How to get your people to loosen their purse strings?....guilt and greed! Yep, Malachi 3:8-10., the preacher's favorite scriptures to motivate the people to give to their church.
Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Malachi 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
GUILT MOTIVATION....You have robbed God of tithes and offerings therefore, God has cursed your finances. You heard me, you are cursed with a curse. God will get what belongs to him. Don't be surprised when the car gets a flat tire, or the lawn mower won't crank, maybe the kids will get sick and you have to pay for the doctor and medicine, your money just won't go as far as it did. It's better to live on the blessed 90 percent than that of the cursed 100 percent....so let's take care of business this morning and get that tithe check in the offering plate right after we sing one more chorus of Amazing Grace.
Malachi 3:10 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.
GREED MOTIVATION.......God is gonna bless you beyond your wildest dreams. Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over....Your boss will give you a raise, your tax refund will show up in the mailbox, you will get increased gas mileage, prove God and see if He doesn't open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that there shall not be room enough to receive ....bless God Hallelujah!!!
Sound familiar? I have heard it almost exactly like I presented it, but it can be presented in a more subtle manner such as a "tithing challenge" wherein you test God's faithfulness. Giving to get from God, that is greed motivation plain and simple. I've actually heard of this challenge presented with a money back guarantee. What a hoot!..Who is actually going to go back and ask for a refund? Who is going to blame God for not holding to His word and pouring out those uncontainable blessing? In doing so, wouldn't it actually revert back to the "guilt" factor wherein you must be cursed with a curse? The catch 22.....Slick marketing techniques of a very old scam in which the Preacher has control of the people's purse strings in order to keep the revenue flowing.
Giving is a right thing...Tithing is dead wrong and the scriptures declare it Let's see what real tithing looks like in the scriptures and who was suppose to do it and how we in this present dispensation of the Grace of God are to give and the motivation behind it.
Biblical tithing was given to one group of people in the Bible, that is Israel according to their law program.
Hebrews 7:5 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:
Uh oh, you teachers of the tithe have a problem right from the start. we aren't under the law, but under grace, also, notice the word is "tithes", plural, more than one....Israel had more than one ten percent tithe according to their law program, in fact, there are several with different functions. Which tithe are you telling YOUR people to obey? I know for a fact it is not the tithe of Deuteronomy 14:22-26.
Deuteronomy 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Deuteronomy 14:23 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.
Deuteronomy 14:24 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:
Deuteronomy 14:25 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:
How we doing so far? take the tithe (tenth) of the increase of the seed, flocks, herds, wine, oil, whatever you increased during the year, take it to the place where God places His name. If it is too far too carry, exchange it for money and take that to the place where God has placed His name.....the next verse is what no Preacher will ever tell you........
Deuteronomy 14:26 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,
Did you see that? A tithe that you can keep and do with what ever you desire. Is this the tithe your Pastor who "prays for Jesus to show up on Sunday morning in an undeniable way" wants you to follow? This might be a good passage to show your Pastor who has you involved in a "3 month tithing challenge" at the end of which you can proclaim it was your money to start with and you now want it back. Let's look at some others.
The Levites had no inheritance in the land, therefore, the tribes of Israel paid the Levites a tenth (tithe) for their service in the tabernacle.
Numbers 18:21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Okay. let's start keeping track....10% in Deuteronomy 14:22-26, another 10% in Numbers 18:21, we are up to 20 percent so far. Are you a "tither"? Don't write that check yet, there is more.... let's continue!
Back to Deuteronomy 14 we see yet another "tithe" (tenth) in verses 27-29. Here we see a welfare type of ordinance for the strangers, fatherless and widows. This one is in 3 year increments breaking down to 3.3% per year. Okay, let's keep the tab running so now we are up to 23.3% not just 10% .
Deuteronomy 14:27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
Deuteronomy 14:28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
Deuteronomy 14:29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
Surely, there can't be anymore than that. Don't forget the one we started with in Malachi 3:8-10. This one is specifically for the storehouse, the tax as you will for the operation of the Temple.
Malachi 3:10 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.
Okay, have you been keeping up with the math...10+10+3.3+10= 33.3% Are you getting the idea? Tithing is more than merely 10 percent, it is much more and has different functions. There are yet more "tithes" Israel was bound to according to the law but I think the point has been made. If you were to add all the ordinances concerning "tithing" that were given to Israel under the law program, it would top 50% of their income. Now write the check for HALF of your income and you will be a good tither. Would you be correct if you did?..absolutely not!!!
In this present dispensation of the Grace of God, we are NOT under the law in any regards, we are under Grace! We have a different set of directions in regards to giving to the ministry. It is not according to doing the math in your head, it is according to the purpose of your heart.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Not grudgingly,(nobody is forcing you) or of necessity (the law made tithing a necessity). It comes down to your motivation being from the heart.
2 Corinthians 8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
Liberality. we are at liberty to give according as we purpose in our heart. Basically, God reads our meter by our giving. What is your heart focused on? When you give, is it what you have purposed in your heart to give?...or is it what you calculated in your head? Have you let your family go without in order to pay that "tithe" every week? Paul tells us if we have done so we are worse than an infidel and have denied the faith.
1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
On the other hand, has a ministry benefited your spiritual well being, maybe even responsible for presenting the Gospel to you by which you are saved and you are not giving at all or you are limiting your giving to 10% when you could easily give more? Put down the calculator and decide what you want to give according as you purpose in your heart!! Give what you are happy to give, God loves a cheerful giver!!! If your church or ministry is teaching tithing, Sabbath keeping, or water baptism, would this be where you should be giving? I don't think so. If they are teaching these things, they are to whom our apostle Paul tells us about in 1st Timothy.
1 Timothy 1:5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
1 Timothy 1:6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
1 Timothy 1:7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
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