When God Got Robbed
Malachi 3:8-10
Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 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.
People need money to survive. The first most talked about subject in the Bible is Love. The second most talked about subject is Money. There are over 2500 verses that deal with money. Money belongs to the Lord Jesus.
Our body, brains, ability to work was given to us by God. Jesus owns us, bought us and paid for us. On paper your house or vehicle belongs to you. God owns all.
The word steward means to manage so stewards are managers. We are all stewards. God says in His Word the Bible to keep 90 percent and give Him 10 percent. God says you have robbed me.
When you steal something with a person not present, you are guilty of a minor crime. When you rob someone you are guilty of a much more serious crime. So when God says you have robbed me, you have taken by force.
The issue God wants us to see is we all need to have faith. When we put God first, money will come for all your needs. Jesus said seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these things will be added to you. Jesus said be faithful to me in this area and I will take care of all your needs.
Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
The word tenth is an old word for tithe. God’s math is not your math. It is a mystery. You sit down and write out all your bills ( housing, insurance, utilities, etc ). When it is all said and done many people set God on the back burner.
Pastor Korter writes out his first check each month to pay His Tithe and Offering. This is symbolic of Pastor’s faith in the Lord. The Korters step out in faith and return their tithe first. The Korters somehow pay all their bills every month showing how God’s math works.
Leviticus 27:30
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.
God is showing us how important tithe is by saying it is holy to the Lord. Where else in the Bible does God say “Holy”? The Sabbath Day is Holy.
Sabbath=Holy
Tithe=Holy
We are forcing ourselves on God by not giving His 10 percent.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23
You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
It is all about showing we love God. Obedience to God is reflected by our tithing. God doesn’t need our money. The tithe is meant to bless us.
Numbers 18:20-26
Then the LORD said to Aaron: “You shall have no inheritance in their land, nor shall you have any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.
Tithes for Support of the Levites
21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting. 22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die. 23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”
The Tithe of the Levites
25 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe.
The Levites were in the sanctuary ministering. The Levites did not get an inheritance. All other tribes did. The tribes brought tithe to the temple and the Levites lived off tithes. By returning tithes, ministers are able to pay their bills.
The Seventh-day Adventist church operates as a Sisterhood of Churches. There is a General Conference located in Silver Springs, Maryland. This is the headquarters of the worldwide church and where the appointed leaders offices are located. There are 16 world wide Divisions of the church. The North American Division contains all of the churches in the United States and Canada. There is the North Pacific Union which consists of all the churches in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Then there is the Washington Conference which is made up of all the churches in Western Washington. The Bellingham Church is part of the Washington Conference.
Every member of the Washington Conference comes to church on Sabbath throughout the conference and gives their tithe to the offering plate. All of the money is sent to the conference headquarters in Federal Way, Washington. The conference staff takes the money and pays all of the pastors in the Washington Conference. Every pastor is paid the same salary. This way the pastor can preach the truth and not worry about a member not paying tithes if there is an upset member. The second thing this principle brings about is it keeps pastors from being greedy and keeps them focused on ministry. God did not design pastors to have multi million dollar salaries.
The tithe also goes to advance the Gospel so more people can learn about Jesus. So when we hold back on tithe, we are saying: “God, I don’t want any of my money to go towards someone else learning about you”.
Nehemiah 10:37-38
To bring the first fruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. 38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.
In Bible times, people brought offerings to the tabernacle. When we return tithe, God will bless. What would happen if every church member returned back tithe the way it is laid out in the Bible? There would be so much money in the conference, the leaders would not know how to spend it all.
Deuteronomy 12:11-12
Then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD. 12 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
It is a partnership in ministry to spread the Gospel. We do this out of Love for God so others can learn about Jesus.
Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The ability for the gospel to be preached works best with pastors, bible workers, teachers and elders. A sure course for financial ruin is to steal from God.
1 Corinthians 9:13-14
Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
Sunday churches operates as congregational churches. This means that if the church is small and there is not enough money, the pastors have to go out and get a job to provide for their families.
The ten percent tithe is not optional. Offerings are different. When we refuse to give tithe and offerings we are robbing God. Do we pay on net or gross? Who do we pay first, Jesus or Uncle Sam?
We pay taxes on our increase to Uncle Sam. Jesus should come first. Return tithe on our increase.
Romans 13:1-7
Submit to Government
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Obey authority. Do not cause Christianity to be blemished or stained. We should pay our taxes.