Our text says, “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” EVERYONE here today is a steward. That is, everyone here has been entrusted by God with certain things. We have...
• Been entrusted with the gospel.
• Been entrusted with talents. (Some more than others.)
• Been entrusted with time.
• All been entrusted with money. (Some more than others.)
Today we want to deal with being a good steward of the money God has entrusted to us.
Illus: When a particular church was setting their proposed budget for the year they asked the members to fill out pledge cards as to how much the church could expect to receive from them in the coming year. The church received a nice letter...it went like this.
“Dear Pastor,
In reply to your request to make a pledge, I wish to inform you that the condition of my bank account has made it impossible to give. My shattered financial condition is due to federal laws, state laws, city laws, brother-in-laws, and outlaws.
I am required to get a business license, dog license, and marriage license. I also contribute to every charity and organization which the genius of man is capable of bringing to life, including the Red Cross, purple cross, and the double cross.
For my own safety I must carry life insurance, property insurance, liability insurance, auto insurance, and now, earthquake insurance. As a result of all this, I try to give an inexhaustible supply of money for every known need, desire, and hope of the human race, and when I don’t, I am either talked about, held up, or robbed. Now pastor, had not the unexpected happened, I could not have enclosed a check with this letter. The dog who has come to my door begging for his bit every day just had pups in my kitchen. I sold them and here’s your share.”
We all know the demands that are placed on what money we have to work with each week.
Because money is something hard to acquire, we all think twice before we let go of what we have.
Illus: When it comes to money, most of us are like the man that loved money very much. He was walking home one night. A robber stepped out from a bush and stuck a gun in his face and said, “Your money or your life!” There was a long silence and finally the robber impatiently said again, “Your money or your life!” The man said, “All right! All right! I am thinking!”
Let us think about how we can be good stewards of God’s money. Let us first look at...
I. GOD’S PLAN OF TITHING.
There are those who believe that God’s plan of tithing has run its course. That is, there are those who believe this is something that applies to the Old Testament period and does not apply to the New Testament church.
Those who think this need our prayers. For at least TWO reasons:
(1) They are ignorant of the scriptures.
(2) Satan is using their ignorance to rob them of one of their greatest blessings.
It is very easy to prove that God’s plan of tithing was to continue into the church age. We see in Matthew 23, that the scribes and Pharisees believed in tithing.
Look what Jesus said in Matthew 23:23. We read, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin...” The Lord was saying that they tithed on every little thing.
Illus: If a woman grew plants that produced condiments like mint, anise, and cummin they would tithe off of those small plants. They meticulously tithed off of every thing in their lives.
However, though they tithed there were many other things they should have been equally concerned about that they were not concerned about at all.
Look at the rest of what He said when He addressed them about these things - “...these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone...” Regarding tithing, the Lord told these who were His contemporaries - “...these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
Every child of God OUGHT TO TITHE! Notice Malachi 3:10. We read, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse...”
LOOK AT THE WORD “BRING.” WHAT DOES IT MEAN? History tells us most families of that day relied on farming to make a living. These people did not work in factories as many do today.
Illus: With their own two hands the farmers would:
• Clear the land.
• Plow the land.
• Plant the seeds.
• Irrigate the crops.
• Cultivate and pull weeds.
• Fertilize the plants.
• Harvest the crop.
When they brought in the harvest their tables would be full of food.
However, the smart farmer recognized this was not all his doing. He recognized that without God’s help he would not have anything on his table. Because he recognized that he was a partner with God, he would BRING 1/10 of his harvest and TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. He could have had an attitude problem like some have today. He could have said to himself, or to his wife, “I worked hard for that crop. I did it all by my self. I do not remember seeing God push that plow, plant that corn, how those weeds, or harvest that crop. I did it all by myself!”
Some are quick to object to tithing by saying, “God did not give me anything. The money I have, I have earned with my own two hands!” That is the most ignorant statement a person can make. There is not one ounce of truth in it whatsoever--NOT AN OUNCE! For example, those who say they have what they have because they earned it with their own two hands never consider:
• Without God they would not have those two hands. It was God Who created those hands. It was God Who attached them to a brain that He created to cause those hands to function.
