Malachi 3:8-10
[Mal 3:10-11 KJV]
10 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].
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
This Morning I would like to share a message that I believe the Lord has placed upon my heart.
- What is a tithe?
The word tithe means a tenth. So basically, when we say that we should be faithful in our tithes we are saying that we should give God 10% of our income.
Now we do not give to God because He is broke, but we give to God out of obedience.
Why do we give a tenth?
10 is symbolic of whole.
The numerical system that we have derives from groups of 10.
The highest that anyone can count is to 10. Why because once you get to 11 we are repeating 1 again but at another level.
The tithe is symbolic is the whole.
When we bring the tithe, we are saying that all my money belongs to God and everything I have is under God’s rule. When we put our finances under the rule of God, the Enemy cannot get to it, because it is under the rule of God.
The Bible says God will rebuke the Devourer from our finances.
Not only is the 10% holy, but when we bring the tithe into the house of God all our money becomes blessed.
It is our obedience of bringing the 10% that blesses God. It is not the amount of our tithe, but it is the obedience of bringing the tithe.
What does the bible say in I Samuel 15:22
But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. “
Obedience is better than sacrifice.”
Gewersaamheid is beter dan offerande.
- Who should tithe?
Did you know that every Christian should be a tither?
The Bible says to bring all your tithe into the storehouse that there may be meat in my House.
It does not say only priest, only preacher, only leaders or only a certain group of people. It says to bring your tithes.
It does not matter your title, your income, your background or even your age.
Speaking of age let me read this quote to you from JD Rockefeller Sr.
JD Rockefeller Quote:
Yes, I tithe, and I would like to tell you how it all came about. I had to begin work as a small boy to help support my mother. My first wages amounted to $1.50 per week. The first week after I went to work, I took the $1.50 home to my mother and she held the money in her lap and explained to me that she would be happy if I would give a tenth of it to the Lord.
I did, and from that week until this day I have tithed every dollar God has entrusted to me. And I want to say, if I had not tithed the first dollar I made I would not have tithed the first million dollars I made. Tell your readers to train the children to tithe, and they will grow up to be faithful stewards of the Lord.
— John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
There is no age limit when it comes to tithing.
Everyone can tithe.
Also let me put this one in there for Free.
Some people think that if I do not get a paycheck or a salary then I don’t need to tithe.
Well my bible says in Provers 3:9 to honor the Lord with all your increase. So, if I don’t have a paycheck or a salary and I get blessed with R500 that is still an increase, so I should pay my tithes off of that R500.
Some people think if I don’t have a lot of money then I God understands that I don’t have, and I don’t need to tithe.
In Kings 17 there was a famine in the land and a widow woman only had a little oil in a jug and some flour, but she was obedient to God and God blessed her.
She put God to the test, and it was an opportunity for God to show up and show out.
The man of God didn’t feel sorry for her, but challenged her to give.
If you are looking to be excused from tithing then I have something I would like to read.
Excused from tithing.
One person was asked why do you tithe and his response was because it works.
You and I should be faithful in our tithes, not only when we are flowing in the blessings, but also when finances are tight.
This is an opportunity for God to come through.
I know it is easy to be faithful in our giving when we are overflowing in the blessings, but we should also be faithful in our tithes when finances are tight.
Is God the one that blessed us when the finances where overflowing? Then He will be the one that blesses us when the finances are tight.
Our situation doesn’t change God’s faithfulness.
The economy doesn’t change God’s faithfulness.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
If we believed God to bless us with the overflow, then we can believe the same God to bless us when finances are tight and that is why we continue to give.
It is not the amount of our tithe that blesses God, but it is our obedience that pleases Him.
- Where do I tithe?
The Bible says to bring your whole tithe into the storehouse.
Now the storehouse is where you get fed.
How many have been getting fed here in our amazing church services?
That means we should be giving our tithes here.
Hopefully, we are not giving our tithes to our Bills.
To Markhams.
To PicnPay
To MTN
To Woolies
To Canal Walk.
If we are not being faithful in giving God our 10% in the House of God, then our tithes are going somewhere, but the bible says to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.
If we don’t bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, then it is going somewhere.
The challenge is to bring the tithe where you and I get fed spiritually.
