What Does it Mean to Honor the Lord with Our Possessions?

Proverbs chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. We have been

Proverbs 3:9

looking at some of these Proverbs here for the

last few weeks. We looked at Proverbs 3, 5, and

6 a few weeks ago. That's probably the most well

-known of these verses in Proverbs 3. But man,

there's so many good things, I think, in these

first 12 verses. It's a lot of... A lot of things

for us to consider that are good for us. Proverbs

Proverbs 3:9

chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. When we see kind of

a theme in these first 12 verses of Proverbs

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, there's a command and a result. Like

here's the command and here's what's going to

happen. Here's what you should do and here's

the result if you do what I tell you to do. And

we see that same theme carried over today in

Proverbs chapter 3, verses 9 and 10. We'll read

Proverbs 3:9

through these two verses, then we'll pray, and

we'll get started. Honor the Lord with your possessions

and with the first produce of your entire harvest.

Then your barns will be completely filled. and

your vats will overflow with new wine. Let's

pray. God, we thank you for these good words,

and I pray, dear Lord, that we would understand

what they say. I pray that your Holy Spirit would

be among us today, dear Lord. I pray that we

would block out any of the distractions and the

worries and the stresses and the thoughts and

the fears and just normal daily stuff that we

got on our mind. I pray. that in these next few

minutes you would just block that out, dear Lord.

I pray that you would help us to rejoice in the

many blessings you give us, dear Lord. Sometimes

we just, we lose sight of those things, but I

pray, God, that we would rejoice in you for that.

