God Provides: Do not steal, Bless Others! | Peter Tan-Chi Jr. | May 24, 2026

0:00 Have you been a victim of stealing? I have for sure. You know what it feels like? Especially in the news today. We hear stories of people stealing from one another, scams going on, corruption, people taking advantage of each other left and right. It's so frustrating, right? You know, today we are going to talk about the eth commandment. Thou shalt not steal. We'll learn why God hates it and how we should obey this commandment. Watch this video. How is everyone today? What are these? This is a What is this? A bike lock. What is this?

0:48 A bicycle seat. You know, I bicycle around the city sometimes to avoid traffic and when fuel prices are high. I am the original EV. It's an exercise vehicle and I really enjoy biking. But one day when I was at Fort, I had a meeting and I parked my bike on High Street and I locked my bike and some of you have heard this story. And after my meeting, there was a big rain and I went out and I saw my bicycle and my bicycle had no more bicycle seat. So my seat was lost. I unlock my bike and the guard comes over. They said ano yani

1:37 there's no more seat. I thought I think this is your job to watch over these bikes. He said I felt a little bad. Uh but praise God for the thankful guard. He was very positive. He reminded me to give thanks. So I got on my bicycle and I biked home without a seat. Have you ever biked home without a seat? But that's from Fort to here. So the whole way I was biking. I was like, "Better not sit down. Better not sit down." And I was a little mad. I remember thinking, "I really do not like that thief." The guard was fine, but I felt so frustrated. Why do I share this story? Up to today, I always take my

2:25 bicycle seat. I I I honest honestly everywhere I go, I take off my bicycle seat and I keep it with me. I go into a mall, I go to a business meeting, I'm carrying my bicycle seat. What happened to me when I was stolen from? What happened? Something happened, right? I developed distrust and something changed. So I have two bicycle locks and I have a bicycle seat. If you ever see a bicycle parked without a seat, that is my bicycle. Now I share that because stealing takes something from us. Now all of you also experience this. This screen is a

3:13 disabled screen. This is not my disabled screen. Mine only got up to 1 hour. Thank you for my son who, you know, when you have a 1 and a halfyear-old, what does he do with your phone? He presses the buttons. And then one day I looked at it. I'm like, what did you do? It's disabled for 1 hour. All of you know this. But all of us also have a problem with something called passwords. So I have a suggestion. How many of you keep forgetting your passwords? Raise your hand. Yeah. Right. In your family, there is always someone who helps you recover the password. So, this is my suggestion for your password. Lord, please help me remember one two three exclamation so you will never forget. But why do we have passwords? Why do we lock our screens? Why do we lock our bikes in today's world? And I'm going to

4:01 God God gave us a command, you know. He told us look then God spoke these words saying I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt out of the house of slavery. So God said you know I'm a good God. I rescued you that he gives all the commands we talked about and last week was uh do not commit adultery and pastor pastor Ricky reminded us because God is faithful and then this week he says do not steal. You know, all these commands are from the backdrop of look, look what I've done for you. These are commands. Why does God give the commands? Because it reflects his nature. And in a proper functioning world where there is no theft, you would not have a locked screen. You would not have to worry

4:48 about cyber security. You would not have to worry about, you know, at night. How many of you check your locks? We all do. I check all the time. I check all our locks. We know when we were young, we were robbed from. So I still remember. So the Bible tells us do not steal. But that is the the command from a negative. Jesus and in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, and I'm going to start at the end. This is where I'm going. Paul says, "He who steals must what? Steal no longer." That's all of us. All of us have stolen. And we'll talk about that. But rather, he must labor. What is labor? Work. Performing with his own hands what is good. So he will have something to share with one who has

5:35 need. Today's message is not just do not steal. It is God provides. Therefore do not steal. But instead what do we do? Bless others. Let us bow our heads and pray again. Lord thank you for this day. Thank you for the privilege of being here to share your word. I admit I am not um capable of doing it without your help properly. So I pray for my heart for your spirit to work and speak through me and I pray for everyone here uh both those listening in person and those online that you will speak to them through your words through me. Thank you in advance. I pray if there's any distractions, you will not allow those

6:21 distractions to steal our attention away from you. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. So God provides. Do not steal. Bless others. And there's going to be three main points. One, first, let's recognize the way we steal. Many the way we steal, the different ways. Number two, let's repent of the heart behind stealing. And then number three, let's replace taking with blessing. What is stealing? Very simply, I'll just give you the Hebrew and the Greek word. The Hebrew is ganab and the the Greek is klepto. That's where you get the word klepto, right? You know, klepto. You've heard that, right? Klepto. Klepto is someone who keeps

