Invest In The Church

well praise the Lord everyone it's good to be in the of tonight so good to see everyone with us I want us to stand together before we get into our lesson tonight I want us just to stand and want us to lift our hands and let's just love the Lord for a few moments welcome him into this place we love you Jesus God it's good to be in your house we thankful Lord for your goodness and mercy Thank You Lord For What you've done in our lives God and what you're

going to do God we give you the praise we give you the honor we give you the glory tonight hallelujah hallelujah for your goodness God hallelujah oh we worship you Jesus we worship you Jesus hallelujah amen amen would you give him praise together would you give it to him hallelujah hallelujah amen amen God is good God bless you if you're standing by somebody shake their hand and tell them it's good to see them today and glad you're here in the house of God Amen you may be seated God is so good amen

I want to um start off tonight I I know that um there's we've had a lot going on in the last little bit as far as a lot of a lot of talk a lot of teaching a lot of things happening U but I I want to just start off by tonight saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed uh this journey this past this month this is the end of the month for me uh Pastor will be coming back and later on in the year we'll be coming back up here in

a month or so um but uh I've enjoyed this and I know that there's so many little things that you know you say well you overlook this you overlook that no we're gonna get there because there's a year for us to get there U but uh there is so much to cover and uh but during this time of of uh the time I've spent with you there's been a lot that I I have tried to relay concerning what you're bringing to the house of God and we talked about first fruits

last week I uh couple of weeks ago I was looking through some files some uh some flash drives that I found uh how many you got old pictures uh well I I managed to actually you know I'd been trying to put these on on a digital file and so I'm going through all these files and I'm looking at some old pictures and you know as you get older you reminisce right how many you do that you think back and you think about the things that that you you've seen and the

things that you've been a part of and I ran across a picture and if I could have my meteor group this picture right here now what do you see you see some old guys and some young guys and that's not near half the people but this is a picture of yeah yeah this is a picture of a group of guys that are and how many you know what they're doing they're actually getting a foundation ready uh they're trying to put dirt around that uh uh around to try and get ready

for concrete um and as I'm going through all these pictures I I had to stop and just think through uh the year that this was going on and because I don't have them dated but um and of course I I was there somewhere uh I didn't take the picture because it' probably been clear if I took no no it's just a grainy old picture um but the guy that's standing there in the cowboy hat right in right there in the white shirt of course you can tell how long ago this

was this is my dad that's actually over here my dad's soon to be 80 uh my grandfather the standing there with the bibbed overalls with the red in his hat I I I I'm thinking through all of this and as I'm thinking through this the man in the cowboy hat he did not I think maybe a year or so before he passed that he actually had received the Holy Ghost but that gentleman there had been with my dad the entire time that he's Pastor where he pastors now but he's he's

been there they've built churches they've built add-ons to the church and I think that was an add-on there when I was looking at the tree line behind it and where the old tank is in the back but that was an add-on and I I I begin to think about Uncle Buran that was his name and the commitment that he made and the dedication that he gave to the church had not experienced the baptism of the Holy Ghost but he loved the house of God he loved the things of God if

there was something to be going on around the church that man was there and he he just loved it and as I Was preparing tonight for my lesson I actually had to go dig it up just right before the service because I I remember that that picture and I wanted to present it to you because we're going to talk about the kingdom of God and the things of God but we're going to talk about keeping those things holy that gentleman right there I can remember growing up as a child as

a Young Man very young man and I'm sure that you wouldn't approve of it today but you run by him and you're running in the church he'd grab your ear or something he put up with that I mean he was there had never experienced what you and I have had the opportunity of experience but he love God committed to the things of God saw the house of God as being a holy Place saw the house of God as being something that you would you would take care of you would look

around the room and I remember one particular particular time looking around the sanctuary and we had had one of those Services uh I don't know they put a hole in the wall somehow somebody running I guess but he looked around and he saw that hole he didn't he didn't look at it as as it grumbling he saw it and says well looks like we'll fix that this week the reason I say that is because when I think of the house of God we've talked about the temple we've talked about the

Tabernacle we talked about all of the things that we do in the Tabernacle I happen to be reading in the scriptures and I came across a scripture and this is why all of this kind of Pop in to motion for me and the scripture said this in Exodus the 34th chapter verse 13 where where the people of God are going through and they're and they're there's a lot of they come to the land and there's a lot of idol worship there's a lot of things going on and the man of

God is wanting to tell them that when you get there you are to destroy their altars their altars break them down break down their idols and cut down their grows there was things that they had possessed in that day and time that the people of God the children of Israel you didn't want any of that attack attached to you I I am a firm believer that there are things that happen in life there are things that that uh that you get involved in that it makes an attachment to you I

believe that and there's things that happens and and you have to you have to somehow when you when you pray through God rips those things away from you he takes those things off of you and a as I'm thinking through this and I'm I'm asking the Lord to show me a little more in in Clarity in seeing those things God began to speak my heart and says keep those things that are that you present to me keep them sacred keep them holy one particular passage and I I I failed to

write it down but the the priest and my wife and I was talking about this just this week um she's she's listening to The Book of Leviticus right now and she's she'll I'll just blurred out she's got this earbud in her ear man can you believe this and she would share with me what she was hearing and and I and I made we were talking about this this week and told her yes I said and the and the and the priest when they would give in sacrifice they would allow that

to burn completely up then when it was burned up he would take the ashes from there he would stick them down beside the Altar and he would change his clothes and then when he would change his clothes he would take those ashes and he'd take them outside of the house of God and there was a special place to put them I I I thought of all of the things that was going on during this time and as I we talked about that this week I I I thought you know there

was there was a there was a Holiness about what he was doing because those were ashes from from the sacrifice there was Holiness about the things that he was doing in that Temple you you take all of the those things what you present to God the the things there was a reason that those orders were there because every step was holy unto the Lord just for the sake of us looking at this Isaiah wrote this Isaiah 6 and3 and he was talking and again Isaiah 6 is that famous scripture and

that one that we loves so much Isaiah the 6th chapter talks about uh in the year that King Uzziah died what he saw Isaiah sees this in Isa Isaiah 6 and3 says this and he was talking about the angels and one cried out to the others saying holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory he's talking about the Holiness of God and any time that you and I I I challenge you and I want to allow this whole entire lesson tonight be some challenge

to each and every one of us as we present our first fruits as we present our offerings unto the Lord allow those things to stay holy in your life allow it to be something that you present to God and it is Holy unto him you know there's a lot of dirty money in this world there's a lot of dirty things that is done in this world there's a lot of of of casual things that's done it's done in this world but those things we do unto the Lord should be holy

it should be something that we present to him and say God this is my offering just as they were present in the temple in the Tabernacle days this is my offering I present it holy unto you Lord this this is yours thinking of a particular individual that was attached to our life while we were pastoring and this particular person would take her money and she would literally if she could not find really good clean crisp bills she would take them to the ironing board I know don't iron your money but

that was something she felt that she needed to bring God her best she needed to present god with the best now I I know that doesn't make any sense to some people and it doesn't really matter to some people because all of ours is digital right but the truth is we need to somehow and I thank God for what we've put into place for that is to present our our offerings to God in that fashion god this is Holy to you this is Holy unto you God is a holy God

the scripture calls him a jealous God we see that in the scripture that he he is considered a jealous he's his name is jealous he's jealous of us why because he does not want anything put in the place of him when we read the scripture just previous about them taking and putting everything in place and they were crying holy holy unto the Lord God is jealous he he wants to make sure that you are praising him The Exodus the scripture we we talked about earlier Exodus we tear down those things

that are of not of God those things that are not of uh of the church those things that are of the enemy because the enemy as we spoke Wednesday the enemy would like to see you destroyed it would like to see everything about you destroyed it would like to see your wealth destroyed but if you do it in order as God has commanded this is Holy unto you God this is Holy unto you Leviticus and here we are in the scripture text that we often have been talking about in the

