Full Transcript for Righteous People Tithe | Pastor Jake Sweetman

uh a gap there. 00:03:18.760 --> 00:03:31.000 And so I need to teach into that um because as our church grows, the cost of ministry also grows, but uh our revelation of giving is not keeping up with what God is doing in our church. 00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:38.120 And so the second reason then that we need to talk about this is because that gap is what I call a sanctification gap. 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:44.200 Sanctification is the is the process of becoming more devoted to Jesus. 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:57.000 It's a discipleship gap that I need to help us close by teaching about the importance of honoring and trusting God with our money by returning to him the first and the best portion. 00:03:57.320 --> 00:04:06.200 So last week we looked at Proverbs 3: Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops, then your barns will be filled to overflowing, your vats will be brimming with new wine. 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:12.840 And we consider that promise in its context, both its immediate context in Proverbs chapter 3 and the broader context of Proverbs as a whole. 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.680 And we learned that the command is for us to give weight to God. 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:31.319 That's what honor means, to give weight to God as our creator and sustainer by returning to him the first and best portion of all that we earn, and to do so, really importantly, to do so with the incense of love and trust. 00:04:31.719 --> 00:04:34.839 For if it's not with love, then it's not our best. 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:36.920 And this is the way of wisdom. 00:04:37.159 --> 00:04:44.519 Wisdom, according to Proverbs, is learning the skill of living God's way in God's world. 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:50.360 And when we do that, generally speaking, is the promise that we flourish. 00:04:50.680 --> 00:05:05.560 Even though at times we stumble, even though at times we still endure suffering, Proverbs invites us to consider the big picture of life and see that the righteous, though they may fall, they rise up and they continue to experience the beauty of a life spent walking faithfully with God. 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:15.480 And so, with that in mind, I want us to pay careful attention today to what wisdom says in verse 20 of that first passage that we read in chapter 8. 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:17.000 Bring up verse 20 for me. 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:18.360 Pay careful attention to this. 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:24.759 Wisdom says, I walk in the way of righteousness along the paths of justice. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:29.240 Now, that statement is worth spending considerable time on. 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:38.759 Because God tells us that if we seek wisdom, then generally speaking, it will produce an enduring, fruitful, honorable, and prosperous life. 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.519 So our question then becomes well, where do I find wisdom? 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:49.960 And that verse tells you wisdom is found along the way of righteousness and justice. 00:05:50.280 --> 00:05:59.720 That is, if you walk down the path of living righteously and justly, you will find wisdom because that's the same path that wisdom walks. 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:13.800 To paraphrase, one of the foremost scholars on the book of Proverbs, a man named Bruce Waltke, he states that there is an inseparable connection between embracing the virtues of wisdom and enjoying the benefits of wisdom. 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:21.879 And you may not realize it yet, but the virtues that are mentioned here in this text are not just any old virtues according to the Bible. 00:06:22.040 --> 00:06:28.680 Rather, these virtues sum up the entire biblical message about how God's people are commanded to live. 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:33.000 Those words are righteousness and justice. 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:38.920 Or in the Hebrew, which is worth talking about because they pop up a lot, sedaka and meshpat. 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:41.480 Do you want to get you guys want to try those on for size? 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.439 Say sedekah, say meshpat. 00:06:45.400 --> 00:06:51.960 Now, independently, those words pop up all over the scriptures all of the time, and by themselves, those words are very important. 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:58.360 But together, they communicate the very heart of what it looks like in practice to be a Christian. 00:06:58.840 --> 00:07:05.639 Those words work together to communicate one unified concept that is even greater than what either word could express on its own. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:26.600 And that concept is essentially that every single relationship, your relationship with God, your relationship with others, your relationship to yourself, and your relationship to creation, every relationship is well ordered, that it is submitted to God's way so that all things flourish as God designed those things to flourish. 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:34.040 The way that one teacher summarizes it is that we live right, we do what's right, and we help set things right. 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.840 We live right, we do what's right, we help set things right. 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:41.000 This is what it looks like to live well. 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:42.040 That is wisdom. 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:48.199 Righteousness and justice are not just a way to live, they are the only right way to live. 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:58.439 And so unsurprisingly, we see this word pair pop up all over the Old Testament because this is what it looks like to live wisely, and God really wants you to know that, so He tells you a lot. 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:12.199 And living this way is not heavy, it is costly, but it is not heavy because it really does promote flourishing. 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:16.519 God's way really does work, including your own flourishing, by the way. 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:20.439 Remember what Proverbs 8 says with me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:22.040 My fruit is better than fine gold.

