Prosperity

Now listen, now think, what if you could do something and be a part of something that would produce maybe a hundred billion dollars for the kingdom of God and the work of Jesus Christ extra in your lifetime? How many of you would do that? I want you to stand to your feet. Will you say the preacher's gone bananas? No, not yet. I was surprised when whether this church built a building or not was front page, primetime news, but that said to me that the First Baptist Church of Houston has status and prestige and influence, and what we do affects the world, and what we do here affects other churches. Very frankly, I'm tired of being under financial pressure. I'm tired of pledge campaigns. I'm tired of having to sweat to pay the light bill every month. I want to talk to you about something today that's absolutely revolutionary, and if you will listen like you've never listened before, if this church will plug in and tune in to what I'm going to say, what God has said to me that he's going to say, shockwaves will go out of here and other churches will start to do it, and there's no telling where to end around the world. I don't want you to look in your Bible, I want your undivided attention, I want you to just listen with your heart, and get a pencil and write down five things I'm going to tell you. I'm going to talk to you about prosperity, how to de -risk Christ, and in the process to make billions of dollars for God's work. I said billions, and maybe billions. Prosperity is having all you need and the capacity to enjoy it. Now you are trained by your culture to begin to think of dollar signs, but a lot of the people in this city who live in the wealthiest part of the town are miserable, and would give everything to have real prosperity of heart, and I want you to listen to what God has to say about how you and the kingdom of God can have an explosive prosperity, beginning at 12 o 'clock, October 13, 1974, you may be seated. During the past five years that I have been your pastor, and the last three years that I have been the radio and television pastor of some of you, the most important thing that I have ever preached to you and told you is how to be saved. That's the most important thing anybody will ever teach you. The second most important thing I have ever taught you and preached to you is how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And today I am going to tell you the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. The next five most important things you will ever learn in your life. And the 99 .5 % of us have never dreamed of, because I hadn't, and surely if I didn't know it, you couldn't know it. It's not original, I got it from somebody else by way of someone else who got it from the Lord only knows who. But I have tried it this week in my own life, I have tested it by the word of God, and I am telling you, it's revolutionary. Five principles of prosperity for you and the kingdom of God. Write them down. Number one, our heavenly Father has all the wealth in this world and the next. It all belongs to God. You say, where do you get anything like that? I get it from 2 Chronicles. Don't turn, just listen. Now, David was in front of the people and it was time for the offering. And when you come to an offering time with this kind of an attitude, you'll get so high and so excited that you'll have to backslide to settle down and listen to the sermon. David would go through a giving ritual in which all of the people would hold their offerings high to God, and they would dedicate them to the Lord, and here's what David would say. David blessed the congregation and all the people and said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel, our Father forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as heard above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou ranest over all, and in thine hand it is power and might to give wealth, and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore our God we thank thee and praise thy glorious name. Did you hear it? In thine hand it is to give wealth. Thine is the kingdom. All the world is yours. Everything in the earth is yours, O Lord. I'm convinced that most Christians don't believe that. It all belongs to God. None of it's the devil. None of it's the world. It all belongs to our heavenly thoughts. Jesus said, then the Lord's prayer, thine is the kingdom and thine is the power and thine is the glory forever and ever. The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof. The world and they that dwell thereof. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. You say, all right, if the Lord got it all, how come the devil got his foot on so much of it? Because God's people have never learned the secret of how to kick the devil off of what belongs to God and get hold of it for the Lord. Never have learned it. If the Lord owns it all and he does, then why can't I get some of it? I belong to the Lord, then some of it belongs to me. That's what I'm going to say. Now, it's not going to do any good for me to tell you the second point and the third and the fourth and the fifth until you get hold of this. Now, this is revolutionary. You don't own, you may be a billionaire, but you don't own anything. And the booze crowd may have BB billionaires, but they don't own anything. They are stewards and we are stewards, but it all belongs to our heavenly father. He owns AT &T. He owns First City. He owns American Airlines. He owns the stock market. He owns Fort Knox. He owns everything. It all belongs to our heavenly father. Now, you don't need to be worrying