I pray, God, that you would help me to preach

and teach in a way that brings glory and honor

to you, that you'd take away any pride or any

fear that's within me today, God, that you would

let your Holy Spirit speak, God. That the words

that come out of my mouth would be the words

that you would desire for us to hear. God, that

your words today would change our heart. And

I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well,

these verses are pretty simple. Make sure to

give you 10 % to the church and you'll always

have more than enough money and God will bless

your bank account. Amen. Let's go home. Well,

not so fast. Not so fast. I think sometimes we

may read passages like this and maybe that's

where our mind goes to. And certainly you will

hear plenty of pastors that will preach exactly

what I just told you. Sadly, I think incorrectly

so. But you're all smart folks and I encourage

you always to read the scriptures. Don't ever

just listen to me or any other preacher for that

matter. You pray and you look over the scriptures

and you let the Holy Spirit convict you. But

this passage, I believe, is good for us to consider

today. Honor the Lord with all your possessions,

with the first fruit of your produce. Then your

barns will be completely filled and your vats

will overflow with new wine. Well, what does

that mean for us today? Is there some things

we should consider? And I believe that there

are. When we look at the Old Testament, we certainly

see that things were done much different in the

Old Testament than what we do today. And a lot

of those things, if not all of those things,

are things of the past. Jesus has come, and we

follow the things that Jesus said, but what are

we to do with the things that we see in the Old

Testament? Well, one of those things, and this

is hotly debated among Christians and has been

and will continue to be, And maybe there will

be some debates after the sermon today. I don't

know. But in the Old Testament, God was pretty

clear about a lot of things. And one of those

things was tithing. That's what tithe means is

a tenth. A tenth of what you had was supposed

to be given to the Lord. But it's not really

that simple. Because in the Old Testament, there

were three tithes that were to be taken. One

was to be taken every year, and it was to be

given for the storehouses of God. What does that

mean? Well, the storehouses of God, that was

the tabernacle and eventually the temple, and

the Levites were the ones who would take care

of all of those things, and they weren't given

an allotment of land. When God divided the land

among the Israelites, the Levites did not get

a portion of the land that was their own. So

therefore, they were dependent. on the other

tribes to provide for their needs. And since

it was the Levites who were the ones who were

going to take care of all the tabernacle and

the temple service, God commanded that a tenth

of what everybody else had be given to put into

God's storehouses so that the Levites, the priests,

the ones taking care of things, so that they

would be able to survive. So that's part of the

tenth that we see, but that's not the only tithe

that we see in the Old Testament. Another tithe

that we see in the Old Testament is actually

for the people themselves. One of the tithes

is that God set a place aside where God would

reside, which ultimately became Jerusalem, and

every year the people were to take a tenth of

what they had, they were to travel to Jerusalem,

and they were to feast on that tenth of what

they had and rejoice in the Lord and the presence

of the Lord. And if it was too far for them to

bring the things that they needed to bring, then

they could sell it where they were, bring the

money with them to Jerusalem, and buy the things

that they needed to have this feast. It was a

feast tithe, if you can call it that, where they

would come together in Jerusalem and rejoice

in the Lord, and the people would partake of

the tithe that they brought. And then there's

another tithe that's mentioned. In every third

year, that a tenth is to be taken up. And this

tenth is to be taken up partially for the Levites,

but also for the widows and the foreigners and

the orphans in the land. And that was to be every

third year. Now, those are the three tithes that

we see in the Old Testament. Now, some would

say, okay, well, that's 30%, but not really,

because every third year you give a tenth. So

23 and a third percent every year. We're not

going to get caught up in the math. There's a

lot of people that would debate those things.

But when we talk about giving, especially here

in the Old Testament, we need to understand what

the Old Testament giving looked like and what

the importance of that tithe was like. Now, if

you go read in Malachi chapter 3, you're going

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

to see a story where God calls his people out.

And he says, look, you are robbing from me. And

the people say, well, how, God, are we robbing

from you? And he says, because you're not bringing

your tithe, your tent, into the storehouses.

If you would bring into the storehouses what

I told you to, then you would be blessed greatly.

He says, test me in this way. And to my knowledge,

I think that's the only scripture which God says,

test me. Now, we shouldn't make a habit of testing

God, but in this instance, this is what God calls

his people to, is that they are to give a tent,

that they are to give a tithe, but not just one

tent. There's multiple tents that are given throughout

the years. And God does certainly stand by his

word there. God does want to bless us. And there

are certainly plenty of people who would say,

oh yeah, well, we need to give a tent to the

church and then God's going to bless us tremendously.

Well, there is some truth in that, I believe.

But I don't know that that's the main thing that

we need to take from passages like these. That

might be where our mind goes. And so the question

is often raised, well, How much money should

I give in church today? Well, we have to think

for a second here because there's been a change

since Jesus Christ has come. There's been a change

from what we do today and what we do in the Old

Testament. And oftentimes people will say, and

many preachers will say, and many Christians

believe, and perhaps rightly so, that a tenth

of everything we have is to be brought into the

church. Well, where do we get that from? Well,

we don't really get it from anywhere because...

That's not exactly what took place in the Old

Testament. But nonetheless, God did command his

people in those days to bring things and to bring

them into the church, and should we be required

to do so today? Well, I don't really know that

the New Testament would teach that in the same

way. There'd be plenty of Christians who would

say, absolutely, we're all here to give one tenth,

and the other tenths that are mentioned in the

Old Testament, those don't count. It's just one

tenth, and that's good enough. But the Old Testament

never speaks of tithing in that way. The Old

Testament really has a whole different heart

of giving. Now, when you look at the early church,

when people begin to become Christians, what

we see is that these people are on fire for the

Lord, and it says that they're pretty much given

everything. They're coming together. They're

giving everything for the service of the Lord.

Now, some will say, well, yeah, but that was

just in that day and time. That's not what God

requires of us today or desires of us today.

Okay, maybe so, maybe not. That's something we

have to pray about and we have to seek the Lord

about. But we see in the passage here this beautiful

command that God says, honor the Lord with all.

your possessions. So does that just mean giving

a tenth to the church? I don't think so. Now,

it's between you and the Lord whether or not

you give a tenth to the church. That's got nothing

to do with me. That's only got to do with you

and the Lord. If you feel convicted that you

need to give a tenth of what you get to the church,

then so be it. If you don't feel convicted, then

so be it. But what I think God wants more than

anything is not for us to be legalistic with

what God has given us, But God wants us to have

a right heart when we give. I think that God

wants us to use what we've been given to serve

him. And maybe that means putting 10 % of what

you got in this church offering plate. Doesn't

matter to me if you do or not. That's between

you and the Lord. Maybe it means putting 20%,

50%. Maybe it means putting 80 % of what you

make into the church offering plate. Maybe it

don't mean putting anything in the church offering

plate. Maybe there's something that God's blessed

you with and maybe there's somebody else you

can help in the community. Maybe there's another

need. Maybe you got paid this week and you've

got your paycheck and you said, okay, God, I

want to give you some of what I got from this

paycheck. Maybe it's 1%, maybe it's 50%. Maybe

you're planning to put it in a church and maybe

you're on the way to the church and between your

house and the church, you come across somebody

and there's a need. and you see a family at the

gas station and you stop for a cold drink and

they come over to you and they say, excuse me,

me and my family, we're on a trip and we're going

from A to Z and we got a long way to go and we're

out of money and we haven't eaten in the last

day and we need a couple of tanks of gas to get

us where we're going and we could sure use some

food. We're going to need about $300. Could you

help us? Well, maybe things have been really

tight for you and you're getting by and you're

doing okay and you got your check and the first

thing you did was you took out... $300, because

that's the amount that you decided you wanted

to give back to the Lord. And this person, here

they are saying, I got $300, and now you've got

a decision to make. Dang, I'm going to put that

in the church. Now these people need help. What

do I do? What do I do? I'll tell you what I would

do. I'd give them the $300. That's what I'd do.

Now, you may be saying, well, golly, things are

tight at the church, and if I don't put money

in there, maybe the preacher ain't going to get

paid. I'll tell you what I'd tell you to do.

I'd tell you to give the people the money and

don't worry about me getting paid or the lights

staying on or anything else. I'd say if God presents

a need to us and we have the ability to meet

that need, I don't believe that it matters whether

it's in the offering plate or whether it's to

the person we meet on the street. Now that's

what I believe scripture calls us to, but there

are plenty of Christians and some of you perhaps

who would disagree with that. And I am not the

Holy Spirit, so don't make a decision based on

what I'm convicted of, but seek the Lord. I think

what's more important than any percentage that

we give is the heart in which we give it with.

And I think if we see people in need, then we

need to help those people. If we see that this

church is doing good for the kingdom of God,

then it's good, I believe, for us to give. I

don't think it's wrong for us to put money in

an offering plate. Praise the Lord. The Lord

has given us plenty of opportunities, and there

are a lot of opportunities that as a church,

people come to us, they're brought before us,

and God gives us the opportunity to meet those

needs. But I think we need to realize that everything

that we have, it comes from the Lord. And so

all that stuff about trying to figure out tithing

in the Old Testament, should I help a person

on the street? Should I help by putting money

in the plate? I think we miss the point sometimes

when we get caught up in those areas. We get

caught up in the weeds sometimes. And we missed

the point, and I think the real point of what

God wants us to realize is that everything we

have comes from him. Everything we have comes

from him. And Proverbs calls us to honor the

Lord with all our possessions. And the question

that you have to consider today... Are you doing

that? I'm not asking you if you're just putting

some money in the plate. I'm not asking you if

you're just giving money for this, that, and

the other. I'm asking you if you're honoring

the Lord with all of your possessions. I'm asking

you if when you give, you give from the heart.

Do you just give so somebody will see you put

it in the plate? Do you just give because you

feel guilty? Or do we realize today and do we

rejoice in the fact that it's God who has blessed

us with everything that we have? And it's God

who's going to provide for us. I think that's

something we see. We see something that's kind

of counterintuitive in this passage. Now we think,

okay, I've got X, Y, and Z bills that I need

to pay. and I've got this amount of money, and

I'm going to be able to pay these bills with

this amount of money, and I can't afford to take

from my money, or else I won't pay my bills.