00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:27.240 What I yield surpasses choice silver, I bestow a rich inheritance and I make your treasuries full. 00:08:27.400 --> 00:08:31.400 So when you live for the flourishing of others, you experience flourishing also. 00:08:31.960 --> 00:08:43.879 So while living God's way is going to require us to live sacrificially, what it ultimately leads to is a more fruitful, beautiful, and prosperous life for you and for those around you. 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:51.159 The way that I would sum it up is like this: that righteousness walks a path that abundantly provides. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.279 A genuinely righteous life does come with a cost. 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:59.319 Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:05.320 But in the end, it will be proven that that righteous life did not yield a loss. 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:07.960 It always leads to fruitfulness. 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:11.960 That's not an Old Testament thing, that's a God thing. 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:17.240 Remember, Proverbs says that wisdom was present at creation. 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:22.840 In other words, wisdom is woven into the way God made the world to function. 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:28.919 There is a right way to live and there is a wrong way to live that remains true across the whole biblical narrative. 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:43.480 And as we will see in a moment, the Mosaic law, that is the law that the nation of Israel abided by, the Mosaic law encoded the right way to live for that nation in a particular context, but the Mosaic law did not establish the right way to live. 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:47.240 Righteousness and justice have always been God's requirement. 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:49.639 And so what does this have to do with tithing? 00:09:49.799 --> 00:09:50.919 Well, a lot actually. 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:58.759 And to help us see that, I want us to uh to turn and look at the first person in scripture who is associated with this word pair, righteousness and justice. 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:00.680 His name is Abraham. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:05.080 And actually, next Sunday we will begin a short series studying the life of Abraham. 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:07.159 So now's a good time to get to know him a little bit better. 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.600 Look at what God says to Abraham in Genesis 18. 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:20.519 He says, Abraham, starting in verse 18, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through Abraham. 00:10:20.680 --> 00:10:26.519 That's the promise of the gospel that through Abraham's lineage the blessing of God's salvation would come to all the nations of the world. 00:10:26.680 --> 00:10:29.240 Jesus, the ultimate son of Abraham, has fulfilled that. 00:10:29.480 --> 00:10:31.080 For I have chosen Abraham. 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:31.560 Why? 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:40.519 So that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. 00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:45.399 So that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised. 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:46.840 Blessing to the nations. 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:50.600 Now notice that the way of the Lord here is to do what is right and just. 00:10:50.680 --> 00:10:53.080 In the Hebrew, Sedecah Mishpah. 00:10:53.320 --> 00:11:03.879 And the story that Genesis tells up until this point, after the fall of Adam and Eve, is that humanity grew increasingly corrupt and it had entirely abandoned the way of the Lord. 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:09.799 But God chose Abraham so that he could direct his entire household to do what is just and right. 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:17.240 Because it is through the righteousness and justice of Abraham's household that God would fulfill his promise of bringing blessing to the nations of the earth. 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:25.080 In other words, there is a direct link between the moral fabric of how God's people live and the fulfillment of God's mission to redeem the world. 00:11:25.879 --> 00:11:34.360 If God's people don't live right, they cannot fulfill their role of mediating God's glory, God's love to the nations. 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:42.680 Now, this conversation between God and Abraham is hundreds of years prior to the giving of the Mosaic law. 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:45.480 None of those commandments had been given yet. 00:11:45.560 --> 00:11:48.440 Not the Big Ten or any of the others. 00:11:48.680 --> 00:11:55.799 And yet, listen to how God describes Abraham as God summarizes Abraham's life in Genesis 26, 5. 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:59.159 He says, This Abraham, there you go. 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:04.600 Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him. 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:07.080 This is really unusual language. 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:14.680 Keeping my commands, my decrees, and my yeah, were laws. 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:16.039 Torah. 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:25.000 Commands, decrees, laws, centuries before the law of Moses was given, before a single one of them was written down, Abraham kept. 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:25.720 How? 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.480 Not because Abraham somehow had the rule book early. 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:31.080 No. 00:12:31.879 --> 00:12:40.039 But because the way of the Lord, righteousness and justice, was how Abraham had learned to live in his relationship from God. 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:49.080 The law hadn't been encoded on stone yet, but the heart of the law, in a very real sense, was already written on Abraham's heart. 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:54.919 Which, of course, is what the Old Testament prophesies will happen to those who believe in Jesus. 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:57.720 That God's law will be written on their hearts. 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:02.680 It is not too much to say that Abraham is a prototype of a Christian. 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:14.360 I'll unpack that more so next week when we start our series, but

