The Benefits of Sowing

On this episode we talk about the benefits of sowing (tithing). When we give from the heart with love God returns to us 10 fold. Everything we have is God's, that's why we should ge him our firstfruits. Look at all he has given us. We hope you enjoy this episode and please go follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can also listen to us on all of your favorite podcasting host sites. God bless you!! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Testament of the Faith Podcast. I'm Ray Bradshaw, and along with me again tonight is John Paul Murphy and John Quinn. We're the Word of Faith Ministries in Kingsville, North Carolina. Tonight's podcast subject is going to be the benefits of sewing. So I had my first question is going to be speaking of sewing, that can go along with tithing. Is tithing all about giving money back to God, or could your time be sufficient as well? I mean, I've had times where I didn't feel like I had a penny to put in the offering plate, but in actuality I had more than enough. I'd put myself in a bind by buying worldly and well being more worldly than I was godly. I wanted more worldly things and was not looking at giving back to the giver that had given me everything that I had. How do y'all feel on that one? I was gonna read Matthew 6, verse 24, and go along with that. No one can serve two masters. Well either he will hate the one and love the other, or if he'll be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

And I I mean that's I learned that the hard way. What what's your feelings on that? I mean I know what mine are and I I know where they used to be and I know where they are now.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Yeah. Malachi 3, 8 and 10. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me in the tithes and offerings, bring all the tithes into the storehouse and try me now with this and see if I won't open up the windows of heaven. So, you know, when you're talking about tithing and giving, you know, or giving, let's use that word. Yeah, giving, yeah. Giving to God.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Giving back to God was already here.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Yeah. I think that John covered something earlier today when we're talking, you know, giving back to God is everything that you have. You know, if you understand the Bible, everything that you have, your truck out there belongs to God. The house that you live in belongs to God. When you get to a place that nothing belongs to you in the first place, it doesn't hurt to give it. That's right. Because when you understand, hey, God, everything I have, it's yours anyhow, my life, my very being, my finances, when you get to that place that I'm saying everything I have, not just my not just my money, but everything I have, I give to you. So if God leads it on your heart to give something, you know, God, one thing the scripture says is God loves a cheerful giver. If you're not happy about giving something, then don't give it. But bringing back to you asked a question, and I'm not trying to beat around the bush. I'm just gonna say this.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

When you plant a seed, it says that the same seed that you plant is the same kind of seed that's gonna come up and multiply in return.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

Right.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

So if you give your time, then that time's gonna be multiplied. If you give a seed of finances, that'll be multiplied.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

In 2 Corinthians, and I'm gonna let somebody else key in on Well, I like to say, a f a farmer, the more you sow, the more you reap.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

If you notice, look at the fields. Farmers have moved their rows closer together. The ears of corn used to, they've done it on a 30-something inch row. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Now they've got 16-inch row.

SPEAKER_04 3:16

And they put the seed heads closer together. You know, your seeds are planted closer together because they they found out that the more seed that they put out there. Well, the the scripture John Paul just read in Malachi, you notice there it says bring the tithes into the story. I said don't say give. It says bring that that that means that automatically belongs to God. You're just bringing him what belongs to him. I agree with that. Uh okay, tithe actually the word translates to tenth. That's what it means. People say, given my tithe, I'm giving five percent. Well, then you're not giving what God says because it tithe means tenth. And if you actually look at it uh in uh the Hebrew the word is masur, meaning tenth. Uh in uh Greek, it's I think Dakota is how it's pronounced. That means tenth. Yeah, I had to look that one up. I've got it right here. But it you know, it it it says tenth. Well, that's what automatically, you know, all of it belongs to God, but that's what Hebrew it says in the Bible.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

A tithe is one tenth contribution of a personal income or produce historically given to a church, religious, institution as a tax. We're not going there.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

I'm saying it's then your seed is on top of that. Your seed is I don't I don't judge what I give by percentage.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Right.

SPEAKER_04 4:49

I ask God what you want me to give. Or when I'm standing there, he says this, this much. And I don't question it. I pull it out and I put it where where you know where it's supposed to go. I always wanted to be like that. There was a time where I couldn't, you know, I was giving my tile and I'd give a little bit of seed, but I found out that with the same measure I give, because I'm doing it out of the right heart, you're getting it back in return. It comes back in return. It you know, like you said, the same you don't John Paul said this right before we started. You don't plant corn and look for beans or tomatoes. If you what the seed you plant is what you expect to get back.

SPEAKER_02 5:32

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

So Proverbs 3:9, honor honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase.

SPEAKER_04 5:40

So you're and then the next scripture, verse 10. Your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. That's right. That tells you right there, the more you sow, the more you reap. That's Proverbs. Let me just tell you, in case you're wondering who wrote Proverbs, it was the wisest man. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

So you one thing that you have to know about tithing is it's the holy, it belongs to God. He wants you first. Right. He wants the first part of your day, the first part of your money. He wants the first part of everything you have. God wants number one to be first in your life. And if you hold back, you know, I have literally given my way out of debt. I gave my way out. I'm on my way. That's how when you start giving, you can find out in, you know, not just the 10%, because if you come in and you start just giving 10%, I'm a giver. I'm probably one of the bigger givers that I know. I love to give. I don't just give to uh one church, I don't just give to two churches, I don't give across the board, especially as the Lord leads it in my heart. You know, that's how I'm led, you know, because God will lay it on my heart to do this, and I don't ask a question because everything I have belongs to him. I already told him I said, Lord, a long time ago, he says, if you're faithful with little, I'll give you much. If you're faithful with little things, then God gives you. You know, when I didn't have anything, when I say I didn't have anything, making $350 a week and we were barely scooting by. We didn't have enough to do anything. We were just, I mean, it was tough.

SPEAKER_04 7:16

We didn't eat wild game because we wanted to.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

I remember $350 a week was a lot to me. Yeah, well, this one a lot and basically within the last, you know, let's say what? Like 2018, 2019. Yeah, 2018, 20, 19. Try to live off to that much in that time, daytime. I mean, it it was really tough. We didn't have anything. So when we had that, you know, we believed God and I would give, you know, and I would give to God. And I told him, I said, Lord, I want to be at a place that I can give more and be a place that I can be a financial blessing to other people. And I would give my 10%, not just the 10%, I actually was started giving 20%, 20 something percent. I didn't even count how much percentage, but I was giving more than what it was. Not just in our church, but I've been doing this for a long time, not just in ours, but every place I go that I have an opportunity to give something, I so, you know, a lot of times when I go to other places to minister, you know, they want to give me something that I'm thinking, you don't know, I've already gave more than what you would have given me to minister, and I don't take money to minister.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Because I tell the people, you know, and it's not that it's not biblical. Yes, even for a minister is to be blessed by the people. I understand that. But I'm at a place that I'm like, you know what, I bless you as I'm coming in to minister. At a lot of places I go, and that's not an invitation for you to invite me to come to minister to place for me to give. I'm not, I don't I'm not gonna take that invitation.

SPEAKER_04 8:50

But what I'm saying is Do you know home ministry, brother? Do you do home ministry?

SPEAKER_02 8:55

No, I do not do home ministry. I don't want you in my house, and I probably don't want to go to your house.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

But that's walking to John's house and offering flakes right over the door.

