And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:23-24.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
Tithe and covenant are closely tied. It is an offering of self, produced from your livelihood, work, and time, back to Me, the source of what produced that increase. It is a flow between you and Me as I give to you of Mine and you give to Me of the increase of what you do with what I have given you. The tithe is an acknowledgment due to the source.
If you are the source, i.e., the creator, inventor, composer, painter, author, and/or owner of something of value to another that they wish to use as their own, they pay you a royalty. A royalty is an amount paid by a third party to an owner of a product or patent for the use of that product or patent. It is sharing a percentage of the increase which the use of it generates in the life of the one using it.
The terms of royalty payments are laid out in a licensing agreement. The royalty rate or the amount of the royalty is typically a percentage based on factors such as the exclusivity of rights, the amount of use, and the purposes for which used. The royalty amount is generally based on how much profit you make from the use of the licensed property or invention. Royalty agreements should benefit both the licensor (the person receiving the royalty) and the licensee (the person paying the royalty).
By the payment of the royalty you access the genius of the source and profit from using it as your own without hindrance, reprimand, or fear of a lawsuit whereby the right to use it would be taken away from you.
If you look at the tithe as such it gives you tremendous power to use all that is Mine for the payment of a royalty of 10% of the increase you receive by use of what I have given you, which is every good thing given and very perfect gift for all good things come down to you from Me. I created the world and am the source of all that is in it. And everything you need is there for life and godliness. And the more you increase in the use of it the more royalties you pay. Ten percent of a dollar of increase is a dime but ten percent of a five hundred-thousand-dollar increase is $50,000. Maybe now you will understand the parable of the talents entrusted to the servants better.
But I also want you to see the tithe as seed sown unto a harvest. My Word comes down as seed for the sower and bread for the eater. You sow My Word and it is what produces a harvest.
Think about this, the owner of the seed gets the harvest. If you give the seed what it grows is yours. Parents understand this with a baby, the baby is theirs. A farmer knows this with the seed he sows and grows, the harvest is his. But think further, and you will understand why the first fruits of the seed are Mine. I give the seed. In the beginning, when I created the world and all that is in it, I put seed in the living things so they would reproduce, and not just reproduce once but over and over. And one seed, such as the seed planted to grow a fruit tree, would than produce hundreds of seeds in its fruit over and over and over. Isaac planted seed in a famine land and it produced of itself a hundredfold in one year. I gave him underground wells.
Do you remember when Joseph, in the seven years of abundant harvest stored so much seed that you could no longer count the piles of it? And he made sure Pharaoh owned all of that seed. What then happened when people came to get the seed to plant to feed themselves and their families? Joseph required each one tithe to Pharaoh from the harvest they grew from the seed that belonged to Pharaoh and he ordered a tithe of not 1/10th but 1/5th or 20% of the harvest. You note that though Pharaoh owned the seed and the land, he only required a tithe of the harvest and the rest belonged to the one giving the time
Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land. At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.” Genesis 47:23-24.
And did the people resent the royalty they owed? Far from it, they knew the seed was their life.
So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Genesis 47:25.
Are you grateful for the seed I have given you to sow? For My implanted Word can save your soul from eternal death, give you healing and health, and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold depending on how diligently you cultivate My Word in your life. And even though it is My seed, I give you the harvest with a 10% royalty to Me. Do you see why not paying tithe is robbing Me? It is part of your licensing agreement with Me, the source of all you have and own that produces increase. For all I have made is made so as to increase, produce, and reproduce, to replenish the earth.
But there is MUCH MORE. I call Myself to My prophet Hosea, “the God who sows seed.” Hosea 2:22. That is the name in Hebrew of “Jezreel (יִזְרְעֶֽאל),” which is from the words zara (זָרַע) and el (אל). Zara is the verb of noun “zere,” which means seed, so it means to sow seed, and El means God, and when I say “El” instead of “Elohim,” I am referring to Myself, the Father. “Elohim” involves the three Persons of the Godhead in One.
What is the seed that I sow? My Word. I sent My Word to heal you and deliver you from all destruction. My Words are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh. And I so loved the world I sowed the seed of My Son, My very Word incarnate, into your world. I planted Him there to die, for the seed must die to produce a harvest, for out of it rises the tree of life.
And Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:23-24.
And that seed I planted of My Word, Jesus, is in you, your hope of glory. And the harvest the seed produces belongs to the owner of the seed. You are Mine, you who are in Christ Jesus born again by the seed of My imperishable Word to bear fruit unto Me.
