Lesson 10
Begin Now To Enjoy Prosperity Part 2
AMBASSADOR CHRISTIAN COLLEGE‐ Dr. Keith Slough
INTRODUCTION
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IVING TO THE POOR IS A SURE MEANS TO HAVE ALL your own needs met. The Bible teaches that if we have pity upon the poor that God will pay us back! (Proverbs 19:17). However even before we start giving to the poor, we are to give to God, honoring Him first with our substance and the first fruit of our increase (Proverbs 3:9). Jesus said we are to render to God the things which are God's (Matthew 22:21). Obviously then God does have a prior claim on our income just as the government does where taxes are concerned. In the entire Bible the only percent God ever claimed for Himself was the TITHE ‐ the first ten percent of our increase. In the last issue the word "tithe" was not even mentioned. The emphasis there was on the promises God has given to those who give to the poor. But it would be very wrong for us to assume we should give to poor people placing them ahead of our giving to God. God should always come first! He should come first in our devotions, in our time, and in our giving! Only by putting GOD first in our finances can we expect to reap a harvest when also giving to the poor. Many years ago I wondered why God had not supplied all my needs. I had always been a faithful tither. Yet God did not seem to be supplying my needs, certainly nothing like the promise given in Malachi 3:10 as it had been preached to me. I prayed about it. What was wrong? Where was I missing it? Quite by accident (or was God leading me in answer to my prayer?) I began to obey God as the Bible really teaches ‐not just tithing, but giving generously, over and above my tithes which I gave to my church. I began to give to other Ministries as well where I had been blessed in learning the Word of God. Where I was being "fed spiritually" in learning the Bible, I began to regularly support these Ministries. I repeat; this was over and above the tithe I was giving to my local church. I also began giving to the poor. It was at this time that I began to see untold financial blessings and prosperity! While my employer did not give me a pay raise, my expenses actually went down about half! One financial blessing right after another began coming my way. But remember. I did this in ignorance of God's promise of prosperity. At the time I just gave from my heart because I wanted to give. What happened then astounded me! To this day I have given my testimony of how God prospered me, meeting all my needs. It was astonishing! I discovered this purely by accident yet today I understand why God blessed me financially. It was because I did the THREE THINGS He requires before He can prosper us supplying all our need according to His riches in glory. You will read about it in this issue. Coupled with the information from the last issue about giving to the poor, you will now see the FULL PICTURE of what God requires to bless, prosper, and supply all your needs. Get ready to get blessed!!!
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A NEW REVELATION CONCERNING TITHING In the Last Days God has promised that knowledge will be increased (Daniel 12:4). For the first time learn the true meaning of Malachi 3:10! Read carefully every word of this new revelation concerning the Law of TITHING! Now God reveals to us the true understanding of how to have the Blessing in our lives poured out where there shall not be room enough to receive it!
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od’s will for His children is to prosper in every area, having all their needs met abundantly! (3 John 2, Philippians 4:19, John 10:10). It is not His will for us to “go without” and suffer need. God is a rich, multibillionaire Heavenly Father who owns all the gold and silver and all the riches of the entire world (Haggai 2:8, Job 41:11b). He certainly desires to share this wealth with His own children. Or else why would He have put so much of that wealth here on the Earth where we live (Psalm 115:16). Yet we must be obedient to receive those blessings. God has stipulated certain things we must do in order to receive the kind of prosperity He wills for us to have! Remember the Scriptural definition of the “will of God” is the “Word of God” (Compare Mark 3L35 and Luke 8:21). If God has said it in His Word that constitutes His will! God wills for us to prosper in whatever we do (Psalm 1:3). He has "pleasure in the prosperity of His servant" (Psalm 35:27). He even wants us to "drink of the rivers of His pleasures" so that we are "ABUNDANTLY SATISFIED" (Psalm 36:8). God wants to give us even the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). To see all the benefits God wants to give us just for helping the poor alone, read Psalm 41:1‐3. It is not God's will to only supply the bare minimum necessities we have but rather to prosper us with "wealth and riches" in our house! (Psalm 112:3). It is God's desire ‐His will ‐to INCREASE us "more and more, you and your children"! (Psalm 115: 14). There can be no doubt that it is God's will to bless us. However God has stipulated THREE THINGS we must do to be eligible for such "wealth and riches" and the Biblical prosperity God wants to give us. But first, let's get a Bible definition of "prosperity." Many people assume that "prosperity" is having a Cadillac in the garage, a yacht on the lake and perhaps a personal jet. This however is not the Biblical definition. In India if a man has a bicycle to ride rather than to have a walk everywhere he is considered “upper class” and even wealthy. So prosperity is relative to the culture in which we live. The Biblical definition when studying all the passages both in the Old and New Testaments shows that God’s viewpoint of prosperity is for His children to always have “all sufficiency in all things”
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(2 Corinthians 9:8). A bicycle would not be sufficient to supply our needs in our culture in America. We absolutely need a car to drive to work. Perhaps we can define prosperity by simply saying that God wants to supply all your needs were you always have all sufficiency to meet every need for yourself and your children and even your grandchildren (Proverbs 13:22)! This means you have enough money and material goods to fully supply your own needs plus the needs of your children and their children. Now that is prosperity! If you cannot say your needs have been supplied to that extent then something is very, very wrong in your life. God is not wrong. He is perfect and He cannot lie! So the problem is not that God is teaching us patience by making us go hungry! No! The Bible is nowhere says God uses hunger to create patience in the Believer in Christ. Rather patience is produced as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (called “longsuffering” in the KJV in Galatians 5:22)! Then why are we still struggling just “to make ends meet”‐just to pay our own bills? There is a reason! The churches have not understood this themselves and therefore have not taught on the Biblical message of prosperity! Once you understand the Bible’s teaching on