The Tithe, God’s Money

The Tithe, God’s Money

Scripture:

Introduction: I like the old story about the guy who came to church with his family. As they were driving home afterwards he was complaining about everything. He said, “The music was too loud. The sermon was too long. The announcements were unclear. The building was hot. The people were unfriendly.” He went on & on, complaining about virtually everything. Finally, his very observant son said, “Dad, you’ve got to admit it wasn’t a bad show for just a dollar.”

When we withhold tithe and offerings from God or only give a pittance we miss out on the great blessings that our Heavenly Father would have for us and sometimes become like this man in the story.

There are certain elements that I would like to share that pertain to the tithe and to the offerings.

I. The Tithe is Holy

(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.

We see two biblical principals of the tithe in this verse. First the tithe is Holy. It is set apart form all of the other money that we make.

Holy: According to Webster

1. Dedicated to religious use; belonging to or coming from God; consecrated; sacred

2. Spiritually perfect or pure; untainted by evil or sin; sinless; saintly

3. Regarded with or deserving deep respect, awe, reverence, or adoration

The tithe is sacred and is not to be used in any other way than what God has intended.

When God makes something holy can He make it unholy? I suppose He could but that would go against the moral fabric of who God is, as well against His word. For God does not change Psalms 15:4

Are we making the tithe common? Using it like the money we buy bread with! The tithe is like the Sabbath; it is set apart for God’s Holy use.

II. The Tithe Belongs to God

(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.

The Second biblical principal is that the tithe belongs to God. We are not to hold it for our own use.

If you look at your possessions from a biblical standpoint, all of our possessions belong to God.

The big questions are…

We do not have a say how God uses the tithe money.

Do we have a right to send it to any other place than the storehouse? This we will touch on in a moment. But for now we need to understand that the tithe belongs to God and we should put Him first.

I have had people tell me Pastor I can’t afford to tithe. Church we can’t afford not to. It is simple mathematical principle. This principal states that 90% of God blessed money will go further than 100% of any of my money.

III. We should Put God First

A. (Prov. 3:9,10) Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

The firstfruits of all your increase is the money or possessions that is entrusted to you from God. Let God's portion be set apart first. Why?

¹⁰So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

When we put God first He pours out the blessings that can’t be contained. Have you ever tried to out give God? The blessings come back a hundred fold.

Proverbs 3:9 say’s Honor the Lord with you possessions. How do we honor God with our possessions?

B. First we need to put God first.

Would you agree that God is much smarter than any of us are? If that is so, then when it comes to money and possessions why don’t we try putting Him first? After all God is the owner of everything.

All we possess is the Lord's, and we are accountable to Him for the use we make of it.

He doesn’t need your money. Returning the tithe is for us, it’s not for Him.

The tithe is nothing but a minimum of your Christian commitment. It shows that you are committed to Him and you want to glorify God.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 whatever you do, do God glory.

C. Secondly, when we put God first we store up treasures in heaven. Use whatever means He has given us to finish the work. When you give to the kingdom you are building up treasures in heaven. Above your tithes if…

If someone is hungry then you feed them.

If someone is naked you clothe them.

If someone is sick you comfort them.

I challenge you to try to honor God with all your possessions and see if God will not bless you.

I spent ten years counseling people on finances. Those that I counseled that were struggling financially had a common problem. They weren’t returning their tithes or offerings.

Jacob discovered this blessing in 21 years he spent serving his father-in-law, Laban.

(Gen. 28:20-22)²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. ²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Put God first and your bread and your clothes and all that you need will be sure.

Because of obedience the Israelites were able to walk in the wilderness for forty years without their clothes and shoes wearing out and every meal was provided.

IV. God will Honor Careful Obedience with a Blessing

A. (Deut. 28:1-14)

It’s a fact. When God’s people are obedient, the Lord will bless.

“If you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God,” I can guarantee you that you won’t go hungry. He will supply good warm clothes. He will supply all your needs.

B. God tells us to try Him on this one issue.

(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.

When the devil came at Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus said to Satan do not tempt the Lord thy God. It’s very clear the Bible tells us not to test God on anything except paying tithes.

V. Failure to Return the Tithe is Robbery of God

(Mal. 3:6-10)

Ed reed helps us to understand what robbery is.

If someone walks into your yard and steals something from your patio the crime is considered a theft.

If someone breaks into a home when the owner is not home, to steal, the crime is burglary. The punishment is greater.

If someone breaks into a home when the owner is home, to steal, the crime is then called robbery.

When we withhold tithes and offerings we are robbing from God right under His nose. The owner is home and he is watching you do it.

Greed and selfishness is what motivates a person to rob from another person. Greed and selfishness is what motivates a person to rob from God.

This can only be from the spirit of Satan.

