Episode 41 - The Tithe in the Light of Grace

Tim 00:00:07 Hi, and welcome to the unveiling. I'm Tim, one of the hosts, and along with Ajai and Mark, we are three guys discussing the one true gospel. We hope you're encouraged by this episode. Let's dive right in. Welcome back to the unveiling. This is episode 41 and today we will be discussing stewardship and tithing in the light of grace in the new covenant. I'm Tim, and with me today is Mark. Ajai couldn't be here as he's traveling. So Mark, good to be together again. How are you? Mark 00:00:41 I'm good, Tim. How you doing? Tim 00:00:43 I am blessed and highly favored. Mark 00:00:46 You are <laugh>. You know, we know that from about 150 scriptures, so <laugh> Yeah. And it experience. Tim 00:00:54 Exactly. And the experience is the better teacher. I gotta tell you, you know, Mark, we're talking about a touchy subject today. And I have to make, I have to be perfectly clear about this. Once upon a time in one of the churches I had attended for quite some time, I was very involved in leadership of on boards and running a youth group and this, that and the other. I was also considered the stewardship pastor. Now, back then I taught, I taught stewardship and tithing, and I taught from a much more Old Testament view, a much more law filled view than I have come to know it today. I don't know if that's been your experience in churches in the past. Mark 00:01:39 Really my only experience <laugh>, you know, I've been, and that's not to say that's because I don't have a lot of experience. I do having been in ministry for the last 31 years. , to be fair though, just to add one little point, Tim, is we don't mean to be, um, judgemental of any pastors or preachers or leaders of the stewardship ministry. I can tell you from having worked with dozens of pastors in my life that they dread when the upcoming series on giving has to be done. They don't wanna do it. You know, <laugh>, Tim 00:02:17 I honestly believe that's how I ended up with the honorary title stewardship pastor, because he didn't want to do it. Mark 00:02:24 Gee, thanks for the honor, <laugh>, Tim 00:02:27 But its, it is as touchy and it's a very important topic for the church because, and I'm sure we're gonna touch on this more later, churches aren't free, and I'll just leave it at that for now and, and, and kind of keep moving. Mark 00:02:38 Nothing's free. Tim 00:02:39 But as a stewardship pastor, you know, there are a couple of what I would call standard sermons. And I think one of the ones that leap to my mind when we talked about doing this topic was, Malachi three. And let me ask you a question. have you ever heard another teaching out of Malachi that wasn't centered on stewardship? Mark 00:03:00 I don't believe so. Right? I don't believe so. Tim 00:03:03 But this was an oldy but goody. And if you gimme a minute, let me just kind of read through this real quick and then we can talk about it. Malachi three, starting in verse six says, I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob are not destroyed. Y you know what, I'm gonna stop there already because I wanna point something out. This is part of the law and who is the law for? It was for the Jews. The law was never meant for the Gentiles. Mark 00:03:32 That's a good point. I think Tim 00:03:34 That's a kind of an important point Mark 00:03:35 I would say so, Tim 00:03:37 it was never meant for people like you and me who aren't Jewish. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So we were never technically under the law. Mark 00:03:43 Sure. Tim 00:03:44 It seems like the church wants to keep trying to slip us back in there though. Mark 00:03:48 Yeah. <laugh> well technically speak. I mean, you're absolutely right there, but technically speaking, the law was never meant for the Jews either. It was, it was a transitory ministry to bring us everybody to Christ. So there's an aspect in that. The, what we've talked about, the purpose of the law was not to as you, so well put it not to show us how to do it right, but that we can't do it right because of our sin nature and that we need desperately need a savior. Tim 00:04:19 Absolutely. But I've been digressing. I I really want to stick Mark 00:04:22 To the verse here. Tim 00:04:23 I apologize for Mark 00:04:24 The, but we're a little known for our digression, aren't we? <laugh>, Tim 00:04:27 Right? So, ever since the time of your ancestors, you have turned away from my degrees and have not kept them return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty. Well, this is the beginning of a conversation cuz there's a couple back and forth between God and, you know, whoever he's specifically speaking with, but to the Jews, more or less that says, But you ask, how are we to return? And God responds, Will a mirror mortal rob God, yet you rob me. But you ask, how are we robbing you in tithes and offerings? You are under a curse your whole nation because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the store house, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this as 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 enough room to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the vines of your field will not drop their fruit before it is ripe, says the Lord Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed for yours. And for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord Almighty. So there's a lot to unpack. Are you robbing God? Mark? Mark 00:05:40 That's very <laugh>, no guilt there <laugh>. Tim 00:05:45 Right? It comes right out of the Gate. Mark 00:05:48 Yeah. There, there is a lot there. One of the things that's very apparent as you read through all those, it's, if you do this, then I will do that. Tim 00:05:59 Well, isn't that kind of the essence of the law? It's, Mark 00:06:02 That's the very definition of it. Tim 00:06:05 Do this behavior or this happens or don't do this behavior or this happens. Mark 00:06:09 Absolutely. And the, and now I was gonna say the problem with that, but it's not a problem. That was the problem. Thank God, thank, thank the Lord Jesus Christ that we are not under that type of system anymore. And at the core of why pastors, I think bring up so many different scriptures, is to get an angle on motivating us to give how, However, in the entire Christian life, there is only one motivation, and that is the love and favor of God. That is perfectly displayed, displayed in the cross. In Romans eight. It says, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things if God is given his own son the most costly, precious thing he had money and food and houses. Those are small things where his children now, you know, we can't do to get more from him. He's our father. You know, if you're a good boy, is your dad gonna love you more, Tim, or, or am I gonna love my son more if he, if he gives me 10% of his allowance, <laugh>, you know, or gives it to people, other people to help them. But the only motivation is the Holy Spirit transforming us in our hearts by contemplating all that Christ has done for us. And I just love to hear a pastor say that. Tim 00:07:46 <laugh>. Yep. I agree with that. But, and I will say this too, because it says here that, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessings. I thought when we got saved, we were given everything in Christ, all the blessings. Yeah. The curse was removed. And we have all the Mark 00:08:03 Blessings. Apostle Paul said, We have the riches of a glorious inheritance. You know, we don't need someone to, you know, well first of all, we're not worried that if I give God's, I'm not gonna have enough. I need some guarantee that I give, We talked about this in one of our debunking Christian myth points about give to get like God is some type of, investment counselor that I'm doing an IRA with him, you know, that he's gonna give me a good return on my money. It, it's just really is law mentality at its very core. Tim 00:08:41 Well then, you know, speaking of that one, the 401k mentality is, that was another thing we taught a lot was you can't outgive God, you whatever you give him, he's gonna return to you seven, 10, a hundred fold. Right? Mark 00:08:54 Yeah. But the thing is that they forget to mention is God already gave it to you Tim 00:08:59 Exactly. Mark 00:09:00 Before you could give him anything other than your faith, you Tim 00:09:04 Know? Yeah. No, another, another way we were teaching, which in the light of grace I feel is, was incorrect. So there were a lot of things we taught, which I wish I could go back and, and kind of alter <laugh>. Mark 00:09:15 Yeah, well, you know what the key was though? Intentions were good. You know, pastors wanna see their churches financially healthy and have the resources to pay staff a living that they can live on and, and maybe reach out with missions and reach out into their community. And what it all comes down to is, we already talked about it takes money to do anything, but what is a greater cause than giving everything we own we got from God and, and belongs to him really in a spiritual sense. But what could we better do with that than help other people by bringing them the one true gospel and by supplying their needs? They why, You know, that's just being honest about it, you know? Tim 00:10:03 Well, there's a verse that says true religion before the Father is this, that you love one another and help the widows and orphans in their need. That's, we're talking about giving there. It's giving is still a New Testament thing. We're just not, you know, we're not talking about set amounts and, and we're not talking specifically cash always either. You know, the early law, the tithe was not all about cash. It was about food and spices Mark 00:10:26 And grain, grain offerings. And yeah, Tim 00:10:29 It was about supporting the Levites. Their only job was to serve God and the temple and things like that. So they didn't have a way of, of making income for themselves. So this was how they got by. Right. Mark 