Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 1 of 8 INTRODUCTION We ve spent the past 3½ months exploring how we can Be the Church. Today we talk about money. Now I know, lots of people just don t like it when the preacher talks about money. But seems to me that the faithful preacher, the faithful shepherd, the faithful pastor, the faithful priest, the faithful prophet, the faithful spiritual leader (you pick the hat) has to talk about money. Why? Well, first of all, it takes money lots of money to Be the Church at least to Be the Church the way we feel called to Be the Church. Think about it. Very little of what we do around here can be accomplished without money. Without money, there would be no building for us or for the hundreds of others who use this space. Without money, there would be no staff. Without money there would be no meals packed for children in Haiti, no Share Christmas for children in Mooresville. Without money there would be no organ, no sound system, no VBS, no youth ministry, no mission trips. Really, I ve racked my brain, and I can t think of a single thing we do that does not require some amount of money. So of course, preachers need to talk about money because it takes money to Be the Church. But that s not the most important reason that preachers need to talk about money. Not by a long shot. The primary reason that preachers have to talk about money is so that they can honor the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus. It s true. Sooner or later, every preacher who bases his or her sermons on the Bible will have to do some talking about money. Why? Well consider this: The Bible talks more about money and possessions than it does about love, hope and prayer combined. Almost half of Jesus parables (you know, those wonderful stories He used to Tithing Challenge 2018 John 6:5-13 teach His listeners about the Kingdom of God) focus on money and possessions. When you look at the Gospels, you discover that 1 out of 6 verses refers to money or possessions. So, if a preacher is going to proclaim the teachings found in Scripture, he or she will have to spend some time talking about money. Now why do you think God would focus so much of His Word on money? The answer is, I think, pretty simple. God knows that we will all have to deal with money or the lack of and He wants to be sure that we have the wisdom we need to do that well. The Bible is God s how to book. It s filled with all the directions we need for living faithful, happy, and effective lives. So today, we are exploring a beloved story within the Bible to help us answer an important but basic question What happens when we give?
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 2 of 8 John 6:5-13 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. Here is a boy. He was an unexpected giver the little boy who offered his lunch to Jesus. We have no details but, in my imagination, well I fill in the blanks. You see, I remember all those lunches I packed for little boys as I sent them off on this or that adventure. Wonder what he and his mother discussed as she packed that lunch for him? And what was the conversation like when he returned? Can you imagine that? Well, he was an unexpected giver but he was the one who gave gave what he had to Jesus. And I believe that taking a closer look at what happened when he stepped up and gave can help us understand what happens when we step up and give too. WHEN WE GIVE, WE HONOR GOD First and foremost, when we give, we honor God. Don t you see? When that little boy offered his five loaves and two fish to be used for the Lord s purposes, he honored Jesus. We don t really give to the church around here. We give to God through the Church. And when we do, we honor God. In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, we read these words, Deuteronomy 8:18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so confirms his covenant,. God deserves our honor because God is the source of all we have. Too often, even God s people forget that simple truth. We begin to feel that we are responsible for our own material wealth. And no doubt, we do work for it but God gives us the ability to work, and the mind, body, and creativity to produce wealth. God is still the ultimate
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 3 of 8 source. When we give to God, we are actually giving back to God. And when we do, we honor God. That s a good thing. WHEN WE GIVE, WE CONNECT TO GOD And we connect to God. Consider these words from Jesus: Matthew 6:20-21 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Listen to me, friend. God loves us and wants nothing more than for us to love Him too. God. Wants. Our. Hearts. And God knows that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be. So, if we are going to give God our hearts, we will also have to give Him our treasure. That s just the way it works. We invest in the things and in the people we love. According to the USDA, it will cost over $230,000 to raise a child born in 2015 to the age of 17. And that s not counting a college education. (www.usda.gov) But we do it we happily do it. Why? Well, we invest in our children because we love our children. Our treasure and our heart go together. Invest money in a new business or endeavor and you will find yourself thinking about that business or project with great regularity. That s the way it is with God s work too. Those who invest money in Kingdom work find themselves fully invested in Kingdom work heart and soul. Here is a boy. And when that boy gave what he had his lunch five loaves and two fish, the little boy honored Jesus and connected himself his treasure and his heart to the miracle God was about to do. That's what happens when we give to God too. And that s a good thing. BUSINESS MODEL So how do we do it? How do we give to God and God s work through the church? I m so glad you asked. First, a little history. Back in the 50 s and 60 s, the church jumped on the bandwagon with lots of other Not for Profit organizations and began raising funds through an annual pledge campaign. Every fall, the church would spend several weeks focusing on the financial ministry of the church laying out the needs and working very hard to increase the number of pledge cards turned in AS WELL AS the amount on those pledge cards. It was effective in many ways. It enabled the local church to make a marketing pitch, share financial needs, and highlight their program all in an effort to secure a pledge. People then could then be reminded of that pledge throughout the year and encouraged to make good on it. It was effective in many ways
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 4 of 8 BUT there were problems. First, many people who did make pledges did not actually make good on those pledges for a variety of reasons. Secondly, many people who did not pledge still gave. For example, when I first came here, 200 families had turned in a pledge card the previous year. BUT there were 800 plus giving units. We worked so hard that first year just to increase the number of cards turned in. And we did. 222 cards were turned in. Another problem with pledges is that many people saw that as the goal. Once they reached their pledge, there was no reason to give more, not even if they were financially blessed beyond what they had expected that year. Then, and this was really the worse part, all year long the financial office would be sending out notices not just to inform givers of the amount they had given but quite often to inform them that they were behind in their pledge. That never did feel quite right. So, 6 years ago, some bold lay leaders who were working with Stewardship here at Williamson s Chapel decided to try doing things in a brand-new way. Well, really it wasn t new at all. It was really very, very old. Basically, the decision was made to simply ask our people to support the ministry of the church by giving God s way. And that s what we ve been doing ever since. We call it the Tithing Challenge. And the result well in the six years we ve been doing this, the giving amount per giving unit here at Williamson s Chapel has gone up 34%. Pretty impressive, don t you think? God s way usually does work out pretty well, you know. TITHING So, what is tithing, anyway? A tithe is a tenth. God s people were commanded to give one tenth of their income to do God s work. Now most of the specific references to tithing are found in the Old Testament. By the time of Jesus, tithing was just part of what it meant to be faithful and committed to God. Some people will tell you that the teachings of Jesus and the freedom of the cross mean that the tithe is no longer necessary not even expected or desired by God. I just can t see that. I believe that Jesus assumed the tithe. Here s what He said: Luke 11:42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others. Now clearly Jesus felt that the Pharisees had taken a legalistic approach to tithing while ignoring so many other things God desired from his people. But even so, Jesus did not dismiss the tithe. Rather, Jesus called them to attend to love and justice AND the tithe.
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 5 of 8 Why? Well, God s motivation is always love, right. So seems to me that tithing is quite simply a channel of blessing that we can choose to open or to block. But when we open it (and friends I have witnessed this in countless lives), the blessings come pouring through. Today we are going to give you a chance to open that channel of blessing maybe for the first time, maybe once again. We are issuing an invitation to Tithing. Take out that yellow card. Here s how this works. We realize that it s not easy to just jump into this so we are not asking you to make this commitment for a full year just three months. 90 days will give you a chance to experience the blessings that are uniquely available through this act of obedience and then decide how to go forward. So look at the card. If you already tithe and you want to step up mark I tithe and will give more than the tithe for the next 3 months. If you already tithe and will continue to do so mark I tithe and will continue to tithe for the next 3 months. If you don t currently tithe but you want to mark I will tithe for the next 3 months. Then take your card to the table when you exit. Here s what will happen. You will receive a gift a different gift depending upon how many years you ve been taking the Tithing Challenge. These gifts are intended to either support you in your own spiritual walk or enable you to be a witness to others. Share gifts Book, Testimony, Devotion, Simple rules, cup, pen Throughout the next three months, you will receive emails of encouragement from me. I ll tell you how God is using the Tithing Challenge to bless our shared ministry. As I said, a tithe is 10% of your income, given to Kingdom work. You work out the details; we are not asking you to give us a dollar amount and we will not be monitoring the specifics of your giving record. This is between you and God. God is looking for ways to send blessing into your life, Beloved, and this is one tried and true way. God s motivation is love so you can count on it. With obedience comes blessing. Now I would never ask you to do something I am not doing so for the next three months, I will be giving more than the tithe. I ve been tithing since I was in the third grade and first got an allowance. My parents taught us to tithe from that moment. And I ve tithed ever since. I don t think I ve earned a single dollar that I did not give 10% to some kind of Kingdom work. Now, I say that with absolutely no pride. None. Because you see, I did not decide to tithe. I was taught to tithe just as I was taught to brush my teeth. It never even occurred to me not to tithe. I was taught to do it and I did. So, I don t take pride in tithing any more than I do in keeping my teeth clean. And to be perfectly honest, I realize now that I used to approach the tithe as a duty. I didn t
