

CHEERFULLY

Dr. B. Gerard Fite
Copyright © 2015 Dr. B. Gerard Fite

All rights reserved.

ISBN-10: 1515193667

ISBN-13:978-1515193661

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my first pastor, Alphonso and Constance Whitfield (Hope Chapel AME Zion Church – Utica, NY), for showing me an example of ministry not focused on money. They focused on stewardship. I do not recall him preaching about it but he lived and led by these principles every day. I thank God for allowing me to experience your Godly relationship and example.

EXPLANATORY NOTES:

All scripture references are from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) unless otherwise noted.

The name of the Christ is traditionally transliterated to be Jesus based on the Latin translation that was used as a source text for the King James Version. There are a few accepted spellings for the name of the Christ; Jehoshua, Yashua, and Yeshua. In light of the fact that the letter J is not Hebrew I lean towards Yeshua. The meaning is the same regardless to the spelling Yahweh means salvation or The LORD is salvation. The name of the Christ comes from the same root as Joshua. While the New Testament was written primarily in Greek, the Christ was born and raised in a Hebrew speaking community therefore He was given a Hebrew name that has no Greek equivalent. And although we can refer to the Christ using either name in this book the Christ will be referred to by Yeshua so that believers become aware of the Hebrew pronunciation of the name.

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# TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION

EXPLANATORY NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOREWORD by Dr. Guy Sayles

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1: Condition of Giving in The Church

Chapter 2: Giving as an Expression of Worship

Chapter 3: Agrarian vs. Monetary

Chapter 4: Old Testament Focus

Chapter 5: Tithing – Malachi Focus

Chapter 6: New Testament Focus

Chapter 7: God Loves a Cheerful Giver

Chapter 8: Changing the Giving Paradigm

Chapter 9: Establish a Giving Strategy

Chapter 10: Let's Talk

ENDNOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank God for the liberty birthed in me through this journey. While my journey is far from over I welcome this path I have been set on. God, you know how to respond to my confusion in such profound ways. I always felt something was out of order now I know your will.

I thank my wife and pastor, Barbara J. Fite, for correction and motivation; for loving God more than she loves me and praying for me without ceasing. You continue to invest in me to be greater for God. I love you and thank God for maintaining our love relationship.

To Jerret, Jeanay, Torey and Andrea – I love you and thank God for the adults you have become. You encourage me to be a healthy Godly man. I am striving to be an example that you can build upon.

To the G4 (Jeremiah, Hezekiah, Elijah and Aaron) – every book I write is to offer liberty to you as you grow in God. I want you to know God through love not obligation. Granddaddy (and Grandma) is laying a foundation for you to excel. Remember: Don't just do great, be great!

To Dr. Craig Keener for revealing exegesis to me. You opened the word of God to me in a fresh way. I will never be the same because of the opportunity to learn from you. Your humility and anointing are sincere and obvious.

To Dr. Larry George for maintaining a standard of excellence which required that I did not ignore the elephant in the room. You pushed me to this path and made sure I did not avoid it. I thank God for positioning you to advise me. It was all in God's plan.

To Dr. Guy Sayles for being an honest Godly example for me. You gave me focus to see that I am always a son before a servant. God does not love me for what I do; God loves me for who I am. I am spiritually healed due to all you have revealed to me.

To my brother and friend, John Michael Jones, you have listened and shared with me to keep me focused to challenge my understanding and stay focused on God every step of the way. Thank you for investing in this journey with me by sharing your truth.

Thank you God for Prophetess Yvonne Nesbit. God sent you to bless me. I cannot wait until you put your name on a book. You are my friend and that means so much to me. Thank you for every sacrifice you have made along the way. Here we go – now the fun part...

To Blessed Harvest Institute – the best church in the world: you have struggled with me and supported me. You have asked questions and pressed with me to prove God's word in our church. We will impact the world with Christ if we stay focused on unity and ministry. Our journey continues with great things ahead.

A special "Thank You" to the participants of my doctoral project focus group. Your diligence, honesty and faithfulness to openly discuss giving and offer insight and information have helped to shape what has become an instrument to impact the paradigm.

Calvin Adair

Rose Adair

Rochelle Alexander

Lola Barrows

Ricky Beatty

Phil Bowens

John Burrell

Samuel Byrd

Sherri Byrd

Jacqueline Carter

Deanna Cosby

Regina Devers

Yusef Fite

Tony McCain

Andrea McCain

Angela Moss

Hassan Rasheed

Rheda Richmond

Carolyn Robbins

Curby Swindell

Priscilla Williams

Regina Williams

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FOREWORD

This book grows from and has as its center a crucial and powerful question: "Do I love God enough to be a cheerful giver?"

The question took shape in Dr. Fite's mind and heart when he was pursuing doctoral studies at Gardner Webb University's School of Divinity. It was in that context that I had the privilege of getting to know Brian, first as one of my best students and now as a respected colleague and valued friend. When the question came to him, it was, in many ways, the result of Brian's long-standing study, prayer, and pastoral experience. This book, which is an overview of his response to that question, brings together in a creative synthesis his theological, biblical, spiritual, and practical reflections on giving.

Cheerfully consistently affirms that giving is an expression of worship, especially worship as the surrendering of our wills to God's will and as an offering of thanks and praise to the Source of all things.

He distinguishes giving from sharing, noting that "giving releases control to someone else," while sharing leaves control with the sharer. Cheerfully explores fundraising, because it is too frequently disconnected from the heart and soul of worship. This book is also prophetic in the critique of the manner in which church leaders can manipulate people in ways that benefit the leaders themselves.

Not everyone will agree with everything in this book, but what it asks (and what I urge) you to do is to read this book with an open mind and receptive heart. Cheerfully will challenge you to think and feel differently about what The Church has traditionally called "stewardship." Most importantly, this book will relentlessly and compassionately keep raising the central question: "Do I love God enough to be a cheerful giver?"

Cheerfully shows us how to answer "yes."

~ Guy Sayles

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INTRODUCTION

I have spent my life in church. My mother, Mary Louise Fite, was a Godly woman who raised us to be actively involved in church, sports and community. My dad, Robert Louis Fite, was a very logical person who would always challenge us to think through things in order to understand. I am the product of their strengths and some of their weaknesses.

In church I would always evaluate the information and behavior of the people to understand what they were doing and why. As I stated in the dedication at the beginning of this book, my pastor, Alphonso Whitfield, did not focus on money so giving was very simple and routine for us. When we visited other churches offering was the focus of the worship. Knowing God is love and Christ was given to set us free, it never made sense to me why giving was not liberated. There was always a level of force or obligation associated with giving.

When I entered Gardner Webb University to pursue a doctorate I had to establish a Ministry Development Covenant. In this assignment I had to document my expectations for this doctoral program. Along with some other things I stated that I wanted to be exposed to a broader understanding of scripture, reevaluate what I thought was true, and hold to the things that were proven to be true. I did not know what the focus of my project would be but I wanted it to accomplish these things.

It was in the Ministry of Worship seminar that Dean Robert W. Canoy asked me questions about our worship flow which prompted me to start asking questions about how we did things. To make a long story short the questions birthed my doctoral project entitled "Incorporating Giving as an Integral Part of Worship at Blessed Harvest Institute of Charlotte."

My advisor, Dr. Larry George, challenged me to include tithing in the scope of my research. I thought that would be easy because I understood tithing very well but since I was seeking a doctorate and I had to defend my conclusions I needed to do the research. I never thought that my desire to reevaluate would lead me to restructure how I viewed giving as an expression of worship.

Cheerfully is the product of this journey. This book is more than something I want to do, it is a calling to the world to ensure everyone has the information to clearly understand the significance of giving as an expression of worship. I understand and appreciate that there are churches teaching a different application of scripture. I just want every reader to know this journey caused me to change my view and approach to giving. Then I had to repent and apologize to God and Blessed Harvest Institute for teaching my church traditions instead of what the Bible said.

Follow the path and study the scripture for yourself. This book is not just for you to read, it is for you to enhance your understanding of giving so that you can become a cheerful giver. Your place of worship will have to make some adjustments in order for you to be able to give cheerfully.

Do not get frustrated with me or others because of differing perspectives. Let the scripture reveal God's heart. As the truth is revealed share it. It is hard to challenge the norms of The Church, but our commitment cannot be to the status quo, we must be committed to pursuing the truth of God at all cost.

My desire is for you to develop a strategy for giving so that you are being led by The Holy Spirit in everything you release. God loves a cheerful giver; therefore this book will allow you to give CHEERFULLY.

#  Chapter 1

Condition of Giving in The Church

I am a Christian, a believer in the Lordship of Yeshua. I believe God, the Creator of all things is God of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, and Jacob. I believe the Bible is the source document that leads to a relationship with God. There is only one God, and following the Holy Spirit I offer this book to creation. From our human perspective giving is difficult and takes sacrifice. From God's perspective giving is honorable and necessary to display a clear and firm understanding of creation's relationship with our Creator. The struggles we have with giving are really rooted in our struggle to understand who is God.

In Genesis 3:5, the serpent tells humankind "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The last statement is just explaining what being like God would mean. The statement is telling us that God does not want us to exercise independent will because this makes us like God. The contradiction with this statement is that in Genesis 1:26-27 God said that humankind was made in God's image and likeness, therefore how could God not want humans to be like God when our existence makes us like God? Disobedience is not an issue of being like God it is replacing God. Our fundamental issue is that we prefer being god instead of being God's creation.

This book will seek to clarify the importance of giving to rectify the confusion over who is God. We were never intended to be gods; we were created to worship God by always acknowledging our existence is because of God's kindness and love. Giving is only an issue if we lose sight of our position and responsibility in relation to God our Creator. This journey will focus on giving as an expression of worship. Giving is the foundation of all worship. Everything that is done in worship is based on giving. Giving is very different from sharing. Giving releases control to someone else. Sharing maintains control but allows someone else to have access. Salvation was our first sincere opportunity to give, but many of us only started sharing ourselves with God. We needed to maintain our control so we did not give ourselves to God in surrender and release; we just shared ourselves with God.

The best way to describe giving in the Christian Church would be a bartering system. Giving is taught as the vehicle to get God's attention or the means to fund God's work. The form and language used for giving in worship appears to be based on our importance not God's importance. If Luke 6:38 "give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back". If this text is frequently used as language for giving in your place of worship then you have been or are being conditioned to share or barter with God not give to God. The prevailing understanding of giving is that God will give me more if I give to God. Even if Luke 6:38 was about giving monetarily (which it is not) it does not state an increased return. The end of the verse provides an equal return from what is given. This sixth chapter of Luke is addressing forgiveness, especially vv. 32-38. Follow the statement being made in v. 37 that ends, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven." The measure of forgiveness that you give will be given back to you. In the context of forgiveness an equal return is not only logical but also appreciated. In the context of monetary giving an equal return does not make any sense because if I am going to get back what I gave then I could have just kept what I had.

People who want money and all of the spoils that come with it will always frame giving as the way to prompt God to give you more. Materialism is the result of our God struggle. We have not been conditioned to surrender ourselves to God the Creator just merely to share ourselves so the concept of giving to express love and thanksgiving with no promise of return or increase is foreign to us. We will reveal what the Bible says about giving as we proceed. It is important for everyone to know and understand that having a relationship with God through Yeshua is a privilege based solely on God's love and not on any merit or righteousness of our own.

The Christian Church is taking advantage of our material desires by distorting scripture in order to induce giving for the wrong reasons. God wants to be worshipped. Worship must be voluntary, not prompted. Worship is a sincere understanding of our position in our relationship with God. We cannot approach God with demands or expectations; worship is God's opportunity to be appreciated for being God. It is not our opportunity to exploit God for the material desires and expectations we have. Spiritual leaders have applied worldly concepts to the worship environment and thus confused our understanding of giving in worship. Budgets and financial needs have become the impetus for participating in the giving opportunity. Many believers do not give as an expression of love; giving has become the means to address the financial needs of the Church. Fundraising is an understandable result of our confusion about giving.

It appears to be logical to add what we can get from sales to increase the amount the Church has. There is a lot of giving in the Bible by believers and non-believers but not one fundraiser. Some say this does not mean that God prohibits it. They may be correct, but let's look at the concepts behind fundraising. The fundamental conflict is that fundraising offers something in return for a contribution to the Church. This concept appears to be predicated on an understanding that people will not freely give, that there has to be something for me or at least the promise or possibility to receive something for my contribution. Doesn't this seem contrary to giving as surrender, releasing to display thanksgiving and love to our Creator God?

Did the confusion start with the greed and selfishness of creation or did materialistic leaders divert us from the true intent of giving in order to satisfy personal material desires? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? You may have an opinion but we cannot know. The same is true with this misunderstanding of giving, we cannot identify who started this downward spiral but we do know that it is based on self-centeredness and an unwillingness to surrender completely to God.

