The Bible Truth About Tithes & Offerings II | Senior Pastor Kenneth Carpenter
by Kenneth Carpenter
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: Bible study
Scripture: Acts 14:14-17, Psalm 145:9, Psalm 145:15-16, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 107:8-9, Psalm 23:6, Deuteronomy 12:1-19, Haggai 1:2-10, Haggai 2:15-19, Joel 2:25

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--the-bible-truth-about-tithes-offerings-ii
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
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So good to be in the house of the Lord tonight and about to embark on a Bible study. We love studying our Bibles around here, don't we? >> We love our Bibles around here. And thank you, praise team tonight for taking us before the presence of the Lord in song and worship tonight. How many related to that song, he made a way. >> How many How many can say, "I can testify he made a way." Amen. I can testify that he has made a way. Well, if you have your Bibles, we're going to continue the study of the Bible truth about tithes and offerings. We're going to start though in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 14 and verse number 14. Let me tell you what's happened. Paul and Barnabas is preaching to a bunch of pagans. A bunch of pagans. In the crowd of these pagans was a crippled man that had never taken taken one step crippled from his mother's womb. He's there. He's a He's in the midst of pagans. Paul perceives that the man's got faith. Paul commands for the man to stand in the name of Jesus. And the man stood up. When he did, the pagans got all excited. They named two false gods and they said, "The gods have come down to the earth." And they were preparing to offer a sacrifice. And of course, Paul waved them off. Paul waved them off. And um verse 14 says, "Which when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, "Sers, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities, unto the living God, which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are therein, who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, God, he left not himself without witness in that he did good. He did good. When they were worshiping rocks and trees, he did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. With food and gladness. Remember these names tonight as we pray. I went to the hospital today and prayed for brother Jimmy Matlock. He has had open heart surgery. He's recovering from that open heart surgery and he's looking he's looking very well. But would you continue to pray for brother Jimmy Matlock? Would you pray for Sister Grace Mayo as she is making her way to the Philippines and and would you pray for her for safe travels and the comforting power? Please remember Mother Zender tonight in prayer. Remember brother Nash and brother Slinker in prayer. If you have a need, just raise your hand right now. Father, we come before you tonight. You are a good God. You are a great God. You're a kind God. You're a good God. Lord Jesus, tonight, you heard the names that we mentioned. And we just ask, God, that you would touch them tonight with your healing power. We just ask you tonight, God, that you would heal the sick and that you would deliver, God, those that are in bondage. Lord, we just ask tonight, God, that you would move upon our hearts, Lord, these names that have been mentioned. But Father, I also ask tonight that as I am ministering the word, I ask that you would open our hearts tonight. Open our minds that we may receive the word of God, that we may receive it deep down in our hearts. In Jesus wonderful name we pray. Amen. And amen. You may be seated tonight. Our God that we serve is a God of order and he is a God of systems. He is a God of systems. I believe one of the legacies that Pastor Ericson will leave behind here at First Apostolic Church or what he is known for. Pastor Ericson introduced many years ago our church to uh systems having systems here among our departments. And since these systems have been put in place, things run a a lot more smoother. We're a a larger church now because of because of systems. Uh creation is a testimony of how God works. How God works to bring order out of chaos. The very creation of the earth is a testimony that God brought order out of chaos. God brought light out of darkness. God brought us the order. He's a God of order. He's a God of systems. He gave us seasons. And the and the list goes on and on. And the reason that God is a God of order and not a God of confusion and the reason that God is a God of systems or it seems that we could use the word routine and uh routine uh actually actually the word ritual you can get the word routine from the word ritual. You can also get the row the the the word route route or way from the word routine from the word ritual. So it seems like there's things that God has us doing over and over and over again. But yet we have to say that we are we are going somewhere. It is not a dead routine. It is not a lifeless routine. It is a routine that has meaning. It is a routine that brings us closer to God. It was Paul there as through the power of the Holy Ghost, the man was healed. It was Paul there that began to preach to pagans, people that that that were worshiping strange gods. And he began to tell them about a god that loved them even when they were in their vanities of pagan worship. how even though they were not worshiping him, you see my righteous living doesn't make God good, God's good whether I live right or not because that's God's nature. That God is a good God. I really enjoyed reading this today how that Paul spoke to these pagans in verse 17 of chapter 14 he said once again he said even though God allowed the space of time that these heathens or pagans or however you want to call it they worship many strange gods says he never the nevertheless he left not himself without a witness. Well, how did God have a witness there among the pagan worship? Well, Paul simply said that he did good and he gave them rain from heaven and he gave them fruitful seasons and he filled their hearts with food and with gladness. Even though they were worshiping strange gods, we serve a good God. Amen. >> The book of Psalms chapter 145 and verse 9, verse 15 and verse 16. Verse 9 says, "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. The eyes of all that wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfyth the desire of every living thing. Once again, Psalms 31:19. I want to spend a little time here. Psalms 31:19. Oh, how great is thy goodness. Seems like the psalmist gets hung up on this this word goodness. This word goodness. Now, I'm laying the foundation for a reason. is because if I can convince you he's a good God, you'll trust him. But if I can't convince you through the word that he's a good God, you'll never trust his word. But if you can somehow tonight receive the revelation through scripture, we serve a good God. Matter of fact, the psalmist Psalms 107 verse number eight. Boy, Psalms 107 is a chapter. You can't go two or three verses. Look at this. Verse number eight. Psalms 107. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his what? >> Goodness. Well, let's just go to verse number nine of the same chapter. For he satisfy the longing soul and fillth the hungry soul with what? >> Goodness. Let's go down 107 verse number 15. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his >> Psalms 107:21. I told you this psalmist can't get away from it. Psalms 107:21. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his >> Psalms 10731. Oh, that men would praise the Lord. If you believe it, say it out loud. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his >> Oh, there's something about the goodness of God. If you if you'll ever understand that he's a good God, you'll have no problem fulfilling anything that he's going to ask you. Although it may seem difficult, it may seem like not the right thing to do, but you'll just know in your heart, my heavenly father, my good father would never ask me to do something that's not good. And how can we get out of the book of Psalms without quoting a verse that matter of fact, we all could just about quote the 23rd Psalm, but how about the 23rd chapter and the sixth verse? Surely >> and mercy shall follow me >> all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Take a moment right now and let's just thank God that he is a good God. Never asked me to do something that would be harmful. Never asked me to do something that wouldn't benefit me. I got news for you. God doesn't need our help. We need God's help. He was God before this Bible was ever written. And he'll be God when eternity takes back over. He is still He is still God. >> Now, if you can have faith in God, if you can conceive in your mind, help me tonight. What kind of God is he? >> Good. >> He's a good God. He's a good God. Matter of fact, some of you that have been here in the church for years, don't you remember up on the hill, we started something. God is good. >> Remember that God is good? >> I remember when evangelists and people would come, they didn't know we had that custom. They'd be preaching and they'd say, "And you know, God is good." And the church would say, "All the time, God is good." So now let's dive in to tithes and offerings. The book is Deuteronomy. The chapter is 12. The verse is number one. Now I need to preface something for you. I need to help you out with a little misguided information. There's songs that we sing about Canaan land. Oh Canaan land. Oh, how I long to go to Canaan land. And what we've done, Sister Lee, is we've mixed up a little doctrine that's not correct. We liken Canaan land to heaven. All right, that may make a good song for us to sing, but it makes lousy doctrine because there were giants in Canaan. And there's no fighting in heaven. We've won the ultimate victory when we get to heaven. There's no giants. There's none of that that happens in Canaan. So please understand when I'm going to talk to you tonight about Canaan, I am referring to God's people that are in between Egypt, the world, and Canaan, their victory, their land of promise, their land of victory. And you'll find out in just a moment why I have to preface this this way. Verse number one, let's dive in and study our Bibles for a little bit. Chapter number 12 of Deuteronomy verse number one. These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it all the days that ye live upon the earth. Now these words were spoken to the children of Israel in the wilderness. They had not taken over the land yet. They had not crossed Jordan. They were still in the wilderness. They were still paying for unbelief. They're still in the wilderness, but they're on the brink of going into the promised land. So God begins to speak to Moses and Moses begins to tell them there's a new way of living in the promised land. There's a new way of obeying God that's going to be in the promised land. Let's look at verse two. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess serve their gods upon the high mountains and upon the hills and under every green tree. You shall overthrow their altars, break down their pillars, burn their groves with fire, and you shall hue down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Now, notice this. He said, "The first thing you're going to do when you get in the promised land is cut down, burn up, hue down, destroy, eradicate all of the places that false gods were worshiped. >> You're going to totally renovate the land." You read those verses. You're going to totally renovate the land. You're going to you're going to get rid of all their gods. You're going to burn them. You're going to he down. You're going to cut down their groves. You're you're going to hew them down. You're going to cut them down. you're going to burn them up because you need a fresh start. You need a place that is not a reminder of your past. You need a place that you're not standing there and being tempted. I wonder how they worship God under that tree or under that three pillars over there. God said, "I want my people to have a fresh start." Now, let me tell you, God is a God of giving us a fresh start. That's why our conversion is called born again. >> It's called born again. It's not called rebuilt again. It's called born again because God gives us a fresh start. Regardless of how you worship and what you worship and what you were in bondage to and how you lived your life sinfully and unrighteously, when you go down in the water in the name of Jesus Christ, all of that is heed away. All of that is cast down and all of that is washed away. And God gives you a brand new start. He said, "I want you to destroy your past. I want you to erase the memories of sin. I want you to totally demolish all that was in the past." That's what we get out of those two verses. But now, let's jump down to verse four. Verse 4, verse chapter 12. You shall not do so unto the Lord thy God. Now he said, "You're going to go in the land and you're going to hew down, cut down, destroy, erase, eradicate all this false gods." But then he said, "But that's not how you're going to treat me." You see, how we treat the world is we cast down. How we treat our past is we destroy. How we treat what once held us in bondage is that we get rid of it. But how we treat our God, we build up ourselves. We build things up. We put things around us that remind us about that we're not who we used to be. We start putting things around us. We start putting other people. That's why the Bible has us coming together as a congregation and says, "Forsake not the assemblings of yourselves together." Why is that? When you're a new creature in Christ Jesus, he wants you to surround yourself with brand new people that are further along in their walk with God than you. Aren't you thankful for that right now? He said, "But you're not going to treat me." Then watch God. He's a God of systems. He's a God of systems. Verse number five. But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there. Even his habitation shall ye seek, and thither shalt thou come. Now he establishes a place and he establishes a system. He says now I'm going to have a place that I'm going to put my name. And yes, we could talk about the name of Jehovah or the name of Yahweh. But many times when God talks about his name in the Old Testament, he is talking about his character, what he is like, his personality, if I may use, if I may use that word. But unto the place, verse five again, but unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation, or where he lives, shall you seek, and thither shall you come. Verse six. And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your heave offerings of your hand, your vows, your free will offerings, the firstlings of your herds, and of your flocks. And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand unto, ye your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. Now, stop right there for a moment. Now, we understand that God's method of giving, now notice, he says, I establish a place. I establish a system. and this is where you're going to bring offerings to me. And he he lists a bunch of offerings, but in the midst of listing offerings, he said that you were to rejoice, there would be a rejoicing about this. And again, let me say this. If we can see the goodness of God for who he is and we can trust God's word and that God means us nothing but good, we will look back on every commandment we have obeyed and we will thank our God and we will praise our God and we will worship our God. Can I tell you? Can I tell you something? If you don't have the right spirit about tithing and about giving offerings, it's all because you don't see God the way that you need to see God. You've forgotten what manner of person you were. You've forgotten what brought got you out brought you out of, but listen to me tonight, church. We sometimes not only don't talk enough about what God's brought us out of, but how about what God's kept us from? Even after we become his children, God's kept us from a from a from a lot of things. Somebody say, "Rejoice." >> Rejoice. >> Verse number eight. Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day. Every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. That scripture seems out of place. He says, "Now, here's it." Basically, let me break it down to you. He says, "When we get into the promised land, we're going to have a place and we're going to have systems in the promised land." Right now, we're in the wilderness and the t although we have the tabernacle, brother Ben, it's not fully functional. Although we have the tabernacle, you know what I'm living from? I don't have land that I can till. I don't have places I can raise cattle. I don't I don't have all I don't have all that. I'm I'm wandering in the wilderness. You know what I've got every morning? I've got mana that falls down every morning. I've got quail that fall down. Yes, I've got the tabernacle. And yes, we've got sacrifices. But it's not fully functional until we get into the promised land. And when we get into the promised land, our God is a God of order and he is a God of systems. That's why we're here tonight on a Wednesday night at 7:30. That's why we're here tonight. Why? Because we serve a God of systems. >> You see, somebody decided we would have midweek service 7:30. Now, you better thank God that somebody decided because wouldn't you hate Wouldn't you hate to just wonder, well, when we having church this week? And that's why I'm not a big I'm really not a big fan of moving services around because I want everybody to live, breathe, and die knowing Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night we're going to we're going to have church. We're going to have church. We That's a system. That's a system. You know why? God can bring confusion. He can bring order out of confusion. He can with with a with a life. I I'd like to be I I don't know if many of you remember this or not, but on one Wednesday night, there was a a gas leak, one of the main gas valves down this road here. Somebody was digging and it cut into it and they blocked off William Blunt Drive. They block they blocked off William Blunt Drive. Well, the problem was several of us had got up on the hill early enough, practice, whatever have you, and then they blocked off William Blunt Drive. Nobody could get out and nobody could come in. And uh Isaac Kirby uh he was in a long line and and he was trying to get around the police car and the police car just stopped him and he said he said they're not having church tonight. And Isaac said, "You don't know my pastor." Well, that was an exception. We did have church. Those that got locked in there, we did we did have we did have church. Amen. It's a system. It's a system. Let me get back on my notes tonight. He says, "You're not going to act like you're acting now. You're going to come into a land of promise. It is a land that has it is a land that has systems." Go to verse number nine, chapter 12. For ye are not as yet come to the rest, and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you. But when you go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies roundabout, so that you dwell in sa dwell in safety, then there shall be a place, look at that, that's order. There shall be a place which the Lord your God shall cause, shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. Fither shall ye bring all that I command you. your burnt offerings. Here we go again. Your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows, which you vow unto the Lord. And ye shall get verse 12 again. And you shall what? Rejoice before the Lord your God. Ye, your sons, your daughters, your men's servants, your maid servants, and the Levite that is within your gates. For as much as he hath no part of your inheritance. Can I can I tell you something? The beauty about tithing and giving offerings. When you rejoice as a father and as a mother and you teach your children about tithing and about offerings, the blessings of God that are upon you come upon your children and they see the blessings of tithing and the blessings of offerings. He said, "You're going to rejoice before your men's servants and maid servants." We could liken those to uh uh being on your job. We could liken those to people on your on your on your job. And then he he talks about the Levite. And the Levite was someone that they were going to worship with. And then it simply says about the Levite, for as much as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. This select group, this tribe called the Levites, uh the tribe of Levi, they were the workers in the tabernacle. They were the people in the tabernacle that kept the tabernacle functional. It kept the lamps burning. It kept the tabernacle burning. Can Can I tell us all tonight, and I hope you believe this with all your heart, the house of God is the most important place in all of our lives. It is not just a building. It is the house of God. His name is here. His presence is here. It's where we get the systems of our lives. We bring our tithing and our offerings into this house. Why? So that there can be functioning in this house. So that we can fulfill the commandments of God and evangelize our world. And there's joy in the house. There is joy in the house of the Lord. Well, let me circle back around because this pastor with his plow has hit something in the field and and there's a boom, there's a rock there. And let me tell it again, the house of God, this place, 1331 William Blunt Drive, should be the most important place in all of your life. Thank God for your house. Thank God for your community. Thank God for the mall down here. Thank God for all of our restaurants. But I'm telling you, nothing can compare to the house of the living God. It It's the most important part of our lives. Oh, I'm telling you, Mom and Dad, if you'll live your life that way, your kids will live their life that way, and their their kids will live their life that way, and your life will be so much better. >> Can you say amen? Amen. >> He said, "I want you to rejoice with the Levite that's there, too, because he's the one. They're functioning there. They have no inheritance. They have no land. They're they're their inheritance. They they have no land. They're they're totally supported. They're totally supported by those offerings and tithes that come in to the house of God. That's how you have a man of God. That's how you have men of God and people of God and workers of God here. That's that's how all of all of that is done. Now, I I I want to tell you something right now. I'm not preaching against uh a pastor being bivocational. Some pastors have to be bivocational because the churches are not large enough to support them. But can I tell you, it is the will of God for you to have a man, for you to have a system in your life to where you're not. Well, well, Bill Carpenter got off work if I will. Pastor's not here tonight. He had to work late. Now, if pastors, and again, I I know this is webcast. I don't want to put any condemnation on pastors that are bivocational. God bless you. Your church going to grow one day. And you can be fulltime in the work of the Lord, taking care of the people of God. Can I tell you, you can brag about having a good lawyer, and you can brag about having a good doctor and all of those people, the lawyer can get you out of trouble and the doctor can can keep you alive a little bit longer. But it is a man of God that's going to preach your soul into eternity. Whether it be heaven or it be hell, you ought to thank God that there's a Levite. You ought to rejoice with the Levite. And that's the man going to preach to me. That's the man that's calling my children's name out. That's the man when I'm on my job and I'm climbing a I'm climbing a utility pole. He's somewhere in an auditorium saying, "God, touch every man here. God touch every man here. That's the Levite, man. God's got a good system. Rejoicing. Rejoicing is a product of praising, a positive attitude, sons and daughters, men's servants, co-workers, the Levites. Verse 13. Take heed, pay attention to thyself, that thou offer not thy burnt offering in every place that thou seeest, but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes. There shalt thou offer burnt offerings, and there shalt thou do all that I command thee. Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates. whatsoever thy soul lusteth after according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee, the unclean and the clean may eat thereof as the rob and as the heart. Only ye shall not eat the blood. You shall pour it upon the earth as water. Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of the corn or of the wine or of the oil or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy free will offerings or heave offerings the hand. But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose. Thou thy son, thy daughter, thy manservant. You you you hear this again. and thy maid servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates. And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou putest thine hands unto. Again, listen to these words. Rejoicing, giving system, rejoicing, take heed to thyself. Look at verse 19. Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. See, you got to work on because our culture, our culture wants you to magnify the man and not the purpose of the man. Hear me tonight. Your culture wants you to magnify a man and not what the man is doing for you and what the man, the Levite, is producing for you. There's a burning altar here that you can offer up a sacrifice. There's a labor that you can wash in. There's a candlestick that's going to burn. There's a table of shoebre. There's an altar of incense. There's a holy of holies and all of that's there because there's the working there's the working of the Levites here. And let me tell you something, God has blessed FAC of Maraveville that where I am not the only Levite that's here. I'm not the only worker. Just like in the Old Testament, it wasn't just one Levite. There were hundreds of Levites here. Can I tell you, you want to see some more Levites? Be here about 7:30 in the morning and watch the step. No, no, no. be here about 6:15 in the morning and watch the staff of the daycare arrive and then be here a little ear later than that and watch the school staff arrive. Well, we talk they're Levites. Many of your sons and daughters have heard from God because a Levite was in a classroom and a Levite led them into the right way. Aren't you thankful when you drop your child off at school that you don't have to worry about a godless teacher that's going to try to fill their minds with some kind of trans this or trans that? Aren't you thankful? While you may get a call on Friday and it may go like something like this m I got the Holy Ghost today. I want to be baptized right now. Can I tell you first apostolic rejoice in the Lord. rejoice in the system that we've got. Oh Lord, let me go on. Let me let me let me go on. Um let me go on for a moment. Um God's God established a house and God has established an order. God has established a house and God has established an order of the house. Now watch this please. If hell is going to attack anything in your mind, if hell is going to attack any belief in your mind, it is not going to be is there one god or three gods. Hell is not going to attack that. Just like the devil's not going to tempt me with with beer. All right? He's not going to tempt me with cigarettes. He's not going to tempt me with something like that. He's got to be more crafty. All right? The devil's not going to come and try to convince you there's two or three gods. He's not going to try to convince many of you that being baptized in Jesus name is not the proper way. But if he can somehow begin to inject inside of you and devalue the house, the house of God, the house of God, the house of God, if he can somehow get you to believing it's just an ordinary house, it's it just No, no, no, no, no, no. It's God's house. And there's God's systems going on. There's God's systems going on in this house. It is God's house. But if the enemy can get you, I'm going to tell you. Say it goes something like this. If the enemy can get one of your Wednesday nights, he'll get two of your Wednesday nights. If the enemy can get one of your Sunday mornings, he'll get two of your Sunday mornings. If the enemy can start working on you to try to get you to devalue, oh, it's just Wednesday night. Oh, it's just it it's just this. And you start missing Wednesday night and you're not here on Wednesday nights and you show up on Sunday morning. I got news for you. If you don't get it together, it won't be long. You'll start missing on Sunday morning. >> I said, you'll start missing on Sunday morning, and then you'll start missing a couple Sunday mornings, and then it won't be long. You'll just start showing up on Sunday nights, and then you know what? The devil's still not He's still not done with you on Sunday night, and then you'll start missing one Sunday night, and then you'll be here once a month. And before long, you're totally, you're totally out of the system, and you've totally lost the value of the house of God. But somehow with sweat running into my shoe tonight, can we get a revival of the house of God, if the doors are open, I want to be here. If they're having church, I I I want I I want to be here. Matter of fact, I if I'm going to get a job, if I'm going to get a job, I'm going to do my best not to get a job that keeps me out of the house of the Lord. It'd be worth making $2 less an hour and being at all the church than making more money and being having less church. Are you receiving this tonight? It's the house. >> If he can get you missing the house, >> if he can get you laying out, if he can get you laying out the house, >> thank God for our internet. I'm glad for people that physically cannot make it to the house of God that's watching tonight. I'm glad for people around the world that's watching tonight. But I'm not happy about people that live in this community and can get up off their lazy boy couch and get to the house of God. You need to be in the house of God. You say, "Well, I I I get I get what I need right here." You do, Mr. Stingy. You do, Sister Stingy. But how about somebody in the church that needs to see you worship God? Can I tell you, a full pew of people is a better witness than a pew half full of people. Boy, I want to be a witness to God. I I want I I want somebody I want somebody to come in and say, "Man, look at this crowd on Wednesday night. Man, look at this crowd." Right? To be a witness. Beware of the house. Beware of the house. As a matter of fact, they had the problem over in the book of Hegi. Turn there with me quickly. He chapter 1, verse number two. God's upset. I'm gonna read to you why he's upset. He chapter 1 verse number two. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, "This people say, the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built." Now, the house of the Lord had been destroyed by neglect, but it was time to rebuild it. But guess what the people's attitude was toward it? It's not time. Why? Well, it's just not time that the Lord's house should be built. Verse three, then came the word of the Lord by Hegi the prophet, saying, "Is it time for you, oh ye, to dwell in your sealed houses, and this house lay lie waste?" Now, now guess what he says. He said, "Oh, it's not time for God's house to be built, but you're not living in a tent. You're living in a sealed house. You're living in a fine house. As a matter of fact, evidently, in your estimation, it was time for your house to be built, but it wasn't time for God's house to be built." Well, let's check this out. Verse five. Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Can we say that all together? Those three words. >> Say it again. >> You have sown much and bring in little. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earnneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes in it. Brother Perry, now I don't know about you. Consider your ways. Oh, I got a house over here sealed. I got a sealed house over here. Oh, you do. You got a sealed house. But didn't you sew a whole lot? You know, if you sew a whole lot, you're expecting a whole lot, right? They sold a whole lot and they brought in little. Everybody say disappointment. >> Disappoint. >> Disappointment. Got a big crop coming in. Plan on going here. Plan on having this. But when the crop comes in, you bring in little. You eat but you have not enough. Mighty goodness. That sound like me. I I I pay my ti though. That sound like me. I'm always hungry. Praise God. I'm I'm I'm always I'm always hungry. I I went the other day this Medicare deal. They ask you a bunch of questions and and sit down with a nurse and they fill out papers and and uh are you afraid of anybody? No. And do do you eat once a day, once a week? And I just kind of looked like this. And then there was one question on the test or on the paper that said, "What language are you best what what language are you more comfortable speaking?" And I said, "I speak English and I speak in other tongues." I wrote that down. Man, that's miserable. Get up from eating and you have not enough. You drink, but you're still thirsty. your clothes and you're still cold. You It doesn't matter what kind of jacket you put on, you're you're still cold. But here's the thing, you earn wages. You You earn wages. You work hard and you earn wages and they put it in a bag and by the end of the week, you don't know where it's went. >> You have no idea where your money went to. He said, "Because you've got hoes in that bag and you've got holes in that bag because of how you view the house." How you view the house of God. Now, here before we read verse seven, let me let me share this with you. I am glad that we serve a good God, Sister Paula, that if he rebukes me, he'll then tell me how to get it right. God will send you a rebuke, but God will also send you the right way out of the rebuke. God will tell you how you're doing wrong, but God will tell you how to do right. What a good God that is, >> God. What a what a good God that is. He He told He says, "You have the wrong perception of the house of God. It's all right for you to have the finest. It's all right for you to live in the best. It's all right for you to have the finest of the finest of the finest. But the church ought to look like a rumage sale in a yard sale. We we ought we we ought to have the cheapest of this and the cheapest of that and we ought we ought to have all that. I I remember I remember standing in evangelist quarters one time. And the pastor said, "Oh, our good church people said they furnished the evangelist quarters." What I was thinking, man, I'm I'm going to stay in a hide regency here that they furnish and I got in there. I I got I got in that evangelist quarters. It got cold in there. It got cold in there. I'll tell you where it was at, brother Hammond. It's close to where you used to be, but it wasn't at your daddy's church, but it was close. I'll tell you at church. All right. I got in there and it got cold. So, I went over. They said, "Oh, the blanket's over here in the cabinet. I went and got a blanket out." My god, you could about see through it. It was threadbear. It was it was somebody's old leftover blanket and I laid down with it and I still cold. I thought, well, I saw another one in there. So, I went and got another one. It was as worse as the one I got out. Probably come from the same family. Got up the next morning to take a bath and the towels. Oh, God. We won't even go into the towels. We won't even we won't even go in the the the the commode. The the bottom of it was one part, the top of it was another part. Nothing national. the thing and and I just figured it out what these people did. They just brought their leftovers from their home. They just brought Let me tell you, that's not the way I'm going to treat my God. I'm not going to Listen, if I wouldn't put it in my home, you can get mad at this or what you I if I wouldn't put it in my home, I ain't going to put it here in this church. Why? Because our God deserves the very best that we can give him. This isn't an ordinary house. This is the house of God. There's a system here in this house. People get the Holy Ghost here. Lives are changed. People are baptized here. This is the house. Oh Lord, let me verse where' I stop at six. Thus sayith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood. Build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, sayeth the Lord. You looked for much, and lo, it came to little, and when you brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? Sayeth the Lord of hosts, because mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore, the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her from her fruit. They got stirred up. They got stirred up in that chapter. They started running to the mountain and getting wood. They started saying, "It's time to build the Lord's house." God took pleasure in it. God took pleasure. Look at chapter 2. Hei chapter 2:15. They got stirred up in chapter 1. They started building God's house. Now God comes back through the prophet and he says these words. And now I pray you consider from this day and upward from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. Since those days when one came to a heap of 20 measures, there were but 10. When one came to the press fat, for to draw out 50 vessels out of the press, there were but 20. While the house of God was being neglected, you were always met with disappointment. When you neglect the house of God, you could listen listen. Don't let your spiritual life look like the stock exchange. Don't don't let your spiritual life look like this right here. What do you mean by that? Oh friend, when I'm humble and I'm putting the house of God first in my life, here comes prosperity. But if I get to the pinnacle of prosperity and all of a sudden I start missing the house of God or I I start, you know, I'm having a trouble writing that check out right now, man, that's a pretty that's a pretty big check I'm going to have to write out this week. That's a pretty big check. I'm got listen that there was a story that a young man got in church and the pastor told him the pastor told him said if you'll if you'll give God a dime out of every dollar if you'll tithe and give offerings God will bless you and God will prosper you. Young man got a job making $300 a week. He brought a $30 tithe and he brought a $10 offering. It wasn't long the young man was making $500. It wasn't long the young man kind of caught on to the work that he was doing. Got out on his own. He started knocking down 1,500 to 2,000 to $3,000. Some weeks he had $5,000 weeks. He came to his pastor. He said, "I'm just really struggling, pastor." He said, "Uh, you know, I appear to be the largest tither here at this church." And can I give everybody a news flag? Everybody here pays the same amount. 10%. >> 10%. Everybody. >> Everybody pay the same amount. >> 10%. He said, "I I know I'm probably the biggest tither here and I've been seeing things bought and I've been seeing things wasted. I've been and I'm just having a problem uh uh writing it writing this out." Pastor said, "Oh, that's no problem." Said, "Can I pray for you?" He said, "Sure. God welcome prayer. Pastor came around his desk and knelt down and said, "Oh God, our brother was faithful when it was $300 a week. Our brother never came into my office when it was $300 a week. Oh God, whatever you have to do, curse his business. Take him back to the day that he was paying the $30 on the $300 and the man said, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it right here." >> Can I tell you something? If you can be faithful in the least, he'll make you faithful over much. But if you can't be faithful in the least, you'll never reach to the much. That's why don't allow when prosperity comes. It's not poverty that kills people. It's prosperity that kills people. As a matter of fact, was that not the warning, Brother Tyler, that God gave the children of Israel before they went into the promised land. He said, "Beware when you come into the land and you live in houses you didn't build and you drink from wellsales you didn't dig and you eat from vineyards you didn't plant. Beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God." Can I tell everybody prospering tonight? Beware in the midst of prosperity. Don't forget the Lord your God. Rejoice that you're able to give. Rejoice that you're able to bless. Re Am I preaching tonight? >> He said there was a day you came and to get 20 measures and you only got 10. You came to get 50 and you only got 20. Verse 17. I smoke you with blasting and with mild you and with hell and all the labors of your hands, yet you turn not unto me, sayeth the Lord. Consider now from this day and upward from the 4 and 20th day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid. Consider it. Now, here's what he says. They've got their act together. They've went to the mountain to buy wood. They're building God a house so that there can be a system in that house. They're building God a house that they can bring their burnt offerings and their tithe and their offerings to. They're they're bringing God a house. As a matter of fact, at that time, the Bible tells us the Levites had to go to the fields and plant corn in order to work, in order to live. The Levites were out doing farm work when they should have been doing spiritual work. But God said, "Now you've got it together." He said, "Now I want you to consider. I want you to mark this day down that you've turned and you started doing right. Write it down on the calendar. Mark it. God says mark it down. And then look at verse 19. Is the seed yet in the barn? Yay. A a as yet the vine and the fig tree and the pomegranate and the olive tree hath not brought forth. From this day will I bless you. Now let me just give you a little little definition of this verse here. They had waited too late to plant seed. They had missed the seed planting time. But can I tell you that when you begin to walk with God in his house, you begin to walk with God in tithing and in offerings, God is able to make up to you for your missed opportunities. God is able. Yeah. Oh, brother Carpenter, I I I've not been doing this for years. Don't cry over the years you've not been doing it. Start right now. >> Don't cry. Don't let the devil beat you up on regret. Don't let the devil put you under guilt tonight. Oh, I've not been doing this. Oh, the preacher was preaching to me. Oh, it it's all Oh, he was preaching to me and all of this. No, no, no. Don't don't don't go that way. Plan it right now in your mind. I'm going to start right now. I'm going to start right now. I'm going to start tithing and I'm going to start giving offerings to the work of God. I'm going to start God help me never to miss another church service again. I'm going to start making the house of God a top priority. And God is able to make up for all the miss opportunities that you let go by in your life. He's able to make it up. We need a scripture. Joel 2:25. They're wicked. They're vile, but they've turned to God. And in Job 2:25, it says this. God says, "I will restore to you the years, the years, the years, the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the pome plumber worm. my great army which I send among you and you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God that hath dealt wondrously with you and my people shall never be ashamed. Church folks tonight, get it together. Put the house of God inside of your life. Don't cry over the 10 years you've not tied. Get it together tonight. And God will say, "I can restore the years. I can give it all back to you." Come on, stand with me right now. I can I can give it all back to you. Can he do it? >> I said, "Can he do it?" If you don't believe he can do it, if you don't believe he can do it, don't you ever tell anybody about the prodical son ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again. If you don't believe he can do it, if you don't believe that God can send an army of devouring after you because you're disobedient, but if you'll turn back around and repent and start doing what's right, God says, "I'm able >> to restore >> and bring back to you." The years that boy made some terrible decisions, didn't he? took his daddy's inheritance. Took his inheritance down. Squandered it with harlots and wine, broke, busted, and disgusted. Came to himself in the pig pin. And he said, "This is all he wanted. How many in my father's house have bread enough to spare? I perish for hungry. I'll go back to my father and I'll say, Father, I'm no more worthy to be called thy son. You need to go ahead and disinherit me. go ahead and disinherit me, but would you just hire me on as a servant? Just make me a servant. But boy, didn't that boy get a shock because the first thing he got was a kiss on his neck from his father. That's spiritual reconciliation. The first thing he got was a kiss on his neck from his father saying, "It's all right." And the son is saying, "Make me as one of the hired servants. I'm no more worthy to be called the son. But watch what the father does because the son has come to himself. He starts saying, "Bring me a robe. Bring me a ring. Bring me some shoes." What is that? That's restoration. He lost his robe in the world. He lost his ring in the world. He lost his shoes in the world. He lost it all. But when he came back to the father's house, God said, "I'm here to restore back to