- Bishop Burton
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Is Tithing Relevant in Today’s Culture?
Greetings RC family,
I want you to know that you are continually in our prayers, praying for you and your families’ success.
Family, because I’m currently teaching the TIMELESS sermon series, and we’re talking about putting God first in our finances, I was wondering if you’ve ever asked the following question - Is tithing for us today, or is tithing just one of the many ways leaders finance the ministry?
To answer this question, we must take a look at what God said in His Word. Of course, God’s Word only matters if you actually believe what it says and that it is His Word given to all people, for all ages, and is infallible.
Look at the following verse:
2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 5:18 says, “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
Hebrews 6:18 says, “So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
In a book that I recently read by John Avanzini, he gives some compelling insight into the tithing debate that I think we should consider.
We have all heard the instructions given in the book of Malachi 3:10 a million times, right? It 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...”
Notice that God tells us in Malachi 3:10 how He will supply all the blessings. He says He will give them to us from heaven, through the windows of heaven that our tithe has opened.
Family, consider this, if tithing opens the windows of heaven, would you agree that not tithing will close the windows of heaven?
See, living under an open heaven makes the difference between a life of abundant blessings and a life of shortage and lack. It makes the difference between the joy of having your prayers answered or the heartbreak of unanswered prayer.
If the Bible is accurate, our decision to tithe, or not to tithe, will either release a multitude of benefits, or it will leave us unprotected from the curses that came into the world when Adam and Eve sinned.
When you realize that all of God’s many blessings come to us from heaven, we will insist upon having an open heaven. The Apostle James said, in James 1:17, that, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...”
This verse says that all the good things are gifts from God, and they come down from heaven. Therefore, it becomes imperative to keep the windows of heaven wide open, so you will be able to receive all the blessings God has planned for you.
Glynis’ favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11. It says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord...
Family, I hope you believe me when I say I’m not telling you these things to get something from you, but instead, I’m trying to get something to you.
See, when it comes to your finances, the enemy (Satan) knows that you will immediately become very dangerous to his kingdom if you get sufficient money. It is in the enemy’s best interest to ensure you and I never walk in the abundance of God’s blessings.
The enemy knows that tithing plays a vital part in the fulfillment of God’s plan to prosper you. Therefore, he continually raises doubts in the minds of believers about their financial responsibility in the kingdom of God. He conducts an ongoing campaign to confuse believers about whether or not tithing is really for our day.
How easy it would be to teach believers to tithe if it weren’t for the misguided instruction about tithing that constantly circulates through the church.
Some within the church teach that Christians don’t have to tithe because tithing was part of the Law of Moses, and because of Jesus’ sacrifice, the curse of the law was removed, which also removed tithing.
This belief and teaching cause many to think a New Testament believer can never come under any form of curse. To explain why this is a wrong conclusion, let’s examine a curse that came upon two New Testament saints.
Their names were Ananias and Sapphira. The Bible tells us this couple lost their lives over a wrong decision they made about money matters. They lied to the Holy Ghost about an offering they were making, and they died (Acts 5:3-10).
Now here’s the question: Did God do something terrible to this couple, or did Ananias and Sapphira cause their own deaths?
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK…