The atmosphere of the presence of God is the most wonderful atmosphere. There are basically two ways of understanding the presence of God. First, the conscious presence of God. That's what we all like. That's what we pray for. That's what we want. But the worst mistake you can make is to underestimate the unconscious presence of God. The unconscious presence of God, which we tend to underestimate, is something that I want to talk about today.
Now, the difference between the conscious presence of God and the unconscious presence of God is this, the conscious presence of God.
Is when he pleases us. He makes us happy with his presence, but the unconscious presence of God is an invitation to please him. Now I want you to think about it. Conscious presence of God when he pleases you. Unconscious presence of God. It's an invitation to please him. Now here's the question I want to put to you, which gives you more satisfaction, the presence of God that you feel or the unconscious presence of God when you feel nothing.
Well, I can understand if you would say, wow, I want the conscious presence of God. Well, let me put it to you like this, which gives you more satisfaction when it pleases you or when you have an opportunity to please him. Now, this set of Inuk in Hebrews chapter 11, verse five, the in ACC had this testimony that before his translation that he pleased God, uh, that isn't referred to many times in the Bible.
That phrase, when a person can actually please God and in it did it. And as a consequence, he, he got so close to God that the best way I know to Politik God said in a, you know too much, you have come up here where I am. He was translated that he wouldn't see death. And that was the thing. His testimony was that he pleased God.
Do you know what it would mean? That you please God, this is the most wonderful opportunity. And I may be addressing somebody that you're feeling nothing and you notice how people are worshiping today. Maybe you are doing it and you were really not feeling much, but you did it anyway. Here's the thing.
When you have an opportunity to please God, you need to take it with both hands because there's nothing more rewarding. Down the road. Then when you accepted the invitation to please him, and this is when you have his unconscious presence. Now here's the thing you need to know. He's always with you. He said I will never leave you.
I will never forsake you. So you need to know that God is always there. He's always present, but there are times when, as Isaiah put it, he hides his face right in the middle of Isaiah chapter 45 verse 15 proudly just says, truly, you are a God who hides. Oh God of Israel, the savior. He found that out.
I bet you found it out. That you're just doing fine. You're feeling his presence, can you, it's like the wind is at your back. He's answering your prayers. You sense his presence, guidance, clear, unmistakable, and then without notice, he's just not there. In fact, without notice, sometimes you hit a wall. And he's like, what on earth is going on the hiding of God's face when you feel nothing you think was I deceived when yesterday he was so real to me?
What happened? Right? Here's the problem with when God hides his face, he never gives you advanced warning. If only while you're on a roll and you're feeling his presence and, and, and he's answering prayer and you know, you're reading the Bible, the letters leap out at you, like they're golden. And he says, Oh, by the way, uh, RT, next Tuesday afternoon, about four o'clock, you will notice the withdrawing of the light of my countenance.
Uh, don't panic. Next Tuesday, at four o'clock I'll be hiding my face from you. But it doesn't do that. He gives you no advanced warning and it's strange. You're feeling his presence. It's just going on for days. And you think, I have finally discovered God's ways and I now have the victory and, and, and now I'm there.
I have arrived. And then without notice, you hit a wall. Okay. Maybe it's a financial reverse. Maybe it's a bad report, ill health, you lose a friend, you're betrayed by a friend and something goes wrong and your world falls apart. And he'd say, Lord, what on earth is this? What is it? What is it? Well, that's what I mean by the unconscious presence of God.
Never forget this. He's always there, but you don't always feel him. And what I want you to see today. And I have a feeling there's somebody here that needs this, maybe more than once, but if it's just one, that's all, that's all we need for you to feel that God is on your case. You say RT, that that describes me.
I, I just don't feel him right now. And maybe you, you know, graciously stood while ago and worship God. And by the way, let me say something right in the middle of the sermon. The atmosphere in this church is totally different than I've known over the years. I mean, you all made a turn. It's amazing. It's wonderful.
I don't have them come here to butter you up or butter up the pastor or Jenny's to go by Jenny. He didn't know, didn't want to butter her up. You don't know what she will do next. No, seriously. This is your new church. It's just wonderful. But I never say there's somebody here. R T I know what you're talking about.
I felt him yesterday. I thought him for days and I don't feel anything. What have I done wrong? Have I offended him by grieved him? What is it? Well. The unconscious presence of God. I want you to see it as an invitation to please him. And the way you do it is by faith. Now that there are two kinds of faith, here is what you could call the world view, the secular atheist view.
Uh, they have faith and you know what it is? I believe it when I see it. That's the secular atheist view. I believe it when I see it, but then there's the biblical view. Faith is the substance of fame's hope for the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11 one where you just believe that you don't have evidence, so you have polar opposites.
The biblical view, you believe it, but you don't see it. The secular atheist view. You don't believe it until you see it. But here's the thing. If you see it and believe it, it's not faith anymore. You can't call it faith. Now, the atheist says, well, I won't believe it till I see it, and that's the way it was at the cross.
Remember how the chief priests and the soldiers mockingly cried out? Hey, son of God come down from the cross so we can see and believe. So we can see and believe. You see, it's not faith anymore. It's not faith anymore. It's only faith when he hides his face and you believe him anyway. And so the unconscious presence of God, it's, it's when we feel nothing.
And as I say, don't forget this. Does it mean he's not there? It's just that you don't feel him. And when is consciously present, he is pleasing you. But I'd like to challenge you to get your satisfaction from pleasing him. You may not get that invitation every day, but it's the most rewarding thing in the world when he hides his face.
And now you show her that you really love him. Over the years, you've probably heard me talk about Arthur bless it is the man who carries the cross around the world is 47,000 miles. He's carried across. He's got the Guinness book of records for the longest walk. Uh, he never intended to do that. He just started walking, uh, with his cross on Christmas day, think it was 1967 66.
And, uh, he's been carrying the cross all over the world. People laughed him to scorn. Uh, but, uh, I dare say when we get to heaven, we'll find that Arthur Blessitt led more people to the Lord on a one to one basis than any human being ever. But I don't want to get on the wrong track here. The point I want to make is Arthur was carrying the cross in Northern Israel.
Usually, he would plan where to put his cross for a night and, but he didn't and it was dark. And you found a bus stop in Northern Israel, but there was no covering. But he's always sleeping on the, on, on the bench there, bus stop. And he laid down to sleep and it started raining. And the rain just continued, and so Arthur just sat up and said, in the name of Jesus, stop.
What is supposed to happen? It rained harder than ever. It began to pour lightning thunder and there's the water being in Arthur's face. He says, God, I love you.
Can you do that? That should give you more satisfaction. It's an invitation to please him. You see, we're living in a, in a generation, so man-centered, so self-centered. People only want to ask one question, what's in it for me? Well, I would like to challenge you to be the reverse of the trend in our day, that if God hides his face and you hit a wall, there's your chance.
It may not come around again like that, just to please him. You see, when you feel nothing, you underestimate what, what is actually happening. Oh yeah. You must know this, that a week ago. We celebrated the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's beginning of the reformation. Uh, TBN, TV, uh, religious channel flew me to Wittenberg and, uh, in Germany where I had.
Okay. Maybe the greatest experience of my whole life. I think maybe it was a dad. It gets better than this. I stood at the door of the Wittenberg castle church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses and uh, he wrote those theses because he had found out what I hope you have already found out, but thanks to Martin Luther, it's become.
You know, just standard orthodoxy. But Martin Luther being in the church where they were selling indulgences, uh, the reason they did that is that the big church in Rome, st Paul's, St Peter's in Rome, they needed money. And so in those days, people didn't have Bibles, they didn't know anything. The Roman Catholic church, uh, for, forgive me for mentioning that name, cause we're not here to offend anybody, but just the fact they defined faith as mental assent to the doctrines of the church.
Or you just say, if a church believes it, I believe it. They didn't want you to think for yourself. They just wanted you to say, we'll do your thinking for you. Just trust us. And uh, so that was what pays is, is, uh, sent to the doctrines of the church. And the people didn't have their Bibles and they were ignorant.
They didn't know anything. And because of ignorance. They got away, the church did selling indulgences, you, you pay, uh, to know that maybe you won't spend as much time in purgatory and uh, you, you, they, they call them indulgences. And in the meantime, Martin Luther, uh, uh, was trying to find that it pleased God and he wanted to do that more than anything in the world.
And, uh, he asked questions and nobody asked. He wants to know what's in it for God. Why am I not happy if salvation were by works, Luther would have been at the head of the list. He was so conscientious that when he would go to confession, he stayed there for an hour and come back an hour later, said, I forgot us in a needed to confess.
And so when it comes to blameless, impeccable living, Martin Luther is your man, but he just had no peace. And he had what he called a tower experience between 1513 1517 and he saw something when he read Habakkuk 2:4, quoted three times in the New Testament, the just shall live by faith. He sought Romans one 17 and Luther saw that faith plus nothing satisfies the passive justice of God that we're not going to satisfy God by confession or pennants or trying to be better people.
Faith alone, faith alone, and he was transformed. He never looked back. Well, he wrote these 95 theses. They're not in five statements that objected to the sale of indulgences. And the bottom line of those 95 theses is if the Pope has power over purgatory, why does it? They just let everybody out. Oh no, we can't do that.
We need the money to build st Peter's and there's this, and this is wrong. This is not right. So he nailed the 95 theses. He wrote the main Latin people, couldn't read them, only the scholars. He just wanted to debate. He had no idea that what is about to do. Well, somebody saw these 95 theses, took them down, translated them into German without Luther's permission, gave them to a printer.
In three weeks they were all over Germany. German. It was ablaze with a w. no one had ever said this before. It's like the elephant in the room. Everybody's thought it, but nobody said anything about it. Loose her dead. So this is wrong. In two months, the Pope rhythm and Luther was now a hundred man in 1520 he was called a Stan before the Cardinal and the representative of the emperor.
To give an account. You stood trial and there was a, a table, you could say a table like this, uh, with losers tracks. And they said, dr Luther, are these your tracks? And he looked at him and said, yep, these are mine. Uh, dr Luther and the name of the church, we ask you to recant what you've written in these tracks.
And, uh, he asked for 24 hours to think about it. Granted, so now he goes to his cell and he's got 24 hours, and he prays. You would have thought that God would visit him in his cell. I would have thought that God would send a thousand angels. Into Luther's cell and say, Martin, we're so proud of you. You're going to turn the world upside down.
You're going to do it. But Lusa felt nothing to talk about the unconscious presence of God. He felt nothing. He wrote out his prayer. This is that we know the story. Oh my God, where are you? Oh my God. Are you dead? No, you can't die. You only hide yourself, but it goes 24 hours. Instead of a thousand angels visiting him, he felt lonely.
Betrayed, deserted. So the next day before the Cardinal, dr Luther, are these your tracks? Yes. Dr. Lusa in the name of the church. We ask you to deny what you have written, recant, and what you've written.
He said, I do recant if you can show that they are contrary to the word of God, but if not here I stand, I can do no other. And he changed it from Latin to German and says, "God helped me. Amen."
