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When you think of tithe what comes in your mind? Things like its used to grow church, it a must because others are doing it, and even other churches, we should support our pastor. The tithe is in the class of things here Matthew 19:16-24 the commandments.
Let’s say you commit adulty do we stone you? No. what if you steal? Do we cut your arm? what about if you lie? do you die as in the days of peter? So, can you see what the death of Christ did it freed us from all this injustice? Stop seeing tithe as a debt you have to pay God and if you don’t pay it, you will be cursed. Malachi 3:6-10. This scripture has been used by people to condemn others and tell them that they are cursed if they don’t pay tithe.
So, people start to give for fear of being cursed and judged or punished by God not because they love him others give because they expect something in return. It was true in the OT. It was part of the works and a requirement to earn any blessing, it was a law(Number 18:21,26- inheritance to the levi).
But in the NT in Galatians 3:13 Jesus bows our curse and the punishment which was attached on our behalf. This included things like no paying tithes. This is the wrong motivation to make people give to this cursing God.
The church nowadays is acting like the mafia. The mafia comes and tells you how there has been a lot of stealing and vandalism. It’s a dangerous place to live and do business but if you pay me, I will make sure your business is safe from all this. Remember who is doing all these things? It’s the mafia. Mafia is telling you to behind the scenes you pay me or I come after you. So, people pay for fear of what they can do to not because you love them
The same applies to the witches the set up the accidents and sickness in a certain area and then they advertise themselves as the solution to these foreign problems, so they say pay us to give you protection through our charms.
This is how the modern-day churches have been acting like the Godfather (leader of the mafia) and not the representative of God the Father. So they will use all manner of verses to manipulate you. These are asking for protection money in the name of God.
So, preachers will even say or remind you that if you don’t pay the tithes the doctor will take them instead because you will be sick, or your car will break down or something worse will happen. So, God will take this tithe 10% with interest. So, pay or it will be collected from you by force. A Tithe was supposed to be 10% of your gross and then the offering was anything over and above the tithe,
Did you know that if you took the offering and the tithe combined it came to 33%? The above the tithe and offering people still gave freewill offering bring it to something close to 50%. This was what happened in the days of Malachi. So, if we go back to this time as Christians we might not cope. Remember also if you missed paying your tithe you paid you tithe plus 20% interest (Leviticus 27:31). None of those preachers give 33% or 50% so then they might be cursed.
I didn’t say don’t give but do it correctly that is why Jesus said 2 corinthians.9:6 gives with a clean heart.
Mathew 6 says when you give meaning we are supposed to give so as to be blessed. God is not like the mafia or witches who force you to give he expects you to give from your heart. If you have been with me all this time you should be generous in your giving by now. Yes God won’t hurt you like the mafia.
Let’s say God was to give you a portion of his seeds and some of you choose to eat everything while others choose to plant some those who planted will have more and more to eat and you have seed to keep planting. Remember seedtime and harvest should never end Genesis 8:22
2 Corinthians 9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness
So, you can’t stop giving don’t be like some people who eat everything, and they have nothing left to sow. Hence they become poor. I am not encouraging you to join the prosperity movement of selling this or that or giving out of fear. It’s blessed to give than to receive Acts 20:35. It’s wrong to manipulate and put fear on people to force them to give After all they won’t be blessed.
For instance, when we started building this church, we never forced anyone to give but still hear this church completed, I would have used all manipulative tack ticks, but I didn’t. You are blessed to be a blessing not to keep it to yourself ONLY.
Just imagine during the old covenant people who weren’t born again prospered how much more is us who have a new covenant which is better and gives us access to all things.10% was the standard for heaven to bless them so what about us we should even give more.
According to 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
To reap more, you need to start sowing big. But what stops us is fear but If you do it based on faith you will see an increase. Believe me, 430 years before the law was given people used to pay tithe a good example is Abram in Genesis 14:20. It’s also mentioned in the NT in Hebrews 7:4-13.so you can see that tithe was a bible principle and not a covenant principle. The Lord’s supper proclaims Jesus death but the tithe proclaim he is ALIVE
So, when the government of the day took over the church as the head, they introduced punishment for none payers the no Malachi 3:8-10 explains this better.
Remember 1 Corinthian 13: 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.so if you are giving tithes for all the wrong reasons then it won’t profit you. Don’t give with a mentality of you are paying a debt or a bill. we are supposed to tithe but not under the law mentality but out of love. otherwise, you kill the seed.
Remember if all there was is you press a button called a tithe and it spews 100 fold return, then where is the love and worship of your God. No wonder the Pharisees got it wrong they thought that you could give God and not worship him,( Mark 7:6-8). If tithing was like that then most of you would be millionaires from your giving.
Remember silver and gold belong to God Haggai 2:8 and the cattle upon 1000 hills belong to the Lord (Psalms 50:10). So what can you give God that he doesn’t have all you are just doing is to bring a little of what he gave you as a token of appreciation?
This might not make sense to the carnal man because it operating using the spiritual laws, not the natural laws (1 Corinthians 2:14). One of the persons who understood this was Abram and his son Isaac remember in Genesis 26:12 he planted and harvested 100-fold. Do everything motivated with love(Luke 11:41-42). Don’t stop tithing
I personally saw this principle of 100 fold in my life when my car needed repair work and then the mechanic asked for R5000 and then the Holy Spirit told me to go home and sleep and then when I woke up he told me what to do and after doing that it cost me RNil then begged the new mechanic to be serious and charge me and he charged me R50 so I gave he a cold drink of another R50.
Why do we give a tithe or give offering is?
According to Romans 11:16 It’s because the source we get the money from are not always clean so some money in your hand is magic or blood money so by offering some to God he cleans the rest.so the devil cant touch
Luke 11:41 most Christians believe since they are born again they can just pray for this unclean money but it not so. That is why he who gives a prophet receives a prophet’s reward (Matthew 10:41).remember the widow who gave Elijah first meal(1 Kings 17:11-14).
Where the tithe should go.
You would say the storehouse. But the store doesn’t equal the to the local church as it’s supposed to be because not all churches are preaching the true gospel as before. What kind of a storehouse of God will be if you license homosexuals, ordain gay pastors, etc some are clubs and not churches, so why would you give your tithe here.
A store is a place where they stored their food in the Malachi times, but nowadays a storehouse would be a place you are fed spiritually and even physically. If you are getting all the benefits which come with a good church, then pay your tithe they’re so that you can support the functionality of that church.
So, if you are in a church and you feel like you are not growing then leave that church immediately and join another where you are growing. Remember if you can’t support a church with your money then don’t also support it with your presence. For example, you don’t eat at MacDonald’s and then go and pay at KFC. Imagine a person would pay thousands of rands to a witch doctor and only give an offering of cents and then expect God to bless him. Make a choice of who to serve with your money (Joshua 24:15).1 Corinthians 9:9-14 pastors should be supported because they pray for you.
Like we have a website cost, communions, refreshments, transport etc
Pastor Nathaniel.