World Christian Leadership And Training Ministry

Tithes And Offerings

What do I do?

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." - (I Timothy 6:10)

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." - (Matthew 6:24)

These are my beliefs; you must obey what you believe in your heart. Ask God for the revelation to bring peace in your decision. (FYI - I got the foundation for this teaching from Apostle Frederick KC Price a few years ago.)

The tithe is the first fruits of your increase. However, the money MUST belong to you before you can pay your tithe to God for it. The farmer gave the first fruits of his crop for his tithe and the entire crop was his. If the crop belonged to someone else, even though he grew it, then there is NO tithe due on it, from him. You cannot owe your paycheck to bill collectors, then not pay them, but give 10% of it to your church. The money is NOT yours it belongs to the bill collectors. READ ON!

DISCLAIMER: The tithe is 10%, no more and no less. It is 10% of the "EARNED" income that you receive. It is only on what you receive, not what you make. I know everyone was taught to tithe on the gross and not the net income. I taught it and wrote about it in my book, but I was wrong!

The tithe belongs to God because He gave us the gifts, talents, and skills that allow us to Earn an income. The Bible says, give onto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and give onto God the things that are God's. When taxes are taken out of your income before you receive it, then Caesar has taken his share. You don't tithe on Caesar's share because it is not your money. People need to stop tithing on someone else's money. Also, by tithing on the gross, you are giving away the offering seed that you need to bring forth your harvest. - example: you earn $1,000.00 - you take home $800.00 - the government took $200.00 - therefore, your tithe should be $80.00 and not $100.00

- the tithe is like a fertile field that God creates for you for your obedience - the $80.00 created the fertile field
- the offering is the seed(s) you are sowing into the fertile (ask God for the thing(s) you are expecting)
- until you sow seed from your money, (not a credit card or borrowed money), you have nothing coming back to you
- your offering is money that is yours and not a bill collector's or a debt
- you must pay your bills, obligations first, then tithe and sow seed - if you have $40.00 left after all your bills are paid and you sow $20.00 that is a huge offering because it is 50% of all that you have.

God gives His increase on our sowing of seed. To some He gives 30, or 60, or 100 fold increase on their sowing. The tithe is already His, but the offering is out of your generosity. The extra $20 from the example above is money for your offering. If you gave it twice a month or $40/month, then that is $480/year. If you sow $480/year and the Lord brings a 100 fold increase on just that alone, then it would be $480 x 100 or $48,000 of blessings into your life. However, if you have been tithing on Caesar's (tax) money, then that $20 is not available to sow. Yes, I know that not all of the blessings, from your sowing, are financial, but large portions are financial blessings.

God always desires to give good things to us, but we must be in position to receive them. Deuteronomy 28:2 says that God's blessing will overtake you. God sends blessings to you, but when you cannot receive them, He does not take them back, He waits for you to get into position and then He showers you with those blessings. His healing powers for the physical, mental, financial, and spiritual needs are released by the sowing of your financial seed. (If you cannot receive this, then PLEASE continue to do what you believe in YOUR heart. However, if you are struggling to tithe on a consistent basis, then you are NOT a tither; the tithe and offering must be given freely not grudgingly, from your own Earnings.)

Also, if someone is married and they BOTH cannot agree on the tithe and offerings, then don't give it. Again, the tithe and offerings must be given freely, not grudgingly. If the husband won't tithe and doesn't care if his wife tithes from her income, then that is OK for her to give her tithe, they are in agreement. However, she cannot give money to cover his tithe because he does not want to give it. Again, if he says do not give it, then don't give it. God knows the situation. The wife's obedience to her husband will help to bring him into obedience to the Lord. You cannot tithe for someone who has chosen not to tithe, it will not be received by Lord as a tithe.

No one will ever impress God with an amount of money. It is our obedience through our faith that impresses God. Trusting God for your needs by sowing 50% of what you have left is faith, so expect a 30, 60 or 100 fold return on your sowing. God always takes the opportunity to bless His children, but the level of His blessings is up to us through our obedience and generosity. Of course, the amount you give does bring a proportional return to you. God brings the increase to your finances and therefore, the amount you are able to give will increase with the blessings (not just financial, but spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical rewards will, no, must come).

