There was a time when my Russian wife and I attended the largest church in our home city of Richmond, Virginia, USA, which was a “faith church”. Nearly every sermon was about faith and the offering time always included a promise of great reward in return for our giving. Then one Sunday, the pastor announced that he was going to hold a special service just for testimonies from those who have received a miracle in return for their giving. Any miracle would do. At every service leading up to this special service, the pastor continued making this announcement in a very excited manner. When the day for the special service finally arrived, the pastor invited everyone who wanted to share their miracle to come forward. His face was flooded with anticipation. But alas, no one came. His expression quickly went from excited anticipation to despair. Again and again, he invited anyone to come. Anyone! With anything! No one came. And this is a church with over 10,000 members, most of whom had been very faithful and generous doners for many years. Finally, after ten minutes of begging, a woman went up front to testify. The pastor handed her the microphone and here is what she said, “One day, I had a good day”. Really, I am not kidding. That was it! No mention of a miracle. It was pathetic. I had to hold back my laughter. The pastor’s face showed the kind of shock that you would expect, and the special service ended with that.
Yet his faithful congregation remained spellbound by his dynamic preaching and continued their generous giving, including giving so that the church could add a $6 million addition to the building for an indoor basketball court. True. Oh, and the pastor’s wife never wore the same dress twice in the two years that we were there, and my wife pointed out that they were all expensive dresses. Apparently, the congregation believed that this was normal, if not extraordinary, Christianity, totally unaware that “hidden” in the middle of Paul’s letters was a guidebook for a totally different kind of church and a different kind of giving.
The early church’s expenses
The early church met in private houses rather than church buildings and they did not pay anyone to lead their church service or manage their church affairs. Therefore, there were very few, if any, actual expenses for the operation of a local church. Yet Jesus and the apostles, especially Paul and James, endorsed and encouraged generous giving. (Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 8-9, James 2:15-18) To what then were they giving? In order to fully understand the Biblical New Testament Church’s form and operation, it is necessary to address this question.
Jesus’ teaching
Although the following scripture is lengthy, I must start with it because it is Jesus’ most dramatic teaching on this topic:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46
How many Christians have ever heard their pastor preach a sermon on this passage? It lays down the criteria for salvation in dramatic fashion, does it not? Yet, I have not heard one single sermon on this passage, and I have heard about 2,000 sermons. Perhaps that is because this passage presents an unpopular and daunting task and is also in direct competition with donations to the pastor’s church.
If the above passage alone does not suffice, Jesus addressed this topic on several other occasions.[1] In one instance, He even said that it is the “ONE thing you lack”. In another instance, He said “if you want to be perfect”, do this.
Giving to the poor was one of the Lord’s major themes. Our eternal destiny will be determined by it.
Story of the Good Samaritan
The story (neither Jesus nor Luke describes this story as a parable) of the Good Samaritan provides another dramatic view of the Lord’s position on this topic. The context within which Jesus told this story is the most important part. Let us take a look: (Luke 10:25-37)
“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’
He (Jesus) said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?’
So he answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’
And He said to him, ‘You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.’
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’
Then Jesus answered and said: ‘A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’
Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”
The principal thing to notice about this teaching is that it starts with the lawyer asking Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
The subsequent exchange between the lawyer and Jesus reveals the answer, namely that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself’.”
Then the lawyer asks, “And who is my neighbor?”
Then Jesus tells the story.
Then Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”
The obvious lesson to be learned from the Lord’s teaching is that we must love our neighbour in the same manner as the Good Samaritan in order to inherit eternal life.
Although this story is widely known, it is mostly known as an example of neighbourly love, but not really taken seriously as a commandment on which eternal life depends. That is a mistake.
A word about the two commandments about love is in order. At another time and place, Jesus Himself reiterated these commandments:
Jesus said to him,
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40
There are two different commandments about love, each one with a different standard. We must love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and we must love our neighbour as ourselves. Each standard is relative to each individual’s personal nature. For instance, each person has a different heart, soul and mind and each person loves himself in a different manner and to a different extent. So, if we can do that for ourselves, then we can do that for others in the same way and to the same extent. Therefore, we have no excuse.In the story of the Good Samaritan, the man demonstrates his love for his neighbor with actions. The principal lesson to be learned is that we must go and do likewise if we want to inherit eternal life.
Later, on another occasion, Jesus has a heated exchange with a pharisee about the law and the pharisee’s hypocrisy, and Jesus tells the pharisee,
“But rather (than wash a cup) give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you.”
