Brother Stampe,

You have received a wonderful understanding from the Lord....

I also fought with the same issues in my earlier days, and I have had to deal with the likes of emmeging church leaders and pastors of the 20th and 21st century exclaim to me that you cannot be blessed(happy) without paying the tithe....

Let every man be a liar, and let God be True.

Praise God for the insight that the father has delivered to you through His dear Son.

I do believe in giving out of God's favor, not to win his favor, for in Christ we have an overflow of the Fathers favor and blessing.

Love in Christ tom

_________________
Tom weighill

Wow! One of the best comments I have ever heard about tithing. This came from the heart of God, and I am thrilled to hear it!


Without a professional clergy, the soul of the [b]clergy/laity[/b] system would dry up. The professional clergy lives on the back of the Church, which is supported by the tithe.


This Professional class of Pastors and "ministers" has done more to destroy the Church than any other device Satan has used against the Bride. They are considered "separate" from the common....in effect...the Priests, as denoted in the Law of Moses. Of course, we are a nation of Priests and Kings, and we are really all brothers and sisters...EQUAL.



"The Lords of the gentiles are called benefactors, but it shall so be named among you....for you are all brothers, and Christ is your Head."


This is at the heart of the professional ministry. Power, Privilege and position. Jesus referred to it as Nicolaitan...[only translated Greek tense because the Church of England refused to allow the team King James assembled to do otherwise. It was too obvious what HE meant.]..Lords and Masters over my people! HE HATES THEIR DEEDS AND THEIR TEACHINGS!...and the power base is in their support by means of the tithe. It is a non-Christian system...that divides the Church in to different classes. The spiritual, the clergy...and the LAY...the drones who soak, and who perpetually are taught, who support the leaders!







I love [b]Acts chpt:20[/b] :The great Apostle has modelled his Faith, and now departs forever from the beloved Church he has entrusted to the shepherds. He speaks a short discourse; a prophetic standard to the Elders to model. "With these hands have I labored day and night, to provide for my needs and those with me, and also to support the weak....[over a span of years..]


He speaks of a life not only of labor for his own bread, but then states he did not covet ANYTHING they had...anything; silver, Gold, worldly comforts. These Elders should follow his example..as he lifted his hands up for them to behold, and as a witness.



Then he spoke about the words of Jesus.."It is more blessed to give, than to receive." The Elders...Pastors, should support the weak, not the other way around.



Then he spoke of "grievous wolves" arising from themselves..[as Judas arose from the 12..]Not sparing the flock".."drawing disciples away to follow themselves".
Did you ever hear a Pastor slip and say "MY CHURCH?"


We have it upside down, concerning the ministry, and it is a war. This is primarily the reason the Pharisees, who embodied the Nicolaitan, Pastor Spirit of today, CRUCIFIED the Lord Jesus. They did not want to relinquish Power!"If we let Him continue. they [the Romans] will come and remove our Nation, and our Place!" Trust me, they only cared about the Nation, and the people, as it related to maintaining their power.


The tithe supports their power, which in turn, separates the Church, and in the end, destroys Her...for she is spoon fed, never growing, being subdued by men who dominate Her, rather than the Lord Jesus Alone. He only has the right to do so.



I loved your post. "Give unto the Lord, All you Mighty, Give unto the Lord, Glory and Strength!" "Glory" is our Worship. "Strength" is our Substance.



God never called us to dress up and sit in front of a Master of ceremonies and listen to a "sermon." He called us to be a family, where everyone is equal and loved and honored the same way....with each member contributing and giving, and the weak were given more grace, so their would be an equality...not the strong supported by everyone else...and dominate meetings.



The meetings always follow the community, and are secondary, The Tithe IS given to the weak, and needy as is modeled throughout the New Testament. The tithe is not necessarily one tenth...but God's portion....which is a burnt sacrifice. Everything is His anyway. He desires us to Love sacrificially.

I felt this sums it up nicely.

Always Put God First In Your Life

Zac Poonen

In Malachi 3: 8-11 The Lord says, "Will a man rob [orcheat] God? Yet you are robbing Me. But you say, `How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing [defrauding] Me, the whole nation of you. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven andpour out for you a blessing until there is not room enough.Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes".

Did you know that tithing is not mentioned even once afterthe day of Pentecost (when the new covenant was instituted)? Tithing is not commanded under the new covenant at all – yet multitudes of covetous pastors still preach it today and exploit poor, ignorant believers. Jesus did not teach His disciples to tithe but to give. What do we have to give to God first of all? Romans 12:1 states, "I beseech you,brethren, by the mercies of God, present your bodies (not your tithes) as a living sacrifice to God."

Just as paying the tithe was emphasised under the old covenant, presenting our bodies to God is what is emphasised in the new covenant. Tithing was meant to be a type, justlike the Passover lamb and the Sabbath day. The lamb was atype of Christ, and the Sabbath was a type of the inwardrest that Christ gives us. These Old Testament rituals wereall shadows of what was finally fulfilled in Christ (as Colossians 2:16,17 makes crystal clear).

Concerning tithing, God had said, "The purpose of tithing isto teach you always to put God first in your lives"(Deut.14:23-Living Bible). Under the old covenant, they offered their tithes to prove that God was first in their lives. In the new covenant, we present our bodies to God and thus prove that He is first in our lives.

What does it mean to offer our bodies? It means giving oureyes to God so that we never use them for ourselves again.Is that easier or is it easier to give 10% of your income to God? You know that it is far easier to give 10% of our income each month to God than to keep our eyes pure each day of that month. That is why preachers teach tithing more than keeping our eyes pure. Many pastors are lovers of money andthey want their congregation to tithe so that they canbecome rich from those tithes. Since there is nojustification at all for tithing in the new covenant, they use this verse in Malachi to frighten ignorant believersinto paying their tithes every month.

The early apostles were poor, as we can see clearly from 1Corinthians 4:9-12: "God has exhibited us apostles last ofall……To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty,and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands." Butconsider the mathematics of how a covetous pastor today becomes wealthy. If 10 people give him one-tenth of theirincome, he gets one man's average salary (because 10 X 10% = 100%).

This is reasonable. But well-known pastors receivetithes from hundreds of God's people. If even 100 peoplegive their tithes to a pastor, his income will become tentimes that of the average man – and very soon he will becomea millionaire, at the expense of his supporters! And then inorder to justify his becoming wealthy, he will begin topreach prosperity as the mark of God's blessing (from theOld Testament – Deuteronomy 28:5,8,11) – and his flock is deceived. This is the deception flooding Christendom today,all over the world, and it is all being done in the Name of Jesus.

The money-changers are back in the temple of God –and there is no-one to drive them out, as Jesus did; and there is hardly any preacher who is bold enough to exposethese confidence tricksters.

Then how much money should we to give for God's work? Only what we can give cheerfully – for God does not love those who give money under pressure, or who give in order to getsomething from Him (See 2 Cor.9:8). First give your body tothe Lord and then give whatever money you want to givecheerfully, but never as an obligation and certainly not outof fear. I hope this understanding of God's Word liberatesyou from false teaching.