the subject you can then start OBEYING the Word of God and the blessings will come! I have seen this work in my own life even at times when I obeyed these principles by accident! I didn’t know why God had seemingly “chosen” to bless me at the time. But I was happy He did. Little did I understand at the time that it was because of the seeds I had sown into the Ministry of preaching the Gospel of Christ and the Truth of God and by giving to the poor that I was now reaping what I had sown! This truth is life‐changing! It will produce tremendous joy in your Christian walk as well as material and financial prosperity. Once you begin obeying these "tried and true" Biblical prin‐ ciples you will see God's Word proved to be true in your own personal experience. When you begin seeing your needs met supernaturally, there will be a close relationship produced between you and God that you never experienced before. Think! Would it be easier to love God when He is allowing you to suffer affliction and want, even hunger, or would it be easier to love Him when you see Him supplying your every need having all sufficiency and even being “abundantly satisfied”? And which would be the greater witness to others? Do people now look at your life and say, “I want to join his Religion and believe as he does for look how God has blessed him?!” For most of you, that is not the case. What is wrong? And what can we do to correct the situation? Tithing AND Giving Jesus said that we must be rich towards God (Luke 12:21). This is in addition to giving to the poor. We must not only give to the poor, be we must actually give to God first. In so doing, we honor God by putting Him first in our life.
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God requires that the first ten percent of our increase be paid back to Him. The tithe is both "holy" I belongs to God (see Leviticus 27:30). Some professing Christians refuse to tithe and thus never seem to have enough ‐never seem to truly have sufficiency. I once knew a man who lived in a huge house and earned $100.00 an hour for his work. Yet he was constantly in debt and could not afford to buy milk for his children. He had changed his mind about tithing when he took the new well paying job. Yet he was a very poor man financially! I have also known those who made very little money on their jobs yet were not in debt! I have been the latter type!! How can this be? Tithing is NOT Giving! It is critical that you understand this point. The tithe belongs to God. IT IS HIS! It is not yours to “give”. Jesus said we are to “render” to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21). We cannot “give” that which does not belong to us to start with. We are PAYING our tithes! Over and above that we are giving. We should give to the Work of God over and above the required tithe. And then after our giving to God we then should give to supply the needs of other people, food, clothing, money, etc. Listen! PAY your tithes to God first and foremost. Secondly, God commands you to choose what you will voluntarily give to His Great Work of preaching His Truth in fulfillment of the Great Commission to "make disciples." And third, always be generous with the poor. This is the Biblical prescription to have eligibility to receive overflowing abundance and prosperity into your life! Many Christians don't understand that tithing is a LAW that must be obeyed even under the New Covenant! The Law of TITHING In the Old Testament Abraham "paid tithes" (Hebrews 7:9) to Melchisedec who was the "priest of the Most High God" (Hebrews 7:1). Abraham tithed to this man because he was the Representative of God on Earth in that day. But was Abraham merely rendering ten percent of his increase voluntarily, or was he obeying the Law of God? Some have mistakenly assumed this was simply something Abraham did out of his own heart. But let the Bible give us the answer. Notice: God promised to bless Isaac because of Abraham's obedience to His LAWS! "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws"! (Genesis 26:5). So we are not seeing something Abraham did himself. Rather what we see in Abraham's life is the obedience to commandments, statutes, and LAWS that God had
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given him!! There can be no doubt of this now. The Bible says that God does not change, that He is consistent yesterday, today, and forever (Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8). It follows then that these basic laws certainly predate Moses. There is really no reason to doubt that even Adam knew the same commandments, statutes, and laws that Abraham knew. Some have mistakenly assumed that the Law did not exist until Moses' day, based on a misunderstanding of a statement in Romans 5: 13. Here Paul wrote that "until the law sin was in the world." From this statement it is assumed by some that this means "until the law was created or invented in Moses' day." But this cannot be the correct understanding as it plainly tells us that sin was indeed in the world!! Yet how could sin be in existence before the Law if the Law did not exist? What is the Biblical definition of "sin"? The Bible is very plain about this. Notice: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for SIN IS the transgression of the Law"! Therefore since Paul said Sin the transgression of the Law ‐did exist before Moses time, then the Law also existed before it was given at Mt. Sinai! How can we be sure? Notice Romans 5:13 again: "But sin is not imputed when there is no law"! When "there is no law" to transgress (that is, to "disobey" or to "break") then no "sin" can exist! How plain! No one can be accused of committing "sin" when there is no law. For sin is "transgression" of the Law of God yet "where no law is," the Bible teaches, "there is no transgression"! ‐no "sin"! Romans 4: IS). Sin existed even up "until the law" because the law existed prior to Mt. Sinai. What then does Paul mean by this enigmatic expression "For until the law"? For he clearly shows that sin existed. Therefore God's Law existed! (Romans 4: IS). The answer is obvious. For until the Law WAS GIVEN officially at Mt. Sinai, codified, ratified, and officially presented to Israel as the foundation of the covenant God was making with them, the Law nevertheless EXISTED! Why? Because God says sin was indeed imputed to people "for that all have sinned" (verse 12). Since all have sinned ‐ or all have transgressed God's Law ‐ from the time of Adam, then the Law also existed since the time of Adam!!! It did not come into existence in Moses day, but was merely "given" to them officially as the foundation of the covenant God was making. Two generations later we see Abraham's grandson, Jacob, obeying the Law of tithing. How did he know of this law? Apparently he learned of it through his father Isaac who learned of it from Abraham. But there is also the possibility that God had raised up other priesthoods or ministers in their day that taught the Law of God. There is not a single statement in the entire Bible that tells us that God only had one priesthood. He could have raised up any number that was not revealed in the Bible.
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Notice that Jacob promised to obey God's "statutes and laws" (Genesis 26:5) by tithing his crease: "And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee"! (Genesis 28:22). Who did Jacob render this tithe to? Melchisedec is no longer around. And the Levitical priesthood has not yet been raised up! The Bible only gives us glimpses into these historical periods. Jacob may have indeed known of a priesthood or ministry of bona‐fide representatives of God in his day of which we simply have no knowledge. Yet Jacob knew about the law of tithing and promised to obey it! And remember this was after the time of Melchisedec and before the time of the Levitical priesthood. Some might assume that Jacob was mistaken and that he was not capable of tithing. Yet God indicated that he was indeed capable of obeying this law and held him to his promise to obey it (Genesis 31:13). What about in Moses' day? Did God have other priesthoods that represented Him then also? Notice Exodus 2:16. We read about the "priest" of Midian who had seven daughters. Many may have assumed this was a pagan priest. Yet the Bible tells us that "Moses was content to dwell with the man" and he even married one of his daughters. If this man were a priest of heathen gods why would Moses, a man of God, have married into such a godless, heathen family? The indication is that this man was a priest of the Most High God just as Melchisedec was in the book of Genesis. This priest was named Jethro (Exodus 3:1) and we read that Moses kept the sheep of Jethro and they lived near "the mountain of God." How did they know this was the mountain of God ‐the true God? Is it possible that Jethro, who lived there, was in communion with the Most High God and was indeed His priest? In Exodus 18 we see Moses doing "obeisance" to Jethro (verse 7), showing deep respect. Later Jethro blesses the LORD (verse 10) and even takes a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer in worship of the true God (verse 12). Then we see Jethro, the priest of God giving Moses instruction about Government and delegation of duties. Did Moses obey him? Notice: "So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said"! (verse 24). Thus we see that the government of Israel was structured from the top down as God's priest had directed (verse 25). Since tithing was a law of God, to who do you suppose Moses and other obedient people tithed to in that day and time? They tithed to the representatives of God just as Abraham had done! So we see the possibility of at least THREE different functioning priesthoods of God before the Levitical priesthood ever came on the scene. Apparently each priesthood that had arrived before the time of the Levitical priesthood was eligible for God's tithe as we see clearly from Genesis 28:22. However with each change of priesthood, of necessity there was made also a change in the law where tithing was concerned. Jacob could no longer tithe to Melchisedec as Abraham had done two generations before. However he understood that the current
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priesthood that apparently existed in his time was also eligible for God's tithe! The Levitical Priesthood Now God once again changes priesthoods. Now He sets up Moses' brother as the high priest of a whole new priesthood in the tribe of Levi the Levitical Priesthood. Since God never changes and is consistent, were they also eligible to receive the "sacred tithe" as they were now the new representatives of God for their time? Yes! Notice Numbers 18:21. "And behold," says God, "I have given the children of Levi ALL the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve"! Thus we see that once again there was of necessity, a change made of the Law where tithing was concerned. Now the tithe went to the new representatives of God. The tithe was their "reward" ‐their wages or payment ‐for their service in the tabernacle of the congregation (verse 31). It was their "livelihood." Thus the tithe enabled God's ministers to be full time in God's Work in that time. Is Tithing for TODAY? The tithe is claimed by God as "holy" and therefore belongs to God (Leviticus 27:30). Since God says He never changes (Malachi 3:6), then we see the way God "collected" His tithe is always consistent throughout the Bible. The tithe was always given to God's Representatives for the day and time in which they lived. In Moses' day God ordained and consecrated the sons of Aaron to be the priests. Since they were then the present day representatives of God for that day, they too were eligible for God's holy tithe. It had originally gone to Melchisedec and apparently to other unidentified Ministries (Genesis 28:22) but now went to the present day representatives of God. But notice that in the New Covenant, Jesus Christ becomes the High Priest to the Church instead of a Levitical descendent of Aaron (Hebrews 4: 14‐16). God ordained Jesus to be a high priest "forever after the order of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 5:6 + 10). The Apostle Paul tells us that Melchisedec was superior to Levi (Hebrews 7:11). Now notice that the tithing system is still in force and effect because the new High Priest Jesus Christ ‐now receives our tithes! "And here [on this Earth] men that die receive tithes; but there [in Heaven] HE RECEIVETH THEM, of whom it is witnessed that He liveth” (Hebrews 7:8). This has to be referring' to Jesus Christ. It would be impossible for Christ to be receiving our tithes today unless Christians are still paying tithes! Yet some say that we no longer are expected to tithe. Such is human reasoning. And such reasoning contradicts the plain truth of Scripture! Notice Hebrews 7:11‐12 where we read that God has changed the priesthood. It does not
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say He abolished it altogether. The church still has a priesthood ‐ ut it is not that of the tribe of Levi, but rather our High Priest today is Jesus Christ Himself. And notice also in verse 12 that there is a change in the law of priesthood. Now we submit to the Melchisedec Priesthood. Jesus did not come to destroy the Law of Moses. The temple still stood. The Levitical priesthood continued another 39 years after the cross until Titus and his Roman armies destroyed it and therefore rendered the job of the Levitical priesthood at the temple useless. But long before that occurred God had provided His church with the priesthood that went all the way back to the day of Abraham ‐ the priesthood of Melchisedec. And we see that Melchisedec was a "tithe receiving" priesthood. Now since the priesthood has again been changed, once again we see "there is made of necessity a change also of the law." (verse 12). So also once again this affects the tither as he now must support the new priesthood with the sacred tenth or "tithe." The Law of God is not abolished. But its application has been modified. Paul is writing to the Hebrews who only knew the Levitical Priesthood. Paul did not "abolish" that priesthood, but showed that a Superior Priesthood now had been brought back into operation. The unconverted Hebrews who remained under the Old Covenant continued tithing to that priesthood. But the converted believers were given a command to submit to the Melchisedec Priesthood, and now their tithing was “changed" to the new Priesthood of Jesus Christ who now sits in the chair of "Melchisedec." Purpose of the TITHE Since God consistently gave His tithe to His representatives, did He continue doing this or did God change? Notice what Paul wrote to the Gentiles in Corinth. Paul explained that the apostles had the right to "forebear working" because they were ordained to be full time in the Gospel Ministry (1 Corinthians 9:6 and Acts 6:2‐4). "Forebear" means to hold back. They were scripturally allowed by the Law (based on Numbers 18) to cease secular work and preach the Gospel, give themselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word, full time. For they said, "It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables" doing secular duties (Acts 2). Paul wrote to the Corinthians who had not been supporting the Work of God ‐ the preaching and teaching of the Gospel and the Word of God that the Law of Moses teaches, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the com [grain]. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith He it altogether for OUR sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: THAT he that ploweth should plow in hope and that he that thresheth in hope should be PARTAKER of his hope" (I Corinthians 9:9‐10). Paul said the ministers were preaching and teaching the truth of God to the people. Therefore as they were "plowing" in the fields and reaping a spiritual harvest of souls for the kingdom of God (John 4:34‐38) they then had the right to expect support for their "carnal" or physical and material needs. The churches were required to support the ministers financially
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who were preaching the real truth of God so that they could fulfill God's will to serve Him totally, fully, and completely, not dividing up their interests between Ministry and secular employment. He added, "If others be partakers of this power [Greek: "right"] over you, are not we rather?" (verse 12). The government provides us with education, national defense, roads, police protection etc. and then they expect us to pay for these services through taxation. Also before the destruction of the Temple, the priests in Jerusalem were still eligible to receive the tithe from the unconverted Jews. Paul however makes his case. He said if others, including the Levitical priests in Jerusalem who served at the temple, be partakers of this power or right over you, are not we ‐those who preach the Gospel ‐rather? He did not say others don't have that power (or right) to expect support. But those serving under Jesus Christ also have "power," authority, or the right to receive full time support even more so! Paul had not up till then taught on the financial obligations that Christians have to the Ministry. Rather these people were still "babes in Christ" and still very carnal minded (1 Corinthians 3:1‐3). He lamented that he could only preach to them the "milk of the Word" and not strong meat (verse 2). In fact the only thing he preached to them when he was with them was "Christ and Him crucified" ‐ the ABC's of the Gospel (1 Corinthians 2:2). He had therefore chosen not to teach on their obligations to support the Work of God when he was still with them due to their extreme suspicions of Paul's motivations (2 Corinthians chapters 10‐12). But years later writing from Ephesus, he finally addresses this doctrine and Law of God in this epistle to that church. He then adds, "If we have sown unto you spiritual things [the Word of God], is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal [material or physical] things? (1 Corinthians 9:9‐11). "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of [from] the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? "Even so, hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of [from] the gospel" (I Corinthians 9: 13‐14). This word "ordained" in Greek is diatasso and means "prescribed, instituted, or given order." Both the Revised Standard Version and New International Version translate this word as "commanded." The Lord has "given order" or commanded that those who preach the Gospel are to receive their livelihood from the preaching of the Gospel in the same manner or way as did the priests of the Old Covenant. How did the Levitical priests receive their living? Remember Numbers 18:21, 24 and 31. God said He had provided the tithes of the people to provide their living. Paul writes "even so," meaning, in the same way or same manner, God had so provided for the ministers of the Gospel. Notice how the New International Version paraphrases this verse in reference to tithing: "IN THE SAME WAY, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should
