Tithing
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Intro:
Behaviors of followers of Jesus
So far we have covered the importance of
praying
Reading (your Bible)
getting rid of idols and sin that separates you from God
Sharing the Love and Message of Christ with Nonbelievers
Depending on God
Expecting the Miraculous
Discipling others and Growing
Supporting missions to help fulfill the great commission
Today we will be talking about money, and the behavior I want to talk about is TITHING
Priorities
Priorities
The rocks signify the most important things in your life that have eternal value,
God,
family (legacy),
relationships,
The pebbles are the other things that matter in your life —
like work and your career,
school and your education,
your home or car or other personal property.
These things are oftentimes necessary,
but they’re not as permanent (or essential) to your eternity.
For example, in most cases, you can easily get another car (or job, for that matter).
And the sand — well, the sand represents all the “small stuff” in life.
They are “fillers” — sometimes required, but usually not critical, essential, or important in the big scheme of things.
But they oftentimes consume your time and attention.
There are probably a million examples of the sand in our daily lives:
paying monthly bills (we probably should do it, but it’s not the most important or urgent thing);
doing chores around the house;
completing any number of tasks at work (yes, they’re all important, but probably not your life’s priority);
watching TV;
whatever, and so forth.
Some of these tasks bring temporary joy
but some are a pure waste of time
(I’m not sure any of us will put “Watched a Lot of TV” on our headstones!),
and others are “necessary evils” —
things we should eventually do but aren’t priority
(cleaning the kitchen isn’t nearly as important as visiting family).
Before we talk about tithing, lets look at what the Bible says about money
Money Matters in the Bible
Money Matters in the Bible
Love of money
Less is more
Generosity
Pay Your Debts
Love of money
Love of money
And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
“Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?
“And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.
And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it.
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone.
For wealth certainly makes itself wings
Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth
And does not know that want will come upon him.
Do not trust in oppression
And do not vainly hope in robbery;
If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.
Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
But righteousness delivers from death.
Less is more
Less is more
“And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.
“For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
“Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.
Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?
How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
A good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
Generosity
Generosity
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;
for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”
“Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
He who is generous will be blessed,
For he gives some of his food to the poor.
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales
and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Pay your debts
Pay your debts
Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
Do not be among those who give pledges,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take your bed from under you?
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.
“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But He detected their trickery and said to them,
“Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Tithing
Tithing
It belongs to GOD
‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.
“Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
‘Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
Tithing
“You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
He gave him a tenth of all.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,
and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God.
“This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
“To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.
Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?
So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
‘So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest.
First Fruits
and that they might bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the Lord annually,
and bring to the house of our God the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the law, for the priests who are ministering in the house of our God.
We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns.
Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
————————————————————-
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
“You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
Tithing Time
If time is money, then tithe your time
168 hours in a week
ten percent would be 16 hours
many people tithe their income after tax,
so if you subtract the hours of sleep in a week
it comes out to about 12 hours a week to give to God and His church
sunday service- 2 hours
sunday school- 1.5
wed nights- 1.5 hours
5 hours
community meal- 2 hours (11.30-1.30)
come early for prayer on Wed- .5 to an hour
come for prayer on Sunday mornings- 1hr
4 hrs
still four hours short
35 minutes every day praying and reading your bible covers the rest of that time with a minute to spare
Shifting the Paradigm
MPH
Meet someone new once a week
Pray for someone (different then the one you met)
Help someone in need
LIFE SAVING STATION
LIFE SAVING STATION
“On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur,
there was once a crude little life-saving station.
The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat.
But the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea,
and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost.
Some of those who were saved,
and various others in the surrounding area,
wanted to become associated with the station
and give their time and money and effort for the support of its work.
New boats were bought and new crews trained.
The little life-saving station grew.
Some of the members of the life-saving were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped.
They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea.
They replaced the emergency cots with beds
and put better furniture in the enlarged building
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members,
and they decorated it as sort of a club.
Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions,
so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work.
The life-saving motif still prevailed in this club`s decoration,
and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club initiations were held.
About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast,
and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet and half-drowned people.
They were dirty and sick and some had black skin and some had yellow skin.
The beautiful new club was in chaos.
So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership.
Most of the members wanted to stop the club`s life-saving activities as being unpleasant
and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club.
Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose
and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station.
But they were finally voted down
and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters,
they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast.
So they did just that.
As the years went by,
the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old.
It evolved into a club,
and yet another `spin-off` life saving station was founded.
History continued to repeat itself,
and if you visit the sea coast today,
you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore.
Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters,
but most of the people drown.”
Priorities
