Scripture reference: Matthew 5:23-26 (NKJV); Job 1:1-5 (NKJV); Malachi 3:1-5 NKJV); Revelation 19:11 (NKJV); Genesis 18:23-26 (NKJV); Genesis 18:28-29 (NKJV); Genesis 18:32-33 (NKJV)
Pastor Sharon: Hello, everybody! It took us a little while to know that we’re live [laughter].
Pastor Christi: Good morning. Yes, we did.
Pastor Sharon: We are coming to you live from the auditorium. It is our privilege before God, actually.
Pastor Christi: Yes, Pastor Sharon, before God.
Pastor Sharon: Before God, we want to state, Pastor Christi and I, that it is our privilege to be able to minister to you His Word that He has brought to our hearts for His people at this time. So, we are continuing from where the Lord had us go last week, Pastor Christi.
I wanted to say something, to all of the Heritage of Faith people; those of you that are going to take the responsibility, because it’s in your heart to take the responsibility to get this revelation for yourselves. That includes all the Witbank people, it includes the Lenasia people, it includes the Diepsloot people, you can actually go and listen to all three of Pastor Christi’s messages that she ministered in Joburg. Every disciple can do that. That’s just a fact, Pastor Christi.
Pastor Christi: It’s just a fact. Yes, it is.
Pastor Sharon: Because I have my foot in the three messages that God had you bring to Johannesburg. I’ve got it here in front of me. I can’t get out of it. God gives me revelation upon revelation as my foot is in the message. Somebody else said to me yesterday, Pastor Christi, “You know, Pastor Sharon, not only do I have my foot in the message, I’ve got my ear in the message, I’ve got my heart in the message, I’ve got my whole being in the message, Pastor Sharon.” I said, “Foot, heart, ear…” and he said to me, “And my eyes.”
Pastor Christi: Powerful!
Pastor Sharon: I said, “Your whole being is in the message.” That’s how I feel about these three messages you ministered in Johannesburg, because, Pastor Christi, these are not your words.
Pastor Christi: No, it’s not.
Pastor Sharon: You are God’s delegated authority under Pastor John and Pastor John recognised that the Spirit of God was speaking to you very specifically and giving you revelation that compliments and on the back of everything that God has been saying through Pastor John and I. The next block of messages after I Will Take The Children, He’s saying now, “I will take all your other stuff, too.”
Pastor Christi: That’s exactly what He’s saying. You’re right, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: Can I or can’t I? Do I have access or don’t I?
Pastor Christi: That’s what He wants to know. Absolutely. After you and Pastor John started the second block of messages, I mean, the moment I started to put my foot in the message, He took complete hold of me and flooded me with these words – it’s not my words.
Pastor Sharon: Yes. No, they’re not your words. Pastor John and I have a full recognition of that; that when Pastor John receives revelation, I have a full recognition that these revelations are not coming from himself. I know they’re coming from God. I’m immediately listening to what the Spirit of God is saying to this church.
Pastor Christi: That’s right, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: And you’re doing the same thing and that’s what it is about in this local church; that we have ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches. The Spirit of God has been speaking to Pastor Christi and, Pastor John and I, I think last week Pastor John said to me, “I’ve listened to Pastor Christi’s messages three times.” You see? We submit to one another out of fear of the Lord, out of reverence for the Lord. We understand God’s pattern here and how God works. Glory to God.
Pastor Christi: We understand His pattern.
Pastor Sharon: Oh, we understand that the Spirit of God is speaking to His churches. Whoever has ears to hear and we know that Pastor John is putting his ear to the mouth of God, very closely and I’m right there, hot on his heels, putting my spiritual ear very closely to the mouth of God. Pastor Christi as well, putting her ear very closely to the mouth of God because that’s what the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, Pastor Christi, in the book of Acts. He had that gentleman that had to lead him when he was blind and say this to Apostle Paul, “God has called you to see His face, to hear a voice from His lips, a message from His mouth, and then speak that.” That’s God’s pattern for any spiritual leader, to get into His presence to see Him, to then hear Him and then say what they hear Him say.
That’s, actually, the only way that the Church is going to rise up now because God is not speaking the same to other local churches as He is speaking to us. If you have a look in the book of Revelation and see the letters that Jesus sent to the messengers, the spiritual leaders of every different church; every letter was different, every instruction was different, every understanding of Jesus of the church was different. He didn’t tell the one messenger to go and copy the other message. You don’t have to read the message I’m writing to your church, go and see what I gave to Smyrna, go and see what I gave to Thyatira, Not at all. Those letters were given and written very personally, to every spiritual leader of the local church.
Pastor Christi: That’s right. That’s right Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: And that’s still His pattern today.
Pastor Christi: Still His pattern today.
Pastor Sharon: It will never change. For us to be trying to listen to everything God is doing everywhere in every local church is out of God’s order.
Pastor Christi: It’s out of order, Pastor Sharon. God feeds us in this house. That’s why we put our foot in the message.
Pastor Sharon: Pastor Christi, last week, we went into detail about ecclesia. You know that it’s governmental. It’s legislative. It’s judicial. We made a very good start. But today we are going to go to motives of giving. We went last week to James.
Pastor Christi: We just touched on it.
Pastor Sharon: We touched on James.
Pastor Christi: That your money has a voice. That’s right we’ve established that. We established that.
