1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,960 The title of my message this morning and this evening, it'll 8 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,080 be 1 message really extended over these two services. 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,560 And the title is what percentage is right? 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,040 And of course, that will make sense as we go along here in 11 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,440 just a few moments. What percentage is right? 12 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,120 Let's get right to it. As you stand, please. 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,760 Genesis 14. As you stand verse #17 where it 14 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,200 says this. And the king of Sodom went out 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,960 to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Kidalaimer 16 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,480 and of the kings that were with him at the valley of Sheva, 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,640 which is the King's Dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem 18 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,920 brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:06,840 Most High. God, remember that name 20 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,480 Melchizedek. And he blessed him, and said, 21 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:14,120 Blessed be Abram of the Most High and Possessor of heaven and 22 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:18,360 earth, and blessed be the most High God, which hath delivered 23 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:23,240 thine enemies into thy hand. And he being Abraham, gave him 24 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,800 tithes of all. See that word there right tucked 25 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,160 in at the end of verse #20 tithes of all. 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,920 So a look this morning at the title of my message, which is 27 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:38,240 What percentage is right? Why don't you be seated as we 28 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,600 pray together? Heavenly Father, do thank you 29 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:42,560 for this time. And I pray that in the time that 30 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,000 I have this morning that I would be able to just set the table 31 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,960 for this very important subject. Thank you for how you're working 32 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,160 within our midst. And I do pray that you would use 33 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,160 this far beyond anything that has to do with a paycheck, far 34 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:58,520 beyond anything that has to do with the tithe, far beyond 35 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,720 anything that has to do with the wallet, but rather that we would 36 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,480 look to our whole lives and see how we are to live a stewarding 37 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,560 life. Thank you for this all. 38 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:11,039 And we ask it in Jesus name, Amen, what percentage is right? 39 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:12,520 You know what? We're confronted with this more 40 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,960 than any time I think now in a lot of ways at the restaurant. 41 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:18,840 You ever noticed that it used to be 15% was what you were 42 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,400 supposed to be able to give at a restaurant. 43 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:22,160 And then it kind of crept up to 18. 44 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:24,920 Now it's crept up to 20. And now if you get one of those 45 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:27,800 touch screens, which they love to be able to give you the touch 46 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,040 screen and say, oh, you're just going to be a question right 47 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,560 before you have to sign. Well, what's that question? 48 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:37,760 It's 202225 or other. And that's what it is. 49 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,960 It's like there is 15 in all of this. 50 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,560 I thought it was still 15% because, you know, even as the 51 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,720 bills go up and as the bills at the restaurant do go up, there 52 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:49,840 was a time you could buy a steak for a nickel at times. 53 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,320 Gone, isn't it? But 15% is still good in 54 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,960 whatever economy it is, I would think because of the fact that 55 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,080 whatever the bill is, 15% as well, 15%. 56 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,160 But depending on where you go online or whether you hear about 57 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,240 it, it's a little arguing about what percentage is right. 58 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,400 What percentage should you give when you're at the coffee shop? 59 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,880 What percentage should you give? If it's A to go order, what 60 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:13,920 percentage you should give? Everybody wants a tip. 61 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:16,040 Everybody wants something nowadays. 62 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,600 By the way, you don't have to give me a tip on the way out. 63 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,960 That's not what I'm asking for. Your tip might be this. 64 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:21,920 Hey, preach shorter messages, maybe that's what it is. 65 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:24,360 I don't know. That might be your tip. 66 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:26,760 I don't know, that could be it. But the idea is this. 67 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,640 What percentage is right? You know, Two men were marooning 68 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:34,600 an island and one paste back and forth and he was worried and he 69 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,880 was scared while the other man sat back and he was sunning 70 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,120 himself. The first man said to the second 71 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,560 man, aren't you afraid that we're about to die? 72 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,920 And the second man said this, no, I make $100,000 a week and I 73 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:50,880 tie faithfully to my church every week too. 74 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:58,520 He said, my pastor will find me. When you hear stewardship week, 75 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:00,720 there's probably a lot of people here that get a little bit 76 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,280 worried. Pastor, all you're going to talk 77 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,760 about. His tithes, Pastor. 78 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:07,960 All you're going to talk about is money. 79 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,480 A pastor. All you're going to talk about 80 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,440 is all the money we're supposed to give to the church, and it's 81 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,640 going to feel more like the Jerry Lewis telethon than it is 82 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:18,279 going to be like a church service. 83 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:20,440 And maybe there's some people that would feel that way here 84 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,200 this morning. And, you know, there was a time 85 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,400 as a younger preacher that I would say something like this, 86 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,160 that, you know, it's uncomfortable for me to talk 87 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:31,600 about the issues of stewardship. I would say that a lot as a 88 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,120 younger preacher. And I found that as I'm a older 89 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,680 preacher, I didn't say I was an old preacher, but I'm older than 90 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,000 I used to be. I have found that I'm actually 91 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,000 pretty comfortable talking about the issues of financial 92 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,280 stewardship. Why? 93 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:48,560 Because it's in the Word of God. And so I don't say this morning 94 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:52,640 because of a heart of trying to squeeze anyone or a heart of 95 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,480 trying to get something out of anyone here today. 96 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,960 As you know, I don't know the tithing records here at the 97 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:00,320 church. I'm not Privy to them. 98 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,720 And so I can preach with a heart of purity to be able to come 99 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,960 before you and just say this is what the Word of God says and 100 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,120 you have to take it for what it is and decide how you are going 101 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:11,720 to apply it within your own life. 102 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:13,640 I'm not uncomfortable with that, to be honest with you. 103 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,400 I'm actually very comfortable with that, to present to you 104 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,480 what the word of God says. And so the issue this morning 105 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:24,160 isn't just about tithing, but really a much larger overarching 106 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,800 principle, which is the issue of stewardship. 