1843<\/b> Robbing God<\/b><\/p>\n
Billy Graham, in his sermon \u201cPartners with God,\u201d says: \u201cOne of the greatest sins in America today is the fact that we are robbing God of that which rightfully belongs to Him. When we don\u2019t tithe, we shirk a just debt. Actually we are not giving when we give God one-tenth, for it belongs to Him already (Levt. 27:30). This is a debt we owe. Not until we have given a tenth do we actually begin making an offering to the Lord!\u201d<\/p>\n
1844<\/b> Tithe In Prison<\/b><\/p>\n
Richard Wurmbrand of Tortured for Christ<\/i> said that when in prison they tithed! \u201cWhen we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soup every day, we decided we would faithfully \u201ctithe\u201d even that. Every tenth week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our \u201ctithe\u201d to the Master.\u201d<\/p>\n
1845<\/b> Tithing Surprises<\/b><\/p>\n
The Christian who tithes will be surprised:<\/p>\n
(1) At the amount of money he has for the Lord\u2019s work, <\/p>\n
(2) At the deepening of his spiritual life in paying the tithe, <\/p>\n
(3) At the ease in meeting his own obligation with the nine-tenths, <\/p>\n
(4) At the ease in going from one-tenth to a larger percentage, <\/p>\n
(5) At the preparation this gives to be a faithful and wise steward over the nine-tenths remaining, <\/p>\n
(6) At himself for not adopting the plan sooner! <\/p>\n
1846<\/b> Starting Poor<\/b><\/p>\n
Someone says that tithing is only for the rich. But we have never heard of a rich man or woman commencing tithing, but can name scores who began to tithe when they were poor and became rich:<\/p>\n
Mr. Crowell, founder of Quaker Oats Co. <\/p>\n
Mr. Colgate, founder of Colgate Soaps, etc. <\/p>\n
Mr. Proctor of Ivory soap fame<\/p>\n
Mr. A. A. Hyde of Mentholatum<\/p>\n
Mr. Henry Delaney of Resinol Ointment fame<\/p>\n
Mr. Matthias Baldwin, founder of Baldwin Locomotive Industry. <\/p>\n
1847<\/b> Quaker Oats<\/b><\/p>\n
Henry P. Crowell, affectionately called \u201cThe autocrat of the Breakfast Table,\u201d contracted tuberculosis when a boy and couldn\u2019t go to school. After hearing a sermon by Dwight L. Moody, young Crowell prayed, \u201cI can\u2019t be a preacher, but I can be a good businessman. God, if You will let me make money, I will use it in Your service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the doctor\u2019s advice Crowell worked outdoors for seven years and regained his health. He then bought the little run-down Quaker Mill at Ravanna, Ohio. Within ten years Quaker Oats was a household word to millions. Crowell also operated the huge Perfection Stove Company. <\/p>\n
For over forty years Henry P. Crowell faithfully gave 60 to 70 percent of his income to God\u2019s causes, having advanced from an initial 10%. <\/p>\n
1848<\/b> Rockefeller\u2019s Testimony<\/b><\/p>\n
Yes, I tithe, and I would like to tell you how it all came about. I had to begin work as a small boy to help support my mother. My first wages amounted to $1.50 per week. The first week after I went to work, I took the $1.50 home to my mother and she held the money in her lap and explained to me that she would be happy if I would give a tenth of it to the Lord. <\/p>\n
I did, and from that week until this day I have tithed every dollar God has entrusted to me. And I want to say, if I had not tithed the first dollar I made I would not have tithed the first million dollars I made. Tell your readers to train the children to tithe, and they will grow up to be faithful stewards of the Lord. <\/p>\n
\u2014John P. Rockefeller, Sr. <\/p>\n
1849<\/b> The Colgate Story<\/b><\/p>\n
A lad of 16 years named William left home to seek his fortune, all his possessions tied in a bundle carried in his hand. He met an old canal-boat captain. William told him his father was too poor to keep him and the only trade he knew was soap and candle making. <\/p>\n
The old man then kneeled and prayed earnestly for the boy and advised: \u201cSomeone will soon be the leading soap-maker in New York. It can be you as well as someone else. Be a good man, give your heart to Christ, pay the Lord all that belongs to Him, make an honest soap; give a full pound, and I\u2019m certain you\u2019ll be a prosperous and rich man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Into the city, he remembered the captain\u2019s words, and though poor and lonesome, he united with a church. The first dollar earned, he gave 1\/10 to God. Ten cents of every dollar were sacred to the Lord. Having regular employment, he soon became a partner and later sole owner of the business. He made an honest soap, gave a full pound and instructed his bookkeeper to open an account with the Lord of 1\/10 of all income. The business grew, so he gave 2\/10, 3\/10, 4\/10, 5\/10 and finally he gave all his income. <\/p>\n
This is the story of William Colgate, who has given millions to the Lord\u2019s cause. <\/p>\n
1850<\/b> LeTourneau\u2019s Bitter Experience<\/b><\/p>\n
R. G. LeTourneau, the Christian earth-moving machinery manufacturer who died in 1969, failed often in the earlier years of his career. <\/p>\n
Ironically, though, he made $35,000 profit one year in the middle of the depression. Puffed up with pride, he withheld the payment of his $5,000 annual pledge to the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in order to reinvest it in the business and give the Lord an even greater share the following year when he anticipated a net profit of $100,000. <\/p>\n
God was not mocked by LeTourneau\u2019s withholding of his tithe from the storehouse. Within a year, his anticipated $100,000 profit was turned into a $100,000 loss, and brought the erring servant to his knees. It was a thoroughly chastened and repentant LeTourneau who by much courage and faith pledged not only $5,000 to his church for the year he skipped, but also the same amount for the following year\u2014in the face of a $100,000 debt and no money for payroll. On top of that, his bookkeeper was ready to quit. <\/p>\n
From that point on, LeTourneau\u2019s fortune changed and within four years, he and his wife founded the LeTourneau Foundation comprised of 90 percent of the stocks of LeTourneau Corp., the earnings of which financed evangelical Christian work world-wide. At one time, this foundation was worth $40 million. <\/p>\n
LeTourneau often said: \u201cIt is not how much money I give to God, but how much of God\u2019s money I keep for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
1851<\/b> LeTournean Doing Well In Both<\/b><\/p>\n
R. G. LeTourneau told Forbes<\/i> magazine, \u201cI like to do two things. One is to design machines, turn on the power, and see them work. The other is to turn on the power of the Gospel and see it work in people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did pretty well in the first department. At his death he held over 200 patents. One of his monster earth-moving machines, weighing 200,000 pounds, can cut a thirty-five-foot swath through a jungle, knocking down trees five feet in diameter and chewing them up. <\/p>\n
He did well in the second department, too. Besides giving up to ninety percent of his income to Christian work, he would fly anywhere to speak for Jesus Christ. He is the only man to have been president of both the Christian Businessmen\u2019s Committee International and the Gideons International. <\/p>\n
1852<\/b> Laidlaw\u2019s Graduated Scale<\/b><\/p>\n
Robert A. Laidlaw, the New Zealand businessman who wrote the famous booklet \u201cThe Reason Why\u201d (translated into 30 languages with over 16 million copies) started tithing his $3 weekly salary at age 18. <\/p>\n
Two years later, he covenanted with God to give 10% of his salary\u2014up to a predetermined amount. Above that amount and up to a larger amount\u201415%. Above this amount and up to a still larger amount\u201420%. All above a still larger amount\u201425%. <\/p>\n
At the age of 25, Laidlaw decided to change the above graduated scale and give God 50% of all his earnings. <\/p>\n
Forty-five years later, he testified: \u201cIn spiritual communion and in material things, God has blessed me 100-fold, and has graciously entrusted to me a stewardship far beyond my expectations when, as a lad of 18, I started to give God a definite portion of my wages.\u201d<\/p>\n
1853<\/b> Story Of Mentholatum<\/b><\/p>\n
Early in his career, young Albert Hyde showed ability to make money. Though he did lose money several times, yet his hands had a magic touch. Once he pledged God his tithe. Then he became interested in a salve or remedy for colds from which came \u201cMentholatum.\u201d He did not forget his pledge, and as God shoved in, he literally shoveled out\u2014until his name became synonymous with Christian giving. <\/p>\n
He gave multiplied millions to the YMCA. At one time, all his income from Mentholatum in Japan was supporting a Japanese missionary work there. When he died at 87, this poor businessman had given a million-and-a-half dollars to missions. <\/p>\n
1854<\/b> Tam\u2019s Partnership With God<\/b><\/p>\n
Young Stanley Tam had failed in his silver reclamation business\u2014even though he had tithed since its beginning! \u201cWhy God?\u201d he prayed as he drove homeward with numb disappointment. <\/p>\n
Then an inner voice from the Lord seemed to say, \u201cYou don\u2019t need to fail; turn your business over to Me and let Me run it. Remember the promise. \u201cMy God shall supply. \u2026\u201d \u201c Finally, Tam replied: \u201cTake it God and if you\u2019ll make it succeed, I\u2019ll honor you in every way I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
He returned home and the business grew. Many months later, after he had married, he wrestled with his conscience once more and told his wife, \u201cI feel God would have us take a bigger step of faith than tithing and make Him a senior partner in the business\u201450% of the stock belong to Him.\u201d<\/p>\n
States Smelting and Refining Corp. of Lima, Ohio, was reorganized that way. Soon a new corporation, United States Plastic, was added to God\u2019s partnership. Growth was so phenomenal that the IRS audited their books for 10 consecutive years. Dividends from God\u2019s 51% were put into the Stanita Foundation which helps overseas missionaries mainly. As the business passed the multimillion dollar mark, God\u2019s share was upped to 60% annually. <\/p>\n
Then one day the ultimate happened. Stan and Juanita Tam turned over the ownership of the entire business to God. They became just salaried employees. Since then, a new plant quadrupled its original size sprung up and the business continued to prosper. <\/p>\n
1855<\/b> \u201cInnkeeper\u201d Dependent On God<\/b><\/p>\n
As a teenager, Wallace Johnson was fired by a sawmill operator. Today, as founder of Holiday Inns, he is a multimillionaire and called \u201cthe innkeeper of America.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson started his business empire in 1939 with a borrowed $250. Since then he has helped provide jobs for 110,000 people. He is known nationwide for his Christian activities and stewardship as a Baptist layman. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am totally dependent on God for help in everything I do,\u201d he declares. \u201cOtherwise, I honestly believe it would start to fall apart in months.\u201d<\/p>\n
1856<\/b> Senior Partner At Kraft<\/b><\/p>\n
Years ago a young man began a small cheese business in Chicago. He failed. He was deeply in debt. \u201cYou didn\u2019t take God into your business. You have not worked with Him,\u201d said a Christian friend to him. Then the young man thought, \u201cIf God wants to run the cheese business, He can do it, and I\u2019ll work for Him and with Him!\u201d From that moment, God became the senior partner in his business. The business grew and prospered and became the largest cheese concern in the world! You ask the name of that young man? J. L. Kraft who became president of the Kraft Cheese Company! <\/p>\n
\u2014Walter B. Knight<\/p>\n
1857<\/b> God Has First Claim On Keyes<\/b><\/p>\n
Kenneth S. Keyes of Florida, leading Realtor of the South, started tithing in the middle of the depression when things blew up in his face. He gave to God not with the idea that it would help him make more money but because he believed God had first claim on his life. <\/p>\n
As God prospered his real estate business, he organized seven different corporations which sell and lease real estate, provide mortgages and manage property. In 1938 Keyes decided that his corporations would tithe also. Today the tithed moneys of all Keyes companies go into a foundation which has a charter provision which stipulates that 56\u20132\/3 percent of all funds must go to evangelical Christian causes. <\/p>\n
Keyes has increased his personal giving from the tithe of the founding years up to 30 percent today\u2014which he has maintained for many years. On top of that, whenever his net worth exceeds one million dollars after these deductions, he gives more to bring his net worth down to one million\u2014a figure he never intends to exceed. <\/p>\n
\u2014Selected<\/p>\n
1858<\/b> To Hyde, First Creditor Is God<\/b><\/p>\n
A. A. Hyde, a millionaire manufacturer, said he began tithing when he was one hundred thousand dollars in debt. Many men have said they considered it dishonest to give God a tenth of their incomes while they were in debt. Mr. Hyde said he agreed with the thought until one day it flashed upon him that God was his first creditor. Then he began paying God first, and all the other creditors were eventually paid in full. If a man owes you money, it would be wise business policy on your part to encourage him to pay his debt to God first. <\/p>\n
\u2014Sunday School Times<\/i><\/p>\n
1859<\/b> The M. P. Fund<\/b><\/p>\n
When candy manufacturer John S. Huyler started out in business, he took Jacob\u2019s pledge: \u201c \u2026 of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee\u201d (Gen. 28:22). Going to the bank, he opened a special account which he initialed \u201cM. P.\u201d Into that fund he regularly entered a proportionate amount of his income. When anyone asked what the strange label meant, they were told that it stood for \u201cMy Partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he kept God uppermost in his mind in all his transactions, his industry grew at a phenomenal rate, and each week the \u201cLord\u2019s treasury\u201d received increasingly large sums. His gifts to worthy causes and private individuals amazed his business associates. These contributions were always accompanied with the request that the donor should not receive any thanks or glory for his actions. He asked each recipient to offer praise to God alone, for he said, \u201cAfter all, the money isn\u2019t mine; it\u2019s the Lord\u2019s!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Our Daily Bread<\/i><\/p>\n
1860<\/b> Worth-Give-Leave Million Dollar<\/b><\/p>\n
Mr. W. R. Spight, wholesale grocer of Decatur, Ala., passed away. Shortly after his departure the trusteeship of the Spight estate came into being. Representatives of the eight beneficiaries of the estate met, reviewed the activities of the trustees, and found that out of an original estate worth a million dollars, the beneficiaries have received $1,040,000 and there is still an approximate million\u2019s worth left in the estate. A friend who knew Mr. Spight said that he gave $500 to the Lord every Sunday of the year, while he lived. <\/p>\n
