A Neglected Aspect of Worship

    Stuart Briscoe shared the following account in his book, Playing by the Rules: "I visited a church in Florida, where the congregation had just built a new auditorium that cost $5 or $6 million. With great glee the people told me they had moved in debt free; they had paid for it in cash before they opened the doors. When I asked how they had done it, they told me, "Part of our membership requirement is that people tithe." Then they took me outside and showed me a three-or four-story, $11 million educational wing they had begun to build. Again they told me they’d paid cash for it. How did they do it? By tithing."
    The average church is handicapped because God’s people have forgotten Who’s money it really is. It’s like the story of one preacher who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets." Too many believers have God’s money in their pockets and not only are they being disobedient, they are missing out on the blessing of giving.
    Please don’t give with just with the goal of meeting our church’s budget, because budgets don’t really mean that much. Giving has a deeper purpose; it means you give to God, you don’t rob from Him. When you give to God, you honor Him. You say, "Hey, God, all my money is in trust from You anyway, and I give it back to You with a glad heart." Through our giving we show we’re on His side and that we have compassion for the things and people He has compassion for. We prove our love for Him by giving of ourselves.
    But what if we don’t give faithfully, what if we tip God rather than truly give? What if we keep what belongs to Him for ourselves? That may result from an attitude of first rate stinginess, or maybe it comes from second-rate sacrifice. Malachi warned his people, "Some of you are bringing your offerings to the Lord, and you’ve got to bring a lamb. So you go through the flock and find one that’s lame or blind, and you bring that. Do that to the governor, and see what he’d say! You wouldn’t dare do it to him, but you don’t mind doing it to God."
    Strange, isn’t it, that people feel very comfortable with first-rate stinginess and second-rate sacrifice when it comes to God? Why? Because they lack a reality of the knowledge of God in their lives.
    If you really believe that God purchased you from the slave market of sin. If you really know how much He loves you. If you believe that you are a steward of His property, rather than an owner – you’ll be the giver that God wants you to be.
    The reason that so many Christians are such poor givers is that they really don’t believe God’s Word. If they believed the Bible, It would change their behavior...and it would change their giving. God is generous and those who have His heart are generous too.
    What does your giving say about your heart? Is this an area that needs to be surrendered and that you need to grow in? Then, today’s your day. Don’t miss out on the blessings and rewards that God has for faithful stewards!

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