Understanding Why It's Important For A Christian To Tithe

We're all part of a culture. We're born into it, we learn from it, and with a sigh, we say, “I guess this is as good as it gets.” But when we make the decision to follow Jesus and live from his perspective, everything changes. Suddenly we're going against the flow, and sure, that often means living differently from popular culture. But sometimes it means living differently from Christian culture too. We're looking at the book of 1 Corinthians to discover the full life that comes when we live counter to culture and follow Jesus against the flow.

Well, it is so good to be here at Frisco. Want to welcome all my friends at the McKinney campus. Sorry, I can't be with you this morning, but glad you were able to join us. For everyone online, thanks for taking some time, but it's great to be here at Frisco and sharing with you this morning. Let me ask you a question. Anyone here have problems sharing? Anyone have problems sharing? No one. Okay. I might as well say amen and go home, but my wife and I, we occasionally like to go get ice cream. Now, this typically involves us getting in the car and driving, I know, to all places, Walmart, and picking up a pint of Blue Bell ice cream, right?
Now, here's where the challenge begins for me because I prefer my own pint of ice cream. I think a pint of ice cream is a reasonable amount of ice cream for grown man. My wife, sometimes, my sweet bride, Wendy, she likes to share some of my pint of ice cream. Now, gentlemen, do you see where the opportunity for growth exists here for me? Exactly. Sharing sometimes can be a challenge. Anyone here have kids that have problems with sharing? Kids that have a problem. Yeah. There's a lot more here in Frisco with kids that have problems with sharing. Here's what's fascinating to me. My guess is that none of you sat down with your kids and suggested to them that hanging onto things is a good idea, right? They just figured it out themselves, and some at a very early age.

At Christmas, when we were kids, I remember waking up Christmas day, and the only thing that I was focused on was what I would receive, right? Christmas was about what I was going to receive. But as we grow and mature, as you become parents or grandparents, your focus moves from what you're going to receive to how you're going to bless others by what you're going to give to them, right? Now, this progression is exactly what happens in the spiritual life. Jesus said, "It's more blessed to give than receive." Well, today, we're looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 16, and here's Paul's premise: Everything that we have, everything is a gift from God and an opportunity for us to share and be generous.

We get to invest a portion of our income to the mission of the local church. Listen, not because we have to, but out of gratitude for all that Christ has done, we get to. So, make no mistake, when we come to this subject of giving, it can be a challenge, right? Giving a portion of our income to our local church is counter-cultural, right? We all have a tendency to think “what's mine is mine.” Well, let's get to our text. First Corinthians 16, Paul says, “Now, about the collection for the Lord's people, do what I told the Galatians churches to do.” Paul's already talked to the Galatians about this. Now he's going to talk to the Corinthians.

"On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, serving it up so that when I come, no collections will have to be made." Now, this collection that Paul was referring to was for the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. There'd been a famine in Jerusalem, and the Christians were also being persecuted for their faith and more than likely finding it hard to get work. So, Paul is in Ephesus. He's writing to these folks in Corinth, and he wants to share his desire to help the Christians 800 miles away in Jerusalem. Now, whenever we look at Scripture, there are things that were specifically written to the Corinthians, but there are also principles that apply to us today.

Now, this letter is not instructing us here in North Texas to send money to the Christians in Jerusalem. That wouldn't be a bad thing, but it's not what Paul's suggesting in the text here today. What I'm going to do is suggest three principles and a promise that lead to a blessed and deeply satisfying life. Who doesn't want to live a blessed and deeply satisfying life?

Here's the first principle. If you want to live that life, the first thing that Paul suggest is to give to God's purposes. There are a lot of places that we can give, a lot of good places. The local church is not the only place that we get to give, but listen, it's the primary place for the Christian.

Acts 4:35 says this, "From time to time, those who owned land and houses sold them, brought the money, and put it at the Apostle's feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need." No, the people didn't sell and then give us they saw fit. No, they sold their houses and put it at the apostles’ feet. They were trusting that the apostles would determine how to distribute those resources. Here's the principal. Okay? Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to give to God's purposes. It's those in the position of leadership, the elders, they've being given the responsibility to determine how those funds would be distributed.
If you believe that God is at work at Preston Trail, then we're going to encourage you to give. Okay? Listen, you and I, whether you're at McKinney, there online, if you're a follower of Jesus, if you're a part of Preston Trail, you and I are the only means on this earth that the work of God here at Preston Trail will be financed. There's no plan B. You and I are it.

The second principle that leads to a blessed and deeply satisfying life is this. Give to God's purposes consistently. Let's go back to our text. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says “on the first day of every week,” of every week. Here's the principle that applies to us today, make it a practice to give consistently to the work of the Lord.

Now, the new testament, these folks were probably getting paid daily, so they brought a portion of their income every week. For us, we get paid bi-monthly or monthly. Some of us get paid quarterly. Here's the principle. When you receive income, consistently put aside a portion for the work of the Lord. Okay? Who did Paul want to participate in this giving? Let's go back to our verse. On the first day of every week, now, the first day is Sunday, right? So, for 1,500 years, guys, people worshiped on the Saturday after the resurrection. Now it's Sunday. It's today. On the first day of every week, each one of you, each one of you should set aside some money.

See, God intends for, you ready? Every follower of Jesus to give to the mission of the church. It's an opportunity for everyone. Now, you might be thinking, "Well, why don't we leave the giving part with those with extra cash or those that have most of the money?" Well, here's the problem with that, that wouldn't be consistent with what the Scripture teaches. Right? Paul is saying—we believe here it's applicable for us today, for everyone, for everyone who's a follower of Jesus—to set aside a portion of income consistently and invest in the mission of the church. Now, if you're not a follower of Jesus, first of all, thanks for joining us. But if you're not a follower of Jesus, you're under no obligation to give.

Now, if you want to give, you can. It'll make you generous, we'll gladly receive it, but this is for believers, right? How much should we give? Back to our verse. On the first day, Sunday, of every week, each one of you, that's everyone who's a follower, should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income. If we're going to live a blessed and deeply satisfying life, we'll not only give consistently, but the next principle is this: We'll give proportionally, right? That's our next principle. Give proportionally to God's purposes. Paul says our giving is proportional to our income, so what portion should we give?

Now, the Jewish mindset was to determine exactly what would satisfy the law, right? They didn't want to give too little, but they certainly didn't want to give too much. Now, the law said ten percent, ten percent of your income was required. It wasn't optional. Ten percent of their income was required for God's work. Now, let me ask you a question. Is ten percent enough today? Maybe, and maybe not. You see, God might be asking you to give more than ten percent of your income, so there's no percentage, no percentage mentioned here, no set amount. Okay? Now, I know what some of you are thinking, "Hey, I'm off the hook. I can just give the bare minimum. That'll get me through, right?"

Now, before you get too far ahead, what you've got to remember is this, is that tithing, that is setting aside ten percent of your income for the work of the Lord had been the standard for God's people for 1,500 years. Paul was well aware of this standard. He was well aware of the standard of ten percent. Jesus came along. What did he do? He supported the idea of tithing. Now, here's what we believe. In the Old Testament, it was a have to, giving, tithing, proportionately, consistently. It was a have to. Are you ready? Now, in the New Testament, it's a get to. Here's what we believe. We believe that giving ten percent of our income to God's work is a great starting place as we consider how much to give.

Listen, we don't give because the law requires us. We give out a gratitude for what Christ has done. I want you to picture just for a minute that you've been given $1,000 from God. Now, remember, God's the owner, you're the steward. Now, let me ask you a question. What is going to be your response to the Lord? Well, first of all, I hope you'd say, "Hey, thanks for the $1,000. Do you want any of this back?" God says, "Just $100 dollars." You say, "Well, what do I do with the other 900?" God says, "You get to do whatever you like with that." You see, when we understand, when we understand everything we have, everything that we've been given is a gift from God, it's a lot easier to say, "Thank you, Lord," and in response, contribute proportionally and invest in the mission of the local church.

People who give proportionally have learned to give off the top and live on what's leftover. You see, this group believes that everything belongs to God. Everything is a gift from God. They see themselves as the stewards of all that God has blessed with them. They're committed to investing in the mission of the church. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9, he says this, "Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will also reap generously." Here's the principal. Paul says that giving to God's work, giving proportionally, it's not giving away. It's not a loss. Listen, it's an investment. The farmer who sows seed, he's not thinking about losing the seed. He's thinking about the crop he's going to gain.

See, Paul says anyone who's willing to sow with handfuls of seed can expect a crop in return. It's a principle. I want you to imagine just for a minute that Jesus is coming over to your place for dinner. Let me ask you a question. Are you going to serve him first, or are you going to serve him last? My guess is you're going to serve him first, right? Let me ask you another question. Are you going to serve him the best meal that you can come up with, or you're going to serve him leftovers? My guess is you're going to come up with, what are the top three meals we have? We've got Jesus the Son of God coming. You're going to make sure you have the best for the Son of God.

