{"id":18856,"date":"2018-07-10T11:35:02","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T15:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=18856"},"modified":"2018-07-18T12:41:50","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T16:41:50","slug":"coins-with-gods-image-camp-meeting-7-8-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=18856","title":{"rendered":"Coins with God&#8217;s Image (Camp Meeting,  7\/8\/18)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Jesus&#8217; response to the trap was brilliant:&#8221;Whose image is on that coin?\u00a0 Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God.&#8221; The answer blew away the questioners.\u00a0 Jesus totally defused their trap.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">But what does this statement mean?\u00a0 What is &#8220;Caesar&#8221; in our own day and age?\u00a0 Is Caesar a good thing?\u00a0 Everything belongs to God; so what does it mean to &#8220;give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.&#8221;?\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">In his message during the 7\/8\/18 Pitman Camp Meeting, Lay Speaker Larry Bakely explored these questions&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-bio'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The entire sermon is presented below.\u00a0 Audio recordings and the complete text are provided under the &#8220;drop down boxes.&#8221;\u00a0 Click on each box to follow along.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For easier reading,\u00a0 the sermon is broken into sections, with each section having its own text and audio recording. Open the box, click the &#8220;play button&#8221;, and follow along.\u00a0<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #00ff00;\">=\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Images&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">Each face in a crowd bears the marks of a life of experiences.\u00a0 Each face represents a person who has relationships, knowledge, hopes &amp; dreams that he or she can share.\u00a0 What&#8217;s YOUR story?\u00a0 What has God given you and what can you share?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>Part 1- Introduction<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-18856-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/0-Introduction.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/0-Introduction.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/0-Introduction.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>One of my favorite things to do around the church is to maintain the church website.\u00a0 And so, whenever I come to an event I&#8217;m always wearing my &#8220;reporter&#8217;s hat&#8221;, and I usually bring my camera.\u00a0 Last summer I was on a bit of a mission with the Camp Meeting services; I wanted to get a picture of every speaker that I could use in the website article about the <a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=18344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Camp\u00a0Meeting\u00a0schedule<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 And so, I actually was able to attend every service last summer and I got a picture of all of the speakers.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the Camp Meeting services, another thing that makes summer summer is this flyer. Tom gets it printed sometime in the spring, and along with the corresponding poster, it announces the upcoming schedule.\u00a0 And it has a picture of each speaker.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-18864\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Camp-Meeting-18-Flyer-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Camp-Meeting-18-Flyer-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Camp-Meeting-18-Flyer.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And so, at one of the services last summer I offered to Tom that maybe he could use some of the pictures I was taking for the next year&#8217;s flyer.\u00a0 Just to bring it up to date a bit.\u00a0 And so, back in April I gave him my pictures and he used some of them in this year&#8217;s flyer.<\/p>\n<p>And then on one Sunday, he said that one of the speakers he was trying to line up wasn&#8217;t able to make it.\u00a0 And he asked me if I would be willing to take a Sunday.\u00a0 Well I kinda took a gulp as I realized that all of the speakers pictured on that flyer were named &#8220;Rev.&#8221;\u00a0 And some of them even had a middle name of &#8220;Dr.&#8221; I&#8217;m just a lowly Lay Speaker.\u00a0 But, knowing that it&#8217;s the Holy Spirit who is actually giving the message, I accepted.<\/p>\n<p>But then Tom came out with something that took me back.\u00a0 He said that he needed a picture of ME for the flyer!\u00a0 The irony was hard to miss.\u00a0 I spent last summer collecting pictures of the speakers, and now I had to take one more.<\/p>\n<p>So I began to think about these pictures.\u00a0 What do they mean?\u00a0 What&#8217;s the story behind each face? \u00a0Beyond the name, each face represents a different set of experiences, a different set of gifts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>All of us has a picture somewhere.\u00a0 It might not be on a camp meeting flyer, but it&#8217;s in your church, or family, or workplace.\u00a0 What gifts, talents, and experiences are represented by your picture?\u00a0 And how are you using them?<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Whose Face is on that Coin?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">Our experiences, gifts and talents are like coins that we can spend on life.\u00a0 Jesus told the crowd to &#8220;Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God.&#8221;\u00a0 But everything belongs to God!\u00a0 What&#8217;s the difference between &#8220;Caesar coins&#8221; and &#8220;God coins&#8221;???<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>Part 2- Luke 20<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-18856-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/1-Whose-Image.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/1-Whose-Image.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/1-Whose-Image.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>They often talk about &#8220;3 point sermons.&#8221;\u00a0 I remember my lay speaker teacher telling us to not worry about making 3 points;\u00a0 just make one point and make it well.\u00a0 Anyway, this won&#8217;t be a three point sermon.\u00a0 Instead it will be a <strong><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">three passage<\/span><\/em><\/strong> sermon.<\/p>\n<p>The first passage I want to lift up is from Luke 20, verses 20-26.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'>Luke 20:20-26<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">20 Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent secret agents pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">21 They said, &#8220;Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You sincerely teach the ways of God.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">22 Now tell us \u2014 is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">23 He saw through their trickery and said,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">24 &#8220;Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?&#8221; &#8220;Caesar&#8217;s,&#8221; they replied.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">25 &#8220;Well then,&#8221; he said, &#8220;give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">26 So they failed to trap him in the presence of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they were silenced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">NLT<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Just like the pictures on the camp meeting flyer, our lives are filled with a lot of coins.\u00a0 And each coin has an image on it.\u00a0\u00a0 But if everything belongs to God, shouldn&#8217;t we give everything to God?\u00a0 What is an \u201cimage of Caesar&#8221; and what does it mean to be giving things to him?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>We carry coins that help us do the day to day things of life in this day and age.\u00a0 We know how to say hello to people, we know how to operate a microwave oven or an ATM machine, we&#8217;ve learned how to drive a car and we know that a red light means stop.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-13515\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Sign-Traffic-_roundabout-_32606__400x400-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"92\" height=\"92\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Sign-Traffic-_roundabout-_32606__400x400-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Sign-Traffic-_roundabout-_32606__400x400-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Sign-Traffic-_roundabout-_32606__400x400-178x178.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Sign-Traffic-_roundabout-_32606__400x400-184x184.jpg 184w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Sign-Traffic-_roundabout-_32606__400x400.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 92px) 100vw, 92px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But we also carry coins that have deeper purposes:\u00a0 things we&#8217;ve learned through experience, advice from friends, family, and teachers.\u00a0 Knowledge of scripture.\u00a0 Times in the valley that gave us a chance to grow closer to God.\u00a0 Inspiring worship services or music.<\/p>\n<p>Everything comes from God.\u00a0 Even the mundane things like brushing your teeth ultimately traces back to God.\u00a0 Every coin belongs to God.\u00a0 And yet, while some of these coins are spent on earthly needs and responsibilities, some of them are specially groomed for heavenly needs and our relationship with God.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">God&#8217;s Provision&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">Is there anything wrong with buying a new pair of shoes?\u00a0 How about getting an oil change?\u00a0 What about paying your water bill?\u00a0 Jesus told us to not worry about what we will eat or what we will wear.\u00a0 Seek the Kingdom first, and God will take care of these things&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>Part 3- II Corinthians 9<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-18856-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/2-More-than-Food.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/2-More-than-Food.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/2-More-than-Food.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>And that led me to the second of the three passages I want to share tonight.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>2 Corinthians 9:6-11&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">6 Remember this \u2014 a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">7 You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don&#8217;t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">9 As the Scriptures say, &#8220;Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">10 For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">NLT<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=matthew+6%3A19-34&amp;version=TLB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Matthew 6 (31-34)<\/span><\/a> Jesus told us to not worry about what we should wear, drink, eat&#8230;&#8230;\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead, seek first the Kingdom of God.\u00a0 Look for the coins that bear God&#8217;s image.\u00a0 And all of the other things will be added to you as well.\u00a0 In other words, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Exodus+16%3A11-31&amp;version=TLB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">manna<\/span><\/a> that God gave the Israelites in the wilderness, God supplies our basic needs.\u00a0 Then He gives us even more so that we can give them back to Him.\u00a0 The things we give to Caesar are our basic needs.\u00a0 The abundance of spiritual gifts is what we give to God.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus is saying, go ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li>Pay your taxes.