Proverbs chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. We have been
looking at some of these Proverbs here for the
last few weeks. We looked at Proverbs 3, 5, and
6 a few weeks ago. That's probably the most well
-known of these verses in Proverbs 3. But man,
there's so many good things, I think, in these
first 12 verses. It's a lot of... A lot of things
for us to consider that are good for us. Proverbs
chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. When we see kind of
a theme in these first 12 verses of Proverbs
chapter 3, there's a command and a result. Like
here's the command and here's what's going to
happen. Here's what you should do and here's
the result if you do what I tell you to do. And
we see that same theme carried over today in
Proverbs chapter 3, verses 9 and 10. We'll read
through these two verses, then we'll pray, and
we'll get started. Honor the Lord with your possessions
and with the first produce of your entire harvest.
Then your barns will be completely filled. and
your vats will overflow with new wine. Let's
pray. God, we thank you for these good words,
and I pray, dear Lord, that we would understand
what they say. I pray that your Holy Spirit would
be among us today, dear Lord. I pray that we
would block out any of the distractions and the
worries and the stresses and the thoughts and
the fears and just normal daily stuff that we
got on our mind. I pray. that in these next few
minutes you would just block that out, dear Lord.
I pray that you would help us to rejoice in the
many blessings you give us, dear Lord. Sometimes
we just, we lose sight of those things, but I
pray, God, that we would rejoice in you for that.
I pray, God, that you would help me to preach
and teach in a way that brings glory and honor
to you, that you'd take away any pride or any
fear that's within me today, God, that you would
let your Holy Spirit speak, God. That the words
that come out of my mouth would be the words
that you would desire for us to hear. God, that
your words today would change our heart. And
I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well,
these verses are pretty simple. Make sure to
give you 10 % to the church and you'll always
have more than enough money and God will bless
your bank account. Amen. Let's go home. Well,
not so fast. Not so fast. I think sometimes we
may read passages like this and maybe that's
where our mind goes to. And certainly you will
hear plenty of pastors that will preach exactly
what I just told you. Sadly, I think incorrectly
so. But you're all smart folks and I encourage
you always to read the scriptures. Don't ever
just listen to me or any other preacher for that
matter. You pray and you look over the scriptures
and you let the Holy Spirit convict you. But
this passage, I believe, is good for us to consider
today. Honor the Lord with all your possessions,
with the first fruit of your produce. Then your
barns will be completely filled and your vats
will overflow with new wine. Well, what does
that mean for us today? Is there some things
we should consider? And I believe that there
are. When we look at the Old Testament, we certainly
see that things were done much different in the
Old Testament than what we do today. And a lot
of those things, if not all of those things,
are things of the past. Jesus has come, and we
follow the things that Jesus said, but what are
we to do with the things that we see in the Old
Testament? Well, one of those things, and this
is hotly debated among Christians and has been
and will continue to be, And maybe there will
be some debates after the sermon today. I don't
know. But in the Old Testament, God was pretty
clear about a lot of things. And one of those
things was tithing. That's what tithe means is
a tenth. A tenth of what you had was supposed
to be given to the Lord. But it's not really
that simple. Because in the Old Testament, there
were three tithes that were to be taken. One
was to be taken every year, and it was to be
given for the storehouses of God. What does that
mean? Well, the storehouses of God, that was
the tabernacle and eventually the temple, and
the Levites were the ones who would take care
of all of those things, and they weren't given
an allotment of land. When God divided the land
among the Israelites, the Levites did not get
a portion of the land that was their own. So
therefore, they were dependent. on the other
tribes to provide for their needs. And since
it was the Levites who were the ones who were
going to take care of all the tabernacle and
the temple service, God commanded that a tenth
of what everybody else had be given to put into
God's storehouses so that the Levites, the priests,
the ones taking care of things, so that they
would be able to survive. So that's part of the
tenth that we see, but that's not the only tithe
that we see in the Old Testament. Another tithe
that we see in the Old Testament is actually
for the people themselves. One of the tithes
is that God set a place aside where God would
reside, which ultimately became Jerusalem, and
every year the people were to take a tenth of
what they had, they were to travel to Jerusalem,
and they were to feast on that tenth of what
they had and rejoice in the Lord and the presence
of the Lord. And if it was too far for them to
bring the things that they needed to bring, then
they could sell it where they were, bring the
money with them to Jerusalem, and buy the things
that they needed to have this feast. It was a
feast tithe, if you can call it that, where they
would come together in Jerusalem and rejoice
in the Lord, and the people would partake of
the tithe that they brought. And then there's
another tithe that's mentioned. In every third
year, that a tenth is to be taken up. And this
tenth is to be taken up partially for the Levites,
but also for the widows and the foreigners and
the orphans in the land. And that was to be every
third year. Now, those are the three tithes that
we see in the Old Testament. Now, some would
say, okay, well, that's 30%, but not really,
because every third year you give a tenth. So
23 and a third percent every year. We're not
going to get caught up in the math. There's a
lot of people that would debate those things.
But when we talk about giving, especially here
in the Old Testament, we need to understand what
the Old Testament giving looked like and what
the importance of that tithe was like. Now, if
you go read in Malachi chapter 3, you're going
to see a story where God calls his people out.
And he says, look, you are robbing from me. And
the people say, well, how, God, are we robbing
from you? And he says, because you're not bringing
your tithe, your tent, into the storehouses.
If you would bring into the storehouses what
I told you to, then you would be blessed greatly.
He says, test me in this way. And to my knowledge,
I think that's the only scripture which God says,
test me. Now, we shouldn't make a habit of testing
God, but in this instance, this is what God calls
his people to, is that they are to give a tent,
that they are to give a tithe, but not just one
tent. There's multiple tents that are given throughout
the years. And God does certainly stand by his
word there. God does want to bless us. And there
are certainly plenty of people who would say,
oh yeah, well, we need to give a tent to the
church and then God's going to bless us tremendously.
Well, there is some truth in that, I believe.
But I don't know that that's the main thing that
we need to take from passages like these. That
might be where our mind goes. And so the question
is often raised, well, How much money should
I give in church today? Well, we have to think
for a second here because there's been a change
since Jesus Christ has come. There's been a change
from what we do today and what we do in the Old
Testament. And oftentimes people will say, and
many preachers will say, and many Christians
believe, and perhaps rightly so, that a tenth
of everything we have is to be brought into the
church. Well, where do we get that from? Well,
we don't really get it from anywhere because...
That's not exactly what took place in the Old
Testament. But nonetheless, God did command his
people in those days to bring things and to bring
them into the church, and should we be required
to do so today? Well, I don't really know that
the New Testament would teach that in the same
way. There'd be plenty of Christians who would
say, absolutely, we're all here to give one tenth,
and the other tenths that are mentioned in the
Old Testament, those don't count. It's just one
tenth, and that's good enough. But the Old Testament
never speaks of tithing in that way. The Old
Testament really has a whole different heart
of giving. Now, when you look at the early church,
when people begin to become Christians, what
we see is that these people are on fire for the
Lord, and it says that they're pretty much given
everything. They're coming together. They're
giving everything for the service of the Lord.
Now, some will say, well, yeah, but that was
just in that day and time. That's not what God
requires of us today or desires of us today.
