1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:03,880 Well, good morning everybody. Happy Victoria Day weekend, 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,620 gorgeous day God has given to us today. 3 00:00:06,900 --> 00:00:08,660 Let's enjoy it to the Max. Why don't you? 4 00:00:08,670 --> 00:00:11,030 If you grab, grab a Bible and turn with me to Matthew's 5 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:13,830 Gospel, Matthew 25, we're in there again. 6 00:00:15,380 --> 00:00:19,770 Yesterday I spoke with with with Scott Vedder and for all of us 7 00:00:19,780 --> 00:00:21,290 who have been praying for that family. 8 00:00:21,300 --> 00:00:25,870 Scott's dad did pass away and knew the Lord loves the Lord, 9 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,190 but also difficult for the family. 10 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,510 So Scott just wanted to make sure that the church family knew 11 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,490 They're so grateful for the love and the support and the prayers 12 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,890 that we would offer. We have been offering up for 13 00:00:36,900 --> 00:00:40,830 them and just encourage you to continue to pray for this family 14 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,610 as they grieve the loss. They're up and heading up to 15 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,790 Ottawa today, but we were in Matthew chapter 25. 16 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,370 And if you'll notice if you were here last week, same text, we're 17 00:00:53,380 --> 00:00:55,890 using the same parable, Matthew 25. 18 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:58,050 The whole chapter is really dealing. 19 00:00:58,060 --> 00:01:01,810 So Jesus is talking about sort of the end times, the last days 20 00:01:02,220 --> 00:01:07,630 and, and that and that is the moment from his, his appearance 21 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,530 on the planet to the day that he's going to return and restore 22 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:12,950 all things. And the question is how are we 23 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:18,050 meant to live until he returns? And he tells 3 parables, one he 24 00:01:18,060 --> 00:01:21,700 talks about the, speaks about the, the parable of the of the 25 00:01:21,710 --> 00:01:23,840 10 virgins. And really the application of 26 00:01:23,850 --> 00:01:25,940 that is that we need to be watchful. 27 00:01:26,030 --> 00:01:29,260 We need to stay close to God and, and, and prepared for any 28 00:01:29,270 --> 00:01:32,080 moment for his return that that abiding piece. 29 00:01:32,170 --> 00:01:35,810 He also speaks about the parable tells the parable of the sheep 30 00:01:35,820 --> 00:01:37,980 and the goats. And the application of that is 31 00:01:37,990 --> 00:01:40,540 don't ignore those who are in need around you. 32 00:01:40,730 --> 00:01:44,120 And it's a parable really about how we need to love the people. 33 00:01:44,130 --> 00:01:46,440 And in so doing, we are loving God. 34 00:01:46,730 --> 00:01:49,840 But sandwiched between those two parables is the one that we've 35 00:01:49,850 --> 00:01:52,900 been looking at, and that's the parable of the 10 or the parable 36 00:01:52,910 --> 00:01:55,710 of the bags of gold, which is traditionally known as the 37 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:58,500 parable of the talents. And this is all about bearing 38 00:01:58,510 --> 00:02:00,370 fruit. It's all about making an 39 00:02:00,380 --> 00:02:02,890 investment and making it a difference with what God has 40 00:02:02,900 --> 00:02:06,870 given to us. So the question has to come to 41 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:09,770 us at some point is, what are we doing with our life? 42 00:02:09,820 --> 00:02:11,470 Like what? What are you guys doing with 43 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,860 your life? And there's there's three ways 44 00:02:15,510 --> 00:02:19,520 to live our lives. We can waste our life and 45 00:02:19,590 --> 00:02:22,440 there's an increasingly number increasing number of ways that 46 00:02:22,450 --> 00:02:26,300 we can do that. We can spend our life and 47 00:02:26,350 --> 00:02:29,760 advertisers and media influences are giving us many ways that we 48 00:02:29,770 --> 00:02:32,760 can spend our life. Or thirdly, we can invest our 49 00:02:32,770 --> 00:02:36,190 life. We can invest in making a 50 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,690 difference gonna go far beyond ourselves into multiplay that 51 00:02:39,700 --> 00:02:41,230 multiply that difference in the world. 52 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:44,310 I, I, I got to admit and acknowledge that for a huge 53 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:49,540 chunk of my life, I had no investment mentality at all. 54 00:02:49,610 --> 00:02:51,630 It's just, I'm gonna take life as it comes. 55 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:54,640 I'll do this, I'll do that kind of basically living in my own 56 00:02:54,650 --> 00:02:57,480 little world. And Jesus is pulling us out of 57 00:02:57,490 --> 00:03:01,740 our own little world and showing us that God has given us 58 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:06,340 something to invest for his glory and to multiply his 59 00:03:06,390 --> 00:03:10,200 ministry among in the earth. There's a reason why I have what 60 00:03:10,210 --> 00:03:13,800 I have. There is a reason why we have 61 00:03:13,850 --> 00:03:17,090 what we have. We can think about, we can think 62 00:03:17,100 --> 00:03:18,260 about, we've talked about the gospel. 63 00:03:18,270 --> 00:03:20,470 We can talk about our possessions, our finances. 64 00:03:21,140 --> 00:03:24,010 The people are like, there's a reason why we have what we have 65 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,750 and it's not just for ourselves. And this is really the message 66 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:30,560 that runs all the way through Scripture. 67 00:03:30,610 --> 00:03:32,560 It's kind of a wake up call to us. 68 00:03:32,650 --> 00:03:38,200 It's not just for ourselves and and it's not even just to be 69 00:03:38,210 --> 00:03:40,550 giving away. And that's a huge part of the 70 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,370 Christian message as well. We need to be generous, but 71 00:03:43,380 --> 00:03:47,750 we're meant to invest it so that we can multiply what God has 72 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,470 given to us for his glory. And this passage that we're 73 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,530 looking at again today realigns us with the values and the 74 00:03:55,540 --> 00:03:59,330 priorities of God. And so Lord, we pray that as we 75 00:03:59,340 --> 00:04:03,120 open up your scriptures today, that you grant to us your favor, 76 00:04:03,500 --> 00:04:07,310 that you would teach us exactly what we need to hear today, that 77 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,770 our lives could more reflect you in Jesus name and by the power 78 00:04:11,780 --> 00:04:14,980 of your Holy Spirit, come, Amen, Amen. 79 00:04:15,330 --> 00:04:19,140 Matthew chapter 25. And we are starting in verse 14 80 00:04:19,930 --> 00:04:22,160 again. So this is Jesus speaking. 81 00:04:22,620 --> 00:04:25,420 And again, he's he, he's talking about, this is the kind of life 82 00:04:25,430 --> 00:04:28,000 talking about living the kind of life that were meant to live 83 00:04:28,010 --> 00:04:31,960 until he returns again. It will be like a man going on a 84 00:04:31,970 --> 00:04:35,840 journey who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to 85 00:04:35,850 --> 00:04:39,110 them. To 1 he gave 5 bags of gold, to 86 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,870 another 2 bags and to another one bag each according to his 87 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:45,020 ability. Then he went on a. 88 00:04:45,170 --> 00:04:49,240 Then he went on his journey. The man who had received 5 bags 89 00:04:49,250 --> 00:04:54,160 of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained 5 bags 90 00:04:54,170 --> 00:04:57,890 more. So also the one with two bags of 91 00:04:57,900 --> 00:05:01,520 gold gained 2 more. But the man who had received one 92 00:05:01,530 --> 00:05:05,440 bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid it his master's 93 00:05:05,450 --> 00:05:08,990 money. After a long time, the master of 94 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,260 those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 95 00:05:12,710 --> 00:05:16,140 The man who had received 5 bags of gold brought the other five. 96 00:05:16,150 --> 00:05:19,820 Master, he said, you entrusted me with 5 bags of gold. 97 00:05:19,830 --> 00:05:24,510 CI have gained 5 more. His master replied. 