00:10:42 I agree. And the thing that's different from the New Covenant than the old and the new Covenant, it's not about meeting some law, it's about generosity. Because under the old covenant, you could give your tithe then not ha not be a generous person. You know, it's about the heart. It's a change in the heart. And you're not gonna get that from old covenant law. Someone guilting you into giving your 10%. let me read this scripture, Tim, because this is really kind of the Apostle Paul's response to that Old Testament, teaching old covenant teaching on giving. And, this is Galatians five, three, or yeah, five three. First he starts out by saying, Mark my words, I Paul tell you that if you let yourself be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. He says, again, I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised, that he is obligated to obey the whole law. Now, this isn't just specifically about circumcision, it's about the law. You can substitute tithing in there if you want to tithe according to the law, you are obligated now to fulfill the entire law. And even in your tithing, there are dozens of rules on how you tithe. It's just not <laugh>. It does not, what's the word? Foment, generosity in our hearts that comes through our relationship with Christ and his spirit and the fruits of his spirit in us. Tim 00:12:21 Well, it's funny, you, you mentioned some of this, when it brings to my mind the fact that, I've, I've actually gotten an objection when I have said that the tide was part of the law. I've, I've had people tell me that the tithe is actually not part of the law. It's outside the law and is a command from God straight to us. And I'm, I'm thinking to myself, well, if I go to Matthew 23, verse 23, it says, these are, this is Jesus speaking. Okay. Right. So woe to you, teachers of the law and pharisees u hypocrites, you give a 10th of your spices, mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. So he is literally talking about you give a 10th of, that's the tithe. But you should have prac, you should have, you've, you've neglected more important matters of the law. So that tells me tithing is a part of the law. Absolutely. It's not a special thing on its own. I think it clearly ties those two together. Mark 00:13:29 And, and it also brings out another mistake people make. And that's to think that if it's in the New Testament, it's new covenant. Yeah. The new covenant did not start until the cross. In fact, scripture tells us that Jesus himself told the Pharisees, the top law keepers in the land, that, Hey, you know what? You got me wrong. I didn't come here to get rid of the law. I came to fulfill it. And the apostle Paul in Romans eight says that Christ fully met the righteous requirement of the law on our behalf. Okay? So Christ, when he walked through his life, he couldn't speak against tithing or even a one letter, one pen stroke of the law because he was fulfilling it for us morally, ceremonially and sacrificially perfectly fulfilling it on our behalf. Which are three beautiful words when you think about them. Tim 00:14:29 <laugh> Absolutely. That yeah. The on my behalf part, I love that. Yes, Mark 00:14:33 Absolutely. So to say that, oh, well Jesus taught tithing. No he didn't. He was perfectly fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law. Once he went to the cross, Mel became the fruits of the spirit, love and generosity and being a cheerful giver. How are you gonna be a cheerful giver if someone is going to be guilting you and pressuring you to give your 10% in the next six week series on giving? That's impossible. Tim 00:15:04 You know, how cheerful could I be if, my job told me, you know, you have to work 44 hours a week, but we're only gonna pay you for 40. Those extra 10 are just a requirement you have to commit. I'm not gonna be a happy camper on those four hours a week. Sure. I'm gonna be, I'm doing it out of obligation and duty and I'm disgruntled. Yeah. That's not how God wants it. Like you, like you said, and I'm sure we'll touch on this as we talk about the new covenant aspect and, and some of the things Paul has to say, he wants us, It's about our attitude and giving. It's about, I, I attribute a lot of what God says about how we should be dealing with things to our motivation. What's motivating us to do this. Sure. If my eyes are on Jesus and I'm trying to do things outta I'm not trying and I'm doing things outta love for Jesus, I'm doing it cheerfully. I'm doing it. Yep. with the best of intentions and happily. Mark 00:15:58 And you're doing it out of the transformation that the Lord who is the spirit is accomplishing in you. Tim 00:16:04 Yeah. I'm not thinking this is what I need to do. I'm going, Oh, here's an opportunity for me to share God's love to, or to support something that I think, you know, that I know shares Jesus and the gospel. These are things I happily support. Mark 00:16:19 And the old covenant law has never been good at creating love in our