In God We Trust?
Part 4: Robbing Peter
Deuteronomy 14:22-26; Malachi 3:6-12; (Matthew 25:14-30)
February 26, 2006

“Money talks” video.

My daughter came up to me the other day about nap time and said, "Daddy, if you give me a dollar, I’ll go to bed." I told her, "I don’t think it works that way." I’ll tell you what. It starts young. People and money, there’s just something about it.

Well we are going to spend one Sunday talking about the topic "You, your money, and God."

READ TEXT
I want to talk to you today about giving to God. We refer to it as tithes and offering. The tithe is an Old Testament word and it meant to give 10% of what you have to God. An offering is usually defined as anything over and above a tithe. And we’ll speak more specifically a little bit later on the two.
But I want to talk to you today about giving to the Lord. If I asked you to raise your hand if you believed it was important and scriptural to tithe, to give generously to the Lord, just about every hand would go up but when it comes to doing it ourselves that’s another matter altogether.

I love the story about the grandmother who took her young grandson to her Sunday-School class. And when the collection plate came around the young boy held the quarter his grandma had given him in his clenched fist. And she tried to encourage him to put his quarter in the plate and he was reluctant but finally dropped it in.
A little bit later he became restless and she said would you like to go down to the nursery. He said yes, and so they got up and began to leave and on the way out the boy stopped by the class treasurer and said, "Can I have my quarter back, were not staying.

Well we can be reluctant when it comes to giving, and we can even be reluctant when it comes to listening to a sermon on giving. But starting off right now, let me give you four reasons why I’m not hesitant to preach on giving this morning, four reasons why we need to reaffirm this important aspect of the Christian life.

#1 We don’t preach on it very often.
Not that it’s wrong to preach on it, but we just don’t do it. I’ve been here a year and a half and this is the first sermon I have preached on money or giving. Over the last 75 sermons this is the first one. So if you’re visiting with us today and think, Oh no, here we go again, a church asking for money, realize that since I’ve been here this is the first time we’ve preached on money. We don’t preach on it very often.

#2 – Second reason we need to preach on it is that it’s Biblical
The statement has been made in regards to preaching and in regards to the preacher, that I wish he would quit preaching on giving and get back to preaching on the gospel. The truth however, is that you cannot preach on the gospel and not preach on giving. Jesus saw fit to include it in the majority of his teaching.
In fact there are 39 parables in the gospels. Of the 39, over half of them deal with greed, generosity or giving. Our finance, money, generosity, greed are mentioned over 2000 times in the Bible. It’s Biblical.

#3 It’s a needed subject for our culture
Money magazine says not only do we consume like no culture before us, but we pursue money like no other culture. Money has become the number one obsession of Americans, quote, "Money has become the new sex in this country," end quote.
We want the money and we want the stuff the money buys. Whether or not it serves any purpose seems irrelevant at times.

The comic strip Kathy depicts a scene in which she is looking at all the things she has accumulated. She says, "Safari clothes that will never be near a jungle. Aerobic footwear that will never set foot in an aerobics class; A deep sea dive watch that will never get damp; keys to a Four-Wheeled drive vehicle that will never experience a hill; Architectural magazines I don’t read, filled with pictures of furniture that I don’t like; Financial strategy software that I don’t know how to work, keyed to a checkbook that is lost. An art poster from an exhibit I never went to, by an artist I never heard of." And Finally, with a blank stare she says, "Abstract materialism has arrived."
And the "bumper sticker" says it, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." What are we living for? To consume.
Consider that 88% of the population have more debts than assets
Consider that money is a factor in 90% of divorces
Consider that the avg. family in America carries nearly $8,000 in credit card debt.
Consider that only 2% of the people in America when they reach age 65 are financially stable – they need no additional income – only 2%.
And all of this speaks to the need our society has in dealing with finances and greed and giving.
Well then #4 Not only is it needed in our culture but it’s needed in our churches.

A cartoon showed a man hiding under the pew bench at church and his wife is saying, you can come out now dear, the offering is over.
And that’s what many feel like doing even those who have been Christians for years.
A study of thirty plus denominations points out that although income after taxes and inflation, increased 31% in the last 17 years, giving has gone down 8.5% in the same period of time. We have more than we have ever had and we give less than we have ever given.
Now I want to emphasize that I don’t know how much you give. The Elders don’t know. We don’t want to know. That’s between you and God. The treasurer is the only one that knows.
But I do know how our giving is as a body and it doesn’t approach anywhere near 10%. Just based on average income and going on a strict tithe, that is 10%, if over the last year we had given just 10% we would have enough money in the bank to
- Meet our annual budget
- Pay off the $600,000.00 debt from the Educational wing.
- Hire additional staff.
- Be ready to expand our facilities.
- Increase our giving to missions by $100,000.00. All in one year!

