(inspirational theme music)
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>>Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're delighted that you
could join us again today
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as we continue our
journey through this fascinating
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quarter. We are
looking at the subject of
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"Managing for the
Master Till He Comes."
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What does the Bible have
to say about our finances?
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Sometimes people say, "Oh,
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"the Bible talks a
whole lot about money.
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Why does, why do people always
talk about money in church?"
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Well, we're
finding out this quarter.
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And this week,
lesson number three,
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the subject is
"The Tithing Contract."
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What is tithing all
about? We are about to find out.
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Our guest this week, once again,
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is the author of this
quarter's lesson, Ed Reid.
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He is an ordained minister
and a licensed attorney,
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and we're
delighted to have him back.
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Before we take a look
at this subject, though,
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let's begin with prayer.
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Father, thank You so much
for being with us again today
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as we continue to
learn a little bit more
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about this incredible
subject of our finances
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and how it
intersects with our faith.
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We ask that You'll
bless our time together,
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and we thank You
in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Ed, welcome. We're
glad to have you back again.
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>>Well, it's great to be here.
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And we're looking forward
to this presentation today.
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>>And this is a
fascinating subject.
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It's called "The
Tithing Contract."
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I'm gonna begin by
reading our memory text here.
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It's found in Malachi
chapter 3, verse number 10,
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which says, "'Bring all
the tithes into the storehouse,
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"'that there may
be food in my house,
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"and try me now in
this,' says the Lord of hosts,
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"'if I will not open for
you the windows of heaven
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"'and pour out for
you such [a] blessing
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that there will not be
room enough to receive it.'"
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So we're talking
here, Ed, about tithing.
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Where is tithing first
mentioned in the Bible?
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Where do we come across it?
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How do we even get
this whole idea of tithing?
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>>Well, it's really interesting
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that 400 years before
the tithing legislation
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is given at Mount Sinai,
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that tithing is mentioned
way back in the book of Genesis.
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So the first time is the 14th
chapter of Genesis when Lot,
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you know, remember, he
had separated from Abram,
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and he was living in Sodom.
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Then those four
Elamite kings came
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and ransacked Sodom and Gomorrah
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and took many people hostage,
including Lot and his family,
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and all the stuff
that was valuable.
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So they just
ransacked the two towns
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and took these guys hostages.
When Abraham heard about it,
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he went and rescued him.
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I mentioned the
other day to someone
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that he didn't have to do that,
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'cause Lot chose
to live in the city.
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He could have borne his
own responsibility there
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and his own consequences,
but the interesting part to me
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is that Abraham was a wealthy
man. He had his own army,
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318 trained servants
in his own house for war.
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So he joined with
one of his friends,
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and they went and
rescued the hostages.
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The big deal is,
if you can imagine
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just a big city like Sodom
and a big city like Gomorrah,
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the stuff that was taken away,
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they probably took
van loads of stuff away.
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All the stores, the
"Walmarts" and everything,
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the "CVS," everything's
ransacked out of all these
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stores, and the
people are gone with him.
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So, Abraham went
and rescued the hostages
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and brought all the stuff back,
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and the king of Sodom, the
Bible had said he wasn't taken;
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he was hiding in a slime pit.
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So, he came out all
gooey from his slime pit
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and said to Abraham,
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"We're so thrilled that
you've brought everyone back.
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"Just let us have the people,
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and you can have all the stuff."
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Well, Abraham said to him,
"I told God before I left home,
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"I raised my
hand, I said, listen,
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"'I'm not taking
anything from anybody,
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"not even a shoestring.'
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"So whatever I get
back is going to you
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and to the people of Sodom."
So he told the king of Sodom,
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"I always have this practice
that whenever I do something
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for God, I return a tithe
of anything is offered to me."
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So, he--it just happened,
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I don't think this
is just coincidence,
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but Melchizedek, the priest
of the Most High God, showed up,
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and he had a
thanksgiving service
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and praised God for the
victory that Abraham had gotten
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and the restored hostages and
all the stuff back and so on.
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At any rate, spontaneously,
I want to tell you this,
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that Abram gave a
tithe to Melchizedek.
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Now, that we learned
a lot from these verses
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that we've just read, the
one that Eric's just read,
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"Bring all the tithes"--
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it's the whole
tithe--"to the storehouse."
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Well, in this case, he
gave tithe to Melchizedek.
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We learned this,
several things here.
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It was just spontaneous.
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There's no command to tithe
in this 14th chapter of Genesis.
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He just did it because
he's called the father--
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of what group of people?
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Everybody knows: the
father of the faithful.
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So he gave that as an example.
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Several things we
learned from that,
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that he gave
Melchizedek the tithe,
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and then in addition to that,
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it was given to
God's appointed leader.
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He didn't just say,
"Well, now that I've got this,
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I'll give 10% to a
worthy cause or something."
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This was a special
fund for the ministry.
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Also, he gave a tenth.
Now, how do we know this?
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Bible students like to
parse some of the scriptures,
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and I'll just tell you one
thing. The law first mentioned--
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this is the first time
tithe is mentioned in the Bible.
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Does anybody know
when the last mention is?
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The last mention is way
over in the book of Hebrews,
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the seventh chapter, where
it says, interestingly enough--
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he gave a tithe to
Melchizedek in Genesis--
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when the same story is
repeated over in Hebrews,
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the seventh chapter, it
says he gave a tenth to him.
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So, that's one of the ways
we know that tithing and tenth
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is the same thing.
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It's interesting also
that we understand that...
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Abram didn't take anything
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except what his
soldiers had eaten and so on,
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but he gave the
tenth to Melchizedek.
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He put God first in this.
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And this is
important to understand,
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that that's where it should be,
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in line of our
giving to return the tithe.
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I might just add
here that, in my opinion,
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the tithe is the
basic summation of giving.