98 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,350 Well done, good and faithful servant. 99 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:29,450 You have been faithful with a few things. 100 00:05:29,740 --> 00:05:32,250 I will put you in charge of many things. 101 00:05:32,580 --> 00:05:35,420 Come and share your master's happiness. 102 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:38,890 The man with two bags of gold also came. 103 00:05:38,900 --> 00:05:41,530 Mastery said. You entrusted me with two bags 104 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:44,230 of gold. CI have gained 2 more. 105 00:05:44,420 --> 00:05:46,770 His master replied. Well done, good and faithful 106 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:48,730 servant. You have been faithful with a 107 00:05:48,740 --> 00:05:51,610 few things. I will put you in charge of many 108 00:05:51,620 --> 00:05:54,190 things. Come and share your master's 109 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:56,690 happiness. We're going to pause there. 110 00:05:59,030 --> 00:06:02,390 The operative word, the, the, the keyword in this parable is 111 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,930 the word entrusted, that we have been entrusted with something 112 00:06:07,940 --> 00:06:09,570 from God. And if you think about it, 113 00:06:09,630 --> 00:06:13,210 everything that we have is a gift from God, like everything 114 00:06:13,220 --> 00:06:18,290 that I have belongs to God. The earth is the Lord, Lords and 115 00:06:18,300 --> 00:06:20,300 everything in it, the world and all who live in it. 116 00:06:20,950 --> 00:06:24,550 Everything belongs to God. In other words, nothing really 117 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,470 belongs to me. Nothing belongs to me. 118 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,270 And this parable is a little bit of a wake up call. 119 00:06:31,340 --> 00:06:33,940 Parables do this. Did Jesus goes for the shock 120 00:06:33,950 --> 00:06:35,790 value. There's something in there that 121 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:40,080 should stun us a little bit. And this one doesn't belong to 122 00:06:40,090 --> 00:06:44,660 me. Heard the story of a woman who 123 00:06:44,670 --> 00:06:47,640 had finished shopping coming out of the store and with the 124 00:06:47,650 --> 00:06:50,120 shopping bags returning to her car. 125 00:06:50,210 --> 00:06:55,500 And she sees four men in the car and she drops her bags and pulls 126 00:06:55,510 --> 00:06:58,000 out a handgun. This obviously from the States 127 00:06:58,430 --> 00:07:03,370 and said I've got a gun and I know how to use it, get out of 128 00:07:03,380 --> 00:07:05,540 my car. And these guys are so, you know, 129 00:07:05,550 --> 00:07:07,900 just kind of freaking out and they all took off. 130 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,430 And she, you know, loads her bags in the car, obviously 131 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,130 visibly shaken and sits in the seat. 132 00:07:12,140 --> 00:07:14,950 And for the life of her, she could not get her key to fit 133 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,410 into the ignition. She realize, oh man, this is not 134 00:07:18,420 --> 00:07:21,530 my car. My car is part several spaces 135 00:07:21,540 --> 00:07:25,730 down on the road. She gets in her own car, drives 136 00:07:25,740 --> 00:07:27,920 down to the police station and turns herself in. 137 00:07:27,930 --> 00:07:30,710 And she's telling the story to the desk clerk and he's 138 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,160 chuckling away. And he points down to the end of 139 00:07:33,170 --> 00:07:35,220 the counter. And there's these four guys who 140 00:07:35,230 --> 00:07:37,590 are reporting. There's this woman, this old 141 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,340 woman of five foot tall, thick glasses, white curly hair, 142 00:07:41,390 --> 00:07:45,020 carrying a handgun, hijacking our car, right. 143 00:07:45,090 --> 00:07:47,220 Anyway, they didn't press charges. 144 00:07:47,290 --> 00:07:51,180 So that was really good. But there was this just this 145 00:07:51,230 --> 00:07:55,260 little mini revelation. This doesn't belong to me and 146 00:07:55,270 --> 00:07:58,950 this is what Jesus wants us to get from this parable is like 147 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,490 everything I have. It doesn't belong to me. 148 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:06,420 It has been entrusted to me. I am simply a steward of that 149 00:08:06,490 --> 00:08:10,100 which God has given to me and this changes everything. 150 00:08:10,110 --> 00:08:12,940 The word that Jesus used, we looked at this last week for a 151 00:08:12,950 --> 00:08:17,100 bag of gold is Talanton. It's where we get the word 152 00:08:17,150 --> 00:08:20,900 English word talent, which is often associated with abilities 153 00:08:21,010 --> 00:08:23,460 with a capabilities and that could be it. 154 00:08:23,470 --> 00:08:26,920 But really it's it's talent on is a weight and that's why it 155 00:08:26,930 --> 00:08:31,110 was associated with money. It was something that's weighty 156 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:36,440 and we it's something that we were meant to invest, not just 157 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:41,370 to enjoy for, for for ourselves, but to invest in order to make 158 00:08:41,380 --> 00:08:44,220 more. There's an expectation that God 159 00:08:44,230 --> 00:08:49,100 has for each one of us that we would put to work that which we 160 00:08:49,110 --> 00:08:51,020 have been given in order to multiply. 161 00:08:51,090 --> 00:08:53,400 And this is what brings him great joy. 162 00:08:53,690 --> 00:08:56,200 Come and share your Master's happiness. 163 00:08:56,210 --> 00:08:59,740 This is something that is supposed to ignite joy in our 164 00:08:59,750 --> 00:09:02,180 hearts in doing. I want to follow and be like my 165 00:09:02,190 --> 00:09:04,450 master in this way. Now the wait is this is what we 166 00:09:04,460 --> 00:09:06,740 looked at last week. The whitest thing that God has 167 00:09:06,750 --> 00:09:10,520 given to us to talk about talent on is the gospel. 168 00:09:11,550 --> 00:09:15,420 It's the most valuable thing, the message and the ministry of 169 00:09:15,430 --> 00:09:17,840 Jesus Christ. And we were meant to not just to 170 00:09:17,850 --> 00:09:19,780 receive this for ourselves. So that's great, man. 171 00:09:19,910 --> 00:09:26,500 I'm going to have but to but to multiply that message and share 172 00:09:26,510 --> 00:09:31,400 the ministry of Jesus throughout the world to make other disciple 173 00:09:31,410 --> 00:09:35,850 makers that are carrying this incredible message that I'm 174 00:09:35,860 --> 00:09:38,930 loved by God like you are loved by God. 175 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,420 So much so that he took on flesh. 176 00:09:41,430 --> 00:09:45,890 He wrapped himself in flesh and came and He bore our suffering 177 00:09:45,900 --> 00:09:47,830 on that cross. He lived that life that we were 178 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,560 designed to live, but failed to do so because of our sin of 179 00:09:50,570 --> 00:09:55,310 rebellion against Him. But it's nailed to that cross so 180 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,320 that the payment for our sin could be paid and that we could 181 00:09:59,330 --> 00:10:03,000 get off Scott free and that our lives could be healed. 