1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,640 In the most definite way, the Lord has directed me toward the message for this morning. 2 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:16,120 The deliverer of this message was impressed on me more than two weeks ago, and I feel 3 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:25,520 it so urgently in my spirit that I have decided to interrupt the series on the new you for 4 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,640 just today. 5 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,920 Last week we had a guest speaker, and the next two weeks we will be at our missions 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,480 festival, so it seems that this would be an appropriate time. 7 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:40,680 I earnestly desire that you will receive this message in the same spirit and with the heart 8 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,680 in which it is given to you. 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:51,480 For a long time now, I have struggled with the Lord over an issue related to our church, 10 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:59,600 and God has clearly shown me that the issue that I have wrestled with is partly rooted 11 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:07,720 in my own failure, a failure to teach you the whole counsel of God in a crucial area 12 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:12,640 of discipleship and Christian growth. 13 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:20,560 This failure reflects a defect in my understanding of biblical teaching in recent years. 14 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:28,400 Over a decade ago now, I came under the convincing influence of a Bible expositor who became 15 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:34,840 a friend of mine and sort of a model to me. 16 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:41,040 His teaching in this matter, which I am going to talk about today, swayed me to modify a 17 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:49,040 doctrine which earlier in my ministry had been settled as an issue for me. 18 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:56,120 Thus my prior convictions were changed and my preaching was muted with regard to this 19 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:07,880 vital teaching, one that is especially critical, I think, in this day and culture. 20 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,960 My change of thinking did not alter my own practice, however, with regard to this matter 21 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,840 I am addressing. 22 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:23,440 Our family continued doing what it had always done, but my change of thinking did impact 23 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:29,600 this church when its foundation was laid ten years ago. 24 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:37,800 And unfortunately, it also played into some very powerful trends in our culture. 25 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:44,160 The result of that, I fear, has been measurable and visible. 26 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:49,520 And so I am today publicly repenting. 27 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:58,880 The word repentance means a change of mind, and I have changed my mind. 28 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:03,320 And today I want to lay before you with God's help what earlier in my ministry had been 29 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:09,320 understood but which I then later forsook. 30 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:16,600 In forsaking it, I feel that I have failed the Lord as well as you by not adhering to 31 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,080 a biblical principle. 32 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:27,840 My prior change a few years ago was sincere, but I believe it nonetheless missed the mark 33 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:32,720 of being biblically on target. 34 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:39,920 The doctrine which I fail to articulate fully is that regarding how God has ordered His 35 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:43,240 work in the world to be financially supported. 36 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:53,080 While here at Grace Church over the last ten years, I have written and taught about what 37 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:57,520 I have termed and others have termed grace giving. 38 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,960 The terminology, by the way, which I very much like and still adhere to. 39 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:11,760 For our giving to God, you see, is an answer to His abundance of grace toward us, and is 40 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:17,040 also an expression of His grace active in our lives. 41 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:25,360 Grace giving is a good term, and I would not wish to discard it. 42 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:36,840 But it has been gutted of a central biblical principle as we and some others have abused 43 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,560 it. 44 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:50,280 We have extracted from the term grace giving the key biblical principle of tithing, which 45 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:57,160 means giving to God 10% of our increase. 46 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:05,200 I have come to see that tithing is not, indeed, contrary to God's grace, but rather it is 47 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,960 an evidence of God's grace in the life of God's child. 48 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:17,120 Note that I did not call tithing a regulation or an ordinance. 49 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:23,800 Tithing is not a law that we keep as part of our covenant with God, as was true with 50 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,280 ancient Israel under the law of Moses. 51 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:34,280 Indeed, if you recall under their covenant with God, the Israelites were commanded to 52 00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:38,880 give not one tithe, but three. 53 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:47,080 Two of those tithes were annual tithes, and another was given every third year, which 54 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:58,280 makes an average of 23% annually, which God required of His people. 55 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:06,560 The tithing as an expression of worship existed before the law of Moses. 