Pastor Sharon: And so now we’re going to look at motives for giving and we’re going to continue actually to show you how, how your motive for giving speaks to God, the voice continues to speak to God.
Pastor Christi: It does.
Pastor Sharon: And your motive for giving. How absolutely crucial it is to what God is able to do through an Ecclesia.
Pastor Christi: So, Pastor Sharon, At Once, we’re going to dive in.
We’re going to dive in with you at home, at once. Please get your Bibles, if you don’t have it, go and get it. Your iPad, your own iPhone, please see these scriptures. We heard what God is saying to us, as a people, that God is speaking to us through His scriptures and we let Him do that. Open your Bibles, please at Matthew, chapter five, verse 23. What is so wonderful about this passage of Scripture, and afterwards you can go and read all of it, but I’m reading from the New King James. Even in my New King James, it has a heading to say, “Murder begins in the heart,” because we’re going to talk about the heart here, Pastor Sharon.
Motives, it is just touching on murder. In chapter five, verse 22, talks about anger, but we go to verse 23 today, to start and have a look at motives. Now, we’re talking about the condition of the heart, but let’s see what the Word of God is saying.
23Therefore if you bring your gift, it’s talking about an offering, to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, the Word says in verse 24, 24leave your gift. Pastor Sharon just said it. Don’t give your gift because whatever is in your heart will testify about the reason and motives in your heart, Pastor Sharon. It will testify.
Pastor Sharon: Yes, and God knows why you’re giving, not only what but He knows why. He knows the motives of the heart of giving. There are very specific motives He’s looking for in order for Him to receive the offering.
Pastor Christi: The Word says, 24leave your gift, your offering, there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. God is opening up for us the importance of the motives of our hearts. Just before we go to our next scripture, I want to show you, verse 25, says, 25Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge (Matthew 5:23-25 NKJV).
Now Pastor Sharon, last week, we read James five, that says, your gold and your silver. The way you hoard up for yourself. This you give, maybe not with the right motive and this you keep, but it testifies against you. Isn’t it so powerful, that God is connecting the judicial, that what can testify against your heart, He brings it in, right here in this Scripture?
Pastor Sharon: Yes, because here I am, I’ve got something in my heart against or I’ve got a wrong motive and God’s saying, “Don’t give it.” Because the judge, it’ll have to be judged. It has to be judged if you give with the wrong motive. So again, the fact that the Bible talks about the adversary, is something that is accusing. To show you, “No, no, no.” That reason, or the what or the how you are bringing it, is not in order.
Pastor Sharon: You know, it’s the same accuser. I know we’re going to go there, but it’s the same accuser, that stood before God, because God said, “What are you doing here?” He said, “Oh, Job”… And God had to allow the judgment to come to Job because of Job’s motives of giving.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely. Which was wrong, and we’re going to read it right now.
Pastor Sharon: And we’re going to read it.
Pastor Christi: Because as we finish with Matthew 5 verse 26, please go and have your Bibles there with you, and verse 26. It’s exactly what you’ve said, look what the Word says. 26Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:26 NKJV) When the wrong motives and your giving are testifying against you, you’re not going to get out of that thing. If you do not make it right.
Pastor Sharon: Verse 25, says 25 …the judge hand you over to the officer. So, your adversary delivers you to the judge… Who is God. Ecclesia is legislative, judicial. Okay.
Pastor Christi: Government of God.
Pastor Sharon: Yeah. 25… the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. I say to you, you are not going to get out of prison until you have paid the last penny. 26Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:25-26 NKJV) Until you’ve absolutely changed your inside to repent and turn around and change the motives of your heart to your own choice.
Pastor Christi: And not change your giving first, change the motives first. This is very big. This is because of what’s in your heart, James 5, that is testifying against you, it’s because of what’s in your heart.
Matthew 5, is because of what’s in your heart and now we’re going to and please go with us to Job chapter 1. Pastor Sharon again, we’re going to look at the motives of Job’s heart here.
Pastor Sharon: Yah, yah, and why he had to be handed over to the adversary to be judged.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely. Now, in Job chapter 1, then of course and what a wonderful thing and that’s important for us as believers as well. Job one verse one says, “Job..”
Pastor Sharon: And you’re doing the Message Bible here, Pastor Christi?
Pastor Christi: No, I’m back, Pastor Sharon, apologies for that. I’m back in the New King James. I’m back in the New King James, 1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God. (Job 1:1 NKJV)
That Job was a blameless and upright man fearing God. The same with us. We fear God here first, with our finances. It’s not to say that we cannot have wrong motives concerning anything in our lives. That’s very important Pastor Sharon. We’re sons of God. We are sons of God but we have to check our motives all the time.
Pastor Sharon: And he feared God. But there are measures of fearing God, and ignorance …
Pastor Christi: It’s no excuse.
Pastor Christi: No, Pastor Sharon, it’s no excuse. We have God’s word, and especially to what happened to Job here, Pastor Sharon, you’ve ministered on fear a lot. In the second verse, we read Job had 2And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. (Job 1:2 NKJV) I’m going to skip the third verse, it’s talking about the wonderful possessions that Job had. And then verse four is very important.
4And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink, to come and party, with them. Listen to verse 5. 5So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings, here Job is coming with offerings. Now we’re going to see why he is coming with offerings. … according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be, it wasn’t the case, Pastor Sharon, he wasn’t sure. Fear entered his heart. “It may be my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly. (Job 1:4-5 NKJV)
Job did this on a regular basis. Fear entered his heart, fear entered Job’s heart. So, what happened here, Pastor Sharon? He said, “Maybe.” You know, Pastor John and you, have ministered so many times that fear is a sin. He feared, maybe they are sinning. How many times do people come with their offerings like Job, Pastor Sharon, to manipulate?
Pastor Sharon: To manipulate.
Pastor Christi: And to actually try to buy God off?
Pastor Sharon: Yes, and to placate.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely.
Pastor Sharon: Placate God. “I hope this offering is okay. I hope this offering is okay, so that evil can’t come near me?”
Pastor Christi: That’s right. Many people do that. You know, Pastor Sharon I’ve witnessed where people, something’s going on with their children. There’s fear and anxiety about what’s happening and going around, their children. Some people made a business move, some people have bought property, but they don’t have peace in their hearts. I’ve seen this, then they come with an offering.
Pastor Sharon: Yes, and now God must accept it?
Pastor Christi: Now they think that God must accept it. You have mentioned it earlier Pastor Sharon, again, it’s the third passage of scripture that says and we will get there, that not all offerings are accepted to God and immediately with this fear and Job trying to bring God an offering, to buy God off, to manipulate Him. Immediately, the accuser is arriving on the scene.
Pastor Sharon: Because he may, because Job gave him the right. Because he should not have given that offering. Like that scripture in Matthew that we read, “Leave your offering.”
Pastor Christi: Leave your offering.
Pastor Sharon: Don’t give it. Sort this thing out with God first before you give it. Get your heart right with God there. “You know what to do with fear Job.”
Pastor Christi: You know what to do with fear. You are a righteous man before God. You know what to do with fear. You know how to come to God.
Pastor Sharon: You know, Pastor Christi, I recently read something about Charles Finney in his books. You know, that book that I’m, I’ve been in for so many years. My boys were still very little when the Lord said to me He wants me to hold of that book on revival.
He says, “Parents pray fear prayers to God for their children and think that God must hear them. Instead of saying to God”, “God, I’m asking You to judge this. My children are rebellious. They are rebelling against You, Lord. I’m asking You, to bring judgment to them.
Pastor Christi: Pastor Sharon, that’s powerful.
Pastor Sharon: I’m asking You to move quickly, Lord. I’m asking You, you know.” What Charles Finney says, instead of siding on God’s side, in prayer for their children, they side with their children… To God, out of their soul and out of emotion, not spiritual at all. It’s not judicial. It’s not judicial. You have to go to God in prayer for your children on the basis of their word. You have to do like Abigail said, “My husband is like this.” Call it what it is. My child is rebellious. My child is rebelling against You, Lord. Now forgive me for the bad example I’ve set for my child. Lord, I’ve got to fix some things up here.” So, Charles Finney said that’s the wrong motive for prayer.
Pastor Christi: It’s the wrong motive for prayer and it’s the wrong motive for giving, Pastor Sharon. You’re quite right. Job sided with his children, where he had to face it and judge it to be wrong. Children, kids, your partying, and what you are doing is wrong, but you can’t cover it up.
Pastor Sharon: No, you can’t sugarcoat it.
Pastor Christi: You can’t sugarcoat it, Pastor Sharon. Not things with your children, not things in business. Not where you want to buy property, and have your self-will and things, and then come and try to see, if you can just give an offering to God, then this will make it all right.
Pastor Sharon: And give a little prayer and a little offering.
Pastor Christi: No, this is very wrong. We cannot do it, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: And God does not receive it because it’s not judicial. It’s not according to the law.
Pastor Christi: No, it’s not. We cannot be lawless.
Pastor Sharon: We cannot be lawless in anything. In anything.
Pastor Christi: In anything. That’s very very important for us to understand here.
Pastor Sharon: Yes, we have to come on the basis of the Word, Christi.
Pastor Christi: Every single time. Pastor Sharon, this is our second example of motives, wrong motives and then it will testify against you. We see it in James, we see it in Matthew, we see it in the book of Job. Then, Pastor Sharon, we are going to the book of Malachi because we are really going to take a closer look at motives.
Pastor Sharon: Yes. Pastor Christi before we go there I want to just read something that you said here in your message. Our money is speaking. You are not just an individual in the Church and not touching the body of Christ. Everything about my and your life is individual and corporate, and you can never ever separate the two from one another. I want to show you today, how God opened this up to me to say that we must be very careful, what we are doing in the local Church, in the local ecclesia because we have a great impact on one another.
Pastor Christi: That’s right Pastor Sharon, that’s very important.
Pastor Sharon: In the place where we are planted. This is huge… Our money is speaking in this local Church, people. This is a huge revelation. I’m just quoting you. That God has for all of us in this local Church. Everything that we do, not only impacts you and me personally but also corporately and the place we represent. It’s important where we are planted because we represent that place and we have authority in that place. Then you went to Malachi 3.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely Pastor Sharon. We have jurisdiction in this place.
Pastor Sharon: We have jurisdiction here because the Lord Jesus said to Pastor John, “It’s a time and a place in Witbank. You move to Witbank. You are to go to Witbank.” Brother Jerry, I think that was Brother Jerry that witnessed with it. He heard from the Lord about it and said, “John, you’re supposed to take that Church and you’re supposed to call it Heritage of Faith.” At the same time, Brother Jerry started the Church, twenty years ago, and so this is where we have jurisdiction. This is where we exercise our governmental, judicial, legal rights.
