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My Blessed Business

Some thoughts from this past Sunday's sermon:
  • The tithe belongs to God. Not to us. To God.
  • The word "tithe" means tenth. The Bible says that one tenth of everything that God has given us belongs to him.
  • The average Christian in the U.S. only gives about two percent of his income to the work of the Lord.
  • Fewer than three percent of those who call themselves followers of Christ honor and obey God with the tithe.
  • God has given each of us a business--the business of managing our financial resources. But if we don't return the tithe to God, we are robbing him (literally "embezzling"), and we place our business under a curse. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. (Haggai 1:6)
  • But if we return the tithe to God, He promises to open the floodgates of heaven and pour out such a blessing that we will not be able to contain it. "I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land." says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:11-12)
  • Ninety percent with God's blessings is far more than one hundred percent with His blessings.
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