Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/braemarbaptist/sermons/52262/living-for-giving-money-matters/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Good morning and welcome to our online service for Sunday, June 28th. My name is Kent Dixon. I'm the lead pastor of Bramard Baptist Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. [0:12] Welcome this morning to people from our church who are tuning in, and welcome to those who are tuning in from elsewhere who are watching live this morning with us, are joining in to worship God together with us this morning, or for those who are watching this video later on or listening to our podcast later. [0:30] So God bless you as you join us this morning as we worship God together. So please check out the summary information below this video, below this post, for lots of ways that you can connect with our church ongoing. [0:45] We accept prayer requests and are happy to be praying for you. There's an opportunity for you to learn more about our church through our website, and also you can send an email to be added to our e-newsletter distribution. [0:58] So if you'd like to learn more about what we're doing and who we are, please engage in those channels. So let's open in prayer this morning. Father God, thank you that even in this virtual way, you are with us. [1:12] Father, you are not surprised by anything. You knew this pandemic would come. Father, you know exactly where we are in this moment, each one of us individually. Father, you know our needs. [1:24] You know the cries of our heart. You know the joys that we are experiencing this morning and in these days. You know the challenges that we have. Father, you know the physical and spiritual struggles that we're having. [1:36] And so, Father, I pray that as we spend this time together this morning, that you would speak to each of us in the way that we most need to hear from you. And, Father, thank you for being with us. [1:52] Thank you for your goodness, your kindness, and your love to us. Be with us this morning in a special way as we worship you together through studying your word and through music. [2:04] We pray all of these things in your name. Amen. All right. So, let's join. Speaking of worship, let's join together in singing this morning. And we're going to sing two great songs of our faith. [2:18] To God be the glory and all creatures. And you may know two different versions of the hymn, All Creatures. There are two different ones. But you'll quickly know which one it is once you hear the tune. [2:30] So, please follow along on the screen with the lyrics and all of that. And we'll begin this morning with To God Be the Glory. Bless you as you sing. [2:41] To God Be the Glory. [2:57] Great things He had done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son. Who yielded His life, Atonement for sin, And opened the life gate that all may go in. [3:20] Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice. [3:30] Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. Oh, come to the Father, Through Jesus His Son. [3:43] And give Him the glory, Great things He had done. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. [4:20] Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice. [4:31] Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. O come to the Father, Through Jesus His Son. [4:43] And give Him the glory, Great things He had done. All creatures of our God and King. All creatures of our God and King. Live in the world. All creatures of our God and King. [4:57] Lift up your voice and with us sing. O praise Him. Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. Praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice. All creatures of our God and King. Lift up your voice and with us sing. O praise Him. All creatures of our God and King. [5:12] All creatures of our God and King. Lift up your voice and with us sing. O praise Him. Alleluia. Alleluia. Thou burning sun and golden beam. Thou spill the moon is soft to glean. [5:24] O praise Him. O praise Him. O praise Him. [5:47] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. [6:16] Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heaven alone, O praise Him. [6:29] Alleluia. Thou rising morning praise rejoice, ye lights of evening find a voice, O praise Him, O praise Him. [6:50] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. [7:02] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Let all things their Creator bless And worship Him in humbleness Oh, praise Him, alleluia Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son And praise the Spirit three in one Oh, praise Him, oh, praise Him Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia [8:12] How wonderful to worship God through singing this morning together in that way It's so unique and it's so unusual for us to do it this way for many of us And yet here we are We're able to reflect on the fact that we're singing together Even though we're singing apart And I think that's really cool that God can work in that way And He is working in that way Both of these songs take me back to my childhood So I used to often ride a dinosaur to church on Sunday mornings And then we'd sing songs like this And these are, to me, remind me of the great legacy of faith that I come from Not just in my family But from generations of brothers and sisters in Christ who've come before us And to me that's very encouraging and affirming So this morning we're wrapping up our series titled Living Forgiving Perspectives on Christian Stewardship [9:16] And over the course of our series we've looked at the idea of stewardship To gain a better understanding of what it means How we should approach it As well as how we should see ourselves Not as owners of what God has given us But as stewards, as managers, as investors Of what is actually given by Him And continues to be His Do you recognize that? [9:44] So I hope that you're all developing a sense that From a biblical point of view Stewardship is all-inclusive It touches every area of our lives Including our time, our talent As we've looked at through this series And our treasure And as I've said before in our series The real issue of stewardship Is whether we're managing our affairs and our possessions As though they are ours Or as though they are God's You may remember that when we began this series I reflected on the fact that people often feel more comfortable Talking about politics Or religion Or even sex Before they're willing to talk about The stuff they own How much they paid for their stuff How much money they make What their bank account Or their investment portfolio looks like Or How much of the money that God has given them [10:46] They're willing to give back to Him To release to Him So let's reflect again for a moment Do you genuinely recognize That everything you have Everything you are From your time and your talents To the opportunities that you have That come your way All of those things Come from God I confess I've often had success in my life And been quick to self-congratulate Can you relate to that? [11:20] Losing perspective on where that success Where the gifts Where the talents Where the opportunities That made that success possible Came from in the first place They came from God So this morning as we conclude our series You didn't honestly think That I would preach a stewardship series Without talking about money Did you? [11:47] Well here we go Because our sermon this morning Is titled Money Matters And we're going to tackle The potentially uncomfortable topic Of money And our attachments to it And we're also going to look At how we can actually use What God has given us To make a difference In the lives of other people And ultimately In partnership with God We can use the things That He has given us To participate In what He is doing in the world It's so exciting The opportunity that we have So I have a question for you this morning As we dig into this Do you think God really cares What you do with your money? [12:32] Do you think He cares either way? Is that the perspective That you have this morning? Oh here we go Our once annual sermon On our money And what we're supposed to do with it Pastor Ken should mind his own business Every pastor preaches on this topic Every pastor struggles with it Every congregant in every pew Feels different ranges of comfort Or discomfort with this topic But if your perspective is This morning that God doesn't really care What you do about your money I want us to look at this For a moment Yes God absolutely cares About what you do with your money And your attitude towards it Partly because It's not even yours So do you see why Having the perspective That God is somehow Uninterested in our attitude Towards money Do you see what that suggests? [13:33] I believe that it suggests That while we may be willing To surrender our time to God Volunteer Go to church once a week Maybe Or maybe awkwardly smile At a homeless person Once in a while Our financial affairs Do we perceive them To be none of God's business? [13:55] Do you hear society's perspective there? Because that's what we're really talking about As we seek to manage our finances We either follow the values of society Or we follow the values of the Bible The values of God And you simply can't have it My friends Both ways Society values the idea That you can have happiness and peace Through money You can have happiness and peace Through holding on to your money Through owning stuff And through accumulating wealth Do you recognize that perspective That society values? [14:38] But the Bible My friends Suggests something radically different Than that It suggests that we seek God First Delight in God First And then Be content With what he gives us Do you see how society And even Christianity At times Can flip that script The other way around We are blessed Because God loves us Hmm Not in the Bible We are blessed According to God's will God wants the best for us But God wants us To submit to his will And be willing to Let it all go So it's a bit of a contrast there Right? [15:23] Society says You get all you can And you'll be happy The Bible says Pursue God And trust That he'll take care of you However that looks Theologian Haddon Robinson Who I love Offers a great perspective On our decision To serve God Or money He says Either we serve God And use money Or we serve money And use God Yet few Christians Deliberately dedicate Their lives To materialism Wealth is deceitful Jesus told us And its bondage Is subtle I love this part Like the fly paper And the fly The fly lands On the sticky substance Thinking My fly paper Only to discover That the fly paper Says My fly It's all About Perspective Perspective The vast majority [16:25] Of us Have never been Slaves I would suggest In the traditional Sense But do you recognize That in your life There may have been Times when you've been A slave to money Is that a reality That you can recognize If you pursue Wealth and possessions That pursuit Can become All consuming And you'll never Feel like you have Enough Michelle and I Have been doing A lot of purging Of stuff From our house Lately Bless you Pandemic And while we Haven't purged Any overtly Extravagant things You know There aren't Diamond necklaces That we're giving away By any means We have purged Lots of stuff That we've Accumulated Over time It's mind-boggling Stuff that we Don't need Or use And won't use And that has Just begun To clutter Our home Even I would say Clutter our hearts [17:25] And our minds Every time We go to Goodwill Every time We go Give something Away Every time We recycle Something We feel A very literal Weight Lift From our Shoulders Our hearts Our minds Just our Perspective Have you ever Thought about The fact You never See a Hearse Pulling A U-Haul Do you know Why that is? [17:53] Say it with me Because You can't Take it With you You can either Allow money And possessions To dominate Your life Or you can Reorient Yourself To a Biblical Perspective Of money That will Allow you I believe To experience True happiness By using The money That God Has given You to Serve him And to Serve others It may not Surprise you That the Bible has Approximately 500 verses That talk About prayer Fair enough Makes sense And fewer Than 500 That talk About faith I think For Jesus For his Followers In many ways Faith was A given So while There are 500 or more Approximately Verses That talk About prayer Some that Talk about Less that Talk about Faith It may Surprise you To learn That there Are more Than 2300 Verses [18:54] In scripture That deal With Money And possessions 2300 Jesus Said more About Money Than he Did about Any other Topic Including Heaven And hell Combined More than 10% Of the New Testament Relates Directly to Financial Matters And possibly One of the Most Hear this Misquoted Verses In the Entire Bible 1st Timothy 6 10 It Comes As part Of a Larger Passage That Begins At Verse 7 For For we Brought Nothing Into The World And We Can Take Nothing Out Of It But If we Have Food And Clothing We Will Be Content With That Those Who Want To Get Rich Fall Into Temptation And A Trap And Into Many Foolish And Harmful Desires That Plunge People Into Ruin And Destruction For [19:55] The Love Of Money Hear That Not Money But The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Kinds Of Evil Some People Eager For Money Have Wandered From Faith And Pierced Themselves With Many Griefs The Love Of Money Not Money Itself So Why Is There Such A Significance On An Emphasis On Money And Money Issues In Scripture I Believe It's Because God Knew Full Well That We Would Have So Many Challenges With Earning And Saving And Spending And Monitoring And Managing And Prioritizing And Balancing And Investing And Even Obsessing Over Money And I Believe That Another Reason For The Biblical Emphasis On Money Is Due To The Significant Impact It Can Have On Interpersonal Relationships Money Can Often Be [20:55] The Root Cause Behind Marital Tension And Divorce The Potential For Interpersonal Conflict Is A Big Reason Why We Have Wills And Contracts And Prenuptial Agreements And Partnership Agreements I'm Sure You Can Recognize How Much You May Personally Think About Money It's Hard Not To It's A Reality Of Life So I'm Not Trying To Make You Feel Guilty For Thinking About Money At All It Can Though Become An All Consuming Focus Of Our Lives Now I'm Going To Say Something If I Haven't Already I'm Going To Say Something That May Make You Feel A Bit Uncomfortable But We're Family So That's Okay How We View Our Finances Reveals A Great Deal About The State Of Our Heart And The Depth Of Our Faith And Our Trust In God I'm [21:56] Going To Say That Again How We View Our Finances Reveals A Great Deal About The State Of Our Heart And The Depth Of Our Faith And Our Trust In God The Bible Relates Money To The Love Of God In 1 John 3 Verse 17 If Someone Has Enough Money To Live Well And Sees A Brother Or Sister In Need But Shows No Compassion How Can God's Love Be In That Person Ouch So Here We Have A Person Who Claims To Be A Follower Of Jesus Has More Than