SPEAKER_02 9:06

You receive That's the the thing though, is you get to a place that God gives you this and you can be a blessing to more people. It's you know, like John said, you know, the ten percent belongs to him, and then he asks you what you want to do with the rest of it. And you know, you're talking about your time. God have seen God multipeople's time because they gave time and multiply things back to them in the resources they give. You know, they give certain things and it'll come back, you know, um watches. Yeah. I've seen that. I've seen um people give silver and the next thing you know, they're giving gold. I've seen God multiply things in different aspects, that's not just money, but in other things that is I've seen people that give away cars and they gave away a car, and God blessed them with a brand new car free. It cost them a thing.

SPEAKER_04 9:59

Or a man gave away the man that gave away to escalate and God gave him a jet.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Yeah, I mean, I've seen that too, but I'm saying really when you give things, you know, um my grandparents was probably the ones that taught me this, you know, the best. You know, I've seen how many cars they gave away. And then a woman came up, or they came up and said, Hey, I want to give you the nicest vehicle that you want to pick out at Delot. You go pick it out and we're gonna give it to you. Amazing. So, but how many cars they give away? So when you plant a seed, what I'm trying to show you in this example in the illustration is the seed that you plant that you give, that you give unto God, to either to somebody else or into the ministry, that'll be multiplied back. But now the tithe belongs to the storehouse. When you're giving a seed, an offering, and things like that, yes, do you can give it to other people? But sometimes people have this misconstrued that, well, I'm tithing and I'm giving it to, say, let's just use you for example. I'm not not saying it's I'm just using you for example for the viewers. I'm tithing, I'm giving it to Ray Bradshaw. Until Ray Bradshaw has a church that's not biblical, right? The storehouse is the church. Exactly. Now, if you want to plant a seed, if you want to plant a seed in his ministry, then feel free. But that's that's different. So, you know, I can't take my tithes and give it to Sister Susie at church because Sister Susie's having a hard time. And instead of this month, instead of giving my tithes in the church, I'm gonna choose to give it to Sister Susie because she needs it. No, you give your tithes in and then you bless Sister Susie with move. That's right. And so that's so that's right, that's sowing seeds into God's kingdom, and you'll you'll be blessed over that. I don't know if that answered kind of your question, but that's kind of like I have I have done this my whole life, and I've watched even I'll let me give you another illustration. God called me out to stop hunting one time. And asked me to stop hunting. And, you know, he's like, Does it mean more to you? Because I was a hunter, let me tell you. And I'm still am. Don't take me wrong. I'm a hunter. I love to hunt. They lifted that. Yeah. But he asked the restriction. He asked me, he said, Do you love me more than you love hunting? And I said, God, I love I was crying. I mean, I was sitting in that wide Chevrolet, Colorado, weeping. I mean, just crying because he asked me that question sitting in that truck. This end season or out of season. It was in season. It was. It was in the beginning of the season. And I can chair you to the road that I was sitting on about to go get in that stand. And I just cried. I mean, I almost feel it right now, but I was sitting there weeping because he asked me that question. And I said, God, you know I love you. You know I love you more than anything. He said, Well then or would you be willing to give it up? I said, I will. I got back in that truck. Well, I didn't even get out of the truck, I turned that truck on and I turned around and drove to the house. I didn't tell everybody else what God was told me because I knew everybody like, yeah, that's crazy. But I know when I hear from God. Yeah. And the only one I told was my wife. And I told her at the time, now I've told my testimony a bunch of times now, because it's it's past that. But I didn't, everybody's like, Why ain't you going hunting? Why ain't you going hunting? I was like, I just I'm busy, you know. I just made it. But really, in the truth, he told me that, and I can carry you to the road where he showed me that at. And it hit me like a ton of brakes. And I was like, God, you know, I and I'd already paid hunting club dues. I was in a hunting club. I'd already done everything to be in a hunting club to do it. It was the beginning of the season, about to be the rut. It was it was time to go hunting. And if you understood me, I hunted five days out of the. I mean, if morning, afternoon, I hunted every day, morning and afternoon. And because I was willing to give that up, now I own a business that allows me to go hunting and take other people hunting.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Because he's like, you gave something to me. You were willing to show me that you were willing to sacrifice something. That's right. And when you sacrifice something, it's not always the long sacrifice. I didn't understand that at the time. And I you I wouldn't have never thought this. But then now I'm walking into an ability to take other people hunting on the farm, I own a shooting preserve, and be able to take people, and I take people out west to go hunting, I go out west and go hunting, I go duck hunting, I can do anything I want to, because he he didn't say that I couldn't hunt on there ever. Because before I went next year, I was like, Lord, is it all right? But you gave it up. So that's I just say when you sow a seed, even though that was my seed at that time, was I was giving something up, and he came back and blessed me with something now that I make money doing what I used to love to do. So that's just something I just wanted to share.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

That's why I'm never getting back on another motorcycle. The Lord said, Don't get your butt back on there. I've been asked plenty of times. You gonna ride again? Nope, I'm not tempting fate, and I'm not tempting the Lord. You good? Not taking that chance again.

SPEAKER_04 15:04

The scripture in Proverbs you read. I had I had a little another side note there. Proverbs 3-9. Where you started out, it said honorable. That's right. That's what your tithing is doing. It's not paying a tax, it's it's honorable. Exactly. That was what that other scripture you read was going into it.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

That's all part of being thankful. Like every morning when you're like your first fruits of everything. Even waking up in the day, your first few minutes of the day ought to be given to God in prayer and to me in study. I'm gonna do that before I go get that first cup of coffee. Study. Yeah. The prayer part definitely. And then I'll go get my coffee and then I'm studying. When I wake up, you know.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

When I wake up up in the morning, first thing I do is start praying. Second thing I'm doing is cutting the Bible off because I have it playing at night while I'm asleep. And if I wake up in the middle of the night, I sit there and I try to listen to it while I'm praying in the spirit. And you do that, and it won't be for just a minute before you right back to sleep. The devil ain't gonna ain't gonna torment you if you're doing that, because he he he's like, uh, I need him to go back to sleep.

SPEAKER_00 16:16

Are you listening to that on audio books? I go over the Bible app, you can play it. You can Yeah, well I mean I got that. I can hit like a play button on this, but I've never done that.

SPEAKER_04 16:24

It'll play all night. I've always listened to it on audio books. But uh, you put put that on and you can listen to it in New Living Translation, New King James. I mean, there's lots of different ways, and you'll be surprised at at stuff you start remembering that played while you were asleep. Right. And you know, it's people don't realize it, but what you listen to in your sleep gets in you subliminal. Yeah. It comes through your mind. That's right. Uh but then then I wake it, then I start looking I look at somebody I like to listen to, a podcast or or YouTube mainly is where I go and listen to the whole sermon there and it don't or podcasts, you know, like this one here, something, and and I listen to it, and while I'm doing everything that morning, getting ready, I'm listening to the word of God being preached. Yeah. And then there's several times during the day, instead of popping the earbuds in and listening to I don't even know what to say on the radio now. Instead of listening to whiskey bent and hellbound, right? I'm listening to to the word of God. And there's there's a thing feeding your soul. You feed yeah, you're feeding your spirit, man. And when you do that, you start growing. And the more you grow, the easier the the easier it is to resist the devil, and him it says resist the devil and he'll flee from you. You know, it's just when you when you do that and you start giving your first fruit to God, instead of waking up thinking about who done you wrong the day before. Yeah. It'll change how your your day goes. It'll change how your life goes because you're giving him that first few minutes of the day.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

To me, it puts me in a lot better mood, and I and I stay in a lot better mood throughout the day by doing that.

