OFFER YOUR TITHE IN WORSHIP

Tuesday, May 8, 2012                        Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

Deuteronomy 26:1-19
Key Verse: 26:10

“and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, LORD, have given me. ” Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him.”

Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for your steadfast love. Thank you for being with me and quieting my heart and satisfying me with your word. When I wander here and there, not knowing what to do with myself, you give me something meaningful and satisfying to do. I can be fully engaged in coming to know you and preaching the Gospel. I pray that the young people of our nation may give their hearts to you and begin their quest to knowing you. Please grant me your word in my heart today. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1. Offer Your Tithe (1-11).

Verses 1-11 reads, “When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name 3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the land the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. 7 Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, LORD, have given me. ” Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.”

When we are blessed by God, we should offer our tithe to him, remembering personally how God cared for us, saved us, and delivered us from all our affliction and oppression. In this passage, the author tells of the grace of God. Abraham was a wandering Aramean, who was blessed by God. His descendants were blessed by God. Abraham tithed. His descendents were to tithe also. I am coming to know the same grace of God. I was a wandering Canadian, wandering in this world without meaning and without an eternal hope. I was wandering in my hedonistic sins. But Jesus came and found me and set me on the straight and narrow path that leads all the way to the kingdom of heaven. He has granted me forgiveness of sins, eternal life, mission, hope in this life and the next, stability, kids that aren’t trying to kill me in my sleep. (lol) He has opened the way for all of them to study at a top notch university at a very cheap price. They are all healthy, stable and able to overcome this world. We all have our basic health. We are on our way to heaven. How can we be more blessed? We can’t. Jesus has done it all, through his suffering and death and resurrection. We are blessed because of the Gospel.

For Christians a tithe may mean a tithe (10%) of time, talents and money. I try to do tithe in these ways. I learned the necessity of tithing as a young Christian. There was flooding in our Bible house and it cost $700 dollars to repair. I realized that unless people tithes then the repairs could be made. I saw the necessity. Our tithing provides the means to carry on with the Gospel ministry here in DeKalb.

I have also noticed that those who tithe are very stable financially. They always have something to give and to share. It is because God blesses. I will always remember Malachi 3:8-12 reads, 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 is still as true today and it was in 400 BC. I have discovered it. In my experience God will bless in the long term. He will throw open the storehouses of heaven. It may not happen right away. Stability may come decades later. But it will come. Be patient and continue to seek God and his kingdom as top priority in your life. God will bless in his way and in his time. You may not be rich, but he will provide for your needs, unless there is a special calling in your life. I have discovered this recently through God granting me and Julie good jobs in this “down” economy and also providing a way for five of my kids to go to university at an extremely reasonable price and be potential missionaries to Canada also. I am amazed.

Actually tithing to God involves a fraction of the money that Jesus has saved me during my life time. I used to spend so much money on my hedonistic lifestyle. In my college days I felt I needed at least $50 per evening to go out with my friends or else I couldn’t enjoy myself. But Jesus satisfies my heart. He helps me to find great joy in the free things in this world. I am happy in my modest home in a small town. I am happy with simple vacations with my family. I am happy and content in Jesus and growing spiritually. These are free of charge. I would have been spending so much money on healthcare, because before meeting Christ, I was living a very unhealthy lifestyle. (I could have been dead by now, if it were not for Christ.) Jesus also saves me time by keeping me focused on what is truly important and fruitful. Jesus has saved me from my sins and also he has saved me oodles of money and time. Giving a tithe to him is nothing compared to what he has given me.

Giving to God is like casting your bread upon the waters. Ecc 11:1 reads, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” Proverbs 11:23-24 reads, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Our God, the God of the Bible, is the Lord of all the universe. He provides and he will continue to provide. He wants his people to be a giving people. In turn, he will provide so that his people can continue being generous reflecting the generous heart of our Lord and Savior. Paul tells us this principle in 2 Corinthians 9:10-11, “10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” God wants to work through you if you will let him.

Our faithful tithe is a sign of our deep gratitude and dependence on God. We should offer our tithe joyfully and full of faith in worship before him with all our family. This is true. When we tithe we are thanking God in a very meaningful and constructive way.

There are people who say that there is no tithing in the New Testament. This is true. There are free will offerings. But the people in the New Testament gave out of the thanksgiving in their hearts. Actually a freewill offering could even mean more than a tithe. It always amazes me that when the words free will offering are spoken, people mostly think, “No offering.” I grew up giving $2 offering every 2 weeks. Why? Julie tells me that only 3% of church goers in America tithe. 3% are basically supporting the financial needs of the church. Lord, make your people a giving people.

Part 2. Bless Your People (12-19).

Verses 12-19 read, “12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then say to the LORD your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

When we offer our tithe, we should do it carefully according to what pleases God. We should give generously not only to God, but also to charity, caring for the weak and downtrodden and supporting his servants who do his will. I am surprised by the fact that all of the tithe didn’t just have to go to the Levite. One could also give to various charities. But when we give we need to find the will of God and give it out of our sincere obedience to the will of God. It is an attitude. It is an expression of our love for God and of our faith and our trust in his provision.

Verse 16-19 read, “The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him. 18 And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”

We are really blessed when we obey God with all our heart and soul and live according to his commands as his treasured people, consecrated to his will. For those Christians who agree, offering a tithe is the will of God. If you don’t agree then giving a “free will” offering is the will of God. This does not mean give nothing. It could actually mean more than a tithe at times. Whatever we choose we must reflect the heart and mind of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is generous. Jesus is giving. Jesus provides. He cares. Jesus loves and trusts his father in heaven.

Prayer: Lord, please accept my offering in worship of you. Help me to give generously as a sign of my complete trust in your blessing from heaven and my desire to glorify you.

One Word: Give my offering in worship to God and rely on him fully to bless me