What Has Your Heart, Has You

This series of Open Wide started because we had a word for the year and as we do every year we sought the Lord and we knew that God was dropping a word in our heart that was going to be the North Star, like an anchor if you will. We rooted it in scripture and we really believed that God wanted to open wide the gates so that he can let himself be known, that we can remember our first love. And when I started this series I didn't know exactly how it was going to land but what has come to the surface which has been surprised and beautiful was actually a statement that I made at the beginning of the year. Now I have said this offhanded remark for a number of years but now I want this to be at the forefront and it's been the forefront of our series and this I would say foundation for this series and dare I say foundation of our church is give God one year and see what he can do in your life. Trust God all in with all the chips on the table, trust God for one year and let me tell you how your life will be transformed. And so we started this series and it was go all in, that's like trusting the Lord, like he's going to show up because he says he's going to show up. And then in week two I was able just to kind of poke around, poke some holes, why don't we want to open the gates of our life? And we had an honest conversation about why some people don't want to trust the church. And then Pastor Cesar came in last week and he was talking about the gates of our heart that's been closed from the very places that transformation could exist and that's with people. Why? Because we don't trust people. We get burned, we're bruised and we just stop believing people at their word. And it was really what's come to the surface has been like wow there's some trust issues. This open wide dare if you will, invitation if you will, encouragement if you will, centers on a lack of trust that we feel with each other, with institutions and now I'm going to close up this series and say maybe trust issues that you have with God. So if you're a note taker I want you to pull out your notebook, your Bible, your pen and

jot down the title of today's message. I've got trust issues. I've got trust issues. Now this is not going to be a direct correlation but let me just bring you into some conversations I've had recently. I was slated to have lunch with some friends and we were going to be in a cafe and they had already ordered their food and drink and I was in line, the line was long, the line was long. It was in Orange County. It's a long line. Cute cafe. The guy in front of me is clearly perturbed. He's annoyed. He's frustrated. He's bothered. He's sighing. He's huffing. He's the whole thing. So by the time he gets to the front of the counter he's annoyed and rude to this young girl behind the counter making probably minimum wage which means she doesn't get paid enough to deal with this guy's attitude but he's one of those guys that has one of those like diva orders like I want six shots of espresso ristretto. I want nonfat milk because I'm watching my calories. Double whipped cream. Can I get extra caramel? I gotta get two pumps of stevia, a pump of crack and then I'm not done. I want the sandwich but for the sandwich I don't want mayo. I want aioli. Can you roof the tomato and can you toast this sandwich? It wasn't supposed to be toasted.

Like what is this? A French patisserie? He's making a special order. I was like getting so annoyed and he was rude. Well the total came out to $19.98. The guy hands this girl a $20 bill and she hands him back two pennies. He looks at the change and haphazardly tosses it into the tip jar. I said Jesus fix my face because I'm about to give this man a piece of my mind. It was so rude. What I wanted to say was hey bro keep the change because what you're really saying is you are unworthy of this change being in my pocket so I'm just gonna dump it here in this tip jar. That's not a tip. That's not generous. That's rude. That is inconsiderate. I felt a way. I was a little miffed. By the time I made it to the table I was talking to my girlfriends about it and then one of my friends said oh get this I was on a date last night at a nice restaurant and the guy didn't tip the waitress and all of us are like oh I couldn't. I can't even. Uh uh. Absolutely not. Because it means that you're either uneducated or you're stingy and you don't want any of that okay. No. No no no. Uh uh. Absolutely unacceptable.