Pastor Christi: Yes, every single day.
Pastor Sharon: In everything that we do in this local church gives God access or gives Him no access.
Pastor Christi: That’s exactly right, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: He wants to take the city.
Pastor Christi: He wants to take the city and it’s not only affecting your own personal life, but everyone. We know this for twenty years since Pastor John and you started here, Pastor Sharon. You cannot separate your personal life from your corporate life, from the collective greatness. What you do is influencing one another and then of cause the city.
Pastor Sharon: Look how Joshua made that very clear to the one tribe. Oh, you think you can stay here now and have all of this land and do all of this. No, let me tell you what you’re going to do. You are going to go over and you’re going to go with all your brothers and all your sisters to make sure and be with them, while they take what belongs to them. At a time of possessing and of occupation, where God was giving. Nobody could just take what they wanted for themselves. You cannot go into the promised land and just take what you want for yourself. If you are living like that, you are not entering into the promised land. It’s not God’s pattern. It’s not God’s principles.
Pastor Christi: We will go very, very deep.
Pastor Sharon: We’re going to Malachi.
Pastor Christi: We’re going to go to Malachi because Pastor Sharon, we have that powerful pattern in the book of Joshua, how to go into the promised land. And Jericho is part of that.
Jericho is always, the Lord said to me, it’s now almost five years. He said to me, “Christi, you know, that I take every child of mine out of the world system and I lead them with the promises of God into the promised land.” He said to me, “But there’s a Jericho for every single child of mine,” and we are going to talk about that. And then like you said, you can’t take for yourself, sit back and think it’s not affecting the other tribes.
Pastor Sharon: Look what Achan did, he took for himself and it affected the whole nation; the whole corporate body. And then in taking Ai, the next city, it caused them defeat. What we are doing personally is affecting all of us and our city and this is a very, very big part of what God wants to bring to us as a people to understand.
Pastor Sharon: Heritage of Faith people, it is your responsibility, young people, middle-aged people, older people, it is your responsibility to get this revelation of what God is saying to us now. Let’s go to Malachi.
Pastor Christi: We go to Malachi chapter 3 and we’re going to read from verse 1. ¹” Behold, I send My messenger, now Pastor Sharon, just right there, the prophet Malachi is saying immediately if you read closer to what the Hebrew language is saying, is exactly what you brought to us, what God is saying in Revelation, where He’s speaking to the pastors of a Church, to local Churches. He sends His messenger to all the different ecclesia’s, to that church, to make it very clear. To make the message very clear, that they can repent, that they can move forward to receive from God, what they’ve got to receive. ¹Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. This is very interesting, And the Lord, whom you seek, Pastor Sharon the Hebrew there, the Lord whom you seek, it actually says the God of Justice. It’s the correct Hebrew word.
Pastor Sharon: The God of Justice whom you seek. Christi, are we not seeking the God of Justice?
Pastor Christi: We are seeking Him and not chasing. We are seeking Him for everything.
Pastor Sharon: We are seeking the God of Justice.
Pastor Christi: That’s why He wants us to really go and fully talk about the Ecclesia and motives of the heart. Actually everything concerning finances here. Then He says, 1Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. Now, pastor Sharon, in message number 8, in I will take the children, you ministered very powerful on Malachi 3. ²“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire. (Malachi 3:1-2 NKJV) He sends His Word to us like fire. He does this with all the messengers. So, in this block of messages, it’s happening again.
Pastor Sharon: It is happening again.
Pastor Christi: It is happening again. He sends His Words to us like fire, to purify our hearts.
Pastor Sharon: To purify our hearts.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely. That’s the desire of His heart. And then of course you have explained to us, what launderers or fuller soap means. It was that wonderful or specific kind of soap, that they washed their garments with, but they had to…
Pastor Sharon: Rub it.
Pastor Christi: Rub it hard, tramp on it, actually.
Pastor Sharon: Tramp on it to get everything out.
Pastor Christi: And this is what God is doing here. Scripture is speaking to tramp there, right in our hearts. To deal with the motives, and to get it out. To see it and to get it out and repent, and see it and get it out. This is everything that He is saying to us.
Pastor Sharon: It is everything that He is saying to us and it is everything that you do because the power of His Word can do it but only for the heart that wants Him to.
Pastor Christi: That wants Him to.
Pastor Sharon: That receives the scriptures.
Pastor Christi: Yes.
Pastor Sharon: That falls on the rock. That falls on – is not My Word like a hammer that smashes in pieces – the rock of the stubborn resistance in me. We have to fall on these messages, Christi.
Pastor Christi: Fall on these messages, and we are still talking about the motives of the heart. We’re talking about the heart here. Yes, and then I want you to see verse 3 is very important here. ³He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them… Well, He is doing it today with us, He is purifying our hearts with these messages… as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord. And this is what we’re after, we want the switch from the wrong motives to the right motives because we love God. We put Him first, and we worship Him. We want that switch from James 5, from where we have come in the scriptures to say, God, I want You to come… offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness (Malachi 3:3 NKJV).
Because you hear the messages and the Word of God is bringing forth right doing and righteousness.
