Well, we have quite a subject before us in your materials. It was called giving. I'll be bringing a message on tithing. And in particular, seeking to stress that tithing is for the New Covenant church, it's for the New Covenant believer, that tithing is still binding upon us. If you would turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 14 and beginning at verse 18, and I'll read through verse 20. Genesis chapter 14, beginning at verse 18. I'm reading from the New King James. Before I read this passage, let me give you a little bit of the context. I've actually broken into the historical account here in chapter 14. Abraham's nephew, Lot, had been taken captive. There were four kings fighting five kings. It was a time of great slaughter, and Lot was taken captive. Abraham gets a number of his men together and goes and captures or releases, gets the release from capture of his nephew Lot. And so with that in mind, then we pick up the account here in verse 18. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. he was the priest of God most high and he blessed him and said blessed be Abraham of God most high possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be God most high who has delivered who has delivered your enemies into your hands and he gave him that is Abraham now and he gave him a tithe of all tithing I want to just say a few preliminary things. You already know the integrity of your church regarding finances. I want to make mention, though, of something that I have done throughout my ministry, and I'm bringing this up because there will be those who perhaps are here, or those who will hear this message, and they will say, you know, always these preachers are asking for money, you know, and the church is begging for money. I turn the television on, and they are the TV preacher. What's he doing? He's begging for money. If I give money to him, and then all sorts, give money to him in particular, all sorts of things are going to happen. Or I turn the radio on, and what are they doing? They're begging for money. Unfortunately, much of that is true. Sometimes it's because of religious hucksters. Sometimes it is sincere ministries, which yet have a view that it is okay to do that. Well, what I want to assure you of is that I have never in my ministry one time asked anybody for any money. I was on the radio for 30 years, and not one time in those 30 years did anyone ever hear me asking for a dime to be sent in. When I was directly in the pastorate, uh... same thing uh... i never asked for any money now of course you have business meetings of the church so you have to discuss finances but that's a completely different situation that's for the membership of the church and so if you're here today and you don't know christ or if you say you do know christ but you still are bothered by that and you're not a member of our church uh... we're not asking you to do anything You do what you should be for the Lord. We would urge you to do that. If you don't know Christ, we'd urge you to trust Christ. That's what we'd want. But we don't want your money. It won't save you anyways. And so you can relax. This is directed towards the membership of the church in particular. If there's other believers that are here from another assembly, then we hope that it'll be an encouragement to you to do the right thing. but no one is asking you for anything along that line. As far as God's people are concerned, then we have to go to the Word and look what He says and what is binding upon us in this particular matter, so we can relax about that. The crown material is very good. Sections that you read on motives, attitudes, and our heart condition for giving is very good. They also affirm that the tithe should go to the local church. That, of course, we believe is biblical. Offerings, you have to make the decision what you do with those as far as kingdom work is concerned, but at least the tithe is to go to the local church. I'm not going to try to establish that in my message. So there will be a few gaps, perhaps, in what I'm going to deal with here. But I can't do everything in this single message. I would also urge you to, on this matter of where the tithe should go, should it go to the local church or not, I would also urge you to look at the materials very good, and the verses they point out. but also to look at the Levites in the Old Testament. They receive the tithes, ordinarily they receive the tithes, and the Levites are analogous to the elders at the gate, that is the New Covenant elders at the gate. And in the local churches, New Covenant local churches, it is the elders who receive the tithes and then dispense them as the Lord would have them be so let. And so that's a study that you can make. You'll gain insights, in other words, as you see the tithes being received by the Levites and also the analogy, they as an analogy to the New Covenant Church. First Corinthians 16.2 obviously the collections that was made on the first day of the week there at court was going to the local church there's many other reasons but that would require an entire uh... sermon