The Community Church: Sermons and teaching

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I know some of us have already been on holiday. I know Keith and Melanie enjoyed a lovely sunny time in North Wales when I was a child. One of the places we used to go on holiday was down to Devon. My mother father would take me to all these similarly quaint little coastal villages you peruse near Lewis and all that sort of place.

And as a as a memento of going, we ended up with something which, yes, still seems to be quite popular from my searches on the Internet called the Rules of the Eden. Something like 1786. And you could get this on a nice scroll or you could have it on your tea towel. And you know, sir, my mum and dad bought this back, you know, not stick around by a tea towel with the rules of the inn.

And I don't know if it should be a hint that I needed to behave better, but apparently the rules, the enact no thieves, faxes, rogues or tinkers, no skulking locust loafers or flea bitten tramps, anybody I don't yet know. No slap and tickle of the when She's no banging of tankards on the table. Oh, you want to. Thank you.

Thank you. No. You want a slap particularly wet joke? Only your and I know we can't do the slapping either, so we tickled it. No dogs allowed in the kitchen, no cock fighting. And if you bought your fleet, your Julia dagger, your sword, that's to be handed to the innkeeper for safekeeping. If you want a bed for the night, that's a shilling for those of you who weren't born in 1971, Spy beat and stabling for your horse was for Pence to pee.

No. Yes. No. On. You know, it won't be too lumpy. Yes. The rules of the 18th. And we have this up in our house now. I'm not sure they were the rules that my my mum actually wanted me to to follow. So if it became flip it and she might have been a good reason to throw me out.

But in any house we tend to find there's rules, There's things that we need to understand how that house works. We need to understand the boundaries within that house. We need to understand the things that are the owner expects, the type of behavior they expect, the things that if we don't do, they're going to cause offense. Or if we do do, they're going to cause offense.

Some of them are unspoken. Some of them are still having the details somewhere. Some of them are the thing you ask as you first come in the door. Is it a shoes on or shoes off house? Good to ask. Doesn't it cause offense? Rather than you walk around with your muddy boots. If some of you have done in our house last time, you might some of you to a bonfire that we have rules.

So this morning now, oh, John and David are here so some some rules can be quite quite some. Yeah. We don't understand them some of which silly coming. I mean David and John both here. I've got a set of rules and see if you can guess what these rules are for. You have two sides, one out in the field and one in each man that's in the side.

The same goes out. And when he's out, he comes in and the next man goes in till he's out. When they're all out the side, this out comes in and the side, the spinning goes out and tries to get those coming in out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out when both sides have been in and out, including the not out, that's the end of the game.

Cricket season's coming. Glad you understood that. Okay, so we're going to look at some of the things, the new rules in this House, but not just this House in the house of God. And we're going to be particularly looking at things to do with money, see if there's any squelchy bits and okay, lots of scrunchy bits. Now, last year, going back to all these, Ali and I and our oldest son went to stay on the Isle of Mull and we look at Mull and we thought, That's not very big.

You'll be able to see all of the island within the week that we're there. Well, having driven from the ferry, we soon discovered that it took us nearly an hour to get to where we're staying because of all the single track roads. And we soon decided that we weren't going to be able to see the whole thing. But we've been away with people who like to try and fit in as much as they can, and so they scurry around the whole of the area that they're staying in.

They travel miles and miles and miles. So as we come to this subject, the problem is it's a big subject. So we're going to do a bit of a journey, but we're only going to take in some of the highlights. Now, these might not be your favorite highlights, and I do apologize for that. There might be some good places that we have to just pass on the way because we haven't got time to stop there now.

I was laughing with Kate as I was preparing this. Kate lived through this. So I have I have two envelopes now, Kate So I've opened this envelope and these are all the ones that we're not talking about today. Just Kate just saw this table full of these bits of paper of all the things we could potentially talk about.

So there the sites were not seen today. We're just going to stick with some of the ones I think we should be looking at. Okay. So do apologize. You take journeys a bit quick. I do apologize if we miss out some of the things you think we should having. I do apologize in advance if I if we don't concentrate on something you think we should be concentrating on.

But let's see where God takes us on this journey. And he's already started to take us on the journey by Helen. I thought Helen was preaching my message. Cheating. Cheating. Okay, so I'm going to start in some 24. Excellent. C I will. I will also warn you and those who've been in the Connect group with me will know this.

This is going to be a bit a tour of the Bible. I'm bought me Road Atlas to go on this to where we're going. This is the Bible so we've got lots of verses Ryan is going to try and keep up with where we're going to end up. He's got a bit of a head start. So thank you very much, Ryan, for doing that.

Okay, So the Earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. Simple statement. The Earth is the Lord's and everything in it allows is his one chronicles Chapter 29 And I'm going to try and read this because I would love to sing this, but I'm like, Yeah, you can start this one up as well if you want.

This is, you know, one Chronicles chapter 29, verse ten. It says this David Praise the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, Praise be to you, Oh Lord God of our Father, Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Oh, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor. For everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, the Lord is the Kingdom. You are exalted His head overall wealth and honor come from you. You are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. Always everything in heaven on earth is his and all that we have come from him.

Wealth and honor come from you. We read down a bit further in verse 14. David goes on to say, It goes on to say, But who am I? And who are my people? That we should be able to give as generously as this? Some of us this morning is and he was speaking generously, came and gave. Where does that come from?

Everything comes from you. That's from God. And we have given you only what comes from your hand. Even what we gave comes from God. All that we have comes from God and what we give comes from God. Deuteronomy Chapter eight and verse seven. So 17 just in case Ryan was panicking, you may say to yourself, My power and the strength of my hands has produced this wealth for me.

I'm a self-made man. I've created all this, I've done all this. It's me. Okay, But remember the Lord, your God for it. It's He who gives you the ability to produce wealth. And so it confirms his covenant, which you swore to your forefathers as it is today. There isn't a self-made man or a self-made woman. It's God that gives the ability to produce wealth.

And what we have and what God has given us, and the ability that God's given us, that's to be used now, being conscious of time already because we've got a long distance to go. I'm not going to read the whole of this passage, but in Matthew 25, it talks about an owner who gives gifts, who gives talents. The oldest going away, and he gives these talents and he gives five some people to some people and one to some people.

And when he comes back, he looks for return on those talents from those gifts. And we're going to read it. We go, Thank you very much, friend. In verse 20 and 21 of Matthew chapter 25, it says, Well, just in verse 19 says, After a long time, the master of the servants returned and settled accounts of the man who received the five talents, bought the other five Master said, You entrusted me with five talents.

See, I've gained five more. The master replied, Well done, Good. I'm faithful servant. You have been faced with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness. The man with the two talents also came Master. He said, You interest me two talents. See? I've gained two more. His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness in Luke 16 in verse ten, which don't panic, Ryan, you go this one. It says, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. It's not the amount that we've got, it's what we do with it that counts.

Sam talks about the one, the one with the one talent because one with the one talent. He talks about how he he just buried it. He didn't do anything with it. And when the master came back, he just went, Oh, you are. And the master, well, he talks about how he treated him, that he didn't he wasn't pleased with the fact he just got back.

So we each have been given talents. We each have been given a degree of money. It's what we do with it. In Luke 21, there's the story of the widow's mite, and we tend to concentrate on the fact that this widow gives a very small amount and we've got all these people going, Oh, look how much I'm giving.

The widow was faithful with the little that she had much more than the people with more money. They were just staring for show. They weren't being faithful. She was being faithful with what she had to be trustworthy, with what God has given you. So let's see where we've been so far on a little journey. It's always all come from him.

All that we have is from him. The whole Earth is his. He has allowed us by giving us a share. It all comes from him. Even what we give comes from him. We are challenged to be faithful with what we have, whether he's a big man or little mountain big man. Now we're also challenged to be content. Philippians Chapter four and starting in verse 11, this is because this is Paul speaking, writing to the church, the pope.

I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength telling stories, isn't it what it means to some people on Friday evening and some of them within that meal sort of said this sort of asking just what our expectations were and talking about how people's expectations have changed over the generations.

