Introduction:
To Support the Church, Each of You Give Something (1 Corinthians 16:1-4)
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To SUPPORT THE CHURCH , each of you give something. (1 Cor 16:1-4)
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To support the church, EACH OF YOU give something . (1 Cor 16:2)
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To support the church, each of you GIVE SOMETHING . (1 Cor 16:2)
Give Something. You Have to Consider:
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Am I giving INTENTIONALLY ?
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Am I giving PROPORTIONALLY ?
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Am I giving EXPECTANTLY ?
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 with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
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Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:05
Let's open up your Bibles to the passage that Max just read. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. While you're turning there, let's just pause for a moment and I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to communicate God's Word clearly and accurately as I should. And I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord is teaching us in our passage today. Let's pray.
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Our Father in Heaven, as Bob said just a few moments ago, this is Your book. We believe that You wrote this book. And I pray that we would give it the attention and the obedience and just the high regard that it deserves because it is Your communication to us.
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We believe that, Father, and we believe that it is through Your Word and Your Spirit working together in our hearts that transformation happens. I pray, God, that today would be a day of transformation. To Your glory and honor, we pray all of this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and all of God's people said, Amen.
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1 Corinthians chapter 16.
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Are you there?
01:39
Last week when I was preaching, I had a suit jacket on.
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And right in the middle of the sermon, the top button just broke off.
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Nothing makes you feel more like a fatty McButter pants than your button bursting right in the middle of just talking.
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No jacket today.
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You know, I was sharing this with Pastor Taylor, and he seemed genuinely surprised when I told him that I was able to sew the button back on.
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I'll probably have to use reinforced thread or something stretchy.
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But I think he was genuinely surprised that I was able to sew the button back on.
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It's not complicated, right?
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It's not complicated.
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At our house, we have a hyperbaric chamber.
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It's one of the portable deals.
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Just imagine like a seven-foot-long, like indestructible balloon.
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It's a pressurized chamber that you get inside.
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And the whole deal works because it has these valves, right?
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And the valves know when to kick on to regulate the pressure.
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Well, years ago, one of the valves broke. And I called the company and I said, I need to get new valves. And they took my order and they said they're going to send them out. And I said, well, I don't know how to put the valves on. And the guy on the phone talked to me like I was an idiot. He goes, you just take the old ones off and you put the new ones on. And I'm like, Look, I'm a pastor. I went to Bible college because it was just one book that you needed to buy. I am not a hyperbaric chamber repair technician. They did not cover that in Bible college. I don't know how to do this. I'm like stressing. I told the guy, I'm like, I don't know how to do this. Like, what kind of tools I need. I mean, my parents were both bankers. I didn't come from a long line of, hyperbaric chamber repair people. Like, I don't know how to do this. And he goes, you just take the old ones off. You put the new ones on. He goes, we'll send them out. And if you need help, just give us a call. And I got to tell you, I was so stressed about this. Like, I don't know how to do this. Do you know how to do this? Like, who do I even call? Who do I call? Who do I call? I didn't know Krauss at the time. I mean, does he have experience? Who do I call? I was so stressing about this. And I got the valves in the and I grabbed a bunch of tools and I went down and when I took the valves out of the box they were just threaded at the end. And I said no it can't be. And I took the old ones and unscrewed it off and I screwed the new one. It was almost, almost, almost as hard as changing a light bulb.
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It wasn't complicated.
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The button on my jacket.
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The valve.
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Important stuff.
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Not denying.
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Important stuff.
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It's not complicated.
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It's not complicated.
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And today, we're going to talk about how to give in the church.
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And I've got to tell you, I spent a lot of time studying this passage this week.
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And here's the conclusion I think we'll all come up with after we study it together.
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When it comes to giving, it's not complicated.
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Now, this message, it's about giving.
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Okay, this isn't a guilt trip.
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We're not in crisis as a church.
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Pastor Rich is going to give us an update later.
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Why are we talking about giving?
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Because we go straight through the text.
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We go where the text goes, right?
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That's what we do.
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And that is the subject of this passage.
05:53
We get to the end of 1 Corinthians. We've been going through this. We had the resurrection chapter, chapter 15. And now when we get to the home stretch here, chapter 16, over the next few weeks, Pastor Taylor and I are going to be looking at, it's just some business items. Paul's closing up the letter because we have a few items of business we've got to discuss. All right? First up, look at verse 1. He says, Now concerning. That's a key phrase in 1 Corinthians. I don't know if you noticed that. Chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 12. Paul keeps using that phrase, and it seems like when he uses that phrase, he's addressing their questions. Right? Like, you ask me some questions, and I'm answering them.
