1/23/11am (Bible Baptist Church, Port Orchard, WA) Dr.

Al Hughes

The Sermon on the Amount

Genesis 14:18-20
There are many great sermons recorded in the Bible.
The sermon of Joshua to the elders of Israel in Joshua 24.
Peters sermon on the Day of Pentecost and 3,000 people geGng saved (Acts
2).
Paul preached an eloquent sermon on Mars Hills to the philosophers of Athens
(Acts 17).
Stephens sermon before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 cost him his life.
Probably the most famous sermon in the Bible as Christs Sermon On The
Mount (Mt. 5-7). Id like to take that Wtle and do a play on words and preach a
stewardship sermon Wtled The Sermon On The Amount.
How do you determine the amount you should give? How much to do you love
God?
StaWsWcally, on a naWonal average, church members give about the same amount
proporWonately as those who dont go to church. The staWsWcs also reveal that
ChrisWans give in the same mannerThe give incidentally and impulsively.
I need to emphasize again, stewardship is lordship, It is not about fund raising it
is about faith raising (Heb. 11:6).
In our text we see the starWng point in the amount we give unto the Lord The
Wthe (1/10th).
I. Tithing is the PLAN of God.
God never does anything in a haphazard way. He is a God of order. He al-
ways operates according to a plan (for the earth, man, redempWon, etc.)
God has a plan to nance His work on earth. It is not by holding raes,
bazaars, bingo, or spagheG suppers. His plan of provision is through the
Wthes and oerings of His people.
A. Tithing was Gods plan in the Old Testament.
1. Tithing commenced with Abraham (the father of the faithful) who
gave Wthes of all to Melchizedek (a type of Christ). 400 years before
the Law was given at Mt. Sinai.
 2

2. Tithing con:nued with Jacob (Gen. 28:20-22). Before the Law.

3. Tithing was codied under Moses in the Law (Lev. 27:30-32). There
were three Wthes Israel were to give under the Law: (1) The Lords
Wthe; (2) The Levites Wthe to support the priests; (3) A benevolent
Wthe once every three years to support widows and the desWtute
(Dt. 14:22-29). It was a specied amount. They didnt give as the
Spirit lead them to give. They didnt need to pray about it.
4. Tithing was commanded by Malachi (Mal. 3:8-10).
B. Tithing is Gods plan in the New TestamentTithing is just as much a
principle of giving today as it was in the Old Testament.
1. CHRISTS EXAMPLE. Tithing was commended by Jesus (Mt. 23:23).
Jesus Wthed (Mt. 5:17). So should we.
2 REASONABLE Why would you give less under grace than an ortho-
dox Jew was required to give under the Law??? Jesus never lowered
the standards of the Law, but raised the bar to a higher level (Mt.
5:21-22; 27-28; 31-32; 38-44).
3. Indicator of Gods prosperityNo where in the New Testament can
you nd that ChrisWans have been released from the principle of
Wthing. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, Now concerning the
collec/on for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Ga-
la/a, even so do ye. Upon the rst day of the week let every one of
you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him (1 Cor. 16:1-2).
Preacher, I made $500 last week and gave God $10. Is $10 an ac-
curate representaWon of how God has prospered you?
The only way everyone in the church can give equally as God has
prospered us, is to start with the basis of a Wthe. If one person
makes $500 a week and Wthes o that, and another makes $100 a
week and Wthes o that, they have both given equally as God hath
prospered him.

Can I get a witness Tithing is the plan of God.

II. Tithing is the PRIORITY of God.
A. What you do with the Lords Wthe reveals a lot about where God is on
your list of prioriWes (see Malachi 1:8).
 3

1. Instead of giving the Lord the best of their ocks, they were giving
the Lord the worst. Today, when people give out of their lenovers,
they are showing how much God is worth to them.
2. GOD DESERVES OUR BEST (Prov. 3:9Honour the Lord with thy
substance, and with the rst-fruits of all thine increase.).
It happens in the church. For example: People donate an old out-of-
tune piano with several keys missing, a used refrigerator with mold
in the door, or piece of dilapidated furniture they no longer need be-
cause they just purchased a brand new one. Why not give God the
new one and you keep the old one? (ILLUS: Raleigh buying the
church a NEW computer!)

B. When we keep the best for ourselves and give God lenovers, it says our
prioriWes are misplaced and need to be reordered.
Imagine, for example, a panhandler siGng on the side of the street. A
man comes passes by, reaches in his pocket and nds ten coins. He gives
the panhandler nine of the coins and keeps one for himself. As he turns
to walk o, the panhandler comes up behind him and clobbers the man
on the head and takes the tenth coin also. What do you think of a man
who would do that?
God has placed nine coins in our hand. But were not happy with just
the nine coins, so we mug God and take the tenth one also. And we
wonder why we are not being blessed.

I know this sermon is not going to make me man of the year. But Im not run-
ning to be elected. Im preaching the truth whether it is popular or not.
III. Tithing is the PROVING of God (Mal. 3:10).
A. The Wthe represented obedience and faith. God always blesses obedi-
ence and faith.
I dont Wthe because God needs my money. I Wthe because I need to
be obedient and want the blessing of God.
Im not saying if you dont Wthe you are robbing God. On the contrary,
if you dont Wthe youre robbing yourself of Gods blessings! Tithing
regulates Gods blessings in your life.
 4

B. Tithing doesnt mean you will never face a nancial challenge in your
life. But God will always prove Himself faithful.
I car-pooled to Bible college with another student from our church
named Tim Halstead. It was 60 miles round trip. One day when it was
Tims turn to drive, we were about half way to the school and Tim real-
ized he was almost out of gas. There was not enough to make it round
trip. He asked if I had any money, and I didnt. He said he put his last dol-
lar in the church oering Sunday. So, we prayed that God would some-
how get us home aner school. Aner classes were over, we headed to
the parking lot to Tims car. On the door of the car Tim found a $10
billed folded in the door handle. Tim asked me, Did you tell anyone we
didnt have money for gas to get home? I told him no. Well, who put
this money on my car door? I said, I guess God did!

IV. Tithing is the PROTECTION of God (Mal. 3:11).

While I was in Bible College, Barb was pregnant with our daughter Joyce. With our
regular bills and my college tuiWon, we were just scrapping by nancially. My
medical plan did not cover pre-natal care. On my way to college one day I was in a
fender bender that was my fault. It was not real serious. We pulled o to the
side of the road to exchange informaWon. The driver of the other car was kind and
didnt see a need to call the police. He asked me where I was going, and I told him
I was on my way to Bible College. In the course of conversaWon I menWoned that
Barb was pregnant. He asked if we had a gynecologist. I said we didnt. He told me
his wife (Dr. Joy Wong) was a gynecologist, and would do all the pre-natal care
free of charge. He also took care of the repairs to his car. Ive onen reected on
that incident. What appeared to be bad at rst, turned out to be a blessing and
God rebuked the devourer.
SUMMATION: Barb and I have been Wthing ever since we rst heard a sermon
about it in 1968. There were some dicult Wmes, but God always provided. Ive
never regreted giving the Wthe one Wme in my life.
You ask why you should Wthe? Simply because it is the right thing for you to do if
you love God. How could you give less than 10% and honestly sing, O How I Love
Jesus!