Malachi 3:10-11 (NKJV) Bing all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, ” If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
Many of us will pray for a good price when selling our property, but how many of us will honour the Lord and pay tithe at the altar when it has been sold at a good price? This is why it is important to pay tithe on our salary. If we cannot give tithe on a smaller amount, how much more difficult it is to give tithe on profits from a property sale or our business? Many of us will also ask God for favour in our jobs and businesses. As God honours His part, are we honouring Him with what is due to Him and His storehouse?
Because the people in the Book of Malachi withheld their tithe, God had to challenge them to try Him on His faithfulness. God doesn’t want His house—whether His temple or the church—to be in lack! Our unwillingness can cause God to withhold His hand. Therefore, everything that we do has to be done through a close walk and relationship with God.
Abraham loved God and declared His trust in God, whereas Lot loved the world and what he saw—the plains of Sodom. While Lot trusted in what he saw, Abraham trusted in God whom he knew. When someone like Lot who doesn’t know God gets closer to Sodom, it is their first step toward compromising with the world. Eventually, Lot’s entire family was living in Sodom when the invaders came and took everything.
Abraham, who knew God, led 318 men with him to attack the invaders and recovered everything. On the way back, Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek because he treated him as superior to him. Melchizedek is a type of Christ with no beginning and no end. Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek for the priesthood. Therefore, we can conclude that tithing is still applicable in the New Testament because it was practised before the Mosaic Law. In fact, God made tithing a part of the Mosaic Law to be a form of worship and also to provide for the livelihood of the Levites.
Obedience is better than sacrifices. We can be giving sacrificially or generously to good causes, but what God requires is obedience to do what He asked in the Scriptures. When we tithe, we are being obedient. The tithe is paid to the storehouse—the church of the living God where the Word is preached and taught.
We should cultivate a lifestyle of giving, and worship the Lord with our tithe and freewill offerings because it is the Lord’s money. We should be led to give towards whatever He wants us to give freely and joyfully. As we do that, we will experience God’s faithfulness in providing for us. We will always receive back what we have given to Him because it is a spiritual law.
Sermon Series: Freewill Offering
以此试试祂！
玛拉基书 3:10 万军之耶和华说：你们要将当纳的十分之一全然送入仓库，使我家有粮，以此试试我，是否为你们敞开天上的窗户，倾福与你们，甚至无处可容。
我们很多人在卖房子的时候都会祷告能卖个好价钱。但又有多少人在房子卖了好价钱之后会回来，在祭坛前献上十分之一来尊荣神呢？这就是为什么为我们的工资纳十分之一是如此重要，假如我们无法在小的金额中缴纳十分之一，那么为房子或生意的盈利纳十分之一就更不容易了。我们很多人可能还会请求神让我们的工作和生意能在人面前蒙恩。 神会遵守祂那部分的约，但我们是否以献上祂和祂的仓房所应得的来尊荣祂？
因为玛拉基书上的百姓没有献上当纳的十分之一，神不得已挑战他们要试试祂的信实。神不希望祂的家–无论是祂的圣殿还是祂的教会–有任何缺乏！我们的不乐意会使神收回祂的手。我们所做的一切都必须藉着与神密切的同行和关系来完成。
亚伯拉罕爱神，并且宣告他对神的信靠，而罗得爱这个世界以及他在所多玛平原所看到的一切。罗得信靠的是他所看见的，然而亚伯拉罕信靠的是他所认识的神。当像罗得这样不认识神的人一步步靠近所多玛，就迈入向世界妥协的第一步。最终他全家都住在了所多玛，侵略者一来就将他们所有的东西都洗劫一空。
是那认识神的亚伯拉罕，率领三百一十八人杀败侵略者，并将被掳掠的一切东西夺回来。在回途中亚伯拉罕把所得的拿出十分之一来给麦基洗德，因为他把麦基洗德看得比自己高。麦基洗德是那无始无终的基督的预表。耶稣按麦基洗德的等次担任祭司。因此，我们可以得出的结论是，什一奉献仍然适用于新约，因为它是在摩西律法之前实行的。事实上，神将其作为一种敬拜形式纳入摩西律法的一部分，同时也用来为利未人提供生活所需。
听命胜于献祭。我们可以为了行善而作舍己而慷慨的奉献，但神想要的是我们的顺服听命，去做祂在圣经中要求的事情。当我们什一奉献，我们是在顺服。什一奉献是纳给仓房 — 永生神的教会，就是传讲和教导神话语的地方。
我们应该养成给予的生活方式。并且以什一奉献和自由奉献来敬拜主，因为这是主的钱。 我们应该被引领去自由且喜乐地献上任何祂希望我们奉献的东西。当我们如此行，我们将经历神的信实供应。我们将总是能收回我们曾奉献给祂的，因为这是一个属灵法则。
讲章系列：自由奉献
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