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Saturday, March 16, 2013

Tithe: A study



TITHE

Simply put tithe is 10%. The key verse to look at when discussing the tithe is Malachi 3:8-12. God says here that not tithing is equal to robbing God. It is interesting to note that this is the only place in the bible God offers man a test or trial of his goodness. Go ahead, God says, test me… try me out… see if I’m faithful to my Word. God knows that money is tied to core matters of the heart. Jesus said that where your treasure is, your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34)

~Gross VS Net~

What about this 10%? Is that gross or net? Malachi also answers this for us. Bring in the WHOLE tithe. Deut. 14:22 tells us to tithe on all your increase. All means All and that’s All All means.  For a moment consider what you are really asking in this question. Should I give God 10% of the money I made before or after the government took their cut, and I sent some to my 401K, and I paid for medical deductions, etc etc… Does the government come first or does God? If God is first, that means first. Before anything is removed, God is first.

~Law~

            But that is old covenant law, we are not under the Law? Right? Yes we are not under the law. No tithing is not limited to the law. Actually the tithe predates the law. Genesis 14:20 shows us that Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek after being blessed by God through Him. The law didn’t come until Moses who is a distant descendant of Abraham.  Moses did not come for well over 400 years later.
            In fact Hebrews tells us that Jesus himself receives our tithes. (Hebrews 7:8) The only thing Jesus ever commended the Pharisees on was paying the tithe. (Matthew 23:23)

~God First~

            In case you still felt there was room for doubt let us take a look at the very first sin. Genesis Chapters 1-3. God places Adam and Eve in the midst of a vast and fruitful planet. He plants a Garden in the east with instructions to then take the seed and reproduce the Garden on the rest of the planet. He blesses them with Dominion and Authority.
All they put their hand to will prosper. He asks one thing in return. He reserves one tree and its fruit. He asks for this to remain His and His alone. This is Adams tithe. He is to take its fruit to God and God alone. He is not instructed not to touch it; that is Eve’s twisting of God’s words. He is instructed not to eat it.
Essentially, one could determine through looking at the commands given later in scripture, God’s plan was for Adam to bring him the fruits of this tree as tithe, offering, and love. God would fellowship and commune with Adam over this and take time to instruct him in matters of life. Truly God didn’t mind Adam knowing the difference between good an evil. He created and wanted Adam in HIS own image. God wanted Adam to learn from HIM and not through his own experience of good and evil.
Had Adam left the serpent, stopped Eve from talking to him (since he was there with her), and gone to God… Adam could have asked God about good and evil and He would have told him. Not tithing is always a matter of not trusting God to meet EVERY need, want, and desire. Not tithing is saying: “I’ll do this on my own… for myself... I’ll be my own provider.”

~God’s Lease~

            Jesus makes this interesting comparison regarding mans lease over the things of God. God the Father, in this story, is likened to a vineyard owner. He sent servants to the vine dressers who turned to beat and kill them. Then He sent his own Son, who was also killed. Jesus tells us that they will be thrown out, and God will lease the vineyard to others. (Matthew 21:40-42)
Adam’s first sin is touching that which belonged to God. God created this planet for mankind. He didn’t need a planet. In fact, He has many of them. He created this earth for man. The tithe is man’s mortgage or lease on the planet. This gives man the rightful use of this property. God is the landowner or Leaser. Man is the renter or leasee. When a man or woman fails to bring God His fruit first he is in danger of breaking lease. God serves notice that only curse and death will follow this course of action. Why?
This lease agreement is an agreement of blessing. To remove yourself from the blessing is to enter the curse by choice. The entire planet is under the curse due to Adam’s disobedience. It is the flow of the world’s system. What is the curse? It was placed into Adam the ability to bless this planet. To be fruitful, multiply, fill up, and subdue.
Satan has no creative power. All he can do is twist that which God created, just as he became twisted. So then, whatever the blessing does, the curse twists. It was now the curse that would steal, kill, and destroy. Satan has no magical ability to be the thief that steals, kills, and destroys as Jesus warned in John 10:10.  All he can do is to get you to cease co-operating with THE BLESSING and begin to operate The Curse instead. Then he gets you to do things that cause sin, and death through sin, to come into your life. Anytime that the curse is present things will get out of order. The opposite of THE BLESSING will result.
If the blessing is fruitful the curse will take your fruit, kill your fruit, or twist your fruit into becoming a source of death instead of a source of life. It the blessing multiplies and adds to your life than the curse will divide and take away. If the blessing fills up your life with good things, the curse will remove good things and/or add bad things. If the blessing causes you to prosper and be a subdue, always living as the head and not the tail (Deut 28) than the curse will cause you to become the subdued. If you are being ruled/controlled/subdued than it is the curse working. If you are being ruled by food, drugs, alcohol, or other “vices” than it is the curse working.
But it doesn’t have to be overt sin. Most of the employees of companies I’ve ever met, heard, or heard of are being subdued by the company they work for. Slavery is alive and well in the USA it just takes the form of being a “slave to the job”. If you don’t work and you take money from the government, either social security or welfare or any other type of money you end up telling people you are on a “fixed income”. Who fixed it? The curse did. You are being ruled by the government and your circumstances. That is the state of a person living in a curse. Anytime you are not the one in control, the curse is active. Unless God is working through you to control a situation the situation will control you. Blessing or curse, you choose. (Deut 30:19)
It is the blessing, through contact and contract with God, that shields and protects you from the curse. Jesus redeemed us from the curse (Galatians 3:13). It is His blood that keeps us redeemed. He permanently reestablished a covenant between God and Man. This covenant is between God and Jesus so it cannot be broken. It is entered through believing in and on Jesus. Once entered, however, there are terms and conditions.
Obedience is not about earning God’s protection from the curse. Obedience is about participating in His protection from the curse. I can warn you about the dangerous oncoming traffic but if you fail to heed my warning and walk out into the highway anyway, you could, and probably would, get hurt. God’s commands are to help us do good things that bring life and avoid bad things that bring death.
Obedience will bring greater degrees of the protection of the blessing. Failing to love your brother may not keep you from heaven when you die, although it could progress to that. However failing to love is a failure to obey and it will cause the curse to operate in your life. So it is with the tithe. It is a connector to God’s ways of doing things. It connects you to His blessing. It is a heart matter, ultimately tithe connects your heart to God’s in a way few other things do. The tithe connects you to trusting God for ALL your provision. By tithing you say in action: My GOD, not my job, provides for me! Failure to tithe is failure to trust. God’s not asking you to give so he can take 10% from you. He is asking you to give so he can bless the 90% and bring more to you by increasing the 90%! I don’t have to tithe, I get to!

~Promise of Blessing~

What is God’s promise if we obey him in bringing in the tithe? God says that he will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessing we cannot contain. This is the same blessing he gave Adam in Genesis 1:28. It is the same blessing then given to Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20. It is the same blessing listed in detail for us in Deut 28.  The curse is listed there also, but it says right there that it only comes as a result of disobedience. God’s heart and passion is to bless us. Only when we disobey are we forcing ourselves to enter and live under a curse. We leave the protection of the blessing and engage in things that bring curse into our lives. God can’t be blamed for that.
What happens to a person who fails to pay the rent? I can tell you. I once chose to pay my car note instead of my rent. I thought the car was more important. I ended up living in that car for about 6 months, with a wife and child. Did God want me to live in a car? No He didn’t. Was it His will? Was He trying to teach me something? Was He trying to humble me? No. I was living in a car because I chose not to pay my rent. I chose not to participate in the agreement I had with my “land-lord.” Bad things don’t happen because God willed them. It has not once ever, in the history of mankind, ever, been God’s will for bad things to happen to you. Bad things only happen to you because of your choices, or someone else’s. Even seemingly un-chosen things, like disease, only exist because of mankind’s disobedience.
God isn’t out to cause bad things to happen to teach you a lesson. He laid it out plain and simple.
God gives us a clear choice in life. He tells us that there are blessing and cursing, life and death. Then He gives a hint, which is His choice; “Choose Life” (Deut. 30:19). Sounds like a no brainer, but this choice often means obeying God when it doesn’t feel like it’s good. Tithe is a major area for many, but it brings the Blessing.

~THE Blessing~

The blessing of God is the power to get wealth, among other things. It is the power to prosper: spirit, soul, body, mind, financially, socially, etc… In all areas of life, the Blessing invades and creates fruitful environments. The blessing on Joseph saved two nations from starvation. (Genesis 41) The Blessing on Isaac caused him to sow during famine and reap a 100 fold return. (Genesis 26) The Blessing was on Jesus who multiplied fish and loaves for over 5,000 men plus women and children, on two occasions. (John 6 and Matthew 15). Over and over God used blessed people to provide for others. Hebrews 11 lists a hall of fame full of people that obeyed God and operated under the blessing.
            The tithe connects you to the blessing. The tithe is only the beginning. God also promises special blessings for those who gives to the poor (Proverbs 19:17), and He has a special place in His heart for those in need. (Deut 10:17-19) We say that those who give to these classes of people are sowers. S.O.W. = Strangers, Orphans and Widows. In Philippians 4 we learn that giving to an anointed ministry doing the Work of God in the earth connects us to their anointing and increases our account with God.

~Heavenly Accounting~

            This brings up another interesting point to consider when tithing and giving. We have an account with God. Jesus referred to it when He talked about storing treasure in heaven. Paul referred to it in Philippians 4. In banking; a checking or savings account is known as a “Demand Deposit Account”. This means you have placed money in deposit there but expect to be able to place a demand on that money at any time. This is how it is with God.
We add to that account through every act of obedience and giving to God. We place a demand on that account by asking and believing. We place our treasure there through giving and sowing of our time, talent, and treasure. Jesus told a rich young ruler in Matthew 19 that he should give to the poor… the young man didn’t stick around to hear that there was a 100 fold return on that investment. There is no way to ever drain the heavenly account you have because it is increasing beyond the earth’s capacity to use it. This is why God said he could open up the windows of heaven and pour out the blessing which you cannot contain. It is however, available for use at a moment’s notice and with the demand slip called Faith.

~Obedience~

Tithing may be hard at first. I had given off and on throughout my life. When I had rededicated my life to Jesus as Lord and Savior in 2002, I decided that I was going to take Him seriously for the first time in a long time. In my studies I found in the Word that tithing was not optional. I started by giving ten percent of what I had. I noted that within the first month I went from constantly negative in my accounts to having a little left over. I thought that this was quite remarkable.
I noticed that on months I did not tithe, the devourer came and what I thought I kept I lost. Those months I did tithe, things just went smoother. I later went on to learn about tithing on my gross income and not my net. This required more thought, because I actually had to look at each paycheck to determine what I had made before taxes and deductions. This had the side benefit of knowing what was really happening on my checks and taking control of it. I found out that I could put money in my 401K and less would go to taxes. Essentially I could pay myself instead of the government. I learned this, in part, because tithing on the gross made me think about what I really made and where it was going. I also started to increase in income. I got better raises. I found money in the oddest places. I also found it easier to stay at one job longer. In one instance I really needed money to register a car and God brought more than enough just a week before it was due. Tithing will not always be easy. But it doesn’t belong to you anyway. It is God’s. Make up in your mind right now that tithe comes first no matter what. It comes before food, bills, everything.

~Challenges to Obedience~

For some people that may not be possible. Suppose you are a woman who has just learned about the tithe and you want to obey God. Your Husband (Or wife if you are a man) is not in agreement with this. Find something to give. If you get an allowance, or certain amount to spend for groceries, tithe on that. If you have $5 in your pocket, give some of it to God. Start where you are. You could even challenge the spouse. “We do this for three months. And if we are not better off than we stop.” Many have given this challenge to faithless spouses to have the spouse then say at the end of three months: “Whatever it is… keep it up!!” This is the one and only area God said to test Him in, so test him, let it be a test-imony for your spouse. But you MUST have their agreement or it won’t flow well. If they don’t agree, than tithe on the things you can tithe on. If you are given no money at all to use, tithe your time or talents. Whatever your situation, God knows your heart. Start with what you have. Show yourself faithful and God will do the same. This is a heart matter more than a letter of the law matter.

~Proper Tithe~

There is actually more to tithing than dropping money in a bucket. God actually lays out a method to the tithe. You could say it comes with an instruction manual. This is found at length in Deut. 26:1-15; Specifically in 13-15.
13 then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, 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. 14 I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 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.”’
            This was written to the physical people of Israel. What application does this have for those in the new covenant who are the spiritual Israel?

~Remove the Tithe~

First of all we must remove the tithe! This means don’t wait until last minute, after the bills are paid and hope there is some left over to tithe with. The tithe comes first before anything else is paid for or paid on. One great way of doing this, and something I have been doing for a while now, is to actually set up a separate account for the tithe and offering. If your payroll department will allow split direct deposit you can have 10% or more automatically sent to this special purpose account. You won’t even have to think about separating for yourself. You can write a check, take out cash, or use your card, however you normally give from this account knowing the money has already been separated unto God for the work of God in the earth.
You may want to try doing 12% or 14% as the direct deposit will only use after tax money for the percentage. If you are tithing on your gross you will need a higher percentage to come out right. A little too much is good too because tithing is the starting place of giving not the max. You may want to allow this account to build up so that you can use the excess as an offering amount. Maybe the church has a building project, or maybe you will meet someone God wants you to reach out and bless. You have already set yourself up to participate by letting this account build up on the side. Although most of the big banks don’t have “free accounts” anymore, you could just as easily use a smaller bank, credit union, or online bank for this account, most of those are still free.

~Obey God~

We also see that the tithe must also be accompanied by obedience to other areas of God’s Word. Walking in strife, unforgiveness, or any other area of sin will cancel out the benefits of the tithe. Again looking to Jesus’ words to the Pharisees (Matthew 23:23); He said you ought to have done these (tithe of the first fruits of all their increase) without neglecting the other more weightier matters (Justice, Mercy, and Faith).

~Don’t Eat It~

            Do not eat your tithe. This will come as a hard saying, but yes the tithe comes before groceries too. This means you cannot allow a tight month to dictate to you whether or not you will tithe by saying: “Oh well, things are really tight this month… we cannot afford to give this month… God knows our hearts… He understands… we’ll just start again next month.”
This sounds logical but it is certain death to next month’s finances. Saying this is exactly the same as saying: “God, we don’t really trust you to meet our needs, which includes feeding us. We believe you religiously, but not in practical matters where it counts.” Acting in fear, which is what not tithing is caused by, always connects you to the curse and you will find that next month will be tighter than this month. I know from personal experience that when you feel like you cannot afford to tithe; the truth is you cannot afford not to tithe.

~Confess the Tithe~

This passage also shows us the most important and most overlooked matter in the tithe: Confession. God is not just asking for us to put money in a bucket. That alone doesn’t connect you to the blessing. In fact you can put 10% of your income in a bucket and still not see any blessing, or not get the full effect of it. Tithing is a covenant matter. It connects you to the covenant of blessing. You didn’t get married without using your words to connect you to marriage. You said some things.
If you open a checking account you will sign a document saying that you have read and agreed to the terms and conditions. Confessing your tithe to God is a way of connecting you to His blessing through tithing. Say some things about it. You may even want to take communion with your family, which is another covenant rite. Take a few minutes together either before church or on pay day and talk about the tithe. You could say something like the following modern version:
“Jesus; thank you for your sacrifice! Thank you for the cross. Your blood and broken body redeemed us from the curse. Thanks to you we are free from the bondage of sickness, disease, poverty, lack, sin, and death. We were once under a curse which rules the world’s system. Thanks to you, Jesus, we are free! We accept everything you redeemed us from and redeemed us to. We plead your blood over our household. We say we are blessed going in and blessed going out. We are blessed in our bodies and in our bank accounts. We thank you for using us to be a blessing to countless others. We declare divine encounters this month. The windows of heaven are open to us and we are free from the devourer. Thank you. Glory to God!”
Then pray some. Praise God. Sing some songs or worship. Adore Him. Do this every payday, if not more often. This time of confession, prayer, and praise will open up your mind and thought life to meditate on his word and promises. When disaster strikes and the enemy attacks you will have spent time building inside of yourself a fortress of trust in God. You will be able to say like Paul: None of these things move me (Acts 20:24)! His promise is a land flowing with Milk and Honey. He tells us that land will require faith and fight ([1]). It will not be given to us without a fight. There will be enemies to our progress and increase. We will move on in faith. From time to time people will come along trying to move us off of our land and rightful place. We must stand strong in faith. Temptations, trials, and other distractions will not move a true tither, connected to the covenant of blessing. The money could drain and houses fall down and the tither knows, as God did with Job, that double is coming!

