February 7, 2017

"As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything." II Chronicles 31:5

"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." Malachi 3:10

Hopefully, I have established the Scriptural basis for the priority of the tithe. Here's a quick recap:

1. The tithe belongs to the Lord

2. The tithe is the FIRST tenth of your income

3. The tithe redeems the rest - the 10% blesses the remaining 90%

4. The tithe is either brought to the Lord or it is lost

5. The tithe develops faith since it is presented first

This morning I want to call your attention to something that may surprise you and I give you these two verses for examples. As you read and study the topic of tithing throughout the Scriptures you will notice the absence of one prominent word. What word is that? The missing word is "give"!

There is a sound reason for the neglect of this word. You "bring" the tithe you don't "give" the tithe. 

Let me illustrate with this scenario. Suppose you are going to be out of town for a couple of weeks and my car is in the shop for some repairs. I come to you and ask if you would be so kind as to loan me your car while you are out of town.

You graciously agree to loan me your car if I agree to take you to the airport and then come to pick you up on your return. We seal the deal with a handshake and I get you the the airport, use your car with great care and look toward the day I will come to get you at the airport.

The days arrives that you return and I am there awaiting you at the arrival lane. We load you up and head toward home. All the way home I enjoy hearing about your trip. When we get back home I turn to you and offer you the keys saying, "Take these! Barbara and I have been praying and I both feel strongly that God wants us to give you this this vehicle. Please receive it with our blessing! We won't take no for an answer!"

You stare at me in unbelief for several seconds before asserting, "But, Brad, it's my car!"

"Exactly!" I respond, "And we both want you be blessed with it!" And as I thrust the keys toward you I reiterate, "Please, take these and enjoy!"

By this time you are ready to humor me and as you take the keys you mutter, "You can't give me this car it's already mine!"

And you are right! I can't give you what already belongs to you! I can bring it but I can't give it!

As ridiculous as this scene may be it is repeated countless times as Christians try to "give" God what already belongs to Him. They can "bring" it to Him but they can't actually "give" it to Him.

You may be thinking, "Come on, Brad! You're being picky! That's just a matter of semantics!"

Maybe, but maybe not. If you bring your tithe thinking that it belongs to you and you're "giving it" that matters!

Think about it!

Do you "give" or do you "bring"?

February 6, 2017

^“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”  Revelation 12:10

I found this today in one of the regular pastoral leadership emails I receive. In my experience one of the things that prevent us from receiving the love of God is when we believe the lies of the evil one. Here, Steve Furtick wisely reminds us not to buy into the half-truths of the Accuser but believe the truth of God’s Word.

As you navigate the story that is unfolding in your life, you’ll be quick to find that discouragement is everywhere. It seems that the harder you run after God, the harder the devil is going to try to prevent you from getting where you’re going. And all he really has to do to trip us up is drop one little hint of discouragement in our ears.

You’re unworthy.

You’re a terrible father. (mother, spouse, Christian, etc.)

You’ll never be any better than this.

He’s said it to me and I know that he’s said it to you. The worst part is, the devil doesn’t necessarily speak in complete lies. He gives us half-truths with just enough reality to hit us between the eyes. But here’s an easy way that you can overcome those conniving schemes:

Finish the devil’s sermons.

It’s simple. The devil is only giving you half of the truth—give him the other half. Yes, I am unworthy. I am absolutely nothing without Christ. But thankfully, He died so that I may become a new creation, void of you and full of the purpose that He has for my life.

No, I may not be a perfect father, but I am loved unconditionally by a perfect father who breathed the stars yet knows the number of hairs on my head. And He’s making me more like Him every day.

You’re right. On my own accord, I can’t do any better than this. But I am not doing this by myself—I serve the LORD, who is able to do immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine.

You don’t have to be Charles Spurgeon to preach the devil out of your life. The name of Jesus alone is enough to send your enemy running for the hills.