182 00:10:03,050 --> 00:10:05,720 He ascended into, He's raised from the dead, ascended into 183 00:10:05,730 --> 00:10:10,160 heaven, and now has sent his Holy Spirit to be with us. 184 00:10:10,170 --> 00:10:13,280 Those who have been reconciled in our relationship with Him. 185 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,120 Nothing, any, nothing standing in our way, in a relationship 186 00:10:17,130 --> 00:10:21,580 with Him now filled with the Holy Spirit, that fruit of the 187 00:10:21,590 --> 00:10:24,700 Spirit, love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and 188 00:10:24,710 --> 00:10:26,990 goodness and faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, is all 189 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,500 exuding from our life. And to spread His goodness 190 00:10:30,510 --> 00:10:34,160 throughout the world to be making other disciples who are 191 00:10:34,170 --> 00:10:36,440 spreading his goodness throughout the world, loving 192 00:10:36,450 --> 00:10:38,700 him, loving people and passing it on. 193 00:10:39,090 --> 00:10:41,780 That's the plan that God has for us. 194 00:10:41,890 --> 00:10:44,600 Now last week I showed a little video. 195 00:10:44,690 --> 00:10:47,240 It had some questions after the service about that video like, 196 00:10:47,250 --> 00:10:49,620 well, what exactly are you referring to here? 197 00:10:49,660 --> 00:10:53,780 You remember there was a it was really comparing the difference 198 00:10:53,790 --> 00:10:57,620 in the effectiveness of filling stadiums full of people and, and 199 00:10:57,630 --> 00:11:03,640 preaching the gospel to them versus just focusing on one 200 00:11:03,690 --> 00:11:08,460 person and making them a disciple that they could pass it 201 00:11:08,470 --> 00:11:09,570 on. And there's the power of 202 00:11:09,580 --> 00:11:11,650 multiplication that it's far more effective. 203 00:11:11,660 --> 00:11:15,300 We can reach the World far faster if we just invest in one 204 00:11:15,310 --> 00:11:20,120 person every year, that they would then invest in another 205 00:11:20,130 --> 00:11:23,100 person every year and that there's a multiplication effect 206 00:11:23,170 --> 00:11:27,520 that happens in that way. Now, that is not to say just to 207 00:11:27,530 --> 00:11:32,260 clarify that we shouldn't be filling stadiums full of people 208 00:11:32,270 --> 00:11:33,780 and preaching the gospel. We should be. 209 00:11:33,830 --> 00:11:36,260 This is awesome. We know continue to do that. 210 00:11:36,270 --> 00:11:38,920 We want to make sure that we're discipling people as well, not 211 00:11:38,930 --> 00:11:41,620 just bringing people across the line that they believe, but that 212 00:11:41,630 --> 00:11:47,060 they also are following Jesus and making him known on on the 213 00:11:47,070 --> 00:11:50,760 other side. The point is not that, hey, 214 00:11:50,770 --> 00:11:53,460 every year you need to disciple a new person. 215 00:11:53,830 --> 00:11:56,360 It could be a few years, it could be 6 months, it could be 216 00:11:56,370 --> 00:11:58,380 whatever, but that we're investing in a few. 217 00:11:59,060 --> 00:12:01,670 That's the point. We're investing in a few to be 218 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:04,930 able to make disciples who are continuing to pass it on. 219 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,670 It's all about the power of multiplication. 220 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,690 Now, many of us are involved in many people's lives, right? 221 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:14,950 We have a lot of relationships and sometimes that can be very 222 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:17,210 overwhelming. And we have, you know, various 223 00:12:17,220 --> 00:12:22,750 levels of involvement, but we need to follow Jesus example and 224 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,940 saying we don't want to ignore the many, but we definitely want 225 00:12:25,950 --> 00:12:30,260 to be focusing on a few. Jesus wanted to reach the whole 226 00:12:30,270 --> 00:12:34,630 world, and the reason why we're sitting here is that. 227 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,730 But what does he do? He doesn't ignore the masses, 228 00:12:37,740 --> 00:12:42,210 but he focuses on a few people, 12 disciples, and through them 229 00:12:42,260 --> 00:12:43,670 the whole world has been reached. 230 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:45,970 You and I are sitting here as a result of his ministry. 231 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,670 That's this whole strategy, investing in a few, but that 232 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:57,270 investment needs to happen. And so we need to, we need to 233 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:59,490 grapple with that and realize, OK, it's not just about 234 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:03,290 sprinkling things here and there, which is fine, but who am 235 00:13:03,300 --> 00:13:07,650 I going to focus on to develop as a disciple and send them out 236 00:13:08,060 --> 00:13:11,450 to develop other people as disciples so that multiplication 237 00:13:11,510 --> 00:13:14,470 effect takes place. God knows our capabilities. 238 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,300 He knows it, you know, different stages of our life. 239 00:13:17,310 --> 00:13:21,380 That's easier than other stages. If you're a parent of young 240 00:13:21,390 --> 00:13:25,240 children, your main responsibility is to raise your 241 00:13:25,250 --> 00:13:27,980 kids in the ways of the Lord, making disciples of them. 242 00:13:28,030 --> 00:13:30,990 That is the the job description of a parent. 243 00:13:31,050 --> 00:13:35,050 But he knows our capabilities and he gives to us according to 244 00:13:35,060 --> 00:13:36,500 our capabilities and our abilities. 245 00:13:36,510 --> 00:13:39,280 He knows that each one of us is unique in our personality and 246 00:13:39,290 --> 00:13:41,590 our opportunities. That's why it says you know in 247 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:46,240 verse 15 it is to 1. He gave 5 bags of gold to 248 00:13:46,250 --> 00:13:50,820 another 2 bags and to another one bag each according to his 249 00:13:50,830 --> 00:13:55,650 ability. Very, very specific and so none 250 00:13:55,660 --> 00:14:01,860 of us can really so and, and what he expects of each one of 251 00:14:01,870 --> 00:14:03,760 us. And this is where we need to 252 00:14:03,770 --> 00:14:06,380 kind of cleanse our palate because many of us think, man, 253 00:14:06,390 --> 00:14:08,460 God expects so much of us and it's overwhelming. 254 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,760 God expects of us what is entirely appropriate. 255 00:14:13,420 --> 00:14:17,630 He made you, He knows you, He loves you, and He's given to you 256 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,850 that which you are meant to invest. 257 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:23,210 And we don't. We could never. 258 00:14:23,220 --> 00:14:25,190 In other words, we can never use the excuse that we're 259 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,370 overwhelmed by what God has given to us to do. 260 00:14:30,190 --> 00:14:33,600 A lot of things in life will overwhelm us, but not what God 261 00:14:33,610 --> 00:14:37,290 is giving me to do. And, and, and that that's a, 262 00:14:37,300 --> 00:14:39,720 that's a clarifying truth for me. 263 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,560 I realize I put a lot of expectations on myself that God 264 00:14:42,570 --> 00:14:45,280 never puts on me. He's good. 265 00:14:45,430 --> 00:14:50,140 He knows me well and he calls me to invest the little that I 266 00:14:50,150 --> 00:14:51,730 have. Each one of us is gonna be given 267 00:14:51,830 --> 00:14:54,840 different amounts and we compare ourselves to other people and 268 00:14:54,850 --> 00:14:56,970 look how much they got or look at how effective they are. 269 00:14:56,980 --> 00:14:58,860 You know, God doesn't think that way. 270 00:14:58,870 --> 00:15:01,020 Think about like the the commendation that is given to 271 00:15:01,030 --> 00:15:02,530 the first two servants. It's identical. 272 00:15:03,610 --> 00:15:07,330 They're given different amounts. They they, they reproduce 273 00:15:07,340 --> 00:15:10,890 different amounts and God says well done, good and faithful 274 00:15:10,900 --> 00:15:15,520 servant, come and share your master's happiness exactly the 275 00:15:15,530 --> 00:15:18,190 same. So we need to be, we need to be 276 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,420 responsible with what we have been given and invest that for 277 00:15:22,430 --> 00:15:24,840 God's glory to spread his love throughout the world. 278 00:15:24,850 --> 00:15:30,700 And then notice in verse 21 that as we obey our capabilities 279 00:15:31,110 --> 00:15:36,970 increase our our capacity increases, you see. 280 00:15:36,980 --> 00:15:39,330 And he says you have been faithful with a few things. 281 00:15:39,340 --> 00:15:41,790 I will put you in charge of many things. 282 00:15:42,610 --> 00:15:47,170 You know, when we use our muscle, our muscle gets stronger 283 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,950 and we're capable of lifting more than we were before with 284 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,210 the same amount of effort. And this is the same thing from 285 00:15:53,220 --> 00:15:55,310 a spiritual standpoint. If we don't use our muscles, 286 00:15:55,540 --> 00:15:58,440 what happens? That they atrophy, we get weaker 287 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,910 and we can't do as much anymore. So from the perspective of some 288 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:05,030 of the saying, hey man, there's so much that I have to do know. 289 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:09,290 Just just do what we are called to do right now in the present. 290 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,790 And as you're faithful, those muscles will develop, your 291 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,030 capacity will grow, and God will be magnified. 292 00:16:16,380 --> 00:16:20,800 Just trust me in this. The Lord says, trust me, we're 293 00:16:20,810 --> 00:16:29,250 meant to be like the master. He is all about expanding his 294 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,630 Kingdom throughout the world. That's that's what he's about, 295 00:16:33,410 --> 00:16:38,060 and he wants his children to be doing the same, to multiply his 296 00:16:38,070 --> 00:16:42,940 goodness throughout the world. Each of us have been given so 297 00:16:42,950 --> 00:16:45,740 much, especially in this part of the world. 298 00:16:46,710 --> 00:16:49,280 And you know, in Scripture says that we we've been given 299 00:16:49,290 --> 00:16:53,600 everything for our enjoyment, like we're to enjoy what God has 300 00:16:53,610 --> 00:16:57,060 given to us. But or maybe should say, and we 301 00:16:57,070 --> 00:17:02,370 are meant to build his Kingdom. Enjoy and continue to invest. 302 00:17:02,790 --> 00:17:05,680 Don't lose out on that investment on that investment 303 00:17:05,690 --> 00:17:06,930 piece. You know, one of the Scripture 304 00:17:06,940 --> 00:17:13,579 passages that continues to haunt me and yet still hold me is Luke 305 00:17:13,589 --> 00:17:17,300 chapter 12, verse 48. Jesus says from everyone who has 306 00:17:17,310 --> 00:17:20,060 been given much, much will be demanded. 307 00:17:20,750 --> 00:17:25,099 And from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more 308 00:17:25,250 --> 00:17:31,330 will be asked. There's a responsibility that we 309 00:17:31,340 --> 00:17:33,520 have and we need to take that responsibility seriously. 310 00:17:34,030 --> 00:17:38,340 But at the same time, it's God who's entrusted me with these 311 00:17:38,350 --> 00:17:41,540 things. And so I know, I know that he 312 00:17:41,550 --> 00:17:43,760 knows what he's doing. And all I need to do is be 313 00:17:43,770 --> 00:17:47,140 faithful for the day and the day and the day. 314 00:17:47,570 --> 00:17:53,340 So what is going to compel or deter us from making that 315 00:17:53,350 --> 00:17:56,510 investment? What is it that can what, what, 316 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:58,420 what is it that will compel or deter us? 317 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:01,850 It's really our view of the master. 318 00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:06,370 This is the This is the other point of the parable, starting 319 00:18:06,380 --> 00:18:10,330 in verse 24, speaking about the third servant. 320 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,970 Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. 321 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:19,320 Master, he said, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where 322 00:18:19,330 --> 00:18:21,630 you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered 323 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,770 seed. So I was afraid, and I went out 324 00:18:24,780 --> 00:18:28,420 and hid your gold in the ground. See, here's what belongs to you, 325 00:18:29,460 --> 00:18:32,750 his master replied. You wicked lazy servant. 326 00:18:33,060 --> 00:18:35,700 So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where 327 00:18:35,710 --> 00:18:38,170 I've not scattered seed? Well, then, you should have put 328 00:18:38,180 --> 00:18:41,930 my money on deposit with the bankers so that when I returned 329 00:18:42,260 --> 00:18:44,780 I would have received it back with interest. 330 00:18:48,020 --> 00:18:53,570 Our view of the Master, our view of God will either inspire us or 331 00:18:53,580 --> 00:18:57,870 it will deter us. It'll it'll, it'll close it shut 332 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,250 us down from the desire to want to invest what he is giving, 333 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,430 what he's given to us for the expansion of his Kingdom. 334 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,070 It's our view. It's our view of God. 335 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,610 So just talk about what what deterred this particular 336 00:19:11,620 --> 00:19:15,960 servant? He saw the Master as a hard man. 337 00:19:17,270 --> 00:19:22,240 Many of us see God as a hard God, a taskmaster asking us to 338 00:19:22,250 --> 00:19:23,740 do what we're incapable of doing. 339 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:30,050 If that's the case, our joy will be literally sucked out of our 340 00:19:30,060 --> 00:19:34,040 Christian life is gonna be a constant tug of war with God, 341 00:19:34,050 --> 00:19:37,400 and God wants to liberate us and see just how good he is. 342 00:19:37,410 --> 00:19:42,440 But here he's a hard man. There's no love at all for the 343 00:19:42,450 --> 00:19:45,180 master in this case. It's like, you know, he's 344 00:19:45,190 --> 00:19:48,180 harvesting where he is, not where, where he has not sown 345 00:19:48,470 --> 00:19:50,420 gathering where he is not scattered seed. 346 00:19:50,430 --> 00:19:52,280 It's like he's getting us to do all the work. 347 00:19:52,330 --> 00:19:56,570 Like, what is he doing? I'm just a servant doing his 348 00:19:56,580 --> 00:19:58,110 bidding. It's kind of like what's in this 349 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:00,070 for me? You kind of you kind of sense 350 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,400 that. And he's afraid of the master. 351 00:20:02,410 --> 00:20:06,060 Like, OK, well, you know, if I, if I blow it, then he's gonna be 352 00:20:06,070 --> 00:20:09,920 on me, you know? He, he, I, I, I'm, you know, so 353 00:20:09,930 --> 00:20:12,650 I'm gonna hide. I'm gonna bury this money and 354 00:20:12,660 --> 00:20:17,830 then give it back to him. Now I mentioned last week, you 355 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,750 know, he gave the money back to the master. 356 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:26,950 Like why such the harsh response you wicked lazy Sir? 357 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,850 It's not even like this guy murdered anybody or was a thief 358 00:20:29,860 --> 00:20:34,490 or he gave his money back and yet he's a wicked lazy servant. 359 00:20:34,740 --> 00:20:39,330 That's a wake up call to me. You didn't do anything with what 360 00:20:39,340 --> 00:20:43,100 God gave him. He didn't make the investment 361 00:20:44,940 --> 00:20:48,990 and and and and that is why he's referred to as as wicked. 362 00:20:55,260 --> 00:21:00,750 What is it then that would compel us to invest for the 363 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,050 expansion of God's Kingdom? It's a totally different view of 364 00:21:04,060 --> 00:21:06,090 God. These are these first two 365 00:21:06,100 --> 00:21:09,410 servants. They were like they, they, they 366 00:21:09,420 --> 00:21:12,070 received what they got and was like hot dog. 367 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,950 Now I'm going for it, you know, at once they put it to work. 368 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,600 Why? It's like the master's good. 369 00:21:19,910 --> 00:21:23,900 You look at He's entrusted his wealth with me. 370 00:21:24,030 --> 00:21:29,200 Like with me, him with me. I wanna do everything I can to 371 00:21:29,210 --> 00:21:32,420 expand that. I wanna put a smile on his face. 372 00:21:32,470 --> 00:21:36,820 I wanna share his joy in spreading his love throughout 373 00:21:36,890 --> 00:21:39,210 the world. Totally, totally different. 