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# 24 - Code T WOULD YOU ROB GOD? Color: purple
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1. Mal.3:8-12 - Is it possible to rob God?
Mal.3: LB 8. Will a man rob God? Surely not! And yet you have robbed me. "What do you mean? When did we ever rob you?" --- "You have robbed me of the tithes and offerings due to me. ---What does one receive when he robs God of His tithes? ---What does he receive when he brings in all the tithes?
9. And so the awesome curse of God is cursing you, for your whole nation has been robbing me. 10. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won't have room enough to take it in! - "Try it! Let me prove it to you! 11. "Your crops will be large, for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won't shrivel away before they ripen," says the Lord of Hosts. 12. "And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land sparkling with happiness. These are the promises of the Lord. --- Which would you rather have: 9/l0ths with God's blessing or l0/l0ths with His curse? Many have proven that the 9/l0ths with God's blessing goes much farther than the l0/l0ths without it. Those who tithe show respect and honor to God while those who don't, rob Him and themselves of honor.
2. Lu.16:10-13 - What two choices of service does everyone have?
Lu.16: LB 10. Unless you are honest in small matters, you won't be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities. 11. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? -~12. And if you are not faithful with other people's money, why should you be entrusted with money of your own? 13. For neither you nor anyone else can serve two masters. You will hate one and show loyalty to the other, or else the other way around - You will be enthusiastic about one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. --- The eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal" (Ex.20:15) is broad enough to include man's honesty and faithfulness in returning to his Creator the tithes and offerings. --- "Trust" is the key word. You are either a trusted and trusting tither or you are a troubled thief.
3. Lu.11:42 - What had the Pharisees left out of their worship?
Lu.11: LB 42. But woe to you Pharisees! For though you are careful to tithe
even the smallest part of your income, you completely forget about
justice
and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave these
other tMSCF - , I bt .` ncdl24xj.gpd 'Nbt[#F C02 oe4ڟRuƶ_19]cljĶƖi@Ь| $d;No'd).$fntWgAvzy A͘QQ-`f ;JbR.y'Y-?%e7E_/}0 @ ,,zg58sp_mz8'-\+ F +0 p _X.= qs & 4 yk8Wp@!+$@W-iT 4R2J&yϜ, qE O)9Hw What portion of our increase are we to return as sacred to God? Lev.27: 30-33 A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord's, and is holy. 31. If anyone wants to buy back this fruit or grain, he must add a fifth to its value. 32. And the Lord owns every tenth animal of your herds and flocks and other domestic animals, as they pass by for counting. 33. The tenth given to the Lord shall not be selected on the basis of whether it is good or bad, and there shall be no substitutions; for if there is any change made, then both the original and the substitution shall belong to the Lord, and may not be bought back!
8. Ps.24:1 - How much of what we have really belongs to the Lord?
Ps.24: 1 LB. The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is his!
9. Ps.50:10-12 - Who owns the cattle and wild animals?
Ps.50:10-12 LB. For all the animals of field and forest are mine! The cattle on a thousand hills! And all the birds upon the mountains! If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you for all the world is mine, and everything in it.
10. Haggai 2:8 - What else belongs to our Creator?
Hag.2: 8 NKJ "'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine," says the Lord of hosts. --- God has all the silver securities you will ever need. Without Him it is only a Slipping savings. (Haggai 1:6)
11. Isa.43:1 - Why do we belong to the Lord?
Isa.43:1 LB Now the Lord who created you, 0 Israel, says, Don't be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. --- He created us and then he ransomed us! The great Creator became our Savior and all God's fullness is seen in Jesus our Redeemer. We belong to him in a double sense. First, He made us and second, he bought us back after we were sold as a slave into sin. (Twice mine boat story) Tithe-paying is God's plan to help us remember who we are! We are children of the King!
12. Deut.8:17-18;14:22 - Who gives us the strength and ability to make wealth?
Deut.8:17-18 LB Never feel that it was your own power and might that made you wealthy. Always remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you power to become rich. Deut.14: LB 22. You must tithe all your crops every year. You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. --- God wants us to use it for his honor. Without His blessing we have sickness and death. With His blessing we are gaining and increasing. Without it we are gambling and losing.
13. Heb.7:1-2,10 Who received the tenth or tithe from Abraham?
Heb.7: LB 2. Abraham took a tenth of all he had won in the battle and gave it to Melehizedek. 10. Abraham paid the tithes to Melehizedek. --- Melchizedek was a Priest-King before the days of Moses, and he was a type of Christ.
