The Gospel of Mark: Multiplication

I had lunch with a doctor recently, and here's what I told him. I said, you know, my triglycerides are a little bit high. That's fat in your blood. I got to bring my triglycerides down.

What would you recommend? And he said, Chad, very simple. I want you to cut back on your carbohydrates, cut back on your processed carbs, or cut them out altogether.

That's what you need to do to bring down your triglycerides. When he said that, let me tell you what I did not say. I did not say, man, I'm free in Jesus Christ. Why are you trying to put me back under the law again?

I'm free in Jesus. I can do whatever I want to do. I didn't say, well, you do understand there are other experts out there that have looked at the data and they say you're wrong. That's old school conventional wisdom, but the new thing... I didn't say that. I didn't say to him, you doctors, you all just end up for the money, aren't you? You want to make as much money as you can and keep the rest of us sick. You're a tool of big pharma.

You're in it for the money. I didn't say any of that. Had I pitched a fit and said all that stuff, you know what he would have said?

He's like, just trying to help. Do whatever you want to do. And when it comes to talking about money, I kind of feel the same way.

I'll talk about money and I'll either buy a letter or online or I'll get the same thing. Well, Chad, you're legalistic. You're trying to put us back under the law. Or I've read other pastoral experts that disagree with you. Or you pastors are just in it for the money. You want your money.

I'm going to say the same thing my doctor would say to me. Do what you want to do, just trying to help. This issue of money, particularly in this materialistic culture, it is a, on the one hand, potentially very positive thing if you handle it biblically. It can be a very dangerous thing if you don't handle it biblically. And that's why, see, people say, I don't like preachers who talk about money. Then you would not like Jesus. Because did you know Jesus talked more about money and possessions than any other single subject? Because he understood the danger of not handling this thing right.

In fact, I kind of looked this fast. I said, you know what? I don't want to be one of these stereotypical preachers. Turn to your neighbor and say, he's not a stereotypical preacher. I'm joking. That's a joke.

Don't do that. I don't want to be one of these that just talk about money all the time. And I found out that 1% of my sermons, I only preached tithing once in the last couple of years. 1% of my sermons are on money.

But, beloved, this is an important issue. So I want you to turn to Mark 6. We've been going through, verse by verse, the Gospel of Mark.

And we're now at Mark chapter 6. And in Mark 6, we find a miracle. Now, how many Gospels are there, biographies of Jesus in the Bible?

Four. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Did you know this is the only miracle, this and one other, are the only miracles in all four Gospels? Matthew talks about this miracle. Mark talks about this miracle. Luke talks about this miracle. And John talks about it. There's only one other miracle that's talked about in all four Gospels.

Do you know which one that one is? The resurrection of Jesus Christ. So this is a very, in the mind of the apostles, this is an incredibly important miracle. Now, keep in mind, Mark chapter 6, Jesus, y'all remember this couple weeks ago? He sends all the disciples out and says, man, preach repentance, cast out demons, and heal the sick.

Remember that? And they all come back. Now, keep in mind, last week we talked about this, there is, in verses 14 through 29, a flashback. Verses 14 through 29, they're talking about the death of John the Baptist. So now we are back to when all the disciples come back after having preached.

That's what's going on here. Now, we're not sure where this miracle took place. Scholars have debated where on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is a pretty big lake, and we're not sure where on the lake it took place, but it would have looked something like this. Here's a picture of the area of the Sea of Galilee. It may have been in this spot.

This takes place somewhere around this location, okay? And it says in verse 30, it's actually interesting today, that area is still really rural. A lot of Israel is developed, that area looks just about the same as it did during the time of Jesus. Verse 30, then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both of what they had done and what they had taught. Remember, you sent us out, we came back, we saw this demon cast out, this person raised from the dead, and he said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while.

