#theEncounter Worship Experience

come on praise the lord everybody come on give the lord worship give him praise give him glory give him honor this is the day that the lord has made we will rejoice and we will be glad in it come on give god thanks right where you are in your home in your kitchen in your car on the job worship him where you are give him the glory give him the honor give him the praise he is worthy of all of it our god is high and lifted up come on lift up your voice give god some worship lift up your voice give god some praise the same god that is with us in the sanctuary is with you in your house with you right where you are hallelujah come on give god some glory give god some praise give god some honor this morning lift up his name give him that praise hallelujah that praise of deliverance that praise of god giving us an escape that praise of god giving us a breakthrough come on shout hallelujah right where you are and give him all of the glory give him all of the honor give him all of the praise we thank god today for bringing us to another sunday this is the first sunday in february god brought us through january and god is keeping us god is holding on to us this is the second month of the year and we're believing god that he is going to continue to show himself in this year of restoration revival and renewal and god's going to do it for us this time again we give god praise we give him glory and please do us a favor and share if you can tag somebody get somebody on we're believing god that the encounter worship experience here at bethany baptist church the transformation church of new jersey is changing lives that god through this ministry is still moving through signs wonders miracles and deliverance get your faith ready ask god to increase your faith ask him to help your unbelief as we believe god that he will continue to do his work and he will do what he's famous for so again please tag somebody share this with somebody tweet somebody whatever you got to do do some virtual evangelism to get somebody on to the encounter worship experience this morning we're getting ready to pray for you and we're getting ready to believe god reminded of a story of a leper that comes to jesus and it comes asking saying jesus i know you can heal me but if you're willing please do it he comes to him and says lord i know you're able to do it i just want to know are you willing to do it that's going to be our prayer today we know that god is able we just want to see that he is willing and jesus says i will and while he's reaching his hands out he speaks healing to the man and before his hands ever touches the man's head his words heal him immediately and jesus touches a cleanse clean leper we're believing god today that his willingness will show up that he will have compassion on us and that he will send his word and heal us and touch us one more time if you believe that thank god for it now we're believing we're going to pray we know that he's able today we're going to ask if he's willing come on let's pray father i thank you for allowing us to come to you through your son through him and through the one that gives us access we recognize today that because of our sins we cannot get in by ourselves but it's through the blood of the lamb that we are able to come before you today we thank you for allowing us the privilege to come before your mercy and come before your grace and believing that we can receive it we thank you lord for keeping us and we thank you for holding on to us we give you praise today for who you are we come to you like that leper knowing that we're in need of help we're in need of divine assistance lord we have an infirmity we have an issue that needs your help and father we know that you're able but lord we're asking that you'd have compassion on us that lord your willingness would begin to show up that lord as we continue to believe as we continue to worship you that lord your mouth and your hand will begin to move on our behalf i pray in the name of jesus that you would speak healing deliverance and breakthrough into our lives that lord by the end of this service your word will be sent and we will be healed we will be delivered i pray that you will touch us one more time we pray in the name of jesus that you would begin to save somebody today reclaim a backslider i pray that you would settle somebody connect someone to this house bless the worship and bless the word we believe you to do great things holy spirit have your way in jesus name amen y'all getting ready to be going to some worship pastor lonnie hot money hunter and a group is coming get ready to get your worship on get your praise on god is going to move on your behalf yes sir right where we are in this pandemic i know you all wish you could be here with us right now but guess what even where you are your sacrifice of praise is still effective so i dare you right now in the atmosphere in which you sit start to give it glory start to give it free we're gonna help you out [Music] singers [Applause] one more time open it up [Applause] [Music] it feels good [Applause] now what i need is for everybody watching us right now to know that you are still serving a god that is completely in control am i right about it [Music] so what we're gonna do is we're gonna give you a war cry and when you're giving this war cry we want you to do it at home can y'all teach in the war crime can you teach in the war crime let's do it say it again come on [Applause] oh [Music] are you ready [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is a good place to be about to holla for a minute every kingdom soldier send your power right now [Music] [Applause] this ain't nothing but good give me some of that give me some of that give me some of [Music] [Applause] [Music] talk with that [Music] just a little bit give me just a little bite [Music] just a little bit [Music] where are the radicals at [Music] [Music] give me just a little bit [Music] just [Music] [Applause] [Music] i see you ladies [Music] make me better heal my heart [Music] are you ready [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hey bethany family sister desiree here to remind you to make sure that you come back tonight for our communion service we want to make sure that we are getting our crackers our grape juice together whatever it is that you set in order to get yourself prepared for this new month in god and we want to make sure that you're taking pictures of it too so that we can see how you are celebrating and how you're rejuvenating your month so make sure you take pictures let us know what you're doing make sure you tag us at bbc of nj see you soon good morning bethany family is brother kevin here and desi and we want to invite you guys to the recap you know every monday we have a great time recapping the word you know sister dance throws her knowledge and solo shading there shading i am not shady but we do want you to come in and join us every monday evening at 5 30 for our recap where kev is the ultimate moderator asking us questions and just getting more insight about what happened on sunday about service so make sure you guys tune in and make sure you share and comment with us and let us know what you think about you know this sunday sermon bethany family as you guys know we always get fed every sunday with the encounter services but we also get fed with our midweek service on wednesday word impact i want to invite you guys to come on back and join us for word impact this wednesday as we get a word from pastor nick and bishop as her starting this new series about prayer all right we want you guys to invite someone remember it's still transformer lives month so tag someone and let someone know that we're on midweek service word impact all right bethany family i'll see you in the comments praise the lord bethany family is deacon antoine here and we want to let you know that this thursday we have a sound mind panel at seven o'clock on facebook and on youtube uh we talked about dealing with grief and dealing with this whole pandemic and talking about mental health and military awareness we want you to know that it's okay if you're if you need help if you need to talk it out you need to listen to someone it's okay for you to join invite someone this is transformer lives month you can invite someone to this panel you never know someone's life might be changed from it well praise the lord bethany family guess what the fresh young adult ministry is back friday at seven o'clock we want to connect with you it's been a long time since we connected so we really want to connect with you all are welcome from ages 18 to 35. we want to see you there we want to connect with you and we want to emerge and be in a fresh way praise lord everybody uh pastor nick here just wanted to come on and send some encouragement and some prayer your way it's been a very difficult almost year since covet came and we were out of service and we've been out for almost a year in march and i don't know about you but this particular season has been taking a toll on many emotionally physically psychologically we're so glad that you continue to tune in and we have a church and resources to help help you spiritually to build your strength up spiritually emotionally psychologically that will in turn help your physical out oftentimes there are some physical ailments that are tied to the stress that we experience emotionally and psychologically so i know that this season's been very difficult for many because it's been an extended one it's been tapping out our strength tapping at our emotions patience a little bit shorter at times and noticing that our tolerance for things are not the same but there's one thing i know is that the bible talks to us extremely and importantly about the power of endurance and in the power of patience there are some things that we have to outlive some things we have to experience some things we have to go through god's not gonna bring us out we have to go through it but the one assurance we have is that the bible tells us in ecclesiastes chapter three that god will make everything beautiful in his time he will make everything beautiful in his time and right now i want to pray for your emotions i want to pray for your psych your psychology pray for your strength if you're tired emotionally you're tired mentally acknowledge that to the lord you've got code fatigue and all the stuff that's going on with our country and you recognize that emotionally you need more strength i want you to know that in your weakness you will discover god's strength in your flaws you will discover the grace and mercy of god in your brokenness you will discover the love of the lord god will meet you right where you are he comes close to those who are suffering and those that are struggling so right now what i want you to do is um you may not be around people touch and agree with yourself and let's touch and agree virtually together put your hand on your heart put your hand on your mind and we're going to pray for each other we're going to pray that god will strengthen us emotionally psychologically that god will build us up continue to build us up during this time it's a difficult season for many but in this difficulty god is going to move in your life come on let's pray father i thank you again for this moment we appreciate you for this time and we thank you that you allow us to come to you through your son through the person of jesus christ father i thank you that we can come to you in times like this understanding that we need you as a deer pantheth after the water so our soul pants after you oh god our soul thirsts for you in a dry and weary land and father i thank you that you are the refresher of our souls we've been walking with you and the challenges of life have weighed us down at times and i pray that you do like you said in psalms 23 restore our souls and empower us encourage our hearts and minds some of us are coming to you today tired in our hearts tired in our minds but i pray in the name of jesus that in our weakness we would discover your strength when we are weak you are made strong and we thank you today for propping us up for holding us up for