Giving in the altar

The Lord our God is a respecter of no man, he searches for his word to perform it.

If you practice the principle of giving, you will see God. He I found within the boundaries of his word.

There are people who are not great Christians, but they are great givers, and God has used them in great ways to give to nations.

I once prayed that as a pastor, the Lord will bless the people I serve in great ways. I pray for you all, even in the middle of the night as you sleep, to unlock priestly blessings upon your lives. But there are blessings that you can only unlock through your giving.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure, you use it will be measured back to you.”

Robbing God

Malachi 3:6-12 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

·       God has not changed.

·       We have separated ourselves through robbing him.

·       We are cursed with a curse for robbing God.

·       Return to God by giving your tithes and offerings.

·       He will unlock doors of heaven and shower you with blessings.

·       The curse will turn into a blessing.

·       You will be called blessed-you will be a testimony.

First Fruits

Exodus 23:19: “The first of the first fruits of your soil you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.”

·       Shows Gratitude and recognition of God’s provision.

·       Highlights the importance of prioritizing spiritual commitments over material gains.

·       Expressions of faith and trust in God. By offering the first and best of your harvest, you acknowledge that all blessings stem from Him.

·       You dedicate your wealth to the care of God.

·       You establish yourself in the land [business, career] by offering the first fruits. Deut 26

 Proverbs 3:9: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.”   

·       Prioritize God in your giving, recognizing Him as the source of all blessings.

Leviticus 23:10: “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land, I am going to give you and reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest.” 

THANKSGIVING OFFERING

Psalm 50:14 – "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Highest."

·       Keep your word When you promise to honor the lord after he answers your prayers.

1 Samuel 1:26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life. And they[h] worshiped the Lord there.

·       She promised to bring the son and 8 years later she returned with the son.

·       Some giving is very hard, but they open doors.

·       Hannah got more children, and Samuel became the greatest prophet of Israel.

TITHES

Genesis 28:20-36 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord^[a] will be my God ²² and^] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

·       Has the lord been faithful to provide for you?

·       Has the lord God protected you.

·       Has the lord lead you?

·       Give a tenth.

the way to settle in a new land is to honor the lord with the produce of the land.

·       To establish yourself in the new land, give.

·       To establish yourself in a new career, business give.

·       Give thoughtfully and with a plan

·       Give in the altar and to the priest/pastor o that he can receive and bless you.

Deuteronomy 26 First fruits and Tithes

26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ² take some of the first fruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name ³ and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” ⁴ The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. ⁷ Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. ⁸ So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; ¹⁰ and now I bring the first fruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

¹² When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³ Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands, nor have I forgotten any of them. ¹⁴ I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵ Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the Lord’s Commands

¹⁶ The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷ You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him. ¹⁸ And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹ He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.

WHO ARE WE NOT TO GIVE?

2 Corinthians 8:9 “Remember the generosity of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all. He was rich beyond our telling, yet he became poor for your sake so that his poverty might make you rich.”

 1 Chronicles 29:14 “Everything we have has come from you Lord, and we can only give you what is yours already!"