Pastor Sharon: Yes. This is what God is after. Righteous motives of giving and for giving.
Pastor Christi: And for giving, Pastor Sharon. He desires this and He wants us as a people to get to this place. I want to read something here, Pastor Sharon, that is from where we coming in James 5. What the Hebrew is saying.
Pastor Sharon: Just remind us about James 5 again.
Pastor Christi: James 5 says, your silver and your gold, the corrosion of your silver and gold testifies against you. So, already it talks about you rich people that’s hoarding up for yourself. Wrong motives.
Pastor Sharon: Yah. You’ve heaped up treasure for yourself for the last days and the cries of the labourers are coming into the ears of God… And what you’re not giving. And how you’re giving is testifying against you.
Pastor Christi: That’s right, Pastor Sharon. Listen to verse 3, the deeper meaning of verse three. This verse is talking about, as a judge, sits in judgment and carefully examines the deeds of all parties. To determine who is guilty and who is innocent. This is what verse 3 means. Listen to this, because God wants to remove those who wickedly presented loathsome, highly offensive offerings. This, when you come to seek the God of Justice, He says, “In my heart, I want to remove these people who bring wickedly presented, loathsome, highly offensive offerings.
Pastor Sharon: I mean Cain’s offering was highly offensive to God.
Pastor Christi: Highly offensive.
Pastor Sharon: Ananias and Sapphira’s offering was highly offensive to God. He removed them.
Pastor Christi: He removed them.
Pastor Sharon: He removed them.
Pastor Christi: That’s what it says to remove those.
Pastor Sharon: Yes.
Pastor Christi: And thereby scorned God’s name. That’s what he said to the Israelites. What do you think you’re doing? That’s why everything you do, your activities, you’re giving, in your speaking, it testifies.
Pastor Sharon: You’re selling, you’re buying.
Pastor Christi: You’re buying. You’re hoarding up for yourself.
Pastor Sharon: You’re hoarding up.
Pastor Christi: Yes, yes. I want to remove those highly offensive kinds of offerings. That is what is making verse 3 so big.
Pastor Sharon: You know what’s powerful for me, Pastor Christi, because God is bringing this Word, we can really seek the God of Justice now and say, do that, Lord.
Pastor Christi: We can, Pastor Sharon, we can.
Pastor Sharon: And that is exactly what Pastor John and I and you will be doing and Pastor Garth. And many of the true disciples here will be saying.
Pastor Christi: Do that.
Pastor Sharon: We seek the God of Justice, to do this. Because we need to, we’re going to get there.
Pastor Christi: We’re going to get there.
Pastor Sharon: We need to be able to take a city so that Satan doesn’t take it and cause it to become a Sodom and Gomorrah.
Pastor Christi: Correct. And that Achan’s around us will not prevent us from not being able to take a city. It’s real, it’s the Word of God.
Pastor Sharon: That Achan’s around us could be dealt with by You, the God, the judge of all. And Achan’s among us, are people that take things for themselves and God can only touch that but not this; this I keep for myself and I hide it amongst my own stuff. He is really purifying our hearts.
Pastor Christi: He is purifying our hearts, Pastor Sharon and he wants us to go there.
Pastor Sharon: I must tell you, right now, and I was wondering if God would let me say it, but I must tell you that, right now. God is dealing with me very personally, on a very personal level, and He’s touched something in my life that He requires of me to offer. I had to, I’m busy saying to Him, You have to help me here. You have to help me to give this with the right heart and the right motive.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely, with the righteous motive.
Pastor Sharon: You have to help me be cheerful, joyful because that’s the only kind of offering that You can receive.
Pastor Christi: Cheerful giver.
Pastor Sharon: Pure motives, willing heart like a little child.
Pastor Christi: Like a little child coming.
Pastor Sharon: Yes, He loves a cheerful, joyous prompt to do it giver whose heart is in his giving.
Pastor Christi: His heart with pure motives, is in his giving because we love God, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: This for all of us, Pastor Christi, not one of us are exempt. Not Pastor John, not me. This Word comes to all of us. When Jesus was writing those letters to the church in Revelation, it was to the messenger and the assembly. All of the elders, all of the deacons, everybody in the church. When God spoke to people, He expected Joshua, He expected Moses to obey.
Pastor Christi: He expected Moses to obey.
Pastor Sharon: As well as the people.
Pastor Christi: Yes, He did. The Bible is very clear, the scriptures are very clear, that Moses brought himself—when people brought with a willing heart. Moses brought with a willing heart. Pastor Sharon and we are going there by the grace of God. Because I’ve said it when we have started, Pastor Sharon. It’s, I would say, plus-minus five years, where I am with God because of the messages. Not because of anything else, because I’ve put my foot in the message for twenty years. Five years ago, the Lord said to me, so what’s happening here with you, Pastor Sharon is going to happen with all of us.
The Lord said to me, Christi, I do want my people to occupy the promised land. I want them to occupy. But Jericho will come. That kind, of giving with a pure heart, will come, Pastor Sharon, it’s not going to skip a person.
Pastor Sharon: It’s not skipping one person.
Pastor Christi: Not skipping one person, Pastor Sharon, it will be different things for us. But the Lord said to me the law of firsts, we’re going to look at it and I believe in the next session. But Jericho is part of the law first, of giving that kind of first fruits.
