I
WANT TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH.
John
8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free."
IT'S
NOT the truth that sets you free, it's your knowledge of the truth
THE
#1 prayer request outside of salvation for loved ones, is PRAYER FOR
FINANCES!!
First,
LET'S LOOK AT WHAT THE TITHE IS and who it belongs to:
Leviticus
27:30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or
of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD
(SO THE TITHE IS HOLY AND BELONGS TO THE LORD, RIGHT?).
CAN YOU
PAY IT LATER?
(Leviticus
27:31) And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add
thereto the fifth part thereof (IF YOU PAY YOUR TITHE LATE YOU'VE GOTTA ADD AN
ADDITIONAL 20%!!).
IS THE TITHE
REALLY 10%
(Leviticus
27:32) And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of
whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth (10%) shall be holy unto the
LORD.
10% OF WHAT?
Deuteronomy
18:4, "The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine
oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give
him." THAT
IS THE GROSS PAY. BEFORE PAY GOVERNMENT, BEFORE PAY THE STATE, BEFORE
THE 401K!!
As far as
the Government is concerned, you made 25,000 last year.
BUT as far
as the church is concerned, you only made 19,000!
EVERYBODY
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE TITHE IS, NOW?
GOOD. NOW
LETS GO Back TO THE BOOK OF MALACHI, CHAPTER 3:
Malachi
3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.
THE
1st THING THE LORD SAYS, is "I change not." Some people
will say that the tithe is not for today. Right here, God says, I change
not. "I'm the same today as I was yesterday." It has
nothing to do with the "old law." Abraham paid tithes to
Melchizedek before there was even a law -- before Moses came down with
the tablets.
Malachi
3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine
ordinances, and have not kept them.
HE SAYS,
"YOU want to know why you're broke all the time? You haven't kept
my ordances. You have violated my law!"
GOD SAYS:
"I want
to bless your ministry -- BUT I CAN'T
"I want
to bless your business -- BUT I CAN'T
"I want
to bless your family -- BUT I CAN'T
"BECAUSE
YOU'VE VIOLATED MY LAW!!"
But all that
can stop right now, look what he says next in the same verse:
Return unto
me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said,
Wherein shall we return?
I like that.
You ready to fight, I'm ready to fight. Draw nigh unto me and I'll draw
nigh unto you. And that's good news, because some of us
have messed
up and we need to know how to get back! HE SAYS, Return unto me, and I
will return unto you. LET'S KEEP GOING:
Malachi
3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have
we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
He
doesn't say anything about dancing and praising. He doesn't say anything
about leaping and studying. He doesn't say anything about fasting and
praying. Evidently they WERE doing all of that. BUT GOD SAID,
"YOU'RE STILL ROBBING ME in Tithes and offerings"
(9)
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole
nation.
LET'S
LOOK AT THIS CURSE. ZECH CHAPTER 5.
Zechariah
5:1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a
flying roll. (2) And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I
see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth
thereof ten cubits. (3) Then said he unto me, This is the curse that
goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that
stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one
that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. (4) I
will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into
the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely
by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall
consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.
I've heard
this called, "THE CURSE OF THE FLYING SCROLL"
"BUT I
DON'T TITHE AND I'M NOT CURSED"
YES YOU ARE.
"I'M
GIVING 2% AND I'M DOING OK"
MAYBE YOU'RE
A THOUSANDAIRE AND GOD WANTS YOU TO BE A MILLIONAIRE
MAYBE THAT
ILLNESS IN YOUR BODY WOULD FLEE
MAYBE
THERE'D BE MORE LOVE AND HARMONY IN YOUR HOME
(10) Bring
ye ALL the tithes (ALL MEANS 10%, NOT 7%, OR 8%) into the storehouse,
that there may be meat in mine house,
MEAT
IN WHOSE HOUSE? MY HOUSE! Not your sister's house. Non in Aunt Helen's
house. Not cousin Betty's house. He didn't tell you to do that. I'M NOT
SAYING YOU CAN'T HELP THEM, but not with your TITHES. Because then you
become Lord over God's money by determining who gets helped and who
doesn't. You become Lord over something that's not even yours. REMEMBER
WHAT WE READ,
THE TITHE
BELONGS TO GOD.
(10)
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat
in mine house, and prove me (OR PROVOKE ME, OR CHALLENGE ME, OR BACK ME
IN A CORNER) 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.
The
implication is that HEAVEN HAS WINDOWS, that only open when you obey
this Word. You may be dancing in front of closed windows. Leaping and
jumping and falling out, slain on the floor, in front of closed windows.
BECAUSE NONE OF THAT opens up the windows. OBEYING THIS WORD is what
opens the windows, and God says, "I'm not going to change about
that!"
BECAUSE
You have no right to demand a harvest where you have not planted a seed.
IN FACT, God has promised to give seed to
the sower (IS 55:10), and bread to the eater. GOD SAYS, "I
will give more seed to the person who sows than I will to the person who
hoards." He did not promise to give seed to the
"SAVER." He promised to give seed to the sower. SELAH!
