Tithe and Talent and Time.

Tithe and Talent and Time. (Our Mission)

How would you respond if someone accidentally took something that belonged to you?

How would fell if someone stole from you one Time?

How then would you respond if someone came to your house every friday night and stol;e something from your home?

Outraged, Discusted, maybe even become violent

There is a reason we bring our tithes and offeringings into the storehouse?

In all areas of Ministry we saw over 692 people who God rescued from an eternity separated from Him to an eternity with Him. Foreign mission, USA missions, Local Missions, Revivals, Food Programs and much more.

A. Giving your tithe is a Biblical principle.

Its very clear that the Old Testament declares the teaching of Tithing

Malachi 3:10–12 NKJV

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. “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; And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.

But what about the New Testament (Did Christ revise this OT mandate)

It is a true that some laws and statutes were clarified but did He clarify this one? .... Well Yes and Yes

But not in the way most people insist.

Before I tell you how he clarified lets look at the current problem.

Many have developed the minimal giving mandate (The leftover principle) as opposed to the firstfruits.

1.

The “God is pleased if I give anything principle”.

Here’s the reasons most of these people give that way.

They believe.

In all areas of Ministry we saw over 692 people who God rescued from an eternity separated from Him to an eternity with Him.

1. Giving doesn’t help me have a better standing before God

Nothing gets you a good standing (righteousness) before God except His free gift of Salvation.

2. Giving is a personal matter!

Giving may be personal but it has congregational problems. It hurts the Church if failed.

3. Giving is conditional. I’ll give according to the success or failure I see in my congregation.

What a selfish self centered way of manipulating the Church to fit your opinion.

4. I’d give but I don’t have

So does God clarify laws. The answer of course is YES

Matthew 5:17 NKJV

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

To give the true or complete meaning!

contains an expression, "But I say unto you”.

contains an expression, "But I say unto you" that is seen as Jesus clarifying the OT law.

But I say unto you is a clarification statement.

Look at the passage in Matthew 5

But also he did this clarification in His teaching.

Remember the women who was caught in adultery… OT says stone… if you haven't sinned throw the first stone.

So we see that Jesus clarifies but does he clarify concerning tithing. He sure does but it may be news to you how He does that.

First it clarifies that it is still to be practiced.

Matthew 23:23 NKJV

“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.

Second it clarifies to the amount!

But you noticed I said he did clarify, so what clarification did he give?

Go above any minimal of 10% that is expected.

Luke 3:11 NKJV

He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

Romans 12:8 NKJV

he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:18 NIV

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

The Women who gave two mites.

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Anthony was raised a Catholic but after selling his New York City grocery business, began reading the Bible and attending the First Methodist Church. He then began to daily commune with Jesus Christ, subsequently taking everything to the Lord in prayer. He began to give God the glory for the solutions to difficult problems and the development of new ideas. In turn, God took Anthony Rossi’s willing heart and developed him into a servant-leader who employed God given talents to benefit others and to be useful for God’s work in the world. His efforts to advance the Gospel through his Aurora Foundation were extraordinary; funding Christian Educational institutions and Christian missions, including the funding of a church in Anthony’s native Sicily and the creation of the Bradenton Missionary Village, a one hundred acre, $10M Florida community for retired missionaries. In a Town and Country Magazine in 1983, he was named one of the top ten most generous living Americans. To please God became the primary objective of Anthony Rossi.

TROPICANA ORANGE JUICE: A young Bible College student noticed that, a tractor trailer load of Tropicana Orange Juice was dropped off at the cafeteria every week. I wondered how a low-cost Bible College could afford so much expensive O.J. One morning in chapel, I found out how an older Italian man named Anthony Rossi, in broken English, gave his testimony. He said he had come to the US from Italy in the 20’s as a young teenager, with nothing but the clothes on his back. A Christian couple befriended him and through their love he came to know Christ as his Savior and Lord. One Sunday in church, he prayed: "Lord, if you give me an idea for a business, I will be faithful to give a portion of everything I make back to Your work." That very morning, the idea of "Fresh squeezed orange juice" popped into his head - and the rest is history: Anthony Rossi founded the "Tropicana Co" and has been faithful to give God - not 10% of his income, as many faithful believers do, but 50% of his income, for the past 60 years! He also gave truckloads of FREE O.J. to Christian colleges throughout the country!

We will suffer as a Church, our denomination will suffer as an organization and Christianity will suffer in its ability to reach the lost if those members who have robbed God continue to do so!

Sad Facts.

If Christians followed the Old Testament standard of giving across the board, then $139 billion would become available this year for additional ministry work.

37% of people who attend church every week and identify themselves as Evangelical Christians don’t give any money to their church.

If you take all Tithes and divide those among those that attend its about 1.7%.

How do we make it then???? Because

77% of those who do tithe give 11%–20% or more of their income, far more than the baseline of 10%.

97% of Christians who tithe make it a top financial priority to give to their local church.

Let me end this section with some truths.