He couldn't have known that he was turning the world upside down. He felt nothing. And so if you are in a situation, you feel God has betrayed you, unconscious presence of God, this is your moment. You'll never regret it. While it is so dark, you say, if there's a God, he surely wouldn't have let this happen to me, that's just a test.
It's a test to see how much you love him. You knew when the trial is over. If during that time you complain the whole time. You'll regret that as long as you live, but if you're in that trial, this is for you, and if you're not in it, remember the sermon because you may need it down the road. This is what pleases God.
I won't be honest with you. Sure. I get great satisfaction at the thought that I can please him. He's done so much for me. He died on the cross. Faith alone, faith plus nothing.
I'm thankful he's blessed me. It's given me you, you, and what if God decides to turn his back in some way tomorrow morning? What am I going to be. And so if there's someone here, you feel that God has betrayed you. Martin Luther also said, you must know God as an enemy before you can know him as a friend.
It's a test. And so this book that I've written, I talk about the unconscious presence of God. Now what about ? These words. David said, I have set the Lord always before me. I want to read them. Psalm 16 verse eight I have set the Lord always before me because is at my right hand. I will not be shaken on the day of Pentecost.
Peter is preaching. And he is led of the Holy spirit. To quote Psalm 16 verse eight but it changes the words. Instead of saying, I have set the Lord always before me. He says, I saw the Lord always before me because he's at my right hand. I will not be shaken. So Psalm 16 eight David says, I have set the Lord before, man, I want you to picture what this means.
This is something that I have done over the years. I don't say you should do it based what I taught at Westminster chapel. It's something I personally do. I did it today and that is, I do what David said. I set the Lord before me. What does that mean? Well, you picture him before you. In your mind, you set him right there.
Now you're not making him do that because he's already there. Since he's at my right hand. So you're setting it before it doesn't mean he suddenly shows up. No, he's already there. But when you're feeling nothing, you just picture him. Yeah. And the way I do it, I just picture him about two feet away. David did it, and by the way, I've checked it, the Hebrew complete.
That's exactly what he said. I've sat him before me because he is there, but I honor the fact that he's there and I just start talking to him. I'd just like to say, Lord, I love you. Thank you for all you've done to just start talking to him. You may feel nothing. But that's what David did. But then on the day of Pentecost, Peter says, I saw him.
It doesn't have to set the Lord before he said, I saw him always. How do you explain it? Well, I think I can do it. Jesus said to the disciples, John 1616 in a little while, you will see me no more. And then a little while you will see me and they got together and said, what on earth is this? He says, a little while, you won't see me.
Little while you will, and then Jesus sees them in a little huddle together and says, I know what you're doing. You're wanting to know why. I said a little while. You won't see me a little while. You will, and they couldn't figure it out. It make no sense to them. Well. Perhaps the meeting would be that, but he dies on the cross
and then he's put in the grave. They don't see him, and then he's raised from the dead. Then they see him. Could that be the fulfillment or over the next 40 days after he's been raised from the dead, he shows up. You see him and then he just disappears. They don't know when he's going to show up next. And they, they can't figure it out.
And so they're told not to leave Jerusalem. And at the Mount of olives, Jesus is talking to them. So they see him, they see him, and then he goes to heaven and they don't see him. Could that be the meeting? But on the day of Pentecost, Peter says, I see him. And the meaning is this, that when the Holy spirit came down, Jesus was as real to them at the spiritual level as you had better than natural level.
He was that real. I could put it to you by way of a little illustration. I think you've heard me tell this a little bit. Uh, just take a minute. Uh, October 31st, 1955. I was pastor of a little church in Palmer, Tennessee while I was a student at Trevecca Nazarene college, and on a Monday morning as I'm driving, suddenly as I'm driving right to my right, there's Jesus more real than any of you are right now.
A promise, more real than any of you. He's right here and he's praying for me and I never felt so loved and all my life. And then about an hour later as it come through Smyrna, Tennessee, just a few miles out of Nashville, I heard Jesus say to the father, he wants it. And the father replied, he can have it.
And in that moment I felt my heart warmed. I never felt such peace in joy in all my life. and then for about 30 seconds, I'm just guessing 30 seconds, less than a minute. I'm looking at his face. I can see him looking at me. Language, eyes is tender. Look at me. If I were an artist with perfect recall, I could tell you what it looks like, at least is part of it.
We're going to meet, and then it's about 10 minutes til eight that started at six 30 in the morning. I was 10 minutes to eight arrive at Trevecca campus, go to class, and all in on what on earth was that? And then a friend of mine. Who was a close friend then, but closer than ever. Now his name is bill Kerns.
He's here today. You couldn't have known, I would have told this any way, bill, if you weren't here. Bill comes running across the campus and said, RT, what has happened to you? I said, I don't know. But something has. He says, well, I can tell. He said, I saw you across the campus. You'll have to ask him what it was like, because I don't know what he saw.
Okay. He said, well, what was it? I said, I only know one thing that I'm saved. Well, of course you save. What do you mean? I said, Oh, you don't understand bill. I am eternally saved. I cannot be lost. No matter what I do between now and I go to him, I will go to heaven. And he loving. They said, well, you'll change your mind on that.
We were brought up, you know, to believe you could lose your salvation. I said, I won't change that. There's no way to tell you how deep it went. I knew, I knew I could never be lost. And that's 62 years ago. So when Peter says, I saw the Lord, I know what he's talking about. Jesus was that real. And that comes when the Holy spirit just makes you see, he is so real.
But then there are times when he chooses to hide his face to see what you will be like. And so if you're here today, you wanting to please you. Of course, I can understand in my book the presence of God. I talk about various manifestations of God's presence. There's a healing presence. Well, people get healed.
We had it in Brazil. Uh, I was there last Sunday, last two centers in Brazil. We saw people healed that didn't even get prayed for just in the service. They were healed. And, uh, there's a healing presence. Sometimes there's a presence of praise. All you want to do is praise the Lord. Sometimes there is a presence of fear of God.
My friend Bobby Connor says, the fear of God's coming back to the church, but has many ways of showing up. The question is, what will you be like when he chooses to hide his face? Well, Jesus promised another. Comforter advocate one, it comes alongside and they said, we don't want another, where would we like you?
Jesus said, no, you, you don't get it. I'm going to go away, but I'll send one who will come and when he comes, you'll have no complaints and they didn't. And then when you discover how real God is through the Holy spirit, so real. You're set, but even then, he will give you testing times to see what you would be like.
Well, I'm, I'm pretty much finished, but because of my reference to Luther and, uh, I think the best way I could honor Martin Luther on this, the 500th anniversary of this great rediscovery. Is to ask you a question. And the question is, do you know for sure if you were to die today, would you go to heaven?
Do you,
and if you were to stand before God, you will, and who would ask you? He might, why should I let you into my heaven? What would you say? What would you say? And suppose it were the real thing and you're standing before God and you don't have your loved ones to help you. Then nobody going to be there to coach you.
And he says, why should I let you in? And you've got to give an answer and there's only one answer and you give the wrong answer. You have to go someplace else. You don't want to go there. It's called hell. It's called eternal punishment. And so you're standing before him and he says, why should I let you in?
Do you know what you would say? Do you do, you know, thank for a moment. What if it were real source important question? It can be put to you the most important question that can be put to you. What would you say to God? What comes to your mind?
Does it come to your mind and say, well, I've tried to live a good life. I would just have to say, I believe you, but you're lost. Yeah. Well, I've, I've done my best. I believe you, but you're lost. Well, that's not fair. RT. What more can one do and is best. Is what Martin Luther was doing his best and he got no peace.
And that's because the standard to get into heaven is so high. Nobody comes up to it because God requires perfection in thought. Word Dade, 60 seconds, a minute, 60 minutes, an hour, 24 hours a day. Are you perfect? Well, how can anybody get in? Well, the answer is that God sent his son into the world to down across who fulfilled the law, 60 seconds or minutes, 60 minutes, an hour, 24 hours a day, every day of his life.
And while I was hanging on the cross and the blood dripped from his hands, his feet, and they were mocking him. Just before he died. He said it's finished. Those words, it is finished. Or the English translation of a Greek phrase, Telus, Thai tetelestai. I was a colloquial expression in the ancient marketplace that meant paid in full just before he died.
Jesus said, paid in full dear friend. If it did not come to your mind a couple of minutes ago to say, well, I would say you should let me in because Jesus died for me. If that didn't come to your mind that you're trusting his death, his blood, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes for anything in the world, but that can change right now.
That can change. Just before I turn the service over to your pastor, I can give you a prayer to pray. You don't need to say it out loud. Just say it in your heart. You ready? Lord Jesus, I need you. I want you. I'm sorry for my sins. Wash my sins away by your blood. I welcome your Holy spirit into my heart as best as I know how I give you my life.
That's it. That's it. Did you pray that prayer? Are you ashamed that you prayed that prayer. What do you ask Archie? Because Jesus said, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you. Jesus said, if you confess me before men, I'll confess you before my father. If you prayed that prayer, I'm going to ask you 30 seconds from now, mr.
standup, you sit in front of all these people. Yep. Not going to ask you to make a speech. You stand. That'll send a signal to everybody that you're unashamed. You prayed that prayer that will be confessing him.
Five, four, three, two, one. If you prayed that prayer, would you stand up? Beautiful sights remain standing. Remain standing. Sure. You can clap the man standing.
Okay. State. No. Remain steady. Remain standing. I'll let you sit down and just a minute. Now, there are two categories of people, almost certainly two categories of people that are standing. One, just maybe there's someone here that you're standing, never before. Have you done anything like this? You've never prayed a prayer like that.
You've never publicly confessed Jesus, which you're now doing. If you're the, if this is the first time for you, the Bible says you've just been born again. God says, happy birthday, but there's a second category, and I suspect several standing. You were saved before today, but when you heard the gospel put so clearly, you grabbed it cause it, you needed that assurance.
You did the right thing by standing. You can be seated. I'm finished. .
The Presence of God
The Conscious & Unconscious Presence of God
November 12, 2017 • RT Kendall
Tithing
November 4, 2018 • RT Kendall
Now I want to speak to you as if you knew nothing. Maybe you know everything about it, but I'm going to say to myself, there's somebody out there that's never heard this ever, and so that's going to be so simple that you might feel insulted. But that way every person will get it. You know, the French atheist Voltaire said, when it comes to money, everybody's of the same religion. Really. John Wesley said the last part of a person to be converted is his pocketbook or wallet. Well, here's what I'm preaching on today. If you earn a dollar, a dime is the Lords, because the Bible says the time is the Lords. That's the principle. It's his already. He puts you on your honor to give him 10 cents and you live on the rest. If you make $100,000 a year, 10,000. Is the Lord's, and God's is live on 90,000 if you make a million, then 100,000 is the Lords and you live on the 900,000 that's the principle he puts you on, your honor to give to you or to him what he gave to you. And my father who taught me to tide, used to say, son, if you live on the 90% you'll find it goes as far as the a hundred percent you started with. He says, I think it even goes further. This is my dad, a layman now. My first job was when I was 10 years old. I sold grit. Magazine. Anybody here old enough to know grit comes out of Williamsport, Pennsylvania? Well, my father said it was his first job and what was good enough for him was good enough for me. And he said, but he wrote to grit and says, you've got to be 10 years old. Before you can sell grit on my 10th birthday, I want you to know we got a letter from them and they agreed. So I don't know how many little papers we ordered, but I went all over the neighborhood my first week and sold all my copies, came back and sat at the dining room table. I remember it as though it was yesterday. We put all the money down, how much money we had to send to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and I had earned a dollar and there were all the dimes and nickels on the table, and my father put his finger on a dime and said, this, my son is the Lords. I said, this is mine. No. Archie, this is the Lords. I said, no, this is mine. I earned it. I want it. I'm sorry son. This is the Lords. That was my introduction to this subject. My dad won. God won. I won. And that was the way I was introduced. I had a headstart. I had a head start, so when I came to Westminster chapel, I found out that British Christians don't ties. They don't, Nope. Not bother with it. I think a few exceptions, some in the salvation army did, some Pentecostals did, but by and large, church of England was unthinkable. After my book came out, there was a very prominent Anglican layman who wrote an article against my book in a major magazine. And here was his argument. He said, all of my money is gods, all his gods. And he says, but tie this just the beginning. You don't need a tie. The J that's just the beginning about, you know, if I ever met that man, I'd love to find out if he actually, if God gets that ties. Cause he says, that's the beginning. It turns out a few months later I met him and he actually later became a good friend. And this is the funny thing, when I got to know him very well, I said, by the way that article you wrote. Well, you said that the title is just the beginning. I said, can I ask you a question? Can you show that you've got receipts that at least you do give a tithe to the Lord? He looked at her straight and it looked at the sky and he looked at me. He says, no, I don't give that much. And yet his article influenced many cause that's what they want to hear. That's what people love that, Oh, it's all of my money's gods. And they don't realize there's a divine plan. And, uh, but fortunately, uh, we overruled and, uh, people began to buy my book. One Anglican layman bought copies of tithing for all of his parish. And the income of that church doubled in two months, and it's just as simple as that, that people need to be taught. Well, here I am coming here 13 years later. I feels stupid, but this is what I'm supposed to do now. Confession. Shortly after Louisa and I got married. Yeah. We were in debt. It's not her fault. I had bought a bunch of stuff in those days. I didn't know how to handle money. I bought a new Edsel, I bought an airplane, I bought stereo stuff, and I was in debt. And then, you know, we got married and people said, well, can't you wait. All right? You're, you're like, you're rushing things. Well, in those days, you know, we thought Jesus was coming soon and I'd waited a long time. And, uh, it's what you're thinking. So we got married, and because I was so deep in debt, I said, the most spiritual thing I can do is to pay my debts. And so God will understand so I didn't ties. And when I get the debt, all our debts paid, then I'll start tiving. A year later we were in deeper debt. Two years later, deeper debt. One day I, I was so discouraged that I came into the house where we were living and. A Bible that my grandma had bought us for wedding present was on the table and the it was open and I thought, I am going to walk over to that Bible. And believe that God was going to give me a word. I was so discouraged. I was so discouraged because I was working at a salesman and didn't make a sale that day or the day before, and I promise you, I walked over to the table and my eyes fell on these very words. Will a man Rob God, verse eight, yet you are robbing me. But how have we robbed you? Answer in your ties and contributions. You're under a curse. I close that Bible and let 'em turn on the TV that we owed for as the Lord. I wanted some encouragement, robbing God. What that means is if I make $10,000 a year. And I give God 500 I've, I've robbed him of 500 because he should get a thousand if you make a million and you give him 50,000 U S you've robbed him of 50,000 and here's the problem with many of us, when we have major incomes, we always think, you know, ah, I'm given more than anybody else. If everybody gave as much as I did, the church would have a lot of money. I have found out something in my ministry. I wish this weren't true. When I was pastor of Lauderdale manners Baptist church in Fort Lauderdale years ago, on a particular Monday, the church treasurer said, RT, would you watch the money? I've got to make an Aaron and uh, I'll come back. And so there was on the table, the money and all the checks. I did something I shouldn't have done. Sometimes I wish I hadn't, but I did it. I went and looked at every check and I found out that those that had the biggest incomes in the church were not tithing at all, but the divorces, the widows. The single parents, they were all tithing. This is amazing. The people that really could use the money, they're tithing. Those who had it will say, well, if everybody gives as much as I do, they'll, the church would be better off. They miss it. They miss it. They forget about when the widow with her little Mike, you know, she didn't know Jesus was watching and Jesus was watching what she gave and it hurt her and she gave it because she gave everything she had. Well question, why don't Christians tied some of them? Why don't they number one reason they haven't been taught, this is what I learned. They haven't been taught. It's not that they're rebellious, they just have, they don't see it. They don't get it. And so I decided at Westminster chapel, it was funny, I was preaching through the book of Jonah, uh, and I hadn't decided whether to stay and, uh, we were kind of on a six month time because I didn't want to go back to America. Then the Westminster chapel said, preach here for six months. And, and I thought, well. Okay. But I could tell after a few weeks people were coming, please, you will stay. Don't, don't leave us. And I thought, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to preach on everything I can think of if they don't like. And then if they talk to them out of calling me, fine, I don't want to come anyway. And I appreciate, I'm tiding right in the middle of the book of Jonah. Yeah. If you want to find something in the Bible, you can find it. If you look hard enough, by the way, that was my first book, Jonah and a book reviewer. You might've know, you know, what is it? What do you suppose dr Kendall found tithing in the book of Jonah and I left it in by my book, Joanie. You'll see it in there. I found a little loophole where I could bring it in because what I was doing, I was wanting to say everything. Yet. I'm not call me, and they still called me and I, I preached on it regularly, 25 years later when they all came to say goodbye at a final meeting, farewell meeting, 2000 people showed up and the gallery is full. Westminster chapel. They filed by to say goodbye. I was amazed. People who said, and by the way, thank you for teaching us to ties. That's all. It just hadn't been taught. Well, now why is it people don't have time? Here's another reason, because of a misunderstanding of the law, the mosaic law. Now I bet somebody already said, Oh, he's really famila Chi. That's under the law. And I quoted the tie. There's the Lords that's under the law, and because we're not under the law, and by the way, we are not under the law. It's true. You're not under the law. And because we're not under the law, people say, see there, you don't have to tie it. And they're right. Totally right. You don't have to. It doesn't help you get to heaven. It might even hurt your chances of getting to heaven if you ties. How could that be? Because if you think it helps. If you think it helps, it hurts because you're trusting in your works. So tithing doesn't get you to heaven and tithings under the law. So he said there though, you don't have to do it and you're right. You don't have to. Let's make that very clear. You don't have to do this. Well then why do it? I can tell you the first tither was Abraham. You read it in Genesis chapter 14. His nephew. Lucked, did a stupid thing. He pitched his tent towards Sodom as another story. I won't go into that, but he was now in all kinds of trouble and a lot God in a crossfire between five Kings and he was about to lose it all. They, they kidnapped him and his family and Abraham, uncle Abraham heard about it, and Abraham was a wealthy man. And had 318 strong men and they defeated all five Kings and then a mysterious figure called metal kiss. Huddick King of Salem shows up, and Abraham gave one 10th of the spoil to milk is a deck that was the origin of tithing. Abraham was the first titer. How did Abraham know to give one 10th. That's the question. He was led by the Holy spirit. That's the pattern. That's the pattern that he wouldn't have known to give him a 10th that was the pattern will now the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, they were tithers. 400 years later, the law comes in. Now you need to understand if I had. A screen and I could, uh, uh, draw a parenthesis for you. You need to know that the law was a parenthesis. It came in, in 1300 BC. Abraham lived in 1700 BC, 1300 BC. The law came in and for the next 1300 years, that's how long the law was enforced. A parenthesis. And then when Jesus died on the cross, it eclipses that parenthesis and we're back to Abraham. And so when you read Romans Abraham justified by faith, Abraham was given the gospel. Galatians three eight Abraham is our model. He did what he did voluntarily, and he became wealthier than ever. Now, my dad always said, son, you cannot outgive the Lord. And if you live on the 90% you'll see it'll go as far as the a hundred percent and he says, I think it goes further. Well, we didn't tie us when we first got married, and then the day came, I said to my wife, Louis. We're going to start tithing still in debt, deep in debt. We started tithing. After a few weeks, we started double tithing. We didn't get out of debt two days. It took about two years if you want to know, but I've been a tither now for 56 years. For 60 years. Uh, we've been married for 56. We've been a tither. I am financially strong. We don't owe anything on our home. Pay cash for a car. I bought a home for our son. I'm not a multimillionaire, but I've got all I need. My dad was never rich, but he had enough. Now, there are those who will preach this. You know, the God wants you rich. That's not true. He does want some rich. There are those that can handle money, and if I figure I could handle it, he'd make me rich, but I'm okay. I'm happy, but this is what I have to tell you. The reason people don't, tat first, they haven't been taught. Secondly, they don't understand the price of the law because we're back to Abraham and you do what you do out of gratitude. It's a way of saying thank you. Thank you, and. Ever since we retired, I've gone back to double tithing. I actually double tile now I live on 80% it's okay. You don't have to do that, but I'm telling you, it's true. You cannot out give the Lord, but by the way, there is one other reason that people don't die. You know what it is because they're stubborn. They're stingy, and you actually have those who say, you know, it's not the money. It's the principle. Uh, we say back in the Hills of Kentucky, whenever anybody ever says, that ain't the money. It's the principle. It's the money. O S Hawkins, who became WEA Criswell successor, first Baptist church. Dallas put it like this. The principal hindrance to the advancement of the kingdom of God is greed. It is the chief obstacle to heaven sent revival. It seems that when the back of greed is broken, the human spirit soars into regions of unselfishness. I believe it is safe to say that there can be no continuous revival without hilarious giving. It's really the Greek meaning of the word means hilarious and I fear no contradiction. Wherever there is, hi, Larry's giving. There will soon be revival says O S Hawkins. Now, why tithes three reasons. One, what it will do for the kingdom of God. I said to the church of England, by the way, the Archbishop of Canterbury finally endorsed my book Archbishop of Canterbury as like the Pope. He adores my book. And I, I used to say to them, if everybody would ties, you're going to have more money than