The devil will always try to show you the downside of your story. Make him pay. Show him who Jesus says you are.

 

 

 

February 5, 2017

“In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons." Exodus 13:14-15

Learning to give God the first of all your increase is a practice that will bless your life in every conceivable way!

Giving the tithe of your first increase will redeem the remaining amount!

But perhaps the greatest benefit of tithing is mentioned in the verses above and that is the positive influence your faithful tithing will have on your children.

In this closing section of God's giving instructions to His people through Moses, He assures them there will come a time when their children will ask them why they sacrifice the firstborn from their flocks. Imagine it happening like this:

A son says to his dad, "Dad, I have to ask you. Why is it that you slaughter our firstborn from our flocks? You do know we are in the ranching business, right? And this habit of yours is costing us money every time you offer one of them as a sacrifice. You do know that, right Dad?"

At that moment, the father is to say, "Son, please have a seat. There is something I have never told you and now is the time. You see, Son, there was a time when we were slaves in Egypt and we had nothing. In fact, we had less than nothing because we worked dawn to dusk in the blistering heat without pay under the cruel hand of the Egyptian taskmasters.  

And then, after we had cried out to God He sent His servant Moses to deliver us from Pharaoh. By His mighty hand He killed all the firstborn in Egypt and Pharaoh sent us away and Moses led us into a good place. By His blessing we enjoy all that we have today!

So, you see Son, I gladly give of our firstborn to honor a God like that!

Likewise, as you are faithful in giving God the first tenth of your increase, there will come a time when your son will see you writing a check and ask you, "Dad, why do you give such a large amount of money to the church? Couldn't we use that money for other things?"

At that moment you can set your son down and say, "Son, there is something I have never told you. You see, your dad hasn't always been a Christian. There was a time when I was lost and hopeless and in bondage. But God with a mighty hand saved me and set me free! He led me to a good place in life! He has blessed me and filled me with joy and purpose and given me a glorious hope! So, you see, Son, I gladly bring God the tithe He desires!"

Imagine what a profound impact that will have on your son! And imagine the horizons of blessings that will begin to open up in his life as he discovers the joy of bringing God's tithe to Him!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

February 4, 2017

"Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast." Genesis 4:2-5

Has it ever bothered you that God accepted Abel's sacrifice but rejected Cain's offering?

Does it seem unfair?

If it seems unfair to you it's because the story is unclear to you.

Cain was Adam and Eve's firstborn son and Abel was his little brother.

Because of the rebellious sin of their father and mother it became necessary for these sons to struggle to make a living off the land.

Cain became a tiller of the ground while Abel raised livestock. So, Cain was a farmer while Abel was a rancher.

When the season came for birthing Abel took his first born male animal and offered it as a sacrifice to God. God received Abel's sacrifice!

As Cain's crops ripened, he harvested the grain and brought an offering to the Lord. But God did not receive Cain's offering and Cain brooded over Gods rejection and rebuke. The more he sulked the angrier he became until he became enraged and murdered his little brother.

Understanding why God received Abel's offering but rejected Cain's offering is to understand the significance of the tithe.

A key word in this story is "firstborn". Abel brought the firstborn from his flock. He understood that the firstborn belonged to the Lord and he worshiped God by sacrificing the firstborn from his flock.

Because Abel offered the Lord an acceptable sacrifice God had no choice but to accept his offering.

When it comes to Cain, the key phrase is "in the course of time" and also, "some of the fruits of his soil".

While Abel brought the firstborn of his flocks as soon as it was born, Cain waited and brought an offering from the end of his harvest. Essentially, Cain gave God his leftovers.

God, because of His nature, was unable to receive Cain's leftovers. He deserves and demands our first and our best. That was not what Cain brought.

From this very first recorded instance of the tithe, we learn all that we need to know about the tithe. We are to bring God our first and our best because it belongs to Him in the first place, but also until we are willing to offer God our best He isn't really your God. And we give God our best because it turns our hearts toward Him. As Jesus said, "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

When it comes to giving are you a Cain or an Abel?