374 00:21:40,420 --> 00:21:44,230 Embracing the adventure, Just embracing it. 375 00:21:45,610 --> 00:21:53,630 Sharing the master's joy as we multiply disciples, the joy that 376 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,110 we have in the Lord, that is the inspiration. 377 00:21:56,260 --> 00:22:01,180 Like if, if there's no joy in the goodness of God, why would I 378 00:22:01,220 --> 00:22:04,410 be motivated at all to share the message of Jesus Christ with 379 00:22:04,420 --> 00:22:07,290 another people? Come and receive Jesus and be as 380 00:22:07,300 --> 00:22:12,200 miserable as I am. You know, it's the joy is it's 381 00:22:12,210 --> 00:22:15,140 like we're passing on the joy of the Lord as much as we're 382 00:22:15,150 --> 00:22:17,740 passing on the message that brings us joy. 383 00:22:18,610 --> 00:22:24,110 Now what Jesus is doing is he's realigning the way that we 384 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:27,770 think, the way that we act, the way that we feel, the way that 385 00:22:27,780 --> 00:22:34,320 we live completely in every aspect of our life with this 386 00:22:34,330 --> 00:22:37,360 message, with being one who invests in the Kingdom of God. 387 00:22:38,350 --> 00:22:41,670 So I would be remiss if we didn't at some point cause 388 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:43,760 we're, you know, this is where we're getting, getting to the 389 00:22:43,770 --> 00:22:47,160 end of this message series and talking about probably the most 390 00:22:47,210 --> 00:22:49,600 obvious application and that is with our finances. 391 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:51,970 He's talking about bags of gold, right? 392 00:22:51,980 --> 00:22:55,630 He's talking about like a monetary amount that we are 393 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:57,950 meant to invest. We're meant to invest our 394 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:01,510 finances for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. 395 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:03,230 And that can happen in a lot of different ways. 396 00:23:04,670 --> 00:23:06,780 But our money is not just for ourselves. 397 00:23:09,660 --> 00:23:15,090 Jesus tells another parable. Luke Chapter 12 about this and 398 00:23:15,100 --> 00:23:16,630 again a little bit of a wake up call. 399 00:23:16,700 --> 00:23:19,770 He said this the ground of a certain rich man yielding an 400 00:23:19,780 --> 00:23:22,350 abundant harvest. He thought to himself, what 401 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:24,670 shall I do? I have no place to store my 402 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,020 crops. Then he said, this is what I'll 403 00:23:27,030 --> 00:23:29,650 do. I'll tear down my barns and 404 00:23:29,660 --> 00:23:32,870 build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 405 00:23:33,020 --> 00:23:36,850 And I'll say to myself, you have plenty of grain laid up for many 406 00:23:36,860 --> 00:23:40,850 years. Take life easy, eat, drink and 407 00:23:40,860 --> 00:23:42,860 be merry. That line. 408 00:23:42,910 --> 00:23:46,200 Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry. 409 00:23:46,210 --> 00:23:48,080 That sounds like the dream, doesn't it? 410 00:23:49,110 --> 00:23:52,870 And yet it's the very thing that Jesus goes to town and he says, 411 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,790 But God said to him, You fool, this very night your life will 412 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,520 be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have 413 00:23:59,530 --> 00:24:02,610 prepared for yourself? And then he concludes by saying, 414 00:24:02,620 --> 00:24:05,630 this is how it will be with whoever stores up things for 415 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:13,450 themselves, but is not rich toward God investing in the 416 00:24:13,460 --> 00:24:17,220 things of heaven. You know Jesus in in the Sermon 417 00:24:17,230 --> 00:24:20,080 on the Mount Matthew chapter 6 says, do not store up for 418 00:24:20,090 --> 00:24:23,550 yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy 419 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,380 and where thieves break in and steal. 420 00:24:25,390 --> 00:24:28,770 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths 421 00:24:28,820 --> 00:24:32,820 and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in 422 00:24:32,830 --> 00:24:35,390 and steal. For where your treasure is, 423 00:24:36,030 --> 00:24:41,200 there your heart will be also. Jesus always getting back to the 424 00:24:41,210 --> 00:24:45,920 heart where we put our money. That's really where our heart 425 00:24:45,930 --> 00:24:48,590 is. It's almost as though Jesus is 426 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:49,710 encouraging us. You know what? 427 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,260 You start putting your money on the things that are important to 428 00:24:52,270 --> 00:24:54,980 the things that heaven and your heart will get there eventually. 429 00:24:55,710 --> 00:24:59,570 Invest in the expansion of his Kingdom now. 430 00:24:59,580 --> 00:25:03,190 I, I, you know, the almighty dollar, it's one of the things 431 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:07,680 that brings the most discomfort and fear and concern to the 432 00:25:07,690 --> 00:25:10,160 human heart. And, and I think we just need to 433 00:25:10,170 --> 00:25:14,060 be continually encouraged that we serve a good God who loves us 434 00:25:14,070 --> 00:25:17,940 and cares for us and is inviting us to join his adventure. 435 00:25:18,510 --> 00:25:20,780 And so I've invited Clive to come. 436 00:25:20,790 --> 00:25:23,680 Clive, won't you? Why don't you come on up here to 437 00:25:23,690 --> 00:25:31,640 join me for a few minutes just to talk briefly about this idea 438 00:25:31,650 --> 00:25:35,030 of investing financially in the Kingdom of God. 439 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:36,890 Clive, Thanks for joining us, Brother. 440 00:25:37,980 --> 00:25:44,180 Clive's elder at Forest View. And when I have conversations 441 00:25:44,190 --> 00:25:47,730 with Clive, I'm always, always come away encouraged and filled 442 00:25:47,740 --> 00:25:50,630 a little bit more faith. Very much appreciate your 443 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:54,510 brother. We collect ties and offerings 444 00:25:54,740 --> 00:25:57,450 every week at Forest View as part of our worship. 445 00:25:59,090 --> 00:26:04,880 Help us to align ourselves with that that Kingdom mindset. 446 00:26:05,670 --> 00:26:08,570 It's just explain from your perspective the difference 447 00:26:08,580 --> 00:26:13,100 between giving and investing. Well, Jesus said I'm in the 448 00:26:13,110 --> 00:26:16,370 world but not of it. And there are two different 449 00:26:16,380 --> 00:26:20,060 kingdoms, Kingdom of Earth, Kingdom of Heaven, and the 450 00:26:20,070 --> 00:26:24,290 Kingdom of Heaven has got its own economy completely separate 451 00:26:24,340 --> 00:26:28,160 from the world system. And God makes it very clear in 452 00:26:28,170 --> 00:26:33,460 his word how how it works. And so when we give, it's not 453 00:26:33,470 --> 00:26:38,400 actually giving, it's investing because your conscience will 454 00:26:38,410 --> 00:26:42,140 tell your subconscious if you invest in something, there's a 455 00:26:42,150 --> 00:26:44,380 return. Otherwise people wouldn't 456 00:26:44,390 --> 00:26:47,930 invest. So the different thing giving is 457 00:26:47,940 --> 00:26:52,570 you give a, a cup of coffee or you give a gift at Christmas or 458 00:26:52,580 --> 00:26:55,140 whatever. But when you invest, that takes 459 00:26:55,150 --> 00:26:59,080 a lot more thought on what you're actually doing. 460 00:26:59,420 --> 00:27:04,830 And Deuteronomy 8 verse 18 says, I've given you the power to gain 461 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,690 wealth. And so confirm my covenant today 462 00:27:08,700 --> 00:27:13,510 as it was with your fathers. And this whole area of investing 463 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,330 into the Kingdom is part of the covenant where God allows us to 464 00:27:18,340 --> 00:27:21,480 multiply. Yeah, it's good. 465 00:27:21,590 --> 00:27:23,800 Yeah. And so I mean just separate that 466 00:27:23,810 --> 00:27:27,220 from say the gospel like the prosperity gospel that say, hey, 467 00:27:27,230 --> 00:27:29,760 we give in order to get to get a return. 468 00:27:29,950 --> 00:27:32,130 What kind of return are you talking about there? 469 00:27:32,190 --> 00:27:34,700 Well, the prosperity gospel, if it worked, we'd all be 470 00:27:34,710 --> 00:27:38,440 millionaires now. It doesn't work. 471 00:27:38,590 --> 00:27:41,540 You don't give to get. You give because you've got a 472 00:27:41,550 --> 00:27:45,340 heart towards the Lord and He will direct you where to give. 473 00:27:45,350 --> 00:27:49,400 You just don't invest anywhere. You do it where God says, 474 00:27:49,410 --> 00:27:53,550 because where you invest, where God tells you there will be a 475 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,030 return. Yeah, you're not giving to get. 476 00:27:56,040 --> 00:28:00,190 You're giving to invest so you can get a return, so you can 477 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,230 reinvest. And I've been able to do 478 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,750 extraordinary things through the supernatural. 479 00:28:06,820 --> 00:28:11,660 I've supplied houses to people who can live there rent free, 480 00:28:11,670 --> 00:28:16,430 just pay the utilities. I've been able to buy cars for 481 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:20,470 people, not because I want bigger car and more houses, but 482 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,800 the Lord's giving me the ability to do deals and multiply. 483 00:28:26,650 --> 00:28:30,030 Now, you've spoken in a lot of churches for many years, you 484 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:34,940 know, internationally about the tithe, and you've commented me, 485 00:28:35,050 --> 00:28:39,340 commented to me a number of times of how few Christians 486 00:28:39,350 --> 00:28:42,300 actually do tithe. I mean, there are many 487 00:28:42,310 --> 00:28:44,950 Christians that do, but I guess maybe you're surprised at how 488 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:46,040 many. I don't know how surprised you 489 00:28:46,050 --> 00:28:48,260 are anymore. But to hear that that, that, 490 00:28:48,270 --> 00:28:51,060 that that many Christians don't. In other words, you know, and 491 00:28:51,070 --> 00:28:54,340 we're talking about the tide of a 10% of income, but that the 492 00:28:54,350 --> 00:28:58,020 people that the people that can call themselves Christians are 493 00:28:58,030 --> 00:29:04,590 actually giving less than what the Old Testament standard of a 494 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:11,110 tie would be 10% of the income. And what would you say two like 495 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,840 why do you think that is? And what would you say is a is 496 00:29:13,850 --> 00:29:16,950 an encouragement to to us and. That I think the main thing for 497 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:20,970 stop people to being obedient to God financially is fear. 498 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:24,880 Fear that it won't have enough. Poverty is not the lack of it's 499 00:29:24,890 --> 00:29:28,180 the fear of lacking. And if we can trust God for 500 00:29:28,190 --> 00:29:31,440 eternal life, we can trust him with a few bucks. 501 00:29:32,070 --> 00:29:35,440 I mean, that's the bottom line. Everything that we have, God has 502 00:29:35,450 --> 00:29:41,970 given us, but He requires 10% back as a covenant token to open 503 00:29:41,980 --> 00:29:45,420 up the heavens. Now that's one of the things 504 00:29:45,430 --> 00:29:48,020 that I've does. It opens up the heavens 505 00:29:48,130 --> 00:29:50,960 corporately. That's the more people that tie 506 00:29:50,970 --> 00:29:55,120 in their church, the wider the heavens open over that church. 507 00:29:55,170 --> 00:29:58,260 And also individually as your tithes, you'll start to see 508 00:29:58,410 --> 00:30:01,850 blessings come into your life, not just money. 509 00:30:02,290 --> 00:30:05,240 I I've been working with the church for 25 years. 510 00:30:05,250 --> 00:30:10,120 I've been there three times and the last time was a couple of 511 00:30:10,130 --> 00:30:14,500 months ago. The pastor says without any 512 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:19,740 shadow of doubt that 90% of their church are now tithing a 513 00:30:19,750 --> 00:30:22,580 congregation of about 300, three, 150. 514 00:30:22,590 --> 00:30:29,120 And after the weekend, 13 full scap pages of testimonies came 515 00:30:29,130 --> 00:30:33,880 in of supernatural miracles happening, from healing to debts 516 00:30:33,890 --> 00:30:37,660 being cancelled to mindsets being changed. 517 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,450 Now that is because the heavens are open. 518 00:30:41,460 --> 00:30:46,510 God says I will open the heavens and pour out such blessings. 519 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:49,190 He will not have room enough to receive it. 520 00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:52,750 Now, I don't have time to share testimonies because I've only 521 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,010 got another half an hour to speak to you. 522 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:02,830 But if you would like to see some of the testimonies God did 523 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:08,590 within 24 hours in this church in Bath, ask Emma or contact the 524 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,810 church office and they'll send you these pages of testimonies. 525 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,280 So they encourage you to move into the same position. 526 00:31:17,450 --> 00:31:19,700 Yeah. Now, just before John asks me 527 00:31:19,710 --> 00:31:23,440 another question, I want to give a challenge to you. 528 00:31:24,980 --> 00:31:28,750 First of all, God says in the book of Malachi that if we do 529 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:35,000 not tithe, we're robbing Him. That's the very, very last 530 00:31:35,010 --> 00:31:39,440 chapter of the prophetic word from God. 531 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,220 And there were no more prophetic words for 400 years. 532 00:31:42,230 --> 00:31:46,630 So last word, it was important, you're robbing me now. 533 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,080 The difference between robbery and stealing. 534 00:31:49,090 --> 00:31:52,900 According to Canadian law, stealing is done by stealth, 535 00:31:53,010 --> 00:31:58,710 robbery is done by violence. So we're affecting something 536 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,230 very powerful in the spirit realm. 537 00:32:02,060 --> 00:32:05,170 Now, some of you had theology over the years that tithing is 538 00:32:05,180 --> 00:32:08,470 Old Testament. It was activated before the law 539 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:11,160 and it's part of the Abrahamic covenant. 540 00:32:11,810 --> 00:32:16,090 But what I would say to you is God says try me now in this 541 00:32:16,780 --> 00:32:19,410 doesn't say test me, says try me. 542 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:24,130 And I'm throwing out a challenge to everyone here today and 543 00:32:24,180 --> 00:32:29,870 online to start tithing from your next paycheck on your gross 544 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:35,240 income for three months and see what happens. 545 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:40,770 Social life sentence. It's three months trusting God 546 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,200 in an area that you've not trusted God before. 547 00:32:45,100 --> 00:32:48,450 When you get home today, say, Lord, I'm sorry that I've not 548 00:32:48,460 --> 00:32:51,470 been tithing. I repent and I'm going to try 549 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:54,940 you for the next three months to see how you will open the 550 00:32:54,950 --> 00:32:58,880 windows of heaven. Pour out such a blessing that 551 00:32:58,890 --> 00:33:02,390 the room will not be enough to receive it, and I will rebuke 552 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,230 the devourer. And Satan is like a roaring 553 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,820 lion, seeking whom he may devour. 