God and Me II

Well, greetings. If you were here this past week, you know that Pastor Mike brought an excellent message on the topic of this series we've entitled, Who's in Charge? He made the fatal mistake, however, of mocking me in the message. Not fatal, but it was, I mean, knowing that I was soon to follow him. What he didn't know was I had an abundance of time in the airport this week. And if you recall the message of last week, he got his illustration out of the SkyMall magazine. Now, next week, I'm going to tell you why I had such an abundance of time to pick out not just one thing for Pastor Mike, but three things I know he would enjoy. I'm sure any of you want to know how to bless him at Christmastime. Just, you know, these are just random ideas, but I think he'd be ecstatic if any one of you picked up on any one of these. Here's the first one. You know, Pastor Mike's a huge Cleve Brownies fan. We thought, how much would it be a blessing for him to receive this gift? Let's put the first one up. His very own Steelers locker room with his name on the jersey, which, well, I think that would be probably the very last week he was here. He wouldn't like that. Many of you don't know that Pastor Mike's a very good golfer, and he takes every opportunity to golf. But now that the weather's changed, we decided, well, what could we do for him? I found this in the SkyMall magazine. This works perfectly in the Oakland campus. This would be the second thing. His own instant nature golf course. He can just roll it out there and drive to his heart's content. This last one, he might want to re-gift. I think it's actually for me as much as it is for him. It's called a tracking key. You get to attach it to a loved one's car, find out if your teenager's speeding, my spouse is going, or where your employees are driving. One thing. So I thought I might take that one and borrow it from him once in a while and just see. Well, anyhow, SkyMall magazine. He was right about one thing. There's a lot of stuff in here you'll never need, but it sure is curious. And next time Mike has a picture of me with a hat on, looking like a 60-year-old baby, we'll have to talk first. Let's pray, shall we? And then we'll get into God's Word. Lord, we thank You for worshiping You as we have. We thank You that You are the God of our storms and the God of our celebrations. And I pray that as we look tonight to see how You're in charge of our lives, that we'd have the courage to look with honesty and to trust that You care so much more about us than we can ever imagine. Let Your Word spill over into our hearts and change us, I pray. Whether we're engaging in Oakland or in the venue, right here at the main campus, help us, God, to hear Your Word to us tonight. I ask You just to open our hearts in Jesus' name. Amen. I'm going to ask you to grab your outline out of your North Way notes. We're going to have a number of Scriptures that are referenced there and some that aren't that you may want to just note on the side. Now, how many of you are like me? At certain times in your high school or particularly in your college days, when you'd walk into a class and you were, you know, pretty fired up and somebody would come up to you and say, hey, well, are you ready for the test? And those famous two words came out of your mouth, what test? Yeah. How many of you, when you say what test, that's not a good sign? Not a good sign that somehow you either missed, you know, the memo that said a test was coming or maybe you skipped class, but you know that barring a miracle from God, you're about to drop a letter grade in your class. What test? In our spiritual lives, I fear that truth be told, far too many of us fail to recognize that the Lord is frequently, by design, testing our faith to see who's in charge, as the series that we're in describes. James says this very powerfully. Let's look at James, just the verse, James 1, verses 2 and 3. This is a powerful Scripture. Look at this. It says this, Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that, say the word with me. I can't hear you. Thank you. The testing of your faith produces steadfastness or perseverance. And that goes on, it says in the next verse, to produce maturity in your life. God is testing us, but often we don't know it, we're saying, what test? I left last week's message, and I was challenged by it, and I thought to myself, as I have an opportunity to preach today, I wanted to say, how can we tune in on those moments of testing? And is there a way that we can really discern, listen, apart from, you know, our personality types and circumstances and, you know, the sort of subjective things that we tend to always look at each other, let alone ourselves with, and know if we're passing God's test or not. Now, this may not be the only one, but it is definitely one that we can use on a consistent basis to determine the condition of my heart toward God and to really identify who's in charge. Now, how many of you would like to know what that test is? Great, three people. Now, if you said, no, I don't want to know, it's because you're afraid that you might pass the test, and you're a wuss. Or if you said, yes, then it's because you want to go on with God and be as spiritually mature as possible. How many of you want to know the test? Amen. That's what I want