The Best Part Of Leftovers Series

3. TO BE ENCOURAGED AND TO BE AN ENCOURAGER. The passage in Hebrews said that as we gather we are to encourage one another. We do a really good job at sharing prayer requests with one another but, generally speaking, we respond poorly. While it may be that we pray for a situation somebody is going through how often are we intentional about encouraging somebody while they are going through something? JESUS TAKES US TO AND THROUGH TOUGH TIMES IN OUR LIVES TO GROW US IN OUR FAITH AND PREPARE US TO MINISTER TO SOMEBODY ELSE WHO IS GOING TO GO THROUGH SOMETHING SIMILAR. The “it is all about me” mentality that so many take towards church and its services is so contrary to biblical teaching that it is not even funny and, if we find ourselves in this place, we should be willing to be broken over this kind of manipulation of God’s grace to us in giving us a community to be a part of.

LEFTOVERS? Do you plan for your time gathering together as the Church? Do you prepare for your time gathering together as the Church? When you show up here are you purposed to worship, to be equipped and to encourage somebody else? The “leftover” approach to our FIRST DAY GATHERINGS finds excuses to come easily for not being here regularly. It is amazing how many EXCUSES we make for missing out on the corporate gatherings that would that we would never try to use for missing work! IF THIS IS NOT A PRIORITY IN YOUR LIFE THEN EVERY EXCUSE SEEMS VALID AND JUSTIFIABLE.

THE FIRST PART OF OUR WEALTH PROVERBS 3:9-10

TITHES AND OFFERINGS. The concept of worshipping Jesus with our wealth, tithes and offerings, is not something constrained to Old Testament people of God. It is an act of worship that occurred before the LAW of God was given (GENESIS 14), was prescribed in the LAW for worship, and Jesus affirmed, not abolished, in the New Testament as worship. The proverb says that when we honor/worship the Lord with our wealth (tithes and offerings) that we are to do so with the first portion not the leftovers. One of the primary reasons why so many Christians are disobedient in this area is because they are content giving Jesus the leftovers of their lives in this area rather than the first and best portion. When we give of our wealth unto the Lord with a heart of worship Jesus is glorified. When we give of our wealth unto the Lord with a heart of worship it is for our good! Here are two reasons why…

1. It keeps us humble. This is not about Jesus having needs this is about man having needs. God’s people needed to worship with their tithes and offerings to remind them that what they have is not the product of their own hands but has been given to them by Him by grace—DEUTERONOMY 6:10-12.

2. It guards our hearts. God’s people needed to worship with tithes and offerings so their hearts could be guarded against the temptation to make their wealth their god and treasure—LUKE 12:32-34. Jesus spoke so much about money matters because He knows our hearts better than we know our hearts ourselves.