~Offering~

You may also want to consider in addition to your tithe a set offering amount every month. Many long time tithers have gone on to make a 20% or more their minimum. 10% to the church and 10% to ministries and work of God elsewhere. God blesses giving. If you aren’t there yet you could start with $5. Choose, through prayer, a place you want to begin sowing/giving to. Maybe there is a minister that you learn from that isn’t at your church, sow the $5 into that ministry. Maybe there is an orphanage or elderly home that you feel a strong attachment to. Find a place to start, let God lead you.
Suppose you feel that having too much is a bad thing. It isn’t, God wants to overflow your cup according to Psalms 23. But suppose you do. You see the world hurting and feel bad for wanting too much. Go ahead and believe god for a $1,000,000 a year. Then live on $50,000. That leaves you $950,000 a year to meet the needs of other people. Who told you that you had to keep it? That way you are GIVING 95% of your income and living on 5%! How’s that for Godly math? According to the pattern God shows in the bible, you would not be able to do that long without seeing a significant increase in your income. Go ahead, believe God for TOO MUCH. That is the only way you can participate in meeting the needs of others. That is the principle of 2 Corinthians 9:8. Have too much so that you can have to give.

“Our purpose for accumulation is distribution!” Pastors George and Terri Pearsons.

Now don’t take this to mean that you should go give your entire paycheck away today… God may require obedience but He also requires wisdom. Faith comes in the form of seed. You start with the faith you have and work it. Like a muscle or plant, time and patience will cause it to grow. Start where you are, give what you have to give, and watch it multiply over time. Challenge yourself to give more over time, according to your faith. Romans 12:2 says to take time to renew your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve God’s will. This includes His will in the area of Giving. Verse 3 tells us to not think that we are beyond where we are. We should not think we are higher or lower than we are, but judge ourselves soberly. This way we can operate at the level of faith we have, practice it, and push through it like working weights in a gym. This causes us to know where we are in our faith walk with God and it allows us to know where the next level is too.
If you work 10 pound weights and they are hard at first, work them awhile. In time you find the weights become easier to lift. Soon you can work 20 pounds, then 50. So it is with God. You may find that committing to tithe takes all the faith you can muster. Soon it becomes easier, then routine. Eventually you don’t question it or even think about it, it’s just natural. At first you may find that sowing an extra $5 is hard, but as you pray God begins to show you that you spend $20 a month on random things you don’t need and maybe even didn’t want that much. Maybe the whole $20 is spent on one thing or several things.
Over time God will ask you to push yourself in this area of giving. Over time he will ask you to set goals for your giving. Just like working weights in a gym; the goals will seem tough at first and become easier over time. I know one man who committed to giving in every church service he attended, even if it was just $1 he gave every service. Soon he was giving Sunday and Wed and special events. He progressed to a set amount, say $5 each service. Last I heard he was sowing $100 each service and was looking to increase that. His life and business has increased exponentially over time and there is a direct correlation between his increase in giving and his increase in life at every turn. The increase in giving always came before the increase to his financial life.
Decide for yourself where you are in life. Pray it out. Remember that there is no condemnation in God (Romans8:1). So if you feel bad for not being able to give what you want to, you are on the wrong track.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says:
7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
            So pray it out, find what you have peace about in your heart, not your head! Give cheerfully. Every time the offering basket comes by your hand, even if you are not giving in that service, you may even want to practice saying: “I LOVE to give!” It will help build inside of you the heart of a giver.

~Where does my tithe go?~

            This will make the hair of some pastors’ neck bristle: Wherever God tells you. As we see in Deut 26 the confession of the tither is that the tithe was given to the Levite (Pastor/Ministries), Stranger (people who either don’t have or don’t know about their covenant with God and therefore can’t fend for themselves), Fatherless/Orphans and Widows, together make up the class of people who also can’t fend for themselves and need special help. In Israel, and the way the society was structured by God in Israel, the Church/Synagogue was the primary, if not only, source of help for these classes of people. If your church is strong in the areas of helping strangers, orphans, and widows, it may be appropriate to give all your tithe to your local church and allow them to further distribute that money to the needs of others.

It is clear from the order that the ministry actually comes FIRST in line for who should be benefiting from the tithe. But if your Church, for whatever reason, is not currently engaged in helping the strangers, orphans, and widows, it could be completely appropriate to divide that tithe and send some to support the ministry of the Word and the rest to other ministries, groups, organizations, etc that do these other functions. Over the years I’ve had two jobs at once sometimes, and therefore two sources of tithe.

Watch this video about one such ministry that operates on days outside of Sunday: The Joseph Storehouse:

Sometimes Giving to one ministry will help you impact others. Because that ministry goes on to distribute to those in need. Here is another such case:


One day I had my tithe all ready in the form of cash, being a server at night at the time. I was ready to put it in the envelope and send it to the basket and I got the distinct impression I should not. At first I started to rebuke the devil who would block me from tithing… but I heard God say: “No, it’s My Money, I’ll decide where it goes! Hold on to it until after service and I’ll send you to someone.” Well this was interesting, and I had a meeting scheduled with a man who was in ministry himself outside of Church and I thought to myself “Well of course, it’s got to be for his ministry.” Well, as it turns out, that man wasn’t able to make it. But as I sat in the building after service praying about this word from earlier in service a fellow member of the congregation who I knew from the usher team walked up to say hi, as he often does. We talked about recent events and he shared how God has been using him outside of the four walls on Sunday to do ministry down in the most poor areas of Fort Worth doing street ministry and prayer with the people there. They even started a midweek church that he helps. He didn’t have the finances or the official training, but he was a doer of the Word and not a hearer only and he began working down there. Well people are getting healed, and saved, and crime has already gone down. He’s gotten death threats from the crime bosses because the young ones he’s getting saved aren’t working for them anymore, but he’d protected by God and working with what he has. Immediately that Word rose up in me: “Sow into this man’s ministry.” I told him briefly about how God prepared me that morning to give to someone he would bring across my path and that God had just told me he was the one. I was able to give him what God had told me to lay aside that morning. I was a conduit for God’s work. Strangers, Orphans, and Widows were being ministered to. I heard Kenneth Copeland say, many times: “God WILL tell you to give, but he may not tell you to give to this ministry. Find out from God where you are supposed to be sowing and sow there. That will bring the blessing to pass in your life.
The point? Where does the tithe Go? Religion tells you that it always must go to your Church. I submit to you that it goes wherever GOD tell you to put it, it’s HIS money. It will always be to support Ministry of the Word, or to support those in need.  

~Reminders~

So remember, tithe is not optional, giving is a connection to the blessings of God. Giving causes increase in your life. Tithe on your gross income, put God first; secure your lease and connection to the blessings of God. Fill your heavenly account. Remove the tithe immediately and separate it from your other money. Walk in obedience in other areas of life. Don’t eat the tithe. Confess the Word of God over your giving. Finally pray about what God would have you to do in order to participate in giving. Pray about how much, and where it should go, and how much over and above your tithe.

The preceding was adapted from a chapter of my book “Banking Basics for Believers”.