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Okay, now concerning this. Okay, now concerning this. And apparently, they had asked about giving. And he's like, all right, here's how to give. And if you were with us last week, the last few weeks, you might think, wow, giving? Like, that's kind of a hard left turn from talking about the resurrection, right? I mean, there was no smooth transition there.
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That's a really hard turn from talking about something as lofty as resurrection. And I would say, not really. Because if you understand eternity and all the promises that God has for you, that should motivate how we give now. And I have to say this. He's talking about this collection and how he instructed the churches of Galatia.
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In Paul's day, poverty was a real issue. Okay? It's not an issue for us here today. In this country, in this area, there is not a poor person among you. All right? But Paul was collecting from the churches over a year.
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to take to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. There were people in Jerusalem that were destitute. Some Christians that were poor. So Paul was taking this collection for them, and that's what he's talking about here. This is how to give. This is how to give, and it's not complicated. All right? So on the top of your outline, here's your heading. To support the church, Each of you give something. To support the church, each of you give something. Okay? Point number one, jot this down. To support the church, each of you give something. Look again at verse one. It's not complicated. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatians, so you also are to do. All right? For the saints. Giving is for the Now listen, be clear. We're not saying you never give outside of the church. We're not saying that. We're not saying that you don't give to a person you see in need, like the story of the Good Samaritan that Jesus told. We're not saying that. The point is just simply this. The church should fund its own needs. That's all. The church should be taking care of its own people.
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The people of God give to the work of God. You're like, for what? Well, we talked about this back in 1 Corinthians 9, paying the ministers to support those who are in need in our church, to pay bills here. Everything from Bibles to snacks for the littles back there to the AV equipment to all of it. The people of God give to the work of God.
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The money that's given should support the church. And Paul says, this is what I directed to churches in Galatia. This isn't just a Corinth thing. It's actually been a practice since the very beginning. Read the book of Acts. Read Acts chapters 2, 3, 4, 5. You see it's the pattern. The people of God give to the work of God. Like, alright, it's not complicated. What's it look like? Well, look at verse 2. He says, On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper so that there will be no collecting when I come. First day of every week. What's he saying? He's saying when you come to church on Sunday to worship, part of worship is giving.
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That's just part of worship. We sing, we pray, we fellowship, we're in the Word. Part of worship is giving. He says, so there's no collecting when I come. I think that's kind of funny. Paul knew the Corinthians. They didn't exactly have their act together, right? Have you been with us on this study? So there'd be no collecting when I come. Paul was already like ahead of it, right? That he was already anticipating the possibility that like he was going to show up. He goes, okay, do you have that collection? Like, was that today? Like, let's hurry up and scramble and gather stuff up. And he goes, no, no, no, no, no. You should already be doing this. All right? You should already be doing this. But why give every week? Why should we give every week? Why not just once a year? Why not just once every quarter? Why do Why does Paul instruct very clearly on the first day of the week? Why do we do it weekly? It's about being consistent. It's an act of faith that should be done regularly. As God gives to me, I thank God by giving back to Him. And right now some of you might be like, well actually Pastor Jeff, I get paid monthly.
12:43
I only get paid every two weeks. Look, we're not being legalistic here, okay? We're not being legalistic. It's not complicated. Give as God gives to you. Giving should be a constant practice. Like, why? Why should it be a constant practice? Why should it be on the regular? Because that's the very nature of faith itself. It's an act of faith. It's an act of And the nature of faith is constant practice and expression. Here's what I mean. The gospel of Jesus Christ is, you know, we're all born sinners, rebellious against God. And we deserve His judgment, but God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, to raise from the dead so that we could have eternal life.
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and believe and receive his gift of grace in Jesus Christ.
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That's the gospel.
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And if I were talking to you and you said, I put my faith in Jesus Christ, and I said, when did you do that?
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You say, 1995.
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I'm like, hey, me too.
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That's when I received Christ, 95.
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But then my follow-up question is, okay.
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Your faith in Jesus, you put your faith in Jesus in 95. Was that just a one-time thing? Was that 31 years ago? Was that a one-time thing you put your faith in Jesus? What about today? Did you put your faith in Jesus today? What about next week? Are you going to put your faith in Jesus next week? You're like, well, I guess when I put I'm always putting my faith in Jesus. 95 was just the beginning of that, you see? And the point is, it's the same with giving. It's the same with giving. If you're like, I thank God with what He gave me by giving back to Him. And I'm like, when do you do that? And you're like, well, I did it in 1995. I'm like, oh? Well, Did you just do it once back then and that's it? You're done giving? What about today? Are you thankful today? What about next week? Do you anticipate that you were going to be thankful for God's provision next week? You're like, well, I imagine I'm going to be thankful for God's provision always. Yeah, and that's why giving is a constant practice. We are constantly expressing thanks and trust by giving.
