5 - Faith Series - Faith that gives

INTRODUCTION:

Practical illustrations:

Needed – toothbrush, toothpaste / Underarm deodorant / Motorcyle Helmet & Apple

Here are three lots of simple props today as we talk about FAITH that GIVES.

We’ve talked about Faith that:

1. Overcomes
2. Speaks – it has a voice
3. Fights the good fight
4. Today – “faith that gives”

Two key areas over the next two weeks as we take up our annual BREAKTHROUGH offering NEXT Sunday – 29th July.

1.  Tithing            2.  Offerings

Today I want to talk to you about unlocking bad attitudes regarding generosity and giving to the Lord’s work by honouring God with the firstfruits of our life and giving Him a tithe of our increase.

I believe that tithing is the single biggest key to unlock heaven’s blessing over your finances and placing you in a position where the windows of heaven are opened over your life.  I can’t tell you how many times I have counseled people who are in financial difficulty, who have never consistently given 10% of their income into God’s house, to trust God with the firstfruits of their income and watch God turn their financial situation around!

Let’s look at one of the Bible’s most talked about Scriptures on tithing:

Mal 3: 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.(NKJV)

God tells his people they have backslidden and moved away from His ORDINANCES (from where we get “ordinary or normal behaviour”).  They ask HOW? He then proceeds to tell his people they have stopped giving tithes and offerings which has invited Satan the devourer to come with a curse on your finances.

God then gives a PRESCRIPTION to solve their dilemma by asking them to TRUST GOD with giving a tithe into the storehouse and watch God open the windows of heaven – reverse the curse – and see the abundance of God’s blessing.

PROPS

Now you may be wondering why I’ve got these 3 sets of props near the pulpit today.  I was wondering too???  Because as I was preparing this message last week these three props literally were dropped into my mind and I was asking God what does this have to do with the subject matter at hand????!!!

Toothbrush and toothpaste – How many of you brush your teeth?  (lots of hands go up) – good that’s what I was hoping – turn to your neighbour , blast them with a short breath and ask your neighbour to tell you what kind of toothpaste you are using! (JUST JOKING!)

Amazing – I’ve noticed that this phenomena of teeth brushing is carried out all over the modern world on a religious basis.  Morning, (some noon) and night.

WHY?  Because we have been taught by the health professionals that if we do this ritual we will save ourselves a lot of pain (financial and physical) sitting in a dentist’s chair getting those precious teeth drilled because we got holes.  So by faith we pick up the brush and toothpaste and clean our teeth on a daily basis.

This can be described as the law of DENTAL HYGIENE

Now – what about my BRUTE original deoderent stick?  Hhhmmm.  Ps James has lost the plot today!  When I was 21 yrs old, an older woman kindly gave me a birthday present with some strong words of advice.  IT was a pack of BLUE STRATOS – she said to me “Use it because you stink.  If you want to make some more friends its time you learnt to use deodorant!”  Now that’s what I call gutsy!!  Little did I realize that my lack of deodorant and excess sweat were causing me some friendship difficulties!  This can come under two headings:  The LAW of winning friends and influencing people or the LAW of personal HYGIENE.  When I use this BRUT(on a daily basis), my presence no longer drives people away, but they seem happy to stay and talk with me!

Lastly – the apple and the Helmet.  Hmm – pretty interesting one Lord.  Years ago I used to ride MOTOX bikes. (Tell story of vinegar hill quarry).  Issac Newton supposedly discovered the Law of GRAVITY (what goes up must come down) when an apple fell on his head.  Similarly let me tell you that for serious MOTORCYCLE riders you cannot afford to come off your bike without wearing a helmet – what goes up, must come down!

Here is the parallel.  God comes to his people and tells them they are cursed because they have failed to trust their finances into God’s care and keeping.  They were literally suffering financially because they failed to keep the tithe “HOLY”.  This is a matter of FAITH – trust in God’s ordinances and our hearts loyalty toward our God.

There is UNIVERSAL LAW to do with money (in fact all human resources – talents, time, etc).  SOWING and REAPING!

