Genesis 14:17-24
A Faith That Gives
Introduction
I’m going to be speaking about giving today, and I want you to stay tuned in because during the invitation, if you’ll stick with me I’m going to make you a deal you can’t turn down. I want to be completely up front with you about some things and why I am compelled to speak about giving. First ministry costs money. The fact of the matter is this, there’s just not enough money in the budget to do the Lord’s work the way it deserves to be done. We need to do more for missions, more for our youth, more for evangelism and local outreach and more to our building, but until we have more participation, we’ll coast along.
Second, because giving is more about faith than it is about money, I have to preach about it. As your pastor and brother in Christ and friend, I care about your soul, about your faith and about your spiritual growth. Your giving is a barometer of your faith. People who are unfaithful to give are going to be unfaithful in other areas, and because we care, we are going to talk about your giving.
Some folk may complain that preachers beg for money too much, and that I want to say two things: first, you’ve never heard me beg for money and you are not going to hear me start today. I want to invite you to prove your love and faith toward God and His work by giving. If you don’t want to join up and get blessed, that’s your problem. God gave it to you, and He can take it away from you and give it to someone else who will give it, and I’m not above praying that He do it to you either.
Second, no preacher who has a church full of faithful givers has to beg, not if he’s doing God’s work. We’re not talking about the crooks in the pulpit, but honest God-fearing pastors. I did a little math this week and figured that if we had 65 adults making $25,000 a year (some of you make more than this, others less), and all 65 gave a full tithe, or 10%, we would take in over $162,000 for the year, which is $40,000 more than we took in during 2002. Now that’s a good annual budget to work with, and since we’re talking about mission’s giving, if all of you were tithing and we did take in $162,000, of which 10% would have gone to missions, our mission budget would have been $41,000 instead of $25,000. Imagine what we could have done for missions with an extra $16,000 dollars! Try this for a good exercise: God wants you to learn to live off of the 90% and trust Him with the 10%. If you took what you give each month and multiplied it by 9, could you live off of it? If you gave $400 this month, could you live off of $3,600? Most could, but what if you only gave $20 this month? Could you really live off of $180? Well, let’s get to the sermon.
When we talk about faith in the Bible, one man seems to emerge and rise to the top throughout much of the Old and New Testaments. Even today he is considered to be the father of the Jews and God’s people Israel. The writer of Hebrews describes his faith like this:
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God…By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son."
The Bible makes this clear, that Abraham was not great because of his riches, not his looks, not what he did for humanity or charity, but because of his faith in God. He was not always faithful, for we read about how he lied on occasion because he failed to trust God, but God saw him through and his faith was strengthened and settled.
What is faith? The Bible says,
"Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Those two phrases simply repeat each other and mean the same thing. Substance and evidence mean the same thing – they both mean that there is a physical reality to the thing hoped for, or the thing not seen. So, faith is the physical reality or expression of something hoped for. For example, Abraham was immensely wealthy. He was financially secure and had Abraham wanted to he could have built his wife a nice house and in fact could have built her an entire city, but he didn’t. He was a wanderer, a nomad, one of the wealthiest men alive and he made his wife live in a tent because he believed God was building him a home and city. The evidence of his faith was his refusal to build himself a home. When God called on him to sacrifice his son Isaac, he obeyed. The thing hoped for was that God would raise Isaac from the dead or provide a lamb. He told his servants to wait at the bottom of the mountain and then said, "We’ll be back." That was the thing hoped for. The substance, or evidence of his faith was his willingness to draw the knife on his son and kill him.
In Genesis 14 I want us to take a look at a third event in Abraham’s life that is an example of his faith and it concerns giving. Before we read allow me to set the stage. Remember that Abraham and Lot had decided to part ways because of overcrowded pasturelands. Lot chose to pitch his tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham lived in Hebron. One day 5 of the pagan kings from the north came and raided 5 other kings in and around the area of Sodom and Gomorrah, and verse 11 says they took all the goods. They also took Lot and his stuff and headed home. Abraham, or Abram at this point, had a great love for his nephew, so he gathered up 318 of his ranch hands and goat farmers, deputizes them as soldiers and arms them with hoes and pick axes and swords and takes off after these 5 kings and their armies and defeats them. He came back with all the stuff and in verses 17-24, we read,
"And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
So, the king of Sodom goes out to greet Abram and Melchizedek, king of Salem, or Jerusalem, goes out to bring refreshments. The king of Sodom represents the world and all its ungodliness. Melchizedek is a type of Christ. His name means king of righteousness and he is the king of the city of peace. He went out to refresh Abram, just as God refreshes his people, and he was the priest of the most high God. The Bible says he blessed Abram, and Abram paid him tithes of all. He gave of what he had in an act of faith and love and worship, and now I want to show you why so you might do the same. After studying the text, I believe there are at least three reasons Abram gave that day.
Because he recognized God already owned it all.
In verse 19, Melchizedek said that God was the possessor of heaven and earth, a phrase that Abram repeats in verse 22. God owns it all, and He owns it all in three ways.
He owns it by right of Creation.
"In the beginning God created." The Bible says in John 1 that "all things were made by him." It says in Colossians 1, "for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him."
He owns it by right of sustaining.
Some might argue that God created the heavens and earth and stepped back; that He made it all, wound up the clock so to speak, set things in motion and let it go, but Colossians goes on to say that "he is before all things, and by him all things consist." In other words, God holds it all together; He keeps it going.
He owns it by right of purchase.
When Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood, everything that Adam sold out in the fall was bought back at a great price. He owns it all because He shed His blood to redeem both man and the creation. The first chapter of Ephesians and the eighth chapter of Romans tell us that one day God is going to restore all things to their former condition because Jesus bought them and is coming back one day to complete the transaction.
God owns all of heaven and earth. He owns all I have and all you have. Abram recognized this, and so should you today. When we give, we don’t give God anything He doesn’t already possess. He has committed to your care whatever it is that you call an income, whatever He has found you responsible enough to care for, and He expects you to express your recognition of His ownership through a faithful tithe back to Him.
Because he recognized that Melchizedek represented God to him and his tithe was an offering of love and gratitude.
Melchizedek was a type of Christ, and God explained this principle in Hebrews 7:1-10. While we’ll not read the entire chapter, let me point out that the rest of it points out how Christ is the antitype of Melchizedek and is greater than him.
"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him."
Verse 4 tells us to consider how great this man was – Abraham gave him a tithe. "Well," someone might say, "They were in the Old Testament, under the law and were commanded to tithe. We are not." To that I would say a couple of things. First, Abraham was not under the law. That’s the point of the passage. He tithed before the law was ever given to the Levites. That’s why it says that Levi, who received tithes under the law paid tithes in Abraham while he was yet in his loins, that is, not yet born. Why did Abraham pay tithes before he was commanded to do so? Because he recognized that Melchizedek represented God and out of a heart of love and gratitude he expressed his faith in God by giving.
The law demanded that the people tithe, and perhaps one might argue that because it was a command that we do not follow that we don’t have to tithe today. Well if that one is you, then I want to challenge you to find me one place in all the New Testament where Jesus lowered the standard now that we are under grace. You won’t because He didn’t. In fact, Jesus made it a habit of raising the standard! The law says that its adultery to have a physical affair. Jesus said it was adultery to lust about it in the mind. How much less should we do for Jesus now under grace than those Jews did under the law out of command? He doesn’t want to force your offerings; He wants you to express your heart toward Him through faith. When you give, you express love and gratitude and trust. When you refuse to give faithfully, you express something vastly different.
Because he trusted God for all he had.
Notice that the king of Sodom tried to give Abraham all the spoils of the battle. Abram refused them all. He said that he wouldn’t even take a simple shoestring from the man except to compensate his men for their time and effort. Why? He said, "I’m not taking a dime from you so you won’t be able to say that you’ve made me rich." Let me just say something in passing to those who may be tempted to turn to worldly things like the lotto or the casinos to get rich – you might justify your actions to men when you pay up and take your winnings, but you don’t fool God. "Oh, I trust God. My faith is in Him!" "Faith is the evidence of things not seen." I’ll express my faith by refusing to participate, lest anyone should say the Texas lotto made me rich, you express your faith by buying the ticket. If I ever do have anything, and I know that I have more than some, I want the world to know that my God supplied it through His people and by hard work. If I never do get rich, then so be it. I’d rather be broke and living by faith in God than rich and have the lost think that the world made me that way.
Who are you trusting for your substance? Are you trusting God? Or do you trust the company you work for? Do you find yourself worrying about that inevitable layoff? Or do you remind yourself through prayer and study that God said in His Word,
"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Proverbs 28:22 says,
"He that hasteth to be rich [hath] an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him."
Who are you trusting for what you have? Do you trust God? You say yes. Well I say then prove it with your checkbook. Do you really think that by withholding from God what is rightfully his you will get rich or get ahead? Be real! That 10% won’t get you anywhere without the Lord, and He’s not going to bless your unwillingness to be faithful in giving.
However, Proverbs 28:20 says,
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
When you give to God, you show that you trust Him for all you have. You are simply giving Him what He already owns; and He likes that. "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." I’m not trying to bully anyone into giving to the Lord through tithes or missions, but I know that God will bless you if you will only try Him, trust Him, put Him to the test. He’ll never let you down.
Conclusion
As we close, I want you to notice Genesis 15:1.
"After these things the Word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."
Abram was a man of great faith. His faith was expressed to God in many ways – in his willingness to give was just one of them, and it was an expression that God blessed and rewarded. God wants to reward you too, but He waits to see the expression of your faith. Are you willing to give to prove and express your faith? Or are you waiting on God to prove something to you so you will have faith? A faith that has to see first is not faith at all. "We walk by faith and not by sight." God owns it all, and He gave His all, 100% when He gave Christ for you. All He asks in return is a token of your love, of your gratitude, and of your faith in return. Will you trust Him today?
As we prepare for our invitation, I want to invite every member to do something. I don’t want you to rush into it, but pray about it and then act on it. If you’ve not been faithful in giving a tenth of your gross income to the Lord, you don’t give anything, or maybe you’re just hit and miss with your offerings, then let me challenge you to step out on faith and give the 10% for 2 months. Just try it for 2 months, and if you don’t get a blessing out of it, God doesn’t do something special for you in it, then you come to me and tell me that God’s plan didn’t work for you, and I’ll see to it that you get your money back. You can’t beat a deal like that! You try me on it, try the Lord on it and see if He doesn’t open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on you.
Some of you are so far in debt that you don’t see how it will work. If that’s your case, then come see me this week sometime in the office and we’ll work on a plan to get you going. God will see you through and He’ll bless your willingness to start.
For those of you who tithe but don’t participate in missions giving, will you trust God with an offering each week to missions? Could you spare $1 a week? $5 or $10? You try the Lord and see what happens.
Lastly, several of us are tithing and supporting missions. Has the Lord been speaking to you about trusting Him with an increased offering or about adding another ministry to your regular giving? You know what God wants you to do. Step out on faith and trust Him today as we pray and sing.