\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-4930\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/dollars-426026_640-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"216\" height=\"121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/dollars-426026_640-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/dollars-426026_640.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Go to Shop Rite and buy the food you need.<\/li>\n<li>Pay your Electric bill.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Pay your water bill.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Participate in the world&#8217;s economy to fulfill your material needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">That&#8217;s why I gave you those coins!<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But then He says &#8220;I&#8217;m going to give you much more than coins with Caesar&#8217;s image on them.&#8221;\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry about what your wear.\u00a0 If you depend on Me for your temporary human needs, I&#8217;ll give you gifts that will fill your eternal spiritual needs.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll give you coins with God&#8217;s image on them.\u00a0 In fact, I&#8217;ll even <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Romans+12%3A1-2&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transform<\/a><\/span> your image so that it looks closer to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hymnal.net\/en\/hymn\/h\/645\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Christ&#8217;s\u00a0image<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yes- Give to Caesar what you need to give to Caesar.\u00a0 But give to God the gifts that He&#8217;s invested in you.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">God&#8217;s Investment&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">In addition to providing your material needs, God invests even more in you so that your spiritual needs are also provided for.\u00a0 He&#8217;s given you coins that you can buy things with, but He&#8217;s also given you &#8220;coins&#8221; that will help you grow closer to Him&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>Part 4- Luke 19<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-18856-4\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/3-Invested.mp3?_=4\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/3-Invested.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/3-Invested.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>And that led me to the third of the three passages.\u00a0 Luke 19:11-27&#8230;.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">12 He said, &#8220;A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">13 Before he left, he called together ten servants and gave them ten pounds of silver to invest for him while he was gone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say they did not want him to be their king.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">15 &#8220;When he returned, the king called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what they had done with the money and what their profits were.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">16 The first servant reported a tremendous gain \u2014 ten times as much as the original amount!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">17&#8217;Well done!&#8217; the king exclaimed. &#8216;You are a trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">18 &#8220;The next servant also reported a good gain \u2014 five times the original amount.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">19&#8217;Well done!&#8217; the king said. &#8216;You can be governor over five cities.&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">20 &#8220;But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, &#8216;I hid it and kept it safe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn&#8217;t yours and harvesting crops you didn&#8217;t plant.&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">22 &#8221; &#8216;You wicked servant!&#8217; the king roared. &#8216;Hard, am I? If you knew so much about me and how tough I am,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">23 why didn&#8217;t you deposit the money in the bank so I could at least get some interest on it?&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">24 Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, &#8216;Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who earned the most.&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">25 &#8221; &#8216;But, master,&#8217; they said, &#8216;that servant has enough already!&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">26 &#8221; &#8216;Yes,&#8217; the king replied, &#8216;but to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">NLT<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The people who received these gifts were servants of the king.\u00a0 Their basic needs were already cared for.\u00a0 They had a roof over their heads. \u00a0They had food to eat.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This king took care of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=luke+15%3A17-19&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">servants<\/span><\/a>, but he gave them even more.\u00a0 Ten pounds of silver was worth about 30 days wages. He invested in them.\u00a0 While He was gone He expected them to use those gifts to invest in Him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=psalm+23&amp;version=TLB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Psalm 23<\/span><\/a>, David wrote that because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything that I need.\u00a0 God takes care of His sheep.\u00a0 But He goes further than giving us food and quiet streams.\u00a0 He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=psalm+139%3A1-6&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">knows\u00a0us<\/span><\/a> by name.\u00a0 He loves us.\u00a0 He has poured His very self into us.<\/p>\n<p>God.\u00a0 The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have invested in us.