How Tithing Frees Us, No Longer to Fear Not Having Enough

I used to resist tithing.

I just never knew if I would have enough money, and I couldn't trust God to provide everything.
Learning how to understand God's leading was very difficult for me. Because of the rigorous indoctrination that I had to put up with from my mother and her cult-like attachment to Alcoholics Anonymous, I had gotten to a place where I was constantly looking to her and taking her word for everything.

It has gotten really crazy. There were times where I would tithe, and then she would correct me for doing that, or tell me that it was not OK to do so.

Constantly I was looking to her or to other people to tell me what to think, what to do, how to assess difficult situations in my life.

Tithing was not easy because of that bad sense of training. There was also a period in my life when I was faithfully tithing at my local church, but it didn't seem that my life was getting better.
I have also learned with the greater revelation of God's grace that He loves me because of His Son Jesus. It does not matter whether I tithed or not. However, I want that growing revelation of God's love and resources in my life.

Because I realize more of what he has been able to accomplish in my life, I want to see His favor and resources flowing. I had such a small revelation of God. I simply did not realize that He is constantly at work in my life.

God invites us to enter into His rest. No longer are we striving and writhing in our self-effort to make things happen, as though God is light-years away and uninterested in what we are doing.

I also remember at one point in my life, when I was drawing from unemployment less and less, then I was switching to giving more and sharing more. I found that I had plenty of money, and I even had enough to spend on others. At one job, I was an after-school tutor of sorts. I had my own classes and provided different types of lessons. When we had reached the end of the year, I purchased food for all the students.

It felt good to be able to give something. It just was nice to know that I had money--and that money did not have me!

Last week, I was struggling with a strange point of discussion. Would I be able to tithe?

The pastor was preaching on Malachi, the passage about robbing God and not holding back.
Of course, it's important to read every passage in the Old Testament in light of the Finished Work of Jesus Christ. We no longer have to worry about the curse our the devourer in our lives. Yet still we have the opportunity to "test" God, or at least allow Him to prove His generosity towards us.
When I tithed again this past Sunday, a sense of hope and relief swept over me.

I refused to be in bondage to a certain set of dollars in my wallet, pockets, or elsewhere. It's essential that we realize how money is the least of God's concerns, but rather that He wants us to prosper and be in health even as our souls prosper.

We Give God a Tenth ... Because He Gave Us Everything

Melchizedek blesses Abram

"And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." (Genesis 14:20)

Why do many people struggle with tithing?

I have learned tithing is a strong-meat teaching. It's not for the young Christian or the immature believer. Giving a tenth of all that we have is connected to the advanced revelation of Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High:

"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

"11Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 12For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat." (Hebrews 5:8-12)

Learning about Melchizedek, and thus the tithing principled associated with him, is not for uninitiated, those who do not understand and keep receiving the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17, Hebrews 5:13)

Today, Jesus is our High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek!

"4The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4; cf Hebrews 5:10)

What do we need to see within this relevation about tithing?

Notice what Melchizedek did for Abram first:

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.

"19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:

"20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all." (Genesis 14:18-20)

Check this out! Melchizedek is recognized as the priest for God Most High! This is the first mention of this specific name for our God El Alyion in Hebrew, but this name also appears in the Psalm of consummate protection:

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 1:1)

Notice that God Most High speaks of conssumate protection and provision.

Consider the full blessing from Melchizedek:

"Blessed be Abram of God Most High possessor of heaven and earth.

Our Daddy God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10)

Everything that we can give Him, He already gave to us:

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee." (1 Chronicles 29:14)

Let's never forget that God came to Abram and called Him to enter a country that He would give Him. There is no better deal than God initiating His offer.

And God had blessed Abram already:

"16And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels." (Genesis 12:16)

Keep in mind that God blessed Abrah through Pharoah, even though God never intended for Abram and his wife Sarai to go there, and Abram lied about his wife to preserve himself!

So, God had not only provided for Abram immensely, but ensured his protection:

" ... And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." (Genesis 14:20)

God blessed Abram already, and He had protected him and delivered all his enemies in Abram's hand.

When we recognize how much God has already blessed us, then we have a spirit tithe. 

"We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19, NIV)

Let's not forget that there is no greater love shown to us than in Jesus, God's own Son, delivered for us (John 3:16). Jesus conquered every enemy that we may face:

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37)

And

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" (Ephesians 1:3)

and then

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)

I submit to all of you today that many people struggle with tithing because they do not see that our Daddy God has provided us everything, and they also do not believe that Jesus accomplished a perfect work at the Cross, defeating all our enemies:

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:9-15)

Notice that all fullness dwells in Jesus, and that our sins have been put away from us forever. The ordinances against us--the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses--have been fulfilled and thus rendered obsolete against us. Notice also that Jesus "spoiled principalities and powers."

He disarmed them! Satan, Death, Hell, the Grave-every enemy has been defeated. Today, we reign in His life!

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)

The more we understand Jesus as our High Priest Forever, and that He has done all things for us, that He accomplished a perfect against our sin and shame, that He has accorded to us and continue to bless us with His grace and righteousness, then we in turn have no problem releasing a tenth of all that we have.