about saving him money. He's got plenty. He's just got it all. It all belongs to the Lord. Now, I know some of you are thinking, I go out there in Las Vegas and I see the devil try to look like they've got it all. They own everything. That's because God's people have never staked a claim and said, we're taking from the devil and from the world what belongs to our heavenly father. They don't know the possibility exists and they don't know how to do it. So, I am standing here talking to you today. You and I are on a ball that is going 66 ,000 miles a second in a perfect orbit around the sun. The British Astronomical Society decided that they could tell us how much force that was, how much, how much pull was being created. And they discovered that there were 300 million tons of centrifugal magnetic force on this ball pulling it toward the sun. 300 million tons of magnetic force pulling me from the earth, but I don't leave you. Because I am stuck to it by another power called gravity. And I don't understand gravity and I don't understand that power, but I'll tell you, some Christian scientists are beginning to listen to some other Christian scientists who are beginning to plug in on something called the Colossian force. In Colossians 1, 17, Paul says, all things are made by him and in him all things consist. The Greek word means stick together. Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. The Bible says that he upholdeth all the universe by the word of his power. and the only thing that is necessary for all the blood of this is for Jesus to quit talking. It all belongs to him, and I believe when they get to the bottom of the atom, they get down to the ultimate power, they're going to find the Colossian force, the power of Jesus Christ, who is the glue of eternity and society and the universe. Have you got that? How many of you believe that? Say amen. Amen. Our heavenly Father has all the wealth, all the forgiveness, all the knowledge, all the philosophy, all the power, all the glory, all the gold, all the business, all the power and riches and wealth. Thine, O Lord, is the earth and the fullness thereof. It all belongs to my Father. Number two, God wants it all in circulation. You say, where do you get that? All over the Bible. I mean all over. There is a benevolence. There is a giving spirit. There is a spirit of lavishness all throughout the scripture. The Bible says the heavens declare the glory of God. Why did God go to so much trouble as to create billions and billions of stars and planets we can't even number? Because the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament reveal of its handiwork. God just spread billions of planets and stars so that man could see in them that God is. He didn't put up two or three stars. He could have put up one sun to his glory, one moon to his glory. But he lavished the sky with trillions and quadrillions and endless eons. He come to the Garden of Eden and he created man. He put him in a beautiful equatorial paradise. With fruit and lusciousness. And he didn't even have to worship you. He would have obeyed the laws of God. And he splashed down in nature. And he carpeted down the beautiful valleys with the tops of flowers. And he grew the mighty trees. And all of nature is a glorious testimony to the lavish praise of God. And he doesn't want man to walk in his own power. He doesn't want a church to be dead. He doesn't want a man to be sick. He doesn't want you to have to face temptation and give up. He doesn't want your business to go broke. He wants his power and his glory and his money and his possessions and his goodness in circulation and operation. Come down to the day of calamity. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever, him that cometh unto me, I will in no more cast out. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He wants every man to be saved. Every man to be forgiven. He comes down to the day of Pentecost. And he says, I'll pour out my spirit on all flesh and divide men with air out of every nation under heaven. Every nation. And Baptists are benefactors of Pentecost. And he says, spread the power around. Spread the good news around. Spread forgiveness around. I don't want you to be inept, dried up, pitiful, poor, broke, broke. I want to lavish on you, goodness and power and blessing. He said, I want it all out in operation. I read the promise of God and listen. He says, given it shall be given to you, good major, pressed down, running over, bring me all the tithes in the storehouse. And see if I will not give you a blessing so great you can't even contain it. Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things that thou knowest not. He says, it's more than you ever hope to dream. Our God is able, exceeding, abundant, to give you all above what you hope and ask or think. You say, I know God can do what I ask. He said, I can do all you think or ask. You say, well, I know God can do part of what I think and ask. He said, all you can think or ask. And then he came along and said, wait a minute. I want you to know I can only do all you think or ask. I can do above all you think or ask. He said, did you get that? I'm talking about it's above all you think or ask. He said, wait a minute. It's something you haven't understood. You don't understand the endless resources of my Father's power and pleasure for his people. I am able to do exceeding, abundant, above all you hope or ask or dream or think or believe. Come now to heaven, Jesus said, I've gone to prepare a place for you in heaven. Where I am, there you may be also. And he says, eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, it's not entered into your thought process. Man's never dreamed what God prepares for them to love him. He never hoards his wealth. He never hoards his grace. He doesn't want that to happen. And the third thing is this. My heavenly Father owns all the wealth in the world. He wants it all in circulation. And third, it all belongs to his children. It all belongs to his children. Now listen. Deuteronomy. And it shall come to pass. If thou shalt hearken diligently into the voice of the Lord thy God to observe and do all of his commandments. That all the blessings shall come upon thee and overtake thee. He said, I'll try to run you down to give you blessings. If thou shalt hearken into the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city. Blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shalt thou be in the fruit of thy body. And blessed shall be the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattle. And the increase of thy kind and thy flocks and thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. I'll bless you when you go shopping. I'll bless your business. I'll bless everything. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in the storehouses. And in all that thou settest thine hand to do. And he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in good. In the fruit of thy body. In the fruit of thy cattle. In the fruit of thy ground. In the land which he swore unto the fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto thee all his good traitors. As he promised Abraham, you say, that's for the Jews. Well, I've got news for you. If you belong to Jesus Christ, you're a Jew. You're a spiritual Israelite. You are ingrusted, Jesus says, by the blood of the cross into oneness with him. You belong to him. I never did think about that. Listen to Galatians. Read it when you get home. It's in the third chapter. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Why did Jesus Christ hang on a tree? In order that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. I love the Jewish people. But it was only until this week that I figured out why they've got all the money and Baptists have not much. Because God blesses them and they understand the conditions and they take the blessing. And we don't realize that's our holiday too. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men. Listen, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. What is the promise of the Spirit? What did he promise him? Spiritual abundance and physical abundance as well. That's the two -fold blessing of Abraham. And if ye be Christ, Galatians 3, 24. Listen, if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed. And heirs of his promise, it belongs to me. It belongs to you. And some of us don't look very much like we are the children of a rich father. Now, do we really believe that all of that is mine? Do we believe it's really all ours? Then why those wrinkles in your breath? Why do you worry about the rising and falling of a stock market? Why did you have to ball out the little old lady for being, spending too much money last week? Why are you always locked in to an economy in which you run out of months at the end of your money? Why do we live this way? Why do we have to sweat every week to keep up the power? Why do we increase the quality program to missions a half a percent when it ought to be 50 %? Why do we live like puppers? I say to you that in any 30 seconds, probably $50 million drives up and down in front of that church. Why can't I get hold of it if it all belongs to me and God wants it in circulation? And I'm going to give you the key. Point number four. If it all belongs to my father, if he wants it all in circulation if as his son it is all mine why don't we have more of it number four the key to getting is giving listen to jesus chapter six luke give and it shall be given unto you good major pressed down taken together running over shall men given to your bosom for with the same measure you give it shall be measured to you again listen again give and it shall be given unto you good majors pressed down taken together and running over that's the way you get it that's the way you get it in circulation you start to give and as you give he starts to give more and you give back a percentage a portion of his more and it's more than it was to begin with and you are compounded and his work is compounded and productivity is generated for the kingdom of god the secret to getting is giving the more need we have in this church the only way god says i'll build that need meet that need is to give more i'm not sure i can pick up on that all about us we see you say preacher i'm not sure that's the right motive for me to give in order to get did you not hear what we said a moment ago for god so loved the world what did he do he gave what he gave his back to god in order that whosoever believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life god gave one son in order to get a billion sons it is the strategic and central principle of the christian faith that we are he brings many sons unto adoption and redemption by giving you say preacher i'm broke i'm in debt i'm facing bankruptcy my building my business doing no good i just can't get enough money listen to me if you have a getting problem it is because you have a giving problem we face a stagnant economy and the government will never do it but the church can start by giving to get it in circulation and change the faith of the whole world economy win millions to christ and bless themselves as well where is all the