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<v Speaker 1>Hey there.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for joining us at risen King church for our weekly podcasts.

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<v Speaker 1>We pray you meet God and know that you are loved today.

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<v Speaker 1>Be sure to visit us@risenking.life to take all of your next steps and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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<v Speaker 1>Enjoy the message.

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<v Speaker 2>And this season, God has been speaking to me and leading me through the prophetic book of Habakkuk.

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<v Speaker 2>We've looked at chapters one and two today.

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<v Speaker 2>I want us to look at chapter three and we're actually gonna.

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<v Speaker 2>We're gonna look at chapter three both this week and next week.

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<v Speaker 2>But this week I want to look at the specific way in which Habakkuk, a man of God, a prophet of God handled and teaches us to handle what, what we could call evil times, not just not just temporary setbacks or times in which you have a, a downturn or some negative data, but times that seem to be a extended in terms of difficulty and hardship.

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<v Speaker 2>And so his words, I feel like are not only prophetic for all times, but particularly prophetic for a season like this.

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<v Speaker 2>We've been in this Corona virus covert 19 pandemic for a couple of months, but it seems very clear that the effects of even these early months will be with us for quite a while, and so we look to Habakkuk because it's a book about how do you handle these kinds of seasons in our life.

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<v Speaker 2>And so today we're going to, we're going to read and we're going to study Habakkuk three verses 1718 and 19 here's what Habakkuk says, this is the word of the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>Though the fig trees should not blossom nor fruit beyond the vines.

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<v Speaker 2>The produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food.

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<v Speaker 2>The flock be cut off from the fold and there'll be no herd in the stalls.

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<v Speaker 2>Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

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<v Speaker 2>God, the Lord is my strength.

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<v Speaker 2>He makes my feet like the deers.

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<v Speaker 2>He makes me tread on high places.

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<v Speaker 2>This is not just some sort of religious ritual or some sort of cliche in a hard time.

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<v Speaker 2>This is Habakkuk saying that though his circumstances have not gotten better, they've actually worsened, that he's going to rejoice.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that that what's here has to also be put in the context of new Testament teaching over and over again, whether it's the apostle John or whether it's the apostle Paul or the apostle Peter, they are always saying to those in hardship that this is a season in which you will be proven to be overcomers.

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<v Speaker 2>John says that which is born of God must overcome the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Paul says, we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus.

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<v Speaker 2>I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, strengthens me.

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<v Speaker 2>Peter says, you've been given a given everything you need for life and for godliness, but unless we understand how to get from where we are in an evil time to being overcomers, those who don't even shrink back in face of death, unless we understand how to do that, we won't do it and we'll just feel bad that we didn't do it.

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<v Speaker 2>So that the way to look at this and the way to, to see this kind of instinctive response even in the hard time, is to see this word that he says.

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<v Speaker 2>I will rejoice.

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<v Speaker 2>Now in some ways what we're going to do is we're going to talk about the, the actions and the attitudes that have to be present in order to face a hard time and find a joy or a source of joy that's not circumstantially driven.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus teaches us about this in the, in the prayer pattern that he teaches that we call the Lord's prayer.

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<v Speaker 2>When he, when he says, give us this day, our daily bread, he doesn't start the prayer there.

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<v Speaker 2>He starts the prayer in terms of our relationship with God in terms of hallowing his name.

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<v Speaker 2>In other words, he's saying, is God ultimate to you?

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<v Speaker 2>Is he your ultimate source and are you willing that his will be done?

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<v Speaker 2>His kingdom come above all other things?

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<v Speaker 2>And then he says, give us this day our daily bread.

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<v Speaker 2>So, so there has to be a foundational restructuring of how we look at life before rejoicing becomes a reality in hard times.

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<v Speaker 2>So here we see the prophet saying, I will rejoice in the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

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<v Speaker 2>So now what you need to see in this though is that what he has detailed for us in, in the face of this rejoicing is an economic distress that has come upon the land.

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<v Speaker 2>I think about it with me.

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<v Speaker 2>Figs, grapes, olives, these aren't just poetry.

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<v Speaker 2>This is economy.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the essence of the wealth.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the essence of their financial security and their wellbeing.

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<v Speaker 2>And he saying they don't have it.

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<v Speaker 2>The figs, the grapes, the olives, they're not growing.

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<v Speaker 2>Why?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the, the fields themselves have ceased to produce and he says they've lost their sheep and they've lost their cattle.

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<v Speaker 2>Again, this is their economy really talking about financial depression, financial recession, but in biblical and agricultural terms, there were forms of currency in the days of Habakkuk.

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<v Speaker 2>But everything that had to do with wealth was based on these agricultural commodities.

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<v Speaker 2>And he sang basically their portfolio, their financial portfolio has been wiped out.

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<v Speaker 2>All their investments are gone.

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<v Speaker 2>So what you see in what Habakkuk is describing is real economic scarcity.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I find this, I find this incredibly relevant for our day.

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<v Speaker 2>Here are the people of God facing an economic distress, and yet Habakkuk the prophet of God by the revelation of God is saying, don't just look at your circumstances.

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<v Speaker 2>Learn how to live, enjoy from another source so that even when there is scarcity, your joy is still your strength.

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<v Speaker 2>Now in order to understand this and understand how this becomes a reality in our life, we have to begin to look at how God wants you and me to look at our resources and also how he wants us to understand that giving and a generous spirit is the, it's the fertile ground for joy.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the fertile ground for rejoicing.

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<v Speaker 2>Habakkuk had in his mind the very way that God had taught his people to handle their wealth to their, their economic wellbeing.

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<v Speaker 2>If you go all the way back to the way Moses explained offerings and ties, and Deuteronomy 26 to Moses explains to the people how they should deal with their, their economy, how they should deal with their work and the fruit of their labors.

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<v Speaker 2>And here's what it says.

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<v Speaker 2>You shall take some of the first of all, the fruit of the ground which you harvest from your land, that the Lord your God is giving you and you shall put it in a basket and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose to make his name, to dwell there.

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<v Speaker 2>See the way that the Lord wants his people to, to look at the things that they have, he wants him to look at it in such a way that they are willing to sacrifice in their giving.

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<v Speaker 2>They're really willing to be sacrificial givers.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, there's a lot of reasons for this, but let's just look at what Deuteronomy is.

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<v Speaker 2>It is explaining to us here, God says, I want you to give the first fruits.

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<v Speaker 2>What he's really saying here is, I don't want you to wait until you have harvested all your crops and then give me 10% of your total.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want you to wait until you've harvest all your crops and paid all your bills and made sure that you have enough for the winter and then give me the leftovers.

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<v Speaker 2>He doesn't want.

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<v Speaker 2>He saying, I don't want your surplus.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want what is left over.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't want what you feel like you can live without.

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<v Speaker 2>He says, I want you to make a sacrifice.

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<v Speaker 2>I want the first fruits that come in to come to me.

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<v Speaker 2>In other words, he sang, whether you're in good times or whether you're in bad times, your first fruits of your work, of your life, your first fruits of the harvest themselves, you're going to say these belong to the Lord and you see for the Lord, this kind of giving, this kind of giving is indicative that you're willing to change your life.

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<v Speaker 2>You're willing to give in some ways so that it makes you make certain that it affects your life.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, what he's saying is he saying that you began to realize that you can trust in me, you can rest in me whether you're going through the good times, are you going through the evil times?

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<v Speaker 2>You see, because in good times there's always a surplus.

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<v Speaker 2>There's always more, but in the evil times there's no surplus.

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<v Speaker 2>So what happens is if you're a a leftover giver to God, then when you're then when you're totally satisfied and you feel like you're okay and you're secure in your money and you're secure in your wealth, then you will get, but when there's an evil time and there's none leftover and there's not enough, then you said, well, I have nothing to give, and what God is speaking here is that both the source of your joy and the source of your income and the source of your security cannot be according to what you produce or what you receive here on earth and how you deal with what you receive here, what you work for here or how you manage your money or your time or your talents or whatever it is.

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<v Speaker 2>How you manage those things will indicate whether you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own.

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<v Speaker 2>Understanding whether he's only your God when you're in abundance or if he's really your God and your source.

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<v Speaker 2>When you feel like you have less or you feel like you have nothing, the way the Bible teaches and the way the heart of God is revealed towards his people is he says, am I your source?

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<v Speaker 2>If I'm your source, then put me first.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you put him first, it will affect the way you live.

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<v Speaker 2>You will give maybe even in a way till it hurts.

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<v Speaker 2>So you have to make choices.

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<v Speaker 2>This is, this is what Habakkuk is talking about.

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<v Speaker 2>He's not giving when it costs him, nothing.

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<v Speaker 2>He's giving when it cost him so much.

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<v Speaker 2>But secondly, and this is so important and terms of the life of faith and the overcoming life is it has to be a joyful giving.

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<v Speaker 2>He's not out of duty praising the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>He's not out of obligation or he's not out of fear.

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<v Speaker 2>He's saying he rejoices in the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>He takes joy.

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<v Speaker 2>Even though there's no sheep, there are no cattle.

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<v Speaker 2>The fields are not yielding.

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<v Speaker 2>There's no more grapes, olives, there is no more produce, no more figs, and yet he says, that will not stop me from a joining of the Lord and giving my all to the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's and Deuteronomy 26 we go back because you got to see how how God had trained and and God had instructed his people in terms of good times and bad times.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's what he says, you shall go to the priest and he taken this first fruit.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, not not the end of the harvest, but the first fruits of the harvest before you even know how much harvest there would be.

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<v Speaker 2>You take those first fruits and you go to the priest who is in office at that time, the priest that's ministering to the presence of the Lord and you say to him, now, listen, this is important.

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<v Speaker 2>I declare today to the Lord your God that I have common to the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.

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<v Speaker 2>Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's, let's unpack this a little bit.

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<v Speaker 2>This instruction, you see, these first fruits would be placed in a basket.

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<v Speaker 2>They would be offered to the priest who is ministering to the presence of God for the sake of not only the person offering, but for all of God's people that the presence and favor and blessing of God be upon the land.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay?

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<v Speaker 2>But he wouldn't just leave your offering.

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<v Speaker 2>What it's saying here is that you had to bring your offering with a testimony, with a declaration and profession of faith that I have this fruit because of the Lord my God, and it goes all the way back to the deliverance that God did in the Exodus.

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<v Speaker 2>And not only the deliverance from Egypt, but the conquering and taking and distribution of the promised land, people of Israel.

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<v Speaker 2>And so you would bring your offering and as you brought your offering, you would proclaim your testimony that this isn't so much the fruit of my labors as it is the source being the grace of God in his deliverance of me and my family in his provision of land and all good things for me.

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<v Speaker 2>And I offer it to him not because I have to, I offer it to him because I'm joyful and his grace and in his mercy.

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<v Speaker 2>So you take that that truth, and this is, this is what Bacak is doing, is he's following out of the revelation of God for the heart of his people in times of scarcity.

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<v Speaker 2>And God is saying, you can't just drop your money in the offering.

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<v Speaker 2>God is saying when you're giving your money, you should also be giving a testimony that this offering God is saying must come from the place that you realize that the, Oh yes, you worked hard.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe you were really smart with your money, but everything you have is a gift.

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<v Speaker 2>And when you begin to your gift to the source of the gift, which is the grace of God, then you're able to give in such a way that it hurts your budget and perhaps it affects your lifestyle so that you give not just when you have abundance, but you give at the beginning of the very season of harvest that's coming by interrupting your budget.

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<v Speaker 2>You're not hurting on the inside.

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<v Speaker 2>This is what a backer can say.

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<v Speaker 2>He's saying if it's a begrudging gift, if it is a gift that you feel like you have to do, then it's not a true sacrifice and it's not a true offering and it isn't that this is a formula that you give to God so that you can get no, it's that you've understood what God has done for you and for your family and because of the grace of God and connecting your giving to the grace of God.

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<v Speaker 2>You do it out of a joyful heart.

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<v Speaker 2>I will rejoice in the Lord of back access.

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<v Speaker 2>I will give praise to my God.

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<v Speaker 2>See what he's saying is that though it is hurting me to live in this world, I have chosen to see the source of my joy being the grace of God.

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<v Speaker 2>And therefore, even when I'm going through a time of scarcity, even though I'm going through a hard time yet, I will rejoice in the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>And one thing that you can realize is that God always knows the motives of your heart.

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<v Speaker 2>He knows if you're a cheerful giver or not.

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<v Speaker 2>When I was thinking through this and studying this and being convicted by this, I remember a television show I saw when I was a kid, probably back in the sixties and uh, this family was at church.

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<v Speaker 2>You can tell it's an old show.

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<v Speaker 2>They were at church and they were giving their offering and they gave the little boy a quarter and a quarter was pretty precious to a little boy in the sixties and he looked at the quarter and he pocketed the quarter.

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<v Speaker 2>And his father said, you know, the Lord loves a cheerful giver.

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<v Speaker 2>And a little boy said, well, I'd be a lot cheerful, a lot more cheerful if I could give a nickel and keep the quarter.

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<v Speaker 2>And so that's a problem that a lot of us have is that idea of giving til it hurts our giving til it affects our life or giving before we know what our total harvest for the year is.

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<v Speaker 2>It's very difficult.

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<v Speaker 2>But here's what Jesus had to say in Matthew chapter six verse 19 is Jesus says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

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<v Speaker 2>But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys or were thieves.

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<v Speaker 2>Do not break in and steal for where your treasure is.

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<v Speaker 2>There your heart will be also.

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<v Speaker 2>So why is Jesus when he's talking about your heart?

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<v Speaker 2>Why is Jesus talking about money?

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<v Speaker 2>Talking about material things?

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<v Speaker 2>Basically what he's saying is whatever your heart treasures, your money will go there effortlessly.

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<v Speaker 2>I love living in a city with major league baseball.

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<v Speaker 2>I grew up loving baseball.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh, but I lived in an area where there was no major league baseball team.

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<v Speaker 2>And I love being able to go, uh, to baseball games and, and to watch the professionals play and watch these superstars play.

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<v Speaker 2>But if you didn't love baseball and you had a, you had a son or a daughter who loved baseball, even if you didn't love it, you would go, you would take them to the game and you would give them that experience.

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<v Speaker 2>But every penny that you're paying for something you don't love, but you're just doing it because you know your, your child wants this experience.

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<v Speaker 2>Every penny that you're spending feels like a waste of money.

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<v Speaker 2>It feels, I mean, why in the world is a hot dog?

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<v Speaker 2>10 bucks.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, why in the world is, is, you know, uh, parking for Yankee stadium,$40.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, all of these things, just, if you don't love it, you can't spend it effortlessly.

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<v Speaker 2>But for those who love their team around here, it's, they almost have to stop themselves from spending too much.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, who cares how much the hot dogs are, who cares how much it costs to get a drink at the stadium?

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<v Speaker 2>Who cares how much parking costs I'm going to get to see my team.

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<v Speaker 2>And especially when playoff time comes around and you see people buying hats and having jackets and having tee shirts and everything and, and it's almost like you have to stop them spending because they spend so effortlessly for what they love.

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<v Speaker 2>Well that's what Jesus is talking about.

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<v Speaker 2>He says, if you love me, if I'm the source, if I'm your treasure, if I am ultimate to you, then you will give effortlessly.

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<v Speaker 2>You will rest in my grace and to give.

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<v Speaker 2>It will affect you, but it will be a joy.

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<v Speaker 2>See, basically what he's saying is you have to make a decision and the reason I'm using giving so strongly here is giving is the indicator.

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<v Speaker 2>Because anywhere you effortlessly give, you're saying, that's my treasure.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what I'm, that's what I'm basing my joy in.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what I'm basing my security.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's what's ultimate.

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<v Speaker 2>If you can give to something effortlessly and you almost have to be stopped because you're giving too much and that's your treasure.

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<v Speaker 2>That's where your heart is.

00:24:18.859 --> 00:24:27.769
<v Speaker 2>Your effortless giving indicates the treasure of your heart, and Jesus is saying, is it personal?

00:24:28.670 --> 00:24:29.990
<v Speaker 2>Is it intimate with me?

00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:30.950
<v Speaker 2>Is it love?

00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:37.730
<v Speaker 2>Is it personal relationship or is he saying, is this just a business cold relationship?

00:24:38.450 --> 00:24:41.960
<v Speaker 2>So when you're in abundance, you give me the leftovers.

00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:54.829
<v Speaker 2>When you have surplus, you give me a bit of the surplus, or am I the treasure that you give the first fruits effortlessly and joyfully too?

00:24:55.549 --> 00:25:11.420
<v Speaker 2>In some ways, tobacco takes this indication of trust and faith and and and reliance on God as your source, even to a deeper level than Moses did because Habakkuk is saying, what if there is no harvest?

00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:15.319
<v Speaker 2>What if you're in the midst of a disaster?

00:25:16.309 --> 00:25:18.859
<v Speaker 2>How do I rejoice in such a time?

00:25:19.430 --> 00:25:33.890
<v Speaker 2>And a backup basically is saying to us, yet here that no harvest a disaster and he says, yet I will rest.

00:25:33.891 --> 00:25:36.109
<v Speaker 2>I will rejoice in the Lord.

00:25:36.111 --> 00:25:39.589
<v Speaker 2>I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

00:25:40.309 --> 00:25:44.029
<v Speaker 2>God, the Lord is my strength.

