Introductory Comments
1. What shall I preach? I have felt for some time that we need again to consider the matter of tithing. And yet, as I was doing some reading and meditating, this week, I also felt led to spend a few Sundays with you talking about faith and how we are able to determine if our faith is true, genuine, saving faith. Which of these two should I preach about today? As I prayed about this, it became clear to me. Preach about both. For tithing and faith, genuine faith are closely connected.
2. In fact, I may offend some of you this morning and perhaps I could be wrong, but I wonder, no, I believe, that tithing can be an evidence or a test of whether or not our faith is genuine. I am not saying that if you don’t tithe, you are not a true believer? Nor am I saying that if you do tithe, you area true believer and have true faith? That would be an oversimplification.
3. But when you tithe, and when you tithe with the right spirit, your tithing can be a sign of genuine faith.
4. As we will see in coming Sundays, there are other signs. Signs not to use in judging others, but in evaluating our own faith and hopefully gaining assurance that our faith is genuine, evidence that we are saved. I know many of us do struggle with this and I hope these mesaages will help us see that our faith is genuine.
5. Our focus today is on the tithe, on our giving to the Lord. Not talking about this because we need more money, because we are behind budget or naything like that. But because, as said, tithing is important to us. To show faith is real and also, as we will see later, to enable us to grow in faith.
Teaching
1. But first what is the tithe and what those God tell us about it? The word tithe means a tenth part - 10% of anything. In our Deut passage the people are told to set aside a tenth of all that their fields produced every year.
Lev 27:30 "'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.
It included a tenth of the spoils of war. It could be money or silver.
Deu 14:24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.
2. A tithe is ten percent of the gain we have received. As I shared once before - that means 10% of gross - before deductions are taken off. Business and farming are quite different today, so I would not think that it would mean gross revenues before expenses but net income before taxes or dividends - that is before paying others who lay claims to the gain we have been given. We are to give the first fruits and the best rather than leftovers
3. Illustration - turkey. Woman finds poiled turkey - might as well give it to the church.
4. The tithe was and is important to our giving to the Lord. But the tithe represents an inner discipline and attittude
Mat 23:23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Mat 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
5. If it is just an outer act, it is an affront to God. Our tithing is to reflect an inner desire to give.
6. Perhaps we may say if our giving is a matter of the heart, why should we follow the law of the tithe. I found an interesting verse that helps us understand this.
Deu 12:6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings,
There are two gifts mentioned here - tithes (10%) and special gifts. The tithes are what you have vowed to give. And the special gifts are your freewill offerings. We are sinful, and left to our own desires we drift away from our giving to God. And so we need to be disciplined. We do not come to church each Sunday and give what we feel like giving that Sunday. We need to vow to God an amount and the amount God says is 10%. And then on top of that, as a freewill offering or special gifts, we give as God moves us to do so.
7. With this understanding of the tithe, we may now look at how the tithe is evidence of our faith, an outer sign of an inner faith.
8. First - tithing is an act of love. As believers we give to God because He commands us to. Obedience and love go hand in hand.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
Our giving shows the sincerity of our love.
2 Cor 8:7-8 But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.
Mat 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
9. Second. our tithing reflects a faith that recognizes that God is the Lord of all. All that we have, all that we "own", really belong to God. Not only did He create us, but He bought us with Christ’s blood. If someone came to us and told us to give our car, we would not do so - I paid for it and it belongs to me. But if you borrowed car and owner asks for it, you would not hesitate. Well, all we have belongs to God and we are allowed to use it.
10. Tithing reflects a faith that trusts God. One of the reasons many do not tithe is because we do not know if we can afford to. We need to make sure we have enough to pay for our living expenses and also to provide for our future. What we may really be saying I trust more in the things I have or the money I have than I do in God. I trust more in the gifts God has given me than I trust in God Himself. If that is the case, is our faith real. Faith is trusting in God and in His promises. It means doing what He tells us to do and knowing He will take care of us. Real faith looks to God and God alone.
11. Story of retired person. He had tithed for years. Reduced income - not only tithed, but continued to give greater amount. Person never in need - God provided.
12. Tithing is also an act of worship. A person with true faith desires to worship God. The people of Israel, as we read, brought their tithe to the place of worship. They would gather in order to revere God, to worship His majesty. Worship is showing a godly fear that draws us to God and it is an expression of our faith. We acknowledge that God is worthy to receive all honour and glory, and to receive all that we have to offer to Him.
13. The people even ate part of the tithe as they worship, again acknowledging that He is the one to whom everything belongs. And that what we have to sustain us comes to us from Him.
14. Also in our Deut. Passage, we see that in the third year the tithe was to be given to the Levites. Each year, only part of tithe was eaten and rest was for Levites. But third year all was for them. What this tells me is that the tithe enabled them to carry out ministry. To feed selves but to enable them to do work of taking care of the ark .
15. For us this means that when we tithe we share in the work of God’s kingdom, of His church. When we have genuine faith, we want to share that faith with others. We are part of the great commission to go out into the world. The purpose of our lives is not to accumulate and to communicate. And we gladly give to the work of sharing the good news.
16. There is a third way (in Deut.) by which our faith is shown genuine when we tithe. The third year’s tithe also went to the aliens, the fatherless and the widows. True faith shares the heart and compassion of God for those who are in need. Our giving to God is also both His and our provision for the poor.
17. I ask you - do you see evidence that you faith is true? Do you see it in your worship as a giving of yourself? Do you see it in your love of God rather than your love of money? Do you see it in your trusting God? In your desire to see His church reach out with both the good news and acts of compassion? Is your faith real?
18. Will God say to you: 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Will we be like the rich ruler who was unable to make Jesus His Lord by not be willing to give up all that he had?
19. I’m not saying to you "Tithe or you will be lost." But I ask you, "Are the reasons, the faith, which stands behind the desire and the action of tithing in you?" That you need to talk to God about. This is not to put a guilt trip on you, but a call for you to examine your relationship with God.
20. Tithing is a reflection of our faith. But tithing also affects our faith. When we give to God we show trust in Him. And He tells us "Trust in me and you will not be disappointed." When we see His faithfulness, our faith grows even stronger.
Mal 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
21. And by tithing, as hard as it is, we will also overcome our love for money. We will receive blessings that money could never buy. Our heart will turn to God. Our desire will be for Him.
22. Praise God for He is good. May our faith grow and may we see that it is genuine. Not by what we know or even by what we say, but by hearts athat are turned to God and lives that are lived for Him.