7:06 taking stuff. Uh kleptomaniac, right? So he the word basically means do not take something uh that isn't yours or do not steal wrongly. Do not take wrongly. At its very basic definition taking uh stealing is just taking what doesn't belong to you. And all of us if we are to be honest we naturally do this. You don't have to look far. I have a one and a halfyear-old. He's not here. He's here. He's just in the back because if he's here, he will steal your time. He's so cute. But what does the one and a half yearear-old do? Every time he wants something, he goes and gets it. He doesn't care if it belongs to Trac who's over there who's 9 years 8 years old.

7:54 And he will take it. Why? Because children will take what they want and they don't consider who it belongs to. As we become adults, we sometimes do this but in a more sophisticated way. For example, the obvious way of stealing is you take money or possessions, right? What is the less obvious? We take people's time. Have you ever taken someone's time? when you have a meeting and you tell the person I will meet you at 8:00 sharp and then you come at 8:05 in my case sometimes 8 whatever right and on the way I'm messaging already on my way as if that's nice right but

8:42 anyone who's ever been at a meeting knows that a person who says they're on their way yeah it's okay I understand there's always exceptions but my time is now here and there's no one I'm meeting with. So, whose time has been taken? The person that's waiting. How about this? Robbery or theft, right? Sometimes we we we think, you know what, I don't rob anything, but we rob God of glory. We rob God of our time. You know, the Bible says we are uh bought by God, right? He purchased us. So, we belong to God, but we rob him of our time. Another one, fraud or scams in our country. Are there a lot of scams? >> Yes, I was scammed years ago. I lost money. I I I I told you guys a story.

9:27 There's so many stories, but many of you have your own stories of being scammed, right? Be careful on your phone. Seriously, never click on anything because any email uh can be a fishing email. Fishing, right? It fishes for your information. And be very careful of emails. Really, I I I just share this with you guys because of the stuff going on today. Anytime you click on a link that takes you outside, anytime a bank tells you, uh, please click on this link to recover, don't do that. Just go to the bank's website, check their address, call them if you want to make sure, right? Now, sometimes you can do it, but my point is be careful. There's so much fraud. And then what? Instead of that, maybe we don't get we think fraud is

10:12 bad, but we can take credit from others. You know, someone did something and then you act like it's your work. You don't give them credit. Or your wife, she worked so hard, but you don't recognize her for what she did, right? You don't appreciate her. How about this? Corruption or bribery? Do we have corruption or bribery in our country? >> Conte. That's a lie. Oh, sorry. That's next week. Do not lie. So, withholding appreciation. This is what I said, right? my wife, uh, our children, they do something good. Have you ever had this? Your your kids are like, "Dad, dad," and you're like, "I'm sorry, son. I'm busy, right?" And they were so excited. Sorry, I know you guys have done this, right, in our lives. You're so excited. Show me something. What do I do? I don't pay attention. So, we can do

10:59 that. We can take it from our family. How about shoplifting? Anyone here has We don't return borrowed things. That's right. like it's not shoplifting, but you borrowed something uh and you didn't return it. I owe someone, by the way, up to today, and if she's uh her family's watching online, we have not returned a thermos. I'm sorry. Uh I have to find a way to return it. I mean it. I feel bad. And then cheating in business. That's obvious, but what's the not so obvious way? We give dishonest effort at work. We don't work as hard as we can. half effort l sides scrolling checking some shopppee while you're working right and so on and so forth and then not paying but then we

11:49 withhold. So sometimes someone is due something we we owe someone something and we don't give it to them. And then lastly there's so many more examples. We think breaking into someone's property but if we're not careful we damage someone's reputation. Right? These are all examples of how if we're not careful, we are guilty of this command. Because you might think, I'm not a thief. But are you? I will admit after reading this, I am definitely a thief. I have done thief things. Stealing is more than taking things. It is taking, withholding, or misusing what belongs to God and what he has entrusted to others. Remember that. There's a few verses I

12:35 want to highlight. Malachi 3:8, it says, "But will a man rob God?" He says, "But you have robbed me." How? In tithes and offerings. You know, sometimes we don't tithe to the Lord. What is due him? That is a form of stealing. This isn't a message on tithing, but I want to share with you the whole truth, right? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Do you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit whom you have from God? And look at this. You are not your own. You have been bought with a price. How many of you here have been bought with a price by God? Ah, most of us, right? We believe that