Tithes are for the General use of the Church and the Budget it sets up.

Giving to the American Cross is not a Tithe.

Giving to hungry children organizations is not a Tithe.

Giving your pastor money is not a Tithe.

Helping extra at the Church is not a Tithe

Offerings are any funds given for the good of Christianity and benevolence.

The average tithe is about 1.5 to 2 %.

The average tithe is about 1.5 to 2 %.

If the stats are correct and looking at comparisons from other Churches our size, if we as a congregation began to tithe it would generate an additional 75,000 to 150.000 per year.

B. Giving your Talent is a Biblical Principle.

FAN THE FLAME

1 Timothy 4:14 NKJV

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

2 Timothy 1:6 NKJV

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

2 Timothy

Both in and again in , Paul makes reference to some spiritual gift that was bestowed upon Timothy for the work of ministry, during what was apparently his ordination service, where Paul and the elders of the church laid hands on him and prayed.

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We have not all received some specific spiritual gift during a ceremony where hands were laid on us and prayers made to usher us into active and full-time ministry.

But we all have gifts, and we should all be seeking for the Lord to bestow us with ever-greater power for ministry and boldness in using the gifts we have, and as Paul admonished Timothy, we should always be striving to ‘stir up’, ‘fan the flames’, rekindle the gifts we have, by frequent use in service.

Is your gift prayer? All Christians should pray and work to develop their prayer ‘muscles’, but some have a special gift of prayer. They are the prayer warriors. They are the ones who really talk to God and hear God’s voice. They are the ones whose first reaction to news is to praise the Lord or pray about it.

They are the ones whose first reaction to news is to praise the Lord or pray about it.Is your gift a deep caring for others? Is it a gift of mercy? Or perhaps teaching, or organizing? Stir it up. Fan the flame.Just like anything that goes unused, it will atrophy; it will diminish; it will fade if not used.I heard someone give an illustration once about a wooden well bucket he came upon. He thought it was useless at first, because it had been sitting next to a barn in the sun, unused for a long time. He could see daylight between the wooden slats of the bucket. Certainly, this thing would never hold water again.But an older man with him tied the bucket to the well rope and let it drop into the water below. In a couple of days they came back and turned the crank to draw the bucket back up. It was full of clear, cool well water and was not leaking a drop.The water had re-hydrated the wooden slats until they fit together as originally designed, and the bucket was useful again.Christian, stay filled with the Spirit of Christ. Ask Him to fill you daily, and stir up your gift. Be useful for the service of God, and find the fulfillment of being what He has made you to be.

Is your gift a deep caring for others? Is it a gift of mercy?

Maybe the gift of Preaching.

What about the gift of Mercy?

Is it a gift of mercy? Or perhaps teaching, or organizing? Stir it up. Fan the flame.Just like anything that goes unused, it will atrophy; it will diminish; it will fade if not used.I heard someone give an illustration once about a wooden well bucket he came upon. He thought it was useless at first, because it had been sitting next to a barn in the sun, unused for a long time. He could see daylight between the wooden slats of the bucket. Certainly, this thing would never hold water again.But an older man with him tied the bucket to the well rope and let it drop into the water below. In a couple of days they came back and turned the crank to draw the bucket back up. It was full of clear, cool well water and was not leaking a drop.The water had re-hydrated the wooden slats until they fit together as originally designed, and the bucket was useful again.Christian, stay filled with the Spirit of Christ. Ask Him to fill you daily, and stir up your gift. Be useful for the service of God, and find the fulfillment of being what He has made you to be.

Or perhaps the gift of teaching,

Or the gift of helping ? Stir it up.

Fan the flame.

Just like anything that goes unused, it will atrophy; it will diminish; it will fade if not used.

I heard an illustration once about a wooden well bucket a man came upon. He thought it was useless at first, because it had been sitting next to a barn in the sun, unused for a long time. He could see daylight between the wooden slats of the bucket. Certainly, this thing would never hold water again.

But an older man with him tied the bucket to the well rope and let it drop into the water below. In a couple of days they came back and turned the crank to draw the bucket back up. It was full of clear, cool well water and was not leaking a drop.The water had re-hydrated the wooden slats until they fit together as originally designed, and the bucket was useful again.Christian, stay filled with the Spirit of Christ.

Ask Him to fill you daily, and stir up your gift. Be useful for the service of God, and find the fulfillment of being what He has made you to be.

Hindrances to Spiritual Gifts:

False modesty

Inexperience

Disobedience

Lack of commitment

Unloving Spirit

Lack of Prayer

Lack of Environment

Focusing our weakness

Let me leave you with these two words about our gifts.

DEDICATE

DEVELOP

C. Giving of your Time is a Biblical Principle.

Rom 8:

Romans 13:8–14 NKJV

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

1. Know your time.

2. Develop a healthy understanding of your time.

Never in the scripture do we see Jesus...

Run out of time

Be pushed by His schedule to delete some activity

Be pushed by His schedule to not stop unexpectedly

3. Value your Time