i'd believe really to do it justice another strong point in the material is that they suggest that you systematically give, and they give their reasons for that. And that is a great help to the local church. If we are consistently, as our resources, what we've earned comes in, we systematically are consistent in giving. It's a great help to the church. Pastor Dickey and I do have one concern, though, about the material, and that is that the material does not say that the tithe is binding on the New Covenant Church. Now, remember, they recommend and they practice giving the tithe to the local church. So in practice, they do this. But in their literature that we reviewed, they do not recommend, they do not say that the tithe is binding on the new covenant believer. So we would say that the law of God requires us By the grace of God, the law of God requires us, as New Covenant believers, to tithe. So it's not optional. So I'll weave some of that, and my message is actually on that, that the tithe, in other words, the narrow point of my message is, the tithe is binding on New Covenant believers. The tithe is binding on the New Covenant Church. And so at that point we would have some concern. But overwhelmingly what you read is of immense benefit to you and to me. Now back to Genesis chapter 14 verse 18. You'll note that it says that there is this figure who is called Melchizedek. Melchizedek is one of the mysterious peoples of the ancient world. And Abraham encounters Melchizedek after he rescues his nephew. Then Melchizedek, king of Salem. Now Melchizedek is a type of Christ. Melchizedek is not the pre-incarnate Christ, I don't think, but Melchizedek is a type of Christ. And so he is one of those persons during the history of redemption, during the Old Testament period here, one of those persons that is a type. He pictures, he sets forth the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll note that it says of him that he is the king of Salem. Melchizedek is a king Hebrews chapter 7 in verse 2 expands on that and Translates it that he is the king of righteousness and that he is as the king of Salem It means that he's the king of peace. And so Melchizedek is a king The Lord Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And so he fulfills this. Melchizedek is a priest of the Most High God as well. Note what our text tells us. He was priest of God Most High. So he's a king and he's also the priest of God Most High. And that's what our Lord Jesus is. He's a priest and He's a king. And when sinners come to Christ, they come to Him as He is. And they come to Him as a priest to find the forgiveness of sins based upon His own sacrifice of His own self. And they also are coming to a king, and they must bow to a king in repentance and in faith. And Melchizedek mirrors that. Melchizedek shows that forth. Messiah is such a king. Messiah is such a priest. And so Christ Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. His priesthood is called in scripture the Order of Melchizedek. That is, Melchizedek is a special priest of the Lord. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 17 says that Messiah is from that order, the order of Melchizedek. So as a priest, Messiah is after the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 7 and verse 15 says that Jesus is in the likeness of Melchizedek. And so Christ comes, the Christ coming, Jesus of Nazareth, and He comes in the likeness of Melchizedek. He's not Melchizedek. Melchizedek is not the pre-incarnate Christ, but He comes in the likeness of Him. Now, in this glorious portion of Scripture that we're looking at, remembering that Christ is a type, that He is the type, rather, Melchizedek is the type, and that type is fulfilled by our Lord and Savior Jesus, Psalm 110 and verse 4 speaks that Messiah, it's messianic, it's from the King David as the human writer, but it's about Messiah. And verse 4 says that he will be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. So he is not after the order. That is, Messiah is not after the order of the Levitical priesthood. That's ordained by God under Moses. led by Aaron, the Levites, and the tribe of Levi. Christ is not from the tribe of Levi. He's from the tribe of Judah. But Christ is after the order, not of the Levitical priesthood, but the order of Melchizedek. And it is a superior order. Again, the Levitical priesthood is ordained by God for its purpose. But Christ is after a superior order of priesthood. He fulfills the pattern, that is, Christ fulfills the pattern of the Levitical priesthood. He fulfills the types that are there in that sense, but he is not after the order of the Mosaic covenant, the Mosaic priesthood in that sense. This is a superior order. It's greater than the Old Testament priesthood, the Levitical priesthood. both ordained by God, but it is superior. And so Messiah comes after the order of Melchizedek. So when you read Romans 5, it quotes, the quote is from Psalm 110. When you read chapter 7, on more than one occasion, the attention is called to that this is a superior priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. So