• It was God Who gave the strength to be able to use those two hands.
So, when people talk about what they have done with their own two hands, they are showing their ignorance about GOD and THEMSELVES. Whatever a person does to make his living it is a partnership with God. The person has a part to do and God does His part. They work together to produce.
Illus: Many people’s attitudes are like that of the little boy who was given two dimes, one to take to give in the Sunday school and the other for himself. As he ran down the street he tripped. He dropped one dime and it fell into a drain. He could not retrieve it. He looked up to heaven and said to God, “Oops! Your dime fell into the drain!”
God’s plan for financing the spreading of the gospel is simple. God and men become partners. God allows people to take 9/10 of what they make, then God trusts us to give Him at least the 1/10 He specified should come to Himself.
God’s plan for financing His Church has always been through His tithes and the love offerings of His people.
Illus: Every now and then people will present a “wonderful idea” to a pastor for supporting God’s church. Bingo, car washes, spaghetti suppers, garage sales, bake sales, candy sales, etc., are often suggested. Listen, please do not take this wrong, but God had a better idea.
He said He would bless us with health, strength, and provide us with a job. Go to work. When you get paid, give one tenth of that income to support God’s work. This is not my plan. This is not the deacon’s plan. This is God’s plan! He ordained that His church operate through the tithes and offerings of His people. Paul wrote the church at Corinth, I Cor. 16:1-2, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 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.”
God never ordained that the church operate any other way. His plan for financing His church has always been, and will always be, as Paul said, that we give as God has prospered us. GOD’S PLAN has always been: “BRING YE ALL THE TITHES INTO THE STOREHOUSE...”
Now notice verse 8. If we have not been obeying His Word, God has said these harsh words, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Can a man rob God and get away with it? No! A man might rob a bank and perhaps not get apprehended, but one does not rob the Creator of the universe and escape. No one has ever robbed God of His tithes and gotten away with it! When Israel robbed God, He told them, “Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” They did not get away with it. On the other hand, when they obeyed His Word, then He blessed them with great blessings. Let us look at...
II. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR THE TITHE.
Let us look at our key verse again. We read in Malachi 3:10, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse...” GOD’S HOUSE is referred to as THE STOREHOUSE. That is, no one in Malachi’s time, when this was written, was confused about where God’s STOREHOUSE was.
Today we have all kinds of organizations, Christian radio and television stations, and individuals claiming they are the STOREHOUSE. Every year, because some are not good stewards, God’s church is robbed by these individual Elmer Gantries, and organizations who claim to be STOREHOUSES of God. It is appalling to hear people you would think should know better say they support some of these things. When people claim they have a ministry we need to ask ourselves two questions. If these can not meet the criteria of God’s Word, they are not worthy to be called a ministry. We need to ask FIRST...
WHAT IS THEIR MINISTRY? Many so-called “ministries” exist for the purpose of appearing daily, or weekly, before us to tell us where we can send our check or call in to charge a donation to them on our credit cards.
Illus: One pastor’s church was located in an old neighborhood. Many of the residents were elderly widows. One day the pastor saw the postman. It was almost the end of the month. The pastor asked, “Do you have a lot of mail to deliver today?” The postman said, “Yes, pastor, this is a heavy time of the month. As you know this neighborhood has many widows and elderly people.” The pastor said, “I would not think that would affect the mail until the first of the month when all the social security checks go out.” The mailman said, “That is a heavy time, but it is heavy now because all these television and radio preachers and stations are sending out letters begging for money before the elderly people get their checks.”
Notice again, God said, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse...” He did not say a thing about SENDING the tithes to a preacher.
Illus: What would you think if this morning when the tithes and offerings were being collected I said, “Today I would like everyone to make your tithe and offering check out to me,” and I held up a placard saying, “Here is how you spell my name”? I know what you would think. You would think, “This pastor has flipped if he thinks I am that crazy!”
Listen, you know me, and you show the greatest kind of respect to me, yet you would not, and should not, do such a thing.