So therefore, I cannot serve the Lord in any

way. I can't help others. I can't put some money

in the plate at church, because if I take from

what I have, I will not have enough. Now, that's

a normal human thing. I mean, we can do math.

We can put numbers on a page, and we can say,

I've got X bills, and I've got this much money.

And I cannot take from this. But what we see

in Scripture is a call from the Lord that calls

us to do something that's counterintuitive. God

says, use what you've got to honor me. Use what

you've got to help others. That was part of the

tithe that they took up in the Old Testament,

was to help others in need, the poor and the

widows and the orphans, the foreigners. This

is part of... what the money was used for. And

God says, look, don't hold on to everything that

you've got and become greedy. Don't think you've

got to hold on to it because I've got just enough

to get by. God says, everything you have comes

from me. And I want you to use what you have

to honor me. I want you to use what you have

in the service of my kingdom. I want you to use

what you have to serve others. And what does

God tell us in this passage and throughout the

scriptures? I'm going to take care of you. Now,

I don't believe for a second that passages like

this are an absolute guarantee that God's going

to make you a millionaire. Now, there are plenty

of people who will say that. If you ain't got

enough money, it's because you ain't given enough

money. I heard a preacher this week. He said,

he said this now. He said the reason why Jesus

hadn't returned to this earth is because Christians

ain't given enough money. And if you want Jesus

to come back, if you're waiting on him, then

you need to call the 800 number. And he said,

and I quote, he said, and if you will call this

800 number today, God will look over at Jesus

and he'll say, go get them. Well, maybe that's

from the Lord. Maybe I shouldn't be talking about

that. But I'm going to tell you what, I don't

think that that's what this scripture means.

I don't think that that's what Malachi chapter

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

3 means. I don't think God's saying, I want to

make you a millionaire and the only thing that's

holding me back is that you won't let me do it.

So just, if you could put a $10 ,000 check in

this plate before you leave today, you might

get $20 ,000 in your bank account. I don't think

that that's... What God's word says. Now, I'm

not telling you to look. I'm going to tell you

what God's good and God does bless us. And I

bet you many of you in here could talk about

a time where God has blessed you abundantly.

And praise the Lord that he does that. He does

do that. I'm not saying that God does not bless

us abundantly. But what this passage says is

he says, look, you need to honor the Lord with

your possessions, with the first fruit. You need

to give God your best. and he's going to fill

your storehouses. You might even have a little

extra left over. Your wine vats will overflow.

Filling the storehouses doesn't necessarily mean

that it's just going to be a whole lot more,

that it's just going to be super, super wealth.

Your storehouse, I believe, is enough to get

by. You go to the store, every one of you in

here. You say, okay, here's the groceries I need

for this week. You go to the grocery store, you

get those groceries, you come home and you put

them in the refrigerator. That's your storehouse.

You got enough to get by. You might not have

an abundance, but you got enough to get by. And

you say, where am I going to get the food from

next week? My storehouse is full this week. Where

is it going to come from next week? It's going

to come from the Lord. Now, it may not be full

of T -bones. It may not be full of filet mignon.

It might not be full of the finest things, but

I believe that God is so faithful to provide

for his people. I bet you there are plenty of

you in this room that could tell a time that

you didn't know how you were gonna get by. You

didn't know where your next meal was gonna come

from. You didn't know how you were gonna be able

to pay your bills. You didn't know how you were

gonna be able to buy groceries. You didn't know

how you were gonna get shoes for your kids. There

were times that you did not know where it was

gonna come from. And the Lord provides in some

way. Somebody will show up and give you money

that you don't even know why they're giving it

to you. They'll bring you groceries. You'll get

a random check in the mail from some refund from

something you done forgot about. And there are

so many ways in which God takes care of us. And

I believe that that's what this passage means.