SPEAKER_04 18:11

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I tell you, if you wake up and turn the news on to start with.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Oh no, no.

SPEAKER_04 18:17

I don't watch the news anymore. I'm done with the news. My mama told me before she passed away I need to quit watching it because I got seen. Matter of fact, she done they done me a favor, I fuss so much that they cut it off.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

So I want to just get this back to it because I I don't think people grasp this enough. Everything belongs to God. Everything. You you establish ownership first. Psalms 24, verses 1. The earth is the Lord's, and all of this fullness, and the world and all that dwells it there forth in. It's saying everything to sell on the earth belongs to God. So it's not my money, it's not my stuff, it's not my time, it's not me.

SPEAKER_03 18:59

It belongs to God.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

It's mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. God doesn't need your money, he already owns it. Let me say that. He doesn't need that. Tithing is not giving God something, it's honoring him. Right. You need to understand that. It's not giving him something, it's not buying something, you're not buying into God to do something for you. You're not saying if you got it, if you this is something that I can't stand with people do, you know. Um, if you give a thousand dollars, we're gonna send you this noint and oil or this holy water. Yeah. And if you if you do this, we're gonna give you this holy water. Well, let me tell you something. You know, that is a load of junk. That I mean, I'm just being honest with you. They might be out of a bottle if you're lucky. Um you have people that do all here start rolling in the floor over there. You have people that's like that that is that uses that kind of to prey on people and you know, to use it to for their own benefit to glorify themselves. And that's not what it's about. You bringing in the tithe into the storehouse is honoring God. And as you're honoring God, here's the thing. When you look at a ministry that you're getting ready to give to, is that ministry blessing other people? Is that ministry helping other people? Is that ministry, you know, one here's some things I look at when I give. Okay, how effective is this ministry? I'm gonna be honest. I'm gonna plant my seed in good ground. Yep. Okay, I'm a farmer. Well, as I have been a farmer for a long time. I grew up on a farm. You grew up on a farm, I'm a farmer, John's a farmer. I'm gonna plant seed in good ground. All right. If that ground is not good and it's not producing something, I'm not gonna waste my time, my resources, my money in putting seeds into a ground that's not bringing up harvest. That's right. So here's my harvest that I'm looking at. Jesus said, if you love me, feed my sheep. Okay. One, natural food should be coming out. I see natural food, yes. And I also see, you know, spiritual food coming to them. Is people's lives being changed? Are they getting saved? Are they getting healings happening there? Is there something there that God's moving in? Because I'm not just gonna give to somebody that I don't see something in that there there's a benefit coming out of that. Right. You know, in the ministries I give into, every one of them, there's some results coming up that I see my seed going into the ground and it's coming up. I'm not giving to somebody so they can get rich or somebody else can get rich, and that's not what it's designed for. I'm looking to see what's producing the fruits coming out of that ground. And so, you know, that's how I discern that's how I look at like where I live at now here.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Anything that grows here is something that's got deep roots. My wife said, I can't ever get this to grow. Well, you can't grow everything in sand. Yeah. That's not good soil for growing. I mean, you might get a peanut and a watermelon. So you know and I see that too, like you're talking about the food and the y with Yobs' food bank. I mean, that's one of the most awesome things I've seen. I've been up there on Wednesdays and seen the line back up to the road and out the route.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

I mean, to me, that's just awesome, and that that's part of sowing them seeds that we're talking about here, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02 22:21

But in that it would all be for nothing if we weren't getting some people safe. That's right. Because I'm not just supposed to feed fish and just sit there and bring them in. I'm supposed to go catch them and bring them in to the glory of God. Fishers of men. Fishers of men. I'm not supposed to just fill them out there and feed you and get you fed. Here's the thing. I've watched what we said last week. You go from needing a blessing to being a blessing. You don't, you know, if if I constantly give people food, they're always going to look for food. That's right. If you're looking for handouts. Yeah, but if you if I can get out there and minister to people, so one of the things I do is I go to car to car, invite people to church. I'm going out there talking to them by the Lord. If they need prayer, I'm reaching that long arm in there and I'm grabbing hold of them and tell them I need prayer. Well, they don't expect me. They think on prayer later. Yeah, they think I'm going to go to the side or get off of. Yeah, they think I'm going to pray for them later on. Nah, I'm coming in there writing in and uh if we have to stop the whole line, John Paul's praying, you know, because I'm going to pray for you.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

I I saw a t-shirt the other day, and I might just had to order three of them. I got started to say one. It says tap here if you need prayer. Yeah. Man, that that is so awesome.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

Yeah. I went and talked to I pray for the people, and that's the thing that you know you see as you're in the ministry. Yes, I'm here to, but I also look at the food ministry as a way to reach other people to bring them in for salvation. That's right. And a lot of people that's come through, it's in our church now, they started out coming in, but now they don't need the food.

SPEAKER_04 23:56

But it is designed for it to reach the needy, the lost. That's our whole mission. I mean, not just to feed them spiritually.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

Yeah, physically, you got to feed them spiritually also. I agree with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

When you all go on over Proverbs 3, 9, and 10, you know, honor to God with your possessions and with your first fruits of all your inquiry, so your bonds will be filled with plenty. You don't give God your leftovers, you give them your first. Amen. And some people just come in and they give what they have left off of what they have. And they don't give, you know, the first fruits off of it. You know, if you sell something, if you do something, if God's blessed you financially, I do. I'm a big giver. I love to give because I've learned the principle of sowing and reaping.

SPEAKER_04 24:45

Well, I made it a point years ago to start taking whenever I went and cashed a check, take my seed and my ties before I ever put the money in my pocket, take it out, put it up, put it in my wallet in a separate place, then put the rest of the money up because I'm like, God, you know, this is yours. Yep. This is this the all of it's yours to start with, but this this this is what I'm giving off of this. And a lot of times, well, I ain't gonna say a lot of times, never every time, before we have another service, I'll have to put more there. I'll have to put more money there because he's already multiplying what I haven't even put in yet because he knows that I'm faithful and I'm gonna give it. You know, tithing, it goes all the way back. It started Abraham. People think that it started with the law, but you you mentioned Genesis 14 and 1420.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

I already flipped over there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:41

He gave him all he gave him a tithe of all, you know, of everything that he had. But if you look at Genesis 28, 22, and if I'm getting ahead of you, I'm I'm sorry. It says, Of all you give me, I surely give a tenth to you. In other words, what you were saying a while ago, that's what Abraham's saying there. You give it all to me anyway. I'm gonna give a tenth of it belongs to you. Yep. And that you know, like I said, that that's what belongs to him, and then you plant a seed, and that seed grows, and it will return.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

And this goes back to one of my favorite scriptures, Galatians 3, 13, and 14. And the blessings of Abraham might come upon you. If you want the blessings of Abraham, don't ignore the pattern that Abraham had. Right. You don't ignore the way Abraham operated.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

Right.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

If you want his blessing, you gotta operate. Like he operated. Like he operated.