He says that
"(see) if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing..." I've taught before how God can give you
one blessing, a blessing that will change your life.
ONLY
GOD CAN OPEN THAT WINDOW. He'll cause you to see it in yourself, and
he'll cause others to see it in you. One meeting at the water cooler
with the right person can change your life!
AND
YOU GET FRUSTRATED because you keep trying to open your own window.
You're busting your butt working 2 and 3 jobs and getting nowhere!
LOOK,
I'M NOT TELLING YOU THAT IT'S GOD'S WILL for you to be rich - I don't
know if its God's will for you to be rich or not. But I am saying that
God will give you enough PROVISION to fulfill the VISION He has for your
life. And if you need to be rich to accomplish what He's called you to
do, He'll bless you so that money is not an issue.
WHEN
GOD BLESSES YOU LIKE that, you can move without hidden motives and
agendas; it's such a freeing, liberating feeling not to be at the mercy
of the peoples' moods. AND BESIDES, I don't want anybody else to bless
me but God, because when others bless you, you owe them the rest of your
life. When God blesses you, you don't have anybody to praise but the
Lord!
GOD'S
NOT GOING TO LET ANYBODY CONTROL His blessing for you. Even if you
worked for some body who thinks they control you, they don't control
you; do you not know that the Bible says, "the
heart of the king is in my hands (Ezra 6:22)." God said, "I
can make them like you, I can make them hire you, I can make them give
you the money.... I can turn it any way I want it because I'm God. I can
turn it to your favor!" THAT'S A WONDERFUL FEELING.
When
the church takes hits and criticisms, it's generally over money. You
don't see the CIRCUS taking hits over money. You don't see the STRIP
CLUBS taking a hit over money... you don't even see the PIMP taking hits
over money.
But
the systems of this world think that if you're walking with God, you
should be walking around with ratty clothes, and looking all pitiful,
hungry and destitute, while they EAT UP everything, OWN everything, and
you've got to go to them and BORROW to HAVE anything.
BUT
THE BIBLE SAYS that the kingdoms of this world have become the
kingdoms of our God and of His Christ (Rev 11:15). That means that
all of the systems of this world, God wants to bring them up under the
authority of righteous people. That's why God is working on you, because
he wants to raise you up. The Book says that you shall be the head and
not the tail.
THE BIBLE
SAYS, Beloved, I wish above all things that
thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3
John 1:2)
THEN HE
SAYS:
Malachi
3:11 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.
ALL THESE
THINGS COME ABOUT AS the result of tithing.
1st: I
will rebuke the devourer for your sakes. He'll stop things from eating
up what you have. THAT'S A GREAT BLESSING if God didn't add another dime
to what you have. A LOT OF TIMES God wouldn't have to add to your income
if stuff would stop eating it up.
2nd: I
won't let it destroy the fruit of your ground. I'll watch over it. I'll
watch over your BUSINESS, I'll watch over your position; AINT nobody
gonna get your job while you're on vacation!! You're not gonna have to
constantly fight to prove yourself!! I'll Watch over your HOUSE, I'll
watch over your HUSBAND, I'll watch over your WIFE.
3rd:
GOD SAID, "I'll perfect your timing!" The right time to buy
that house! The right interest rate. The right time to get in or out of
the stock market. He says, "I'll show when to hold it, and when to
fold it..." I'll show you how to market what you have... I'll show
you what to wear on the interview.
THESE ARE
PROMISES TO PEOPLE WHO TITHE!
He says,
"Test Me in this!!"
Let me show
you one other thing: Turn to Philippians 4:
Philippians
4:15, Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the Gospel,
when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as
concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. (16) For even in
Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. (17) Not because
I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
(18) But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of
Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet
smell, a sacrifice ("SACRIFICE") acceptable, wellpleasing to
God. THEN
AND ONLY THEN DOES VERSE 19 APPLY: (19) But my God shall supply all
your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
THEY
GAVE TO PAUL'S MISSIONARY EFFORTS AND then GOD SUPPLIED ALL THEIR NEEDS.
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS A SACRIFICE. BUT PAUL SAID NOT TO WORRY!! (19) But
my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by
Christ Jesus.
IT'S A
FAITH ISSUE. IT IS THE LAW. IT WORKS. GOD'S WAITING TO BLESS YOU.
If MY
CHURCH needs $100, God knows that if he gives me $1000, I'll give $100
to them.
Instead of
busting your tail to furnish your home or your ministry sanctuary, all
you've got to do is tithe and God will do it!
GOD WANTS to
bless your business, but He can't unless you Tithe off of your gross
profit.
GOD WANTS to
bless your home but He can't unless you Tithe your gross income.
GOD WANTS to
bless your ministry, but He can't unless you tithe out of your
offerings. LOOK HERE:
Nehemiah
10:38, "And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites,
when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe
of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers,
into the treasure house."
IF you have
a ministry, you are to tithe off of the tithes your receive in the
offering!
Luke
6:38, "Give, 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."
Acts
20:35, "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye
ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
God Bless
You!
Rev. John
& Irene Kerns
www.beachsidechurch.com
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