lost your doggone mind.

It is God who allowed you to be in class and then pass the test before you had AI trying to help you out.

Come on, your degree is real.

You know what I'm talking about.

It was God.

And what he's saying is, don't get to this place where you don't got cute and you think you did this.

He says, Make sure you remember who it is that brought you to the place where you are today.

See, when they were in the wilderness, oh, he said, I did this for you.

Why says so I could establish my covenant that I swore to your fathers?

What are you talking about?

He said, I blessed you, I took care of you, I prospered you so that I could keep the covenant I said to your fathers.

Remember in Genesis 12, I told you when Abram was told, he said, Leave Earth the Chaldees, go to a place that I will show you.

He said, I'll make your name great, I'll make you prosperous, I'll make you great.

I will bless those that bless you, I'll curse those that curse you.

What he was really saying is, I'm not just gonna bless you, I'm gonna bless your kids too.

I hope you get this.

Because what God was really saying to them is, hey, hey, this is not even about you.

I'm blessing you, not even because of you.

I'm blessing you because I'm a man that keeps my word.

I told your great, great, great, great, great, great granddaddy I was gonna bless him and his kids.

So the reason why I have set you up like I have is not because of all your wise financial decisions.

I set you up like this because I'm a God that keeps my word.

Now I hear you saying in your mind, well, that's for Israel.

What does that got to do with me?

Well, if you go over and read Galatians chapter 3, it says, if you belong to Christ, come on, then you're Abraham's seed and your heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

Come on, somebody.

That means when God promised to bless Abraham, you can get in line and say, Me too.

Bless me too.

Why?

I'm a seed of Abraham because I'm in Christ Jesus.

See, in the wilderness, it was easy for them to know that God was their source because the bread was falling from the sky.

But in Canaan, it was the same God who was providing for them, but just using a different channel.

Same source, just a new supply.

Here, here's the danger.

The danger is once the provision starts coming through our hands, we can start believing that it came from our hands.

See, the wilderness, watch this, the wilderness will teach us that God is our source.

Watch this, prosperity will test whether or not we remember it.

So we're in the wilderness when you're struggling.

I ain't just talking about money.

When you're struggling with relationships, that there's some of you ladies that have believed God for a spouse, believe God for companionship.

God finally brings somebody away, and now you spend more time with them than you do him.

You've actually allowed them to pull you away from where you're supposed to be with God.

So there's something there's something that happens.

When we're in the wilderness, it'll test our trust.

But once we start prospering, it'll test whether or not we actually remember who it is that took care of us.

I've seen it, man.

In 30 years of passing, I've seen people that were, when they when they first came to the church, their relationships were all jacked up, their mental state was not the best.

Sometimes the money wasn't like that it should be.

And this is what happened.

They were so hungry, they were pressed in.

Every time the doors of the church opened, they were here.

They weren't sitting in the back, they weren't, you know, making it after praise and worship.

They were here early, pressed up in these first couple roles.

But there's something that happens when we start getting blessed.

When the pressure is off.

Come on, say amen, somebody.

Can't say amen, say out, say something.

Don't just there's something that happened.

We don't watch it, there's something that happens when we start getting blessed and prosperous.

We can stop coming to churches early, start sitting further back, start picking and choosing when I'm gonna show up.

And what God needs us to understand is don't start tripping on me now that I've blessed you and put you in a good space.

Kind of reminds me of the the movie Rocky.

Remember in Rocky I, he was in living in a little raggedy apartment and didn't have much money, and you know, trying to propose to his girl, Adrian! He was hungry, right?

So he I mean, he got in the ring and you know, against all odds, beat the champ Apollo Creed, came back.

Rocky II still had that eye, the tiger, and beat Apollo Creed, but something happened in Rocky III.

Rocky III, he's no longer living in inner city Philadelphia in a little raggedy apartment.

He's got a nice big mansion now.

Come on, he's driving a sports car now.

And he ran up against Clubber Lane.

Mr.

T.

Pity the fool.

You know what happened, Mr.

T whooped his behind, beat the brakes off.

You know why?

