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)