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receive their living from the gospel." We see then that "in the same way" that God provided for the Levites (through the TITHING system) He has now provided by divine command that the tithe should go to the Gospel Min‐ istry so that God's ministers can also preach and teach His Word full time! How plain! Let's read how other versions render this verse. Notice carefully. In reference to the tithe, the Revised Standard Version reads: "IN THE SAME WAY, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Again in reference to the tithe, the New American Standard Bible (NASB) says: "So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel." The Contemporary English Version reads: "Don't you know that people who work in the temple make their living from what is brought to the temple? [the tithes and offerings they were commanded to bring]… IN THE SAME WAY, the Lord wants everyone who preaches the good news [the Gospel] to make a living from preaching this message"! (1 Corinthians 9:13‐14). That is how the Levitical priests made their living. And "in the same way" (through the people supporting the Ministry with their TITHES and offerings) the Lord ‐ Jesus Christ Himself ‐ has "ordained" or commanded that those who preach the Gospel are to receive their living ‐ from the tithes of the people! Here is a plain scripture proving that God has "ordained" or commanded Christians to support the Gospel Ministry of today by paying the tithe of their increase to the New Testament Gospel Ministry just as Israel of old did to the Levites!! Can anything be made plainer? Now let's ask the question, what does the Bible mean when it tells us that God will open for us the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it? Doing Your Minimum DUTY Have you paid your tithes faithfully over the years and yet have not noticed an "overflowing blessing" pouring on you from the windows of heaven? Most of us have!! It is time to understand this enigmatic scripture. Notice something very important that most Christians have overlooked. God said that His people have robbed Him in tithes AND OFFERINGS! This is critically important if we are to un‐ derstand this verse. We can rob God not only by not tithing (or paying 10 percent) of our increase to God (by rendering it to His Gospel Ministry under the New Covenant) but also by not giving offerings over and above the required 10 percent! I have known people who faithfully tithed ‐ gave exactly 10 percent of their increase ‐yet added no offering whatsoever from their own money. Understand. The tithe is a required payment. The offering however is a gift. Do you give
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anything to God over and above the minimum requirement of 10 percent? Notice Jesus' words in Luke 17:7‐10. He explains how a servant is to obey the laws of his master yet cannot be expected to be thanked for doing only what he is required to do. "Doth he [the master] thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow [think] not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are UNPROFITABLE servants; we have done that which was our duty to do"! How plain! If "ye" ‐the Christians hearing this from Christ –only do the things you are required to do just the minimum, then He requires you to say to yourself that you are UNPROFITABLE to Him. And you cannot expect any "thanks." If we have faithfully tithed only, then "we have [only] done that which was our DUTY to do" ‐ nothing more! And therefore we cannot expect God to thank us ‐or in this case, to bless us!! This is why we have not seen the windows of heaven being opened and a blessing being poured out on us as described in Malachi 3:10. Most of us have only done that which was our duty to do. We have been faithful in paying God only what He requires. NOTHING MORE!! And then we wonder why this promise of "overflowing blessing" isn't working. But there is more to this than most of us having understood before. Just what does this expression mean when God promises to pour us out a blessing "that there shall not be room enough to receive it" ‐or as the RSV paraphrases it, "an overflowing blessing"? What is it that is to "overflow"? Is it our house, our material blessings, our bank account? What is He talking about? The Overflowing Blessing
Finally now let's understand what God is really saying. And remember now the Bible interprets itself. There is no need for us to attempt to interpret this statement. Rather we must go to other scriptures that will give us the correct understanding. First let's remember that God said His people have robbed Him in tithes and offerings. The TITHE is the required 10 percent of our increase with which God has blessed us. The OFFERING is a free‐will love offering that we give from our hearts. We can sow as generous and "bountiful" as we want to sow in our "offerings" or we can be as "stingy" as we wish to be and therefore sow "sparingly." We can be liberal in out giving, or we can sow sparingly. Though Second Corinthians 9:6 specifically refers to giving offerings only to the poor, the principle about giving remains the same. We are required to do THREE THINGS to please God and to therefore reap the harvest of PROSPERITY: First, we are to PAY the required tithe (or ten percent) of our increase from our income to the Work of God (which was done at the temple in Old Testament times but today is given to those who preach the Gospel according to the apostle Paul).
