Success and Failure Blog

1. Delight yourself in the Lord

God loves a cheerful giver, and as The Father, and Master He deserves our highest honor and reverence, and we ought to present to Him the best that we have. If we offer to Him the blind, the evil, the lame and the sick, we will not be favorably accepted. The only acceptable offering we can offer to God is what he has sanctified and set apart as holy.

To enable us in taking delight when appearing before him, the Lord has established a principle, which if obeyed, will ensure our joy continuously in his presence. This principle is designed to supply our needs, by which we will be able to present ourselves before him at his appointed time and to rejoice before him.

The Principle of Tithing

The tithe is holy to the Lord, and it is ordained by God, in order for his people to be able to present themselves before him at his appointed times to honor and glorify him. In the book of Leviticus chapter 27 verse 30 the Lord said to Moses; “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.”

The use of the tithe is for the individual to rejoice before the Lord, as clearly stated in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 14: verses 22 to 27, which reads, “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year, and you shall eat before the Lord you God, in the place where he chooses to make his name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the first-lings of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord you God always.”

If the journey was too long they were to exchange it for money, and take the money and go to the place where the Lord had chosen, and spend that money for whatever their heart desired, for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever their heart desired; they were to eat it before the Lord their God, and were to rejoice with their household. They were not to forsake the priest who was within their gates, for he had no part nor inheritance with them.

Tithing which is ten percent of an individual’s income or produce is for the individual to pave his/her way, and provide him/herself with food, drinks, and other basic necessities to afford him the possibility to come before the Lord and rejoice. What is given to the church is known as a heave offering, which is ten percent of the tithe, and the first fruit of one’s increase. We are to honor the Lord with our possessions, and with the first-fruits of all our increase.

Attendees of these festivals are required to present a freewill offering as an expression of gratitude for the blessings which they have received from the Lord, as recorded in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 16: verses 16-17 stating; “Three times a year all males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which he chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given you.”

There is however a year of tithing, which is every three years when a full ten percent is given to support the priest, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow, for the same purpose of being able to rejoice before the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 14: verses 28 and 29: “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the priest, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do”

Heave Offering:

One hardly hears anything today about heave offerings. This terminology is seemingly lost and unheard of by many: what is mostly being taught is about giving ten percent (tithe) to an organization.

A heave offering is ten percent of the tithe which the Lord assigned to Aaron and his sons. In the book of Numbers chapter 18 the Lord explained to Aaron and Moses respectively, the use of the heave offering. To Aaron the Lord said; “Here, I myself have also given you charge of my heave offerings, all the holy gifts of the children of Israel; I have given them as a portion to you and your sons, as an ordinance for ever.” Also; “For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the priests (levites) as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.”

To Moses the Lord said; “Speak thus to the priests, and say to them; “When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe” (Num.18:26).

On Whosoever, or whatsoever holiness is ascribed, they received this status directly from God, and not from any man, organization or system. Therefore, worship service is a holy assembly ordained by God, for his holy people, to be observed on his holy days, to offer to him his holy offerings, and to take delight in him and rejoice before him, by the proper use of his holy things, in order to honor and glorify him, and by this expressing their appreciation, and gratitude to God.

1. Be Thankful to God

The third priority in putting God first in one’s life is to show appreciation and be thankful to God, because it is of his fullness of grace we have all received grace upon grace, and since we are receiving what we were destined to receive, which is a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

We express our appreciation and gratitude to God by worshiping him in the acceptable manner with reverence and godly fear, and this is expressed in four (4) ways:-

1. Ascribing to the Lord the glory due to his Name

The main reason why we come and appear before the Lord is to humble ourselves before him because of his Sovereignty, and to express our grateful thanks to him. According to 1 Chronicles 16: 8-30; we are to; “Give thanks to the Lord! Call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing psalms to him; talk of all his wondrous works! For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; he is also to be feared above all gods.” Give to the Lord, glory and strength: give to the Lord the glory due to his name.

In Psalms 95 and 96 respectively we are told to; “Come, Let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song, for the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depth of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him, the sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.’

“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”

“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name; bring an offering and come into his courts, worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; and tremble before him.”

We are told in no uncertain terms in 1John chapter one verses 3-4 that, “Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Therefore since Christian fellowship is with the Father and the Son, it is imperative that those who come before him are walking and practicing the truth, because, “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.’ And, “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” True worshipers are to worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship him.

It is amazing and appalling to see how many people who profess to know and believe God, have very little respect for His word. They hold His commandments in gross contempt, and in the same breath, stand in awe at the doctrines, traditions, and commandments taught and practiced by men. Like Jesus Himself said to the Pharisees, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions.”

