“Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 (HCSB)
Ok, I know I have written a bit about giving and tithing, but in this hour, it is vital that we are generous with everything God has given us. Many really don’t like it when money is talked about. Usually though it is because money has a hold on them. The reality is, God promises much to those who give. He says that He will pour out upon us based on the measure that we give.
In the very last book in the Old Testament He says much about tithing, about our responsibility to give ten percent and His response to our obedience. This is not just an Old Testament law that Jesus fulfilled thus making it unnecessary today. No, it is absolutely in operation! Jesus may have fulfilled the law, but He did not abandon it. This is not an out of date law. It is for today! God did not withhold His Son from us, now we must withhold nothing from Him. And the tithe is a way of demonstrating our faith. But the crazy thing is, God promises to bless us tremendously when we do tithe. And the reality is, to not tithe is disobedience!
God says test Me in this (Malachi 3:10)! I know of nowhere else that God allows us, even invites us to test Him! Check out the amazing things He promises to the tithing person, family and nation!
1 – He promises to throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour our so much blessing that we will not have room to store it, and that is because He wants us to give it away and/or invest it in His Kingdom work!
2 – He promises to rebuke the devourer so that our crops would bear bountiful harvest and our vines won’t cast their grapes before their harvest time. He promises our fields, our lives, will produce bountifully.
3 – He promises that nations will call us blessed for we will be a delightful land! The blessing of God will be so great that others will acknowledge it!
Though tithing is an individual requirement, when a nation tithes God blesses that nation! As tithers, Shellie and I remind God of His promises. We call on Him to restore every place the enemy has come to destroy, kill and steal from us (John 10:10) and thus release the abundant life He promises. In prayer we can ask God to send an invoice to the thief to repay what has been stolen from us, even seven-fold (Proverbs 6:31). This includes investments we have been frauded in, inheritances that never got to us, and even relationships that the enemy has interfered with. We believe we can ask this because we are tithers, and He promises to bless tithers tremendously!
Commit all that you have to God and commit to Him a tithe. Even if you need to work towards that, make plans to get there as soon as possible. Thank the Lord for His promise to bless you as a tither. Ask Him to restore what the enemy has stolen from you. Ask Him how you can be even more generous with the wealth that He is about to release upon you as a tither. Thank Him for rebuking the devourer for your sake! Thank Him for repairing your pockets so that whatever you put in them is no longer lost (Haggai 1:5-6). Thank Him for allowing you to invest in His kingdom!