Pastor Sharon: And you know, Pastor Christi, when I was looking up one of the meanings of first fruits it’s also got the distinct interpretation, that it’s at the beginning of a time period. A new era. So, that the rest can be blessed, going into the brand new era.
Pastor Christi: We’re going to see if the root is holy, the whole lump is holy. Pastor Sharon, this is what God has for us, entering the new era and He takes us. He’s taking us, He’s taking us, He wants to take us with these messages.
Pastor Sharon shared it so beautifully with us last week. Pastor Sharon, this is our rich, young man, rich young ruler opportunity. God wanted to take him, Pastor Sharon. I am just going to read this very quickly, the words that Pastor Sharon shared with us because your spiritual ear must listen and hear this. God wanted to take the rich young ruler into another realm, a spirit realm of occupation in the Kingdom of God. God was going to show him what the true wealth, what the true wealth was that God could bring him. This is what God wants to do with all of us. This is our opportunity, Pastor Sharon, in a new era, this is an entering in and a going in, this is exactly what God is doing here. It’s exactly what God is doing here.
Pastor Sharon: Precisely, exactly, certainly, right now.
Pastor Christi: Right now, at once, at once, at once, He is doing this now, yes. Pastor Sharon, back in Malachi chapter 3. If we, then repent, make the changes, look at the motives in our hearts, really let the scripture speak to us. The Word of God, that is alive, piercing and penetrating our heart, exposing these motives, if we then do come with the right motives in our hearts, to be led by the Holy Spirit to bring. Then the Word says in verse 4, 4Then the offering of Judah, in this case in Jerusalem, Will be pleasant to the Lord… (Malachi 3:4 NKJV). This is verse 4, it will be pleasant to the Lord.
Now we come to a very, very important part of the message. When God receives Pastor Sharon, these gifts with the right motives in our hearts, to come and bring righteous gifts, He says in verse 5, you can read in your Bible, then God says, 5And I will come near for judgment; I will be a swift witness … (Malachi 3:5 NKJV). We are back Pastor Sharon, to judicial talk. Because again, God says, “I want your giving to have the right testimony connected to it because then I will come onto the scene. Because of your righteous giving.”
Pastor Sharon: Because of your righteous offerings, because they are so right, your heart is so right, your righteous offerings, this, it speaks to Me. I know how you are giving, and it’s speaking to Me, and it’s right. And I accept it and I receive it. And because of that, I can come now with judgment.
Pastor Christi: Judgment, immediately. There is not just a judgment when you have wrong motives and it testifies against you. When you come with the right motives and God hears and sees, He also comes to judge.
Pastor Sharon: Yes, He comes to judge now, for life, for abundance, for everything in the promised land, for the blessings.
Pastor Christi: So, that we can occupy the promised land.
Pastor Sharon: And everything that’s preventing anybody, He will come for judgment, now I’m gonna jump ahead of myself.
Pastor Christi: But you are quite right.
Ps Sharon: He finds the righteous, enough righteous, and He will remove, and He will come suddenly to His temple, swiftly He will remove those with the loathsome yes, with the loathsome, highly offensive offerings. They are not loathsome and we don’t know, no, they are not highly loathsome and offensive to us. They’re highly offensive and loathsome to God because He knows the heart and the reason why. He knows everything about why you are giving.
Pastor Christi: He knows everything. He removes, like you said, Ananias and Sapphira, He removes the Achan’s, we do not want them among us, because our heart is with God, to go in. That’s right. Yes, pastor Sharon. When we come, when we hear what God is saying to us, and we do repent, then God is very pleased with offerings like this.
Stay with us in verse 5. 5And I will come near you for judgment and to be a swift witness. God Himself, what, what will He do? I will come against sorceress. I will come against adulterers. I will come against people that is swearing false, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans (Malachi 3:5 NKJV). He will come against the working, Pastor Sharon, against the dark workings that are coming against the purposes of God in our community, in our city, around us. He comes to be a judge and to be a swift witness. He’s speaking as a judge here.
Pastor Sharon: Yes. He’s speaking as a judge here and a powerful thing you said here, is “I will be swift to witness against these things that are happening in your community.”
Pastor Christi: Yes, in your communities, that’s quite right Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: I will come near to you with judgement rendering a verdict, says God. He will clear the way so that we can go completely into the promised land and take cities and take nations.
Pastor Christi: Yes it’s very pleasing to him. Pastor Sharon, I’m coming back to verse five, but I have to share today a little bit more. Now, we love the Word of God in Malachi 3, which has taught and is still teaching and training us regarding tithes. Pastor Sharon, we will go there to really talk about first fruits and tithes are not the same. But I want to show you something here that God continues in Malachi 3 and He says in verse 6.
Malachi 3:6, 6”For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. 7Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances … And then He says in verse 7, 7… Return to me and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:6-7 NKJV).
You know what the Hebrew says there, Pastor Sharon? Return from the sins of unworthy offerings. We think He’s only talking about tithing, He is specifically talking about the sins of unworthy offerings and then Pastor Sharon, listen to this, verse 8, 8Will a man rob God? The Hebrew says; Will you anger a judge? We know that this is what the Word of God says; Will a man rob God, but the deeper meaning of the Hebrew is; Will you anger a judge? He’s very clear on this. Yet you have robbed Me! … 9Even this whole nation. The Hebrew makes it very clear; you did not bring your tithes and your offerings, but it says “you stole the Teruma (the First Fruits) from the Levite.”
