Full Transcript for Wise People Tithe | Pastor Jake Sweetman

the question caught me by surprise because I wasn't trying to be stingy. 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:14.280 I wasn't trying to be rebellious. 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:18.600 I hadn't even noticed that I was neglecting something so basic. 00:05:18.840 --> 00:05:22.920 And so I wasn't expecting the conversation, but I answered her honestly, no mom, I'm not. 00:05:23.079 --> 00:05:27.160 And then my mom proceeded to instruct me that I needed to begin tithing. 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:30.759 She taught me that this was the right way to honor God with my income. 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:38.920 It was the right way to support the church, and it was the right foundation for stewarding the little money that I was earning at my very unpredictable sales job. 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:40.600 So you know what I did? 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:42.439 I obeyed. 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:45.639 That week, at the age of 18, I began tithing. 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:53.000 That is, I began apportioning the first 10% of every paycheck and returning it to God by tithing it to his church. 00:05:53.400 --> 00:06:01.720 A couple of years later, when Nicole and I were preparing to get married, one of the things that we talked about in our premarital counseling was finances and budgeting. 00:06:01.960 --> 00:06:06.439 And so we submitted our budget to the older couple who were counseling us. 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:15.400 And the first line item on our budget, before our rent, before any bill, the first line item was our tithe, which also happened to be the first thing that they looked for on our budget. 00:06:15.639 --> 00:06:17.400 So we passed a test that day. 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:18.600 Praise God. 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:27.079 And together as a married couple, we have returned to God the first 10% of our income every time we've been paid for the last 17 years. 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:30.920 And as our income has grown, so has our tithe. 00:06:31.400 --> 00:06:37.240 Because the heart behind the tithe is that you give in proportion to what you have received. 00:06:37.960 --> 00:06:42.280 And the very cool part is that as that number has grown, so has our faith. 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:47.800 The financial scenarios that used to frighten us no longer frighten us very much. 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:55.800 In fact, 10% to God soon began to feel too easy, and it became a floor for us to build upon. 00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:06.920 So for the most part, unless it's a particularly trying season, which we still sometimes have, we have to make sure that we're going beyond 10% to even feel like we're sacrificing. 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:09.400 Which is the point. 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:12.600 Sacrifice is the aim. 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:16.360 Because what we're really talking about today is a form of worship. 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:20.199 And worship can never be devoid of sacrifice. 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:26.120 I was reflecting this week back upon that conversation that I had with my mom as an 18-year-old. 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:35.000 And the thing that I realized is that I knew at the time what the Bible teaches about tithes and offerings and stewarding your money, trusting God with your money. 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:39.639 And I had given money to God through the church many times growing up. 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:44.439 And so I asked myself this week, why did I stop doing that when I was 18? 00:07:45.160 --> 00:07:52.280 And the answer I realized was because at that point in my life, it's the first time tithing would have felt like a sacrifice. 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:57.960 I was out of the house, I was responsible for my own needs, money was tight. 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:02.680 So the first thing that I cut, without giving it much thought, was bringing God a tithe. 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:13.879 But what I was really doing was trying to relieve myself of financial pressure by withholding worship and trusting in my own wisdom rather than trusting in the wisdom of God. 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:21.720 But I can tell you, all of these years later, that trusting in God's wisdom is infinitely better. 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:27.400 See, over the last 17 years, Nicole and I, we have faced plenty of financial challenges. 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:31.639 There have been times of plenty, and there have been times that have been incredibly tight. 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:36.840 But on the whole, our life has reflected exactly what the book of Proverbs claims. 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.960 We have had far more than enough. 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:45.720 We've been able to own three different homes in Los Angeles, including the one that we live in currently. 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:48.679 And more importantly, our marriage is full of love. 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.559 Our children love the Lord, they love his church. 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:57.159 Looking over at my son worshiping Jesus on Wednesday night, blessed our heart beyond measure. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.879 Our families' values reflect God's priorities. 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:01.319 We experience God's peace. 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:03.159 We experience God's prosperity. 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:07.159 And our home is not just a house, it's a home. 00:09:07.560 --> 00:09:16.360 And it's constantly filled with love and laughter and sometimes tears as the overflow of the kingdom friendships that we have received through God's grace. 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:20.039 I do not regret entrusting one cent into God's hands. 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:22.759 Trusting God is always wise. 00:09:22.919 --> 00:09:25.799 Not trusting him is the actual foolish thing. 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:31.960 And that reality of wisdom versus foolishness, that's where I want to ground our teaching today. 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:37.399 Which of course takes us to the book of Proverbs because Proverbs is the Bible's premier book of wisdom. 00:09:37.560 --> 00:09:42.200 And so I just want to simply call today's message wise people