Okay, maybe so, maybe not. That's something we
have to pray about and we have to seek the Lord
about. But we see in the passage here this beautiful
command that God says, honor the Lord with all.
your possessions. So does that just mean giving
a tenth to the church? I don't think so. Now,
it's between you and the Lord whether or not
you give a tenth to the church. That's got nothing
to do with me. That's only got to do with you
and the Lord. If you feel convicted that you
need to give a tenth of what you get to the church,
then so be it. If you don't feel convicted, then
so be it. But what I think God wants more than
anything is not for us to be legalistic with
what God has given us, But God wants us to have
a right heart when we give. I think that God
wants us to use what we've been given to serve
him. And maybe that means putting 10 % of what
you got in this church offering plate. Doesn't
matter to me if you do or not. That's between
you and the Lord. Maybe it means putting 20%,
50%. Maybe it means putting 80 % of what you
make into the church offering plate. Maybe it
don't mean putting anything in the church offering
plate. Maybe there's something that God's blessed
you with and maybe there's somebody else you
can help in the community. Maybe there's another
need. Maybe you got paid this week and you've
got your paycheck and you said, okay, God, I
want to give you some of what I got from this
paycheck. Maybe it's 1%, maybe it's 50%. Maybe
you're planning to put it in a church and maybe
you're on the way to the church and between your
house and the church, you come across somebody
and there's a need. and you see a family at the
gas station and you stop for a cold drink and
they come over to you and they say, excuse me,
me and my family, we're on a trip and we're going
from A to Z and we got a long way to go and we're
out of money and we haven't eaten in the last
day and we need a couple of tanks of gas to get
us where we're going and we could sure use some
food. We're going to need about $300. Could you
help us? Well, maybe things have been really
tight for you and you're getting by and you're
doing okay and you got your check and the first
thing you did was you took out... $300, because
that's the amount that you decided you wanted
to give back to the Lord. And this person, here
they are saying, I got $300, and now you've got
a decision to make. Dang, I'm going to put that
in the church. Now these people need help. What
do I do? What do I do? I'll tell you what I would
do. I'd give them the $300. That's what I'd do.
Now, you may be saying, well, golly, things are
tight at the church, and if I don't put money
in there, maybe the preacher ain't going to get
paid. I'll tell you what I'd tell you to do.
I'd tell you to give the people the money and
don't worry about me getting paid or the lights
staying on or anything else. I'd say if God presents
a need to us and we have the ability to meet
that need, I don't believe that it matters whether
it's in the offering plate or whether it's to
the person we meet on the street. Now that's
what I believe scripture calls us to, but there
are plenty of Christians and some of you perhaps
who would disagree with that. And I am not the
Holy Spirit, so don't make a decision based on
what I'm convicted of, but seek the Lord. I think
what's more important than any percentage that
we give is the heart in which we give it with.
And I think if we see people in need, then we
need to help those people. If we see that this
church is doing good for the kingdom of God,
then it's good, I believe, for us to give. I
don't think it's wrong for us to put money in
an offering plate. Praise the Lord. The Lord
has given us plenty of opportunities, and there
are a lot of opportunities that as a church,
people come to us, they're brought before us,
and God gives us the opportunity to meet those
needs. But I think we need to realize that everything
that we have, it comes from the Lord. And so
all that stuff about trying to figure out tithing
in the Old Testament, should I help a person
on the street? Should I help by putting money
in the plate? I think we miss the point sometimes
when we get caught up in those areas. We get
caught up in the weeds sometimes. And we missed
the point, and I think the real point of what
God wants us to realize is that everything we
have comes from him. Everything we have comes
from him. And Proverbs calls us to honor the
Lord with all our possessions. And the question
that you have to consider today... Are you doing
that? I'm not asking you if you're just putting
some money in the plate. I'm not asking you if
you're just giving money for this, that, and
the other. I'm asking you if you're honoring
the Lord with all of your possessions. I'm asking
you if when you give, you give from the heart.
Do you just give so somebody will see you put
it in the plate? Do you just give because you
feel guilty? Or do we realize today and do we
rejoice in the fact that it's God who has blessed
us with everything that we have? And it's God
who's going to provide for us. I think that's
something we see. We see something that's kind
of counterintuitive in this passage. Now we think,
okay, I've got X, Y, and Z bills that I need
to pay. and I've got this amount of money, and
I'm going to be able to pay these bills with
this amount of money, and I can't afford to take
from my money, or else I won't pay my bills.