Here is how it works:

Luke 6:38 (NKJV) "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

2 Corinthians 9:6 (NKJV) But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

So – when we fail to exercise the law of personal dental hygiene or personal hygiene or the law of gravity – we suffer the CONSEQUENCES.  No friends, painful experiences in the dental clinic or broken bones from meeting our match with the LAW of GRAVITY.

Similarly – when we fail to act upon the universal law of sowing and reaping – we wonder why we have reaped only LITTLE.  If you don’t sow – you don’t REAP!

The Two main barriers that stop faith being exercised in our attitudes of GENEROSITY:

1.     Fear of not having enough (SCARCITY MINDSET)

2.     Love of money – GREED

Fear based attitudes go something like this – “oh no you mustn’t give that away – you might need it for a rainy day – you might not have enough. You need to hold onto it”.  E.g.  Parable of talents - Mt 25: 24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’(NKJV)

Proverbs 11:24 (NKJV) There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.

Greed based attitudes – I earnt it, I want to spend it on me, nobody is going to tell me what to do with MY money.  The MORE money I have – the MORE things I can buy.   E.g. Rich young Ruler

Mark 10:21-24 (NKJV) 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

It would appear at a simple glance that those with lots of money and possessions struggle to follow Jesus.  NOPE!  The problem was not that this man had many possessions but rather that his many POSSESSIONS had HIM!

Here is the WORD’s ADVICE to those who are trusting in their WEALTH rather than trusting in the God of all WEALTH:

Proverbs 3:27 (NKJV) Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

PLUG for NEXT WEEK:  Friends – next week I’m going to address the SCARCITY versus ABUNDANCE mentality – FAITH that PROSPERS! So don’t miss this message if you want to pick up on some keys that literally put to practice will revolutionize your personal world.

So when we break the fear & greed based attitudes over our personal finances we can then begin to enter into the “trainer wheels” of giving 1/10 of our incomes to the LORD and unlock one of the most powerful biblical principles available to every person.  Why?  Every person has a % of something to give.

Here are some simple points on TITHING our income to the LORD:

1.  Tithing is offering our FIRST FRUITS in FAITH!

Exodus 23:19

“The first of the first-fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God.

God will not be second

Proverbs 3:9-10

“Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

Think about this, when Israel left Egypt, wandered in the wilderness and then when they crossed the Jordon to enter the promised land, what was the first city they took when the had crossed the Jordon? “Jericho.”

Do you remember what God said about Jericho?

He said, bring me all the silver and the gold from Jericho. All of it goes to the tabernacle. All of it.

The reason God said give me all the silver and gold from Jericho is because Jericho was the first city.

He said, if you will give me the first then I’ll bless the rest. But you have to give me the first, and it took faith to do that.

One guy didn’t have the faith. One guy thought, this might be the only city we conquer I’m going to keep a little bit of it.

And in Judges 6, God calls it consecrated, and after Achan takes it in Joshua 7 - God calls it cursed. It’s consecrated to the House of God before you touch it, but if you touch it, it’s cursed. That’s the tithe.

If you are going to be a thief, don’t steal from God. I mean He would be the worst one to steal from, wouldn’t you think. He sees everything.

God didn’t say take 10 cities and then give me one. He said; “You give me the first one, and you can have all the rest, you can have every bit of it but I want the first one.” Why, because God always takes first. Always.

The question arises for a lot of people when they are reading Genesis as to why God accepted Abel’s offering but did not accept Cain’s. It is clear why.

Now remember the first born and the first fruits belong to God. That’s important. Read Genesis 4.

Genesis 4:3-5

“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, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”

Can you see it, it’s quite simple, one of them raised livestock and the other tills the ground; and the one who raised livestock gives the firstborn to God and the one who tills the ground gives an offering in the process of time.

In other words, after he waited to see if he had enough and everything turned out OK. He didn’t give first fruits.

It never says he gave first fruits. It just says he gave an offering to the Lord in the process of time.

Now here is what God said. I’m not accepting that! I’ll accept this one, why, because it’s the first.

2.  The Tithe is HOLY and belongs to the LORD

"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." (Leviticus 27:30)

It is "holy to the Lord." "Holy" means "set apart." It is to be set apart and given to God, and used for no other purpose. (Don't intermingle. e.g. if someone owes money to Sef, gives it to me and says "give it to Sef"—do I put in my wallet and keep it? No. Why?)

