Sunday April 3, 2016 Phone: 570.829.5216 Pastor David Miklas e-mail: pastormiklas@aol.com Message: Christian Life #07 Text: Numbers 18:29-39 Give Me Thy Best INTRODUCTION: In Numbers 18:29-32 we read, Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. (30) Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. (31) And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. (32) And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die. In these verses, the Bible tells us that our gifts and offerings are to be all the best thereof, that which is the first-fruits, that which is 'first-pick' in our lives. Our gifts to the Lord are not to be the left-over s; not what we don't want. From believers, God expects our very best. There is an old song that goes Hear ye the Master s call, Give Me thy best. For, be it great or small, That is His test. Do them the best you can, Not for reward, Not for the praise of man, But for the Lord. Every work for Jesus will be blest But He asks of everyone his best. Our Talents may be few, These may be small. But unto Him is due our Best, our All. The one thing that each of us can give to God is our very best. Your best may not equal someone else's best, but God says to you, as an individual "give me YOUR best." I may not be able to do what someone else can do, but I can do MY best. Today we have a lot of folks who are playing church. They are believers and. have the right convictions. They go through the motions, but they know that they are not giving God their best. Yet, God wants YOU to give Him YOUR very best. In order to purposely give YOUR best to God, there are several areas to consider; FIRST: Give God the Best of Your Life. In Ecclesiastes 12:1 we read, Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;" God said that people who don't remember Him in their youth and give Him the best of their lives while their lives are still before them will come to the time in their lives when there is no pleasure in what they have kept for themselves and wasted in self-will. Life is time and time is life. Time is a gift from God. Time is the most precious thing that I possess, since it is the measurement of the life that I have from God. Page 1
According to Leviticus 27:30, I am supposed to tithe of EVERYTHING that I possess. Using that as a measuring stick, let me give you an example of the tithe in our time. I have 168 hours given to me each week, and a tithe of my time comes to 17 hours. If I rob God of the tithe of that time that belongs to Him, I am subject to the curse of God on my life. God did not say that he wanted the left-over minutes. He did not say, "If you have time, go to church. If you're not too busy, be a soul-winner. If you are not busy then maybe you could give God some time during the week in Bible reading and prayer." He said, "Give Me thy best." We are to give God the best of our time, the choice hours of the week; the first-fruits of our life. You never prosper when you steal from God. We have often said, "God will get his tithe," and that is true. But have you stopped to consider the man that doesn't tithe on his time? Do you not think it quite possible and even probable that he could shorten his life by 17 hours every week that he does not give the best of his life to God? You may say, "I'm having a big time. I'm living it up, and nothing is happening to me." You won't get away with stealing from God. God WILL get his tithe. You are throwing away your life when you refuse to give of your time to the Lord. We can't give God what He deserves, but we CAN give Him our best. A story is told of an old beggar man who sat by the roadside in a far country. As people passed by, they would drop a few grains of rice into the old man's bowl. One day a great shout came that the Raja was coming. The old beggar man had heard that the Raja, the king of that country, had often reached out generously to the poverty-stricken and given them a life worth living. When the caravan finally entered the village the Raja, upon seeing the old man with his clay bowl, stopped the caravan and dismounted his camel. With a stern look the Raja approached, holding out his hand, and said, "Give of your rice to the Raja." The old man could not believe his ears. He had awaited this opportunity for many years, so that the Raja would give to him, and now he said, "Give of your rice to the Raja." He reached into his bowl and slowly pulled out one grain of rice and placed it in the Raja's hand. Again, the Raja stretched forth his hand and said, "Give of your rice to the Raja." With hatred in his heart, cursing under his breath and fire in his eyes, the old man grudgingly reached into his bowl, and said, "Here's one grain, here's two grains. The rest is mine! It's all mine! I'm going to keep it for me!" Without another word the Raja turned, walked back to his camel, and the caravan moved on. As they did, one of the soldiers took a velvet bag from the Raja and walked up to the old man. He reached inside the bag and pulled out three shiny, new gold pieces and placed them in the old man's bowl. Silently, he turned to rejoin the Raja's caravan. As the old man stared speechlessly into his little clay bowl, he had no more pleasure in the worthless grains of rice. He realized that he had played the fool. For every grain of rice that he had given to the Raja, the Raja had given a gold piece in return. Had he been willing to give the whole bowl of rice, then the whole bag of gold would have been his, and his dream of a lifetime would have come true. Now he was left with a Page 2