00:25:45.349 --> 00:25:54.319
<v Speaker 2>The problem for many of us is that we don't realize how important hope is to us in a bad situation.

00:25:55.460 --> 00:26:04.730
<v Speaker 2>And so what we often do is we, we, you know, worry, we work hard, we try to regain control.

00:26:05.029 --> 00:26:07.849
<v Speaker 2>We try to get ourselves in a good position.

00:26:09.319 --> 00:26:14.690
<v Speaker 2>A friend of mine used to always say this, I hope for the best, but I prepare for the worst.

00:26:15.769 --> 00:26:21.559
<v Speaker 2>And I would look at him and say, well, what that means is you're not really resting in the Lord.

00:26:22.730 --> 00:26:28.640
<v Speaker 2>You're really resting in your ability to avoid the crisis or your ability to solve the crisis.

00:26:29.630 --> 00:26:42.619
<v Speaker 2>And what the Bacak is saying is that there comes into our lives, seasons in situations where the, where the grapes and the olives and the figs, there are none.

00:26:42.621 --> 00:26:50.789
<v Speaker 2>There is no where the fields no longer yield where the cattle and the sheep are no longer something we can count on.

00:26:51.809 --> 00:26:57.630
<v Speaker 2>And he says, what are you going to count on when there's none of that stuff that you can control?

00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:09.000
<v Speaker 2>And he says, my hope is not in that the Lord will give me sheep or my hope and rejoicing is not when I see the grapes or I see the figs.

00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:11.460
<v Speaker 2>My hope is in the Lord.

00:27:11.461 --> 00:27:17.130
<v Speaker 2>No matter what my hope is not in the blessings of God, my hope is in God himself.

00:27:18.509 --> 00:27:21.960
<v Speaker 2>He says, God, the Lord is my strength.

00:27:22.109 --> 00:27:26.430
<v Speaker 2>See, almost any of us, if we see the blessing of God, we can rejoice.

00:27:26.940 --> 00:27:44.759
<v Speaker 2>If you see the grapes, if you see the the the wealth in your bank account, and you can rejoice, you can say thank you God, and that there's value to that, but that's not what a backpack is talking about and it has to start at the very beginning of your relationship with God that you begin to say, you are my source.

00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:46.589
<v Speaker 2>You are my hope.

00:27:46.619 --> 00:27:48.240
<v Speaker 2>You are my treasure.

00:27:49.109 --> 00:28:05.970
<v Speaker 2>And Jesus is saying the way you know that God is your treasure is when you effortlessly spend your material goods and joyfully sacrifice your material goods because he is everything to you.

00:28:05.971 --> 00:28:06.990
<v Speaker 2>He's your strength.

00:28:06.990 --> 00:28:07.769
<v Speaker 2>He's your hope.

00:28:08.190 --> 00:28:09.029
<v Speaker 2>He's your joy.

00:28:10.049 --> 00:28:16.049
<v Speaker 2>Well, if you're not convicted by this, you're not really listening because this is killing me.

00:28:16.109 --> 00:28:22.829
<v Speaker 2>I have struggled in certain areas of my life and, and, and one of those is certainly been money.

00:28:24.430 --> 00:28:36.549
<v Speaker 2>We had a season and when we first got married, when Lisa and I first got married 40 years ago, that, uh, we went through one of the worst recessions I'd ever seen.

00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:51.599
<v Speaker 2>The place I was in in, uh, least we married in Kentucky and we tried to live in Kentucky while she finished cool at Western Kentucky university and the economy shut down.

00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:59.410
<v Speaker 2>It was one of the, one of the worst recessions and everything that that area of the country depended on a closed.

00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:00.220
<v Speaker 2>Okay.

00:29:00.309 --> 00:29:16.660
<v Speaker 2>I remember going for a job at just a convenience store, one of those stop and Rob type stores and they had 50 people applying for one position and people with lots of experience here.

00:29:16.661 --> 00:29:22.750
<v Speaker 2>I was a recent college graduate with a degree in Bible, which really didn't translate to any kind of job.

00:29:23.619 --> 00:29:30.880
<v Speaker 2>And so I w I had a wife soon I found out I had a, uh, addition coming to our family.

00:29:30.881 --> 00:29:34.210
<v Speaker 2>And I had no job whatsoever.

00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:39.880
<v Speaker 2>And I remember being so angry with God, I did not respond like a backup.

00:29:39.890 --> 00:29:41.980
<v Speaker 2>I didn't say, I'm in you God.

