God’s Way of Giving

It's 2018. Unbelievable, isn't it, that we're all the way here to 2018. Who would have ever thought, you know, after so many years and all the things that we've gone through, that we'll even make it this far? This country, the United States of America, incredibly enters into 2018 with a massive, massive debt. How many of you know what the national debt is? Okay. Maybe a few of you. Well, actually, the national debt is 17.8 trillion dollars. That's how much this country is in debt. And that means this, that each person, everybody sitting in this room, owes 53,534 dollars. That's how much it means. And, you know, it is something that keeps climbing and climbing and climbing. Each one of us are indebted when we're born. You know, little children born in the world, you know, again, another 50,000 bucks that somebody owes. And interestingly, brethren, this nation, you know, this is an older figure, but this nation basically brings in 2.7 trillion dollars in revenue every year. Now, you'd think with that kind of money, you'd be pretty well off. But, you know, we spend 3.5 trillion every year. And so you can see the obvious problem that we have when we do the arithmetic. We're using those credit cards like crazy, aren't we? And the debt just keeps mounting up more and more and more. And interestingly, as far as U.S. citizens, the personal debt that we have is 60 trillion. If you add it all up, 60 trillion dollars Americans owe. And that breaks down to 190,000 apiece.

And basically, for a family, and that in a family, basically, that family has a savings of 6600 dollars. Now, I don't know. I'm not going to ask you how many of you have 6600 dollars. Put away, but these are some of the problems. You know, Mr. Armstrong used to say this, that the problems of human beings are basically spiritual. How many of you remember him saying those things? You know what he means by that, is that if we break spiritual laws, we have physical problems. You know, if you break the laws concerning marriage, commit adultery, or fornication, well, you have problems in marriage, right? Or if you do other things that will act upon your life and way, whether it's financial, whether it's moral, or whatever it might be. So the problems of human beings are basically spiritual in nature, and the law of God is spiritual. And if we break those laws, we've always said, if we break the laws, they break us.

They affect us negatively. And the reason for the financial crisis, you know, in the United States and other nations, is because God is left out of the picture, for the most part. People don't think about God much anymore. You know, most people on an individual basis are, you know, we just come through the Christmas season, oh, they love to give to each other, but they do not love to give to God.

Now, if you were to talk to the average professing Christian, and you were to ask them if they, you know, believe in what is called tithing, you know, they would come back and say they believe in Christian giving, basically. And of course, that Christian giving in no way arrives at what God commands us to do. And so many people have financial issues. So through the course of the sermon here today, let's ask and answer the question, what is God's way of giving according to the Bible? What does the Bible say about it? Well, it's not lean on human traditions, but let's just read what the scriptures say about giving. And God wants His people to be like He is. God is the greatest giver of all. And whatever He does within the scriptures, when it comes to His law, He's teaching us how to be givers. How not, you know, we don't want to be miser, stingy, with, you know, what we have, but He wants us to be able to be a sharer, like He is, someone who is a giver. So what is God's way of giving according to the Bible?

You know, tithing recognizes God's greatness in our personal relationship with Him. No, creation tells us about God because all actually belongs to Him, everything that we see. I'm not going to go to this first, but you might write down Psalm 24 and verse 1. It says, The earth is the eternals, and the fulness thereof. It says, The world and they that dwell therein. And so everything in the entire world belongs to God. And whether or not you or I accept the fact we belong to God. Every one of us do. All the animals, everything, all the trees, all the water, all the resources, the gold, the silver, whatever it is, it all belongs to God. And you know what God's deed is? It's right here, the Bible. This is God's deed on everything that is out here, His word. And of course, He has been around for eternity. You know, you don't have to look very far in the Bible to see the subject of tithing. It comes up right away. It's been around a long, long time. It was something that was no doubt taught even in the Garden of Eden about giving to God. The situation with Cain and Abel had to do with how people gave. You know, Abel gave in a right way, in a right manner, and Cain did not. He did not please God. But let's go over to Genesis chapter 14 over here. Genesis 14 and verse 18. So again, right in the very book at the very beginning, we have this information that is presented to us about the subject of giving and how God wants us to be givers. And we see it taught by way of example. And of course, in the life of Abraham, Abraham is called the father of the faithful. And if we are like Abraham, we'll be faithful in these things. But in Genesis 14 and down in verse 18, let's notice this. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. This is after Abraham returned, remember, from rescuing his nephew Lot because the goods and the valuables of Sodom and Gomorrah had been taken. And the banned nations had come together and they had taken off with the the goods of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Abraham, you know, got his trained servants together and he went to rescue Lot and he captured it all and he brought it back. And when he returned, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. And it says, he was the priest of the Most High. So this was the one who became Jesus Christ later on. But here he was the priest of the Most High and the highest, of course, is the Father. But in verse 19, and he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham, it says, of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him a tithe of all, one tenth of everything, you know, that he gave to Melchizedek here. And this was a very important incident that later on in the New Testament the Apostle Paul mentions. Now, this great being, again, that he had given this tithe to was a human priest of ancient Salem.