to see. Okay. Hundreds of hands going up. One test. And by the way, this isn't one I made up, so it's not Jay's test or the pastoral team or for North Way. This is a test that's right out of the Bible. And guess what? It's in red. It's in red ink. Guess what that means? What does that mean? It's the Word of Jesus. Oh, God, thank you. Something's getting through. It's the words of Jesus. It's the words of Jesus. And here's what He said, and this is in Matthew 6. This is not on your outline. We haven't hit the outline yet. Verse 21, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And I know you may not want to write the whole thing down, but would you write that reference down in Matthew 6, 21? Notice the order. It's not where your heart is, then your treasure follows. No. Your treasure determines where your heart will be. It's a profound verse. It's in the context of God understanding that the greatest competitor for our true affections of who's in charge of our life are things and stuff and money. That's the test. Follow the trail of the treasure. And there's a direct link, and it's throughout all of Scripture, not just a reference here and there about lordship and spiritual maturity. And speaking of that, now let's look at what Paul the Apostle wrote about his wrestling this issue to the ground in his own life. Here's what he says. Here's how he came to conquer the issue of who's in charge in his life. Look at Philippians 4. This is on your outline. You can read along with me. I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you've been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. Notice there's a disconnect between feeling it and showing it. He says, I'm not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content. Circle the word content. Whatever the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need. How many of you know what it is to be in need in your life? And I know what it is to have plenty. And some of you right now have plenty. Paul knew both. I have learned the secret of being, there it is again, content, circle the word, in any and every situation. Notice that. This is not circumstantial. This isn't about, well, when things are really, he says, I've learned the secret of contentment. Whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength, or I like it better when it's translated Christ who strengthens me. Loved ones, how many of you would agree with me that these are difficult days in which we live to really be content? Now I am not going to make any political commentary. I got slammed by some people over the last few weeks about not making enough commentary about the political situation, and that was just their opinion, and that's fine, I still love you. But, you know, and to take nothing away from the millions of people who are talking about the new president-elect, but let me just say, regardless of the outcome of the election, there is widespread uncertainty in people today. Uncertainty about the transition that we're in, number one, and who's going to be appointed to what, and what does that mean? Uncertainty clearly about the future of what those who are in charge are going to do to lead our nation. I mean, regardless of what side of the table you come down on, you still don't know what the future is, and clearly we're going to go in a new direction. That was the whole premise of the election, correct? And then number three, and this is completely bipartisan, the economic situation we're in is not good, and I could take the balance of the message and, you know, go on a sidetrack, which I'm not really qualified to do, but have done and know enough about economics and research and all that kind of stuff that I could have probably had you agreeing with me that here's, I'll say what I believe, I think things are going to get worse before they get better, generally speaking, in the economy. And so there's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fear that I pick up in people's conversations. It's very difficult for people to feel a sense of contentment, all the more reason, in my view, for us to know, listen, if you don't hear anything else, listen, this is the time, this is the season and the journey of a believer when spiritual giants are made. These are the days when people emerge from just sort of the mediocrity of being in the leader, a model of faith, because these are tough times. Now, these aren't tough compared to what some people are enduring. Don't misunderstand me. There are some people enduring persecution, and I'm not—this isn't like that. But these are tough times compared to what we've been used to. And these are times when many of us will be given an opportunity by the Lord to be tested to see if we're going to rise up and become a true spiritual champion in the days ahead. And the beauty of the little test that we're going to look at today is a test that is relevant regardless of your standard of living, regardless of your income, regardless of whether or not you're a struggling student and barely making it, or a very successful entrepreneur with multiple businesses. Just look at your outline. God gives us a test, number one, on a regular basis. You see, every single time you get a check, you know, whether it's a part-time job or a consulting fee or your regular paycheck from work or a bonus