We’re back at Matthew ten, I’m sending them out without money belts. You are not bringing your first and your best that must… We will talk about that in detail, about First Fruits—that you will know what is your First Fruits, how to bring your First Fruits, but here it says, “Yes, you did withhold your tithes and your offerings, but you steal the First Fruits and not giving it to the Levite” (to your spiritual leader).
Pastor Sharon: In the Ecclesia, in the local church.
Pastor Christi: That’s right, when He says, the storehouse in the local church. He’s using the words, “steal First Fruits”. I just wanted to bring that in because we will go there in more detail. I did not go there in Joburg, with what I’m sharing here, but I wanted to bring the motives of the heart here. Many stole the First Fruits and like I said, we will talk more about it, but that goes hand in hand with Matthew ten, where God sent out His spiritual leaders without money belts.
But now Pastor Sharon, coming back to Malachi 3:5; God says when My people bring offerings in righteousness, it will release a testimony on their behalf. A good one Pastor Sharon. He’s after this for the Heritage of Faith people. God says, when this kind of offering, when He receives this kind of righteous offering, with right motives when that comes to Me, I will come near you for judgement; to render a verdict. A verdict for what, a verdict against what? God says, “Against those things that come into your city and is working against the purposes of God.” God is saying to us, repentant and change, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: Yes and we can and I believe that there will be enough of us that will.
Pastor Christi: Pastor Sharon, I believe it with all of my heart. Then God says; ”Repent and change.” (Listen to these messages, let the scriptures personally speak to you, they must speak to you.) God says; “Allow Me,” this is actually what He’s saying here; “Allow Me to bring judgement on the works of darkness in your city.” How and what your offering is will release God, to bring judgement, in our culture against things that have controlled our communities for too long.
Pastor Sharon: That’s the crux for God right there, that’s the crux of it for God right there.
Pastor Christi: That’s what He’s after.
Pastor Sharon: If there are no righteous offerings, God will not be able to come, suddenly to His temple and swiftly judge the things that are against Him. The enemy will then certainly have his way because offerings within the powerful Ecclesia are unrighteous.
Pastor Christi: Unrighteous and Pastor Sharon, I never realized, if I did bring offerings like that, I allow those things to continue in my community. I am part of that.
Pastor Sharon: Yes, I am part of the no solution for my city, the terrible things happening in my city.
Pastor Christi: Yes, that’s right Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: Because I am partaking of the same things that they are.
Pastor Christi: Absolutely. Like you read to us from Revelations, the businessmen, all of us that is part of what is happening in Babylon.
Pastor Sharon: Yes.
Pastor Christi: Become and be part of it and we love it. We bring wrong offerings with wrong motives to the Lord because actually being part of the world system, we are just chasing. And we just want, like I said, we chase with the Word of God and the Prophetic Word because; just God, bless me, it’s not really me loving You first and putting You first in everything. That’s being part of it, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: Exactly, “Put me first, God.”
Pastor Christi: “Put me first, God, and my children.”
Pastor Sharon: “…and my children, but I’m not putting You first.”
Pastor Christi: Yes. That’s right. That is why God is bringing us these messages. Pastor Sharon, we are God’s government in the earth. Many Christians think their supply of the Spirit and their supply of money belongs to them. They think what they do with it is only affecting their own personal lives and their own family lives. It does not. Because we are God’s government here on the earth, our decision making, our giving, affects the very place that we are planted. We’ve said it; where we have jurisdiction. It’s affecting, we are affecting one another and the place that God says, “Rule and reign here.”
Pastor Sharon: You know, Christi, everything that we are doing in our personal lives with our children, what we are giving them to and with our stuff, is impacting all of us. What you buy, what house you buy, that you’re not supposed to buy, impacts me directly.
Pastor Christi: That’s right, Pastor Sharon. It impacts the Ecclesia directly.
Pastor Christi: Yes, Pastor Sharon, directly.
Pastor Sharon: Because I gave God my tithe and I gave Him an offering, so I can do what I want to do with the rest and I still will expect God’s best, and He must be impressed…
Pastor Christi: …He must be impressed.
Pastor Sharon: That I do bring my tithe, and I do tick the box of Terumah, and I do decide myself what offering I’m going to give, but the rest of it, don’t touch, I will decide what I will do with it. It impacts all of us when we live like that. They did not live together like that when they went into, with Joshua.
Pastor Christi: No, they did not, Pastor Sharon.
Pastor Sharon: They were God-fearing… They wanted all the Isaac’s, no Ishmael’s.
Pastor Christi: All the Isaac’s, and that’s where God want to get us. That’s right, Pastor Sharon. And you know what the Lord said to us, “As the church goes, so goes the nation.” The Lord said to me, “As the church goes, so goes the city.”
Pastor Sharon: That’s right.
Pastor Christi: You know, Pastor Sharon, to make this very simple. I really want to make it very plain here today. I said to the Lord, “I hear You, Lord.” You know, Pastor Sharon, what will we do as Heritage of Faith members, if God tells Pastor John, “You don’t pray for your city and for your nation on a Tuesday evening, anymore, in Prayer Connect,” because we know our voice. We speak, when we speak the Word of God, and we live and answer prayer, we have the right man in office. Just to illustrate what we are talking about; what if God is telling Heritage of Faith, “You don’t pray for your city, let your giving, speak.” Where are we then, Pastor Sharon?
