This morning we are continuing the series I began a
couple of weeks ago: How Can I Say Thanks?
In our first week we identified several ways to say
thanks – not just with our lips but with our actions:
We thank God through Worship and Praise
We thank God by our Obedience
We thank God by our Service
We thank God by our Stewardship
Then last Sunday, Pastor Mark Allen shared a powerful
word about Cherem. If you weren’t here I STRONGLY
urge you to go online and listen to that message. We
learned that Cherem is the accursed thing. It is holy
to God, but toxic to us when we keep it for ourselves,
and not only is it accursed or purposed for
destruction, but everything it touches is accursed and
destined for destruction. We don’t know when (lit
fuse) but sooner or later God will come calling for
what belongs to Him.
Now, that could produce fear. And I supposed to
some degree a holy fear of God is appropriate. But
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God has never wanted us to serve Him out of fear, or
to obey Him out of fear, or to give out of fear, but
rather out of an understanding of Kingdom Truths and
Principles. He wants us to respond out of
thanksgiving – our motivation for loving and serving
and giving to him should be grateful recognition of all
He has done for us.
Thanksgiving is based on the concept of being truly
grateful for the blessings of God in our lives. It is a
time that we take to stop and say, “I couldn’t have
done it without you, Lord… You are my source… You
have blessed me… and I am thankful.”
In another week we will be celebrating the
Thanksgiving holiday. Many of us will gather around
tables full of turkey and dressing with all the
trimmings. And when we finish our meal we will put
away the leftovers in the frig for another day.
There’s nothing wrong with leftovers, unless you are
trying to give God the leftovers of your life – the
leftovers of your time – the leftovers of your finances.
God doesn’t want your leftovers. He wants You. All
of you. The best of you. God wants to be first, and
he wants your firstfruits.
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Anything less indicates a heart of ingratitude.
Or pride (I did it myself without God’s help).
Or a failure to understand the principle of
stewardship – I own nothing; God owns everything;
He is a good Father who supplies all my needs; I in
turn want to be a good son/servant and properly
steward what He has given me.
That reminds me of something I recently read about
the Various ways we view money: (All on one slide)
1) Money is a Gift – Parable of the Talents
2) Money is a God – Rich Young Ruler - Jesus
warning: You cannot serve God and Mammon
3) Money is a Tool – Like a hammer or
screwdriver. We can use it to build the Kingdom of
God (or our own Kingdom)
4) Money is a Thermometer – It measures how
“hot or cold” we are for God. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
When we have a proper understanding of money we
will not struggle to obey God in the matter of Tithing.
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Tithing is an important part of our discipleship – like
prayer, bible study, worship, serving... Tithe simply
means “tenth”. It is returning to God 10 percent of
His financial blessings in our lives – His gifts to us!
Some people struggle with the concept of the tithe.
Some suggest that it is only a requirement of OT Law,
and as NT Christians we aren’t required to “tithe”
because we are not “under the law.”
That has a couple of problems:
1) Tithing supersedes OT Law. Both Abraham and
Jacob tithed hundreds of years before the law.
2) In our recent DTR series we saw again and
again that Jesus also said he didn’t come to
destroy the law but to fulfill it – and in the sermon
on the Mount He “raised the bar” – not lowered it
– for those in His Kingdom. (Not just, thou shalt
not kill, but don’t even be angry (heart matter);
and not just “Thou shalt not commit adultery”,
but don’t lust (heart matter). So if anything, the
tithe is just the starting point of our generosity.
3) Jesus said we “ought to” tithe.
Anything less is a failure to walk in the fullness of
God’s plan for our lives.
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Anything less is a failure to understand that the tithe
is not ours. It is God’s. It belongs to Him.
[Lev 27:30 NKJV] 30 And all the tithe of the land,
whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the
tree, is the LORD's. It is holy to the LORD.
God takes tithing seriously. He tells us that it is His.
