Trusting God with Your Finances | Reordering Your Life | Full Experience

Let's sing this out, here we go. ♪ This is the day you made ♪ ♪ So I'll rejoice in the light, rejoice in the light of day ♪ ♪ I'll rejoice in the light, rejoice in the light of day ♪ ♪ This is where I believe that you are more than enough ♪ ♪ You're more than enough for me ♪ ♪ You are faithful to your promise, you are strong and I am weak ♪ ♪ And I'm standing in your presence, I am everything I need ♪ We sing. ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ I'm told by the strong, blessed King of all that is ♪ ♪ And then He said, the joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ All that is, it's in me sing ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ Oh my soul, oh my soul let it sent all that is ♪ ♪ It's in me sing the joy of the Lord the joy of the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh my soul, oh my soul let it sent all that is it's in me sing ♪ ♪ Oh my soul, oh my soul let it sent all that is it's in me sing ♪ ♪ With only me overflowing Holy Spirit let it rise ♪ ♪ Let it rise up like a river overflowing Holy Spirit let it pour out ♪ ♪ With only me overflowing Holy Spirit let it rise up like a river overflowing Holy Spirit let it pour out ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength of my soul ♪ ♪ Oh my soul, oh my soul let it sent all that is it's in me sing ♪ ♪ The joy of the Lord, the joy of the Lord is my strength ♪ ♪ ♪ You're not aimless in the valley There's adventure in the lines and in between ♪

♪ It's not just existence, a simple story You just need to know ♪ ♪ He often pulled me back upon my feet ♪ ♪ Now I'm walking with the God who walks with me ♪ Come on. ♪ Oh Spirit be my compass, oh Spirit guide me home ♪ ♪ You know the only way to the place where I belong ♪ ♪ Though I've been prone to wander, you've never been too far ♪ ♪ So Spirit be my compass, back to the Father's heart ♪ Oh, back to your heart, Lord. ♪ Though I feel faithless, I won't be discouraged ♪ ♪ There's a purpose for what feels like wandering ♪ ♪ And I'm still learning what things are certain ♪ ♪ You are greater than my heart's humanity ♪ ♪ I'm walking with the God who walks with me, yeah, oh ♪ ♪ Oh Spirit be my compass, oh Spirit guide me home ♪ ♪ You know the only way to the place where I belong ♪ ♪ Though I've been prone to wander, you've never been too far ♪ ♪ So Spirit be my compass, back to the Father's heart ♪ Lead me, Lord, lead me back to your heart again. Pray this out together. ♪ Show me the way, show me the way, show me the way ♪ ♪ Back to the Father's heart, show me the way, show me the way ♪ ♪ Show me the way back to the Father's heart, yeah, oh ♪ ♪ Show me the way, show me the way, show me the way ♪ ♪ Back to the Father's heart, show me the way, show me the way ♪ ♪ Show me the way back to the Father's heart, yeah, oh ♪ ♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Back to the Father's heart, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh, Spirit be my compass, oh Spirit guide me home ♪ ♪ You know the only way to the place where I belong ♪

♪ Though I've been prone to wander, you've never been too far ♪ ♪ So Spirit be my compass, back to the Father's heart ♪ ♪ Spirit be my compass, back to the Father's heart ♪ ♪ Spirit be my compass, back to the Father's heart ♪ Amen. Amen. I wanna give you some encouragement and some good news today. The last thing Jesus did before he left this earth, after having completed his earthly mission and going to the cross and rising again, he said, I'm not gonna leave you alone, talking to his disciples, to us now. I'm not gonna leave you alone. I'm gonna send one who will be a comforter, a support, an encourager, to give you peace, to give you direction. That's the Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit that we've just been singing about. I wanna read this passage from the book of Romans. This is chapter eight. Paul writes, God's Spirit, this being the Holy Spirit, does not make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and we call him our father. God's Spirit makes us sure that we are his children. His Spirit lets us know that together with Christ, we will be. given what God has promised. Now I don't know, maybe you can relate to this. There are times in my life when I'm doing anything but running after the heart of God.