giving us the grace that we need you told us that your grace is sufficient to help us with these infirmities and i pray lord for your strength i pray that you would help us to endure until the end because you told us in your word that we will receive the promise if we would endure keep us lord protect us guard our hearts and minds as we pray give us peace that passes all understanding help us to think on the good things overcome the negative thoughts and put our minds and put our complete trust and our faith in you we pray this in the name of the father the son and the holy ghost amen god bless y'all stay strong we're going right back into service we just want to spend some time in prayer with you to help you during this season this place that we are standing in is in the door of opportunity and when god is in this building the miracle that you've been looking for it's right here for you we are here for you god all we want you to do is come and do what you do how many know you serve a god that's good at what he does hallelujah so for all of the baptized believers and the believers in the miraculous this type of song is for you mountains are still being moved [Music] strongholds god we believe yes we can see [Music] that wonders are still what you do you got to have a relationship to understand these next words bodies are still being raised still being slain god we believe [Music] yes we can see [Music] that wonders are still what you [Music] do [Music] come on say it set our hearts anybody need to see a boob of god [Music] tonight we need a move come on [Music] break it one day [Music] are you here for him we need you to do what you do god come and do [Music] [Applause] hallelujah i don't know if you know it but miracles happen when you let the spirit of god move healing is in this room how many need to be healed from something tonight miracles happen yeah when you let the spirit of god move as a matter of fact heaven is in this room right now [Applause] [Music] is [Music] do you believe it there's a miracle in this space [Applause] stay right there miracles [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we [Music] jesus king jesus jesus is a listening when you pray king jesus is the listen when you pray king jesus [Applause] king jesus is a listening when you pray [Music] [Applause] jesus [Applause] [Music] jesus [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and he's taking me away king jesus isn't listening king jesus isn't listening my jesus [Music] yes jesus is a listener yes jesus is jesus [Applause] our scripture reading today will be found in the book of deuteronomy chapter 26. and we'll begin at verse number six it says in the egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage and when we cried unto the lord god of our fathers the lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression for the and the lord brought us forth out of egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terribleness and with signs and with wonders and he hath brought us into this place and has given us this land even the land that floweth with milk and honey and now behold i have brought the first fruit of the land which thou o lord has given me and thou shalt set it before the lord thy god and worship before the lord thy god and i love this part in verse 11 and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the lord thy god hath given unto thee and unto thy house thou and the levite and the stranger that is among you i want you to get ready for your exodus god is delivering with the mighty hand and all that he has given us we will give him a portion of what he's given to us get ready for your exodus so [Music] lord [Music] to live in me [Music] oh lord deliver me deliver me [Music] oh [Music] me [Music] [Music] oh with me [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] who agrees with the fact that god is the greatest power in your life why don't you lift your hands with us and accept the fact that god is in control this is your exodus if you believe it why don't you praise him here we go [Music] praise the lord this is my exodus thank you lord for all you've done that's his wonderful name [Music] bless his wonderful name mighty god this [Music] this is [Music] this is [Music] praise the lord i know you appreciate the lord for our worship team this morning bless god for them today they sound so so good thanking the lord for the exodus that he has provided for all of us and we all ought to be grateful today for those of you who are watching us today i want to welcome you to the encounter worship experience here at bethany church the transformation church in lindenwald new jersey you may be wondering just where is lindenwald if you've ever flown into the philadelphia area the philadelphia international airport do about 30 minutes over either major bridge ben franklin or walt whitman into southern new jersey 30 minutes from center city philadelphia 30 minutes from the airport in other words you're closer than you think so why don't you tune in with us every week but then once we reopen decide you're going to come and join us we have great worship through social media but there is nothing like the weekend week out corporate worship here at bethany church truly the word the worship the work will transform your life for those of you who don't know the lord i want to encourage you today is a day of decision a day when you can decide to make a drastic radical turn in your life simply by deciding god i want you i need jesus and i require the power of your spirit in order to make this thing work we've got thousands and thousands of witnesses that will testify the gospel of jesus christ the power of the holy spirit god is your father really really works jesus wants to be your savior today he died that you might be free from sin from the power of sin from the penalties of sin he died just for you in anticipation he died in hope and faith that you and i would come to him one day so right now i want to pray with you very quickly for those who have never given their lives to the lord to those who gave your life to god but