 So once more, I want to welcome everyone who's in the sanctuary and those who are watching us online on YouTube and Facebook, welcome to this afternoon's panel discussion. And our theme for this afternoon is Shillings and Sense, the Cheerful Giver. And before we begin, I'd like our panelists to introduce themselves. I'll start with my far left. Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you're well, and thank you so much for tuning in. My name is Ted O'Chola. Happy Sabbath. Good afternoon, everybody, and happy Sabbath. My name is Rose Acheng Onyanko from Kibera's Day Church. Good afternoon, and happy Sabbath. My name is Joseph Kongori. Thank you so much. My name is Betty B. I am one of the youth in this church. So we've had a wonderful week of stewardship, and the theme has been living in view of eternity. And we once more want to thank Pastor Elijah for taking us through these powerful sessions that have truly been impactful in our lives. So I'm just going to run through a few lessons that we got from the week's summons. And after that, we're going to get into the discussion for today. So we looked at the principle of ownership. We looked at the principle of ownership, where we saw that everything in the world belongs to God. And after that, we looked at the principle of management. And we saw that God is the owner of everything that we have. And we are only here to manage what he already owns. And then we looked at the principle of character development. And we saw how stewardship leads to our characters being developed. And this was elaborated very well by our speaker. Then we looked at the principle of responsibility, how we are supposed to be responsible for what God has given us. We saw the principle of accountability. And we saw that we are accountable for the things that we have been given, whether it's our talents, whether it's our time. We are going to be answerable on how we used it when we were on this earth. Then we also looked at the principle of sacrifice. And we learned that real giving includes sacrifice. And so as we go into this discussion, I want to ask the panelists, and I'll start with Rose. What does it mean for you to live as a steward at your workplace? What does it mean for you to live as a steward at your workplace? Okay, for me, living as a steward at my workplace basically means the fact that I have the job, the work means that I got it from somewhere, and the person I got it from is God. The fact that I have a job means that God has given me the job. So I have a job because God has given me. That means God is the source. And now that I have the job, I have been put there as a manager. I am supposed to do what I'm supposed to do, and it is for a season, it is for a reason, for a time. And the third thing is I'll be required to give accountability of my time. What I have done in my workplace, I have to give reports. I have to state if my being there is adding value, I have to really show what I did, what they could do, except the last, the third employee who did not yield results. And we are surprised when the master comes back and says that the person is a weekend, so at my place from five, they should pay you for the hours that you are there. Yes, that one would mean you are getting what you deserve, but that doesn't work because God is with you. Amen. OK. So Forted, what does it mean for you to live as a steward in your family? All right. So thanks for your answer about work and how being a steward is important. I think that was real for me at work before COVID, because before COVID, I had to be in the office. But right now, I'm rarely in the office, but I'm working. OK. I'm working. I always have this tussle between myself, my mom and my dad, because they always don't understand how I am working from where I am. I remember in December, we went back to the village and I told them I'm not on leave. So my dad couldn't understand the concept of, so you're working, but you're not in the office. I told him times have changed. We're not working in the days when you have to go to the office. But it is fair that we have to be stewards of our time. So for me in the family, before I get into being a steward in the family, I thought of first understanding what it means to be a steward. And I looked up the definition and some interesting things popped up. One of them was to manage or to look after. Another one was see me, but he cannot experience. So the question is, how am I a steward of the time that I have with him to make sure I impact him in a positive way? The second one I saw was leading out in offering services. For example, offering love, offering protection, offering comfort. That is as a father, as a husband, and also just as the high priest in the home. How am I leading out in devotion? That's one of the key things we have to do as spiritual leaders in, get some water, bake some bread, bring it, and then he entertained them. Correct? So he just didn't sit and look at the wife and say, please do all those things, but he also assisted. So how am I being a steward in the house in making sure that there is order? And order does not mean instruction only. I can't sit and tell my son, go do that. And my wife, have you cleaned that? Where is the food? No. How am I also participating in the process? So that's how I try to conceptualize being a steward in the family and being actually, orderly, managing and taking care of those who you live with. I'm on that energy to make sure I'm participating. So I see a lot of joy. I see my son, one as a good example as you've asked. He tends to clean up after himself. I see my wife also trying to help around the house. And sometimes she also gives me instructions, please go do A, B, C, and D. So I see we are working as a team. There's the old added, you know, teamwork makes the dream work. And so we can see that even how we conduct ourselves as stewards in our home has a lasting effect with those who we live with. So for Jose, how do you live as a steward in church? Thanks for that question. You know, stewardship at the very basis. You know, stewardship at the very basis. God has done for me. And when you think about it broadly, what he's done for me in the person of Jesus Christ, his son, that he gave the very best of heaven. God did not give half or quarter. He gave everything. So for me, it's expected that if I love him, I bring my everything to him. And when you think about it as a steward in the church, you know, church is a place where you meet God's people, you deal with people, you know, you bring your affections, you bring your money in form of type and offering, you bring your service, you bring your influence in terms of what friendships do you make when you stand here to minister, you know, that ability, for instance, going so that the Helper comes. Then the Holy Spirit actually comes in Acts chapter two. They are filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter three, they're actually doing things because now they have been empowered by the Holy Spirit. So here comes Peter and John. They pass through the beautiful temple as they go through the beautiful gate as they go through the beauty to the beautiful temple. And there's a lame man seated right outside the gate. Suddenly they realize this money is a lot. We can't take all this money, but we can't take all this money to God. This money is a lot. So man and wife sits in the comfort of their bedroom and they conspire against the Holy Spirit. So they bring they decide to keep the rest and bring the rest. And Peter right there, Peter tells them, why are you lying? Why are you lying? So we all know what happened. Ananya and Saphira died. My question is why the plan B? In case this Christianity fails, we will have a plan B. So they sat in their house and they took a bet against the Holy Spirit. Like he's not able to start the work that he has finished. So they kept the remaining. And this thing grieved the Holy Spirit. Let me read a quote from Patriots and Prophets, page chapter seven. LNG White Writes, a deep conviction had rested upon all present and under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. Ananya and Saphira had made a pledge to give to the Lord the proceeds from the sale of the property. Afterwards, they grieved the Holy Spirit by yielding to feelings of covessiveness. They began to regret. It is the Holy Spirit who convicts me, who leads me to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the one who teaches me. The Holy Spirit is the one who tells me to give and everything. But now the possessions we have, they are for evangelism. You see, people are bringing everything they had. They were putting it in one basket to take care of all the others. The poor were actually being taken care of from the from the source. People are being fed, school fees were being paid. No one was being rained on and everything. So they were putting them. It is careless. It doesn't really know how to handle your hard-hunged money. So you are keeping it for yourself. You understand? That's what Ananas and Saphira did. And when we hold up our money, the last thing is, we are telling the Holy Spirit, you're not very sure if you're going to finish this job. So let's have a plan B. In case Christianity fails, we will find a place. And Anana and Saphira died because of that. Yes. Thank you so much, Rose. And where else can we see the stewardship brought out? For me, I'd like to... Typically, you know, when you see a stewardship, the vast red of the week, I want you to put a dash on that. And then he then further says, let every one of you lay by him in store. So put a dash on, let everyone of you and then he further says, as God has prospered him, put a dash on that, as God has prospered him and that he says, Father, that there be no gatherings when I come. Now, if you look at 1 Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 2, upon the first day of the week, you know, there are various principles that you can pick from that bus. Upon the first day of the week, talks about the principle of preparation, the principle of planning, you know, it wasn't just a random event that people prepare. Then he told them, let everyone of you, you know, the principle there is the principle of participation that nobody was to be neglected in the giving. You know, when God came up with the tithe, you know, nothing in the world has had such a beautiful principle as tithe giving in terms of its equity, in terms of its universality. You know, each of us is required to give attention. No matter how rich or poor you are, you know, it's in proportion to what you're capable of giving. God is not stealing from you. You know, it's not like our tax system, which is grabadim. It's a principle of proportionality, you know. You know, so. You know, God, if you look at the principle, God has made the proclamation that the gospel is dependent upon the labors and gifts of God's people. The gospel is dependent on the labors and gifts of God's people. The church is run by the gifts and labors of God's people, your tithe and your service. That's how God, the Adventist Church Manual, the Seven-Day Adventist Church Manual says, the deconry should have a portion provided, put in store for the poor. The treasurer is supposed to give an allocation to the deconry to provide for the poor. Every Sabbath, when the deconsit for their meeting, there are people who come and tell you, hey, I have not eaten for a week. I have not. I don't have fare. And you find the decon's vigil. Even I sometimes had their ears tingled. So I mean, I don't I will not return tithe perhaps because of how it may be used. I mean, I like how you say that, leave certain things for God to dictate how that will happen. But also we are required to also hold the church accountable. That does not mean that we allow pill fridge to happen. If we know something wrong has happened, we have to also be sure that we are holding people accountable. That I mean by holding placards shouting. No, there are certain mechanisms the church has put in place to ensure certain things don't happen. Another example, you gave the example of Eli. Let me give you the example of Christ. Christ had a church. He was there. Church pastor and he had 12 of his disciples. Who was the treasurer? Judas was a treasurer in church in Christ's time. Now, who was Judas? A thief. Now, did Christ know that Jesus was a thief? Yes, Christ knew. Did Christ banish him as a thief? No, but he spoke to him, tried to get to him, but Judas refused, had in his heart. We all know what happened to Judas at the end. So if there was a demon treasurer in the church of Christ, how many demon treasurers do we have in Nairobi Central Adventist Church? There may be millions or hundreds. Now that doesn't mean that there are, but I'm just giving you a concept that is actually there that Christ does know. Sometimes you can return, you can give, and it can be misused or abused. Hold the church accountable, hold the people in the offices accountable, but don't say I will not give because I do not know how it is being used. And I like the word that Joseph used. There are certain things that are not to our purview. We may not know everything that happens, but there are things that happen. Another example I'll give before we go to the break was an example of Barnabas. And I like Sister Rosa, she spoke about Acts chapter five and a nice and sapphire about stewardship. I liked the example of Barnabas and we see that in Acts four from verse 33 through to verse 37, where we see, and you rightfully said, at the time when people were convicted of the truth, many of them gave generously. Now the book Great Controversy, page 462, page 464 paragraph one, Sister White says, before the final visitation of God's judgments upon the earth, there will be among the people of the Lord such revival of primitive godliness. And I like how she closes this sentence as has not been witnessed since the apostolic times. So if we focus on how they were stewards of that time, how the people in the apostolic times gave, they gave everything, put them at the apostles feet and everybody's need. I like how King James says it in verse 35, and they laid them down at the apostles feet and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. A wonderful example about how we ought to be giving. Give, but don't give to dictate. Sometimes we fall into that circle, okay? I'll give 100,000, but I will say, this is how I want it used. We don't see that example there. That example is not there. Now you can give for a specific mission. For example, the church was building the pulpit. You can say you want to put the lights. Can I give this offering for the lights? That's fine, but the principle behind it is give and let the leadership of the church give according to the needs that are there at that particular time. Verse 36 then singles out an individual. There were many people who gave, but verse 36 singles out and it says, and Joseph's, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, brought the money, and what did he do? Laid it at the apostles feet. That's what he did. Now that is stewardship. That is a wonderful example about how we ought to have that what Sister White said is great controversy. There will be that primitive godliness will be brought back. So ask yourself, you see before it's brought back you have to ask yourself, what am I doing now for that similar spirit to come to me? You know challenges don't, character is revealed in adversity. You cannot say you'll start giving when times of trouble begin. If you're not giving now, you will never give in times of trouble because if right now you're comfortable and life is okay, what makes you think when that time of trouble comes you will eventually give? You have to start now. When things seem to be a bit tough, when things seem to be somewhat not easy and you're required there's this mission. I keep seeing in the bulletin, a mission for my corner and sololo. Always repeated. How many of us are giving to that mission? How many of us are seeking to help in that mission and giving doesn't always mean money? It could be your time and we'll get to that on to the second part. But I really liked how for me a wonderful example of stewardship was how Barnabas is singled out as an individual who sold his land and then he brought the proceeds. And then the next chapter talks about a nice and sapphire, who did the same thing but behave completely different. The last example, docus. See docus didn't give money, but what did docus do? Now let's not also forget the ladies. You know we always give examples of men, men, men, men, men. But there are wonderful women in the Bible who also do the exact same thing. Docus is singled out as a lady who did what? Provided for the needy in high environment to the extent that when she died, what do people do? They cried and they told please come and do what raised up and she was raised up. That is what happens. So giving is not always in forms of monetary. It can also be in forms of time. If you're a good seamstress, ladies, I'm talking to you. Make some dresses for some of us men who have struggles with having shirts. Let's not go buy shirts from Sarit or Sir Henry's, all these places. If you're a good seamstress, I will buy from you after Sabbath. Make that for me. Let's see, let's have that spirit of stewardship like Docus had because that's an example. You see, it's put there not unintentionally to show us also being a steward can come in many other forms, not just money. May God help us to have that spirit of stewardship. So we'll have a short break and when we come back, we're going to look at some of the practical questions that we have in our day-to-day lives about stewardship. We'll have a few games, then we'll get back to this discussion. Stay tuned. Okay, we will turn to our books. Song number 655. Happy the home. 655, I'd like to ask a congregation in charge to stand. We've been seated for some time. It would be good. It's a good opportunity to stretch a bit as we sing together, keep the blood flowing so that we don't miss whatever it is that we are discussing this afternoon. 655, happy the home. Let's remain standing. We turn to song number 473. Nira, my God to thee. 473. This is the second part and we welcome those in the sanctuary and also those watching us online giving us your comments and questions on the chat box. So for now we'll look at some of the practical questions about stewardship. And for the first question, we look at what are the corners that we cut when giving? And we'll ask Alasdor say, what are some of those corners that we cut when giving? That's a good question. So let me try and deal with the tithe, for instance. Some of the corners then, questions you see often. Somebody asks you, should you tithe your gross or your net? The argument, of course, being the government has taken tax from me, so should I now pay tithe on what has remained as the remainder? But you know, God asks us to tithe of our increase and that's gross. You know, what you receive as your value or the value of your service, God has primary, you know, he's the primary owner. He has the first, what do you call it, the first or rather, when you get your funding, he's the one who should be fast in your consideration. So you find people are like, okay, no, but I'm not touching that money you get. But even if you are, even if you are taxed, but what was the value, what was your increase? It was the gross. The second shortcut you find, and shortcuts are usually cognitive. It's what we call cognitive. You find somebody is saying, okay, Lord, I don't even have enough for me. I can't make ends meet. How then do I tithe? You know, the Bible has given us an illustration of the lady who gave everything. You know, Christ was seated in the temple looking at people giving of that which they could spare. And this lady came and gave everything she had. And Christ commanded that lady by saying, you know, of all these people who've come here dropping their coins and, you know, looking good. This is the lady I respect. You know, Christ is God. Christ looked at that lady and said, this is the lady that today, this is the lady who's made my day. So you see that for eternity, for ages, tells people, you know, regardless of your circumstances, trust, Proverbs 3 verse five and six tells us, trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he shall show you the right path. You know, even sometimes, yes, challenges come, struggles come, but of your increase, God requires a tithe. The third one, usually I see, and it's quite interesting, what you call a cognitive shortcut, is people then begin to say, Lord, let me invest this money. Then when I get an increase, when I've really made it big, is when I'll bring your return. You know, it's what Ted was speaking to, that if you don't learn to give in these times, you'll never learn to give in future. You know, if you don't learn to tithe one shilling, you won't tithe 10 million, you'll never tithe 10 million. So sometimes you find people give that excuse that, hey, Lord, let me first invest, let me grow, Lord, if you bless me and I become wealthy, then is when I'll tithe. But you know, Malachi already says, bring the tithes into the storehouse, that there might be food in my house, that the devourer shall not come. You know, let God be the one to protect you. There's something I usually say in our family that you know, it's a good thing when the Lord owes you. It's a very good thing when the Lord owes you, because God always pays back. And the reward of heaven is that it pays dividends that are out of this world. Quite literally, yeah, you'll get them in heaven, but they're out of this world. So sometimes you find people make shortcuts. You know, again also, you talked about, or rather when we're just going into the, before the break, you know, you find people saying, pointing out to, you know, if the church does not account for my money properly, then, you know, then I can give to a particular mission of the church that I desire. You know, again, you often find that as a, it's a cognitive shortcut. It's a shortcut of thinking, because that's not, you can give to a ministry, but tithe is holy. And God has designated how to give that particular tithe. For the benefit of the membership, I just want to make mention, you know, even in this church, Nairobi Central, how we treat the tithe is very sacred. We don't appropriate the tithe to, for instance, fix lighting. No, we don't appropriate the tithe to pay for water or for electricity. Tithe is trust fund. When it's received up there, when it's counted, and the receipt is made, you know, it's transferred to the conference and to the levels. Then when you look at the Adventist system, when I look at everywhere else I've seen, there's no system such as ours that ensures that, you know, why we treat the tithe as sacred and escalate it to the conference and the bodies above? You saw that then there's resources that can enable evangelism, as my sister talked about, and ministry to happen indiscriminately. If you had a church like this, for instance, Maxwell, which has a membership of about 8,000, and the church appropriated the tithe here, you know, you'd probably have even screens on your benches, but somewhere else like in Olipolos, which the members cannot raise that funding, you see, the work would suffer there. You wouldn't be able to reach the people that you require. I remember in South Sudan, I was working there last year, and the church I was seated in, it's a place called Rubcona, in Upper Nile State. And the church I was seated in was actually made of grass. It was made of grass. I told them, I come from a church of 8,000, to them, we should have had a big amen that people say, amen, they couldn't believe a church of 8,000. You know, to them that's a conference, that's the whole country. And so, you see, places like that need to hear the word of God. And that's why as a church, we do not expend tithe here. So when you hear somebody make mention of things like that, sometimes it hurts your heart when you are actually in the know of how the tithing system in the Adventist church works. That really, it's meant to spread the gospel. The financing for churches, like this one, comes from the giving of members through the local church budget and things such as the church building. Those are what support things, for instance, the workers we pay here to make our services comfortable. So those are some of the shortcuts that sometimes I see people do. Yeah, the last one really, what I'm talking about is people take a shortcut of research. You go listen to rumors out there instead of actually taking your time, to actually study, to ask for information and data. Thank you. There is a need for the church to educate its members on how these tithes, or how the different categories of the tithes and offering, how they are channeled in the SNA church. Yes, I think it's fundamentally important because, you know, my own experience with our church is when you inform the members, members, they always give. By then, there's no time we've come to our membership as central, and members have failed to give. Members give. There's also one thing I forgot to mention. You know, when you look at, if I want to know your priorities in life, I just need to know two things about you. If I want to know your priorities in life, I just need to know two things. One, how you spend your time, and number two, how you spend your money. If you can give to, you know, anything you value as important, you give those two things too. Your time and your money. You know, if I remember my parent used to say, you know, Joseph, sometimes I don't wear good shoes because I'm paying your fee. Because she was finding money for our school fees. It's important to educate our members on the giving because we realize that our members value God. And the thing I also want to make a mention of, one thing I've also seen, you know, when you put your money into something, you value it. People who give tithe, they speak highly of the church. People who give offerings, speak highly of the church. People who do not give are the people who spread division. If you saw somebody who's causing fights and you went to the tithe records, by then you'll find their names are not there. Their names are not there. So, giving is also an indicator of someone's spirituality. And so that's why we tend to have, you know, keep reminding people of still watching. Because this is tied to fundamentally, to someone's spirituality. Amen. And together with that, when you bring up the concept of where your treasure is, that's where your heart is. And this is something that I was thinking about during the week, is where is my treasure? Because when I think about where, for example, I've invested my money, you know, I have some money, let's say, money market accounts, I keep checking, I keep checking it because I want to know how my money is growing, you know? Because my heart is there, because my money is there. So, just to bring it to us as Christians, if I want my heart to be ministry in spreading God's word, I will put my time there. I will put my money there to go and do God's work. And even just as we emphasize on that, we'll read from Matthew, Matthew chapter six, verse 21, which just reminds us that wherever your treasure is that the desires of your heart will also be. Even as we come to look at what are some of the reasons why we hold back from giving, what are some of the reasons why we find it so hard to give. And just to illustrate that, let's say I need some money right now, like right now as we are sitting here, I don't see which of my panelists should be able to give me some money. I don't know just say, then, I just need some money. I need some money. I don't know whether you guys can give me some money. Sorry, I don't have. At this moment, at this moment, maybe when we step out. Yeah, okay. At this very moment, who can lend me some money? They're looking at why we hold back. Why do we hold back? You're doing this for illustrative purposes. Yeah. You're returning it. Yeah. Sorry. So I've gotten some 200 shillings from Rose. Say it looks like he had some money to give me. I had some money. I can't find them. Sorry. I can't look at them. Okay, so I've gotten some 200 shillings from Rose. And I'd like to just ask Rose, Rose, why was it not hard for you to give me this money? Me, it was hard. No, but why have you given it to me? Eventually I've given it because, one, I didn't have the money at some point. Then I got the money. Yeah. So, my giving you is, I have this hope that since I didn't have it, then I got it. Maybe I will get it back, like it double. But where did you get it from? Bet is done. Yeah, so I basically gave her this money before we got here. So the reason why Rose didn't find it hard to give me back because it was mine to begin with, right? So as we look at this in terms of God, we've seen that God is the one who owns everything we have. God has given us everything we have. So when God says, give me 10%, it's the way Rose has given me so willingly and so readily because it's not hard. You don't feel the pain because it's not yours to begin with. It's God's already. So let's remember that God is the one who owns everything that we have. So when you are giving to him, which we are actually returning, we are not giving, we are returning. We are not giving a donation. We are returning to God. What is already his? Yes. Maybe why it was so easy for me to give you the money is because I'm seeing you right here. You are seated here right now. Yeah. But if you'd have made a step, maybe you're not here. Then you called me and told me that money of mine, you gave me, now I'm not seeing you. So I think maybe one of the challenges we have is why we are not so faithful towards giving, giving towards God is we're not really seeing him. There's not a place, he's not sitting in a specific place where he's going to hold us accountable. We're going to say, oops, I have his money. I have not given him. So the fact that he's not really visible physically makes us think we are comfortable by holding back. But that really shouldn't be the case because even if he's not very visible, we're not seeing him. The fact is, his God was giving us the money at the end of the day. There's something I wanted to add about the example that Joseph gave, brother Joseph gave about, and also you emphasized it about giving and returning tithe. You know, sometimes you think tithe is about giving. You don't give God, you return what was already yours, right? What was already his. It's actually God who has loaned you the 100% and he's just asking for 10% back. And the principle of tithing actually, when I was studying this and we were sharing together and you asked for us to form this moment, I was preparing for this discussion. I remembered about where the principle of tithing actually started. And for me, it goes all the way back in Eden at creation because God created seven days and then he asked for the Sabbath to be kept aside for him. So that was an element, it wasn't tithing, but it was the principle of a 10th back to me. Give me, you have six days to do everything that you want to do. Give me what? Or return to me back. One day where we fellowship and we commune together. So that's where the principle actually started and it's permeated across the Bible in several instances. We see a lot of tithing and offering happening really around Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We see a lot of examples of that happening. So the concept of tithing did not just start in Malachi chapter three. That's where it's maybe visually, we see what we're supposed to do with it and where it's supposed to go, but the principle of it started way back in Genesis chapter one and chapter two. Even as you talk about that, let's say, is it okay to give to a ministry that is not church? Let's say a ministry like Salvation Army or any other ministry, is it okay to give to a ministry that is not church? A tough question for an Adventist panel to give a ministry that is not of the Adventist faith or of the church. I think with that we can try and see what did Jesus do. I think maybe that's a good way, a good place. We can start at least I can try and think of. And I'm reminded of an example of Christ fellow shipping with the woman of the well in John chapter four. And I like us to read verse 28 to verse third, but before we go there, we know this woman was a Samaritan. And we need to understand the aspect of God actually spending time with a Samaritan. First, to understand that particular concept, let's go to John chapter eight, and then we'll come back to John chapter three. And you go to John eight, verse 48. We see Christ having a discussion with the leadership of the church. And then we see this is after Christ had forgiven the adulterous woman, then we see some discussion happening. Then we see the leadership of the church is annoyed at Christ. Then verse 48, see what they say. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, speaking of Christ, because from verse 42 through to verse 47, it was Christ speaking. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast the devil. They equated being a Samaritan and the devil to almost the same thing. So they being called a Samaritan and you're a Jew was a high insult back in that time. Now we see in verse 49, Christ never bothers to question the aspect of being called a Samaritan. Why? The Samaritans are also people. God created Samaritans. He only addresses the issue of him being called a devil because there was no way Christ and Satan could be of the same. Now let's go back to John chapter three. Sorry, John chapter four, the woman of the well from verse 28 to verse 30. We see Christ speaking with this woman. Christ at actually at this particular point all the disciples go away. Sometimes God has to chase you away if they want to bless somebody. It actually happens. God may have to move you from a situation to pronounce a blessing upon you. So here we see a discussion between Christ and this woman, the Samaritan woman. Then it culminates to me in verse 28 to verse 30 to your question where it says, the woman then left her water pot and went away into the city and said to the men, come see a man which told me all things that I ever did is not this, the Christ. Then verse 30, then they went out of the city and came unto him. God Christ in this case had spoken to the Samaritan woman. Was she a Jew? Was she of the remnant? The answer is no. But Christ ministered to her as a Samaritan. Then what happened to her? Conversion happened. What did she then go do? She stood up, left, went and testified of Christ. So yes, you ask your question, is it okay to give a minister that is not of the church? We have to analyze that on a case by case basis in my estimation. Because you need to know what is this ministry doing? If I am giving, what are they doing? Because we also have friends who are not of our faith. We have family who are not of our faith. But if they have a calamity, will we say, because you are this and this, I will not help you? We still reach, and you see Christ reaching out there. A second and final example. We go to, in the book of Luke, let's go to Luke chapter eight. Let's see what Luke tells us here about another example of testifying and sharing a cross to someone who perhaps is not of the faith. Luke chapter eight. Now here is the demoniac. Luke chapter eight, we speak about the demoniac here. Christ had just stilled the water in chapter seven, and then now they get to chapter eight. This guy had many demons within him. He has a discussion with Christ, but Christ is very brief with this demon. He died and engaged in a necessary cheat chat with the demon. Then we see what happens to him. Eventually the demons, the demon is cast out in verse 27 and verse 28 of chapter eight. This is what it says. This after the demon is cast out, we see what happens to him. Verse 27 and 28. And when he went forth to the land, there met him out of the city a certain man which had devils a long time and wore no clothes, neither a board in any house, but in the tombs. We see an example of what this demon possessed person had. Verse 28. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him with a loud voice and said, what have I to do with the Jesus, thou son of God of the most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. The orders Christ say, leave. Who are you? Who are you? What is thy name? That's the only thing we can see Christ discussing with this person. But now the key part that I like us to see in this, after the demons are cast out, we get to verse 39 where it says, return to thine house of chapter eight and show how great things God hath done unto thee. Christ says this demon possessed person who was not of the faith. What you do, you go out and testify. And I like how it closes. And he, the demon, now has become changed. Went his way and did what? Published throughout the whole city. How great things Christ had done unto him. Do we engage? You see, before we talk about giving to the ministry that is not of the faith, have we tried to engage with them and try and see? How can we testify to them? Those of us who know the truth, those of us who understand, as Joseph said earlier, we've been given the oracles of God in these last days. How can we engage with these people, with these people who do not understand perhaps our religion, understand our faith, and understand the three angels' messages and testify to them? I will say, before you decide to give your offering, key word, and I use the word offering intentionally, because you cannot give tithe to something, because tithe, as Joseph has rightfully said, is trust fund. And I like that phrase, trust fund. Beside you give your offering to a ministry that is doing this, try and understand what is going on. What are they doing? What is their mission? And if you're convicted to give, give, God, Christ in this case, was a steward of his time, because he gave his time to the woman of the well. He could have bypassed her, but he gave his time. He could have bypassed this man who was demon possessed, but he gave his time. And we see consequently what happened is a conversion happened and they testified. And what did they do? They brought the entire city to come and meet who? Christ. Through your act of sharing and fellowshiping, you can go and meet an individual and you can bring that ministry that didn't understand to the ministry that understands the truth for this time. I just wanted to make an addition. And it's a verse. It's James chapter one, verse 27. James chapter one, verse 27 says pure religion and undefiled for God the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep yourself from being unspotted from the world. You know, God has called us not only by money but even by our personal influence to minister to him. You know, Christ's ministry was cater to their need and then beat them come. You know, he fed the 5,000. You know, he healed and then beat them come. He looked at humanity's needs and beat them come. You know, what Ted has talked about is actually true. You know, our giving, our charity as Adventists directly tied to the hip to our evangelism. And so we need to ask ourselves, okay, even while I give, how am I bringing this person to Christ? You know, what you often find is say someone falls sick both here and outside. We raise money for instance, you know, we changa, we changa. But then we forget to take it to the next level of having that personal influence, having that personal discussion. You know, it's one thing to raise funds for someone, especially now it's very impersonal and Pesa poop. You know, but beyond that, do we have conversations with particular people? You know, there's a quote that I like, the spirit of prophecy. It also talks about money. And it says money has great value because it can do great good. In the hands of God's children, it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty and clothing for the naked. But money is of no more value than sand only as it is put to use in providing the necessities of life and blessing others and in advancing the cause of Christ. So we apply it in three ways. Providing for our necessities, blessing others and advancing the cause of Christ. So even the missionary work, even when you look at the Adventist church, when you see Adra in Haiti, when you see Adra in South Sudan, when you see Adra in Kenya, you know, that's an arm of the gospel. Just like sometimes we talk about medical missionary. You know, it's an arm to take the gospel. It opens a door. And that's how, just to emphasize what my brother is talking about, it is for. But then, there's also one thing I wanted to add, which for me has been a passion. And you know, when we talk about personal influence, these things you can't do secondhand. For instance, I'll give an example of the care of orphans in the church. The Adventist church has set out principles. If you read the spirit of prophecy, they're actually principles. Our children, you know, are not supposed to be in orphanages. When an Adventist member loses a church, did you know that we are supposed to take them into our own homes? So for instance, let's say God forbid, Ted loses his son. As a fellow Adventist, I'm actually supposed to care for that child. Sister White actually says, until death shall be swallowed up in victory, there will be orphans to be cared for who will suffer in more ways than one if the tender compassion and loving kindness of our church members are not exercised in their behalf. The Lord bids us bring the poor that are cast out to your house. Christianity must supply fathers and mothers for these homeless ones. The compassion for the widow and the orphan manifested in prayers and deeds will come up in remembrance before God to be rewarded by and by. So there are things we cannot do second. And you know, when you give to our mission, which is not Adventist, that's fine. But when it comes to your direct brethren, it's another case all to do. So we're going to look into where in the New Testament can locate type and offering. So I'll ask Rose to guide us through that. And also, while you're on that, what should be our intention when giving? What should be our intention when giving? Okay, let me start with the second question. What should be our intention for giving? The, our intention for giving is love. Simple, period, love. This we get from John 3.16. See, John 3.16 says, for God so loved, that he gave, period. That should be the motive you're giving because you love. And now that God loved the world, gave. So what are we supposed to do? So John 3.16 says, God so loved the world he gave. Then fast John 3.16 says, and this is how we know what love is. That Christ laid down his life for us. We also ought to lay down our lives for others. So what do we do? In John 3.16, we have to top up. You know, I can't give love if I don't have it. I have to top up. So I have to get it from somewhere. And this place I'm getting it from, I have to get it from God. So John 3.16, I have to get it. So I have to top up the way we load our funds with credit. So I have to top up love. I have to get it from John 3.16. And then fast John 3.16, I have to Sambhaza. If Josiah wants credit right now, first I have to top up and then I have to Sambhaza. So that is the motive. The motive is top up and then Sambhaza. You can't give if you don't have love. Otherwise it would be for sure. And let me tell you, giving is hard. It is not easy. Christianity, you're just discussing before we came here. Christianity is not a walk in the park. It is so hard to give. It is so hard to love someone. It is so hard. And sometimes I sit and I wonder, I've come to a conclusion that God has never asked us to do anything easy. There is nothing God has ever asked us to do that is easy. When God says love, it means that the environment is not conducive for me to love. But God is demanding me. He's commanding that I should love. When God tells me, have faith. It means the environment, what is happening, I am supposed to be faithless. But God demands me to have what? To have faith. So in order for me to give, I have to have love and it is not easy. It is not easy. It is a sacrifice. Let me give you an incident, a case. A few years back, you know the way you come from setups and you don't always see eye to eye with people. So from a place where I come from in the village, there was this person who was always on my case, you understand, like people who always talk. The people will always have reasons to talk. So these ones will talk the way you offer to know the way they will just find reasons for talking. So at some point, it got to me like, really? Like really? And then the husband died. The husband to this man died. Back then, Asakov Mez was going for 2,500 years and she didn't have a job. So the husband died and I looked at her and the husband has died. She doesn't have a job. She has children to take care of. And then the spirit tells me, I need you to do something about her case. And I'm wondering, why am I supposed to do something about her case? And yet, she's not nice to me. She's never been nice to me. But the spirit kept insisting, Rose, you need to do something, you need to do something, you need to do something. So when I went, finally, I just went and asked her, so what can you do? And then she said, I can sell, you know, Mez. And Asakov Mez was going for 2,500. Trust me, Beti, I gave 5,000. It was not very easy. I would not lie that I gave her happily smiling like that, the cheerful, okay. But I gave the 5,000. We are friends today. She stopped talking bad about me and everything. And when I go to the village, she always gives me ground nuts. I'm not saying give to be given ground nuts, but I'm just saying it's not very easy to give that God, if God doesn't come and actually intercede, we will be looking very sure. He was saying that we need to take care of the orphans and everybody. We'll just be looking at orphans. And we would imagine, we'd be comfortable driving our vehicles off and going. We wouldn't even know what they're eating. We wouldn't know. Even if you and Daniel are best of friends, you wouldn't care if you don't have love. So the motive for giving has to be love. And this love, it has to come from God. Yes, if it doesn't happen, then we're living in a messed up society. Now let's look at some of the verses that talks about tithing and offerings in the New Testament. I found a lot, but I'm just going to share a few. I got a few verses that talks about tithes. And the book of Luke chapter 18 verse nine to 14 talks about tithes. I'm going to read Luke chapter 18. It's about the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. And I read from verse 12, Luke chapter 18. Verse 12 says, I fast twice a week and give a 10th of all ideas. This is the Pharisee who has gone to the temple to pray. And then he's telling God, I'm good. I am like the tax collector. I fast twice a week and I give a 10th of all I get. Tithing is talked about there. The other place I found tithing is talked about is Hebrews chapter seven verse one and two. Hebrews chapter seven verse one and two. It says, this Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God most high. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him. And Abraham gave him a 10th of everything. First the name Melchizedek means kings of righteousness. Then also king of Salem means king of peace. So this is actually what happened in the Old Testament but the Holy Spirit ensured it is repeated to us in the New Testament so that we don't say that tithing strictly remained in the Old Testament. The people were dying in the Old Testament. Now the people were saying the old is gone. We are in the New Testament. So even in the New Testament God still requires us to give what? To give our tithes. And other verses you'll get Matthew chapter 23 verse 23. You will get there God's talking about the Pharisees giving a 10th of their spices, the mints, the chills and the q-mints. And also found some verses on offerings. There was Matthew chapter 15 verse five to six. There's Matthew chapter six verse one to four. There's Luke chapter six verse 38. There are several ones. But I like this Hebrews chapter 13 verse 16. Hebrews chapter 13 verse 16 says do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. So in short, the way we are talking about stewardship it's not just about money. Even doing good like I've given you an example. Even doing good. God considers that a sacrifice. And Paul was actually telling the people of Hebrews do not neglect to do good and to share what you have for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. And first John chapter 3 verse 17 says, but if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? So I came to the conclusion. We give tithes and offerings. Why do we give tithes and offerings? Does God come down from heaven to get the money? As God doesn't even use the money. He doesn't even need it. So the reason why we give tithes and offerings is for man. So man is giving for fellow man. We give tithes so that the gospel, the pastors will be taken care of so that the gospel can be spread. We give our offering so that man can be taken care of. Evangelism will go on and then man will be taken care of. Basically, that's why we give. I think that's why Jesus said, love the Lord your God and then love your neighbor. So in doing all these things, we are actually doing it. It is man doing service for fellow man. There's this question that has come in. Does the tithing principle apply to allowances such as Padhyam and mileage claims? I was fair in that question, it will come. So does the tithing principle apply to mileage? Yes, for