Not allowed. So we're having a conversation about how how important it is to to be generous. We're communicating gratitude. Well the conversation progresses. One of the girls at lunch knows that I'm a pastor and so she wanted to ask me a question. Now this is we're already done with the conversation about generosity and giving and she looks across at me she's like hey you're a pastor right? I said yes. She said okay I'm confused because at my church the pastor said that if you're gonna be part of that church that you have to give God ten percent. What do you think? I said um okay first of all I don't give God anything. I bring him my very best. Now I'm not here to have assessments and and give opinion on how other people are leading their congregation. Is there a biblical foundation for ten percent? Yes there is. But the bigger question I have. is Why are you so bothered about somebody not giving a server 20% but you're really bothered that a Pastor is preaching you Bible that says give God 10% So what I hear you saying is that you trust your server more than you trust God Because you had no problem giving this server 20% But you have an issue about what the Bible says about giving God what is his now listen to me I know we have some first-time guests and some visitors because we have family coming in and some of y'all got real Quiet and tight-bootied like oh my gosh. She's talking about money, and I I did debate talking about finances today Because my fear if I'm honest with you if I'm honest with you my fear is that you're gonna come to church and for a Small margin of the room they're gonna say this is why I don't go to church because when I go to church they talk about Money, this is why I don't trust people. That's why I don't trust the church listen listen listen Someone pulled me aside

One time when I I talked about finances and said I just don't understand why it feels like the bar is so high To which I responded can I ask you a question he said yes, I said why do you want the bar so low? I'm not giving you my opinion. I'm giving you the Bible. This is not Bianca's thoughts and opinion This is what the Bible says and if you really want to nuance this out the condition of your heart is showing that you don't Want to be generous to the God who has given you everything? I Want you to write down the title of today's message, which is I already told you good great. What's the title? I got trust issues good. I was testing you you pass the test great great now Let me just over clarify and oversimplify something a tie. There's not a tip It's not but for the sake of the conversation I want to be extra clear that we don't have a problem tipping the person who waxes our eyebrows or washes our car when it Comes to giving God what he asks We have an issue. So what you value gets your first and gets your best Do you trust God with your first and your best I'm gonna let you know I have lots of scriptures today So you can pull out your notebooks, but if you want to turn with me to this one passage This is gonna be the largest passage we're gonna read and then the rest of the scriptures are on the screen Why I want you to jot this down. I want you to leave me I want you to believe the Bible and I know that this topic money is funny the moment that any anyone talks about finances people get really uncomfortable and What Jesus believes is why we get uncomfortable is because money has a hold on my heart So Genesis chapter 4 says this Genesis chapter 4 verse 2 Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil They're twins one's dealing with animals one's doing vegetation in the course of the time if you brought your Bible I want you to underline in the course of the time Cain brought some underlying some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord so there's two things I want you to underline in the course of time and some look at verse 4 and Abel also brought an offering fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock I want you to highlight or underline Firstborn of the flock the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favor

it requires faith to give first you don't need faith to give last and Cain felt away. He was jealous. He was like, wait a minute God. Why why don't why do you have an issue with my offering? The reason why God had an issue with the offering is a principle of firstfruits I'm gonna just I'm gonna describe that in a second but the reason why it was it didn't take faith for Cain to give his offering is because over time after he allocated the seed and had the Vegetation sold some produce make sure his family ate then he gave to God the leftovers Got it. God doesn't want a doggy bag. God don't need leftovers He wants your first fruits and that's why he looked at Abel's sacrifice With with favor and blessed him and all throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation There are two themes that show repeatedly now stay with you for a second My best friend's gonna hate me for saying this but when I told her that this is what I'm gonna teach you guys She said Bianca. You're a word nerd. No one's gonna care about that. So I want all of us to prove her wrong Okay, I want to let her know that you guys are learned Bible nerds You care about an understanding of a principle because I don't want you just to hear something I'm saying, you know, well because Bianca said it I got to do it. No, I want you to understand it I want you to like eat a meal and know what's in it. Can I get an amen? Okay, so put on your thinking caps the two themes that we see Quite literally in almost every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation the Old Testament New Testament are these two principles the supremacy? Supremacy of Christ and the preeminence of Christ the supremacy of Christ and the preeminence of Christ big theological words Let me make it plain the supremacy of Christ means that Jesus Christ is above all and under nothing That he is the best that he is the greatest that he is overall That means that this God this God of the supremacy controls when the Sun rises and when the moon sets when the stars dangling And when they move when the oceans kiss the sands sore guess what he's over it all he is over all and under nothing Supremacy of Christ the preeminence of Christ is that Christ is first He gets our first and he gets our best. So I am NOT talking about your finances today I'm talking about the supremacy of Christ in your life. I'm not talking about your wallet I'm talking about the supremacy of Christ and the preeminence. He gets your first he gets your best I'm not talking about your savings your retirement fund. I'm not talking about how much you give. I'm not talking about all any of that I'm asking you two simple questions. Do you trust God with your life and two is he number one? That's it

