Why Should I Tithe?

Okay, so the series has been up to this point a lot of fun, but I regret to inform you that the fun is about to be sucked out of the room. Because we’re about to talk about money. Wow. Do you hear that? Here’s the question this week. Are you ready? Let’s just jump into it. Here’s the question. Why should I tithe? Why should I tie? I know some of y’all are looking for the exit right now.

Let me just say right off the bat, so you aren’t concerned, I’m not asking you for money. This isn’t a fundraiser. We’re not taking up a second offering here. What we’re talking about this morning is bigger than money. In fact, I would say this: that it’s so important that if you left this church and never came back, I still want you to get this. Right? So, like you can go to legacy, go to Sagebrush, go to Calvary, and be a tither there. Because what we’re gonna talk about is so important, and it’s gonna change your life. And so, even if you don’t like the messenger, still do the message somewhere else. So buckle up for just a few minutes as I talk about this.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

You know, it is so easy to say that Jesus is Lord. Easy. We sing about it, we preach about it, we put it on t-shirt. But actually submitting all of your life to his lordship is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. And look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 6, verse 21. He says this for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So your money and your heart are always in the same place. Do you hear quiet? Nothing. Your money and your heart are always in the same place. And so if you never let God in on your financial life, you never trust him with your money, there’s always going to be a part of your heart that’s locked away from him.

You know, and like people would like, obviously, people would like church more if we didn’t talk about money. More people would come to church if we didn’t talk about money. But did you know that Jesus talked more about money than almost anything? He only talked about one thing more, and that was the kingdom of God. Well, look, I’ve got some statistics for you. Listen to this. 15% of Jesus’ recorded words deal with money, possessions, or wealth. That’s more than he said about heaven and hell combined. Forty-two percent of Jesus’ parables deal directly with handling money. There are over 2,000 verses in the Bible about money, while there’s about 500 on prayer. And there’s less than 500 on faith. But there’s 2,000 on money. In the Gospel of Luke, which is sometimes known as the gospel for the poor, one in every seven verses references money and material wealth.

So the question is this why does Jesus talk so much about money? Listen to me. Because money is a mirror. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So Jesus is not obsessed with money. Jesus is obsessed with your heart. And it just so happens that money is one of the clearest indicators of where my heart is.

And I want to be straight with y’all up front, right at the top, and say this that I have been a tither my entire adult life. I believe in it, I practice it, I’m faithful in it. I will continue. I will be a tither my entire life. Till the day I die, I will be a tither. I remember when some of my first jobs when I was in Bible college, y’all know this, I was about 20, and I was in Colorado Springs and I worked at Joe’s Crab Shack, which I tell y’all about all the time, I know. But what’s funny about waiting tables, at least 20 years ago, 23 years ago, is that almost all of your tips would be cash. People used to pay with these things like dollar bills. And so what’s weird about waiting tables is is the way that you would get paid is you just have this big old fat stack of like ones and fives that you were supposed to like that’s that’s your money. We made $2.13 an hour. That was our hourly wage. But all of the taxes of all the tips came out of that way. So sometimes when it was time, the end of the pay period, you would owe the restaurant money. Right? And so it was all about like this cash that you would get. And so it was always funny that you got like these ones and fives, and you’re trying to like pay stuff. You’re like paying your utility bill, going to the grocery store and like pulling out a stack of like 80 singles. People are like thinking, like, you just rob someone or some.

But the way that I did money is I had in my in my room in my apartment, I had a sock drawer, and my sock drawer was where I kept all my money. Some of y’all are like, don’t judge me, right? Like the sock drawer was my checking account. And so what I would do every what I would do every night is I would pull out all this money, I would count it, and I would put 10% of that money, that cash, on the right side of the drawer, and I would put the 90% on the left side of the drawer. And so it’s interesting that, like, before I got married, before I had a house, I had made the decision that, like, before I pay a single bill, before I buy groceries, before I pay my rent, God gets 10%. And I gotta tell you, like, that has not made me a millionaire. Like, like this shirt costs 15 bucks. Like, I’m not, I’m not some baller. But but listen, God has always provided for me. And I pray with a lot of people that go through financial hardship that I have never gone through. And I’m not saying, like, because if you die, but I’m just saying I have always made tithing a priority, and God has always provided for me.