So therefore, I cannot serve the Lord in any
way. I can't help others. I can't put some money
in the plate at church, because if I take from
what I have, I will not have enough. Now, that's
a normal human thing. I mean, we can do math.
We can put numbers on a page, and we can say,
I've got X bills, and I've got this much money.
And I cannot take from this. But what we see
in Scripture is a call from the Lord that calls
us to do something that's counterintuitive. God
says, use what you've got to honor me. Use what
you've got to help others. That was part of the
tithe that they took up in the Old Testament,
was to help others in need, the poor and the
widows and the orphans, the foreigners. This
is part of... what the money was used for. And
God says, look, don't hold on to everything that
you've got and become greedy. Don't think you've
got to hold on to it because I've got just enough
to get by. God says, everything you have comes
from me. And I want you to use what you have
to honor me. I want you to use what you have
in the service of my kingdom. I want you to use
what you have to serve others. And what does
God tell us in this passage and throughout the
scriptures? I'm going to take care of you. Now,
I don't believe for a second that passages like
this are an absolute guarantee that God's going
to make you a millionaire. Now, there are plenty
of people who will say that. If you ain't got
enough money, it's because you ain't given enough
money. I heard a preacher this week. He said,
he said this now. He said the reason why Jesus
hadn't returned to this earth is because Christians
ain't given enough money. And if you want Jesus
to come back, if you're waiting on him, then
you need to call the 800 number. And he said,
and I quote, he said, and if you will call this
800 number today, God will look over at Jesus
and he'll say, go get them. Well, maybe that's
from the Lord. Maybe I shouldn't be talking about
that. But I'm going to tell you what, I don't
think that that's what this scripture means.
I don't think that that's what Malachi chapter
3 means. I don't think God's saying, I want to
make you a millionaire and the only thing that's
holding me back is that you won't let me do it.
So just, if you could put a $10 ,000 check in
this plate before you leave today, you might
get $20 ,000 in your bank account. I don't think
that that's... What God's word says. Now, I'm
not telling you to look. I'm going to tell you
what God's good and God does bless us. And I
bet you many of you in here could talk about
a time where God has blessed you abundantly.
And praise the Lord that he does that. He does
do that. I'm not saying that God does not bless
us abundantly. But what this passage says is
he says, look, you need to honor the Lord with
your possessions, with the first fruit. You need
to give God your best. and he's going to fill
your storehouses. You might even have a little
extra left over. Your wine vats will overflow.
Filling the storehouses doesn't necessarily mean
that it's just going to be a whole lot more,
that it's just going to be super, super wealth.
Your storehouse, I believe, is enough to get
by. You go to the store, every one of you in
here. You say, okay, here's the groceries I need
for this week. You go to the grocery store, you
get those groceries, you come home and you put
them in the refrigerator. That's your storehouse.
You got enough to get by. You might not have
an abundance, but you got enough to get by. And
you say, where am I going to get the food from
next week? My storehouse is full this week. Where
is it going to come from next week? It's going
to come from the Lord. Now, it may not be full
of T -bones. It may not be full of filet mignon.
It might not be full of the finest things, but
I believe that God is so faithful to provide
for his people. I bet you there are plenty of
you in this room that could tell a time that
you didn't know how you were gonna get by. You
didn't know where your next meal was gonna come
from. You didn't know how you were gonna be able
to pay your bills. You didn't know how you were
gonna be able to buy groceries. You didn't know
how you were gonna get shoes for your kids. There
were times that you did not know where it was
gonna come from. And the Lord provides in some
way. Somebody will show up and give you money
that you don't even know why they're giving it
to you. They'll bring you groceries. You'll get
a random check in the mail from some refund from
something you done forgot about. And there are
so many ways in which God takes care of us. And
I believe that that's what this passage means.
