Family Church Portsmouth

Pastor Andy concludes his three week series on Kingdom Economics with this message about the giving, specifically a lifestyle of sowing and reaping. Sowing & reaping is about having a lifestyle of giving that has a direct relationship with tithing. It’s about putting seeds in the prepared ground that tithing correctly has provided for us.

Thinking like a farmer, the world of farming and agriculture gives us the best visual example of these two things working together:

• The farmer prepares the soil
• The farmer sows His seed.
• The farmer waits for the soil to do what it does
• The farmer harvests a crop
• The farmer takes the best of the crop to sow again to secure ongoing provision, not just a momentary one

This starts with correctly separating the tithe & the seed:

• The tithe and seed are two separate components working together in unison in God’s plan of caring for and prospering us
• Tithe is a tenth of our increase
• Seed is that which is given above and beyond the tithe and unlike the tithe which belongs in the storehouse, can be given wherever we feel led to give

Some examples of good soil:

• Alms – Widows, orphans and humanitarian needs. (Psalms 41:1-3, Proverbs 21:13 & 19:17, Leviticus 25:35-37, Galatians 6:2)
• Missions & missionaries
• Other ministries that inspire us to give - evangelists, and church planters
• Tithing up or forwards – giving into things we want to see a harvest in

When this is done correctly, it also empowers and resources a church to act effectively in its giving and response to needs.

The principle (law) of seed time and harvest is something God designed and instituted. It’s another principle that carries on after the cross and is a law like the law of gravity can be denied but is present to be used. It is something initiated for our benefit that man could be fruitful and multiply according to His desire for them. We see this desire expressed in the original design of Genesis firstly in Genesis 1:28 (Adam and Eve – be fruitful and multiply) then Genesis 9:1 & 7 (Noah – be fruitful and multiply). God instituted a principle (law) that was both natural and spiritual to enable multiplication called sowing and reaping. It’s a law that affects every area of our lives, not excluding finances. See Proverbs 18:24 (friendship) and Proverbs 11:25 (refreshing and encouraging).

This is a continual principle described in Genesis 8:22(ESV) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Also Galatians 6:7 (ESV) “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” and Luke 6:38 (ESV) “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” 

Understanding “seed kind”……….

• Every seed bears fruit after its kind Genesis 1:11 (NIV)
• Carrots make carrots, and cabbages produce cabbages
• What we sow, we reap – God puts control of our harvest into our hands
• A replacement structure of financial provision beyond being carried by Him
• What do we need more of in our lives? What do we need to sow into to make it happen?

We are making it a lifestyle, not a moment. The key verse is 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 with key points:

• We determine the amount and heart behind our sowing
• Giving should be by heart conviction, never manipulation
• God is able and willing to respond in abundance
• God supplies seed to the one who intends to sow and desires to increase the size of a person’s seed barn
• Enrichment returns in every way
• Our obedience to give results in praises given to God

Remember there are 3 stages, not 2: “seed – time- harvest”.

• Sowing involves faith and believing in the promise. It’s not about what we see or experience

Sowing and reaping are not subject to natural conditions

• Example 1: Issac sowing in famine – Genesis 26:1 & 12-14
• Example 2: A man who considers conditions – Ecclesiastes 11:4-6

Generosity is a Kingdom trait

• Proverbs 28:22 – “The stingy man and the generous man”
• Proverbs 11:24 -25 – “The one who gives increases all the more”
• Proverbs 22:9 – “Having a bountiful eye”
• Isaiah 32:8 – “A generous man devises generous things and will stand”

The relationship between us, our money, earth, and heaven

• Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven – Matthew 6:19-21
• Lazurus & The rich man – Luke 16: 19-31
• Saved but with nothing to show for your life – 1 Corinthians 3:15

The Bible clearly teaches us how we should handle our finances in a Kingdom way, but also how God leaves the choice with us. Giving, whether tithe or offering, should be done with persuasion, obedience, and faith.

So how as believers, should we handle our finances, especially during a season of financial crisis or famine?

