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[0:00] The subject for tonight, the one I feel compelled to preach on, is perhaps the most unpopular subject any preacher could ever preach about.

[0:22] ! What do you suppose it is? Money.! Somebody got it right. What did you say, Wes? Tithing. Tithing. Okay. Well, you're right. Money. Money. Now, I say I'm compelled to preach on it not because, you know, there's some deep bad thing going on here. Not at all.

[0:44] But I, you know, staffed me in the last couple of weeks, some of our conversations about things. I got to thinking, you know, I don't think, in fact, Jonathan reminded me, I've not preached on tithing since I've been here.

[0:56] And it's been over two years. That's too long. You know, a preacher's supposed to do that at least once a year, you know. And then, you know, it takes a few weeks to get back into the good graces of his congregation after he preached on the subject.

[1:11] But, yeah, I guess I'm counting on that happening, getting back into the good graces. It is a choir, and that's why I chose to do it on Sunday night.

[1:26] My friends are here tonight. No. No. The message needs to be to the core membership of the church. Now, it needs to be to all of God's people.

[1:37] I'm not saying that. But Sunday morning is a time to preach and teach on tithing, certainly as any other time. But I've just selected tonight because I want to speak to you.

[1:49] And so that's our subject, money or tithing. And, again, you know, as I kind of introduced that, it is, I'm afraid to say, a very unpopular subject.

[2:05] It probably ranks up there, maybe even beats out some pretty heavyweight subjects like sin and hell. Well, you know, most folks don't like preachers to preach too much on those subjects.

[2:19] But I think even above those two subjects, money probably leads the list. But the truth is, most Americans, and that includes Americans who are members of the churches, in fact, specifically those who are in churches, but all Americans today are obsessed with money.

[2:43] Is that a true statement? That includes all of us. I mean, there is a degree of obsession when it comes to money.

[2:54] And it's just a simple fact of the matter. And a good many of most Americans, a good many of God's people, even in the church, in the church, for them, money has become a God.

[3:10] It really has. It's become a God. A God that is worshipped. God that is, in a sense, that we don't think of money as a God.

[3:22] We cherish it and worship it and give our hearts to it and our minds and our energy to money.

[3:36] It has become a God. I heard about a man who complained to a friend of his. He said, my wife divorced me for religious reasons. He said, oh, is that right?

[3:46] What do you mean? Well, she loves money and I didn't have any. All right. Don't like that one? I thought I'd lead off with a few little humorous things.

[3:59] That kind of, you know, kind of diffuses the tension. But, you know, that kind of identifies, even if it's not funny, identifies a big part of the problem.

[4:10] We don't think we have enough money. And we're always desiring more of it. And we're going to get to tithing eventually because this is where all this must lead.

[4:20] But let's kind of consider this broader subject right now, and that is money and our, to some degree or another, our sinful love of it.

[4:37] Money. We don't ever think we have enough of it. One businessman said, he said, I lost my money in the bear market and lost it in the bull market.

[4:48] And now I don't have enough of it for the flea market. Do you like that one? Thank you, Amy. Here's another one.

[5:00] Three boys were bragging to one another about their fathers. And the first boy said, my dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a poem and gets $50 for it.

[5:11] The other boy said, well, that's nothing. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper and calls it a song and gets $100 for it. And the third boy said, I've got you both beat. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to gather up all the money for it.

[5:31] I don't know if there will be any more after that one. But, you know, in all fairness, there are quite a number of preachers who are obsessed with money.

[5:45] Your money. And we call them prosperity preachers. By the way, Larry, don't forget, I've got your watch up here. I'm obsessed with money and I needed two watches.

[5:57] It's up here in the front pew. We call them prosperity preachers. I just saw you, Larry. I'm sorry. I meant... In fact, Barbara had the audacity to say, let me see your watch.

[6:09] Because she was the one that gave it to me. She thought I had yours on. You know, I'm not one of those preachers obsessed with money. Okay? I don't need two watches. But there are those who are obsessed with it.

[6:21] And they're kind of prosperity preachers. And they preach a message, something like this. Just send in your seed money. You know. And God will bless you with thousands.

[6:35] I hope you haven't bought into that. But it doesn't work that way. You don't just pay your seed money and then God gives you thousands of dollars.

[6:48] You know. They say, send in a hundred dollars and God will give you a thousand dollars. And I've got a better idea. You call up the prosperity preacher and say, you give me a hundred dollars and we'll let God give you the thousand dollars.