14. Gen.14:18-20 - What title did Melchizedek give to the God of Abraham when he blessed him?
Gen.14: LB 18. And Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Jerusalem), who was a priest of the God of the Highest Heaven, brought him bread and wine. 19.20. Then Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: "The blessing of the supreme God, Creator of heaven and earth, be upon you, Abram; and blessed be God, who has delivered your enemies over to you." - Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoils.
15. Gen.28:20-22 - What portion did Jacob vow to give back to Lord?
Gen.28: LB 20-22. And Jacob vowed this vow to God. "If God will... protect me on this journey andbring me back safely... then... this memorial pillar shall become a place for worship; and I will give you back a tenth of everything you give me!
16. Nu.18:21 - Under the theocracy of Moses who received the tithes?
Nu.18: LB 21. As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, they shall be paid for their service with the tithes from the entire land of Israel.
17. 1 Cor.9:11,13-14 - In the New Testament times Paul taught that the ministers who gave their time in feeding others spiritual food should receive physical necessities in return. Who did he say had given this order?
1 Cor.9: LB 11. We have planted good spiritual seed in your souls. is it too much to ask, in return, for mere food and clothing? 13. Don't you realize that God told those working in his temple to take for their own needs some of the food brought there as gifts to him? And those who work at the altar of God get a share of the food that is brought by those offering it to the Lord. 14. In the same way the Lord has given orders that those who preach the Gospel should be supported by those who accept it. --- Serving God with the tithe means supporting His church. Serving the money god is self-centered work.
18. .2 Cor.9:6-8;8:9 - What attitude should we have when giving?
2 Cor.9: LB 6. But remember this---if you give little, you will get little. A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much. 7. Every one must make up his own mind as to how much he should give. Don't force anyone to give more than he really wants to, for cheerful givers are the ones God prizes. 8. God is able to make it up to you,so...there will not only be enough for your own needs, but plenty left over to give joyfully to others. 11. Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much,... --- True Christian giving is service with a smile. It is cheerfully done. Serving the money god means slavery with a sneer or a mockery of those who are giving.
What did Jesus become so that we could be rich? 2 Cor. 8: LB 9. You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus was: though he was so very rich, yet to help you he became so very poor, so that by being poor he could make you rich. Note:2 Cor.9:LB 15. Thank God for his Son---his Gift too wonderful for words.
19. Mat.27:3-10 - How much was Jesus sold for by Judas?
Mat.27: LB 3-5. Judasbrought back the money"I have sinned," he declared, "for I have betrayed an innocent man." "That's your problem," they retorted. Then he threw the money onto the floor and went out and hanged himself. 6. The chief priests picked the money up. "We can't put it in the collection," they said, "since it's against our laws to accept money paid for murder." 7. They decided to buy a field used by potters and to make it into a cemetery for foreigners who died in Jerusalem. 9-10. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah which says, "They took the thirty pieces of silver---the price at which he was valuedand purchased a field from the potters." --- Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a slave. Jesus became very poor indeed! He was willing to give up the ivory palaces of heaven to give us a mansion there. He was willing to die so that we might have eternal life. Let us choose to serve Jesus as our King and not the robber. Please don't be like Judas or like those who rejected Jesus and "screamed back, 'No! Not this man, but Barabbas!' Barabbas was a robber." Jn.18:39-40 LB.
20. Mat.6:19-22,31-33 - Where should we store up our treasures?
Mat. 6: LB 19-21. Don't store up treasures here on earth where they can erode away or may be stolen. Store them in heaven where they will never lose their value, and are safe from thieves. If your profits are in heaven your heart will be there too. Who knows our every need? Mat.6: LB 31-33. So don't worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to. It is an honor to serve as a willing worker in the cause of Our Heavenly Father. In the service of the money god there is weariness and worry! Let us choose to be on the side of Trust and happiness. Let God manage your money problems by joining the partnership of the Creator-Sustainer-Redeemer. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did you notice the green highlights? Below is a little summary of those ideas:
YOU CAN NOT SERVE TWO MASTERS
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May God bless you,
Edward Graves
Other extra related texts:
Ps.37:25 - "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
1 Tim.6:10 - "For the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted - they erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
Haggai 1:6 "...earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes." (Because of their neglect of the Lord's house they lost money like they had holes in their pockets!)
Lu.19:12-17 - (Jesus' parable shows that we must try to improve our talents. Those that were faithful in money management were given great authority. Those who failed to improve lost what they had, and those who refused to co-operate in any way were killed.)
Eccl.5:12 - "The sleep of the labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep."
Heb.13:5 LB - "Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, 'I will never, never fail you nor forsake you.'"