I'll go astray, I'll be wayward, and all of a sudden I'll wind up and go, man, how'd I end up here? Maybe you can relate to that. My guess is probably you can at some point in your life. Here's the good news. Our God is slow to anger. It's his kindness that brings us back to him. He's abounding in love, his word says, and his Holy Spirit is what brings us back to that Father's heart where we belong with him. Bob also says the same spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, it's alive and active in us. So be encouraged today, whatever season you're in, whatever you're walking through, God is close. He's closer than the mention of his name because his Holy Spirit dwells within us, within you. Father, thank you for that truth. Thank you that you didn't leave us on our own. God, you sent us the helper of the Holy Spirit. In fact, you are the giver of all good gifts. And so today, as we continue to worship you, Lord, we know that you are the only one worthy of our praise and our adoration. So we give that to you today. Ascribe to you the honor that you deserve in Christ's name. Thank you Lord. Thank you Lord. Lord, I never fell short. But thank you that the Lord rose from the dead

Why don't you join me in thanking him. I know that it was over, but your mercy kept me going So I owe you my praise We sing, praises, oh Lord you deserve Oh Lord you deserve all my praises Oh Lord you deserve, only you deserve all my praises Only you deserve I know I'm far from finished But your grace is still sufficient And that's what makes the difference So I owe you my praise Now I'm standing here forgiving And my life is worth living You're the God of new beginnings So I owe you my praise Praises, oh Lord you deserve Oh Lord you deserve all my praises Oh Lord you deserve, only you deserve all my praises Oh Lord you deserve, oh Lord you deserve all my praises Oh Lord you deserve, only you deserve all my praise You deserve all my praise When I think of all you've done When I think of all you've put me through And I think about your love I can barely say enough thank yous When I think of all you've done When I think of all you've put me through And I think about your love I can barely say enough thank yous For the ways that you have made

For the rights that you have made For your persons and your name That's why I love you, praise For the ways that you have made For the rights that you have made For your mercies everyday That's why I love you, praise ♪ Oh, for the ways that you have made ♪ ♪ For the price that you have paid ♪ ♪ For your mercy's every day ♪ ♪ That's why I love you, praise ♪ ♪ For the ways that you have made ♪ ♪ For the price that you have paid ♪ ♪ For your mercy's every day ♪ ♪ That's why I love you, praise ♪ ♪ Oh, praise ♪ We owe him praise. CCB, thank you for singing with us. You can go ahead and be seated. You know, that song we just sang is touching to me because I've been a father for about 11 months now and it has been absolutely amazing. Now, here's two things that's happened ever since I've had a daughter. Okay, number one is I can come home and maybe I've had a rough day or it's been heavy and I can see that little face smiling at me and immediately she just lifts my heart. And then two, ever since I had a daughter, I cry more than Dave Stone.

Now, I've got him beat, I've got him beat, but before we conceived, we went through a pretty tough season of trying to conceive and we believed that our faith was being tested. And there was a question on the table, have we surrendered everything to God? And that was a hard question for us because up until that point, we hadn't, even if it meant us never being parents. So what about you? Is there something that you're not surrendering? And I say that because Jesus gave all of himself, even when he had every opportunity to compromise, he could have chose safety or comfort or he could have walked away completely, but love wouldn't let him. So what it says in the book of Philippians chapter two, starting in verse seven, "'Instead, he emptied himself "'by assuming the form of a servant, "'taking on the likeness of humanity. "'And when he had come as a man, "'he humbled himself by becoming obedient "'to the point of death, even death on a cross. "'For this reason, God highly exalted him "'and gave him the name that is above every name, "'so that at that name of Jesus, "'every knee will bow in heaven and on earth "'and under the earth, and every tongue will confess "'that Jesus Christ is Lord,

"'to the glory of God, the Father.'" You see, Jesus didn't just die for us, but he chose to. That's why that song that we just sang is so fitting. We owe him praise and we don't sing and worship out of guilt or shame. We sing out of gratitude. And another way we worship is by taking communion, where we take a piece of bread and a cup of juice together to remember what he did for us on the cross. The piece of bread symbolizing his body that was beaten, the cup of juice symbolizing his blood that was shed for the forgiveness of sin so that you and I could live. And also to remember a savior who was unwilling to compromise his calling so that you and I could experience freedom. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for who you are. We thank you for sending Jesus. Father, because of him, we have the opportunity at hope and forgiveness and eternal life. And Father, thank you for that. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Well, if I haven't met you, my name is James, and I serve as one of the pastors here, and Veterans Day is coming up on Tuesday, but we as a church, we just wanted to take a moment. If you're a veteran and you have served, I just want to invite you to stand, and as they stand, CCV, can we just give it up for them? And if you're tuning in online, we just want to say thank you. Thank you so much. If you are the spouse of a veteran, we also want to say thank you. You understand what it means to be on mission for something bigger than yourself, and that spirit, that's the spirit that builds the church. You know, every week we have people that come in, and they may be coming with a season that's heavy or a situation that's hard, and it's through the heart of our volunteers that extends peace and hope, and oftentimes inspires those to continue to come to church or take a next step. You know, whether you're holding an infant in our nursery, or you're cooking fries in our food services ministry, or maybe you're leading a neighborhood group in the community, you are not just volunteering, but you are a part of a mission, and that is to win people and reach this valley for Jesus, and maybe that's you. Maybe you're ready to take a next step, or you're ready to say, you know what, I've been coming to CCV for a little bit,

and I want to learn a little bit more about the church. I just want to invite you to starting point, and at starting point, you'll learn three things, who we are as a church, what we believe as a church, and why we champion next steps to be more like Jesus, and we have made starting point super simple to serve and get connected here at CCV, and if that's you, I just want to encourage you to download the CCV mobile app. It's absolutely free to download, and you can register there. You can simply show up, or if you have more questions, you want to speak to someone in person, stop by our next step center. We have some pastors, and we have some coaches that are ready and willing to have a conversation with you, but again, here at CCV, we have made serving and getting connected and plugged in easy, so make sure you don't miss starting point. We would love to have you. Well, Dave Stone has the message today, so go ahead and take out your notes to the CCV mobile app to follow along as we continue week two in our series titled, Reordering Your Life. At the start of this year, my son, Sam, started a podcast. It's called Risky Business. He interviews successful people from a wide variety of ages, backgrounds, and professions, and the one thing in common is that they all had some pivotal moment where they took a calculated risk based upon their own experience. and evidence. Some flopped. Some of them were incredibly successful. Many of them seemed dicey and would seem reckless or perilous to us. Some would call what they did a step of faith, but a better description in some cases might be a leap of faith. There's Todd,

who 10 years ago decided to risk every penny he had to start buying AI companies. There's Karen and Lindsey, who each walked away from 15-year careers to take a side hustle and to turn it into a dream store with 75 vendors. There's Clark, who risked a normal high school life of fun to focus on swimming, and that led to him becoming a national champion and an Olympian. There's Roger, who quit a job he just wasn't passionate about to start something that brought him joy, and now he employs over 2,000 people. My son Sam says there's a phrase that has been said by a number of his guests, so much so that it has started to stand out to him, and it has caused him to take notice. The common statement the guest will say is this, I've discovered that the biggest risk is not taking a risk. In other words, the scales are tipped in the other direction, and it's riskier not to make the financial investment or not to apply to that school or for that promotion. There are tests that you can take that reveal your level of risk tolerance and your propensity for risk taking. We'll use this as a definition of risk, exposing oneself to the possibility that something unpleasant or unwelcome will happen. And we could list our names from all of our campuses, and we could state our own biggest risks that we've ever taken. There's Dave, who asked out that girl who was totally out of his league, and yet she said yes, and last week we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Yeah. Hey, that's a good risk for me. Sometimes I think, what if I hadn't taken that risk? What if I hadn't asked her out? My life would be so different. Maybe I never would have gotten married. It makes me wonder how different my life would be and where I would be if I hadn't taken that risk. Who knows, right? We have no idea. But today I'm going to invite you to risk in some uncharted waters, in an area that maybe you've never ventured before. But while the waters may be uncharted for you, there are millions who have marked this territory, and I have never heard of anyone who regrets taking this risk. And today I don't want to talk about relational or vocational risk. I just want to talk about spiritual and financial risk. And we're going to talk about tithing. And here's the premise, or here is the truth that from the outset of this message that I want you to get. 90% with God will always go further than 100% on my own. Now to some of you, that sounds like risky business. But when we follow Christ, we believe that he changes everything, including how we view money and what we do with it. Well, what is tithing? So let me make three statements that will help define that term.

First of all, tithing is a percentage. Think of it like this. My son, Sam, discovered some consistencies with successful entrepreneurs. They all had to make balanced sacrifices. And when they dealt with the financial risks, there was always some percentage or some metric, something about how much loan they had versus how much capital they had, or the infrastructure to the employees, or percentages, or how they would determine whether something was a reckless risk or a calculated risk. And in your faith, there are clear metrics that work as well. Here's what the Bible suggests as the metric, 10 and 90. We said it earlier, 90% with God will always go further than 100% on my own. And that word tithing means a 10th part. Tithing was first practiced centuries before the birth of Christ by Abraham. It's giving back to God 10% of your income. Now, later when the law is given, the tithe is included. And in Leviticus chapter 27, verse 30, it says, a tithe of everything from the land. whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees belongs to the Lord. It is holy to the Lord. So remember that was an agrarian culture back then. That's how they got their sources of income. And offering was anything beyond the tithe. And the Bible teaches a percentage and not an amount. And that's good because that way when you get downsized or you get a cut in pay or there's a government shutdown that costs you income, the expectation changes. The same with when your salary soars or when your commissions increase. There's no guilt trip from God over the amount you give. He just shares his expectation of 10% so that everyone can do their part. Here's a second thing I want you to get. Tithing is to be a priority. So it's a percentage, it's a priority. Successful entrepreneurs have a list of priorities.

First is what's their vision? What's their focus? What's their hiring practices gonna be? There's an order of what comes first and second and so on. No entrepreneur gets a loan before getting a patent. You don't hire staff before you have a business model. Likewise in your spiritual life, the tithe should be a priority. Now the Bible teaches that God is a jealous God. And for good reason, it's because there is no one or nothing that compares to his wisdom, his power, or his love. Proverbs chapter three, verse nine says, "'Honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all of your crops.'" And the 10% always comes first. It's kind of like buttoning your shirt or your blouse. You get the first button correct, everything else falls into place. He's to be the priority of our giving. We give to him first, we start with him rather than just flippantly giving him whatever's left at the end of the paycheck. Here's the third statement, all right? He's a priority, it's a percentage, and tithing also includes a promise. Entrepreneurs don't go to the market without testing something. They try their product out on potential clients to see if there is a hunger for it. They do research and development

to make sure that it works properly. In similar fashion, God invites you to test him in the tithe. If you've been around CCV for any length of time, you probably have heard us talk about taking that challenge of trying to give 10% to the Lord for a three-month stretch. And I promise you that if you do, you will see God move and your faith grow through your obedience. The strongest command on tithing comes from the book of Malachi. It's the last book in the Old Testament and where we see that God clearly expects the tithe. He lays it out for us here, but he also says it's accompanied with a promise. Malachi 3, verse eight, this is God speaking. This is what he says. He says, will a man rob God? And yet you rob me. But you ask, well, how do we rob you? In tithes and offerings. Verse 10, 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 you will not have room enough for it. In fact, this is the only time in the entire Bible where God ever says for us to test him in anything.

I mean, how profound is that? The God of the universe looks at you and the creator says to the created, I dare you to tithe. Do you trust me? It's like he's daring us to allow him to prove his sovereignty. What's the phrase that my son keeps hearing people say? I've discovered that the biggest risk is not taking a risk. And God says, go to your house and get 10% of what that household makes and bring it to my house. And he invites you to take that risk, to invest in him. What if as a believer, you were to simply take God at his word? I mean, God says, test me on this. And when you hear that, immediately, I know what happens. I understand. We begin to line up our excuses and we throw them back at God to keep us from following through in obedience. Here's one excuse that we give. Well, I mean, tithing is an Old Testament concept and we're New Testament Christians. Some people say that Jesus never talked. about tithing, but on the contrary, he does. Look at his words in Luke chapter 11, verse 42. He's talking to the religious leaders, and he says, what sorrow awaits you, Pharisees, for you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God.

You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. You know, Matthew records for us almost the same words in Matthew chapter 23, and if tithing were no longer a New Testament practice, then this would have been the perfect time for Jesus to say, hey, you know what? Forget all that tithing stuff, that's old covenant. You just give whatever it is that you feel like giving. Or he could have said what he says all throughout the Sermon on the Mount, where he says, you have heard it said, but I say, verily, verily, I say unto you, and he gives another deeper thought and tougher and more difficult, but he doesn't say that. Instead of rebuking the religious leaders for tithing on small things, he tells them that they shouldn't neglect that, nor should they neglect the more important matters of the law. Another time, Jesus was questioned by some people trying to trap him about whether or not it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. Matthew chapter 22, verse 21, Jesus answered them, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's. How did the people know how much belonged to Caesar? I mean, Jesus didn't have to elaborate on it because it wasn't an amount, it was a percentage that Caesar got, they all knew it. How did people know how much belonged to God? Well, Jesus didn't have to elaborate it because it wasn't an amount, it was a percentage