know for now that God very clearly has a foundational standard of righteousness and justice. 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:25.480 That he not only wanted Abraham to uphold personally, but also that he wanted him to pass on to his children and his children's children for the sake of fulfilling his promise to redeem the nations that is fulfilled in Christ. 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:31.879 So if you want to know what righteousness and justice looks like, then a good place to start is to look at Abraham's actual life. 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:33.560 The Bible records it for a reason. 00:13:33.639 --> 00:13:35.240 It is instruction for us. 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:41.399 Now, as it concerns our target today that righteous people tithe, I want us to look at Genesis chapter 14. 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:47.720 In Genesis 14, Abraham's nephew, his name is Lot, he gets uh caught up in a war. 00:13:48.279 --> 00:14:05.320 Lot had settled near the city of Sodom, and some kings had swept through with their armies, and they had attacked Sodom, and as a result of that, a casualty of that, Lot, along with a bunch of other citizens of Sodom and a bunch of goods from Sodom are carried off by these armies. 00:14:05.560 --> 00:14:09.320 And so word reaches Abraham that his nephew has been captured. 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:17.960 So Abraham he gathers the men of his household, he goes after them, and he brings Lot back, along with everybody else and everything else that was taken. 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:22.440 And on the road home, two other kings come out to meet Abraham. 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:27.399 One is the king of Sodom, and another is a mysterious figure named Melchizedek. 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:31.000 Watch what happens in Genesis 14, beginning in verse 17. 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:45.639 After Abram, that is Abraham, after Abram returned from defeating however you say that guy's name there, and the kings that were allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of however you say that place there. 00:14:46.680 --> 00:14:50.680 Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:53.240 He was priest of God most high. 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:58.279 And he blessed Abram, saying, Blessed be Abram by God most high, creator of heaven and earth. 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:03.960 Verse 20, and praise be to God most high, who delivered your enemies into your hand. 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:08.919 Then Abram gave him Melchizedek a tenth of everything. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:14.759 Verse 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the people, you can keep all the goods for yourself. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:27.960 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, with raised hand, I have sworn an oath to the Lord God most high, creator of heaven and earth, that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, I made Abram rich. 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.840 So two kings greet Abraham

after this victory. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:37.240 One is the king of Sodom, who very clearly uh signifies unrighteousness in the story of Abraham. 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:40.519 And the other is a mysterious king named Melchizedek. 00:15:40.680 --> 00:15:43.879 His name literally means king of righteousness. 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:49.560 And he is the king of Salem, which literally is in Hebrew king of Shalom, king of peace. 00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:52.680 And he is the priest of God most high. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:55.799 And so he's clearly a representative of the ways of God. 00:15:55.960 --> 00:16:01.399 Hebrews in the New Testament later points to him as a type or a prefigurement of Jesus Christ. 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:04.919 And notice that Melchizedek pronounces a blessing upon Abraham. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:06.440 And what does he say in that blessing? 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:14.759 He credits God, Yahweh, he credits God with being responsible for Abraham's victory in this battle. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.840 He says, God most high has delivered your enemies into your hand. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.279 Now that Hebrew word for delivered there is related to the word shield. 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:24.200 I want you to hang on to that for a moment. 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:25.960 God has been Abraham's shield. 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:27.240 That's what God has done. 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:29.399 And how does Abraham respond? 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:37.320 By giving Melchizedek, God's priest, a tithe of all the plunder that he had brought home from that war. 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:41.399 What is Abraham communicating with that act? 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.840 He's saying to Melchizedek, Amen. 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:49.240 He's saying, Yes, God provided me with this victory. 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:56.600 And so I acknowledge that fact by returning 10% of the increase to him by giving it over to his priest Melchizedek. 00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:59.799 This is the first formal tithe in scripture. 00:17:00.680 --> 00:17:02.600 And I want you to notice a couple of things. 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:06.919 First of all, that the figure of 10% was not mandated by a law. 00:17:07.879 --> 00:17:09.799 This is prior to the Mosaic Law. 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:18.519 So this is what Abraham gratefully apportioned to God in response to God's blessing, God's deliverance. 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:28.359 It was an act that communicated communicated that as powerful and as successful as Abraham had become, he still recognized that God is his source and his sustainer. 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:35.000 Notice also that this act of tithing by Abraham had to be systematic. 00:17:42.039 --> 00:17:45.240 He had to take care in his giving. 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:58.839 Lastly, I want you to notice that this tithe is not an attempt in any way to attain forgiveness or atonement. 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:07.160 Some people say that Christians don't need the tithe because the sacrificial

