YES Series Part 3 Tithing or Grace Giving Opening Passage Luke 6:38 (NKJV) Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Opening Prayer Heavenly Father I pray that today s message transition from a head knowledge into a heart revelation and through the power and the person of the Holy spirit renew our minds and transform our lives with Your word in the name of Jesus. Amen! 1
Introduction YES Series We are dealing with seemingly contradictory church doctrine or biblical passages. Before we get to my three points today, I have put today s message into context. This is not a message about money, it s a message about your heart. Q: What does King Solomon mean when he says in Ecclesiastes 10:19, money answers everything? A: There are many tests to determine the health of a physical human heart. A: The best test to check our spiritual heart health is our attitude or heart towards money and giving according to the bible. Jesus Himself taught about principles of the heart. Matthew 6:21(NKJV) For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. S: One of the most quoted scriptures in the bible (when teaching about giving money) is really about your heart. Matthew 7:1 2 (NKJV) Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. S: Jesus is teaching the same lesson Luke 6:37 38 (NKJV) Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:37 38 (NKJV)! 2
Judge not, and you shall not be judged 38 For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. Q: Do you hear money talked about here? S: The context is judgment, condemnation and forgiveness. S: Remember, He was teaching His disciples who had already left everything to follow him so I doubt money was their major struggle but apparently being judgmental, condemning and unforgiving was an issue. S: The principle is that whatever we give (kindness and love or condemnation and forgiveness will be given back to us! Q: What about generosity and money? A: Absolutely, because this is really the law of sowing and reaping! S: If you sow an apple seed you get back an apple tree with apples and more seeds to sow. S: This principle applies to everything we give, whether good or bad, tangible or intangible. Q: Is it true that when we give, we receive? Q: But what should we be most excited about: giving or receiving? S: Yes, there is a reward for giving with the right heart, but this should be only a benefit not the motive! S: One of my major pet peeves are preachers that teach, If you ll give, you ll get! S: The goal seems to be for their churches to catch the vision of getting! Q: But, is that what God s heart is? S: Nevertheless, verse 38 does teach that if you do this, then there s a blessing, a reward! Deuteronomy 15:7 8 (NKJV) If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. S: How do you think God feels when He knows that our motives are impure? Q: Are you proud of your children when they re unselfish or when you have to trick them or bribe them to be nice? S: Becoming a giver is becoming like God! S: God is trying to do a work in our hearts! S: To become givers with pure hearts, we re going to have to do two things: 1) Deal with an unhealthy heart.! 3
2) Develop a healthy heart. The first thing you must do is check your attitudes about money. 1. What is tithing? 1) The word tithe simply means a tenth or 10 percent. 2) The first instance of giving in the bible is found in Genesis 4 Genesis 4:2-7 (NKJV) Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it. In Genesis God established the timeless principle of the first and reaffirmed it in Hebrews! Hebrews 11:4 (NKJV) By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. Q: What was the problem with Cain s offering? A: He had a wrong heart! Q: You want to see what kind of heart Cain really had? Genesis 4:8 (NKJV) Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Q: See how money affected Cain? Murder was already in his heart!! God must be first and that s a matter of the heart! The first recorded instance of the tithe is found in In a battle between King s the victors looted Sodom of its possessions and people, including Abram s nephew Lot. Abram gathered his fighting men and went after Lot and in the victory also took back all of Sodom s people and possessions.! 4
Genesis 14:18-23 (NKJV) Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him a tithe of all. If you re wondering about Abram s heart, look at this 21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself. 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich This is the first record of tithing in the bible. Hebrews 7:1-8 (NKJV) For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace, 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. The tithe is the first 10% of all your increase brought into your home church to provide for the many needs of others. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.! 5
Malachi 3:8-10 (NKJV) Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, in what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. God can t fail a test but we do when we don t trust and honor God with our money! Since God owns everything, you can t rob Him of money; your robbing Him of what He values most the blessing of protecting and blessing you! Abram s gift to Melchizedek is the first record of tithing but it s also the first record of grace giving because Abram recognized all of it as belonging to God and obeyed God with the remaining 90% 2. What is grace giving? There is not a single instance of giving in the New Testament that wasn t sacrificial and yet the bible says, there was no need among them. There is much confusion over what grace giving is and regretful that many who so teach against tithing. However, NONE of them teach against giving! Article: I don t believe in tithing I don t believe for one moment that the Bible teaches us to tip God His 10% under compunction. In fact, that s the last thing it teaches us to do. So instead, let s do what the Bible actually does teach us to do. God calls us to give generously (2 Cor 8:1,2), sacrificially (2 Cor 8:3-6), deliberately (2 Cor 9:6.7) and cheerfully (2 Cor 9:7). Because when we do here s what happens. We end up giving more much more than we would have given were we just following a bunch of rules. Because now all of a sudden, it s coming from our hearts! Article: :7 Reasons Christians Are Not Required to Tithe Even though tithing isn t required today, it does not follow that believers should hoard their possessions. We are commanded to:! 6
1) support those who preach the gospel (Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:6 14; 1 Tim. 5:17 18). 2) while we should enjoy the good things God gives us, we are also called to be generous to those in need (1 Tim. 6:17 19; 2 Cor. 8 9). Wealth can so easily become an idol, leading us to abandon the Lord. Genesis 14:21-23 (NKJV) Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself. 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich Abram understood all that He had belongs to God; not just the tithe! Illustration This was only training wheels to prepare Abraham for the kind of faith it would take to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Hebrews 11:17-19 (NKJV) By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, In Isaac your seed shall be called, [a] 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. Grace giving didn t start in the New Testament church. Grace giving is not, I ll give what I say, when I say and where I say. Grace giving is, I ll give what God says, when God says and where God says.! 7
3. What does tithing and grace giving look like together? 1. Totally relinquishing all ownership to God of what He has given you. 2. Excepting responsibly for all stewardship of what God has given you. 3. Obeying what God has already said in His word about giving. Article: Tithing: Law or Grace Giving What if tithing is actually one of God's great gifts to us? What if tithing isn't opposed to grace, but is actually a vehicle of it? Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France. How do you know when to take training wheels off? The quick answer is: when they're slowing you down. How do you know when it s time to stop tithing? For all of us not living in dire poverty, the answer is when you're giving way more than 10 percent. Tithing is a bad ceiling but an excellent floor. Tithing or Grace Giving? YES! That is when God has all of your heart! Prayer! 8