Tithing
In
the beginning the devil came to Eve while Adam was with her and told her enough
truth with his lies to get her to do what he wanted her to do. As I have walked
in this teaching of tithing I have seen this same spirit work in this issue.
God did not ask me to judge anyone so please do not think for one minute I am
pointing a finger at anyone…the Spirit of God will teach through God’s word
what is true. I will say here however that if you are a leader…teacher…or
pastor and you have not done a heart check on your giving issues it is time you
did. What are your motives for asking people to give? Remember God knows the
truth… so you should sure seek the truth of your reasoning also. Remember God’s
blessings are not for sale, if you are telling people that if they don’t give
to you or your ministry God will not bless them… I fear for you, God has put
leaders in His trust to teach truth. If you are going to teach people to give
and believe God will provide their needs throught this giving in faith … you
also must trust God to meet your needs with out putting pressure on the people
you teach. Free willed giving is what pleases God!
(Titus 1:9-11 KJV) Holding fast the faithful word as
he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and
to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and
deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped,
who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy
lucre's sake.
I
have listened to the teaching of sowing your seed to this ministry or that
ministry saying you can be free of debt so often these days. So much of these
teachings have so much truth in them. But the problem with most of them is that
they are teaching it for self gain. Send me your money so God can bless you…
Your heart tells you something is wrong here, yet there is so much truth in
what they are teaching you get confused as to what is the right way to attain
God's best. This is why God has led me for so many years to teach the truth
about this. I felt God speak to me so plainly one morning that I came right in
to my computer and started typing it as fast as I could. God told me that if
they were teaching the truth they would tell you to give to the poor, the
fatherless or the widows… not to them. They would trust God to meet their
needs, like they are telling you to do. My friends think about it… if they
believe what they are teaching then why are they asking you to send your money
to them? They tell you to give to them and God will give it back to you? Well
if they believe what they are preaching then they would just teach the word of
God to you and let you listen to God as to where to send your offering! If they
trust God to meet their needs then they need not ask any one for anything
because God knows what they have need of. Give and it shall be given back to
you! This is true! So if they give out the word of God … God will meet their
needs. You don't “have” to send them your money! God will direct you where to
give it. When you give you are not telling someone else to give to you so they
will be blessed! You are leaving it to God and God will bless you. Shouldn't
anyone teaching this in truth do the same thing?
These
teachers always tell you to send "them" your offering or tithe so God
will bless you. What did God say? In the first place if you will read the
article on tithing (Click
here for tithing article) or do a bible
study on the subject of tithing and you will see that tithing is not for the
New Testament Church. Giving of your free will is. To receive from God you must
give to God, this is true. How do you give to God? Jesus said that when you
feed the hungry and the poor you feed Him. Jesus said when you visited the ones
in prison you visited Him. Jesus said when you clothed the needy you clothed
Him. Now I ask you…what does this say to do with your giving? Yes God said to
give to your pastor & teachers. But this is only a part of your giving and
you are to give to them only if they are feeding you Spiritual food. If you
have a pastor who doesn't have a car… by all means get together with the church
and let everyone give to the fund for him a car! Make sure the pastor of your
church is housed…clothed…and has food to eat! But no pastor needs two or three
homes … cars… and other luxuries at poor widows and children's expense. The
gospel has become big business these days by the teaching of prosperity! Seems
like most all churches are now getting on the bandwagon. Most churches will not
let you work in the church or join the church unless you sign a pledge card
saying you will tithe to the church. Jesus never told anyone they could not be
a part of His church unless they tithe! Jesus turned no one away that was
seeking truth. It is appalling to me that a church will not let you join unless
you agree to their terms! It is not enough anymore to just believe in God and
Jesus… you now must sign a pledge card promising them you will obey their man
made laws. If you don't sign this card they will not let you join or serve in
the church. I would not want to be one of these leaders when they stand face to
face with God.
If
you want to really tap into the blessing of God that will over flow your cup
then I would say to you to give to the poor…fatherless…widows. Take care of
your elderly parents and grandparents! Give the gift of the knowledge of God to
your children. The greatest gift you can ever give your child is not a worldly
gift…but the gift of the knowledge of Jesus and Him Crucified! You can be rich
and die poor if you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! Just as you
can be poor and die rich in Christ Jesus!
