Faithful in Giving
Missio Dei • Sermon • Submitted
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· 31 viewsThe end result is a Kingdom of sinlessness and perfect unity
Notes
Transcript
Announcements
Our book study
Remind everyone to read chapter 3-4
Evangelism Report
We knocked on about 35 doors
We had 6 gospel conversations
We had one really good conversation
INTRODUCTION
I want to read you this quote I came across in my study this week, “Real Jesus followers work hard and reprioritize spending”. This is what I want us to get from this little series on money. I want us to have a better understanding of money and to use it differently! I want us to see giving as a priority in our lives…. not a duty that we must perform, but a privilege that we have. I also want us to understand that our giving is closely tied to our hearts. And how we use our money is one of the best indicators of where our heart is.
Proverbs 3:5–10 (NKJV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.. 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.
This proverb is was written by the wisest man on earth! We all want to be wise but wisdom only comes by a change in how we live! Wisdom is knowledge applied! And God says if you want to be wise, then you MUST learn to trust the Lord and the easiest way to do that is by honoring Him with our wealth!
By giving to God faithfully!
Make giving a priority in our life!
Giving produces faith, and faith is the foundation of Christianity!
Giving is an act of worship
We show honor to God when we give to God
Genesis 4:3-5 (NASB95)
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Giving is indispensible from discipleship
If we are not willing to give then we are not going to grow.
When we tithe, what we are saying to God is, “God, I trust you with my life, and I am all in!”
And that is exactly what He wants, our trust!
God is not after our money, He is after our hearts!
And our hearts are directly connected to our money.
What is a tithe?
What is a tithe?
1) A tithe is a tenth of our increase
Gen 14:20
Genesis 14:20 (NASB95)
And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all.
This is the first time in the Bible that we see the word “tithe”
Notice it is translated “tenth”
That is what a tithe is literally it means a “tenth”
And in this verse it was Abram who was giving a tithe which means the principle of tithing began before the law was ever given
Abraham was the Father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob who was the father of the 12 sons that later became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Notice that this tithe was theologically motivated.
Abraham gave a tithe in response to God’s faithfulness in giving him the victory!
Abram gave because God gave!
Application
And that is the first reason why we give!
When we tithe we are giving out of what God has given us
Tithing is a response to God’s goodness!
It is the biblical way of acknowledging that everything we have comes from God
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
2) A tithe is a tenth off of our best!
Prov 3:9-10
Proverbs 3:9–10 (NKJV)
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.
What are the first fruits?
The first and best part of the harvest of crops or produce. It was the best animals from the flocks, the best nuts from the trees, the best that they had!
It was also the first to be given. They did not give the best last, they gave it first because the best always comes first.
Why did God want the first fruits?
Because by giving the Lord the first portion, they learned to put Him first in their lives.
It wasn’t because God wanted their things, it was because God wanted their hearts!
How does that translate to us today?
By giving God our best!
By giving God His part first!
By giving God a tenth off the top of all of our increase!
Gen 28:20-22
Genesis 28:20–22 (NASB95)
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. “This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
This is the second time the word “tithe” shows up in the Bible.
This time it was Jacob (Abraham’s grandson) who vows to give God a tenth of everything that God gives him
Two observations
Jacob vowed to give God a tenth if God would take care of Him
In other words Jacob said if you will take of me God, I will give you a tenth of everything
What was the motivation here? Provision
Jacob wanted God’s protection, God’s safety, and God’s blessing
And Jacob said God if you will do this then I will give you a tenth of everything!
Jacob made a vow to tithe in exchange for God’s favor
Notice what the tithe would be used for: God’s House
There was no church then
There was not even a tabernacle yet
The temple was not even a thought
BUT Jacob prophetically speaks about how tithes will be used in the future
Our tithes are what supports the house of God
When we give, we are giving to God’s work on earth
And there is nothing more important than we will ever do with our money than support that which God is doing here and now!
Application
When we tithe we are partnering with God in our finances
When we give we are trusting God to meet our needs
That doesn’t mean we can be bad stewards with the other 90%
That does mean God will meet our needs
This same promise is made to us by Jesus in Matt 6.
Jesus teaching about money says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, but store up for yourselves treasure in heaven”
Then He gives this promise: “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”
This is what Jesus is saying, we store up treasures in heaven by investing in the Kingdom of God and when we do that we can be sure God is going to meet all of our needs.
Malachi 3:10–11 (NASB95)
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows. “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts.
That word “devourer” means “to consume”
When we neglect giving what we should to the Lord, the devourer has no restraints!
The washing machine breaks, the car breaks down, the kid has to go to the hospital and you miss a days work and your paycheck is short…your money becomes devoured.
Its as if holes are in your bank account
BUT God says when we give faithfully, He will rebuke the devourer
I’m not saying you will not have any trouble, but what I am saying is that when we partner with God, we receive divine protection
Example: For the last 11 years or so we have always gotten money back on our taxes. In 2020 we spent close to $30,000 on this building and repairs on our house. We had plenty of right offs and expected to get back quite money at the end of the year.
2021 was not profitable for us. We started this church and used this building for a church rather than wood-shop. We lost a $20,000 tax right off. When we filed our taxes, we received a bill for $8,000. Also this was around May when our business was making nothing and even going in the hole one month.
This is how God takes care of those who are faithful to Him. Our tax accountant whom we have had for years said this is what you need to do. File for a payroll stimulus loan. They will loan you $12,000 and after 8 weeks you can file for loan forgiveness and they will forgive it. And I thought NO WAY.