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Nowhere in the
Bible does God suggest
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that less than a tenth is his.
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And if you have
God as a partner,
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you're always
gonna be successful.
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He only asks--a lot
of partnerships today,
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when somebody's
a senior partner,
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they want 51% of the business,
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but God says, "I only
want 10%. I'll bless the rest,
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"and you take
care of the rest of it,
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and you'll manage for me."
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>>So we've got this picture
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of where tithe is
introduced to us in the Bible,
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and it kind of leads
us into Sunday's lesson,
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which the title of it
is "Tithe Equals a Tenth."
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But there seems to
be some... (chuckles)
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some doubt about that
in some Christians' minds.
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You and I, Ed, have both
heard people say, you know,
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"I tithe 3%," or, "I tithe
5%," or something like that,
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which is very difficult to
do, because as the lesson says,
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tithe equals a tenth.
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How do we know that
a tithe equals a tenth?
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>>Good question.
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When you look up "tithe"
in a dictionary, frequently,
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they'll say
"origin from the Bible."
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The Bible gives a...
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it talks about being a
tenth part of something or 10%;
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definition likely from
the Bible, they'll say.
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Tithing is simply
returning 10% of our income
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or increase to God as
a token of his ownership.
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God is so awesome
in all these things
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that He doesn't need
the money, of course.
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So He says, "I'll take the tithe
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and use it for the support
of the ministry." And this,
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this is something interesting
that we'll look at as well
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as we go through the
Tuesday and Wednesday section
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this week. But the Bible
says that the tithe is holy
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and belongs to God. In
Leviticus 27, verse 30, it says,
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"All the tithe of
the land...is the Lord's.
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It is holy unto the Lord."
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Well, if you look at just
two verses later, it says,
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when you count your
sheep and your cattle,
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the tenth one belongs to
God. So a tenth is mentioned
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right in the tithing legislation
given at Mount Sinai.
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That's Leviticus 27,
verse 30 and verse 32.
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>>So we've got
several places in the Bible
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that actually give us
pretty clear testimony
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that tithe equals a tenth.
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You mentioned
Hebrews 7, verse two; again,
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already that talks about
Melchizedek, the king of Salem,
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and giving that tenth.
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So there's not a
lot of ambiguity there.
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Why do you think, Ed,
why do you think some people,
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some Christians don't understand
that tithe equals a tenth?
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What is their understanding
of tithe, would you imagine?
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>>Well, frankly,
that's a good question, Eric.
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Frequently people think
anything they do for charity
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is part of their
tithe. They'll say, "Well,
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"we'll help to buy
choir robes for the church,"
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or, "We'll help to
pay the parking lot,"
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or, "We're sending
our kids to church school,
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you know. This is my tithe,"
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but tithe is a wholly separate
fund from anything else,
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any offerings, and so on.
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And it's really
non-discretionary on the part of
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the giver. God didn't
ask us what we should,
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what we think
should be done with it.
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He didn't ask us how
much we thought would be fair.
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He just says 10% is it. So,
that's very simple to figure.
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Anybody that can do
any kind of math at all
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can figure 10% of something.
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>>Okay, so you mention that
some people misdirect the tithe
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or what they
consider to be the tithe.
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What really should
the tithe be used for,
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and where should it be returned?
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>>Well, that's a good question,
00:08:44.59\00:08:45.72
but I wanna just
follow up on one of the things
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I told you earlier.
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When the second mention of tithe
in the Bible is Genesis 28,
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and that's when Jacob
was fleeing from home,
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where his brother Esau had said,
00:08:55.40\00:08:57.20
"My father is old
and will die soon.
00:08:57.20\00:08:58.73
And when he dies, I'm
gonna kill my brother."
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And he was really
serious; he was really mad
00:09:00.24\00:09:01.77
because of this
financial situation.
00:09:01.77\00:09:04.11
So, Jacob fled from home,
and while he was traveling,
00:09:04.11\00:09:07.54
he slept by a big
rock for protection,
00:09:07.54\00:09:10.55
prayed that God
would protect his life
00:09:10.55\00:09:12.15
and bring him back home again.
00:09:12.15\00:09:13.45
And then God actually
appeared to him in a vision,
00:09:13.45\00:09:16.58
where the--this is where the
staircase was earth to heaven,
00:09:16.58\00:09:19.15
and--ladder, some
places called it a ladder,
00:09:19.15\00:09:21.82
but it's very hard for people
to go up and down a ladder
00:09:21.82\00:09:24.09
at the same time,
00:09:24.09\00:09:25.43
so most pictures that you
see of it is like a staircase,
00:09:25.43\00:09:27.93
but God stood above it,
00:09:27.93\00:09:29.30
and He said, "I'm the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
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Well, He didn't say Jacob then;
He did, from then on He did,
00:09:31.37\00:09:33.64
but He said, "I'm the
God of Abraham, your father,
00:09:33.64\00:09:35.37
and Isaac." And at the end
of this time He said to Jacob,
00:09:35.37\00:09:39.34
"I will bless you and bring
you back to this land again,
00:09:39.34\00:09:41.31
and I'll be with you, and I'll
go with you wherever you go."
00:09:41.31\00:09:43.81
So Jacob, when he woke up
the next morning, said, "Look,
00:09:43.81\00:09:45.81
God is in this place,
and I didn't even know it."
00:09:45.81\00:09:47.88
So he called the place
"the house of God," "Beth-El,"
00:09:47.88\00:09:49.95
from there on.
00:09:49.95\00:09:51.32
The interesting thing
about it, at the close of his--
00:09:51.32\00:09:54.29
this is Genesis 28, verse
22--and he said, "This stone,
00:09:54.29\00:09:57.99
"[that I've] set for a
pillar, shall be God's house:
00:09:57.99\00:10:00.16
"and of all that
[You] shall give me
00:10:00.16\00:10:01.70
I will surely give
the tenth unto Thee."