check for extra sales or a gift from somebody, every time you get an increase, let's call it that, in your life, a little bell should go off in your heart that says, test time. And the test is, will I honor God with the first fruits of what I've been given, or will I just sit around and celebrate myself at just how well I'm doing? This is not on your outline, but just jot it down. There's room to jot it down. But Deuteronomy 8, 18 says, it is God who gives us the power to gain wealth. So loved ones, whatever your source of income, no matter how diligent or hardworking or whatever or clever or creative you are, God has given you that gift. And so when you get increased, a little bell should go off and say, Lord, thank You that You've given me the power to gain a little bit extra, a little bit of income, to increase my net worth. And that test is, where will I invest the first fruits? Not the last part, but the first fruits of what I've been given. And the measure of that in Scripture from beginning to end is a very clear number. And it's a number that causes some of us to squirm. I did a little research on this. Less than 15% of all evangelical Christians in the country, in the United States of America, do this. And that is less than 15% of all Christians, followers of Christ, give 10% of their increase to God. On average, it's 2.5%. That's what it is nationwide. Now here's the interesting thing about giving God the first 10% of your increase. It unlocks something. It's like, you know, I can make an Indiana Jones movie out of this thing. There's only one time in this amazing book of 66 different books all collected into one. There's only one time that God says, test me. And it's right then. And that's when we turn to Malachi. And if you have your Bible, turn to Malachi. If not, it's going to come up on this screen because it's a powerful verse, a little section actually. Here in Malachi 3 and verse 10, it's the Lord who says this. Let's put that verse up if we have it. It says, bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and thereby put me. Who's saying that? Not the prophet. That's God. To the test, says the Lord of hosts. That's the word Adonai in Scripture. The Lord of hosts. See if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. God says, will you have the courage to test me? Will you just kind of write it off and say, well, you know, I mean, other people don't do it and they're doing fine and I, I, you know, why should I do it? And God says, put me to the test. It's the only time in all of Scripture. Let's do something. Let's read that entire little section. I think it's worth reading because there's some things in there that slip by us. Look at this. Let's begin in verse 6, Malachi 3, 6. It says, I, the Lord, do not change. How many of you are glad God doesn't change? That you don't wake up today wondering, is He going to be the same gracious God He was yesterday? Is He going to be kind of in a bad mood? You know, what if God needed, like, something to get in a good mood? How many of you wake up just, like, running every day? How many of you get up and, man, it's the first half hour is the worst part of your day? Let me see your hand. Thank you for your honesty. How many spouses would say, I concur with that? There's some people that just love to get up in the morning, and other people say, you know, it just takes me a while to get going. God never changes. He doesn't have moods. God awakens and says... Actually, He never sleeps, so He doesn't wake up. He just is the same. And because of that, look what it says. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. In other words, if I changed, if I was capricious, if I just, you know, felt like it, I'd just crush you like a bug. I could bring everything to an end. Ever since the time of your forefathers, you've turned away from My decrees and not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you. And in the Hebrew, the way this is comprised, it creates a sense of longing. One of the things that mystifies me about God is He longs to have fellowship with you. I don't know what that does to you. But as we were worshiping today, I just, I, I, it just, my heart melts when I think God wants to have fellowship with me. He's pleading, return to Me. But you ask, well, how are we to return to you? And then the Lord answers back, verse 8, will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me. And again, I'm not sure if the people were clueless, but here's what they said. You ask, how do we rob you? And the Lord answers clearly, in tithes and offerings. You are under a curse, the whole nation of you, because you're robbing Me. Now notice, He didn't say, I am cursing you. He said, you've put yourself under a curse. And by the way, I just want to define what a curse is there. You know, when we think curse, we think like little voodoo doll and stick and pins. I think a curse is when you try really hard and doesn't work. Or you seem to get really close and it just falls away. Or, you know, somebody else seems to always benefit from what you're doing rather than you. See, a curse is an unfulfilled achievement. It just doesn't happen for you. How many of you have been there? And you just seem like you're always one step from getting to where it is that you know you should be. It's a curse. It's like, I