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Amen, so here we are in Acts chapter 5, and don't worry, we're going to take several weeks to get through Acts chapter 5. There's a lot in Acts chapter 5, so we're going to take our time to get through it. As a matter of fact, tonight we're going to go backwards a few verses, and I want to just address some of the things that were happening in Acts chapter 4 as we lead into Acts chapter 5. I left these four verses out on purpose last week. If you look back at Acts chapter 4, let's just read the four verses at the end of the chapter of Acts chapter 4. This isn't the first time that we see this happening, but I want to address a couple things here, and then we'll talk about the topic of the sermon this evening. Look at verse 34 of Acts chapter 4. Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son of consolation, a Levite, in the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet. So here we see the people, they're just selling everything that they own, and they're bringing it to the church, to the apostles, and they're telling them the price that they sold the land for, and they're just laying it all down at the apostles' feet, and there was none of them that lacked anything, because they were pooling all their resources together. If you look back up at verse number 32, it says the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul, and we'll get to that, and I'll tie that together at the end, but look down at Acts chapter 5 and verse number 1. That's another theme that we've seen so far in the book of Acts, was just how tightly knit this beginning church was. Look at verse number 1 of Acts chapter 5. But now we see something happens, it says, but a certain man named Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, as everybody else was, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. They sold some property for a price that no one knows except them, and they brought only a portion of that to the apostles and laid it down. Look at verse 3. And Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whilst it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. So we're going to stop there for this evening, and I just want to address the things that are happening, what these things mean, and what they don't mean. So the title of the sermon this evening is how you need to sell all your possessions and give it to the church. Everyone's leaving now. No, I'm just kidding. But you could preach that from this. It would be false, but somebody could preach that from this situation. So I want to address just a couple things before I give you the point of the sermon this evening. The first thing is that people say, OK, they had all things in common. This was communism. Verse number 4 of Acts chapter 5 puts that to rest. And I'll get into the actual sin that Ananias and Sapphira did next Wednesday. But it was not that they didn't give all the money to the church. It's that they lied. They lied about it. And we'll talk about that next Wednesday. But look at verse number 4, talking about, you know, they had all things in common. We should have all things in common, and you should give everything that you possess to the church or you're not right with God. Well, look at what Peter says in verse number 4. This is super important. He says, look at what he says to Ananias. He says, whilst it remained, he's like, while it was yours, was it not thine own? So here's the thing. Your stuff, your possessions, and we'll talk about what your possessions are and what your possessions aren't in a few minutes. That'll be the point of the sermon. But Peter is saying to Ananias, he's like, while it was yours, it's yours. It was in your control. He says after it was sold, even, he goes even further, OK, he says, after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? So you can have your possessions in this life. You could have land, a house, whatever. And you could sell that house or sell that land. And then that money that you get from that, as long as it's yours, and we'll talk about that in a minute, is in your own power, is what Peter is saying. So this is not forced communism. You must sell everything and give it to the church. This is not what's happening here at all. And verse number 4 explains it. He says, why hast thou, he continues, so he says, while it was yours before you sold it, it was yours. He's like, when you sold it, the money was yours. This is what Peter said. OK, so you say, what's the problem? He said, why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. What this guy did was he just, he said, he sold a bunch of land, and he jumped on the bandwagon of saying, I'm giving everything to the church. And he kept back a whole, he lied. That's what he did. That was his problem. We'll talk about that next week. But it also wasn't communism because this was voluntary. All these people are voluntarily giving these offerings to the church. They're just, they're excited. Verse number 32 of Acts chapter 4 says, again, it's like they're of one heart and one soul. They're just excited. They want this ministry to go. They're just, they're just, they're all, they're just pushing everything on the table. That's what was going on. And it was of their own power. They were just committing everything to the Lord, okay? So we'll talk about that at the end of the sermon. But look, this was not communism. This was not forced communism. You know what? Communism is a government forcing you to give everything