Not because Mr.

T was a better fighter, but because he had lost Apollo Creed told him he lost the eye of the tiger.

And he spent the whole rest of the movie trying to get the eye of the tiger back.

Can I just say this?

I think there's some believers sitting in here right now that need to go back and get the eye of the tiger again.

Come on, go back to your first love.

Go back and pick up that hunger you had from God, for God.

When you first came to him, before everything got turned around.

Because if you pick, watch this, if you pick it up while you're prosperous, you'll never let it down again.

Amen.

Here's the second thing I need you to understand: don't ever panic if a brook dries up.

Let me just tell you there's some brooks in your life that are going to dry up.

There's some sources that are gonna lose, or some supplies that are gonna lose their punch.

Don't ever panic if a brook dries up.

Over in 1 Kings chapter 17, Elijah the prophet has just been told by God to announce a drought over Israel.

1 Kings 17 · chapter mention

Israel has gone into disobedience.

King Ahab and his wife Jezebel have led them astray, and Elijah announces there's gonna be no rain until I say so.

And then God does something.

He proves that even when there's a drought for everybody else, he still knows how to take care of his people.

You miss a good place to shout, amen.

I said, even when there's a drought for everybody else, God still knows how to take care of his people.

You still miss a good place.

I said, even when there's a drought, there's a recession, there's inflation, and everybody else is complaining about how much everything costs, I'm trying to say to you, God still knows how to pull his people aside.

Come on, don't start talking like you fit in with everybody else.

Don't start acting like you don't have a covenant with the Most High God.

Don't you start becoming regular and ordinary, you realize that God knows how to take care of his people no matter what's going on around you.

1 Kings 17, verse 2.

1 Kings 17:2

The word of the Lord came to Elijah and said, Get away from here and turn eastward and hide.

Somebody say, hide.

Hide by the brook cherished.

I was reading this yesterday, and this jumped out of me.

This is the prophet of God, and we know God knows how to command his angels to protect us, yet God tells the man of God, go hide.

There's some wisdom in that.

There's a time when God will stand, tell you to stand and I will protect you.

And there's a time when God will tell you, use your good sense and get out of the way of danger.

We gotta make sure we have enough discernment to know the difference between the two.

Go by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan River, and it'll be that you shall drink from that brook, that water supply.

And I have commanded.

Somebody say, Commanded.

I've commanded the ravens to feed you there.

God does something supernatural.

While everybody else is lacking water, he sends him to a water hole.

But then he says, Not only are you gonna have water to drink, he says, I'm gonna command the birds to feed you in the morning and bring you food also in the evening.

Now it'd be it would be one thing if he was telling a carrier pigeon to bring this.

He said, I'm gonna command the ravens.

Now you gotta understand the nature of the bird, raven.

Ravens are their nature is not to bring you food.

Their nature is a way for you to die and you become their food.

I'm trying to get you to see something.

God changed the entire nature of a bird to take care of his man.

There is no extent to which your God will, there's no limit to how far he will go to make sure he takes good care of you.

Verse number seven says, It happened after a while that the brook dried up.

So watch this.

Elijah is right in the middle of the will of God and his brook still dried up.

Just because you hit a dry spot doesn't mean you're out of the will of God.

It happened because there had been no rain.

And then the word of the Lord came to him and said, Get up, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sedan, and dwell there.

Watch this.

He says, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.

Notice in both cases, he said, when the drought kicked in, he said, Don't worry about it, I have already commanded, I've already talked to a bird for you.

Then when his brook dried up, he said, Don't worry about it, I have already talked to a widow woman.

What am I saying?

Just because it's a surprise to you doesn't mean it's a surprise to God.

If you're in the middle of a dry brook right now, don't you panic.

Just go and listen for the word of the Lord.

Because God, hear me out.

God always has another supply chain for you.

But you got to go and make sure you're listening to what He's got to say.

God said, I've commanded the ravens and I've commanded a widow.

Think about this.

The ravens were never intended to be his source.

The widow was never intended to be his source.

The brook was never intended to be his source.

All of those things were just assignments that God commanded to bring him provision.

