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Words Of Life Ministries, Inc. 24148 Iowa Rd PO Box 652 Lebanon, MO 65536 Located in downtown Sleeper, MO 417-532-8050 |
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BIBLE-BASED FINANCIAL GUIDANCE, Part 5
by Jerry Dewey
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6
You pay tithes. Tithes belong to God according to Leviticus 27:30, “and all the tithe, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord”; therefore, you cannot give tithes because they are not yours to give. Tithes are the first ten percent of any increase, whether it be earned income or gifts God places in your hands. You pay tithes based on your gross income, not on your net income. To be biblically correct, you must pay (or set aside) your tithes before your tax obligations are deducted and before you pay any bills. Tithes are God’s tax on the earth and He expects Christians to pay their obligation just like the federal and state governments expect you to pay your obligation to them; however, they do not give you an option – they take directly from you. God, on the other hand gave man a free will, and He uses tithes to gauge the state of your heart, your faith, and your level of commitment. Abram established tithing when he gave Melchizedec a tenth of the spoils he obtained when he slew the people responsible for kidnapping Lot. This account can be found in Genesis 14 (verse 20 says he gave Melchizedec a tithe of the spoils) and Hebrews 7 (verses 2 and 4 defines a “tithe”; they say he gave Melchizedec a tenth or ten percent of the spoils). To be biblically correct, you can only honor God by paying your tithe out of the first tenth of your income, not the leftovers (Proverbs 3:9, “Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase”; Deuteronomy 26:2, “that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there”; Deuteronomy 26:10, “and now, behold, I have brought the fristfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:”; and Leviticus 23:14, “and ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings”). You clearly demonstrate your values, priorities, and attitude about God and where He fits in, in your life and your financial situation, depending on which portion of your income you set aside for your tithe or what you are calling “your tithe.” In Matthew 22:15-21, when Jesus was asked about the legality of paying taxes to Caesar (the government), He said, since it was required, you must pay it. Notice what He says at the end of verse 21, “and unto God the things that are God’s.” Tithes are required; therefore, you must pay them (see also Mark 12:13-27 and Luke 20:20-26). There are six reasons why Christians should tithe: Remember in Leviticus 27:30, it says the tithe is holy. God is very specific when it comes to anyone touching anything that is holy – you could die. In Numbers, chapter 4, God gives Moses specific instructions on how to properly pack the tabernacle, all the instruments and vessels of the tabernacle, and the ark. God warns Moses to make sure no one touches, approaches, or looks at anything that is holy because they would die; see for yourself: in verse 15, “And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die…”; in verse 19, “…that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things”; and in verse 20, “But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die”. In 2 Samuel 6:6-7, Uzzah simply reached out to keep the ark from falling off the cart (the ark was holy and was never to be touched) – God killed him right then and there (“and when they came to Nachon’s thresingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for this error; and there he died by the ark of God”). Except for the grace of God, if you are not tithing, He could take you out just like He did Uzzah. If you don’t believe God is serious about improper contact with holy things, read Numbers 16:1-33 to see what happened to Korah and the 250 princes who rose up against Moses and Aaron; then read 2 Chronicles 26:16-21 to see what happened to king Uzziah after he entered the temple to burn incense on the altar. God may not kill you, but you are going to be in serious trouble as long as you’re not tithing. The eighth commandment says, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). If you are not tithing, you are robbing God (Malachi 3:8-9, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.”). You are stealing from God (you couldn’t steal from God if it didn’t belong to Him; therefore, this proves that it belongs to God). You are a robber, a stealer, and an embezzler; if you will steal from God, you are untrustworthy. Stealing is a sin. In God’s eyes, you are unrighteous and unholy (you cannot be unrighteous and holy at the same time; therefore, if you are unrighteous, you are unholy). 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 makes it very clear, only the righteous, those in right standing with God, can come into God’s kingdom – approach Him and get in His presence (“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither…nor thieves...shall inherit the kingdom of God.”). Sin separates you from God and you cannot get in His presence as long as you are stealing from Him. If you cannot get in His presence, you will never experience His joy, the pleasures He has to give you, and His peace. Psalms 16:11 says, “…in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” His joy will give you strength (Nehemiah 8:10, “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”). If God approves of your actions, He will “…lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually)” (Numbers 6:26, Amplified). If you cannot approach Him, then John 14:27 cannot happen, “peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” God’s peace is like no other peace (Isaiah 26:3-4, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength”); the peace the world has to offer, drugs, alcohol, fame, fortune, possessions, doesn’t come close. It’s no wonder you spend sleepless nights pacing the floor trying to figure out how you are going to make ends meet. By keeping God’s tithe, you are missing out on this: “May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope” (Romans 15:13, Amplified). If you are not tithing, according to Malachi 3:9, you are cursed and your money is cursed (Proverbs 3:33, “the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked…”). Deuteronomy 28:16-68 describes the curses; there are several stages or levels of these curses. The longer you stay in rebellion, the harder your life will be and become; the negative pressure on your financial situation will only get worse (Proverbs 13:15, “…but the way of transgressors is hard”). If you are not tithing, according to Malachi 3:10, you live under a closed heaven (“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”); they're closed because it says God will only open them when you bring your tithes into the storehouse (which is the church you regularly attend and are being spiritually feed; if you are not being spiritually feed at the church you attend, you need to find one where the preaching/teaching is spirit-filled). If the windows of heaven are closed, you cannot and will not receive any of the good things God has for you, because they can’t get out of heaven. All good things come from heaven; Matthew 7:11, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” God is the only one who can open the windows and He won’t open them until you are faithfully and consistently tithing. But that’s