The Biblical Principle and Blessing of Tithing

I tell you that story, even though that's an international incident, even though they don't live in the United States, I think it highlights a problem that pastors deal with. And I'm telling you this on a Sunday morning because national missions for us means we're going to help build relationships with other pastors. And it doesn't matter if they're a part of our organization or outside, I just love pastors. And if someone in a hostile area of the world who has to, is forced to meet underground under threat of prison, his biggest struggle is he's alone. I look around and I look at our pastors and the plight is no different. They just feel like they're alone. [00:32:19] (52 seconds)

There was a point in time where the church took the scripture seriously. And we didn't want a motivational talk. We didn't want somebody to come in and tell us what we wanted to hear. We didn't want somebody just to come in and encourage us. And we all want encouragement. Please don't misunderstand me. But what we were was we were committed enough to the word that if you would come in and even if it offended where I was, if it was his word, I was willing to change where I was to move to where I should be. Because that's what his word said. [00:51:45] (37 seconds)  #CommittedToTheWord

Have you ever had that moment? You were sitting in a class, you were sitting in somewhere and they were, they were talking about something and you were sitting there the whole time and it was like just, just hitting you in the forehead and then all of a sudden it was like your mind opened up and you got it. And you're sitting there and you're like, oh, I get it. That's understanding. We have to understand whatever subject it is in the scripture, whatever, whatever we are trying to grasp, we've got to not only get the information, we got a lot of TikTok prophets who love to talk about the information, but they don't have the understanding. [00:59:00] (44 seconds)  #LightbulbMoment

Now I tell you this because this can approach any subject in the scripture that you want to talk about. You have to understand that there is knowledge that has to be obtained, there is understanding, there is comprehension that has to be grasped, and there is wisdom or application that has to be fleshed out. So let's talk about tithing. Malachi chapter three. The argument in today's culture is that tithing is an Old Testament principle that it is no longer applicable in the New Testament and that we don't have to obey that. I think we misunderstand. [01:01:30] (53 seconds)  #TitheIsTrust

If you choose not to tithe, listen, you will still go to heaven. That does not affect your salvation. I will say the only thing that it will affect is how you live here. It is a biblical principle, financial principle. Okay? Let's go. I can't afford to tithe. Proverbs chapter 6, verses 30 and 31. Starts here. It says, people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy when he's starving. Yet when he's found, he must restore sevenfold. [01:06:13] (39 seconds)  #TitheProtectsYourSeed

When God looks down in this room, he doesn't see you as individuals. He sees all of us as one. They go, well, if I don't tithe, it ain't gonna affect anybody else. No, no, no, no, no. Read how God dealt with Israel. Y'all remember the story of Achan and Achan's tent, right? They went in and stole some stuff. God dealt with the whole nation. He didn't call. He could have called the one person out and said, that person stole. You need to deal with him. No, no, no, no, no. He stepped back and he said, I want you to go through. I want you to find the thief because you have robbed me. [01:10:04] (37 seconds)  #SowingSeedsOfBlessing

It's the only place where God, in the entire scripture, where God says, try me. And it has to do with the principle of tithing. Says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will be room enough to receive it. I paused there in my notes. Let me stop there. I've had people ask me, they say, well, do you pay off the gross or the net? My response is, depends on which blessing you want. There's not a right or wrong answer. It just depends on the blessing you want. [01:11:27] (53 seconds)  #GiveIt90Days

We don't tithe so that we can be blessed. We tithe so that we become that blessing for other people. When we get it messed up, that's what the American church has done is it has flipped it around, and it has made it about me. Give me. Grow me. Give me more. It wasn't ever about that. It was about getting it through us to other people. But then the second thing, man, and I don't have time to talk about this this morning, so we're going to, I'm going to broach this subject, and then we're going to move on, but we're going to talk about this next week. [01:16:01] (41 seconds)  #FindingPeaceInPrayer

I'm not preaching this because I want your money. I'm preaching this because I believe wholeheartedly in it. I live by it. It's not something I'm preaching to get something for you. It's something I preach because I do it. I believe in the principle of the tithe. And here's what I would say to you. If you're skeptical about it, give it a try. Give it a shot. What do you have to lose? God said, try me now in this and see. [01:23:42] (40 seconds)

I believe that if you're in this room and you're not tithing, I believe that if you would try, we actually do a thing here called 90-day tithe challenge. I'm not pushing that this morning because I don't want you to think there's some kind of gimmick behind it. But I want you to understand, we believe so much, we'll go, listen, 90 days. Give it 90 days and see what God will do in your life. In 90 days, you look back and you go, God hasn't done anything in my life. Fine. Don't give another dime. That's how much I believe in that. [01:24:23] (35 seconds)