The Joy In Giving
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Intro; It has been asked of me lately is our church in financial trouble. And I respond that all our bills are paid and we have money in the bank [share budget sheet].
But I will tell you this morning that if our giving to the ministry continues on the path it is on since Covid, then I might well have to respond with a different answer! I went back and looked at the budget sheets from before Covid and after, and the giving has steadily declined.
We can blame that on the pastors poor preaching, the music, people leaving but we’ve also had new people come. We can think of various reasons to blame on the low giving, but the place to look in within ourselves!
I don’t know if you have noticed at home that our dollar doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to. Everything has gone up! Guess what, so has the cost of everything related to church expenses. The church is not immune to inflation and the rising cost of products. And if the giving steadily declines and the costs continue to rise, well, the outlook is not good.
Since we are Christians, and we belong to God, and we know the scriptures teach that God will supply our needs, then usually the response from people is, “Well Preacher, you just need to trust God in this situation.”
And I usually respond, “I do trust God, it’s people that I don’t trust.” The reason I say that is because it’s God’s people that He uses to supply the needs for His ministry, and undoubtedly some are not listening!
So this morning I want to talk to you about “The Joy In Giving”
1. A Tithe and a Tenth;
1. A Tithe and a Tenth;
The words “tithe” and “tenth” mean the same thing. It is a percentage, a tenth of something, of what one gives to God as a act of worship.
Two scriptures before the Law of the tithe was given.
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.
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.”
Abraham blessed God with a tithe for what He had done, Jacob blessed God with a tenth for what God promised to do. All this was done before God made the tithe part of the Levitical Law.
2. The Law of the Tithe;
2. The Law of the Tithe;
The “tithe” became a part of God’s Law only after He had delivered the children of Israel from the bondage in Egypt and brought them to Mt. Sinai. In the Books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, do we read and find out what the law of the tithe was for.
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.
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.
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.
22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
The tithe was an act of worship to the Lord for all His blessings upon the nation of Israel.
It was also to meet the needs of the Priests and Levites who life call was to ministry in the tabernacle to the Lord.
And finally the law of the tithe was to teach the people to fear God, to “reverence” Him, for all His many blessings they had received!
3. New Testament Giving;
3. New Testament Giving;
When Jesus came to fulfill the law, tithing is no longer relevant to the Christian. No where in the New Testament will you find Jesus, the disciples or any others teach or require a believer to tithe/tenth. The New Testament teaches “giving”.
The early christians more than likely started giving to the church a “tithe/tenth” because that is the tradition from which the had come out of from Old Testament law. But as we look at scripture concerning the early christians giving, it went well beyond a tithe.
42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,
37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia:
2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.
3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,
4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.
Philippians 4:15, 18 (NKJV)
15 Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only…
18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.
In these scriptures we see that the early church gave to meet the needs of others, the ministry and mission of the church, and it seems to have gone way above and beyond what we call a tithe/tenth.
4. The Joy In Giving;
4. The Joy In Giving;
Joy in a persons life is the result of choice. Happiness comes and goes, but joy remains. Joy is a choice that experiences the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ!
Joy comes from knowing Jesus and making Him your treasure, not the things of the world.
Matthew 6:19–21 (NKJV)
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If Jesus is your treasure then Giving is a Joy
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
5. Sowing and Reaping;
5. Sowing and Reaping;
In both the Old and New testaments, there are blessings to Israel and the Christian when we give to God cheerfully as an act of worship. And there is also curses to Israel and the Christian when we don’t.
Old Testament Sowing and Reaping concerning the tithe;
5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
6 “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways!
8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.
9 “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.
10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’
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.
9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
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.
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;
12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.
New Testament Sowing and Reaping in giving;
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
9 As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
Luke 6:38 (NKJV)
38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Close;
Giving is a choice just like joy is a choice and both are tied to an individuals faith in Jesus Christ. The greater and deeper the faith, the greater joy one has in giving.
Take some time today in prayer with the Lord and your family about your giving, and then respond with joy in the way Christ leads you!