WEBVTT

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Amen.

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As we transition here in chapter 8, we're kind of getting into the topic of a church blessing

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another church financially.

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That's kind of the subject matter that's being transitioned in.

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And the Apostle Paul says here in verse number one, more brethren, we do you to wit of the

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grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia how that in a great trial of affliction

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the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded on the riches of their liberality.

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The word here wit is that they want them to know they want them to understand the grace

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of God and they want them to understand that Macedonia it's a near area to where they're

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at in Corinth.

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It's kind of north, it's the same general area, but it's a different section of Greece.

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This is where he is traveled to after having visited them.

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So he's gone off into Macedonia, he's going to come back through, and in some sense Macedonia

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is almost like the northern portion of his journeys typically, he's taking these big

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long journeys and kind of looping back and it's kind of in a sense you know where he's

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going the most northern then as he returns is going to come back through Corinth.

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And he's trying to say, hey, I want you to understand something about the church

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or the churches in Macedonia and how they had a great trial of affliction.

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So you know it's not like just one church in the New Testament suffered persecution, it's

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pretty much just the theme of all the churches.

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All the churches are suffering persecution, affliction, they're going through hardships,

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the general consensus is people do not like the church, they do not like the people

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of the church, it's not something that flows well with the world, and this should

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be expected.

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I mean the Bible says, yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer

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persecution.

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We see the first godly Christian in the Bible, Abel is slaughtered by his brother

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Cain.

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And so if you're going to be of this world, well you can kind of get along, but if you

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are contrary to this world, if you're godly, if you seek the Lord, in many cases

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you will be persecuted, you'll be hated, you'll be afflicted, and wherefore

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because you're righteous, because your deeds are righteous and because theirs

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are evil.

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It's just that simple, they can't stand someone being better than them or

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being more godly or being more righteous than them, and of course part of

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being a Christian is to separate yourself and be more godly and righteous.

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So the more separated you are, the more godly, the more righteous, the more

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you're going to suffer persecution.

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Really if you want to not suffer persecution as a Christian, then you

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basically have to not be godly, and you have to not separate yourself.

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What would this look like?

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It would be the non-the-dom church today, the non-the-dom church doesn't

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look really any different than the world, in many cases it doesn't act very

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different than the world, and it's not even separated from the world in many

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cases, considering the fact that a large percentage of many non-

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denominational churches today have people that are not even saved.

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And so it's not really going to be an institution, it's not going to be an

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area where you see a lot of persecution, a lot of fliction, a lot of angst

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against them, because they're trying to just conform to the world and act

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like the world.

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That's why you see roller coasters inside, that's why you see them

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performing literal Hollywood movies for their particular services.

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How much more worldly can you get than actually showing a Hollywood

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movie for the service?

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I mean, I can't really even understand, and it's kind of silly,

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like even the movie theaters are struggling and failing, why would

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the church think that this is a good business model?

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I don't know.

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But nevertheless, unfortunately, you have to realize that serving

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God and being godly is not always going to be popular.

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There's going to be some affliction, there's going to be some

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difficulty, and these churches also suffered a great trial of

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affliction, but it's like despite their great trial of affliction,

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the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded under

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the riches of their liberality.

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So it's saying that even though they're going through a really

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difficult time and a lot of persecution, they were still

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very joyful during that particular trial of affliction, and it

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knows this as an abundance of their joy.

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So they're just so happy, they're just so joyful, they have so

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much good fellowship, camaraderie, and it says they have a deep

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poverty, meaning that they're not really a rich church, they're

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not rich individuals.

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So the church doesn't have much money, probably most of the

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individuals in the church don't have much money, but notice

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by not having much money and having a lot of joy, the Bible

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says it abounded under the riches of their liberality.

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Now, liberality would be generosity and giving.

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So it's kind of funny how this works, because in verse two,

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it's saying their deep poverty is causing them to be more

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liberal.

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Like how does that work?

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How can you have not very much money, but you're giving a

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lot of money?

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I feel like there's a little bit of tension in the text

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about this particular subject, and I want to address that

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because this would just be my way of possibly addressing this

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is perhaps they don't have a lot of money.

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So in a sense, they're not spending it on things that

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they could, and they're just end up giving it to this poor

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saints in Jerusalem.

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And we're going to prove that from the text here as a

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Bible study, we're going to go through a lot of verses,

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but I'm just kind of giving you my idea of this.

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I think it could be similarly said, let's say like us,

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for example, us as a church, in some categories we could

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be considered kind of poor as a church.

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If we're comparing ourselves to just big churches and

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larger churches in the world, because you look at a church

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like Gateway, they're running a $60 million budget,

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well they would consider us very poor.

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Obviously if you look at us compared to a small church

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that's running 50, 60 people, we have a lot more

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money than them.

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So I don't know exactly what's the right comparison,

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but I'm just saying in some context you could say that

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our church wouldn't really have like just a ton of

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money necessarily.

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But if we did, let's just say we had millions of dollars

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in the bank, well we might be tempted to just try to use

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all that to just buy a nicer building and invest it

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and then kind of do all this stuff.

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But since we don't have millions in the bank,

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we're not really even necessarily tempted with

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whatever extra income we have to worry about a

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building because we don't even have the down payment.

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You know, we don't even have the extra money

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or the extra funds.

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So it's almost like by not having an expensive building

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and not paying, I don't know, 30, $40,000 a month

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on a building, then we have that extra money

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to then fund maybe more soul winning or other things.

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So it's almost like by not having some of the

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greatest riches we could possibly have,

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or having excess funds in a huge quantity,

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then we can use our disposable income

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more liberally potentially.

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That's just an idea of how this could possibly look

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or what this could possibly mean.

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There's other ways to look at it,

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but I really wanna focus on this word liberal

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for a moment because in today's culture

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being called liberal is a really negative thing.

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When we think of a liberal,

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we think of a blue haired feminist

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that's supporting Lindsey Clancy.

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And so, and of course that's true,

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but why are these people called liberals?

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What does that mean?

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Well, let's go back in the Bible

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all the way to Deuteronomy chapter 15

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and just see what the Bible says about being liberal

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because here's the thing.

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The word liberal is actually a good word.

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And it's a positive word.

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So obviously I don't believe in quote bad words,

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but there are words that are negative, right?

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There's words that have a negative connotation.

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There's words that have a positive connotation.

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This is kind of a positive word.

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But in our modern vernacular, for most conservatives,

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we think of a liberal as kind of a negative word,

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a derogatory term even potentially,

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but it's not because of its etymology

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and it's not because of what the Bible says about it

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because being a liberal according to the Bible

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is a good thing.

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And we can't allow the world to hijack

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the Bible's definition of words.

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But at the same time,

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we have to understand that there's gonna be differences.

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The Bible being translated in 1611

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is a different culture than in 2026.

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And so sometimes words,

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while having a little bit different understanding

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in that culture,

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they can be hijacked in a modern culture.

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Another word like this would be in the book of James,

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chapter two, verse three,

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it says someone wearing gay clothing.

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Well, the word gay in that particular verse

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means something different than if you said,

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hey, someone's wearing some gay clothing in 2026.

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Now, typically, if you heard that,

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you would think of someone as being like

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a sodomite reprobate freak, okay?

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And maybe being a tranny.

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That's what you get in the imagery there.

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Whereas in the Bible,

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it's trying to say something that's wearing

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happy, bright, vibrant clothing, okay?

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And then again, the word gay would be happy.

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It'd be happy, bright, vibrant, pleasant.

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But that's like the opposite

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of what a sodomite reprobate is.

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So why is that the case?

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Well, it's bad people will often take good labels

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and use that and label themselves with this

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so as to kind of shield who they really are.

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Same way that they use the rainbow,

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which is a good thing.

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I mean, the rainbow is a sign from God.

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A rainbow is a positive token from God.

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It's supposed to be a blessing to mankind.

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And then we see that same community using the rainbow

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and trying to trash it and trying to make it

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become a derogatory thing, a negative thing.

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It's associated with evil, with filth.

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Whereas it's a positive thing.

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And so it's kind of like an unfortunate fight

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that we have to go through in our culture

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sometimes over words.

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And again, with a liberal, it's the same thing,

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that a liberal is a good word,

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someone that gives generously,

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but then we have the Democrat Party by and large

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trying to take that label and call themselves liberals.

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And so they're trying to make it seem like they're good.

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And of course, why?

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Well, in America, you kind of have the two-party system.

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You have Democrats, you have Republicans.

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Republicans are considered more conservative,

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especially fiscally.

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And you have Democrats that are considered more liberal.

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But in the sense that, from a government perspective,

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the government likes to tax us more heavily

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and then, quote, create more programs

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that they then call themselves liberal with,

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but the problem is the government is not very good

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at actually running programs.

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They steal a lot of the money

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that they're supposedly taking from us,

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from the taxes, to fund these liberal programs.

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And in many cases, these liberal programs

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are not even actually helping people

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that we should be helping.

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They're helping the degenerates

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and disgusting people of society.

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And so a lot of people say,

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oh, the liberals or the Democrats,

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they are really generous with other people's money,

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but they're not necessarily generous with their own money.

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And see, that is the problem with our democratic system,

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or I say democratic, I mean the Democrats specifically

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in our political system is that they would love

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to give everybody money that's not theirs.

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And again, they're mostly not even giving money

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to the people that they claim they are.

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They're lining their own pockets.

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They're shuffling it around.

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There's a lot of fraud.

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There's a lot of deception.

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They just want the money to be taxed from us

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and then they'll figure out a way to get to it.

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But at the end of the day,

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a liberal is someone that would, by nature, be generous,

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and there's nothing wrong with that.

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If someone was to give a lot of money away

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or to help people, that's a positive thing, okay?

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So in Deuteronomy chapter 15, the giver is 14.

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Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock

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and out of thy floor and out of thy wine press

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of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee

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thou shalt give unto him.

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So you know, you have a servant

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or you have someone that was working for you

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and they're gonna be let free.

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The Bible says, hey, you would furnish this guy liberally,

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meaning you would be very generous

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at whatever you gave to him.

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Go to Isaiah 32, go to Isaiah 32.

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The Bible says in Proverbs 11 verse 25,

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the liberal soul shall be made fat

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and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

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And again, the word fat in our modern vernacular,

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we typically think of someone as being obese

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or overweight, whereas from a biblical perspective,

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fat is talking about a positive sense

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of having abundance, of being blessed.

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And so it's saying, hey, the liberal soul

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is gonna be made fat in the sense that, hey, you give,

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God's gonna give a bunch to you

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and you're gonna be blessed greatly

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and you're gonna be financially taken care of.

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That's what it's trying to say.

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Isaiah 32, look at verse five,

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the vile person shall be no more called liberal

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nor the churl said to be bountiful.

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Again, this is crazy because of our modern understanding

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of words, but again, why would the vile person

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no longer be called liberal?

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It's because it's saying that liberal's a good thing

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as a positive word and society

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is no longer gonna be upside down.

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And notice, there's no new thing under the sun.

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He's saying, hey, even back then, at that time,

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the Democrat Party was considered liberal.

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But you know what?

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It was a false word used for them

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because they're not actually really liberal.

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And also the churl is not really a bountiful person.

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It's just saying like,

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these are the labels that people are giving them

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but it's saying God's gonna punish them,

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God's going to take them to task,

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God's gonna judge them and no longer will that label

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actually stick to these type of individuals,

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he's gonna course correct.

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And so of course, that's kind of the context.

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It is in verse six.

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For the vile person will speak villainy

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and his heart will work iniquity to practice hypocrisy

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and utter error against the Lord

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to make empty the soul of the hungry

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and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

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Now this is what the Democrat Party

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and our liberals of today are actually like

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is they speak villainy, meaning they speak evil,

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they're saying things that are wrong, harmful,

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disgusting, they work iniquity.

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Notice this, they practice hypocrisy.

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They say they're very generous

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but in fact they're not generous at all.

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They're very selfish, greedy person

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and whatever they're doing is actually harming

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the poor person because notice it says

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to make empty the soul of the hungry.

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So he's gonna have hypocrisy

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and he's gonna utter arrogance Lord

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to make empty the soul of the hungry.

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So all these liberal programs that we have in society

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often what they do is they actually harm the poor

14:44.080 --> 14:45.900
and they harm the communities

14:45.900 --> 14:47.580
that they're supposedly trying to help

14:48.180 --> 14:49.860
and they're not actually doing good to them.

14:50.000 --> 14:52.560
You could think of like the Black Lives Matter group

14:53.260 --> 14:55.560
which was supposed to like quote help black people

14:55.560 --> 14:57.980
but all it did is it caused other blacks

14:57.980 --> 15:01.140
to give money to this particular program

15:01.640 --> 15:04.140
and the particular leaders of this

15:04.140 --> 15:05.540
was like three lesbians or something

15:05.540 --> 15:07.660
or like two lesbians and another chick or something.

15:07.820 --> 15:09.140
It was like, it was basically two,

15:09.280 --> 15:11.840
it was like three ladies, a couple of them were lesbians

15:11.840 --> 15:14.700
and essentially they were just buying themselves mansions.

15:15.780 --> 15:17.320
They're going out there and they're just,

15:17.620 --> 15:20.720
they're getting hit pieces written for them by the media

15:21.240 --> 15:23.440
and then they'll set up GoFundMe's

15:23.440 --> 15:25.920
to just have everybody in their community give money

15:25.920 --> 15:28.460
when George Floyd dies of an overdose from drugs

15:28.460 --> 15:31.240
or something and then they basically just line the pockets

15:31.240 --> 15:33.340
of these other, these black lesbians

15:33.340 --> 15:35.560
which again what is being black

15:35.560 --> 15:37.720
and being a lesbian have anything to do with each other?

15:37.780 --> 15:40.220
They don't, they're not even congruent whatsoever

15:40.960 --> 15:42.520
and so they're just lining their pockets

15:42.520 --> 15:45.940
and all we did is we just made black people more poor,

15:46.360 --> 15:48.340
we took more money away from them

15:48.340 --> 15:51.220
just to line the pockets of the vile person,

15:51.760 --> 15:54.500
of the actual reprobate and it's just like

15:54.500 --> 15:56.520
that's exactly what the Bible is saying was happening

15:56.520 --> 15:58.620
in the book of Isaiah in Jerusalem

15:59.100 --> 16:02.160
where you had the vile people just lining their pockets

16:02.680 --> 16:04.780
while taking advantage of the poor suckers.

