Gary Wayne Bible Teaching

Money! It’s Not About the Money! Part 2 The Character of Giving By Pastor Gary Wayne In the parable of the sower, what is it that Jesus says chokes the Word of God – the seed? (The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches) Mat.13:22, Mr 4:19 Let’s think Kingdom – The Great Commission, as a backdrop. The Great Commission aligns my giving. Review = Phil.4:11-20 1.v.15 Giving & Receiving are Connected – When we give, something happens. 2. v.17 Its Not About The Gift - What was important was the fruit that comes as a result of being a giver. 3. v.18 Giving Is Not Just Financial – It is about the heart. God is smelling our offering, He is not counting it. 4. v.19 My God Will Supply – God is our source. Text: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 (Read in NIV) In talking about the character of giving, let’s talk about our character. What is it God wants to develop in us as we give? Using money as a tool to shape our lives, what is God developing in us? So when God set up the principles of tithes and offerings, He isn’t trying to raise money, He is trying to raise children. 1. Our giving must be rooted in willingness. Ver.7 – our giving is planned, not based on a whim of the moment. “Give as he purposes in his heart.” This indicates their giving was based on a past decision. I think we should come to church prepared to give. (1Co.16:2) Pray before every offering, asking God if the amount we have planned is what He wants - but our giving is rooted in wanting to give. Note the attitude of a giver in ver.7 – God loves a cheerful giver. Why? Think in terms of a parent watching their child. Every parent enjoys seeing their kids act like them. When we see our kids do selfless acts, we get excited. Why? When God sees my cheerful giving, He loves to see His character demonstrated in my actions. Money is a tool God uses to shape our character – but it is not about money. God works on my character, the softness of my heart towards His will for me. 2. Our giving must be rooted in expectation. Remember the phrase – “You can’t out give God?” Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Hear this from the tree of life, not from the tree of knowledge. Hear this from God’s excited hart, not from a place of condemnation. Luke tells us the measure we use to determine how much to give is the same measure God uses to give back to us. No matter how much I choose to give, God is watching with excitement proclaiming blessing back onto the giver. The amount is not the issue – it’s the heart. When we imitate God in giving, He gets excited. Think with me in terms of a master supplying seed to his servants so they can have all they need to sow and reap. The servant goes to the supplier to get seed to sow. Ver.8-10 Hear the Master ask, where have you sown today? How much? Now let Me bless what you have sown so it can multiply. How big is your seed bag you are using? Can I give you a bigger one so the increase will yield more? Getting me to give my money is not the end goal – what is? Why does God want me to increase my giving? What is the end purpose? V.8-11 Kingdom thinking needs to constantly be running in the background of why I do what I do. When I go to the Valley Market, to the post office, to my job, when I work with my family, when I interact with my neighbors, with my friends, when I go to church, when I give an offering – KINGDOM PURPOSE is why I do life. Pray This: God set me free from self-centered, secular mindset about money. Reprogram is us Your Word – Your Truth about giving. Pray ver.11: Make me rich in every way so I can be generous on every occasion, so my generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Money! It’s Not About the Money! Part 3 “Seed to the Sower & Bread for Food” By Pastor Gary Wayne I think our text in 2 Cor. is packed full of nuggets concerning a heart for giving. Paul gives some “super-truths”, huge spiritual insight into the principles of giving. Last week we spent time looking at how God uses money as a tool to shape our character. All the way through our time on this topic has to run Kingdom Thinking. Understanding The Great Commission helps me steward my finances. Text: Luke 16:10-13, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 Working with money is a HUGE part of our life. When we were children, we began to learn about the importance of money in our lives. When a pastor / teacher begins to talk about money, many move their wallet to their front pocket like you do in a busy airport. Why? But again – as we look at the principals involving money, it’s not about the money. How do I view the money I control? Do I see it as mine? Or given to me from God to steward for Him? Do I see money as the means to meet my needs? Is it there to meet my wants? Or do I see it as seed? Notice the wording in ver.10. He supplies seed to the sower and bread for food. God gives us – seed and bread. Some of what God gives us is given, some of it is entrusted – What’s the difference? What is the purpose of seed? To sow – to harvest a crop. What is the purpose of bread? To eat – to meet my need. We eat our bread and we sow our seed. Here is the challenge – when it comes to us, it all looks the same. And if we don’t separate our seed from our bread, what we will do is we will eat our seed. When the farmer brings in his harvest, what happens if he isn’t thinking about next year’s harvest? If he isn’t thinking about the purpose of his crop, and just grinds it all into flower, what happens then? So knowing the principle of sowing and reaping, he separates the seed grain from the bread grain. When I receive my paycheck, if I don’t separate what is entrusted from what has been given, I will think it’s all mine. With a kingdom mindset about money, God is trusting that I will take the seed He entrusted to me and sow it. He is faithful to meet all my needs – according to His riches in glory. (Phil.4:19) A major principle about sowing & reaping is, “you reap what you sow.” Also, you ONLY reap after you sow. It’s not uncommon for people to say – or think – “I’ll give more when I get more.” That is totally backwards of God’s principles. If I am not a giver when I don’t have much, I won’t be a giver if I have more. It’s not about the money! Luke 16:10-13 What are the true riches Jesus is talking about in ver.11? Again, think Kingdom Minded – Great Commission. God tests our maturity to handle true riches by how we steward His money. What are the results of our giving? 2 Cor.9:10-11

Money! It’s Not About the Money! ~ First Things First ~ #4 By Pastor Gary Wayne Putting God first in our lives is not a suggestion, but a requirement. If He is not first, then He is not the Lord of my life. What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment in the law? (Mat.22:37 Ex.6:5) If God is first in my life, then everything will come into order. If He isn’t, then nothing will come into order: my marriage, my job, my family, my finances, my ministry. A major baseline is the understanding that I am a steward of His assets He has placed in my life to manage for Him. Kingdom thinking – Great commission thinking has to continually run in the background. Today I want to talk about firstfruits or tithing and offerings. Putting God first in my money - But it’s not about the money. Text: Proverbs 3:5-10 Ex 23:19 “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God…” Lev 27:30 “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord.” Mal 3:10-11 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts; Firstfruits = the first of any increase, the first of the crops, of the animals, of the income - God says that belongs to Him. Firstfruits in Hebrew literally means “promise to come.” Tithing is bringing our firstfruits – 10% - to God. I want you to notice the wording both in Ex.23 & Mal.3 – it says to “bring.” Not give, but “bring.” Why? Because when I tithe, I’m not giving, I’m returning to God what is already His that He put in my care. Tithe is 10%, anything I give beyond that is an offering. Illustration – If I loan my car to someone, when they bring it back, it’s not giving, it’s returning. We HAVE to keep in mind stewardship – He entrusted me with HIS money – but it’s not about the money, it’s about my heart. Tithing is an act of Faith When I bring the firstfruits, the tithe to God, I don’t know if the future will bring me more or not. When my sheep has a lamb, the first one is His. God didn’t say, when your sheep has 10 lambs, the 10th one is His – No the first one is. By tithing, I am saying, “God I recognize You first. I am putting You first in my life, and I trust You to take care of the rest of the things in my life.” Tithing doesn’t activate His blessing, faith does. Tithing is not an OT Law, it is a heart principal that is throughout the whole bible – old & new. Remember when the children of Israel started into the promised land, God said the city of Jericho was His, because Jericho was a “firstfruit city.” All the riches of this first city belonged to Him, the rest of the cities they conquered were theirs, but the firstfruits belong to God. What happened when Achan ignored God’s instructions? (Jos.7) Here’s some fun information: In observing the “feasts of Israel.” “Passover” is followed by the “feast of un-leavened bread,” followed by the “feast of firstfruits.” In chapter Joshua 5:10, just before God told them how to take the city, it was the time of Passover. They celebrated Passover, which is followed by the “feast of unleavened bread.” That places the falling of Jericho during the season of the “feast of firstfruits.” Do you remember what it was that intimidated the original spies when they first checked out the promised land? Giants. The Giants in the land intimated and kept the Israelites from the promised blessings of God. I believe one of the giants that intimidate and keep people from God’s blessings has to do with the Giant of finances. Mal 3:10-11 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts;

God gives us resources to steward for our needs, for the needs of others, and for His purposes. "Lord, help me to be spirit lead in the stewardship of the resources You have placed in my care." By Pastor Gary Wayne

What is God Up To? By Pastor Gary Wayne The Triumphal Entry / Palm Sunday is in all four Gospels. Mat.21:1-17, Mar.11:1-11, Luk.19:28-48, Joh.12:12-19 If you want the full impact of the context, you have to start a few chapters earlier before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. As He was headed in that direction, the disciples questioned Him as to why He would go back to the area - basically there was a warrant out for His arrest. Jn.11:8 Each of the fore Gospels add different points that help us understand this event. Text: Luke 19:28-48 In all of the other Gospels the texts tells us the people were shouting “Hosanna, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.” Hosanna means, “save now.” They were quoting and singing from Psa.118:25-26 They were looking for Jesus to do something NOW! This was the first time Israel was calling Him the King – The implications were that they were recognizing Him as the Messiah. Mt.21: “all the city was moved…” There was SO MUCH happening. Most of the time when a King rode into the city, he rode a war horse. One of the tallest, fiercest, most noble looking horses you could ride. The OT prophesy says He was “Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” Zech.9:9 Matthew says they brought the donkey and it’s colt for