So why don’t we do that? And I think the answer is in our failure to understand our tithes and offering.
Well, that’s four reasons why we need to look at our giving. And what I want to encourage to you this morning is that in the year 2004 to put God first in the area of giving and see how blessed you become and what a blessing it is to others.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

1 Timothy 6:6-8 says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing we ought to be content.”
Now, we hear that, we know that. We know that God wants us to give back to him and we know that he blesses us for it, and yet we have a problem with it, when it comes week to week.
I heard the story of a game warden that saw a fellow heading downstream with his fishing pole and tackle box. He went up to him and asked to see the man’s license. The man said, “Warden, I don’t need a license. I’m not fishing. I’m just carrying this here pole and tackle box. No law against that. Don’t need a license just to carry a pole.
Well there is no law against that so the warden fell back and began to follow this guy at a distance. Well the guy headed downstream and finally crossed in some rapids. The warden followed after him getting soaking wet in the process.
The man then headed through some heavy brush and then doubled back across the river, went up a steep embankment and then back down the other side and back across the river. The warden was determined and scrambled after him.
The man then headed through the thickest part of a briar patch and the warden came right after him getting scratched up in the process.
Finally after about two miles of this back and forth, the man stopped by the edge of the stream, baited his hook and cast his line out in the middle.
Immediately the game warden jumped out and said, “I caught you, now you’re fishing.” And the man looked at him, and said, “Yep warden I am” and pulling out his wallet he said, “And now, you can see my license.”
Well, there’s no law that says you have to give. But you cannot claim that you have made God the ruler of your life and withhold this area from him. You cannot do it. And if I’m not giving to God, if I’m holding back or just tossing in a buck or two here and there, then I cannot claim that I have made him the ruler, the director of my life in this area.
And so with that in mind I want to give you three Scriptural attitudes in which we are to approach the giving of tithes and offering.
Attitude #1 is to Give Cheerfully
Giving is not a debt you owe. It’s not something you have to do. It’s something you get to do. 2 Cor. 9:7 says "God love’s a cheerful giver.” And the Greek word used for cheerful is the word "Hilarios" God loves an hilarious giver. A cheerful giver.

Suppose you and your wife are about to celebrate an anniversary. How well do you think it would go over if you picked her out a gift and said, "Here you go. I HAD to get you something. I knew you’d be mad if I didn’t. I didn’t want to, but everybody says I have too. Cost me too much but, here it is. Hope you enjoy it."
Well, she’s not going to. And God’s the same way. He doesn’t want you to give grudgingly. He doesn’t even want your gift. He wants your sacrifice, your allegiance to him in this area. He wants you to feel so much love in your heart for him that you wouldn’t think twice about not giving.
Not grudgingly. Not reluctantly. Not under compulsion. But giving cheerfully. And that’s why you won’t get pressured around here to give. As long as I’m here we are not going to do the things that some other churches do.

We are not going to knock on your door once a year and say, "fill out this card, we’ve come to see how much your going to give the church this year." We aren’t going to send out offering envelopes every month. We aren’t going to have an offering meditation every Sunday. We don’t want to do that. Why? Two reasons.
#1 We might miss an illness in your family, but there we are to collect money. No. That’s not going to happen. We are not going to do that.
But #2 – is simply because I don’t believe that a Christian should need all that. If it’s not enough to know that Jesus Christ gave everything he had, hung on a cross, spread his arms out and had them nailed to cross. That he gave everything including his very life for me, and all he asks back is a portion that we are willing to give, and we won’t do that, then there’s a problem there.

Now, we don’t always grasp what exactly were talking about with a tithe. It seems like a lot when we talk about money. But put it this way. Say I gave you ten apples. Ten apples. And there you’ve got these ten apples in front of you. And I gave them to you every week. And every week I only asked for one of those apples back to help feed other hungry people around the world. You still have nine apples to eat. Now, would you happily give me back one of those apples when you still have nine apples to eat? Of course you would. I’ve got ten apples, I’d be happy to give just one to help feed a multitude out there that’s hungry. And still have nine to eat myself.
So why isn’t it that way with our finances? Shouldn’t we cheerfully give back just a portion to help feed and evangelize a host of people out there that don’t know Jesus Christ? And still keep 90% for myself. And yet it needs to come cheerfully. God would rather have your heart than your money. And that’s the principle we need to understand.

The Apostle Paul, writing 2 Cor. 8:2 about the church in Macedonia said "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”

These were poor people. And he goes on to say that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability and then earnestly pleaded for the privilege of sharing with the saints. They wanted to do it. They were eager to share what they had.

Well, the first principle of giving is to give cheerful. It’s got to come from the heart.

