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Today, we kick off a new series that we are entitling, “This Is What We Do.” I have purposely not told you the premise of this series before today, which is different than I usually do. And there is a reason why…and you will see it as we get into today.
One of the topics that people don’t like to talk about is their money. And we hear that a church will talk about it, we tend to avoid it even more or we put that there is some sort of agenda attached to it. I want you to know right off the bat, we have no hidden agenda when it comes to this series. We don’t need your money as God has provided amazingly for our church.
But there is an open agenda, that I want to bring out though. The open agenda is that there are doors that will be opened in your life when you learn that as Christians, giving is what we do.
The THIS that we need to discuss for the next few weeks is what we do, as a response to what God has done in our lives.
Right at the start of this series, I want to make a distinction that there is a difference between giving and being generous. If there is a mark that should be on The Assembly, I hope that it is said that we are a generous church. That not only are we generous, but we are extravagantly generous. Meaning that we are people who look for opportunities to bless and to be blessed.
One of the things that Summer and I learned when we moved overseas was the difference in wealth and the perception of wealth in our countries. In the states, we measure wealth by lifestyle and things. And because of that, we see what is considered rich very different than what is reality.
Most Americans don’t feel rich, matter of fact, in this day and time, we feel like we are being squeezed.
Yet in world rankings, if you own and drive a car, you are considered to be in the top 6-9% wealthiest people in the world.
We used to have a term that we used in missions, that is called “First World Problems”. This was things like life is hard, because my iPhone is dead. Or I don’t have anything to wear, because there is nothing new in my closet.
When we compare our lives to others, there will always be someone who has more that you do. There are very people in the world that can say they are the wealthiest of the wealthy.
But our mindset sometimes is that we are generous people with what we have, when honestly we’re really not. The average American only gives away 2.8% of the earnings. If you think by earning more you will give away more, that number drops to 2.6 with the more you make.
Understand something here, its not about beating us up today. I just want to get some realities out there as we start talking about putting God first. Because as Christians, that is what we do!
As Christians, we are commanded to give the Lord 10% of our earnings. We do that because we put God first. We understand that it is better to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35). But too many times, Christians become slaves to fear and to a scarcity mindset. What do mean by that.
I heard Pastor Craig Groeschel talk about the idea of a scarcity mindset like it is a cycle that we go through. When we fear, we start a vicious cycle where God Provides, We Consume, We Lack, We Fear. And what happens is that this starts building momentum from day one.
But Christians, God has called us to be different than what we have seen and experienced in the past. We don’t have to live that way any longer. Because of what God has done in our lives, we do something different. We do something different because we are different. We give generously…God multiplies back to us abundantly!
2 Corinthians 9:7-11 (ESV) 'Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. ‘
When I read this text, I see that Paul is saying, God love those who give freely and cheerfully. He loves those that don’t as well. But those that have learned to be generous, have learned that it is not them that provide for generosity, but God who does it! He distributes…not us.
This is why we do what we do…We are givers and not because we feel it out of compulsion, but because THIS IS WHAT WE DO! When we learn generosity in our lives, it starts a different cycle going forward.
God provides—We Give—God Multiplies—Faith Grows—God provides—etc
So how do we learn to live in this new cycle? That is a big question for all of us. Im going to give you a big word here. I want you to write it down. The word is TITHING.
When you and I learn THIS, it changes the cycles of our lives. Tithing will break the cycle of scarcity and create a new cycle of supply.
What is a tithe? It literally means 1/10th. It was supposed to be one tenth of everything that comes to us, we give back to God as a sign of putting Him first.
There are those that teach and believe that the tithe is a past relic of religion. But the truth is, it’s basis goes back further than the law. Abraham gave back his first increase to God as a sign of worship and trust.
Jesus even talked about the tithe, contrary to many people’s belief, in the gospels. (Matthew 23:23)
Matthew 23:23 (ESV) ' “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.’
Jesus was telling them, you do the tithe, but then you neglect the more important things…he tells them to learn to do both! As Christians:
We love
We show mercy
We sacrifice for God and others
When God blesses our lives, we worship him with the first fruits of our increase. Its what we do, because of what He has done! God has been generous to our lives, and has held nothing back from us.
Tithing, giving back to God is biblical, but it is also relational!
Tithing teaches us to put God fi
The bible teaches us that our treasure and our heart are connected. You can’t get past that.
Matthew 6:21 (ESV) 'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. '
Too many times, we think that our money follows our heart, but the truth is, our heart will follow our treasure.
Tithing is teaches us to put God first before anything else. To do that, you have to rearrange your entire life around God. That’s difficult for many of us. You may have to make major changes to how you live.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (ESV) ' “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. '
You see it takes a different type of faith to give first! We don’t have problems with giving the leftovers to God, because we have done all we wanted to with what we had. But to give FIRST, takes faith that God has provided enough…actually faith that He is provided more than enough!
2. Tithing builds our faith!
Malachi 3:10-11 (ESV) 'Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ‘
This scripture is the only time in the Bible where God says test me in this. He is saying use your faith and watch what I do. He wants to show you and me that His economy is not dependent on what is happening in our economy.
He has ability not only to pour out blessings, but also to rebuke the things that would take away what He has provided.
The scarcity cycle gets your mind focused on what you don’t have. So you consume, you lack and you fear.
But God changes that cycle through our faith…He provides (we have to understand that), then we give back to Him first as an act of worship and obedience…obedience is key…the tithe is commanded…and to withhold the tithe, is seen as stealing or robbing God…why? Because it is his! If you will give God what is His, he blesses the remainder!
Your 90% with His blessings will go further than the 100% without it!
Tithing is not the only giving that generous people do…but it is the starting point for all of it! When God blesses the rest, you start looking for new ways for Him to show himself faithful to His word. It will start a cycle of abundance to replace the cycle of scarcity.
We give, God multiplies, it builds our faith (rinse and repeat)
3. Tithing provides for the work of God’s church!
Malachi 3:10-11 (ESV) 'Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. ‘
When we think about the work of the church, it is provided for because God has put provision in your hand to bring into the house of God. When we bring in that 10%, a lot gets done with it. He multiplies it. You understand, he put a group of people together here, that when each of us do our part, He multiplies the effort beyond what we were able to do.
Together we accomplish a greater purpose than what we could on our own.
Bring in the tithe, so that there will be food in the house! You see the church provides spiritual food for the people of God. You were reached because someone brought their tithe to the house. THIS IS WHAT WE DO!
The mission is big, we have given help to accomplish it. But also, God has provided all we need to accomplish all that He called us to.
2 Peter 1:3 (ESV) His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
These are not just words that we read in a bible, but spiritual truths that we have to internalize in all that we do. Because God did something amazing in giving His Son Jesus to die for us, it should illicit a response as great in faith. He gave us Son while we were still sinners…before we believed.
In this first year of our existence, your faithfulness in giving has provided a place for us to meet weekly, provision for foster kids, blessings to missionaries, and outreach in our local community. This is what we do. We give generously, first off because we put God first in all things. But also, because it is commanded.
When we put God first, just as he told Abraham in Genesis 22:16-18, he can now unleash blessings on our church and on our lives…This is what we do, because of what he does!