Devos for Glad Tidings Church San Francisco

Pastor Beiser designed these devos to be brief for two reasons.

1. We’re busy!

2. We need to absorb and apply truth to grow not just consume.
So take a little time after each day and ask GOD to help put it
into practice today. That’s where change will really happen.

SCROLL DOWN FOR PREVIOUS DAYS

AUGUST 12

GOD wants you to learn to rest

I’ve never run in a marathon, but one thing I know about marathon running, it’s not fast like the 100 yard dash.  One super important thing about long distance running is drinking enough water.  If you don’t drink enough you’ll be in big, big trouble.  So people organizing races put water out along the course.  Then every two miles they have water stations where volunteers hold out a cup of water and as you go by you grab it and you consume as much liquid as you can.

Runners who are beginners aren’t’ very skilled at drinking “on the run.”  They spill and look clumsy.  They grab the cup spilling about half of it.  Then they rush it up to their face.  It gets in their eyes and ears but very little goes into their mouth.  Then they throw their cup and keep running.  Those are the people who are going to suffer as the race goes on.

If a runner is going to stay refreshed, she/he must stop long enough to carefully get the cup and consume all the water that’s there so you can be adequately refreshed.

The Bible says that God offers this kind of rest stop for you.  He offers this kind of replenishment for you.  Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  [IOW - GET SOME REST.]  He leads me beside the still waters.  [that's like a watering spot on a long distance run.]

Did you notice that this kind of life begins with “The Lord is my Shepherd”?  STOP!  Again, stop long enough to consider whether this is true or not.   Is God your leader/shepherd.    Are you still  doing what you want, when you want, how you want.  Or are you turning that over and following what GOD’s best is for you.

If you’re following GOD’s best HE will direct you to rest spots, quiet moments, and water stations.  If you don’t put your life in the hands of the Shepherd, life with all its complexities, all of its care, all of its hurts, will be yours to face alone.  But if you do put your life in the hand of the Shepherd look where He leads.  “He leads me through green pastures and beside still waters.”

So, STOP!  Lift up your head. Tell GOD you need some of the “living water,” and then without rushing drink in PEACE.  It’ll enable you to go the distance with GOD.

AUGUST 11

How to walk in GOD’s POWER Each Day

One of the most inspiring moments I have of any Olympics is from the Mexico City Olympics.  Remember when the athlete jumped further than anyone ever had before – two feet further than anyone ever had before?  You might remember the picture of him looking at how far he jumped and the joy that flooded over his face.  He’d come to that moment in his life and he’d done more than he’d dreamed possible.

We all have our moments.  For every one of us there are the moments of life where we really want to be ready, where we really want to be the very best we can be in that moment.  Those are the more personal moments.  They’re not the moments played out before an Olympic audience.  They’re the personal everyday moments of life.  Moments like when your teenager comes in and says, “I really messed up this time.”  That’s a moment!

Or moments like when your wife comes in and says, “Guess what!  We’re going to have a baby!”  And you thought it was going to be five years before you had your first baby but you’re having it now.

Or moments like when you get a doctor’s report that leaves you stunned.

Or moments like you get the job that you always dreamed of.  You reached an achievement you never thought you’d reach and all of a sudden this opportunity that you hoped for is yours and you’re living in it.

An Olympic champion spends years and years getting ready for that single moment of that race. Is there anything that you and I can do to get ready for those moments of our lives where we want to say the right thing, do the right thing?

Yes!  There are decisions that we can make today that can get us ready for the greatest moments and opportunities of life.  Whether it’s the greatest challenge or the greatest opportunity you’re ever going to face there are some daily decisions that you and I can make that can get us ready for those things.  You don’t have to just wait and hope you do well as a parent.  You’re don’t have to wait and hope you do well when the problems come.  You don’t have to wait around and hope you can handle it when you have that great success.  There are decisions you can make, habits you can build into your life that make a difference.

A lot of you know that the Olympics were around when the New Testament was first written.  There are also a lot of pictures drawn from the Olympics in the verses of the New Testament.  For instance 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul wrote “You know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize.  So run to win.  A lot of people think God’s down on achievement, down on success in your personal life.  That’s not true at all.  He just wants us to have the right achievement, the right kinds of successes in our lives.  He says run to win.  “All those who compete in the game use self control so that they can win a crown.  That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time.  But our crown will never be destroyed.”  He’s saying they use self control to win some things that’s going to last for just a short time.

Aren’t there some habits that you and I can build into our lives to make our relationship better?  Aren’t there some habits we can build into our lives that will make our sense of God’s presence and God’s care for us stronger in our lives?  Yes, there are.  There are those things in our lives.  The truth is, you don’t just show up at the Olympics and expect to do well.  You don’t get a gold medal accidentally.  You invest some things in your life to be ready for that moment.  If it makes sense in something like running a race in the Olympics, doesn’t it make sense that you and I need to make some investments in our life right now to be ready for the most incredible moments of our life, those opportunities that come?  By the way, when you make these investments that we’re going to be talking about the next few weeks, they also bring a sense of joy and fulfillment to your everyday life.  They’re simple things that anyone can do.

AUGUST 10

Give your schedule to God.

Give your future to God.  Give your future to God.  I’m not saying just lay your calendar before the Lord and say, “God, look how busy I’ve gotten myself.  I have more on my plate than I can possibly manage.  Help me juggle all my priorities.”  That’s not the issue here.

Here’s what I mean.  It means standing before God and acknowledging, “God, You’re the one who made me and I believe You have a purpose for my life.  And, God, I want Your purposes to be fulfilled in my life.  God, You know why I’m still drawing breath.  You know why I’m still occupying space on this planet.  I want to give my future to You.  You led me.”

