Why I Tithe...the priority

This weekend I was driving home from my 25 year college reunion, still smiling from an amazing day rekindling friendships with people I love deeply, reflecting on how dramatically different my life has become since those years at Randolph-Macon.  I think the best way to describe the impetus behind my journey of change is that making a vow of devotion to Jesus means giving up a life lived based on self-generated values.

Following Jesus is surrender.  Following Jesus is abandonment.  Following Jesus is a complete and total transplant.  Following Jesus is fully embracing Kingdom generated values.  Where mine conflict, His reign supreme because everything about Jesus is transcendent, superior, matchless...perfect.  I am flawed.  I am desperately hopeless in my spiritual ineptitude.  There is such freedom in accepting my depravity and living a life of total dependance on Jesus' ways...His ways are my ways this day and every day.

Part of that way requires a Kingdom approach to the stewardship of my material resources.  And what I find in Scripture, our guide to Jesus' values, is that there is a tithe.  This blog series has covered already two of eight principles that direct my family's conviction to tithe.  Today is number three and can be heard in a recent sermon I shared at City Life.

The priority.  Matthew 6:33 speaks volumes about how central the theme of priority is to a relationship with Jesus.  He is first.  This theme of priority is something we easily embrace when considering our affections.  When we hear Jesus' great proclamation of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength we say, "Of course we should!"  When we hear the Apostle Paul in his epistles talking about thinking of others as more highly than ourselves, putting others first, being forgiving we say, "Of course we should!"  When we hear John in Revelation talking about how even now just the vision of God's glory should draw from us a song of praise that rises above all else we say, "Of course...!"  But when this same sacred Book challenges us to have a tithe as the central part of our personal finances, the priority of our monthly budget we say, "Hey, that's a little extreme."

We cannot read texts like Proverbs 3:9-10 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 and deny that God expects our giving to Him to be our most important financial priority.  I like these texts because they remind us that our giving is supposed to be much broader than just a tithe.  Remember, there are eight principles I am sharing...these principles build on one another.  Tithing is certainly just a part of any Kingdom based stewardship plan but the tithe is the cornerstone.

Our family has had its share of financial crisis.  I still remember that fateful night in September of 2009 when we realized that the town home we purchased using as a down payment our life's savings was constructed with toxic Chinese drywall.  We lived the next 5 years on the precipice of bankruptcy.  We exhausted cash reserves we have finally replenished, accumulated debt we have finally paid, lost equity that has yet to be restored, tapped retirement monies that are still waiting to be replaced...our tithe was never negotiable, is yours?

I cannot expect to walk in the blessing of the tithe if I do not give in the spirit of the tithe.  Tithe demands a priority.  Otherwise, that monetary gift is just a donation.  Every act of material generosity that is given with the right heart and for the right reasons is a candidate for reciprocity.  That is for a another blog at another time but I assume most of you are familiar with the Christian concept of reaping what we sow.  But a tithe goes further.  A tithe is redemptive.  If I give out of what is left over, there is still the hope of reciprocity.  If I give my tithe as a priority and then build my monthly budget based on what remains, that tithe is not only a candidate for reciprocity, that tithe redeems the 90 percent that remains.  This is part of the supernatural side of life with Jesus.  There are times when God asks us to stand in a place of having less because He is trying to position us into a place of receiving more.  Receiving more is about reciprocity but also about redemption.  God's promise as related to a tithe is that reciprocity brings blessing to us because of what is given AND that redemption brings blessing onto what remains because of how I gave...a priority gift.

See you next week!

Pastor Fred

Why I Tithe...the consequence

Check out last week's post for some background on this series of articles entitled "Why I Tithe."  There will be eight total and last week and this week were covered in a message I shared at our church, City Life, during the October 11th service.

I have been in vocational ministry since 1999, and in all those years, I have found that many people are uncomfortable with the idea of Christianity being consequential.  A national figure a few years ago was accused of apostasy for his book that bordered on the line of teaching a heretical belief known as universalism.  Why?  Because this author like many people eschew the possibility of God legislating consequences that are either temporal or eternal.  Too many people mistake the sacred concept of grace for permissiveness.

Grace does not mean there are no expectations...it means there is forgiveness...and forgiveness does not mean there are never consequences!  Let's just take the Pauline epistles for example.  I don't understand how anyone could read Paul's letters and not come to the conclusion that God expects MUCH of us!  And yes, when we fall short, which we will inevitably do, we can trust there is a loving, forgiving Father waiting for us.  But He doesn't change those expectations.  He expect us to do better next time...and oftentimes part of us learning that lesson and finding the motivation we need to grow spiritually is walking through the consequence of our foolish disobedience.