For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. Look at verse 32, it says, they went in the boat, definite article. Evidently, there was a boat that the disciples and Jesus used during His ministry. Day after day, when they needed to get from point A to point B, it wasn't just a general boat, there was the boat, a specific boat.

It's interesting, in 1986, the Sea of Galilee experienced a big drought, and it receded way back. And when it receded, they actually found a fishing boat from the time of Jesus, right there where Jesus operated. Here's a picture of that boat. And it was actually in remarkably good shape to be 2,000 years old. And it's interesting, scholars said, you know, that boat fits about, here's what the scholars say, 12 or 13 people.

It's kind of interesting. Now, that may not have been the boat, but if it's from the time of Jesus, where Jesus operated, Jesus at least gazed upon that boat. I had this feeling that of all the boats that could be preserved, what if it's just like God to say, you know what, I'm going to preserve the boat that Jesus used.

So maybe this is it, maybe it's not, but they had a go-to boat. And verse 31, He says to the disciples, so look, come over here and you need to rest and you need to get something to eat. You haven't eaten.

Let me just take a quick timeout. Jesus understood the connection between your body and your soul and your spirit. Some of us think that you are dealing with spiritual issues and it's demonic attacks. It could be there are some physical stuff going on that's impacting your spirit. Our body, souls, and spirit are interconnected. I was listening to a prominent pastor one time say that when he counsels people who are dealing with depression and anxiety, he says, the first thing I will tell them, he said, go home for the next week or two, get eight hours of sleep every single night, get three good meals, walk outside, just do some exercise for about 30 minutes, just walk around outside for about 30 minutes.

He said, you know what, I found 50% of the depression cases clear up once they do those things. And so Jesus understood there's a connection between the disciples' bodies, souls, and spirit. And so He says, man, let's come over here and just rest for a little while. Verse 33, but when the multitude saw them departing and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities, they arrived before them and came together to Him. And Jesus, when He had come out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion.

It's interesting. He's wanting to rest. The people won't let them rest. And instead of getting mad, He's moved with compassion because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, this is a deserted place and already the hour is late. Send all these people away that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread for they have nothing to eat. But He answered and said to them, hey, you give them something to eat. They said to Him, well, should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? But He said to them, how many loaves do you have?

Go and see. And when they found out, they said, five, five loaves and two fish. Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. And so they sat down in ranks in hundreds and in fifties. Let me stop and say this, because people always try to find deeper meaning in the Bible. Why did He have them sit down in groups of fifties and one hundreds?

We're not sure, but here's what I think. I think what Jesus is saying is, in ministry, there is a place for organization and administration and order. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians, God is not a God of disorder, but a God of order. Let's do this thing very orderly.

Do you understand? All these people are there. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them, and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up 12 baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now, those who had eaten the loaves were about, watch this, 5,000 men. So you see what's going on.

Here's the problem. Jesus and His disciples are trying to go out on retreat. Guys, you all are worn out. Let's just get away and rest. So they're on this boat going from point A to point B, and this big multitude of people, they see them, and they're like, we're going to run ahead, and we're going to find... He ain't getting away from us. And so, when they finally get to where they need to be, the multitude is there already. There goes your retreat.

There goes your rest. And I love it. Instead of getting angry, Jesus is moved with compassion.

And it's really interesting. He said, because there were sheep without a shepherd, they need some guidance. And what does it say? When He saw that they need guidance, He is moved with compassion.

What does He do? It says He teaches them. People need a word from God. People are hungry for a word from God. And so, Jesus teaches them. And now He's taught them so long, it's late. They're out in the middle of nowhere.

They're late. Verse 44 says, there's 5,000 men, just men, so you add the women, and you add the children. Man, there's probably 15,000, 20,000 people there. That's a lot of people.

And the key, I think the key is in verse 37. The disciples are all panicked. They're like, we've got 15,000 people. The sugar level is dropping. They're tired. They're hungry.