Those of us who are following God and letting Him lead, there are still days in our life when we want to pull back control for ourselves.  We want to insert our own agenda above God’s plan.  There are still times when we choose to go our own way and not let God have full control and leadership in our lives and, while I’m being honest, in those days it’s not a pretty picture.  Because without fail, we discover once more that His leadership is always right.  That He always knows what’s best.  He always has what’s best in mind for our lives.  That the only road for fulfillment and significance and impact is following God.  And many of us are still learning those lessons.

Here’s something to consider.  When you trust God to lead your life you learn to trust His timing.  It doesn’t come all at once.  You say, “God, here’s my life.”  And then it’s this whole learning process of God’s timing.  You’ve heard it said, timing is everything.  But that’s only partly true.  God’s timing is everything.  His schedule is the one that’s everything.

This is talked about all through the Bible.  People all the time are confused about God’s timing and God’s schedule.  They want to operate on their speed instead of operating on God’s speed.

I want to ask you a question.  Have you let the purposes of God grip your heart and fill your schedule?  Have you been seized by God’s timing and purposes for your life?  Have they caught you?  Have they gripped you?  God wants to get your attention at the heart level.  He wants to tug at you at the soul level and He wants to move your life, steering the course of your life to His schedule, to His purpose and to all that He’s designed you for.

There is a spiritual principle here.  Many things will catch your eye.  Only a few will catch your heart.  Pursue those.  Let God catch your heart for His purposes for your life.  Give your schedule, give your future to God.

AUGUST 9

Some people will only be able to hear about JESUS through you!

“Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall
they ask Him to save them unless they believe in Him. And how can they
believe in Him if they’ve never heard about Him? And how can they hear
unless somebody tells them.” Doesn’t that make sense? Sure. People are
going to miss it, miss the Good News if we don’t tell them.

Many of you have bought into a myth that satan’s been promoting for
hundreds, even thousands of years. The idea of the myth is this: the
people around me in my neighborhood and the people I work with are not
interested in spiritual truth. That’s a lie. It’s just not true. They
may not be interested in religion. They may not be interested in organized
Christianity or church but they are deeply interested in the spiritual
issues of “Who am I? Where am I? Where did I come from? Where am I
going? Is there a purpose in life? Is there meaning? Can I be forgiven?
Can I change? Will anybody help me?” Everybody is interested in that.
And that’s the Glad Tidings.

Every single poll and every single survey in the last 10-15 years has
proven that spiritual interest is increasing in America not decreasing.

People are innately interested. They’re hungry. They’re open. They’re
looking, not for religion but they are looking for God. And they are
looking for meaning and purpose in life. We have the answer. You get to
the point in life where you’ve tried everything and found it won’t make
you happy, those are the people all around you who need to hear, “You
matter to God, He has purpose for your life, He died for you, He wants to
forgive you, He’ll heal your hurts and He’ll give you a home in heaven.”
That is the Good News. People are looking for relief.

AUGUST 8

We must share our story

Colossians 1 “This same Good News that came to you is going out all over
the world. it is changing lives everywhere just as it changed yours that
very first day you heard and understood.”

A lot of what you do isn’t going to matter ten years from now. A lot of
things that are in your schedule and in your plan and your calendar this
next week aren’t really going to count at all even five years from now,
much less eternity. But your life mission is absolutely critical because
it has eternal implications. It’s going to matter for eternity. What
we’re talking about is hell and heaven in the balance. There are some
things that if I don’t do this week they aren’t going to make any
difference to the world in general. But if there are people around me who
need the Good News and I don’t share it, it may determine whether they go
to heaven or to hell. Because they may not have any other chance about
hearing it.

That’s how critical it is. It’s not only time sensitive, it’s people
sensitive. The greatest thing you can do for somebody else is introduce
them to Jesus Christ and the Good News so they can have their sins
forgiven, their past taken care of, power for the present, their future
secured and all these other things. You can’t do anything better for
somebody else than tell them the Good News.

If you discovered the cure for aids and you decided to not tell anybody
about it, would it be wrong? Of course it would. Or you discovered the
cure for cancer or any number of other incurable diseases and you had that
news, would that be Good News? Yes. If you didn’t share it with anybody
and just kept it a secret and you worked day by day beside people who were
dying of cancer or dying of aids and you didn’t share it, would something
be wrong with that picture? Yes! I’d call you a thief, a robber. You’re
robbing people of the very life that would save them.

Yet we do it all the time. We’ve got something better than that. We have
something that will cure the soul cancer, not only of people but of our
society. We’ve got something that will secure a person’s eternity in
heaven. We walk past people every day and don’t take the time to tell
them while they’re looking for it. It’s absolutely critical, your mission.
Because you’ve been given a life saving message.

AUGUST 7

ENJOY WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN YOU

GT is a family.  Imperfect.  Struggling.  Growing.

And sometimes in the journey we don’t stop and thank GOD for what HE’s already given.  We need to do that.  Ecclesiastics 3:13 “All of us should… enjoy what we have worked for.  It is God’s gift.”

We can be so preoccupied in getting more that you don’t enjoy what you’ve got.

We get into a syndrome called:  The desire to acquire.

We’ve

• Got that ——–  so we’ve got to get that
• Moved up ——- so we’ve got to move up.

We get more and more, over extended financially.  We both have to work to make ends meet, and pay those payments.  Our relationships begin to deteriorate. God doesn’t want us to live like that.

“It’s better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time…”   The greatest things in life aren’t things.

Pastor’s are often priviledged to be w/people as they die – NEVER hear  –  these people say,  ”OH! I wish I’d

• spent more time at the office
• bought that car
• travelled more        ——-  No!
• But I have heard, I wish I had spent more time with
• my kids
• my wife/husband
• God

You will never see a hearse pulling a U-haul.  You’re not taking it w/you.  Enjoy what you have while you’ve got it & don’t be worrying about getting more all of the time.