Malachi 3:7-10 should inspire us all!  Some brief history.  Malachi's ministry marks the beginning of 400 years of prophetic silence that is not broken until the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist.  God likes a good dramatic pause!  We understand that this was God's plan for amplifying the message of John the Baptist.  When there hasn't been a prophet for four centuries, the prophet that breaks that silence is going to have the attention of the people.  But I believe God was also amplifying the ministry of Malachi.  If someone told you that you couldn't speak again for 40 years, two statements would matter...your final statement before silence and your first statement breaking silence.  Malachi is God's final statement before 400 years of prophetic silence.  Malachi is a book that we should read with a deafening effect...and one of Malachi's most pronounced themes is:  there are consequences for our foolish disobedience.

God suspends His prohibition against testing him in this text.  And what is the context of this test?  The tithe.  And this test is consequential.  If we are obedient, we are promised blessings that are the equivalent of an open heaven over our lives.  If we are disobedient, God says we will be under a curse.  A word of caution.  Do not picture God as some Harry Potter in the sky with an incantation He speaks over everyone disobedient to Him.  When I fully embrace all of God's decrees, all His expectations of me, I am living within the boundaries of life with God.  In that place, I am positioned under His "open heaven."  When I choose to be disobedient, stepping outside those boundaries, I am choosing to forego His blessings...I am stepping outside of His favor...that is the perfect picture of being "under a curse."  A blessed life is a life lived under God's authority.  A cursed life is a life lived under nothing, and in that place I lack His favor and am also spiritually vulnerable to Satan.

Two other great verses that speak to this idea of blessing and cursing are Proverbs 3:33 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.  Remember, stepping outside of God's boundaries occurs when we do what we should not but also when we fail to do what we should...sins of commission (I shouldn't have stolen that money) and sins of omission (I should have read my Bible).

When I don't tithe...there is a consequence...I am under a curse.  Not only am I forfeiting His favor but I am willfully choosing to live in a spiritually vulnerable place.

This is the second reason why our family has faithfully practiced tithing our entire Christian lives...the consequence!

Pastor Fred

Why I Tithe...the portion

Over the next eight weeks, I am sharing eight reasons why our family (Me, Vannessa, and our three children) practices tithing. I am teaching these eight at our Newport News Campus on Saturday nights so if you would like to listen, here is the link (October 11 sermon) to last Saturday.

I covered two in this sermon and will be writing on one of them today. These messages are part of a sermon series entitled #projecthope where we are following the word hope throughout Scripture. In my study, I wanted to see where "hope" appeared first in the Old/New Testaments, last in the Old/New Testaments, how often throughout Scripture, how many words in the original languages, any identifiable trends, and etc. These next eight blogs and next few sermons are inspired from the last mention of "hope" in the Old Testament which is Zachariah 9:12 during which God makes this amazing promise of repaying two blessings for every one trouble we endure. In reading that verse, I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me this truth: God has a Kingdom economy for us, one that is governed by His Scripture and never transcended by our conclusions. Tithing is a Kingdom economy concept. Tithing transcends human understanding...how can I end up with more by choosing to have less? So much of the Kingdom of Heaven is counter, opposite, backwards...relative to the rules that govern this temporal world. When my human understanding brings me to conclusions that contradict Scripture, I choose Scripture, the transcendent truth!

I tithe because I believe a certain portion matters to God, one that He calls a tenth part.

We find the first mention of tithing in Genesis. Abram (God has not yet changed his name) returns from rescuing his nephew Lot, defeated kings and armies in the process, was now in possession of the spoils of war and he gives a tenth, a tithe (which literally means a tenth part) to Melchizedek who was a priest and king (a prophetic picture of Jesus). This verse is important to me because this practice of tithing pre-dates the Mosaic Law. Biblical principles that pre-date the Mosaic Law are an important consideration. The Apostle Paul talks of faith, being justified by faith, teaches about Abraham being justified by faith, that being justified by faith pre-dates the Mosaic Law, observable through the study of the life of Abraham and his relationship with God. Tithing pre-dates the Mosaic Law. This is important because we know from studying the Pauline epistles we are no longer bound to the ceremonial and civil aspects of the Mosaic Law. Yes, tithing is taught in the Mosaic Law, but as a continuation of something that God had already established therefore it is not set aside like so much of the Mosaic Law.

