The tithe is Gods way to provide for His work to be accomplished. Just as Jesus told his parents at a young age “I must be about my father’s business”; so must the church today be about finishing the great commission of Christ Jesus. The method of financing this great work is through the tithe. And it is through the principle of the tithe that the covenant of perpetual harvest is realized.
Deuteronomy 14:22 (KJV)
Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
The tithe is first introduced when Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek who was both a priest and king of Salem. According to the Book of Hebrews, Jesus is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek (see Heb. 6:20). Salem in Hebrew means peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. In Genesis 12, it says of Melchizedek that he brought forth bread and wine to Abraham, a symbol of the communion Christ Jesus shares with His church today. Abraham, the father of our faith, gave tithe to the representation of Christ as king/Priest. It was the tithe that put Abraham under the covenant of blessing: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 3:29 (NLT) “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.” If this covenant promise to Abraham of blessing was the result of him being faithful to the tithe, then the same is so for his heirs, the church. Jesus said “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39). These works include tithing.
We find the tithe in the life of Jacob, who became known as Israel, the father of Gods people, as well. While running from Esau his brother, he stopped for sleep and had a vision from the Lord. Jacob named that place Bethel, which translates to “the House of God”. It was there at the house of God that Jacob made a vow unto God “and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” (Genesis 28:22). A tenth is the minimal value of the tithe. We give tithes unto God through the place and work of the House of God, namely, the Church. The church was first instituted as the tabernacle in the wilderness during the exodus under the leadership of Moses. It was regarding the tabernacle that God said through Moses “and all the tithe … is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord” (Lev. 27:30). Another depiction of the church is a reference of it as a storehouse. ”Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings…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. (Malachi 3:8&10 KJV) Gods promise here is that when we bring our tithe into the church, a great blessing will follow.
A PRAYER OVER YOUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS:
This is my tithe and offering. It is the firstfruit of my increase, the seed of my blessing, the sacrifice of my worship. With it I break down generational curses, I destroy demonic strongholds, I advance the Kingdom of God. Lord, Release your goodness and grace as I honor you with this gift. Amen!
Jesus taught His disciples to “render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). In simpler terms; pay your taxes and pay your tithes. The tithe belongs to God. It is the FIRSTFRUIT of our harvest. We are instructed through the teaching of the first-fruits in Leviticus 23 and 1 Corinthians 15, to set aside the tithe first, and cover everything else we are in need of with the remainder. God will supply all of our needs with what remains after the tithe. He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our provider. This agrees with what Jesus taught to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Paying tithes first will bring “all these things”, which is everything else needed to live and move and have your being, unto you. In the great commission of Matthew 28, Jesus concluded the mission statement with the mandate of ”Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” and one of those “things” is the command of the tithe. We are instructed to tithe and to teach everyone who comes to Christ to tithe as well.
Tithing is Gods plan to advance the Kingdom of God, to bless His people today, and is an act of worship unto the Lord. The Psalmist declared that “the earth is the Lords and all the fullness thereof”. This implies that everything in and on the earth already belongs to God. The tithe is us giving back to God a portion of our “harvest” (our income, resources) to demonstrate our dependence and trust in Him to meet our every need. Will you rob God or honor God? Honoring Him with the tithe, and ergo our trust, is another means of ones worship in giving. Let us worship Him as our Savior and our Provider with our tithe. Whether your tithe is a tenth, or maybe more, the scripture instructs us in the act of tithing; and God loves a “cheerful giver”.
Grand Haven Pentecostals 