So let me Paul always says come on Paul. I love you. Paul's gonna have a special place in heaven He's gonna be right next to me. That's right. That's right Let me back up this theological principle with some scripture. You don't have to turn there It's on the screen Paul. My Bible boyfriend breaks this concept down to remind us. He is over it all For in him all things were created things in heaven and on earth visible and unvisible whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities all things somebody say all all things have been created through him and For him he is before all things and in him all things hold together He is the head of the body the church. He is the beginning He is the firstborn among the dead so that in everything he might have Supremacy he is overall and under nothing. So the question is do you trust God with your life? And does he get your first and your best? That's why it says in Exodus 23 19 bring the best of your first fruits of the soil to the house of the Lord Your God in our modern day. Where is the house of the Lord? Church That was Brianna. That's my best friend. See they needed to know supremacy of Christ See if they knew that then they could answer that but yes So the one who gets your first is the one who you trust God asked for your first got asked for your best best. So what does this mean? Here's the command Deuteronomy 14 You can write that down study it later watch this on YouTube again to make sure I'm not a heretic Deuteronomy 14 22 says be sure to set aside a tenth. What's a tenth a tithe? Set aside a tenth of all your fields produce each year Eat the tithe of your grain new wine olive oil and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his name so that you may learn to what? That's good for church branding. Look at I didn't even write that this is ancient times Yes, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always that's the command But it's just not because God's cosmic killjoy. He's trying to take your money. God don't need your money He doesn't need to buy pants. He doesn't have legs. Okay, he doesn't need your money God Please hear me ever so clearly God doesn't need your money. God wants your heart

So that's the command but guess what? There's a blessing that comes with this Proverbs 3 9 through 10 says this honor the Lord with your words Is that what it says honor the Lord with your attendance at church Nope, honor the Lord with your wealth with the first fruits of your crops. Now. Here's the thing This is written in agrarian society. We don't have fields and if you do bless you, but what's our crops? What's our fields? What's our firstborn of the herds? Our money our paycheck. Yeah, that's that's what we're speaking And when we honor the Lord verse 10 says then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new Wine your first reveals your God Okay, that's scripture. Let me make this real practical because some of y'all are irritated I didn't want to come to church today. Now. They're talking about money No, I'm talking about trust and I'm talking about the blessing that happens when you trust God I've seen it with my own eyes I called my dad to have a conversation to make sure that there was no erroneous information that was Displayed in the communication of this very true story My dad is an immigrant to this country and as an immigrant the one thing that would make you feel American is owning a piece of property in the United States of America My dad worked diligently worked incredibly hard new budding Borsig blooming family My mom had just two twins me and Jasmine He was working Monday through Friday at LA County General Hospital and there Monday through Friday He would leave our house at 6 a.m. And he wouldn't get back till 6 p.m He worked so diligently and then on Friday nights, he would lay tail tile with his friend Tutti was my dad licensed No, did he know what he was doing? No, did he get the job? Absolutely My dad laid tile to make extra money for our family and then on Saturday mornings He would wake up early and he would cut trees down with crack crack head Billy I'm not being no listen to me. I'm not making fun Everyone called him crackhead Billy because he would hit the crack by climb up trees and cut down trees and my dad was there catching tree Branches at the end and wrapped him up. He worked all day on Saturday because my dad was funding the lifestyle He was trying to build with his family and on Sundays my dad went to church