You see, people who give proportionally, they honor God with the first portion, the best part of their income, instead of the leftovers. Here's the challenge for many of us. You see, many people are afraid. They're afraid to give proportionally. Fear stops them from giving. "What happens if I lose my job? What happens if there are some unexpected expenses? Will we have enough for retirement? Are we going to have enough to provide for our kids?" Listen, these are all legitimate concerns. You know, one of the things I love about Preston Trail is the fact that we don't just encourage you to walk blindly along looking for what God has for you, but we give you some tools. That's why, on August 21, we have put together what we're calling Financial Freedom Bootcamp.

If you're here, if you're at the McKinney campus or watching online and you need help in getting your finances in order, we would offer you to register. You can either go online or go to the Preston Trail app for a free half-day seminar. Chris Young, who's not only a great guy, but he's a financial wizard, he's going to spend several hours with you and encourage you to do that. You see, people who live in fear have a tendency to give what's left over, right? If there's nothing left over, guess what—they don't give. Jesus said this, "But seek first my kingdom, and my righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."
Jesus says, "Make the kingdom of God your priority." When you do, God will meet your physical needs. See, if you believe that everything that you have truly belongs to God, you have nothing to fear. God asks a question, he asks a question of everyone that's listening and watching now. He asks this question, "Do you trust me?" You see, when we trust God, we're able to give to God's purposes. We're able to give consistently, and we're able to give proportionally. You know, as kids, we as a family were incredibly blessed. We never went without a thing, we were well loved, and we had lots of fun together as a family. I think there's a photo of us. There we are. There's our family. Now, that's a few years ago, and that is me on the front row down there on the left.

As you can see, I'm pretty excited about wearing a tie for the first time. I'm grateful for the way my parents provided for me and demonstrated Christ's love. My dad was a good man. He really was. He was a man who gave to God's purposes consistently and proportionally. You see, I saw him do it over and over again, year after year after year. When I was a small child, I can remember seeing my dad have on his nightstand a giving envelope. Now, this is a few years ago, but my dad had a giving envelope. Every week, my dad would take a portion of his income, he would place it in the giving envelope, and then we went to church on Sunday, they used to pass a plate around, and he would place the envelope in the plate.

I saw him do it over and over again, week after week. Now, what's amazing as I look back over my life, I realize my parents didn't have a lot of extra cash, right? They didn't have loads of money. Now, make no mistake, we didn't go without, but my mom actually used to cut my hair all throughout elementary school. Now, that is a picture of me. Yes, that is one of my mom's famous haircuts. Now, mom, if you're watching, and I know you are, first of all, I would say this. I love you, but being a skilled dressmaker did not qualify you to cut my hair all those years. You know, our first trip to the snow included all of us kids getting plastic garbage bags to place over our feet so our shoes wouldn't get wet. We rarely, if ever, went out to eat,
Hey, make no mistake, we never missed out on a meal, but when we went somewhere as a family, my mom would make sandwiches. Okay? Does everyone here know what beet root is? Yeah. Beetroot. Sliced beets. My mum used to make sliced beetroot sandwiches. Now, we're going back a few years, and what she would do is she would put them in the freezer. After being on the road if we ever went out, my mum would pull out the ice chest and out would come the frozen beetroot sandwiches. Now, I want you to think about that for a minute. Frozen beetroot sandwiches in the freezer all night, in the ice chest for several hours, she pulls them out, and the family, we're all eating frozen beetroot sandwiches. I'm telling you.

Here's the point I want to make. My parents made a choice to give their first fruits to God's purposes. It's not a matter of how much money you've got. It's a matter of making a decision when you receive income what you're going to do with it. Right? My parents made the decision, my dad realized that everything he had was a gift from God. He was just the steward. He knew that there was nothing, nothing more important than investing in the kingdom of God. He never made a big deal of it. He just did it, was always consistent, and God always provided.

Well, not only does God intend for us to give to his purposes and to give consistently and proportionally if we're going to experience the blessed and deeply satisfying life, but here's the promise. Are you ready? God promises to bless our faithful generosity.

Paul writes to the same people that he spoke to in 1 Corinthians 16 a year later when he writes 2 Corinthians. This is what he writes, "Remember this. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver, and God,” who is able to bless you just a little bit? No, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in” some things? No, "so that in all things,” some of the time? No, “At all times,” having some of what you need? No, “Having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

You see, God's promise is this. God will bless us—you ready? —abundantly! For those who sew generously—do you know this word generous literally means extravagantly? Shockingly. It's incredible. How do we become generous people? By developing a grateful heart, and a grateful heart begins when we remember how much God has blessed us.

