1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,320 If you were being tempted right now, I don't believe it's any 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,640 accident that this video has found you today, because right 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,320 now I think there is a message that God has laid on my heart. 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,040 I was reading my Bible the other day and I was reading about that 5 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,360 very mysterious character, Melchizedek, and I just knew the 6 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:19,640 Lord wanted me to make some videos on this. 7 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,640 So I've got a very big video coming out about Melchizedek on 8 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:24,640 my main channel off the Curb Ministries. 9 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:29,960 But then I saw something, almost a nugget of gold here in Genesis 10 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,680 14 that actually for any of us Christians who are struggling 11 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:36,200 with sin, we need to take heed to this. 12 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,160 So if it's your first time here on the channel, this is my cup 13 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,400 of Joe podcast where we keep things very, very relaxed. 14 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,160 It's just me, you, the Bible, and a nice cup of coffee. 15 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:50,240 So if you've never done this before, I ask you to do this 16 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:51,760 every time. But please go and put your 17 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,480 kettle on. Get yourself a nice hot cup of 18 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,120 Joe, a nice coffee, a tea. If you someone who likes a cold 19 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:02,080 drink, get that and we're going to have a nice, nice cup of Joe 20 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:11,880 together. I hope you've got a Bible there 21 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,560 because I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 14 and verse 21, 22 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,960 Genesis 14. And we're going to look at verse 23 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:23,520 21. And the king of Sodom said unto 24 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:28,840 Abraham, give me the persons and take the goods to thyself. 25 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,640 OK, so I'm not going to go into the back story of this. 26 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:33,840 I'll let you watch the other video when it comes out in a 27 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,360 week's time on my channel for the Curb Ministries. 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,520 But Abraham has come back from a battle, from a war, and he's 29 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,960 victorious. And when he comes out of this 30 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:47,160 war, he's met by two kings. One of the kings is King 31 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:49,680 Melchizedek. He's a priest king. 32 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,800 He's a he's a king who represents peace. 33 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,040 He was the king of Salem, which is Jerusalem, which means peace. 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,200 He was God's man. And there are many different 35 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,040 theories on who this person was. Again, I'm not going to go into 36 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:03,440 that. I'm going to save that for the 37 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,440 next video. But he was God's messenger, OK? 38 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:12,000 And then on the other side, we've got the king of Sodom, the 39 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,040 king of the most evil place in the world, a worldly king. 40 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,560 And both these kings come and meet Abraham. 41 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,760 One gives him bread and wine. He gives him, if you like, the 42 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:26,840 first institution of the Lord's Supper that we ever read in the 43 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,640 Scripture. And he refreshes Abraham. 44 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,280 But the other king, the king of Sodom, he comes with a very 45 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,560 worldly offer. He, he flatters him. 46 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,080 Do you know what he says? He says in verse 21? 47 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:41,560 It's almost like he's saying you can have all of the stuff. 48 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,120 Just give me the souls. You can keep the spoils, you can 49 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:48,200 keep the gold, the sheep, the the money, the wealth, all the 50 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:49,520 possessions. You keep all of that. 51 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,040 Abraham, just let me have these people that you've taken 52 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,680 captive. Let me have those souls and you 53 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,040 can have all of that. Now if anyone from the world 54 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,480 would look at this, they'd say Abraham was a fool for for 55 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,480 refusing this offer right now, Abraham, you could have 56 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,880 everything you'd want. You'd be an instant multi 57 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:10,840 millionaire. You'd become the richest person 58 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,960 on earth just taking all of this stuff, and yet he chooses to say 59 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:17,040 no. We're going to look at that in a 60 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,240 moment's time. But right now, I want to talk to 61 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,920 you. I want to ask you a personal 62 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,040 question. When I opened at the very 63 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,880 beginning of my message, and I said, if you're being tempted 64 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,920 right now, this might just be a message for you guys. 65 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:35,880 What was the temptation that was on your mind? 66 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,520 Some, some people, they, they go through some Christians that 67 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,280 they're constantly in this state of repetitive sin. 68 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,760 They, they keep returning to the same sin over and over again. 