Reasons for Giving God started it first
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" - John 3: 16
God is a giving God. It is His nature to give and it stands to reason to conclude that anyone who believes he/she is created in God's image must assume this divine nature. We are called to give in response to God's ultimate 'giving-ability'. The economics of kingdom giving is what sustains the believer - not the economics of the fallen world system.
An understanding of Kingdom Economics
"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" - Matthew 6:33
The first thing any believer ought to understand is that giving to God must come as a priority and not as part of an ongoing process or something that should be done when everything else has been taken into consideration. The principles that underpinned Cain and Abel's giving clearly demonstrate the priority of giving. Whereas Cain gave some of the increase of his harvest, Abel gave the firstling or the 'first of' his increase. Spiritual priorities ignite the flame of each individual's economics. It is a measure of the trust that we have in God.
"For the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" - 1 Corinthians 10:26
It is important to understand that we have not been called to give what is ours but that which belongs to God in the first place. We are mere custodians of what belongs to God. This understanding liberates the mind of the giver from what would otherwise take a hold of his mind. Failure to release resources for the work of the kingdom has devastating consequences for the believer. But the corollary is true as well - releasing resources for the work of the kingdom has immeasurable delights! What you give is what you get and more!
"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" - Luke 6:38
What to give
First fruits
"And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat" - Genesis 4: 3,4
Abel brought the 'first of' what he ever received as a harvest to God to demonstrate his trust in God as well as show gratitude for His divine provision. God never tells us to do something that He has never done Himself. In Romans 10:16, He refers to the Jews as firstfruits and commands in Ezekiel 44: 30 that we take our firstfruits to the 'priest' so that the priest can command a blessing on our household. That reference to the priest can be likened to our present day local assembly leader.
Firstfruit giving will include such things as ones first wage packet; an annual wage increment; the first income from a business venture and many other examples.
Tithes
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it" - Malachi 3:10
The tithe is one tenth or ten per cent of ones gross income. It is not actually given in the true sense of the word. It is taken (Heb 7:5) and it is meant for the people who work in God's storehouse - the local Church where one is committed to specifically. The tithe can be likened to the entry code or combination lock system that opens the door for blessings to be poured out on the individual.
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar..." - Matthew 5:23
We bring our gifts to the storehouse and we are commanded to give generously for the work of the ministry. Giving requires work, prayer and a prompting from the Holy Spirit. The kind of offering that will move God's heart must be the one that first moved the heart of the giver.
"Nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing" - 2Samuel 24:24
There are two main types of giving:
- Sowing - This is a kingdom principle. Seeds are sown in anticipation of a harvest. Gen 8:2 speaks of seedtime and harvest time and whenever God wants to release a harvest into someone's life, He first prompts that individual to sow.
- Offering - Discretionary giving to communicate the gift element of our relationship with God. Different types of offerings exist - thanksgiving, giving to the poor or charity giving, missions, sacrificial giving of finance, personal time and more
Dealing with debts
Debt is the enemy of faithful giving. A debt-ridden believer is like the donkey that Jesus eventually rode on into Jerusalem. Before this triumphal entry however, the donkey was not of much use to Him for as long as it was still tied to something else that did not allow it the freedom to move about and do what it was supposed to do. Jesus first had to untie that donkey before it could serve its purpose. The same applies to a believer with a lot of debts to face. God wants to untie that believer from those debts and the way the believer needs to address the issue is to honour God first with their tithes and giving.
Here in Tabernacle of Praise Church, we run an annual Economic Empowerment conference that addresses the issue of debt cancellation and financial management with proven experts from the financial world.
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