I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 8:11-20. This morning we’re focusing on stewardship - and especially stewardship of our finances. Our goal this morning is not to put guilt trip on anyone - or make a pitch for money.

Giving to the Lord is never intended by God to be a guilt thing. Giving is suppose to help us grow closer to God - to experience his blessings - to live in a deepening - dependent - relationship with him. And, that’s where our focus is this morning: How giving God’s way helps us to draw into a deepening relationship with Him.

Deuteronomy 8:11-20 - The Hebrew nation is at the Jordan River - ready to enter the Promised Land - Moses is speaking. He’s giving a warning and a promise to the Hebrew nation.

Starting at verse 11: “Take heed lest you forget the Lord your God, by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes, which I command you this day: Lest, when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth; that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as at this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you this day that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

The bottom line of what Moses writes is this: When God blesses you materially - remember that it was God who provided for your needs - so, obey God - remember Him by being obedient - in how you live and honor Him. Giving is integral to God’s relationship with us - and our relationship with God. Done right - giving moves us into a deeper relationship with God.

To try to understand this - practically - I’d like to share Four Foundational Principles of Tithing. The principle of tithing - giving a tenth of our income - "dasanortuh" - is all over the Bible. In the Old Testament its a command and in the New Testament the command to tithe is never abolished - never rescinded.

My goal this morning is not to preach about tithing in the sense that - YOU MUST GIVE 10% - We don’t want to get to get stuck on the number 10. My goal is to share the principles of tithing that help us to do what Moses is talking about - principles that deepen our relationship with God.

The bottom line of tithing is that there’s more to tithing than the number ten. The tithe is an expressions of deep theological truths - an act of remembrance of God’s sovereignty - an expression of our personal relationship with God.

Four Principles of Tithing - that draw us into a deeper relationship with God.

1. THE PRINCIPLE OF REGULARITY

To tithe is to give regularly - week in and week out - monthly. We don’t give just when we feel like it, or someone or some circumstance makes us feel guilty, or someone calls to make an appeal. We give when the time comes - purposefully - regardless of our mood.

Regularity takes a lot of pain out of giving. I think we have to be honest about our pain in giving. Money is part of our life. Money represents days and hours of sweat and tears. Money is a part of us, and to part with it is a grief process. It’s pain - it ain’t easy. But a decision to give regularly takes a lot of that pain away.

By giving regularly we don’t have to make a number of painful decisions during the year. As the saying goes, we don’t have to cut the dog’s tail off an inch at a time. We make one basic decision, and then it’s simply a matter of carrying out that decision regularly and systematically.

Regularity also saves us from self-deception. If we give nothing for a time, and then for a special appeal - a Banquet or the Bazaar or something else - we give $100 - we deceive ourselves that we’ve been very generous. But if divide $100 up by the number of weeks in a year - how many of us would claim giving less than $2 a week as a really generous gift.

2. THE PRINCIPLE OF PROPORTIONALITY

John Wesley was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700’s. When he began his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away.

The next year his income doubled - but he still managed to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little over 1400 pounds - he lived on 30 and gave away nearly all of the 1400 pounds.

Wesley felt that the Christian should not merely tithe but give away all extra income once the family and creditors were taken care of. He believed that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian’s standard of living but the standard of giving.

To tithe is to give in proportion to what we receive. Give in proportion and suddenly giving ceases to be a transaction between us and our church treasurer. Giving becomes a transaction between us and God, who gave it all to us in the first place - with a purpose.

When we start totaling up a church budget and dividing it by the number of giving units in the church to determine “what’s my share” or what’s expected of every member - it can lead to spiritual disaster. Doing things this way can take God completely out of the relationship.

Tithing encourages us to total up our income - our resources - our blessings - in order to determine what share God would have us give. The question is, “What proportion - how much can I give for God’s work?”

3. THE PRINCIPLE OF PRIORITY

There’s a story about a farmer who went into the house one day to tell his wife and family some good news. He said, “The cow just gave birth to twin calves, one red and one white. We need to dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We’ll bring them up together, and when the time comes, we’ll sell one and keep the proceeds and we’ll sell the other and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.”

When his wife asked him which one he was going to dedicate to the Lord. The farmer said, “There’s no need to think about that now, we’ll treat them both the same way, and when the time comes, we’ll do as I say.”

A few days later, the farmer came into the kitchen looking very unhappy. His wife asked, “What happened?” The farmer replied, “I have bad news. The Lord’s calf is dead.”

His wife said, "Wait, you didn’t decide which calf was the Lord’s.”

The farmer said, “Yes, I decided it was the white one, and the white one died. The Lord’s calf is dead.”

To tithe is to set aside God’s share first. God’s share comes off the top - gross - net - whatever - not the bottom. It may seem prudent to take care of all our necessities and then to look around to see if something is left for God. But the tither takes care of God’s share first - and then looks around to see if something is left for his or her necessities. When we do that it reorganizes our life. All that beautiful language about “God first, others are second, and I’m third” becomes concrete and actual for the first time.

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF TRUST

W.A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man who told his pastor he’d promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time he was making $40 per week and tithing $4. In a few years his income increased and he was tithing $500 per week.

The man called the pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise, it was too costly now. The pastor replied, “I don’t see how you can be released from your promise, but we can ask God to reduce your income to $40 per week, then you’d have no problem tithing $4.”

Giving is a very difficult issue to talk about. Especially in the 90’s - with all the demands on our finances - there are some very hard choices that we need to make. Providing for our families - planning for retirement - and, living in the Bay Area is not cheap. Our dollars get stretched.

Most of us can’t see how we’re going to live off 100% of our income. If we give 5% away, can we really make it on 95%? If we give 15% away can we really make it on 85%?

Sometimes I hear people say that if we give 10%, we’ll get that back - plus interest - every time. It may happen - but tithing isn’t a simple, gold lined investment with a 100% guarantee.

Regularity, proportionality, priority, and fourthly deeply imbedded in tithing is the principle of trust. If we actually give God the priority - take God’s share off the top - then we begin to trust God.

Tithing teaches us to live life trusting God’s promise that He will take care of our needs. We may have to simplify life or do without. But a gift that doesn’t reorganize our life and make us step out in faith is hardly a gift at all.

Now, I’d like to come back to the number 10. If we’re going to give regularly and proportionately, if we’re going to give first and live adventurously - trusting God - then what about the number 10? Is 10% a floor so that anyone giving less than 10% really isn’t a Christian? Or is 10% a ceiling, so that if we make that ceiling we never need to give any more?

Its very interesting that the New Testament nowhere lays this 10% guilt trip on us. Jesus talked incessantly about money, but only twice does He mention the tithe - both times because of its abuse.

The Apostle Paul - the great fund-raiser and stewardship preacher - never mentions 10%. What he does mention are precisely the principles that we just talked about. Paul summarizes New Testament giving this way - 1 Corinthians 16:2 - “On the first day of every week, - give regularly - each one of you is to put something aside and store it up - God’s part comes off first - as he may prosper...” - give proportionately. And then, in Philippians 4:19 he says, “My God will supply every need of yours” - so give trusting God.

In the freedom that Jesus gives us we are responsible for fixing our own percentage. God knows that some of us have heavy obligations - children in college - aging parents - or that we may be deeply in debt from some catastrophe. And others of us may be relatively free - children grown and on their own - only ourselves and our retirement to think of.

It would be unfair to impose a uniform percentage on all of us. There are some who can tithe in the sense of giving regularly, proportionately, with priority and trust in God with a proportion of less than 10 %. And there are others who will not be tithing in that sense until they give 20%, 30%, or even more.

Jesus gives to us salvation - joy - peace - healing - security - eternity. Man marvels at such a pearl and says, “I want this pearl. How much does it cost?”

The seller says, “Its too dear - too costly.”
“But how much?”
“Well, its very expensive.”
“Do you think I could buy it?”
“It cost everything you have - no more - no less - anybody can buy it.”
“I’ll buy it.”
“What do you have? Let’s write it down.”
“I have $87,000 in the bank.”
“Good, $87,000. What else?”
“I don’t have anything else. That’s all I have.”
“Nothing else?”
“Well, I have some money in my pocket.”
“How much?”
“Well, 30, 40, 46, $47.”
“Great. What else do you have?”
“That’s it.”
“Where do you live?”
“I live in my house.”
“The house too.”
“You mean I have to live in the garage?”
“You have a garage? That too. What else?”
“You probably want the car too.”
“You have a car?”
“Well, actually - two.”
“Both cars - what else? - wife?”
“Yes, I have a wife and three children.”
“Your wife and children - what else?”
“I have nothing else. I’m left alone now.”

“Oh, you too. Everything becomes mine. Wife, children, house, money, cars, everything. And you too. Now you can use all those things here but don’t forget they’re mine, as you are. When I need any of the things you’re using, you must give them to me because now I’m the owner.”

When we turn our lives over to Jesus, it costs us everything. And when we give to God - we live in the reality of that relationship. While the tithe of the Old Testament is no longer binding in the church age, the underlying principles are still relevant and a tremendous help to us today. Giving with regularity, in proportion, with priority, with trust - deepens our dependence on God and reminds us that He is still sovereign over the provision for our daily lives and over our relationship with Him.