that everyone was well aware of. Let's imagine that you say to me, well, Dave, you can never convince me to become a tither. Okay, well, let me ask you, what should it be then? What should a person give to the Lord's work or to the church? You know, the New Testament says in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse two, it says to give to God as he has prospered you. He wants you to be generous with the church, he wants you to be generous with others. One night a few years ago, I was out with my wife and another couple who are good friends of ours, and it was very late, it was after midnight, and we were eating at a Waffle House there in Kentucky, and to put that in perspective, if you don't understand, that's like a P.F. Chang's or Ruth's Chris here in Arizona, all right? Waffle House, so we splurged that night, we went out, and I knew the waitress, I'm in there a whole lot, I knew all the different shifts of people, and so we were cutting up with the waitress and having fun with her, and I knew she had a boyfriend. Well, it turns out her boyfriend was the cook, and I just hadn't been in at that shift with them before. And I said, well, get him over here, I gotta meet this guy, so she got him to come over, and we got talking to him, and my buddy Bob said, so how long have y'all been dating, and you guys are living together now? He said, well, why don't you guys just get married?

I don't understand, and the guy said, the cook said, well, he said, you know, we wanna get married, but we haven't gotten engaged yet, we've picked out a ring, but I don't have the money to buy it. And Bob reaches in his pocket, and he starts pulling out $100 bills, and he said, you say when? 100, 200, 300, 400. At 400, he looks at me, and I go, when? I said, no, I think he's good, I said, I think he was gonna spend 400. I think that's what it was, and no, I got my wallet out, and I didn't have the hundreds, but I had some others, and I started chipping in as well, and I tell you that story because I wanna be a generous person like Bob. I wanna be the person who, when there's a need, you just reach for your wallet, you reach for your checkbook, you reach for your phone, the Venmo, whatever it is that you do, and you say, you know what? Let's take care of that right now. I just wanna live a life like that. Bob passed away a couple years ago, so I get emotional talking about it. Like that. I wanna be a person who is always ready to give and I'm holding onto things loosely. Christians should be known as people

who are quick to step up to the plate. If God says to test him by tithing of our income, then that should be our natural response. We obey. Someone said God's love language is obedience. But I wonder if instead God feels like we're always looking for loopholes, trying to find an easy way out. But think about this. If the tithe was what those who believed in the one true God gave before Christ, B.C., before Christ came on the scene, what do you think it would make sense to give after Christ comes on the scene, more or less? I mean, 1 Corinthians 16 says to give as God has prospered you. And now in light of the fact that we now have Jesus, we now have the forgiveness of sin, we have the assurance of salvation, we have the promise of heaven, and oh yeah, we have the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside of us. I mean, in light of that, do you think that we should be going up or down with that 10%? Before the silence gets too awkward, let's move on to another excuse, another defense mechanism. Tithing emphasizes money over other scriptural priorities. That's an excuse that some people give. Say, well, you're making too big of a deal about giving.

And tithing is not designed to say that financial giving is more important than prayer or worship or serving or sharing your faith. And Jesus even talked about the important aspects of the law, honor, justice, love. But it does say a lot about what's most important to you, our approach to money reveals a lot. Jesus said, in Matthew chapter six, verse 21, he says, wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. You remember that time in the sermon when Ashley connected that chain with a treasure and placing the heart behind, and wherever the treasure would go, the heart is right on its heels. So I guess what I'm saying is that stewardship habits and tithing will reveal your priorities. So what do you treasure? Because let me tell you, your heart is one step behind that treasure. Here's the third statement that I sometimes hear, and we'll camp out here for a while. Tithing costs more than I can afford. That's another excuse that people give. And that might be an honest evaluation of your current situation right now, okay? But are you content to remain in a continual state of not being able to do what God asks of you? I mean, I realize that for many of you listening today, that maybe due to some health situation,

or maybe your car is in the shop, or something unexpected, or decisions that you made to purchase something, or maybe it was a job that you lost, or perhaps it was a sacrifice that you're making for your family. I get it that there are difficult seasons, that this statement genuinely communicates that yeah, this is a really tough time, but if you stay in that perpetual sense and state for months and months and years and years, I mean, do you have any desire for obedience? Tithing costs more than I can afford, but is it more than God can supply? I mean, let's be honest. You do have some say in where your money goes. Most of our problems come because we don't live within our means. By the way, if you missed Ashley's sermon last weekend on contentment, man, it was so good. Listen to it on your drive home today. A budget can help you with your contentment, a budget is a strategy, it's a method, it's a means to tell your money where to go. That's what it is. And a budget can save you from some impulsive purchases. I preached at the same church for 30 years on my 25th anniversary in the middle of a sermon. The chairman of the elders walked out and scared me to death for one thing,