this ancient man, Melchizedek, who's the king of Salem, which probably means that he's the king of Jerusalem, this king over Jerusalem, this mighty king of righteousness, this mighty king of peace, and also the priest, the priest of the Most High God, he is of a special order. Obviously, Moses has not yet been born. And so this is a special order, time-wise, but also in its superiority. You'll also note that Melchizedek did something that is very instructive. Verse 18 again, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. Now what does that remind us of? Does that call our attention to anything? I'll give you a hint. Look over here, look over there. Sounds like the Lord's Supper, doesn't it? Note what he brings out. It's bread and wine. Because this is pointing to the New Covenant Messiah, or the Messiah who's the mediator of the New Covenant. This is pointing to the New Covenant Church. And so this priest comes out after the order, his own order, but what Messiah will follow, and he offers bread and he offers wine. Obviously, it is a picture of the new covenant, church's holy communion, or the Lord's Supper. This is picturing the new covenants, the greater priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord's Supper, and other features that we could point to as well. And so the type here, is very important. Melchizedek is going to pronounce a blessing on Abraham. Note what Abraham has done. Look at the last part of verse 20. And he gave him a tithe of all. It is a tenth. Hebrew 7 says it's a tenth. So the tithe here is one is a tenth or one-tenth. And so Abraham tithing to this one who is a type of Christ, this one who pictures Christ, this one who is setting forth hundreds of years before Messiah came, setting forth bread and wine, picturing the Lord's Supper. How did Abraham know to do this? He received it by divine revelation. That's how he knew how to do it. Abraham is not guessing on how to do this. Say, how do you know? If he had not given exactly what was required of the tithe, concerning the amount that the tithe is, then he would have no doubt heard from this mighty king and the priest of the Most High God. But what Abraham did pleased Melchizedek. And so Abraham knew that he was to give a tenth. And that's exactly what he did. Note who he gave the tenth to. He gives it to Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God. This is before the giving of the law of Moses. So those who would say, well, that's just under the Mosaic law, and so it's not binding on us. This is before Moses. And the tithe is in effect. And the tithe is in effect. in connection with one of the most powerful types that can be found in the Old Testament of the coming Messiah. Remember also who Abraham is. Abraham has a relationship to the New Covenant Church. He lived before the New Covenant Church is brought in by the Messiah and by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, by the completion of Scripture and so on. But remember who Abraham is. He's a special figure as well. Romans 4.11 says that he's the father of all who believe. And so every Gentile who believes, Abraham is his father. Every Jew who trusts in the Messiah, Abraham is truly his or her father. Romans 4 16, to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who's the father of us all. Abraham is the father of all who believe. Galatians 3.7, we're called the sons of Abraham. Galatians 3.29, it says, and if you're Christ, if you belong to the Messiah, then Abraham's seed. And so the true seed of Abraham under the new covenant is made up of those Jews and those Gentiles who are resting upon the Lord Jesus Christ. And it says, we're Abraham's seed. We're the sons of Abraham. Abraham is the one that offers up this tithe before the time of the Mosaic Code. Abraham, who is our father. You are sons of Abraham. I'm a son of Abraham if I'm resting upon the Lord. And the sons of Abraham, you know what they do? They tithe to the greater Melchizedek, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the foundation for all of the other activity that's found in scripture or written in scripture concerning the tithe. It's not Moses. He merely takes it, expands on it here or there for the covenant nation of Israel. Still binding. But that's not the foundation. The foundation is Melchizedek. The foundation is this special priest. And Abraham, as our father, and we as his sons, tithe to the greater Melchizedek, our Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham, our father, is showing us that we must pay the tithe to the greater heavenly Melchizedek, our Great High Priest and King, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This picture then, from the foundation, pictures what not only Moses is going to deal with, but it also points to the New Covenant Church as well. In other words, the foundation for the tithe is the Melchizedekian priesthood. It's not Moses. Moses builds on that foundation. So merely to go to the Mosaic Code and say, we're not under that, and it has no bearing of this or on that, really is beside the point in that sense. Moses will deal with the tithe, because Melchizedek has established the tithe. And Abraham, Abraham our father, our spiritual father, He tithes to the greater Melchizedek. And so one of the reasons why that we tithe is that this is the foundation. The foundation is in a new covenant sense, because it's about the new covenant. It's about the new covenant order. It's about the special priesthood from which Christ follows in that order. And so it is not an accident that our spiritual father tithes to Melchizedek, who is a type of Christ. The foundation of the tithe is the priesthood of Christ himself, and it's pictured here. The foundation should strike us, and if we're the true sons of Abraham, then we will pay a tithe to the greater Melchizedek. He fulfills all of that, and our spiritual father points the way. And so remember, Abraham ties to Melchizedek. Messiah is after the order of Melchizedek, not the Levitical priesthood. And Moses builds upon the Melchizedekian priesthood. That's how he knew to do it. He received special revelation. He expands points of it, especially for offerings, so there's different details of it along that line. I'm going to ask you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 28, and let me show you another interesting portion of scripture where the tithe shows up. Genesis chapter 28, and we'll start in verse 16. Genesis 28 and verse 16. The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so here's another one of the patriarchs. Verse 16, Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place? This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven. My, we should spend some time there. What a few verses this is. Where Jacob is, the presence of God is so manifest that he says, this is an awesome place. He says, this is the house of God. And so where he was became the house of God. This is the gate. heaven Manifested on the earth at this point and Jacob recognizes that he says how awesome is this place? Verse 18 then Jacob arose early in the morning He took the stone that he had put that he had put at his head Set up a pillar poured oil on it on the top of it and he called the name of the place Bethel but the name of the city But the name of this city had been lost previously. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God be with me and keep me in this way, I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace. Then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set as a pillar, shall be God's house. And all that you give, that is the Lord now, all that you, the Lord, give me, I will surely give a tenth to you. And so the tithe shows up again. And note that Jacob knows what to give at the house of God. And he gives a tenth. How does he know that? It's already been set. The Melchizedek in his priesthood has established that there is a tithe. Note also this is long before Moses. And so the tithe is in effect again. Jacob paid a tenth at the house of God. The foundation, then, should be seen in the priesthood of Melchizedek and our Lord Jesus fulfilling it, and the patriarch Abraham giving a tenth, and the patriarch Jacob giving a tenth as well. And for Jacob, especially at this place that became the very gate of heaven, the manifest presence of God. And he said, I vow to give a tenth. And that tenth was received. Now, I want you to turn with me to Malachi chapter 3, to a famous portion of scripture on the tithe. Malachi chapter 3, if you haven't been in the Old Testament in a while, remember it's the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 3 and verses 8 through 10. And let me take a few moments to answer some objections. I can't deal with everything in this message, so there will be some gaps, but I hope we'll cover enough that it will encourage us, that we as New Covenant believers are to be tithing to our Great High Priest, who's after the Order of Melchizedek. Malachi chapter 3 verse 8 Malachi is under the Mosaic Covenant and He says the following Malachi 3 8 will a man rob God Yet you've robbed me, but you say and what have we robbed you in tithes and offerings? You are cursed with a curse For you have robbed me even this whole nation bring all the tithes into the storehouse doesn't say it's not plural storehouses it says bring it to the storehouse and 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 a blessing that you will not, there will not be room enough to you to receive it. And so this glorious passage of scripture, it is held out. Now Malachi gets this from the Mosaic code. and from Genesis, but Malachi gets this and he applies it to the nation of Israel. The Lord is speaking through him. And the Lord says, you have robbed me in tithes, not only tithes, but also offerings. That which is beyond the tithe, we have offerings that we're to give, can be given to the church or elsewhere. You have to decide on that, but at least the tithe is to go to the local church. And you've robbed me. What have you robbed me in, in tithes and offerings? Now the objection to this portion of scripture is that this is the Old Covenant so that it simply does not apply to us because we're under