Hello, friends. I wanted to share the notes that I used to present a stewardship moment in July on tithing. This was a stewardship moment that was shared with the second service on July 15, the Sunday that we had a big congregational meeting on church finances. Yes, I gave a summarized version of this during the second service, but I believe the whole document has some good information for everyone. For those of you that go to first service, don't worry, I believe I'll have an opportunity to share this with you in person in the near future. Enjoy.
“Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:7-8
Good morning. I wish to speak to you about stewardship and tithing. I decided to check out tithing on the internet yesterday. I came across several sites dedicated to teaching about tithing. Some of these sites had a list of over 100 scripture verses that reference tithing and giving in general. These are from the sites that support tithing. Now, I also came across a few sites that used scripture to convey their opinion that, though giving to the church is right and good, and that we should give generously, this whole 10% business no longer applies to us today. It’s too old testament, part of the laws and regulations of Moses that were completely abolished and cancelled at the cross. Well, I know some of those laws that are still good practice today.
One of the first verses of scripture that shows us an example of tithing is in the book of Genesis, chapter 28, verses 10-22. This is the passage describing Jacob’s dream and the promises that God makes to him.
Genesis 28:10-22
“Jacob left Beer-Sheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’
So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.’”
God promised many blessings upon Jacob and his descendants. These promises brought about a thankful heart in Jacob. Jacob said that he would offer up one-tenth to God. I want to read that last verse one more time.
“and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”
Jacob recognized that everything he had, land, food, health, family, clothing, and wealth, are blessings that God has bestowed upon him. These are not things that Jacob has made or earned. They are God’s, and God has blessed Jacob with them. And Jacob, out of grateful joy to the Lord has given back a portion of what God has allowed him to have.
We see again in first Chronicles this idea of everything that is in our possession is the property of God. We are merely the stewards, the caretakers of God’s property. Listen to this reading from 1 Chronicles, chapter 29, verse 11-17.
“Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name.
‘But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill-offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are aliens and transients before you, as were all our ancestors; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.”
Freely and joyously the people of God gave what they had to build a house for God. Freely and joyously. We also see again the people of God admitting that all things come from God. They cannot feel bad about parting with their gifts, because their gifts were not theirs to begin with.
If I gave you ten dollars, would you begrudge me asking for one dollar back? How about if I gave you a hundred dollars and asked for ten back? Or a thousand dollars, and asked for a hundred back? I’m still giving you nine hundred dollars that you didn’t possess before. What if I gave you ten thousand dollars and asked for one thousand back? Now you tell me that isn’t a blessing.
God even allows us to test him in this. In the book of Malachi God implores us to return to him. In this scripture verse he gives us that opportunity through our ability to be a giving people. Listen to this passage from Malachi, chapter three, verses seven through twelve.
“Ever 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?’
Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings! You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring 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. I 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. Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.”
We also hear this promise of blessing in the book of Proverbs.
“Honor the Lord with your substance
and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
How many of you have had the gall to test God on that? Let me rephrase that. How many of you have had the courage to test to God on that? It can be a scary thing to make that decision to give up so much of what we consider to be our “hard-earned income”. We have to worry about the mortgage, the car payments, the monthly electricity, gas, water, garbage bills. That’s a lot to take care of. The thing we forget sometimes, when we’re balancing our checkbook, and deciding whether we can take the family out to the Olive Garden for dinner this weekend, is that the church has those same expenses to take care of.
This church has an incredible heart for ministry. We are kind and generous to those in need. One of the most incredible, and powerful, forms of ministry we have is through our willingness to lift up our brothers and sisters through prayer. This church has seen miracles brought about through the power of prayer. God has truly blessed us by granting us the desires of our heart when those desires are for the benefit of others.
There are a lot of other ministries that go on at this church. Ministries that are not so easily funded as prayer, but ministries that make an incredible difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Spend some time helping out with some of the youth activities around here, or the activities that the Education Team organizes, and you’ll see what I mean. We need to make sure that the needs filled by those groups, and all the others at this church are met. We’re all ministers, we’re all part of the outreach that this church makes to the community. Let’s make sure we’re doing all we can to spread God’s love to those who need it through the ministries that this church offers.
Now, I’ve rambled on longer than I intended, but I want to give you one more piece of evidence that supports tithing to your church. That evidence is my family. When I first became a member of a church I was one of those people that would drop five dollars in plate and consider my duty done. If I wanted to feel really good about myself I’d put in ten dollars. My giving increased over time, but I never came close to giving ten percent. I couldn’t imagine parting with that much money.
It was sometime after Rihoko and I were married that we had the tithing discussion. I mentioned the challenge that God offers us in Malachi. Well, we took Him up on it. That was one of the best decisions Rihoko and I could have made. We are soon to be a family of four. We are living off of a single income, and that income is nothing to brag about. But, since we have started tithing, we have never really wanted for anything. We have a roof over our heads, by the grace of God. We have food in our bellies, by the grace of God. We have our heath, by the grace of God. We have the ability to earn an income, by the grace of God. Rihoko and I have a healthy, wonderful son, by the grace of God. In sixteen days our daughter will arrive, by the grace of God. The list doesn’t end, friends.
And we are not blessed only because we have given money to God. We have worshiped our Lord by giving with a cheerful and thankful heart. We have worshiped our Lord by giving of ourselves, our time, our talents, our prayers, and our love for all of you. We will continue to worship the Lord in this way. And we will continue to support His ministry through the people of Southern Hills Church by giving cheerfully, and giving generously. I encourage all of you to prayerfully consider doing the same. Sit down with your spouse and take a look at your finances. If cutting out that weekly pizza can help you increase your giving by a percent or two, try it out. God wants you to put Him to the test. Give cheerfully, and give generously, and God will surely do the same for you.