And this Salem, by the way, was Jerusalem, the place of Jerusalem, that he was the priest of. And he tithed to the one who is here, who is the priest of the Most High, and that priest of the Most High was Melchizedek, who was none other than the one who became Jesus Christ later on. Now, let's go over here to Genesis 28. Genesis 28.

In Genesis chapter 28 over here, notice this, another incident. And these are not disconnected from one another. They're connected to each other, obviously.

Now, here is the grandson of Abraham. And these, you know, generational individuals like Jacob and then, of course, the son of Abraham, Isaac, were taught about tithing. They were instructed about these things. It wasn't a matter that they didn't know anything about it. It's like our kids. You know, when we teach them about God's laws, they've got to determine for themselves whether they're going to obey it or not, whether they're going to live by that.

But here we see, of course, already Jacob had demonstrated a remarkable desire to obey God. And what he did, remember with Laban and, you know, how he was, he had high standards, very high standards in dealing with Laban. But here in verse 20, let's notice here, in chapter 28 and verse 20, Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and keep me in this way, that I will, that if God will be with me and keep me in this way, that I will, I am going and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my Father's house in peace, then the Eternal shall be my God.

And this stone, which I've set as a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you. Again, here's a mention of the tenth.

He would give a tithe to God. So Jacob promised the tithe to God. And how did this benefit him? Well, it benefited him handsomely, very handsomely in his life. He was wealthy. Abraham was a very wealthy man, and Isaac was, and certainly also Jacob was. Now let's go to chapter 30, chapter 30 over here, in verse 43.

30 and verse 43 in your Bibles, but here. And thus the man became exceedingly prosperous and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. So he was not just wealthy, he was exceedingly wealthy. The Bible talks about here. What happened is Jacob invited God into his life as a partner. And that's what we do. If we truly want to obey God, we say, God, I want you to be my partner. I want you to guide me throughout my life. And he, of course, had to be of a mind to delight in God. And the Bible does say that if we delight in God, he will cause us to ride on the high places of the earth, the Bible says, and feed us on the heritage of Jacob. You wonder what the heritage of Jacob is?

Look around you. United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand. And that's not all. This is the heritage of Jacob. That God could feed us from that. I've always told people that if you obey God, God can create a business where you'll be hired.

He will do that. But if you will not obey God, he can cancel the business where you are hired. And if you don't believe that can happen, certainly you can try God at that. And I'm afraid you're going to be very disappointed in your own life if you do that. So God has instructed tithing from the very, very beginning. Now let's go over to Leviticus 27. A lot of people think that tithing came from the Levites. In the time of the Levites, we've already shown that is not the case, that Abraham was tithing. And I really do believe that tithing goes back, clear back, to the Garden of Eden. But in Leviticus 27 over here, here's what God was telling the Levites about the tithe. Leviticus 27 down to verse 30.

Sometimes the mic gets on the page. I can't even read the book up here. I don't know if some of you guys have noticed this when you're up here, but the shadows are not the best. But in verse 30 of Leviticus 27, it says, "...and all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the eternals. It is holy to the eternal. And if a man wants it all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one fifth to it." So there were even rules. If you wanted to retain something, you had to add a 20 percent to it. Verse 32, "...and concerning the tithe of the herd of the flock, or whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the eternal. And he shall not inquire whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it. For if he exchanges at all, then both it and the one exchanged shall be holy. It shall not be redeemed. These are the commandments with the eternal commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai." And so this pertained again to tithing. And the Hebrew word here is me'assir. And it's spelled this me'assir. It is spelled m-a-a-s-e-r. It means a tenth, one tenth, or ten percent. And it says it's holy to God. Very holy to God. It's like the Sabbath is holy time. God says, keep your foot off the Sabbath. Trita, the Sabbath, respectfully. The same is true with what we have often called filthy lucre. The money that is the tithe belongs to God. And we ought to treat it as holy. You know, sometimes people will not treat second tithe as holy, but it's holy as well.

