Tithes and Offerings

What is this all about anyway?

First, Tithing and giving offerings is not only about money. You should be tithing and offering offerings three different ways.

Money.
Needs.
Time.

Tithing in the old Testament was not only dealing in money. It was dealing in meeting the needs of the Church. The Church, of course being the people. Not the building, and not the Pastor. But the people. Tithing is a Commandment straight from God. In...

Genesis 14:

20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

In the English Standard Version, it is translated....

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Then in...

Deuteronomy 14:

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

So the original tithe, and still can be, ten percent of whatever it is you have. In other words, if you are a Farmer, ten percent of your crops. If you are a Shoe Maker, you can donate ten percent of your production of shoes and give them to the needy that have no shoes. If you make cloths, give ten percent of your production of cloths to those that have none. Then if you can not do this, God says, then tithe with money. But what is the money for?

24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

This is the first place where God talks about money. If for whatever reason you cannot bring into the store house, ten percent of your crop, to meet the needs of those that lack, then sell it. "Turn it into money" and go and give it. Then, with the money, buy things needed. But keep this passage in mind for a bit later.. "that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always."

In....

Leviticus 27:

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord.

So you see, that ten percent is not even your's to debate. God says that ten percent of whatever it is, is HIS. It IS Holy. It IS to meet the needs of HIS people. In....

Malachi 3:

6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

OK. We need to spend some time on this one. First, ten percent of whatever it is, is God's. It is not your's to debate, reason about, or question. If you fail to give ten percent, God calls you a thief, and lays forth a Spiritual Law. Let's look at this.

A tithe is ten percent. An offering, is anything more than ten percent. Let's deal with the money aspect, since that is what most will be tithing. If you make $1000.00 a paycheck, your tithe is $100.00. Not $90.00. Not $20.00. Not $120.00 Your tithe IS $100.00

If you chose to give anything less than that, God calls you a thief. He says you are robbing from Him. "But you don't understand. I can't pay my bills not. How am I suppose to give God, $100.00? I need that money to pay bills. That's not right. He understands. This is all I got." Really? Look at your bills. What are you actually paying for? You know what you really need? Let's get real here for a second. You really need a roof, electric, running water, and food. Do you need a brand new car? Do you need TV? Do you need Computer, Phone, Cable, Movies, to go to dinner often? New Shoes? What do you see more important? Obeying God, or having 150 Channels with nothing on to watch? What is more important, having the newest and more expensive Phone that you can do anything on, or helping to feed someone that has no clue where their next meal is coming from?

I love people that tell me how poor they are, while surfing the net on their phones, looking for the best price on that new Purse, standing in line of a Coffee House to buy a $5.00 cup of coffee. Outside the window, on the corner is a guy with a sign, begging for money. Yeah, I understand how poor you are. Enjoy that coffee.

Tithes and offering are to ensue that all God's Children's needs will be met. Food, cloths, shoes, a roof over their heads. ETC. Now if your tithe is $100.00, then anything over that, would be considered an offering. Don't say I am giving $100.00 and declare $75.00 as a tithe and $25.00 as an offering. Anything OVER the original $100.00 is your offering. Just the truth.. The ten percent already belongs to God.

"But you don't understand. How is the 90 percent going to cover everything. The 100 percent barely makes it." God says "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Read that again, "prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

God also tells you this. It works the other way as well. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts."

What does that mean? Look at Jesus talking to the Fig Tree...

Matthew 21:

18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

Then when Jesus was teaching this Spiritual Law, He said this..

Matthew 25:

14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

To make it plain, if you give it will be given unto you, according to The Word.....

Luke 6:

38 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.

Or? "That there shall not be room enough to receive it." However, do not give, and that 100 percent will not go nearly as far. What little you do have, will be taken from you. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts." If you do not give, He will not rebuke the "devourer." What little you have will be taken from you.

Now this is your tithe. What God requires from you. Now let's look at offerings. "For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Or...

2 Corinthians 9:

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8 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:

If you not only prove yourself in your obedience in giving of your required tithe, but show that you are willing to be a cheerful giver, then God will increase your harvest, or your intake, so that you may give more. If you are giving an extra 10 to 20 percent cheerfully, and God knows your heart is true, He may very well increase what you are making to increase that of which you give. Being faithful in little, He will make you "ruler" over much.

Now let's spend a second talking about this passage. This is one that many, mostly those we will talk about in a second, try to convince you that your tithe is more than it is. They point to this...

Proverbs 3:

9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Now what they say is that this passage means pretax. They claim that this means if you make $1500.00, before the Government comes in and takes it, you must pay them, the Pastor, $150.00. However, you do not have $1500.00. You do not control that $1500.00. What you have is $1000.00. The government takes $500.00 before you ever see it. So what you have control over is $1000.00. Your tithe is $100.00. Not $150.00. Do not be dismayed. Do not be shamed into giving more than you get.

It's like you plant ten fields. Harvest comes and you find 2 of the fields produced nothing. Do you give ten percent of 2 fields that produced nothing? Of course not. You give what you have. Now why do some teach this falsehood? Because they want more money. That is something else we need to talk about today..

Some do not tithe because they look and see the Pastor, wearing $3000.00 suits, driving BMWs, wearing gold watches and chains, and say "I can't afford to pay my electric bill, and I'm giving this guy money?" It's not about the Pastor. It's not really about the Church. It's not about God. Tithing and the giving of offerings, is all about YOU. "That thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always."

I love teaching this message in this forum. I really do. You can not walk up to me and hand me cash. I'm not asking for cash. I'm not one of these Preachers you see on TV, with a Mic in one hand and my hand out. I'm not someone that you could give money to, without you going WAY out of your way to find out how. We are simply talking the Truth. We are simply talking the Word of God.

You see, if you have hesitation in giving to your local Church, then Pray about it. It is true, that most local Churches, and even National Ministries NEED money to operate. The Pastor needs a paycheck to pay bills just like you do. If they are a true church they need money and goods to give to others that are less fortunate. We created the system of money. God didn't. But we need it to operate in life.

However, if you are sure that God is telling you to not bother giving to that church, what about the ministry down the street? What about the Soup Kitchen in your local community? Food Pantry? $100.00 worth of Sandwiches that you deliver to the inner-city? Trust me, you ask God, He will point the way.

What if the Pastor IS misusing the tithes and offerings coming into the church? It matters nothing to you. God tells you to give 10 percent. You do. You are good. You are obedient. What the Pastor does after that money leaves you is now between him and God. You just worry about being faithful and obedient to God and His Word. Chances are, if the Pastor IS misusing the tithes and offerings, that is not the Church you should be going to to begin with. But trust me, God will deal with the Pastor and the Church.

The last way you tithe is time. There are 24 hours in a day. How much time do you devote to God? Ten percent would be what? 2 hours and 40 minutes. Right? Do you pray everyday? How long? How much time do you spend sharing the Word? In the Word? How much time do you spend feeding your spirit? Try starting with just 24 minutes. Have a favorite TV show? How long is that? How much time to you spend online? Playing video games? 24 minutes is not really that much time at all. Try it. Trust me here too. You start tithing time to God as well as money and goods, you will grow far closer to Him and stronger in Faith, than you ever thought possible. God will bless you in a very powerful way as well.

Tithing and offerings are not only a commandment of God, but a benefit to His Children. Try it. As God said, "Prove me now." Trust in Him to be faithful to His Word. You will be blessed in ways that you cannot even imagine. In the process, you will be a blessing to others..

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray..

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A new Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus IS Lord of all!