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Biblical
Prosperity in Perspective 22
Why I Obediently,
Cheerfully & Expectantly Pay Holy Tithes
by Pastor John Hamel
We are well into
our study on the subject of Biblical prosperity in perspective. In our
last two lessons, we saw that the Old and the New Testaments both hint at
and command tithing.
In this lesson I would like to share with you
just some of the many reasons why I obediently, cheerfully and expectantly
pay holy tithes.
I
Tithe Because I Am Obedient
Jesus said to give
to God all things that belong to Him. (Matthew 22:21) The tithe
belongs to God. (Leviticus 27:30) God commands that His tithe be
brought to the spiritual storehouse.
(Malachi 3:8-10)
Therefore, He can count on me to obey Him, cheerfully. God honors only
cheerful giving. (2Corinthians 9:7) I want God to trust me with His power.
I want God to trust me with
more money. It all starts by showing Him He can trust me with His
holy tithe. (Haggai 2:8; Psalm 24:1)
I
Tithe to Honor My Half of Our Covenant
God has given us
the power to get wealth so we can have the financing to evangelize the
world first and live comfortably second. (Deuteronomy 8:18) The only
way God’s promised harvest of wealth is going to come is by planting seed,
financial seed. After all, seed produces after its own kind.
Therefore, when I plant my tithe into the fertile soil of true New
Testament Ministry, it is the first step towards a guaranteed harvest of
wealth for evangelizing the world and living comfortably.
Only by my honoring God’s Covenant command to pay tithes and offerings will
He honor His Covenant promise to prosper me financially. (Malachi
3:8-10)
I do a little thing and plant my tithes and offerings.
That is my responsibility under the Covenant.
God does a much bigger
thing and sends my financial harvest supernaturally. That is His
responsibility under the Covenant.
I
Tithe Because I Love God
One day I was
driving along with my wife, Barbara. The vehicle in front of us had a
bumper sticker that read, “Honk if you love Jesus.” I said to
Barbara, “We should make bumper stickers that say ‘Tithe if you love
Jesus.’”
Love is the
strongest emotion and the greatest motivator in existence. Solomon
said that all the oceans in the world could not drown love. (Song of
Solomon 8:7)
For the Disciple who truly loves Jesus and truly loves
Jesus’ desire to see the lost people of the world saved, the holy tithe is
simply the beginning of giving. For the true lover of Christ, tithing
is just the tip of the iceberg.
I
Tithe Because I Ought to Tithe
Jesus commended the
Pharisees when He said, “Ye pay tithes … these OUGHT ye to have done.”
(Matthew 23:23) The word “ought” is a word that all Believers ought
to look at more closely. It means “to be obliged to fulfill; an
expression of moral obligation and duty; to owe; to follow the dictates of
one’s conscience; it implies the compulsion of necessity and stresses an
extremely strong obligation.”
Wonderful
Jesus. He always finds the right word for the occasion, doesn’t
He? In this case, He chose the word “ought” concerning the subject of
tithing.
I tithe because I
am obliged to tithe. Tithing is an expression of my moral obligation
and duty. I tithe because I owe God the holy tithe.
When I
tithe I am following the dictates of my human conscience. I tithe
because it is a necessary and an extremely strong obligation. I tithe
because I ought to tithe.
I
Tithe Because Robbery Doesn't Suit the Believer in Christ
When Israel withheld God’s
tithe, He called them “God robbers.” Most Christian people would never
consider walking into a bank with a gun and robbing it. Yet some of
those very same people dare to reach right into God’s wallet and help
themselves to ten percent of whatever is in there.
Although we might
have the power to do such a dishonorable thing, certainly we do not have
the authority. Too many people look for every excuse and loophole to
escape paying the tithe. Not me.
When it is my turn to stand
before Him in judgment, I am determined to not be afraid. I am determined
to hear Him say, “Step right up here to My bench, Honey,” smiling. I
am determined that I will NOT hear Him say, “Step right up here to My
bench, Houdini, Jr. Let’s talk about the subject of My holy
tithe. You know,
the money you were stealing from Me while you were in the Earth.”
I
Tithe Because I'm Not a Hypocrite
The Apostle Paul told young Pastor Timothy
to be an example to his congregation in all things. (1Timothy 4:12) This is necessary for all
Ministers. How could I, as a Minister, receive tithes and not pay
tithes myself? That would make me a hypocrite.
Under the Old Covenant, the Levites not only received tithes, they also
paid tithes on all they received. We, as Ministers, ought to follow
their Godly example and ought to set a Godly example.