VI. An Honest Tithe has Three Elements

A. 10% is the amount or portion that God asks for.

(Gen. 28:22) And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

The first 10% is God’s He lets you keep the other 90%. I would rather have 90% of God blessed money than 100% of any money that hasn’t been blessed.

I can do more. I can go further and I can live better on that 90% than on the other 100%

God also asks for an offering which is free will. To be given from the heart. But the tithe is set in stone He expects no less.

B. The tithe must be returned to God’s storehouse

(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.

Where is the Storehouse? Where are we to bring our tithes?

Genesis 14:20 tells us that Abraham gave his tithe to the priest of the day, Melchizedek.

Numbers 18:21, 24 says that all the tithes in Israel went to the tribe of Levi. The money went to this particular tribe because the Levites were appointed to be the priesthood.

Joshua 6:19, 24 says all the gold and silver that was plundered during Joshua’s conquest was to go into the Lords treasury.

Scripture clearly shows that the means that God used to support His work and workers was to be paid through the Lord’s treasury. When the tithe came into the temple God had men appointed to distribute the funds to priests.

Do I send my tithes to another place because I do not agree with those who are managing the tithe?

Maybe you feel dissatisfied with those who are managing the funds and you might be rightly justified.

What does the Bible suggest we should do?

Was there corruption in Jesus’ day?

Did Jesus ever condemn any one for paying into the treasury even though He knew there was corruption in His Fathers house?

⁴¹ Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. ⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”

Did Jesus condemn the rich for putting into the treasury? No, He condemned them for their pride. He honored the widow for putting all that she had into the treasury of heaven.

Old Testament example; 1 Samuel 2:22-36 the high priest Eli had two sons Hophni and Phinehas who served in the temple. These two men were mismanaging the offering that came into the temple.

And the Lord spoke to Eli saying… ²⁹ Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’

³⁴ Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them. ³⁵ Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

You notice God didn’t tell Israel to stop brining their tithes and offerings into the treasury because we have some corrupt priests. God dealt with the matter Himself by demanding Eli’s two son’s lives. After they died Eli couldn’t even morn for them.

We can’t take matters into our own hands, God has it all worked out

Some have been dissatisfied and have said: "I will not longer pay my tithe; for I have no confidence in the way things are managed at the heart of the work." But will you rob God because you think the management of the work is not right? Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones. Send in your petitions for things to be adjusted and set in order; but do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful, because others are not doing right. {9T 249.2}

The Storehouse in the SDA church is the Conference in which the ministers are paid from. If I consider myself A Seventh-day Adventist and pay my tithe to any other place than the Conference, then I am robbing God.

C. The purpose of the tithe is used to support the ministry

(Numbers 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.

The tribe of Levi never received any land as an inheritance. The entire tithe was to go into the storehouse, the Lords treasury and pay the temple workers from it. That was God’s plan in the beginning and its God’s plan today. And God’s plan is the best plan.

VII. God’s Plan is the Best

(Prov. 3:5,6) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

If you have been trying to do it your way and have been struggling maybe it’s time to try it God’s way.

We trust Him with our salvation why not trust Him with your money?

I herd a preacher once say, “It seems that our pocketbook is the last thing to be saved.”

If you haven’t been returning your tithes I will guarantee you, if you pay them for three months and don’t receive any blessing the conference will return all your money. God is saying try me on this!

The plan of systematic benevolence was of God's own arrangement, but the faithful payment of God's claims is often refused or postponed as though solemn promises were of no significance. It is because church members neglect to pay their tithes and meet their pledges that our institutions are not free from embarrassment. If all, both rich and poor, would bring their tithes into the storehouse, there would be a sufficient supply of means to release the cause from financial embarrassment and to nobly carry forward the missionary work in its various departments. God calls upon those who believe the truth to render to Him the things that are His. Those who have thought that to withhold from God is gain will eventually experience His curse as the result of their robbery of the Lord. Nothing but utter inability to pay can excuse one in neglecting to meet promptly his obligations to the Lord. Indifference in this matter shows that you are in blindness and deception, and are unworthy of the Christian name. {4T 475.3}

The majority of professed Christians part with their means with great reluctance. Many of them do not give one twentieth of their income to God, and many give far less than that; while there is a large class who rob God of the little tithe, and others who will give only the tithe. If all the tithes of our people flowed into the treasury of the Lord as they should, such blessings would be received that gifts and offerings for sacred purposes would be multiplied tenfold, and thus the channel between God and man would be kept open. The followers of Christ should not wait for thrilling missionary appeals to arouse them to action. If spiritually awake, they would hear in the income of every week, whether much or little, the voice of God and of conscience with authority demanding the tithes and offerings due the Lord. {4T 474.2}

