Keys to Proper Giving

Giving Brings a Harvest

Most Christians do not have an agricultural mentality. They read a book like this, get all excited, go to church on Sunday and give an offering to God, then wake up Monday morning complaining: "Hey, Brother John, I gave, but it didn't work."

The Bible says whatever you have planted will come up. You see, giving to God is like a farmer planting seed. The day after he plants, the farmer does not run out to his field and say, "It didn't work! It didn't work! My wheat seed didn't come up."

Today, many people function in an industrial mentality. Everything is instant. We have instant printing, instant mashed potatoes, and instant banking. But, the principles of biblical economics are based on farming, not industrial principles. God is not the great spiritual slot machine in the sky. You do not put in a hundred dollars and instantly get back a thousand. No, you plant a hundred dollars into God's work. You let that seed grow, mature, and develop so that "in due season" God will return to you many times what you have planted.

It takes faith and patience to bring these God-given principles to their fullest potential. You must regularly plant your seed. At first your sowing may look futile. However, there will come a day when the harvest will begin to come up in such abundance that you will have more than enough!

... in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Galatians 6:9

When you begin to receive the harvest, go ahead and eat some of the seed. Go ahead and buy a nice car or a new suit, or whatever you desire. Just be sure you save enough seed to plant again. Keep putting more money seeds into the gospel. Then God will return to you even more of His abundance in constantly increasing harvests so that you can finance His end-time work.

Giving Always Prospers the Giver

By the world's principles of economics, when you give something away, you then have less. If you give away money or land or food, that leaves you with less of the thing you havegiven away.

But such is not the case according to God's principles of increase. He teaches that when you give something away it always ends up returning to you, multiplied. You cannot lose ground by giving to God.

According to God's principles of increase, when you give a gift, you release His energy into your own life to duplicate the gift in multiplied quantity. Gifts become very powerful forces that reach beyond the natural realm into the spirit realm. They increase, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold.

The world says that giving a gift depletes wealth. Logic says that when a person gives something away, he no longer has it. But, God's Word says that a gift does not deplete a person's assets, it increases them!

The principles in God's Word teach that every gift you give becomes an invisible miracle force that draws right back to you more of whatever you have given away. That is a powerful concept.

Look at this marvelous promise God makes to the giver.

Many will entreat the favor of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.

Proverbs 19:6

When you give gifts, it shows that you are willing to meet the needs of others. The Bible teaches that because of your generous nature, you will have friends. Your gift will not "buy" their friendship, but your generous nature will supernaturally attract people who will have your well-being at heart. The dimension of this supernatural power will even reach into the camp of your enemies. When you obey God in every aspect of your life, which includes giving as He directs you, even your enemies will be caught up in a new attitude toward you.

When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Proverbs 16:7

Your gift is a natural key that unleashes a supernatural miracle-working force in your life. Giving always prospers you.

Giving Brings Forth Abundance

You believed God for your salvation—and got it.

You believed God for your healing—and got it.

You believed God when you asked for the Holy Spirit—and got Him.

Now, surely, you can believe God in gift-giving. When you do, I believe you will see something similar to the time of Moses when the giving was so generous that Moses actually commanded:

... Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.

For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

Exodus 36:6,7

Every mission outreach could have more than enough. Every Christian television program could have more than enough. Every church expansion program, every Sunday school auditorium, every Christian camp, could have more than enough. Every home in the world could have a Christian worker knocking at the door, inviting the family members to become children of God, and offering to meet their needs, no matter what they are.

What a miracle day that would be! But for it to happen, we who are being enlightened to the principles of increase must press into dimensions of giving and receiving that will release such a floodtide of abundance into the gospel ministry that Satan's lie of insufficiency will be rendered powerless. As our brethren lay hold upon this truth in mass numbers, they can eliminate hunger, want, and insufficiency from our planet.

Our giving can usher in a new day of plenty in a new Kingdom of God here on earth.

All of Israel was involved in giving. That's why Moses had to command the people to stop. There simply was too much. Call us dreamers, if you must, but the truth of God in regard to abundance will come to pass. The reapers will overtake the sowers.

The Tithe—Is It Still Necessary?

There is probably more confusion in the Body of Christ about tithing than any other type of giving. However, God is not the author of confusion, and His Word on the tithe is clear.

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat [food] in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open [for] 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

If you are going to receive the optimum in your life, you must not overlook the basic building blocks of biblical prosperity. It is absolutely necessary for you to follow the biblical plan of tithing. To get the windows of heaven open, you must tithe. Tithing is not an option. The tithe is something you literally owe to God.

Please remember that these are not my thoughts. God says if we do not tithe, we are committing robbery. He says we owe Him the tithe. We pay the tithe because God commands it. By faithfully bringing the tithe to Him, we establish our basic honesty and obedience. (Leviticus 27:30-33 clearly says the tithe belongs to the Lord.)