I
Tithe Because I'm Just like My Spiritual Father, Abraham
As Believers, the
Bible says that Abraham is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16)
Abraham is the first man on record to pay tithes by faith. (Genesis
14:20) His grandson, Jacob, followed his example by faith. (Genesis
28:22) Levi was Abraham’s direct descendant and the father of the
Levites. He paid tithes by faith. (Hebrews 7:9) I am the
spiritual seed of Abraham. He is my spiritual father. (Galatians
3:29)
Therefore, I am simply honoring my family heritage when I pay
tithes by faith. What kind of child would
I be if I were to refuse to imitate my spiritual father’s most honorable
deeds? Jesus said, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the
works of Abraham.” (John 8:39)
I
Tithe So My Pastor Can Work Efficiently & Live Comfortably
This is where I
jump up on my soapbox and get very long-winded without apology. My Pastor and his family need
groceries. They need to pay their bills and to be free from the
stress of debt, lack and poverty. My Pastor and his family need to be
setting an example of health and wealth to their congregation and their
community. My Pastor needs to be free to study, to pray and to
counsel his flock and preach and teach multiple times per week. These
things take time, much time.
I am a Preacher and a Teacher. I have stood in the Office of the Pastor for over
twenty-five years. I know what I am
talking about. I simply cannot expect my Pastor to work two fulltime
jobs, one to support himself and his family, another to support me and the
rest of the rebellious
sheep. My Pastor must be free to work fulltime at the call of God
upon his life. I pay my tithes to him to enable him to do just
that.
How sad and disgraceful it is that honest
people will pay their debts to the bank, retailers and the government, yet,
they dare to withhold God’s tithe from God’s appointed Pastor. What
an indictment! Yet still, these same individuals expect the Pastor to
have good spiritual food on the table so they can just sit there and gobble
it down like selfish little piggies. Do not
get mad at your Pastor now. He did not say that. I said
it. I said it as an experienced Pastor, too.
It is a disgrace
to a Church when the Pastor has to work another job when there should be
sufficient tithe income to easily support him or her. The Bible says
that those who preach the Gospel should earn their living from the Gospel.
(1Corinthians 9:9-14)
I
Tithe to Avoid Living under the "God Robber" Curse
The Bible says that
tithe stealers live under a financial curse. (Malachi 3:9) Tithe
stealers withhold God’s tithe to pay their bills only to create what I call
more unnecessary “curse bills.”
Eventually all of
the stolen tithe is needed to pay added transportation and medical
bills and dozens and dozens of other unforeseen things that occurred
because of the “God robber” curse.
All the
so-called “extra” is wasted on things that would have been avoided had they
only obeyed God concerning His holy tithe. The Bible calls the God
robber lifestyle “… putting money in a bag with holes in it.” (Haggai
1:6)
I
Tithe So God Can Bless Me Supernaturally
God blesses the
tithe payer. Plain and simple fact. “Bring ye all the tithes …
and prove Me … sayeth the Lord … I will … pour
you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
(Malachi 3:10)
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men
give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)
I want God to put it on the hearts of
others to remember me with their giving. I want Almighty God Himself
to remember my giving. He remembered the widow’s mite. (Mark 12:42,43) He remembered how generous
Cornelius was in his giving. (Acts 10:1-5) An Angel actually appeared to Cornelius with a
message from Almighty God, telling him that God saw his giving as a
“memorial.” What an honor.
I do not want God to remember me for
what I refused to give back to Him. I want God to remember me for
what I gave obediently, cheerfully and expectantly.
God remembered what Israel refused to
give. He notices everything. I want Him to know that He can trust
me big time so He can bless me big time.
I need more money to go out
seeking and saving the lost with the message of Christ. (Luke 10:19)
I need more money to break the power of Satan off their lives once I find
them. (1John 3:8)
I also need God to give me more money so I can be a
testimony of wealth on His behalf, so I can give more and keep the cycle of blessing the world going.
The giving of tithes and offerings is the
only place in the entirety of Scripture where God gives humanity permission
to test Him and to prove Him. God wants us to see that He will bless
us and prosper us. He wants us to see that putting His Covenant first
will produce great wealth and riches for Kingdom builders. (Psalm 112:3)
I have trusted, tested and proven God.
He has been nothing short of faithful to me. It is always better to
give to God that which is holy and belongs only to Him. Tithes and
offerings will produce tremendous wealth for seeking the lost, destroying
the works of Satan and abundant living. Try it and see for yourself.
Tithes and offerings certainly will not
save anyone. The only way to be saved from the penalty and the
punishment of sin is to be Born Again by accepting Christ as
one’s Lord and Savior. (John 3:3)
However, tithes and offerings will
indeed save one from suffering the “God Robber” curse.
(Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13,14)
These are just some of the reasons why I obediently,
cheerfully and expectantly give BACK to God His holy tithe and offerings.
Be blessed … John and Barbara Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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