107 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,280 Now stewardship according to the 1828 dictionary, is this the 108 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:36,200 office of a steward? Not extremely helpful to be 109 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:37,760 honest with you. Don't you love that when the 110 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,040 definition is given in, you know, the word and all that, the 111 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,800 office of a steward. So well, we have to ask 112 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:45,400 ourselves, what is a steward then? 113 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,240 Well, a steward is a person employed in great families to 114 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:53,400 manage the domestic concerns, superintend the other servants, 115 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,880 collect the rents or income, keep the accounts, etcetera. 116 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:02,000 A person employed in great families to manage all accounts. 117 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:07,720 And God defines it in First Corinthians 41 where it says it 118 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:12,720 is required in stewards that a man be found faithful is 119 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,080 required in stewards that a man be found faithful. 120 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,240 So what do I need to do this morning? 121 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:21,200 Well, I want to preach this morning and this evening on the 122 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:25,160 issues of stewardship and particularly how it deals with 123 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:26,840 tithing. But again, how there's an 124 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:30,960 overarching issue of it as well. And you say, pastor, some of you 125 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,560 would say, well, pastor, I know all about this, I've heard this, 126 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,120 I do this and praise the Lord if that's the case. 127 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,360 But there are others who maybe are newer to this and newer in 128 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:41,160 their faith and do not understand. 129 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,320 And so it's important for us as a church to remind ourselves 130 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,120 here and there about why the church preaches what it does, 131 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:51,840 why we teach that which the word of God says about these issues, 132 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,360 and where do we go from there. Now, there's a lot of people 133 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,920 that will say something like this about the issue of tithing. 134 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,480 They say, well, Pastor, tithing is something that you find in 135 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,920 the Old Testament, but now we live in the New Testament and 136 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,120 tithing isn't important. There would be others who would 137 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:08,280 say, well, pastor, that was something that was found in the 138 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:11,120 law, but we don't live under the law anymore. 139 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,280 We live under grace. And so it's really not important 140 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:16,400 anymore. And so certainly there would be 141 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,880 some arguments to be made in those favors. 142 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,080 But I would present to you both this morning. 143 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,000 That's even if the Word of God shows something quite different. 144 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:28,320 In fact, starting right here in Genesis chapter #14 what we read 145 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,280 just a few moments ago, and So what I want us to see first this 146 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:35,640 morning is this, that the tithe was before the law was given to 147 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:37,480 Israel. We find that the issue of the 148 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,160 tithe, as some would argue, well, the tithe is really about 149 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,560 the law. Well, the tithe was given before 150 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,400 the law was given to Israel. We see this here in Genesis 151 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,960 chapter #14. Now very quickly, the background 152 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,840 of Genesis chapter #14 is there's a confederation of 153 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,120 cities that are led by a man named Kittalayimer. 154 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,640 And Kittalayimer attacks a another confederation of cities, 155 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,000 which include cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah. 156 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,920 And they take over those cities. They take the possessions. 157 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:11,520 And most worrisome to Abraham, they also take captive Lot and 158 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:14,520 his entire family. Now you'll remember that Lot 159 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,160 pitched his tent towards Sodom and then he ended up living in 160 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,120 Sodom and Gomorrah. And eventually we become 161 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:24,480 leadership in Sodom as well. But he's living there in the 162 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,080 city and he has taken captive. His family has taken captive. 163 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:29,640 All those things are taken captive. 164 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,640 And so Abraham gets over 300 of his own armed men, his own 165 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:38,080 militia, and they go out and they set free the coalition of 166 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,799 Sodom and Gomorrah and all those cities and defeat Kit Aleimer 167 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,040 and in the process get a great amount of spoil as well. 168 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,400 But as we see right here, as we jumped into the text in the 169 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,840 middle of what was taking place, it says that the king of Sodom 170 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,720 went out to meet him verse 17, and his return from the 171 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,600 slaughter of Kitalemur and the kings that were with him in the 172 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,000 valley of Shiva, which is the King's daigle. 173 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:06,520 And it says and Melchizedek of Salem 4th and wine and he was 174 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:10,080 the priest of the Most High God. Now, Miss Melchizedek was never 175 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:12,000 mentioned before. This Melchizedek has never 176 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:13,960 mentioned again in the Old Testament. 177 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,080 It's like he came out of nowhere. 178 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,640 And there's a reason for that which I've mentioned before, but 179 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,160 we'll look at in specificity in just a moment. 180 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,960 And it says that he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham of 181 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,520 the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be 182 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,040 the most high God, which has delivered thine enemies into 183 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,400 thine head. And he, Abraham, gave him tithes 184 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,480 of all. The first mention of the word 185 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:41,080 tithe is found here in Genesis chapter #14 is not found in the 186 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,480 other 13 chapters. It's found here for the very 187 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,760 first time. Genesis 14, Melchizedek comes, 188 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,320 brings him a blessing and Abraham in response gives him a 189 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:54,000 tithe of everything that he has. So we cast question ourselves a 190 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,080 question this morning. He says, well, what is the 191 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,560 tithe? And maybe another question to go 192 00:09:58,560 --> 00:10:01,360 along with that is who is Melchizedek? 193 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,400 Both are important questions. Because you say, pastor, this 194 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:07,280 has nothing to do with me this morning. 195 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:09,200 Well, maybe you're not saying that because you're thinking of 196 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:10,560 what he's saying. It maybe does have something to 197 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:11,800 do with me. It does. 198 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,560 Who is this Melchizedek and what is the tithe? 