SPEAKER_04 26:40

So you know you want to be a dog trainer, you have to operate like a dog trainer.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

You have to operate like one.

SPEAKER_04 26:46

You want to be a pilot, you gotta operate like a pilot.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Right. So this blessing will come upon you, but you also have to operate the way he operated. He trusted God to the point often he did. And he trusted God to the point that he was willing to go up to the mountain. Not just any mountain where God called him to go. And he went, he trusted God all the way through to carry his son up there, willing to give him. So you have to, and I'm not saying God's gonna call you to give your son because he's already done that with his son. But what I'm saying is he was obedient. There's an Abraham faith that you operate into as a believer. And so also in that, you know, is talking about giving. You know, he was willing to give it all because when you look at Abraham, he was willing to give it all because he understands God gave it to him.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 27:32

He's like, brother, I there's nothing I own anymore.

SPEAKER_04 27:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:36

Even to my son.

SPEAKER_04 27:37

Faith even changed his name.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

Yeah. Nothing, nothing I have. Everything gives down. So Luke, you know, giving offerings is where the increase happens. That's how I have this tithe. Offerings are separate than, you know, giving back. This is talking about the giving back. Give, and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over. When you start giving, God opens up that just like he did Abraham. It happened when Abraham started giving a tenth of everything he had. Look, read the rest of the story. Yep. He was blessed among all the nations. He had more than anybody else because he was willing to show forth his love and giving.

SPEAKER_04 28:17

So not only that, but God showed him to dig wells.

SPEAKER_02 28:20

Yeah, the wells that he dug predicted him ahead of everybody else because God gave him a God-given idea. He could set up a butcher shop and not have to move.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

I mean, and we've talked about this before. It's just the weight just lifts off of you. I mean, life becomes so much easier and simpler. You see things in a different light, you give in a different light. I mean, it's just, and we want everybody to experience that.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:47

The peace. But it's like you you got to have that trust and faith like Abraham had to do it. And I see that so many people we've been talking about yet, you know, they can sit down like us and talk about their Bible, but then they can turn around and you see them. They're really not putting that faith out there or taking that first step and being courageous.

SPEAKER_02 29:07

And some of that takes time with some people, it does. You know, to to get up to that place to have faith. Yep. Because you got to, you know, you gotta hear the word and study it. You know, I guarantee you for you, the more you study this Bible, the greater faith you get into. You start standing on everything that God says, and you're like, I'm not questioning things, I just believe now.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

It builds me up every day, Angel. And I've said it before. I mean, before I gave my testimony that first time on Facebook, I was like Jonah, buddy. I was running the other direction. And then finally reached out there and said, Come here, sit down right here on this deck, put your phone up there and start talking. Yeah. And that's what I did. And now we're sitting here doing this, and I love it.

SPEAKER_02 29:47

Yeah, me too. I look forward to it every week.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 29:51

Did we go over Galatians 6 7? I know.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

I don't think we have.

SPEAKER_04 29:55

Be deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man so, that shall he also reap. That went back to what we were talking about. Say it again. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever, whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. I've got no King James, I'm used to quoting it in King James. Yeah. For the listeners again. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Means what you sow is what you're gonna reap. If you're out there sowing bad seed, you're gonna reap bad fruit. The next part I believe says, He that sows sparingly will reap also sparingly.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

That's in um second Corinthians. Yeah, that is 2 Corinthians. I'm already right here. I got you. But this I say to who sows sparingly, he will also reap sparingly, but and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So lead each other, give as purpose in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. What scripture did you stop in there? I'm going on to eight. And God is able to make all grace abound towards you that you always have all sufficiency.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Going back to Galatians 6, though, verse 8. When I read that, I think back to my own testimony. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption. But he who who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. I mean, that's going back to serving God or mammon. You can't serve both. That's right. You have to pick your both.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

And God is, and then God has make all the grace abound towards you that you always have all sufficient. All sufficient. What does he say? When you're willing to sow, when you're still the promises of giving, this is how it's titled in my giving. It says the principle of giving over six. And then under my Bible it says the promises of giving. And God is able to make all the grace abound towards you that you always have in all sufficiency in all things. What does that mean? In all things. In all things. Have an abundance for every good work. That doesn't say I'll barely get by. When you start giving, I promise you, I can guarantee it. When you start giving, you know what? Give from the heart.

SPEAKER_00 32:19

Absolutely. I feel a lot of people give though. Because somebody told them or pressured them. Somebody pressured them or made them feel bad because they weren't giving, or they just doing it because they think they have to, just like we've talked about. A lot of people go to church on Sundays. Just because they think they have to, or that's been that way they've been taught, but then Monday morning, they're right back to their old stinking ways. Yeah. You got to give with the heart.

SPEAKER_02 32:42

Yeah, it's what does it say right above that? So let so let each give as purposed in his heart. I didn't I didn't skip that verse.

SPEAKER_03 32:50

Right, no, grudgingly or necessity. God loves a cheerful giver. I wanted to hyphenate that.

SPEAKER_02 32:59

Yeah, that's fine. So God loves a cheerful giver. This is something that God that you know, John always says, if you're gonna begrudgingly give it, then you're keep it.

SPEAKER_00 33:09

Yeah, I mean you're you're you're gonna that's when you start reaping the corruption because God knows you can't fool God.

SPEAKER_04 33:15

Yeah, you don't don't give because you just somebody's told you to give. Or I'm giving this so somebody else will see what I'm doing. Right. I've seen some of that too. I've seen a lot of that. If you give the money and you show it so somebody else can see it, you've already received your reward if you let your alms giving be given before man for their approval.

SPEAKER_02 33:36

Don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing. Like it says that scripture too.

SPEAKER_04 33:40

A lot of husbands use that on their wives and wives on their husbands. That wasn't what it meant.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

No. No. All right, that comes up to something else. So what if, as far as the tithing's concerned, and the sewing and the giving, say, you know, we're all married, all three of us, and I'm not I'm not saying this because it's why I'm in my house, because my wife knows I'm a cheerful giver. And I always have been, even before I got back into the church. If somebody else for something, I'd if I had it, I'd give it to them. Yeah. But how do we hand how would we handle, I don't know, say your wife is, you know, you are cheerfulgiver. Say your wife said, Man, you need to quit doing that, or we're not giving so much. How can we handle situations like that? Because I know there's somebody out there that's in that situation. I don't know if we're the most delicate ones to ask that question. Well, I mean, I know you know. So, like, you know, in the past, I wouldn't care what she said. I'm serious. The old Ray would have been like, Well, I'm gonna do it anyway.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:35

But the new ray is like, you know what? What's mine is yours. What's ours is God's. What you have and we need to be on the same playing field.

SPEAKER_04 34:44

If that situation comes up, you just start showing them in the Bible what the Bible says about it, and then you're like, look, if if if you still have a problem with it, then you need to pray about it. Yeah. Because I'm I'm doing what God says do, and that this is what I'm supposed to do, and the Bible says I'm supposed to do it, and I'm living a godly life, and I need you on board.

