Tithing, do you feel obligated to do this? What does it mean to you? Unfortunately the enemy has successfully used money over the years to keep us
from achieving a close relationship with the Lord! Money is something that can start fights, drive wedges and split opinions between family, friends and
spouses. Financial matters are very personal but like all things in our lives, it should be brought up under the Lord. This issue is very important and
every Christian should make sure they understand God’s Word on this matter and not rely their personal interpretation. Don’t ever allow anything to come
between you and God, especially money! As you’ll see it has nothing to do with money and everything to do with obedience to Him!
The first thing to know is this, God doesn’t “NEED” our money, He has no “NEEDS”! God calls us to tithe because He demands our obedience. He
owns everything, Psalm 50:1-15 says:
The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where is sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God
shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the
earth, that he may judge his people: “Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim his
righteousness, for God himself is judge.
“Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt
offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the
cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world
is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
These verses are powerful! The first three verses show us our almighty God, One who “speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the
place where it sets.” In verse two, “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth,” this is such an eloquent description of the beauty of our Lord! It is
sandwiched in between two verses of His might. The writer depicts God’s radiant beauty that cannot be contained and it bursts forth along with His
sovereignty and power! Then verse three, ” Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.” I know that
you just read these, I am not being redundant but adamant in pointing out the Lord’s majesty. This is where I have missed it in the past, maybe you have
too! God is huge and has “NO NEEDS,” He is Creator, Savior, the Alpha and Omega, He measured the seas in the palm of His hand. These verses clearly
speak of how bi! g our God is!
As you go into verses 4 to 6, you see this all consuming, all powerful, designer of the universe summoning ALL of heaven to come gather as He talks
about and judges these humans that He made a covenant with! He calls them, “His consecrated ones” because of this amazing covenant! It is because of
this very covenant that He offered up His sacrifice, Jesus Christ His own Son. Christ was the ultimate SACRIFICE! His death and resurrection sealed and
fulfilled God’s promise to us. God always keeps His promises and never, ever forgets His people! God has never gone back on His word or on what He
said He would do, it is not His nature! After He did all of this for us, we baulk at obeying and giving Him our best, following God and living by faith.
Allowing Him to be Lord over all areas of our life! When you step back to get the full picture of this it makes you feel pretty small and awfully selfish.
Noth! ing we can or will ever sacrifice can even come close to what God has given for us! Christ’s death not only opened up the door to eternal salvation
but provided us with a High Priest. Jesus was humbly born, lived, walked and drew breath in a human body so that He could understand and know what we
experience (Hebrews 2:17-18). He fulfilled prophecy, God’s covenant with us, His holy Word. The result of this was the gap between God and man being
filled, with a final sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice…Jesus! His death offers us a connection to God through Christ. Now a lifeline, the Holy Spirit will be cast
out to all who call upon the Name of Jesus. This provides us with direct contact to God Himself access to the foot of His throne at any time. Also the
privileged opportunity to do THIS LIFE WITH HIM, not just eternity! He cares about us right here, right now, in our present condition! All that God
asks us in return, is o! ur obedience to Him and submission to His will! And He promises to be there to give us the strength through His Spirit, so that
we can do it! Pretty amazing!
Now to tied it up and send it home with verses 7 to 15. They depict God’s bank account, His storehouse, His table, He owns it all and has access to it
ALL! He doesn’t need what we give, it is our OBEDIENCE that He DESIRES and DEMANDS! Obedience not Sacrifice (I Samuel 15:22), that is what it
is all about! That is usually were we miss it! When you reach out to tithe, you should be doing so in obedience to your Lord, desiring to honor your
covenant with God. Tithing should be ten percent, the first ten (Leviticus 27:32-34) the best of the best, not what you can spare. God did not give just
what He could spare He gave us His best in Jesus Christ, His Son! So why should we hesitate on giving Him our best? It should be from our unwavering
commitment, sincere heart and humble sacrifice! Determine to tithe and then do it with a joyful heart and no matter the cost! That is where the blessing
lies,! NOT IN THE MONEY THAT WE GIVE, BUT THE OBEDIENCE IN DOING IT! God does not need it, what He desires is our Obedience out of
Love and commitment to Him, fully trusting Him and believing by faith that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do!
Be clear on this too, it has nothing to do with a pastor, ministry or building. People that misuse or misrepresent God for financial gain, will be dealt
with by God Himself (2 Cor. 11:14 & Matt. 23). People are not perfect and if you have not yet come across someone who has used the Gospel for
personal gain or profit, you probably will someday. No one can hide from God, and they have no idea the judgment that they are bringing upon themselves
by choosing to do that! Just keep your focus on Jesus, not the world or people.
In closing, it has nothing to do with the money but an obedient sacrifice. Like Issac was for Abraham, God wants to see our faith. Activate your faith
by implementing obedience to the One who created you, loves you and most of all who desires a relationship with you. Obedience will make your
relationship with your Savior come alive and you will achieve heights with Him that you never dreamed you would!
May God bless you as you step out in faith and obedience to Him!
(More scripture on this topic: Deuteronomy 28, 2 Chronicles 31, Malachi 3:6-13,
Haggai 1:5-11, Deut. 15:19)
