Giving God What’s His | Money Matters
Money Matters
Giving God What’s His…
1 Chronicles 29:11 – 12 (NLT) 11Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
Malachi 3:6-12 (NIV) 6 “I the Lord do not change. So, you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10Bring 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. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. 12“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
SOUL TATTOO: The tithe matters because our hearts and our money are closely connected.
Tithing is an act of faith, a recognition of God’s provision and a way to support God’s work.
The Bible is the greatest manual of all time on finances or money.
- 1 out of every 10 verses in the New Testament deals with money or a tithe.
- 16 out of 38 of the parables deal with the handling of money or possessions.
- In the Bible there are approximately 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith and more than 2,350 verses on how to handle money.
The Stress and Pressure:
You are financially upside down and you don’t know how to get out and you need a lifeline.
You are living paycheck to pay check (like most) but you are still going further into debt and want to know what God thinks.
You are strapped financially and feel like you are under some sort of curse and you desire to break the cycle of that curse.
You hear us talk about how generous God is but you cannot understand why He is isn’t being generous to you in your finances.
1 Chronicles 29:12 (NLT) 12Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
“The tithe is so much more than an obligation; it’s an opportunity to honor God by giving Him first place in our lives.” Pastor John Siebeling
“I have observed 100,000 families over my years of investment counseling. I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn’t.” Sir John Templeton, The Temple Group
SOUL TATTOO: The tithe matters because our hearts and our money are closely connected.
Tithing matters to God:
T = Tithing is a Lordship issue.
- Lordship: Lord, Master (Gk. kurios, “supreme”), he to whom a person or thing belongs, the master, the one having disposition of men or property.
Matthew 22:37-38 (NLT) 38Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment.
Matthew 6:24 (NLT) 24“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
“In revelations we read of a book which no man could open. Some believe that was the pocketbook.” Anonymous
“’How we handle our money impacts our fellowship with the Lord.’ ‘Possessions compete with the Lord for the mastery of our lives.’ ‘And much of life revolves around money.’” Crown Financial Ministries
I = Individual experience.
1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT) For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
T = Tithing means a tenth of all my income.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (NLT) 22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. 23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.
“It’s not equal giving, it’s equal sacrifice”…
“If every Christian in America would tithe not give one dollar over…just tithe we would have enough money in the American church to feed and educate every human being on the planet and have between $60 and $70 billion dollars left over to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That represents nearly and additional 25% of what all Americans…Christians or otherwise…currently give in all types of private philanthropy.”
The motive for tithing is obedience, the reward is blessing.
H = High Pressure sales tactics are not needed.
E = Everything belongs to the Lord.
1 Chronicles 29:12 (NLT) 12Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.
“One of the greatest missing teachings in the American church today is the reminder to men and women that nothing we have belongs to us.” Gordon Macdonald
SOUL TATTOO: The tithe matters because our hearts and our money are closely connected.
Money Matters, and tithing honors God:
1. Tithing acknowledges God’s provision.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NLT) 9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.
Why is the attitude & motivation of the heart so important when it comes to tithing?
2. Tithing supports God’s work through the Church.
Malachi 3:10 (NIV) 10Bring 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 there will not be room enough to store it.
3. Tithing builds faith and cultivates generosity.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV) 7Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
SOUL TATTOO: The tithe matters because our hearts and our money are closely connected.