SPEAKER_02 35:07

Yeah. And we both had to deal with this. This is me and him has both had to deal with this in our personal life. I mean, I have. I know that, you know, didn't really control what I gave, but you know, she's always supportive. Right. But she's asked questions about, you know, you're giving that much, you're doing this, you're doing that. And I and you know, I brought her to this point, you know, and I've showed her in the scriptures, and I break it down because well, one, I'm a pastor, but I do show And that's why I ask you all those kind of questions.

SPEAKER_04 35:36

I'll be honest with you, my wife, I love her, but she really doesn't even know how much I give.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Right.

SPEAKER_04 35:42

She just recently has found out, you know, close to what I give. But I mean, that area of not letting your right hand know what your left hand's doing, I'm not gonna say is exactly wrong because if it's causing problems in the house, I'm gonna be obedient in my giving. And, you know, she doesn't have a problem with what I give. No, that's not what I'm saying. But I'm going, I'm gonna honor God. I mean, that's first and foremost. First and foremost. That's right. And when it comes down to it, bottom line, it doesn't really matter who likes it or not. Because I'm gonna have to stand before him. Yep. And I'm gonna have to answer for what I have and haven't done.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

I haven't had any issues with my wife, but I and I'll bet her listen there's there's we had one in church. Yeah, not too long ago. But since my turnaround, I've even told my wife, I mean, I want I expect you to put God before me every day. I want you to.

SPEAKER_04 36:39

We had one in church that had that same issue. They were upset because they were making more money than what the tithe they were giving. It went all the way back to they didn't have a problem because they were making more money. The other the spouse didn't want them to give no more. Right. And they were having problems at home because of it. I'm like, well, are you going to listen to God or you're gonna listen to them?

SPEAKER_00 37:05

Yeah, I mean, I didn't realize it's just like, there you go again. The more you sow, the more you reap. So if you've given if you've been given a raise at work. I even told them if they wanted to bring the other one in, I'd talk to them. Or sold something for a profit. Yeah. I mean, that's that's that's what you just reaped, and you're giving more, so the more you give out of that, the more you're gonna get back again.

SPEAKER_02 37:26

But now we do need to declarify this. The 10% is God's. It belongs. It belongs to it. Belongs to God. That's what I said.

SPEAKER_04 37:37

It all belongs to him.

SPEAKER_02 37:39

The given part, I want to separate this for the viewers.

SPEAKER_04 37:42

There's a tithe that belongs to God.

SPEAKER_02 37:45

It belongs to God, whether whether you're whether whoever likes it or not in the house, right, that belongs to God.

SPEAKER_04 37:52

One of my favorite pastors in the Bible. He was in the Bible, actually. It was Jesus. Yeah. He said, give to Caesar what is Caesar's Caesar's. In other words, you're gonna pay your taxes. Right. Give you taxes that, and then give to God what is God's. He's my favorite pastor.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Yeah, I think I know where you're going with Ed Bart, the tithe. There's tithing, which is 10% belongs to God, is sowing the seeds. If it's the man on the street corner holding a sign, or somebody broke down on the side of the road and they need a tow truck, and you give them $80 for a tow truck or whatever, that's the giving and the planting the seed.

SPEAKER_02 38:28

And also, like, you know, you can give, you know, like the 10%, and then you go past that to the church, you give it to a minister, you give it to supporting other churches or planting the seed. Or I'm giving into things that uh as I give that, you know, that financial things that I give, I've watched it come back.

SPEAKER_04 38:50

I give my 10%, brother. Come on, not being blessed, because you're just giving him what belongs to it.

SPEAKER_00 38:56

Well, that I also do, but that kind of attitude goes back to, well, I'm doing it because I've been told I have to do it. Yeah. Not because you want to do it.

SPEAKER_01 39:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

But that's And there's a big difference. Yeah. I mean, I mean, yeah, I'll give my 10%. I'm not getting anything back in return, because it's that attitude you've got. It's because you're putting it in the plate when they come by because you think that's what you have to do.

SPEAKER_02 39:18

If you have a heart like that, then you don't have it all belongs to God anymore. That's right. I'm gonna just be honest with you. I might offend you. That's right. But so what? I'm gonna tell you, like it is. Look that way when you say that. You ain't gonna offend me. I might offend you. But I'm gonna tell you, if you have that kind of attitude, then you don't have the point of give everything belongs to God, and you haven't read the scripture that everything belongs to him in the first place. If you want to offend you, we're just good at it. I'm just I'm just saying, everything belongs to God.

SPEAKER_00 39:47

That goes back to being another one of them people where you just show up in sharps and say, all right, well, you know, we're in church every Sunday. Yeah. If you're not if you're not paying attention and getting in that word every day.

SPEAKER_02 39:58

So you're not seeking. This goes back to the thing like you were just saying, God gives back through people, but you don't you don't seek the gift.

SPEAKER_03 40:11

This week's topic.

SPEAKER_02 40:12

And if you haven't listened to that message and you're listening to this one, go back and listen to that.

SPEAKER_04 40:16

You stopped a little bit early there in uh 2 Corinthians 9. You didn't verse 10. Yeah, we got you gotta go to verse 10. Yeah. Now may he who supplied seed to the sower and bread for food supply, supply and multiply the seeds you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. Okay, he's the one that supplies the seed to the sower. All right.

SPEAKER_00 40:44

It gives you seeds. That's right. He don't have you the seeds, therefore, what you sow and grow is his to start with.

SPEAKER_04 40:51

I'm gonna tell you a little thing I found. When my granddaddy passed away, he had a freezer in his house. Which I now you're saying, well, every yeah. Whenever I opened that freezer, there was corn seed in it. Yep. There was butterbean seed in it, there was uh collard seed, there was there was like five or six different types of seeds. Now let me let me ask you this, what good? And that seed, granddaddy hadn't planted nothing in about ten years, ten to fifty, probably twenty years. Those seed had been sitting in there for twenty years in that freezer doing no one any good. If you're not sowing it, then don't expect to harvest on it. If you eat your seed, if a farmer eats his seed that he's supposed to plant, he's not gonna have a crop.

SPEAKER_02 41:46

Go ahead. Now he who supplies the seed. Now I tell you this, I use the scripture all the time. I say, look, God supplies this the person that's willing to give or willing to do some seed planting. He gives seeds to those. And he'll give more seed to you to plant more seeds. It's just up to you to have that ability to give.

SPEAKER_00 42:08

He multiplies the seed you have supplies. Right. Here talk about giving. Here's another verse. I like Joshua 1, verse 13. For the word which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, saying, The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land. So right from the base, right from the bottom structure, right from the foundation, everything is God's. Right from the get-go.

SPEAKER_04 42:34

Well, when you plant a corn seed, you know, you don't expect to get one kernel of corn. Right. You expect to get a whole kernel. Yeah, with multiple kernels, hundreds of hundreds of kernels. Well, that's your seed to replant.

SPEAKER_02 42:49

Yeah. So, you know, this is a heart issue. And then like we're getting back to that. So let every give as a purpose in his heart, for God loves the cheerful giver, not pressured, not manipulated. It's worship. When you give, if you're giving angry, keep it. If you're giving in faith, just say, Lord, I just love you. I'm worshiping you with my giving. I'm worshiping you. It's a all it's a way of worshiping. You're honoring God. Talking about in giving and in tithing. Tithing belongs to God. You probably won't change my mind on that one bit. It belongs to God. You're required to give that, whether you like it or not, because that's what Abraham did. It's required. And some people don't like that. They like, well, I just give my five dollars. I'm like, well, if that's what you want to do, then do it. I mean, I I would I mean, do it. But I'm telling you that God lines you up to follow this book to a ticket. It's supposed to be a first thought, not an afterthought.

SPEAKER_00 43:49

That leads into what I was gonna say. I want people to realize that I don't care how much money you make, if you say you don't have enough to give at church, your ten percent. Get you a checklist and look, see what you're making payments on. Credit cards, lottery, motorcycles. John just loves the lottery. He just loves a lot.

SPEAKER_04 44:10

Well, it aggravates me when I got a set in line waiting for the lottery.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Well, buying lottery tickets. He can't stand that. He thinks everybody buys lottery tickets. Setting on football games. He thinks everybody does. Living outside your means. I don't believe everybody does. Period. I mean, just living outside your means. Yeah. I mean, if you're living outside your means and you're saying you don't have enough to tithe, that's your fault and you're not putting God first. You're putting yourself first.

SPEAKER_02 44:35

Cut back one of the monsters. Drink an energy drink. I'm just saying an energy drink.

SPEAKER_00 44:40

Stopping down there at the coffee shop paying six dollars for a cup of coffee.

SPEAKER_03 44:44

Yeah, just cut back something that you can cut back. From word of faith, we'll fix one.

SPEAKER_00 44:49

I mean, if you don't make the $60 a week in a cup of coffee, that was 10% of your your tithing right here. That's right. People don't look at it that way. That's what I'm saying. And it's my fault in my past that I've never given 10% because I've always felt like I didn't have it because I put myself in that situation. God didn't put me there, I put myself.

SPEAKER_02 45:08

And people will say this, and I because I've been in church a long time, I've heard this saying, Well, I live on a fixed income and it's hard for me to give. Well, I can I can tell you something that God will if you're willing to give that 10%, I will you can watch God and multiply that nine that is left over. He will cut, he says, what he'll rebuke the devour for your sake. He says, so then when you start giving, he says, I have seen testimonies in church that people that are faithful, I've I've gave this to you know some people that's faithful. We went to a lady's house on the way here, that she gives faithfully. She don't even come to church fixed fixed income, only makes a certain amount, she gives her 10% offering on top of it, and God built her a house. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:56

I'm talking about I walked in that house today.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

With like an $18, $14 or $18 a month, $18 a month payment. You think you can afford that?

SPEAKER_04 46:04

And then on top of that, she was telling us about a early birthday present she got given that was like a $300 chair and some other stuff that that's a three hundred in, yeah. She did say three.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Three hundred in cash. Yeah. A chair. A lift chair. A lift chair, and some other things. And she's like, you know, I just she said, just share it with the people that you don't tell my name. Don't tell my name. But she's that's what she said. Don't tell my name, but tell people that if you're trying how then works. She's a a firm believer in it. That you know after the podcast, let's go back to that lift chair thing.

SPEAKER_00 46:40

Okay. All right. And it goes up and it goes down. Remind me to bring that up when we get through the podcast.

SPEAKER_04 46:48

Remind me about the holy water at the end of the podcast, and I'll tell you why the life is hard.

SPEAKER_02 46:54

So this is show you in First Kings seventeen. I'm gonna go over there. And I think I'm going to 1 Kings 13. I think that's where I'm headed. Seventeen. No, seventeen, sorry.

SPEAKER_00 47:07

Seventeen.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

Yeah, I'm sorry. I was off one or two. That's all right. I was reading that, I was like, this doesn't make sense. And Elijah said to her, Do not fear, go and do as what I've said, make me a small cake first, and bring it to me, and afterwards make some for yourself and your son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth. So she did according to what Elijah the words of Elijah. And she said, And she and her son and her whole household ate for many days, for the bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to what the word of the Lord, which is spoken by Elijah. So God uses a man here to speak to this widow woman. So God uses sometimes people to use speak to people. And he said this right here. He said, you know, you go and give, she's you're talking about somebody saying they don't have nothing to give. Right. Okay, if you read a little bit of foot of this, they're in a bad famine. They're in a bad way. They don't have anything. There's people like it's this bad. I can't give you all, I'd have to read back and show you. They had a drought and they have nothing to eat.

SPEAKER_04 48:24

That's where they were, I believe it's where they were eating the pigeon dung.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

She was out picking up sticks and she has she asked for a cup of water and then asked for a morsel of bread.

SPEAKER_02 48:33

So this is where the ravens brought bread to and meat to. So, but they're in a bad way here. They don't have anything to eat. He says, Please bring me a morsel of bread. She doesn't have any, they don't have anything. And she's like, I don't have anything. Me and my son's fixing a die.

SPEAKER_00 48:50

Yeah, she was gathering up a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. That means they had nothing left.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

And there's nothing to go buy nowhere, there's nothing to go get anything. So I just wanted to point this out to what you were saying, and this scripture comes in, brings it home. What you're saying, you sometimes you feel like you have nothing to give. This woman literally had nothing to give. Had nothing. But what did she do? She went in and God supplied if you notice, he said, make me a cake first.

SPEAKER_04 49:19

Yep, that's right. First. That goes back to that first fruit. That's what I was saying a while ago. A lot of people make God an afterthought. Right. What they give him, what they've got left over. When if they would purposely start out giving him the first fruit, and then I'll tell you, you'll go further with the 90% that's left after you start tithing than you ever went on the hundred percent you had before you started. But you know, you're gonna be giving out of the right heart.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

She didn't give out of abundance because she didn't have abundance. Some people say, Well, when I get it, I'll give it. No, you won't. If you're not giving it when you don't have anything, look at me. I didn't have anything. We literally didn't have we were just barely making it. I can tell you that little bit that we were making, like $300 and something dollars a month, I mean a week, was barely get by street. We didn't have a lot. We gave in that and God brought us out, and now I'm a blessing to everybody that comes around. I can be a blessing, and I use that to be a blessing. She gave out of obedience, and the minute she gave out of obedience to somebody, this man told her what to do. Now she could have written this off. Yeah. Yep. She could have written this off. I'm telling you, I want to point this out. Faith, because she knew who Elijah was. Yeah. She had faith in the Lord. Yeah, but you've got to you've got to take heed to somebody. People say, Well, I'm gonna give it when somebody tells me. Well, the Bible tells you to give.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

Yeah, but it's right here.

SPEAKER_02 50:52

And then God uses people to tell you things, and you gotta listen. She could have written it off and said, I'm not taking any of this, I'm not gonna get it, I'm not gonna give. I'm gonna eat it and die. I'm gonna eat it and die. And guess what she'd have done? She'd ate it and died. But she got the minute she was obedient, God met her right then and there. So when you give obedience into what the Bible says, I'm telling you, this is proves my point in what we and John's been saying. When you give out of obedience, God will meet you right then and there and supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. This is where all these things that we talk about, even in Deuteronomy 28, and all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you. If you honor the Lord your God, how do you honor? I've been talking about this the whole podcast. I'm about to get fired up and preach. Bring it, brother. Bring it. I'm telling you, when you get to the honoring God, how do you honor your God with the first if you're not willing to do all the things He's telling you, don't expect all these things to come on you and overtake you because there's a process that you have to do along with God. And you got so when people say, Well, I can't afford to give, well, you can't afford not to give, really. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 52:03

That was a mobile.

SPEAKER_02 52:04

You can't, you can't really because when you start giving, you can really see how God will open up things to you and do things. And I'm not saying this because I'm a pastor, because I promise you, that's not something that I'm I'm here. You know me.

unknown 52:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:17

Where does my money come from? It's not from the church. I have other businesses. I'm blessed. The money doesn't come from the church. It doesn't. Our businesses are right. Our businesses are blessed and they come in and they overflow. And that's what happens, you know.

SPEAKER_00 52:31

Well I said I'd never try to make any money off this podcast. I don't I'm not gonna I don't monetize. I'm not doing it for the glory of the money. I'm doing it for the glory of God.

SPEAKER_02 52:40

No, you know me personally, and I'm not a front row person. I'm uh I'm I don't like the spotlight. I don't like, you know, how much it takes faith for me to get up here and do this with you. Because me, John Paul, I would rather be at the back. I don't like being on.

SPEAKER_00 52:56

Well I like the what about the format that we do because it's just three of us sitting here talking. I'm just happy to be recording. Yeah. So it's like with this podcast, I mean, I didn't I didn't expect it to go anywhere, but I just wanted to get it out there and right before church end to Sunday, I got a ding on my phone. I happened to look at it because we'd already cut the live feed and I got a notification that we'd already had 250 downloads just on the audio podcast alone. I weren't counting what's been watched on YouTube stuff. And I mean it so God is letting that grow. We're putting in the work and it's growing.

SPEAKER_02 53:28

He'll bless the works of your hands. Right. You know and you're putting the work for his ministry, and as you do that, he'll bless it.

SPEAKER_04 53:35

Well, they said he'd bless whatever you put your hand to.

SPEAKER_02 53:38

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

That's with twenty-five, that's with twenty-five episodes on there. It's not like we I have a lot on there.

SPEAKER_02 53:44

My wife said this yesterday, she's like, that's ten downloads per episode. Yeah, if you look at it that way, down like that. She's like, she's like, 'cause she likes to break things down. Right.

SPEAKER_00 53:53

I mean, if you look at it that way.

SPEAKER_02 53:55

Yeah, that's how she looks at it. She's like, that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_00 53:57

I'm tickled to death. Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 54:00

So and when it says I rebuke the devour for your sake, this can mean a lot of things. Malachi 3, 11. You know, it'll take I've seen people that's the medical bills has been reversed. I've seen tax bills be reversed. I've seen things that that was supposed to cost you money to be turned around and not cost you nothing.

SPEAKER_04 54:22

Somebody come in and say they're gonna pay. You remember the lady in our church?

SPEAKER_01 54:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:27

Come up, she had a a $3,000 bill on her car on the water pump. Yep. Somebody called her and said, She looked sad. Yeah, she was all down that day. And that afternoon, she still gave her seed that morning.

SPEAKER_01 54:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:42

That afternoon she got a phone call, and it was one of her children saying, Hey, I'm gonna I'm gonna pay it. I'm gonna pay it.

SPEAKER_02 54:48

I'm gonna pay that, I'm gonna pay that thing off.

SPEAKER_00 54:50

Tell you this. Now y'all know I spent five months in the hospital. I have not paid one dime and do not owe one dime. What I have paid I've been given back. Bought a f had to buy when I first came out of the hospital, I was in a wheelchair. Five thousand dollar wheelchair.

SPEAKER_02 55:09

Did it have gold rims?

SPEAKER_00 55:10

No. The spanner rims? I mean, it uh it it was custom fit to me for my size of person. It's not electric, nothing. I mean, it's still an old-fashioned wheelchair. It was $5,000. That's it. I paid for it. Two months later, I got that money back. That's good. That's the testimony. Right, and that's what I'm trying to tell you.

SPEAKER_02 55:28

You should put that on testimony of faith.

SPEAKER_00 55:30

Because that goes on what you said. I mean, you put the work out there, it'll come back to you. Yep. So you re you'll reap it. Yep. That's why we bring that up because I mean, just like the woman in the car being fixed, and the lady need the house. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 55:43

That goes in that same thing. And that's just some of the things. There's another lady in the church. She's uh faithful in giving her time, giving finances to the church and her car broke down. And she was like, you know, you know, but she's like, God can give me a car. She got a phone call and they gave her a Camaro. I know gave it to her. Free of charge, there ain't no payment. There you go. It's just giving. Yeah. And so I'm trying to use these stories to build people's faith, you know, to test them a faith here that we're talking about. Exactly. That the people, you know, real people that we know that are really real, that God has supplied them with things and they've gave their testimony and shared how God has blessed them and opened up doors for them.

SPEAKER_00 56:28

I mean, yeah, you've seen it with your own eyes. And that and that's why I tell my testimony and like I just told y'all. I mean, it's because it's the truth. You can ask my wife, because we were sitting there gritting our teeth, like, man, I got to buy that wheelchair. Yeah. You know what? Let's do it. I've done turned it all over to God. And like I, I mean, it shocked me. I went in the mailbox. I was like, what is this? Another bill, opened it up, and there's a check for what I exactly what I paid for that wheelchair. Yeah. That Lincoln. Was it Lincoln or Cadillac? I'm still stuck on the $5,000 wheelchair. I will say when they come fitted me for it, that they said I could get any color I want, so I got like a Metallic coins with black greens. I think fancy. It's gotta be. I'm just over here like this when you talk about even. Yeah, backup camera.

SPEAKER_02 57:12

We are kind of carried away.

SPEAKER_00 57:13

Yeah, we get carried away on that one, but it shocked me that you know, even wheelchairs are not cheap. Stuff like that is not cheap.

SPEAKER_04 57:19

Well, you know, what we're we're sitting here and we're talking about giving, we're talking about tithe. But people don't realize in Luke 16, 10 and 11, God actually called money or mammon the least of these. Yep. If so, okay, I'll I'll read it. Read it. All right, Luke 16, 10, and 11. I've actually got twelve and thirteen down here as well. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. And he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Who will commit to your trust the true riches? If God can't trust you with money, he won't be able to trust you with with true riches. Right. And people think that money is is true riches. Money, money is not true riches. There's not I can testify to that. Money, money is a nice tool to get things.

SPEAKER_00 58:28

You know, and and I've often said, because my wife has mentioned a couple of times, why can't we do this? Can't we do it? It'd sure be nice to win a lottery. I look at her and said, baby, I said, I have not, I have wasted more money in my life that should have been given to God or somebody. So God, I've I felt like God does not trust me with that kind of money right now. But we we have to earn his trust and prove that we can enter what we have now and start sowing, and then we'll start reaping more. All right.