00:10:01.70\00:10:03.60
So, here again, instead
of tithe, he mentioned 10%.
00:10:03.60\00:10:06.40
This is Jacob talking.
00:10:06.40\00:10:07.77
So I think it's important
that we understand that.
00:10:07.77\00:10:10.21
Now, let me answer your question
00:10:10.21\00:10:11.34
about where should the tithe,
00:10:11.34\00:10:12.87
what should the
tithe be used for.
00:10:12.87\00:10:14.98
Well, this is interesting, Eric,
00:10:14.98\00:10:16.44
because I've
told people many times
00:10:16.44\00:10:17.98
that if the
tithe belongs to God,
00:10:17.98\00:10:20.52
as it says in the
tithing legislation
00:10:20.52\00:10:22.22
in Leviticus 27, verse 30--
00:10:22.22\00:10:24.39
the tithe is the Lord's
and holy unto the Lord--
00:10:24.39\00:10:26.76
what could God
do with this tithe?
00:10:26.76\00:10:28.69
Well, the bottom
line is very simple.
00:10:28.69\00:10:29.99
He can do whatever
He wanted to with it.
00:10:29.99\00:10:31.36
He could take it back
to heaven if He wanted to.
00:10:31.36\00:10:33.19
He doesn't need
the money, of course.
00:10:33.19\00:10:34.83
Or He could burn
it up as a sacrifice,
00:10:34.83\00:10:36.30
like He did the
sheep and the lambs
00:10:36.30\00:10:37.83
and the sacrifices in the
system. But instead He said,
00:10:37.83\00:10:40.47
"I'll reserve the tithe
to pay for the pastors."
00:10:40.47\00:10:42.84
That's incredible. We
have an awesome system
00:10:42.84\00:10:45.31
in the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:10:45.31\00:10:46.81
that we've tried to
follow the Bible principles,
00:10:46.81\00:10:48.11
and we set it
aside for that purpose.
00:10:48.11\00:10:50.81
Another thing is the
tithe is not discretionary
00:10:50.81\00:10:53.78
on the part of the
people that return the tithe,
00:10:53.78\00:10:56.02
'cause God says it should
be returned to the storehouse.
00:10:56.02\00:10:58.32
So it begs the question,
"Where is the storehouse?"
00:10:58.32\00:11:00.89
Well, ancient Israel
knew where the storehouse was.
00:11:00.89\00:11:03.39
It's very simple to them.
00:11:03.39\00:11:04.89
They'd been told
way back in Mount Sinai
00:11:04.89\00:11:06.63
that when they went
to the Promised Land,
00:11:06.63\00:11:08.16
that three times a year
they were to come together
00:11:08.16\00:11:12.53
for fellowship and worship.
00:11:12.53\00:11:14.54
And that was the
Passover and Pentecost
00:11:14.54\00:11:17.34
and Feast of Tabernacles.
00:11:17.34\00:11:18.61
It mentions that in
Exodus, of course, and also
00:11:18.61\00:11:20.51
in Deuteronomy when Moses
reviews all this material.
00:11:20.51\00:11:24.15
But the
interesting part about it is
00:11:24.15\00:11:25.71
they were to bring
their tithes and offerings
00:11:25.71\00:11:28.05
three times a
year to the tabernacle,
00:11:28.05\00:11:31.12
first at Shiloh and
then later at Jerusalem.
00:11:31.12\00:11:33.62
But it is pretty fascinating
that the book of Numbers,
00:11:33.62\00:11:38.33
chapter 18, verse 21 says,
00:11:38.33\00:11:40.33
God says, "I have
given the tithe in Israel
00:11:40.33\00:11:42.90
"to the Levites in
exchange for the work they do
00:11:42.90\00:11:44.57
at the tabernacle of meeting."
00:11:44.57\00:11:46.20
"So," God says, "these
guys that are working for me,
00:11:46.20\00:11:48.60
I wanna pay, I wanna make
sure they get good income."
00:11:48.60\00:11:51.71
You remember when
they divided up the land
00:11:51.71\00:11:53.54
that all the tribes
got big portions of land
00:11:53.54\00:11:56.51
that gives their borders
from the sea to this mountain
00:11:56.51\00:11:58.81
and all that, but the
Levites didn't have any
00:11:58.81\00:12:02.75
big pieces of land like that.
00:12:02.75\00:12:04.52
God said, "I want,
I'll give them the...
00:12:04.52\00:12:07.92
cities of refuge," which
were, there were six of them,
00:12:07.92\00:12:10.13
and they had those cities,
00:12:10.13\00:12:11.76
plus other
cities among the tribes,
00:12:11.76\00:12:14.20
and they had lands for farm,
for their gardens, and so on
00:12:14.20\00:12:17.53
around the cities,
00:12:17.53\00:12:18.90
but they didn't have
these big huge spots of land.
00:12:18.90\00:12:20.74
They were, interestingly enough,
00:12:20.74\00:12:22.54
they were given
the tithe distributed,
00:12:22.54\00:12:25.44
and--actually, I'll tell you
something interesting about it.
00:12:25.44\00:12:28.38
They returned their,
00:12:28.38\00:12:30.21
all the people returned
their tithe to the storehouse,
00:12:30.21\00:12:32.41
which was at
Jerusalem at the temple.
00:12:32.41\00:12:37.49
By the way, the
storehouse has been in effect
00:12:38.75\00:12:39.82
for a long time,
'cause when Aiken brought,
00:12:39.82\00:12:41.49
stole that property, the--later
on, we'll talk about that--
00:12:41.49\00:12:44.89
when Aiken took the
part of the spoils of Jericho
00:12:44.89\00:12:48.50
to his home,
00:12:48.50\00:12:49.53
the command had been to
bring it back to the storehouse,
00:12:50.97\00:12:53.74
and everybody
else did that but him.