There's almost a we've got this right to have all these endless things and we've lost within that the ability to be content with what we've got. There's always a hunger for more, and that more never satisfies the hunger. On Timothy six, very well known. So this that was on the left and I do apologize if he wasn't on Timothy six verse six says this godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People want to get rich, full of temptation and a trap into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge meaning to ruin and destruction for the love of money, is a root of all kinds of evil. Evil. Some people eager for money of wandered from faith and peace themselves with many griefs.

We need to be content and in that contentment. This is a side road we don't. We've got to watch on guard our hearts to not be jealous of God's generosity to others. In Matthew chapter 20, there's a story, a parable that Jesus told of the owner of a vineyard who was looking for workers to work in that vineyard.

So he goes out into the marketplace and he meets early in the morning. He meets people and say, Are you willing to work? Yes. How much are you going to pay in? And the owner says, I will pay you this much. I can't remember the figure now. And scenario 210 out of ten tonight, whatever, whatever. I'll pay you.

£50, they say will go for the figure. Those people go to work happy because that's what they get paid that great good deal for the day. Little later in the day, the owner of the vineyard realizes he needs more laborers, so he goes back into the marketplace. So first of all, early in the morning, second lot, we go early afternoon, see what comes, not reading the whole story, making it was going to see what people would be telling me.

No, I remember your message, but you got that wrong. It wasn't there. Okay. The principle is he went back later in the day and said, Anybody want to work? And there were people in the marketplace and they said, yes, we'll work. How much going to work for? Oh, £50 for the rest of the day. No deal would do that.

And then even later in the day and I think he talks about even at the 11th hour of the day and last thing in the day, he still goes into the marketplace and says, anybody want to come work for me, This will come. How much you're going to pay is £50. Well, hold on a minute. The ones over here are going to work for an hour, are going to be paid the same as the ones.

I agree. We're going to work all day. And the ones over here find out what the ones over there regarding. And they are not happy boonies yet. They had made a contract to say we're happy to work for that amount. It was only the generosity of the vineyard owner. They became jealous and it's easy for us to look around, to compare with all the people they go lobs.

We've got little you don't know. I quite often do cars We drive cotton O'Connor God bless the Sukar in an amazing way. We can't afford to replace it It just carries on the street. But I look at cars, nothing. How can they afford that new car? Well, there are some who can afford that new car because they own tithing.

There are some you know, I think, you know, we will get something. So between this church now, they can afford all those new things because they're not our income to them only should I be jealous of them. Now, to some people who never own a car, they just constantly Lisi So why am I? I've got my own car now.

Okay, we've getting the argument of which is the best way to finance cars, but we shouldn't be comparing what we have with what other people have got. God wants us to be content. God wants us to be faithful. We bothered you given us whether it's a small amount or a big amount. And ultimately I put down there nothing in, nothing out.

We bought nothing into the world. We're going to take nothing out of it. I won't get too sidetracked. Let's move on somewhere else. Okay. Well, my favorite stories, we're going to look at one Kings chapter 17 and 17 verses 716. Okay. In Elijah here, Elijah has been a by Ravens and he says and it will provide him a brook to drink from in the midst of a drought and it says sometime late brook dried up because there'd be no rain in the land.

Then the word Lord came to him. God wants to. Seraph has a sign and stay that I've commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food. So you went to sacrifice. When you came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?

And she was going to get it. He called and bring me, please, a piece of bread as surely as the Lord. Your God bless, she replied. I don't have any bread. Only a handful of flour in a jar. That's the loyal in the jug. I'm gathering a few sticks to take out and make a meal for myself, for my son, that we may eat it and die it.

I just said to her, Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you've said. But first make a small cakebread for me from what you have and bring it to me and then make something for your own and your yourself and your son. So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel said. The jar of flour will not be used up and the joke of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.

She went away and did as Elijah told her. So there was food every day for Elijah, for the woman and her family. The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry. In keeping with the words of the Lord spoken by Elijah, We have a God of limitless supply going back a number of years now, about 20 years I was made redundant.