And it is Holy! (Set Apart for Him and Him alone)
That means if you haven’t been tithing, you’ve got
money in your pocket, or your bank account that isn’t
yours. It’s like watching someone drop a $20 bill and
instead of picking it up and giving it to them because
that’s the right thing to do, you pick it up and put it
in your pocket. It’s what the Bible calls “ill-gotten
gains”
[Pro 1:19 NIV] 19 Such are the paths of all who go
after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those
who get it.
[Pro 10:2 NIV] 2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting
value…
Which brings us to one of the key verses in the Bible
about tithing:
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[Malachi 3:6-11 NKJV] "For I [am] the LORD, I do not
change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of
Jacob. 7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have
gone away from My ordinances And have not kept
[them]. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says
the LORD of hosts. "But you said, 'In what way shall
we return?' 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have
robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed
You?' In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a
curse, For you have robbed Me, [Even] this whole
nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house, And try 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
[such] blessing That [there will] not [be room] enough
[to receive it]. 11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for
your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of
your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for
you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts;
Previous to this verse, God is speaking to Israel about
the coming day of the Lord, when they will again
offer “an offering in righteousness.” But that’s not
what was happening then. Instead of “offerings in
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righteousness” they were “robbing God”. They were
chasing ill-gotten gains!
And so he calls for them to “Return to me, and I will
return to you.”
You need to get this. Before God talks to them about
money – tithing – He talks to them about relationship.
God doesn’t want your money – He wants your Heart!
- He wants a relationship with you that is
demonstrated out of a heart of thankful giving.
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also!” God knows when He has your heart He will
have your money/treasure.
Let me go further. God doesn’t need your money! He
made everything and everything belongs to Him. He
paved heaven’s streets with gold and fashioned the
gates out of pearls. Believe me, He doesn’t need
your money.
Tithing isn’t about what God needs. It is about what
you need! And God wants to bless you and provide all
you need.
That’s why He says, Bring the tithe into the
storehouse and He will do two things for us:
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1) Open the Windows of Heaven
2) Rebuke the Devourer
That means He will give you more than you already
have; and He will prevent Satan from stealing away
from you what you already have.
That’s why you can do more with 90% trusting in
God’s blessings and provision, than you can do with
100% trusting in your ability.
Tithing is Biblical – just like heaven and hell and
salvation and healing and deliverance.
And if as your pastor I didn’t preach on the need
of salvation I would be doing you wrong.
And if I didn’t preach on healing or deliverance, I
would be doing you wrong…
And if I didn’t preach on tithing and the blessings
that come from it I would be doing you wrong – I
would be cheating you out of the blessings of God.
Here’s the bottom line. I’m not preaching on tithing
to get something from you. I’m teaching on tithing
because I want to get something TO YOU! God didn’t
set up tithing to get something from you; but to get
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something to you! Tithing isn’t about giving money to
the church; it’s about getting money to you!
Anyone here believe that? Anyone here experienced
the blessings that come from tithing?
If you don’t believe me… Believe the testimony of
Stella and those who just raised their hands!
That brings me to the God’s Guarantee Cards you
found in your seat today.
Go over the God’s Giving Guarantee
I would like for everyone here to participate
today.
1. Some of you have never tithed. I’m not saying
you haven’t given in the offering – but you have
never trusted God by giving him the first 10
percent of your income. I’m asking you to take a
step of faith with us today – I’m asking you to
TRUST GOD today – and make the commitment
to start tithing.
2. Many of you already tithe – Maybe you just want
to fill out the card as a statement of your
continued faithfulness – OR maybe you want to
step up into an even more generous level of
giving – even Extravagant Giving.
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3. In just a moment we’re asking you to bring these
to the front so we can pray over them…If you
feel singled out, bring a blank card – I still want
to pray for you.
I want to pray and then I’m asking you to come up
with your cards. And let me just throw in another
opportunity. I know we’ve already received the tithes
today, but if the HS has spoken to you and you know
you need to start tithing, there’s no better time than
now. So you can start your tithing journey today…
right now. Just like last week when many of you put
money on this altar at the end of the service, you can
bring your tithes along with your GGG cards and begin
to release the windows of heaven over your lives
today.
