[Note: This article was written by Dr. Patrick Oliver who serves as an Assistant Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries.]
Understanding Bible prophecy and discerning the signs of the times indicates we are in the season of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The signs of nature (Luke 21:11), the condition of society (2 Timothy 3:1-4), the spiritual condition of the church (2 Timothy 4:3-4), the state of world politics (Matt 24:6-7), technology (Luke 21:26), and most importantly Israel being back in her land (Zechariah 12:3), all shout the message that He is coming soon. Given that fact, we should all consider how living in the season of the Lord’s return should impact our giving. As Christians, we need to live with an eternal perspective.
Biblical Stewardship
Biblical stewardship requires the handling of time, talents, and treasures according to the instructions of God. The foundational principle of biblical stewardship is that “God owns it all.” If you keep all of it or hold something back, then you are acting as the owner. Giving cheerfully to God engages both His blessings to a faithful steward and His hedge of protection. Jesus also gave several warnings about the sin of materialism. “And He said to them, ‘Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions'” (Luke 12:15).
Tithes and Offerings
The meaning of the word tithe is “the tenth part.” Today, some Christians use the word tithe to describe all giving to the church. You can give 3%, 5%, or 7% of your income, but you can’t tithe unless it is at least 10%. The tithe represents the least portion a person should return to God and not the maximum. Leviticus 27:30 states, “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD.” There are three key applications of the tithe here; it “belongs to the LORD”, it is “holy”, and is “set apart” to be presented to God, and therefore not used for any other purpose.
I believe that tithing is not part of the Law because the practice began long before the Law was given to Moses. Abraham tithed to the high priest, Melchizedek, (Genesis 14:20) 430 years before the law was given to Moses. Jacob promised a tithe to the LORD (Genesis 28:22). This principle of giving back to God who blesses us represents what is best for the people of God, at all times, under all circumstances.
Every individual or family operates on one of four levels of financial giving. The first level of giving is offerings—any giving that is less than 10% of your increase or income. The second level of giving is to give 10%, which is the tithe. I believe biblically this belongs to the church. The third level of giving is tithes and offering.
This means that beyond the tithe, offerings are given to the church, Christ-centered ministries, or the poor, needy, widows, and orphans. This level of giving is described in the book of Malachi.
The fourth and final level of giving is proportional giving, which increases as God prospers us financially. When God provides additional financial resources, we increase our giving to the church, Christ-centered organizations, and individuals to even higher percentages. Paul lauded such giving by the believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 16:2).
How Now Should We Give?
In Matthew Chapter 6, Jesus provides some important instructions on biblical stewardship that we all should understand. Jesus tells us: “Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Why are earthly investments so fleeting? Because your wealth on earth is temporary. It will leave you while you live, or you will leave it when you die.
The Bible contains 2,350 verses that discuss the handling of money or possessions. I believe money is mentioned so much because it is the number one competitor with Jesus Christ for our love and devotion. Jesus himself said, “No one can serve two masters; for he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
There is a strong relationship between how someone handles money and how they live out the Christian life. How you handle money is an external, visible indicator of the condition of your heart and your relationship with Christ. Therefore, it is important to know that how you handle money is a spiritual matter of the heart. Proverbs 27:19 indicates, “As water reflects the face, so a man’s heart reveals the man.”
In this season of the Lord’s return, we should increase our giving because of the imminent expectation of the Lord’s return for the Church. A good question to ask yourself is, are you storing up money beyond what you need or what is reasonable? We as Christians need to pray about this and do as the Holy Spirit leads us.
The Lord considers our motives and our means when we give, just as He did the poor widow who gave all she had in Mark 12:43-44. He offers us this important warning, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11).
For followers of Jesus Christ living in the season of the Lord’s return, the time to give is growing shorter every day.
Paying it Forward
[Note: An addendum by Tim Moore.]
As Patrick Oliver explained, our stewardship of the blessings the Lord pours into our lives says a lot about our relationship with Him. Do we trust in Him — or do we trust in our checking account or 401K?
Lamb & Lion Ministries operates as a faith-based ministry. We never know exactly how many dollars will flow our way. But we trust God to provide everything we need to serve Him as He directs. He has proven faithful time and time again.
Lamb & Lion has also been intentional about sharing the Lord’s bounty with other like-minded ministries. We’ve helped launch sister ministries focusing on proclaiming the Lord’s soon return. We support evangelistic outreach to Jewish people in general and those in Israel specifically. In short, we are dedicated to paying it forward by tithing on our own ministry revenue.
We could not fulfill our own mission without dedicated supporters. Prophecy Partners are co-laborers in that work because they commit to prayer and financial support.
As this year draws to a close, if the Lord has laid it on your heart to leverage more dollars toward His kingdom, we hope you’ll consider allowing Lamb & Lion Ministries to be a conduit of your blessing to people who need to hear about Jesus. Help us warn unbelievers to flee from the wrath to come — and into the loving arms of our Savior.
Each year, some folks donate appreciated assets like stocks and mutual fund shares. The advantage is that the ministry gets the full value of that asset. The giver avoids capital gains tax even though the full amount is still tax-deductible. Several times a year we are also informed that a Partner has arranged for Lamb & Lion to receive part of their estate, meaning that they are paying it forward and touching lives even after their own homegoing.
If you have any questions about the options for stewarding the blessings God has poured into your life, talk to your financial advisor or call our CFO, Reva Frye.
Finally, to expand the ways you can play a part in fulfilling our mission, I’m announcing two new opportunities. Help us proclaim Jesus’ soon return by sponsoring additional Prophecy Partners or subscribers. For only $25, you can send the Lamplighter magazine to someone unfamiliar with Lamb & Lion for a year, or you may sponsor a loved one as a Prophecy Partner for $300 (includes magazine). Either way, we’ll notify them of the gift you are providing. After being exposed to our message and ministry for a year, they can choose whether to continue. Please contact our ministry online or call at 972-736-3567 to participate in this endeavor.
With over 3,600 Prophecy Partners and 2,300 print magazine subscribers, if even half of you gifted one person a year, our exposure would grow exponentially. Our ministry team works tirelessly to fulfill our mission statement, but all of you who are truly a part of this ministry can partner with us in that effort as well — to God’s everlasting glory.
Over my passed years I was a large giver to Myer Ministries, I received many free publications & CDs citing how much they gave way to help the needy I fell on hard times and unemployment in fact forced retirement and could not give as I had become a ‘needy’ the speed in which the gifts ceased was impressive. Similar thing happened to other Christian organisations. The free gifts were not and when I became ‘needy’ there was no return of favour. The nature of your commercial model is flawed likewise. It is all about money; why can you not rethink your operations to live within your means – Americans are the most generous givers in history – purely because America was the most Christian nation in history, Times are changing as you well know; so why not “re-cut your cloth”, rather than pleading for more in these time rethink, change and adapt to End Times.
We should try to help those in need, but especially now when we can see the chaos that Satan is causing for so many people on earth and trying to destroy everything that God made.
2 Peter 3:10. But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
11. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live Holy and Godly lives, as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. Keep your sights set the Lord and on the New Jerusalem, a new heaven, and a new earth.
God loves a happy giving heart, even if its a small amount, and even if its to a local food bank or mission for the poor. God knows the true hearts of mankind. When Christians who are loving and giving are gone from this earth, this world will be in total turmoil.