Five Life Changing Resolutions
Part 2
I Will Give My Tithe
Proverbs 3:9-10
Scripture Reading
9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
I. Our Sovereign
The Hebrew word for “honour” means to glory in or glorify therefore we are to praise and exalt God. The name that is used for God is the most common one in the Bible, Jehovah who the eternal self-existent one. For the Jews the name of Jah or Jehovah was so sacred that when a scribe was copying the text and came to the name of God he would leave what he was doing and go ceremonially wash himself before returning and writing the name for God! We should glory in or glorify God and to do this we must begin with;
a. You will never become a tither unless you honour Him and acknowledge His lordship
He is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all!
b. You will never become a tither unless you honour and adore of Him for who He is.
Remember our translation of the word honour is we are to glorify in the Lord.
c. You will never become a tither unless you honour and appreciate Him of His goodness and generosity
Part of the motivation for obeying this commandment (it is not just a good piece of advice or a suggestion); is in honoring the Lord we do so in appreciation of His goodness to us and His generosity with us.
II. Our Substance
We are to honor Him with our substance” which points to capital, “increase” and to revenue. The Septuagint as if to guard against ill-gotten gains being offered as an atonement for the ill-getting, inserts the quaifying words, “honor the Lord from thy righteous labors.”
I had a lady call me one time (she didn’t identify herself) and she asked me if our church would take money that had been won in the lottery or something like that, and I said, “Sure, the devil has had it lone enough!” I don’t think she liked my answer.
a. Our provisions
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
b. Our portion
What are we to bring to the Lord? The phrase “first fruits” is a reference to the tithe. The Israelites were commanded to bring the first fruits of all the livestock and their living (what they had earned from honest labor) to the Lord as a sacrifice to Him.
Exodus 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God…
Numbers 18:12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.
I heard a story of a missionary in Africa who received a knock on the door of his hut one afternoon. Answering, the missionary found a native boy 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 boy. "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."
1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
c. Our practice
I have made this statement many times and I sincerely believe it to be true; “We only really believe those parts of the Bible that we are willing to practice.” Verse 5 of our text begins with a very important truth;
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
I believe it goes without saying that you will never become a practicing tither until you first trust in the Lord. But this challenge to trust Him is not without foundation, it is not a leap into the dark for God asks us to “prove” Him.
Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
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About a 100 plus years ago a young MAN HAD TO LEAVE HOME BECAUSE HIS FAMILY COULD NOT AFFORD TO FEED AND HOUSE HIM. ON HIS WAY TO HIS FUTURE HE MET AN OLD FRIEND WHO WAS CAPTAIN OF A CANAL BOAT. THE CAPTAIN ASKED WHERE HE WAS OFF TO. HE REPLIED, “I DON’T KNOW.” HE TOLD HIM IT WAS GOOD TO BE ON HIS OWN BUT HE HAD TO START OUT RIGHT AND IF HE DID THAT HE WOULD BE FINE. THE YOUNG MAN RESPONDED THAT THE ONLY TRADE HE KNEW WAS SOAP AND CANDLE MAKING. THE CANAL CAPTAIN SAID THAT’S ENOUGH “LETS PRAY AND ASK THE LORD TO GIVE YOU WISDOM AND INSIGHT AND THEN OFF YOU WILL GO.” SO THEY PRAYED AND THE CAPTAIN PRAYED THAT WILLIAM WOULD BE THE LEADING SOAP MAKER IN NEW YORK.” THE BOY WAS EXCITED; THE CAPTAIN TOLD GAVE HIM SOME MORE ADVICE. HE TOLD HIM TO GIVE HIS LIFE TO CHRIST AND MAKE SURE HE GAVE THE LORD ALL THAT BELONGED TO HIM. HE EXPLAINED TO HIM ABOUT TITHES AND OFFERINGS AND THEN EXHORTED HIM TO MAKE AN HONEST SOAP AND HAVE INTEGRITY. HE VENTURED OF TO NEW YORK FOUND EMPLOYMENT WITH ANOTHER MAN IN SOAP MAKING AND SOON AFTER YEARS OF HARD WORK BECAME A PARTNER WITH THE MAN. THE MAN PASSED ON AND HE BECAME THE SOLE OWNER OF THE BUSINESS. HE ALWAYS REMEMBERED TO GIVE TEN CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR TO THE LORD FROM THE FIRST DOLLAR HE MADE. WHEN HE BECAME MORE AND MORE WEALTHY HE INSTRUCTED HIS BOOK KEEPER TO KEEP A LINE ITEM ACCOUNT WHERE HIS TEN PERCENT OF HIS GROSS ALWAYS WENT TO THE “ACCOUNT WITH THE LORD” THIS MONEY ALWAYS WENT TO THE LORD’S WORK. HE PROSPERED QUICKER THAN HE COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED. HE THEN INSTRUCTED HIS BOOKKEEPER TO GIVE THE LORD’S ACCOUNT 20%, THEN 30%, THEN 40%, THEN 50%. HE EDUCATED HIS FAMILY ON GIVING TO THE LORD, HE TOLD EVERYONE THE REASON HE WAS A SUCCESS WAS BECAUSE HE HONORED GOD FIRST. HE ACCOMPLISHED ALL HIS PLANS FOR HIS LIFE. HE CONTINUED PROSPERING SO MUCH THAT EVENTUALLY HE GAVE MOST OF HIS INCOME TO THE LORD’S WORK. HE ENDED UP TOWARD THE END OF HIS LIFE GIVING AWAY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THE LORD’S WORK. HIS NAME BECAME FAMOUS ALL OVER THE WORLD AND HE GAVE GOD THE GLORY. HIS NAME WAS WILLIAM COLGATE.