for some reason you got distracted by life's distractions and life can be tough setbacks are inevitable in life but giving up is unacceptable come back to the lord and those who love the lord and building a relationship with him but you realize you know not just in the last few months but for a while you've had this this thirst that there must be more and during this pandemic god has led you to share with us during the week and on sundays and you figured out you know this is what i need to be a part of this is that not only what i want i need to be a part of this kind of assignment this kind of work this kind of divine purpose that god has given his church on earth i want to invite you right now to become a part of who we are a partner in the ministry a co-worker a co-laborer as the bible would call us in the ministry those of you who live close by within an hour or so you can connect with the church physically but if it's impossible for you to get here during this pandemic we launched our connections church hundreds of members around the world are now part of bethany church attending classes with me on monday nights and ministers classes and wednesday night bible studies and taking advantage of all the panels of discussion we have for millennials and business and any kind of lifestyle ministry you would need you can become a part of that so i want to pray for you right now god i bless your name for the time and for the opportunity i thank you because you're always so good and so faithful to your word now lord as i pray for those who have never given their lives to you i pray that you put a yes in their minds and in their hearts and today at this very moment 11 32 a.m eastern time they say yes lord i'm giving my life to you turning my life my old life i'm turning my back on that old life and i want you for god to be my father with jesus to be my savior and the holy spirit to be my keeper the word of god my guide for life i also pray for those of you who got saved but maybe even during the pandemic you've gotten off track you don't pray like you used to pray you don't read your word like you used to read you actually started seeking out people that god had delivered you from circumstances places that god had clearly delivered you from at some point in your life you were on fire for the lord but something happened and you found yourself incrementally just little by little easing back into your old life but you've realized for a long time something's not quite right i pray that you say yes today come back to the lord and this time decide i'm going to do it right i'm going to stay with him no matter what setbacks are inevitable giving up is unacceptable last but not least you love the lord you're saved but you realize i need to connect to this house this ministry this anointing this bishopric realize i need this i invite you to say yes and connect now god i thank you for what you're doing right now by the power of your spirit what you're going to do through the power of your word how you're not going to lead and guide but connect those with the house of your choice for them i thank you with the people of your choice for them we must be in the right place with the right people for the power of god to be released in its fullness in our lives the bible says they were in one place and one accord and then power poured out from heaven i pray these things in jesus name and i believe in the power of faith and the holy spirit in jesus name i pray amen now if you decided to make that decision write us right whatever site you're on write us one of our team we'll get back to you as quickly as possible take you through the next steps as to what you need to do and i welcome you in jesus name all right as we try to end this series called shift the needle in so many of your writing and saying that it's really benefiting you i want to take us back to luke chapter 16 as we try to finish the series today hopefully we'll get through if we don't and i'll just finish it out next week luke chapter 16 and we'll start at verse 9 luke 16 9 and i say unto you make to yourselves friends of the man of unrighteousness that you when ye fail when you die they may receive you into everlasting habitations that simple translation there is going to change your view of this entire scripture he that is faithful and that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much if therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous man who will commit to your trust the true riches if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's who shall give you that which is your own look how lord jesus is talking us got to make a decision no servant can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other you cannot serve god and mammon at the same time i want to talk to you from the subject gratitude gratitude father bless this word in jesus name amen i'm always amazed at how jesus begins his scriptural conversations and once again he begins a conversation with us by drawing a distinction that is not necessarily flattering to the children of god something says something in about verse 8 that does not show that we are living our lives in wisdom as it pertains to earthly things he says in verse 8 that the unjust or unrighteous people tend to be wiser as it relates to money and to things that are material he actually praises the unjust steward but he's not praising his being unjust so what is the lord uh trying to draw to our attention uh his adaptability in the verses that precede verse nine his versatility and his understanding of how resources how money works jesus is saying i know you'll never see it the same again once you read the story after we finish this tonight uh you read verses maybe five through nine about the unjust steward a little higher you're going to see something like you've never seen it before jesus is saying to us by using the unjust steward that he wants us to be adaptable us to be versatile and wise but wise versatile and adaptable for what is right or righteous so he's taking a principle from the unjust steward and teaching us the same principle