16:05.000 --> 16:07.040
All the people that think that, oh man,

16:07.240 --> 16:09.720
I'm helping the cause, I'm helping black people

16:09.720 --> 16:13.260
but in fact they're doing nothing to help them

16:13.260 --> 16:16.220
and in fact they're kind of just stigmatizing

16:16.220 --> 16:19.040
the entire black community if that was even a thing,

16:19.220 --> 16:21.980
even more and making people despise them even more

16:21.980 --> 16:24.160
and dislike them even more, it's not helping them,

16:24.480 --> 16:25.760
it's not gonna help them get jobs,

16:25.880 --> 16:27.620
you know they're destroying businesses

16:28.200 --> 16:30.180
and of course they're destroying businesses

16:30.180 --> 16:32.740
in their own neighborhoods which then by and large

16:32.740 --> 16:34.940
creates food deserts in their own areas

16:34.940 --> 16:36.920
and causes companies to get out of there,

16:36.920 --> 16:39.760
it causes companies to raise prices in their areas

16:39.760 --> 16:42.460
because it's just so expensive to be in an area

16:42.460 --> 16:43.780
where there's high crime and theft

16:43.780 --> 16:46.280
and it's just hurting them even more and more and more

16:46.900 --> 16:49.400
and it's just showing the hypocrisy of this vile person

16:49.880 --> 16:52.560
who gets the label liberal but they're not liberal at all.

16:53.360 --> 16:54.400
It's a lie.

16:55.360 --> 16:58.180
Says the instruments also of the churl are evil,

16:58.800 --> 17:01.960
he devises wicked devices to destroy the poor

17:01.960 --> 17:05.420
with lying words even when the needy speaketh right.

17:05.420 --> 17:07.660
It's just saying look, I mean these people

17:07.660 --> 17:10.120
they're just destroying the poor, they're harming the poor,

17:10.620 --> 17:13.160
they're lying to the poor, they don't care

17:13.160 --> 17:15.140
about these people, they create instruments

17:15.140 --> 17:18.020
to destroy them called payday loans

17:18.800 --> 17:22.120
or some kind of a payday cash loan system

17:22.120 --> 17:25.620
or planned parenthood where they're just literally

17:25.620 --> 17:29.920
targeting black areas to put planned parenthoods

17:29.920 --> 17:32.120
to cause them to have more abortions

17:32.120 --> 17:34.120
to just try and destroy and weed out

17:34.120 --> 17:37.200
these people from society which again Margaret Singer

17:37.690 --> 17:42.020
and other eugenicists, their goal was to eradicate

17:42.020 --> 17:45.580
black people from America, that's why they have birth control,

17:46.020 --> 17:48.960
that's why they have organizations like Planned Parenthood,

17:49.020 --> 17:50.480
I'm sorry Planned Parenthood

17:50.480 --> 17:52.820
and they basically just wanted to destroy

17:52.820 --> 17:56.240
whole groups of people and they do it with lying words.

17:56.800 --> 17:58.520
Yep, they're considered liberal

17:58.520 --> 18:00.900
and isn't it funny the same people doing this to them,

18:01.460 --> 18:03.780
you can't even get these black people to not vote for them.

18:04.140 --> 18:04.980
Isn't that crazy?

18:05.720 --> 18:08.640
It's crazy how people just fall for lies

18:08.640 --> 18:11.300
and they basically vote in their own destruction.

18:12.060 --> 18:14.620
There's so many people that are just voting for

18:14.620 --> 18:16.520
and asking for their own destruction,

18:16.660 --> 18:19.720
they trust in oppression, they think like

18:19.720 --> 18:22.200
I need more handouts, not realizing the handouts

18:22.200 --> 18:23.120
is what's destroying them.

18:23.420 --> 18:25.580
Not realizing that the people that are giving them

18:25.580 --> 18:27.280
the quote handouts don't actually care about them,

18:27.360 --> 18:29.540
don't actually love them, would never give them

18:29.540 --> 18:30.900
a dollar out of their own wallet,

18:31.220 --> 18:33.880
but rather just want to continue to tax other people

18:33.880 --> 18:35.460
and give away their money for free

18:35.460 --> 18:37.360
while they're lining their own pockets.

18:37.800 --> 18:38.780
And it says verse eight,

18:38.940 --> 18:40.960
but the liberal devises liberal things

18:40.960 --> 18:42.460
and by liberal things shall he stand.

18:42.600 --> 18:45.640
So he's contrasting in verse five

18:45.640 --> 18:48.860
a vile person that gets the label liberal versus

18:48.860 --> 18:51.260
verse eight an actual liberal.

18:51.780 --> 18:56.380
An actual liberal is someone who devises liberal things

18:56.380 --> 19:00.540
meaning what he creates actually gives people money

19:00.540 --> 19:01.920
and actually blesses people,

19:02.200 --> 19:04.660
whereas the churlish person is creating instruments

19:04.660 --> 19:06.440
that destroy the poor with lying words.

19:06.620 --> 19:08.000
So he's doing the exact opposite

19:08.000 --> 19:09.600
even though claiming the title.

19:10.380 --> 19:13.260
So an actual generous person is trying to help poor people

19:13.260 --> 19:14.680
and give back to the poor people

19:14.680 --> 19:15.900
and do good on the poor people

19:15.900 --> 19:18.320
and then notice it says by liberal things shall he stand.

19:18.740 --> 19:20.440
So God's the one looking down from heaven.

19:20.680 --> 19:22.260
He'll notice who's actually liberal,

19:22.420 --> 19:24.820
who's actually generous and he'll take care of that person

19:24.820 --> 19:27.960
and that person will continue to be standing upright

19:27.960 --> 19:28.840
and doing his thing.

19:29.040 --> 19:32.040
Whereas the guy who is actually destroying

19:32.040 --> 19:33.980
and taking advantage and ripping people off,

19:34.300 --> 19:37.860
he'll get destroyed, he'll be taken down a notch.

19:38.380 --> 19:40.260
And so we wanna make sure that we don't think like

19:40.260 --> 19:42.140
well, why don't we just do what they're doing

19:42.140 --> 19:43.080
and rip people off too?

19:43.820 --> 19:46.060
Why don't we just take advantage of the poor as well?

19:46.440 --> 19:48.960
Why don't we create our own system

19:48.960 --> 19:51.160
of high interest loans

19:51.160 --> 19:52.880
and why don't we create our own

19:52.880 --> 19:55.060
used car salesman schemes

19:55.420 --> 19:58.680
and why don't we create these credit card schemes

19:58.680 --> 19:59.460
and all this stuff

19:59.460 --> 20:01.180
and why don't we just take advantage

20:01.180 --> 20:03.200
of these poor derelicts ourselves?

20:03.940 --> 20:05.960
And it's just like, well, because God's gonna punish you

20:05.960 --> 20:06.780
and judge you for that.

20:07.000 --> 20:08.660
And the person that's actually generous,

20:08.880 --> 20:11.420
God's gonna make sure he continues to be generous

20:11.420 --> 20:12.840
because you know what?

20:12.960 --> 20:15.280
God wants to fund the generous person

20:15.280 --> 20:17.440
so that he can keep helping the poor person

20:18.020 --> 20:19.800
and God cares about the poor people.

20:20.240 --> 20:21.740
Go to 1 Corinthians 16,

20:21.740 --> 20:23.480
go to 1 Corinthians 16.

20:24.160 --> 20:26.840
It reminds me of being at Wells Fargo

20:27.760 --> 20:30.480
just because they were like the most evil institution

20:30.980 --> 20:32.240
that I was aware of at the time.

20:32.520 --> 20:35.160
And just how much there's ripping off poor people

20:35.160 --> 20:36.280
with overdraft fees.

20:37.100 --> 20:42.520
And please don't constantly get feed to death by a bank.

20:42.800 --> 20:44.860
If you're a young person,

20:45.620 --> 20:47.240
make sure you're not taking more money

20:47.240 --> 20:48.600
out of your bank account than you have

20:48.600 --> 20:53.000
because the bank will charge you $35, $40, $50

20:53.000 --> 20:54.480
every time you go over.

20:55.020 --> 20:57.380
In fact, Wells Fargo specifically has a policy

20:57.380 --> 21:02.200
where they try to reverse engineer your transactions

21:02.720 --> 21:04.580
just to charge you more fees on purpose.

21:05.440 --> 21:08.180
Okay, so it's like, you have,

21:08.540 --> 21:09.200
because they'll say like,

21:09.260 --> 21:10.400
oh, we have all these transactions

21:10.400 --> 21:11.540
pending over the weekend.

21:12.280 --> 21:14.900
And so instead of us actually going through

21:14.900 --> 21:17.160
and identifying them from a chronological order,

21:17.620 --> 21:19.980
we're gonna go ahead and take the largest items

21:19.980 --> 21:23.040
and pay them first and we'll just change the order

21:23.560 --> 21:25.540
and just kind of change how it worked.

21:26.000 --> 21:28.640
Well, this can really screw some people up.

21:29.200 --> 21:30.000
I would see it.

21:30.240 --> 21:31.960
Somebody would, over the weekend,

21:33.000 --> 21:34.680
they would go out and they would just get like a dollar

21:34.680 --> 21:37.040
Coke and they would get like $2 this

21:37.040 --> 21:39.020
and they would just go to the movie theater for seven bucks

21:39.020 --> 21:42.380
and then they just have like 10 transactions

21:42.380 --> 21:43.960
that are all like less than 10 bucks.

21:44.900 --> 21:46.660
And their mortgage is gonna hit on Monday

21:47.140 --> 21:50.400
and they didn't realize that they went over by like 50 bucks.

21:51.020 --> 21:52.660
So they went over by 50 bucks.

21:52.740 --> 21:56.220
So it would have been just one overdraft fee

21:56.220 --> 21:57.780
for when their mortgage hit on Monday.

21:57.960 --> 21:59.460
But they'll say, no, no, we wanna make sure

21:59.460 --> 22:00.660
that your mortgage gets paid.

22:01.060 --> 22:02.320
So what we did is we took the mortgage

22:02.320 --> 22:04.920
and we put it first and then the next largest

22:04.920 --> 22:05.500
and the next largest.

22:05.860 --> 22:07.600
So then because you went over by 50 bucks

22:07.600 --> 22:10.180
and you had 10 transactions, it'd be like $2 Coke

22:10.180 --> 22:11.680
is now a $50 Coke.

22:12.180 --> 22:15.020
And your $1 Coke, now it's a $51 Coke.

22:15.140 --> 22:16.220
And they would just sit there and hammer it.

22:16.360 --> 22:17.440
So someone would come in and they'd say,

22:17.460 --> 22:20.040
hey, I'll pay the $35 for going overdraft

22:20.040 --> 22:23.940
but I don't have $600 because of what you just did to me.

22:23.980 --> 22:26.260
I don't have $300 because of what you just did to me.

22:26.780 --> 22:28.480
And it was just, it was just nasty.

22:28.620 --> 22:30.520
It was nasty, it was evil.

22:31.060 --> 22:32.360
And of course it wasn't like,

22:32.780 --> 22:34.720
oh well, we wanna make sure your mortgage gets paid.

22:34.840 --> 22:36.440
They were gonna pay it no matter what, okay?

22:37.020 --> 22:38.460
The bank wasn't really worried about it.

22:38.640 --> 22:39.820
They were just figuring out a way

22:39.820 --> 22:40.920
to chew you even harder.

22:42.120 --> 22:43.780
And it was gross and it was disgusting

22:43.780 --> 22:45.000
what they were doing to people,

22:45.160 --> 22:47.380
preying on people, taking advantage of people.

22:48.160 --> 22:50.580
And of course our manager would never be in the store

22:50.580 --> 22:52.620
on purpose just so she would never have to do

22:52.620 --> 22:54.760
a reversal on the overdraft fees.

22:55.520 --> 22:58.880
And we ended up finding out that the managers,

22:59.180 --> 23:01.260
for Wells Fargo, they got bonuses paid out

23:01.260 --> 23:03.360
specifically on the percentage of the overdraft fees

23:03.360 --> 23:04.340
they collect at their branch.

23:04.760 --> 23:06.160
So of course they don't wanna be there

23:06.160 --> 23:07.200
and they don't wanna reverse them

23:07.200 --> 23:08.960
because that's how they get paid out.

23:08.960 --> 23:12.000
They had to have like 92.5% collection

23:12.000 --> 23:13.900
on all the fees recorded in the system

23:13.900 --> 23:14.740
in order to get a bonus.

23:15.060 --> 23:17.620
And it was like, we hit like 91% or something.

23:18.120 --> 23:20.060
I know, we hit 91%.

23:20.060 --> 23:22.340
So our manager and like our district managers,

23:22.520 --> 23:24.120
like all the managers are showing up

23:24.120 --> 23:25.680
and they're just like really mad

23:26.200 --> 23:30.040
that we only got 91% of our overdraft fees.

23:30.520 --> 23:34.040
It's like, good night, how evil is this institution?

23:34.240 --> 23:35.380
But I'm telling you something,

23:35.960 --> 23:37.880
you know the bank is not a liberal.

23:39.340 --> 23:41.620
The bank will come after you

23:41.620 --> 23:43.560
and the bank is not there to be your friend.

23:44.160 --> 23:46.680
And hey, you know, you should have a big buffer

23:46.680 --> 23:48.580
in your checking account, your savings account

23:48.580 --> 23:49.320
and stuff like that.

23:49.440 --> 23:51.420
So you make sure you never go on the overdraft

23:51.420 --> 23:54.100
because they will take all of your money.

23:54.420 --> 23:56.700
And I just remember talking to one of my managers

23:56.700 --> 23:59.540
about it when someone was getting like ripped off

23:59.540 --> 24:01.360
in the tens of thousands.

24:01.600 --> 24:04.160
They had had over $10,000 in overdraft fees

24:04.160 --> 24:04.880
in a particular year.

24:05.600 --> 24:08.400
And I was saying like, hey, we need to help this person.

24:08.860 --> 24:10.440
And they were like, hey, if you call this person,

24:10.560 --> 24:11.300
I'm gonna fire you.

24:12.980 --> 24:15.580
And I said, they said, because if you call them,

24:15.940 --> 24:17.180
they're gonna be mad at us

24:17.180 --> 24:19.700
and they're gonna want us to reverse some of these fees.

24:20.700 --> 24:22.380
And then we're gonna not hit our bonuses,

24:22.840 --> 24:23.900
you know, we're gonna have all these consequences

24:23.900 --> 24:24.500
or whatever.

24:25.320 --> 24:27.360
And I was just, I was like thinking like,

24:27.960 --> 24:30.220
yeah, but this is just evil, we're doing this person,

24:30.420 --> 24:31.380
like we're just taking all their money,

24:31.520 --> 24:32.240
it doesn't make any sense.

24:32.540 --> 24:33.760
And she's like, well, you know what?

24:33.760 --> 24:35.780
It's their fault for being stupid

24:36.440 --> 24:38.400
and just not paying attention or whatever.

24:38.940 --> 24:41.260
And it's like that, that's the justification of these people.

24:41.600 --> 24:43.500
It's just like, oh, well, they're poor because they're stupid.

24:43.760 --> 24:45.640
Oh, they don't have money because they're dumb

24:45.640 --> 24:47.560
and they're foolish and they're making bad decisions.

24:47.580 --> 24:49.260
So then they just take advantage of them.

24:49.600 --> 24:50.000
And you know what?

24:50.040 --> 24:51.060
That's the wrong attitude.

24:51.180 --> 24:52.100
It's a wicked attitude.

