1. Too High a Price More About Jesus Seminar #20 - Guide The interview starts out with a discussion on whether or not God needs our money, since He created everything that there is in the first place. Lee says, That makes me think of the guy with a bunch of one dollar bills in his hands who throws them up in the air. His wife says, What are you doing? He says, Well, I figure if I throw this money up there, then God can take whatever He wants, and whatever comes back is mine. Lee says, Since God didn't take any, I guess He doesn't need it. I love these guys! They always give me a chuckle while telling me the life saving truths that I need to survive this daily battle against the thief. God doesn't need our money, but we need to give. It's the principle of giving that is being taught in all of it. If you are giving then you are being selfless, and that is the exact opposite of what gets us into trouble all the time. Living self centered lives is what separates us from God. The same analogy holds true for sharing and witnessing. God doesn't need us to witness to finish the work, but we need to do it to 'complete our experience', and to share the joy that is felt when a soul is saved to the Kingdom of God! Morris asks, Can you explain how 9 dollars with God's blessing can go further than 10 dollars without His blessing? @3:30 Lee tells the story about how God made a 'miracle' happen when He & Margie lived in Rocky Ford CO. God has a better program for financing his work than church bake sales and raffles. 2. To see the 26 Video seminars complete links list, visit http://nfltrashtalk.com/peaceful-resources/ 3. Is God selfish when He makes these claims? The devil would like to make us think that, but God already proved on Calvary that it isn't the case, when He gave us what will always be known as The Greatest Gift Of All Time. For the rich and poor alike, God also established the Tithing principle. 4. So the purpose of the tithe has always been to establish and sustain the work of God's people. The Levites were the equivalent of the modern day Church Pastors, and the tithes were how they survived back then, as they do now. 5. So, Jesus also emphasized the importance of tithing while also noting that the scribes and Pharisees paid tithe but ignored some things that were even more important than tithing. Paul also made a point of denoting the importance of the tithe. 6. This clearly shows from the old and new testaments what the purpose of the tithes were. Where's the storehouse? 7. There were storehouses in the treasury at the temple to hold the fruits & grains etc. that were brought as tithes and offerings to the priests. Some people use the excuse for not paying tithes saying that they think the tithes and offerings are misappropriated, as if God cannot watch over the use of His funds. Here is the key issue in all of this. It is surrender and dependence. This brings up the story of the rich young ruler. Morris calls him the rich young single, because he figures he had to be single to be rich, lol. At first this story seems to be all about the money, but it isn't. It actually applies to all of us rich or poor. The saying is that Money talks, but the last thing it said to me was Buy, Bye! The lesson is that if money is your main focus then get rid of it, because you have made it your god in place of God. If your dependence is on money vs. on God, then get rid of the money! If you don't depend on it then keep it. The point is that ANYTHING that you depend on more than your dependence on God needs to have an attitude adjustment. Some are dependent on their intelligence, their talents or their looks, but whatever it is it needs to be properly prioritized. It isn't that any of those things are bad, it's just that a dependence on them is bad. @25:30 minute mark Morris tells a funny story about how in his first year in the ministry his salary was just $32.00 per week, and how God blessed him when he decided he'd rather go hungry than use his tithe money. The fact is that when we pay tithe we aren't being generous we are being honest. We are returning the rent for living on this planet & we aren't being generous until we give offerings. This is why the Israelite's in the time of Malachi were cursed with a curse when they fail to bring the tithes & offerings. Wow! Apparently I have been under a curse for many years. Morris tells about JC Penny 'testing God' by increasing his tithing to 50%, and his chain of stores just continues to be blessed. It's much better to give that money to the church than to let the government take it, right? That's why so many athletes making millions every year start nonprofit foundations to protect their money from the tax man! 8. There are people who give a second 10 15% in offerings back to God and have realized rich blessings, because it is impossible to out give God. But, how do you know what YOU should give for an offering? That's between you and God. Let's see what the poor widow did. A mite is 1/10th of a cent. She put in 2/10ths of a cent an Jesus said that she put in more than all the rest of those who gave. Why? Apparently your gift is measured by what you have left, and she gave all that she had! Think about the example that her story provided for millions of people through the years. Some people with great possessions may excuse themselves from giving because their 'cash flow' is lower than they expected it to be, but they still have great possessions. What is the problem with great wealth? 9. @35:36 Lee tells the parable of the wealthy woman who goes to heaven. Well, I really don't feel bad at all about my 'cave', because when you think about Jesus life you realize He was homeless & didn't have a place to lay his head. I'm sure he can easily relate to all the poor & homeless of the world. He slept on the ground many nights with his disciples. He was poor in worldly goods, but His gift of salvation through sacrifice makes us all rich with the blessings of Salvation and life eternal. His gift should make us all grateful and more than willing to give back from what He has blessed us with. To see the 26 Video seminars complete links list, visit http://nfltrashtalk.com/peaceful-resources/ 10. @35:36 Lee tells the parable of the wealthy woman who goes to heaven. Well, I really don't feel bad at all about my 'cave', because when you think about Jesus life you realize He was homeless & didn't have a place to lay his head. I'm sure he can easily relate to all the poor & homeless of the world. He slept on the ground many nights with his disciples. He was poor in worldly goods, but His gift of salvation through sacrifice makes us all rich with the blessings of Salvation and life eternal. His gift should make us all grateful and more than willing to give back from what He has blessed us with. To see the 26 Video seminars complete links list, visit http://nfltrashtalk.com/peaceful-resources/