but with a changed focus which is focused on being wise in what's right using every test and every trial every season of adversity to stimulate your creativity now i said something there you need to get a hold of it when problems come to the child of god who has put the word of god in his heart who is being led by the spirit of god a problematic season should birth your creativity it should not shut you down it should open you up your creativity should explode during difficult times now why because it is during difficult times and adverse seasons that we want to be brought back when our attention brought back to basics becoming a person who was inspired by adversity so the balance of life returns the good times and the bad times will become platforms for purpose so your seasons do not get you distracted from the promise and the purpose of god i hope you're staying with me so he wants to shift the needle from average to excellent even though your circumstances may be trying your patience at the time now we learned during our last conversation that when we are distracted from behaving righteously when we are when we are in our own thing when we when we're distracted from behaving righteously in our stewardship that we probably are candidates that the spirit of mammon may be operating in our lives now for those of you that missed the definition and the explanation as to the spirit of mammon and how it works god jesus says in his teaching you can't serve god who is a spirit and mammon which has a spirit at the same time so mammon wealth money possessions have no righteousness of their own like the sacrifices of aaron at the tabernacle of the old testament the sacrifice took on the character righteousness or unrighteousness of the one giving the sacrifice when you laid your hands on the sacrifice your righteousness or your unrighteousness was transferred so watch this if i take a thousand dollars and give it to god or a thousand dollars and buy drugs i am making what i'm doing giving it the quality of righteousness or unrighteousness so motive and purpose dictates the character of the sacrifice jesus teaches what we value shows him the focus of our hearts now look at verse 9 and i and i say unto you make yourself make to yourselves friends of the moment of unrighteousness that when ye fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations i know you've always understood kind of the first part of the verse but the second part we kind of gloss over and keep on reading watch what happens the lord is teaching us to become that friends means familiar or filet-o not agape love a filet-o-love become friendly partners with resources with mammon with wealth become familiar with it and you'll become familiar with its true purpose now watch what it says it's true purpose watch this verse the last part of verse 9 says when you fail the word fail means when you die they may receive you into everlasting adaptations when you fail when you cease when you die they may receive they may receive you into everlasting habitation into heaven the they are the souls that have gone to be with the lord and they'll testify watch this of your generosity but generosity is impossible without gratitude generosity is the fruit of deliverance from the spirit of mammon i know i've been delivered from the spirit of mammon when gratitude and generosity become some of the ruling principles in my life because generosity very easily springs from my gratitude a lack of gratitude or entitlement is a signal that you've been seduced by the spirit of mammon go to mark chapter 14. let me show you something mark chapter 14. uh this is heating up a little faster than i wanted to but we might as well stay with it mark chapter 14. now i want to show you something go down to verse 3. all right watch what happens now talk about generosity and gratitude verse 3 in mark chapter 14 says and being in bethany in the house of simon the leper as he sat at meat they were sitting down eating dinner there came a woman this is very familiar chapter very familiar chapter in the bible having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious she break the box and poured it on his head and there were some that had indignation within themselves and said why was this waste of the ointment made what is she doing watch this for it might have been sold for more than 300 pence and have been given to the poor and they murmured against her stay with me and jesus said let her alone leave her be why are you bothering her why trouble ye her she hath wrought a good work watch this on me jesus teaching for ye have the poor with you always and whensoever ye will may do them good but me you have not always she has done what she could she has come beforehand to anoint my body to the bearing verily i say unto you watch this wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world this what she's done also that she had done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her a memorial of her watch how this works so we understand the woman in the bible is often symbolized as the church and the church is the possessor of precious things precious ointment the bible lets us know that this woman breaks this precious ointment which shows she is unrestrained she didn't she she didn't unscrew the top she didn't take the lid off she broke the box in other words she broke the barrier and there was a necessity for it because in the room according to the text there is a spirit of mammon ruling she broke the box and then poured all the oil on jesus's head she gave the precious thing to jesus gratitude and generosity she broke the box there was no thought of getting the ointment back you need to hear me you'll never see this text the same again there was no thought of getting the army back which is why she broke the container so there'd be no way of recovering which she was about to give the lord some called her giving watch this some called the church's giving a waste there were people in the room disciples we understand they're sitting down fellowshipping and a divine opportunity presents itself and the people that