• We see ourselves as stewards of what He has entrusted to us
• We honour Him with the tithe and return the first fruit to Him
• We live a lifestyle of sowing and reaping where we are sowing seed and enjoying harvests

This week Pastor Andy teaches Part 2 of his series on Kingdom Economics titled Tithing. A tithe means the tenth or first fruit/part of something. Tithing is the act of returning to God what is His; we don’t give our tithes; we pay them. To give what is required or expected is not a gift or seed. Key verses on tithing are found in Malachi 3:8-12…

•  According to Malachi, not tithing is robbery
• We are to bring (return) all the tithes to God
• Tithes are to come into His storehouse (the Church)
• This is the only place in the Bible where God invites a man to test Him
• Tithing causes a multi-faceted effect of increase and protection in and over a person’s life which goes beyond money alone

Tithing is not an Old Testament reality or a law

• Tithing is an ongoing active principle rather than a previously given law
• The first act of tithing originated 430 years before the Mosaic Law was given (Genesis 14:18-20), by Abraham who walked in promise & grace rather than law & obligation
• It was an act of victory & faith, not fear & desperation
• The tithe was given to Melchizedek (A type of Christ). We tithe to the Body of Christ (the Church) 
• Tithes are received here on earth by man but also by God (Hebrews 7:8)
• Jacob tithed (Genesis 28:20-22)
• Jesus encouraged the tithe (Matthew 23:23)

Another term used for ‘tithes’ is ‘first-fruits’. The key verse qualifying this is Proverbs 3:5-10

• Don’t handle finances with our wisdom; rather, be wise with His wisdom
• A matter of cause and effect – blessing following our faith and obedience

Understanding God’s love of firsts

• First born – Exodus 13:2 (livestock and people)
• First fruits – Exodus 23:19 (first not last, brought to God’s house).

A principle that is seen through scripture:

• Garden of Eden – The first tree was His; the rest was theirs
• Cain and Able – An issue of firsts (Genesis 4:3-5)
• Promised land – Jericho was His; the rest is theirs
• The teaching of Exodus regarding first born and first fruits
• The tithe was holy (Leviticus 27:30)
• We don’t return tithes. We don’t give them
• A matter of a person’s internal heart response – widows offering (Mark 12:42-44)

A matter of percentage, not amount.

• Tithe was about the percentage and not the amount
• This means that no one was excluded if the amount was too much
• God gives a level playing ground for all to tithe

Where does the tithe belong?

• The tithe belongs in the storehouse.
• Our local place of fellowship and feeding
• Offerings are to be sent to other places and activities. Our tithe belongs to the local church to resource the church
• Many churches are left begging because of a lack of understanding of this
• This is God’s plan for funding and resourcing His Church

Don’t lose sight of the 90%

• Sometimes greed, fear or insecurity, over the 10% can cause a person to miss the promise concerning the remaining 90%
• Principle of first fruits – what is sacrificed in the tenth redeemed the rest

What does tithing achieve?

• Honours God for who He is
• Demonstrates trust and faith in God
• Acknowledges the source of our provision
• Resources the Church (takes care of His bride)
• Tests our hearts – priorities, securities, loyalties and affections
• Opens the windows of heaven
• Affects and redeems the rest - If the root is holy, so are the branches (Romans 11:16)
• Prepares the ground for the seed we sow

What are things that stop a person from tithing?

• Ignorance
• Lack of faith
• Greed
• Fear

How to start tithing or how to correct a tithe

• Re-budgeting
• Re-prioritising your finances
• Start a faith journey to 10%

Remember, this is the only thing in the Bible that God invites you to test Him in, so why not go ahead and do it? He is not doing this because He has a need, but because He wants to set us up to meet all our needs.

Pastor Andy starts a 3 week series on Kingdom Economics. Part 1, this week is titled Kingdom Stewardship. Understanding God’s Kingdom economy starts with having Kingdom-mindedness & understanding our Kingdom citizenship.

• Acknowledging our citizenship to an alternate kingdom and its rule and reign that is present here and now.
• Choosing to live like citizens of God’s Kingdom
• A standard definition for the Kingdom is “rule & reign,” and so to be a Kingdom person is to recognise the rule and reign (ways) of the realm we now identify with
• We are a people restored to His Kingdom (Colossians 1:13), with every aspect of our lives aligned with his reign, including our resources

An example of having two different kingdom experiences is given in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

• Two different financial kingdoms present at once with two different experiences
• A good parallel between a world financial system and a Kingdom one
• This world’s kingdom’s that takes everything from us or God’s Kingdom which restores and resources us

Ps Andy asks three honest questions in relation to good stewardship

• Do we see ourselves as owners or stewards of our earthly wealth?
• Who does our earthly substance (our stuff) actually belong to?
• What would we have without God and His ability?