tithe. 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:51.000 There are many biblical reasons to tithe, but the bullseye that I want to hit today is that tithing is simply wise. 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:56.120 See, so often the Christian dialogue around tithing revolves around questions like this. 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:59.799 As a Christian, am I required to tithe? 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:05.879 Or maybe questions like, does the gospel mean that I no longer have to tithe? 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.000 But I think that these are entirely the wrong questions. 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:11.480 And I think that they reflect the wrong heart. 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:18.120 I think a much better question is what is the wisest thing that I can do with the money that I earn? 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:23.240 Because God has a very clear answer to that question. 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:37.639 And while there are many secondarily wise things you can do with your money, which Proverbs also speaks to, there is only one primary wise thing that we can do, which is to trust God with money by returning to him the first portion of everything we earn. 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:42.440 Trusting God with money is wise, and it leads to a much more beautiful life. 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:55.480 See, my conviction for a long time has been this, and I think that the book of Proverbs and the whole biblical witness agrees with this, that everything God asks from me is tied to what he wants for me. 00:10:56.519 --> 00:11:01.000 Everything God wants from you is tied to what he actually wants for you. 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:03.480 And so what I want to do is I want to dive into Proverbs 3. 00:11:03.560 --> 00:11:06.919 I want to show you how that works, especially at the end in relation to money. 00:11:07.080 --> 00:11:09.480 Go back to Proverbs 3 and verse 1. 00:11:09.720 --> 00:11:12.759 It says, This, my son, do not forget my teaching. 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:22.120 Everyone say teaching, but keep my commands, say commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:31.080 Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:37.480 So the first thing that I want you to notice is that these verses are framed as a father speaking to his son. 00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:45.960 And that's because Proverbs is designed, this was the purpose of the book, it is designed to teach young people how to live wisely. 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:53.080 It's like a parent sitting down their child and teaching them, hey, here's how the good life actually works. 00:11:53.960 --> 00:12:04.279 So a good summary of wisdom, what Proverbs means by wisdom, is that wisdom is the skill of living well in God's world, God's way. 00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:09.240 It's the skill of learning to live well in God's world by living God's way.

00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:11.000 Pay attention to that word, skill. 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:13.159 That means that this is not innate. 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:15.639 You are not born with this. 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:17.080 You learn this. 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:18.600 This is something you develop. 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:21.159 Wisdom, pay attention, this is very important. 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:30.759 Wisdom is developing the character, it's developing the competency to master life within God's moral order. 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:31.639 Right? 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:35.399 So wisdom goes deeper than what am I required to do? 00:12:36.680 --> 00:12:43.960 No, wisdom seeks out the right way to live in light of who God is and how he has created this world to function. 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:49.799 That's why Proverbs says at the very start that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, right? 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:56.919 Acknowledging who God is as almighty creator and as gracious sustainer, that's where wisdom begins. 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.840 You see, Proverbs is not just a human father's helpful tips. 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:05.879 Ultimately, the father that Proverbs 3 instructs us to obey is our heavenly father. 00:13:06.200 --> 00:13:11.159 And so notice then back in verse 1 that the Father is not merely offering advice to the Son. 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:14.519 Proverbs is not advice. 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:21.480 True wisdom does not come with suggestions, it comes with instruction. 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:24.759 Thus, the Father is giving teaching and commands. 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:27.720 He's not giving you food for thought and some things to consider. 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:33.639 There is a right way to live and there is a wrong way to live. 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:34.840 It is very clear. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:37.159 That's how wisdom works all throughout the Bible. 