Luke 11:41
How many of us, if engaged in a debate with a pharisee-type about some religious ritual, would tell him that he would do better if he gave money to the poor?
Apostles’ teaching
Many of the apostles heard these teachings of Jesus and incorporated them into the form and operation of the churches which they founded.[2]
When Paul was first called as an apostle to the Gentiles, his calling was endorsed by the principal apostles before him, Peter, James and John, but their endorsement was conditional:
“They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.”
Galatians 2:10
The apostles required only one thing of Paul; that he remember the poor.
James, the ‘brother’ of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem wrote that:
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble (affliction), and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
James 1:27
If one wants his works to be acceptable to God, he must “visit orphans and widows in their trouble (affliction) and keep oneself unspotted from the world”. There is no way around that. The phrase “to keep unspotted from the world” is a direct reference to greed, which is the principal competitor of orphans and widows in their need for money.
It does not take many outings to feed the poor to understand the reasons behind James’ directive about widows and orphans and why he describes their life as “trouble” or “affliction”. Of all the destitute that one encounters, the most heart-wrenching are the widows and orphans. Most men can get-by on the streets somehow, but widows and orphans have no solution. Elderly women living on the street are conspicuously unattractive and cannot get any job or find a husband and her situation is truly desperate. Orphans tend to travel in gangs and sleep in whatever forest or abandoned building that they can find. Rescuing them is rescuing them from sexual predators. If one gets even a small glimpse into the plight of widows and orphans, he is likely to put their needs ahead of a minor church improvement or adding another “multi” to his pastor’s multi-millions.
Giving to Missionaries
The second biblical source for donations is missionaries. It is astounding to me that Paul’s remarkable ministry was supported by only one church, the Philippians.
“Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only.”
Philippians 4:15
Which prompted one of scripture’s most wonderful promises:
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
Follow the Money
There is a common saying, “If you want to identify the source of any problem, just follow the money”. Nowhere is this saying truer than the problem of division within the Body of Christ. I know of no organization on earth that is more divided and fractured than the Body of Christ. The Body is not just divided into Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. There are dozens of Protestant denominations and countless smaller organizations. Some say that there are in excess of 13,000 different Christian denominations, organizations, groups and independent churches, and this problem is directly related to church finances. So, we will “Follow the money”.
I was intimately involved in the Church of God, Cleveland, TN denomination at its highest level and saw the love of money in a manner that would rival the most ruthless corporate boardrooms. This denomination is like all the others, competing with 13,000 other groups for people to join them, both to bolster their ranks and to increase their budgets. They all feel the need to provide the most attractive buildings, pastors, support staff and all the trappings that attract people to church and for those in power to stay in power. As a result, they look inward, not outward at a lost world or with the slightest thought of becoming Christ’s pure and spotless Bride. None sees beyond their own ministry or empire, all of which needs money to fuel their machine. They all stay distinctly separate from all others because all the others are the competition and deserving only of their criticism, if not ruthless ostracising.
Then you have the mentality of the independent minister who wants a ministry that will provide for his personal support. The thought of any of them being content with being just a small part of the whole Body of Christ is out of the question. It simply is not an acceptable option. All of the many books on “How to start a church and build your ministry” are about how to attract people, not about fulfilling a biblical mandate. Money is for building and maintaining a personal empire, not for feeding the poor or visiting widows and orphans.
Without any doubt whatsoever, the use of all donations to finance the endless and competitive needs of church organizations, buildings, clergy and staff instead of using it to obey the biblical mandates is the principal cause of the terribly fractured state of the body of Christ, which is catastrophic at best. This may well be the single biggest obstacle to the church transforming into a pure, spotless and unified Bride for Christ.
Imagine, if you will, a church universal that did not need any money for itself. There were no internal expenses at all, like the New Testament church. There was no church budget, no building, no maintenance costs, no advertising, and no paid clergy or staff. Nothing would be lost by joining forces with all the other believers. Of course, there would be problems, just as the early church did have problems, but not the kind that literally forced divisions among them. Money. They would be free to remember the poor and take care of the widows and orphans and be held in favor with all the people and not the subject of universal public scorn.
Church project, not individuals’ project
Paul wrote to Timothy…
“Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man.”
1 Timothy 5:9
This indicates that the practice of supporting widows was a church project, rather an obligation imposed upon individuals within the church. Churches were organized in their support of widows and instructed to only support them if they were 60 or older and “taken into the number”, that is, approved by the church leadership for support.
