Offering in Worship

Title: Offering in Worship
Date: 20240414
Preacher: Ps Wilson Tan

Introduction
As you know, our church is beginning a new sermon series that relates to worship. Pastor Siow Hwee started with the first one last week on Word in Worship. Today, I will be sharing on Offering in Worship.

Before, we begin, let us first establish what exactly is worship. Worship is first and foremost “a communion with God.” We can commune with God because we are created in His image, imago-dei. Animals, plants, and bacteria cannot worship God because they are not created in God’s image. In this sense, only humans can worship God.

Four-Fold Stage of Worship
There is a structure in our worship service. We begin our service with a call to worship, recognizing that it is God who has first called us into His presence. This call is also known as 1) Gathering. The rest of the worship service is as follows: 2) Preaching of the Word, 3) Eucharist or Holy Communion, 4) Sending. This is commonly known as the four-fold stage of worship in our Presbyterian tradition.

Offering comes after sermon. And it falls under the stage of Word. As it is a response to God’s Word. A call to action.

What is Offering?
In the Old Testament, offering is divided into two types: sacrificial [qorban] or gift [minchah].

Sacrificial offerings are used when the penitents are asking for forgiveness from God for their various sins. Examples include burnt offering (Lev. 1:3-17), and sin offering on the Day of Atonement [yom kippurim] (Lev. 4:1-6:13, Num 6:10-14).

Gift offerings [1] are used when worshippers give back to God in gratitude for the many blessings they had received from Him. Examples are: first fruits offerings during the Feast of Harvest (Ex 23:15-19), and tithing (Gen 14:18-22, Gen 28:12-22, Num 18:21).

So, one type of offering is for forgiveness and the other is for thanksgiving. These two types of offering have taken on different forms today. Sacrificial offering became our confession of sins and assurance of pardon. Gift offering became our offering in worship. How about tithing? Strictly speaking, the Hebrew word for tithe is maaser and the word tithe comes from the Old English word, teogatha, which means one tenth, or 10%. While in offering, there is no specific amount. For some churches, tithing is compulsory. But, in our church, we practice offering instead. We believe that compulsory tithing is not a biblical command.

This is because, primarily, Jesus has already fulfilled the Law (Matt 5:17). Secondly, because we are not Jews, we are not bound by the Mosaic Law (Acts 15:19). Thirdly, when tithing is made compulsory, it becomes legalistic.

Allow me to elaborate.

Jesus declares in Matt 5:17 that he did not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” By this, Jesus means that he is the embodiment of the Law. His death on the cross is the ultimate sacrifice. Because he has fulfilled what the Law required, which is the blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God, we no longer need to perform the burnt and sin offerings anymore. And we remember his victory over death by celebrating his Resurrection during Easter Sunday. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, our sins are forever pardoned. We also do not celebrate any of the Jewish festivals today. Simply, because we are not Jews.

Tithing was a system implemented for the Jews to take care of the Levites and the poor in the society. The tribe of Levi was chosen to be servants of the temple [2]. They do not possess land unlike the rest of the tribes. So, God declared that the tithe was to be their inheritance (Num 18:21). Under the law, tithe was NEVER MONEY. They were primarily crops and animals. These were stored at the temple and managed by the Levites. The tithe also provided for their daily needs. This tithe is known as Levitical Tithe (Num 18:21).

There are two other types of tithes: Festival Tithe (Deut 14:24-27) and Third Year Tithe (Deut 14:28)

Festival Tithe is for families traveling on long journey during the Passover Feasts. God allow them to exchange their tithe for money so that they can buy food. The Third Year Tithe, as the name implies, is only done every three years to provide for the poor, widow, and orphans and those in need.

However, when tithing is made compulsory, it can become legalistic. The Pharisees are the absolute master in this. They tithe everything to the tee! Down to the last herb in their garden. Jesus rebuked them, not for tithing but for neglecting justice and the love of God. They were simply performing the act of tithing without the right attitude in their hearts.

Luke 11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue (a strongly scented plant) and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

They have forgotten why they tithe in the first place. They do the action of tithing perfectly, but they did not love the people. We can obey God’s law but if there is no love in our hearts, we are nothing. Legalism leads to self-righteousness, and self-righteousness leads to hypocrisy. They have forgotten that the principle of tithing is justice and love.

Historian Josephus tells us that, during the time of Christ, the high priests (e.g. Annas!) kept the collection of tithes and offerings for themselves and send their servants to the threshing floors, leaving them to die of hunger. And, it was commonly said, that they bought the dignity of the High Priesthood for gold and added to their wealth by evil means. When tithing becomes legalistic, it can be easily abused by those in authority.

