Finances

God’s will for His children is THE BLESSING—to be the lender and not the borrower, above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:12-13). But if you’ve found yourself in a tough financial spot, take heart; there is deliverance available for you. 

If you’re in a place where a financial advisor has recommended that you file for bankruptcy, first and foremost seek the Lord, and if you feel a peace about moving forward, do so. But one thing is very important—watch your words.

Romans 12:3 says, “…God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (KJV). Every born-again child of God starts out with exactly the same measure of faith. So if you’re saved, you have the very faith of God already inside you! Isn’t that good news?

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica and said, “Your faith grows exceedingly” (2 Thessalonians 1:3, NKJV). 

This means your faith can also grow exceedingly. 

So, exactly how did their faith grow?

Jesus often told His followers to give: “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back” (Luke 6:38).

Agriculture is the first thing we think about when we hear the phrase “seedtime and harvest.” It’s what comes to mind when we first read about it in Genesis 8:22, where we are promised that while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

But you don’t have to look very long to see that the principle of seedtime and harvest, or “sowing and reaping,” applies to every area of our lives. The law of sowing and reaping is a God-instituted process that will exist as long as we are on this earth.

The exciting thing about the promise of hundredfold return is that anything that can be produced by the Word of God has the potential for a hundredfold return. You will find all the way through the Old Testament that people’s crops were multiplied a hundredfold (see Genesis 26:12). This is God’s principle of return on the covenant.

When you plant, there will be a hundredfold return coming in response: whether it be words, faith, money, etc. The whole kingdom of God operates according to this principle: seed planting and harvest!

When it comes to offering your tithe to Jesus, your mouth is just as important as your hand. Under the old covenant, the people were to take their tithe—the first fruits of their increase—to the priest declaring, “Go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, ‘With this gift I acknowledge to the Lord your God that I have entered the land he swore to our ancestors he would give us’” (Deuteronomy 26:3). Then the priest would place the tithe in a basket and present it on the altar before God as the people declared aloud their redemption before the Lord (verses 5-10, 13-15).

Jesus said in Mark 12:17, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” In that day, the coin used to pay taxes was the Roman denarius, and it had Caesar’s picture on it. Since it was a government coin and had a government stamp on it, it belonged to the government. What Jesus was saying was, “The coin is Caesar’s; let him have his own.”

The whole kingdom of God operates according to the principles of planting, seedtime and harvest. The hundredfold return is God’s principle of return on your giving. What are you planting into the kingdom of God? Expect a hundredfold return on whatever you give, whether it be words, faith, money or any other seed you plant.

Purchasing ministry materials and tithing are two different things, even if a portion of your purchase goes to support a ministry like KCM.

The biblical promise of a hundredfold return is for sowing seed of any offering you give. But does it also apply to giving your tithe?

Actually, the tithe is a specific commandment from the Lord and carries its own blessing with it. This is a blessing that is separate from the blessing we receive when we sow an offering, which is over and above the tithe:

Malachi 3:10 says, “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” (NKJV).

This verse tells us a lot about tithing:

It can be difficult to have a strong conviction about something as important as tithing, but it not be shared by your spouse. The enemy would like you to think you cannot have financial success because of your spouse’s objection to tithing. 

Proverbs 3:9 gives clear direction for tithing on gross income (before taxes) vs. tithing on the net (after taxes): “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” Tithes should be given from the first fruits—your income before any expenses or other obligations are taken out—the gross, not the net. (Also read Deuteronomy 26.)

Brother Copeland tithes off the gross and considers the money that goes for taxes as a seed into the government. Since he started doing this, he has never failed to have more than enough to pay his taxes when they are due.

Many people see themselves as on a fixed income, such as receiving a regular check in the mail from Social Security or a pension. No matter how you receive your income, think of your income as your seed bin, out of which you give to others.

Generally speaking, we tithe on our income. Loaned money from a bank or lending institution is not income, but debt that must be paid back with interest. Therefore, loans are not sources of income, but sources of expense that would not require a tithe.

It is amazing how many believers waste their energies arguing whether or not tithing is a New Testament doctrine. Tithing didn’t begin with the Law! According to Genesis 4:2-4, before the Law was ever given to Moses, Abel and Cain brought the firstfruits of their labor to God. Again in Genesis 14, we find that Abraham tithed—before the Law.

Webster defines gambling as “the payment of a price for the chance to win a prize.” The lottery does fit this definition. While the Bible does not explicitly list gambling as a sin, the greater question for a believer is whether something is pleasing to God.

The Bible teaches clearly about the importance of good stewardship (Proverbs 21:20). Every dollar we have belongs to God and He is trusting us to manage it well. When we do, we reap a harvest. 

God does not want you poor and miserable. He wants you blessed.

If you are born again, as a joint heir with Christ, all God’s resources belong to you. This isn’t just religion; it’s New Testament reality! When Jesus went to the cross, He totally defeated poverty on your behalf once and for all. As 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.”

Wondering how to calculate your tithe? It’s easy! The tithe is the first 10% of your gross income—before any expenses or obligations, including taxes.

How do we know? Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase” (NKJV). The dictionary defines first fruits as “the first agricultural produce of a season, especially when given as an offering to God.” (See also Genesis 28:22; Leviticus 27:32; Hebrews 7:2, 4.)

This may surprise you, but you don’t have to defend your belief in biblical prosperity. Jesus said, “But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands”(Mark 10:30, KJV). But He didn’t stop there. He went on to say, “with persecutions.”