We don't know what to do. And Jesus says, this is the key right here. It's because it's repeated in all four gospels. John, it said a little bit differently. Jesus says, you feed them.

In other words, here's what Jesus is saying. That's not my problem. It's your problem. You feed them. And now the disciples are in a quandary.

Make no mistake about it. They are in a financially challenging situation. This is a financial problem.

This is a logistical problem. And so, they start kind of saying, all right, guys, get together. Jesus just told us. Man just told us. We've got to feed them all.

What are we going to do? And they came up with a very logical solution. It makes sense what they said. Verse 37, should we go and buy 200 denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat? Now, 200 denarii, that's about eight months to one year wages. Now, it's implied here, and it's implied, I think, even stronger in Luke, that what they're saying is, we've got the money.

Do we go somewhere and try to find somebody? So, that tells me, wait, the disciples and Jesus had about eight months to one year of a salary, maybe $20,000 in their savings account. And we know they had a savings account because they had a treasurer. Anybody know what the treasurer's name was?

Judas. So, they have a savings account. So, the money is there. It might wipe out the savings account, but the money is there.

This is just an ancillary thing. Maybe the Lord's trying to teach us a lesson as well. Hey, instead of every time money hits your hand, you go to Target and spend it, or every time you get a little money in your pocket, you go spend it somewhere. Jesus said, why don't you all save some money? Might be a good...

I know the new Bronco is really cool, but maybe he can let you truck, you know, last another couple of years and save the money, okay? So, Jesus had a savings account is what I'm trying to say. All right. But look, there's nothing wrong with the disciples suggestion. It's logical. It makes sense. We got a problem.

Let's go spend some money and fix the problem. Jesus's solution is counterintuitive. Jesus is very clear on this. When it comes to handling your money my way, you're going to need to put some logic aside and just trust me. Biblical giving is counterintuitive. It doesn't make sense.

What I want to share with you for a few moments is not going to make sense. In fact, there's an old... Y'all know who John Bunyan was? Old Puritan speaker. In fact, when I was in London, we saw John Bunyan's grave. I didn't see the grave of that big ox that used to follow him, but we're at John Bunyan's grave. And John Bunyan had this little poem. He said, there was a man, some thought him mad, because the more he gave, the more he had.

There's something counterintuitive about this. What I'm going to share with you, handling your finances God's way, it doesn't really fit into this nice logical box. In fact, years ago, back when I watched the Today Show, Darla and I were watching the Today Show one morning, and I think it's the beginning of the year. All these shows will have, at the beginning of the year, how to handle your finances.

They'll always talk about five ways to handle your finances in 2023, or here's how to get in shape in 2023. This one was on finances. And the guy's not even a Christian. He wasn't even coming from a Christian standpoint.

He was not a Christian. I'll never forget, he had nine keys to handling your finances. And he said, now number two... Here's what he said.

Number ten doesn't make sense. But he said, give your money away. He said, we don't understand this, but we financial advisors find out that the people who give their money away, they tend to have more money than those who just keep it all to themselves.

Even the secular world was acknowledging this doesn't make sense. And so, there was a principle. Look, don't ever forget this principle. There was a principle that the disciples learned that day when 15,000 people were fed. And here's the principle. Jot this down. Resources placed in the hands of God will always multiply.

Say that with me. Resources? You're not excited about this for a minute. I know, I'll get back to the homosexuals and the transgenders next week, okay? Resources placed in the hands of God will multiply. Now let's kind of break this apart a little bit. Resources. Hey, what was the resources that those disciples had? Verse 38.

Now again, logic. 15,000 people. What resources do they have to feed?

15,000 people. Verse 38 says, five loaves and two fish. In the Gospel of John, it's kind of interesting. In the Gospel of John, John gets a little bit more specific and he says, yeah, there were five loaves and two fish, but let me get a little bit more specific. John says, there's a little boy there that day. And that little boy is the one who had the five loaves and the two fish. Now for years, because you know, when you go to the grocery store, loaf is like a big... for years, I thought, what's a little kid doing with five loaves of bread?

