Greetings,
Last week we began discussing
the threefold cord of prayer, giving and fasting. When we combine these three
essentials of the Christian faith it makes us stronger as believers. As the
Bible says, a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
“And though a man
might prevail against him who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord
is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
It is my humble opinion that only a fool would argue against
the biblical principle of giving. Giving money is essential in order to finance
the advance of the kingdom of God on earth. It is also essential in order to
activate the promises of God’s provision for us. Consider the following
passage.
“Give,
and [gifts] will be given to
you; good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, and running
over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and
used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use
when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.” (Luke
6:38 AMP)
We all want gifts. There is not a person I know that would
not receive a gift of one million dollars if it were offered to them with no
strings attached. When we look at what the Bible says about receiving, we find
that there is a straightforward principle involved. The Bible clearly says:
GIVE. It really couldn’t be any more straightforward. Some Christians think
that they can look to God for provision and ignore His clear way of doing
things. Unfortunately they only deceive themselves. We must give.
The Bible goes on to say that with the measure we give it
will be measured back to us. I like to think about hot chocolate. If I only
have one ounce of hot chocolate mix I can only make about one cup of decent hot
chocolate. If I try to make more hot chocolate, it comes out watered down and
gross. Who likes to drink watered down hot chocolate? Hot chocolate is best
when water is limited to the amount of hot chocolate mix that has been added.
When it is, the hot chocolate comes out rich and delicious.
God wants to give us the best quality. His gifts and
provision are truly rich and delicious. However, what He can give to us is
determined by what we measure out. It is kind of like Him providing the water
for our hot chocolate mix. If I measure out one ounce of hot chocolate mix, I
can receive enough water to make about one cup of excellent hot chocolate. If I
measure out 100 ounces of hot chocolate mix, I can receive enough water to make
a whole bunch of hot chocolate! Not only will I have more than enough to
satisfy all of my desires, but I will have an abundance of hot chocolate to
share with those in need.
God does not want you to have watered down hot chocolate!
Therefore, there is a principle that limits what is measured to us by what we
measure out. If you only give a little of your increase (and by little I mean
relative the amount that you take in) God will only have a little given back to
you. If you give a lot of your increase, God will give a lot back to you, and
you will have more than enough to satisfy all of your desires and an abundance
to share with those in need!
Consider this next verse on giving.
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6)
Giving is like
sowing seed. If I sow one seed, I will be able to harvest one crop. If I plant
many seeds, I will be able to harvest many crops. Even if I plan to only feed
myself, it would be unwise to plant only one seed. The principle is clear. The
more we sow, the more we will be able to reap. The more we measure out, the
more will be measured back to us.
This is why when
Jesus speaks about giving He does not speak to it as a possibility. Who in
their right mind wouldn’t want to receive the rich and delicious blessings of
God? This is what Jesus says.
“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not
sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy
right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth
in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:2-4)
Notice that Jesus
says, “When you do your alms (or giving).” He does not say “if”. As He
goes on He addresses how not to go about giving. He says don’t sound a trumpet
before you. In other words, you are giving to God; you are not giving so that
people get impressed by how often or how much you give. God is not impressed by
our giving when it is done to impress or earn the approval of men. This type of
giving is done in hypocrisy. Therefore Jesus says don’t give this way.
He also makes the
comment that we should not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing.
What does this mean? The idea is that we are not to publish or publicize our
giving and make it an act of pride. Instead we are to give cheerfully as an act
of surrender and devotion to God.
“So let each one
give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a
cheerful giver.” (2
Corinthians 9:7)
When it comes to
just how much we should consistently give, it becomes a point of dissention
between some Christians. Tithing, which is defined as the giving of 10% of our
increase, is something that some Christians will argue against until they are
blue in the face. The argument is usually that they “can’t find” tithing taught
in the New Testament—that it was only part of the Law of Moses. Since Jesus
fulfilled the law for us we should not be required to give 10%. The fact of the
matter is that the first recorded tithe was performed by Abraham, who gave a
tenth of his increase to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20). This act predated the
law, meaning tithing is not limited to the law.
Furthermore, most
of the people that argue against tithing have financial problems. Sure some may
be relatively well off. However, these individuals often lose a lot of money to
frivolous things like unexpected expenses, missed opportunities, and other
unfortunate circumstances. In short, they are not receiving God’s best for
their lives. Conversely, most of the people that tithe faithfully always have
everything they need, and in time wind up with abundance if they remain
faithful.
As a quick
testimony, when I moved from Tulsa to Chicago I did so by faith. I moved
without a job opportunity into a terrible job market with orders from God to
not look for a job. God simply told me He’d give my wife a job and that it
would supply for our needs while I entered a season of prayer, study, fasting,
and writing. We quit our jobs in Tulsa by faith and moved to Chicago. When we
arrived on November 1, we purchased nearly $5,000 worth of new furniture. Then
we took a vacation to Cleveland for Thanksgiving. We also purchased over $1000
of Christmas presents that year and Gloria didn’t even receive her first
paycheck until the very end of December. This is not to mention our other
mandatory expenses such as our car payment, car insurance, and so forth.
After a two month
period of with no pay checks coming in I began the process of publishing my
first book Noah’s Ark and the End of Days. This
project cost me nearly $10,000. I printed the book without acquiring any debt.
Prior to moving to Chicago, our combined
salaries totaled $23/hour. The question is how was this possible? The answer: tithing. I gave no matter what, and
I refused to quit. Thus, God made the impossible possible and I walked in His
financial blessings. Had I not tithed, the numbers would have spoken for
themselves.
In closing I
challenge you to put the Lord to the test—prove Him. If you are not giving, or
if you have been giving but not tithing, I challenge you to start by faith. According
to the following verse, this is exactly what God challenges His people to do.
Furthermore, we need to realize that when we rob God of our tithes and
offerings, we really do leave our finances unprotected against the attack of
the enemy. This means that giving is an important aspect of spiritual warfare.
“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” (Malachi 3:8-10)
