Week 17: April 24, 2016
Topic: Tithe – Part 1
Bible Reading: Hebrews 7: 1-10
Introduction
Tithe is a form of giving back to the Lord from what He has given to you, but it must be at least 10% or more to take care of His work on earth. It differs from all other offerings because it can be paid individually/collectively to the appointed people at the designated place.
It can also be mailed, sent through a third party or paid directly into the church’s bank account accompany by prayer for the Lord’s blessings because of your obedience.
It is better if you have a strong faith and pay more than the stipulated 10%. This action will prove that you are zealous for the propagation of the work of God in the land of the living.
The Genesis of Tithe
The beginning of tithe in the Bible was when Abraham returned victorious from war where he rescued Lot and his possessions. God put it in the mind of Melchizedek the king of Salem who brought food and wine to Abraham; he also blessed Abraham saying, “Blessed be Abraham of God Most high, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand”.
Then Abraham through the inspiration of the Lord gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the recovered spoils of the war. This incident is not a coincidence or something that happened by accident, but it was the design of God that the descendants of Abraham will perform this duty eternally.
Abraham’s action signifies that the welfare of the priests of the Lord will be through the presentation of the tithes, since they do not have any other job except serving the Lord.
It is for this purpose that God provides for them through payment of tithes, so that they will be happy and cater for their physical needs (Genesis 14: 16-20-Hebrews 7: 1-4). Pay your tithe in order to remain blessed.
Jacob Pledged and Paid Tithe
Jacob is next in line according to the execution of God’s plan concerning the tithe because he was the one that inherited Abraham’s blessings/promises (Genesis 28: 11-15).
He voluntarily made a vow to the Lord while he was running away from Esau his brother.
He made a pledge to the Lord that if God protected and provided him with the basic necessities of life during the course of his journey, if God spared his life and made him returned safely to his father’s home; then the Lord will be his God. The memorial pillar he had set up will become a place for worshipping God and he will donate to the Lord a tenth of everything He possessed (Genesis 28: 18-22).
After this event, there was a temporary halt regarding the payment of tithe because Jacob did not inform his children the goodness of making and redeeming vows. He kept mute concerning the blessing he received from the Lord when he redeemed his tithe which can motivate his descendants to follow his footsteps (Genesis 35: 1-7). The issue of tithe became prominent during the time of Moses.
Priests Have no Boundary
God through His unsearchable wisdom directed Moses not to allocate any portion of land to the Levites as inheritance. This decision was not based upon hatred, but on the knowledge of Almighty God in order for His work/word to spread to every nook and corner of the land of Canaan (the Promised Land).
Had it been that the Levites had been assigned land, then they would have concentrated on their portion of the land. This would have restricted the work/word of God to their area.
Since they were not allocated any land, they spread across the land of Israel performing work in the temple/tabernacle and receiving tithes from their fellow Israelites.
Everything that was presented as sacred offering to the Lord also belongs to them. Invariably, this is the Levites share and that was the reason the Lord said they shall receive no allotment of land among the Israelites (Numbers 18: 24).
Levites Compensated with Tithe
God chose the Levi tribe among the twelve tribes of Israel to assist in the work of the tabernacle. Therefore, they were presented as gift to Moses to be dedicated to the Lord for service in the tabernacle (Numbers 18: 6). However God compensated them for their work and services performed with tithe collected from the entire land of Israel.
This means, it is the priests that can collect tithes from the congregation and their salaries/wages are paid from the tithes (Numbers 18: 21; Hebrews 7: 5).
Tithe of Your Salary/Investment Belongs to God
Whatever your financial status, job/work, regardless of your post/position among humanity, you must know that it is your duty to pay your tithe. Do not forgot that the tithe of all your earthly possessions belong to God; so Christians must adhere strictly to paying their tithes, else they will be guilty in the presence of God.
It is the commandment of the Lord, therefore pay 10% of your salary/investments/bonuses/gifts/grain/fruits/flocks etc (Leviticus 27: 30-32).
Priests Must Pay Tithe
Whenever the priests receive tithe, they too are instructed by the Lord to take one tenth of it and pay it as their tithe, which means, nobody is exempted from paying tithe, even the priests too have to pay a tithe of the tithe they received (Numbers 18: 26; Hebrews 7:9).
Overseers not Exempted From Tithe
The priests/workers must pay their tithe to the overseer who in turn must give a tithe of it to take care of the orphans, widows, strangers, hospitality and work of God.
The people that benefited from the overseer’s tithe must also pay tithe to the church/priests, so that the cycle continues. Since God is a great scientist, He made tithe to be a form of economic cycle (Numbers 18: 28).
Designated Place to Pay Tithe
Christians can only pay tithes at the place of worship (churches/temples) chosen by the Lord where His Holy name is honoured. However because of time constraint and other factors, people can send their tithe through third party/mail/pay directly into the church account in order for their tithe to be acceptable to the Lord (Deuteronomy 12: 5-6, 11, 17-18).
Tithe Buyback
Anyone who intends to buyback the tithe of grain/fruit/flock or item/material that is due to the Lord for whatever reason must pay its market value plus additional 20%. Maybe you are a farmer/shepherd and you cannot transport your produce/flock to the church or designated place, in order to redeem your tithe of the produce/flock you must add one fifth to it so says the Bible (Leviticus 27: 31).
Week 18: May 1, 2016
Topic: Tithe - Part 2
Bible Reading: Hebrews 7: 1-10
Consequences of Not Paying Tithe
Every soul that did not pay their tithe on time is a spiritual robber who is robbing the Lord of His right. They are denying Him the entitlement which will prompt His works to progress in the land of the living.
Because of this grievous offense, such people cannot receive adequate grace and mercy from the Lord. In addition, it will make them to end their journeys in Satan’s Camp.
Though, paying your tithe and offerings alone cannot take you into the glorious home, unless you obey all the commandments/directives of the Lord. However, paying your tithe on time will make the Lord to:
· Bless you, whereby you will have enough and abundance of blessings.
· Prevent emergency spending/expenditures.
· Permit the remaining 90% to sustain you and cater for your needs effectively without any regret (of paying your tithe) Malachi 3: 8
As from today pay your tithe on time and stop robbing the Lord, so that your life will be transformed positively.
People that do not pay their tithe are cheating the Lord and the curse of the Lord is upon them. This curse makes it possible for the Devil to create a spiritual drain pipe to siphon/drain their resources.
It is the curse of non-payment of tithe that is plaguing the Christendom. Majority of believers are experiencing stagnancy in their lives because of this reason. In fact, some Christians have turned tithe to pledge whereby they will pledge and pay any amount that is convenient for them instead of tithe of their wages. This is not acceptable to the Lord.
Please be informed that if/when humans or any creature curses you, Almighty God will erase them/it, but if the Lord curses you, who will wipe them off. Though in most cases the curse due to non-payment of tithe doesn’t lead to death, but it causes:
· Lack of necessities of life
· Scarcity of goodness and blessing
· Spiritual famine and drought that can make it difficult to realize ones ambition
· Insufficiencies that can jeopardize your life. Malachi 3: 9.
Do not be among the Christians that do not pay their tithe or those that pays the amount that is lesser than the mathematical 10%. This action is what is bringing the curse of the Lord; it also hinders their promotion and makes it difficult for them to progress in life.
Rewards of Paying Tithe
Everyone that pays their tithe and offerings on time will be comfortable during their lifetime; such people will have financial liberty, stability and breakthrough. Most importantly if they pay more than required 10%. Nevertheless this did not translate into their acceptance into the glorious home.
The blessings of the Lord will overtake such people and they will be blessed beyond their imagination. The blessings is not limited to financial aspects, it also include divine peace, good health and longevity. Malachi 3: 10.
Pay your tithe today and see if the Lord will not open the windows of heaven for you; He will pour great and surplus blessing that there won’t be space/room to contain it.
Unacceptable Tithe
Tithe paid from the following sources are not acceptable to the Lord:
· Blood money
· Wages of harlotry
· Dishonest/fraudulent funds
· Tithe offered grudgingly
Pray before Offering your Tithe
It is important to pray and remind the Lord to reward you for your obedience, loyalty and faithfulness whenever you pay your tithe. Pray to God to endow you with the blessings of Abraham, rebuke spiritual devourer and cankerworm in your life Deuteronomy 26: 12-15, Malachi 3: 11.
The Lord that sees and acknowledge the tithe that you paid in private will bless you publicly with goodness that has never happen before in your lineage.
Reasons to Pay Tithe
When believers pay their tithes, the Priests/Ministers of God will be comfortable and they will be able to perform their services without fear, partiality, dishonesty or corruption.
However, when brethren refuses to pay their tithe, there won’t be enough funds to neither take care of the needs of the priests nor provide adequately for them. The congregation will share from the blame/guilt of whatever iniquity the priests commits because they know how to do good, but fail to do it.
By so doing, they have disobey the commandments of the Lord which give rise to the errors perpetrated by the priests 2 Chronicles 31: 5-12 (Nehemiah 13: 11-12).
Brethrens, bring your tithe on time to the house of the Lord so that the priests will have enough to eat and plenty to spare, in order to receive exponential blessing.
Christianity will be better if believers make resolution to pay their tithes just like the Israelites did during the time of Nehemiah Nehemiah 10: 35-38.
Pay your tithe so that the house of the Lord will not lack necessities or experience any scarcity
When you make decision, and pay your tithe on time, it will prompt the Lord to reciprocate your kind gesture by giving you your heart desire and making your dreams become reality.
Transparency
The people in charge of tithe collection must be transparent and honest. They must not be corrupt people who can embezzle the tithe or manipulate the figures of the account because of their greed.
They must realize that they are working for the Lord and not humans. The eyes of the Lord is watching whatever such people do, to reward them at the appropriate time for their deeds whether good or bad. Nehemiah 12: 44, 13: 3-5. Be honest and frank/candid in the collection and distribution of tithes. Do not exhibit any trait of partiality or favoritism so that it may be well with you.
When we honor the Lord with 100% of your riches/wealth plus the best part of our earthly possessions, it is then that God will fill our lives with endless joy, satisfy our needs and make our lives to overflow with goodness Proverbs 3: 9-10.
Remember He holds the key to your life and everything you have is not by your might or power, but by His grace.
Finally it is the commandment of the Lord that every soul must pay their tithes. It must be paid at the designated place of worship where He chooses for His name to be honored. If this place is too far, or due to transportational problems, it can be converted into cash. Nevertheless, it is a must for believers to follow this directive to the last letter. When you disobey the Lord by non-payment of your tithe, the Devil will capitalize on this mistake and make your life miserable.