But try as he may he got upside down in finances took out credit cards found himself drowning in debt, and he lost the house Gutted and devastated he didn't know what to do somebody from the church that they were attending told him about a financial planner in Orange County and my dad's living in East LA at This time with his family. He's just like Orange County. That's bougie. Okay, so he trusted this guy who was Christian He drove to a city called Irvine and there as he's driving through past the orange curtain on the five freeway lanes open up But there's no graffiti. There's parks everywhere. He's driving around this community like wow, this is amazing He pulls in has a conversation with the financial planner who says do you love the Lord? My dad says I absolutely do He's like, do you have debt? I absolutely do. Do you have credit cards? I absolutely do Let me have your credit cards took the credit cards cut up all the credit cards. My dad said, what are you doing? He said you cannot honor God with your wealth. If you don't have you're spending what you don't have number two. Do you tithe? my dad said We we used to and I want to and like at the end of the month if there's anything left over I give that back to God, but we just we can't afford to tithe like we just lost the house and we have debt and the financial planner said I will not work with you until you honor God with your firstfruits and Start living and stewarding your finances to the glory of God because every person I have worked for Every person I have worked with who is coming with debt has left completely debt-free when they run the program starting with giving God What is his and living within your means to this day My father is completely debt-free and incredibly proud as a homeowner multiple homeowner and gives God in my household This is what we heard. It's the Lord then the landlord We always gave a tithe to the Lord always first and let me tell you something you think I'm having a conversation with you about Your finances. I'm not I want you to look at my face and I want you to see the generational impact of parents who choose To put God first in their life I got to witness the sacrifices that they made and let me tell you something there were days and weeks and months where it was Really tight and so God didn't show up by dropping a million dollars in the bank account or a thousand dollar check Sometimes God showed up through provisions of it was Friday night and we don't have any money But someone from church invited us for a family meal. Look at God provide There's ways that the Lord shows up because he is our provider and he doesn't want us to be choke held By the throes of debt and being slave to our credit cards Do you trust God? The beauty about this and it's a detail that's insignificant, but I was talking to my dad and he brought it to my mind

He said you don't have I drove all the way to Orange County to Irvine to have a conversation with his financial planner And now I have children like you who live in Irvine and are living complete debt-free and honoring God with your finances this is a Generational decision that you get to make so the question is Do you trust God? I? Was so nervous for first service I have to tell you because I've been teaching the Bible for 20 years and I've been a pastor for seven and I went back And counted how many sermons I have written on giving tithing wealth financial stewardship And there's only been four and there's a part of me where I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time here because I'm gonna Say it and move on But I confess to you that I had a fear that people would think that Revere is one of those Churches that money grubby and that's why I don't go to church today I'll talk about finances and so I remain silent But when I remain silent I kept God's blessing from you because when we look at the full counsel of God's Word there is blessing in that I've got to rightly divide the Word of God so that your life is transformed and you might not think this is important but it clearly was important to Jesus because 40% of all the red letters in your bougie Bibles It's the words of Jesus and 40% of what Jesus says are talking about money In fact, Jesus spoke about more about hell. Excuse me. Jesus spoke more about money than he did hell and heaven Combined he cared about this why because he knows That if you put your trust in money, you will not put your trust in him your first reveals your God Matthew 6 19 says this do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth With your Tesla with your rented apartment That's too expensive for you With those kicks that you don't need with the Louboutins with the red bottoms that no one needs to see Don't put your trust in treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy where thieves break in and steal But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal This is it. This is it. I want you to write this down. I want you to study I want you to highlight this for where your treasure is there your heart will be also

Let me see your bank account, and I'll show you what you trust let me see your bank account I'll show you what you love let me see your bank account, and I'll tell you what's important to you Now let me make this very very clear Tithing is not a sin issue. It's not a salvation issue It's an obedience issue meaning tithing won't get you to heaven and not tithing doesn't send you to hell no I'm not saying that you aren't gonna go to heaven if you don't tithe But I am saying I'm not sure you'll be blessed if you don't obey So I understand I understand in a room of this size That there is skepticism That there is a lack of trust or suspicion when it comes to stewardship of finances right now in our culture in our day and age There is a swath of people that have a distrust in Organized in organizations period full stop and I have to be aware and acknowledge I understand why people have suspicion because whether I've seen Televangelists online whether it's on TV whether it's people that are like give 20 God will give you 200 You know buy this sweat rag and you'll get blessed with a million dollars like I have seen it with my own eyes And it's it and it makes me not trust people it makes me feel like you're commodifying the Gospels like you're charging for God's blessing And that's not it, and I'm not here to talk about other churches or pastors or ministries I don't want to be disparaging what I do want to do is bring clarity about what happens in this house I can't talk about anyone else's ministry anyone else's house, but in this house. We revere God with our first and our best When I wake up in the morning, I pray my first words are to the Lord my first thoughts are to the Lord this morning I woke up first thing Lord. This is your day. I am your girl These are your people and I do that every day for me It's Jim before Jesus now It's by a Bible before breakfast like he gets in my first he gets my first and my best is God your first and your Best and here in this house our first and best is 10% We give a tithe out everything that is brought in and what does this look like we provide food for those that are hungry We serve at hunger kitchens and food kitchens here in Orange County and abroad We don't just pray for people to get houses. We build houses in Mexico. We don't just share the gospel We share the gospel for free online and take it to the highways and the byways We go out and we go to prisons and we fund ministry organizations and like I can go on and on about our outreach initiatives

