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WHAT JESUS DO YOU KNOW?
Part - 3
Faith
(If you truly know Him, then why don’t you obey Him?)
"Honor the Lord with you possessions and with
the firstfruits of all your increase; 10 so your
barns will be filled with plenty, and your
vats will overflow with new wine.”
Proverbs 3:9-10
I wanted to start on a new topic, but I believe that I am being directed by the Holy Spirit to continue on with this series of discovering who Jesus truly is to individuals as well as to the Body of Christ. What better way to get to know who Jesus is than to use money as a focal point. You see, money is a lord, just as Jesus is the Lord. Which do you honor more, your money or Jesus? Before you answer lets take a closer look at your present Relationships with your money.
(Be sure that you have already taken your high blood pressure pills before reading on.)
What does it take to make money a servant rather than a lord? It will take the same thing that it took for you to be lord over sin rather than a servant to it. It will take your Faith, yes your Faith. By faith you were able to turn from a life that led to eternal damnation to a life that leads to eternal salvation. That same faith that you exercised to bring about your salvation is the same faith that will make you lord over your money.
What exactly is faith? The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” If faith is the substance of things, then what is the thing that the substance is made of? If faith is evidence of things, then what are the things that the evidence is made of? Also, faith is always now! Have you figured it all out yet? Do you have ears to hear or understand what this scripture is talking about? It is vital that you understand this scripture because your Relationships with the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit depends on it.
What Jesus do you know? If you lack faith, then how can you know Jesus? I pray that you will have a full understanding of your faith after you have read and meditated on this message.
YOUR FAITH
First and foremost, faith is now! Faith happens in the moment. Faith is free-falling with Jesus. Faith is unconditional trust in the Word of God. Faith was demonstrated when Peter walked on the water, after, Jesus said to him, come (Matthew 14:22-33). By faith in the word that Jesus said, come, Peter was able to walk on the water. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he could walk on the water. However, once he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on his circumstances (the winds and the seas) he began to sink. Peter was exercising his faith moment to moment on the water. It took faith for Peter to walk on the water, but his faith only lasted for a short time. He could say that he had great faith to walk on water on that day, but faith does not carry over to the next day or moment. Because you are a person of faith today does not mean you will operate in faith tomorrow. Of course, you should be growing in your practice of faith each day from your personal experiences in faith.
Now, faith is, means exactly that, it is only in the present and it is only now. You should know that faith is a thing that happens in the present or it is a now thing. What is the thing that makes up the substance? The substance of things is words. Faith is what you say, it is not what you think or intend, but only what you say with you mouth. So that I am not misunderstood, I’ll repeat, the substance of faith is words.
What is it that you need faith for? If you cannot express it then you cannot have it. Peter asked Jesus to bid him to come and Jesus said come. Peter acted on his word that he would come if Jesus told him to come and he was able to walk on the water. However, when he began to look at his surroundings and the "reality” of the winds and the seas took over, he was no longer able to walk on the water. Faith is never dependant on your circumstances in the natural.
Faith is now and it is words. Faith is also evidence of things. What things make up the evidence? The words that you spoke by faith make up the things. Your words will manifest into tangible things. Every act of faith on your part must produce visible evidence. What was the evidence of things not (yet) seen created by Peter’s faith? The evidence was Peter walking on the water (the impossible in the natural). Peter produced evidence of his faith by actually stepping out of the boat and taking steps on the water. The evidence of things not seen is Peter walking on the water in a storm. (All through the Bible, either God spoke (words) or Jesus spoke (words) and the evidence of the things that they spoke of appeared by faith. You are no different. You are made in the image and likeness of God.)
Therefore, faith (your words) is the substance of things hoped for (Peter hoped to walk on water and he stepped out of the boat) and the evidence of things not seen (Peter’s ability to walk on water was manifested and proof of his faith). Be careful of what you say because you are creating your future by the words that you speak in faith. Your life is exactly the way you want it to be right now. You created it. If you don’t like what you have created to this point, then you also have the power, by faith, to make any changes you choose. Speak whatever you want, by faith, and see it manifest in the natural.
