Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We continue a hotly debated topic in the Church today, “tithing.” This message is part IV and the conclusion. There is no debate according to God’s Word. The debate really lies at the core of a Believer’s heart. The Word has established the tithe existed before the Law and IS part of the service performed by Jesus Christ, after the Law, as The Great High Priest after The Order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek, Jesus Preincarnate, took tithes of man before the Law, the Levitical Order took tithes of man during the Law, and Jesus Christ, after The Order of Melchizedek, takes tithes after the Law. This is absolutely and completely defined by Scripture – The Truth.
Malachi 3:8
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.
The Holy Spirit further taught me about Malachi 3:8 during this past week. When God says, “Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings?,” The Holy Spirit showed me this has a double meaning. Not only have we withheld that which belongs to God, but we have prevented, or robbed, God from BLESSING us. Yes. EVERY SINGLE THING GOD HAS DONE IS DESIGNED TO BLESS US. This is NOT what religion teaches. Religion teaches a cold, distant, judgmental God Who demands we perform to His satisfaction or else. Grace teaches a warm, loving, ever-present, just God Who is looking for every possible way to bless us. Wow, what a contrast!! Which God appeals to you? This is a rhetorical question because I already know your answer. Our precious Father WANTS to bless us every single moment of every single day for eternity. Here’s the catch. “Oh Larry, I was waiting for this. I knew it was too good to be true. There’s always a condition, a thread, a catch, a hook, a price.” Yes, you’re right. There is a catch. We have to believe, confess, and act on it. That’s the sum total of our “work” or “labor.” When we do, we enter into His rest (Hebrews 4:10-11).
We looked at Malachi 3:9 last week. Let’s pick it up again with Malachi 3:10.
Malachi 3:10
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
This is an amazing verse. Our Father God, The LORD of hosts, The Almighty Creator, tells us to “prove Him.” This is THE ONLY PLACE in all of God’s Word where our Father tells us to “PROVE HIM.” So, what happens when we PROVE God by tithing? The Father says He will open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that there shall not even be room enough to receive it. Can we say overflow. The whole purpose of there being more than a Believer can receive is so we can be the blessing to others we are called to be as the seed of Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3. God is saying He will more than meet our needs by blessing us with so much that we have more than enough for ourselves and more than enough for others. Praise God! Do you enjoy being able to bless others? Praise God, YES!!
Why did God use The Words, “windows of heaven?” These Words are only used three times in The Scriptures. In Malachi 3:10 and in Genesis 7:11 and Genesis 8:2. The two other times was when God flooded the earth and then stopped the floods. The Children of Israel understood the metaphorical expression as God saying He would pour out on them blessings such as would resemble the rains that poured out of the windows of heaven upon the earth and flooded it. Can you get a vision of blessings just drenching and submerging you in a deluge? This is what God is trying to impart to us. If we can but believe!!!! God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Where are these blessings found that God speaks of in Malachi 3:10? They are found in Deuteronomy 28:1-14. I encourage all to read, reread, and reread them. Meditate on each and every verse. Then read Deuteronomy 28:15-68 to see the curses, those things Jesus Christ has redeemed us from if we choose not to suffer from them. One thing must be very clear. If we choose not to tithe, we don’t have access to the blessings of Deuteronomy 28:1-14. We will have to ask for miracles from God. God’s best is for us to walk in the consistent flow of blessings in all areas of our lives, the blessings chasing us down by coming on and overtaking us (Deuteronomy 28:2). This consistent flow of blessings is reserved for those that choose to PROVE God. Otherwise, we will have to live from miracle to miracle. This is not God’s best for us.
Part of why we struggle to believe that God DESPERATELY WANTS US, as Believers, to be richly blessed beyond our wildest imaginations is religion. Religion has given us, as Believers, a terrible self-image. Once I learned this, I stopped listening to religion and to the world. Jesus Christ made us kings and priests of this earth.
Revelation 1:5-6
5 And from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Why did Jesus make us kings and priests? Under the Old Covenant, the Law, the functions of king and priest were separated. God gave the vision and understanding to the priest who communicated it to the king that went forth, carried out the vision, and brought the spoil to the priest for God. Under the New Covenant, Grace, we, as Believers, function in both roles: as priests who receive the vision and understanding by the authority of Jesus Christ and the king who carries it out through decrees by the power of Jesus Christ. Believers today ARE SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL than our spiritual forefathers.
Malachi 3:11
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Who is “the devourer” spoken of in Malachi 3:11? Yes, Satan. Remember I spoke of “Tither’s Rights” in earlier emails. Malachi 3:10-11 are the Tither’s Rights. As a tither, you have the right to:
1.) Experience a deluge and flood of blessings consistently in your life.
2.) God restraining Satan, the devourer, on your behalf.
3.) Satan not being able to “eat up” your decreed words, your children, your actions, anything you set your hand to do.
4.) Experience prosperity (fruit) in everything you do (vine) and you will never be barren (before the time) or suffer lack.
Amazing, isn’t it!! The above are God’s promises to us as both Believers and as tithers. God gives those that trust and will prove Him certain, wonderful rights. My wife Dianne and I have experienced all four of the above throughout our 36 years of tithing. When we didn’t experience this Truth, it was because of our ignorance or our rebellion in not following His Word. And Dianne’s and my life has continued to prosper more and more just as God promised us in Proverbs 4:18
Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
The perfect day is either when we leave this earth for Heaven or the Rapture, whichever occurs first. We shine more and more, if we believe, confess, and act, so we can be a light unto an incredibly darkening world. We stand out even more in this time. Remember, there is no such thing as darkness or evil. Darkness and evil can only exist where there is a lack. A lack of light and a lack of God, respectively. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 to let our lights shine so the world can see the good works of the Father in and by us and they will come to the Light and glorify the Father.
Malachi 3:12
And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
Notice that God says everyone around will see us as blessed by the Lord God, and we shall be a refuge they flock to seeking to have the same “delightsomeness” that we have in Christ and in the power of The Kingdom of God.
In closing, the tithe is required. But it is one’s choice whether to obey or not. God doesn’t love one any less or any more because they don’t or do tithe. However, He has put into place wonderful blessings for those that are willing and obedient to trust His Word and become a incredible blessing to others (Isaiah 1:19). This is God’s nature, and He wants us to shine His nature into the earth. God is good, all the time.
Blessings,
Larry