Does God bless us abundantly sometimes? Absolutely.
Praise the Lord. but we can't treat our giving
to the Lord like it's some slot machine at Las
Vegas. All right, I'm ready to hit it big. I'm
going to keep putting more in, putting more in,
putting more in. One day, if I keep putting enough
in, one day I'm going to hit it big and I'm going
to get it all. Maybe so. Maybe the Lord will
choose to bless you in that way. But I think
more than worry about what we're going to receive,
we need to be thinking about What we can give.
Are we honoring the Lord with all of our possessions
today? Maybe we are. Maybe we're not. Maybe we
need to think about that. Maybe we do help in
some way, praise the Lord. Maybe there are other
ways that we can help. But I think that that's
what God cares about more than anything. is the
heart in which we give. So maybe you know somebody
where there's a need today. Maybe you know a
neighbor or a family member or a friend. If you
don't know them today, maybe God will put them
into your path tomorrow. There are tons of ways
that we can serve. There are tons of ways in
which we can use what we have to honor the Lord,
but our natural human tendency, what we really
want more than anything, It's to use it on ourselves.
I expect every one of us. That's probably something
we fight against. I mean, that's just natural.
That's the first thing that comes to our mind.
We want to help ourselves. But what God calls
us to is to honor him with our possessions. Maybe
that means giving some up to the church. Praise
the Lord. Look, we've got to have money. It's
a fact of life. These lights have to be on. We
got to have water. There's a lot of stuff that
has to be done to keep a church going. You know,
and there's some people, they'll say, I ain't
giving to the church because I don't like the
preaching and I don't like that kind of new music
they're singing. Man, that's not a good heart
to have. Do you like the air conditioning and
the heat? If for nothing else, just give for
that reason. You're sitting on a padded pew,
that costs money. But giving to the church, praise
the Lord, I think that that's a good thing. I
think we should do that. But I don't think that
should be the extent of our service to the Lord.
So maybe there are some ways that you could honor
the Lord with your possessions. Maybe not your
money. Maybe you don't have a lot of money. Maybe
you got some time. Maybe you got some skill you
could use to help somebody else. Maybe you got
a tool that somebody could use. Maybe you got
a truck that you could use for some way to haul
people around in service of the Lord. Those are
all things that are our possessions. It's not
just the money in our bank account. It's all
that God has blessed us with, our talents, our
abilities, everything. Are we using those things
for the Lord? We don't want to give the Lord
our leftovers. We don't want to say, okay, God,
I'll do what I want to do, and whatever's left,
God, I'll use that to serve you, or I'll use
that little bit of money left. You know, we see
with Cain and Abel early on in the scripture
that Abel brought the best, the best of his flocks.
And it says Cain brought some of his produce,
some. His heart didn't desire to give the Lord
the best. His heart desired to give the Lord
just enough to get by. And maybe sometimes we
fall into that trap too. This is not a sermon
to say give more money. That's between you and
the Lord. This is a sermon to say are we using
what we have that God has blessed us with in
service to him? Are we helping those in need
when we can? Maybe there are times you can and
maybe there are times you can't. This isn't a
sermon to make you feel guilty. Look, there are
some times in life where we have a lot to give.
Praise the Lord. And there are other times in
life where Things are really tight. And maybe
you don't have the money to give. I heard of
a preacher this week. A radio show I listened
to. A guy called in. He said a lady of his church,
she confessed her sin in the middle of church.
Told the pastor that she was $5 ,000 behind on
her tithing. She didn't know what she was going
to do. And you know what the preacher told her?
