Tithing according to His ways

Once again, doing things in The Lord’s name incorrectly is not sin, but it is counted as unrighteousness unto you. Another hot topic with many variations of unrighteous doctrines is tithing. Some say that there is no need to tithe anymore because that was of the old covenant. Others say you must tithe to the church you belong to. All churches will teach that 10% of your income must go to them, to their treasury, for their purposes. They must teach this because in most cases, your tithe is the only way their church will survive financially. Most of these churches will have financial meetings where business is discussed and then it is decided where their funds (your tithe/His treasury) will be allocated ie; new car for the pastor, renovations, utility bills for the church, holiday decorations and celebrations, games for the children’s program etc. But The Lord makes it clear through scripture that tithing has a righteous purpose and His tithe must go toward a man, woman or child, no exceptions. The Lord also makes it clear that tithing incorrectly brings a curse:

(Malachi 3:9) Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say “where have we robbed You?” in tithes and offerings… You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed Me...”

In this verse it is clear that curses visit those who are robbing God in His tithe. But tithing correctly is said to bring blessings and not only blessings, but physical protections also:

“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground (protections)” (Malachi 3:11)

Biblically speaking, the tithe did not go toward building the temple (storehouse), the temple was built by the wealth of Egypt and the spoil of other nations which had fallen under the rule of Israel. The storehouse was used to store up tithe to deliver to the stranger or those in need as The Lord directed. Tithe, as set out in scripture, must be delivered to a man, woman or child: (Deuteronomy 26:13)

“Then you shall say before The Lord your God: “I have removed the holy tithe from my house and also I HAVE GIVEN IT TO: the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow according to all the commandments which You have commanded me”

Scripture is very clear here and need not be convoluted with any other interpretation. Often, the church in the world will use the scripture of Malachi 3:10 as proof for requiring your tithe being brought to their treasury; “bring your whole tithe to the storehouse, that there may be food in My House” however, the “storehouse” had always been used as a means to feed the stranger, the needy, the widow, the orphan etc. The tithe in the storehouse was delivered to a man, woman or child (those in need), but it was never used for holiday decorations!

The word “tithe” comes from the Hebrew word that translates to “ten” in English. Tithing is a simple process of taking 10% of your total income and distributing it to those in need, even as He directs through The Holy Spirit, but always into the hands of a living being. One can be led by The Holy Spirit in this and experience the wondrous moments that Ruach HaKodesh (Hebrew for Holy Spirit) will put together for you. When you deliver the tithe, it cannot be in your name, nor in the name of your ministry, nor your church, nor any other such worldly thing; all glory must go to our Father in Heaven!

You can deliver the tithe by saying something like “Jesus Christ told me to give this to you” or “This is from The Lord Jesus Christ” thus all Glory goes to Him and none for your own flesh. But please remember this very important rule: Tithing is not considered complete in the courts of heaven until it has been physically delivered. It has been my experience that when people begin tithing this way, according to His righteous truth, the devil tries to creep in and insert his ways to replace righteousness with unrighteousness. For example I had begun putting the tithe into a sealed envelope and handing it to people saying “This is from The Lord Jesus Christ”. The envelope hid the fact that it contained money and thus some people rejected the envelope thinking it may be a pamphlet or some religious tract. Doing this was my own test to the stranger to see if they were worthy of His tithe. Well Yahushua rebuked me on this and showed me that it was up to Him to test and see who is worthy, not me. All He wants is people to accept something from Him, in His name, so that He can have legal entry into their lives to begin working as He sees fit. This is a legal matter in heaven, when someone accepts something from Christ, it allows Him an avenue into their life, to work in greater ways because they have entered into agreement with Him.

Another mistake I see many tithers fall into is that they want to use this opportunity to begin telling people what they should do with the money or preaching a message to them for the day. All I can say is this is Yahushua’s moment with this person and you need not get your carnal ideas involved. Trust in Him that this work that He had just done through you is enough. It is enough for Him to now set things into motion in this person’s life, so have faith in Him. There will be opportunity for preaching but sometimes, this moment is not it. So just be mindful of the leading of His Spirit and keep it simple.

