Habits That Bring Blessings | Pastor Jeremy Foster

come on let's give Jesus innovation and worship all over this room come on come on let's shout unto God with a voice of triumph he's the king of the world what an honor it is to be with each and every one of you guys especially if you're brand new my name is Jeremy and along with my wife Jennifer we did the honor of being able to pastor here and we're not just one campus we meet here at our West Houston campus but we're also in Katy we're in Cyprus we're at Cornerstone campus thousands of people watching it online around the world let's welcome all of them and we're glad each and every person is with us and last weekend we launched a new series and I want you to say the title to your neighbor is simply tie it or bring on the blessings turn to somebody say bring on the blessings how many guys one of you want a blessing in your life you'd like to be blessed just raise your hand us that's the vast majority of us the people that aren't raised in your hands are like I just never raise my hands in church that's okay but all of us all of us want to be blessed if you ever have you ever wanted to be good at something there are things that I want to be good at I want to be a good golfer notice it's a desire not a reality so I mean I appreciate the invitations to play golf you may not want to play golf with me like I have determined that playing golf for me is just fun okay it's not like a sport I'm not gonna get I'm probably never gonna be a great golfer simply because I get mad at stuff and I just had to release that anger and I get mad at things that I shouldn't be mad at like the ball like what is wrong with you why wouldn't you like if you know if you pick your head up in the back so like when you're coming in this way you pick your head up you miss the ball I know that because I've missed the ball before with people standing right how do you miss a golf ball pick your head like you pick your head up like you're anticipating it's gonna go there and it's like sitting there just going I'm still here and then I get mad at the club you ever got mad at the club you ever now I've never thrown a golf club because I'm not that angry but I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hand they're men and possibly women in here who thrown a golf club before wrapped one around a tree thrown it in a pond get mad at something that didn't do anything right cuz it's not the club's fault it's not the balls fault whose fault is it it's yours if the trajectory of the ball does not go where you want it to go you don't actually need to look at the product you need to look at the pattern because it's usually the swing that creates the problem it's not the things that you use and a lot of us look at our lives and we're mad at the things that we have and things that we don't have or what this person has when really it's the pattern of our life that produces what's going on in our life now we find this in Scripture Romans chapter 12 verse 2 says do not conform to the pattern of the world so the world has a pattern this should not be the pattern of the church says but be transformed how by the renewing of your mind so it starts here before it shows up here it starts here and then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is his good pleasing and perfect will but patterns are hard why because we see things that we want and automatically think that we can get them or that we can do them I had some buddies a few years ago who started riding bicycles like bison like bikes like grown men riding bikes like hey man you want to go ride a bike I was like covered all of that when I was 10 I have a truck now I like I'll ride beside you guys I'll give you like I'll throw your water so I got a truck I'm good but then I hope you like six months I noticed like they're getting in shape and they've got like that they've got this camaraderie and they're all talking about bikes and and I was like I kind of want to be in the neighborhood bike club like I want to be in the club you know and so they were like hey you want to go ride with us foster and I was like yeah and they were like we're doing a 30 mile ride on Saturday you got this I was like I'm in remember I haven't done this since I was 10 okay and I'm thinking like hey it's a bike you just get on it and your ride for 30 miles I had no idea the pain that I was in for I said what do I need they said well first you need a bike and I was like I'll get a bike and so your boy went to a yard sale and got a bike cuz that's how I was raised like you want something you go get something to somebody else don't want anymore you get it super cheap so I got the the heaviest bike in the industry and so I'm like it's literally almost a motorcycle like without the motors so and and then they said they said look you can't this is horrible they're like you can't like you can't neglect this part you need to get a biking shirt and biking shorts and I was like alright cool and then I went to the store it's like have y'all ever seen this stuff it's like male Spanx it's like Spanx for men like I come out looking like the muffin man like I'm like a like the Michelin Man is gonna ride the back today like I look like an idiot so I get on the bike these dudes are all prepped they've got like the most amazing equipment their their stuff cost thousands of dollars my stuff costs tens of dollars they had like little patches on their arms with with paste in it like so when they got hungry apparently you get hungry on a bike ride they get hungry they just pull out paste they're eating paste I had a fanny pack with granola bars in it okay and like I don't know five or six miles into the rod I realized I was in trouble I couldn't keep up they were drafting I don't know if you've ever ridden bikes are seen it in the Olympics like they ride in a line like that like you're in a line and it's awesome to look at really hard to do okay and so what happens is when it's your turn like the people the person but in front of you moves back and then the person in front of you moves back and they just