Transcription
You. My subject tonight is why I am a tither. Why I am a tither. I'm not teaching tonight; this is what you ought to be. I want you to hear the word of the Lord and then determine whether or not you want to be a tither. But I am a tither, and I'm going to tell you tonight why I am a tither. And so, let me talk to you about that.
There's a lot of things going on right now in the religious world. There's a lot of churches that no longer believe in tithing. They don't encourage their folks to tithe. That could be one of the reasons that many, many, many, many, many, many, we're talking thousands of churches nationwide are closing down and going out of business. I'm tickled for the ones that's been closing down, to be honest with you, a little bit, because we've got three or four of their buildings in Virginia already that are now United Pentecostal churches where they went out of business, and we got their building. And we just got one a few months ago from a major denomination in America where it went out of business, and we asked them, "What do you sell it to us for? We're starting a church in that town. We've already got 30, 40 people there." And they gave us the building. They literally signed the title over and gave it to us. So, thank the Lord for that. Probably one of the blessings of paying your tithes. That wasn't in my notes, but it worked real good right there, didn't it?
So, I'm going to talk about why I am a tither. And when I tell you there's a lot of discussion on this right now, a lot of stuff on social media, a lot of stuff going across the pulpits in different churches, and a lot of people that don't go to no church that's weighing in on it. I think it's amazing all the people on social media that don't go to any church, but they've done a study on tithing. They've come to the wrong conclusion, and they're wanting to tell people that do go to church what you should and shouldn't do. I've seen and heard enough of it that I decided I'm going to answer it tonight, okay?
So, some, not in our church, I want to emphasize to you, not one person in our church has talked to me about this, but some outside our church argue against tithing by saying this: "Tithing is a practice instituted under the law of Moses. Therefore, tithing is not for New Testament believers since we are not under the law of Moses." So, that's the premise of my Bible study tonight. That's where I'm going from. That's the message that's being taught and preached out there by so-called Bible teachers on social media, and people are wondering if I've seen it. They're forwarding it to me. Look at this. Look at that. And I decided after looking at several of them that I'm just going to thoroughly answer the question tonight according to the word of the Lord. Anybody here glad you belong to a Bible believing church? When I say that the Bible has to be the authority, the final authority on everything we do and everything we are, that includes subjects like this. It has to be the word of God that gives us guidance and direction and understanding. Amen?
Now, there are several reasons why that statement, "Tithing began or was instituted under the law of Moses, therefore tithing is not for New Testament believers because we're not under the law of Moses." Now, again, there are several reasons why that argument is not a biblically correct argument. Let me give you several.
Number one, reason number one. Tithing actually preceded the law of Moses. Tithing was not instituted by Moses as a law of Moses under the law of Moses. There was tithing many, many, many centuries before Moses' law was ever given. In the book of Genesis chapter 14, that's only 14 chapters into your whole Bible. Genesis chapter 14, verses 18, 19, and 20 tells us that Abraham gives Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High, a tenth, a tithe, of everything that he had. So, this is the first record of tithing in your scripture. And again, it precedes the giving of the law of Moses literally by centuries. Moses was not even alive when the 14th chapter of Genesis was actually taking place. So, the first recorded instance centuries before.
Then in Genesis 28, just 14 chapters further into the book of Genesis, 28 chapters into the Bible, verses 20 to 22, the Bible tells us that Jacob vows, makes a vow to God to give a tenth of everything he receives to God. A tenth of everything he receives to God. Again, both of those are centuries before Moses was even born. Both of those are way before the law of Moses was ever given. So, it's an incorrect statement right up front, right out of the shoot. It's an incorrect statement to say that tithing came from the law of Moses. That's biblically incorrect.
Let me give you the second reason. Tithing was in fact taught under the law of Moses, but not begun by Moses. In Leviticus 27:30-33, the practice of tithing is clarified under the law of Moses. God's plan, according to Moses, is that a tenth part of all belongs to the Lord, and it is considered holy. A tenth of everything, everything you get, every increase, everything that's yours, 1/10 or a tenth part belongs to God, and the Bible said it not only belongs to God, but it is considered holy by God. Can you say amen, somebody?
Numbers chapter 18:21-32. I'm not reading all these verses. You'll notice tonight I'm telling you what's in the verses, and then you can go back and read them all later. You'll have them. In Numbers 18:21-32, the Israelites are commanded in these verses to give a tithe specifically to the Levites. The priest who ministered among them is who they were commanded to give their tithe to. The Bible says in these verses that the tithe was to be for the Levites and for specifically their livelihood as they served the people of God in the altar area, in the tabernacle, in the service of God, that this was for their livelihood.
