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The opportunity to be together 
this morning. 

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It is a privilege on. 
And so many in this, this world 

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are unable to do so freely. 
What would we not take it for 

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granted? 
What we just In This Moment, 

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recognize that privilege. 
And recognize in this moment 

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that we can do so because of 
your shed Blood on the cross 

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Jesus that you have made away 
reconciliation with our heavenly

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father because of sacrifice on 
the cross of calvary. 

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And Lord as we look into the 
subject of money this morning, 

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as we continue to finish off 
where we started last week, I 

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just pray that you would open 
our hearts to your truths. 

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That you would protect our minds
from the enemy that would come 

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to distract us. 
And to cause offense, no doubt. 

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I pray. 
Lord that there would be fruit 

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from this talk and Lord. 
Would you help me? 

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Would you please God help me to 
convey your truth with Grace and

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with love I asked in your 
precious name. 

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Amen. 
Hmm. 

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So we've got one of these Some 
of you have somebody have it. 

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If you haven't got one of these 
they are in the atrium over 

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there. 
But this is our reach brochure. 

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As Fair said at the start of the
service and we have been in a 

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series called reach, which is on
the screen about the vision of 

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this church. 
And I launched reach last year 

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as way of a mini recap about 
what the plans were for the next

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10 years. 
And extent essentially it's 

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responding to that call of the 
Lord, to extend our reach to 

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reach the lost and I sorry, I 
just been distracted by Mel had 

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a couple and ahead, so some is 
just taking it down. 

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That was very good. 
I was quite impressed with how 

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you balance that Mill. 
He good extended our reach to 

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reach. 
The loss is about the fact that 

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we as a church, not just here in
Saint Albans but globally. 

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The church has is a missional 
body, isn't it? 

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We are on a mission to make 
Christ known and you know, as we

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since Pentecost which we going 
to celebrate next Sunday, all 

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the way up to the present day, 
2000 years people. 

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To be making Christ known. 
I mean, you are here because 

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someone has made Christ known to
you. 

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Is that correct? 
Yeah. 

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And so you have your part to 
play to carry on and we looked 

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at that mission as a church and 
the danger of a church where we 

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can get really comfortable. 
You know, is a nice place to 

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get, good coffee, got nice 
Donuts, the music's great. 

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And the danger with that is, the
enemy would want us to Camp here

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and create a cul-de-sac off the 
highway of that Great 

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Commission. 
And it's always good as a church

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to remind ourselves that we are 
not here for Comfort. 

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We are here to be extending, 
Christ's Kingdom and inherently 

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with that. 
You are going to feel 

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uncomfortable. 
If you're not feeling a little 

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bit, uncomfortable in your walk 
with the Lord and being and 

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being kind of stepping into 
things out with faith and 

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feeling like you're stretching 
and having to sacrifice. 

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If you're not feeling any of 
those things, they might say in 

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love as your pastor. 
Maybe you're not growing with 

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the Lord as you should. 
Because it's in those plans. 

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It's in those places where we 
are extending ourselves that we 

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grow in Christ, right? 
And I let you into a little 

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secret last week about reach 
because reach the slogan is 

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extending our reach to reach the
lost. 

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But here's The Secret Of Reach. 
It's also about extending 

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ourselves to grow in Christ. 
You see, reach is a double-sided

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objective because God in his 
grace and his Mercy will always 

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give us as a people. 
If we are remain good stewards 

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opportunities. 
To extend ourselves to grow in 

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him. 
This is a god-given discipleship

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program reach and you therefore 
have your part to play in this. 

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This is not a spectator sport. 
If you're visiting, you know, we

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want you to feel, welcome here, 
but I want you to know from the 

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get-go that this isn't a place 
that you just turn up and 

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consumed and leave. 
This is a place where you join 

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as the body of Christ as a 
church, family on a mission. 

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To make Christ known. 
I'm clearly I'm not going to 

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find you this morning and get 
you to sign up to all the 

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amazing teams we have right now.
I'll save that for next week. 

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But we are all here on a mission
together. 

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And so, how are we going to 
extend our reach to reach the 

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last by creating places for 
people to encounter Jesus? 

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Well, done, I know it's on the 
screen for someone points out to

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me. 
But this is what this is our 

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strategy. 
If you like this is how we're 

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going to do this creating spaces
and places for people to 

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encounter Jesus. 
Because and I know I'm reminding

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you of this every week and we've
got one more talk next week and 

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then we're out of reach and we 
got some amazing speakers coming

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up such as Sally, Davison 
speaking to us shortly, which 

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would be great in a couple weeks
time. 

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We got Edward as well. 
Who heads up our youth kids and 

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now young adults. 
So you'll have a break from me 

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soon. 
You'll be pleased to hear but 

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it's all. 
Oh, that's so kind. and, 

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Untouched, thank you for that. 
Well you're my wife, you have to

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say that. 
But I hear it. 

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But it's all about Jesus, we're 
not here to create an experience

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for people to get hooked on. 
We're here to create a space so 

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people can encounter Jesus for 
themselves, right, hands up. 

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You have to be hand up who's 
encountered, Jesus? 

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And what's your testimony? 
Has your life been transformed? 

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Yeah, that's what we want for 
other people because, you know, 

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the reality is is that there are
people out there heading to an 

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eternal separation from God. 
And I'd know we don't like to 

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get to the nuts and bolts of it,
but it's called hell. 

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Man did a preacher talk about? 
Hell yeah. 

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I mean, otherwise what's the 
point of Jesus dying on the 

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cross? 
I heard about a preacher Pastor 

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recently that was that was 
decided. 

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Now there is no hell and he's 
preaching this What's the point,

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then? 
Why did Jesus go to the Cross 

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universalism is a terrible 
heresy. 

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Will always lead to Christ to 
God and well, that just 

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nullifies the gospel. 
I don't know why he bothers 

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preaching on a Sunday. 
Quite frankly, I don't always 

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going to preach about and I say 
that in love to my brother who's

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doing that. 
But listen, let's just Jesus 

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didn't die on the cross to give 
you a better life. 

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Although there is fruit in your 
walk with Christ. 

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He didn't give you, he didn't 
die on the Christ on the cross 

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so that you can have fun all the
time. 

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Although we want to have fun in 
this place, he died on the cross

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because your soul is on the 
line. 

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And I feel like, sometimes we 
this is me I'm preaching to me 

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at the moment and this is all 
Off Script but I'm like, Mark 

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you're a pastor for reason 
you're here to care for the 

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flock to nurture them and to 
proclaim the gospel. 

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What did Paul say? 
I'm not afraid of the Gospel of 

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God, because the power of God 
unto salvation, like we got to 

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get back to the reality that we 
need to save Souls. 

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I feel like sometimes we're more
interested in Saving everything 

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else other than Souls. 
I mean we've got to be good 

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stewards of the planet but I 
know people are more concerned 

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about saving the planet, then 
saving Souls. 

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I mean, don't get me wrong. 
I don't mishear me. 

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I'm not saying it's unimportant,
we are here on a mission to save

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souls. 
And as a church that has been 

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our story for the past, 35, plus
years. 

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And so that's a long way around 
to say reach is our 10-year 

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Vision to create spaces and 
places for people to encounter 

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Jesus because the time is short 
and we've got to have a sense of

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urgency about this space. 
Is we looked at last year, we 

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did the youth Auditorium with 
Adventure Land Space special 

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educational needs treasure Jesus
ministry. 

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Many other spaces, places. 
Hatfield, we launched. 

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And this year, we looked at all 
the new spaces and places we're 

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launching, which are really 
exciting. 

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New Young, a young, adults 
Ministry. 

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Connect Lounge that we've got 
and the, and the site in the 

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mount in a prison. 
So much to be grateful to God 

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for about what's happening. 
And that brings me full circle, 

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or should I say to the point of 
this morning which is about 

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everyone gets to play? 
And I looked at the subject of 

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money last week and in God's 
Providence And sovereignty. 

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He didn't want me to preach all 
of it in one go. 

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I mean, technically, I couldn't 
because I looked up and it said 

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1053 and I only got halfway. 
So if you're joining us, you're 

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going to have to for the first 
time or you missed last week, 

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going to recap, but we looked at
the powerful subject of money 

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and the fact that the love of 
money is the root of all evil 

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money is at all, but it's a 
terrible tyrant. 

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And we looked at the key verse 
that we're going to start with 

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which is found in Matthew 6. 
1921, why don't you just turn 

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with me to that? 
Scripture will be on the screen 

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and if you're online at home, it
will be on whatever device you 

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are viewing. 
This, let's read it together. 

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It says, do not lay up for 
yourselves, Treasures on Earth, 

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where moth and rust destroy and 
where thieves break in and 

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steal. 
But lay up for yourselves. 

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Treasures in Heaven, where 
neither moth nor rust destroys. 

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Troy's and where thieves do not 
break in and steal. 

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Listen to this for where your 
treasure is. 

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Let me also say this together 
there, your heart will be also. 

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And what is that treasure? 
Jesus goes on to say, you cannot

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serve both God and money. 
You see where your treasure is 

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there. 
Your heart is also in your heart

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is the is the is the true north 
of your life. 

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It's the thing that will direct 
your affections. 