Jesus to ride on. So Jesus wasn’t just on a short donkey, but a donkey’s colt. Try and use your imagination to envision this setting. Here the people are making a major statement and scene, proclaiming that Jesus is the Messiah, the King. And instead of Him looking powerful and noble, He is riding a colt. Possible with His feet dragging. An interesting “coincidence” is literally on the same day Jesus entered Jerusalem from the East, the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate and his army entered Jerusalem from the West, accompanied by six hundred war horses and thousands of foot soldiers. The political tension had to be thick! At a certain point,(v.41) Jesus stops and weeps over the city. Wept = to sob, to wail aloud. I wonder what the nosy crowd did when Jesus began weeping. This is the second time scripture tells us Jesus wept. 1st time was at the tomb of Lazarus. What makes God sad? In that era, when Roman conquers rode into the city, they would proceed to their pagan temple to do sacrifice. Where did Jesus ride to? Why? What makes God mad? The religious leaders were scamming the people. Their actions were keeping people from God. In America, too many times, going to church is about me, my comfort zone, how the setting makes me feel, if I get my needs met, etc. We are usually ok with “sinners” coming “just as they are.” But let someone make a mistake, or do something wrong, and we are quick to judge, and slow to forgive. But you don’t understand how they wronged me – and they did it on purpose! My point is any time we operate with a religious attitude it still keeps people away from God today. Why did this crowd turned so quickly from Hosanna, to crucify Him? Hope deferred makes the heart sick. (Pro.13:12) How do we react when it seems God does something different then we thought He would? Sound of Music – “When God shuts a door, He opens a window.” We don’t understand what God is up to with this pandemic ….. When I don’t understand is the time to cling, to focus, to worship. The political atmosphere is a swirling mess that can be used to distract us. But God is Up TO Something GOOD! At the time of Palm Sunday, I think there was something in the air that things were about to change. At the season we are in, to me, there is something in the air that things are about to change. And I HAVE to stay focused on the Holy Spirit, or I will miss what is happening and be grieving loss instead of celebrating what God is doing.

Money! It’s Not About the Money By Pastor Gary Wayne How many realize that intellectual knowledge is important, but spiritual understanding of that knowledge is WAY more important? We need Spiritual Revelation. Pray This. Text: Philippians 4:10-20 The book of Philippians was written because of an offering. The people in Philippi gave into Paul’s ministry, so He wrote them this letter. There are 4 points here I want to look at. 1. Ver.15 Giving & Receiving Are Connected. Often when we hear a message about money, it’s about giving - tithes & offerings. But here Paul talks about Giving & Receiving – the two go hand in hand. A major point about prayer that applies to money is something always happens when we pray. It doesn’t matter what I see and it doesn’t matter what I feel, when I pray – something always happens. That principle also applies to giving - No matter how much, or how often, something ALWAYS happens when you give. Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Expecting something back when you give is important. This is the principle farmers live by – if you sow something, you should expect to get something back. What do you call a farmer who is not reaping minded? Broke! If you are not reaping minded, you will be unmotivated to sow. Or you will not sow with joy, but sow in obligation and guilt. We expect a response from God when we pray – we should expect a response when we give. 2. v17 Its Not About The Gift. What is the point of v.17? Paul was telling them their gift was important, but it wasn’t the main point. What was important was the fruit that came as a result of being a giver. God doesn’t need our money, rather we need to learn to give. Did you know when you put a seed in the ground, the seed makes a demand from the soil. The soil responds to the demand of the seed. Giving releases something inside us. Giving releases something from God towards us. Their giving was an investment that would bring spiritual fruit. The opposite is also true being unfruitful can be tracked with someone who is not a giver. Lu 16:10-12 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? (NIV) 3.v.18 Giving is not ONLY Financial. In our human understanding, the amount is what is important. The larger the amount, the better God likes it. – Human thinking. What matters to God? The heart involved in the giving. The attitude of my heart is what God looks at. The only offerings that Jesus commented about were given by a widow and a former prostitute. In God’s value system, both offerings were of high value, but the actual monitorial amount of the offering was not what caught His attention – it was the heart. Do you know that our giving smells? Ver.18 God is smelling it, He is not tallying it. 4. v.19 My God Will Supply. God is our source. If I don’t get this point, where do I think my finances come from? Luck, My hard work, my intellect, coincidence, Knowing God is our source changes the way you feel about money. If I understand I am a steward of His assets involved in Kingdom work, what do I do when it looks like I have run out of money? I go to Him – the sources of my finances. God is not selfish with His stuff – He is always giving. His nature is giving. God is Love, He is giving, and with this kind of nature as a source, what can I expect from Him?

