TONY EVANS HOUSE
Tony Evans - Returning to God with Giving
an official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help Program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Hi, I'm D'Alvet Quince. One way to help manage type 2 diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing blood sugar also takes the right. Diet. Hi, I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you want to learn more tips about diet and exercise, mytype2transformation.com. People don't recognize God as their source. They don't recognize that He is their provider. Dr. Tony Evans says when Christians fail to honor God with their finances, they're indirectly making a statement about God. What they're saying is God cannot be trusted. This is the alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oakland Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the urban alternative. Most of us do what it takes to pay our bills on time. But Dr. Evans reminds us we have an even more important obligation that we don't always take us seriously. Let's join him as he explains. Today I want to talk about a subject that many Christians just don't get. And many, if not most, don't like. And yet God calls it an issue related to returning to Him. God complains in Malachi chapter 3 verse 7, "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me. And I will return to you," says the Lord of Host. He says, "You have left Me. You have left My principles. You have left My practices. You've left My governance. You've left My guidelines. But throughout the whole book of Malachi, they were still going to church. They were still having church here to tell them, "Stop having church because you're not taking me seriously." So you can go to church and not be with Him. He says, "Return to Me. And I will return to you. I want to be with you, but I can't be with you on your terms. I can only be with you on my terms." So He invites a return. This provokes a question. They ask at the end of verse 7, "How shall we return? What do you want us to do to get back and sink and in favor with you?" And then God hits them with verse 8. "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, "How have we robbed you?" And He says, "Intides and offerings." Throughout Scripture, God will use regularly money as an indicator light. Many of our cars have indicator lights. And when that light comes on, the light is not the problem. The light is an indicator that something deeper has gone wrong. I see indicator lights coming on right now introducing this sermon. The indicator light, which He uses throughout Scripture, both in the Old Testament New Testament related to money, was secondarily about the money because verse 7 says, "It's about You've left Me." But a visible proof that You've left Me shows up in how You view money. And He says, "You have become a bunch of thieves." He says, "You have robbed Me. You have stolen from Me." And that's just an indicator of the fact I don't mean that much to you. Since creation, God would always give something and then hold something back. When He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. From every tree in the Garden, you may freely eat except the tree in the midst of the Garden, the Google tree. Because it was an information Senate, it was the knowledge of good and evil. He says, "Now that one tree, I made it, but you can't have it." And the reason I'm not going to let you touch that tree is I want you to be dependent upon Me for your knowledge. As the Scriptures unfold, God instituted the tithe. The tithe was God's way of holding something back like He did the tree in the Garden to let you know that you were dependent on Him as your source. For example, in Deuteronomy 14, verse 23, "An official message from Medicare." A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help Program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. After countless steps and more than a few miles, your dog drives you forward one last time to make that final climb. And as the rising sun peeks out from the horizon, you know incredible happens here because it starts here with a fuel that makes it all possible. Proplan Sport. Discover advanced nutrition made to fuel strength and stamina and active dogs like yours at proplan sport.com. This message comes from iHeartsponsored Teladoc Health. There are lots of reasons for wanting to be healthy. Family, work, or maybe you just want to live a fuller life. Teladoc Health understands. Whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or just need to manage your weight, Teladoc Health can help. Visit teladochealth.com/What's Your Why for More Information. That's T-E-L-A-D-O-C Health/What's Your Why. No matter what your why is, Teladoc Health can help. He says you shall eat in the presence of the Lord, your God, at the place where he chooses to establish his name. The tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord, your God, always. He says the reason I'm going to institute that the first tenth, that's what tithe means tenth, of what you get is not yours. I'm going to let you see it. I'm going to let you touch it, but I'm not going to let you have it. Because I want you to be dependent upon me. The Bible calls that the first fruits. It was the first of the grain or whatever God gave. I want you to be dependent upon me. Unfortunately today, people do not make the connection between their robbing God economically and the absence of their spiritual life spiritually. Because they don't make that connection, all they think about is money. They don't think about the damage underneath the hood, that the indicator light is reflected. And that is the lack of fearing God. When people rob God, what they're saying is God cannot be trusted. When people write God, they're saying God is not my source. My job is my source. My bank is my source. My peeps are my source. My skill is my source. My education is my source. That's my source. And so since