Next of all, the Levites in turn, and this is something you may have never heard about tithing, but it's just as real when it comes to understanding tithing as any other part of it, the Levites in these same verses were directed by God to share a tenth part of the tithe that they received. Hello. With other people. Now, let me explain something to you why I'm mentioning this. Preachers need to pay tithes, too. Ministers need to tithe. I had a minister come and see me. Probably shouldn't put this out on the internet, but who knows. I had a minister come in, come in my office, knocked on my door about 30 minutes before Bible study two or three years ago. Walked in, sat down. He had a letter in his hand from Brother Blankenship says, "You haven't been paying your tithes." And he was offended that Brother Blankenship, our district secretary, wrote him such a letter saying, "You haven't been paying your tithes as a pastor." And so, he drives all the way across the state. Gets here about 30 minutes before I'm coming out to do Bible study and sits there and chews on me for a while and chews on poor old Brother Blankenship for a while and talks about how he said, "You guys in these churches, you pastor, you don't have to worry about money." He said, "You know what? I got to have $3,000 a month just to break even." I said, "The budget of this church is about $8,000 a day. What do you mean I don't know nothing about money?" He said, "Well, you know what? I bought a brand new truck. I can't pay for my truck. I can't pay tithes." He said, "I didn't go on a family vacation this year 'cause I had to pay my tithes." He listed several. I don't I deliberately am trying to forget it, so I may not remember everything he said. But, he's going down through this list, and it's time for me to come out and teach Bible study. So, I said to him, I said, "Sir, obviously you're upset. You've drove clear across the state. You've got this whole list. Here's what I'm going to do. Here's what I'm going to do for you. You get up in your church this Sunday morning, and you teach on tithing. And then send me the tape of what you teach. And whatever you teach your people to do, that's going to be your policy in this district. I don't care what you teach. I promise you I will take it to the district board and say, 'This man's tithing program is this.' Now, if you get up and tell your people, 'If you've bought a new car, this church don't expect tithing.' If you go on vacation in the summer, this church don't expect tithing." And I went right down through his little list. And I said, "You determine what your tithing policy is going to be."
Why tell that, Brother Cunningham? We have more ministers in this church than any church in the district. We've got over 30 now licensed ministers at Bible World Church. We have almost 20 of them that are in some kind of a pastoral role. And the mistake a minister can never make is thinking that you can get up and teach on things like tithing and prayer and worship and Christian living and then not do it yourself. Because if there's one thing that stinks in this generation, is the preachers that don't live what they preach. Amen. Brother O'Donald's our district secretary. He can tell you I have my tithes put on a credit card and automatically withdrawn so that it goes in every time tithes are due, no questions asked, because I'm going to pay tithes. I am going to pay tithes. I'm going to support the church. This whole Bible study tonight is about why I pay tithes. I could have said why I pay tithes and give offerings. I I I used to I used to, when I first came here, I made good money at headquarters. First year I was pastor here, I still was being paid from my executive job at our international headquarters and and and I when we took up an offering in this church, I always tried to give more than anybody. I tried to let my pledge be bigger than anybody's. I wanted to set the example for everybody. My buddy Bob Edwards heard about that and then all of a sudden he started out pledging me and now I can't keep up with him if life depends on it. I gave a thousand dollars in that offering a couple Sundays ago. He walked up here and put in five. I thought, "Oh my God, have mercy." So much for me setting an example. But preachers, you've got to, and I'm not just speaking to you preachers that are in here, and there's several of you. I'm talking to all the preachers that are going to see this, all the preachers that are going to watch this. You've got to live what you preach. You've got to example what you preach. That's actually one of the qualifications of a minister is that we are both an example of the flock and an example to the flock. Amen.
Okay. So, the tithe, the Levites, after they received the tithe of the people, they were tithed of the people, and I'll tell you a little later what that what they were to do with it, but they were directed to share a tenth of the tithe they received. And I'm going to say it again, ministers need to pay tithes. You are not exempt from paying tithes and giving offerings because you're a minister. Oh, boy, it's quiet in here today.
Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 12, verses 5 to 18. Again, I'm not reading all these verses. You can read them yourself. The Israelites in these verses are instructed to bring their tithes to the place the Lord chooses and to rejoice in their giving. Everybody said, rejoice in their giving. They were to bring their tithes to the place the Lord chooses, and they were to rejoice in their giving with their whole household. The whole house was to be involved in rejoicing at the time of paying the tithe.
In Deuteronomy chapter 14, verses 22 to 29, it gives a more detailed instruction. I told you a few minutes ago that God told the Levites, "After you receive the tithe, you got to give at least 10% of it away." Here's where he told them to give it to. The instruction on tithing to Levites was: you give it to foreigners. Could be missions. Foreigners technically in the Bible could mean someone just lives next block over from you. That fits in the the Bible definition of a foreigner. Someone that's not in your clan, so to speak, would be considered a foreigner. But, they go, but the 10% goes to foreigners. It goes to fatherless and it goes to widows. And the ministry, the Levites, the priests were responsible for distributing at least 10% of the tithing that came in to these different groups.
Now, number three. Told you I was going to give you several reasons. Number three. Tithing was taught and practiced by the people of God. Number one, we've already showed you before the law of Moses. Number two, I just read to you under the leadership of Moses. And number three, after Moses was dead. It didn't die with Moses. Second Chronicles 31:5 and 6, it says King Hezekiah, who lived much after Moses, reinstates the practice of tithing during his reforms. What do you mean by that, Brother Cunningham? People had quit tithing. People had quit giving. They'd quit trusting God. And King Hezekiah decided, "I'm going to get up and talk to the people about bringing your tithes." Not to him, the king, but to bring their tithing into God's storehouse. Excuse me. The Israelites, the Bible says in those verses, the Israelites respond by bringing in the tithes of everything. They paid tithes on everything.
Nehemiah chapter 10, verses 35 to 39 talks about the Israelites and how that they pledged to bring their tithes of their produce to the storerooms of the temple for the support of, and here's what it says in those verses, for the support of the Levites and the priest and of God's house. That they were to bring the tithing in for the support of the Levites, for the support of the priest, and for the support of God's house. Now, remember again, after the Levites received the tithe, they took 10% of the tithe and redistributed it to those in the community that were needy.