but the most Recent one that I had to model out and make the decision to do was number one There is a need in our community The vision for this community is big I believe that we will be at the forefront the tip of the sphere when it comes to causing revival to hit not just in Orange County, but the West Coast I do believe it would spread I believe the vision for this house is that things that people would say are dead dead dreams dead aspirations dead marriages Hope could be revived because this is a place of revival where God breathes on to us I believe that this message isn't just for placenta or just for orange or just for Brea or just no No I believe the message of Jesus Christ and who it's reaching as even those that are part of our online community Far and wide do we have a need? Yes. Do we have a budget that I hate? Yes I just want to spend all the money. I want to throw all the parties I want everyone to know Jesus. Thank God for a CFO Eric who tells me no on a lot of things I will also say this the most recent decision and I'm so grateful for our senior leadership team and Eric was our CFO because I Had this crazy idea. I have been feeling a sense of fear when it comes to a building and finances I have been feeling fear and what I realized is that in that moment if I'm feeling fear It means that I don't trust God and so I had to make a tough decision. No, not tough I don't make a scary decision I went to the senior leadership team and I said I feel like everything that comes in for year-end giving we need to give it out to other churches that are doing works in Orange County because Money can have a chokehold on me and in this house and in this house. We revere God with our generosity It is a hallmark We revere God by obeying that this money will not have a grip on us This money will not own us that money is a tool not a trap that we're gonna use to fund the gospel Listen to what Paul the Apostle says in 2nd Corinthians 2nd Corinthians 9 verses 6 through 8 says this Remember this Revere Whoever so sparingly will also reap sparingly if you just put a little bit of seeds You're gonna get a little bit of buds, but I gotta be careful. This is California. I can't say buds Whoever so if you stingy you're gonna remain stingy and whoever sows generously will also reap generously

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give not reluctantly or under compulsion For God loves a cheerful giver. Did you notice that we didn't pass the offering buckets today? Because if you are not coming to God feeling like oh, they're gonna ask me for my money No, no Our posture should be I get to bring to God what he has required of me because he has blessed me with so much so I said no Because in this year of opening wide and trusting God, I will not force you to do anything. I will encourage you to walk the life. If you say that you're about it, be about it. If you say that you're a Christian, act like it. By acting like it, it means following the ways of Jesus. One of the reasons why we don't trust is because we've lost our trust in organizations. I'm not asking you to trust an organization. I'm asking you to trust God. I'm asking you to trust what the Word of God says. So one reason why people don't give is because they don't trust. Another reason why people don't give is because they're afraid that they're not gonna have enough. One thing that I've heard repeatedly, it's like, hey, I'm barely making it right now. Like, I have no room in my budget. I'm broke by the end of the month. Okay, two things. It could be a stewardship issue or it could be a life-altering issue. What's stewardship? If you are spending more than you're making, that's a stewardship issue. Don't tell me that you can't give to God if you're paying more for your gym membership than you are tithing to the church. Don't tell me, don't tell me that you can't give God what is his, but your car payment is more than what you give God. If your target in Amazon bills are more than you give God, I'm just asking, what's a priority to you? I'm not coming with shade. I'm coming with questions. If you say that you love God, if you say that you're a follower of Christ, then it's gonna require your very best and your first. At our old building, a guy came up to me, he's like, are you saying I've got to give 10% to be part of this church? I never said that. No, sir. I'm not asking that. I'm telling you right now, if you're a follower of Christ, it's 100%. It's 100%. Your mind, your heart, your life, that is what it costs to be a

