I just finished the VCF November series last Sunday! I'm happy I was able to attend and hear the entire lessons from Week 1 to Week 4. I'm proud to say I finished Abraham's School of Finance and now ready to face the next stage. I feel so excited about it!
After my blog/notes on COVENANT last November 11 http://karlenesebastian.blogspot.com/2011/11/abrahams-school-of-finance.html, it's time to blog about STEWARDSHIP, TITHING and GENEROSITY :)
A) STEWARDSHIP
Q : What is steward?
A : A steward is someone who manages other's financial affairs; an asset manager;
Stewardship is more than just managing God's money, it is actually managing God's purpose.
*Don't chase the blessings
Proverbs 21: 20
The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
but fools gulp theirs down.
FORMULA
10% - Tithes
10% - Generosity
20-30% - Savings
50% - Expenditures
*Promise is tied with the stewardship. Start moving in faith, start moving in stewardship.
Hebrews 11:8-9
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
*Tied wealth with a promise
*Learn to be a good steward.
B) TITHING
Genesis 14:17-24
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
20 And praise be to God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
1. What is a tither?
2. Is it biblical?
3. Is it still relevant for us today?
1. A TITHE is a tenth
Genesis 28: 20-22
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
2. TITHE belongs to the LORD.
Leviticus 27:30
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
Malachi 3:8-9
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.
Proverbs 3:9-10
9 HONOR the LORD with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.
3. A TITHE is HOLY to the LORD.
Leviticus 27:30
30 “‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
HOLY - it set apart
*Giving is an act of worship. It is HOLY to God. We give the best to the Lord.
*You give one away, the Lord will bless you more.
*It is an issue of the heart.
Matthew 6:21
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
FAITH or FEAR? What will you choose?
- It is an issue of trust and faith.
-Our God will give you more if you trust Him.
HE is our SOURCE!
Malachi 3:10
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
* If you are in a covenant of blessing with God, the Lord will bless you wherever you go.
* God could bless you anytime, if you're just gonna obey Him.
C) GENEROSITY
What is generosity? (Dictionary meaning)
- the quality of being generous
- a disposition to give liberally or to bestow favors
Genesis 13
Abram and Lot Separate
1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
14 The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring[a] forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the LORD.
1. GENEROSITY springs from an understanding of what is valuable
Genesis 13:8
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives.
*Anything that can hinder your relationship, I'm gonna remove
*The value of the relationship is more important than money
2. GENEROSITY springs from a heart full of faith
Genesis 13:9
9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”
*Abraham remembered his covenant with God.
Genesis 13:10
LOT looked up and saw
LOT took a long look
*Do not be ahead of God, wait on God.
* Don't just look at the greener pasture, look at where God wants you to be.
3. GENEROSITY remembers the source of the blessings.
Genesis 13:14-17
*Raise the standard of GIVING, not just the standard of LIVING.
* We are blessed so that we could be a blessing.
2 Corinthians 9:11
11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
God has given us two hands - one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding, we are channels made for giving. - Billy Graham
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