Last month I started a series of sermons which is built around this assertion - “God loves to bless His children!” We defined blessings, not so much in terms of the normal measures of worldly success - being wealth, fame, or beauty. These are certainly desirable, but God loves to bless us with things of much greater value.
Gordon MacDonald writes – “God desires to pour out on people gracious and uncommon gifts: gifts might include personal affirmation, intimate relationship, extraordinary challenges to destiny, and remarkable energies that surpass the limits of we think of as normal...." The Life God Blesses, Nelson, 1994
We learned that a key to being positioned in life to receive God’s blessings is to be devoted to God, to have a pure heart, focused on His will. We took at look at the values of the person who lives for God’s blessings, considering the kind of life which Jesus defined as blessed in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Nothing He said there parallels the system that values reputation, money, or pleasure!
I spoke about the importance of a generous heart that sees the opportunities God is providing. People of faith live with an ‘abundance mentality,’ a mind-set that is never focused on caring for self, but that sees forgiveness, sharing with those need, and living liberally as the mission of every Believer. "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." (Proverbs 11:25, NIV)
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This morning, I am returning to the theme “Preparing to Prosper.”
Pastor Dave Stone tells the true story of a lady named Mrs. Hollis Sharpe. Every night, Mrs. Sharpe took her miniature poodle, Jonathan, out for a walk. Being a good neighbor, she always took a plastic bag along so that she could clean up after her dog when he did what dogs do in other people’s yards. One night right after Jonathan finished doing his duty, which was safely secured in the plastic bag, they were returning home when a mugger jumped from behind some bushes attacked Mrs. Sharpe from behind. He shoved her to the ground, grabbed the plastic bag, jumped into a car, and drove off with the spoils of his crime.
Although Mrs. Sharpe sustained a broken arm, she still maintained a sense of humor. She told the police, "I only wish that there would have been more for him in the bag!" - www.PreachingPlus.com
I wonder what that guy said when he opened the bag in the car and found nothing but dog doo!
On a more serious note, many of us are treasuring the wrong things, holding onto things that, from Heaven’s point of view, are without value. Paul, the man who had enjoyed a measure of success prior to coming to faith in Christ, is very direct in his assessment of the things he once valued. In Philippians, he writes - “Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.”
My message today is about a spiritual discipline that helps us to grasp Heaven’s values, that will help us to clarify our understanding of those things that are really just so much dog doo and those things that are like diamonds of Heaven. I want to talk with you about the practicing of Tithing.
PRAYER
Are you a tither?
I believe that tithing is the Scripture’s pattern for contributing to the work of God in this world.
In Leviticus 27:30 the principle is stated in simplicity.
‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." (NIV)
That passage reads this way in The Message - "A tenth of the land’s produce, whether grain from the ground or fruit from the trees, is God’s. It is holy to God."
Tithing is a spiritual discipline that leads us to enjoy God’s blessings. Do not jump ahead of me and think that I am preaching a simple ‘cause and effect’ principle like the old-time ‘seed faith’ preachers did! It is a misuse of the Bible to teach that God is like a bank with a guaranteed rate of return. Giving $50 in the offering this morning, does not guarantee a $500 return this week! But obedience to God’s way will always produce blessings.
I agree with Pastor Bill Hybels take on the promises of God. He says,
"Don’t worry about how God will bless your tithes and offerings. He might increase your income. He might lower your expenses. He might sustain your household appliances. He might protect your health. He might keep your car out of the shop. God blesses us in his way, in his time."
Some Christians insist that tithing is a part of the First Covenant law which is no longer binding because of the New Covenant in Christ. Consider this.
Before the Law of Moses was given, Abraham tithed!
In Genesis 14:18-20, we read the account of Abraham’s success in a military campaign and his subsequent action. It says,
Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." (NIV)
That is the first record of tithing in the Bible, pre-dating the giving of the Law by centuries!
The principle of tithing is woven into the Law that Moses gave. It served several purposes - an act of worship, a means of providing for the poor, and to support those who were full-time priests and religious workers.
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Note Set aside a tenth of all your produce....
- ‘revere the LORD your God always.’ V. 23
- ‘eat there in the Presence of the LORD... and rejoice.’ V. 26
- ‘so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.’ V 29
Jesus gave approval to the principle, too.
When He talked of the legalistic tithing practice of the Pharisees, said, "Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things." (Matthew 23:23, NLT)
From my youth, I was taught the practice of tithing, and I have practiced it faithfully. In times of plenty and in times of need, the first 10% of our household income has always been set aside for the Lord’s purposes. It is one of the spiritual disciplines that I find easiest to joyfully practice. Truthfully, I wish I had more resources to pour into God’s work in the world! When I write the checks reflecting my tithe to ministries, I do so with a prayer for their effectiveness, with a sense of being a partner with God in getting the work of the Kingdom accomplished.