(Don’t ask God again tomorrow for the same things that you asked for today. If you do, then you have doubt that He answered you and you have already stopped Him from acting. Thank the Lord each day for the things you asked for until they have manifested.)
Faith is not contagious. The other apostles did not say anything or get out of the boat for many reasons. Jesus said come and any one of them could have come out of the boat and walked on the water. They could not do it just because Peter did it. They too would have to walk on water based on their own measure of faith.
If you lay hands on the sick are your words of healing said with hope or worse with doubt? If you are hoping that they might receive their healing, then you are living in the future. If you have doubts that they will be healed, then you are living in the past. However, if you know that they are healed the moment that you lay hands on them, then you are operating in the present by faith. Their healing has nothing to do with you because it comes from God. You are obeying God’s command to lay hands on the sick (Mark 16:18), but the manifestation of their healing is between them and God. The healing anointing that God gives to you is for others and not for yourself. You are the conduit, not the source. The Lord does the healing not you, so don’t hesitate to obey God’s commands.
THE TITHE
Now, let’s apply this to your money. God’s command is to bring all of the tithes into the storehouse (your home church in which you are a member), Malachi 3:8. Yet, less than 20% of Christians will pay the tithes. Money is their lord. Their money means more to them than the Word of God, period. They may tip God with a few dollars from time to time, but they will not pay the tithe on all that they have earned. Their money has them by the heart and it will not allow God’s Word to enter in. Even if you do not belong to a church, the tithe is still God’s. You should be saving it until you find a church home and then pay it. Using the excuse of not belonging to a church as the reason for not tithing, still makes you a robber and you are cursed with a cursed.
The reason I talked so long about faith is that no one can possible pay the tithe without faith. It does not make any sense to give away 10% of your earned money and have still more money than the amount you started with. Even though the Lord says that He will blessed you some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold return on their giving, Christians continue to doubt His promise. "Is God a man that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19)? If God is not a liar, then why won’t you obey Him? The reason is that money is your lord and not God.
Remember, I said not to answer the question, who is your Lord, too quickly. Are you a tither? I mean a consistent tither on all that you earn, not every now and then when you feeeeeel that you can afford it. You cannot afford to isobey God and not tithe. Malachi goes on to say that the Lord will rebuke the devourer (the devil) for your sake. If you are not a tither are you crying out to God to help you when you are under attack by the devil? Stop wasting your time and just obey His Word. You cannot manipulate the Lord. Wouldn’t you rather have the Lord bless your 90%, than have a curse on your 100%? Your 100% is not getting you out of debt or getting you where you want to go or preventing worry about losing the money you already have, so try it God’s way.
What Jesus do you know? Jesus is the Word of God. He wants you to know Him and be quick to obey Him. It will take your faith to do it. So, don’t be surprized to find out how hard it is to tithe when you are focused on your money and not the Lord. The devil will never tell you to give into a ministry. What are you hearing. Do you even know whose voice you are hearing when it comes to obeying God about the money you have earned? If you are not sure of the voice, then be sure of what the Bible says about what you heard.
"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” Romans 10:17. What does the Word of God "say” about your situation? Whatever the Word of God says about your situation is what you build your faith on. Here is an example:
- The Word of God says in Malachi 3:10,"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse…” Then it goes on to say:
- So there may be food (spiritual nourishment and physical growth of the church membership) in My house
- Try Me (test Me – God is telling you to test Him, the only place in the Bible that God allows you to test Him) now in this
- I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing that you will not have room to receive it (your money will be in banks, investments, real estate, etc., etc., etc. )
- I will rebuke the devourer (the devil, I Peter 5:8) for your sakes
- So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground (your income sources, the possessions you are steward over)
- Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field (you will always have enough to eat and children to carry on your name)
- All nations will call you blessed (your family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors) (you will have divine health and prosperity)
Therefore, based on what the Word of God says, you can have faith for all of these things (and more) to happen to you and for you. You never have to worry about anything that comes against you because the Lord, Himself, will rebuke it. You will always have more than enough because the Lord will provide it. All of these things you can count on from the Lord. These are promises from God, Himself, for your obedience to His command to tithe.
Additionally, if you do not tithe on what you earn, then you can absolutely expect to have what the Word of God says in Malachi 3:8-9:
- "You are cursed with a cursed, for you have robbed Me.”
- God says you are a robber, not a thief, but a robber. A thief can steal from you without your knowledge, but a robber comes to your face and defies you and takes your money with no regard for who you are. That is how God sees Christians who refuse to tithe. So, when trials, tests, and tribulation come, don’t waste your time crying out to God to save you or get you out of trouble because you are blocking God’s hand by your disobedience.
I hope that all of this is making sense to you. Would you bless someone that is robbing you every payday? Would bless someone that comes to your face and shows contempt, disrespect, and a total disregard for who you are? I seriously doubt that you would. Now, if you stopped robbing God and obeyed His Word, then He would begin to bless you. Please repent of your past failure to obey His Word with your tithe. Disobedience to the commands of God is called sin, not a problem or circumstances, but sin. Don’t try to figure out how much you owe to God from your past disobedience, just begin to obey. If you repented, then it is in the past with the Lord.
What Jesus do you know? If you truly know Him, then obey Him. Listen, I did not say that God would stop loving you because that will never happen as long as you live on the Earth. However, God will never interfere with your "free will” to make choices in your life. God already knows that your flesh, your mind will be attracted to money. Your desire to have money will assure that the lord of money will have you. You will lie, cheat, steal, or do whatever it takes to get money and that money will take you places you should have never gone, and it will bring people into your life that you should have never met. You will never have peace even with all of the possessions that you buy. If it is not from God, then you do not want it.
God absolutely wants you to have money and lots of it, but in accordance with His Word. God wants all of His children to be rich, to be wealthy, but not if it will cost them their salvation. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, "And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you POWER to get wealth, (this is why) that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
- If you will not tithe, so that there is food in His house (God’s churches-His houses are there to help you establish His covenant worldwide), then why would God bless you so that there is food in your house?
You know tithing is not rocket science, as a matter of fact, it is simple, common sense. God had it all written down, so that you would not be confused or tricked about it. So why do so few Christians tithe? I believe it is as I have stated, money is a lord and it will be lord over your life it you give it permission by not obeying the Word of God.
The tithe is 10% of what you earn, not 11% or 15% or even 20%. The tithe is 10%, period. Tithe means a tenth. I had to say that because I hear people say that they are tithing 15% or 20% of their income. That is impossible to do. If you give anything over the 10%, then that is an offering, or offering seed. John 8:32 says, "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (Jesus sets you free). However, it is only the truth that you know that will make you free.
The tithe is like a fertile field. The offering is the seed or seeds that you sow into that fertile field. You can name your crop or harvest by your seed. You can tell God what you want in return for your seed. Of course, without the fertile field, there will never be a harvest that you can have peace about. There is just no way around it.
Your tithe is on what you earn. That is why it says in II Thessalonians 3:10, "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” What you earn is through the use of your gifts, talents, and skills. Your God given gifts, talents, and skills will always be enough to bring in all of the things you will ever need to be successful in life. Tithe on what you earn. You have a God that loves to bless His children in many ways, not just financially.
When you receive a blessing from God, no matter what form it comes in, there is NO TITHE REQUIRED FOR IT! I know that this speaks against contemporary teaching, but that is what the Bible says. You can give an offering from your blessings, but the tithe is from your earnings. It is an acknowledgement of God as your Creator and Lord, and that He is the source of your abilities, your gifts, talents, and skills.
Example:
If someone gave you a $500,000.00 home, would you now owe a tithe $50,000.00 on this gift? If you did not have the $50K, would you have to take out a loan, by borrowing against the home, and go in debt to pay it? If you happen to be blessed by a gift of a $500K home just receive it. God is blessing you because of your faithfulness and your obedience. God never ever puts you in debt. God always gives to you before He asks of you and He never asks you to go into debt. He is a debt removing God.
THE REALITY OF YOUR Relationships WITH JESUS
Now hold on to something while you read the rest of this, especially if you are a pastor. The tithe is no one’s business in the church. Stop printing out lists of how much people gave to the church. The tithe is none of the pastor’s business as far as how much you are paying, and it is certainly none of anyone else’s business in the church. It is the pastor’s business to teach you about the tithe and offerings, but it is dangerous grounds to be directly involved in how much anyone is giving. If they are involved with your tithing record, then it will be virtually impossible for them to have a Relationships with church members on a fair basis.
(I did not say equal basis on purpose, because the pastor’s Relationshipss in church are not equal with everyone, just like any other person.)
Do pastors make decisions about church members based on their tithing and giving records, or on the situation that a member is in? Withholding assistance from church members based on their financial record of giving to the church is WRONG. This is dangerous ground. Acts 20:35 says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive.” No one should know and understand this fact better than the pastor of a church.
(The accounting department should be handling the money from the church members. The pastor is an overseer to insure that the money is being handled properly, but not to see how much people are giving in order to use it for or against them in decision making. The pastor is responsible for all of the funds received by the church. Being an overseer of the accounting department is for their protection (because money is a lord). The best of people have been tempted and destroyed by unsupervised handling of church MONEY, including pastors.) See click on Message – January and March
In closing, let me summarize this message. God knows if you are a tither and if you are a generous giver, which He loves. Just as I stated in this message, it will take faith to be a tither and a generous giver. Your faith is between you and God, not you and man. Your faith will determine how far you will go with God. Your obedience is based on your faith in God. Do you trust in God or do you trust in man or do you trust in yourself?
Remember, you don’t have to see anyone’s tithing and giving record to know if they are being obedient. You just have to look at their lives, their tests, their trials, and their tribulations. Look and see if they are overcoming them or are they constantly being defeated by them. Their constant battles and defeats are good reasons why they should begin to trust in God and obey His Word.
People will not tithe out of embarrassment or pressure. Yes, they may give for a season, but if it is not in their hearts to do it, then they will stop or leave the church. If their tithing and giving is not from their hearts, then it is not accepted by God. You cannot force anyone to tithe, just as you cannot force anyone to live by faith.
What Jesus do you know? Money is a huge stumbling block for far too many Christians. There are far too many broke churches, trying to make it by fundraisers (man’s way) and not by properly receiving the tithes and offerings.
It does not matter whether a person has too little or too much money, it will still want to be their lord. So, take authority over your finances. Do just as Proverbs 3:9-10 commands, honor the Lord with your finances by being a tither (the firstfruits) and by being a generous giver.
Your love for Jesus is demonstrated not meditated. People know you by what you say, but they define you by what you do. James 2:17 & 20 says, "Faith without works is dead.” It took the activation of "the measure of faith” in Romans 12:3 to receive your salvation. It took faith to receive Jesus and it will always take faith to obey Jesus, the Word of God.
The Jesus you know is the Jesus you obey. Do you know Him when it comes to your money? There are no gray areas and there is no middle ground with the Lord. You are either a tither or you are a robber. Either Jesus is your Lord or money is your lord. You decide, you choose the one you will serve! God is waiting to bless you for your obedience. If you love the Lord Jesus, then obey Him. If you know the Lord Jesus, then obey Him. Then you can say with confidence, Jesus is my Lord!
PRAISE THE LORD!
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Prayer of Salvation (pray it out loud)
Father God, I come before you in the name of Jesus.
I believe in my heart that Jesus died for my sins.
I believe You raise Jesus from the dead and
He is alive and with You in heaven. I confess
That Jesus is now my Lord and Savior.
I repent of all my sins.
I renounce Satan and all his evil works.
I believe that I am saved and
I will be with You in heaven for all eternity when I die.
I believe that I am now a born again follower of
Jesus Christ. Amen!
If you prayed this prayer, you are now born again.
All your sins are forgiven, yes, every sin from the first
time you (knowingly) sinned until this very moment.
You are now a Christian.
Praise the Lord!
If you do not have a Bible, get one and read it everyday.
Start with the New Testament and read
as much as you can daily.
If you do not belong to a Christian Church,
then find one in your area.
God has great things ahead for you, so get into
fellowship with other believers who can help
you, teach you, and edify you.
Congratulations!
Welcome to the Body of Jesus Christ.
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