the New Covenant. Let me answer this by raising a few other questions. It is clear, isn't it, that you could rob God under the Old Covenant. That's what he says here, doesn't he? So we know under the Old Covenant, under the Mosaic Covenant, a person could rob God. Well, let me ask this question. Does this mean that you cannot rob God under the new covenant? In other words, if this is not binding on the new covenant church, on the new Israel of God, under the greater covenants, led by the greater priest and the greater order of priesthood, the order of Melchizedek, if that's so, then you cannot rob God under the new covenant. so-called grace giving that is there are those who teach is that grace should just lead us to To give and we don't need law you had to force them back there, you know in the Old Testament But we don't need law. We don't need that we don't need a requirement and just grace moving upon our hearts and that grace giving will make all the difference that's not working out very well in America and You read in the literature that those that tithe, they average 2.4%, if I remember correct. 2.4%? Not even a full tithe. Not even half of a tithe. Right? And as far as the number of people that tithe, I don't know what the latest stats are. I did not take the time to look into that, if they're any different. But I can tell you through my lifetime, I have never heard anybody say that there are more than 10% who tithe. That means that 90% do not tithe. I've heard competent people say 95% do not tithe. I've heard competent people say 99% do not tithe. And so this so-called grace-giving is not working out very well. And so the point that I'm raising is this. You can rob God under the old creational period, the old covenant period, the Mosaic Code. Very clearly, Malachi says that. But are we saying that no one can rob God under the New Covenant, under the Better Covenant? Now, if you say, well, no, I'm not saying that. Well, then immediately, then, the question will be, then how do you know that you have given enough of your earnings? So if you say, well, obviously there must be some way that a New Covenant believer could sin by not giving a certain amount to our priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. The other view holds that it doesn't matter how much you give, it's up to you. You pray about it and you make the decision. If you say that that does sound inconsistent, of course it is. Of course we consent. Let's say that you have somebody who makes $40,000 a year. They earn $40,000 a year. And they give, tithe-wise now, they give $100 to the church. And you have the view that this has nothing to do with the New Covenant church. And so you go to them and you say, hey, that's just way off. And then they say to you something like this. They say, my wife and I, we prayed about it, and that's all we feel led to do with a cheerful heart. If we gave any more than that, we wouldn't have a cheerful heart. And so that's all that we choose to do. And then you say, now, look, you know that that just cannot be right. And then they say, oh, yes it is. You teach grace-giving, and this is what grace has taught me to do, as far as my wife and I are concerned. In other words, you have no authority. You have no guideline. It actually becomes a form of bondage. And our consciences are actually not clear. If we're not clear on this, we don't know what to do. Pray about it. What does that mean? All sorts of conclusions come up. It looks like Upwards of 90% whether they prayed or they haven't prayed do not get to the tithes That Abraham gave the tithes That Jacob gave the tithes that Malachi is requiring the nation the nation to give the nation of Israel to give and so you can rob God under the New Covenant and And so let's say that somebody makes $100,000 a year. They earn $100,000 a year. And they give $10. You say, well, obviously, but how do you know? By what authority do you speak? And what will you say to them? If you cannot go to the law of God and the example of God, the examples that God has given in scripture, which are law, those examples become law, they become instruction for us in that sense, then we have nothing to say. But if God has told us in his law clearly what to do, then we can say that you're to give 10%, and be at peace, and be at peace about it. Who or what determines whether we have robbed God or not? Grace-giving cannot answer that question. We can rob God if we lived under the Old Covenant. Abraham could rob God. Jacob could rob God. Malachi could rob God. And under the New Covenants, we can rob God. The question is, what is it that God requires? He requires a tenth. And our spiritual father Abraham has set the pace in his dealings with Melchizedek and Melchizedek's dealings with him. Let me move to another objection, and it's found in 2 Corinthians 9, that we're not to give grudgingly, we're to give with a cheerful heart. For the life of me, I don't know how people anchor themselves on that, that that eliminates the tithe. All that it is saying is that when you do tithe, or when you do give offerings, do it with a good