199 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:19,200 Well, there's an answer to this. Remember I said Melchizedek 200 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:21,520 isn't really mentioned again. The Old Testament was mentioned 201 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,360 several times in one book in the New Testament, and that is the 202 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,320 book of Hebrews. So we're going to. 203 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:28,120 Can you help me with something real quick? 204 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,200 I know time and all that stuff that today we're OK, right? 205 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:32,000 Amen. All right. 206 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:33,640 OK. If you didn't say Amen, we're OK 207 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:34,160 anyway. All right. 208 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:36,480 But I want you to do this just a second. 209 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:37,560 All right? Do this. 210 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:38,040 No. Come on. 211 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:39,360 Listen to Pastor. All right, All right? 212 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:41,080 You know what you're going to do with these fingers. 213 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,760 All right, You all look silly, but you know what, you're going 214 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:44,640 to do these. We'll work them through the 215 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:45,840 Bible today. We're going to turn to some 216 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:46,800 pages. All right, so why don't you get 217 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,960 those fingers limber, Go to Hebrews Chapter 7. 218 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,680 All right, Don't need to save your space in Genesis 14, 219 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:59,840 Hebrews Chapter 7. I know I'm talking at 60 words a 220 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:02,360 minute with gusts up to 80. So I understand. 221 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:04,720 I'm trying to keep it down, trying to slow it down a little 222 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,360 bit here. We'll get as far as we get this 223 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,440 morning and. We'll get where we get and. 224 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:10,720 We'll. Finish it up tonight. 225 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,000 Amen. Because all one thought for us 226 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:15,040 this evening, this morning, and this evening. 227 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:22,280 Hebrews chapter #7 If you ever read the book of Hebrews, the 228 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:26,640 theme of the book of Hebrews is Jesus is greater than fill in 229 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,560 the blank. Because the Hebrews had this 230 00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:33,360 problem with all of these things being great, but missing the 231 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,960 fact that all those things they thought were great were actually 232 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:37,840 foreshadowing who Jesus Christ was. 233 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:42,320 They loved the Tabernacle, but the problem was Jesus was 234 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,080 mirrored in the Tabernacle. They talked about angels, but 235 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:50,360 angels were ministering spirits and ministered to Jesus Christ. 236 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:52,160 Moses. They loved Moses. 237 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,000 Now, they didn't love him when he's alive, they loved him when 238 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:59,440 he was dead. But Moses was a minister of who? 239 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,200 The Lord. And so the the whole book, which 240 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,320 which I believe is authored by Paul, I'm not going to argue 241 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:07,600 with you about it. Whether it is or it's not, it's 242 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:10,480 really of no matter. But whoever authored it, we know 243 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,280 the true author is the Lord Holy Spirit is the one that inspired 244 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,040 it. But as we see this, this 245 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,520 Melchizedek is being mentioned here again, he's already 246 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:21,600 mentioned chapter 5 once, a chapter 6 once, but we're seeing 247 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:23,960 Chapter 7. We want to see who is this 248 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,360 Melchizedek and what's this tithe? 249 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,080 All right, let's read in verse #1 it says for this Melchizedek, 250 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,640 king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham 251 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,560 returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to 252 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:39,120 whom also Abraham gave up. We got an answer to one 253 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,760 question. A what 10th part of all? 254 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,240 We'll hold on a second. So what's the tithe? 255 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,920 The tithe is literally the word 10th. 256 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,480 That's what the tithe means. And in fact, we don't have time 257 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,000 to go there. But if you go to Genesis chapter 258 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:01,040 #28 remember the story of Jacob's Ladder where he saw the 259 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:03,960 angels ascending and descending? And after all that took place, 260 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:09,600 he promised to give a 10th, the tithe of all that he would 261 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,960 receive as the Lord would enable him. 262 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:13,800 And the Lord blessed him. So what do we see? 263 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:18,600 That Abraham gave of tithes. And that tithe literally means 264 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,800 this. He gave of 1/10, but then it 265 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,280 continues on saying, being an interpretation king of 266 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,440 righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is 267 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,400 king of peace. Now who is this Melchizedek? 268 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,360 Well, this is going to narrow it down for us really. 269 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:40,360 Well, here without father, without mother, without descent, 270 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,280 having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like 271 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:48,800 unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually. 272 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,160 Now a few weeks ago I talked about the fact that there were 273 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,720 Christophanes in the Old Testament, where typically it 274 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,440 mentions the Angel of the Lord. And this is an appearance of 275 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:59,080 Jesus Christ, the Old Testament. This shouldn't surprise us 276 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,360 because Jesus didn't just appear in the New Testament. 277 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,520 Jesus always has been. Now look, you might be squeamish 278 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:07,880 about ties and stuff like that. You don't want to say Amen this 279 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:10,160 morning, that's fine. But you can say Amen to this. 280 00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:13,920 Jesus has always been. He's always been. 281 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,320 And so it shouldn't surprise us that he appears here and there 282 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,440 in the Old Testament. But I would suppose, and I would 283 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:23,160 say to you here this morning, that when it says that there was 284 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,280 1A Melchizedek without father, without mother, without descent, 285 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,680 without beginning of days or end of life, there could only be one 286 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:35,920 of who that Melchizedek is. And he is none other than Jesus 287 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,680 Christ in the Old Testament. That's who I see here. 288 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,920 But that answers that question. Who is Melchizedek? 289 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:50,160 Well, he is God. What's the tithe 10%? 290 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,120 So what did Abraham do by answering both of these 291 00:14:54,160 --> 00:15:04,800 questions before the Law? He gave 10% to God before the 292 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:10,320 Law of Moses was ever penned. Here is Abraham who acknowledges 293 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:14,240 everything that I have and everything that I own and 294 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,640 everything that's within me is because of who the Lord is. 295 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,280 And so I will take a 10th of a not a 10th of a percent. 