554 00:33:08,910 --> 00:33:11,790 So God stops it. He closes Satan's mouth. 555 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:18,040 And if you don't tithe, and this is the very practical results of 556 00:33:18,050 --> 00:33:21,850 that, that 10% is gonna disappear out of your income 557 00:33:21,860 --> 00:33:26,610 anyway because the tide is holy. It's set, set apart, and cannot 558 00:33:26,620 --> 00:33:29,230 be spent by man. It's a signed. 559 00:33:29,420 --> 00:33:33,490 Clive, maybe this is closed, just ask, you know, how have you 560 00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:37,610 seen God provide for you as you have, you know, taken some 561 00:33:37,620 --> 00:33:40,450 financial risks in terms of your investment in the Kingdom of 562 00:33:40,460 --> 00:33:42,550 God. Maybe share share a little bit 563 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,170 there. In 30 years ago when I was 564 00:33:46,180 --> 00:33:49,770 called into ministry, I started to study the whole whole process 565 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:55,170 of Kingdom of finance alike. Can honestly say in the last 30 566 00:33:55,180 --> 00:33:58,290 years I've never been short of money. 567 00:33:58,970 --> 00:34:03,410 Ever. Sometimes it's come to the 23rd 568 00:34:03,420 --> 00:34:07,590 and 1/2 hour before midnight, but I've never been short 569 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:12,070 because I trust God as much with money as I do with my salvation. 570 00:34:13,139 --> 00:34:16,949 And that's what tithing does. It allows you to trust God. 571 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:22,710 I've seen a food materialised in the ladder when we had no money. 572 00:34:22,780 --> 00:34:27,050 The which the. Law pantries your Canadian word, 573 00:34:27,060 --> 00:34:29,210 I think. I love you say Boris 2 bath 574 00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:31,989 bath. Bath is barath bath anyway so. 575 00:34:32,060 --> 00:34:35,030 And. My British is not very good. 576 00:34:35,460 --> 00:34:41,360 I've seen miracles of money just materializing. 577 00:34:41,820 --> 00:34:44,820 I went to India and the congregation I was praying, 578 00:34:45,030 --> 00:34:49,300 speaking to suddenly started finding money in their pockets 579 00:34:49,310 --> 00:34:51,800 and they had empty pockets when they came. 580 00:34:51,850 --> 00:34:54,880 Miracle after miracle after miracle. 581 00:34:54,949 --> 00:34:59,620 That God will not trust you with the true anointing, which is the 582 00:34:59,630 --> 00:35:03,900 miracle signs and wonders and stepping into supernatural if 583 00:35:03,910 --> 00:35:07,830 you can't be trusted with 10% of what He's given you. 584 00:35:08,290 --> 00:35:13,700 That's why I'm urging you to start to tize and see what God 585 00:35:13,710 --> 00:35:16,800 would do. I believe that this house is on 586 00:35:16,810 --> 00:35:19,830 the point of revival. We can see God moving. 587 00:35:20,810 --> 00:35:23,600 The numbers are increasing as a hunger here now. 588 00:35:23,610 --> 00:35:26,820 When the heavens are open, you'll start to see miracles, 589 00:35:26,830 --> 00:35:29,840 signs and wonders, and things you've been praying for for 590 00:35:29,850 --> 00:35:32,560 years suddenly manifests. Thank you. 591 00:35:32,650 --> 00:35:36,320 Just gonna close 2 Corinthians 9 encouragement with Pauly says 592 00:35:36,330 --> 00:35:40,000 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for the food 593 00:35:40,070 --> 00:35:43,480 will also supply and increase your store of seed and will 594 00:35:43,490 --> 00:35:46,080 enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 595 00:35:46,370 --> 00:35:49,920 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous 596 00:35:49,930 --> 00:35:52,310 on every occasion. That's God's promise to. 597 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:56,200 Us and then can I just pray for the congregation now, Father, 598 00:35:56,210 --> 00:36:00,870 you've heard our words and as our family take that step of 599 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:06,600 faith and start to trust you financially with the ties for 600 00:36:07,070 --> 00:36:14,060 you say we're to test you, not test but try try you and you're 601 00:36:14,070 --> 00:36:16,320 giving us a challenge that if we don't do it, we're being 602 00:36:16,330 --> 00:36:18,500 disobedient in that area as well. 603 00:36:18,750 --> 00:36:22,880 So as we try you to see what you want to do with an open heaven, 604 00:36:23,350 --> 00:36:26,140 we give you all the praise and all the glory. 605 00:36:26,860 --> 00:36:30,590 And we're sorry, law, that we've not been honouring you with the 606 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:35,590 ties and that we want to change this weekend as long weekend. 607 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:38,410 In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen. 608 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:39,830 Amen. Thanks brother. 609 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,210 And don't forget to ask for the Testaments from Emma Aurora, the 610 00:36:43,220 --> 00:36:52,460 church office. It's a way of of sort of 611 00:36:52,470 --> 00:36:54,860 wrapping up the series next week. 612 00:36:54,930 --> 00:36:56,540 We will be receiving some new members. 613 00:36:56,550 --> 00:36:59,660 And so the, you know, multiply will be will be certainly part 614 00:36:59,670 --> 00:37:03,080 of our conversation. But you will have received a 615 00:37:03,090 --> 00:37:06,420 little card like this coming in. And if not, there's some extra 616 00:37:06,430 --> 00:37:10,180 copies out in the foyer. But these are the practices of a 617 00:37:10,190 --> 00:37:13,340 multiplier, things that we have been speaking about in this in 618 00:37:13,350 --> 00:37:18,220 this particular series, Just gonna run through them quickly. 619 00:37:18,230 --> 00:37:22,300 Enjoying God's practice of a multiplier is someone that's 620 00:37:22,310 --> 00:37:26,440 simply enjoying the Lord as a priority. 621 00:37:26,450 --> 00:37:30,330 When we're enjoying God, we want to share more about him and we 622 00:37:30,340 --> 00:37:32,980 want to invest in his Kingdom. Praying daily for ministry 623 00:37:32,990 --> 00:37:34,340 workers. You know, we're praying for 624 00:37:34,350 --> 00:37:36,820 people. Is it a few people in our life 625 00:37:36,890 --> 00:37:39,580 that are maybe far from God that we can be praying for them, not 626 00:37:39,590 --> 00:37:42,080 just that they would believe, but that they would enter into 627 00:37:42,090 --> 00:37:47,630 the joy of, of, of being a ministry worker in Jesus name 628 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:52,570 of, of, of experiencing the happiness of the master and 629 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:55,350 following Jesus and making other disciples. 630 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,980 Thirdly, spreading God's word. We talked about that just 631 00:37:58,990 --> 00:38:04,030 scattering the seed with whoever, whoever would hear. 4th 632 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:07,960 discipling a few, maybe even just one, but focusing our 633 00:38:07,970 --> 00:38:11,520 attention and investing in a particular person, developing 634 00:38:11,530 --> 00:38:17,180 them as a disciple, as a as a disciple maker. 5th investing 635 00:38:17,190 --> 00:38:19,680 financially in God's Kingdom. We just, we just spoke about 636 00:38:19,690 --> 00:38:22,040 that. And the last one is what I wanna 637 00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:25,720 close on today, and that is cheering on Kingdom growth, 638 00:38:26,470 --> 00:38:29,920 being a cheerleader when it comes to seeing the Kingdom of 639 00:38:29,930 --> 00:38:34,890 God expanding. What is it that needs to happen 640 00:38:34,900 --> 00:38:38,570 in me as an individual? What does it needs to happen in 641 00:38:38,580 --> 00:38:43,450 us as a church family in order for God's Kingdom to expand and 642 00:38:43,460 --> 00:38:48,240 to grow, you know, right back to where we started in that parable 643 00:38:48,250 --> 00:38:51,090 of the mustard seed. That's how the Kingdom works. 