BE A TRUE KINGDOM STEWARD I

In the Old Testament, the Levites lived near the tabernacle, and were in charge of it.  They assisted the priests but were not supposed to perform any of the sacred duties in the tabernacle itself. The tabernacle was an elaborate system of tents and portable items, designed to be carried through the desert and set up when the people encamped. Wherever they decided to pitch these sacred tents that became a holy place. 

Aaron and his sons ministered to the Lord in the priest’s office; they performed the sacred duties. These people were solely responsible for ministering to the Lord and taking care of His Sanctuary. The Lord said to Aaron, “You priests will receive no inheritance of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your inheritance and your share… The Levites will receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites, because I have given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have been set apart as offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites’ share” (Numbers 18:20-24, NLT).

The tithes were necessary to support the priesthood – the ordained spiritual leaders who were responsible for Israel’s worship and spiritual life. We see in the New Testament that “Elders who do their work well should be paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not keep an ox from eating as it treads out the grain." And in another place, "Those who work deserve their pay!"” (1 Timothy 5:17-18, NLT). The need to support the spiritual leaders of the church financially has not changed from the Old to the New Testament. These people spend most of their time with the Lord to bring a Word from Him to us, and they teach and make the scriptures so simple to understand. I’m grateful to most of them especially my Pastor, Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, PhD.

God’s blessings are for a purpose. There are those who are selfish; they figure they worked hard for their money and it’s theirs to use as they please. Their priorities revolve around their personal needs and desires. We must give to further spread the gospel. Our giving supports ministers of the Word (Philippians 4:12-20; Titus 3:13-14; 3 John 5-8) and assist the poor, supporting full time church workers and assisting the needy (Acts 11:27-30; 24:17; Romans 15:25-28; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15; 9:12). Qualified widows need to be assisted by the church (1 Timothy 5:3, 9, 16). In the Bible, when ministers of the gospel were sent out as church planters to other areas, they were supported.

The Greek for “send” in the New Testament is “propempo”. It means to “send forth”; “to send forth with practical material help”, “to fit someone for their journey, sending them off”; “to send fully equipped”; “to assist and help one on their way”. It’s associated to helping someone on his journey with food or money, means of transport, and so on and so forth. When ministers are sent out, they are to be given material substance (Acts 15:3; Romans 15:24; 1 Corinthians 16:6, 11; 2 Corinthians 1:16; Titus 3:13; 3 John 5-8). A Church planter is to be provided temporary lodging for him and to meet his physical needs. New Testament church planters were given lump sums to get them to their destinations. They are sent to places to enable them evangelize the area, establish churches, train the converts in the basics of Christianity and move on. Church planters have the right to earn their living from the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:1-4). 

When we give our tithes, the money is used to further advance the gospel by holding crusades and winning souls to the body of Christ. I know of instances where thousands of souls have been won in crusades and conferences. Part of the money is also used to take care of the needy as we discussed earlier, helping win them to Christ. Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). As souls are being won into the Kingdom, they are credited to your account as a giver, because you made it possible. Indirectly, you become a soul winner!

As part of your offering is also used to support church workers (staff, missionaries, apostles, evangelists etc.), remember that your labour isn’t in vain. Jesus said, “The person who welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. The person who welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. I can guarantee this truth: Whoever gives any of my humble followers a cup of cold water because that person is my disciple will certainly never lose his reward” (Matthew 10:41-42, GW). Be willing to support God’s work, knowing that He’s your source of wealth. Notice Jesus doesn’t say give to His elderly follower. He said you can give to them; whether old or young.

Let’s see Jesus’ parable in Luke 12. He taught about money, when someone asked Him to tell his brother to give him a fair share of their family inheritance. As Jesus taught, He made the crowd aware that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses; life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot (verse 15). He then gave an illustration of how a rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He had a bountiful harvest, such that his barns were full to overflowing – he couldn’t get everything in.

He became so worried. Later, he got an idea to rebuild his barns to bigger ones so as to make enough room for his produce. After gathering everything, he would say, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (verse 19). But God said to him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (verse 20). Jesus says concerning such a man: “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (verse 21). The Living Bible translates this verse: “Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven.” The Message Bible says, “That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.” 

So how do we get rich in heaven? Like Jesus said, whatever we give toward the advancement of His Kingdom is not in vain; we’ll surely be rewarded. In heaven, there’s going to be awards. Believers will be rewarded according to the work that each person has done. We are all going to be in heaven but we’re not going to be in the same position; some will receive higher rewards than others. This will be determined by their contribution toward the advancement of His Kingdom. Give like prospering the Kingdom of God is your sole business; and it is! 

Don’t forget God in your abundance. There is coming a transfer of wealth from unbelievers to believers. On the other hand, "believers" who refuse to function in the stewardship to which they have been called will lose out to the true stewards of God’s resources. Just imagine how God gave us His best by sending His only begotten Son to come and die in our place to save us from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:14). I love the Living Bible’s translation of 2 Corinthians 9:15: “Thank God for his Son-a gift too wonderful for words!” The greatest gift God gave us was His Son. Through Jesus, He also gives us the gift of eternal life. And “He has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment of everything he will give us” (2 Corinthians 1:22, NLT).

It’s this Holy Spirit who’s the source of the Spiritual gifts  – wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-10). I love Jesus! Thank God for such a Precious Gift! Or have we forgotten that at first we didn’t qualify for this due to one man’s sin? “And what a difference between man's sin and God's forgiveness! For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this one man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's mercy. Adam's one sin brought the penalty of death to many, while Christ freely takes away many sins and gives glorious life instead. 

The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to be king over all, but all who will take God's gift of forgiveness and acquittal are kings of life because of this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam's sin brought punishment to all, but Christ's righteousness makes men right with God, so that they can live. Adam caused many to be sinners because he disobeyed God, and Christ caused many to be made acceptable to God because he obeyed” (Romans 5:15-19, TLB). If Christians would consider and or ponder over what Christ Jesus has made us, they wouldn’t have any reason to give their best to Him. The reason is because most of them don’t really know what’s available to them in Christ Jesus.

Jesus said Himself: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them away from me” (John 10:28, TLB). That eternal life Jesus brought is so HUGE! I’d recommend reading the message “ZOE – THE GOD KIND OF LIFE”, if you’ve not done so. We did nothing to earn something from God; He qualified us for Himself. God loves us so much! No wonder the Psalmist said: “God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name. Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble. I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way? Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. 

You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps. God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world” (Psalm 8:1-9, MSG). Oh my God! Remember that the most valuable thing in life – your relationship with God – is free. We could in no way buy that; He purchased us with His own blood (Acts 20:28); we were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). And that qualified us to be His sons and daughters. All happened when He gave His very best for us. Jesus came to give us a rich-content life beyond explanation. Give God your best!

There is a work that churches all over the world have to do and it takes finances to do it. There is much to be done in the Kingdom of God. There is much to be preached. Pay your tithes in the local church where you’re fed with the Word of God and nurtured spiritually. Don’t give your tithe to someone because you heard him preach nicely. It is okay to give to support a project but never make a mistake to pay your tithe elsewhere than your local church. “Your 10% is foremost and exclusively a gift to God, not to an organization, as a voluntary act of worship. The church is simply the vehicle for putting God’s money into circulation” - Olga Hermans.

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