13:20 God has paid for our lives. If God has paid for your life, who owns your life? And what is the substance of your life? This time. So who owns your days? Now this is not legalistic. You know, God wants you to have a restful night. God wants you to enjoy a vacation. Why? He said, "Take care of your body." And we know that if you don't get rest, it's bad for your body. If all you do is work, work, work. It's bad. That's why God gave us the Sabbath. He wants us to rest. But remember how you live your days. It's not yours to spend. It's God's. And this is what I'm most guilty of because I I'm a person who has wasted I have a PhD in time wasting. I have done it all.

14:06 I have tried hobbies, shopping, video games, movies, everything. You name it. I've I've wasted my time. So, I'm guilty of this. And if we're not careful, many of us are as well. Jeremiah 23:30. This one is interesting. This is for D-group leaders. How many of you are droup leaders? Yes. And for people that share with your friends the Bible. Look at this one. I am against the prophets who steal my words from each other. What does it mean? Who use their tongues and declare? The Lord declares, "Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams and related them and led people astray

14:53 by their falsehoods and reckless boasting." That's why at CCF, we really focus on teaching from the Bible. Because it's very dangerous when we start to tell people, "This is what God said, but God did not say it." Be very careful when you think God gave you a message for someone, if it's not based on God's word. Because if it is not based on God's word and you're saying it's from God, but it's not, what are you doing? You are stealing from God, his truth. And God is against that. So, we must be careful as teachers. We must always teach from the Bible, right? Not from our own ideas.

15:42 I am the Lord, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven image images. This is one of the most the areas we struggle with, right? We steal God's glory. We we take glory for ourselves. We don't give glory to him that is due. We have idolatry. Pastor Ricky talked about this last week also, right? We are unfaithful. So when we do not give God's glory the glory it's due. When we make it about us and we can be guilty of this as speakers, we can always ask what do people think of me as opposed to what does God want me to say? We steal. Stealing is not merely a hand problem.

16:29 It is what? A heart problem. Tell your seatmate. Stealing is a heart problem. So the second point is what? Repent of the heart behind stealing. First point is you know we we all steal but the second point is let us repent of the heart behind stealing. What is the heart behind stealing? So we talked about worship, right? is a response to God for what he who he is, what he has done, and what he continues to do. Who is God? When it comes to the idea of

17:15 stealing, there are two points I want to focus on. A stealer rejects God. Actually, there's three points, but we'll go through it. Rejects God as owner. The earth is the Lord's and what all it contains. the world and those who dwell in it. God owns everything. God owns my time, my family. God owns this building. God owns everything. Everything belongs to him. When you take something from someone, you are taking from a person, but you're also taking from God who gave that item to that person. And however they came about, God allows them to have it.

18:02 That's God's domain. But when we take it unjustly, we are saying, "I don't trust your ownership." Number two, stealing rejects God as provider. Cuz when you steal, let's let's be honest about stealing, people often steal because they want something and God has not yet given it to them. Why God hasn't given it? There are many reasons. The world is broken. Um God allows the brokenness of the world to affect us. There is poverty. Our country has a lot of it. People have stolen from our people. The government steals. So on and so forth. But when we take it into our own hands, what do we do? We are rejecting that God is the provider. Look at the two verses. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. So we are

18:49 like sheep. So sheep they they not that smart, right? And God is our shepherd. He brings us to the pastures. He's the one that will guide us. So the sheep, their job is to follow the shepherd and let him guide them. And God tells us how to live in the Bible, by the way. We learn that at church, right? All the different messages. And my God will supply all your needs. This is the New Testament. So Old Testament, New Testament, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. There's God tells us, "Hey, I've I've got more than enough. I will supply your needs. Trust me. So the heart of a stealer does not trust God as owner and provider. Stealing begins long before the hand

19:37 takes. It begins when? When the heart stops trusting God. So the verse I want to share with you, the story is the story of Adam and Eve. Do you remember what happened? God put them in a garden and he gave them every tree but one. And what did Satan do? He He told Eve, "Did God really say?" And then he said, "You will not die." So what did what did Satan do? He He told Eve, "What God said is not true. Don't believe him. For God knows that when you eat the fruit, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So Satan told them like you know an almost full truth they didn't die

