The New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church

04/30/2026

Service information for the sister and sister-in-law of Sis. Dolores and Bro. Roderick Lacy. Please keep the family in your prayers.🙏🏽💜

03/28/2026

🙏🏽🙏🏽 Please keep the Taylor family in your thoughts and prayers today.

01/25/2026

New Mt Moriah, with the deteriorating weather and no expected change tomorrow we will be moving our services to virtual tomorrow.

On YouTube
1. Go to www.youtube.com
2. In the search area enter: NewMountMoriahSouthDallas
In the middle of the next screen (slightly to the left) you will see the word subscribe and below it the word live
3. Select subscribe to get notifications when NMMBC does a live stream.
4. Select live to go to the NMMBC live stream on YouTube,

NMMBC giving from website portal:
NmmbcSouthDallas.nmmbcretreat.com
At this site you can give by text or the NMMBC online portal. Text GIVE to 855 264 2475

Make sure we get word out to everyone, and stay warm and stay safe!

Pastor Fortner

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

09/08/2025

03/29/2024

Happy Holy Week!🙏🏽. We would love to see you in the place!🙌🏽

04/05/2020

NMMBC is in the process of setting up online and text giving through GiveHub. There will be an online portal accessible via a browser (Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge) customized for New Mount Moriah. You will be to access this portal by smartphone or PC. You will be able to designate which fund or funds to receive your contribution. The same capability will also be available via text (any phone capable of texting). There will be a transaction fee applied to your gift. You will have the option of paying the fee yourself or have the fee paid by the church. If you opt to pay the fee yourself, the fee amount will be added to the amount you specified to give. If you elect to have the church pay, the fee will be subtracted from the amount you specified. In either case you will receive credit for the entire amount you gave on your giving report. You will have set up an account with GiveHub (credit card and or checking account). Once this service with GiveHub has become operational, you will receive more detailed instructions. Make sure the church has you contact information (smartphone, Email or landline phone number - provide at least one)

03/22/2020

New Mount Moriah family, you can now Worship Through Giving through Pop Money. All you have to do is create a FREE account, enter your bank/debit/credit card information, and send funds electronically!

https://secure2.popmoney.com/popnet/faces/popmoney/login/login.jsp

Once you create an account and send payment through the site, you will be required to verify your information through your email. Depending on the type of payment, there will be a temporary hold to release funds in order to verify your account information.

POPmoney is a person-to-person payments service offered by banks that allows users to send secure electronic payments to anyone no matter where they bank. Send money to anyone using their email address, mobile number, or bank account information. Receive money through online banking or at POPmoney.c...

03/22/2020

Scripture Matthew 5:38-42
Text “The Blessedness of being Merciful”

There is a story of a man who one day decided he was going to live his life biblically by allowing the Bible to dictate his every move. Excited with his newfound commitment he opened his bible to the book of Matthew to a passage which read “Judas went out and hung himself”. Deciding this couldn’t be right he turned the pages to the left and read where it says, “This do likewise”. Again feeling there was a mistake he turned the pages again stopped on the passage where Jesus says… “Whatever you must do…do it quickly”.

Funny as it may seem this story illustrates the problem with a literal non-contextual interpretation of God’s word. Understand the bible is, and will probably always be, the most read and quoted book if not in all of history then most certainly in Western Civilization. It is considered the authority on God’s Word because we have been taught to submit to the inerrancy of its truth.

Unfortunately, because everyone who reads the bible doesn’t read it thoroughly…it’s subject to misinterpretation where we miss the inerrant truth of what God is trying to say by taking what the bible says in one place and then trying to apply it in another. That’s why we’ve been going through this exercise of preaching thru what the Sermon on the Mount says because a cursory superficial read of it, is not only subject to misinterpretation, it can also be used as a vehicle for exploitation.