296 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,400 That would be boy, that would be that would be really low. 297 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:29,640 All right, I will take 10% and I will give it to God. 298 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:34,000 And that's reiterated by his grandson Jacob a couple 299 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,920 generations later, as Jacob does the same thing. 300 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:39,600 So what do we see? There were offerings given 301 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,000 before. This word tithe is found in 302 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,920 Genesis chapter 14. You remember Cain and Abel gave 303 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,120 offerings. One gave an offering better than 304 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,000 the other because one gave the offering that dealt with the 305 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:49,760 blood. Why? 306 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:52,960 Because the plan of God has always dealt with the blood. 307 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:55,880 It always points to the blood of Christ. 308 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,680 That's always been the plan. So offerings were given before, 309 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:02,040 but we see codified here in a way that we had not seen before 310 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:06,040 in his first mention that Abraham gave 10% to God. 311 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,560 This was reiterate throughout of his generations. 312 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,040 And it's not just before the law, but here's where people 313 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:15,720 aren't going to argue with you. It also was found in the law as 314 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,840 well. It was before the law, but it 315 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:24,240 was also in the law as well. And I would say this, this is 316 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:28,200 the part that nobody disputes. No matter who you talk to, 317 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:30,600 they're going to say that tithing was a. 318 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:34,240 Part of the law. That was given to Israel, for 319 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,960 instance, Deuteronomy chapter 26, verse 12, when thou has made 320 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,280 an end of tithing, all the ties of thy increase. 321 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,760 It just says that right there in the beginning of a section that 322 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:46,480 talks about other things, but it says here's what you're going to 323 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,440 do, That you're going to make it a priority before anything else 324 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:55,040 takes place, to give of the first fruits to God. 325 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:59,280 That He is not the last of your thoughts, but rather He is your 326 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,880 first priority. That we don't give God what is 327 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,280 left. We give God what's right. 328 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,440 We say that one more time. We don't give God what's left, 329 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,040 we give God what's right. And the tithe was to be thought 330 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:17,760 of as the first fruits. It was to be before anything 331 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,040 else took place. In the Old Testament, they lived 332 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,880 in an agriculture, agricultural economy. 333 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,160 Often ties, time ties, were not paid in cash. 334 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,280 How would they be paid? Well, 10% of whatever you had 335 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,160 going on, wherever you were, sometimes that could be 336 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:38,920 converted to cash. We could see that in Deuteronomy 337 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,280 chapter #14 especially if you're going a longer distance. 338 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,720 But it would be just literally whatever you had was brought 339 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,520 into the use for God's. House. 340 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:51,800 Deuteronomy chapter 14. Remember that. 341 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,400 All right, good. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 14, 342 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:57,440 all right? Your fingers are already limber, 343 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,920 so you can work over there. Deuteronomy chapter 14. 344 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,680 And of course, we can give you many examples here, but for the 345 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:08,200 brevity and the sake of time, particularly of something of 346 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,360 which no one would dispute here this morning, I do want you to 347 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:12,680 see it. But we're not going to delve 348 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,760 into it deeply because everyone seemingly that has any kind of 349 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,920 background would acknowledge that tithing was a part of the 350 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:23,840 law to the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 14, verse #22 Thou 351 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:28,000 shalt truly tithe all thy, or all the increase of thy seed 352 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:31,920 that the field bringeth forth year by year, and thou shalt eat 353 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:35,000 before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to 354 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,040 place His name there. The tithe of thy corn, of thy 355 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:41,400 wine, thine oil, the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks, 356 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,440 that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always. 357 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,960 So it was done with the purpose. What was the purpose? 358 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,640 That you can learn to fear the Lord? 359 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,640 Meaning that you understand that you have respect for he who is 360 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:58,760 high and above you to say Yes, Lord, I got it all from you. 361 00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,320 So I am willing to be able to give back a portion to you and. 362 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:05,520 For your work. Because I recognize where it all 363 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:09,040 came from. Verse #24 And if the way be too 364 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,560 long for thee, so that thou aren't able to carry it, or the 365 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,280 place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall 366 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,800 choose to set his name there, where the Lord thy God hath 367 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,920 blessed thee, then thou shalt turn to money and bind the money 368 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:22,800 in thine hand. Thou shalt go into the place 369 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:24,240 which the Lord thy God shalt choose. 370 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,560 And it continues on from there, and basically says that that 371 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,160 money can then be converted to use for the feasts, or for the 372 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,200 Tabernacle, for the temple. But what's very clear is this. 373 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:37,760 It is not to be used for your own use, but it was to be used 374 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,560 for the work of the Lord, as you were doing that which God had 375 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:45,480 told you to do, that whatever increase you had that a tithe 376 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,880 going back to Abraham, 10% that it belonged to the Lord for his 377 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,160 use, for His purpose, to make sure that his work was 378 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:55,520 perpetuated. Now, does the Lord need our 379 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,600 money? Let's be clear about something 380 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,840 just a moment, because this is what we often hear as the the 381 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:04,840 slur that's thrown at those of us who would preach on biblical 382 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:05,440 tithing. What? 383 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,040 Does the Lord? Need your money. 384 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:08,520 Listen, I'm not Kenneth Copeland. 385 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,040 I'm not working on my third jet, OK? 386 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:19,000 I drive a key and not a Benz or a Bentley or anything else. 387 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,600 I ride public transportation, All right? 