There are two very strong indicators of a person's spiritual condition - the tongue and the purse. If you control these two, you control the person. Money is a very controlling factor in this world. Consider the fact that many of our government leaders are immoral, but the economy is good, so people are willing to look the other way. It appears that people are willing to accept immorality with prosperity rather than accept righteousness with economic leanness. But then things are not always as they appear.

Keep this in mind:

Let me say very emphatically -

The tithe is the Lord's. Tithe is an old English word. Today we say tenth. Now that is not somebody's idea or interpretation of what tithe means. That is literally what it means. The tenth is the Lord's. Whether it is your money or your time or your ideas or whatever. The tenth of everything is the Lord's.

Now, to be more accurate, the whole is the Lord's.

The whole world and everything in it belongs to God.

The animals, the cattle, the birds, all belong to him. He doesn't need anything from you. It all belongs to him. You cannot give God anything that doesn't already belong to Him.

All wealth belongs to God. He owns the silver and gold; he owns the mines they come from; he owns the hills the mines are in.

And best of all, he owns you.

He already owns it. It is already His. It's not like you are giving God anything. It's the other way around. He allows you to use His stuff. We are like sharecroppers. He allows us to take a share of His produce. But what a share! He allows us to keep 90%. You won't find that kind of deal anywhere else.

Tithing is our acknowledgement of His Lordship - His ownership. When we tithe, we materially acknowledge that we know it all belongs to Him. When we hold back our tithe, we show that we think it belongs to us.

Let me make this clear - You do not have the right to hold back your tithe. It is not yours to keep. When you keep it, you are stealing. You are taking something that is not yours. It is as if you broke into heaven and stole something out of God's house.

We are not owners of anything. We are stewards. A steward is a caretaker. He takes care of, or oversees something that belongs to someone else. It's like when you rent a home. It doesn't belong to you. You are just using it. You have to pay rent to the owner. You have to get permission before you go remodeling or adding on or removing anything. It's not your right to do that without permission because it doesn't belong to you.

We must get this concept thoroughly ingrained in our thinking. We do not own things. We simply use them. Someday we will give account to God how we used them.

You must pay your tithes. Notice I said pay - not give. You're not giving anything until you give more than your tithe. The tithe is an obligation. It's like a bill. No! It is a bill! You owe that to God.

Well, let me explain two things.

First of all, we are not free from the law. We are free from the power of sin. We don't have to break the law anymore. We don't have to obey temptation or the devil or the flesh or the world anymore. Our freedom doesn't exempt us from obeying the law. Rather it enables us to obey the law. Not by the letter, but by the Spirit. The Spirit living in us is a Holy Spirit - he keeps the law in us. He fulfills the law through us. So, no! You are not exempt from the tithe.

Secondly, tithing actually came before the law. Abraham paid tithes to the priest Melchisedek 400 years before the law was given. Melchisedek was symbolic of Christ.

Essentially, law is not the issue here. Control is the issue. Who is in control - you or God? Who controls your finances? If you tithe, you acknowledge God's control. If you don't, you maintain control.

Let us remember, it is not ours. It is the Lord's. When you give it, you release control of it. A pastor recently told me that his church is remodeling. There was a disagreement about the color of the carpet. A member said, "Well you know pastor, it is our money." Folks, the problem there is not a carpet problem. It's a control problem. If you or I think the money we put in the church is still ours to control, we are not really paying tithes. We're building a savings account and trying to stay in control of it. I don't think the carpet color is worth fighting about, but I do think the tithe question must be settled. When you give it to God, it is a sacrifice, and it no longer exists as far as you are concerned.

If the tithe is to go into the storehouse -

then we need to determine what the storehouse is. The storehouse is like a pantry. You put things in and you receive things out of the storehouse. If you put nothing in, you have no right to get anything out.

It seems to be my experience that the people who expect the most from the church are the ones who put the least into it. The most demanding members are usually the ones who do not tithe. But, by far, the most demanding people are the ones who only come to the church when they have a need. They won't come for preaching or follow counsel, but when the finances are gone or the bills need to be paid, there they are.

We always try to help where we can, but the point is we need to keep the storehouse stocked up if anyone is to get anything out of it. That's why you must have a local storehouse. Some people send their tithe to distant ministries and then wonder why their local church can't help them. They're sending the goods to somebody else's storehouse.

If every member or attender would tithe faithfully and regularly, the needs of the local church would be met. Tithing is God's plan for the local church. Remember, God doesn't need our money, but we need to give it to exercise our faithfulness and our faith, to partner with God in the work of the ministry, and to ensure our own blessings. There is always a blessing for faithfulness.

Now let's talk about these blessings, or rewards, for a minute. We certainly should not give just so we can get a return. That's not a very righteous motivation. But let us neither refuse the just reward for our obedience. God has promised to reward us abundantly. It's kind of like a savings account in that respect. God has promised to give back with interest. So why not cash in on that. I'll take whatever rewards and blessings God wants to give me. The promise and principle is there.

Remember this;

God blesses those who give.

God blesses as you give.

And God blesses after you give.

You can't pick the corn until you've planted the corn. Get it?

God also promises to rebuke the devourer.

When you hold back the tithe, you steal from God. When you steal you bring a curse upon yourself for disobedience. The enemy has every right to steal from you when you steal form God. You are a thief and you have no right to complain when you get back what you dish out.

Someone suggested that we ask those who don't tithe to at least give 5% and see how God blesses that. Well, that would be better for us I guess. Better to receive half a tithe than none, huh? But can God bless disobedience? Can He bless partial obedience? Maybe it would be okay to tell half lies, or beat somebody half to death. And then maybe we'd go halfway to heaven. Would that be better than going all the way to hell? Or is there a difference?

You cannot pick and choose which parts of God's Word you will obey and which ones you won't.

I urge you, for your own sake and for the sake of the work of God, pay your tithes.