 I want to talk to you a little bit about tithes and offerings and money. Let's start off with this. God fails to help many people, help widows, help orphans, homeless, help those that are in need, because these people refuse to embrace His nature, His given nature, and His mindset. Because you have to understand, let me explain to you what I mean, you have to understand that God has no hands but your hands. He has no feet but your feet. He has no mouth but your mouth. Sometimes we say, well, there's so many people around the world that are starving in Africa or in Asia, people in different countries, and we say, why doesn't God do something about it? But God is asking you today, why don't you allow me to do something through you? A lot of times Christians have this humble, false humility mindset, well, just to be poor or just to have enough. I don't want to be rich because they miss school, a lot of different scriptures, I don't want to be wealthy, I don't want to have enough. The presenting this false humility as though God wants you to be one, to be poor. But it's actually on the opposite. God wants us to represent Himself, and God is not poor. He owns everything, and He wants His children to represent Him the way He is. Number one, number two, He wants us to be able to help others. You know that the hospitals that we see today, all around the world, the hostable systems, we're actually started and initiated by the church. If you look around the world, the church is the biggest humanitarian help that any other country, if you take one country together or all the countries put together, church is the biggest organization that helps the poor, the widows, the homeless, the less fortunate, and God is using people like me and you that embrace the mindset of God, embrace the principles of God, principles of giving, principles of multiplication to help other people. Amen? So God wants you to have more than enough. God wants you to be wealthy, yes, so that you will be wealthy in representing, but also so that you can do more with it than what you do now. Amen? Think about this. How many of you would say that, if you give me a million bucks now, half of my problems will go away? Well, there's only one person, what is this? I bet you, if I give you a million dollars right now, a lot of the problems that you have right now will go away. Don't act all humble here, okay? Bible says that silver and gold answer for all things. Some of the fights that we have between us and the spouse are because of money, first leading cause of divorce is money. Some of the things, some of the health issues we would be able to take care of, go to the doctor, receive medication, go through a therapy. If only you had enough money or if your insurance covered it. So let's not act all holy and think that money is a carnal thing or sinful thing. He said himself that's responsible for all things. But that's addressed under misconception about money. That's now about people that tide and offer and give offerings. A lot of times when we begin to give tides and offerings, we begin to have this kind of idea that as long as I tide and as long as I offer, I will be blessed. It's true. If you're going to begin to tide and offer, tide means give 10% of your income, that you're opening the door for a blessing. But that doesn't automatically qualify you for a blessing. Tides and offering is only one aspect of blessed life and successful life. Today I want to take a look at a second, not second, but another aspect of life. Another aspect of success and blessing. I want you to open to Psalm chapter one verse three. If you don't have the Bible with you, I'll just look at the screen and I'll read it to you. They are like the trees planted along the river banks bearing the fruit each season. Their leaves never wither and they prosper in all that they do. I want you to look at this word right here, do. It's a very small word, but it's very significant. Bible says that they will prosper in all what they do. A lot of times we think like as long as I tide and as long as I offer and occasionally give money to the poor here and there. I'm going to sit on a couch, I'm going to watch Netflix, I'm going to eat popcorn and God's going to drop a bag of money on my lap and I'm going to be wealthy. It's a lie. It's a demonic lie. I want you just to kind of look through some scriptures. And Proverbs chapter 13 verse four says this, the soul of the slaggard craves and gets nothing while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied diligence hard work is another aspect to be successful in life. That means if you got an idea got pay a put an idea on your on your on your heart to start a business and you start a business that you work diligently you work hard you work you put your effort into it and you work day night so that will succeed. You come and you tie you give offerings you support the poor and the poor and the widows the you you give money to the needy you do all these things but you also add your strength your effort and your diligence and God will bless it. A lot of times people don't do anything and they expect blessing but God said in Deuteronomy chapter 8 chapter 28 whatever you do I will bless whatever your hand touches will be blessed your work will be blessed there's many scriptures that we don't have time to go over where God says that I will bless the works of your hand. My question is what is your hand doing today are you providing something forgot to bless now just because you even work that also doesn't guarantee a blessing. Let's look at three types of work when in order for you to be successful you have to work and work hard there's three levels the Bible indicates to us and I'm not going to go into depth in the scriptures but we'll talk about some other time first level is working okay working can be study is work you know sitting at the desk pushing paper is work and in order for God to bless you gotta begin to work you gotta start working you gotta start doing something if you in college you have to study hard you have to put in work if you are pursuing a career if you're working at the job and you want to succeed you know keep going climbing the ladder of success you have to put in work you have to come in early leave late you have to put in your time you have to put in your effort you have to put in your best attitude when things are not going right you have to give all of you and it will be noticed Bible says but even but if that doesn't work Bible gives us a second level you got to go deeper say go deeper there's another level of laboring okay work and if if you're still not succeeding in life you kick into the second gear it's called laboring laboring involves physical work involves your hands you begin to put in more effort to it you begin to work harder at it you begin to work overtime you begin to after after school you go to the job so you can save some money so that you can invest or work you know after one work you pick up another job and if you're a single guy a single girl you should work a lot this is your time where you're not in the relationships if you just out of high school you don't need no relationship until you 25 and so you should be working and working hard okay you should be laboring but you say you know what I work and I work kind of hard you know but I'm still not experienced success well let's kick it into the third gear called laboring toiling oh yeah with second yeah toiling put up let's put up a description what toiling means toiling is a verb working extremely hard or insensibly synonymous for the working hard labor exert one self slave away grind away strive work one's fingers to the bone put one's nose to the grind stone and more it's excessive labor let me give you a scripture if you think that wow he's preaching some heresy proverb 1423 in all what toil there is profit but mere talk tends to only tends only to poverty all toil there is profit you want to be profitable you gotta work hard you gotta work hard till like we read the descriptions till your fingers grind to the bone if you look at every successful person that achieved something in life you have to understand one thing about them they are workaholics and they work hard as young people here most of our church a 70% of our churches is young you have to commit yourself to hard work you have to commit yourself to toiling to working hard using your teen years and early adulthood years to lay a groundwork lay a foundation so that you can reap the benefits in your 30s 40s and 50s and so on you have to work hard to establish a company to establish systems in your company you have to work hard to establish a career you have to go to the level of toiling if you want to succeed let me read you a few more scriptures commit your work to the Lord and the plants and your plants will be established probably 16 verse 3 the hand of the diligent will rule while the slotful will be forced to labor see you're gonna have to work one way or the other either for somebody or you're gonna employ somebody give somebody a job and you be enjoyed be able to enjoy benefits second Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 10 Apostle Paul says for even when we were with you we commanded you do this if if anyone will not work neither shall he eat now that's that's New Testament for you so if you say hey you've been reading some Old Testament you know we're under grace we don't have to work our Apostle Paul says if you don't work you can't eat you don't deserve to eat I mean that's brutal okay Apostle Paul and I'm gonna finish with this in the New Testament being an Apostle he was a lawyer he had a degree he was a lawyer not only that he was into a manufacturing business he manufactured tense Bible says he provided for himself and for all of his company and he provided and he's the one established churches with his own money because if you read here he says when we came to you when he came to this Thessalonia to establish churches he said we've asked nothing of you and we got nothing from you we did it all with our own strength with our own resources and our own money if Apostle Paul being Apostle being a lawyer was into manufacturing having a business and preaching the gospel and doing all those things and sometimes he describes how hard he worked tirelessly day night without sleep sometimes in cold sometimes in hunger but he was on a mission his mission was to establish the Kingdom of God and he needed resources he didn't have the support and he worked hard he toiled day and night to provide for himself for his company to establish the churches and still preaching the gospel if he was able to do that you and me as young people doesn't matter young or old if you want to be successful in life and sometimes you ask why isn't God blessing me you know I've been tired and I've been giving offerings have you put in work have you worked hard have you worked tirelessly have you grind it have you done everything that you can on your end have you given something for God to bless in Jesus mighty name today I encourage you work hard if working is not working shifted to another gear labor if that's not working going to toil and God promised himself all toil will be profitable as many many more scriptures like that it's just I don't have time to go into it I encourage you to do something to your neighbor say do something to turn to your neighbor says just do it