wealth they say money's tight who's got it where is it under rock somebody burn it up it is there somewhere god's wealth is there somewhere why can't we get hold of it why can't we kick the down off of it because the only way you get it is to give it you see you get in order to give in order to get in order to give in order to get because the only way you get it is to give it you see you get in order to give in order to get in order to give in order to get and you unstagnate the thing and you get in on God's giving cycle and things start to loosen up. But it takes the faith of his children to cash it in. I thought I was supposed to look at my bank account and save for a rainy day and hoard it up and get those stocks and bonds. I was reading this morning in Proverbs 11, 24 and 25 from the living Bible. It is possible to give away and become richer. It is also, said the wealthiest man and the wisest man who ever lived, it is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich by watering others. He waters himself. If you never learn another thing, the next 50 years you come to this church. If you know Jesus and you know how to be saved, don't forget this. Because of about 1 ,500 of you will change your lifestyle. Other churches in this city and world will do the same thing and billions will be generated for the kingdom of God and you'll not only not have one penny less, you'll have more than you've ever had. You see, I know some men in our church who have a lot and they give a lot and I wish I could have a lot so I would give a lot. You've got it backwards. They do not give a lot because they give a lot. They give a lot because they give a lot. You all know what I'm talking about. The cycle has got to start. We've got to unplug the stagnation. It is a crunching. Do you know we're trying, we're going to have an over a million dollar budget this year. Listen to me. It's all pressure, pressure, pressure, quit pushing the people. I figured it up this week. If every one of the 8 ,000 members of First Baptist Church were on welfare but they were tithing, we'd have three times as much income as we've got. Oh, if I could get, I would give. No, no, no, no, no, no. It is the principle of life. The trees give, the stars give, the earth give, the animals give, the plants give. All about it that is built into the warp and roof of creation, a giving atmosphere. Everything gives, but you come along to man and the devil tempts him and gets hold of these giving power. And man's philosophy is get all you can and can all you get and sit on the lid and poison the rest. Hold it up. Pay for a rainy day and to the devil with everything else. I challenge you that in less than five years we'll build that church debt -free. He's given a million dollars a year and then some to missions long before that. What do you need? What do you need? Where is the lack in your life? You say, oh, a lady said to me, oh, my need is strength. I'm so tired. Oh, she said, I'm always so tired. Oh, I'm so tired all the time. I feel like I've been earning in my high heels on a low earning ball. Oh, with a cold arm. Well, get up out of bed and drag it on over to your neighbor and mow his yard. Go down the street and find that little old crippled lady that can't get out and go buy her grocery. You need strength? Give away some strength and you'll come home feeling like a strong man. If you're going to be almost a young single adult, nobody loves me. Start loving somebody. Go down to Skid Row. Go to Star Hope Mission. Find some poor little ugly child nobody knows about. Love them. Love them. Take them home. Buy them a hamburger. Somebody will start loving you back. People don't understand me. They don't appreciate my position. Start understanding that somebody. And you'll get all the understanding you want. What's your need? Money? Oh, preacher, I've had a lot of you sincere people call me and say, I'd give my soul if I could give every dime for that building. And a surgeon called me this week, a godly man said, I have let my secretary go and my wife's going to work in there, in her place, and we're going to make other sacrifices, and we're going to give 40 % of our income, not until that building is built, but until it's paid for. That man will be a millionaire before I die. I doubled on, dare you, to try to start out giving my God. The secret of getting is giving. I took everything I had in the world and bought all the money I could to invest it in a piece of land in the southwest part of this town about two years ago to pledge more money than I had any sense pledged on this building campaign so I could be able to do it. I'm helping support my parents. I'm helping support all deans, some other things. Some weeks it gets tied. And those interest payments on that note for me to carry that thing, hoping I can make enough money to pay that pledge, comes due real, real often. If I didn't preach a revival or two or write a book or two once in a while, I couldn't do it. I got one coming up very, very shortly. And I preached a revival at Sagemont Baptist Church this week. And I've been in churches long enough to know about how much love offering they're going to give you. And I said, that one's going to give me about $800. I sit on the platform and they had a song leader, a young boy and his wife who reminded me of me and my wife when we were kids starting out. It's Thursday. And I had this sermon burning in my heart. God said, what about you? I said, the $800 I'm expecting, I said, Lord, that's my interest money, now my banker ain't got no religion. The Lord said, how about that $800? I