In Nehemiah chapter 12 and verse number 44, that verse tells us that men are appointed to be in charge of the storerooms of the contributions of firstfruits and of the tithe. Here's what it says. This is in your Bible. Nehemiah 12 and 4 and 44. To ensure. Everybody say, to ensure. To ensure that the portions for the priest and Levites are brought in according to the law. So in this verse, they actually appointed someone to make sure that the tithing came in and that it was then properly used.
In Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse number 12, the Bible says the people of Judah bring all the tithe. Have you noticed how many times that the scripture specifically says "all the tithe" or "everything"? They paid tithes on all that they possessed. They paid tithes on everything that they had. It is amazing that I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the times people have asked me, "Can I pay my gas, my electric, my car payment, my house payment? Can I pay all of that stuff and then pay my tithes?" I always answer, "Yeah." It's your money. You can do what you want with it. But when your car breaks down and your house burns down and when all this other stuff happens because it don't have God's blessings on it. Ooh. Hello.
Malachi chapter 3:8-12. You say, "Oh, Brother Kaine, does the Bible really say God's going to bless tithing?" It says a whole lot more than that. Malachi chapter 3:8-12, the prophet Malachi rebukes the Israelites for what? For robbing God by not bringing all the tithe into the storehouse. He rebukes them for not bringing all the tithe into the storehouse. Now, it's not just a rebuke in these verses. God also gives them a promise here that isn't found anywhere else in your Bible. It It is the only place in the Bible that this promise is found. God says to them, "If they," or says to Malachi, who repeats it to them, "if they will bring all the tithe into the storehouse, he said, 'I'll pour out a blessing on them that they will not have room enough to receive it.'" Now, here's what's only in the Bible one place, one time. No other place than right here in Malachi 3:8-12. When God makes that promise, he challenges them and says, "Prove me now herewith." There is no verse in the Bible where God says, "Prove me with healing." "Prove me with worship." "Prove me with church attendance." "Prove me with living holy." "Prove me with this." "Prove me with..." The only place in your Bible where God says, "Go ahead. Check me out." "Go ahead. Try me." "Go ahead. Prove me." "GO AHEAD. PUT ME TO THE TEST." See, only place in the in the Bible where God said, "Bring it on." "Prove me and see if I won't open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing you don't have room enough to receive." Can somebody say amen?
Number four, the fourth thing is that tithing was taught and endorsed in the New Testament by Jesus himself. I listened to about 10 of those social media so-called Bible studies in the last two or three weeks, and every one of them says that that tithing is never in the New Testament, tithing is never endorsed by Jesus, tithing is never endorsed by the Apostle Paul, who wrote 13 books of your New Testament, and every time I, you know, my gifts of the Spirit was really working. You know how I knew they were lying? Their mouth was moving. 'Cause everything that was coming out of their mouth was dishonest. Hello? Let's look at it and see.
Tithing was taught and endorsed in the New Testament by Jesus himself. In Matthew chapter 23 and verse number 23, Jesus says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites." Now, look what he says to them. "You give a tenth tithe." You, it's by the way, it's what the word tithe means. That's exactly how the word's translated. Tenth means tithe, tithe means tenth. He said, "You give a tenth of your spices." And then he mentions it, "mint, dill, dill, and cumin." Jesus said, "Let me tell you how strict you are, you Pharisees. You tithe on your mint. When you go out and pull 10 little teeny tiny mint leaves off a plant, you carry one of them over to the temple and give it to a Levite. You tithe on the dill, you tithe on the cumin, you tithe. If you take 10 teaspoons of cumin and put it in your food to make up some meal, you make sure one spoon goes to the Levite. That's how strict you are. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law, which are justice, mercy, and faithfulness."
Now, people want to interpret that as Jesus saying, "Tithe is unimportant." It's not important that you tithe. Jesus was belittling. Not at all. He was telling them how ridiculous their hypocrisy is. That you pay tithe on 10 little leaves of mint, but then you're not just. You're not honest. You're not fair. You don't love people. Now, here's what Jesus said. You ever want to know what Jesus said? That's why we have the Bible, folks. Don't let anybody tell you what Jesus said. You go get your Bible and look it up. We had a great preacher preaching for us, and a new convert sitting on the front row. And every, that preacher was using all kind of verses, and he was quoting them. And boy, I wish I could quote all the verses he quoted. But he's quoting verses. And that guy on the front row just, he's trying to keep up with him. Man, you know, he's trying to find everyone the guy mentions. And finally, the preacher says, "Stop, son. You don't have to look it up. I'm telling you what it says." I'm sitting in my chair. I hollered out, "LOOK THEM ALL UP." DON'T YOU TAKE NOBODY'S WORD FOR WHAT JESUS SAID. THAT'S WHAT THE BOOK IS FOR. AMEN.
Here's what Jesus said. These are his words. He says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You give a tenth of your spices, a mint leaf, dill, cumin, but you have neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faithfulness." And that's where they stop reading and say, "See there? Jesus is saying tithing's unimportant." Read the rest of it. You should have practiced the latter, which is what? Justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Without neglecting the former. Which was what? Pay your tithes. He didn't tell them to stop doing it. He wasn't telling them this is wrong. He wasn't removing tithing from the New Testament. If you understand that, wave your hand. It ought to make sense to a third grader.