you've ever had in your life. There are those who give directly to the missionaries. No. Give it to the church. Let the church give them, give it to them. There'll be more missionaries to give it to. A church becomes wealthy if everybody will, will ties. Well. People will then say, well, what does it mean? Uh, give it, uh, bring all the tithe into the storehouse. What's the storehouse? Ask any rabbi. It's the local synagogue is the local church. And so I'm a member of first Baptist church, uh, hitters, Seville, Tennessee. I pay my tithes to my church. I'm almost never there. I mailed it in. It's a local church above the ties I give to the Gideons Billy Graham Jews for Jesus above the tithe. That's what I do. Put my ties I give to the local church and it's just something I want you to pray about what it will do for the work of God. If every Christian on the planet would tie them, that would be money, money, money to give to the poor, to India, to Pakistan. Well, another reason to tie what it does for God. What did he do? What does he do for God? Oh, makes him happy. Honors him. Glorifies him. You wanted to glorify God in your worship today. By the way, the change I've seen over the years, coming back once a year, it was beautiful this morning. It's good. You see? Well, that's enough. Well, you can praise him also by your giving. It honors him. I want to do what honors him and that's why you do it. And I'll tell you another thing. When I tied to my local church in Hendersonville, I don't see it as giving to the church. It's giving to God. It's giving to God. If I thought I was giving to the church, I wouldn't do it. But it's giving to him and I want to give where I think the people honor God. And uh, I give to James Dobson. I give to bill Wilson and Brooklyn, his church largest son is going to the world. He re he reaches poor kids above the, I do that. But by tie this to the local church and it brings honor to God. And then there's one other reason, and I put this third, but some people would put it first. You know what? That is what it will do for you. What do you mean? Well, two things. First of all, what it will do for you spiritually. Now I know what I'm talking about. You wanting to grow spiritually, you have no idea the connection between tithing and your spirituality. When I was at Lauderdale manners, I've referred to a while ago what a member there, his name was Bob Walker, and he knew I preached on tie. They said to a pastor, I give $5 a week and that's enough, and if everybody gave five, we don't have enough money. I said, okay. I didn't argue. Several months later. He's the guest. What Connie and I started tithing. Well, good. Glad to hear that. He said, guess what? You tell me we haven't missed it. That was his testimony. It didn't say we bought a Mercedes last week. He just said, we haven't missed it. He said, I was so sure that we taught it was going to hurt us. They have it listed. That was his testimony. But then the next thing you know, Paul Walker started coming to church on Sunday nights. We had certain denied services. And what'd you believe? He started coming on Wednesday night. Eventually he became a deacon. The way he grew spiritually, it was amazing, but there's a another reason. And I could have put this first. The health and wealth preachers on TV would have put this first. I'll put it last, but it is there. Since Paul, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Each one must give, and not of our being reluctant or under compulsion. God loves a cheerful giver. It comes from a Greek word means hilarious, hilarious. Giving. That's what what it means, and it goes on to say, God is able to make all grace abound to you so that you have everything for everything you need. This is what God does for just honoring this principle and you cannot out give the Lord a guarantee. It I can. I would go to the stake for what I'm preaching today. The reason I use that phrase, I had this friend in South Africa who he had a an interest in ecclesiology. Uh, I mean, dr another church whose other, our puzzles are profits and he's in ecclesiology and every time we'd have lunch, do you want to talk about his ecclesiological views? And I said, let me ask you a question. Would you go to the stake for your ecclesiology? He said, no, I don't think I would. I said, well, then start preaching what you'd go to the steak for. The time is short. We don't have time. You talk about everything else. And uh, he said, thank you. I don't know if it changed him or not, but I don't have time to go into things that people are going to debate about. Nightclub. You probably will debate about this, but I know what I say is true. God puts you on your honor, and it's your way of saying thank you. I was named after our T Williams, general superintendent church of the Nazarene. Uh, by the way, Brenton Ruth and I, we kinda bonded, you know, two or three years ago, because they used to be Nazarenes don't, did you know that. You did. Excuse me. I'm sorry. I asked you. I knew what would happen. Oh dear. There goes the address to the time I was named after our T Williams, my father's favorite preacher. He told this story. He told this story. A man in the church of the Nazarene made $1 million and gave 100,000. To the church and had receipts to show it went bankrupt later and his relatives and all these cynical friends. Well, bet you wish you hadn't given that $100,000 to the church. Oh, he said that's the only amount I kept. You get it. In heaven. I had, I spent that hundred thousand they would've gone without with a million, but by giving a ties to the church, at least I kept that. You see, that's the point. You're not giving it to a church. You're giving it to God. And I referred to WEA Criswell hall ago. He tells this story. Someone asked his pastor, how many members in your church? He said, a 300 300 members. How many of your members ties? He said, a 300 what do you mean 300 members in 300 tide? He said, yep. He said, about a hundred of them give it voluntarily and God takes it from the rest. Your car breaks down, you go on a debt, you know God doesn't get it. Give me what is his, I'm about finished. You'll be pleased to know you've heard of John Bunyan? He wrote Pilgrim's progress. Progress. Thank you. He wrote a poem that you never heard it. There was a man. Some called him mad. The more he gave, the more he had sermons finished. But wait, don't clap. No version. I was pretty sure he was in Durham, South Africa. The pastor asked me to, so I did. And. I thought, how am I going to end this sermon? No, it wouldn't be right to say how many times or how many we'll start after this. That would show they weren't doing it. Well. You could have all those that will tie the stand. You can't do that because those who don't stand a feel embarrassed. I thought it's one way to end this sermon, and I did. It's where I'm going to end this one question. Do you know for sure. That if you were to die today, would you go to heaven? That's the question. Some of you remember I met Yasser Arafat. We became friends and I didn't know what ever see him a second time, so I thought, I'll never