So we are continuing our Ten Commandments series. We're up to commandment number 8,
which is found in Exodus 20.15, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not steal. Now this
should be straightforward, right? The fact that we are not to take possessions that belong
from other people. And the reason I wanted that read there in Exodus 22, I want you to
think of a few biblical principles, which I think are so great principles. I mean, everything
in the Bible is great. You know, God's instructions of how society ought to run, and what the
punishment is for certain crimes. It always just makes so much sense. You know, just doing
things God's way. And again, I love how when it comes to theft, when it comes to robbing
that which belongs to another, how God deals with this as far as punishment. Look at Exodus
22 verse number 1. It says, if a man shall steal an ox. Now you say, well, why would
you want to steal an ox? You know, normally, you know, if I was to break into a house,
I'd be looking at stealing the, you know, the TV or something, right? The laptop or
the jewelry or, you know, maybe some cash that might be on location. But just to bring
back to mind that, you know, this nation of Israel, at this point in time, you know, they
were a nation of farmers, agriculture, and they grew crops, and this was how they made
a living, alright? And so, of course, if you're going to steal an ox, and then it says there,
or a sheep, alright, and kill it, so you steal someone else's animal, the ox or the sheep
and kill it, or sell it, it says, he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep
for a sheep. Now you say, well, why is it that, you know, if you steal a sheep, you
just, you know, you've got to restore four. Why is that? I mean, first of all, just think
about, think about the logic behind that. Isn't that wonderful? Like, wouldn't that
just change our society? Knowing full well if someone breaks into your house and steals
an object, then not just to return that object that they stole, they're to return fourfold
or even fivefold. I mean, how good would that be? You know, one of my biggest regrets that
I have in life, I was 13 years old, my dad bought me a new bike, it was beautiful, it
was a white bike, you know, and, you know, I only had it for about a week or so, I can't
remember, maybe a month, max, I only had it for a short period of time, and my father
would constantly remind me, you know, every time I'd finish riding, did you lock it up?
You know, I had a bike lock and we'd lock it around the tree, you know, did you lock
up that bike? I'd be, yes, Dad, yes, I did, I did, I did. Anyway, the one night that I
did not, you know, I go out the next morning and it's gone, you know, theft, someone came
in and stole my bike and I only got to, you know, have it for a week or so. I was really
cut up about it, I still have regrets, I still think about, you know, how much I love that
bike, it's a gift from my Dad and, you know, I didn't obey, I didn't go and lock it up
like I should have, you know, I should have been a little bit wiser with what I've been
given and it was stolen. And it's sad. Hey, but what if that thief got caught and not
only returned my one bike but now he had to return three more bikes to me? I mean, he
would have to go and work a job or whatever money he had, he had to go and buy me three
new bikes. That'd be pretty awesome, wouldn't it? You know, if that was society that whatever
you sold you had to return three fold or four fold, it would change just how we operate.
We wouldn't have to lock up our bikes. We wouldn't have to lock our doors. You know,
someone stole your car, you'd be like, well, I know I'm going to get four or five cars
once this thief is found. That's pretty awesome. That's awesome. And like, you know, think
about, you know, theft at that point. Like, if you knew, if I get caught, you know, I
mean, usually you go and steal something because you're needy. It's something that you desperately
need at this point in time. Well, if you know, man, if I get caught, not only do I have to
return it, but I've got to return three or four more of these same items, then obviously
that would stop much theft. I mean, God's ways are always the best ways, aren't they?
People ask the questions, why four sheep for a sheep? You know, why five oxen for an ox?
You know, I don't really know, Bob doesn't really tell us exactly why, but I can give
you some thoughts around this. Number one, when it comes to a sheep, obviously it can
be used, the wool can be used for fabric. We can eat the sheep. Obviously it's a much
smaller animal than an ox. When you think about an ox, not only can the ox be used for
meat potentially, but also an ox would be used to plough the ground. Okay, so in order
to grow your crops, you would often use your, you know, your ox to go and plough. And so
obviously, you know, the ox has a greater value. And so if you lose your ox, that would
make sense that you would have to return. And if that ox was stolen, the thief would
have to return, you know, five oxen. Because it's not just the animal, but also the labour,
the time that went by without that ox being able to be used on the land. Obviously, I
think there's a higher value to have that returned back to the owner. But regardless
of what the reason is, you know, I think the logic behind what the Lord God has would change
society, you know, I do not believe we would have theft. Nor would you be as worried and
concerned to lose things, you know, to have things stolen from you, because you know you'd
be returned back fourfold or fivefold. Verse number five, sorry, verse number two, Exodus
22, verse number two. If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there
shall no blood be shed for him. I've already taught them this recently. Look at verse number
three. If the son be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him, for he should
make full restitution. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. Alright,
so what do we notice there? So if the thief breaks in and he doesn't die, like he doesn't
end up in a resort, let's say later on he gets caught, you know, that he has to make
full restitution. This is the law of the land. He said, well, what if he can't afford full
What if he can't afford five oxen? Or whatever, the multiples of what he stole. Well, what's
say there? It says, if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. Okay, that's
also a good, you know, punishment. That also makes a lot of sense. Alright, you kind of,
you stole the ox, you can't pay back five, you can't return five, then you need to be
sold. Okay, you need to go out there and work a job, in other words. Alright, now remember,
God is not, you know, the Bible does not teach slavery. Okay, God is not in favour for slavery
whatsoever. In fact, I'll show you later on that slavery is punishment by death. Okay,
someone being sold in the Bible, you're selling yourself to employment. Okay, you're selling
yourself for a period of time, so you can pay for whatever item, whatever it is that
you're paying for. You know, the maximum time that you could sell yourself was for
six years, and then on the seventh year, Sabbath, all the employees, all the servants will have
to be let go free. Okay, I mean, in many ways, it's not all that different from many of us
that might apply for a job and, you know, you might, you know, I mean, some jobs just
full time permanent, and there's no like, it's, it's, it's, it's indefinite. But there's
one time that I applied for a job, I got a job and I had a one year contract. You know,
and so in agreement for this one year, this would be my job and, and then at the end of
the year, I would not know if they, and they did extend me an extension contract for another
year or another two years, I can't remember exactly. But the fact is, I didn't know whether
by the end of that year, that I would definitely be able to continue in that role. Okay, that
would be like this situation, you would sell yourself for a period of up to six years,
you will not permit it to work longer than that. But the whole point of you being sold
is so you can go and pay back those oxen or those sheep that were stolen. I mean, again,
this makes a lot of sense. This makes a lot of sense. Okay. You know, the other idea that
I get off here is, I don't know if you've ever seen like a TV show where or movie, you
know, where you might have, you know, a couple or, you know, a couple of guys went to a went
to a restaurant potentially, you know, they bought it off the menu, and then the bill
comes and the bill is just much more than they anticipated. It's a high bill or they
forgot their wallet, you know, like, they can't pay. So what happens in the show, you
know, the owner of the business comes and takes him and throws him into the kitchen
and says, you got to wash dishes until you pay off what you've eaten. That's the same
idea. You get sold to pay off what you took. Okay. And again, it makes perfect sense for
us as we read here. Let's keep going there. Verse number four. It says, if the theft be
certainly found in his hand alive. So basically, this guy's caught red handed, like he breaks
into still a sheep. And you know, he gets caught before he actually gets away, he gets
caught red handed, the sheep is still alive in his hands, as it were, okay. It says there,
whether it be an ox or an ass or sheep, he shall restore double. So not only if you kill
the animal, okay, if you killed it, or you sold it, you restore, you know, four or fivefold.
But even if you had it still alive, and go, well, hold on, judge, I can still return exactly
what I took. No, you still got to return double. And that's awesome. It's returned double.
You know, if someone, you know, let's say someone broke into my house, and they stole
my mobile phone. And like, as they're as they're trying to leave, I catch them red handed,
I can go, I got my phone back. But actually, no, you still owe me another phone. You got
to restore double. Okay, I mean, these laws are wonderful. And so, you know, this is the
wisdom of God. If the laws of our land had these laws put in place, and obviously, society
be very different. As I said, you wouldn't be afraid of your things getting stolen, you'd
be less protective of things that you own. And the thief would, you know, he'd have to,
you know, really consider the risks. What if I get caught? What if I went and did this?
You know, it would change society completely. Now, please take your Bibles and turn to Proverbs.
Turn to Proverbs 22. I often love going to the Proverbs when we're looking at a specific
topic. And just because it brings, you know, it adds a bit, you know, I guess, a flesh
to the bones of this doctrine. You know, it gives us a perspective, a godly perspective
on how we ought to look at, you know, theft or robbery. But it says in Proverbs 22, 22,
Proverbs 22, 22, the Bible reads, rob not the poor. Now often the poor, they might be
easier to be manipulated. You know, normally if someone's going to target, it's a wicked
thing to target the poor. Okay, but people love to target people, you know, those that
are downtrodden, going through a hard time, they're likely to be more gullible, you know,
and you know, easier to be stolen from. Rob not the poor because he's poor. Neither oppress
the afflicted in the gates. Look at this. For the Lord will plead their cause and spoil
the soul of those that spoiled them. You know, if you have a desire to steal, what I want
to draw out of that brethren is that the Lord will step in. Okay, you know, you may have
stolen things, you know, even as a child I can think of an object that I stole once,
you know, and it got away with it, seemingly. But the Bible tells me no. Actually the Lord
would have stepped in and taken something away from me. Because it says there, for the
Lord will plead the cause and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them. So if you spoil
somebody, as in you take what belongs from them, then God's going to spoil your soul.
