11 January 2013
TITHES AND OFFERINGS BEFORE THE LORD
A sister in The LORD from the nation of The Philippines wrote to me a couple of days ago and this is what she wrote: “Good evening, I would like to ask some help please? My pastor wants me to speak on our Sunday school on the topic about "TITHES". Will you please give me some ideas about this?”
And so The LORD is going to give ideas not only for the children of The LORD in Philippines, but also everybody across the nations of the earth. The LORD is thus going to take us through this very very fundamental issue even as His bride prepares the way for the very very imminent coming of The LORD Jesus Christ to rapture His bride.
Tithes and offerings should be part and parcel of a believer
in The LORD God Almighty, The LORD Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit. It is an
act of showing appreciation and gratitude to The LORD. It is actually an act of
worship, because it puts the focus of a believer not on the materiality of the
wealth, money or income but the focus of the believer is put on the provider of
the wealth, income, money and indeed life itself: And this is the creater of everything both seen and unseen and His
name is The LORD God Almighty; The LORD Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit.
In the olden times, the Israelites were required to bring
to the house of The LORD; their first harvest. This in itself was an act of
worship by dedicating a portion of their harvest to The LORD, and in so doing
this they were essentially saying (Including the present remnant church): “If
it were not your blessings LORD, I would not have got this harvest, money, income,
wealth and indeed life itself, and so here I am to come before you and present
this before you as I worship you!!!”. In other words, it’s an act
of saying: “I worship the creater and not the created!!!” And that’s
why The LORD commanded the Israelites in the book of Exodus 23:19 “Bring the best of the
firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.” But
it is also very important to note that The LORD gave a very powerful
disclaimer/caution before telling the Israelites to bring the best of the
firstfruits of their soil to the house of their LORD. And so when we slightly
go back in this very mighty conversation that The LORD was having with the Israelites,
The LORD told them in the book of Exodus
23:18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything
containing yeast.” In other words, The LORD was requiring absolute
Repentance, Righteousness, Holiness and Complete Surrender to Him when one is
bringing before Him a tithe or an offering. This means that one should be
cleansed of their sins even as they go before The LORD with their tithes and
offering. And so absolute Repentance
is very paramount as one brings their tithes and offerings before The LORD. Because if you bring your tithes and
offerings before The LORD and you have unrepentant sin(s) in your life then it’s
like bringing before The LORD tithes and offerings which are contaminated and
defiled i.e. containing yeast. An example of the sins include Pride,
and so when one brings to The LORD their tithes and offering with a boastful
heart, while proclaiming: “Look LORD, how my own effort, strength and
intelligence has made me rich, let me divide for you some of my wealth just to
show you how tough and successful I have become!!!” . This is where
humility will come in, and so one needs to go before The LORD with respect,
reverence, Thankfulness and a very humble heart; a heart of worship and praise to no one else but The LORD.
The
bringing of tithes and offering in the onset is best illustrated by Abraham
when in a very mighty visitation of The LORD, he offered to worship and praise The
LORD by bringing a tenth of his wealth before The LORD (Melchizedek The King of
Salem). And this is well expounded in the book of Hebrew
7:1-10 “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most
High. He met Abraham returning from the
defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of
righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”
Without father or mother, without
genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God,
he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he
was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him
a tenth of the plunder!
Now the law requires the descendants of
Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are
descended from Abraham. This man,
however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from
Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser
is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but
in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the
tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was
still in the body of his ancestor.”
The LORD goes further to clarify to the church
on the tithes and offerings while having a very mighty conversation with the Israelites
(The Church) through His servant Malachi in the book of Malachi 3:10 “Bring
the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” ; meaning let the people bring an acceptable tithe
before The LORD; A tithe and an offering that is brought before The LORD
wholeheartedly with a heart that has embraced Repentance of Sins, so that such
tithes and offerings be not contaminated with yeast(sin). It also mean
that when The LORD has blessed you with harvests, income, wealth etc, then one should faithfully go before The
LORD with their tithes and offerings so that the poor, the orphans, the widows,
the sick, the helpless etc that are in the house of The LORD can be taken care
of. And it is very very important to note that the tithes and the offerings are not meant to enrich the pastors, the
Bishops, the clergy etc that serve at the altar of The LORD. The
pastors, the Bishops, the clergy etc should serve The LORD with humility and
once their essential needs are catered for then that’s okay; No purchasing
of private jets for pastors!!!; No purchasing of the latest and most
expensive Golden wrist watches for the pastors!!!; No Purchasing of the
most spacious and luxurious mansions for the pastors!!!, No Financing
the pastors and their wives holiday and shopping trips overseas!!! While
the flock; the fatherless and the motherless go hungry and have no one to feed
them!!!. NOT WITH THE MONEY BROUGHT BEFORE THE ALTAR OF THE LORD AS TITHES
AND OFFERINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!. The clarion call at the altar of The LORD should be about: “Prepare
the way in absolute Repentance, Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete
Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ; The Messiah is very very very imminently coming
to pick His bride!!!”
And so it is about obedience and faithfulness to The LORD and that’s why The LORD Jesus Christ declared in the book of Mark 12:41-44 “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” The LORD was in essence stressing the need for obedience and faithfulness. And so the LORD wants obedience and faithfulness in bringing of tithes and offerings so that He can bless His obedient and faithful Children through the outpour of The Holy Spirit so that His children can be cleansed, purified, refined, sanctified as they prepare the way for the coming of The LORD. And remember also that in the same way, The LORD promised in the book of Mathew 6:28-34 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Bringing tithes and offerings before The LORD is an act of investment in the kingdom of God as is explained in the book of Mathew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And this is based on the faithfulness and obedience even as one brings an acceptable(without yeast) tithes and offerings before The LORD; i.e. a tithe and an offering that is without yeast meaning that The LORD requires utmost Repentance, Righteousness, Holiness and complete Surrender to Him when one is bringing before Him a tithe or an offering. This means that one should be cleansed of their sins even as they go before The LORD with their tithes and offering. And so the aspect of investment in the kingdom of God becomes very relevant when it comes to tithes and offering when one is also walking on the narrow road which leads to the kingdom of God: And on this road are them who have embraced absolute Repentance, Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ. This means therefore that when one is on the broad road that leads to destruction (Hell), they for sure cannot invest in the kingdom of God which is in Heaven .And this should serve as a warning to the lukewarm Christians and also should serve as a warning to the false pastors, apostles, prophets, clergy etc so that they may embrace absolute Repentance And living in Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ. These false pastors, apostles, clergy, prophets etc are well expounded on in the book of Mathew 7:15-20 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. And therefore, let me note at this juncture that any preaching that is centered on calling the flock “who want to be blessed through wealth and other earthly material riches to bring their tithes and offering so as to have investments, wealth and richness here on the earth!!! while not telling the flock to focus on the kingdom of God in Heaven and the very very very imminent coming of The Messiah Jesus Christ is a false preaching from hell and it is known as The preaching of prosperity Gospel. And these preachers of prosperity gospel are the ones The LORD Jesus Christ talked about as we have read in the scripture above. These preachers of prosperity gospel normally have such language as: “Sow a seed if you want to receive your blessing, if you want me to pray so that you be blessed with a luxurious house, then run to my feet with $ 2,000, and if you want me to make a special prayer for you, a prayer that will come with more blessings then you better run here with $ 3,000!!!” etc. It is very important to note that one cannot bribe The LORD to bless them for He is the creater of everything: What The LORD requires is obedience, faithfulness, Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to Him. If you attend any of such prosperity preaching and may be also attending a church where there are ferocious wolves who instead of building the kingdom of God are building the kingdom of men; then it’s high time you run away from such a place because your tithe and offering is defiled and is full of yeast before the LORD.
SHALOM!!!
PREPARE THE WAY IN ABSOLUTE
REPENTANCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS, TRUTH AND COMPLETE SURRENDER TO THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH). TIME IS ABSOLUTELY OVER; THE MESSIAH JESUS
CHRIST IS IMMINENTLY COMING TO PICK HIS BRIDE!!!
REPENTANCE PRAYER
Precious Jesus,
I acknowledge today that you are
lord and savior of all mankind,
and today I have recognized my
shortfall,
I repent and turn away from all
sin.
Please cover me with your precious
blood,
and establish your word in my
life,
that I may be found in righteousness
and holiness
and write my name in your book of
life
and baptize me with the power of the
Holy Spirit
in the mighty name of Jesus
Christ.
Amen.
Shalom!!! Shalom!!! Shalom!!!
Kevin Mirasi
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