In Luke chapter 11 and verse number 42, it's Jesus with other people basically saying very close to the same thing that he said in Matthew 23 and 23. Jesus again says, "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint and rue." Don't even know what rue is. "Mint and rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter." Are you ready? "Without leaving the former undone." Does anybody here think that's Jesus saying quit tithing? You know, one of the big problems we got today is people in the pulpits and on social media and and on TV and on the radio and writing books that evidently don't ever read their Bible. Hello?
How many of y'all remember I talked about Charlie Mahaney the other night, the prison minister guy? He was so funny. He had a thousand funny sayings. But he held up his Bible one night. He was preaching about the word of God. And he held up his Bible. He said, "Let me tell all you young preachers something. This book will shine a shine a lot of light on them commentaries if you'll let it. Everybody's always talking about commentary shining a light on this book. This book is the light. It don't need your commentary to shine light on it. And if somebody writes a commentary, I don't care if it's one of my 36 volume books that takes up a whole shelf in my library, it's wider than my arms are. I don't care what you write. If you write one sentence in it that's contrary to this book, this book is right and your commentaries are wrong." Can somebody say amen? Everybody said amen.
In Luke chapter 18 and verse number 12, in a parable of the Pharisees and the tax collector, the Pharisee boasts about his religious practices. He said, "I fast twice a week and I give a tenth of all I get." Now, is it saying that's a good guy? No, it's not saying he's a good guy. What it is saying to us is that tithing was a practice among religious people in the New Testament. And so to make the statement that tithing is not in the New Testament and we're not directed to tithe is simply not biblically correct. Somebody say amen.
Both tithes and offerings are clearly taught throughout the New Testament. One of the most powerful verses, and you heard me read to you early in this Bible study about the tithe is for the Levite and the priest in the house of God, and that they appointed then men that would assure that those that were in the ministry would be taken care of by the ministry. Here's the Apostle Paul addressing that very principle in 1 Corinthians 9:13 and 14. 1 Corinthians 9:13 and 14. Paul asks the question, "Do you not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? And they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar. Even so hath the Lord." Paul said, "Even so hath the Lord ordained." It's going all the way back to the scripture I read to you early in the Bible study. "Even so the Lord hath ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." Now, there's a not so flattering verse that goes with that. I guess they wanted to make sure the farmers understood when they said, "Muzzle not the ox that treadeth out the corn." Hello? I guess in that scenario, I'm the ox. Was you saying amen? Oh. It is important to note that the Apostle Paul underlines the principle that actually started way back before Moses' law. And here's Paul clear over in 1 Corinthians saying, "That's still the principle that we follow." You okay?
In the New Testament, there's much to say about giving, and I'm not going to take long. Give me 5 minutes to just talk about giving, and then I'll move on. In Luke chapter 6 and verse number 38, it says, "Give and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom." Here's the key to giving. Now, for the sake of new folks that are here, folks that haven't been here that long, and you're trying to figure out what's the difference in tithes and offerings, let me explain it to you real clearly. Tithe is a tenth part of your increase. Whatever your increase is, a tenth part of your increase belongs to God according to the scripture. What is an offering? An offering is what we give above the 10%. And there is no place in your Bible where it tells you how much the offering is supposed to be. There are places in the Bible where a woman brought a widow's mite. What is that? 1/50th or 1/100th of a less than a penny. That was her offering. And when Jesus saw her offering of one widow's mite, he stopped the whole temple and said, "This woman's give more than you all because she gave everything she has." This is all she's got. So, an offering can be a widow's mite, and then in the book of Acts the second chapter, when the first revival fell, the Bible said they sold all their possessions and goods and brought it to the apostles for the sake of the revival. For the furtherance of the revival. So, an offering can be a widow's mite. It can be everything you got in the world. The offering is dependent on what God talks to you about giving. What does God say I want you to give above and beyond the 10% that already belongs to God. That's what when someone gets up and says, "We're receiving an offering, give whatever God lays on your heart." That's what that means right there.
Now, listen to what it says here, the last part of verse 38. It says, "For with the same measure that you meet withal, or that you give with, it shall be measured back to you again." Now, when I was a way, way, way younger preacher, I misunderstood that. And one night when I was going to do a Bible study on giving, I found every different size uh pan and pot and jar that my wife had in her in her kitchen. I found little little tiny cups all the way up to great big soup pots. And I had them laid out on the front of the platform, and I said, "You use a soup pot to give, God's going to use a soup pot to give back to you." That is not what that verse says at all. It's not saying you give God a cup of something, he's going to give you back a cup of something. It's going to be based on, like the widow's mite and the giving everything. It's going to be based on your willingness to do what God asked you to do. Many times when I receive an offering, and I don't know another preacher that does this but me, but I'll have everybody, I'll ask the question, "How many of you are willing to do whatever God speaks to you?" And those that are will raise their hand. And then I'll say, "We're going to pray, and whatever God speaks to you, you do that. Whatever God tells you, you do that. If it's one dime, or if it's $10,000, you do what God tells you to do." And this usually, it's a missions offering or something like that. And so, uh, I was thinking that same measure meant like a measuring cup. That whatever measurement you use, God will measure it back to you. No, what God is measuring is your liberality. And I promise you, you can't be as liberal or generous as he is. If you're being the most generous you can be, if I understand this scripture right, he's going to be the most generous he can be back to you. And honey, that's a deal I'll take eight days a week. Amen. So, for with the same measure that you meet withal, it shall be measured to you again.