you're drafting so when it came my turn I slowed us down I was like hey we going too fast anyway they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength I need to renew my strength we're gonna slow down so before it's too long I hit the back of the pack and I just never caught up like I could not keep up and they were like they were like leaving a brother in Christ behind they just took off and I started going so slow that finally my bike fell over like I just literally like my bike was like I'm done boom you know like gravity man and I fell in somebody's yard and I just laid there I was like the grass feels so good like it was weird but then it was like right there going 15 miles this way and 15 miles they're coming back so they'll be back in like a couple of hours like 20 minutes later here they come back was like how did you do it so fast they were like we didn't have you you know Anna so so I got I like but while I saw him in the distance I was like okay I'm gonna I'm gonna go I'm gonna I'm gonna catch up so I start going and they just film just came right by me and I was like thanks guys leave no man behind never mind you can't even hear me now but one of the guys who served for years in the United States military actually turned around thank God u.s. military so the sir pretty much an Army Ranger came back to save me and um and I'm trying to ride he's like hey just stop just stop and I was like why he was like because look at your back tire it's almost all the way flat for miles I didn't even know to check that I was just like he's gotten really really really hard it was like why didn't you tell me he said because no one was behind you no one could see it I was like ask oh just go get my truck who's smart now you know but what I was trying to do and this is what's funny I was looking at what other people were doing and assuming that I could live at that level even though I had not put in the pattern not put in the practice I was trying to produce a product that there was no way that I could produce and some of us look at other people's lives we look at the blessings in other people's lives and we say I'd like to have that but we don't want to do what it takes to actually get that oh I'm preaching good right now so this weekend we're gonna be looking at at a God view and a biblical view of finances the last weekend if you want to bring on the blessings then you actually have to look at this and last weekend I introduced this concept that God wants you to be two things and you find these principles all throughout the scriptures he wants you to be two things he wants you to be a generous giver but he also want you to be a good steward you can't be one without the other you can't just give give give give give and not manage what you have cuz it won't come back I promise you God won't put resources in a bag with holes in it you have to actually manage it well and we're going to talk about the principle of patterns now when we talk about money in church people get nervous like people are like I'm sorry I invited you today he usually doesn't talk about this he'll talk about something later next week so just don't worry about this no listen God doesn't get nervous when he talks about money why because he's talking about your heart now the challenge is a lot of preaching on this topic have been all about money and I want it I want to walk softly here and I want to be careful how I say this because I don't hurt anybody's feelings but this is not a prosperity message this is not a prosperity kind of prosperity doctrine or not I don't have any stones to throw at other preachers but the challenge with a lot of that type of preaching is is it causes people to think that if I give I'll get get get get get get get and that's what my life will be is all blessings blessings blessings and then they begin to worship the blessings and not the bless or and they start living their life and this is a trick of the enemy they start living their life between two masters God and Mammon and Mammon wilt Radha and Mammon is a Syriac term for the god of riches and the god of riches will try to imitate God think about it look at what the world worships they worship the god of riches if I have money then I'll have love I'll have joy I'll have peace I'll have patience I'll have kindness I'll have gentleness goodness long-suffering and self-control no no friend that's not the fruit of money that's the fruit of the Spirit so if I spend time with the spirit then those things will happen in my heart I can have all the wealth and riches in the world and still be empty it's not about money it's about your heart and we find this very clearly in Matthew chapter 6 verse 21 Jesus says where your treasure is there your heart will be also so I said this last week but I want you to get it monetary system doesn't matter to God like there's been a thousand monetary systems all throughout history or more and that doesn't matter to God he's not interested in money why because he already owns everything the earth is his and the fullness thereof that's what the Bible says it's all his already he's only interested in one thing that's your heart but he knows where your treasure is there your heart will be also your heart is tied to your investments that's why whenever I preach about peace people are like yeah I'll preach about love they're like thank you for the love I preached about mercy all I need your mercy I preach about money they're like I need chapter and verse I need chapter and verse nobody underlines the money scriptures in the Bible why do you think people get frustrated when we talk about money at church like why do we have to talk about money at church because it's a heart issue and if you're frustrated right now you're like why are you why are we talking about this I'm talking to you like you need this probably more than anybody because it's attached to your heart that's why we get frustrated about it now listen let's talk about patterns we're gonna talk about the patterns of the word I'm gonna get very practical today you need to take notes today