Do you remember the story in John chapter 12 where Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus' feet? Why did she do that? It was an enormous gift. It was arguably worth a year's wages. I want you to think, think for a second, a year's salary, Mary is going to pour perfume worth a year’s salary on Jesus' feet. Why did she do that? Is it possible that this extravagant display of love and devotion was a result of what took place in the previous chapter? You say, 'Well, what happened in the previous chapter? What happened in John chapter 11?" Glad you asked. That is the story where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

Who was Lazarus? Lazarus was Mary's brother. Now, can you imagine, Lazarus is dead, he's been dead for days. Jesus comes along, and Lazarus is resurrected. Can you imagine, can you imagine what Mary must have felt in that moment? The elation to see her brother raised from the dead. Is it possible that Mary's extravagant love was because she was grateful for what Jesus had done in her life? You see, when we understand what Christ has done for us, we won't hesitate in response to give back to him. In Matthew chapter six, Jesus says, "Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on it. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather in their barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them."

Jesus is saying, "Hey, make no mistake. God is watching over the sparrows. He's going to provide for them. Are you not more valuable than them?" You see, Jesus assured his followers that if they first seek the kingdom of God, if they choose to walk obediently to all that he's asking them to do, he's going to look after them. It's a principle. Some of you might be wondering what it looks like to leave a legacy. What does it look like for someone who's invested in the kingdom of God? What does it look like for someone who has given to God's purposes consistently and proportionately?

Three years ago, I had a phone call from my dad in Australia. He said, "Son, I want you to come home." You see, my dad had been diagnosed with stage four cancer a year earlier, and he was about to enter the final week of his life this side of eternity. He wanted his boy home. So, my wife and I, we got on a plane, we left Dallas, Texas, and 17-and-a-half hours later, we arrived in Australia, and I got to see my dad. We had a couple of really good days. There's a picture, our last family photo. There's my sweet dad, he always had a smile on his face, and my two sisters and my brother. That was such a gift to be there.

Well, of course, he started his rapid decline. He stopped eating and drinking and spent most of his day resting. A good friend of mine brought over a CD, and it had a collection of Christian hymns. I thought it would be nice just to play that CD in the room with my dad. Again, my dad at this stage, he's not really saying anything. It's three days before he's about to meet the Lord, and as always sitting there with my dad, the most extraordinary thing happened. Take a look at this.

(Video of an elderly man singing His Eye Is on the Sparrow) Because I'm free, for his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he cares for me. I sing because I'm free, his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.

You see, my dad, he understood and experienced the blessed and deeply satisfying life. He said yes to Jesus, gave financially to God's purposes. He did it all his life. He gave consistently, he gave proportionally. Listen, God blessed my dad's faithful generosity. A gift, wasn't it? I know that there are people, I know that there are people who are there in McKinney. I know you're watching. I know there are people watching online, and here at Frisco, and I know there are people who have chosen to give faithfully to God's purposes. You give consistently, you give proportionally, and I want to say thank you. Thank you for walking in obedience.

Someone said to me, "You're going to talk about giving this morning? Man, you must've caught the short straw." I'm like, "Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? I get to talk about giving." Listen, we don't need your money. We use it. Don't take that as we're not asking for your money, we'll use it, but we don't need your money. That's not what this is about. You see, more than anything else, we desire for you to live a blessed and deeply satisfying life. We know that that comes when we walk in obedience to what God's called us to do. You might be here, and you're doing that. This morning, as you've heard this message, you're saying, "Hey, count me in. I want to continue to give consistently and proportionately. I want to continue to do that."

Maybe you've heard this message this morning and you say, "I want to start giving. I recognize as I've heard this message, I've given a couple of times to the church, but it's not consistent, certainly not proportional." Maybe this morning as you've been listening, the holy Spirit's saying, "Hey, I want you to do this. I want you to walk in obedience in this area." Maybe some of you this morning, as God's Word has been shared with you, you say, "I would like to start giving something," or "I don't know what I am meant to give." This is what I ask you to do as a couple, as a family, as an individual, whether you're at McKinney, you're watching online, just say, "Lord, what would you have me to give?" One of the most spiritual things that some of you could do today is to give financially to the work of the Lord.

At both of our locations, there's giving boxes. We don't pass the plate. We don't hand out giving envelopes. Maybe we should. I don't know. It worked back 40 years ago. Maybe we should do that again. I don't think we need to do that. Here's what I would ask you to do, is just pray about it. "God, you've blessed me with much. What would you want me to do?" Maybe today you choose to start giving something. Maybe this morning, as you've heard this message, you're going, "Wow. I've never heard anything like this. I don't know. I feel really uncomfortable with this." I understand that. If this is the first time you've heard this, it can be a challenge. Right? I understand that. But let me ask you, are you willing to pray about what your next right step is in giving? I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to pray about it.



Recorded in Frisco, Texas.