SACRIFICIAL GIVING AND TITHING

The Church of Pentecost was founded on giving
The Church of Pentecost was founded and sustained through the sacrificial giving and tithing of our forebears and we can only continue. We have heard many stories about people who sacrificed their wealth, sold their gold, and brought the money to be used to support the church. These are people who gave a great deal for us to be saved today. In those days, the church was not like this. We had many of our services in schools and classrooms and under trees but today look at us.

I remember around 2009 when we took certain steps to accelerate the pace at which we were building this chapel. In those days, all these columns and the gallery where not there. The structures to the side that has the Youth Auditorium were not there and our number was not like this. Yet, we were determined to build this church. We gave the contract to some Chinese who came to build a temporary structure where the car park and we gave them a contract for one million Ghana cedis. At the time all our offering after two offering cycles was 200,000 Ghana cedis. That was a bold step of faith because we didn’t know where the money was going to come from. But through the sacrificial giving of our members, within a year, the money had been raised and we gave the other side of the building out on contract.

Today I will explain why we have to give sacrificially and why we must do so to build the kingdom.

What is sacrificial giving?
It is a divine attribute that God himself gave to man. God always gives to us. We are often eager to ask God for many things but Jesus gave his very life for us as the epitome of sacrificial giving. So, to give sacrificially is to follow him in the sacrifices he gave for us.

Why give sacrificially?
1. We give as a sign of gratitude
It is in appreciation to God for what he does for us. We cannot pay God for what he does for us. We cannot pay him for the things we enjoy freely. There is no bill for all the air we breathe. The fact that somehow everyday when we wake up we are able to do so and move around is enough grounds for giving to God. It is not automatic that life should continue. So we give to God to show gratitude for what he does for us.

2. We are stewards of the resources God gives us
Remember that if you are on this earth, you have been brought here as a steward–a caretaker for all God gives you–because it is certain that you won’t take anything out of this earth. You can be the richest and control all the wealth in the world but medical science cannot take care of every condition. I remember how Steve Jobs, in spite of all his wealth, couldn’t be cured of his cancer.

To whom are we to give?
In sacrificial giving, we give to God who made us and provides for us. We also give to our fellow man in the form of the giving of alms to the poor and needy. There are many poor people among and around us and it is important that you don’t enjoy your wealth alone. Pay the school fees of some poor people so they can also have a better life. In Isaiah 58:6-7, true fasting is described as including taking care of the poor, clothing the naked, and removing the yokes of the oppressed.

Excuses for not tithing
Some people think tithing is not necessary. Some also find it difficult to look at the money of which they have and to give one-tenth to God. They say it is too risky and dangerous.

Because of the aversion to tithing, people have found all kinds of excuses:

1. Some ask why Jesus and the disciples didn’t teach about tithing.

2. Some say it can be paid anywhere so it is not necessary to bring it into the church but in Malachi it says bring all of it into the storehouse.

3. Some say God’s blessing is not predicated on tithing. “I haven’t been tithing but God has been blessing me,” they say. Blessing does not only come from tithing but when you tithe, you plug into God’s covenant.

4. Some say, “I can distribute my tithe to the needy, it is not only for the church,” but that is not what the Bible says.

Abraham paid tithe before the law stipulated it
Read Genesis 14:17-20.

Abraham had gone to war and got plunder from it. When Melchizedek met him, out of his own volition, without being prompted by anybody, he gave a tithe to Melchizedek. In the New Testament, we see that Melchizedek is a type of Christ. So, before the law, Abraham on his own paid tithe. To firm up his covenant with God, he paid tithe.

In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob vowed to give God a tenth of all he had if God would take care of him and be with him on his journey and bring him back safely. By tithing, he plugged into the covenant blessings of his father and grandfather by tithing. So, we speak of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Tithing under the law
When Moses became the leader of the people, God instituted tithing as part of the law. Every tenth animal in the flock became holy unto the Lord (Leviticus 27:30-33).God decided that the people should have a tabernacle to receive the tithe and made the priests or the Levites the beneficiaries.

I sincerely believe that this is very simple and we ought not stretch it any further. Practically, from where I sit, I understood it years ago so I pay. When I get income, I put away a tenth.

What do we do with tithes in the CoP?
After some allowable deductions for bills, local, and district development, it goes to the area level for more deductions for infrastructural development, educational endowments, and bills. The rest goes to the head office for various designated funds. Grants are given for the building of church buildings, the payment of salaries of pastors and other workers, the payment of SSNIT contributions, PAYE and all that.

The frontiers fo the ministry of the church is expanding. We now have a strong prisons ministry where we have training centers for them and so on. Part of the money goes to that. We also have home and urban missions, the ministry to persons with disabilities, and other ministries. Then we have evangelism, where I work. We recently bought a mobile platform with a PA system that can reach 50,000 people at a go. Some of the money also comes back to our churches as building support. For example, PIWC has been a great beneficiary of this. CoP runs on very little reserves so if tithes and offerings do not come, it is going to make the work of God difficult.

Be a kingdom minded person
Think of yourself as building a kingdom, not as giving somebody money to “eat.”

So, I ask myself, Why am I here? Why didn’t I go anywhere else this morning? Why didn’t I go and play golf or tennis or go for some other recreation? I did that because I am part of the kingdom and I believe that I am living a life here that will lead me to heaven. So, as a member of the kingdom, I must let my money build that kingdom. You must be a kingdom builder. If you have that mindset, it is not difficult for you to give 10% of your company’s profit to push the work of the kingdom.

Matthew 6:19-21 says we shouldn’t store up for ourselves treasures on the earth but in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves also cannot break in for where your treasure is, there your heart is also. Jesus said you cannot serve both God and money. If you put your money in the church, your heart will be in the church.