AUGUST 6

Stop working so hard.

As someone who wants to do their best, I often find that if I want a balanced life I’ve got to make a conscious decision to make time for other things besides work.. I’ve got to decide how many hours I realistically want to spend working each week —–  & Stick to it.  I got to decide to schedule time for myself, W/God alone, w/my family –  most important elements in life & work.

Our best requires  — rest.  You can get so many irons in the fire, you put out the fire.   Eccl 10:15 – Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out w/ work.

Ex 20:9-10  ”You have 6 days in which to do your work, but the 7th day is to be a day of rest dedicated to Me.”

God says in the 4th  commandment that 1 day off every week is the rule.  Please understand that God thought this was important enough to list among things like

- “Don’t commit adultery”

- “Don’t murder”

-  ”Don’t steal”

The Bible calls our day of rest a “sabbath.”  Sabbath means a day of rest.

Mark 2, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made to benefit man.”   Colossians says, Which day it does not matter.  But choosing one day is.

Sunday is not my Sabbath, it’s a work day.  Your Sabbath is not a day to catch up on work.  On a Sabbath you must:

1)  Rest my body.  Take time to rest your body or your body will make time to rest itself either in the hospital or with a cold or flu —  Our best requires rest.

Jesus took a Sabbath rest, so why should we feel guilty resting. Are you busier than Jesus?   — Is your work more important than what Jesus did?

2)  Recharge your emotions.  What things recharge you emotionally? We all need:  quiet, recreation -not necessarily popular/like it?  Friends/family

3)  You need to refocus your spirit. ——–

HOW?  Worship. It

-  brings things into perspective

- calms your busy mind

- brings God into your circumstances

You need time alone with God every day.  Too busy for God —- than you’re too busy.

Mat 5:46-48 “If all you do is love the lovable ————- do you expect a bonus?  Anybody can do that.  You’re kingdom subjects.  Now live like it.  Live generously and graciously toward others the way GOD lives toward you.”

There’s nothing commendable about loving people who love you.  We all do that.

But when you offer love to people who’ve been your enemies what happens?  The world begins to take notice because this is totally counter cultural.

Rom 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you [you can’t control the other person] live at peace with everyone.”  That’s GOD’S ultimate goal.  Peace, reconciliation, community.

How do I do that?

– Do what you can NOW?

– Ask GOD for help!

– Wait for help to arrive.

– Follow the nudge inside.

Watch how GOD gives and gives to everyone who is “doing what HE’S doing.”

AUGUST 5

STOP JUDGING!

I Corinthians 4:5 says, “It’s wrong to judge others motivations”  ”Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time.  Wait until the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.”  Paul is talking about motives. He is saying we have no right to judge other people’s motives or question why they do what they do.  He says, “wait until the Lord comes.”

It’s premature to judge people’s motives.  Why is it premature?  Nobody really knows what’s in somebody else’s heart.

You can put 2 and 2 together

You can read between the lines

You can guess ———  ……………   but you don’t know

Only God has the right to judge because he can see in the heart.   We cannot judge anybody’s motives cuz we don’t know what’s going on – in the heart.

SO HOW DO YOU BREAK THE HABIT OF JUDGING OTHERS

1.  Recall I’ll be judged by the same standards that I use to judge other people.  If you want something to help you be a little more considerate, look at Mat 7:1-2 “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will  judge you in the same way you judge others … ”   YIKES! I’m in trouble!    What you dish out will be dished back   — sow you  reap

2.  Remember that each of us is accountable to God. ”Every one of us, then, will have to give an account of himself to God.  So then, let us stop judging one another.”  One day we’re all going to stand before God and then God is going to know  our motives. How’s God going to judge?  He’s going to judge honestly, fairly, truthfully. It won’t be based on heresy, rumors, 3rd hand info.   It will be based on the facts. On that day the whole story, the rest of the story will be known. You will be judged – so will I.  Your great grand father will be judged.  Hitler, Charles Taylor, Jeffrey Dahmer, Osama Bin Laden  —   all will be judged.  On that day our righteous, impartial God will settle the score.  We’ll have to give an account.  So be careful little mouth what you say.

3.  Remember how much God has been merciful to me.  James 2:13 “Mercy triumphs over judgement.”  There are other principles in God that are greater than our judgements or opinions. They are things like God’s forgiveness God’s mercy & God’s grace. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful.” – he has that power because He was willing to pay a price I could never pay. He has forgiven you at a GREAT cost to Himself

This grace and mercy Jesus gives us should cause us to be gracious and merciful.  SO —–  …   Let’s STOP JUDGING others. Let’s make GTSF be known as a church where mercy is — NOT JUDGEMENT!

AUGUST 4

SOME QUESTIONS for you

Based on the fact the Obedience brings us blessings, let me ask you some

very pointed questions.

God often gives us rules and commands in His word – and they’re not

suggestions; they’re commands – but He doesn’t explain why. He wants you

to do them of faith. Sometimes they sound unfair. They sound like they’re

meant to cramp your style, that God is some kind of kill joy, that He’s

limiting you. For instance, the Bible is very clear no sex outside of

marriage. It’s real clear about that – over and over. Sex is for husbands

and wives in the bonds of marriage. The Bible says when somebody hurts

you, you are to forgive them. The Bible says you’re to take the first

ten-percent and tithe it back to God. The Bible says when people do evil

to you, you are to do good back to them.

A lot of these commands, they don’t make sense from a human standpoint.

But God says do it. It’s a matter of trust. So then the big question is

will I be blessed by obeying what God said to do even when I don’t

understand it or by making up my own set of rules because I know more than

God. There’s no question about that.