24:52.420 --> 24:53.740
It's an evil attitude.

24:54.200 --> 24:55.980
And you don't just take advantage of someone

24:55.980 --> 24:58.240
just because they're stupid or because they're poor

24:58.720 --> 25:01.900
or because they are in a bad situation.

25:02.350 --> 25:04.180
But of course, that's what the rich do

25:04.180 --> 25:06.580
is they love to just take advantage of the poor

25:06.580 --> 25:09.740
and the weak and the widow and anybody they can

25:09.740 --> 25:12.380
and they just rip them off, reverse mortgages.

25:12.600 --> 25:14.160
Evil as hell, I'm just telling you.

25:14.840 --> 25:16.140
It's just anything they can do

25:16.140 --> 25:18.020
to just get their hands on money.

25:18.020 --> 25:20.300
And it's just gross the system that's been created.

25:21.180 --> 25:24.180
Instruments created to oppress the poor and destroy them.

25:24.840 --> 25:26.480
And so, you know, we as Christians

25:26.480 --> 25:27.240
need to be the opposite.

25:27.400 --> 25:27.980
We need to be liberal.

25:28.260 --> 25:30.080
We need to be creating devices and instruments

25:30.080 --> 25:30.920
that bless people.

25:31.550 --> 25:33.700
And you know, from a church perspective,

25:33.880 --> 25:35.600
you know, we believe that we're an independent

25:36.110 --> 25:36.920
fundamental Baptist church.

25:37.760 --> 25:42.300
We answer as a church to no other earthly institution.

25:43.100 --> 25:46.040
You know, our hierarchy in a sense

25:46.040 --> 25:49.320
goes straight to the Bible and to Jesus in a sense.

25:49.460 --> 25:51.800
So like our church is answered to the Bible

25:51.800 --> 25:53.300
and answers to the Lord Jesus Christ.

25:53.700 --> 25:56.520
There's not a human body or some earthly body.

25:56.800 --> 25:58.420
There's not the Southern Baptist Convention

25:58.420 --> 26:00.260
that can come and take us to task.

26:00.680 --> 26:02.900
There's not some episcopacy.

26:03.400 --> 26:04.980
There's not some ecumenical council.

26:05.560 --> 26:06.760
There's not some group.

26:07.020 --> 26:07.880
There's not some bishop.

26:08.140 --> 26:08.980
There's not some pope.

26:09.180 --> 26:12.560
There's not anybody that can exercise authority over us.

26:12.940 --> 26:14.500
We are an autonomous church.

26:14.660 --> 26:16.140
We're independent in that sense.

26:16.520 --> 26:18.700
But does that mean that we should have

26:18.700 --> 26:21.740
an independent mindset that if another church

26:21.740 --> 26:27.060
is in need or they have some kind of a burden

26:27.060 --> 26:28.960
that we shouldn't consider them

26:28.960 --> 26:30.520
and wanna bless them?

26:30.780 --> 26:32.320
No, we shouldn't be like that.

26:32.640 --> 26:35.040
Hey, we're independent from an autonomous perspective.

26:35.300 --> 26:36.880
We're independent from a polity,

26:37.200 --> 26:38.400
from a governing perspective.

26:38.720 --> 26:39.500
But at the end of the day,

26:39.660 --> 26:41.960
we're still a part of Christianity

26:42.420 --> 26:44.480
and we should just love other churches too.

26:44.960 --> 26:46.660
And we shouldn't just be so independent

26:46.660 --> 26:47.980
that we don't care about other churches

26:47.980 --> 26:49.860
or we're not paying attention to other churches.

26:50.060 --> 26:51.960
We should still love other churches.

26:52.580 --> 26:54.720
And here in 1 Corinthians chapter 16,

26:54.800 --> 26:55.400
look at verse one.

26:55.940 --> 26:57.860
Now concerning the collection for the saints,

26:57.860 --> 27:00.500
as I have given order to the churches of Galatia,

27:00.840 --> 27:01.860
even so do ye.

27:02.480 --> 27:03.800
Think about what Paul's saying.

27:04.040 --> 27:06.320
He's saying, look, I'm gonna get some money.

27:06.460 --> 27:08.360
I'm gonna, we're gonna collect money for other Christians.

27:09.080 --> 27:11.680
And notice I told all the churches in Galatia

27:11.680 --> 27:13.020
that they're gonna do it too.

27:13.280 --> 27:15.300
So it's like all the churches of Galatia are raising money.

27:15.640 --> 27:17.820
The church is in Corinth raising money

27:17.820 --> 27:19.380
and we learn from 2 Corinthians

27:19.380 --> 27:22.100
that the churches in Macedonia are collecting money.

27:22.540 --> 27:23.040
For who?

27:23.260 --> 27:24.040
Well, we'll keep reading.

27:24.160 --> 27:25.440
He says, upon the first day of the week,

27:25.440 --> 27:27.440
let every one of you lay by him in store

27:27.440 --> 27:28.560
as God has prospered him.

27:28.940 --> 27:30.220
There will be no gatherings when I come

27:30.220 --> 27:32.860
and when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve

27:32.860 --> 27:34.380
by your letters, them will I send

27:34.380 --> 27:37.520
to bring your liberality onto Jerusalem."

27:37.520 --> 27:39.660
So the whole point is like Jerusalem

27:39.660 --> 27:42.040
for some reason is having like severe poverty.

27:43.080 --> 27:46.000
There is a part of Acts where there's a testimony

27:46.000 --> 27:48.960
of there's gonna be a dearth in that portion of the world.

27:49.040 --> 27:51.100
I don't know if the timeline is exactly right there

27:51.100 --> 27:52.980
or not if it's related to the dearth,

27:52.980 --> 27:55.860
but there's some poverty that's afflicting

27:55.860 --> 27:56.840
this group of people.

27:57.540 --> 27:59.120
And so the apostle Paul on his journey

27:59.120 --> 28:01.080
is collecting money from all these different areas

28:01.080 --> 28:03.080
and they're gonna come and bring this as a gift,

28:03.160 --> 28:06.160
as a blessing unto the saints at Jerusalem.

28:06.560 --> 28:08.320
And so they're collecting and raising money.

28:08.460 --> 28:12.700
Now, some people would falsely understand this

28:12.700 --> 28:14.000
and they would say like,

28:14.120 --> 28:16.540
oh, see there's no tithing in the Bible,

28:16.800 --> 28:20.120
in the New Testament, you just give money if you want to.

28:20.840 --> 28:22.440
That's not the context of this.

28:22.440 --> 28:24.120
This isn't the tithe,

28:24.400 --> 28:25.960
this isn't money for their church even.

28:26.260 --> 28:28.560
This is money for a completely different group.

28:29.180 --> 28:30.800
So this has nothing to do with the tithe.

28:31.240 --> 28:32.840
The tithe is the Lord's number one

28:32.840 --> 28:34.560
and tithing goes to your church.

28:35.080 --> 28:38.000
And if we have this attitude of we don't give money to church,

28:38.180 --> 28:40.460
we don't tithe, we just randomly collect money

28:40.460 --> 28:41.900
for other churches every once in a while,

28:42.180 --> 28:43.160
well then how the heck are we gonna

28:43.160 --> 28:43.940
actually have a church?

28:44.640 --> 28:45.720
How are we gonna actually function?

28:45.980 --> 28:49.500
Like that would be silly to just take this passage

28:49.500 --> 28:50.980
and then use it as a proof text

28:50.980 --> 28:52.780
that tithing doesn't exist in the New Testament.

28:53.220 --> 28:54.280
It's just a different subject.

28:54.620 --> 28:57.120
It'd be silly because it's not what's being brought up.

28:57.640 --> 28:58.340
This is not, they're like,

28:58.420 --> 29:01.180
oh, well we just collect money every once in a while,

29:01.640 --> 29:02.520
you know, just because.

29:03.040 --> 29:05.180
It's like that's not what this is talking about.

29:05.620 --> 29:09.400
This is specifically a gift to a specific church

29:09.860 --> 29:12.120
that's separate from what the tithe would be

29:12.120 --> 29:13.160
or what their church is doing.

29:13.700 --> 29:14.560
That is the context.

29:14.760 --> 29:15.560
It says in verse four,

29:15.880 --> 29:18.300
and if we meet that I go also,

29:18.800 --> 29:19.900
they should go with me now,

29:20.160 --> 29:22.720
I will come under you when I shall pass through Macedonia

29:22.720 --> 29:24.120
for I do pass through Macedonia

29:24.120 --> 29:26.160
and it may be that I will abide, yay,

29:26.260 --> 29:28.000
and winter with you that you may bring me

29:28.000 --> 29:29.500
on my journey where the story goes.

29:29.620 --> 29:31.000
So he's kind of bringing up,

29:31.040 --> 29:31.960
hey, I'm going through Macedonia,

29:32.080 --> 29:32.780
then I'm gonna come see you.

29:32.920 --> 29:34.840
Same thing he's bringing up in 2 Corinthians, okay?

29:35.300 --> 29:36.820
So again, what's the liberality

29:37.300 --> 29:38.720
that's mentioned in verse three?

29:39.020 --> 29:41.440
That's their generosity, their generous giving,

29:41.860 --> 29:43.260
and who is it targeted for,

29:43.380 --> 29:45.620
the saints at Jerusalem, another church.

29:46.840 --> 29:49.720
So is it wrong for a church,

29:50.180 --> 29:53.600
is it wrong for our church to give money to another church?

29:54.440 --> 29:55.100
No, not at all.

29:55.540 --> 29:56.640
That would actually be biblical.

29:57.360 --> 29:58.240
Now, do we have to?

29:58.580 --> 30:00.980
No, there's not an obligation

30:00.980 --> 30:02.560
and he's gonna tell us in 2 Corinthians,

30:02.640 --> 30:04.240
go back to 2 Corinthians if you haven't gone over there,

30:04.780 --> 30:06.740
but he's gonna tell us that this isn't a commandment,

30:07.160 --> 30:08.740
this is being liberal, being generous.

30:08.860 --> 30:10.280
Being generous is not a commandment,

30:10.580 --> 30:11.780
it's a free will decision.

30:12.540 --> 30:13.540
In the Old Testament you had

30:13.540 --> 30:15.000
what's called a free will offering.

30:15.430 --> 30:18.740
A free will offering is that of which

30:18.740 --> 30:19.860
you don't have to give.

30:20.180 --> 30:22.920
You're giving it of your own voluntary free will,

30:23.400 --> 30:25.300
you just wanna give something to the Lord

30:25.300 --> 30:27.460
and so you would just bring some kind of an offering.

30:27.820 --> 30:29.680
So in the Old Testament you had the tithe

30:30.360 --> 30:32.900
and then you had free will offerings, okay?

30:33.300 --> 30:35.160
That's the same concept we have here in the New Testament.

30:35.580 --> 30:36.780
You have the New Testament tithe

30:36.780 --> 30:38.380
and then you'd have what was considered

30:38.380 --> 30:39.320
a free will offering.

30:39.700 --> 30:41.080
And what would be a free will offering?

30:41.220 --> 30:43.300
Well, of course this could be given to your church,

30:43.300 --> 30:45.160
it could be given to a different church

30:45.160 --> 30:47.860
and then I would say in a similar way

30:47.860 --> 30:51.220
it's kind of like almsgiving just to the poor in general.

30:51.340 --> 30:54.120
Whoever you seem to know or like

30:54.120 --> 30:55.820
or you wanna help out, you wanna bless somebody

30:55.820 --> 30:57.360
and you just decide to give them some money,

30:57.640 --> 30:59.860
that is a free will offering.

31:00.100 --> 31:01.080
You don't have to do it.

31:01.260 --> 31:03.360
We see a free will offering given

31:03.360 --> 31:05.720
by Ananias and Sapphira in the book of Acts

31:05.720 --> 31:10.180
and they die not because they had to give that money

31:10.680 --> 31:12.940
but rather because they lied into the Holy Ghost about it.

31:13.400 --> 31:15.340
So one of the principles that we should learn

31:15.340 --> 31:16.380
from free will offerings is number one,

31:16.420 --> 31:17.140
you don't have to do it.

31:17.540 --> 31:20.020
And number two, if you do do it, don't lie about it, right?

31:20.720 --> 31:22.480
Because it's not about the praise of men

31:22.480 --> 31:24.300
and that's why the Bible tells us in Matthew

31:24.300 --> 31:26.820
and Jesus emphasizes like whenever you're doing

31:26.820 --> 31:28.920
your almsgiving, let not your left hand know

31:28.920 --> 31:29.760
what your right hand's doing

31:30.200 --> 31:31.920
and that it should be kind of done in secret.

31:32.380 --> 31:35.560
And again, I'm not saying it has to be like

31:35.560 --> 31:38.420
you're a ninja and you sneak into someone's house

31:38.420 --> 31:40.060
and lay money down on their counter

31:40.060 --> 31:40.900
or something like that.

31:41.300 --> 31:43.440
I don't think that we have to be over the top.

31:44.140 --> 31:47.280
Isn't the spirit that you're not blowing a trumpet

31:47.820 --> 31:49.420
and letting everybody know?

31:49.820 --> 31:51.440
And isn't it that like at the church,

31:52.060 --> 31:54.000
not everybody knows, I mean,

31:54.340 --> 31:55.900
Ananias and Sapphira, everybody knows their money

31:55.900 --> 31:57.280
but if you were doing what was right,

31:57.380 --> 31:59.300
not everybody would know that you're giving the money.

31:59.800 --> 32:00.960
So again, there's nothing wrong

32:00.960 --> 32:02.600
with giving money to a church.

32:02.820 --> 32:04.760
There's nothing wrong with even technically being public

32:04.760 --> 32:07.380
but if it's gonna be public, you better not lie about it.

32:07.840 --> 32:10.140
And then in general, you should probably be,

32:10.200 --> 32:11.920
if you're giving almsgiving, it should be done in secret.

32:12.140 --> 32:13.800
You shouldn't be trying to do it for the praise of men

32:13.800 --> 32:15.100
or seeking the praise of men.

32:15.440 --> 32:16.720
That would be the wrong attitude.

32:17.020 --> 32:18.220
It's similar to the Old Testament,

32:18.540 --> 32:20.520
free will offerings, not something that's the tide.

32:20.940 --> 32:22.620
You know, I hear this lie often

32:23.060 --> 32:24.600
where they'll say, oh, well,

32:24.720 --> 32:25.900
tithing's done away in the New Testament

32:25.900 --> 32:28.320
because in the Old Testament it was 23.5%.

32:29.000 --> 32:30.620
Who's heard this kind of weird crazy,

32:30.900 --> 32:32.320
okay, no one, all right, me.

32:33.360 --> 32:34.580
It's like, they'll be like, well, technically,

32:34.580 --> 32:36.160
if you did all the tithing in the Old Testament,

32:36.320 --> 32:37.240
it's like 23.5%.

32:37.240 --> 32:38.940
The word tithe means 10th.

