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Sowing & Reaping Tithe Valid? Where To Tithe?
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Sowing And Reaping
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6)
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: (Isaiah 55:10)
Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness; (2 Corinthians 9:10)
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:7-9)
Have you ever noticed that God is a God of multiplication? Throughout the word we see God has spoken things to be multiplied, such as his word, his people, the disciples, fruit of the trees, grace, peace, love and even our finances. When God created the world and man, he set up seed systems that would propagate themselves. He doesn’t have to keep making mankind because it’s based on the man’s seed. He doesn’t have to keep making trees, because they produce their own seeds which in turn bring forth more of their own kind.
In the parable of the sower (Matt 13:18; Mark 4:3; Luke 8:5), Jesus says the seed being sown is the word of God (Luke 8:11). The different types of ground are the different conditions of how sensitive our heart is to God. We need to sow what his word says into our hearts and stay sensitive.
Prosperity is also based on sowing and reaping. If you sow seed into a field, you’ll reap a harvest from that field. If you don’t sow any seed in that field, you won’t produce a crop. It’s not the seed’s fault or the ground’s fault. The person who sows the seed needs to be responsible to sow into good ground, be consistent, and know that the harvest comes in due season. As long as you sow, you will reap.
Another aspect to the financial area is that prosperity has some time factors involved in it. Much like any agricultural system, there is time between the sowing and the reaping. Farmers understand this as a matter of course, but when it comes to money we forget it's the same principle involved. We put a financial seed into something, and we expect the harvest by tomorrow. It would be there tomorrow if we had sown that seed months ago. We look at the physical field of dirt and we understand about the time factor, but we are curiously blind about money. It’s the same system. You can’t cheat the system of agriculture and make the seeds into a harvest overnight.
God can and will do miracles for us where money is concerned, but the principle of sowing and reaping, of like producing like, has been around since the third day of creation. That is how the whole kingdom works. It’s “. . . as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.” (Mark 4:26-27) The earth brings forth the fruit; our job is to keep planting the seed. If we will stay consistent with our planting, over and over, time after time, then our harvest will keep coming, over and over, time after time. We're not planting into a physical field that is subject to a cold barren winter; the growing season for this isn't affected by the natural realm.
So if you don’t see prosperity in your daily life, it’s not because of God. His word will always accomplish its purpose, but it is up to us to keep the soil of our hearts sensitive to God.
The above article is an excerpt from A Sound Word, Volume 2, written by Mark & Denise Abernethy. Order your copy today. *****************************************************************************************************************
Q Many teach the tithe was set up before the law by Abraham, but so was circumcision. Why is one valid and not the other?
A Concerning circumcision, the reason that Paul was against it was because the Jewish believers of his day were insisting that Gentile believers be circumcised in order to be saved. In other words, they had to become Jews first and then saved later. Paul was adamant in his opposition to this. Man is not saved because he cuts his flesh. In the same way, man is also not saved by tithing, but there is a principle of sowing and reaping that is involved. They are two completely different subjects. *****************************************************************************************************************
Q. I need understanding on where you send your tithe when you are still a member of a church in one town and have moved to another town and looking for a church home there. Should you send your tithe back to the church where you are still a member or can you pay it out to any ministry you feel led to sow into, until you choose a church to join in your new home town?
A. You mention that you are still a member of a particular church. Looking at Malachi 3:10 it says to bring all the tithes in to the storehouse... A storehouse would be considered a place where you are being fed. People tithe to many different places. For example, shut-ins may tithe to a television ministry because that is all they watch; some people may tithe to a particular ministry if there is no church in their small town. We encourage you to tithe at your home church, and if you are not being fed there, you should consider finding a church that will feed you.
The bottom line question would be, Where are you being fed? That is where you should tithe.
ONLY Believe,
Mark & Denise, your Bible Answer Team
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