The next mention of tithing that is profoundly instructive to me is found in Matthew 23:23. Anyone who says Jesus never talked about tithing may not have actually read the Bible! Here Jesus rebukes some religious leaders but in the text, He clearly affirms the practice of tithing. He actually says, "...you should tithe..." and that is a direct quote from Jesus given to us by the Holy Spirit through the gospel writer Matthew. So, these two verse are bookends for me. Genesis on one side and Matthew on the other. I believe this is intentional by God so we would not fall into the trap that some have laid for us that tithing is a part of the Mosaic Law that we as Christians should not now be expected to practice. Now I have heard some people acknowledge this text but in doing so point out this was a very specific conversation that Jesus had with a very specific group of people. I agree with that. However, I cannot agree that every time Jesus has a very specific conversation with a very specific group of people we should corral those teachings, separate them, and exclude them from Christian doctrine. If we did that, we would be setting aside a frightening measure of the total of Jesus' teachings... Christianity would then be reduced to a mere handful of precepts. All of what Jesus says should matter deeply to us all!

The Bible should never be leveraged to justify living less. Scripture is given to us to find a deeper way in...not an easier way out! The portion matters to God.

Next week I will share about the consequence...but if you can't wait, check out #projecthope in the link above or come visit us in Newport News on Saturday nights at 5pm or Sunday morning in Williamsburg at 10am (www.citylifeva.com).

Pastor Fred

Redeemed

Hey @CityLifeVA...we are excited about our up and coming summer series entitled Rescued!  It's gonna be epic!  Here's a little taste of what's to come...each week beginning with the weekend after Father's Day all the way through August, we will be looking at a person in Scripture who made a commitment to live for God, all in, completely abandoning oneself in devotion to Jesus...like Saul on the road to Damascus in the book of Acts.  This blog speaks to the desperate need we all have...to be redeemed and why we are giving our entire summer to ask this one simple question, have you been rescued?

In Numbers chapter three, we find the most foundational teaching of Scripture, redemption.  There are some criteria in my own observations that an act of rescue must meet to rise to the height of redemption.  Have you ever been redeemed?

First, the person needing rescue is otherwise incapable of saving themselves, meaning that apart from the gracious act of the rescuer, the one held captive, either by people or circumstances, is hopelessly desperate.  Either their guilt is too egregious to ignore without the intervention of an advocate, their debt too enormous to ever be paid by their own potential of future earnings, the lineage of a husband’s name facing extinction in his death having yet to produce an heir, or a murderous malefactor in need of judgment, and so as the stories of redemptive practices fill Scripture…calling for the intervention of an advocate.  Have you ever been redeemed?

Second, the advocate is fully capable of fulfilling the vow of redemption.  They have the resources to pay the debt, they are the next of kin to fulfill the role of the kinsman redeemer, they have the physical presence necessary to apprehend a violent criminal…they are willing, knowing that their only reward is the satisfaction of having given themselves to prodigal generosity, or in the case of a ceremonial exchange, the redemptive price is in keeping with God’s economy as prescribed by the Law.  Have you ever been redeemed?

Finally, the act of redemption is a moment of last resort.  There is no legal statute to otherwise employ, the guilt of the one held captive is not in question, the one in a position to extend mercy is either unwilling or the collective need for the communities’ sense of justice is too great to forgo, no amount of waiting will alter the circumstances…have you ever been redeemed?

Be careful in reading through the Old Testament, especially books like Numbers, that you are not dismissive of their ability to reveal life transformative, life enriching truth.  In chapter three, verse 39 we read that there were 22,000 Levites numbered in the census.  However, there were 22,273 firstborn males among the remaining eleven tribes.  Since God had established that the priestly service of the Levites was a redemptive price in exchange for all the firstborn males that belonged to the Lord (Numbers 3:11-13), there was a gap of 273.  There were not enough Levites to fully redeem all the firstborn.  Picking up with verse 44, “The Lord spoke to Moses again:  Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle.  The Levites belong to Me; I am the Lord.  As the redemption price for the 273 firstborn Israelites who outnumber the Levites, collect five shekels for each person…give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemptive price for those who are in excess among the Israelites.”  Have you ever been redeemed?

The 273 could not just be ignored.  The redemptive price demanded satisfaction.  So here’s the turn, with Jesus, there is no gap.  It took one Levite to redeem one first born male of Israel.  Have you ever thought of every sin, every mistake, every moment your choices have displeased God, whether by omission or commission?  Jesus is enough.  What about every sin of every person who has ever lived, who will ever live, every person since the beginning of time until its imminent end, Jesus is enough.  No additional tax is needed, no other sacrifice necessary, no gap exists…Jesus is enough!  So I ask again, have you ever been redeemed?

