Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek. Why? Look at Galatians 3:8. This might just blow you away.
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’”
What’s that mean? Abraham received a Word and a revelation from God. He could only catch a glimpse of what it meant to be blessed of God and the father of nations. He couldn’t comprehend all of that any more than you could comprehend if I was to prophesy over you and say, “There are nations on the inside of you.” For some of you, if I were to say to you, “You’re going to go to many nations,” I mean, you ain’t even been out of Hoke County your entire life. God bless you if you’re a Hokie from Hoke County; I live there myself. I’ve met people in Hoke and Robeson County who have told me, “I haven’t ever been out of this county.” I’m like, “Whoooaaa, wow, that’s gotta be exciting!” I’m not knocking it, and I’m like, wow, you just don’t meet too many people who can say that. I’m impressed, I guess. Not even a drive to Fayetteville?
But Abraham caught a glimpse of something: that he would be the father of many nations, and that nations would be blessed because of him. How could he comprehend that? He couldn’t! But it says that he had “glad tidings preached to him.” He had good news, and as a result, he caught a revelation of the will of God being fulfilled through him. And because he had received good news from God and caught the revelation of the impact his life would have, he gave tithes, by faith, to Melchizedek!
Did you get that? This tithe to Melchizedek was a real act of faith! He didn’t know Melchizedek! Nobody knew where he came from; no one knew where he went, and yet Abram paid tithes, yet why? Because Melchizedek in the Bible is a type of Christ. So when Abram rendered a tithe to Melchizedek, it was as giving to Christ.
Now when we give, when I bring my tithe, or when my wife or I lay that check or those coins in that basket, we’re not just giving to the church. Well, we are because we regard the Church as the Body of Christ on Earth. We are literally taking money that we have earned and putting it into the hand of Jesus. By FAITH! I can’t see His hand. I’ve never personally seen Jesus, but by faith, I’m taking money, and I’m giving it to the Body of Christ believing that Jesus is the Head of the Body, and His Body, according to Scripture is the Church. So when I’m giving to the Body, I’m giving to Jesus! Don’t you know I can expect a return on that seed that I’m releasing by faith? Why? Because God rewards our faith! Oh folks, I have seen this work in the last twenty-eight to thirty years in my life.
This transcends the 10%! It’s not about the 10%; it’s not about warding off God’s curse! It’s not even trying to manipulate God to open up those windows of heaven! It’s not about any of that. It’s about the motivation of our hearts. Is it faith or fear? Is it law or grace?
You know what? I’m gonna go out on a limb. I’m pretty sure that God would have met my needs if I had never given a dollar. Some of you reading this are saying, “No way.” No, I’m pretty sure that God loves me so much. Now, I might have needed welfare or drove the most beat-up car in the parking lot. I might still be living in that mobile home with the broken windows where I couldn’t pay the phone or the electric bill about half the time, you all ever lived there? You know the place I used to live . . . with the old brown Pontiac sitting up on blocks in the front yard? Yep, that one.
I do believe as a result of sowing, I have reaped. I believe that tithing as a principle, has brought me out of poverty. I will say that. Not because it’s the Law, but because it’s a law that I was taught to practice in my life. I see the results of living a principled lifestyle according to the laws set forth, not the least of which is, “Give and it shall be given unto thee, pressed down, shaken together, and flowing over shall men give unto thy bosom.”
Somebody said, “That verse in Luke 6 isn’t even talking about money! Man, it’s talking about whatever you give! It’s not talking only about forgiveness! It’s not just talking about love. Yes, it is talking about those things, but if you love God, wouldn’t we give Him what is important to us? And what’s really important to the people of God today? Don’t tell me money’s not important. Most of you will get up early tomorrow morning and go to work so you can make money! Money is important! And what we do with our money is important! Whatever we do with it, we ought not do because we’re under Law. We ought to do it because we’re living under grace—grace that can only be experienced when we walk by faith.
This is important though. I want to make a declaration over the people of Cliffdale Christian Center. I want you to be set free today from the Law. And I pray that I have never in any way, shape, form, or degree have led you into thinking that you have to tithe or else God’s going to get ya.
Now, I will say this. If you don’t obey God, don’t expect the fullness of His blessing. To the best of our ability and according to our faith and understanding of Scripture, we are responsible to obey the Word of God. If we don’t, it causes us to not experience the fullness of His blessing. I haven’t reached the fullness of His blessing. I’m going after it, and that’s what I want. Man, it’s been something. I’ve seen what He’s done in the past thirty years; I can just imagine what the next thirty are going to be like!
I know that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him, and He is a rewarder of those who obey Him. I have no right to expect His abundance and His fullness of promises if I’m living a life of disobedience. It takes faith to obey God. It takes faith for me to forgive when I’ve been offended. It takes faith for me to love when I ain’t feelin’ the love. It takes faith for me to pray for people whom I know are using me. It takes faith for me to walk in the love of God. It takes faith for me to give when I don’t see where it’s coming from. It takes faith because the just will live by faith. Are we purposing to be people who live by faith? This will be the last blog in this series, "Is Tithing A Law," which was derived from a message I shared at Cliffdale Christian Center on September 19th, 2011. Thank you for joining me on the journey!
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