Tithes and offerings in righteousness Brendan Mc Crossan
Tithes and offerings in righteousness
Brendan Mc Crossan16-09-2011
One
The offerings
Malachi 3:10
King-James-Version
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.
Most Christians have grown up with the idea that if you tithe to the lord you will receive a financial blessing far greater than what you gave him, but that is not scripturally sound, you can read what the scripture actually says here in Malachi-3-10- bring you all the tithes into the storehouse. And I will pour out a “blessing;” it does not say money but a “blessing” so great that there will not be enough room to receive it.
Which is the greater to receive, a financial blessing or a heavenly blessing? For me the heavenly blessing is worth more than the financial. Money only lasts a short time but a blessing from heaven last for eternity, a blessing lasts because it says there shall not be room enough to receive it,{all at once} but spread out through time.
Tithes can mean more than money given to your church, you can tithe anything to God through church or a ministry you support; you can tithe your time, your abilities to minister in music, service or cleaning up after everyone has gone home. Tithes are a gift to God, giving back to God what he gave you in the first place. Let’s look at what tithes and offerings God is talking about in this actual scripture; from Malachi- 3-1-to 16- in this next part I shall talk about the offerings of the tithes and offerings, first the offerings!
Malachi 3-1 King James Version (KJV)1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeared? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an “offering” in righteousness. 4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
So far what offering is God looking for, it says it clearly here in Malachi -3-3- that they may offer unto the lord an offering in “righteousness.” It continues on to say “then” shall the offering be pleasant unto the lord.
Malachi 3-8-Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings
What offerings was God first talking about in this scripture? He was talking about the offerings in righteousness, and he says they had robbed him of the offerings in righteousness, the offering of being in right standing with God. When you approach God if you don’t come covered in righteousness you are not welcome, you actually come with a curse on you. If you don’t come before God knowing that you are righteous then you come insulting God, because that was the very thing he did for you when he sent Jesus to take the punishment for your sins and unrighteousness. God made you righteous through the death and resurrection of his glorious son Jesus, it was in his suffering and pain and death that completed you in righteousness. Every Christian should know the first thing that Jesus done for them was to make them righteous through his death and then gave them salvation when they accepted what he done for them, and he gave them eternal life in heaven with him in him and through him in righteousness. Righteousness is to the highest degree important to God because without it there would be no hope for the children of God.
Here’s a question for you, it’s like the egg and the chicken question; which came first, salvation or righteousness? Answer, they came together!
As a church we don’t come before God in our services giving him enough praise and thanksgiving for making us righteous, instead we approach God in church and in our daily lives feeling unworthy or sinners and this is a blatant insult to our loving Father God, disbelieving the enormity of what he done for us. It was with the greatest love in his heart that God sent his Son Jesus to suffer and die for us, and when we don’t even acknowledge what he done for us in church we are a shame to ourselves and he says you have robbed me of the tithes, and the offerings in righteousness and so you are cursed with a curse. If you the Christian child of God don’t consider yourself righteous then you are bringing a curse upon yourself; God says that not I Malachi -3-9- you are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me.
As children of a loving God we should be proud to declare that we are righteous because of what Jesus done for us, and we should be declaring it every chance we get, giving God his offering in righteousness back to him glorifying him for his righteousness; when we don’t offer to God our offering in righteousness, we in fact offer to him our offering of self righteousness, and self righteousness brings with it that curse that God is talking about.
Malachi-3-9-Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
What did they rob God of, “the offering in righteousness,” the offering to be in right standing with him and it brought with it a curse when they come before him in self righteousness or disbelief. I used to think that the offerings were a financial extra that we gave out of our wages, I gave my tithes but an offering was over and above that, financially I thought; and I know lots of Christians think like this also, but I have discovered that this scripture does not mention
money or other things that we can offer God from what belongs to us. But the only true thing I can offer to God to fulfil this scripture is the offering in righteousness; to believe with all my heart that I am righteous and by God’s grace alone, and in acknowledging this I am giving God glory and a true offering of righteousness, the offering that is pleasing to God. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD
Two The tithes
Malachi 3-10 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.
11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. {King James Version}
Tithes are not offerings, they are the first fruit of your labour, 10%, the work of your hands, the money you get from working, or the produce of your fields, and it is ten percent of your income; so that there will be meat in my house {church or ministry} says the lord and that means he can then direct where that tithe should go. And this scripture comes with a promise
11And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. This is a promise, God himself will rebuke the devourer, and not allow the fruit of your work to be destroyed, he won’t allow what you do for him to go bad, and he won’t allow Satan to touch it. Is this not a better blessing than a financial blessing, a blessing that will not be allowed to rot or be destroyed? God also asks us to test him and see if he won’t keep his word. 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.
