Genesis 14:17-24 NKJV And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. (18) Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. (19) And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; (20) And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. (21) Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” (22) But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, (23) that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— (24) except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
- Now it has been a minute since we last talked about Melchizedek, so let’s recap where we are at.
- Lot, Abrams Nephew, had selfishly and foolishly chosen land next to the most wicked cities in the world, Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Lot set up his tents right next to the cities and started commerce with them.
- Sodom and Gomorrah find themselves at war with King Chedorlaomer who ruled that part of the region.
- King Chedorlaomer defeats Sodom and Gomorrah taking all of the goods and people from those cities as plunder and slaves… and even though Lot was not IN Sodom and Gomorrah, he was close enough and ends up getting captured by Chedorlaomer.
- Now Abram is a mighty man of God, and he doesn’t much like it when people take his family. So Abram raises up a small army and goes into the enemies camp to take back what was stolen from him!
- Abram completely destroys Chedorlaomer in battle, and now the plunder is rightfully his.
- The Battle is won, Lot is free, Abram has acquired the spoils… all is well.
- Then comes crawling out of his hiding place the defeated King of Sodom… he rolls up to Abram acting all buddy buddy and even has the audacity to say this in verse 21:
Genesis 14:21 NKJV Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
- What?! You LOST all the people bro… you lead your people into sin, and then you lead them into captivity… Abram has freed them… and you just… want them back? YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED BY KING CHEDORLAOMER! You are lucky to be alive, oh King of Sodom… You should be thanking Aram and begging to be his servant!
- Now, this will all be important latter on in the message… but there was another king who approached Abram after Abram defeated Chedorlaomer and rescued lot…
- King Melchizedek… King of Righteousness, King of peace, Kin of Jerusalem, who has no beginning and no end…
- This King, who I suggested a few weeks ago was likely a physical Old Testament appearance of Jesus, this King comes and blesses Abram with Bread and Wine… and also offers Spiritual blessings to Abram and he finishes by blessing God.
- Abram receives the blessing, and then he does something we see I believe for the very first time in scripty.
- Abram tithes.
Genesis 14:20 NKJV And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
- You guys caught up with the story now? You know where we are at? Praise God, let’s pray.
- Now before I get any further, I just want to share my heart… I just want to pull back the curtains a little bit.
- Y’all know I am human right… that I have feelings, and emotions, and sometimes I battle ungodly fears and fleshly anxieties…
- One of my biggest fears is that people will misunderstand my heart… that they will listen to a sermon that may step on their toes and think “Pastor Christian hates me…” or “Pastor Christian is so judgmental” or “Pastor Christian doesn’t love like Jesus loves”.
- On the flipside, sometimes I preach on Christian love, and grace, and forgiveness, and charity and I fear people will think “Pastor Christian has gone soft” or “Pastor Christian is getting woke”.
- And anytime I preach on money I fear people will think “All this church cares about is money… Pastor Christian is just trying to get rich off us poor church members.”
- Man, that is just so not my heart… but today the scripture is on tithing, and I believe God want’s me to preach on tithing… but my flesh is afraid… So before I wrote this sermon I sent this message to our deacons on Slack, a message I now know was Holy Spirit driven… Here is what I sent to the deacons.
“Hey deacons, I need your prayer and encouragement. I am praying, studying, and preparing to write my sermon for Sunday. It seems the Lord is (and has) been preparing me to teach and preach on tithing… but my flesh is afraid. I preached and prophesied hard last week concerning missions and missions faith pledges… and now, another sermon, back to back, about money? I don’t want to do it. Nothing in my natural self wants to do it. I am afraid people will leave, I am afraid people will misconstrue my heart, I am afraid people will think I am money hungry… but I really want people to be blessed, to be faithful, and to be steadfast… Anywho… I need prayer.”
- Of course the deacons encouraged me, prayed for me, even prophetically spoke into my heart and this message, and as such the Lord helped me prepare this message… so yes we are going to talk about Tithing this morning…
- I am going to try avoid talking about the mandates of tithing, I might touch on it briefly… but instead I want to talk about the benefits of tithing, benefits Abram saw when he tithed through Melchizedek, and benefits we see as we honor the Lord with our tithes.
- Tithing: Blessed, Faithful, and Steadfast.