[1] Joshua 1, 1 Timothy 1:18 & 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7






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By Darrell Wolfe

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    Tithe: A study



    TITHE

    Simply put tithe is 10%. The key verse to look at when discussing the tithe is Malachi 3:8-12. God says here that not tithing is equal to robbing God. It is interesting to note that this is the only place in the bible God offers man a test or trial of his goodness. Go ahead, God says, test me… try me out… see if I’m faithful to my Word. God knows that money is tied to core matters of the heart. Jesus said that where your treasure is, your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34)

    ~Gross VS Net~

    What about this 10%? Is that gross or net? Malachi also answers this for us. Bring in the WHOLE tithe. Deut. 14:22 tells us to tithe on all your increase. All means All and that’s All All means.  For a moment consider what you are really asking in this question. Should I give God 10% of the money I made before or after the government took their cut, and I sent some to my 401K, and I paid for medical deductions, etc etc… Does the government come first or does God? If God is first, that means first. Before anything is removed, God is first.

    ~Law~

                But that is old covenant law, we are not under the Law? Right? Yes we are not under the law. No tithing is not limited to the law. Actually the tithe predates the law. Genesis 14:20 shows us that Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek after being blessed by God through Him. The law didn’t come until Moses who is a distant descendant of Abraham.  Moses did not come for well over 400 years later.
                In fact Hebrews tells us that Jesus himself receives our tithes. (Hebrews 7:8) The only thing Jesus ever commended the Pharisees on was paying the tithe. (Matthew 23:23)

    ~God First~

                In case you still felt there was room for doubt let us take a look at the very first sin. Genesis Chapters 1-3. God places Adam and Eve in the midst of a vast and fruitful planet. He plants a Garden in the east with instructions to then take the seed and reproduce the Garden on the rest of the planet. He blesses them with Dominion and Authority.
    All they put their hand to will prosper. He asks one thing in return. He reserves one tree and its fruit. He asks for this to remain His and His alone. This is Adams tithe. He is to take its fruit to God and God alone. He is not instructed not to touch it; that is Eve’s twisting of God’s words. He is instructed not to eat it.
    Essentially, one could determine through looking at the commands given later in scripture, God’s plan was for Adam to bring him the fruits of this tree as tithe, offering, and love. God would fellowship and commune with Adam over this and take time to instruct him in matters of life. Truly God didn’t mind Adam knowing the difference between good an evil. He created and wanted Adam in HIS own image. God wanted Adam to learn from HIM and not through his own experience of good and evil.
    Had Adam left the serpent, stopped Eve from talking to him (since he was there with her), and gone to God… Adam could have asked God about good and evil and He would have told him. Not tithing is always a matter of not trusting God to meet EVERY need, want, and desire. Not tithing is saying: “I’ll do this on my own… for myself... I’ll be my own provider.”

    ~God’s Lease~

                Jesus makes this interesting comparison regarding mans lease over the things of God. God the Father, in this story, is likened to a vineyard owner. He sent servants to the vine dressers who turned to beat and kill them. Then He sent his own Son, who was also killed. Jesus tells us that they will be thrown out, and God will lease the vineyard to others. (Matthew 21:40-42)
    Adam’s first sin is touching that which belonged to God. God created this planet for mankind. He didn’t need a planet. In fact, He has many of them. He created this earth for man. The tithe is man’s mortgage or lease on the planet. This gives man the rightful use of this property. God is the landowner or Leaser. Man is the renter or leasee. When a man or woman fails to bring God His fruit first he is in danger of breaking lease. God serves notice that only curse and death will follow this course of action. Why?
    This lease agreement is an agreement of blessing. To remove yourself from the blessing is to enter the curse by choice. The entire planet is under the curse due to Adam’s disobedience. It is the flow of the world’s system. What is the curse? It was placed into Adam the ability to bless this planet. To be fruitful, multiply, fill up, and subdue.
    Satan has no creative power. All he can do is twist that which God created, just as he became twisted. So then, whatever the blessing does, the curse twists. It was now the curse that would steal, kill, and destroy. Satan has no magical ability to be the thief that steals, kills, and destroys as Jesus warned in John 10:10.  All he can do is to get you to cease co-operating with THE BLESSING and begin to operate The Curse instead. Then he gets you to do things that cause sin, and death through sin, to come into your life. Anytime that the curse is present things will get out of order. The opposite of THE BLESSING will result.
    If the blessing is fruitful the curse will take your fruit, kill your fruit, or twist your fruit into becoming a source of death instead of a source of life. It the blessing multiplies and adds to your life than the curse will divide and take away. If the blessing fills up your life with good things, the curse will remove good things and/or add bad things. If the blessing causes you to prosper and be a subdue, always living as the head and not the tail (Deut 28) than the curse will cause you to become the subdued. If you are being ruled/controlled/subdued than it is the curse working. If you are being ruled by food, drugs, alcohol, or other “vices” than it is the curse working.
    But it doesn’t have to be overt sin. Most of the employees of companies I’ve ever met, heard, or heard of are being subdued by the company they work for. Slavery is alive and well in the USA it just takes the form of being a “slave to the job”. If you don’t work and you take money from the government, either social security or welfare or any other type of money you end up telling people you are on a “fixed income”. Who fixed it? The curse did. You are being ruled by the government and your circumstances. That is the state of a person living in a curse. Anytime you are not the one in control, the curse is active. Unless God is working through you to control a situation the situation will control you. Blessing or curse, you choose. (Deut 30:19)
    It is the blessing, through contact and contract with God, that shields and protects you from the curse. Jesus redeemed us from the curse (Galatians 3:13). It is His blood that keeps us redeemed. He permanently reestablished a covenant between God and Man. This covenant is between God and Jesus so it cannot be broken. It is entered through believing in and on Jesus. Once entered, however, there are terms and conditions.
    Obedience is not about earning God’s protection from the curse. Obedience is about participating in His protection from the curse. I can warn you about the dangerous oncoming traffic but if you fail to heed my warning and walk out into the highway anyway, you could, and probably would, get hurt. God’s commands are to help us do good things that bring life and avoid bad things that bring death.
    Obedience will bring greater degrees of the protection of the blessing. Failing to love your brother may not keep you from heaven when you die, although it could progress to that. However failing to love is a failure to obey and it will cause the curse to operate in your life. So it is with the tithe. It is a connector to God’s ways of doing things. It connects you to His blessing. It is a heart matter, ultimately tithe connects your heart to God’s in a way few other things do. The tithe connects you to trusting God for ALL your provision. By tithing you say in action: My GOD, not my job, provides for me! Failure to tithe is failure to trust. God’s not asking you to give so he can take 10% from you. He is asking you to give so he can bless the 90% and bring more to you by increasing the 90%! I don’t have to tithe, I get to!

    ~Promise of Blessing~

    What is God’s promise if we obey him in bringing in the tithe? God says that he will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessing we cannot contain. This is the same blessing he gave Adam in Genesis 1:28. It is the same blessing then given to Abraham in Genesis 14:18-20. It is the same blessing listed in detail for us in Deut 28.  The curse is listed there also, but it says right there that it only comes as a result of disobedience. God’s heart and passion is to bless us. Only when we disobey are we forcing ourselves to enter and live under a curse. We leave the protection of the blessing and engage in things that bring curse into our lives. God can’t be blamed for that.
    What happens to a person who fails to pay the rent? I can tell you. I once chose to pay my car note instead of my rent. I thought the car was more important. I ended up living in that car for about 6 months, with a wife and child. Did God want me to live in a car? No He didn’t. Was it His will? Was He trying to teach me something? Was He trying to humble me? No. I was living in a car because I chose not to pay my rent. I chose not to participate in the agreement I had with my “land-lord.” Bad things don’t happen because God willed them. It has not once ever, in the history of mankind, ever, been God’s will for bad things to happen to you. Bad things only happen to you because of your choices, or someone else’s. Even seemingly un-chosen things, like disease, only exist because of mankind’s disobedience.
    God isn’t out to cause bad things to happen to teach you a lesson. He laid it out plain and simple.
    God gives us a clear choice in life. He tells us that there are blessing and cursing, life and death. Then He gives a hint, which is His choice; “Choose Life” (Deut. 30:19). Sounds like a no brainer, but this choice often means obeying God when it doesn’t feel like it’s good. Tithe is a major area for many, but it brings the Blessing.

