ou know, when you think about the song that we’re singing right there and just it’s about praising him, the
father, the son, the holy ghost, thanking him. But it’s also a story about how with him,
he began the church. He began what you and I are all a part of today. It all started with him. And we wouldn’t be
here if it weren’t for the church. We wouldn’t know him if it weren’t for the church. Our lives would not be changed.
If it were not for God’s great, eternal, never ending, ongoing,
powerful, mighty, invincible church.
And you know, he created the church to give him glory, everlasting glory. And it’s so great to be a part today of of
that great and uh eternal congregation of God that goes from generation
to generation. It’s so good for me today to be to be here to be home. And
I have I’ve been to South Africa preaching. I’ve been to New Jersey preaching.
And I like being home. And I’m so glad to be back here today with our great
church family. Some of the greatest people on the planet are right here at Champion Center.
I hope we have uh a whole lot of visitors in the house today. And we welcome you. We’re glad you’re here.
If God brought you here, then get planted here. We welcome you. If this
place is not for you, God does have a church for you. He has a place for you.
If you’ve been away from the church even the last few years or perhaps even since childhood, maybe you attended
church as a child and then you haven’t come back. I’m just thinking of all the possibilities here today. I I I want to just welcome you home and I want to say
we are so glad you are in the house today. We’re excited for you. all that God has for you.
And I have been able over the last 30 something years, uh, my wife and I, to be here in the Northwest. This was
not where we grew up, but we’ve been able to see God work in this region. And I am forever grateful for
all who have joined us and been a part of receiving and being a and
facilitating what God has for us at Champions Center. And in a lot of ways,
I feel like we’re just getting started and that the best days are ahead of us.
I
I want to say hello to Yakamal location today. Love you Yakamal. I want to say hello to our Dupont location.
You are you are amazing Dupont. We just added a new service in Dupont.
Got back to where we were before with Dupant. Hopefully we do that at all of our locations
in the upcoming months. Um, I want to say hello to Belleview. Belleview,
you are awesome. We love you. You are you are amazing. You are growing. Stay
strong. I want to say hello to our online location today. And everybody who’s a part of that from the north to
the south, uh, North America, outside of our our nation, wherever you are today,
welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome. And um I I also just want to say today that
we feel grateful to all of you who have served our nation and our veterans. We want to thank you for your service.
Come on, we can do better than that.
Let’s thank all of those
Now, I regret not letting everybody else sit down because you need and deserve a shining moment. But I hope you realize
how grateful we are today uh to all of you who are currently serving and have served our nation. We are we are blessed
to live in this great nation, the United States of America. If
you woke up today, and I know all of you or most of you did, in a peaceful city
surrounded by your family and your friends, free to worship God.
I want to remind you that you’re blessed.
Nearly 70% of the world’s population does not have religious freedom.
So, let’s not take ours for granted.
Tell somebody we’re blessed. Tell somebody we’re blessed.
Say, tell somebody else like for real.
For real. Like, we really are. We really are blessed.
Okay. Um, you may be seated.
We’re continuing today our series on good fara. Everybody say good farmer. Good.
The power of sewing good seeds.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 reads like this. It says, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant, and
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” Somebody say, “Don’t hold back.” Don’t hold back.
Say it again. Say, “Don’t hold back.” Don’t hold back. I believe that’s the essence of that verse
is that the writer is telling us that if you pay too much attention to the things around you, you will hold back
and you will hesitate and you will not plant. You will get there will be a delay. There will be a distraction. You will get discouraged.
Then he goes on and he says in verse six, “Sow your seed in the morning and at evening let your hands not be
idle.” What he’s talking about here is he’s talking about seeding your future.
So he says first of all I I’m summarizing it but he says don’t hold back.
Seed your future.
I think sometimes we are so unaware of how today matters tomorrow.
And I think it’s so easy for us to get distracted by what has happened or what’s going on around us or that we
just don’t see. And then we get to tomorrow and we wonder what’s what about our harvest.
So I’m reminding our church family.
reminding everyone who will hear this message is that it’s so important that we not hesitate, not hold back.
Every day matters. Every opportunity counts. Every situation is important.
seed your future one word at a time, one day at a time, one opportunity at a time, one
conversation with your with your husband or your wife, one one dialogue, one day picking up your children at school, one
one moment at the dinner table. See, seed seed seed seed your future.
See, God wants us to increase.
He wants us to experience a good harvest. He wants us to produce good fruit.
There’s four things that we know about sewing and reaping. Number one, we reap what we sow.
We know this to be true.
Bible says in Galatians 6:7, “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sws.”
It’s the law of the universe that you don’t put apple seed in the ground and get a watermelon.
It’s the law of the universe. Just I started to say to not not to be graphic, but to be graphic, you don’t
put two gorillas together, a boy and a girl, and end up with a giraffe.
How’s that for a word picture?
Why? Because the universe is created to produce according to the seed.
And so to deny that or to think otherwise or to argue with that is to mock God. M God made it that way. Yes.
He made it where it’s predictable. You want apples, sew an apple seed.
Number two, we reap where we sow.
So we reap what we sow. Everybody say what we sow.
What we sow. Secondly, we reap where we sow.
Scripture says, “Whoever sows to please their flesh from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sws to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal
life.” This in itself is a beautiful message and word having to do with flesh versus spirit. But I I I also just want
you to see the the power of differentiation here and and how if you seow seed on the east side of a field,
the harvest doesn’t show up on the west side of the field. It shows up where you plant it. Yes.
And in this teaching, I went through and visual had visuals for us that we may bring it back on some weekend, but we
had visuals where we showed sections of the field. If you remember, different sections and and the point is that
whoever sews time and energy into their relationships will have better relationships.
You don’t have better relationships by sewing time and energy into your work, into your careers.
You you have better relationships by investing in your relationship.
Whoever invests into physical fitness will be physically healthier and stronger.
Right? Don’t get quiet on me.
A conversation with your wife doesn’t make your biceps bigger.
That would be cool if it did, but it doesn’t.
And likewise, you can go to the gym every day, be a gym rat, and have a horrible marriage, a bad relationship with your kids.
What’s this law all about? It’s all about we reap where we sow. So we reap what we sow where we sow.
Thirdly, we reap the same measure that we sow.
Whoever sws a little will reap a little.
Whoever sws generously will reap what?
So you you can’t expect a huge field full of great harvest if you’ve sewed a little bit of good.
You’re going to get a little bit of good, right?
You can’t expect some sort of a, you know, some sort of a different amount of good
and blessing if you’ve only sown a minimal amount of good and blessing. Number four, we reap after we sow.
A lot of people have the mindset of, well, if God does this for me, I’ll do this for God.
And you know that that’s some human element. God looks at the heart. But you better watch for the opportunity to sew
because really the the appropriate way if God does something different for you, consider it a miracle. But the way he
designed seed sowing and harvest to work is that you sow first.
And the Bible says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up.” After we’ve sown, we get the harvest. And the timing is always different.
It takes 9 months for a baby to develop in the gestation period. But there is
some vegetables and fruit it takes you know 15 days or vegetables it takes 15 days
to fully develop ready to eat like it it can be short some sometimes you’re going to you’re going to see God show up right
after you did something you know good and you blessed and boom all of a sudden there’s a blessing and then other times
it’s a while you may not even know what to attach it to because if you just keep doing good along the way. You’re going
to keep getting what? Good. And you’re not going to know, well, what did I do to get this? I’m not really sure, but I’ve done some good stuff. I swed some
good seeds, so I’m getting some good harvest. And we thank God for it. It always comes after we sow.
And this is true in every area of our lives. All four of these things are true. It’s true in our in our
relationships, in our work, our finances.
Whatever habits we develop or attitudes or thoughts or choices that we have in those areas of our life, those are seeds.
Those are seeds we sow.