32:39.100 --> 32:42.300
It's kind of weird that they come up with this idea

32:42.300 --> 32:45.380
of 23.5% or something like that.

32:45.760 --> 32:48.000
That's just some derived Jewish understanding.

32:48.380 --> 32:52.280
I'm sure the Jews think the tithe is 23.5%, not 10.

32:52.960 --> 32:54.660
I'm sure a Jew came up with that.

32:55.080 --> 32:56.220
But let me explain it.

32:56.380 --> 32:59.800
The tithe is 10 because that's what it means, right?

32:59.960 --> 33:02.240
The free will offering would just be over in abundance,

33:02.240 --> 33:05.360
whatever you feel that you can deliver.

33:05.780 --> 33:08.040
And of course, that is kind of the context.

33:08.320 --> 33:09.200
Now, in verse three, he says,

33:09.380 --> 33:10.680
for to their power I bear record,

33:10.780 --> 33:12.360
yea, and beyond their power they were willing

33:12.360 --> 33:15.080
of themselves praying with us,

33:15.360 --> 33:17.680
or praying us with much entreaty

33:17.680 --> 33:18.880
that we would receive the gift

33:18.880 --> 33:20.100
and take upon us the fellowship

33:20.100 --> 33:21.420
of the ministering to the saints.

33:21.620 --> 33:27.840
Now, he's saying, look, I'm gonna testify, excuse me,

33:29.060 --> 33:32.780
of their power, meaning their ability to give.

33:33.520 --> 33:35.540
And it says, and beyond their power,

33:36.160 --> 33:37.520
they were willing of themselves.

33:37.980 --> 33:40.020
So he's kind of like almost saying like,

33:40.720 --> 33:42.200
whatever they had to give,

33:42.880 --> 33:44.360
they kind of seem to give more

33:44.360 --> 33:46.020
than what it even seemed like they had to give.

33:46.500 --> 33:50.320
Like that's how generous these people were.

33:50.720 --> 33:53.600
And of course, you kind of see in verse two

33:53.600 --> 33:56.620
the riches of their liberality.

33:57.220 --> 33:58.420
There's an example of this.

33:58.800 --> 34:01.080
What about the woman who gives her two mites?

34:01.460 --> 34:04.360
Now, when Jesus Christ is commenting on this,

34:04.700 --> 34:07.020
he said that she had given all of her living.

34:07.640 --> 34:11.740
So that seems to be more than what she should be giving

34:11.740 --> 34:13.420
or what is reasonable,

34:13.960 --> 34:16.200
but it's just like the riches of her liberality.

34:16.360 --> 34:17.960
That she just loved the Lord so much

34:17.960 --> 34:20.380
that she literally cast in all of her living

34:20.780 --> 34:21.860
in that particular moment.

34:22.480 --> 34:24.780
Now, you know, I don't know her situation.

34:25.240 --> 34:26.760
I don't know what's really going on.

34:27.160 --> 34:28.600
I don't think that she's putting herself

34:28.600 --> 34:31.460
in a financial burden to necessarily do that,

34:31.760 --> 34:33.480
but it could just be that, hey,

34:33.600 --> 34:35.140
she just had, this is all the money she has

34:35.140 --> 34:37.080
and she's just decided to give it to the Lord.

34:37.580 --> 34:39.260
But I don't think that she's like maxing out

34:39.260 --> 34:43.040
her credit cards or doing something financially foolish

34:43.650 --> 34:44.560
to bless the Lord.

34:44.860 --> 34:46.120
It's that she has this money

34:46.120 --> 34:47.400
and she's just giving it to the Lord

34:47.400 --> 34:49.320
and the Lord's gonna take care of her.

34:49.620 --> 34:50.660
Maybe she's living with someone,

34:50.960 --> 34:53.120
her son or a brother-in-law or whoever

34:53.120 --> 34:54.700
and they're taking care of her needs.

34:55.060 --> 34:55.860
She has a little bit of money

34:55.860 --> 34:56.800
instead of spending on herself.

34:56.940 --> 34:57.880
She's like, I'm just gonna give it.

34:58.120 --> 34:59.840
And she's like, hey, this is all she had

34:59.840 --> 35:00.880
and she gave it to the Lord.

35:01.900 --> 35:04.020
Because in this chapter, it's gonna make it clear

35:04.020 --> 35:05.480
that you shouldn't be giving money

35:05.480 --> 35:06.440
that you don't have to give.

35:08.080 --> 35:09.860
But there's kind of like abundance

35:09.860 --> 35:11.520
and then there's kind of like,

35:12.420 --> 35:13.900
maybe a reasonable portion

35:13.900 --> 35:15.400
and it's like they're giving even just more

35:15.400 --> 35:16.200
than just their abundance.

35:16.560 --> 35:19.400
It's like they're even tapping into maybe

35:19.400 --> 35:21.040
their own personal funds

35:21.040 --> 35:22.740
of what they would like to buy

35:22.740 --> 35:24.020
for themselves selfishly or something.

35:24.140 --> 35:25.620
They're just like, hey, I'm just gonna give this

35:25.620 --> 35:27.300
to the saints at Jerusalem.

35:28.680 --> 35:31.400
It says that they wanted to be a partaker

35:31.400 --> 35:33.760
or a fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

35:34.060 --> 35:34.900
They don't wanna be left out.

35:35.660 --> 35:37.600
It's like, hey, we're taking a collection for Jerusalem

35:37.600 --> 35:39.660
and they're like, well, we wanna be a part of that.

35:40.120 --> 35:41.320
We don't wanna be taking,

35:41.940 --> 35:44.400
we don't wanna be missing out on this opportunity

35:44.800 --> 35:47.560
to bless them and to help them in their time of need.

35:47.680 --> 35:49.860
And so they want to be a partaker

35:49.860 --> 35:52.700
in a fellowship and notice that they wanted

35:53.280 --> 35:56.060
the apostle Paul and his companions to receive the gift.

35:56.220 --> 35:58.040
So they're like, hey, we're giving this money

35:58.040 --> 36:00.880
and isn't there, there could have been, we don't know,

36:00.920 --> 36:02.180
but based on the language here,

36:02.280 --> 36:03.860
there could have been a little bit of a standoff.

36:04.280 --> 36:05.760
Like, hey, we want you to take this

36:05.760 --> 36:07.320
and he's like, well, I don't know

36:07.320 --> 36:08.500
because you guys are so poor

36:08.500 --> 36:12.020
and they're like, no, we insist, take it, okay?

36:13.780 --> 36:16.160
And there's a lot of aspects to giving and receiving.

36:17.100 --> 36:19.460
I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong

36:20.080 --> 36:22.460
with an initial refusal potentially,

36:23.120 --> 36:24.720
but if someone's insisting,

36:25.020 --> 36:27.040
I believe you're supposed to take it, okay?

36:27.160 --> 36:28.440
That would be the right thing to do.

36:28.500 --> 36:30.840
You don't wanna refuse receiving a gift from somebody

36:30.840 --> 36:32.780
that's trying to do the right thing that's trying to bless.

36:33.920 --> 36:37.440
So you could kinda see there's sometimes

36:37.440 --> 36:39.140
that little bit of standoff,

36:39.440 --> 36:41.320
but then you just go ahead

36:41.320 --> 36:43.560
and basically receive the gift

36:43.560 --> 36:47.260
or you go along with what is being offered.

36:47.920 --> 36:49.300
Someone's like, hey, let me get that

36:49.300 --> 36:50.300
and you're like, no, I'm fine.

36:50.720 --> 36:52.360
And then they're just like, okay, move on

36:52.360 --> 36:53.120
and it's like, move on.

36:53.360 --> 36:54.320
But they're like, no, no, I insist.

36:54.720 --> 36:57.800
It's like, it'd be rude to not receive that or to take it.

36:58.040 --> 37:00.060
I'm not saying you have to initially refuse.

37:00.380 --> 37:01.700
They could be like, you want this?

37:01.760 --> 37:04.000
You're like, yeah, like, let's go.

37:04.320 --> 37:05.320
And that's a good attitude.

37:05.440 --> 37:08.020
It's a good attitude to receive gifts.

37:08.420 --> 37:09.980
Don't be someone that's so prideful

37:09.980 --> 37:10.940
that you can't receive a gift.

37:11.380 --> 37:14.460
And if someone's insisting, you know, take a gift.

37:15.060 --> 37:17.100
You know, I would only refuse a gift

37:17.100 --> 37:18.400
if it's just like, you know,

37:18.460 --> 37:20.860
it really is not something that I should receive

37:20.860 --> 37:22.640
or just it doesn't make sense.

37:22.680 --> 37:23.760
There's not appropriate or something.

37:24.100 --> 37:26.160
But if it's something that can be received,

37:26.300 --> 37:27.920
you should do your best to try and receive it.

37:28.140 --> 37:29.240
Be thankful for it.

37:29.520 --> 37:30.940
And hey, this church is wanting

37:30.940 --> 37:32.240
to bless the saints of Jerusalem.

37:32.960 --> 37:34.140
Hey, I don't know if you guys should.

37:34.300 --> 37:35.660
It's like, we insist it's all right.

37:35.920 --> 37:36.860
We're gonna receive that gift

37:36.860 --> 37:37.940
and you're gonna get to partake

37:37.940 --> 37:40.280
and be a part of the fellowship of the ministering

37:40.280 --> 37:41.080
to the saints.

37:41.580 --> 37:43.140
He says here in verse number five,

37:43.420 --> 37:45.860
and this they did not as we hoped,

37:46.300 --> 37:48.420
but first gave their own selves of the Lord

37:48.420 --> 37:49.860
and then the us by the will of God.

37:50.760 --> 37:53.320
So he's saying, you know, they're doing this

37:53.320 --> 37:55.440
not because we were wanting this to happen,

37:55.480 --> 37:57.060
but they just love God so much.

37:57.420 --> 37:59.060
And, you know, they wanted to do

37:59.060 --> 38:00.540
whatever the will of God is in verse six

38:00.540 --> 38:02.080
and so much that we desired Titus

38:02.080 --> 38:03.240
that as he had begun,

38:03.500 --> 38:06.340
so he would also finish in you the same grace also.

38:06.340 --> 38:10.460
So just as these guys blessed us,

38:11.100 --> 38:13.700
we were also desiring and hoping that Titus

38:13.700 --> 38:15.960
would be able to come back to your church

38:16.480 --> 38:17.920
and take the same collection.

38:18.580 --> 38:20.900
So just like these guys were so happy

38:21.220 --> 38:22.420
to bless the saints of Jerusalem,

38:22.840 --> 38:26.120
we wanna send Titus so that you guys can also bless them.

38:26.240 --> 38:26.620
Verse seven,

38:26.740 --> 38:28.200
therefore as you abound in everything

38:28.720 --> 38:30.180
in faith and utterance and knowledge

38:30.180 --> 38:33.100
and in all diligence and your love also to us,

38:33.740 --> 38:36.340
see that you abound in this grace also.

38:36.940 --> 38:38.960
I do wanna mention that in times past

38:38.960 --> 38:39.900
in reading this chapter,

38:40.020 --> 38:41.500
the language is kind of dense

38:42.060 --> 38:45.360
and you know, I struggled to understand this chapter.

38:45.900 --> 38:48.040
So in times past, I kind of misunderstood

38:48.660 --> 38:50.280
what the language is saying here.

38:51.320 --> 38:52.840
I kind of thought that it was saying like

38:52.840 --> 38:56.240
they were sending Titus to like preach for them

38:56.740 --> 38:58.560
and then they're like sending money

38:58.560 --> 39:00.080
as like a trade-off,

39:00.460 --> 39:02.300
but that's just not really what's in view.

39:02.300 --> 39:04.180
That wasn't really the right way to look at it.

39:04.420 --> 39:07.440
Titus is simply the person responsible

39:07.440 --> 39:08.960
for collecting the money physically

39:08.960 --> 39:10.240
and taking it to Jerusalem.

39:11.540 --> 39:14.060
And here what the apostle Paul is trying to do

39:14.060 --> 39:16.320
is he's trying to get this collection from everybody.

39:17.100 --> 39:19.220
Now it makes sense why they would want

39:19.220 --> 39:20.040
to do this kind of stuff.

39:20.480 --> 39:21.700
Obviously when you talk about money,

39:21.740 --> 39:23.220
everybody gets squeamish and uncomfortable.

39:23.940 --> 39:25.460
But for the apostle Paul,

39:25.520 --> 39:27.360
he cares about the work of the Lord thriving

39:27.360 --> 39:30.480
and doing well and he understands

39:30.480 --> 39:31.620
that Jerusalem is in need.

39:32.240 --> 39:35.800
So instead of just like one church blessing them,

39:36.120 --> 39:37.680
he wants all the churches to bless them

39:37.680 --> 39:40.280
so that they'll then get the max reward,

39:40.440 --> 39:44.740
the max benefit of the blessing from all of these saints.

39:44.880 --> 39:46.860
And then the work of the Lord is gonna thrive

39:46.860 --> 39:49.160
and it's not gonna be diminished

39:49.160 --> 39:53.160
or it's not going to be hampered by his refusal

39:53.160 --> 39:54.960
to collect money from everybody

39:54.960 --> 39:58.040
or to let as many people participate as possible.

39:58.660 --> 40:02.640
And there could be a temptation, people are weird.

40:03.020 --> 40:05.100
There could be a temptation for someone to say like,

40:05.220 --> 40:07.780
I wanna be the only person helping them financially

40:07.780 --> 40:11.060
so that I get all the credit or I get all the glory

40:12.220 --> 40:14.980
and or someone could decide not to wanna offer

40:14.980 --> 40:17.680
this opportunity to people for the reason of like,

40:17.860 --> 40:20.160
oh, why do you want to get money from everybody?

40:20.920 --> 40:22.900
There's all these different agendas

40:23.300 --> 40:25.960
and things that people will put on you about money.

40:25.960 --> 40:28.800
But Apostle Paul's trying to make it clear like,

40:28.900 --> 40:30.720
hey, I love the saints of Jerusalem.

40:31.440 --> 40:33.320
It's more blessed to give than to receive.

40:33.800 --> 40:34.840
This is a good opportunity.

40:35.260 --> 40:36.980
We want all the churches that are willing

40:36.980 --> 40:39.000
to participate in this, to participate in this.

40:39.400 --> 40:40.800
Titus is a good guy and we're collecting money

40:40.800 --> 40:41.220
and give it to him.

40:41.640 --> 40:44.880
You can also see why in this greater epistle,

40:45.320 --> 40:46.940
there's a lot of accusations against Paul.

40:47.560 --> 40:47.880
Why?

40:48.180 --> 40:49.480
Because there's probably people saying like,

40:49.580 --> 40:51.120
oh, they're collecting money for themselves

40:51.700 --> 40:54.420
or hey, I don't know if they're digging into that money.

40:54.960 --> 40:58.680
Anytime money's involved, accusations, slander,

40:59.260 --> 41:00.680
railing, people getting upset.

41:01.400 --> 41:03.540
Of course, people that aren't working hard,

41:04.240 --> 41:05.420
people that are reprobate, whatever.

