Blessed to Bless Pt 2
Blessed to Bless
BIBLICAL TITHING: IS IT NECESSARY FOR CHRISTIANS TODAY?
Text: Malachi 3, Luke 6:38, Luke 16, Matthew 6:3, Proverbs 11:25, 19:17, Psalms 50:10-12
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/stress-report.pdf
https://pas.duke.edu/concerns/emotional/stress/money-related-stress/
A 2014 survey of 3,068 adults by the Harris Poll research firm revealed that 72 percent of Americans reported feeling stressed about money at least some of the time during the past month.
Twenty-two percent said they experienced extreme stress about money during the previous month.
Several years ago, a banking organization’s study revealed that 76 percent of America’s households are living paycheck to paycheck.
Half of us have saved up less than a three-month cushion of living expenses.
Nearly a quarter of all Americans have no savings at all.
A stunning number of us are one or two missed paychecks away from a full-on crisis.
“However, the costs of unwise stewardship extend far beyond just the realm of our finances. Long-term financial stress, it turns out, can seriously affect your health. It’s been linked to migraines, cardiovascular diseases, work absenteeism, insomnia, and mental health problems including depression and other mood disorders. It raises your risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. It can predispose you to unhealthy addictive behaviors as you try to “self-medicate” to feel relief from the pain of stress. All that destruction and misery resulting from an entirely preventable problem.
Tragically, these statistics don’t distinguish between followers of Christ and everyone else. And in my experience as a pastor, believers are just as likely to be suffering in these ways. That means this epidemic is swallowing up an incredible amount of money, time, and emotional energy that could have been directed at advancing the work of God’s kingdom.
All of this unhappiness and suffering is rooted in poor stewardship, which in turn is rooted ultimately in a failure to recognize that all we have belongs to God. And when you don’t know in your deepest knower that you and everything you have really is the Lord’s, it’s very hard to put Him first in our lives. Now, there’s an Old Testament term for having something other than God first in your life.” - from articles listed above and Beyond Blessed by Robert Morris
Tithe - one tenth.
The nation of Israel was ruled by God mediated His rule through 24 courses of priest.
They mediated the rule of God through the Law of Moses to the people.
The people were required to give a tithe tax to take care of those priests and the levites that served with them.
It wasn’t necessarily money. It could have been good, oil, grain, fruit.
There was a second tithe that was used to fund the feasts and festivals and other temple events.
There was a third tax that was received and distributed to the poor.
Divided out overs the year, each Jew would pay 23.3% tax.
They would be required to leave the corners of their fields when the harvested the field. This would be for the poor.
If you dropped a bale of hay off the wagon you had to leave it for the needy.
You could say the average Israelite would give roughly 24-25%.
That was taxation that was never free will giving.
Malachi 3
Free will giving in the Old Testament was whatever you wanted to give.
Review last week
Taxation was fixed amount.
Freewill giving was whatever you wanted to bring based on the heart of the giver.
The idea is that the tenth is the starting point.
Luke 6:38 - whatever you give will be given back to you.
Luke 16 - use your money for the gospel being spread.
Tithe was never free will in the Old Testament. It was the way that the nation of Israel or people of God was funded.
The Jews in the times of Jesus had a very difficult time with them tax part because the taxes were going into the hands of the Romans.
Tax collectors were the scum of the earth. They were Jews who represented Rome in like a franchise set up.
They would collect the tax for Rome.
Rome would give them an amount to collect and anything above that amount they could keep.
They made a lot of money off of doing it this way.
Zaccheus and Matthew
The money went to idolatry and the evil pagan worship Rome.
Jews didn’t like to pay their taxes.
When Jesus said render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, they didn’t like it.
Sow and Reap.
The Lord promises to bless the faithful giver. Why? Because he proves that he can be faithful so the Lord blessed his faithfulness.
Matthew 6:21
Prosperity should lead to cheerful generosity not selfish greed.
You are starting to think that, “Well, he just wants my money.”
NO! I want you blessed!!!
Proverbs 11:25
Proverbs 19:17
I HAVE REGRETTED THINGS I HAVE BOUGHT BEFORE, BUT NEVER SOMETHING I HAVE GIVEN AWAY.
Illustration: apples
How many of the apples belong to God?
ALL OF THEM!!!!
YOU ARE NOT AN OWNER, BUT A STEWARD.
IF WE THINK WE GIVE GOD 10% WE MISS IT. WE GIVE GOD 100%!
THAT’S GOD’S MONEY.
THOSE ARE GOD’S KIDS.
THATS GOD’S HOUSE.
WE ARE SIMPLY STEWARDING IT. WE THINK IT’S OURS. ITS NOT OUR’S. IT’S GOD’S.
WE ARE ALREADY STEWARDS, BUT WHAT KIND?
Oxford English Dictionary’s definitions of steward is “a person employed to manage another’s property.”
Psalms 50:10-12
Many people evaluate the quality of their stewardship based on their budgeting discipline and debt levels.
Good stewards live on a budget and are wise in their use of debt.
Being a wise steward of a great king actually means bringing increase to that ruler’s kingdom, just as the five-talent steward in Jesus’ parable did.
It ultimately won’t be about money.
It will be about souls.
It will be about lives impacted.
Money matters because poor stewards of all God has entrusted to them don’t bring increase to their Lord’s kingdom.
WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THINGS COMPETING FOR OUR RESOURCES.
TO MANY PEOPLE EAT THE SEED.
GOD TOLD YOU TO SOW IT, BUT YOU DECIDED TO BLOW IT.
WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSE TO SOW, WE EAT THE HARVEST.
WHEN YOU SOW BOUNTIFULLY, YOU WILL REAP BOUNTIFULLY.
TITHING IS NOT WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. TITHING IS WHAT WE GET TO DO.
It unlocks the blessings of God from Heaven - Malachi 3
When we tithe we build HIS kingdom.
Tithing is tied to worship.
Genesis 14:20 - it was a picture of honor.
Melchizedek was a type of Christ.
So when we tithe we are honoring Christ.
Abraham tithed, before it was part of the law.
1. Tithing Is Not Required for Salvation
2. Tithing Shows Your Love For God - where your treasure is
3. Tithing Grows Your Trust In God
4. Tithing vs Offering
https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/stress-report.pdf
https://pas.duke.edu/concerns/emotional/stress/money-related-stress/
A 2014 survey of 3,068 adults by the Harris Poll research firm revealed that 72 percent of Americans reported feeling stressed about money at least some of the time during the past month.
Twenty-two percent said they experienced extreme stress about money during the previous month.
Several years ago, a banking organization’s study revealed that 76 percent of America’s households are living paycheck to paycheck.
Half of us have saved up less than a three-month cushion of living expenses.
Nearly a quarter of all Americans have no savings at all.
A stunning number of us are one or two missed paychecks away from a full-on crisis.
“However, the costs of unwise stewardship extend far beyond just the realm of our finances. Long-term financial stress, it turns out, can seriously affect your health. It’s been linked to migraines, cardiovascular diseases, work absenteeism, insomnia, and mental health problems including depression and other mood disorders. It raises your risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. It can predispose you to unhealthy addictive behaviors as you try to “self-medicate” to feel relief from the pain of stress. All that destruction and misery resulting from an entirely preventable problem.
Tragically, these statistics don’t distinguish between followers of Christ and everyone else. And in my experience as a pastor, believers are just as likely to be suffering in these ways. That means this epidemic is swallowing up an incredible amount of money, time, and emotional energy that could have been directed at advancing the work of God’s kingdom.
All of this unhappiness and suffering is rooted in poor stewardship, which in turn is rooted ultimately in a failure to recognize that all we have belongs to God. And when you don’t know in your deepest knower that you and everything you have really is the Lord’s, it’s very hard to put Him first in our lives. Now, there’s an Old Testament term for having something other than God first in your life.” - from articles listed above and Beyond Blessed by Robert Morris
Tithe - one tenth.
The nation of Israel was ruled by God mediated His rule through 24 courses of priest.
They mediated the rule of God through the Law of Moses to the people.
The people were required to give a tithe tax to take care of those priests and the levites that served with them.
It wasn’t necessarily money. It could have been good, oil, grain, fruit.
There was a second tithe that was used to fund the feasts and festivals and other temple events.
There was a third tax that was received and distributed to the poor.
Divided out overs the year, each Jew would pay 23.3% tax.
They would be required to leave the corners of their fields when the harvested the field. This would be for the poor.
If you dropped a bale of hay off the wagon you had to leave it for the needy.
You could say the average Israelite would give roughly 24-25%.
That was taxation that was never free will giving.
Malachi 3
Free will giving in the Old Testament was whatever you wanted to give.
Review last week
Taxation was fixed amount.
Freewill giving was whatever you wanted to bring based on the heart of the giver.
The idea is that the tenth is the starting point.
Luke 6:38 - whatever you give will be given back to you.
Luke 16 - use your money for the gospel being spread.
Tithe was never free will in the Old Testament. It was the way that the nation of Israel or people of God was funded.
The Jews in the times of Jesus had a very difficult time with them tax part because the taxes were going into the hands of the Romans.
Tax collectors were the scum of the earth. They were Jews who represented Rome in like a franchise set up.
They would collect the tax for Rome.
Rome would give them an amount to collect and anything above that amount they could keep.
They made a lot of money off of doing it this way.
Zaccheus and Matthew
The money went to idolatry and the evil pagan worship Rome.
Jews didn’t like to pay their taxes.
When Jesus said render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, they didn’t like it.
Sow and Reap.
The Lord promises to bless the faithful giver. Why? Because he proves that he can be faithful so the Lord blessed his faithfulness.
Matthew 6:21
Prosperity should lead to cheerful generosity not selfish greed.
You are starting to think that, “Well, he just wants my money.”
NO! I want you blessed!!!
Proverbs 11:25
Proverbs 19:17
I HAVE REGRETTED THINGS I HAVE BOUGHT BEFORE, BUT NEVER SOMETHING I HAVE GIVEN AWAY.
Illustration: apples
How many of the apples belong to God?
ALL OF THEM!!!!
YOU ARE NOT AN OWNER, BUT A STEWARD.
IF WE THINK WE GIVE GOD 10% WE MISS IT. WE GIVE GOD 100%!
THAT’S GOD’S MONEY.
THOSE ARE GOD’S KIDS.
THATS GOD’S HOUSE.
WE ARE SIMPLY STEWARDING IT. WE THINK IT’S OURS. ITS NOT OUR’S. IT’S GOD’S.
WE ARE ALREADY STEWARDS, BUT WHAT KIND?
Oxford English Dictionary’s definitions of steward is “a person employed to manage another’s property.”
Psalms 50:10-12
Many people evaluate the quality of their stewardship based on their budgeting discipline and debt levels.
Good stewards live on a budget and are wise in their use of debt.
Being a wise steward of a great king actually means bringing increase to that ruler’s kingdom, just as the five-talent steward in Jesus’ parable did.
It ultimately won’t be about money.
It will be about souls.
It will be about lives impacted.
Money matters because poor stewards of all God has entrusted to them don’t bring increase to their Lord’s kingdom.
WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THINGS COMPETING FOR OUR RESOURCES.
TO MANY PEOPLE EAT THE SEED.
GOD TOLD YOU TO SOW IT, BUT YOU DECIDED TO BLOW IT.
WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSE TO SOW, WE EAT THE HARVEST.
WHEN YOU SOW BOUNTIFULLY, YOU WILL REAP BOUNTIFULLY.
TITHING IS NOT WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. TITHING IS WHAT WE GET TO DO.
It unlocks the blessings of God from Heaven - Malachi 3
When we tithe we build HIS kingdom.
Tithing is tied to worship.
Genesis 14:20 - it was a picture of honor.
Melchizedek was a type of Christ.
So when we tithe we are honoring Christ.
Abraham tithed, before it was part of the law.
1. Tithing Is Not Required for Salvation
2. Tithing Shows Your Love For God - where your treasure is
3. Tithing Grows Your Trust In God
4. Tithing vs Offering
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