The Antidote

[Greeting of the Church]

Let’s start with a prayer.

Eternal Father, who has spoken in various times and in various ways to Your people in the past, but in these last days in Your Son, the incarnate Word, we pray that You will open the mouth of Your servant to proclaim that Word in the power of the Spirit. And we pray that this same Spirit will open the hearts of its hearers here assembled to receive Your holy gospel and write on their hearts Your holy law, even as You have promised.

All of this, gracious Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

My question for us this morning is: who am I, as a Seventh-Day adventist, and how can my identity in Christ be reflected in how I handle my money?

Max Israel Munk, was a Jewish Adventist living in Germany. In 1933 he resigns from his church membership in order to spare his congregation from trouble.

You see, when you are a part of a hated minority, you pick up things that the rest of us normally don’t. While most church members were still trying to figure out what to make of their nation’s new leader, Adolf Hitler, Monk already figured by his speeches that there would be a time where just being a Jew could be a dangerous thing to his fellow church members, so he concluded that the most responsible thing he could do was to resign from his membership to protect his church.

Monk spent some time in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, until he was released in 1938. After that, his conference tried to get him out of Germany and find him a job, but that task proved to be impossible.

Finally, the Conference president told Munk that he could no longer have any contact with the church, and church members were likewise told not to have any contact with Mr. Monk anymore. Don’t go visit this guy, don’t write to him. Stay away from him.

At one point during the war, Munk’s daughter wrote to the leader of the church’s welfare program, asking if there were any other jewish adventist that needed help. The church leader cynically replied to her:

"I have not counted them yet."

As if he was too busy to get around for these requests for aid. As if he was afraid to open these letters.

So Max Israel Munk and his family were on their own.

Before I tell you how this story ends, let me first invite you to open the Bible with me in Matthew 19:16-21.

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?”

17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;

19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

20 The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

24 “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

A young, wealthy and influential man came before Jesus to ask a deep, meaningful existential question. One question that no doubt was afflicting his soul, depriving him of his sleep. “What must I do to be saved?”. But before Jesus could respond to his inquirer, He needed first to ask another question, one that would ensure that the rich young ruler knew exactly to whom he was talking. “Why do you call me good? Said Jesus. There’s only one who is Good, which is God”. By his silence, the young leader of Israel acknowledged that He recognised in Jesus the authority of the divine Messiah. It was the only begotten Son of God that would speak directly into his inquiry.

"You know the commandments, do them and you will live."

“But I have been doing this for a long time! Yet there’s something still missing… Tell me Lord, What is it?

And Jesus says: If you want to find the ultimate answer to your question, go first and leave your wealth to the poor. Then, come and follow me, and this emptiness you now have will be filled by my presence.

With these surprising and sharp words, Jesus pointed out that the riches in this man’s life were an obstacle between himself and the God that he longed for.

Now, before I proceed, it is important to clarify that Jesus’ request to the rich young ruler is not a commandment to everyone. Remember, the young ruler asked: What else do “I" need to do? In his specific case, to get rid of the idolatry of money, Jesus commanded him as he did.

But throughout his first passage on this planet, Jesus met with other wealthy men, and to those the instructions were different. For instance, to Nicodemus, to whom money was not an idol, Jesus said: you must be born again.

And you ask me: how do you know that to Nicodemus money was not an idol? Because after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Nicodemus spent all his wealth in supporting the early church to be established in Jerusalem (you can read more about it in the book Acts of the Apostles, page 105).

But this is the point of this story: to the Rich Young Ruler of this story, money was an idol. It stood between himself and God’s will, and the love of riches prevailed.

Why did that happen? Jesus helps us to understand that with following passage:

Matthew 6:24

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and bwealth [other translations: Mammon].

In this passage, Jesus personified wealth as if it were a god, because it indeed has God-like qualities. I struggled to understand how that could be until I reflected back in my experience as an investment banker. I mean, if you ask anyone if they worship money, most people would say: “no”.

However, where I worked, people were willing to sacrifice the bulk of their time, their health and even their family in order to earn their dollars.

“When I get my bonus, I’ll take my wife and kids to an expensive ski resort in Europe for two weeks”, told me one of my colleagues, who complained to me that since he started working for that bank, he started to lie to his wife so that he could work more, and that now he only saw his kids growing up in the horizontal, as by the time he came home most evenings they were already asleep.

Another of my colleagues, the next day after becoming a father, was back to the office the following day and continued working from 8am until 11pm - no breaks.