book we've been talking about Leviticus the 11th chapter verse 45 Leviticus the 11th chapter and verse 45 somebody with a loud voice read this for us says I brought you out of what the land of Egypt that that land that is full of all kinds of of of evil and all all types of other gods all types of other offerings that would be given I have brought you out of that he says I I am Holy so I want you to be holy you present yourselves unto me as a holy

people he was asking them can you make that commitment of Holiness in your life can you make a commitment to God saying God what I have to bring you I bring it as a he's and again I'll repeat it he's jealous he's jealous of us he wants the best that you have he wants what you what you can bring him his house and the law of his house is Holy one particular passage we read this and and this is found in John the 2 chapter verse 13 and verse through 17

and guys in the media room you don't have this I wrote this down just as a side note but but we find a particular passage there where Jesus comes in and he finds a group of people and the scripture says that he says you have turned my house into a house of Thieves you you have turned my house into a trade show somebody tell me what did he do he went in and he turned over tables he begin he he he first of all he goes and he plats himself a

rope and he plats that up and he goes in there and I mean he goes Turning Tables over and I I don't know what all else was said but I'm sure he had some verbiage going on the entire time but he did all of that because of what because the people had become so casual with him some years ago I'm passing through a particular Town we're we're on a trip and there's this billboard sign and and uh this is back when they first started the the cruisematic churches anybody know what

I'm talking about and they just started and it was a billboard and it had a pair of blue jeans this guy it didn't even show the guy it just showed part of it it had the backside of his blue jeans and it had a Bible in his hand right here and all all you saw was the patch on his jeans I know what kind it was but it was a patch and his jeans and it had his Bible and it and it literally said on the caption come as you are

come as you are and it gave a description of what the church was and and it and I wasn't knocking that I I we wear jeans I'm okay with that as long as they're nice keep keep keep your knees in but but when I saw that there was something in my spirit and I guess it's just even way back then the old the Oldtimer was coming out in me but I saw that and something in my spirit I saw that and I thought you know we're going to church we're going

to the house of God God deserves your best now I know that all of this is this means nothing to God it's just threads it's just and if all you've got is jeans that's fine but but to give it to God give your best to God give give him what he deserves that commitment to say God I I want to live a Godly life and I want to present myself and what I bring to you I'm going to present it as holy and acceptable unto you God this belongs to you

I don't want God to find my life in a disr and find my temple in a dis Ray the Bible tells tells us this is the temple of God right this is and if he comes and finds this a dis Ray what's he going to do I know that he did it in the physical sense in the Bible but what does he think about what I present to him everything that I am and everything that I have belongs to him God I want to present myself to you God help us

to understand understand that these are things that belongs to you second Timothy the second chapter talking about keeping it holy keeping things that belong to him holy unto him second Timothy the 2 chapter verse 21 and 22 somebody start reading that for us best one to honor listen 22 also he's talking about a pure heart something that you bring to God through a pure heart a vessel of Honor Sanctified something that that has been Sanctified something that is that is good for the Master's use folks I you know again I

I I want us to understand that everything that we do for the kingdom of God everything that we bring him bring for the kingdom of God everything we put our hands to everything that we do for his kingdom should be unto him and that should be Sanctified I again I go back to the the old picture that I posted just a few moments ago up there that old picture represented to me it spoke to me of of of some men yes there was a lot of jokes going on there I'm

sure uh there was one that's standing there I know that he had a lot of jokes that he could tell but I'm looking at those P those those old pictures and I'm thinking to myself these are men that that loved God and they would meet up in the evening times after they got off of work and they would meet up on Saturdays after they got off if they had to work some of them did some of them didn't but if they didn't have to work it was all day we'd have

meals out there I mean that was just the way it was brother Tim I mean it and and and they made those things happen because they love the things of God they love to be in God's God's kingdom those things and and and that out of the servant's heart out of the out of their hearts they would give and they would they would make things happen and they would I mean the equipment we used I I just amazes me just just in the last my dad was telling me on the

