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Giving – Part II

Posted on 28 Jul 2019, Pastor: Tolu Makinde

Title: Giving – Part II

Text: Gen. 1:27-31, John 3:16

[Gen 1:27] So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

[Gen 1:28] Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

[Gen 1:29] And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.

[Gen 1:30] Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

[Gen 1:31] Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

[Joh 3:16] For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Introduction

Last week we discussed the following:

God gave us everything, including His only begotten Son
As children of God, giving must be a part of us
- You must give yourself to God
- Give your resources to God
- Give your best to God in your time and effort
Your giving is an act of worship
Abelistic Offering vs. Cainistic Offering
- [Gal 6:7] Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
- [Gal 6:8] For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
- [Heb 11:4] By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
- The giving of Abel was an act of worship that is still speaking for him today

Main Topic

When you give, you must know who you are giving to

The Person you are giving to is the King of kings, Lord of lords, the maker of the whole earth. He said, silver and gold is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills is mine, the God that can turn stone into bread.
What you give to God shows how big God is to you
When you visit a earthly king with a gift, what do you take with you?
When you give to a king, to show that the king is bigger than you, the king gives you a bigger gift
[2Ch 9:12] Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
When you give to God, you put God on notice to bless you with more, but that must not be your original intentions.
You give to God because you want to honor God

Types of Giving

Tithes, Offering, Thanksgiving, First Fruit, Others

Tithes

The word tithe or tithes appear in the Bible 36 times in the Bible, not just in Malachi
Tithe is 10% of what God has blessed you with
We are to give our tithes to support the work of God
God blesses us so we can in turn bless the work of God
The tithes belongs to the Priests because the priests could not do any other work except the work of God
Through tithes, the Lord will meet the needs of the priests
Tithe first appeared when Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe of all
- [Gen 14:20] And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
Melchizedek was priest of the Most High God and Abram gave him a tenth of all
- [Heb 5:5] So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.”
- [Heb 5:6] As He also says in another place: “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK”;
- So, Melchizedek was a type of Christ.
- As a type of Christ, Melchizedek collected a tithe of all from Abram, in the position of High Priest
- In the New Testament, Jesus is our High Priest, and when we give our tithes, we are giving it to our High Priest who Jesus Christ. – Heb. 7:21-24
- [Heb 7:21] (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “THE LORD HAS SWORN AND WILL NOT RELENT, ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK’ “),
- [Heb 7:22] by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
- [Heb 7:23] Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.
- [Heb 7:24] But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
- Melchizedek, as a type of the better things to come, received tithes of all from Abram.
- Jesus Christ, who has an unchangeable priesthood, should receive a tithes of all from us.
All the tithes are holy unto the Lord – Lev. 27:30-32
- [Lev 27:30] And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.
- [Lev 27:31] If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one-fifth to it.
- [Lev 27:32] And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.
The tithes goes to the priest
- [Num 18:21] “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
- From the tithes, the priests will now give 10% of what they collected as an heave offering to the High Priest
  - [Num 18:28] Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.
- The tithe is a reward for their work and they must not profane it
  - [Num 18:31] You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting.
  - [Num 18:32] And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’ “
When you bring your tithes, there are promises from God the Father – Mal 3:8-12
- [Mal 3:8] “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
- [Mal 3:9] You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Eventhis whole nation.
- [Mal 3:10] Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
- [Mal 3:11] “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts;
- [Mal 3:12] And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.
- This is the only Scripture where the Lord say we should try Him
- Bring the tithe into the storehouse – The storehouse is a storage place in the temple. So, your tithe should come to the church. Your tithe is not for charitable donations, or giving to the poor. Your tithe belongs to God. It is holy unto the Lord.
- Where you are getting fed the Word of God is where your tithe belongs
- God promised to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
- God promised to rebuke the devourer so that he will not destroy your harvest.
- You will be called blessed and be a delightful land
Some reasons people give to not tithe or not tithe properly
- Deut. 14:22-29
  - This Scripture applies to places where there are no temples or the temples are too far and there are no priests to collect the tithe.
  - The Lord said to exchange the tithe for money, then take the money to a place where He put His name and spend it there, and He was specific as to how to spend it.
  - Today, even if you are far away, the internet has brought you close to a church where the Lord has put His name.
- Tithing is under the law and not under grace
  - The law was established under Moses. Tithing was established in the days of Abram.
  - Tithing is not under the law. The law explained it further.
  - If you can do away with the promises in Genesis established by God, you can do away with tithing.
- Tithing is being abused by the church
  - [Num 18:32] And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. But you shall not profane the holy gifts of the children of Israel, lest you die.’
  - God will judge those that are abusing the holy gifts of His children
- Tithing is not in the New Testament
  - Yes it is. Matt. 23:23, Luke 11:42 – Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees because they pay tithe on smaller things and neglect the weightier matters.
  - In Luke 21:1-4 – Jesus observed how people were giving. The one that He commended was a poor widow who gave all that she had and not just 10%.
- Tithe is 10% of net and not 10% of gross income
  - When you go to the bank and apply for a loan, when they ask for your income, I’m sure you will write your net income there, right? Not.
  - We give the bank gross income and tell God net income
  - Your tithe is from your gross, not your net.

Conclusion

In THOP, we’ve been doing it wrong, and we will correct things starting from today.
I’m supposed to collect the tithes separate from the offering and pray for the tithers.
However, I have a full time secular job that the Lord has blessed me with, so your tithes belongs to the church, not to me.
Your tithe is for the work of the ministry – rent, electricity, gas, trash, internet, phone, etc. they are all paid from your tithe.
Your tithe is 10% of your gross income
Your tithe is holy unto the Lord
Your tithe is non-negotiable with God
The Lord promised to bless you and rebuke the devourer for your sakes
We will continue next week by God’s grace.

Sermon

Giving – Part II