Ties are holy, brethren, and should be treated respectfully. And the priests were instructed to tithe themselves. You know, they were not to abuse the holy tithe either.

Do you remember what happened to the sons of Aaron? You know, who did not listen to what God said with regard to making offerings at the tabernacle. They were struck down dead because they did not do it the way God had instructed them to do it. So what is holy we should treat as holy. Let's go to Numbers 18. Numbers 18 over here.

In Numbers chapter 18, down in verse 26, it says, Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them, When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the eternal attempt of the tithe. So they were to offer themselves a tithe of the tithe.

And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor and of the fullness of the winepress. And so they had that instruction to again to do even as they were instructing the children of Israel. And it says, Then you shall offer a heave offering to the eternal from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give it to the Lord's house or the Lord's heave offering from it to Aaron the priest. And so they had to actually give a tithe to Aaron the priest as well. So they had that responsibility as well in practicing tithing.

And it was something, remember, that was so important when in fact the children of Judah came back from Babylon after they had been in captivity, they were very, very careful about two things. What were those two things that they were careful about? Number one was the Sabbath. They were careful about the Sabbath. And number two, tithes and offerings. They were very, very careful. And you can read for yourself about that in Nehemiah, the book of Nehemiah. Just read the book and what it talks about. After they built the wall, they were instructed to carefully bring the tithes into the storehouse. They had that responsibility to do that.

You know, some people think that, well, you know, yeah, I want to give a tithe, but how's my money going to be used? What are you going to do with my money?

And where is my money? You know, some people get really glandular about it. You know, you're dealing with their pocketbook. They believe, I guess, that money, no matter what happens, belongs to them. But realize this, brethren, it isn't our money when we tithe. If we truly believe in tithing, it belongs to God. If you give it to God's work and where God's work is being done, brethren, it ceases, you know, to be yours. Oh, and there was light. You know, it's the hardest thing to read in the dark up here. Thank you very much. I appreciate that, David. Really, it does add light to the picture up here. But, you know, the tithe, when we committed ourselves to begin tithing, you get the money where the work is done and your direct responsibility ends.

The only other indirect responsibility that you and I have is to pray that it goes much further, that a dollar goes maybe a hundred dollars, if you see what I mean, that God will bless it and make it pay off very handsomely for what the church puts it into. But, you know, we see again in the Bible that clearly there is a tithe that is instructed.

I could go through many other scriptures. I won't belabor that to show that the tithe is indeed something that is commanded in the scriptures. In fact, more than one tithe is commanded in the scriptures. You know, oftentimes we will visit with someone and we'll explain about the first tithe. And that sometimes is a deal-breaker with people. These things are kind of new to them.

And then if you want to really be adventurous when you're in a visit and you think it might be something they would receive, you would say, well, there is an additional tithe. Usually they swallow about that time. And they say, well, go ahead, tell me what it is. But, you know, there is an additional tithe the Bible talks about. There is a first tithe, which we've already discussed, that is used for the purpose of preaching the gospel, of doing the work.

We call it a first tithe, you know, in the church. But let's notice over here in Deuteronomy chapter 12. Deuteronomy chapter 12 is obviously another tithe that is discussed in the Bible. Here in Deuteronomy chapter 12 in verse 1. It says, these are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the eternal God of your fathers is giving you to possess all the days that you live on the earth.

So we have to be careful about this. Sometimes people ask me the question, would you give us a sermon about statutes? Okay, if you read verse 1 here, this is a statute that we are instructed to talk about. But going on down through here, let's notice down to verse 11. It says, then there shall be a place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide.

There you shall bring all that I command you. And so this is a place where the Feast of Tabernacles was observed, where the Passover was observed, and the festivals were observed, a place where in fact God had placed his name, which we actually talk about quite often in the church that different feast sites are places that God opens up where we can hold the feast. But you're to bring all that I command you, your burn offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings, which you vow to the Eternal.

And you shall rejoice before the Eternal, your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or nor inheritance with you. Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burn offerings in every place that you see. See, there was a certain place that they were to do it at, and God was the one that set his name in that place.

But in the place which the Eternal chooses, in one of your tribes, therefore you shall offer your burn offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you. Well, what did God command them to do? What did he instruct them to do? Now to verse 17.

You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or your oil, or the firstborn of your herd, or your flock, of any of your offerings, which you vow of your free will offerings, or of the heav offerings of your hands. But you must eat them before the Eternal, your God, and the place which the Eternal, your God, chooses you and your son, your daughter, your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates, and you shall rejoice before the Eternal, your God, in all to which you put your hands.

Now I want you to notice here, we mention about the first tithe, how the first tithe was for the Levite, the work that was done in the tabernacle. But you notice here, you know, in verse 17, it says, you may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain. It mentions about this, you cannot eat it, but you must eat it at the place that God chooses.

This verse is describing the second tithe that could be eaten. You think about it, if we ate, you know, if we ate the first tithe, then what would the Levi eat? You know, if the children of Israel were eating the tithe that was to be sent for the purpose of the work of God, what would they eat? They would have nothing to eat. So this is a tithe related to the festivals that they could eat at the festival. They could not eat this within their gates. Very clearly what the Bible again says here. And so here he talks about going on, take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land, but you eat this in the place that God chooses.

So very clear there are two tithes that are being talked about here. And of course, the holy days were in three seasons of the year where they would be able to do that to take advantage of, you know, of those tithes that they saved for the keeping of the festivals. The regular tithe, or what we call the first tithe, was for the work of the tabernacle of God and the Levites so that they could live. And so that was to be given for that purpose. And the second tithe was to be retained until the time that they would go and observe the feast. I know many of you read the works of Josephus.

Josephus very clearly spells out there was more than one tithe, you know, for ancient Israel.

And you can look it up yourself. You go look up, you know, Josephus, famous Jewish historian. Let's go over here to Deuteronomy chapter 14. Usually if you're talking to a new person about tithing like this, you know, eventually they say, well, I don't know if I can afford to tithe.

Many, many years ago, Mr. Armstrong wrote an article, and I think the title of it was a man who could not afford to tithe. And in the article he was showing very clearly, you know, that actually we cannot afford, we can't afford not to tithe. We, you know, it's financially not rewarding for us not to tithe. And so we, it's better to tithe because the blessings are going again come our way if we are obeying God, if we're doing what God commands us to do. But in chapter 14 over here, let's notice this. Chapter 14 verse 22, you shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year, and you shall eat. Now again here, once again, as in Deuteronomy 12, it says that this you eat. And it says, you shall eat before the eternal your God in the place where he chooses to make his name abide the tithe of your grain of your new wine and your oil and of the first point of your herds and their flocks that you may learn to fear the eternal your God always.

So this is a way in which we show respect for God and honor for God, just doing what he tells us to do. And it says, if the journey is too far for you, so that you will not be able to carry the tithe, or at the place where the eternal your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, then you shall not do it. No, it doesn't say that, does it? It says you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the eternal your God chooses. And presumably, when they got to the place, they could buy from others that maybe had, you know, the actual grain or whatever the person wanted to imbibe of or eat, you know, at the feast where they were going. And so this, again, was what was commanded. You shall spend that money for whatever your heart rightly desires, as we have often added here, for oxen, for sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires. And you shall eat there before the eternal your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your family.

So if we faithfully do this, and we faithfully lay aside the money, you know, for this, we are not just doing it for ourselves, we're doing it for our families. Whether you're talking about the physical family or the spiritual family, then we can help others as well. Then it says, You should not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

Then it mentions in verse 28, At the end of every third year, you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. This is a tithe related to the poor. And this was done, remember, in the third and sixth year of a seven-year cycle. And we've called it the poor tithe or a third tithe.

And if we're talking to new people, by the way, and we did many times years ago, we would explain these things to them. And God's people through the ages or through the years have really shown themselves willingness to do these things, if at all possible. And they've been blessed as a result of it. I remember there was a deacon that was down in Alabama many years ago now. He came to me and he said when he first started tithing, he didn't know if he could even do it. And he was in his third tithe year. And it was a real challenge for him. And he was faithful as far as the tithe was concerned.

And he said he noticed a trend. He said after he had gone through his third tithe year, he said the following year he noticed his bank account started climbing. He started increasing in his savings. And he told me one of the things he says he found out, he says that God in his commandments, even a third tithe, in other parts of tithing, that we are instructed teaches us how to be frugal, teaches us how to budget. And he said that due to that, he actually was better off. The following year he just had more money than he had had before because he was in the habit of being frugal. And his money began to increase. So he had that added blessing in his life. But, you know, I'll have more to say about the third tithe a bit later on that. But this, when we, years ago, when people were doing a third tithe year, and some still are, by the way, doing the third tithe year, they've kept track of it through these years, that people have truly, truly been blessed in a great way. And let's notice there's another very strikingly, I think, wonderful promise that is made.

I think you would agree, if you go through a year when you have your, you're giving the first tithe, you're saving a second tithe, and maybe you're giving the third tithe, I think that we could probably dub that year the year of tithing, couldn't we? Well, that's what the Bible refers to it as, the year of tithing. Over here in chapter 26, let's notice this. I think this is an astounding promise over here that God gives to us. Down in verse 12, let's notice this. It says, When you have finished laying aside the tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing here, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless, and to the widow, so that they may eat with their near gates and be filled, then you shall say before the eternal God, I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless, and the widow. According to all your commandments which you have commanded me, I have not transgressed your commandments nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the eternal my God, and have done according to all that you have commanded me.

And once we've done that, when we've done what God commands us to do, we can look up into heaven and say, God, look down from your holy habitation from heaven and bless your people, Israel, and the land which you have given us, just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. We can call upon God to bless us with the heritage of Jacob, the father Jacob. He will cause us, brethren, to ride on the high places of the earth.

If we are obedient to God, if we're doing what God commands us to do, if we're faithful in doing that.

You know, Abraham was a man who obeyed, the Bible says, the voice of God and kept my charge, God says, and my commandments and my statutes and my laws.

Abraham obeyed the tithing statute. And, you know, Jesus Christ said nothing would pass from the law till all was fulfilled or magnified. He said heaven and earth would pass away till one jot or tittle would pass from the law. And, in other words, the law is going to be fulfilled.

The law will be around longer than this earth will be around.

Those are eternal laws.

Now, I like what it says over in Proverbs 3, verses 9 through 10.

It says, "...the honor of the eternal with your substance, and with the firstfruits of all, you are increased. So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and the presses shall burst out with new wine." Now, if we honor God, brethren, God will bless us tremendously.

No, those who will not recognize God and obey God are called wicked in the Bible.

And the Bible tells us that if we walk in God's laws, if we do those things that God commands us to do, these are the righteous. And the Bible says that God takes care of the righteous. He won't let one of his righteous people go hungry. He will bless them abundantly in their lives. My wife and I were talking about, you know, tithing. And I started tithing myself. I would guess it was 1967, somewhere in there. And I was making a lot of money back in those days, by the way. My paycheck was $42 a week at Tucker Duck and Rubber Company, where I worked as a teenager. And anyway, I came home. I remember coming home from work. And I really was just beginning to learn about tithing. And anyway, I told my father I was going to start tithing. He thought I was crazy. And he says, you're going to send that money out to Herbert Armstrong. And he thought Mr. Armstrong was rich. And everybody in the worldwide Church of God was rich.

Boy, I remember the parking lot I went into, and people put their cars together with baling wire and chewing gum, basically. They weren't rich at all. But that's when I started tithing back in those days. What was it? Four or five bucks. But back then, of course, what was it? Gas was like 41 cents a gallon, something like that. But anyway, that was my experience with tithing. And I have been doing it now since that time. And God has given us more than we certainly deserve. And He's blessed us abundantly. And many of you, in the same way, you began tithing a long, long time ago. You've done things that probably you never dreamed of actually doing in your life. You know, I think of some people, when I grew up with them, many of them had never been out of the county. Never been out of the state. And God has given us opportunity to travel. He's given us opportunity to do things again that are just unfathomable in terms of the blessings that He's given to us. And I think we live a lot better now. The parking lot that I remember going into when I was in Arkansas, and you know, in the parking lots I've seen since I've been in the ministry. We used to have a lot of people with old, broken-down cars, you know. But you go into the parking lots of the churches now, rather than you don't see that like it used to be. Now, I'm not, I saw the other day of Rolls-Royce. We don't have Rolls-Royce, as I don't think out here, in the parking lot. But people have nice cars, and God has blessed us that way. Most of us live in fairly nice places as well, and we realize that God has given us more than we truly deserve. Let's go over here to Malachi, chapter 3. We've often said, you can't out-give God, and that's so true. You cannot out-give God. But in Malachi, chapter 3, in verse 8, let's notice this.

We've actually had this read to us many times. Will a man rob God?

And God, you know, brings this indictment against Israel. Yet you have robbed me. But true to form, people say, in what way have we robbed you, God? And God says, in tithes and offerings.

And then he says, you are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. So you wonder why we have 17.8 trillion dollar debt in this country? Maybe we have the answer. The wealthiest country on the face of the earth, we owe 17.8 trillion dollars. And then it says, bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there'll be food in my house, and try me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts. If I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it. That's what God says. He challenges every one of us. He says, look, put me to the test. You do what I tell you to do, and I'm going to give you a blessing. You won't even have room to to store it.

That you will bless us in that way, in that manner.

He says, I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground. Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Eternal of Hosts. And all nations will call you blessed, for you be a delightful land, says the Eternal of Hosts.

And so God is saying that to the nation of Israel.

And it applies to us individually, too. That if we obey God, God will bless us. And he says, just prove me. Put me to the test.

And if we do that, we're going to be amazed at what God is going to do.

It's like Jesus himself said when he was talking about giving. He says, give, and it shall be given unto you.

Good measure. Press down. And shaken together and running over. God says, I'll give you that back into your bosom, into your life. He will bless us so much.

Jesus Christ said to us, too, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. I want you to enjoy life more.

That life is not a struggle all the time.

And, brethren, if we don't trust God in tithing, we are indeed, as he says here. Scripture says we're robbing him. And, you know, we're really stealing from ourselves because we rob ourselves of the blessings we could have. So God says, prove me.

You know, usually when people begin to tithe, they wonder why they lack faith to do it, to begin with.

But remember again, we reap what we sow. And we want to sow bountifully so that we can reap bountifully.

You know, tithing was taught by the scribes and the Pharisees. Frankly, you know, they, to the excess.

Remember, Jesus Christ talked about how that they tithe men and anus. I mean, this was a hard, kind of difficult process. You know, one for God and nine for me. You know, one for God, nine for me. Rather than picking up what looked like a generous 10% and giving it to God, you know, they were doing precisely. And Christ said, you know, you should have done this, but not left, you know, judgment, mercy, and faith undone. You should have tithed. No, Luke 11, 42 talks about that. I won't go to that. But, you know, we, if we give to God bountifully, he will give it back to our bosom.

You know, Paul, when he was dealing with the Corinthians, actually did not, you know, make the Corinthians tithe. Remember, he was a tentmaker.

I've heard Mr. Armstrong say that he felt that Paul should have done that. He should have asked, you know, had the Corinthians tithe, but in the account we have, the Corinthians, he did not. Of course, they didn't seem like they got a big head and didn't see the humility of Paul in doing that anyway. And he had to come back and correct them, and, you know, with the letters he wrote to them.

But he had the right, the Bible says, to take tithes from the people, because he was doing the responsibility. He was preaching the gospel. He was carrying the load.

And not only was he doing the preaching, but sometimes he was getting beaten for what he was doing, going above and beyond what anyone would expect in doing and preaching the gospel.

Over in Leviticus, chapter 7, let's go to, I mean, Hebrews chapter 7 in the New Testament, we have shown that the Levites had the right to take tithes of the people of Israel.

But there is a transition when you come from the Old Testament into the New Testament time.

In the New Testament, you do not have the Levitical priesthood as, you know, with ancient Israel.

But you have the ministry of Jesus Christ. But in Hebrews chapter 7 here, let's notice this.

Beginning verse 1, Melchizedek is brought up immediately.

And like I said, Paul brings up what, in fact, we read back in the Old Testament.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High, who met Abraham, returned from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all. So he recounts this time. And it says, he gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace. And of course, we know Christ is the prince of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, nor neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. So he was a tremendously great individual, Melchizedek was. And indeed, those who were of the sons of Levi who received the priesthood have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from the brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham. Now Abraham was not a Levite, was he? He was not a Levite. But he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham. Melchizedek was not a Levite.

And blessed him who had the promises. Now beyond all contradiction, the lesser is blessed, it says, by the better. So Melchizedek was indeed the greater of Abraham and Melchizedek. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Melchizedek did not die. He's still alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father. And of course we know he came in the form of Jesus Christ and ascended to the Father. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, Paul is saying here, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. So here Levi was a great, grandson of Abraham. And so Paul is making this argument. He says, therefore if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron. For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. Or perhaps a better wording of it would be a change of the administration of the law of tithing. You know, what do we do? You know, now the work of God is preached in the gospel. We don't have a physical tabernacle with priests that do all the services of the tabernacle, per se, but we have the ministry. We have the ministry of Jesus Christ. So because of this, there had to be a change of the administration of the law of tithing. Now this statute had to be administered differently. Who do you give it to? Do you give it to the tabernacle in Jerusalem?

Or do you give it to the church? Well, this was a change that Paul is talking about here.

That happened. That was made. And this, by the way, probably got James thought off—he was thrown off the precipice of the temple for this, what is here. Because, you know, you start monkeying around with the tithes that were going into the coffers of the tabernacle down in Jerusalem.

And I'm sure this is very much inside of the scribes and the Pharisees. You know, that, look, you're telling people this, you know, they're going to take away the tithes that were sent to the tabernacle. So the laws of tithing, rather, are the same in the sense of that we practice them, but how they're administered, who they're given to, you know, has changed.

There was nothing wrong with the system of tithing. It was a matter of how it was to be administered. The church has the power to determine, in fact, how regular first tives and offerings are used.

They have that responsibility. The festival, or the second tithe, is the responsibility of the brethren. Of course, we're instructed on what we are to do and what things are appropriate to do with second tithe from the church, but as long as we use those, you know, for the right and proper spiritual purposes, that is the responsibility of the members.

Now, as far as the third tithe, years ago, the Council of Elders made a resolution regarding the poor or the third tithe. We recognize that the United States taxation system had risen so much over the last few years due to national programs for the poor and the needy, food stamps. I don't know what the percentage is of people who received today, even in the United States, food stamps, but it is out the ceiling. It is a tremendous lot. A lot of the social programs, in terms of the cost of it to the taxpayer, were just skyrocketing. To place the responsibility of a third tithe on members would be ten amount, basically, to putting people in the position of having to need assistance themselves. In some countries of the world where there has been a problem, in fact, it went back even to the 60s and the 70s, Mr. Zimmerman knows maybe a lot of that history as well. But I remember these things distinctly as well, that in the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries, I know in Australia, to send a third tithe to the church became a tremendous burden because there were so many social taxation programs in those nations, and they were so high that, in fact, those members that sent the third tithe would have to have it, you know, the church would have had to turn around and send it right back because their outgo was more than their income. The taxation was so bad in those nations. And I'm sure it's worse now than it was then, I know it is in the United States.

But at no time did Herbert Armstrong deny the biblical teaching of the poor tithe, or the third tithe instruction in the Bible. At no time did he deny the church's responsibility to care for the fatherless and the widow. On the contrary, he stressed that members who could should contribute to the church's assistance programs for such things.

And so the United Church of God, when the church, you know, began in 1995, continued this practice in the church and did not require people to pay a third tithe. And of course, it was ultimately every individual's choice as to what they could do, but if they could, to contribute to a church assistance fund for the poor. And we do have that biblical injunction that is within the Bible that God has given to us that we have to as a church to fulfill.

You know, oftentimes people today think that tithing has been done away with, and I'm not saying that about the church. You know, the churches of God do not believe that. But in the world of churches, very often people believe that. The tithe is still something that should be practiced, and is being practiced in the lives of thousands within the church of God today, and they're being blessed abundantly. God has given us, brethren, His Holy Spirit to guide us as to how we can be good stewards of the monies that He gives to all of us individually.

How we're blessed now and how we will be rewarded later will be based on how faithful we are now in the responsibilities that God has given to us. Brother, let's not neglect so great a salvation that we've been given. But let's be like faithful Abraham, and let's be faithful in tithing, in the giving of offerings, and the keeping of the laws of God. If we're faithful to that, God promises, brethren, that He will cause us to ride on the high places of the earth, and He will feed us on the heritage of Jacob.