Pastor Sharon: Every person will have to decide for themselves where they are then.
Pastor Christi: Exactly, that’s what God is saying; that’s what is happening here.
Pastor Sharon: That’s what God is saying. He is saying, “Your giving and how you are giving, and what you are giving, the way you are giving, with the motives of your heart, will determine whether I can take the city, or not.”
Pastor Christi: That’s right.
Pastor Sharon: “So don’t pray to Me and ask Me to take the city, when your ways of offerings are already speaking.”
Pastor Christi: That’s right, Pastor Sharon. I just wanted to make that plain.
Pastor Sharon: That’s how serious God is about this. This is a very sobering message, Pastor Christi. We’ve got an individual responsibility. If you think where you are sitting there, “What is my giving speaking for?” We will all have the answer. That’s why God wants to help us with these messages, to purify our hearts, to bring forth righteousness.
Pastor Christi: Pastor Sharon, you said it beautifully last week; this is God’s call so that we can fix it with God and make it right. This is God’s call.
Pastor Sharon: It is. It’s actually God’s letter to us. He’s writing to the church of Heritage of Faith in South Africa. The churches and He is saying this.
Pastor Christi: That’s right, Pastor Sharon. Pastor Sharon, I am quickly going to add a scripture here that I have not mentioned before because we are going to, and at home, please open your Bibles to so long at Genesis 18. I think that is a wonderful place for us to end today, Pastor Sharon.
But as you keep your place there, please just make a note here, God took me to Revelation 19. Let me just get there. Revelation 19 verse 11, Pastor Sharon, that the Lord reminded me about. Now, verse 11 says, 11Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, … (Revelation 19:11 NKJV). Matthew 10, where God is sending out His spiritual leaders, without the money belt. He said, this conversation between God and Abraham. Verse 23, 23And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” They were looking at the city of Sodom and Gomorra.
You see, Pastor Sharon, the righteous bringing righteous gifts, have righteous motives, have righteous offerings, that’s right. God, will You destroy a city if there is 50 righteous with the wicked? Verse 24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Verse 25, He says, 25Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! And look what we hear again Pastor Sharon, Shall not the Judge of the whole earth do right?” We are back to judicial matters once again in ecclesia, we are back to it. Verse 26So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” (Genesis 18:23-26 NKJV)
Now, we know the story and there is much more revelation, we are not familiar, God is now giving us revelation like never before. In verse 28, Abraham is enquiring from the Lord, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” says the Lord. Then we go to verse 29, God says, “I will do it for the sake of forty,” then we go to verse 30 and God says, “I will do it if I find thirty righteous in the city.” (Genesis 18:28-30 NKJV).
I want to skip to verse 32 then He said, 32”Let not the Lord be angry, said Abraham, “and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there? The Lord said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” And Pastor Sharon, the last verse is important. 33So the Lord went His way (Genesis 18:32-33 NKJV).
This is what the Lord helped me with, Pastor Sharon. This is Abraham, he went against the kings to get his family back.
God already made a covenant with him, this is a man of faith. God allows a conversation with Abraham about the city, but then the Lord had to show me. I said. “Lord, now we know Abraham the father of faith, could he not intercede, can we just not pray for a city? Can we not just pray for a city, so that You can save it and take the city, Lord? The Lord said to me, “Christi, Abraham has great faith, but he was not planted in that city. He was not part of the ecclesia. And God is looking for 10, 10 righteous, right motives in their hearts, righteous giving, righteous coming to God, to save the city.
Pastor Sharon: Sjoh. You know it’s like I said, and we are going to close now, it is like I said, we can not glibly, casually quote, ”I’m the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”.
Pastor Christi: No, we can not!
Pastor Sharon: If we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to work righteousness in us, in the inner recesses, in the hidden places of our heart, Christi. Purifying our motives with every message that He brings, allowing Him to write in our hearts, every message that comes to us, with fire, and being willing and the Word Pastor John has been using, is to be yielded.
Yielding ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit. We can not quote, “I am the righteousness of God, in Christ Jesus” when you are not permitting the Holy Spirit to work the work of righteousness, in your heart.
Pastor Christi: That’s right.
Pastor Sharon: Well, Heritage of Faith people, we have gone over time, but I know that you have probably experienced it the same way as Pastor Christi and I have, “where has this time gone?” because I am sure that every one of you has been, as we have been here today, hanging on to every single Word of God.
Pastor Christi: Yes
Pastor Sharon: Hallelujah. With our ears, with our feet with our eyes and everything. We will pick up, again next Sunday. God bless you. We pray for you, that these words that have been spoken today will find a place and a home in your heart. That you will allow the fire of it to burn and purify you and that you would have such a desire in your heart to be one of the ten, that will bring offerings in righteousness, that would bring your children in righteousness to God, that would make God first in everything. We pray that for you, that the eyes of your heart would be flooded with light, that you would choose at this time, to allow scripture to find entrance in your heart, and that’s what our prayer is for you today. The Word and the blood of Jesus surround you, protect you, and your families and everything in your heart, in Jesus name. Bye-Bye everybody.
Pastor Christi: Bye-Bye everyone.
Pastor Sharon: Love you. Love you all.
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