2/2/14 EQUIPPING TO SERVE

A Faithful and Growing Steward

    We are continuing to talk about Christian stewardship as a foundation for serving the Lord.
    Whatever you think of Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, he has an interesting insight that I want to share:  Warren Buffett’s “Jerk Doctrine” of Riches
    A Harvard Business Review blog calls it Warren Buffet’s “jerk doctrine”. Buffett, one of the wealthiest people in the world, once said, “Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.”
Michael Schrage, “Is Technology Making You More (or Less) of a Jerk?” HBR Blog Network (11-7-12)
    That’s an interesting insight.  It’s not how much money a person as, it is what is in their heart.  As we talk about Christian stewardship, we are talking about obedience to God and applying what the Bible teaches.  These are principles that are cross-cultural that cross economic lines.  God expects a poor person to be a faithful steward as well as a rich person.
    Last week we started out with a question:  What about the concept of “living within your means”, even if it will determine that you don’t have all the fun stuff others have?  Does that sound unamerican?  Learning to live within our means is important.
    In this series we have looked at:
Do EVERYTHING for the Lord.  Do it all the Lord’s way.
A Steward – a trustee, control or manager, but not an owner.  A steward manages for the benefit of someone else.
A definition of stewardship: “The Sum total of all my attitudes toward God”.
A true steward must have a good attitude, or he/she won’t be able to be faithful to the responsibilities of stewardship.
    The Bible teaches us about tithing.  This is a central part of stewardship, of recognizing ownership and rightly handling the money we have in our control.
    God has amazing blessings and benefits for His children as they obey Him.
    Ownership:  God is the owner of everything.
    Define the tithe – 2 Identifying Marks:
1.  Always first.
2.  Always 10% of increase (before deductions).
    The tithe is the acknowledgment that all we have belongs to God. He is God and is in control, sovereign. The tithe is a means by which God’s ownership is established.
Law of the First Things
God always gets the first. Tithe paid first before other things.
Exodus 23:19 NIV
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.
Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
    Last week we were not able to fully cover everything, so I will pick up what we missed and then complete our study.
The Storehouse Principle of the Tithe
Malachi 3:8-12 NIV
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring 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. 11 I 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.
    This passage includes blessings as well as curses.
    What are the blessings? Provision in God’s house.  This is God’s divine way to provide for the local church.  The needs will be met and we won’t have to resort to guilt, pressure, gimmicks, manipulation, raffles, candy sales, etc. to provide for the local church.  God says that He will make it enough.  It will work because it is God’s way.  God promises blessings as well as rebuking the devourer.
    The storehouse: The local church – where you regularly attend.  Tithe where you are fed, have fellowship and receive ministry. This is where you turn to in times of trouble and blessing.  Tithe to your storehouse (God’s clearing house) – undesignated, it belongs to God.
    These verses include some challenging and frightening statements.  They are also some statements of blessing.
    “Will a man rob God?”  Who of us would think of sticking a gun in God’s face and stealing from Him?  Yet, that’s what God says happens.
    Important fact about tithe:  while it is not primarily a money making project, it IS God’s revealed way to support the church.  When all of God’s people tithe, the church is relieved of all the gimmicks used to coax money in to the treasury.  Tithe, not gimmick, is God’s way.
A GENEROUS LIFE AND LIFESTYLE
    Remember that “attitude” is an important part of the definition of stewardship that we are using.
II Corinthians 9:6-7 NIV
Sowing Generously
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
From The Message
God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.
    I’m sure that some people look at the title of E. M. Clark’s book, How To Be Happy Giving Your Money Away and think that it must have been written by a lunatic.  But, the more we grasp the Biblical principles of stewardship and God’s blessings the more we are cheerful givers.  I would rather spend time around a generous person than a stingy one.  Their whole outlook on life is different.
    God loves a cheerful giver.  Your attitude is an important part of the process. Let me tell you, it is fun to be able to give.
    Let me give you a simple way you can join the cheerful givers, looking for a way to help with special needs.  Many say that would love to give to help out in various needs, but they simply don’t have the money for it.  Let me show you how you can plan for it.
    In your budget, put some cash away every week to have to give it away when a need arises.  You can give to a friend or stranger, maybe a cause like a family that has a house fire, etc.
    “But, you don’t understand, I don’t have any extra money to give.”
    If you put 50 cents a week away, at the end of the year you would have about $25.00.  I believe that most of us can do more.  Wouldn’t it be fun to give someone in need $25.00 at Christmas time?  Andrea and I have an agreement that if one feels we really should give someone something, we will do it. One time we I said that I felt we should give $100 to a specific family in need.  She said, good, I have been thinking the same thing.  Just do it quietly so you don’t embarrass the person receiving your gift. This is another way to have a divine appointment.
    While none of us can meet every need we hear about, there are times when we can do something and it is FUN TO GIVE and see someone blessed.  So, plan for it.
    Question: Considering that the 90% left in your pocket belongs to God, what does that say about how you spend it? Use it wisely.  Provide for your family, etc.
    We already talked about sovereignty.  God is sovereign.  Sovereignty is acknowledged only when the terms laid down by the sovereign are met.  Paying the tithe is obeying the expectations of our Sovereign.  IE. You don’t just call Buckingham Palace and say you’ll talk to the queen, or that you’ll be showing up for lunch and expect the queen to be ready to greet you.  Many royal watchers were horrified when a lady in Washington DC hugged the queen when she visited in her home.
    Question: Think about how you respond to the person who says, “I can’t afford to tithe”?
    God chastened Israel for giving Him second best.  That is what is done when we try to give to God the way we design, and not His way.
Malachi 1:6-8 NIV
Blemished Sacrifices
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.  But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You place defiled food on my altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’ “By saying that the LORD’S table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.
    They were offering sick, blind animals to God. He told them to offer that to the governor and see if he would be pleased.  God is to receive the first and best.
    There are so many more things we could talk about on this subject, but we will stop here for the time.
SO, WHAT DO WE DO AT THIS POINT IN TIME?
    For many of us, you are already living in the blessings of faithfully tithing.  We can REJOICE IN THE BLESSINGS that we are tithing.  We can live expecting God’s continual provision.  We can trust God to continue to provide for us as a church fellowship.
    How about the ones who don’t tithe?  I want to strongly emphasize this point:  This is not a money-making issue, but obedience to God.  It’s a matter of giving God the opportunity to open up the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings.
    It is the blessing of LIVING OBEDIENTLY & GENEROUSLY.
    Picking up our discussion from last week:
DISCUSSION
What if everyone who claims Christianity brought the tithe to their local church regularly?
Where do offerings come in?  Missions, giving to special needs, etc.
Is there a specific income level a person has to reach before God expects the tithe?  Giving to help others?
Good money management, good budgeting is an important ingredient in this whole topic.  We have not talked about that.
Can you identify specific struggles people have that keep them from tithing?
Is this whole topic of stewardship and tithing simply a money raising scheme?
If you have not been tithing, not been giving regularly, how do you start?
If Americans who identify with the historically Christian church had given 10% to their churches in 2008, rather than the 2.43% given, there would have been an additional $172 billion available for work through the church.
http://emptytomb.com/potential.html