can't ever get there. God says, that's what's been happening to the whole nation. Test Me in this, He says again, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. And I will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the vines in your fields will not cast or throw off their fruit, says the Lord Almighty. And then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord Almighty. So, there it is, loved ones. It's pretty clear, isn't it? The tithe is 10%. You can't tithe 5%, you can't tithe 20%. A tithe is bringing the Lord 10%. That's the, listen, that's the baseline of your treasure. We'll look and see why, whether that's Old Testament or New Testament, is really secondary. A lot of people make that big deal about it. I'm going to talk about that in a second. He says, just test Me. And for those of you who all, you know, often send me little emails or put on your communicator anonymously, I want deeper teaching, let me just ask you, have you wrestled this deeper teaching to the ground yet? Are you a tither? Have you come to understand that God established the tithe as a way of showing you that you can demonstrate to Him that He is in control? He is the one that you acknowledge is providing for you, even though you've got to work for it, even though, you know, you're putting forth your best effort. Listen, let's be, I'll just be real transparent. I've been a pastor for 34 years, and everything I have the opportunity to share from this platform, I do so because I believe it will help you. This is not to benefit me in any way, or even the church for that matter, beloved. What I'm going to share with you in these moments will help you in the face of what we're looking at in our nation's history right now, in this difficult, uncertain time, this can bring peace into your life. I don't care how many bailouts we have or don't have, I don't care how deep the economic crisis goes, I don't care, you know, whatever the stock market falls to or rises to, it doesn't matter. How many of you think God's really, like, nervous about the stock market? Look at Jeremiah 17, 8 through 10. We don't have that on your notes either. You can tell there's a certain protocol we have here. I have to get my notes in before the sermon's done sometimes, so what you get is, like, most of what I was thinking, and then all this that I'm adding is, like, after the notes got in. This came to my heart late in the process, but I think it's a powerful little section. Let's read it together. Jeremiah, it says, Somebody say, Amen. This may be a year of drought. If your roots are down deep in the soil of God because your treasure has been deeply planted in the heart of God, you will never fail to bear fruit. That's from the prophet Jeremiah. See that? And that's very non-circumstantial. Does that go on? Just that? Yeah, see, the heart is the seat above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it in verse 10? Do we have that? Maybe not. It says, According to what his deeds deserve. You see, this isn't about how I feel. I feel really good about you, God. It's like your conduct is what God looks at. And when you are willing to be a person who puts their treasure with God, God says, I'm going to bless you, even in a year of drought. So, first, if you're going to continue to take notes here, and I'm probably losing you along the way, because sometimes I just jump around a little bit on this. God's giving us a test on a regular basis. Second, the reasons why we resist the test. All right? Well, the first one is because, as I've already described. Well, let me just say it this way. There's a certain fear or reticence that there's an ulterior motive to why we present this material. Like, we have a shortfall. I want you to notice there's no envelope in your notes. There's not going to be any asks. There's not a special need. This is for you to consider as a way to test your heart and to find peace in a time of economic uncertainty. And yet, I will tell you this, and this is from, again, 34 years of pastoring. Here's what I believe. The devil knows that if you come to God's pathway when it comes to finances, listen, where your heart is, that's where your treasure, I'm sorry, where your treasure is, that's where your heart will go. If your treasure begins to go the way God directs it, your heart's going to follow, and Satan will lose his capacity to influence your decisions. And, loved ones, I just wonder what would happen if this entire church, not just 20% or so of us, but this entire church said, You know what, Lord, I am going to live with my treasure being invested in who You are. I mean, I think, and that's why so many people just sort of shut down as soon as the topic comes up, because the devil wants you to shut your mind off, because he knows that once this battle is won, deep trouble for him. By the way, do you know 10 is the number of tests in the Bible? When you see the number 10 numerology in the Bible, when you see the number 10, it's often associated with tests. That's why the tithe is 10%, right? How many plagues were there in Exodus? Okay, a little louder. How many plagues? How many commandments are there? Ten. You may not have to trust me on this. You may not know this exactly. How many times were the Israelites tested in their journey in the wilderness? Ten, right? How many