The
Law of Reciprocity
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
that there may be meat in My house, and Prove Me NOW
by it says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you
the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that
there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I
will rebuke the devour for your sakes, and he shall
not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall
your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field…and
all the nations of the world shall call you blessed,
for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of
hosts. Malachi 3:10-12
The Law of Reciprocity comes
from Luke 6:38 in which Jesus teaches us to give and we
will receive; not necessarily from the same source we
gave to, unless our gift is to the Lord. The Lord is the
One who receives our gift, even when we give to others
in need (as unto Him), and He initiates the return to
us in the same measure, "pressed down, shaken together,
running over," He causes men to give unto our bosom.
In reviewing the basic theologies of
money as related to Christians, we examine not just
the quantity of our giving, but most critical, the quality
of our giving. There are three typical views for our
ability to give: Poverty, Prosperity, and Stewardship.
Poverty Mentality:
Money is Bad. If you do not have money you cannot be
corrupted. If this is true, we should all be striving
to not work or make a living, so that we can at least
become poor. Then we must make every effort to stay
poor.
Question:
- If Money is Bad, where will the money come to spread
the gospel and pay ministers to equip the believers?
- If Christians do not reach out and feed and minister
to the poor, who will do it?
Answer:
Matt 27:57-60 (rich man, Joseph of Arimathea)
Mark 10:23-27 (rich young ruler) The
followers of Christ were definitely not just the poor.
Someone was ready and able to distribute to the poor
for the Gospel's sake. Further, holding on to wealth
is no more sinful than those who cling to a poverty,
poor-me, or handout mentality are.
Prosperity Mentality:
Get all the money you can! You are a descendent of Abraham
and all the riches are yours! If you do good works,
you deserve a reward!
Question:
- If getting money was the right motive, why did Jesus
get so angry with the moneychangers in the temple?
- If getting rich is the right motive, why did Jesus
say it was so difficult for the rich to enter the
Kingdom?
Answer:
Matt 6:24 (unable to serve two masters)
Mark 12:41-44 (rich offerings and the widow's mite)
Luke 11:39-42 (buying the best seats/positions with your
offering)
James 4:1-3 (consuming wealth on our own lusts) God
is not so concerned in getting wealth to us as finding
obedient servants who will allow Him to get wealth through
us! We must continually war with the commercial influence
on our flesh. It's not about us! The wealth is about
getting the saving relationship of Jesus Christ out
to every soul we touch with our daily lives, experiences,
even how we personally handle heartaches and obstacles.
Stewardship:
If you are blessed, you have a "Fiduciary Responsibility"
to manage God's resources. A wise steward uses wisdom
to properly distribute resources. If you are struggling-
God's desire is for you to properly manage what you
have. Prove that you can be trusted with more. Get an
attitude that you work for a "giving" and not just a
"living." Persons who confess that God provides for
their needs are actually being selfish. God is not blessing
you just to cover your needs. Providing for your needs
should not be your motive for working. Even the pagans
work for their own profit. We should be working to have
excess for giving to those in need above and beyond
our own needs.
CHECK YOUR HEART!
If you are tithing and not receiving blessings, check
your heart. Harboring unforgiveness will block the flow
of prosperity God has directed toward you from your
Heavenly account. We once went through a very dry spell
during which we were tithing, teaching cell groups,
working with new convert classes at church, teaching
Sunday School-everything. The whole time we were questioning
God "Why are we not increasing according to the Law
of Reciprocity?" Being so busy with starting a ministry,
working several jobs, putting one of our daughters through
college, we had overlooked a major flaw in our heart
condition. The Lord gave Ray a cartoon image in which
he was holding a water hose, the spout only trickling
drips of water. As Ray looked back over his shoulder
he was amazed to see a huge swollen hose ready to burst
with water. He was shaking the hose saying, "What's
the deal, Lord? There's all that water ballooning in
the hose, but I'm only getting a trickle!" As Ray followed
the hose from the sky down to his hands, he looked down
and -BEHOLD! He was standing on the hose!! We quickly
recognized the contention and animosity we were holding
against someone-who even deserved our unforgiveness-
and leaped off that hose. Just as promised, the Lord
began pouring blessings through every available vessel
we had gathered. Learn to recognize your shortcomings
and receive quick correction.
Phil 4:10-13 (sent offerings to Paul; knew
how to be content with little or and abundance) I Tim
6:6-10 (those who crave to be rich fall into temptation)
I Tim 6:18 (be rich in good works, liberal and generous
of heart, ready to share) Heb 13:5-6 (be free from the
love of money, craving for earthly possessions)
Also: Mark 10:20 Luke 12:48 Matt 25:14-30
Acts 4:32
When we sow our seed according
to the Law of Reciprocity, we should first
- Determine the size of your desired harvest
- Plant the amount of seed to produce the amount of
harvest you need to fund ministries.
- Pray God's abundant blessing and protection over
the return.
- Speak His word of Malachi 3:10-11.
"but, my God shall supply all your
need according to HIS riches in Christ Jesus."
Man's Definition of need:
10 rows of crop to feed the family for the
year.
If you plant 10 rows you have a drought or flood and
only produce 5 rows! You have to borrow the other 5
rows and you are forced to eat your seed for next year's
crop. People fail and fall short of God's best because
they do not anticipate obstacles.
God's (and Grandma's) Definition
of need:
15 rows of crop to feed everyone for the
year
The amount necessary for adequate survival PLUS the
surplus to provide for tithe, gifts, offerings and the
future. Plant 15 rows:10 rows for your family 1½
rows for the tithe (expect increased growth) 1 row for
the poor/gifts/offerings (unexpected God sends to you)
2½ rows for emergency/loss, or extra seed for
next year. Grandma knew she needed to have extra so
the Lord could send people to her who might be hungry.
What a revelation to the Church!
Work for a Giving-not just
a Living!!!
In Giving to the Lord's work, under Old Covenant Law,
believers were required to:
- Give 10% of the First Fruits Gross, up front
- Give a second 10% for the priests, widows, and poor
- Give 1/3 tithe every three years to cover travel
expenses to Jerusalem to worship
This calculated out to an average of 23% annual tithe
requirement for all Jews out of their income. Under
Jewish Law any one who did not give the required amount
were considered to be "robbing God". (Malachi 3:8) Further,
God was not obligated to "rebuke the devourer for their
sakes," if they did not tithe. According to Deuteronomy
28, they brought upon themselves the curses poverty
and lack if they did not "keep My statutes and do those
things which are pleasing in My sight."
In giving to the Lord's work, under
the New Covenant Law, we are judged by what is in our
heart. This is actually a much stricter standard, especially
when God looks on our hearts, not the local Rabbi or
Priest. So, because blessings will be measured back
to us with the same measure we give (Luke 6:38), we
must be sincere and totally honest with what we give
out as tithes and offerings. The exciting good news
is that- (continued...) |