to the common purse or whatever it is. And if you don't do it, they'll kill you. If you don't pay your taxes today, you will literally go to prison. This is different than what was happening here, okay? It's different than a government taxing you, forcing you to pay whatever it was. I mean, Ananias was simply trying to steal glory, basically, for himself. So look, Peter just explains, here's what's yours, and it was yours, but you lied. That was the problem, okay? So this was not communism. These people were voluntarily doing this because they had one heart of one accord. Let's talk about that this evening, because these people are giving money to the ministry, to the church. So let's look at this idea of what is yours and what is God's this evening. Should you give money to the church? You're like, oh man, here comes a money sermon. Turn to Malachi chapter 3. Well, I don't preach about money ever, because I don't really care about it, and we'll get to that at the end of the sermon, but this is in the Bible, so let's look at it. Look at Malachi chapter 3 in verse number 7. This is for your benefit this evening. Look at Malachi chapter 3 in verse number 7. Peter makes sure to point out, like, what is yours and what is, you know, not yours. He's like, this was in your own power, you know, and you, you know, you lied. Look at verse number 7 of Malachi chapter 3. Let's look at what is yours and what is God's. Should you give money to church? What does the Bible say? Malachi chapter 3 in verse number 7. Even from the days of your fathers, you're gone away from mine ordinances. These are, he's talking about, you know, you are not, this nation, you are not following my laws and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return? He's saying, what ordinances are you talking about? What have we done wrong? Look at verse number 8. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? And the Bible says, in tithes and offerings. And then the Bible even goes further in verse number 9. It says, you know, because of this, he said, you are cursed with a curse. For ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. So this nation was not paying tithes or out giving offerings. Look at verse number 10. Hang ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house. And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. So here the Bible is saying, God is saying that you, you know, you've not followed my ordinances. They said, what ordinances? He said, in tithes and offerings. And he literally, then the Bible literally says here, God says, he's like, because you've not paid tithes and offerings, he's like, you've robbed me. You know, you've robbed me. I mean, so, I mean, that's pretty serious. So what is a tithe? Because we don't want to rob God. Look at Leviticus chapter 27. Look at Leviticus chapter 27. You know, he says, you know, you could either, you know, in verse number 10, you could either bring the tithes into the storehouse, and then he will give you this great blessing. He'll just pour you out blessings. Or he says in verse number 9, you're cursed with a curse. Look, this isn't a prosperity gospel. This is just what God is saying about people that rob him and people that bring tithes into the storehouse. Look at Leviticus chapter 27. Look at verse number 30. So what is a tithe? We need to know what this is. The Bible says in Leviticus chapter 27, verse number 30, it defines for us what the word tithe means. 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. Now that's the key right there, okay, is the Lord's. It is holy unto the Lord. And if a man would all redeem out of his tithes, he shall add there unto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock or even whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. So let's stop there. So the tithe, and it makes sense because the word, this is what it means. The tithe is a tenth part of the increase of what you produce, of what you make. And he says, if you would redeem if you take, and look, it says that the tenth part of what you produce, what you make, is like that belongs to the Lord. So like it's not yours. So like when I go to work or I make money or whatever I do for a living, a tenth of that does not belong to me, is what the Bible here is saying, what God is saying. And then in verse 31 it says, if I redeem out of that, like I say, well, you know what, this year I'm just going to give, you know, a twentieth part to the Lord. It's like, I have to now take twenty percent of what I stole from God and give that. You know, that's a fifth part, right? If we're dividing by a hundred, we're going to do some math here tonight. But I mean, he's saying ten percent is the Lord's, and if you take from that ten percent, you owe twenty percent. Kind of like the IRS penalty, right, if you ever had to pay that. But I mean, basically what God is saying is he's defining what is his and what is not. And that's what he's talking about in Malachi chapter three, is that they were robbing that ten percent in Malachi chapter three. So it's not like they weren't giving, you know, it's just like they literally were taking something that wasn't theirs, okay? So go to Matthew 23. I mean, you say, that's the Old Testament. This is the only argument, really, that I've heard against tithing, is that that's the Old Testament, which makes no sense, by the way. Because the Old Testament is just as valid as the New Testament. It is all the word of God. Look at Matthew chapter 23 and look at verse