And then Biblical principle #2 is to give generously.
Give Cheerfully, Give Generously.

There is no set amount in the New Testament. In the old it was a tithe or 10% and that’s probably a good starting point. And I have had people ask, should I tithe off of my gross or net? Well, where’s your heart. If it’s to give as little as possible and you’re looking for a way to reduce the amount, then there’s a deeper problem to deal with.
But if you give cheerfully and also generously it will be a reward to others and to yourself.

Acts 20:35 says The Lord Jesus Himself said, “It is more blessed to give then to receive.”

And we know this. Experience shows us that there is so much more joy in giving than in receiving. And God tried everything he could to get the point across in the scripture.

1 Chronicals 29:9 says that the people enjoyed, rejoiced in that they had given freely and generously to the Lord.

Does that type of giving characterize the average church member?

Several years ago, the largest Assembly of God Church in Denver Co., Charles Blair is the minister, asked their radio and T.V. audience, and their congregation to tell them what they wanted their minister to preach on.
Over 7000 people responded. And then Charles Blair wrote a book about those sermons, and then he wrote the last chapter on the sermon that no one asked for. Not one person in 7000 asked for a sermon on giving.

You say, if I had more money I’d give. No you wouldn’t. I don’t want to dispute your word, but the Bible clearly says that if we aren’t faithful in little we won’t be faithful in much. And an attitude of generosity starts on whatever level you’re at now.

A very wealthy man came to his minister and said, I’m having a problem with this tithing thing. You see I made $500,000 dollars last year. If I gave 10% then I’d have to give $50,000. I can’t do that. And the pastor took him aside and said, would you pray with me, “Dear Lord please reduce this man’s income so that he can afford to give.”

Well, generosity should be the standard for a Christian.

I heard a fascinating true story some time back. The leader of St. Malkies Parish in Chicago Illinois wanted to find out where the hearts of their people were. You see they were only giving about $300 a week to meet the needs of others through the church.
And specifically they wondered what influence the Illinois State Lottery was having on them. And so on a specified Sunday they had their members bring in all their losing lottery tickets and place them in the offering tray.
To their amazement they gathered over a thousand dollars in losing lottery tickets, and the total offering for the day was less than $300

The POEM says

20,000 for a brand new car, 40,000 for a piece of sod,
100,000 I paid for a house, and $20 bucks I gave to God.
And there’s one question for the answer that I still search
With things so bad in this old world, what’s holding back my church?

Bernard Ettinger said “the world will not be won to Christ on what we can conveniently spare.”

We are to give generously to Christ. Well, principle #1 Give cheerfully, #2 Give generously

Biblical Principle #3 Give Thankfully.

In 1 Chron. 29:13, David, in praying for the offering that was given and he says
“Now our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

And probably the most significant principle in giving is to give thankfully. To finally realize that everything I have has been given to me by God. And it’s an offering of thanksgiving to return just a portion of that to the Lord.

David goes on to say in verses 16-19 to say, “O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have given for your work, we know it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever and keep their hearts loyal to you.

I pray that our giving will always originate out of a heart that is thankful for the bountiful blessings that God has given in our lives. And you know, the ironic thing, is that when it comes from the heart, the Lord says it’s going to be returned to you in abundance. What did he say at the beginning in Malachi – test me in this and see if it doesn’t come true.
Now the bible does not teach that you give in order to get. That if I give a hundred dollars, God will give me thousand back. That’s treating God like the Spiritual lottery.

As one person said, If I bet the trifecta on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I’m gonna get ten to one odds. That is not giving that’s greed. And God does not honor our greed.

However when giving comes from a heart of thanksgiving and generosity and cheerfulness, we are promised that it will be returned to us in some way. And it may be financially, it may be spiritually. It may be in a measure of peace. It may be in the outreach that the church has. But you can be guaranteed that it will be returned.

2 Cor. 9:6 says “he who sow’s sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows generously will reap generously.” You reap what you sow. And every week you receive a check and that check has in it an opportunity to sow for the future. And God says I will increase what you sow in amazing ways. Test me and see.

It’s kind of like putting in tomato plants. You ever put in tomato plants. Most people put in ten or 15 tomato plants and their just hoping to maybe get enough tomatoes for one meal. And what happens. Pretty soon they’ve got so many tomatoes they don’t know what to do. Putting them in jars and cans, and bags and giving them to the neighbors, the preacher, anyone that will take them.

And giving is like that. When done from the heart it brings an amazing return. And sometimes that’s financial. Sometimes it’s spiritual. Sometimes we see it now. And sometimes we won’t see it till the next life.