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And so if your treasure is in 
Earthly material monetary 

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things, and in money itself, 
then you will always feel as if 

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you have a divided heart. 
In terms of your devotion 

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towards Jesus. 
Because God will require of you 

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to trust him. 
In spite of the money around, he

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will require of you to sacrifice
your money for the sake of his 

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kingdom, and in worship. 
And so, therefore, if your 

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treasure is in money, when these
things come up, you're going to 

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feel a real pull. 
And that's why. 

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Jesus said, you cannot serve 
both God and money. 

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And so last week, we looked at 
the four lies of money. 

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Anyone? 
Remember those? 

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I won't ask you to get to the 
front and tell me what they are.

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A few of you hands up. 
Now, that I've told you you 

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didn't have to come up. 
Good number one money will the 

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LIE of money. 
Is this money will bring you 

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happiness, fulfill you. 
That's the LIE of money and we 

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00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,100
unpacked what that looks like is
such a subtle lie. 

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Number two, money will give you 
status and identity. 

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That's the other line of money, 
a Telltale sign that your 

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treasure is there. 
You know, if only, I could 

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purchase this I will feel as if 
I'm successful, all I will be 

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accepted because I have this 
that and so So number three, and

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as I said last week, The Troop 
reality is, is that our identity

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is finding Christ number three. 
The LIE of money is just a 

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little more money will be enough
when John D Rockefeller who a 

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very famous oil Baron in the 
19th century. 

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If you look at his worth today, 
if you would take inflation into

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account, would be worth, three 
hundred sixty billion dollars, 

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00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:54,300
Makes it makes Ellen musk's 165 
billion, looks small and 

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insignificant doesn't it. 
But when asked, when John D 

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Rockefeller was asked the 
question, how much money is 

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enough? 
He answered just a little bit 

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more, but that is the LIE of 
money. 

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You see? 
Because, as I said last week, 

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whatever you serve, whatever you
worship. 

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Other than God you'll be in 
bondage to You see, we have been

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created to worship God. 
And in that place, we find 

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Freedom, okay? 
Free to be all that God created 

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us to be. 
But if you worship something 

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other than God, you'll be in 
bondage to that thing, whether 

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it's a celebrity will be in 
bondage to that whether it's 

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money, money. 
The fruit of bondage is fear and

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anxiety, you know, if you're 
wondering whether you are 

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worshipping money. 
And what I mean by worship is 

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that it takes a central place in
your heart if you're 

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experiencing fear and anxiety 
about money, it could be that 

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You're in bondage to money. 
And if you're feeling that I 

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want to be sensitive about this 
subject, I'd encourage you to 

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seek the Lord on this. 
And as I shared last week and I 

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have been very honest as I 
talked about money, these past 

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five years. 
This is a weakness for me. 

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My bank balance can seriously 
dictate how I feel each day and 

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week a month. 
That for me is a sign that I am 

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worshipping money, that it's 
taken a place in my heart of 

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lordship, when actually that 
place should be Christ's alone. 

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If I choose to listen to what 
money tells me about my 

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security, then I'm going to feel
fearful and anxious, but if I 

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make a choice, a listen to what 
God tells me about my future, 

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then I'll have freedom to 
understand. 

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And number for the other light 
of money is money is more 

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trustworthy than God and that's 
kind of what I've been 

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reflecting on. 
So those were the four lies. 

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And this brings us to the second
part of the talk, which is the 

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truths of given the four truths 
of given. 

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And I touched on this, I kind of
whetted your appetite last week 

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with a bit of a, with the first 
one, which is this, it positions

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us for his Blessing. 
Now, let's look. 

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I want to look at two scriptures
and I looked at this last week 

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and I would like us to unpack 
this together. 

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The first one is Proverbs 
3:9-10. 

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It says, honor the Lord with 
your wealth, with the 

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firstfruits of your crops, then 
your barns will be filled to 

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overflowing and your Vats will 
brim brim over with new wine. 

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Second Corinthians 9 26. 
The point is this is what Paul 

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is writing to the church in 
Corinth. 

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The point is this whoever sow 
sparingly will also reap 

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sparingly. 
And whoever sows bountifully 

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will also reap bountifully. 
Now we cannot get away from a 

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truth. 
That there is a correlation 

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between how you give and how you
receive. 

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Now the danger with this and we 
see it in in in the church 

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00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:08,100
globally is that you can take a 
kingdom principle like this and 

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turn it into a worldly formula. 
If you saw one pound, you'll get

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10 pounds back. 
If you give this ministry a 

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thousand pounds, I feel a word 
from the Lord to say, you'll get

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10,000 over the next two years 
and we've heard this, this is 

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what happens, you see when your 
treasure is in the world because

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you then look the scriptures. 
To justify it and you come up 

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with a worldly formula. 
Now, the problem with this is is

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that the rest of the church you 
don't agree with that position. 