00:13:37.320 --> 00:13:40.919 But in that, understand that wisdom is not burdensome. 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:48.120 In fact, the teaching and the commands are described in the very next verse, verse 2, as his love and faithfulness. 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:57.560 So Proverbs adheres to the rules of Hebrew poetry, and Hebrew poetry features this literary device called parallelism. 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:05.080 And the way that parallelism works is that the second line advances the meaning of the first line. 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:05.639 Okay? 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:14.680 So here we would see that love and faithfulness actually corresponds with and advances the meaning of teaching and commands. 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:22.759 Which is really powerful because that proves what I just said to you that everything God asked from you is tied to what he wants for you. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:27.560 His teaching and commands are actually an expression of his love and his faithfulness. 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:28.919 What does that mean? 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:33.399 It means that if

you obey his instruction, you will experience profound reward. 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:35.879 That's what the pastor said. 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:47.159 The Father's teaching and commands will prolong your life many years, will bring you peace and prosperity, you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.440 That almost sounds a little bit too good to be true, doesn't it? 00:14:51.560 --> 00:14:54.919 Which is kind of how Proverbs works itself out. 00:14:55.399 --> 00:14:57.000 And this would be a good place to pause. 00:14:57.080 --> 00:15:02.600 These seemingly too good to be true promises are a good place to pause and ask, what exactly is a proverb? 00:15:03.240 --> 00:15:04.600 Is it a promise? 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:06.759 Or is it something else? 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.159 In one sense, Proverbs are promising certain things. 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:14.600 But they are general big picture promises. 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:26.680 If wisdom is learning to live God's way in God's world, then the promise of Proverbs is that if I do that, generally speaking, my life will flourish. 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:46.840 If I submit to Yahweh as creator, as ruler, if I live in reverential fear of him, if I take responsibility for the life he's given me, and I commit to growing in character and competency, if I live humbly for the sake of his glory, then generally speaking, my life will flourish. 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:52.279 Wisdom means living well, and living well leads to a life well lived. 00:15:55.799 --> 00:16:01.560 It's foolish to think that I can live my way and master life in God's world. 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:03.960 No, I have to live God's way. 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:10.919 And if I do that, the the promise of Proverbs is that generally speaking, things will go really well for me. 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:16.440 Now, some people start to get a little bit uncomfortable when you associate Proverbs with promises. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.399 They prefer to describe them as principles. 00:16:19.799 --> 00:16:27.159 And in one sense, that caution is warranted because the book of Proverbs is not advertising life with God to be like an ATM machine. 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:34.680 But in another sense, to call these principles kind of risks taking the personal covenantal nature out of them. 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:42.440 Proverbs is not inviting you to like abide by some laws of the universe so that you can get good things in return. 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:44.360 This is not impersonal. 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:49.159 This is about walking intimately with God and experiencing his faithfulness. 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:59.480 So I actually think promise is a pretty good word because it's much more relational, but the key is that you have to zoom out and look at the whole picture that Proverbs is painting because it promises some tough things too. 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:06.039 It says that the righteous may fall seven

times, but he gets back up again. 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:09.319 So that verse captures exactly what I'm talking about. 00:17:09.480 --> 00:17:13.000 Proverbs makes room for the righteous man falling down. 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:17.159 But it takes the view that in the end he will be found standing. 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:23.159 In other words, Proverbs does not overpromise blessing and ignore the reality of hardship. 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:25.480 It just zooms out and looks at the big picture. 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:34.599 It's not inviting you into life hacks, it's not inviting you into quick fixes, it's inviting you down the path to abundant life, and that path is paved with faithfulness to God's commands. 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:39.960 And the claim is that on the whole, life will be far more rewarding if you live God's way. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:44.519 And better better still, even when the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:49.960 The promise is that our ultimate reward is eternal life, and that is a vindication that outlasts even death itself. 00:17:50.120 --> 00:17:51.960 So these promises are not false advertising. 00:17:52.120 --> 00:17:53.240 Please do not read past them. 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:54.200 Take them seriously. 00:17:54.359 --> 00:18:01.319 If you cling to the instruction and commandments of God, then on the whole, your life will be more peaceful, more prosperous, and more relationally rich. 