SPEAKER_04 58:56

Now I'm gonna go back into uh Luke 16, 12 through 13. And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? Okay, what did what what have we been saying about the tithe? It's God's. It belongs to him. It that means if you can't be faithful already with what's God's, then then how are you gonna have your own? If you can't give him what belongs to him, all right, then the next one, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters. Or either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You can't serve both God and money reveals who your master is. Money reveals people that have problems, money amplifies those problems. You take somebody that's on drugs, they run into a bunch of money. I know a boy, he was given a couple million dollars when he turned 18. He has to work a job. I mean, he if and that was back in he's my age. So when he turned 18, $2 million, if he had invested that money, he would be he he could have retired right then.

unknown 1:00:15

Right.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:16

But now he's working a full-time job. I mean, you it it multiplies your problems. The thing is, if you get lined up with God, you don't have the problems. You don't seek to do stupid things with it.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:29

I had a note there here on that offer that verse, 1 Peter 1, 3 and 4. I was gonna go see what that one said to go along with that.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:36

But you can't you can't serve God and money both. No, it might one of them's gonna be Lord.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:42

I done uh tried that out, didn't you, right? I did try that out and it didn't work. I've got a slideshow on my computer, and that's one of the that pictures of my wreck, and I've given my testimony at one church gathering I went to in Burghall, and they had it set up so I could actually hook my computer up. I was like, you know, I ain't never done this, I'll do a slideshow. I've had pictures of my accidents thing or actually two accidents that I've had when I've had that the first one, the Lord, it should have woke me up the first time, but it didn't. But then my motorcycle wrecked one that really did wake me up. And that's one that's one of my Bible verses that I put in that slideshow that you cannot serve God. First Peter three.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:22

Let's go while we're on that same while we're on that same topic. Well, I think this goes 620. Well, do not lay up yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy them. And where thieves break in and steal it, but lay yourself, lay up for yourself treasures treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal it, or where your treasure is. What's a treasure? What is a treasure? I'm asking a question. What is a treasure? Money, what you hold valuable.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:57

What's more important to you? Yeah. Like right now to me, what's more important like to me is my relationship with Jesus. That's my treasure right now. That's a good treasure. It is I like that treasure. It is.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:08

I mean, we all have right now, but I'm we're talking to our listeners.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:12

Where three years ago it was that truck out there in the Harley that sat out there beside it. The guns and the toys and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:19

Yeah. And so where your treasure is, there will your heart be uh also. So, you know, when you let things come into your life that you put ahead of God, that's where all your treasures are laid up at. And just like we were just saying, you can't trust, you can't serve God.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:37

I shall have no other gods before me.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:40

You gotta serve God with all your body, all your mind, all your soul, with everything you have in you, you give it to God.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:47

You know, a lot of a lot of people that they want to change the the Bible. They want to, you know, they say, well, money, you know, money's the root of all evil. No, it's the love of money. It's the love of money that's the root of all. Why would God give you something? It says it is God that gives you the power to get wealth. Why would God give you the powers to get something that's evil? He changes your heart. There's a heart change. There's got to be a heart transfer. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:16

Yeah, I hear that all the time and how to correct people. No, money is not the root of all evil, it's the love of money. Because you're putting that mammon before God.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:24

When you start sear searching for it more than you are God. That's right. That kind of goes back to maybe listen to last week's podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:31

Yeah, you know, that was something that was Johnny said somewhere that triggered something in my head, and I almost forgot to say it, but I've been to the point that I've tried to out-earn stupidity, and you can't do it. You can't do it, my friend. I'm telling you, you cannot out earn stupidity. Just because you get a better job or pay raise, that don't mean you got to start spending more money because you can't out-earn stupidity. That's right. I don't care, you know, credit cards and all that stuff. You can't you can't outrun it. Best thing to do is stay away for it. Yeah. Stay away from it. I mean, far away from it.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:06

So it's been a good podcast so far.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:09

Yeah. I think that you know, if you're taking something away from this podcast tonight, you need to know that everything belongs to God. That already owns it. Right. If you haven't gave it up, then we have just pointed out to you in the last five minutes that you might be serving the wrong master.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:27

That's right. And one thing I wanted to get across is make if you feel like you don't have enough to give, P pray about it, listen to God, then as a some check yourself.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:40

A lot of people think it's about the amount that they give. Jesus seen the widow with her two mites, her two copper corn, and he told the rich people, He said, Surely, this woman has given more than any of you. And they like, we should give a thousand dollars in there. What are you talking about? She was giving from the heart. She gave out of her lack. She gave out of all she had. Y'all gave out of y'all's abundance. You know, I'm gonna tell you now, Jesus, people think that I'm offensive. Or that we're offensive sometimes, and we are. But I haven't heard that. Jesus, Jesus was not, he was a friend to sinners. But if you was religious, I could just see him walking up in some of these churches today. Oh, you're talking about flipping tables. He'd be flipping tables.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:29

Yeah, you're talking about flipping tables because people do get in religion bad about and that brings us all the way back to your holy water and holy you you need to give to this church. Right. I'm not gonna tell you if you come to my church, you need to give your ten percent that you gotta give it here, you gotta do this or that. What God tells you to do. But I will tell you, I will tell you what the Bible tells you. That's the One thing you're gonna hear me talk about, even on this podcast or anywhere I go, I back it up. We had this conversation for the podcast. If you're gonna tell me something, buddy, you better be able to back it up in this book. That's right. Don't come preaching to me without being able, because if I can't find it in this Bible, I'm done. I'm done. I don't like that. I don't like when people try to teach me something that's not biblical.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:22

You said that R word that I know none of us like religion. It stinks. It does stink. That's almost like there's a lot of stuff that people say in other religions that I have yet not been able to find in that Bible. Yeah. So them people need to check their self too. And you know who I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:38

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:39

So Well guys, man, that's been a good one. Yep. So we had an hour and 18 minutes. You got anything else? I think that's covers it. We could probably go another hour, but yeah. Oh, yeah, we could. I know we could. I mean it's I mean, I don't know. We we won't never I I think the we might just had to start in Genesis and just start working our way through the Bible. Uh doing a series like that. Yeah. And then every now and then we'll throw in a topic. I don't know. That that's up for discussion. I mean, we can talk about that. If you've got questions. If anybody out there's got questions, man, please let us know. Ask us questions because we want to give you answers. Leave us comments. You can email us at thetestaments of faith at gmail.com. On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or X now, excuse me, TikTok. I mean, just leave us a comment anywhere and we'll we will get to it. I'll read everything everybody writes down and try to reply to everything. Because I don't want anybody to be left out in the news. We're not knowing, you know what I mean? Uh the Bible verse I'm gonna read tonight, because I just have to be in 1 Peter 1, is verse 13. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Amen. Yep. Um, John Paul's gonna close us out with a prayer. Before that, I would like to thank y'all for joining us. We hope you get something from this podcast. We hope that you come closer to the Lord and accept him as your Lord and Savior, bring him into your heart and get in that Bible and read it. And if you have questions about it, like I said, ask us. We will help you. If you have any questions, you can direct message me and give me your phone number, and I'll call you. Well, we'll do a group call with all three of us. So with that being said, remember, God loves you, Jesus loves you, and so do we. John Paul, how about closing this out?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:36

Lord, we thank you tonight that we get to talk about giving back to you in your holy tithes. Lord, we thank you for all that you have given each and every one of us. Lord, we thank you for being able to be on this podcast and for this opportunity to worship you tonight. We thank you that it goes out and touches many people's lives and brings change forever in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:56

Amen. God bless y'all. Have a great week.