This Sermon on How To Be A Cheerful Giver Is Powerful and Enlightening. Wow. The Way That Pastor Dre Breaks Down On How We Should Give To God and Why Is Amazing.
Malachi 3:10 (NIV) – 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 title of my message this morning is “There is a whole in your pocket.”
Now I am not talking about the hole such as H O L E, but I am talking about a whole as in W H O L E.
The Bible says to bring the whole tithe W H O L E into the storehouse.
So tell your neighbor “there is a whole, in your pocket.”
In Afrikaans ons se “ Daar is a hele in jou sak. “
You say Pastor Dre how can you say that? Well, let’s read it in Afrikaans bybel.
Malaegi 3:10
Bring die hele tiende na die skathuis, sodat daar spys in my huis kan wees; en beproef My tog hierin, sê die HERE van die leërskare, of Ek vir julle nie die vensters van die hemel sal oopmaak en op julle ‘n oorvloedige seën sal uitstort nie.
Daar is ‘n hele in jou sak.
Everybody has a whole in their pocket.
Tell your neighbor like you mean it, “There is a whole in your pocket.”
When I say whole I mean a whole tithe.
Now we must understand something and that is this. It doesn’t matter the amount of money in your pocket, but there is a whole in your pocket.
See a lot of people think that if they don’t make a lot of money, then they don’t need to pay a tithe, so they will just give an offering here and there, but that is not true.
If you make any amount of money, then you have a whole in your pocket.
See some people think that if I don’t get a consistent paycheck then I don’t need to give a tithe, but that is not true.
If you get blessed with any amount of money, then you have a whole in your pocket.
See some people think that I only get an allowance from my parents, and I don’t have a job then I don’t need to tithe from that, but that is not true.
If you received any amount of money, then you have a whole in your pocket.
I think it is important for us to understand that it is not the amount of money that determines whether we have a whole or not. The only thing the amount of money determines is the amount of the whole we have in our pocket.
Let me give you an example:
If I get a paycheck of R3,000, what is the whole tithe in my pocket? The whole tithe is R300.
If I get an allowance of R500, what is the whole in my pocket? The whole in my pocket is R50.
If I get blessed with R1,000, what is the whole in my pocket? The whole in my pocket is R100.
So, what I see from this is, it doesn’t matter the amount of money that I receive, I still have a whole in my pocket.
Now when I say whole, I am referring to the whole tithe.
Now the Bible says in
Malachi 3:10 KJV
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Malachi 3:10 NKJV
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
So, what I see here is we do the bringing and God does the blessing.
We receive and we give.
We give and we receive.
We receive and we give.
We give and we receive.
Now what we see here is the act of Reciprocity.
What is reciprocity?
I looked it up and it said:
1: the quality or state of being reciprocal : mutual dependence, action, or influence
2: a mutual exchange of privileges
I give, I get. I give, I get.
I get, I give. I get, I give.
Reciprocity is basically giving at the same measure that you are getting or vice versa, getting at the same measure you are giving.
See any relationship that is going to last needs reciprocity.
Whether it is a friend, job, marriage, talent, gift, business or whatever.
Example:
- If I have a friend and all I do is give out to them and I don’t ever receive anything back, then there will probably come a time when I will cut that friend lose.
- On the other hand, if I have a friend and all I do is take, take and take from them, but don’t ever give anything back. They will probably not be my friend for long. Why Because there is no reciprocity.
- If I have a job and all I do is take and don’t ever give anything back, then I probably will not keep that job for long.
- On other hand if I have a job and I do is give and don’t ever get anything back, then I will probably not keep that job for long.
Can I get an Amen?
The reason why you and I usually stop doing something is because there is because we feel there is no reciprocity.
Let me put it to you like this.
If I am working out at the gym and I am giving my time and efforts then I am expecting something in return such as to get fit, lose weight or build muscle.
So, if I am going to the gym giving my time and efforts, but I am not seeing the results I want to see, then I probably will stop going to the gym. Why because I feel there is no reciprocity.
Let me give you one more.
If I am trying to learn a skill such as painting, cooking, welding, or playing an instrument and I am giving time to learn, and I don’t see any results. There will probably come a time where I stop giving my time toward that skill.
Why because I feel there is no reciprocity.
Most of the time when relationship starts to feel strain is when one person gives but doesn’t get.
When your boss at work starts putting pressure on you, it is usually because your job is giving but it is not getting from you.
Now on the other hand, when you feel your job is not working out it is usually because you feel your job is not giving back at the rate you are giving out.
The law of reciprocity is you give and you get, you get and you give.
We even see this in the agricultural world.
When you plant a garden and water it you get fruit.
You give the ground water, and the ground gives you fruit.
The ground gives you fruit, and you give the ground water.
If you stop giving the ground water, then it will probably stop giving you fruit or if the ground stops giving you fruit, then you will probably stop giving the ground water.
Whatever we give to usually will give back to us.
When it doesn’t give back to us that is usually when you and I will stop giving.
So if we understand and see how this works in the worldly realm, Why is it that some of us don’t understand how it works in the spiritual realm?
What I see in this portion of scripture is that we bring, and God gives. God gives and we bring.
We bring and God gives. God gives and we bring,
We bring the whole tithe; God gives the blessing.
God gives the blessing; we bring the whole tithe.
Now the challenge sometimes is that God will do the giving, but we don’t do the bringing and then we wonder why don’t have.
