Your Expectations From A Church - When You Tithe

When you tithe what would you expect from a church

  • something

    Votes: 2 25.0%
  • nothing

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • a whole lot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • i expect to even give more!

    Votes: 2 25.0%

  • Total voters
    8
I just paid tithes to a man standing on the corner the other day. He was very humble, soft spoken... Did I expect anything just because I handed him a meal for several days? No. God sees are acts of kindness and He rewards us.
From the heart, we give, and expect nothing in return.


Giving money to any one randomly cannot be defined as tithing.
That was a donation. You cant take God's money for Him and
decide what to do with it. He can let you off, I don't think its a
big deal personally what you did to God - I just don't think you
can call it a tithe.

The bible says to give cheerfully and expect nothing in return.
When you gave to this man you gave without expecting. That
was good.

Tithes on the other hand have nothing to do with if you feel
good or bad - its a command for consistently tithing to a church
that takes care of you or were you find your home in Christ in.

The Bible says bring the whole tithe into the house of God
so there may be enough to take care of the house. Levites
were meant to eat from this source as its their only source
of income.

However, I am not far from believing that if a church is
receiving monies consistently, that they cant consider giving
it or helping a woman who might be fleeing for her life for
instance.

If the world can have a higher moral obligation to their own,
why cant the church.

Thankfully, the church I now go to (not the one I used to when
I opened this thread) - in my new church I can see where my
money is going. And that pleases me deeply.

In fact my church will only spend 25% on admin. The rest
goes straight into missions and out there to help the needy.

Now that's what our tithes are for.
 
fQUOTE="JohnC, post: 447122, member: 14039"]Tithing is a huge way we ensure quality and continuity. And while the Grace of God may be free - His servants are not.

Want good preaching? Want good counseling? Want competent and well organized administration? Want a great worship team? Good Sunday school and bible study? A nice building? By and large - none of this stuff happens by accident. All of it relies upon us kicking in.

And it's key to understand that your giving makes a way for those who truly cannot contribute otherwise.[/QUOTE]

I am happy just to see that the money is being used for something.
Also if there is a brother in need in the church I think a good church
will jump in there to help.

When I look back, why I really wrote this post was in essence me
asking myself a question. -in which ground do I want to sow my tithes?

I wont tithe into a church that does not benefit the lives of others.
Spreading the gospel is not debatable - so church must invest in this.

Only thing is, I cant see enough monies come in and yet there remains
broken people who could be saved financially with some help from the
church.

What else is church for?
 
The church has 2 fundamental roles here.

#1. Equip the saints to carry out the Service God has determined for them...

For example: We need to be equipping business owners and managers to run their businesses as if they were God's.... To prosper and to gain increase and in such a way that good jobs are created. Both the employees and the managers receive blessing and those needs are filled.

We need to be equipping employees to work in the jobs as if they were serving God - such that their employer will prosper and both can gain increase....

They will then give out of their increase and the church will receive the benefit.

#2. Ensure the proper stewardship and administration of the resources the members give. See - the thing here is that this goes back to #1.. If the members aren't equipped and as such - don't receive God's blessing on their lives - they won't HAVE any resources to give to the church.

I think we want to get ahead of ourselves. We want all the giving and none of the equipping. We want the money - yet treat earning profit and increase as a dirty thing....

And the church now disdains "meddling" in the secular world by challenging owners, managers, and employees to operate their daily work to achieve success as if to God and follow the wisdom and guidance for such set out in the scripture..

Thanks
 
And the church now disdains "meddling" in the secular world by challenging owners, managers, and employees to operate their daily work to achieve success as if to God and follow the wisdom and guidance for such set out in the scripture..

Hi John
Could you explain in a different way what you mean here?
Thanks.
 
Hi John
Could you explain in a different way what you mean here?
Thanks.

Sure.

I have not (within my memory at least) ever heard a sermon challenging washed in the blood business owners and managers to use God's law as a tool to increase the prosperity of their businesses. Why should they hire Christians? Why should they hire more employees? Why should they pay good wages? Why should they pay their employees on time? Why should they strive to provide the customers great quality and service? Why should they strive for honest dealings? Why should they strive to manage well so that their employees don't have frustration and chaos poured on their heads every day?

I have not heard a sermon encouraging business owners to increase the prosperity of their businesses so that they needed to hire fellow Christian brothers and sisters.

I have not heard sermons challenging Christian employees to bring more value to the table to employers than atheist employees. To support and protect their employers from predictable harm. To work such that the whole business prospers - not just to punch the clock and go home....

See - all of these things allow God's blessings to flow....

Running your business well provides HUGE blessings to your employees. It provides good jobs, benefits, and stability that families need.... It provides products and services that people and other businesses need. All these transparent things that Christians pray for in their secret place.

Doing your job well provides huge blessings to your co-workers, customers, and the business owner. All these transparent things that Chrisians pray for in their secret place.....

And NOT doing all these things because it's "Secular" blocks God's hand when we refuse to serve Him with our daily grind in our work.
 
I see, my first thought is, wow we got to take you some place to hear these things.

If in everything we did, we did as unto God then things would be different.
This means in a bad work place and places we are not treated fairly as well.

I have heard lots of messages taught about Godly business and how to do so.
I have read and heard how failing businessman went back to the tithe and saw things turn around.

There really us a lot of teaching out there and the problem is....found with Christians fighting Christians trying to prove false this and that.

There are those that believe and do and prosper not only in their own lives but prosper and bless the lives of many others.

Then there are those opposed and live in a self a pointed poverty and neither lived blessed or bless others.

We were meant to be blessed and to bless. Some will accept this and some wont.
Blessings
FCJ
JohnC twice now the quote did not get carried over.
 
The thing is... When I mention this to pastors - they invariably agree and make reference to Martin Luther's Shoemaker analogy..... But it ends there.

I think that maybe they are worried about being accused of preaching "works righteousness" or "Salvation by works" - which it is not. It's just simply faith at work.

The interesting thing is that in the Old Testament - your service to God has to cost you something personally. What we hear now so much is that since Salvation is free - we ought to disdain the things which cost us something.
 
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