Giving ain't so bad, part 2

9-11 Moment of Silence

many of you were quite young, some of us were younger

Ekklesia Experience - progressed from horrible accident to attack on our country

pray for the families, still hurting

pray for our safety

The Spirit of Giving

Intro

last week did part 1 of “Giving ain’t so bad”, and we dealt with “what giving actually is”

we learned that everything belongs to God, so when we give, we are really not giving . . .

We are returning what is is - like when you make a withdrawal from your bank account, you don’t celebrate the fact that the bank gave you money, because that’s your money

likewise, when we give, we are not doing God any favors. God is doing us a favor by giving us access to His resources

Today is part 2 of Giving ain’t so bad, the spirit of giving

again, I don’t like to preach on giving, but from the very beginning, with the first two children born on earth, We see that what you give is important to God

God accepted Abel’s had to offer but rejected Cain

God pays attention to what you give

I really need you to track with me, stay locked in the whole time, and things will really make a lot of sense.

Giving ain’t so bad, part 2 . . . the spirit of giving

Old Testament vs New Testament

first off, it’s really “and” instead of “vs”

God is the same

OT “I change not”

NT “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever”

Tough God of the OT is the same loving Heavenly Father of the NT who sent His Son

the God of the OT is just as “loving and kind” as Jesus in the NT “If you have seen me, you have seen the father” . . . which means that Jesus can bring judgment just like the God of the OT, and He will when he comes back

the NT fulfills the OT

Matthew 5:17 NASB95

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

makes it clearer, plainer, takes it to its logical and spiritual conclusion

The OT is the starting point, it’s the foundation, it introduces us to God and what God requires, the NT builds upon that foundation

In school, for math, we started by teaching children how to recognize numbers, how to write them, how to count

as they progressed in elementary school, we revealed more about math, the next levels

adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions . . .

the math did not change, we just revealed more about it as they progressed

I used pique the interest of older students with, “we are going to learn about some numbers that have been there all the time, but have never seen them, the little kids can’t handle them, but you all can” (negative numbers)

and I would reveal what had been there all the time . . . but I couldn’t tell you about a negative one until you understood what a regular one was.

OT foundation . . . NT build upon that foundation

in fact, in fulfilling the OT, in building on that foundation, the NT ramps everything up, takes things to a new and higher level

OT - follow the law, NT - follow the spirit of the law

OT - obey the higher power, who is God, NT - love your heavenly Father, become friends with God

OT - is about God’s dealings with the Jews, NT - is about God dealings with every nation, tribe, and tongue

but again this is not new . . . God told Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him, but the NT reveals how

but the NT reveals it and ramps it up

in his preaching, Jesus gave examples

OT - don’t commit adultery . . . let’s build upon that, and reveal more, take it to a new level . . . NT - don’t look upon a woman with lust

OT - do not murder . . . let’s build upon that, and reveal more, take it to a new level . . . NT - watch your anger

OT said you should love your neighbor as yourself . . . let’s build upon that, and reveal more, and take it to a new level . . in the NT, Jesus explained that your neighbor is more than just your friends, but everybody, even your enemies

Also there is a different attitude in the OT vs the New

in the OT you were under the law - this is the law and you better follow it, these are my orders and you better obey

in the New Testament you are free from the law - you follow the Holy Spirit

Romans 7:6 NLT

6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

But here is the neat trick God pulled on us:when you follow the Holy Spirit, you find yourself doing more than what the law requires . . . next level, ramped up

not “man I better do it” . . . . but “I will do it, how could I not? It’s the least that I can do?”

As I was raising my kids, we established OT type of attitude - you better do it! (clean room, take your bath, do your homework, clean that kitchen, fixed me a sandwich)

that’s all they could handle and understand (obey your parents)

as they have gotten older and matured, our children are starting to live with a NT attitude

as they see how tough life is, they have a better appreciation of all our sacrifices

Our oldest, Matthew is no longer under our roof, so he is no longer under our law, he has his own household

but we’ve found that he is willing to do more for us, now that he is free, than when we was under the law

for example, we used to have to demand: Matthew fix me a sandwich

but now, Matthew will call on his own, I got some things on the grill, called to see if you want some, I’ll bring it over . . . different attitude, NT attitude

who would do a better job: a child made to clean up the house or a child who decides to clean up the house out of appreciation for their parents?

child made to do something - will have a bad attitude and will do as little as possible

a child who does it out of love and appreciation - will have a good attitude, and go the extra mile

OT - made to do it, respond out of necessity, do as little as possible to get by, often rebel

NT - want to please, respond out of relationship, do as much as possible, broken heart when falling short

OT - remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy! You better set aside one day per week to remember me

NT - everyday is a day of thanksgiving,

I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus

I don’t know what you’ve come to do, but I’ve come to praise the Lord

I can’t wait to get together with the saints, so that we can praise God together

So with this understanding that the NT fulfills the OT

builds, fulfills, reveals, and does so with a different attitude

let’s first look at the foundation of giving in the Old Testament

Tithing in the Old Testament

Dictionary Definition

A tithe is a tenth or 10% of your increase, income, if you have a job then 10% of the money you made (gross) . . . it’s not just a general amount, it’s a specific amount

you have little, you don’t have to give much

you have a lot, you have to give more

and offerings are what you give beyond the tithe

First, We see in Genesis before there was a written command to tithe, people gave tithes

Abraham tithe (Bible Study), Jacob his grandson gave tithes to the Lord . . . seemed to be a natural response to God’s blessings

Next, there was written instructions from God to the people of Israel to tithe, and since for the most part they did not do it, we get the often quoted scripture in Malachi

in this scripture, God asks a question, we get the people’s answer, and then we see God’s response to their answer

Malachi 3:8–9 NASB95

8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

God is saying, you are not giving back the 10% of my stuff that I require, and that is the same as robbing me . . . you are cursed with a curse! . . .

you can see the “you better do it style of the Old Testament”

like the child made to clean the kitchen or you are going to get it!

