But Genesis chapter 47 verse 23 to 26, we'll just unite together in prayer and then we'll have our reading together. from God's precious Word. Heavenly Father, Eternal God, we thank thee, O God, for that new song that is put within our heart. Even praise on to our God. We thank thee, Lord, for the work of the Spirit within our hearts that has given us that new birth. And O God, we pray as we come even now to the preaching of the Word. We thank you, God, that as we hear thy word today, Lord, we can rejoice in it. We pray, Lord, that will strengthen us and above all that Jesus Christ will be uplifted and Jesus Christ will be glorified. We pray, Lord, even as we learn lessons from the life of Joseph, Lord, above all, may we be drawn to your saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hear and answer prayer for the saviour's sake. Amen. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day, and your land for Pharaoh, lo here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land, and it shall come to pass, in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part on the Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for your food, and your little ones. and they said thou hast saved our lives let us find grace in the sight of my lord and we will be pharaoh's servants and joseph made it a law over the land of egypt on to this day that pharaoh should have the fifth part except of the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. Amen. We know the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his word today. We want to look at the subject of giving to Pharaoh. The verses recorded in Genesis chapter 47 verse 23 onwards really relate now to the end or events after the seven-year famine that had ended. Remember, for seven years the people of the land of Egypt and surrounding lands experienced a severe famine, a famine that became stronger through the years. Of time, Genesis 47 verse 13 records, there was no bread in all the land of Egypt, for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by way of the famine. Due to the sovereign and providential workings of God, Joseph had been appointed by King Pharaoh to rule over the land of Egypt. Pharaoh had given into Joseph's hand the people and the land of Egypt to govern for such a time as this. During that time, Joseph set up storehouses. These were storehouses full of provision, and all who came to Joseph from Egypt and surrounding lands received the work of his own hands. They received the supply that he accomplished on their behalf. He gave and he gave and he gave again. Even when the famine was at its worst, the people had lost everything. They came to Joseph and they said, Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us our land for bread, and we and our land will be thy servants unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live and not die. that the land be not desolate. The people had got to the stage that during these years of famine, they had give different things. And now they'd got to the stage where they had nothing to give but their lives and their land. They were willing to give their lives and their land to Joseph. And Joseph heard their cry. And he met that need, and first twenty states, and Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. And the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them. So the land became Pharaoh's. Joseph had bought the people. We looked at that in a previous message. And also he bought the land for Pharaoh. And as a result, Egypt became strong and a great nation. The Lord had blessed Egypt for the sake of Joseph. King Pharaoh now possessed all the people and all their lands. They were citizens of his kingdom. They were delivered from dying in the famine. They were bought with a price. to serve King Pharaoh. They testified at the end of verse 25, we will be Pharaoh's servants. Once Joseph had paid the price for the people and bought the land for Pharaoh, Joseph then supplied what was needed for the people and the land to rebuild their lives from the devastation that was left by the famine. He had also supplied what was needed in order to work the land, that the land would be fruitful. In a sense, for the people, for the country, and for the land, it was a new beginning. The people of Egypt had nothing except what Joseph gave them by Pharaoh's command. It's interesting to see that Joseph then, having bought the people, having bought the land, and then gave them seed and gave them all they needed in order to succeed, in order to be blessed, in order to start their lives again. Joseph gave instruction that when the increase came, that whenever they reaped what was sown, whenever they received an income, they were to give a portion of that income to Pharaoh and then keep the rest for themselves. The reason being, Joseph was ensuring that the needs of the kingdom were met. that the work programs advanced in the kingdom of Egypt and what a wonderful picture and all this that we have in the gospel because men and women we have also been delivered from misery due to our sin that famine of soul in our lives that barrenness that was caused by the devastation of sin There was barrenness of soul, there was emptiness, there was poverty. We had nothing to give but our lives to Jesus Christ and he saved us. He paid a price for us, the price of his own precious blood. He paid what was required. He paid what was needed. Jesus Christ paid the full price. to buy us onto himself. And in doing so, he has given us new life. He has given us a new beginning. And we are a new creature in Christ. We are a new creation. Oh, before that, we were in misery due to sin, but Jesus Christ made that wonderful change in our lives, and he has blessed us more than tongue can ever tell. Oh, sin took us further than we ever wanted to go. Sin destroyed our lives. Sin kept us in misery. But Jesus Christ gave a great deliverance and he's blessed us and undertaken for us and he's given us these wonderful provisions that he is our sustainer, he is our provider and all we need is found in him and supplied by him. As citizens of heaven, we now extend his kingdom on earth for the furtherance of the gospel by working in his harvest, which, to apply it to us, is this land of this land, this country, this city, sowing the precious gospel seed to reap a harvest of souls for the Lord Jesus Christ, but also giving financially to the Lord's work for the maintenance, for the support, for the extension of gospel ministry even here at Southgow. So as we look at this today, giving to Furrow, let me give you four simple thoughts. Now, it may be a wee bit longer today than usual, just because I'm trying to answer some of the questions that have been put to me. or questions that have been suggested. Notice, first of all, there is the precept for their giving. Verse 25 and verse 26. And it came to pass in the increase that ye shall give the fifth part on the furrow. And four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part. except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. Joseph made it a law within the kingdom that when the increase came, whenever he supplied what they needed, and whenever the increase had came, the people were to give on to Pharaoh from that increase. When their riches increased, they were not to set their heart on them. Pharaoh was the king of the land and while they gave on to him, yet their money, their giving was used for the needs of the kingdom. Now in the strictest context, in Genesis 47, this is tax related. It was money given to the government that the kingdom be ruled well, that there would be no damage, no bad reports given to Pharaoh and his kingdom and also Joseph the same is taught in the book of Daniel. Whenever Daniel was promoted to one of the presidents in the land and he served under King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel made sure, the Bible says, that the king had no damage. In other words, that how the kingdom was governed, it would not bring a reproach, but rather it would be seen as a government that run well. Certainly the governments today could learn from Joseph. But since Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt, it was then binding on every citizen within the kingdom. This meant not to give the fifth part on to Pharaoh, was now to break the law and become guilty of dishonouring the king. It was viewed as keeping back from the king what was due to him. By Joseph stating, ye shall give the fifth part on the Pharaoh, his words demanded obedience. Every work that Joseph performed was by the authority of Pharaoh. He did the works of him that sent him. Joseph filled the storehouses. He provided wagons full of provisions, all by the decree of Pharaoh. Whatever Pharaoh authorized, Joseph accomplished. The people of the land were delivered and provided for by Joseph on the basis of Pharaoh's will, Pharaoh's command. He made sure Joseph gave on to others the very best. As the king of the people, Pharaoh demanded all honour from the people by giving to him and so to acknowledge their service, their loyalty and their thankfulness as they testified at the end that they were saved from the famine. As they give what was required, there would be more increase. And so likewise, believer, in the spiritual application of these words, there's much about our giving to God through Jesus Christ to honor him and giving our tithes. And in return, he gives the increase. The Lord spoke of this through the prophet Malachi. In Malachi chapter three, verse 10, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open to you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And so the Lord was saying to his people, whenever you bring in the tithe, whenever you bring that giving to the storehouses, you will be blessed. There will be honor given to them who honor him. Now, what is the tithe? The tithe is 10 percent. The people were to give 10, not in Joseph's day, but the tithe for us is 10 seeking to honour the Lord. Remember, whenever the Lord found Jacob and the Lord saved him, we looked at that a few weeks ago in the Bible study, Genesis 28, verse 22, and all that thou give me, that Jacob says to God, all that thou give me, I will surely give the tenth on to thee. Now going back to the days of Malachi, The reason why the Lord spoke these words, He was challenging them, that if they give, there will be a blessing. If they give, He will honour them. They will have an outpouring of blessing. The reason why He said those words, because the Lord's people, in the days of Malachi, they were not giving the Lord the tenth. In fact, they gave Him less. In fact, they gave Him leftovers. It's not that they couldn't afford it, rather they chose not to give. And so the Lord challenged the giving of his own people. He said there in the book of Malachi chapter 3 verse 8 and 9 and also chapter 1, Will a man rob God? That was what the Lord put to them through the prophet. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me, but ye say wherein have we robbed thee? And the Lord answered, In tithes and offerings. ye are cursed with the cursed, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. What a statement from the Lord himself, when he says to his own people about their giving, ye have robbed me. And then they say to him, well, how have we robbed you? And he answered, in tithes and offerings. They had broken the law. Thou shalt not steal because they were stealing from the Lord. Bring ye all the tithes, the Lord said, into the storehouse. And so they chose not to. Give the honour due to his name and he will pour out a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. He will honour them that honour him. That is the precept for giving. Again, 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verse 1 and 2, Paul taught the church at Corinth. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order in the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Also, the church at Philippi, you read Philippians chapter 4, which we'll get to, the church at Philippi were a giving church, and you will learn that even they give during times of great affliction. You might ask, as some have, and maybe you're sitting there thinking, and I'll answer the questions that were given to me, what happens to the tithes and offerings in this house? What is it used for? Well, I say this here, it's not a secret society, and you have any right at any time to ask any question. Your tithes, your giving, it pays for church bills, electric, gas, water, church insurance, material for children's works, the church in-fights, the Costco supplies of cups and napkins and toilet rolls, coffee, tea, all those different refreshments. That is continually the upkeep of all those things. Also, if unexpected bills comes, something breaks, something needs fixed or there's a special, maybe a special situation where someone needs help that we can be a blessing to. Also special projects, you think whenever we had the church loan, how money came in for that or also as well for the youth outing that's coming up soon, or the 25th anniversary of the church's things to be done. And so giving goes toward that. Again, the missionaries that you have represented on the boards as well, all the money goes towards that to help supply their need and to keep them on the field. I was also asked, do I get paid by the church? Does the church give me a salary? And while it's very controversial on these things, but I was just asked, well, I'll humourise it. One of our ministers, do you know parents, whenever their children go to school, they used to have this thing, I can't remember what you call it, but your parent would come into school and they would tell the rest of the class what your mum and dad did. And so the parent would come in and say, or the wee child would say, here's my dad, and he works as this. Well, one of our ministers, his child, the teacher said, is your dad going to come in to tell us what he does? Because they had firemen, they had policemen. And so the young lad answered, this is true, he answered, sorry teacher my dad doesn't work he's a minister and all the rest and so I put that humor to bring this point because it comes very awkward when you answer these questions but I was asked do do I get a wage the church support me and that sense yes you're giving as people in any church supports the minister. The minister is employed by the church and so he ministers to that church he's called to and that church upholds him and they support him. So this church, yes, gives me a salary. So if the people stop the give, then obviously the minister doesn't get paid or he gets paid less or changes or whatever that may be. So that's taken from the Lefites. who were supported by the sacrificial givers in the work of the tabernacle. Again, the pre-Levites, they were the priestly tribe. Numbers chapter 18, verse 23 and 24, among the children of Israel, they have no inheritance, but the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit. So the point is, The precept for giving is because the Lord requires it. Joseph put it that the people were to give unto Pharaoh. So that was the giving. Why should you give your tithe to the Lord? Because the Lord requires it. The Lord has asked for it. And when we give our tithe, we're not giving sacrificially. That's offerings and sacrificial offerings. When you give your tithe to the Lord, you're giving what God has simply required. Now, I know we may say, well, it's a sacrifice, but you're giving what the Lord has simply required to give. But notice, secondly, the provision for their giving. Because whenever Joseph said that they were to give unto Pharaoh, Joseph provided for them in order to give on to Pharaoh. If Joseph was to speak about an income, then he would supply the need for that income. Verse 22, Joseph said on to the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land." Joseph provided a source of income for the people. He employed them so they could give on to Pharaoh and honor him. He gave them seed so they could go out and work in the land and plant that seed and raise an increase. Joseph gave on to the people so they could give on to Pharaoh. The land was barren. It was empty. The ground had become hard ground. It had been neglected due to the famine. And so it needed to be broken up. It needed to be worked upon. And Joseph gave the sow to seed and gave all they needed in order to do the work. Once the seed was sown and through time and care, it would reap a bountiful supply. the Lord would give the increase. They would grow crops for themselves to earn a living. Verse 25, four parts shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for them of your households for food for your little ones. So now they had something they hadn't had before. Plenty for themselves, food for themselves, food for their family. In order to give a portion on to Pharaoh and also wage a portion for themselves, there needed to be an income, a salary, wages. And so Joseph provided a way to supply support and sustain them in the work in order to give on to Pharaoh. He provided for them employment. Therefore, believer, when we come to a greater than Joseph, we come to our heavenly and eternal Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose supplies are for your need. Maybe you have no work, maybe you have no income, then pray for that employment, because he provides work and an income to give on to him. If the Lord has supplied you with an income, by whatever means, then you can still give that tenth to him from that. People have asked me, and again I'm answering these questions, if someone is on benefits or they have very little, do they still need to tithe? And the answer is yes, they can tithe off that because that's been provided from the Lord by an income. You say, preacher, I can't afford to give And I answer you respectfully, I answer you reverently, you cannot afford not to give. The blessings of God poured out are at stake. He gives that we receive. So we give again, and then we receive again, to give again, to receive again, to give again. Believer, when you give to the Lord what is due, you shall not want. He will continually supply all your needs according to his