Obedience is a demonstration of faith. Obedience unlocks the key to all of

God’s blessings in life. God promises to reward you if you’ll just follow

His directions. As your pastor, I don’t want you to miss out on all the

promises. I don’t want you to miss out that God will bless you and save

you and watch over you and take care of you and help you and you’ll be

happy and live longer and you’ll lack nothing and you’ll have what you

need and you’ll have perfect freedom. And God will prosper you and make

you successful and you’ll be great in the kingdom of heaven and be

rewarded. I don’t want you to miss out on that. So today I want us to look

at how to receive the promises of God. What you must do in order to

appropriate all these things in your life. The Bible is very clear.

AUGUST 3

OBEDIENCE COMMANDS A BLESSING

Notice Deuteronomy 5:33 “Follow all the directions the Lord has given you.

Then life will go well for you.” God has made some incredible promises in

His word about obedience. And He gets very, very specific. In fact, there

were so many promises about obedience in God’s word I couldn’t list them

all. I just picked and chose a few of them. Notice what God promises if we

obey Him.

The Bible says that if you follow God’s directions you will be happy. You

will live longer. You will lack nothing good and you will have all that

you need. The Bible says if you obey and follow God’s instructions you

will live in perfect freedom. You will have greater wisdom. You will dwell

in security and peace. He promised that you will be prosperous and

successful. You will be great in the kingdom of heaven. You will be

rewarded for eternity.

Just in case this didn’t sink in here’s a few other references for you to

look up. Obedience is the premise behind all of the promises. God gives us

His promises by grace. But we enjoy His promises when we follow the

direction, the instructions.

Based on all of these promises and they’re pretty incredible is God a

liar? No. God says I will do these things in your life if you follow My

direction. The manual for life.

Disobedience separates us from GOD.  It deafens our ears to HIS voice, but

obedience releases the blessing of GOD.  It puts you directly in line to

receive everything HE has for you.  Choice Obedience today!

August 2

Three thousand years ago the largest offering every given was given to

build the temple in Israel. David, after the people had given

sacrificially to build a house for God prayed this prayer. 1 Chronicles

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and power and glory and majesty and the

splendor. For everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Now, our God, we

give You thanks and we praise Your glorious name. But who am I and who are

my people that we should be able to give as generously like this.

Everything comes from You. And we have only given to You what came from

Your hand. O Lord our God, for all this abundance that we have provided

for building You a temple for Your holy name it comes from Your hand and

it all belongs to You.”

As we give I want you to make this an act of worship. I want you to think

about how much God has given to you like that song “O what You’ve given to

me.” Because God has been good to you. If God never did another thing for

you, you owe Him the rest of your life. Let’s give our offerings.

One day a Roman army officer came to Jesus and said, “I have a servant

who’s very ill. In fact, he’s paralyzed and he’s suffering in bed.’ Jesus

said, ‘I’ll go to your house and heal him.’ And the Roman centurion said,

‘O Lord, You don’t need to do that. I understand authority and I’m not

worthy for You to come to my house. But I know this obedience and

authority thing. I’m a captain in the army. I give commands to my soldiers

and they obey immediately. I make commands to my servants and they obey me

immediately. They do whatever I tell them to do. So I understand authority

and obedience. You don’t need to come to my house, Jesus. If You just say

the word from right here I’m sure he’ll be healed instantly.’ Jesus looked

at that man and said, ‘This is the greatest faith I’ve ever seen in

Israel.’”

The greatest faith. Why? Because faith and obedience are interlocked. When

you trust someone you do what they say. If you don’t do what someone tells

you to do it means you don’t trust them. God has linked faith and

obedience together so that all of the promises of God are conditioned upon

you following the directions that He gives you.

August 1

What JESUS DID?

When Jesus Christ died on the cross He paid for three things in your life.

1. He paid for your forgiveness.

2. He paid for your freedom.

3. He paid for your future.

First Jesus paid for your forgiveness. On that cross He paid for every sin

you have ever committed. And He wiped it out, paid it, so you don’t have

to pay it. He took the punishment so you don’t have to take the

punishment. You can go to heaven, not hell because of what He’s done.

Second, He paid for your freedom. Freedom for you to be all that God meant

for you to be. Freedom to discover His purpose in life. Freedom from the

fear of death. Freedom from the expectations of others. Free to be what

you were made to be.

Thirdly, He paid for your future. The Bible says, “Eye has not seen nor

ear heard, nothing has entered into the heart of man the wonderful things

that God has prepared for those who love Him.” God has a place for you in

heaven because Jesus Christ has already paid for it.

I’d like for you to think about all that Jesus Christ has given to you.

Jesus Christ died to set you free from guilt, shame, regret, to wipe out

everything you’ve ever done wrong. Right now, thank God that because of

Jesus’ sacrifice your past is forgiven. It’s wiped out. Your past is past.

Jesus died so you could get to know God and His purpose for your life.

Thank God right now that He made you for a purpose. That He made you for a

plan. And that no matter what happens in your life, that He can use that

for good according to His plan. Jesus died so you could be accepted into

heaven. Thank God that heaven awaits you.

If you’ve never opened your life to Jesus Christ you need to do so right now.

GT was built on sacrifice. But let’s put this in perspective. It’s nothing

compared to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave for you and for me. Today

we talked about giving back to God. And I make no apology for that. If

you’re going to grow in faith, you’ve got to learn to give back to God.

But what God really, really wants is you. Your love. Your life.

“Offer your lives as a living sacrifice to Him.” When you think of what

He’s done for you, is this too much to ask? The answer is no.

July 31

This Seems TOO Radical

I know some of you are thinking, “I’d like to do this but I’m scared. It

scares me.” I completely understand.  Often our opinions about what is

right or wrong are based on what others say or seeing life without risks.