Have you pondered the lack of your life?  I have, I do, often.  I am not enough.  I am indebted to my innate inclination of selfishness.  The debt I have amassed in life from my sin is incalculable, innumerable.  The circumstance of my spirituality is desperate.  My sin demands justice.  I need redemption.  Jesus is my Redeemer, there aren’t 273 sins remaining that He could not address, He is enough.

Have you ever been redeemed?

Pastor Fred

Sacred

I grew up in a small Episcopal church just east of Richmond, Virginia, in Varina, the church, Varina Episcopal.  I have the most wonderful memories there, bowing in reverence as the cross was marched down the center isle to hymn, the bells in the tower being rung by a rope that hung enticingly low to every child, the Apostle’s Creed, the Doxology, organs and operatic sounding voices, and of course, the fellowship hall where sausage balls and other delightfully southern concoctions entertained our palettes.

But my most coveted memory is communion.  As children, Mr. Edleton, the rector of our parish, would place his hand on our heads and speak a blessing over our lives.  I believe in the power of a blessing spoken in faith over another; may we all give generously of the blessings we are empowered to bestow this side of eternity.  I also remember seeing Mr. Edleton being accompanied by another church leader, often my father, consuming the remainder of the wafers and wine.  Because they had been consecrated, set aside for a sacred purpose, simply discarding them was profane.  Consecrated, sacred, holy, precious.

Would you be willing to ask God some questions with me this day?  Am I discarding prayers that I should have offered?  Am I throwing away praise that I withheld?  Am I throwing away time that I should have consumed in Scripture?  Have I directed resources that were destined for generosity?  Work that should have been rest, solitude that should have been community, silence that should have been witness, reluctance that should have been intentionality…

The Gospel is “good news” ultimately because eternal life is within reach of everyone who has breath and is willing to be embraced by Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and pledge their lives in devotion to Him.  And in His grasp, we are held by the hands of many heavenly sentiments, ones that superficially appear contrasting from the perspective of humanity but in God’s infinite wisdom, they are always commendatory of one another.  Grace without judgment is permissiveness.  Liberty without boundaries is avarice.  Love without devotion is cathartic.  Accessibility without sacredness is common.  Prayer, worship, Scripture, gathering, reaching…a sampling of what we at our church call Pathways (www.thecitylifechurch.com) are accessible to everyone who is a devoted follower of Christ, but may we never forget the sacredness they hold, may we never let their ease of reach diminish their holiness, their availability defame their consecration.

If I close my eyes, I am a child.  I am sitting in a wooden pew with a velvet covered kneeler at my feet.  Up the stepped platform, across the expanse that separates the two choir lofts, one on the left and the other on the right, filled with a robed choral, behind a railing accompanied by a padded step where we had just knelt, where I had been blessed, I see two men standing, backs to us, facing an enormous cross hanging above the altar, reflecting the light that pours in upon it…they are eating the wafers, drinking the wine…we are silent.

Recapture the sacredness waiting for you in every day.

Pastor Fred

True Love Always Has A Choice

In eastern Henrico County on a back road adjoined to Route 5, there used to be a small private school called Chickahominy Academy.  All the way through sixth grade, this was my place for learning in the classroom, fun on the playground, horrors in the cafeteria, trouble in the library, napping on the bus rides, and realizing that girls didn’t have cooties after all…okay maybe some!

I remember sitting down with my Mom the week of Valentines Day each year after having purchased a box of kid’s Valentines Day cards, with my allowance money of course.  The pack had an assortment of messages and then I would enclose one of the heart shaped candies that had a stamped message.  Everyone in class was doing the same thing.  Everyone got a card.  No one was left out.  Those were the rules.  So the strategy was now what to say to each girl.  Some cards and hearts were about friendship and other cards and hearts were for romance…getting those confused could be disastrous!  But even in the innocence of adolescence, I was learning a monumental life lesson…true love always has a choice.

I am careful to use the word “has” and not “is” because I grow weary of hearing people say that love is a choice.  Love is not a choice.  Love is not a decision.  Love is a feeling.  That makes some people nervous because they view emotions as superficial sentiments.  I think those people are trying to convince the world that love is a decision because misery enjoys company!  I do believe that right feelings follow right actions so if you are in a loveless marriage, there is hope for you!  But the hope is for feeling to return, for the emotion of love to fill your heart again for the one to whom you promised your life through the sacred vows of matrimony.