number 23. But I mean, tithing's in the New Testament as well, so it makes no sense that people would say, well, that's just Old Testament stuff. Look at Matthew 23 and verse number 23. The Bible says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. Then he says, these ought ye to have done, and to not leave the other, and not to leave the other undone. So he says, they pay tithe. So these Pharisees, they were paying tithe, which is the 10%, and they were paying it this way in these spices. And then it says, they've omitted the weightier matters of the law. And it says, these ought ye to have done, meaning you should have been paying tithe, that's okay, but you're not doing these super important things. But the Bible here is, you know, it's Jesus basically saying that they ought to have paid tithe, which they were doing, and they were just not doing the more important things. But look, here's the thing, folks, Jesus didn't undo the Old Testament. You know, the Bible says in Matthew 517, he's like, think that I am not come to destroy the law, you know, or the prophets, I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill. You know, Jesus came to fulfill the law, not destroy it. So this idea, oh, that's Old Testament, first of all, it makes no sense, because it's in the New Testament. And second of all, Jesus came to confirm, he confirmed the law. He fulfilled the law. So you say, so what I'm trying to get you to understand is the Bible clearly teaches that 10% of what we produce, of our fruit, of our seed, or whatever we produce in our lives, it's not that we're to give it to God, it's that it belongs to God. It's that it's, it's his. When you sit there and you do the math on that, and you're like, okay, you know, turn to Proverbs chapter three, the next question everyone's going to ask in their mind is like, well, before or after taxes. Because if you go and you do your taxes every year, and you look at how much you made and how much you got, it's depressing. The numbers aren't even close. You look at that and you're like, so what does that mean? You know, how do I, you know, what do I do? How do I do the math on this? Look at Proverbs three in verse number nine, it's pretty easy. I mean, I like the answer, but it's pretty easy. Look at Proverbs three in verse number nine. The Bible says, honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. So the Bible here is saying that God gets the firstfruits. God gets the firstfruits. What that means is before you pay, you know, Uncle Sam, before you pay your bills, before you pay everything, it's like you pay the Lord. With what? With everything that he's increased you with. So basically, any fruit, any profits, anything that you've produced in your life, you know, God gets the first 10%. Now, personally, I round up, because I don't want to rob God. You know, I round up, because, and I literally, this is something I literally look at every single year to make sure that I did get this right, because I don't want to be one dollar behind. Look, this is me. This is not you. Here's another thing. It's not mine. This is what the Bible is saying. It is not mine, and look, I'm not a thief, and here's another thing. If I was a thief, the last person I'd steal from is the Lord, okay? So the Bible is very clear about this. Go back to Malachi chapter three. The last person I would steal from is God. Go back to Malachi chapter three. I mean, God gives us some promises with, you know, this idea of tithing, of giving God his 10%. In verse number nine of Malachi three, he says, you're cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me. So he's saying, like, this is what's going to happen to you, because, look, here's the thing. You're not going to get ahead by not tithing, is what God is telling you as a saved believer of what he says in the Bible. Look at verse number 10. He says, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that they may meet in mine house and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts. He's like, just look what will happen, is what God is saying. He's like, bring the tithes in, he's like, just do it, and look what will happen if I will not open the windows of heaven, you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 14, turn to Deuteronomy chapter 14. Now there's a lot of verses on this, but basically God's saying, if you rob me, you're going to be cursed with a curse. I mean, this is not, I mean, this isn't something we talk about a lot here. This isn't something that I, I don't think I've ever preached a sermon just totally on this, like I am tonight, but it's in the Bible, and look, God's saying that there's curses and blessings involved, so I'd be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you what the Bible says here. Look at Deuteronomy 14 and verse number 22. It says, thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. So here, God is tying, again, He's tying the tithe that you give God what is His, tying that to the field continuing to produce. You see that? You see how He's saying, like, you know, you know, because people will say, well, you know, I just can't, I can't pencil that out. You know, I can't pencil that out right now. But here's the thing, it's just, I would argue that you can't afford not to, because of what the Bible is saying here. I mean, the Bible is saying, look, the field will bring forth year by year if you don't rob the Lord, is what He's saying, in Malachi chapter 3 and Deuteronomy chapter 14. So I mean, it's just, it's a matter of faith. It's a matter of faith of, and it's just one of those things where we're tithing and, you know, we're so, you know, we like our money so much, you know, but it's like, it's one of those things where it's our, it's one of the outward expressions of our faith. If you think about it that way. Look, everybody, I mean, lots of people, I shouldn't say everybody, not you all, but lots of people are, they talk a big faith game. But when it comes to, you know, actions and work and all these things, you know, then that's where things are short. It's literally, I mean, this doctrine is literally putting your money where your mouth is. You know, putting your money where your faith is, is a better way to say it. You know, look, I mean, personally, I've never worried about money less in my life, and I'll kind of give you a little philosophy about that towards the end of the sermon, but, you know, I just kind of started tithing years ago and just left it up to the Lord. And you know, there was a time in my life, if I could just, you know, give you a little testimony tonight, I mean, in my 20s, I mean, yeah, I wasn't saved, but in my 20s, I literally thought that success in my life was going to be how much money I had, or how successful my business was, or how, you know, far I could take my career and my business and all these different things, and look, it was a main focus in my life, I'm going to just throw that out there. But, you know, I mean, it seems like I look back on it now, and when I just left things up to the Lord, I've never worried about money so little in my entire life. You know, so that is what God is saying, the promise will come true, is what I'm trying to get at. He can bless the little you have, or He can curse your abundance that you think you have, is basically what God is saying. Go back to Acts chapter 5, I want to point something else out here, in Acts chapter 5, actually you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 9, but in Acts chapter 5, and in Acts chapter 4 towards the end, we see that these people, or at least some of them, were pushing all their possessions on the table. These people were voluntarily just, and you know what that was? That was just a great outward expression that we can see of their faith, and of their unity, and that singularity of mind that they had, and what was important to them. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 9, look at verse number 5, Paul here is talking to the church in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 about, he's talking about a special offering that they're going to take. Okay, so they're going to take a special offering in verse number 5, Paul's giving some advice on how they should react to this offering, he says, therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren that they would go before unto you and make up beforehand your bounty. He's like, I'm sending people to take an offering from you, whereof ye had noticed before that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty and not as of covetousness. So he's saying, look we've given you notice that we're going to take a special offering, I'm sending men to you to take a special offering, and I've given you notice that you can be ready and don't be thinking about how much you love your money, is what Paul is basically saying here in verse number 5, now look at verse number 6, he says, but this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly. This is exactly what Deuteronomy 14, 22 was talking about, it's talking about you give the Lord what is his and your fields will just produce, is what God is saying. And Paul's saying the same thing, he's like, if you sow sparingly and you are covetous about this special offering, and you know, he's just like, you're just like, I don't want to, you know, the special offering, I want to keep my money to myself, he's like, you will reap sparingly. And he would sow bountifully, here's the opposite end of it, shall reap also bountifully. Look at verse number 7, I mean, so there's that blessing again, I mean there's that curse and there's that blessing, I once knew a guy that still goes to Verity, when we first started soul winning, you know, this is the mentality that we need to be in here, I knew this guy, and when we went soul winning at Verity, we just moved there in 2016, it was just a couple months after we had been there, and this guy was super busy, like he was working weekends all the time, and he was working weekends and he worked late during the week, I mean the guy worked his tail off, but he was always at Saturday soul winning, and I asked him one day, we were out soul winning together, and I was just like, I was just like, man, I was like, you don't miss a Saturday soul winning, I mean he was like, literally, soul winning Saturday, and he's like, in the car, boom, going to work, I mean, he was a really busy individual, and I was like, man, you always, you never miss Saturday soul winning, and the guy said to me, he's like, I can't afford to not go soul winning, my business can't afford to not go soul winning, that's what he said to me, and I was like, oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense, look down at verse number seven, of verse second Corinthians chapter nine, he's basically quoting Deuteronomy chapter 14 verse 22, and Malachi chapter three verse nine and 10, to me saying, look, he's like, I have to do this, I'm doing this out of service, I need God's blessing in my life, he's like, I need the hand of God with me, look at verse, and it was soul winning and not tithing, but it's the same theory, look at second Corinthians chapter nine verse seven, he says, every man according as he purposeth, in his heart, so let him give, now this is super important, and this matches why we see Acts chapter four, starting with Acts chapter four verse 32, he says, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver, that's what you had in Acts chapter four, you had these people, look, they didn't have to do that, they didn't have to do that, they were cheerful givers, they were not grudgingly about it, they weren't like, ah, Bob did it, I guess I gotta do it too, ah, you know, they weren't like that, they were just like, they were all, that's why the Bible says at the beginning of what was happening there, it says they were all with one heart, they were all together, and they were just like, whatever, let's go, let's get this thing done, and he says, and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work, he says, as it is written, he hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness remaineth forever, now he that ministereth seed to the sower, both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, this is another, just, this is what God's gonna do, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causes, causes through us thanksgiving to God. So, I mean, he's basically saying, he kind of says, don't be covetous, but don't give if you don't want to give, is what Paul is saying, he's like, but don't, he's not talking about tithes, I mean, that's not what he's talking about, it's just special offerings, which is what we see in Acts chapter four, just these people, just willingly, voluntarily, not communism, just giving everything to the Lord, so, I mean, you say, why, why does God want 10%, I mean, this is pretty easy to understand, I mean, I'm sure most of you understand this, but I mean, you know, I mean, first of all, the church, God's church on earth has needs, you know, God's church on earth has needs, I mean, we have lights, we have rent, I mean, granted, we're, we run a pretty lean operation here, but here's the thing, the philosophy of how we spend the tithes of the Lord, because look, it's not our money, it's not my money, it's the Lord's money, just because you give it to the church doesn't make it mine, it's the Lord's. So, you know, the philosophy that we see in Acts chapter four is the philosophy that we use, largely, turn to Haggai chapter two, Haggai chapter two, but it fits the philosophy of how we spend our money here, okay? First of all, for the common needs, for the common needs of the church, the church activities, you know, we don't go and just spend a lot of money on one person, right? We spend on the common needs of the church, church activities that we all participate in, materials for soul winning, you know, the light bill, the air conditioning bill, all the things that we all participate in, and then there are those things where certain people have needs, you know, these are few and far between, but certain people might have needs, we never give cash to anyone, ever, just as a rule. But if somebody gets in trouble, or somebody needs, you know, the discretion of the pastor of the church, the church may help out a certain person in a special situation, that's distributing to the necessities of certain people, but in large part, it's the common needs of the church, but our main, our main mission statement and where that tithe is used in the church is in Haggai chapter 2, look at verse number 19. Here's our main focus here, aside from renting the building, and paying the bills, and all these things, and buying the materials for soul winning, well I mean, this is the main focus of that as well, look at verse number 19, it says, is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, as yet the vine and the fig tree, and the pomegranate and the olive tree, hath not brought forth fruit, and then he says, from this day, will I bless you? Here's the main focus of where the tithe is used, and how the Bible and how God wants us, the seed, by the way, in the New Testament, and all over the Bible, is the word of God. That's the seed. So, focus, everything that we do, and everything that we spend money on, other than the light bill, and you know, but even that, is getting the seed out of the barn. So everything that is spent here of the Lord's money, you know, that's always a thought that goes through my head, does this get the seed out of the barn? Will this get the seed out of the barn? That is the mission. That is the mission, and that's what, and look, here's the thing, that takes resources. That takes resources. This is why God provides his tithe, you know, to the church. And look, here's the thing, the more resources that we have, the better we can do at this. You know, and look, resources aren't, isn't just money. Resources, and like, here's really where we're lacking. And I'm not, you know, you all are great, and you all are participating, and that's all great. But why we can't do as much and get as much seeds out of the barn is because of man-hours. That's really what is lacking. I mean, I can only do so much, you know, my family can only do so much, you all can only do so much, but it's not just money. It's resources in general. It's man-hours. And think about, you know, some of the larger churches that we know. They have many employees that just, they're just getting the seed out of the barn. You