system of the law was about forgiveness, and Christ has fulfilled that. 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:15.559 Well, first of all, a lot of the sacrificial system in the law was not actually about forgiveness and atonement, it was about thanksgiving and fellowship and worship. 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:18.039 It was a what's our word? 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.880 A well-ordered relationship with Almighty God, creator and sustainer. 00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:26.759 And second of all, the tithe, specifically in the law, never has anything to do with seeking forgiveness. 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:31.400 It was always about honoring God by practicing righteousness, as we'll see in a little bit. 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:35.880 And where do you think that principle has its roots? 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:39.319 Right, right here in the story of their ancestor. 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:42.039 The Bible wants you to see this. 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:43.640 This is where it begins. 00:18:43.799 --> 00:18:54.279 Right here in the story of Abraham, the father of the household of faith, who returns to God through Melchizedek, a tithe of the plunder, as a way of proclaiming, yes, God is my deliverer, God is my provider. 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:58.440 My question is: Do you think we should learn from righteous Abraham here? 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:01.160 That was a rhetorical question. 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:02.759 I think the answer is yes. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:11.240 And then Abraham doubles down on this proclamation when the king of Sodom offers to let him keep the rest of the plunder as a thank you gift for rescuing his citizens. 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:13.000 And how does Abraham respond to the king of Sodom? 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:14.279 He says, No shot. 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:23.880 I'm not keeping a nickel of this stuff because that would give you and the false gods of Sodom an opportunity to take credit for my wealth. 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:26.839 Abram says, God alone is my provider. 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:27.720 What is that? 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:29.160 That's an act of faith. 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:33.880 And look at how God responds to that act of faith in Genesis 15:1. 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:39.960 It says, This after this, same context, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision. 00:19:40.120 --> 00:19:45.160 It says, Do not be afraid, AM, I am your same root as deliverer. 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:47.240 Your very great reward. 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:54.120 God says, You indicated your belief in the fact that I am your shield by giving that tithe, and I want you to know that you're right, I am. 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:57.880 And you turn down that reward from the king of Sodom, guess what? 00:19:58.039 --> 00:19:59.720 I am your very great reward. 00:20:00.120 --> 00:20:03.480 What's God saying in response to Abraham's tithe? 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:05.799 He's saying, Good job. 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:10.279 He's saying, I liked that. 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:15.720 God doesn't change. 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:22.039 Do you think we should learn something from the fact that this act of tithing pleased God? 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:36.599 If you want to know what righteousness and justice look like in relation to material goods, look at how Abraham credits God for being his deliverer and provider, and look at how God responds. 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:41.400 Abraham tithes hundreds of years before such a practice was encoded in the law of Israel. 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:41.799 Why? 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:47.000 Because honoring God with your wealth is a fundamental part of a well-ordered relationship with God. 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:48.839 It is righteous. 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:53.480 Friends, there is a vertical dimension to your righteousness and justice. 00:20:54.440 --> 00:21:01.960 You can live justly in this life by everybody around you and live unjustly in relation to God, and you would have lived unjustly. 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:05.480 That thought doesn't originate with me. 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:08.680 I believe Augustine, the church father, actually made that same point. 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:14.440 That's part of what Abraham was to pass on to his descendants about living righteously and justly. 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:15.319 He's to teach them this. 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:21.000 So it's no coincidence that Abraham's grandson, Jacob, said these words in Genesis 28. 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:37.799 If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey, I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God, and this stone that I've set up as a pillar will be God's house, and all of that you give me, I will give you a tenth. 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:38.839 That is a tithe. 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:50.519 So again, hundreds of years before the Mosaic Law, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, determines to worship God through the act of tithing in response to God's provision. 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:55.319 In the words of one commentator, Jacob vowed to serve God. 00:21:55.400 --> 00:22:00.920 If you guys could bring that sign up, yeah, he vowed to serve God and worship him in this place and offer tithes. 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:06.680 This reintroduces another motif for worship, paying tithes, first seen in Abraham. 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:15.160 To give a tithe was an act whereby a person acknowledged that everything he had was a gift from God, and thus, in the final analysis, actually belonged to God. 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:17.720 Tithing says this is yours. 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:20.920 Keeping it all says this is actually mine. 00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:24.680 Now, where did Jacob learn that? 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:26.759 From his grandpa. 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:30.920 That part of the way you recognize. 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:33.880 God as deliverer and provider is by bringing him a tithe. 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:46.359 Which