- I have three points this morning inspired by Abrams tithe to Melchizedek:
- Point One – Tithing Results in Blessings
- Point Two – Tithing Strengthens Steadfastness
- So let’s get into it with point on, probably the most talked about aspect of tithing, Tithing Results in Blessings.
Point One – Tithing Results in Blessings
Genesis 14:19-20 NKJV And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; (20) And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
- Tithing results in blessing, I think most of us know this, but let’s hit on it for just a moment…
- But before we do that we need to establish what exactly a tithe is.
- The word Tithe comes from the Hebrew word מַעֲשֵׂר (mah-as-ayr’) which simply means “ a tenth” or 10 percent.
- To tithe means to give 10 percent of all your income back to God.
- We see latter as God gives His law to His people that tithes are meant to be brought to the local priest or church to be stored up for the use of the ministry, taking care of the poor, and taking care of the priests.
- Here in Genesis we see Abram giving a tithe to Melchizedek, who is described as THE priest of God…
- Even if Melchizedek is not Jesus, we see the concept of tithes going to the local priest here in Genesis, 430 before the law was established.
- Now later in scripture we see God command that we give a tithe, 10 percent, of all income that we gather back to God… In Malichi God says that if we do not tithe and give offerings then we are robbing God.
- Jesus says in the gospels that it is good and important to tithe, even on the smallest herb in our herb garden… and of course Jesus says that we also need to not ignore the weightier issues of the Law with are Justice and Mercy and Faith.
- Abraham tithed, Jacob tithed, Levi tithed, Hezekiah tithed, Nehemiah tithed, the Christians in the New testament tithed and so much more, some going as far as giving all they had.
- Tithing is commanded by God and practiced by God’s people. It is what we do as Christians.
- When we take up tithes and offerings every Sunday, when we pray and pass the plates and put the church app info on the screen… that is not us asking for donations… that is not the church asking you to give pocket change… praise God for those offerings, they are still received with joy… but this is the church offering an opportunity for every Christian in it to bring their tithes, 10 percent of the income, to the Lord’s house, given to God for the purpose of advancing God’s kingdom.
- And when you bring the full tithe, the full 10 percent, God promises blessings.
Malachi 3:10 NKJV Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
- Listen church, this is talked about a lot so I am not going to go too deep into it… but God blesses those who bring the full tithe, the full 10 percent… it is a blessing that is not promised for 5% or 7% or even 9% but a blessing promised for those who tithe a full tithe.
- When you do, God promises “I will open the windows od heaven for you and pour out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it.
- This means job promotions, raises, gifts…
- This means cars that don’t break down, tires that don’t wear out.
- This means bank accounts that don’t run dry… freezers that always seem to have food in it.
- This means peace in your finances knowing that God is going to take care of you.
- This does not mean private jets, this does not mean 10’s of thousands of dollars show up out of nowhere for you to spend on frivolous worldly things…
- But it does mean real material blessings.
- And not to mention, when you tithe God says “That there may be food in my house”… when you tithe it BLESSES THE CHURCH. This is YOUR CHURCH… the one you want your kids to grow up in and get married in… the one that will one day hold your funeral services, should the Lord tarry… The place you spend every Wednesday night and Sunday morning…
- The place you come to rest, to worship, to fellowship, to pray, to serve, to grow…
- When you tithe not only are you promised blessings, but you are blessing YOUR CHURCH.
- I love these passage out of 2 Chronicles, Hezekiah is establishing the church in Israel, reestablishing the Temple and it’s services and it’s priests… and people start paying their tithes and offerings to the church.
2 Chronicles 31:4-10 NKJV Moreover he commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support for the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the LORD. (5) As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. (6) And the children of Israel and Judah, who dwelt in the cities of Judah, brought the tithe of oxen and sheep; also the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God they laid in heaps. (7) In the third month they began laying them in heaps, and they finished in the seventh month. (8) And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD and His people Israel. (9) Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. (10) And Azariah the chief priest, from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance.”
- Man wouldn’t it be great it belong to a church that brough so many tithes and offerings that it was collected in heaps?
- And look at that last line… “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LROD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left… FOR THE LORD HAS BLESSED HIS PEOPLE AND WHT IS LEFT IS THIS GREAT ABUNDANCE”.
