We want to welcome Brother Edd Deaton and his family to our church family. Brother Edd has officially taken the job of shepherd in our church. We thank God for this man being given to us. We know great things are happening before our very eyes and are overflowing with excitement to see what God has in store for us! This past Sunday Edd shared a sermon on tithing. However; it wasn't what you think.
When you want your love for someone to grow, or a relationship to grow, what kinds of things do you do? You most likely said, "Sacrifice". You have a beautiful child to raise...what do you do to help them grow? You sacrifice and become selfless. Can you buy love? We all know the answer to that question is no. When you want your marriage to grow, do you do it with money? Do you just toss out 100$ here and 100$ there and expect your spouse to love you more because of it? No, to truly allow your relationship to grow you make sacrifices for that person. You stop being so selfish and you give a little more. You give of yourself, your time, your efforts, etc... Have you ever stopped to think about growing your relationship with God or growing as a church even? What do we automatically think of when we shift our minds to growing a church? That's right.....money. But God doesn't want our money.....he wants our sacrifice. Just like we sacrifice for our children, He sacrificed for us. He gave more than we could ever give our children. He gave His only son to die on the cross to save us from our sins. It hurts God to see us so unappreciative of His sacrifice. If we want our churches to grow, we must sacrifice more than money. We must sacrifice our time, efforts, wisdom and talents. We must give our ALL! If God has your heart, He has your wallet. So many churches fall into that money trap but we mustn't. We must give of our hearts and minds. Those are the real tithes God expects from us.
In Mark 12:42 we read about the widow woman who had very little to give. In fact she had, to her name, only 1/2 a penny. She had no food, no husband to take care of her, no one, yet she gave all she had. Yet, the richest of rich dumped loads of money into the offering plate. Jesus stood up and said that the widower had given more than anyone else there. When she dropped that small offering into that plate, she was offering so much more than 1/2 cent. She was demonstrating her trust in the Lord. She had faith that He would take care of her. As He promises to do. Do you think it was easy for her to give all she had? Most likely, no. It won't be an easy road for anyone that makes sacrifices for God because that is the very thing that feeds Satan. He preys on people who give their ALL. This doesn't give you the excuse though to just sit around and let a few people do all the work either. God doesn't just call a few of us, He is calling ALL of us. We are all expecting to get into the same wonderful Heaven therefore we are all expected to tithe what we have for the honor of God.
We don't all have the same wisdom and talents. Some of us are called to pray, some are called to sing, some are called to guide and teach, some are called to witness, some are called to love and listen. Your job is to listen to what God calls you to do and then give your ALL in that area. A chain isn't a chain with just one link. We all have to do what we are called to do with 100% effort and sacrifice in order to grow as a church. We are to work as a team together in order to grow. It is like a college basketball game. The biggest game or our lives! We will never grow to our full protential if some of our teammates just want to sit on the bench. You want the church to grow, you must be willing to work. Remember this: NO ONE is EVER called to be a PEW WARMER! Help us grow. Pray to God that He let's you know what your calling is. Once you discover that, give 100% to it! That IS what we are told to do....."Deny thyself, pick up your cross, and follow me." This is the Final Four people. We must work to win (grow). It isn't time to sit on the bench....it's time to shine. The "head" of the NBA is watching this game! I'd hate to see you LOOKED OVER or TRADED to that "other" team!
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