I always consciously bring to mind that in tithing I am presenting my money to Jesus, though the check is written to a church or charity! And, God has blessed me in my obedience. No, I am not a rich man, but, I have enough, my needs are met and then some, so I am blessed.
I am convinced that tithing is a key to knowing God’s provisions for our lives!
Here are a few reasons I am convinced that is true.
A. The discipline of tithing reminds us, regularly, that we are not owners of our stuff.
Richard Foster, in his book, Money, Sex and Power writes, "Giving with glad and generous hearts has a way of rooting out the tough old miser within us. Even the poor need to know that they can give. Just the very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, does something within us. It destroys the demon greed."
Materialism is one of the great temptations of our rich capitalistic culture. In every venue the rich, those who have accumulated vast stores are held up as models for life. Even the church world does it! The journals written for Pastors which I read laud the big churches, the pastors who are leading big, rich churches. I don’t think there is a sinister plot in all of that. It simply reflects how the culture infects our value system without our realization. I dare say that most of us in this room are convinced that ‘the good life,’ is defined, at least in part, by the store of wealth we have in our hands!
Tithing is a practical discipline that helps to reset the compass of our soul to true North so that we are following the King. When we give, especially sacrificially and guided by the principle of tithing, we will think of what Jesus tells us about true wealth. He says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15, NIV)
B. When we put Him and His work first, in a practical way like tithing,
we can pray much more confidently for His provision for all of our needs!
James says that one reason God does not give us what we request is that we “ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.” But, when our hearts are weaned from the love of things and our heads understand the importance of loving God, our prayers will be attuned to His will and He will answer us with an affirmative.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that tithing is ‘buying’ God’s favor! A man with that misunderstanding in mind recently said to me, “I don’t know why all these bad things are happening to me. I paid my tithes!” The implication in his words is “God owes me!”
No, God does not owe us a thing. If we tithe with the idea that we are creating a bank of prayer credits, we are mixed up, giving for the wrong reasons. We tithe because it is a way to express our love and devotion!
C. Tithing helps us to prioritize our needs and to more clearly understand what is really just a ’want.’
If we are regularly giving at the level of the tithe or above, we will be more ready to respond to God’s call to meet needs and to give!.
Let me illustrate -
I was anticipating getting our tax return this year and when it came buying a wide screen, high definition TV. I worked to convince Bev that despite the fact that our current TV is just a couple of years old, I really ‘needed’ that 42" wide screen! Then one afternoon I became aware of a significant need of a student at GSCA. A student who really needed to remain at the school was going to have to leave because his family could not afford the balance of his tuition. The Spirit said, “Jerry, I want you to pay his bill!”
It wasn’t a hard choice to set aside my want for a new TV because I’ve already learned the discipline of giving. Now whenever I’m at the school and I see that student, I feel real joy because of the opportunity of being a partner with God in a small way.
There is great joy in obedience! If you think you cannot afford to tithe, you have missed the point of tithing which is to learn to trust God for everything.
Truthfully, you cannot afford not to tithe. It isn’t that God will punish the non-tither. That is foolishness and unbiblical legalism! But, if a person will not discipline himself to follow this basic spiritual principle, I am not sure that God can place abundance under his stewardship. Jesus said, "if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Luke 16:11-13, NLT)
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This series of messages is called - “Preparing to Prosper.”
Hopefully, you understand the context of the phrase from the first four messages. What I’ve been talking about this morning, is a next step. I want to challenge you to a step obedience - not to me, but to God.
First of all, pray about what you’ve heard this morning. Ask God for faith to receive the Word.
Then, when you are ready to fully trust God, not Pastor Jerry, not some book, but God and His Word, then I challenge you to commit yourself to the practice of tithing. Sit down with your budget and adjust it so you can tithe. If you haven’t been tithing, it’s probably going to be painful. But, it is God’s plan, a major part of opening your life to His blessings.
Let me close by inviting you to test God!
Most of the time the very idea of putting God to the test is abhorrent. He is the One who evaluates us, we do not hold Him accountable! But there is an exception to that principle. Here it is - straight from the Bible.
"I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test.
Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house.
Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing.
I will also stop locusts from destroying your crops and keeping your vineyards from producing.
Everyone of every nation will talk about how I have blessed you and about your wonderful land. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!" (Malachi 3:10-12, CEV)
Amen!
Jerry D. Scott copyright 2007
all rights reserved
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