Side Note:
If you are considering becoming a member at Victory Outreach Church of Cape Town, we do not have you sign a form or a register, but we encourage you to show your membership by becoming a tither.
We know some churches have you show your membership by signing a form or a register, but we believe you show your membership by becoming a tither.
You say I am a member of Victory Outreach Church of Cape Town and you my heart is here, then the best way to show your membership is to be being faithful in your tithes and offerings.
What does the bible say? Where your treasure is there your heart with be also.
It doesn’t say where your shouts are.
It doesn’t say where your claps are.
It doesn’t say where you dance is, but it says where your treasure is.
- Why should I tithe?
One of the reasons is because we have a vision to impact this world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it is going to take finances.
Every mission is only effective as it resources.
I know we believe in the vision that God has given our ministry to reach the inner cities and the way we show we believe in the mission is not by our shouts, not by our claps and not even by our preaching.
The best way we show that believe in the vision that God has given our ministry is by backing it up with our finances.
Is there anybody in the house that has a burden to reach the hurting people of the inner cities?
How many know the pandemic hasn’t stopped gangsterism.
The pandemic hasn’t stopped alcoholism.
The pandemic hasn’t stopped prostitution.
The pandemic hasn’t stop drug addiction.
We have a mission to reach “Treasures out of Darkness.”
- How is our tithe making a difference?
It is because of your giving that we are able to get the gospel out to hurting families.
It is because of your giving that our free recovery home is still open.
It is because of your giving that our church is still moving forward.
Fresh Start Graduation.
Now that you have seen and heard how your finances are making a difference this we are going to be recruiting for our 60-day tithing challenge.
For those of you that are new and are not sure what the 60-day tithing challenge is, let me break it down for you.
Every year we do a tithing challenge where we challenge our church to double tithe for 60 or 90 days.
We usually do 90 days, but this year we are doing 60 days.
So, for April and May pay periods we challenge our congregation to step out and double tithe.
Now the great thing about double tithing is you and I get to see where your finances are going to.
Like I mentioned earlier this time we are going to do a 60-day challenge instead of a 90-day challenge, but we are excited.
Now the goal with the 60-day challenge is to build our tithing base by 20%.
What do we mean by build our tithing base?
With this 60-day challenge we want people to commit to become faithful tithers of their 10%. Not only during the challenge, but to become a consistent tither, even after the 60 days is over.
10% shouldn’t be a challenge, but it should be a conviction.
15% or 20% is a tithing challenge.
One is a challenge, and one is a conviction.
Ok let’s get into the different categories that we have this morning.
We have four categories in our 60-day tithing challenge.
Category #1 – To become a new tither.
Now if you commit to be faithful in your 10%, we would like to you continue even after the 60 day.
Like I mentioned earlier 10% should be a conviction not a challenge.
Category #2 – To become a consistent 10% tither.
Maybe at one time you were a tither, but you dropped off.
If that is you repent before the Lord, you are forgiven and it is under the blood, but let’s be faithful from here on out.
Okay it is a new season and God is going a new thing.
Here is what some people are doing and hopefully it is none of us here.
We take the tithing challenge right. Say it is a 60-day challenge.
Now what happens is we tithe our 10% for the 60 days as a challenge and after the 60 days is over, we go back to not tithing until the next challenge comes up.
When the next challenge comes up, we take that challenge to tithe our 10% and stop tithing when that challenge is done.
Category #3 – 15% Tither for 60 days
Now for those of us that have been faithful in our 10% then we are going to challenge you to tithe 15% for the next 60 days.
To make it clear that will be for 2 pay periods.
April pay period (April 25th)
May pay period (May 25th)
After the challenge you can go back to the 10%, unless you want to keep the 15% challenge.
Category #4 – 20% tither for 60 days.
Our last category is for those of us that have been faithful in our 10% then we are going to challenge you to tithe 20% for the next 60 days.
To make it clear that will be for 2 pay periods.
April pay period (April 25th)
May pay period (May 25th)
After the challenge you can go back to the 10%, unless you want to keep the 20% challenge
Is it clear?
We are going to pray and then we are going to have you step out for the area that you feel God is challenging you.
