Introduction:
I am very appreciative of the contributions of all our members to the growth and development of our church in various ways and God will continue to further His purpose in your lives, families and endeavours in Jesus name. I wish to appeal that we appropriate our general theme for the year into our lives so that God can be glorified in and through us.
Christian Stewardship:
As a follow-up on the same theme ‘Dead to Self and Alive in Christ’- Galatians 2:20, we believe that it is necessary for us to look at our position in God’s world and how we are expected to relate with Him in connection with His provision of treasure, time and talent. Psalm 24:1 tells us that the earth and the fullness thereof belong entirely to God. In the beginning of Genesis, God created everything and put Adam in the Garden to work there and to take care of it. It is clear that man was created to work as God’s steward in His world.
Stewardship is the conducting, supervising, or managing; especially the careful and responsible management of something entrusted in one’s care. Christian Stewardship is a man’s relationship to God and identifies God as owner and man as manager. God makes man His co-worker in administering all aspects of our life. St Paul said that we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, God’s building – 1 Corinthians 3:9. In other words, stewardship defines our purpose in this world as assigned to us by God Himself. It is our divinely given opportunity to join with God in His worldwide and eternal redemptive movement – Matthew 28: 19-20. God owns everything, we are simply managers or administrators acting on His behalf. Therefore, stewardship expresses our obedience regarding the administration of everything that God has placed under our control, which is all encompassing. Stewardship is the commitment of our possessions to God’s service, recognizing that we don’t have the right of control over our property or ourselves.
God reminded the Israelites as they were approaching the land of Canaan, of all that He did for them right from their deliverance from Egypt, to His provisions and miracles for them throughout their wilderness journey. He concluded that they should not be tempted to think that it was their wisdom or power that made them what they were but He was the one who gave them power to make wealth – Deuteronomy 8:18. They were commanded to remember their God always in order to obey Him completely and appropriately. Although God gives us all things richly to enjoy, nothing is ours. Nothing really belongs to us. God owns everything; we are responsible for how we treat it and what we do with it. St Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 that we are stewards of the mysteries of God and it is expected that we are found faithful. We are all stewards of the resources, abilities and opportunities that God has entrusted to our care, and one day each of us will be called to give an account for how we have managed those things. Also in Colossians 3:23-24, St Paul writes that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord you are serving”. There is nothing that we have or possess that we did not receive and if of a truth we received them, there is no room for boasting – 1 Corinthians 4:7. We ought to surrender everything to God voluntarily. Stewardship is a life of accountability and responsibility, acknowledging God as Creator and Giver of all. It is an act of gratitude to God as we give willingly for the progress of God’s work and the benefits of others.
TITHE:
Tithe is one tenth of our gross income. Our income here includes gifts, allowances, salaries, profits, dividends, gratification, etc. Payment of tithe is mandatory for all believers who are Bible believing and Bible living. The Bible commands faithful, consistent and honest payment of tithe by all Christians. It comes with great promises and the word of God cannot but be fulfilled against all odds – Isaiah 55: 10-11.
Origin of Tithing:
Abraham is the father of faith and friend of God. He was a man whose obedience to God was so great that his obedience was counted as righteousness for him – Genesis 15:6. Through him the entire human race has been blessed and we all sing that Abraham’s blessings are ours. He was blessed because he believed God and consequently obeyed Him. He was the first person to pay tithe in the Bible. When God gave him great victory over the king of Chedorlaomer, he was met on his return by an enigmatic figure, a priest, by the name of Melchizedek. Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoil he had taken from the war- Genesis 14:20. Melchizedek is described further in Hebrews as ‘king of righteousness’ king of Salem and priest of the Most High God- Hebrews 5:6-11, 6: 20-7:28. He presented bread and wine to Abraham and his weary men, demonstrating friendship. He bestowed a blessing on Abraham in the name of El Elyon( God Most High) and praised God for giving Abraham victory. Abraham’s gesture was in recognition of the superiority of Melchizedek as a priest over him. Melchizedek is presented as a type of Christ. He has no beginning and no end. He was therefore not an ordinary person. Jacob also vowed to pay a tenth of whatever God would give him – Genesis 28:22.