get back, so I'm going to get it over right now. I said, well, EES, where will you be 100 years from now? So, you know, 100 years from now, it won't make any difference whether you get Jerusalem or the Israelis get Jerusalem, where will you be? I thought he would throw me out. I visited him five times. In my book. It ain't over till it's over, which I dedicated to bill and Vivian. I tell why y'all say Arafat. I expect to see him in heaven. Don't want to go into that now. But I asked you this question, what will you be a hundred years from now? And if you were to stand before God, you will. And he were to ask you. He might, why should I let you into my heaven? Whatever would you say, suppose we passed out sheets of paper when you came in and, and I'm asking you now, get out that sheet of paper. Get out your pen. I want you to go along with me in your mind, in your mind. Imagine you've got a sheet of paper there. Write down in your mind on that sheet of paper your answer to the question. What would you say to God. If he said to you, why should I let you in? Suppose it with a real thing. You're standing there, and by the way, when you do, you'll be alone. You'll be all by yourself. People say, if I go to hell, I'll have a lot of company. You won't be aware of anybody else. It'd be as though you're the only one who would be a lonely eternity. Now you're standing before God and and you, you don't have anybody to whisper the answer to you, coach you. Here's what you're supposed to say. This. No musky you, what would you say? God says, why should I let you in? There's only one answer and you give the wrong answer. You have to go someplace else. Don't go there. So what would you say everybody had time now, uh, pass your sheets to the end of the row and bring them forward and half got here. A lot of sheets of paper. Uh, I don't know that this would represent Island church, but if it were typical church, here's an answer. Um, I've tried to live a good life. I would say to you, good for you, but you're lost. Here's another, uh, I was brought up in a Christian home. Well done. That means you've got a headstart that won't save you. Oh, here's another, I was baptized. Sorry, but you're lost. Where's another, I was baptized by a Baptist preacher. You'll lost as a goose. Here's another, I keep the 10 commandments. Well, you are a liar for one thing. Here's another, I've kept the sermon on the Mount. You're a bigger liar. Well, here's another who says, I've done my very, very best and I would have to say to you, sir, ma'am, I'm so sorry, but you're lost, but our team, what more can you do, but you do your best? I said, you don't seem to understand. Your best will never be good enough because you don't understand the perfection of all mighty God. The whole is nothing unclean shall enter there and you don't have to Rob a bank to be a sinner. You don't have to be a an evil man to be a sinner. Jealousy is sin. Pride is sin. Gossip is sin. Do you only sit in three times a day? You'd be a walking angel. That's a thousand sins a year. 70,000 in a lifetime. Fiona, in one time you're out one sin. You don't have a chance. Well, Archie, how does anybody get in flood? You asked, this is why God sent his son into the world. Made under the law. To redeem those that were under the law. He kept the law for you. His parents kept the law for him. He was circumcised the eighth day. Then when he's of age, he was even bad ties for you. Did you ever realize that this is why you don't have to be a baptize to get to heaven? He was baptized for you. That's why Jesus said to John the Baptist, you baptize me. Just fulfill righteousness. He was baptized for you. He kept the law for you. And when he died on the cross it seconds before he died, he says, it's finished. It means I've finished the work God gave me to do. But tetelestai a Greek word translates, it has finished, happens to be a colloquial expression in the ancient marketplace and said, paid in full. So Jesus paid your debt. He kept the law for you. Did you live the Holy life for you? Baptized for. That's how you get to heaven when you give up any hope in your personal righteousness. Put all of your eggs in the basket in one basket. Jesus died question three minutes ago. Want to ask you to fill out what you would say to God on that sheet of paper if you did not write in that sheet of paper. Because Jesus died for me or the equivalent because of the blood of Jesus. If you didn't write that, we'd want to be in your shoes for anything in the world, but that can all change. Now, the reason I'm talking to you like this, tithing, what will get you to heaven? I'm telling you now before I close, what will. That's when you give up any hope in your baptism. Good works, righteous life. Put all of your eggs, you transfer the trust you had in good works to what Jesus did for you on the cross. And if you, if you gave the wrong answer while ago, we can sort that out right now. I'm going to give you a prayer to pray. Say it. If you mean it, don't say it out loud. Don't even need to close your eyes. God will see your heart in your heart. If you need to pray this. Say this, Lord Jesus, I need you. I want you. I'm sorry for my sins. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Wash my sins away by your blood. I welcome your Holy spirit into my heart as best as I know how I give you my life. That's it. Did you pray that prayer. I have no idea. I just, I'd be willing to forgive this expression. I'd be willing to bet if somebody did. The question is, are you ashamed that you prayed it? What do you ask their Archie? Well, because Jesus said, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you. Jesus said, if you confess me before men, I'll confess you before my father. If you prayed that prayer, I'm going to ask you to do something. You may have said, I would never thought in a thousand years I will do it, but in 30 seconds from now, not yet. Not yet, but in 30 seconds from now, if you prayed that prayer, I'm going to ask you to stand up right where you are. That's all. Just stand up in 25 seconds, you say in front of all these people. Yep. Jesus said, if you confess me before men. I'll confess you before my fault. I'm not going to ask you to make his speech just standing. That's good enough. Five, four, three, two, one. If you pray that prayer, stand up right now. Does it go all over the place? Stay standing now. Here's I want to say, just stay standing them. I'm going to have you standing for a minute or more, but not much. This to me is a seal on my sermon. You see, I didn't ask you to stand. If you want to ties, I'd rather have this than you've promised. The ties cause tie. They won't save you, but this will now two kinds of people that are standing right now. One, you are saved before today. But when I gave the gospel as I did, you just took it with both hands and you did the right by stand right thing by standing. But I wouldn't be surprised if there's somebody here. You never actually prayed a prayer like that or stood and confessed Christ openly. If that's you, the Bible says you've just been born again, so to you, I say, happy birthday.
