Biblical Prosperity

One of the things that God instilled in his children early on is the idea that they were created in the image of God. This was so different than the pagan idea that they were pawns being pushed around by the gods. It gave them this confidence in their identity. Among other things, this raised a desire in them to prosper. God taught his children incentive and reward. They were inspired to hard work because they know God would consistantly reward them for hard work. It gave them the opportunity to advance. Incentive and reward is a good and godly thing.

If a businessman sells a good product at a fair price to his customer, they will come back to buy more. The customer will also likely tell their friends to come buy as well. If the businessman asks too much for the product (more than market price) or gives a product that is subpar or inferior to other product in the market, the customer will not come back and buy again, and he will tell his friends not to buy from the businessman. So the businessman has the incentive to be honest and he is rewarded with a prosperous growing business. Though most businessmen are honest, the dishonest ones are flushed out over time but the principle of incentive and reward.

The one created in God’s image has a sense of holiness and the fear of God on all their financial affairs and finances, and so they prosper. Some piously think this idea of incentive and reward is not very spiritual, but God in fact created it. It is how he has hard-wired mankind. He used it with Adam and he is still using it today.

As God was teaching his newly adopted children to prosper the first thing he taught them is that He is one God. What is the big deal? It was a big deal because all the peoples in this time believed in many gods. They looked at the sun and thought their must be a sun god, they saw the rain and thought there must be a rain god, etc. Basically everything they could not understand or influence they believed was controlled by invisible spirit beings.

If there are many gods controlling the universe, then the world is unpredictable. The ancient Greeks believed thunder was the gods getting angry and arguing with each other. It really was a part of the ancient pagan worldview. So if there are many gods randomly controlling things then people will spend their lives endlessly trying to please these gods and always be a victim of them.

But if the world is set in order by one God, that is a different story. That one God has laws that govern the world. Can you say “gravity”? Mankind can learn these laws and actually manage the world in a way that allows them to prosper. God revealed himself to Abraham as the only God who had a consistent and unchanging nature.

Harold Eberle says, “We cannot overestimate the significance of this revelation. It was more profound for the advancement of civilization than the discovery of fire or the invention of the wheel.” The revelation that there was only one God allowed the children of Israel to begin to understand and manage this world.

It is true. It allowed them to prosper. It’s a big deal.

I love to hear stories of how God teaches His people to prosper. Here is a true story from my friend Harold Eberle as he tells it:

“About 20 years ago I traveled to a remote region of the Phillipines where I met a native pastor named Eddie. He was training 16 young people. Most of the lived in his home which was a bamboo hut supported on stilts, surrounded by huts and rice fields. It was beautiful but they seemed to own almost nothing by the standards of my own country. 

Through the following years of working with pastor Eddie, we wanted to help him be successful. At first we just provided financial support, but it soon became apparent that his ministry should be self supporting and not forever dependent on gifts. 

One of the first things Pastor Eddie did was purchase a refrigerator. This may sound simple, but being the only refrigerator in the area it soon became a central feature of the village. The pastor divided the inside of the refrigerator into several compartments and rented out the compartments to people living in the area. Hence that refrigerator became a source of income and it was a blessing to families throughout the region. 

Our industrious Filipino pastor experimented with several other businesses, having varying amounts of success. He tried to rent out power tools which he provided but the tools did not last long in these difficult conditions. The pastor and his students were more successful in operating bicycles and motorcycles as taxis serving the locals. Also the ownership and operation of a rice mill provided finances for the pastor and his ministry; plus it provided a necessary service to the people throughout the region.

Other ministries joined us in helping the work in the Philippines but most of the credit belongs to Pastor Eddie. Today he oversees a two story Bible Training Center and owns rice fields, a banana orchard, a shrimp farm, a motorcycle, a pick up type vehicle, and many more things which have helped him helped plant and establish dozens of churches through out the villages. In that region the Christians are the head, and not the tail.” 

God wants to make His Children successful.

When God first appeared to Abraham he made his intentions clear. He had chosen Abraham and his descendants to be his people and represent him on the earth. He made a relational agreement with them and then showed them how to become successful on the earth. He gave them principles that led to their success. Let’s look at the agreement given when God appeared to Abraham in Gen. 12:2-3:

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

These were not just empty words. Later we read in Gen. 13:2 that Abraham became “very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold”. But it did not stop with Abraham…no, it was extended to Isaac, Jacob and their descendants(the Hebrews). God said he would not abandon them. He would be their God and they would be his people, and they would be a blessing to the whole earth. He protected them but he also mentored them.

Sometimes Christians think it was just a spiritual blessing God gave to the Hebrews. But it was a physical agreement as well as a spiritual agreement. Of course the Hebrews were included in the line leading up to the birth of Jesus, but God’s blessing would have tangible, physical results as well. In the next blogs we will see how God mentored his people in practical ways, and showed them how to enjoy prosperity.

Think about this…we all went to a nice local restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a great meal. We had so much fun and enjoyed the community of people we were with for dinner. Then we decided to go for ice cream to a nearby ice cream shop. So we walked out of the restaurant without paying our bill and went to the ice cream shop expecting to pay our bill there. What? It doesn’t work that way does it?

Where do we give our tithes? Malachi 3:10a says, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house…. Larry Kreider says it like this…”According to this scripture, all the tithes should be placed into the storehouse. The storehouse is where spiritual food is kept to bless those who lead us, feed us and equip us for ministry. In the Old Testament, the Levites and the priests were responsible to spiritually lead and feed God’s people. The tithe paid for the work of those who were set apart for the purpose of ministry to the Lord and to His people. The Levites were dependent upon the faithfulness of God’s people in giving tithes to support them.” So now in the New Testament period, we should tithe to the local church; the storehouse of our spiritual leaders because they are called by the Lord to minister the Word, encourage us, pray for us and look out for our souls.

Some people mistakenly give their tithes to para-church organizations, missionaries, evangelists, etc. But this is like paying for dinner at the ice cream shop. The tithe should go to the local church and generously offerings should go to these other places. These other ministries are not looking out for your soul; they have their own vision and mandate to follow. When we are obedient to tithe to the storehouse, the Lord promises a blessing (Malachi 3:10b). Amen.

Note: In all of these blogs about tithing I have relied heavily on the writings and books of Larry Kreider and give him credit. In the next weeks we will be looking more at economics and how Biblical worldview affects our finances.

Occasionally I will get in a discussion with someone who doesn’t believe in tithing. They seem to take the perspective that they are “free” to give as the Lord leads them, again mistakenly thinking that tithing is a “law” instead of principle for the Christian to apply. So I sometimes would ask them how much they give. Since they love to talk about their “freedom” to give, I would assume they give a lot more than 10% away. So I ask is it 13%? 15%? Or even 20%? The most common response is silence. Because the truth is in their “freedom”, they don’t even give 10%. Yup…just what I thought.

So…about the difference between tithing and giving. Tithes are the first 10% of our income given into the storehouse to provide finances to help support those who are equipping and giving spiritual leadership to the Christians in the local church. When we give, over and beyond our tithes, then we are giving an offering. We are responsible to give offerings to the poor and needy (Proverbs 28:27). Of course there are many worthy missionaries and ministries that we give to after our tithe. There it is…simple, easy to apply, practical and true.

Another common question is, “Should we tithe on the net (wages I receive after my taxes are paid) or the gross (wages I receive before the taxes are paid)?” I don’t honestly know which works better because we have always tithed on our gross income. As Christians, we should desire to give everything we possibly can back to God because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Tithing demonstrates God’s ownership of everything.

See…God does not need our tithe check or direct deposit. He is not nervously, laying off angels because we are not tithing. No…the tithe benefits us. It is a privilege to return to God what is already His, and man do we benefit. According to Malachi chapter 3:10, the tithe benefits us. The windows of heaven are opened on us to the point of overflow!

Sometimes Christians wrongly believe that tithing is simply an Old Testament doctrine leftover from the law. This is not a Biblical view. The tithe is a biblical principle found throughout the Bible. Abraham tithed before the law, it was included in the law and Jesus affirmed it after he replaced the law. Jesus confirmed the Old Testament principle of tithing in Matthew 23:23. However, He does not want us to tithe religously with the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees. Let’s read it.

The Lord sharply rebuked their attitudes about tithing. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

The religious Pharisees appeared spiritual and godly, but they were not in right standing with God. They tithed right down to the last tiny mint leaf, but their hearts were full of selfish ambition. Jesus specifically affirmed we should tithe today, but He is concerned about our attitudes as we give to Him. Since the New Testament, we should tithe because the Lord has changed our hearts. It is a privilege to return the tithe back to Him. We tithe as an act of love for our God and also from a place of faith. Tithe in faith that God will open the windows of heaven as he promised in Malachi.

