Kingdom Finance Series | What Does Tithing Do in the Spirit?
There are fundamental principles that govern our atmosphere. The same principles that apply to our natural world, also apply to our spiritual world. For instance, when we pay our electric bill, we continue living with power and light. If we were to stop paying, the flow of power and light would stop.
Likewise, this is what tithing does. When we walk in obedience to God’s ways—His instruction—the windows of Heaven are opened, and the flow of power and light continues.
Though our salvation is secured in Yeshua’s blood, we must ask for access and follow God’s given principles in order to walk in freedom in this life. This applies to our finances, as well. What tithing does is show us there is a connection between giving and blessing.
Tithing Gives You a Partnership with God
God does not NEED our resources or money; however, He asks that we give Him only a portion of what is actually all His. He had invited the Israelites to partner with Him in making a dwelling place. Why did He want them as a partner? To BLESS them with His giving presence.
Tithing Demonstrates Your Trust in God & Allows Him to Trust You…
God commanded the Israelites to bring forth offerings but did not tell them the reason. Was God being sneaky? Of course not! By commanding His people to bring offerings He allowed them to demonstrate their trust in Him—trust in His plans. This then allowed Him to trust them with the resources He provided, resources of gold, silver, fine linens, spices, and gems.
With trust developed between God and His people, THEN, and only then, was He able to trust them with His plan—a plan for a tabernacle that He would show them exactly how to build (see Exodus 25).
Take this in for a moment, God used the most beautiful and best gifts that HE GAVE to His people, and asked them to use those gifts to build a sanctuary for Him. This was to honor Him, and it was a way to invite Him into their lives. It is the same today… He still asks us to give what He has provided for us so He can be a part of our lives.
“For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.”
—2 Corinthians 8:12
God desires us to give because we want to give, not because it is needed. Again, He does this for our best interest. If we give only because it’s needed, we can be guilted, obligated, or manipulated into giving. His design is for us to give cheerfully.
“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
—2 Corinthians 9:7
90% / 10% = ALL HIS…
The Creator of the universe and everything in it has provided a math equation… and it may not make sense at first.
God commanded His people to tithe. This was 1/10th of their “all.” Tithing was actually recorded in the Word before the law. Abram gave 1/10th to king Melchizedek acknowledging His authority and kingship.
Have you ever thought about this?… If God is Lord over all, then 100% belongs to Him. He asks you to give 10% of your best back to Him and allows you to partner with Him and be a manager of the remaining 90%.
This is to capture our hearts.
“For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”
—Matthew 6:21
He says to, “test Me in this…” From this He promises, “…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”—Malachi 3:10
While the discussion of money is never comfortable for anyone, this is all the more reason God has so much to say about it. He knows it can be a trap for us… but He asks you to trust Him, so that in the end you will have financial freedom and abundance!
Why Instruction on Money Should Get Our Attention…
The Bible contains over 2,000 verses about money. This is a subject God knows can put a strain on our relationship with Him and with others.
Money has no moral value whatsoever. However our attitude towards it can be consuming.
“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wondered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
—1 Timothy 6:10
The Lord warns us against craving money more than Him.
A Tithe Defined in God’s Words
What tithing does is give us a picture of our covenant relationship with God. It says that everything I have is yours and everything you have is mine. Intimate relationships, like marriage, work the same way.
A tithe, according to Leviticus 27:30, is a tenth of your produce. A tithe is measured in money—the first 10% of your income. The motivation is obedience. A tithe is always a tithe and is never meant to be substituted with time or talents.
The Lord provides instructions about where you should tithe. “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches ” (Galatians 6.6). It is to be given to the church where you are fed. For some, this is the local church; for others, this is your online church.
Tithing is Taking Action
Everything you do sows a seed. Thoughts, words, and actions—they are all powerful seeds—so you must be careful in how you sow. When our finances, health, or relationships seem to be beyond restoration, we need an action plan.
There are certain steps that we need to take in order to realize our breakthrough.These steps to a breakthrough are continuous. Why? Because God wants you to continuously trust Him and shape you into the likeness of His son, Yeshua.
While you wait on the Lord to restore these areas of your life, and as you continue a lifestyle of repentance, asking for help and then applying wisdom, take it one step further… Ask the Lord what His desire is for you regarding your finances, and then take action. Trust Him fully, knowing that He will bless your obedience.
God’s storehouse is full, and everything in His storehouse is for your use. As we are faithful and obedient, He will open the windows of Heaven, where His fresh and fragrant aroma will wash over you. Are you ready to have blessings overtake your life?
What Tithing Does…
We can all recall a time when we were blessed, and then something came and devoured it up. We get a raise, only to have an unexpected expense. Tithing actually protects us from the devourer.
“I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe…”—Malachi 3:11
The Fruit of Tithing…
Tithing:
- Shows trust in God’s promises—that He will rebuke the devourer for you
- Bypasses depression and repression
- Opens the windows of Heaven over your life
- Puts you high in the site of people—where they will see God’s blessings over your life
Who is Tithing Today??
– “Tithers” make up only 10 to 25% of a normal congregation. [i]
– Only 5% of the U.S. tithe, with 80 percent of Americans only giving two percent of their income. [i]
– Christians are only giving at 2.5% per capita, while during the Great Depression, they gave at a 3.3% rate. [i]
The heart of sharing these statistics is not to invoke shame or guilt but rather as a sobering analysis of how the majority choose to steward the financial resources God has given us. We cannot make changes that the Lord desires for us to make if we do not acknowledge, repent, and ask for His wisdom in this area.
What if we followed God’s commands on tithing and gave 10% to our church?
Do you think we would see…
- A global impact of those being adopted into God’s family?
- The Jewish nation accepting Yeshua?
- A fight against malnourishment and human trafficking?
- Those in our local church being cared for and encouraged by Holy Spirit to give?
I challenge each of you to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in this endeavor. Be in continuous conversation with the Lord about the seeds you sow… He will guide you. While you possess eternal life through the blood of Yeshua, we are urged to claim its benefits in greater fullness.
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
—1 Timothy 6:17-19
If you would like help keeping track of your goals in the area of tithing, we encourage you to visit Goals to Grow by Check In. [i] https://relevantmagazine.com/god/church/what-would-happen-if-church-tithed