called the pastor in and said, give me a blank check, I want to endorse it. I said, give this to the singer, tell him that's for him, my half of the love offering, I don't care what it is. Friday night I finished, he said, John, here's $700, there'll be another $100 in the mail, it's $800. Ten hours later, a brand new Christian of less than six weeks, not a member here, but who comes here, walked into my office and told me something God is putting on his heart, which will probably mean $2 million to the kingdom of God through this church the next two years. There was my getting and getting. You say, well, that wasn't for you. What blesses my church is for me. What's for me blesses my church. The secret to getting is giving. You with me? Right? Try number five. We are to give. Get every word of this down. We are to give. Not from our apparent resources, but from God's actual resources. We are to give not from our apparent resources, but from God's actual resources. Now, he's my father. He owns it all. It's all mine. He wants to get it out. The way he does it is by the fact that we start giving. I don't have anything to give. Where do I start? Need some money? Need some forgiveness? Give away some. Need time? Give away some. Need money? Give away some. How many money? Give away your shirt. Give away your TV. Give away something. In the name of Jesus, start the giving process. That's where you unplug the pump. Now, I'm going to have an offering in a little bit. I'm going to ask you to give the biggest Sunday morning offering you've ever given. You're going to think, all right, I've got this much in the bank. I've got this much in my checkbook. I expect to get this much this week. I've got my bill. That's reasoned giving. There is no blessing of God on reasoned giving. The blessing of God comes on revelation giving. Here's what you do. You go to the Lord and say, Lord, they're having a building fund campaign down there. The church needs a pledge. I don't know about the economy, but I know you and I know I'm yours. Speak to my heart, Lord. Forget the bank book and the stocks. How much, Lord? Oh, that much? Lord, that much. And you do it. And you pledge it. And you commit it. In faith, believing, you start somewhere. God has never failed to provide the funds for a revelation giver. Ever. That's the only kind of giving. You say, well, I thought you were supposed to tithe. Doesn't God bless the tithe of you? That's for baby Christians. Man, that's where you start. That's just paying your dues. You don't start this faith process until you give lavishly. Over and above what you don't have and don't know where you're going to get. That's what unplugged it. One day I remember old Peter came to the Lord. Over in Mark. Don't turn. Chapter 10, verse 28. Lord. Sound like a bunch of bad news. Oh, Lord. He said, we have left all and followed thee. Oh, I've done so much for you, Jesus. Jesus answered and said, verily I say unto thee, that is no man that has left house or brethren or sister or fathers or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake in the gospel, but that he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time houses, brethren, sisters, lands, mothers, children, and in this world, in the world to come. Oh, yes, Lord, I understand that. Oh, you prepared a home for me in heaven. Wait a minute, Peter. I didn't know what I said. There is no man that has left sacrifice, anything for the kingdom of God. And the only way you give to Jesus is to give through his body on earth. I won't repay a hundredfold in this world. I never knew a man that had to give up his daddy to follow Jesus. Didn't get a hundred daddies. Some of you, it cost you the devil's cry. It cost you your folks and a lot of things when you decided to become a Christian. Now you've got a hundred daddies, a hundred brothers, a hundred sisters. I don't know how many families in our church, two, three thousand. I left a nice home, moved to another nice home. I could just soon live in a tent. You know what? I moved to Houston. I got two, three thousand homes. I can walk in any of them. Say, I'm your pastor and I love you. Can I have some beans and corn, preacher, stay a couple of days? He said, I don't know. I'll give it. He said, in this world, right now. Can you imagine what happens up there in heaven when once in a while a believer gets hold of this truth? You know, all of us have a guardian angel that's got to produce and take care of us and protect us. I can imagine one day a couple of angels walking along and one says, hey, did you hear about what happened to old John? Learned about God's giving plan and he's getting in on it. Now, angel number two says, yeah, I'd like you to transfer from this dude I'm with. Man, nothing ever happened. Never does a thing. Goes into headquarters. Walks to headquarters. Put me in for transfer. Transfer me to old John. He's learned God's giving principle. He's going on giving everything away he's got. And the father promised a hundred times to repay. And we're going to have to work all day and all night to fulfill God's promise. He's found the key to the corn crib. I mean, he's found the key to the blessing place. And he's quit looking at the books and giving from reasoned giving. He started giving from revelation giving. Not from his apparent resources, but from God's actual resources. And faith. The process is started and heaven's aglow and everybody's excited. What John's doing. What do you mean, no John? Well, this has been a wonderful week. A lady, 91 years old, called from Louisiana. Saw it on TV. Said, I want to give $5. I'm a