THE DOUBLE-STUFFED BLESSING

Last Sunday at Dream City Church, I held eight Double Stuf Oreos.

Those eight Oreos represented everything God places in our hands: our income, resources, opportunities, and ability to work.

I broke one Oreo into ten pieces and separated eight pieces to represent the tithe.

What remained?

Seven whole Double Stuf Oreos and two additional pieces.

That represented the ninety percent we get to keep.

God is not taking everything and leaving us with crumbs. He asks us to return eight small pieces while placing seven whole Oreos and two more pieces in our hands.

And we still struggle to trust Him.

WE WILL PAY EVERYBODY ELSE

Mr. Vernon gave me those Oreos, so I want to give him credit for providing them.

But the point still stands. When we shop at H-E-B, the store does not ask us for ten percent of the price. They want all of it.

The cashier did not say, “Just give whatever you feel led to give.”

And we do not leave the store complaining:

“ALL H-E-B CARES ABOUT IS MONEY.”

We buy concert tickets, pay for parking, and spend money once we get inside. We may wince at the price, but we still pull out the card.

We go to restaurants, enjoy the meal, and pay the check they bring us at the end. We do not act offended because the server mentions the bill.

Yet we can come to church week after week, worship, hear the Word, receive ministry, never give a dime, and then complain the moment the preacher talks about giving.

Think about how backward that is.

We will gladly pay full price for what entertains us, feeds us, or makes life convenient.

Then we become offended when Scripture asks us to trust God with the first ten percent and invest in something eternal.

The church is not a concert or a restaurant, and giving is not an admission fee. We do not give to purchase a service from God.

We give because God is our SOURCE, He comes FIRST, and His mission matters.

Maybe the problem is not that the preacher talks about money.

Maybe the problem is that money has more of our hearts than we want to admit.

WE FORGET WHO PROVIDED THE OREOS

God supplied all eight Oreos in the first place.

Everything we have ultimately comes from Him: our health, strength, creativity, jobs, paychecks, and every breath.

Tithing is our way of saying:

“GOD, I REMEMBER WHERE THIS CAME FROM.”

God does not need our money. He wants our TRUST.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21:

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Tithing is not only about money. It is about PRIORITY, ORDER, and deciding who comes FIRST.

THE TITHE IS FIRST, NOT LEFTOVER

Tithing means giving a tenth. We see this principle throughout Scripture.

Jesus spoke about tithing in Matthew 23:23. If that were the only place He addressed it, that would be enough for me.

I am a tither because my Savior and Lord said I should be.

We do not tithe to earn salvation, purchase God’s love, or manipulate Him. We tithe because God is our SOURCE.

The tithe is not what remains after everyone else gets paid.

It comes FIRST.

We declare:

“GOD, YOU ARE FIRST.”

GOD DOES SOMETHING WITH THE TEN PERCENT

We often focus on the ninety percent God allows us to keep. But God also does something powerful with the ten percent we return.

The tithe helps fund the mission of the church.

It creates places where people encounter Jesus, supports ministry, cares for those in need, reaches the next generation, and sends the Gospel beyond the walls of the building.

It helps provide the staff, technology, facilities, and resources needed to serve people well.

The tithe is not wasted. It is worship in motion.

It becomes a ministry investment for souls: a building where people gather, a pastor who serves, a child who learns, a family that receives help, and a message that reaches someone who desperately needs it.

If we believe in the work of the church, we should want to help support it.

GOD CAN DO MORE WITH THE NINETY PERCENT

I believe God can do more with the ninety percent surrendered to Him than I can do with one hundred percent I refuse to trust Him with.

But He can also do more with the ten percent than I could ever do on my own.

He uses it to reach people I may never meet, support ministries I may never attend, and make a difference in places I may never visit.

That does not mean God is a slot machine. Tithing is not a demand for a bigger check by Friday.

God’s blessing may look like provision, wisdom, peace, contentment, or the ability to bless someone else.

The blessing is not always more STUFF.

Sometimes it is discovering that STUFF no longer owns you.

THE DOUBLE-STUFFED BLESSING

Those were not ordinary Oreos.

They were DOUBLE STUF.

That gave us the name:

THE DOUBLE-STUFFED BLESSING.

It does not mean God has promised to double every paycheck. It means He can fill our lives with things money cannot purchase:

When we tithe, we stop saying, “God, bless whatever is left.”

We start declaring:

“God, everything belongs to You, and You come first.”

Tithing teaches discipline, confronts greed, breaks fear, and reminds us that money is a tool, not our master.

YOU CANNOT OUTGIVE GOD

At Dream City Church, we believe you cannot outgive God.

That does not mean every act of generosity immediately produces more money. It means we can never sacrifice more than God has already sacrificed for us.

He gave us Jesus, grace, forgiveness, and eternal life.

When God asks us to trust Him with the first ten percent, He is not trying to take something FROM us.

He is breaking the grip fear, greed, and money can have ON us.

The tithe is not a tip we leave God after enjoying the meal.

It is a declaration that the entire table belongs to Him.

It is also our way of saying that we believe in the mission of the church, the advancement of the Gospel, and the work God has called His house to do.

And remember the Oreos:

God is not trying to leave you empty. He is teaching you to trust the One who supplied every Oreo in the first place.

That is THE DOUBLE-STUFFED BLESSING.

And I still believe…

YOU CANNOT OUTGIVE GOD.

—PZ