because if you'll employ some of the stuff that I'm gonna give you it will radically change your life but the pattern of the world think about this the pattern of the world is it's okay to be broke because everybody's broke like there are people right now are like Amen yes yeah I'm broke like and we and we laugh about it like you find it it's funny it's a funny topic amongst men I'm broke me I'm broke too you know it's a funny topic but the truth is is the pattern of the world is not working think about it most people are living paycheck to paycheck they're in debt up to their eyeballs but their Instagram looks like they making all kind of money spend money they don't have to impress people they don't even like they don't even know driving something you can't even afford rolling around in a cadillac escalade on five dollars worth of gas knowing you Katie you can hey didn't even feel that thing out I don't want to live that way when I started my very first car was a 1982 Ford f100 it wasn't even an f-150 I didn't have money for the 50 it was a 100 I had to pray for that thing ever we got to anoint it with oil about 1 quart every week because they had an oil leak all right if I got mad at you on the interstate I just got in front of you and gassed it and just anointed your cars like bless you right now people like what is that where's all this oil coming from I was like glory that's what that is the problem is nowadays we constantly compare ourselves to everybody else this is a condition the sociologists call conspicuous consumption what does that mean it's a really big term that basically means I'll buy things that I don't even need to form an identity for myself because I don't know who I am so I think if I Drive one type of vehicle it isolates me to being this type of person because that's how you judge people you look at their Instagram and go wow look at that amazing vacation you don't even know they're just taking a picture in front of their screensaver they ain't even at the beach conspicuous consumption think about it we defined you by what you drive I Drive a truck cuz I'm a man I Drive an SUV cuz I'm a man with a family I Drive a minivan because I used to be a man and now I have now playing I'm just kidding up I'm playing come on minivans are awesome like the doors open when you press the buttons this is like neat it's not even transportation its identity formation and this is a problem because now according to The Wall Street Journal seventy percent of people are living paycheck to paycheck and that's not God's will for your life ninety percent of people who get divorced say that money played a major role in their divorce how does this happen and how do we fix it if you're taking notes write this down personal finances about 80 percent behavior it's about 80 percent behavior it's how I behave in my life and we we have behavioral problems how many of you have kids you have kids you never had to teach them how to be bad did you nope they just knew it I had behavioral problems as the kids I'm a pastor's kid and I had behavioral issues I told you the story on Easter and I love it because it helps you understand how I was raised I was raised in gospel church like churchy Church we didn't have chairs in our church we had pews come on somebody the anointing is in the pews all right and some of you are like what do you what do you mean we had church so long that I can as a kid I could get up under that Pew and get a full nap and get out and still get about an hour's worth of sermon come on Jesus I remember I was about seven years old probably maybe eight and I was sleeping under Pew my mom was out of town so I'm conked out under the Pew my dad's up there preaching and and I noticed the guy in front of me every time that my dad hit a good point this guy would like a man and he would kick his leg and kick me right in the head every time and I was trying to dodge him and he kicked me right in the head and I was like this ain't the will of God so I noticed that his shoes he had wingtip lace-ups and I notice that they were separated and and Jesus prayed in the garden that men would dwell together and I was like this disunity is not God's will someone unify these laces and I tied them together and the next time he stood up he went a man and fell over the problem is we were in a gospel church people didn't think he fell over they thought he fell out so they were like yes Lord he was like turned me loose they were like turned him loose Jesus set me free set him free and Lord this through Turner I started punching me under the Pew my dad was like leave that boy alone and then he realized what had happen he was like hey hey Jeremy get out from under that Pew now you know you're in trouble when the pastor is calling you down from the microphone he's like get out from under that pew and I was like where do I go he said come up here on a platform that's a I was like you gonna beat me in front of it like everybody he was like sit right there and he pointed to one of those short fuse remember the short fuse that used to go on the platform the short fuse like not the throne chairs we had the throne chairs - but I wasn't Bishop status I couldn't sit up there in the throne chairs with the Father Son and the Holy Spirit so I had to sit on the little short pew and he looked at me he said I'll take care of you when we get home I looked up the word care later on that ain't the right definition he should have said some differently he was he had to teach me okay if you taking notes write this down you don't outgrow behavioral problems you have to learn discipline you have to learn discipline and you can apply this to any area of your life think about it when you want to lose weight you want to get healthy what do you have to do you have to diet and exercise God please help somebody to invent a pill that we can just eat whatever we want and then take the pill at night and it's like pink calories are gone like you wake up chiseled like what'd you eat yesterday I had cake like what else that's it just cake all day but no you got to eat salads yeah I mean