How has money become so important that it has impacted our understanding and approach to worshipping God through giving? Genesis 3:5 ends with an explanation of being like God which is knowing good and evil. It does not say knowing the difference between good and evil. In the beginning there was no need to know good or evil. We only needed to know God. Knowing God and our relationship to God was all that was necessary. A clear understanding of our position in creation would keep creation in line with the will of our Creator, this is why the serpent appealed to self, or individualism in order to confuse humankind. Genesis 3 continues this concept when man speaks to God and creates division. God saw man and woman as one. This concept of self caused everyone to be punished separately. God created humans to be interdependent not independent. How do we trust the God of creation if we cannot trust the people God created? We have convinced ourselves that we trust and have faith in God while actually relying on ourselves and what we can generate.

The focus on money is a result of self-reliance which is contrary to God's concept of community. Surrendering to God-control will allow us to care for each other and not seek to outdo each other but bring what we have and give it for the well-being of the worship community. As the Apostle Paul addressed the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8 – 9 about giving to support the worship community we to must be willing to give according to what God has given us to support believers. There are so many misapplications at the foundation of our understanding of being children of God that to attempt to address them all in this book would take me off of the center focus. However, I need to clear up the supreme materialistic behavior in Christianity which is our concept of Christmas. I will not waste time addressing the fairytale of Santa Claus. The issue is gift giving. The closest biblical support is that the wise men gave gifts to the baby in Matthew 2:7-12. The context here says Herod commissioned the wise men to find the baby so that he could pay homage to him (v. 8). The wise men paid homage to the baby King and then they gave. This giving was because they were in the presence of the King of all kings. They knew that a sacrifice out of what they had was required in the presence of a king so even more so for the King of kings. The best I can surmise from this is that we should be giving out of what we have to continue the mission of the Gospel when we commemorate the birth of the Christ not purchasing gifts for each other to satisfy our material desires. Even for those who give gifts to the less fortunate, how is this teaching them to honor the Christ? Isn't this just teaching that material possessions define our importance?

Giving has been corrupted because creation has not learned that to be restored to God begins with surrendering my will for God's will. Salvation is God's way of offering us a gateway back to complete obedience. We cannot take our agenda with us back to God. Capitalism, materialism, and individualism all died at the Cross. In order for us to return to God through the Cross all of these must be left at the Cross. To keep them with us is to forsake salvation. Our identity is in God through Yeshua so that we can be led by the Holy Spirit. If we allow our understanding of giving to be liberated, giving will not be a struggle any longer because we will pay homage to our Creator God because we understand we exist because of God's plan and power. God is not blessed to have us; we are blessed because God is patient and long-suffering for us. Then giving becomes the symbol it has always been intended to be – an expression of our love, thanksgiving and appreciation to our Creator God.

For those Disciples who have a clear understanding and practice of giving in your worship this book will serve as a support tool to share with others. For those who have been exploited and misled it is my prayer that you will at least complete this book and revisit the scriptures that have been used to shape your understanding of giving in worship. Ultimately this book is to return our focus and desires back to God by taking them off of ourselves.

Some disciples have been conditioned to believe blessing God is first expressed in the standard of living we give to our spiritual leaders. We have been taught to lavish them with the best that is above our means. I once heard a pastor say Jesus did not have any broke people around him, the Twelve were wealthy that is why they were selected. Another pastor taught the people that it is not real giving until it hurts. There are people who are prompted to give their rent payment or even ninety percent Sundays, since God is expected to be satisfied with a tenth we should experience what it feels like to live off of ten percent and give ninety percent. Pastors are not CEOs nor should it take a gimmick, promise or any other prompting for believers to give to the God of our salvation. These concepts have brought the world's agenda into God's Church and established an immediate conflict within believers. Our understanding of wealth is very different from what Yeshua taught.

This book will be built on the Apostle Paul's conversation in the second letter to the Corinthians. My primary focus will be chapter nine. The Church is very much like the Corinthians we are self-centered and will question anything that makes us uncomfortable, including the teacher who introduced us to Yeshua. The Corinthians, like much of the region, focused on logic and debate so they were willing to entertain different perspectives as long as the conclusion gives what "I" want. The Corinthians were searching for truth when truth has been revealed and manifested in Yeshua. He said in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." The search cannot be for the truth, the truth is found in Yeshua. We do not even search for Him, He finds us. Our only task is to surrender and allow Him to be LORD.

2 Corinthians 9:7 – "Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver", thus the name of this book – Cheerfully. Our giving must be cheerfully executed anything less or other than this is not worship. There are books that will teach you that cheerful is singing and dancing as you give. There is nothing wrong with singing or dancing as we give but this is not what Paul meant. Cheerfully giving begins as we conceive what we will give. Is the gift based on our love and appreciation for all that God has done? Have we made a giving commitment and managed our resources to meet this commitment? Is my giving informed and led by the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit is the only one that knows the will of God how can we give without being led by the Holy Spirit? To have any chance of giving cheerfully my giving must be about God and not about me. My physical or financial situation cannot prompt me to or restrict me from giving. As you will see in this book giving is an expression of relationship that is birthed from a desire to honor God with all that God has given me management over. Most people are bad stewards (managers) so our giving or lack thereof is as a result of poor stewardship. Paul did not tell the Corinthians what to give, he merely informed them to honor their commitment and told them that they should not allow believers of lesser means to give more than them.

Giving is a sacrifice that we should prepare for. We should seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and then inform the Church of what we are going to give. This will allow leaders to plan and know the minimum that they can expect. As we manage our resources we have the opportunity to give to God. All giving, monetary or otherwise, begins with management. Giving will always be an issue for poor stewards because it is difficult to hear and obey the Holy Spirit when we are trying to survive. When we embrace that our existence is because of our Creator God and following God by the Holy Spirit is the only way to be yielded to the relationship Yeshua has restored to all humankind, it becomes easier to release everything in appreciation.

#  Chapter 2

Giving as an Expression of Worship

As I stated previously, worship is giving. Every element of worship requires a giving attitude in order to be acceptable to God. Worship is birthed from a relationship with God. This relationship is established by God for God's benefit. God wants to be worshipped. God wants to be first in everything.

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:5-6

"For you shall worship no other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Exodus 34:14

Both references are speaking about God being jealous in regard to worship. The prevailing attitude is to worship so that God will respond to our requests. When we are the beneficiaries of the act of worship it is not worship at all. The Original Sin was to distrust God for selfish reasons. The serpent informed them that they would be like God, but when God created them they were already in God's image so there was nothing else that needed to be done in order to be like God. The knowledge of good and evil was not necessary. It was an act of selfish disobedience to distrust the statements of God. God is informing Israel of a characteristic that only God can have, jealousy. God desires and deserves to be the focus of all we are and do. Why has it become so difficult for us to make God our all in all? Giving as an act of worship cannot be an act of selfish disobedience.

According to Talmage Williams in The Worshipgiver, Worship is "to ascribe worth, to glorify, to bow down, to prostrate oneself."i He continues:

Worshiping God is more than participating in worship activities, worship services, and worship experiences; it is the recognition and affirmation with our whole being that God really is sovereign God. Genuine worship of the true God involves the submitting of our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits to God's sovereign lordship. Our faith in God expresses itself in awe, adoration, and praise to the Eternal God who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ.ii

Worship is a surrender of self to be an offering to God so that God is adored and praised not primarily for things God has done, but the primary focus of worship must be because God is the creator of everything. Belief must be supported by actions. Humans must first believe that God exist, but our belief must mature to knowing that God exist. Ultimately knowing is not enough because the devil knows that God exist but does not worship. He opts to glory in himself and refuses to surrender to the Lordship of God. To be LORD means to have authority and control over everyone and everything that is subject to the one who is LORD. For the God of creation to be our LORD we must move beyond knowing to actions that reflect what we believe and know. The reflection of our belief and knowing is worship by surrendering all that is me for all that is God. If we believe that God is omnipresent then, in all places at all times, we must be surrendered to our LORD. Therefore, worship is more than a gathering every seventh day. It becomes a lifestyle of reverence and surrender reflecting that we exist in the presence of the God of all creation.

Giving is the expression of worship. It cannot become just a part of worship, giving is worship. In every expression of worship we must have an attitude of giving. We cannot merely sing a song we must desire to give the song to God. There is an issue with much of what we call worship because it is not offered to God for God's pleasure. Much of what we do is for our own benefit. In Exodus 20:5-6 it is hard to acknowledge God will punish iniquity for three or four generations, but the blessing for loving God is shared for a thousand generations. As Hebrews 11:6 teaches there is a reward for those who seek God. Williams defines Giving in the following way:

Giving grows out of who we are; Christian giving is an expression of our redeemed nature. If we are selfish and stingy, we will give grudgingly and sparingly. If we are loving and caring, we will give generously and graciously.iii

Giving will always be a struggle if we do not know who we are. In order for giving to be embraced in our worship we must ensure that salvation is clearly understood. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body." In light of the horrific history of the slave trade we avoid the concept of slavery in the Christian Church however slave is a good term to describe salvation. Yeshua died to atone for the debt of sin so that we could be restored to God. This makes every believer a slave through Christ to God. Slaves do not seek to demand anything from their master. Slaves are seeking to satisfy what the master desires.

The power in the lesson of Luke 15:11-32 is that this parable is for the believers who have faithfully remained. The younger brother comes home to be a servant (slave) because they are treated better than he is living. He does not seek to be a son. His father restores him to the position of son out of love. To be a child of God is not a default position just because we believe. It is bestowed on us by God because we acknowledge that we are not worthy to be a servant (slave). Love restores us to being the children of God. 1 John 3:2 states, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is." This verse starts with the term "beloved" because the restoration the verse is referring to is out of love. God loves us so God will restore us to the image of our creation. We were created in the image of God therefore God will restore us to that image; an image that is communal not selfish. We have been so conditioned to be gods that everything that should be ascribed to God we want for ourselves. Giving is remembering and reflecting that I am because of God's love. God does not owe us anything. Everything that we are blessed to receive should be surrendered back to God out of love through worship. In Luke 15:11-32, the parable ends with the father speaking with the older brother who has an issue with the celebration of his younger irresponsible brother. The father explains that he could have had a celebration whenever he wanted. It appears that the older brother did not understand his position or relationship so he was waiting for the father to give him what was already his. He was irritated and had no cause to be. We should not get irritated when God restores an irresponsible brother or sister we should rejoice because they have joined us in the love of God.

2 Corinthians 8 – 9 offer us an opportunity to understand giving in a context of distrust and misinformation. The Church in Jerusalem is in need of support so all of the churches that Paul had a relationship with were asked to assist. Other teachers had influenced the Corinthians to believe that Paul could not be trusted and that the offering may not end up going to the Church in Jerusalem. While the book of 2 Corinthians is focused on strength in weakness, chapters 8 and 9 focus on the discussion about the offering that the Corinthians pledged a year before. Now that Paul is preparing to collect the offering he is trying to motivate and instruct the Corinthians to stay focused and committed.

Paul begins by laying a foundation for the comparison that will dominate this section. He informs the Corinthians of the generosity of the churches in Macedonia. He states that in spite of their severe affliction they have overflowed with generosity. Macedonia is the northern region of Greece and does not have the benefit of the merchant economy like Corinth. The Macedonian region was significantly less fortunate than the southern coastal region where Corinth is located. By describing the generosity of the Macedonian churches by the grace of God, Paul is preparing to encourage the economically advantaged Corinthians to keep their pledge and to exemplify the same generosity by grace. Vv. 3-4 introduce the atmosphere that the offering is to be given. Paul plainly denotes that the churches in Macedonia gave voluntarily. He goes so far as to say they begged him for the privilege to share in this effort.

V. 5 is very important in this discussion because Paul says they gave themselves to the Lord first. Paul needs for the Corinthians and us to know that the acts of the Macedonians were not because of him, it was prompted by God. He is honest to acknowledge that the Macedonians respected his leadership but only after giving themselves to the Lord first. As we give ourselves to God we will allow the Holy Spirit to prompt us to express our love for God in a sacrificial fashion that will not have to be guided or stimulated. Loving God is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to offer the Lord what the Lord wants. Too much of our worship is in response to what people want us to do. Every believer must give themselves to the Lord first. Remember the term LORD indicates master or ruler. Establishing Lordship also establishes our position as servants. We are at the pleasure of God, not the converse; God does not exist for our pleasure. The joy of relationship with God is that as we sacrifice for God's pleasure God responds by granting us access to power and promises. This cannot be faked; God always knows when we are sincere in our surrender to worship.

This opening information allows us to know that giving is to be viewed as a privilege by the grace of God. God has given to us so it is an honor to give back to the will and work of God. No one is to prompt or force giving. Giving is to be voluntary and should be based on the planned pledge or commitment that we can manage our way to accomplishing. Believers are to be eager to participate in giving, not just when there is a need but as a reflection of the grace that God has given to us.

Historically the Corinthians were a very determined, independent people that did not want to be reliant on anyone. They could have been seen as proud. Paul wants them to understand that believers in Yeshua are reliant on Him not self. V. 8 begins the direct comparison between the Corinthians and the Macedonians. "I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others." The others are probably the Macedonians. Paul has already described the earnestness of the Macedonians in generosity and begging to participate in spite of their economic situation. He wants the Corinthians to display the same attitude but calls it genuineness. Are they truly committed to the Christ or are they just going through motions with yet another god of Roman? Paul describes the sacrifice of Christ by using rich and poor so that the Corinthians would understand that He could have used divine authority (strength) to protect Himself but He became poor (weak) in order to become rich through our redemption.