<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">1- God the Father, our Creator&#8230;<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>We were created to be in fellowship with God.\u00a0 Genesis 1:26-28 tells us that God invested in us when He created us&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u00a026 Then God said, &#8220;Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">male and female he created them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">28 God blessed them and said to them, &#8220;Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.&#8221; \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>God the Father entrusted His good creation with us.\u00a0 He created us in His image and reserved a special place in our hearts that can only be filled by Him.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">2- Jesus the Son, our Savior<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-8662\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sunset-Cross_BeHappy-_400x300-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sunset-Cross_BeHappy-_400x300-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Sunset-Cross_BeHappy-_400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Secondly, God the Son gives us salvation and restores our relationship with God.<\/p>\n<p>Without the cross.\u00a0 Without the restored fellowship we can have through Jesus\u2019 sacrifice, we would not be ale to fill that hole in our hearts.\u00a0 The Bible gives us wealth of familiar verses to speak to this truth:<\/p>\n<p>John 3:16.\u00a0\u00a0 Here\u2019s how Eugene Peterson put verses 16 and 17 in The Message..<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">16 &#8220;This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">17 God didn&#8217;t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">The Message<\/p>\n<p>In Ephesians 2:8-10. Paul reminds us&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith \u2014 and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God&#8217;s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.<\/span> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">NIV<\/p>\n<p>And finally, God has invested His Holy Spirit into us.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">3- Holy Spirit<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Acts+1%3A6-8&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Acts 1:8<\/a><\/span> Jesus told His disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2+cor+1%3A21-22&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">2\u00a0Corinthians\u00a01<\/span><\/a> (21-22) Paul called the Holy Spirit a &#8220;down payment&#8221;; a deposit that God put into our hearts to guarantee the eternal life which is to come.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit helps us pray (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=romans+8%3A26-29&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Romans\u00a08:26<\/a><\/span>), the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to us (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+Corinthians+2%3A10-12&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">1\u00a0Corinthians\u00a02:10<\/a>)<\/span>, the Holy Spirit gives us love, joy, and peace (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=galatians+5%3A16-23&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Galatians\u00a05:22<\/a>)<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>But this gift wasn&#8217;t free.\u00a0 Jesus told us that\u00a0 &#8220;<em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you<\/span>.<\/em>&#8221; (John 16:7-8).<\/p>\n<p>Without the cross we wouldn&#8217;t have the Spirit.\u00a0 God has invested Himself in us.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And beyond that, He has given us the Bible, Spiritual Gifts, friends, family, the Church.\u00a0 He gives us mountains and valleys; He takes us through experiences that help us know more about Him.\u00a0 He protects us and makes all things turn out for good that we may be formed into the likeness of His Son. (<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=romans+8%3A28-29&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Romans\u00a08:28\u00a0AND\u00a029<\/a><\/span>)<\/p>\n<p>He gives us moments of worship.\u00a0 He gives us music.\u00a0 He guides us in prayer.\u00a0 As David wrote in Psalm 139, \u201c<span style=\"color: #800000;\">Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>God has invested in us.\u00a0 We are carrying coins with God\u2019s image on them.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Give to Caesar, Give to God&#8230;<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">How&#8217;s this work out in &#8220;rubber meets the road&#8221; terms?\u00a0 Who is &#8220;Caesar&#8221; and what do we give to him?\u00a0 And what belongs to God?\u00a0 What do we give to Him?<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>Part 5- Conclusion and Application<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-18856-5\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4-What-does-this-Mean.mp3?_=5\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4-What-does-this-Mean.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/4-What-does-this-Mean.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So what does this really mean:\u00a0 Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give to God what belongs to God. ???<\/p>\n<p>Caesar isn&#8217;t a bad thing.\u00a0 Caesar represents the government and other institutions that help us humans work together.\u00a0 Notice that Jesus didn&#8217;t say that we should ignore Caesar; He said that we should pay the tax.\u00a0 And yet, the gifts that grow us closer to God and help us to obey Him, have a higher degree of importance.<\/p>\n<p>There are many areas which include our responsibilities to Caesar and to God.\u00a0 As we wrap up tonight, I\u2019ll quickly suggest four of these parallels.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8212;1&#8212;<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">C<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; We give to Caesar by voting, studying the issues, and even serving in the military or other organizations. We have a responsibility to participate in our democracy.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">G<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; \u00a0But we give to God by investing in our relationship with Him.\u00a0 We participate in that relationship by worshipping, praying, studying, and serving.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Paul told Timothy to&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u00a0Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">NIV (2 Timothy 2:15)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8212;2&#8212;<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">C<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; We Give to Caesar by respecting the law and obeying police officers.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">G<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; But we give to God by recognizing sin in our lives and doing our best to turn away from it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In Psalm 51 (4, 6, 7, 9) David wrote:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,\u00a0 so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800000;\">9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #999999;\">NIV<\/span><\/p>\n<p>God called David \u201c<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1+Samuel+13%3A13-14&amp;version=NLT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a man after His own heart<\/a><\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 Can we give our heart in the same way that David did when he wrote these words?\u00a0 We buckle up, use our turn signals and stick to the speed limit.\u00a0 But do we hunger and thirst for righteousness?\u00a0 Do we plead for God to blot out our iniquity?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8212;3&#8212;<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">C<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; We give to Caesar by working, paying our taxes, and participating in the economy.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">G<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; But we give to God by participating in the Divine economy.\u00a0 This means that we trust God to supply our needs so that we\u2019re free to be generous to help other\u2019s needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">&#8212;4&#8212;<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">C<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; We give to Caesar by taking care of our body and possessions.\u00a0 Yes- go to the dentist, paint your house, change your car\u2019s oil.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">G<\/span><\/strong>&#8211; But we give to God when we nurture our relationships with His people.\u00a0 Share your experiences, support your church, even listen to your friends when they hold you accountable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As you look in the mirror.\u00a0 As you think about what you\u2019ve experienced or what you\u2019ve learned.\u00a0 As you think about your friends and family.\u00a0 Whose image do you see?\u00a0 On each area of your life- on each \u201ccoin\u201d, God has placed an image.\u00a0 God has minted all of these coins and He\u2019s graciously supplied them to you.\u00a0 Some are for your basic needs, but some are for eternal life.\u00a0 We may be paying our bills and giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.\u00a0 <strong><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">But are we giving to God what belongs to God<\/span><\/em><\/strong>?<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-18856 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-medium'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CampMtg-2018-07-08-Mens-Pz-Team-_sr20180708_194941-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-18879\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CampMtg-2018-07-08-Mens-Pz-Team-_sr20180708_194941-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CampMtg-2018-07-08-Mens-Pz-Team-_sr20180708_194941.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-18879'>\n\t\t\t\tMens Praise Team\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CampMtg-2018-07-08-Larry-_sr20180708_195458-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-18878\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CampMtg-2018-07-08-Larry-_sr20180708_195458-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/CampMtg-2018-07-08-Larry-_sr20180708_195458.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-18878'>\n\t\t\t\tLarry Bakely \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: 14pt;\">+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For more about the Pitman Camp Meeting, click this button:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?page_id=7668' class='small-button smallgreen'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Camp Meeting<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For more sermons, you can click this button instead:\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <a href='https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?cat=50' class='small-button smallpurple'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sermon Archive<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jesus&#8217; response to the trap was brilliant:&#8221;Whose image is on that coin?  Then give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but give to God what belongs to God.&#8221;   It blew His questioners away.<br \/>\nThe sermon at the 7\/8\/18 Camp Meeting turned that question towards us: What &#8220;coins&#8221; are you carrying?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,50,14],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-18856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pitman-camp-meeting","category-sermons","category-worship","tag-godsprovision"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18856"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18894,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18856\/revisions\/18894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}