allowances. Allowances and Padhyam. Let me begin with Padhyam. Padhyam is given when you're traveling to work. Say for instance, you're given a rate of 5,000 per night. If you expend all that 5,000, it's an expense incurred in your duty, in your work. So it's not really an income. However, if you have the 5,000 and you go to a place and you incur 2,000, you remain with a difference of 3,000. The 3,000 becomes an increase, which is tithable. So Padhyam would work like that. Padhyam is not given in the sense that it's your income. It's given in the sense that, look, you're going to undertake a duty you expected. In private entities, actually, you're supposed to submit a receipt for your Padhyam. In government entities, of course, you will go sleep in a less costly place. The smart people will probably sleep in a less costly place and get a difference. That difference becomes an increase. If you look at things like allowances, allowances are paid as part of your gross. They are incomes for your services. I render duty to an entity. It's given as part of my salary. That becomes tithable because it's an income. It's not undertaken in the course of producing anything. It becomes something that's wholly tithable. The other thing you asked was mileage. Again, the same principle would apply if then it would apply in the Padhyam situation I've given. You understand? Yeah. Because again, you wouldn't tell somebody, and God does not require you to tithe from that which is not an increase, which is not an income to you. See, if I give Rose money today and tell her, go to the shop and buy sweets, it's not an income to her. Okay, on that question as well, because the thing with the Padhyam and the mileage claims is, Yes. Most of us usually make the best out of it, such that we get more out of the money, like we save as much as we can. So in this case, are we saying, submit the tithe after, for example, if it's the travel, after you've gone and you've seen, okay, I'm going to spend 20,000 out of 30,000, out of 50,000, so this 30,000 is worth my tithe. You know Padhyam is distinct from salary. You know salary, you know this is coming. If I send you to Kisumu, and okay, you for instance, don't know what you're going to spend in terms of accommodation in Kisumu. You know, if you tithe before, maybe you might find your less. So for that, you know Padhyam is a tricky situation. That's what I mean. But if you went there, your accommodation was less, that becomes an increase. Then you tithe from your increase. It's like if I had ship, I don't know how many ship are going to give birth. You know, I can't start tithing what I don't have. You understand? But you see salary, it's what you have. You can see you have it. So to be fair to the member, you know, if you told them, tithe your Padhyam directly, then they go hung there, wherever they've traveled, you realize it will be unfair to them. Just to comment on what Joseph is saying about Padhyam and all these things. If you look at it, try to look at it from a principle from what Sister Rose has said, love. You see, if you love somebody, you will not be academic and trivial in how you calculate. Like, am I, the example of 5,000, you've gone to a place that is 2,000, the 3,000 is your increase. Do I really need to give God this? You know, I'm the one who has saved. You know, this is actually, this is mine. You see, I'll give tithe at the end of the month on my salary. But you see, if you have genuine love, then you'll have the spirit that Barnabas had, the spirit that their apostles had. You don't see Barnabas starting to count and say, you know, you see that spirit of counting, we see it in a nice and sapphire and we see what unfortunately happened to them. So when love permeates your life, even if you may not have known it, but now that the truth has been brought to you, it will then instigate a change in behavior. Because you see, in your heart, you have love. You see, God died in judgment, what you don't know. But once you know it, you've come to the knowledge of it, you go realize, wow, okay, I actually didn't know that. But because I love God, I'm going to proceed and start executing on it. I'll give my own story. I never knew for the longest time, up until maybe about 10, 12 years ago, that tithing was on gross. I always do tithe on net. What hits the account is what is tithe. This man enough gross, what is he on the pay slip? I was like, nah. So I tithe on what is left, up until that truth came to me at that time. And then that changed my way of giving. Now I'm not saying I'm any example for anybody. We all have our own shortfalls and challenges, but the idea is love should permeate your spirit of stewardship. Because if that is what permeates your spirit of stewardship, then you'll want to do it in every first set of your life, to your knowledge. You wouldn't get to counting shillings and cents. There was one preacher I was listening to doing a Q and A, and then one congregant asked him, I'm tithing, then whenever I tithe and I've done the 10%, I see the, I've done the calculation, I see there's some cents left. Do I also add those cents or can I keep those cents? The preacher told him, round it up. I mean, it's one shilling you're adding extra. You won't die because of one shilling. You see, that's the spirit of love that I think we need to have. So some of the questions, yes, they bring it down to that level, but go for exactly what you said. Go for that higher purpose, because God gave everything. Have the same spirit. It's an encouragement to all of us. It comes back to the motive. So for the last question, I'll open it up to all the panelists. So with the current economic was, how do we balance household budgets, tax obligations, title offering, we find that we have so many expenses. So what encouragement do we have for those of us who feel like we are so burdened with so many expenses and who feel like how do we manage now our title offering to God? I'll start with you. Now that we say that the source, the reason, the motive of our giving is love. Let me give you an example of Zaka as in the Bible. So this guy was so loaded, he was so rich, but something was lacking. He was so rich, he didn't have people who were his friends. People considered him as an enemy because he was working for the Roman government. And then comes Christ. And then Zaka gets to hear there's, oh, there's this man who has come, he's called Jesus, he's doing things. And deep down he had a longing for Jesus Christ. And one day he decides to climb a Sikamoto tree and then Moana Christ happened to be passing by. So you might think Zaka has found Jesus, but in the essence it is Jesus who found Zaka. So first forward, they go to his house and then they get to see it. I can imagine everybody who was around Jesus in their heart, they're telling him, they must have been telling Jesus, pushing him, tell him to give us back, tell him, tell him to pay us back, you know. But Christ didn't talk about the money, he didn't talk about anything. But Zaka has sat in the presence of Jesus. By the time the meeting was over, Zaka says, I am going to do what to do. Times may be tough, but the love that Christ has shown us, the love that Christ has given us, the power that he has given us will actually empower us to be faithful despite the fact that times are tough, despite the fact that, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Well, well, right now, I don't know if cars are still lining up well, but despite the fact that there are no fouls and the fault turns, despite the fact that school fees and colleges have increased school fees, times are tough, but the fact is God has not changed. God is still there, and God is still willing to help us remain faithful. See, God is not going to lower his standards for us so that we can make excuses and say, now because times are tough, the economy's not doing very well, even God understands you're not going to be faithful. What God will do is he's going to empower us and raise us to his standards so that we can fit, but he's not going to lower them. He's not going to lower his standards. And God is actually willing to raise us, to reach his standards so that we can actually do what God wants us to do. And so even as you go to Joseph, there's a question that has come in. Yes, I follow up, question