Where is your treasure? Who is brave enough to honestly contemplate this question in the light of the Scriptures and all that God has done and does for us?

This morning I'm grateful to Larry Gilbert for some of the thoughts I'm sharing with you, including this story.

A Director of Home Missions for a large denomination was making his annual visit to one of the pastors who had planted a church in a small town. The pastor was having a hard time financially with the demands on the financial resources by the young struggling work. The young missionary pastor shared the problem with the Director and asked what suggestions he had.

The older man looked into the pastor's eyes and asked a probing question, "Are you tithing?"

"No, I'm not. I used to tithe faithfully, but quite frankly, with the low pay and the demands of the ministry, I have just given when I had some money left, which hasn't been often," answered the young pastor.

"I'll tell you what I'll do," said the Mission Director, "If you will tithe for the next year and be faithful at it, I'll personally guarantee that any bills you cannot pay and any groceries you can't afford, I'll pay for you." With that, the man left with a promise to be back in a year.

The year passed and the Home Mission Director returned to the small town. The work was advancing and had grown some, though not in fantastic proportions. The young missionary pastor was learning and growing with the work and seemed to be happy. Noting that there was more food in the pantry and better clothes on the family, the Director inquired about how the tithing experiment had been working.

The missionary pastor said, "The first couple of months I gave the tenth and could see that we were advancing slowly in our financial condition. I always wrote the check because I remembered your guarantee. One day, however, I read Malachi 3:10 and the Lord spoke to my heart. I had been trusting in your guarantee to meet my financial obligations if tithing failed. I knew and trusted you. But then I realized that I could trust Someone who was even more faithful and trustworthy than you. God's resources are greater than anyone else's and I could always trust Him to keep His promise to see that my financial needs were met. Since then, tithing has been a joy and God has never failed to meet our financial needs. Thank you for showing me the truth."

Yes, my friends, what a delightful truth this is! Have you discovered it in your personal life as Sue and I have? If you have, perhaps you can identify with the struggling young man who began to really trust God. If you have not discovered the joy of tithing, you can make the decision to begin today!

Allow me to remind you that the full tithe to be brought into the storehouse of the local church is a minimum of ten percent of one's income, not a gift of $5.00 or $10.00 or $25.00 per week, unless that is a tithe of what you receive. Let me also tell you that I have known some pastors that do not tithe. How sad. I believe that pastors and members of churches in leadership positions should set the example of giving and I am grateful for those of you who do. If those of us who are leaders in our local church do not believe in our own ministry enough to invest our tithe in our church, how can we expect others to do so?

I. God the Giver

Have you realized that God really is the source of your income? This is rue whether we work for our own company or farming operation, whether we receive a salary, an hourly wage, commission, receive a pension or even receive an allowance. Recall the words of James 1:16-18 Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

Yet, apparently many Christians have been deceived - not trusting God as their giver. God, our Heavenly Father wants to bless us as His children. As loving parents are concerned about the welfare of their children our Heavenly Father is concerned about the welfare of His children.

The resources of our God are unlimited. God created this world. The Psalmist put it this way, Psalm 50:10, 11 "for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.' Related to these words someone has added, "He even owns the hills as well."

My friends, God's resources are infinite! God's nature is to give. Of course this was best demonstrated by meeting our greatest need - a remedy for our sin. Without God's provision that need we all have would have gone unmet because there is nothing that we can do to take away that guilt except receiving what God has done for us. God gave His love to us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Salvation for repentant sinners is the greatest gift - at the greatest cost - the life of God's own Son, Jesus Christ.

God the Giver's plan is for:

II. Man the Receiver

In the opening pages of the Bible we begin to see that the center of God's attention is man. God created us in His image and likeness so that human beings might walk in fellowship with Him. Our problems originated back when Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan and give in to their own desires rather than to obey God and remain dependent upon God as their source of life and all that makes life worth living.

Of course, the Good News - the Gospel message is that because of God's great love, He gave the gift of His Son. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

To receive life we must receive Jesus. John 1:12. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-

Jesus said, John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Have you received abundant and eternal life? Have you put God the Giver, the provider, the source of every good and perfect gift first in your life? The Christian life just begins when we accept God's free gift of salvation. Then we should continue to make the choice to put God first in our lives and allow Him to meet our needs.

In Matthew's Gospel we read. Matthew 6:33. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. What do you think are these things? I believe that the context shows us the answer. Jesus has been talking about the necessities of life. He talked about laying up treasurein heaven, rather than on earth, then not worrying about where our resources are, but relying upon God as our source of the needs of life. He ends talking about the priorities we should have in life, the kingdom of God, God's righteousness, and the practical necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. The Sermon on the Mount from which this teaching comes puts life in proper perspective.

Having considered God the giver and Man the receiver leads to our final major point today.

III. Man the Giver

In Matthew 6 we find the reason God wants us to give our tithes to our church. "Tithing is an investment." You and I need to give as an investment in eternity, not primarily because your church needs the money. However, your church does need your tithes, too.

Think about it - Why do you make investments? Why do you put money in a savings account, in a CD, in an IRA, in property, in stocks, in bonds, in a pension fund? You and I expect our earthly investment to bring a return, but these are temporary. Some day we may loose them or eventually they will be of no value to us. In the economic downturn of recent months many of us have lost some of our investments already and hope to regain our loss when economic conditions improve.

Our Lord promised that when we make investments in heavenly causes they will bring eternal results that moth and rust will not destroy. In other words, our investments in heavenly causes are not destroyed by the stock market.

Jesus said, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Where is your treasure? Are you regularly making eternal investments of your time, talents, and treasures for the Lord in your local church?

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