56 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:12,640 Tithing is recorded, for example, in Genesis 14, when Abraham, or Abram as he was called 57 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:22,920 then, presented a tithe to Melchizedek, the king of Salem, and that was over 400 years 58 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:29,360 before the law of Moses was given. 59 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:39,440 His grandson Jacob also promised a tithe to God in Genesis 28. 60 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:45,540 I have changed my mind and have come back to the place where I began in my ministry 61 00:06:45,540 --> 00:06:50,200 in seeing tithing as a principle of biblical stewardship. 62 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:57,460 It predated the law by hundreds of years, and I believe still exists as a principle 63 00:06:57,460 --> 00:07:00,460 after the law. 64 00:07:00,460 --> 00:07:07,440 It certainly was included in the Mosaic law, but it was not initiated by it. 65 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:17,220 Tithing is a principle that appears to be universal and timeless in its application. 66 00:07:17,220 --> 00:07:23,920 The fact is that God does honor those who tithe their income, and I believe that it 67 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:34,160 can be substantiated that He does also withhold blessing from those who do not tithe. 68 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:40,600 I would like you to open your Bible with me to a central passage on tithing, which is 69 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:45,120 found in the book of Malachi, the third chapter. 70 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:50,320 Now if you are among those who hate to begin looking for Malachi among all those little 71 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:57,640 books of the minor prophets, just go to Matthew and put it in reverse, and you will quickly 72 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:02,840 come to Malachi. 73 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,280 I am going to begin reading in verse 7. 74 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:12,280 God is laying before the people of Israel here an indictment of their rebellion and 75 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:19,000 their sin against Him under their covenant. 76 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,040 And as part of this broader indictment He says to them, From the days of your fathers 77 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:29,000 you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. 78 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:34,960 Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 79 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:40,200 But you say, How shall we return? 80 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,840 Here's God's response. 81 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:49,120 All a man robbed God, yet you are robbing Me. 82 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:53,720 But you say, How have we robbed thee? 83 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,120 In tithes and offerings? 84 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:03,240 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you. 85 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:08,920 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and 86 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:13,120 test Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts. 87 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:18,600 If I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until 88 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:27,240 it overflows, then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits 89 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:34,840 of the ground, nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes, says the Lord of hosts. 90 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,680 And all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land, says the 91 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:42,600 Lord of hosts. 92 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:49,840 Now as I talk about this subject today, I can almost hear some skeptics say, This must 93 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:53,880 be surely a foxhole conversion. 94 00:09:53,880 --> 00:10:00,160 The church needs money, and the pastor is changing his mind because of it. 95 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:06,560 I will acknowledge to you that God has used the accumulated pressure that I have felt 96 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:13,760 for nearly eleven years of financial stress in this ministry to get my attention. 97 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:16,560 God has used that. 98 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:24,020 I have wondered, and at times struggled with the question, as to why we have fairly consistently 99 00:10:24,020 --> 00:10:33,280 been throttled back in our vision and ministry by financial shortfall. 100 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:41,000 And to be candid, the Lord has showed me through this period some important things, including 101 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:50,240 the fact that financial abundance does not always signify the Lord's presence or blessing, 102 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:57,720 nor does shortfall always signal his discipline and displeasure. 103 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:06,240 But God has impressed upon me that he has, in fact, placed the resources needed for our 104 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:11,260 full ministry within our church. 105 00:11:11,260 --> 00:11:18,360 The persistent shortfall is not because God has failed to provide what has been needed. 106 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:20,520 God has provided it. 107 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:29,000 Rather, the problem is that some of the resources which he has provided have been misused and 108 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,440 misspent by those to whom God has given them. 109 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:47,280 They have been wasted on satisfying personal desires rather than being used for what God 110 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:55,040 had intended. 111 00:11:55,040 --> 00:12:07,480 Some are savoring pleasures and luxuries pressed upon them by a materialistic culture, while 112 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:19,240 the work of God languishes and faces decline. 113 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:29,760 They waste God's funds on unneeded gadgets and toys, pleasures and possessions. 