This idea of blessings and cursings is not new to the people of Israel, nor did it only pertain to tithing, that was their covenant with God, the prophet was basically repeating what had already been said

Do what I tell you, follow my commandments

moral laws like the 10 commandments

giving laws like tithing

a total of 613 . . . and you will be blessed, it not then cursed

and no God is not being too hard, internet said Texas had 666 new laws go into effect this year on Sept. 1, this past Wednesday

I love to sing, “We’re blessed in the city” . . . . 28th chapter of Deut.

blessed in the city, blessed in the field

enemy come one way, but flee seven ways

obey me and I will , and I will pour you out a blessing!

14 verses of blesssings in verses 1-14

but then there are 53 verses of curses in verses 15 - 68 :(parents do the same thing, emphasize the reprecussions)

cursed in the city . . . you will flee seven ways

v47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart

and people were not able to live up to the law . . . and they ended up cursed

the NT tells us that not just them, but we all fall short, we all have sinned, we all miss the mark!

That’s why we needed Jesus!!!! Because without him, we would all be cursed!

he took the curse for us!

Galatians 3:13 NASB95

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—

Good news, if you don’t tithe, or you break some other commandment, and you are a Christian . . . you are not cursed, because the Bible says that Jesus took the curse

that is good news, powerful news

But some of us, including me, have a have testimony about not paying tithes and something financially going wrong . . . seems we were cursed

Well, God is still our heavenly father, and God teaches, trains, and corrects his children . . . So you were not being cursed, you were being taught, trained, corrected

it would have been a lot worse, if you were actually cursed . . . be cursed has to do with being destroyed

we were set back, got reprimanded, and God still helped us to survive

Hebrews 12:6–7 NASB95

6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

so because of Jesus we are permanently blessed, so you don’t have to give out of fear, you don’t have to give with the OT attitude . . . so we can sing the first half of Deut 28 with gusto!

So, If I am not cursed, I don’t have to pay tithes? . . . . No, I did not say that

because of Christ, we are not in the “you better tithe” time, because of Christ, we are in the “why wouldn’t you tithe?”

we are in the , “and why wouldn’t you do more than tithe?”

Here’s what I mean: not murdering is the starting point, it’s the least that you can do . . . . now go beyond that and treat people right, forgive, pray for your enemies . . . don’t puff your chest out just because you haven’t murdered someone

and those of us who do pay tithes have no reason to brag, because we live in NT times

10% is just the starting point, kindergarten, the least you can do

10% is the floor, not the ceiling

What did Jesus say about tithing?

certainly worth seeing what he said . . .

Matthew 23:23 NLT

23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

You are tithing from everything, not just money, flocks, bushels of wheat . . . but you even tithe of your spices

but you are not treating people right!

Jesus says, you should tithe, but treating people right is more important, but yeah of course you should tithe

So before God’s written word, people tithed

When God gave us His written word, he instructed the people to tithe

Jesus said, tithe, but don’t think because you tithe, you can treat people any kind of way crazy

don’t get so caught up in tithing that you forget about treating people right

Jesus gives an example in another place:

Mark 7:11–12 NLT

11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.

if faced with tithing or making sure your parents have food to eat, then take care of your parents

Now don’t go find excuses not to tithe, because God knows your heart

I would have given tithes, but my neighbor needed some help

great, but you also went out do dinner, bought a new outfit, and put away $200 for your vacation . . . so you could have helped your neighbor and given tithes, lol

Conclusion: You should have a giving spirit

in New Testament Times, your spirit should be so giving, that you should AT LEAST tithe

if you tithe, you are in the kindergarten of giving, if you don’t . . . pre K?

the fact is that in NT times, we should be willing to give whatever God wants us to give!

give church tithe

throw in some offering

help my neighbor in need

send money to hurricane victims

give a gift of money to someone the Holy Spirit tells me to

give to a building fund as God has spoken through the church I attend

give a love offering to a fellow member

NT level of giving, NT attitude . . . . That’s why we quote the scripture, God loves a cheerful giver

Matthew calls us cheerfully - I got some steaks on the grill!

we don’t have to ask him, he calls us!

Jesus

in the OT, animals were offered up as the sacrifice for the sins of the people

but that was just the foundation, the start

God revealed in the NT, that the sacrifice of animals was not sufficient for our sins . . . . it was just a way of demonstrating faith until the real sacrifice could be made

God is not asking you to do anything he has not done for you, He ramped it up first

It went from sacrificing lambs, to sacrificing the Lamb of God, his only begotten son

he didn’t give 10%, he gave 100% . . . Jesus paid it all!

so since he paid it all, my attitude is: all to him I owe

because sin left a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow

So with a good attitude

heavenly father . . . .here is my tithe, here is my time, here is my talent

yes, Lord . . . from the bottom of my hearts, to the depths of my soul, completely yes

all to Jesus, I surrender, all to him I freely give . . . I surrender all

if you’re not tithing, time to come to kindergarten

if you are in K, time for 1st grade, middle school

Giving ain’t so bad