TITHES • OFFERINGS • ALMS

GOD’S PLAN FOR BLESSING YOU

Are you tired of going in circles in the area of your finances? Many Christians are slow to learn the principles of giving and receiving and never seem to rise above their circumstances. I want to share with you spiritual laws that will set you on the right track and cause you to excel financially in the kingdom of God.

As Christians we have a source of financial abundance that knows no limits. God has promised to meet our every need: spiritually, physically, and materially. That's right! It is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to out give God! The spiritual cornerstone of giving states that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35); if you increase your giving, you'll increase your blessings (Luke 6:38); your heavenly account is important (Matthew 6:19,20); and the kingdom of God must take first priority in your life (Matthew 6:33).

In these days of economic uncertainty, it is important for all Christians to come into the working knowledge of this truth. For years many Christians believed poverty was the will of God and a sign of godly humility. Thank God we're not in bondage to that kind of thinking any longer! Now we see clearly that some of the most prosperous men of all time were people of God—Abraham, Job, and Solomon—and you can prosper too by using God's spiritual principles in the area of your finances.

I want to share with you three things which will help you to receive financial abundance from God. There has been some misunderstanding about these three things; so I want to make them clear in your thinking —that way you'll be sure to be in a place of financial blessing. If you understand how to work with these three items, then inflation, recession, unemployment, and a host of similar words will no longer be part of your vocabulary.

In order for us to receive financially from God, He says that there are certain responsibilities that we must fulfill. If we'll do our part, God says He will do His part and meet all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. What is your part? It involves three things that you've probably heard about many, many times; but I'm going to share them with you one more time. This time you're going to understand them better and reap rich results in your life.

Tithing and Open Windows

One of your first responsibilities as a Christian is to tithe. Now I know you're thinking, "Ho hum, I know the scriptures on tithing." But I can tell you from experience that a forest of results will spring up if you really take them into your spirit.

Many people don't like to hear about tithing; it's one subject that puts them into a state of fear. They think, "We can't even make ends meet now. How could we ever give away ten percent of our income?" But they fail to see the blessings that follow tithing. These people are not trusting God to be their unlimited source of supply. You'll have no trouble tithing if you will see God as your source. Don't limit yourself to your paycheck for all your income!

Malachi 3:10 is probably one of the most popular and well-known scriptures that we use when discussing tithing. It says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, . . . ." What storehouse? The storehouse is your local church: "... 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."

Tithing carries with it some definite blessings. One blessing is that you'll have meat in your house. I believe that promise can be taken literally and spiritually. If you're experiencing a financial pinch to the point of not being able to buy meat at the grocery store, then maybe you're not tithing. God will feed you with meat if you are a tither—steak if that's what you want! That's His promise, and I'm a literalist with the Word.

If you're a tither, God will also give you spiritual meat from His Word. Go to church expecting to be fed spiritual beef-steak! People who don't tithe are immature because they're not receiving the meat of the Word. You need to be obedient to the first principles of the Word before you can ever expect to go on to maturity.

God promises to pour out a blessing to the tither. The windows of heaven open to you and out comes a deluge of good things. On the other hand, God promises to rebuke the devourer. God will rebuke anything that keeps your money from going as far as it should go. As long as you're a tither, the stock market, inflation, and other monetary fluctuations needn't fill your mind with worry and keep you up at night!

Offerings and Measured Returns

Now let's talk about offerings. The Bible tells us that we are to give offerings. What is an offering? An offering is something that is given above the first ten percent. As Christians, we're obligated to pay the tithe—it's something we "owe" to God. Offerings, on the other hand, should come strictly from what you feel led of the Lord to do—whatever He impresses you to give.

People sometimes get the tithe and the offering mixed up. You can't say, "I give offerings, so God will rebuke the devourer." The Bible doesn't say that! Don't try and add to the Word. The Bible does say: "Give [not 'pay,' as in 'pay your tithe'], and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38).

When you give an offering, God doesn't open the windows of heaven. Offerings move "men" to give to you. And your return depends upon the measure that you've given—the bigger the offering, the bigger the blessing.

We're to "give" offerings. One of the words for give in the Hebrew means "to transfer a load or burden, to lay or to put a foundation." When you give an offering, you are laying a foundation for men to bless you. When you give an offering, you should expect to be blessed in return!

When we first started our church, we had a prayer meeting in our home for the young people. We would have 35 or 40 young people come to those meetings. The young people absolutely wore out our divan and chair. We needed a new divan and chair; and even though we tithed, week after week went by without any sign of a new divan.

One day God led us to give a special offering to help someone. Right after that, a lady came up to me in the service and said, "I feel led to give you something. I want to tell you where to put it. I don't want it put any place else." She gave me an envelope, and on it was written, "This is to upholster your chair and divan." We called a man to do it, and it cost exactly what she had given us!

Who gave us that "new" divan and chair? It was "men," wasn't it? We gave an offering, and God met our needs through someone else. We laid the foundation, and men gave unto us.

Alms and Multiplied Blessings

Finally, let's talk about almsgiving. Proverbs 19:17 talks of almsgiving: "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given, will he pay him again."

Almsgiving is not tithing, and it is not an offering. It is a loan which God says He will repay. Technically, we don't pay alms or give alms. They are something we sow. Look at II Corinthians 9:10,12: "Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God."

What is Paul saying? He is saying that the Christians in Corinth were giving to people who had a need. They were not ministering to the church; they were ministering to the poor. Remember the man recorded in Acts 3:2 who sat at the Gate Beautiful? He was asking for alms. He was poor, and he was begging for help. Alms are something we sow to the poor.

What happens whenever we sow seed? There is always a multiplying effect! Look back at II Corinthians 9:10: " . . . and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness." Alms are something I plant and the Lord multiplies back to me. In times of economic uncertainty, we should be planting lots of seed! Not only do we enrich ourselves financially, but God's Word says we're increasing the fruits of our righteousness. The benefits from, sowing alms overflow from the financial realm into our personal lives!

Where are you in this area of finances today? Are you paying tithes and receiving blessings back from God through the open windows of heaven? Are you also giving offerings to meet the needs of others and receiving back according to the size of your gift? And are you sowing alms to the poor and expecting God to repay you by multiplying it back to you along with increasing the fruits of your righteousness? If you'll be obedient to God's Word, you can prosper in every area of your life!

Tithing Testimonies

The following are testimonies of believers who took God at His Word and reaped blessings in return.

My husband and I were planning a trip to visit his parents. We had purchased our plane tickets and received an "OK" deal on them; but we were still worried about their cost, plus the rental car, motel, meals, and other travel expenses for the trip. It just seemed that our money wasn't going far enough.

One day while at lunch, the Lord brought me up short. He reminded me of the scripture in Malachi that says He will rebuke the devourer for OUR sakes, if we tithe. I have faithfully tithed for the last 10 years (my husband is not saved and does not tithe). So I got mad at the devil and shouted out the scripture at him as I drove to and from lunch.

Less than an hour later I got a call from someone I knew who worked for an airline asking if I had gotten tickets for my trip yet. There had been a fare reduction; so I immediately called the airlines and they repriced my tickets. They said I could receive a refund, which I thought was impossible on purchased tickets.

I was somewhat excited because I thought they had said it would be $30 a ticket and saving $60 seemed pretty good. When I got to the airline ticket desk, I wanted to SHOUT and dance— the refund was over $130 a ticket! The Lord had rebuked the devourer of $260! That took care of our rental car, most of our meals, and my husband's parents paid for the motel! Praise the Lord, the Word works!

K. J.

Early in our Christian walk my wife and I began to tithe. A few years later we both quit our jobs and began Bible college full time. God provided us new jobs, and we were soon making more money than before. Two weeks after graduation from Bible college, our first child was born; my wife quit her job, we bought a house, and our income actually went UP again!

Over the years we have continued to experience God's financial blessings in our lives as we have continued to tithe.

M. M.

My husband and I learned very early in our married life that we should tithe on our income. God has always met our needs and blessed us abundantly as He strengthened our faith to give more and more.

Almost three years ago, we went to our first fund-raising banquet for our church building program. My husband had suffered very serious injuries because of a fall from a two-story roof. He walked into the banquet room that evening on a cane. When we were ready to make our faith promise that night, he said to me, "You will need to make the decision tonight because I am in too much pain to think."

I prayed and the Lord told me to pledge $11,000. My husband later told me that he knew God would make a way for us to fulfill that promise. He was forced into early retirement; and in the natural, it did not look possible.

We had three properties with five rentals, and we felt we should sell all but one of them because we needed a home. We believed God that the one would be debt free although it didn't look possible in the natural.

God began to work in the most unusual way. First, the former owner of one of our properties (he still held the mortgage) came to us and asked that we refinance the property because he needed the money to build a house. That looked pretty impossible because we had only the one salary since my husband could not work at the time. However, we tried and were turned down because the property had a little house on the back of the lot and did not meet the loan criteria.

The former owner kept coming back and offering to lower the loan more and more if we could refinance the house and buy the note. This continued until the note could be purchased for $21,000 less. The Lord led us to a lender that refinanced the house. We thought we should live in that house but the Lord wanted us to sell it and live in one of the other properties.

A year passed and due to the change in the real estate market our properties increased in value $30,000. As we sat in the last closing, waiting to see that last cashier's check, figures were racing through my head and I was asking God, "Will it be enough?" The mortgage on our home was $51,000; and when we prepared the last deposit, it was enough to pay off the entire amount. My husband and I rejoiced. There is not a day that goes by that we do not remember to thank God with all of our hearts.

