Cullen Allen

Is Tithing Really That Important? (Part 1)

Last night we had a great service at SOS Church in downtown Stockholm.  I briefly shared on the subject of "Tithing" before the offering was taken.  Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."  

The concept of "tithing" basically involves 2 primary principles:

1) Ten Percent - The word "tithe" means 10%.  So God's challenge to us is that we would give 10% of our income back to Him.  I've been asked the question many times, "Should I give 10% before taxes are taken out or afterwards?"  A good answer to that question is, "How do you want God to bless you, with little or with much?"  If we want God to be generous with us, then it's good to be generous with Him.

2) First Portions - In the Bible, the tithe was given as a "firstfruits" concept, or the very first portions from the crops that were harvested (because agriculture was the primary economy during biblical times).  As you translate that principle into our lives, God's intent is that we give the very first portions of our income to Him…not the leftovers.  

When you put the principles of 10% and "first portions" together, what we find is that the Bible instructs us to give the very first 10% of our income to Him.  We shouldn't wait and see if we have enough left to tithe after our primary expenses are accounted for.  Instead, it's a faith-step in which we say, "I'm going to give God the first 10% of what I make, and believe by faith that He will multiply the remaining 90% in ways that go beyond anything I produce on my own."  After all, it's better to live off 90% of what God has blessed than 100% of what He is not able to bless (if don't obey the principle of the tithe).  

Next, I'll share a great story of how I've seen this principle work in an amazing way!

Tweeting The Entire Bible. . .

Twitter is a growing phenomenon, and I like it just as much as anyone else.  It's a "mini-blog" that people use to connect with friends, increase their social network, follow their favorite star, advertise their business and everything in between.  One of the things I personally enjoy is tweeting key Scriptures as a means to encourage others.  But I have to admit I never thought of tweeting the entire Bible.  I just read an article that documented a worship director in the UK who plans to do just that. . .tweet the entire Bible over a period of 3 years.  That's a pretty big feat!  You can read more about it Here. 

Where Is Your Focus?

Have you ever looked through someone else's glasses?  Chances are, everything was probably blurry.  Why?  The glasses were the wrong prescription for your eyes.  They caused everything you looked at to be out of focus.  Without the proper focus, your life is significantly impacted.  Hebrews 12:2 says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. . . ."  Another way to say this is "Let your eyes be FOCUSED on Jesus."

Having the proper FOCUS us actually one of the keys to living in spiritual victory.  Here's fact: Whatever you focus on is what you will follow.  If focus on failure, compromise and temptation, then that's the path that you will follow. . .you will fail, compromise and give in to temptation.  That's not the kind of live anyone wants to live.  When you FOCUS on things you don't want to do (even if you're trying to avoid them), you'll find find yourself defeated, depressed and falling for the very things you're trying to stay away from.  Why?  Because you were FOCUSED on the wrong things.

The Bible never tells us to FOCUS on what we should NOT do.  That would just give more opportunity for the enemy to work in our lives.  Instead, we should FOCUS on Jesus Christ and the victory He provided for us.  Remember, whatever you FOCUS on is what you will follow.  If you really want to follow Jesus, then make Him the primary FOCUS of your life. 

In Victory & Defeat

For those who know me, it's obvious that I'm a big Texas Longhorn fan. So it was heartbreaking to see the QB with the most wins and highest completion percentage in the history of college football go down to injury on the 5th play of the BCS National Championship game. (I really think we could have won the game if he would have played - but that's another subject).  He is definitely a difference-maker.

Well, one of my good friends gave me a Colt McCoy jersey today as a gift. I absolutely love it!  McCoy isn't just a great football player, he's also a follower of Christ and an all around classy guy.  I believe that you can learn a lot about a person by how they handle disappointment and defeat. The moments right after the championship game against Alabama were probably some of the most difficult moments in McCoy's football career, since he didn't get to play in the biggest game of his life.  This was the game he had waited all of his life to compete in.  Yet in that moment of great disappointment, it's refreshing to hear what he said and how he handled himself.  While he's one of the great college football QB's to ever play the game, his character and relationship with God speak louder than all the accomplishments. That's the last memory we'll have of McCoy on a college football field.  That's the kind of message that will live on long after the event, the trophies and accolades.  Watch it below. . .

Easy To Fall For. . .