During Slavery and Jim Crow this particular passage was used to control and condition Slaves and former Slaves to not fight back when their rights as human beings and later citizens were being infringed upon and denied. They’d say turn the other cheek because they were doing the slapping. Understand it is not God’s intention for this scripture or any other scripture to be used as a vehicle for exploiting and manipulating his people. The only way to avoid that happening is by reading and studying his word beyond the 20 minutes or so you may be doing and getting yourself in a group where you all can explore and experience God’s inherent truth together.

If we were to do that with this scripture, we’d understand that what Jesus was saying is not that you shouldn’t defend yourself but rather, he’s saying don’t escalate and retaliate against those who offend you.
There’s a difference between retaliation and defending yourself. Defending yourself is the act of protecting your person or your property from a real threat which seeks to do you harm.

-The person trying to rob you, r**e you or beat you is a real threat.
-The co-worker undermining you by leveling false charges against you…that’s a real threat.
-The church member, family member or acquaintance, spreading untrue, malicious gossip about you…that’s a real threat.
-The government or public entity trying to systematically deny your rights and your liberty…that is a real threat.
-The stray dog trying to bite you, the car trying to ram you, the bully bullying you or the people next door selling drugs to you…those are real threats to your person and your property…

And this scripture does not imply you shouldn’t stand up for yourself and defend yourself in the face of very real danger. What he’s saying is not…not to defend yourself…what Jesus is saying is don’t retaliate against those who offend you.

It’s built into your DNA to protect your life, your children and your property and there’s nothing unholy about protecting them. What makes it unholy is the way you go about protecting them. That’s actually one of the things a hunger and thirst for righteousness is all about…it’s about understanding what is the appropriate response for inappropriate action? In an instance where there is the real threat of harm to you, your family or your property then understand the appropriate response is to defend yourself.

But there’s a difference between defending yourself and retaliating.
Slashing his tires, keying his car, throwing a brick thru his windshield and cutting up his upholstery because you caught him with another woman isn’t defending yourself…that’s retaliation. Posting intimate revealing pictures of her on the internet because she broke up with you isn’t defending yourself…that’s retaliation. Lying on someone because they lied on you isn’t defending yourself…that’s retaliation. Betraying a confidence because they first betrayed yours that isn’t defending yourself…that’s retaliation. Spreading gossip and making untrue statements about the preacher or the teacher because they preached the truth about your inappropriate behavior isn’t defending yourself…that my brothers and sisters is retaliation. Defending yourself is protecting yourself from imminent real danger.

Retaliation is getting back at him or her for the slight or the insult they made against you. Jesus in this scripture isn’t telling us not to defend ourselves he’s telling us don’t go tit for tat with those who’ve offended us. Defending yourself is a matter of protecting your life and your liberty…Retaliation is a way to satisfy your bruised ego.
Look at what he says…
But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

A cursory superficial reading of this scripture doesn’t expose the context surrounding why Jesus would make this statement.

-It doesn’t reveal that in those days much like it is today a slap to the face was an insult…not a beat down.
-It doesn’t reveal people could sue one another and literally take the clothes off the other person’s back.
-It doesn’t reveal that Roman soldiers could compel any Jewish citizen to carry their armor or supplies at least a mile.

A cursory superficial read of this scripture doesn’t reveal the context surrounding why Jesus makes these statements and if you don’t understand the context you could easily misinterpret or exploit what he’s saying. I get it, peoples’ words and actions can be offensive and sometimes the only way you think you can get some of your honor back is to lash out. While today most rational people don’t go around slapping one another, they still find ways to lash out.

-Husbands still lash out against their wives and wives still lash out against their husbands
-Parents still lash out against their children and children still lash out against their parents
-Governments still lash out against their people and their people still lash out against them.
And what Jesus is saying is that if you’re the one who’s being lashed out against…don’t retaliate. Don’t retaliate because your retaliation and escalation will work against your desire to live a blessed life. I know that’s right because of the context in which this passage appears which is the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Mount is all about how we can live a blessed life. And what Jesus is letting us know is that you can’t live a blessed life going tit for tat with one another. Jesus is telling us if you want to live a blessed life be merciful with those who offend you.

Again, I get it, no one likes to be seen as weak or timid. No one likes to live a life where people are always taking advantage of you or embarrassing you and you just supposed to sit there and take it…again that’s not what Jesus is telling us to do here. On the contrary what he’s saying is that when we don’t retaliate against those who lash out at us…that isn’t a testament to your timidity…it’s instead a testament to your capacity to be merciful.

You do remember there is a Beatitudes which says…Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy don’t you? Mercy in this instance is shown by the one who has been offended…to the one who did the offending. And what Jesus is saying when you show mercy you aren’t testifying to your weakness…you’re testifying to the spiritual strength and Blessedness of God within you.

That’s what the world needs to see right now especially from the people of God…less retaliation and more mercy. The world is filled with people who escalate and retaliate…

-That’s what road rage and drive byes are about…
-That’s why wives wait for their abusive husbands to fall asleep and for a midnight snack serve him up a batch of scalding hot grease and grits…

Why, because the world teaches and sometimes celebrates those who retaliate. But God says I called you to be something different. God calls us to be merciful to those who offend us. This scripture isn’t calling you to be a doormat to people who get off offending you. That’s not what he’s talking about. In a perfect world the person doing the offending will learn from your example and by your example will change their ways. Unfortunately this isn’t a perfect world…and if it becomes apparent the person can’t learn from your example…then there is nothing wrong with them learning from your absence.

God is not calling us to stay in abusive relationships. He’s not calling us to always be the butt of jokes or the person who’s always being taken advantage of and manipulated. That’s not what this scripture says nor what it’s meant to imply. I am a firm believer if you can’t change the people you’re with by your example…then you need to change the people you’re with by your absence.

The fact is some of us will never experience the life Jesus meant for us hanging around people who won’t learn from your example and when you figure that out…there’s nothing wrong with you changing the people you hang around with. As a matter of fact the best way and probably the Christian way to escalate and retaliate against those who have wronged you…is to live your life well. I’m a witness the best retaliation in the world is a life lived well.

-It’s a life lived without drama and without conflict.
-It’s a life lived without harsh words and without hurt feelings.
-It’s a life lived without backsliding and without back biting
-It’s a life lived where by gones stay gone and you get over stuff that happened in the past.

It’s a life where you fix the wrongs in your life and you celebrate the rights in your life, and you continually allow God to lead and direct you. Blessed are those who turn the other cheek by showing mercy.
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. May the Lord add a blessing to the hearing reading and doing of his will. Amen

03/22/2020

Scripture Matthew 5:33-37
Text “Let you yay be yay and your nay be nay”

As we continue our exploration of the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, I want to direct your attention to Matthew 5:33-37 where Jesus begins to challenge our understanding and usage of Oaths. Unfortunately, this passage is quite often misused because people use it to make a case for not using dirty or salty language. That’s not what this passage is about.

This passage has nothing to do with how foul mouthed you are or your reliance on cuss words to make a point. While your use of foul, salty language does speak to an inability to express yourself and a lack of vocabulary…it is not the point Jesus is making here concerning frivolous oaths and promises made in the name of God you have no intention of keeping. Studies show people who don’t use foul language have a better command of their emotions and have learned not to let crude vulgar behavior define who they are in eyes of others.

I get it sometimes you have to call stuff what it is. When Donald Trump belittles, lies and deceives the American People…calling it horse hockey doesn’t cut it. You have to see that for what it is and call that what it is…Otherwise the ignorant and full of themselves will take your silence as a sign of weakness and pile on even more. When Jesus caught the moneychangers taking advantage of worshippers in the temple, he called them vipers and snakes. Calling someone a snake or a viper at that time was almost the equivalent of calling someone a SOB today. Jesus used this harsh language to show the amount of disgust we should attach to behavior that degrades not only the Temple of God…but God himself.