know, every large ministry has full-time employees that are just, every single day, just getting that seed out of the barn. And those, look, those employees, by the way, started as, you know, the right-hand man to the pastor. You know, the volunteers to the pastor, to the ministry, to the church. But that's huge. So, like, we can't really compare ourselves to those big, you know, ministries because we just, we don't have the man-hours, we don't have the resources to do all these things, to get that, you know, to create that content, to reach those people. We, it's a snowball effect. We start small, and it's always hardest, you ever made a snowman, it's always hardest getting that snowball started. But it's a snowball effect. And as we get more resources, we get more seed out of the barn. We get more members, more resources, more seed out. More members, more resources, more seed out. It's a snowball. We'll just keep building and building and building. It's just getting the snowball started that seems harder. That's why if you talk to any pastor, you know, and you talk to them about the first few years of their ministry, they'll tell you how hard getting that snowball started was. It's normal. Okay? It's normal. But that's why God provides the tithe. That's why that doctrine is in the Bible. It's like all our mission here is, is to get the word out. To get people saved, to get people discipled, to get people baptized, to help people grow their families, to help, you know, children grow up in the Lord, to serve the Lord, to grow the kingdom of God on earth. You know, that, you know, that, it takes resources. It takes time. It takes money. It takes people. That's why God provides a tithe to the church. Go back to, actually turn to Matthew chapter 6. So here we see in Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 4 at the end, these people were voluntarily pooling their resources. And you see again and again and again this phrase, one accord, one accord, one accord. It's used in Acts chapter 1 verse 14. Acts chapter 2 verse 1. Acts chapter 2 verse 46. Chapter 4 verse 24. Acts chapter 5 verse 12. Acts chapter 8 verse 6. Acts chapter 15 verse 25. It's just one accord, one accord, one accord. That is the overarching factor of this first church is that they were all of one accord. And it really, when it comes down to this, I mean, look at verse number 19 of Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. Every pastor that I know hates preaching sermons on money and doesn't, if you know the pastors that I know, you know that they're uncomfortable preaching sermons about money. They don't like, you know, bringing up the subject of money because I think everybody's probably been in a church where just the focus was money. I think every, at some point in your life, you were probably in a church that was just focused on new buildings and building projects and different things. They're constantly raising money for something. But look at verse number 19 of Matthew chapter 6. The Bible says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal. Now this is why the one accord is so fitting and that phrase is so fitting with the church in verse number 32 of Acts chapter 4 where it says they were all with one heart. In verse number 21 of Matthew chapter 6, it says, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So that's why people don't like, you know, hearing, you know, sermons about money. I mean I'm not saying that it can't be abused in the church, don't get me wrong, but, you know, where people's treasure is, their heart will be there. So what was happening in Acts chapter 4 verse 32? Their treasure was the church. Their heart was, I'm sorry, their heart was in the church, so their treasure went to the church is what was happening in Acts chapter 4. And so many people did it, why? Because they were all of one accord. Because they all had the same mentality. So being in one accord was directly related to these people giving everything to the church. That's where their heart was and we can see that. That's where their treasure went. So look, I mean, I'm just telling you what the Bible says, alright? I'm just telling you what the Bible says and I mean the thing is, the thing is, it would, you know, their heart was completely sold out in that church. That's why I've often said that this is a hard church to be in, like one foot in. I mean if you're like one foot in this church, it's a difficult place to be. Because ultimately, you know, if you're in a church like this, I mean, and you're not sold out, but the Bible wants you to be, you know, the Bible is telling you all these things that you should be, like every service, you're just gonna be reminded how you're not sold out. That's the problem with a church like this. You know, I mean, every service, you're gonna be reminded of the consequences of not being sold out. I mean, tonight's sermon is just one more example of like what every sermon has a piece of. Look, it would simply, if you're just gonna be one foot in, and the reason that, you know, people that are one foot in have a hard time in a church like this is because it'd just be easier to be in a preach-nothing church. I mean, think about it. You go to a preach-nothing church, there's no work, there's no battles, there's no conviction, you know, maybe your life has less trouble if you go to a preach-nothing church. But look, I mean, frankly, like myself personally, I would be happier if people that were just one foot in, like, remained in the