[7:01] You know. Maybe. Would they buy into that? Well, probably not. I heard about a preacher who came up with a novel way to pay off his building's debt.

[7:12] His church's building debt. And one Sunday morning before he preached, he announced to his congregation, he said, I have a two minute sermon that is worth five thousand dollars.

[7:25] I have a 20 minute sermon that is worth five hundred dollars. And I have a two hour sermon worth five dollars. In a moment we're going to pass the offering plate and you give according to what sermon you want.

[7:37] I wonder how quick we could pay off our building debt if we did something like that. Now, the joking aside. The subject is important.

[7:50] The subject of money. You've heard it said that the Bible teaches far more on the subject of money than it does even on the subject of sin.

[8:01] Can you believe it? Money is important. It's an important subject to God. And God has given a whole lot of instruction concerning money. And he has also taught us a good deal about the giving of that money to his work.

[8:18] Or what the Bible calls tithing. And so let's talk about that. Money. Not your money. But God's money.

[8:30] God's money. God's money that has been entrusted to you. Entrusted to us. Now, the most famous passage, of course, and you don't need to turn to it yet.

[8:40] We're going to look at a number of verses in the Bible. So you better get your thumbs ready. But don't need to turn to this one yet. We'll look at this one a little bit later. But Malachi 3.10.

[8:51] The most famous passage in the Bible concerning tithing. The giving of our money. It is a very specific verse of Scripture. And the Bible says, bring the whole tithe.

[9:03] You probably have it memorized. You've been a Baptist very long. You have it memorized. Because you've heard it preached on a number of times. But the Bible says very clearly, bring in the whole tithe into the storehouse.

[9:16] So that there may be food in my house. And test me or prove 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 a blessing until it overflows.

[9:31] That's the New American Standard version of that in case it sounds a little unfamiliar to you. It brings out that incredible truth. Now, this is a command, isn't it?

[9:42] They're clearly a command. And so, the lesson, my lesson to you tonight, to God's people, the core kind of membership of our church, a lesson on tithing.

[9:57] Or what I want to call wholehearted tithing. Wholehearted tithing. Now, I'm very deliberate about that title because I want to take the word whole.

[10:10] Whole. W-H-O-L-E. Not H-O-L-E. W-H-O-L-E. The word whole and treat it as an acrostic.

[10:24] And then have each, of course, as an acrostic goes, each letter stands for a word. And we put it all together, we're going to, I think, discover some important truths from God's word concerning tithing.

[10:39] Tithing. The letter W. The letter W stands for worship. These are going to be very logical, really.

[10:50] I bet you guessed them. W stands for worship. That is, tithing is an act of worship. Way back in Genesis.

[11:01] Genesis chapter 28 and verse 20. Even before the law was given. In Genesis chapter 28 and verse 20.

[11:14] The Bible says, The Bible says, shall be God's house.

[11:48] The imagery is an altar. God's house. Signifying the presence of God. A very special place of worship. He says, This stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house.

[12:04] And of all that you give me. Speaking to God. I will surely give a tenth to you. A tenth. Here's Jacob.

[12:16] Even before the commandment was given. Even before we have Malachi 3.10. And really passages prior to Malachi 3.10 that speak specifically about the tithe.

[12:28] Here's Jacob. Promising. Vowing. As he has built an altar. And he's called it the house of the Lord. He's going to bring a tenth of everything God has given him.

[12:42] It's a form of his worship. And we need to understand that about tithing. Tithing and giving of offerings that may be over and above the tithe.

[12:53] What we bring and give to the Lord is a part of our worship. See, that change gives it a different dynamic, does it not? Or should. When it comes to tithing.

[13:06] We don't just simply do it because we've got to. Or because, you know, it's just the thing to do. We don't just tithe and then we have worship. Tithing is our worship.

[13:19] And I guess it goes without saying. Really, I guess it can't go without saying. It ought to be said. That really everything we do is a part of our worship. Of the Lord. But tithing is worship.

[13:31] Jacob is worshiping the Lord. And he's doing so with a tenth of everything God has given to him. So W stands for worship.

[13:43] Tithing is an act of worship. Second, the letter H. We won't go quite as fast on all these, okay? So don't get too excited. All right.

[13:57] H is for holiness. H is for holiness. Tithing is an act of holiness. Leviticus chapter 27.

[14:14] Leviticus 27 and verse 30. The Bible says, And all the tithe of the land, whether of seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's.

[14:29] It is holy to the Lord. That's Leviticus chapter 27 and verse 30 to 32.

[14:42] In fact, I could go ahead and read 32. And concerning the tithe of the herd of the flock, or whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.

[14:54] Holy. Set apart. Consecrated. Dedicated. We could use a number of other words there to describe the meaning or to enhance the meaning of this.

[15:11] Holy. The tithe or tithing is an act of holiness. Holiness. It means that it's sacred unto the Lord.

[15:22] It belongs to him. Now everything belongs to him. That's true. But that tenth of everything God has given you is so much his that as Malachi tells us, it's stealing from him when we don't give it.

[15:43] The tithe. And by the way, the word tithe, what does it mean? A tenth. See, we don't have to have commentary on that.

[15:54] We don't have to wonder, well, just how much does he want? It's very clear. We don't have to wonder how much is holy unto him, belongs to him, and must be given to him.

[16:07] We don't have to wonder how much that is. It's a tenth. Everybody can do the math. Okay. All right. So H is for holiness. Tithing is an act of holiness.

[16:18] Third, the letter O. Guess what O stands for? Can you guess? Obedience.

[16:30] Obedience. Obedience. And we need to spend a little more time on this one. Obedience, or rather tithing, is clearly an act of obedience.

[16:45] It's more than that, but it is that. There's no denying that. And here's where we get to that famous passage, Malachi 3. You ought to turn to it, if you have your Bibles open.

[16:56] Because I want to read more than just the part that's familiar. Starting with verse 8. In Malachi chapter 3 and verse 8. The question is asked, Will a man rob God?

[17:15] Will a man rob God? And the implied answer is, Well, of course not. Of course not. Yet. You have robbed me.

[17:29] Here's the next objection. But you say, In what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings. Tithes and offerings.

[17:40] There's a distinction. We don't have time to go into that. But tithes means a tenth. Offerings means something more than that. Or something other than that. Tithes and offerings. You've robbed me.

[17:51] And it says, You're cursed with a curse. For you have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes. And here's the famous part of it. Bring all the tithes.

[18:02] Or really this is, would be better translated, just a literal translation, would be whole tithe. Bring the whole tithe.

[18:14] That is not part of it, but all of it. And bring it where? Into the storehouse. What is the storehouse?

[18:28] It's the church. It's the church. God's house. The storehouse. Your pastor believes in storehouse tithing.

[18:44] It means we don't have any say-so or option on to whom or to what we give the tithe.

[18:59] The tithe is a no-strings-attached giving. Point of obedience. Clear obedience. We give a tenth of all that God has given to us and we give that to the storehouse for it to be used for the storehouse.

[19:18] We don't give our tithe. Now listen, dear people. This might be a source of contention with some. But don't give it to focus on the family.

[19:33] Anything wrong with focus on the family? No. Tremendous ministry. And you can give to focus on the family as God leads you, but don't give your tithe to focus on the family.

[19:45] The tithe is to be brought into the storehouse. When there is a need, maybe some catastrophe has taken place.

[19:59] A disaster. God is compelling you to have a giving spirit to give, to help. That's wonderful.

[20:12] But God is never going to command you to give your tithe to anything other than the storehouse. God has a reason for that. So, bring it into the storehouse, He says, that there may be food in My house.

[20:31] And try Me. Prove Me. Says the Lord. Prove Me in this. In what? 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.

[20:47] As the old adage goes, you cannot out-give God. Is He going to give you money in return for money? Maybe, but maybe not. This isn't a promise, you know, and you give a hundred and He's going to give you a thousand like the prosperity religion people preach or something to that effect.

[21:08] God's going to bless you. Is it a blessing that will come in this life? Probably so. Not necessarily so. But you can never out-give God.

[21:20] And God says, prove Me in this. Prove Me. Put Me, in a sense, put Me to the test on this. I think many of you have.

[21:32] And you have discovered how faithful God is. Obedience. Malachi 3.10. It's a clear command.

[21:44] Bring all the tithe, the whole tithe, into the storehouse. It's a command. And possibly, the one and only command you'll find in the Bible that you and I are able to perfectly obey.