Whatever kind of words we speak th that those are seeds we sew that create a harvest in our lives. It’s just this
whole law is amazing and it’s created to work for us, not against us. And I just
want to say to you today, you’ll really mature whenever you start taking responsibility for what’s happening in your life
and realizing that you somebody not just picking on you. The universe is not mad at you. Like it’s not like you’re you’re
just God doesn’t love you and just back off of all that and start asking myself.
There’s a there’s something I want you to remember and that is that a crisis in life is always a sign.
There’s always a sign that something needs to change.
But if you always if you always assigning the blame, you always this person, that person, they did this, they did that.
Yeah, you’re going to have unfortunate scenarios and stuff’s going to happen.
We all know that about life. But my point, you understand my point is that when and when you have especially repeated scenarios and crises and all, it’s not always somebody else’s fault.
So it’s true in every area of our lives.
And you know the givers and the volunteers at Champion Center, they are the lifeblood of our church.
We would not be here. Go ahead, clap your hands for all of the people who give. Time, talent, treasure,
time, talent, treasure. Time, talent, treasure. That’s the goal in giving.
Time, talent, treasure. And there’s no way we would be here. We would have what we
have as a church, our kids ministry, our youth events.
I don’t know if you’re aware, most of you are not probably. Friday night was a big youth event here. I don’t even know.
It’s like a homecoming thing. It happened right here in the auditorium and I watched the videos of young people
streaming through the middle gate here and I don’t know several hundred young people were here in this environment.
None of that none of that happens without the generous giving and volunteers. Amen.
Who for years at Champion Center have invested their time and their talent and their treasures. And I was reading something this week and I don’t have
time to get into all of it, but studies have shown studies have been done uh on on the on the benefits of volunteering and giving.
And the results are amazing. I mean, people who volunteer are happier, healthier, have less stress, better relationships,
and literally live longer. You think I’m lying? Go look it up. I promise you, I’m
not making this stuff up. Research shows something happens. It’s like this this cycle of life that God created all of us
to function in where when you put it out, it comes back. When you put it out, it comes, if you hold it in, you become
like a little pool of water that’s stagnant and gets junk on the surface of it and things growing in it. You don’t want to swim it like that. Picture that.
That’s what happens when you’re not putting out and giving out to the world around you.
The opposite happens when you’re putting out.
Fresh things grow there. Life happens there. That’s good.
Seowing good seed and bearing good fruit absolutely honors and glorifies our creator.
Jesus taught this to his disciples.
He said, “By this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” How is the father glorified?
that we bear much fruit that we bear I I I’m I’m just gonna I
think it’s safe to assume good fruit but I love the word much
he’s glorified as we become fruitful and the amount of fruit really like he
loves that like if when there’s a lot of good fruit coming out of your life heaven’s like Yes,
that’s why I created you. That’s why I put you there.
God is glorified. Not because you told somebody off last week. You gave them a piece of your mind. Like, don’t be doing that. You don’t have much to give away.
Like, just hold on to what you have.
Like, God’s not glorified when we’re all upset and frustrated and
anxiety and anxious and worried about everything. God is glorified when we do what? We bear much fruit.
When we’re a lifter, an encourager of an affirmer, a generous person.
See, a dead tree doesn’t produce fruit.
An unhealthy tree will produce bad fruit.
Jesus said, “You know a person by their fruit.” Like, you know, a tree bites fruit. Hello.
Well, PK, they’re just really good at heart. Okay, but there’s some bad stuff in there.
And by the way, I did talk about that a couple weeks ago in church about this whole idea that
humans are are good, right, by nature. We’re we not good by nature.
That’s right. We can be trained to be good. We could be taught to be good.
We can learn to be good.
But the point is is that God is wanting good fruit in our life. And whenever there’s not good fruit in our
life, Bible says that the husbandman or the the one who cares for the tree comes along and purges it. Purging is not fun.
But if you’re going through some stuff right now, God might be trying to get some better fruit out of you.
Because that’s what the Bible teaches
is that when when he comes along and he sees our life and it’s bringing bad fruit or it stopped producing good
fruit, scripture says that he purges us so that we might what? Become more fruitful.