Tithing was another major truth that when I first learned about it, I could not wait to go out and test myself. I needed to see if this was indeed His way, even though in my heart I already knew. So, I lifted this question of tithing up to Him “to whom should I tithe to Lord?” and I awaited a response...

Not long after my prayer, I received a dream that I was tithing to a widow named Kim [In the physical, I did not know this widow personally but I had seen her briefly during a “celebration of life (funeral)” when a co-worker of mine had died]. In the dream, I was in an unfamiliar area with a building made of cobble stone. The small building looked very old fashion, like homes made in the 1800’s. I was handing over a envelope full of money to Kim

I awoke from this dream excited to visit this widow and deliver the tithe but first, I would need to find out how I could get into contact with her (Kim). It had been over a year since her husband Paul had passed away. I asked around my place of work if anyone had known where she lived but no one knew. The only answer I received was from the Chaplain at work who had sporadically been in contact with her. The Chaplain told me that she had since moved to another house and as such, he did not have her new address. "But" he said “I do know where she works!” and he gave me the address to her job.

Seeing as this was going to be my first tithing experience, I was extremely nervous, knowing nothing about Kim, nor in what state of mind she is going to be in when I hand her something “from The Lord Jesus Christ”. I made the trip out to an unknown city called Guelph and tried to locate the address I had been given. These were the days when GPS was new, inaccurate and would often send you on a wild goose chase. I drove up and down the area where the address was supposed to be and after about 30 minutes of looking, I was ready to give up. I was pulling out of a parking lot ready to turn left to take the road home when a still, calm voice inside me said “turn right”. Not knowing The Lord’s voice yet, I still decided to trust what I just heard, that small leading that came from within. I was obedient and I “turned right”. I happen to look past a couple of other buildings and there, hidden around back, in between the buildings was a cobble stone home…just like in my dream! I immediately turned into the parking lot and drove up to the building, not even checking the address because I knew, that I knew, it was the right place! My heart was now pounding, I was even anxious, maybe a little afraid at what her reaction might be. Is she going to receive me with open arms? Is she going to look at me like I have two heads? Is she going to start crying, slap me and scream for me to leave because she is angry at God? I did not know but it was game time, I had come this far, and I was not going to turn back now!

I enter the store; a nice lady greets me at the front. I ask her “is Kimberly working?” She responds “oh… no, I’m sorry dear, Kimberly is not working today”. Well, that was it for me, this was my sign, all this stuff I had just learned about hearing The Lord, following your dreams, it must be all wrong or this would have turned out perfect, right?! As I thank the nice lady and turn to walk out, she shouts back to me “oh wait! Actually, I think Kim had come in for a quick moment to finish up some paper work... I thought I saw her earlier, let me check down stairs if she is still here. Whom shall I say is here to visit?” Well… that’s a good question! I did not expect to be asked such a question “who should I say is here to see Kim?” I am a man she has never formerly met nor heard of? I barely knew her husband. Do I say “Jesus Christ, The King of kings has sent me?” no, that would be a little too intense. Umm… let me think quick as the silence is now growing awkward… “please tell her that Alex, a friend of her husband Paul is here” good save! The nice lady left down a flight of stairs and I went off and wandered the store, trying to stay visible but also trying to find a place private enough for us to have this exchange, whatever it may explode into.

As I paced nervously, this beautiful woman approached me; big blue eyes that were soft and kind but it was not the outward beauty that got me, it was an inward beauty that I was discerning in this moment; a kind soul is the only way to describe her. She approaches me “hi?” not recognizing me, nor would she, I did not even recognize her. I take a step toward her and hand her a white envelope filled with my 10% that had now accumulated tithe from over a month of paychecks; “The Lord Jesus told me to give this to you” I say nervously. Kim takes the envelope, an even more curious face focused on me, then tears begin to well up in her eyes, “thank you. How did you know Paul?”. “I worked with him” I say, now a little at ease. Kim lovingly explains “I have no idea what is in this envelope, but I had been struggling with paying my rent lately, things have been tough since Paul died, and I had been praying to The Lord for His help, for His provisions. I really needed this”. By now Kim is crying, I am crying and we are both hugging with not a care in the world as to whom in the store may be watching this strange exchange. Kim was in a place in her life where she needed something tangible, anything from The Lord to remind her that He is with her and is hearing her prayers.