I want you you to know I understand.  I also want you to know that you are

loved no matter what.  But let me shoot straight with you.  Tithing is all

about trust. GOD’s got a plan.  He’s made it clear.  He loves you.  Both

God and you want stronger faith.  This is one of the ways to grow that

faith.  God has promised to take care of you. And GOD always keeps HIS

promises.  Read these verses.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “Remember the generosity of Jesus Christ.”

“We are saved because Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to

save us.”

John 1:16 “We all live off His generous bounty, gift after gift after

gift.” The reason we give is because Jesus first gave to us. He gave His

life for us. Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ stretched out His arms on

the cross and He made the ultimate sacrifice when He gave His life for

you. Even if God never did anything else for you in life you owe Him your

entire life for what He’s already done for you. He gave His life so that

you could spend eternity in heaven.

When GOD gives, it’s over-the-top generous.  When he creates canyons,

mountains, sky HE does it extravagantly.  Generosity is in HIS character.

Being generous gives us joy because it makes us like GOD.  I pray today

that GOD demonstrate HIS generosity to  you as you take the step of faith

to be a cheerful tither/giver.

Radical?  Maybe it is.  But the result is a real, growing, honest faith.

July 30

WHAT IS A TITHE?

Tithe means ten percent. It doesn’t mean an eighth or fifteenth. It means

ten percent. God says if I make a hundred bucks the first ten bucks goes

back to God. If I make five hundred bucks the first fifty bucks goes back

to God. Why did God say ten percent? Beats me! I haven’t the slightest

idea. I don’t know. I do know it all belongs to God and He could have

said, “Give Me fifty percent and you take fifty.” He could have said, “You

give Me ninety and you live on ten.” But He just said ten and I figure He

knows what He’s doing.

Christina and I have been through dozens of these special offerings. We’ve

been married for 25 years. We’ve been through dozens of these offerings in

different churches. We’ve given each time and we’ve made a sacrificial

gift. And the result of our giving has always been an increase in our

faith. I told you a couple weeks ago that three different times God told

us to give away money we needed to live on.  It was NOT easy, but GOD has

always done much more in response.   Why do we do this?

One, I want to keep growing in faith. Personally. I don’t think God’s

through stretching my heart, making me grow. I’m not going to rely on some

previous commitment I made years ago. I’m not going to live on past

commitments. I want God to keep growing my faith so we just keep making

bigger steps of faith.

Two, I want you to know that I’ll never ask you to make a sacrifice larger

than I’m going to make. If it’s in my power I’ll always make sure that I

sacrifice more for this church than anybody else in the church.

Three, I know from forty + years of walking with the Lord I cannot out

give God. And I just love to see what He does in my life. And I love His

blessing on my life.

Some of you are financially strapped and you’re out of work. You just

don’t have any  money.  Don’t get under condemnation.  It won’t always be

like this.  AT GT you’re loved here. You’re wanted here. You’re far more

important than any offering you might give. Remember, though, God’s

interested in attitude not amount. The theme at GT has always been equal

sacrifice not equal gifts. We all can’t give the same amount. We’re all at

different stages. But we can all sacrifice. If I only had two pennies I

could sacrifice a penny. And that will be as significant as somebody who

gives a six-figure offering. God looks at the sacrifice. He doesn’t look

at what you give. He looks at what you’ve got left over. Give God a chance

to do a miracle in your life.

July 29

Tithing has a promise attached to it.

Have you learned that lesson yet? The verse he’s talking about is a very

famous verse in the Bible. Malachi 3:8-10. “Bring your whole tithe into

the storehouse. Test Me in this,” says the Lord. “And see if I will not

throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you

will not have enough room for it.” Circle the phrase “test Me”. God issues

a challenge here. Here’s the Pepsi challenge verse of the Bible. He says

“I dare you.” This is the only verse in the Bible where you can prove that

God exists. God says, “I’ll prove it to you. Test Me and I’ll prove it to

you.” He says, “Let’s play a little giving game. You give to Me and I’ll

give back to you and we’ll see who can out give the other person.”

It’s amazing to me that the God who created the entire universe puts

Himself on trial. God did not have to make this promise. He could have

just said, “I want you to tithe because I say so and I’m God and you’re

not. And you owe Me everything anyway.” But He doesn’t do that. Because

God is a loving, faithful, giving God. He wants you to learn to be like

Him. He wants you to learn to not be stingy. He wants you to learn to be

generous. Did you know that the most sensitive nerve in your body goes

from your heart to your wallet? We get nervous even talking about this. I

could talk about all kinds of other stuff and you wouldn’t get nervous.

He could have just said, “Give it!” but instead He makes a promise. And He

puts His character on the line. And He says, “Test Me. Is God real? Is God

loving? Will God keep His promise?” You’ll never know until you start

tithing.

JULY 28

Tithing = Trust

Honestly, I feel sorry for people who don’t tithe. It means they don’t

trust God. I can’t depend on God to keep His word that if I put Him first

in my finances then He’ll take care of all my needs. I don’t know how some

people can trust God with their eternal salvation but can’t trust God with

their finances. That doesn’t make sense. If I can trust God to save me,

forgive me, and get me into heaven can’t I depend on Him to keep H is word

if I do what He tells me to do? Of course.

Giving is a test of faith. It’s not a test of feelings. It has nothing to

do with how you feel. It’s just a test of faith. Why is this so important

to God? Why is our giving so important to God?

“It is proof of your faith. People will praise God because you obey the

gospel you say you believe and because you freely share with them and

others. “When I give it proves my faith, it is a testimony to other people

that I really do believe what I say I believe that God will take care of

me. And God uses it to bless other people. That’s why it’s so important.

It’s an issue of faith.

This week I got this letter . It said, “We committed to tithing the full

ten-percent of our income for this year. The week before I wrote this

check it looked like there was no money left.   I began to wonder if I

could afford to write our tithe check. It would be tight without that

money. But a commitment is a commitment and God comes first. So we wrote

the check and we never felt better. Then last Monday I got a check worth

almost twice the amount of the tithe we just gave. I used to think that I

couldn’t afford to tithe. But now I know that I can’t afford to not

tithe.”

God is faithful.  You can’t afford not to tithe.  Start today!

July 27

I can expect God to meet all my needs.

God promises this over and over in the Bible. There are more promises

about giving in the Bible than any other thing. God has more promises in

the Bible about this and that’s why we have to deal with it. Because God

wants to teach you to expect Him to meet all your needs.

2 Corinthians 9:8 “God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in

all things at all times having all that you need you will abound in every

good work.”

“All grace.” God says I’ll give you all grace. Not some grace. All grace.

“So that in all things.” Not in some things of life but in all things.

“At all times.” Not some of the time but all of the time.

“You’ll have all that you need.” Not some of what you need but all of what

you need.

“And abound in every good work.”

Question: What does that verse not cover in your life? It covers

everything. Does that include mortgage payments? Yes. Does that include

school bills? Yes. Doctor bills? Yes. God says all.

Here’s the real issue. Is God a liar? That’s the issue. you see, when you

talk about giving, it’s not really about giving. It’s about faith.

Giving shows whether I have faith or not. Will God do what He says He will

do? Will God keep His promises? Can I depend on God? Giving is not even

about giving; it’s about faith.

July 26

Pastor Forrest, I am poor, How can I give cheerfully?

How can I learn to give cheerfully? Because by my nature I’m not naturally

a cheerful giver. There are three things you need to remember. And if

you’ll remember these three truths you’ll become a very cheerful giver.

1.  Remember it all comes from God. You’ll never give anything away that

God didn’t give to you. You would have nothing if it weren’t for God. The

Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:10 “God gives seed to the farmer and food to

those who need to eat and God will also give you seed and multiply it.”

When a farmer goes out to sow seed where did he get the seed? He didn’t

invent it. God even gave him the seed. He’s going to get a crop but even

the seed came from God. It’s all God’s in the first place.

2.  Remember God’s guarantee. God’s guarantee is whatever I give to God,

God is going to give back to me. Luke 6:38 “Give to others and God will

give to you. The measure you use for others is the one God will use for

you.” God says you can choose how much I bless your life. You can choose

by your giving. Whatever you give to me, I’ll give to you. We’ll just

measure it back and forth. God gives a guarantee in 2 Corinthians 9:11. He

says, “You will be enriched so that you can give even more generously.”

You know how God grows your heart, gives you a bigger heart? You give to

Him; He gives more back to you that you got. Then you give Him more, then

He gives more back to you… It keeps growing your heart. If you had a

little tiny shriveled heart it grows bigger and bigger. Remember God’s

guarantee that He will bless you back in return.

3.  Remember my eternal reward. Did you know God rewards you every time

you give? You’re storing up treasure in heaven, the Bible says. Luke 16:9

“Use your worldly resources to benefit others. In this way your generosity

stores up a reward for you in heaven.” Anything I hold on to in this life,

I’m losing the moment I die. Anything I refuse to let go of I’m losing at

the end of this life. But anything I place in God’s hands I will enjoy

forever in eternity. He says it’s being stored up in heaven. Anything I

put in His hands will be restored and rewarded in eternity.

You’ve got to do your givin’ while you’re livin’ so you’ll be knowin’

where it’s goin’. You’ve heard me say many times: “You can’t take it with

you but you can send it on ahead.” Every time you give you’re storing up

treasure in heaven. And that treasure is insured by the FDIC – the Fathers

Deposit Insurance Corporation.

July 25

How to GIVE?

When it comes to money some people get afraid that God wants to take away

your money — all of it.  But God is far more interested in your attitude

than He is in the amount. The amount doesn’t make any difference to God.

What you give doesn’t make any difference. He’s interested in your

attitude. He’s not interested in how much you give. He’s interested in why

you give that amount. Why not more, why not less? Why do you give what you

give? He wants your heart.

If you want God to meet all your needs you need to have five good

attitudes in your life. .

1. I am to give thoughtfully. It says, “Make up your own mind.” Don’t let

anybody tell you what to give. They can’t. You have to make up your own

mind. Thoughtfully. You don’t give impulsively, you think about it. You

pray about it. You make a deliberate decision based on prayer and

conscious thought.

2.  I didn’t learn this truth for many, many years as a Christian. For

many years as a Christian, I thought the most spiritual kind of giving was

spontaneous giving. I’d get moved emotionally. I’d get a quiver in my

liver, I’d see some need and think, “I’m just going to give it all!” and

I’d pull out my wallet and whatever I’ve got I give it. I thought if it’s

spontaneous then it’s spiritual.  God said, “No, you’re wrong. I want you

to plan your giving. I want you to think it out. I want you to give

serious consideration to it.” Prayerfully consider. Be thoughtful. Not

impulsive.

3. Be enthusiastic. I’m to give enthusiastically. He says “… not

reluctantly,” not out of guilt motivation. Never give out of guilt. “…

not grudgingly.” Not grin and bear it (“I’ve got to give something now!”)

Don’t give reluctantly.

4. I am to give voluntarily. It says “… not in response to pressure.” If

you’ve been around Saddleback any length of time you know we don’t believe

in pressured giving. Some of you say, “I feel pressured just you talking

about it!” That’s your problem! I’m not pressuring you. That’s an internal

problem and you may need to deal with that. We do have counseling. I’m not

putting any pressure on you. In fact, let me tell you just the opposite.

If you ever feel pressured to give – don’t. Because you don’t get any

credit for it. God says it’s your attitude that counts.

5. I am to give cheerfully. If I want God to meet my needs the Bible says,

”God loves the person who gives cheerfully.” The New Testament of the

Bible was originally written in Greek and the word for cheerful there is

hilaros. I’ll bet you can’t guess what word we get from that. Hilarious.

God says I want you to have a good time when you give. It should be a gut

busting laughter time. The Bible doesn’t say, Give till it hurts. The

Bible says, Give cause it feels good. And the truth is it does. It’s

always more fun to give because you know its making a difference. If you

haven’t learned that you just haven’t given enough yet. The Bible says

give because it feels good.

6. I am to give weekly. 1 Corinthians 16:2 “On every Lord’s Day (when is

the Lord’s Day? Sunday, the first day of the week. Why do we worship on

Sunday? Because Jesus was resurrected on Sunday. So we celebrate Jesus’

resurrection.) put aside some from what you have earned during the week

and use it for the offering.” Giving is an act of worship and you’re to

give it on the day of worship in your place of worship. Worship is not

just come, sing some songs and hear a message. There are other parts to

worship – prayer, commitment and giving. God says, “I want you to give Me

the first part of your money on the first day of the week because I want

to be number one in your life.”

July 24

Watch your ‘tude when you give

There’s a right way and a wrong way to plant seed.

There’s a right way and wrong way to give.

It doesn’t work unless you do it with the right attitude.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “You must each make up your own mind (in other words, nobody can tell you what to give) as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

Let’s clarify this right up front. God doesn’t need your money. God owns all the money anyway. In fact your money isn’t really yours any way. It’s God’s. He just gave it to you. You get to use it while you’re alive and then when you’re dead He’s going to give it to somebody else. You don’t really own anything. It’s just kind of on loan from God while you’re here on earth. So God doesn’t need your money.

What does He need? He wants your heart. He wants what your money represents. Most of us spend all our lives thinking about money, planning about money, saving money, spending money, worrying about money, investing money, using money. God says it’s such a major part of your life I want to be in your life. God wants your heart, not your money. He doesn’t need your money. He wants your heart. That’s what it represents. The Bible says, ”Where your treasure is, your heart is.”

July 23

Stop trying to make it happen all by yourself

Man’s second way to make things happen is to work harder, take on a second job, work overtime, get a little additional income any way I can. Some people will beg. They’ll bum off their relatives. Some people will steal. But most people will either borrow or work harder when they’re in debt.

God says, “Time out! That’s not My plan.” God’s way is G-I-V-E. He says when you have a need, sow some seed. That is a statement of faith. The more seed you sow the bigger the harvest. If I want a little crop, I sow a little bit of seed. If I want a medium crop I sow a medium amount of seed. If I want a big crop, I sow a whole lot of seed. When you have a need, plant a seed.

I’ve talked to a lot of people who say, “When I get out of debt, then I’ll start giving.” God says, “You don’t understand. Start giving and I’ll help you get out of debt.” It’s a statement of faith.

You don’t have to have God’s help in your life. If you just want to go through life on your own, He’ll let you do that. But the best time to plant seed is when you have a need. The best time to be generous is when you’re under financial tension

This principle of sowing and reaping applies to every area of your life. Not just finances but every single area. Whatever you give out in life you’re going to get back. If you give out criticism, what are you going to get back? Criticism. If you give out kindness, people are going to be kind to you. If you give out anger, you know what you’re going to get back? Anger. Whatever you give out you’re going to get back. If you give out love you’re going to get back love.

Whatever you get back, you not only get back but you get more of it back. If you get angry at somebody notice they get angrier at you. It just happens that way. If you be critical to somebody in a little way, they’ll be really critical of you. The truth is whatever you give, you’re going to get back.

So whatever you need, you need to give away. If you need more time, give away your time. If you need more money you give away your money. If you need more energy, you give it away. How do you get more energy? By sitting around eating potato chips? No. By going out and exercising. By giving away energy when you exercise, you build muscle by using a muscle. Whatever you need more of you use it. Give it away and God will bless it.

That’s the principle. When I have a need, whatever I need more of, I give it away.

July 22

When you have a need plant a seed

2 Corinthians 9:6 “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” This is the principle of sowing and reaping. When a farmer looks at a barren field and he wants to have a crop what does he do to get a crop? Does he pray about it? No. Prayer is worthless at that point. Does he complain about it? No. Complaining is worthless at that point. What he needs to do is go out and sow some seed. Until he sows some seed nothing is going to happen on that piece of barren property. He has to start by giving.

Here are two farmers and they’re both in debt. They both have a sack of seed. One farmer says, “This is all I’ve got. I’m going to hold on to it. I’m not going to give it away. I’m not going to spread it because it’s all I’ve got and once it’s gone, it’s gone.” He’s never getting out of debt. The other farmer says, “Here’s a sack of seed. I’m going to go spread it out. The only way I’m going to get out of debt is give what I’ve got away.” That is the principle of sowing!

What is God saying here? God is saying His financial plan for your life starts with giving in faith. It’s a test of faith. That may seem illogical. You say, “I don’t have enough. Why would I give away what I’ve got?” Because God’s ways are not your ways. And God wants to teach you faith.

God says, “My ways are not your ways.” What’s man’s way when you get in a financial bind? Typically, the first thing they do is go borrow something. Charge it. If I can’t afford it, put it on a credit card. I don’t have enough so I’ll just put it on credit. So man’s way is to borrow. GOD’s way is to give and then trust HIM for the suply.

Don’t confuse this teaching with some Christians who manipulate people to give to their cause by quoting these scriptures.  And don’t avoid the principle because some abuse it.  Accept the genuine.  There will be a huge blessing for you if you do.