I’m not advocating you cuss people out every time you get mad, but I do believe you have to call stuff what it is, when it is…in order to get some folks to see the truth of what they’re doing…because there are some people who are so accustomed to using loud obnoxious crude language to make their point…the only way you can be heard over their noise is to make some noise yourself. What Jesus is talking about is taking oaths, vows or swearing something in the name of God you probably won’t keep and end up breaking. The reason Jesus deals with this topic here is because he’s just finished talking about divorce which is the ultimate in breaking vows because when she says I take this man, and he says I take this woman…they’re making a vow before God and man.

What Jesus is saying is that you need to take those vows seriously.

What he’s saying is when a person swears or vows in the name of God, he’s making God a partner in that transaction. When you take the vows of marriage you make God a part of that marriage. Now God will take his part seriously by blessing and sanctioning the union…and what Jesus is saying is that the two of you need to take it seriously also. People invoke the integrity and holiness of God in their transactions all the time. It happens every time somebody says something like… I swear to God… Lord knows…or my personal favorite, God knows my heart.
When you say that what you’re doing is invoking the name and Holiness of God to attest to your own holiness and authenticity. It’s the equivalent of using the Lord’s name in vain…which is one of the Ten commandments. Jesus in this scripture takes it further by saying don’t use his name in vain…Don’t refer to heaven in vain…Don’t refer to creation in vain… Don’t refer to his holy city of Jerusalem in vain…And don’t even refer to yourself in vain because you can’t even control the grey in your head.

What he’s saying is that true Christians shouldn’t have to rely on anything to attest to their integrity and holiness other than their own Christian Character. Jesus got it…the only reason a person needs to use the name of God, to help establish their believability is because their own actions and how they live their life, has already brought their believability into question. That’s what had happened here, the Pharisees and Sadducee were making vows and using oaths to either make a point or reinforce their own believability with the people of God.
Because these vows were outlandish, and in most cases frivolous, they had brought their own integrity into question.

They did this because they knew the people of God trust and believe in God and if you invoke the name of God as your witness…they’ll tend to believe you too. That’s why politicians show up around election and how televangelist stay in business…they’ve picked up on how to appropriate some of God’s integrity to increase their own trustworthiness and believability.
Unfortunately, that not only happens with politicians and televangelists it happens with folks in the church who invoke the name and Holiness of God by prefacing their comments with statements like God is leading me or he’s laid it upon my heart…or God told me to tell you.
Unfortunately, it’s been my experience that where they think God is leading them is contrary to where God is and what God said. What he supposedly laid upon their heart looks like their agenda… And what he told them to tell you sounds exactly like what they’ve been wanting to tell you all along.
Flo and the anonymous letter

Understand if you’re living the life God wants and expects you to live, he won’t have to place anything on your heart…the right thing will already be in your heart…and all you have to do is have the courage and the faith to exercise it. What this scripture and context teaches us is that people don’t have a problem invoking the name of Jesus in order to give their own desires and agenda validity in the eyes of others. And just like Jesus warned the Jews gathered on that mountain side not to engage and be fooled by such acts…he’s telling us not to engage or be fooled by it either.

He’s says instead allow the Beatitudes to become your attitudes so they can change your character and have your Yay’s be Yay, and your Nay’s be Nay. That’s actually the point of this passage to allow your character and behavior to exhibit the integrity of a blessed Child of God… where you won’t need to invoke his integrity…because your life and behavior will testify to it on its own. This is actually what John picks up in Revelations where he speaks to the 7 churches of Asia Minor and tells them I know your works…some of you all hot some of you all are cold and some of you are lukewarm. He tells them God wants you to be hot or cold not lukewarm. You can’t trust lukewarm Christians…they’re non- committal…won’t take a stand and can’t make a decision.

They’re here today won’t show up tomorrow and they’ll let you know about next week.
What Jesus is saying is if you’re a true Christian when you speak folks ought to be able to take what you say to the bank…and not be sitting on pins and needles praying to God the check clears
Jesus is saying when you allow a repentant spirit…a mourning spirit…a pure spirit and a merciful spirit to become your spirit. Then you’ll live a blessed life that has the characteristics of God and you won’t need to appropriate God’s holiness to prove your integrity because your life will do that for you. I’m sure we’ve all heard people say, “Let the life I lead speak for me”. For some people if they listened to what their life is saying they’d tell it to shut up. Understand your life will speak for you anyway…and you don’t have to die before it starts talking. The issue is…is your life saying what you want it to say?

