Being A Blessing # 5

Being A Blessing # 5

June 2, 2024

Today’s Message
Being A Blessing # 5
June 2, 2024

Introduction:
There is only one way to grow in the grace of giving, and that is by giving more. The first level of generosity is giving spontaneously. You have to create a financial margin so you can meet needs and seize opportunities. The second level of generosity is giving consistently. Consistency beats intensity seven days a week and twice on Sunday. The third level of generosity is giving proportionately. If you are going to grow in the grace of giving, you can’t think terms of dollar amounts – you have to think in percentages.

I. The tithe is the Biblical benchmark, but it’s not the end goal…

Luke 6:38 NKJV
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

A. The tithe is as old as

Abraham

– it is pre-law which is not insignificant.
B. There are those who would argue that the tithe is an Old Covenant practice, but it actually predates the

giving

of the

law

.

Genesis 14:17-23 NKJV
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. 21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
C. The King did two very curious things:
1. First, he

blessed

Abraham.
2. Second, he served him

bread

and

wine

.

Like Abraham we are blessed – to be a blessing…

Malachi 3:10 NKJV
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

II. Let’s move into the graduate school of generosity…
A. The tithe is not

any

ten percent – it’s the

first

ten percent.
B. The technical term is first fruits – as such, the tithe isn’t just an act of

obedience

under the Old Covenant, it’s a statement of

faith

.
C. If they honored God with the

tithe

, God would bless what was known as the

second

harvest.
D. If you aren’t experiencing a

second

harvest, maybe it’s because you aren’t

honoring

God with your first fruits.
E. Some observations:
1. The tithe is not a

threat

, it’s a

promise

.
2. The negative connotations of the tithe come out of

legalism

that focuses on the law rather than

grace

.
3. We are not under the law – we are under

grace

.
4. The goal is to grow in the

grace

of

giving

.
5. Grace is the Genesis of generosity, or you can flip that coin: generosity is the

revelation

of

grace

.

Galatians 3:29 TPT
‘And if you belong to Christ, then you are now Abraham’s “child” and a true heir of all his blessings because of the promise God made to Abraham!’

E. Some final observations:
1. Tithing is

trusting

: it’s a heart of faith issue.
2. The tithe keeps

greed

in check.
3. God-honoring goals are never

easy

.
4. You cannot outgive God – I promise you this: God can do more with

90

percent than you can do with

100

percent.
5. Grace doesn’t

discount

the

law

it supersedes it..