If you don't tithe, God says you are a robber. So think about this. If you knew your next-door neighbor was a robber, you wouldn't leave your windows open. Instead, you would close and lock them to keep out the thief. The same is true of God. When we fail to tithe, we are stealing from Him, so He closes the windows of financial blessing.

In Hebrews 7:1-10, we see that Abraham paid tithes for himself before the dispensation of the law. He also paid them for Levi, who lived under the dispensation of the law. In fact, Abraham tithed for all posterity—for his natural children (seed), and for his spiritual children (seed) who now live in the dispensation of grace.

And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:29

The obligation of tithing reaches across the pre-law dispensation, the dispensation of the law, and now, into the post-law dispensation of grace.

Remember, tithing opens the windows of heaven. Without the windows of heaven open, nothing can flow from God to us.

Where to Give the Tithe

There is great controversy as to where Christians should give the tithe. Some say it should go to the local church. Others say Bible colleges should receive it. Still others want the tithe to go strictly for world evangelism.

The biblical answer is found in the third chapter of Malachi. There we see that the tithe goes into the storehouse. The context indicates that the storehouse is the place where the meat (the Word of God) is kept and supplied to the saints.

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 3:10

Where are you being fed the Word of God? That is the question you must answer to determine where to give your tithe. The place you are being spiritually fed should be your local church, and above every other place, that is where you should tithe.

The truth is, there are not enough local churches reaching into every level of society to make this a hard and fast rule. Many saints are sick or otherwise unable to journey to church.

They may receive their spiritual meat from a Christian television or radio program, or a good ministry to shut-ins. Surely these circumstances are an exception to the general rule that the tithe should go to the local church.

Some may not agree, but I must be faithful to the convictions God gives me from His Word.

I understand the necessity for the tithe to go into a good local church, because for over twenty-five years I served as a pastor. I instructed my congregation that if they were receiving their spiritual meat from the church storehouse, that is where their tithe belonged. Never did I have any trouble with any reasonable saint of God failing to tithe. I found the best way to insure the tithe would come to our church was to be sure it was always full of good, strong meat (the Word of God, rightly divided).

Notice another aspect of Malachi 3:10. God says to tithe and "prove me." God is literally challenging us to put Him to the test in this matter of tithing. He wants the windows of heaven to be open in our lives. I know of no other place in Scripture where God so clearly challenges us to test Him and His Word.

God wants to bless us, but He cannot do it through closed windows! Let's keep putting God to the test by consistently tithing, and we will see the windows of heaven open in our lives.

Remember, the tithe goes where you receive your spiritual meat on a consistent basis. For most people, it is your local church. However, if you attend a church that doesn't preach the entire Word of God, go before the Lord and ask Him to lead you to one near you that will faithfully feed you the meat of His Word.

Can There Be Prosperity Without the Tithe?

God wants to build an end-time temple, a holy habitation not made with hands. To do this He must have an end-time army of special saints to accomplish His vision. This truth came to me by revelation after years of studying the Bible. It is totally based upon Scripture. God will give the responsibility of building His great end-time dwelling place to those who have proved themselves faithful in financial matters.

When King Josiah commissioned workers for the restoration of the temple, he gave the work to those craftsmen who had already proved themselves faithful in their financial transactions.

And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work ... to repair the breaches of the house,

Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

2 Kings 22:5-7

God did not choose these men for the labor because they had promised to be faithful. He chose them because they had already proved themselves faithful. When it came time for King Josiah to choose who would work in the great restoration of the temple, God told the king to select these men because they had an established record of dealing faithfully in their finances. God uses people who are faithful in their finances, and tithing is part of that faithfulness.

Many times people have said to me, "Brother John, when I get a large sum of money (such as an inheritance, sweepstakes, or windfall from some get-rich-quick scheme), I will become a faithful tither to the Lord."

That's not God's way! God requires that we first be faithful in the little matters, right in the midst of our current circumstances. Then He will grant us an abundance. It was true in the Old and New Testaments, and it's true today. Read what the ruler said to his faithful servant in the Parable of the Talents.

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Matthew 25:23

Remember what Jesus said to His disciples about faithfulness.

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Luke 16:10

If you want to be a part of the next big move of God, don't just get your finances in order temporarily. Keep them in order from now on, and be faithful.

Moreover it is required [not just desired] in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:2 What Is an Offering?

By now you probably know that an offering is different from a tithe. The tithe is clearly 10 percent of what you have earned, an amount set by God. It is a non-negotiable obligation you owe Him.

An offering is a different matter. An offering is not a specified amount. It is totally discretionary on our part, an amount we give freely to God. The amount of our offering establishes the measure, or rate by which God will bless us and increase our substance.