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And part of that faith in giving is trusting the leaders. Look at verses 3 and 4. Paul says, When I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. Keep in mind they didn't, like, wire the money back then, all right? They had to have people, like, carry the money. Paul says, I'll send them.
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Or, verse 4, he says, if it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. We give to the church to support the church and the leaders distribute the money. That's the way it works. Why? Why do we give to the church and ask the leaders to distribute the money? Because the just objective truth is this. The leaders are better equipped to know what the needs are. That's it.
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Do you know what all the needs are of the church? Do you know what our budget looks like? Do you know when it comes to missions and staffing and supplies for the kids? Are you in the know on all that where our leaders are? That's why when you bring the offering, the leaders distribute that. Oh, so if you're one of the leaders here, this is a good place to remind you you better be trustworthy because you have people here that are giving money to God, but they're trusting you.
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to be faithful to use it appropriately.
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So, it's not complicated.
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To support the church, each of you give something.
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Alright?
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Point number two.
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Write this down.
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To support the church, each of you give something.
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Look again at verse two.
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I want you to see this. He says, on the first day of every week, what's the next phrase? Say it loud. Come on, say it.
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Each of you. Is that in your Bible?
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That's in my Bible. I think your Bible says the same thing that my Bible says.
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On the first day of the week, each of you.
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Each of you.
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You know what that means in the Greek?
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It means every Every one of us, Andrew. Every one of us. That's what that means. Every one of us can give something. Every one of us can. Now look, I want to remind you, I don't know who gives what in this church. I don't know. I get a bottom line of the numbers. I don't know who gives what. Why? Why don't I know that? It's a conviction.
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to help me avoid favoritism. So I don't cater to the people who are financially supporting the church. I don't know who gives what. But if you are one of those faithful givers of our church, and there are many of you here, if you are faithfully supporting this ministry, the missions we support, if that is one of you, you know, if that's you, I just want to sincerely say thank you for your generosity. But giving, is for people who call Harvest Bible Chapel their home. Okay, if you're a guest here today, you're not obligated to give. We're not expecting you to give. If you want to, whatever, that's between you and the Lord. You're not expected if you're a guest, but if you're a member, if this is your home, you are expected. You are commanded. Who's commanded? Each of you. Each of you.
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But you know I hear it all the time. Because we can say, it's not complicated. Each of you, put something aside. But people are so quick to excuse themselves. And I've heard this so many times. People say, well, Pastor Jeff, if I had more, I'd give more. Have you ever heard that? Oh, if I had more, I'd give more. And I would lovingly respond to that.
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No, you wouldn't.
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If you had more, you would not give more.
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Get this idea out of your head that having more means I'm going to be faithful because did you know the opposite is actually true?
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The opposite is true.
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I can prove that very easily.
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Let's just, we're going to talk about tithing in a minute.
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Let's just talk about a 10% tithe.
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If you had a dollar, let's say that's all you have to your name.
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You have one dollar. Would you give God a dime?
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Would you give God a dime?
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And some of you are like, I think I'd give God a dime if I had a dollar.
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If you had $100, would you give God $10?
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$10.
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Yeah. Yeah. Harder than a dime though, isn't it? Let me ask you this. If you had $10,000, would you give God $1,000? Like, whoa, whoa, $1,000? Give God $1,000? It's the same. It's 10%. It's exact same. But do you see how the higher you get in dollar amount, it gets harder? Listen to me very closely.
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Having more money will not suddenly make you a generous person because generosity is a hard thing. Faithfulness is never about dollar amount. It's about character. And here's what I mean. If you really believe God's Word commands you to give and He rewards you when you do, if you really believe that, you're going to give no matter what you have. You're going to give. Because that's who you are. And if you don't really believe, then you won't give. If you have a little, or if you have a lot, you won't give because that's who you are. And I want to encourage the parents here, Train your children now. Parents, you need to train your children now.
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Because a child, a little child who gives to God a portion of his allowance is going to become a teenager who's going to give to God a portion of his part-time job earnings.
