Most churches talk about money every Sunday when they take up an offering. You may have noticed that we don’t do that. Why is that? We just believe that when you teach disciples of Jesus what the Word of God says concerning money, they will want to do it, so there is no need to pass the offering plate.
Finances are like every other area of your life. Either you have surrendered it to the King...or you have not. It is no more or no less important than any other area of surrender.There are three areas of scriptural giving we will discuss today. They are Alms, Offerings and Tithes.
Let’s begin with alms, as it is the simplest form of giving. Alms are what you give to someone in need. When you give to the poor, you are giving alms. Alms are given to other men as a charitable deed, not as an offering to God. It’s when you help a brother by taking care of his need...privately.
Matthew 6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
You should not tell others about your Alms giving. Because if you do, you have received your reward from the person youtold. Always keep it secret, for the dignity of those who receiveit. So the Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you openly.
Proverbs 19:17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
When you give money to the poor, you have not given it to them, you have loaned it to the Lord. And the Lord will repay you. Do you think God has a bunch of bad debts? No, he is always faithful to do what His word says He will do. When God says He will pay you back...that is exactly what He will do.
The next area of giving is offerings. What is our attitude supposed to be towards offerings? We can learn about it from the richest man who ever lived. King Solomon.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-4 “1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. 3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. 4 He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”
In these verses we find the financial principals for offerings. If you didn’t see it, let me break it down.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 “1 Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.”
In bible times, cities were built along rivers, and every year it flooded right up to their doors. When this happened the people would throw seeds out onto the water and then, as the water “receded” it carried the seed down river. Later in the year as the people were traveling down river, they didn’t have to burden themselves to take provisions along, because the seeds had grown all along the river. So as they traveled, their food was already there waiting for them. The seed they sowed hadn’t left their life, it had turned into their future provision. And it wasn’t just for them, it fed others who traveled along that way also.
It’s not a zero sum game. Meaning you don’t just have a finite amount of seed and if you give it away, it has left your life. Would you say that a farmer who was planting seeds, was throwing them away? No. The seeds you sow haven’t left your life, they have gone into your future.
Ecclesiastes 11:2 “2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.”
Your generosity should be spread across several places and people, because when the financial disaster hit’s your life, there will be more people who will want to help you...because you helped them when they were in a time of need. It’s the financial concept of diversifying your investments. You never know which one will pay off, when you need it.
Ecclesiastes 11:3 “3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.”
Clouds are designed to empty themselves and then to be replenished...and so are people. Once we die there is no more chance to empty ourselves. Are you full and keeping it all held back, or are you willing to empty yourself and allow God to fill you back up? That is the natural cycle God designed.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 “4 He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”
This is called paralysis by analysis. Do you over-think where, who, when to be generous with God’s resources? Even if you think your own financial stress is high, If you spend too much time considering all the possible outcomes, you can miss the opportunity to obey God. The opportunity of a lifetime...must be taken during the lifetime of the opportunity. If you hesitate when God gives you an opportunity to be generous, He won’t wait for you to followthrough. He will move on to someone who won’t hold back His resources. I’m not saying to throw money at everything that comes along without thinking. You should ask God for confirmation, but if He confirms it, don’t hesitate further.
If God has shown you a need...as you wait and consider what to do, before you know it, you’ve heard that the need has been met. This may come as a relief, that you didn’t have to give anything.
But, you did not come out ahead. You have not considered what it cost you to disobey and withhold what God said to give.
God wanted to grow your faith, and your generosity, by showing you His faithfulness in this area. But you were not interested in that level of spiritual maturity. So, now you are still stuck in your financial stress, because you want to sit on the financial throne of your life. God wanted to relieve you of that stress, but you have refused to allow Him to do it.
2 Corinthians 9:1-2 “I really don’t need to write to you about this ministry of giving for the believers in Jerusalem. 2 For I know how eager you are to help, and I have been boasting to the churches in Macedonia that you in Greece were ready to send an offering a year ago. In fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving...
In these scriptures, Paul was talking to the Christians in Corinth about giving a financial offering to the church in Jerusalem. Further down in verse 7 is where we get the concept of being a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7 “7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
It said each of you must decide in your heart how much to give.
This is the reason we don’t take up an offering. A lot of times you will hear people say, “give till it hurts”, but I like to say “go past that and give till it feels good.” But it’s up to you.
What is an offering? An offering is like a seed, that is sowed into a ministry.
If you want a seed to produce a harvest, it must be sowed into good ground. Seed can be sowed into your church, a different ministry or even an individual who has a ministry you want to support. But before you give to any ministry, do some research and be sure that what you give is going to work for the Kingdom.
A non-church example of a seed offering would be a gift to Miracle Hill or other ministry/missionary/teacher you want to partner with.
A seed represents only a potential harvest. A seed does nothing if it is not put into the ground. It has to be put in a place where its potential can be unlocked. Are you willing to sow your seed in order to unlock its potential?
2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”
This principle is the same in the natural as it is in the spiritual. A farmer won’t have a large harvest if he only plants a few seeds.
Paul is being very clear here, saying that if you don’t give much you shouldn’t expect much in return, but if you give generously, you can expect a generous return. A return of what?
2 Corinthians 9:8 “8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
Your generosity causes God’s generosity to be unlocked in your life. To the point that you will not only have everything you need, but also have plenty to share with others. The promise is that if
we are generous with what God provides us, we can expect even more to be given to us. Why? For us to be even more generous to others. And that’s the key to remember. We are not given God’s resources for our benefit only, but for the benefit of others.
What if I can’t afford to give alms and offerings ?
Paul gave us encouragement if we think we can’t afford to give alms and offerings. He tells us about the Christians in Macedonia who gave, even though they were extremely poor.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given theMacedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this
service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”
Look at verse 5. They gave first to the Lord, which could be considered a tithe to care for the local church and then they gave to Paul, which would have been a seed offering. And they were prepared and even pleading to continue giving even more to be used by the believers in Jerusalem.
How were they able to do all of that giving while being in a condition of extreme poverty? Because God doesn’t expect us to come up with a seed offering on our own.
God provides both our seed and our harvest.
2 Corinthians 9:10 “For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.”
It’s pretty amazing that God according to verse 10 provides our seed and our harvest! He says that our “harvest” is that He will increase our resources and that we will become even more generous!
And now we come to the most controversial giving category. Tithing.
What is a tithe? The word tithe just means 10%. But 10% of what? Your increase. The paycheck you get every two weeks is an increase in what you had before. The bonus check you got was an increase in what you had before. The interest you earned on your bank account is an increase in what you had before. The tax refund you got was an increase in what you had before.
Tithing is a very simple concept to understand, but a very difficult thing to do, according to the behavior of most Christians. It’s all about surrender and obedience to do what God’s Word says.
The first time we see the word tithe mentioned in scripture it’s all the way back in Genesis 14. Abraham gives a tithe to Melchizedek the priest of God. It was a tenth of all he had gotten when God allowed him to win a battle against some kings. The main place we see it is in Malachi the last book of the Old Testament.
Malachi 3:6-9 “6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your
fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
The concept of robbing God is a hard one for us to accept. Let me put it this way. Can you steal something that belongs to you? No, if you own it, you can’t be accused of stealing it. However, if someone else owns something and you borrow it...but never bring it back, you’ve stolen it.
Now maybe you just forgot you had it, and you didn’t mean to steal it. That may be the case with God’s tithe. If you have forgotten you had it, let me remind you. The tithe belongs to God, not to you. Therefore if you keep it...you have stolen what belongs to God.
Malachi 3:10 “10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house...”
You are to bring the full tithe to His storehouse, so that there will be provision for His family, in His house. This is the concept in the new testament when it says that in the early church no one had any needs. The church could provide for all the true needs, because the people gave. God says to test Him in this.
Some will try and divide their tithe by giving some of it to someone or something other than the storehouse where they are fed. Thus giving less than 10% to God. That is not a tithe.
If you have a mortgage, you are supposed to give the bank, back the amount of monthly money they required, when you signed up
for the loan. Before they loaned you the money. Who did it belong to? The bank. They allowed you to use it, but they required you to bring back a small part of it every month... because it belongs to them. What they do with it, is up to them. It doesn’t matter if you agree with them or not. You have committed to abide by the terms of the deal.
You can’t say, well, I gave part of my mortgage payment to someone in need, I’m sure the bank won’t mind. Do you think the bank will mind if you decide where their money should go? I know you think that you gave it to a good cause.
But that is not your decision. Your commitment was to fulfill your promise to the bank...and then if you have money left, you should give it to someone in need.
What you give as an alm or offering has nothing to do with your tithe. What you do with alms and offerings is out of generosity. What you do with the tithe is out of obedience.
If you don’t make the mortgage payment...you have stolen the banks money. What will they do the next time you need a loan? Will you go to the bank like nothing happened, ask them for a loan, and then blame them when they decline helping with your financial situation?
Why would God bless you with more of His resources, when you have stolen what He gave you the first time? You have proven yourself to be a thief and cannot be trusted with money. This is the harsh reality of What God says in Malachi 3.
However, if you follow His instruction, there is a promise for you. Remember, this is about obedience.
Malachi 3:10-11 “...And thereby put me to the test, saysthe 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. 11 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.”
God promises to take care of our needs...and to rebuke the devourer, if we bring Him the tithe.
Devourer means crop destroyer. When we spend every penny that God provides without bringing back his tithe, we have to understand who the actual crop destroyer is...and who God promises to rebuke. If you are stealing God’s resources, you are the one destroying your crop and God promises to rebuke you.
Blessing or rebuke, it’s up to you.
