Tithes & Offerings - Each
week, having heard God speak to us through the Word, we then give thanks to the
Lord through the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Tithing (giving 1/10 of our income) and giving
offerings is grounded in Scripture as God’s plan for providing for the needs
and ministries of the Church.
Malachi 3:8-10 is one of the most powerful passages to
talk about tithing, because it makes clear that when we do not tithe and give
offerings, we are actually stealing from God!
We are warned that when Israel robbed God, they were under a curse. -
Because the tithes and offerings belong to God, we bring them forward
and place them on the altar/table as an act of worship.
On the other hand, God says, “Bring the full tithe
into the storehouse (i.e., the local church), . . . and thus put me to the test
. . . See if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for
you an overflowing blessing.” - God actually challenges us to put Him to the
test in this regard!
Jesus, too, in Matthew 23:23, affirms that we ought to
be a tithing people. However, with the
coming of the Holy Spirit, tithing
becomes for us more of a bare minimum, for the Holy Spirit so fills us that we
give generously, knowing that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). - That
cheerful giving is symbolized as we stand and sing forth our praise to God from
whom all blessings flow!
One can observe:
Those who refuse to tithe never seem to have enough. Those who tithe always have enough. It is not so much a question of money, but a
question of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. - So
too, I believe that a Church where members faithfully tithe will always have
enough, but where members fail to tithe, it will likely always struggle. - Let
us be cheerful givers of our tithes and offerings!
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