heart. Do it cheerfully. It doesn't announce that the tithe is over. Another objection. What if we're in debt, and we find ourselves in debt? It can be for various reasons, but let's say that a family finds themselves in debt. Some are counseling that you should not tithe, but that you should get out of debt and then tithe. The scriptural principle teaches exactly the opposite of that. Proverbs, also in the Levitical code, or under Moses, same thing. That is, give the first fruits. And so what we counsel people to do is, if you want to get out of debt, then start giving your firstfruits to the Lord. So when you have, you've earned money by work, when that comes in, tithe on that. And all sorts of wonderful things can take place. There's all sorts of glorious stories that are out there, is that when families began to give to the great high priest, our Melchizedek, the Lord Jesus Christ, that God began to do all sorts of things. And so, you tithe your way out of debt, alright? You tithe your way out of debt because you get the blessing of God upon you. Melchizedek, the scripture says there in Genesis 14, Melchizedek blessed Abraham because Abraham tithed. And then he gave bread and wine to Melchizedek. And so we tie their way out of debt. There might be some other things you need to do, but that's a crucial thing. That's a crucial point. Now, let me, lastly here, let me raise some questions or objections that are also raised. And I'll put these under hermeneutical principles. You know, hermeneutics is the study the principles and methods of studying the Bible. How do we interpret the Bible? That's what hermeneutics is. And so what are the hermeneutical principles? Now again, I'll leave some gaps here, but I just want to deal with a few things that I hope will be helpful. So, one of the objections is obvious. Tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament. Well, Jesus does mention it in Matthew 23, 23. But aside from that, let's just go with the objection. Tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament, so it's not required. It's left up to you and what you feel led to give to the local church or beyond the local church with your offerings. Well, another question we would ask them, other than the prophecies about Christ that are in the Old Testament, other than those prophecies? Everybody agrees that there are Old Testament prophecies, over 330, about Christ. I'm not talking about that. But other than those prophecies, are you saying that nothing else in the Old Testament is binding on the New Covenant believer, that's the implications of that hermeneutic. It is inferred by people, sometimes directly taught, or confusingly said that it's not mentioned in the New Testament scriptures, so therefore it's not binding. Are we saying that unless it is repeated in the New Testament Scriptures, it does not apply to us? In other words, unless it is repeated in the New Testament Scriptures, it would apply only to Israel, Old Covenant Israel, and not the New Covenant Israel, the New Covenant Church. Remember, tithing was before Moses. The foundation of it is laid in Genesis chapter 14. Let me respond to this by saying a few things. First of all, Scripture nowhere says that unless something from the Old Testament is repeated in the New Testament, it's not binding upon us. Did you follow what I was saying? Was it confusing? You follow it? In other words, Scripture nowhere says because it's in the Old Testament, unless it is repeated in the New Testament, it's not binding upon us. Scripture nowhere says that. This is not to deny that there were some things that were unique to the covenant nation of Israel. We take that into account. A second thing, there is no example or statement in the New Testament that says the tithe is over and not binding upon us. So in other words, you usually hear the other. The tithe is not mentioned. The burden of proof is not for me to answer that. The burden of proof is for them to show that the tithe has been done away with. There are some things that are over. For the easiest, of course, is the animal sacrifices. The New Testament scriptures say so. Romans, Galatians, Colossians, and Hebrews tells us that we are not to be giving animal sacrifices, that those types were fulfilled in Christ, and that that has been brought to an end. There is no statement in the New Testament Scriptures that says that the tithe does not apply, the requirement of the tithe does not apply to us. Thirdly, I would also point out to you, this is how we should think about interpreting the Scriptures now, okay? There are some sins that are condemned only in the Old Testament Scriptures. These laws are not specifically repeated in the New Testament. Now, in some cases, there are words that are used in the New Testament that would embrace all of that. Well, what I'm saying is, if you had a critic on your hand, and the critic said, show me in the New Testament where that's a sin, you would say, well, it's under this. It doesn't say that. It just says, I believe that. It says, you show me where that's a sin. And so there are things in the Old