but they surprised my wife and me with a trip to Hawaii. And it was round trip, so I didn't get to stay, but it was for 10 days. And we got this phone call before we left to go there, and it was from a nice gal named Kathy from the hotel, from the sales office, and she said, Dave, can you help me with a little bit of money? She said, I got wonderful news. You have been selected to get to attend a 90-minute presentation about a timeshare. I mean, I'm like, wow. I mean, it sounded so rare, and I don't wanna make a big deal about it or anything, but I'd been selected, all right? And she said, Anne, we'll give you a free delicious dinner in exchange for your time. I said, well, let me talk to my wife. So I talked to my wife that night, and she said, oh no, no. No, we don't need a timeshare. Why do it if we're just gonna say no? So the next day, Kathy calls me back, and I said, hey, you know, I don't think it's gonna work out. She said, oh, that's not why I called. She said, I have been approved to throw in a round of golf for you and a free massage for your wife. I mean, we're pretty special, okay? Because I know they don't do this for just anybody, all right?

And she said, plus the free dinner. She said, Dave, have you ever played golf in Hawaii? I said, just on my laptop. But as a man of the house, I stood strong, and I said, first, let me get my wife's permission. So I talked to Beth again, and she said, no, it's not in our budget. And she said, besides, after the presentation, I'll be saying thanks, but no thanks. Which way to my massage, you know? So I politely declined the offer when Kathy called again. I thought that was it. But two days before we're supposed to fly out, she called, and she sounded kind of out of breath. I wish you could have heard the call. She was like she had just received this news, and she said, hey, she said, Dave, she said, you're not gonna believe this. She said, this never happens. I said, well, what, what? She said, I was able to get two free rounds of golf and a couple's massage plus the dinner. You gotta sign up. She said, there's no pressure at all. Just come to the 90-minute presentation. She said, I'll call you tomorrow. Well, I talked to Beth that night, and she said, look at me, focus. She said, I know what's gonna happen. You're gonna feel obligated

because of all the free stuff that they gave you. After the timeshare presentation, you're gonna sign up for the timeshare thing, and we don't have that in our family budget. Just say no. So the next day, she called, and I broke it off with Kathy. I gave her the let's just be friends speech. I was so afraid that I might cave that I actually wrote out what I was supposed to say so that I wouldn't blow it. This is what I said. Thank you, Kathy, for your generous offer, but Beth and I don't need your vacation club. We've got each other, and every day is a vacation. And then I hung up. Beth had one rule the entire time that we were in Maui. I was not allowed to get within 20 feet of Kathy. Now, please don't misunderstand me. There's nothing wrong with getting a timeshare if you plan for it, if you can handle it financially, if you can still give God the first fruits of your income, go for it. But in our case, we hadn't planned for it. And so you have to learn to say no to your wants so that you can prioritize the tithe to the church and your gifts and offerings for ministries and people who need your help, for people that you run into at Waffle House, for people who are homeless.

If your output exceeds your income, then your upkeep will be your downfall. And that reduces our ability to give and share with others. So live within your means. We don't give to get, we live to give. And tithing isn't about God getting something from us, it's about God doing something in us. Jesus said, it's more blessed to give than to receive. And your greatest joy will come through giving rather than keeping. Paul talks about the spirit we should have when we give in 2 Corinthians 9, verse 7. He says, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And the Greek word used here for cheerful is the word hilarious. And it doesn't take a scholar to know the root of that word. You see, tithing demonstrates trust in God through our hilarious giving. We're so joyful about it. We're happy to share it. Tithing is an act of obedience. And when you choose to give the first 10% of your income to the Lord, you're saying, I believe God you can do more with that 90% than I could do if I had 100%. When we were planning. this sermon series, Mark and Ashley said,

hey Dave, you're preaching on tithing, you've got to hear the story of Jeff Kniebel. He lives in Indiana now, but he came to Phoenix a few years ago and he wintered here and he attended our Scottsdale campus for a couple of different winters. And so I'm like, okay, why do I need to talk to this guy? And they told me something very interesting that I'd never heard before. And so I got my phone out, I introduced myself to Jeff by text and then I said this, is it true that you actually started tithing before you became a Christian? And he wrote back and said, yeah, apparently I'm the only person in recorded history to do that. And we set up a call and the conversation was fascinating. In his 40s he said, I was still dealing with student loans. He said, that was so frustrating to me because I always just felt like I was behind and despite being knowledgeable in my trade and being driven, I just, I wasn't getting ahead financially in any way. And so he said, you know what I did? I started picking the brains of all my close work partners and friends and all of them were doing fine financially. And so I just started trying to learn best practices. He said, it turned out every one of them was a Christian and every one of them was a tither. And he said, they each talked about how significant it was. And I realized all these connections that they had