As you can see, the principle of tithing is justice and love. It is done to provide for the Levites and those in need. Even though, it is not compulsory for us to tithe today, we must uphold the same principle in our offering. That is, justice and love.

How should we practice offering today?
Firstly, it must come from the heart for God loves a cheerful giver. This means, it must be of our own free-will.

2 Cor 9:7 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.

But can we tithe if we want to? Of course! Tithing 10% of your income is a good guide. 10% allows us to have a good balance between supporting our family’s needs and the needs of the church. Use it as a guide, just don’t make it compulsory for everyone.

Secondly, we must give in gratitude. It is our thanksgiving to God for his many blessings in our lives. Offering is thanksgiving. It is to give a little back to God what he has given us in plenty. It is our way to show our gratitude. It is our Gift to God. So, when we give our offering every Sunday, I would like us to remember a specific blessing that God has given us. Be thankful in our offering. Don’t give for the sake of giving.

Thirdly, our offering can be in the form of our service to the church and to the world. There are many ministries in our church that are always looking for volunteers. If you are not serving in any ministry, consider taking time to join a ministry to serve in today. One thing I notice about Jubilee Church is that we always see the same people serving in various ministries. Many people wearing many hats. Let’s find new blood! Let’s encourage one another to serve in church.

We also encourage everyone to be in a cell group because we believe that our greatest gift to God is when we serve others in love. In a cell group, we share about the struggles of our faith, the struggles of taking care of young children and aging parents. In a cell group, we can minister to one another. This is what a Christian community is about. Not just to show up for service in church, listen to the sermon, sing some hymns, and go home. The Christian life is Community. It is serving one another in love.

Even though we do not need to support the Levites’ work at the temple today, we can support our church workers and missionaries with our offering. I think the church has a responsibility to share with us its needs and raise funds when necessary. Our church must also meet the needs of the poorest people in our society.

Perhaps, today is a good time for us to reconsider our own percentage of our offering amount to the church. Could we give more? Can we also consider giving to mission agencies and charity organizations? Or even better, to give of our time to help those in need. It doesn’t need to be in the form of money. Sometimes, it is just being a friend to someone who needs one.

Tithing and Offering is not a Trigger for Faith or Blessing
In the next part of my sermon, I would like to address a theological issue which has troubled me for many years. Some pastors have promoted the theology that tithing is a trigger for faith and blessing. One example is Pastor Kong Hee from City Harvest Church. He had preached a sermon, entitled Tithing – The Trigger of Faith 【3】 on 25 October 2014. His sermon online is broken into three short clips and they do not represent the full sermon.

He believes that Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah is the trigger for his blessings from God. It was not Abraham’s faith, but the tithe of his son that triggers his blessings. Just as the Jews gave their first fruits to God during the Feast of Harvest, Abraham, gave his first-born son, Isaac, as his tithe to God.

And so, his “tithe” of Isaac has “triggered the blessings” from God. In his words, “back to Abraham…he triggered the blessings, he triggered the blessings…he triggered the blessing of elevation…he triggered the blessings of possessions… he triggered the blessings of dominion.” His main point is that “tithing triggers blessings”. When you tithe, you will receive blessings from God. A year after Pastor Kong Hee preached this sermon on tithing, he and four other leaders were convicted of misappropriating S$50 million from the megachurch's coffers. Maybe his sermon that day had triggered the investigation in the first place.

This brand of theology is commonly known as the prosperity gospel. It goes by many other names: “health and wealth,” “name it and claim it” theology. Pastor Kong Hee’s theological lineage is part of this global movement known as the “Word of Faith” movement. Kenneth E. Hagin is widely considered to be the father of this faith movement. And he has influenced many charismatic leaders and TV evangelists today. They teach that Christians who give generously will receive great financial rewards from heaven. The more you give, the more you shall receive. Here are two examples:

Jerry Savelle: In giving it [tithe], I’m honoring Him for loving me so much that He has blessed me with finances so that I can sow.

Kenneth Copeland, who has a net worth of $750 million: Don’t let the devil rob you of the blessing that comes from tithing. The windows of heaven are open over you in Jesus’ Name!

They claim that there is a direct and strong relationship between tithing and blessing. A certain cause and effect. A trigger and a result. They say that tithing triggers Blessings. And they have been preaching this prosperity gospel for many years. They would often quote from Mal 3:8-9. If you do not tithe, you are robbing God!

