Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

The first issue that began it all was a message titled ‘Why Church?’ - where we looked at the importance of church, and why church should be a priority in our lives.

Why Church?

(Why does the Church & Church Attendance Matter?)

Because Jesus was Crucified for It

Because it’s God’s Chosen Vessel to Accomplish His Will

Because of Our Command, Our Commission & Our Concern

It shows whether we’re concerned about our Brethren, our Commission, our Command or even our Lord.

Why Train?

(Why and How we should Train our Children)

We looked at The Particulars, The Process & the Permanence of Training our Children

Why the Bible?

(What Makes the Bible Special?)

Because of It’s Author, It’s Accuracy, It’s Accessibility, It’s Ability

Topics we didn’t get to include: Because it’s Alive; It’s Applicable & Because of it’s Authority

Why Jesus?

(Why is Jesus Important?)

Because Jesus Loves Us; He Laid Down His Life for Us; He Lives; He Left Us Promises; He is LORD

Why Pray? (Why is prayer necessary to the Christian?)

Because we have Opportunity; Obligation; Demonstrates Obedience; & So that we Might Overcome

Why Serve?

For Duty Sake; To Deliver the Oppressed; To Defend the Helpless & To Demonstrate Who We Are

Today the topic that we’re going to address is ‘Why Tithe’.

This topic seems to strike a nerve amongst many for multiple reasons.

Some recoil at it because the television preachers have polluted and perverted the doctrine and in doing so has taken advantage of unsuspecting people.

I want to assure you at the onset, that the prosperity gospel that so many televangelists preach - the Mike Murdocks, Joel Osteens, Creflo Dollars & Benni Hinns of the world is not what you will hear today.

And just so that I’m clear, the message that they espouse I believe is not of God, but is of their father the devil.

It’s the likes of so-called preachers like that that have led more souls astray than heathens ever have.

Some recoil at it because the believe that that’s all the preacher is after is your money.

Church, If you know me, you know that I could care less about what you give - What I care about is where your heart is at in relation to the LORD.

In the 11 years that I’ve been a pastor, I have not yet once asked, inquired or otherwise tried to find out what anybody gives to the work of the LORD.

It’s because these misconceptions I have in the past intentionally avoided the topic of tithes and offerings specifically.

I would mention it here and there, but rarely teach or preach on the issue.

In fact, when I first began preaching I made the contrasting statements:

‘I will preach the full council of God - if people don’t like it, tough’.

Then I also said:

‘I will not preach about money’

The reason I didn’t want to preach about money is because of how some people view a preacher and where their heart is that is preaching it.

I did not want to get people hung up on that topic and then have them ignore the Gospel of Christ.

Church but the truth is, if you know anything about the Bible, you cannot preach the full council of God WITHOUT preaching about tithes and offerings.

God speaks of giving (financially) throughout the Word of God.

Then lastly, some recoil at it simply because their heart is not right with the LORD on this topic.

Just like some aren’t right concerning Church attendance, or Service, or any other doctrine.

So if you fall into one of those categories and have already begun to turn me off, I ask you to just hear what I have to say and line it up against the Scripture, examine your heart and follow the leading of the LORD.

Secondly church, I titled this message ‘Why Tithe?’ for a reason.

I want you to fully understand a few things:

First off, I’m speaking today about your money.

I’m not talking about your time & talents - you owe those to God to, but we addressed them last week.

Secondly, I am using the term ‘tithe’ because as a New Testament Christian, (a tenth) should be the bare minimum that you should be giving unto the LORD - and I will show you that today.

The better terminology would be ‘Tithes and Offerings’, but for simplicities sake, we will just use the word ‘tithe’.

So, prayerfully with that introduction, I have laid a groundwork that will allow me to give you Biblical instruction regarding your finances and how you should view them and treat them in regards to your duties as a Christian.

This message will undoubtedly be more instructional than anything, and I pray it helps you in your walk.

So Why Tithe?

First off, because it’s God’s Will

I.

Because It’s God’s Will

The Foundation of the Tithe (Gen.

14:14-20; Heb.

7:2; Gen. 28:22)

The first thing that I want to establish is the first instances of the tithe, and what it means.

In Gen. 14, we see the patriarch Abraham meeting after battle a man who is the king of Salem by the name of Melchizedek.

If you read in Heb. 7, you see that this man Melchisedec’s ministry is likened unto Christ Himself.

So we see that as far back as Abraham in Gen. 14 had given tithes of his increase to the priest of the Most High God.

Moving forward, Abraham begats Isaac, then Isaac begats Jacob, and in Gen. 28, Jacob has a vision of Christ - the ladder that reaches from earth unto Heaven, and when he awoke, he said this: Gen. 28:20-22 “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”

So we see the Foundation of the tithe.

Why is this important?

Because we see that prior to the Law, the tenth of the men of God’s increase was established as the amount set aside to give unto the LORD.

This pre-dates Moses and the covenant that God would make with the COI regarding the tithe by over 600 years.

This will be an important concept to gather as we move forward.

So we see the Foundation of the Tithe

The Proclamation of the Tithe (Lev.

27:26-30; Num.

18:21;26)

The purpose of the tithe was to take care of the needs of the God’s Servants

To understand this, you must first understand the manner in which God’s people were setup.

If you look at Canaan’s Land after the COI took possession, you will find twelve land allotments for the COI.

Now, if you know your Bible, you know that Israel had 12 sons, one of which was Levi.

However, you will not find a land inheritance with the name of Levi on it.

Consequently, you will not find one labeled “Joseph” either.

The reason is, Joseph was recognized by God as the legitimate first-born, and as such, was given a ‘double portion’ as his inheritance.

So his two children Manasseh & Ephraim have inheritances of land, but the Levites have none.

Coming out of Egypt, God had claimed all the firstborn in the land as His own.

But rather than have the first born of every home of every tribe serve in the tabernacle, the Levites redeemed the first born of all the COI to do the LORD’s work (Num.

3).

So the COI paid a ransom unto the Levites to do the LORD’s work instead of the firstborn.

Read: Num.

3:6-13; Lev.

27:26-30; Num.

18:21;26

The Levites did not have the same material blessings as God had given unto the other tribes, therefore, God made sure that His ministers were taken care of.

So under the Law - God’s Covenant with the COI, He proclaimed that a tithe was to be given to the ministers of the LORD for the ministry unto the people.

However, we see special collections taken up in Scripture as well.

The most notable was the free-will offering taken up for the Tabernacle itself in Exo.

35.

So we see the Proclamation of the Tithe

The Confirmation of the Tithe (Mat.

23:23; Luk.

11:42)

Some will say that since the Gospels don’t speak much concerning Jesus and the tithe, that somehow Jesus did care about it.

But I’d like to focus your attention on something Jesus said unto the Pharisees, recorded in both Mat.

23:23 & Luk.

11:42.

Mat.

23:23 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

In the midst of Jesus chastising the Pharisees for their wickedness, Jesus said “Hey, there’s some important stuff that you’re lacking - Yeah, you’re doing this stuff, but you should be doing this other important stuff AND the things you are doing - tithing being one of them.”

So we see Jesus Confirming the Tithe