Do you give to God when it is convenient or when you can afford it?

Or, like Abel, do you bring your first portion on the first day as an act of worship and gratitude?

Tithing is giving of your firstborn on the first day. Tithing is a recognition that the tithe belongs to God and you gladly offer it to Him.

Save The Best For First

"The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” Exodus 13:1-2

I learned an important lesson from a good friend early in my marriage to Barbara.

He told me that whenever I hear something amazing or amusing that I want to share, the first person I should share it with is Barbara. There is an excitement and energy the first time I share something that just isn't there with the next several times I will tell it. So, I want the best time to be the time I share it with her.

In this series of messages we are learning that the tithe belongs to God and the tithe is the FIRST tenth not the later nor the last tenth.

The first three Commandments make it clear that you are to honor God with your first and your best. He is to be the highest and holiest Person in your life! How can He the highest and holiest if you don't honor Him with your first and your best? If He isn't first He isn't God.

As you honor Him with your treasure your heart will follow. And by treasure I am not referring merely to money but also to your time and your talents as well.

Honoring God with your first fruit is a principle and a practice that builds "champions" out of common folks. It works every time it is tried!

God is to be honored with the first born because it acknowledges that it all belongs to Him anyway AND because it draws your heart toward Him! 

God is to be honored with the first born or the first fruit because it already belongs to him! And it is good to give the tithe to Him to honor Him!

Let me share one other reason why it makes sense to honor God with your tithe. (the first 10% of your income.) 

One significant truth that escapes many is the precious truth that when the tithe is brought to the House of the Lord it redeems the other 90% that isn't brought into God's House!

Giving the first tenth of your income to God on the first day of the week proves you have faith! It takes faith to bring the tithe into God's House before you have seen any blessings from God!

God had faith in you and me when He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for your sins. He sent Jesus to the cross with little or no guarantee of a significant return on His sacrifice! Yes, God had faith in you before you had any faith in Him!

God gave His best first! 

So, when it comes to your relationship with God save the best for first!

February 2, 2017

"The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” Exodus 13:1-2

“After the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, 12 you are to give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem every firstborn among your sons." Exodus 13:11-13

You may find it interesting to know that the first thing God instructed His people on immediately after leading them to freedom from the bondage of Egypt was about the priority of the first things!

This is the "story behind the story" of the tithe. If you can wrap your heart and mind around this is will change how you look at tithing and just about everything else you do.

God wants to establish that everything belongs to Him first. So what better way to do that than to demand the firstborn or the first-fruits be given to Him.

He had dramatically demonstrated that through the Passover when all the firstborn sons were killed by the death angel if there was no blood on the door post. It was the blood of a slain lamb that redeemed the lives of many firstborn among the Hebrews.

By the way, God's final plague of taking all the first born sons of the Egyptians was a judgment for Pharaoh murdering all the first born males of the Hebrew slaves. Because the Pharaoh took what was rightfully God's, God had to take back the firstborn of the Egyptians. God was taking what was rightfully His!

I want you to notice something very significant about God's command. He said the firstborn male from every clean animal was to be sacrificed to the Lord! It was His!

I also want you to notice that when the firstborn was offered as a sacrifice to God it redeemed the rest of the flock. And if you refused to sacrifice the firstborn it's neck was to be broken. Thus, the principle was established that either you sacrifice it or you lose it. The firstborn was God's it didn't belong to you! You would not be allowed to keep it!

One more thing I call to you attention! A clean animal had to be sacrificed to redeem an unclean animal. So, a newborn lamb must be sacrificed to redeem a newborn donkey.

Let me ask you a question.

Were you born clean or unclean?

So, as unclean you would have to be redeemed by someone clean. Correct?

Was Jesus born clean or unclean? 

Right! The virgin birth matters doesn't it?!?

