TITHE (1): Why I Tithe?

TITHE (1): Why I Tithe?

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is the truth. John 17:17 (NIV)

In each generation, the enemy of faith often rears up his head in arguments in order to to ambush and derail people, ignorant of the word of God. Unfortunately, where the light of the word of God is missing, the order of the day is the reign of evil and darkness. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples (Isaiah 60:2). Yet when the LORD rises upon His people, His glory naturally dispel darkness and confusion. The power of evil is darkness. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4).

May the entrance of God’s word bring you light and understanding (Psalm 119:130).

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you (Isaiah 60:1).

Why I tithe?

Tithes refer to a tenth part of a person’s earning, income or gift voluntarily paid as a contribution for the support of a local church. The first practice of “tithing “was recorded in the Holy Bible over six thousand years ago before the advent of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible shows tithe as God’s idea for supernaturally blessing human.

In the New Testament, we do not give tithe as an obligation or in fear but out of love to God who invested the life of His Son to save us eternally. It is not a debt we owe but seeds we sow in love.

I personally tithe as a loving response to God’s faithfulness in my life.

I will share with you 12 reasons why I regularly tithe with excitement.

1) It is my expression of Love to God

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matt. 22:37-40

I give my tithe to God as an expression of my love to Him for giving me abundance life in Christ (John 3:16). You can simply not love and not give. Every form of giving is a love and relationship issue. Giving tithe is a love and relationship issue. Giving to whom you love is fun, never burdensome. Jesus invited us to love God with all we have.

Tithing is not a command in the New Testament, it is a giving principle.

We give out of love, from the heart genuinely connected to God (Matt.15:8-9).

We honour God genuinely from our hearts in spirit and in truth.

The Bible recognises two types of God- the real God and Mammon. No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (Matt. 6:24). In fact, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grieves (1 Tim 6:10).

Giving of tithe is a question of heart. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21). It should be given from a cheerful heart as an act of worship and not from legalistic law stand as an obligation.

2) It is my way of appreciating & honouring God for the gift of life

“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” . Proverbs 3:9–10

Tithing is my way of honouring God as my Creator, my Lord and my Source.

He is the owner of me and all I own, dead or alive. I will continue to tithe so long I am alive.

Nothing matters when you are no more alive. I give tithe out of appreciation and celebration of God who keeps me alive and is able to provide for all my needs according to His riches in glory. Tithe is foremost to appreciate rather than to attract God’s blessing. We are simply returning to Him 10% of what He blessed us with even though he could have requested 90% and still be just. Money and materials are the least of God's blessing. There are things money cannot buy - health, joy, life, peace, favour, salvation, eternity etc. and He gave us all free (1 Tim 5:6; Eph. 4:18).

Early believers knew the virtue of honouring God with acts of sacrifice. King David refused to be given a free land to offer sacrifice to the Lord (2 Samuel 24:24; 1 Chronicles 21:24). King Solomon once offered God a thousand offering, like no man or king ever did.

The Jews who built the first temple gave more than needed and had to be forced to stop giving (Exodus 36:5). What a great way of showing loving to their Lord.

3) It is my expression of faith

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17 (ESV) – Also Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38

I give my tithes and offerings in faith expecting to be blessed by the Lord.

Tithing is a faith exercise demanded by God. The righteous shall live by his faith!

No place in the Bible was tithe, offering or 1st fruit enforced with force. It is a personal choice of faith if you want supernatural blessing upon your life or not (Malachi 3:10). Yet Bible and our present environment is filled with faith giving. I have seen great Cathedrals, Temples and Churches built in faith. I walked through physical demonstration of early believers' faith in Israel- great temples, archaeological excavations and artifacts. If you will remove product of “faith giving” from earth, there shall hardly be any structure left to proof human relationship with God either in Christianity, Islam, Judaism or any other religion.

All religions are sustained by the sacrificial giving of the faithful worshippers.

Under the new covenant we are justified by the exercise of our faith in love. If you only tithe as an act of obligation it becomes an act of legalism and you are placing yourself under the law.

But if you tithe in love as an act of faith expecting to receive the blessings God promised to all cheerful givers, then your tithe is acceptable to the Lord.

Tithing is a proof of believer's faithfulness. Where your treasure is will your heart be also!

