Dear Sister and Brother in Christ Jesus,
There are many precious Believers in Christ Jesus who have been faithful tithers and faithful givers, but they have not received anywhere near the thirty-, sixty-, or one-hundred-fold return that Jesus Christ promised in His Word. Harvests are promised, not guaranteed.
Mark 10:29-30
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake, and The Gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
I’m going to be direct and blunt because the time for sugarcoating is done. The enemy has wrecked enough lives, enough families, enough ministries, and caused enough Believers to turn away from The Word of God because they don’t believe it works. And it is largely through wrong teaching, wrong believing, and wrong action or lack of action. Don’t let some ignorant, religious fool (this is what they are called in Proverbs) try and teach you that Jesus didn’t promise the one-hundred-fold return in this life, in this earth. Don’t let them tell you that it is a spiritual reward only because they would be half right and fully wrong. We have eyes, and we have The Holy Spirit to help us discern. Verse 30 says “in this time…..with persecutions.” When is “in this time?” Yes, now. Are there persecutions in Heaven? Of course not. So why do Believers believe the ignorant, religious fools and don’t seek the leading and discernment of The Holy Spirit? Verse 30 does go on to say, “and in the world to come eternal life.” Jesus is making it PLAIN and CLEAR that anything anyone gives into The Kingdom of God will be returned one-hundred-fold in this life in this earth and because only a Believer would do this, they will have life eternal and rewards given in Heaven (in the Lamb’s Bridal Chamber at The Bema Seat).
How many of you Believers have been faithful tithers and faithful givers of offerings to The Kingdom of God? Have you received a thirty-, sixty-, or one-hundred-fold return on your offerings? Notice I said faithful tithers first. If you don’t tithe, you do not qualify for the many-fold return on anything you give – period. But Larry, the tithe passed away with the Old Covenant. Where? Show me the verse that cancelled it? You can’t because it is not in The Scriptures. I can show you in Matthew 23:23 where Jesus, you know, God in the flesh, said you should tithe. I can show you in Hebrews 7:8 where Paul, the Apostle to whom God gave the Gospel of Grace, said that while we give tithes to men on earth, it is Jesus in Heaven Who receives it. I can show you where Abel, Abraham, and Isaac tithed before the law. SHOW ME THE CANCELLATION VERSE(S). Tithing is an eternal ordinance and never passes away. Something else that it vitally important about the tithe. It protects, waters, and multiplies your offerings. In Malachi 3:10 tells us if we tithe, God will open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings. Let’s look at Malachi 3:10-11.
Malachi 3:10-11
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.
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.
Notice Who is speaking in Malachi 3:10-11. The Lord of hosts. This is another preeminent title of God and speaks to Him being the Commander of an army of hosts, angelic beings who possess great strength, power, and knowledge. God, The Father, is letting us, His children know, He is charging His angelic army to carry out and enforce His Promise to tithers. What is the promise. To bless all your financial and material possessions, IN THIS EARTH, and to water and grow (multiply) your seed sown (your offerings) and protect it and the harvest from the devourer (satan and his demonic army).
Let’s return to my original question. If you are a faithful tither and giver, have you received anywhere near the thirty-, sixty-, or one-hundred-fold return that Jesus Christ promised in His Word? Why not? I can tell you why? You’re a great sower, but you are not a great reaper.
Mark 4:26-28
26 And He said, So is The Kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
Jesus, The Head of The Church, in Mark 4:26-29, is teaching us VITALLY important spiritual law of The Kingdom of God. Who cast or sows the seed? Man. Who reaps the harvest? Man. Who grows or multiplies the seed sown? God. So, what are man’s responsibilities in The Kingdom? To sow and to reap. Sowing and reaping are two distinct actions. Too many Believers think that once they sow, they just thank God and look forward to the harvest. They believe their responsibility is done, and now it is up to God to do the rest. But this is not what The Head of The Church teaches us. He has taught us God does the growing of the seed the multiplying of the seed, and the guarding of the harvest. But God does not do the sowing or the reaping. This is up to us, as Believers, to do. These are our responsibilities.
So, how do we reap? Look at Mark 4:28. What does the man do when the harvest is come? He puts in the sickle. What is a sickle in this context? Believing, Word, and confession. One of the greatest examples of reaping is the teaching God personally gave to Kenneth E. Hagin. Brother Hagin wrote about it in a small booklet entitled, “How God Taught Me About Prosperity.” I highly recommend you buy and read it. You can purchase it as a digital copy or as a small booklet from the following website: www.rhema.org. I’m not going through the background leading to what God taught Brother Hagin. You can do this yourself in about 30 minutes of reading. God told Brother Hagin the following:
- Claim whatever you need or want (Psalm 23:1; Psalm 34:10).
- Command satan to take his hands off your finances.
- Say, “Go ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14) and cause the money to come.”
The Lord instructed Brother Hagin that once he claimed what he needed or desired, this was to be the end of the matter. He wasn’t to pray or do anything else. If Brother Hagin thought about the situation, he was simply to stay in faith and say, “Thank God for it. It’s working.” You can read his book and see what happened for yourself.
Now, I know there are many of you who are struggling to grasp this. It just seems too foreign, too contrived, and too simple. What I tell Believers who are not experiencing the many-fold return is to give The Word a chance. Or you can continue to do what the world calls insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. What do you have to lose by trusting The Word of God.
In the coming message or two, we will further explore sowing and reaping. It is a Spiritual law that works no matter whether you sow good or bad seed. More importantly, we are going to kill many sacred cows of denominations and even some held by Word of Faith or Grace Believers. I’ll leave you with this. Do you have an account in Heaven from which you can withdraw for use in this earth? If not, you’ve violated Jesus’ commandment, and while He loves you dearly, He sees you as selfish and self-absorbed. Whoops, I heard a sacred cow moo.
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
Larry