But can you imagine, for a moment, and just picture this with me, how incredible it will be to someday get to heaven. And picture this in your mind. Here you are walking around heaven. And somebody comes up to you that you’ve never seen in your life. And they just start thanking you over and over and over.
And your like “What did I do?” And they say, well, I’ve been told that you gave generously to your church. And your church helped send a missionary to my country, and that missionary shared with me the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I was saved. And my family was saved. My children were saved. And it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t given so generously of your tithes and offering. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Man that’s gonna be awesome. And that’s just part of the return that we get when our tithes and offering are invested in God with thankfulness and generosity and cheerfulness.
I don’t know where you’re at this morning. But like anything in life of significance it has to start with a decision. Maybe you’ve never decided as a family that you’re gonna do what it takes to start tithing. Maybe you can go home today and talk with the family and make that decision that this is one area your not gonna keep back from God any longer.

And maybe this morning there’s another area you’ve been keeping back. Maybe it’s your heart your life, your obedience in the waters of baptism. Maybe it’s something you need prayer with. Whatever it is we’re going to give you an opportunity to respond.

The number one cause for divorce is money! And to tell you the truth, it scares some preachers to death to bring up the subject. The only difference is that Jesus had no problem whatsoever discussing money and how we are to deal with it. The real issue for us and for those that Matthew was writing to is the reality that money is never the issue!! Jesus is teaching us that life, faith, and following HIM is a matter of the heart and not the wallet. If this is true, then why does Jesus talk more about money than any other subject in scripture? I guess we think life is about the Money!

THESIS SENTENCE: STEWARDSHIP IS NOT ABOUT OUR MONEY, IT IS ABOUT THE CONDITION OF OUR HEARTS!

I. MONEY IS A MATTER OF TREASURE VV. 19-21
A. TREASURE IS ABOUT VALUE: DEFINED: THAT WHICH COMMANDS THE ALLEGIANCE OF ONE’S HEART
B. TREASURE IS ABOUT ACCUMULATION: AQUIRED: WHAT WE POSSESS
C. TREASURE IS ABOUT DURABILITY: SUSTAINED: WHAT WILL LAST
D. TREASURE IS ABOUT LOCATION: PRESERVED: WHAT WILL LAST FOREVER
E. TREASURE IS A ABOUT THE HEART: REVEALED: WHO WE REALLY ARE/ THE NAKED TRUTH!

ILLUSTRATION: Ann Weems wrote: "It was a family treasure. That golden vase, the priceless vase that had belonged to my great-grandmother & my grandmother & now to my mother. The vase sat on the mantle, out of reach of little fingers. However, I managed to reach it. I climbed to reach it, & I broke it. I broke the family treasure.
"Then I began to cry in loud sobs that brought my mother running. I could hardly get it out. ’I broke the vase,’ I said. ’I broke the treasure.’
"A look of relief came over her face, & she said, ’Oh, I thought that you had been hurt.’ She hugged me, & made it very clear that I was her priceless treasure."
Contributed by: MELVIN NEWLAND

TRUTH: EARTHLY INVESTMENTS EVENTUALLY DISAPPREAR!
QUESTION: WHAT ARE WE BANKING ON?

II. MONEY IS A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE VV. 22-23
A. PERSPECTIVE IS ABOUT PROJECTION: THE LAMP
B. PERSPECTIVE IS ABOUT FOCUS: GOOD
1. SINGLE 2. GENEROUS 3. OPEN HEARTED 4. WARM
C. PERSPECTIVE IS ABOUT LACK OF FOCUS: BAD
1. POSSESSIVE 2. MISERLY 3. STINGY 4. GREEDY
D. PERSPECTIVE IS ABOUT EXTREMES: LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS
1. WHOLE BODY IS LIGHT/ GENEROUS
2. HOW GREAT IS THE DARKNESS/ GREED

ILLUSTRATION: Some years ago, two TEENAGERS with a long history of CRIME and DELINQUENCY robbed a YMCA on the lowest East Side of New York City. On the way out they saw a young man at the TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARD. They were FRIGHTENED and ASSUMED that the must be calling the POLICE. They seized and beat him SAVAGELY with BRASS KNUCKLES and a BLACK JACK. Thinking that he was DEAD, they HID him BEHIND a RADIATOR near the SWIMMING POOL and ESCAPED.
Later that evening, a woman who came to SWIM, was walking by the POOL. She SLIPPED in the man’s BLOOD, screamed, and then FOUND Donald Tippet’s BODY. He LIVED, but one EYE was so badly DAMAGED that it could not be SAVED. Meanwhile, the two TEENAGERS were APPREHENDED and brought to TRIAL. Their PAST RECORDS assured that BOTH would get LONG SENTENCES. However, Donald Tippet did an AMAZING thing—he REQUESTED that the JUDGE allow the two YOUNG MEN to be PAROLED to his CHARGE. He wanted to give them another CHANCE. He believed they could
CHANGE. One of the boys blew his OPPORTUNITY . He COMMITTED another CRIME, was CAUGHT, and to JAIL. The other boy, however, was RESPONSIVE to Tippet’s KINDNESS. He went to COLLEGE and then, eventually, to MEDICAL SCHOOL . He became one of our nation’s leading SURGEONS—an EYE SURGEON. A REPORTER, writing about Donald Tippet’s AMAZING STORY of FORGIVENESS, said of the SURGEON’S accomplishments: “I wonder if he ever PERFORMS one of those DELICATE EYE OPERATIONS without thinking of that NIGHT in the YMCA and the YOUNG MAN whose CONFIDENCE and FORGIVENESS changed his LIFE!” Contributed by: Fred Sigle

TRUTH: OUR EYES REVEAL WHO WE ARE!
QUESTIONS: WHERE ARE OUR EYES? ARE WE INTO LIGHT/ GENEROUS, OR ARE WE CONSUMED BY DARKNESS/ GREED?

III. MONEY IS A MATTER OF MASTERS V. 24
A. A MASTER IS ABOUT SERVING: WHOM WE WILL?
B. A MASTER IS ABOUT LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIPS: EITHER OR
C. A MASTER IS ABOUT BEING DEVOTED AND DISPISED: EITHER OR D. A MASTER IS CHOICE: GOD OR MONEY: EITHER OR

ILLUSTRATION: Once when Mark Twain was lecturing in Utah , a Mormon acquaintance argued with him on the subject of polygamy. After a long and rather heated debate, the Mormon finally said, “Can you find for me a single passage of Scripture which forbids polygamy?” “Certainly,” replied Twain. “‘No man can serve two masters.’” Contributed by: Pat Cook

TRUTH: WE CANNOT SERVE TWO SEPARATE MASTERS! WE CANNOT LOVE GOD AND MONEY, ONE WILL COME FIRST!
QUESTION: WHOM WILL YOU SERVE?

CONCLUSION: JESUS WANTS US TO KNOW THE TRUTH! JESUS SPEAKS THE TRUTH! THE REAL ISSUE IS HOW WE RATIONALIZE THE TRUTH AWAY! TODAY IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE EASY SUNDAYS! TODAY, THERE WILL BE NO INVITATION. TODAY THERE WILL BE NO PLEADING. TODAY THERE WILL ONLY BE A BROKEN HEART, FOR TODAY I KNOW THAT GOD WANTS TO GET INTO OUR CONCEPTS OF POSSESSIONS AND THE REALITY IS, THIS IS THE ONE PLACE WE CLOSE THE DOOR ON HIM. SO, THE CONCLUSION IS THIS: LET GOD SPEAK, HEAR HIS WORD, AND CHOOSE YOUR MASTER. JOSHUA SAID, “AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD (24:15)”. THE CHOICE IS OURS!

BENEDICTION: I TIMOTHY 1 :17

A. WHAT IS MONEY?

Money is power.
Money is choice.
Money is freedom.
Money is happiness.
Money is future.
Money is life.
B. YOUR MONEY AND YOUR FAMILY.

1. You cannot take it with you, because it’s not yours. All money belongs to God. You have custody of money on earth; like a custodian in a school building, it’s not yours, but you must keep it clean, useful, repaired, and remember who uses it and why.

Stewardship is proper management of your resources (time, talent and treasure) for God-given goals.

2. A steward is a financial custodian.

a. You are to leave (contribute) more to your family than you were given.

Don’t be a consumer in life.

Be a contributor to God’s program.

b. If you spend all you get, even if you think you need to, you are an unwise custodian.

c. If you spend all without making a contribution to God’s program, your family and your future; you are an unwise custodian.

d. If you are slipping continuously into debt, you are an unwise custodian.

3. Money principles that work.

a. Spend less than you take in.

b. Make it a priority to get out of debt. (Take a small step with each paycheck to get out of debt).

c. Pour assets not just money into your family so they can partner with you to serve God.

d. Set two money goals in life.

How you will gain.

How much you will attain.

e. Save something for the future. (Even a little is better than nothing).

f. What happens when you have no financial goals?

1. Spend aimlessly on self or others

2. Become a workaholic

3. Lazy

4. Lose ambition, goals and desire

5. Undisciplined

6. Forget about God

4. Creating a financial life-plan.

a. Commit 10% to God so you will have:

(1) Spiritual growth

(2) Protection

(3) Blessing.

b. Find a work of God on earth that will carry out your dreams and give to it.

c. Make a “financial dream” for your family.

(1) Spouse: to carry on adequately without you.