I Was Made for Worship By Pastor Gary Wayne Text: 1 John 4:18, Isaiah 61:1-4 I want to look at the principle found in ver.3 – garment praise for the spirit of heaviness…” When I respond to circumstances that normally bring anxiety, fear, anger, etc – when I respond by turning my focus to worshiping God, it alters the atmosphere. I put on a garment of praise. That is a prophetic action. What I learn and experience in worship is for me to take out of that worship experience to use when I'm not in the middle of that setting. Have you ever had unique revelation take place as you worship? All of a sudden divine truth just seems so elementary and clear. Something happens when you worship, somehow you become more aware of the heart of God. And from that place prayer flows it's more pure. Derek Prince - if you only have 10 minutes to pray, take seven or eight of them and worship. You can pray for a lot of things in 2 minutes. Have you ever noticed how many times in scripture people prayed just one line prayers and everything changed. What happens when you replace worship with worry? Complaining is faith in reverse - it is to Satin what our worship is to God. It draws his attention. Just as stink draws flies, when I let my heart and mouth be involved with negative action, it draws the demonic. It empowers them or gives them legal right to harass me. 1John 4:18 Perfect love casts out fear. Fear brings torment. When there is the presence of fear in me, it means there is a love deficit in me. Amplified – “he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love …” When my heart is anxious, worried, angry, - it points to a fact that I need to snuggle up with God and bathe myself in His love. Think through every fear that you live with. The roots are: I don't believe God can handle this, or - I don't believe God will do anything, or - I think I have to do this one on my own. In 2 Kings 3, when Jehoshaphat needed a word from God, he went to Elisha. Ver.15 Elisha said: “Bring me a musician” and when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him” and he began to say what God was saying. In 1 Samuel 16:23, when an evil spirit would come and torment Saul, David would play his harp in worship, and the spirit would leave. “Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Do you remember what a prophetic act is? Holy Spirit inspired physical action that disrupts the atmosphere. Obedient physical action precedes spiritual breakthrough. In Exodus, when the Israelites put lamb’s blood over the doorpost, that was a prophetic act. The physical act didn’t save them. The Lamb’s blood didn’t save them. But for the people who obeyed God’s instructions, - when they aligned themselves in obedience, they experienced a spiritual covering - something took place in the spirit realm. Physical obedience brought spiritual breakthrough.