disciple of Jesus. Now, I'm not charging you 10%. I'm not saying you have to give 10%. That's the Old Testament. And I called three pastors this week. I'm like, hey, what's your thoughts on the mandatory 10%, all that other stuff? And I listened to them and I understand the tithe. I understand that. But I geek out over biblical history. I did some research and what I really am subscribing to in this house is some people can give 10 and it won't affect them. And some people can give 2 and it's a big sacrifice. Some people can give 10% and it ain't a thing. Some people give 2% and it's a sacrifice. So this is what Paul the Apostle was talking about. Give what you can. But I'm gonna add, it's gonna hurt a little bit. If it's $5 in the offering box, that's not gonna cost you anything. What I'm saying is, what does it look like to take a look at your gross income? Pastor Eric says this. I asked him, I said, hey, do you tithe on gross or do you tithe on net? He said, well, do you want to be blessed tithe or do you want... I messed that up. That was such a good line, Eric. Sorry. Book a, book a remix. Rewind. Okay. So Pastor Eric has this great line. I asked him, do you tithe on gross or do you tithe on net? And he says, do you want to be blessed gross? Man, you know what I'm saying. I give up. It was good, Pastor Eric. All right. Great. So the first one is stewardship. That you're not making good decisions with your money. But the second thing, which I got tons of grace for, is a life-altering situation. Maybe you got hit with a sickness. Maybe you lost a job. Maybe you got hit with this huge bill. I get that. Life transitions can throw you off. And so there's grace. We're under the grace of Jesus. I'll never force you to give, to be part of this community. Because tithing is not a sin issue. Tithing is an obedience issue. I'm gonna be faithful to preach the word and I'm trusting you. I'm not gonna tell you, you have to give this. You have to give... I'm not gonna tell you that because you're grown adults. I will serve you the food. You have to eat it. And I will say that in 2022, I was faced with a life-altering moment. Where I didn't just walk the streets of hell. I felt like I was licking the streets of hell. I lost everything. I walked through a divorce. I was humiliated. I was disillusioned. And I was in insurmountable debt that I was

unaware of. And as somebody who's felt secure by money, I grew up poor. I grew up poor. And I've done a lot of therapy and a lot of godly counseling to help me understand why money has had a chokehold over my life. Because growing up, if I had money, then I felt I had value. And if I had value, then I felt I had worth. And if I had worth, then I felt that I was lovable. So by not having any of that and losing the most important things to me, I felt like trash. And surely, surely, God will not mind if I stop giving because my life imploded. I have a five-bedroom house and I didn't know what to do with it. How am I gonna cover rent? How am I gonna do all these other things? And so I'm going through a litany of reasons as to why I'm not gonna be able to tithe. But see, here's the interesting thing. At the beginning of the year, I always have a mental mindset of how much I'm gonna give at the end of the year. Because this is not tithe. Tithe is what I give with every paycheck. And once a month, I give my tithing to the Lord. That's what's required of me. But then the scripture is also very clear about a freewill offering and above and beyond where it's like, hey God, this is my thank-you gift. And I had this amount. Set in my head and that mount set in my head was on two incomes It's previously married and I had a hard conversation and I said I am going to commit to give that same amount at the end of the year and I'm still going to tithe because I believe that God is my provider God is my protector and God is my husband. It was a really hard decision I was so embarrassed that year in 2022 I made the conscious decision that I was gonna hand write my end-of-year offering on a check Like it's 2022 who writes checks this girl because I wanted it to hurt I wanted my hand to shake and as the offering basket went by I dropped it in and I went home and I looked at My finances and I had a hundred and seven dollars to my name. I was terrified. I had to move there was moving costs There was credit card debt. There was divorce fees. There's all these things I just didn't know how I was gonna make it and I just kept on feeling like God You didn't let my dad down and you're not gonna let me down I put my trust in you. My hope is not in man. My hope is not in money. My hope is in you. I