41:05.760 --> 41:08.240
They'll come up with all kinds of excuses about money.

41:08.360 --> 41:09.660
They get all offended about money.

41:10.080 --> 41:12.140
They don't want anybody to have money but themselves.

41:12.840 --> 41:13.500
Think about Judas.

41:13.800 --> 41:15.940
Judas is the one who's always getting upset about money.

41:16.960 --> 41:17.700
But why?

41:17.980 --> 41:20.220
Because he was a thief and he's taking what's in the back.

41:20.700 --> 41:25.120
He was really mad about money being spent on Jesus.

41:26.180 --> 41:29.280
Just this oil and this ointment being put on Jesus.

41:29.960 --> 41:33.260
He got so mad about it that he betrayed him

41:33.680 --> 41:34.420
to the Pharisees.

41:34.540 --> 41:35.220
That's how mad he got.

41:35.420 --> 41:37.780
He got so mad about it that he allowed the devil

41:37.780 --> 41:40.460
to enter him and to become demonically possessed

41:40.460 --> 41:42.760
to then betray the Lord Jesus Christ,

41:43.200 --> 41:45.600
betray the innocent blood for 30 shekels of silver.

41:45.940 --> 41:47.500
That's how mad he got about it.

41:47.500 --> 41:51.860
And so when someone's getting really mad about money,

41:52.640 --> 41:54.780
especially that's being used for churches

41:55.120 --> 41:56.260
and for the things of God,

41:56.700 --> 41:58.880
that's a big red flag for that person.

41:59.800 --> 42:03.200
They wanna be like, oh, these people are bad.

42:03.600 --> 42:06.220
It's like they're projecting in a sense.

42:06.540 --> 42:08.440
And it's like, oh, why was this money wasted?

42:08.560 --> 42:09.580
It could have been given to the poor.

42:10.380 --> 42:11.660
Oh, Judas sounds like a liberal.

42:12.640 --> 42:13.720
But he wasn't a liberal.

42:14.120 --> 42:16.220
He was someone that hated the poor people

42:16.220 --> 42:18.240
and was ripping off the poor people.

42:18.760 --> 42:19.740
And he was a thief.

42:20.280 --> 42:23.200
And you notice again, a holier than thou attitude

42:23.200 --> 42:24.180
in many cases.

42:24.600 --> 42:26.800
And it's like the person that's just constantly

42:26.800 --> 42:28.320
making a big deal about money

42:28.320 --> 42:30.700
and just always like obsessed with money.

42:31.020 --> 42:32.000
You know, it's kind of a red flag.

42:33.080 --> 42:35.780
And then you kind of wonder, it's like, okay,

42:36.600 --> 42:39.000
let's talk about some modern day applications

42:39.000 --> 42:39.980
for some of these things, right?

42:40.460 --> 42:43.000
There was one person that I could point to

42:43.000 --> 42:45.880
that said, this guy is talking about money the most.

42:46.500 --> 42:49.120
Like, here's a guy where if you go on every single

42:49.120 --> 42:51.180
one of his posts for his sermons,

42:51.380 --> 42:53.800
the first thing listed is donate to our church.

42:54.860 --> 42:57.600
And it's the only guy constantly raising money

42:57.600 --> 43:00.320
and talking about money and making a big deal about money.

43:00.800 --> 43:02.320
And it's just like, who is it?

43:02.380 --> 43:03.920
Oh yes, it was Roger Jimenez.

43:05.240 --> 43:08.380
And it wasn't like, it's not like what I'm saying,

43:08.540 --> 43:09.440
it's just my opinion.

43:09.980 --> 43:11.740
This is something that a lot of people noticed.

43:11.740 --> 43:13.260
It was like, there's this one person

43:13.260 --> 43:14.820
that's just always about raising money

43:15.300 --> 43:16.820
and trying to talk about money

43:17.240 --> 43:19.720
and getting all these collections at whatever.

43:20.300 --> 43:23.920
And then we find out, oh, why was that happening?

43:24.000 --> 43:26.920
Because he's taking half of the money that's being raised.

43:27.300 --> 43:28.980
And that's after he's getting called on the carpet.

43:29.120 --> 43:30.040
At first he was taking all of it.

43:31.100 --> 43:34.720
Then it was just like half until basically it was exposed.

43:35.000 --> 43:35.960
And then it's like, okay, well,

43:36.060 --> 43:38.040
let's stop letting this guy be the money,

43:38.440 --> 43:40.140
the guy holding the bag, okay?

43:40.620 --> 43:42.600
Now again, I'm not saying that Roger Jimenez is Judas, okay?

43:42.680 --> 43:43.280
Don't hear me wrong.

43:43.840 --> 43:45.400
I think he's saved and whatever.

43:45.720 --> 43:48.220
But anybody can get a bad attitude, a bad spirit.

43:48.980 --> 43:50.680
And we wanna be careful about the person

43:50.680 --> 43:53.360
that's just all obsessed about money and things like that.

43:53.640 --> 43:56.080
But at the same time, there's nothing wrong

43:56.500 --> 43:58.380
with raising money for other Christians.

43:59.080 --> 44:01.300
And so that's why they love this vehicle

44:01.300 --> 44:02.900
because they wanna be like, hey, let's raise money.

44:03.400 --> 44:06.160
But the apostle Paul, if you think about it,

44:06.260 --> 44:08.200
he's like, I'm not collecting the money,

44:08.320 --> 44:09.280
I'm getting Titus to do it.

44:09.280 --> 44:09.620
Yeah.

44:10.480 --> 44:14.200
And in a modern day, if we're raising money for people,

44:14.560 --> 44:15.620
it makes sense that it's like,

44:15.840 --> 44:17.740
why do I have to be a quote clearing house

44:18.260 --> 44:19.640
for other people or other churches?

44:19.800 --> 44:21.020
I don't necessarily need to be that.

44:21.400 --> 44:23.440
Maybe we just let it go straight to Titus

44:23.440 --> 44:25.240
or we go straight to that particular person.

44:25.940 --> 44:29.480
And so let's be honest about our situation

44:29.480 --> 44:32.900
with Pastor Stuckey, we're not a clearing house for him

44:32.900 --> 44:34.120
and we don't wanna be.

44:35.180 --> 44:36.460
No verity about his church was acting

44:36.460 --> 44:37.540
like a clearing house for them.

44:37.540 --> 44:39.580
And that just gave temptation for them

44:39.580 --> 44:41.300
to take money that they probably shouldn't have.

44:42.100 --> 44:43.120
Well, let's just be honest.

44:43.180 --> 44:44.740
They shouldn't have taken it, okay.

44:45.440 --> 44:47.840
And in reality, it's like, hey,

44:48.200 --> 44:49.560
we wanna help out that church,

44:49.760 --> 44:51.500
but we don't wanna be the clearing house for them.

44:51.740 --> 44:53.040
It's like, give money directly to them.

44:53.560 --> 44:56.240
Go to soulwinningbaptistchurch.com,

44:56.760 --> 44:58.640
give money directly to Pastor Stuckey

44:58.640 --> 45:00.100
and to that ministry.

45:00.180 --> 45:01.900
If you wanna bless them and support them,

45:02.280 --> 45:04.200
and you know, we too wanna bless them and support them.

45:04.420 --> 45:05.500
You know, and I don't wanna be like,

45:05.500 --> 45:06.740
hey, we are the only church

45:06.740 --> 45:07.960
that can bless them or support them.

45:08.160 --> 45:10.440
I hope every church blesses them and supports them, right?

45:10.800 --> 45:12.860
You know, we had like a Baptist by show,

45:12.980 --> 45:15.060
we were trying to like encourage other people

45:15.060 --> 45:17.720
and other churches to bless that particular work

45:17.720 --> 45:19.520
because we just don't want that work to be diminished.

45:19.860 --> 45:22.580
And let's just be honest, of new IV churches,

45:23.240 --> 45:26.280
that church is probably one of the more poor churches

45:26.900 --> 45:28.960
in the world because it's in the Philippines.

45:29.600 --> 45:31.760
In the Philippines they don't have the same amount

45:31.760 --> 45:34.500
of money to be able to bless their church with,

45:34.500 --> 45:35.420
to raise.

45:35.900 --> 45:37.380
I mean, they have a sizable church,

45:37.680 --> 45:39.440
but it's just again, the people in that country

45:39.440 --> 45:42.100
are poor in comparison to Americans.

45:42.700 --> 45:45.040
And so it's like, hey, we're trying to raise money

45:45.040 --> 45:45.940
because we don't want the work

45:45.940 --> 45:47.140
to be diminished in the Philippines.

45:47.560 --> 45:51.400
And we wanna help that particular work in the Philippines.

45:52.000 --> 45:53.900
And you know, we're gonna kind of get into

45:53.900 --> 45:56.200
this next subject, but it kind of relates

45:56.200 --> 46:00.260
to the same topic is, hey, if we promise to help them,

46:00.480 --> 46:02.180
we wanna make sure to deliver on that promise.

46:02.580 --> 46:04.100
And that's what the church at Corinth did.

46:04.100 --> 46:05.480
The church at Corinth is saying like, hey,

46:05.920 --> 46:07.700
we wanna help the saints at Jerusalem.

46:08.080 --> 46:10.020
And he's like, okay, well then y'all go ahead

46:10.020 --> 46:11.060
and collect all that money.

46:11.340 --> 46:12.520
That's what he's saying in 1 Corinthians,

46:12.660 --> 46:13.480
chapter 16 that we read.

46:13.840 --> 46:15.620
Go ahead and get it all collected and get it all ready

46:15.620 --> 46:17.360
so that then when we come back through

46:17.360 --> 46:18.620
or Titus comes through there,

46:19.100 --> 46:20.880
he can gather that, he can get that money

46:20.880 --> 46:22.240
and take it to them.

46:22.620 --> 46:24.100
Okay, so it's like they're getting prepared

46:24.100 --> 46:26.580
for what they claim they were going to do.

46:26.680 --> 46:28.980
Like it's one thing to say, I wanna help you,

46:28.980 --> 46:29.700
I will help you.

46:29.900 --> 46:31.280
And there's another thing to actually do it.

46:31.940 --> 46:33.820
And we probably all know that person

46:34.200 --> 46:36.480
that said like, I'll help you financially

46:36.480 --> 46:37.760
or I'll give you this money.

46:38.020 --> 46:39.760
And then when you actually ask for it,

46:39.860 --> 46:41.200
it's not there anymore.

46:41.640 --> 46:43.520
Or they're not actually gonna step up the plate

46:43.520 --> 46:44.840
or they're not gonna actually deliver.

46:45.360 --> 46:46.680
Or you work for a boss.

46:47.060 --> 46:48.380
It's really annoying when you work for a boss.

46:48.500 --> 46:50.100
He's like, hey, in two years you're gonna get a promotion.

46:50.580 --> 46:51.500
It's like four years later,

46:51.620 --> 46:52.480
you're like, where's that promotion?

46:53.140 --> 46:53.980
You know, it's just kind of like,

46:54.340 --> 46:55.460
we don't wanna be that kind of person

46:55.820 --> 46:58.240
where we promise the moon and we can't deliver.

46:59.780 --> 47:00.680
He says in verse eight,

47:00.680 --> 47:02.040
I speak not by commandment,

47:02.140 --> 47:05.500
but by occasion of the forwardness of others

47:06.120 --> 47:08.820
and to prove the sincerity of love.

47:08.880 --> 47:11.420
So he's saying, I'm not getting money from you guys

47:12.040 --> 47:12.820
as a commandment.

47:13.560 --> 47:15.740
There is no commandment for you to give money

47:15.740 --> 47:17.020
to the saints at Jerusalem.

47:17.680 --> 47:18.920
But why am I doing it?

47:19.280 --> 47:20.560
Because of the forwardness of others.

47:20.700 --> 47:22.400
Because of what the Macedonians were like.

47:22.540 --> 47:24.300
The Macedonians were so excited to give money

47:24.300 --> 47:26.440
and they kind of like inspired me

47:26.440 --> 47:28.880
to provoke other people to do likewise.

47:29.340 --> 47:34.120
And then secondly, to prove the sincerity of your love.

47:34.460 --> 47:34.780
Why?

47:35.060 --> 47:37.280
Because they're saying like, hey, we wanna do this.

47:37.560 --> 47:39.780
It's like, all right, put your money where your mouth is then.

47:40.360 --> 47:43.040
Go ahead and prove the fact that you did wanna help them

47:43.040 --> 47:45.120
that you were willing to step up to the plate

47:45.120 --> 47:46.300
and actually do it.

47:46.620 --> 47:47.360
He says in verse nine,

47:47.540 --> 47:49.300
for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

47:49.760 --> 47:51.720
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes,

47:51.780 --> 47:53.360
he became poor, that you might,

47:53.400 --> 47:55.580
through his poverty, might be rich.

47:55.960 --> 47:57.340
And here, and I give my advice,

47:57.340 --> 47:59.220
for this is expedient for you,

47:59.500 --> 48:01.440
who have begun before, not only to do,

48:01.600 --> 48:03.080
but also to be forward a year ago.

48:03.280 --> 48:05.580
So he's using Christ as an example,

48:05.700 --> 48:07.820
like Christ has all these riches in heaven

48:08.340 --> 48:10.620
and then comes down to earth as a humble servant,

48:11.060 --> 48:11.820
dies on the cross,

48:12.080 --> 48:15.660
to then give us the riches of becoming co-inheritors

48:16.260 --> 48:18.080
with him, joint heirs,

48:18.400 --> 48:20.760
and that we're gonna inherit and rule and reign

48:21.260 --> 48:24.500
on the new earth with the Lord Jesus Christ.

48:24.500 --> 48:26.660
And so he had to become poorer

48:27.140 --> 48:28.640
so that we could become rich.

48:29.240 --> 48:31.120
And he's just saying by that example,

48:31.360 --> 48:33.920
like we should have Christ's attitude and Christ's mindset

48:33.920 --> 48:35.340
that sometimes we have to spend

48:35.880 --> 48:39.020
and be spent for others to have riches.

48:39.600 --> 48:40.640
So think about it this way,

48:41.040 --> 48:42.600
going on a foreign mission trip

48:42.600 --> 48:44.660
might cost you a lot of money

48:45.740 --> 48:47.360
and you're gonna go somewhere though

48:47.360 --> 48:49.520
and you're gonna give someone an eternal gift,

48:49.900 --> 48:51.520
you're gonna get them rich spiritually

48:51.520 --> 48:52.360
by getting them saved.

48:52.960 --> 48:55.100
And so by you being poorer,

48:55.840 --> 48:57.260
and I'm not saying you're literally poorer,

48:57.340 --> 49:00.120
but you're just basically taking some of your money

49:00.120 --> 49:03.220
and you're spending it on mission strips,

49:03.680 --> 49:05.920
you can give riches to other people

49:06.320 --> 49:09.840
and get them saved and the eternal gift of salvation

49:10.480 --> 49:12.700
and it's a blessing to these other individuals.