That’s a challenge to us Christians to test God and see if he keeps his word, but remember, this is not talking about a financial blessing, but a blessing from God, and we should not restrict God to what he should bless us with.
Three
The Lord hears us talking
Malachi-3-16- Then they that feared the LORD spoke often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17And they shall be mine,
saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man sparest his own son that serves him. 18Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves’ God and him that serves him not. [KJV]
Look at this scripture closely when the children of God spoke about him and his righteousness the lord heard them and a book of remembrance was written before him. But look at what it says also the lord hearkened {to listen and pay attention} the lord heard and paid attention to them, then he had it all written down in a book of remembrance, then he proudly declared 17And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man sparest his own son that serves him. When you and another Christian talk positively about God and the things he has done and is doing in your life then God hearkens and hears you and writes it down in a book of remembrance what you said about him, where it is always remembered by him.
He is calling his righteous children his Jewels. You are the jewels of the lord he considers you a precious jewel, would God make someone who is unworthy or a sinner, the things Christian’s call they, into a precious jewel, something he is going to wear and display.
Every time my friend Adrian and I get together we talk about scripture and the awesome discoveries in it, and talk about the healings we experienced through the Holy Spirit, and I realised tonight as I write this Then they that feared the LORD spoke often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it,
It is amazing to know that God is listening to us as we talk of him in a positive manner, every time his name is mentioned he hears it and listens in to our conversation. He discerns between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves’ God and him that serves him not.
God discerns between the righteous and the wicked, he calls the unrighteous wicked and says ‘they serve him not.’
When I first started to write and study this scripture I had a preconceived idea that I would be writing about money because of what I grew up knowing about tithing, now I see that tithing is not the only thing in this scripture, but that the most important thing in this scripture is ‘offering in Righteousness first’ to God, because offering him money does not hold the same acquaintancewith God, withoutrighteousness thetithing means little, it“is acceptable”to God, don’t get me wrong; but acknowledging the offering in righteousness through what Jesus done for us is the ultimate magnitude, he paid the crucial sacrifice for our righteousness, to make us righteous before his Father and our Father.
Righteousness is of great importance to God, he saved mankind through righteousness, his son died to give us righteousness, his son is his greatest joy Jesus is part of him and his work in Jesus was to bring about righteousness in the human race. It is of the utmost importance that we believe in our righteousness and believe that as the scripture says it is the offering that God desires from us. Jesus is the one that Malachi 3-3 is talking about he came as the refiners fire, and he purified the sons of Levi which are us the children of God, and he purged us as gold
and silver so that we may offer to God an offering of righteousness, and because of what Jesus did for us purifying us then did our offering to God become pleasant, pleasing to God. It was only after Jesus refined us as gold and silver are refined that we became righteous, it was all his work not a work of you or I or a work of man, but a work of God through Jesus alone, he is the refiner.
Malachi-3-3- And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an “offering” in righteousness. 4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. {KJV}
Proverbs 18:10
Amplified Bible (AMP)
10The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong.
Only the righteous can run into the lord’s strong tower. The unrighteousness can’t run into God’s name, {the strong tower} because they can’t use that name because they don’t belong tothatname.Godsayscomebeforehimandofferuntothelordanofferingin“righteousness.”
Let your tithes and offerings be in righteousness and they will be pleasant to the lord. When you come to church have the attitude of righteousness and a humble attitude, {“God you done this for me attitude”} not in self righteousness, but in acknowledging to God that he made you righteous, and when the time to tithe comes around give freely and willingly in a attitude of righteous so that your tithes are a righteous offering ---{4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.} And your offering will be the same, pleasant to the lord!
Some other Bible translations that show exactly the same thing!
Malachi 3-1
New International Version (NIV)
1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me; Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Malachi 3-1
Amplified Bible (AMP)
1BEHOLD, I send Mymessenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; theMessenger or Angel of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, He shall come, says the Lord of hosts. 2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; 3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the priests, the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord offerings in righteousness. 4Then will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.
Remember that the sons of Levi or the Levites are the children of God, passing down through the family line and the offerings of Judah are the offerings of praise because Judah means praise, and Judah is in our family line, the family tree of Jesus.
Amen