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Second we are required to GIVE an unspecified offering to the Work of God, which we determine for ourselves the exact amount. Third we are to further GIVE an unspecified amount to the poor over and above the tithe and the offering we gave to preach the Gospel! Once we have consistently done these three things, we can then claim God's promise of overflowing blessing! Jesus talks about our giving (not our paying only). The promise that we will be blessed is for our giving ‐not the paying of the tithe. Notice. Jesus commanded, "GIVE, and it shall be given unto you; good measure pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom..." (Luke 6:38). Notice the promised blessing is on the GIVING of our offerings ‐not the paying of our tithes!!! Yet so many Christians have never understood this before! This is the reason they have not received the expected blessing! The Blessing is on the giving over and above the required payment of the tithe! Remember, Jesus said if all we do is the required duty then we are to acknowledge to ourselves that we are unprofitable servants! An unprofitable servant can expect no reward from his master! Therefore to reap these kind of blessings, we must quickly pay the required duty of 10 percent ‐ get that out of the way immediately ‐ which will then allow us to concentrate on the giving of our offerings, which only carries the promise of blessing!! The blessing is not on the tithing but the giving! If you have only tithed you have still robbed God! For He expects you to give voluntarily, over and above the required 10 percent. And notice also that these offerings were not to the poor but were to be sent along with the required tithe to God's House! It was for the Work of God! Have you done that? Now what about the overflowing blessing? Jesus explains this in the last part of verse 38. Notice that Jesus promises that whatever we give will be returned to us "with interest" so to speak. Whatever we sow, we reap back ‐ but it will be returned to us "good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and RUNNING OVER, shall men give into your bosom"! There is the "overflowing blessing" we have been reading about. Why does it "run over"? Why is it overflowing? Because He will pour us out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it! (Malachi 3:10). Of course! It is "running over"! But what is? What is running over? Our house? Our material goods? Our bank account? NO! We have misunderstood this promise. Notice the rest of verse 38: "For with the same measure that YE METE WITHAL it shall be measured to you again"! There is the answer! Understand. When God said we would receive the blessing that is overflowing, running over, and one where "there shall not be room enough to receive it," He was not talking about our house or storage bin, or bank account. He was talking about THE MEASURE we use
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ourselves in GIVING over and above the required tenth! What is a measure? If we give a thimble‐measure of offering (above the required payment) then Christ will take the same measure you used and give it back to you "pressed down, and shaken together and running over." He will give it back to you through other men. But if He uses the same tiny thimble you used and it "runs over" will you even notice it when you receive the blessing? Probably not! What if you give more generously over and above the required payment of the tithe? Let's say you measure out a "cup" of offerings. Now Christ will give you back the same measure. It will be crammed full and that cup will be running over. But still you only gave Him a CUP to give back to you! What if you give to God a huge TRUCKLOAD of offerings (over and above the required "duty" of paying the tithe)? Then Christ promises to give back to you blessings using that same measure! Now you can expect a truckload of blessing returned to you, yet when He sends it back to you, even that truck load will be pressed down and running over so that there won't be room enough (IN THAT MEASURE ‐in this case, a TRUCK) to receive the blessings He will send back to you! Understand: It is the MEASURE that you choose to use that will be overflowing and running over! And there shall not be room enough (in that "measure" you have chosen) to receive the blessing God will send back to you! Now can you understand why we have seen so few blessings that we have expected just from our tithing? In Malachi 3 we read TWO things we are to do: 1) pay the required tithe, and 2) give freewill offerings –both to God's House (not the poor in this case). Then God promises to do TWO things: He will 1) Open the windows of heaven, and 2) then pour out the overflowing blessing into the measure we have provided Him. Do you see? Do you understand? Paying the required tithe opens the windows of heaven to make our receiving possible. And then Giving, the offering to the House of God over and above the tithe determines HOW MUCH flows back to you through those open windows!! Did you ever understand that before? Read that last paragraph again until you thoroughly understand this scriptural truth. You may want to read it several times and meditate on it until it really sinks down into your heart and you truly understand it. We are to both pay tithes and give offerings over and above the tithe to God's House ‐ where the Work of God is being done. And then and only then are we free to give to the poor. To Whom Do We Pay Tithes? Now let's answer the question so many professing Christians have never understood! Many
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feel they are "paying" their tithes when they give them away to the poor! NOT TRUE! God alone has the right to determine where His tithe is to go. It is to go to His Ministry carrying out HIS Work. In the Old Testament the House of God (the Temple) was carrying on the Work of God. But in New Testament times the "House of God" refers now to the Church of the living God (1 Timothy 3:15) for it is God's Church that today is doing the End Time Work of God, of preaching the true Gospel and other doctrinal truths that this world does not have! ‐including the world's religions! The sacred tenth, or ten percent of our increase, is to go only to the Work of God and the preaching of His Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:13‐14). When you give to the poor you must give of your own money over and above the sacred tithe which God claims as His own! (Leviticus 27:30). You are stealing God's tithe when you do not "render" it to His representatives on Earth who are doing His great Work for the Last Days. We are also commanded to give to the poor. But that should be our own money ‐NOT GOD'S TITHE! Do you understand? Keeping God's tithe for yourself or giving it away to some poor person is still not doing what God commanded you to do with His tithe that belongs to Him (Leviticus 27:30) ‐to pay it back to God by rendering it to His ministers (Numbers 18:21, Malachi 3:10, and 1 Corinthians 9: 12‐14; notice the expression "ALL the tithe"!). Therefore "ALL the tithe" must be "paid" to God by rendering it to "the House of God, which is [the Work of] the church..." (I Timothy 3:15). Giving it away to someone else is NOT paying the tithe to GOD! Rather you are giving away money that does not belong to you and is not yours to give! Those who do not pay God's tithes properly cannot expect the blessing God has promised to give. They cannot expect prosperity! Now notice the Bible teaching: Paul wrote to the Galatians that they were to support those who teach the Word of God among them. "Let him that is taught in the Word [the lay person] communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things" (Galatians 6:6). This word "communicate" in old English originally meant to "share." The margin reads: "Or, share with him.” The Revised Standard Version translates this verse in modern English as "Let him who is taught the Word SHARE all good things with him who teaches.” The Contemporary English Version paraphrases this verse: "Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said" ‐ those who teach you the truth.
