MONEY IN HD: THE TITHE-GIVING BACK TO GOD WHAT IS GOD’S
ME: Share about Jennifer doing up our financial plan, and what it looks like, that we will be out of debt probably within three years, but our original plan was five years. And we decided to increase the amount that we give back to God. The reason that we increased our tithe was because we believe that we can never out give God. Matthew 6:8 in your notes says, “This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.”
WE: Do you believe that God really knows what you need? That is a very important question to ask because believing God knows what we truly need makes it much easier to give back to God what is God’s. You see, tithing or not tithing makes it very clear who we trust. And when we choose not to tithe, what we are really saying is that we don’t trust God. So we put our trust in the uncertainty of money. And right now, we are truly seeing the uncertainty of money in our Country.
I mean, the stock market has plunged like 2,000 points in the past few months. The current unemployment rate is 6%, up from 4.7% last November. Our banks are failing all around us, and now the automotive industry is in trouble. 1 Timothy 6:17 says, “Command those who are rich with things of this world not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not in their uncertain riches.” So what about you? How are you doing financially? Are you in trouble as well? Are you struggling to pay your bills? Are you at the end of your rope, and thinking somehow things have got to get better? Have you considered putting your trust in God? Are you giving back to God what is God’s? You need to remember this important truth today. God wants to bless your life. He wants to give you good things. But to receive God’s blessing in our finances, there are a few things we must do. To have God’s blessing financially I must…
BRING MY FIRST TO GOD
Would you circle the word bring there in your notes. What we must understand is that everything we have was given to us by God, so we don’t take things to God, we bring back to God what He has given to us. Matthew 25:14-15 says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who was going to another place for a visit. Before he left, he called for his servants and told them to take care of his things while he was gone. He gave one servant five bags of gold, another servant two bags of gold, and a third servant one bag of gold, to each one as much as he could handle.”
You see, we are managers, we can’t give it to God, it already belongs to God. But what we can do is bring our first to God. And what we need to grasp is that God does not ask for our leftovers, God wants the first part, He wants the best. So if you desire to have God’s blessing in your finances, and in other areas of your life, it is of great importance that we give Him the best of all He has given us to take care of. It is important that we give back to God the first part of our week, that is why we come to church, to praise God His work in our life. We should give God the first part of our day to connect with Him through prayer and Bible reading, and we should also give God the best part of our finances. That is how we receive some of the blessings that God wants to give to us.
Talk about Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer, Abel a Shepherd. They each brought offerings to God, but the Bible says that God accepted
Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s. And the reason God rejected Cain’s offering is contained in Genesis 4:3-4. It says, “One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the LORD, and Abel also gave an offering to the LORD. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the LORD the best parts of it. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering.”
So to have God’s blessing financially I must bring my first to God. I must also…
BRING MY FIRST 10% TO GOD
You see, when it comes to our money, God doesn’t just say—bring me the first part. He’s more specific than that. He says—bring Me the first ten percent. Look at what God says in Malachi 3:8-9. It says, “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing Me.”
You see, this is what God says—I’ve given you 100% of everything you have. 100% of your income, it belongs to Me. You are just managing it for Me. Now, I want you to bring the first ten percent of what I have given you, bring it to Me as a tithe. And don’t wait until the end of the month. Or don’t even wait until after taxes have been taken out so it will be less. But bring Me the first and full ten percent. That’s the minimum that you bring back to God. I want you to underline in the verse from Malachi, the word “curse”. You see the Bible is clear. If we decide not to give ten percent, the 100% we keep is cursed. But if we give ten percent, the ninety percent that we keep is blessed. And so the question becomes do I want to live with ninety percent of my income blessed, or do I want to live with 100% of my income cursed.
Have you ever thought that the reason you struggle financially is because you don’t honor God with the first 10% of your income? God has asked us to manage His property, yet we withhold from Him what is His and then wonder, why am I struggling? Take a look at Proverbs 3:9-10, it is our memory verse. It says, “Honor the LORD by giving him your money and the first part of all your crops. Then you will have more grain and grapes than you will ever need.” Maybe today is a new day for you. Maybe today you would like a fresh start with God, and want to see His blessings poured out in your finances. Then maybe today you want to commit to give 10% of your income back to God. You see, God wants to bless you. He wants you to experience His goodness. The question is, do you want God to bless your finances? If you do, to receive that blessing you must…
BE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK
Tell Story of Widow of Zarephath.
1 Kings 17:13-14 says, “Elijah said to her, "Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ’The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ "
Would you underline the words, don’t be afraid? Isn’t it fear that keeps us from giving back to God? I mean, we are afraid that we won’t have enough. And the reason we are afraid is because we think like owners and not managers. All we have is God’s. God gave it to us to watch over, to grow His kingdom with. Our money is not ours. And God promises that if we will bring Him the first and the best of all we have, He will bless us and give us more than we need.
But we must be willing to take a risk on God. And because God knows that we are afraid, He gives us the ability to investigate and examine His promise to bless us when we give 10%. Malachi 3:10 says, “Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams.”
So what are you waiting for? Test God! How much different could your life be if God blessed your finances? What would your home life look like? Would you be a more joyful person? How would your relationship with God change if you gave back to God what is God’s? What would our church look like if we all gave the first 10% of our income? How much more could we impact our community if we all gave back to God the first and best part of all we have?
Next Steps:
Memorize Proverbs 3:9-10
Test God by giving Him 10% of my income
Write down one question I would like to ask God.
Invite someone to Grinch series starting in 2 weeks