Testament law that everyone here, I'm confident, would say, that is sin. And some, in the book of Leviticus, for example, some of the most perverse sins that human beings are involved in are specifically spelled out only in the Old Testament law. No one would say, and unsaved people, over and over again, I'll guarantee you, if I brought up some of these things, they would say, oh, nobody should do that. Of course not. That's perverse. And guess what? Those who say that the Old Testament, okay, it's gone, we're under the New Testament, gone in the sense of what they're saying, and that we're under the New Testament, whenever they get pressed, you know what they do? They do exactly what I do. They turn to the book of Leviticus and say, that's what the law of God says. And so they're inconsistent in how they use, in their thinking, in their hermeneutic in these particular matters. In other words, what I'm saying is this. We, as New Covenant believers, are not to go to Leviticus or Deuteronomy or Exodus and say that is binding upon the conscience, whether you live before Moses, during the time of Moses, during the time of the New Testament, right down to this time. This is an inconsistent handling of the Word of God as found in the Old Testament scriptures. No. Those are universal laws. It doesn't matter when you lived. They're universal laws that are binding upon all people, saved and lost, whenever. They were on this earth, whatever period they were in, because that's the moral law of God. Now again, there are some features of the old covenant that has found its fulfillment, such as the animal sacrifices and so on. The Levitical priesthood is over. Christ fulfilled the pattern of it, but he was not after the order of it. So he fulfilled all of that. Let me give you an example. of how the early church used the law out of the Old Testament. In Acts chapter 15, the first great council was set. It's famously known as the Jerusalem Council. And so leaders of the early church gather at the Jerusalem Council to clarify issues, to settle issues, moral issues, evolving moral issues, doctrinal issues. And so they're there. In Acts chapter 15, verses 20 and 29, a moral issue is dealt with. The early church leaders address actually more than one moral issue in those verses, but I'm pointing to one of them. So there's a moral issue that they're dealing with, and they're going to make a decision under the authority of the Holy Spirit, and also based on the law of God. They're going to make a decision regarding this particular practice that is mentioned, one of the practices that's mentioned in this verse. The answer that they give is based upon Leviticus 3.17, Leviticus 7.26, Leviticus 17 verses 10 through 12, Leviticus 19.26, and Deuteronomy 12.16. In other words, if anybody said, by what authority do you speak? All of those verses that I just gave you, all of those verses would be implied. And also, before Moses, Genesis 9 and verse 4 also condemns that particular set. Before Moses, under the Mosaic Code. That is universal moral law that's binding. Please do not miss my point. New Covenant leaders of the early Church, of which you and I are a part of, draw on an ethical issue from Genesis, from Leviticus, and from Deuteronomy, and bind that law upon the conscience of the New Covenant Church. And so merely to say it's in the Old Testament, so therefore it doesn't apply, or that was to Israel, so therefore it doesn't apply, is woefully inadequate. From Genesis, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, that law was binding on the conscience and is upon our conscience as well, not to practice what those verses were talking about. Now today, if somebody had been at the Jerusalem Council, they may have said Old Testament, You know, nice but no good for us. You know, good for them, not for us. We're under grace. That's not what they did. And so there is, in the Old Testament, there is law that is universal and is binding upon us. And there is no indication anywhere that the tithe has been removed. All the examples. the direct statements of the law. And again, as a practical application, how do you know what to give? How do you know that you're pleasing God? How do you know that your great high priest is pleased with what you give? Now, sometimes you might bump, I've never had this happen, but suppose you bump into somebody and say, I don't believe in that, the Old Testament regarding that, and so on, and I give 20%. Well, that does not happen. But if you did have somebody do that, I suppose the Lord will forgive them for their bad theology, but their heart's good, isn't it, you know? And they're giving twice as much than what they need to give from along that line. That's not what happens. What happens is, is what is going on in the Church of Christ. We pray for revival, and yet we rob God. the Lord will hear our prayers, at least from one angle I would say the Lord will begin to hear our prayers when we start quit robbing Him. We quit taking that which is of His. Now as you've heard Don teach and you've heard the emphasis that it all belongs to the Lord, everything