Do you want to get rich or do you want to serve God? This is the choice that every one of use has to make? If you serve God, you can be rich. However, if your focus is on being rich, you are not serving God. Whatever the eyes of your heart are focused on will determine what fills your being. If your eyes are focused on serving God, God’s light will fill your being. It won’t matter how much wealth you gain. It will not distract you from fulfilling God’s purposes on this earth through your life. However, if your eyes are focused on being rich, great darkness will flood your soul for you are focusing on selfishness and living for the lusts of your flesh instead of living for God.
It is impossible for this darkness to turn into light. It is God who gives light and unless your focus is on him, you will be unclean before him and not worthy of the kingdom of God. Don’t make it your goal to be rich. Make it your goal to serve God with your money! If you are serving God with your money, you are doing a great service to the world. However, if your money is serving you, whether you are rich or poor, you are not a servant of God. Is it difficult to be a servant of God? It certainly can be. However, what is the alternative? It is an eternity in torment filled with regret every day of your life. There is no alternative to serving God. Is it unreasonable for him to want you to be concerned about others? What about if it was you who was in need and you could see no way out of it? Dear people, you are very important. You have a great role to play in this world. Break out of your little world into the big world. Learn to love with all that you have, which includes your material possessions.
Financial blessing poured out
God has promised to open the heavens to you and pour out so much financial blessing that you won’t have room enough to contain it. You don’t tithe because you want money, but you don’t realise that God has the ability to give you wealth. When God spoke through Malachi, he said, "I, the Lord, do not change" (Malachi 3:6). Tithing has been an integral part of what faith in God entails from long before Moses came with the law. Abraham’s faith in God included tithing. Even from the very beginning, Cain and Abel knew that they were obligated to give of their substance to God. This has not changed. He also said through Malachi,
God is not against you walking in financial prosperity. Who do you think is going to give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty and clothing to those without it? Who do you think is going to give spiritual food to those dying an eternal death and spiritual drink to those dying an eternal death? It is you. You are his chosen vessel and instrument to release wealth on this earth to those who need it. Go forth in the power and blessing of God. No longer think in such a small way. Have faith and rise up in God’s mighty plan for your life! Open your tight fist with the one dollar that you have so that God can replace it with a hundred dollars. You are the Israel of God. You are the mighty and blessed nation out of all the nations of the earth. Rise up in the peace and prosperity that God has for your life.
Paying God’s taxes
I can’t see how Jesus could have made it any simpler or clearer than he did. He said, "You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24). The people who love money store it up here on earth, and the people who serve God store up their money in heaven. Where is your money? Is it in heaven or on earth? It is the answer to this question that the Bible uses to determine whether you love money or not.
If you are giving money to God, you are storing up money in heaven. However, if you are spending on earth what belongs to God, you are hoarding your money here on earth. Certainly, it may go out of your bank account as quickly as it comes in, but you are still hoarding it here on earth. You must give to God what is God’s in the same way that you must give to governments what belongs to governments. If you do not pay taxes that you owe, governments will punish you when they find out about it. If you do not give to God what you owe him, you will come under his wrath for you are a lover of money and not God. Do you need God to send his police to your house before you will pay him what you owe him? God doesn’t work like that. He has given you a choice; life or death, blessings or curses. If you did not perceive the real threat from governments over paying taxes, you probably wouldn’t pay taxes. If you don’t perceive the real threat from God about giving to others, you might not give to others in his name as he requires.
Acceptable tithing
Ninety percent of what you receive is for you to manage before God. It is out of that ninety percent that you are to fulfil your obligations to others including your children and parents. The remaining ten percent is only acceptable to God if it is given to Jesus and his work. Taking care of your parents is your work. Taking care of your children is your work. Giving twenty dollars to your friend Johny is your obligation as a friend. Giving money to a beggar is something appropriate that you choose to do in a situation. These are not examples of tithing, but they are examples of God required giving. The tithe is collected by Jesus on behalf of his workers and his poor children. It is only for his children who are poor or for his children who are his workers. In the law, it says,
It must be given to Jesus as anybody else is unacceptable. There is teaching in the New Testament about not giving the tithe to people who die but to him who lives forever (Hebrews 7:8). That is Jesus. Of course, you cannot catch a train to heaven to take your tithe to the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Father. You are going to have to give in faith to him through a human vessel. This choice of how you give is to be determined by your faith. Your faith is to decide who you will give what portion to.