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:05.000 The Hebrew word that drives all of that is the word shalom. 00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:10.680 And shalom is it's translated as peace, but it's so much more than the absence of conflict. 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:13.240 It's so much more than a full bank account. 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:17.000 Shalom is God's intended state of perfect beauty. 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:19.240 It's God's garden temple. 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:22.120 It's the good world functioning as it should. 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:30.680 So the idea is that even in a world that's been corrupted by sin, you can still experience God's shalom by obeying his instruction. 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:37.079 Wisdom produces an enduring life even when the circumstances seem impossible. 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:44.599 So the first question for us then is Am I embracing wisdom or am I avoiding wisdom? 00:18:45.400 --> 00:18:47.240 And the next stanza helps us to answer that. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:48.680 Look at verses five and six. 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:51.240 Say this first word with me. 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:58.279 It says, say it again, it says, Yeah, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:01.880 In all your ways, submit to him, and he will make your path straight. 00:19:02.120 --> 00:19:06.440 So this shows us what living wisely actually looks like. 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.079 It's fundamentally about trust. 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:17.319 Trust in God is the thing you need

to keep living wisely when the ways of the world seem to make more sense. 00:19:18.279 --> 00:19:23.240 Wisdom will mean that you don't lean on what makes sense from a worldly perspective. 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:23.880 Right? 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:27.960 And that's true whether you're talking about money or any other area of life. 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:31.640 The fruit of wisdom comes from trusting in God with all of your heart. 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:34.039 In Hebrew thought, the heart included your whole being. 00:19:34.120 --> 00:19:38.680 It's the center of the person's emotional, intellectual, religious, and moral activity. 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:42.120 So trusting in God with all of our hearts means that we trust him entirely. 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:46.279 It means that we trust him exclusively, and it means that we trust him exhaustively. 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:50.440 If the way of wisdom were like an ATM machine, then you wouldn't need trust. 00:19:50.519 --> 00:19:53.480 You'd just put in the card, punch in the passcode, and get the reward. 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:54.680 But that's not wisdom. 00:19:54.839 --> 00:20:00.039 A life of wisdom is fundamentally about walking intimately with God, and therefore trust is everything. 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:04.759 We are trusting in him that if we live his way, our lives will be far more beautiful. 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:08.839 To do something other than that is to live in violation with the truth. 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.120 The truth is that God is the creator and the sustainer of this world. 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:17.480 But if I don't live according to the wisdom of the creator and sustainer, then I am in violation of the truth. 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:21.559 It is to act irrationally and to be governed by my urges and my fears. 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:27.720 It's to live in accordance with the thimble of my knowledge rather than living in accordance with the vast ocean of God's knowledge. 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:41.319 And Proverbs actually says that the person who lives that way, the phrase that it uses, the person who thinks they are wise in their own eyes, that person is even worse off than a fool because they have God's wisdom right in front of them and they still bet on themselves. 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:51.640 And I'd say this like so lovingly and so humbly, but this is just true, that's exactly how many of you are living in relation to money. 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:59.240 If we are honest, that is usually what withholding money from God looks like. 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:04.839 It's quietly trusting our own financial management over God's instruction. 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:09.160 That's what 18-year-old me was doing. 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:17.400 But the wise, they trust the Lord to uphold his covenant faithfulness as they live his way. 00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:22.440 Bruce Waltke is the leading scholar on the book of Proverbs. 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:36.440 He says it like this the wise, they are confident that as they fulfill their obligations, he, Yahweh, God, will uphold his in his own time and in his own way, even when the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:52.200 So at the heart of this wise way of living is the choice to know God intimately, even in hardship, rather than to hardly know him at all, because you pursued the easiest possible life. 00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:57.720 And I put easiest in scare quotes there because actually living our own way doesn't actually lead to an easy life. 00:21:58.920 --> 00:22:03.160 You will never get to know God by pursuing what you think is easy. 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:08.680 You will only get to know God at the intersection of faithful love and sacrifice. 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:09.640 It's called a cross. 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:13.240 That's where God waits to be known by you. 