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In won't even touch the subject 
for fear of offense or 

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confusion. 
But in so, doing what we've done

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is, we've done you a disservice 
and not talked about a kingdom 

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principle of sowing and reaping,
you understand what I'm kind of 

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00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:01,000
saying here. 
I'm what I'm not saying here. 

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I don't want you to think that 
the pastor is saying, listen, 

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00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,400
every time you give a pound 
you'll get X about, I'm ex back.

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I'm not saying that. 
What I'm saying is if you live 

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your life like this, You'll 
never receive like this. you try

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receiving when your hands are 
like this, you can't You see 

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00:16:20,500 --> 00:16:24,700
blessings from God, are a 
revelation of his heart to us do

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00:16:24,700 --> 00:16:28,000
that. 
God's blessings to us are a 

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revelation of his heart on, they
You know, you know it with your 

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00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:37,000
friends or family when you bless
someone with the gift, you're 

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revealing to them your heart for
them, aren't you? 

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00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:45,900
And so God is wanting to reveal 
his heart to us in blessings. 

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But how can he when we do this 
with our own hearts? 

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And you see the whole point 
about money is that it's not a 

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00:16:53,108 --> 00:16:56,100
subject of the notes and the 
coins. 

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It's a subject of where our 
heart is. and so God once a 

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generous people in order that he
can pour into us, And the 

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00:17:13,099 --> 00:17:15,900
reality is, I have heard so many
testimonies of people that said,

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00:17:15,900 --> 00:17:20,300
when I started, tithing God, 
started to Sharp in miraculous 

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00:17:20,300 --> 00:17:24,800
ways and provide for my needs. 
I'm not suggesting that everyone

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got a check in the post, I'm 
suggesting that the blessings of

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God were opened upon them. 
May I read this again, honor. 

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The Lord with your wealth, with 
the firstfruits of all your 

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00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,700
crops, then your barns will be 
filled to overflowing and your 

296
00:17:36,700 --> 00:17:38,700
Vats will brim out brim over 
when you wire. 

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00:17:40,100 --> 00:17:43,600
The point is this whoever spose 
sews sparingly will also reap 

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sparingly and whoever sows 
bountifully will also reap 

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bound. 
Matthew 6:33 seek first, his 

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00:17:52,100 --> 00:17:55,700
kingdom and his righteousness. 
And then, all these things will 

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be given unto you. 
You see? 

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00:17:57,900 --> 00:18:01,400
The problem is we've what 
Sinners done is turn, God's 

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00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,300
kingdom upside down and so what 
we think is the opposite is true

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00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:08,000
seek first. 
My needs here and then I will be

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00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,600
able to serve God. 
I've said that before when God 

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00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:13,200
called me to something I will do
that. 

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00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:18,400
Lord, once I have secured, my 
needs and my foundations and 

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then I will seek your kingdom. 
But God is saying here in a 

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Jesus saying listen, do it the 
other way around. 

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If you make a choice to seek me 
in spite of what you have and 

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00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,500
make a choice to be obedient and
walk in faith. 

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00:18:30,500 --> 00:18:32,800
Not by sight. 
I'll show up and I'll Supply 

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00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:34,900
your needs. 
Of course, the problem is, we 

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00:18:34,900 --> 00:18:36,800
don't know the difference 
between needs and wants Dewey. 

315
00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:39,400
I mean, that's a problem with 
this really, isn't it? 

316
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,300
What we've done is we've taken 
our knees and we've kind of 

317
00:18:42,300 --> 00:18:45,900
extended it to the to the mobile
phone upgrade and the new car. 

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00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,100
I've done it myself. 
Or to the designer clothes, or 

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00:18:49,100 --> 00:18:52,200
to whatever it might be. 
So that's there for our need, 

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00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,900
but Jesus saying, seek you first
my kingdom, and it will be given

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00:18:55,900 --> 00:18:59,900
unto you, you know, Anne Frank 
said this no one ever became 

322
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poor by giving The point being 
generous to yield more to us 

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00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,700
than we could ever imagine, I 
want to encourage you. 

324
00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:14,800
Be generous and to open up your 
hands, open up your hands to 

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00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,300
God. 
And to his people around Because

326
00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:23,500
then God can pour into you 
number two, number two of truth 

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00:19:23,500 --> 00:19:25,800
of giving, it's part of our 
worship. 

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00:19:26,500 --> 00:19:29,500
It glorifies God when we give 
him our money. 

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00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,400
One of the conversations I've 
had and I know many of you 

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00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,400
probably have had this is is the
tithe law. 

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00:19:40,700 --> 00:19:43,500
And therefore, because we're not
in the law, does that mean that 

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we don't need to tie then when 
you thought he heard that right?

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00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:49,700
I I want to answer that 
question, not by being 

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00:19:49,700 --> 00:19:52,600
legalistic and saying yes you 
have to tithe. 

335
00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:56,100
I want to get to the principle 
of tithing and actually what we 

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00:19:56,100 --> 00:20:00,200
see in the principle of tithing 
is that it is pre law. 

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00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,800
In other words, it's before the 
Mosaic law. 

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00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:06,500
Its before the Covenant with 
Abraham, it goes way back and it

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00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:10,400
goes back into Genesis 14 20. 
Now, when you If you have time, 

340
00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,300
read this home, we don't have 
time for it this morning. 

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00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:18,900
What happened is, is that 
Abraham had just won the battle 

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00:20:18,900 --> 00:20:23,100
against the king of Elam. 
And all of a sudden Melchizedek 

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00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:27,600
who was the high priest of God, 
shows up to bless a bra and in 

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00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,500
response of worship and 
thankfulness to God for the 

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00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:35,800
victory Abram before, he was 
called, Abraham gives 

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00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:41,900
Melchizedek a tithe, which 
literally means 10% he did that 

347
00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:46,200
out of thankfulness and worship 
to God for the victory that 

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00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,500
came. 
So it's high. 

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00:20:48,500 --> 00:20:52,900
There's an even part of the law.
So let's not have a conversation

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about whether the tithe is law 
or not. 

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00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:58,200
It was pre-law because the 
principle of a tithe is that it 

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00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,600
is worship. 
Here's the thing and I love the 

353
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,500
way scripture harmonizes with 
each other with itself. 

354
00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:11,500
We read in Hebrews, that Jesus 
is. 

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00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:19,400
Now our high priest is says in 
the order of Melchizedek What 

356
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:22,800
does that mean? 
We give our tithes Jesus. 

357
00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:26,400
Why? 
Because the victory on the 

358
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:31,700
cross, each one of us. 
You see that? 

359
00:21:35,700 --> 00:21:40,300
If Abraham gave a 10% to 
Melchizedek because he beat an 

360
00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:42,400
army. 
How much more do you think our 

361
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,700
hearts should overflow in giving
to Jesus our high priest because

362
00:21:45,700 --> 00:21:53,500
of the victory on the cross? 
Tithe is our first fruits. 

363
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,400
It is saying, Lord, I want to 
give you the best. 

364
00:21:57,700 --> 00:22:00,500
Because you gave me your best 
Jesus and he died on the cross 

365
00:22:00,500 --> 00:22:04,000
for my victory. 
That is the purpose of a tie 

366
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,700
this part of our worship. 
Good evening on number three, it

367
00:22:09,700 --> 00:22:13,400
extends got Kingdom. 
That's the truth of giving 2 

368
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,800
Corinthians 9:8 and God is able 
to bless you. 

369
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:24,000
Abundantly, God is able to So 
that in all things at all times,

370
00:22:24,300 --> 00:22:26,500
having all that you need, listen
to this one. 

371
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,400
The you will abound in every 
good work. 

372
00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:32,600
Whoa. 
Isn't that interesting? 

373
00:22:32,900 --> 00:22:35,900
So hold on a minute. 
Is Peter tying up the blessing 

374
00:22:36,300 --> 00:22:38,100
with the requirement for us to 
do. 

375
00:22:38,100 --> 00:22:39,600
Good works. 
Yes he is. 

376
00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:43,900
Isn't that the gospel message 
about Grace, not by works. 

377
00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:47,500
Absolutely. 
You are saved by grace not by 

378
00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:49,500
works. 
Lest any man should boast. 

379
00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:51,700
You can't earn your way to 
heaven. 

380
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,800
Jesus did it for you on the 
cross, but an Evidence of your 

381
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,300
faith is it says in James is 
good works, it's fruit. 

382
00:22:58,900 --> 00:23:02,400
And what God is saying here 
through the Apostle Peter is 

383
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,600
that God is able to it. 
So in other words, he's willing 

384
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:10,500
and ready for you, to make that 
decision to do it, he's able to 

385
00:23:10,500 --> 00:23:13,600
bless Yes, you to do good works.
When you say I'm going to seek 

386
00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:18,400
first his kingdom, you see? 
You see the money that God gives

387
00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:22,500
us, is there to extend his 
kingdom and that's what reaches 

388
00:23:22,500 --> 00:23:26,000
about reaches, A discipleship 
program that God gives us to 

389
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,200
extend ourselves to grow in 
Christ. 

390
00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:36,200
Number four. 
I really don't want to do a part

391
00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,100
3 on this talk, so I'm gonna 
have to carry on it. 

392
00:23:39,100 --> 00:23:45,700
Grows our faith We read in 1 
Kings 7817. 8216 I haven't got 

393
00:23:45,700 --> 00:23:52,000
time to read it this one. 
When Elijah went to Elijah. 

394
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,900
Elijah. 
It Was Elijah. 

395
00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:56,800
He went to the to the Widow. 
There was a drought that came on

396
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:58,500
the land and God said, listen. 
There's a widow. 

397
00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:00,500
They're just going to give you 
some food, the winner. 

398
00:24:00,500 --> 00:24:03,200
So this one, I'm just getting 
some sticks to make a last meal 

399
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,200
for my son and I we've got this 
little bit of flour, a little. 

400
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:13,600
And and essentially, God said to
Elijah, Don't bless her and and 

401
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,000
ask for the bread and she said, 
okay? 

402
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:19,200
And it was extended and extended
and extended What that signifies

403
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,000
to us and it's a principle that 
I think we need to understand is

404
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:26,300
that if God calls you to do 
something like, give your money 

405
00:24:26,300 --> 00:24:29,200
for a cause or to bless somebody
in that way. 

406
00:24:29,300 --> 00:24:31,200
He will provide the means to do 
that. 

407
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,700
That's what it means to live by 
faith and not by sight. 

408
00:24:34,900 --> 00:24:37,300
That's what it means to be 
obedient to the calling of God 

409
00:24:37,300 --> 00:24:39,800
in your life. 
You know, when Stephen died when

410
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,700
God called Stephanie into 
Ministry. 

411
00:24:43,300 --> 00:24:47,000
We had to make some decisions to
change our lifestyle and our 

412
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,900
income change my kind of stuff. 
But we said we believe Lord God 

413
00:24:50,900 --> 00:24:52,800
for your that you will supply 
our needs. 

414
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,500
Because we're going to put the 
focus on following the cool that

415
00:24:56,500 --> 00:24:59,500
you've laid on us first. 
And I can tell you right now, 

416
00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:02,800
God has never let us down. 
And I want to tell you right 

417
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:04,200
now, God Will Never Let You 
Down. 

418
00:25:05,700 --> 00:25:08,500
Do you know God owns the 
Thousand cattle on a hill? 

419
00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:14,100
You can, you know, my couple of 
times when my boy you are one of

420
00:25:14,100 --> 00:25:16,100
my girls said, Daddy how much 
money you got your bank. 

421
00:25:19,300 --> 00:25:21,700
Their question, darling. 
I'm not going to tell you that 

422
00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:24,700
but no, but have you got enough.
God bless you all very kind for 

423
00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:25,900
asking, but you don't need to 
know. 

424
00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:31,600
But you've got enough. 
You know, I feel like sometimes 

425
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:32,800
God, have you got enough in 
there? 

426
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,800
How much have you got? 
Actually, you know, just you can

427
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,700
show me a bank statement, I'd 
appreciate it. 

428
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,600
Dangerous. 
Listen, you don't need to know 

429
00:25:44,700 --> 00:25:46,100
but I can tell you this, he's 
got enough. 

430
00:25:47,300 --> 00:25:49,900
So you focus on following, the 
call that God has laid on your 

431
00:25:49,900 --> 00:25:54,300
life and he'll Focus. 
I'm bringing the abundance to 

432
00:25:54,300 --> 00:26:00,000
you, where you need that. 
All right, we're going to carry 

433
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,400
on. 
Okay. 

434
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,600
So we looked at the four truths 
of given, let me just summarize 

435
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,700
for us all before I try and 
bring this plane to a land 

436
00:26:08,700 --> 00:26:12,000
without too many bumps. 
Number one, it positions us for 

437
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,700
his Blessing. 
Number two is part of our 

438
00:26:15,700 --> 00:26:18,800
worship. 
It's inherently part of our 

439
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:20,800
worship. 
You know, says in Romans 12:1, 

440
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,200
brothers and sisters, in light 
of God's mercy, offer yourselves

441
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,500
as a Living Sacrifice, that is 
your act of spiritual worship. 

442
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,100
Our act of worship is in 
response to the fact that Jesus 

443
00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:34,500
died on the cross, and if we 
can't give him our first fruits,

444
00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:36,500
what can we give number three 
extends. 

445
00:26:36,500 --> 00:26:38,900
God's kingdom. 
It's part of his kingdom plans 

446
00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:41,700
that we're part of that number. 
40, grows our faith. 

447
00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:43,700
Okay? 
So let me end with this. 

448
00:26:43,900 --> 00:26:45,700
So how do we respond and give to
God? 

449
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:49,900
We are is number one, Thai. 
I've already looked at this, not

450
00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:53,500
to spend time or this, you know,
Adrian Rogers who was a famous 

451
00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:57,200
evangelist and Pastor in the US 
said, God doesn't need us to 

452
00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,500
give him our money. 
He owns everything. 

453
00:27:00,300 --> 00:27:02,700
Tithing is God's way to grow 
Christians. 

454
00:27:03,900 --> 00:27:08,500
Is part of our worship, it grows
us, it is a declaration and 

455
00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:10,100
sometimes I pray this at the 
offering. 

456
00:27:10,300 --> 00:27:13,800
It's a way in which we declare 
that we put our trust in God, 

457
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,200
not in our money. 
It's a way that breaks our 

458
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,600
spirit of poverty when we 
construct our lives around the 

459
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:22,600
tithe. 
If you've got a question of 

460
00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:27,500
whether it's pre tax or tax or 
post tax or know if it's after 

461
00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:30,300
tax or before tax, let me just 
say what Jesus said, give to 

462
00:27:30,300 --> 00:27:32,300
Caesar what is Caesar's and give
to God, what's good? 

463
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:35,300
Not give to Caesar what is 
Caesar's and then whatever is 

464
00:27:35,308 --> 00:27:37,600
left over. 
Then you take 10% from that just

465
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:43,300
to clarify because I know it's a
critically important question. 

466
00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:47,100
Well I hope that scriptural 
reference has helped you but we 

467
00:27:47,100 --> 00:27:49,600
give our tithes to God. 
And I want to just say this, 

468
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,400
this is I don't need to walk out
of here in shame and guilt in 

469
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,400
bondage because I know the 
reality of life is it's not 

470
00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:00,700
always easy start small, you 
know, because it's pretty, 

471
00:28:00,700 --> 00:28:02,700
you're not under the law. 
In other words, God's not going 

472
00:28:02,700 --> 00:28:05,500
to come up and check your bank 
balance every month and beat you

473
00:28:05,500 --> 00:28:07,600
over the head. 
If you ever given your tithe, he

474
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,600
wants you to tie it so that you 
can experience the blessings. 

475
00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:11,100
And and he wants to receive a 
worse. 

476
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,600
Shipping want to give glory to 
him and there's benefit with 

477
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:16,400
that but he's not going to bash 
overhead if you haven't done. 

478
00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,600
So I want to say this. 
Just start small, maybe it's one

479
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,700
percent. 
That's the start for you bless 

480
00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:27,700
you and maybe then, it's 2%, 
maybe 5%, I think, 10 percent is

481
00:28:27,700 --> 00:28:31,700
a good Target. 
And actually, I pray that I'll 

482
00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:33,700
get to a position where I can do
more than 10%. 

483
00:28:33,700 --> 00:28:36,800
And we'll look at ways we can do
over and above our time, but I 

484
00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,600
want to say this, I want you to 
feel free in this, but I went to

485
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,800
feel an excitement about it. 
You are in your spirit and your 

486
00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:43,600
heart. 
Okay? 

487
00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:48,500
Number 2 offerings. 
So, a tithe is that 10%. 

488
00:28:48,500 --> 00:28:51,100
We build our lives around that, 
but offering is over and above. 

489
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,800
It was a quote that from a guy 
called Fred Smith says, for some

490
00:28:56,100 --> 00:28:59,000
rich Christians in America, and 
you can say, Rich Christians in 

491
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,700
the West. 
Tithing is an excuse not to give

492
00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:05,800
generously. 
Oh, It's a tick, the Box 

493
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:11,900
exercise for you and I my 10%, 
thank you God, right, but 

494
00:29:11,900 --> 00:29:14,100
actually we read in the Bible, 
there's an offering over at 

495
00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:17,700
eyes. 
You know, when Ezra in Ezra the 

496
00:29:17,700 --> 00:29:19,600
book of Ezra the priest as where
they were built, they came out 

497
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,200
of Babylon and there were 
rebuilding the walls and people 

498
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:26,800
gave to that project over and 
above the time, God is going to 

499
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,700
give you discipleship programs 
like reach and we can look at 

500
00:29:29,700 --> 00:29:32,800
this in a moment. 
He said man this is the biggest 

501
00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,900
lead up to a donor request of 
ever heard. 

502
00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:40,600
No, it's not about that. 
But God will always put in your 

503
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,800
path opportunities to offer over
and above your type because 

504
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:45,800
where there's a spirit of 
generosity. 

505
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:47,600
It will bless others and it will
bless you. 

506
00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:50,100
And number three, acts of 
righteousness. 

507
00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:54,200
This is specifically to people. 
So, you know, when you put, you 

508
00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:57,800
know, like a like a note, the 
money in an envelope and give it

509
00:29:57,808 --> 00:30:00,200
to someone, they don't know who 
it's from, or you've given 

510
00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:02,800
someone a gift because I really 
needed some financials or 

511
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,300
whatever that might be those 
acts of righteousness. 