salad salads I think salad but you got to watch restaurants nowadays cuz they like it's a salad and I'm like I'm eating salads I've gotten fat on salads before that's the truth your boys gained weight because I ate that Applebee's oriental chicken salad then I ate it all it's like I felt good but then I walked out like and I looked it up it's 1420 calories in that thing don't even get me on the quesadilla explosion salad at Chili's that thing is there an explosion that's exactly what it is listen you you can't you can't live like that and hope that you get better same thing financially so I'm gonna give you five secrets we're gonna find them in the Word of God that will help you bring on the blessings the first one very practical write a plan just write a plan spin it on paper before you over spend it in person write a plan and now you may say what is this thing right do I have to use a paper and the Archaic pin no you can actually go on Dave Ramsey calm or go on the app store and get you an app helps you budget your life this is scripture Luke 14 28 but don't begin until you count the cost for who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there's enough money to finish it this is really really smart this is why we've asked you to write down the commitment pray about the commitment for our silos campaign and I'm fired up that thing's gonna affect every campus of our church so I want to encourage every campus to get involved with that because God's gonna do amazing things with that project but we didn't just we're not just doing it overnight we're counting the cost at every step of the way and we want you to do the same thing think about your personal finances if whoever you work for or maybe even you're the boss if whoever you work for managed the company's finances like you manage your finances would they be fired and somebody in the last service a lady was like yeah I was like well ma'am just be honest with it amen but this is the problem we don't realize if I manage what I have well right now God can bless me with more this is the biblical principle Matthew 25:21 the master was full of praise he said well done my good and faithful servant you've been faithful in handling this small amount so now I will give you many more responsibilities let's celebrate together you manage this moment well I don't have very much manage it well now do you realize you can plant your way into a promotion some of us are trying to pray our way into a promotion and I think prayer is important I mean we are nothing if we're not a pray in church but you can you can plant your way into a promotion if you manage what you have right now really well the reason cotton can't and won't bless some of us is we blow through a blessing and then blame our brokenness on God it's important for us to understand this principle you got to write a plan how many guys are married where the married people at where you at marry people look at you they Nick's not married all right so communicate budgeting with your spouse and I understand budget nights fight night I get that I know my wife and I look at budget differently especially earlier in our marriage I'm a faith guy I'm like God's gonna come through I'm filled with faith my wife's like faith ain't gonna feed us I'm like oh you better read the Old Testament the Lord sent the Ravens to minister to the provost she was like we don't need we need chicken that's what we need like chick-fil-a a zoo it's gonna take money weird all the single people out where the single people out well yeah that one of the greatest gifts at all of our camps one of the greatest gifts that you can give to your future spouse obviously is the prayer life and a healthy life but it's also healthy finances because you don't wanna just bring all of those bags into the marriage and you're in a city that is an easy place to live financially free think about all the Mexican food restaurants we have in this city right here what does that mean free food you go eat chips and salsa just tell them I'm looking at the menu I'm just looking at the menu thirty minutes then leave a tip and be like god bless y'all my friend never showed up don't don't do that that's don't do that don't do that some of y'all think oh that's where we going today table for 20 please all we need is chips and salsa just keep it coming number one write a plan number two act your wage at your wage don't don't live on more today than what you actually make you realize you can't spend money you don't have you any member of Congress on this plan that's the joke that's the joke that's funny if you remember Congress I love ya I'm come on come on that was funny this is not easy you have to have self-control okay well develop self-control you got to develop self-control what does that mean get rid of impulse buys I gotta have it I gotta have it I gotta have it we gotta have it we got to buy it now we don't have it I gotta have it right now wait if you got to have it right now wait force yourself to wait we have a ton of sales people to go to our church they may not like what I'm gonna raise se but they'll understand it you sales people you understand if they leave more than likely you lose that sale if they go away and say we're gonna talk about it and we're gonna think about it you're like well okay but if you don't do it right now I can't give you the 20% off oh well okay well do it right now okay it's an impulse buy yeah I get it now but I have to pay for it later develop some self-control when somebody's not acting their age what's usually happening they don't have any self-control they're doing something crazy here's what the Bible says this is a biblical principle proverbs 25 28 like a city whose walls are and down is a man who lacks self-control so write a plan act your wage number three super important this is all biblical principles guys save money just save money when you get a blessing don't go out and spend it all like all I got a bonus it's gone whatever to the bonus it's gone it's the T it's a new TV did you need a new TV I know but they have one that curves now I