with their home churches and their giving. He said, one close friend, Greg Napier, a committed Christian, kept telling me story after story of how when he was a kid, his parents tithed and how God provided when his family had nothing. And he said, they were the most bizarre stories that I'd ever heard in my entire life. And he said the same thing, Greg said, is happening in his adult life as well. And Jeff said to me, he said, how would a non-church guy ever hear these stories and these testimonies? He said, I had no idea, but he said, Greg challenged me to tithe to a church for 90 days. So Jeff, who wasn't a Christian and who wasn't going to church anywhere, started tithing. And he didn't do it for just three months, he did it for nine months. And when he hit nine months, he said, something happened. He said, I just had this incredibly unsettling debate internally that was going on. He said, it was like the world and the culture was saying one thing to me and God was saying something else to me. He said, it was this tug of war. He said, so I stopped tithing for two months. But he said, I felt so restless over it. And he said, I wasn't pleased with the life that I was living. He said, I finally came to the point, and at this point, I thought the call got disconnected.

There was silence on the line. And I thought, oh, I guess the call failed. But then I realized it wasn't that at all. Jeff was getting emotional. He said, I'm sorry. He said, it just takes me back to then. He said, it was deeply and intensely personal. He said, and it just triggers that emotion. He said, I had to wrestle with what I was gonna do. He says, it was like the world was saying to me, you know what, you just threw your money away for nine months. How ridiculous of you to do that. And he said, on the other side, I felt like God was saying, something else. He said, so I finally realized, I've gotta make a decision. And so he said, I went all in, and I became a Christian. He said, I went to Life Church in Danville, Indiana. He said, I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. He said, I was baptized. He said, I went all in. He said, I'll never make another dollar in my lifetime that I'm not at least tithing or more on it. He said, tithing reminds me, none of this is mine, it's not about me, and it's my way to help others. He said, I wish I would have learned this as a teenager. Then he said this, it's very convicting. He said, pastors need to talk about it more, because it will lead people to Christ.

He said, it's not about churches wanting your money, it's about God wanting your heart. Now you and I understand, that is an incredibly unique order, and it's rare. But he did it solely because of the wisdom of others, and as a result, he started tithing, and it actually helped lead him to Christ. Why would that be the case? It's because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And some of you are new to faith. Let me rephrase that. Many of you are new to faith. You know, CCV, we have had over 8,000 baptisms this year. Is that unbelievable that God is doing that work here? And so I know that there are thousands of you who your situation is just the opposite of Jeff's. You've become a Christian, but this concept of giving generously seems outlandish and counter-cultural to you. That's why it was so quiet the first 10 minutes of my talk tonight. Because today you're sitting here and you're listening to this and you're saying, whoa, yikes, I don't know about that. I understand, but maybe your giving might play a role in one of your friends coming to Christ. So if you're not currently tithing, test God and try it. Make it a discipline for the next three months. It's very easy to set up. I'm so technologically challenged.

I called the accounting people. I said, okay, how would I tell somebody to do this? Because I'm already set up on it and have been for years. I don't know how to set it up myself. They said, oh, you just go to CCV Church or go to the CCV app. He said, on the CCV app, you just go to the bottom of that page and click on Give, and then you click on Give Now, and you can set up your campus, the frequency, the amount of your gifts. You can put your info in there. I mean, we wanna be stretched. I wanna learn what God wants me to learn, even if it takes me out of my comfort zone. If you're a new Christian, then I realize that this concept seems extreme to you, but God's plan for our lives is always best. You were created by God in his image for God so loved the world that he gave. Perhaps you've been a Christian for a long time, but when it comes to this area, there really isn't a real rhyme or reason to your giving. It's more on a whim or haphazardly, and you just don't think about it much. You say, well, I don't make that much. What does it matter? Then all of a sudden, March or April rolls around. You start thinking about your tax deductions, and where'd I put that giving statement from CCV?