Stop looking at your job as if it is your source.

It is just one assignment.

Can I blow your mind with something?

If you stop looking at your job as your source and start looking at it as one supply chain, you open up your heart and God will start showing you some other supply chains, some other avenues and streams of income.

When you get so fixed, the reason why you can turn around and make that job into a little idol, little God, is because you look at it as your source instead of looking at it just one supply chain.

Amen?

Listen, the brook was never Elijah's source, it was just God's address for him in that season.

No matter what arena you're in, come on, a brook can dry up, a job can dry up, a relationship sometimes can dry up, divorce can happen, a stock market can crash, a client may leave.

The good news is when one brook dries up, you still have El Shaddai.

Amen.

Come on, I said amen.

I said amen.

And I love this.

If you look over in Matthew 6, Jesus taught us this lesson right here.

He said, Money can make a great servant, but it also makes a terrible God.

That's why he said you don't serve God and money.

You can't serve the two of them.

Money makes a great servant, money is a tool, it's a servant.

And hear me out, money is not evil.

I know you hear people say that all the time.

Like the Bible says, money is is all evil.

The love of the money, money is the root of all evil.

That's not what it says.

It says the love of money is the root of all evil.

You can have a love for money and have none of it.

Come on, it took you a minute, but you got it.

You can have a love for money and have no money.

And watch this, if I have a love for money, it'll make me start doing things and making decisions, cutting corners, mixing up my priorities.

Come on, say amen, somebody.

And see, money by itself is not evil.

Money is neutral.

Well, what money is is a magnifier.

Money will show you what's really in a person's heart.

If you want to know what's in somebody's heart, put some money in their hand.

If they are evil, they're gonna be more evil.

If they are good and benevolent, they're gonna use that money to be a blessing and help more people with it.

That's why when you think, yeah, my friend Kareem, man, you can't, I know he, and money is evil because you know we were best friends, man, until Kareem got some money.

No, no, money didn't change him.

He was just too broke before for you to know what was really in his heart.

Money is going to show you what's really in a person's heart.

Here's the next thing I need you to know.

We gotta learn how to put God first and worry a whole lot less.

Matthew 6, verse 31 says, So don't worry about these things, saying, What are we gonna eat?

Matthew 6:31

What are we gonna drink?

What are we gonna wear?

I think we could add to that, how are we gonna pay the rent?

How are we gonna take care of this tuition?

He said, Don't don't work, sit around and worry about those things.

These are the things that dominate the thoughts of unbelievers.

But your heavenly father already knows all of your needs.

So, what should I do?

Seek the kingdom of God above everything else.

Live righteously.

Watch this, and he will give you everything you need.

Come on, you ought to praise God.

He just gave you the formula right there.

Seek God's kingdom above everything else.

That means don't put God second, third, fourth on your list.

Seek God, seek his kingdom, seek pleasing Him above everything else.

Make a commitment.

I'm gonna live righteously.

That means to the best of my ability, I'm gonna get everything dark out of my life.

So I can walk uprightly before God.

He said, if you do that, watch this.

Everything else you need.

The thing that you need to drink, that you need to eat, what you need to wear, how you need to pay your bills.

He said, I'll add all that to you.

Notice he didn't say go get four jobs and I'll add it to you.

He said, if you pursue me first, live right before me, everything else you need.

He said, I know how to add it to you.

See, that's why worry is the not enough mentalities daily devotional.

All day long it meditates on not having enough.

Jesus never said we don't have needs.

He said we got a father who already knows our needs.

See, it's the orphan that's constantly worried about provision.

But the sons and daughters learn how to trust their father's house.

Amen.

So we said, worry less, but also watch this.

We said, but also we gotta put God first.

So we gotta get we gotta get out of this mindset where God's agenda falls down lower on our list.

Whatever God's purpose is, God's plan, whether serving in the church, taking the next steps He's told me to take, we gotta stop pushing God's plan off.

Isn't it amazing?

We want to push everything God tells us to eventually, but we want the blessings to show up right away.

No, we gotta we gotta put God's agenda first, man.