1 644 00:38:51,100 --> 00:38:55,500 Little mustard seed grows into this large tree that that 645 00:38:55,510 --> 00:38:59,800 provides shade and shelter for for the birds etcetera or even 646 00:38:59,810 --> 00:39:06,550 the yeast that is is needed into the dough and expand continues 647 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:10,650 to expand. God's Kingdom is expanding and 648 00:39:10,660 --> 00:39:14,860 the only thing that stops it from expanding is us in in our 649 00:39:14,870 --> 00:39:17,740 mindset. God just wants to break open, 650 00:39:17,930 --> 00:39:21,420 break open the doors there. So I just wanna just highlight a 651 00:39:21,430 --> 00:39:24,600 few things that that are that that are upcoming things that we 652 00:39:24,610 --> 00:39:28,160 should be kind of keeping in our mind in 2027. 653 00:39:28,170 --> 00:39:30,460 We are launching what we call the path. 654 00:39:30,530 --> 00:39:35,530 We're bringing our discipleship path into our life groups for 655 00:39:35,540 --> 00:39:38,710 the purpose of just getting better at being disciple makers. 656 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:40,790 That's the purpose. We just want, we just want to 657 00:39:40,860 --> 00:39:45,630 follow Jesus more closely. And so I would encourage every 658 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:49,650 single one of us when 2027 arrives, January 2027, that we 659 00:39:49,660 --> 00:39:52,950 would, that we would be become part of that, that we would join 660 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:55,700 a life group that is, that is working through the path 661 00:39:55,710 --> 00:40:00,040 together as well. You may be asked at some point 662 00:40:00,050 --> 00:40:03,840 to serve in a ministry at Forest View, to join a ministry team. 663 00:40:03,990 --> 00:40:07,440 Or if you're on a ministry team, you you may be tapped on the 664 00:40:07,450 --> 00:40:11,060 shoulder and asked to become an apprentice leader, to apprentice 665 00:40:11,070 --> 00:40:13,050 under that leader and become a leader yourself. 666 00:40:14,130 --> 00:40:19,520 I would just encourage you to take, consider those prayerfully 667 00:40:19,570 --> 00:40:23,330 those requests. Is this the way that God wants 668 00:40:23,340 --> 00:40:27,830 me to multiply his ministry Cause the more leaders, the more 669 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,970 people get involved in ministry, the more arms we have to wrap 670 00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:33,640 around people. This church is not just for this 671 00:40:33,650 --> 00:40:35,420 church. This church is for all who would 672 00:40:35,430 --> 00:40:38,770 come and in our community to bring the love of God to them. 673 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:48,890 We talked about two services. We've been the, we can't stay 674 00:40:48,900 --> 00:40:50,580 the same and grow at the same time. 675 00:40:52,910 --> 00:40:55,590 The Kingdom of God is expanding and we need to expand with it. 676 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:56,820 And there's all kinds of reasons. 677 00:40:56,830 --> 00:40:59,160 I can think of a lot of reasons why I don't want to go to two 678 00:40:59,170 --> 00:41:01,500 services. Can you think of some like, I 679 00:41:01,510 --> 00:41:04,840 gotta work twice as hard, We gotta recruit, you know, twice 680 00:41:04,850 --> 00:41:08,040 as many volunteers and you know, we're not going to be all 681 00:41:08,050 --> 00:41:11,280 together in one room anymore. And you know, for the at least 682 00:41:11,290 --> 00:41:14,480 the initial stages, it's gonna seem really sparse in here. 683 00:41:14,570 --> 00:41:19,940 All of that stuff is about me and my comfort and, and, and the 684 00:41:19,950 --> 00:41:23,770 Lord is saying I wanna meet you. There are so many people in this 685 00:41:23,780 --> 00:41:28,090 community that still are have no connection to Jesus or his 686 00:41:28,100 --> 00:41:31,770 church and he wants to bring more and more people into the 687 00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:35,100 family of God. Two services is 1 simple way 688 00:41:35,110 --> 00:41:36,850 that we can make room for more people. 689 00:41:36,900 --> 00:41:39,870 So just encourage you just be a cheerleader of two services. 690 00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:43,010 Not well, I don't wanna go just be a cheerleader. 691 00:41:43,020 --> 00:41:46,490 This is about Kingdom expansion and the last thing is planting a 692 00:41:46,500 --> 00:41:48,350 church. We've been talking about 693 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:49,540 planning a church for the longest time. 694 00:41:49,550 --> 00:41:52,660 We were on the verge of playing at church just before COVID. 695 00:41:54,410 --> 00:41:56,400 That topic is gonna come up again. 696 00:41:57,330 --> 00:42:01,140 Church planting is about churches multiplying churches. 697 00:42:02,050 --> 00:42:04,000 That is what it means to bear fruit. 698 00:42:04,010 --> 00:42:08,240 That is our mandate. Don't poopoo church plant 699 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:14,520 talking the timing and everything like who has you know 700 00:42:14,570 --> 00:42:20,430 the timing of how do I say this having a child. 701 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:24,580 Sometimes we plan really well to have a child when married 702 00:42:24,590 --> 00:42:30,470 couple, but sometimes it's a surprise and we're going to get 703 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,180 ready to do that. It's the same thing when we 704 00:42:33,190 --> 00:42:36,660 birth a new church. You know, few Sundays back I 705 00:42:36,670 --> 00:42:40,260 just shared like there's not one church that was out of the 1st 706 00:42:40,270 --> 00:42:44,210 500 churches in the 1st century that were planted that exist 707 00:42:44,220 --> 00:42:46,920 today. None of the seven churches in 708 00:42:46,930 --> 00:42:51,450 Revelation exist today, and yet the church is thriving 709 00:42:51,460 --> 00:42:54,920 throughout the world. We're here. 710 00:42:54,990 --> 00:42:57,440 Why not? Because of a few churches that 711 00:42:57,450 --> 00:42:59,800 got really big or really good at growing themselves. 712 00:42:59,810 --> 00:43:04,210 No churches sent people to plant churches. 713 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:09,270 That's why Forest View is not gonna be here forever. 50 years, 714 00:43:09,280 --> 00:43:12,670 great mark 100. Very few churches get beyond 100 715 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:17,280 years like Forest View. But if we plant, this ministry 716 00:43:17,290 --> 00:43:21,050 will continue, continue to plan, continue to plant. 717 00:43:21,060 --> 00:43:23,490 You know, Jesus at the end of the day is not gonna say how 718 00:43:23,500 --> 00:43:25,360 many people are coming to your church. 719 00:43:25,430 --> 00:43:27,160 He's gonna say no. How many churches have come from 720 00:43:27,170 --> 00:43:31,660 your people? Multiplication. 721 00:43:31,710 --> 00:43:33,780 Multiplication. Let's be cheerleaders of 722 00:43:33,790 --> 00:43:38,390 multiplication. All authority in heaven and on 723 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,120 earth has been given to me, Jesus said. 724 00:43:40,780 --> 00:43:42,350 Therefore, go and make disciples. 725 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:45,810 Therefore, go and make disciples. 726 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:49,890 Lord Jesus, we thank you for this incredible mandate. 727 00:43:49,900 --> 00:43:52,530 Though uncomfortable at times, it's one that you're calling us 728 00:43:52,540 --> 00:43:56,670 into to mature as individuals and as a church family and to 729 00:43:56,680 --> 00:44:02,610 embrace this vision that you have to multiply and spread your 730 00:44:02,620 --> 00:44:05,270 ministry, your goodness throughout the world. 731 00:44:05,320 --> 00:44:09,810 May we be instruments, maybe be instruments of sharing the 732 00:44:09,820 --> 00:44:15,600 gospel, of investing our possessions, our finances, our 733 00:44:15,610 --> 00:44:20,220 very selves in this incredible expansion project that you've 734 00:44:20,230 --> 00:44:23,750 invited us, invited us into. May we not just be responsible, 735 00:44:23,760 --> 00:44:28,480 Lord, but may we be adventurous. For the glory of Your name we 736 00:44:28,490 --> 00:44:29,770 pray. Amen.