8Will anyone rob
God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your
tithes and offerings! 9You
are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! 10Bring the full
tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put
me to the test, says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of
heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. 11I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not
destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be
barren, says the LORD of hosts. Malachi
3:8 - 11 (NRSV)
“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either
hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Matthew 6:24 (NRSV)
I was tempted to
preach a sermon about total-life discipleship this morning and deftly
weave-into the message precepts and principles of money. That would have been my “comfort zone”.
I repented! God never called me to preach in a comfort
zone, or to provide one for the church family.
God’s Word has also convinced me that although we human beings have a
tendency to say “my this” or “my that” – it is all His, not mine.
While stewardship extends
to every area of life…time, health, family, I am specifically talking about
money this morning. This sermon is about
money; specifically, the money in your pocket.
My meaning is clear…we may say, “my money, my real estate, my family, my
time, my, my, my” But, it is not your money or time, it is His!
The Lord IS
the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills – and, oh yes, He also owns
the hills and the air over them!
This will be a Biblical
message in the tradition of Jesus. Jesus
said more about a person’s possessions (and what he does with them) than He did
about heaven, hell, love or the second coming.
This is also a
straight-forward message – these are urgent times! I could attempt to make us all feel good by
reciting the statistics of how much we gave to missions last year. I could try to make us feel guilty that we
aren’t building new buildings like some other churches do. But, “feel good” or “guilt-trips” aren’t what
is called-for by God’s Word.
So-called “feel
good” messages are like putting a band-aide on a cancerous tumor. If a doctor tells you things are well, that
you should go home and you’ll do just fine, when in reality you have only a few
weeks to live, he is not a doctor – he’s the enemy. It is the same with a preacher who won’t give
you the Word of God without candy-coating.
A guilt-trip
preacher might get you to part with a few bucks, but you don’t get near the
heart of God with guilt-giving. If we
give out of guilt it only takes a little time until the guilt subsides; then we
slip back into our old ways. Once the
guilt emotion wears off, we rediscover our real heart’s desire – self! Guilt doesn’t last.
What DOES last is
the Word of God. And so, this morning I
want to share with you the BASICS OF CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP from the “Owner’s
Manual”…God’s Word
When you start with
basics you must start with…
DEFINITION
The question is,
“What is Christian Stewardship?” The
answer is simple – it is the “whole tithe” (as we read in Malachi).
Mathematically the tithe is 10%
of your income. The first time we
encounter the word “tithe” in the Bible is Genesis 14:20, where Abraham paid a
tithe to a priest named Melchizedek. Positionally it is not just A
tenth; it is the First Tenth! When most of us are introduced to the idea of
giving a tithe we mentally picture all our other financial commitments, and
then try to “fit” tithing into the program.
That is not what
God has told us to do. All the way
through Scripture we encounter the principle of “firstfruits”. God’s people are not to bring leftovers to
worship.
Abel’s brother,
Cain imagined his choice of offering was just as good as what God had
required. He was wrong; it got him in
big trouble. God requires “firstfruits”
– in other words, He requires the best you have. In Malachi’s day the people brought sick and
disfigured animals for sacrifice, keeping the best for themselves.
The first tenth…the
tithe…is not only the first you get; it is to be the best you have!
Definitely…the tithe is the
Lord’s!
All tithes from the
land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the
LORD’S; they are holy to the LORD. Leviticus 27:30 (NRSV)
We may be tempted
to say, “That’s Old Testament law; we’re under grace!” That is true, but Jesus also said rather
clearly that He came to fulfill the law, not do-away with it.
The early church
took that seriously. You can see (in
Acts and Philippians) that the first century believers not only gave a tithe –
that was their base; gifts and offerings were given above the
tithe. Giving was a sacrificial
completing of the law.
You may also say,
“OK, tithing is Biblical, but I just can’t afford that much right now.” I have heard those words many times. Often that means the person has obligated
their income to the point that he is way over his head, to the point that the
concept of tithing brings fear. You fear
that the charge cards won’t get paid!