Let me sum it up. Pay your obligations. If you pay all you bills and have nothing left, then you cannot tithe. Taking money from your bill money and giving it to God is not tithing, it is lying to the people you owe and breaking your word to pay them. How can you tell them about Jesus as you are taking money from them? As you pay off bills, then take the money and begin to tithe (this will then be your money). Tithe on the Net, not on your taxes that belong to the government.

Jesus told the Apostle Peter to take a coin from the mouth of a fish and pay His taxes and Peter's taxes. He did not say be sure to take out the tithe first and then pay the taxes because no tithe was necessary on the money, it belonged to Caesar. The widow with the two mites gave ALL she had, 100%. No one can give more than 100% of what is theirs therefore, it was a huge offering.

The tithe is given to the "home" church or the ministry that you are being "fed" the Word of God. (If you don't belong to a church home, then YOU ARE OUT OF THE WILL OF GOD! Find a church home ASAP! God does not need Long Ranger Christians, because he devil will certainly deceive you when you are alone.) If your church does not feed you the Word of God, then why would the pastor expect to receive the tithe or offerings? Why are you there? Tithe and give where your God connection is located. Also remember, you cannot use the tithe to buy materials for yourself. The purpose of the tithe is to take care of the ministers of the Gospel that bless you and your family, and the needs of the Body of Jesus Christ in your church home.

The offering can be sown to anyone or any ministry or any person you choose. If you pay someone's rent or buy them food with your offering, then that is good ground for your seed. Be very careful to sow on good ground, that is, into a church or ministry that you know is teaching the will of God, the Word of God. If you receive a Word of God from a minister of God and you want to keep it, then sow a financial seed for it. Otherwise, you won't be able to keep it or recall it within a few days. Also, discern if the ministers are living in sin or if they are un-repentant for their sinful lifestyle or life choices. Always check out the messenger to see if God sent him or her. Do not sow your seed on their bad ground because it will NOT bring forth good fruit.

PART II

1. When you receive a gift from someone, any type of monetary gift, there is NO tithe due on it. God, our Father, always sends blessings to His children in many forms. If someone gave you $1000.00 you don't owe a tithe on it. You can give an offering if you choose, but not a tithe. I know that many people teach that a tithe is due on anything and everything you receive, but that is not true. It someone gave you a $2.0 million home, enjoy it. If a tithe was due, you would owe $200,000.00. Do you now need to borrow it and go into debt to pay the tithe on a gift from someone the Lord told to bless you? I don't believe that to be true because debt is not from God. The tithe is required only on money you EARN, period. Our Father is not legalistic and He certainly does not need your money.

2. The tithe belongs to God. It is NO 0NE's business if you tithe or how much you give. It is the pastor's responsibility to teach on the tithe and offering, but it is no one's business how much you give into the church. There are pastors that love to have the members compete with their giving by publicly listing how much they give. This is a sin, a sin of GREED! If your pastors publicly lists or announces how much people give, then tell them not to list your amounts. If they do it anyway, then get yourself and your family out of that church. What you give is between you and God, period.

- If your church takes up 2 or 3 offerings because the first offering wasn't enough, then get up and leave immediately and don't go back. You are being robbed! If a 2nd or 3rd offering is taken up because of a specific need, then you have a choice to give for that specific need/cause. However, never give because the pastor wants more money collected.

Do you ask God how much to give, if not, then start doing that and you will have peace in your heart in your giving. If the church has a project or ministry that needs money, then give for that reason, but be sure the money is going to that project or ministry. All money given for a specific cause MUST be used for that cause unless the congregation (and Church Board) is notified and approves of the money being used for something else. Money given for specific purposes does not belong to the pastor, it belongs to the church.

- Example: Occasionally a 2nd or 3rd offering will be taken up for no apparent reason except the minister wants more money. They may ask the people who do not have any more money to give to stand up. Then they will ask those still sitting to give money to those standing, so everyone can participate in the "blessing" that is about to come. How evil is this? There is no blessing coming for ripping off the congregation. This too is GREED!

- Understand this point; if you give someone money that is standing, then that money belongs to that person. They don't have to put a dime of it into this so called "blessing" offering. They (the person who is given the money) can keep it all; give it all; or give some of it. The money is theirs and no longer yours. You don't have to hand someone else your money to put into the offering, put it in yourself. If you believe you did not give enough, then give more out of generosity, not coercion. There are known ministers on TV and who travel to many churches, who are invited because they "know how" to get more money out of the viewers or the congregation. They say give until it hurts! I can't find that in the Bible. The widow gave her all (2 mites) and Jesus said she gave more than anyone. He did not say she hurt more than anyone else. Give by FAITH and not by HURTING or SUFFERING. Abba Father, God is daddy! He doesn't trick His children into giving. God loves His children into giving.

- One other point. If you are on Welfare or any government assistance program receiving money, then you cannot tithe on that money. You did not EARN any of it. It is given to you to take care of you until you are able to EARN for yourself. Do NOT give a tithe or any offering because, once again, it is NOT your money. Find a way to EARN something, $20/week for example. You can now pay the $2.00 tithe and give whatever you desire from the remaining $18.00. This will bring increase, some 30, 60, or 100 fold return. It won't be long before you are earning more and more and giving more and more.

Be careful when, where, what, and how you sow the money the Lord has given to you. You earn seed from your job to sow, therefore, sow it wisely in accordance with the Word of God. You cannot out give God and He wants to give you the greatest return on your obedient tithing and sowing. You cannot earn your way out of debt; you have to give your way out of debt. Pay your tithe and sow your seed on good ground. Give from your heart, give freely to the Lord.

There are many churches and pastors failing today. The great falling away of the church has already started. Look around and listen and you will see them falling across the Nation. The size of the church does not matter, if it is operating in unrighteousness, it will fall! PRIDE is at the foundation of their fall and it appears as POWER, GREED, FINANCIAL DISHONESTY, UNDER PAYING STAFF, SEXUAL IMMORALITY, and/or the JEZEBEL SPIRIT (another teaching) for the most part. Financial corruption will NOT be rewarded by the Lord. Abuse of staff members by paying minimum wages, or less, and then call it their "sacrificial giving" is sinful, when the money is there to pay them more. Ezekiel 34 should be warning enough.

Finally, keep your pastors in constant prayer because the devil wants to see them fail and have the Body of Christ appear to be no better than the secular world. Keep your pastor and their family financially sound, so that they can spend their time with the Lord and not with a secular job. They should be blessed financially when possible and honored for their service to the Lord. They are Called by God to shepherd and serve His children. Pastors are your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, at least they should be. They are not your fathers and mothers. No one needs another human father or mother. It is a full time assignment being a father or mother to your God given children, let alone to a congregation of adults. God is your Father, He is THE Father, and He is more than enough! I pray that no one is offended by any of these statements.

God's final word to the Israelites came in through His "Messenger" the prophet Malachi. He would not speak to them again for over 400 years. He had last spoken to them over 100 years earlier through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. We must take heed to the Word of the Lord as He prepared His people to receive His Son, Jesus.

The Book of Malachi has four chapters. Chapter One, warns of wickedness and polluted offerings. Chapter Two, warns of corrupt priests, infidelity, divorce, and evil. Chapter Three, warns of His coming Messenger (Jesus), righteousness through tithing and giving, and the fear of the Lord. Chapter Four, warns of the destruction of the wicked and the triumph of the righteous through His Son, Jesus. Read it for yourself and meditate on it.

As a pastor, evangelist, and teacher, I share this message for the Glory of God, for winning souls, for wisdom, for knowledge, for understanding of the truth of the Word, and for obedience to the Word of the Lord. Remember, 1Timothy 6:10, and do not allow the love of money to become a root of evil in your life. Remember, Matthew 6:24, serve God and not mammon, and do not allow money to become a lord in your life. If Jesus is your Savior, then surrender to His Lordship and not to the lordship of a man.

Any questions? Any comments?

To God be all the Glory!

Love you all,
Pastor Leo

God is our Father. Do let your unbelief stop God from blessing you today.

Praise the Lord!