Does God bless us abundantly sometimes? Absolutely.

Praise the Lord. but we can't treat our giving

to the Lord like it's some slot machine at Las

Vegas. All right, I'm ready to hit it big. I'm

going to keep putting more in, putting more in,

putting more in. One day, if I keep putting enough

in, one day I'm going to hit it big and I'm going

to get it all. Maybe so. Maybe the Lord will

choose to bless you in that way. But I think

more than worry about what we're going to receive,

we need to be thinking about What we can give.

Are we honoring the Lord with all of our possessions

today? Maybe we are. Maybe we're not. Maybe we

need to think about that. Maybe we do help in

some way, praise the Lord. Maybe there are other

ways that we can help. But I think that that's

what God cares about more than anything. is the

heart in which we give. So maybe you know somebody

where there's a need today. Maybe you know a

neighbor or a family member or a friend. If you

don't know them today, maybe God will put them

into your path tomorrow. There are tons of ways

that we can serve. There are tons of ways in

which we can use what we have to honor the Lord,

but our natural human tendency, what we really

want more than anything, It's to use it on ourselves.

I expect every one of us. That's probably something

we fight against. I mean, that's just natural.

That's the first thing that comes to our mind.

We want to help ourselves. But what God calls

us to is to honor him with our possessions. Maybe

that means giving some up to the church. Praise

the Lord. Look, we've got to have money. It's

a fact of life. These lights have to be on. We

got to have water. There's a lot of stuff that

has to be done to keep a church going. You know,

and there's some people, they'll say, I ain't

giving to the church because I don't like the

preaching and I don't like that kind of new music

they're singing. Man, that's not a good heart

to have. Do you like the air conditioning and

the heat? If for nothing else, just give for

that reason. You're sitting on a padded pew,

that costs money. But giving to the church, praise

the Lord, I think that that's a good thing. I

think we should do that. But I don't think that

should be the extent of our service to the Lord.

So maybe there are some ways that you could honor

the Lord with your possessions. Maybe not your

money. Maybe you don't have a lot of money. Maybe

you got some time. Maybe you got some skill you

could use to help somebody else. Maybe you got

a tool that somebody could use. Maybe you got

a truck that you could use for some way to haul

people around in service of the Lord. Those are

all things that are our possessions. It's not

just the money in our bank account. It's all

that God has blessed us with, our talents, our

abilities, everything. Are we using those things

for the Lord? We don't want to give the Lord

our leftovers. We don't want to say, okay, God,

I'll do what I want to do, and whatever's left,

God, I'll use that to serve you, or I'll use

that little bit of money left. You know, we see

with Cain and Abel early on in the scripture

that Abel brought the best, the best of his flocks.

And it says Cain brought some of his produce,

some. His heart didn't desire to give the Lord

the best. His heart desired to give the Lord

just enough to get by. And maybe sometimes we

fall into that trap too. This is not a sermon

to say give more money. That's between you and

the Lord. This is a sermon to say are we using

what we have that God has blessed us with in

service to him? Are we helping those in need

when we can? Maybe there are times you can and

maybe there are times you can't. This isn't a

sermon to make you feel guilty. Look, there are

some times in life where we have a lot to give.

Praise the Lord. And there are other times in

life where Things are really tight. And maybe

you don't have the money to give. I heard of

a preacher this week. A radio show I listened

to. A guy called in. He said a lady of his church,

she confessed her sin in the middle of church.

Told the pastor that she was $5 ,000 behind on

her tithing. She didn't know what she was going

to do. And you know what the preacher told her?