388 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:25,880 I'm not trying to enrich myself here today. 389 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,040 And sometimes preachers, we don't want to preach on it cuz 390 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:30,920 it may seem like we're trying to enrich ourselves or trying to 391 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,200 take more. But I hope you've been here at 392 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,680 Liberty Baptist Church long enough to know my heart and know 393 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,680 why I'm preaching it. It's not because I want to get 394 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:40,520 an increase. It's not because I want to get 395 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,240 more. I want to make more of myself. 396 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,280 What is it? Because God has taken this and 397 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,000 this principle is put into place and He says right here, do it. 398 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,840 Because it's part of the fear of the Lord recognizing who He is 399 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,920 and recognizing who you are. Absolutely. 400 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,040 I give because I recognize without Him I am nothing. 401 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,720 And I put that offering plate. I put the offering in the plate. 402 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:05,440 I don't just take the offering plate. 403 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:07,200 Well, sometimes those guys walk past me. 404 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:08,960 I just take the offering plate from him to put it in. 405 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:11,560 But I put in the offering plate. Why? 406 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,640 Because this is some transaction. 407 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:16,760 If I give him a little bit, I know he'll give me more. 408 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,840 Now, will he? In some ways, yes, we're going 409 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:23,640 to see this in a moment from the book of Malachi. 410 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:28,160 But that's not why I give. I don't give because like, like 411 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,520 this is some sort of eternal fidelity account. 412 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,400 And if I can put it in, then I'm going to get a return of $100 in 413 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,360 this week. Next week, $200 comes from 414 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,960 Jesus. That's not what I'm preaching. 415 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,120 You'll get that on TBN. Sow a little seed. 416 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,880 That's not what the Bible's saying here. 417 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:51,040 Saying this, when I put in the offering plate and the Bible 418 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,720 tells to give cheerfully, I'm recognizing God. 419 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:59,080 I know who you are and I know who I am, and I trust that you 420 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,040 can take care of me better than I can take care of myself. 421 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,000 You know I do better than with 90% than I do 100. 422 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:09,360 I'll run that up flagpole one more time. 423 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,640 I do better with 90% than I do with 100. 424 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:14,960 You know why? Because in the midst I 425 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,120 acknowledge for God who he is, and I acknowledge who I am, he 426 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,200 gives me the help as a steward to be able to administer that 427 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,320 which I couldn't do on my own. I'm pretty good at losing money. 428 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,120 Anybody want to testify? No, I'm just kidding. 429 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:36,560 Don't do that. So, yeah, somebody else that 430 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:37,080 wasn't me. Yeah. 431 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:41,480 So I'm pretty good at losing money or wasting money. 432 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,840 But you know what? When I say even my finances, 433 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:50,280 Lord, belong to you and he takes what I have and he stretches it 434 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,240 out. People would laugh at you. 435 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:57,080 They would laugh at you for giving 10% to a church outside 436 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:58,480 these walls. They think you're crazy and 437 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,960 they'd scratch off 10%. They'd gamble away 10%. 438 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,160 They'd blow 10% on something that'll break next week. 439 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,680 But they'll laugh at you for investing in internal things. 440 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,840 What are you saying? I I acknowledge you, Lord, it's 441 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,760 for your work. I fear you again, not the 442 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,880 cowering fear that you're trying to hide yourself, but the deep 443 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:27,040 reverence and respect. Lord, I know who you are and I 444 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:33,000 know who I am, and I'm going to stay in my lane and trust you. 445 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,160 And as I do, you'll take care of me way better than I can take 446 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,480 care of myself. Now, where else do we see this? 447 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,280 I mean, throughout the Old Testament, but I want you to 448 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:44,320 also look at the book of Malachi. 449 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:45,920 All right. So would you turn to Malachi 450 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:54,600 chapter #3 Malachi chapter #3 say, pastor, this is, this is a 451 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,480 good thing. So if I, if I, if I, if I want 452 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,040 to get involved in this, that's good. 453 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,200 But you know, if I don't want to get involved in this, and that's 454 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,760 good too, right? Well, this is really not 455 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,240 optional. This is commanded. 456 00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:13,440 And again, this is where I, as a pastor, would feel uncomfortable 457 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,280 in the past. I don't want to meddle. 458 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:18,840 And here's the thing. I'm not meddling. 459 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:20,240 I'm not going home and checking your budget. 460 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,800 I'm not going home and checking your paycheck, your pay stubs. 461 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:25,920 I'm not doing that. I don't want to know. 462 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:27,120 I don't. Want to know? 463 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:31,800 Here's what I do need to do. I got to preach the whole 464 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,320 council of God. I got to preach it because it's 465 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:35,200 here. And what do we see? 466 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,400 Before the tithe, Before the law, the tithe was there. 467 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:42,200 In the law, the tithe was there. Tonight we're going to see that 468 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:46,320 Jesus Christ himself did not condemn the tithe and that if we 469 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:50,040 are to give by grace in this New Testament era that we live in, 470 00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:53,560 it's actually about doing more, not about doing less. 471 00:24:53,560 --> 00:25:00,360 That's when it gets real. Quiet, but look at what it says 472 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:05,880 here in Malachi chapter #3 this is verse #8 Will a man rob God? 473 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,360 You've robbed me, but you say, where? 474 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:12,880 And have we robbed thee? Now before I get to the next 475 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:14,640 verse, you probably fixed words. You probably read it. 476 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,920 If you read the book of Malachi. God is constantly telling the 477 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,680 Israelites to do wrong, and then they question him the whole 478 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:23,720 time. Well, but yeah, but how wrong 479 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:25,840 are we? But we're not as wrong as you 480 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:27,720 think. We're not as wrong as those 481 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:29,720 people. And the whole book of Malachi is 482 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,920 God saying this is the way it is, and it's Israel saying. 483 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,200 But is it? It's no wonder that there was a 484 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,000 period of silence for about 400 years after the Book of Malachi. 