Led by the Spirit
Of course, there are Scriptural boundaries that you must remain within when you make your decisions. The Holy Spirit will never lead you to violate his will as he has expressed in his Word. If you feel your faith is leading you to disobey the Bible, it is not your faith but something else. I am not saying that you will necessarily understand every decision that you believe you are led by the Holy Spirit to make. You do not necessarily have to understand it, but you do need to ensure that it is not in violation of the teachings of the Bible. God will allow demonic spirits to lead you into error if you cast his Word behind your back (Ezekiel 14:4). He did not say that you are to be led by the Spirit without testing that it actually is the Spirit. One of the nine spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit provides for the church is the discerning of whether a spirit is from God or from the devil (1 Corinthians 12:10). Even Peter was led by the spirit of Satan when he said to Jesus that he must not choose to go the way of the cross (Matthew 16:23). You are not exempt from demonic leadings, which is why you must evaluate everything that you get in light of the Bible. You might think that you are better off keeping away from all supernatural leading if this is the case, but you will rob yourself of great blessing if you think that way. Peter, himself, derived his great place in history through accepting the leading of the Father into the truth about Jesus (Matthew 16:17). You are to be led by the Holy Spirit in your decisions of who to give to and how much to give. You are to come to the Lord first in your giving. Then, give in accordance with his will.
However, where you give your tithe must be acceptable. If you give your tithe to an unacceptable source, you have simply wasted your money. Don’t throw your brain out the window when you decide to give, and don’t automatically tithe like a robot! Make a difference for the kingdom of God with your money, and remove the curse that is upon your very soul as a result of not giving to God what is God’s.
Preach the truth
It says in Proverbs,
This is a very good lesson for many of the pastors that we have within our beloved church. People don’t tithe because they think it is inappropriate to pay ten percent of their income for simply attending a church service. Come on. Be honest. They have a very good point. Use fair scales and balances with the people. The answer to financial problems within the body of Christ is getting more money to the right places. Firstly, this comes through people giving more money because you teach them the truth that not tithing is because they love money. Secondly, this comes through people giving the money to the places that need it most because you teach them to prioritise their giving instead of only focusing on your own needs. If the body of Christ comes to maturity in the area of giving, it will unleash a mighty force upon this earth. Pastors, grab the vision here and run with it. It is God’s will for all his servants to have enough money to go out and do what they’re called to do. If you will trust God’s Word in this area of giving and hold on to what is fair and honest, you will not go backwards but forwards. When the truth of God’s Word is preached at any cost, he will bestow great blessing.
Giving to the local church
Doesn’t common sense teach you that giving all your money to the local church doesn’t make sense? What if you live in a remote area, and the only local pastor is a strong advocate of homosexuality being an acceptable practice according to the Bible? Do you think your giving to his work pleases God? People, don’t be blind sheep. Follow the true shepherd. He will show you where to give. Do I mean that you should give none of your tithe to your local pastor because Christian children in Africa have a greater need for the money? I definitely do not. You need to appropriately support those whose work is over you. Do I mean that pastors cannot have nice houses? Can you have a nice house? "Yes," you may say "because I go out and work for the money". Of course, pastors too go out and work for the money. They have jobs just like you, and they have rights to their income just as you do.
Poor in Christ
It should be noted though that one of the most fertile fields for giving is your brothers and sisters in Christ who are poor and in need around the world.
You should never neglect your local pastors. However, God is also very concerned about you giving to the poor who know him. This does not mean you should ever harden your heart to human suffering. It is God’s will for us to show mercy to all poor people who are being deprived of the basic necessities of sustaining food and drink, and appropriate warm clothing whether they know him or not. Nevertheless, our priorities are with our own brothers and sisters in Christ first. Know that God bestows great blessing when you share your bread with the hungry, and your drink with the thirsty, and your clothing to those who need it because they know him. God wants to use you like Joseph to provide for his people in need.
Good soil
Jesus promised you that if you are generous to God, God will be generous to you. He said,
There is a wonderful opportunity for you to prosper as a result of giving money to others in God’s name. Your giving that you give is like seed that a farmer plants. If the farmer plants seed in good soil, it will produce a good crop providing everything is in order. However, if a farmer plants good seed in bad soil, he is just wasting the seed. In the same way, choose carefully where you give because how your money is used will obviously be a significant factor in the blessing that God provides you with. You are God’s source of blessing to others. If you are blessing something that is a high priority to him, the supernatural prosperity over your life will be greater than if you are blessing something that is a low priority to him.
The office of the giver
While it is God’s will to bless all of his children, some of his children walk in a special office of providing for his work (Romans 12:8). If you want to walk in that office, you need to have some insight into where the money should be going. Which church you give to and what purposes the money will be used for are extremely relevant to your supernatural blessing from God. This is an extremely valuable contribution that you can make to the body of Christ. In fact, it is absolutely necessary for the well being of the church that some people are out there making money with God and for God. As it is written,
God doesn’t have a problem with you becoming extremely rich, but he does have a problem with how you get there and what you do with it when you are there. The church needs you if that’s your calling. The body of Christ needs you if that’s your calling. John Wesley rightly stated, "make all you can, save all you can, give all you can".
Dishonesty
If you don’t give to God from what you receive, you love money. It’s quite simple. However, if you tithe, it doesn’t automatically mean that you don’t love money. You may be giving ten percent of your money to the Lord, but if you are gaining some of it unethically or unjustly, you are an oppressor or a thief or a swindler or simply dishonest. Do you think it’s okay to be a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ and be dishonest? Of course, it isn’t. Dishonest people will spend eternity with other dishonest people unless of course, you repent and ask God to cleanse you through the blood of Jesus.
Do not sin for the sake of money for the wages of sin are death, but the gift that God has offered you is eternal life. You don’t need to worry about money. God will take care of you. Don’t lust after money, but understand that it is God’s will to prosper you.
You cannot live on false wealth
It was when Zacchaeus had actually decided to set things right that Jesus said salvation had come to his house. Zacchaeus was a wealthy man who had gained his wealth while neglecting the poor and being involved in dishonest business dealings. However, Jesus’ presence in his house changed the way he viewed his wealth.
You must understand that it is not acceptable to God to stop sinning financially but continue to live off the benefits of previous financial sins. If you have gained wealth with dishonest means or have neglected to give to God what is God’s, the house that you have built is not right before God. You need to make a decision to do something about it. You cannot keep living from this tainted source. In Zachhaeus’ case, firstly, he decided to share half of his wealth with those who had really needed it while he was building up his wealth. Secondly, he decided to deal with his dishonest business dealings by paying back four times what he had taken dishonestly to those he had sinned against out of his remaining half. It is clear that he got his wealth right with God. God is not against you getting wealthy, but he is if you climbed on people’s heads up to it. Nevertheless, you cannot be right with God if your wealth is not right with God. It is impossible. It is clear from Zacchaeus’ example with Jesus that the Lord declared him right when he made the decision to do right. If you make the decision to do right today, God will declare you right today. You do not have to wait until you have set everything in order to be right before God because you can be right before God today, even at this moment, through faith in the blood of Jesus to cleanse you. Set everything right in your heart. After you have set everything right in your heart, purpose in your actions to follow through with your plan. Wealthy people, be right with God with your wealth as otherwise you cannot enter the kingdom of God. What price will you pay to hold onto your money? Will you sacrifice your eternal soul? Will you derive any comfort in your torment from a distant memory of once living in luxury and ease? You will curse your stupidity at not being moderate and being content to live on what was right. Repent today for today is your day of salvation!
The hungry, thirsty and naked
Jesus said that when he returns, he will divide all of humanity into two basic categories: those who give and those who don’t. Of course, you can give all you want and still go to hell. To be found worthy of the kingdom of God involves more than just giving money. However, giving money is evidence that you are worthy of the kingdom of God. How do you get right with God and come and into his kingdom? You surrender your heart to what is right, which is God’s will, and you ask him in faith to forgive you through the shed blood of Jesus. Getting right with God is very simple, but staying right with God may involve a lot more. Getting right with God involves your heart, but staying right with God involves your actions. Salvation is never more than a prayer away and being right with God is never more than a prayer away. Nevertheless, when Jesus returns, he will sort out those who give from those who do not give. What basis will his judgement be founded upon? It will be founded on the fact that there were great needs in the world, and you were unwilling to contribute appropriately to them being met. People were hungry, but you didn’t give. People were thirsty, but you didn’t give. People were cold and without clothes, but you didn’t give. People were sick and in need of care, but you didn’t give. People were unjustly persecuted and imprisoned, but you didn’t give.
God has commanded you to put aside ten percent of your income for the sake of his work and his people. You are to provide for his workers and his poor and suffering people with this money. Do you think it is okay to simply say, "my church has more money than me, so I need it more?" If there are issues with your local church, it is no excuse for not giving to God what is God’s. Wake up people of God, and walk in Christ’s salvation! Walk in the great blessing that God has for his children of obedience. If you are children of disobedience, you will depart into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Of what use is it if you are obedient with your words but not in your actions in the area of money? Certainly, you will have some degree of blessing if you have control over your tongue, but you are walking in serious disobedience in the area of money nevertheless. Get the vision dear people, and run with it. We can have a huge impact on this world. We can bring in the greatest revival that this world has ever seen. You can make a huge difference by using ten percent of your income for God’s good purposes on the earth. Repent today, and rejoice in God’s goodness towards you by sharing it with others!
It is God’s will for you to learn to manage your money
The Bible says,
It is God’s will for you to learn to manage your money properly so that you may do good on the earth and take proper care of your family. It is the devil, who wants you to be poor and hopeless with money. Being hopeless with money does not give glory to God, but being a good steward of that which God has provided for you shines his light to unbelievers. It also enables you to live the type of life that God has provided for you.
Honouring parents
We are obligated before God to take care of our parents and grandparents when they need us in their old age.
It is quite simple really. We didn’t die because they provided us with food, clothing and shelter, or we are alive today because they provided one of our parents with food, clothing and shelter. They didn’t leave us to die, and we are not to leave them to die. Their providing for us was not based on our character but based on the fact that we were their flesh and blood or their responsibility before God. You owe them appropriate care because of the care that they gave you. Your debt is not based on their character but based on the practical care that they gave you or your parents. Turn from your unforgiveness and bitterness, and pray for their salvation. Eternity is for a long time, and hell is never without a moment of regret. Bring them to Christ, and provide for them practically in the frailty of their old age.
Suffering for Christ is an honour
All the promises in the Bible basically provide us with complete deliverance from everything that is evil. However, you must realise that suffering for the sake of Christ is actually a great honour. If you lose all the wealth that you have spent your entire life gathering to a wicked, oppressive ruler, who says that you have no right to it because you are a Christian, you are greatly blessed. There is no greater honour for God’s children than to suffer for the sake of the Name.
Just as every person has been created differently, every person who will ultimately live in Christ’s kingdom will have a different role to fulfil in it. This role will be determined by their works during their lifetime. The greatest inheritances are reserved for those who have suffered or sacrificed to see his purposes established on the earth. This is not to say anybody will be unhappy in Christ’s kingdom for every tear will be permanently wiped away. However, there will be different roles based on what you have done here. In summary, you have full deliverance from all evil, but to have your money confiscated because of your faith in Christ should be seen as a great honour. Everything that you have ultimately belongs to God, and if he calls you to such a high honour, rejoice greatly for he is treating you like his most esteemed servants.
Make it right
Being right with God with your money is only one prayer away. "Dear Father, I have sinned by not setting aside ten percent of my income for your purposes. Forgive me now through the blood of Jesus for I purpose in my heart to make this right, amen". It really is that simple. Do not stumble like the wise and well educated in our society, who could never accept such a simple solution to a problem. It is so simple. Change your heart, and be right with God now. Don’t wait. Just do it. Right now, make things right. God will give you the power that you need to see your actions through if you will simply surrender your heart to the best of your ability. He understands the circumstances that have contributed to you getting in the mess that you’re in. He loves you. He is the father that you always wanted to have. It is his Spirit that is upon you right now moving you to surrender your heart to Christ. If you don’t do it when his Spirit is upon you, when will you do it? Don’t deceive yourself. Do it now. Make the best decision of your life. You will never regret making this decision now, but you will always regret not making the decision when it was right there in front of you. You may say, "I’m not ready". It is God who makes you ready. He can make you ready. Surrender, and pray today.
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