Why Tithe?

Obedience? Expectation? Love? 

Tithing and giving of Offerings, is not only a good idea, it IS a Command of God.

"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." {Leviticus 27:30}

And then here..

"Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:" {Proverbs 3:9 }

Your Tithe is, was, and always will be, ten percent of something. 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. Tithing and giving Offerings is not only, or always, about money. You should be Tithing and offering Offerings three different ways.

Money.
Needs.
Time.

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 Time? How much Time to you spend serving God? Just a question. Then you Tithe with money. But what is the money for?

You see, this is where things get messy. This is where people shut down and some shut off. As a matter of fact, not even joking, I told a friend of mine just this past Friday Night that I was giving this Message at my Local Church today, and he literately got angry? "Why? Why should I give some Pastor my money to do with whatever? Granted. I would rather give money to a Church than a Bank but seriously? God don't need Money. I do not need to hear that,,,,," He walked away.

When the Pastor of the local Church asked me to give a Message about Tithing, I agreed and went right to Malachi 3

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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. 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." {Malachi 3:8-11}

OK. I will start off with the Fact God COMMANDS it. And that God see it equal to Robbing Him if you do not give Ten percent of you Salary..After all

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

I will....... God said "No."

Wait, uh, OK. I will then talk about this.....

"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."

God said,,, "No"

OK? God, The Pastor asked me to give this Message, well, a Micro Message, you know, receiving the Offering. If you do not want me to talk about the fact this is a Command, OR, share that you have even challenged us to see what you will do, then WHAT??

God said, "I do not want you to share that Giving is out of Obedience, nor Expectation, but rather out of Love. I want you to share this..

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house," {Malachi 3:10}

Explain THIS."

Uh, OK. You see folks, THIS is why we are to Tithe. When you bring your Tithes into the Storehouse, you are storing up the meat, or the supply, for the Needs of the Church, Pastor, and People. God did not Create our Monetary System, We did. If we were talking back in the days of Malachi, we would be talking mostly about the Harvest. Fruit, Grains, Animals, ETC. But jump ahead to today, and FPL does not want your Pig. No. Today we deal with Money. Then again, we have been dealing with money for a long time. Remember when Jesus told Peter to go fishing?

"Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee." {Matthew 17:27}

So, even know God does not need our Money, He does need to use it, because THIS is the system we set up. When you tithe, you are bringing into the Storehouse of God for Three very specific reasons...

1 - The needs of the Church. Talking about the actually Building here. The Church needs Electric. You like lights right? It needs AC. You like to be cool right? If not owned outright, It needs to be paid for. The Grass needs to be cut, the Media systems need to be maintained and repaired. Pretty much, just like you own home, the Church Building has needs.

2- The needs of the Pastor, larger Churches, Assistant Pastor, and other Paid Administration Staff. Why? Well, You are the Pastor. If you are a good Pastor, you need to spend time in Prayer. Time in receiving the Message. Research. Formulate. Make all the arrangements with the Media ETC. Meet with the Worship Pastor to explain what the Theme is and then, besides all this, meet with members of the Congregation whenever needed and or requested..Most Pastors work 6 days a week, and most of the time 12 plus hours a day. Now, go out and get a Job. Do all that, while you are also, whatever, Stocking shelves? Moving stuff around a Warehouse? No. YOU, as the Pastor, NEED to be PAID. In larger Churches, others need to dedicate all their time also, therefore, THEY need to be paid as well..

3 The needs of the People. Love. It was never God's intent, to have His children, go to outside sources, when things in life happen. Oh, and things WILL happen. No God has always told us, we should A rely on Him. We need to rely on ourselves. And we need to rely on the Church. In other words. If something happens, and Suzy looses her Job because the Company shut down, and she is TRYING to find a new one, she should be able to go to the Church and get some assistance in Food or Money to pay bills, or whatever. Problem is, it is kinda hard to meet Suzy's needs if the Storehouse empty.

Now, is there abuse in the Church? Of course. Are there Pastors and Church Officials that will take your Tithe and use it for their own gain? Yup. Just like bad Doctors, Police officers, Drug Company CEOs, Whatever, there are bad Pastors and Administrators in the Family of God. Does that change any of the Three reasons we need to Tithe and give Offerings? Nope.

Again, 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, or God puts in on your Heart, to give $120.00, then $100.00 is your Tithe, and $20.00 is your Offering..

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. Again it is to meet the Needs of the Church, Pastor and People. So the next time you give, do not give out of Obligation. Is it? Yup. Do not give out of Expectation. Does God lie? No. Will He Bless you. Of course. But God is not a get Rich quick scheme. No. When you Give, Not out of Obligation, nor Expectations, rather do it, out of Love.

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

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. {2 Corinthians 13}

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