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:22.120 In fact, that phrase, in all your ways, submit to him, in the Hebrew can be translated, in all your ways, desire his presence. 00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:28.200 Living wisely means stewarding every part of your life in a way that invites God in. 00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:33.559 And the promise is that as he Enters those parts of your life, he protects them. 00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:34.920 What does that say? 00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:36.839 He makes your paths straight. 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:39.480 Is that up and to the right all the time? 00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:40.039 No. 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:43.559 He uses the surprises for your well-being. 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:48.039 He uses the sudden twists and turns to still get you to the right place. 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:56.519 Our problem is that we underestimate what God does in difficulty and we overestimate what God does during times of ease. 00:22:56.920 --> 00:23:04.839 So we pursue easy thinking that that's the best, but it's actually the difficult moments that are far more valuable to our formation where we learn to lean upon God more. 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:05.160 Right? 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:06.519 Just think about the Exodus story. 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:10.440 I don't know if you've ever traced Israel's path as God led them out of Egypt. 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:12.680 It's a completely ridiculous path. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:15.079 It is not the fastest way out of Egypt. 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:15.559 Okay? 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:24.279 There are way more efficient ways to get out of Egypt than the path that God led them, but he leads them the way that he does because he wants to show them this power as he parts the Red Sea. 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:30.200 I love the way one preacher summarized it, is that sometimes the shortest distance between two places is a zigzag. 00:23:32.120 --> 00:23:36.359 That's what it means when it says that God makes our paths straight as we trust him. 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.200 Practically speaking, God does not guarantee us an easy life. 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:49.799 He

guarantees that if we trust him and delight in him, he will get us to the very best destination and he will use the route to mold us into the image of Christ along the way. 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:55.319 That's why wisdom requires trust, and it proves to be far more fruitful in the long run. 00:23:55.880 --> 00:23:57.960 Which brings us to the final part of our text today. 00:23:58.039 --> 00:23:59.240 Look at verses 9 and 10. 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:00.680 This is all connected. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:08.120 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops, then your bonds will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:09.640 This is wisdom and its outcome. 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:12.680 What does trusting God look like in relation to money? 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:15.480 It looks like honoring Him with it. 00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:21.400 Honoring God with our money is the wisest money move we can make. 00:24:22.120 --> 00:24:25.400 That word honor means to weigh heavily. 00:24:26.120 --> 00:24:34.519 So we give weight to the fact that God is our creator, that God is our sustainer, by honoring him with our wealth. 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:36.599 How do I honor God with my wealth? 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:41.720 Remember Hebrew parallelism, the second phrase clarifies and advances the first phrase. 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:45.640 So the way you honor God with your wealth is right there in the second line. 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:51.480 It's by returning to him the first fruits of all your crops. 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:54.599 Not some of your crops. 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:59.880 Not when you reach a particular threshold of backstock in your crops. 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:00.519 No, no, no. 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:05.160 From all your crops, you take the first part and you return it to him. 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:09.640 That word first in Hebrew is the is the word reshit. 00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:11.799 It's the same word in Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning. 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:12.920 It means beginning. 00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:22.440 And when you trace that notion of resheet of first fruits across the Old Testament, it doesn't just mean first in quantity, it also means first in quality. 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:29.720 So the scripture would say you bring God the best of all your increase, or you bring God the finest of all your increase. 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:32.440 And where you brought it is you brought it to God's house. 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:37.720 So the Proverb is not talking about bringing God your first fruits by donating to your favorite charity. 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:43.319 This is a summary here in these couple of verses. 00:25:43.400 --> 00:25:47.880 This is a summary of the entire sacrificial system of worship in God's house. 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:51.240 And that sacrificial system of worship insured three things. 00:25:51.400 --> 00:25:53.880 Number one, the ministers of God's house were well supplied. 00:25:54.039 --> 00:25:57.079 Number two, the needy among God's people were well supplied. 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:02.839 And number three, the resources that were required for the tabernacle and temple to function were well supplied. 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:09.720 And the New Testament, unsurprisingly, carries all three of those over into the relationship between the Christian and their local church. 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:10.359 Why? 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:12.759 Because wisdom has not changed. 00:26:13.480 --> 00:26:17.319 We may be in a new covenant, but wisdom has not changed. 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:34.120 Proverbs says that wisdom was there at the foundations of the world, which is symbolic of the fact that there is a right way to live, not just today, not just a thousand years ago, not just a thousand years from now. 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:40.440 No, there is a right way to live that is grounded in God's very order that He's given to the universe. 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:43.400 There is still a right way and a wrong way to live. 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:48.440 We are still to honor God by bringing him the first fruits of all of our increase. 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:53.400 I think there's a very good biblical warrant for starting it at 10% as a foundation. 00:26:53.559 --> 00:26:57.240 The Israelites were actually required to go well beyond that. 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:01.319 And honestly, above and beyond seems to be the Apostle Paul's encouragement. 00:27:01.559 --> 00:27:06.519 Like he just says in 2 Corinthians 9, 6 listen to how proverbial this sounds, by the way. 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:10.440 Like he's talking about an offering, but then he pauses to give a proverb. 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:13.079 He says, remember this, this is just true all the time. 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:17.160 Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:21.880 Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:26.039 So the question is not how much am I required to give. 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:30.279 The question is how much can I honor God with what I've received? 00:27:30.839 --> 00:27:37.720 How much weight can I concretely communicate to him that he has in my life with this act of bringing him the first? 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:39.160 Because that's living wisely. 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:41.240 That's how God says that you honor him with your income. 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:43.400 You take the first portion and you return it to him. 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:44.839 Because what does that communicate? 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:47.000 It says, God, you provided this for me. 00:27:47.319 --> 00:27:48.759 It says, You're my sustainer. 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:50.120 The ground isn't my sustainer. 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:51.880 My employer isn't my sustainer. 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:54.680 My gifts and my talents aren't my sustainer. 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:57.960 Friends, your gifts and talents that you

have today could be gone tomorrow. 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:00.759 No, no, no. 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:01.960 You are my sustainer. 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:03.400 You provided this. 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:05.559 And you can provide more. 00:28:05.960 --> 00:28:10.039 So what is wise then is to take the first portion of my income and return it to God. 00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:12.279 Not begrudgingly, but gratefully. 00:28:12.440 --> 00:28:19.559 As the whole chapter teaches, remember the context, with the incense of trust, with the incense of devotion, with the incense of love. 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:22.120 Because if it's not with love, then it's not my best. 00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.880 If it's not with trust, then it's not my best. 00:28:26.120 --> 00:28:29.319 But with love and trust, I bring him my first and my best. 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:33.559 Before I take the seed out of the crops and sow it back into the ground so I can grow more. 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:44.759 Before I invest back into my business or back into the market, before I make another purchase, before I go out to lunch, before I pay for all of those subscriptions that I'm so convinced that I need, I give God the first portion. 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:46.120 That's how you honor him. 00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:51.160 That's how you actually indicate the weight that he holds in your life as your provider. 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:52.440 That's what wisdom does. 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:59.079 Not every now and then, not in fits and starts, not just when you think you aren't going to feel the impact of it because you have a surplus. 00:28:59.240 --> 00:29:01.960 No, every time you receive, you return. 00:29:02.359 --> 00:29:11.559 In fact, when the father starts out this chapter by telling the son to keep these commands in his heart, what that entails is the fact that is that the son would have these committed to memory. 00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:18.759 So every time he earned an income, every time he brought in the harvest, guess what will be rattling around in his head? 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:22.680 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all of your crop. 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:32.359 So the question is, son, daughter of the Lord, is that the first thought rattling around in your mind? 00:29:34.120 --> 00:29:35.400 When you get paid. 00:29:42.120 --> 00:29:47.000 And if it's not, then you're selling yourself short on the blessing of living wisely. 00:29:48.120 --> 00:29:51.720 You see, money's value by itself is incredibly limited. 00:29:53.880 --> 00:29:59.480 Again, to quote Bruce Walkie: money can build a house, can't build a home. 00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:03.880 Money can put food on the table, can't put fellowship around it. 