The WHOLE Tithe
I know what you're thinking. He sure talks a lot about this whole money, offering and tithing thing. He must just be another of those money-hungry, hands-always-out preachers. My response to that is -YES! I do believe it's necessary to teach on God's Word regarding the issues of money and giving. I recently heard a pastor comment that the reason he didn't mention tithes and offerings was because he didn't want to offend HIS people. I realize that in this day and age many people are very suspicious of giving to organizations as well as churches. And therefore, many pastors have become more and more timid when it comes to preaching and teaching Biblical principles concerning giving. But my response to their fear is this; So you'd rather offend God than YOUR "people?
You know, the Bible addresses the topic of money more than any other topic. In fact, most Christians are shocked to hear that 2/3 of the parables that Christ used in teaching deal specifically with finances. And the reason for this is simple: He chose a topic with which everyone could relate. In His parables Christ was describing a SPIRITUAL kingdom that is actually more real than this material kingdom. But in order to identify with worldly people He had to use a worldly example: money!
But Christ never said that money or material things were problems. Instead, He often taught that they were the symptoms of underlying problems. This morning, we're going to take a look in the Scriptures concerning the issue of money, and more specifically what the Bible says about tithes and offerings. But before we do that, I think it necessary to first point out that God doesn¡¦t need your money. God isn¡¦t a beggar and therefore I don¡¦t have to beg for Him. God says in Psalm 50, ¡§The world is mine, and all that is in it.¡¨
ILLUSTRATION: McDonald¡¦s French Fry Story - Joshua (my 2 yr old son) said, MINE, concerning HIS french fries. What he didn't realize was that if it weren't for me, he wouldn't have had ANY french fries at all. And the fact was, that although I could buy a whole truckload of fries, I wanted Joshua to learn to share what was given to him.
And so it is with God; Although he owns the world and all that is in it, He wants us to learn to be grateful and share what He has given us for His glory!
If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to the first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis. As we look at this brief passage in the life of Jacob in Genesis 28, please realize that at this point in time, God has NOT commanded that His people tithe.
GENESIS 28:20-22 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ¡§If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21so that I return safely to my father¡¦s house, then the LORD„T will be my God 22and„T this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God¡¦s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.¡¨
In essence, Jacob was saying, because God protects and provides for me I will set up an altar, which we recognize as a place of worship and sacrifice, and return unto God one-tenth what was given to Jacob. Point 1: Tithing is an act of WORSHIP
As I stated, Jacob wasn¡¦t motivated by commandment, law or decree. He was motivated by THANFULNESS and gratitude for what God was doing in His life. When we give our tithe, we are literally saying, THANKS GOD ¡V Thanks for taking care of my everyday needs of food, water and shelter!
Point 2: Tithing is an act of HOLINESS
And just as tithing is an act of WORSHIP, it also is a HOLY act. Leviticus 27:30 is the first scripture where we actually see the ¡§tithe¡¨ terminology. ¡¥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. And the word tithe literally means ¡§one-tenth.¡¨
But, isn¡¦t that awesome to know. The fact that when we give our tithe to God, it is received as being HOLY ¡V as consecrated and sacred. No one knows me better than myself. I know there is very little, if anything about John Parker that is Holy. And yet God not only receives my tithe, but He calls it HOLY ¡V a HOLY ACT!
I¡¦ve had many people ask me about ¡§how¡¨ to tithe. How often or when do I tithe? Do I tithe off the gross or off the net of my paycheck. Do I tithe when I receive a gift or an income tax return? Etc¡K
And although the Bible may not specifically address each of these issues, there are definite principles that the Bible teaches that is applicable.
The Bible does teach in the 23rd chapter of Exodus that we are to give our ¡§first fruits¡¨ unto the Lord. In that era of time, that meant when you harvested your crops, you gave the first portion BACK to God for the support of the priesthood. You didn¡¦t feed yourself or your family, nor did you store these crops, but instead you offered them back to God as sacrifice. With that principle in mind, I believe God deserves our ¡§firstfruits¡¨ ¡V the first tenth of our ENTIRE or GROSS income upon us being paid, whether that is weekly, biweekly or monthly. When Sherry and I were first married, we discovered that we tithed differently. I tithed off my total gross income, and she tithed off her ¡§net¡¨ paycheck. Not because she was greedy or stingy but because she hadn¡¦t been taught what the principle of ¡§firstfruits¡¨ was. We then decided, as a couple to tithe off our total income and we haven¡¦t regretted that for a day! One thing we learned through that process -- you CAN¡¦T outgive God! If we receive a gift or an inheritance, we tithe on that gift. Why? Because we believe it is GOD who provides for us and meets our needs according to His riches in glory! But because we tithe off our total income, if we do have any income tax return money, we don¡¦t tithe on it because we¡¦ve given off the top to start with. I¡¦m not trying to get anyone to give or to tithe just like the Parker¡¦s but I do feel it necessary that we, as God¡¦s people, have a understanding what ¡§firstfruits¡¨ are and who is our Provider!
Point 3: Tithing is an act of OBEDIENCE
In the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus states, ¡§¡§If you love me, you will obey what I command. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
Jesus says, that if we truly love Him, we will obey Him. If we have an area of our life that we aren¡¦t obedient to God, it¡¦s not because we have an obedience problem, it¡¦s because we have a LOVE problem.
ILLUSTRATION: ¡§I¡¦ll take you out of the shuffle¡¨
I personally believe that the giving of our tithes is one of the hardest areas for us to be obedient because it affects all other areas of our life! The fact is that the average church attending Christian gives less than 3% of their income. In fact, if every Christian were to lose their jobs and went on welfare, and tithed from their welfare checks, giving in the US¡¦s churches would increase over 30%. This just shows that as Christians, we¡¦re generally willing to give God credit but few are willing to give Him cash!
Like it or not, your checkbook is indicative of your priorities. If you would let me review your checkbook for 10 minutes, I could get a pretty good idea where you¡¦re priorities lie. Jesus stated in Luke 12:15, ¡§Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for a man¡¦s life does NOT consist in the abundance of his possessions.¡¨
God has asked us to honor him by giving of our tithes and offerings for the sake of His kingdom. To neglect that would be blatant disobedience.
Point #4: Tithing is an act of LOVE
A certain ruler asked him, ¡§Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?¡¨ 19¡§Why do you call me good?¡¨ Jesus answered. ¡§No one is good¡Xexcept God alone. 20You know the commandments: ¡¥Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.¡¦„T¡¨ 21¡§All these I have kept since I was a boy,¡¨ he said. 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ¡§You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.¡¨ 23When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.
What is it that you love more than God? Is it your business? Maybe your hobby? Perhaps it¡¦s a sport or even a relationship. The bottom line is God is the giver of all good and perfect gifts and though he¡¦s given you your job, your business, your leisure time, if we set any of these above God, He¡¦s asking us to rid ourselves of them so that He might take His rightful place, 1st place in our lives!
ILLUSTRATION: TV GIFT FOR KIDS
But just as we can show our love for God by tithing, 10% isn¡¦t a place where we hope to attain. Instead it is the START of our giving. I believe the Bible teaches that the tithe is to go to the local church. We shouldn¡¦t send our tithe to TV evangelists or other ministries. It should go to the work of the local church. However, God has made us a prosperous people so that we can give MORE!
2 Cor. 9:11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
I realize, many times we don¡¦t give out of our abundance because we don¡¦t see how the church is putting the money ¡§to work.¡¨ But it¡¦s kind of a chicken-or-the-egg type scenario. The church may not be having a great presence in our community in evangelism and missions because of a lack of funds. Don¡¦t get me wrong ¡V I believe FBC is a generous body with many generous individuals. But I believe God is calling us to a new level of work in His kingdom. A work where we going to need individuals to tithe their time and efforts as well as their money. God¡¦s going to do a work through this body, with or without your money ¡V but personally, I¡¦m not going to miss out on any blessing that God has for me, even when it means giving sacrificially!
Point #5 ¡V Tithing is an act of evangelism
Paul continues in his writing in 2 Corinthians by saying, ¡§Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
Giving is your confession of your faith in Christ.
ILLUSTRATION: The greatest surprise of little Mary¡¦s life was receiving a $10 bill for her birthday. She strutted around her house showing her prize to anyone who would pay attention. ¡§What are you going to do with your $10 bill,¡¨ asked her mother. ¡§Take it to Sunday School¡¨ was Mary¡¦s reply. ¡§Oh, said mom, ¡§to show your teacher?¡¨ ¡§Oh, no. said Mary, I¡¦m going to give it to God, he¡¦ll be surprised as I am to get something besides pennies!¡¨
When you give you¡¦re stating that God is so important to you that you¡¦re gonna give him your all ¡V even your billfold! For many of us, that is a TRUE sign of the transformation that God has done in our life.
And now, as we enter into this time of giving of our tithes and offerings, may we truly WORSHIP God, realizing we are partaking in an act of HOLINESS by being OBEDIENT to God¡¦s Word by being willing to CONFESS our LOVE for Him because He first loved us!
This morning, as we sing the Doxology, it¡¦s my prayer that this wouldn¡¦t be a time of vain repetition, but instead, you would sing this from your heart, with thanksgiving to the Giver of all good and perfect gifts! Let this song be our offertory prayer
DOXOLOGY:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost
INVITATION:
1) For those of you who have NEVER experienced the true love and forgiveness of the Father
2) For those of you who have at one time or another, surrendered your life to God, but know that you¡¦re NOT walking in complete submission to him ¡V let this be a time of REDICATION
3) For those of you who have sensed God leading you to join with this body in covenant agreement and become a member here at
