The Gospel Lottery

[Pastor Michael Samuels]

The American church in some ways, I beleive has been seduced into a lottery menatlity. What do I mean? I mean that people follow ministries or attend conferences or services hoping that this will be the one that when I give my money, I win the big pot of blessings,(usually financial).

We must begin to properly teach biblical principals that will show people how to appropriate the blessing of God anytime. Does God use these conferences? Yes! But to many people attend these events emotionally and leave emotionally and that is all they get. God is a god of faith.

Does God want christians well off or wealthy? I believe that he does. But God knows that most christians will not properly use His word or work in the right way to gain wealth. It is easier for people to hope that if they give $50.00 at a conference that money will automatically come out of the BIG SLOT MACHINE in the sky. It doesn't work that way, although God does use our giving to activate open doors and blessings but there is so much more that we must do to walk in God's blessing.

Look at 2nd Chronicles 7:14

1. Humble ourselves
2.Pray
3.Seek His face
4. Turn from our wicked way
5. Then God, the key word is then....

Look at John 10:10

The theif comes to steal. How has the enemy stolen from you?

We have much study, praying and sitting in the presence of God to get true revelation on how to prosper God's way. We must teach, teach, teach, teach teach....

[Eric Hancock]

Bring the whole tithe…

“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” (Malachi 3:10).

Here we have the tithing teachers’ favourite verse in the whole Bible. On this verse they hang most of their doctrine. But if we take a close look at the verse, we will find something very interesting.
Remember that there were four tithes in Israel under the Old Covenant. Which one is referred to here?

And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse (Nehemiah 10:38).

[ Note: The word ‘storehouse’ is translated as ‘treasure house’ in the KJV. The Hebrew is the same in both Nehemiah and Malachi, outsair, meaning a treasure or a store house. ]

Which of the four tithes is in view in Malachi?
The tithe payable by the Levites, not the tithes payable by the people. Malachi is not rebuking the people, he is rebuking the Levites.
When our modern day tithing teachers point this verse at the people, they are really pointing at themselves — except that most of them are too ignorant to recognise the fact.

[Eric Hancock]

The people kept a tithe to pay for their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.
Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice (Deuteronomy 14:22-26).

The people of Israel were required to assemble three times a year at Jerusalem (as the place chosen by the Lord) for the major feasts.
This was meant to be a time of rejoicing and the Lord ensured that everybody had sufficient resources available to enable them to fully enter into the rejoicing by commanding that they set aside 10% of their annual income for that purpose.
Notice the next verse (27), “And do not neglect the Levites…” This was a reference to the first tithe. In other words, the third tithe — for the annual feasts — was not to be confused with the separate and distinct general tithe for the Levites.

[Eric Hancock]

2. The Levites paid a tithe of the general tithe to the priests

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering…to Aaron the priest…’” (Numbers 18:25-31).

All the priests were Levites, but not all Levites were priests. The priestly caste were descended from Aaron and they had specific responsibilities related to the Temple worship.
The second tithe guaranteed the financial security of the priests, and thereby protected the Temple system.

[Eric Hancock]

Genesis 28

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth” (Genesis 28:20-22).

“See,” they say, “tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Jacob, long before the Law was given.”

But read exactly what Jacob said in Genesis 28:20-22.

1. He made a vow, a promise (and there is no record in the Bible that he ever kept that promise.)

2. It was a conditional promise. Notice the five conditions:
IF God will be with me;
IF God will watch over me;
IF God will give me food to eat;
IF God will give me clothes to wear; and
IF I return safely to my father’s house
(which didn’t happen until some twenty years later…),
THEN, and only then, can God have 10% of whatever He gives me.

If that is “tithing”, feel free to make a list of everything you want from God and — once you have received it all — start making your once-every-twenty-year payments.
In the meantime, on the basis of Genesis 28, you don’t owe your religious leaders a solitary cent.

[Eric Hancock]

Genesis 14

Then Melchizadek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything (Genesis 14:18-20).

“See,” they say, “tithing was a necessary practice way back in the days of Abraham.”
But read the context which, in this case, is the entire chapter.
The first thing you find is that the “everything” in question did not belong to Abram. It was the property of other people, including Abram’s nephew, Lot, who had been captured by the armies of several kings.
Abram and a small group of his servants had gone to battle against these great armies and — against all reasonable expectations — had won. Melchizadek recognised that God had granted this miraculous victory (v.20).
Notice Abram’s statements in verses 22-24. He owned none of the property in question before the battle and, although entitled to the spoils as the victor, he refused to take any of it: “I will accept nothing belonging to you…” (v.23).
Abram gave away ten per cent of other people’s stuff, in a representative act of thanksgiving to God on behalf of some people who had been miraculously rescued from a life of slavery.
This was a once-only event. It has nothing to do with the now common teaching that you should give ten per cent of your gross weekly income to a group of professional religious leaders.
If such people insist that you follow the example of Abram in Genesis 14, you should go to their homes and take ten per cent of their property and give it away.

[Eric Hancock]

Minister Jeania Riley
I have tried and tried to put this out to people and only made enemies,,when you keep asking for money it brings a BAD SPIRIT into the church,,and then when i hear if Jesus was hear he would be driving a Bentley etc. Jesus was when he started his Ministry was Homeless,after performing miracle after miracle no where does it say that he went home!! but he did say that foxes have holes ,birds has nest BUT the son of Man has no place to rest his head,,with that said when did the gospel Lottery replace the true meaning of Church?

Prophetess Velma C Straight
I believe in RECYCLING alot of churches are not recycling the money back to the congragation,,Now alot of people mainly church Mothers say,JUST GIVE ,,GOD will take care of them,,i know that this is true BUT how much longer are we to make there bentley payments?? what does GOD really want with our money??it is to edify the earthly Kingdom wich is the Church to a degree,,BUT you keep hearing bring the mony to Gods house

What does God say?
You cannot ‘give’ to God. As the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, He already owns everything. Your life — the very beating of your heart — is itself a gift from God.

The earth is the Lord’s, and every thing in it, the world, and all who live in it… (Psalm 24:1).

Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God, I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it (Psalm 50:7-12).

‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty (Haggai 2:8).

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” (Romans 11:35).

This rhetorical question is given no answer, because the answer is obvious. You cannot give to God with any expectation that God will end up being in debt to you.
There is a law of sowing and reaping and there are rewards for good works. But, contrary to the teachings of the prosperity crowd, you cannot act so as to place God in your debt.
God created the universe. He sustains it by the word of His power. He doesn’t need your money, and He doesn’t want your money. What God wants is you, and He wants you with a right attitude.