I planted the vine and you are the branches, the fruit you produce is Mine, just as after I had redeemed all of the firstborn from destruction by the wrath of the destroyer in Egypt, the first born of man and beast became Mine. And attached to the vine and sown by My seed received and grown in your heart you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. You prove by your fruitfulness that you have My seed in you.
When a man plants a tree, he does not just own the trunk, he owns the branches and all the fruit and seed they produce as well. Selah. He is the vine you are the branches and in Him you glorify Me by bearing much fruit.
I began man on earth with just two, and I gave them dominion over the earth, but how did I do that so they could manage the earth? I gave them the seed.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.” Genesis 1:26-29.
There are now eight billion people on earth, and orchards of fruit, fields of grain, and the number is growing exponentially every day because of the power of a seed sown.
Never underestimate the power of the tithe. It can make you own the world and all that is in it.
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Hebrews 1:2-3.
The harvest of the seed I sowed in Jesus is every one of you who believe in Him. You are not your own. You have been bought for a price. The powerful seed that lived and died for you. He is the first fruits of all who believe. There is a reason He died on Passover and was raised on the day of the first fruits offering when the first sheaf of grain was waved by the priest. And when the first fruits are offered to Me the rest is blessed and the devourer cannot take it.
The tithe is Mine the rest is yours. It is an acknowledgment due to the source, it is a license to use without hindrance all I have given you in this world. When Pharaoh gave the seed that saved them, they gave 20% of the harvest back to Pharaoh. That for you would be the tithe of 10% plus an offering of 10% which qualifies you for a double portion of all good things I have put in the earth for life and godliness. For all spiritual and physical blessings are yours under the New Covenant, the Blessing of Abraham and the promise of the Spirit by faith. The tithe is alive. When you tithe to your High Priest Jesus, as once Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, the priest of God Most High, you prove He lives forever. When you eat the bread of His body and drink the cup of His blood you proclaim His death until He comes. But when you tithe (first fruits) you proclaim His resurrection, that He lives, until He comes. And because He lives, you live. The tithe is powerful. Do not neglect it or treat it lightly. It is your lifeline to open the floodgates of Heaven into your life and being. It is the license to all I have made.
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:8-12.
If you are using another’s intellectual or physical property without paying your royalty payments in accordance with the licensing agreement, you can be prosecuted and required to pay the royalties you have missed, otherwise you will have the creator’s property taken away from you and you no longer can treat it as your own.
And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21.
How do you grow rich towards Me? The tithe and the offering. And when you give to the poor, you lend to Me, and I pay you back. With interest.
My servant David was extravagant towards Me. When I gave him victory in battle, he took the treasuries of the kingdom conquered and put it aside to build My house, a glorious temple he drew up all the plans for. And when the time came for his son to build it, he took up a collection from himself, above what he had already set aside, and gave the opportunity to his mighty men and the people of Israel to join in storing up treasure in Heaven. Do you remember the offering? I am going to share it with you for this is the attitude of giving that will give you the Kingdom and open all the floodgates of Heaven into your life.
Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the LORD God. Now with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple, namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?” 1 Chronicles 29:1-5.
His delight in Me and all I had given him made him delight to give Me beautiful things from all I had given him. And he wanted to give everyone the opportunity to participate in so glorious a work.
Then the rulers of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers over the king’s work, offered willingly; and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the LORD with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly. 1 Chronicles 29:6-9.
And then David prayed to offer Me all that was being offered, which called down a reward. Never tithe and give offerings reluctantly as a painful duty that is depriving you. Delight in blessing Me as I bless you. I honor those who honor Me.
So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.” Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed low and did homage to the LORD and to the king. 1 Chronicles 29:10-20.
And did they just leave it there? No they went out to celebrate My goodness, to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings of the unblemished bulls, rams and lambs, and then to eat and drink before Me with joyful hearts and great gladness. Giving from the heart is the way to open your heart to receive the blessings pouring out from Heaven. It is the sure way to live under an open Heaven.
On the next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. So they ate and drank that day before the LORD with great gladness. 1 Chronicles 29:21.
I love you. I plant the seed and the harvest is Mine. You plant the seed and the harvest is yours. But I am the creator and source of all so the tithe is always Mine. Do not rob Me or you may lose the little you think you have. Make tithing a big event in your life. When you have the opportunity to give, do so while there is still time. Redeem the time. If you have not been tithing, you will not be experiencing life under the open Heaven. And I am not just talking of finances but also of divine communication and creative ideas and inventions. If you have a problem hearing from Me easily whenever you seek an answer in your life, it is probably time to settle accounts.