We did what she said, went the bank got the loan, paid the taxes, and in 8 weeks they forgave the loan and we have almost $5,000 left over.
When we make God a partner in our finances, we can be sure that He will take care of us!
Lev 27:30
Leviticus 27:30 (NASB95)
Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
Notice that it says here that the tithe belongs to God
God allows us to steward 90% of everything we get, but the other 10% is HIS
If someone was sick and could not come to give their tithes, they did not keep them.
No, they brought it with them the next time.
That is what the previous verse in Malachi is talking about. They were not giving the whole tithe, only a partial tithe.
What belongs to God belongs to God
Just because we do not come to church, does not mean we get to keep our tithes
It doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to God!
Numbers 18:21
“To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.
This tells us that the tithe was used to support the Levites who served in the tabernacle.
They were reimbursed for their service to the Lord.
This is how they made a living because they gave their lives to serve God in this capacity
1 Tim 5:17-18
The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
The word “honor” means value in this verse
It is talking about compensating those who preach and teach
My point is simply this that the tithes are used to compensate the pastor and to support the work of the ministry. It has been this way since the tabernacle was established 3500 years ago.
And there is a common belief today that pastors should not get paid, or not be paid much and that is simply unbiblical. Pastors who labor hard at preaching and teaching should be supported by their church.
What does all this mean??
All this talk about tithing in the OT and here we come to the NT and we all the rules and laws of tithing disappear. And many use this as an excuse to not tithe.
BUT what we DO see in the NT is something much more meaningful, something much less legalistic, something that tithing was meant to bring about in the hearts of those who followed God. GIVING
Here is the argument: Jesus fulfilled the law and I am no longer under the law. Tithing was in the OT law so I do not have to tithe.
Notice what Jesus does with the OT law
Matt 5:21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court”
Matt 5:31 “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matt 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
Jesus brings out the true intention of the law.
Jesus takes the law much deeper than it was originally understood.
And that is the same thing that we see with the tithing law in the NT. It is transformed into sacrificial giving! We see giving way beyond a tithe to meet others needs. We see giving of everything to the work and purpose of God!
Examples:
When the church was birthed at Pentecost, the new Christians sold their houses and lands to meet the needs of other believers (Acts 2:45).
Jesus commended the widow who gave two small copper coins because “out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” (Luke 21:4).
The woman at Bethany poured the very expensive alabaster flask of perfume on the head of Jesus preparing Him for His burial (Matt 26:7).
Paul testified of the extreme generosity of the believers in Macedonia who “gave beyond their ability” and out of their own financial poverty (2 Cor. 8:1-2).
Zacchaeus said to Jesus, “Look Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8) Jesus‘ response? “today salvation has come to this house”
Zacchaeus’s radical new approach to money proved that his heart had been transformed.
This is why we do not see the mandate to tithe in the NT, and why we see the cheerful giving by God’s people bought by the blood of Christ.
There is no need of a law to tithe, because the law is written on our hearts by the holy Spirit of God.
And we know to give because it becomes part of our spiritual nature.
Yes Jesus fulfilled the law, but that doesn’t mean we are exempt from giving. How will the pastors be paid if no one tithes? How will the missionaries take the gospel to all the nations if no one gives? How will there be churches who preach the gospel? How will the church take care of the poor and widows?
Jesus said, Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect
To say we are not to give is to say we should not be like God
God is the greatest giver on the pages of Scripture and we will never be more like Him when we embrace giving.
How should we give According to the NT?
On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.
Give a proportional amount
The Biblical standard amount is 10%.
If you are not giving 10% then get there as quickly as you can
This should be a planned amount to give each week
that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
Give a sacrificial amount
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability
Giving beyond one’s ability is sacrificial giving
There are times when God will move everyone of us to give above and beyond what is considered “normal giving”
My first church where I was saved at we built an activities building
That pastor left before that building was paid off and many of the people left too
When the people left, the money left
But one lady felt led by the Lord to pay that building off with her own money and it was over $40,000.
There are times when God wants us to give sacrificial
Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Give a heartfelt amount
It has to be insulting to God for someone who makes a $1,000 a week to throw a $20 in the offering plate.
That is 2% of their wages
Give cheerfully
God is not a mortgage payment that must be paid every month
God is not an electric bill, or a burden
God is blessing
And listen to me it is an honor and privilege to be able to give to the Lord!
2 Corinthians 8:3–4 (NAS)
2 Corinthians 8:3–4 (NASB95)
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
Those who choose not to give are truly missing out on one of our greatest privileges
See giving as an honor not a burden
CONCLUSION
You may be thinking right now that there is no way I can give like that. I get it…I understand. But start today working your way up to at least a tithe off your best. That is what this sermon series is about, getting us where we need to be.
If you giving 5% then go up 1% each month or every other month. Make this a priority in your life! And be faithful in your giving, even if you miss a Sunday.
When you make out your budget for 2022 put in there 10% to the Lord, then fill out the rest. Over time you will see God do things in your financial life that you could have never done on your own.
The wisest thing I have ever done is begin tithing to the Lord. I did not have much money, I struggled at times, but it grew my faith. And I believe in all of my heart one of the main reasons my relationship with the Lord is so sweet is because I started giving as soon as I got saved.
No one had to tell me to give. I did not have to hear a sermon on giving, I was compelled by the Holy Spirit of God that inhabits my soul to support the work of God.
GOD IS FAITHFUL! Don’t miss out on what God wants to do in your life!
~PRAYER~