Honoring Authority By Pastor Gary Wayne Our words and attitudes that we use when we speak create atmosphere. I believe when I speak negative words, it’s similar to how the stink from a carcass draws files; my words can either repel or draw the demonic. Another completely different related topic is how the enemy uses my words against me as legal license to trouble me. Given the political mess we have been subject to, I feel God wants to remind us that we are representatives of Him, and how my heart responds to people in authority – particularly those I don’t like, - reflects on my relationship with Him. Text: Jeremiah 29:4-14a, Titus 3:1-2 As we read through these scriptures, I want to remind us of the ruling government when these scriptures were written. In my opinion, the people in office were evil people. Paul was put to death by the ones he said to not dishonor. Ver.2 “Speak evil of no one.” Often we justify how we talk about someone based on how “we” feel if they deserve it or not. I feel God would remind us that when I talk about a political leader, I align myself with either God, or His enemy the devil. I don’t want to have given my life to God, and then ally myself with Satan. 1 Timothy 2:1-3, Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-17 Jer. 29:4-14a Notice how many times God speaks “Peace” to their situation. Notice this was written to people who were POW’s. Ver.11 What is on God's mind about you? What are His thoughts about you? Shalom - peace – prosperity – favor - health, etc. Whatever you are going through, apply this truth. When I am in a situation I can't control or get out of, what is my responsibility? Turn my heart to His, and in the middle of trauma, I can thrive. The first point of this message is: be aware of my heart attitude towards people in authority I don’t like. Second: Where does my peace come from? When I rely on my surroundings to be the peace that feeds my heart, I will be up and down on a REGULAR basis, but when I seek God's face, I can be content at my core level. Phil.4:11 "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content…” Where is your soul anchored? Heb.6:19 (anchor of the soul - behind the veil) If my peace is only there because of political things - doctor things, - financial things, etc, it is a very shallow place for me to go get more peace. One of our former Bishops, Bro. Morrow - when the Dr. said, your heart is in good condition, he felt himself relax. "God said, I wish My word would cause you to relax, like the Dr.'s words." Dutch Sheets - Regardless of what happens, this is a spiritual battle, not flesh and blood.

A Heart for God’s Presence By Pastor Gary Wayne Text: 1Chronicles 15,16, 2 Samuel 6:1-17, 1Samuel 6:21-7:2 A side note: Abinadab was a Levite – the ark stayed at his place for 20 years. 2Sam.6:1-17 Uzzah wasn’t just someone they picked to transport the ark. Abinadab had at least 3 sons: Eleazer, Ahio, and Uzzah. The Ark of the Covenant had been at their house for about 20 years. So Uzzah would have been accustomed to being around the Ark. Ver.7 error = irreverence NASB - "his irreverence" NIV – “his irreverent act” He was familiar with the routine, but missed the relationship of the Ark. Uzzah being a Levite, should have been familiar with the Levitical ordinances regarding how to take care of the ark. The Levitical ordinances were designed to secure the strictest reverence for it. But it appears his familiarity with being around the ark might have caused him to view the ark as ordinary, rather than sacred. To me the story line takes a turn at ver.10 with the person and heart of Obed-Edom. We read this story so casual. I would love to have heard the conversation between Obed and Mrs. Edom that night before bed. – “I can’t believe you let the King talk you into bringing that thing into our house! What if one of the kids touches that thing! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” Obed-Edom was also a Levite, and in just a short time, things at his house began to change. Having God in the center of his home, began to bring blessings – so much so, that in just 3 months, word got back to King David. What I want to look at is the contrast between the house of Abinadab, and the house of Obed-Edom. Abinadab, his sons Eleazar, Uzzah, and Ahio, all had the same opportunity that Obed-Edom had. It appears that when King David took ark from his home, Obed-Edom went with it. 1 Chr.16:1, 4-5 I’m sure Obed-Edom loved the blessings of God, but it was God’s presence he wanted, not just His stuff. His desire for the Lord caused him to do whatever it took to be close to the Lord. He became a gatekeeper, a musician, and a doorkeeper. (15:18, 21, 24, 16:5, 38) Obed-Edom becomes a worship leader and is mentioned along with Aspah the Chief Musician. (Ver.5) Obed-Edom and his 68 associates minister regularly before the Lord in worship. Yet, he still continues to keep the gates. His desire for a relationship with God established a relationship not only for himself, but also for his children and grandchildren. We don't know when it all started with Obed-Edom, but it appears that when he put God in the center of his living room, there was a life-change. Obed-Edom did not wait for the Lord to tell him to do something, he just did it. He waited on the Lord by doing. You will find as you are doing the work of the ministry, God will give you direction in what to do. Abinadab, his sons Eleazar, Uzzah, and Ahio, all had the same opportunity that Obed-Edom had. But they all went back home. Have you ever heard the phrase: Familiarity breeds contempt? I wonder if Uzzah and his family became so familiar with the ark they didn’t maintain the relationship that Obed-Edom found. Dick Iverson – founding pastor of Bible Temple in Portland OR. How does this come out in our attitudes? I’ve gone to church all my life – On a given Sunday morning, as I go to church, the familiarity of it causes me to be casual instead of reverent. What I hear God saying to Faith Chapel is, don’t get so familiar with doing church that we miss the relationship we should be pursuing. Instructions to the children of Israel were to follow the ark of God, when it moved, follow. Put God in the center of our homes, and don’t become so familiar with religious routine that we miss relationship.