My Childhood Question
When
I was growing up in my home village, as a young Catholic boy, there was
something I sought answer for and never found until I grew up. Well, in the
part of my country where I grew up, you never had anyone to answer questions
bothering your faith – the priest didn’t stay in the village and would come
there for Mass once a while where you would not even get time to talk to him
because he had to move elsewhere to celebrate Mass with other local churches.
It is also possible that we didn’t even believe much in our local church
leaders –most people then didn’t believe in the knowledge they had about God
and the Bible. Some of them even
lived a kind of life that may even tempt you to doubt their salvation; how much
more trusting them for solutions to spiritual things! So I got no one to answer
my question till I grew and had revelation from God.
My
issue was that in the Catholic Church, there is something we call Annual Harvest where the whole
congregation will come together on a day – mostly on one Sunday in a year and
give a free offering in aid of a project or keep it for the running of the
church. What I saw was the fact that there were few people in my village who
were always called upon to sit on the high table during the day of the harvest; it was expected that if you
were called upon to be the chair or a supporter during the harvest, you should
give handsomely to the church. Because of this expectation from the church
members and church leaders, some people would decline when they were invited by
the church leaders to take up those positions during the harvest day – because
they claimed they didn’t have enough money to be on the high table.
So
such positions were always given to the wealthy few. And each other year since
I became conscious of this, it was always the same faces who were called upon
to lead the harvest. Well, each of those years they never failed the
congregation too. So my question was ‘why do the same people chair and sit on
the high table each and every other year during our annual harvest? Does their
money not get finished? Why did they give this year and still get more to give
the following year while the ‘poor’ was becoming poorer? I really needed answer
to this simple question and I thank God that finally I have the answer.
Giving is the undefeated weapon which the Lord has given to His people of all races and in all dispensations to overcome life’s battles; more especially the financial battle of life. There is therefore no giver who lacks. This principle of giving is a principle to commanding your financial world and it seems to extend to even non believers – after all they are all created by God. Throughout Scripture, those persons who freely gave were financially and materially blessed. While some of them gave to God as a form of sacrifice, others were also generous to the poor and needy of their days. I believe there is something in giving that will never make the giver poor!
You
see, when I was a child, I loved to ask a lot of questions. Whenever I had the
opportunity, I asked relatives or other people; if I didn’t have the
opportunity too, I kept the questions to myself and hoped for the answers later
in life. Thank God for His Holy Spirit who dwells in us and teaches us all
things. The Holy Spirit made me to understand that until those who think there
are poor in the church and therefore withhold their hands during annual harvest
– and other offertories renew their minds, we shall continue to see the usual
faces who are always giving. The Lord told me offertory is a seed, so as they
give, in a year’s time, they will be reaping what they sowed and that’s why
they never seem to lack. But the ones who think they are poor and never give
eat their seed and reap nothing during harvest, hence their unending poverty.
Proverbs 11:24
24 One man gives freely, yet
grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers
want
There
are people who are poor, though saved, because they don’t like giving. They are
stingy and very careful when it comes to giving. But if you are careful to sow,
you would less if not nothing to reap. Solomon is saying there are people who
give freely, yet become richer; and there are others who withhold their hands
to give, and later become poor. Giving is mystery; when you give, you will
receive!
Philippians
4:17 (KJV)
17
Not
because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account
As
part of his letter to the church in Philippi, Apostle Paul wrote a gratitude
message to the church there for their material support when he was on his
missionary journey especially when he was in Thessalonica. And he adds that he
is not thanking the church because he desires more gifts; but he desires that more
fruits will be credited to their accounts. What the Apostle is saying is that
anytime a believer gives – note the letter was written to believers – it’s is
like a seed sown, which grows and bears fruits. These fruits are then credited
to the accounts of the giver. So you see poverty is a mentality so as riches.
You can change your financial fortunes by giving. Giving – to the work of God
and to the needy – is a weapon God has given to the church to fight the battle
of poverty.
God is Touched by Giving
Many
people pray for the touch of God which is not bad; of course the touch of God
brings transformation. The moment the Lord touches you, your breakthrough
begins. All those the Lord Jesus touched as we are told in the gospel passages
experienced a total turnover from their predicaments. So it is not bad to seek
the touch of God. But if the Lord is ‘keeping long’ in touching you, you can
also touch Him, and one of the ways of touching God is through giving. And whether you touch God or He
touches you, the result is the same - thus transforming your life positively!
Mark
12:41-44 (NIV)
41 Jesus sat down opposite
the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their
money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.
42 But a POOR WIDOW came and
put in TWO VERY SMALL COPPER COINS, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling His disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I
tell you, THIS WIDOW HAS PUT IN MORE INTO THE TREASURY than all the others.
44 They all gave out of
their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, PUT IN EVERTHING – all she had to
live on
Jesus
was touched by the act of the widow. You see, Jesus observes all things.
Whatever you are doing publicly and secretly, He is watching. He sees all
things and nothing is hidden from His face. Jesus sees and knows what is in the
heart of men (John 2:24-25). He observed as people came to give their offering
in the temple; He is still observing us as we give at church. He has not
changed His ‘posture at the church’; He is still ‘sitting down’ opposite the
place where the offerings are put and He is watching.
The
widow touched Jesus through giving and I believe Jesus who is compassionate
also blessed her; though the Bible doesn’t record that. God is looking for
people who through giving can touch Him so that He will bless them. Note that
the widow didn’t give more than the others gave in terms of the amounts. But in
the sight of God, it was worth more than what the rich people gave not only because
she gave her all but also because it was dearest to her. She didn’t give
surplus but gave her life and her all. When God loved the world, He gave His Only Begotten Son. God had a lot of
angels He could have sent to save mankind but He chose to give to us His One and Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, out
of love. Our giving therefore must follow the example of God; we must give what
will cause us. We must not give the excess; we can’t touch God with the
excesses. We must feel it after we have given and more blessing will come our
way.
Another person who
touched God through giving is Solomon. Solomon became king of Israel after the
death of his father, David. Though as a young man (1 Kings 3:7) who was made a
king, he did something wonderful one night which brought God Himself to his
abode. One day he gathered all Israel to Gibeon, where the tabernacle of the
Lord which Moses made in the wilderness and the bronze alter was; there he
offered a thousand sacrifices. I
believe it was a great sacrifice and his sacrifice brought the supernatural to
his attendance that same night;
2 Chronicles 1:6-7
6 And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before
the LORD, which was at the tent of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt
offerings upon it.
7 In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to
him, "Ask what I shall give you"
Through his
offering, Solomon got God to visit him and if God visited you, you can be sure
of at least one great favour He will do you. It was at this visitation that God
told Solomon to ask for anything and because he was a child, he prayed for
wisdom to rule his people and he was granted (2 Chronicles chapter 1). God was
touched by the great offering of young Solomon and that same night, He visited him. Out of this visitation also was the
secret behind Solomon’s great riches. Giving and offerings bring riches!
Tithing in the Old
Testament
A lot of
controversy has been raised on tithing in recent times. While some people in
Christendom believe tithing relates to the Old Testament or Covenant, others
believe the requirement to tithe is still applicable even in this New Covenant.
Let’s explore the Bible to see what is there for us.
Tithe means a
tenth. It is the dedication of one tenth of a person’s income or his produce of
the earth to God. Before the coming of the law, Abram who became Abraham paid
tithe to Melchizedek, priest of God Most High from the spoils he had taken from
the confederate kings (Genesis 14:20). As to who asked him to do that; we don’t
know. Maybe he was inspired to do that and besides his tithe was not rejected
by God. But one remarkable thing happened after he had given a tenth of
everything. He had an encounter with God in a vision just after he gave his
tithe and it was in this vision that God made a lasting Promise to him. God
told him ‘I am your very great reward’
(Genesis 15:1). No wonder Abraham became so great and so rich in many things.
You know Prosperity comes from generosity
(Proverbs 11:25). He is now the
father of all nations and the beginning of this great honour was when he had
given a tithe. Another person who also vowed to give a tithe was Jacob. When
Jacob was on his way to Haran, he made a vow at bethel to give a tenth of all
that the Lord will give him
Genesis 28:22
22 And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar,
shall be God's house; and of all that thou givest me I will give the TENTH to
thee.
I believe that if
we would agree us Christians with Jacob of the fact that we came to this world
with nothing and that everything we have at our disposal is a free gift from
God, then it wouldn’t be a worry for us to give back to support the work of
God. Jacob said “I will give you a tenth
of all that YOU SHALL GIVE ME”. Note that Jacob was not instructed by any
law to do that but he reckoned that he had nothing by himself except what the
Lord gave him.
I think this mind
of Jacob should be in every Christian and the fight over tithes will come to a
perpetual rest. We also know that because of his vow, Jacob’s journey was
fruitful; he left home empty but returned with 12 sons and a daughter together
with a lot of belongings. Tithing brings material breakthrough! David likewise
when dedicating the gifts for building the temple said “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as
generously as this? Everything comes from you, and WE HAVE GIVEN YOU ONLY WHAT
COMES FROM YOUR HAND” (1 Chronicles 29:14). If we are able to recognize this, we wouldn’t hesitate to give.
When the law was
given through Moses, the Israelites were obliged to tithe. They were commanded
to give a tenth of everything from the land and if someone failed to do this,
he was to redeem it at a penalty of one fifth of the value of that thing.
Leviticus 27:30-32
30 All the TITHE of the land, whether of the seed of the
land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; IT IS HOLY TO THE LORD
31 If a man wishes to redeem
any of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it.
32 And ALL THE TITHE of herds and flocks, every tenth
animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, SHALL BE HOLY TO THE LORD.
Subsequently,
directives were given on the managements of the tithes (Numbers 18:21-24,
26-28). Tithe payment was a significant part of the Jewish worship and during
the reformation of the king Hezekiah, one of his achievements was the eagerness
with which his people brought their tithes (2 Chronicles 31:4-6). Some of the
prophets also rebuked the people who didn’t pay their tithes (Amos 4:4; Malachi
3:8-10). Tithe payment was observed before the law and it was also included in
the law which was given through Moses.
Tithing in the New Testament
In the New
Testament, it is not told anywhere that one must pay a tenth of their income.
Besides, the Law of Moses was given specifically to the Israelites under the
Old Covenant. Nonetheless, tithing existed before the coming of the Law. Also,
the principle of tithing is not overemphasised in the New Covenant. Tithing is
a spiritual principle for financial blessings. God expects His children to give
so that firstly, He can bless them through that;
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
6 The point is this: he who SOWS SPARINGLY will also REAP
SPRINGLY, and he who SOWS BOUNTIFULLY will also REAP BOUNTIFULLY.
7 Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER
Secondly as the
Levites who were necessarily the priests were fed from the tithes, the Lord
expects believers to provide for the needs of preachers of the gospel; the
principle has not changed!
1 Corinthians 9:13-14
13 Do you not know that THOSE WHO ARE EMPLYED IN THE
TEMPLE SERVICE GET THEIR FOOD FROM THE TEMPLE, and those who serve at the altar
share in the sacrificial offerings?
14 IN THE SAME WAY, the LORD COMMANDED that THOSE WHO
PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL SHOULD GET THEIR LIVING BY THE GOSPEL.
God has ordained
that those who minister the gospel are fed by the church. Please note that it
is a command from the Lord Himself! Therefore
tithing is not compulsory in the New Testament though; each believer is
expected to give something to support the work of God. And I think if we really
appreciate that all that we have are from God, then giving at least one tenth
back to Him should not be a problem. There is something so interesting I find
in the New Testament about tithing that I want us to see
Hebrews 7:1-8 (KJV)
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the
most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and
blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a TENTH PART OF ALL; first
being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of
Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son
of God; abideth a priest continually
4 Now CONSIDER how great this man was, unto whom even
the patriarch Abraham gave THE TENTH of the spoils.
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who
receive the office of the priesthood, have a COMMANDMENT TO TAKE TITHES of the
people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out
of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received
TITHES of Abraham, and BLESSED him that had the promises
7 And without all
contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he
receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth
Melchizedek was a
type of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only King of Peace and King of all
righteousness. He is the only High Priest who has no beginning and no end. So
this priest Melchizedek must be a type of Jesus Christ. The verse number four
says we should consider how great
this man was and even whom the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the
spoils. Before Abraham gave him the tithe, Melchizedek brought him bread and
wine (Genesis 14:18). Come to think of it, Jesus Christ who is a High Priest
after the order of Melchizedek gives His flesh as bread and His blood as wine
to us; doesn’t He deserve our tithes and more? (Matthew 26:26-28).
Jesus Christ who
is the greatest deserve even more than a tenth of what we freely receive from
God. Abraham gave a tithe and he became blessed. Consider him who gave his tithe and be encouraged also to give and
you shall also be blessed. We are descendants of Abraham. If he gave his tithe
to the high Priest Melchizedek after he brought him bread and wine, then we
also ought to pay our tithes to Jesus, the High Priest after the order of
Melchizedek who gives us His own body and blood as bread and wine respectively
to us. Tithe must be paid to Christ Jesus through His church.
Giving Opens Doors
Tithing
and giving opens great financial doors unto you
Proverbs 18:16
16 A man's gift makes room
for him and brings him before great men.
It brings you to
your supernatural abundance where lack and want have no feet. Make your mind to
tithe and give, and you will never lack. Through your offering and kind giving,
God can satisfy your heart desire. There was a certain man in Caesarea by name
Cornelius. He was a giver; he gave alms to many people. Though a gentile,
Cornelius learnt how to give alms to people and this got God attracted to Him.
God visited him in a vision and told him “Your
prayer and ALMS GIVING have moved me so send for Peter and through him your
heart burden will be solved”. Your giving can attract God
Acts 10:1-4
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a
centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort,
2 A devout man who feared God with all his household, GAVE
ALMS LIBERALLY to the people, and prayed constantly to God.