    ~THE Blessing~

    The blessing of God is the power to get wealth, among other things. It is the power to prosper: spirit, soul, body, mind, financially, socially, etc… In all areas of life, the Blessing invades and creates fruitful environments. The blessing on Joseph saved two nations from starvation. (Genesis 41) The Blessing on Isaac caused him to sow during famine and reap a 100 fold return. (Genesis 26) The Blessing was on Jesus who multiplied fish and loaves for over 5,000 men plus women and children, on two occasions. (John 6 and Matthew 15). Over and over God used blessed people to provide for others. Hebrews 11 lists a hall of fame full of people that obeyed God and operated under the blessing.
                The tithe connects you to the blessing. The tithe is only the beginning. God also promises special blessings for those who gives to the poor (Proverbs 19:17), and He has a special place in His heart for those in need. (Deut 10:17-19) We say that those who give to these classes of people are sowers. S.O.W. = Strangers, Orphans and Widows. In Philippians 4 we learn that giving to an anointed ministry doing the Work of God in the earth connects us to their anointing and increases our account with God.

    ~Heavenly Accounting~

                This brings up another interesting point to consider when tithing and giving. We have an account with God. Jesus referred to it when He talked about storing treasure in heaven. Paul referred to it in Philippians 4. In banking; a checking or savings account is known as a “Demand Deposit Account”. This means you have placed money in deposit there but expect to be able to place a demand on that money at any time. This is how it is with God.
    We add to that account through every act of obedience and giving to God. We place a demand on that account by asking and believing. We place our treasure there through giving and sowing of our time, talent, and treasure. Jesus told a rich young ruler in Matthew 19 that he should give to the poor… the young man didn’t stick around to hear that there was a 100 fold return on that investment. There is no way to ever drain the heavenly account you have because it is increasing beyond the earth’s capacity to use it. This is why God said he could open up the windows of heaven and pour out the blessing which you cannot contain. It is however, available for use at a moment’s notice and with the demand slip called Faith.

    ~Obedience~

    Tithing may be hard at first. I had given off and on throughout my life. When I had rededicated my life to Jesus as Lord and Savior in 2002, I decided that I was going to take Him seriously for the first time in a long time. In my studies I found in the Word that tithing was not optional. I started by giving ten percent of what I had. I noted that within the first month I went from constantly negative in my accounts to having a little left over. I thought that this was quite remarkable.
    I noticed that on months I did not tithe, the devourer came and what I thought I kept I lost. Those months I did tithe, things just went smoother. I later went on to learn about tithing on my gross income and not my net. This required more thought, because I actually had to look at each paycheck to determine what I had made before taxes and deductions. This had the side benefit of knowing what was really happening on my checks and taking control of it. I found out that I could put money in my 401K and less would go to taxes. Essentially I could pay myself instead of the government. I learned this, in part, because tithing on the gross made me think about what I really made and where it was going. I also started to increase in income. I got better raises. I found money in the oddest places. I also found it easier to stay at one job longer. In one instance I really needed money to register a car and God brought more than enough just a week before it was due. Tithing will not always be easy. But it doesn’t belong to you anyway. It is God’s. Make up in your mind right now that tithe comes first no matter what. It comes before food, bills, everything.

    ~Challenges to Obedience~

    For some people that may not be possible. Suppose you are a woman who has just learned about the tithe and you want to obey God. Your Husband (Or wife if you are a man) is not in agreement with this. Find something to give. If you get an allowance, or certain amount to spend for groceries, tithe on that. If you have $5 in your pocket, give some of it to God. Start where you are. You could even challenge the spouse. “We do this for three months. And if we are not better off than we stop.” Many have given this challenge to faithless spouses to have the spouse then say at the end of three months: “Whatever it is… keep it up!!” This is the one and only area God said to test Him in, so test him, let it be a test-imony for your spouse. But you MUST have their agreement or it won’t flow well. If they don’t agree, than tithe on the things you can tithe on. If you are given no money at all to use, tithe your time or talents. Whatever your situation, God knows your heart. Start with what you have. Show yourself faithful and God will do the same. This is a heart matter more than a letter of the law matter.

    ~Proper Tithe~

    There is actually more to tithing than dropping money in a bucket. God actually lays out a method to the tithe. You could say it comes with an instruction manual. This is found at length in Deut. 26:1-15; Specifically in 13-15.
    13 then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, 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. 14 I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 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.”’
                This was written to the physical people of Israel. What application does this have for those in the new covenant who are the spiritual Israel?

    ~Remove the Tithe~

    First of all we must remove the tithe! This means don’t wait until last minute, after the bills are paid and hope there is some left over to tithe with. The tithe comes first before anything else is paid for or paid on. One great way of doing this, and something I have been doing for a while now, is to actually set up a separate account for the tithe and offering. If your payroll department will allow split direct deposit you can have 10% or more automatically sent to this special purpose account. You won’t even have to think about separating for yourself. You can write a check, take out cash, or use your card, however you normally give from this account knowing the money has already been separated unto God for the work of God in the earth.
    You may want to try doing 12% or 14% as the direct deposit will only use after tax money for the percentage. If you are tithing on your gross you will need a higher percentage to come out right. A little too much is good too because tithing is the starting place of giving not the max. You may want to allow this account to build up so that you can use the excess as an offering amount. Maybe the church has a building project, or maybe you will meet someone God wants you to reach out and bless. You have already set yourself up to participate by letting this account build up on the side. Although most of the big banks don’t have “free accounts” anymore, you could just as easily use a smaller bank, credit union, or online bank for this account, most of those are still free.

    ~Obey God~

    We also see that the tithe must also be accompanied by obedience to other areas of God’s Word. Walking in strife, unforgiveness, or any other area of sin will cancel out the benefits of the tithe. Again looking to Jesus’ words to the Pharisees (Matthew 23:23); He said you ought to have done these (tithe of the first fruits of all their increase) without neglecting the other more weightier matters (Justice, Mercy, and Faith).

    ~Don’t Eat It~

                Do not eat your tithe. This will come as a hard saying, but yes the tithe comes before groceries too. This means you cannot allow a tight month to dictate to you whether or not you will tithe by saying: “Oh well, things are really tight this month… we cannot afford to give this month… God knows our hearts… He understands… we’ll just start again next month.”
    This sounds logical but it is certain death to next month’s finances. Saying this is exactly the same as saying: “God, we don’t really trust you to meet our needs, which includes feeding us. We believe you religiously, but not in practical matters where it counts.” Acting in fear, which is what not tithing is caused by, always connects you to the curse and you will find that next month will be tighter than this month. I know from personal experience that when you feel like you cannot afford to tithe; the truth is you cannot afford not to tithe.

    ~Confess the Tithe~

    This passage also shows us the most important and most overlooked matter in the tithe: Confession. God is not just asking for us to put money in a bucket. That alone doesn’t connect you to the blessing. In fact you can put 10% of your income in a bucket and still not see any blessing, or not get the full effect of it. Tithing is a covenant matter. It connects you to the covenant of blessing. You didn’t get married without using your words to connect you to marriage. You said some things.
    If you open a checking account you will sign a document saying that you have read and agreed to the terms and conditions. Confessing your tithe to God is a way of connecting you to His blessing through tithing. Say some things about it. You may even want to take communion with your family, which is another covenant rite. Take a few minutes together either before church or on pay day and talk about the tithe. You could say something like the following modern version:
    “Jesus; thank you for your sacrifice! Thank you for the cross. Your blood and broken body redeemed us from the curse. Thanks to you we are free from the bondage of sickness, disease, poverty, lack, sin, and death. We were once under a curse which rules the world’s system. Thanks to you, Jesus, we are free! We accept everything you redeemed us from and redeemed us to. We plead your blood over our household. We say we are blessed going in and blessed going out. We are blessed in our bodies and in our bank accounts. We thank you for using us to be a blessing to countless others. We declare divine encounters this month. The windows of heaven are open to us and we are free from the devourer. Thank you. Glory to God!”
    Then pray some. Praise God. Sing some songs or worship. Adore Him. Do this every payday, if not more often. This time of confession, prayer, and praise will open up your mind and thought life to meditate on his word and promises. When disaster strikes and the enemy attacks you will have spent time building inside of yourself a fortress of trust in God. You will be able to say like Paul: None of these things move me (Acts 20:24)! His promise is a land flowing with Milk and Honey. He tells us that land will require faith and fight ([1]). It will not be given to us without a fight. There will be enemies to our progress and increase. We will move on in faith. From time to time people will come along trying to move us off of our land and rightful place. We must stand strong in faith. Temptations, trials, and other distractions will not move a true tither, connected to the covenant of blessing. The money could drain and houses fall down and the tither knows, as God did with Job, that double is coming!