Like that’s the aim is walk in your purpose, live in your purpose, bear good fruit, be a blessing to the people
around you and the world around you. And that’s where you find real life and real joy and real fulfillment in your life.
And God is glorified when we are bearing good and much fruit.
Can you shout amen? Amen.
The Bible says, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together, running over.”
So, let me back up because I didn’t give you the point leading into this. When scripture teaches us to give, it’s not
because God is trying to get something from us, but he’s trying to get something to us.
When scripture teaches us to give, it’s not because this is what the natural mind does. What you want, you
want something from me. God trying to get something God. I don’t think God and we get all these opinions. Well, the
point in giving is that God is trying to get something to us and he
already created the universe to function in the universal law of give
and it shall be given. Luke 6:38, that’s Jesus talking.
A good measure, shaken together, pressed down,
running over, will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure that you use, it will be measured to you again.
We have to remember that when we get into thinking about giving, next week is legacy offering time. And I want to I
always like to talk to our church family around this season and just remind you God’s ways, God’s
thoughts, and what really happens in the cycle of life. And that is that when
when we hear about giving, it’s not because God’s trying to get something.
It’s because God is trying to give something. And he has to function according to his own laws.
Like this is the law of the universe on which he is committed to function within this law. Like you can say please God I
I’m going to sew an apple seed but I need an orange and God’s not going to break that law.
Or you can say I’m going to sit on the porch and I’m praying harvest come this fall. I’m praying for a bountiful harvest.
You don’t sit on the porch and have a good harvest in the field.
It’s just not going to happen. Why? Is it because God’s not good? No. It’s because God has made a commitment to the
law of the universe. He built the universe function exactly as it is. So when he says, “I want you to go.” So, it’s because he wants you to reap.
He wants you to have a harvest in your life.
Come on, somebody shout, “Amen.” So, say this with me. Don’t hold back. Don’t hold back. Say it again. Don’t hold back.
Don’t hold back.
Now, let me take you into this next section of the message today. Life is all about rhythms.
Fly across time zones and you will be reminded of this reality.
Your body in a different time zones goes into weird sort of functions.
You are sleepy in the middle of the day. It feels like the middle of the night.
Vice versa, it’s supposed to lay down and go to sleep and your body is going no no wake up time. No matter how tired you are.
Why? because there’s a rhythm and life functions
and in rhythms and giving is is part of that rhythm.
It’s a it’s a rhythm where when you receive, what are you supposed to do? You’re supposed to give again.
Like a lot of people are like, “Well, I gave I was in the sixth grade
and I gave my allowance at my church.” That doesn’t make you a giver.
When we receive, it’s time to give.
Giving is not something we do if we feel to give.
It’s like some people have said, “Well, I give when God tells me to give. He already told you to give.
You want you want him to come down and visit you personally and that the word doesn’t apply to you, just everybody else, right? You see what I’m saying?
It’s like crazy weird stuff gets in to try to interfere with the good rhythms of life.
And the good rhythm of life is when we receive, we give. So we don’t do it just when we feel like it. We do it systematically. We do it rhythmatically.
Every time we receive, we give again. A giving lifestyle begins with what the Bible calls the first fruit, which is a
reference to the first ripened fruit, the first harvest, and the first born of all your herd in the Old Testament is
where it all started. We’re taught in scripture to bring God the first.
Rhythmatically, we get we get blessed or we receive, bring to God the first. And
we’re taught to do that before it’s goes other places. Be in the rhythm.
And the Bible calls it the tithe of all our increase.
Now, you might wonder, well, why does God want us to bring the tithe?
I’m glad you asked.
I’ve got a verse for you. I don’t know if you’ve ever even seen it before. It’s in Deuteronomy 14:23.
It reads like this. It says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.”
That’s what it says. Just want to hang out there a little bit.
See, tithing is a reminder to our own self that God is the supplier of everything that we have.
It’s also God’s personal invitation to a consistent blessing
in your life for which he then receives glory because you’ve you’ve honored him.