And you might be thinking, like, well, that’s easy for you to say you work at a church. To which I would say two things. First, if you want to get rich, this is the worst job in the world for you. Right? Like, there is no single worse way of getting money than this. Like, if if your primary motivation is to get rich, like ministry is not your gig. But but second, let me say this I’ve had lots of jobs. I’ve made minimum wage plenty. And some months it was scary, right? Like you’re you give your tithe, and then you’re like looking at what’s left, and you say, like, God, I hope you know what you’re doing, because the math ain’t mathing. I need internet, Jesus. Here’s what I learned though. God is better at math than I am. He’s really, really good.

Any area of your life that’s not submitted to Jesus is an open door for the enemy

And here’s the truth, and this is a truth I want you to write down if you’re taking notes, that I’m wanting to communicate today. It’s this any area of your life that’s not submitted to Jesus is an open door for the enemy. Any area of your life that’s not submitted to Jesus is an open door for the enemy. So that could be your money, that could be your relationships, that could be your career, that could be your attitude. But like any part of your life where Jesus isn’t Lord, that’s where you’re vulnerable.

And can I tell you, like, I’ve been doing ministry for 20 years, like I’m not a novice, like I’m not new to this. I’ve seen this over and over and over and over, where people are willing to give God their time. Right? On Sunday. Specifically, right? They’ll give God their time on Sunday. They’ll use their talents to serve the church. But like money is like off limits to God. And people will get mad at a preacher for talking about tithing. But but like they won’t think twice about spending 300 bucks on like a like a date night. You know, like you won’t think twice about spending 1200 bucks on an iPhone. And look, I don’t care, I don’t care. I don’t care that you have it. I have an iPhone too, right? But but my point, my point is simply this. Apple made 391 billion dollars last year. Oh, the church just wants my money. No, Apple just wants your money, and they’re getting it. Right? Starbucks just wants your money and they’re getting it. Amazon wants your money, and they’re definitely getting it. But then when it comes time to like, when it comes time to be generous or do something that matters for somebody else with your money, all of a sudden there’s all this resistance. But again, any area of your life that’s not submitted to Jesus is an open door for the enemy.

What is a tithe?

Okay, so I’m gonna start off easy. What is a tithe? What do you mean a tithe? Simple here. Tithe is the first 10% of your income given back to God to build his house and to expand his kingdom. The word tithe, it literally just means tenth. And so when God, and so God comes in, he asks you to trust him with the first tenth of your income. And the key word here is first. First.

So let me just let me show you. Look at this. So I’ve got I’ve got $10 here. Ten ones. Okay. Let me show you what tithing is not. Tithing’s not this. Okay, we just got paid. Well, you know, I gotta get that new video game. Right? Grace needs new glittery slime because you can never have enough glittery slime in the house. It’s like I need I need my Starbucks, you know. My coffee maker at home just doesn’t understand me. I need Netflix, you know. Oh, I need Wi-Fi. I got all my bills. I gotta wear cool clothes. If you guys think I’m a cool preacher, like I gotta buy. And then at the end of the month, it’s like, look at what’s left. Oh, hey. It’s like, hey, I’ve still got a dollar. Like, like, here you go, Lord. Thanks for being my provider. Listen to me. That’s not a tithe, that’s a tip.