Another friend of mine became rather despondent because a peer of his earned a $10,000 more than himself for the whole year and that made him angry because it was a statement about his identity: he was not the best, he was not the top performer in the eyes of his managers.

My riches will take care of me. My money will buy me good health. My treasure tells me how much is my worth. It gives me security. It buys me peace. It tells me who I am. Are these statements sounding a bit odd to your ears?

That’s because they should. Money - or Mammon, often receives the credit for things can only be given by God alone. And this is why Jesus said that, to many, money can become like a god.

So the question now is: How do I shield myself from this form of idolatry? What can I do with my money that will reflect my identity of a son / daughter of God? How can I worship God with my money, as opposed to worship Money as my god?

While there’s a lot that can be said in this space, I’ll focus today on just one - and the most important - spiritual practice. It’s called Tithe.

Let’s read it about it together. Leviticus 27:30

‘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.

31 ‘If, therefore, a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one-fifth of it.

32 ‘For every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.

In the times of the Old Testament, God commanded that a tenth, or 10% of all the produce, vegetables, grains as well as animals, belong to God. They needed to be taken to the Temple in Jerusalem, and from there it would be used to support the work of the temple workers and priests.

It’s a simple concept. 10% is holy - or set aside, for the Lord. Why, you might ask, does God need our money?

Certainly not. Let’s read it in Psalms 50:10-12

10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine,

The cattle on a thousand hills.

11 “I know every bird of the mountains,

And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you,

For the world is Mine, and all it contains.

God is the Creator of the world, and as such, He claims ownership over everything that is in it. So we’re starting to see a pattern emerging.

Our riches are not really ours: In fact, everything that we have belong to God, because we believe He is the Creator.

So when God asks us to set aside 10%, we’re are just acknowledging that fact through our actions.

Symbolically, we’re saying: I acknowledge that God is the owner of everything that I own, and I’m returning to him 10% of that in recognition of his authority in my life. This act is not done based on fear, but rather on gratitude and love for He is the one who provides for me - he provides me with life, with salvation and with the means to survive.

But notice that in this process, something really cool happens. I’m also, symbolically, saying to money:

You don’t own me. I’m happy to dispose of you by returning it to God, where it would be used for a good cause - in fact, the best cause, the salvation of others. And just like that, money starts to lose its God-like properties and becomes what it really is: just an object, a means to an end: to glorify God by blessing others.

We spoke about how tithes were used in the Old Testament, but what about now? How does the Adventist church apply the Biblical principles in managing tithes today?

Let’s look in this following video.

Thank you for playing this video, I hope it gives you a sense of the impact that our tithes have around the world and the great responsibility with which it is handled.

But Joseph, maybe the church worldwide is well audited and re-audited for transparency and accountability and checks and balances, but you don’t know what I know! I know some stories that would make the angels blush! Or I don’t agree with this or that position of the church!

Ok, so first of all I don’t know which stories you are talking about and neither if they are true or gossip. As Christians, we don’t judge things based on hearsay. HOWEVER, let me share with you a story that speaks into that topic.

Mark 12:41 - 44

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.

42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.

43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;

44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

This incredible story, that happened just a few days before Jesus’ crucifixion, has a powerful message to us today. This widow gave not only her tithe, but she gave 100% of what she had. Tithes, offerings, everything. Why did she do that?

Was it to be seen by other people, as the rich men could have been doing?

Or was it because through this donation, she was making statement: I trust that my God will provide for me. I’ll give him everything I own, for I am owned by Him, and he’s not going to abandon me. I believe in God’s mission.

Now, what was Jesus response? Imagine if he could run towards her and say: Woman, please take your money back. You have no idea what the priests are plotting to do with it. They are going to use these very coins to purchase my blood this evening. The current generation of priests is mostly corrupt and they will do Satan’s job with your tithes and offerings. Please take it back and spend on yourself, go buy some food perhaps.

But no, none of this. On the contrary, Jesus said: this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury.

Returning tithes and giving offerings are an act of worship. They are a symbol of our trust in God’s provision, of our obedience to God. Tithes are first and foremost OUR responsibility before God. What people do with them from the treasury box onwards - it is up to each individual to respond before God, but mine and yours responsibility before God, finishes at the time that our mites drop into the treasury box. EVEN if we believed that the administration of God’s End-Time church was as corrupt as the priests in Jesus’ time - which I can attest that is definitely not the case, by God’s grace, but even if we Did - that’s still no excuse to withhold or divert our tithes.

But what if I decide NOT to return tithes? What will I be symbolically communicating through this decision?