(Mat 25:31-46 KJV) When the Son of man shall come in
his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne
of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the
goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was
sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the
righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee?
or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in?
or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came
unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no
drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not:
sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or
naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he
answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of
the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Do
not be deceived…giving 10% to the church is not going to bring you God's best!
Sowing your seed to preachers will not bring you the financial bliss they are
telling you will come your way! Yes if you give the way God said to give you
will receive blessing beyond your wildest dreams! This is true! The KEY here is
giving God's way… which happens to be to give to the poor…the fatherless…the
widows. Give as God leads you and do not forget to honor your parents! This is one
of God's first orders of great blessing to the young for long life. You must
give to receive this is very true. If you are having a problem with your
finances then I would say to you that you need to do a heart check first and
then give to someone you know is in need. Give of your heart…give time…give
money…give clothes…give whatever you feel the Spirit of God is leading you to
give…but give it for the right reasons. It is okay to give to receive … God
tells us to give to receive! Some people feel they should not give with the
idea that they will receive anything. So they don't give as the devil makes
them feel they are giving wrong. God said give to receive so why would He look
down on you for doing what He said to do? It is however wrong to ask someone to
give to you so they will receive! Please folks look at the difference here. It
is God's business who gives what to whom!
Remember
also one of God's commands to the New Testament Church is to walk in
forgiveness…forgiving others for the wrong done to you. If you can't forgive,
you can't give! If you give with a grudging heart God will not honor your gift.
You just wasted your time and gift whatever that gift was. Remember money is
not the only giving God recognizes. If you are giving of yourself for the wrong
reasons… you are not going to reap the rewards for your service. God is not
mocked…He always looks on the heart. Do a heart check folks…and receive the
blessings of God. Serve God not man! If you want to walk in the abundant
blessing of God then give God's way…not mans way.
(2 Cor 9:6-8 KJV) But this I say, He which soweth
sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him
give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God
is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
Then
there is the issue of love. Are you doing what you are doing because you love
or are you doing what you are doing because you want something? Now here I will
repeat that it is okay to give to receive. But I am talking about motive for
the way you are treating others here, not your giving. You need to do a heart
check. Remember God looks at your heart. So if you want to change your life
then you best look at that same heart in the same truth that God is looking at
it. So much is wrong in our lives because we are not facing the truth. Our
hearts are honest…we just won't listen to our heart. You can change your ways
by changing your way of doing things from the wrong way to the right way by
choice. Choice is a big key here. Your life is full of your choices good or bad
and you will live with the results of those choices.
So
many are deceived in this area by the devil telling them if you don't feel like
doing this then you are wrong. This is a LIE! God has never said forgive
because you feel like it! God said forgive because He ask you to by your own
choice or will. To choose means to do something because you believe it is right
not because you feel like doing it. God has asked each one of us to serve Him
by choice. To say to ourselves okay I am going to do things God's way, not my
way…CHOICE! Do you feel like doing things God's way…NO! You have chosen to do
things God's way because you want to serve God and not self anymore. If you are
doing things wrong it is because you want to…choice. If you want to change then
you must choose to do things another way. Change by choice… not by feelings.
This is what God is asking each one of us to do. Follow HIM. God gave us the
way…JESUS. God gave us the truth…JESUS' WORD. God gave us life…through JESUS!
Take it and be blessed beyond your wildest dreams. Choose to serve God not
yourself. This will bring you the peace and joy you need.
When
you come to a red light do you stop because you feel like it? Or do you stop
because you know it is the law of our land and you don't want to get a ticket?
You have trained yourself to stop because it is the right thing to do and it
will keep money in your pocket that a ticket will take…right. It is the same
concept… Do what God asked you to do because God will bless you for it. And
when you do not do what God asked you to do you lose blessings. This is the way
it is. It is obedience to choose to do what God said to do instead of what you
want (or feel like) doing. God wants you to walk in the blessing He has given
you. God will do everything He can to teach you the right way to live. It is up
to you to listen to God and seek truth in all things using God's Word as your
guide and His Holy Spirit as your teacher. God said seek and you will find… I
say to you today seek truth and seek it with every fiber of your being and you
will find it…
God
bless each one of you and I hope to see you here next month to keep up with the
monthly teaching. I always ask everyone to share this web site with their
friends and families … help get these teachings to others. If you want to talk
about a problem just e mail us and we will pray for you and talk with you. God
has all the answers! We just have to find them through His word and His Holy
Spirit will guide us into all understanding.
E-mail: joygirl@interconnect.net