Hebrews – Part 4 Lawson and Aaron Perdue

  Praise the Lord, friends, and welcome to the program. I’m so glad that you’re here. We are teaching today from Hebrews Chapter Six and Hebrews Chapter Seven. We’re talking about Abraham. We’re gonna talk about his faith and how his faith was manifested in giving. And we’re gonna answer some questions about the tithe in a very untraditional way, so you don’t want to miss this broadcast. It’ll teach you how to receive the blessing from God. Friends, it’s so good to have you with us. I’m glad you’re here. We’re teaching one of my favorite books. The Book of Hebrews. And it’s my favorite, one of my favorites, because of Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. Jesus makes everything better. Praise God?

 

  Amen.

 

  And so we finished yesterday in Hebrews Chapter Six in Verse 10 that says “God is not unrighteous to forget “your work and labor of love “which you have showed toward His name and that “you have ministered to the saints and do minister.” You know, I think a lot of people there just faint before their harvest. And the grace of God, this book is all about Jesus and the grace of God. The grace of God has made all things available, but many people just quit in the realm of faith. They just quit believing God. And a lot of the things that God does, they don’t happen just overnight. It takes time. And, you know, people of faith, you know, are people who, you know, faith is really a walk with God. And you know, we’re gonna talk a little bit about that, so let’s jump in to Hebrews Chapter Six. And we’re gonna start here in Verse 11 and Verse 12. And then we’ll move in and begin to talk about Abraham. You know, the father of our faith. And man, Abraham really represents 50 years of faith in God.

 

  So here in Hebrews Six, Verse 11 it says “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence “to the full assurance of hope until the end. “That you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

 

  Man, it takes both faith and patience to inherit the promises.

 

  A lot of people, especially today in the US, I know this broadcast goes around the world, we have people from all around the world who watch who   actually we have partners from around the world as well, but American culture is a very instant kind of culture. The people want instant gratification. They want their food instantly. You know, they want success instant. They want riches instant. They want fame instant. They want to build a ministry instantly. They want, you know, just instant pleasure, instant gratification, like who cares about getting to know someone, you know, building a relationship, marrying someone. They just want to do things instantly, but the best things in life, the best things that God gives us actually oftentimes take time to develop.

 

  Amen. You know, your mother and I have been married for 39 years going on 40. We’re gonna be celebrating 40 years this coming year. And you know what? God has been so good to us. But our marriage has gotten better and better. And praise God, if we were just looking for instant gratification we would’ve parted ways long ago. Hallelujah. But you gotta keep just believing and keep moving forward and keep walking in love and keep letting the word of God work. You know, Andrew Wommack, a lot of people, once he got on television, that was in about the year 2000. People said he was an overnight success. They don’t realize that he had 32 years of ministry prior to that. He was a 33 year overnight success. He already had a whole system built, you know, with his radio programs and different things, to sustain what he did when he went on television. If he wouldn’t have had that he couldn’t have kept that harvest. And he had already been going for years and years, but you know, a lot of people quit before their harvest. And we need to keep believing God. He says don’t be lazy. Show diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end. And he says “But followers of those who through “faith and patience inherit the promises.” You know, I was eight years old when I got born again. When I was 14 in Andrew Wommack’s Bible study in Lamar, Colorado I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and I was called to preach. And you know, when God filled me with the Holy Spirit God showed me certain things about my ministry. And some of those I did not even begin to enter into them for 25 years. I just started. You know what? It takes time. And so many people, boy, like you’re saying, if they don’t have instant gratification. They are done, they’re out the door. And I think statistics show that over 80% of pastoral ministers, people get in full-time ministry, quit within the first five years. Over 90% quit before their retirement age. Before they’re 65. It’s a very few that follow through. And, you know, I’d been ministering for years and years and when I was 49 years old, I’d been pastoring full-time since I was 23, I asked God if he’d give me 40 more years. And I believe he said yes. Praise God, that was 10 years ago. Amen? And so I’m, look, I’m 59 as we sit here speaking. I am looking for 30 more years of ministry if Jesus tarries. Praise God. And I’m not gonna, I don’t want to grow weary. Well dude, I want to stay   and man, it just keeps getting better. Man, God has done so much. You know, Lester Sumrall was from a full gospel denomination and they said Lester, you are 50 and you’re finished. And he said, I cried out to God and God said you haven’t even got started. And his ministry really didn’t explode until he was about over 60 years old. But he just kept going, hallelujah? And I believe there’s some powerful things that are gonna happen as we’re moving forward in the church here. I just have that sense that things are super strong. There is an underlying current of strength. An underlying current of the Holy Spirit. And there’s gonna be some major breakthrough that’s coming for us and I’m super excited about it.