(2) Children: to become self-supporting contributors to life who are spiritual, happy and equipped to do God’s will.

(3) Brother/sister: to live by the same principles as you.

d. Your financial dreams must have 4 ingredients:

(1) What: the dream must have substance.

(2) Plan: how you are going to get there.

(3) Pledge: a commitment to get started.

(4) Discipline: the strength to follow through.

You have no power to make financial dreams come true,

Until you make a commitment what you will do.

C. SEVEN THINGS I WANT YOU TO DO WITH THIS LESSON.

1. Take control of your money.

Stop looking at things.

Start thinking about the meaning of money.

2. Spend less than you get.

3. Get out of debt. “Whatever you choose to obey becomes your master” (Rom. 6:16 , LB).

4. Learn how to manage your life/money.

5. Begin saving something for the future or yourself and family.

6. Get a financial dream.

7. Make a life-commitment to the dream.

If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at eltowns@liberty.edu and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you. OPEN: Gordon Wood of Ellison Bay , Wisconsin told of the time he tried something different in his church’s worship service.
“Instead of preaching at the end, I did it first, with music, the offering, and Scripture reading afterward. As I stood behind the pulpit, I could see people getting ready for the offering, until they realized I was starting my message.
Caitlyn, a first grader in the congregation, was perplexed by this change of routine, and whispered frantically to her mom, ‘Doesn’t he know we haven’t paid him to talk yet?’”

APPLY: This morning, we’re going to talk about WHY we give. To that little girl, the morning offering was taken up to pay the preacher to talk.

I. Many people give their money on Sundays - with much the same reasoning.
They give their money to take care of the church building. To keep the electricity on, heat the church building in winter, cool it in summer. They give their offerings because they want to make sure the congregation has enough to pay their preacher and their youth minister’s salary. They give because they want to make money available for the missionaries their church supports…

And, there’s not a thing wrong with that.

ILLUS: An old country preacher was earnestly exhorting his congregation to give more liberally. He was interrupted by a deacon who said, “Parson, you told us salvation is free -- as free as the air we breathe and the water in the river. If that’s true, why are you always asking us for money?”
The elderly preacher solemnly replied, “Brother Jones, you’re right. Salvation is free -- as free as the water you drink. But if you want that water in the kitchen, somebody has to pay for the pump!”

That was the concept behind the requirement in the Law that commanded a Tithe from the people. Numbers 18:20-21 tells us:
“The LORD said to Aaron, ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting.’”

In other words - God designed the tithe to pay the bills, to keep the doors open and pay the workers who committed themselves to full time service to God.

God repeatedly told His people that the tithe was important to Him.
In Malachi 3:10-12 God said: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land” says the LORD Almighty.
Notice God’s purpose for the tithe: that there may be food in my house.
Then God went on to say – “if you’ll do this for me… then I’ll do this for you:
I’ll pour out blessings and
I’ll protect your crops
And you’ll end up being so blessed that everyone about you is going to notice it
And they’ll say ‘“whatever did these guys do that was soooo right?’”

II. Even here (in Matthew 23) where Jesus is rebuking the sinful attitudes of the Pharisees,
He teaches about tithing

Now, the Pharisees were very strict about playing by the rules. In fact, if God’s Law didn’t have a rule about something… the Pharisees would make one up. That’s what Jesus was talking about when He condemned them here:
“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?” Matthew 23:16-19

The Pharisees used their “rules” to take advantage of the people around them… and Jesus hated that. But, in the midst of His rebuke He tells the Pharisees that their problem wasn’t in their tithing… that was a “good rule” to follow. It was God’s rule.

Notice what it says in verse 23: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices— mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law— justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

The Pharisees were very serious about tithing. They’d even go into their gardens and pick out every 10th strawberry, and every 10th cucumber and every 10th potato… and they’d take the whole bushel basket to the temple. Jesus doesn’t complain about that… in fact, he tells them not to neglect that.
Their problem was that they tithing wasn’t as important to God as justice, mercy and faithfulness. But He didn’t want them to stop tithing… He merely wanted them to add to their tithing deeds that pleased God even more: justice, mercy & faithfulness.

God liked tithing…

III. In fact… God has ALWAYS liked tithing.
If you have your Bible turn with me to Hebrews 6:19
To prove that the Jesus was superior to anything the Law had to offer, God tells us this story
We have this hope (our salvation) as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem " means "king of peace."
Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.
Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!
Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people— that is, their brothers— even though their brothers are descended from Abraham.
This man, (Melchizedek) however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater (Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek).
In the one case (under the Law), the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor. (Hebrews 6:19-7:10).

Abraham’s gift for God (given to Melchizedek) was NOT required by the Law. There was no “rule” that said Abraham (or anyone else) had to “tithe.”