Second Corinthians 9:6 and 7. Got a lot of verses for you tonight, and if you'll read them all when you get home or tomorrow or this week, you're going to get a great understanding of what the scripture says. Second Corinthians 9:6 and 7 says, "But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also." Anybody with me? Sparingly. If you sow sparingly, you're going to reap sparingly. It was an example or an analogy that the people of that day certainly understood. You plant one row of corn, you're not going to get a field of corn. You put one row of seeds in, tomatoes or or something like that, you're not going to get back the whole backyard full of tomato plants. That ain't the way it works. He that sows sparingly, just when harvest time comes, don't get mad. You're going to reap sparingly. And he that sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully. So, it's an absolute true saying that what we sow is what we're going to reap. It's also true that what you rip, you're going to sow. See, you all ain't awake. You didn't get it, did you? Didn't get it. Went over your head.
I know I don't want this to be a bad Bible study. I don't want it to come across as harsh or mean or demanding or anything like that. But I do want you to know what the Bible says. I don't want you to let people that don't know the Bible tell you what to say and what to think. I don't want you to let people who are stingy with God and have justified their stinginess tell you how to live and how to give. I don't want you to tell people that basically are backslidden in their heart. They don't have trust for God at all. And if that ain't backslid, I don't know what backslid is. Hello. Had a guy come tell me one time said, "How do I know I can trust you with my 10%?" I said, "Dummy, if you can't trust me at 10%, you're stupid if you trust me with your soul." Hello. We need to understand that we've got to get in the book and find out what God's word is saying and then do that no matter who else does or who else don't. Everybody said amen. Everybody said amen.
I've said this many times. I'm going to say it again tonight. It won't be new in any way. But probably the whole 20 years I've been preaching here, I have preached that I don't have to go to church; I get to go to church. I don't have to worship God; I get to worship God. I don't have to serve God; I get to serve God. And guess what? I don't have to pay tithes; I get to pay tithes. It's my privilege to tithe and support the work of God. Can you say amen?
Let me share with you the top three reasons why I am a tither. Top three reasons why I personally am a tither.
Malachi chapter 3, verses 10 and 11. It says, "Bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, it's the only place in your Bible that phrase exists, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open unto you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it." That's not the end of God's promise. That's where everybody stops reading. Verse 11's pretty powerful, too. God said, "And I will." Talking to tithers. Everybody understand that? He's talking to people that are willing to prove him with their giving, talking to tithers. "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." It's not the right place to stop at the end of verse 10. Verse 11 actually makes verse 10 a lot more powerful. Somebody said amen.
The second reason why I am a tither is Leviticus chapter 27 and verse number 30. It says, "And all the tithe." Everybody said, "All the tithe." "And all the tithe." Somebody say, "Until Moses dies." I don't see that in there, do you? "All the tithe as long as we're living in the Old Testament days." No. "And all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land, or the fruit of the tree, what's it say? Is the Lord's." That 10% belongs to God. Now again, I'm not intending to be rough or harsh tonight. I don't want to be. I don't want this to come across to us demanding. I don't want it to come across to us, "You better do it," because I promise you I'm not going to teach tithing in a legalist way. You either got a cheerful heart when you give, or you don't. Amen. If you're doing it 'cause you think, "I can't teach if I don't pay tithes. I can't sing in the choir if I don't pay tithes. I can't usher if I don't pay tithes. I can't do this or that if I don't pay tithes." When have you ever heard me say that? If your heart's in that condition, there'd be a good reason for you to step down. Forget the tithing. Hello? Listen carefully to me. He said, "All the tithe of the land, of the seed, of the land, or the fruit of the tree is the Lord's." No wonder Malachi has said, "Will a man rob God?" How do you rob God? How do you rob a God that owns the cattle on a thousand hillsides? How do you rob a God that all things were made by him and for him and by him all things consist? How do you rob a God that all the wealth in the world belongs to him? Every piece of gold on this earth he created. Amen. How do you rob that God? The tithe belongs to him. And when you don't give him what belongs to him, that's why Malachi said, "Will a man rob God?" Hello? Y'all still with me? Everybody still love me or hate me? Fruit of the tree is the Lord's, and then to underline that it is the Lord's, I want you to look what it says next. It is holy to the Lord. The tithe not only belongs to him, but he considers it holy.
The third reason that I am a tither. Third reason I am a tither. In Luke chapter 12 and verse number 34, it says, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Wherever your treasure is, that's where your heart's going to be. Let me reverse that and read it to you this way. Wherever your heart is, the reality of life is that's where you're going to put your treasure. Hello? I told, I told not one, I told several people in my years of pastoring, they come to me, you know, I'm trying to get my life right, I'm trying to get my priorities right, trying to get everything all lined up. Oh, I don't know how to do it, preacher. I tell them, "Can I see your checkbook? Can I see your calendar? If you'll show me those two things." Now they're all on your iPhone, but but back then they actually carried them in their purse or their pocket or something like that. I said, "Get your calendar out and get your checkbook out. Let me look at them." "What are you looking for, preacher?" "I'm looking at where they spend their time and where they spend their money because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Hello? It's not hard to give to something you love as much as you love God and his church. And when you quit giving to God and his church, maybe you ought to ask yourself a question, have I quit loving God and his church? Amen. We okay?