114 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:37,760 Indeed, it may well be that God has in fact provided an abundance for the ministry of 115 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:50,280 our church, but that that abundance has funded not the work of God but our own personal ambitions 116 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,740 and pleasures. 117 00:12:52,740 --> 00:12:54,840 And God has convicted me. 118 00:12:54,840 --> 00:13:02,680 A part of the responsibility for this is mine, for not instructing more carefully in the 119 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:13,440 principles of stewardship, and particularly the central piece of it, the one of tithing. 120 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:19,960 The Bible has a lot to say about our money. 121 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:26,640 We sometimes take that personally, believing that that is my business. 122 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:32,640 But as we are going to see in a few moments, it is not in fact our business. 123 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:38,200 God has a lot to say about money because what we have in our bank accounts is His and not 124 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:43,840 ours. 125 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:49,120 Over 700 times in the Bible, God refers directly to our money. 126 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:53,400 Over 700 times. 127 00:13:53,400 --> 00:14:04,040 And 2,200 additional times, God indirectly talks to us regarding our money. 128 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:13,720 Money is a real issue, and God deals with real issues. 129 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:18,480 Among the principles that we find in the Word of God related to stewardship are these. 130 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:27,080 Number one, all that we have is the Lord's, all of it. 131 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:33,640 We own or possess nothing of our own. 132 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:42,960 It is all His and He has chosen to loan it to us for our use in this life. 133 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:49,640 We came to the world with nothing in our hands, and as someone pointed out rather graphically 134 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:58,080 to me a few weeks ago, He has never yet seen a hearse with a U-Haul in the back of it. 135 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:02,240 We leave it all here. 136 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:12,540 It is committed into our hands for our lifetime to use, but we do not possess it. 137 00:15:12,540 --> 00:15:16,480 Some see what is given to the Church as the Lord's money. 138 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:23,000 But in fact, the truth is that all of it is the Lord's money. 139 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:32,200 Whether I give it to the Lord's work, or I use it to buy groceries, or to pay my utilities, 140 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:40,240 or to purchase some unnecessary indulgence, it is all the Lord's. 141 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:46,440 Most of us would immediately respond, well, I believe that. 142 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:56,240 Yet the failure in stewardship is evidence that many of us do not really believe that, 143 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:02,600 because if we don't act upon what we say we believe, we don't really believe it. 144 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:14,800 The facts say that most of us think that what we have is ours. 145 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:22,480 Let's suppose that I gave you my checkbook, and I said that you have the power to write 146 00:16:22,480 --> 00:16:29,740 checks on my account, and I want you to give away my money. 147 00:16:29,740 --> 00:16:37,160 I want you to pay my bills, and then I want you to give away the rest of it. 148 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,600 Would you find that hard to do? 149 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:45,660 It might be harder than you think. 150 00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:52,880 Most of us wouldn't find it very hard to give away somebody else's money, would we? 151 00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:59,280 Then why do we find it so hard to give away what is God's? 152 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:05,000 It's because our perspective is that it isn't really God's, it's mine. 153 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:13,240 But one of the basic principles of stewardship in the Bible is that all we have is the Lord's. 154 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:23,120 The second principle is that regular giving of 10% of our gross income, or a tithe, signifies 155 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:29,000 our realization of God's ultimate ownership of everything. 156 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:37,240 That 10% represents the whole of the increase as belonging to God. 157 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,960 The owner has a right to tell us how to allocate what is his, he has a right to tell us what 158 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:50,560 to do with it, and God says, you bring 10% of your income, signifying that you understand 159 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:55,120 all of its mine. 160 00:17:55,120 --> 00:18:02,720 The principle of the tithe, you see, is a God-planned reminder of the basic principle 161 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:04,720 of God's ownership. 162 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:12,520 But someone argues, my motive may not be right for doing that, and so if my motive isn't 163 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:18,360 right I might as well not give it all. 164 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:25,160 To put it a different way, that says, I don't feel like giving my tithe to God. 165 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,240 I don't feel like it. 166 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:36,280 But should our actions be dependent upon our feelings, or by what we know is obedience? 167 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:45,760 There really is no excuse for not doing what we know is right. 168 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,120 This will finally catch up with us. 169 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:55,680 It is better to do what is right with wrong motives, if that be the case, than not to 170 00:18:55,680 --> 00:19:00,800 do what is right at all. 171 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:09,520 The deeper issue is the root of that wrong motive, which is often a failure to realize 172 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:16,240 that the money is God's anyway, and we are simply giving the Lord what is His and not 173 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,240 ours. 174 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:26,000 James says, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, it is what? 175 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,000 It's sin. 176 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:39,160 If you were driving down the street and you saw a member of our church coming out of an 177 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:49,400 X-rated theater, do you think you would have a responsibility to stop and say something? 178 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:55,200 Or later to call that friend of yours in the church and say, my friend, I want to ask you 179 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:56,200 about something? 180 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:05,720 Of course you would, because your friend is struggling with sin. 181 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:14,720 Or if you knew that there was abuse going on in a home of a wife or of children, would 182 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:19,520 you have a responsibility to intervene, to say something, to try to bring help to that 183 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:20,520 situation? 184 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:27,320 Of course you would, because it's sin what's happening in that home. 185 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:35,080 Likewise, when we are not giving to God, that is sin. 186 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:42,560 And we need to help each other in overcoming sin. 187 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:49,640 Regular giving of 10% of our gross income signifies that we truly understand God's 188 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,360 ultimate ownership of everything. 189 00:20:52,360 --> 00:21:03,160 A third principle is that the Lord's tithe is to be brought to the storehouse. 190 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:08,280 I'm really convinced of this. 191 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,520 We see the storehouse mentioned here in our text in Malachi chapter 3, and it certainly 192 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,160 is Old Testament. 193 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:21,960 In the Old Testament, the temple building itself was the storehouse. 194 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:28,960 Today I believe that the principle applies to the local church. 195 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:34,840 I believe the word storehouse in Malachi chapter 3 is equivalent to what the Apostle says in 196 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:40,560 1 Corinthians 16, 2, upon the first day of the week, that every one of you lay by him 197 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,520 in store as God has prospered him. 198 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:51,840 Now whether that amount was kept in the church's bank account or was kept in the individual's 199 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:56,720 home or bank account isn't the issue. 200 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:03,680 The issue is that the amount was God's and it was for his work to be used in the context 201 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:07,080 of that body of believers. 202 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:15,160 The fact that life was much less complex and ministry less institutional in those days, 203 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:19,400 I don't think changes the principle that's involved. 204 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:27,040 I'm convinced that it is a sound principle that the foundational gift of the tithe is 205 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:34,600 intended by the Lord for the work of God's people in their local church. 206 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:44,760 Offerings then, whatever is above that tithe, can also be brought or given in other ways 207 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:51,080 for the work of the Lord and in gratitude to him. 208 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:55,000 Proportional giving is not limited to 10 percent. 209 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,280 Certainly some can give much more because their increase is much more, but tithing, 210 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,000 I believe, is God's place for us to start. 211 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,480 It is a bad place to start. 212 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,680 It's a good place to start. 213 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,920 Someone has said, well we ought to give till it hurts, but the fact is we shouldn't give 214 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:19,680 till it hurts, but till it feels good, till it feels good. 215 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:28,200 The principle that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians is as God has prospered you, as God has prospered 216 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,000 you. 217 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,280 The point is that additional giving beyond the tithe is certainly proper and encouraged 218 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,560 by the apostle. 219 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:40,480 Some or most of us perhaps have other concerns. 220 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:46,240 Our missionary friends who are worthy of our financial investment, to use the tithe for 221 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:50,040 that is improper. 222 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:58,240 To use offerings above the tithe for that is certainly proper. 223 00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:03,440 Principle number three is that the Lord's tithe is to be brought to the storehouse for 224 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:08,960 use of the local body of believers in the collective corporate ministry that they're 225 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:10,520 involved in. 226 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:16,460 Principle number four is that failure to give the tithe, I believe, results in God sending 227 00:24:16,460 --> 00:24:23,560 the devourer so that in the end we lose the tithe anyway. 