“God’s overflowing blessing”
Malachi 3:10
April 30, 2006
The Rev. Kong Namkung

There was a “The strongest man” competition. Two men were in the final.  The last challenge was to lift up 500 lbs weight.  Two men lifted up 500 lbs of weight.  The last challenge was to squeeze a branch of an oak tree and producing sap out of it. One man tried it, but he failed.  The other tried very hard, but he failed too.  There was no one who could do.  Finally, the announcer asked the audience saying, “Who can produce sap from the branch of the tree?”   An old woman raised her hand up and came out of the audience and produced sap out of it.  The announcer with amazement asked her, “Who are you?”  The old woman said, “I am the treasure of the UMC and I know how to squeeze people’s budget to offer their offering throughout whole my life.” 

An usher passing a collection plate in a church overheard a small child exclaim, “Daddy, don’t pay for me!  I am only four!” 

Today’s sermon title is “God’s overflowing blessings.” Basically, it’s about tithing.   When I looked up tithing and tithe in my Bible dictionaries, I found some interesting things. On the same page with the word “tithe,” were other words like: torment, torture, and tragedy.  Some of you may feel the church asking more offering is torment or torture for you, or some of your may think to offer your tithe to God can be a tragedy for your budget while others think to encourage tithing is a tragic thing.

I have been praying for today’s sermon everyday and I asked church members, especially “prayer warriors” to pray with me so that you may not feel the message from God may become torment, or torture, or tragedy, but have the spirit of receptivity.

From God’s wisdom I, as a father, tell my children “John, think about how you can please God, Hannah, practice what you believe, Joel find out your main thing and keep the main thing main thing.  John, Hannah, Joel, how would you feel if your children act exactly like you did to me?”  Do not be selfish because it is inappropriate for a Christian.” I say all these things to my children because I love them so much and I hope that God will use them in the future in a great way.   Likewise God laid something on my heart and I share it with you because I love you.  The bottom line is to share the biblical principle, the truth, and the love of God in my heart is that I love you.   

I.                    “Why Should We Tithe?”

1. Because Abraham COMMENCED tithe.

(Genesis 14:18-20) Hebrews 7:1-4, “This King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him” and to him Abraham apportioned “One –tenth of everything.” His name in the first place means “king of righteousness” next he is also king of Salem, that is “king of peace.” Without faith, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.”

 Abraham offered his tithe to the Prince of Peace.  It is the first account of offering tithe.

2. Because Moses COMMANDED tithe.

“All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s they are holy to God  …..  These are the commandments that the Lord gave4 to Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.” (Leviticus 27:30, 34)

Moses received the commandments from God to tell the Israelites to offer tithe. 

3. Because Malachi CONFIRMED it.

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, say the Lord of hosts.” (Malachi 3:8-10)

The minor prophet, Malachi, confirmed to offer tithe by a means of receiving overflowing blessing from God. 

4. Because Jesus COMMENDED it.

“”Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21

Jesus replied to the Pharisees who asked him to offer tax.  In his answer Jesus said, “Give to the emperor what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to God.”  By saying this, Jesus commanded us to offer tithe to God.  

5. Because Paul urges us to CONTINUE it.

“Begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints- and this, not merely as we expected, they gave themselves first to the Lord and by the will of God, to us.”  2 Corinthians 8:4-5. 

Paul asked the people in Corinth to offer tithe continually.

All these biblical references from the scripture tell us that tithing is related to God, God’s people, and their faith to God. The main reason for offering tithe is to believe and practice that God is number 1 priority in our lives.  I am telling you that Christians offer our tithe because we want to put God first in our lives.  In offering our tithe to God.

“Years ago four good friends and neighbors from a small southern town were driving to a football game in an adjoining state.  After a hundred miles or so of sports chatter, the conversation turned family budgets.  The four compared costs of the necessities of life, insurance, automobiles, and other items.  They all had young children and modest incomes, so they found that they had much in common in stretching their dollar to provide the most for their family.  One of the foursome quietly stated that the first item in his family budget was the tithe.  A second, and then a third indicated that they also gave the first tenth of each dollar to the Lord’s work.  The fourth man in the group sat in silent shock.  He had thought of himself as a pretty good churchman since he was president of his Sunday school class and fairly regular in worship attendance.  He had heard sermons on tithing all of his life, but it did not occur to him that “regular fellows’ like these friends and neighbors- football fans even- were tithing.  He would have wondered how they could afford it, when he was straining to give one percent.  Now he was hearing their matter- of – fact statements that their family financing was working better because of these gifts, not in spite of them.  At that moment in his life, he felt that presence of God in his three companions, and he resolved to become a tither.

“I was that fourth man, and on that football Saturday I learned how the power of God is revealed through Christian witness.”  This man is Paul H. Jones, the Dean of the Chapel At Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.

If you are a tither, I encourage you to be a witness by sharing your faith in tithing with others, someone will be touched and God uses you to strengthen others’ faith. 

II.                 What is the right and best way to offer our tithe to God? 

“Let your tithe be the first check you write when you get paid.  Put God first in spending your money.” 

It is right from a faith point of view.  When you have faith in God, you please God by putting God first in every thing, especially your financial situation because “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If you had always given your tithe last, after everything else had been paid- and when you are about to, or had already, run out of money.  You are doing it legalistically, so you put it off as long as you can, and end up giving begrudgingly most of the time.  The result is you are giving to God when you have the least to give.  You are giving out of your poverty.  No wonder it is a continuing chore. 

If you have a strong faith, or you want to have a strong faith, then put God as your priority.  Give your tithe first, when you have the most to give out of your abundance.  Then you will have a great joy in your life.  You will see differences in your spiritual life.  You are now putting God fist in the very important matter of your money. 

Whether God bless you with a high salary or not, you offer 10% of your income to God first.

D. Rockefeller said, "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week." W. A. Criswell, A Guidebook for Pastors, p. 154.

III.               What are results of offering tithing?

1.      We put God first.  We live with what we believe.

2.      God blesses us with overflowing blessing. 

3.      We spend the rest of our earning wisely.

Have you prayed about what you were going to spend the other 9/10?  I know many of you prayed about how much God needed to bless you or asking more money. But I am not sure that how many people are praying for what they are going to do with 9/10 of their income after they offer their tithe to God. If taking the tithe out first sounds right, praying about how you spend the other 9/10 sounds absolutely necessary.  Some of us are struggling to live off of 10/10 and sometimes 11/10 or 12/10.  How could you manage on only 9/10? 

Where does the “overflowing blessings” come from?

a.   God pours out blessings upon you. God opens the doors of heaven and pour out blessings. 

b.   God bless you with physical, and motional, blessings that you do not spend any single penny for your health.

c.    God dwells in your heart and you have the companion of Christ in you, which makes you to have blessings.   For example, if a man lives in a huge house with a huge yard.  Each time he cuts the grass he complaints it. He does not know in heaven he does not have do cut grass.  Another man lives in a tiny apartment without front or back yard. He thanks to God for living in a small house and living a huge house with golden street, and crystal sea, and pearl gates.    

d.  God gives you wisdom so that you may manage 9/10 of your income wisely.  

4.      We become a faithful servant of God. 

The problem of offering tithe is not the amount of money, but it is that you think and live as an owner. 
 
Luke 12: 13-21 talks about the rich fool, who says to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops, then he said I will do this, I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my gods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid u for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” 
 
Our belief that everything belongs to God, comes from God, and is dispersed by God.  I challenge you to become a steward and reverse the order. Stewards don't act as owners. When you act as a steward instead of an owner, you'll never again offer God the leftovers. Think and live as a steward and invite God into your finances, because God knows what you need, and is committed to meeting your needs.  Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 
 
I was told a story.  This is a real story that happened about 10 years ago.  There was a truck drive with full loaded and he was on the way to Wilmington, NC.  When he came to a curve, he drove to fast and the truck flipped over and truck driver was under the truck.  The truck was on fire and he could not get out o the truck.  There were many cars passed by and nobody stopped to help him.  A man came out of his car and tried to pull the driver out of his truck before it had a great explosion.  However, the truck driver was a very heavy man and he could not do it by himself.  He used all his strength, but it was useless while the driver asked him, “Please, help me.”   Now it was a time that the man made a decision and said, “I cannot pull you out of you from this truck.  I cannot.  You have to help me, or your will die! If you want to live, you have to help me.  Will you help me? Will you help me?”  Then the driver used all his strength to work with the man and finally, he came out of the trouble situation and he has been saving his life. 
 
Do you know that financially the church is a very difficult situation? I, as a pastor of the church, have been trying my best for getting out of this bad situation.  The administrative council talked about the financial situation and I have been encouraging church leaders to offer extra offerings beyond their tithe and Sunday offerings.  However, limited church leaders cannot solve the financial problem. 
 
Now I ask you to have profound consideration to offer your tithe and an extra offering to God through the church unless we may shut down AC or turn off the lights, or we may need to turn our building to our bank because we cannot pay our mortgage.  We are in the desperate situation.  I tried to pull out of our financial difficulty. I stopped to enjoy my hobby so that I can contribute to our finance.  But it is like a grain in the sand of Atlantic Ocean. I know I cannot do it by myself and church leaders cannot do it by ourselves.  The church leaders and I cannot pull out of the financial difficulty.
 
We need your help.  In order to educate our children with the word of God, in order to be the beacon of Southwest of Fayetteville, in order to keep our AC running and to keep the lights on, to have scouts at our church, the church needs to open its door for you and your family, we need your financial support.  God needs your help and I need your help.  Unless we may need to close our doors, we may cut down our AC and turn off the lights, we may be able to have any more building.  When God calls you being at Cornerstone UMC, God has a purpose for you.  I am sure that it is the right time that you find your purpose being at Cornerstone.  You cannot be here to find your purpose after the doors are closed.
 
God has been sending many new families to Cornerstone UMC.  God wants you to have a generous heart.  Let us work together to come out of the financial situation.   
 

The story of the truck driver tells us that we have to ______ ourselves in order to work with _________

I.                   Why Should We Tithe?

1.      Because ________________________ tithe. Gen 14:18-20 Hebrews 7:1-4, “Abraham apportioned “_____ -________ of everything.”

2.      Because _______________tithe. Lev27:30, 34

3.      Because _______________ it. Mal3:8-10

4.      Because _______________ it. Matthew 22:21

                  5.   Because ____________________ it. 2 Cor 8:4-5. 

All these biblical references tell us tithing is related to ______ and our ________ to God. The main reason for offering tithe is to _______ and ___________ that God is number ______priority in our lives. 

II. What is the right and best way to offer our tithe to God? 

“Let your tithe be the __________ you write when you get paid.  Put God first in spending your money.” 

D. Rockefeller said, "I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my ________, which was $1.50 per week.

III. What are results of offering tithing?

5.      We put God ________.  We live with what we ______.

6.      God ___________ us with overflowing blessing. 

7.      We spend the rest of our earning __________.

8.      We become a ___________ servant of God. 

The story of the truck driver tells us that we have to ______ ourselves in order to work with _________

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Malachi 3:10

10 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 you will not have room enough for it.  NIV

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