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:11.079 However, wisdom gives both material well-being and spiritual life. 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:18.120 So you can go the way of the world, and you can consider everyone and everything but God when you get paid. 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:21.640 And you may have material wealth in this life. 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:23.720 But it will not be enduring. 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:26.839 There will be no eternal reward attached to it. 00:30:27.880 --> 00:30:39.480 But if you go the way of God, you can have enduring material wealth and much more importantly, the wealth of being a citizen in the kingdom of God, where you actually experience the benefits of belonging. 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:46.120 Where your wealth goes to the work of the gospel and you experience the joy of God's family. 00:30:46.680 --> 00:30:51.240 The way that Proverbs says it is that your barns will be filled with plenty. 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:54.759 Just let this, I don't know what else to call it, except a promise. 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:57.319 Let this promise come into your heart. 00:30:57.559 --> 00:31:01.799 Your barns will be filled with plenty, your vats will brim over with new wine. 00:31:02.120 --> 00:31:05.319 And that's not about greed, that's not about hoarding. 00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:09.319 That's about having an overflowing life that blesses the community around you. 00:31:09.960 --> 00:31:12.920 And the English translation really doesn't do the imagery justice. 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:17.000 First of all, grain and wine, those two words together, that's what's called a merism. 00:31:17.400 --> 00:31:22.519 A merism is when two words work together to communicate something bigger than just what those words represent. 00:31:22.680 --> 00:31:25.960 So, like for example, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:31:26.120 --> 00:31:29.319 Okay, well, that's that's about more than just God creating the sky and the land. 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:31.480 That's about God creating everything. 00:31:32.039 --> 00:31:33.960 Grain and wine is a merism, it's it's like that. 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:37.960 It's not just that he's gonna give you bread and and really nice Merlot. 00:31:39.880 --> 00:31:43.400 No, this is about how he's gonna provide for everything that you need. 00:31:44.839 --> 00:31:52.359 Uh new wine is so amazing because he doesn't just provide meagerly, he provides generously. 00:31:52.759 --> 00:32:00.279 New wine, according to one scholar, represents the juice that comes from the grape as a result of its own weight. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:06.920 Like the grape is so heavy with juice that it's it's dripping before it's even pressed. 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:13.480 Normally the grapes would go into a press, which then channeled into pools, into vats, and those caught the juice. 00:32:13.640 --> 00:32:21.960 So the imagery here is that the result of honoring God with our wealth is that the pools will be filled to the brim with grape juice before the grapes have even been pressed. 00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:24.440 That is an image of God's grace. 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:27.799 You will find, by the way, that generosity is God's signature. 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:35.559 This is an image of

God's loving kindness, generously providing for those who trust in him and who concretely honor him in the area of finances. 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:36.279 And guess what? 00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:38.839 None of the biblical authors shy away from this reality. 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:39.480 None of them. 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:45.559 Moses says in Deuteronomy 28:8, the Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:48.519 The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 00:32:48.680 --> 00:33:00.039 The writer of 2 Chronicles says it like this As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the first fruits of their grain, new wine, olive oil, and honey, and all that the fields produced. 00:33:00.200 --> 00:33:02.920 They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 00:33:03.079 --> 00:33:05.640 Notice the connection here between firstfruits and tithe. 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:15.160 The people of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks, and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the Lord their God, and they piled them in heaps. 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:19.000 They began doing this in the third month, and they finished in the seventh month. 00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:20.920 Those months were the months of harvest. 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:24.359 So every single thing they harvested, they brought a tithe on. 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:45.559 When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, Hezekiah is the king, they praised the Lord, they blessed his people, Israel, and Hezekiah asked the priests and the Levites and Azariah the chief priest, since the people uh began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare because the Lord has blessed his people, and this great amount, this is actually the leftover. 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:48.279 Before you showed up, these heaps were even bigger. 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:53.799 The prophet Malachi says it like this: bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. 00:33:53.960 --> 00:34:01.960 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 be no more room enough to store it. 00:34:02.120 --> 00:34:06.279 The Apostle Paul says it like this in Philippians 4 Not that I desire your gifts. 00:34:06.440 --> 00:34:09.319 What I desire is that more be credited to your account. 00:34:09.480 --> 00:34:10.759 I have received full payment. 