Discipleship in Tithes & Offering and Making Jesus Lord
Sunday, July 24, 2022 – RECAP/Study Points
As the body, we need to be in a better posture to make some money moves as such. It’s kind of disappointing that one of the current issues that the body of Christ is discussing is about money, tithes, and offerings. I hope you know what I know concerning the scripture and will follow suit. Elder Donald was right on it, with respect to following those who, through faith and patience, inherit the promised (Hebrews 6:12). I was told a long time ago that the tithe belonged to God. And I made it my business to return to Him what is rightfully His.
And then, of course, I encountered Dr. Frederick K.C. Price, and he pretty much governed my life from then on, with respect to tithe. He taught it to me. Then, of course, after getting the Word for myself and knowing how to rightly decipher the Word of God, disseminate the Word of God, teach it, study it, discern it, I know it for myself.
The tithe, ladies and gentlemen, saved my life. And I say that because it taught me really how to trust God. And so, when the devil tried to kill me, he came too late because I was trusting God long before he showed up, through giving my tithe and my offering. And for those of you who are listening to that, and you don’t have a revelation on it, please know this; I’m not pro tithing or pro tither to get anything from you. If this ministry was in a financial jam, then maybe I would have some justification, reason, or some legitimacy as it relates to why I would want you to give. If none of you gave for years, this ministry would be good. That’s just sharing with you the great financial position that we are in. So, you don’t give to a ministry because of the need of the ministry; you give to a ministry because of the order of God. It is the order of God that men give to the ministry.
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He says to follow them, who through faith and patience, and I am one of them who, through faith and patience, have inherited the promises (Hebrews 6:12). But, here’s what I want you to do. If you have allowed all of these distractions concerning the tithes and offering to cause you to stop giving, all I want you to do is monitor or examine how your life goes from here. An unexamined life is not a life worth living. You should be examining what’s working and what’s not working for you. What’s so positive and so beautiful about this is, if you are doing well without tithing, (in your your own might) imagine what you would do with tithing. Imagine what you would be doing with His super on your natural. I know for Dee Dee and I, you have come way too late to stop us from tithing.
Pastor Dewayne: I learned that God blesses me first, so that I can bless, so that He can bless me again. God empowers you to go out and get some wealth; you didn’t get it on your own. You look at it and see how God has blessed you, you take out a part of that so you can bless Him, and He then, in turn, blesses you again. That’s just an amazing system to me, and I just love it!
Our progenitors and predecessors, who came before us, would tell us, by experience….”You can’t beat God’s giving, no matter how you try.”
Making Jesus Lord…There are some practical utilities that I will be offering, financially speaking. People don’t have a lack of money; they have a lack of understanding. Financial illiteracy that dwells within certain communities is keeping people at a certain limit, locked in. You are bound to what you know or don’t know.
I was just at Bishop Keith Butler’s ministry, and the Lord impressed upon my heart to talk from the subject matter “What’s Next?” We have gone through this pandemic, and a lot of things have shifted, a lot of things have changed, and based upon these changes, the methodologies, even with respect to, or regard to ministry, we have to attempt to find new perspectives. And new perceptions to provide new opportunities to get the gospel out in many different types of venues other than this gathering place.
We have to be a little more exploratory in our approaches as it relates to our productivity. If we are going to have any level of efficacy as it relates to progressing in life, we’re going to have to be able to shift and make shifts and pivots. And find out what’s giving us our greatest impact. And unfortunately, some people are just stuck, and part of my posture and position, and even duty, is to shake you and get you to think about other perspectives and other possibilities that will create other opportunities for you.
You may mind me pushing you, challenging, you firing you up, checking you, charging you, challenging you. But I asked you to please get comfortable with being uncomfortable in my presence. In what you’re going to need to know what’s next, you may not have the knowledge or be equipped to handle what’s next until someone informs you. There are a lot of things that I’m doing differently that I never thought I would be doing today. I promised God and I promise you all that whatever He exposes me to, I’m going to come back and share with you.
You should pick up this book entitled, ‘What would the Rockefellers do?’ If you want to be a leader in what’s next, you’re going to have to be a reader. You’re going to have to drop some of the perspectives that you currently hold, both spiritual and secular. There are some things that you need to know societally speaking. You can’t keep the same patterns and expect something different. You’ll be surprised at how much time you’ve wasted in your life. The worst part about it is time is something you can not redeem. It’s not all about money; it’s examining everything you’re doing. Don’t say that you know the scripture. If you knew it, you would be doing it, and it would be profitable for you.
Proverbs 3:5 (TPT) – Trust in the Lord completely and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart, rely on Him to guide you, and He will lead you in every decision you make.
Our own opinions may not be in alignment with what God thinks or wants. Our part in this is to inquire of the Lord. We have to get an understanding of this because a lot of things we have been doing God has not been in on. All He wants you to stop by His office first. I believe He is intentional about this because He is also interested in prioritizing our priorities.