hearts. <laugh> just the opposite. But the new covenant does, It gives us the heart of Christ and the mind of Christ. And here, here's the rest of this scripture here from Paul. He said, 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 God is able to bless you abundantly. So that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. I'm not gonna keep going on, I'm just gonna to summarize that, that Paul is encouraging us to give generously because we have a generous God who we trust to take care of us. What did he say there at the end? He said, and God is able to bless you abundantly when we realize that not he is God able, but his promises to provide for us and that he loves us, that his favor rests on us. Then we have the confidence to give, not to get, but because we know we have a father who takes care of us, we don't have to be fearful about being generous. So to finish my conclusion, there is Paul's encouraging us there to give generously because we have a generous God not to give generously so that God will be generous with us. He already is. He's already given us everything. That's our motivation. Tim 00:17:51 Yeah. And before we get off the topic of how we, how we may have heard this taught or how some of us may or may not have actually taught, you know, there's a couple of other things that leap to mind. Like the widow with her copper, you know, the, the Jesus is watching people give alms to the church of the day and the, the people who were wealthy were giving a lot of money, but this little widow comes up and drops a copper in the pot and he tells the disciples she gave more than anyone else did because she gave out of her lack while they were giving out of their excess. You know, so gi given till it hurts was the old, you know, line, you know, sacrificial giving was something that they pushed. Mark 00:18:31 Yeah. And they'll quote King David when, Oh, who did he meet after winning a battle? It was the local king, I think, wasn't it? And the local, Tim 00:18:40 This was Abraham. Mark 00:18:41 It was at Abraham. Okay. Tim 00:18:42 Yeah. It was Abraham coming back from a battle where he stopped to give. Yeah. Yep. Mark 00:18:46 And, and he said, I will give nothing that doesn't cost me something. Just back into that mentality of give till it hurts. Tim 00:18:56 Any other of those messages leap to mind that you wanna debunk with the rest Mark 00:19:01 <laugh>? Well, I think anybody who's been in church or even watches TV knows exactly what we're talking about. And we're not against giving and we're, you know, as we already said, there's nothing better you can do with your money than to spread the one true gospel through giving to the church and to, also to feed people and clothe them. I mean, we already know that. So instead of appealing to our baser natures by telling us, Oh, if you give, God will give you tenfold back as though it's an investment plan. Or instead of guilting us. I, I really truly believe this, that a church that is completely focused on Christ and him crucified is going to be a generous church because it's just the fruit of what is preached. You know? And if you're preaching law consistently, Jesus plus this Jesus plus tithing, Jesus plus read so much s scriptures, Jesus plus serve this much that's got its own fruit that doesn't create generosity and love for others. Mark 00:20:15 but when you're preaching that pre precious one true gospel, the message of God's grace and the cross that brings transformation into our lives and gives you a church that doesn't need to be guilted or prodded or strategized or even to have a, a leader of stewardship for the church. Because look at the first church. What does it say? It says nobody had too much, nobody had too little, and nobody claimed that anything that they had was their own. They shared everything. And Paul wasn't giving a five part series on why you need to tithe. You know, And like, again, no matter how we say this, we come out sound sounding bad, we are very sympathetic and empathetic with pastors. But at some point it always comes down to this trusting the gospel. Is the gospel enough or do we have to keep adding the law to get people to do the right thing? It is a enough, the apostle Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God. Tim 00:21:21 And I'm gonna I'm gonna reinforce some of that with Paul. or well I'll just say it's from Acts 17:24. The God who made the world in everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands as if he needed anything. Right. He's not, you know, when we talk about giving, it's not we are giving to, we are giving from God not to God. God doesn't need anything from us. He has everything He made everything. Yeah. Rather He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. So, I mean, it's giving, after Christ came, didn't become supporting the Levites, it became, you know, supporting God's will by following our love and compassion and things like that. Yeah, Mark 00:22:15 That's a good point. Is as our, compadre, Ajai