He said, it's okay. We'll set you up on a repayment

plan. I don't know who gives, what you give,

or if you give, and I don't really care. That's

between you and the Lord. There are times that

we have and we can do and we can give. And when

we do, we need to. And when you can't, the Lord

knows your heart. But I suspect if we look that

there's something in our life, if not our finances,

that there's something that God has blessed us

with. And we need to use that blessing for others

in whatever way we can. God says, if you'll just

listen to me and you'll serve me, I'll take care

of you. And he does. He has been so faithful

to do that in my life. And maybe you can attest

to that in your life. That God is faithful. But

are we faithful to God? The most beautiful thing

that God could ever give us was Jesus Christ,

that our sins could be forgiven. That he would

give his life for us. We'd repent of our sins,

that our sins would be forgiven. That's the most

beautiful thing anybody could ever give. God

gave his only begotten son. Perhaps there's something

today that you could give. Perhaps there's something

you could give, some way that you could love

someone and help someone. So the question remains,

and only you can answer it today, are you honoring

the Lord with all your possessions? If not, then

pray and ask the Lord to help you to see opportunities

where you failed in that way or opportunities

where you can serve better. And I can just about

guarantee you that he's going to help you to

be able to see. those opportunities to serve.

Let's pray. God, we come to you now. We thank

you for your good words. God, I pray that we

don't get too caught up in the weeds about a

tenth of this and a tenth of that and where it

needs to go to and how often we need to give

it, dear Lord. We see your commands in the Old

Testament, but dear Lord, I think even in those

commands, you had a purpose. Your real heart,

dear Lord, was... partially we see to take care

of others, God. And what a beautiful call that

is for us today. We thank you that we are able

to come into this place, God, that as brothers

and sisters in Christ, we can use our monies

for ministry for you, dear Lord, for sleeping

bags, for shoeboxes, for helping the person who

can't afford groceries, for helping the person

who's... out of work with illness, for helping

the person who needs medications they can't afford.

Dear Lord, the list goes on and on and on of

ways that you call us to serve, that you call

us to give, that you call us to use what we have

to be a blessing to others. So God, I pray that

we would trust you in that way. Dear Lord, for

those today that are struggling, I pray that

you would help them. Maybe there are some, dear

Lord, and things are really tight, God. And maybe

they don't have a lot financially to give, dear

Lord. You know, I pray that you just, you meet

their needs. God, this isn't a sermon of condemnation

to make people feel guilty, dear Lord. This is

just a call for us to rejoice. Rejoice when we

have and use what we have and just trust in you,

dear Lord. God, perhaps there are times that

in our life we are able to give. And maybe there

are other times, dear Lord, where we are the

ones who need to receive. God, I pray that if

there are any who have a need today that are

struggling, that just having hard times, I pray

that they let me know, dear Lord, that as a church

we can help them, but God, that they would continue

to seek you to know that you would meet their

needs. Dear Lord, we know that your blessings

are so good to us, and I pray that we would rejoice

in that. We know that God, Many times you do

bless us abundantly, dear Lord. Your word doesn't

guarantee or promise us great wealth, but golly

God, by the standards of the world, we are pretty

wealthy whether we realize it or not. And so

I pray that you would just help our minds and

our hearts just to ponder these words of Proverbs

today. Not to make us feel guilty, dear Lord.

make us feel condemned, but just to examine our

life and say, okay, what are we doing with what

you give me? And God, maybe we're doing pretty

good. Maybe we're doing all you want us to do.

Maybe God, there are some other areas where we

possess something that we can use for the furtherance

of your kingdom. So God, I pray that you help

us to see those things, that you help us to see

the blessings, that you help us to see maybe

there is a little more that we could do. That

we would give with a free heart, dear Lord. Your

word says it's more blessed to give than to receive.

God, what you care about more than anything is

not just us going through the motions of putting

more money in the plate, dear Lord. What you

want as far as to give from a pure heart. So

God, I pray that you would help us to be a giving

people in whatever way. whether it's at the church

or on the street or in another country, dear

Lord, whatever the needs are that you lead us

to give to, God, I pray that you would help us

to live in obedience to you and to give to those

needs and to help those in need where we can.

And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.