There are many temptations that we are faced with every day.  This is nothing new.  It all started with Adam & Eve.  The Bible says in Genesis 3:6 "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."

This records the first instance of sin in the world.  Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God told them not to eat.  They fell for the temptation of the enemy. These are the 3 basic aspects of temptation.  These 3 elements are also found when Satan tempted Jesus and also in 1 John 2:16.

1) Physical Pleasure - Satan tempted Adam & Eve by getting them to focus on something that was "good for food," even though God warned them against it.  He tries to appeal to our "hungry" desires. When we let our 5 senses control us, we are headed for danger. A hungry need, can be a dangerous one if we allow it to dominate us. Where do we have "appetites" that we're allowing to control us and need to be surrendered to God? It's disastrous to fill our "hunger" outside of God's plans and intentions for our lives.

2) What We See - Eve saw that the fruit looked attractive and "pleasing to the eye," so she decided to eat. She and Adam made an emotional decision and acted upon it. When we live by emotional decisions we are also headed for trouble. Just because something looks, feels and seems right doesn't mean that it's healthy. Satan disguises things to make them look good, when in the end they bring death. It's important to set up boundaries beforehand so that we don't rely on emotions or feelings to rule us.  Do we have proper boundaries in our lives so that we're not fooled by emotions in the heat of the moment?

3) Selfish Living & Pride - Satan tempted Eve by telling her if she ate the fruit, it would be help her "gain wisdom" and be like God.  Ultimately, there is a desire that we all have to be our own "god."  That's what pride is.  It's about us going our own way and refusing the lordship/leadership of Christ.  It's when we become our own boss and disregard sound council and instruction.  Satan will purposefully appeal to our pride and use it against us in order to see us fall.  Where am I not allowing God to lead my life?

It's interesting that Satan used all 3 of these elements when tempting Adam and Eve, just like he did when he tempted Jesus. He went all out and didn't hold anything back.  While we are not above temptation, we have the ability to overcome it by the power of Jesus Christ. We can live in victory and not defeat when it comes to temptation. We can access the power of the cross and declare that Satan and his plans are defeated in our lives.

When You Don't Think You Can

This morning Joe Schafer (our children's pastor at APC) led the Ministry School students in prayer.  He did a fantastic job.  During the prayer time he challenged the students to write down the "calling" that God had placed on their lives.  He also challenged them from the 1st chapter of Jeremiah and talked about how God called Jeremiah and chose him before he was ever born.  After God spoke, Jeremiah had objections because he didn't think he could be used by God.  He had his doubts (just like most of us at times).  God answered Jeremiah's doubts by saying,

"Do not say, 'I am only a child.'  You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord."  (Jeremiah 1:7-8)

Joe made the following 3 observations about God's challenge to Jeremiah:

1) Forget Your Excuses - God didn't let Jeremiah hide behind his excuses.  He knew that would hinder his future.  God doesn't want us to hide behind our excuses anymore either.  It will hinder our future as well.  Are there excuses that you're hiding behind that are preventing you from obeying God in a certain area of your life?

2) Remember What God Has Asked You To Do (Your "Calling") - God reminded Jeremiah that He had sent him.  God had called him.  Therefore God was going to "back" him and support him.  Sometimes we need to remember the things that God has asked us to do, called us to do, or promises He has given us.  Are we staying on track?  Are we walking in obedience or have we forgot about those things?  Maybe it's time to "dust off" a promise that God has given us a long time ago that we're no longer believing or hanging on to.  God is reminding you today that He wants to bring those things to pass.

3) Nothing Is Impossible With God - God also reminded Jeremiah that his adequacy didn't lie in his own abilities, but rather in God's abilities.  And remember, that NOTHING is impossible with God!  Just like Jeremiah, we often have the tendency to live by what we CAN'T do instead of by what God CAN do.  A good question to ask is, "What areas am I limiting God in my life?" 

Do You Have "Junk" That Your Hiding?

Last night in our Sr High 2Twenty Youth Service we did something unique.  Instead of having a typical sermon, we watched one of Rob Bell's "mini-movies" from the Nooma series called LUMP, which talks about the "junk" we often hide in our lives.  Then we broke off into small groups for a time of discussion and Bible study relevant to the topic of the video.  It actually went really well.  I even decided to post the discussion guide that we created for our small groups.  Some of the questions were taken from the booklet that came with the purchase of the Nooma series, while others were ones we came up with ourselves.  If you choose to watch the video (which I recommend), just know that it lasts about 10 minutes.

