His Money; Not Mine

Good morning & Welcome to New Hope

Last two weeks we’ve been in this series titled Me, Myself, & I… and what I know is there’s never a shortage of content when talking about this topic.

Week #1 - His Talents; not mine

Week #2 - His Time; not mine

This morning we dig in to one of the most controversial topics preached on… But in actuality it’s not controversial at all. The truth is…what we’re going to be talking about today is the truth.

But here’s the truth. The truth is…that what we’re going to be talking about today is the truth. So, there are no apologies this morning for what we’re going to talk about.

In fact, the Bible has more to say about our topic today than prayer and faith combined. There are more than 2,000 verses in the Bible on money & possessions. 16 of Jesus’ 38 parables talk about money.

Why is this such an important subject to teach on?

Because Jesus says in , “Where your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also.” Simply put - How you manage money is a window into your heart.

The church is not after your money

In order to understand how we should manage money, we need to understand an Old Testament principle that still applies today.

We begin this morning in Exodus 13...

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”

God clearly states here that the firstborn is MINE.

1Then the Lord said to Moses, “Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”

“This is what you must do when the Lord fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him. A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son.”

2“Dedicate to me every firstborn among the Israelites. The first offspring to be born, of both humans and animals, belongs to me.”

“This is what you must do when the Lord fulfills the promise he swore to you and to your ancestors. When he gives you the land where the Canaanites now live, you must present all firstborn sons and firstborn male animals to the Lord, for they belong to him. A firstborn donkey may be bought back from the Lord by presenting a lamb or young goat in its place. But if you do not buy it back, you must break its neck. However, you must buy back every firstborn son.”

(NLT)

Don’t...

It’s important to understand something here with the principle of the firstborn - The firstborn was either to be sacrificed or redeemed. There was no 3rd option. Every time one of your livestock delivered a firstborn, it was to be sacrificed, as long as it was designated as clean. If it was an unclean animal, it had to be redeemed with a clean, spotless lamb.

19Don’t store up treasures here on earth...

In the New Testament, John the Baptist meets Jesus on the banks of the Jordan River and declares, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Jesus was God’s firstborn. Jesus was clean, perfect, a spotless lamb, unblemished in every way. In contrast, there’s me and you - born sinful and unclean in need of a perfect substitute on our behalf.

rust destroys them

Right, the Law states that if the firstborn was clean, it was to be sacrificed. But if it was unclean, it was to be redeemed with one who was clean. Jesus was sacrificed to redeem us! God literally gave us his firstborn. He did the very thing He asks of humanity. God gave us Jesus before we ever believed -

where thieves break in and steal

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

8But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

God didn’t wait to see if we’d believe first, right. He didn’t wait to see if we would change, repent, or make ourselves worthy before he gave Jesus.

20Store your treasures in heaven

where moths and rust cannot destroy

and thieves do not break in and steal.

Ever wonder about how God could justify taking the lives of Egypt’s firstborn in the final plague described in Exodus? It’s because the firstborn belongs to God. And how was it that the firstborn in Israel didn’t die that night? Because a lamb was sacrificed to redeem them. A spotless, perfect lamb took their place!

The principle of the firstborn is very powerful. First things given are never lost. First things kept are always lost. Jesus said the following in...

Why? Because...

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

21Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

22“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.

23But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

The first belongs to God, because they’re rightfully His anyway. They are His resources, not mine. It’s His money, not mine. This is really what tithing is all about. Giving God the first of everything.

24“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

“God, I’m going to give you the first, and trust you to redeem the rest.”

Think back to OT time again. When the firstborn is born into a flock, is it possible to know how many more animals might be produced? Nope! But God says, give me what is rightfully mine - first! God didn’t say, let your animal produce 10 more and then give me one of them. He says, “Give me the first one!”

It always requires faith to give God the first. When we tithe and give God our first, we are saying, “God, I recognize you first in my life. I am putting you first, and am trusting you to take care of the rest.” I place my faith in you. I’m choosing to obey what your word says, even when it may seem, from a worldly perspective, that we should do the opposite.

Give him the first of our day; Give him the first of our week (church/Sunday); Give him the first of our finances (tithe)

Do you remember the story of the fall of Jericho in the book of Joshua? God gave strict instructions that the Israelites were not to keep any of the spoils. All of it belonged to Him. Why? Because it was the first city conquered in the Promised Land and it was the firstfruits. God was saying, give me the first and you can have the rest.

God tells them if you keep some for yourselves and don’t give me what’s rightfully mine, you will be completely destroyed and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. And that’s exactly what happened to Achan & his family when he didn’t obey.

makes it clear that if we keep what’s rightfully God’s we are robbing God. It also makes it clear what happens when we honor God by giving Him what’s rightfully His.

8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

9You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.

10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

But some might say, Tithing is simply an OT principle under the law and now we’re under the new covenant and we’re under grace. Would you be surprised to hear that Jesus in said, “You should tithe.”

There are other things under the OT law that we didn’t throw out - adultery, stealing, murder, no other gods before me, honor your parents.

Another example - Cain & Abel

2Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.

2Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground.

3When it was time for the harvest (in the course of time), Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.

4Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,

5but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

The firstborn, firstfruits, & tithe belongs to God.

If I had 10 - $1 bills - what is the tithe on this money? Right $1.

But if I asked another question… Which one is the tithe? You see, because this is important. You may ask the question, “Why does it matter which one out of the 10?”

Because here’s what can happen, not by any of you i’m sure… Let’s say you get paid $10 on Wednesday and immediately pay your cell phone bill, Direct TV bill, car payment, & buy groceries. If you have enough, let’s say you do, then you pay your tithe. Even if it’s still a tenth, it’s still not what God desires.

I believe this also answers a question that many have asked - Do you tithe off your gross or net? So do you pay Uncle Sam first or give to God first?

According to , the first portion is the redemptive portion. The first portion has the power to redeem the rest.

And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

I wonder if we would have far less problems when it comes to our finances

The first portion redeems the rest

16And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

What do we do with this truth? My answer - obey. Do what the word says. Give God what is rightfully His - first of everything. And you will be blessed.

Pray

Communion

(NLT)

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

6Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

7Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

8Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

9Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

10Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.