GOD'S SYSTEM OF TITHING

"GOD'S SYSTEM OF TITHING" AUDIO BLOG

 
​Have you ever experienced God's government, His system on earth? He has one, you know, and it is marvelous, simply marvelous.

SEED, PLANT, HARVEST: Prayer. Tithing. Offerings. First fruits. Meditation. Loving others the same as you love yourself. Reaping what you sow. Blessings and curses. And so much more!

"For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made]. . ." Romans 1:20

All of these things are real, and every choice we make has consequences in God's system: good consequences, or bad, depending upon what kind of seeds we plant, or choices we make.

First, let's give all glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving to God, our heavenly Father. Thank you, Father. Amen.
 
GOD IS GREAT  - ALL THE TIME!  Hallelujah!

The Bible, God's Holy Word, is amazing, and He wants us to understand it. "Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not." Jeremiah 33:3

As I have said in previous blogs, I began reading the Bible, beginning to end, around the middle of August this year. I am happy to report, I am up to Acts 18 now. Thank you, Jesus. God has given me many revelations during this time, many written pages of understanding, knowledge and wisdom, which He is gradually pulling together for me into one document. Praise God. Hallelujah!

This blog is part of those revelations: God's System of Tithing.

​Thank you, Heavenly Father. Let your words flow through me, in Jesus' name. Amen.

I used to wonder how God knew who was good and who was bad, kind of like Santa Claus. I mean, there are over 7 billion people in the world. How can He possibly see what everyone is doing all the time?

Well, He can, and He does, because the very hairs of our head are all numbered Luke 7:12, but He does not need to see what every single human being is doing every second of every day, because He put a government in place, a system if you will. The whole system is quite amazing, just like Him Praise God, and it is based primarily on seed, plant, harvest. If you sow seeds of righteousness (love, kindness, charity (giving with a selfless and joyful heart), obedience to God),  your fruit will be good, and your harvest bountiful. If you sow seeds of unrighteousness (discord, strife, evil thoughts, lies, gossip), your fruit will be bad, and your harvest will be lacking.

I personally have my own experiences with God's system on earth. Thank you, Lord. One such instance is with tithing.

First, though, what is tithing, and what does God say about it in His Word?

GOD'S SYSTEM OF TITHING

“Every year you shall certainly tithe [a tenth] of all the yield of your seed which is produced by your field." Deuteronomy 14:22 In modern times, men have grown accustomed to tithing (a tenth) of their income (since our main income is no longer that which is produced in our field), spread out weekly or monthly.

And, Malachi 3, tells of God's System of Tithing, and the blessings or the curses, which can result therefrom.

Malachi 3

You Have Robbed God

8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings [you have withheld]. 

9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, this whole nation! 

10 Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the [c]storehouse, so that there may be [d]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it. 

11 Then I will rebuke the [e]devourer (insects, plague) for your sake and he will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field drop its grapes [before harvest],” says the Lord of hosts. 

12 “All nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight,” says the Lord of hosts.""

Footnotes: biblegateway.com

(c) Malachi 3:10 In ancient times special storehouses were established in the temple to receive the tithes of the harvest. If the people were not faithful, the priests could not continue to serve and perform their duties.

(d) Malachi 3:10 I.e. support for the priests and their families.

(e) Malachi 3:11 In return for their faithfulness God promised protection for the harvest.

The only time in God's Word, where we are told to 'test' Him: Malachi 3:10.

He tells us specifically NOT to test Him, but this one time, regarding tithing, which is so important to care for and feed God's needy and poor children, we are told, "Test me now in this, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it." Hallelujah! Amen!

These are not just words. God's Word is alive!  It is a living and active system! 

"For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

So, last year, when the stimulus checks were given out, I had thought earnestly about tithing. As I was thinking about it earnestly, considering how much I would give, which I guess would have to be considered some form of prayer or meditation on God's Word in His eyes, a significant amount came to me, a number (this number is not exactly 10% of our monthly income, but it was what God wanted from us at that time). I mean, it was clear as day, this number that came to me.

Long story short, Satan pushed it to the back of my mind, and I never tithed that amount, or any other amount. I had a short list of excuses to myself at the time as to why I did not, but in the end, they were just excuses. The truth has something to do with not having the faith of a mustard seed.

Fast forward probably almost exactly one year later, and God is putting tithing on my heart again. Praise God! Amen! Again, I start earnestly thinking about it, considering how much I would give, and bam, the exact same amount, same number, came to me, clear as day. I don't know about you, but these things give me goosebumps. So, this time, having spent the last year in almost daily prayer with Him, and reading His Word daily, I immediately got out my checkbook and wrote a check for that exact amount, not one penny more and not one penny less.

I was now listening to God, and I was going to execute His Will in our lives, precisely as instructed. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen!

Now, we are not rich by any means. We are a one-income family, and this tithe was a bit of a sacrifice, Thank you, Jesus, for your ultimate blood sacrifice, but, in the past, I have seen God's system of tithing reap enormous rewards in my life, never wanting or having a shortage, when it could not have possibly been that way without God's brilliant system.

That, together with the fact that when God tells you to do something (especially if He tells you TWICE), you might want to listen, so I wrote the check, and wrote it joyously, with a happy heart. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

2 Corinthians 9

6 "But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:"


Sow your seeds with a giving and joyful heart, so that God's grace abounds toward you, and you always have all sufficiency in all things. 

Now, you may be asking yourselves, if I knew firsthand the rewards of tithing, that it IS real, then how did I let Satan keep me from activating our blessings of tithing last year, by preventing me from listening to God's Will? Well, I guess my seed was like that which fell on the rock, in The Parable of the Sower: "They [the seeds] on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." Luke 8:13

Also, I just realized the next day, December 8, as if any more proof were needed (for me and hopefully some of you), my garden last year, for the first time since we moved into this house five years ago, was exactly what God said He would prevent in Malachi 3:11: "Then I will rebuke the devourer (insects, plague) for your sake and he will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field drop its grapes [before harvest] . . ." 

Last year, for the first time, because I did not listen to God, my tomatoes fell off the vine while they were green, or the vine just withered with the green tomatoes still on it; same thing with many things we planted. Also, we planted 13 bare root fruit trees last year that ALL got Japanese beetles (the devourer). So, yep, my garden experienced everything Scripture said He would keep away if we tithed, just because I listened to Satan instead of God. You cannot make this stuff up. God is GREAT - ALL the time!

He called, but I did not listen, and I got withered vines and Japanese beetles. 

Isaiah 66:4

"So I will choose their punishments,

And will bring the things they dread upon them

Because I called, but no one answered;

I spoke, but they did not listen or obey . . .”

How about you? Is God talking to you? Are you listening? 

SEED, PLANT, HARVEST!

As I told my grandson recently, always listen to the good voice in your head. The good and bad voices are real. They are a part of the system of free will, through seed, plant, harvest. Sow good seeds and reap a bountiful harvest.

Satan [the bad voice] is always there, trying to tempt us, to give us bad seeds to sow, to keep us from our bountiful harvest, to pull us away from God's Will in our lives, and to take away our earthly and eternal rewards.

So, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8 (the devourer Malachi 3:11 above)

We know God does not tempt us, and we know that He will not allow us to be tempted more than we can withstand. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

He gave us a way to withstand the wiles of the devil, to reap the full rewards of His system. The way we protect ourselves from Satan [the devourer] is with God's armor. We must wear the whole armor of God, not just to "withstand in the evil day," but every day, to protect our bountiful harvest, and other rewards in this life, as well as eternally.
​
Ephesians 6 

The Whole Armor of God

13 "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

I pray that God's Will is done in your life today and every day. Keep God's Word hidden in your heart, so that you always hear Him calling. "Your word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11  Amen.

Do not let sin win. Repent, turn away from it, activate God's system of bounty in your life. Change your hearts and show by the way you live that you have changed! Matthew 3:8

Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus.

Our Prayer Today: 

When His disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, Jesus responded by saying, Pray in this manner (the Lord's Prayer) ​Matthew 6:9-13.

The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6

9 "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."


Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen.