Sermons

The question of amount as it relates to tithing is self-evident from the original Hebrew word. According to the Hebrew, the tithe is quite simply “a tenth.” Prov. 3:9-10 shows us that the tithe is a 10th of all your increase. The tithe is an INVITATION from the Lord to enter into a dynamic relationship with Him as it relates to Him blessing our finances. The tithe actually belongs to God! Mal. 3:8-9 says we “have robbed Him in tithes and offerings.” That means that the tithes are God's because you cannot rob someone of something they did not own! Our tithes are to be given where God has chosen them to be given. And He has directed them to be given to the local church.

It is natural to want to be comfortable, but your destiny is in danger if you only live in the comfort zone.  Breakthrough often comes through discomfort.  "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." (Matt. 11:12)  We need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Adversity and difficulty are rich soil for growth in our lives—if we lean into God and press in to the situation.  Nothing is too difficult, nothing is too hard in Christ. (Phil. 4:13)  All things are possible to him who believes (Mk. 9:23).  Are we willing to stick with it, press on, and stay the course in the face of difficulty?  As we experience the powerful effect of perseverance, we will begin to love being uncomfortable, because we know that our persistence in the discomfort will produce transformative fruit in our lives.

If you are not ecstatic about the next 4 or 5 months - and what God wants to do in your life - you are not thinking about those months like He is!  You have an opportunity for growth, right now, that is greater than any growth that you have ever experienced in the Lord!  How will that growth occur?  Through changed mindsets!  That process of renewing your mind, according to the Word of God, is discipleship, and we need to embrace discipleship as a process.  The mindset we approach discipleship with will either make the process of discipleship a joy and delight, or a not-so-fun sequence of emotionally harrowing events.  Listen to this message to learn more about about how discipleship can be a really fun process in which we are simply able to seek Him and learn from Him!

In Genesis 4, we see that God respected Abel's offering, but did not respect Cain's offering. Why? The difference was attitude. Abel's attitude was "Lord, everything that comes to me, I'm bringing you the first and the best of it!" Cain's attitude towards his offering was slack by comparison. Like Abel, we too can have a respect and honor regarding every blessing that comes into our lives. There is nothing inherently wrong with money - quite the contrary because God created it! The Word of God does warn us about pursuing God for the purpose of financial gain (1 Tim 6:6-10) and also about making money our god (Mark 10:21-24), but we should not erroneous interpret those warnings as God being against money. There is a way that money can be used beautifully and in accordance with God's design: knowing that He's our source, that all blessing comes from Him, and that we are blessed in order to be a blessing. With a right perspective about money, the financial principles of the Kingdom of God will take effect in your life because you'll be lined up with the Kingdom of God!

You can obey the Lord two ways - rightly and wrongly - and the difference all has to do with attitude. A great example of this is the Israelites in the wilderness. On one hand they had packed their bags, followed Moses, and walked toward a promised land. On the other hand, as soon as there were obstacles in their path, they started complaining. It is possible to follow the lead of the Lord incorrectly. It is important to realize that God sets up authority and submission roles and has for blessing to flow through those roles into our lives. (See Eph 6:1, Heb. 13:17, and Rom. 13:1) It is up to us whether we will actually experience the blessings God has for us. When God initiates a change in our lives, we need to keep our eyes on the vision, keep a sweet heart, and look for our personal purpose in the plan of God.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22) In order to make way for new growth, sometimes you have to shed old structures. John the Baptist preached “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand . . . Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:1-3) Repentance is “changing your mind.” When God wants new facets of the Kingdom of Heaven to be expressed in your life, He will send a messenger to you as well - to minister to your heart ahead of time about a change He is wanting to make. Be sensitive to what He’s asking you to change in your mind. You don’t yet have to know what He is asking you to do. You just have to know that He is asking you to get ready – to make that place supple again.