TITHING
AND THE REMNANT BRIDE
CONT., page 5
STRAIGHT TALK CONCERNING YOUR MONEY!
(The Unseen Thread)
“If
it ain’t practical, it ain’t God!”
This
is a phrase I’ve often concluded and said for many years. If our faith in Yahweh God does not work
out into practical everyday life, we deceive ourselves and are unfortunately
playing a spiritual game. And in
the end, we’re the one who loses.
Quite
honestly, most people often put their relationship with God in a spiritual box
– from the hyper-spiritual to the non-spiritual – and it seldom
gets out of it into the natural, into the practical. There is the compelling attitude: As long as I can feel good
about my relationship with God, that’s what matters. Don’t anyone test it, don’t
challenge it, for it’s my “personal relationship with God.”
I’ve
talked with people about Yahshua’s teachings concerning giving up
everything, and many have replied: “All I have belongs to
God.” But if that was really
true, they should be able to pass a simple test – the evidence of their
bank statement. If all that one
has is truly Yahweh’s, then their bank statement will evidence it by
where they have spent His money.
There’s a very revealing and wise question to ask yourself in
order to not only see who truly owns your money, but also what bottom-line
evidence Yahweh sees when He examines your life. Here is the question:
When Yahweh, or anyone, looks at your bank
statement, is it substantially different from that of your unbelieving neighbor
or co-worker?
In
second Remnant Luke 12:29-34, Yahshua said:
"And do not seek what you will
eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the
world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things
will be added to you. Do not be
afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the
kingdom. Sell your possessions and
give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing
treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.”
During
Yahshua’s time upon this earth when He taught men, there was one test He
consistently set forth to qualify one as being His disciple – what they
did with their finances, their possessions. This included those to whom He spoke here in Luke 12 where
He told them to sell all their possessions; the large crowd following Him in
Luke 14:25-33 where He forthrightly stated that none could be His disciple
unless they gave up everything; the rich young ruler, who was equally told to
sell everything (Luke 18:18-23); Zaccheus, who, knowing Yahshua’s
teachings, freely gave up his possessions and thereby received salvation (Luke
19:8-10); His apostles, who left everything (Matthew 19:27-30); the poor widow,
who was acknowledged because she too gave all she owned (Mark 12:42-44); the
disciples regarding Yahshua’s instructions about one’s faithfulness
in the use of “unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:10-13); and in response
to the man whose brother would not divide the family inheritance, He replied by
telling of the man who built bigger barns and thereby lost his soul (Luke
12:15-21). As we see, Yahshua
continually linked obedience and following Him to what one did with their
wealth.
Here
in this passage in Luke 12 and elsewhere, Yahshua went beyond the mere
substitutionary covering of the tithe; but where we are right now, let us just
ask the practical question:
Evidenced solely by your bank statement, what
is your relationship with Yahweh God?
The
Greek word for “treasure” used here in Yahshua’s statement is
“thesauros,” and has the more specific meaning of “a
deposit.” It comes from the
Greek word “tithemi,” which means “to place.” So in practicality, Yahshua was saying:
“Where you place your wealth, there your heart will be also.”
So
when someone says that their heart is for God and all they have belongs to Him,
yet they don’t even tithe, they’re really not being honest with themselves,
with others, or with Yahweh. Here
is where my test comes in: If it ain’t practical, it ain't God.
Yahshua clearly said that a person’s bank statement tells exactly
where their heart is.
Everyone of us will be judged by our
deeds, not by our words. In fact,
our very words will condemn us if we don’t match them with our deeds; for
if we say what is right and good but do otherwise, we actually judge ourselves. Thus, if we say that all we have
belongs to God, yet it is all spent on ourselves, we thereby judge ourselves.
When
Yahshua asked the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor,
He didn’t ask him to have the deceptive attitude that all he possessed
belonged to God. No, He asked for
the practical application that would reveal his heart. The reality is, it doesn’t matter
what we say about our money belonging to God. If we’re not at least tithing, we’re not being
honest. For if our money really
and truly belonged to Him, then we would “deposit” it where He said
and not use it to wholly indulge in ourselves.
In
second Remnant Luke 17:11-19, we read of Yahshua’s journey to Jerusalem,
whereupon He healed ten leprous men.
Of the ten, one returned to give thanks and praise to Him for cleansing
their leprous state. We would gladly
concur that the one returning to Yahshua was indeed a worthy and right act, yet
what do we do with our unclean/unrighteous wealth? Is there in fact a tenth of it, as we see attested here in
this living parable, that goes to Him, thereby qualifying it to be said,
“your faith has made you well”? Unmistakably, at issue here is the question of whether a
tenth, the tithe, of your unclean money will give praise to Yahshua.
Furthermore,
what farmer would harvest his field and eat all the crop? There is a simple yet vital principle
he must follow in order to confidently face the future – he must take a
portion of his harvest and sow it.
The tithing principle is equally simple and vital – you have to
give up in order to gain. This is
the repetitive way of Yahweh – from His Son down. Hold back for yourself and you will
lose. Sow and you will reap. There is no more important and
effectual principle – for your money, for your life.
Here’s
another simple yet revealing question:
Where is Yahweh God in your order of
disbursements/payments?