riches in glory. I believe if we withhold from him, he will withhold from us. And that is seen by many different ways. People just think that may be financial, that may be medical, that may be another way that God can touch your life, your family life, whatever that may be. add more troubles, more sorrows in order for you to give on to him. But you shall not want if you give to him, he will never see you stuck. He will never see you mess out. It's the same principle applies. He will give you blessings and prosper you, your family, your congregation in many ways. And there's many believers who have tried and proved this. in their lives and I know there's many in this gathering who have come to me at different times and shared to me how God has provided for them that you were in a situation that maybe you felt maybe tight to give but you give in faith and God rewarded you, he blessed you bountifully. You can never out give God. He gives, and He gives, and He gives again. So there is the precept and the provision. But notice thirdly, there is the percentage in their giving. What was the amount they were to give and keep for themselves? Verse 25, And it shall come to pass in the increase that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own for seed off the field, and for your food, and for them off your households, and for food, and for your little ones." The fifth part referred to is 20%. Now that's for them here in Egypt. Whenever the people received their income, their wages for their work, that Joseph had supplied, they were to give 20% on to Pharaoh, and they were to keep the rest. for themselves. Now that 20%, what the fifth part that Joseph stated, meant that the people could not give what they thought should be given. So for instance, you may go back to the 10th. You may say, well, I'm going to give less than that. And think, well, I'll just take it, whatever is given. But that's going back to the days of Malachi. That's what the Lord said to the people. That's what they were doing. And so by Joseph stating here they were to give the 20%, it meant that they could not just give what they thought should be given, but also by giving the 20%, it was giving what was due, what belonged to Pharaoh. By way of application, as I said, the 10% that is given by the Lord's people is what belongs to the Lord. And to give beyond the 10% is then sacrificial tithes and offerings. So the next question is this that I've been asked. If I buy things for the church, does that replace my tithes? So for instance, now I would take this table here, it's already there anyway, but if someone came in next week and bought a big, nice big table, a proper Lord's table, and it said on it, this do in remembrance of me, right, so someone did that. I said, right, I've given that, I don't need the tithe this week. Would that count as a tithe? No, because your tithe is what belongs to the Lord. Now you can say, I've sacrificially bought something And I want to give to the Lord's work. You do that through the committee, by the way. We're not everybody that's going around banning everything. We do that through a procedure. But the point is this here. When you give to the Lord, the 10%, that belongs to Him. There's no playing about with that. There's no meddling around with that. That belongs to Him. Anything after that, that is called sacrificial giving. And even in sacrificial giving, you would never want to get to the stage where you say, you know what, I've given my 10% and that's it. You'd want to give more. Why? Because you can never out give God. For example, gifts have been raised there in the last number of weeks. Remember the church loan that came in, the money came in for that, or the money for these screens that you see that have been gifted, or the money for the Bibles that have come in, or whenever we have the offering for even the help with the youth project, we're not to think, well, you know what, if I give to that, I'm not to give then for my tithing offering. Or else if we have a missionary come for That day, we're not to think, well, you know what, there's a special offering for the missionary. My tithe will go towards the missionary. No, your tithe goes towards the Lord's work. Anything extra can go towards the missionary. These are biblical principles. See, we don't like this. So we don't, because that's mine. But really, it's the Lord has given you to give to him. That's what we have to see this year. It's what the Lord has given. As I said, you will never be disadvantaged. You will never lose out by giving anything to the Lord's work. I, myself, our family, we have proved this time and time again. Even we had little. Even we had just coming up even about less than £10 in bank accounts and giving to the Lord's work. The Lord has never seen us stuck. I remember one time even, I mean it's going back like years ago when I just got first married and I remember there was a situation and we had about £30 we had to do something and I thought well do we give this to the Lord or do we use it for something else here? And we just thought, listen, we just can't play about with the Lord here. There's things you may want to play about with, but as the saying goes, you play about with fire, you will get burned. And so when you play about with the offerings, you will get, well, it'll just not be good, put it like that. And so we gave to the Lord, and do you know what? The Lord rewarded us. Something came through the door, a supply of the need. What I'm saying to you, You read all these men from days gone by, even in the Bible, but you read of men like George Muller, that when God supplied for them, they give back and God supplied for them and they give back. Go through with God. There's no secret what God can do. What he's done for others, George Muller, and many more, he can do for you. The Lord is able to supply your needs. Some more thoughts there on that, but we will go very quickly. Remember in Mark chapter 12, verse 41, the Lord Jesus sat over against the treasury and beheld how people cast. Now this is solemn. how people cast their money into the treasury. Just think about that. Now, I don't go down to the back of the room and sit there and watch people give in and all the rest and mm-hmm, mm-hmm, like that. But here you have in Mark chapter 12, whenever people were giving the money in, the Lord sat there and the Lord watched. And you know what? The truth is, he still does the exact same today. He still knows what we give, what we don't give, How we give, how we withhold. And I asked the Lord, watch the people that day. He seen how people give. And many that were rich cast in much. The Savior wanted, the Savior watched their giving. Not just how they give or what they give, but how they give. This wee poor widow, she came and she cast in all that she had, even her living. She give her all sacrificially. And so, to give by faith, not by sight. And that's what we give. We give by faith, not by sight. Finally, the praise in their giving. Upon hearing the law as spoken from Joseph regarding Pharaoh, this fifth part, this 20%, and they were to keep the rest for seed, for the field, for food, for themselves, their household, their little ones, how do you think they responded? Do you think they listened to this and said, huh, we bargained with that fella. We're coming out short here. Well, they weren't actually, because they still got more in return. They didn't complain. They didn't bicker. They never gave out of fear. They never gave with hesitation. They didn't give out of guilt. Rather, they give with hearts full of praise because they were thankful that Joseph had saved their lives. They give willingly, they give joyfully. Verse 25, they said, Thou hast saved our lives. Let us find grace in the sight of my Lord and we will be Pharaoh's servants. Remember the number five is significant for the Egyptians and in the Bible. It was a number important to them. It's a number that speaks of grace, a number that speaks of favor and divine power. And so to give on to Pharaoh, they said this 20%, this fifth part, They found grace in the eyes of Pharaoh. They now had new life. They were now saved from death in the famine. Before those years of famine, it was bleak. It was devastating. They were wondering, are they going to make it? Are they going to die in the famine? But Joseph provided for them. and now they were saved. And as a result, they give on to him. They give what was required. Likewise, believer, when we give, we give because the Lord has saved us. We give because we found favor in his sight. Again, the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 7, every man according as he is purposed in his heart so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver and that word cheerful giver means a hilarious giver it means to laugh and that doesn't mean when you put your offering in the box you have to go every time and all the rest It doesn't mean that. It simply means that you're giving joyfully. You're glad to give to God's work because you know what the money's going towards. It's going towards the mission field. It's going towards to help the ministry. Maybe the leaflets they give out around the door. Listen, you may not be able to go around the doors all the time. You may have a work schedule you can't, but you give to God's work to help put towards these. As you're giving through, as the person is giving through the door, you're giving that as well. It's all working together. Or as you've heard missionaries would say, you may not be able to go to Kenya. You may not be able to go to Uganda or Australia or all these different places to see the work or the help in the work. But by praying, by giving to the work, you're enabling them to do it. And the same here in South Grove. Myself, as you give unto me, in that sense, you help things go on. The Lord loveth a cheerful giver. What was the context of Paul's words? He wasn't trying to get everything out of them. He was basically using the point. because he said onwards in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9 for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus that though he was rich yet for your sakes became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich. In other words when God gave his son he gave him cheerfully he gave him joyfully he gave him willingly as a sacrifice for sinners. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. When God, in his plan of redemption to save sinners, there was no hesitancy. Rather, he sent his son willingly, joyfully, and as Christ came into this world, to die for our sin, to be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, he was not hesitant. Rather, you were the joy sent before him. He despised the shame. He went to the cross, though he was mocked and laughed at, yet he would not come down, because he was there to give himself to save your soul. So just in closing, can I ask, as we give to the work at Southgrove to support the missionary and the ministry, are we praising God with thankful hearts for favour through Jesus Christ? Maybe you have never given to the Lord's work here at Southgrove. I trust you will see the importance and the blessing of doing so, whether you give by the box at the back or you give online. Some give weekly, some give monthly. But I trust that you will give and you will receive a blessing. You will always note that whenever someone gives to the work or else maybe I know about it and they have given for a particular project or whenever we receive gifts from outside the congregation and I will always respond and put on a we pray the Lord will give you back much more than you have given. And that's what it basically is. Above all, more importantly than money, have you given yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you given your life? Have you given your heart? Oh, as the Lord said, this people draw nigh to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. How is your heart today with the Lord? Give yourself to Him. Sacrifice yourself to Him. Surrender your all to Him in salvation and in service. I trust the Lord will bless His word for His name's sake. Amen.