Vv. 10-15 are very telling about Paul's views of giving. He kindly tells them to complete what they committed to a year ago. Their eagerness will be evidenced by completing their commitment. Paul does not want the focus to be on the amount he wants the eagerness to give to be the focus. In light of the fact that some will say Paul is applying more pressure to the wealthier Corinthians than the Macedonians, he states there should be balance. Paul wants everyone to give according to their means and eagerness.

Chapter 9 becomes more focused on the Corinthians and how they have been a motivation for the Macedonians to give. He starts by stating they do not need this information because they are already eager to help the saints. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he has been using them as an example to the Macedonians and some of them will be traveling with him so he is sending some "brothers" ahead of him to make sure they are ready. In v. 5 Paul uses three important terms "bountiful", "voluntary" and "extortion". Bountiful is used based on the commitment the Corinthians made a year ago. Voluntary is to ensure that they know everything they do is because they have chosen to do it. Extortion is the most important term here. Extortion is not determined by the requestor it is to be determined by the giver. If the giver perceives the request as extortion then it is extortion. Notice the care that Paul uses to encourage them to give based on love and commitment to God but in order for the gift to be truly voluntary they must have the opportunity not to give. Giving can only be executed based on love and thanksgiving to God. Any giving that is required cannot be worship. Based on the definition offered previously if giving grows out of who we are then as long as we recognize that we are redeemed by the love and grace of God we will never need to be guided or instructed on what to give by a person. All guidance must come through the Holy Spirit.

Vv. 10-11 get a lot of attention because some have concluded that Paul is promising a material increase for the giver, this is not contextually correct. This text clearly says 'multiply your seed', but the context says two powerful things to guide the understanding of the meaning. First, the multiplication is for sowing. Sowing in this chapter is to assist the community of believers. At best this is saying God will increase you so that you can give more, however the increase is not for the giver it is for the community of believers. This means giving prompts God to increase you to give more. Secondly, the increase is specifically for "the harvest of righteousness." Righteousness is the lifestyle believers have as a reflection of our relationship with God; therefore, giving is the reflection of a believer's relationship with God in worship. None of these components leads to giving to get more.

Paul gives specific instructions not to give grudgingly or sparingly, neither reluctantly or under compulsion. Grudgingly is displaying an unwillingness; sparingly is giving less than your means will allow; reluctantly is struggling in opposition; under compulsion is a state of being compelled. As Paul has developed this message beginning in chapter 8 he has been consistent to reinforce that this gift has to be voluntary and balanced. Paul does not want anyone to give based on instructions but solely out of love for God by grace.

Worship giving has become an atmosphere of extortion. Look at some of the language being used in the Christian Church. "If you love God stand up, clap your hands, etc." Who can determine what is acceptable to God except the Holy Spirit? Why are the acceptable responses at the discretion of the person making the statement? Believers should be willing to give God all of this and more, but giving that is coerced is not worship. Being forced to sing or release money is not worship at all. If God wanted forced worship there would not have been a forbidden tree in The Garden. Humankind would not have been given the opportunity to disobey God. God would have invoked control and forced submission. The beauty of the love God has given humankind is that we have the opportunity to reject God. This one reality makes loving God so much more precious because we do it because we want to not because we are forced.

Isaiah 61 becomes so powerful when Yeshua refers to it in Luke 4. The Spirit is upon me to bring liberty to the captive. Worship can only exist in an atmosphere of liberty. Liberty comes by the Spirit of God. In my first book "Ministry vs. Membership" I offer an understanding of the environment of church as Prisoners of Worship. Believers are seeking God in an atmosphere of oppression and coercion. How can we conclude that God is loving and caring when everything is forced or required? The liberty of God is to freely receive the grace that has been given to all of creation. If the Christian Church is ever going to return to true worship it must begin with an environment of liberty led by The Holy Spirit, not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver. Liberty results in cheerful giving.

1 Kings 17: 7-16 offers a powerful understanding of giving from our substance. Substantive giving is the most genuine form of giving because it reveals our faith and trust in God according to what we are willing to release. In this story of Elijah we are informed that the wadi God led him to dried up, therefore the prophet does not have a source of water. The key to this text is in the opening information that God gives to Elijah in v. 9, "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." God told Elijah to live there. The widow was not just commanded to feed Elijah one time. She was to feed him until the drought was over.

Elijah's provision is dependent on a broken and defeated widow who is ready to die. Why would God place the provision of the prophet in the hands of a defeated person? It would appear that it would have been logical to connect the prophet to a wealthy person who had the means to provide for him. Why a foreigner and not an Israelite? Israel had chosen to follow idol gods based on the influence of Jezebel. Ahab was the king but he was following Jezebel. God was trying to reach Israel. At times God will use people outside of the community in order that the divine plan may go forward. Always be willing to follow what God instructs. The Church is paralyzed because believers are not willing to follow the instructions of God.

The widow of Zarephath struggled with the instruction because she did not act as though she had heard from God prior to Elijah's arrival. The instruction that God gave Elijah was that the widow had already been instructed to feed him. When he arrives at the gate and meets the woman it would seem that she should be waiting for him with the cake ready. It appears that the widow is having a faith issue because she is looking at her means instead of God's power. Many of us have an issue with releasing what God has instructed because we become focused on what we have instead of the power of God who created all things. This is a faith issue. We have been conditioned to be self-sufficient so it is difficult for believers to depend on God. We cannot hear God telling us to give our last. If the widow is prepared to die what difference does it make who eats the last little bit? This is not the basis for giving what we do not have. This is the basis for giving what God has instructed.

Elijah is willing to give the widow some time to adjust to what God has instructed her to do by offering her the opportunity to feed him before she continues with her plan to feed her son and herself and then die. Liberty allows the person to continue on their path if they want, but also offers the opportunity to trust God. Elijah knows that God has instructed him to live here until his mission is completed so he tells the woman before you execute your plan do what God has instructed you to do by feeding him. The promise that he speaks in v. 14 was for his well-being. It was not her reward for bringing him a cake. She was blessed with provision so that she could care for Elijah. The widow was taken care of because of her responsibility to Elijah. God appointed her to care for Elijah so she was blessed with the provisions to accomplish this.

God has assigned every believer to a servant to provide for them. The provisions will not come first. First we must be willing to hear God instruct us on who we are to connect with. Elijah living there meant that he and the widow would be in constant contact. This is why we should look for this connection to be in our local church where we will have continual contact. The person we are to provide for is not meant to focus on us because we are providing for them. They are meant to continue their assignment for God. Elijah was not supposed to invest time and attention in the widow because she was providing for him. He was to stay focused on Israel and Ahab. There are people who become a provider just so they can get attention. Their provision is contingent on the attention and access they can get. These people become a distraction to the servant of God because their provision is conditional. The widow only wanted to care for herself and her son she was not looking for the attention of Elijah so she was a good choice for this assignment. Provision for the servant of God cannot be conditional. It cannot be a way for us to feel special or garner extra attention. This is not making God the focus. This is making us the focus.

Spiritual leaders have become good at baiting people with special access and perks in order to induce giving. Spiritual leaders must go to the people that God is leading them to. There cannot be a prerequisite of means in order to connect with people. Any bait defeats the opportunity for the act to be worship and causes us to pervert the plan of God. The Church has caused giving to be conditioned on what we can get instead of requiring people to seek worship giving. Giving that is birthed out of relationship with God. Leadership must have faith before expecting the people to have faith. Offering an atmosphere of liberty will cause uncertainty because of the shift from baiting to allowing worship giving. This shift can be gradual but it must be planned and intentional.

The Church has a two-fold issue in the area of monetary giving: 1) Church leaders are convinced that people must be instructed or assisted in order to give. It is believed that if people are left to make their own decision they will not give. 2) People have been conditioned to give in order to receive. Giving is solely based on selfish motives. In order to address these two aspects impacting giving church leaders and the congregation must focus on understanding and implementing giving that is led by the Holy Spirit. If you have sought God for the place that you should worship trust where God has lead you. If you know that you are in the wrong place seek God for where you are to go. Once you are in the right place you can start to release according to the Holy Spirit. God wants us to worship in an atmosphere of liberty so if you feel extorted, or compelled in giving address this feeling with leadership if they are not willing to work to establish an environment of liberty seek God for a new place of worship.

The only motive for worship is to adore and glorify God. Any need or request that is attached eliminates the act as worship. Giving is an expression of worship that is birthed out of who we are. As redeemed believers giving becomes our vehicle of surrender to evidence our thanks and appreciation to God for a continual relationship through Christ by the Holy Spirit. Every believer must be a worship giver.

#  Chapter 3

Agrarian vs. Monetary

There is a major issue with how many Old Testament texts are applied in our current economic system. The Old Testament society was agrarian during the time that the Laws of Moses were given, therefore God established the giving system based on the system they were in, and based on the relationship they had with God at the time. A key understanding on this journey is the difference in relationship between them and us.

An agrarian economy is based on the yield of the land and animals. Value is determined by agriculture and what is produced. A monetary economy is based on the value of a currency, such as the dollar, euro, or yen. Value is determined by the amount of currency you are able to control and generate. The fundamental issue is how we transport information between these two systems while keeping the intent intact. An example is gleaning. In the agrarian context gleaning is very easy to understand and implement. The produce on the boundaries of the property was left to be "gleaned" by widows, orphans, the poor, and strangers. This means those in need could come pick what they needed so everyone had something. This left the needy their dignity but required them not to be greedy. In a monetary context we may understand caring for the needy but the issue is how we determine the boundaries of the property. How is a boundary of money determined? I understand in the New Testament alms are given, but even in this process how do we ensure everything given goes to the needy and how can the needy maintain their dignity. Gleaning could be done by just walking by the property. No application or approval needed. The struggle is in maintaining the intent of scripture in two very different systems.

In the Old Testament, love and atonement were expressed by killing animals; burning grain, wheat, barley and the like. These practices are not applicable to our relationship with God today. We are restored to God through Yeshua, the Christ, so the blood of animals is not needed for our atonement. Additionally, we are in a monetary system; therefore, the application of grain, wheat, barley and the like are not applicable to our system of commerce. Then what are we to do with all of the Old Testament scriptures that address giving based on a system that is not comparable to the system we have today? Can this information be transported into our worship setting in order to establish what giving is intended to be?

Let's use Leviticus 19:5-8 as an example: "When you offer a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord, offer it in such a way that it is acceptable in your behalf. It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, or on the next day; and anything left over until the third day shall be consumed in fire. If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be acceptable. All who eat it shall be subject to punishment, because they have profaned what is holy to the Lord; and any such person shall be cut off from the people." How can we take this text and apply it to giving today? Our offering is not perishable, and we do not consume our offering. The Old Testament was written based on an agrarian system, which means cultivating land. How then do we equate grain, lambs, and oxen to dollars and cents? The simplistic way is to value everything as equivalent with a dollar. If the text refers to one hundred sheep most would equate that to one hundred dollars. This simple approach does not allow us to understand the value of the sacrifice. Let's assume a sheep cost approximately one hundred dollars ($100). If we are going to adequately reflect the sacrifice that is reflected in the Old Testament we would want to give one hundred dollars for each sheep, so the gift would be ten thousand dollars ($10,000). There are numerous factors that must be considered and addressed any time we attempt to transport a biblical text to our contemporary situation.

For me, the foremost consideration is the context of the scripture. Before we identify comparable items or equivalent value we must first invest in understanding the scripture within its context. We have already had a contextual discussion about 1 Kings 17: 7-16, however, we will investigate three scriptures to understand the struggle that is inherent as we attempt to define New Testament giving based on Old Testament scriptures. A tradition has been built on the misapplication of Leviticus 27:30-33, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, and Malachi 3. In order to determine how giving can be an integral part of worship, we must first address the misinformation communicated in the Christian Church.

Let's begin with Leviticus 27:30-33:

All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord's; they are holy to the Lord. If persons wish to redeem any of their tithes, they must add one-fifth to them. All tithes of herd and flock, every tenth one that passes under the shepherd's staff, shall be holy to the Lord. Let no one inquire whether it is good or bad, or make substitution for it; if one makes substitution for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy and cannot be redeemed. NRSV iv

Leviticus 27 contains instructions on how to "redeem" the tithe. Based on vv. 30-33, some teach that a twenty percent penalty is to be paid when you miss paying a tithe. There are various calculations for how this twenty percent is to be determined. Within the context, it is very easy to understand this process, but in order to do so we must understand what is meant by redeem.

Redeeming the tithe means that the giver wants the item back. Within this chapter, almost everything given can be redeemed, meaning it will not be sacrificed to God, and it will be returned to the giver. In vv. 30-33, the giver has to pay the value of the produce plus a twenty percent penalty in order to redeem their tithe. It is interesting that God placed in the law that the giver could get their tithe back. It appears that God wanted giving to be a freewill experience and not an obligation; however, this is not how the tithe is predominantly presented today.