You're going to go through hardships and you're going to go through difficulties. You're going
to suffer the hand, the chastisement that comes from the hand of God. He's going to
make sure that you receive, you know, just punishment for having spoiled the possessions
of other people. Please go to Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28 and verse number 24. Proverbs
28 and verse number 24. The Bible reads, who so robbeth, his father or his mother? Does
that happen? Do children rob from their parents? It happens. It happens. I mean, it's horrible
that a child, you know, who's been raised by their parents, you know, the parents have
done what they can to give them what they need in life, that a child would turn around
and rob from their own parents. This definitely happens. You know, sometimes there are children
that are just too lazy to work. You know, they get to a certain age and they just expect
to be taken care of. You know, expect their parents, well my parents have raised me, they've
taken care of me. And now just, you know, they hunt after their parents. You know, things
can get so bad that children have murdered their own parents for the inheritance. You
know, they wanted that inheritance early, they step in, they murder their own parents.
This is horrible. Who so robbeth his father or his mother and sayeth it is no transgression?
The same is the companion of a destroyer. Okay, it is no, there's no, I didn't sin.
I mean, they're my parents after all. It's my inheritance, isn't it? Some people have
this attitude and they rob from their own family, rob from their own parents. You know,
children, it's probably very easy, you know, around the house. You know, I'm sure your
parents, I know I do, maybe I shouldn't say this on YouTube anyway, but you know, there's
some cash laying around the house and some other, you know, expensive property that's
in the house and you know, mums and dads, we're not always checking every bedroom, are
we? We're not checking every time our children are about. But you know, children, you need
to take these verses to heart and understand, you know, it can be tempted sometimes to,
you know, you might see a $50 note, you might see a $20 note. You know, you might be tempted
to take that and I can buy the things that I need but I want you to notice that the Bible
says to you that if you rob from your father and mother, it says the same is the companion
of a destroyer. You're friends with someone who is trying to destroy, okay? Do you want
your family destroyed? Do you want your home destroyed? Don't steal from your parents,
okay? God lumps you in as a friend, a companion of a destroyer. Look at Proverbs chapter 6
and verse number 30. Proverbs chapter 6 and verse number 30. Some people might say, well,
what if a man's hungry? You know, what if a man is going without and needs to look after
his hungry wife and his hungry children? Surely then, his theft is justified. If he
just goes into the shop and steals a loaf of bread, you know, to feed his hungry family.
You know, if someone is downtrodden to that extent, you know, we're not just talking about
a bum who refuses to work, refuses to labor. We're talking about a man who's come into
hardships, you know, whatever, you know, maybe he's being retrenched from his work and, you
know, he can't make ends meet and he's looking for work but he just can't land one. And he
goes and he steals a loaf of bread. The Bible says here in verse number 30, Proverbs 6.30,
men do not despise a thief if he's still to satisfy his soul when he's hungry. You know,
we can kind of understand that a little bit, right? I mean, if a man still goes into your
house and steals your laptop, you're like, what's the point? You know, I mean, why did you do that?
You know, that's not going to feed you, right? I mean, that's just covetousness at that point
in time, right? But if a man breaks into your house and all he takes is a loaf of bread,
you can almost understand, well, I guess this guy is suffering and he needs to take care of
his needs. But here's the thing about the Bible. We understand that we won't despise that man in
the same way as some other thief. But it says there in verse number 31, but if he be found,
he shall restore sevenfold. What? Sevenfold. And he shall give all the substance of his house.
In other words, the Bible is saying, look, we understand if someone steals to feed himself,
but even then it's not right. Even then when he's caught and found, he's got to restore sevenfold.
Okay. So I just want to show you just how serious theft is. Even the hungry man. Yeah,
he steals the one loaf of bread. Now he's going to restore seven loaves of bread. Okay. You say,
but the reason he stole is he can't afford it. Well, as it said there, if he can't afford it,
he shall give all the substance of his house. He's got to sell everything he's got. He's got
to make up those seven loaves. He's going to find a way. You know, this is the law of God. Okay.
In other words, what is it teaching us? It's teaching us, hey, if you're getting in hard
times, all right, even if it's just a justified to eat something, go get a job. Instead of going
and being a thief, instead of being a robber, go and provide for yourself. And of course, look,
if you're a child of God and you apply what God tells us in his word, you're never going to go
hungry. You're never going to go hungry. Okay. The Bible says that if you seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, then all these things shall be added unto you. That included
what you eat, what you drink, and even what you wear. God's going to make sure all of that is
covered if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. All right.
Now let's go to another proverb. Let's go to Proverbs 30 verse eight. Proverbs 30 in verse
number eight. Proverbs 30 in verse number eight. Now we've probably looked at this passage a few
times. I love this portion of scripture. I think it's awesome. In Proverbs 30 verse eight, it says,
remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. So God,
I don't want to be poor, but I don't want to be rich. All right. I want to be somewhere in the
middle. Okay. In what sense? It says here, feed me with food convenient for me. Lord, just give me
what I need to get through life. I don't want to be lacking. I don't want to have too much. Just
give me what I need to get through life. Okay. Verse number nine. Lest I be full or you're given
too much and deny thee and say, who is the Lord? You know, the danger that if you have too much,
if you know, one reason God may withhold us from being excessively rich is because we can get to a
point where we deny the Lord. You say, who is the Lord? You know, we start to look at what we have,
you know, all the things that we've been given. And we say, well, that's just because of me.