Let us open the Bible now in Malachi 3:8-9

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!

Wow wow, I should have warned you that this would be strong medicine right here, but God is not measuring words and is being very transparent with His people. To ancient Israel, God said that withholding or misdirecting tithes and offerings was a sin comparable to robbery, with God Himself being the offended party. And as a consequence of that act, God says, the nation was cursed with a curse. Spiritual blessings are withhold from those that withhold God’s tithes. And if that was true to God’s people then, it remains true to God’s people today, for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

But luckily to us, this passage, doesn’t end here. It continues:

10 “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 dit overflows.

11 “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.

12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

There’s two things I want you to notice in this passage. First, God commands that THE WHOLE TITHE is brought to ONE place, the Storehouse - a Centralised Location that is able to distribute God’s holy portion amongst the gospel workers according to the needs of the field.

Before Jesus’ time, that used to be the Temple, and the Priests were responsible to distribute it.

After Jesus’ time, it has been the responsibility of the leaders of the church - then, in Jerusalem, now in the General Conference.

So if you are an Adventist, the General Conference is the application of the STOREHOUSE principle, the one single, centralised location. We often think about tithes in terms of returning to the Conference, but the reality is that what stays in the Conference is what would return to it if the money traveled all the way to the General Conference anyway, because all these amounts are established by the Church Manual, which is voted by all of us members at the General Conference in Session.

Returning tithes to someone else, a different cause or project, however good the intentions behind it may be, it’s still disobedience to God’s specific instructions. You can do that with you offerings - anything above the 10% of our tithes - give it wherever God leads you to - but as we saw, tithes are Holy, and therefore must be treated according to God’s instructions, and He says ALL TITHE needs to go to the ONE Storehouse.

But there’s a second thing that I want you to take notice of this passage. Friend what you and I are witnessing here today is one of the most incredible and unique promises of the Bible. If I heard right, God says: TEST ME ON THIS. In other words, He says: if you show that you trust in me with your tithes and offerings, I will overflow you with all sorts of spiritual blessings, and the curse shall be replaced by a blessing.

Now, this is quite unique, because elsewhere in the Bible, God says:

16 “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested Him at Massah. Deuteronomy 6:16

To put God to the test is to disobey God’s laws - be it natural or moral, doing something that he didn’t ask us to, and expecting him to protect and bless us nevertheless.

Of course, when we tithe we are not defying God’s laws, on the contrary, we’re honouring him, but still God says: test me on this, if you trust me with your money, see if I’m not going to provide for you abundantly, even in miraculous ways.

Does God really want to bless us supernaturally just for being faithful with our tithes and offerings? I believe so. Let me show you one example in this video:

[Video - Masai: 5:30]

As you can see, when God says that he will “open the windows of heaven and pour upon us blessings until it overflows”, to those who test him on the matter of Tithes and Offerings, He really meant it.

In summary, while money may have a god-like influence over our life, God’s antidote to this form of idolatry comes via the practice of tithes, which is prescribed in the Bible as being 10% of our income that needs to be stored in a centralised location to support God’s work. This is our act of worship and obedience before God, and is NOT dependent on our judgment if it’s being used well or not - even though these amounts get audited and re-audited and there’s hundreds of checks and balances in place - in the end, even if the church becomes as corrupt as the Temple in Jesus’ time, God still commends us for bringing our two mites to the temple.

Remember Max Israel Monk, the Jewish Adventist during Nazi Germany that was virtually abandoned by his church, he spent the early 1940s moving from camp to camp, going through hardships and misery that you and I could only imagine. Eventually, despite being told by church leaders not to visit, two church members did visit Monk’s family occasionally, bringing them food.

Somehow, Monk survived the war, and when it was over, he asked to become a Seventh-Day Adventist church member again, asking the church that has failed him for forgiveness and freely offering the same. Throughout all these years, from 1933 until the end of the war and beyond, in spite of having withdrawn his membership, Monk kept faithfully returning his tithes and offerings to the very church that was unfaithful to him.

He trusted in God through his tithes. And God looked after him. Will that be your story also?

Let’s pray.

Blessed Father, you are above all in gifts, and out of your giving you have taught me the way to a fuller identification of myself with you. Not only your gift of Jesus and your gift of the Spirit, but every day your gifts are about me like manna in the wilderness. All I have belongs to you, and of my money I am only a trustee. Command its use as shall please you and give me the experience of the giver’s joy. Let me see clearly the sin of covetousness and deepen my hatred of its practice. In the name of your unspeakable Gift be praise and dominion forever. Amen.