Hear me out.

That's why we can't sit around and just be professional visitors at church.

You should take your time and check a church out.

Don't don't don't don't join right away because you don't you don't know.

I mean folks might be crazy.

They may just have a had a good week.

I tell people all the time, take enough time, make sure you you when you come to don't just join right away.

You need to know can you deal with me?

I ain't like every other pastor, man.

I'm gonna tell it to you straight.

But watch this after a while, you don't just date and date and date forever.

And never, come on, never make a commitment.

And there's something about the commitment putting God's agenda at the top of our list.

See, over here in the book of Haggai, chapter one, Israel had returned from exile.

They had been in exile for years.

God delivers them out of exile, they come back to their land, and now they got to start rebuilding everything.

And you know, their houses, because they had been conquered.

So their houses have been burned to the ground, and the temple has been burned to the ground, God's house has been burned to the ground.

And when they get back, this is what they decide.

They say, Well, God's house is in ruins, my house is in ruin.

I'm gonna work on mine first.

And this is what the Bible says was happening.

Haggai 1.6 says, You have planted a whole lot, but you keep bringing in a little bitty harvest.

You keep having food to eat, but you're never satisfied.

You drink, but you're still thirsty afterwards.

You put on clothes, but still cannot keep warm.

Watch this.

He said, and your wages end up disappearing as if you were putting them in pockets that were filled with holes.

In other words, why?

Nothing they were trying was working.

They're trying real hard and nothing is working.

Then verse 9 says, You want to know why?

Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of heaven's army, while you are busy building your own fine houses.

You know what God was saying?

I don't have a problem with you having, I have a problem with you putting your priorities over my priorities.

See, in their case, why says their problem wasn't a lack of income, it was a lack of order.

Whenever God comes last, nothing will ever be enough.

But when God comes first, he says, if you put me first, I'll add to you everything else that you need.

Come on, give God a shout of praise right there.

And here's the last thing I want you to walk away with today.

We gotta get to the place where we learn how to honor God first with the tithe.

It just becomes a part of who we are.

Now, stick with me because I'm gonna walk you through something right here.

Proverbs 3, 9, and 10 says, honor the Lord with your possession.

Somebody shout honor.

Come on, say it again, shout honor.

And I'm starting with that because God doesn't want your money, he wants your honor.

It's never about your money, it's about your trust.

And he says that the attitude, even when you come to me with it, is bring it with a heart of honor.

What does the word honor mean?

It means to treat somebody like a heavyweight.

Don't brush me off like a lightweight, God is saying.

He says, So even when you bring it to me, watch, he said, bring it with a heart of honor.

Can I take it a step further?

If you can't bring it with a heart of honor, keep it.

Keep it.

Because what God is wanting is not the physical money as much as the heart that comes attached to it.

Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first, not the last, but the first, not the leftovers, but the first fruits of your increase.

If you do that, your barns or your savings account will be filled with plenty, your vats will overflow with new wine.

The definition for the word tithe that comes from a Hebrew word ma'asur, it means a tenth.

And it refers to the first 10% of our increase that is returned to God through his house.

That's an important distinction because the tithe is the very first 10% of everything God puts in our hands.

God blesses us with your check, he blesses somebody, gives you$15, somebody bless you with$2,000.

The very first, it's not, it's not an eventual 10%.

It's the very first 10% from the top.

Because watch this when the children of Israel would bring God their first fruits, it was when the harvest would come up, and the very first crop, before they went and ate any of it themselves, they took it to God.

This is what they were doing.

They were blessing God before they had any idea how the rest of the crop was going to turn out.

There's a level of trust that has to come from giving God not a 10%, but the first one off the top.

We bring to God and the tithe, unlike the offering, the tithe is always supposed to come to your house, your spiritual house.

We're gonna read it over in Malachi where he says, bring all the tithes into the storehouse.

What is a storehouse?

It's the place where you receive your spiritual food.

Hear me out.

That's why we're not supposed to just bounce around from church to church.

Visit till you find a place that is called home.

But once you call it home, don't quit on it like a gym membership.