Church’s obedience
The early church leaders’ zeal for collecting funds was fuelled entirely by the ever-present needs of the many all around them, not for their personal gain. I try to imagine the lifestyles of the early apostles and I cannot imagine a single pretentious one among them. Can you imagine in your wildest imaginations any of the early church apostles, all of whom had a more valid claim to authority within the church than any present-day church leader, using church funds to build or buy a luxurious mansion for their personal use?
I am aware that when a modern-day pastor contemplates a choice between his existing church that provides him with income and prestige and a biblical church that provides neither, which one he will choose. But when starting a biblical church, you should not have this problem because a biblical church does not have an autocratic leader who could use his position for money or power.
Government assistance alternative
In case one wants to claim that government public assistance negates the church’s responsibility, it should be noted that much has been written and said about the negative impact that government public assistance and welfare has had on society, in particular on the traditional family.[3] Many argue that welfare has done more harm than good. I agree. God’s way is much better. This claim also denies the conspicuous presence of the poor all around us. I do not intend to open a debate on such a huge topic, and it is unrealistic to think that public assistance will ever end, but regardless, the commands of our Lord and His apostles remain, and the needs remain.
Malachi 3:8-11
One of the scriptures most often used to wrestle money out of churchgoers is a passage in Malachi that states that if you do not pay your tithes and offerings, then you are robbing God.[4] Aside from the fact that tithing is never mentioned by the apostles as a New Testament obligation, it is noteworthy that this passage in Malachi specifically says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house”. The concern is for food, not buildings and pastors.
Miss-givings
One of the most prevalent criticisms of the present-day church is that so many pastors live a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle in a multi-million-dollar mansion and fly around the country in their private jet. Their enormous wealth is gained by means of outlandish promises of great wealth if people would give to their church or ministry. This is not giving to God at all. It is giving to their own church building for their own personal comfort and prestige and to their own pastor, while widows, orphans and the poor remain destitute. Thus, giving to them will not result in a biblical return, as experience proves. Although most churches are more modest, still there is much more criticism than admiration for them too.
Experience proves that this technique really works. Promise people a big return and they will give big. But the only one who receives big is the preacher. The poor suckers who fall for this ploy receive nothing.
I agree wholeheartedly with the scriptures used by preachers to raise money, I just wish that the same preachers would preach just as vehemently about the scriptures that clearly designate the proper recipient of their donations.
My personal experience
My wife and I sold everything to go to Europe as missionaries and before we left, sought support from several churches that boasted that they were Bible-believing churches. Not even one of these churches, each of which had an annual budget of over a million dollars, gave us a penny and told us that their budget could not afford it. Yet I knew that they would have made even the most minor repair to their building or grounds without hesitation.
After three years in Europe, we were forced to leave our mission field for lack of money and returned to America. Upon our return, we rented a very small apartment across from a church. Outside our window, we watched as this church performed renovations and enlarged their parking lot. I went over and asked the supervisor of the work detail “How much is this church paying you to renovate that side building and add these few spaces to the parking lot?” His answer, “Three million dollars.” Then I walked back to my small apartment to join my wife who had left her comfortable life behind to serve the Lord and for us to contemplate our desperate situation.
This moment made a huge impact on me. All of my Christian life, I had believed that my donations to my church were gifts to God. Then this happened. I had lost everything on the mission field and came home to witness a church spend $3 million on its building and parking lot, knowing that we could have stayed in France if we had been given only a few thousand dollars. I began to read the Bible with a bit more understanding.
In my law practice, I represented successful Christian businessmen who were generous contributors to their churches. They prospered, but one could easily attribute their success to their unusual business talents as much as to anything supernatural.
While in Riga, Latvia, I attended a church whose congregation consisting almost entirely of elderly women. Naturally, they took up an offering at every service, but I never heard that they supported any of these women, which included many widows and poor. The Latvian pension was famously below what is necessary to support anyone, yet their destitute condition was totally ignored in favor of the church’s facility and staff.
It has been my personal observation that the promises of prosperity to those who give to a church or ministry are hollow. I have not seen a single example of anyone who gave to a church or ministry who received a substantial return. Not one.
The prosperity doctrine would better be labelled the “pastor’s prosperity doctrine”. That is all that I have seen, and I have seen a lot. The standards by which these prosperity pastors judge success is not biblical. Their standards for success may actually be the criteria for judgment rather than reward.