you financially and spiritually. If you want to start your path back to wholeness, if not tonight, Sunday, you ought to get one of these things called a tithing envelope. And after you get your check, your increase, you need to put 10%. Then you need to think about how good God is to you. And you need to put an offering in there. And you need to do it. You need to do it week. Let me tell you something. Don't do it and put God on a time that well, I'm going to do this for a few weeks. No, no, no. It won't work that way. >> It It won't work that way. It only works when you get in the system. And you're not, you start saying, "God, 10% belongs to you cuz I'm going to your house because that house is the most important place in my life." I got married at that house. We dedicated our children at that house. That's where my marriage, we were having a bump in the road, but we went to church one Wednesday night and the pastor preached and my wife and I got it all together and we stopped talking about divorce and we we fell in love all over again. And we made it through that tough season of our life. That's what happened in the house of God. While I was faithful to the house of God, my brother that was out in the world, my brother came to the house of God. He got hungry and he came to the house of God. Can I tell you, you cannot put a value. >> If you love God's house tonight, I want you to walk down around this altar and begin to praise him right now. If you love God's house tonight, if you love God's house tonight, I want you to walk down to this altar and I want you to begin to praise him. God, it was in this house that I heard the plan of salvation. It was in this house, God. It was in this house, God, I met my wife. It was in this house that I raised my children. It was in this place that I raised my children. My children are not on drugs. I married off two daughters that were virgins. I married off a son that was a virgin. I raised my children here in this house. It's where my children are. My grandchildren, my youth group. Come on. He's in this house tonight. Is in this house tonight. Hallelujah. I love this house right now. I love the house of God. I love the house of God. God, I love the house of God. Oh, come on, just love him. Come on, just love him. Don't you remember when you got touched in the house of the Lord? Don't you remember when you got touched in the house of the Lord? Don't you remember that message Brother Ericson preached? Don't you remember that message Brother Hammond preached? Don't you remember that message brother Nolan preached? Come on. Don't you remember that message that put you under conviction? The house of the Lord. The house of the Lord. The house of the Lord. Come on. Love him right now. Oh God. I love him right now. I love him right now. I love him. I love his house. Hallelujah. Come on. Can't you lift up your voice if you love the house right now? I love this house right now. I love this house right now. I love this house right now. I love this house right now. I love this house right now. I love this house. Oh, God. I God, I love the system of this house right now. I love the system of this house right now, brother. >> I love the system of this house right now. >> I love the system of this house right now. I love this house right now. I love this house right now. >> I love this house right now. I love this I love this house right now. I love this I love God's house right now. I love I love God's house right now. Just for one just one one one more moment. Would you would you just praise him for the house tonight? Hallelujah. Oh God, how great is your tabernacle, oh God, oh God, how great is your tabernacle, God, oh how great is your tabernacle, God, oh how great is your house, oh God. Oh, how great is your house, God. God, help us to have a greater appreciation for your house. God, I thank you for the house I live in. But God, I want you to have better than what I've got. God, God, I thank you for this house tonight. I thank you for this house tonight. I promise you if you grab you one of these every Sunday or Wednesday or Sunday night, it's it doesn't matter. But if you grab you one of these, you grab you one of these, you'll start tithing. It's guaranteed. Rejoicing is coming your way. >> Rejoicing is coming your way. >> The things God knows you can handle is coming your way. But if you would choose, if you would choose tonight to look at it through humanistic views and say, "Well, right now, Brother Carpenter, I can't afford to tithe. You you don't know. You you you you know, God would rather have me paying my bills and having a good name in the community than to give and tithe and I wouldn't have a good name in the community." Can I tell you something? It would be better to be right with God. >> Now, I'll tell you what you need to do. If you got bills that are behind, don't ghost the bill collector. You may be seated. But you don't give this up. Or I can't afford it. When I make more money, you ain't never going to make enough. You know why? Did you not read what I said tonight? You're putting your Friday's paycheck in a bag that has holes in it. >> That's why you come time to make your income tax out and you look and say, "I made this much. Where did it go?" You don't know cuz along the way it fell out of the holes. It just fell out along the way. But I just believe tonight. I just believe tonight I watched young men came in the prayer room tonight and I prayed, "God, let every young man get a revelation of tithe and offerings. Let every youth let the strong tower let the youth in this church. If they babysit, they ought they ought to they ought to tithe on whatever they get. If they get an allowance from their parents, they they they ought they they ought to tithe on that allowance. sale and tithe on it and get used to tithing. And if you'll do that, if you'll do that, mark the day. Mark the day and mark this Sunday, start tithing. And then just keep note up here and you watch as months turn into a year or so. You're going to look back and you're going to say, "Thank God. Got a little awkward on that Wednesday night. Got a little tight, but it was right on that Wednesday night. But thank God, the preacher loved me enough >> to preach the word of God to me without fear, without favor. Remember prayer. Prayer tomorrow, prayer Friday, prayer Saturday. Matter of fact, even if we don't announce it, we're having prayer every day, the prayer time. Sign in and be blessed. God bless you tonight. You're dismissed in Jesus. Wonderful righteous