always says, I will harken back to what he always says is that, by the old covenant, the most we're ever gonna be as a servant by the new covenant, the least we're ever gonna be as a child, a son and a daughter, and an heir of God and a COA with Christ, that is where love and generosity comes. We cannot serve God. We can only serve people. Cuz as you just read, Apostle Paul says, human hands can't serve God. What does he need? Everything is his already. And that goes with money. You know, it all belongs true in a true way. It all already belongs to him. And he's generously lavished us with it. You know, and you know, so that's, that's another it reminds me the parable of, of the servant that owed a lot. Mark 00:23:12 Yeah. The, master forgave him, then he went out and started choking some guy that owed him like five bucks or something. And you know, it's like we learned God, God gives us an example of his generosity. And obviously he gave us Christ, you know, our heart should naturally want to be generous, but not naturally. That's a way supernaturally because we've been given the spirit. So mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but I just keep coming back in my spirit. I'm troubled. I just don't want any pastors listening to this to feel, you know, like we're somehow coming down on you. Our only encouragement would be is to trust the gospel when you preach on giving and try to equip and teach your congregation on giving. Do it in light of the one true gospel. The message of God's grace found in the cross of Jesus Christ. Trust that. That's all I would say to you. We understand the pressure you're under and you know, you, your very job could hang on how much people give. You know, so I know you're between a rock and a hard place. But, I would just say Jesus, Jesus is the rock. So trust in that. Tim 00:24:25 Amen. And yeah, no, no specifics, no individuals, nothing like that. We're talking about the message itself and we know that this has been taught forever in the church to our pastors. And of course they're gonna pass that along. So I'm, we have no malice of forethought for anybody who has found themselves in this position. Mark 00:24:45 And I'm sure there are classes in seminary that teach, teach you how to teach your congregations to give. Right? I Tim 00:24:53 Would, I would assume. Mark 00:24:54 I don't know for sure, but that seems like a pretty big subject matter. Tim 00:24:58 <laugh> I have my degree in, biblical studies and church management and yeah, there's, it comes up. Yeah, <laugh> Mark 00:25:06 Plus they, a lot of 'em seem to have the same verbiage and script. So, Tim 00:25:12 Well there are a limited number of schools, so I have to assume there are a limited number of teachings for them to hear and they all, they all use the same ones. So back to, the new covenant giving, I mentioned the widows offering, and I would say for real, a biblical response to that in First Corinthians eight, starting at first 12 says, for if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has not, according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality at the present time. Your plenty will supply what they need so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal again is equality. Right. So that's what you were saying about the early church they live, you know, I'm gonna, I'm sure I'm gonna hear somebody say, Oh, there, there were a commune, bunch of hippies. But that's what bit what it was like. I, I'll admit that, but it's not what it was. Mark 00:26:17 It was generosity. It wasn't a government, you Tim 00:26:21 Know? Yep. So did you, have you run across any other objections to people not teaching a New Testament tithe besides the, not, besides not the biblical ones, but stuff you're hearing from people who are trying to figure out how to teach the tithing and stewardship and Mark 00:26:41 Make that fit with the new Covenant? Tim 00:26:43 Exactly. Mark 00:26:43 Yeah. I would just say, no, there aren't, I haven't heard others because you can't, it's pretty much an impossible task without completely mangling the gospel to try to, you know, come up with some more palatable. You used the word earlier motivation, you know, they're trying to motivate us to give and they use many different tactics, for lack of a less harsh word. But, you know, I would say this too. And, and as I mentioned before, the preaching of the gospel, the one true gospel of God's grace in the cross has its own fruit teaching of the law. And mixing that in there has its own fruit. And as I mentioned to pastors before, is they need to trust the gospel. And I would say for all of us out there that just go to church, that we also would have an understanding that, hey, it takes money for us to have a church to bring the gospel to the nations and to help people and, and serve people and, and meet people's needs that can't meet themselves. Mark 00:27:54 Oh, one little thought. I want to add to your story of the widow. Jesus didn't say that