Tithing

The Christian and His Finances

By John MacArthur

I. THE RIGHT TO POSSESS MONEY - Acts 2:44-45

A. God Owns All Money - Haggai 18; Deuteronomy 8:18a; 1 Corinthians 4:7b

B. God Gives Men the Power to Gain Money - 1 Timothy 6:17c.

C. God Doesn't Condemn Money - Acts 2:45 Acts 4:34-35

D. God Provides Principles for Gaining Wealth

1. Work - Prov.14:23; 2 Thess. 3:10-I1; Prov. 6:6-8; Prov. 20:4; 1 Tim.5:8

2. Save - Proverbs 21:243.

3. Plan - Proverbs 27:23-24a; Proverbs 24:3-4;

E. God wants us debt free - Prov. 22:7b; 1 Cor. 7:23

F. God Doesn't Want Us to Be a Loan Company - 1 John 3:17; Proverbs 17:18

But Why Am I Always Short of Money?

1. Do I really need more?

2. Is God testing my faith?

3. Did I already misuse what He gave me?

4. Have I violated biblical principles

Stinginess - Proverbs 11:24

Hastiness - Proverbs 21:5b; Philippians 4:19a

Stubbornness - Proverbs 13:18a

Laziness - Proverbs 20:13

Indulgence-Proverbs 23:21a

Craftiness - Proverbs 28:19

II. THE WAY TO REGARD MONEY

A. The Cautions of Loving Money

1. The desire is never satisfied - Ecclesiastes 5:l0a, 11

2. The desire leads to more evil - 1Timothy 6:10b

3. The desire lacks contentment - 1Timothy 6:6-7).

4. The desire separates man from God - Matt. 6:24a

B. The Consequences of Loving Money

1. Forget God - Prov. 30: 8-9; NASB

2. Stop trusting God - Job 31:24-25, 28b; Prov. 11:28; 1 Tim. 6:17-18

3. Be deceived - Mark 4:19

4. Compromise biblical instruction - Matthew 6:33

5. Rest on unstable foundations - Proverbs 23:4-5

6. Be ungrateful - Deut. 8:14; NASB

7. Be proud - Proverbs 28:1 la; Jeremiah 12:2

8. Rob God - Malachi 3:8

9. Rob others - 1 John 3:17

III. THE WAY TO GIVE MONEY

The money given us is a steward­ship - Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 8:5

A. Giving Should Be in Response to Need - Acts 4; Acts 11:27-29

B. Giving Should Be in Response to God's Command - 2 Cor. 9:7a, 1 Cor.16:2a

C. Giving Should Be Sacrificial - Luke 19:8; 2 Sam. 24:24b

D. Giving Should Be Secret and Humble - Matthew 6:1-4

E. Giving Is the Key to Spiritual Fruit - Luke 16:10-11

Every church needs its members to contribute into the life of the church, this is how we manage to reach out to our community and pay our staff and also take care of church maintenance etc. and the way to do that is by giving -

There are three ways in which you can invest in God’s work through the Brakpan congregation:

- Cash offering—during the service on a Sunday

- Using the envelope system

- Electronic Transfer

Our banking details are as follows:

Bank: First National Bank

Name: Methodist Church Brakpan (Cheque account)

Account no: 51150803696 Branch Code: 250 542

We believe it is not how much we should give to God,

but how much of God’s money we should keep for ourselves