20:25 immediately but they died spiritually. So see when we stop to believe who God really is. We start to believe a version of God that isn't completely true we are in danger. And what then what happened in the story? The heart stopped believing in God's goodness and then Eve took the fruit. I will take it and do what I want with it. Another example of what stealing does. So first it rejects God as owner and provider. Number two, stealing violates God's design for what? Love, justice, and stewardship. The Old Testament is all these rules. God said, "You are my people. Here's how you live." And it's by design, right? This is how you love your neighbor. This is how you are good. So if you do not

21:12 steal, you are following that design. But when you steal, you are violating that design. This verse is graphic. It says, "As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, so is he who makes a fortune but unjustly. And in the midst of his days, it will forsake him. And in the end, he will be a fool." When you take something that doesn't belong to you, in this case, you make a fortune that doesn't you didn't do it right. The Bible says it's like you're hatching eggs that are not yours. The idea is you're taking something from someone and it's it's you know when you take anything from someone all the more they're they're their offspring. That's how bad it is. So stealing violates

22:00 God's design for love. When you steal you are not loving your neighbor. You are not being just. You are not being a steward. You are being an anti-lover, anti-just, anti- steward person. And God hates that. That's the heart of a thief. And then we see another example. Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields and which have been withheld by you cries out against you. So when you don't pay someone what is due and I have to apologize to my children today uh on the way here we were talking about stealing and uh my daughter and son reminded me when

22:46 they were in the US I promised them if they babysit Trevan they will get money. They said dad you haven't give us the money yet. So I said, "I'm sorry. I will give it to you the next time we go to the US." No, I will try to give it later. But my ATM was not working last night. So yesterday, my my other daughter asked me for money. She had to go somewhere and I I tried to go to the ATM. I biked to the ATM and I put my card in. It didn't work. So what did I do? Well, I went back home and I opened her piggy bank and I took money from the piggy bank and gave it to her because I was thinking I'll return it. And then she came home after her, this is my

23:32 16-year-old and she says, "Dad, I need money for tomorrow." And she goes to her piggy bank. She said, "Dad, there's no money in my piggy bank. Who took it?" I said, "Oh, I gave it to you." And she said, "That's my money. I asked you for money. I didn't say get my money and give it to me." So, we were laughing on the way here. Uh, but I know it's silly, but if we're not careful, right, we don't think much of it. So, children, I apologize. Daddy will go to the ATM after and I will make right all my utang. But getting back to serious, what happens if you take from someone? What is due them? You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of what? Pleasure. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have

24:19 condemned and put to death the righteous person. I know I was joking, but if any of you have been have experienced your rightful pay being withheld, it's like this, right? It it's really painful. So, I share this um and I'm not perfect in this area. Stealing destroys. The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and destroy. Who is the thief? This is the devil. And if we're not careful, we are living like the thief. And our family experienced this firsthand.

25:06 Many of you know the story of my sister in our house. And I I I made a statement. I lock every night. I check I literally do I go around the house and check all the locks because when we were young our house was broken into and my sister and her friends they were raped and something was stolen from our family. It's more than just the money. It's the peace of mind. It's there's something that will affect you. And so I I hope you guys understand one of the reason God hates stealing is what it does to your neighbor. the damage someone who has been stolen from if if you guys if you've been scammed what do you feel what's the word you feel violated right it it's like wow that can

25:53 happen so what happens we become guarded people you know stealing affects people in such a terrible way that's why Satan the thief he's a destroyer right it's right up there to steal kill and destroy it's right up there stealing is that had. And I share this because I know I I make some jokes about stealing, but it's not a small thing. And we have to understand God hates stealing. And look at the story in Joshua 7:1. The sons of Israel acted what? Unfaithfully. This is they had just won. They had just conquered uh Jericho. And then what happened? The next battle, Achen, the

26:38 sons of uh the son of Ki, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zarah, took some of the things under the ban. And what happened? The anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel. You know, they lost that battle. People died. And Joshua said, "Lord, what happened?" And God said, "Someone took something they shouldn't have." So what did they do? They drew lots. He was discovered. He said, "I saw it. I wanted it and I took it." And then what did they do? They stoned him and his family. And then it says, "The anger of the Lord was lifted." God hates stealing. You know

27:24 what was sad? If you study that that look for Joshua, go after that. The next battle God said you can take. If Achen had just waited one battle, he could have taken without guilt. Sometimes we steal because we cannot wait on the Lord. I need it now. And this is not just when you take stuff. This is in many areas, right? There's things we want in our lives that God hasn't given yet, but we try to shortcut and we take it ahead of time when God might have given it later on. So, we don't want to be that. And the

28:10 last thing I want to share about stealing that's so terrible is stealing spreads evil because what? Sin begets sin. And because uh Pastor Ricky talked about it, I just wanted to remind you. Look at David. Look at what he did. And you'll see stealing. It's there. David neglected his duty. He didn't go to war. He stayed home. He was lazy. He woke up in the evening. Who wakes up at the evening? And then he was idle. He wasn't reading the Bible. You know, the king is supposed to copy the Bible all the days of his life. He's going to write it and copy it so he never goes

28:56 against it. But he wasn't doing that. He was looking around and he saw Basheba and he desired her. He didn't think I have so many women already. Then he got her, abused his power. He stole Bath Sheba even though he knew that was his friend's wife. You see how sin beget sin and then he committed adultery. He lied. He murdered. He got someone else to murder and others. Have you guys ever heard of buy one take one? >> You like buy one take one. Sin is buy one take who knows how many. It's super combo deal. Do not start that journey.

29:44 That's why small sins are so dangerous because you think it's small lung. You don't realize small lung kasama barangi whole barangi comes along with the small sin and stealing can be one of those small sins very dangerous very deadly very destructive let us be careful that's why God hates not just stealing all sin so the heart of a thief in summary is what rejects God as owner and provider Ider violates God's design for love, justice and stewardship and destroys people and spreads lies.

30:30 The last point, let us replace taking with blessing. So the verse I started with, I really love this verse and it speaks to me because it shows me how I can undo the time I have stolen from God. It says, "He who steals must steal no longer, but he must what?" Labor. What is labor? Hard work. We must work hard. Performing with, you know, in my case, my hands, with his own hands, what is good so that he will have something to share with one who has need. If you have been a thief, I hope you will take this verse to

31:15 heart. Let you tell the Lord,"Lord, I don't want to be a thief. I want to work hard. I want to do something good with with what you've given me, with my time, so that I will what? Have something to give with someone who has need." And there's so many ways to do this. I will share with you in a bit that God does not turn thieves into non- thieves. He turns takers into givers. It's so beautiful. In everything I showed that by working what? Hard in this manner, you must help the weak and remember the words of Jesus which he said what? It is better to give than to

32:01 receive. So I want to show you this chart. God helped me work on this last night. Labor to give, not to steal. If before we stole things, now let us work extra hard. So maybe we have a little bit extra to give to someone who has need. You know what that does? If someone who has need receives a blessing, maybe they won't steal because sometimes people steal when they need things. So we can help others not steal by giving. If before I was late to a meeting, what must I do? I must plan my day to come a little early or maybe a lot

32:47 early. In the Philippines, if the buffer is 5 minutes, maybe we need to make it 15. Now, what does that mean? Well, you'll be sitting by yourself. Isn't it better you sit by yourself than the other person sit by themsel? That's what it means. you give. I will give you my time and I won't think. No, I joyfully give it. Why? Because God said I'll give. And so you give your time extra. And you know, you say, Lord, Lord, you take care of the margin because I I I gave extra time. I might not have enough time for this. And God says, I I will take care of that. I'm I'm big enough to work around your schedule. If before we we steal peace. I

33:34 didn't use this example before, but in marriages, I have stolen my wife's peace. Have I? She's nodding her head so fast. You could just nod slowly. No, just kidding. I love my wife. She wasn't. I was joking. If we steal peace from our wife, what? Maybe we can give ourselves more because the Bible says, "Husbands, love your wife as what? Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." So I I leave this a bit nebulous because every marriage the husband knows what this means because every wife has different love language. So my wife it's time. So maybe I should knit with her. I really don't want to knit. But my wife loves knitting. So maybe I will knit with you one time.

34:21 That would be fun. She's excited, right? So I will sit there and do the most mind-numbing thing for an hour. But that's what that's giving. That's my point. I can see it as I am such a hero or wow, what a privilege to give to my wife these hours. It's okay. So that's my point, right? We change our mindset. It's labor. It's good to labor, steal attention from our children, right? My children, I said, I I I I sometimes am not there. What should I do? Labor to be present. Fathers, who's a father? Raise your hand. Your present is your greatest present. Your presence is your greatest present.

