“The Rewards of Tithing”
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Leviticus 27:30-34; Proverbs 11:24-25

Introduction: Today we are going to talk about the giving of our money. Now I know that most people don’t like to talk about this, but the truth is, Jesus Christ said more about money than any other subject, because Jesus knows the pull on our hearts that money can have. Throughout the Bible there is a direct correlation between the development of a person’s character, and how they handle money. Seventeen of Jesus’ 38 parables dealt with our possessions and how we need to give them over to the Lord.
The key to giving is to have proper priorities in our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” This morning I want us to look at how when we have a generous heart, the whole of our life goes better. I want us to understand that our treasure needs to be in giving ourselves away to God, and to others. I want us to have a strong sense, that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” I want us to discover together the rewards that come from tithing.

I. The Idea of Giving One-Tenth- (Malachi 3:10; Proverbs 3:9, 11:24-25
Leviticus 27:30-34)

a. Blessing from giving- For many, the concept that being a generous
giver brings rewards, does not make sense. They reject this idea because they feel that they struggle to have enough as it is. And yet, this could very well be the reason people worry about their finances and their financial security.
It has been estimated that over 50% of Americans are regularly having trouble paying their bills. Another 25% or so say that they frequently have this problem. So it is not a surprising topic to talk about people having worries over their finances.
The Bible tells us that no matter what our financial situation is, we are to give of what we have; we are to give from what has been given to us. The best known verse comes from Malachi 3:10, which says: “‘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 room enough to store it.’” Here we are given a promise from God that if we will be generous to His Kingdom and the work He has given us to do, then He will greatly bless us!
There are other places in scripture where we are given this same promise of God… Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord with…the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled.” We are not to give what is leftover, but we are to give FIRST to the Lord. I have had conversations with people who believe that once their bills are paid, they then look at what they have left, and then maybe give 10% of that. But this is not what the Bible teaches us. When Tami and I make our budget, we set aside 10% of what we make, and give that to the church and the work of the Lord; the first fruits.
And listen again to the verses we just read from Proverbs 11:24-25, “One man gives freely, yet grows richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” While it doesn’t always make sense, there is a truth in scripture that teaches that the more generous we are, the more we will seem to have for ourselves.
b. Why is giving so troublesome?- Of all of God’s commandments,
tithing, or giving 10% of our money, is one of the most troublesome for people. Many people don’t want to admit that giving back to God is something that is required of us from God. Most people want to think that giving is an option; something that we can choose to do, or not.
From the time of Adam and Eve we see that it was required to give an offering. In Genesis 3 we see how Cain and Abel came to give their offering to God. But Cain came with an unwilling and hard heart. Thus his offering was not accepted by God. This only led him to become more angry. And when Abel’s offering was accepted, Cain decided to take it out on Abel by killing him.
Many people react the same way as Cain. Well, they may not go out and kill someone else in anger, but they are angry that they haven’t been given more by God, and so they choose to withhold their giving all the more. Then when God doesn’t bless them in the way they think He should, they get all the more angry over their situation, and it just compounds itself.
This idea of giving from the first fruits goes back to when God’s people were working the soil. When you take some of the fruit that you pick, and put it back into the land from the seeds of your gathering, the crops would spring back up the next year. In other words, the more they let slip through their fingers during the time of harvest, the more they would have in new crops the next year.
In the book of Leviticus, God makes a claim on what we produce, in Leviticus 27:30, 32 saying: “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s…and all the tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal…shall be holy to the Lord.” People want to argue that this might have been true for a primitive society, but things are different and more complex today. I believe that God has set forth this basic truth of giving away, and receiving blessing. I believe it was true in the days of old, and it is still true today!
We should actually think of this as a law of God; the law of tithing. Gordon Groth, the former president of Electra Manufacturing Co., once said that he discovered that the people who learned how to tithe, didn’t stop once they had learned. One reason he discovered is that they were afraid to stop tithing, because their tithing had brought them increased material blessings that they believed would be discontinued if they stopped.
Now, we need to be careful not to give just because we think we will get lots of things because of our giving. We need to let our hearts be generous in our giving because we understand it to be a good and loving action. EX. Our children are learning how to be generous givers. And while we don’t give them a reward every time they give, we do remind them that they are never wanting for anything, and that through their generous attitudes, we as parents are all the more willing to bless them when the time is right.