[21:57] I heard somebody say that years ago and I thought, what? I never thought of it that way. You know, we have a lot of commands in the Word of God. A lot of them and we're to obey them. But not any of them can we obey perfectly because we're not perfect.

[22:10] And we all just, you know, can't quite measure up to perfect obedience to God's laws. But this one, we can. We can give a tenth of what God gives us.

[22:25] I don't mean that it's easy. I don't mean that, you know, that it won't be a sacrifice. But there's no question. There's no gray area.

[22:37] It is very clear one-tenth of all that God has given to you, you give to Him to His storehouse and bring it into the storehouse. We can perfectly obey that.

[22:48] And yet, I would have to include here because it's important because there are objections out there to Malachi 3.10. Objections to it, not that it's not inspired or somehow it doesn't belong in the Bible or it's in error or something like that, but the objection is, in fact, there are two of them that I would give to you.

[23:08] The first one, and they ought to be familiar to you, you've probably heard this before, but here's the objection that tithing in the Old Testament is Old Testament and Old Testament command and that it has been abolished in the New Testament.

[23:22] No longer applies here in this New Testament era, this new dispensation, the dispensation of grace, as they say. That's Old Testament.

[23:34] This is New Testament. The New Testament gives no command to tithe. Have you ever heard that? My answer to that is this. Jesus did not abolish the tithe.

[23:49] He did not abolish it. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. He's not talking about tithing here, but I'm talking about what Jesus has said about the law.

[24:04] In Matthew 5, 17, Jesus said, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy all that was said in the Old Testament.

[24:17] I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. You will never, ever read Jesus saying, you have heard it said unto you, bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse, but I say unto you, 5% will do.

[24:35] Or 2%. Or whatever you think you can afford. You'll never hear Him say that. But did Jesus say anything about the tithe?

[24:48] Yes, He did. In Luke chapter 11 and verse 42. And I'm kind of turning to these quickly. You might have to jot them down. But Luke 11, 42.

[25:03] Where Jesus says, but woe to you Pharisees, for you tithe, tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs.

[25:15] That was part of their tithing. It was customary in that day. You tithe and pass by. That is, you neglect justice.

[25:28] And you neglect the love of God. All right, so you're tithing. I think we can assume He's saying, you Pharisees are perfect on that. Tithing.

[25:38] But you've passed over. You've neglected this other thing, justice and love of God. These ought, you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.

[25:52] What does He mean by these you ought to have done? Tithe. It's very clear. Here was a prime opportunity for Jesus, if this were the case, for Jesus to give a new commandment, to define giving in the New Testament era.

[26:14] But He didn't do that. He upheld tithing. He said, that's fine, that's what you should be doing. But also these other things was His point.

[26:25] And so by implication, clearly, Jesus is upholding the tithe. There's a second objection that I would have you consider.

[26:37] And it's similar to the first one, but a little different kind of meaning to it. And it's this, that Paul, this is how the objection goes, Paul teaches that the Old Testament tithe has been replaced with something new.

[26:53] If the tithe, specifically the law of tithing, is still in effect, they would say, why didn't Paul speak of it? My answer is, Paul did not abolish the tithe.

[27:09] You're not going to find anywhere where Paul's abolishing the tithe, as commanded in the Old Testament. Rather, you find that He upheld it and went beyond it.

[27:24] Because we do live under a new covenant. There's something different. There is now a freedom we have that we did not have before.

[27:34] to not only tithe, that is, to obey the letter of the law, but to willingly and joyfully go beyond that to the Spirit of the law in this age of grace.

[27:51] 1 Corinthians 16.2 On the first day, this is Paul speaking here, you know, he wrote 1 Corinthians. And he says, on the first day of the week, here's some instructions he's giving to them.

[28:03] On the first day of the week, that would be Sunday, when they would gather for worship, let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper. That is, take an offering.

[28:16] Now, he didn't abolish the tithe, but neither did he restate the law of the tithe either. Now, some will say, now, see, right there. He didn't restate the command to tithe, so it must be old and now something new has replaced it.

[28:34] No, no, I don't think we need to read into that in that way. Tithe is still in effect, but he's going beyond that. And so the question is, why didn't Paul restate the tithe as commanded in the Old Testament?

[28:52] And I'll give you three reasons. In the first place, the new covenant in Christ is all about willingness over constraint.

[29:02] Remember that. The New Testament covenant is all about willingness over constraint.