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

The context of Malachi is completely different from our context today. During the time of Malachi, the Jews were in exile for 70 years in Babylon. The governor of Judah was Nehemiah, who was a Jew born in Persia. He was the cup-bearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes. You must be the most trusted person to be the king’s cup-bearer, as he guards against poison in the cup for the king. He is basically putting his own life before the king. During Nehemiah’s absence from Jerusalem (Palestine), the people neglected the compulsory contribution to the temple staff, and soon the Levites and the singers fled the temple to find support outside. Slowly the temple came to ruins and it was only upon Nehemiah’s return that the system of tithing was restored (Neh 13:10-14). 【4】Prophet Malachi was admonishing the Jews for robbing God in tithes and contributions because they have neglected justice and love. Their context is different form ours today. We don’t need to support the work of the Levites in the temple because the temple has already been destroyed in 70AD. More importantly, Jesus is our new temple today.

The Word of Faith ministers fail to mention that tithe in the OT is never Money. Today, it’s all about the Money. They have their big mansions and private jets and fast cars. To justify their theology, Jesus, must be a rich man too! This was another sermon preached by Pastor Kong Hee and I had the pleasure of listening to it live in his church many years ago. He gave ten reasons why Jesus was a rich man. I shall not list them here today. You can find this online. This image of Jesus as a rich man is a far cry from Jesus’ own words when he said in Matt 8:20 “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

With a net worth of $750 million dollars in his coffers, it seems like Pastor Kenneth Copeland is storing treasures on earth rather than in heaven. It goes against Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler in Matt 19:21, “go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Pastor Yook Cing will be preaching on a theology of wealth next week. Stay tuned!

Before Kenneth Hagin died in 2003, he left his Rhema Bible Training Center in the hands of his son, Kenneth Hagin Jr., and he summoned many of his colleagues to Tulsa to rebuke them for distorting his message. He was not happy that some of his followers were manipulating the Bible to support what he viewed as greed and selfish indulgence. He also published a book, Midas Touch, in 2000, a year before the Tulsa meeting. Everything he touches seems to have turned to gold.

One of his main points is this: Financial prosperity is not necessarily a sign of God’s blessing. Hagin wrote: “If wealth alone were a sign of spirituality, then drug traffickers and crime bosses would be spiritual giants. Material wealth can be connected to the blessings of God or it can be totally disconnected from the blessings of God.” [5]

Many Word of Faith ministers ignored this book.

Tithing is not a trigger for faith or blessing. The opposite is true. We give because God has already blessed us. And all of us have been blessed plentiful in so many ways. I am blessed with a lovely wife and three wonderful children. I am blessed with a loving mum who nags at me almost every day but I know she does it out of love/ Some are blessed with wealth. Some could be in health. Some could be blessed with a joyful heart. Some are blessed with a heart of generosity. But all of us are blessed richly in our own ways. We can give generously too! Our church is full of generous people. I bear testimony of this all the time.

Conclusion
So, in conclusion, we practice offering in worship as our way of showing gratitude to our God for his many blessings in our lives. As a form of thanksgiving and as service to the church and the needy. Even though, we do not enforce compulsory tithing in our church, we must remember the same principles in our offering: justice and love. This is our theology of offering in worship.

Let us pray.

【1】 According to a bible dictionary, offering is “Any type of gift given to a king or a god as an act of fealty [loyalty], worship, or devotion. [It] represents a pledge of loyalty between the giver and the receiver. Can take the form of a sacrifice, tithe, firstfruit, or money.”

【2】In the temple, there will be one high priest and a few other priests and the rest will be Levites. You must be a Levite to be a priest but not all Levites are priests. The first high priest was Aaron, Moses’ brother. There are about 500,000 Levites in the world today. They have integrated into the Jewish community as there is no longer a temple to serve in but they are still held in high regards.

【3】https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5qoPKgy7vw

【4】Prophet Malachi’s time is one of the most difficult periods of Israel’s history. It occurred during governor Nehemiah’s absence from Jerusalem (around 433 BC). Nehemiah was the appointed governor of Judah for 12 years. But during this time, he was summoned to the Persian king’s court in Susa by Artaxerxes, the king of Babylon (also known as Persia) to be his cupbearer.

【5】https://sunday1967.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-was-what-kenneth-hagin-sr-said.html
Bilingual Service Video Link: https://youtu.be/c7NwaD1M2ko?si=UGSwHddeqVAaiI5I