Don't sound like an after-school special but what God did in 2023 is he made good on his word. I Had to ask do I trust God and God showed up with a abs the stinking Louie Because I can stand before you today and testify the goodness of God because I'm absolutely completely debt-free I am Aggressively saving I'm investing and I get to live a life of stupid generosity. I'm not giving 10% I'm giving well above 10% and I'm very proud. I'm very proud My goal is to live on a 90-10 principle and not that I give away 10 and keep 90 my goal like JCPenney the founder of JCPenney's is to live on 10% and give away 90 If you trust God, can you trust him with your first? Can you trust God and stop robbing God? I'm gonna say this very directly and so lovingly because I love you and maybe you don't know So this is the education or maybe you don't care and I'm gonna ask you why? But if you do not give God what is rightly his you are robbing him and there's consequence for that Maybe there's people in here. You're like, oh, I haven't seen financial breakthrough. Are you robbing God? Where does it say that Bianca? I'm glad here's where we're ending Malachi 3 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and you have not kept them How did we not keep them return to me and I will return to you says the Lord Almighty But you ask how are we to return? Will a mere mortal rob God yet you rob me But you ask how are we robbing you in tithes and offerings? You are under a curse your whole nation because you are robbing me What is robbing me robbing means keeping back? What is rightfully someone else's and you could be sitting here thinking? Well, it's my health and it's my job and it's my money who gave you the health Who put the beat in your chest the think in your head the blink in your eyes God? Who gave you the favor to get that job who blessed you with the education who allowed the cognitive? Synapses of your brain to make the connections on how to do mathematical equations you can graduate high school to get that job who who who? God God look at verse 10 bring the whole tithe the whole tithe the whole tithe to the storehouse You're also hearing me say give how you can how much you can and when you can I'm gonna talk about that in a second Stay with me

I don't want you to live under condemnation bring the whole tithe to the storehouse that there may be food in my house Test me in this test me. It's the only time in scripture. God says test me watch me dog Open wide the gates and what happens what happens we open why check this out the Lord says the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that There will not be room enough to store it We keep the gates of our hearts closed and right now the invitation is open wide open wide the gates and God will open up the windows of heaven Do you trust God? Give him one year See how your life is transformed. See how this community is transformed. See how your family is transformed I don't give out of obligation. I give out of obedience I don't give to get I give because God has given me Jesus and that is Everything Jesus has given me breath when I don't understand it He has given me forgiveness when I haven't earned it and he has given me grace when I don't deserve it So what does this mean for us as a community? Um I'm gonna be very very clear My ask is that you trust God with your finances and if you've been part of this community You know the ways that we can give baskets are passed We didn't pass baskets today But people holding our ushers will be holding baskets in the back in the back if you so choose to respond But you're hearing me say I will never force you because I don't want you to give out of compulsion. I want you to joyfully give. I get to bring my offering back to God because it's His. All of this is His. All of this is it. All of this is His and I want to honor Him with my first and my best. Every Sunday we have a moment in service where we honor God with our tithes and our offerings. So in front of you there's the Tap to Give feature. In that Tap to Give feature it'll open up a web page. There you can make your your tithe, your generous contributions, and there's ways that you could set up reoccurring. I do reoccurring because I don't want to think about it. It's there when the Lord gives it and it's taken out of obedience. Not taken. It's given. It's brought out of obedience. So my ask of you

is I want you to think about what God would want you to give. What does your trust look like? Scripture is clear. If it's easy, start with a 10. The ask of me is not going to tell you when to give, how to give, reoccurring, all that other stuff. You're an adult. I'm going to treat you like an adult. My ask is that you go to God and make a decision on trusting Him with your finances. Test Him in this and see how He opens the windows of heaven and pours out His blessing on you. Will you join me in prayer? Spirit of the living God, I pray right now in this moment. In this moment, you do what only you can do. I believe that you can speak to your sons and your daughters. You don't need this. You have always provided for revere and you will continue to provide for revere. But God, my invitation as a shepherd of this house is that your sheep will trust you. And so for those that are making critical decisions for their finances, I pray that you speak very loudly and they don't speak to that. People aren't just listening to you for listening sake, but they're actually acting upon it as a disciple, as a follower, a believer in Jesus. I trust you. I trust you. God, I trust you. And so take my seed and turn it into a harvest in Jesus name. Amen.