This is this is tithing. Okay, I got paid. Here’s all my money. And I got a lot of bills. And everything’s getting expensive. Gas is going up, rents going up, everything’s expensive. McDonald’s cost $12 now for a combo. I can’t believe it. Right? Everything’s expensive. But but God, this, this first one, this ain’t mine. This ain’t mine. This is this is yours. I’m trusting you first. And God, I’m choosing to believe that you can do more with 90% than I can do with 100. Right, so it’s not all this stuff. And then I get, I get, no, no. Here’s my money. The first thing, this ain’t mine. The first thing, this ain’t mine.

And so you’re thinking about why should I tithe? Okay, I understand what a tithe is. Why should I tithe? Well, I want you to take notes if you have a pen and paper or you can write it on your phone. I’ve got four reasons why you should tithe. Are you ready?

Because Jesus said to tithe

Number one is this, because Jesus said to tithe. Some people will say, like, Jesus never talked about the tithe. And like, maybe that was before Google, but that’s just not true. Right? Let me show you. Matthew chapter 23, verse 23, Jesus says this. He’s talking to the Pharisees, the religious rulers of the day. He says this,

what sorrow awaits you, teachers of religious law, and you Pharisees. Hypocrites. For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law, justice, mercy, and faith.

So Jesus comes and he says, Man, this is so crazy that you’re careful, you’re careful to tithe even on like the tiniest income from your garden. You tithe on salt and pepper. But but you’re ignoring the more important aspects of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. So then what does he say? Does he say, does he say, so just focus on justice, mercy, and faith, and don’t worry about the tithe? Is that what he says? He says, just so just focus on the more important thing, but don’t worry about that. Well, let’s look. Right, he says, this is the next thing he says,

you should tithe, yes. But do not neglect the more important thing.

So, like, look, if you need a chapter and verse for tithing, Jesus, three words. You should tithe. Like, but but also don’t neglect the more important things. Right? So, like, get the big picture, but also get the details right too. Like, in other words, keep tithing and be a good person. You mean like like Jesus says do both. Did you know that we can walk and chew gum at the same time? Right? Keep tithing and be a good person. That’s like when mom comes and says, like, clean your room and do your homework. You can’t be like, oh, cool, all she cares about is homework and not cleaning my room. No, no, mom wants both. Jesus wants both.

Here’s the deal. If you trust Jesus with your eternity, you can probably trust him with your money. You’ve you’ve trusted him with your soul, your eternal destination. But then when it comes to like 10% of your income, you’re like, that seems like a lot to ask. It’s like that’s where? That’s where you draw the line? It’s like it’s like there’s a person doing open heart surgery on you, but you’re like, but you can’t borrow my car. It’s like that’s where you draw the line. If you can trust Jesus as your Savior, you can trust Jesus with your money. Why tithe? Number one, because Jesus said to tithe.

Because everything already belongs to God

Two, because everything already belongs to God. Like when I look at my life, I look at my wife and my kids and my house and this job that I get to do, and like this world that I get to live in, and I walk on grass and I see the trees and the wind blows in my like I I just I see all of that and I see the grace and the gift that is everywhere all around me. Right? And it reminds me everything here belongs to God. Right? It’s a pretty nice podium, right? Belongs to God. Everything belongs to God, right?

Think about the garden, the garden of Eden in Genesis. So God creates this garden and he places man in the garden to tend and watch over it. But now listen to me. That was God’s garden. That’s not Adam’s garden. Like God, he lets Adam play a part, but it’s God’s garden. How do I know it’s God’s garden and not Adam’s garden? Well, if you come like to my house, like at my house, my house is also Jordan’s house. So I recommend doing it. But like when we’re at our house, we do whatever we want. We go anywhere, we touch anything, we eat anything. Right? Like Jordan doesn’t come and sit on the couch and I say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are you doing? That’s my couch. No, it’s our couch. Because it’s our house. Right? Like, so if Jordan, if Grace goes and like goes to get a yogurt, out, I’m not like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, those are my yogurt. No, those are our yogurts. Right? Because it’s my house, I do what I want, I eat what I want, nothing is off limits to me in my own house. But when God says to Adam, like you can eat from any tree except for one, he’s reminding Adam, this is not your garden, bro. I’m blessing you with stewardship, but it’s my garden. And so God goes, you don’t need that tree. You’ve got plenty of provision in this garden without that tree.