that's in our wallet belongs to the Lord, but there are these specific things regulated by God's law. There's tithes and there's offerings. So I'm concentrating especially on the tithe this morning. There is no indication. It is not up to me to prove that the New Testament, because the New Testament does not speak about it. In other words, what I'm saying is, everything does not have to be repeated in the New Testament for it to be binding upon us. To the best of my knowledge, there's not a verse, Old or New Testament, that says that's how we should interpret, or an example of how we should interpret the scriptures. If you want the greater Melchizedek to bless you, if you want that great king of righteousness. King of Salem, that is the king of peace. That is the greater Melchizedek, who's not at the earthly Jerusalem, but is in the city of the living God. The new Jerusalem, who sits at the right hand of God. If you want to be blessed, like Abraham was blessed those millenniums ago, Abraham was blessed. by Melchizedek. And that's picturing what the Lord is going to do for us. And do know that if He's pleased to, He can open the windows of heaven, and He can pour out a blessing which you cannot contain. That's in His sovereign hands. But that's what He's able to do. That's what Malachi says. The Lord says through Malachi, the Lord says, test me. Try me in this. give me your tithes and give me your offerings, and see if I might not open the windows of heaven and pour out," he's talking about finances now, "...might pour out a blessing which you cannot contain." Now you say, well, that sounds like the health and wealth gospel. No, that's Bible. And you know, there is wealth that is taught in the Bible, and there's also health that's taught in the Bible. Because the health and wealth group pervert that doesn't mean that we should throw those things out You might need to be healed by the Lord sometime and you might need his financial blessing. We always do Deuteronomy 8 he gives us power to get wealth. It's based on him And so Malachi says to the nation of Israel You've robbed me Now, I want you to test me in this. You bring your tithes and offerings to the storehouse. You bring them. And the Lord says, I can open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing which you cannot contain. That's in His sovereign hands. The health and wealth gospel says that you're commanded to be wealthy. The health and wealth gospel says if you don't, it's because you don't have faith. so on and so forth. That's a perversion of him. But let's be very clear. Melchizedek blessed Abraham. Genesis 13, 2, he'd already been blessed. He was rich in cattle and silver and gold. He was the richest sheik around because of the blessing of God. He was a very wealthy man. The Lord doesn't condemn that at all, as long as the heart's right, the obvious. So God will raise some people up to be very, very wealthy. God will, with others, He will set the limit according to His sovereignty. But we should expect our needs to be met. My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus, Philippians chapter 4. I would just urge all of us to make sure that we bring our tithes to the house of God. that we give our tithe ultimately beyond the elders of the church, that we give our tithe ultimately to our great high priest who's after the order of Melchizedek, that as the sons and daughters of Abraham, that we too would be faithful like our father and bring the tithe to the Lord Jesus Christ. And our elders will decide how to dispense it. Tithe is binding upon us. Your conscience can be at peace. Give a tithe. Give a tenth. You don't have to wonder about it. You don't have to pray about it, in that sense. you give a tenth. You pray about it around it, you know, to be able to do it or whatever, but what I'm saying is you don't have to pray about it. It's not how I feel led in my heart by the Holy Spirit to do, you know, and I come up to the conclusion I'll give about 2.4 percent and that should be, that's what I believe the Holy Spirit's telling me. The Holy Spirit has given us law and example and that is give a tenth. You follow your father Abraham. You do what he did. You bring the tithe to that Melchizedek who sits at the right hand of God the Father. And you watch him do wonders on your behalf. You watch him sustain you. You watch him bless you. And he can, if he chooses to, rip the windows back of heaven and pour out a blessing. that is quite staggering. Whether that happens or not, the important thing is, is that we're pleasing that king that we love, we're pleasing that priest that we love, who's after the order of Melchizedek. Because it's in the Old Testament, it was not eliminated from being binding, to be bound to the conscience of the New Covenant Church. That doesn't eliminate it. God is not required to repeat what He said in the Old Testament in the New Testament for it to be binding on the New Testament conscience. Be at peace about this. We know what to do. Give a tenth to the house, and then make wise decisions concerning offerings. And He will not fail us. Let's pray.