If, in fact, it wasn’t a problem, or there were not any competing priorities, He wouldn’t have to tell us to come to Him first. But, there are some other attention grabbers. There are some competing affections that are after our attention, where we won’t even ask Him about what we should be doing.
You can let your money be your lord, and your money will tell you it’s ok when God said it isn’t. And so, there’s a competing affection with respect to what I can do, because I have the money to do it, but I ask God what to do because He is our tomorrow right now. If there weren’t any competing priorities, he wouldn’t have to tell us to come to Him first. I wanted a porshe and had the money in the bank, but when I asked God he didn’t say a thing. Now, you can let your money be your lord and your money will tell you that it’s okay, when God didn’t. Well, God was working on something else for me. The cash money that I could have put on the car is what I needed to qualify for the car dealership. The order of God is what we should worship and thank God for. He told me to save and sow years ago. I did it!
He’s Lord over every area of my life. He tells me who to date; he tells me what I should put on from day to day.
Dr. Dee Dee: A lot of times, people think God won’t say anything or say no because He doesn’t want you to have something because He has something better. And that’s not always the case. God being in your tomorrow like you said, today and we not knowing, Him knowing all, omniscient, there are times when you all know that people lose their jobs, the economy changes, and so we go and by these houses and get these balloon loans, and you didn’t acknowledge God, but God knew. It’s not always something better over here, but He just wants to protect you. A study said that 80-90% of Christians backslide because they don’t see things happening the way they thought it was going to happen.
Pastor Dewayne: Knowledge will open your eyes to opportunities that ignorance will not allow you to see. Some people are in environments, and they are confused with feeling restricted, and they confuse that with bondage. And sometimes truth will make you feel a little uneasy. You feel these restrictions like something is keeping me. But, it will cause you to feel that way because it’s taking you to freedom.
And some people don’t experience the freedom because when they’re hearing truth, they think it’s bondage, so they run away from it and run right into the bondage they were trying to run away from. And that’s why Jesus said, if you continue in My Word, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free (John 8:32).
Some of you are making more money than you have, but you don’t have the knowledge in handling. That’s why I want to do with some of these practical utilities that I will provide for you relative to how you conduct things…One of the things is Make Him Lord. Make Him Lord over your decision-making. Two, create the disciplines that will assist you in keeping Him in that position. Three, start living under your current income. Live under it, don’t live over it, especially in this season. I told you years ago stop spending. Start saving and sowing. And once you begin to practice these things…My thought process now germane to money; if the thing I’m buying isn’t’ going to make money, I’m not going to buy it.
Proverbs 3:6 (TPT) – Become intimate with Him in whatever you do, and He will lead you wherever you go.
Now, what I prayed at the 8 am service is that your hearing is increased. See, because, in order for Him to be Lord properly, you’re going to have to hear properly. And you’re going to have to know His voice, and a stranger’s voice you will not follow. Because when you set up a specific order for your life, a stranger’s voice will ultimately come to create now some competing affection with respect to what He said.
Dr. Dee Dee: Make sure you listen to Him and follow Him as it relates to Lord because I want God’s results and not my results. It’s easy to make a decision if you have the where with all to make it happen; if God did not lead you to make that certain decision, then you’re going to have your results, and you’re going to have to be the one who’s going to have to be responsible for whatever results you got, and you can’t blame God. But when you know you’ve heard from God, you’ll have God’s results.
Your money can be a voice; your friends can be a voice, your circumstances can be a voice, and your feelings can be a voice. That’s why we’re going over into “Denying Yourself” next.
Pastor Dewayne: When it says, “lean not to your own understanding…”
Evidently, this guy had to have some information on the other side, if he’s telling him to lean not to your own understanding. The mere fact, when I hear that, I already hear that there’s gotta be something already that you told me on this side for me not to lean. It made me look back at verse 1, where it says, “My son, do not forget the law,” He said, “but let your heart keep my commandments.” He’s really pouring something into his son. That’s why I said knowledge will open your eyes to some things that ignorance won’t allow you to see. We have to make sure, who are you giving your ear to?
Because there are so many carnal Christians that look so spiritual. And they sound spiritual. And if you don’t have the right discernment, you will be conforming to the world’s way of doing stuff and not be transformed.
Because the only way you’re going to be transformed is faith. It takes faith to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
That’s why the verse right after that it talks about faith in Romans. Because it’s going to take faith for transformation because you have to be able to grab a hold of God’s word and believe and act on His word so you can be transformed, this world is pulling. Sometimes the truth doesn’t feel good, but it’s designed to make your life free.
Romans 12:2 (NKJV) – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (3)For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
James 4:13 (NLT) – Look here, you who say “Today or tomorrow are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit!” (14) How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog-it’s here a little while; then it’s gone. (15) What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
Who checks with God? How do you pop up and do stuff? Why not involve Him? We’re trusting God and asking God about certain things, and God’s meeting the need.
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