When you are choosing a potential life partner, find a partner who is faithful with money.

When choosing a business partner, choose someone who honours God with his or her resources. If he would not honour God, what hope do you have that such could be faithful to you?

4) I give tithe in obedience to the Lord’s commandment

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. Job 22:21-25 (KJV)

Human only accepted response to God’s love is obedience, “ For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (1 John 5.3-4).”

It is dangerous to live in disobedience. The Bible calls non-tithers God’s robber (Malachi 3:10).

I choose not to belong to that fold. Someone might say, "do you really believe non-tithers will not make heaven?" Well, I choose to obey God’s word rather than follow human logic, ideas or reasoning- no matter how popular. I know what will happen to thieves in judgement.

If God said non-tithers rob Him and He will be the final judge, I choose to take Him by His words. More so, I choose to obey Him in love not in fear or as an obligation. I have no personal view but scriptural view which is not opened to debate or discussion. Apostle Paul said that, “though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8 KJV)." I choose to take God by His words.

Two major ways of missing God’s blessing is through ignorance of His Words or by sheer disobedience. The person who does not know what to do and the one who refuses to do share the same destiny. The blessing of God is for those who follow His directions and obey His instructions (Isaiah 1:19; Matt. 22:29). To obey God’s instruction is better than sacrifice.

5) It is the demonstration of my covenant walk with God

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. Deuteronomy 8:17-18

I consciously use my tithe to covenant with God as His son in service.

Many who fail to honour tithe hardly could serve God in a great way. They are always hindered by shame, guilt and fear of being discovered as an irresponsible believer.

Tithers, in the other hands, are natural givers (to friends, family and human cause).

Non tithers hardly occupy responsible position in Church or elsewhere. Many are hindered from serving in their church for being labelled parasites than responsible contributors.

It is also right to say that most tithers have intimate relationship with God.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

6) I tithe to relate with Jesus Christ as my High Priest

Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Hebrews 7:8-10 (NKJV)

I give my tithe to Jesus Christ, in His present role today as our High priest who intercedes for man in the presence of God. Though men collect the money on earth, the Bible reveals it is Jesus Christ Himself who receives every tithe in the heavenly realm.

He is our Melchizedek as He was for Abram (Gen. 14:17-20). Jesus Christ still collects tithes today, as our High Priest that intercedes for us in the presence of God. Jesus Christ, in the order of Melchizedek collected tithes from Abram (before the Law was given by Moses) and He is still collecting it today (Heb. 6:20; Heb. 7:1-9).

Jesus the same yesterday, today and forever more (Heb. 13:8).

7) It is a display of my stewardship of God’s resources

To whom much is given, much is expected. Luke 12:48

Tithing is an expression of my financial stewardship to God.

God is the owner of all things on earth, including my life. I am only a steward (Ps. 24:1; Job 1:21).

Every steward of God's resources have the moral obligation to contribute to the upkeep of the Lord's house- just like you contribute to the upkeep of your biological family as a mature person.

Since God has never built any church through angels but always depend on mankind, I choose to be part of the responsible believers God can trust to build and maintain His house.

As a church leader, I can tell you that if devil can stop tithing, over 90% of all local churches shall shut down the same year and be converted to business centres, mosques or clubs etc.

Stopping godly tithing as a way of maintaining church will only promote satanic manipulation and molestation of God’s people as false ministers and prophets would need to devise wrong means to manipulate and dupe God’s people in order to continue to survive by human schemes.

If you think all great churches are built by lackadaisical and inconsistent giving from people, then try to build your house like that and see what you get.

8) It is meant to develop my potential

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Gen. 8:22

I use tithes to develop my unending potentials in the Lord. The principle of sowing and reaping is a major way of activating your blessing. Sowing is your investment (be it labour, giving to the work of God or to the poor) and harvest is the reward. And that law cannot be broken!

There is no limit in the Lord. His riches are beyond finding. Every man just determines how far he can go. Many believers know the promise of God but not the process of redeeming them.

Everyone still has the responsibility to contend and possess the Promised Land allocated unto him (Deuteronomy 2:24). “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 16:10-12 NKJV).

We all determine the extent God can enrich and entrust us with His true riches through the way we handle the mundane blessing He has thrown our ways. When we are faithful to God, he begins to open the heavens with spiritual revelation into our hearts, spirits and minds.