times were Jacob's wages changed by that whom he served while he was waiting on God to deliver him? Ten. How many tests did Daniel face? Ten. How many virgins were there in Matthew 25? Ten. How many talents were given out? Ten, right? How many disciples were there? Just testing, see if you're awake. Very good, though. Nobody said 10. That was awesome. I was just, you know, very, very astute. I have to commend you. Awesome. Now, here are the other two reasons. Number one, number one reason why we resist the test of the tithe is because the devil does not want you to know God's blessing in your life. That's why. And as soon as you overcome this, you're going to find your whole entire heart will begin to change for God. Second is this. People will say so often to me, and I, these are very well-intended people. They're dear friends in some cases and followers of Christ. They say, well, I don't understand it because it seems like an Old Testament principle and not a New Testament one. And they say, I'm under New Testament grace, not Old Testament law. I just want to say two things about that for you. All right? Jesus came and said, I did not come to eliminate the law but to fulfill it. Now, under the law, let me ask you a question. For example, one of the commandments of the law says, thou shalt not murder. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, what? Don't even, if you have hate in your heart, do the same as a murderer. It says in the commandments, thou shalt not commit adultery. Jesus bumped that up a little bit and said, if you look at a person with lust, you've committed adultery in your heart. Let me ask you another question. If tithing is right, the right thing to do under the law, would it be the wrong thing to do under grace? Wouldn't seem like it to me. If the law was like sort of the minimum, it would seem like then grace would free us to do more. And to me, that's the way I've always tried to live. Even just a little bit more than that, because it frees me, because I'm under grace, frees me to listen to the prompting of God. Jesus said in Matthew 5, and this is what that reference is. We won't read it tonight, but 17 through 20, it says there that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes. Well, here's what's up now. I guess we'll read it. Do not think that I've come to abolish the law of prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. That's true. Go on. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. So the Lord is saying this is all going to happen. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever practices and teaches these commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. And then finally, for I tell you that unless your righteousness, now this is important, surpasses that of the Pharisees and teaches the law. If their righteousness was the tithe, listen, are you reading that? This is in red too, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Now I'm not saying, hear me now friends, I am not saying that your salvation is determined by whether or not you're giving financially, because it's not. Your salvation is entirely dependent on what Jesus did on the cross and your faith in it. But one of the tests of faith in your heart is where your treasure is. That's one of the tests. One of the best ways to know. I love this verse. Let's put this up please. Matthew 23, 23. Here's what Jesus said about the tithe in specific. He was talking to the Pharisees and the scribes. It's an obscure verse, it's a myth, but here it is. Matthew 23, 23. He says, Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth, a tithe, of your spices, your mint, dill, and cumin, but you've neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faithfulness. How many believe justice, mercy, and faithfulness are very crucial to our living a life pleasing to God? Absolutely. You should have practiced the latter, that is justice, mercy, and faithfulness, without neglecting, what? The former, that's the tithe. So yes, be all about, all about justice, mercy, and faithfulness, but don't neglect the tithe. Here's one other thing that I say to people who talk to me about the tithe, Old Testament law, and I'm under New Testament grace. Tithing preceded the law, the commandments, and all the rest by 500 years. And I'm not going to take the time to pull this all apart, but there's an awesome scripture you can read about it. It starts in the book of Genesis, and there's a profound exchange between Abraham and this figure named Melchizedek. A New Testament parallel reference, which you can just take note of, is in Hebrews 7, 1 through 8. And it's the same sort of story. Now Melchizedek is, listen now, here's a good word for some of you who like deeper teaching. It's called a theophany, or a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. Many believe Melchizedek was Jesus prior to the incarnation. Some think He was just a figure of Christ. In any event, Abraham brought Him a tithe, the Bible says, and honored Him with a tithe of His increase. And in Hebrews, there's a wonderful scripture, which I would love to pull apart, but I won't do it today because it's just a little too long, but you ought to note it and study it. Hebrews chapter 7, verses 1 through 8, because there's a very powerful thing that ends here. It says this, and I'm