I’m about to wind this thing down but there is something I need to address and that is…are there situations where vows and oaths are necessary, and the answer is yes…two come to mind: the vows you take during a marriage ceremony and the oath your swear before giving testimony in court. What makes them appropriate is the context in which they’re used because in both cases you aren’t using Oaths or Vows to enhance your believability in the eyes of men…you’re using them because of the evilness found in the hearts of men.

When you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth…the judge and jury don’t know you from Adam. They don’t know enough about your life for it to speak to your integrity. But because the courts respect God and his authority over all of us…they have you swear because they don’t expect you to lie before him…and if you do, they hope the crime of perjury and the sentence it carries is enough to deter you from lying.
When a couple take the vows of marriage, they aren’t taking the vows to prove to one another their love and that they belong to one another, they’re taking the vows so that everybody else knows they’re in love and that they belong to one another. The vows you take and the ring you wear let everyone else know this person belongs to somebody else and somebody else belongs to this person. Those vows are for other people not for the two of you, because if the two of you come to the altar and you’re not sure about one another… you don’t have any business being up there in the first place.

The ring Florencia placed on my finger and the vows I spoke in front of her 20 years ago act as a two-way stop sign in my life. They tell me to stop when I think about going someplace I’ve got no business going and they tell other women to stop because they’ve got no business going anyplace with me. And I’m alright with that because the vows she spoke in front of me and the ring I put on her finger tell the world her little butt belongs to me. Those vows aren’t for us…they’re for everybody else who might be so inclined to make a move on us. You know you’re off the mark as Christian when your life can’t speak to your integrity.

William Barclay is a 20th Century Theologian and his teachings along with those of Walter Bruggeman, Reinhold Niebuhr, John R Stott and Dietrich Bonhoeffer form the basis of my own theology and preaching ministry.

As a matter of fact, in putting together this series on the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount together his teachings helped form the basis of what you’ve been hearing and what we’ve been studying. I bring him up because his writings sum up this passage perfectly and I want to leave you with what he said…
“So, then this saying of Jesus leaves two obligations upon us. It leaves upon us the obligation to make ourselves such, that men will so see our transparent goodness that they will never ask or need an oath from us…
And it leaves upon us the obligation to seek to make this world such a world…that falsehood and infidelity will be so eliminated from it…that the necessity for oaths will be abolished”.

What Barclay is saying is that God’s expectation of us is that we not only need to operate with so much transparency and integrity that we change ourselves…but that we also change the world. May the Lord add a blessing to the hearing reading and doing of his will. Amen

03/22/2020

Scripture Matthew 6:2-4
Text Show me the money?

As we continue our study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the practical lessons it offers, I’d like to turn your attention to these 3 verses where Jesus talks about your money. Let’s be clear he isn’t talking about your talent or your time Jesus is talking about your money…he’s talking about your treasure… your paycheck… your dinero… your moola… your ducketts… your Benjamín’s… your cash… your coin and your green backs. Jesus is talking about your money.
Understand Jesus has just finished telling us about how we are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World…how we need to get a grip on our anger…treat our spouses right…manage our anger…not retaliate and pray for our enemies.

And right after he’s reminded us to mind our motives when we participate in the 3 pillars of our faith…in the next breath he basically says now let’s talk about your money. Church today we’re going to talk about your money. We’re going to talk about the money you have coming into your household and if we are to be true to him and our faith…then we can’t afford to be hypocritical when it comes to our money.