35:08 I guarantee you what children want from their dads is their time. So be present. That's the labor we give. If you stole from your employer before, what do you do this time? You give excellence. Even if your employer never notices, you're still giving. If before you stole glory from God and what time? What do you do now? You labor. This is for me. Lord, help me to do double time. Will you redeem my days? Will you guide me through your Holy Spirit to use my time extra well because I lost so many years? That's that's God's, you know, ask God for help. That's how we can become givers. I would like to call my brother Manny to share his testimony. Brother

35:53 Manny, let's all welcome Manny. >> So, my name is Emanuel Manny Aguila. I'm happily married and blessed with one child. I have been a follower of Jesus since 2014. I started my career in customer care, then transferred to corporate sales. And this is my testimony of how the love of Christ transformed my life and taught me to walk in integrity even when compromise seems easier and more profitable. In 2015 during my early years in corporate sales, I encountered one of the biggest tests of my faith. One agent wanted me to allow him to enter and negotiate with one of accounts I was

36:38 handling and approached me with an under the table offer. In return, he promised to give me amount bigger than my monthly salary. At that moment, I remembered the Sunday message about walking in integrity. The Lord reminded me that the command thou shalt not steal is not only about taking money or possessions but also about refusing corruptions, dishonesty, greed, and compromise. By God's grace, I did not accept the offer. Instead, I share the gospel with him. That became a turning point in my life. I realized that the true success is not about how much money we gain, but

37:24 about honoring God even when no one is watching. In June 2023, my mom suffered a massive stroke. During her confinement, I also experienced severe chest pain that might lead to our heart attack. While waiting for an emergency and I boldly pray, Lord, you're all I have. Please heal me and give me a new heart because this lives belongs to you. During that moment, God rem reminded me of Psalms 27:14. Wait for the Lord. Be strong. Take the heart and wait for the Lord. The staff heard my prayer and during the procedure the doctor told me, "Manny,

38:12 there is no blockage. It is as if you have a new heart." Praise God. The staff were amazed and praised God during the procedure. Truly, God is our healer. And I was reminded that the same God who healed me could also heal my mom. She was confined for more than a month. Our bills continued to pile up. Financially, everything became difficult. Eventually, I resigned from my first company where I worked for over 16 years so I could use my early retirement pay to help settle our bills. In 2025, God opened another opportunity through a new company with a better

38:59 compensation package. I slowly managed to pay some of our debts. But even in my new workplace, I was tested again. I face an un an ethical practices because of fear and financial pressure. But God reminded me to stand firm and trust him completely. I held on to his promises in Romans 8:28 and in Job 1:21. I believe that if God allow me to enter this workplace, he will also be the one to bring me through it. I choose to hold firmly to his promise. Do not fear, for I am with you. In less than six months, I was removed

39:45 from that company. I believe it was because I did not compromise my principle. Another challenge came when half of my body suddenly became numb while attending the men's conference. In the ER, was diagnosed with an eskeemic stroke. I was confined for more than a week and underwent physical rehabilitation for almost two months. Yet God remained faithful. He sustained me physically, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. By his grace, I was able to claim my critical illness benefit from my personal insurance. Unexpectedly, someone from my first

40:31 company heard about my situation and reached out asking if I would be willing to return. I humbly accepted the opportunity and I was given a better position that I had before. And in January 26, I returned to my first company with a renewed heart to continue serving our clients and honoring God through my work. In April, another painful trial came when my eldest sister suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and passed away after 4 days. Although it was heartbreaking, but I thank God because before she passed away, I was able to share the gospel with her and

41:18 she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Praise God. During the three-day wake, I was also given the opportunity to share the gospel with others and give Bibles to some of the people who were close to her. Through every trial, God never abandoned me. My Drew Christian friends, family became instrument of his comfort and strength. Today I continue serving as one of breakoff facilitator at big single ministry every Friday at CCF Makati and by God's grace in less than four months after returning to my company I received

42:05 my regularization and more than that I'm now leading three account managers. Praise God. I'm Emanuel Aguila, a sinner saved by grace, transformed by the love of Christ, and continually learning to walk in integrity and obedience. No matter how difficult life becomes, I have learned that nothing compares to the peace that comes from honoring God and refusing to compromise. To God be all the glory. I have asked uh his wife Pam, their daughter Elise and their D-group leader Al and Maripi and come all of you can come. It's okay. Um you know I'm so blessed by his story