Is
He first in your life, evidenced by Him being first in your payments; or is He
last in your life, getting only what’s left over after you spend
everything on your own pleasures and “needs”? Once again, your deeds evidence your
true heart.
Someone
will say, “I can’t afford to tithe.” Frankly, given the certain and
determining consequences of tithing, you can’t afford not to tithe! You’re being shortsighted and
looking at the natural, and not at the spiritual. Why do you pay your bills? Because you are legally obligated and you will suffer loss
if you fail to do so. So which set
of laws is of higher and greater impact and value to you – man’s
laws that affect the natural, or Yahweh’s laws that affect both the
natural and the spiritual?
Yahweh’s
laws are higher and far more impacting than man’s laws, and thus we must
give priority to obeying His laws, which include the law of tithing. One should thereby be more concerned
for and place higher priority on paying Yahweh His tithe than paying bills for
physical things. Which is more
important to you – the natural or the spiritual, that which is above or
that which is of this world? If it
is the spiritual, that which is above, then your tithe will reflect that
priority. And the first payment
you make should be your tithe.
In
the “Closing” of
the book, Coverings, it is stated: “Because clothing, the
beard, or even headcoverings are in the realm of the natural, the common, most
fail to grasp the immense spiritual significance they hold.” This is profoundly true regarding the
natural wealth of this world as well.
We sadly and naively fail to recognize the legal connection between the
natural and the spiritual – the unseen thread that intrinsically connects the two.
This
unseen thread is never more
evident than regarding tithing (the natural) and Yahweh thereby opening the
windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing we cannot contain (the spiritual,
Malachi 3:8-12), or when Yahshua plainly said, “Therefore
if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth (the natural),
who will entrust the true riches to you (the spiritual)? And if you have not been faithful in
the use of that which is another's (Yahweh’s), who will give you that
which is your own?” (Luke 16:11-12).
This
is the same truth seen in the principle – you reap (the spiritual) what
you sow (the natural). Or,
it’s the same truth when John stated, “the one who does not love
his brother whom he has seen (the natural), cannot love God whom he has not
seen (the spiritual)” (1 John 4:20). Equally, how can someone say that everything they have
belongs to God, when they will not give a tenth to the natural that represents
Him?
One should therefore wisely acknowledge the unseen thread between the natural and the
spiritual, including the profoundly determining thread to your money. You can be assured: What you do in the
natural will indeed be evidenced in and even determine the spiritual. And as Yahshua clearly taught, your use
of money is the primary determining factor regarding your spiritual
destiny. When Yahshua stated,
“none of you can be My disciple who does not …,” and then spoke of giving up
worldly possessions, He meant it then, and He means it today! What you do with your finances is a
profoundly determining spiritual factor.
It
is quite interesting that the root word for “treasure” that Yahshua
used in Luke 12:34, is the very thing that will test each of us as to where our
heart really is. This is the Greek
word “tithemi.” Do you
see what is in that word?
Tithe-mi! It’s like
an encoded message. It’s
like Yahweh is saying – tithe Me!
In other words: Where My
tithe is, there will your heart be also. This is simply truth
working out in practicality, and thereby determining the spiritual.
Therefore,
each of us should take a very critical and sobering and much needed reality
check. If our actions are not
matching our words, we’re only fooling ourselves; and in the words of
James, our faith “is useless,” it “is dead, being by
itself” (James 2:17,20, 26).
James wisely challenged – “show me your faith without the
works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Putting
Yahshua’s words into today’s vernacular – where you deposit
your money is where the rubber meets the road, and thereby your true heart will
be revealed. And trying to drive
on mere words is like trying to drive with inner-tubes-only on your rims
– you won’t get out of the driveway. If your faith is not working out in practical means, you
deceive yourself. Again, if you
say God owns all you have, then your bank statement will evidence it. Are you paying Yahweh God first? Certainly, the old adage applies here
– actions speak louder than words.
There’s great wisdom to always ask yourself: What are the
long-term effects of what I am doing? Therefore, what will
you say when standing before Yahshua and He examines the practical outworking
of your life, including your bank account? Will you be counted faithful with the wealth of
unrighteousness which He spoke of (second Remnant Luke 16:9, 11)? Is one-tenth of your leprous finances
returning to Him to give Him praise as He approaches Jerusalem, His return? In reality, either you will hear and
obey, or you will join the multitude of those in the way that is wide and
follow what is easy and convenient and doesn’t cost you anything or
intrude on your self-serving lifestyle.
It is indeed a true and worthy statement that obedience
costs! And today, we cannot afford
to compromise. We will either hear
and obey, or we will hear and disobey.
We will either establish unseen threads of obedience bringing age-long
gain, or unseen threads of disobedience and age-long loss. Truly, if we’re going to be
pleasing to Yahweh, our obedience will be tested and evidenced in the
practical, particularly regarding finances. When Yahshua walked this earth, the test He consistently
laid out before everyone was the same test He lays out before us today –
how will you use your money?
Why? Because where your
deposit, your tithe-Me is, there your heart will be also. Thus:
When Yahweh, or anyone, looks at your bank statement,
is it substantially different from that of your unbelieving neighbor or
co-worker?
Evidenced solely by your bank statement, what
is your relationship with Yahweh God?
Where is Yahweh God in your order of
disbursements/payments?
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