worthless bowl of rice and a broken heart, for he knew that the Raja would not pass his way again. I remember it well the morning in June 1956 at the Billy Sunday Tabernacle in Waonnia, Ind., the Lord Jesus Christ reached out to me and said, "Give of your life to Me." I said, "Lord, it's not much, but if You can use it, I will give it all to You." I have been picking out the gold pieces ever since. You cannot out-give God. God says, "Give me the best of your life." You say, "Sunday is my only day off, and the best day for me to sleep in." God says, "Give Me thy best." SECOND: Give God the Best of Your Love. In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." How much? All of it! Give God the best of your love. That's what Jesus said to Peter in John chapter 21:15-17, So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. (16) He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. (17) He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Jesus used the word agape which meant 'divine love', but Peter answered with the word phileo, which meant 'fondness'. In essence, Jesus asked, "Peter, do you love Me with all your heart?" and Peter answered, "Lord, you know that I'm fond of You." Again Jesus asked him, "But Peter do you really love me?" Peter answered, "You know we're good buddies. I'm fond of you." Finally, Christ used the word phileo that Peter had used and said, "Peter, are you even fond of me?" Peter was grieved in his heart and said, "Lord, You know all things, and You know how much I am fond of You." Peter didn't love Christ like he should have. I've heard hypocritical people say, "I put my family first. I can't go to church faithfully and be involved because I work over-time to provide for my family and I spend all my time with them." I'll have you know that the fellow who puts God first and loves God with all of his heart will have more leftover love for his family than the guy that says his family is first, but ignores God. The reason for that is that God IS love, and when we love Him first and foremost, we tap into the reservoir of divine love, and we are capable of more love than we could ever give on our own. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." You say, "I love Jesus, but I don't go to church every time the doors are open." No, you don't love Him -- you're just fond of Him. You say, "I love Jesus, but I don't go soul-winning." No, you don't love Him -- you're just fond of Him. Page 3
You say, "I love Jesus, but I don't tithe." No, you don't love Him -- you want to be buddies, but you don't want to give Him your best. You say, "I love Jesus, but I need to take the time to read His word, so I can raise a godly family." No, you don't love Him -- you're just fond of Him. If we really love Christ, we will obey Him, for in I John 5:3 we read, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." When we truly love God, obedience will be a joy and not a burden. It bothers me that pagans and cultists are more ardent in their love for idols and evil spirits than we are for the true and living God. Some years ago, I read of a missionary nurse who worked among a heathen people. On an occasion she delivered a set of twin babies for one of the women in the village. One of the babies was fat and healthy, while the other was small and sickly. The healthy baby had a good chance for survival, but the sickly baby was almost sure to die in this primitive culture. Just days after the birth of the twins, the nurse saw the mother with her two babies down by the river's edge. She laid the sick baby down on the bank, and took the healthy child up in her arms. With tears streaming from her eyes, she gave the squirming baby one last kiss, and then held it up and muttered a few words toward the sky. Before the nurse realized what was taking place, the mother had cast the child into the river, and the jaws of a crocodile had already closed upon it. Shocked, the missionary took the mother by the shoulders and demanded, "What have you done?" Her response was "I am making sacrifice to my god." The missionary said, "If you must worship your god in this way, why did you not offer the sickly child who is sure to die? Why did you kill your only child who had a chance to live?" With a stern look, the mother responded, "I don't know who your God is, but my god deserves my best." While I am not advocating human sacrifice at all, I feel that we could learn something from the spirit of sacrifice and dedication that many pagans and cultists give to their false deities, while those of us who serve a real, loving God are content to sit back idly and do nothing for Him. THIRD: Give the Best of Your Labor. In I Corinthians 3:9 we read, For we are labourers together with God..." What a privilege! To be yoked with the Son of God in the Gospel ministry and walk side by side, carrying out His work with Him. Just like two oxen in a yoke, I can 'take His yoke upon me' and work side by side with Christ, heading in the same direction, bearing the same burden, working toward the same goal. I don't understand Christian people. You have to beat them over the head to get them to serve God, when all the time they have the blessed opportunity and privilege to be yoked with the Son of God, and spend time with Him! God says, "Give Me the best of your labor." Mormonism is a religious cult. Every time I fly into Salt Lake City airport and see the overwhelming numbers of Mormon missionaries coming and going it pains me to Page 4
see their passion for a cause that they give themselves to one-hundred percent. Yet there are souls perishing for which God gave you and me a commission, and we can't seem to get serious about it. People who will give their best are in demand. You give me the guy that doesn't have a talented bone in his body, but he'll give it everything he's got, and he'll get the job done. God wants us to give Him the best of our labor. FOURTH: Give the Best of Your Living. Now I'm going to stop preaching and start meddling. God wants us to give Him the best of our living. In Malachi 1:7-8 we read, "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. (8) And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. The priests were making sacrifice to God of what they did not want. The lame, the blind, the sick, those were the animals that they offered as a sacrifice to God, and God said, "I don't want your leftovers -- they are an abomination to Me! Give Me thy best!" People say, "Preacher, I can't afford to tithe." You are mistaken. You can't afford NOT to tithe! In Malachi 3:8-9 we read, Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation." Did you know that tithing is not just giving ten percent? Tithing means giving the first ten percent. God says we are to tithe from the first-fruits. A backslidden Baptist, trying to justify being stingy with God, asked the preacher, "Does the Bible say that you are supposed to tithe on the 'gross' or on the 'net'?" The preacher responded, "That depends on whether you want a 'gross' blessing or a 'net' blessing!" While that is humorous, it is not completely true, because if we are not giving ten percent of the first-fruits, (before Uncle Sam gets his cut), then we are not scripturally tithing. Some of you will never know the blessings of God because you don't believe that God is big enough to take care of you. You won't trust Him! Personally, I don t know what Mary Lou and I would have done in the early years of the ministry. I worked sometimes two and three part-time jobs while the church gave us a little income. But if it were not for my parents and my home church we would be what you would call poor. But we tithed from our first-fruits, and God over and over and over again provided food, money, clothes, payments for the Christian school bill, and He also provided healthy children that did not require doctor bills or medicine. By the way, God is still doing that in our lives. Someone wrote, You reap what you sow, you reap more than you sow, you reap later than you sow. If you sow sparingly, you reap sparingly. If you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. Page 5
God is big enough to take care of His people. He wants you to give Him the best of your living. How can we be satisfied with mediocrity and the status quo? We cannot give God what He deserves. We cannot give God what we owe Him. But every one of us can and should give Him our best: the best of our lives, the best of our love, the best of our labor and the best of our living. Today, why not purpose in your heart that from this day forward, you will give God your very best. *********************************************************************** If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon Give Me Thy Best right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you. Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in Acts 16:31,...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved... Romans 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation. If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, please let me know. Please send an e-mail to pdmikbbm@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life. The Weekly SERMON was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry, 48 Alexie Rd., Hanover Township, PA 18706. Privacy policy: your e-mail address will not be sold, or shared with any third party. Copy write permission: Because the Weekly SERMON will be reproduced into other formats, PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING: The Weekly SERMON in its original form, without any changes, may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and copies may be printed for individual or ministry purposes, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of the Weekly SERMON must set forth in full the heading that is given before each Weekly SERMON. Any other request for use, please contact Bible Baptist Ministries at pdmikbbm@aol.com or by phone at 570.829.5216. Page 6