512
00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:09,800
And you know what? 
Generosity releases generosity 

513
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:15,500
kindness releases kindness. 
You know, if you look out for 

514
00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:18,300
opportunities to bless others, 
Not only, would you be a 

515
00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:20,400
blessing to them but those 
people will then be a blessing 

516
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,600
to others. 
There is something contagious 

517
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,500
about generosity and the enemy 
does not want generous 

518
00:30:27,500 --> 00:30:30,200
Christians because if there were
generous Christians, the world 

519
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,300
would be transformed. now, 
invite the band up as I as I 

520
00:30:34,300 --> 00:30:39,700
bring this to land, so As I 
said, the start reach has a 

521
00:30:39,708 --> 00:30:43,600
double duel secret purpose which
is not only is it out would look

522
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,400
in extending our reach to reach 
the loss but it's also about 

523
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,600
extending ourselves to grow in 
Christ. 

524
00:30:49,700 --> 00:30:52,200
And I want to say that reach 
like we've done, you know, as a 

525
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:56,600
church over the past 30 years, 
we have collectively offered 

526
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,900
over two million pounds to these
discipleship programs. 

527
00:31:02,300 --> 00:31:06,200
Yeah. 
Two million. 

528
00:31:08,100 --> 00:31:11,600
Two million people who have 
sacrificed and who have given to

529
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:16,500
extend God's kingdom and to grow
in faith and to be generous and 

530
00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:18,700
I don't know about you but I 
don't want to be a generation 

531
00:31:18,700 --> 00:31:21,400
that misses out on that 
opportunity and the blessings. 

532
00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:25,000
You're sitting here because of 
some of you have sewn into this 

533
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,800
and prior have given. 
And those that have left us sewn

534
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,800
into this, in such a way that 
lives are changed in terms of 

535
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:33,200
what we do in this building and 
Beyond. 

536
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,000
And I want us all to have that 
opportunity last year with that,

537
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,500
we launched the Rich fund. 
Reach fund is an ongoing fund 

538
00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:43,100
that we use to fund all of our 
research initiatives. 

539
00:31:43,300 --> 00:31:46,100
And last year, we raised the 
considerable about money that 

540
00:31:46,100 --> 00:31:50,000
made next door a reality. 
And we seen use. 

541
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,200
The lives are changed and those 
with special educational needs. 

542
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:55,700
We're seeing people in 
Hatfield's, life's changed 

543
00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:01,100
because we've extended our reach
and so this year is another 

544
00:32:01,100 --> 00:32:06,100
opportunity to go again. 
And we raising this year, and in

545
00:32:06,100 --> 00:32:08,400
the brochure, you'll be able to 
find this information. 

546
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:10,700
We're looking to raise 180,000 
pounds. 

547
00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,300
Small fry, right? 
And when we raise more last 

548
00:32:15,300 --> 00:32:19,800
year, in terms of what we, our 
Target was And I want to give 

549
00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,100
you an opportunity to be part of
creating a legacy. 

550
00:32:23,700 --> 00:32:26,000
I want to give you an 
opportunity to so into something

551
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,700
bigger than yourselves. 
I want to give you an 

552
00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:31,300
opportunity to extend yourself 
so that you can grow in Christ. 

553
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,500
And you know maybe and it's 
definitely continue. 

554
00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:37,800
Have these kind of conversations
we need to continue to do so 

555
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,200
maybe it's you know I'm going to
sacrifice three coffees a week 

556
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,400
and I'm going to just put that 
money in a jar and I'm going to 

557
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,900
pledge that maybe it's rather 
having to take aways a month. 

558
00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:50,100
I'll have one made. 
You say Mark I don't have any 

559
00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:54,000
takeaways. 
You know, it's not about equal 

560
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:56,100
amounts, it's about equal 
sacrifice. 

561
00:32:57,700 --> 00:32:59,600
It's about saying, are we all in
this together? 

562
00:33:00,700 --> 00:33:02,800
And we going to do something 
Beyond ourselves that's going to

563
00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:06,000
change this area and region for 
Christ so that we can save 

564
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,900
Souls. 
That's what this is. 

565
00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:12,300
And so I want you to prayerfully
consider how you can be part of 

566
00:33:12,300 --> 00:33:13,600
this. 
On the back of this brochure is 

567
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:18,300
a pleasurable, simply fill it in
tear it off, and you can pop it 

568
00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:20,300
in the welcome desk, either this
week or next week. 

569
00:33:20,300 --> 00:33:23,300
But how do you do this? 
Pray, pray, pray, pray. 

570
00:33:23,300 --> 00:33:26,000
Say Lord, what? 
Part have I got in this what are

571
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,500
you calling me to do as it 
relates to finances and then 

572
00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:34,100
make a You know, good desires 
and ideas are great but without