Addressing Leviticus 27:32-33, Jacob Milgrom determines that the animal tithe was never intended to be a universal mandate on all of Israel. Milgrom notes: "That the other law codes omit it, as does Nehemiah, only indicates that the animal tithe was a theoretical system, which may have been practiced voluntarily by well-to-do ranchers, but never became a universal and annual mandatory obligation followed by all of Israel."v

Lloyd Bailey in Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary takes a different perspective, focusing on the importance of not making a vow based on a situation. Vows should be kept and there is a requirement of leadership to understand the accountability that comes along with managing the vows that have been given. Bailey observes, "At the same time, modern congregational and denominational leaders must earn the kind of respect and trust that the priests in ancient Israel apparently were accorded (in setting evaluations, etc.). Such trust is undermined when modern leaders evidence arrogant attitudes in accountability, accept excessive salaries, and 'sell out' traditional values in the pursuit of current (and often secular) trends. Sometimes, withholding financial support is the only weapon that the congregation has!"vi

Bailey has plainly reflected the dilemma of some believers to withhold giving in order to combat the selfish materialism that has impacted The Church. This may appear to be a logical solution but worship begins with giving, therefore believers cannot take the easy way out. We must deal with the issue of accountability in The Church by ensuring we understand the systems in place to make financial and spiritual decisions. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. No one who loves God should want to have absolute power. Sincere believers want accountability to ensure we do not become a god.

There will be times when the process hinders God's vision so the people involved must be willing to listen and respect leadership. Always be on the watch for self-fulfilling proclamations; if the person proclaiming will benefit from the proclamation that is not God. Before we can be accountable to each other we must all be accountable to the word of God in context.

Now let's look at Deuteronomy 14:22-29:

Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. But if, when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you, then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose; spend the money for whatever you wish—oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together. As for the Levites resident in your towns, do not neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you. Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake. NRSVvii

This text clearly makes provision for the Levites because they did not get an allotment of land since they are to be committed to God; however, there are two key points of this text that are overlooked in the application of giving in the Church. Vv. 22-27 plainly instructs the giver to have a celebration with the tithe as thanksgiving to God. This portion of the tithe is not for the priest or the house of God; it is for the giver. The only way this can be applied to the church today is for there to be an annual celebration with the tithes that have been given. In addition, these tithes were given annually based on the harvest. Most have assumed this to refer to every payday in today's church. If this is the case, the celebration should be every payday. This text is further misapplied in regards to the provisions for the priest. God does instruct Israel to provide for the Levites because they did not get an allotment of land, but according to this text, the portion for the Levites was given every three years, again based on the harvest. Even if we accept the most liberal interpretation of this text, I cannot see how we can apply these instructions to the practice of tithing today.

The joy and excitement of giving is generally overlooked in order to enforce the obligation of giving. The Church loses the awesome intention of giving which may be the essence of this text that can be transported into every worship setting. Mark Biddle states:

Obviously, Deuteronomy does not understand 'tithing' as a transfer of goods to YHWH, neither in an attempt to appease him for one's sins, nor even as a gift to the temple treasury to finance the temple budget. Contrary to popular Christian understanding, the Old Testament concept of tithes, offerings, and sacrifices has virtually nothing to do with appeasing the deity for one's sins. Nor was ancient Israel's religion as bureaucratic as even the most decentralized modern Protestant denomination. What need has YHWH of the bounty he has bestowed as a blessing? Instead, after a symbolic portion has been burnt on the altar, the worshipper, together with all his household and certain invited guests, consumes the tithe in a festive and joyful celebration of YHWH's benevolence. In this interpretation, Sabbath transcends mere cessation of labor and far exceeds a mere passivity. Sabbath is the celebration of the fruits of one's labor and YHWH's blessing. Sabbath means rejoicing

Biddle gives us the opportunity to understand why family and community are so important to God. This text offers us a view of giving that is focused on blessed people having joy while sharing in the corporate blessings of the community. God is concerned about people above offerings. As we transition to Malachi remember this Deuteronomy text. The Church has become so focused on money that we may have lost sight of the people we have been called to lead.

I will address Malachi 3 in more detail in chapter 5, this reference is to see how the language is to an agrarian society but we are trying to transport it to a monetary society. There is no need for a storehouse (barn) if there aren't any animals. Malachi 3:8-10 is the popular portion of the chapter, it states:

Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, 'How are we robbing you?' In your tithes and offerings! 9You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! 10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. NRSV ix

This is the premiere tithing text. People are led to believe they are robbing God if they do not tithe. Giving is not an element of worship if the act is an obligation. Applying Malachi 3 starting in v. 8 is the first flaw of many. Reading the entire context will show that God has instructed the people to return and then presents the question that is on their mind, how shall we return? In v. 8, God informs the priests how to begin to return to a righteous relationship by reestablishing the practices they were given in the law. These very practices are not applicable to the New Testament Church. The blood of animals does not atone anymore. We have The Blood of Christ. Since the motive for applying this text is to force believers to give ten percent the implication of being cursed is overlooked. Where is the joy and celebration of Deuteronomy or the restoration of Leviticus? God is correcting the priests for being the example of selfishness which has led the nation away from God.

The next mistake is the interpretation of storehouse as the church. The issue in the book of Malachi is that the priest, not the people, accepted animals that God had instructed them to reject. The people are not on trial here; the priests are. By only presenting vv. 8-10, people have been convinced that God will bless them if they tithe. God wants their hearts; the priests want the animals because this is their provision. God wanted the priest to trust God and not the people. The storehouse was the place in each city where the tithe was stored for the priest in the city. The Temple was not designed to be a storehouse. The Temple was designed for worship and training to develop faith and understanding in God. The Temple has always been the place for God's children to come to commune with God the Father. At times, it seems like The Temple is the place to pay God not praise and commune with God through worship.

The journey from an agrarian society to a monetary society causes for the loss of the true value of the offering, not just the dollar value but also the emotional value of the sacrifice. To nurture and raise the animal that will become a sacrifice is different from writing a check. The sweat and work that is invested in the agrarian context can be lost in the monetary system. While we do work for the money that is offered to God many times these efforts are not directly associated when we give. Is the act of giving an offering viewed as going to God or to finance the church or ministry? When the focus or motive of giving is based on meeting a financial request or need it is not unto God. In order for the act of giving to be worship it must be out of love and thanksgiving to God, that's it.

#  Chapter 4

Old Testament Focus

The Old Testament is the foundation upon which the New Testament is built. I do not believe that the Old Testament should be abandoned, but it must be correctly interpreted so that God's intentions are transported forward to us. It is continually presented that God desires humankind to express appreciation and acknowledge that all things have come from God by giving back to God out of what we have been given by God. Giving must be the first expression of worship because it allows for a tangible understanding of who we are and who God is. To sing, pray, or anything else before giving is to say we love God before showing it. To give based on or only after a plea is to say we do not know how or want to invest in determining how to express love for God, so we need someone to tell us. When people meet we invest in getting to know each other before we say "I Love You". We look to know character and personality, how are you going to respect and treat me before I invest in these three words. The same is true in worshiping God, be prepared to show God by coming in with your tangible expression of love then say "I Love You" and I have come to praise and worship you. Show before you tell, because showing will tell so much more than words will ever say.

As we invest in being gods our giving will always decline. Everyone has a limited amount of time and money so when we allocate them to other priorities we are limited in what we have left for God. We will never be forced to put God first. We must choose to place God first in all things. The best way to do this is to acknowledge God first in everything we do. Before saying good morning to our family we should say good morning to God. In everything put God first. Before we purchase anything we should identify our offering to God, and set it aside.

The Bible is being used to manipulate giving. Scripture has been taken out of context in order to make sure people give. Just as Elijah with the widow at the gate, she had to make the choice to surrender to what God told her to do. Elijah could only give her the opportunity to be obedient. There is a feeling of force or obligation associated with giving in some churches. I do not believe this is God's intention. The Old Testament information is based on Israel's constant rejection of God. They continually choose self over God.

There continues to be a prevailing struggle between individualism and communalism (self vs. community). God established a communal system which includes the concept of gleaning. As I stated in the previous chapter, we struggle to transport the concept of gleaning because we fundamentally do not want to leave anything for the poor and strangers. This battle even occurs in Acts 6 which we will discuss later. Since the beginning humankind has struggled with denying self. Fellowship with God requires that we remember God is not our equal God is our creator therefore humility is a prerequisite for fellowship with God.

While most people see the error in Cain's thinking we do not strive to overcome his lie in Genesis 4:9, "am I my brother's keeper?" Cain has just killed Abel and God has asked Cain where is Abel. Cain responds, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" Yes you are because he died at your hands. In Genesis 4:7 after God has no regard for Cain's offering, God says "if you do well, will you not be accepted?" God does not desire the offering. God wants our offerings to reflect our love and thanksgiving for God. God attempts to explain to Cain that it is not a competition; both Cain and Abel can be accepted if they do well. Cain concludes if Abel is gone God has to accept me (my offering). This is simply not true. So many churches have turned giving into a competition for trophies, prizes, and recognition. This may generate a lot of money but as soon as our gifts are based on competitiveness how are we any different from Cain? No longer are we seeking to give God our best offering which reflects love and thanksgiving, we are merely seeking to win. Worship is not competitive it is intended to be communal. Everyone can be accepted by God if we are willing to surrender and present our best.

There is a concept that is becoming popular in the Christian church called "First Fruit Giving". This concept is based on a few different scriptures and is interpreted differently across churches. I will focus on Exodus 23:16 where Moses says "You shall observe the festival of harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field". This quote is only the first part of the verse. I have done this because this is the only part that some focus on in order to support "First Fruit Giving". I believe that all giving should be based on the "First Fruit" principles God established in Exodus 23:10-19, but most churches appear to be using this concept as just a method to induce giving. God must always be the motivation for giving; not a promise of increase or anything else.

In verse 10 God explains the Sabbath concept in two ways, Sabbatical year and Sabbath day. Every seventh year Israel is not to harvest anything to allow the land to rest. Everything that grows is to be left for the poor and the wild animals. Every seventh day everyone is to rest including servants and animals. These practices show respect to the land and people. Our world has become consumed with always having more; these Sabbatical principles come with an inherent assumption of saving or preparing for the Sabbath day and year. Inherent in these Sabbath principles is rest. In our monetary system of capitalism people are almost forced to ignore these principles of rest in order to acquire more. If one pauses to rest someone else will attempt to exploit their property. Wages are controlled in order to guarantee a permanent working class. God may be acknowledging this reality but it is offset by these principles of rest and provision. At times it appears that the poor are blamed for their position when in actuality there must be poor in order for there to be rich. God is ensuring that society faces this by respecting everyone regardless to their economic position. Exodus 23:1-19 addresses this principle of fairness regardless of economic position. The human motivation does not appear to be survival, it appears to be acquisition. This has caused us to abandon these Sabbatical principles for a never ending cycle of greed that does not respect giving people or the earth any rest.

The next section (Exodus 23:14-19) is focused on three festivals: unleavened bread, harvest and ingathering. Each festival serves a different purpose and is intended to instill a strong principle in the community. The order of them is also intentional. Each of these festivals is for God by displaying dependence on God for everything. The festival of unleavened bread is to display sacrifice from pleasure by removing the leaven from the bread, a reflection of simplicity and humility. The festival of harvest is to display thanks and appreciation to God for what has been sown in the ground. First Fruit here is based on what has been sown not what has been reaped. The festival of ingathering is at the end of the year as the harvest is reaped an offering is given to God for everything God has allowed to yield.

At the end of verse 15 it says, "...No one shall appear before me empty-handed". Notice this is said just before the information about the festival of harvest. It is instructing everyone to have something to give when the harvest is sown. This is a statement of preparation and saving. The only way to have something to give as the harvest is being sown is to have saved it from the previous harvest. This is more than a statement to give. This is an instruction to hold on to something for God even if your provisions have run out. This requires planning, management and sacrifice. This means that the offering for the festival of harvest must be set aside and protected until the beginning of the next harvest season. In our materialistic consumption society these principles are neither taught nor respected. "Now" is not respected as the foundation for tomorrow, rather it is the impetus for impatience. In Exodus 23:1-19 it appears that God is telling Israel to be respectful of all people and to respect the land so that it can continue to yield for them. We live in a very different society with a very different agenda. Justice and fairness are being forsaken for bribery and selfishness. If the church is going to extract "First Fruit Giving" to induce us to release an offering, it appears to me that the basic principles of this text must be in the forefront of this concept; not just the offering but the offering along with justice, honor, fairness, sacrifice, management and thankfulness. In this light the church may not be preparing people to love God, all of this may just be a way to get another offering.

In truly understanding the concept of First Fruits giving and the struggle that exist to transport this concept to a monetary system lets look at Joshua 6:24, "They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord." The city in this verse is Jericho, the first city given to Israel by God. As a child we sung about the battle of Jericho, how they shouted and the walls all came tumbling down. This mighty victory is proclaimed often and used to encourage believers to trust God's instruction to receive supernatural victory. Jericho is a great example of First Fruits giving because the city was also an offering to God. Jericho became a burnt offering to the Lord. The city was burned and the vessels were put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. Joshua's last instruction to the people was to keep nothing. This first city was to be an offering to God. This mighty city was their offering. One person keeping one vessel brought the anger of the Lord on the nation.