Malachi 3:8-10:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 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."

Question: If someone steals from you, does that put a damper on your relationship with them?!

God has their attention. "How do we rob you?" Better listen to the answer.

In "tithes and offerings." The mandatory giving and the voluntary giving. Not only are they not doing the voluntary—they're holding back the mandatory.

God says "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse"- don't hold back any of it. The obedient Israelite didn't ask whether he could give 7% instead of 10%. He knew the answer. God couldn't have made it more clear.

LISTEN TO THIS:  Deut 26:13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite…...(NKJV)

The best place for the tithe is not in YOUR house, but God’s house – removing it from our house guarantees the devourer being rebuked from your house.

3.  Tithing builds commitment into the local church

Matthew 6:19-25. Two treasuries: heaven and earth. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Whenever we put our money into something, we develop vested interests in that thing—where we put our treasures our heart will follow. You put your money into stocks – guess what?  You start daily reading the newspaper to find out how the stockmarket is going.

You want your heart to be in the things of God? Simple solution-put your treasures in the things of God. Develop vested interests in God's kingdom.

You want to feel more a part of ELIM Christian Centre? Then be more a part of it. Invest yourself in what this church is all about. That's how you gain vested interests in what's going on here. You want to have a heart for missions? Put your offerings into missions.

Jesus promised if we would match our faith and commit to his purposes in building the Kingdom of God  - we would never have a financial need:

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (money, food & clothing)shall be added to you.

Conclusion

Finally, our perspective on tithing will change when we begin to see the local church as a visible manifestation of God’s bride:

Please consider this illustration:

I have to go on an extended journey and I choose three men for a special responsibility.  I say to those three men, “I’m going to send you each $10,000 a month.  You may keep $9,000 of the money and spend it as you please, but I want you to give $1,000 a month to my wife for the meeting of her needs.”

As promised, I send to each of them $10,000 a month.  After a few months I decide to call my wife and ask her specifically if she is receiving the support that I had arranged.  Her reply is, “Well, the first guy is sending $1,000 a month as you had instructed him.  The second one is actually sending in $2,000 a month, I don’t know why, but he is.  But the third one sent in $800 the first month, $300 the second month, and nothing the third month!”

Now, as a husband who loves his wife with all his heart, what do you think I’m going to do? I’m the one providing this money to these men.  I’ve told them they can keep $9,000 a month for themselves, all I’ve wanted them to do is to give 10%, so that there could be food in my house! (Mal 3:10)

Well – here’s what I’m going to do.  The first man who was faithful in sending his $10,000 each month I will continue to send him $10,000.  But – for the third man, the one who wasn’t satisfied with the 90% that I graciously gave him – I’m going to quit sending him $10,000 a month and give it to the most generous man instead. Why? Because I can trust the second man, he has demonstrated that he cares about what I care about. He is a good steward.

What the third man was doing was the same as stealing from me.  Remember the verse:  Malachi 3:8 (NKJV) "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

Now let me bring this illustration home to us this morning:

Jesus has gone away for a season of time.  He has said to each of us, “I want you to take care of my Bride (the church) while I’m away, by giving 10% of your income to my House.  You can spend the remaining 90% as you desire.”

Those who obey will be blessed.  Those who go above and beyond will be extraordinarily blessed.  But those who refuse to do the bare minimum will have what they have taken away and it will be given to someone who will be a good steward with it.

Matthew 25:29 (NKJV) 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

God is faithful to His word.  Tithing is the beginning step to open WINDOWs of HEAVEN over your financial situation and a platform on which to stand and REBUKE the DEVOURER – the devil who wants to STEAL, KILL and DESTROY from our lives.

Prep for NEXT WEEK:  We’re going to pray in just a minute – but before we do – next week we are going to ask you to carefully pray and consider a generous offering for the ongoing vision of our church.  We have sent you out a special envelope for this offering and we really want to ask you to get your whole family involved.  Prepare it together – pray over it before you come to services next week. 

Teach your children special lessons with special offerings and let them also ask God if he would have them contribute that they too might gain a sense of ownership to the house of God!  We will bring the children and OMC down at the end of the service as we take up the special offering.