phone couple of months ago they're trying to add on another piece to that building and I'm thinking how much more can you go they looking at it a Family Life Center and I and he's sending me pictures and I ran across some of those pictures on my own phone because he had sent them to me but I'm looking at those and there's guys out there just like that and and there and he was telling me he said he said yeah those those two dump trucks belong to so and so down

the road then he had a there was a a plow that was there or a a dozer that was there and it was pushing dirt around and he said yeah that belongs to the guy across the street and I'm looking at all that and I'm thinking of all the things that's going on there and I thought you know that it shows that people still love the things that God still love I I know for a fact that when they were putting all this together there was day and day night going

on there was things going on for the kingdom of God and there was things that was happening Pastor sent us a note last night talking about planning out some things and I'm pastor we had just got started in this year for forgive me but but you know we think about those things those are things we've got to be thinking about this is the kingdom of God and if time lasts we've still got to have things in motion if he decides to come okay we'll leave it for him it's it's all

for them but but we've got to keep things we got to keep things in motion we got to keep things going for the kingdom of God and every bit of that should be done Sanctified and holy unto the Lord I I don't want to ever become such such so casual with the things of God that and we know from experience as far as what we've read about the Tabernacle we've read those things about how that there was people that did things that should not have done those things and there was

consequences because they did things that was not accepted in the eyes of God you don't do it just because you you feel that you need to you do it because you love the house of God you do it because you you're committed to that cause you do it because that is what you you're called to do God I want to be of your service I want those things to be of your service God in the book of of Zachariah the 4th chapter I know we're going all over the place Zachariah

the 4th chapter verse 6 scripture here and you could probably quote this many of you probably could can you quote it for me not by might nor by power but what by my spirit saeth the Lord these things that we do we don't do them because it's it's about me it's not not by my might nor by my power but we do things unto the Lord for him and for his glory it has nothing to do with me this this Kingdom will will move on it will move on the kingdom

of God will move on you can bring all of your your Earthly things you can bring them and you can present them and those things are all good but the kingdom of God will go on there is a church that God is wanting to he's wanting a church he's wanting a church that has made themselves ready we have got to prepare a place a holy place unto the Lord we've got to prepare that that place and keep everything that we do and everything that we present to him we keep it

and we keep it unto him let's look at another scripture here and I know again we go from Zechariah to Matthew come on Matthew 6 verse 21 Matthew 6 and verse 21 and I know they probably didn't even put they they did look at there Matthew 6:21 somebody read that for go ahead one of the scriptures we read and we've read that uh on a number of occasions throughout some of our lessons but where your Treasures is we last year we I mean we wore that scripture out where your Treasures

is what's there you will find who is really committed to the house of God by where their Treasures are I if you are consumed by the things that just and I know life gets busy doesn't it V life just gets busy and some times life gets so busy that that you you you're trying to balance things you're trying to juggle things and these things you don't know what's going to happen next you just don't know but one thing that I have learned over the years is if you will if you

will make that a priority that is that is what I live for that is what I'm committed to and I I am going that you just you just can't keep me from it if you make your mind up that that's what you're committed to God will make ways he will make ways whatever it may look like he he will he will work things out he always does however that may look he works it out it's it's by the spirit of God that works in US where your Treasures are where have

you where have you put those Treasures where have you put your priorities where have you that would be the question is where are my priorities and again these are challenges I think this last lesson I I I want to just challenge you on all these all the spectrums here I I I is where are our priorities where are they do do have we made our minds up that we're going to do the things of God and and I know this is again we're we're walking into uh we're walking into areas

that we've not seen as a church we've we've not we've not been here before but I do know this as we were on the call last night and we're talking about the things that that needs to be done I I I hear that that ringing saying you know what if we'll put God first all of these things is going to be okay we put God first and his righteousness everything else is going to add up it's going to be okay but we've got to make sure that we have committed our

ways to God we've got to make sure that we have we have we have dug in and says God I want this holy unto you during the Tabernacle days one of the things that was asked of them and you we've talked about this but one of the things that was asked of them is they would to take their sacrifices and they were pull their sacrifices aside away from the rest of the herds and they were to keep that that sacrifice was to be without spot or blemish there was there was