means that when the Mosaic law speaks about tithes and offerings and first fruits, it wasn't introducing something new and temporary, it was applying something enduring and foundational. 00:22:48.680 --> 00:23:00.359 In the law, God takes this principle of righteousness and justice and he encodes it for Israel so that they will be guarded against living sinfully and so they will know what it means to please God. 00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:08.839 But even when the law is fulfilled by Christ and we are ushered into a new covenant, the same foundational principle of righteousness and justice still carries over. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:14.839 It is still required, in other words, that all of our relationships be well ordered so that life is full of shalom. 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:19.079 Full of peace, full of flourishing, just as God designed them. 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:23.720 Abraham's role wasn't just to teach Israel this, Abraham's role was to teach the nations this. 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:31.160 This is why the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 3 29, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed. 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:35.559 And you are heirs according to that promise of blessing to the nations. 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:41.559 So the church, all of us, composed of Jew and Gentile, we are Abraham's children. 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:46.599 Those who have faith in Christ are the true household of Abraham. 00:23:46.759 --> 00:23:54.599 We are the ones to whom the blessing of God has come through Jesus, the ultimate son of Abraham, who perfectly fulfilled righteousness and justice. 00:23:55.160 --> 00:24:03.880 And we are the ones who now, through whom God's blessing is still coming to the nations because we are united to Christ and we share in his righteousness and justice. 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:05.400 What does that look like? 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:07.319 Paul elaborates in Galatians 5.14. 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:14.120 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:14.839 Okay? 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.680 So we are still required to keep the heart of the Mosaic Law. 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:22.279 Because the heart of the law actually predates the law. 00:24:22.759 --> 00:24:25.400 The heart of the law is living righteously and justly. 00:24:26.120 --> 00:24:28.759 Or as Paul paraphrases it here, what is this? 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:33.319 This is right, right order relate, well ordered relationship, loving your neighbor as yourself. 00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:36.359 So, in other words, we do the Abraham thing. 00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:50.279 We walk the path of righteousness and justice, but we do it even more faithfully than Abraham because now we've encountered an even greater revelation of God's love in the cross of Jesus Christ, and we've received the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:51.799 You with me? 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:56.920 So as that relates to tithing, we don't practice a strict rule-keeping righteousness. 00:24:57.559 --> 00:24:59.960 We practice a generosity righteousness. 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:10.120 Rule keeping righteousness, uh, someone who's trying to be a really good Pharisee says to somebody in need, Oh, I don't need to do well by you because I've already tithed. 00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:10.680 I'm good. 00:25:12.839 --> 00:25:20.039 Generosity righteousness looks for ways to help even when they've fulfilled that biblical baseline of entrusting to God 10%. 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:22.359 What does that look like in practice? 00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:24.039 Well, Paul elaborates in Galatians 6, too. 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:24.920 Here's another good example. 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:31.400 Here's what it looked like to love your neighbor as yourself, carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:34.920 That's well-ordered relationship that promotes flourishing. 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:36.599 That's Sedaka Mishpat. 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:51.000 And in case you think that righteousness and justice promotes being overly dependent on others and a lack of taking responsibility for your own life, Paul comes at it from another angle just a couple verses later in verse 5 says, Well, well, each of you should carry your own load. 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:51.880 Don't be lazy. 00:25:52.920 --> 00:25:56.759 Work hard, earn a living, don't be dependent upon others. 00:25:56.920 --> 00:25:59.880 Actually, you work hard, so you have a surplus to support others. 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:02.680 For this is part of living a righteous and just life. 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:05.559 But so also is this next verse in Galatians 6:6. 00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:12.440 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. 00:26:14.120 --> 00:26:20.680 So, as we'll see in a moment, this is this new covenant imperative has everything to do with the biblical concept of tithing. 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:24.519 This is part of what it means to fulfill the law of Christ, to live righteously and justly. 00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:29.960 You don't just receive from the ministry of your local church, you actually contribute financially to the ministry of your local church. 00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:35.720 And then look, Paul even grounds this command in the foundational and enduring way of wisdom in verses 7 and 8. 00:26:36.039 --> 00:26:37.160 Don't be deceived. 00:26:38.039 --> 00:26:40.599 Carrying on from the same thought, God cannot be mocked. 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:42.839 A man always reaps what he sows. 00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:50.839 Whoever sows to please their flesh, that is, they orient their money around themselves, from the flesh will reap destruction. 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:57.319 Whoever sows to the spirit, that is, their money is well ordered according to the kingdom of God, from the spirit they will reap eternal life.

00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:00.519 Now, I think Paul is talking about eschatological reward here. 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:13.640 Reward that awaits us in the age to come, or the lack thereof, in relation to our obedience in the area of giving and all other things that go into living a Christian life. 00:27:13.960 --> 00:27:19.720 Old covenant or new, the wisdom of sowing and reaping is just foundationally true. 00:27:20.920 --> 00:27:29.640 We are still required to live righteously and justly, which even in the New Testament includes the act of giving out of our income to support the ministry and the ministers of our church. 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:36.279 For this is how you honor the Lord with your wealth by giving him the first fruits of all of your increase through tithing it to his church. 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:39.880 So the way of righteousness did not stop at Abraham. 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:43.000 The way of righteousness did not stop at the law. 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.160 The way of righteousness runs straight through to us. 00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:48.920 And it's not murky. 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:54.440 In other words, we don't get to define righteousness and justice how we feel like it. 00:27:56.120 --> 00:28:00.039 Like I know in the world you can define words however you feel like it. 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:05.799 In the kingdom, you don't get to do that. 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:11.880 It defines what love, righteousness, justice really, truly looks like. 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:15.960 It's not abstract, it gets carried over into concrete application. 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:25.799 Now to grasp that more fully, we need to look at what the purpose of the tithe was in Israel, because those purposes carry over into the practice of giving in the New Testament. 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:26.359 Okay? 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:29.000 I'm landing on the plane, hold on to your seats. 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:30.120 It's all good. 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:33.559 If nothing else, you're learning a lot about the Bible, okay? 00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:44.200 So when God carried this moral fabric of Abraham into the law of Moses, he didn't just say to Israel, give. 00:28:44.680 --> 00:28:54.359 No, he told them exactly who their tithes were meant to reach, exactly what the way of righteousness and justice was meant to fund. 00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:59.480 So let's look at what God funded because it connects to what he's still funding through us today. 00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:04.440 First, the tithe provided for those who served in God's house as a vocation. 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:06.120 There's 12 tribes in Israel. 00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:09.960 The tribe of Levi served in God's house as a vocation. 00:29:10.120 --> 00:29:12.039 They received no land of their own. 00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:18.279 Every other tribe got an inheritance of the land that made up the promised land that they could farm, they could live on. 00:29:18.519 --> 00:29:21.079 God says to Levi, I'm gonna be

your inheritance. 00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:21.880 Congratulations. 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:22.920 You get me. 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:27.640 But think about what that meant in a world where land was everything. 00:29:28.120 --> 00:29:33.400 How you ate, how you provided, how you earned a living, how you secured you and your family's future. 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:38.200 To have no land was to be dependent entirely on the faithfulness of everybody else. 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:40.680 So how does God uh set up the system? 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:45.240 Well, he says to the people in Numbers 18, encourage you to go read Numbers 18, it's all about this. 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:56.120 Numbers 18, 21, I give to the Levites all the tithe in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting. 00:29:56.440 --> 00:30:01.640 So the tithe was their inheritance, it was God's provision for the work that they did in God's house. 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:03.480 Now here's the part that's amazing to me. 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:06.759 Look at what the scripture categorizes that provision as. 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:08.759 Look at Deuteronomy 18, 3. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:17.240 It says, this is the share due the priests from people who sacrifice a bull or a bull or a sheep. 00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:18.599 Here's the thing that got me. 00:30:18.680 --> 00:30:22.279 That word due, that phrase share, do, guess what that is in Hebrew? 00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:23.559 It is myshat. 00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:26.680 It is justice. 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:31.799 The portion owed to those who serve at the altar is not charity. 00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:36.359 It is their just due. 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:43.480 Providing for the ministers of God's house in Israel was a matter of righteousness and justice. 00:30:44.120 --> 00:30:47.720 And that practice is what enabled their work. 00:30:47.880 --> 00:30:52.680 When people were faithful to bring their tithe, the Levites gave themselves fully to the work of God's house. 00:30:52.839 --> 00:31:04.519 When the tithe dried up, as it often did in Israel, because they were very unfaithful at times, like for example, in Nehemiah's day, the Levites had to abandon their posts in the house of God and go back to the fields just to eat. 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:09.160 And beyond that, the worship of the whole nation ground to a halt. 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:13.319 Because the house wasn't functioning. 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:19.079 So the tithe not only provided for the Levites, it kept God's house functioning as it was designed. 00:31:19.240 --> 00:31:21.960 You cannot set God's house on AI, okay? 00:31:22.120 --> 00:31:23.720 Claude isn't getting involved here. 00:31:23.799 --> 00:31:25.079 You can't automate this thing. 00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:28.920 Effective ministry requires servant-hearted leaders at the helm. 00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:37.240 Second, the tithe provided for those who were in need among God's people. 00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:40.599 Deuteronomy 14, verses 28 and 29. 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:55.480 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites who have no allotment or inheritance of their own, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied. 00:31:55.559 --> 00:31:57.160 So there's four people groups here. 00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:00.839 There's Levites, they pop up again, foreigners, fatherless, and widows. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:04.839 These are the four people in Israel who are most likely to fall through the cracks. 00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:05.640 Right? 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:10.920 In an agrarian world, these are the ones without land, without a provider, without the means to secure their own future. 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:11.799 So what does God do? 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:13.400 He builds them into the tithe. 00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:17.319 Part of what Israel returned to God was meant to be in support of them. 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:21.880 And embracing this was part of what it meant to live in a way that was right and just. 00:32:22.039 --> 00:32:25.160 You could point to gosh, hundreds of scriptures. 00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:28.920 That doesn't feel like an overstatement, especially throughout the prophets that pick up on this point. 