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and he is going to become an adult who gives to God because he's been discipled to faithfully obey God's word when it comes to giving. It has to start now. You have to teach your kids now. Everything's God's. Everything that you have, it was God's. And you're just giving back to him as a way of saying, thank you and I trust you for the rest. Teach your kids that now. So to support the church, each of you, Give something.
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It's not complicated.
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And our last point.
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Number three.
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Write this down.
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To support the church.
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Each of you.
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Give something.
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This is where it gets complicated.
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Give.
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Something.
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But it gets complicated.
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Because you say.
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Alright.
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Give something.
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So is that a tithe? Is that 10%? Do I give 10%? Is that a tithe? And when I give 10%, do I tithe on my gross income? Or do I just tithe on the net income? Or do I just tithe on that? What if tithe is 10%. Literally, that's what the word is. But today, we use the word generically. It's a term incorrectly slapped on all giving no matter the amount. Some people give like 1%. They're like, I tithe. No, that's mathematically not a tithe. That's what a tithe of a tithe, right? This idea of tithing comes from the Old Testament law, but Many people don't understand how it really worked for Israel. Did you know in Israel there were three tithes? Did you know that? There were three tithes. Numbers 18 says the first tithe was for the Levites. It was to pay the priests. The second tithe, Deuteronomy 14, was for the annual festivals. And then every three years, according to Deuteronomy 26, every three years there was another tithe, a third tithe taken.
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that was to support the poor. So that means annually Israel was tithing 23 and a third percent. And I want you to understand this. Listen very closely. Israel, Old Testament Israel, was obligated to tithe. It was required giving in order to support their government. So you have to see the Old Testament Israel tithe.
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It was the equivalent of us today paying our taxes. It's what kept the government going. That was how God designed it. But Old Testament giving went beyond the tithe. There was free will giving on top of the tithe. That's 1 Chronicles 29. That's Deuteronomy 16. That's Exodus 35. So free will giving had nothing to do with the tithe because they had to pay that just like you were supposed to pay your taxes.
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And you're like, whatever. The question is, is tithing for today? And I would answer it this way. The Bible says the Old Testament law is the tutor. The Old Testament law is to teach us the ways of God. And tithing is the tutor for the subject of giving. There is value in the principles of tithing. Here's what I mean. We're so quick to dismiss Old Testament things that we don't think about the value that the Lord is teaching us through that. Like, for example, the Sabbath. As New Testament Christians, are we obligated, required to keep the Sabbath? No. But is it a good idea to set a day aside to rest? Isn't that still a good idea?
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Well, yeah. And tithing is sort of the same thing. Even though we're not obligated to tithe as they were in the Old Testament, isn't it still a good idea to put a percentage aside to give back to God? Okay, this is where it gets complicated because you're like, all right, all right, all right, whatever. Just tell me, Pastor Jeff, just tell me, How much should I give? Is there a dollar amount? Is there a percentage? How much should I give? It's right here in the text. You ready? Look at it again. Each of you is to, what's your Bible say? I'm going to give you another run at that, verse 2. I'll even start at the beginning, and then I want everybody to say it together.
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is to say it.
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I'm just going to tell you.
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How much should I give?
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Give something.
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Put something aside.
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So here's the answer.
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Are you ready for this?
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Are you ready for this?
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Because the TV preacher ain't going to tell you this.
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But this is biblical.
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Are you ready?
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Give whatever you want to give. You give whatever you want to give. But give something. Maybe this isn't so complicated. Something. Something. So, I know, we need a little direction here. That's a little broad.
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That's a little vague, right? I don't think so. Give something. But I do want to give you some things you have to consider. Right? Give whatever you want. That's what the Bible says, right? Give something. Whatever you want. But consider some things. Consider some things when you give. Letter A, am I giving intentionally? The first thing you have to consider is, am I, You have to ask yourself, am I giving intentionally? He says put something aside. Emphasis now on the word put. That's intentional. Put something aside. That's intentional giving. That makes us think of another beautiful Old Testament concept when it comes to giving. It's the concept of first fruits. Study your Old Testament. It's all through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. It's all through Proverbs.
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This idea, first fruits, when I get from God, when I get anything from God, the first thing I do is I give back to God the first and the best. That's the first thing I do. Thank you, God. I'm worshiping you with this, and I'm trusting that you're going to keep providing. Everything is yours, God. Everything is from you, so I'm going to give you the first and the best. So I would encourage you, when you get paid, You should give to God first. First fruits. God, I'm giving you first and best. Before you're paying your cell phone bill or your electric bill or whatever, your Netflix bill, whatever, the first thing you should do is give back to God. God, you've given me so much. Thank you for this. I'm giving back to you first. First fruits. First fruits tells us that giving, shouldn't be an afterthought, which it is for a lot of Christians. We pay all our bills, we buy all our toys, and then we're like, oh, do we have anything left over to give to God? That is so not first fruits. You have to be intentional, church. You have to be intentional. Last week we talked about time. This week we're talking about money. Do you know what time and money have in common?
