Genesis 14:20-23 (NKJV) And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all. Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’
Some people think that because tithing belongs to the Mosaic covenant, it is obsolete today. In fact, tithing is an act of worship to God who has called us and blessed us. Therefore, tithing is a financial principle that was established before the law was given.
In the above passage, Abraham had just returned from defeating the kings in battle. He refused the wealth of Sodom (the world) when He was tempted by the King of Sodom to take the goods for himself. Abraham forsook all to obey God and he refused to turn back in times of trial. He wanted to remember that it was God who had prospered him and not the King of Sodom or the world. He didn’t want to give any glory or the opportunity to others to say that it was them who had made him rich. For us, while we should work hard in our jobs and businesses, we also need to acknowledge that God is the source of all our blessings. Abraham obeyed the law of tithing as a declaration of his dependence on God. We also need to make a conscious decision to put our trust in God intentionally by applying the biblical principles of tithing.
Since Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek some 400 years before the Mosaic law was enacted, the principle remains for us to follow today. The term tithe means a tenth of the whole. The idea is that those who were lesser honoured those who were greater. The particular practice in mind is honouring the greater with the tithe. Therefore, we should honour God with the tithe just as Abraham honoured Melchizedek. While Abraham practised tithing by giving Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils he got from battle, for us, the tithe would represent 10% of a person’s income, capital gain on investments, or company profits.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NKJV) Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase;So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Every time when we are blessed, be it the first bonus, the first contract, or the first dividend payout, we should honour God with tithing. God promises that when we choose to honour Him, our barns will be filled with plenty, and vats overflow with new wine. Because God is always giving, nobody can ever outgive God.
Sermon Series: Christian Worldview on Success
用十一奉献来荣耀上帝
创世纪14:20-23 至高的神把敌人交在你手里，是应当称颂的。亚伯兰就把所得的拿出十分之一来，给麦基洗德。所多玛王对亚伯兰说，你把人口给我，财物你自己拿去吧。亚伯兰对所多玛王说，我已经向天地的主至高的神耶和华起誓。凡是你的东西，就是一根线，一根鞋带，我都不拿，免得你说，我使亚伯兰富足。
有些人认为，因为十一奉献属于摩西之约，所以今天已经过时了。事实上，十一奉献是对呼召我们并祝福我们的上帝的敬拜行为。因此，十一奉献是一项在律法颁布之前就已确立的财务原则。
在上面的经文中，亚伯拉罕刚刚从战斗中击败国王回来。当所多玛王引诱他将财物据为己有时，他拒绝了所多玛（世界）的财富。亚伯拉罕舍弃一切顺服上帝，他拒绝在试炼中回头。他想记住，是上帝使他繁荣昌盛，而不是所多玛王或世界。他不想给别人任何荣耀或机会，说是他们让他变得富有。对我们来说，虽然我们应该在工作和事业上努力工作，但我们也需要承认上帝是我们所有祝福的源泉。亚伯拉罕遵守十一奉献的律法，以此宣告他对上帝的依靠。我们还需要做出有意识的决定，通过应用十一奉献的圣经原则，相信上帝。
既然亚伯拉罕在摩西律法颁布前大约 400 年就将十分之一给了麦基洗德，所以今天我们仍然要遵循这个原则。十分之一的意思是整体的十分之一。这个做法是那些位份小的人尊荣那些位份大的。所需要做的就是用十分之一来尊荣更大的。因此，我们应该像亚伯拉罕尊荣麦基洗德一样，用十一奉献来尊荣上帝。亚伯拉罕通过将他从战斗中获得的战利品的十分之一给麦基洗德来实行十一奉献，对我们来说，十一奉献代表个人收入、投资资本收益或公司利润的10%。
箴言3:9-10 你要以财物，和一切初熟的土产，尊荣耶和华。这样，你的仓房，必充满有余，你的酒榨，有新酒盈溢。
每当我们蒙福时，无论是第一份奖金、第一份合同还是第一次红利支付，我们都应该用十一奉献来荣耀上帝。上帝应许，当我们选择尊荣祂时，我们的谷仓就会装满，新酒就会溢出酒桶。因为上帝总是在给予，所以在给予上没有人能超过上帝。
讲章系列: 基督徒对成功的世界观
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