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:30.359 Look at Isaiah 117. 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:40.519 Learn to do, learn to do, seek, yeah, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:44.759 Oftentimes we define justice, you know how the world teaches us to define justice. 00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:46.920 You have to define justice biblically. 00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:50.200 This was Sedechem Mishpat, made concrete in Israel. 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:56.519 Righteousness that does what's right and helps to set things right for the neighbor who is in need, according to how God defined it in his law. 00:32:56.680 --> 00:33:01.079 So justice was not an add-on to worship, it was not a secondary thing. 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:03.079 To worship was to do justice. 00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:05.799 To bring God your tithe was to do justice. 00:33:06.519 --> 00:33:11.000 It was to participate in the assurance of flourishing among all of God's people. 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:14.519 Notice again that these tithes were not offerings to make atonement for sin. 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:22.519 It was part of the path to righteousness that provided for those who were serving in God's house full time and for those who could not secure provision on their own. 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:27.720 As seen in Abraham, righteous people tithe, so also seen in Israel, righteous people tithe. 00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:29.720 Part of that righteousness is vertical. 00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:33.079 It's worship unto God, the one who delivers and provides for us. 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:35.079

It is righteous to honor him like this. 00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:38.680 We talked a lot about that last Sunday, and part of it is horizontal. 00:33:38.759 --> 00:33:46.359 It is the means for promoting the functioning of God's house, the livelihood of God's ministers, the well-being of God's needy. 00:33:46.519 --> 00:33:49.480 It is righteous to support God's church like this. 00:33:49.720 --> 00:33:52.200 So what does the New Testament do with all this? 00:33:52.440 --> 00:33:56.839 The whole system doesn't carry over, but there are absolutely points of continuity. 00:33:57.240 --> 00:34:00.359 We already saw in Galatians that our giving serves a similar purpose. 00:34:00.519 --> 00:34:03.720 Those instructed share with those who instruct. 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:06.200 Does Paul make it any clearer elsewhere? 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:09.000 Look at 1 Corinthians 9, 13 and 14. 00:34:09.400 --> 00:34:14.759 Don't you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple? 00:34:15.400 --> 00:34:19.159 And that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 00:34:20.759 --> 00:34:29.639 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. 00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:32.599 Pay attention to what Paul just did. 00:34:32.759 --> 00:34:40.199 He makes a direct reference to the sacrificial system under the old covenant, where the ties that people brought sustained the livelihood of the Levites and priests. 00:34:40.359 --> 00:34:52.519 And then he makes a direct appeal saying that the Lord Jesus Himself, based upon this pattern, commanded that those who spend their working lives in service of the gospel should be provided for in the same way. 00:34:52.759 --> 00:34:54.439 It's not ambiguous. 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:59.000 This is still the path of righteousness and justice. 00:34:59.879 --> 00:35:04.919 Now it is possible that you could make an argument to me that the verse does not stipulate 10%. 00:35:05.879 --> 00:35:07.879 And you'd be right, it doesn't. 00:35:08.279 --> 00:35:20.039 I would just say to you that truly, if our heart posture towards the gospel is to reason our way out of giving our best, then I would just have you reflect more deeply upon the gospel. 00:35:20.199 --> 00:35:23.239 We have not been set free from obedience to God. 00:35:28.359 --> 00:35:31.239 We have been set free to obey God. 00:35:31.399 --> 00:35:33.639 That's what the New Testament teaches again and again. 00:35:33.799 --> 00:35:38.359 We've been empowered into a life of genuine generosity, righteousness. 00:35:38.439 --> 00:35:45.159 And I still think the righteous examples of Abraham and Jacob set 10% as a good biblical baseline. 00:35:49.799 --> 00:35:50.919 He chose it. 00:35:52.439 --> 00:35:55.879 And the point is that he chose well. 00:35:57.719 --> 00:35:59.319 He did what was wise. 00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:00.519 I want to be that. 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:02.839 He did

what was righteous. 00:36:03.159 --> 00:36:04.279 I want to be that. 00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:12.039 And it's awesome because through this righteous act, we sustain the livelihoods of those who give themselves full time to the work of ministry. 00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:16.759 Which, by the way, Ephesians chapter 4 says that their job is to equip you. 00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:28.439 Is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry, to help you grow up into maturity into Christ who is the head. 00:36:28.599 --> 00:36:28.839 Right? 00:36:28.919 --> 00:36:35.399 So the same dynamic under the law of Moses, where people funded God's house, but then received the benefit of God's house. 00:36:35.479 --> 00:36:37.479 That same dynamic is at work in the New Testament. 00:36:37.559 --> 00:36:43.719 That people fund their local church and then in return they receive the benefit of a well-led, thriving local church. 00:36:44.919 --> 00:36:47.319 Paul says, Don't you know? 00:36:50.439 --> 00:36:51.879 This is how it works. 00:36:52.759 --> 00:36:56.519 Which indicates somewhat hilariously that they did. 00:36:59.079 --> 00:37:01.319 Or at least that they should have. 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:07.399 Especially given the Corinthian self-inflated claim to an abundance of knowledge. 00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:11.319 Now maybe this is some of you. 00:37:12.759 --> 00:37:18.839 And so I just pastorally, somewhat gently. 00:37:21.879 --> 00:37:23.879 I just want to ask you to change. 00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:27.159 And to come into alignment with what God's word teaches. 00:37:27.399 --> 00:37:31.079 Because it's not just the ministry of the church that you provide for, there's another group as well. 00:37:31.319 --> 00:37:33.399 The needy among God's people. 00:37:34.359 --> 00:37:38.919 Landing the plane now, just as we saw in Israel, the same function carries over into the New Testament. 00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:40.359 1 Timothy 5. 00:37:41.239 --> 00:37:42.599 Give proper recognition. 00:37:42.679 --> 00:37:49.239 This is Paul speaking to his disciple, Timothy, who oversees a group of churches in the city of Ephesus. 00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:55.319 And Paul says, Hey Timothy, I want you to give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. 00:37:55.879 --> 00:38:04.919 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents. 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:07.719 Listen, for this is pleasing to God. 00:38:08.039 --> 00:38:11.479 So how we handle our money can either please God or it can displease God. 00:38:11.719 --> 00:38:18.199 The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 00:38:18.359 --> 00:38:21.719 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 00:38:21.959 --> 00:38:25.719 Give the people these instructions so that no one may be open to blame. 00:38:25.959 --> 00:38:33.159 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives and especially for their own household has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 00:38:33.479 --> 00:38:42.679 Now the basic idea here is that the church members' giving funds the church's ability to care, here in this context, for the widows in the church who are truly in need. 00:38:42.839 --> 00:38:44.519 And notice that Paul is very careful. 00:38:44.599 --> 00:38:49.000 He does not say that the church funds all of the needs indiscriminately. 00:38:49.159 --> 00:38:51.639 He says that the family needs to take responsibility first. 00:38:51.799 --> 00:38:54.519 If a widow has children or grandchildren, they need to care for her. 00:38:54.679 --> 00:39:02.359 The church steps in for those who truly are alone, who are really in need, to use Paul's words, with nobody else to turn to. 00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:06.199 Now, if you just think about all that, that's all rightly ordered relationship stuff. 00:39:06.359 --> 00:39:10.839 That's families operating the way that they should, and the church operating the way that they should, right? 00:39:10.919 --> 00:39:13.239 That's wisdom that promotes flourishing. 00:39:13.479 --> 00:39:20.519 But when the church does support the needy, it's the same mechanism under the old covenant that is now carried into the new. 00:39:21.799 --> 00:39:23.559 It's the same thing. 00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:27.239 And of course, it's not limited to widows. 00:39:27.559 --> 00:39:31.000 The book of James widens it to widows and orphans. 00:39:31.479 --> 00:39:41.159 The principle is that through the faithfulness of its members to honor God with their wealth, a local church should have the means to support its truly needy members. 00:39:41.719 --> 00:39:57.159 That's not just about handouts, that's about coming alongside people to help them overcome what would otherwise be insurmountable obstacles so that they are empowered to be able to create wealth there on their own and to be a blessing to other people as well. 00:39:57.479 --> 00:40:06.919 And that's true, especially in our society where opportunity abounds for most people, if only they are provided with the help that they need to access those opportunities. 00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:15.319 Okay, so just last week we were able as a church to provide over$3,000 to repair a family in our church's car. 00:40:15.559 --> 00:40:15.879 Okay. 00:40:16.759 --> 00:40:25.959 By doing that repair, you enable that family to be able to function, to do what they need to do, to get to work, to get to church, all of those things, right? 00:40:26.119 --> 00:40:28.519 That's not a handout, that's righteousness. 00:40:28.839 --> 00:40:31.000 That's not charity, that's justice. 00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:36.039 That's coming alongside people as a church because what does Malachi say? 00:40:36.199 --> 00:41:06.439 Because the storehouse is full, people can be fed, people can be supported,

the needs are supplied, and it happens through every member of God's house choosing to obey God's command, to walk in the way of wisdom, which is the way of righteousness and justice, which is to honor God with the first fruits of your wealth, by bringing it into his house so that his house can operate with strength, his ministers are well supplied, the needy among God's people are well supplied, and everybody has the opportunity to flourish. 00:41:06.519 --> 00:41:07.639 And what do we do by that? 00:41:07.799 --> 00:41:15.479 We are living rightly and justly, and we are conveying the love and the glory of God to all of the nations around us, just as God intended. 00:41:16.759 --> 00:41:33.719 No wonder when Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church in their giving to support the church in Jerusalem who were going through a very difficult time, he says in 2 Corinthians 9 9, as it is written, they, the generous, have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever. 00:41:34.279 --> 00:41:41.159 Enduring righteousness is a righteousness that freely, not begrudgingly, freely gives to those whom God is determined to provide for through the tithe. 00:41:41.319 --> 00:41:45.799 Or, as Bruce Walkie sums up the subject, I love this statement, let it hit you in the heart. 00:41:45.959 --> 00:41:49.719 The wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves. 00:41:49.959 --> 00:41:55.639 They take with no intention to give, but the righteous are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community. 00:41:55.799 --> 00:41:57.000 And here's God's promise. 00:41:57.159 --> 00:42:07.000 That disadvantage that you put yourself at through living righteously does not remain a disadvantage because this is the way that pleases God, this is the path that God loves to bless. 00:42:07.879 --> 00:42:09.319 And you can do it. 00:42:09.639 --> 00:42:11.479 Because Christ has gone before you. 00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:21.319 So here's my altar call, same as last week. 00:42:21.399 --> 00:42:22.439 Can you guess what it is? 00:42:26.519 --> 00:42:27.799 Start hiding. 00:42:28.759 --> 00:42:30.119 Just obey God. 00:42:30.839 --> 00:42:32.279 Trust God in this. 00:42:32.839 --> 00:42:35.079 And see what He does in your life. 00:42:35.719 --> 00:42:36.679 So I'm gonna do this. 00:42:36.759 --> 00:42:40.359 We're gonna um here's how you can prepare to give. 00:42:41.799 --> 00:42:44.439 If you have the ability today to begin, then I want you to begin. 00:42:44.519 --> 00:42:47.399 If you don't, then I want you to begin the next time that you get paid. 00:42:49.079 --> 00:42:54.839 And do a portion of the first best of your income by giving it to the Lord through his church. 00:42:55.719 --> 00:42:58.279 And I want us to say this prayer out loud before we give. 00:42:58.599 --> 00:42:59.079 Ready? 00:42:59.319 --> 00:42:59.959 Begin. 00:43:00.279 --> 00:43:06.679 Dear Heavenly Father, we desire to faithfully steward what you have entrusted to us. 00:43:06.919 --> 00:43:13.079 Unite our hearts as we give, that our generosity would become a shared act of worship. 00:43:13.399 --> 00:43:18.839 Many hands offering one gift, many lives declaring one faith. 00:43:19.079 --> 00:43:26.599 May our generosity in this moment be a tool in the advancement of your kingdom and mission here on earth. 00:43:26.839 --> 00:43:34.519 Give us the grace to honor you so that we may be remembered as a trustworthy people and caretakers of your gifts. 00:43:34.759 --> 00:43:45.000 May our lives and our giving be a testimony to your goodness, a witness to your kingdom, and a song of praise to your glory, both now and forever. 00:43:45.159 --> 00:43:45.719 Amen.