Greater Giving

Thank you guys so much for being here. Well, as you guys know, we have been talking the month of February about greater giving and I kind of debated whenever I chose that I wanted to do this last one. I thought, well, that'll give me time to get my material together, right? And so, um, I chose the last one. But then when you have Sundays and Wednesdays and preaching and all that, well, almost all the subjects have been talked about. So, it made it a little more challenging. Um, but there's just so much we can talk about when it comes about to giving. And I hope to be able to express my heart tonight. Um, because this is a subject that means a whole lot to me. And that is not only because I'm the treasurer here at at CAC. That's not the reason it's dear to me, but it's dear to me because the Lord has had me on a journey of doing of greater giving in my own personal life. And I hope to be able to share some of that. I hope there's time for that. Um, some of the principles and things I'm going to be sharing along the way are things that I have personally been learning myself. So, nothing like, you know, learning it firsthand and sharing it with you. And that's what I hope to do tonight. First of all, and I know we don't have a long time to talk about this, but I would just like for a couple of people to raise their hand. What does giving mean to you? What does giving mean to you? Is there anybody willing just to share something that comes to mind? There's no right or wrong answer in this. All right, Seth. Okay. Giving helps you to feel fulfillment. That's good. Great. What else? Anybody else? What is giving to you? That's all right. S Pam. Sister Pam. Okay. I'm hearing fulfillment in in both of those. So, yeah, the joy in fulfilling a need. Yes, sister Stacy. from. That's good. Giving. Right. Right. Giving without any expectations in return. That's good. That's good. And that way when the return does come in whatever form that may come, then it's a nice um touch, a nice victory, isn't it? Uh to help us with that. That's good. Well, one of the things I wanted to start out with tonight um because because I'm not sure that any I'm sure it's been mentioned, but it wasn't probably one of the main points is there are many things that that we give. I know we think about money. I know we think about our wallets and our bank accounts, excuse me, and all that's important, but

one of the things that to me is foundational before you even consider giving your time, talent, and treasure is giving thanks. There is something about a thankful, grateful heart. And it is something we have to give. It's not something that just flows out of us naturally. It is something we have to give. Where does the where does giving start? Since financial giving or giving of our time, talent and treasure is a matter of the heart, it is important that we start by giving thanks which helps prepare our heart to do whatever God wants to do. I there are so many things to be thankful for in the worst of circumstances. We can find things to be thankful for. We are so blessed. We are so blessed. And we could just spend the rest of the night right now going around and talking about all of our blessings. And I could pass the microphone and we all would have so many things to share. But we are so blessed in a culture that is very ungrateful and discontent. Discontent has a lot to do with the reason why maybe we're not as thankful sometimes as we need to be. Right? We're discontent and we run on comparison. This culture, especially if you're involved in social media, runs on comparison. comparing ourselves to the the one who just posted about their best vacation ever or comparing ourselves to the one that just bought this whatever whatever you know whatever it is materialistic that draws our attention. It is so easy to be ungrateful and discontent or maybe to be neutral about our gratitude. Sometimes we're maybe not ungrateful, but it's just so easy just to move along and go on in life and just kind of be neutral and not really think about it, right? I, for example, am an introvert. And so many times I think thankful thoughts. I think grateful things, but there is something about speaking it. And just because I speak I sometimes think nice things about you. that's a pretty dress or that's a nice uh outfit you have on or your haircut looks so nice gentleman or whatever it is. I think those things internally because I'm an introvert, right? But there is something for me and for you for me to say it and sometimes it takes a little work on an introvert. Maybe extroverts are a little, you know, it's a little easier to share and to and to say those things out loud. But as an introvert, I have to really work on speaking out those things. Uh some scriptures I want to share with you in 1 Coronicles chapter 16 verse 8. And forgive me for lack of time tonight. And I better when I say lack of time, I better get my watch out here where I can see what time it is so we'll know. I'll probably just read a lot of the scriptures uh quickly so that we can move on. Excuse me. 1 Coronicles 16 and8. Give thanks unto the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people. 1 Coronicles chapter 16 verse 34. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy endureth forever. And then we'll move into the New Testament. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 57. Look at them keeping up with me. I told them I like I'm going to read through these quickly. So if you can't keep up, that's all right. No worries. But they're doing a great job up there. Thank you media team. First Corinthians 15:57. But thanks be to God which give us giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God. You know, Paul wrote a huge portion of the letters in the New Testament and on several of his epistles, he started them by saying, "We give thanks to God for you." He was telling the Corinthians or the Thessalonans or whoever he was writing to, "We thank God for you." He was showing a heart of thanksgiving. He was giving thanks for the people that he was writing letters to that he might have even actually been having to reprimand them or chastise them or salute them or you know or even congratulate them but he always gave or not always maybe but I didn't look through to confirm it but almost always gave thanks in his letters to the New Testament churches. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, we read, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." A grateful, thankful heart is a giving heart. A thankful heart is a giving heart. But and then as we learn to give thanks, another thing that I really feel like as we segue into talking about some giving principles, um,

another foundation that I feel like we need to lay right on top of that thanksgiving is giving of ourselves. Just I know we think we do and when we has anybody remember when you prayed for the Holy Ghost, what would people tell you? Just give him all just give him everything. just surrender. Just give him all right we and various other things probably too. But as they were praying for you to surrender to the spirit of God in in your life, that's a a lot of times that's what we say. Let's just give him our all. And we know we should do that, but so many times we want to take back part of part of ourselves, right? We want to control. Is there anybody else in here that's a control freak? Maybe you don't like the word freak, but I can tell you a lot of us love to control the situations we like to control. And I know I'm as guilty as any of us. Well, James 4 and 7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." Submission is not an easy word, is it? Submission is not easy but it is so beautiful in our spiritual lives. I mean he created our bodies. We belong to him. We are his. And when he filled us with his spirit, we certainly are his. And just to submit our flesh to his spirit and allow him to move, you know, submit. I mean, when I pray, I don't know about any of you, but that's when every thought comes to mind of everything I need to do, of everything that I need to to put on my list, whatever it is. And I have to sometimes just literally lay my hands on my head and say, "Lord, I commit this mind to you. I submit this you. I submit my thoughts to you. My heart, my body, whatever it is, we have to submit to him." And when we do, it certainly makes it easier to submit when it comes to giving as well. Mark 12 and30 says, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment." I don't know if if if there's anything that doesn't fall into those categories, right? and our submit our heart. We give him all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength. There's not much left, is there? If we if we truly uh give him and love him with all of those things. We must submit all of ourselves to Jesus Christ. When he filled us with his spirit, we are his. The truth is we are his when we're filled with his spirit. But even all the unbelievers out there, he created them, too. And they really belong to him. They just haven't submitted to it yet, right? They haven't submitted to it yet. But if he created us, then we belong to him. And if we belong to him and we're thankful in our heart, that just helps us to prepare us for what he wants to do in our lives when it comes to giving. We've had such wonderful teaching. I know brother Tim's in here tonight. Great job a couple of weeks ago on giving and teaching us on the blessing of giving. I was able to hear I wasn't here last Wednesday night, but I was able to hear brother Pastor Sam and his lesson and I heard my husband the first week so many good things. We could have gone without any more lessons and had plenty. And oh my goodness, I know he's my son-in-law, but the message he preached on the 15th of February, first thoughts, oh my goodness, I need to go back and listen to that again and again and again. How amazing. If you have not had a chance to hear that message, I encourage you to go back and listen to that. Is that one of those pattakes? Patty cake. You guys help me remember. It was on a Sunday. So yeah, on a Sunday on the 15th. I don't remember that part. But what I do remember is he brought out his tools and talked about how he had bought tools to help uh to do the work in the church. But then how the Lord turned that around because he thought of the church first and went out and bought those tools, but then the Lord let him use those for his for his own house and remodeling his house and how the Lord blessed that. And then he told, and I didn't know this, if he had told me, I had forgotten, but when he was 18 and was going to college and didn't have a clue what he wanted to do, and he just thought, well, most churches need somebody to help with finances, you know, most churches are not just overflowing with money. And and so he just thought, well, I'll go into finance and maybe the Lord will use that. And then he, you know, shared how the Lord, his first thought was not what I want to do, not what can I do to make a lot of money, what can I do? But that first thought of how can I help the kingdom of God? And I know, and I don't want to take too long here, but I know that there's people in this room that God wants to use. They're your children. I truly believe the Lord wants to wants them. some of them. I mean, he may have full-time ministry for some of them, and that is fantastic. But he also wants them to be doctors and lawyers and nurses and business people so that he can fund. Now, God owns everything. He can just give us the money we need. But that's just not the way he works. He does it through us. And I truly believe that the kingdom of God is going to advance when we submit ourselves to him and his plan and what he wants to do. And that was just on a soap box. That was extra as they say. So

some principles of giving. Many of you know that I work in the finance in industry. I'm a financial advisor with Genesis Investments and I have been so blessed over the last two years. I knew a lot about giving and principles of giving. But in my job, I have learned how amazing the Lord has worked through a company like Genesis, through other people, through Christians in the Chattanooga area to further the kingdom of God. Why? They may may or may not have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. I believe many of them have. And many of them believe in in the infilling of the Holy Ghost, but because they are willing because they are willing vessels to let the Lord flow through them. I read a book and I know this month is on greater giving. I think it's November. We're going to talk about greater generosity. And I'm looking forward to that. I'm currently reading a book, A Generous Life. 10 steps to living a life money can't buy. And I don't know if you guys know this this person, David Green. Anybody know who that is? I bet you shop at his store often. He start started Hobby Lobby. What an amazing 50% of the profits of Hobby Lobby go into Christian organizations in this world. 50%. What an amazing testimony. So, we'll share that later and when we're talking about generosity, but what an amazing testimony and many many others uh many in our apostolic uh faith of many testimonies and I don't have time to share them all tonight. But through all of that, I've had the opportunity to learn some very important principles and I only have three to share with you tonight because I really do hope to have a few minutes to share a testimony and a few minutes maybe. I'm not going to make any promises to see if there's any questions that I could possibly answer.

But three principles of giving of our time and all of these I'm not going to mention this every time but all of them apply to our time, our talent and our treasure. These same principles can you know apply to money as well as the other things in our life that we give because there are so many things that we give. We give hospitality and we could just we could go around just keep naming. There's just so many areas of giving. But the first principle is God owns everything and I'm just a manager of his resources. That means really when you look at that bank that check on your bank account and it says Michelle Raymond and Michelle Sloan, it really means God Jesus Christ Raymond and Michelle Sloan because we are just managing what he has given to us of his resources because if he truly owns everything, if he truly owns us, it's really his and we're just turning around and managing it. Right? Psalms, and I'm going to prove that to you in the scriptures. Psalms 24:1 and2. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness. To me, that's that says it all. That's everything that you see around you. belongs to the Lord. And if if we get that mentality and remind remember that, wow, it sometimes takes a little bit of the pressure off of what of that responsibility. Now, we still have a responsibility to manage it correctly. Don't get me wrong. First of all, we need to realize that we belong to God. And I know we've already kind of hit on that when we were talking about giving of ourselves. You belong to God. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19 and 20. What know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is which is in you which ye have of God and ye are not your own for ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in the and in your spirit which are God's. We are his. All creation is his. Whether that's your little doggy that's running around your house or out in the the woods or on a an on an African safari, all of creation belongs to him. Psalms 50 and10 says, honestly, I encourage you to read the entire book of Psalms 50, but Psalms 50 and 10 is the only one that I'm going to read right now. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. All creation belongs to the Lord. All wealth and all money belong to him. In Haggi verse, did I say that right? Hagi. Hagi. I've always struggled with that one. Hagi. Chapter 2 verse 8. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, sayaeth the Lord of hosts. Well, there are some people on the news that need to hear that, don't they? There's a lot of talk in the investment world and and myself included um invest in gold and silver, and it has been a great investment. Let me just say, but it all belongs to to Jesus. It all belongs to our savior. Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 18. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he uh which he shall, let me just read it up here. I think I might have had some typos in that one. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he swear, and yes, it did correct me. And to the people to our fathers, as it is this day, Deuteronomy 8:18. Sorry about that. As we consider the fact that we belong to God, his cre the creation whether that's animals, plants, tree, whatever belongs to God and that all the wealth and money belong to him. If we can get a hold of that concept and the fact that he allows us to manage that for him, it certainly looks different, doesn't it? when you get ready to to budget out your money or whatever it is, when you're looking at it as his money as opposed to your money, it really makes makes you look at things a little different. Now, let's look at our budgets. Now, you'll have to forgive me. This is this comes from my work. I work with people every day and we talk about budgets and I'll just be honest as a financial advisor, budgeting is not my strong point. It is not. I just have the the theory of spend the least amount possible and keep as much as you can to be able to give and do other things with it, right? But um so actually budgeting out and saying I'm gonna spend X on this and X on that. I'm not the best in the world, but Raymond and I are always we're always working at it and working on it and praying about it and asking the Lord to help us to be wise with the resources that he gives us. So, I'm handing you a budget form. Now, what do you do? What do you ask yourself when you're looking at that form right there? And please just forgive me. I'm not advertising my my business, but it does have Genesis investment on there, and I didn't have time to make my own, so I just thought, well, I'll just grab one from work and use it. And you can take this home and use it if you want to. The idea is not that we're going to do a budget here tonight. The idea is, what would, if you were looking at this, getting ready to fill it out, what would you ask yourself? You would say, God, how much should I give? as you're, you know, working through here, it's probably got giving on. I know it does have giving on here. So, you would probably ask yourself, God, what should I give? And that's what I've always always prayed about. Raymond and I at the beginning of every year used to sit down and say, "Okay, God, what should we give?" I'll just be honest with you. We we're not going to go into tithing and all of that tonight. I've I've taught lessons on the principles of tithing, but tithing is just a beginning point. When you really get on a giving journey, tithing is just the beginning point. And it is a good be beginning point. And so if you're not doing that, I encourage you to begin to do that. But we it is in our human nature to say, "Okay, here's what I make and what do I need to give and here's my bills, right? But what if we had a mind shift? What if we had if we said, "God, here's how much I make. How much do you want me to keep? How much of your resources do you want me to keep and do you want me to live on?" Now, I do do not get me wrong. We have to provide for our families. we have. I mean, there are there are scriptural basis for things that we need in our lives. But I can tell you as Americans, there's a whole lot of things on this budget that we don't need. And if we really truly look at it from the perspective of God, you own it all. Okay? How much do you want me to keep? And how much else are you wanting to funnel through me to do for others? And I'm not just talking about giving to the church. There are other things, other ministries, other other ways of giving. And I'm not just sometimes I like hesitate to get up here because I'm the church treasurer. And I'm like, I promise you that is not what I'm up here for is to increase the treasure of this church. I am here to increase the kingdom of God. And if we'll start looking at it like that, he will funnel more through you. And I have so many testimonies of what God will do when you start in that mind shift. Now, I'm still working on that. I'm still looking at my budget and sometimes thinking, what should I give? What should I give? And oh Lord, forgive me because I need to be asking what I can keep because you want me. You do want me to give. It is your will that I give. How much that is, that is between you and the Lord. But consider that and at least pray about that mind shift of how much do you want me to keep?

Principle number two, my heart will always go where I spend God's resources. My heart will follow where I spend my resources. You've heard our pastor. You've heard Raymond. I've heard him my whole life. Uh the whole life since I've known him. My whole married life. Maybe I should say that say you you can um let me see your checkbook and let me see your calendar and I'll know what's the most important to you because it is so and it's true. It really is very true. Let me see your checkbook and let me see your calendar and we can we can really deduct how what is important in our life. Matthew chapter 6 verse 21 Jesus says where your treasure is there your heart will be also it doesn't say where your heart is your treasure will be where you decide to put your treasure is where your heart will follow I think sometimes so many times we've thought of that just just like we do with so many scriptures we hear them all of our life and so we kind of get that reverse don't we always have thought, well, I'm I'm putting my treasure where my heart is. But no, our heart will follow where we put our treasure. So, how do we do this? How do we decide where to put our treasure so that our heart's in the right place? Well, Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be add will be added unto you. Seek first the kingdom of God." I like I said earlier, I know the Lord has great plans. I think I heard brother Tim say it when he was up here about how he really felt like that this church was just on the verge. We're already seeing some wonderful things. We're already blessed of the Lord. We are already working hard. I mean the there is one thing that no one can say about CAC and that is that we don't work hard because it seems like that's just we've always had a building to work on. We've always had something to work. So, this church has a mind to work. And I believe this church has a mind to give. And that the kingdom of God is going to explode with revival when we allow him to send his resources through us. I believe that with all my heart. Seek first the kingdom of God and that is how our heart will be headed in the right place. And then

principle number three, there are so many principles um that I would have loved to share but due to time tonight and I think I'm doing pretty good actually. So hopefully we will get out of here on time and maybe even have time for some questions. Number three, God prospers me to raise my standard of giving but not my standard of living. That is a new principle that I have been trying recently to pray about and ask the Lord how what can I do Lord what is it that you know when you give me a raise when you give me a promotion when you give me um a one-time lump sum something why I have to I don't always think that way man I mean I'm like all the rest of you I am not a rich person that just has so much money I just don't know what to do with it. I'm just like the rest of you. I probably always have a list going of, you know, if I get this or if I get that, then I know, you know, I kind of already know, okay, Lord, you know, I'm going to do this for my grandchildren or I'm g whatever it is. I'm going to whatever the this the list might be in your life. So, I am just like the rest of you. But sometimes whenever I'm trying my very best, when the Lord moves and gives either a raise or a bonus or whatever it is, I'm like, "Okay, Lord, why'd you give this to me?" Recently, recently, I got a raise I was not expecting. I'm not sure why I wasn't expecting it. and I re reached my 2-year anniversary with this company, but for some reason it just when my boss called me in there and told me about it, I was just not thinking about that at the moment. And it just really surprised me. And uh I thought, Lord, why why was that such a surprise? What did you give this to me for? Raymond and I began to pray and we we still do not know. And I promise you, I'm not up here to brag on me and pastor. I'm not. I'm just trying to share some lessons learned. So he's we we prayed about it and I asked Ray, I said, "Do you feel, you know, to do something specific with this money?" Now, we're tithing on that money and I think we all, you know, we get an increase, we increase our tithes, but with the rest of the money, what do you want us to do? And he said, "I don't know. Let's pray." Okay. So, we prayed and we didn't feel anything in particular. And he said, "How about we just put this over into a separate bank account, into a savings account, and when the Lord tells us," he said, "I think the Lord's telling us, let's put that there, and then when he tells us, then it's time to give it." So, that's what we're doing. That's what we're doing with that increase. Um, could we have used it for other things? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I know we're in a different stage in life than some of you are. You have children at home. And I rem I remember those days. So we may be in a different stage in life, but I know the Lord can use you in whatever stage of life you're in. So sometimes God is not giving you those things so you can increase your standard of living, but he is trying to increase your standard of giving. Martin Luther, you guys all know who Martin Luther was in the Christian world. He had a saying that said, "I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them. I have lost them all, but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." So, a good saying to remember, that I still possess. place it in the hands of the Lord and he will do amazing things with it. We are limited. We are limited in what we can do. I'm thankful for what we can do and what money can afford us. And I'm thankful that I live in the United States of America. I have lived outside of this country and I do know that we are so blessed and so and we have so much more to be thankful for. We must always remember when we tithe, we are giving back 10% to God, but he still owns the 90. He still owns the 90. Now, I've always heard and I still believe if you're tithing to the Lord, 90% will stretch further than it would if it was just than the 100% if you keep it all. So I do believe that. But we also have to remember when we had that 90 and he's stretching that 90 that it still belongs to him. Right? We must remember that you can't outgive God. Brother Tim mentioned it. We both have been very uh through our life been very affected by a man named Bobby Allen. He used to say you can outgive God. And he is so it is so true. and his life was a testimony of that. And I I'm so thankful for that because it really is true. You can outgive the Lord. There was a man named RG and I'm going to slaughter his last name. I'm pretty sure he must have been a cinjun because I don't know how to say his last name. Learno, I think is how maybe how you would say it. Learno. who invented earthmoving machines. I guess I picture you know the all the es Yes excavators and all that stuff. Is that what he invent do you know that name or no? You just yeah earth moving machines. So that that's a pretty good indication is he invented those and he began to give he did the opposite of what most of us do. He began to give 90% of his income, but the money came in faster than he could give it away. He said, "I shovel it out and God shovels it back, but God has a much bigger shovel." Wow. to think about that shovel of God just finding out that someone is going to be a conduit and let and let this flow through him. And he truly truly did.

I want to share this last um scripture with you. I think this is the last one and then we may have a few moments for a couple of or some testimonies and maybe some questions. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 10 and 11. And we're going to read this in the ESV translation. I have read read so far everything in the King James, but this one I I just liked this translation in the ESV. He who supplies seed to the sewer and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sewing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. I just really really appreciated that translation. You will be enriched in every way to be generous. It didn't say you'll be enriched in every way so that you can benefit from it. But that you would be enriched in every way to be generous in every way which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. Maybe, just maybe, that promotion, that raise, that increase in your business was given to see how you can increase the kingdom of God and not to increase your standard of living. Maybe God is trying to tug at our hearts so that we can surrender completely to him. Be thankful for what he's given us. Be thankful for everything we have and give ourselves completely to him so that he can use us mightily in the kingdom of God.

I really believe in you with all my heart. I don't think you have to live a po impoverished life to be able to be generous in the kingdom of God. I don't believe that. I believe that you that the Lord will use you and flow through you to give things and I think you will personally benefit from the blessings of the Lord. I know one thing's for sure. whether you are whether you benefit financially or not, there is something about the attitude of the Lord and how it can just feel like I mean I am nowhere even close to being not even the richest person in this room let alone the rich richest person anywhere but I feel so blessed it is like I don't I I cannot explain to you and I I have um told this testimony um publicly before and I think most of you have heard two years ago when the Lord moved my employment um in January of 2024 I started working with Genesis Investments I had been working for a major and if I said the name most of you would know it and some of you may even do business with them but I was working for a major company as a as a fin with my financial advisor license and they were good to me. The Lord was really good to me. But the Lord just led me to begin to contact um the people at Genesis for other reasons honestly um not for employment necessarily just to ask them some questions and and they really have a con we really have a concept of being very biblically responsible with the investments that we choose investing in things in companies that do not destroy the human race, but that uplift and encourage our community and don't um let their funds go toward pornography and, you know, the list. I could go on, abortion and and drugs and alcohol and uh addictions and all of those things. We screen out of our investments so that people are investing in things that they want to support. And a lot of people will tell you that they don't you there's no way you you you're not making your clients any money, but that is not true. The Lord has blessed. That's beside the point. I'm not advertising for I'm not up here advertising for Genesis. But I decided to go to work for them and to leave a company I'd been with for 15 years. And to do so, I had to take a 55% pay cut. But I want you to know over the past two years in making that prayerful decision, the Lord has allowed us to give more than we've ever given, to do more than we've ever done. And I have never felt a lack in any way. I mean, sometimes we're sitting there in the car and I'm like, "Honey, how could we not feel a lack of 55? That's over half of my income. How could we not? Now, the Lord has blessed and they there's been raises and things and I'm no no longer at 55% less, but still much less than I was making three years ago. I don't know how it works. I can't explain it to you. But I am telling you, I am so blessed. I do not lack anything. I have never felt a lack of any sort. I haven't really changed much. I haven't changed my spending habits that much. I haven't changed I've changed my giving habits a whole lot. And the Lord has provided. He has provided so many times over and over and over again. I just I just can't explain it to you. I can't explain it to you. Um the Lord is so good. It is. It is.