00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:11.639 I have more than enough. 00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:12.759 I'm amply supplied. 00:34:12.839 --> 00:34:16.359 And now that I've received the the uh from Epaphroditus, the gifts you sent. 00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:18.359 The church in Philippi had given Paul an offering. 00:34:18.519 --> 00:34:19.639 Here's how he describes them. 00:34:19.799 --> 00:34:21.000 They're a fragrant offering. 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:22.039 You didn't just give it to me. 00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:24.759 No, it's an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 00:34:24.839 --> 00:34:31.079 And here's what God's gonna do: my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:42.599 The same reality traverses the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the new covenant, because honoring God with your wealth by returning to him the first and the best is just wise living. 00:34:42.839 --> 00:34:44.359 Yes, there are times of lack. 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:45.879 Yes, the righteous will fall. 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:47.799 Yes, sometimes we will still suffer. 00:34:47.959 --> 00:34:52.759 Yes, there will be times when we pray along with the psalmist, God, have you forgotten me? 00:34:52.919 --> 00:35:03.879 But the call to trust is a call to be a Proverbs people in a Psalms world, to have our feet planted in the wisdom of the Proverbs, even when we experience the suffering of the Psalms. 00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:10.919 And the promise is that that kind of enduring trust is what produces an enduring life. 00:35:11.239 --> 00:35:13.479 A life that advances God's kingdom? 00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:14.359 Yes. 00:35:15.079 --> 00:35:19.799 A life with more than enough so that you can be a blessing to others, yes. 00:35:20.599 --> 00:35:28.199 But most of all, a life that gets to know the God who is actually behind all of the good things that you own. 00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:32.919 Full barns, full bank accounts can't love you back. 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:38.519 But God can, and God does. 00:35:38.919 --> 00:35:42.199 In fact, God doesn't just love you back, he loves you first. 00:35:42.759 --> 00:35:44.679 And that's the whole point of the chapter. 00:35:44.839 --> 00:35:48.119 Honoring God doesn't just fill your barns. 00:35:48.359 --> 00:35:50.279 Barns are the gift, but they're not the reward. 00:35:50.839 --> 00:35:59.639 Honoring God draws you deeper into the heart of the God who loves you and gave himself for you and blesses you and provides for you and sustains you. 00:35:59.959 --> 00:36:01.239 He is the reward. 00:36:01.879 --> 00:36:06.599 Therefore, honoring him the way that he teaches is the way that we should live. 00:36:07.799 --> 00:36:10.119 So here's my ultra call today. 00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:12.919 Begin tithing. 00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:18.599 It's the wisest thing you can do with the money that you earn. 00:36:18.679 --> 00:36:24.119 And it has everything to do with what God wants to do for you as you live his way in his world. 00:36:24.359 --> 00:36:26.679 So, what that means is that I want you to begin a pattern. 00:36:26.839 --> 00:36:27.879 Everyone say pattern. 00:36:28.279 --> 00:36:32.039 Yes, I'm not looking for you to do something lavish right now that you can't repeat. 00:36:32.519 --> 00:36:35.719 I'm looking for you to enter into a pattern that you can sustain. 00:36:36.199 --> 00:36:40.839 I want you to begin a pattern of returning to God the first and the best portion of your income. 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:44.359 If you can start that today, then I would like you to do that. 00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:48.599 If not, then I would like you to start with the next paycheck you receive. 00:36:48.759 --> 00:36:51.159 Put that giving graphic back up for us. 00:36:51.479 --> 00:36:53.159 We need to see it again. 00:36:53.559 --> 00:36:55.479 The only way, you guys got it? 00:36:55.639 --> 00:36:56.599 Go back, go back, go back. 00:36:56.759 --> 00:36:57.399 Okay, there it is. 00:36:57.559 --> 00:37:02.359 The only way to close a discipleship gap is with obedience. 00:37:02.839 --> 00:37:04.839 This is an obedience gap. 00:37:06.119 --> 00:37:07.639 That's all that it is. 00:37:08.439 --> 00:37:17.559 Obedience to our heavenly Father's teaching and commands, obedience to the wisdom of honoring him with our wealth by consistently bringing him the first. 00:37:17.959 --> 00:37:22.599 So I'm asking you, take the first 10% and apportion it to the Lord by bringing it into his house. 00:37:22.839 --> 00:37:25.079 Others of you, you've been doing that for years. 00:37:25.319 --> 00:37:26.839 It's like it's set on auto. 00:37:26.919 --> 00:37:28.199 You don't even think about it. 00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:30.759 It stopped being sacrifice. 00:37:31.239 --> 00:37:35.559 And so I'm gonna call you to ask God, help me to go further. 00:37:35.799 --> 00:37:37.239 Help me to give more. 00:37:37.719 --> 00:37:40.039 Because again, it's just a baseline. 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:45.559 Whoever sows sparingly reaps sparingly, but whoever sows generously reaps generously. 00:37:45.799 --> 00:37:49.399 And by doing this, we will be stepping into a lifelong pattern of worship. 00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:55.639 Like it'd be so great if I could stand up here next Sunday, and that like that was like wouldn't that be awesome? 00:37:57.479 --> 00:38:04.279 As we all collectively step into a pattern of worshiping God sacrificially and saying to him, every time we're paid, God, you are my provider. 00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:10.199 Because the pattern is the path, and it's the path that actually leads us to genuinely abundant life. 00:38:10.599 --> 00:38:17.799 So I'll say it to you one more time honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. 00:38:17.959 --> 00:38:20.279 Other translations say all your increase. 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:26.519 And your barns will be overflowing, your vats will be brimming with new ones. 00:38:27.399 --> 00:38:29.559 So let's give.