wanted the one that curves now why so I could stand over here and watch it have you ever stood over there and watched it no but I could save money here's three ways to save money number one save for an emergency you're gonna have rainy days life's gonna get hard their conditioners gonna break the car's gonna break down you need some money on the side well that's really really negative why don't you be positive okay I'm positive the cars gonna break down and it's gonna be a rainy day save for that Dave Dave Ramsey says an emergency fund is three to six months of your expenses and that's not vacation money that's an emergency fund that you don't touch you know why because it's for an emergency oh this is good preacher number two pay cash for things pay cash why so hard I know that's why cash hurts when you spend it when you have to count it out you're looking at it leaving your hand and you're saying I want you to stay me it's one of those moments MIT did a study and they hooked up machines to people and when they spend cash it actually it actually triggers the praise and pain centers in your brain but when you spend plastic nothing flatline so cut some of the cards up that's good preaching number three I really wish I had time to push this more it is a very biblical principle invest for wealth building how many guys are thirty-five and down thirty-five and down all campuses raise your hand listen look at me look at me this is so important I wish that I had been more serious about this at a younger age if you will save I studied this if you won't put back $100 a month into a decent growth gross stock mutual fund in a Roth IRA or whatever put that in just a decent rate of return at the age of 30 by the age of 70 $100 a month because of compounding interest at the age of 70 will be 1.17 six million dollars it works if you store it up now that's not even a lot of money it's $100 a month you spend that at Starbucks you spend that at Whataburger at chick-fil-a and I'm not preaching against chick-fil-a but you ain't got to go every day here's what the Bible says well is it in the Bible to invest proverbs 21 20 in the house of the wise our stores of choice food and oil but a foolish man devours all that he has this is a good word number four get out of debt get out of debt debt is never talked about in this Bible as a good thing it's always a curse it's always a bad thing you're always a slave your brother hates you it's all that stuff in it in fact proverbs 22 and 7 says the borrower is slave to the lender think about this what if you what if you didn't have a car payment you're like ah I could spend it on the flat screen TV that curves no no what if you didn't have a house payment think about that what if your student loans were gone lowering he's just gonna do it probably nah it's gonna take a debt snowball it's gonna take some time to get rid of that stuff why do you get excited because then you don't serve two masters think about it jesus said don't serve two masters why do you think they call it master card I'm just saying that's like that's not in the Bible but I'm just trying to help you I'm pretty good the Forbes 400 this is the wealthiest people in North America here's what they say the number one way to become wealthy is to get out of debt and stay out of debt well if I made more money no no no what you have now start with what you have now well how do I do that ease back on your level of living chief we ain't trying to impress people on Instagram we're trying to we're trying to build for what God has called us to do okay so this is really important write a plan act your wage save money get out of debt number five give your tithes give your tithes now listen this is important for you to understand and I want you to understand them the angle that we take on tithing you'll never hear me get up and say if you don't pay your tithes you're best tailor wide open can I get today may I'm never gonna do that it's weird because we believe that tithing is a principle tithing is life not law and you find it all throughout the Bible the principle of time ever I say the principle of tithing so I'm not beating you over the head with tithing but I will show you kind of where you can find it Leviticus chapter 27 and verse 30 says and all the tithes of the land whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree is the Lord's it's holy to the Lord so here's the principle tithing is holy Genesis 28 Jacob said and this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house and all that you give me I will surely give a tenth or a tithe to you this is four hundred years before the law so tithing is a principle that we find throughout the scriptures some people say well that was the old law no it said it's an old principle do we find all throughout the Bible now people get real bent out of shape with tide of water we don't have to tithe okay even if you don't let's just act like you don't have taught it okay it's no big deal but why wouldn't you here's one there's a promise there is a proc can't preach this strong enough to you there's a promise attached to tithing and when you tithe in an act something in this word of God for your life and the reason we have a smattering of handclaps is because not everybody tides and they don't know if they want to believe it or not in fact I've watched I've watched many of you when I said number five give your tithes literally look around people like okay sorry about that he can see me Martha I'm not mad at you let me let me take this off the table listen you didn't have to give here if you don't want to in fact if you can't give cheerfully don't give here things you never hear a pastor say but if you go here so where you go so where you grow here's one Malachi 3:10 bring all the tithes into the storehouse I want you to know there's just two there's a two part blessing to this bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and try me now in this says the Lord of Hosts if I will not open for you the windows of heaven this is provision and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it this is provision everybody say provision so when I tithe there is a promise of provision okay now remember this is not once that you can't just tie the knot manage your money well okay there's a promise of provision number verse 11 is a is the back half of this promise and I will this is God I will rebuke the Devourer for your sakes so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field says the Lord of hosts I'm telling you when you tithe it in acts a blessing that that the economy can be failing and you can be blessed in the middle of a failing economy some of the biggest I can't I can't stress this to you enough my wife and I and I have not told all the services this I probably should have my wife and I decided that in 2007 we said we're gonna start tithing over and above 10% we started tithing 20 percent we said Lord we're just going to go over and above 2008 was a really hard year for the United States of America and it was one of the biggest blessing years we have ever received in our entire life we had a contractor do more than $100,000 worth of remodel to our home and write it off like it was like here this is a gift you talk about weeping and crying when everybody else was weeping and crying in a different way we were weeping and crying and going god how could you even do this because when you are faithful to this when everything else is being devoured God will Sam will rebuke that devour and I'm gonna protect what you have I'm telling you you can disagree with me but I'm telling you it's in the Word of God you find that even in Proverbs honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your increased and when you do this so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine now don't miss the point in this verse of scripture it's not it's not honor the Lord with the firstfruits and honor the Lord with giving so that your so that you'll be blessed so that you'll be blessed no no it all starts with the first word honor the Lord it's not about so that I'll be blessed that's a back half blessing and I'm grateful for it that's a bonus I want to honor God I want to say God all that I have is yours and tithing like it or not is the test it's a test it means the tenth part and ten represents testing in the scripture how many plagues were there in Egypt there were ten you can say it out loud there were ten how many Commandments were there ten how many disciples were there not twelve there was not ten that was a joke that was I was just testing you know I want you to go back to I want you to go back to Malachi here's what the Lord says that they're bringing all the time 3:10 bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and try me now turn to your neighbor to say try me turn the one that you're a little bit more afraid of the one on the other side is they test me some of y'all didn't say it to anybody you just say it to anybody you're like I'm not saying that why cuz it's an aggressive statement what do you say test me test me and see if I won't try on meat though ain't nothing between you and me but err an opportunity you feeling froggy jump I talk a good game but I got about thirty good seconds in me that's it and then I got to run our papa cat and pray later um Texas Church this is the only place in the scripture where we are told test me it's the only place God's saying please please test me and see if I won't protect you and if I won't provide for you test me in this so we don't have to play well why wouldn't you want to if it brings such a great blessing in your life it tests your heart tithing test your heart people who don't tithe people who don't tithe always say well I can't afford it people who do tithe always say man I'm blessed you can't know how blessed I am there's a reason when I started talking about tithing there was a smattering of handclaps that's because people tied people that tithe know the blessing of when you tithe what God can do in your life is the truth so tithing is basically saying God I'm giving you first and I'm thanking you first for all of my increase tithing is the first part this is first I'm gonna give you first and then I'll give the rest tithing is redemptive we'll talk a little bit more about that later tithing is redemptive it's a buyback it's covering what you have so when I give 10% God blesses the other 90% I'd rather have 90 percent blessed by God than a hundred percent not tithing is saying thank you God first and not thank you Visa first or thank you mortgage company first I'm not saying you don't pay them you need to pay them what remember all the other four points but we give to God first why because visa ain't never done nothing for me the mortgage companies never accidentally sent me a check on purpose and said hey we just wanted to bless you we just got to thinking about you this week and wondered how you were doing we just wanted to bless you but I cannot tell you how many times that has happened in my life when we tithe God brings it back God brings it back I have eat listen I was raised on this when I was a kid we didn't have any money in the house but my parents taught us how to be faithful because they were faithful we did have any money and we we had we only had cans of vegetables and I remember the meal I don't remember I don't remember the circumstances because I didn't know him my parents didn't bring home all the pain but we only had like green beans hominy and I don't remember what the other vegetable was and we had bacon bits that's all we had was bacon bits my dad looked down said where's the beef like there was no there was no meat and my mom said we don't have anything and the very next day my brother and I were sent to school with no breakfast because we didn't have anything and that afternoon my mother went out and checked the mail and there was a check in the mail that some random pastor had sent to us that we didn't even know and he said God told me to do this I promise you when you sow into the kingdom God will provide and it'll come out of nowhere you'll be like how did that even happen I'm not trying to blow smoke at you I'm not just preaching of prosperity message to give all that you have to God I've never said that I never said give all your money I want you to give your life but I rarely ask some people for it and typically the people that I've talked to in fact every person I've ever talked to you to God said give everything you have god exponentially bless them but I do not encourage you to do that unless God speaks to you and I'd be like I'm gonna need to see an angel manage it well God's not asking for all he's asking for a tenth part and it blesses well why would why does God want my money he doesn't want your money he wants your heart but let's think about that statement it's my money it's mine I worked hard he's mine it's really hard to get around this whole book right here right the book of James chapter 1 verse 17 says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights which there is no variation or shadow of turning that means everything that you've got is from here him and he was here before the Sun so everything that you see is his and anything that you have he provided for you already it's already here well I don't have to think about if I'm gonna give it to him or not I'm gonna have to think about that work guard it's mine um is anybody here have a nice truck like a really nice truck okay alright alright can you come over let's chat alright come on give Chad a great big hand I just heard a voice in the darkness over here oh yeah I know your truck I know the kind of truck you have um can I borrow your keys for just a second thank you he drives a Chevy Silverado beautiful black truck what year is it it's a 2018 it is beautiful I mean it black rims is it's a fine ride so if I asked you hey can I borrow your truck what would you say absolutely thank you such a kind guy I'm a Bart for two weeks okay so our bar is truck for two this is the joke I'm just using this as illustration I borrow it for two weeks okay I got house keys and everything in here man so two weeks I bar the truck and after two weeks I call him and say hey we want you and your wife to come over for dinner my wife's gonna cook for you and we have something for you so he's like okay cool they're gonna give us a thank you in whatever and him a truck back so he comes over and we feed him enchiladas and we're all just sitting there and we're having a great time and after we have red velvet tres leches because they said anointed and we sit there we eat and then afterwards I say Chad like my wife and I've been praying and man I can't believe that we're gonna do this baby this is crazy leap of faith we've really been praying about this but we feel led to give you this truck man we just we're gonna give you that truck god bless you man yeah you can say thanks give Chad a great big hand he's like God all right it's a little weird and that's exactly how some of us look at tithing like I'm really gonna think whether I'm gonna give you back what's already yours everything that you have is already his he gave it to you to steward so why would you allow him in on it because when you allow him in on it he blesses everything else that you have it is a principle that is squarely in the scripture well how do I do this 2nd Corinthians 9:6 remember this the farmer who plants only a few seats will get a small crop but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop a lot of pastors stop right there and remember they teach give to get give to get give to get give to get I don't give to get I give to honor God I give to give notice a lot of them don't read this next verse you must each decide in your heart notice it's not about what's in your hand it's what's in your heart how much to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure or in the sad videos or when the pastor makes you feel bad because somebody's got to keep the lights on in this place none of that scriptural none of its biblical if you go to a church where they put a lot of pressure on you run because they're probably not doing the other 4 things that I've taught in this they're probably not managing it well it's important for us to manage it well God loves a cheerful Giver or a person who gives cheerfully this is all about your heart but when you do this here's the promise and God will generously provide all you need then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others as the scriptures say this is what I pray that our church is if they share freely and give generously to the poor their good deeds will be remembered forever for God is the one who provides seed for the farm returning your neighbors say don't eat the seed and then bread to eat so notice seed comes first why don't have just a little bit because that seed you've got to learn how to plant that you got to learn how to save that then it will be multiplied into something more in the same way he will provide an increase your sources and then produced a great harvest of generosity in you not for you in you and that's how you go from being blessed to becoming a blessing and when you trust God with your finances God trusts you with more and you become a clearinghouse for blessings and God sends you to somebody as the answer to their prayer well I just still know still not convinced because it's not in the New Testament and I find in the Old Testament fine but it's the principle I get it we don't have the time if Jesus told you to tie the wood Utah good okay Matthew chapter 23 Jesus is talking to the Pharisees and the scribes and I want you to notice what he says here he says woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you pay tithe of mint and a nice and cumin but you've neglected the weightier matters of the law justice and mercy and faith now notice he says these you ought to have done the justice and the mercy in the faith without leaving the others undone so is it justice mercy and faith or tithe it's yes it's both and I want you to notice what's happened in this generation it's flipped and they're really good at justice and mercy and faith but not really good at trusting God with their finances and he's saying don't leave either one of them undone now the justice the mercy in the faith or weightier matters because that has everything to do with others but the tithe and the finances has a lot to do with your heart and who you're honoring so I'm going to teach you a system real quick and then we'll close it's simply so save and spend so ten percent into the kingdom save ten percent this is so important that you do remember generous giver good steward and then spend the other 80% wisely the Prophet walks up to a woman who has sons who have been placed in indentured servant hood simply because their father who was a good man he died and he had bad debt and she told the prophets she said he he's a good man he loved God but he had bad debts which means you could be a good person and you can love God and still have bad debt and when you die you leave your family in a bind and the creditor came to take her sons now the Prophet could have said I pray down fire from heaven on the credit but that would have forget against the Word of God why because it was a bad debt but it was owed and the Prophet looked at it said what are you have in your house and she said I don't have anything which is what most of us say if I had more I'd give more I don't have anything or she said well except a little jar of oil and I was gonna use that to just cook up laughter what we had honest all I got has a little jar of oil he says take that and pour it out into vessels get a whole bunch of vessels don't borrow just a few of them get a whole bunch and she trusts God so she can either pour it out for her family or she can put a little into the kingdom and she puts it pours it in to the future she pours it into the lives of her sons and it won't stop and it keeps going and it's a miracle because she trusted what God was saying she trusted him and it poured out and all of us it's basically she started a business and in that day it paid off the debt that she owed and set her free so save spend let me show you what I'm talking kidding can I use you as an example I'm sorry I'm not gonna have you come up on the stage I'm just gonna have you come stand right here so it's not a far walk for you what's your name everybody give Jennifer a great big hand how long have you been coming to Hub City all right Jennifer second side of the hub city come right over you just come right over here all right so um if you hold out your hand on my use we're gonna do this example together if you'll help me okay so here we go 20 40 60 80 100 20 40 60 80 100 how much is that that's $200 okay so we taught the principle so save and spin so if I so ten percent what is ten percent of 220 okay so that's 20 someone is so 10 percent don't give it to me what is there an usher okay right here uh sure right here okay so you're gonna put that in an envelope just give her an envelope put that in an envelope okay and then later she'll come to you and get you to picture while she's sitting right beside you that's perfect she'll get you to put your name on it so you just put it in there so ten percent just put it right in there don't have to make it perfect that's that's great okay and then she goes away okay so then you take you literally went away that was awesome you could even say she hasn't backpack on she's like I'm out um then you then so you so 10% and then you that's the first ten then you save 10% so 10% okay so I want you to fold that up different like a couple okay so yeah I don't want I don't want you to get that confused with the other that's the one you put away okay and then you keep the rest of it and spend it wisely okay that's yours Jennifer god bless you you can have that message glad you're here welcome to church come on blessings [Applause] bless you and there's the reason y'all are all clapping why cuz it's more blessed to give than it is to receive right it creates an excitement in you and then others do you are like I'm gonna come to next service I'm gonna sit right out there in the front I'll bind that spirit all right so save spin it works so I'm gonna challenge you for the next 90 days I want you to take the t90 X challenge tithe 90 days watch God multiply you won't you won't get the t-shirt but you will get a blessing I promise God will change your life if you'll put him first let me pray for you Lorna thank you for each and every person under the sound of my voice I pray that this weekend we would commit and say Lord this weekend we're committing to be faithful stewards of all that you give us well sew it into your kingdom we will manage it well and we will trust you with all that we have because none of it is ours it's all yours and we trust you with it and there are those here under the sound of my voice at all of our campuses watch it online maybe maybe you need to put your faith in Christ maybe you need to prioritize God you know he's not in the right priority in your life and if that's you here's what the Bible says acknowledge him and he will acknowledge you in this one moment you can put him in the right place nobody looking around but if you know that's you just put your hand up hands hands hands thank you hey they all over the place thank you hands I want us to pray this prayer together every voice Jesus you're the only one who can save me I believe you died on a cross and rose again on the third day to give me eternal life so this life is not about here it's about heaven and trusting you so forgive me of my sins I'm tired of live in my own way I will trust you with my life and I'm asking you Jesus to be the Lord of my life I receive your love I receive your grace I receive your forgiveness in Jesus name Amen come on let's give him an ovation of worship God

Channel: Hope City

Views: 60,554

Rating: 4.877759 out of 5

Keywords: Jeremy Foster, Houston, Hope City, Hope, Christianity, Jesus, HILLSONG, hillsong worship, hillsong united, elevation, elevation worship, transformation church, mike todd, carl lentz, kanye west, sunday service, hillsong nyc, who is jesus, how to understand God

Id: gvLcXJdd408

Length: 46min 16sec (2776 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 24 2019