Offering To God What Is His (Summary)

 

OFFERING TO GOD WHAT IS HIS
Ps Darryl Woodson
(17/3/2013)
When you tithe, God gives you a fish. When you give offering God trains you how to fish; tithes are a fixed amount but offerings have no fixed limit. Way back in ancient times scriptures speak of a time of offerings presented by two brothers. One was accepted the other was rejected. One’s offering was excellent the other was not:
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead (Heb 11:4)
When we give offerings, God wants us to give cheerfully. When Israel gave tithes they gave more than one tithe.
1.      The Lord’s tithe
2.      Festival tithe
3.      The Poor Tithe
When God is referring to tithes it is in plural. In the Old Testament they gave those named tithes. Their tithe was not necessarily the best part, it was a fixed value. But when it came to offerings they gave the following offerings
1.      First Fruit Offering
2.      Freewill offering
In the N.T (Mt 5:17) Jesus speaks of not coming to abolish the law. Some think that in the N.T the standard is lowered or simplified but actually the reverse is true. The standard is much higher. He said it must exceed that of the law that the Pharisees adhered to. Anger equates to murder, lust equates to adultery. And He calls for perfection. How does this relate to giving? It means you must give beyond what the ordinary people who gave in the O.T gave. Jesus challenged a young rich ruler on this and he quit salvation:

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. (Lk 18:22-23)

If you really want to be free you must be free from money. You need to stop thinking about the bills, or how to get money. If there is a willingness in your heart to give God everything, He will meet all your needs. Jesus describes the depth of a giving heart in this way:
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:27-31)