Why would a person send money to a man when he does not even know...
• If he is saved.
• If he pays his bills.
• If he beats his wife.
• If he drinks, smokes, curses, or lies. If he has been married ten times and is now shacking up with a woman who is not his wife. If he has ever been ordained.
Many do not know a thing about the people they send money to, yet millions of God’s tithe dollars are sent of to these individuals for them to do with as they please. What bad stewards some Christians are of the money God has entrusted to them. When people say they have a ministry, we need to investigate -- WHAT IS THEIR MINISTRY.
We need to ask ourselves again, does their ministry meet the criteria of being called a ministry. That is, SECONDLY,
IS IT CHURCH AFFILIATED? If it is not church affiliated, it does not meet the criteria of being a ministry. It might be a Christian business, but it is not a ministry. It might be a Christian organization, but it is not a ministry. We need to ask, “Is this man affiliated with a church? If he is, is the church a Bible-preaching and Bible-practicing church. Why is this important? If a man is not affiliated with a Bible preaching and practicing church it is likely because he knows such a church would not endorse him. For example,
Illus: If a missionary calls a Bible-believing church and asks for support, the first thing that pastor is going to do is ask him what church he is out of and what missionary board is he going through. If the missionary says, “Well, I am not with any church and I do not have any missionary board that recognizes me,” then that pastor would be foolish these days to take God’s tithes and support him. Why? Because he recognizes that more than likely the reason this missionary does not have any legitimate missionary board to endorse him is because he does not meet Bible requirements. If this man is from no condoning church this does not classify as a scriptural ministry.
A good steward is cautious. He does not support those who do not meet the scriptural criteria of being part of a Bible-believing and practicing church. He does not support those who are not accountable to anyone. You may ask, “Yes, but is it not safe to send money to a man who works under a board?” It depends upon the board.
Illus: Let me ask you something. Remember, years ago Jim Bakker used to say, “Make your checks out to Jim Bakker’s PTL Club”? He had a board, but look at the scandal he brought on the church even though he was not part of the church. Look at all the tithes he stole from good Bible-preaching, evangelistic, churches.
These Elmer Gantries can get on television, show a few hungry children that they made a pot of soup for five years ago and people will begin to grab their checkbooks and credit cards and send the money in. If you have listened to so-called “Christian” television you have seen them on, twenty-four hours a day, pleading with people to SEND their tithes and offerings to them.
These two questions need to be answered before we can support any ministry: (1) What is the ministry? (2) Is it church affiliated?
If a ministry is not church affiliated, it is not a ministry because God works through His church.
We might add, there are some God-called people who ask no support, but go to a field and spread the gospel of Christ. Some have gone like this and done a mighty work for the Lord , but this is the exception rather than the rule. God has ordained three things.
(1) GOVERNMENT. God’s plan for government is that the people of that nation pay taxes to finance it.
(2) MARRIAGE. God’s plan for the home is that it be financed “by the sweat of the brow.”
(3) THE CHURCH. God’s plan is that His Church be financed by His tithes and the love offerings of His people.
God Works through these institutions to accomplish His will.
God has commanded us to bring His tithes to THE STOREHOUSE. Why?
• The Church is where God’s Word is preached and taught.
• The Church is the base from which Christians go house to house, and on their jobs, witnessing and spreading the gospel.
• The Church is where God’s ministers ordain missionaries and send them forth where they are not able to go themselves.
• The Church conducts the funerals of its members.
• The Church is where its members are married.
• In the Church deacons are ordained to watch over and take care of the needs of the orphans and widows.
• In the Church pastors are ordained and sent forth to begin other churches.
The Church is the STOREHOUSE OF GOD.
Conclusion/Summary: God has a PLAN and a PURPOSE for saying, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse...” He has promised that if we are good stewards, and prove to be trustworthy there will be blessings. In verse 10 we see what He said He would do. We read, “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.”
God’s purpose for asking us to tithe is:
- To become our partner in life.
- To finance His church.
- To place us in a position where we could be blest.
I. GOD’S PLAN OF TITHING.
II. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR TITHING.