This was a slam dunk Holy Spirit confirmation, truth unfolded in ways that only The King of Glory could masterfully orchestrate. It was a righteous act of faith. The devil had put up as many road blocks as he could; first by not letting me find out where I could be put in contact with Kim, next by not letting me find Kim’s place of work, then by making my timing off with her not supposed to be at work! But The Lord foresaw all of that and kept opening up the way. A widow who was struggling since her husband had died, against all odds, received His tithe. An experience with The Holy Spirit’s stamp of approval.

There is an important fact that I need to reiterate here, a truth that The Lord had shown me by making me walk out and that is: tithing is not considered a completed act until the tithe is delivered. It is not enough to store up your tithe and deliver it at some point in the unknown future. Tithing brings protections and until it is delivered, it is not considered done in the courts of heaven. This truth was demonstrated to me at a time when I had stored up my tithe over a couple of months. I had not gone out to deliver my tithe in a while and this opened a door to the enemy. I began developing a wart on the bottom of my foot (a wart is a curse as listed in Deuteronomy 27:28) and over a couple of weeks, it became difficult to walk. The wart had a black head and since it was located at the bottom of my foot, I could not ignore it. I knew how difficult warts were to remove and often they will not go away without being surgically cut out. I prayed about this and realized that I was cursed with a curse because I had not delivered the tithe. After realizing this, I went out and delivered The Lord’s tithe to an old man I met on the street. The next day, while stepping out of the shower, I remembered my wart and went to step lightly on the mat, so as to not cause pain to my foot but as I stepped down, there was no pain. I was surprised by this and I went to look at the wart on the bottom of my foot, only to find that it was completely gone! Just the day prior I had looked at it and there it was, black head and all, painful as ever, but now, just like that, it was completely and totally healed, Halleluyah! There was no prayer needed, no casting out of demons, just pure and holy protections. All Glory to God and His protections.

The Back Debt: As you understand tithing now, it is important to understand the first step to begin tithing. None of us have been tithing righteously our whole lives thus, we have been robbing God our whole lives by either not tithing or tithing to unholy altars. But God has given us a way out, a way to silence the accuser for a lifetime of theft; the back debt. God had proven to me through this foundational teaching about tithe, that He can forgive all things and through an act of faith, that He can protect us against the accusers accusations. The back debt is a figure or amount that The Holy Spirit can give and it can be any amount but it is always an amount that one can afford. I had delivered my back debt to the same widow, Kim, that I had spoken of earlier and The Holy Spirit gave me the amount of $40 or something in that area. Our God is a forgiving God and He is not out to cause us to go broke.

"But what if they spend my money on buying drugs?" Let me address this as most Christians have used this excuse to continue tithing or giving in their way such as; buying a homeless man a coffee or a meal. That is all fine and dandy if you choose to buy homeless people things and that can be counted as acts of kindness however, His Tithe is His and handing over cash to whomever He leads you to, including the drug addict, is between Him and the man receiving from Him.  If the homeless person goes and buys drugs with the tithe, is God not able to cause this man to have a near death experience that can change the course of his life? God will be the judge, not you.

In summary, biblical tithing is this: (1) Get your back debt amount from The Holy Spirit. (2) Take 10% of your income (and your back debt amount if you still have it), from every check and increase, and deliver it to those whom are in need, to those whom He leads you to; a living man, woman or child. (3) If you own a business then you tithe 10% from your business' profit.

I have many tithing testimonies that still bring tears to my eyes as I re-visit them in memory, the moments where a person had been struggling, crying out to God, and Him sending me, the least likely of all men, to do His Will. I have given with my heart, putting love first, never once thinking about the amount I was giving nor how it takes away from my worldly funds. Many times I have not received a “thank you” nor any worldly reward but, I have been rewarded by Him in His special ways that extend far beyond the rewards of this world. Yahushua has blessed me with a crown that I have seen in heaven, a crown given to me for keeping His treasury correctly for over twelve years now. That is a far greater reward then I could ever gain here on earth. I have never looked back.