Look, look what I've achieved. Instead of thanking God for what he's given you,
you make it about yourself. Look at me. You know, I've achieved more than this person or
that person or my neighbors. That's the danger of having too much. But then it says, or lest I be
poor, my Lord, I don't want to be so poor either and still. Okay. Cause that's, I guess that's
what's going to happen. If there's a need, if there are things that you desire, you may be
tempted to still and take the name of my God in vain. Because Lord, if I, if I just don't have
enough and I may be tempted to still, you know, look at how, how come this person has so much,
why does he have this and that? And I'd be tempted to step in and take things that do not belong to
me. And then me with Christ, being called a Christian, you know, speaking of God's name,
I might take God's name in vain. You know, again, you're kind of, you know, if you were to still,
you're basically saying that God cannot provide what I need. And again, you're just showing,
you know, by your actions that your God cannot provide for you.
When that is the furthest from the truth. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you. It's a promise of God. I've seen this promise in
my life. It's a hundred percent true. You put God first and God will take care of your needs.
All right. Now, the next thing I want to say is, and I've said this in my previous
sermon, I think in this series, and I said that every sin we commit is ultimately an offense
against the Lord. Okay. Now I want you to turn to, where are you? You're in Proverbs.
I might get you to go to Matthew. Go to Matthew chapter five. Go to Matthew chapter number five.
Because yes, every sin ultimately is a sin against the Lord. But what I want to draw from,
or what I want to touch upon tonight is that every theft, every theft is theft against the
Lord God as well. Okay. If you're still from your neighbor, you are still in from the Lord. Okay.
You go to Matthew five, forty-five. Now let's get a principle that we can understand from the
word of God in Matthew five, forty-five. It says that ye may be the children of your father,
which is in heaven. For he, that's our heavenly father, maketh his son to rise
on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
You see, God is not a respecter of persons. He allows the sun to come. He allows the rains to
fall. Whether you're evil, whether you're good, it's going to fall on your land. And again,
taking it back to the, you know, to the system that we had in the Bible, where people were
farmers. Okay. You know, obviously you need the sun to grow your crops. Obviously you need your
rain. You know, you can't grow crops if it's just sun. You can't grow your crops if it's just rain.
You need a mix of these both things, both of these things. You know, whether you're just or unjust,
whether you're a believer or an unbeliever, it doesn't matter. God allows these things
so we can be productive. You know, so we can work a job. God gives us what we need to be
productive, to be fruitful. Okay. Regardless of whether you're saved or unsaved. So I want you
to think about that. You know, if God gives, allows every person to produce something, to have,
you know, to make money, you know, to have possessions, if that's what God has given
each one of us. And I go and steal from another man. Who are you really stealing from?
You're not just stealing from a man. You're stolen what God has given that man
to be productive with, or what he's achieved in his life. You know, the Bible also says in James
1 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. You know, every good gift,
everything that is good. You know, obviously, if you're going to go and steal something,
generally, you're going to look for something that is good. You're not going to steal something
that is horrible or bad. Like if you're going to break into someone's house, for example,
you're looking for the best. You're looking for something good. Well, every good gift is from the
Father above. You steal from your fellow man, you're stolen what God has given that person.
Okay, so really, when you think about this, every theft is a theft against God. And I'm going to
take this a little bit further as well. You know, I remember as a teenager, just reading my Bible,
having different thoughts, you know, hearing different preaching. It dawned on me,
I didn't hear this from anyone else, but it just dawned on me that every sin,
now, if you can think of a sin, you let me know. But I just thought about every possible sin,
every scenario that I could think about. And I could lump it under the umbrella of theft
easily. And I'll show you later how I can do that. Okay. But I just kind of, you know, every sin,
like the undercurrents of every sin results in theft. Okay, results in theft. And I just want
you to think about that concept. Because again, every robbery you do to a fellow man,
you've robbed what God has given to them. Okay. But every sin, just think about whatever sin you
think about is ultimately, if you think about it deeply, you are stealing from one place and taking
it to another place. And we'll just have a look at this shortly. But if you can please turn to
Leviticus chapter 19. Leviticus chapter 19 and verse number nine. Leviticus chapter 19 and verse
number nine. Now, when we think about the poor, you know, Jesus Christ says that the poor will
always be with us. Okay. I mean, you can't fix this world. You know, no politician can fix this
world. There's always corruption. All right. The rich, if they're wicked, they're going to steal
from the poor. Okay. The poor usually get poorer. All right. And again, when we think about the poor
in the Bible, we're not talking about a lazy bum. Okay. We're talking about people that are going
through hardships. You know, I personally believe that nobody in Australia is poor.
I don't care how little you have. You know, you've got so much more. You know, if you've
even had a meal today, you've got more than a lot of people that have gone today without having
something to eat. You know, we have riches. We have abundance. We have so many blessings
in this nation. You know, God has a solution for the poor. You know, God created situations so,
you know, they would not be driven to steal. They would not be driven even if they're hungry
to steal food from somebody else. In Leviticus chapter 19 verse number nine, the Bible reads,
and when you reap the harvest of your land, so if you've got land, you know, you've been fruitful,
you've got a harvest when you reap, it says thou shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field,
neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. He goes, look, you've had a harvest.
Yes, go and bring in the crops, but like you don't have to be thorough. God is saying, look,
just leave some behind and even when it comes around your borders, around the edges of your
fence, just leave it alone. All right. And if you've dropped some on your way, just leave it
on the floor. They say for what purpose? Well, verse number 10, it says, and thou shall not
glean thy vineyard, neither shall thou gather every grape of thy vineyard. Thou shall, look,
thou shall leave them for the poor and stranger. I am the Lord your God. Does God look after the
poor? Look at these great laws in the Bible. You know, okay, you've got a vineyard, you've
got grapes. You don't have to pluck every grape off the vine. All right. Obviously,
get the majority for yourself. All right. If you left some behind, just leave it behind.
All right. Again, anything on the edges, leave it there for the poor and not just the poor,
even the stranger. Even if someone's just passing by, he's passing through the land,
he's going from point A to point B and he's traveling through your land. You know,
he sees your vineyard, he gets hungry, right? God does not want this man to perish. So he goes,
oh, look, there's some grapes that have been left behind from the harvest. Oh, go and pluck those
things and eat of it. God always has a perfect plan. All right. And you say, well, why? Well,
number one, because people are hungry, God cares for the poor. But look at verse number 11,
ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. You see, God did not want the
poor or the stranger to be tempted to steal, all right, to go and rob another man's, you know,
field or possessions. God wanted to make sure that this nation of Israel considered the poor
and the stranger as they pass the land. See, God cares. God's got an answer. God knows people
are going to go through a hard time. God knows there are going to be people with more than others.
And for those that have more, they ought to leave just a little bit behind on your fields
to make sure that the poor were taken care of. I mean, this is the God that we serve. He's always
thought ahead of us. You know, he's always, I'd say one step ahead of us, but he's eternity ahead
of us. You know, God knows how to take care of his people. Verse number 12, it says,
and ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shall they profane the name of thy God,
I am the Lord. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor. Look at this, neither rob him. God says,
look, don't defraud your neighbor, don't rob him. Say, in what sense? You know, again, is this
talking about the poor? Robbing? No, it says here, look, the wages of him that is hired
shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. You see, God has given us a different
perspective on theft here. All right. He says, look, don't defraud your neighbor. If you've had
your neighbor come to your property and do a work, okay, he goes, don't rob him of the wages.
Like, don't hold the wages overnight till the morning. He said, I'll pay you tomorrow. No,
God says that's theft. You're defrauding your neighbor. Listen, when someone does the job,
you pay them. Right? I mean, this is one of the issues that I hear about commonly,
because I did work in the construction industry, you know, before I became a pastor,
and I would hear the stories of contractors and workers and laborers. They said, man,
I've done this job, I've done this, I've worked here, and they still haven't paid me.
You know, they promised they're going to pay, and maybe they will pay. But even if they pay
days later, weeks later, months later, they have robbed that worker from his labor,
from his work, from his wages. Unless they had the agreement, you do the work and will
pay you a month later. If that's the agreement, that's the agreement. That's not theft. But if
the agreement is, hey, you work, I'll pay you today, and you hold it back even till tomorrow,
God says that you have robbed from a neighbor. Okay. And so I'm telling you this so you can
be a little bit careful as well. You know, if someone has provided you with goods or a service,
you pay them when it's due, whatever the agreement is. Someone's done your job, I say, you know,
they completed the job today. You know, I say pay them immediately. Why wait? Why withhold their
payments? Why hold it overnight and pay them in the morning? Just take care of it immediately.
You know, again, I don't know whether you'd be tempted to steal or to rob, to break in someone's
house. Probably not. But these are different ways that you can steal. The Bible says thou
shall not steal. Okay. You know, you get a bill from your electricity company. Pay by the due date.
Okay. That's your agreement with them. They've got that due date. Pay it by whatever it is,
the 15th of August. Well, make sure it gets paid by the 15th of August. Don't wait till the 16th
of August. Don't wait for the overdue letter. Okay. You're the fraud in your neighbor. You've
committed theft at that point in time. I don't care how you justify it. God's law is very clear.
Okay. It says that neither rob him, the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all
night until the morning. When it's due, it's due. You take care of that. Okay. Make sure you set a
good example as a Christian. Paying what is owed. All right. Can you please turn to another passage,
Malachi chapter three. Malachi chapter three. How else can we commit theft? Malachi chapter three,
verse number eight. And to me, this is the scariest one. Malachi chapter three, verse number eight.
Malachi chapter three, verse number eight. Will a man rob God? Okay. I mean,
this is kind of like a rhetorical question. Like you can't rob God, obviously. God owns it all.
God, God owns your life. You know, you've been purchased by the blood of the Christ.
Okay. But here's the thing. God says, yet you have robbed me. Like the rhetorical question is,
of course we can't rob God. But then God says, but you have robbed me. You go, what? He says,
but you say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. You know what? If
you don't give your tithes to the house of the Lord, you're robbing God. Okay. Now look,
it says in tithes and offerings, and I've taught this before, but the offerings have been fulfilled
in Christ. Christ is our offering. Okay. And you know, when we look at the changes from the Old
Testament to the New Testament, you know, how do we know what remains and how do we know what
remains of what's changed? Number one, if the Bible just clearly states that in the New Testament
that it's been changed, then you can, yep, that's been changed. All right. Number two, if the Old
Testament picture, you know, if the Old Testament practice was a type or a picture of Christ or the
gospel of his work, then that's been completed as well because our fulfilment is in Christ. Okay.
Christ was our offering. Christ is our Sabbath. Right. Christ is our high priest. Okay.
You know, we don't have an Old Testament temple because in the New Testament, the Bible says that
our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost. There are fulfilments in these things. Obviously,
then you know there's been a change, but when it comes to the tithe, that's your 10%
of what you make. You know, this hasn't changed. You know, you can't say, well, in the New Testament,
this has been changed here, or you can't even say, well, this was such a shadow, a picture of
something greater truth in the New Testament. There's nothing like that. Okay. This tithe,
this 10% is to be given to God's house. And again, I'm going to stop. This is it. This
is the last time I say it. Okay. But I need to preach God's word. All right. But what I want to
say is this, that I do not like preaching on tithing. I actually don't like it because I don't
want to be misrepresented or thought of as a pastor that just cares about money. You know,
I mean, obviously I've been pastoring in the church for almost five years. I think you guys
may know well enough now that that's not what drives me. Okay. I'm not a money hungry person
or anything like that. Okay. But God's word is true. You know, will a man rob God?
I do not want you robbing your fellow man. I certainly do not want you robbing your Lord God.
I mean, who gave the life of his son that you would be saved? You know, all he asks from you
is give your 10%, give your tithe to the house of God. Look at verse number nine. And the other
thing is not just that, not just the thought of robbing God. Look at verse number nine says,
ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house. And look at the
rest of it and prove me now here we have saved the Lord of hosts. If I will not open you the
windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall be no room enough to receive it.
You want a blessing that you just do not have enough room to receive it?
You want those kinds of blessings in life? Just start tithing. Or maybe you are,
I'm not saying you're not. You know, don't rob God. You know, I can say,
and not that I'm boasting because it's tough. You know, 11 kids to me, that's I just do not
have enough room for that blessing. I mean, thank God I've got the van. It's a 14 seater. We just
fit. We've got an extra seat. Okay. But you know, when we were living here in down in Beringa,
all right, for those three years, the first three years of this church, we did not have enough room
for our blessing. Literally be walking on each other's toes in that little house there in Beringa.
But you know, blessings, they're not just financial, are they? It's life. It's being
happy, being joyful. You know, having a happy family, having a happy life. So many ways that
God can bless us. Why don't we just prove it all? Just give our tithe. Instead of robbing God,
give our tithe and God will show just how much He can bless you. Please turn to John chapter 10.
Please turn to John chapter 10, verse number nine. How else can we consider theft in the Bible?
Let's go to John chapter 10, verse number nine. John chapter 10, verse number nine.
These are the words of Jesus Christ. It says, I am the door. By me, if any man enters in,
he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. Then it says this in verse number 10.
The thief. So what's a thief? Someone that steals. Thou shall not steal, right? That's
hard for the sermon tonight. The thief cometh not, but to steal and to kill and to destroy.
I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the
good shepherd. So I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
So we learn a few things. Who's the thief? Who is it that comes in and steals and kills
and destroys? Well, if Jesus is the good shepherd and he's obviously not the thief,
Christ is I've come to give my life. Salvation is through Jesus Christ. Who's the thief?
The thief is every false prophet that says salvation is by some other method or some other
way. That's the thief. The thief does not preach Christ gave his life for your salvation. The thief
says you give your life for salvation. The thief says you got to work hard to be saved. The thief
says Christ's death and resurrection is not enough. You've also got to do the 10 commandments.
You've also got to do the laws of God. You've also got to turn from your sins to be saved.
That's the thief. He destroys, okay? He destroys and they teach people false doctrines that do not
give everlasting life. See how Christ compares himself to the thief. The thief is your false
prophet telling you to do X, Y, and Z to be saved instead of teaching you to just simply receive
what Christ has given you, what he has done for you. Jesus Christ also says in Matthew 23, 13,
but woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men.
For ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayer.
Therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. See Christ is speaking against the scribes and
Pharisees who shut up the kingdom of God to those that are seeking. Yeah there are people
that are seeking salvation. They go to their priests. They go to their scribes and Pharisees
that reject Christ. They say how do I get saved? And they're giving them another gospel. They're
shutting up the kingdom to these people. No wonder they're robbers, they're thieves,
these wicked men. They seek to destroy. They seek to stop people from entering everlasting life
because many of these themselves are reprobate and they know full well that they're not going
to receive eternal life. Can you please go to Matthew 6. Go to Matthew chapter 6 verse number 19.
Matthew chapter 6 verse number 19.
Now as I said to you earlier, you know when I lost my bike, just I mean obviously I've had
other things stolen from me but that one hurt me the most for some reason. Just like there's
like that emotional thing attached to it. They just kind of when I think about it, it's like
oh man I wish I locked it up. Still man so many years ago but I still think about it.
But you know there's a place that you can put your things that will never get stolen.
And it's Matthew 6.19. Jesus Christ says lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth
where moth and rust are corrupt and where thieves break through and steal.
Christ says don't lay up your treasures here on the earth because you're going to experience
theft. You know there is going to be corruption of the things. You know you can buy the nicest
things. You know they break down. You know you put something out there, you think it's all safe,
someone can come in and just steal it and destroy it. So he says in verse number 20,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust are corrupt and where
thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is there will your heart be awesome.
Isn't that beautiful? That what we lay up for ourselves in heaven will never be stolen away
from us. You know you serve Christ. Okay you serve Christ. Hey there's not many of us tonight.
I don't care. I'm serving Christ. No we put God first, right? We have our mind and our hearts
on eternity on heaven, on our treasures above. We lay up our treasures there brethren. It's
going to be there forever. No man can come and take that away from you. Think about that. You
know even when you go work a job, I mean it's great you work a job, but you know you get a
paycheck. Eventually that paycheck's going to go to zero because you've got expenses to pay.
You know what? You go and work for Jesus Christ. You serve him and I'm not talking about being a
full-time pastor here or a full-time evangelist or something like that. I'm not talking about that.
You serve Christ in your family. You serve Christ in your workplace. You serve Christ
in your local church and you lay up your treasures in heaven and it will never go to zero.
Your treasures are there for all eternity. No thief, no moth can corrupt that place.
No moth's going to eat it up, right? No rust is going to destroy it. No thief can come in
and break in and steal. That is where you need to place your treasures and you can do it every
moment of your life. Okay, make sure when you go to work you serve Christ. Don't serve the man
that's giving you instructions. Serve Christ and by default if you serve Christ, you think of
Christ as my boss, then you're automatically going to serve your boss and you're automatically going
to give your boss the best because it's not for your boss. You're doing it for Jesus Christ.
So protect your investments from theft by laying up your treasures in heaven. All right, now as we
get to the end of this, please turn to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and I said to you earlier that
every sin, again this is just my opinion, you might think of a sin. I haven't had anyone
challenge me yet. I've said this to some people but you might think of a sin and you might debunk
me but it just seems like when I consider every sin, there's theft somewhere in the midst. Okay,
so let me just give you an example. We're going through our 10 commandments series so let's just
look at the sins of the 10 commandments that you can commit. So first, you know, commandment number
one was thou shalt have no other gods before me. Well, how's that theft? Well, if you serve a false
god, you're still in god's position. You know, god's priority in your life. You're taking that
away from god and you're giving it to another. The second commandment is thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image. So why would people create graven images? You know, for worship. Okay,
so if you make graven images, what are you doing? You're stealing the worship. You know, that you
ought to be giving toward the praise and the worship that your god deserves. You're stealing
that away from god and you're giving it unto idols. The bible says remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy. Remember that Sabbath day was a day of rest. If you go and work, you know,
in the time of the Old Testament, you work on that Sabbath day, you're still in rest. You know,
god wanted these people to rest one day a week so they can be productive and rested and be able to
get out their new week to work hard. You know, you work on the Sabbath, you're still in a way
the rest that god wanted to give you. And again, when we look at the Sabbath day,
we also understood that to have a higher spiritual understanding that our Sabbath rest
is salvation. Okay, again, the scribes and pharisees, they steal the rest away. The
false prophets, they steal salvation away from those that are seeking it.
The thieves, they seek to destroy the souls of men. Commandment number four is thou shall not
take the name of the lord thy god in vain. So again, we're meant to reverence his name.
Okay, we're meant to uplift and exalt his name. And if we don't do this reverend,
we're still in the reverence. We're still in the exaltation that god's name deserves and we're
loaning it to nothingness. The Bible says to honor thy father and thy mother. So if you don't honor
your mother and father, what are you doing? You're stealing your parents honor. They've raised you,
they've looked after you, they've nourished you, you know, they want the best for you,
they love you, and you don't honor your mother and father. You're stealing that honor that rightfully
belongs to them. Thou shall not kill. I mean, that's an easy one. You're stealing someone's
life if you go and murder a man. You know, you've stolen that person's life. Thou shall not commit
adultery. Now, you're there in Second Sandwich chapter 12, but you know, thou shall not commit
adultery. You're stealing. Well, number one, if you're married, you belong to your spouse.
You know, this doesn't go one way. It's not just wives belong to the husbands. Husbands,
you belong to your wives as well, you know, and if you commit adultery on your spouse,
you've stolen yourself away from your spouse. Or, if you committed adultery with another man's wife,
you've stolen that man's wife. Okay, look in Second Sandwich chapter 12, verse number one.
