First Things First

Introduction

Welcome to Celebration Church. We are so glad that you are here. Thank you for worshipping with us today. If there is anything we can do for you and your family, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We are a family and we are with you. If you are joining us online, welcome. We are so glad that you are here.

Series Setup

We are in our series discussing stewardship. It means to prioritize God in what He has given us. Understanding everything we have has been given to us by God and God will not require anything of us, that He has not given us.

1 Chronicles 29:14 NLT

14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!

Matthew 25 paints a picture of the followers of Jesus having to give an account for how they stewarded the things that God has given them. How did we steward our relationships? How did we steward our resources? How did we steward our time and rhythms? Did we live lives that showed faithful stewardship of what God has given us? In this series, we hope to extract wisdom from the Word of God so that we can be found faithful stewards.

Scripture

Proverbs 3:9–10 The Message

9 Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. 10 Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.

Honor - kabad, means to give weight to. I give weight to the words of my wife, my children, my oversight, our church. I listen and weigh out what is said. That is what it means to honor…recognize God’s authority and give weight to it. Don’t give negativity weight in your life because it will weigh down your life.

Today I want to unpack some ideas about stewardship that I believe will change your life. Today’s message is titled: First Thing First.

Prayer

God we thank you for the gift of your Word so that we can see what you have to say about who you are, who we are and how through obedience we can draw closer to you. Today we honor you, we give your Word and presence it’s proper place and weight in our hearts and minds. Give us open eyes, open ears, and open hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Illustration

My wife and I are understandably different. She is thorough, I am efficient. We balance each other out when we work together. Conflict can arise when I am trying to be efficient and she is trying to be thorough. Whenever we are ordering food for the family, I will look at what we typically get and just order it. Maegan, she loves to ask everyone what they want…every time.

That said, there are moments when every couple learns to compromise. You look at each other and utter 3 of the most powerful words you can say to your spouse. Not I love you. Not I am pregnant. Not I miss you. Not even I am sorry. It is…YOU WERE RIGHT! Why is it so hard to say those words? I am going to model it for the men today. Maegan you were right…don’t let it go to your head. My stats are still virtually perfect.

Here’s the situation. Maegan typically does not buy any lotions until she has used them all up. She thorough. Whereas I get them every time I get an email. Maegan typically says, you know you really need to stop buying these products until you have a better handle on what you have. You don’t want to keep buying stuff you don’t need. To which I typically respond, I know my inventory. Wellll....I began to organize my cabinet and guess what, I discovered that I had so many half used items. So many repeat items. So many wasted items. Turns out my beautiful, none gloating wife was right. As long as things were out of order, there was an abundance of waste. The moment there was order, there was peace, clarity, abundance and generosity.

Transition

There is a Biblical principle here I want you to see. When there is no order, there is chaos. There is waste. However, where there is order, there is abundance, peace, generosity, blessing. When order is restored, blessing is released.

Background/Context

God’s original plan was for His people to trust Him. However, the enemy shows up and spreads seeds of doubt. He tells Eve did God really say that? Does the Bible really say that? Do you really have to give, tithe, baptized, serve? They gave the enemy’s words more weight than God’s Word and the end result was chaos. The end result was, things are out of order. God’s redemptive plan is really about getting things back in order. When order is restored, blessing is released.

Matthew 6:33 CSB

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Tithing has never been about money, it’s a matter of trust, it’s a matter of getting things back in order. Putting God first, trusting Him as our source and provider.

So often we think we need to make all of these huge changes in our life but what we really need to do is re-order some things so we can get in sync with God so we’re positioned for optimum performance and functionality.

In God’s Word, there are several key “order” choices that we must make if we want to walk out God’s best plan for our life. I want to talk about one this weekend that will absolutely change your life...I’m going to choose to honor God by tithing my income.

Yes, this is a financial message. But before you tune me out...please hear me out. This might be the most important message you hear all year. Why? Because we are facing a crisis of stress and fear and worry in our country and it primarily centers around money. And this is a choice that can totally change your future. It’s a simple step. I’m not saying it is easy but it is simple and clear and can radically change the course of your life!

I uncovered something when doing research for a sermon on WORRY. As I started to dig, what I found is that the primary thing Americans worry about is money. In fact, the top 3 things Americans worry about, in order is (1) Their personal finances (2) Their job (3) The economy. I went on this massive study of the Bible. And I found that the Bible gives a different picture of what our personal finances can look like. God’s Word is full of financial wisdom. Over 800 verses in the Bible deal with money. More is said about money than about heaven and hell combined. And all of the promises about money are so positive and they promise peace and expectation, instead of stress and anxiety. The main critical thing the Bible says about money, is greed. But the promises in God’s Word hinge on our choices...the promises of blessing and peace hinge on my willingness to CHOOSE God’s method.

God’s love is unconditional, but His blessing is dependent on our obedience. IF is used a lot in scripture.

IF my people humble themselves and pray

IF you are willing and obedient

IF you seek, you will find

IF you give, it will be given unto you

Abraham’s choice to follow God’s plan positioned him to be the recipient of the promise.

It is so much bigger than money; it’s about trust. Do we honestly think the creator of everything NEEDS our money? He doesn’t need your money, He wants your trust and loyalty. Tithing isn’t about money, it’s about freedom. Being free from stress, anxiety, fear because God is my source and I trust Him.

Transition to Full Time Ministry

I recall stepping away from being an administrator in the school system. Let’s just say I made considerably less than I did when I was in the school system. Everything in me told me, you can’t afford to tithe. On paper, that’s true. However, I resolved that we were going to trust God. It was challenging. Many times it seemed impossible. I can’t remember the exact moment it changed but somewhere along the way the anxiety went away. The stress went away. The trust grew more and eventually I stopped worrying about it. To this day, I don’t worry about money. It’s not because I am rolling in it, no, I genuinely don’t worry because I know God is my provider. I have to make smart decisions, I have to steward my life accordingly, but I don’t worry. Moving to DC, don’t worry; moving to ORL, don’t worry. Buying a new house, don’t worry. God’s got it…because I gave it to God. Tithing is how we demonstrate that we trust God with our resources.