[29:16] The Old Testament is about constraint. Being compelled. But the New Testament, because of the life of Christ in us, it's all about willingness.

[29:29] We're not bound by the law. We're free, absolutely, but we're not free to disobey the law. So, the law is still in effect. We're not free to disobey it because now we are in this age of grace and freedom in Christ.

[29:46] I mean, if we're free now to disobey the tithe law, then we must be free to disobey the adultery law. and some of the other laws in the Bible. No, no, no.

[29:57] We're not free to disobey the law. We are now free in a way that's exciting. We are now free to obey the law with a joyful and willing heart to go beyond what God has said in His Word.

[30:16] The law. 2 Corinthians 8. 8, and this is an occasion when Paul is dealing with a special offering that is being collected for the church of Jerusalem.

[30:27] And several are giving and he's encouraging the Corinthians to give. And he makes note of the Macedonian church and even in their poverty how they gave. And so this is about giving.

[30:39] And in 2 Corinthians 8.8 he says, and I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.

[30:53] Now maybe you're missing this. He's saying we're going way beyond here just what you are compelled to do by way of command.

[31:06] I'm not doing that. but I am encouraging you to give way above as a proof of your earnestness and that your love is genuine.

[31:23] 2 Corinthians 9.7 Each one must give as he has made up his mind. As he has become resolute in his commitment.

[31:34] Not reluctantly. Not under compulsion. That is just simply the letter of the law. You're compelled to do it. But really beyond that is what he's saying.

[31:47] For he says for God loves a cheerful giver. See that is sometimes among other things the pocketbook is a test of love.

[32:01] So the question is why didn't Paul restate the command to tithe? Three reasons. First, the covenant in Christ is all about willingness over constraint. And second, the new covenant in Christ is all about liberty over limitation.

[32:17] Liberty over limitation. That is I think you could think of it in these terms. The law says a tenth. And that in and of itself is a limitation.

[32:31] Not that the Bible is commanding us to somehow not give more than that. But if we just go by the letter of the law, then there's an implied limitation.

[32:43] One-tenth. But in the new covenant, we're not limited. There's liberty to obey the law and go way beyond that. And to be cheerful, hilarious givers is what Paul is telling us.

[33:00] And I mentioned the Macedonian church a while ago. Macedonian church is a prime example in 2 Corinthians 9-6.

[33:10] Excuse me. 2 Corinthians 8-3. Let me turn to that. 2 Corinthians 8-3.

[33:22] In fact, verse 2, starting with verse 2, that in great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, the church of Macedonia, and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.

[33:36] For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, that as they gave according to their ability, absolutely, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing.

[33:53] And so here's again, it is the point that we need to understand about Paul. He did not abolish the tithe. There's no passage in here that tells us that he abolished it or said that now that's over, now we have something new, unless of course you want to call it new in a sense that we now have a freedom to do beyond just the letter of the law.

[34:20] It's about liberty, not limitation. not limitation. Willingness over constraint, liberty over limitation, and then there's a third.

[34:33] The new covenant in Christ is all about getting to give over getting to have. This is new in the New Testament.

[34:48] it's about getting to give over getting to have. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 28.

[35:00] Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, let him work, working with his hands what is good and for what reason? Paul says that he may have something to give him who has need.

[35:16] that's New Testament. That's the law, yes, never been abolished, to tithe a tenth of everything God graciously gives you.

[35:34] But beyond that, to give willingly, willingly, not by constraint, liberally, no limitation, and get to give over get to have.

[35:56] Now, before we move on to the letter L, let me say something, or ask you something, really. What tenth of your income should you give?

[36:09] the tenth that you have left over after you pay everybody else, or the first tenth?

[36:23] Think about that. You say, well, preacher, hard enough as it is now. Well, there's no denying the teaching of Scripture.

[36:36] Proverbs 3.9, Proverbs 3.9, the Bible says, Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase.

[36:59] Honor, in this case, is tangible honor. The word honor, this word, is also used to describe giving and offerings, sacrifices.

[37:17] And so, honor the Lord with your possessions. No one would disagree with that. And, he says, with the first fruits. First fruits of all your increase.

[37:33] Wholehearted tithing, worship, holiness, obedience. The fourth letter is L. And I wonder what that stands for. Love.

[37:47] Love. John 6, or rather, John 14, in verse 21.

[37:57] He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and manifest myself to him.

[38:15] He who loves me keeps my commandments. God love him. You know, I think it's a healthy thing as a believer to take inventory, to subject ourselves to an examination, a self examination.

[38:36] It's a very healthy thing to do that periodically. We don't do it enough. And so examine yourself and answer this question, what is it that you love more than God?

[38:53] Do you dare ask yourself that question? What is it you love more than God? You see, if we're not obeying God in tithing, I wish I could take the pain out of this and soften this, but I can't.

[39:21] Because this is not my word. It's God's word. And if we're not obeying God in tithing, it's not an issue of obedience first and foremost.

[39:36] The issue is love. The problem is love. Now, preacher, you don't understand.

[39:50] My little tithe won't make any difference. Well, maybe your tithe should be bigger. I don't know. No.

[40:02] The tithe is what it is. Okay. But someone would say, you know, that little bit of money that I have that I'm able to give and I'm faithfully giving, you know, and maybe I just can't do that.

[40:17] That little bit of money is not going to make any difference. Really. And, really, the church doesn't need my money.

[40:32] We're doing okay. Well, that's silly, isn't it? the amount of money is not the issue.

[40:47] Is it? Well, there is an amount and God is pretty specific about that. But it's the tithe. But when it comes to tithing, whether your tithe is big or small is not the issue.

[41:03] It doesn't make any difference. As long as you're obeying God. tithe. And, also, I would say to you that the needs of the church is not the issue.

[41:15] Don't be compelled to be obedient in tithing because, well, you know, church needs it. We've got to support the budget.

[41:27] Well, yeah, we do. But, don't tithe because of that. If you do, you're going to struggle all the time. It's not the needs of the church.

[41:43] That's not the issue. God has all the money in the world. It really does. In fact, in Proverbs or Psalm 15, verse 12, He said, the world is mine, the earth is mine, and the fullness thereof, that is, everything in it is mine.

[41:57] That's not the issue. The issue is God's honor. And that should matter to us as believers. It's His honor, His glory.

[42:08] That's the issue. And our loving desire to uphold that honor, to honor Him always, that's the issue.

[42:23] Loving Him. We're to do it out of love. And what a difference it makes, whether it's tithing or whatever it is that God has commanded us to do. What a difference it makes.

[42:35] For us to do it because we're compelled to or do it because we love Him. And you know that makes a difference. I saw bumper stickers some years back.

[42:45] It said, Tithe if you love Jesus. Anybody can honk. I like that. I'd like to see if I can find that on the internet somewhere. Get that.

[42:58] So, worship, holiness, obedience, love, and there's one more letter, and that is the letter E and that stands for evangelism. Evangelism.

[43:10] Tithing is an act of evangelism. It really is. 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 12.

[43:21] And if really, look at this close, but really it's pretty clear. verse 12 says, For the administration of this service, that's giving, giving is what he's talking about, the administration of this service, not only supplies the needs of the saints, and we know that, don't we, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while through the proof of the ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

[44:18] You say, where's evangelism in that? It's all through it. And it's capped off with this last statement, his indescribable gift.

[44:29] What is that? What is the indescribable gift? Salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus is that gift. Gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.

[44:46] His indescribable gift. And so here we have two things side by side. They're giving, and God's indescribable gift. And the two come together.

[44:59] And so in effect our giving not only supplies the saints, provides for the church, is a kind of catalyst and source of thanksgiving, but it is a proof of and exhibition of the good news of Jesus Christ.

[45:22] That somehow it is viewed by those outside the church as something odd, something different, something that validates what the believer is proclaiming.

[45:36] Whether they agree with it or not, or believe it or not, it is a part of our testimony. Again, like we've been studying in Philippians, our testimony of the great worth of the gospel of Christ.

[45:48] You see, when you and I faithfully give the whole tithe, and we faithfully give that way, we're saying that God is so important to us, that the Lord is so important, is that we are willing to give Him all, including our billfolds.

[46:12] And the world sees that. And I'll tell you something else they also will see. God's blessing. God's blessings upon us.

[46:24] It is a part of our testimony, our witness of the saving name of Christ. Our tithing is. Our giving is. God's blessing.

[46:35] God's blessing. God's blessing. God's blessing. God's blessing. God's blessing. We want the world to see whether they ever trust our Jesus.

[46:49] We want the world to see that our lives have been transformed by Him. And what they see is the things we do are the things we do.

[47:05]  And tithing is one. Whole hearted tithing.