A STOREHOUSE CHURCH

A STOREHOUSE CHURCH: The Power of the Commanded Blessing

Malachi 3:10 (NKJV) "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house..."

Restoration Fellowship is to be a Storehouse Church that stores up resources for aiding ministries around the world in significant projects.

1. ME

A Word and a struggle in my heart...

One of the hardest things that I do as a pastor is talk about money in the church.  For most of my ministry life, preachers who talk about money have been seen as “selfish at best and thieves at worst”.  One night, my father in the Lord and I were traveling all night to get to a revival meeting at a church in east Texas where we would spend the week preaching and singing.  We were running hard and talking on the CB radio.

  

My pastor’s handle was “Preacher Man”; mine was the “Texas Troubadour”!  Brother Jim keyed his mic and said, “This is the one Preacher Man.  Got the Lord in my heart and the Word in my hand and preaching the Gospel all over the land.” After a brief silence, the radio crackled back, “With your hand out!” That started a conversation that ended with us pulling over on the side of the interstate at a certain mile marker and waiting in the middle of the night for the trucker on the other end of the CB to stop and talk.  He never came.

The tithe belongs to the Lord...

The idea of a preacher with his hand out has always bothered me.  I guess it seemed a little disingenuous to me to talk about people giving more money to the church when I would directly benefit from it. I have never felt comfortable with it.

Many of you will remember that when we started our church, we never took an offering; we never passed the plate.  We just put an offering plate by the back door and asked people to pray about what to give and then be obedient.  One of the phrases that started early and has stuck with us is the phrase, “Lord, what do you want me to give today, and who do You want me to give it to?”

One thing I have always believed and taught, even though many other preachers have disagreed with me, is that the tithe belongs to the Lord, not to me or even to this church or any other church. I believe that God can speak to His people, and His people can hear and obey.  This is called “The Priesthood of the Believer” and is a cardinal principal in all evangelical churches.

We take an offering now...

Some years ago, we started taking an offering for two reasons: 1. We were not making our budget, and 2. Many who were visiting were not given the opportunity to give.  I am now more comfortable with it; I have gotten pretty good at the offering call or message, the “pre-cha-ching” as it has been called!

Today, I’m gonna talk about money. Specifically what God wants RF to do with some of its money.  I am asking God to let me say it without you feeling pressured in any way.

This quote by Eugene Petersen, the translator of The Message Bible sums it up for me: “A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook.”

2. WE

What does this mean for us as a church?

During our last series, “TOTAL MAKEOVER, How to be a Good Steward of Every Area of Your Life”, Alba spoke about stewarding our personal finances.  She spoke about “The Storehouse Principal” and how it applies to our individual lives and families.  Her theme verse was: Deuteronomy 28:8 (NKJV) “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

I believe God has destined Restoration Fellowship to be a “Storehouse Church”.

What is that? This is my definition as it relates to us: “A Storehouse Church is a church that stores up resources to aid ministries around the world in significant projects.”

I have always felt it was important to have churches who could give a significant sum of money toward a project that needed quick action.

This does not mean we have a lot of money in the bank to cover our own desires and needs, but we have secured resources to help other churches, ministries, and individuals in need around the world.

Every church I have pastored has been a Storehouse Church!

Now this is not because of me, but I have been blessed to see it in operation.

FBC Lazbuddie, Texas gave $25,000 to purchase land in Phoenix to build churches.

FBC Fort Hancock, Texas donated $30,000 and raised another $30,000 in five minutes at a Wednesday night service to build a youth and children’s ministry center for the community.

Now, these churches had money, small budgets, and no debt.  But I have seen us here at Restoration Fellowship function as a Storehouse Church when we had a big budget and $1.1 million in debt!

RF has been a Storehouse Church in the past.

Donated $5000 to help build Restoration Orphanage in Liberia.

Sowed thousands of dollars through mission trips in foreign countries.

Built three churches in India.

Mosaic El Paso birthed in our building.  Roca Fuerte survived in our building.

What happened?

We spent our storehouse; we had to in order to survive.  Our budget took a $100.000 hit in one year. That led to a total revamping of our financial structure that has led to several years of balanced budgets. My thanks to the Finance Committee and our Elder/Deacon Board. Without their leadership, we would not have made it.

Even in times of struggle, I have seen us raise significant amounts in a short time: $125,000 to secure a lease on this property, $80,000 to close on this property, $20,000 to purchase a van for Jesus Chapel School, $20,000 for chairs in the sanctuary, multiple thousands for upgrades to our property.  Now I believe that the time has come to once again be a “Storehouse Church”!

How do we once again become a “Storehouse Church”?

3. GOD

What does the Bible say about this?

God has always had storehouses. They were places to store the tithes of the people. 

Malachi 3:10 (NKJV) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Let me explain briefly how the tithe worked in Israel.  The people were required to give a tenth of their increase: crops, cattle, produce, whatever was increase.  The people gave their tithes to the Levites, then then Levites took them to the priests. Part of the tithe went to the Temple to cover the expense of worship; the rest of it was for the priests and Levites.  This was because they had no land or inheritance. The priests and Levites then brought a tithe of that to the storehouses that were in the 48 Levitical cities across Israel.  Then every third year there was another tithe just for the storehouse!

So the storehouses were filled with a tithe from the tithes.  To put it into modern terms, if we are a Storehouse Church, then 10% of all the tithes and offerings would go into that storehouse. We would pay all our expenses for staff, the building, the ministries, and other things out of the 90%.

4. YOU

Why is this important to you?

The amount of resource that a storehouse has is directly tied to the tithes and offerings of the people. The church can add to the storehouse in other ways, but it is primarily funded as a tithe of the tithes.

Malachi told the people to bring all the tithes into the storehouse.  They had not been doing that.  Malachi prophesied along the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah, after the exile to Babylon.  During that time the tithes had not been paid.

Malachi 3:8 (NKJV) “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

Under Nehemiah the people had made a new covenant with God to bring the tithes and offerings, but they had not kept it.

Nehemiah 13:10–13 (NKJV) I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. 11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.

When the people responded it took at least 6 people to take care of the storehouse!  This is what God promised!

Malachi 3:10–12 (NKJV) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts; 12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the Lord of hosts.

Not a bondage, but a blessing...

The tithe was never meant to be slavery or a bondage to a law.  It was an expression of thanks for what God had provided and an expression of faith for what God would provide

The Commanded Blessing

Deuteronomy 28:8 (NKJV) The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land

which the LORD your God is giving you.

Leviticus 25:18-22 (NKJV) So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. ‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.

A three-year blessing!  This has an exponential affect on the storehouse.  Not only does the tithe increase, but the special offering for the third year is tripled! 

5. WE

We all live the commanded blessing out together!

Psalm 133:1–3 (NKJV) Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore!

We come together in unity, as one, reaching our world through stored resources. What does this look Like?

A church in Cotonou, Benin needs money to buy a parcel of land for a building that is not controlled by Muslims.  In many parts of the world we can build a church and put a pastor there for around $6,000.  We can establish a feeding program for refugees in Syria. Is this not what Jesus commanded us to do? 

Matthew 28:19–20 (NKJV) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 25:34–40 (NKJV) Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

Two immediate needs...

Eliud Garza

Terry Linebaugh

Action steps...

1.  We need to begin our storehouse by taking a tithe of the tithes.

2.  Our annual income is roughly $360,000; a tithe of that would be $36,000.

3.  In three years we would have $108,000 in our storehouse with no additional help.  This is where we were before the crash.

You may say, “We need to apply that money to the mortgage.” I would agree.  But I believe that if we tithe our tithes, we will accelerate the payment of the mortgage.

Illus: Church at Lazbuddie began to tithe the tithes…

Challenge

So this is my challenge to us this morning.  Let us strive to tithe as individuals and families, then let us, as a church, strive to tithe the tithes into a storehouse that will affect the entire world!

We all may not be able to right away, but God will make a way.  Remember…

2 Corinthians 9:10 (NKJV) Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,

Citation

Excerpt(s) from COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE: SEVEN KEYS TO IRRESISTIBLE COMMUNICATION by Andy Stanley and Ronald Lane Jones, copyright © 2006 by Andy Stanley and Ronald Lane Jones. Used by permission of WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.