8/14/2019 The Tithe - It is for Today

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The TitheIs It for Today?

by Kenneth Copeland

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me nowherewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Mal. 3:10)

It amazes me how many believers waste their energies arguing whether or not tithing is a New Testamentdoctrine. I've heard people say, "Tithing is under the law! We're not under the law, we're under grace. That'swhy I don't tithe. Oh, I give offerings, but I don't tithe."

People who think this way are deceived. Tithing didn't begin with the law! According to Genesis 4:1-4, beforethe law was ever given to Moses, Abel, and Cain brought the first fruits of their labor to God. And again inGenesis 14, we find that Abraham tithed - before the law!

Abraham and 318 of his armed servants had conquered a group of enemy kings, slaughtered them, andtook the spoils. And the very first thing Abram did was tithe the spoils. Melchizedek, the priest, blessedAbram and said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed bethe most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." (Verses19-20)

So tithing didn't begin with the law. The law only explained the tithe, gave it procedure, and demanded it.But, is tithing under the New Covenant as well?

To answer this question, let's first read Hebrews 7:1-8:

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abrahamreturning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave atenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also Kingof Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, havingneither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth apriest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarchAbraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, whoreceive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the peopleaccording to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of

Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham,and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed ofthe better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it iswitnessed that he liveth.

What do these verses mean? Simply this, that Melchizedek was a man whose birth was not on record. Hisgenealogy could not be traced back to Levi (or the tribe of the priesthood). Nevertheless Melchizedek wasmade a priest by God and received Abraham's tithes.

You cannot argue that tithing is just under the law because this happened four hundred years before thelaw. Hebrews 5:6 tells us that Jesus is a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. He has all the rights thatMelchizedek had, which included the right to bless the tithe.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus not only receives our tithes, He blesses them and then blesses us just asAbraham was blessed. Why? Because as Galatians 3:14says, "the blessing of Abraham (has) come on theGentiles through Jesus Christ!"

The day that Melchizedek blessed Abraham, that very blessing was handed to you and me through JesusChrist - our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek! If Melchizedek blessed Abraham, then how muchmore will Jesus bless us!

How do we activate that blessing? By placing our faith in the Word of God, and faith without actions ofobedience to back it up is dead (James 2:17, AMP). Since true faith is acting on what you believe, if youbelieve that you are blessed with faithful Abraham, you will do what he did - tithe to your Faithful High Priest!

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Tithing activates the blessing of God in your finances. Read Malachi 3:10-12. There God promises thatwhen you tithe, He'll rebuke the devil and command him to keep his hands off your finances. And thatpromise is as good today as it ever was because when God rebukes the Devil, he stays rebuked!

So if you want to involve Almighty God in your finances, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that "theremay be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the

windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I willrebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vinecast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: forye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."

Yes! Tithing is part of the New Covenant. Don't wait until your back is against the wall before you use yourfaith in the financial realm. Begin tithing while things are going well. Learn to act on the Word now, and whenSatan tries to pin you against the wall, you can smile and know that you have it made. His power over youfinancially has been stopped! When you stand on the covenant of God and exercise your rights as a tither,Satan has no chance against you.

Source: One Word From God Can Change Your Relationshipsby Kenneth and Gloria Copeland