Right? So, like, if if someone remember my Bible college sock drawer accounting system, let’s say someone were to come over, a friend were to come over to my house and open my sock drawer. I don’t know why they would do that, but and they see all this money on the right side, and they say, Bro, well, let’s go do something. Let’s go do I would say, like, that’s not my money. We don’t, we don’t, we don’t touch that money. God gives me plenty of money, but that that’s not my money. I don’t touch that. I don’t need that. And every time, every time I tithe, I’m reminded this ain’t mine. Right? And so, like every time I tithe, it’s a declaration to myself, to my family, and to God that every penny I have is submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. Right, because just because I tithe doesn’t mean I get to spend the 90% however I want. But by tithing, I’m telling God the 90% is his too. Right? So the Holy Spirit comes and tells me to be generous, I’m generous. He tells me to give an offering, I give an offering. Right? Because it’s not just the 10%. The tithe isn’t the end of stewardship, it’s the beginning. Right? So why tithe? Number one, because Jesus said to tithe. Number two, because everything already belongs to God.

Because it connects me to something bigger than myself

Number three, because it connects me to something bigger than myself. It connects, look at what in Philippians, Paul is, he’s receiving an offering. And look at what he says, Philippians chapter 4, verse 14.

Nevertheless, talking to the church of Philippi, nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

So time out right off the bat, Paul says, It’s good that you gave. It’s a good thing that you helped me. Can we all agree that it’s like good to give? Right? If if like if you feel led to give, probably not the devil. Right? Paul says, it’s good that you gave.

And you, Philippians yourselves, know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except only you.

So Paul says, only one church gave, and it was you. And then listen to this in verse 16.

Even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent help more than once.

So modern day, of course, you know, we can travel anywhere. Like you can get pretty much anywhere on the planet in 24 hours. Right? Like you can go to the sunport, you hop on a southwest flight, get a connection in Phoenix, and you can be pretty much anywhere in the world by tomorrow night. But like back then, people didn’t travel. And so if you lived in Philippi, you were born in Philippi, you were raised in Philippi, you died in Philippi, and most people would never even leave that neighborhood. And so when Paul says your gift went to Thessalonica, it was like mind-blowing for them because he’s saying your giving is going somewhere you’ll never go. Did you catch that? Write that down. Your giving goes where you’ll never go. Your giving goes where you’ll never go.

Give me some examples, okay. So on Tuesdays, for years now, on Tuesdays, I get a phone call from a man who is in prison. Our phone calls are limited to 15 minutes because that’s as long as he’s allowed to do his call. But we’ve done it for years. He’s in a long-term sentence, decades long, horrible crime. But we’ve talked, we’ve talked for years, and so I was talking to him this past, and he’s he’s able to like watch the service because he’s allowed to have iPad time. They can have they can pay for iPad time, and so like he considers himself a member of the church, and he’s a part of the church through the YouTube channel. And so, and I’m his pastor. And so he told me this past Tuesday, he said, I just want you to know, Pastor David, that that that your church saved my life. And I said, I said, really? It did it did because I’ve never been in that prison. But I have. Why? Why? Because there’s these lights and there’s this camera, right? And there’s this microphone, and there’s the internet that like pumps the gospel into that prison cell. Right? Your your giving goes where you’ll never go. You’ll never meet the man. But but you’re but you’re ministering to him and you’re a part of his story. Why? Because you because you tithe.

