An Affair of The Heart

Intro:

luke 12.

Luke 12:33–34 NASB95

“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.

For some reason when preachers preach on giving or on money in general it makes some people very uncomfortable. God is not wanting to take your money away from you; He doesn’t need it. What God does want to do is bless you, but our perspective about money (and even other things) hinders us from receiving what God has for us.

Let me share some interesting statistics w/ you:

1). Religious giving in general is down 50% in the last 25 years.

2). Tithing trends have declined by generation.

3). Tithers only make up 10-25% of any congregation.

4). On average, Christians give 2.5% of their income to churches; it was 3.3% during the depression.

5). Interestingly, 8/10 people who give to churches have zero credit card debt.

Announce title: An Affair of the Heart

I’m not here to get your money; you are a giving church and we are blessed.

If we want our finances to be blessed, then we have to be givers. Stingy people never get ahead; they never really prosper (; ).

There was a man,

Some called him mad;

The more he gave

The more he had. John Bunyan

Treasure - Greek θησαυρος meaning a place of storing valuables or a treasure box.

What is valuable to you today? What have you stored up?

We don’t mind spending money on what we treasure or value.

The only treasure Jesus is telling us we should have is God.

Jesus is not focusing on values necessarily or even on the treasure "box" rather he is focusing on the heart.

Tithing is an affair of the heart. In other words, it shows us where our heart is.

Tithing is investing your very life into the kingdom which can never be shaken.

How we handle money reveals volumes about our priorities, loyalties, and affections" Robert Morris--The Blessed Life.

Many today claim that they trust in God and put him first in their lives, yet they do not tithe on a consistent basis.

Our faithfulness to tithe reveals the condition of our hearts toward God--do we trust Him or not.

Some would say that tithing is only an OT principle, it was instituted under the law, therefore, we don't have to observe it anymore.

So let me show you or teach you how that tithing is more than just an OT command; it is a spiritual principle that reveals the heart.

Charles Sherlock said in his book, “The Doctrine of Humanity: Contours of Christian Theology,”

A particular example of an economic structure in the Scriptures is tithing. To set aside a tenth of one’s available resources regularly recognizes tangibly that we own property only in a derived sense, as stewards of what God gives. Tithing does not mean that the 90% remaining is ours to use at will, after a ‘God tax’ has been paid! Rather, it points to the human calling to be co-managers of creation as participants in the divine economy.

God asked for one tree in the Garden of Eden to be left alone--it was the tithe.

Abraham tithed to Melchizedek 400 years before the law was ever even given.

If Melchizedek was an OT type of Jesus b/c of the priestly office, and He was:

Psalm 110:4 NASB95

The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 5:6 NASB95

just as He says also in another passage, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 6:20 NASB95

where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

And Abraham gave him a tenth of all, why should we do less for the anti-type?

Abraham giving him the tithe shows that the priesthood of Melchizedek (and consequently Jesus) is greater than the levitical priesthood.

The reason God instituted tithing in the law was in order for the Levites and the house of God to be provided for, maintained, and ministry performed.

If people don’t tithe and give into the church today, how do you expect the church, its ministers, and and its over all function and ministry to be carried out?

Listen to what the scripture says about Jacob:

Genesis 28:21–22 NASB95

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.”

Jericho was a tithe; God tested Israel by it like the tree in Eden.

God said take nothing from it, and that Israel could have the spoils from every other city.

God has always tested mankind by asking for the first and best to be consecrated to Him, and then He would bless man over and above for His faith.

The tithe is an act of faith and an act of worship.

The tithe is the only place in scripture where God explicitly tells us to test Him.

10% is the minimum; giving more is even better b/c you can never give God too much or trust Him beyond what He will honor.

The tither is not promised wealth, but is promised God’s blessing on his/her life which can be wealth or it can simply be the preservation of what one already possesses.

Understanding Law & Tithing

OT law can be divided into three distinct categories—case law, ceremonial law, and apodictic law.

Apodictic law refers to timeless divine commands and not to “law applied.”

Apodictic law is usually given as a direct command.

The word comes from the Gr. word αποδεικνυμι which means to cause something to be known as genuine, with possible focus upon the source of such knowledge—‘to demonstrate, to show, to make clearly known.

to cause something to be known as genuine, with possible focus upon the source of such knowledge—‘to demonstrate, to show, to make clearly known.

Apodictic laws were generally those that were rooted in the character and nature of God.

Tithing was apodictic law b/c it revealed the higher principle of everything belongs to God and we are only stewards of it.

Tithing is solid, systematic assurance that we always view things as God’s and not ours.

When He is our treasure, tithing is automatic.

Whether you specifically give 10%, which is really just the minimum, or you just give offerings to the church, my point this morning is giving to the Lord is an imperative.

CONC:

If you are not a tither or a giver to the Lord and you start giving, I promise that you'll love the church like you've never loved it before. You'll fell like you belong to it. You'll have a better relationship with its workers and love God's kingdom more because where your investment is, there is where you will inevitable find you highest interest. If you’re not a tither, I challenge you: test God as He said to do and see if He will not open the windows of heaven and poor you out a blessing you cannot contain. I double-dog dare ya!