pension. Told you about a doctor. Man won $16 ,500 in a court case. More than he had planned. Not a member of the church. Loves the Lord. Loves the church. Called and said, I want to give him. Kids came. Teenagers came. Young adults came. Men facing bankruptcy came. Phones rang. Got two phone calls. My buddy. Ken Chafin at South Main. Praying for you, John. Charlie Williams. St. Paul Methodist called. Our church had a prayer meeting. A little tiny church in a place called Mims. Call said, we heard about you. We watch you on TV Sunday night. You've revolutionized our church. We're in a building program ourselves. We're bleeding and dying. We're sending you $50. I called down to the business manager. I said, Bob Johnson sent him $100 before noon. It's been a good week. I looked in the paper. It said, the price increase is the smallest in a year. Another red letter day for stocks. Dow Jones up more than the last seven months. Six largest in history. Prime's been cut 2%. I said, that's good, Lord. I said, the letters are good. The encouragement's good. The revelation you've given me is good. Now I've waited to tell you something. A very special announcement to make to our church. The best thing that's happened this week is the First Baptist Church and all of her members individually and collectively have received a grant. You say, from the bank? No, it wasn't that. You say, a government grant, but you know Baptist and church estate and all. No, it wasn't a government grant. Here it is. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Say, well, that's in the Bible. If I had said that they gave it to us from the bank, you'd be dancing on it. If I said the government came down, no strings attached, boy, we'd split the church on whether to take it or not. No question about it. Well, I'm sorry that only God said that. Wish I had a little higher authority to promise you just the Lord. Sorry. Let me tell you something. You say, I've about done all that, preacher. But I want to get some more in circulation. The only one way you get more, and that's to need more. Say, don't supply your needs. Say, I'm all out of needs. Everything's just fine. Go over to your neighbor's house. Gather up some of his needs. Come to the Lord and say, Lord, my neighbor is sick. He's got cancer, and he really ought to be healed. And Lord, he isn't likely to pray for himself. I reckon his need as my need. Jesus fulfilled his need. Lord, here's another neighbor, and he's unsaved, and he sure isn't going to be in church this morning praying. Lord, I'm coming to you. I'm bringing you his need. I reckon his need as my need, and I bring our need to you. Lord, need his need. You think God's going to turn down a prayer like that? Not at all. I'm going to go back. I recommended a half a percent on each one. Raise. And I'm going to go back and ask our committee, before they present this thing a week from Wednesday night, for next year's church budget to raise the mission giving locally. And the mission giving nation and worldwide by a whole bunch more. If we go broke, you can take it out of my salary. And I don't intend to lose or die. Because my God shall supply all your needs. Well, that's good. I really believe that. Praise the Lord. Do you? The next opportunity you have to give something is going to determine whether you really believe it. I'm going to ask us to take an offering now for the regular, weekly, budget needs of this precious church. I ought to write a check. Look, 2 ,000 of us normally give an average of $200 a Sunday. The average Sunday of the year. Ten cents a head in this Sunday morning plate. Ought to be $50 ,000 this morning. You want to empty your billfold? Well, just dump it out. What ought you to do? What you do, wait a minute, don't reach yet. Right now, we'll determine whether you really believe it. You've got to start somewhere. Many of you listening on radio and TV have called in and pledged this week, God love you. Many have not. Many of you have. Many of you have not. The number is 223 -4024. I'm in the phone all afternoon. And if you're watching this at night on television, we'll be here till midnight. And the number will be the same thing. 2 -2 -3 -4024. Many of you that looked at it, cold and calculated, ought to fast at dinner. And go home and get in the Ferber McGee Molly closet and get your knees down on a pillow and pray for two hours. And say, God, how much? I ought to be on this phone raising them. I hate to leave off the chapel. I hate to wait five years for a family center. I'm not saying we're going to. I'm not recommending that we do it. I am just saying I challenge us to see what we could do. Not because the goal is met or not, but for you to start getting this thing going. For God to bless your life. You ought to call in and pledge or raise your pledge. You have till midnight to do it. But right now, we'll receive an offering in a moment. We're going to take one minute for each of us to decide what we want to give to Jesus now. Now, dear Lord, this doesn't gee -haw with what we learn about economics in college. About what we know about our weekly bill at the grocery store, some of us have been tithing and that's good and things haven't changed, but we've never learned the lavish, hilarious principle of getting in on God's giving plan, that getting comes by giving, based on revelation, not on reason. Thank you that the blessing is ours and thine when we do so, and may we measure how much we believe what we have said amen to intellectually as we look a second time at the demonstration offering we make now for Jesus, in his name, amen.