We partner with amazing organizations. Jordan just says, but but we partner with Feed New Mexico Kids, where we we feed thousands of kids who don’t have any food at home. We do that. Right? We partner with Refuge Safe Outdoor Space, where it’s phase one housing for people trying to get out of homelessness. It’s fake the most basic to give them a place to stay, keep their stuff. We partner with Mesia Recovery, phase two housing. So this is an organization that has a huge apartment complex, and they work with people trying to get them off the streets, get them employed, and get their life back together. We partner with Next Step Ministries. Next Step Ministries is transitional housing for people who are coming out of long-term incarceration or long-term addiction. And so we we partner with For the Good, which is a ministry that helps and supports women who have been rescued out of sex trafficking. Your giving goes where you’ll never go. Right? Even just this past weekend, 250 people that we served, and we went in the poorest parts of town to feed those people. Your giving goes where you’ll never go.

That’s what Paul means when he says this next verse 17.

Not that I desire your gifts. What I desire is that more be credited, listen to this, to your account.

More credited to you. Paula says this that it’s credited to your account, not mine. Right? So I get the thanks, we get the thanks, we hear the testimony, but but in heaven, your generosity is credited to your account.

Something I love about this church is that every Sunday, someone comes here for the first time. And almost every Sunday, someone decides to follow Jesus for the first time. And so here’s a question for you. When that person gives their life to Jesus, who gets the credit? Right? Well, was it the person that invited them? Maybe it was maybe it was the pastor who preached, maybe it was the worship team, maybe it was like the host team, you know, that made them feel so welcome. Actually, the truth is this it’s all of us. I know it’s Jesus, but as far as it being credited to our account, it’s all of us. Because we’re all partnering with what God’s building here. And and that all happens through tithing. So when Paul, that’s what Paul meant when he said, ‘Your gift went to Thessalonica.’ Your impact is bigger than your zip code. Right? So when you tithe, you’re not just supporting a church, you’re partnering with God in his mission to reach the world. So why tithe? Number one, because Jesus said to tithe, two, because everything already belongs to God. Three, because it connects me to something bigger than myself.

Because it’s an invitation for God to bless my finances

And don’t get nervous on this point number four. It’s gonna make some of y’all nervous. Here’s point number four. Because it’s an invitation for God to bless my finances. Is that the prosperity gospel? No. But it ain’t the poverty gospel either. Right? Like, do you believe in prosperity or something? Like, I’m not pro-poverty. By the way, neither are you. If you were, you’d sell your car, sell your house, live on the streets. So you’re not pro-poverty either. Pastor David, Jesus said, blessed are the poor. I know. He was saying that the gospel is good news for the poor. He’s not saying try to be poor. That poor is somehow better, right? Like he’s saying, he’s saying this is good news. The Beatitudes should be read like this. It’s even like this in the message paraphrase. Good news, it’s good news for all these people. It’s the proclamation of the coming of the kingdom. He’s not saying, therefore, you should try to be poor. That’s that’s not what they doesn’t the doesn’t the Bible say that money is the root of all evil. No. The love of money, the love of money is the root of all evil. Not not money.

Let me just say this. I I I don’t love money. I have proven over my life that I don’t love money. Money is a tool. Right? It’s like a hammer. You use money to build something. And you could use money either to build your own kingdom, right? Or you could use money to build God’s kingdom.

And let me just say two quick things about poverty. Because it’s already quiet enough in here. Number one is this. Poverty is never a blessing in the Bible. It’s it’s never. Like when I read scripture, I’m commanded to help the poor. Lift up the poor. Defend the poor. Why? Because poverty brings suffering. And suffering is not God’s will. Right? God’s heart is to move people from suffering to flourishing. Like in heaven, people won’t be eating out of dumpsters. Can we agree on that? Right? And the mission of the church collectively is on earth as it is in heaven. Poverty’s not a blessing. Like if poverty was a good thing, like we would drive by someone who’s like sleeping under a trash bag and just say, like, hey, keep up the good work. Right? No. No, poverty is not a blessing. It’s the kingdom of God comes and rescues people out of poverty. Right? So you just understand that. Poverty is never a blessing. Poverty, yeah, is never a blessing in the Bible.