Enough Money And Yet Chooses To Neglect A Calling That May Be On Their Life To Help Someone Else As People We Are Called To Put Others First We As Christians Are Our Attitude Towards Money Can Be Then A Pretty Clear Indicator Of [22:56] How We're Doing With That Right We Can Probably Recognize The Ability To Put On Appearances As Christians Put On Appearances Of Being Prayerful Of Being A Christian Servant Of Being Knowledgeable About The Bible I Know Many People Who Can Quote Verse After Verse And I Marvel At The Knowledge They've Accumulated Over Time In Scripture But When It Comes To How We View Our Possessions And Our Money It Can Be Pretty Difficult To Hide That Hide Where Our Heart Is So So far This Morning We've Recognized How Important The Topic Of Money Is To God And That A Healthy Biblical Perspective On Money Can Actually Bring Us Freedom And Happiness So How Can We Gain A Healthier And More Biblical Perspective On Our Money We Need To Recognize [23:56] An Important Fact Giving Is Between The Giver And God It's Virtually No One Else's Business Do You Hear That That's Why God Talks About Loving A Cheerful Giver That's Why God Talks About Giving In Secret And Not Proclaiming How Great You Are By How Much You've Given And To How Many Places It's Between You And God And The More You Broadcast It I Would Argue The Less Interested God Is In Where Your Heart Is At And That Issue But How And Where You Give Are Critical There Are Two Types Of Giving That Are Found In The Bible The Tithe Which Applies To One Tenth Of All We Have And The Free Will Offering Which Is Given Over And Above The Tithe For Most Christians [24:57] The Tithe Is What Is Considered To Is The Tithe Is The Tithe Is Tithing And Tithing Is Giving One Tenth Of Your Income Back To God It's A Concept That Was Introduced In The Old Testament As First Fruits From Crops From Income From Revenue And People Can Be Quick To Discount It As An Old Testament Principle But In Fact The Concept Of Tithing Has Been Rolled Into The Broader Concept Of Giving In The New Testament So For Christians The Tithe Is What We Consider To Be The Standard Giving One Tenth Of Your Income Back To God And Not Even So Much Giving It Back To Him But Releasing It To Him Recognizing That All Of It Was His In The First Place So Remember The Act Of Tithing The Act Of [25:57] Giving At All Is Not About God Needing Your Money You Need To Recognize That Giving Is About Demonstrating Our Faith That God Who Has Provided Everything That We Have And Whom We Trust To Provide For Our Needs Into The Future Gives According To His Will Not Ours It's Also Important To Recognize When We Give The Tithe Was As I Mentioned Originally Connected To The First Fruits The First Of Anything That Came From God And Then Was Released Back To Him According To Use According To His Will So When You Give From Your Income You Should Give Back To God First If It's Helpful Think In Terms Of The First Amount You Set Aside The First Check That You Write After [26:57] You Been Paid In The Month The First Withdrawal You Make After God Is Provided For Your Needs Think Of It This Way When I Get Paid When God Has Provided According To His Will For My Needs The Very Next Thing I Need To Do Is Release At Least 10 Percent Back To God And I Want To Suggest To You That The Tithe 10 Percent Of What God Has Provided For You Should Be Ideally Your Starting Point So Then The Free Will Offering To Transition To That Other Concept Is Another Biblical Concept That Is Intended To Be Given Over And Above The Tithe And I Want To Recognize Something That's Potentially Obvious But I'm Going To Say It Anyway It's No Less Important And A Perspective On Biblical Giving Biblical Giving Indicates That [27:57] It Should Be Proportionate And So What I Mean In Saying That Is That Obviously If Your Income Is Larger Than Someone Else Or If Your Income Increases Over Time The Amount That You Return Or Release To God Should Be Equivalent Does That Make Sense Our Tendency I Believe Can Be To Hold On Too Tightly To Think In Terms Of Okay You Know What Once I Paid My Bills Once I Put Aside Money For My Disneyland Vacation Once I Contributed To My RSP Once I Paid Off That Credit Card Minimum Payment No Two Credit Card Minimum Payments You Know What Then I'll Give A Chunk To God You Ever Notice When You Start With That Perspective How Quickly The Well Of Money How Quickly The Resources Dry Up And [28:58] Have You Ever Noticed A Perspective Of Looking At It As God's Cut I'm Going To Give God's Cut Of What I Made What I Earned And I Believe That People Can Perceive Of Tithing Or Giving As Somehow Tipping God Throwing Some Token Amount Of Money His Way When He Has Given Everything Including His Only Son He's Given Those Things To Us Freely And Without Conditions Or Reservations And Yet We Reserve And Assign Conditions As You Consider Giving To God First It's Okay To Recognize The Thoughts And Feelings That May Pop Into Your Mind Oh Boy But What If Something Comes Up And I Need That Extra 10% That I Already Gave To God Tell Him That Confess That [29:58] To Him Or You Know If God Doesn't Really Need My Money Will It Make Any Difference To Him If I Just Skip It Once Because Once Becomes Twice Three Times A Year And The Standard Of Our Lives That's Why Friends This Is A Slippery Slope That Leads To Clenched Fists And Closed Hearts Where God Is Calling Us I Believe To Trust Him With Open Hands And Open Hearts That Are Oriented Towards What He Has Planned What He Intends To Do To Make A Difference With The Money That We Released Back To Him So Reflecting On As We Did In Past In The Past In This Series Reflecting On The Non Renewable Resource Of Our Time We Can Spend So Much Of That [30:59] Time Focused On Earning A Living And Worrying About Our Expenses And On Having A Proper Perspective On Money As Someone Put It It's A Challenging Concept As Someone Once Put It You Can't Win If You Run After Money You're Materialistic If You Don't Get It You're A Loser If You Get It And Keep It You're A Miser If You Don't Try To Get It You Lack Ambition If You Get It And Spend It You're Reckless If You Still Have Any Left After A Lifetime Of Work You're A Fool Who Never Had Any Fun In Life Isn't That Exhausting Can You Recognize How Society Looks At Money In All Of Those Many Ways As We've Talked About A Few Times Already During This Series We May Need To Constantly Remind Ourselves Of The Core Truth Of The Center Of The Entire Issue Of Stewardship That [32:00] God Is The Owner Of All Things All That We Are And All That We Have Comes From Him I Hope You're Able To See How We Can And How God Can And Will Provide For Our Needs So Please Don't Understand And Misunderstand Me Here I'm Not Saying Somehow That God Can Make You Rich Or That God Will Give You Everything You Ever Dream Of Having In Life Because I Think That's Dangerous That Suggests That God To Me That Suggests God Is Somehow A Genie Who Grants Our Wishes And That Is Not True But If We Are Honestly Willing To Take God At His Word That He'll Provide For Us Even More Than He Provides For Seemingly Less Significant Things Like Even The Grass And The Birds Can [33:00] Can Can We Trust Him With Our Own Provision Can We Trust Him At His Word That When We Release And Hold With Open Hands He Will Bless He Will Use Us In A Way That We Can't Possibly Imagine As We've Purged And Downsized The Stuff In Our House Over The Last While It's Helped Me To Realize Just How Tightly A Grip Things Can Develop On Us And As I Touched On Before How Liberating And Freeing It Can Be To Reorient Our Priorities In A More Healthy Way And As We Seek To Recognize God Is Our Provider And Sustainer We Can Become More And More Free From A False Trust In Money Alone And Somehow A Perspective That It's Solely Up To Us To Be Responsible For Generating [34:01] The Money That We Need My Friends Money Can Be A Useful Resource But It Has Limitations It's Been Said That I'm Going To Quote Here It's Been Said That Money Will Buy A Bed But Not Sleep Books But Not Brains Food But Not An Appetite A House But Not A Home Medicine But Not Health Luxuries But Not Culture Amusement But Not Happiness And Ultimately A Crucifix But Not A Savior As We Learn From First Timothy Six Verse Seven For We Have Brought Nothing Into The World So We Cannot Take Anything Out Of It Either If We Recognize God As The True Source Of Everything We Have And That We're Called To Demonstrate Our [35:01] Trust And Faithfulness By Holding Loosely To What He's Given Us Where Should Where Should We Give Well God Doesn't Specifically Need Your Money Your Church Does And Why For The Ministry That God Has Called The Church To Fulfill And That's Been The Intention This Is Not A New Thing This Has Been The Intention And Reality Of Christian Community From The Beginning When You Are Committed To A Local Church Your Initial Giving Should Be To Support The Ministry Of That Church You May Give To Support Other Organizations Or Causes As Well But Your Church Needs To Be The Focus Of Your Giving And Your Heart Tends To Follow You've Probably Heard This Before Your Heart Tends To Follow Where You're [36:02] Giving So Don't Be Surprised If You Develop A Closer Sense Of Connection And Love And Engagement With Your Church As You Give There It's Not A Coincidence It's What God Intended So Just As You're Called To Be A Good Steward Of The Money God Has Given You The Leadership Of Your Church Are Also Called To Be Good Stewards Of What The Congregation Through Their Faithfulness To Give Back To God Receive From Them We Are Called As Leaders In The Church Your Deacons Your Elders Your Church Leadership Are Called To Be Good Stewards Of What The Congregation Has Provided For Them To Use According To God's Will So As Leaders We Seek To Look For God Look To God For Guidance Look [37:02] To Him For Direction On Where Those Resources May Have The Greatest Impact And So When You Give To Your Church You May Not Even Realize This Many People Don't When You Give To Your Church You You're Supporting Ministry In So Many Ways You're Helping To Maintain