church, and just, you know, were just like, yeah, I'm just one foot in, and yeah, I get that, I hear that sermon, but I'm just not gonna do it, and just, you know, didn't cause problems, but just remained in the church and just remained one foot in, but that's not really what happens, unfortunately. Unfortunately, it's just, you know, their heart's not in it for whatever reason, I mean, some sort of sin, maybe a spouse isn't on board, but they get bitter at the preaching, they get bitter at the Bible, they get, instead of self-reflecting, they blame the church, they blame me, you know, and they get out of church and they damage themselves. I mean, that's kind of the pattern that seems to repeat itself no matter what church, what pastor I talk to that's preaching the Bible. But look, this is just what the Bible says, and that's what I do, I just tell you what the Bible says, and you can take it or leave it. I mean, this isn't, you know, this is, I'm telling you tonight, just as I tell you all the time, like, this is what the Bible says, this is your relationship, I mean, you're not stealing from me, you're stealing from God. So I mean, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you everything that's in the Bible. It's very, very simple, okay? But look, here's, folks, here's the trick to money, okay? Let me just give you the trick to money in your life right here, and I get, there's a lot about it, I preach sermon series on how to be good stewards of your money, how to use your money, how to be smart with your money, I get this, but here is the trick to money in your life right here. If you worry too much about money, you're going to start to care about it. That's really it right there. If you worry too much about money, you're going to start to care about that money, but if you don't care about money, you're never going to worry about it. That's the trick to money, right there. All you have to do is do what the Bible says, which part of it is what we're talking about tonight, you know, don't rob God, but hey, follow the Bible. Work hard. Work hard. Don't be an idiot. You know, I mean, that phrase is not in the Bible, but I mean, you know, be a good steward. Don't go into a bunch of debt, don't put yourself into servitude, follow what the Bible says about how you're supposed to act with your money, follow what the Bible says about how you're supposed to be a humble person, follow what the Bible says about how you're supposed to act at work, follow what the Bible says about how you're supposed to treat your coworkers, follow what the Bible says, I mean, even last Sunday's sermon, follow what the Bible says about being confident, follow what the Bible says about, you know, not being an arrogant jerk to people that you see out in the world, you know, so you don't get fired from everywhere you go, just follow what the Bible says about not being lifted up with pride so everybody hates you, follow what the Bible says about treating your boss at work, how do I work for this guy? He's a jerk. He's a heathen. Oh, just treat him like you're working for Christ. Follow what the Bible says. If you just don't care about money, if you just don't care about money, you're not going to worry about it, follow what the Bible says, follow what God says, and look, you just, and I'm not saying, look, I'm not saying you're never going to have money problems. I'm not saying, hey, do these things and you're going to be rich. Look, you shouldn't want to be rich. I'm saying you, if you don't care about money, you won't worry about money. That's what I'm saying. You know, there's going to be years where you look back and you say, that was a good year. There's going to be years when you look back and say, year before that was better than this one. You know what that is? That's life. But you know what Paul says? He says, whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. God's on the throne whether you had a good year or had a bad year. But don't steal from God. Just do what he says. Just do what he says in your life and don't care about money. Make the blessings that he gives you, because he will. And outside of persecution and outside of this wicked world, God would just pour blessings upon you if you were just doing everything you could to serve him and live according to the Bible. He would just pour blessings upon you. Of course, we have persecution and tribulation in this world. So look, just learn to be content with whatever state you're in and then work hard. Look, you can still make it in this country. Look how messed up everything is. You're like, oh, inflation. You know, gas is a million dollars a gallon. I get it. Work hard. Work harder. That's what the Bible would say. Don't whine about it. You know, I know we kind of cry about it a little bit to each other. That's okay. But look, work hard. Work harder if you need to. Be smart. God will take care of you. God will take care of you. Just don't care about it, and then you'll never worry about it. But the problem is, if you start worrying about it too much, you'll begin to care about it. And it will become where your heart goes, which is not ever where you want to be. So that's money and tithing in the Bible. You know, a lot of people think, you know, that church should never bring up money. But I mean, this is really, it's not really about me as the pastor and you and God together. This is about you and God. This is about your relationship with the Lord. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.