Tithe

Let me be practical and teach you something. The word “tithe” means tenth or ten percent. Tithing = giving the first 10% of my income to God through my local church.

The word is mentioned all over the Bible...from Genesis 14... Another way we see the tithe expressed is through the principle of the first. Whether OT or NT, you never see this idea go away. Jesus even tells us in Matthew 23:23, we should tithe, but don’t forget the other things as well.

Grab your Bibles and look at the book of Malachi...This is one of the most extensive passages in the Bible about tithing...

Malachi 3:8–10 NLT

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. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring 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!

5 Thoughts about Tithing...

1. Tithing is giving back to God what already belongs to Him.

That’s why God uses the word “return” – 3X. That’s why God talks about robbing Him and living under a curse - because the people were taking what was sacred and spending it on themselves. We see multiple instances of what happens when people take what belongs to God and keeps it for themselves. Please hear me, I am not saying you are cursed if you don’t tithe. Jesus became the curse so that we don’t have to carry it. However, I am saying when we don’t tithe we aren’t under God’s covering. Remember, God has given us everything we need to give to Him. He gives us breath so we can praise Him. (Genesis 2:7; Psalm 150:6) He gives us hands so that we can lift them up and worship.

He gives us the resources to we need to trust Him.(Deut 8:18) Remember when God gives the Israelites favor in Egypt and once they are out He asks them to take a portion of what He has already given them, and prioritize Him in it. God has given you everything you need to give to Him, trust Him.

2. Your tithe enables your church to have an impact. God says we bring our tithe “that there may be food in God’s House” – and I know there is a stigma with church and money. And it’s true there have been abuses where money is concerned... We have mismanagement and understandable outrage and a breach of trust. As a shepherd, as a pastor, I am so sorry that happens. I am so sorry if you have experienced it. However, here at Celebration we submit ourselves to a 3rd party rigorous audit that ensures we not only operate with integrity but also according to the law. Our website houses our audit.

What’s important to me is that you know that we take your giving very serious. It is sacred. There is too much at stake for us to miss what God wants us to do because of mismanagement.

As a church, we have 2 assignments; Reach the lost and equip the found. Everything we do will land in one of those two buckets. Reaching and equipping. We have several things that contribute to this. Sunday services, serving teams, equip classes, groups…these all contribute to our discipleship journey. That said, we also know that there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done. Our hope is not to build resources that cause you to be dependent on the church. We as the church want to be able to deliver resources to you that can reach you where you are.

When you give, you are helping your church advance the kingdom of God.

3. Your tithe has the favor of God on it for your life. God says we are to test Him...He will throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Tithing is the key that opens the door. The favor of God is on the first part. Tithing is a tool and a strategy that helps you maintain the favor of God.

My daughter got this revelation from the moment she started working. I remember how when she was in college and she would get paid but end up asking me to give her some money. I used to think, how is she broke already? I looked in her account 1 day and saw that no matter what amount, she always tithed first. I was beyond proud of her. To this day, when she asks me for money, I do everything I can to help her because as her father, I am proud that she is trusting God. Listen, your father sees your sacrifice. Your father sees you. Your father will bless you; but you have to trust Him.

4. Tithing is an act of faith and commitment.

So, here’s how it works. Every time you get paid. You take the first 10% and you give it to your local church. And you’re saying to God, by faith, that you trust in His ability. 3 biggest blessings: Provision. Peace. Security.

Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

It’s also an act of commitment - meaning you do it even when you don’t feel like doing it. The first thing I do when I get paid get online and tithe.

I’ve been praying and thinking a lot about those of you who don’t know how to get started with tithing in your current situation. My heart’s been really stirred and I feel strongly that I need to give you a step to take, an on-ramp to tithing. Because many of you are missing out on the blessing that comes from honoring God because you feel like you can’t afford it. And for some people, that may be true—they may not have room in their finances to give 10% of their income right now. But I don’t want to leave you behind and you miss out on everything God has for you.

Sometimes people see 10% and they think, “I can’t do that.” And so because of that, they do nothing! I need to make sure you don’t give up entirely on honoring God because you feel like you can’t give 10%.

Watch this: tithing is really 3 things.

A heart to honor God.

It’s an amount.

It’s frequency - every time you get paid.

I know you have a heart for God or you wouldn’t be here today. And then there is the amount - 10% which is prescribed in Scripture. Maybe you’re here and you’re intimidated by that 10% and you’re like I just don’t know how I could do that? OK. I get it. But you need to at least take a step.

So, here’s the idea - honor God, and make a decision to start honoring God consistently with your finances. And then you start with some amount...it may not be the whole 10% but maybe it’s 1%...

And then there’s frequency - which really speaks of consistency. This is just every time I get paid I’m going to give something to honor God!

So, here’s our action steps...

Step 1 - I’m going to honor God with my income starting today.

Step 2 - I’m starting with a specific amount and working up.

Step 3 - I’m going to do it consistently.

5. Tithing is not a money issue - it’s a trust issue; it’s a freedom issue. It’s an order issue. Here’s the question...Who are you trusting for your provision? Are you trusting yourself? Your spouse? Your employer? The government?

Closing

1 Cor 15 describes Jesus as the first fruit of those that will be resurrected. We love God, because He first loved us.

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Altar

God so loved us, He gave to us. Love is a verb. Love is an action. Love surrenders. Love gives. We must receive it.