FOLLOWERS
THE PRINCIPAL OF THE TITHE
While money is neither good nor evil in its own right, the Bible is very clear about the hold it can have on our lives. Money often determines more of our life choices than we choose to acknowledge. Money unsurrendered can cause all kinds of confusion, chaos, and stress in our life. And although it may be one of life’s most powerful forces, we are able to gain freedom from its control.
God has a plan for our financial freedom and once embraced, we can be sure that we are partnering with God to see Kingdom impact in our lives, and in the lives others, through our finance.
REFLECT
Q. What stood out to you from Sunday’s message ‘The Principal of the Tithe’, and why?
TENSIONS IN GIVING
1. WE DON’T TRUST GOD
The principal of tithing is all throughout scripture.
The word tithe literally means “tenth”.
The tithe was an offering from the law of Moses requiring 10 percent of an Israelites first fruits. Because God provided the harvest, this first part was returned to Him. It was a reminder to Israel that all we have is His. It was a show of thankfulness for His provision. It also provided for the priesthood, festivals, and those in need.
The tithe was and is today a principal that we can follow that shows we trust that God will provide for us, that we are grateful for God’s provision and that we get to partner with God in meeting the needs of others, through the church.
SCRIPTURES for discussion Gen 14:19-20, Lev 27:30-34, Num 18:21, Duet 12:5-6, 2 Chron 31:4-5, Prov 3:9-19, Mal 3:8-9, Mal 3:10-12, Matt 6:1-4, Matt 23:23, Mark 12:41-44, Luke 11:42, Luke 18:9-14, Heb 7:1-2
Q. What is your personal revelation of the tithe?
Q. Would your financial life reflect a trust in God, or trust in money?
Q. If money wasn’t a limitation, how would you focus on changing the world? Name a couple of areas that you would partner with God and sow finances into.
2. WHAT’S MINE IS MINE
No, it’s a not! It’s all Gods. We can have the mindset that, ‘I worked for it, it is my doing, etc..’ But we need to have the revelation, that anything that we can do, it is only because God has given us the skill, opportunity, ability and the breath to do it!
If we reject this understanding, we can become entitled, possessive, prideful, and never satisfied.
SCRIPTURE You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Q. God has blessed us with talents, abilities, and opportunities to make money. And in that, God wants to bless us and for us to be fruitful and generous with our finances. What does this mean to you, and has it been a focus in your finances?
Q. What revelation/challenge does Deuteronomy 8:17-18 have for where you are right now in your financial world?
REASONS TO GIVE
1. POSITIONS US FOR HIS PROMISE
Do we see our finance as holy? We can in our western thinking, think that being holy is just being very moral.
But the word ‘holy’ in Hebrew literally means set apart.
In first century Christianity, even pots and utensils used in the tabernacle were considered holy, simply because they were set apart for God.
Being holy is being moral, but more than that, it’s being set apart for God.
When we set apart our finance, it means we are setting apart our money and positioning ourselves for Gods promises to be revealed and outworked in us and through us.
SCRIPTURE ‘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’. Leviticus 27:30
Q. Share your own definition of holy and what that means to you in the area of your finance.
Q. Why do you think God has chosen money to be holy?
2. WE’RE PROTECTED FROM THE DEVOURER
Every one of us, if we align our finance with God’s plan, can build a secure future.
One of the cornerstones for this is the returning of the tithe to its owner: God.
Choosing to put God first in our finances releases His sovereignty over everything else materially in our lives, because the first releases the rest. It ensures that the devourer has no hold on us and more importantly releases God’s protection over our financial future.
SCRIPTURE I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty.
Q. How does the devourer operate in our financial world, or deceive us? Give an example from your life of how this has happened in your past.
Q. Money either limits or liberates – share how you would see this outworked in your experience?
Q. What is a personal revelation or challenge for you from this message of Tithing?
While this time of discussion can be a great guide to help unpack this weeks message, our individual understanding and revelation will be further enhanced by reading Ps Pauls book ‘God Money and Me’.
Talk with your group leader for details on how to get a copy!
PRAYER & ACTION
- Pray that there would be a resetting and realigning to steward our gifts and rewards in a way that is holy and under Gods sovereign plans and protection
- Commit to reading Ps Pauls ‘God Money and Me’ book and study resource
- Check out the ‘God Money and Me’ budgeting tool lifeau.org/gmm
- Have a time to reflect and be self-led in giving lifeau.org/waystogive