The Fulness Of Christ In Our Finances!
(December 2012)

The fulness of Christ in our finances! By James Lantz

       God wants us to know the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.  Eph. 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints   We are the body of Christ, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. The Father wants his children to know the fulness of his love so we can be filled with his fulness.  Eph. 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. This fulness includes the wealthy part of God. Jesus became poor that we might become rich!  2 Cor. 8:9  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes  he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Contrary to religious belief, God wants all his children to be rich like him in this life. The previous two verses in this chapter are talking about the grace of giving in a sacrificial offering to help their brethren who are in need. You may be thinking, Pastor, I have been tithing and giving for a long time and the blessing has not manifested for me. Understanding and implementing the following four biblical methods of investing into the kingdom of God will bring you great reward.

     1. Tithing   Tithing is found all through the Bible and brings great blessing into our lives. Our motivation for tithing is to be obedient and to walk in the blessing. The tithe will cause spiritual meat to be in God’s house. The tithe will cause us to be under an open heaven, meaning the blessings of God will come forth. Our prayers will bear fruit as we pray for our daily needs. God will rebuke the devourer (Satan) for your sakes. Your crops will not be destroyed so that you will get a harvest. In today’s economy, we will not be without a good supply. Our cars, washing machines, and our equipment will last much longer because God is keeping it together. David said, I have been young but now am old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. A righteous person will not steal. That means that a righteous person is a tither. The first tenth of all of our increase is not ours, it belongs to the Lord.  Lev. 27:30  And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy (sacred, set apart, dedicated) unto the Lord.  You have never seen a tither forsaken and you never will. Since the tithe belongs to the Lord we don’t get to tell him what to do with it or where we are to bring it.  Mal. 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of host, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  If we leave off the italicized words added by the translaters, it reads that not enough. Thank God we have additional ways to receive from God. In the letter to the Hebrews the Holy Spirit reveals that here in this earth, men (like Melchisedec) receive tithes but there (heaven) he (Jesus) receives them. This means that we are to bring Jesus his tithe expecting his blessing. We are to tithe the tithe by worshiping Jesus and declaring that we have done what he told us to do and to declare that we are blessed of the Lord. (see Deut. 26)  Heb. 4:14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (confession or acknowledgement).  Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, because they tithed their herbs from their garden but omitted the most important things like judgement, mercy and faith.  Mt. 23:23  .  .  .  these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other (tithe) undone.   The Pharisees and scribes were notorious for makeing bad decisions and having no mercy or faith. They brought the woman caught in adultery but they didn’t bring the man (it was a setup). They told Jesus that he should not deliver the sick from their affliction on the Sabbath day but they would remove their animals that fell in a pit on the Sabbath day. The power of the Lord was present to heal them the day the paralyzed man left down through the roof was healed. Instead of humbling themselves before God and Jesus and asking for healing they reasoned within themselves, he thinks he is God. According to Jesus own words we are to tithe in faith, do the right things and remember to be merciful.

      2. First Fruits      Our motivation is gratefulness, generosity, and honor!

       Bringing God our first fruits is acknowledging that God is a great God and worthy of our very best! We are honoring God recognizing that without his provision we would have nothing.  Pro. 3: 9 &10  Honour the Lord with your substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.  For those of us who are not farmers this would refer to our checking and savings accounts. Firstfruits is mentioned thirty two times in the scriptures! God has offered up Jesus, his first and his very best as a type of firstfruit offering for us!  Father God also gave us his Holy Spirit as first fruit (down payment) for us to experience the powers of the world to come.  Rom. 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves,  waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.  When we give a firstfruits offering we are showing God our graditude. We are showing God we love him more than money. We are showing God we appreciate the Ministers he has given us and that we value all their work in teaching us the word of God. Firstfruits may be given to your church or your minister!  Num. 18:12  All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee (Aaron’s family, the Levites).  Israel offered up firstfruit offerings once a year with the first and the best of their crop. We could bring an offering for our first days (or week) pay of a new job. We could bring our first bonus (or portion), or return on an investment or anything else the Holy Spirit would lead us to do.

     3. Alms Giving      Our motivation is compassion for our fellow man!

       God has compassion on the poor and they are the very first ones that Jesus mentioned that he was anointed to preach the gospel too. God has always commanded his people to help the poor.  Lev. 23:22  And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.   We are not to show any favoritism to the rich but rather treat the poor with respect. Jesus said we are not to do our alms giving where others can see it (nor put out a press release or newscast) or else we will lose our reward. Mt. 6:3  But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:  When we give to people in their time of crisis we are to do it privately to protect their dignity. God who sees in secret, will reward us openly. We will never lose in helping the poor. The return on our investment will be at least one to one.  Pro. 19:17  He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.  The Lord will deliver the one who considers the poor in his time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive and not allow him to be given over to his enemies and strengthen him in sickness.  Ps. 41:1-3  Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive  .   .   .  

    4. Offerings         Our motivation is to preach the Gospel and to increase so we can sow more!

       What a privilege it is to be coworkers together with God. Our offerings are to be given with joyfulness and with great expectation! This is not giving God the part that is required of him (tithe) but over and above. We are not able to bring God and offering until we give him the tithe. If you owed $200.00 in State income tax, you would not write to them and say, I am not going to pay the $200.00 tax but I want to give you a $50.00 offering to help out. You know they would come looking for you. Giving offerings to God is one of the surest way to stop poverty in your life! It is the quickest way to experience debt cancellation! This is where we will receive the greatest rate of return from our investments. This would qualify us for the thirty, sixty, or hundredfold.  Luke 8:15  But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.  A good heart is full of faith and love for God, and love for the preaching of the Gospel, not worry, fear, bitterness, reasonings ect. An honest heart is one that has truely made Jesus the Lord of their life and are looking for ways to serve, praying, and searching the scriptures to see what they should do.  Ps. 112:1 – 3  Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of   the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth forever.  Don’t give into any dead work, your best return will come as you sow into fertile soil. Be led by the Spirit in your giving!