woman was greater than the rich people. It was her faith that he was pointing out that she had such ultimate trust and faith in God that she was able to give a tithe. And it was worth more because the rich guy, you know, he's talking about faith there not about giving. And he didn't set a rule that hey, widows and people have to give 10% too. And when you think about it, there are people that are living below the poverty level, and for them to give 10% of their income could absolutely put them on the streets. You know, where the rich person who gives 10 isn't hurt. So just because they all give 10 doesn't mean it's equal. Tim 00:28:44 Right. No, agreed on that. Agreed on that. So let's make sure we've covered this then. How does the New Testament and the new Covenant cover giving today, and we've mentioned a couple of verses already that talk a little bit to it. I'm gonna bring up another Paul, from second Corinthians eight. It says, he was talking to one of the specific churches. He says, But, but since you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love that we have kindled in, you see that you also excel in this grace of giving. But notice he's not talking about tithing. He's not, It's, you're not compelled to do it. There's no set amounts and there's no punishment or curse or extra blessings that you'll get from it. He just wants you to be open to the Lord and have that come out of you. Tim 00:29:37 And of course, that comes back to the cheerful giver verse, because, you know, I've, I've been to places where, a church is doing in my mind such a great ministry and my heart swells up within me. And, you know, if I only, if I had to give 10%, that might be all they got. But every once in a while I'll find myself going, You know, I can afford this much this time. I'll go without a few things that, you know, aren't, aren't ne necessarily needs, but I, I'll do without a couple other things. That's, and just give it to them. Cuz I know what they're doing and I agree with it and I wanna come up beside them. a missionary comes, I know that I gave my, I gave my offering to the church, but okay, here's some for you guys because I know what you're doing. You know, right Mark 00:30:20 From That's a good point. What were those other, things that he was praising them for? Tim 00:30:26 he said, you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in love, in in the love we have kindled in you. Mark 00:30:39 I love that. How did they kindle the love in them? By preaching them the pure gospel. Tim 00:30:44 Exactly. Mark 00:30:45 By, by, impacting them with the truth of God's love and how much he's done for them on the cross, and that all he has is ours. What did the, what did the, and the story of the Prodigal son, I love when the eldest son gets jealous that the father had shown grace to the returning prodigal. And the father said to him, Don't you know, you're always with me and all I have is yours. If we know that that's gonna create those things, Paul just listed faith and earnestness and, and love Kindle in us. So to me, it's about understanding of the gospel and being transformed by his spirit. And we give out of that, not by some equation. And I wanna add a little caveat here that just occurred to me. We're not telling anybody what to do out there. If you being a Christian want to give 10% as an act of worship to God, you are free to do that. There's no condemnation. But if you're trying to make that a part of the gospel or look down on people that aren't doing that, or think you're going to receive more blessing from God or favor an an acceptance than someone who's not tithing, now you're moving into an area of what I would call getting close to sin. And that's, that's old covenant thinking. You're, you're free to do anything in the L Covenant if you want. It's your act of worship just as long as you're not trying to earn, deserve or merit anything. Tim 00:32:22 You know, like it says in the beginning of that verse in Second Corinthians nine, each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. Right? In other words, don't give 10% if that's not what you want to do. But in your heart, you decide, and this is your offering, and you're gonna do it cheerfully and you're gonna do it with love and you're gonna do it in grace. It's, that's how we give in the New Testament and the new covenant. Mark 00:32:46 Yeah. When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we don't need a bare minimum for any, any fruit of the spirit. It's gonna flow out of us life like living water. But that's kind of a, a pretty good size. what's the word? Condition for lack. That's a really bad word. But, you know, if we don't keep eyes on Jesus and we make Christianity the religion and a bunch of rules, we're not going to be generous people. We're gonna need to have the rules, but we're gonna fail by over and over. So choose freedom in Christ, His spirit in you giving you the fruits of the spirit, which love and generosity are among them. Tim 