My wife and I have tithed in faith all of our adult life. God’s finacial blessing has been on us. However occasionally it has seemed like the windows of heaven were not open and I have had to open the Bible to Malachi 3:8-12 and take up the Lord on his request to “test me in this”. So there I am with my Bible open, activating my faith in this Biblical principle of tithing, and praying “Father you said in your word we should test you in this, so here I am believing your word and expecting our tithes to open the windows of heaven as you have promised.” And sure enough the breakthrough soon follows in our finances. True story.

Some people say, “I can’t afford to tithe.” The truth is—they cannot afford to withhold the tithe. A tithe is money set apart for God. If we don’t give it to God, the devourer will consume it. Let’s read again what God says in His Word about rebuking the devourer when we give tithes and offerings into His storehouse. It is found in Malichi 3:10-11.

Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. 

The Lord has promised us that if we obey Him and bring all of our tithes into the storehouse, He will open the windows of heaven, pour out a blessing on us, and “rebuke the devourer.” Many people are struggling financially because the devil has been robbing and devouring them. The enemy has not been rebuked by the Lord, because they are not paying tithes into the storehouse.

The word devour in the original Hebrew text means to eat, burn up or consume. During the days of Malachi, God’s people were experiencing famine, scarcity, unseasonable weather, and insects that ate up the fruits of the earth. According to the above scripture, the enemy will devour our blessings when we choose to not obey God’s principles.

Larry Kreider says, “I’ve known some people who have said when they initially began to tithe, the enemy attacked them, and they found themselves worse off financially than ever before. The enemy may test us when we obey the Word of God. When Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened, and the Lord said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” During the next forty days of His life, Jesus was tested by the enemy. Tests will always come; however, if we hold on, we will receive the financial blessing that comes from obedience. God’s promises always prove to be true!”

If we give God his 10%, the remaining 90% seems to be multiplied.

In Old Testament history, some of the Israelites were robbing God by selfishly holding onto money that belonged to God. They were required to give at least one/tenth of the livestock, the land’s produce and their income to the Lord. Malachi 3: 8-12 speaks to this…

Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, “How do we rob you?”

“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 3:8-12).

God cannot bless someone who is a robber! He is a God of covenant.

In Winds of Change, Rick Joyner says: Abraham the father of faith, paid tithes hundreds of years before the Law, which is noted in the New Testament (see Hebrews 7:8-9) because the writer of this book was reminding Christians of this…If this was not more clearly spelled out, it is only because it was so obvious that it did not need to be.

Bible teacher Jack Deere relates the story of how a local businessman in a church he once lead reacted to his teaching on tithing: First he went to every other pastor in the town (over 30 of them) and asked them if they believed that tithing was required by the New Testament. All thirty said that they did not believe that it was. This was more than a little curious to him, but being an astute businessman he noted that every one of these pastors and their churches were in financial trouble. This caused him to determine to at least try it. His net income from his business rose 75 percent the first year that he began tithing.

Harold Eberle relates that as a local church pastor he spent four weeks teaching every Sunday on the principle of tithing. He instructed everyone to write their current income inside their Bible cover. At the end of four months of tithing, 80% of the congregation saw an increase in their income or some kind of financial breakthrough.

Jerry Stoltzfoos is a friend who is an Assembly of God church planter and senior pastor from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He has planted multiple churches. He teaches on tithing and actually guarantees that the church will pay back a person’s tithe if the giver does not see a significant blessing or turn around in finances after starting to tithe. Gerry has been doing this for many years and has not paid back any tithes to date.

Simply stated, I am recommending that the number one building block of your personal financial budget should be the giving of a 10 percent tithe to God. The truth is 100% belongs to God. If you get involved in giving God 10 percent, he will get involved in multiplying the remaining 90 percent. There it is…Biblical, practical and true. The tithe is the doorway to prosperity and blessing.

Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe before the Old Testament law had ever been written. Abraham was honoring the Lord and Melchizedek as the priest of the Most High God with ten percent of that which the Lord had given to him.

At the end of every month a Christian will face a stack of bills they need to pay. One of these bills is their bill to God. It is called a tithe. This tithe reminds us that everything we have belongs to Him. We can joyfully return 10% to the Lord. After all, Jesus has given to us 100% of Himself through His death on the cross. We are eternally grateful!