 

  Amen. Praise God. Let’s go ahead in Verse 13.

 

  I love   yeah, in Verse 12 also it says we’re to imitate those people of faith. People of faith who are people of patience, we can imitate them. You don’t have to   you can just copy what other people are doing. If you know someone who just has a lifestyle of faith, who just lives it.

 

  You see the fruit of it in their life, you can just copy what they do. You know, you mentioned that you get up and read your Bible every morning. You’re a person of faith. That’s a great thing to imitate.

 

  To get up and read your Bible every day. Great people of faith are generous and that’s a great thing to imitate.

 

  Amen. Aaron, I’ve had some great mentors and friends that have helped me in the ministry and in business and a lot of times people come to me with business questions and I don’t know the answer, but I’ll tell them this. Proverbs 13:20 says “He that walks with wise men “will be wise, but a companion of fools will be destroyed.” Man, find some people who’ve done it. They haven’t had it just handed to them or given to them by another person, but they have got something, they’ve developed it. Find somebody like that and you know-

 

  Yeah, you’re gonna naturally imitate the people you’re around.

 

  So if maybe you’re in an environment, you know, maybe it’s at work or at a university, I was in a very, you know, secular university, so I was very careful that I always made sure I surround myself with other believers.

 

  Amen.

 

  Other people of faith.

 

  Otherwise you’ll just go along with the flow.

 

  So to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit their promises. Verse 13 of Hebrews Chapter Six says “For when God made a promise to Abraham, “because he could swear by no one greater, “he swore by himself saying surely blessing, “I will bless you, multiplying I will multiply you. “And so after he had patiently endured, “he obtained the promise.”

 

  You know, faith receives.

 

  Faith believes. Faith, you know, there’s action that corresponds with faith, but faith receives.

 

  You know, we need to receive the promises of God. Verse 16, “For men indeed swear by the greater “and an oath for confirmation is for them “an end of all dispute.”

 

  “But thus God determining to show more abundantly “to the heirs of promise the immutability “of His counsel confirmed it by enough that by two “immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, “we might have strong consolation “who have fled for refuge to lay hold “of the hope that’s set before.” So this is saying if God says it, that settles it.

 

  If it’s a word from God, it’s a true thing. God cannot lie and anything that God promises, it’s an oath unto himself.

 

  Amen. He says “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, “both sure and steadfast, that enters “into that within the veil.” We have hope in Jesus. And it enters in. “Where the forerunner is entered even Jesus, “who is made a high priest forever “after the order of Melchizedek.” Praise God. What he’s saying is when we put faith in God, and when we stay at it, it reaches into what Jesus has already accomplished. Jesus has already done the work. If Jesus hadn’t done the work. If grace hadn’t provided for us. Then faith really wouldn’t work. You know, the Bible says this in Galatians Chapter Five in Verse Six. He says, “In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision “nor uncircumcision avails anything. “It’s not by keeping the law or not keeping the law. “It’s not by what we do or what we don’t do, “but faith that works by love.” It’s by faith in Jesus. And faith works when we get a revelation of the love of God. When we understand that Jesus is the grace of God. And Jesus made everything available. And so he says when you keep believing, you’re entering into that that Jesus has already accomplished. You’re entering in to the finished work of Jesus. That’s powerful. You know, Jesus said three beautiful words in John Chapter 19, Verse 30 he said “It is finished.” The work has already been finished. Your forgiveness has already been paid for. God is not up in Heaven sweating bullets when you come to the altar and ask for forgiveness. For whatever you ask for about whether or not he’s gonna do it. He’s already paid for it. You know what? It’s just like the father with the prodigal son that went away. That father was looking down the road waiting. That son wasted his living with harlots. Lived like the devil. You know what, that father could’ve been mad at him, but that father was waiting for the day that he came home. And that son got in the pigpen. You know what, sin will take you to the pigpen if you let it. God doesn’t want you to go to the pigpen. But you know what? When that son came home, I’m talking to somebody right now. Somebody right now needs this. You’ve been living in the pigpen of life and it’s not because God did it to you. It’s because you did it to yourself. And did you know what? God is waiting. He is not mad at you. He loves you. He is waiting for you to come home. And so I’m telling you right now, come home. Come to God. But that father, man, was looking down the road and when he saw him, before the son could even get a confession of repentance out of his mouth. He already repented when he was in the pigpen. He said I’m gonna go home and say father, I’ve sinned against Heaven and in your sight. And the father, man, he ran to meet him. He embraced him. He put his   he said put the best robe on him. Put the ring on him. The ring talks about authority, about wealth. The robe talks about righteousness. Put shoes on his feet. Hallelujah. He said for my son which is dead is alive again. He’s come home. Let’s have a party. Kill the fatted calf. Glory to God, we need to be celebrating. Amen, Jesus. We need to be celebrating the love of the father. And so when we realize it’s not us, but it’s the grace of God, it will bring us into that relationship with the Father where we have authority, we have righteousness, we have places to go and things to do. People to see. Amen? And praise God, some of you think I failed God. Listen, we all fail. But thank God for grace. Thank God for Jesus. He’s waiting for you. Father’s waiting for you to come in. We’re gonna take a very short break. And we’re gonna come back right after this break and we’re gonna be moving in to Hebrews Chapter Seven and you don’t want to miss what we’re gonna be talking about. We’re gonna be talking about giving and, you know, we’re gonna talk about giving a tithe. A lot of you have been taught about paying tithes. This is not about paying tithes. This is the only scripture in the Bible. That says pay tithes, that says Levi paid tithes in Abraham and it is not talking about what Levi did. That is unscriptural. And we’re gonna talk about why it is unscriptural. You don’t want to miss this teaching. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be blessed, so stay tuned. Hi friends, I’m so glad that you’re watching today. I have my son Aaron with me and we’re teaching on the Book of Hebrews. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. And we have some great teaching available on our website CharisChristianCenter.com. It’s free of charge, downloadable. Hebrews: The Better Covenant, Hebrews: Jesus Makes Everything Better, and my book also Hebrews: The Better Covenant.