Notice something about this scripture, in Matthew 6:1 Jesus says we have to have the right motives in place when it comes to the 3 pillars of your faith…and instead of him starting with our prayer life or our sacrificial life…Jesus starts with your money. That’s by design because the truest outward example of your love and trust in God is illustrated in your capacity to give back to him what he has first given you through your paycheck, your job, your investments, your wealth, your endowments and your entitlements. It’s what you do with your money. Don’t say how much you love God and how much he’s blessed you and then you scrimp when it’s time to give back to him.

To the Jew of Jesus’ time giving was the most sacred of all religious duties as a matter of fact the word “tzedakah” was used in Hebrew to express both righteousness and giving… So that for the Jew in order for you to be righteous with God you had to give…and your giving…was proof of your righteousness. For the Jew of Jesus’ time to give alms was to gain merit in the sight of God and was even to win atonement and forgiveness for sins. As it says in Ecclesiastics 3:14-15
Almsgiving to the father shall not be blotted out and as a substitute for sins it shall stand firmly planted. In the day of affliction it shall be remembered to thy credit

Now we as Christians don’t think our giving atones for our sins but it does show just how much you trust God and are willing to have faith in him to make a way for you.

-It shows God just how grateful we are for all he has done for us and our faithfulness to trust him further.
-It tells the world you trust God enough to stand on his promise to provide your daily bread.

Jesus is talking about your money. This won’t be a long sermon, but it’ll be a significant one because for most of us…it’s our money where we first get off tract with God. It’s not your lust…it’s not your desires…it isn’t your weaknesses…it isn’t your prayer life…it isn’t how much you study your bible, or how much you do or don’t come to church… Where most of us first get off track with God…is with our money.
It’s where the commitment we make to trust God first breaks down because we trust him with everything…but not our money.

-We trust him to make a way for us…but not with our money
-We trust him to move mountains…but not with our money
-We trust him to make enemies our footstool…but not with our money.

I hear somebody thinking almsgiving is what we give to the poor and I give to the poor and donate to the worthy causes. I get it but understand during Jesus’ time there was no welfare system. The only way the poor survived was off the good will offerings… or the money…they received begging on the street. And then just like now, the poor couldn’t eat prayers and they couldn’t digest songs, so they needed, and the expectation was for folks who had money to give them money. The other thing we need to understand is that God’s expectation is that both the poor and the church be supported by the people.

Unlike the poor who were taken care of by almsgiving, during Jesus’s time, the church was usually supported by a temple tax which paid for the upkeep of the priest and the maintenance of the temple. Since the middle of the 20th century most civilized countries like the US use our tax dollars to support the poor and the temple tax was pretty much done away with during the Protestant Reformation 600 years ago so that the responsibility for the support of the church reverted back to the tithes and offerings of its people. But just because the temple tax was done away with that didn’t mean light bills, water bills, insurance bills, tax bills, salaries and supplies were done away with it also.
Last time I checked even if it is a church Atmos still expects their money. Dallas utilities still want to be paid on time and the insurance company is not donating our policies. They want money.

Understand also between the music department the janitors the secretarial and professional staffs none of us is being paid what we’re worth. It isn’t fat paychecks keeping them here…it’s the commitment they have to this church…keeping them here. And you know it must be some kind of commitment when Theo shows up to rehearsals and funerals with his 3 kids in tow. And just like they’re honoring their commitment to this church this church ought to honor their commitment by paying them how ever little it is on time…and that takes…money.

Not Cary’s money or Fortner’s money or Clemmons money the trustee’s or deacon’s money…but your money. And yes, I know that scripture about Peter at the gates of the temple and the beggar asked him for alms and Peter told him Silver and Gold have I not but such as I have, I give it to you freely in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. Understand something about that…first Peter told him right off he didn’t have any money and then Peter turned around and gave him something more valuable than money…he gave him the power to get up and go make his own money. Now unless you operate with that same kind of power then understand God’s expectation of you is that you get up some money.

