And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.Genesis 14:18-20
In transFusion we don’t want to take away from any one’s home church fellowship if they have another one. On the contrary, we want to add to that. Since a lot of churches do not teach on money and there are those in our fellowship where this is their church home, the Lord directed me to talk about it today. Many of you have read an article I wrote as a resource for tithing where I wrote about Jesus directing the Healed Leper back to the Law of Moses. This week during my Bible Study the Lord directed me to share Genesis 14 with this body of believers. The Lord impressed upon me to “make sure my people are tithing”. Whether you tithe to this ministry or another is not the motive. Ensuring that you are sowing in good ground is. Many Pastors will say things such as “I heard the Lord say that the first 500 people who plant a seed of $2.88 will receive a harvest.” Not to say that he never will or that He is incapable of it, but the Lord does not speak to me as a Pastor this way. There are times where he will show me that He has called certain people to sow into the ministry and directs me to pray for their obedience. I know when this happens, He intends on blessing those He is directing me to pray for. But, the reality is, it is not about the money. It’s about our hearts. It is not up to me as a Pastor to lead others to tithe to any certain ministry. If this is your home church, than I would hope that you would directly support it. But, my responsibility as a Pastor who cares about God’s people is to teach on the topic of tithing to ensure that you are equipped to walk in all that He has for you.
In Genesis 14, The Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah had been at war. Abram rescued his brother Lot from captivity. He also recovered the spoils the Kings had collected as a result of that war. after his return, Melchizedek, the High Priest of God, blessed Abram. Abram responded by tithing 10% of everything he had just gathered directly to Melchizedek as a form of honoring God. The reason I felt impressed to share this story today is to point out that this act of tithing done by Father Abraham was done over 400 years prior to the mosaic law that commands the obedience to tithe. In present day, we live under grace, not the law. Abram was not under the law here, either. Abram simply knew tithing was the right thing to do. Abraham tithed not because he was told to, but because he wanted to. This is the reason we need to be tithing, too. Not as an act of gaining anything for ourselves or even as a chore. But because we know that the gospel of salvation can not continue to be spread without money. Because we know that God used someone else’s tithe to bring us the good news. And, of course, because we know that God wants to be an active part of every aspect of our lives, to include our finances.
Tithing 10 percent equates to us giving the first fruits of all of our increase back to God, the one who gave it to us from the beginning. When we tithe, we need to ensure we are planting our financial seed in ground that is bearing fruit in the kingdom in reference to salvation. We need to listen to the Holy Spirit to reveal where he wants us tithing and tithe because He puts it on our hearts to be a blessing to others. Tithing is a form of a spiritual heavenly transaction between God and each of us that allows Him access into our financial lives. If we are tithing into a place that has no fruit, we may need to consider moving our tithes. If we are tithing diligently and not seeing any increase in the ministry we are tithing into, we may need to exercise our stewardship by placing that tithe into hands that will lift it to the Lord, Just as Jesus did with the fishes and the loaves, and allow it to bring multiplication. Supernatural multiplication miracles occur in our lives when we tithe. When we adopt a mindset of giving, we can’t turn back from it because we witness first hand the harvest of souls that it brings. Witnessing the Lord’s hand move in our financial life and the lives of those he has us sowing seed into is freedom like nothing else you can experience. The world follows after money and is therefore bound by it. Those who have allowed the Lord to direct their finances experience abundant freedom in ways they never could have known or imagined.
Also, tithing is more than the act of giving and goes even deeper than multiplication miracles. The act of tithing has the power to break generational curses surrounding poverty. Poverty is a spirit that is not from God designed to keep God’s people living in oppression. It’s an influence and mindset that effects entire families and regions. another reason the Lord showed me that He wanted me to teach on this today is that there are many He has called to reverse this pattern in their bloodlines. Breaking generational curses requires decisions and obedience. Knowing and believing that God wants us leading wealthy and abundant lives is what the enemy works hard against. If He can keep us from believing this truth, he can keep us from obeying the word of God when it comes to our tithe. The reality is that God loves wants us blessed. He also wants His money in hands that will do His will with it and bring Him honor and glory. Often times when God is using your life to break off the generational curse of poverty, you will experience seasons of poverty in the process. It’s God pruning you so that you will glorify Him with His money. But it is also for the purpose of those around you. So that they, also, will be able to see the hand of God active in your provision, too. If you have been experiencing this, God doesn’t want you to assume that He is punishing you. He has not cursed you because you have not tithed or done something worthy of experiencing extreme lack in your life. these are lies the enemy will tell you through others. Look for your part. Stay humble. Obey where you need to. Allow Him to search your heart and renew your mind or repent if needed. But don’t for one second believe that God has cursed you. You may have studied about the Order of Melchizedek. Though there is much controversy surrounding the topic of who Melchizedek was, we know that he was the first High Priest of God in the lineage of Priests from whom Christ originated from. Lineage is very important to God. Restoring our generations to His intended will is always His heart.
In short, tithe because it’s just a beautiful thing to do. Give because giving reflects salvation. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. So ought we give of our money, our time, our talents, and any of our other resources, too. Budgeting, saving, making wise choices about our priorities, are all necessary elements to stewardship that will bring multiplication as well. But without involving God in our finances by taking that first act of obedience to tithe is like trying to start a car that is not already in park. The key will not even turn much less will the engine. I pray abundance over all of you reading this today. I pray over your hearts that you are willing to honor God in this fashion if you aren’t already. And I pray that you know the freedom that comes through the act of cheerful giving as you have come to experience it for yourself. I pray that God equip you to come against the spirit of poverty that has plagued any of your families and cast it out in the authority He has already given you. I pray that you replace poverty through your own prayers with a spirit of giving and abundant provision. May the Lord God supply all of your needs according to His riches and glory, not yours. May he abundantly bless all of you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sermon Notes by Pastor Audra Waters-Leary, September 24, 2018