00:12:53.74\00:12:55.27
One man in a million disobeyed
and caused 36 people to die.
00:12:55.27\00:12:59.04
Pretty
interesting story, actually,
00:12:59.04\00:13:00.98
but the tithe
came to the storehouse,
00:13:00.98\00:13:03.61
and then the Levites
took it all over Israel.
00:13:03.61\00:13:05.61
They delivered it
back to their own people.
00:13:05.61\00:13:07.72
>>So God's given us a
pretty good indication,
00:13:07.72\00:13:10.12
a pretty clear instruction
on where the tithe is to go
00:13:10.12\00:13:13.15
and what its purpose is.
00:13:13.15\00:13:14.46
It's not for us to
decide what to do with it.
00:13:14.46\00:13:16.22
That's simply
returning it to God
00:13:16.22\00:13:17.63
and doing what He has
asked us to do with it.
00:13:17.63\00:13:20.50
If you're enjoying this
00:13:20.50\00:13:22.00
and want to learn
more about this subject,
00:13:22.00\00:13:24.60
I want to encourage
you to pick up this book.
00:13:24.60\00:13:26.57
This is the companion book
00:13:26.57\00:13:27.80
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson.
00:13:27.80\00:13:29.94
It is called "Managing for
the Master" by G. Edward Reid.
00:13:29.94\00:13:33.07
Of course, he is our guest
each and every week this quarter
00:13:33.07\00:13:35.94
on our "Sabbath School" program.
00:13:35.94\00:13:37.68
You can find this
book at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:37.68\00:13:41.02
Again, that's itiswritten.shop
00:13:41.02\00:13:43.52
and just search for
"Managing for the Master."
00:13:43.52\00:13:46.15
It is the companion book
00:13:46.15\00:13:47.62
for this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson
00:13:47.62\00:13:49.72
and will give you additional
insight, deeper thoughts,
00:13:49.72\00:13:52.89
more stories.
00:13:52.89\00:13:54.50
It really fleshes out this
quarter's Sabbath school lesson.
00:13:54.50\00:13:57.33
You'll be glad that you have it.
00:13:57.33\00:13:59.70
We're going to be
back in just a moment
00:13:59.70\00:14:01.14
as we continue looking
at "The Tithing Contract."
00:14:01.14\00:14:03.71
We'll see you
back in just a moment.
00:14:03.71\00:14:05.54
(inspirational
theme swells and ends)
00:14:05.54\00:14:08.44
>>[John Bradshaw] You
can't easily live without it,
00:14:10.05\00:14:12.38
yet having it and
having too much of it
00:14:12.38\00:14:14.62
can not only
make life complicated,
00:14:14.62\00:14:16.75
but it can jeopardize
your spiritual well-being.
00:14:16.75\00:14:19.59
Money--such a major part of life
00:14:19.59\00:14:22.56
and yet so potentially dangerous
00:14:22.56\00:14:24.36
that the Bible
says more about money
00:14:24.36\00:14:26.46
than almost any other subject.
00:14:26.46\00:14:28.53
What do you do with your
money? And how can you make sure
00:14:28.53\00:14:31.23
that what is
meant to be a blessing
00:14:31.23\00:14:32.90
doesn't end up being a curse?
00:14:32.90\00:14:35.27
Join our conversation with
financial expert Julian Archer
00:14:35.27\00:14:38.71
and learn how to avoid
many common financial pitfalls.
00:14:38.71\00:14:42.04
Learn from someone who knows
00:14:42.04\00:14:43.98
and find out what the
Bible has to say about finance,
00:14:43.98\00:14:47.32
about handling your money in
a way that is both good for you
00:14:47.32\00:14:50.32
and glorifies God.
00:14:50.32\00:14:52.19
Don't miss "Money, Money,
Money" from It Is Written,
00:14:52.19\00:14:55.82
featuring financial
expert Julian Archer.
00:14:55.82\00:14:58.86
"Money, Money, Money,"
00:14:58.86\00:15:00.33
watch now on It Is Written TV.
00:15:00.33\00:15:02.70
Go to www.itiswritten.tv.
00:15:02.70\00:15:06.03
That's itiswritten.tv.
00:15:06.03\00:15:08.40
(inspirational theme music)
00:15:10.41\00:15:13.31
>>[Eric] Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:14.64\00:15:16.31
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:16.31\00:15:18.01
We are continuing our study
this week, week number three,
00:15:18.01\00:15:20.92
on "The Tithing Contract."
00:15:20.92\00:15:22.48
And, Ed, I wanna
come back to something
00:15:22.48\00:15:23.95
that you were talking
about just a moment ago.
00:15:23.95\00:15:26.09
When we're returning tithe,
00:15:26.09\00:15:28.72
when it's coming
back into the storehouse,
00:15:28.72\00:15:30.76
how should that
tithe be distributed?
00:15:30.76\00:15:35.60
How is it used?
00:15:35.60\00:15:37.13
Where does it go, according
to the biblical guidelines
00:15:37.13\00:15:41.17
that God has directed?
00:15:41.17\00:15:43.37
How does the
Adventist church deal with that?
00:15:43.37\00:15:45.14
>>I mentioned earlier
that the counsel God gave
00:15:45.14\00:15:47.78
was them to bring their
tithe three times a year,
00:15:47.78\00:15:50.31
their offering and tithe.
00:15:50.31\00:15:51.85
Since they were
agricultural people,
00:15:51.85\00:15:52.95
they only had harvest
those times of the year,
00:15:52.95\00:15:54.82
as you may know.
00:15:54.82\00:15:55.92
The interesting part
was they were to bring it
00:15:55.92\00:15:57.72
Passover, Pentecost,
and Feast of Tabernacles
00:15:57.72\00:16:00.12
to the central storehouse.
00:16:00.12\00:16:01.79
In fact, the 12th
chapter of Deuteronomy
00:16:01.79\00:16:03.99
outlines the
central storehouse idea.
00:16:03.99\00:16:05.56
God says when you get
into the Promised Land,
00:16:05.56\00:16:06.90
don't do whatever you think
you ought to do with your tithe,
00:16:06.90\00:16:08.76
but return it to
the central storehouse.
00:16:08.76\00:16:10.83
It's very plain in the Bible
00:16:10.83\00:16:11.93
when you read
these topics on tithing.
00:16:11.93\00:16:14.97
So, how do--one big
question that people ask:
00:16:14.97\00:16:17.97
Is there any church that
actually follows this principle?
00:16:17.97\00:16:20.24
Well, our church has
tried to follow the principle
00:16:20.24\00:16:22.64
as best we can by determining
that the tithe is the Lord's,
00:16:22.64\00:16:26.18
and it has a special purpose
00:16:26.18\00:16:27.52
that support the
ministry like they did
00:16:27.52\00:16:29.38
to support the tribe of
Levi in the Old Testament.
00:16:29.38\00:16:31.85
So, our church has designated
00:16:31.85\00:16:35.46
the local conference
office and mission headquarters,
00:16:35.46\00:16:37.96
and if there's a
union of churches,
00:16:37.96\00:16:40.00
wherever they hire people,
00:16:40.00\00:16:41.73
they should be the
central storehouse,
00:16:41.73\00:16:43.70
and they're the ones
that pay the pastors.
00:16:43.70\00:16:45.77
So, for the
convenience of our members,
00:16:45.77\00:16:47.97
they return their tithe
00:16:47.97\00:16:49.07
as part of their
worship experience on Sabbath
00:16:49.07\00:16:50.91
when they come to worship
God, and then--listen carefully,
00:16:50.91\00:16:54.54
this is not
designed to be funny,
00:16:54.54\00:16:56.01
but it's just
something interesting.
00:16:56.01\00:16:57.55
The pastor never says
to the church treasurer,
00:16:57.55\00:16:59.71
"You know, I need
to make my car payment.
00:16:59.71\00:17:01.65
Can you go ahead and
give me my tithe money?"
00:17:01.65\00:17:04.32
The tithe is always sent on
to the main central storehouse,
00:17:04.32\00:17:06.79
and the pastors are
paid from that point.
00:17:06.79\00:17:09.09
So, that's a good
thing in many ways,
00:17:09.09\00:17:11.79
because they don't
have to talk about money
00:17:11.79\00:17:14.36
and their salaries,
like some pastors do.
00:17:14.36\00:17:16.67
They know that, as long as
they're faithful in their work,
00:17:16.67\00:17:18.87
that they're gonna get
paid from the storehouse.
00:17:18.87\00:17:20.97
And, essentially,
something very interesting also
00:17:20.97\00:17:24.64
is that, basically, most
everybody who works for the
00:17:24.64\00:17:29.01
church, is in ministerial lines,
gets paid on the same basis.
00:17:29.01\00:17:31.71
So, if you have a larger church,
you don't get more money,
00:17:31.71\00:17:34.95
you just get
more responsibility,
00:17:34.95\00:17:36.75
and hopefully you
also get more assistance,
00:17:36.75\00:17:38.49
like with people helping
you, larger staff and so on,
00:17:38.49\00:17:41.29
but people don't look for larger
churches to get more money
00:17:41.29\00:17:45.09
in the biblical sense.
00:17:45.09\00:17:46.93
>>It's also
encouraging to me, Ed,
00:17:46.93\00:17:48.46
to know that this encourages
pastors to be faithful
00:17:48.46\00:17:52.67
in the sharing of the gospel.
00:17:52.67\00:17:55.27
You know, a lot of
times, in some churches,
00:17:55.27\00:17:57.57
where a local
pastor's income is determined
00:17:57.57\00:18:00.71
by the tithe that is
given in that church,
00:18:00.71\00:18:04.11
they may be encouraged to preach
00:18:04.11\00:18:09.08
a simpler, smoother,
less confrontational,
00:18:09.08\00:18:12.22
less biblical message in order
to keep the money flowing in
00:18:12.22\00:18:15.36
so that their pockets can
continue to be filled with it,
00:18:15.36\00:18:19.13
but here, in this
system, it doesn't matter.
00:18:19.13\00:18:21.26
There's no incentive
to water down the gospel
00:18:21.26\00:18:23.90
or water down the
message of the Bible,
00:18:23.90\00:18:26.40
but to preach it straight,
00:18:26.40\00:18:27.70
because the pastor's
income is not going to be,
00:18:27.70\00:18:31.91
it's not gonna be affected
positively or negatively
00:18:31.91\00:18:35.41
by the amount that's
given in that local church.
00:18:35.41\00:18:37.18
That's encouraging to me, Ed.
00:18:37.18\00:18:38.71
>>One additional thing
I could add to that, Eric,
00:18:38.71\00:18:40.95
is that the pastor is motivated
not from selfish reasons
00:18:40.95\00:18:45.19
to teach about stewardship,
00:18:45.19\00:18:46.49
but to be, have the
people be faithful to God
00:18:46.49\00:18:48.79
and, in tangible ways,
00:18:48.79\00:18:50.09
receive the benefits
that God has promised.
00:18:50.09\00:18:51.83
So, believe it or not,
it may seem materialistic,
00:18:51.83\00:18:56.63
but for those who are
faithful, God has promised,
00:18:56.63\00:18:58.40
"I'll bless you in
ways that you won't imagine.
00:18:58.40\00:19:00.37
"I'll rebuke the
devourer for your sake,
00:19:00.37\00:19:01.87
"and I'll also make
sure that you have more money
00:19:01.87\00:19:04.27
than you know what to do with."