Tithing is not about God trying to get something from us, but rather it’s about God getting blessings to us.
God wants to be first in our lives. No doubt about that.
He He don’t like second. He won’t be second. He wants to be first.
So if you have a problem with that, sorry. That just that’s just the facts.
But he also wants us to experience blessing in our lives. So it’s not just a selfish I want to be first kind of thing. It’s I want to be first and I will bless you.
And the process of tithing is all about those things.
I want to show you a scripture in Proverbs. It says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, first fruit of all your crops. And then it always I love it
because in giving it always turns the page to a promise.
It’s the principle followed by the promise.
Then your barns will be filled with overflowing. Your bats will brim over with new wine. Principle promise. He’s saying invest in my house. I’ll bless your house. Yes.
Probably the most common scripture in on tithing and offerings is in Malachi 3
where the prophet Malachi was given the responsibility of confronting the lifestyle of those who said they love God but they kept putting themselves
first and they put their own desires above God. It’s a really incredible story of a beautiful church like ours
starting to get run down and decay and there’s no longer ability to afford
the youth pastors, children’s pastors, worship leaders. Uh so they have to go get work other places and they, you
know, those in full-time ministry are not able to be. And then, you know, pretty soon the chairs are all worn out
and the classrooms and the kids is 22 years old and it smells.
And before, like, you think I’m I’m stretching things. Have you been to any churches lately?
They’re all over the city. Well, that’s what happened in the book of Malachi.
It went from greatness and plummeted because Nehemiah went back to his job in a foreign land serving the
king there. The prophet came back and he found all of this going on.
And that’s this is what he wrote out of.
He confronted people and he said to them, “Will a mere mortal rob God?” Yet you robbed me.
But you ask, “Well, how are we robbing you?” And God says, “In tithes and offerings.”
Now, first, all of you who are here today may you may wonder, “Well, why does he say you’re robbing me?” Like, that’s pretty harsh. That’s Well, the
reason is that all of what we have is given to us by God.
And he sees the tithe and the offering as what we are to give back to him.
And so when we don’t, he sees us taking his portion.
That that make sense? Taking what belongs to him.
I remember a man saying, this is years ago, that when his children got old enough to start receiving an allowance
or doing odd jobs for money, he taught his kids to tithe by getting two different envelopes
to put their money in. So, one was marked God’s money and the other was marked my money.
And the point was he wanted them to learn responsibility. So he said, “Now take take, this is my instruction to
you. Take your tithe, put it in the the God’s money, and then the rest put in the envelope that’s marked your money.
And then when you want something and you want to buy something, just I just want you to remember that when you go dip in that envelope
that says God’s, I just want you to be mindful.” And he said he taught his children to tithe like that.
It’s kind of brilliant. I wanted to hand out envelopes at church every weekend and
chapter 3:9 says, “You’re under a curse, your whole nation, because you’re robbing me.” And then he says, verse 10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. There might be food in my
house.” “And test me in this,” says the Lord. Only time in scripture where we’re told to test God. see if I will not throw open the floodgates of of heaven,
pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
So he’s saying principle promise, principle, promise. Good.
Now some people see and I know that today some people see the tithe as a big
ask from God. They they are like I just can’t do it. God God wants too much of my money. And so I’ve asked our team
today to come and just help me with a simple illustration and and that is that we’re going to come out and
and we’re going we’re just going to do a little something over here. What do we got here? What is that? A lime. This is lime.
I don’t really like lime. And uh we have what here? Lime.
Oh, the this will make a great drink right here. Lime and lemons. Lime and lemons. You better have some sugar to go
along the way. And okay,
now everybody say, Everybody say, “God’s table.” God’s table.
Everybody say, “My table.” My table. You starting to get the picture.
Cuz see, a lot of people think that’s just such a big ask. What is God doing?
Like asking for a tithe or telling me to tithe?
What What is up with this God who wants my stuff?
Doesn’t he care about me?
What is that? By the way, I don’t know who went shopping today, but don’t go shopping for me.
at my house.
All right. Did any of this get over here? I don’t think so. Okay.
All right. Wow. God God can have all all of those.
Maybe maybe just take some of this and put it over there. Uh what else we got? Brussels sprout.
Brussel sprout. I don’t know who went shopping, but somebody who loves to eat healthy went shopping this week.
I see carrots under there. I see Brussels sprouts under there. I see peppers. Peppers.
These are great in tacos. Yeah.
Okay.
A little help from the chef today. I I can help you. I think we’re done.
Everybody say, “God’s table.” Everybody say, “My table.” My table.
No.
Everybody say God’s table. God’s table. my table.
But I actually probably was supposed to say that because it does look that way with some people.
It looks the opposite. But I just think we need a reminder here today. I thought it would be good for us to see in case
you are hung up and stuck in a mindset of what it looks like.
Now you just compound this over your lifetime, five years,
you you realize that at some point this one just starts overflowing.
That over there doesn’t seem like a big deal.
I really have never met anybody who says, “I regret tithing.” I’ve never met anybody like that. It, you know, write me a note if that’s you.
Make sure you put your name on it, by the way. I don’t read stuff.
I don’t read stuff from people who don’t put their name on it.
I just never met anybody like that.
Even when you’re on under pressure and you go ahead and do it or something like that, everybody who’s been a giver, they
move along in life and they’re like, “I’m so glad I didn’t stop.” Right?
Okay, one one quick story and we’ll start wrapping this up. Um,
I first met this couple. Their name is Dave and Terry Rich.
And I need a I need a book. I need a book.
Um, I first met them. They didn’t know I was going to do this because I didn’t know I was going to do it uh until late in the
game. But this couple first started attending our church years ago and that’s where I met them. But they they both worked at Safeway.
Dave had a background in drugs and alcohol addictions and he had run with a rough crowd in the state of California.
He was a convicted felon.
So when he first heard about tithing, he said he he said, “I’m not going to do that.”
And him and his wife were starting to come to church and he said, “I’m I’m not going to do that.” And so his wife
continued to just, you know, talk with them and share. And she was, she had been a Christian longer than him. And so
one night when the two of them were at home, his wife asked him, Terry asked him to just she said, “Dave, will you
just have an open mind about this?” And just will you read like some of these scriptures?
And so his story is that he was reading Malachi 3, the part about testing. Test me now, God says. It just jumped out at him.
And he thought to himself, “Well, what have I got to lose?” God says, “Test him. Why not test him?”
But but but Dave, like a lot of a lot of people, didn’t fully consent, right?
Then he went to his wife and he said, “Hey, I’m not really ready to tithe off my paycheck,
but what if I do this little side gig where I pick up some cardboard
and I I we we start selling it to recyclers and we’ll call it Mustard Seed Enterprises.” Yeah.
And everything that comes in from that, I’ll tithe on it.
And so when their shifts were over at Safeway, they would drive around and find cardboard and they’d throw it in the
back of the truck. And this was before recycling was, you know, as popular as it is right now, household thing. And
so their first tithe was a whopping $2.38.
And in a few months they had an official
an official route with businesses who wanted them to come pick up their
cardboard and was calling them and saying, “Would you come take it away?
And then after that they added a grocery delivery service. They started with one item
and then pretty soon they had more routes until they were able to quit Safeway
and they grew from a staff of the two of them to having drivers and delivery trucks.
And wait, I’m not done.
And it became a business that covered large territories of western Washington
and Oregon, including the military bases.
And then they launched a side project, that’s what they call it, by purchasing a gas station.
And from that it was a convenience store added to it. So you got food marts and
gas stations that then turn into full-blown truck stops
like on the highway interstate big truck stops.
Rewind. He started with the name mustard seed.
They and I and probably a few other people have prayed over every piece of property that they have purchased.
We have blessed it and they have prospered greatly to this day and they continue to support
and give to our church as well as to some of the missions that we have been a part of in other nations and countries.
And I know most of you, even if you know them, you may not know this story. Which is why I wanted to tell you today because he recently released a book on
his life story called You Were Meant to Climb.