that's my source, God, you can be stolen from. So it is a spiritual issue with that being the indicator light. What people want is they want favor from God without the honor to God. They want favor from God. Proverbs 3, 9 and 10. It says honor the Lord because it's an honor issue with the first fruits of what I give you and then your bonds will be filled with plenty. God feels dishonored when he's dealing with a bunch of things. And so he says to them, "Will a man rob God, you have robbed me?" Now, you can only rob something if it's not yours. It's not robbery if it's yours. But it is robbery if it's not yours. Okay? Make your own comment on that. The tithe is not yours. He says that's not yours. Leviticus 27, 30 says the tithe belongs to me. Now, this was God's way of letting us know he is our source. And we are dependent on him as our sufficiency and our provider. He is our source. And so when we take what God says is not yours and use it for something other than his prescription, we become thieves. So some of us are wearing stolen clothes. Some of us are driving stolen cars. Some of us living in stolen houses. Others of us are taking stolen vacations because we robbed God to do it. And we have made, we have made theft a lifestyle. Because we do it day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade. And then we say, "Well, when things get better," well, guess why they're not going to get better? Because you're under a curse. That's what the verse says. Verse says, "You are cursed with a cursed for you are robbing me." We have a disease. We'll call it cirrhosis of the giver. (Laughter) This is when it's time for offering a hand freezes up. (Laughter) The hand just freezes up. I can't, I can't, I can't. But then it opens up at the mall. It opens up at the mall. It opens up at the sporting events. It opens up when Beyonce comes to town. It just opens up. That is because we do not understand that God is our source. And He wants to be recognized, not just in our praise and our worship, yes, but in our giving. When you rob God, you rob yourself. Look, what is a curse versus a blessing? Because we need to get that straight. Most people interpret a blessing as having stuff. So I got a car, got a house, got clothes, got money in the bank. So I've been blessed in highly favor. They put an emphasis on it. They put a little thing on it. (Laughter) No, blessing is more than stuff. Proverbs 10, verse 22 says, "It is the Lord who blesses you to gain wealth and gives no sorrow with it." (Applause) See, a lot of folk have houses who don't know what it is to have at home. You may be able to afford the note. You just don't like the folk living in there with you. An official message from Medicare. You law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. After countless steps and more than a few miles, her dog drives you forward one last time to make that final climb. And as the rising sun peeks out from the horizon, you know, incredible happens here because it starts here. With a fuel that makes it all possible, ProPlan Sport. Discover advanced nutrition made to fuel strength and stamina and active dogs like yours at ProPlanSport.com. This message comes from I Heart sponsor Teladoc Health. There are lots of reasons for wanting to be healthy. Family, work, or maybe you just want to live a fuller life. Teladoc Health understands. Whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or just need to manage your weight, Teladoc Health can help. Visit TeladocHealth.com/What's Your Why for More Information. That's T-E-L-A-D-O-C Health/What's Your Why. No matter what your why is, Teladoc Health can help. Light folk have money in the bank who are sick. A lot of people have stuff joined with a whole bunch of sorrow, depression, and loss of meaning, and dignity, and uncontrolled situations in their lives. No, a blessing is when the joy and pleasure of the Lord joins the stuff. He calls the curse, verse 11, "Then I will rebuke the devourer." The devourer. Okay, this is an agrarian context. These are farmers. And the farmers would go out and work. They would work hard. If you're a farmer, you work hard. You plow, you dig, you plant. You know, you're working hard if you're a good farmer. But what good is being a good farmer if the locus are going to come and eat it up? That's the devourer back in the biblical days. It's the locus. Have you ever gone to work and you're making money? And the devourer shows up. Stuff stopped breaking down. And you finally get out of debt and something breaks down, put you right back in, because like Pac-Man, the devourer comes. After you've worked hard, he calls that the curse, the devourer. And he says, you thought it was something natural that happened. He says, I can rebuke the devourer. I can change the stuff that's eating you up. That's taking away your ability to meaningfully engage the blessings and the favor that I have made available for you. Dr. Evans will have more on the importance of giving when he returns to continue our message in just a moment. First, though, one of the things that sets Christianity apart from all other faiths is that it doesn't begin with us seeking God. It begins with God seeking us. You can learn more about that miracle with the help of Tony's booklet, The Grace of God. It talks about the new nature the Lord is building within us and explains how appreciating this unbelievable gift can help you finally break the failure cycle that keeps so many Christians trapped. And right now, for a very limited time, we're able to send it to you as a way of saying thanks when you make a contribution to help support Tony's ministry. When you do, you'll get the booklet along with CDs or digital downloads of all 13 full-length lessons in this brand-new series about finding your way back to God called the Return. But this special offer ends tomorrow, so be sure to visit us at TonyEvens.org right away to get the details and make the arrangements. Again, that's TonyEvens.org. Or call our 24-hour Resource Center at 1-800-832-22. I'll repeat that contact information for you after part two of today's message and this. Impactful, amazing, intense, thought-provoking. That's how just a few students describe their experience since enrolling in the TonyEvens Training Center. The best part is, the Training Center is wherever you and your online connection are. Going beyond a Sunday sermon, these compelling Bible study courses take a much deeper look at scripture, the Bible's writers, social issues of today, and so much more. Log on today to learn more at TonyEvensTraining.org. TonyEvensTraining.org. Explore the kingdom, any time, anywhere. The average Christian gives the Lord less than 3%. That is the national average. And that is because people don't recognize God as their source. They don't recognize that He is their provider. And He says, "I want you to prove that you recognize Me by first fruits, which is the time." The offering was what you gave over and above the time out of gratitude. That's why it's called a free-wheel offering in the Bible. If it was something you didn't have to do, you just looked very grateful and you did it. The tithe was what God expected and He says, "That's not yours." He says it in the Old Testament. He says it in the New Testament, Hebrew 7 verse 8. Men still give tithes, why? Because Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek, who was Melchizedek. He was the king of Salem. The king of Salem provided Abraham the strength he needed for the journey he was on. Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe to show gratitude that Melchizedek was providing for him in the struggles of life. The Bible says in Hebrews, Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek. So what Melchizedek did for Abraham in Genesis 14, Jesus does for saints today and they give tithe because we need the same priest. We need divine intervention on our behalf through the ups and downs and struggles of life. And so He says, "You have left Me. You've left Me spiritually. You've left My principles. You've left My intimacy. You've left Me." An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or a married couple who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. After countless steps and more than a few miles, her dog drives you forward one last time to make that final climb. And as the rising sun peeks out from the horizon, you know incredible happens here because it starts here with a fuel that makes it all possible for a planned sport. Discover advanced nutrition made to fuel strength and stamina and active dogs like yours at proplansport.com. This message comes from iHeartsponsored Teladoc Health. There are lots of reasons for wanting to be healthy. Family, work, or maybe you just want to live a fuller life. Teladoc Health understands. Whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or just need to manage your weight, Teladoc Health can help. Visit TeladocHealth.com/What's Your Why for More Information. That's T-E-L-A-D-O-C Health/What's Your Why. No matter what your why is, Teladoc Health can help. The N-A tangible way you know you have left is that you are a rogue. You are a thief. Because you take what belongs to me and you use it elsewhere. So what do we need to do, Lord? He says in verse 10, bring the whole time into the storehouse. Don't be cutting me short. It's amazing. People want to cut God short who don't want anybody to cut them short. We don't want people to cut us short with the word. We don't want people to cut us short with what they're supposed to give us back. We don't want people to cut us short. We don't want people to cut us short with what they're supposed to give us back. So that there may be food in my house. You know, when you go to outback for a meal, you don't pay Ruth Kris. You don't eat it outback and pay Ruth Kris. Because Ruth Kris didn't feed you. Outbacked it. What we have today is people taking the resources that should inflame the progress of God's truth. And they use money on stuff that doesn't even agree with God. They'll spend money on stuff that is against God. They'll spend money on stuff that's antithetical to God while asking favor from God and stealing from God at the very same time. He says, "No, I want my ministry, food in my house to be robust, to be potent and not devoured." He says, "Bring all the tithes and straws that may be food in my house. Test me now. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing until it overflows." He says, "Don't take my word for it. Test me. Prove me. Don't, don't, don't just. No, no. Prove me. I will prove to you that I am your source. Everything else is merely a resource. There's a family one day they were complaining. They were complaining about the church. They said the children's ministry's bad. The youth ministry's bad. The preacher came preached. The choir came sing. He said, "The church is too, too high of the summer, too cold to win. It's just complaining, complaining, complaining. This went on and on around them table." The father said, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What will you expect for a dollar?" It's amazing how folk want ministry from the church who don't want to support the church in which they want ministry. And they will complain in a moment. But when you understand God is your source, when you understand that He is your sufficient efficiency, when you understand that you can't rob Him and get away with it, and it really is showing where you are spiritually. It really is showing that you devalue Him. Then you understand that He wants a return to Him, not just the money issue. He says, "You have left me, and that's why this is an issue. That's why giving is not a joy. It's a job, because it's really not about me. It's about what you think you're losing, not what you're gaining when you get me." Now, nobody says about the grocery store up the street, "Oh, all