9) It is my personal protection against greed

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Tim. 6:10

Tithe helps me to overcome greed, disobedience and rebellion against God.

Some people are so poor that all they have is money. They have no morals, conscience or discipline. They will misuse and abuse money till they lose their health, joy, wealth and even life. It is a great thing to richly enjoy God’s blessing and yet be gratefully rich to the work of God.

Many have lost their lives for avariciousness. Though God has given us all things richly to enjoy, greedy people grab and use everything God gives them for their selfish aggrandisement alone. They have nothing for God or His work or His people or His passion. They are mere burden and parasite on earth adding no value to life. Such was the case of the rich fool (buffoon) in the Bible.

God visited him once and found him piling up everything for himself alone. "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God". (Luke 12:15-20-34)

Great Bible practices like righteousness, love, fasting, Holy Communion, praise started from the beginning of man’s walk of faith with God (before Old and New Testaments) and will remain forever. Why people have problem only with tithe and not the rest of these faith practices is a matter of greed!

10) It’s my commitment for the upkeep of my local church

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Malachi 3:10a (NIV)

I tithe to contribute to the building of the local church I attend. If tithing would be stopped all over the world today, over 90% of the local churches will shut down within few months. Guess who will profit mostly from that? The devil himself. Now you can understand the source of several attacks on tithes. Tithe is divine provision for the upkeep of the church that has kept the local churches going for the thousand years. The reason behind the attack of tithe is that the devil doesn’t want the church to prosper because a prosperous church is able to do many things to move forward the gospel. A strong Church can offer evangelism, social support, business support, salaries for employed members and pastors, good service to congregation etc. Financially weak church, in the other hand, will once shut down- without continuity or legacy.

Giving to your church is sharing in her heavy responsibility of furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Money is needed for crusades, evangelism and other conferences and missions.

Tithe is useful and purposeful in maintaining continuity of the Church. It provides for the needs of pastors, ordained by God to oversee the work of the local church (1 Peter 5:1-3). It supports the preaching gospel (2 Cor. 11:8, Philippians 4:15-16). It provides benevolence for needy saints (Acts 11:27-30, Romans 15:26-28).

It offers life line for the continuity of church from one generation to another.

11) It is my means of protection against devourers

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:10-11(ESV)

I regularly pay my tithe as a spiritual protection against devourer's attack.

I use tithe to secure divine protection and insurance against satanic destruction (Mal. 3:11).

It is my conscious action at keeping devourer away from my family, business and destiny.

In the book of Joel, Bible reveals that God sometimes send His great army made up of destructive and devouring locusts to destroy harvest of rebellious and disobedient people (Joel 2: 25-26). The truth remains that each time we disobey God, we activate His punitive measures.

Yet when we return to Him in obedience, He sends us showers, both autumn and spring rains, so that out threshing floors can be full of grain, and the vats be overflow with new wine and oil (Joel 2:12, 23-24). May your obedience to God attract upon you His abundance (Psalm 115:11-15).

12) I use my tithe to attract Divine Blessing upon my life

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:11-12 (ESV)

In addition to honouring God, I use my tithe to attract God’s blessing upon my life.

I trust His promises and connect to it habitually through reckless obedience and personal giving.

The Hebrew word for “tithe” is masser, which contains the word, asser or “rich” in English. “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe (masser) of all (Gen.14:18-20 NKJV).” You determine the type of harvest and measure to receive from God through your personal obedience and giving (Luke 6:38).

God has promised to make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. In the day of God’s blessing, may your name be found in the scroll of remembrance among the names of those who feared the Lord and honoured his Name (Malachi 3:16-18). Amen.

Conclusion:

We need to renew our mind-sets about God and His instructions so that our sinful, greedy human mind-set will not continue to rob us of the good provision of God.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1.17).

God wants to remain your Source and continue to supply for your needs according to His riches in glory. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38 NIV)." While greed is distracted by the focus on personal giving, love is attracted to God's offer of unending supply- pressed down, shaken together and running over!

The faithful believers who trust God understand that the reason God gives man opportunity to give to Him is for man to attract His endless supply at will.

Only those who trust Him and make Him their Source deserves His unending supplies.

Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58