And I we’ve given a lot of these away, but I ask him to be out in the lobby today and assign books here at our Tacoma location.
Now, if you know them, you know that this is not something he’s really pumped about doing.
But I ask him to do this and I I just believe in giving honor where honor is due.
And it’s really due heaven. It’s due to the word of God, the glory of God. But I love it because we can tell stories
about people in other places, other churches, somebody else’s. This is this
is a champion center homegrown rebel who turned his heart toward God
and just started honoring the Lord with the principle
of giving. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
Isn’t that awesome?
Now, be seated for just a couple more minutes. I know that there will always be I’ve I’ve been in ministry for 30
something years, almost 40. And I, you know, I I come to terms with the fact that when I preach,
ome people believe, some people get it, some people doubt it, other people get mad at it. I’m kind of over
I’m kind of over, you know, um the whole worry because this is not my promise to you. This is God’s promise. And it’s not
my word. It’s God’s word. And so what I what I felt to do, this is a
different year as we’re in the giving season now and getting ready for our offering next week is that I I I I felt like I want us to go on a 90day giving
challenge at our church. We have a lot of people who are new to the faith. We have people who have
gotten away from God, come back to God, different scenarios. But from November to January, I want to issue a giving
challenge to all of you who will accept it. And here’s what I’m asking you to do. If you’re not in the habit of tithing, I’m asking you to bring and
give a tithe on Liberty Offering Weekend.
That’s what I’m asking you to do. You’re like, “What do I give?” I just answered that question for you. If you’re not tithing, bring a tithe.
Yeah. Good. and bring it with the boldness that says, “Okay, I’ll take the giving challenge.
I’ll take the test.” And if you are already a tither,
I’m going to ask you to consider giving your biggest ever one-time offering. If if if you have a way to do
it, that might not be possible if you’ve been a big giver. And right now it’s, you know, the you have you don’t have it
to give. But if you have a way to do it, you got something sitting around that you could sell, you have some, I’m just asking you to step out in faith with a
giving challenge and see if it could be seed. A seed of faith, a mustard seed is what Jesus taught on.
And and give your one your biggest one time offering ever. When you go home
today, put together a percentage-based giving plan. Start next week. Just tell God what you’re going to do and just
tell God. Just I’m going to accept this giving challenge because I want to honor you, God. I really do. I’ve been afraid. Just just
tell him. I’ve been nervous. Uh it freaks me out. Like just just tell him whatever you’re feeling.
But just let him know I I really want to honor you from everything that you’ve given me and everything that you do give me.
And then come next week and let’s bring all the tithe and the offerings and let’s test God.
Let’s see if he will not open up windows of heaven and pour out blessings in our lives. Amen.
That there’s giving instructions going on the screen and I just want you to be able to see today a little bit of that.
And I want to say to you for anyone who doesn’t know our heart like this is not gimmicky.
I think ushers are coming with envelopes and so forth, but I want hear me. This is not gimmicky.
This is not about buying a miracle. Right? It’s not what this is about.
It’s about testing God.
Some of us started when we were children.
And if there’s one thing we wouldn’t not do, it’s tithe and generosity.
It’s not about twisting God’s arm. It’s just about testing God.
It’s about having the faith to put God first. in your finances and to believe his promises of provision in your life.
Maybe some of you in a tough spot right now and you already know it and you’ve got a house for sale, but you need a buyer. Test God.
I mean, I don’t know what situation you’re in.
But I would encourage you to after services today in every lobby, every location, there’s there’s the house in
the lobby. We love doing this. We write down something that we’re believing God for as we give.
And if you need doors to be open in your life, you need a financial turnaround in your life, just whatever it is. After service, go to the lobby
and join in with us and and write what you’re believing God for. Just just write it there.
I know many of you give online, but every week our our ushers are at the gates receiving our our offerings and so
forth. and our desire after I’m going to call this 37 years.
I came here when I was 26 years old and our desire is to not limp into the future.