know jesus become indignant look at verse four and there were some that had indignation within themselves and said why was this waste of anointment made they're saying it's a waste what she's doing is wasteful it's going to amount to nothing it means nothing because they don't understand supernatural things often look very simplistic supernatural is not always spectacular matter of fact ninety percent of the time it's very simple in this presentation so this woman breaks this box and they say it's a waste they called her generosity a waste watch this their flesh rebelled against generosity towards jesus you need to hear what i'm saying to you their flesh rebelled because of the spirit of mammon that was in the room and ruling them because immediately the reason is we can sell this stuff and romans revelation tells us both i taught you this for the last two weeks revelation that spirit of antichrist that spirit of mammon wants you to think that you must survive by buying and selling depending on what god gives you rather than depending on the giver verse five watch out it works now and you're starting to get it for it might have been sold there it is for more than 300 pence and have been given to the poor now and they murmured against her they complained about her generosity complained about her gratitude exhibiting the spirit of mammon who in their right mind unless they were driven by a spirit of antichrist would absolutely be upset with someone doing something for jesus nobody's hearing me so just like sometimes you've been accused of wasting your money i know i had to have a conversation with my accountant trying to tell me i don't understand why you why you give so much to your church i wasn't in a very good mood that day i said i understand why you buy someone scotch you know so you do what you want to do i do what i believe verse five he says you could have used it for something else then isn't that the dilemma that you and i face at times when it's time to give god what gratitude ought to belong to god gratitude says this belongs to god don't we go through i might need it for something else i i believe they were cool with selling it i really do believe they were cool with selling it but i don't believe they wanted the poor to have it they offer that as a reason especially since they missed the spiritual significance of the moment jesus testifies about her generosity like he testifies to god concerning your generosity and your gratitude you know she had shifted into a divine opportunity the people that were being controlled by the spirit of mammon couldn't see it she shifted into a divine opportunity verse eight look at what it says in verse eight she had done what she could she did all she could she has come a forehand before time to anoint my body to the burying she's preparing me for my future so the possibility is open to this woman because of her gratitude which produces a spirit of generosity jesus says she's looking by faith into the future she's a she's giving and anointing me with with her eye towards the future he says she did all she could he says she's she's anointed me now for the burial that i told her is going to come she did all she could in that divine opportunity and a season was open to her generosity caused her to possess her season because jesus testifies there's going to be memorial concerning the rest of her life because of this look if you look at verse 10 i want to show you something now watch this now i don't want to miss one miss verse 9. verily i say unto you wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her jesus is saying this is going to make her remembered into the future forever watch what happens verse 10 and judas one of the twelve he leaves the meeting goes into the chief priest to betray him unto them judas under the influence of the spirit of mammon a believer a disciple decides to betray jesus why he goes to the chief priest to betray the lord why because the promise of money motivated judas to put a plan in action why because he was controlling the bag he was the treasurer of the of the group and he was offended by the fact that watch this this oil would have added to his bag that the bible tells us he was stealing from you can't steal from god and say you're under control of the holy ghost rebellion to the holy ghost living in unbelief but you can't say you're walking in the power of the holy ghost so the mammon spirit is influencing judas that spirit of antichrist watch this cause a separation between judas and his lord you see now we identify the woman mary gave that offering after lazarus is raised from the dead hmm mary was great great gratitude she had gratitude she was thankful and it produced generosity because she was she was thankful that lazarus had been raised from the dead because gratitude produces generosity now watch this all of us who are saved have been raised could god almighty she not she didn't come to be rewarded because generosity does not anticipate a return selfish looks for something back hebrews 11 6. let me see if we have enough time yeah hebrews 11 6. let's go there i want to show you something you've seen it before but i want to make sure you see it differently this time hebrews 11 6 you've seen it a thousand times but we're going to show it to you watch this hebrews 11 6 it says but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to god must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him watch this now let's read it slower but without faith it is impossible to please him for he that comes to god must believe that he is watch this and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him all right let's break it down so the blessings are the finances but the reward is god himself let me say it again the blessings are the finances but the reward is god himself but he says without faith there is no chance of pleasing god i've got to believe that he is that he is everything the word says he is the word rewarder of them was a rewarder of them that diligently seek him the word rewarded means to pay what is due watch this extravagantly to go overboard rewarding you god is a rewarder of possessions of all those things that we are concerned about he calls them things he's a rewarder of all those things but is but god is the reward go to exodus 13 let me show you something and we're almost done exodus 13 let me show you something we've seen it before this is where we started a few weeks ago exodus 13. let's go down to verse 13 and watch what it says and every first sling of an ass that thou shalt redeem with a lamb if thou will not redeem it then thou shalt break its neck and all the firstborn of the man of man among thy children shalt thou redeem and it shall be when your son asks you in time come saying what is this why are we doing this that you shall say unto him by the strength of the hand the lord brought us out from egypt and from the house of bondage so the text tells us that there must be a sacrifice of the firstborn so firstborn children were dedicated to god any firstborn males born in any flock of a believer was sacrificed to god now that sacrificing of the firstborn child and the sacrificing of the firstborn uh livestock was redeeming both of those categories redeem the firstborn son by dedicating him to god like hannah did with samuel and then you redeem the sacrificed animal what the bible calls redeeming the firstborn now because the firstborn lamb is redeemed that uh lamb is considered clean now by god the rest of the flock donkeys and all the others are unclean and they must be redeemed so the firstborn is clean and sacrificed or dedicated to god which means the unclean or the rest must be redeemed you and i are born unclean born and sin shaped and iniquity and must be redeemed by the clean and the clean in our life is jesus christ see god said the clean he can't escape his own rules whichever man sows that shall he reap blessed the clean must be sacrificed so the unclean you and i can be redeemed this principle will absolutely shatter and destroy the spirit of mammon off your life it is the foundational spiritual truth of tithe and offering and first fruit jesus was god's first fruit in other words he was god's tithe he was god's first then come us as sons and daughters god gave christ first he gave jesus watch this while we were sinners unclean he gave jesus in hope and faith so the only way god can see it is that the first portion that tithe that first fruit must be offered and why would i do that verse 14 and it shall be written it shall be when thy son asks thee why are we doing this this is really important so you know how important if i'm if i'm raising a flock of sheep the males are extraordinarily important for the success and the future of the flop there's no way of getting around it and god says i want every first woman not a firstborn male in your flock every firstborn male you'll remember and when we talk when we talk about abel before when you look at it tonight and it talks about abel brought the first slings of his flock you remember when when when the death angel was coming through um egypt and god told him to mark the doors with the blood not only was the family but the first borns in the family were covered but the first born that were not in the houses of the of the israelites from the palace of pharaoh down to all of his soldiers and people those firstborns passed away watch what happens now so he says in verse 14 and it shall be in time when people ask the question why do you do this what is this and then you testify by the strength of the hand of the lord he brought us out of egypt and from the house of bondage this is the old testament definition of a scripture you've read a thousand times before but it is the absolute symbol old testament of gratitude which produces generosity it produces cheerfulness go to second corinthians nine let me show you what we're talking about second corinthians 9. you're gonna love this second corinthians nine look at verse six seven and eight watch this now second corinthians nine verse six seven eight but i say he which so sparingly shall reap also sparingly and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully watch this now every man according as he purposes in his heart so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity the opposite of gratitude and generosity for god loves a cheerful giver the old testament definition of a cheerful giver is exodus 13 14. i'm i'm thankful i have gratitude for how god brought me out of the house of bondage because his son in the context of exodus doesn't understand why god why his father's doing this and he says you don't know my story we're owners now we used to be slaves i've never shown you the scars of my bondage all you've managed is to live a life that god has blessed us because of my gratitude so watch what happens now every man verse 7 according as he purposes in his heart so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for god loves a cheerful giver watch this and god is able to make all grace oh my goodness extravagant reward a bound toward you that you always watch this having all sufficiency in all things may abound in every good work so this verse 9 here this verse 8 9 8 8-9 describe describe god's response he's able to make now this response to gratitude and generosity he's able to make all grace abound towards you you always always having all sufficiency in all things and may abound every good work watch this as it is written he had dispersed abroad he had given to the poor his righteousness remaineth forever amazing god's response to your generosity all sufficiency in all things because we understand that god is a rewarder go to mark chapter 12 and that's that's going to end our discussion for the day mark chapter 12. when we go down to verse 41 and you're going to see something familiar but it's going to make more sense to you than ever mark chapter 12 41 watch what it says now and jesus sat over against the treasury he sat next to the treasure chest and beheld how people cast money into the treasury you see what he's talking about here so jesus is watching how people give and many that were rich cast in much watch how this works and there came a certain widow now you have to understand a widow in the in the bible is a palace in disrepair that's an old testament definition the new testament definition is an individual without any visible means of support an individual without any visible means of support and there came a certain poor widow not just a widow but a poor widow and she threw in two mites which make a farthing and he called unto him his disciples and said unto them verily i say unto you watch the definition now watch what he says that this poor widow hath cast more in now watch this jesus knows her circumstances therefore knows her gratitude and her generosity that this poor widow have cast more in than all they which hath cast into the treasury now the rich folk came dropping you know which would look like a lot of money to other people but she comes in watch this for they did cast in of their abundance they watch this gave god out of their excess but she of her want what she needed is what she gave him did cast in all that she had even all her living she had thrown in at least a month's wages but jesus notices it because god rewards the heart of generosity and of gratitude time for us to shift the needle break the spirit of man become thankful for what god has done and show that thankfulness and how we give to him your treasure is where your heart is the focus of your heart is revealed in where what you call precious your treasure what you treasure in life what's precious to you so now we get a chance to break that spirit of mammoth over our lives we've already learned over the past couple weeks we're not giving god leftovers anymore we're not we're not giving him out of the net after everything else is picked over we're not doing that i've got ten hundred dollar bills on this table and i meant to bring them out to you today ten one hundred 100 bills i've got to ask myself which one does god get first the first one or do i give him after i've done other things is he truly first this is what kingdom first says but this order this ought to be on a platform of gratitude how good god has been how far he brought you how you appreciate his sacrifice of jesus christ and appreciate how he's worked with you all this time and how he's keeping you even during the pandemic no not saying i need it for a new pair of shoes or i needed to get my nails done or i need it for a new suit i want to put some rims on the car and god will understand no he loves a giver who is appreciative and grateful for what he's done so why don't you go to the icon today many of you are in the will of god already boom you're just going to do what you've always done and god is watching god is honoring but many of you today are going to make that transition you're going to shift that needle many of you have been tithing for years but it's been on the net you didn't know but you got to decide what do you want him to bless the growth or the net you want to stay stuck in provision or you want to shift the needle to break through blessing the bible is clear exodus 13 is not legalism i hear i hear some of you saying that exodus 13 is 500 years before the law 500 years before the law proverbs talking about bring all your substances before the lord the first fruits of your substance it's after the law malachi is right before the new testament if it was really significant as to where it was old testament new testament the malachi 3 god could have waited 12 verses and put it in the new testament but i told you before the old testament reveals the heart of god the bible when you open up it shows you the inventory of invisible things and how the kingdom of god works and how you can work it on your behalf because it's a kingdom of relationship not transaction kingdom of faith and today i want to encourage you shift the needle in your life that's right encourage you to shift the needle god can't move differently until we do differently man i felt that he can't do differently he he cannot do until we do differently time to shift the needle my brothers and my sisters i thank you for your faithfulness these last few weeks that we have been delving into living the blessed life shifting that needle so you can live the blessed life and breaking the spirit of mammon so that we are not confused we don't get confused about who's blessing us and not trying to find our security in the things god provides for us and not under an understanding fully that that the reward is him he is the reward but it all moves by faith go to the icon right now i'm gonna pray for you before i go but go to the icon shift that needle go to that icon and that tithe in that offering of course this is january this is our first fruit month we've not done that that's an additional time that god requires from us if you can't do the whole thing right now just break it down in threes and fours and make sure you get it in because what you start in the first month of the kingdom is what sets everything else in order in god's house first presumes a second first fruit for slings first lengths i mean there will be others go to the icon so your gift let me pray for you real quickly god i thank you right now for the time we spent together in this series called shift the needle thank you that we've learned some things about your protocol how you want things done and how it's really up to us if we want to shift the needle on our life of blessedness and provision and breakthrough and answered prayers that is really up to us now god we move by faith today which means we do something not just an intention but we act on it we work it faith without works is ineffective faith and i thank you lord for all those that are shifting the needle right now in jesus name amen god bless you remember faith acts like a thing is so even when it's not so that it might be so i'll see you next time on the encounter here at bethany the transformation church

Channel: Bethany Baptist Church

Views: 1,203

Rating: 4.8888888 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: h6Ianfdoi4o

Length: 80min 50sec (4850 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 07 2021