00:19:04.27\00:19:05.87
And that doesn't mean that
you have beaucoups of money.
00:19:05.87\00:19:08.11
It means that you
have--your needs are met,
00:19:08.11\00:19:09.78
and you're able to help others
00:19:09.78\00:19:10.88
and help advance
the cause of God.
00:19:10.88\00:19:12.61
>>That's right. Well said.
00:19:12.61\00:19:14.28
I wanna jump to
Wednesday's lesson now, Ed.
00:19:14.28\00:19:16.22
Wednesday's lesson, I
love the title of this one,
00:19:16.22\00:19:19.55
"Tithing on the
Gross or the Net Income?"
00:19:19.55\00:19:22.96
I get this
question all the time:
00:19:22.96\00:19:25.76
Should I tithe on the gross,
or should I tithe on the net?
00:19:25.76\00:19:30.03
What's the best advice
that you can give on this, Ed?
00:19:30.03\00:19:33.23
>>Well, the issue
is very simple, really,
00:19:33.23\00:19:34.77
when you're
talking about gross or net.
00:19:34.77\00:19:36.40
For most people, the
bottom line is, take-home pay
00:19:36.40\00:19:39.54
that you get when
you're working for a salary
00:19:39.54\00:19:41.28
or by the hour is not really
the total amount you earn,
00:19:41.28\00:19:44.05
'cause, frequently, they
take out taxes before then--
00:19:44.05\00:19:47.92
income tax and property tax
and different things like that.
00:19:47.92\00:19:51.09
So, the question of gross or net
00:19:51.09\00:19:54.19
is do you pay on
before--your tithe--
00:19:54.19\00:19:56.36
your taxes are taken out, or
after the taxes are taken out?
00:19:56.36\00:19:59.93
And so, it's interesting the
studies of our people, church,
00:19:59.93\00:20:03.06
Seventh-day Adventist
people are, the majority,
00:20:03.06\00:20:04.70
more than 60% of people say
they tithe on the gross amount.
00:20:04.70\00:20:08.30
They look and see
what their gross pay was
00:20:08.30\00:20:10.31
and pay their tithe on that.
00:20:10.31\00:20:11.94
Eric, here's something
I'd like to share with you.
00:20:11.94\00:20:15.01
God is love. God is faithful.
00:20:15.01\00:20:16.71
There's a lot of things
about God. God is also honest,
00:20:16.71\00:20:19.11
and I've often thought
that if you have any question,
00:20:19.11\00:20:21.55
I would err on the side
of generosity toward God
00:20:21.55\00:20:23.49
because God is honest.
If you give Him too much,
00:20:23.49\00:20:25.75
He'll get it back to you
some way. That's what I think.
00:20:25.75\00:20:27.99
>>It sounds like we
need to just trust Him--
00:20:27.99\00:20:31.13
and trust less in
our ability to do math
00:20:31.13\00:20:34.93
and see what we
can get away with--
00:20:34.93\00:20:37.13
and trust more
in God's generosity.
00:20:37.13\00:20:38.90
Is that a fair assessment?
00:20:38.90\00:20:40.44
>>Yes, indeed. And
there's one other illustration--
00:20:40.44\00:20:42.17
I like to use Bible
illustration--the widow of
00:20:42.17\00:20:44.57
Zarephath. During the time
when Elijah had gone into Ahab's
00:20:44.57\00:20:48.74
office and said, "It's
not gonna rain until I say so,
00:20:48.74\00:20:50.78
because of your wickedness,"
something amazing happened.
00:20:50.78\00:20:53.42
He said--God--"I'll take care
of you," God said to Elijah,
00:20:53.42\00:20:56.65
and He fed him with ravens
and the little brook and so on,
00:20:56.65\00:20:59.65
but finally that brook
dried up, and God said,
00:20:59.65\00:21:02.92
"I'm gonna send you to
the widow of Zarephath."
00:21:02.92\00:21:04.96
So God went to the
widow also and said--
00:21:04.96\00:21:06.96
this is an interesting story--
00:21:06.96\00:21:08.70
He said, "I'm
sending you a man of God,
00:21:08.70\00:21:10.70
"and you should take
care of him during this time
00:21:10.70\00:21:12.33
that the drought is on."
00:21:12.33\00:21:14.20
So she knew he was
coming, but when he came,
00:21:14.20\00:21:17.11
she wasn't sure who
he was, but he asked--
00:21:17.11\00:21:20.68
he met this lady out there
and said, "What are you doing?"
00:21:20.68\00:21:22.81
And he said--she said, "I'm
just gathering a few sticks,
00:21:22.81\00:21:24.81
"and we're gonna build a fire
00:21:24.81\00:21:26.08
"and use the last
of our oil and meal,
00:21:26.08\00:21:27.92
"and we'll make a cake,
and my son and I will eat it,
00:21:27.92\00:21:30.55
and then we'll both die."
00:21:30.55\00:21:32.75
Likely they were
planning to starve to death.
00:21:32.75\00:21:35.32
And under those
circumstances, Elijah said,
00:21:35.32\00:21:37.46
"Well, would you please
bring me a drink of water?"
00:21:37.46\00:21:39.66
And then she
started to go, and he said,
00:21:39.66\00:21:41.20
"But wait a minute, I'd
like for you to take that,
00:21:41.20\00:21:43.20
"some of that oil
and meal that you have,
00:21:43.20\00:21:45.00
and make me a
little cake first."
00:21:45.00\00:21:46.74
Then he promised her
that "if you do that,"
00:21:46.74\00:21:49.34
God will not let the
flour use up or the oil use up
00:21:49.34\00:21:52.07
until the rain comes on the
earth, some three years later.
00:21:52.07\00:21:55.08
Now, this sounds kind
of selfish at first glance
00:21:56.31\00:21:58.45
that he asked her
to treat him first.