And you realize that what you really did was just flip God the leftovers rather than the first fruits. You gave him the last rather than the first. You gave him what was left rather than what you knew to be right. And my challenge to you is to establish a scheduled plan and rhythm to your giving to ensure that you're tithing. A regular discipline so your giving communicates to God that he's the priority and he's not some afterthought so that it's evident that you care about the poor. That's where a lot of your gifts go to, the homeless locally, the orphans and widows regionally, those people who have never heard the gospel globally. Another group, you may be a longtime believer and you've been tithing for years. My challenge for you is to continue to grow in your generosity and in the grace of giving. Way to go, keep it up. Don't feel prideful over it, but also don't keep it to yourself on how you've seen God work. I'm not saying that you boast about it. I'm not saying that you work it into every conversation. Well, you know, I'm a tither, all right? I'm not saying that. I'm not suggesting that you make t-shirts that say on the front, I'm a tither, and on the back it says, why aren't you?

Sinner, you know, I know some people that would actually wear those, all right? And they've got bigger problems, that's for certain. But your testimony, your story can be an encouragement to those in your close sphere of influence who may be considering this or starting that journey. Do you love the Lord? Do you trust that the church will steward these gifts appropriately and vet the ministries that they support? Do you have a burden for others to know Jesus? Will you trust that 90% with God will always go further than 100% on my own? Just past Wednesday night, our group that meets at our house, we dug into Ashley's sermon on contentment. And I mean, the response and just the talking with 30 of us there in the house was amazing. And on a whim, at the last second, I passed out four by six cards to everybody in there. And I said, okay, I just want you to jot down something for me. I said that we got. talking about tithing out of contentment. And I said, I just want you to jot down what keeps people from tithing. And I said, then I want you to write down for those of you who tithe, because I know that the majority of that room does and it's been a process for many of them.

And I said, I just want you to write down how you've seen God bless that. I said, don't put your name on it. So they all did, they threw them in a basket, everybody left, and then I just read through them all. And I'm gonna fly down here, I pulled several of them out that really kind of summarize different thoughts that were said. The blessing of obeying. I thought that was a great phrase. Teaching opportunities for our kids and involving them in the process. And I've got several different ones, but I think my favorite was this one. God will bless you beyond what you can imagine. You will experience God's creativity. If you tithe, you will experience great joy and it is contagious. That's my favorite one. You know why? It's in my wife's handwriting. And my wife didn't grow up in a home that tithed. And she has taken that step of faith and beyond. And I couldn't be more proud of her. I've discovered that the biggest risk is not taking a risk. And I say the same thing to Christians who continue to play it safe when it comes to giving and generosity. And it's that fear of the unknown. I get it.

But I want you to move forward in your faith. And if I'm being totally honest and as candid as I possibly can be, I just wanna say, I'm not sure that tithing is a risk. I know you might think that it is, but I just want you to hear me say it again. I'm not sure that tithing is a risk. I mean, if God invites you to do it and to trust him, and then he promises that he'll open the floodgates of heaven, I mean, is that really a risk? I don't mean that that means he's gonna bless you financially. He might, he might not. Son of man didn't even have a place to lay his head. So don't be waiting for a big house. But he might bless you with faithful friends because you're about to go through a difficult season. You know, as crazy as it sounds, no spiritual discipline has brought me more fulfillment in my life than tithing and giving. No biblical command has brought me more personal joy. No spiritual habit has motivated me to take my eyes off of my own selfish desires and place them on the needs of others around me. If you are in your teens or you are in your 20s, may I say now is the time to start. It is so much easier to start this discipline now rather than later.

And I am so grateful. I'm eternally grateful for parents who instilled in me at a very early age that if you sow generously, you will reap generously. I don't know what your next step is. For some of you, it might be to go to ccv.church and just to click on give at the top and just check into it or just say, I'm gonna go for it. Friends, tithing is not a tax. Tithing is more than a tax break. Tithing is not a tip. God is not a restaurant server that you evaluate how many dollars you leave based on how speedy of a response you've received on your prayer requests that week. It's not a bill that you pay to the church. Tithing is a declaration saying, God, I trust you. Because really, God doesn't just want 10% of your money. God wants 100% of your heart. So don't just hand him the leftovers. Give him your first, give him your best and give him your all. Let's pray. Father, there are many of us, we're sitting here right now at our campus and we're thinking, wow, that tithing is risky business. But Lord, would you just take us out on that limb of faith where we just trust you? And would you take us on an adventure like we could never imagine?

And Lord, would you teach us that tithing really isn't a risk at all, it's a promise. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you so much for being here, we'll see you next weekend, thank you.