Joyful Obedience
Kings will come and kings will go. Nations will rise and nations will fall. Through it all Jesus Christ alone will reign over an everlasting kingdom.
"When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket...now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied...You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him."
Deuteronomy 26:1-4, 9-13, 16-19
The bible does not leave questions about what the King commands. God says I have given to you and one of my commands is to give back, to tithe. He specifically says to give to the house of God and to people in need. Obedience is demonstrated through our actions. Can we really say that we love God with all of our hearts, minds, and strength and hold back the tithe from the God who gave us what we have? Does giving coming easy or is it difficult for you? What if you stretch your thinking beyond resources? How about giving time or encouragement? How about giving up control or the cares of the world?
Our hearts desires are revealed through our response. Within this text there is a critical word that follows obedience for people with faithful hearts. The word is rejoice. This is a rich word that means continually celebrating with joyful expression. God says you shall rejoice. He says rejoice in community and not by yourself. Do you rejoice after you give? Are you excited to see how much you can give not how little? What does your response say about your heart?
“Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!” The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.”
Psalms 29:1-2, 9, 11
David says we should ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. He says we should worship in the splendor of his holiness. What does the word ascribe mean to you? It is not a word that we use often in our contemporary language. To the people of Israel this word would have carried significant meaning and it carries a similar connotation as tithing. It is an action of obedience that gives God proper glory.
David acknowledges that God already has strength and glory. What's interesting is that it is almost like David is saying we need to give back out of what we have been given. This text can shine light on our the truth about our daily practices. Where do we typically give glory? Where do we attribute strength? What does the world teach us helps us feel secure or strong? Is it not in what we have or in our own abilities?
David hints at a secret that he has found about what happens when his heart rejoices in giving God glory. He finds peace. Do you want more peace in your life? Change the way you are thinking. Take your focus off yourself or the created world around you and give your attention back to the God who made all things.
“As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them. Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.”
Proverbs 26:11-12, 20, 22, 27
Solomon is not always the most uplifting speaker, but he is always someone who shares the wisdom that God has given him. He says foolish people keep making the same foolish mistakes. Solomon loves to contrast the wise and the fool. If Solomon shares what the fool does then naturally the wise person would do the opposite of the fool. What would the opposite of repeating mistakes be? Solomon is saying the wise person is always learning from all things. He says that God gives wisdom in all circumstances if we will give back to Him the way that we label our circumstances. Rather than thinking that something is good or bad, what if we approached each day with a heart that asks God to give us eyes to see how we can learn from each moment?
Solomon says the fool gossips and gives their words to the evil one. Jesus says you cannot serve two masters. In that context He said God and the god of money. The principle remains the same when it comes to gossip. The apostle James said the same mouth should not produce words of life and death. Just like in Deuteronomy our response reveals our hearts. Our words reveal our hearts. Words of gossip and slander steal God's glory as we speak death over the people God made to be loved by Him. What will your words reveal?
“Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power...It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord...Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision. He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power. “In the latter part of their reign, ...a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does...He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior...Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.”
Daniel 8:9-14, 16, 19-25
It is fascinating that in this connected passage to the scriptures of today that one of the things that the evil beast attacks is the daily sacrifice. Why do you think that is? Why is it so important that we practice sacrificial giving? On a deeper level, does the text not say that the beast attacks the very ways in which we demonstrate our trust in God? Is not the foundation for every healthy relationship trust? The enemy wants to do anything he can to undermine the ways in which we trust God.
What does the wise person do? How do we guard our hearts from the fear and the battles we will face? Daniel reveals to us the bigger picture with a simple phrase. He says the beast will be destroyed. The hard times will end. One of the most important truths that we can stand on is that God is victorious and we will have victory as we stay close to Him. We do not have to be afraid. We can be strong and courageous trusting Him with our todays and our tomorrows. One small reminder is that the emotional challenges you are experiencing are not unique. Look up and see who else you can support as they fight the beast of fear.
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” Colossians 2:2-3, 6-10
Paul was a studious observer of human nature. He saw how easily we get scared and divided. As he shared the gospel, he saw how hard it is to live in the world we live. What was his goal? Encouragement. This Greek literally means to give heart. One of the best demonstrations of obedience to the covenant relationship with have with Jesus Christ is giving the strength that we have in our hearts to others. Whether you are wealthy or poor, hold a high or low position, work or are retired, are new to the faith or have faithfully walk, all people have the ability to give heart to others. How will you give heart to someone else today?
Paul says there are keys to success on the journey. He says that we are to be rooted and built up in Christ. The foundation of our lives matters. Our foundation cannot be on things that fade. We have to fix our lives on the rock if we want a firm foundation. Paul says we are to be strengthened in the faith. This is the same idea Solomon shares about always having a heart to learn and grow. We press on. We keep moving. We keep believing no matter whether we are tasting victory or in the toughest trial. We are obedient to give back out of the strengths we have been given.
Paul says we do this all with overflowing thankfulness. God reminds us of the key word rejoice. God loves a cheerful giver. He does not want you to give back but begrudge the gifts you had to let go. He wants you to experience the fullness of life and all that means as you live your new life found in Christ. Christ is the center. He is the living water that overflows our hearts with thankfulness if we choose to see that everything is from Him, for Him. He is the king and He is calling us to be united in love. How do we do this? Practice obedience with open hands and an open heart of gratitude as we give to God and others. There is always blessing on the other side of sacrifice and you will never out give God. What will you give today and how will you respond after you practice the command of generosity?