3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision
an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius..
4 And he stared at him in terror, and said, "What
is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your PRAYERS and your ALMS have
ascended as a MEMORIAL before God.
Cornelius’ prayers
and alms ascended as a memorial
before the Lord. If you will be a giver and tither,
it shall be a memorial before the Lord. In times when you are in distress,
you shall be remembered for your alms. The Lord will send His servants to your
rescue in times of danger if you will love to give. Cornelius inner man yearned
for salvation; which he eventually received. You see, faith cometh by hearing (Romans 10:17) and Cornelius needed to hear
first before he could believe and be saved. This also teaches us that no amount
of your personal devotion can buy you salvation; you need to first of all
believe in the Lord Jesus. Cornelius was a devout man, and prayerful man, but
he wasn’t saved. You can’t be saved without having Jesus. “He who has the Son of God has life and he who has not the Son of God
has not life” (1 John 5:12). But thanks be to God who through Peter sent
the Good News to Cornelius and his household.
The Lord did this because of his prayers and his much alms!
I believe
Cornelius was the first gentile who together with his family heard the Word of
grace and was saved. This Cornelius knew how to get his prayers answered; he
knew how to get God satisfy his inner burden. His secret was alms
giving! When Peter came to him to share the Gospel to him together with
his household, he said God has remembered
your alms
Acts 10:31
31 Saying, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and
your ALMS have been remembered before God
Do you want to be
remembered in the sight of God? Be a tither!
Be a giver! May the Lord remember you
and be quick to help you in times of need because of your offerings and tithes.
As you give to the God as an offering or tithe and give to the needy, the Lord
will also remember you. This is a principle and seems to work for even
unbelievers. Cornelius had not believed yet, but he was remembered for his alms
giving.
Giving Commands Abundance
Jesus said “Give, and it will be given to you; good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your
lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Luke
6:38). Jesus said “GIVE”! If you want to receive abundance, then you have to
give first. God takes what you give and multiplies it for you. Giving is a weapon God has given to His children and
He wants you to use it so that he can bless you financially.
In 1 Kings Chapter
17, when God sent Elijah to the widow of Zarephate, God knew the widow had ‘only a handful of flour in a jar and a
little olive oil in a jug’ (verse 12 NIV), but He still sent the Prophet to
her. You may think that you don’t have enough money, but the Lord still wants
you to give your little so that He can use it to bless you. When Elijah came to
the woman too, he understood her perfectly of her state but he still asked her
to “…first make me a little cake of it
and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son. (Verse
13). And he added the promise in verse 14; “For
this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ’The jar of flour will not be
used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain
on the land’”. And it happened as Elijah said (Verse 16). I believe if the
woman had withheld her hands, her blessings wouldn’t have come and she and her
son would have died after their last meal. But thank God she was a giver and
out of her giving came her abundant blessings. On top of this, the woman had
the man of God to raise her son up when the son died (Verses 17-24). There is
more blessings in giving (Acts 20:35).
God has ordained
that through giving, He would bless His people since the time of Noah. He told
Noah after the flood “While the earth
remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22). You cannot reap if you have not sowed.
And always remember as long as this earth remains, Seedtime and Harvest shall not cease as day and night won’t cease.
If you want to join the harvesters to reap during harvest, then you have to sow
always! Solomon advices and says never cease sowing;
Ecclesiastes 11:6
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold
not your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether
both alike will be good.
Give always! Never
withhold your hands during an offertory. Offering is a seed which when sown
will germinate and bear fruit. When I was a child in my hometown, I remember
some people who did not have money took seeds on credit and planted during the
raining seasons. They would settle their indebtedness during harvest time after
they have cultivated their crops. You can also borrow to sow a seed in an
offertory and it shall be a blessing unto you.
Give To Evangelism
God is also
touched when we give to evangelism. This is in two folds; either you give your
very life to preach and evangelize to others or you give your resources to support
the work of evangelism. The Lord had blessed me in these ways. And I have seen
many great doors opened to me after I have returned from a mission field.
Apostle Paul was thankful to the church in Philippi for their support during
his missionary journey and he made a heartfelt prayer for them. He said “And my God will supply every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
If only you will
give to win souls for the Lord, God will also supply all your needs. Over the
years, I have met people who have soul winning at heart and they have
consistently given to support missions and missionary activities. Some even
call themselves ‘Friends of Missions” all
because they have the heart to give to support missions. And I can testify to
the glory of God that these people have had one great opportunity come their
way after the other.
Be a cheerful
Giver always! Be a Sower! Be a ‘Tither’!