... For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6:38

An offering is anything you give over and above your tithe. You are not generous in the eyes of God when you tithe. Tithing is simply evidence of honesty and obedience. It is paying God what you owe Him. However, when you hear the voice of God leading you to give beyond your tithe, that is an offering. It is a freewill love gift to your God.

You can give offerings to help finance your local church, a missionary, or any Christian outreach. Many ministries in the Kingdom of God survive solely on the freewill offerings of God's prosperous people. In many cases, offerings are God's way of meeting their needs.

Remember, your tithe only opens the windows of heaven. God begins to pour out His blessings when you give generous offerings. Your offerings determine the measure God will use to give back to you. Through your tithes and offerings, you will move into a dynamic new realm, working with God, ministering to the needs of a hurting and needy world.

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Mark 16:20

The Hidden Blessing of Giving to World Missions

If you seriously search the Word of God, you will discover there is a spiritual gift of giving. That spiritual gift has many different manifestations. One is the releasing of the tithe. Another is the giving of an offering. In this lesson, we will talk about giving to world missions.

God gives a special type of blessing to those who support world missions. Read this key verse in its context.

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia [on a mission journey], no church communicated [shared] with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only,

For even in Thessalonica [one of the mission fields] ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

But my God shall supply all your need

according to his riches in glory by Christ

Jesus.

Philippians 4:15-17,19

Well-meaning Christians usually quote that last verse out of context. They claim Philippians 4:19 because it sounds desirable, but read the entire passage. The promise is for an exclusive group of people. The context shows God will supply all the needs of those who do what the Philippians did, give to world missions.

Also notice that Paul did not say God would supply all their needs out of His riches in glory. He stated clearly that God would supply their needs according to His riches in glory. The words according to speak of blessing in the same quality (not quantity) as God's own riches in glory.

God has provided a way for us to have both abundance and quality. Don't allow evil imaginations to arise in your mind and find fault with that statement. Remember that our Lord Jesus freely gave the best wine to His friends at the marriage supper. He also approved of the woman anointing Him with costly oil. When H e w a s crucified, the soldiers cast lots for His coat because it was a quality garment. In the first chapter of the Book of Revelation, Jesus stands among the golden candlesticks wearing a girdle of solid gold.

God will supply the needs of those who support world missions in accordance with His riches in glory!

Scriptural Giving to Your Teacher

Most Christians receive instruction from at least one special teacher who is vital to their Christian lives. It could be yo ur pastor, an evangelist, a prophet, or someone like me who teaches about biblical economics.

The Bible says if we are receiving a blessing from a teacher, we should share good things with that teacher.

Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto [share with] him that teacheth in all good things.

Galatians 6:6

This verse says we should share our good things with those who teach us God's Word. I' m not bringing this up because I desire a gift from you. Like the Apostle Paul, I desire fruit that will abound to your account. I am teaching this concept because it is the truth. Only when you know the truth can you be set free.

What a great plan it is! The Lord gives us anointed teachers to bring us His wonderful Word. After we learn the Word, we benefit and prosper from it. Then we share some of o u r prosperity with our teachers to help meet their needs and fulfill God's Word which says "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn" (Deuteronomy 25:4). God has decreed that our teachers should eat freely from the harvest they plant in our spirits.

When you give to your teacher, you unleash God's prosperity even more powerfully in your own life. You give the Heavenly Father yet another avenue through which He can bless you. What a wonderful, ever-increasing cycle of blessing! Now look at the very next line of that scripture.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

As you sow a blessing to your teacher, you will reap a blessing from your teacher by growing into an even deeper understanding of God's Word. Bless those who teach you, and God promises He will bless you in return.

Removing the Veil From Malachi 3:10

Over the years I have heard many C h r i s t i a n s m a k e a s t a t e m e n t something like this: "Brother John, I have been faithfully tithing now for over ten years, and frankly, I have never, even once, received a blessing so great that there was not room enough to receive it!"

They are talking about God's promise in Malachi 3:10 which says, "... prove me now herewith ... if I will not... pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

There are seven words in this text which are written in italics in the King James Version. It is common knowledge that all italicized words in the King James Version have been added to the original text by the translators to help clarify the meaning. You should be able to leave the italicized words out, and still understand the meaning of the verse. However, that is not true in this case. Here is one of the few big errors in the translation. In my opinion, the seven words i n italics actually add a meaning that God did not intend. The passage should properly read "... and pour you out a blessing, that not enough. "

It's not enough only to tithe. After tithing, we must give offerings to establish the rate of return through those open windows. Our offerings are critical because they determine how much we will receive back from God.

... For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6:38

Remember, your tithe opens the windows of heaven, but that's not enough. You must also give offerings. Your offerings establish the measure God will use to give back to you through the open windows.

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