a way that they were to keep that sacrifice and it was to be to where it would be accepted when they when they got to the gates of the Tabernacle it was to be accepted there or if it was to be rejected it was because there was some flaw there was something wrong with it I I I want to challenge you and let this be something that we're challenged with tonight is is what is it that we're bringing to God what is that sacrifice what does it look like what does

it look like again these are things that we challenge ourselves with what does it look like is it something that's going to be accepted by him and I'm sure that that if you do it right you don't have a question there's no question if I bring my sacrifice to the to the gate if I've done everything that I am supposed to do there won't be a question but if you ever get to the gates and you have questions about something rewind back up say God every step needs to be holy

and acceptable unto you everything that I do should be accepted by you and and and holy unto you God help us help us that we purify ourselves we we purge ourselves from any anything that that be not of you God help us to to be become a vessel of Honor those vessels that is that is Honorable in your sight help us God that that we can pres be be presented to you uh to the master as something being useful something that you can use for the kingdom that God we purge

ourselves from any of those things that should not be there those youthful lust and God that we present ourselves as righteous faithful charity pure love those things we need God to accept those things of us help us God help us to be that type of person Lord Jesus so the question tonight would be is what is that look like in your life what does it look like like when you say keeping things holy unto the Lord what does it look like those are answers that you can only answer but when

you bring your sacrifice to God when you bring your offerings to God is it something that is that is is going to be accepted by him I'm talking about the things that you have asked God here God this belongs to you I give this to you because why because I love you and I am committed to your work God is what I've got is it is it enough is what I've got is it enough I will tell you this and this was and I don't even remember the author's name but

one of the phrases that I picked up from him was this obedience is the pathway to righteousness whatever God has spoken to you about obedience is that pathway to his Holiness to that which is accepted in his sight whatever it may look like it could be that little widow woman that had just a few just just a few pennies just a few things could have been that or maybe it was somebody that had the wealth of the world what does it look like in your book when you bring your first

fruits to him presented as being holy unto him present it unto him and say God this belongs to you this belongs to you this is not just some commitment that has been signed this is not just something that I have written down in my book that this is what this is what I've been taught to do I hope that you can you can change that if you feel that that's just the way you've been taught let it be that that comes from the heart God this belongs to you I know

that you asked for this but I am bringing more than that I'm bringing a willful heart and I'm bringing it saying God this belongs to you I will tell you this that through the last few weeks God has challenged me and I I know that and I hope that he has challenged you I know that he has some of you CU you let me know that but I hope that he's challenged you as well God has a church and he has a way that if you will be obedient if you'll

be obedient to him all of these things that we've been praying about all of these things that that has been going on God you've got them all taken care of that you want you you want your blessings to run in and just run right over you I I you know I I really feel that that God has he has blessings that is setting right here in this room he's got blessings that he's going to pour out in this room in these people that are in the part of a part of

this church we're going to see some things happen this church it's not just here because somebody said let's just build a church every one of us count for what God is doing in this building in this in this church that God has planted in Chattanooga every one of us is a part of that amen why don't you stand with us right now would you stand to your feet and I really I want you to lift your hands with us and let's just let's just ask ourselves as we pray God what

is it what does what does that sacrifice look like what does it look like in my life is it presented holy and acceptable unto you Lord God I want to be holy I want what I have holy unto you Lord my offerings to be given holy accepted unto you in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus Oh hallelujah accept it unto you Lord Jesus that I present myself Lord I present everything that I've got Lord it is of you Lord Jesus it's unto you Lord that we give it

to you Lord hallelujah would you lift it up to him right now in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus committed to you Lord you are my God you are holy and you're you're you're holy above the Earth Lord accepted Lord Jesus Hallelujah in the name of the Lord in the name of the Lord Lord hallelujah God we bless your name we bless your name in the name of Jesus that's it cry out to him right now in the name of Jesus we bless your name Lord hallelujah in

the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus