Living Under an Open Living Under an Open HeavenHeaven

Blessings of Tithing and GivingBlessings of Tithing and Giving

Part IPart I

Tithing Developed as a Principle Tithing Developed as a Principle of Devotion.of Devotion.

Given to a man of faith—God’s friend, Abraham—NOT a man of the law

Tithing preceded the law by 430 years. The law didn’t bring tithing in, and the

law didn’t take it out.

Tithing Developed as a Principle Tithing Developed as a Principle of Devotion.of Devotion.

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

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

And 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

And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,

That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

Genesis 14:21-23

We Tithe to Jesus.We Tithe to Jesus.

And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

Hebrews 7:8

We pay tithes to Jesus in worship, NOT to our pastor out of fear.

Levites received right to tithes due to a legal enactment

Melchizedek (Jesus) received tithes solely for the sake of who he was/is personally.

Such personal greatness needed no legal enactment to entitle him to tithes.

Theme of book of Hebrews is:

New Covenant Is Superior If 10% was the standard embraced by

the law, why would grace do less? Grace enlarges. Paul considered 10% an insufficient

standard. He taught 100% grace giving. Can’t reach 100% without passing 10%

Wealth that may have been in Abraham’s possession only a few hours was tithed by Abraham.

Abraham was not looking for ways to tithe less.

Abraham did not give an estimate. All you need to figure the tithe is to be able to count to ten.

Abraham did not tithe for a promise of more—he was already very rich.

Tithing Helps Settle Ownership Tithing Helps Settle Ownership QuestionQuestion

Tithing Helps Settle Ownership Tithing Helps Settle Ownership QuestionQuestion

“The EARTH is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell

therein.”

Psalms 24:1

God’s OwnershipGod’s OwnershipGod’s OwnershipGod’s Ownership

“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Haggai 2:8

Tithing Settles the Ownership Tithing Settles the Ownership Question.Question.

It is not just returning a tenth back to God, but it is the acknowledgement that

God owns everything.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:21

Scriptural Pattern for the TitheScriptural Pattern for the Tithe

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Proverbs 3:9,10

First, means first. Look for reasons to tithe instead of

reasons not to tithe.

Some Increases Some Increases Are Not Are Not IncomeIncome..

Housing, utilities Health insurance Scholarships Retirement Gifts Car Inheritance

The tithe is 10% of our increase FIRST. Only question: What is the increase? Because the tax is based on income, is

the increase after the tax? Because the tax purchases quality of life,

is the tax part of normal living expenses? Merely because our government has

legislated itself into first place, is not a legitimate reason to place God second.

Is Tax a Penalty on Increase, or Is Tax a Penalty on Increase, or Does it Buy Quality of Life?Does it Buy Quality of Life? FDA—Safe medicine and drugs WS—Weather Service FAA—Safe air travel FTD—Drug enforcement EPA—Safe drinking water Interstate highways National Defense Emergency—911

Is Social Security Tax an Is Social Security Tax an Expense or an Increase?Expense or an Increase?

Employee pays 7.65%. Employer pays 7.65%. Tithing on the gross does not tithe the

7.65% that the employer pays for you. Average person gets back all they’ve

paid into Social Security in 3 ½ years

Jan CouchJan Couch

P.O. Box 2910Cleveland, TN 37320-2910

423.559.5222FAX 423.472.5037

KJCOUCH@aol.com

jan@cogop.org