Does anybody have any questions you'd like to ask? And we'll look and see how much time we have. We'll probably have about five more minutes at the most. Anybody? No. Well, I would like to just share a little bit more of our testimony then with you uh of what God can do when you give and that is time. I know we we've talked a lot about money or the the emphasis seems to when you talk about giving go toward money, but I do want to share just a little bit and I like I said, none of this is in any way bragging by any means, but when Raymond and I came home from missions in 2006, TW almost June of 2006. Yeah, I had to stop and think and make sure that was right. That was almost 20 years ago. We came home from missions. We came home to Murphy'sboro which is our hometown and literally with maybe and I don't remember exactly because 20 years is a long time to remember all the real details. The Lord was good to us. We were taken well we were well taken care of as missionaries. I remember about a few months back Stephen said, "Mom, how much exactly did we make as missionaries?" of course they were kids then and we probably didn't share um our income. So I thought back and I looked back to how much we were making. And when I say making um that they were paying us to be on the field so that we could pay our bills and all of those things. And uh it was less than $2,000 a month. I can't remember exactly what it was. And he goes, "Really?" He said, 'Well, Britney asked me the other day about it because, you know, sometimes you hear people talking about uh and I have no idea what our missionaries today make, but $2,000 doesn't go very far. I mean, it was you we had to live on a tight budget. And uh he said, "Really?" He said, because Britney was asking me the other day and said, "You know, missionaries come through and everybody's always saying, oh, you know, our missionaries, they give up so much." He goes, "I never felt poor." And I said, "Well, I'm glad you didn't because you weren't." Um, and and whenever he said that, I said, "Well, what you what do you mean?" He said, "Well, I can't imagine living on 2,000 less than $2,000 a month." He said, "But I never felt a lack. I never felt like, you know, we were, you know, impoverished or anything like that." And I was so thankful to hear him say that. And it is because when you give to God, he makes it stretch. No matter what your income is, when you are giving yourself to the kingdom of God. All that being said, sorry, I didn't mean to get get emotional over that, but we came home and we might have had maybe two months of emergency fund, which you know, if you came and saw me tomorrow in my office, I would tell you three to six months emergency fund is important to keep, but we we did good to have a little bit of an emergency fund when we come home. And that was all we had to our name. You know, we came home. That was 20 years ago. I cannot tell you how blessed how the Lord has turned it over time and time again. And I remember I remember looking at our peers and saying, "Oh man, they're almost finished paying off their mortgage and we haven't even bought a house yet." I remember thinking, "What in the world? What?" you know, but I kept trusting the Lord and saying, "Lord, I know we gave this time to you and you are going to take care of us and I want you to know I cannot stand up here and tell you in the last 20 years what the Lord has done. I am not by any means bragging and I'm going to speak in very general terms, but he has allowed us to give hundreds of thousands of dollars. He has allowed us in this last 20 years to sell a home and almost double what we paid for it. He has allowed us the opportunity. We don't have a lot. We don't have a lot of riches but he has just given us over and over and he has made up in the last 20 years what I thought I lost in 10 years in on the mission field 10 years uh time frame that we were gi that we gave to missions. The Lord has multiplied it over and over and over again. I'm not rich. I'm not going to be able to leave my kids millions of dollars and wouldn't do it if I if I had it to leave because I want them to learn to work for it as well. Um, but at the same time, I I am so thankful that he can funnel through us what he wants to do for the kingdom of God.

Stand with me. We're going to ask the Lord right now and then we're going to go. Lord, I ask right now that you would be with us today. Help us as we go into worship service. Lord, help our lives to be changed. Thank you, Lord, for your the opportunity, Lord Jesus. Oh, to give and to share, Lord Jesus, what you've done in my life, Lord, if I can influence anyone. I pray right now that your presence, Lord, just would just just would overflow, Lord Jesus, into this place. Go with us. Help us, lead us, God, and minister, Lord, as we learn to give. As we learn to give of ourselves, as we learn to give of our thanks, Lord, as we learn to give of our time, talent, and treasure, bless each one in here, Lord, bless them for what they're doing and what they have done. And I know, God, that you are with us and you are with us as a church. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you guys so much for listening.