69 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,160 They keep watching the same stuff that they know they 70 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:50,600 shouldn't and they feel ashamed and they're living like that. 71 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:57,080 Some Christians, they have a a real temptation to maybe do 72 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,720 something dishonest, maybe fraud or take some money. 73 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,320 And some people maybe, as we've talked about in videos 74 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,680 previously, maybe an affair is, is is on the cards for you and 75 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,080 you're in a season of temptation. 76 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,080 What was it? What was the temptation? 77 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,800 Think of it now in your mind, what is it you're being tempted 78 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,600 with right now? Maybe it's gossip, maybe it's 79 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,000 division that there must be something as I've you wouldn't 80 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:25,360 be here right now. What is the sin that you're 81 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,560 struggling with? Because just like Abraham, you 82 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,080 and I, we have someone who's coming to us. 83 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,880 We have two kings that come to us as Christians. 84 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:37,600 We've got the King of righteousness, the Lord Jesus 85 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:42,040 Christ, and he comes and he offers us his own Lord's Supper. 86 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,320 He offers us his body when he it was broken at Calvary. 87 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,760 He offers his his blood like that, the wine that was offered 88 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,920 through Melchizedek. He, he offers us the the blood 89 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,400 of his that he, he spilt at Calvary that that can wash us 90 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:00,480 clean, that can refresh us. He offers himself the the Prince 91 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,640 of Peace, that the Prince of righteousness, the King of kings 92 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,280 and the Lord of Lords, he, he offers himself to us and we can 93 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,120 find peace and refreshing in him. 94 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:15,880 But then another king comes before us, the king of this 95 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,840 world that that the God of this world who the Bible says has 96 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:24,680 blinded the eyes of unbelievers. The devil comes, doesn't he? 97 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,720 And just like the King of Sodom said, listen, just give me the 98 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,120 souls. Just give me the souls and you 99 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,560 can have the spoil. That's what he does with us. 100 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,480 The devil puts bright lights in front of us, enticing things 101 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,200 like that fisherman who's got the bait. 102 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,840 He dangles bait in front of us and says just just either bait, 103 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,800 have the fun, Take your spoil now take your pleasure, Now have 104 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,240 all of that. Just give me something I want 105 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,240 and that's your soul. And no one, by the way, as the 106 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,880 scripture says, All Souls are mine, says the Lord. 107 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,840 No one can sell their soul, but we can sell ourselves out as 108 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:04,400 Christians. And also many of us as 109 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:05,960 Christians, we've got a job to do. 110 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,120 Some of us are fathers and we've got to raise children. 111 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,760 Some of us are mothers raising children, grandmothers raising 112 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:15,720 grandchildren. Perhaps we've got responsibility 113 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,760 in church or service or we've all got these people out there. 114 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:23,440 And and just like in this period where Abraham, they were here, 115 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,240 they were, there was captives, there was hostages. 116 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,000 And this king of Sodom, he just wanted those people. 117 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:33,120 He wanted them souls. And when we go for the spoils, 118 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,800 when we go for the, the, the, the juiciness, the the plunder 119 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,600 of this world, we take our eyes off what we should be doing, our 120 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,600 service, our help for other people, the Lord's work. 121 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,720 And we get distracted. And that's what the devil's 122 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:49,400 trying to do in these last days. And I do believe we're in the 123 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,320 last days. We are supposed to keep our eye 124 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,080 on our goal. We are supposed to keep our eye 125 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:58,600 on the Lord Jesus Christ and so easily we can get distracted. 126 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:02,440 So easily we can take our eye off the ball and do what we 127 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:04,880 shouldn't. All right, I will warn you, this 128 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,440 next story isn't a pleasant story at all, especially if you 129 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:10,560 are an animal lover like like I am. 130 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,280 If you love animals, you won't like this story, but there is 131 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,840 some solace that you can take from it knowing it's not a true 132 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:18,840 story. But where I'm from in, in 133 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,640 Lancashire, it's very, it's a well known, there's a well known 134 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,760 place the north of Lancashire called Kirby Lonsdale. 