Tithing - Part 1

Story -my experience with tithing.

God has invited us to test him in the area of our finances.

He says it clearly in Malachi.

Malachi 3:8–11 NIV

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.

This verse is the only verse in the bible where God invites us to test Him on something.

So what is tithing? Do I need to go plant a field, grow some grain, and bring THAT?

Tithing is the practice of returning the first 10 percent of our income to God.

Now, notice that I said, ‘returning’.

The secret is.... everything already belongs to God anyways.

God called out the israelites on that in malachi. That’s why he said they were robbing Him. He asked them to do something. But see, it was HIS stuff.

1 Chronicles 29:14 (NIV)

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

This scripture is spoken by David, after he’s invited the people to contribute materials to help Solomon build the temple.

And he knows, as generous as the people are, he knows what’s really going on.

1 Chronicles 29:16 NIV

Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.

So we believe, as Christ followers, that everything we have, every part and every dollar, came from God and belongs to Him.

David’s actually saying, what right do I even have to call this generosity, because you’re the one this stuff came from in the first place.

But our finances are different - we work, we generate income, we take home a paycheck. It’s ours, right?

Deuteronomy 8:17–18 NIV

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

So God claims even to be the source for our ability to generate wealth.

It all starts with Him, it all came from Him, and He has a plan for all of it.

This belief can result in drastic changes to how we approach the idea of our finances.

We can stop our anxieties and worries, and rest on God’s principles.

If we make the promises of God our basis for understanding our finances, it changes how we see and understand things.

My work is only the means by which God provides for me.

Everything I have is on loan from God.

God will make a way for me and my family financially.

But this belief also changes the path we move forward on.

Relying on God this way produces gratitude

Being open and free towards God with our money frees us from greed and materialism

This opens the way for God’s provision in our lives.

STORY - Foster son and allowance. Youth events. You can have your money - we’re talking about what you want me to do with MY money.

So God says, test me.

The test is, return the first 10% back to God.

Remember back to malachi 3:10

Malachi 3:10 NIV

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

This isn’t about any old 10% - this is about the first 10%.

Why does that make a difference? Let’s say we get our paycheque, and we sit down to budget it out.

We may be tempted to say, ok, BILLS (name some), then EXPENSES (name some), then out of spending, out of whatever I have left over, then I’ll give 10%.

God wants it to go, ok, 10% to Him - then everything else.

This is about faith, trust, and making ourselves put God first.

Deuteronomy 14:23 (NLT)

Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored...Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.

We learn to respect God when we honor His words.

This kind of commitment will require us making some changes in our lives. But God will show Himself faithful.

There’s a great story in 1 Kings 17 about an interaction between the prophet Elijah, and a widow. There was a massive drought going on in the land.

MAIN POINTS:

He asked her to make him a little bread. She said she couldn’t - they only had enough left for one more meal.

she was planning on going home, making her and her son a loaf, and then they planned on starving to death.

Elijah’s response was great.

1 Kings 17:13–14 NIV

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ”

Now, notice the order of priority here - First, make Elijah bread, then make yourselves bread - and in that order, God will ensure you never run out, until this drought was finished.

This story has a great ending.

1 Kings 17:15 NIV

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

STORY - at my house, the never ending pasta

There’s 3 steps in this story that we can follow.

Step 1 - Exercise your faith first

It starts here, because building up of faith is the big goal. I’m not here to pad the church’s bank account. It’s not what I want from you, it’s what I want FOR you - I want you to see God move in this amazing way.

But you gotta start with faith. Otherwise, faith isn’t really getting involved.

Step 2 - Miraculous Provision

Key word here being ‘miraculous’.

God asks from us the natural - and responds with the supernatural.

What you can scrounge together using your income is one thing - what God can do with His power is a totally different ballgame.

Step 3 - Ongoing provision

They didn’t run out, until God saw her through the hard time. And remember - God gave us the ability to generate wealth.

So, God came in, and when ONE thing he gave was not functioning the way He intended, he brought in another one. The natural world was in a drought, she couldn’t generate enough herself - so God swooped in supernaturally. But even after that moment - all her care still came from God.

And put yourself in her shoes - I imagine it got easier as time went on. After the first couple times, she may have been pretty stingy with how much flour she scooped out.

But after the first month, way past the time that this little jar of flour could ever have reasonably lasted, I bet doubt was erased. Because she’d seen the Lord provide - again and again and again and again and again.

So here’s our invite as a church:

Put God to the test - try the 3 month tithing challenge.

Join with us as we commit to giving the first 10% of our income back to God.

And here’s where I want to interject - if you’re feeling pressured to give.... don’t give.

Like I said, this isn’t about me getting more money out of you. I strongly believe in this princple, and I want to see you all blessed in this way.

2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

We always quote this - god loves a cheerful giver. But we forget the promise God makes a verse before ...

2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

The goal isn’t compulsion - the goal is to give God the opportunity to show us why we can all be cheerful givers.