To be worth a million, and give a million, and leave a million to be given away is a record. Only eternity will reveal the vast amount of good accomplished by the million given, and the million now being given! Money simply cannot be put to a higher use than that of honoring the Lord. <\/p>\n
1861<\/b> Douglas Travels Half-Way<\/b><\/p>\n
W. L. Douglas, the shoe manufacturer, is nationally known. From his early, struggling years comes this story. He had been unemployed so long that he was down to his last dollar. Nevertheless, he put half of it\u2014fifty cents\u2014in the collection basket of his church. Next morning he heard of a job in a neighboring town. The railroad fare to that town was one dollar. To all appearances it would have been wiser if he had kept that fifty cents. However, with the half dollar remaining he bought a ticket and rode half-way to the desired place. He stepped from the train and began to walk to the town. <\/p>\n
Before he had gone one block he heard of a factory right in that town where they were employing men. Within thirty minutes he had a job at a salary five dollars more a week than he would have received had he gone on to the other town. <\/p>\n
\u2014Arthur Tonne<\/p>\n
1862<\/b> Gusher\u2019 Tithe<\/b><\/p>\n
Toddie Lee Wynne, oilman of Dallas, Texas, has turned over $2,000,000 to the Texas Presbyterian Foundation. The gift represented a tithe of an estimated $20,000,000 Wynne made when he sold his petroleum company interests. Members of the Wynne family have practiced tithing for many years. <\/p>\n
1863<\/b> A Good Start For Charlie Page<\/b><\/p>\n
Charlie Page was a young man, broke, penniless and jobless. One day he stopped on the street to listen to a Salvation Army service. When the tambourine was passed around for the collection, he told the girl who held it out before him that he would like to give something but had nothing himself, even for his food. She gave him a dollar, saying, \u201cTake this: put ten cents in the offering, and hereafter give a tenth of all you get to God. Keep this up all your life, and you\u2019ll never be penniless again.\u201d He did so, got a job, and began giving his tenth regularly. By and by he became a millionaire, and gave much more than a tenth, building hospitals and helping in many ways to carry on the work of the Lord. <\/p>\n
\u2014A. Naismith<\/p>\n
1864<\/b> Hardy\u2019s Ministry Of Money-Making<\/b><\/p>\n
The Honorable Alpheus Hardy made money and used it to support missionaries and educate ministers. The great Japanese, Dr. Joseph Hardy Neesima, was helped by him when he landed in Boston on one of Hardy\u2019s ships. Neesima helped lay the foundations for Christianity in Japan. <\/p>\n
Here is Hardy\u2019s experience: \u201cI wanted to go to college and become a minister. My health broke down and the truth dawned on me that I could not be a minister. \u201cI cannot be God\u2019s minister,\u201d was the sentence that kept rolling in my mind. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne morning, alone in my room, my distress was so great I threw myself flat on the floor. The voiceless cry of my soul was, \u201cO God, I cannot be Thy minister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it came to me that I could serve God in business with similar devotion, and to make money for God might be my special calling. The vision was so clear and joyous, I exclaimed aloud, \u201cO God, I can be Thy minister! I will go back to Boston. I will make money for God, and that shall be my ministry. I am God\u2019s man, and my ministry is to make and administer money for Him.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
1865<\/b> Story Of Welch Grape Juice<\/b><\/p>\n
A young man accepted for the African missionary field reported at New York for \u201cpassage,\u201d but found on further examination that his wife could not stand the climate. He was heartbroken, but he prayerfully returned to his home and determined to make all the money he could to be used in spreading the Kingdom of God over the world. His father, a dentist, had started to make, on the side, an unfermented wine for the communion service. The young man took the business over and developed it until it assumed vast proportions\u2014his name was \u201cWelch,\u201d whose family still manufactures \u201cgrape juice.\u201d He has given literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to the work of missions. <\/p>\n
\u2014The Presbyterian Advance<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1843 Robbing God Billy Graham, in his sermon \u201cPartners with God,\u201d says: \u201cOne of the greatest sins in America today is the fact that we are robbing God of that which rightfully belongs to Him. When we don\u2019t tithe, we shirk a just debt. Actually we are not giving when we give God one-tenth, for … Continue reading “GIVING AND TITHING”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}