228 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:29,640 If you look closely at Malachi chapter 3 you find that God says, bring the tithe and then 229 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,360 I will rebuke the devourer. 230 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:40,480 God which has caused your fields, your fruit to be lost. 231 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:45,480 Warren Worsby writes, when we rob God we only rob ourselves. 232 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:54,040 We cannot keep anything that rightfully belongs to God. 233 00:24:54,040 --> 00:25:00,600 Another way of saying this, and I heard someone say this a couple of weeks ago, tithing is 234 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:04,520 free. 235 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:12,720 Tithing doesn't really cost you or me anything because when we give the tithe, we're obeying 236 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:13,920 God, God uses it. 237 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:20,520 When we withhold the tithe, God gets it anyway. 238 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:24,360 It may be unexpected repair bills, it may be a health problem, it may be this, it may 239 00:25:24,360 --> 00:25:34,840 be that, but God will extract from us that tithe in discipline. 240 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:39,640 But on the other hand of the equation tithing has wonderful positive benefits. 241 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:44,920 We see here that it brings God's blessing. 242 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,960 God says bring the tithe, prove me, and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and 243 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:54,880 pour out for you a blessing that you cannot contain. 244 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,760 Can we trust God for that? 245 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,560 Furthermore he tells us in verse 12, all the nations will call you blessed. 246 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,640 The result of being faithful in this principle in Israel at least was that the other nations 247 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:12,980 around them would see the blessing of God and God would be glorified. 248 00:26:12,980 --> 00:26:14,960 Is that principle still true today? 249 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,160 I believe it is. 250 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:24,120 When the work of God languishes, it is just the opposite. 251 00:26:24,120 --> 00:26:30,920 When the work of God prospers, God is glorified in that. 252 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:35,760 Another positive benefit of tithing is that it creates personal joy. 253 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,800 It creates personal joy in the heart of the one who gives. 254 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:45,080 Charles Swindoll writes, for far too long God's people have been shamed and whipped 255 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:51,000 into giving, guilt and manipulative techniques are commonly used to wrench money from pockets 256 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,040 and purses. 257 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:54,640 People give, but not hilariously. 258 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:56,360 How tragic! 259 00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:01,960 God highly prizes those who give with joy in their hearts. 260 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:07,040 If ever our faces should light up and our hearts should beat faster with delight, it 261 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:08,520 should occur when we give. 262 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:14,640 Joy and generosity are like Siamese twins inseparably linked together. 263 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:19,840 It concerns me quite frankly that stewardship is usually viewed as a grim obligation and 264 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:25,120 we frown our way through it, forcing ourselves to obey, we squeeze a nickel or two while 265 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:29,920 old Thomas Jefferson yells, surely this is alien to God's preference. 266 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:35,440 Then he asks the question, how can we bring back the joy? 267 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:36,840 He suggests four ways. 268 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:41,080 Number one, reflect on God's gifts to you. 269 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:46,680 Number two, remind yourself of his promises regarding generosity. 270 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,040 Third, examine your heart. 271 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:58,920 Open that vault, he says, and ask hard questions like, is my giving proportionate to my income? 272 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,600 Am I motivated by guilt or by joy? 273 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:08,760 If someone else knew the level of my financial involvement in God's work, would I be an encouragement 274 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,000 for their generosity? 275 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:19,320 Have I prayed about my giving or am I just an impulsive responder? 276 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:26,640 Finally he says, trust God to honor consistent generosity. 277 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:33,120 One of the benefits of tithing is that it creates a deep personal joy knowing that one 278 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:35,760 is doing what pleases God. 279 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,280 Thirdly, it makes us wise. 280 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:40,880 It makes us wise when we tithe. 281 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,360 So where do you get that? 282 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:48,760 In Deuteronomy chapter 14 verse 23, God tells his people to bring one of their tithes and 283 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:54,240 he says that one of the reasons is that they might learn to fear the Lord. 284 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,920 They might learn to fear the Lord. 285 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:03,320 Tithing teaches us a proper reverence or the fear of the Lord. 286 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:08,480 The Bible says that the fear or the reverence of the Lord is the beginning of what? 287 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,480 The beginning of wisdom. 288 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:17,800 When we honor God with the tithe, God gives to us wisdom. 