    ~Offering~

    You may also want to consider in addition to your tithe a set offering amount every month. Many long time tithers have gone on to make a 20% or more their minimum. 10% to the church and 10% to ministries and work of God elsewhere. God blesses giving. If you aren’t there yet you could start with $5. Choose, through prayer, a place you want to begin sowing/giving to. Maybe there is a minister that you learn from that isn’t at your church, sow the $5 into that ministry. Maybe there is an orphanage or elderly home that you feel a strong attachment to. Find a place to start, let God lead you.
    Suppose you feel that having too much is a bad thing. It isn’t, God wants to overflow your cup according to Psalms 23. But suppose you do. You see the world hurting and feel bad for wanting too much. Go ahead and believe god for a $1,000,000 a year. Then live on $50,000. That leaves you $950,000 a year to meet the needs of other people. Who told you that you had to keep it? That way you are GIVING 95% of your income and living on 5%! How’s that for Godly math? According to the pattern God shows in the bible, you would not be able to do that long without seeing a significant increase in your income. Go ahead, believe God for TOO MUCH. That is the only way you can participate in meeting the needs of others. That is the principle of 2 Corinthians 9:8. Have too much so that you can have to give.

    “Our purpose for accumulation is distribution!” Pastors George and Terri Pearsons.

    Now don’t take this to mean that you should go give your entire paycheck away today… God may require obedience but He also requires wisdom. Faith comes in the form of seed. You start with the faith you have and work it. Like a muscle or plant, time and patience will cause it to grow. Start where you are, give what you have to give, and watch it multiply over time. Challenge yourself to give more over time, according to your faith. Romans 12:2 says to take time to renew your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve God’s will. This includes His will in the area of Giving. Verse 3 tells us to not think that we are beyond where we are. We should not think we are higher or lower than we are, but judge ourselves soberly. This way we can operate at the level of faith we have, practice it, and push through it like working weights in a gym. This causes us to know where we are in our faith walk with God and it allows us to know where the next level is too.
    If you work 10 pound weights and they are hard at first, work them awhile. In time you find the weights become easier to lift. Soon you can work 20 pounds, then 50. So it is with God. You may find that committing to tithe takes all the faith you can muster. Soon it becomes easier, then routine. Eventually you don’t question it or even think about it, it’s just natural. At first you may find that sowing an extra $5 is hard, but as you pray God begins to show you that you spend $20 a month on random things you don’t need and maybe even didn’t want that much. Maybe the whole $20 is spent on one thing or several things.
    Over time God will ask you to push yourself in this area of giving. Over time he will ask you to set goals for your giving. Just like working weights in a gym; the goals will seem tough at first and become easier over time. I know one man who committed to giving in every church service he attended, even if it was just $1 he gave every service. Soon he was giving Sunday and Wed and special events. He progressed to a set amount, say $5 each service. Last I heard he was sowing $100 each service and was looking to increase that. His life and business has increased exponentially over time and there is a direct correlation between his increase in giving and his increase in life at every turn. The increase in giving always came before the increase to his financial life.
    Decide for yourself where you are in life. Pray it out. Remember that there is no condemnation in God (Romans8:1). So if you feel bad for not being able to give what you want to, you are on the wrong track.
    2 Corinthians 9:7 says:
    7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
                So pray it out, find what you have peace about in your heart, not your head! Give cheerfully. Every time the offering basket comes by your hand, even if you are not giving in that service, you may even want to practice saying: “I LOVE to give!” It will help build inside of you the heart of a giver.

    ~Where does my tithe go?~

                This will make the hair of some pastors’ neck bristle: Wherever God tells you. As we see in Deut 26 the confession of the tither is that the tithe was given to the Levite (Pastor/Ministries), Stranger (people who either don’t have or don’t know about their covenant with God and therefore can’t fend for themselves), Fatherless/Orphans and Widows, together make up the class of people who also can’t fend for themselves and need special help. In Israel, and the way the society was structured by God in Israel, the Church/Synagogue was the primary, if not only, source of help for these classes of people. If your church is strong in the areas of helping strangers, orphans, and widows, it may be appropriate to give all your tithe to your local church and allow them to further distribute that money to the needs of others.

    It is clear from the order that the ministry actually comes FIRST in line for who should be benefiting from the tithe. But if your Church, for whatever reason, is not currently engaged in helping the strangers, orphans, and widows, it could be completely appropriate to divide that tithe and send some to support the ministry of the Word and the rest to other ministries, groups, organizations, etc that do these other functions. Over the years I’ve had two jobs at once sometimes, and therefore two sources of tithe.

    Watch this video about one such ministry that operates on days outside of Sunday: The Joseph Storehouse:

    Sometimes Giving to one ministry will help you impact others. Because that ministry goes on to distribute to those in need. Here is another such case:


    One day I had my tithe all ready in the form of cash, being a server at night at the time. I was ready to put it in the envelope and send it to the basket and I got the distinct impression I should not. At first I started to rebuke the devil who would block me from tithing… but I heard God say: “No, it’s My Money, I’ll decide where it goes! Hold on to it until after service and I’ll send you to someone.” Well this was interesting, and I had a meeting scheduled with a man who was in ministry himself outside of Church and I thought to myself “Well of course, it’s got to be for his ministry.” Well, as it turns out, that man wasn’t able to make it. But as I sat in the building after service praying about this word from earlier in service a fellow member of the congregation who I knew from the usher team walked up to say hi, as he often does. We talked about recent events and he shared how God has been using him outside of the four walls on Sunday to do ministry down in the most poor areas of Fort Worth doing street ministry and prayer with the people there. They even started a midweek church that he helps. He didn’t have the finances or the official training, but he was a doer of the Word and not a hearer only and he began working down there. Well people are getting healed, and saved, and crime has already gone down. He’s gotten death threats from the crime bosses because the young ones he’s getting saved aren’t working for them anymore, but he’d protected by God and working with what he has. Immediately that Word rose up in me: “Sow into this man’s ministry.” I told him briefly about how God prepared me that morning to give to someone he would bring across my path and that God had just told me he was the one. I was able to give him what God had told me to lay aside that morning. I was a conduit for God’s work. Strangers, Orphans, and Widows were being ministered to. I heard Kenneth Copeland say, many times: “God WILL tell you to give, but he may not tell you to give to this ministry. Find out from God where you are supposed to be sowing and sow there. That will bring the blessing to pass in your life.
    The point? Where does the tithe Go? Religion tells you that it always must go to your Church. I submit to you that it goes wherever GOD tell you to put it, it’s HIS money. It will always be to support Ministry of the Word, or to support those in need.  

    ~Reminders~

    So remember, tithe is not optional, giving is a connection to the blessings of God. Giving causes increase in your life. Tithe on your gross income, put God first; secure your lease and connection to the blessings of God. Fill your heavenly account. Remove the tithe immediately and separate it from your other money. Walk in obedience in other areas of life. Don’t eat the tithe. Confess the Word of God over your giving. Finally pray about what God would have you to do in order to participate in giving. Pray about how much, and where it should go, and how much over and above your tithe.

    The preceding was adapted from a chapter of my book “Banking Basics for Believers”.



    [1] Joshua 1, 1 Timothy 1:18 & 6:12, 2 Timothy 4:7






    Have questions about anything I said here? Want to share your story? Comment Below!

    I call you empowered 2 prosper with good success!


    N2 Good SuccessDarrell G. Wolfe
    Blog: http://n2gs.blogspot.com/
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    Twitter: http://twitter.com/n2goodsuccess

    See Also:
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    Monday, March 4, 2013

    Talk about Confession!

    Talk about Confession!

    Amazing... Mary, full of the Holy Spirit begins to praise and thank God and utter prophecy. This could be among the more powerful confessions in scripture.

    Luke 1:48 (New King James Version)For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

    And we have called her Blessed haven't we! In fact Wiki doesn't just call her Mary, Virgin Mary, Mary the Mother of Jesus... Wiki (and the Roman Catholics) call her the Blessed Virgin Mary!

    Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blessed_Virgin_Mary_(Roman_Catholic)

    What has God been talking to you about? What has raised up in your spirit by the Holy Spirit? Are confessing His Word to you?

    This is going to be the year of my GREATEST BLESSING EVER!

    DW


    Have questions about anything I said here? Want to share your story? Comment Below!

    I call you empowered 2 prosper with good success!


    N2 Good SuccessDarrell G. Wolfe
    Blog: http://empoweredtooprosper.blogspot.com/
    Facebook: Facebook.Com/EmpoweredTooProsper
    Twitter: http://twitter.com/n2goodsuccess

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    Sunday, March 3, 2013

    Follow The Blessing... Walk with God

    Follow The Blessing... Walk with God

    In modern western society, and therefore in modern western churches, we use the word BLESS lightly. We don't really mean much by it. Someone sneezes and we say "Bless you!" We see someone at church and we greet each other with it:"Bless you brother." But what is it, what does it mean, and most importantly what does it mean to you and I today?

    There is a thing called "The Law of First Mention". It means that the very first time that a word or theme is mentioned in the Word of God/Bible it sets the tone and definition of that word/theme throughout the Word of God/Bible. Further use of that word/theme will only serve to enhance or deepen our understanding of it, but never contradict it's first mention.

    So when we want to take a look at a word/theme the more often it's mentioned the deeper understanding we can gain in it, and the more God wants us to. If he takes space in His Word to mention a word many times than he is endeavoring to get something across to us. So let's examine this word: "BLESS". We find it first in Genesis 1:28.

    Define BLESS

    Genesis 1:28 (New King James Version) 
    Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
    Now we see how God views this word. It means:
    • To Be Fruitful (Parah)
      • Cause to bear much fruit (Sound like Jesus' words to us?)
    • To Multiply (Rabah)
      • Be or Become great or many
      • Increase greatly or exceedingly
    • Fill (Male') The Earth ('Erets)
      • Fill: Be Filled, Armed, Satisfied, Fullness, Abundance, Replenish, Accomplished, bring a thing to it's proper end. 
      • Earth: Earth, Land, Territory, Ground, Domain, Country, Nation
    • Subdue (Kabash) the Earth
      • Subdue: Put Down, Bring Into Bondage, Dominate, 
    • Have Dominion (Radah) over the earth and all it's living matter (all except other men/women). 
      • Dominion: Rule, Subjugate, Tread Down, Have Authority over. 

    So Adam was given this Authority over the earth, and this authority has never left the hands of his descendants either. Satan only has power as long as he operates that power through man. This is also one of the reasons Jesus the Son of God had to come as a man, because it is only through man that Authority on this earth is rightly exercised.

    Curse

    So Adam never lost the Authority, however at the fall that authority was twisted. Authority to do something can be placed in the hands of a good or bad person. The result/fruit of that Authority will be determined by the heart of the person in that place of Authority. We see this at work now in the USA with the Presidents of the USA using their Authority for or against God as they see fit. So in Adam this Authority to Bless became a Curse. His mind was darkened, his heart was darkened, being disconnected from God. God is light, so without God Adam had no light. "There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is death" Prov. 14:12. This way that seems right but leads to death came from being disconnected from God.

    It is this disconnectedness that causes men to say that Murdering Babies is good because it protects a woman's right to choose. To choose what? It's not about her body. The choice she is making is about another's life. Darkened man says it's her right to choose to kill an innocent child. All such curse arrives not because God curses man, but because Man curses man through the authority that God gave him. God said that Disobedience would cause death (Gen 2:16-17; Deut 30:19 ; Rom 6:23); He gives us instructions on how to walk Blessed or Cursed and gives us the choice. All cursing or blessing is a direct or indirect result of the choices of mankind. God will not override it.

    So the BLESSING got turned into darkness and By Genesis 6 the hearts of men were do darkened that only one family on the earth was walking with God in any way. They were not perfect as call perfection. They were not without fault or sinless. They were however righteous: In right standing with God. It says in Genesis 6:9 it says that Noah "...walked with God..." This is the same term used of his great grandfather Enoch who "walked with God and he was no more because God took him..." (Gen 5:24) We make our walk with God about "Do's" and "Don'ts", about rites and rituals. All God is looking for is a friend. Notice what it says God did with Adam. Law of first mention makes this important. Gen 3:8; God went walking in the Garden looking for Adam. The inference is that this was a regular thing for Him to do. He's been looking for those who will walk with him ever since. Enoch walked with God, and God was SO happy to find a man that would walk with Him that he couldn't even wait until he died a natural death, he just TOOK HIM!

    BLESSING Restored

    So Noah walked with God, now God has another man who walks with Him. God starts over the entire population of earth with this one man who walked with Him. Notice, the first three instances of "walking with God" involve significant incidents in human history and God making something of these situations. In one case it involves man choosing NOT to walk with God, bringing Curse. In the other cases Man walked WITH God and it brought blessing? Why?

    Because that authority that is innate to mankind only works to bring blessing when it is rooted in and attached to the Source of all Blessing and Light. It's a natural outflow of walking with God. The reason so many of us fail in our walk of faith is that we fail to "Walk With God." We turn this faith walk into formulas, rites, and rituals. Witchcraft is darkness, but all dark acts have a root in God somewhere, because only God can create. The Devil cannot create, he has no creative authority, never has. Angels don't have creative authority. Only God and Man have that authority. Religion, mostly, is another form of witchcraft. Think about it. Rules, Rites, Rituals, Formulas... It's all forms of godliness denying the power thereof. 2 Tim 3:1-10. Even the walk of faith can be turned into this dry, lifeless, form. "If I confess 30 times a day, for X days..." But there is rarely any fruit from it. Why? How can two people DO the same things but GET different results?

    It's a heart issue. Are you confessing the Word of God because it's a formula? Or is your confession of the Word because it's a way for you to walk with God and deepen your relationship with Him? Now, it may seem to you that I've completely switched topics here. Weren't we talking about THE BLESSING? How did we get onto Walking with God. The Blessing is attached to Walking with God. Noah Walked with God, and God Blessed Him. Enoch Walked with God and God TOOK HIM! Just look up "walk" in the bible and see the interesting accounts of where it occurs and how God uses it.  What do we see next?

    Walk of Abram

    Abram is living in Haran, his Father has just died. Now what happens next? God tells the man to take a walk...
    Genesis 12
    1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him.
    We constantly see God taking relationship WITH Abram to new levels. It because God working WITH him. There are no DO's and DON'TS. There is simply this interactive relationship.
    Genesis 13
    1 Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 And he went on his journey...

    6 Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together....

    14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you."
    Then God takes it to another level. God gives Tithe Of All to God's priest and representative on Earth at the time. Here again this BLESSING is mentioned.
    Genesis 14
    18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.
    Notice what the priest calls Abram. "Possessor of heaven and earth." Some might say that it was calling God that. But that's not what the grammar here says. Example: "Darrell of Texas possessor of a Ford Escort." The understood context of this sentence is Darrell has an Escort. "Of Texas" indicates where is if from or what is of. He's a Texan. So given this syntax, Abram is OF GOD and possesses heaven and earth. Why? Because he is Covenant with God. In a Covenant all that each has belongs to the other person. We don't understand blood covenants in the Western world. But in the context of the life of Abram, a Blood Covenant means there is no separation any longer. All that belongs to one now belongs to the other, and visa versa. They are walking together as one.

