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high priest. Today, all true minis–
ters of Jesus •Christ are caJled by a
speciaJ spiritual call from God,
through his Holy Spirit througb
and into his Church- not by flesh
birth, not by self-desire to become
a minister, not by selection or by
appointment or by vote of the
people. Jesus Christ carne as God's
messenger bearing a spirituaJ mes–
sage from God to man- that mes–
sage of his gospel, the good news of
the coming kingdom of God, the
world tomorrow, a kingdom of
immortals that human flesh and
blood can never enter. One must be
born into the kingdom of God.
And today Christ's commission
to all of his true ministers is this:
"Go ye into all the world , and
preach the gospel [the good news of
the kingdom of God] ..." (Mark
16: 15). "Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations ... " (Matt. 28: 19).
And for our day now: "And this
gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a wit–
ness unto all nations; and then shall
the end [of this age, this world)
come" (Matt. 24:14).
Today the ministry is a spirituaJ
ministry- a ministry of prophecy,
a ministry of salvation, a ministry
of warning. Today it is not physical
and national; it is spiritual and indi–
vidual.
lt
is not for a single nation,
but it is a witness to all nations.
Today, in these critica!, chaotic
days approaching the end of an age,
that carrying on of God's true mes–
sage is a worldwide effort that must
reach mill ions of people, and quick–
ly, for "the night cometh, when no
man can work." Today, J esus
Christ's true ministry is a huge
undertaking.
Jt
requires not the
mere financing of personal needs of
a few ministers, but the employing
of tremendous faci lities for pro–
claiming the world-shaking warn–
ing, for preaching the gospel of the
kingdom into all the world for a
witness to all nations. Today, God
has provided for the financing of
his powerful ministry by the same
system that he has used through all
ages and dispensations- his tithing
system. That is God's way as it
always has been.
In 1 Corinthians 9 the apostle
Paul is inspired of God to instruct
us that God has ordained that the
New Testament gospel ministry of
10
Christ shall be similarly financed as
the Levítica! priesthood of the
Sinaitic covenant was, by the tithes
and the freewill offerings of the
people.
Speaking of the Levítica! priest–
hood, which was supported by the
tithes of the people, it is written:
"Even so [by the tithes] hath the
Lord ordained that they which
preach tbe gospel should live of the
gospel" (I Cor. 9:14). This makes
the tithing system binding in the
New Testament, carried over from
tbe Old Testament Levítica! priest–
hood.
Tithing is further made a New
Testament financing system for the
Church in the priesthood book of
the New Testament. In Hebrews 7
the first fou r verses show how
Abraham paid tithes to the Mel–
chizedek priesthood.
Verses 5 to ll explain how the
tithes were paid in ancient Israel to
the Levítica! priesthood, according
to the titbing law.
Verse 12 says plainly, " For the
priesthood being changed [from
tbe Old Testament LeviticaJ priest–
hood to the New Testament
Church], there is made of necessity
a change also of the law [including
tithing]." So that tithes today are
paid into the Church of which
Jesus Christ is head a nd high
priest.
God's own financing system is
making possible this very work of
God, proclaiming to the world the
gospel that Christ preached, on the
worldwide program
The World
Tomorrow.
Hundreds are writing
in and asking, " How can you send
out this powerful broadcast to the
world without ever asking for mon–
ey?" 1 hope you have noticed that
we never do. And they ask, " How
can you publisb a magazine of
worldwide circulation without sub–
scription price?"
And the plain, simple, straight–
forward answer is, This is the work
of God supported by God's tithe.
WUI You Rob God?
Now notice the blessings for obe–
dience and for honesty in money
matters with God, and the curses
for neglect and for disobedience.
God says to us through Malac hi :
"Will a man rob God? Yet you
have robbed me. But you say,
Wherein have we robbed thee?
[and God answers] In tithes and
offerings. Ye are cursed with a
curse: for ye have robbed me, even
this whole nation" (Mal. 3:8-9).
Continuing in Malachi 3, verse
10: " Bring ye aJI the tithes into the
storehouse, that there may be meat
in mine house, and prove me now
herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if
I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a bless–
ing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it."
That is God's promise. Why
don't you put God to that• test?
Why don't you prove him as he
chaJlenges you to do, and to see if
he doesn ' t increase your income so
that your own nine tenths that God
gives you will be larger than your
whole ten tenths of income now,
that your financia) worries will
finally be ended? "But 1 can't
afford to tithe," complains one
man. God's answer is, Can you
a fford to steal from God?
Pay God bis tenth. Watch God
increase botb his tenth and your
nine tenths. That 's the way to have
your bilis paid, to get out of debt,
to be free from financiaJ worries.
Tithing is a fi nanciaJ law. And yet,
notwithstanding, the biggest bless–
ing of aJI is the spirituaJ blessing.
Jesus said , "Where your t reasure
is, there will your heart be also."
And that too is a law.
If
your trea–
sure is in this world's amusements
and its pleasures, if your money–
pardon me,
l
mean God's money–
is being spent on yourself and your
selfish desires, even including your
needs, then your whole heart and
your interest is in this world, this
material world, and not in the king–
dom of God.
Jesus also said, " But seek ye firs t
the kingdom of God, and his righ–
teousness; and aJI these [material
needs] shall be added unto you."
Seek God, and you' JI prosper. The
way to grow spi ritually and to enjoy
the glorious happiness of God's
grace is to put God's tithe and your
offerings, your treasure, into God's
work. Seek with all your heart the
kingdom of God, and financia!
troubles will vanish, your life will
become happy, full and abundant
with assurance of life eterna!
through Jesus Christ our
Lord. o
The PLAIN TRUTH