289 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:22,440 I believe that includes in knowing how best to use what is left over. 290 00:29:22,440 --> 00:29:30,520 Finally, it has the positive benefit of advancing the work of God. 291 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:35,200 To be honest with you, our church's ministry is in a holding pattern. 292 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:42,840 And I would say to some degree its future ministry is uncertain and clouded because 293 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:49,720 there are many of us that have not been physically responsible as stewards of God's resources. 294 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,680 So how do you know that? 295 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:55,120 Because of a study that we've done on the giving patterns of our church. 296 00:29:55,120 --> 00:30:03,560 It's an anonymous study, names are not connected with it, but I think you would be rather shocked 297 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:08,520 at what it exposes about the giving patterns of Grace Church Roseville. 298 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:22,200 It's not you see that God has gone bankrupt, but what he has provided has too often been 299 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:31,080 rerouted for personal benefit rather than the work of the kingdom. 300 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:34,880 And so today I am repenting. 301 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:36,600 I am changing my mind. 302 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,960 I am repenting of my part in all of this. 303 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:50,240 I am repenting of my failure to accurately teach to you this principle of tithing. 304 00:30:50,240 --> 00:31:00,360 And I am asking you to do the same if need be, to change your mind about your stewardship 305 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,560 pattern. 306 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:11,680 And let us together join ourselves in a covenant of faithfulness as the stewards of God's resources. 307 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:17,680 Let's determine to practice the principles of God, all of them, knowing that as we do 308 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,760 so we can expect God to faithfully keep his promises. 309 00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:27,320 But how can one begin to do this? 310 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,080 The answer is very simple. 311 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:36,560 By figuring what my amount of salary or income is for a month, or for whatever pay period 312 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:44,560 you're dealing with, dividing it by ten and giving that amount. 313 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:49,160 For some people that would cause heart failure. 314 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:53,800 For some people that would be a shocking point to come to in life. 315 00:31:53,800 --> 00:32:04,200 It would even be a kiddish barnea, an experience where obedience will be put to the test. 316 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,440 It may well be a moment of truth. 317 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:13,120 If you absolutely feel though that you are in an impossible situation to begin obeying 318 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:19,680 God with a tithe, then what you first need to do is to immediately seek financial counsel 319 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,480 from a godly person. 320 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,680 To find out what you can do to bring your house in order. 321 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:34,000 You and I will rob ourselves of future blessings if we don't take steps to implement the principle 322 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,000 of God's tithe. 323 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:44,080 Now believe me, I'm under no illusions that my change of mind, my repentance, or that 324 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:51,800 this one message on a subject that some find very uncomfortable, can change a single attitude 325 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:59,680 or correct a single lifestyle, or improve the giving pattern of anybody who's here. 326 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:02,040 That is not my work. 327 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,640 That is not my calling to do that. 328 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:10,520 Only God can change the thinking of any of us. 329 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:15,240 Only God can transform the motives of any of us. 330 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:21,320 Only God can convict us and make us willing to do his good pleasure. 331 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:24,800 So I'm very relaxed about the result of this. 332 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:31,880 But at least this morning before God and before you I have cleared my conscience. 333 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:39,360 The response of anyone will be their own responsibility to God. 334 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:44,000 I know that many of you do and have practiced tithing for many years. 335 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:50,620 Some of you have shared with me personal accounts of God's blessings because of your obedience 336 00:33:50,620 --> 00:33:54,080 to this principle of tithing. 337 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:59,120 And I believe that it would encourage others in our church if you would be willing to share 338 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:03,880 your experience with them in writing. 339 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:07,120 It may not have to be with your name attached to it. 340 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:14,640 But if you would be willing to share in a few words the experience of joy in your life 341 00:34:14,640 --> 00:34:19,360 because of practicing this principle, I would invite you to write that out and send it to 342 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:20,360 me. 343 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:26,600 And we'll be able to use perhaps some of those in the future. 344 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:31,600 To be very honest with you, in the 20 years or more now of ministry that I've been involved 345 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:41,400 in, I have not met one faithful tither who has any testimony other than personal joy 346 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,840 in God's faithfulness. 