Welcome to our youth group lesson for this week … our 21st available lesson on the Port Ann Wesleyan website. To catch up, you can find a list of lessons on the PAW Youth page.
Prayer needs continue for many within the church. Please lift up Sally Sheets, Pastor Paul and the entire family as they work to support Sally during this time of uncertainty with her cancer treatments. She is scheduled to receive her third in a series of treatments next week.
Trina Eia and the whole Eia family continues to need prayer during the most recent downturn in her health. While human interventions may be exhausted, we know God can work miracles depending on His will for the situation.
As was shared last week about Pat Mitchell, please continue to lift him and the family up in prayer for a new health concern. He has a biopsy set for Sept. 10.
Michelle’s biopsy set for this past Monday was cancelled so doctors can run more testing first. She meets with a doctor tomorrow (Thursday) morning.
According to dictionary.com, the word tithe, used as a noun, means: “The tenth part of agricultural produce or personal income set apart as an offering to God or for works of mercy, or the same amount regarded as an obligation or tax for the support of the church, priesthood or the like.” The world in regards to Biblical standards specifically means “tenth.”
Considering the following verses from the Old Testament concerning the foundation of tithing:
Leviticus 27: 30-33 (NIV)
“‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. No one may pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If anyone does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’”
The tithes were meant to support the Levites in their priestly duties, as explained in Numbers 18: 25-29 (NIV):
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering. Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’”
Perhaps one of the most quoted verses in scripture about tithing comes from Malachi 3: 8-12 (NIV):
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing Me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. 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 not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
In a nutshell, the concept of tithing revolves around the fact that everything we own — including the money we make — is because of God. We tithe as a show of thanks to Him for all He has provided us … not because we are afraid of what He will do if we don’t tithe, or because we are looking for the benefits of being a faithful giver as mentioned in Malachi. However, there have been numerous testimonies by people who have been blessed beyond imagination because they faithfully tithed.
Here is an interesting column that ran in Forbes magazine about the financial benefits of tithing. There are a number of tithing testimonials on YouTube, including a few produced by the CBN (700 Club). Here is an example:
Some of the controversy revolving around the concept of tithing comes in the form of Old Testament vs. New Testament references, and what that means for those of us who are Christians now. Jason Mitchell, pastor of the New Hope Church, recently stated this in an interview for a story to run in the newspaper this coming weekend on tithing:
I would personally argue that the tithe was instituted as “Law” and therefore has been fulfilled in Christ. So rather than tithing from the position of duty, we tithe from the position of freedom and liberty in Christ. We do all that we do to the glory of God, as recipients of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. In other words, the Christian life in general is lived entirely as a response to the finished work of Christ. We love because He first loved us, we forgive because we’ve been forgiven, we give because God has given to us. .
The concept of tithing as referenced in numerous parts of the New Testament can really boil down to the following, which comes from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NIV):
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, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
It is important to note, however, that tithing isn’t a ticket to health and wealth, as suggested some of the false teachers today that say that giving guarantees you abundant wealth and perfect health. God will provide for you what you need and what works for His greater plan. It is about God and His glory and not about the false idol aspect of our own personal search for money and a perfectly toned body.
To wrap this up … the concept of tithing’s foundation rests on the 10 percent aspects shared in the Old Testament. Jesus had a tendency in His New Testament teachings to further expand and define various parts of our daily living. For example, the Old Testament defines murder as a sin … Jesus took it one step further to suggest that harboring anger toward another is similarly a sin. Adultery is clearly sin listed in the Old Testament — Jesus’ definition expanded by suggesting lusting after another is in the same category.
What if tithing follows a similar pattern? Jesus never suggests that tithing should be limited by the 10 percent standards of the Old Testament. His new definition instead hinges on the concept of being generous with everyone, including the church. As the old hymn (shared above via Anthem Lights’ a capella rendition) suggests: “All to Him I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I forever will love and trust Him.”
What if we focused on tithing as our ultimate statement of faith that God will take care of us even if we sacrifice well beyond what Old Testament laws and custom suggest?