00:33:27 Amen. Amen. Well, I know we didn't want to bear down on anything, anything particular, because we didn't want to try and target anybody. And I don't know that we can top what we've just said about how, you know, giving should be now unless you have something else you wanna add, Mark. And, and if you do, let's go ahead and talk about it. And if not, let's give a wrap up. Start doing our Mark 00:33:50 Wrap. One little final thought here that just occurred to me. We've all heard about the prosperity gospel, which really centers on that you give to get, okay, send in a hundred dollars now and test me and the Lord that you will get tenfold back. The problem with the prosperity gospel is it's just another form of legalism. We don't need the prosperity gospel. We already have prosperity in God who provides for us. So Prosperity Gospel kind of tries to wrap itself in faith, you know, but at its core, it's just another form of legalism. You need to have enough faith to give enough so that God can bless you. What do you mean? So that he can, he's already blessed us with everything in Christ. Tim 00:34:41 Yep. Absolutely. I can't agree with that more. so Mark, let's, let's start wrapping this up. I'm gonna give you the opportunity to, to summarize. Mark 00:34:51 Sure. Well, I've already said this, but I can't reiterate it more that I'll just say there's a problem. Something is broke and the gospel is what fixes it. And just once again, to pastors, I'd encourage you to trust the gospel, to have the power for people to become generous. They need the power of the gospel to be transformed into the image of Christ. And I'd also make a plea to the people that are sitting under the pastors. just keep your eyes focused on Christ and let the spirit lead you in your giving. And also just realize that your pastor's under incredible pressure to make ends meet, to be able to pay his staff and, and keep the heating and air conditioning on and everything else that we all deal with in our everyday lives. Tim 00:35:44 And I'd like to say that God is not looking for you to give out of your lack. If you're, there are people out there struggling, and if you're one of them and you're trying to decide between rent and food or food and medicine, God is not expecting you to give your 10%. He, in fact, because it's a the tithe doesn't the law anymore. He's not expecting you to give 10% at any time. He says purp what you purpose in your heart. So if you're sitting there and you hear a great message and you're thinking, I don't know how I'm gonna make this month's rent, but somehow I wanna bless them. And, and you reach into your wallet and realize you've got a dollar or two and you put it in the plate because that's what you purpose to do. You, you have all of God's blessings. Tim 00:36:21 But you are going to find, I believe that those blessings, some of them become more apparent at other times than, than at other times. So I I, He God's not looking to take money outta your pocket. He doesn't need your money. You know, if you need to eat or if you need, drugs to keep yourself alive, not, not the other kind. <laugh> and I, I will say this too, just as a disclaimer, we are not asking you for anything. Don't send us money. If we get money from somebody with Mark and Ajai are really likely to go spend it on Bulls tickets. <laugh>, Mark 00:36:55 Not Ajai, it would be Dallas Mavericks for him. Tim 00:36:58 Ah, okay. There you go. But yeah, this isn't us giving our, why don't you give to us message. That's not what we're about today. Mark 00:37:05 No, we've never received one donation, nor do we even ask for it. Tim 00:37:09 Nope. The Lord is blessing us in his ways for what we're doing, and we are happy with that. And that brings us to the end of our our hour. So that's gonna be it for us today. I've got a question for you, our listeners, have you heard of any other teachings about why the tithe is still ongoing or do you have any questions about how we presented the how we Feel Giving is represented in the new, in the Gospel of grace? Feel free to contact us. Leave a message either email or on our Facebook page, or you could even leave us a voicemail. That mess, that information will be coming right up and we look changed forward to sharing with you again the next time. Tim 00:37:58 Tim, again. Thanks for listening today. We hope you were blessed by today's message. If so, we encourage you to subscribe and share our podcast with your friends and family. Our entire catalog of episodes can be found on our website at www.theunveiledgospel.com. Or you can listen and subscribe on most popular podcast apps. If you have any feedback or questions, you can send us an email to the unveiled gospel@yahoo.com. You can reach out to us on our Facebook page, the Unveiling Podcast, or you can leave a question or comment on our listener line at 3 5 2 3 9 8 0 0 8 9. Maybe you'll hear yourself on a future episode. That's it for today. As always, God bless and we will talk to you the next time.