II. Testimonies-
I would like to give you a couple of testimonies about generous giving…
a. William Volder- William Volker, the inventor of the roll-up window
shade, gave away enormous amounts of money. While still a comparatively young man, he was worth several million dollars. He and his wife decided they would keep one million dollars, and give away all above that amount. Their friends thought they had lost their minds. That is because most people don’t want to be generous in this way, and they don’t understand those who chose to be generous. In fact, one of his friends said to him: “I was sure you would end up in a pauper’s grave, but here you are, richer than ever, despite all the money you have been shoveling out for years.” Volker replied to him: “Yes, I have been shoveling it out, but God has been shoveling more of it right back to me, and God has a bigger shovel.” When we are generous, God is generous back to us!
b. Rick Warren- Many of you are familiar with Rick Warren, the pastor
of Saddleback Community Church. In fact, a few years ago we did their 40-days of purpose series for our church. He has written many books and is a speaker at many events. A few years ago Warren decided to stop taking a salary from the church and just live off his book royalties. On top of this, he chose to pay back all the salary that he had received from the church.
Why did he do this? There were a couple of reasons. First, he didn’t want to take money from the church that he believed could go to do more ministry for the church. Warren was concerned for the church to have enough money to do the work of the Lord; a work that is always growing. Second, he wanted to give generously from what had been given to him. Warren felt that God had blessed him abundantly, and that he wanted to return this blessing back to God’s Kingdom. So he made this choice to be generous in his giving in this way. Warren himself would tell you that it was the most wonderful decision he and his wife ever made.
c. Gallup survey- In a Gallup survey, 3 questions were asked about
people’s tithing habits. The first question asked: “Do you give one-tenth or more of your income to a church or charity?” The second question asked: “Do you know anyone who does give one-tenth to a church or charity?” And the third question was: “If your answer to the second question was yes, do these people who give one-tenth or more have serious financial problems or not?”
Most people are surprised at the results of this poll. To the first question 22% of the people interviewed said that they do give one-tenth or more of their income. To the second question it was discovered that 46% of the people interviewed knew someone who gave a tenth of their money away. But the third question was the key. Of those who knew of the financial situation of those who gave a tenth of their money, they said that 87% of the people they knew DID NOT have financial problems.
The conclusion is inescapable. Eighty seven percent of the people who tithed did not have financial problems. We see that the Biblical understanding of giving and rewards is played out here. The lack of money worries really comes when we give away, not when we try to hoard our money and possessions!
Now this doesn’t mean that we frivolously give away our money. God wants us to give it to His church, or to religious organizations that we know are doing the work of God. Those who foolishly give their money away do end up with money problems. We are called to be wise with how we give away our money.