July 21

Holding to the Promises

One of the most famous promises in the entire Bible is Philippians 4:19 “My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  That’s a pretty broad statement.  God says, I will meet all your needs according to my riches in Christ Jesus.  Some of you don’t understand that verse.  You say, “I have needs in my life that are not being met.  I have physical needs, I have spiritual needs, I have social needs, I have financial needs, I have sexual needs, I have a lot of needs in my life that are not being met.  So why doesn’t this verse work for me?  Why isn’t this promise working in my life?”

It’s not God’s fault.  You need to understand that behind every promise is a premise.  There is a condition.  And God says, “If you will do ‘this’ then I will do ‘this.’”  And today we’re going to look at those conditions.  And if you follow those conditions – the premises behind the promise – you can count on the fact that God says I will meet all your needs.”  He doesn’t say, I’ll meet all your greeds.  He says I’ll meet all your needs in your life.

This morning ask GOD to begin a new work inside of you.  Whether you are new to trusting HIS promises or not, make a commitment right now to GOD by saying, “God, help me today to trust you more for what I need.  I want to trust you to supply it.  I want to stop trying to make things happen on my own.”

July 20

Determination grows faith

In 2 Corinthians 9, God spells out first the principle – what God wants us to do – then He spells out the procedure – how to do it.  Then finally He gives us the promise – the guarantee.  If you’re going to take notes any week this is a good week.  This can save you some money.  It’ll increase your joy.  It’ll increase your faith.  It will change your life if you understand how God meets your deepest needs.

Great people are just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. I’m not real bright sometimes but I have learned this: It’s always too soon to quit. Don’t give up. Hang in there.

Do you know how an acorn becomes an oak tree? An oak tree is just a little nut that refused to give its ground. It just won’t give up and it hangs in there.

When a sculptor is making a sculpture he starts hitting it. The first hit doesn’t create Michaelangelo’s David. He had to beat it and hit it and sculpt away a little bit at a time. It is a long process creating a masterpiece.

And there’s a long process of God’s creating a masterpiece of your life. So don’t lay down on the sideline in the race of life. Don’t get tripped up and then say, “I’ll just sit here for the rest of the race.” Resist the discouragement.

You can count on this: God will test your faith in life and He will test your commitment. He’s not going to test it hundreds of times. He’s going to test it thousands and thousands and thousands of times. Why? Because He wants you to learn first what’s inside you and second He wants you to learn what God is like. If you’re going to learn the truth, that God is sufficient in every situation that means He’s going to take you through every situation. That’s kind of logical. The only way you’re going to know that God is sufficient in every situation is by God taking you through every kind of situation – financially, health wise, relationally, etc, etc. God wants to teach you about you – what’s in your heart – and about Him – what He’s really like.

As your pastor I wanted you to understand that life is tough. There’s no beating around the bush about it. Life is often very, very tough. This is not heaven. Things are not perfect here on earth. Life is tough. As you go through life you often start to get tired, you start to get discouraged. You begin to doubt yourself and you begin to doubt God and you start saying things like, “Maybe this serving God isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be!” You start having doubts. Maybe if I let off the pedal a little bit and became a lukewarm Christian – I know I’m going to heaven but I don’t really try to live for God – maybe it would be easier.”

Big, big mistake. What do you do when your mind is filled with discouragement, you feel you’re at the quitting point and you want to give up? What do you do? You become more and more focused, more intent, more determined than ever.  God rewards that, and at the end you’ll look back as someone who’s faith has  grown.

“Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.” This verse, Psalm 94:19, puts it in a nutshell.

July 19

A Major component of faith is to “Keep At It!”

So what do you do after that “after a while” time? When you’ve done the right thing but you haven’t seen the reward yet, what do you do in that after a while time. It says, “… keep on doing what is right.” You keep on doing the right thing.

Let’s say you’re in a marriage and your husband or your wife is unkind to you so you say, “I’m going to do the right thing. I’m going to be kind to them. I’m going to return good for evil.” They’re unkind to you and you be kind back and it doesn’t work the first time. They don’t instantly change and say, “You’re an angel!” So you be kind again and it doesn’t work. What do you do? You keep on doing what is right and after a while that seed starts growing. Don’t give up. Don’t delay. Do the right thing even when it seems like there’s no good out of it, no results out of it. Nothing is changing. You keep on going on.

One of the great tests of faith is how you handle delay. How do you handle setbacks? When you’re doing the right thing and you don’t see the immediate reward , the immediate results. When you do the right thing even when nothing happens, what do you do? Do you have a pity party and invite yourself? Do you start complaining? Do you start griping? Do you start saying, “Forget it! I’m going to give up. This isn’t worth it.”

Remember that the Bible says resist the discouragement. “…keep on doing what is right for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.” Don’t give in without a fight.

Anything worthwhile in life takes effort, energy and endurance. Nothing worthwhile is easy in life. Anything worthwhile takes effort, energy and endurance. You’ve just got to keep on keeping on. Do you want to know how many times I’ve wanted to resign as pastor of GT in the last ten years? Just every Monday morning. I think, “God, surely somebody could have done a better job than that yesterday.” I have my pity parties and you have yours. Admit it! We all do it because we like to feel sorry for ourselves. But you don’t give up.

So when the nagging discouragement hits you.  DON’T GIVE UP.  KEEP AT IT!  GOD’S GOT A PLAN.  Your faith will grow when you do.

Glad Tidings Church in San Francisco, California

Phone: 415 346-1111
Email: pastor@gtsf.org
Address: 1280 Webster Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
(We are on the corner of Webster & Eddy Streets, across from the Safeway)

For Sunday and other services, we offer two on-site parking lots.