42:54 and you see an example of a person who chose to labor instead of compromise. And it wasn't all easy even up to now, right? challenges but God is faithful and I think it is important to always remember here come here so we can everyone can see you there it is important to remember how faithful God is because if we don't trust in God's goodness we will we will worry and we cannot make it through so I want to pray for them and it's important to be in a D-group because your D-group journeys with you and guides you so let's pray our heavenly father thank you so much for my brother Manny for his wife Pam for their droup their his daughter Elise and their family. Thank you, Lord, for this example of their life. I pray a blessing over them. Um, I know there are

43:40 many more uh journeys ahead, but it is so beautiful that Manny has learned to walk with you, to trust you, and that as he journeys with you, you have been faithful in spite of the problems. I pray a blessing over them, their finances, their health, their relationships, his work. Will you show them favor and continue to use them to glorify you? In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. Thank you guys. So blessed as he walks off. I don't want to forget the greatest blessing we can give. I will share with you now which is what he did. You know some of us we will work hard and we won't have a lot of material

44:28 things to give. But that is not what God actually is asking us to give. God is asking us to give something to others that is greater than every material thing. And we'll we'll learn about it at the end. We're almost there. So the heart of a thief versus the heart of a giver. The thief rejects God as owner. What does a giver do? Trusts God as owner and provider. There's a difference. The heart of a thief violates God's design. The heart of a giver upholds God's design for love, justice, and stewardship. In fact, we try to defend it. And you saw that in Manny's life. He refused to do what a thief would do, and

45:15 God eventually honored him for it. There was a price though at that moment. He experienced consequences, and that is labor. The heart of a thief destroys people and spreads evil. The heart of a giver blesses people and spreads what? God's love, which is what I want to talk about. God's love is the key. It is the greatest thing we can give. It's obviously God giving it, but he gives it through us. How does a taker become a giver? So, how many of you have been a thief at one point in your life based on what I've shared so far? or you've taken you things you shouldn't have. That's all of us. If you haven't taken, I'd like to meet you. But how do

46:01 we turn into a giver? Let's remember what the Old Testament says. If you are a thief, these are the consequences. If a man steals an ox, he shall pay five. If he owns nothing, he shall be sold. His life will be given because he cannot pay. He shall pay double. If the thief is caught, he shall pay double. Every breach of trust that the judge condemns shall pay double to his neighbor. There is a principle in the Bible, the whole Old Testament. It's so beautiful how God connects all the dots.

46:48 Sin creates debt utang damage and loss. Justice requires restoration. There must be restitution. It's not kumbaya. Let's pretend nothing happened. Okay, lang, right? It's not like that. There must be justice. Zakius when he met Jesus do you remember the story Luke 19:8 Zakius met Jesus he you know Jesus said I'll come to your house and then what did he say Lord half of my possessions I will give to the poor if I defrauded anyone I

47:33 will give back four times how did Zakius go from being a thief you know tax collectors they were not actually good. They would they would take extra. That's how they made money. How did he become a giver? He met who? He met Jesus. Have you met Jesus? And if you met meet Jesus, you will know this. Colossians 2 13-4. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your faith while you were dead, no, not deserving, he made you alive with him. Having forgiven all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of

48:18 debt, he canled our debt consisting of decrees against us. You owe this, you owe this, you owe this, you owe your life, which was hostile to us. It's our death. Our sin is our death. And he took it out of the way. How? He nailed it to the cross. You know Jesus paid a debt he did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay. So how does a thief become a giver? When you have received something you do not deserve. Then you learn how to give something even if others may or may not deserve it. It's not about that anymore. You're

49:05 not paying it forward. You're passing grace on because you've received grace. You're just so grateful when you realize how much has been given to you, how much God has given us in Jesus Christ. And he's actually telling us, will you share me with others? That is what God wants. The gospel does not merely forgive thieves. It turns thieves into givers. For the wages of sin is death. We owed what? Death. But the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. Can you imagine that?

