What Test
Walking With Favor • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Good morning and welcome to Living Faith Church. I am so excited to be able to worship Jesus Christ with you on this amazing Sunday. If we have never met before, my name is Aaron. My wife Stella and I are honored to be able to serve on the Pastoral team at LFC. Last week we began a great series called Walking With Favor. The heart behind this series is really this. I believe that there is a level of favor awaiting you, a richness in your life that attracts a favor from God. Favor is defined by the oxford dictionary as “approval and support”. And in Scripture it is often earmarked by three major things. We talked about these last week: Radical Salvation - in you or through you; Supernatural works- physical, emotional, spiritual healing, and financial freedom. Right now, I want you to follow me on something:
Rich Young Ruler:
Rich Young Ruler:
When the man in Mark 10, whom we call the Rich Young Ruler met with Jesus, He asked Him what must I do to be saved. To which Jesus replied Don’t murder, Commit Adultery, Steal, Lie, Deceive Others, and Honor your parents. This Rich young ruler was a good person and had according to his testimony kept all these commands. And in reply look at what Jesus sad;
“One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Mark 10:21
Zacchaeus:
Zacchaeus:
Now in Luke 19, we read that Jesus found this short little man named Zacchaeus, who was a tax collector. He had made a fortune off of stealing tax money from the citizens. And when Zacchaeus met Jesus, Jesus said, we are going to do lunch today at your place Zacchaeus. To which the Bible says, “Everyone was indignant”. But after a moment with Jesus Zacchaeus said
“Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” Luke 19
Lazarus:
Lazarus:
Lazarus, the one whom Jesus resurrected, the brother of Mary and Martha, was from a very wealthy family. And we read no mention of Jesus asking him to give any possessions at all for the sake of salvation.
The message I propose to you behind these three incidents is this; Jesus was not fair in His call to salvation with these three men, according to human standards. But according to the Kingdom of God, Jesus was after the heart. Zacchaeus greedy heart came under the light of conviction when he encountered the Glory of God. He saw his heart and wanted to change. The Rich Young Ruler, was according to the law a good man, but according to the Kingdom of God, there was an issue with his heart, and it manifested when Jesus brought it into light, and it says, he walked away and was grieved, another translations says sorrowful, or deeply dismayed. His possessions had his heart!
This man in Mark 10, The Rich Young Ruler was given a pop quiz. When was the last time you were given a pop quiz?
STORY
This Rich Young Ruler; He had no clue when he woke up the morning that the his eternal future was going to come into question. And the truth is that none of us know when our heart is going to be challenged. Yet, every day you and I make decisions with our finances that set our heart in a direction that is either drawing us closer to Gods favor or further from Gods favor.
Real Time Test
Real Time Test
Think about this for a moment; How often do you get paid? Who here gets paid once a week? Ok, how every other week? Anyone get paid monthly? Raise your hand if you never get paid? LOL… I’m sorry! Ask yourself this question… Who is it that I am thanking for my income? Many thank VISA, because that’s the first one that they pay, yet Visa does not have the power to bless you! Some thank Amazon, “I’ve been waiting all month to buy that thing…” Amazon can’t bless you. But God has that power and He wants to bless you abundantly. He wants the earmark of Favor to overtake you because it brings glory to Him when you live with favor. But there is a test we have to pass. Look at this passage in Malachi.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try 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 such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts;
12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.
He says, you have gone away from my Statutes, or Ordinances. This word ordinance means, a principle of ordinary behavior. He says, you’ve gone away from my principal of ordinary behavior for the Christian, and as a result you are living under a curse. This is HUGE. Many people believe we don’t live under a curse because Christ bore our curse for us on the cross. And that’s true, He did… in effect to our salvation. But are you saying that because we are under grace that we can live however we want? That’s crazy! If you go into car dealership and steal a car, there is going to be a real consequence… That’s what a curse is, it’s a consequence for adverse behavior. What if we steal from God? See, it all belongs to God, but He’s made you a steward and reserved 10% for himself. And when we don’t honor that, the Bible says, we are stealing from God.
Achan
Achan
The same thing is mentioned in Joshua when Achan stole the Silver and Gold at Jericho. God said, in Joshua 7 that Jericho was to be the Tithe city. They were to give all the possessions of Jericho as a tithe to the Lord. It was the first city they conquered. But Achan took some of the possessions for himself and hid them. When Joshua sought God after being utterly defeated God said, Get up, Israel has stolen from me. These are strong words… But a preacher didn’t make this up. Did you hear what was written, in Malachi 3? Over and over he uses this term “Says The LORD” ! In these 6 verses He says five times, “Says The Lord”. God wants you to know without a doubt that it is HE who is calling you to be generous, to follow Him in the tithe. It’s not the idea of a random preacher, or an organization. It is God calling you to obedience. And when you are faithful in the Tithes, in the 10% given back to Him, He will
10 “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.
11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts.
Now one of the biggest arguments against tithing is, people say, it’s Old Testament; Well tithing is old testament, it doesn’t apply today. Let’s remember that right above all of these verse in Malachi 3, God kicks off in verse 6 with:
“I The Lord, Do Not Change” He is the same yesterday, today and forever. “
Malachi 3:6
We can argue with God as long as we want about why He didn’t talk about tithing more in the new testament, but I think the real issues here is simply this; and this is point number one for you today.
Tithing Is A Test
God is testing our hearts! Last week talked about the heart of generosity. Why do we struggle with giving God 10% of our income, when He has given His one and only son for us… where is our heart? But here is why I think he chose 10%. First, I think he chose a percentage because its fair for everyone. No matter if you make 30,000 a year or 300,000 a year… it’s a penny on every dime. But the word tithe literally means a tenth. This is why we know that a tithe to the Lord is 10% because that's what the Hebrew word means; a tenth. But listen to this. Many times, in scripture, when we see the number 10, we find that it is in conjunction with a test. Check this out. Let’s do a question and answer here for a moment. I’ll ask you the question, and you answer, ok?
• How many plagues were there in Egypt?
• How many commandments are there?
• How many times did God test Israel in the desert Number 14
• How many times were Jacobs wages changed?
• How many times was Daniel tested
• How many virgins were tested in Matthew 25?
• How many days of testing are mentioned in Revelation?
Ok? Tithing is a test, But it’s a two-way test. It’s the only place I've found in scripture where we are told that we can test God.
10 “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.
He wants to open the windows of heaven, He want’s bless you, He wants to rebuke the devourer, but He says… Test me in the tithe.
Will you have faith in me that living on 90% with God will go further than 100% without God?
Years ago I was on staff at a church where one one of the pastors finally admitted to having an issue with tithing. His primary argument was, he believed that tithing was an Old Testament commandment and not applicable to our New Testament era. Well, first of all… I’ll show you here in a moment that Tithing was mentioned long, long, long before the law was introduced, and also in the new testament. But all of those facts aside. There are things today that are under the law that we still abide by. Murder for instance. Do I get to go around killing people just because it was under the law? Adultery, just because adultery is under the law, and now I’m under grace, does this mean I can live an adulterous lifestyle and still be ok with God? That just because it’s wrong under the law that it’s now right under grace? Of course not, and we all understand that. Tithing is the same.
Tithing is Biblical
Tithing is Biblical
The second this we need to understand is this. Tithing is a Biblical concept. Look at this.
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.
19 He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.
That word “tenth” is the word we translate as tithe, and this passage was about 500 years before the law. And Abraham, Galatians says is our spiritual father, and Melchizedek Hebrews says is a type of Christ.
22 “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.”
This was written 400 years before the law.
30 ‘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.
Now look at this in Deuteronomy:
2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name.
“The Place Where The Lord Your God Chooses To Establish His Name”… that is the church. Now look at this in Deuteronomy 26:13-14
13 “You shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and also have given it to the Levite and the alien, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed or forgotten any of Your commandments.
14 ‘I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the Lord my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me.
Think about that, how many times have we actually used our tithe for sinful things. The money that belongs to Gods house, being used for sinful purposes!
He emphasizes here… I have removed the Holy Tithe! Have you removed the Holy tithe? He says, when we have done this, removed the tithe from our house, and brought it into His house, that is the church, we can pray this prayer. “Look down from heaven and bless your people”.
Tithing is a Biblical principle. But just for some of us, let me ask you this. If Jesus said, you need to tithe, would you tithe? If Jesus Himself said you need to tithe, in red letters, in the New Testament, would you tithe? Look at this!
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
He says here; You’re tithing… that is great! But you need also do justice, mercy and faithfulness. But then look! Read this with me!
“…but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”
Some say the “these” in this verse refers to tithing, some say it refers to Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness. It really doesn’t matter in this context, either way he says, “You should have done without neglecting the others.” In other words, Do Justice, Mercy and faithfulness, and don’t neglect the tithing!
Now look at this in Hebrews 7. This is speaking again of Melchizedek and Jesus, and how mortal men receive tithes upon this earth. But look:
8 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.
He is saying, you might put your tithe in an offering basket, most of us do it online, but no matter how you give, it is Jesus who receives it. It’s Jesus! That excites me!
Tithing Is A Blessing
Tithing Is A Blessing
Turn with me to 2 Chronicles 31. Let me tell you about 2 Chronicles 31. One day, Hezekiah is reading the scriptures, and he stumbles on this commandment of the tithe and he says, we need to obey God in the tithe. Now listen, Israel at this time is under an economic recession, and Hezekiah realizes, we’re under a curse! So he ordered Israel to bring in the full tithe into the storehouse of God. And look what he says:
4 Also he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the law of the Lord.
Remember in Malachi, he said, “Bring the tithe into the storehouse that their might be food.” He was talking about natural food, but think today, Spiritual food. When you come here on Sundays, do you like the spiritual food you get? Someone is paying for that. Someone is paying for the ministries of this church, youth ministry, kids ministry, young adults, mens ministry, women ministry. Talking about food, let me give you an analogy. Would anyone here go to a restaurant, order your food and walk out without paying? Can I tell you; some Christians do that every week. Not trying to be rude, just truthful. They come to a weekend experience, and midweek, get fed spiritual and skip out. The sad thing is this, Those people are the ones that are loosing out. I’m not teaching this because we are struggling financially, I’m teaching this because I want you to be blessed. Remember Malachi 3:12
12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.
Now look with me further down in 2 Chronicles 31
As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the first-fruits of their grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them in heaps. They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month. When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the LORD and blessed his people Israel. Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps; and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, "Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over.” 2 Chronicles 31:5-10
Let me explain this to you for a moment. Hezekiah has ordered Israel to give the tithe during this time of economic recession. He comes to visit and sees heaps, literally heaps from how generously the Israelites have given! Now remember, Israel was in a recession. So Hezekiah questions, are the people ok? Are you sure they are not suffering, going without food? Are they in need? And Listen:
10 Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok said to him, “Since the contributions began to be brought into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.”
Stella and I, since we have been in ministry, over the last 17 years, we’ve heard to testimonies.
Tithing people consistently say this; “We are so blessed. Since we’ve begun tithing, we are so blessed.”
Those who don’t tithe consistently say this: “We cant afford to give”
You will never be able to afford to tithe until you begin tithing. Because the blessing comes from God. It is God who opens the windows of heaven. It is God who rebukes the devourer on your behalf. The Blessing comes when you obey Him. He says, let me read it again for you.
10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, Malachi 3:10
