Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38).
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine (Proverbs 3:9-10).
Everything in heaven and earth is Yours, O LORD. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand (1 Chronicles 29:12-14).
Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality (Romans 12:13).
In the kingdom of God, the rules and laws believers are called to live by are different from the rules and laws of the world. In the kingdom of God, believers are to see, act, and function differently than the world in every way.
We function on a higher, wiser, and much more exciting set of rules and guidelines.
We have a guide or a textbook that explains the rules and guidelines of the kingdom. It’s called the Word of God.
As we read and meditate on the Word of God consistently, we grow in our understanding of the kingdom.
Let’s consider one example from God’s Word that helps us see how the rules of the kingdom of God are different from those of the world.
Malachi 3:8–12 tells us:
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
We are called by God to be generous givers and to give tithes and offerings to the Lord.
A tithe is one-tenth of your gross income. We are to give tithes and offerings.
Sometimes some people may say “giving tithes is only commanded in the Old Testament. Jesus never commanded us to give tithes and offerings in the New Testament.”
Well, we are wise to let the Word of God speak for itself.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others (Matthew 23:23).
Too often, when people come to us with “valid” reasons not to give tithes and offerings, we can often see that these persons are simply looking for excuses to avoid giving.
All believers are to give tithes and offerings to the Lord. In fact, we are each better off spiritually and financially when we give tithes and offerings.
“How can this be true?” one might ask. “Because ten minus one equals nine.”
To repeat a point made earlier, the rules in the kingdom of God are different from the rules in the world.
In the world, ten minus one equals nine. In the kingdom of God, ten minus one equals ten plus.
In the kingdom, God does not just give back. He multiplies back so that you end up with more than the amount you started with.
In my years as a pastor, I have probably on more than one occasion, engaged in a conversation that basically flowed in this direction:
“Pastor, we don’t ask Mrs. Brown to give tithes. She is a widow and is on a fixed income.”
My response: “Who fixed it?”
In the kingdom of God, there is no such thing. If Mrs. Brown, the widow, will start to give tithes and offerings to God and His work, God will “unfix” her income and multiply it.
This truth is beautifully illustrated in 1 Kings 17:8–16.
“Well that happened in the Bible,” is a statement we might hear from some.
The Word of God works just as mightily today as it did in the days of the Bible.
In the same chapter we referred to earlier, Malachi 3, we are told:
For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Every believer is always better off spiritually and financially when they give tithes and offerings to the Lord and his work.
Far better off than if they did not give tithes and offerings. (See Malachi 3:8 -12)
Should everyone give into the kingdom of God? Absolutely. No one is exempt.
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.
Be mindful of this truth. In the kingdom of God, as you give according to Scripture, the blessings far outweigh the sacrifices.