only half of the problem; re-look at the last part of Matthew 7:11, “…to them that ask him.” John 14:13-14 says, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” and John 15:7 says “…ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” You’ve been praying for a job, but nothing happens; you’ve been praying for a raise, but nothing happens; you’ve been praying for a promotion, but nothing happens (for you, but somebody else gets a promotion); you’ve been praying for some extra money to pay some bills, but nothing happens; you’ve been praying and praying and praying, but what you’ve been asking for never happens. Do you realize, if the windows of heaven are closed, your requests can never get into heaven! If you are not tithing, according to Malachi 3:11, a spirit, called the devourer, has free reign on your financial situation (“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…”). It will seem like your money disappears faster than you can make it. Haggai 1:6 says, “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.” Finally, if you are not tithing, according to Malachi 3:11, you will experience untimely events (“…neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts”). Everything happens at the wrong time; the timing of your entire life will be totally out of whack: your brand new car will break down; your brand new washer and dryer will break down; that fishing boat motor you just had repaired just blew up; all four tires on your other vehicle go bad at the same time; all your kids need braces at the same time; two months of unseasonably cold weather causes your electric bill to be sky-high; a freakish winter hail storm destroys the new roof you had put on this past summer; on and on and on. Do these kinds of things happen to Christians who are tithing? Of course, but the biggest differences are: they don’t happen as frequently nor do they have a devastating financial effect on them when it does happen. The most common reasons or excuses Christians give for not tithing: “I don’t make enough money”, which is just another way of saying, “if I pay my tithes first, I won’t have enough money to pay my bills.” You have no faith in God – you do not trust Him to make good on the promise He makes in Philippians 4:19, “…my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ”. David said in Psalms 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Don’t you think God knows how much money you need to cover your expenses? God can do more with 90 percent of the resources He gives you than you can do with a 100 percent, but if you never give Him the opportunity, you will never know. Apostle Eugene Satterwhite said someone told him, “I make way too much money to tithe.” Who do you think gave you the ability and the talent to make “way too much money?” God gave you the ability and the talent to make “way too much money” (Proverbs 8:15-16, “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth” – yes, yes, wisdom is the subject of these two verses, but wisdom comes from God). And because He gave it to you, you should honor Him with your tithe, no matter how large your obligation. If He gave it to you, He could take away, as well (Luke 12:48, “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required…”). “Tithing was for then, but not for now;” this is a lie from the devil, the great deceiver. There isn’t one verse in the Bible that terminates your obligation to pay your tithes. Many Christians erroneously think their obligation was terminated because tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament and/or because Jesus fulfilled the law. There are numerous mentions of tithing in the New Testament (several have already been provided); in Mathew 23:23, Jesus not only talked about tithing, He said you ought to tithe, “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Abraham established the principle of tithing; in Genesis 28:22, Jacob tells God, “…and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Both of these men lived hundreds of years before the law. The law established the purpose and the value (its importance and relevancy) of tithing. Jesus fulfilled the law by not breaking or violating any of them. Jesus gave Christians the ultimate challenge: obey the law of love. If you truly love God and your neighbor, you are less likely to persist in the evil desires and immoral practices clearly indicated in Romans 13:9, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, and Ephesians 6-5:3-5. There is one important point you must understand: if it’s in the Bible, God said it; if God said it, it does not change with the passing of time and it will always apply. Hebrews 13:8 makes this very clear, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” God is truth and His words are truth; Psalms 100:5 states, “…his truth endureth to all generations.” Why are so many Christians not tithing? The answer is very simple; they do not love God and Jesus. “Oh, you’re wrong, I do – I love God; I’m always singing, oh, how I love Jesus, oh, how I love Jesus.” NO YOU DON’T! You love Him with your lips, but you don’t love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said, “…thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment”. Luke 10:27, says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (basically the same thing said in Deuteronomy 6:5). In Deuteronomy 10:12-13, we’re given specific requirements in regards to our relationship with God: “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good.” If you truly loved God, you would obey ALL His commandments; in John 14:15 Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” You can talk about Jesus all day and look all spiritual when you’re at church, but 1 John 2:3-4 clearly identifies who and what you are: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Matthew 7:21-23 makes it very clear, not everyone that calls themselves a Christian is going to make it into heaven (remember, only two children of Israel that left Egypt, who were 20 years or older when the spies brought back their report, made it into the promise land): “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” One final thought: for those of you who are tithing or you decide to ask God for forgiveness and start tithing, you can never stop. If you do, God will close the windows of heaven, He’ll release (un-rebuke) the devourer, and be looking for untimely events to begin happening. None of this will get undone until you restore the tithe you stole; to restore the tithe you stole, you must comply with Leviticus 27:31, “…if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.” In other words, if your tithe was supposed to be $100, but you used it to pay some suddenly unexpected bills, you must pay God $120 (a fifth part thereof is 20 percent). Malachi 3:10-11 will not happen until you do and furthermore, none of your tithes afterwards are consider tithes until you do. For every action there is a reaction; your decision on what to do with the truth on the left side of the equation determines the result you will get on the right side of the equation: love God and inherit substance (Proverbs 8:21, “that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”). If you would like more information, click on the Contact link and send us an email; someone will contact you shortly thereafter. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6
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email address: wofl@wofl.org | ||
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