49:51 So when if we have God, remember the song at the start, Christ is what? Christ is enough for me. That's actually partly true. It's actually Christ is more than more than enough for me, not just for this life, but forever. And you know, God gives to us not just now until eternity. So we can spread this truth to others. We work extra hard. We give extra time. My goal is that my children by my giving will understand this truth. For God so loved the world,

50:38 he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. So that is the secret to becoming a giver. It's first to receive from the greatest giver. If you have never received this gift of eternal life, I will pray with you in a minute to receive it. It says, "Whoever believes in him," what is believing? You're doing it now. You're placing the weight of your life on the chair. Believing is placing the weight Well, you're placing the weight of your body on the chair. Believing is placing the weight of our life on what Jesus did on the cross. I do I believe you did it and

51:26 you paid it all. And when we learn to do that, we can become givers. And for those of you who have trusted Jesus, sometimes we need to remember it all begins with the gospel. If you ever have a question, what's going on in my life? Take a step back and say, who is God to me? What has he done? Did he save me? If he saved me, I can trust him. If he saved me, he's a good God. So I want to encourage those who don't know Jesus and those who have known Jesus all their lives never forget how much of a giver God is to you. And from that heart of gratitude you can become a person who lives a life

52:14 God provides. I will not steal. I will bless others. I will recognize how I've stolen. I will repent from that heart. And I will replace taking with blessing. Let's bow our heads and pray. If you have never given your life to Christ and have not received eternal life, I first want to pray with you. I can't pray for you. You have to pray. You have to place your faith in Jesus. So, just pray with me. Dear Lord, I know I'm a sinner, but I thank you that you gave even if you didn't need to by dying on the cross for me. I receive your gift of eternal life. I believe in you.

53:00 Thank you for what you've done for me, for saving me. And now, Lord, I pray for all of us. May each of us in this room and those watching whenever remember what you said that we would steal no longer, but rather we would labor performing with our own hands what is good so that we will have something to give with those who have need. And there's nothing better we can give than the truth about you. Will you live in us and help us through your Holy Spirit to share you with the world everywhere we go by laboring hard for you. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. Praise God.

53:53 Good day CCF family. Welcome to Sunday Fastrack where you ask real life questions and we give you biblical truths. I am Bianca Kadderon from the Elevate Exalt Ministry and we're here today with brother Peter Tanti Jr. to answer some of your questions. >> Good day, brother Peter. >> Hello. >> Hello. Thank you for sharing God's message today about the eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal. Are you ready to answer our questions? >> I am. >> For our first question, >> in what ways can we become thieves even if we are not stealing materially? Um so today when we when I spoke I reminded people that stealing is not just about taking things. It's also about taking what does not belong to you and taking what God has given others. So it can be

54:39 stuff like time. We can steal time. We can steal recognition from others. We can steal God's glory. There's so many things we can steal. We can steal peace from our friends when we do things that hurt them. So we can steal so many things. When you take anything that does not belong to you from someone, you are stealing. >> Praise God for that insightful response. For our second question, at some point, many of us may have taken or borrowed something and failed to return it, whether it's money, time, or resources? What does true repentance for stealing look like? Is being sorry enough? So sorry is always a start, but I always remind people repentance is also trying to make up for what you've done if you can to the best of your ability. So if you've taken money, true repentance is

55:24 returning the money. If you've taken time, true repentance is in the future making up for that by always trying to be early to your meetings. Uh if you've taken resources, it is returning the resources. As a father, if I've taken peace from my wife, it is working hard to to bring that peace back, to rebuild trust. So repentance involves sorry and then doing our best to make up for that action by the power of the Holy Spirit. >> Amen. By the power of the Holy Spirit alone. And for our last question, as Christians and Filipinos, how should we respond to the current issues involving theft, corruption, and abuse of power? >> Yeah, this question is close to my heart. as a Filipino and the tendency is to just talk a lot about it and complain with your friends, go on social media,

56:12 but the Bible has a verse in Ephesians. It says, "Do not participate in uh the deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." >> And I think the challenge for us uh is what do we do? The first thing I think we can do is pray first because obviously God is more powerful than us and he can change people, change hearts. we pray and then let's be faithful where we are. So if you run a business and you are tempt you're tempted to get involved in corruption uh don't and then let's disciple one another to raise a young generation that is faithful to Jesus so sooner or later some of those young people enter government and the government changes from the ground up. Uh, and there's also something else CCF does. It's called Christians for Nation

56:57 Building. It's C4NB and the website will be posted. If you really want to get involved, you can. And there's more you can do. There's more we can do. But I think we all have to partner together to pray for our nation and to love it. >> Amen. Praise God. Thank you so much, brother Peter, for answering our questions. And that's it for CCF Sunday Fastrack. God bless. >> God bless. Heat. Heat.