Come on, once it becomes home, the Bible says that the tithe, why says it's not supposed to go to the Red Cross, not supposed to go to you know wounded warriors, not supposed to go to your favorite television evangelist.

The tithe is supposed to come to whatever your house is.

Hear me out again.

That's why, hear me out.

Every believer needs a house.

A place where we receive the bulk of our spiritual food.

Now, over the above the tithe.

After I've gotten to 10%, the next dime I give after that is called an offering.

The offering can go other places.

The offering I listen to God, let God direct me.

Some of it may go to my local house, some of it may go to my favorite charity.

The offering can go different places, but the tithe is supposed to come to whatever your spiritual house is.

Can I get a good amen, somebody?

Amen.

See, there's something that happens here.

And what I what I also need you to understand is because I've heard I hear this all the time.

You hear somebody and they get a little podcast, they get a little following on social media, and they'll say something like this Tithing is not something that we're supposed to do today.

It's from the Old Testament, it was under the law, we don't tithe today.

Can I tell you they're partially right?

And the part they're right on is that tithing was commanded under the law.

And if they did not tithe under the law, a curse would come their way.

But can I walk you back through scripture and help you understand the heart of the tithe?

The first person to tithe was not Moses, who God gave the law to.

The first person to tithe was a man by the name of Abram that we've been talking about every week.

The one who God introduced himself to as El Shaddai.

And let me tell you what happened.

He was in a situation where his nephew Lot had been taken captive, his whole family was taken prisoner, and they were carted off.

Abram doesn't have an army.

He's got 318 servants in his house.

Maybe they've been trained to fight a little bit, but these are not warriors.

These are cooks, these are herdsmen, these are farmers.

And he gathers up his 318 servants, and they go after his nephew Lot.

And let me tell you what they encounter.

They got to go up against four trained armies.

And if you read the story, these four trained armies had just defeated five other armies.

And Abram walks in with his butler, his baker, his cow herdsman, and like, you want some of this?

They defeat four armies, rescue his nephew and his family.

But watch this: not only do they rescue them, once they kill the other armies, all the stuff left behind is called the spoils of war.

So they come back home with his nephew, his family, and all this stuff.

And the very first thing Abraham does is he encounters a man by the name of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek was the king of a place called Salem, but he also was a high priest.

And Abram, of his own will, takes 10% of what he Melchizedek wasn't out there fighting, but he takes 10% and he presents it to Melchizedek.

Watch this.

Genesis 14, verse 18.

Genesis 14:18

Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought bread and wine.

He was priest of the most high God, and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God.

God is possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hands.

And he, Abram, gave him Melchizedek a tithe of all.

This man took 10% of what he just came back with.

Watch this.

Melchizedek didn't even ask for it.

Why would this man take 10% of what he just got?

Let me tell you why, because he understood.

It was God that did that.

He understood.

And when we went out here with 318 farmers and just defeated four armies and came back alive and rescued my nephew Lot.

And there was just honor in his heart.

It says, I'm gonna take a portion of what I know God just gave me and bring it back to the one that represents God in my life.

And he was teaching us a lesson that tithing is not something we do out of obligation, it's something we do out of consecration.

It's something we do because I have a love for God Almighty.

It's something we do.

Watch this because I realize God keeps waking me up every morning.

God keeps protecting my house.

God is the one that allows me to have this job, even if it's not the best job.

He still gave me this job, and I'm so grateful every day I get a chance to lift up my hands and open up my mouth and worship God.

I'm even grateful I get to live in this great country.

We may have a lot of flaws, but every Sunday you can come and worship God, and you don't have the fear of armies coming in and with machine guns to keep you from worshiping.

And because he had a reverence for God, he said, I don't need anybody to command me to do this.

He brought it out of honor, and this was 400 years before Moses was ever born.

So miss me with the thought that tithing is under the old covenant.

Abraham tithed, he taught his son Isaac to tithe, he taught his son Jacob to tithe.

How do you know that?

Because when Jacob was getting ready to go to his uncle Laban's house, this is what he said.

He said, God, if you'll be with me, if you'll take care of me, if you'll watch over me, I will come back to this mountain right here and worship you.

He said, Listen, everything you give me, I'll bring 10% of it back to you.

Where'd he get that from?

That's a heart issue, man.

That's a heart issue.

That's why nobody's gonna beat you over the head to make you tired.

Do what you want to do.

But when you know God has been good to you, let me finish this.

Malachi 3:8 says, Will a man rob God?

Malachi 3:8

Did you rob me?

But you say, How do we rob you, God?

He said, You rob me with the tithe and the offering.

Now, if you finish the rest of that out of Malachi, it says, You are cursed with a curse because you robbed me, even this whole nation.

Let me tell you this: the curse side of that verse does not apply to us.

Why?

Because of what your friend has told you.

That part was under the law.

They were commanded to do it under the law.

And if you did not do everything the law said, a curse would come your way.

But what does the Bible say about us?

Galatians 3 13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Let me be the friend.

If nobody's ever told you this, listen to me.

If you don't tithe, you're not going to be cursed.

Did you hear me?

If you don't tithe, you're not going to be cursed.

So the motivation for tithing should not be because I'm afraid of getting cursed.

Can I tell you the other side?

The motivation for tithing should also not be because I'm trying to get a bunch of money from God.

That's where the prosperity teachers mess it up.

I believe in prosperity, but the teachers mess it up with the wrong emphasis.

Make people think if you run and throw$30 on the stage, all this money's coming your way.

That's a lie, that's not.

You can throw your whole purse on the stage.

Ain't no extra money coming your way because you threw your purse on the stage.

It's a heart issue.

My motivation is not fear of a curse.

My motivation is not I'm trying to get a bunch from God like a vending machine.

My motivation is I love God.

My motivation is just like Abraham.

Come on, man.

Come on.

My motivation is I wouldn't have this if it wasn't from God.

You ain't got to beat me over the head to give God what belongs to him.

Everything I have, it belongs to him.

Everything I have wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

Amen.

Then he says this in verse 10.

He said, Bring all the tithe into your storehouse so there can be food in my house.

Then he said this, and try me in this.

That means test me.

The only place in the whole Bible you will see God say, Test me.

I dare you.

That's what he said.

I dare you to try me.

If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that you won't have enough room to receive it.

And then he says in verse 11, and I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes.

So he will not destroy the fruit of your ground.

And your vine will not bear, fail to bear fruit for you in the time of the field.

What is he saying?

Not only will I make sure that some comes in for you, watch this.

He says, I will rebuke the devourer that keeps eating everything I've given you.

What are you saying?

He said, I'll step in and stop the transmission from failing every three weeks.

I'll step in as soon as you get ahead, I'll step in and keep that garage door from failing on you every week.

See what he's really saying is 90% of what you have that is blessed by God is better than keeping a hundred percent of you out here on your own trying to figure it out.

So this is not a transaction, man.

We're not giving so we can get we're not giving because we're afraid.

We're giving because God has really been good to us.

And I want to challenge you, man.

If you've never tithed, take God up on what he said.

Try me, test me, put me to the test.

And I want I want to challenge you, man.

Starting with your next increase, honor God first, not with what you have left over.

And it's not a one-time thing.

I'm gonna do this for a week or two.

No, no, no.

He's saying, try me.

Put me to the test, live this way, and see if he cannot create a better life for you than the one you've created on your own.

Give God a shout and appraise in this place.

Woo! Now, if you're in this place and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, look up here at me for a moment.

This is the most important thing I've said all day long, right here.

If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I didn't say you were a bad person.

Honestly, right now in hell are some of the nicest people you ever want to meet because nobody loves them enough to tell them that being good is not enough to have a relationship with God.

He's a holy God.

He can have no interaction with sin.

The only reason he's able to have interaction and love us like he does and pull us close is because he's taken the blood of Jesus and he's applied it to our sin account.

But he won't do that against our will.

If you want him to apply that blood to your sin account, and that's one condition.

He doesn't ask you to write out a list of all the stuff you promised to stop doing.