M. S.

I was raised by alcoholic parents in a family that did nothing but fail. I was never told I could go beyond what my parents had done. My dad gave up on the marriage and left when I was 12 years old. My mother gave up on becoming a mother and became very immoral in front of us. We gave up and got very heavily into drugs.

My sister got pregnant when she was 16; I got pregnant when I was 14. I had to quit school in the eighth grade. All my life I was told, "You'll never get beyond what your mother was able to do."

My sister became a heroin addict and, at the age of 17, had a $300-a-day habit. I was doing heroin also. My sister ended up getting saved, delivered, and totally set free through the power of Jesus Christ and prayer. She began witnessing to me, and God began doing something in my heart as I witnessed the change in my sister's life—she went to Bible school, became an ordained minister, and a missionary.

I became saved at the age of 21. I still was not doing much with my life until God got ahold of it and started showing me something in Him. I started going to a church where they were teaching tithing. One thing that pastor said right away was, "If you will tithe, I guarantee you God will change your life."

I was doing assembly work in a factory and was only making $2.25 an hour. I said, "OK God, I'm going to tithe." I started giving my $20 a week, and the next thing I knew it was $25 a week because I had gotten a raise. There were times when it would have been easier to give in to the drugs than it was to hang on, but I held on to God.

I was living in California and had gotten promoted to a shipping clerk. I was listening to Marilyn on the radio; and as she did her tape offers, I thought, "Somebody has got to be shipping those tapes. I wonder who is doing it?"

Through a series of events, God brought me to Denver. Each time I got a job it was a little bit better and a little more successful. I came on staff with Marilyn Hickey Ministries several years ago as a shipping clerk. I kept tithing although there were times when I was tempted not to because of other financial obligations. But through all those temptations not to tithe, I held on to what God says in His Word.

I'm a director at Marilyn Hickey Ministries now. I tell people I only have a GED but I have a degree in God. I've learned computers inside and out and I am not a failure; I'm a success. I could have been a failure, but it was resisting temptation and obeying God that brought me through it.

M. E.

My Faith Confession for Giving

Father, God, I thank You, for the Lordship and Deity of Jesus. He is Your Son and my Savior, my healer, my provider. He is the Apostle of my faith, the High Priest of my confession, and it is in Him, Father, that I lift my tithes unto You.

Lord Jesus, take my tithe and worship the Father with it. And I declare that the devourer is rebuked and the windows of heaven are opened; for I profess this day unto the Lord God, that I have come into the inheritance which the Lord swore to give me. I am in the land which You have provided for me in Jesus Christ.

Jesus, as my Lord and High Priest, I bring the first fruits of my income to You and worship the Lord, my God with it. I rejoice in all the good which You have given to me and my household. I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, my God, and have done according to all that He has commanded me. Now look down from Your holy habitation from heaven and bless me as You-said in Your Word. As You worship the Father with my giving, I set my heart in faith to receive a 100-fold return (Mark 4:20; 10:29,30).

Father God, because of Christ alive in my life, I have power to bind Satan and to loose Your blessings (Matthew 16:19). Therefore, you foul spirits of poverty, lack, and debt, I bind you in the name of Jesus. You cannot work in my spirit, my mind, my body, my marriage, my family, my business, my finances, or my social activities; for you foul spirits, you are bound in Jesus' name.

Prosperity, I loose you in the name of Jesus, to work in my spirit, my mind, my body, my marriage, my family, my business, my finances, and my social activities. Prosperity, you are loosed to do good in all areas of my living.

Father God, You have blessed me with the blessings of the Lord. I am blessed when I go out and I am blessed when I come in. I am blessed in the field and I am blessed in the store. Everything I put my hands to is blessed. Now, I don't run after these blessings; these blessings are running after me and overtaking me (Deuteronomy 28:2), because You have made me the head and not the tail. I am born from above and not from beneath. My enemies come against me one way and flee in seven. Goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. In Jesus' name, amen. (Genesis 22:14; Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 28:1-4; Psalms 23:6; Matthew 16:19; Mark 4:20; Titus 1:4; Hebrews 3:1)

Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of Your Life

The Bible says. That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that Cod hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9.10).

To receive Jesus Christ as bird and Savior of your life, sincerely pray this prayer from your heart:

Dear Jesus.

I believe that You died for me and that You rose again on the third day. I confess to You that I am a sinner and that I need Your love and forgiveness. Come into my life, forgive my sins, and give me eternal life. I confess You now as my Lord. Thank You for my salvation!

Signed_______

Date_______

TITHES • OFFERINGS • ALMS

God’s Plan for Blessing You!

As Christians we have a source of financial abundance that knows no limits. God has promised to meet our every need: spiritually, physically, and mentally. Let Marilyn Hickey show you how to put God’s Word to work so YOU can prosper in every area of your life!

Marilyn Hickey Ministries • Denver, Colorado

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