Money Matter$

Seven.

As soon as that number hit my eardrums; I felt as many emotions as rainbows have colors! I was puzzled, shocked, saddened, surprised and I was mad!

In a worldside assessment of all Christians, just seven percent tithe the Biblically-mandated 10-percent or more! SEVEN!! What?!? This can't be.

Don't believers think of that number-- 7. As in the number of days the Lord gives them per week? Each day is a blessing, a gift, it's not something that's guaranteed or anything we've earned-- it's what God so freely gives us.

Then I think of seven again. Our health, family, friends, a place to live, a job, food and water . . . seven blessings that fill our lives. Yet we show no thanks?

Father forgive us for we know not what we do . . . actually, we do, but we seem not to care!

Seven . . . as in James 1:17, "Every good and perfect gift comes from above."

If this is true, which it is, is anything truly ours? Are we not just entrusted with being a good steward of all of it?

"How Long Will you Rob from Me?"

Other than disobedience, is there anything worse than stealing from God? Before you think I'm crazy for saying that; consider Malachi 3:8-12.

"In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse-- your whole nation-- 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 there will not be enough room to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your field will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," says the Lord Almighty. 12 Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a very delightful land," says the Lord Almighty.

TEST ME IN THIS! Those FOUR words are INCREDIBLE to me . . . it shows, while complete in His power and sovereignty, He is humble enough to say, "If you don't believe me . . . I'll prove it to you!" WOW. Humble and approachable enough to declare, "I'll put my money where my mouth is." God is under no obligation to answer to us although we often act like He is. Does SEVEN sound like we are taking Him up on His offer?

Did you Know?

Sure you know our church receives our tithe when we place our money or check into the offering plate on Sunday, but did you know what happens with our tithe at the exact same time in Heaven? Jesus, the One who died for us, receives it and presents it to His Father (God) -- Hebrews 7:8-- when you truly wrap your mind around that; you will no longer look at tithing as something you 'have' to do or are required to do (Deuteronomy 14:22, or just to get blessed, "That the Lord your God may bless all the work of your hands (Deu. 14:29), but will instead view it as the awesome privilege it is!

So What's Stopping Us?

One word-- Mammon that's what stops us from cheerfully giving back to the Lord as we are instructed to (2nd Cor. 9:7). See Mammon, as I learned through the Bible and Robert Morris' book, "The Blessed Life," wants us to find our security and identity in money. It's that spirit, which Jesus warned us about in Luke 16:13, that encourages us to look to money as our solution instead of to our Provider (God).

The last thing the Satan wants is for us to find our identity in Jesus, to share His love through our resources to those who are less fortunate and for us to help grow the body of Christ, so it's him, through Mammon, who places doubt in us that God will forgive. We think things such as, "But I need this money to pay my bills, I'll do it next Sunday, man, this is my money, I'm self-made and if I have money left over after I pay my bills."

One of the coolest aspects of tithing is it's a TRUST thing. Without trust you can not have much, if any, of a relationship. When we give the Lord our first fruits (the first 10-15 % of our paychecks) we are demonstrating two things: 1. We TRUST Him enough to provide and 2. That He can TRUST us enough to give us more through multiplying our riches--both monetary and spiritual ones (Luke 16:10). But when we cling to our money; we are being poor stewards and show we would rather put our trust into something tangible instead of the Lord.

My Challenge

The Word encourages us to pursue riches . . . but not earthy ones, Matthew 16:20-21 "Store up for yourself treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Like my pastor Mike Devine says, you can reverse the order of that sentence too . . . "Where your heart is, there your treasure will be."

My challenge is for more of us, my brothers and sisters in Christ, to trust the Lord IS who He says He is (Dennis Green voice when he coached the Arizona Cardinals) even when it comes to our precious money! Focus on Him, trusting Him and being rich in the things that truly matter: reflecting His glory, sharing His love and letting Him direct our paths. See there is nothing wrong with money, and being successful, and what it represents being A motivation, but when it is THE MOTIVATION we are showing while we may be rich in terms of money we are proving we feel it's a bigger treasure than the Lord Himself.

So get money, get paid, get quap, but when you do, remember whose hands from which it fell and give it back to Him. Because if ALL your chase is the money, even if you get it, you might just lose your soul in the process!


Please check out these two websites, which contain excellent Spirit-breathed information on tithing and I encourage you to read "The Blessed Life" by Robert Morris.
http://www.goodgroundfamilychurch.org/Sermon/Breaking_the_Spirit_of_Mammon

http://www.bellviewbaptistchurch.com/Tithing.htm