Is Tithing Really That Important?

The comic strip character Curtis walked into the kitchen one day and asked, "Mom, can I have five dollars?" "No!" his mom emphatically answered. "But," Curtis explained, "It's to put in my offering envelope for church tomorrow mornin'." His mother warmed up. "In that case, okay." In the final frame of the strip, Curtis and his little brother are sitting in a movie theatre and eating popcorn. His young sibling asked. "Now what are you going to put in your offering envelope, Curtis?" Curtis replied, "An I.O.U."' Many Christians are like Curtis. They disregard the priority of the tithe for temporary and frivolous things.

Is tithing really important? Now that’s a good question isn’t it? I’m afraid that for many of us the answer is “No, it’s really not important.” If it were a lot of things would be different around here! Well what does God say about it? Let’s see this morning. Please turn with me to Malachi 3:7-10 …

Malachi 3:7–10 NASB95

“From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! “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.

I guess one question we need to ask this morning is this: what is tithing? Tithing is giving back to God on a regular basis a portion of that which He has given to you. The OT principle is 10% and the NT principle is generosity with cheerfulness.

So this morning I want to highlight 3 things we learn here about tithing. 1st we learn that…

1. TITHING HONORS GOD.

- When you don’t tithe, you’re not honoring God.

- In fact God says when you don’t, you’re robbing Him! You’ve become a thief.

- Most people don’t want to hear this or think about this. It’s one thing to rob another person. But it’s another to rob God!

- The Israelites didn’t think they were robbing God…but they were! God makes this very clear here.

- How were they robbing God? In tithes and offerings! They were holding out – not giving their tithe – not giving their offerings.

- The point is clear: when you tithe you are showing honor to the Lord. When you don’t, you’re showing you don’t honor the Lord. It’s really that simple!

TS – 2nd we learn that…

2. TITHING PROVIDES FOR THE MINISTRY OF GOD.

- God commands the tithe to be brought where? Into the storehouse. What was the storehouse? Back then it was the Temple, that was God’s House.

- Today it’s still the same – God’s House…the church!

- so Why does God’s House need money? (1) To carry out the ministry of the church (2) The mission of God.

- Friend, what you / I need to understand and be reminded of in the church are these things:

1) It takes dollars to pay the salaries of our staff – and the Bible teaches that the worker is worthy of his wages.

2) It takes dollars to take care of the operational expenses.

3) It takes dollars to fund the ministries of the church.

4) It takes dollars to provide funds for missions and helping those in need.

- These things don’t just happen. They take God’s people…

1) Being filled with gratitude to God for what He’s done for them.

2) Recognizing all you have is God’s and He wants you to be a good steward with it all.

3) Being obedient.

4) Being faithful.

5) Giving joyfully not begrudgingly.

- What would happen if every church member gave a tithe (a 10% tithe) every month?

3. TITHING BRINGS BLESSINGS IN YOUR LIFE.

- A while back I was talking with another pastor about tithing and how many folks have a difficult time with this Biblical teaching and he said, “I CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO TITHE!”

- He’s right!

- Look at what God says here – 2 things: One…

1) TEST ME.

- In other words, try it and see – be faithful to tithe and see what happens in your life!

- That’s fair enough isn’t it?

2) I WILL BLESS YOU.

- God promises blessings to those who are faithful to tithe!

- What kind of blessing is He talking about? Well not necessarily what we usually think – financial kinds…material kinds.

- Today you will find prosperity preaching out thereon the airwaves – but God never promises here that if you will be faithful to tithe that He will give you more money – fancy cars – big houses to live in.

- Nor does God promise that if you tithe that you will never experience hardships or difficulties in life – you can’t buy God out.

- What He does promise is blessings – some times those blessings may be financial, but many times they are spiritual blessings.

- What does God say here? “…test Me now in this…if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

- The point is this: when you are faithful to bring your tithes and offerings into the House of God, God will bless you – in some way or ways He will bless you!

- Many could stand up here this morning and testify to the truthfulness of this!

- And the truth is, when you begin to tithe from your 1st fruits – before your start paying bills and taking care of your wants and desires – you will find that you don’t miss it!

- This is true for individuals – for families – and this is true for churches!

Conclusion

One day there was a knock on the door of the hut occupied by a missionary in Africa.Answering the door, the missionary found one of the young boys holding a large fish in his hands. The boy said, "Reverend, you taught us what tithing is, so here -- I've brought you my tithe." As the missionary gratefully took the fish, he questioned the young lad. "If this is your tithe, where are the other nine fish?" At this, the boy beamed and said, "Oh, they're still back in the river. I'm going back to catch them now."

That’s commitment – that’s faithfulness.

Are you a tither? If not I challenge you to start and just see if the Lord blesses you.