The Discipline of Tithing十一奉献的操练
Author: Ps Andrew Xu
““Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.”
“Honor the lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your pro duce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
As Christians, we are all stewards of God . What has God given us to manage? What God has given us to manage includes our time on earth, our gifts, our health, and our wealth. These do not belong to us but are placed in our hands by God for us to manage . Since we are stewards, we should do what our master tells us to do. Today I want to focus some teachings on the practice of tithing.
Tithing is an instruction from God . 100% of the wealth we have belongs to God, not just 10%. The tithe is just the basic instruction that God, the owner of the wealth instructs His stewards to carry out. God has given us 100% of our wealth to be man aged by us, of which a tenth He has given specific instructions . The rest we still must ask God for wisdom on how to manage it well. If we, as stewards, do not follow God's instructions to perform the tithe, then we are robbing God . We are not robbing God of a tenth, but all that He has given us. Imagine if one day you had to go out of town for years without being able to return. You give a bank account to a man you trust to be the steward of your wealth in Singapore. You tell him that he must manage the wealth well, of which you can take some for your living and enjoy it occasionally. However, he must transfer a sum of money to your family's account regularly every month . This is the only specific instruction you gave to him. But while you are away, the steward you entrusted your money with did not transfer money to your family but takes money from the account every month to feed and enjoy himself . Do you think that the steward is robbing you of your money? The same is true when we do not tithe. If we are not tithing currently, let's get started. Whether we have enough to live by or not is not the reason for us tithing or not tithing. When we tithe, God will take care of us.
Will we obey by faith in His providence?
Dear brothers and sisters, tithing is an exercise. May our church be faithful to God in our tithe and be good stewards of God's money. Go for it!
文/许燕杰传道
“人怎可抢夺神之物呢？你们却抢夺属我之物，竟还问：‘我们抢夺了你的什么呢’ 就是抢夺了当纳的十分之一和当献的祭物。你们要受严厉
的咒诅，因你们全国的人都抢夺了属我之物。”
“你要把你的财物，和一切初熟的农作物，敬奉耶和华。这样，你的
仓库必充满有余，你的梓酒池也必盈溢新酒。”
身为基督徒 ， 我们都是神的管家 。 上帝赐给我们什么东西管理呢 ？ 上帝赐给我们管理的包括我们在世的时间、恩赐、健康和财富。 这些都不是属千我们的， 而是上帝放在我们的手中让我们管理的。 既然我们是管家 ， 我们就应当照着主入的指示行事 。今天我要专注在十—奉献的操练上做—些的教导。
十—奉献是上帝的指示，我们所拥有的财富百分之百是属千神的，不是十分之— 。缴纳十—奉献只是财富的主人交代给衪管家要执行的最基本的指示而已。神所赐给我们百分之百的财富都要好好的管理 ， 其中有十分之—衪有特定的指示， 其余的财富我们仍然要向神求智慧去好好管理 。若我们身为管家的不按着上帝的指示执行十— 奉献， 那我们就是枪夺了上帝之物 。 我们枪的不是上帝的十分之— ， 而是百分百 。试想—想 ， 如果有—天你要出远门 ，且有好几年没有办法回来 。你交代了—个你信任的人成为你新加坡财富的管家 。 你跟他
说，这些的财富你要好好管理，其中你可以拿—些当作养身之用，偶尔享受—下也可以的 。但是， 每个月—定要定期将—笔钱转到我家人的户口中。这是我唯—的特定指示 。 但当你 不在的时候 ， 你的管 家不但没有转钱到你家人的户口， 甚至每个月都从财富中 拿钱去养身、享受。你认为管家是否是枪夺了你的钱呢？
我们不缴纳十— 奉献也是如此 。若你还没有实行十— 奉献， 就快快开始吧。我们生活够不够用并不是奉献或不奉献的原因 。 当我们实行十 —奉献的时候， 上帝必定会照顾我们 ， 请问你愿意以信心相信衪必供应吗？
亲爱的弟兄姐妹 ， 十— 奉献是—个操练 。愿我们教会在当纳的十— 奉献上忠心于神 ， 成为上帝钱 财的好管家。 加油I