First Fruits giving is hard to transport into a monetary system because there isn't a defined cycle. With harvest or even going into the Promised Land the first crop or city can clearly be defined. Some conclude the first check is to be given to God. In terms of value the intent of the sacrifice does not appear to be equivalent, especially if another check is coming in 7 to 14 days. Some apply the harvest cycle but in this application all earnings in the 12 month period would have to be given to God. For Israel, First Fruits giving meant the entire first harvest was offered. They were not promised another harvest and they could not find out for 12 months. The principle of First Fruits giving is faith and trust in God to be our provider therefore we release everything we have as a display of trust in God to keep us.

We are not conditioned to trust God like this. We have debt and bills to pay regularly. We do not live off of the land. We live off of the grocery store which requires money. How can we release everything to express faith and trust in God for 12 months? This would mean returning to an agrarian lifestyle. If First Fruits giving is simply used to get our first paycheck or even a month of paychecks it seems the spirit of the sacrifice is lost. The principle of First Fruits giving is meaningful and must be taught. This will require us to stay humble and realize God is our keeper and provider. The issue is how to execute First Fruits giving in a monetary system and maintain the intent and impact of this sacrifice.

#  Chapter 5

Tithing – Malachi Focus

The book of Malachi is a rebuke of the priest for not upholding the law and standards of God that they were set apart for. The priests were more concerned about their wellbeing than the standards of God. They received blemished and lame animals, which was against God's law and standards. Malachi 2:3 says, "I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and I will put you out of my presence." Based on their selfish disregard for God the priests were rejected by God.

When we arrive at the third chapter of Malachi God shifts the discussion to restoration, offering the Temple a means to return to God. This is not a rebuke of the people. It is a continuation of the rebuke to the priests, who are responsible for the Temple. In order to understand verses 8-10 we must understand verses 6 and 7:

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. 7Ever since the days of your ancestors 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?'

The question at the beginning of verse 8 is in response to the question in verse 7. God, speaking of a coming messenger, instructs the Temple to return, but then God offers the response to the question that is on the mind of the nation, how shall we return? God reverts back to the discussion of tithes and offerings because this was the reason given in chapter one for the priest being rebuked by God. The discussion in chapter three is in the context of restoration not as an instruction for giving.

How are they robbing God, in their tithes and offerings? In this section, God informs the nation they are cursed. Verse 10 is in response to the question in verse 7, how shall we return. God informs the nation that before a reunion is considered the full tithe must be brought to the storehouse. There were no storehouses at the Temple. Remember according to the Mosaic Law the tithe was to be given to the priest every third year in the city where the people lived not at the Temple site. Storehouses, built by Hezekiah at the Temple site, caused a problem because the priest at the Temple site could not consume all that was brought. The Church is not the storehouse. It has never been the storehouse. So bringing my tithe to the Church is not what this text intends.

The priests were rebuked because they were concerned about their provisions because the people were not doing what the Mosaic Law instructed them to do. The storehouse was the location in each city where the tithe for the priests was stored every third year. The Church has generalized this chapter in order to bring in money. In order for this text to apply we would have to accept that we are cursed and in need of restoration. With the crucifixion and resurrection of Yeshua, and a belief and commitment by us we are not cursed, therefore this text is not applicable to a redeemed body of believers seeking to worship God in spirit and truth. The end of chapter 3 continues the theme of restoration. These verses have been used to take advantage of material desires by leading people to believe giving will prompt God to give back more. God is not saying bring tithes and offerings and you will receive these things. In these verses, God is reaffirming the promises that have already been made. These verses are a reminder of what is being forfeited by remaining away from God. This is to prompt them to return to God.

The usual methods of giving in worship and the scripture interpretations used to support these methods may have believers misunderstanding the life and ministry of Yeshua. Consider the application of Malachi 3:8-10 to motivate giving in worship. V. 9 says, "You are curse with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you!" Some have concluded if tithes and offerings are not given in worship the non-giver is cursed? How long is the curse? Why does the scripture say the whole nation but this is applied to individuals? There is a list of questions that can be asked of this text but let us look at this in the context of Christ. As the savior and redeemer of humankind Christology teaches the death of Yeshua covered the debt of sin, therefore if we were cursed salvation freed us from the curse. The concept of sacrifice in offerings is to love and obey God. Yeshua is the sacrifice that pleases God so a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is what pleases God. This does not mean that we should not give because Jesus paid it all, but it does mean that my giving is liberated from the Law. Now I have the opportunity to appreciate God just as Abram and Jacob did when they decided what they would give without a legal standard. In Luke 4:16-20, Yeshua read Isaiah 61 to announce there will be an exchange of negative for positive, or in other words liberty instead of captivity. When giving in worship becomes bondage or something we feel obligated or compelled to do we have denied the power of Yeshua's resurrection. Luke 4:18 says 'release' in the NRSV and 'liberty' in the KJV. All of worship is to be in an atmosphere of liberty or to allow the worshippers to become liberated; this is the ministry of Christ, it is inappropriate to create an environment or practice of bondage in an effort to ensure the expenses are adequately addressed. The Church must be willing to ask if the congregation considers the methods of expressing giving in worship oppressive.

Frank Viola and George Barna take a broad view of the origins of some Christian practices in Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of our Church Practices. In chapter 8, they address Tithing and Clergy Salaries: Sore Spots on the Wallet. They address the errant use of Malachi 3 and the misapplication of tithing to the New Testament Church. Viola and Barna explain: "God commanded Israel to give 23.3 percent of their income every year, not 10 percent. These tithes consisted of the produce of the land—which included the seed of the land, the fruit of the land, and the herd or the flock. It was the product of the land, not money."x This point is a significant one in understanding biblical giving. First, does giving ten percent of income equate to ten percent of the herd or flock? The fruit and grain died every year, so it was easy to determine a tenth of this, but the herd or flock generally grew so for those who want to make tithing applicable should the tenth be given based on what we carry over to the next year including savings and investments? Second, the festivals, which were supported by the tithe, were eliminated at the resurrection; further, we have been instructed not to sacrifice animals anymore because Jesus the Christ died to atone for our sin. How then can we maintain the system of tithing in this time of grace? Viola and Barna conclude: "With the death of Jesus, all ceremonial codes that belonged to the Jews were nailed to Christ's cross and buried, never to be used again to condemn us. For this reason, we never see Christians tithing in the New Testament, just as we never see them sacrificing goats and bulls to cover their sins."xi

Viola and Barna turn their attention to what giving should be in the New Testament Church by stating, "Tithing belonged exclusively to Israel under the Law, when it comes to financial stewardship, we see the first-century Christians giving cheerfully according to their ability—not dutifully out of a command. Giving in the early church was voluntary. Those who benefited from it were the poor, orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, and strangers."xii The typical approach to worship giving has very little to do with God or God's plans. The focus must be returned to giving as a reflection of love for God instead of obligation to the Church. Giving based on love is worship, giving based on obligation is not.

In order to evaluate giving as an element of worship, it is essential to have a clear understanding of what worship is. Stake defines worship as: "... ascribing worth to God. What we do in worship represents an awareness of the relationship between ourselves and God. So we worship God, affirming our faith in God as the ultimate value in life."xiii Worship is corporate and private. The corporate setting reinforces our private relationship. It also serves to allow each of us to learn from observation. Imitation is a component of learning; therefore, it is necessary for people to be able to observe the expressions of a relationship with God in order to understand and develop their own expressions. Creation concluded with a Sabbath, and then a primary element of the next two stories is sacrifice. Moreover, God sacrifices an animal in order to cover naked humankind. Then Cain and Abel bring offerings to God. There is no instruction for them to do this. It appears they wanted to give to the Creator. With the absence of guidelines, God accepted one and rejected the other. This can lead us to believe that God does not desire to tell us how to express love and appreciation but will not just accept anything that we bring as an offering. Our offerings to God must be a sacrifice according to God's knowledge of our situation. We do not get to determine what is sacrificial; God does this.

The book of Malachi is a rebuke of the priests for not upholding the standards of God. The primary example Malachi focuses on is giving. The priests accepted blemished animals so they could eat. The people have stopped loving God therefore they are not giving according to God's standards. The offerings given provided food for the priests, therefore if the people are not giving the priests cannot eat. The priests do not have land to grow food and most were born into the priesthood so they had no other skills. I can understand how hunger would lead to compromise.

Malachi 1:6-8 says:

A son honors his father, and servants their master. If then I am a father, where is the honor due me? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. You say, "How have we despised your name?" 7By offering polluted food on my altar. And you say, "How have we polluted it?" By thinking that the Lord's table may be despised. 8When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not wrong? Try presenting that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.

It appears the priests are keeping the best for themselves and sacrificing the blemished to God. Why does Malachi focus on the priests instead of the people who are bringing these blemished offerings? If the behavior of the people changes the issue is resolved, right? Most of the prophets address the falling away of the nation to worship other gods; Malachi focuses on the priests because they are the standard barriers, God's gatekeepers. They have been set aside to rely on God not the people. They are to stay with God regardless to what the nation does. Worship is their life. Every day they commune with God personally and on behalf of the nation. God accepted them to trust and celebrate as they were called to do.

In v. 8 there is a comparison between worship and taxes, "Try presenting that to your governor". Everyone is aware the government has always taken what it wants but God has always given creation the choice to love or not. Everyone knows the governor would not be pleased with blemished animals for taxes. The tax collector should know to reject it before it gets to the governor. Why didn't the priest reject these offerings even if they were hungry? Why didn't they trust God and keep the standards?

The priests of today are in the same situation. Pastors of every rank and station have decided to get what they need and want by any means necessary. There is a prevailing mindset that the pastor must be cared for first. This mindset does not fit any Old or New Testament examples of Godly leadership. All of the Godly leaders sacrificed for the people and did the will of God. Just as in Malachi the pastors have decided to make their needs a higher priority than God's will. I am not saying these needs should not be addressed. I am saying the pastors must trust God before the people will.

V. 10 the priests are informed that God wants the Temple doors to be shut so that offerings will not be made in vain. This verse also states God will not accept any offerings executed from their hands. Each of us must check the methods of giving in our house of worship to ensure God does not have an issue with our priest (pastor). It is easy and reasonably understandable to be concerned about personal well-being, so it is easy to abandon God's standards when the people do not desire to follow them. God does not want offerings by any means necessary. The significance of money in The Church dates back to the indulgences. For thousands of years The Church has been focused on obligating people to give to the point we have accepted this as the norm but many believers are uncomfortable and know in our hearts this is not worship.

I find it very interesting that the curse in Malachi 3:9 is regularly mentioned in association with giving but the curse in Malachi 2:2 is hardly mentioned. Most believers do not know what this section says. Remember the primary issue in Malachi is giving but the primary culprit is the priests for receiving offerings against God's standards. Here is what Malachi 2:1-3 says:

"And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of host, then I will send the curse on you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and I will put you out of my presence."

Has your pastor ever read this text at giving time? Before God spoke to the people in Malachi 3 the priests were sternly addressed in chapters 1 and 2. The issue here is not tithing; it is giving God's name glory; reverencing God. In verse 3 it says "the dung of your offerings". This is not referring to the personal offerings of the priests. This is referring to the offerings the priests make for the people. Through the book of Malachi God is focused on corporate giving not personal giving. Even in Malachi 3:9 the curse is on the nation not a person. If 90% of your church is tithing God wants to know about the 10% who are not, according to Malachi.

Believers love God and want God to be our first priority therefore giving is a fundamental part of worship. Giving is the desire of believers out of love. Every pastor must evaluate the methods we endorse for giving. Dung on our faces is not a pleasant position to be in. Furthermore, every believer must evaluate the methods endorsed by your pastor because you can be giving based on a priest that God has cursed. God never put the priest out of the temple. What God says in Malachi is the offerings under their leadership will not be accepted.

I need to interject one observation. I watch a lot of Christian television, mostly to learn what is happening in The Church. I have noticed when most ministers on television invite giving salvation is not a requirement. Most offer some form of blessing to come to the giver but the giver is not instructed to acknowledge faith in God through Yeshua. Does God bless unbelievers? Remember Malachi 3:7, "Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts." It is possible the operators are covering this when you call in but shouldn't the proclaimed message of Christ be salvation which leads to discipleship. The focus and subsequent impression of most pleas is to get the money not to acknowledge Christ. So many television ministries, and this may be happening in your church too, request offerings for evangelism around the world, but do not seem to focus on evangelizing to the viewer? The pastors, ministers, evangelists, bishops, overseers, and apostles are no different from the priest of Malachi. Why are the priests leading us back to giving with the wrong motives? There is so much to be learned from Malachi in addition to the significances of the tithe.