Understand God isn’t asking or expecting you to give all your money. All he’s asking for is a portion of your money. That’s actually what that word tithe means…it means a portion. It means from all the money God has given you he expects you to be grateful enough to give a portion of it back to him…consistently. Again, I hear somebody thinking and what you’re thinking is that when I had it to give, I gave… And what I need you to understand is that the reason you don’t have it to give now…is because you weren’t grateful enough to give a portion of it back him consistently when you had it.

That’s why the scripture out of Malachi we sometimes read before offering is so important. It’s important because it lets us know the reason your money is so funny is because you didn’t do what you were supposed to do in the first place. Look at what he says...
For I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed even from the days of your fathers you are gone away from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return unto me and I will return unto you saith the Lord of hosts. But you say Where shall we return. Will a man rob God, yet you have robbed me, but you say how have we robbed you? I tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me even this whole nation. Bring me all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house and prove me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts it I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits your labor neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field saith the Lord of hosts and all nations shall call you blessed for you shall be a delightsome land saith the Lord of hosts.

This scripture lets us know by you not giving consistently you’re robbing yourselves of blessings. Florencia and I tithe. The last time she checked we were tithing about 12% of our gross. I don’t know if that’s right or not. All I know is that we never miss what we give back because God keeps blessing what we keep. And let me say this too…tithe means money. It doesn’t mean singing acts of kindness we extend or even how many times we visit the sick. When God says tithe, he means your cash.
He means the money you get paid…the money you earn…the money you receive as a stipend your retirement or your government allotment. Understand acts of kindness and worship are things we all need to do, and they also represent how we can pass along our blessings… But when God talks about how you’ve robbed him, he’s talking about the money you’ve received and are living off but aren’t grateful enough to give a portion of it back to him. This scripture for today is talking about how when you tithe or give offering be careful of using the wrong motive which is to be seen of men.

The fact is I wish some of us had that problem because at least you’d be giving. The fact is some of us aren’t giving at all and some of those who are giving aren’t giving consistently. I wish we had that problem today…because at least more of us would be giving. I remember when I first started pastoring a few folks got offended because they didn’t think I needed to see what they were or in their cases what they weren’t giving.

I guess they thought that as long as nobody was looking, they could get away with not giving. What they didn’t understand was that God notices what you are and what you’re not giving. Look at Luke 21:1 which says…
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Let me mess with someone’s theology for a minute and tell you God not only knows your heart he knows your pocketbook…and when he sees what you do with your money…he knows the level of gratitude and trust you have in him. Most of us don’t mind showing God our gratitude when he blesses us with the windfall. What most of us miss is that he’s also watching when we’re living paycheck to paycheck? I submit to you this morning our consistent giving to God through tithes and offering is when our true trust in God reveals itself. It’s not when we hit the lottery, get the bonus, or inherit what grandma left us. Some folks approach God like the Cuba Gooding Jr. character in the Jerry McGuire movie.

If you remember he’d lost a step and wasn’t as fearless as he used to be and had a wife and kids and his contract was ending and when his agent Tom Cruise told teams aren’t too willing to give big contracts to older players who’ve lost a step…Cuba Gooding Jr tells you tell them to “Show me the money” and I’ll show them how good I can be’. Church understand you don’t have to be like that with God because he shows you his money every day.

-He may not show you the lottery check…but he’ll show you the paycheck.
-He may not show you the bonus check…but he will show you the social security check
-He may not show you the inheritance…but he will show you the extra cash from your side hustle.

Here it is you’re waiting on God to show you the money and God is showing you his money everyday by keeping a roof over your head food on your table and clothes on your back. And the only reason you don’t have more money is because you’re inconsistent with the money you have. Understand our trust and faith in God reveals itself on the 1st and 3rd of the month, every other Friday of the month or on the 1st and the 15th of the month…because that’s when we show God our money is where our mouth is.
-You show God your money…you show him how consistently grateful you are by consistently giving a portion back to him…
-You back up your declarations of love and trust in God by showing him your money…
-You watch and see how God opens the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there won’t be room to receive it all.
-You want to show God how much you love trust and obey him…show him your money.

May the Lord add a blessing to the hearing reading and doing of his will.
Amen