00:21:58.45\00:22:00.25
But, remember, God
asked us to treat Him first
00:22:00.25\00:22:02.55
and respond in our
obligations to him.
00:22:02.55\00:22:05.29
In this particular case,
something amazing happened.
00:22:05.29\00:22:07.86
The lady went and
did as she was told.
00:22:07.86\00:22:09.76
This was just a
test of her faith.
00:22:09.76\00:22:11.59
It wasn't trying to
take it away from her;
00:22:11.59\00:22:13.40
it was trying to multiply
what she had. When she obeyed,
00:22:13.40\00:22:17.03
her oil and flour
lasted for the three years,
00:22:17.03\00:22:20.30
which is pretty amazing.
00:22:20.30\00:22:21.84
>>So, gross or net,
00:22:21.84\00:22:23.14
I think you shared
this with us last week--
00:22:23.14\00:22:25.04
was it Larry
Burkett who shared that,
00:22:25.04\00:22:27.78
that short quip with us?--
00:22:27.78\00:22:29.41
>>Yes. >>..."It
depends on whether
00:22:29.41\00:22:30.71
you want a gross
blessing or a net blessing."
00:22:30.71\00:22:34.08
That's, I think
that's fantastic advice,
00:22:34.08\00:22:36.45
and most of us, I
think, would probably
00:22:36.45\00:22:37.79
prefer the gross blessing.
00:22:37.79\00:22:39.12
>>Yes, indeed.
00:22:39.12\00:22:40.22
>>Let's take a look
at Thursday's lesson.
00:22:40.22\00:22:42.39
Now, Thursday's
lesson is entitled
00:22:42.39\00:22:44.29
"An Honest or Faithful Tithe."
00:22:44.29\00:22:46.26
Sometimes, sometimes
we hear that term used,
00:22:46.26\00:22:49.83
an "honest" or a "faithful"
tithe. What does that mean?
00:22:49.83\00:22:54.20
>>Well, frequently I find
people want to be faithful.
00:22:54.20\00:22:57.81
They wanna know what God says
00:22:57.81\00:22:59.57
and then seek to practice it.
00:22:59.57\00:23:03.41
So I say there are four
elements to a faithful tithe,
00:23:03.41\00:23:06.45
and the first one is the amount.
00:23:06.45\00:23:08.72
Actually, when you look at it,
00:23:08.72\00:23:10.05
they can all begin with the
letter "P" to help remember it,
00:23:10.05\00:23:12.19
so that'd be the
portion or the percent.
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.12
And the Bible indicates that
very clearly that that's 10;
00:23:14.12\00:23:16.76
it's a tenth of our
increase. So, that's 10%.
00:23:16.76\00:23:20.36
So, the next one is
the place to take it,
00:23:20.36\00:23:23.73
and that would be the
storehouse, the central
00:23:23.73\00:23:25.43
storehouse. And
that's the place from which
00:23:25.43\00:23:26.43
the gospel ministers are paid.
00:23:26.43\00:23:28.30
In our situation, that would
be our local conference office,
00:23:28.30\00:23:31.47
from which the
pastors of our field are paid.
00:23:31.47\00:23:34.34
And the third
one is honoring God
00:23:34.34\00:23:35.88
with the first
part of our income.
00:23:35.88\00:23:37.25
Remember that Proverbs,
the third chapter, in verse 9,
00:23:37.25\00:23:39.55
talks about the
firstfruits of our income.
00:23:39.55\00:23:41.68
And Matthew 6:33 in
Jesus' mountain sermon said,
00:23:41.68\00:23:44.95
"Seek first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness,
00:23:44.95\00:23:46.79
and all these things
[will] be added unto you."
00:23:46.79\00:23:48.66
So we put God in first part.
00:23:48.66\00:23:50.63
My wife Kathy's been
the manager of our funds
00:23:50.63\00:23:53.09
for the whole time we've
been married, over 55 years.
00:23:53.09\00:23:56.06
And she always
writes the tithe check.
00:23:56.06\00:23:58.20
She said that's the
first time, over the years,
00:23:58.20\00:24:00.54
"That's always the
first check I write,
00:24:00.54\00:24:01.60
our offerings,
tithe and offerings."
00:24:01.60\00:24:03.44
She said, "And God
always blesses the rest of it."
00:24:03.44\00:24:06.27
She said, "I know
that if I'd waited
00:24:06.27\00:24:08.11
"until the last thing to write,
00:24:08.11\00:24:09.38
"sometimes we
would've been short.
00:24:09.38\00:24:10.41
But putting God
first, He blesses it."
00:24:10.41\00:24:12.71
And that's the first part.
00:24:12.71\00:24:14.08
Now, the fourth one
is it's gotta be used
00:24:14.08\00:24:15.98
for the right purpose.
Now, this is interesting also,
00:24:15.98\00:24:19.69
support of the ministry.
00:24:19.69\00:24:21.22
It's our responsibility
as individual members
00:24:21.22\00:24:23.36
to do the first three,
to make sure it's a tenth,
00:24:23.36\00:24:26.23
make sure it goes
to the right place,
00:24:26.23\00:24:27.86
and we start out with God first.
00:24:27.86\00:24:30.20
The people who
run the storehouse
00:24:30.20\00:24:32.00
are responsible for making
sure that it's used properly,
00:24:32.00\00:24:34.37
but God's asked us to be
responsible for the first part.
00:24:34.37\00:24:37.01
Now, lemme just
mention one other thing.
00:24:37.01\00:24:38.34
Interestingly enough--
00:24:38.34\00:24:39.64
you and I have talked
about this before--but some,
00:24:39.64\00:24:41.78
we've heard people say,
"Well, I'm doing a 3% tithe,"
00:24:41.78\00:24:43.91
or, "I'm doing a 5%
tithe," or whatever.