An example of biblical return
I can give one example of a Christian who received a supernatural return. It is a man whom I met while feeding the poor. He lived with his wife and five children in a small, rented apartment and worked long days for very little money. Yet he still regularly fed the poor. I saw him do it. Then one day, a man brought him an envelope. In it was 2 million rubles (about 20,000 euros), enough to buy an apartment. Then someone gave him a new car. I do not know about any donations that he gave or didn’t give to a church, but it was obvious to me why the Lord blessed him.
The Bible in Reverse
A good friend of mine hosted a wonderful small group and for a period invited me to minister there at every meeting, until his pastor learned that he was giving someone $100 each time he ministered at his meetings. He was furious that a member of his church was giving money to anyone or anything other than his church, a church with an annual budget of well over a million dollars, and chastised my friend for his rebellious behavior and excluded him from all activities at his church. True story. I pictured this pastor waking up at night in a cold sweat because a member of his church was giving to anything other than his church.
Favor with all the people
The fact that the early church assumed responsibility for the destitute portion of society was undoubtedly the reason that they had “favour with all the people”. (Acts2:46-47) Someone had finally come along to take care of the many and conspicuous people in need. Hallelujah! They were undoubtedly the talk of the town, and it was not because of their pure theology or grand buildings. Does the current church have favour with all the people?
Worthy of wages
Regarding elders, Paul wrote that they are worthy of double honor and, “the laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim. 5:17-18), but Paul does not elaborate. Either way, it is a huge step to use this verse about elders to advocate hiring a full-time church pastor and staff. The phrase “the laborer is worthy of his wages” has been used to justify almost anything but it comes from something that Jesus said when He was giving instructions to the 70 before he sent them out. He said that when they enter a house, they should “remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages”. (Luke 10:7) “Wages” here is a reference to eating a free meal, not wages paid to professional clergy.
Paul’s passages
Paul addressed the collection of money on four occasions. One of these passages goes on for two entire chapters (2 Cor. chapters 8 & 9). In addition, Paul mentions collections for the “saints” in Jerusalem twice[5] and for the “poor” once.[6] But nowhere in any of these passages does Paul mention that the collection is for a church building, pastor or staff, and if he was going to mention it anywhere, it would have been there. Yet that is the predominant use of funds today.
Prosperity scriptures
I am aware of the scriptures used, or rather misused, by prosperity preachers. I believe these scriptures wholeheartedly but I do not agree with their application. For instance, I believe Malachi 3:8-11, but it is Old Testament. I prefer following New Testament writers who wrote extensively on this very topic.
I also believe what Jesus said:
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38
This is a basic biblical principal. It is just the purpose of the giving that has gone astray.
The same principal is restated in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. This is Paul’s longest discourse on giving and is used extensively by pastors at offering time, especially this part:
“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.”
2 Cor. 9:6-8
This passage is used almost exclusively to raise money for one’s own church. Wrong! The context of this passage is raising money for the needy saints in Jerusalem, not for one’s own church. I wholeheartedly endorse giving so that God will be able to make all grace abound toward us, that we, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work, so that we can do good works. I just do not agree that the money we contribute should stay in the church.
Summary
In summary, the early church practiced and taught that believers are to give generously, but not for a church building, pastor or staff as is the custom today. They are commanded to take care of widows, orphans, the poor and needy, which everyone knows is a huge responsibility requiring lots of money. Paul also praises the Philippians for donating to his ministry.
Therefore, donations to a church or ministry that is not a missionary ministry are not entitled to a biblical return on the donation and I am not aware that anyone ever has. However, donations to missionaries, widows, orphans and the poor and needy can expect a biblical return.
[1] Mark 10:21-22 “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’. But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Matthew 5:42 “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”
Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me’.”
Luke 14:12-14 “Then He also said to him who invited Him, ‘When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invitethe poor, themaimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just’.”
Luke 11:39-42 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone’.”
Luke 12:16-21 “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God’.”
Luke 12:33 “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.”
Luke 3:11 “He answered and said to them, ‘He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise’.”
[2] 1 John 3:17 “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
James 2:15-16 “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”
Hebrews 13:16 “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Acts 20:35 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
1 Timothy 6:18 “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share”
Ephesians 4:28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
Romans 12:13 “distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” (Listed among Paul’s instructions to all the saints)
2 Cor. 9:9 “As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
[3] https://youtu.be/Rls8H6MktrA?si=aIIrKJQSqXkuUJvL
[4] “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
[5] Rom. 15:26 and 1 Cor. 16:1
[6] Gal. 2:10
[9] You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house,
And try 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 such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. ‘And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,’ Says the Lord of hosts” Malachi 3:8-11