The clear language of Malachi 3:10 cannot be ignored, "Bring the full tithe". While I clearly have issues with how this section of scripture is being used, I want to be clear tithing is not the issue. Tithing is a valid part of worship giving however it must be a voluntary decision like Abraham and Jacob. The voluntary nature of the decision displays love and the priority God has in the believer's life. This begins worship. For pastors to require any form of giving in this age of grace may be expedient for budgets and appreciations but not worship. As priests we must uphold God's standards regardless to the personal impact or sacrifice. The objective is not for the church to have enough money to execute ministry. The objective is to allow creation to learn how to love God through the resurrection of Christ so we will return to worship God. The prevailing question of Malachi 3 is not "Will anyone rob God"; it is "How shall we return". God's desire for relationship through worship was the motivation to create humankind; Malachi offers a path back to relationship so the windows of heaven are opened. Don't focus on opening the window through tithing. Focus on returning to relationship with God then tithing becomes an expression of love not an obligation.

#  Chapter 6

New Testament Focus

At this juncture some would conclude that we should not give to God. This would be extremely erroneous. Giving is a primary element of expressing worship to God; therefore, we must reshape our concept of giving in order to understand it as an element of worship. Yeshua uses giving as a teaching tool in so many ways but we will not be able to look at all of these teachings in this chapter. It is necessary to lay a good foundation here so that the New Testament extends the heart of God to be loved through giving.

The power struggle of the Old Testament is between self-control and God-control. God desires to lead humankind according to a love relationship. Humankind continually elects to make their decisions ignoring God. As we move into the New Testament notice that there is a progression of giving. Our first and primary gift to God is our self. Humankind will never understand the power and blessing of giving until we surrender self-control for God-control. In order to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ we must surrender our will for God's will. In 2 Corinthians 8:5 Paul uses the believers in Macedonia as an example of giving by stating "they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us." We can never get to the place where we think we have a relationship with God because we gave. Our giving must be a reflection of the relationship God has freely granted us through grace. Once we are under God-control every element of our being is controlled by God's will. Satisfying God is our primary objective in everything we do as believers in Jesus Christ.

As stated in the beginning of this book creation has become god therefore giving is a struggle because we have not completely surrendered to God, this causes the conflict between God-control and Self-control. How do I surrender to God? How do I know I am surrendered to God? There are many ways in which we have to surrender to God. Most Christians have simply relied solely on the religious methods of salvation therefore you made a confession but have you surrendered to be a Disciple, a student follower of Yeshua?

Let's focus on one concept to help us to determine if we are surrendered, agenda. What is your agenda? An agenda is an underlying ideological plan or program that impacts behavior. In order to determine your agenda you must be willing to be honest about your motives. Why do you celebrate Christmas? Is it because of the Savior's birth or are there other motives? Why do you use the term Easter to refer to the Resurrection of Christ? Plainly put Yeshua was not born in December and giving gifts to each other is not equivalent to giving to God. Easter is a pagan term and neither bunnies nor eggs have anything to do with the Resurrection. Knowing our motives will help to uncover our agenda. Once our agenda is understood we will know what needs to be sacrificed in order to surrender to God.

An agenda can be driven by motivations or motivations can be driven by an agenda. A place to start is to ask yourself why you do the things you do and identify scripture that addresses your behaviors. This is not an exercise seeking perfection. This is an exercise seeking to develop faith and trust in God through surrendering self-control for God-control. This is a process that is continual. At every level or phase of our discipleship development we will have the opportunity to identify new opportunities to surrender to God. Before you can address surrendering in financial giving you must attend to surrendering yourself to God.

Yeshua teaches the fundamental strategy for giving is built on stewardship, the management of what we have. Stewardship produces the means to give to God. The issue with giving is that we do not have giving as our primary focus as we manage our money. It will always be difficult to produce a gift (offering) to God if this is not the objective in a financial plan. Every believer needs a giving strategy which will result in managing our resources to produce offerings that express love and thanksgiving to God. Let's visit each Gospel to see how giving is presented in the teachings of Yeshua. Yeshua understood that giving has always been the premiere expression of love.

In the Gospel of John Yeshua is visited by a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. As Yeshua is revealing the gift of new life that God is offering the world through the savior He explains how God is expressing love through giving. John 3:16 reveals "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." The love of God is expressed through giving. This is true from the beginning. God gave food and animals to humankind with no requirement to work just worship. God gave manna and the Promised Land to show love. All of these expressions of love were rejected because of selfishness. God's last act of love through giving was to give the savior to restore humankind from every rejection that God has experienced. John 3:18 – 21 confirm how God will respond to rejecting this expression of love.

"Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Rejecting God's offering of the savior will be understood as hatred. God is not expecting a mere confession of belief. God is looking for believers to live by faith and have deeds (actions) which reflect an acceptance and embrace of the love God is freely offering to those who will believe. How can this gift be received without birthing a heart to manage what we have to produce offerings of love to God for so loving the world?

There are two passages we will visit in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 6:24 and Matthew 25:14-30. The Gospel of Matthew is written to a Jewish Christian audience. Matthew 6:24 is within the teaching on the mount typically identified as the Sermon on the Mount. This teaching covers twenty four subjects. There may be a flow in this teaching which allows Yeshua to build in the progression of the teachings. In vv. 19-21 Yeshua addresses storing up treasures. The focus in these verses is the importance of the treasure not having a treasure. Yeshua is not concerned with us possessing a treasure the intention is for believers to value the treasure alone. This is stated in v. 21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also". Giving must be a priority to the giver in order for a Giving Strategy to be successful. When the priority is our needs and wants giving will be an issue because our love for God may not be treasured. With this information presented Yeshua states in v. 24 "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth". Since our heart is with what or who we treasure Yeshua says we cannot seek after God and wealth. Capitalism has influenced the Church to conclude God wants all believers to be wealthy, so the Church desires wealth. The issue in v. 24 is not wealth. The issue is seeking after it. Focus on God as the primary objective everything else will be addressed. Notice the next lesson in vv. 25-34 is focused on not worrying. If pleasing God is my treasure I will not allow wealth to become my God, therefore I cannot worry about provisions because the priority is to strive first for the kingdom of God; our provisions will be addressed as well (v.33).

Matthew 25:14-30 is a popular parable in which we learn how God designates resources, accepts responses to the provision, and how our understanding of God causes our issues with God. Yeshua uses a man who has servants as a parallel to disciples (us) and our savior (Jesus). We are the servants who are given resources (money, gifts, and abilities). The man does not give them any instructions before leaving. The text says he distributed the money (talents) and left. The servants knew the expectation because they knew the man. V. 15 tells us that the resources were distributed based on ability. The man knew the servants so he made an assessment of what they could handle. An incorrect assessment would impact the return he received when he came back. When we question why we have not been given more to work with we should first assess our ability. If we have not effectively managed what we have already been given why would our master trust us with more? Each servant was given something to work with. Their ability just determined how much they received. Each servant had the opportunity to produce based on what they received.

When the man returned, the first and second servants produced according to the assessment. The third servant had the opportunity to double but did not apply what he knew about the man to develop his plan for what he was given to manage. If he knew the man he would have known like the other two servants that the expectation was to increase. His situation is compounded because he opens his mouth and proves that he knows the man, he just elected not to use the information. In v. 24 the servant says "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed". If this is how he knew the man then why didn't he produce? In v. 25 he explains what caused his issue, he was afraid. Fear will always cause us to miss what is expected of us. The devil wants us to be afraid of God's expectations so that we are not prepared with increase when the master returns.

One of the more popular New Testament scriptures on giving is the story of the Widow's Offering found in Mark 12:41-44. Some believers have been taught this text is giving an example of faith by giving all she had. Based on this application her faith is in trusting God to provide for her because she was willing to give everything she had. The reason some teach this application is because people struggle with freely giving. I would assume this is to prompt people to trust God to give all they have. The issue with this application is that it does not use the full context to determine the point of Yeshua's comment.

In the previous section vv. 38-40, Yeshua is addressing the religious leaders. One of the things they are accused of in v. 40 is devouring widows' houses. The community was responsible for widows and orphans, therefore the church took care of them out of the collective resources. Yeshua focused on this widow because she exemplified how far the church was from God's plan. God does not intend for anyone to give their last to exemplify faith. Giving is an expression of love not seeking for anything in return. This does not mean God will not increase the giver; our motive for giving cannot be to get. The church has become guilty of the very thing Yeshua accused the synagogue of by misapplying this text. The church should be caring for the widows and orphans not taking offerings from them. The prevailing applications of giving are to ensure that ministry is funded and budgets are met. Spiritual leaders should apply their teachings to the budget and their compensation before suggesting the people live by faith before leadership does.

The last Gospel reference we will look at is Luke 12:41-46. Peter asks Yeshua to clarify who was the slave that the master trusted with caring for the other slaves? Yeshua's response is the leaders are responsible to put the needs of the flock before their own needs. Peter's direct question is to clarify if this teaching is for the twelve or everyone. As Yeshua unwraps this information it is clear leaders are being told to be ready when Christ returns and to place the needs of God's people before their own. In v. 45, Yeshua is telling leaders to stay focused on the kingdom agenda and not to abuse people with spiritual power or position. There is a lot of spiritual abuse in the Christian Church and the leaders are going to be held accountable for not placing the well-being of others before themselves. This does not mean leaders cannot benefit from the resources that are collectively given. It means leaders cannot focus on their well-being and neglect the conditions of the people especially believers. It means everyone must be prepared for the return of Christ, living out our purpose and calling to spread the Gospel and make disciples. If some have material gain in the process this cannot be the objective or focus of ministry.

There is a theme of giving embedded in Acts chapters one through five. At the end of chapters two and four we are informed that the believers were led by the Spirit to sell their possessions to care for the community. Remember one of the reasons for giving in the Old Testament was provision for the priests. In the New Testament the priesthood is expanded to all believers so this giving concept is to provide for everyone in the community so that everyone will be able to surrender to God-controlled living.

In Acts 4:32-37 we are informed of a Levite, a native of Cyprus, named Joseph who the Apostles gave the name Barnabas. He sold a field and laid the money at the Apostle's feet. This information is to display Barnabas' surrender to God and then to the Apostles. Laying the money at the Apostle's feet is a display of surrender and dependence on the community for provision.

Immediately after this story, we are informed about Ananias and Sapphira. They also sold a piece of property but they withheld part of the proceeds as well as laid a portion of the proceeds at the Apostle Peter's feet. The issue was that they misrepresented their intentions. They were not seeking to surrender or depend on the community because they kept part of the proceeds. They were being governed by self-control not God-control therefore they died.

This embedded theme shows that God wants giving to be governed by the Spirit. Once the tithe is not applicable to our situation of grace we must seek to apply the concept of giving in this time of grace. Once we surrender to God-control we will not be defined by what we possess. New Testament giving is based on surrendering all that is me for all that is God. As a God-controlled Disciple we are provided for according to the Spirit from within the community of believers.

#  Chapter 7

God Loves a Cheerful Giver

"The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, 'He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.' He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God." 2 Corinthians 9:6-12

God loves a cheerful giver! The Apostle Paul states this truth to the Corinthian church as he was traveling to collect an offering for the Church in Jerusalem. What does Paul mean when he makes this statement about cheerful givers? The answer is in the context of the statement. God wants giving to be bountiful, voluntary, and without pressure, obligation, or coercion. There are two prevailing factors that impact cheerful giving: the giver and the environment in which the giving occurs. Both of these factors will impact cheerful giving.

First, we will establish what is required to be a cheerful giver. As I have stated previously, giving is an act of worship therefore giving is an expression of thanksgiving to God. It is not to get a blessing. A cheerful giver is motivated to give from within not based on any external stimulation. Being a cheerful giver means that giving was your idea. You want to thank God for being your intimate friend so you express your love and appreciation through giving.

There is a prevailing idea that sowing seeds reaps harvest. Paul's statements to the Corinthian Church have been applied out of context to support this idea. In this text (documented at the beginning of this chapter) you will find the terms seed, sow, and harvest but the intention is not to reap a harvest of blessings. The context says a 'harvest of your righteousness'. Paul was not promising the Corinthians any form or type of blessing in return for their giving. He was letting them know that God will give to the giver so that the giver can give more. The concept here is that God will provide more to give to those who give cheerfully (as an expression of worship).

Cheerful giving is not in response to a request or need. Yes, Paul was collecting this offering because of a need in Jerusalem but Paul plainly states that everyone must give as they have made up their mind to give. Paul does not want the Corinthians to feel forced or compelled to give. He wants their gifts to be voluntary. In 2 Corinthians 9:5 he states, "I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as extortion". Paul's expectation is that the Corinthians give a "bountiful" offering because they have the economic means to give. The problem is there is a lingering issue within the Corinthian Church because of some other teachers who have turned the church away from Paul. This was the reason for the first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians). So, Paul is saying I am sending the brother ahead of me to get the offering together. Paul does not want them to feel that he is forcing them to give and that their giving (or not giving) should not be based on him; it must be based on their love for God.

As I stated in the beginning of this book, many people have taken God's place therefore we want our giving to prompt God to give us what we want. This can reduce giving to a transaction to purchase a blessing. This is not worship. God has promised to supply our needs not because of what we give but because we are God's children. Just like I never had to give my parents anything to love and care for me, the same is true for God. Everything we are stewards of in the earth came from God. We do not have anything that God requires other than love. Our giving must be an expression of love. God cares for us much deeper than what we give.