485 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:40,800 Why? Because God said you're not 486 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:42,360 listening. Then fine. 487 00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:48,680 Until John's voice pierced through, there's nothing. 488 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:53,120 Wherein have we robbed thee? God, You accuse us of robbing 489 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:54,320 you. Where do we rob you? 490 00:25:55,240 --> 00:26:00,760 In tithes and in offerings. Now, tithes and offerings are 491 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:02,480 different. Do you know that? 492 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,000 They're not the same. They're not interchangeable 493 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,320 words. Ties are. 494 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,280 Well, what do we see? A tenth. 495 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,120 Look up the etymology of the word. 496 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:14,760 We saw how it was used, and it's very first mentioned in Genesis 497 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,680 chapter 14. Hebrews Chapter 7 is dealing 498 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:18,880 with the 10th. An offering is over and above 499 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,600 the tithe. You might give to faith promise 500 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:23,080 missions. When our family gives a faith 501 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:25,320 promise missions, that's not a tithe, that's an offering. 502 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,360 We don't take it out of our tithe to give to missions. 503 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,160 That's why sometimes it can hurt a little bit. 504 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:35,160 That's why sometimes we pray. Well, that's why we pray about 505 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,760 it before we give every year to missions. 506 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:39,440 Why? Because it is an offer. 507 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,320 It's over and above. What if we pass the plate? 508 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,240 Somebody has a need. We know some people say, well, 509 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:46,120 I'll just put my tithe in there and I'll give it to them. 510 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,640 Well, you're actually taking that which belongs to God and 511 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,480 giving it to someone else. Oh, pastor, you're being picky. 512 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:56,200 This is what the Bible says and someone just has to tell you 513 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,080 because a lot of people just don't understand it. 514 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,280 It's not you re appropriating the tithe however you'd like. 515 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,320 I'm going to put it in this fund and this fund and this fund and 516 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,680 this fund. No 10% that goes to you, Lord. 517 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,160 Whatever the use is for the church, that's what it is. 518 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:11,480 This is how God has provided. It's how he provided for the 519 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:13,440 temple, the Tabernacle. It's how he provides for his 520 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:15,360 church today. The offering is that which is 521 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:17,160 over and above. That's why oftentimes we call it 522 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,160 a free will offering, meaning this, if you have it, give it. 523 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:23,920 And if you don't or the Lord doesn't lead you, then don't. 524 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,480 Do you know we don't provide invoices at Liberty Baptist 525 00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:30,520 Church? We've never gone to anyone and 526 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:35,720 say, you know, you're behind. No, there are churches that have 527 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,120 done that. I've heard stories of that. 528 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,640 You know, I get anxiety just even thinking about that. 529 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:45,480 Bill, can I talk to you for a minute? 530 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:52,320 Bill, come here. You know you're behind. 531 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:55,000 Behind what? Pastor. 532 00:27:55,240 --> 00:28:00,520 Oh, you know, you know, you know, but you mean I got here 533 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:02,000 late to church. No, no, you, you know, Bill, 534 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,320 you're behind, you get, you got, you got a couple weeks to, to 535 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,440 catch up. Could you imagine? 536 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,720 Now, I will say this in as far as leadership at Liberty Baptist 537 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,040 Church, talk about trustees, staff members, we have to tithe. 538 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,280 You have to be a tither to be in those positions. 539 00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,000 Could you imagine if I preached to you about tithing and I 540 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,240 didn't tithe? Could you imagine if you found 541 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:31,560 that out, how hypocritical it would be like, hey, pastor, you 542 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,320 told us the ties, but you know, I got some things going on. 543 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,040 Well, I'm the pastor, right? You go back, we don't have time. 544 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:41,920 You go back. You know what the Levites did 545 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:43,520 with the tithe? Tithe. 546 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,520 The Levites as they received the tithe to be able to help them. 547 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:50,360 You know what they did, they tithe off as well because they 548 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:52,360 were not exempt. And I'm not saying I'm a priest. 549 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:54,840 Someone at the hospital called me a priest yesterday when I 550 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,080 went to go visit Dave. She said, are you as a priest? 551 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:58,600 I said, if that'll get me in all right. 552 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,760 I was wearing a tie. My collar wasn't up. 553 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:04,320 She should have known I wasn't a priest. 554 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,000 I'm not a priest. But all I'm saying is this. 555 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,000 In the leadership of the Tabernacle, they were also 556 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,080 required to give. The leadership of the church is 557 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,160 required to give as well. And if there is someone that is 558 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,080 up to be a trustee, I do have to know not what they tied, but I 559 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,920 asked our financial secretary, yes or no. 560 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:22,840 I have to because you can't handle the offerings if you 561 00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:25,440 don't give yourself. That's just ethical. 562 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:31,080 But in general, do we go around to, hey, Bill, you know, you 563 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,720 know, see this guy over here, he's cracking his knuckles. 564 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:41,960 He's from Federal Hill. We don't get this right. 565 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:45,200 You know, there could be an unfortunate accident. 566 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,240 No, I think people think that's what we do. 567 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,160 That's not what we do. It's not because it's between 568 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,600 you and the Lord, but I will tell you this. 569 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:55,400 I'm going to be passionate about it. 570 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,840 And the reason why is because I know what the Bible says and I 571 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:02,760 know what it's done in my life. I know what the Bible says and I 572 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:08,000 know what it's done in my life. And I don't want you to tithe so 573 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,280 that I become the manager of a greater empire. 574 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,120 That's not the way that I look at ministry. 575 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:16,440 That's not the way that I look at life. 576 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:20,920 I look at what God has done in my life and I say this, you 577 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,040 know, he's taking care of us every step of the way. 578 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,960 And I look at my statement every year, not because I claim it on 579 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:30,440 my taxes. And if you do, that's fine, but 580 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:31,800 it's never helped me to be able to. 581 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:35,160 But I look at it every year to just say, God, I don't get it. 582 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,080 I don't get this, but you took care of me. 583 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:42,640 I gave me so much stuff I didn't even deserve or. 584 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:46,720 Need. And some of you don't have that 585 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:51,360 joy of understanding that because you miss what God has 586 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,600 for you, tithe is before the law, ties during the law. 587 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:58,000 We'll see tonight that in this, the situation that we're in now, 588 00:30:58,520 --> 00:31:04,240 that God will also God also that the program of tithing is still 589 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,200 very much in effect. But I do want to just give us 590 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,800 some closing thoughts here this morning. 591 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,240 The thought of tithing. Is scary to some. 592 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:17,920 I want to acknowledge that I'm not cold and I'm heartless, but 593 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:19,720 I'm not always cold and then heartless. 594 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:25,440 All right? But no, no, I I understand some 595 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,320 of you might feel like like this is a telephone. 596 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:31,880 Some of you might feel like, well, pastor, is this church 597 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,120 just all about money? No, the church is not all about 598 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:35,800 money. The church is all about souls. 599 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,280 But to reach souls, you know what is needed? 600 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,200 Some money. You like these lights, don't 601 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:45,840 you? You miss, you miss air 602 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:52,360 conditioning, don't you? You know why money helps to be 603 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,080 able to do the things that we need to do. 604 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:57,640 Some are afraid, well, as a church just about money. 605 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,000 Some are afraid that their budget will break down. 606 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:02,920 Some are afraid while I'm behind already. 607 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,800 What you're saying, pastor, it'll just be even worse. 608 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:09,480 You might not be able to pay your bills, your mortgage, your 609 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,280 car payment. You might feel if you have a 610 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,720 husband or wife that's also a believer, you might feel like, 611 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,400 well, maybe I'm on board, but she's not. 612 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,440 Maybe she's on board, but he's not. 613 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:20,680 Maybe you have a spouse that's an unbeliever. 614 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,080 What will they say? Maybe they won't agree. 615 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,480 Fear of starting. I'll start next week. 616 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,920 I'll start next month. I'll start next year. 617 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,520 Some think about, you know, what I could do with that money. 618 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,600 I could do a lot with just that 10%. 619 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,440 Some may be uneasy to give to a church. 620 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,440 Maybe you've seen financial impropriety in the past and you 621 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:53,160 think, well, I don't know that I want to give to a church because 622 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,120 I don't trust that they'll take care of the money in a 623 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:58,200 responsible way. Can I say that if you have any 624 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,080 of those thoughts this morning, I as your pastor, not here to 625 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:06,680 belittle you or to mock you or to make fun of you, Every single 626 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:10,680 one of those I can understand. But I will say this every single 627 00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:15,560 one of those thoughts have to be overcome with truth and the of 628 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:20,360 God is this is that you give as it's been given unto you that if 629 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:22,000 we do not give as we're supposed to. 630 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:26,600 The Bible says this, we are robbing God, not my words, not 631 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,720 my words. You just read in the book of 632 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:31,520 Malachi. You just read them. 633 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:33,680 I don't even think we read the whole text. 634 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,200 I think I stopped in the middle of it. 635 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:38,520 But you say, where have we robbed God in ties and 636 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:40,000 offerings? Verse 9 And you're cursed with a 637 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,040 curse, for you've robbed me even this whole nation, bringing all 638 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,240 the ties into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine 639 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:49,000 house. Prove me now here with saith the 640 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,640 Lord of hosts, if I will not open you up the windows of 641 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,960 heaven and pour you out a blessing, there should not be 642 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:59,120 room enough to receive it. What he says here is this is all 643 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:04,000 about an issue of trust, and that's why fearing God is 644 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,159 important here, because do you fear God enough to trust that he 645 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:11,840 can actually take care of you? If God commands you to do 646 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:15,719 something, He will take care of you as He commands you to do it. 647 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,880 First Thessalonians Chapter 5. Faithful as he who calleth you, 648 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,440 who also will do it. If he's called. 649 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:25,080 You to do something he would be cruel to not give you that what 650 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:28,400 you need to be able to do it now cruel would a God be who would 651 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:32,040 say I want you to give of this 10% but then you figure it out 652 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,600 on your own. No, he says. 653 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:40,639 Prove me do it and see if I don't take. 654 00:34:40,639 --> 00:34:43,840 Care of you. So really it comes down to this 655 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,480 issue of trust. Some things to consider, just 656 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,360 very practical things. The tithe doesn't belong to you 657 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,880 in the 1st place, Leviticus 27 verse 30 and all the tithe of 658 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:54,840 the land, whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the 659 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:59,560 tree, it is the Lord's. It is holy unto the Lord. 660 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,200 The program of tithing is for each church. 661 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,120 I believe it's very clear that when you see in the Word of 662 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,440 God-given to the Tabernacle, see the New Testament, that they set 663 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,600 aside monies. It's not that churches didn't 664 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:13,960 help one another. Paul collected an offering to be 665 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:15,320 able to help the Saints of Jerusalem. 666 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:17,480 What do we do? We give up missions to be able 667 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,120 to help new church plants, to be able to help missionaries from 668 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:21,840 other churches. A church. 669 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:24,160 Could you imagine a church to fully supporting A missionary 670 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,760 going to Japan? They can't do it to be well over 671 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:29,440 $100,000 a year. What do they do? 672 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:33,080 Other churches help and in the same way we cooperate with one 673 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:34,800 another. The program of tithing is for 674 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:36,520 each church. We don't, we don't send it to 675 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:38,920 other places. We just don't give it out to to 676 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:40,920 others that it's given to through the church. 677 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,880 There's some we say, pastor, I'm not making anything right now. 678 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:50,160 So what do I give? You know, there's a beautiful 679 00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:55,480 thing about this 10%. You know what 10% of 0 is zero. 680 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:57,760 I was hoping a few more people would answer there. 