The Tithe Covenant
There are a few things I love to minister about. Intimacy with Jesus, worship, surrender, faith, and tithing. Each of these things have radically changed my life and relationship with my Bride Groom!
Interestingly, all of these subjects intertwine. As I develop my relationship with Him, I fall deeper and deeper in love, and that causes my heart to worship Him with every ounce of my being. With that type of relationship, I begin to realize that I’m nothing without Him and unable to accomplish anything of worth without His presence and anointing. So, I willingly surrender my life completely to Him. As I do, I begin to see results, hear His voice and follow His lead... my relationship with Him brings greater trust and as I study His Word and learn what He’s saying about each of my situations, faith is developed.
This is all good, but there’s a major part that’s often ignored or maybe even rejected. The Lord has provided a way for us to be in covenant with Him. It’s the tithe covenant. With Him giving us all that we have, He only requires a tithe and an offering. 10% was set up to support our local church and the offering to be a blessing to other ministries or individuals. Have you ever wondered why you can never get ahead or you feel vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks on your family and finances? There’s a promise that’s attached to this covenant, God said that He would rebuke the devourer from all that we have if we would only join Him in this special relationship.
How is this intertwined with my previous comments? As our relationship with Jesus develops, there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for Him. As Abraham won the war, his first response was to honor God with His tithe. Therefore giving Him the glory for the victory... this was an act of worship. So it is for us, honoring Him with the first fruits of what He’s blessed us with. It’s not out of obligation, but an act of love and complete dependence on Him. It’s taking our not enough in exchange for His more than enough. It’s believing that He will multiply our giving even when we’ve lost it all, if we are out of work and there’s not enough to pay the bills... I can’t tell you how many times He’s done it for us! I could write for days the testimonies of His goodness, even against all natural odds!
This devotion is not to condemn those who are not currently tithers, but it is to encourage you to take your relationship with Jesus to the next level. A place of complete devotion and trusting Him with unrestricted access to all that you have. No longer holding back in any area. He can be trusted!
Malachi 3:7-12 (KJV) Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
New Testament:
Matthew 23:23 (NLT) “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Luke 21:1-4 (TPT) Jesus observed all the wealthy coming into the temple courts wanting to be noticed as they came with their offerings. He noticed a very poor widow who dropped two small copper coins in the offering box. “Listen to me,” he said. “This poor widow has given a larger offering than any of the wealthy. For the rich only gave out of their surplus, but she sacrificed out of her poverty and gave to God all that she had to live on.”
