The Principle of First | The Blessed Life Week 3

Is your money blessed or cursed? You don’t want to miss this biblical teaching about the incredible blessings available to you. When we bless the first 10% of what we receive by tithing, the final 90% we keep is redeemed. The practice of tithing opens up space for God to come through and bless your resources. Want to try tithing risk-free? Take the 90-day Tithe Test at crossroads.net/tithetest.

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    - Your money can be blessed or it can be cursed,
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    it all depends on what you put first in your life.
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    Welcome to Crossroads. I'm Paco.
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    - We're doing a series called The Blessed Life.
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    We did this series several years ago,
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    and it's one of the most powerful series
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    that we've ever done.
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    And you're going to hear some stories from people
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    who went through it before.
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    So powerful that we're going to do it again.
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    Now, I've got to tell you, that kind of hurts my pride
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    because we haven't really repeated very much at all
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    at Crossroads the last 26 years.
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    And the first time we're going to repeat something
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    came from somebody else.
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    We've borrowed this content
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    from Gateway Church in Dallas, Texas.
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    I had pastor after pastor, person after person say,
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    "Oh my goodness, this material is --
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    sounds like a really religious cheesy word,
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    but it's true -- is anointed."
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    There's something special about it.
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    Now, listen, this is not a campaign.
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    There's no commitment coming at the end
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    where you're going to sign anything.
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    There's no big ask of you to whatever,
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    whatever, whatever.
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    This is not a campaign.
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    We are going to challenge you
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    because Jesus challenges us,
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    but we just want you to listen, consider,
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    and ultimately be blessed.
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    That's the Blessed Life.
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    - If you watched last week's episode,
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    you probably are familiar with this idea of a tithe.
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    It comes from the Book of Malachi 3:8.
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    Let's read it right now.
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    It's pretty clear in this verse,
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    and all throughout the Bible,
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    there's a blessing that comes on your finances,
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    or there's a curse.
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    And I don't know about you,
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    but I am not trying to be cursed.
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    So, what does this mean?
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    Like, what does this mean in practicality?
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    Well, let's look at it like this.
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    One of my life goals is to have someone
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    come clean my kitchen for me all the time.
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    A guy can dream, right?
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    Let's just say that's you.
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    You're the lucky person and you get to come to my house
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    and I pay you over the course of a few months
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    1000 bucks for the job.
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    I paid ten $100 bills. Boom. Here it is.
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    Ten of these bad boys.
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    That's a -- my kitchen's not that big,
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    but you get the idea.
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    So, this is 1000 bucks I pay you right here.
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    Now, the tithe, the tithe is 10% of the $1,000, right?
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    It's 100 bucks. That's easy.
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    But the question today is,
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    well, which one of these is the tithe?
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    And the answer?
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    It's the very first one that leaves your hand.
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    You see, this first portion carries the blessing
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    across all of it.
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    And if we don't give this first portion,
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    then that means the rest of this
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    is actually under a curse.
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    And too many of us are giving our blessing
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    to the mortgage company,
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    giving our blessing to the landlord company,
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    giving our blessing to GrubHub,
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    to Toyota, to Jordans.
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    Too many of us are missing the blessings
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    that God has for us.
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    And when God is first in our lives,
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    everything comes into order.
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    And when God is not first, everything's out of order.
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    This might be the most important message in this series
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    because it's all about the principles of firsts.
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    Like, what came first, the chicken or the egg?
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    Well, the Bible's clear, the Bible says chicken.
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    But when it comes to our finances,
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    how do we put God first and why is it such a big deal?
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    Well, we're going to read a passage of scripture
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    from Exodus 13.
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    It's like the core book of the Bible
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    when it comes to God redeeming His people,
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    the nation of Israel.
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    And I've got to warn you, I wish that the passages
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    I had for you today were like beautiful,
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    angelic quotables that you could put on a wall
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    or a tattoo.
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    Nah, I've got verses about goats and stuff, so --
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    [goat screaming]
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    Let's jump in. Okay? Exodus 13.
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    It continues in verse 12:
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    "...that you shall set apart to the Lord
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    What? What are we talking about right now?
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    We're talking about breaking donkeys necks.
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    This just got weird, right?
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    This passage is intense because it gives us
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    instructions on what to do with our first.
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    And there are three things that God wants to do
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    with our finances, and it's all throughout the Bible.
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    The first thing: the firstborn must either be
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    sacrificed or redeemed.
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    So, how do you know whether to sacrifice the redeem it, right?
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    Well, God gave us to animals as like classifications.
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    Okay, the firstborn had to be sacrificed,
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    if it was clean.
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    The firstborn unclean had to be redeemed.
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    Do you see the parallel there?
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    Do you see what this represents?
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    The firstborn, God's firstborn son, Jesus, born clean.
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    He was sacrificed.
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    Adam and Eve and you and I and all of us born unclean,
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    we had to be redeemed.
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    You see, the clean Jesus was sacrificed for the unclean us.
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    God takes tithing very seriously.
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    If Jesus is God's tithe,
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    then He must be really serious about firsts.
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    So God didn't wait to see if He would change
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    or repent or get worthy, God sent Jesus anyway.
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    And when we think what the tithe,
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    it's about putting God first. It's about our heart.
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    The first portion given redeemed the rest.
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    And this is the passage that I'm about to read to you
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    is from the Book of Joshua.
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    And let me make sure we get clear on the book of Joshua.
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    Okay?
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    Joshua is a story of God's people
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    after they've come out of slavery,
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    taking the Promised Land.
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    And what they're set to do is walk through this land
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    and take cities and bring them back.
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    And the first one they come across
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    is the city of Jericho. Okay.
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    And Joshua 6:19, here's what God says
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    in response to them taking the city of Jericho.
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    God says, "Look, Jericho, bring it all to me. That's mine."
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    Now, why didn't God say, like, "Give me 10% of Jericho?"
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    Why didn't God say that?
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    Because Jericho was first.
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    It was the first city that the nation took
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    in the Promised Land, it was the first fruits.
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    God didn't say, "Okay, after you conquer
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    the whole Promised Land and you feel good
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    and you're set up and you're successful,
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    then start giving me the 10%."
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    He said, "No, you can have all the rest,
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    but the first, it's mine."
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    The first portion is the redemptive piece.
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    The first has to be offered.
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    The first fruits must be offered now.
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    I'm about to cook up some of this chicken,
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    but I'm not going to eat it because in the Bible
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    it's very clear you're supposed to season your chicken
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    and I don't have any seasoning.
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    So when we come back, we'll continue.
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    - So, this whole thing that we're talking about
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    in this series, it's a pretty high challenge, right?
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    Putting God first in your life.
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    And I just want you guys to know
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    it's not something you do on your own,
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    that it won't work that way.
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    That's not what faith is.
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    And actually, we're both here,
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    and you specifically are in your role
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    as the Anywhere Community Pastor
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    so that you can help people.
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    And that's your that's your heart. Yeah?
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    - Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
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    Like, we don't make this stuff just because the internet
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    needed more things for you to watch on it, right?
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    Like, we do this because -- it does not, it's
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    fine. We do it because we think it's going
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    to help you grow, help you get traction
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    in your spiritual life and your relationships
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    and your family.
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    We think it can be of help to you.
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    And I just want to, like, take that and, like,
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    raise the ante a little bit. Right?
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    I want to help you grow so much.
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    Like, just send me an email.
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    It's not a team of people.
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    Like, if you want, I don't know, like,
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    customized spiritual steps for you,
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    I'll do my best to jump in and help get you started
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    or help get you moving again on your spiritual journey
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    because God doesn't want you stuck
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    and He doesn't want you to stay stuck, right?
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    - That's right.
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    What I'll just say, I've known this guy
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    for a very long time.
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    He's really good at this. He's helped so many people.
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    That's why I was so excited when you agreed
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    to take on the role of Pastor because I was, like,
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    "Yes, you're the guy.
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    You're amazing at caring for people."
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    So, take him up on the offer, email him,
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    he will actually respond to you.
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    And while you do that, do it right now,
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    check out this story.
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    - Well, I grew up in church as a young girl,
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    and I was surrounded by lots of people that were tithers.
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    And when I got my first job, I was 17.
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    I was a co-op in high school, and I gave my first 10%,
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    I was so excited.
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    And I learned then that tithing was one thing
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    that God would always, always come through.
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    I remember married, and when my husband left,
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    and I was only working two days a week,
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    he left the home. He left me with children.
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    So, I went back to work that next week
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    and the lady saw my face and knew that
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    it wasn't the same face she was used to.
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    And she said, "What's the matter?"
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    And I said, "Well, my husband left."
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    And she said, "From now on,
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    you no longer work two days a week.
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    You work five days a week, you work 40 hours a week.
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    And as a matter of fact,
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    we're going to raise your income."
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    When I think about things like that,
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    and when I think about
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    when I got my first diagnosis of cancer,
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    14 years later I got another diagnosis.
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    And I just said, "You know what, God?
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    I need you to come through."
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    I am now 69 years old.
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    I can say He's truly good.
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    I had been a tither for many years,
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    and a church that I was attending
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    was doing a building fund
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    and I had saved up money for a vacation.
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    And He told me to give that vacation money.
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    And God said, "If you will give this,
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    I will open up doors for you, you can't imagine."
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    And so I wrote the check.
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    I took it up front and I put it in the plate up there.
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    And I have to be honest, when I first did it, it hurt.
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    It hurt real bad.
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    And I said, "I don't know why I did this,
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    but I'm going to trust You on this."
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    And so I got involved in a business
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    and for 13 years I went on plane rides.
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    I stayed in the best hotels.
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    I stayed and ate the best food.
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    When I made that sacrifice, God knew my heart
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    and He honored that.
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    I feel like I'm in a place where giving has a meaning
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    it has a destination.
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    And if we're able to make a change in people's lives,
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    then what I give, it's not the amount,
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    because tithers are all equal, and He blesses it.
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    If you will look at my budget sheets,
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    the first line item: tithing and offering.
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    The mortgage, the utilities, the food,
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    I don't even worry about that
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    because I learned to trust Him.
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    Tithing, for me, it's a lifestyle.
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    It's a full surrender.
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    I can't stop giving.
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    I won't stop giving.
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    - Welcome back to Paco's kitchen.
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    We're talking about firsts today.
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    And point number two: The first fruits must be offered.
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    Back to the book of Genesis, the nation of Israel,
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    right, they're leaving captivity.
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    They're doing their thing.
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    And here's what it says in Genesis 23:19:
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    Now, notice the Bible here says
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    the word bring instead of give,
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    because we can't give what doesn't belong to us.
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    We can only bring it to God's house.
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    We have two choices when it comes to our first fruits:
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    We can either bring it or we can steal it.
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    Now, all the way back in the beginning of the Bible,
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    Adam and Eve's first two kids, Cain and Abel.
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    It's a pretty famous story, right?
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    Cain and Abel, brotherly feud, the first murder in the Bible.
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    It's a pretty intense scene.
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    When you read it through the lens of first fruits,
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    it really changes the dynamic of it.
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    Let me read it to you right now starting in Genesis 4:
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    Wild, huh? Like,
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    why didn't God accept Abel's offering, but not Cain's?
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    Was it because God doesn't like vegetables?
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    Was because God was on a carnivore diet?
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    No, it's because it wasn't first.
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    It says that Cain's offering
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    was brought in the process of time.
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    It wasn't first fruits.
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    But Abel's was the first one.
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    It's not that God didn't want to accept Cain's offering,
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    it's that He couldn't because it wasn't first.
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    That brings me to my next point: the tithe, it's got to be first.
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    In the Book of Leviticus, which is a book of laws
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    and regulations on how to live
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    and how to please God with your life
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    in your conduct says this in chapter 27, verse 30:
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    God takes first fruits very seriously.
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    God cares not just about our money,
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    but about the placement of Him in our lives.
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    And there are few things that God can't do. Okay?
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    God can't change.
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    The theology word there is immutable.
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    If God could change, that means He could get better.
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    And God can't get better because He's already holy.
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    He's already perfect.
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    You know, the other thing God can't do?
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    God cannot be second.
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    The theology word is preeminent.
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    He's not just first of all, but He's before all.
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    He's higher than all. He is above all.
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    And when we put Him first with our finances,
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    with our tithe it shows Him and everyone around us
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    who is first in our life and who is it.
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    Look, I don't tithe because I like rules
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    and I like math, okay?
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    I tithe because I want God to know that He's first.
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    Like, no one in any relationship likes to be second.
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    What would it be like if my wife was like,
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    "Yeah, I love you and you're second place in my life."
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    That'd be weird, right?
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    And we see this as little kids.
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    I just had a second baby.
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    My daughter, my oldest daughter
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    realizes she's not just the only one now.
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    Like, she's got to share some of the love and all that jazz.
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    It doesn't feel great to her at the moment.
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    Why would we think that God
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    would be okay with being second?
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    Why would we think that?
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    You see, for me, it's personal for me because
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    I've seen the hand of God rescue me over and over and over.
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    I've seen the hand of God provide for me and my family
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    over and over and over again.
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    We came to this country with just a few hundred bucks
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    and we saw God provide for us all along the way.
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    And now that I'm raising my own kids in this country,
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    I continue to see God bless our finances,
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    bless our relationships, provide for us
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    in ways that we probably don't even see yet.
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    I want that kind of blessing to continue in my life.
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    And I want that kind of blessing for your life, too.
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    God is a God of deliverance.
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    God has a mighty hand, and there's a blessing
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    that can come on our lives if we put God first.
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    Someday, when my kids get old enough
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    to to look at our budget sheet and look at our finances,
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    they might ask me, "Dad, why are you always, like,
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    consistently giving this certain amount?
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    Why are you always doing that?
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    Why always giving that to them?
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    Why? Why is that always happening?"
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    And I'm going to look at them in the eye
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    and I'm going to say, "Look, we're doing this as a family.
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    This is a part of who we are as a family
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    because we once were in bondage,
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    we once were lost and were orphans.
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    And now we belong to the family of God.
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    God has delivered us with a mighty hand.
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    So because of that, out of gratitude for that,
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    man, I will gladly give God first."
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    So if you want the blessings of God on your finances,
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    and not the curse, we've got to give Him the tithe.
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    And the tithe has to be first.
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    When God is first in your life,
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    everything else comes into order.
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    And when God is not first,
  • 00:18:32
    well, everything else is out of order.
  • 00:18:34
    So put God first and watch Him bless your life.
  • 00:18:41
    - Great message by Paco.
  • 00:18:43
    I like the way that ended with order.
  • 00:18:44
    I certainly want order in my life.
  • 00:18:46
    And if this is something you want to do,
  • 00:18:47
    I realize just jumping in and tithing,
  • 00:18:49
    giving 10% of your income is, like, a high bar.
  • 00:18:52
    So, we made a way to make it easier for you.
  • 00:18:54
    It's called The 90 Day Tithe Test.
  • 00:18:56
    It's super, super simple.
  • 00:18:57
    Works like this: You try tithing for 90 days,
  • 00:19:00
    and if at the end of the 90 days, you're like,
  • 00:19:02
    "You know what? That was fine.
  • 00:19:03
    I don't really sense more of God in my life."
  • 00:19:05
    Awesome. We will give you all of your money back,
  • 00:19:08
    no questions asked.
  • 00:19:10
    If you're interested: Crossroads.net/tithetest.
  • 00:19:13
    - Yeah. Hey, we want to do whatever we can
  • 00:19:15
    to push you along in your journey with God, right?
  • 00:19:18
    So that you aren't stuck. So you are growing.
  • 00:19:21
    And I just know as a dad, like, I often times feel stuck
  • 00:19:25
    in how I invest in or teach my kids.
  • 00:19:28
    - Yes. Even as a pastor, it's, like,
  • 00:19:29
    I've got to teach my kid about God in their language.
  • 00:19:31
    How do I -- How do I do that?
  • 00:19:33
    - Right. So you've got three kids?
  • 00:19:35
    - Yeah. - I've got three kids.
  • 00:19:37
    And we have something coming up.
  • 00:19:38
    We've been working really hard for over a year
  • 00:19:40
    on preparing resources for your family,
  • 00:19:44
    for your kids that we are getting ready
  • 00:19:47
    to start piloting in the real world.
  • 00:19:49
    So, if you would like to be a part of our Kid's Club Pilot,
  • 00:19:52
    you can sign up.
  • 00:19:53
    This will get you first access to
  • 00:19:55
    some of the resources that we're rolling out.
  • 00:19:56
    We have a VR pilot that rolls out this week
  • 00:19:59
    and some other really, really cool stuff
  • 00:20:00
    I'm excited about.
  • 00:20:01
    And your input will help shape these things
  • 00:20:04
    for thousands of people all over the country
  • 00:20:07
    and world for years to come.
  • 00:20:09
    - Awesome. That's it. We'll see you next week.
  • 00:20:12
    - Is money the root of all evil?
  • 00:20:16
    Mammon is one thing that people think that it is.
  • 00:20:19
    Today we're going to talk about this epic battle
  • 00:20:22
    of mammon versus God.
  • 00:20:31
    - Hey, make sure you hit the playlist button ahead
  • 00:20:34
    so that you can keep up to date on videos just for you.
  • 00:20:37
    And don't forget to hit the subscribe button below
  • 00:20:40
    to keep up to date on all the latest content
  • 00:20:42
    coming your way from Crossroads.

