Our Heavenly Father is so rich and He made all these things on earth for our enjoyment, because He loves us, His children. No one will usually build houses for other people, only for their own children. Our Father owns a thousand cattle on the hills (Psalms 50:10). The earth belongs to Him and it is His good pleasure is to freely give us His kingdom.
Pastor's sermon in Hillsong London church talked about how the riches is in the tithes, because the Hebrew word for tithes is ma'aser which comes from a root word called aser which means riches. Pastor preached about this yesterday. He said that by grace, God will provide for us all that we need in life because Jesus paid for us. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says 'For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you thorough His poverty might become rich.' He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6).
When we tithe to God, He will be able to prosper us because when the first fruits are set apart and made holy, then the whole bunch is holy. Romans 11:16 says that ‘If the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy.’ So when we bring the firstfruits of our income, God blesses the entire income. When we tithe 10% of our income, the Lord will cleanse all of our money and multiply it. By doing this, we also break the love of money which is the root of all evil. We are demonstrating that it is God who gave us the power to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).
Tithing activates the blessing of God in our finances. When we tithe, we are giving back to God what already belongs to Him. When God tells us to tithe, He is not asking that we repay Him (for we could never repay this debt of love). He is not taking away our money but on the contrary, He is setting us up for a blessing. He is looking for an inroad to our lives to bless us financially. But first, He needs us to take that step of faith to 'part' with our money.
Pastor also said that if we ask for just enough for our family's needs, that is selfish. Because we would not be able to help others in need if we have just enough. It is only out of the abundance that there is an overflow to bless others. This confirmed what He has been telling me for the past week. Don't feel guilty that God has blessed us with so much wealth when others have so little. What good will it do to the poor and needy if you also are poor? It's only when you are rich then you are in a position to help them.
Hebrews 7:8 says ‘Here mortal men receive tithes, but there He (Christ) receives them, of whom it is witnessed that He lives.’ When we tithe, Jesus receives our tithes through our church and Jesus shows Himself alive in our lives. The tithes witness the blessings of God which is so evident to people around us. The result is like Malachi 3:12 ‘And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land.’ Indeed, people call us blessed. The clearest typology of Jesus in OT was Joseph. Pastor also mentioned the story of how Jacob wasn't convinced that his beloved son Joseph was alive until he saw those wagons of silver and gold. When he saw that, he exclaimed 'Surely my son Joseph lives!' (Genesis 45:26-28)
Hence we have to learn to be comfortable with receiving from God, to be comfortable with an environment of abundance and wealth. God kept telling me don't be afraid of riches. This is not bad success. Riches will not cause you to turn away from God or cause your family to fall apart. You don't have to pay the price for these riches. Jesus has already paid the price for you. What you need to do is to enlarge your vision in order to receive more of such wealth, if not you would not be able to retain it when it comes. You need to get ready because the wagons of blessings are coming your way!
When we tithe to God, He will be able to prosper us because when the first fruits are set apart and made holy, then the whole bunch is holy. Romans 11:16 says that ‘If the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy.’ So when we bring the firstfruits of our income, God blesses the entire income. When we tithe 10% of our income, the Lord will cleanse all of our money and multiply it. By doing this, we also break the love of money which is the root of all evil. We are demonstrating that it is God who gave us the power to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18).
Tithing activates the blessing of God in our finances. When we tithe, we are giving back to God what already belongs to Him. When God tells us to tithe, He is not asking that we repay Him (for we could never repay this debt of love). He is not taking away our money but on the contrary, He is setting us up for a blessing. He is looking for an inroad to our lives to bless us financially. But first, He needs us to take that step of faith to 'part' with our money.
Pastor also said that if we ask for just enough for our family's needs, that is selfish. Because we would not be able to help others in need if we have just enough. It is only out of the abundance that there is an overflow to bless others. This confirmed what He has been telling me for the past week. Don't feel guilty that God has blessed us with so much wealth when others have so little. What good will it do to the poor and needy if you also are poor? It's only when you are rich then you are in a position to help them.
Hebrews 7:8 says ‘Here mortal men receive tithes, but there He (Christ) receives them, of whom it is witnessed that He lives.’ When we tithe, Jesus receives our tithes through our church and Jesus shows Himself alive in our lives. The tithes witness the blessings of God which is so evident to people around us. The result is like Malachi 3:12 ‘And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land.’ Indeed, people call us blessed. The clearest typology of Jesus in OT was Joseph. Pastor also mentioned the story of how Jacob wasn't convinced that his beloved son Joseph was alive until he saw those wagons of silver and gold. When he saw that, he exclaimed 'Surely my son Joseph lives!' (Genesis 45:26-28)
Hence we have to learn to be comfortable with receiving from God, to be comfortable with an environment of abundance and wealth. God kept telling me don't be afraid of riches. This is not bad success. Riches will not cause you to turn away from God or cause your family to fall apart. You don't have to pay the price for these riches. Jesus has already paid the price for you. What you need to do is to enlarge your vision in order to receive more of such wealth, if not you would not be able to retain it when it comes. You need to get ready because the wagons of blessings are coming your way!
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