YOUR TITHE OFFERING

SATURDAY 05 OCTOBER 2024

Reference: Genesis 14:18-20 King James Version (KJV)

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth...And he gave him tithes of all."

Tithe offering is a Biblical principle, which is to give ten percent to God, and although it was a mandatory offering in accordance with the law of Moses, Abraham practised it before the Mosaic law came into effect, denoting the towering relevance in any generation in time realm. I don't discuss people while sharing the Gospel truth; I discuss the Word in its specified manner, but I once heard a statement about this topic, in relation to making heaven, which as a person of conviction, I did not argue with it.

Let me tell you something about this earthly life:

God forbid, but until an unbearable sickness or a terminal tragedy comes vying for a human life, such a person won't even have the opportunity to see their bank account, let alone argue with a man of God who encouraged the saints to obey God's command. So learn to appreciate God's Word with reverential fear.

Do you really want to know the whole duty of man on earth?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV)

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

Even God Himself considered a non-tithe payer a robber, when he said:

Malachi 3:8-12 (NIV)

"Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me."

"But you ask, 'How are we robbing you?'

"In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe," says the Lord Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty.

Was it a man of God on earth that said it? Absolutely No! Why don't you condemn the versified statement in God's presence during your prayer sessions? Tell Him, "God why did you utter such rubbish with your mouth?"

To me, I consider the saying, "If you do not pay tithe offering, you won't make heaven, a pure revelation knowledge, because robbers cannot suddenly become holy in heaven, if they don't change on earth. You know that wisdom is profitable to direct, meaning that a man of God that said it had a good conscience at the point of utterance. Since I have been studying and cogitating on the Scriptures, I have never seen "Holy robbers" in the Bible, and not one in a building society. The criminal that was saved by the Lord Jesus on the cross was by divine intervention at the last minutes of his earthly life, meaning that his case was an exemption because he could not go back to live a normal life and please God.

You must gain the understanding that a spiritual terminology, like tithe offering, strengthens your inner man to serve God more in spirit and in truth, when practised from the standpoint of genuine obedience and love for God, especially for His empowering provision.

In conclusion, let me share this parable with you:

Luke 12:16-22 (NIV)

"And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

"Then he said, ‘This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'

'But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"'

"This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."

Question: Was it a man of God in this generation that wrote this passage of the Scripture? No! What am I trying to say? If you cannot observe such offering, don't get angry with those observing it. If you stay in your lane, you can rest assured that the GRACE of God abounds! After all, when Jesus counselled a Rich young ruler, He said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. But all those who had left everything remained with the precious, sweet and wonderful Lord Jesus Christ, and we are still being transformed by their relevance in today's world, long after they had gone.

Matthew 19:27 reads, "Then Peter answered and said to Him, 'See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?'" (NKJV). So it means that there were people who had already done what was difficult for the rich young ruler to do, and therefore, it's not by force, it's by revelation. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Matthew 10:37-38; Matthew 19:29; Luke 5:11; Luke 18:29-30.

Guided Prayer:

Thank you heavenly Father for the deep wisdom of tithe offering, which you empower me to translate into practical understanding, in Jesus' Name, Amen!