But this “tithe” pleased God BECAUSE Abraham WASN’T giving this 10th out of obligation.
He WASN’T giving this tithe to God because HE HAD TO.
Abraham gave the tithe because He loved God.
Abraham offered God a tenth of all he had taken in battle because this was his act of worship

IV. Now, the Pharisees (by contrast) gave their tithe
- not because they loved God
- BUT because they loved rules

AND the Pharisees measured their righteousness by how well they kept those rules. Not only the rules that God had given, but also the rules they made up. Righteousness, to the Pharisees was dependent upon how well one kept the rules.

But we can’t measure our righteousness that way. In fact, Paul writes:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:20-21

If your righteousness could be measured by how well you keep the rules rather than by how much you love Jesus Christ, then your faith would be based – not on Jesus – but on yourself.
A person who relies on how well they keep the rules is basically saying – “I don’t need Jesus. I can be acceptable to God all on my own… thank you very much.”

V. Now, this brings me to the command in the New Testament that we should tithe…
Well… actually… there is no such command. Search tho’ you might, you will NEVER find (in the New Testament) that Christians are ever commanded to tithe.

Well, why not?
Because for the Christian, the Tithe is NOT a “rule of righteousness” it’s a “rule of thumb.” (repeat)

The Tithe is not commanded of us - because we’re no longer under law… we’re under grace.
Let me make it clear right now…
Your salvation does not depend upon how much you give on a Sunday morning.
God’s love for you is not effected by how much you write your check out for each week.
We are not under Law… we’re under grace. And because we are under grace, what we give should come from our love for God.

But throughout Scripture, God has made it abundantly clear He likes the tithe. And for the Christian the tithe is great place to START in our giving.

ILLUS: Some of the greatest givers in the history of the church have been people who started out tithing and kept increasing their giving.
J. L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corporation, who had given approximately 25 percent of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years
William Colgate, the great soap and perfume manufacturer, rose to fame and wealth while consistently paying a tithe of his earnings into the gospel treasury. He recognized this as a minimum and year by year as God prospered his efforts and multiplied his wealth, Mr. Colgate gladly gave far more than a tenth.

ILLUS: John Wesley supposedly determined that he could get on quite nicely with the salary that he was given as a preacher and, based upon that decision, gave whatever raises he received directly to the poor or to missions.

Now, not everyone can give like that. Romans tells us that certain people have the “gift of faith” and that effects how they give. But there are many churches that could not survive it weren’t for those people who gave above and beyond the “tithe.”

The tithe pleases God because it shows Him that we understand what is important to Him.
And I believe it please Him because of the effect it can have on us and our faith.
ILLUS: One person shared this testimony: The church means more to me now, since I began to tithe. It brings the church right into the center of our home, into the center of the family."

CLOSE: The Soviet preacher Richard Wurmbrand, who wrote "Tortured for Christ," suffered terribly for his faith in the Lord.
Yet he said that even while in prison, he saw fellow Soviet believers practice generous giving. "When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soap every day, we decided we would faithfully ’tithe’ even that. Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our ’tithe’ to the Master."

INTRODUCTION… Dumb Crooks

( http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Cottage/1955/text/copdumbcrim.html  )

1) Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. Seems the liquor store window was made of Plexi-Glass. The whole event was caught on videotape.

2) A Newark woman reporting her car as stolen mentioned that there was a car phone in it. The policeman taking the report called the phone and told the guy that answered that he had read the ad in the newspaper and wanted to buy the car. They arranged to meet, and the thief was arrested.

3) Two men tried to pull the front off an ATM by running a chain from the machine to the bumper of their pickup truck. Instead of pulling the front panel off the machine, though, they pulled the bumper off their truck. Scared, they left the scene and drove home...
With the chain still attached to the machine. With their bumper still attached to the chain. With their vehicle’s license plate still attached to the bumper.

4) A police officer had a perfect hiding place for watching for speeders. But one day, everyone was under the speed limit, the officer found the problem: a 10 year old boy was standing on the side of the road with a huge hand painted sign which said "RADAR TRAP AHEAD." A little more investigative work led the officer to the boy’s accomplice, another boy about 100 yards beyond the radar trap with a sign reading, "TIPS" and a bucket at his feet, full of change.

READ JOSHUA 7:1-5

I. THE SIN OF ACHAN
Achan was a man who committed a grave sin against God. The end result of his sin was that he and all that he had (including his family) were destroyed. What was it that Achan did that was so awful that it required his life? Verse 1 of chapter 7 tells us that Achan stole from God. Achan took some of the plunder from Jericho , which had all been dedicated to God and given to Him. Achan stole the sacred articles and put them among his own possessions and hid his theft from the other Israelites. He also deceived the people by not revealing that he had done it. What had Achan done? Achan stole from God.
After Joshua confronts Achan about his actions and his theft, Achan himself (verse 21) describes his sin as covetousness. He wanted that robe and the gold and the silver for himself.
There was no mistake. Everyone knew no plunder was to be taken from Jericho . Deuteronomy 5:19 states “you shall not steal.” Achan chose to take something that was not his. Achan broke the covenant the people of Israel had with God. The covenant was a trust relationship that Israel would obey the Lord and He would give them victory. It was a give and take relationship, but Achan sought only to take and not to give. The covenant was broken— the proof was that the armies of Ai defeated the armies of Israel .
CONTEMPORARY THRUST:
What I want you to realize is that Achan’s sin is more common today in the Church than it ever was in Joshua’s day. My plain statement to you today is this: If you are not tithing, you are stealing from God, just as Achan stole from God. But don’t take my word for it, listen to Jesus to the Apostle Paul, and to God Himself.

II. ACHAN’S SIN IN VIEW OF MATTHEW 22:15-22
READ MATTHEW 22:15-22
The situation we find Jesus in when reading this passage was a common one. The Pharisees often tried to trap Jesus in order to find some charge to have Him arrested. They begin by laying on the praise and the flattery quite thick. They heralded Him as a man of integrity and a true teacher of God’s Word and then asked Him: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? A simple yes or no question; it was a simple question full of trouble.
A “Yes” answer to this question would allow the Pharisees to charge that He was a Roman supporter and a traitor to Israel and His ministry would lose all its momentum. A “No” answer would allow the Pharisees to go to the Roman authorities and charge Him with inciting rebellion against the Emperor.
In the end, His witty response was “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God’s what is God’s.” Jesus is saying two very important things when He gave this response. First, I believe, He was teaching His followers to be good citizens and pay taxes and obey the laws (Ezra 7:26, Matthew 17:27, Romans 13:1, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13-14 all support this idea of good citizenship). Second, it occurs to me that Jesus is affirming that giving back to God is still admirable and a command of God. God is the Giver of All Things and we ought to be able and willing to give back to Him.

III. ACHAN’S SIN IN VIEW OF 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-15
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-15
Paul is instructing the Corinthians about giving. Paul lays down several principles that aid in thinking about giving. He lets us know that there is a law of spiritual action and reaction. One of the first laws you learn in physics class is: “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This law applies in the spiritual world as well, Paul states especially in the area of giving.
One, Paul teaches that a person should give “what he has decided in his heart to give.” This means that the Christian is not required to give only a tenth, but gives as much as they decide. You may sow as much as you like.
Two, God will take care of the giver and will see that his needs are met. Jesus tells us that if we “seek first His kingdom” something special happens; “All these things are added to you as well.” God will take care of the bills and the worries if you give to Him first.
Three, we are also advised to give generously because the returns on the giving will be generous as well. Our giving is an expression of thanks to God and He in turn will bless us.
Four, the giving needs to be done with a joyful heart and with thanksgiving. Paul tells us that our motivation for giving should be out of thanks to God and not because we are required. When giving, attitude is important.

IV. ACHAN’S SIN IN VIEW OF MALACHI 3:8-12
I want us to look at one last passage about giving and then we’ll be done. We know that
Achan stole from God. But, he was not the first nor was He the last to do so. The book of Malachi recounts that the whole nation of Israel was refusing to tithe and God says they were robbing Him.
READ MALACHI 3:8-12
We see plainly in this passage that to withhold tithes from the Lord is to rob Him. God states that because the nation of Israel is not tithing that they are not receiving His blessings. God’s reaction to stingy hands is stingy blessings.

CONCLUSION
My plain statement to you today is this: If you are not tithing, you are stealing from God, just as Achan stole from God. Don’t take my word for it: listen to Jesus, Paul, and God.

C. Committed to Church needs. (Mal. 3: 8-10), 8)“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9) Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” uh oh, there’s that TITHING word. We need to be committed, to giving to the church. It’s more than tithing, it’s supporting the Church, with our love, our prayers, our time, our availability, and our finances! The ministries or programs don’t just happen by themselves. We need to be committed. A pastor got up at the beginning of a huge stewardship rally, held his hands up for silence, and said, "Friends, I have a marvelous announcement to make about our stewardship campaign for the coming year."
He paused to let the importance of his opening remark to sink in. He then added with dramatic phrasing: "Friends, we have the money!"
A buzz of excitement went through the congregation. He held up his hands for quite once again. He finished, "Yes, we have all the money we need.
Now all we have to do is give it and use it."
We are called to give all we have and all we are as living sacrifices to God Who did not withhold His only Son from us.
Remember, Jesus said: "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Who do we love?
Who do we serve?