681 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:03,400 So 0, there could be seasons in your life where you don't have 682 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,560 an increase. That word increase is important. 683 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:08,520 What if you don't have an increase? 684 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:10,440 Then you have nothing to tithe off of. 685 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:13,320 You shouldn't feel guilty about that. 686 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:15,640 You can you give an offering that's between you and the Lord. 687 00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:18,120 Maybe the Lord still presses upon your heart to give 688 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:19,720 something you know it's going to cut deep. 689 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,080 But if you don't have an increase, then you don't have a 690 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,480 tithe. This is not asking you to give 691 00:36:26,480 --> 00:36:28,720 beyond something that you're even receiving in the first 692 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:31,400 place. And we remind ourselves that God 693 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,000 is the one who provides our needs. 694 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,000 We'll see tonight from Matthew chapter 6 that God is the 695 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,120 provider of everything that we have and everything that we 696 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,680 need. Tithing sometimes means giving 697 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:46,920 up some things in our budget that we think are important that 698 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,280 aren't as important as we think. There's a lot of things that we 699 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,320 spend money on and we don't even think about it. 700 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:54,800 And then we turn around later and say, I can't tithe. 701 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:59,400 Well, we could. We just have to maybe prioritize 702 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,480 a little bit. There have been times when my 703 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:05,720 wife, I looked at the budget and I said, you know, we, we can't 704 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:09,000 do clothes for the kids. We can't get new clothes. 705 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:10,920 And she said, well, that's not an option because they're 706 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:15,000 growing like weeds. So, you know, we had to do, we 707 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,760 came up with it. Now we may go on to the thrift 708 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:19,520 store. We're big fans of Savers at the 709 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,840 Rivera's house. But you know, we did, we found 710 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:24,640 it even that meant cutting something else out. 711 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:27,240 Maybe we didn't get pizza three times a week. 712 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:32,040 What do we do? We realize, oh, it's there, it 713 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:35,360 just needs to be shifted. There's a lot of Christians 714 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,560 don't even put enough time to think about, oh, where are my 715 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:42,680 priorities with that? Now, there could be some that 716 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:45,520 would say this. You know what, pastor, it 717 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,040 doesn't matter what you say. I'm doing what I'm doing. 718 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,080 This is what's worked for me. Seems like God provided for me 719 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:54,960 in the past. I have enough right now. 720 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,160 I'm making it. So really I'm just kind of 721 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,440 waiting for you to finish this sermon and I'm going to go ahead 722 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,720 and do what I keep doing until Stewardship Sunday comes around 723 00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:07,400 again the next time. Now, would anybody actually 724 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:11,760 physically say that? Maybe, but probably not. 725 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:14,000 But there might be something to think of that. 726 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,680 Pastor, I just want this to be over and I'm going to get, I'm 727 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:18,320 going to get over this guilty feeling that I have. 728 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,320 And I'll be over by tomorrow and I'll be good. 729 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:22,600 You know, the purpose of my preaching is not to make you 730 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,920 feel guilty. Guilt is a very poor motivator. 731 00:38:27,240 --> 00:38:29,040 You know what happens? You'll do it while you feel 732 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:30,600 guilty. As soon as you stop feeling 733 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,600 guilty, you go right back. The Bible talks about something 734 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:40,760 different, conviction, godly sorrow that worketh, repentance. 735 00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,320 You know, I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. 736 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,800 I'm not trying to make you feel bad about yourself. 737 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:50,480 But we do want to ask you, will you allow the Holy Spirit to 738 00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:54,080 actually work in your heart? James 417 says therefore to him 739 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:59,520 that knoweth do good and do with it, not to him it is sin to know 740 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:02,120 it's right and to not do it is a dangerous thing. 741 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:06,880 Too much is given. The Bible says much is required. 742 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:09,160 This has been placed in your trust. 743 00:39:09,720 --> 00:39:11,280 You've got to decide what you'll do with it. 744 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:16,200 So the question is what percentage is right? 745 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,160 Say pastor heard you loud and clear, don't need to come 746 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:23,840 tonight, I'll just stay home. I heard you. 747 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:28,200 It's 10%. And the answer is you're wrong 748 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:32,200 because stewardship isn't about 10%. 749 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:39,600 The percentage is 100%. The issue of what percentage is 750 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,120 right is 100. Now I got to give it all to the 751 00:39:42,120 --> 00:39:45,720 church. No, the stewardship life is 752 00:39:45,720 --> 00:39:49,280 this. Everything that I have belongs 753 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:55,000 to him 100%. The skills that I have, the 754 00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:00,200 talents that I have, the time that I have, the abilities that 755 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:06,080 I have, the wallet that I have, 100% of it belongs to him. 756 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:10,440 And he could in a moment, require my soul from me. 757 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:13,480 Luke Chapter 11, we just read that this morning. 758 00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,840 He could require soul from us and we'd have nothing. 759 00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,200 So we'd have him, if we were believers, would be in glory, 760 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:23,920 which is everything. What I'm saying is this stuff 761 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:26,080 that we're worried about now be gone. 762 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,920 So what do we need to do? Understand it's not about 10%, 763 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,240 it's about 100%. Psalm 24 verse one. 764 00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,800 The earth is the Lord, the fullness thereof, the world and 765 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:38,840 they that dwell therein. First Samuel 1522 and 23 and 766 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:41,160 Samuel said hath the Lord is great delight and burnt 767 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:43,800 offerings and sacrifices as obeying the boy's voice of the 768 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,880 Lord. Behold, to obey is better than 769 00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:51,400 sacrifice, and to hearken is better than the fat of Rams. 770 00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:56,360 See, God doesn't want your tithe as much as He wants you. 771 00:40:57,240 --> 00:40:59,920 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 772 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:02,840 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 773 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,280 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 774 00:41:06,280 --> 00:41:10,880 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 775 00:41:11,200 --> 00:41:15,720 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 776 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:18,520 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 777 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:19,720 grow in His Word.