Lump (Rob Bell - Nooma)

HERE'S OUR DISCUSSION GUIDE WE CREATED:

Question #1 – Have you ever gotten busted for something you’ve done?  If so, what was it?

 

Question #2 – What are some ways that you avoid dealing with the “junk” in your life?

 

Question #3 – You don’t have to answer the first part of this question out loud, but make sure you think about it:

• Do you have anything in your life that you’re hiding or something that you’re ashamed of?  If so, are you ready to deal with it?
• Here’s the portion of the question that you can answer out loud: Instead of hiding something that you’re ashamed of, or that you regret, what’s the best thing to do about?  What are the results of continuing to hide it?

 

*Let’s see what the Bible has to say about these things:

 

James 5:16 – “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

• This verse tells us there is freedom and power when we confess the things we’re trying to hide.  When we confess to God, He forgives us.  When we confess to another person who is spiritually strong, they can help by to keep us accountable so that we don’t keep getting tripped up by the same thing over and over again.

Romans 8:38-39 - And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    

Question #4 – Is it difficult for you to believe that God loves you no matter what you have done in your life?  Why or why not? 

 

Question #5 – How can that truth (the fact that God loves you no matter what) help to change the way that you live? 

 

Remember this quote from the video: “May you stop hiding under the covers.  May you let God pull the covers back.  May you embrace him.  May your whole life become a response to the truth that you’ve always been loved, you are loved, and you always will be loved.”

Fear, Trust & Freedom

What are you afraid of?  Most people are hesitant to admit their fears, but everyone has them.  Speaking in public ranks as one of the top fears.  I’m sure that the fear of heights is somewhere near the top, as well as the fear of failure.

 Fears can be paralyzing and will prevent us from reaching the full potential that Christ has for our lives.  The opposite of fear is trust.  When we let fear rule our lives, we are choosing not to trust in Christ.  The more we more we give place to fear, the more it grows.  Did you know that your greatest breakthroughs in life will often happen as you conquer your fears?  Our tendency is to run away from them, but God wants us to conquer them! 

 Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear. . .”  The power of Christ is greater than the power of fear.  What fears are holding you in bondage?  Let Jesus set you free today.  

 

Who's Fault Is It?

As long as we blame other people or other things for our poor spiritual condition, we will always live in defeat.  In Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  When God confronted them, Eve blamed the snake and Adam blamed Eve for what they had done.  No one took the responsibility for his/her own actions. 

 

It’s easy to blame other people and outside circumstances for the way that we’re currently living.  The truth is, however, nothing and no one can stand in the way of our relationship with Jesus.  We can’t control other people and we can’t always control the things that happen to us, but we do have a choice how we respond.  

 

Blaming others and/or situations for our inferior spiritual condition will only lead us further away from Christ.  Make the decision to take full responsibility for your relationship with Jesus no matter who or what seems to be standing in your way! 

 

The Valleys of Life

This morning I shared some thoughts on Psalm 84 with our MCM Ministry School students before our prayer time together.  Part of this passage of Scripture talks about passing through the Valley of Baca.  In Hebrew, the word "baca" means weeping or tears.  No doubt we will all pass through seasons and times of challenges in our life, but it is not meant for us to stay there.  The verse says that we will "pass through," not "take up residence" or "stay" in the valley.  Too often people decide to live in the Valley of Baca instead of passing through.  The pain, hurt and weeping can be so overwhelming that it may seem easier to live in that place. 

But if we keep our eyes on Jesus, Psalm 84 says that he can make our valleys a "place of springs."  We can go from "strength to strength," not from weeping to weeping or from struggle to struggle.  God has much different plans than for us to live a life of defeat.  We just need to believe that!  Many times our greatest breakthroughs will occur after we walk through a valley.  The key is that we must keep on walking and keep on believing.  Don't stay in the valleys of life.  Often we are so close to a major breakthrough, but fail to realize it because of how the valley (times of weeping) makes us feel.  Let God turn your times of weeping into times of refreshing.  Believe that your greatest breakthroughs are just around the corner!