He said, it's okay. We'll set you up on a repayment
plan. I don't know who gives, what you give,
or if you give, and I don't really care. That's
between you and the Lord. There are times that
we have and we can do and we can give. And when
we do, we need to. And when you can't, the Lord
knows your heart. But I suspect if we look that
there's something in our life, if not our finances,
that there's something that God has blessed us
with. And we need to use that blessing for others
in whatever way we can. God says, if you'll just
listen to me and you'll serve me, I'll take care
of you. And he does. He has been so faithful
to do that in my life. And maybe you can attest
to that in your life. That God is faithful. But
are we faithful to God? The most beautiful thing
that God could ever give us was Jesus Christ,
that our sins could be forgiven. That he would
give his life for us. We'd repent of our sins,
that our sins would be forgiven. That's the most
beautiful thing anybody could ever give. God
gave his only begotten son. Perhaps there's something
today that you could give. Perhaps there's something
you could give, some way that you could love
someone and help someone. So the question remains,
and only you can answer it today, are you honoring
the Lord with all your possessions? If not, then
pray and ask the Lord to help you to see opportunities
where you failed in that way or opportunities
where you can serve better. And I can just about
guarantee you that he's going to help you to
be able to see. those opportunities to serve.
Let's pray. God, we come to you now. We thank
you for your good words. God, I pray that we
don't get too caught up in the weeds about a
tenth of this and a tenth of that and where it
needs to go to and how often we need to give
it, dear Lord. We see your commands in the Old
Testament, but dear Lord, I think even in those
commands, you had a purpose. Your real heart,
dear Lord, was... partially we see to take care
of others, God. And what a beautiful call that
is for us today. We thank you that we are able
to come into this place, God, that as brothers
and sisters in Christ, we can use our monies
for ministry for you, dear Lord, for sleeping
bags, for shoeboxes, for helping the person who
can't afford groceries, for helping the person
who's... out of work with illness, for helping
the person who needs medications they can't afford.
Dear Lord, the list goes on and on and on of
ways that you call us to serve, that you call
us to give, that you call us to use what we have
to be a blessing to others. So God, I pray that
we would trust you in that way. Dear Lord, for
those today that are struggling, I pray that
you would help them. Maybe there are some, dear
Lord, and things are really tight, God. And maybe
they don't have a lot financially to give, dear
Lord. You know, I pray that you just, you meet
their needs. God, this isn't a sermon of condemnation
to make people feel guilty, dear Lord. This is
just a call for us to rejoice. Rejoice when we
have and use what we have and just trust in you,
dear Lord. God, perhaps there are times that
in our life we are able to give. And maybe there
are other times, dear Lord, where we are the
ones who need to receive. God, I pray that if
there are any who have a need today that are
struggling, that just having hard times, I pray
that they let me know, dear Lord, that as a church
we can help them, but God, that they would continue
to seek you to know that you would meet their
needs. Dear Lord, we know that your blessings
are so good to us, and I pray that we would rejoice
in that. We know that God, Many times you do
bless us abundantly, dear Lord. Your word doesn't
guarantee or promise us great wealth, but golly
God, by the standards of the world, we are pretty
wealthy whether we realize it or not. And so
I pray that you would just help our minds and
our hearts just to ponder these words of Proverbs
today. Not to make us feel guilty, dear Lord.
make us feel condemned, but just to examine our
life and say, okay, what are we doing with what
you give me? And God, maybe we're doing pretty
good. Maybe we're doing all you want us to do.
Maybe God, there are some other areas where we
possess something that we can use for the furtherance
of your kingdom. So God, I pray that you help
us to see those things, that you help us to see
the blessings, that you help us to see maybe
there is a little more that we could do. That
we would give with a free heart, dear Lord. Your
word says it's more blessed to give than to receive.
God, what you care about more than anything is
not just us going through the motions of putting
more money in the plate, dear Lord. What you
want as far as to give from a pure heart. So
God, I pray that you would help us to be a giving
people in whatever way. whether it's at the church
or on the street or in another country, dear
Lord, whatever the needs are that you lead us
to give to, God, I pray that you would help us
to live in obedience to you and to give to those
needs and to help those in need where we can.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.