347 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:49,120 There's not an exception to that in 20 years. 348 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:55,600 Paul MacArthur has an interesting perspective on this when he writes, God made the sun and 349 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:57,440 it gives. 350 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,960 God made the moon and it gives. 351 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,840 God made the stars and they give. 352 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:09,220 God made the air, it gives. 353 00:35:09,220 --> 00:35:12,240 God made the clouds, they give. 354 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:16,160 God made the earth, it gives. 355 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:19,840 God made the sea, it gives. 356 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,680 God made the trees, they give. 357 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:27,520 God made the flowers, they give. 358 00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:31,280 God made the beasts, and they give. 359 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:40,320 God made man, does he give? 360 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:44,560 I wonder this morning if you would be willing to acknowledge before God what your practice 361 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:45,560 is. 362 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,320 Nobody does know it anyway, doesn't he? 363 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:58,120 Whether you are presently or not presently following the principle of the tithe, acknowledge 364 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,400 before God where you are. 365 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:05,400 And if you dare to trust God, if you dare to step out beyond the Catech Barnea that 366 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:12,000 you're at, I invite you to trust God to begin practicing this principle in your life. 367 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:15,480 You say, well, what's my motive for doing that? 368 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:23,840 There's only one, there's only one, the love of God. 369 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:36,640 Someone has said you can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. 370 00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:43,800 Would you pray with me, please? 371 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:52,800 With our heads bowed and our eyes closed as we bring to a close this service, as I have 372 00:36:52,800 --> 00:37:03,520 shared with you from my heart my repentance before God and before you. 373 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:10,200 I wonder if God the Holy Spirit is saying to you within your heart, it's time to change 374 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,640 your mind too. 375 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:17,480 It's time to change your ways. 376 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:21,160 It's time to change your pattern. 377 00:37:21,160 --> 00:37:24,160 What would you say to him? 378 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:27,400 Would you tell him that you would? 379 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,400 Would you obey him? 380 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:37,400 Dear friend, don't call him Lord if you put him off. 381 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:48,840 Lord Jesus, I pray today that we will understand how to apply this principle in our own personal 382 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:49,840 stewardship. 383 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:59,120 And I pray that not a person nor a family will leave here without beginning to deal 384 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:02,320 with this, this important issue. 385 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:11,320 I pray that we may enjoy all the wonderful benefits that come from obedience to this 386 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:12,320 principle. 387 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:19,920 I pray that we may be delivered from the devourer. 388 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:31,120 May the result of it be that your name may be blessed in all the earth. 389 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:35,880 Look where you are, would you talk to the Lord right now in the quietness of your heart 390 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:37,880 and respond to him? 391 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:45,400 Unless there will be someone here today who thinks that what I have talked about is how 392 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:51,240 one becomes a Christian, let me say to you, dear friend, that what I have talked about 393 00:38:51,240 --> 00:38:53,680 today is for the child of God. 394 00:38:53,680 --> 00:39:00,680 It is for someone who has already been born into God's family. 395 00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:06,600 If you are not a Christian, if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, what 396 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:12,040 we have talked about today is not the most important issue in your life at all. 397 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,600 The issue for you is have you trusted Christ? 398 00:39:14,600 --> 00:39:15,720 Will you trust him? 399 00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:19,040 Will you do it today? 400 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:22,600 Understanding that he suffered for your sins and died for you and rose again, that he might 401 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:28,600 save you from hell, from condemnation. 402 00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:35,400 Will you today trust in him? 403 00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:41,400 I remind all of us that Jesus gave his life for us and he asks us, what have you given 404 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,400 for me? 405 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:56,440 Will you stand with me please and let's sing 436, just a verse or so before we go. 406 00:39:56,440 --> 00:40:03,800 These words of Francis Havergl, I gave my life for thee, my precious blood I shed that 407 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,920 thou might'st ransomed to be and quickened from the dead. 408 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:11,720 I gave what hast thou given for me. 409 00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:16,720 Let's sing it together. 410 00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:29,900 motherfucker...