that store won is my money." You don't say that, you don't say, "You know what? Because they have something you need." Now, if there's no food on the shelves, or if it only serves junk food, or if the food is stale, you need to shop elsewhere. And if the church is not ministering, and if the church is not teaching, and if the church is not helping the poor, and if the church is not impacting the community, you need to shop elsewhere. You don't invest in a store that offers nothing, but if it's a feeding place where ministry is... An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. And you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. After countless steps and more than a few miles, your dog drives you forward one last time to make that final climb. And as the rising sun peeks out from the horizon, you know, incredible happens here because it starts here, with a fuel that makes it all possible. Go Plan Sport. Teladoc Health understands whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or just need to manage your way to Teladoc Health can help. Visit teladochealth.com/what's-your-why for more information. That's T-E-L-A-D-O-C Health/What's-your-why. No matter what your why is, Teladoc Health can help. The courage, lives, and change, people are getting saved, saints are being discipled, the poor are being in hands, and life is being improved, that's the store you go to. Because that's what the storehouse is designed to be. And when that is happening individually and with the people of God, then the church is not just a building on a corner, it is influencing the well-being of its people and the place where it is situated. Your spiritual life is not tied to stuff. Your spiritual life is tied to relationship and out of relationship comes stuff. So you got to get that thing right. You got to get it twisted. Satan can build your bank account too. Satan can build a bank account too. He's just going to bring sorrow with it sooner or later. So the issue is our relationship. And when that is being prioritized, giving is no problem because you understand, "He's my source, y'all ain't, you're not my source, you're a resource, praise God for a resource." But if the resource changes, my source doesn't change. So I'm going to find out what new resource my source has. It was a man one day, and he had this cat. He hated this cat, he liked this cat, cat was terrible, didn't get fur all over the place. But his wife loved the cat, but he couldn't stand the cat. His wife went on a business trip, and he's left alone with this cat, and he can't take it no more. So he takes the cat down to the dock and puts it on a boat going across the Atlantic. He wants to get rid of this cat, puts it on the boat, it's going across the Atlantic, cat's gone. The wife comes home from a business trip. She's looking for her cat because she loves this cat. She can't find the cat, catch nowhere. She has her husband, "Where's the cat?" "I don't know what happened to the cat, cat gone, cat gone, I don't know. I can't find my cat, I can't find my cat." He says, "Honey, I love you so much that I'm going to put out a $5,000 reward for this cat. Whoever finds this cat, I'm going to give them $5 because I love you so much. I'm going to put a $5,000 reward for anybody who finds this cat. A friend of the guy who saw the ad in the newspaper for a $5,000 reward went to him and said, "Man, are you losing your mind? Are you crazy? Why would you offer $5,000 for a cat?" He said, "Because when you know what I know, you can afford to be generous." But if you know what I know, that he's your source, giving should not be a problem. When you get that principle, God is your source and he's not just your source for money. Don't get stuck on money, that's an indicator light. He's your source for joy, for peace, for stability, for hope, for strength, for guidance, for deliverance, for empowerment. He's your source for life, don't get stuck on money, honey. He is your source for all of life and he wants to be viewed that way. Dr. Tony Evans, urging believers to acknowledge God's provision in their lives through the act of giving. Today's message was called "Returning to God with Giving," and it's available as a part of Tony's two-volume, 13-lesson series, "The Return." Remember if you contact us today or tomorrow with a contribution to help keep Tony's teaching on this station, we'll send you the return audio collection on CD or digital download, along with his booklet, "The Grace of God." It's all our way of saying thanks for your support of this ministry. The details are online at www.tonyevans.org or an official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save, too, with Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or a married couple who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. After countless steps and more than a few miles, her dog drives you forward one last time to make that final climb. And as the rising sun peeks out from the horizon, you know, incredible happens here because it starts here, with a fuel that makes it all possible, pro-plan sport. Whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure or just need to manage your weight, Teladoc Health can help. Visit Teladochealth.com/what's-your-why for more information. That's T-E-L-A-D-O-C Health/What's-your-why. No matter what your why is, Teladoc Health can help. Or give us a call at 1-800-832-22. Our Resource Center never closes, so there's no need to wait. Again, that's TonyEvens.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Serving isn't just something we were commanded to do, it's something we were created to do. Tomorrow Dr. Evans will look at the importance of living a life characterized by helping others and the greatest reason for doing so. I hope them they plan to join us for that. The alternative with Dr. TonyEvens is brought to you by the Urban Alternative, and is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.