Number two, poverty is never a blessing in the in the world. Right? Like, like, like after church, do this. Drive down central for seven minutes, and you will find yourself in the poorest area of our city. What will you find? Well, you’ll find addiction, you’ll find lack of education, you’ll find violence, you’ll find gangs, you’ll find families falling apart. Poverty is not a blessing. So you just have to settle that in your heart. Right? That poverty is not a blessing. God doesn’t want those people living in poverty, nor does he want you living in poverty. Can you go too far? You bet. There’s a ditch on both sides, almost always. But God doesn’t want you living in poverty.

Look at this, Malachi chapter 3, verse 10. Says this,

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.

It’s interesting. This is the only place in the Bible that God says, test me. The entire Bible. Everywhere else it’s don’t test the Lord, don’t test the Lord, don’t test the Lord. But like in this area, when it comes to tithe, he says, He says, You can test me. He says, like, you can plug your nose and tithe. You can test me. Bring the tithe and see if I’m a provider. I’ll show you I am. You can test me. God is so generous. And I think I think when you understand his character, you start to understand his actions.

Years ago, I used to be a guitar player. Million years ago. And one day I was at a guitar store, like a music store with my friend, and there was a pedal that I liked. Y’all know how they got all these, they got all the petals, you know, that they stomp on, makes their guitar sound different. There was a petal that I liked, and I told my friends, like, oh yeah, that’s cool. Have you seen those? That’s a cool. Well, a couple days pass, and I go out in walk out to my car, and on my car with a bow on it is this guitar pedal. So he had just remembered that I said I liked it, and he gave it to me. And I was thinking, like, well, dang, you know, like if I wanted it, I could have bought it. But it was just, and something like, well, what am I supposed to do? I’m like, I’m not gonna let that guy out give me. And so I was thinking, Well, what should I do? So I remembered he had a guitar on layaway at that music store, and so I went, I think he owed like 400, 500 bucks on this guitar, and so I I told the people what I was doing, I paid off his guitar, and I said, call them and tell them that the guitar is ready. Because like I’m I’m not gonna let him out give me. So he paid $80 for this guitar pedal, and he ended up paying off the guitar that he had on the layout.

Did you know that you can’t out give God? Did you know that? You can’t out give God. Like if you’re generous with God, you think he’s just gonna sit there and say, like, I’m not gonna be generous with you too? Right? So a tithe is an invitation for God to get involved in your finances. And I’m telling you, I would rather have 90% with God’s blessing than 100% on my own. Right? God can do more with 90% than I can do with 100.

Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them

I’ve just got one more scripture for you. We can get the band up. Oh, she’s already up there. She’s so good. One more script, one more scripture. Here we go. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 8 says this.

Here mortal men receive tithes. Here mortal men receive tithes. Can you say that word here? Here, mortal men receive tithes. But there, can you say that word? There, he receives them, of whom it is witness that he lives.

He’s talking about Jesus. So just leave that verse up for one minute if you would. So here, mortal men receive tithes. Right? So, like when you just to let you know, like when you give to the church, that money goes into our bank account. The church’s bank, nonprofit bank account. That’s awkward for me. It is what it is. Right? Here, mortal men receive tithes. And what do we do with that money? We do ministry. Right? Like we give your kids a great experience. The BC Kids, we do worship, we do teaching, we reach people online, we reach out to the city in both word and deed, like we pay the staff. We don’t overpay any staff, but we pay the staff. And everything that we do as a church is through the tithe. So here we receive the tithe. Here. But there he receives it. Here we receive it. There he receives it. So that’s why I think we don’t even need to like say I give to the church. It’s like you give through the church. But you give to God. He receives your tithe. And the reason that’s important is this is I can’t bless your finances. Right? I can’t bless your life. I can’t, I can’t break a curse over your life. But I know someone who can. And when you give to God, God blesses your life. He opens doors, he does what only he can do. And so you give through the church, but you give to God. Jesus receives your tithe.