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If you're not deliberate in how you spend them, they're going to be gone, and you're going to wonder where it went.
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True or false?
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Am I giving intentionally?
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Letter B, am I giving proportionately?
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Look again.
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He says, put something aside and store it up.
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Talking about the church collecting.
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But look at this next phrase.
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as he may prosper. Am I giving proportionately? Give from what God has given you. Give from what God has given you. It's not complicated. God is not expecting you to give in proportion to what someone else makes. God isn't expecting me to give on the level like a professional athlete would be able to give. He's not expecting that from me because I don't make that kind of a salary.
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And that's why I think tithing is a principle that gives you a great start. Gives you a great start. 10% of whatever it is that we make, that's a great start. You know why that's a great start? Because there's really only one way that you can't give 10% of what God's given you. There's only one way that it's impossible for you to give 10%. Do you know what that is? If you make zero.
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Anybody make a zero paycheck? You're like, no, they direct deposit that into my account. Every two weeks, zero. Listen, if that's you, if you're making zero on your paycheck, please, I'm begging you to come and see me after service. We will get you help. But if you make anything north of zero, that means you have something to give. And what does God say? Give something.
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Right? Give proportionately. Give according to how God's given you. And then number C. This is getting complicated. Letter C. Am I giving expectantly? Am I giving expectantly? You know there's promises attached to giving. I thought it was so interesting that in this passage, Paul doesn't mention the promise And I'm wondering if the Corinthians were still sort of getting all wiggy about this giving thing because Paul did talk about the blessings attached to giving in the sequel to 1 Corinthians, right?
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2 Corinthians.
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He talks about it in 2 Corinthians 9.6 that there is a glorious promise attached to giving.
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And it's the same promise that comes with sowing and reaping.
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The more seed you sow, the bigger your harvest. That's how it is. Out in your field farmer, that's how it is in your garden. The more seed you sow, the bigger your harvest. And the Bible says, listen, the Bible says that's true with money. The more money you give God, the more money God gives you. That's just what the Bible says.
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God sees that you're giving and you're faithful. And God's like, wow, look at her. She's giving it away. I'm going to make sure that she gets more because she's obviously got a heart to be generous. So I'm going to make sure she is well-funded. That's how God works. You're like, really? Yeah, really. Jesus talked about this. Look at Luke 6, verse 38. Jesus said, give and it will be given to you. Good measure. Press down. Shaken together.
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running over will be put into your lap.
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For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
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So if you're sitting here today and you're like, how much should I give? How much should I give?
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How much do you want to return on?
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If you're like, well, how generous should I be with God?
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How generous do you want God to be with you?
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because he said he's going to match you. Generosity for generosity. Give expectantly. You will never outgive God. To support the church, each of you, give something. Our worship team would make their way up. So, Follower of Christ. Member of the Harvest Bible Chapel family. What does the Bible say about giving? All of this was the introduction. Here's the sermon. You ready for it? Who said that? Who was that? Okay. Talking to you. Here's the sermon.
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You ready? To support the church. Each of you. Give something. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we just thank you for the, just how clear your word is. It's baffling to me that people say that your word is so hard to understand. It's really not. You've communicated so clearly, and when we don't understand, It's a spiritual issue, not an intellectual one. Father, You've told us that we are, as a family, we are to support this ministry and the missions that are supported by this ministry. You've called us all to be a part of this. You've called us all to give something. And Father, You have so lavishly blessed every single one of us in this room and the people that will be at the next service and the people that watch the stream or listen to the podcast.
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We are so abundantly blessed. Father, let us reflect a heart of gratitude and worship by giving to you as you move our hearts, Father. Let our worship not just be in song, not just be in service. You have called us to worship with what you give us. And you didn't have to promise us a return on anything. It's all yours.
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You could demand that we give everything back and get nothing in return, but You have graciously, graciously given us the promise that You will match our generosity by giving back to us. Thank You, Father, for that grace, and give us the faith to believe that. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why is giving to be done every week? Why not just save up and give once a year?
What would you say to someone who says “I just don't have any money to give to the church.”?
Is tithing a New Testament command? Why or why not? What does New Testament giving look like?
Breakout
Pray for one another.