1 Corinthians 13 has not found its way into the consciousness of even secular culture by being a chapter about decision making.  This sacred text is so celebrated because those are the feelings we want others to have toward us.  They are the feelings we aspire to have for others!  This love is so special, so celebrated, so coveted because it always has the choice to be impatient, to be unkind, to be jealous, boastful, and proud, to be rude, to demand its own way, to be irritable and keep a record of wrongs, to rejoice at injustice, to give up, to lose faith, for hope to wane, and endurance in difficult circumstances to fail…but it does not.  True love always has a choice.  True love finds a deep, abiding affection for someone even when our humanity is tempted to feel something contrary.

I don’t want a marriage that exists only in decision.  I don’t want children who relate to me only through acts of will.  I don’t want parents who pursue me only out of obligation.  I don’t want siblings who spend time with me only because of duty.   There is something in this world that is eternal.  There is something in this world that God says is the deepest, most cherished of all.  It is not faith.  It is not hope.  It is love.

Today as you open the Bible, see Holy Scripture as a single card, a card with only two words…be Mine.  He loves us.

Pastor Fred

Biblos Geneseos

These are the first two words of the Gospel of Matthew.  Scholars debate their full meaning, ranging from "record of genealogy" to "record of origins" to "record of history" and whether Matthew intended this statement to refer only to the genealogy of Jesus or was it a heading defending the historicity of his entire gospel?  As we begin this new year, I would like to suggest another question…am I aware of the sacredness of my life, that my life is a link in the chain of the destiny of another, that my life is going to affect the future, that my life is bigger than today, I have the opportunity to create generational momentum!

You might by now have realized there are two genealogies given to us in Scripture relating to Jesus.  One here in Matthew and the other in Gospel of Luke.  I am of the camp that believes these two genealogies are the lineage of Joseph (Matthew) and Mary (Luke).  Joseph's line traces back to David through the kingly line of Solomon while Mary's tracks through another one of David's sons, Nathan.  They both trace to Abraham which is vital because OT prophesies speak to the Messiah being a son of David and a son of Abraham.

Now stay with me, even if I have already surpassed your appetite for details, keep reading…there are more details I going to ask you to endure!  In looking at Matthew's genealogy in comparison with OT genealogies, we begin to realize some names have been omitted.  For example, as Chuck Smith in his commentary on Matthew points out, where are Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah?  These were grandchildren to Ahab and Jezebel…two of the most evil people in all the OT narratives!  Of course Matthew left them out!  But not to hide them, not in hopes of obscuring some scandalous history of Jesus' line.  If you share in my conviction that Matthew is just the human instrument and the Holy Spirit is the author, there is another reason for their omission.  I believe it is because God is reminding us that the destiny of future generations can be because of us or in spite of us…which testimony do you want to possess?  Our mistakes, even if they become as egregious as Ahab and Jezebel and their immediate family, cannot derail the sovereignty of God!  Are you going to create generational momentum or are you going to be erased from God's glory story?

Now let's fold into our recipe the ingredient of Luke's genealogy.  Here we find some women included, four to be exact, and three of those women have questionable histories, less than stellar reputations:  Thamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba.  Why would they be included and the three people above excluded?  I have a theory.  Mistakes don't automatically disqualify us from being a part of God's glory story…they do not automatically displace us from our hopes of being a creator of generational momentum.  In fact, we can say everyone in both genealogies given to us in Matthew and Luke are disqualifiable because Paul writes in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God!  The question is not wether we have sinned, the question is whether or not we have availed ourselves to the grace of God.

I see my past.  I deserve the plight of Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah.  I deserve to be omitted.  But like those who have been included in the gospel genealogies, I have found His great grace.  His grace keeps me in His glory story, His grace keeps me in the adventure of creating generational momentum, His grace keeps me.  We are all undeserving, the question we have come to is are we rebellious?  Are you rejecting God's right to rule in your life?  Are you rejecting His offer of forgiveness that only comes through His Son…the reason for these two greatly profound genealogies!

Find His grace in 2014, find His grace in Jesus, find your name on a list, be in your history, be included in the lineage of your family…advance the destiny of someone in the future because of who you are becoming and not in spite of who you are…a person always availing themselves to rule of Heaven and the grace of God.

May 2014 be the year of being counted, the year of our names being mentioned…I am written!

Pastor Fred