So God sacrificed His firstborn to redeem the unclean (you and me, i.e.)! 

Let's put it this way! God gave His best to redeem us and He gave Him first! So, you could say God tithed Jesus! Jesus was God's tithe given to redeem the rest of God's children.

Does that add some significance to the whole concept of tithing?

Think about it.

Fact Checking The Refugee Ban

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." Ephesian 4:15

It is heart-breaking to see the division and dissension in our nation over the recent Executive action placing a three-month ban on immigration from seven middle-eastern nations.

Even the Church I love and have dedicated my life to has published an official position paper opposing this action by President Trump. As much as I love The Wesleyan Church it doesn't speak for me on this issue. I want to share this article from a fellow Wesleyan pastor, Jim Garlow, that reflects my position and the rationale for that stance. While it is lengthy, it is worth the read.

After seeing a lot of the posts about the refugee ban I felt it was time for a little fact checking and clarity about this issue:

Let’s look at the FACTS:

1. The 90 day ban does not extend to Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, or (inexplicably) Pakistan. These are the largest Islamic population centers in the world. I’m not exactly sure how the connection could be made about Muslims being targeted by Trump but if you read the actual executive order (it’s readily available on CNN or online for you to read) there is no mention of any faith or for that matter any country, other than Syria. More on this later…

2. Obama implemented a SIX MONTH BAN from Iraqi refugees in 2011. No outcry there by the media, of course, because it was Obama doing it and not Trump. By the way, Jimmy Carter banned Iranian refugees during his administration, too... a specifically targeted country by an American President. Again, no media outcry there. People are acting as if this is the first time something so egregious has ever been done in modern American history. I’m sorry, but that just isn’t true.

3. The seven countries being reported by the mainstream media as affected by the ban are: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. Funny thing, though, you can’t find a mention of any of those countries (except Syria) in Trump’s Executive Order. It isn’t there. None of them.

So how did those particular countries get singled out?

Hold on to your hats here. It was done in the Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 and signed into law in December of 2015 as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Act by… President Barack Obama. That’s right. These countries that Trump is being castigated for “singling out” were originally singled out by an act that was signed into law by the Obama Administration. This so called “Muslim ban” was actually implemented by the Obama Administration but nobody said a word (again) because… well… it was the Obama Administration and he is a media darling. The bias of this is staggering.

4. But is it actually a Muslim ban? Nope. In the 2015 Terrorist Travel Prevention Act that Obama signed and nor in Trump’s Executive Order is there one mention of the Muslim faith. Read it for yourself. It isn’t there. It is the liberal media blowing this up into an anti Muslim ban and many are willingly feeding on the frenzy.

5. It’s for 90 days. This is to let the US border security breathe and better vet all people coming into this country. I’m all for immigrants coming to our country… LEGALLY. But if they’ve had ties to terrorist organizations then they shouldn’t be allowed. Where is the common sense among us? Shouldn’t this TEMPORARY ban be in place to make certain we’re all safe? Isn’t it worth vetting these immigrants to keep out radical Islamists who are hell bent on blowing us up and taking over the world? And what about refugees? I agree they should be able to come... again... LEGALLY.

6. The slowing of immigrants to the U.S. has been going on since the 1980’s. When Reagan took office, the number of annual immigrants was at about 210,000. (This is according to the Migration Policy Institute if you’re interested in researching it for yourself). It dropped to about 100,000 during his administration. Under Bush 41 and Clinton it climbed again to 122,000 but declined to 70,000 before Clinton left office in 2000. It dropped dramatically in 2001 (for obvious reasons) to 25,000 and has slowly but steadily climbed since then but has ALWAYS remained low (60,000 or less). It took its greatest jump in the last 2 years of Obama’s administration and (it’s interesting to note) the vast majority were from Muslim controlled countries. Trump's proposal TEMPORARILY caps it at 50,000. That’s hardly a dramatic cut and not nearly what was implemented in previous administrations. With the threats to the United States it seems perfectly acceptable to me.