It is part of your work to teach those whom you bring into the truth to bring the tithe into the storehouse as an acknowledgment of their dependence on God. They should be fully enlightened as to their duty to return to the Lord His own. The command to pay tithe is so plain that there is no semblance of excuse for disregarding it. If you neglect to give the new converts instruction on this point, you leave undone a most important part of your work.--Letter 51, 1902. {Ev 250.2}

Let the church appoint pastors or elders who are devoted to the Lord Jesus, and let these men see that officers are chosen who will attend faithfully to the work of gathering in the tithe. If the pastors show that they are not fitted for their charge, if they fail to set before the church the importance of returning to God His own, if they do not see to it that the officers under them are faithful, and that the tithe is brought in, they are in peril. They are neglecting a matter which involves a blessing or a curse to the church. They should be relieved of their responsibility, and other men should be tested and tried. {CS 106.1}

If a leader within the church feels he or she cannot or will not support the church financially then he or she shouldn’t be in a leadership position.

The Lord's messengers should see that His requirements are faithfully discharged by the members of the churches. God says that there should be meat in His house, and if the money in the treasury is tampered with, if it is regarded as right for individuals to make what use they please of the tithe, the Lord cannot bless. He cannot sustain those who think that they can do as they please with that which is His.--R. & H. Supplement, Dec. 1, 1896. {CS 106.2}

Concluson:

"Those churches who are the most systematic and liberal in sustaining the cause of God are the most prosperous spiritually. True liberality in the follower of Christ identifies his interest with that of his Master. In God's dealing with the Jews and His people to the end of time, He requires systematic benevolence proportionate to their income. The plan of salvation was laid by the infinite sacrifice of the Son of God. The light of the gospel shining from the cross of Christ rebukes selfishness and encourages liberality and benevolence. It is not to be a lamented fact that there are increasing calls to give. God in His providence is calling His people out from their limited sphere of action to enter upon greater enterprises. Unlimited effort is demanded at this time when moral darkness is covering the world. Worldliness and covetousness are eating out the vitals of God's people. They should understand that it is His mercy which multiplies the demands for their means. The angel of God places benevolent acts close beside prayer. He said to Cornelius: "Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God." {3T 405.1}

I have given biblical support and the Spirit of Prophecy of the importance of returning the tithe.

I have given biblical support and the Spirit of Prophecy identifying where the tithe is to be sent.

This is a salvation issue. There will be people lost because they robbed God.

Its time to examine ourselves, are we doing all to the glory of God with the substance that God has given us?

Hymn #462 Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!

Hymn #590 Trust and obey

A Solemn Obligation

The tithe is sacred, reserved by God for Himself. It is to be brought into His treasury to be used to sustain the gospel laborers in their work. For a long time the Lord has been robbed because there are those who do not realize that the tithe is God's reserved portion. {9T 249.1}

Read carefully the third chapter of Malachi and see what God says about the tithe. If our churches will take their stand upon the Lord's word and be faithful in paying their tithe into His treasury, more laborers will be encouraged to take up ministerial work. More men would give themselves to the ministry were they not told of the depleted treasury. There should be an abundant supply in the Lord's treasury, and there would be if selfish hearts and hands had not withheld the tithes or made use of them to support other lines of work. {9T 249.3}

God's reserved resources are to be used in no such haphazard way. The tithe is the Lord's, and those who

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meddle with it will be punished with the loss of their heavenly treasure unless they repent. Let the work no longer be hedged up because the tithe has been diverted into various channels other than the one to which the Lord has said it should go. Provision is to be made for these other lines of work. They are to be sustained, but not from the tithe. God has not changed; the tithe is still to be used for the support of the ministry. The opening of new fields requires more ministerial efficiency than we now have, and there must be means in the treasury. {9T 249.4}

Those who go forth as ministers have a solemn responsibility devolving upon them which is strangely neglected. Some enjoy preaching, but they do not give personal labor to the churches. There is great need of instruction concerning the obligations and duties to God, especially in regard to paying an honest tithe. Our ministers would feel sadly aggrieved if they were not promptly paid for their labor; but will they consider that there must be meat in the treasure house of God wherewith to sustain the laborers? If they fail to do their whole duty in educating the people to be faithful in paying to God His own, there will be a shortage of means in the treasury to carry forward the Lord's work. {9T 250.1}

The overseer of the flock of God should faithfully discharge his duty. If he takes the position that because this is not pleasant to him, he will leave it for someone else to do, he is not a faithful worker. Let him read in Malachi the words of the Lord charging the people with robbery toward God in withholding the tithes. The mighty God declares: "Ye are cursed with a curse." Malachi 3:9. When the one who ministers in word and doctrine sees the people pursuing a course that will bring this curse upon them, how can he neglect his duty to give them

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instruction and warning? Every church member should be taught to be faithful in paying an honest tithe. {9T 250.2}

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now here with, 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." Verse 10.