DEUTERONOMY 14:22-29
"You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year."
As the people "clean house" and "separate," Moses tells them that certain disciplines will be essential to maintain such a set-apart life. How the people would worship, treat each other, and give would serve as guardrails and means of worship in their walk with God. The people were being called to implement "new ways" to keep them on the narrow road of faith.
In this week's text, Moses tells the people that giving (tithing) to the Lord is a needed practice that would keep them focused and faithful. He teaches the people that their tithe is more than the sacrifice of goods, but an acknowledgment of God's goodness. That with each daily offering, yearly tithe, and the overall giving of their first fruits, giving serves as worship in their acknowledgement of all good things have come from God.
Remember, Moses told the people that, "This land is not like the land which you come from." The Israelites were going to have many blessings and luxuries poured upon them. God's promises in this life were going to look different, taste different, and feel different than anything they had ever experienced. They were going from dry land to rolling hills! From praying for food to having too much! Moses teaches the people that tithing would be one of their acknowledgments of all of these truths. That laying at the altar the first and best of what God had given them shows a worshipful heart of thanksgiving!
Today, even though we live under the blessings of a new covenant through what Jesus accomplished on the cross, giving still serves as an essential part of our walk with God. God is not in heaven with a calculator, but nothing has changed concerning His desire to have our first and best. Nothing has changed in that giving is a wonderful way to stay humble and means of worship. The truth is that the health of a church, family, and individual can be found in the way that they give. Giving is so much more than a percentage or dollar amount. Faithful giving comes from a place of gratefulness that none of us could put a price on; that what God has done for us is so much greater than whatever it is that we would miss out on by giving what we have given.
For the people then and also for us today, every tithe given is also a 'no' to an earthy desire wanted. Your monthly tithe might mean that the seats in your car can't be leather or that your vacation is 5 days and not 7. Maybe no more Starbucks coffee or going out to eat for lunch with coworkers.
Praise God for this!
I hope the people of God are so wrecked by His grace and goodness that doing without worldly desires stirs our affections towards a great faith and thankfulness. I pray that it turns us into people who are just happy to have seats in our cars. Who cares if they are leather! How could any of the people that went from slavery to wilderness, and now to the promised land not give? How could any of us today, born in the promise not give?
For the people then and us today, God has been so kind to us. For those who are believers, He has given us salvation through His Son Jesus and the promise of eternity in Heaven. We have forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Now let us respond in the acknowledgement of these truths!
Stay faithful church,
Pastor Hunter
In this week's text, Moses tells the people that giving (tithing) to the Lord is a needed practice that would keep them focused and faithful. He teaches the people that their tithe is more than the sacrifice of goods, but an acknowledgment of God's goodness. That with each daily offering, yearly tithe, and the overall giving of their first fruits, giving serves as worship in their acknowledgement of all good things have come from God.
Remember, Moses told the people that, "This land is not like the land which you come from." The Israelites were going to have many blessings and luxuries poured upon them. God's promises in this life were going to look different, taste different, and feel different than anything they had ever experienced. They were going from dry land to rolling hills! From praying for food to having too much! Moses teaches the people that tithing would be one of their acknowledgments of all of these truths. That laying at the altar the first and best of what God had given them shows a worshipful heart of thanksgiving!
Today, even though we live under the blessings of a new covenant through what Jesus accomplished on the cross, giving still serves as an essential part of our walk with God. God is not in heaven with a calculator, but nothing has changed concerning His desire to have our first and best. Nothing has changed in that giving is a wonderful way to stay humble and means of worship. The truth is that the health of a church, family, and individual can be found in the way that they give. Giving is so much more than a percentage or dollar amount. Faithful giving comes from a place of gratefulness that none of us could put a price on; that what God has done for us is so much greater than whatever it is that we would miss out on by giving what we have given.
For the people then and also for us today, every tithe given is also a 'no' to an earthy desire wanted. Your monthly tithe might mean that the seats in your car can't be leather or that your vacation is 5 days and not 7. Maybe no more Starbucks coffee or going out to eat for lunch with coworkers.
Praise God for this!
I hope the people of God are so wrecked by His grace and goodness that doing without worldly desires stirs our affections towards a great faith and thankfulness. I pray that it turns us into people who are just happy to have seats in our cars. Who cares if they are leather! How could any of the people that went from slavery to wilderness, and now to the promised land not give? How could any of us today, born in the promise not give?
For the people then and us today, God has been so kind to us. For those who are believers, He has given us salvation through His Son Jesus and the promise of eternity in Heaven. We have forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Now let us respond in the acknowledgement of these truths!
Stay faithful church,
Pastor Hunter
SCRIPTURE TO GO WITH THE MESSAGE
Read Malachi 3:8-12 with some of the greatest verses in all of the Bible concerning the call to faithfully give.
Posted in Deuteronomy