You know, I always pictured this morbidly obese kid with metabolic syndrome waddling around saying, I want pie. That's not what the loaves were. Those loaves were actually biscuits. They would take these small, about that big, these small biscuits. John says they're barley biscuits.

Interesting. Wheat was the food for rich people. Barley was the food of the poor people. This kid has five little barley biscuits, little crackers if you will. And the fish, the two fish, they're not, you know, this big old five-pound bass I just caught in the Sea of Galilee. In those days, the Sea of Galilee were known for these, they're almost like sardines.

They're about that big. They would pickle them or smoke them. And so what this kid has is a little snack of five little biscuits and two smoked sardines. That's the resources that the disciples are working with. Now can I tell you what your resource is? This is a, I'm going to use this word, you have a sacred resource and that is 10%, the first 10% of your income, we call that the tithe, that is your resource. I am convinced of this. Now you pastor, if I don't tithe am I going to hell?

I'm not, no. You're only born again because you turn from your sins and you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can stop working because he worked for you. You trust in Jesus, you go into heaven.

But you understand there's more to the Christian life than just going to heaven. And I'm convinced that the first 10% of our income goes to the Lord. And you say, well that's just the Mosaic law.

No, no, no, no. In Genesis chapter 14 and Hebrews chapter 7 it says Abraham gave the first 10% of his income to the Lord. That's 500 years before the Mosaic law even came on the scene.

It says in Genesis chapter 28 verse 22 that Jacob tithed his income, 10% of his income, first 10% went to God. That's 500 years before the Mosaic law. Don't say this is a legalistic law thing. This is 500 years before the law. Malachi says bring the tithe into the storehouse and in 1st Corinthians 9 13 through 14 and 1st Corinthians 16 2 Paul seems to equate the church with the equivalent of the Old Testament storehouse. So this principle is still in place today. It has nothing to do with whether you go to heaven or hell. This is now how do I handle my finances.

I am convinced there is divine wisdom in saying first 10% goes to God. There's a guy named, I love this guy, Peter Marshall. He was the former chaplain of the Senate.

Some of y'all heard of him. And he said this guy came up to him one time after church and he said, he said, Pastor Marshall, I need you to pray for me. He says, all right, how can I pray for you? He said, well you know I tithed all my life and God's blessed that. He really has blessed it. He said it was easy to tithe when I was making twenty thousand dollars a year and gave two thousand to God.

That was easy. He said, now I got a problem. He said, I'm making five hundred thousand dollars a year and it's hard to give fifty thousand to the Lord. So y'all think once I get enough money I'll start tithing. Statistically that doesn't happen.

You understand it's quandary. Making twenty thousand a year it's easy to give two thousand to the Lord. It's easy to tithe.

I'm making five hundred thousand. It's a lot harder to give fifty thousand to the Lord. And Peter Marshall said, man, I understand and I sympathize with you. Man, let's just pray right now.

And so he put his hand on that guy's shoulder and he said, oh God, my brother has a problem. He wants to tithe but fifty thousand dollars is so much. So Father, please reduce his salary back to where he can afford to tithe again.

Resources placed where? In the hand of God. Some of y'all who may not be new to Christianity you're saying, well, I don't see God in this passage. I see this Jesus guy. Look, we believe Jesus is God. He is God in flesh.

And we see these glimpses of his divinity really in two ways in this passage. First of all, there's a Latin term called creatio ex nihilio. It means created out of nothing. Demons can mimic this.

Demons can mimic that. But creating something out of nothing, demons and Satan can't do that. Creatio ex nihilio means only God can create something out of nothing. And so right here when you're seeing Jesus creating something out of nothing, that is establishing his divinity. Secondly, in the Old Testament when God's people were hungry and they're crying out to God, what did God do? He provided bread out of nowhere.

In this passage, who is now providing bread out of nowhere? Jesus. Jesus is God. So resources, number one, placed in the hands of God. And look, the Gospels really emphasized this.

They could have left this little detail out. Everyone of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, emphasized that the resources were placed in Jesus's hand. Verse 41, it says, and when he had taken the five loaves and the two fish. Matthew 14, 18, taking the five loaves and two fish. Luke 9, 16, taking the five loaves and two fish. John 6, 11, Jesus took the loaves and fish.

Each gospel specifies that the resources were placed in the hands of God. That's what we call the first fruit. Hey, what would have happened if instead of putting it in Jesus's hands first, the disciples said, look Jesus, we're gonna give it to the people first. And if we have some leftovers, we're gonna give it to you. Would it have ever been multiplied? No.

It had to be put in Jesus's hands first. And again, look, I'm gonna get back to my doctor friend, okay? Chad, I think you're being legalistic, you just want to make more money, and you're whatever. You know, I've struggled with things before.

Anger, temper, competitiveness, whatever. I've never really struggled with the money. I don't care how much money you make. I don't care. I don't even know how much money I make. You ask darlings, I don't even know how much money.

The money thing doesn't really do a whole lot for me, okay? I'm just convinced, because I practiced this all my life. First 10% goes to God. You know, in the Christian life, there's really nothing we can do perfectly.

We can't walk perfectly in any other area. Did you know tithing is one of those things you can do perfectly? Anybody can give first 10% of their income to the Lord. And you see that concept of the first fruit all throughout Scripture. In 2 Kings 4, this is interesting, Elijah feeds a hundred men with 20 loaves of bread, and it specifically says in 2 Kings 4, that miraculous bread, it was the first fruit. God gave Elijah the supernatural power.

It came from God, but it specifically says it was a first fruit. 1 Kings 17, there's a widow. She and her son are living in this time of famine. They're about to starve to death. They only have a little oil and a little flour left. And Elijah comes along and says, y'all about to die, aren't you?

It's like, yeah. She said, we don't have this much oil and this much flour, and then we're dead. You know what that greeter preacher said? He said, use the rest of your oil and the rest of your flour and make some bread and give it to me first. And she does that, and what happens?

There is more oil, they never run out after that, of oil and flour. God is trying to teach a point here that there's something powerful about the first fruit. In fact, I remember, it's kind of funny, I remember my dad got saved. I think I was five, six years old. And I remember three things about when my daddy got saved. Number one, he stopped drinking. Number two, he started listening to a bunch of Christian music. And number three, from day one, he started tithing.

He did, from day one, what most Christians haven't done in 30 years of walking with Jesus Christ. And he said, Chad, I'm gonna teach you this thing. I didn't think about this till today.

I just told all this today, driving over here. I said, you know, I remember when I was in my little Baptist church, I was like six or seven years old. They're doing this tithing emphasis, trying to get people to give more.

So I thought, we're gonna play dirty. If you get this cute little tow-headed boy up here to talk about tithing, we'll make all the adults feel guilty. And so they brought me up there to talk about tithing. And I'll never get my dad to have me write some things down.

He'll be writing on a little note card. But basically what I said was, I get an allowance every week and my daddy makes me give the first, I don't want to do it, but my daddy gives the, makes me give the first 10% to the Lord, or I'll get a spanking. And, you know, from day one, that's just something the Lord taught us.

I don't know. I just, um, when I say the word sacred, in my mind, again, do what you want to do, just trying to help. In my mind, that first 10% is sacred. If y'all were to tell me, somebody here today was to say, I'm gonna give you a million dollars, Chad, but I have one condition. You can't tithe on that million dollars. You know how to do? I'd say, then keep your million dollars.