Deuteronomy 8:10-18 (NIV) answers these questions….

• We are stewards of what God has given and entrusted to us, therefore we are to live like stewards
• 1 Peter 4:10 
• 1 Corinthians 4:2 Original design. Humankind was made and positioned to manage – Genesis 1:2
• Jesus taught parables on good and bad stewardship. – Luke 16:1-13 & Matthew 25: 14-30  

As Stewards:

• We see ourselves being given responsibility to handle and manage what He entrusts us with in our lives and in His Church
• We should have open hands of stewardship rather than clenched fists of ownership 

A key thought is that ‘If He can get it through us; He will get it to us’! Money and resource are not meant to be abused or wasted, stored or hoarded or worshipped or served.

• Jesus warned about this in His statement on mammon in Matthew 6:24
• Mammon – Spirit of serving & loving money
• Money isn’t evil, but the love of it is – 1 Timothy 6:10

 Understanding its purpose

• It is to be used to meet our needs and also the needs of others
• To build God’s kingdom and make His covenant known on the earth

Good stewardship has both a natural and a spiritual dimension. Naturally:

• Check there is no waste in our lives and budgets
• Cut back where we need to so we have what we really need
• Go through our budgets, and manage our income and outgoings
• Seek council & wisdom from people who handle money well

Spiritually:

• Recognise that we are managing & caring what He has entrusted us with 
• We acknowledging Him in all our ways, including our resources
• Look to Him daily concerning the finances He brings to us and finances He wants to get through us to others

Today Ps Gina speaks about God being the greatest teacher, especially of abstract subjects which appear in many places in scripture. The Bible is full of stories, events and parables which are regular stories with spiritual meanings.

Gina uses the story in Ezekiel 4:12 to illustrate this. Being ‘defiled by sin’ is perhaps an abstract phrase but God gets the prophet Ezekiel to go to a public place and bake a loaf of bread using human excrement as the fire. After a conversation with God, Ezekiel uses cow dung instead (v15). So the bread is made and God gets the people to eat it so they understand how awful it is eating defiled bread. What a terrific visual story illustration this is! God wanted the people to know what He was experiencing when he saw one of his own filled with a life of stinking sin. The whole Bible basically is about God's favourite subject. We are his favourite subject but more specifically, it's about us because of a relationship with His Son Jesus.

From Genesis to Revelation, the idea of relationship with God can be an abstract thought to people, even to us as Christians. How can we have a relationship with an invisible God whom we cannot see or hear? There are three basic things we find in all books and information on relationships, an initial ‘hello’, time to be together and good communication.

Ps Gina teaches about the altars used in the Old Testament for sacrifice and how an altar is really a place of communion or connection with God. In the New Covenant, Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. 

When we come to God and make Him part of our lives we are no longer defiled - scripture in 2 Corinthians 2:15 speaks of our lives being a Christ-like fragrance rising to God. When we spend time with God, He smells the sweet fragrance of Jesus burning on the altar of our life of our hearts. 

This is awesome Bible teaching!!

This week Pastor Andy speaks about the love of God.  One crucial purpose of the church (all of us) is to introduce God to a needy and broken world. But this must be done in a way that is life changing. Hence it is important that as the people of God, we not only represent God, but that we represent Him properly. Over the years, ‘religion’ has caused many problems by tarnishing God’s image and confusing who He is and what He is like in a broken world bewildered about its origins. It is therefore imperative that we show the world that God is love.

We must understand that love is who he is. It is not just what he does – often this is where confusion sets in. We might say we are loving, but this is not the same for God, He is love. God loves because He is love. In His essential nature He does not become good when He does good things or become loving when He loves. He loves because He is love; He is good because He is good. These are expressions of His nature, the very person he is. 

This message begins with 1 John 4:16 – God is love; if we live in Him He lives in us. Do we live this way? John 15 speaks of the vine and the branches, if we abide in Him, he abides in us, and we can bear fruit and change lives. Therefore we must ensure we have accepted Jesus as Saviour, then the above scripture is true for us. We can then know God, experience His love, live in His love, and represent Him properly in the world to change lives. 