- Y’all this doesn’t have to be an Old Testament story that happened thousands of years ago… this can be OUR story as a church, if we God’s people would be faithful in our tithe just as Abram was faithful in his tithe to the Priest of God Melchizedek, just as Israel was faithful in it’s tithe to the Temple in Nehimiah…
- And we can be just as blessed as Israel in Nehimiah.
- We can be just as blessed as Abram in Genesis.
- Now, you want to know more about the blessings of tithing, just go find someone in the church who faithfully tithes and ask them for testimonies… they will share with you about blessings and miracles and always having enough…
- So let’s move on, tithing does not just produce blessings, but it also strengthens steadfastness.
Point Two – Tithing Strengthens Steadfastness
Genesis 14:17-23 NKJV And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. (18) Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. (19) And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; (20) And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. (21) Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” (22) But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, (23) that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
- Now tithing is normally preached about with either a carrot or a stick…
- The carrot is “God will bless you with material blessings if you tithe”, that’s what we just talked about…
- And the stick is “If you don’t tithe you are robbing God” that is Malachi 3:8
- But something I have not heard preached about is this: Tithing Strengthens Steadfastness.
- On the wall over there we have this verse:
1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
- Be STEADFAST and IMMOVABLE… Tithing helps you be steadfast and immovable… it strengthens your resolve to be steadfast… it keeps your feet planted on firm ground… it gives you a solid base… and that is demonstrated in the scriptures about the king of Sodom, Abram, and Melchizedek.
- You see the king of Sodom was evil. We know this for two reasons, one was because he was king over the most wicked city to ever exist… and two because later in scripture when God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah God says he will save anyone who is not wicked from destruction… but God didn’t save the King…
- So the King of Sodom and Gomorrah is wicked… and he approaches Abram after the battle and says “You keep the spoils, I get the people back”.
- This church, is what is known as “Temptation”.
- When an evil person offers to give you large sums of money… you should be worried… it always comes with strings attached.
- Now if you study the commentaries about this passage you learn that what is implied by this offer is that the king of Sodom is offering to have Abram join with him… to rule with him.
- When he says “You can have the spoils” he is saying “Come back to Sodom and reign with me… we will be rich together”.
- It is a temptation to leave behind what God has called Abram to do and to pursue money and wealth instead.
- And that has to be a big temptation… I don’t know ANYONE who is at least a little tempted by money…
- AND THIS WAS A LOT OF MONEY. A WHOLE CITIES WORTH OF MONEY.
- Can you imagine if Satan came along and said “I will give you every dollar in Cedar Rapids… every bit of money from the whole city… from peoples pockets and safes, from business cash registers, from all the bank vaults in Cedar Rapids… you can have it all, just say the word and you can have it…
- There would be a good deal of temptation there wouldn’t there? We are talking billions if not trillions of dollars according to the AI that I asked!
- But you know there would be strings attached… it is why I will never take money from a mob boss… I don’t want to owe him favors… and Abram doesn’t want to either…
Genesis 14:23 NKJV that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
- Now why was Abram able to so quickly resist that temptation? Because ABRAM WAS NOT A SLAVE TO MONEY. He practiced the SACRIFICE of tithing…
- Bringing 10 percent back to God put’s us in a position of authority over our money.
- NO MONEY! You don’t dictate my life! I dictate what happens to YOU! And my God dictates what happens to me.
- So sorry money, God says 10 percent of you must be brought to the church, well then 10 percent is going to the church… I DON’T CARE THAT YOU WANT TO BE SPENT ON PHONES AND VACATIONS AND TOYS! I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT YOU WANT TO BE SPENT ON BILLS AND FOOD AND GAS… YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROLL, MONEY! GOD IS IN CONTROL.
- Listen church, every time you tithe you remind yourself and your wallet who is in control of your life…
- So when temptation comes you can easily reject it.
- When the King of Sodom comes you can say… here, I don’t care about your money… I care about God and His kingdom.
- I have seen this concept to be true in our church as well, guys…
- I had a hunch, so I asked the records to be checked of all the people who have left the church abruptly…
- Not people who left the church with our blessings, but people who left for any number of ungodly reasons.
- There are MANY people like this over the years… many people who just up and leave, out of our church and out of our lives… without a trace…
- Some for selfish reasons, some because of sin enticing them… some even leaving the faith all together.