This is a story when King David stole Bathsheba. You know, King David had many wives,
all right, and he saw this one woman who he took for himself, committed adultery. Second Sandwich
chapter 12, verse number one, it says, And the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him,
and said unto him, There were two men in one city, the one rich, and the other poor.
Obviously, David is the rich one, King David, okay, in this allegory. The rich man had
exceeded many flocks and herds. Again, you've got many wives, David, okay, but the poor man
had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up. And he grew up together
with him and with his children, and did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his
bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared
to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto
him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. So the rich man
takes or steals from the poor man. Instead of offering his own lamb to the traveler, he takes
from the poor man that only had one lamb. Of course, that was Tormet, Bathsheba there, okay.
And the reason I'm reading that to you is just to show you, like, you know, that's kind of my
thought. Every sin ultimately is theft. Well, when God confronts David about adultery, he uses the
example of theft, of the rich man stealing the poor man's one lamb, okay. And then it says there,
verse number five, and David's anger was kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan,
as the Lord liveth the man that have done this thing shall surely die. Now obviously that's,
you know, stealing a lamb, that's not deserving of the death penalty. What was the right punishment
if someone stole a lamb? To restore four lambs, remember that, okay. And then he says this, verse
number six, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold. So there it is. Because he did this thing,
and because he had no pity, and Nathan said to David, thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord
God of Israel, I anointed thee king of Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul.
So again, I just wanted to read that to you, just show you how God uses the analogy of theft
to describe the sin of adultery that King David had committed. Then you've got the eighth
commandment, which we're looking at today, thou shall not steal. I mean, that's obvious, okay.
That's theft. Commandment number nine is thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Okay, that's to be a false witness, give a false report, lie, basically. And if you're committing
that, if you're lying, what are you doing? You're stealing away the truth, right. Instead of the
truth being presented, you're stealing that, you're taking no truth, and you're given a false
report, a false witness, okay. And commandment number 10, thou shall not covet. What are you
stealing when you covet? Okay, I mean, covetousness, coveting something might cause you
to eventually commit theft, but just coveting something that belongs to someone else. How is
that theft? Well, you know, God has given where we saw that, you know, God has given us, our Father
of lights has given us every good thing. Every good gift is from the Father of lights, okay.
And so we ought to be satisfied and content with what God has given us in life. The moment you
start to covet for things that belong to others, what are you doing? You're stealing away your
contentment. You're stealing away your satisfaction, the joy of what God has given you.
You've stolen that and you're looking at others and says, I want what they have.
You're stealing your own contentment, joy and satisfaction from your heart.
All right, brethren, one more passage. Please turn to Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter
four verse number 28. Ephesians chapter four and verse number 28.
So what is the solution for theft? What is the solution?
Well, it's quite clear. Again, why do people commonly steal? Because they want something,
doesn't belong to them, they want it, they're poor, they're needy, or they just covet in for
what that is. They say, but there is something that I want pastor and I just, you know, I'm
tempted to just go and steal that item. What do I do? Well, the answer is very simple. Ephesians
chapter four verse number 28. Ephesians chapter four verse number 28. It says, let him that stole
steal no more. Yeah, that's number one. Okay, you've stolen things in the past,
steal no more. Let's start there. Stop robbing other people. But then it says this,
but rather, instead of stealing, what do I do, God? But rather, let him labor.
Go to work, you bum. It's what God's saying. Labor, go to work, you produce. All right,
working with his hands, the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
That's the answer to theft. Go and work, go and labor, go and be productive, do something
with yourself, do something in your life, okay? And then when you labor, you get your rewards,
you save up, you go and purchase the thing that you want instead of going and stealing it.
I mean, it's like common sense, isn't it? But not only that, look what God says. It's like,
oh, so instead of, okay, man, I'm tempted to steal that thing, I'm going to go and steal it,
not God says no, steal no more, go and labor, all right, I'm going to go to work and labor hard.
But then it says at the end of verse 28, that he, that's the one that's laboring,
that he may have to give to him that needeth. You see, it's not just about yourself. You see,
when you're not working, you become selfish. Life has to revolve around me and my needs and my
desires. You know what, when you start working, you're laboring, you're productive, you start to
make money, you know what, now you cannot just take care of your own needs, but you can be
generous to others. When others are going through needs, you can step in and help them out, right?
Someone's going through hardship, brother, I can step in, how much is this going to cost?
I'm happy to put this down, my gift to you, because I love you, hey brother, let's go out,
let's go have, you know, let's go out for a meal, my shout, okay, you know what, when you labor,
you can be a blessing to other people that have needs, okay, so what is this saying?
When you don't labor, you become selfish, me, me, me, me, me, when you labor hard and you're
productive, you start to think about others, how can I be a blessing to other people,
which is like complete reverse of theft, isn't it, okay, and as we've been going through the
book of Ecclesiastes, just that same idea, you know, that when we go and labor, it is the gift
of God, the proactivity that we achieve, it's all God-given, you know, I mean, this is how God wants
us to operate, to be a blessing to others, instead of stealing and just thinking that life is about
ourselves. All right, let's pray.