REVIVALTALK

      Leighton Farrell was the minister of Highland Park Church in Dallas for many years. He tells of a man in the church who once made a covenant with a former pastor to tithe ten percent of their income every year. They were both young and neither of them had much money.       But things changed. The layman tithed one thousand dollars the year he earned ten thousand, ten thousand dollars the year he earned one-hundred thousand, and one- hundred thousand dollars the year he earned one million. But the year he earned six million dollars he just could not bring himself to write out that check for six-hundred thousand dollars to the Church.             He telephoned the minister, long since having moved to another church, and asked to see him. Walking into the pastor’s office the man begged to be let out of the covenant, saying, "This tithing business has to stop. It was fine when my tithe was one thousand do...

  II Corinthians 9:6-8 – “But this  I say:  He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  So let  each one  give  as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.    And God  is  able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all  things,  may have an abundance for every good work.”              The subject of giving can be a controversial subject in our churches today. Some will accuse the church of just being after their money. We must acknowledge there have been those who abused their position of leadership to manipulate God’s people for their own purposes.    The truth is God’s Word says a great deal about how we are to give and manage the resources He places in our responsibility. William R. Kimball writes, “Ch...

  Leviticus 27:30 – “And 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 tithe is holy to the Lord.  This is the portion of our income God requires us to return to Him.  Some would argue the tithe was only under the law of Moses.  In Genesis 14:20 Abraham tithes to Melchizedek some six-hundred years before God gave the law to Moses.  We must be careful not to mishandle holy things.             In Genesis 28:10-22 Jacob stops in Luz and sleeps on his journey.  He dreams of a ladder with its top reaching into heaven.  There are angels ascending and descending the latter.  At the top of this ladder was the Lord. He identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, and Isaac. He identifies Himself as the Covenant God of Jacob’s f...