The ten tribes that received the inheritance of land were commanded to pay tithe for Levites who were not given any inheritance. God said that He was their portion in Israel – Numbers 18:21. This chapter of the Bible encapsulates the plan of God both for Aaron the priest and his descendants and the Levites who were their assistants in the temple services. We have another portion for the priests in Deuteronomy 18:1-8.
In our text today, God spoke about how the nation of Israel had robbed Him, by not paying their tithes and offerings. They had a problem with God because He was no longer answering their prayers and they were asking questions that, is it possible for a man to rob God? The answer was very clear and unambiguous. The repercussion of their disobedience is well laid out in verse 9. They were operating under a curse and they were not making headway in all their undertakings and this includes the entire nation. My people, it is the same situation that we have found ourselves in this country today. God has blessed this country so much but the entire nation is wallowing in abject poverty. You know why? It is because we have never been sincere, even in our relationship with God. We pretend a lot. We hardly consider God’s word as vital enough to be obeyed. Nigeria is in shambles. Nothing is working. We are too wise in our own eyes. When we refuse to acknowledge God’s ownership of us and all our belongings, we begin to rationalize and contest the word of God. Anyway, it is so clear that we cannot owe God because He knows how to deal with us and that accounts for what we read in verse 9 about being under a curse. It’s like being under a yoke or bondage. It will be necessary for each of us to reminisce on where we have gone wrong so as to return to God in genuine repentance and total allegiance.
Verses 10-12 spell out God’s directive concerning the payment of tithe and it comes with promises of exponential blessings that will effect permanent financial and spiritual transformation in the lives of those who will pay honestly, faithfully and consistently. How I wish we would experiment total obedience to God and discover its blessedness. Psalm 34:8 says “ taste and see that the LORD is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him” . St Peter tasted Him in Luke 5:1-11, his life was never the same. That singular experience brought him from obscurity into prominence. God promises in this passage (Malachi 3:10-12) to pour His blessings in such a magnitude upon us that we would experience global recognition. We will be so blessed that many generations after us will be blessed through us. This promise was made to Abraham and it was fulfilled beyond human imagination. Jesus Christ came through him and the world is still being blessed hitherto through him today. Devourers of various types and categories will be rebuked and all the nations of the world will call us blessed.
Some people said that payment of tithe is an Old Testament injunction and that it is not imperative in our own dispensation. The Word of God cannot be obeyed in isolation. “All scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work”- 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Every child of God must obey the word in its entirety. Jesus did not condemn the payment of tithe. He only rebuked the Pharisees for laying emphasis on the payment of tithe at the expense of total obedience and allegiance to the word of God – Matthew 23:23. Jesus said further in Matthew 5:17 that He did not come to abolish the Laws of the Prophets but to fulfill them. Jesus did not talk much about tithe because in His days on earth, people were actually giving everything they had toward the work of God (cf the widow’s mite – Luke 21:1-4). Also His response to the woman who used the expensive alabaster oil to rub Him reveals that He demands exclusive surrender of all that we possess to Him for the growth and expansion of His earthly kingdom. The woman actually gave all that she had which has been estimated to be worth about ninety thousand US dollars ($90,000). What an amazing love that the woman displayed! If we also claim to truly love God and appreciate what He has done in every way for us, how do we express it.
In the early Church, the disciples were actually releasing all their belongings to the Apostles for the Church – Acts 4:32-37. The couple that were consumed by avarice and hypocrisy paid with their lives. People may not die physically today for being hypocritical and disobedient, they suffer other punishments which they may not be able to account for (sickness, loss of all kinds, unanswered prayers, etc.).
In conclusion, we should always guard against rationalizing the word of God. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength – 1 Corinthians 1:18 & 25. I am sure that as far as TITHE is concerned, God is not asking for too much, having given us all that we have, he is now asking for only a tenth of it. He owns us and has given us the opportunity to manage it for Him as stewards, we must not find it too hard to give part of it back to Him. We should also remember that we are answerable and accountable to Him. The foolish rich in Luke 12:13-21 actually lost all including his life for not recognizing God’s ownership over his harvest. Pray and strive for the grace to be faithful in the disbursement of all that He has entrusted to you.
Remain blessed in Jesus name.
Your friend, brother and Pastor,
Tunde Oyediran
April 10, 2016.