7. “But the ones who committed terrorist acts in the US weren’t immigrants!” That’s not exactly correct. Many of them (including the shooter in the often ignored massacre in my hometown of Chattanooga) were children of immigrants from these countries. There is also strong evidence that many of them traveled to these countries to receive their indoctrination and training.

8. “But Trump is giving preferential treatment to Christians”. Here is where my view is admittedly biased. According to a January, 2017 report by a Research Firm in Massachusetts, over 900,000 Christians have been martyred worldwide in the last 10 years, many of those in Muslim controlled countries. They are fleeing for their lives and for the right to freely practice their religion, which many cannot do in their home countries for fear of death. Do you hear or read about that in the media? No. All that we hear reported is “All Muslims are peaceful people”. I’m sorry, that’s just not true. Radical Islam is a reality and, contrary to the previous administration’s assertion, is the most dangerous enemy the world is facing today.

And if you’re going to cite the Crusades as evidence of violent Christians, please spare me. That was in the Middle Ages and few of those Christians read nor knew what the Bible actually said. If you’re going to cite others today who supposedly are Christians but commit violence against abortion clinics and other people spare me as well. Here is the difference: When a “Christian” commits violence they are acting in a way that is diametrically opposed to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. When a radical Muslim commits Jihad they are acting in a way that is precisely in line with what is commanded in the Koran and they feel zero remorse for it.

Are there peaceful Muslims? Sure. There are unorthodox believers in every religion. But Radical Islamics have but one mission: to take over the world and convert every person to the Muslim faith or kill the ones who refuse to convert. They feel justified in lying, stealing, cheating, murdering, subjugating women (I’m consistently amazed when a feminist defends Islam), and sending their own children in as suicide bombers. This is what we’re fighting against. Negotiation will not work as they teach lying is perfectly acceptable if it accomplishes its purpose of converting infidels or eradicating them from existence. Toleration is not in their creed.

9. Last of all, It has been astounding to the point of ludicrous to hear some the same people who applauded when our country was declared a secular country now call for us to act more “compassionately Christian.” Which one is it? You can’t have it both ways.

Those who are saying it is the Christian thing to do to allow these refugees into our country and cite Scriptures of “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” and “suffer not the little children to come unto me”, let’s look at those.

First of all, to apply these Scriptures to the refugees is way out of context. “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not” was Jesus reaching out to the children for faith in Him. It would be more applicable to sharing Christ in public forums to children than to these refugees. And neither Scripture is talking about a country inviting refugees into it. It’s talking about Christians inviting them into their homes. I dare say many of the people decrying the plight of these refugees would change their convictions if it meant inviting people into their homes. Secondly, the mandate of Christ is not “allow people not like you into your country”. It is “Go make disciples of all nations.” The mandate of Christ is clearly for Christians to GO into the world and make disciples.

If all these refugees were allowed in… 100% of them…. actually… let’s double that: 200% of them, it still wouldn’t scratch the surface of poverty in the world. America can do so much more by being a safe, strong, prosperous nation and rendering assistance through financial means and missionary work than we can by simply opening our borders to everyone. That is insanity.

This temporary ban will ensure America is safer. It is the right thing to do until our vetting process is in place. Nancy Pelosi said the Statue of Liberty is shedding tears today. I would say she’s not shedding nearly as many as she did on 9/11. Legal immigration is fine as long as there is screening and vetting in place. Illegal immigration is not ok. We are a nation of freedom but we are also a nation of laws and those laws must be obeyed.

I pray that God the Holy Spirit will give my brothers and sisters in my beloved Wesleyan Church grace to disagree agreeably so we can remain focused on the task of reaching our world for Jesus Christ.

I also pray for wisdom for President Trump and his advisers that they can devise an immigration policy that will keep the terrorists out while making it easier for refugees to come to the U.S.A.