00:24:43.91\00:24:46.18
But to be real, honestly,
we don't set the parameters.
00:24:46.18\00:24:49.58
God does. So, if I don't
return a full 10% of my income,
00:24:49.58\00:24:52.62
I'm really not tithing
am I? In addition to that,
00:24:52.62\00:24:55.52
if I'm not using it to the
storehouse to support ministry,
00:24:55.52\00:25:00.53
I'm not tithing either.
00:25:00.53\00:25:01.76
So this is the real
bottom-line situation here.
00:25:01.76\00:25:04.60
>>You know, Ed, something
that I was just thinking about
00:25:04.60\00:25:06.50
as you were mentioning
that, there are a lot of people
00:25:06.50\00:25:09.94
who belong to a lot of
different churches out there
00:25:09.94\00:25:12.57
who are wanting to give
something to the work of the
00:25:12.57\00:25:16.88
Lord. If I'm
understanding you correctly,
00:25:16.88\00:25:20.32
when we return a
tithe to a church,
00:25:20.32\00:25:23.18
we are helping to spread,
00:25:23.18\00:25:24.85
or we are helping
to pay those ministers
00:25:24.85\00:25:27.79
to spread that particular gospel
00:25:27.79\00:25:30.36
that that church is
preaching and teaching.
00:25:30.36\00:25:33.29
What would you say to
somebody who's thinking, "Well,
00:25:33.29\00:25:36.50
"I'm not sure if I
believe in the message
00:25:36.50\00:25:41.00
"that this church or
that church is teaching;
00:25:41.00\00:25:43.14
where--what should
I do with my tithe?"
00:25:43.14\00:25:45.87
Where should the tithe go
00:25:45.87\00:25:47.24
if they're not certain
that they believe that message
00:25:47.24\00:25:50.25
that that church is sharing?
00:25:50.25\00:25:52.71
>>Well, first of all, if you
have a biblical understanding
00:25:52.71\00:25:54.38
of tithing, you'll
understand the parameters
00:25:54.38\00:25:55.78
of what we just talked about.
So, you can understand what--
00:25:55.78\00:25:58.52
where's the
churches that are doing that?
00:25:58.52\00:26:00.69
There's three reasons people
are members of churches today.
00:26:00.69\00:26:02.92
One of 'em is they were raised
in that particular church;
00:26:02.92\00:26:04.56
that's most people.
Second one, out of convenience,
00:26:04.56\00:26:06.70
two people of
different churches get married.
00:26:06.70\00:26:08.96
They don't go to one church
one week and one the next.
00:26:08.96\00:26:10.77
They, one of 'em
decides which one they go to.
00:26:10.77\00:26:13.50
And the third one is
people study the Bible,
00:26:13.50\00:26:15.17
and they figure out which,
where is the Bible teaching,
00:26:15.17\00:26:17.17
what does the Bible teach, and
then they look for the church
00:26:17.17\00:26:19.51
that honors that principle.
00:26:19.51\00:26:21.38
So I would suggest that people
do a research of Scripture
00:26:21.38\00:26:23.75
and of the churches that are,
00:26:23.75\00:26:25.71
that they know about them
and see which one is doing it.
00:26:25.71\00:26:28.12
You wanna support the ones
00:26:28.12\00:26:29.18
that are teaching
the truth, of course,
00:26:29.18\00:26:30.49
and honor God's commandments.
00:26:30.49\00:26:32.85
>>Fantastic. I think
that's great advice, Ed.
00:26:32.85\00:26:35.49
So this week we
have taken a look
00:26:35.49\00:26:36.99
at the subject of
"The Tithing Contract,"
00:26:36.99\00:26:39.66
something that God established
00:26:39.66\00:26:41.40
way back in Old Testament times,
00:26:41.40\00:26:43.30
we see it continued
in New Testament times,
00:26:43.30\00:26:45.47
and it continues to exist today,
00:26:45.47\00:26:47.30
and God uses this in order
to continue to spread the gospel
00:26:47.30\00:26:51.81
all around the world.
00:26:51.81\00:26:52.94
One of the
beautiful truths of Scripture
00:26:52.94\00:26:55.34
is that before Jesus comes back,
00:26:55.34\00:26:57.55
this gospel of the kingdom
is going to go to every nation,
00:26:57.55\00:27:00.32
kindred, tongue, and people.
00:27:00.32\00:27:02.02
And God gives
us the opportunity,
00:27:02.02\00:27:03.92
the privilege,
really, to be a part of that
00:27:03.92\00:27:06.65
by helping to finance that work
00:27:06.65\00:27:08.39
to spread the gospel
all around the world.
00:27:08.39\00:27:11.03
Some people can help a lot,
00:27:11.03\00:27:12.63
some people can
help a little bit less,
00:27:12.63\00:27:14.56
but everything helps
to spread that gospel.
00:27:14.56\00:27:17.43
So regardless of
what your income may be,
00:27:17.43\00:27:19.60
God wants to bless
your income and multiply it
00:27:19.60\00:27:23.07
and use a portion of it
that you give back to Him
00:27:23.07\00:27:26.74
to spread the
gospel around the world.
00:27:26.74\00:27:28.41
Thanks for joining
us again this week.
00:27:28.41\00:27:29.78
It's been a privilege and a
pleasure to have you with us,
00:27:29.78\00:27:32.11
and we're going to
be back again next week
00:27:32.11\00:27:34.35
as we continue our journey
00:27:34.35\00:27:36.62
through
"Managing for the Master."
00:27:36.62\00:27:39.39
We wish you God's richest
blessings until we see you
00:27:39.39\00:27:43.12
again. Take care.
00:27:43.12\00:27:44.73
(inspirational theme music)
00:27:44.73\00:27:49.56
(music ends)
00:28:26.30\00:28:28.44