In order to be a cheerful giver we must plan and prepare to give. The Church should never be in a position of lack or financial struggle. As believers give out of love and The Church is a good steward of these resources there should be more than enough. So much giving is based on need that it appears The Church is always in a state of lack. We are the children of God, saved by grace and redeemed from sin. Why would God leave us in lack, begging and manipulating for the resources needed to do ministry? As a cheerful giver believers need to sow bountifully out of love for God so that there is more than enough. Giving is an expression of love for God which is executed as the first act of worship. Any other motivation for the giver makes giving selfish and not an expression of love and worship.

Next, we must look at the environment in which giving is executed in order to ensure the cheerful giver is in an environment free of extortion and coercion. As I continue to study giving as an expression of worship I am challenged to decide if extortion and coercion are determined by the individual or the group? Most of the believers I have spoken with are convinced the existence of extortion or coercion must be determined by the group. Based on this line of thinking as long as a majority of the people do not feel extorted or coerced then it is fine. I, however, do not agree. With this line of thinking the evaluation of visitors would be irrelevant to determine the state of the giving environment. If we become acclimated to the environment and accepting of the practices we can be extorted and coerced but never be aware of it.

The safest evaluation of extortion and coercion is if one person feels extorted or coerced then it is possible. As believers are educated on how to become a cheerful giver the method of giving and the environment for giving can be changed. There is no reason for anyone to remind us to give because it is my first act of worship. There is no reason to tell me of a need or reason to give because I have given as I have made up my mind to give.

In order for cheerful givers to be birthed the leadership must trust God and manage the church based on what is given. Cheerful givers must know giving cannot be altered based on surplus. Every time we worship we must plan to give. Giving must be as natural as singing, reading scripture or prayer. However, many of the methods of requesting an offering can look like extortion or coercion. I have routinely been informed of gimmicks being used to get believers to give. Multiple offerings per worship service, calling out random amounts for people to give, and the list goes on.

I want to focus in on a practice that is becoming regular in a lot of churches: walking to the altar to lay money down during the worship. At face value this may be the most voluntary method of giving because if I do not want to give I just stay in my seat. The question is not the method it is the motivation. Why are the people conditioned to do this, especially if there is going to be a time for corporate giving in the worship? If this method is to replace the corporate time for giving then it is very liberating, but why bring the offering to the altar? Is this to be noticed while giving which becomes a subtle coercion for people who need to be perceived as being supportive or motivated by the opinions of others? In order for the gift to be an expression of love and worship it must be given to please God not to satisfy the expectations or standards of others.

The purpose of this form of giving varies from church to church therefore everyone must understand the purpose before participating. In some churches these gifts are for the speaker, even if it is the pastor who also receives compensation. In an extreme example I have been told the gifts were placed in a bag, uncounted, and given to the speaker. It is imperative The Church makes every effort to comply with the guidelines of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) unless there is a clear biblical position that is being violated. Currently, in 2015, charitable contributions can only be substantiated by a statement from the charitable organization. If the gift is not recorded a statement cannot be provided. There are church leaders who tell people not to document what is given. This is tax evasion and is illegal. Every believer has a responsibility to protect the integrity of The Church by ensuring all activity can be publicly evaluated and explained. If your church decides not to comply with a law or regulation be open and honest about it and be willing to participate in due process. God is honorable and righteous. As God's children our activities must be honorable in order to produce a harvest of righteousness. We cannot be underhanded or dishonest in our methods and management of the gifts given to God through The Church.

The merchandising machine which generates billions a year in the name of God is clearly contributing to our inability to birth cheerful givers. I want to focus on one specific line of products, compact disc (CD) and digital versatile disc (DVD) (formerly digital video disc). Blank discs can be purchased for less than fifty cents per disc. Of course as the volume increases the per unit cost is reduced. Please excuse my business degree. There is an additional investment for duplicating equipment and possibly graphic designers for packaging. Even with all of this cost the profit on these products is astounding. If the commission of The Church is to share the Gospel to make disciples then the Gospel is free and needs to be accessible to everyone. How can we focus on becoming cheerful givers while we are being conditioned to purchase the products? The Church must make every effort to change our motivation from becoming wealthy to making disciples. I am not against wealth. I am against wealth being our motive.

Giving is not to satisfy budgets or salaries. It is not to move God to bless or deliver us. God loves giving when it expresses our love and thanks for being redeemed through Yeshua. There are so many people who have been injured by the extortion or coercion of The Church so they are attempting to seek God without The Church. God loves the harmony and unity that community fosters. Anything negatively impacting community does not please God. The question cannot be how many people are participating in the methods. It must be, how many people are avoiding The Church because of these methods. It is our responsibility to develop community by making disciples of all nations. If the methods and mentalities of giving have caused the world to believe coming to church will cause them to be extorted or coerced The Church must change so that the world can be changed.

Paul's desire was for the Corinthians to be concerned about pleasing God. This is why he informed them in v. 12, "For the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God". Paul wants the motive for giving to be God so he informs them he gives many thanksgivings to God because of them. He praises God because of them. God is celebrated because they voluntarily have made up their minds to support the saints with their gifts. This must be the motivation for giving so that God will love our giving because God loves a cheerful giver.

# Chapter 8

Changing the Giving Paradigm

It will take years to undo misinformation that has been communicated which is why changing the paradigm of giving in our church is a continuing process. My understanding of giving was simple, tithes and offering. I have never used fund-raising as part of our giving process therefore tithes and offering were imperative for us to be effective. I taught tithing as a requirement and offering as your love for God. Additionally, an offering could not be given until after the tithe. For me, tithing could not be occasional. God had to receive the full tithe regularly or your finances would be cursed.

Imagine my shock, pursing my doctorate, as I studied the very scriptures I used to support this process to find that I could not substantiate tithing as a requirement or even as a biblical part of the giving process because of the differences in an agrarian verses monetary economy. I was sitting in the library surrounded by books and I remembered my reason for pursuing a doctorate. I wanted to solidify the truth and challenge the things I thought were true but were not. I tried to take the easy way out but my advisor, Dr. Larry George, challenged me by asking tough questions. I was lost, as you may be at this point.

The avenue to change the paradigm was obvious and right in front of me. The issue was it changed everything and forced me to ask myself do I love God enough to be a cheerful giver. Why did I rely on a fixed percentage to be the limit of my love? New Testament teaching tells me to give God everything so why is the tithe the pinnacle of my giving strategy when my love for God should grow to be expressed beyond this limit? Giving has been taught as a solution to financial needs so when needs are not communicated we think we do not have to give. I had been so entrenched in the paradigm I was taught and had experienced my entire life that I could not believe the information the Bible had. To be honest, I taught what I was told. I never took the time to study giving for myself. I read the Bible but I needed it to support what I had always been told. This was wrong but everyone I knew had the same understanding so it could not be wrong if everyone did the same thing. It was time for a Paradigm Shift.

The answer that was right in front of me was the Bible. Simply put, what is God saying to me about giving? From a young age I have always felt there was something wrong with how giving was explained and executed. This is why I have never used fund-raising. It did not feel like this was how God wanted to support ministry. You may be like I was, you know something isn't right but everyone is doing it so it must be okay. I had to adjust to the information then I had to stand before the church and repent for misinforming then. My wife Barbara and I have been blessed to invest in a number of ministers who are pastors now, so this repentance is no small thing. It would have a ripple effect. Some would not embrace this shift but what God had revealed to me resolved the uneasiness that I had carried for years. I felt the shackles fall off of my giving. I had been liberated and it felt good. I would not retreat nor compromise. The Holy Spirit confirmed it and I was convicted to share this liberty with everyone.

Sharing this new paradigm for giving was difficult for me and the church. In my first book, Ministry vs. Membership, I had plainly stated what I thought was God's method of giving. I had to stand on what was true and repent for what was not. I had to take back what I had taught about tithing, the pinnacle of my giving paradigm. I spent years trying to become a tither and it was almost a badge of honor that I made it. This was not worship. We abruptly shifted from tithing to love expressions. The abrupt shift was not a good idea. People were confused, frightened, and overwhelmed. Some did not know they were selfish and did not want to express love for God through giving. Many just wanted us to tell them what to give so they could not be held accountable for the decisions they made. Giving in our church plummeted. We took necessary measures to function based on what we had but it was drastic. I was caught between a rock and a hard place. The people needed me to tell them what to do, but this would violate their opportunity to express their love for God.

The Spirit told me to simply ask them "do you love God?" If so express it through giving. We retaught stewardship but this time it was for giving. Manage your resources so that you produce a love expression to God. Yeshua taught this in some parables, it was there so it was easy to teach. I quickly realized that my eyes were opened quickly but the shift would take time. People require time to digest and be retrained so their behaviors and decisions conform to the new paradigm. Don't rush into this be patient and calculating. If the people do not know they have become gods they will rebel against anything which reveals this.

Capitalism has made us selfish and materialistic. People are defined by what they have. Status is more important than testimony. Leaders are chosen by their secular profession instead of their profession of Christ. It has been easy for The Church to fall in this hole of extortion and coercion because it supports how we define ourselves. There is a distinct difference between wealth and having money. Wealth is when the money you have makes money for you. The only way to maintain wealth is stewardship (management). Yeshua taught a lot about stewardship.

The new giving paradigm must be based on loving God so that my giving is worship because it expresses my love and thanksgiving to God. The Church must overflow with the resources to care for the saints first. Yes, we must care for the widow, orphans and poor but believers must come before unbelievers. In order to become cheerful givers we must prepare for what we want to give. We may not be able to do it right now but we have a giving goal. This goal cannot be defined by any external source. It must be a voluntary decision based on my love for God then I must manage my resources to position myself to express my love in this way.

The Church must stop focusing on money. Giving must be like every other facet of worship not coerced. If a believer must be compelled to express love for God then there is something wrong that is far more significant than the offering total. By understanding the love God has shown for us we can see the standard of love God expects from us in appreciation for the love we have received. God so loved the world that he gave. We must love God through our giving first. Everyone's intangible expression of love must be supported by tangible expressions of love. If I love my wife I have to make every effort to provide and work with her tangibly to substantiate my intangible expressions of love.

Liberty is a key component in the message of Christ. The Church must listen to the people to establish a worship environment of liberty. If one person feels extorted or coerced The Church must be progressive in striving to give everyone an environment of liberty. This is going to require every church to be able to explain their process of giving. Worshippers need to understand what they are doing and what the money is being used for. Accountability is an important pillar of a Christian lifestyle so The Church must be a leading example of accountability in every way.

In our new giving paradigm we make every effort to make sure giving is voluntary, not coerced, and there is no offering plea so that no one feels extorted. People are informed there are baskets at the entrance to the sanctuary so they can give as their first act of worship. Some have asked why the baskets are not in the front or at the altar. We do not want anyone to give in order to be seen. Any motivation other than loving God removes worship from the giving.

I am not suggesting every church adopt this paradigm because our paradigm is still under construction (which I will discuss in the next chapter). I offer this information to give you an idea of how some of the questions can be answered. As I teach giving to believers, love and liberty are the key pillars. Remember, Paul used the term cheerful. This is why this book is entitled "Cheerfully". Giving must be executed cheerfully. If you break a twenty dollar bill before you get to church so that you can give five dollars in each offering, this is not cheerful. Since you have made up your mind to give twenty dollars why not put it in one offering and skip the other three. You are being extorted and coerced if you are made to feel unfaithful if you do not give every time the church asks.

I do not believe doctrine can be established through Epistles. Doctrine must be established from the Gospels. The reason my giving paradigm is being developed from 2 Corinthians is because Paul's application is based on the teachings of Yeshua. It is just easier to point to this text than to take a journey through the teachings of Christ. I did lay the foundation back in chapter 6.

Since I am suggesting a paradigm change the subject of appreciation giving must be addressed. Appreciation and compensation are different. Servants of the kingdom should be compensated. Appreciation is used to say thank you for the ministry service someone has given. Appreciation giving must be voluntary. How can someone ask to be thanked for being obedient to God? There are churches in which people and ministries are given a minimum amount for appreciation. This is clearly not worship giving because it has nothing to do with love.

Additionally, believers need to be aware of the tax implications associated with appreciation giving. I am not an accountant so I will keep this very basic. If the appreciation gift is given directly to the person, whether it is cash or check, it is not tax deductible because you must have a contribution statement from the charitable organization in order for it to be deductible. If the appreciation gift is given to the church and the church gives it to the minister, the minister must pay taxes on this gift because it is income and the church must record it so that the amount is reflected on your annual contribution statement. In both of these scenarios the minister is responsible for taxes but the first scenario is more difficult for the IRS to identify.

There are churches which use appreciation as their vehicle for compensation. In these situations it is best for the offering to be tracked by the church so statements can reflect the giving and taxes can be paid. Within your church there must be a clear understanding as to why you have appreciation giving as a component of your giving paradigm. If it is because you believe the servant deserves more money give them a raise conditional on an offering that will be collected during a specified period. Why do believers rent limousines, roll out red carpet and throw rose petals or money in a person's path? All of this is to honor the person. God is not honored as we honor someone else. Be very thankful for the servants and staff God has blessed your church with. Compensate them well, but the parade and competition to give the best gift is not of God nor is it worship. As the Holy Spirit leads you to bless people, financially, do it. Don't wait for a special day to stand in line or lay it at their feet or at the altar. Give because God leads you to not because someone told you directly or indirectly.