Process, journal or discuss the themes of this article - here's a few questions to get the ball rolling...

Welcome to the Weekend-Follow Up This is the group part of the Bible Challenge, so your questions are based on specific Bible passages from the weekend message. Each week, your group will discover what God might be saying to you, and how you can respond through a group discussion.

  1. What’s the thing or person you value most in the world? What makes it/them so special?

  2. What stood out to you most from this week’s message?

  3. Since most of us are likely not raising sheep, what would you consider to be your “firstfruits? What makes them valuable to you?

  4. What makes it challenging to give away firstfruits?

  5. How do you think your relationship with God would change if you decided to offer Him what you value most?

  6. What is one step you can take this week to first give God more of what you value?

  7. Let’s end with prayer. You can say something like, “Father, thank you for offering us your firstfruits, thank you for the love you’ve shown us. Bless us with the generous hearts to follow your example” Amen.

More from the Weekend

Bonus Questions! Check these out if you’re on a roll and want to go a little deeper.

  • How does thinking about Jesus being God’s tithe, a sacrifice of His “firstfruit,” change the way you think about God? How does it change the way you think about tithing?
  • In what ways are you currently moving God to second-place in your life? How would your life look different if He was first?

0 people are discussing these questions

(This stuff helps us figure out how many fruitcakes to make come December)

You must include at least one person

Got it! Enjoy your discussion.


Nov 11, 2022

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