Only One God

Believe it or not there are many false gods which people inadvertently worship instead of the One and only true God. but even if there are so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth as indeed there are many gods and many lords, “There is but one God: the Father, from whom all things came, and for whom we live, and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6).

Therefore, all credits, glory, honor and gratitude should be directed or channeled to the One and only true God, for to Him all glory and power belong, and it is He who gave to all life breath and everything else, and also in Him we all live , move and have our being. (Psalms 62:11 Acts 17:25, 28).

Unfortunately, however, we do not all channel our praises, glory, honor, and express our grateful thanks to the One and only true God. Whether wittingly or unwittingly, many serve and worship other gods rather than the One and only true God.

The Lord said to the nation of Israel, “To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other beside Him. Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire” (Deuteronomy 4:32-36).

The rationale for all this was for Israel to consider in their heart, that the Lord Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; and that there is no other besides him.

However, in order for God to distinguish Himself as the One and only true God, and distinguish His people from all others, He made a conditional covenant with them, so that if obeyed, they shall be a special treasure to Him above all people, for all the earth is His. They are to Him a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Those who obey the covenant are described as, “A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that they may declare the praises of him who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once they were not a people, but now they are the people of God; once they had not received mercy, but now they have received mercy” (Exodus 19:5-6, Leviticus 19:30; 26:2; 1 Peter 2:9)

1. Bring an Offering and come before his Courts

Bringing an offering before the Lord on his appointed holy convocation is the main objective for presenting ourselves before him. As a matter of fact, it is stated quite categorically in the book of Leviticus chapter 23: verse 37; “ These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day.”

This offering which we are to offer to the Lord whenever we present our selves before him, regularly, on every festival, and holy convocation is known as the burnt offering; with its grain and drink offering. This offering is so special and of such intrinsic importance, that it is, “Besides (or in addition to) the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your free will offerings which you give to the Lord.”

This special offering is of intrinsic importance: it is the offering which Jesus Christ as our High Priest is appointed to offer on behalf of our sins. In the book of Hebrews chapter 5: verse 1, and Chapter 8: verse three respectively states that; “Every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” And, “For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One (Jesus Christ) also have something to offer.”

This offering is of such great importance and valuable to God on behalf of our sins, it is required from our hands not only at the appointed festival or holy days, but also on a regular basis. This offering is as equally important and useful, as it is sacred and sanctified. The Lord said to Moses; “Command the children, and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to me, you shall be careful to offer to me at their appointed time.”

The Lord continues; “This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs in their first year without blemish (the shadow of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God), day by day, as a regular burnt offering. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening.’ It is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.”

A burnt offering as clearly indicated is, a combination of; an animal sacrifice without spot or blemish, with its accompanying grain offering, and it’s accompanying drink offering. In the Book of Numbers chapter fifteen, the Lord said to Moses; “All who are native born shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord. And if a stranger sojourns with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would present an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord, just as you do, so shall they do. One ordinance shall be for you of the congregation and for the stranger who sojourns with you, an ordinance for ever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”

• A Thanksgiving Offering to God.

Before Christ was led to be crucified, he said to his disciples, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. And he took a cup and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes:’ And, “He took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk.22:15-19).

Bread and wine is the designated thanksgiving offering attributed to the Melchizedek Priesthood from inception, because after Abram returned from rescuing his nephew lot, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand” (Gen.14:17-20).

To Moses the Lord said, “Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.” Say to them; this is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the Lord: two lambs a year old without defects, as a regular offering each day” (Num.28:1-3).

This regular burnt offering consisted of:-

• The lamb which represented Jesus Christ who loved us and gave himself up for us as a sweet smelling aroma and sacrifice pleasing to God. (Eph.5:2).
• The grain offering which was made up of fine flour mixed with pressed olive oil represents the broken body of Jesus Christ in the form of unleavened bread
• The drink offering which was a quart of a hin of a fermented drink (wine) represents the blood of Jesus Christ.

The rationale behind the morning and evening thanksgiving offering is explained by David, in the psalms and in his last instructions to the Levites. In the psalms he wrote; “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your loving kindness in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten stringed lyre and the melody of the harp, for you make me glad by your deeds,

O Lord. How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed” (Ps. 92:1-4).

And in his final instructions to the Levites, David instructed that; “They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the Lord on Sabbaths, and at New Moon festivals, and at appointed feasts” (1Chro.23:30-31).

Previous Articles – Put God First – Part #1 - Put God First – Part #2