Sunday was such an exciting day at Liberty! I love football season and we started a new sermon series called Get in the Game. The game of football is highly indicative of the Christian life. Most people watch from the sidelines. Few ever really get off the bleachers and get in the game! One of the ways we can take part in God’s work here on earth is to financially contribute to it. You may ask, “Preacher, why should I give tithes and offerings to the local church?” Here are a few reasons for you.
Scriptural
Tithing is biblical. It’s the First Principle. Giving God the first hour of every day, the first day of every week, and the first dime of every dollar is not easy; but, when God is first in your life, everything else falls into place. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” When God is not first in your life, everything is out of order. Jesus is preeminent. God is first in the universe. He can’t accept second. When we tithe, we are saying that Jesus is Lord of all, Lord of everything we have. In Sunday’s sermon we surveyed the many scriptures in the Old and New Testaments about tithing.
Simple
Tithing is also simple. What is a tithe? It’s a tenth, or 10%. If God gives 10, you give Him the first and you get to keep the other 9. It’s a great deal! It’s simple math. If a student made $1,000 for the year, the tithe is $100. If a widow on Social Security makes $1,000 a month, or $12,000 for the year, the tithe is $1,200. If a person makes $100,000 per year, an annual tithe is $10,000. Would you rather have a blessed 90% or a cursed 100%?
Supernatural
God can make 90% go further than you can make 100% go. How did He use 12 men, then 120 in the Upper Room, then 3000 at Pentecost to get the Gospel to us and the whole world? He works in ways far beyond what we can ask or imagine! He is supernatural!
Sacrificial
Exodus 13:14 says, “So it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ that you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” In the days of Moses, when a sheep had a baby lamb, the father would get a knife and cut its throat. Children would grow up saying, “Dad, we are supposed to be raising animals, but all these years you always kill the firstborn. Why? That just does not make sense!” To which the father would reply, “Son, there was a time we did not have any animals, any land or any money. We used to be slaves. We were in bondage, but God redeemed us and gave us everything we have now.”
In the same way, we need to tell our children, “Mom and Dad were not always a Christian, but God with a mighty hand, redeemed our lives and gave us everything that we have now. Therefore, we gladly give to God.”
When I pay the bills, the tithe is first. It is set aside holy to the Lord, and then comes the rest.
If you’d like to “Get in the Game” and contribute to God’s work by giving to Liberty, we’ve made it easy for you! You can click here to give online, you can give during the offering time on Sundays, or you can text “Libertylive” to 77977.
Would you declare with me that from now on you will put Jesus first in your life?