There's many biblical reasons for tithing. I'm going to go through them real quick. It's 7:58 right now. Real quick. I think there's nine in my notes, if I'm not mistaken.
Number one, tithing provides for God's house. Tithing provides for God's house. It's how we make the payments around here. It's how we pay the bills around here is through the tithes and offerings that comes in. We do get offerings here above and beyond the tithes, but it's probably about 20% uh offerings and 80% tithes. Almost everything here is paid by the tithing that comes in. Very little would actually be paid. And then when we take up an offering for missions or a missionary or some special project like we did a couple weeks ago, every red coin of that goes to what we take the offering up for. It doesn't stay at Bible World at all. So, you understand how the giving is distributed here.
Number two. Two, talking about nine biblical reasons for tithing. Number two, tithing provides for the ministry. I'm paid out of the tithing. Brother Rivera's paid out of the tithing. Brother Cecil's paid out of the tithing. Brother Rick Crouch's paid out of the tithing. There's other people that get that that get expenses or some kind of a monthly stipend or something like that out of the tithing that comes into this church. It's it's all ministry work. The tithing goes to ministry. It's used for ministry.
Number three. Tithes and offerings are evidence of my trust in God. Hello? True story, pastor friend of mine told me that a man in his church came to him and said, "Pastor, I just can't afford to pay tithes." He said, "Okay, what's the problem?" He said, "Well, I got $3,000 worth of bills a month and I've got about $2,800 coming in and I can't hardly ever make up that other couple hundred dollars. I've been doing things trying to make it up." But he said, "I'm falling short every month and if I quit paying my tithes, I could pay all my bills." And the pastor looked at wise old man. He looked at him and said, "Sir, how about this? How about me promising you that if you come to the end of the month and you don't have enough money to pay your tithes and your bills, you pay your tithes and I will make up the shortfall in your budget." The man said, "You'd do that preacher?" He said, "That's what I'm offering you." "Well, yeah, if you'll do that, if you'll make me a promise like that, sure, I'll do that." And the preacher looked at him and said, "Sir, why would you take the deal when I offer it and you wouldn't take the deal when God offered the same thing?" When God said, "I'll make up the difference. I'll pour you out a blessing you don't have room enough to receive." Hello?
I saw a cartoon in the in the newspaper. It's been years ago now, but I've never forgot it and I use it probably too much, but this old boy is standing in front of a fireplace and obviously there's icicles and all that and they've got him drawn so he's just shivering, you know, in that first frame of the cartoon. And in the second frame of the cartoon, a buddy walks up to him and said, "Hey, bro, put some wood in that fireplace." In the third frame, the old boy is saying, "I ain't giving fireplace no wood until it gives me some heat." Say preacher, that's the stupidest thing I ever heard. Yeah, just about as stupid as saying I'm not paying God what I owe him until God blesses me with a bunch of money. Hello. Woo. Woo. I started to ask you if you'd have stayed home tonight if you'd have known this, but I don't really want to know the answer.
Number four. Number four, biblical reasons for tithing. Is tithing acknowledges that God is my source. Not the shipyard, not the military. Hello. Not the store I work in, not the stocks I've got. God is my source. Do you know that tithing opens up opportunities for God to pour blessings upon your life? It allows God to give you guidance. It allows God to give you provisions. Hello. When you give to God, God said, "Prove me. I'll give back to you." But that isn't the end of it. He said, "I'm going to protect you. I'm going to rebuke the devourer for you. I'm going to bless the seed. I'm going to bless what you do with your hands, the work that you do." There's a lot of you that the company you work for don't know it, but the reason they're making it is 'cause you're an employee there. God said, "I'll just bless them. I'LL BLESS WHAT you're doing." Praise God. Oh, hallelujah.
Number five. Biblical reasons for tithing. Number five, tithing allows me to invest in something eternal. The kingdom of God. So many things we invest in. How many of you are getting about a hundred thousand requests a day to send somebody money that's running for a political office? Now, I'm going to tell you what, they're all lying. 'Cause I typed back stop to all of them. And still get a hundred the next day. Hello? You can put your money in places, honey, that has no eternal value if you're not careful. You You There's things you've got to do that God gives you blessings so you can provide for your family the things they need. A car, a house, food, clothing, education, the things your families need, a little bit of fun time together, vacations together. God don't have a problem with none of that, but I wouldn't want to stand before God and try to explain to him I never was a tither, but bless God Donald Trump got. Kamala Biden got. Hello? I I sent my money to these people, God. I'm sure you understand. And he going to look you in your little white eyes AND SAY, "NO, I DON'T." Tithing is what gives me the opportunity to invest the provisions that God has given me into something eternal. Say amen, somebody.
Number six, tithing is a seed of faith. We've already talked about that. That them that sow sparingly are going to reap sparingly. Those that sow bountifully will reap bountifully.