In fact, I want somebody to test me on that today. You know, Pastor Robert Morris, I think, is the best preacher on money out there. And he said, man, I had a couple of my church that, they were wonderful people, very lax, they weren't disciplined in their giving. And so, you know, we tithe, but we give 3% to the church, 3% to some people that we know who are in need, 4% to missions, that's 10%. And when they got convicted over this first fruits thing, one Sunday morning, they said, we're gonna start doing biblically. They gave their first fruits to the Lord, and they stepped out in faith, and they said, that was on a Sunday. Now, they said, look, we have been waiting on a bonus that had been promised to us for months and months and months, and we just realized we ain't getting that bonus. So we tithe biblically for the first time on that Sunday. They said, on Monday, there was a check in the mail, and when we got that check in the mail, there was a note with it that said, we regret that it's taken this long to get you the bonus.

Here is the bonus, and we're putting a little bit more on top of that to compensate for the time you've had to wait. And the money that they put on top of that was the exact amount they had given the day, the Sunday before. Now, is that? Okay, it's coincidental. It could be coincidental, or it could be God just being God. And, you know, some of you are like, well, look, the reason I don't tithe here at Cross Assembly, I'm a member of Cross Assembly, but I don't tithe because I want to help the poor, and I want to do some mission stuff that I believe in, several things.

You understand the statement? I love this church. This is my church. This is my church home. I don't tithe here because I've got these other ministries I want to give to. Well, number one, I'm glad not everybody in the church feels the way you do because we wouldn't have a church if everybody did that.

That's number one. Number two, when you give to Cross Assembly, you're giving to the poor because we help the poor every week. You're giving to missions because we're sending people out every week. And number three, here's what I believe. I believe if you give God's way, He's gonna bless you so much, you're actually going to have more money coming in to help this ministry than you have now by robbing God of His tithe. Does it make sense?

Okay. So resources placed in God's hand will do what? Will multiply. Look at verse 42. So they all ate and were filled.

Honestly, this is amazing. You think about this. Five little crackers, little biscuits, a couple little sardines, and 15,000 people are filled. That means these people ate fish that had never swum in the sea before.

They ate barley that had never come from the ground before. It just kind of blows my mind to think about what Jesus does. And in verse 43, it says that there were 12 baskets left over. And I read all these commentators this week trying to parse, now what is the significance of 12 baskets of leftovers? I don't think it's that...

Sometimes we overthink things. How many disciples are there? Twelve disciples. What Jesus said is, you've stepped out on faith, all these people are blessed, and now each one of you has a little doggy bag to take home as well. You can be blessed as well. In other words, it's okay for you to be blessed. It's okay for you to give, for me to multiply, and for you to be blessed as well. And this, incidentally beloved, this is not the only passage in the scripture that talks about this.

This concept is repeated over and over and over again. Luke 6 38. Jesus says this, hey, give and it'll be given to you.

Pressed down, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap for the measure you use, it'll be measured to you. What in the world is he talking about? Here's what Jesus is talking about. In his day, if you want to go buy some grain or something, you go to the market, you'd pay the guy, the guy would say, all right, sit down. You'd have your robe on or whatever they wore, and you'd put your basket in your lap. And you've just bought some grain. The skimpy ones would just pour just enough to fill up your basket. But the really nice guys would say, let me pour some grain in your basket, let me push it down a little bit.

Let's pour a little bit of more grain in there, push it down, and let's kind of shake it, kind of like potato chips in a bag, let that settle, and push more in there. And I'm gonna give you so much, it's spilling over your basket. And Jesus says that's the kind of God you serve, that when you give, he gives to you. But it's not just enough, it's pressed down, shaken, more put down, shaken, pressed, more, that's the kind of God you serve. Second Corinthians 9 6, and don't spiritualize Second Corinthians 9 6. Second Corinthians 9 6, the Apostle Paul says this, but he says it in the context of giving, giving financially.

That's the context. And he says, remember this, whoever sows, puts out seed sparingly, will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows generously, will also reap generously. Proverbs 11 24. Proverbs 11 24 is pretty amazing. It says, hey, one person gives freely, yet he gains even more.