49:13.260 --> 49:14.220
I mean, if we just all said,

49:14.280 --> 49:15.120
you know what, we're not gonna do that,

49:15.180 --> 49:17.340
we're gonna just take all of our money for missions

49:17.340 --> 49:19.440
and we're just gonna invest in the stock market

49:19.440 --> 49:21.100
and we're just gonna keep compiling it.

49:21.100 --> 49:23.900
I mean, we could have a lot of money over time.

49:24.460 --> 49:25.960
I mean, a lot of people are doing a lot of mission strips

49:25.960 --> 49:27.820
and we're spending a lot of money on mission strips.

49:28.200 --> 49:29.240
I mean, we're talking hundreds,

49:29.420 --> 49:31.560
probably hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

49:32.020 --> 49:34.360
If we take all the money we're spending as a collective

49:34.360 --> 49:36.600
plus the church is spending as a collective,

49:36.900 --> 49:38.640
we could be doing other stuff with that.

49:39.240 --> 49:41.940
We could be building this great cathedral

49:42.420 --> 49:44.240
with naked babies painted on the ceiling

49:44.240 --> 49:45.200
and you know, whatever.

49:45.820 --> 49:47.980
It's like, instead we're gonna just go

49:47.980 --> 49:49.600
and give the gospel to people, right?

49:50.720 --> 49:52.960
And again, the same with Christ.

49:53.180 --> 49:54.840
Like Christ has all these riches in heaven,

49:55.100 --> 49:58.360
but he became poor so that we could be saved

49:58.360 --> 50:00.960
in the same way that sometimes we have to spend our money.

50:01.240 --> 50:02.360
But you know what the Bible is saying

50:02.360 --> 50:03.620
is that if you're a liberal person,

50:04.140 --> 50:05.540
then God's gonna be li-

50:05.540 --> 50:06.820
He's gonna give liberal to you.

50:07.060 --> 50:09.040
He kind of like takes care of you

50:09.040 --> 50:10.680
because you're taking care of other people.

50:11.440 --> 50:14.940
So you think like, oh man, I'm wasting all my money

50:14.940 --> 50:16.820
but then it's like God's gonna take care of you.

50:17.500 --> 50:18.780
He's gonna take care of you now

50:18.780 --> 50:20.560
and he's gonna take care of you in heaven for sure.

50:21.000 --> 50:22.480
So it's just like, it's the best investment

50:22.480 --> 50:24.760
you can make anyways because even if you invested

50:24.760 --> 50:25.940
all of your money, I mean, think about it.

50:26.140 --> 50:29.240
Let's just say you invested $10,000 every month

50:29.240 --> 50:32.520
from now until you're 70 and you're like,

50:32.640 --> 50:37.140
all right, I've got $50 million in my 401k and then you die.

50:38.260 --> 50:39.840
What did it even accomplish?

50:41.000 --> 50:43.480
And then like your kids are spoiled brats

50:43.480 --> 50:44.700
and they just take your $50 million

50:44.700 --> 50:46.660
and just destroy their lives on drugs

50:46.660 --> 50:47.560
and alcohol or something.

50:48.720 --> 50:49.960
Oh, that never happens.

50:50.320 --> 50:51.060
Happens all the time.

50:51.960 --> 50:52.580
Like, I mean, think about it.

50:52.960 --> 50:55.080
You know, when I'm 70, I can't even really do any,

50:55.220 --> 50:56.040
I don't know, I'm just like,

50:56.560 --> 50:57.660
I'm like, what am I gonna do

50:58.160 --> 51:00.140
with $50 million or $100 million

51:00.140 --> 51:02.460
whenever you're 70 anyways, you know?

51:03.140 --> 51:06.080
It's just like eat a gold plated burger, you know?

51:06.660 --> 51:07.380
Have you seen those things?

51:07.500 --> 51:09.100
They like wrap burgers in gold

51:09.100 --> 51:11.040
just because they can't make food

51:11.040 --> 51:12.260
any more expensive, I guess.

51:12.500 --> 51:13.760
It's just like, you know,

51:13.760 --> 51:17.100
they have to get a duck liver that's fat, full-graw, you know?

51:17.260 --> 51:19.320
It's just like, why not steak?

51:19.600 --> 51:22.240
You know, I was just like, hey, why not brisket?

51:22.980 --> 51:26.220
It's like at some point saving money becomes frivolous.

51:26.640 --> 51:28.360
Now again, I'm not against retirement.

51:28.780 --> 51:29.900
I'm not saying don't have a 401k.

51:30.260 --> 51:31.920
I'm not saying don't plan for the future.

51:32.340 --> 51:34.280
But I'm saying this, like what's the point

51:34.280 --> 51:36.080
in just laying up treasures on earth

51:36.080 --> 51:38.000
where moth and rust, doth corrupt

51:38.000 --> 51:40.260
and thieves break through and steal

51:40.780 --> 51:44.500
rather than laying up treasures in heaven, okay?

51:44.620 --> 51:47.200
And that's the whole point that's being stated here.

51:47.560 --> 51:49.520
He's saying I'm giving my advice in verse 10.

51:50.000 --> 51:52.740
He's saying this is expedient means this is good for you

51:53.300 --> 51:54.860
who have begun before.

51:55.300 --> 51:56.600
So he's like, you already gave some money

51:57.360 --> 51:59.020
and it says not only to do,

51:59.260 --> 52:01.460
but also to be forward a year ago.

52:01.540 --> 52:02.740
He's like, not only did you kind of like

52:02.740 --> 52:04.360
already maybe chip in some money,

52:04.720 --> 52:07.540
you guys said like we really want to give more even.

52:07.620 --> 52:09.580
We want to kind of like help the situation.

52:09.580 --> 52:11.160
So it's like, you said you want to do it.

52:11.440 --> 52:12.480
All right, it's time to do it.

52:12.580 --> 52:15.660
Verse 11, now perform the doing of it

52:16.100 --> 52:17.840
that as there was a readiness to will

52:17.840 --> 52:21.000
so there may be a performance also out of that

52:21.000 --> 52:21.420
which he has.

52:21.460 --> 52:23.660
So he's saying, hey, let's do it then, perform it.

52:24.400 --> 52:25.220
Give us the money.

52:26.160 --> 52:27.480
Show me the money, right?

52:28.400 --> 52:32.400
He says in verse 12, for if there be first

52:32.400 --> 52:36.760
a willing mind, it is accepted according to that

52:36.760 --> 52:40.560
a man hath and not according to that he hath not.

52:40.900 --> 52:45.360
So God is looking down from heaven and saying,

52:45.420 --> 52:48.760
hey, I like it when you are offering

52:48.760 --> 52:49.980
what you have to give.

52:50.760 --> 52:53.680
Some people would say, I'll give you a million dollars.

52:54.200 --> 52:55.080
I just don't have it.

52:55.740 --> 52:57.240
It's like, well, how generous of you?

52:57.800 --> 53:00.060
If I had a million dollars, I would give it to you though.

53:00.580 --> 53:01.080
Would you though?

53:02.100 --> 53:03.760
You know, it's like that isn't accepted.

53:04.200 --> 53:05.140
It doesn't really work.

53:05.140 --> 53:06.160
It doesn't really mean anything.

53:06.740 --> 53:10.900
Okay, what is accepted is offering what you do have.

53:11.460 --> 53:14.700
He's saying, hey, what you have and you offer of that,

53:15.000 --> 53:17.120
that's what God cares about and that's what God considers

53:17.120 --> 53:18.260
and that's what's important.

53:18.580 --> 53:19.820
Not what you would give.

53:20.460 --> 53:22.620
Not what you hypothetically would like to give.

53:23.040 --> 53:24.360
What you can give.

53:25.020 --> 53:26.500
You know, the woman giving the two mites

53:26.500 --> 53:27.840
is gonna have great riches.

53:28.180 --> 53:30.300
It wasn't based on how much.

53:30.420 --> 53:31.660
It was based on what she had

53:31.660 --> 53:32.780
and what she was willing to give.

53:34.200 --> 53:37.020
He says here in verse number 13,

53:37.220 --> 53:39.760
for I mean not that other men be easy burdened,

53:39.760 --> 53:42.560
but by an equality that now at this time

53:42.560 --> 53:44.320
your abundance may be a supply for their want,

53:44.580 --> 53:47.520
that their abundance also may be a supply for your want,

53:47.900 --> 53:49.500
that there may be equality.

53:50.040 --> 53:52.280
As it is written, he that had gathered much

53:52.280 --> 53:55.040
had nothing over and he that had gathered little

53:55.040 --> 53:55.820
had no lack.

53:56.020 --> 53:58.940
So my misinterpretation of chapter eight

53:59.460 --> 54:01.440
typically was kind of based on this statement,

54:01.440 --> 54:03.840
which it's still a biblical principle.

54:04.500 --> 54:07.000
It's just not necessarily what the text is saying about Titus.

54:07.400 --> 54:11.120
But he's saying like, hey, there's kind of this equality

54:11.880 --> 54:14.600
that they have a want and you're supplying it.

54:14.940 --> 54:17.820
And then on the flip side, it's almost like

54:17.820 --> 54:20.200
also may be a supply for your want,

54:20.220 --> 54:21.320
that there may be inequality.

54:21.980 --> 54:26.860
In some senses, Jerusalem is sharing its riches

54:26.860 --> 54:30.060
of prophets, apostles, preachers

54:30.060 --> 54:32.260
that are going out and evangelizing the world.

54:32.920 --> 54:35.320
And they're supplying their want and their need,

54:36.240 --> 54:38.220
whereas they don't have any money.

54:39.040 --> 54:42.500
And so these rich Greeks are able to basically

54:42.500 --> 54:43.500
collect all their money.

54:43.580 --> 54:45.260
These Gentiles are able to give their money back

54:45.260 --> 54:47.160
to the saints at Jerusalem.

54:47.160 --> 54:48.060
And so there's equality.

54:48.520 --> 54:50.560
He's saying it's not that we're just wanting

54:50.560 --> 54:52.700
to enrich the saints at Jerusalem.

54:53.040 --> 54:55.040
We're not trying to set up the pope here.

54:55.280 --> 54:57.400
We're not trying to set up the Roman Catholic church

54:57.400 --> 55:00.380
where if you go there, it's this lavish,

55:00.960 --> 55:03.020
multi-billion dollar corporation

55:03.660 --> 55:05.900
where they're just rolling in it.

55:06.300 --> 55:08.660
And then every other Catholic in the world

55:08.660 --> 55:10.860
is just this poor impoverished person.

55:11.420 --> 55:12.460
No, he wants it to be equality.

55:13.100 --> 55:16.100
And the equality is we're all kind of sharing in a sense.

55:16.680 --> 55:17.680
Y'all are giving y'alls abundance

55:18.320 --> 55:20.360
and then we're giving y'all our abundance in a sense.

55:20.520 --> 55:23.620
It's like, hey, we're fat with preachers.

55:23.720 --> 55:24.660
You're fat with cash.

55:25.160 --> 55:27.160
Let's swap a little bit here.

55:27.720 --> 55:30.000
And again, that's just my interpretation.

55:30.720 --> 55:33.620
But the principle's for sure what the text is saying.

55:33.820 --> 55:36.900
The text is saying that, hey, there should be this equality.

55:37.320 --> 55:39.740
And it's not that we're just trying to enrich

55:40.180 --> 55:42.080
a particular church or a particular institution.

55:42.560 --> 55:44.900
We're just trying to kind of help those that are in need.

55:45.340 --> 55:46.440
Now, if no one's in need,

55:46.760 --> 55:47.820
we don't even need to give money to them.

55:47.880 --> 55:49.060
We don't even need to raise money for them.

55:49.120 --> 55:49.720
There's no point.

55:49.880 --> 55:51.540
It's just like, hey, this particular group

55:51.540 --> 55:52.360
is needing some money.

55:52.360 --> 55:54.520
So why don't we chip in and try to help them

55:55.160 --> 55:55.940
so there can be equality?

55:56.320 --> 55:57.240
We're not trying to say like,

55:57.240 --> 55:59.400
hey, let's bless a church in the Philippines

55:59.400 --> 56:00.480
so that they can be rich.

56:01.080 --> 56:02.320
It's to supply their lack.

56:02.520 --> 56:04.660
It's to supply their want in a sense.

56:05.200 --> 56:08.320
Not to try and just enrich one church over another.

56:08.540 --> 56:11.460
We want them to be some level of equality,

56:11.720 --> 56:14.500
some level of balance here.

56:15.040 --> 56:18.980
And he uses an Old Testament principle applied here.

56:18.980 --> 56:22.080
Notice, I love this because verse 15,

56:22.360 --> 56:23.360
which is quoting the Old Testament,

56:24.140 --> 56:25.780
it's kind of like talking about the manna.

56:26.360 --> 56:28.480
They would like gather manna.

56:28.600 --> 56:30.140
And if you gathered a lot of manna,

56:30.300 --> 56:31.400
you ended up eating all of it.

56:31.620 --> 56:33.040
And if you didn't gather much money

56:33.040 --> 56:34.380
or you didn't gather much manna,

56:34.440 --> 56:36.480
you ended up being satisfied anyways.

56:36.820 --> 56:37.680
It was just like, it just kind of always

56:37.680 --> 56:38.420
worked out somehow.

56:39.400 --> 56:41.400
And it's just kind of what's interesting

56:41.400 --> 56:43.600
is that that has nothing to do with this at all.

56:43.740 --> 56:45.740
But then he's just using it to prove

56:45.740 --> 56:47.980
that you can use biblical principles as Old Testament

56:47.980 --> 56:49.280
in any way you want.

56:50.820 --> 56:52.360
You know, it doesn't have to be like,

56:52.680 --> 56:54.620
well, you have to know the context of this is manna

56:54.620 --> 56:55.440
and this is the Old Testament,

56:55.640 --> 56:57.540
this is the ancient Israelites and blah, blah, blah.

56:57.640 --> 56:58.360
That's the Old Testament.

56:58.740 --> 57:00.320
Yeah, well, the Old Testament, same principle,

57:00.760 --> 57:03.480
applies in the New Testament about giving, okay?

57:04.220 --> 57:08.460
And I mean, gathering manna has nothing to do with giving.

57:09.660 --> 57:10.300
I mean, he's eating.

57:10.800 --> 57:11.760
It's gathering food.

57:11.980 --> 57:14.200
It's like the exact opposite of giving.

57:14.440 --> 57:15.540
You're gathering, okay?

57:15.540 --> 57:17.420
But he uses the principle here

57:17.420 --> 57:18.800
and applies it in the text

57:18.800 --> 57:20.340
because you can use biblical principles

57:20.340 --> 57:21.260
to any way you want.

57:21.660 --> 57:25.640
As long as it's obviously within the framework

57:25.640 --> 57:27.720
of what the Bible teaches, right?

57:27.840 --> 57:29.620
We understand that he's using this principle

57:29.620 --> 57:30.700
that's a true principle

57:30.700 --> 57:33.660
and then applying it in a new way or a unique way.