I don’t know. I just felt like I just felt like I wanted to say that. That he sees it. He sees it. Every time you give, he sees it. Every time you pray, he hears it. And every time you give, he sees it. And we don’t, we don’t listen to me. We don’t give to get. Like, don’t get it twisted. Right? We give because we love God. We love his kingdom. We love the preaching of the gospel. Right? But God will not let you be more generous than he is. You seek first the kingdom first. Oh, first. You seek first the kingdom, and then all of your needs are cared for as well.

The practical side of the church

I just want to spend 90 seconds on the practical side of the church. So me and all of the pastors here, we’re submitted as pastors. We’re submitted to a governing board that leads this church. And I could be fired at any time. Some pastors don’t want you to know that. I want you to know that. I want you to know that I can’t just do whatever I want. Like I’m also a man in submission. If I go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs like tomorrow, there’ll be someone else up here preaching on Sunday. Right? But it’s not just like, oh, cool, you know how much money we have, and I pull out my debit card. Like, that’s not that’s not how the church works. All major expenses, every single budget is voted on and approved by the board. Because we take stewardship seriously. Right? And listen to this one other thing. Every month we hire an outside company to come in and they look over our books, they overview our financials, and they submit a report to the board to just make sure everything is because there’s a lot of churches that go bad because they do they do it dirty when it comes to money. We’re not gonna do that. Right? So every month, it’s like basically an audit. Every month we show all the money that came in. Here’s all the areas that we spent, because we’re serious, like we’re not playing about it. Because we want to, because we understand that like the money that comes in, just like that 10%’s not yours, it’s not ours either. Right? So we get paid, but it’s God’s money, right? And so I pick I I pray this routinely. God give me wisdom in every way that we spend money. Supernatural deals, great insights, more more frugal ways of accomplishing things. Like I’m praying that all the time. Because it’s not just like, oh my gosh, you that’s great money, and now we can blah blah blah. We’re trying to use wisdom in everything that we do. We’re trying to do ministry through the tithes that we receive.

And so if you’re not a tither in here, we want you to know this. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Like, don’t go out like with your tail tucked between your legs. But if if you’re not a tither, here’s I have a little bit of homework for you. Are you ready? I want you to pray about it. I want you to pray about it. I want you to do it, but I want you to pray about it. Right? And like we could try all kinds of things to motivate you, right? And it’s like I’m telling you, over the next 12 months, like if you hang out here, we’re gonna be doing some big things over the next 12 months, trust me. And so I could go over all that to try to like motivate you and try to get you to give, like, I just don’t want to do any of that in this moment. I want you to pray not about just deciding to give to an offering or to give to a need, but to become a tither. Week in, week out. And it’s not because oh, if if you don’t tithe, we’re gonna close the doors, like that’s not true. Right? We we are we’re a blessed, we’re a blessed, debt-free church. Glory to God. Right? So it’s it’s not that, but but being a tither is your obedience to God. And so I don’t want you to just give it an offering. I want you to pray about being a tither.

Why? Four reasons because Jesus said to tithe, because everything already belongs to God, because it connects you to something bigger than yourself, and because it’s an invitation for God to bless your finances. And if you do, and it or if you don’t, you know what we’re gonna do? We’re gonna keep doing what we’re doing. We’re gonna keep reaching people, we’re gonna help more people. We’re gonna reach more people with the gospel. We’re gonna reach more teenagers for Jesus. We’re gonna reach more kids for Jesus. And listen to me, God is gonna do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think in Jesus’ name.

Here’s my closing statement. Your money and your heart are always in the same place, which is why tithing matters. One, because Jesus said to tithe. He clearly instructed us to tithe while also pursuing justice, mercy, and faith. Two, because everything already belongs to God. Every time I tithe, I’m reminded this ain’t mine. Three, because it connects me to something bigger than myself. Your giving goes where you’ll never go. Four, because it’s an invitation for God to bless my finances. You can’t out give God. Come on, can somebody give me a good amen.