Number seven, tithing frees me from greed and self-reliance. And it deepens my reliance on God. When I tithe, you know, it's amazing how many people in 2024 think everything they got they got themselves. You do know there is absolutely no such thing on this earth as a self-made man. Every every every PMA speaker out there, every positive mental attitude speaker out there going to tell you need to be a self-made man. You need to make it on your own. It's up to you to do it. No, it ain't. If it been education, I couldn't do it. I missed more more days in my senior year of high school than I was there. I had more days absent than I told them, "The reason there's a federal law now of how many days you can miss school a year." It was me that did it. Now, I've educated myself. I love to read. I read all the time. I study all the time. Two or three days this week I've been up at 3:00, 4:00 in the morning still reading, studying the Bible, and writing notes, and writing things. I love to study. Nobody got to make me study. I love it. But, I'm telling you I'm smart enough to know it's not me that's doing it. It's not me that's building this church. It's not me that's making this thing a success. It's God. We need never forget that. It's God that's taking care of you and YOUR FAMILY. IT'S GOD THAT GAVE YOU THAT JOB. IT'S GOD THAT GAVE YOU THAT good deal on that GOOD CAR. IT'S GOD THAT FOUND helped you walk INTO A SALE FOR SOMETHING YOU REALLY NEEDED. I told you if there's one thing that aggravates me about charismatics, aggravates a fire out of me, IS IF ONE OF them gets a parking place in front of Walmart, first five or 10 spaces, right up at the doors. They walk in Walmart and tell every human, "Hey, God gave me a parking place." Yeah, I just drove in, that lady drove out, I drove I'm right there in the second place, right? God gave me a parking place. We can watch 24 people be baptized and nine get the Holy Ghost two Sundays ago and I'd bet my truck on it, there ain't 10 people in here that's told anybody. Hello? Hear me. We got to change that. We got to start thanking God for what God's doing for us. We got to start recognizing the blessings of God. If you think this revival's because Jack Cunningham's your pastor or we've got amazing music and the best drummer in all the United Pentecostal Church International and brother
Jordan, arguably the best keyboardist in the whole United Pentecostal Church International. Hello? Even Eddie clapped his hands on that. Listen to me, folks. Everything that's GOING RIGHT, THE BIBLE SAID ALL GOOD GIFTS ARE from above. Everything that's going right is from God and we ought to be acknowledging that. Can you say amen? Everybody said amen.
Number eight, tithing is evidence. Everybody said evidence. That I have made God the priority in my life and finances. It's the evidence. It ain't just talking about it. Tithing is the evidence that I have made God the priority in my life and financing. Tithing is a declaration of my faith in God. Tithing is a testimony of the importance of my relationship with God. The importance to me. Amen.
And number nine, deliberately last, is tithing is worship. We our service schedules are wrong. Bible World Great Bible World Church, our service schedule is wrong. Because we schedule worship. The praise team's going to sing two songs and on our printed schedules it calls that worship. And then we're going to do prayer and then we're going to do offering and then we're going to welcome the guest and then the praise team's going to come back and we call it again, worship. Somebody listen to me right now. When you give to God, whether you do it on your phone, your computer, whether you write a check, bring cash, whether you put in an envelope and walk the aisle, it don't matter how you give it, but you need to understand that God considers your giving worship. He considers it worship to him. Somebody said, "Praise the Lord."
Now, I've got 5 minutes left. In my final thoughts, I want to give you a logical approach to tithing. A logical approach to tithing. I've tried to lay a foundation, probably give 100 scriptures. I hope you'll read them all this week. But let me give you a logical understanding or approach to tithing. I am often asked, "Is tithing mandatory?" I am asked from time to time, "Do I have to tithe?" People say, "Is it a requirement to be saved or to belong to this church to tithe." I wish I could tell you I've had those questions once in my whole ministry, but that wouldn't be true. I actually get them quite often. It is amazing how many people get baptized and get the Holy Ghost here. And then they go to journey class and they love journey. They can't say enough good about it until we get over to the lesson on tithing. And then we don't see him no more. Hello. You know why?
There's a story in the Bible for that. There's a a rich man that came to Jesus and Jesus said, "Go sell all that you have. Give everything you got to the poor and then follow me. Take up your cross and follow me." Those of you that are Bible scholars understand that the words that Jesus spoke to that particular man are the exact words, the exact verbage he spoke to others of the 12 to come and be one of the 12. Could it be that Jesus was calling that man to be an apostle? To be one of his 12 disciples. Could it be that that man could have been in the ranks of Peter and John and James and Luke and Matthew? I think the answer is yes. But the Bible said that man departed very sad. Why? Because he had much. It didn't say he left sad cuz he only had a little. Says he left sad cuz he had a bunch. And he just wasn't going to get rid of it. Wasn't going to give any of it. Hello.
You know, if he really understood who he was talking to, that same Jesus in that same three and a half years of ministry said, "No man's going to leave father, mother, houses, or land, but what they're not going to get it back a hundredfold in this lifetime." He wasn't talking about heaven. He said, "You'll get it back a hundredfold in this lifetime." WHEN WE SAY you can't outgive God, honey, I'm telling you absolutely you cannot outgive God. But you're never going to know that until you prove him. Say amen, somebody. You see how it all comes together? Comes together like a perfect puzzle when you look at the whole thing.
So, the quick answer is is tithing mandatory? You decide. That'd be my answer. You decide. Jesus said you you ought to do it. You ought not leave that undone. Leviticus said the tithe is the Lord's, it's holy unto the Lord. But you decide whether or not you think you ought to tithe. Because if I make you do it Say, "How would you make me do it?" If I'm If I can verbally persuade you, that's better than saying make you. I can't make nobody do nothing. But if I'd use my ability and try to verbally persuade you, if I'd hang some job over your head, "Oh, you can do this in the church if you're a tither." And there's churches that do that and they're wrong. If I in any way entice you or strong-arm you to get you to tithe you're never going to get a blessing for that tithe because it's not coming from a willing heart. Hello? It has to come from a heart that wants to give to God.
Now, for those that say that tithing is not in the New Testament, it was under the law of Moses, it's not mentioned again in the New Testament. Guess what? The Old Testament says clap your hands all you people. It's not in the New Testament. That mean we ain't supposed to do it? Mhm? There are so many things that are in the Old Testament that you do every day of your life that are not mentioned in the New Testament or maybe not explicitly taught in the New Testament and you do it. The reason we do that is because we've been taught that all scripture is given by God and is good for reproof and rebuke and for understanding. We don't take one little verse out here and say, "Okay, there's our verse right there. That's the one we're going to follow. We're going to follow the whole book." And do you know it's scary to pick and choose what you're going to follow in that book? Very scary.
You could be in the United Pentecostal I've been in the United Pentecostal Church 66 years. My mom brought me to church when I was 5 days old. I've never been in anything but this. In 66 years, I've never heard a preacher preach on this message. But the the closing chapter of your Bible, the last chapter of the Book of Revelation, there is a verse in there that said, "If any man take away from the words of this book, I'll take his name out of the Lamb's Book of Life. And if any man add to the words of this book, I'll add all the plagues therein unto him." I want to tell you it's dangerous to try and pick and choose what you're going to believe and not believe in the book. Does anybody in here have the authority to change the word? No. Does anybody in here have the authority to modify the word? No. Does anybody in here have the authority to determine that the word is not for us because this is 2024? No. Hello. I make a big deal around here about the Bible being the final authority. And folks, you need to understand that that is our safety. That is what keeps us safe is how much we love God's word. I know we're a worshipping church, but it is not our worship that's keeping us safe. I love good preaching, and the better the preacher is, the more I like it. But it isn't good polemics that's keeping us saved. It's our love and devotion and commitment to the word of God that's going TO GET US THROUGH. HEAVEN and earth is going to pass away, but he said, "My word shall not pass away." Clap your hands and shout, "Yes."
Why do we have faith? Why are we faithful? Why do we go to church? Why do we pray? Why do we worship? Do we do any of these things because they're mandatory? I think everybody in here is smart enough to know none of those things on that list work if you're doing them cuz you have to. Hello. I don't like it when we get up in church and say, "Okay, everybody raise your hands. Everybody, come on. Everybody, every Everybody, everybody, please, please. Let's Let's everybody raise our hand." I don't like that at all. I'd rather hear it when preachers go to the pulpit and say, "Okay, settle down, folks. Take a break. Stop shouting. Stop dancing." Because when we're doing it because we want to, there's all kind of tied to that. When you're doing it because you think you have to or somebody's listening or somebody's making a decision about what you're doing, you are doing it for the reason that is not going to be blessed. Doesn't matter what it is. And I say put giving in the same category with faith and faithfulness and church attendance and prayer and worship. We don't do those because we have to. We don't worship because we have to. We worship because we love God. We worship because he's worthy of our praise. We worship because worship ushers me into the presence of the Lord. I don't have to worship. I get to worship. I don't have to give. I get to give. If you understand that, clap your hands and shout yes.
Another logical thing to look at, you that are Bible scholars. We need to take note of the fact that there is no place in the New Testament that either Jesus or any of the writers of the New Testament say tithing is abolished. The practice of tithing was only for the Old Testament. Tithing is being replaced with XYZ. Instead of tithing in the New Testament, we're going to do da da da. Or here's a new way to pay your tithes. Now to me, that's just logical. It's just logical that if something as important as tithing in the Old Testament that is wholly under the Lord, it belongs to God. He'll open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing if you do it. I'm thinking that if Jesus was going to quit it, he'd have said something about it. Now again, that I'm I'm just trying to be logical with you here. You all again know me. If the book don't make sense, then why read it? Hello.
Number three, more logic. You need to understand, you need to remember, be reminded often that God doesn't need one penny of our money. He doesn't need one cent of our money. God can bless us 16 ways from Sunday. He can bless his church, he can keep his church going, he can make people give to the work of God if you don't want to do it. If you think God or the church needs your money, that isn't true. Let me tell you what is true. You need God's blessing. Let me tell you what is true. You and your family need God's protection. Let me tell you what else is true. We need God's leadership. We need his help and we need his guidance. It isn't a matter what God needs from me, it's a matter what I need from God. Can somebody say amen? Stand up if you will. I'll quit easier if you're standing.
My last point. And I saved this to last. I hope you don't have no rotten tomatoes with you. If you really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really want to ignore what the Old Testament says and do what the New Testament says, the New Testament says 100% of what you got belongs to God. It says he gave you everything you got. He is your provider, he is your sustainer, he's your helper, he's your teacher. The power and strength that you possess comes from him. There is nothing we have that didn't come from God. And the New Testament over and over and over again says it all belongs to God. And I'm saving this to the end for this reason. Is I want to know why all these people that want to turn their back on the Old Testament are not embracing the New Testament. Hello? They did it on the book of Acts chapter 2. Sold all their possessions and goods. And brought it to the apostles. Hello? Woo! I'd like to take up one of them offerings here one Sunday. No, I'm not going to take it up cuz y'all ain't coming to live with me. I'm going to drive nobody around or nothing like that. Please understand. And you got to leave here with this in your brain, burned in your brain. Everything I've got came from God. And belongs to God. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.