00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:45.160
<v Speaker 2>I said, God, why are you letting this happen to me?

00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:46.569
<v Speaker 2>Why?

00:29:46.570 --> 00:29:53.319
<v Speaker 2>How can I say you love me if you are not providing for me in the midst of this?

00:29:53.650 --> 00:30:04.599
<v Speaker 2>And so this is very convicting to me because my early instincts, even though I knew these truths and studied my Bible, my early instincts were not like a backwards.

00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:10.930
<v Speaker 2>As a matter of fact, I can look at Habakkuk and I can say, yes, you're right, I should do this.

00:30:11.890 --> 00:30:14.380
<v Speaker 2>But Habakkuk, you're a great man of God.

00:30:14.650 --> 00:30:51.420
<v Speaker 2>Your example is amazing, but I'm crushed by this example because there's still, even after 40 years, there's a gap between how I instinctively handle circumstances I don't expect and how much control I love over my circumstances and how much I trust in the midst of the evil times to give the first fruits effortlessly and joyfully to God, how hard it is to give til it hurts or how hard it is to give till it affects my life.

00:30:51.420 --> 00:31:00.359
<v Speaker 2>And my budget, so what am I going to do if I just stay here and say, isn't it great that Habakkuk's like this, but I'm not like this.

00:31:01.470 --> 00:31:05.640
<v Speaker 2>I'm not going to overcome unless I learn and I have to learn.

00:31:05.641 --> 00:31:10.890
<v Speaker 2>What is it that Habakkuk is really saying here and what is it he's pointing to?

00:31:12.269 --> 00:31:16.049
<v Speaker 2>See, Habakkuk wasn't pointing to Habakkuk friends.

00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:26.940
<v Speaker 2>What he was pointing to is the very person you and I can turn to Habakkuk was pointing to Jesus.

00:31:28.369 --> 00:31:43.819
<v Speaker 2>Do you not remember on the road to MAs after he had risen from the dead that he spoke to his disciples and basically what the risen Christ said to his disciples again and again, you really don't know how to read the old Testament.

00:31:43.990 --> 00:32:03.460
<v Speaker 2>He said, it's all about me, and then he opened up the scriptures and he showed them in such a way that they became physically just experientially in love with Jesus and trusting Jesus because they saw that on every page of the old Testament.

00:32:03.461 --> 00:32:05.019
<v Speaker 2>It's all about Jesus.

00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:11.819
<v Speaker 2>Think about how Jesus endured suffering on the cross.

00:32:13.109 --> 00:32:16.920
<v Speaker 2>We know this really well, but we don't always understand the depths of what he's saying.

00:32:17.410 --> 00:32:18.069
<v Speaker 2>You understand?

00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:21.880
<v Speaker 2>When he sang on the cross, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

00:32:21.881 --> 00:32:29.890
<v Speaker 2>Do you understand what he's still saying and still relating to he saying, when he says my God, he's saying, the covenant is still strong.

00:32:30.069 --> 00:32:31.359
<v Speaker 2>You are my God.

00:32:31.390 --> 00:32:35.200
<v Speaker 2>Everything I'm losing here, everything is being taken from me.

00:32:35.410 --> 00:32:39.470
<v Speaker 2>Everything is being crushed in me, but he holds on with all heart.

00:32:39.471 --> 00:32:43.339
<v Speaker 2>He says, my God, my covenantal committed God.

00:32:44.569 --> 00:32:50.329
<v Speaker 2>He rejoiced in the Lord even as everything was being taken from him.

00:32:52.250 --> 00:32:53.180
<v Speaker 2>It's costly.

00:32:53.181 --> 00:33:03.920
<v Speaker 2>In other words, the grace that we receive from God, the freedom that we receive from God is a costly grace and an expensive freedom.

00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:16.250
<v Speaker 2>I'll take you back one more time to the old Testament and to the whole of the Passover because in some ways you can't understand the cross unless you understand the Passover.

00:33:18.289 --> 00:33:29.000
<v Speaker 2>There was this final plague, a plague that would be brought by the angel of death, a plague that would reveal the penalty of sin.

00:33:29.690 --> 00:33:43.839
<v Speaker 2>It would be the death of every firstborn son, and yet there was this, this action that was taken place that those who were the people of God would sacrifice a pure lamb.

00:33:44.890 --> 00:33:49.210
<v Speaker 2>They would take the blood of that pure lamb and they would put it over the doorpost.