going to turn there because I want to read it correctly for you, and then you can just meditate on the whole passage a little bit later. In Hebrews chapter 7, this is what it says, okay? It says this, In the one case, the tithe is collected by men who die, but in the other case, by Him who's declared to be living. Now here's what that means. It means this, when you, watch, this is so important, when you put your tithe in the basket, or in the plate, or in the box, or wherever you put your tithe, in the mail, you're giving it to men, watch, but it's being received by God. That so freed me up, because you see, so often what we do is we analyze, and we judge, and we say, well, you know, I'm not sure I agree with that, and I don't like the color of the carpet over here, and I think that this is just the wrong way to go in terms of the, you know, the lighting, and why do we need that? Loved ones, listen, when you put your tithe into that basket, you're giving it to a man, but it's being received by Jesus. That so freed me, because it's now incumbent, you see, the responsibility in your part's been fulfilled. Your treasure now is leading the way for your heart, and it's now the responsibility of those who are in authority to steward your gifts appropriately. And trust me, we take that very, very seriously here. And quickly, the third thing that people say to me that, when they kind of, you know, try to get themselves out from underneath this whole matter of giving the Lord their tithe, they say, well, you know, I'm not under the curse anymore, so this whole thing about being cursed is, well, that's because 1 Peter 2 says that Jesus took the curse on the cross, and let me say something. Absolutely, He did that, but listen, He took the curse of sin, but how many of you didn't sin today? Looking for hands, don't see too many. Pastor Scott, anyone else? No, just kidding, just kidding. Pastor Scott and I are good friends. He wouldn't lie like that. Jesus took, the Bible says, upon Himself our sicknesses and diseases. Any of you here been sick in the last year? Yeah, had a little of this, a little of that. I had a lot of back pain this week, a lot of back pain, but Jesus bore that on the cross. Likewise, this whole curse of not having enough, not being able to get there, I still struggle with it. Even though Jesus bore that on the cross as well, I still struggle with it, unless I come to Him like I do with those other things and say, Lord, thank You for what You've done. So those are three answers to the most common arguments I get. And finally, let me close with this, the benefits. Here are the benefits, and if I were you, I'd jot these down. Well, we've already talked about the two most important ones in Malachi. Number one, God says, look, I'm not real smart, friends, but when the Lord says, look, you're either under a curse or I'll open the floodgates and pour out a blessing you can't contain, and I'll also just knock off any pests that are going to devour your blessing. Which of the door number one, under the curse, or door number two, God will bless and He'll take care of my enemies, would you choose? How many would take door number one? No, I don't think so. We'd all want door number two, wouldn't we? That's the place of blessing. That's the place where God says, I'm going to do things you just can't imagine. And here's what I believe. Listen, as a people, as a community become more engaged and more as a body together in this, the more corporately God, and I've seen this in other churches, that's why I'm saying, I've seen God just increase the favor, increase the blessing. Here's the second one. It's a very little-known story because it's an obscure place in 2 Chronicles. Again, you probably don't want to turn to this, but let's put the screen up, please, in 2 Chronicles chapter 31. This is the story. You know, Hezekiah was one of the good kings, and here's what he says. They were having some difficulties, so here's what he ordered. He said, he ordered the people living in Jerusalem, that's the city of peace, to give the portion, do the priests and Levites, so that they could devote themselves to the law of the Lord. In other words, the people were withholding their tithes, and he says, wait, let's get back to doing what you're supposed to do. Let's read on, please. He said, as soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits, circle the word firstfruits if you have your Bible open, of their grain, new wine, oil, and honey, and all that the fields produced. Notice, the tithe includes all your increase. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. Very significant. Let's read on, please. The men of Israel and Judah, who lived in the towns of Judah, also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks, and a tithe of the holy things, dedicated to the Lord their God. And they piled them in heaps. And so you see, they're coming in from all over the countryside, and these heaps of offerings and tithes are starting just to pile up all around this city. And Hezekiah walks out, and here's, let's read on, here's what he says. So they began doing this in the third month, and finished, so for four months, they're piling on their tithes. Just imagine, just heaps of all these sacrifices and offerings. Read on, please. And when the king, King Hezekiah, and his o