Today, Father’s Day, Pastor Andy speaks about the Parable of the Lost Son or as it is known, the Parable of The Prodigal Son. The Parables of Jesus are not like Proverbs. Proverbs are statements of wisdom, but parables are simple stories which illustrate profound truths. If we not only hear but listen with our hearts we will receive wisdom and learn about God in our lives. Luke 15 contains three parables (lost sheep, lost coin and lost son).  Jesus begins speaking about a lost sheep, then uses a lost coin to get the same story across and ends up talking about a father and his sons. In all of these stories, God was showing His heart not just for lost things but lost people, lost hearts.

The Prodigal Son story continues with the father running towards his son. He loves him, he brings a cloak, a ring, and sandals for his feet and brings him back to his house for a celebration, and a fatted calf is killed. The father restores him and repositions him as a son, as someone who belongs in his kingdom.  But did the repentant son realise exactly what had happened at that moment? The parable ends with the celebration. After this we wonder how did the prodigal think. Did he walk around his father’s kingdom the next day with his head held high or with shame still in his eyes? If he was confused about his father's heart or what his father had done; although he was now restored to the kingdom, he could still walk around as a slave perhaps. He could have walked around thinking his father would change his mind the next day, feeling a trespasser rather than a son, even though he was fully repositioned and restored. 

Maybe when we bring this into our world, we can have the same confusion – if we have returned to God yet are still living like we are estranged. The message today is that God would say this to all believers. If we are saved, we have got to know that what The Father has done is complete. We are no longer a prodigal, God knows us as righteous, redeemed and restored.

This week Pastor Steu speaks about Forging, the work of a blacksmith. He prefaces this with an understanding of how we live in a dark world where our enemy, the devil, is continually working to achieve his mission - that is, to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). 

As Christians, we are called by God to push back the spiritual darkness in this world by shining His light; we’ve been called to bring the light and life of God’s Kingdom into the world around us. This is not a physical war or a political debate. Jesus refused to fight in this way. Our battle is a spiritual battle that requires us, as Christians, to know who our enemy is, to be aware of his schemes, and be equipped to fight. Our enemy is the devil, not people. Our battle isn't against people, it's against the principalities and powers that are behind them.

As Christians, God has equipped us with spiritual armour. Ephesians 6:10-18 describes this for us. Amongst defensive items, our offensive armour is the shoes of good news and the sword of the Spirit.

The Sword of the Spirit is our other weapon of attack. This is the word of God, i.e. the truth of God revealed.  God’s truth becomes deeply rooted in our hearts by a process of forging. We are the metal in the hands of Jesus the head blacksmith - and He has appointed other blacksmiths (leaders) in the church who are called to equip all believers to do God’s work (ministry) – see Ephesians 4:11-12. The role of the blacksmith (church leader) is to expose the metal (us all) to the fire of the Holy Spirit and then to shape it with the hammer of God’s truth. The fire of the Holy Spirit heats us up, purifies us, and softens us. The hammer of God’s truth, repeatedly connecting with our lives that have been softened by His Spirit, then shapes us. God’s truth can then become deeply rooted in our hearts and we become people who are equipped with the sword of the Spirit, ready to push back the darkness with the light of His truth.

Ps Steu’s prayer is that every one of us will regularly be exposed to the fire of the Holy Spirit and that we will know the shaping of God’s Word. Let us use all opportunities available and be more and more deliberate about allowing space for the Holy Spirit to work and for the Word of God to be imparted into our lives.

This week Pastor Paula speaks about basking in His presence and wanting more of Him in our lives on a daily basis, not just Sundays. The bible tells us the most important commandment in Mark 12:30 (NLT) “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength”.  Sometimes we are rather lackadaisical over this or focus more on God’s love for us than our love for Him. After all, it is so important how much God loves us….it’s central to the Gospel message. But, we also need to love God….as the scripture says. 

The Greek translations here tell us we must take pleasure in The Lord, praising Him above all other things, abandoning all other things in His favour and be willing to long for Him. Psalm 42:1 (NIV) states “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God”.  This is the love God wants us to have for Him, a love which is greater than anything we have ever known. God is calling us. Nothing else has this level of significance in our lives. 

Often, life gets in the way, we have excuses, we are busy, or distractions come our way. But God wants us to experience His goodness and His faithfulness. When we love the Lord with our whole heart, we long to be with him, to spend time with him, and to know him. His presence is literally everything. It is the presence of God that will change us and witness to those around us. If we do not carry the presence of God, we have nothing.  We cannot live without the Spirit of God. 

Moses is one example of a person in the scriptures who knew the presence of God. The story unfolds in Exodus 33. Moses did not want to lead the people to the Promised Land without the presence of the Lord. He actually asked God not to send them away from the place they were in unless He was personally with them – otherwise they would be no different from any other people on earth! This applies equally to us now as it did in Old Testament times. 

As we ‘run our race’ this year, God is calling us for more. He wants us to be people who pursue Him and who are passionate about Him. Even though we are so undeserving, we get things wrong so often, He still chooses us. He is desperate for each of us to put down our distractions and focus our attention on Him. God does not wish to compete for our time. We need to want the presence of God more than any other thing in our lives, which means that we intend to lay things down and push things to the side.

Joel 2:28 speaks of God pouring out His Spirit on all people, prophesying, dreaming dreams, seeing visions. This is for every single person, not a favourite few.  We now live in the days that everyone hoped for during Old Testament times. Back then, there was just one day, the Day of Atonement, when the high priest could enter the presence of God. Fast forward to the New Testament and God himself dwells among His people (Jesus comes, dwells amongst us, witnesses throughout the gospels, and the people who encountered Jesus couldn't get enough of his presence).  His presence changes lives. This is why Mary wanted to be with Jesus in the Mary and Martha story (Luke 10). 

Now we have the Holy Spirit within us. God is longing to be with us. However, we can have the Holy Spirit but seem as if we are constantly searching because we do not use that which we already have.  James 4:8 tells us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. This must be our prayer, to earnestly seek and desire His presence.

Pastor Andy speaks on Global Sunday in Family church where we have embraced all the nations and cultures represented within the church family.

Twenty five years ago, Pastor Andy opened a church with local Portsmouth people. He prayed the prayer of Psalm 2:8 (NIV) “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession”, not knowing exactly how this might be fulfilled! Today we celebrate the fifty different nations who have made Portsmouth their home. How good is God!! Family Church is not a British church, or an English church. We are an ‘All Nations Church’ made up from people from Australia, across to Europe, to the breadth of Africa, from Ghana, from South Africa, from Nigeria, the Philippines, the world over.

Whilst we represent all the different nations of the world, have different ways of praise, different ways of worshiping, we do have one major common theme. We are part of one Kingdom. What brings us together isn't the strategies of men, but the strategies of a common King – King Jesus.

Scripture gives a glimpse of heaven….when this life is spent and Jesus Christ has returned and collected his church.  Revelation 7:9-10 (NIV) ‘After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”’ When life is gone we shall all be together serving one King in one Kingdom, so let this begin now and remove racism, segregation and other like falsehoods from life. We are all equal in His sight.

Let heaven break out in Portsmouth; let your Kingdom come in us and through us. Let the light of unity in this house and this church represent a different sound to the sound of the nations of this world. Let us live to love God with all of our hearts and live to love each other with all of our hearts. Let us live to see the kingdom that cannot be shaken, overthrown or removed reign in the here and now. Amen.

Pastor Sean speaks picks up on our theme from Hebrews 12:1-2 and asks us who we are running with? He compares spiritual life with that of a runner in a relay race. This verse tells us to run with perseverance, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the perfector of faith. So we all have a race to run, not just leaders, and God has marked out a race for each of us individually. Is this an individual race and who are our opponents? In athletics an athlete is both, ‘an individual athlete’ and ‘part of a team event’. The Christian life is both an individual race and a team event. Throughout the gospels we see the disciples (who were called by Jesus to follow him), following him individually and having personal relationships with him, but also together as a team reaching and helping others. This message discusses three points - Comparing versus Encouraging; Focusing Forward & Staying in the Lane; Receiving & Giving before summarising that the Christian life is about us growing in our own walk with God, as well as allowing our lives to carry the goodness of God to others around us.

God has an individual race for us to run. However, it is not just about us getting to where we need to get to, but it's also about helping others get to where they need to get to as well. Who is on our track? Who are we running with?