III. Being Self-Controlled- (Judges 6:36-40)

a. Work into it- Let me help you understand how you can become more
self-controlled and capable of tithing. First of all you need to work into it. It is always difficult to move from giving a little, to giving a lot. You are not mentally ready to do this, and probably not physically and financially ready to do this. If you are at 1% now, then try to move up 1 or 2 percent each year.
As you work into it you will have to make some hard decisions. You will need to decide what you can cut out so that you can give away more. You may need to eat at home more, and eat out less (by the way, this will help you with eating more healthy too since fast food is generally unhealthy for you). You might have to decide on not buying the latest gadgets that are out there. So, decide what you can cut back on or do away with, and then move this money over to your giving.
b. Give it a fair test- Second, give it a fair test. Many people who choose
to start tithing give it at least a year, and then they evaluate it. To give it less than a year is not a long enough period of time to prove whether it works or not.
And even more, it can’t fully judge the truth of God’s law of tithing until you get to 10%. The term tithing is a term that means ten percent. It is okay to test God in this, since we are told by God in Malachi 3:10 to test Him. Even Gideon tested God in Judges 6:36-40, when God spoke to Gideon, and Gideon asked God to perform a miracle to prove who He was. After God did a miracle, Gideon tested the Lord with a fleece of wool. God allowed Gideon to test Him.
c. Set it in your budget- The last part of becoming a tither is that it is
best if you have a budget. Without a budget you will end up spending your money in ways of which you are not aware. It is too easy to spend your money, so a budget helps you to control and monitor your spending. One of the biggest reasons people don’t have money to give to the church, is because they don’t live within their means. A budget helps you to live within your means.
Once you have gotten to that level of 10%, you can then begin to see how God blesses your giving, and how God blesses your life through your giving. We really don’t see the full expanse of miracles from God happen until we reach this 10% level. One of the biggest miracles that I have seen in my life, is that I do not miss that 10% that I give away. I can honestly say that I have never wondered where the money went, or wished that I had it to spend on myself.
I remember the first job I had where I only got paid monthly. It was such a challenge to live the whole month on one paycheck. I would struggle to be able to keep from spending money along the way, so that I would have enough at the end of the month. Giving is this way as well. Our tithe must happen when the money first arrives. If you wait to the end of the month, then you will find that you don’t have the 10% to give. You will have spent it on something else.
d. Extra money- Some of you are like me, and can get extra money on
top of your normal check. Maybe it is a gift of money from someone. Maybe it is your tax refund. It could come from an inheritance that is received. For me it could also come from a wedding or a funeral that I do. Whatever it is, when that money is given to me, I set aside at least 10% of that money to give away.
e. Three results- If you become a tither, you will see 3 results. The first
result is that you will become more connected to your community. When you just come to church, but don’t really give much, then you feel a disconnect. But once you give generously of your money and your time, you will feel a part of what God is doing. When you hear of an improvement that is made, or a ministry that happened, you know that you were part of what made that happen through your giving.
On top of that, you will become a good example to others. When people see you as a cheerful giver, then they will be led to want to give more as well. When people see the blessing you have become, they want to be that blessing through their giving.
Second, you will see that in tithing, you are creating in yourself a financial discipline. The training that comes from setting aside 10% of your money, leads you to be a self-controlled person when it comes to managing your money. You will see that you are in control of your money, instead of your money controlling you! This control moves into all aspects of your finances and helps you to spend your money more wisely.
Third, is that joy will flow into your life. The truth is, it really is fun to give. It really is fun to bless others with your giving. You really feel better about yourself and about your life when you learn how to be generous. And because you are in control of your money, there is more money you have to give away.
The is an EXAMPLE of a man who was struggling financially. His friend encouraged him to start tithing, but he responded: “On the salary I’m making I can’t afford to give anything. I desperately need every cent!” A few years went by and he became a successful salesman. He mentioned to his friend about the money he was now making. His friend then said: “Wonderful, now you can afford to tithe.” You know what he said? “Are you crazy, give away $6,000!?” This man became estranged from his family, and is back to struggling financially.

Conclusion: Now not everyone who chooses not to tithe is miserable or struggling financially. But the truth is, giving and happiness go hand-in-hand. Tithers enjoy an enhanced reputation, greater determination, and the joy and delight in being freed from money worries.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus stated a fundamental truth of tithing. He said in Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Evangelist Billy Graham often said: “I dare you to try and outgive God.”
The truth is, whether you have a lot of money, or a little money, God calls us to tithe. And in our tithing, God promises to provide for us and care for us. The challenge, the call, the command is there, we need to be generous tithers. And when we do, we will experience the rewards of our tithing. Amen.