135 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:28,080 It's a beautiful place with a beautiful river, the River Loon 136 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:30,800 that that just flows through it and there's just beautiful 137 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:34,040 scenery there. But the story of this place in 138 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,240 Kirby Lonsdale is there's a bridge called Devil's Bridge, 139 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,160 which again is very famous. People jump off the bridge. 140 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,320 It's very, very high and they do all kinds of things there. 141 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,600 It's it's just a very famous place to go. 142 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,280 There's also a big fair where there's lots of gypsies that go 143 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:53,200 there up a bit further north called Appleby. 144 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:56,240 And many of the gypsies will also spend time there as though 145 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:58,640 on the way up there. So beautiful place. 146 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,800 If you ever get there, please do visit Kirby Lonsdale. 147 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:04,560 What's this myth? What's this folklore behind 148 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:06,360 Devil's Bridge? Well, there was a lady 149 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,760 apparently, and every day she used to cross over the river to 150 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,480 get to market here. She was in a long dress. 151 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:15,280 You know, this is in the Middle Ages. 152 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:19,040 And she's crossing over and she just gets soaked or all of her 153 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,680 dress gets dirty and and wet and she has to go to market every 154 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:27,480 day to do this just to get food. And one day, again, this is not 155 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,960 a true story, but one day the devil apparently met her. 156 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,240 And he said, I'll do a deal with you, lady. 157 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:38,400 I will build you a bridge so that you don't have to get 158 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,840 yourself wet every day when you go to market. 159 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:45,800 I will build you a bridge right now if you do a deal with me, if 160 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,520 you promise me that whoever walks across that bridge, the 161 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,040 first person who goes across that bridge, that soul belongs 162 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,480 to me. Now the devil thought that that 163 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,520 woman was going to be the first person to go across that bridge. 164 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,600 But the woman was a little bit naughty, she was a bit sly. 165 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:06,320 And what she did is she she took her a piece of bread and she 166 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,160 threw it on the bridge. And then she sent a dog after 167 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,120 the piece of bread. And then the the dog went over 168 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,360 the bridge, ate the bread. And then thus the devil had to 169 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:21,000 accept that the first person was a dog that went over the bridge. 170 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,240 I told you it's not a true story. 171 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,480 It's really dumb because of course we know that. 172 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:28,720 Well, we know that dogs, they have a breath in them as as the 173 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:32,480 book of Ecclesiastes says, it says does does the spirit of the 174 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,320 animal go back to its its creator? 175 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:36,800 Well, who knows? That's what the book of 176 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,760 Ecclesiastes says. I'll put a little, I'll put the 177 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,440 verse here above here if you want to visit that verse for 178 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:44,080 yourself because I am paraphrasing it. 179 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:45,880 But we know that dogs don't have souls. 180 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,080 We know that that's a bit of a silly story, don't we? 181 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,040 But I like to share that story. Why? 182 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:55,200 Because it does show something else, that the devil is hungry 183 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,880 about souls. He does want to get souls for 184 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,880 himself, but there's someone else who's even more hungry for 185 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,680 souls, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. 186 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:07,040 You see, the Lord Jesus Christ, he is the bridge between man and 187 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,320 God. He is the mediator between man 188 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,040 and God. He is, if you like, the bridge 189 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,920 between heaven and earth. And when we trust in him, we can 190 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,800 get to heaven through him alone. And we're going to look at that 191 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,440 right now about this person, Melchizedek, who, who is what we 192 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,800 would call a type of Christ. He, he is an image of Christ. 193 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,600 He is some would say Christophany, which is literally 194 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,880 a pre Incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ before he 195 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:36,360 came in bodily form as that little baby in Bethlehem. 196 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:40,240 So how did Abraham get the ability to refuse? 197 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,720 He refused this offer from the King of Sodom. 198 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,600 Well, just look at verse 22 with me. 199 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:50,520 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand 200 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:55,040 unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and 201 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,200 earth. Verse 23 that I will not take 202 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:03,360 from a thread, even a shoe latchet, that I should not take 203 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,760 anything that is mine, lest thou should I say I have made Abraham 204 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,800 rich. So, so what's Abram saying here? 205 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:13,960 What's Abraham saying? He's saying, no, you are an 206 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,840 ungodly king, King Sodom. We know that Sodom was the most 207 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,720 ungodly place on earth. You are a godless man and I will 208 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,800 never have it said of me as long as I live. 209 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:29,200 I do not want anyone to ever say this godless king, this man who 210 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:33,520 rejects the most high God, this man who does not honour the the 211 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,560 God of the Bible, My God, this, I will never let anyone say that 212 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:42,040 he made me rich. So I tell you right now, King of 213 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:45,160 Sodom, I'm not going to even take a thread from you. 214 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:46,720 I'm not going to take a cotton bud. 215 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:48,800 I'm not going to take a shoelace, not even a button. 216 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:52,360 I don't want anything from you because I trust in the most high 217 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,240 God. Now, again, it's so, so 218 00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:56,840 interesting when you look at this passage. 219 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,520 So we've got the first Lord's Supper instituted as Melchizedek 220 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,200 brings the bread and wine. We've got the first war, by the 221 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,240 way, in all of the Bible, this is the first war we ever hear 222 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,800 of. So likely the first war ever in 223 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,920 history when Abraham went to go and rescue Lot, which again, I 224 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,600 want to tell you more about in detail in this other video. 225 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,320 I do hope you do go over and subscribe to Off the Curb 226 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,840 Ministries if you've not already. 227 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:24,440 And then we've also got something else here, the first 228 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:29,280 ever tithe given. Now tithing, that is a very 229 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,040 awkward subject. I hate talking about tithing 230 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,520 and, and, and maybe I'm the only one, but sometimes when you hear 231 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,560 preachers talking about it, I can find myself cringing a 232 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:41,040 little bit. But let's have a little talk 233 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,800 about tithe, shall we? Look at verse 20. 234 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,880 And blessed be the most high God which have delivered thine 235 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:54,280 enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. 236 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,400 Now you should have, if you've got a more modern translation, 237 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,160 he gave him a tenth of all. He gave him a 10th of his, his 238 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,600 his possessions. So I want you to know something. 239 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,160 I, I love the Christian community. 240 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,960 I love Christian Youtubers, I love Christian preachers. 241 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,880 I'm, I'm so blessed to be in ministry. 242 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,520 It feels like such an honour. But I like you at times, if I'm 243 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:23,120 honest, I do cringe when it comes to, you know, preachers 244 00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,840 asking for money. And why is it, why do we 245 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,280 struggle with that so much? Because it's been misused so 246 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:31,560 much in the past. You know, there's been like 247 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:35,280 pressure that's been put on and you know, you can get, you know, 248 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,600 you go on a Christian ministries website and the first thing you 249 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,240 see is a big button that says donate, and it's on the IT takes 250 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,240 over the whole website. And then you've got people who 251 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,520 that you can go to a church sometimes and, and they can take 252 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:52,800 1015 minutes, you know, amping it all up, saying we need, we 253 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,200 need your support. We'll go under if, if the law 254 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,000 doesn't, if you don't provide for us, you know, if you don't 255 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,480 help us. But the Lord owns, owns the 256 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,800 cattle of 1000 hills. The Lord is the one who keeps a 257 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,000 ministry afloat. And am I the only one who wants 258 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:09,400 to be kept afloat when knowing that the Lord wants me in this 259 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,280 place? So if I go under, well, I know 260 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,000 it's the Lord's will that I go under. 261 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,720 But with all of that being said, with all the stuff that makes us 262 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,880 cringe, I do think tithing is a wonderful thing to do. 263 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,680 Is it compulsory? We'll come to that in a moment. 264 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,480 But I do think it's a really wonderful thing to do. 265 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:32,000 And I actually believe that because Abraham tithe, that's 266 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,440 one of the reasons he tithed before he met the king of Sodom. 267 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,240 That's one of the reasons he was able to overcome this 268 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,400 temptation. Now, I could be wrong about 269 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,680 this, but I believe when we tithe, not only does it take 270 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,680 away our selfishness, but it also shows to the Lord gods 271 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:49,480 we're investing into His Kingdom. 272 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:52,920 And the more we invest into his Kingdom, the more invested we 273 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,240 become, the more we care about his Kingdom. 274 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,680 And that's why I believe, Listen, I'm not saying don't 275 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:00,480 give to some of these big ministries because some of these 276 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:02,880 big ministries, they do big, wonderful works. 277 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:07,160 But I think it's great to to have an eye and to think, what's 278 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,480 a ministry that doesn't get a lot of exposure? 279 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,120 What maybe there's a preacher who he's not on social media, or 280 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,600 maybe he is and he's not got many followers at all. 281 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,960 Or maybe there's a work or there's a poor family that live 282 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,200 down the street and you can see they're struggling and you want 283 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,800 to support them. Or a poor child in another 284 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,520 country, sponsor a child. You need to have an eye. 285 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:32,600 I think don't go for the massive ones that are up in shining 286 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,760 lights, but have an eye for smaller ministries that don't 287 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,800 get that much exposure and invest into them. 288 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,160 And I truly believe the Lord will bless you for it. 289 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,520 What is the first word that children say? 290 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,480 Is it please? Is it thank you? 291 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,880 Is it Hallelujah? Very often the first word that 292 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,760 children learn to say is this mine? 293 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,440 It's mine. You know, we don't have to teach 294 00:15:57,720 --> 00:15:59,280 children. We don't have to teach ourselves 295 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,720 to be selfish. We always think about ourselves 296 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,560 when we look at a photograph, who's the first person? 297 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,520 There's a group photograph, who's the first person you look 298 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:09,880 at? You look at yourself. 299 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:11,760 We're always thinking about ourselves. 300 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:14,480 And I do think there's a lot of truth when people say don't 301 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,880 worry about what people think of you because most people are too 302 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,120 busy thinking about themselves to even think about yourself. 303 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,520 So maybe that's a burden that's lifted for some of you. 304 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,400 But we do need to be careful that as Christians, we're 305 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,920 different. As Christians, we are placing 306 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:35,680 other people above ourselves. And when we tithe, it hurts. 307 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:37,760 It's sacrificial. This is my money. 308 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,440 We feel like this is the money I've worked for. 309 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,840 Even though as Christians we should know every good and 310 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,520 perfect gift has come from the Father of lights. 311 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,320 It's come from the Father of heaven. 312 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,200 He's given everything to us and we're only just giving back 313 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:52,880 what's already His to the Kingdom. 314 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:56,600 But we do feel that, don't we? We want to hold onto things. 315 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,000 We want to look after ourselves. We want to self preserve and 316 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,079 keep it for ourselves. But the problem when we do that 317 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,359 is it does truly make us miserable. 318 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,480 When we get bound up in our possessions and our wealth and 319 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,000 our investments and and ourselves, it does make us 320 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,079 miserable. A number of years ago, before I 321 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:21,800 met Emma, I had a girlfriend. And if she was here now, this 322 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,760 girlfriend, she could attest we weren't right for each other. 323 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,760 We didn't click. We didn't flow. 324 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:29,560 Yeah, there was. It just wasn't right. 325 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,440 It just, you know, maybe you've had boyfriends or girlfriends in 326 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:35,440 the past and you just knew you weren't right for each other. 327 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:39,880 And yeah, I really didn't want this relationship to end. 328 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,120 I really wanted to make it work. And I was always trying to make 329 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:45,080 it work. Even though I knew deep down we 330 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,600 weren't right for each other. I was always trying to make it 331 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,880 work. And do you know why that was? 332 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,320 It was actually not long after the relationship ended, I heard 333 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,440 something online and it made me think that was exactly me. 334 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:01,600 This person, this girl, she lived 4 1/2 hours away and I 335 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:06,400 used to catch the train and I'd spend nearly like 6070 lbs on 336 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,680 train fare every week to go and see her. 337 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:11,920 I'd buy flowers for her. I didn't have a great job. 338 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,480 I was just pouring coffee. Actually, I was a barista, A 339 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,600 barrister. I don't know how you say it in 340 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:19,840 your country, but I made coffee for a living. 341 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,640 I didn't have loads of money and I was, you know, working loads 342 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,760 and loads of hours. And I'd buy flowers, I'd get 343 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,320 chocolates, I'd go to a shop and I'd see a nice dress and I'd buy 344 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:33,160 that for her. We'd go out to the cinemas and 345 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,080 I'd pay and I was always spending. 346 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,120 And then not only that, we'd write letters to each other. 347 00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:41,520 And I think of all these letters and ways to show her that I 348 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,760 cared about her. We do phone calls every night, 349 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,240 all the time. I was investing, investing, 350 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,440 investing all of my time and all of my energy. 351 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,920 And then when she she dumped me, I was absolutely gutted. 352 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,640 As we say all day I was, I was heartbroken. 353 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:58,800 Why? Because I'd invested so much 354 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,760 time into him. My dear friend, whatever you 355 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:06,160 invest your time into, that is a thing you will love the most. 356 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:10,160 So if you're investing into the Kingdom, your finances, your 357 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,120 time, because that's the best thing you can do. 358 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,440 Don't think that you're going to have a great relationship with 359 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,040 the Lord God if you just spend 10 minutes doing a Bible reading 360 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:19,400 and a couple of minutes in prayer. 361 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,560 Now if you're spending lots of hours worshipping him with, with 362 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,480 worship music in your house, lots of hours reading the word, 363 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,520 you know, cumulative or cumulatively over the week, 364 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:32,720 listening to sermons. If you're spending all this time 365 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,760 with him, the more you spend time with God, the more you 366 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,760 invest into his Kingdom, the more you're going to love him. 367 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,480 And, and at times these investments, they will cost you. 368 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,520 It will hurt again. Some of you are artists and 369 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,480 you're listening right now. Imagine a painting in front of 370 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,680 you, a beautiful painting. And you as an artist, you've 371 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,520 painted it. You spent hours and hours doing 372 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,120 the trees, doing the river. You know, you put your lifeblood 373 00:19:57,120 --> 00:19:59,880 sweat and tears into this painting and then someone comes 374 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,400 along and they just RIP it up in front of you. 375 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,880 You are going to be so angry. Again, you're going to be 376 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,160 heartbroken. How dare you do that to my 377 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,200 painting. I've put so much time and energy 378 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,200 into this. And that is why we should put 379 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,760 time and energy into the Kingdom of God, because then when people 380 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:23,360 mock our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, it bothers us when, when 381 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,360 we see that the king of the church isn't growing, when we 382 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:30,480 see that if you like God's house, is, is, is is an estate. 383 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,200 It bothers us that the Christians aren't holy today. 384 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,480 It bothers us that people don't care about it bothers us when we 385 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,040 think about heaven and hell and how many people are going to 386 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,760 this, this, this pit of absolute darkness, the lake of fire. 387 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,560 It scares us because we're so invested in the Lord. 388 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,760 We're so invested in the Kingdom. 389 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,120 And that's why Melchizedek was able to refuse this offer, 390 00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:54,160 because he was invested. Sorry. 391 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,720 That's why Abraham was able to refuse this offer, because he 392 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,920 was invested into the Kingdom. When this king of righteousness, 393 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,840 when this priest, King Melchizedek came and gave him 394 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,400 the bread and wine, and he gave his tithe to the Lord through 395 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:17,120 Melchizedek. I was so taken aback when I 396 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:20,040 heard this, but apparently there was a gazillionaire. 397 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,840 I don't even, I didn't even know they existed, But a guy had just 398 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,160 millions and millions of dollars or millions and millions of 399 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:31,920 pounds, very, very rich man. And he said after spending much 400 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:36,400 time at dinners, at events, mingling with other 401 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,000 millionaires, he said this. I seldom see a wealthy man 402 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,160 laugh. It's interesting, isn't it? 403 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:46,960 And we can think of celebrities right now. 404 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,640 We've got all this money and they're very serious. 405 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:52,240 They're very miserable. Why? 406 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:56,200 Because they've traded their life for profits. 407 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:58,440 Some of them look very old as well. 408 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,520 And they've, they've aged so quickly because they've traded 409 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,680 everything. They just want the profits, the 410 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,200 gains. And it's, it's corrupted them. 411 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:10,040 But like, if you've seen Lord of the Rings Gollum, he found that 412 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,520 that ring and it was his precious and he's all he did was 413 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,160 just look after it, looking at it, holding his hand. 414 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:17,840 I'm not going to do the impression, don't worry. 415 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,680 But it turned him into this this creature, didn't it? 416 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:23,880 If you've seen the films, he started out as this, you know, 417 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,640 normal looking person. He was like a Hobbit and he 418 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,920 looked normal with flesh and skin and looked healthy. 419 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:34,200 But when he got the ring, it took a hold of him and turned 420 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,280 him into this creature. That's what money, wealth, sin 421 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:42,120 it does to us because it it becomes all consuming. 422 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,520 But then compare that to again with ministry, I get to meet a 423 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:48,640 lot of farmers, Christian farmers. 424 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,520 And I honestly say when I go to these churches and I preach at 425 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,040 these farming communities, they are the happiest Christians you 426 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,400 could ever meet. They're just so content. 427 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,200 Now some of them probably do make a decent crust from, you 428 00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,800 know, working so hard and selling lambs and selling milk 429 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,960 and things like that. But you find a humble farmer 430 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,480 who's not on social media, not consumed in this world, and 431 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,040 they're just happy in God's creation. 432 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,320 You've got the mother. Some of you mothers are watching 433 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:21,680 this and you homeschool 6 children and you're worn out. 434 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:23,840 You go to bed and you're thoroughly exhausted. 435 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,840 But I know if I looked you in the eyes, I would see joy 436 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:29,680 because you're doing what the Lord's called you to do, to be a 437 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,760 homemaker, to to look after to your children. 438 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:36,200 Again, you could go to a third world country. 439 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,680 People have nothing and yet they have a joy because they have the 440 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,240 Lord. It is true, the old saying 441 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:46,840 holiness equals happiness and you don't need all of these 442 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:48,400 things. You don't need all of this money 443 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,640 to be happy. You just need the Lord. 444 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,240 OK, so here's the part you've all been waiting for. 445 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,000 Is tithing biblical? Well, my answer, I'm going to 446 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,040 keep it brief. Yes and no. 447 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,120 It is interesting. I'm over here in the UK and you 448 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:06,520 guys, many of you are over there in America watching, and this is 449 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:08,840 my observation. I could be wrong about it, but 450 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:13,680 I've noticed that over here in the UK, we have a big emphasis 451 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:19,200 on the Lord's Day or what many Christians would call over here 452 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,080 the Sabbath. And we're very, very big on not 453 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,360 doing anything. Some Christians wouldn't watch 454 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:27,800 TV. Some Christians, they wouldn't 455 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:30,000 like to go out for a meal. They wouldn't want to go to the 456 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,480 shop, they'd want to keep it very, very special. 457 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,920 But my observation and what I've heard from Christians over in 458 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,400 America is the Lord's Day In America, you might sometimes get 459 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,240 churches, big churches, and they'll have a service at 9 460 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:45,600 o'clock 10:00 in the morning. And then straight after that all 461 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,200 the dads or families will go off and they'll do their own thing. 462 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,640 For instance, a lot of them might go and watch the American 463 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,880 football. But again, over here in the UK, 464 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,400 if someone went over to watch our sporting equivalent like a 465 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,400 soccer match, it'd be frowned upon by by the pastors. 466 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,720 Then we come to tithing. Now in America. 467 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,000 I'll just say this from experience, the vast majority of 468 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,280 all of my giving the support that enables me to keep going. 469 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,000 And as you know, I don't ask for money. 470 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:18,440 I just have it. People who give find out, find 471 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,240 me without me asking. I just believe the Lord lays on 472 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,840 the heart and leads them to find where to give because I live by 473 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:26,400 faith. I just want to trust God for it. 474 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:29,640 But the vast majority of my support, it comes from America, 475 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,920 from sacrificial Americans who give so very sacrificially. 476 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:36,160 And I'm very, very grateful for that. 477 00:25:37,120 --> 00:25:41,160 But in America, my understanding is tithing is very, very big and 478 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:44,120 giving. And I can speak again from 479 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:47,400 speaking to Americans and there's a great generosity over 480 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,080 there, even with non Christians, the, the Americans have got a 481 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,800 big heart and they want to help people even if they're not 482 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,120 saved, that there's a, there's a generosity there. 483 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,880 But then over in the UK, and I can speak from experience here, 484 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:03,200 it tends to be Christians are very stingy. 485 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:07,200 I've got quite a few friends who have openly said, we don't give 486 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,640 tithe to the church. We don't think it's, it's 487 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,960 necessary. So is tithing biblical? 488 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,120 Is it commanded? Well, both these two things, the 489 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:20,800 Lord's day and tithing, I think, and again, I could be wrong 490 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,360 about this. I think these are two new, you 491 00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:26,640 know, in the new covenant, the emphasis isn't the same as in 492 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,360 the old covenant. In the old covenant, tithing was 493 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,040 you, you must give 10%. And in the old covenant there 494 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:34,480 was the Sabbath principle. You if you broke the Sabbath, 495 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,800 that was very, very serious. But now, since Jesus has risen 496 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,600 from the dead, we're in a new covenant, and there's a freedom 497 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,360 there, There's a liberty there, which I think we could all agree 498 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:46,560 on. There is a liberty, but then it 499 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:48,560 comes down to conscience, doesn't it? 500 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:51,720 Some Christians want to keep the Sabbath. 501 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,560 They want to keep a day special and holy for the Lord. 502 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,080 And I believe those Christians who do that, they will receive, 503 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,800 if you like, an extra blessing. I'm not saying in material ways, 504 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,080 but a blessing, a peace for doing that. 505 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,680 And likewise, there are Christians who want to give more 506 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,000 than the 10% and they want or 10% or they want to give the the 507 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,640 widows 2 mites, which is obviously there in the New 508 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,080 Testament. It's, it's a principle there 509 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,280 that is so crucial. And I believe they will get a 510 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,560 blessing too. So I think it comes down to 511 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:25,880 conscience. And again, it comes back to 512 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,600 everything I've been saying. How much do you want to invest 513 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:31,280 into the Kingdom? Do you just want to be 1/2 baked 514 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:34,080 Christian that just dips their toes in and does the bare 515 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,560 minimum or do you want to give and invest into the Kingdom and 516 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,120 thus you care about these things? 517 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,680 So that's my 2 pence. Let me know what you think. 518 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,240 I'm just a street preacher. I'm not a Bible teacher. 519 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,800 There are plenty of amazing Christian channels out there. 520 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,320 It'll give you deeper answers than me. 521 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:54,280 I'm just here to be your friend, to look at the scripture and to 522 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,520 drink coffee with you. And just to say, listen, I've 523 00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:00,040 not got all the answers, but I love you to pieces and I'm just 524 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,640 grateful for your friendship and that we can talk about Jesus 525 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:04,600 together. If you would like to see another 526 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,280 video, if you've still got lots of coffee in your pot, I've done 527 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:10,720 a video on false teachers on Christian pastors. 528 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:14,440 You should be aware of. Be careful of these guys looking 529 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,400 at scripture there. If you want to see that video, 530 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,080 click here. God bless you all and thank you 531 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:19,680 for your time.