Another withholds what is right only to become poor. It's counterintuitive, but it's biblical. And beloved Christians have known this for centuries. I'm a fan of John Wesley. Went to John Wesley's house in London. And John Wesley, who started the Wesleyan movement and the Methodist movement, he'd be rolling over in his grave if he knew what was going on in the Methodist Church in his name today, but that's another story.

But Wesley did not start his ministry among the elite. Did you know that? There was something going on in London called the gin craze, G-I-N. You had a bunch of alcoholics.

It's like their fentanyl epidemic, okay? He would go to these strung out alcoholics, the poor of the poor, and here's what he'd do. He'd teach these people in the gutter, get them saved, get them washed up, and he would teach them to handle money God's way. And in one generation, they went from the poorest of society to the wealthiest of society.

Why? Because God knows how to handle finances. Sir John Templeton. John Templeton, in 1999, Money Magazine, the legitimate magazine, called him arguably one of the most successful investors and stock pickers of the 20th century.

This is not just some guy. This is probably one of the greatest investors of the 20th century. Here's what John Templeton said, quote, in my lifetime of observing many hundreds of families, almost without exception, the family that tithes for more than 10 years becomes both prosperous and happy. It's not even a Bible scholar saying this. This is an investor saying, look, people who do this thing God's way, within 10 years, they're the most happy, prosperous people around. One of the biggest, maybe the biggest finance book of all time is Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Major, major book. It's a secular book.

But here's what he says in that book. As far as tithing goes, it's very important to give. As my very religious friend says, God does not need to receive, but humans need to give. God is the best business partner that I've ever had.

He asks for 10% and lets me keep the other 90%, but you know what happens if you stop paying your business partners? They stop working with you, and so that's why I tithe. Now this is, again, this is not a Christian book.

This is a secular book. I was talking to a man this past week who's probably one of those generous people I've ever met that I know, and I said, man, I know a lot of people in church like this. A couple years ago you were doing great. Your business is doing incredible, and then you sent me a prayer request, Chad, my business has bottomed out. I need your prayers, and I said, and now you're back on top.

You're doing really well. I said, don't make any sense. I said, what happened? He said to me, he said, Jab, I'm just telling you what God's done. He said, I never stopped tithing. He said, when things are bottoming out and we're getting $100 a week, I'd still give $10 a week. If I make $1,000 a week, I give $100 a week.

I don't care how well or how poor I'm doing. He said, now watch this. God tells us to test him and Malachi. Test me in this tithing thing. Sometimes God tests us. He'll let us go through some tough times.

Hey, if this thing worked like automatically right away, we'd have a mafia coming in here and investing in cross-assembly to get their return as quickly as possible. So sometimes God will push you and he'll test you, but he says, in good times, bad times, I have tithed, and God's always blessed that. And so brothers, sisters, look, I am not here to make you feel bad today. Seriously, because cross-assembly, I've never seen such a generous church before. You guys, we had this business meeting the other night. I'm amazed at how much y'all give.

It's amazing. In fact, I asked Pastor Marcus, Mark, what percentage of our people tithe? Don't give me names. If y'all had to ask me who's the biggest giver in this church, I don't know because I don't look at that stuff. Because James says, don't be a respecter of man. If I knew how much some people give, look, I'm just like, I'd be kissing up to him, okay? So I don't want to know how much who gives, okay? But I said, Mark, what percentage of our church tithes? He's about 38% of our church. Actually, Mark went, it's 38.4433. I mean, he's into the numbers and stuff.