to the above. Housing allowances for instance, should I type out of it this question? As Joseph comes in. For example, for my organization, in terms of allowances, they usually come in together with the salary. So I would say yes, because you're typing out of your income and it comes together with the salary. We had just said, it comes as one, that's tithable, because it's your income. You know there's the story given of the widow who had no food. It was a drought, it was nothing. She was going to bake bread and die. The prophet came to her and told her, let me eat some bread. It was the last. And she baked bread and she gave. And that widow never liked even a single day. You know, just responding to the particular individual who's asking about times are tough, making ends meet. You know, God has promised that, he's told you, look at the buds in the air. Those things don't even plant anything, but they eat every day. And then they wake up singing, by the way, in the morning. God provides for them. God has made sure that it is undertaking that you shall not lack of anything. And even in the time of trouble when which Ted mentioned, Psalms 91 reminds us that our bread shall be sure. In the worst of times that even the world has never seen, your bread, your water shall be, shall be sure. So what are, remind people again, Proverbs 3 verse five to six, trust in the Lord with all your heart, never rely on what you think you know. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall show you the right parts, by the way. You know, that thing forces you to do something. You remember the four principles I talked about, preparation, promotion, participation. Tithe forces you to prepare. Because say if I earn 15,000, if I have to pay tithe, I will sit down, pen and paper, and say 10% is out, 1,500, you think it? That already forces you to budget. It forces you to budget, as opposed to somebody else who's just spending. So if you don't tithe, you know, the ultimate situation that you will face is, you're ending up noticing that your money is running out even before the end of the month. Regardless of your income status, it will disappear. I can assure you of that, even by personal experience. I can assure you, you will end up finding that because you're not tithing, you're not making ends meet. So tithing is actually a good practice and it helps. Even as they bring in tithing, there's a question that has come in, brother Ted has talked about something regarding tithing. Kindly elaborate, father, am I supposed to tithe my crossing, come before tax and other deductions, or just my next? Kindly elaborate. I think, brother Joseph, I'd answer that question, but perhaps the viewer came in a bit late, but tithing is on gross. I think I'll just keep it that clear. But if you're running a business, it's a bit different. Running a business, once you've done your expenditure, if you're an entrepreneur, and once you've done your expenses, you tithe on what is, then left before tax, if you're an entrepreneur. But if you're on your salary, tithe is on gross. The question that you spoke about with all the pressures of the world, everything happening around economy, going the way it's going, things going up, what are we supposed to do? I think I'm reminded, and I think maybe that'll be my last comment as we close. I'm reminded of a quotation by Sister White from the Book Ministry of Healing, page 417, paragraph three. She says, above all the distractions of the earth, he, God, sits enthroned. All things are open to his divine survey, and from his great and calm eternity, he orders that which his providence sees best. So despite the challenges of the world today, despite the pressures of the world today, God still sits on his throne. So he knows the pressures are there. He knows budgets are tight. He knows expenditures are increasing, and income is remaining the same or reducing. But despite all that, Sister White says, he orders that which his providence sees best. And for us, it's for us to exercise that element of faith as that woman who brought that coin that she had, and that's all that she had and she gave, and God blessed and God Christ recognized that woman and ignored the Pharisee who had tons of money. Despite all what is happening, let us seek to trust and have that faith. As we're reading in the this week's Quaternate, the Sabbath School Quaternates, talking about elements of faith. And this week, we saw the faith, there was a question that was asked in the, I think in the Tuesday of Monday part, between Hagar and Sarah, what can you deduce from the elements of faith? It's for us to trust in God, despite the pressures that we have. So for me, I'm encouraged with this text that above all the distractions, God still sits on his throne. Amen, amen. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us for this afternoon discussion. We have a final word from Joseph, and then we'll have a word of prayer. I just wanted to share a personal testimony. Talked to me when we were in the panel. And you know, when we talk about stewardship, we forget that influence is a talent from God. I'd like to share a testimony from my own experience. When I was, I think, 18, my mother had just passed on the month before, in December, I was 17. She had passed on in November. So in January, in December, I had applied to enter a college to do CPAs. So in January, we were called to school to apply for, to actually start class. So by that time, letters of administration had not come out, so you can't access banks. But then God told me, just walk into national bank. Her bank had been national bank at that time. So God told me, just walk by faith. Go ask, try and ask if they can release some funds for your fees. The account had been frozen, because you see when a death notice is given, the bank automatically freezes the account. When I was there, so I was talking to this bank manager, trying to explain my situation. I've been called to school. There's no fees, but my mom has some money here, if I could access it to pay. And the manager was, okay, you know, this is not our practice. But then the assistant to the manager was a certain bespectacled gentleman. And he came and he never knew me. He did not know me. But he looked at my, actually I had gone to see him first. So actually before going to the manager, he was the first person I saw. So after explaining my situation, he went to the manager, and he told the manager, okay, manager, look. This is a young man who requires funding for schooling. Is it possible if you could consider allowing us? It's not in the rules, but would you consider us paying directly to the school? It does not have to go to him. So when the manager had, he said, yeah, okay, that makes sense. Then we'll pay to the school. That man used his influence to get me to school. I serve in the Dekondri with that man today. At that time, I did not know him. He never knew me. But I serve in the Dekondri today with that person. That person is actually Jared O'Piata. And I serve in the Dekondri today with him. Could you imagine if I went and Jared said, this is useless, you're a foolish fellow. This is not even supposed to be what you're doing. Get out of here. And then five word years later, we are serving in the Dekondri together. What will be Jared's ministry? God bless you. Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, for everything you've done for us. Thank you for this opportunity to worship you and to discuss about stewardship. Lord, it's you who gives us gifts. You've given us intellect. You've given us time. You've given us health and strength. You've given us monetary resources. You've given us the capacity to build friendships. You've given us everything. Nothing that we own is ours. Our very lives belong to you. And so, Lord, we pray today that we might return them back to you, to be used for your service and for your honor and glory. Jesus' name we pray. Thank you. That was quite inspiring. Real life stories and a great conversation around shillings and sense and how we need to give, round it up and have some sense of love in our stewardship life. Thank you, panelists. Let's turn to song number 15, SDA Himnals and sing My Maker and My King to thee, my all. Let's turn. Boy, it's to God. My Maker and the fellowship of the be with us now.