57:34.320 --> 57:35.420
This is good preaching.

57:35.560 --> 57:36.420
This is topical preaching.

57:36.900 --> 57:37.940
He says in verse 16,

57:38.080 --> 57:39.000
but thanks be to God,

57:39.680 --> 57:40.900
which put the same earnest care

57:40.900 --> 57:42.380
in the heart of Titus for you.

57:43.020 --> 57:45.160
For indeed, he accepted the exhortation,

57:45.160 --> 57:47.180
but being more forward of his own accord,

57:47.360 --> 57:48.080
he went unto you.

57:48.940 --> 57:50.620
And we have sent with him the brother

57:50.620 --> 57:51.780
whose praise is in the gospel

57:51.780 --> 57:52.820
throughout all the churches

57:53.400 --> 57:55.100
and not that only,

57:55.460 --> 57:57.820
but who was also chosen of the churches

57:57.820 --> 57:59.540
to travel with us with this grace,

57:59.880 --> 58:01.800
which is administered by us to the glory

58:01.800 --> 58:04.100
of the same Lord in declaration of your ready mind,

58:04.520 --> 58:06.340
avoiding this that no man should blame us

58:06.340 --> 58:09.000
in this abundance, which is administered by us,

58:09.140 --> 58:10.860
providing for honest things,

58:11.020 --> 58:12.520
not only on the side of the Lord,

58:12.580 --> 58:13.600
but also on the side of men.

58:13.600 --> 58:16.520
So saying, look, I'm sending Titus.

58:16.600 --> 58:17.480
I'm sending another guy

58:17.480 --> 58:20.240
that has a great reputation of all churches.

58:20.680 --> 58:22.820
They're coming here for this grace

58:22.820 --> 58:24.220
to bless this other church.

58:24.360 --> 58:25.960
Everything we're doing is honest

58:25.960 --> 58:27.440
and the sight of all men.

58:27.800 --> 58:28.880
It's for an honest purpose.

58:29.420 --> 58:30.100
It's transparent.

58:30.720 --> 58:31.840
It's transparent who's coming.

58:32.340 --> 58:34.900
And again, it's transparent that this is not a commandment,

58:35.060 --> 58:37.220
that you guys are the ones that promised it

58:37.220 --> 58:39.720
and we're just taking you up on what you said.

58:40.380 --> 58:42.060
I mean, doesn't that seem pretty clear

58:42.060 --> 58:42.700
and pretty honest?

58:42.700 --> 58:45.460
It's like, if a church says we want to give $10,000

58:46.340 --> 58:47.860
and we need you to carry the check,

58:48.340 --> 58:50.860
it's like, okay, we'll do that for you.

58:51.340 --> 58:52.500
You know, what's not honest

58:52.500 --> 58:54.280
is when you call Roger Jimenez

58:54.820 --> 58:57.780
and you say you want to give large sums of money

58:57.780 --> 58:59.980
to the Philippines church, can you give it to them?

59:00.140 --> 59:01.680
And he says yes, and then he doesn't.

59:03.680 --> 59:04.500
That's not honest.

59:04.620 --> 59:06.660
That's not right, okay?

59:07.160 --> 59:08.560
What would be right is for you

59:08.560 --> 59:10.900
to actually transport the money legitimately

59:10.900 --> 59:13.220
for it to be open, transparent,

59:13.540 --> 59:15.520
for people to realize what's going on.

59:15.960 --> 59:18.300
And again, it's just kind of sad

59:18.300 --> 59:20.180
that these things happen in the world today.

59:21.020 --> 59:21.840
But they do.

59:22.480 --> 59:25.420
He said in verse number 22,

59:26.500 --> 59:27.800
and we have sent with them our brother

59:28.460 --> 59:31.880
whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things,

59:31.940 --> 59:33.580
but now much more diligent

59:33.580 --> 59:35.960
upon the great confidence which I have in you.

59:36.440 --> 59:37.800
Whether any do inquire of Titus,

59:37.860 --> 59:39.840
he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you

59:39.840 --> 59:41.200
or a brethren being inquired of.

59:41.300 --> 59:42.540
They are the messengers of the churches

59:42.540 --> 59:43.440
and the glory of Christ.

59:44.020 --> 59:46.720
Wherefore show you to them and before the churches

59:46.720 --> 59:47.820
the proof of your love

59:47.820 --> 59:50.400
and of your boast of our boasting on your behalf.

59:50.580 --> 59:53.460
So again, he's just reconfirming,

59:53.840 --> 59:54.760
these guys are good guys,

59:55.360 --> 59:57.720
they're the messengers, give them the money.

59:58.020 --> 01:00:02.140
Verse 24, show you to them and before the churches,

01:00:02.720 --> 01:00:03.700
the proof of your love.

01:00:03.780 --> 01:00:05.220
So he's like, prove to these guys

01:00:05.220 --> 01:00:08.820
and all churches that you guys really love Christ.

01:00:08.820 --> 01:00:10.580
You really love the saints of Jerusalem.

01:00:10.820 --> 01:00:11.640
You really love the brethren.

01:00:12.340 --> 01:00:15.280
And notice and our boasting on your behalf.

01:00:15.500 --> 01:00:19.260
So the apostle Paul was kind of going around bragging

01:00:20.580 --> 01:00:24.000
about the church at Corinth as being very generous.

01:00:24.660 --> 01:00:25.600
He's calling them liberal.

01:00:25.780 --> 01:00:28.260
He's like saying, hey, the liberal saints at Corinth,

01:00:28.800 --> 01:00:30.680
look how generous they are.

01:00:30.920 --> 01:00:33.080
They're promising to give all this money

01:00:33.460 --> 01:00:34.520
to the saints of Jerusalem

01:00:34.520 --> 01:00:36.240
and they love the saints of Jerusalem

01:00:36.240 --> 01:00:37.420
and they love Christ.

01:00:37.920 --> 01:00:40.700
And he's like, go ahead and prove that,

01:00:41.320 --> 01:00:42.880
because I've been going around telling everybody

01:00:43.460 --> 01:00:45.060
how much you love to give

01:00:45.060 --> 01:00:46.340
and I've been telling everybody

01:00:46.340 --> 01:00:47.580
that you guys have made these promises

01:00:47.580 --> 01:00:50.360
and I've been bragging about you guys.

01:00:50.760 --> 01:00:51.880
So go ahead and just do it

01:00:51.880 --> 01:00:53.960
so that I don't look like silly

01:00:54.360 --> 01:00:56.680
for having told everybody you're gonna give them this money

01:00:57.100 --> 01:00:58.440
because it's really embarrassing.

01:00:58.860 --> 01:01:00.500
It's really embarrassing as a messenger.

01:01:01.020 --> 01:01:02.700
If someone came to me like, hey, I need some money

01:01:03.240 --> 01:01:04.200
and you're like, you know what?

01:01:04.300 --> 01:01:05.580
I know somebody that wants to give you money.

01:01:05.580 --> 01:01:06.700
They told me they want to give you money.

01:01:07.340 --> 01:01:10.220
And then you go, you're like, hey, they need that money.

01:01:10.420 --> 01:01:11.500
And you're like, I'm not gonna give it to them.

01:01:11.840 --> 01:01:13.260
Now you're gonna feel really embarrassed

01:01:13.260 --> 01:01:14.400
when you have to go back and be like,

01:01:14.740 --> 01:01:16.540
yeah, that guy wasn't gonna give you money.

01:01:16.600 --> 01:01:16.980
I'm sorry.

01:01:17.520 --> 01:01:18.740
It's like really embarrassing

01:01:19.320 --> 01:01:20.700
about that particular situation.

01:01:20.860 --> 01:01:22.380
And so, you know, if you make a vow,

01:01:23.220 --> 01:01:25.180
if you promise to do something like this,

01:01:25.240 --> 01:01:25.920
you're supposed to deliver.

01:01:26.920 --> 01:01:28.280
You know, I just want to go to like,

01:01:29.980 --> 01:01:31.280
go to chapter one.

01:01:31.620 --> 01:01:33.120
I'll just read a couple of verses for you,

01:01:33.120 --> 01:01:37.820
but the Bible says in Deuteronomy 23,

01:01:38.060 --> 01:01:39.920
when thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God,

01:01:40.140 --> 01:01:41.720
thou shalt not slack to pay it.

01:01:42.780 --> 01:01:44.360
So if you promise to do something,

01:01:44.420 --> 01:01:47.200
especially in a spiritual context, you better do it.

01:01:47.580 --> 01:01:49.140
The Bible says, when thou vowest a vow unto God,

01:01:49.620 --> 01:01:50.540
defer not to pay it.

01:01:50.860 --> 01:01:52.360
That's Ecclesiastes chapter five.

01:01:52.940 --> 01:01:56.080
The Bible says in Psalm 15, which we've been singing,

01:01:56.300 --> 01:01:58.540
he that sweareth to his own hurt and changeeth not.

01:01:59.180 --> 01:02:00.360
Meaning, hey, you make a promise,

01:02:00.360 --> 01:02:03.380
you need to deliver on that particular promise.

01:02:03.840 --> 01:02:06.840
Psalm 76, 11, vow and pay unto the Lord your God.

01:02:07.160 --> 01:02:10.080
Psalm 116 verse 14, I will pay my vows on the Lord,

01:02:10.340 --> 01:02:12.780
now in the presence of all his people.

01:02:13.300 --> 01:02:16.040
Hey, you make an oath, you make a promise to other Christians,

01:02:16.560 --> 01:02:18.620
you better make sure to deliver on that promise.

01:02:19.400 --> 01:02:20.100
Don't go back on it.

01:02:20.220 --> 01:02:22.460
Psalm 66 verse 13, I will go to thy house

01:02:22.970 --> 01:02:25.880
with burnt offerings, I will pay thee my vows.

01:02:26.280 --> 01:02:29.280
So you make a vow, you offer something to God,

01:02:29.280 --> 01:02:32.360
a free will offering even, then you have to pay it.

01:02:32.420 --> 01:02:36.220
Now, this is where you have to understand free will offerings.

01:02:36.840 --> 01:02:39.560
A free will offering is truly, you don't have to give it,

01:02:40.680 --> 01:02:44.240
but if you promise a free will offering,

01:02:44.740 --> 01:02:46.740
then you do have to offer that to God.

01:02:47.140 --> 01:02:48.840
So it's like, hey, I didn't have to,

01:02:49.260 --> 01:02:51.440
but if you vow it, then you do.

01:02:52.080 --> 01:02:53.760
Now again, think about this practically.

01:02:54.400 --> 01:02:57.720
You live somewhere in Israel, you don't live in Jerusalem.

01:02:58.140 --> 01:03:00.760
To offer a sacrifice, you have to travel to Jerusalem.

01:03:01.180 --> 01:03:02.880
So you could be like, hey, I've got this sheep

01:03:02.880 --> 01:03:05.240
that I've been raising and in six months,

01:03:05.480 --> 01:03:07.420
I'm gonna go take this sheep to Jerusalem

01:03:07.420 --> 01:03:09.160
and offer it as a sacrifice as a free will offering.

01:03:09.580 --> 01:03:12.040
Well then you could say, I have a vow on it,

01:03:12.120 --> 01:03:14.120
like this sheep is spoken for.

01:03:14.280 --> 01:03:17.040
It's basically given to God.

01:03:17.720 --> 01:03:20.900
And this is where this idea then gets twisted

01:03:20.900 --> 01:03:23.480
by the Pharisees in the gospels

01:03:24.000 --> 01:03:25.440
when Jesus Christ is bringing it up,

01:03:25.440 --> 01:03:27.180
that they would say like,

01:03:27.640 --> 01:03:29.800
someone's like, parents is coming to them

01:03:29.800 --> 01:03:31.340
and asking for help.

01:03:31.720 --> 01:03:35.100
And they're saying like, oh no, no, it is Corbin.

01:03:35.720 --> 01:03:36.860
And again, that's a weird thing.

01:03:37.040 --> 01:03:39.720
It is Corbin, meaning it's a gift.

01:03:40.060 --> 01:03:41.980
Meaning like, hey, I've already vowed this to God

01:03:41.980 --> 01:03:44.340
so I could never give it to you

01:03:44.340 --> 01:03:45.820
because I've already promised it to God

01:03:45.820 --> 01:03:46.740
and you're not allowed to go back,

01:03:46.820 --> 01:03:48.000
even if it was a free will offering

01:03:48.530 --> 01:03:50.540
on something you vowed, you're supposed to pay it.

01:03:50.880 --> 01:03:53.020
But again, they were lying about it.

01:03:53.020 --> 01:03:55.160
They weren't gonna really sacrifice it to God.

01:03:55.360 --> 01:03:58.160
They were just saying that to get their parents off their case

01:03:58.160 --> 01:03:59.780
and not actually honor their father and mother.

01:03:59.940 --> 01:04:01.120
And again, the honor there was actually

01:04:01.120 --> 01:04:03.520
in a financial context, not just a respect.

01:04:03.840 --> 01:04:05.800
But it was saying like, hey, you should give money

01:04:05.800 --> 01:04:07.360
to your parents if they are in need.

01:04:07.620 --> 01:04:10.180
But they're saying, no, I've vowed this unto God

01:04:10.180 --> 01:04:13.340
and I can't go back on that, I can't take that away.

01:04:13.900 --> 01:04:15.840
So again, if you make a free will offering,

01:04:16.120 --> 01:04:17.620
promise to God, you're supposed to deliver.

01:04:18.200 --> 01:04:21.620
You could maybe argue, and it's not in the text,

01:04:21.620 --> 01:04:24.260
this is just an idea, that that's what

01:04:24.780 --> 01:04:26.240
Ananias and Sapphire maybe did,

01:04:26.640 --> 01:04:28.280
is that they may have said like,

01:04:28.460 --> 01:04:33.420
hey, we will give all of the money from this sale to God

01:04:34.020 --> 01:04:35.580
and then when they sold it,

01:04:35.720 --> 01:04:37.040
they kept part of the price back,

01:04:37.340 --> 01:04:40.840
gave it to the church and that's how they lied

01:04:40.840 --> 01:04:42.560
into the Holy Ghost is because they're saying,

01:04:42.980 --> 01:04:44.360
hey, I was gonna give this.

01:04:44.860 --> 01:04:46.360
But it's like, hey, when I go into the house

01:04:46.360 --> 01:04:48.340
with my burnt offerings, I will pay you my vows.

01:04:48.620 --> 01:04:50.200
And it's in the presence of all those people.

01:04:50.200 --> 01:04:51.660
Like I'm not gonna lie about it,

01:04:51.860 --> 01:04:54.240
I'm not gonna go back on it, I'm gonna keep that word.

01:04:54.480 --> 01:04:57.340
And of course it's not a scapegoat to not help your parents,

01:04:57.840 --> 01:05:00.220
it's to simply, because you actually love God.

01:05:01.360 --> 01:05:04.360
James five says, my brethren swear not,

01:05:04.620 --> 01:05:06.420
but let your yay be yay and your nay nay,

01:05:07.060 --> 01:05:08.040
unless you fall into condemnation.

01:05:08.140 --> 01:05:09.440
The Bible tells us not to swear.

01:05:11.140 --> 01:05:14.700
And swearing in the Bible, not in our culture,

01:05:15.320 --> 01:05:17.700
in the Bible is like making some kind of

01:05:17.700 --> 01:05:20.420
over the top statement.

01:05:21.140 --> 01:05:22.920
So it's like, you know, people will say like,

01:05:22.960 --> 01:05:26.380
I swear to God or I swear on the Bible.

01:05:27.000 --> 01:05:28.380
And instead of just saying like,

01:05:28.560 --> 01:05:30.080
hey, did you promise this to God?

01:05:30.600 --> 01:05:32.120
It's like, yes, that's the right answer.

01:05:32.680 --> 01:05:34.120
It's like, hey, did you promise this to God?

01:05:34.400 --> 01:05:35.840
I swear to God I did it.

01:05:36.080 --> 01:05:37.440
You know, or I swear on the Bible.

01:05:37.680 --> 01:05:39.040
You shouldn't ever do that.

01:05:39.340 --> 01:05:41.200
Because it's basically pointing to the fact

01:05:41.200 --> 01:05:44.480
that the person's lying and they feel uncomfortable

01:05:44.480 --> 01:05:45.740
about the fact that they're lying.

01:05:45.740 --> 01:05:47.420
So instead of just saying yes,

01:05:47.700 --> 01:05:50.000
they use these over the top statements.

01:05:50.720 --> 01:05:52.740
And again, not only are they lying,

01:05:53.180 --> 01:05:54.880
they're invoking God in their lie.

01:05:55.120 --> 01:05:56.740
They're invoking spiritual things

01:05:56.740 --> 01:05:58.440
because, you know, men swear by the greater

01:05:59.000 --> 01:06:01.480
to essentially affirm something that they've done.

01:06:01.860 --> 01:06:03.440
And again, maybe it's possible occasionally

01:06:03.440 --> 01:06:05.120
some people invoke this

01:06:05.120 --> 01:06:07.520
because they're just trying to convince somebody.

01:06:07.900 --> 01:06:09.780
But it's definitely a need to persuade.

01:06:10.180 --> 01:06:11.780
And it's often coming from a place

01:06:11.780 --> 01:06:13.880
of someone that's actually lying about it.

01:06:14.380 --> 01:06:16.720
So you should just pay attention in this world.

01:06:16.840 --> 01:06:19.060
When someone, you're questioning them,

01:06:19.300 --> 01:06:20.060
you're trying to figure it out,

01:06:20.240 --> 01:06:21.680
and they just immediately go to swearing.

01:06:22.420 --> 01:06:23.640
You know, it's kind of a red flag,

01:06:23.860 --> 01:06:25.380
like, oh, this person's probably lying.

01:06:25.680 --> 01:06:28.280
This person's probably being deceitful

01:06:28.740 --> 01:06:31.260
when they go and they start saying these kinds of things

01:06:31.260 --> 01:06:32.960
invoking some other power.

01:06:33.920 --> 01:06:35.600
You know, it's like Tyler Baker.

01:06:36.520 --> 01:06:37.960
When he was getting fired, he's like,

01:06:38.160 --> 01:06:39.220
I swear on the Bible.

01:06:39.620 --> 01:06:40.400
You know, I didn't do this.

01:06:40.480 --> 01:06:40.840
I swear.

01:06:41.180 --> 01:06:42.520
It's like, why are you doing that?

01:06:42.520 --> 01:06:43.540
You know.

01:06:44.340 --> 01:06:46.780
But what did he say in 2 Corinthians chapter one, verse 17?

01:06:47.060 --> 01:06:50.800
He says that his yea is yea and his nay is nay.

01:06:51.120 --> 01:06:52.740
Okay, I'm not gonna read the whole verse here,

01:06:52.800 --> 01:06:54.800
but he's trying to make it clear.

01:06:54.960 --> 01:06:58.560
And again, that language seems a little bit confusing.

01:06:59.380 --> 01:07:01.740
He says that with me, there should be yea, yea, nay, nay.

01:07:02.380 --> 01:07:03.780
And he says in verse 18,

01:07:03.940 --> 01:07:06.540
but as God is true, our word to you was not yea and nay.

01:07:06.980 --> 01:07:08.660
Like, it's really confusing for me.

01:07:08.880 --> 01:07:09.760
Maybe it's not for you.

01:07:09.760 --> 01:07:12.240
But he's just saying like, when I said yes,

01:07:12.900 --> 01:07:13.980
it was really a yes.

01:07:14.440 --> 01:07:16.400
And when I said no, it was really a no.

01:07:16.780 --> 01:07:18.800
You know, some of you kids know that your parents,

01:07:19.760 --> 01:07:21.540
when they say yes, it can be changed.

01:07:22.320 --> 01:07:24.080
And so you like, you just keep pestering them.

01:07:24.180 --> 01:07:25.840
You're trying to turn that yes into a no,

01:07:26.280 --> 01:07:27.820
or you're trying to turn that no into a yes,

01:07:28.220 --> 01:07:28.460
and whatever.

01:07:28.820 --> 01:07:30.800
And the boss is saying like, no, my yes is a yes,

01:07:31.240 --> 01:07:32.560
and my no is a no.

01:07:33.080 --> 01:07:33.400
Okay.

01:07:33.840 --> 01:07:37.740
And he's like, don't try to like question the fact

01:07:37.740 --> 01:07:39.360
that when I promise something, I'm gonna deliver.

01:07:39.820 --> 01:07:41.340
And he's like, God never does this.

01:07:41.520 --> 01:07:44.860
God is always yea and yea, yes and yes, no and no.

01:07:45.240 --> 01:07:46.600
He's not gonna change or alter.

01:07:46.960 --> 01:07:48.000
And the same way there's church,

01:07:48.180 --> 01:07:50.360
hey, offering money to somebody needs to be yea and yea.

01:07:50.880 --> 01:07:52.740
I'll just close on one last thought is, you know,

01:07:54.060 --> 01:07:57.840
when I knew that things were getting weird

01:07:57.840 --> 01:08:01.640
and trauma and stuff with, you know, the new IB

01:08:01.640 --> 01:08:04.420
and I saw that pastor Jimenez, you know,

01:08:04.420 --> 01:08:07.540
a former now was separating from us.

01:08:08.380 --> 01:08:10.160
I just kind of got worried about the work

01:08:10.160 --> 01:08:11.400
that's going on in the Philippines.

01:08:11.840 --> 01:08:13.920
Just because I love, you know, the gospel

01:08:13.920 --> 01:08:16.140
and I love soul winning and I love those, you know,

01:08:16.220 --> 01:08:17.020
that stuff.

01:08:17.160 --> 01:08:19.620
So I had reached out to Pastor Stuckey

01:08:19.620 --> 01:08:21.740
and I just said, hey, I just wanna let you know

01:08:21.740 --> 01:08:23.920
that like, if he separates from you

01:08:23.920 --> 01:08:25.300
and you're just kind of left high and dry

01:08:25.300 --> 01:08:26.840
or you're not getting finances or something,

01:08:27.440 --> 01:08:28.840
our church would love to just support you

01:08:28.840 --> 01:08:30.540
because we just love you and love your church or whatever.

01:08:31.360 --> 01:08:32.500
But nothing came with that.

01:08:32.680 --> 01:08:33.760
I mean, I just said that to him

01:08:34.200 --> 01:08:35.380
and you know, it was really easy to say

01:08:36.480 --> 01:08:39.440
but it's like several months, fast forward six months,

01:08:39.540 --> 01:08:40.600
nine months, I don't know, timeline

01:08:40.600 --> 01:08:42.140
but just fast forward a lot of time.

01:08:42.480 --> 01:08:44.280
Then he's calling me and he's like, hey, you know,

01:08:44.540 --> 01:08:46.680
like what are you sad or whatever?

01:08:47.660 --> 01:08:49.760
It's like, well, we're not getting any money

01:08:49.760 --> 01:08:52.020
and things are like shady and whatever

01:08:52.020 --> 01:08:53.440
and it's like, can you help?

01:08:53.660 --> 01:08:54.500
And it's like, yeah.

01:08:55.320 --> 01:08:57.720
And you know, it'd be wicked for a church

01:08:57.720 --> 01:08:59.180
to say like, hey, we'd love to help you

01:08:59.680 --> 01:09:01.160
and then go back on that.

01:09:02.320 --> 01:09:04.240
It's like, nope, yeah, we'd love to help you.

01:09:04.560 --> 01:09:06.500
And not only us, we want everybody to help you.

01:09:06.540 --> 01:09:07.760
We want all the churches to help you

01:09:07.760 --> 01:09:08.860
because you know what?

01:09:08.920 --> 01:09:10.460
We want the work to be thriving over there

01:09:10.900 --> 01:09:13.100
and you know, Pastor Stuckey is a really good guy

01:09:13.600 --> 01:09:14.640
and he's really sacrificial

01:09:15.120 --> 01:09:17.420
and he deserves to be supported.

01:09:18.120 --> 01:09:19.140
And that's why I'm really excited

01:09:19.140 --> 01:09:20.580
about him coming and preaching for us

01:09:21.140 --> 01:09:23.820
and I'm really excited to have fellowship with him more.

01:09:24.280 --> 01:09:25.720
I'm excited to go back to the Philippines

01:09:25.720 --> 01:09:26.780
and to work with them.

01:09:27.180 --> 01:09:29.340
I'm excited to see the people that are in this church.

01:09:29.960 --> 01:09:31.780
Obviously, of course, that's not to diminish

01:09:31.780 --> 01:09:33.660
or take away from what our evangelists,

01:09:33.920 --> 01:09:35.900
evangelists, Duncan or Bannock has been doing

01:09:35.900 --> 01:09:37.060
and accomplishing over there.

01:09:37.380 --> 01:09:39.600
But you know, we shouldn't just be selfish

01:09:39.600 --> 01:09:42.440
and say, oh well, our church is doing good

01:09:42.440 --> 01:09:44.120
and our evangelist is doing good

01:09:44.660 --> 01:09:48.000
and nuts to you guys, you guys made your bed

01:09:48.000 --> 01:09:51.140
with a bad actor, with a bad person.

01:09:51.640 --> 01:09:53.660
You guys can continue to just fail

01:09:54.200 --> 01:09:56.440
while we'll just continue to thrive and do our thing.

01:09:56.440 --> 01:09:58.380
No, it's like, hey, we should try

01:09:58.380 --> 01:09:59.520
to figure out an equality here

01:09:59.520 --> 01:10:01.680
and we should try to bless them too

01:10:01.680 --> 01:10:03.220
and try to do good to them too.

01:10:03.680 --> 01:10:05.000
And we're on the same team.

01:10:06.640 --> 01:10:09.580
Our church is independent, but we're on the same team.

01:10:10.540 --> 01:10:12.240
And when you're on the same team

01:10:12.240 --> 01:10:13.560
and you have a team mentality,

01:10:14.040 --> 01:10:15.200
it's not always about you

01:10:15.200 --> 01:10:16.720
and you're willing to help other people more.

01:10:17.220 --> 01:10:20.140
And I hope that you won't have this attitude

01:10:20.140 --> 01:10:22.200
of just despising other Christians or other churches,

01:10:22.320 --> 01:10:23.300
even if they're a little different,

01:10:23.800 --> 01:10:25.600
even if they don't always agree with us,

01:10:25.600 --> 01:10:27.260
even if they're a weaker brethren

01:10:27.900 --> 01:10:30.080
or whatever they put beans in their chili or whatever,

01:10:30.680 --> 01:10:32.580
it's like, hey, we can still love them

01:10:32.580 --> 01:10:34.260
and we can be graces to them

01:10:34.260 --> 01:10:35.800
and they're still on the same team.

01:10:37.140 --> 01:10:38.620
And we should just love other Christians

01:10:38.620 --> 01:10:40.480
and love other churches and love the gospel

01:10:40.480 --> 01:10:41.700
and wanna support them.

01:10:41.980 --> 01:10:43.400
And it's not always about us.

01:10:43.820 --> 01:10:46.240
And if you promise to help people, you better deliver.

01:10:47.440 --> 01:10:49.040
Don't be someone that says,

01:10:49.520 --> 01:10:51.800
that has this great swelling words of vanity

01:10:51.800 --> 01:10:54.260
and promises the moon and promises

01:10:54.260 --> 01:10:55.380
to do things for people

01:10:55.380 --> 01:10:57.600
and you can't keep it.

01:10:58.460 --> 01:11:00.060
Be careful what you vow to God

01:11:00.060 --> 01:11:01.120
and be careful what you say.

01:11:01.880 --> 01:11:02.900
And if you do vow something,

01:11:03.080 --> 01:11:03.940
if you promise something,

01:11:04.000 --> 01:11:05.480
make sure you do deliver on that.

01:11:05.840 --> 01:11:06.460
Let's close in prayer.

01:11:06.820 --> 01:11:08.340
Thank you Heavenly Father so much for your word.

01:11:08.500 --> 01:11:10.700
Thank you so much for the generosity

01:11:10.700 --> 01:11:13.420
that's demonstrated in this chapter.

01:11:14.200 --> 01:11:15.400
Thank you for liberal people

01:11:15.400 --> 01:11:17.400
and liberal Christians that exist in this world.

01:11:17.500 --> 01:11:20.080
Thank you so much for those who love

01:11:20.080 --> 01:11:23.380
to just bless God's people and bless churches.

01:11:23.960 --> 01:11:26.660
I pray that you would help us to have a similar attitude.

01:11:26.880 --> 01:11:29.060
The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver.

01:11:29.560 --> 01:11:30.820
I pray that you would help us

01:11:30.820 --> 01:11:32.080
that if we were ever to give,

01:11:32.320 --> 01:11:34.440
if we ever felt compelled to wanna bless people,

01:11:34.580 --> 01:11:37.140
that we would do with a cheerful and a happy heart

01:11:37.620 --> 01:11:38.580
and that we would do it

01:11:38.580 --> 01:11:39.920
because we just love the saints.

01:11:40.060 --> 01:11:40.840
We just love God.

01:11:41.240 --> 01:11:42.140
We love the gospel.

01:11:42.400 --> 01:11:43.580
We love the work of the ministry.

01:11:44.160 --> 01:11:48.020
I pray that those who bless the works in the Philippines

01:11:48.020 --> 01:11:50.520
and they bless other churches and they bless the poor.

01:11:50.520 --> 01:11:53.640
I pray that you would just be liberal with them, God.

01:11:53.840 --> 01:11:55.460
That you would pour out a blessing to them.

01:11:55.880 --> 01:11:57.120
And I pray that you would help us

01:11:57.120 --> 01:11:59.220
to not have a bad attitude about money

01:11:59.220 --> 01:12:01.480
but rather be cheerful givers in Jesus name we pray amen.