He asks you to take your whole life, don't hold any of it back, surrender the whole thing to Jesus.

All the good parts, the messed up parts, surrender it all to him.

Let him become Lord over your life.

And if you're willing to do that, he'll take you right where you are, he'll wipe your sleigh clean, treat you like you've never sinned a day in your life, change you on the inside.

Then he'll take you by the hand like a little kid going to kindergarten and teach you how to make changes on the outside.

But it starts with a decision to surrender it all to him.

So if you're here today, if you're online today and you're ready to surrender to him, I want to pray for you.

We're not going to embarrass you.

This is not a church.

I'm going to ask you to stand up and come to the front.

Right there in your seat.

I want to pray for you.

But what I need you to do is this.

In the seat back pocket in front of you is a little card that just says say yes to Jesus.

If you're ready finally to say yes to Jesus and surrender your life to him, I'm going to have everybody bow their heads in a moment.

When they do, grab this card and hang on to it.

Because I'm going to count to three.

When I get to three, I want you to lift that card as high as you can in the air.

That's your way of saying to me, include me in on this prayer pastor.

I'm not going to ask you to stand up, I'm not going to ask you to come forward, but I am going to ask you to be bold enough that when I count to three, lift that card as high as you can.

Go ahead and bow your heads all over the room.

If you're ready to surrender, reach out and grab that card, hang on to it.

And I'm getting ready to count to three.

As soon as I get to three, lift that card as high as you can.

And would you do this for me?

Do it as quickly as you can.

Because right now the enemy is going to try everything he can to talk you out of this decision.

But this is your moment.

God is tugging at your heart.

Go ahead and say yes to him when I get to three.

Here we go.

One, two, three.

Lift it up, lift it up, lift it up.

All over the room.

I love it.

I love it.

So many cards.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven cards there, another card there, another one there.

One, two, three, four, five, six cards there, another card there.

Thank you.

See that card right there.

Anybody else?

Thank you.

Another card there, another one right there.

Beautiful, beautiful.

Every one of you that lifted that card, keep it up in the air.

I want you to whisper this prayer right there at your seat.

Say, Dear God in heaven, thank you for Jesus.

Thank you for sending him to die in my place.

But thank you for raising him from the dead.

I believe with all of my heart that Jesus is your Son and He died for me.

He paid the price for my sin.

And I invite you, Jesus, to be Lord over my life.

I surrender my life to you for the rest of my days.

And according to the Bible, I am right now born again.

Amen.

Come on, put your hands together, Impact Church.

Did you just make a decision for Jesus?

Welcome to the family.

We're so excited.

Trust me, we're clapping for you.

And we believe that you've made an important decision today.

We'd like to help you on your journey.

So if you'll follow the directions that are on screen, there is a free book you can download.

It's going to take you five to ten minutes of your day for the next seven days.

But our pastors have put together some amazing resources that we believe will help you on the journey ahead.

If you don't want it, nobody's going to email you, text you, bother you, anything like that.

We just want to make sure you are successful in your walk with Jesus.

Now, let me tell you, one of the things you should consider is baptism.

And if you're in the Jacksonville area, we do baptism after our first weekend service every month, and you can just scan the QR code that's on the screen.

Sign up for that.

I'd love to be a part of that journey with you, or any of our ministers would.

If you don't live in town, we do believe you should find a Bible-teaching church and at least go get baptized, even if you're still going to watch our service.

But download that book, it's free.

We're excited for your journey ahead, and we can't wait to be a part of that.

Now, this is a part of the service where we also demonstrate our generosity.

If you're just checking us out today, you don't feel any pressure to give.

But for those of you, this is your church, you know that we are generous is one of our core values.

And so you can give online or you can give through our app, which I really like.

You have the Apple Pay option right on our app.

Just go to your Google store or your Apple store, download the We Are Impact app.

It's also a great way to study notes that um come from the sermons that you watch on here.

And there's a lot of events on there as well.

But you can give through that app.

It's super easy, and we're just grateful that you partner with us week after week.

Well, we're so excited you joined us today.

Hope you have an amazing weekend, and we'll see you next time.