00:33:50.410 --> 00:34:03.160
<v Speaker 2>I, when the angel of death came, the blood of the lamb over the door post the spotless pure lamb over the door posts would signal that there would be no punishment in that house.

00:34:03.161 --> 00:34:07.690
<v Speaker 2>There would be no penalty of sin in that house and the angel would pass over.

00:34:09.730 --> 00:34:27.429
<v Speaker 2>You can imagine if you think spiritually here that they were happy and glad to have seen the gift of the Passover, but at the same time they probably were asking the question, how did that work?

00:34:29.219 --> 00:34:31.889
<v Speaker 2>Why was that efficient?

00:34:31.891 --> 00:34:36.480
<v Speaker 2>Why was that efficacious to save our household?

00:34:37.849 --> 00:34:39.349
<v Speaker 2>And here's what I want you to understand.

00:34:39.351 --> 00:34:39.920
<v Speaker 2>It didn't.

00:34:41.630 --> 00:34:41.630
<v Speaker 3>Okay,

00:34:41.690 --> 00:34:48.800
<v Speaker 2>because that blood, Jesus says, you don't know how to read the old Testament unless you realized that blood was pointing to me.

00:34:50.639 --> 00:34:55.380
<v Speaker 2>It pointed to what John the Baptist cried out when he saw Jesus.

00:34:55.769 --> 00:35:01.409
<v Speaker 2>Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sense of the world.

00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:17.159
<v Speaker 2>You understand what we're saying here is Jesus gave freely, joyfully gave, committed covenant totally my God, my God, he gave where it cost him everything it cost him his life.

00:35:18.900 --> 00:35:25.380
<v Speaker 2>The question he's asking is, can you give where it changes your life joyfully and faithfully?

00:35:26.969 --> 00:35:33.809
<v Speaker 2>I just want to close quickly with just this little bit of context of this.

00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:43.710
<v Speaker 2>In other words, anything you really love Jaso you often have to stop yourself from giving too much.

00:35:45.030 --> 00:35:51.989
<v Speaker 2>I know this because today as as I'm recording this message is my granddaughter's birthday.

00:35:53.190 --> 00:36:06.360
<v Speaker 2>And uh, my wife would have basically bought everything possible and Amazon without even an effort because she loves that little girl and she wants her to be happy.

00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:10.679
<v Speaker 2>And it was only because I would say, yeah, you know, that's probably enough.

00:36:10.710 --> 00:36:11.579
<v Speaker 2>That's probably enough.

00:36:11.610 --> 00:36:20.489
<v Speaker 2>But she gave to our granddaughter effortlessly because she treasures her and the Bible there was this man called Zacchaeus.

00:36:21.780 --> 00:36:22.829
<v Speaker 2>He's unforgettable.

00:36:22.831 --> 00:36:25.920
<v Speaker 2>If he grew up in Sunday school cause you sang a song about him.

00:36:25.949 --> 00:36:30.090
<v Speaker 2>Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wheel little man was he?

00:36:31.230 --> 00:36:36.900
<v Speaker 2>And when he met Jesus, he didn't, he didn't give a little bit.

00:36:36.900 --> 00:36:41.130
<v Speaker 2>He says, I'm going to give 50% of everything I own.

00:36:41.309 --> 00:36:41.760
<v Speaker 2>Jesus.

00:36:41.760 --> 00:36:45.869
<v Speaker 2>Things didn't say to him is that kids, you only need to give 10.

00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:53.400
<v Speaker 2>See, he was so effortless in his giving because he was giving to the one he loved.

00:36:55.260 --> 00:37:03.659
<v Speaker 2>His heart would be so changed by the love and joy that he had in the Lord, that he would change his very life through his giving.

00:37:06.429 --> 00:37:34.929
<v Speaker 2>This week, um, the park family led us in worship one night and Isaiah park, their son had a word from the woman who in her extravagance of worship, took the costly, the, uh, costly perfume that was in an alabaster box and broke the box and poured out a year's worth of wages on Jesus effortlessly.

00:37:36.820 --> 00:37:37.840
<v Speaker 2>And there were those there.

00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:43.150
<v Speaker 2>Judas especially, who said, this is extravagant, this is unnecessary.

00:37:43.150 --> 00:37:48.309
<v Speaker 2>And Jesus said, now this is my anointing for my burial.

00:37:49.539 --> 00:37:54.550
<v Speaker 2>And he said, this woman's story will be told until I come back.

00:37:57.449 --> 00:38:07.110
<v Speaker 2>It's so powerful when you realize that in the midst of all the sweat and the blood and the Gore of Jesus was this perfect perfume.

00:38:08.280 --> 00:38:10.500
<v Speaker 2>See, his anointing didn't go away.

00:38:11.730 --> 00:38:21.269
<v Speaker 2>Even as he went through the suffering on the cross, the smell, the essence of that fragrance of worship was still on him.

00:38:22.500 --> 00:38:28.800
<v Speaker 2>After Curtless Leslie, she extravagantly worshiped him and Jesus didn't chide her.

00:38:31.230 --> 00:38:38.590
<v Speaker 2>He proclaims her value and he says his story will be told forever.

00:38:40.809 --> 00:38:41.889
<v Speaker 2>Where are you at in this?

00:38:43.570 --> 00:39:02.769
<v Speaker 2>Are you willing to receive what Jesus gave as the treasure of your heart so that now what you spend, what you give, how you worship, how you live will be as extravagant and costly to you as it was to him.

00:39:03.489 --> 00:39:04.840
<v Speaker 2>But we remember this.

00:39:05.860 --> 00:39:10.809
<v Speaker 2>It was the joy of you that held him to the cross.

00:39:11.949 --> 00:39:14.739
<v Speaker 2>He didn't give because he had to.

00:39:15.610 --> 00:39:17.139
<v Speaker 2>He gave because he chose to.

00:39:18.130 --> 00:39:20.619
<v Speaker 2>Even though you were so evil, he had to die for you.

00:39:21.489 --> 00:39:27.639
<v Speaker 2>You are so loved and you are so much the joy of his life that he chose to die for you.

00:39:29.230 --> 00:39:30.010
<v Speaker 2>Will you pray with me?

00:39:32.980 --> 00:39:33.250
<v Speaker 2>Lord?

00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:38.530
<v Speaker 2>It's, it's always hard for many of us even to talk about money.

00:39:38.530 --> 00:39:47.170
<v Speaker 2>It's even harder sometimes to hear about money, but there's a deeper issue here of which money is only a symptom.

00:39:49.630 --> 00:39:53.949
<v Speaker 2>It's whether or not you mean that much to me.

00:39:54.820 --> 00:40:19.119
<v Speaker 2>Whether you mean that much to us, whether we really have come to understand, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sense of the world, that we read the old Testament and we see you on every page, whether we love you in such a way that we give to you and we give to what you want us to give to, we give it effortlessly.

00:40:20.889 --> 00:40:21.550
<v Speaker 2>Holy spirit.

00:40:21.550 --> 00:40:22.659
<v Speaker 2>Would you make this real?

00:40:22.661 --> 00:40:49.780
<v Speaker 2>Would you make this strong and deep in our hearts that we are not the people who give to our God, the leftover, the surplus, but because we are his first fruits, we give our first fruits though the fig tree though the grapes though the Allah's for the fields, though the cattle, though the sheep no longer make us secure, yet we will rejoice.

00:40:50.590 --> 00:40:55.840
<v Speaker 2>We will take joy in God, our strength in Jesus name.

00:40:56.440 --> 00:40:56.949
<v Speaker 2>Amen.

00:40:58.150 --> 00:41:13.489
<v Speaker 2>As we finish, uh, our last service, uh, at one o'clock tomorrow, we would like the opportunity to pray and minister to any of you who would like prayer.

00:41:14.119 --> 00:41:17.210
<v Speaker 2>What we'll do is we will, we will pray individually.

00:41:17.210 --> 00:41:22.489
<v Speaker 2>We have teams, uh, prayer teams who will pray individually for you.

00:41:22.490 --> 00:41:25.699
<v Speaker 2>So no one else is hearing your prayers except our prayer ministers.

00:41:26.690 --> 00:41:29.210
<v Speaker 2>We're only gonna open this up from one to one 30.

00:41:29.210 --> 00:41:32.599
<v Speaker 2>The zoom link will be on our Facebook page.

00:41:32.780 --> 00:41:35.030
<v Speaker 2>We'll be our and the recording.

00:41:36.170 --> 00:41:37.400
<v Speaker 2>Uh, join us at one.

00:41:37.400 --> 00:41:55.579
<v Speaker 2>We will put you in a specific with a specific prayer team to minister to your needs and confidentiality, but we feel there's some deep needs and we would like to take your needs to the throne of grace where you will find help and we'll go boldly for you.

00:41:56.030 --> 00:41:56.869
<v Speaker 2>God bless you.