STEWARDSHIP 2
Notes
Transcript
STEWARDSHIP | Tithing
STEWARDSHIP | Tithing
Our Partnership with God
Our Partnership with God
Introduction
Introduction
When two successful businessman went sailing, a freak storm wrecked their boat and left them marooned on a deserted island. By the third day, one of the men was pacing constantly. The other man reclined peacefully on the sand. "Aren't you afraid we are going to die?" cried the first man. "No, not at all," his friend replied. "I make almost $100,000 a week and I tithe faithfully to my church. I guarantee you my Pastor will find me!"
You probably figured it out… todays Stewardship lesson is on tithing.
Tithing is our partnership with God.
1. First Family Gave to God
1. First Family Gave to God
3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.
4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,
2. Abraham Gave Tithes
2. Abraham Gave Tithes
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And 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.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
Abraham honored the provision God had provided him by giving a tithe of all to the priest of God.
There was no law, no commandment or obligation.
Abraham out of gratitude and thankfulness wanted to honor God.
Abraham gave us our an example of a set amount to give unto God.
3. What is tithing
3. What is tithing
A. Tithe simple means one tenth or 10%.
Tithing is giving God back the first tenth of all our increase.
In stewardship it is taking the first 10% God has entrusted us with and using it for God's purpose.
B. We find in scripture God often requires a tenth as his part.
I would encourage you this week to to do a word study on the word tenth in the Bible.
First 10%
God loves first.
3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord.
4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering,
Cain gave of his work, no mention of it being first or prioritized giving
9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
14 Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
C. Tithing is a priority statement.
It’s setting God first in the spending of our money.
Even before our earthly obligations.
God promises if you will make Him first in priority He will make up the difference.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
4. Jacob Made a Covenant to Tithe
4. Jacob Made a Covenant to Tithe
Jacob had just had a spiritual dream of angels ascending and descending on a ladder from that reached from heaven to earth.
After this spiritual experience and while flat broke he made the following commitment to to God.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,
21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God.
22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
If you know the story of Jacob he was abundantly blessed by God, he
showed up at Laban house with only dust in his pockets.
He left with riches.
He was chosen by God to be the first in fulfilling the promises of Abraham.
God changed his name to Israel and gave him 12 sons.
Those son's became the 12 tribes of Israel and the beginning of a nation known as God's chosen people.
There is no doubt, zero chance God doesn't keep His end of the deal when it comes to partnering with Him.
4. Tithing In The Mosaic Law
4. Tithing In The Mosaic Law
When God gave Moses the law on Mt. Sinai He included tithing as a commandment.
22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
God was establishing an avenue where His plan could be fulfilled.
That included providing finances for the priests and Levites.
21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
When the children of Israel came into the promise land God did not give any portion of the land to those that did the work of the tabernacle.
The priests and Levites did not have any property to farm for food or produce to sell.
All their provision was provided through the tithe of the people.
The same principle is to true in the church today. Paul taught this principle in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth.
13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?
14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
We are a growing church:
We are a growing church:
A righteous goal would be to grow in tithing to fully support the ministry of the church.
While we are here on this topic...
I'm not try to line my pockets with anything...
If what I am about to say is seen in any way as a ploy to make the preacher rich...
...then it’s a failure of my ability to communicate the true heart of this Biblical principle.
There is no grandiose plan for Pastor and his family to become rich off the church.
But it is the plan of God to see New Life grow into financial support of the ministry.
Our family has made sacrifices to see this church grow.
None of those sacrifices are for our own glory or recognition.
We know God called us here.
Part of that calling required us to be financially invested in what God wants to do here.
There's a reason we sacrificed ...
There's a reason we.... we are financially invested in New Life.
I do have a secular job two reasons:
Because the tithing as of right now isn't sufficient to support the ministry of the church.
It provides income for our family and additional finances for New Life.
It is God's plan for there to be provision for the ministry.
When you partner with God you create an avenue for ministry to grow and mature in the local church.
5. Tithing wasn't just an Old Testament principle
5. Tithing wasn't just an Old Testament principle
A. Jesus taught tithing
A. Jesus taught tithing
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
Jesus did not abolish the law he fulfilled the law
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
3 Types of OT Law:
Moral law reveals God's nature; (Enduring)
Ceremonial law points to the Savior; (Pointed to & fulfilled in Christ)
Civil law governed the nation of Israel. (Pointed to & fulfilled in Christ)
Hezekiah’s Reforms
27 Then the priests, the Levites, arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard; and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, to heaven.
Tore down idols and set the priesthood in order.… then....
4 Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.
5 As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
B. Jesus is now our high priest
B. Jesus is now our high priest
Jesus is our Melchisedec
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”
3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;
6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
The 90% (less) is blessed by the better 10% (will go farther than the 100%).
Closing
Closing
These signs shall follow them…
I come not with enticing words but in demonstration…
I invite you to come to forward today.
In a few moments we are going to make a stewardship, tithing, commitment to God with heart and verbally.
Stewardship is a matter of the heart.
Stewardship and particularly tithing is a personal and family partnership with God.
Will you today, in your heart and verbally to God covenant with Him in your tithing?
There is something spiritual about entering into covenant with God.
To some it may seem dry and ritualistic, but to those who are seeking deeper relationship with a God it's more.
It's deeper than just money.
To God it is bigger than paper bills and metal coins.
To God it is saying I trust you to be my provider.
I take a step of faith knowing I will be relying on you.
And God has already said I won't let you stumble or fall.
I will meet all your needs.
God's standing commitment to us goes farther than just keeping us above water.
He said he would open the windows of heaven and pour out more than you have room to store.
He promised that He would cause others to give to you pressed down shaken together and still running over.
We believe in the power of covenant relationship in our salvation...
and God has and continues to be faithful in this area of our lives.
You can put your faith in God and partner with him financially...
He will be just as faithful in His promises.