- And you know what, the records proved it… NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THEM TITHED.
- Now many of them GAVE… they gave a few dollars here and there… but none of them gave 10%…
- Which means statistically, if you say you want this church to be a generational church… you want your grandkids to get married in this church, should the Lord tarry… statistically, if you want to protect yourself from falling away like so many others, one thing you can do to make sure you are steadfast is TITHE!
- Now, I don’t want to belabor these points… I just want our church to be blessed and steadfast… I want you to be blessed and steadfast… and I believe the scriptures… and I follow the example Abram set in Genesis 14… and I pray that you will to… so let’s get the worship team up here and close this sermon down.
Conclusion
Genesis 14:20 NKJV And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
- 430 years before the Law was given… Abram tithed.
- Tithing is not legalistic church… because it started before there ever was a Biblical law!
- But tithing is a source of many blessings, material and steadfast… and I want to serve a blessed church.
- I want there to be MANY Abrams in this church, not just Abram Miller… many people who can testify about how the Lord meet them in their time of temptation, offered them bread and wine… and a way out of that temptation.
- If we want to be blessed like Abram was blessed, we need to live a life like Abram lived… and part of that life was tithing.
- If we want Bible results we have to do things the Bible way.
- Let me close by sharing some testimonies from the church… y’all have heard my testimonies many times about tithing… but here are some testimonies from your brothers and sisters…
- Deacon Kat testifies that when she started coming to CLC brother Eric Hartmann was emceeing and encouraged a faithful tithe, testifying about how he has been provided for as a faithful tither. So, inspired by the testimony and the Spirit of God, Deacon Kat and Deacon Jimmal started tithing. Shortly after, they received an outrageously high light bill that they could not afford to pay… God told Deacon Kat to check the mail… she tried to ignore the urge… she had already read all the important mail… all that was left was junk mail… but the Holy spirit insisted, so she checked the junk mail… and there, buried under the spam, was a letter with a check for $800 in, paying for the light bill and then some!
- Pastor Tina Testifies from a time when she was in nursing school and was a single mom of three. She was constantly coming up short by nearly two thousand dollars every semester… but she would faithfully tithe. Every month, month by month, God would provide. Random checks in the mail… even 500 dollars in cash came in the mail… and people offering to pay bills even though she never asked. Even though she never had enough from her own income, the income she was tithing on, she always had enough because God supernaturally provided.
- Deacon Brandy testifies that she and her husband had listened to bad teaching that suggested “Just give 1% and when you can afford it raise it”… they started giving 1% but never saw the breakthrough. When they finally got under good teaching and gave a full 10% God started blessing them… shortly after they started tithing they were able to pay off all their car loans and debt.
- Deacon Michael Hall testifies that when he got married they had little money and a lot of debt, the American dream! But they started tithing and even giving large offerings from time to time, like giving their covid 19 stimulus checks as an offering! He then testifies, and I quote “ Now we’re totally debt free (except mortgage), we have a house, a business, savings and saving for later stages in life. We’re in positions to bless others. We make more than we ever could’ve imagined and we credit all this to God.”
- A Testimony was shared about sister Sharla. Deacon Kat is her discipler, and when they got to the lesson in Foundations 2 about tithing Sharla set in her heart that she was going to tithe… and a full first fruit tithe, pre-tax! They even had a long conversation about “Should I tithe on the net or the gross… should I tithe before or after giving to the IRS”… she decided the Biblical tithe was the first fruits and gave tithe before giving to the IRS… To quote Deacon Kat about the situation “ She started doing that and about two months later, she literally started getting random checks in the mail. The IRS was sending her tax refunds from 2020! For a week straight, she got two or three checks in the mail. She was able to catch up all her bills, pay off her car, and put some in savings!
- Listen, if you have not been bringing the full tithe to the local church, will you do this for me… will you go home and pray about it… study the scriptures for yourself… not google… but the Scripture.
- If you are married to a Christian, talk to them and pray with them about this… and test God in this… and watch Him bless you.
Gospel Call
Join us this Sunday at either 8:30AM or 10:30AM for worship followed by this message from the Word of God. Christian Life Church of Cedar Rapids. 2808 Schaeffer DR SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404. www.CedarRapidsChurch.com
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