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The Amplified Bible amplifies the meaning from the Greek as: "Let him who receives instruction in the Word [of God] share a/l good things with his teacher ‐ contributing to his support"! It is obvious then that under the inspiration of God, Paul was commanding Christians to support the Work of God by supporting those who preach the truth of God to them. Continue: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth [into the Work of God] that shall he also reap"! (verse 7). This verse has always been taken out of context by parents to teach their children not to sin! But THREE THINGS GOD while sin is included (such as the sin of "sowing" wild COMMANDS US TO DO to oats, as we sometimes say); the context shows this receive Blessings and was not a warning about sin, but a promise of Prosperity blessing for supporting the Work of God. "For he that 1) PAY the required Tithe of sowed to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; our increase to the House of BUT he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit God. reap life everlasting"! (verse 8). There is the meaning 2) GIVE a freewill offering ‐ an of this verse! By supporting those who teach the unspecified amount from our truth of God, we are "sowing" into the Ministry and heart ‐ to the House of God. will reap an everlasting reward from God! Paul then 3) GIVE a freewill offering to adds, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in the poor. due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (verse 9). Once we have obeyed God To "faint" means to give up. Don't give up. Be in these three consistent. Continue to support those who preach commandments we can then the Truth of God to you and in so doing you are believe for Prosperity! promised you will reap a harvest ‐ if we don't quit! This harvest of prosperity and blessings are GUARANTEED to the one who sows into God's Work!!! A Special Promise to those who Support the Work of God The Apostle Paul wrote in an epistle to the Philippians a promise that was not made to the other churches! This promise is only made to the Church of God at Philippi because they were a supportive church. Read carefully Philippians 4:10‐19 in your own King James Bible. Paul said that the church in Philippi had "once and again" supported him when he was serving in other areas of the world. We know that the Corinthian church did not support Paul properly. And in verse 16 he adds that neither did the Thessalonian believers. Rather it was the loyal church at Philippi that repeatedly sent gifts to support the Work even in these other areas because they were faithfully behind this man of God. They continually sowed into his Ministry of preaching
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God's truth. And as a result of their support Paul says in verse 18, "But I have all and abound: I am full"! As a result of their determined effort to make sure all of Paul's needs were supplied, he then tells them that God will pay them back! Notice verse 19: "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus"! This verse has been grossly misinterpreted by naive Christians who assume that this promise applies to all Christians! No! Paul never made this promise to the Corinthians, the Thessalonians or any other church who did not supply his needs first by sowing first. We must sow first before we can expect to reap the harvest. They sowed into the Ministry. And Paul under inspiration of God promises that "God will supply all YOUR need"! (verse 19). While God is no respecter of persons this promise is only given to those who supply the needs of God's Work first. And then they can expect to reap the supply of their own needs. Also read this promise in the Amplied Bible to get the full import of this verse. Tithing COMMANDED by Christ Finally, we should realize that Jesus Christ Himself commanded tithing. He said He did not come to "destroy" (do away, "make void," abolish, or nullify) the Law of God (Matthew 5: 17). While we are supposed to have ''judgment, mercy, and faith" in our religion, we must also carefully "tithe." Jesus so commanded us in Matthew 23:23. Will you obey Jesus Christ? Will you begin now to faithfully TITHE to the Work of God for the preaching of the Gospel and teaching the truth of God so that others can be "taught in the Word"? ‐ so that others may hear the truth of God? Remember James 1:22. We are commanded to be DOERS of the Word, and not hearers only! May God help you to be obedient to His Word!
Questions About Tithing Q. How do I figure the tithe? A. It is 10 percent of the actual Increase. For example if a farmer invests $5,000 in equipment, seed, fertilizer, etc. and his investment grossed him an income of $15,000, he would not tithe on the $15,000 but would deduct his initial investment. Hence $15000 minus his $5000 investment leaves an actual increase of just $10,000. He would tithe only on his actual increase of $10,000. Q. Is tithing required only on farm produce and animals? A. No, as all Scripture is profitable for doctrine and instruction (II Timothy 3:16) we see that Abraham (the father of the Faithful) tithed on his increase regardless as to what type of increase it was. Farmers naturally tithed on livestock and farm produce as that constituted their increase. When Abraham received increase from a military campaign he also tithed from the booty (or "spoils") of war, which included money, gold, silver, precious jewels etc. etc. The tithe
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is on our increase, regardless as to what that increase is. Q. Are pastors exempt from tithing? A. No, as we see from the Law, even the Levites were required to tithe their personal income which came from the tithes of the people. Q. What about tax refunds, interest from savings accounts, etc.? Are they to be tithed upon? A. Tax refunds are not increase as they represent a check of one's own money that the government has held. This money has already been tithed on through the year by the faithful Christian and the whole amount may be put into the bank or spent. Some Christians may wish to give a portion of this to the poor however or an extra offering to the Work of God as a part of their "giving." Interest from savings and checking accounts are considered "increase," are therefore taxable and therefore "tithable" as well. We should tithe from all increase with which God blesses us. Q. Should we tithe from the gross before taxes or the "net" after taxes? A For Christians who are Givers, this question should not even be an issue. Remember the golden rule. As you wish to be treated (even by God) so we should treat Him. When you ask God to supply your needs, do you want Him to give you the least amount He can possibly supply, or the greater amount? The largest "tenth" - or tithe - that we can pay is off the total increase before taxes. Since we are commanded to LOVE God with ALL our hearts and we are also commanded to give over and above the required tenth anyway, the question answers itself, doesn't it? It's a matter of attitude in your love to God. Q. Does the Bible command us to pay God's tithe only to the local church? A No, rather the Bible says we are to pay God His tithe by rendering it to His representatives. God's ministers in the Old Testament were the Levitical priests who did the Work of God at the House of God - the Temple (Malachi 3: 1 0). The Apostle Paul makes it plain that the tithe today is to go to those who preach the Gospel! (I Corinthians 9:13-14). Today we are to support the spiritual House of God. If the local church is involved in a real outreach to fulfill the Great Commission to "make disciples" for Christ, bringing in new people into the body of Christ and if they are truly preaching the real Gospel and are preaching the true Religion of Almighty God - real Bible Truth and not the traditions of men, then they would be indeed be eligible to receive God's tithe. If the local church is preaching doctrines you personally know to be false, while you may have no other group with which to fellowship, you could possibly be sinning to send God's sacred tithe to support what you clearly know to be false teaching. The tithe is sacred. It belongs to God. The tithe must be sent only to those who are preaching the TRUTH of God. Realize that God will hold us accountable as to where we send His tithe. Pray sincerely and seek guidance to find those who are truly preaching the Truth of God and send His tithe only to God's true representatives.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
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With this message we conclude the lessons on what the Bible really teaches concerning Prosperity. If you truly begin obeying the Word of God where this Truth is concerned you will probably begin seeing a "harvest" within months! The Bible speaks of "due season." And it promises we will reap if we "faint not" or not give up our sowing. Yet it doesn't take long! As soon as you make a true, genuine, heartfelt and permanent lifelong commitment to this Way of Life, then God will take you also at your word and begin sending you the harvest! What you have just read is a thorough introduction into the subject of Biblical Prosperity. It is not exhaustive. I would advise you to begin studying the Bible for more scriptures on the subject. Make it a dedicated study until you fully understand it. I repeat. What you have read is enough information to begin putting you into God's will to RECEIVE the supernatural providence of God to provide all your needs ‐ at long last according to His riches in glory! But by no means do these two issues cover everything! There is more to learn about prosperity. Finally, WHY is it important? Why should you desire to prosper? Why does Satan allow the wicked to prosper but fights the Christian every way he can to keep you FROM prospering? The answer is simple. Satan knows that if a TRUE Christian is prosperous, he will financially support the Work of God of preaching the true Gospel of Christ. Many will be converted! Many will be brought into the Kingdom of God. And the best way to keep that from happening is to keep God's people poor! Remember, poverty is Satan's chief weapon to keep Christians from reach‐ ing the unsaved for Christ! This means we must fight poverty every way we can! We must learn ALL we can about Biblical prosperity and determine we will OBEY THE LAWS OF PROSPERITY so we can finish the great+ Work of God before the End comes! Also if you begin really obeying the truth you have now received concerning paying God His tenth consistently to God's true ministers from whom you are learning His Truth, plus giving generous offerings to the Gospel Ministry as well (to get Malachi 3: 1 0 and Luke 6:38 to work in your life) plus give generously to the poor, in addition to paying tithes and giving to the Gospel Ministry, then you are guaranteed a prosperous blessing from God. It will change your entire life from now on! God commands you, "PROVE ME NOW HEREWITH" (Malachi 3:10) to see God do it in your own life!!! And remember, God is "no respecter of persons"! It will occur to YOU! You are now beginning the first chapter of the BEST of your life! Congratulations on your obedience to God!
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