 

  When you know who he is! When you know that He’s your provider, and He’s your healer, and He’s your peace, and He’s your righteousness, and He’s your sanctification! When you know that He’s your provision! When you know that He’s with you! Praise God, when you know! You pray differently.

 

  Praise the Lord, friends. I’m glad you stayed with us. You’re gonna get some great teaching right here in Hebrews Chapter Seven. And Aaron, why don’t you go ahead and read this in Hebrews Seven Verse Two, one and two, and we’ll talk a little bit about it.

 

  It says “For this, Melchizedek, King of Salem, “priest of the most high God, who met Abraham “returning from the slaughter of the kings “and blessed him, to whom also “Abraham gave a tenth part of all, “first being translated king of righteousness, “and then also king of Salem, meaning king of priest.”

 

  Peace.

 

  I love that, you know, here in Hebrew Seven he’s bringing up the first time tithing is mentioned in scripture. The first time tithing is mentioned in scripture is in Genesis 14.

 

  This is after, you know, these enemy kings came and, you know, laid siege to Sodom and they they took all the people captive, they took all their goods away. They took Lot away. Abraham got all of his servants rounded up, 318 trained servants born in his house.

 

  Like a small army.

 

  A small army, and he went and fought these people, you know, beat them to a pulp, got all the goods, all the people came back.

 

  Amen.

 

  And Melchizedek came out and met him. So this is in Salem. This is, you know, where modern day Jerusalem is. So this priest, King Melchizedek, my king of righteousness, this king of peace came out to meet him, having bread and wine with him. It’s a picture of Jesus, a picture of-

 

  Covenant.

 

  Communion, a picture of covenant. And it said that Melchizedek blessed him saying “Blessed be Abraham of God most high, “the most high God, the possessor of Heaven and Earth. He blessed him and then it says that Abraham then, or Abram, he’s still Abram at the time, then gave a tenth of all, he gave a tithe of all. So it’s really important to notice that the blessing came first and then the tithe came after. You don’t tithe in order to try to get to be blessed.

 

  Right.

 

  You are already blessed, as a believer you are already blessed because Jesus is in you. You can’t get any more blessed than that.

 

  Amen.

 

  You can’t get any more blessed than having the spirit of Christ living on the inside of you. You being in him, his life being in you, you can’t be any more blessed than that. And when we give, it’s a response of faith. It’s saying I know that I’m blessed. I know that you’re gonna protect me. I know that you’re gonna provide for me. I know that you fight my battles for me. I know that you’re bringing me victory and that’s why I give a tithe.

 

  Amen.

 

  Because I believe that I’m blessed. That’s why I give a tithe.

 

  Amen.

 

  And then it says actually that then the King of Sodom came out afterward.

 

  Right.

 

  And said hey Abram, you can keep all the goods for yourself and Abram said no, I’m not gonna do that because I know there’s actually strings attached to what you’re trying to do.

 

  And he said this is gonna be my testimony. Abram said I don’t want people to say lest you say I made Abram rich.

 

  Abram wanted people to look at his life and realize that he was rich because of the blessing of the Lord. “The blessing of the Lord has made me rich “and added no sorrow to it.”

 

  That’s Proverbs 10:22.

 

  If the King of Sodom had made Abram rich there would be a lot of sorrow added to it.

 

  He didn’t want to have attachments to that King of Sodom.

 

  The blessing of the Lord makes you rich. You know, when people look at   I’m a tither, I’m a giver. I give, I tithe because I believe I’m blessed. I believe I have a covenant with God. I believe that He caress about my finances. And because I believe that I’m blessed that he’s gonna bring me increase, I give a tenth.

 

  I give a tenth of all. I’ve done that since I was a kid. I’ve done it, you know, growing up. I’ve done it in my young adult years. I still do it today. And I am supernaturally blessed and no one can say that I made Aaron rich.

 

  No professor can say I made Aaron rich. No King of Sodom can say I made Aaron rich. No boss can even say I made Aaron rich. When people look at my life they’re gonna say only God could have done this.

 

  Amen. God is the one who blesses us and you know, I love this, Aaron. In fact, when we went to see you at Rice University you had a sign on your bed. And it comes from Genesis 14. It’s also in Psalm 115:15, it says “I’m blessed by the most high God, “the possessor of Heaven and Earth.” And I rejoiced when I saw that because I knew that you were believing God. And you know, God supernaturally, while you were in college full time, you had college debt and you believed God and you were giving and God supernaturally helped you pay off all your college debt in like one year.

 

  Some people are looking to the King of Sodom to pay off their debt. Some people are looking to Bernie Sanders to pay off their debts or Joe Biden and, you know, there’s gonna be strings attached to that.

 

  Well when you put your trust in the world system. You know what, if there’s some system out there and you receive something, that’s not a problem, but don’t put your trust in it.

 

  You need to trust in God ultimately.

 

  Put your trust in God. You know, notice it says Abraham, this is the first time tithing’s mentioned in the scriptures, and it doesn’t say that Abraham paid tithes. It said Abraham gave a tenth part of all. He gave it. You know, I give a tenth, but I don’t only give a tenth. Your mom and I, we’ve kind of done the math and we’ve given about 30% of our income. Over the last 40 years that we’ve been married. And did you know what? Our net worth is about three times all the money that we’ve made and there is no natural way that that makes sense. That is supernatural. And you know what? That is what God has done. Now Aaron, go ahead and read in Verse Three and Verse Four. And share from that.

 

  So it says, this is speaking about Melchizedek who is “without father, without mother, “without genealogy, having neither “beginning of days nor end of life, “but may, like the son of God, remains a priest continually. “Now consider how great this man was to whom “even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.”

 

  Again.

 

  He’s saying that this priestly order of Melchizedek is greater than the priestly order of Levi.

 

