Weighter Matters ( Judgement ) Part 1: By James Lantz
God desires that people everywhere accept His Son Jesus and experience the blessing and the glory that Jesus offers. Jesus bore the curse for us and gave us The blessing! The Pharisees and the scribes of Jesus day desired the blessing of the tither but were unable to grasp the more important things that Jesus taught. Mt. 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Those who promote and serve themselves do not see nor understand the choices that love makes. Satan could not fathom that Jesus would die for us, take our punishment, and give us His righteousness because selfishness is blind to this. Jesus said that tithing is right, but our judgements and choices, the mercy we extend, and the expectancy we have carries as much more weight as a camel compared to a gnat. The ones who should have been teaching people how to love God and to serve Him were acting like they cared about God and His things but inwardly they were full of hypocrisy and iniquity. These leaders looked good on the outside with their nice clothes and slips of scripture verses attached but they made things hard for their people with their extra rules. They wanted to be called Rabbi and be served by having the chief seats in church and at weddings and made long prayers in order to look good. They loved money, lived in excess, and devoured widows houses. The purpose of the tithe is to bring honor to God by advancing His kingdom! Bringing the tithe into the storehouse is God’s
The Tithe Is About Honor, Access, And Increase!
chosen method of supplying His servants so they can bring the spiritual meat to God’s people. God’s people will mature and become strong and effective in ministry as they apply God’s word to accomplish and fulfill God’s plan in the earth. The blessing on the tither is threefold, God opens the widows of heaven, God pours out blessings, and God rebukes the devourer! This blessing is no small thing but rather so great that others recognize that God is blessing you! Malachi 3:10-12 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 hosts, 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. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
Jesus doesn’t exaggerate and He said, the way we judge, extend mercy, and have faith carries much more weight in how God can bless us than the outward part of the tithe alone. Counting out the tithe of our garden herbs is a small thing compared to neglecting the things that are eternal. Matthew 23:24&25 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Jesus repeats this strong warning, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees because He so desires for them to be spared from an eternity in the lake of fire. We see warnings like this throughout the scriptures because God desires that we choose the good and avoid destruction!
Three of the Heavenly Father’s top priorities as found in Matthew 23:23
1. Judgement ( from the greek word Krisis ) Krisis is translated judgement 39 times out of the 47 times it is used in the New Testament
Strong’s Definition – decision (subjectively or objectively, for or against); by extension, a tribunal; by implication, justice (especially, divine law):–accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment.
We understand that judgement day is not about, what God wants to give us, but what is right for the choices we have made over the course of our life. God has a chosen predestined course for each of us which will result in eternal life filled with joy and every good thing but few there be that find it. God has honored us by allowing us to choose to serve Him or not! The decision to make Jesus the Lord of our life is the way we start on the good path of life. 2 Pet. 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Jesus said that we are to take up our cross and to follow Him. The cross speaks of death and the Word tells us that we are dead unto ourselves and that our life is in Him. Fleshly desires will try to rule over us just like before we chose to come under Jesus Lordship, but we are to deny ourselves and follow Jesus. A dead man does not lust after another mans wife nor does he have any trouble with covetousness nor lasciviousness. Let’s make our every decision to be pleasing to our Heavenly Father and then we will be pleased at the judgement seat of Christ when we give account for what we have done in the body. God wants us to judge ourselves so that we are not judged! When we realize that our words, our actions, or our heart is not right before God we are to judge it as unacceptable and repent which means change. Mt. 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 2 John 1:10&11 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. Heb. 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. It is a precious privilege that we have been given that we may hear God’s word and conform to Him. The psalmist David brought forth these words, Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God! As you look at the context in which Jesus spoke the words, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, it is easy to see that their focus was on making themselves comfortable and looking good before men. Our focus and efforts are to be advancing God’s kingdom and bringing Him glory! Whatever is in our heart will come out of our mouth and be evident in our schedules and priorities. Two noticeable things that reveal a person has grown cold towards God and His things are backing away from church attendance and giving! Apparently, the rich man had the opportunity to help Lazarus, who laid at his gate hoping for some leftovers, and yet he drove right on by. After experiencing the torments of hell, the rich man cried out to Abraham, send Lazarus to testify to my five brothers not to come to this awful place! Luke 16:29 NKJV Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. Zacchaeus was also a rich man, but he repented openly when accused of being a sinner. Luke 19:8-10 NKJV Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” All of us make decisions everyday and by knowing God’s word, which is His will, and by the leading of the Spirit, we can get them right! TO BE CONTINUED!