I was out of work for turned out to be six months. I more in being made redundant. I had a lump of money and that lump of money, Ali Ali was working not in the elevated job that she ended up in, but quite a low paid job. We had three very small children. We had a house to run and all the normal expenses.

We did not have any savings and we had this lump of money and the jar of oil, a jar of flour, and the jug of oil did not run dry because out of that lump of money, every month we would pay me a salary. Every month I was at work, will pay me a salary, and out of that salary we would tithe and we would give.

And the jug, The john. The jug. When you ran out the day that I got into the job or the day I got paid, get out of the job. God has got limitless supply. He is not going to let you down. Many years ago I can remember John Smith talking on what becomes my favorite verses in the Bible.

And there in Luke chapter five, verse 4 to 7, Let's take favorite verses. It's more is more that what they're saying has become something that God has just etched into my heart. To Luke, Chapter five with 47. So we will see how to yes. So Jesus as met Simon and some of the fishermen. He's borrowed on the boats, he's sat down and without he's taught the people.

When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Simon answered, Master, we worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. Because you say so. I will let down the nets when they're done. So they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.

So they signal to their partners in the other boats to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. God is not short of ways to supply our needs. He is not limited to a particular way. He will not necessarily provide for you in the way that he provides for somebody else.

These guys had been out fishing. They had caught zilch, zero, zippo interest and labored hard, got nothing. Jesus borrows boats but says, Come, come on, castanets. The thing that struck me is I read this early this week is that Simon has only just met Jesus. But he says, because you say, I'll do it immediately, recognizing Jesus, somebody you could trust, and somebody who maybe wasn't efficient, but they knew, I'm going to follow what he says.

God is not limited in the way that he will supply. One of the prophetic words that came earlier on this year was that we shouldn't assume that we've seen God work in certain ways, and we shouldn't assume that by doing certain things will get God to work. This is one interpretation that whatever God spoke to you through that word, this is just one interpretation that we shouldn't assume that God's going to provide for us in the way that He's always provided for us or the way that we expect him to.

I went to do Monty Python. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, but that's probably not appropriate these days. But we need to expect the unexpected that God will take us by surprise. He's not limited in the way that He will provide for us. Okay. Next stop on a little journey is the fact that in obedience is provision, sometimes God will say to us, Do this light on our hearts.

You'll say, Do this, and we will wait for him to provide everything we need to do that thing and then wonder why all that stuff hasn't arrived. In Genesis chapter 22, we read the story of Abraham and Isaac to Isaac through Isaac, God had promised to create nations, but then God had said to Abraham, Take Isaac and sacrifice him.

Give him up. And he says in verse eight, Is it going up the up the hill? Isaac sort of looking around going, okay, well, I can see the wood to the fire. I can see the fire with you. Where's the sacrifice that we're going to put on top of this wood? And in verse eight, Abraham says this God himself will provide the sacrifice unless we get further into the chapter, as Abraham is about to go through with this emotionally terrible thing.

But it's something that God's asked him to do. It says this. Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw around, caught by its horns, he went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the place The Lord will provide Jehovah, Kyra. And that's not Jehovah Gyri.

I'm sitting here waiting for God. That's I'm doing what God asked me to do. And God for vision just comes sweeping in and it says, and to this day it is said on the mount, to the Lord, on the mountain of the Lord. It will be provided God's asking to do something. If he's leading in a certain direction, Don't expect everything to be there on day one for you to be able to walk in that direction.

But be sure of this on the mountain. The law on the mountain that the Lord will be provided as you are obedient to God. It will be provided Jehovah Gyro Hour, provided. Yeah. Okay, there's another story, but we're going to miss that. Well, that which is the in a back again in kings is a widow who has oil.

I don't know if you remember this is a long shot. I think this one is that it is like you said what have you got? And she has jars. I've got a little oil. And he says, go find some jars. And the jars just keep filling them, filling them, filling as we do what God wants us to do as we use what we have to do, He will provide on the mountain of the Lord.

It will be provided Jehovah Gyri that came in. We have enough to be paid. Let's look at Philippians chapter four. You know, sometimes we we were very good Christians of taking verses out of context to suit our to suit our purposes and so we're just going to quickly look at Philippians chapter four, and we're going to start at verse 14.

Yet it was good for all of you. That's the Philippine church to share my troubles. That's Paul's troubles. Moreover As you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me the matter of giving and receiving, except you only for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.

I just want to do a quick sometimes a giving isn't just a one off. Sometimes we need to give again. Quite often we sort of, Oh, that's just my heart I'll give to that. And we walk away and think we're done. You know, in quite some time you'll come and sit on our shoulder and go, You need to get to that again.

You need to get that again. Some wisdom this morning, 20 it might be in a few weeks time. You go to the church if we we can't just this sometimes it is to our responsibilities a one of gift but sometimes it is that we take ownership of it and we gave and we gave. And we gave. I know that this church faithfully, through the 40 years, has given faithfully to carry and to the work of what is now ministries, our borders.

We give and we give again. And we give again and we give again. We don't just go. Well, you know, back in 1998, we gave £2,000 that will do. And we walk away. Now, sometimes we've got to just keep giving. Sorry, sidetrack, go back to the not that I'm looking for a gift, but I'm looking for what may be credited to your account.

I receive full payment and even more I'm amply supplied now that I received from paradise. Just the gifts you sent. They are fragrant, offering an acceptable sacrifice pleasing to God and my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, as they have given to Paul is saying, and God you have given God will meet all your needs.

Woe to us. We're very careful with that verse because sometimes we sort of, Oh, I need this God and provide all my needs. But the context is that these guys have just been giving and giving and giving and God will provide. Okay, but we're going to sidetrack. So we on. So let's just recap all his what we've been given needs to be used and we need to be faithful in that.

We need to be content. We've got a God of the limitless supply that God is not short in where He's supplying in obedience is provision. Let's look in. You knew we'd come on to this, but we're going to get into Luke Chapter six. Luke, Chapter six. This 38 says gave and it will be given to you a good measure.

Pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. Four With the messy use, it will be measured to you just as a just a bit. Oh, so why they don't want a lap full of I mean that's just. But actually in that time it was the garments that they wore. The pockets were in the lap, so the pockets were like across the front.

So in saying according to your lap, it's almost saying, God, you gave, I'll fill your pockets, I'm just going to contrast empty pockets. God wants to fill them. Two Corinthians nine, verses 6 to 8. Remember this? Maybe that's a warning to us because we've heard this plenty of times. Whoever sews sparingly will also rip sparingly and whoever sews generously will also reap generously.

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give. Allen quoted that this morning, not reluctantly, on the compulsion for God loves to cheer for good giver those that have been in the church long enough for remember Dave Greg taking up an offering, playing the Laughing Policeman song God loves a cheerful given and God is able to make all grace are bound to you so they in all things at all times having all that you need, you will abound in every good work measure for measure.

Sometimes you think unconsummated got you Just been a bit stingy to me. Well, hold on a minute. Maybe that's because the measure that you're getting is the message that you're using to give. God has given us a look that all of that in verse eight that God has given us the ability and the provision to be generous. Again, don't forget, we're not talking about people with a law that we could be, but even with a little, it's how we use is how we use that gift and that talent that God's given us.

God has given us the ability to be generous. Staying in two Corinthians chapter nine, verse seven, which is what Helen quoted ready Helen Reddy this morning, Every man should give what he is desired in his heart to give. We need to be straight in our giving. I did have another little sidetrack which is a meal to pack, but we also need to fulfill the commitments that we've made in giving some of us this morning, as Dave or Jeff has encouraged me, I put a pledge in for and this is the offering we took there friendly.

You need to redeem that pledge. And I speak from personal experience that Ali and I a number of years ago made a pledge to Bible week in a heap offering that we would give so much money in faith. We were that, yes, we're going to give this, Oh, pooh, how the heck are we going to give that? And we got a very nice letter from somebody, which is our board, where you pledge to give integrity as he talks about how last year we were keen to give.

You need to continue in that and fulfill the promise that you have made. Just a slight detour. Okay. We need to straighten out. Give him we look and read this. But there's a story in Acts chapter five, which is one of the scariest stories in the Bible, and it's in the New Testament. There's lots of things in the Old Testament.

I think that's a bit blue and glory. But this is the New Testament. This is at the time where he talks about the believers having everything in common that they share things. They they realized that the things that they had with the things that God had provided for them, but they were for the use of everybody in the body.

So the fact that you had a piece of land and there was a need in the body, you went and sold that piece of land called Barnabas did it, and he pulled the money and he laid it at the disciples feet immediately afterwards, talking about and how this son of encouragement had done this thing. There's a story of Canonize and Safire, who also had some land, sold it and pulled a fast one because they lied about how much they sold it for.

They determined that they well, all of this isn't for everybody else. This is this is some of it's ours. Everything's God's. Don't forget, this is ours. And they lied and they both died. And he talks after the great fear was among the disciples. Okay, let's move on to the next one. Malachi. Chapter three How the message are you sitting here lying to your fellow brothers and sisters who sit here?

Are you to just move on to those verses? Wrong. Well, Chapter three things Are you robbing God, but not just robbing God? Are you robbing me? Are you robbing Keith? I want to make John Green Dot Maureen by not bringing the tithe. It isn't bringing an offering. This is God something. Forget we started off with everything. These God gods.

What you have is God's God's giving it to you. I'm giving you the talents. Goods. Give me the money. It's his. It's not. But 90% is ours, and 10% is his. Though some of it and some of us are doing this deal, 10% think God can work out 10%. But if I had 10,000, if I had £20,000 to give you, what do you 20% that Tim said, no, no, we need 10%.

God's not him at mass, God knows. But the problem is it talks in this person's time of robbing God, but we're also robbing ourselves that we're robbing each other and we're robbing ourselves. Because as Helen read for us, it talks about God just wants to open the floodgates of heaven and why we, through our actions, haven't talked about how the few times we go gives us the permission to test in.

Test mean this is the Lord and see if I'm not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing it will not have room enough for it. And it's not just there. Published three verse 9/10 says It's only the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of your crops, then your bonds. We film to overflowing.

I'm your vats will brim over with new wine. The danger is that we've done this deal. The danger is we're trying to convince ourselves. And because God doesn't do what he did. 29 since the fire, we think that one, everything we have is from God. It isn't just the 10% is God's. It's all God's. David Jeff and I were laughing about the bishop in Cuba.

We have for those of you don't know, we have a relationship with the message church over in Cuba. Bishop Ricardo and God has done amazing things to this relationship. Some of the practices that were a little interesting. Now over here, we would think some of the practices in the Methodist church are like, so, so liberal. Let me get the the got the Bibles around me and smile.

Yes, but in the bishop's church, he will actually name names of people who are not bringing the full tithe into the house. So I've got a book that it's not it's not a fun thing. It's we need to honor God with what he's given us. We need to bring the first fruits. We need to stop robbing him, robbing ourselves, and robbing each other.

I'm going to close with something that has been blessed me richly recently, which is and we're going back to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, we spend a bit of time in the Old Testament with a piece of paper and this is in existing times. Okay, So we're not going to read the whole chapter. We're just going to quickly in the checklist.

I mean, it's okay. This is this is God. God is given instructions for the tabernacle. So that's him coming to saying, I'm going to live amongst you and this is how we're going to do it. And in verse two says, Moses said to the whole Israelite community, This is what the Lord has commanded from what you have taken offering for the Lord, everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord and offering, and then goes on to talk about the various things that they can bring to the Lord.

Verse 20 says, Then the whole Israelite community be true for Moses presence and everyone who is willing and those whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the tent, for the work on the tent. In the meeting, the 22 says all who are willing men and women alike, verse 29 says, All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord free will offerings all the work the Lord through Moses has commanded them to do.

And we move over into chapter 36. Verse four says this All the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left the work and said to Moses, The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work. The Lord commanded to be done. The Moses gave an order. I would love to give this order. And they sent this word throughout the camp.

No, man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing more because they had already had. Because they already had sorry, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work. They were restrained from bringing it. Don't give too much because they caught the vision, because they saw what was happening.

And they stood here this morning, shared his heart about a small church in Rumania that is reaching out to its community. And people caught that heart. And because they caught that heart, they went, I'll give something to that. Out of the money God trusted me with. I will give some of that to that because they caught that heart.

Verse 29 said, All these right men and women who are willing bow to the Lord free will offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses commanded them to do. They saw they caught the mission. They knew what was happening. They were going to give to that. There's a line in a song called Hosanna which says Break my heart.

What breaks yours? Everything. I am for your kingdoms. Cause we need to let God break our hearts. What breaks his so that he might break the chains on our wallets and purses and bank accounts on that money that his so that we can express and give for the things that God wants us to do. The things that He is trying to do in this world.

So I do apologize slightly later than we should be. It's always what we have is given to us by him. We need to be faithful, that need to be content. We have a guard of limitless supply, a God who is not short on ways to supply it in the obedience that the provision comes measure by measure. The measure you gave is the measure you receive.

Be straight in your giving. Keep the floodgates of heaven open and give to the vision. So that's a quick tour. There is, Miles, more. I'm just going to pray Then. In closing, Father, we just thank you for your generosity to us. Father. We acknowledge that it is all yours, that we are just undeserving of it. You have chosen to give us so much.

And Father, we again just want to say it's yours. Open our hearts. We might give. We might be such a generous people. And through our generosity, your kingdom would expand and grow through our generosity. There would be no need in the House that through our generosity, your message would reach to places where the moment it can't, because of lack of money, are rather that you would stir it up.

That you would allow us to be honest, that you would allow us to sit at your feet and let you tell us how we stand with you in terms of our ties and our offerings giving and our use of the talents that you've given us. That Father, we might know what it is for the floodgates of heaven to open and for all lamps to be saturated, our pockets to be filled, that we might be a people who always have enough to do the things that you'd have us do, and to reach the people you'd have us reach and to give to the people you'd have us give to Father.

We do. Thank you. We thank you for your grace, in your mercy. And we thank you that we can come and we can say sorry, and we can come and commit ourselves afresh in this area of life to follow the rules of your house. Thank you, Lord. I mean, that's fine. And just so you know, I'm with you.

Slightly spare by the welcome desk if you still want to give in to that, then you could put a little pledge right there on a piece of paper, put it into the envelope. That money will be counted by two people and we'll be able to process it. I know, Andy, it was £1,000 they need. It would be good for us to be able to give him a little bit more so that that blessing that they receive, they can tithe on it and keep the flow going somewhere else outside of themselves.

That's always a good thing to do. And and if and you hear some words and it's a challenge in your heart and you feel I need to talk about that because I feel it's like impossible for me to look at my giving, look at my tithing. Please come to any connected ladies. Come to Jeff Mike, myself. Let us help you understand that and how to take steps forward.

If you have one of these on your seat and you just lift one up, it's a family fun daily flicker. You see it around you. Could you have a look around some of these seats? I think this one, as you see now, we got about 4000 of these. Now, if you've got one near you, if you haven't, there some at the back of hope on that table.

But please, would you just take these. Think you could manage to take two fine to a fine two people. You might be able to say there's a fantastic event going on. All the games are fun, all the games are free and you're more than welcome. Come along. And that's in a couple of weeks time. All of y one team are going to be arriving at the back end of this weekend to keep themselves and they're going to be promoting that over the coming week in particular.

We're going to be going out in some areas. If you'd like to know about that and come along, then please contact Keith looking at social media and you could join us just as we knock and just invite people to be blessed and have a great time. Yeah, it's not around. We're keeping the whole of the bank holiday weekend free around the coronation time.

Whether you do anything or not, have a great time with that. These leaflets are here as an invitation for you to be able to find some of the if you can't find anybody go either side of the house, wherever you live. And why don't you just put it through the door? You don't even have to knock on the door.

But it's not a bad thing if you've never spoke to them about the fact that you go to the community church and maybe they know. So is that good? Thank you, Mike. Thank you for being with us. The children next door to get have a great time. Whatever you do over the bank holiday weekend, share the love and life of Jesus with those around you in your world.

Thanks for being with us this morning.