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 6 of 8 understand the full blessing that comes with the tithe until the recession in 2008. That s when a host of wonderful committed, faithful church members made their way to my office to say they could no longer honor their pledge. I realize now that s when I first begin to be uncomfortable with the whole pledge system. You know what happened in that recession. People lost jobs, small businesses closed. Pensions took a hit. And many people simply could not give what they had planned to give. One young woman was particularly upset about it all. Her husband had lost his job and she had gone back to work in her family s business. We ve always tithed, Jan. I was raised to tithe and so was Mark but we just can t give what we said we would give. That s when I saw it saw it clearly for the first time. That s when I saw the blessing of the tithe. That s when I realized that the call to tithe was indeed motivated by God s love. Diane, I said, I know you can t give what you pledged but do you think you can still tithe? Can you still give 10% of whatever you do make? She was confused. Yeah, I think we could but it won t be much. But I, well I was excited. Don t you see Diane, that s the great blessing of the tithe? When you tithe and you keep tithing the total amount you give doesn t really matter. Your actual gift may go up or down but your faithfulness is unchanged. A light came into her eyes. Blessings were pouring through. Diane took out her checkbook right then and wrote the church a check for $57.82. And she continued to write that check every week, until her husband found a new job. Our faithfulness depends not on the amount we give, but rather on the proportion we give. That way someone making minimum wage can give with an equal faithfulness to a person earning six figures. No matter the total amount a tithe is a tithe is a tithe. WHEN WE GIVE, WE BLESS OTHERS When we give, we honor God and we connect to God s work in the world. The Bible tells us exactly how to do that. Tithe. But when we give, something else happens, too. We bless others. There are people in this world, near and far, in great need and we are called to help them. Jesus modeled this. Seeing the hungry crowd, He fed them. Here is a Boy. And when that Boy gave his five loaves and two fish, not only was Jesus blessed by the gift, 5000 others were fed and blessed too. That s the way God works. In Acts 4:34-35, we read this description of life in the early church: Acts 4:34-35 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles feet and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 7 of 8 When one gives, others are blessed. You know, that s exactly what happens when you give to your church. When you give to God s work through Williamson s Chapel, your gift blesses others in countless ways. Think about it: Yes, you bless the children touched by our children s ministry but hey, those children grow up to be parents themselves. You bless the youth in our youth program but we send those youth into the area s schools where their witness touches their classmates. You bless people through opportunities to worship, grow, and serve but far more important is what happens in those opportunities as people come into a life changing, world changing, saving relationship with Jesus Christ. When you give, I want you to know that you bless God and you bless others. WHEN WE GIVE, WE ARE BLESSED But the blessings don t stop there. When we give, God is blessed, others are blessed but we are blessed too. Here is a boy. Can you imagine how that little boy felt when he saw how Jesus used his lunch to feed 5000 people? I can just hear him back at home. O Mama, you ll never believe what Jesus did with the lunch I gave Him today. It was wonderful. Of course, he was blessed. And we can make that same kind of report and receive that same kind of blessing. This is all part of God s plan. God s word is very clear about this: Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty. You know, I was a little uncomfortable with that language of test me but I looked it up. Did you know that this is the only time God says Test me in the entire Bible? This whole tithing thing must be pretty important to God. He wants His people to put Him to the test. Here s how the rest of that verse goes: and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. THE CHALLENGE And that s really what this Tithing Challenge is all about. We are challenging you to do exactly what God told His people to do in Malachi. We are challenging you to test God. To give God a chance to bless you through your obedience by choosing to give God s way by bringing in the whole tithe. But get ready. You best go ahead and make room because Friend, you can count on it. God will be opening the floodgates and the
Tithing Challenge 2018 Page 8 of 8 blessings of heaven will indeed, be coming your way. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Life Application Questions: 1. What has been your experience with Tithing? What caused you to be a tither or what has stopped you from tithing in the past? 2. How does it make your feel when you hear that God is the source of all we have? How does that understanding shape your attitude toward giving to God s work? 3. The sermon says that we bless God, bless others, and are ourselves blessed when we give. How have you been blessed by giving? 4. Will you accept the Tithing Challenge? Why or why not?