    Expanding the Blessing

    So we see this BLESSING expanding in mankind, those that walk with God. Then God lays it out in detail for us. He says that Blessing and Cursing is laid before us and that we get to choose which we will have (Deut 30:19), He even tells us HIS choice! Who does it come to? It will come to those who are diligent to obey his VOICE:
    Deuteronomy 28
    1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

    15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you...
    How do you obey the voice of the Lord your God? Notice, it doesn't say to obey dry laws written in a book that you've memorized, or formulas, rules, rites, or rituals. It says to obey his VOICE. You can't obey his VOICE unless you are hearing Him. You can't hear Him unless you are talking with Him. You can't be talking with Him unless you are...? Walking with Him. How do we do this walking, talking and hearing?

    He has given us three things:


    • Word: He has given us His WORD in a book we call the Bible. It is alive, sharper than any two edged sword! (Heb 4:12) His Word is inspired by Him for our benefit. (2 Tim 3:16) We are to meditate his Word day and night that we may observe to do all that is written there, and as a result we will be prosperous and have good success! (Josh 1:8)
    • Spirit: The Comforter who will testify of Jesus' Word to us. (John 15:26) He will guide us, speak to us, and speak the Words of Jesus. (John 16:13-15) "Praying in the Spirit" is praying in tongues, and it is one way we have of connecting to the things of God and hearing his voice. Through Praying in the Spirit we speak the mysteries of God, and He prays through us even when we don't know how to pray. (1 Cor 14:21 Cor 14:13-15, Romans 8:26-27, Ephesians 6:18, Jude 1:20)
    • Listening: Hear His Voice. Jesus is the good shepherd and His sheep know and hear his Voice. (John 10:27) He is always knocking on the hearts of men, hoping they will hear his voice and let him in, so that he can be with them. (Rev 3:20) Everyone who is of truth hears his Voice (John 18:37). 

    But again... it's not about formulas. You can set aside 1 hour every morning and night, pray, study, read, sit quiet and still get NOTHING for your time if it's done as a ritual or dry exercise. Your heart must be in it. You see you cannot just seek the hand of God. It's fine to come to God because He has what you need. That's normal and natural for the baby to be attached to the mother because the mother is it's source of provision. But eventually as the child grows, and relationship deepens, there must be more to it than that. Relationship is about the person not the provision.

    The True Reward

    Genesis 15:1
    After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
    What does it say? What/Who is the reward? It's not the BLESSING or Provision that is the reward. GOD IS the reward! HE is! Yes Abraham, I am your shield (provision) but I am also your Reward! When you have God you have everything He is and everything He has. Seeking the hand of God means that He can give you something and it will meet that one need. But seeking God himself means that you never have to worry or fret over anything ever again, provision just comes in the course of your normal daily interaction.

    So if I'm struggling with life, and I'm lacking things, and I'm not seeing as much provision as I expected I would... maybe I need to ask, have I been seeking the provision or the provider? Maybe it means my relationship gas tank is running on Empty?

    Taking a long walk with God has a way of changing you. These changes are subtle. You don't become a faith giant over night, although there are things we can do to shorten and lengthen the growth we have in certain areas, typically through obedience or disobedience. After many long miles with God we look back and realize how much we've grown and changed, and if we go many miles without God we will look back and realize how we've reverted and changed. This video of a mans' walk through China illustrates how changes can occur subtly over time.


    Have questions about anything I said here? Want to share your story? Comment Below!

    I call you empowered 2 prosper with good success!


    N2 Good SuccessDarrell G. Wolfe
    Blog: http://empoweredtooprosper.blogspot.com/
    Facebook: Facebook.Com/EmpoweredTooProsper
    Twitter: http://twitter.com/n2goodsuccess

    See Also:
    Books by Darrell G. Wolfe: Amazon.com/author/darrellgwolfe 
    Book Suggestions from the N2 Good Success Amazon Store
    Brand and Product Offerings from N2 Good Success Zazzle Store
    Other Blogs and Sites by the Wolfe Family: http://wfconceptions.wordpress.com/ 

    Sunday, February 24, 2013

    Tongues: Study References

    If you are going to study Tongues you need to have a proper context. You must also make sure to throw out everything you think you know and take the words for what they say, not skim them and think you know what they say. Much has been misread by old religion. It is also very helpful to go back and study the Greek on much of the NT around this. English translations by religious scholars have totally messed up a variety of scriptures because they translated with their own biases. The following are the scripture verses I reference when I study this topic. I'll be adding to this if I find more, from time to time.

    Verses on Tongues:

    • Saved and Spirit Filled are a seperate Issue:
      • How does Jesus give the disciples the Holy Spirit in John 20:22 and then also tell them to wait for the Holy Spirit. Isn't that a bit double minded? Unless there are two things happening here. 
      • When the Holy Spirit arrives on the scene it is noticable. The Apostles notice when He's NOT there. Acts 8:12-22 Either says:
        • If the Holy Spirit coming on you is the SAME as being born again, you need hands laid on you and evidence before you are saved... OR
        • If the Holy Spirit coming on you is NOT THE SAME as being born again, which this verse indicates, there is something else going on here. 
    • "Evidence":
      • I'm not among those who believe that Tongues is "THE" evidence of being Spirit Filled, but I do believe it's among the strongest evidences.  
        • Acts 2: Holy Spirit = Tongues
        • Acts 8:1-18 Holy Spirit clearly sperate issue from being saved, tongues not mentioned, but implied as SOMETHING was clear evidence or lack thereof, and in most other instances Tongues is present. 
          • (Vs 12 They Believed and Baptised)(Vs 15-17 Spirit had not come on them, so Apostles laid hands on them. Vs 18 Simon "Saw" the spirit come on them... how so?) 
        • Acts 10:45-48 Peter sees them "get the Holy Spirit" How does he know? Tongues and Praise. 
        • Acts 19:1-7 Paul comes accross people saved by baptism of repentance but clearly notices they don't have the Holy Spirit on them and lays hands on them. What is the result? Tongues. 
    • Who works what in whom? What does "ALL" mean to you?
    • What does "Pray in the Spirit" mean?
      • 1 Cor 14:12-16
      • Notice that Paul is asking the Corinthians to seek the gifts that build... which means they have the right and ability to develope all the gifts they want to.
      • I'd suggest to read and re-read 1 Cor 14 over and over and over... because MOST people make it say exactly the opposite of what it says. 
    • Other: Verses and Sections
      • All of 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14
      • All of Acts
      • Daniel 5:25 "Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin" What was that? God speaking in a language unkown to ALL the scholars around the King, and Daniel interpreting the Word of God through God's unkown language. Sound Familiar?
      • Genesis 11:4-11 Babel is the begining of conusion in language, and The Holy Spirit is the restoration of that confusion! 
      • Pray in the Spirit (1 Cor 14:21 Cor 14:13-15Romans 8:26-27Ephesians 6:18Jude 1:20)

    Reading Lately.... (read <> endorse)

    Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought
    The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection through Embodied Living
    This Present Darkness
    By Grace and Banners Fallen: Prologue to A Memory of Light
    Knife of Dreams
    A Memory of Light
    The Path of Daggers
    He Who Fights with Monsters 10
    He Who Fights with Monsters 9
    He Who Fights With Monsters 8
    He Who Fights with Monsters 6
    He Who Fights With Monsters 7
    He Who Fights with Monsters 5
    He Who Fights with Monsters 4
    He Who Fights with Monsters 3
    He Who Fights with Monsters 2
    He Who Fights with Monsters
    [ { ENDER'S GAME } ] by Card, Orson Scott (AUTHOR) Oct-31-2006 [ Hardcover ]
    J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
    The Horse and His Boy


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