Pastors and church leaders, if you simply dismiss this book because it does not fit with what you have been taught or are teaching do what I did study the word for yourself. If you have a clear understanding of grace you will understand God is not seeking to curse anyone. There are challenges in leading God's people and making sure they stay focused on the vision and mission. Never lose sight of the fact that we are God's people. Have faith God called you and has positioned you to have faith that God will accomplish the plan for your ministry. Do not get so concerned about the outcome that you extort or coerce unintentionally. It is easy to cross this line and not know because most of the people assigned to you are willing to trust you. Don't just teach faith lead by faith and see God fulfill every promise spoken over your ministry.

Disciples for Christ, as a believer in God through Yeshua you have a responsibility to be cheerful givers. It is understandable for pastors and leaders to struggle with this information because, for most, their livelihood is depended on how you respond. Don't be motivated externally. Look within yourself and admit it if you do not plan for giving; if you do not have giving goals that challenge you to be a better steward and to invest to produce gain for giving; if you have been sucked into the materialism of capitalism and think God has to bless you for giving. God does not owe us anything. Everything God was going to give was given on The Cross and sealed in The Resurrection. To think God needs to do anything else for you to give is selfish and unfaithful to The Blood given for your sin. Loving God is internal and continual your only motivation for giving is that God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Worship God with your giving; without recognition or expectation of anything in return. Give cheerfully, not grudgingly or reluctantly. Give as an expression of your love for God this is worship. Don't focus on the methods of your church let your love for God guide what you give.

As pastors, leaders and disciples work together

the Giving Paradigm will Shift.

#  Chapter 9

Establish a Giving Strategy

I stated in the previous chapter the giving paradigm in our church (Blessed Harvest Institute) is still being developed. For some this may not be new information but some of us are still learning. The next phase is to be a cheerful giver. A participant in my doctoral project told me they loved God more than the money they had. They wanted me to know what they gave was not a reflection of their love for God because they did not have enough to express their love. This may be your feeling so what can we do with this information? Let the love motivate you to initiate a Giving Strategy. There are a number of ways to establish a Giving Strategy. There is no right or wrong way to develop it as long as the components are biblical, correctly interpreted and applied.

The Giving Strategy our church developed has four phases and is intended to be adopted over the course of four quarters. This will allow you to become consistent in a phase before advancing to the next. For some, you may already be at a level so do not waste time going back to a level that you are already consistent in. The key is to be consistent voluntarily. If you do not want to love God in a specific form of giving don't do it. At every level you must ask yourself will you love God through this expression of giving consistently. If not, you must address your love before you address your giving.

The first phase is Systematic Giving. Percentage giving pleases God because it dedicates a portion of everything we have received not just part of our paycheck. Some of us have multiple sources of income God should have access to a percentage of the total. The devil loves to see believers go back on our word to God. So, making a vow to God is powerful and keeping it defeats the devil. Your vow must be private. Only share it with one or two people to keep you accountable. The vow is to systematically give the same percentage every time you worship. Not every time you get paid. If you are already tithing you are on your way to systematic giving. Remember, giving is an act of worship so stop focusing on your pay day and become systematic as an expression of love in worship. Don't be impulsive here in the beginning. Establish a realistic amount and give it every time you worship God corporately.

When God gave me this Giving Strategy I was already giving systematically. The interesting thing is that I was not giving every time I worshipped corporately so I sought God and was lead to add fifty dollars to my giving but I had to give it every week in worship. The lesson at this level is to be consistent and to see giving as a regular part of the worship experience, not because the church asks for offerings but because I embrace giving as worship like singing and praying.

Being consistent develops habits and strength. We become stronger through The Holy Spirit with consistency. God wants to rely on us so consistency is a key component in our relationship with God. Get a partner who you respect and allow them to verify you are keeping your vow. It is better not to make a vow than to make it and break it. If you consistently do not keep your vow modify it so that you can be consistent first. I continue to give my biweekly amount but I am learning to give every week fifty dollars. It is a challenge.

The second phase is giving a tenth as my minimum. Some may think this is tithing but I do not believe it is. I viewed tithing as the pinnacle of giving but the objective of this phase is to allow the faithfulness of Abraham and Jacob to motivate giving more than the law. Abraham and Jacob gave a tenth before it was law. They gave as an expression of love through worship. We should desire to love God at least as much as they did. Do not look at the tenth as the optimal gift view it as your minimum expression. I love God more than a tenth but I do not want my love to ever be less than a tenth, therefore this phase allows us to join Abraham and Jacob out of love not obligation. The obligation or requirement to tithe takes the love out of the gift. Worship is what believers want to do not have to do.

If you did the work in the first phase to become systematic the challenge here will be getting the percentage to a tenth. Additionally, continually remind yourself success at this phase is not accomplishing giving a tenth consistently. Success at this phase is making the tenth the minimum you will ever give to God as an expression of love in worship.

Phase three is allowing the Holy Spirit to lead your giving. The Holy Spirit is the only one who knows what God has for you and wants from you; therefore you must seek the Holy Spirit to inform you of what to give. In phase two we made a vow that a tenth would be the minimum expression of love so we have established that the Holy Spirit will not tell us to give less than a tenth. Let me reiterate two things: 1) giving must be in a free environment; 2) you have to want to do it. I am not saying you are required to do these things, however I am stating a simple progression of truth. Since The Holy Spirit knows where God wants us to be we must be willing to seek The Holy Spirit for what God wants.

God does not want our giving to cause stress and strain but God does honor sacrifice. The key here is not to simply increase the percentage; it is to enhance stewardship so that the increase is generated through gain. The more we focus on wealth over money the more effective this Giving Strategy will be.

At this point in the strategy you are walking by faith. No one is telling you what to do. There are no arbitrary standards like a tenth. It is just you and God through The Holy Spirit. Now the question is will you trust God to enter this phase relying on what you learned and developed in phases one and two. Know that in each phase there will be setbacks but repent and keep pressing. The only sin in this process is the broken vow. You will get it. This process will cause you to budget and save. You must master these along the way.

Prayer is key in this phase. You must invest the time to seek The Holy Spirit and then prepare to respond. It may take planning and adjustment before giving your first gift led by The Holy Spirit. Don't go to anyone to tell you what to give. You must learn to hear God yourself. If you let someone tell you what to give the worship in the gift is gone. The challenge is first to hear The Spirit and then respond faithfully and consistently. Remember, God gives seed to the sower so as you display the desire and consistency to worship God through giving, God will provide the resources for you to give more. Let God give you the increase then increase your giving. This is being a Worship Giver. This is where giving is liberated and I am free to love God solely based on how I am being led by The Holy Spirit.

God did not lead me in this way. I was instructed to give before I had it, but God was faithful to give me a bonus and a raise so my resource increased to support the gift The Spirit led me to give. Just let God lead you in this phase. Your relationship with God will have to guide you at this point. Your accountability partner is not necessary at this point. You be consistent and know how to keep your vow.

Phase four is sacrificial giving. A sacrificial gift is not offered regularly. It is a form of giving in addition to worship giving. In this phase you are not giving based on corporate worship. This is a solemn time in which you choose to express your love to God above and beyond how you have been led by The Spirit. The first three phases are solely given to the church where you worship in this phase you can give to any ministry including your church. Note that sacrificial giving can only be performed after you have become a worship giver. At times we are enticed to contribute to ministries based on the plea and presentation. The church you attend is where you have made a vow to grow in God and support the kingdom. If you are not satisfied there be mature and inform them before you transition to a church that you can be committed to God through.

There are two ways to make a vow for sacrificial giving:

  1. You make a vow to contribute at certain times of the year in addition to what The Holy Spirit has led you to give regularly in worship. Be faithful to your vow and strive to accomplish it. You do not need to inform anyone of your sacrificial vow because you are faithful in giving to express your love to God.

  2. Your church pastor or leaders call for a sacrificial offering periodically. Pastor and leaders must remember God does not want giving to be extortion or coercion. Also, it is not good stewardship to encourage believers to acquire debt in order to give. Personal loans, second mortgages and credit cards are not the forms of giving God desires. If a person uses a credit card as part of their stewardship plan in order to get reward points or bonus benefits let them make that choice privately. When calling for a sacrificial offering give the people time to get prepared. Inform them why the sacrifice is being requested so everyone can work together to achieve the objective. Pastors must remember as the people pursue phase three the financial position of the church should improve dramatically with good stewardship.

Sacrificial giving is not to be exploited for personal gain. The sincerity of the believers along with their consistent faithful giving must be honored with self-sacrifice and determined leadership. David called for a sacrificial offering in 1 Chronicles 29. David did not instruct the people to give first. He gave first because he was their leader. He received benefit of their collective resources therefore he led by giving from his personal resources first. The elders and leaders followed him then the people gave. I have witnessed the dishonesty of church leaders as they lead in giving and then take it back when the offering is counted. I was actually asked once if I wanted my offering back. I was shocked because I did not know that was how things were done; when I said no I was never invited to count offerings again. Giving is worship, therefore ploys and gimmicks are extortion and coercion. If believers are ever going to make the effort to become sacrificial givers leadership must establish an environment of liberty and integrity so giving can be an expression of love and thanksgiving to God through worship.

#  Chapter 10

Let's Talk!

When I evaluate a book to purchase I always read the beginning of the last chapter. It needs to generate interest so that I will invest the time to see what it took to get to this point. It is extremely difficult for me to determine how this journey has impacted you. At this point you either have no interest in ever touching a book by me or you are on your way to Google to see how you can invite me to your city to teach giving as an expression of worship.

Giving is sacred and serious. The corruption and greed of people have altered God's intention for giving. Materialism and misinformation plague The Church when it comes to understanding the importance of giving as an expression of worship. Giving has one purpose, which is to express love and thanksgiving to God in worship. It cannot be used for anything else; to do so is to rob God of love. The mentality surrounding giving must be altered so believers can give cheerfully. That simple – Cheerfully!

Where do we begin to change the paradigm and correctly apply scripture to the practices of The Church? You have to make some decisions. If you have been driven away from The Church because of the extortion or coercion that may exist then be radical like Yeshua was, get some friends together and study this book. Evaluate the scriptures referenced then expand your study to look into other texts. You will find God is very consistent. Possibly you may want to make a grand impact for all of those who would not listen to you when you tried to tell them something is wrong, then rent a room and invite me to come teach on giving. If you are a faithful Disciple attending church regularly and you see this information as true but your church will never embrace this information, give a copy of this book to your spiritual leader then go into prayer asking God to minister to them and see what happens. If you are a pastor or leader in The Church at any level whether you agree or disagree with this information talk to your church. Give them an opportunity to be honest with you see what they say. Their voices will inform you of how to proceed. If you don't care one way or the other donate this book to someone who might care. If your church is already enlightened so that your giving is liberated I request your prayers because there are so many believers who do not know what you know, they do not experience what you experience. No one came to inform me. Every book I read concluded by supporting the oppression I was in or they did not address what should be done they only pointed out what was wrong. I will not stop until everyone has this information. There are unbelievers who have resisted coming to Christ because they do not know there are churches that have changed the giving paradigm. Send me your church information so that we can lead people to your church where they can give out of worship.

My mission is to restore giving as God intended it; to prepare and encourage Disciples to give out of love for God and to honor their vow; to encourage churches to establish an environment of worship that is free of extortion and coercion. This journey is not easy and it will not be allowed to proceed uninhibited. God's people need to be liberated from the oppressive methods of giving that plague The Church.

Don't close this book without making a decision. Get involved. I believe there are more people who agree with me so together we can impact The Church. We can get their attention by banding together to love God and do God's will. If everyone stays on the sidelines it will be business as usual and nothing will change. A few people in my doctoral project got angry because they had been lied to and taken advantage of. It was not intentional in some cases but the impact was generally the same. We must work together to heal and enlighten. This is not accomplished by abandoning The Church. This is accomplished by standing up for Christ.

iENDNOTES

Talmage Williams, The Worshipgiver: One Who Gives as an Expression of Worship (SBC Stewardship Commission, 1995), 10.

ii Williams, The Worshipgiver, 3.

iii Williams, The Worshipgiver, 4.

iv Bruce M. Metzger and Roland E. Murphy, The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal / Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 162 OT.

v Jacob Milgrom, The Anchor Bible: Leviticus 23-27. Vol. 3B. (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 2398.

vi

Lloyd R Bailey, Leviticus - Numbers (Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2005), 324.

vii

Metzger and Murphy, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 237-238 OT.

viii

Mark E Biddle, Deuteronomy (Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2003), 254.

ix

Metzger and Murphy, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 1236 OT.

x

Frank Viola and George Barna, Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of our Church Practices (Carol Stream: BarnaBooks, 2008), 173.

xi

Viola and Barna, Pagan Christianity, 173.

xii

Viola and Barna, Pagan Christianity, 174.

xiii

Donald Wilson Stake, The ABCs of Worship: A Concise Dictionary (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992), 187-188.