And he says, Jeb, that actually is way, way, way above the national average. So that tells me 38% of y'all do this thing God's way, and the other 62%, you're still growing in this area. I'll be honest with you, when we have deacon candidates every year, look at all these names of potential deacon candidates, and they'll be like, man, we got a huge list this year. And then I say, all right, now vet them, make sure they tithe, because I'm not wanting my leaders, look, my leaders have got to do what I'm asking you to do. I don't have leaders. If a leader's not tithing and I'm telling you to tithe, that leader's got to step off. And so, but we'll have this huge list of potential deacon candidates, and then they'll come back with like two or three people. I said, man, what happened? Once we vetted all the other ones, this is all you got left.

So we are better than most churches in this thing, but we got some room to grow. I read this story years ago. Woodrow Wilson was campaigning for the presidency, and he did this thing. I remember how they used to do this in the old days. A train would pull into town, and the very last car, you'd have the candidate out there, and so he would kind of campaign from the last car, the caboose or whatever, and all the crowds would gather around. So Woodrow Wilson is at Billings, Montana. The train had stopped. He's on the back of the train, and he's speaking, and the crowds are cheering.

They're really getting into his speech. And when he got through speaking, this little kid, little what, seven, eight-year-old boy, made a beeline through the crowd and somehow got to the front and held out his hand and put something in Woodrow Wilson's hand. Woodrow Wilson put it in his pocket, thanked him. It was something wrapped in a little piece of paper. When he got back on the train, he unwrapped that little piece of paper, and there's a dime, a dime that that little boy had given him for his presidential campaign. Take my dime. And for some reason, that struck Woodrow Wilson to the point that when he died four or five years later, his wife is going through his billfold, and she opens the billfold, and she finds a little piece of paper, and she unwraps it, and it's that little boy's dime. Something about that small gift touched the heart of Woodrow Wilson.

Hey, let me ask you something. He's God. Does he need your tithe? Does he need your money?

No. But when you put your resources in the hands of God, you're saying, God, I love you. I trust you. And God, I'm with you.

I want to join with you in this job to reach the world for Jesus Christ. And I believe that tithe, it touches the heart of God. I think he keeps it, and he treasures it. Beloved, listen to me. You don't have to tithe to get saved.

That's not what I'm talking about. If you've turned from your sins and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a born-again believer. But here's what the Lord has said. Jesus has said, now that you're saved, we, first person plural, we have got to get this message out to the rest of the world. Jesus says, I could do it on my own, but I love you so much, I want you to partner with me in reaching this world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And one of the ways we do that is by giving to the Lord. So I want you to stand with me right now.

Let's never forget that. When you tithe and when you give, yes, you're telling the Father, I love you. Yes, you say, Father, I'm trusting you with my finances. But you are also saying, God, it would be wrong for me to meet Jesus and not tell as many people as possible. This world needs Jesus. Father, let me partner with you in reaching this world for Jesus Christ. And if you believe that, man, let's sing this to the Lord together.

Let's sing this. I just want to speak the name of Jesus over every heart and every mind, because I know there is peace within your presence. I speak Jesus. I just want to speak the name of Jesus till every dark addiction starts to break, declaring there is hope and there is freedom.

I speak Jesus. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. Your name is power. Your name is healing. Your name is life. Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows, burn like a fire. May y'all, y'all believe God really, you believe He wants to bless you?

I do. But the psalmist says the Lord bless you that His name can be known among the nations. That is the funnel principle.

God, you're a funnel. God is pouring in the top and you're pouring out the bottom so that the nations will come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so raise your hands, beloved, and receive this old Hebrew blessing from God.

Hey, this blessing does not come from me. Right now these vocal cords are just in the hands of God, and God says to you, Yav rekka k'adonai v'ishma rekka. Y'er Adonai p'nyab el ochirikuneka.

Y'sar Adonai p'navalecha v'asim l'cha shalom. Church, the Lord bless you. The Lord keep you. The Lord make His faces shine upon you and be gracious to you. And the Lord turn His countenance to you, and may He give you shalom, peace, prosperity, wholeness, mind, body, soul, spirit, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen and Amen. God bless you, beloved. Let's go change this world for Jesus Christ.