III. Our Supply
a. The security of this supply “But my God…”
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
WHO WILL PROVIDE?
A young woman brought her fiancé home to meet her parents for thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, her mother told her father to find out about the young man. The father invited the fiancé to his study for a talk.
"So what are your plans?" the father asked the young man. "I am a biblical scholar," he replied.
"A Biblical scholar. Hmmm," the father said. "Admirable, but what will you do to provide a nice house for my daughter to live in?"
"I will study," the young man replied, "and God will provide for us."
"And how will you buy her a beautiful engagement ring, such as she deserves?" asked the father.
"I will concentrate on my studies," the young man replied, "God will provide for us."
"And children?" asked the father. "How will you support children?"
"Don’t worry, sir, God will provide," replied the fiancé.
The conversation proceeded like this, and each time the father questioned, the young idealist insisted that God would provide.
Later, the mother asked, "How did it go, Honey?" The father answered, "He has no job and no plans, and he thinks I’m God!"
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The 1989 Armenian earthquake needed only four minutes to flatten the nation and kill thirty thousand people. Moments after that deadly tremor ceased, a father raced to an elementary school to save his son. When he arrived, he saw that the building had been leveled. Looking at the mass of stones and rubble, he remembered a promise he had made to his child: “No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you.” Driven by his own promise, he found the area closest to his son’s room and began to pull back the rocks. Other parents arrived and began sobbing for their children. “It’s too late,” they told the man. “You know they are dead. You can’t help.” Even a police officer encouraged him to give up.
But the father refused. For eight hours, then sixteen, then thirty-two, thirty-six hours he dug. His hands were raw and his energy gone, but he refused to quit. Finally, after thirty-eight wrenching hours, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice. He called his boy’s name, “Arman! Arman!” And a voice answered him, “Dad, it’s me!” Then the boy added these priceless words, “I told the other kids not to worry. I told them if you were alive, you’d save me, and when you saved me, they’d be saved, too. Because you promised, ‘No matter what, I’ll always be there for you.’
b. The scale of this supply
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
What does this mean? It certainly means our “daily bread” and anything else that we need.
c. The Savior of this promise
Jesus is the channel and conduit of blessing. All of God’s blessings come to us through His Son and Jesus taught His disciples;
I want to close this message with this thought. I have had many people ask me, “Pastor, I am a Christian but my life is a constant struggle financially. It is a continual battle for us to keep our bills paid. Why doesn’t God help us?” I have learned that if I just ask one question I can usually get to the source of the problem. What’s the question you ask? “Do you give the Lord; to you give a tithe of what the Lord provides for you? Almost invariably the answer is no we don’t! My reply is always the same. If you don’t then He is not under any obligation to bless your finances. Let me illustrate:
Questions:
When should I start tithing? When you become a Christian!
How much should we give? It is a proportion. 10%
Should we tithe on our gross or our net? The answer is do you want God to bless you on your gross or your net? I believe that it is obvious that the Israelites tithed on their gross.
Do I have the right to control where my tithe goes? No, we are told to bring it to the storehouse in Malachi 3.
Can I give more than my tithe? Yes the Israelites gave many offerings over and above their tithes. The tithe is the minimum for Christians.
Mrs.Baughman was my 6th grade Sunday School teacher. One morning, she brought a pan of brownies to our class. As the goodies sat over by her chair, she gave each child a slip of paper marked with a household expense: house payment, utility bill, phone bill, entertainment, etc.
My slip had a car payment. Before long, Mrs. Baughman picked up the tray of brownies and began naming the expenses written on the papers. As we gave her our expenses, she redeemed each one for a brownie.
"Car payment" she announced. I jumped up to get my brownie from the pan. Finally the last brownie had disappeared. But one boy named Donald still held his unredeemed slip.
"God!" called Mrs.Baughman. Donald came forward hoping the teacher had one more brownie hidden some where. With a knife Mrs. Baughman scraped the crumbs from the bottom of the pan into Donald’s napkin. He got a pretty raw deal, I thought - just crumbs.
"The brownies represent your money", the teacher explained to us. "If you don’t give God his share right away, He probably won’t get anything except maybe the crumbs."
I never forgot that illustration. The day my friend Donald got only the brownie crumbs, even as a child I learned that God should have the first right to everything I have.
In the years since Mrs.Baughman class I have struggled with giving and priorities, But whenever I recall the "Crummy Sunday School Lesson", I know who should and must always come first in my life!
Matthew 10:8 “…freely ye have received, freely give.”
