Tithing and giving
Intro:
Reason why, we are “allergic to preach giving in the Church, in comparison to
Prosperity preachers, Ex. El shadai, The church of Kiboloy, ect,
El shadai sells, handkerchief, mineral water, candles, with blessings, to bless you,
Kiboloy says it is the seed for your prosperity.
A question of the heart, do you give because you want to receive more or you give because you want to worship God, it almost mis leading to judge who are titihers and are not in our offering report. Because it would seem that those who are giving bigger are more spiritual than those who are not.
Illus. The 500 bill and the ten peso bill story
Definition:
The practice of giving a tenth of one’s property or produce to support religious institutions or the priesthood. It is an ancient practice, widespread in antiquity and found in Judaism as well as in surrounding cultures of the ancient Near East.
Genesis 14:17-20 in Heb. 7:6, 8-9.
Tithing was practiced in the OT prior to the Laws,
17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.
18. Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19. And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20. And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’’ And he gave him a tithe of all.
The tithe was one of the tributary offerings imposed on Israel. There were strict regulations pertaining to the tithe (ma’aser, Lev. 27:30-33; Num. 18:21-32; Deut. 14:22-29; 26:2-15). All crops and the increase in cattle were subject to the tithe. The tithe of grain and fruit could first be exchanged for silver, but the Israelite was required to add 20 percent of the market value before taking the silver to the temple. He was not permitted to redeem the tithe of the herd or flock.
Numbers 18: 21-24
21. "Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
22. "Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.
23. "But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
24. "For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, `Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ’’
The Levites and the poor also enjoyed a portion of the tithe. However, every third year the tithe was reserved for the Levites and those in financial need (Deut. 14:28-29). The tithe also functioned as a kind of a tax to support the temple and its personnel. The tithe was retained by the temple personnel, for their own use.
In the book of Deuteronomy, the firstborn of the flocks and the tithes are to be brought to the central holy place in Jerusalem ("the place which he will choose, to make his name dwell there," 14:23). Families and the Levites of the towns were to travel to Jerusalem for the festive meal. If the journey was too long and carrying the tithe too difficult, one could sell the tithe and buy what was needed in Jerusalem (vs. 24ff.). Yet this system did not adequately provide for the needs of the poor, so the code stipulated that every third year the tithe should be kept in the local town (vs. 28-29; 26:12-15). It would be distributed to Levites, sojourners, the fatherless, and widows who could not produce food for themselves.
(Neh. 10:38; Mal. 3:10). Then too, tithes no longer were required to be brought to Jerusalem, but rather were collected by local Levites (Neh. 10:37-38). This in effect made the tithe a tax.
References to the tithe are few in the NT. Jesus attacked the Pharisees for paying the tithe (Gr. apodekatoo) exactly while neglecting the more important parts of the law: justice, mercy, and faith (Matt. 23:23; cf. Luke 11:42). The Pharisee is shown praying in the temple, "I give tithes of all that I get" (Luke 18:12). There are three references to Genesis 14:17-20 in Heb. 7:6, 8-9.
In the later history of the church, the obligation to tithe was always held in tension with Christ’s command to sell all and renounce possessions (Matt. 19:21) along with Paul’s teaching that Christ brings freedom from legal prescriptions (Gal. 5:1). By the fifth and sixth centuries, the practice of tithing was well established in old areas of Christianity in the West. In the eighth century, Carolingian rulers made the ecclesiastical tithe part of secular law.
In England, particularly by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the issue of tithes was a source of intense conflict since a state church depended on tithes for its livelihood. Social, political, and economic implications were considerable in Archbishop Laud’s attempts to increase tithe payments prior to 1640. English Puritans and others wanted the abolition of tithes in favor of voluntary contributions to support clergy. But the question of the tithe aroused some of the fiercest passions and bitterness of all issues associated with the English Civil War. After the war, the legislative tithe survived in England until the twentieth century.
NT concept of Giving
This young man came to Jesus in search of heaven, and asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ response was to explain that he must first follow the basic laws of God — the ten commandments. The young man replied that he had kept all of the commandments from his youth. And then Jesus completely astounded him by saying, “Go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). The Bible sadly reports, “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
Principle One
A man is no fool who gives what he
cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose
Jim Elliott, Missionary...
Giving is all we have
What was Jesus saying to this young man? He was giving the New Testament principle of stewardship, and that principle is this: Whereas the Old Testament taught us that 10% of everything we own belongs to God, the New Testament, and in particular Jesus, is teaching us that all we have belongs to God.
(Mark 12:41-44). When we read this story we usually emphasize the smallness of her gift — that it was only a fraction of a penny. But the point is not how small her gift was, but how BIG it was. The gift of the wealthy was small by comparison, because they did not give all they had, as she did. That is the New Testament principle of giving. When we come into contact with God we dare not be stingy for we serve a great and awesome God. As an act of worship we acknowledge that he owns all that we have.
Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). The point is not whether you will literally give away all you have, but whether or not you recognize God’s complete and unconditional ownership of all you possess. We are talking about an entirely new attitude toward life. This is true worship.
Principle Two
W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40.00 per week and tithing $4.00. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500.00 per week. He called on the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, "I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40.00 a week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.00."...
is this: All our heart desire. Jesus always demanded everything from his followers, and there were many who were not willing to pay the price. Do you remember those who said they were willing to follow Jesus wherever he would go? He turned them back knowing that they were not willing to pay the cost. He said things like, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” When they heard this they no longer followed him. But what about the true disciples, the twelve? Peter said to Jesus, “We have left all we had to follow you!” And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:28-30).
28. Then Peter said, "See, we have left all and followed You.’’
29. So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30. "who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to com everlasting life.’’
Principle Three
All we are belongs to God
Rm. 12:1-2
1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Mother Teresa once said, “if you give something that you can live without, it’s not giving.”...