  Right. And what he’s going on to say here is because we have a better covenant, we have to have a better priesthood. And the Levitical priesthood, since we have a better covenant, will no longer work. And so he goes on and then begins to say this. “Verily, those who are the sons of Levi “who receive the office of the priesthood “have a commandment to take tithes of the people “according to the law, that is their brethren, “though they come out of the loins of Abraham. “But he whose descent is not counted from them,” this is talking about Jesus. “Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham “and blessed him that had the promises.” Melchizedek received tithes from Abraham and he blessed Abraham who had the promises. We’re blessed because we got the covenant. Amen, we’re blessed because we have the promises. “And without all contradiction, “the less is blessed of the better.” Abraham was less, right? And he was blessed by the better Melchizedek. “Here men that die,” he’s talking about the Levitical priesthood again. “Receive tithes,” this is Hebrews Seven in Verse Eight, “but there he receives them of whom it is witness that they live.” Now here is number one reason that I want a tithe. Because Jesus receives my tithe. Praise God, I am a tither. I give far beyond a tithe. We about triple, right? We give tithes, offering alms, special offer, we give all the time. Amen, and you cannot beat God given. This church gives all the time. And you know what? It’s supernatural. We gave 30% of the income the first six months of the year. I just looked at the books. And then we’re exploding. God is helping us. Hallelujah, He’s helping us so many ways. He says. He says “Of its witness that he lives, “as this I may say Levi who received “tithes paid ties in Abraham,” now get this. This is the only time in the scripture that the Bible says that somebody paid tithes. And it’s not talking about what Levi did! It’s talking about what Abram did! Abram gave a tenth to Melchizedek! And Abram’s gift, Abram’s tenth, Abram’s tithe satisfied the debt of many generations. But Jesus gave everything and Jesus’ gift has settled the debt of every generation! So I am not giving to God out of a sense of a debt that I owe, but I’m giving to God out of a sense of seed that I’m sowing! I am a tither! I am a giver and I’m blessed by the most high God. But I am not giving out of debt and I don’t want anybody in my church giving out of a sense of debt. I want them to give out of a sense that man, I am blessed by the most high God just exactly like you’re saying. In the beginning. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham gave. That was the order. And I give because I’m blessed. Hallelujah, now get this. He says “Here men die and receive tithes, “but there he receives them of whom “it’s witnessed that he lives. “Levi who received tithes paid tithes in Abraham.” Because he was in the loins of Abraham. So Abraham’s gift settled the debt. Of many generations, but Jesus’ gift settled the debt of every generation. And I’m here to tell you you are not cursed if you don’t tithe. Jesus redeemed us from the curse. But you are limiting the blessing of God in your own life if you don’t get involved in tithing, in giving and receiving and seed time and harvest, you are limiting God by your own lack of faith. Amen? And so he says this. “For he was in the loins of his father “when Melchizedek met him.” Praise God, I hope you received something good from that. Friends, I’m glad that you’re here today. Praise God. I’m gonna share about this because you know what? There is a supernatural anointing of increase on our ministry. And God has blessed this ministry and God has helped us. But not only that, people who come into relationship with us and who partner with us have had supernatural increase come on them. Praise God. And you know what? I believe that if you get connected with this ministry in giving and receiving, and I’m not, I don’t care whether it’s $5, $500, 5,000, of course I like greater amounts because we can do more, but for you it’s not about the amount. It’s about the percentage. And when you get involved in giving you also get involved in receiving. So if you are not a partner with Charis Christian Center and Grace For Today, I encourage you to pray about it. And I believe if you’ll get involved as a partner with this ministry that God will bring increase in your life. You know what? We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. We spend nearly a million dollars a year in staff. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on television time and different ministry outreaches. We give away over $500,000. We’re supporting missions and ministries all over the world. And you know what? When you’re sowing into this ministry you’re sowing into a life-giving ministry and there’s a blessing on this ministry. And I want to encourage you, if you’re not partnering, to become a partner. I want to say a great big thanks to all the partners. For all that you’ve been doing to help us do this. You know, we literally have hundreds and hundreds of hours of teaching and videos downloadable on the internet that are free of charge. And you know what? We want you to get them. Also, if you’re ever in the Colorado Springs area on a Sunday we would love to have you at Charis Christian Center. Currently we have services at 8:30 and 10:30 in the morning. We have services on Wednesday evening also. And we live stream all these services. And you can go to our website, charischristiancenter.com. You can get all of this free teaching. You can get the live stream. Praise God, you can get all these different things and if you want to become a partner just give us a call, or if you need prayer we’d love to hear from you today.

 

  In the Hebrews package, which includes Hebrews: The Better Covenant and Hebrews: Jesus Changes Everything, you’ll learn how the new covenant is better than the old simply because of Jesus. We’d like to bless you with a digital copy of each teaching. A $70 value free of charge. You can also order the book Hebrews: The Better Covenant for 9.99. Download your free teachings and purchase the book today at careschristiancenter.com.

 

  Hey everyone. My good friend Jesse Duplantis is gonna be here Sunday, November 5th at 6:30 PM at Charis Christian Center in Colorado Springs. You don’t want to miss it!

 

  You let God do what He wants. And He’ll bless you beyond your wildest dreams spiritually, physically and financially.

 

  Come be encouraged with the word of God in Brother Jesse Duplantis Sunday, November 5th at Charis Christian Center.

 

  Thanks for watching Grace For Today. This broadcast has been made possible by our faithful partners. If you would like to become a partner, need prayer, or have a question, please call us at 719-418-4000. Or to partner online, go to charischristiancenter.com/give. You can write us at PO Box 63733, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80962. See you next time on Grace For Today.