01-15-06-Prosperity For A New Year
As we begin 2006, I want to discuss an area of our church that I feel has been ignored or at the very least taken a back seat. That is our giving. We have never begged for money at New Prairie and we never will! Nor is that the intention of this message. However, the Bible does say much about giving and how it is handled. Today, I want to set out the scriptural basis for a new practice that we will begin at New Prairie concerning how we will receive the tithes and offerings from now on. I want you to know that the leadership team of the church has approved of doing this as well.
Deut 26:1-11 (NIV) When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the first fruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name 3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, putting us to hard labor. 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the first fruits of the soil that you, O Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before Him. 11 And you and the Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
The first thing I want to say very clearly is that we do not take an offering from anyone. No where in scripture does it say that we should take an offering. Instead we receive the offerings that are brought to us. There are different types of offering mentioned in scripture—some are what we would call free-will offerings (burnt, meal, peace), two are non-voluntary offerings (sin, trespass). But either way, the giver always had the responsibility to decide to give the offerings to the priests or not to do so. The priest did not go to the person and demand that they give. In fact, as the nation of Israel grew further away from God many chose not to give of their tithe. This was one of the issues that God judged them for when He sent them into captivity to Babylon.
“Tithing indicated Israel’s devotion to God, and the people did not always give as they should. Withholding tithes and offerings was regarded as robbing God, but great prosperity was promised if they would obey (Mal. 3:8–12). When the people forsook worship of Yahweh their tithes went to idols (Amos 4:4). Hezekiah oversaw a restoration of obedience to God during which so much was given in tithes and offerings that rooms had to be prepared in the house of the Lord (2 Chron. 31:10–11). Upon return from captivity Nehemiah led another restoration and made sure tithes and offerings were collected (Neh. 12:44) so the Levites would not have to work in the fields (13:10). “[i]
I also am very aware that this is an Old Testament law and that we are not under the Law but under grace. However, it is a fact that the Old Testament set many natural patterns in place that the New Testament followed and expanded them into spiritual truths or practices. For example, the idea of the priesthood was established in the Old Testament. Yet, in the New Testament, the priesthood is not done away with, but we (believers) become a nation of priests (1 Pet 2:9).
So let’s look at the principles that are in this passage of scripture to see what we can learn from it and apply to our lives.
1. Once God established them in the land they were to take the first-fruits of the land and offer them to God in a basket (v.1-2)
a. This was an acknowledgement that God was the one who established them in the land, and that they were no longer wandering around in the wilderness
“The fruit was the tangible proof that they were in possession of the land, and the presentation of the first of this fruit the practical confession that they were indebted to the Lord for the land. This confession the offerer was also to embody in a prayer of thanksgiving . . . .”[ii]
i. We must be aware that God is the one who is in control of our lives. He puts us where we are and directs our footsteps.
b. Placing the first-fruits in the basket was a sign that they were to give God their best.
i. We give God the best we have to show our gratitude for His goodness to us. This is not only our money, but our time and our talents—our ALL.
ii. We are going to use a basket as a place where the tithe (first-fruits) of our labor can be put. Although our tithe and offerings may be in the form of cash or check, it is still the produce of our labor.
2. They were to take their first-fruits to the temple/tabernacle and offer them to the priest (v. 2-3)
i. This required them to be actively involved by taking it themselves to the priest at the temple/tabernacle. Often they had to travel a great distance to get to Jerusalem (where the temple/tabernacle was) which indicates great sacrifice on their part.
ii. It is a small sacrifice for us to get out of our seats and walk to the front to place our tithe in the basket.
b. It was also a public ceremony that everyone witnessed to see how much each person had been blessed by God
i. We may feel like our giving is a private matter between us and God. But God required them to give the first-fruits publicly.
ii. We may not like, or may even feel uncomfortable with the idea of placing our tithes and offerings in a basket, where everyone can see us do it, but this is exactly what they did. In fact they carried in the basket with the produce already in the basket. So everyone could see how good it was and how much God had blessed them.
3. They were to declare that God had blessed them with the land (v. 3)
a. The man of the household publicly declared that God was the one who blessed him with the land and the produce that came from it.
i. This showed how the man of the house was to lead in spiritual matters. He carried in the offering, not his wife or children. In fact, he carried it in with pride and gratitude for how much God had blessed him and his family.
b. They knew that they were simply caretakers and the land belonged to God.
i. All that we have (our jobs, talents, skills, etc) comes from God. We are simply stewards of His property.
1 Chron 29:14 (NIV) “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from your hand.
4. The priest was to take the basket and set it before the altar of the Lord (v.4)
a. As the representative of God, the priest was receiving the offering for God.
i. God receives our tithes and offerings; He does not take them away from us. However, we stop the blessings of God from flowing when we don’t give them to Him.
Mal 3:7-12 (NIV) Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
ii. We are a nation of priests today, so each one of us has the privilege to take our offerings to the Lord—especially the father of the house.
5. They were to remember how God had delivered them and brought them to the Promised Land (v. 5-9).
a. This helped them to see where they had come from and to remember that if God had not been faithful to His word they would still be in bondage in Egypt.
“When the Israelites offered their tithes, they confessed God’s providence to their fore-fathers, His deliverance in their time of need, His redemption of them from oppression, and His gift of the land of Canaan (Deut. 26:5–9). They invited the Levites, the poor, the widows, and the orphans of their local community to join them at the central sanctuary as they made these offerings to the Lord. No man could appear at a feast empty-handed. The Law required each man to bring an offering proportionate to the way he had been blessed (Deut. 16:10, 17).”[iii]
i. When we come before our God to present our offerings, we should remind ourselves of how God has delivered us from sin and brought us to a new life in Christ Jesus. Because of His faithfulness and love, we have the privilege to come boldly before His throne room of grace any time we need to, to have our needs met (Heb 4:16). As we give a small portion of our labor back to Him, we are reminded of just how much He has given to us in His Son Jesus Christ.
6. They were to worship God and rejoice in all the good that God had given them and their household (v. 10-11)
a. The giving of the first-fruits offering was a time for celebrating and rejoicing, not for complaining about having to give up a portion of what they had reaped.
i. We worship God for His goodness to us in providing for us. David said, in Psa 37:5 (NIV) “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
ii. As we put our offering in the basket we should rejoice in all that God has blessed us with—health, home, car, family, etc. Even if we are going through a tough time, we can be thankful for what little we can give. Remember the widow’s 2 mites—Jesus said that she gave more than all the rich men did
Luke 21:1-4 (NIV) As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
iii. We must realize that everything we do is an act of worship to God—this includes our giving.
Now, I want to make clear exactly what I am talking about as to how we will do this. G.G. & I will model how to do it and you will see that it is not so hard to do. Any time during the praise and worship, whenever you feel so led, the man will gather his family together and walk up to the basket. He will place the offering in the basket and take a moment to reflect on God’s goodness. He may give a short prayer of thanksgiving. He and his family will then return to their seats—clapping, skipping, dancing, shouting, rejoicing in any way they see fit. If a person is single, they may join with someone else or come alone. After the worship ends, I or possibly one of the leadership team will pray a blessing over the offerings and ask God to bless each giver.
You say what if I don’t want to come up during the service? Then we will not make you do so—remember this is a free-will offering. You can always place your offering in the basket at the end of the service. However, I can tell you that the act of obedience and attitude of worship will bring you into a place of blessings that you have not known before.
What do I believe this will this do for our church?
1. It will make the giving of our offerings into an act of worship.
2. It will teach our children the importance of giving and show them that their Dad is the priest of their home—they will be responsible for the spiritual matters.
3. It will develop an attitude of worship and praise in us that will overflow to those around us.
4. It will open windows of blessings that we have not known before. God told us to test Him in this (Mal 3:10). I challenge you to put God to the test and see if His word is true.
How do I know it will work? I have seen this work at a church we were at in Louisiana. We started this practice and it was amazing to see the kids respond and testify to how important it was to give their offerings in the basket. It was a real blessing to see whole families involved in giving their offerings to God.
I challenge you to discover the path to true prosperity in 2006. As we learn to give with a cheerful heart and an attitude of worship, I believe we will see God work in miraculous ways in our finances. I can’t wait to hear the testimonies of how God is blessing each of you by opening the windows of heaven and pouring out blessings upon you that are so much you can’t contain them!
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[i]Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1997, c1996). Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed.). Baker reference library; Logos Library System. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
[ii]Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (2002). Commentary on the Old Testament. (Vol. 1, Page 956). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.
[iii]Packer, J., Tenney, M. C., & White, W. (1997, c1995). Nelson's illustrated manners and customs of the Bible (Rev. ed. of The Bible almanac, c1980; electronic edition.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.