Taking the "Stew" Out of Stewardship (Part 4 of 4)
6 Questions We Don’t Ask Out Loud About Tithing, Pt. 2
Key points and thoughts from Pastor Leland Patrick
Mal. 3:8-10
Jan. 28, 2007 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
A (IL)
B Last week we asked the first 3 of 6 questions people don’t ask out loud about tithing:
1 What should a tither’s attitude be? (cheerful/grateful)
2 What should be the amount of the tithe? (10%). Explain the difference between tithe & offering.
3 What priority should tithing be given? (protect/commit)
C Let’s ask the last 3 questions.
1 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! 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 it overflows. Mal 3:8-10 (NASB)
2 Pray
IV Where is the place you give your tithe?
A In Malachi’s time, the temple served as a warehouse for the produce the Israelites brought.
1 The temple was the place the Israelites would worship.
a The temple was where they gathered to pray, hear God’s word, worship, bring offering, enjoy fellowship, grow as Old Testament saints, & receive ministry.
b Their tithe (money & grain offerings) would be stored at the temple, which in turn was used for 3 things:
aa Sacrificial purposes
bb To support the priests & their families
cc For emergencies that came up
2 Sounds like a church, doesn’t it?
B Your storehouse is where you’re spiritually fed, nurtured, & taught. YOUR CHURCH!
1 I believe your regular giving should be through your local church because of the sacred place it holds in the heart of God.
a And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Eph 1:22-23 (NASB)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her Eph 5:25 (NASB)
...but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 1 Tim 3:15 (NASB)
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Acts 20:28 (NASB)
b God established & loves the Church.
2 You may ask, "Is it all right if I tithe to support a television ministry or some other ministry outside of the local church?" Simple, no
a It’s O.K. to support other ministries (they are part of the body), but the tithe should support the local church.
b Jesus entrusted the local church to be the steward of His work at that place.
aa Joel Ostein is NOT going to counsel your through your divorce or the loss of your child, Joyce Meyer is NOT going to visit your sick father.
bb Creflo Dollar is NOT going to serve you communion. National ministries have their place, & God does use them.
C (IL) Have a pie on hand, & several people with plates & spoons. This pie represents our household income.
1 How do you spend your money? What do you spend it on? (Allow congregation to answer).
a Then ask for a percentage & scoop out the corresponding percentage of the pie onto a plate (go through several expenditures until pie is gone & only crumbs are left).
b Then take crumbs & put them in a napkin as a lone usher comes with an offering plate & I put the napkins in the offering plate.
2 Invest crumbs at church, understand your results will be crummy, too.
V What is the purpose of tithing?
A In Malachi, Israel gave to support priests at the temple.
1 The priests represented God & God’s work.
a Taking care of the priests (& ministers) is one purpose of giving.
aa Some would argue that ministers should draw no salary, but should hold a full-time job like everyone else.
bb The Bible addresses this issue. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? 14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. 1 Cor 9:13-14 (NASB)
b God’s work is not limited to just supporting ministers:
aa Evangelistic efforts
bb Sunday School/discipleship classes
cc HGHF
dd Fellowship
ee Disaster relief (SBC)
ff Servant Evangelism
gg Provide a place to worship
hh VBS
ii Prayer retreats
c The only way First Baptist can continue to do these works of God is for God’s people to be consistent, disciplined, & regular in their giving (no hit & miss, make up vacation or miss).
2 (IL) A minister went to the barber shop of one of his members to get a haircut. In the course of conversation the minister suggested that, since the barber’s business was prospering, he hoped the church could count on his liberal support of the budget. This seemed to irritate the barber. "All I hear about is money, money, money!" he exclaimed, "I think a person should give what he pleases instead of hearing about all these systematic & proportionate amounts you’re always preaching about." The minister said nothing, but when the haircut was finished he gave the barber 30 cents. The barber declared with indignation that it wasn’t nearly enough. The minister said, "I thought I should give as I felt inclined." "But," the barber protested, "I can’t pay my expenses if people just give me any amount they happen to have in their pockets." Producing the rest of the fee, the minister said, "Neither can the church carry on the Lord’s work unless the people appreciate his blessings and give back to him what is rightly his,"
B The ultimate purpose of the tithe is to honor God.
1 There are all kinds of ways for us to honor God.
a Worship, love, prayer, lives!
b Last week we talked about how we can’t pick and choose (Snickers bar) which part our lives we’ll honor God with.
c Until we give God all of our lives/heart, we’ve got a strike against us.
2 Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce Prov 3:9 (NASB)
3 We honor God when we give Him what He’s demanded from us, our tithe.
VI What are the requirements for tithing?
A The first requirement is obedience, which is not always easy.
1 When you got saved, you were told to embrace Jesus by faith, & it was that easy!
a Then instructed to be baptized, dunked in water. That was your first test of obedience.
b Then...
aa Told to pray to a God you can’t see & trust Him by faith-requires obedience.
bb Told to study the Bible which challenges your way of thinking & living-obedience.
cc Jesus told us to lose our life for Him-obedience.
c According to church history, most of Jesus’ disciples died a martyr’s death-that required obedience.
2 My point is, obedience is not always easy.
B The critical requirement of tithing is trust.
1 Tithing requires trust.
a Read Malachi 3:10 TOGETHER 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.
b God offered His people the challenge of testing Him.
aa By this offer, He actually guaranteed them a direct and abundant return on their investment.
bb Bring your tithe to the storehouse, & I’ll open My storehouse.
2 "Preacher, are you saying that God will take care of me in every area of my life, including my finances, if I will trust Him?"
a No, I’m not telling you that...it’s not Fogerson’s trust test.
b God is telling you this-this is God’s trust test. "Test Me now in this."
c Tithing requires us to trust God.
Conclusion
A We’ve asked 6 questions:
1 What should a tither’s attitude be? (Cheerful/grateful)
2 What should be the amount of the tithe? (10%-explain difference between tithe & offering).
3 What priority should tithing be given? (Protect/commit)
4 What is the place where you give your tithe? (Local church, FEED)
5 What’s the purpose of tithing? (Support ministry/honor God)
6 What are the requirements for tithing? (Obedience & trust)
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