See God always keep His part of the deal, but the challenge is for you and I to keep our part in the deal.
Now it shouldn’t be difficult for you and me to do the bringing because we see how God is changing lives, restoring families, and saving souls through our bringing.
I don’t know about you, but I get excited when I see how my giving is making a difference in the lives of people.
I don’t know about you, but I get excited seeing people getting launched out to take cities, start life groups, own their own business, lead a ministry or being a father or Mother to their children.
See it isn’t so much that we are doing all this, such as seeing people raised up, seeing people being launched out, seeing families restored, having church and making an impact, but the exciting is who God is using to do the work.
See you and I may not get excited when we see someone walk into the House of God on a Sunday or throughout the week, but we may get excited if we know that person used to be paralyzed.
Can I preach just a little bit?
When Moses saw the bush that was on fire in the desert, it wasn’t that the bush was on fire that got his attention. What got his attention was that the bush kept burning.
It was normal to see burning bushes in the desert, but what wasn’t normal was to see a bush that didn’t burn up.
Seeing people go to church and having church is normal to the world, but what isn’t normal is the people that God is using in our ministry.
Seeing someone walking might not be a big idea to you, until you find out that person used to be paralyzed.
Let me put it like this:
Seeing someone walk into the House of God with their family might not be a big idea to you, until you find out that their family was being torn apart by alcohol.
Seeing a young lady walk into the House of God with her children might not be a big idea to you, until you find out she lost her kids due to drug addiction, but now God has restored them.
Seeing a husband and wife walk into the house of God might not be a big idea to you, until you find out that they were separated, but now God has restored them.
Seeing someone walk into the house of God with a job and a family might not be a big idea to you, until you find out that that person used to push a trolley.
Seeing someone walk into the House of with their own business might not be a big idea to you, until you find out that that person was homeless.
Seeing someone get launched out to start a church might not be a big idea to you, until you find out the one being launched out was bound by drug addiction and gangserism.
Seeing someone get launched out as a pastor’s wife might not be a big idea to you, until you find out she was bound by tik and now Jesus has set her free.
Seeing some lead a life group at their own house, night not be a big idea to you, until you find out that life group leader was homeless because of his addiction.
Seeing someone own their own business might not be a big idea to you, until you find out that person used to rob and steal from their family.
I get excited when I see how God is able to use the giving of my whole tithe to make an impact in the lives of people that are hurting.
Halleluhah…
I get excited to see how God is able to take my whole title and use it for His honour and for His Glory.
I get even more excited when I know that we all have a whole in our pocket that God can use to make an impact.
Tell your neighbor “You have a whole in your pocket.”
Daar is ‘n hele in jou sak.
Quote: Trying to impress people
The trouble is that too many people are spending money they haven't yet earned for things they don't need to impress people they don't like.
This morning I would like us to get ready to worship the Lord with our tithes and offering.
Now the cool thing is we can all patriciate in this part of the service. Why, because we all have a whole in our pocket.
Also, this morning as we get ready to worship with Lord with our tithes and offering, I would like to introduce you to another way that we can give.
And that is giving via WhatsApp.
Yep, that’s right.
You can now give via WhatsApp.
We have made it easier for you to give your whole.
We found out this morning that we all have a whole in our pocket. From the kidz gang, to the teen-ager, to the adult.
Now this is one of the simplest ways that I know of besides the giving of actual cash.
We have set up a way where now you can give via a WhatsApp message.
Let me explain to you how it works.
How to Register
- Type in the number (060) 070 – 2753 and save it as a contact. Such as VO Giving or whatever you feel you can remember.
- Open whatsapp and search for this contact. Send a message with the content of VO to this number
- Once you do this you will receive a message in response, please click the blue link in that message.
- A page will come up asking you to enter your information.
Such as phone number – First Name, Last Name, Email Address and Create a Password.
After you fill out your information then enter your card details.
- Click the blue register button
- After this your bank will ask you to confirm a purchase usually in the amount of R2. You will receive an OTP from your bank. Go ahead and confirm the purchase.
- You are good to go.
How to give after you have registered
- Open WhatsApp and choose the number you saved. Such as VO Giving or whatever you saved it as.
- Send a message with VO as the content.
- Then you will receive a message saying:
Hi Your Name
Please select a fund to give to by typing in the code, followed by your amount. Example “ VO TI R100 ”
Tithes VO TI amount
Offering VO OF offering
If you would like to give a tithe of R100 you would type in VO TI R100
If you would like to give an offering of R100 you would type in VO OF R100
- Click send and you are done.
- You will receive a notification that your giving is successful.
Now every time you want to give all you have to do is send the amount you would like to give to this WhatsApp contact, and you are done.
You can be at home, school, work, church, or watching church online.
You can even be at life group. Hello.
Not only that, you can even be in another part of the world.
We have just made giving easier because remember one of our goals as a church is to grow our tithing base to 40% by the end of the year.
Last time we had an update we are at around 32%
We know it can be a little challenging to give online whether it is through EFT, online giving or through the app. So we have set this in place in hopes that this will take us closer to reaching our goal of a 40% tithing church.
At this time, we are going to give you a chance to use your new way of giving.
We are going to Worship the Lord with our tithes and offering.
I know some of us are holding heavy because it is pay day weekend.
This morning I want to encourage us to be faithful in our tithes an offerings.
We see how lives are being impacted for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.
Not only that, but we see this morning that we all have a whole tenth that we can give unto God.