Buildings Some People Think That's The I'll Bet You You're Missing Your Buildings Right Now Aren't You So What We Give Can Be Used To Maintain Buildings To Support Staff And Their Families Who Have Been Called To Serve God In A Full Time Vocational Sort Of Way That's A Calling That God Has Given To Them Given To Me And So We Honor That Calling And We Are Honored By People Giving Back To The Church To Support Us In Our Ministry And There Are Also Lots Of Other Opportunities That Churches Get Involved In Opportunities Where We Partner With Other Organizations With Ministry Organizations [38:03] Other Things That We Provide For Other Broader Needs That We Support Throughout The Community Throughout Denominations Across Christian Ministry God Has Called Us As Believers In So Many Are So Your Local Church Is Engaged With Many Of Those Pieces So When You Give When You Tithe Consider Your Tithe That First Gift To Be Used For The Overall Needs Of The Church And As You Feel Called To Give To Specific Are View That As A Separate Gift Perhaps The Church Raising Drive To Do Something New In The Building Or To Support A Family Of Refugees That They're Sponsoring From Another Country So There Are All Sorts Of Needs All Sorts Of Opportunities For You To Engage With What God Is Doing Through Your Church With Your Money And So Tithe First [39:03] And Give More As You Feel Called To Support Other areas So I Encourage Each Of Us Knows What's Best For Us He Will Provide For Our Needs And Knowing That That We Can Be Faithful In Giving First Back To God Do You See How It's An Issue Of Trust Be Have Have Have Have Have You Have You Have Had Fell Or Backwards With Your Arms Crossed Trusting That The Other Person Will Catch You I've Done It It's Scary But When Another Person Catches You It Feels So Amazing Has God Caught You When You least expected it. He has done that for us more times than I can count. Trust God. He is faithful and he will catch you. Over the course of this series, we've reflected on many of the resources that God has given us. Our time, our talents, our skills, and this morning our money. [40:18] And in the precise quantities we need, God has given us those things to accomplish, as we talked about last week, the unique plans he has for each of us. [40:33] My friends, seek to be good managers, good stewards, good investors of what God has given you. And ask him to guide you in how best to use those resources. [40:48] And as you consider to reflect, continue to reflect, sorry, on many of the blessings that God has given you, it's my hope that you'll have a better sense of how best you can use those precious resources to bless others and to bring glory to God. I want to close this morning with a brief story about a man named William, who came to the United States from England with his family. [41:20] And he wound up starting his own soap business in New York, Manhattan actually, in 1806. As someone who believed in God, William anchored his business in the principle of giving back to God. [41:34] And as his business grew, he not only gave one-tenth of his company's earnings, but then two-tenths, three-tenths, and ultimately five-tenths, 50% of all his income to God's work in the world. [41:55] He took God at his word to test him in giving. And God met the test. God continued to bless this man's business. [42:08] Worldwide sales of his company's products now total more than $9 billion annually. And their products are available in more than 220 countries and provinces around the globe. [42:23] That man was William Colgate. Colgate's commitment to God and his recognition of the importance of keeping his personal fortunes focused on God first is something that all followers of Christ can and should learn from. [42:44] My prayer for each of us is that we might gain that same perspective on what God has given each of us and seek to faithfully return a portion back to him. [42:59] My friends, trust that God will provide for your needs according to his will. It may not look the way you expect, but God will show up. [43:10] Hold on to what he has given you. Not with clenched fists, but with hands that are open, humbly seeking his will. [43:23] This morning we're going to close our service by singing the doxology together. And we're going to use the same method we use for our hymns. [43:33] So I will play a video that will have music and the words of the doxology on the screen. So that will be how we close our service this morning. [43:44] So as we transition to that, may the words of the doxology be a blessing to you. My friends, go in peace. May you sing the words of this doxology that has been sung by generations before us. [44:00] May you be blessed. Amen. Praise God from him all blessings flow. [44:24] Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. [44:43] Praise Father, Son that's holy ghost. Praise God from him all blessings flow. [45:20] Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. [45:50] Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son that's holy ghost.