If the world has ever needed the church, it’s now.
Our desire is to keep on building the church
and fighting for our families to be legacy-minded extending to at least the third generation.
My goal is not to be a normal church.
Uh God didn’t assign me that.
God assigned me to believe for an exceptional
influencing culture changing
mountain moving church in the Northwest. That’s what God assigned me.
And I’m healthy today. I’m strong today by the grace of God.
And I’m just as, if not more committed to that vision than I was 37
years ago. So for me, it’s when I preach a message like this, there’s a certain
element of my life hopefully that serves to demonstrate that I have been an example that I will not hold back.
And I’m asking you don’t hold back.
That I will not hesitate. I’m asking you don’t hesitate. I will not overthink and underact. And I’m asking you don’t
overthink and underact. I’m asking you church. Let’s be allin.
And let’s be a church that is seeding our future. generously seeding
our future with generosity and putting God first in Jesus name.
The Lord can do what the Lord can do. It’s going to happen.
Just let the way make it through. He’s going to move. He’s going to move.
Can you imagine the soul of the faith in the room? What the Lord can do?
What the Lord can do? It’s going to happen.
Just let the way make it through. He’s going to move.
He’s going to move. Can you imagine with all the flames in the
room what the Lord can do? What the what the Lord can do?
He’s going to have just as a way. He’s going to move.
He’s going to fall.
You are holy. Have faith in God. Have faith in you.
Have faith in God.
You are worthy. We come home with you. We can do it.
Yes, you can. Come with confidence today. You are able.
Who am I to die to? Who am I to deny
what the Lord can do? Who am I to deny what the Lord can do?
I’m going to ask you today if you would to just lift both hands in the air, all locations. Father, I thank you today for your blessings that are
eternal. I thank you, Lord, that you have come to give us life and that more abundantly.
I thank you for the hope that we have for ourselves and for our children in a world that is rocked with strife
and hate. I pray God that you would help us Lord to be
visionering our way forward with confidence and with hope and sewing seed rather than being complacent. And I pray
God you would give us the confidence to be active, more active than ever before in the things that we believe in and the things that your word has taught us.
May your church move forward with strength. May your church always be the light that shines in a dark world.
And God, thank you that we’re a part of that today. I pray blessing upon every person. Some who are today who’ve been
stirred up by what I’ve said in a in a good way. And God, you’re talking to them. I pray for boldness. I pray for confidence to be upon our hearts today.
I pray God that we would inch our way or step our way forward to a greater commitment and intimate relationship
with you. And I thank you for the blessings. I thank you for the goodness in the past and in the future in Jesus’ name.
In Jesus’ name, with every head bowed, every eye closed if you’re here today and you are being drawn by the Holy
Spirit to a new beginning. And God just works in days like this. And I’ve seen it. I know it. And he draws people to
himself. And if you’re here today at any of our locations and you you know God is saying, “Come on, allow me an opportunity to be the leader and the Lord of your life.
If today is your day of new beginnings, will you just raise your h hands up in the air and you say, “Pastor Kevin, I want God in my life. I want God’s promises.” Hands are going up
around the room where I am and I’m believing over in the other rooms that hands are going up and people are saying, “I want I want a new I want a
new beginning. I want salvation today. I want the promise and the hope of eternal life, not just for me, but for my children and for the up the next
generations. God, let me be the one who starts it all. Good, good, good. God bless you. Hands are going up all around the room. Good. Now, everybody,
everybody with your hand up. Pray this out loud. We’re all going to pray it together. Say with me, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, welcome to my world.
Welcome to my world. Forgive me of all my sin. Forgive me of all my s. Come into my heart. and make me a new person. make me a new person.
Today I receive you.
Today I receive and I believe in you.
I believe in you as the leader and the Lord of my life.
And I boldly declare I boldly declare I’ll never be the same again.
Today is my day today of new beginnings. In Jesus name. in Jesus name.
And I want to welcome all of you who just prayed that prayer to the family.
Come on church. Welcome every man, woman, young person today.
Wow. Wow. W well.