First Dibs | Generous Week 1 | Pastor Andrew Cromwell

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NIV: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Does God have the right to call “dibs” on your money?

Starting Point

Matthew 22:37-38 NLT: Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.

If I say, “Jesus, You are first in my life” but we put Him last in our budget then we are lying to ourselves about His place in our life.

Tithing

The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your finances.

Tithing is the practical, consistent, and tangible way that we put God first in our lives, and clearly establish our priorities and who we are serving.

Definition: Tithing is the spiritual practice of giving back to God the first 10% of all that we earn.

Malachi 3:10 NLT: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great that you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!”

When I Tithe…

1. I put my heart in its .

Matthew 6:21 NIV: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…

2. I look like my .

John 3:16 NIV: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son

3. I am declaring that God is in and opening a door of .

Matthew 22:37-38 NLT: Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.

4. I am planting seed and seed cannot be .

2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Is Tithing for Today?

Romans 6:14 NIV: …you are not under the law, but under grace

Saving grace enables you to receive the Work of the Cross and applies it to your sin.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.

Enabling grace enables you to do more than you can on your own.

“Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.” —Dallas Willard in The Great Ommission

Ephesians 4:15 NLT: we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

Tithing Position Paper by Dave Patterson