Folks, that fear is an indication that things you buy or want are more
important than obedience to God; that is a dangerous game to play.
Common sense says
you must pay your bills; otherwise you’ll get hauled into court. Spiritual sense overrules the objection
here. Given a choice, I’d rather be
hauled into any court in the land and be publicly humiliated, have all my
worldly possessions taken away, and be put in prison for life-without-parole,
than to stand one second before God’s court in heaven, having withheld what belongs
to the Lord!
The first basic of
Christian stewardship is definition; it is the first
tenth that is holy to the Lord.
DESTINATION
Where should I give
my tithe?
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse… Malachi 3:10a
The storehouse is
the church; more accurately – your church! Someone once called the paying of our tithes
“an act of worship AT God’s
house of worship.” The place where you
have chosen to worship is the place you are to worship with your tithe.
Whenever God’s Word
is specific (such as “thou shalt not steal”) we are to be obediently quiet. There is no question that the Bible tells us
to bring our tithe where we worship.
It is my personal belief that when and what you give ABOVE
the tithe is discretionary. You give
those gifts where the Spirit impresses you the greatest need exists. But the tithe belongs where you worship.
Sometimes I am
asked for counsel by folks on the Internet.
One person considers me a “temporary pastor” for their family. They live in another state and are looking
for a church home. They wanted to know
what to do with their tithe until they found a church…should they send it to
me? I told the person to give the tithe
where they worshipped each week.
A lady in a church
I once served told me that it was a joy to bring her tithe to the worship
service. She counted it a privilege to
offer to God her tithe and other offerings.
She also told me that the greatest joy she experienced was putting away
several dollars each month, in addition to her tithe, so
that she could be “in” on meeting needs for the poor children in her
neighborhood. Folks, that woman bought
more new shoes and blue jeans for kids that weren’t hers, than anyone I’ve ever
met. These were her gifts above the
tithe.
However, for the
ongoing mission and work of the church, God’s people who make up that church
body are to faithfully BRING their tithes to worship each Lord’s Day.
On the first day
of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so
that collections need not be taken when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NRSV)
Definition – the first10%, Direction – my church, and…
DISBURSEMENT
What will my tithe
do? It meets the needs which God
chooses. Notice that it meets spiritual
needs:
22Set apart a tithe of
all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. 23In the presence of
the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name,
you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the
firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. Deuteronomy 14:22 - 23 (NRSV)
One of the chief
needs we all have is to learn to worship.
A man came to his pastor with a check for $10,000. He said, “Preacher, this is my tithe for the
next two years; I want to pay it up in advance.” The pastor wouldn’t take the check. He told the man, “You bring it as you receive
from the Lord.”
Giving is connected
to our regular
need of worship. You wouldn’t pray one
good long prayer at the beginning of the year; or eat one good meal. Your spiritual needs are met in ways you
can’t describe when you bring your offering regularly. On the first day of the week you bring
yourself, and your offering.
Our giving also
meets temporal needs:
28Every third year you shall bring out the
full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; 29the
Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the
resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat
their fill so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work that you
undertake. Deuteronomy
14:28 - 29 (NRSV)
God’s people should
never have to beg or go hungry. That is
God’s promise, but it is based upon the fidelity of believers in the local
church to bring their tithes for the meat in the
storehouse.
The formula for
revival has always been humble prayer, mixed with earnest obedience! When God’s praying people are God’s obedient
giving people, the world sees the demonstration of God’s power and love in
action.
Needs are met. Miracles take
place. Society is deeply
affected.
Now, there are
three basics –
Definition:
Christian stewardship is the tithe,
Destination: given in the local church,
Disbursed:
to meet the needs God has ordained;
Of course “stewardship” is a word that
encompasses all of life, not just things related to money. We must be careful to remember that all we
possess (our time, health, family, etc), are all gifts from God; they should be
well-taken-care-of as acts of ultimate stewardship. There is another caution, however. We must also beware of:
DELAY
What if I reject
this? Simple answer; you are robbing
God!
8Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing
me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings! Malachi 3:8 (NRSV)
That is very
plain language. And even
though it is disturbing information, this is a fact that demands very
plain details.
Many people are
listed on the rolls of many churches.
But, they not only neglect to worship with their presence, they choose
to spend God’s tithes on themselves.
That is not obedient, and it is not at all smart! It is self-destructive.
Worship and giving
are activities you need
in your life; they are designed to bless you and strengthen you. Putting aside your need for both harms you.
Consider the
principle of “The Widow’s Mite”. If you
remember Jesus and his disciples were sitting near the treasury of the
temple. People were coming and going;
most were giving some kind of offering.
An extremely poor
widow walked-in and dropped in two coins…mites – pennies, if you will. A “mite” was about 1/64 of a day’s
wages. In today’s economy it equals
about 71/2 minutes of paycheck.
So, if you work for $10 an hour, it would be about $1.25. Here’s the story from Doctor Luke:
2He also saw a poor widow put in two
small copper coins. 3He
said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; Luke
21:2 - 3 (NRSV)
Now Jesus said her
gift was greater than any other – even the rich folks who gave large sums. The reason Jesus assessed the gift that way
was that it was all the poor woman had.
The woman was down to less than the cost of a cheeseburger! She gave out of her need…sacrificially.
Two important facts
here:
1.
The
woman was at worship – she was there with an open heart, and…
2.
She
was going to give, even if it meant not eating that day.
Jesus pointed-out
this poor woman in order to help us understand that giving to God is never
hidden from the eyes of God. He has
promised that giving will bless us, and He is as good as His promises.
But,
the reverse is also true in the principle; those who withhold that which
belongs to God (worship and tithes) bring reproach on themselves – and the
damage is considerable.
You may recall the rich young
ruler. Jesus told him to “let go” of his
riches…it would lead to treasure in heaven.
The young man went away sad, supposing he had more than heaven had to
offer. Jesus’ told his disciples that
the young rich man was in peril of holding on to the weight that would keep him
out of heaven.
If
God will praise a widow for giving her last buck-and-a-quarter, he will
certainly condemn anyone who steals what is rightfully His. Would a man rob God?
DECISION
What if I have not
been faithful with the tithe? Is God
gonna get me? Yes – or No, it depends on
you…
7Ever since the
days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept
them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you
say, “How shall we return?”
10Bring the full tithe into the
storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test,
says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you
and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. Malachi 3:7, 10 (NRSV)
The promise of judgment
for disobedience is real; but so is the promise of mercy and blessing.
If you have been
holding-out on giving God your best in stewardship, you can repent…that means
return to God, begin anew. You can start
right now giving Him your best. When you
return to God, He returns to you. It is
done in faith…you take a step towards God, believing He will accept you; and
His Word promises He will. That is how the Christian life is begun;
an act of faith as you pray for forgiveness…God accepts this genuine repentance
and accepts you as a child of His. That is also how
the Christian life
continues, we act in faith every day, worshipping and giving. It is God’s way.
What is your
decision? Have you been faithful with
God’s tithe? If so, wonderful…continue
to grow in the faith as you give tithes and offerings above the tithe. Already there? Teach others the joy you have experienced.
Have you not
been faithful? Begin now, and grow. Return to God’s way, and His ways will bless
you.
Have you not ever
begun the walk with God? You can
start. Remember, when it was time for
God to give, He didn’t send some old, broken-down, left-over angel for which he
had no further use. God sent his
firstfruits – His best – His one and only begotten Son…for you!
The tithe is God’s
standard of Christian giving because what you have in your possession
represents all you are. It represents
your labor, your work, and your worth.
You can choose to give God the leftovers, your least, what you can
spare…but it will never be any better than that.
The steps can be
very definite this morning. We have
reserved taking the offering until now…you can begin to trust God by giving
your tithe, even if you have never done that before.
You can also trust
Him by joining hands with this church family – become part of what is going on
here to serve Him in worship and witness.
The firstfruits of
what God requires is YOU. Let the church
say, Amen!
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