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Should I Stop Giving to my Church?
Q: I am not very good at hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit yet. Should I stop giving to my local church until I am? A: Think about this. If every person in America suddenly stopped giving regularly to their local churches until they became "expert" at hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, it would not take but a few weeks for the lights to go out in virtually every church in the United States. There would be no income for the local churches to pay the light bill, the gas bill, the pastor's salary or anything else. Of course that is not the will of our Father. The most important thing is our "attitude of heart" when we give to our local church. Most sincere Christians are tithers. Sadly, the reason most of them tithe in the first place is because they have the mentality that they are still under the Law. Most believe they will be cursed if they do not tithe, and automatically blessed if they do. Very few have the mentality of being "sons" of God who have been redeemed from the curse of the Law and endowed with a vast inheritance to steward as "joint-heirs" with Jesus Christ. If you have regularly given ten percent (or more) to your local church, don't stop giving. Rather, begin developing the mindset that you are now a "son" who is also a faithful steward of your inheritance from the Father. Instead of considering your tithe to still be under Law, on the contrary see your tithe as the "beginning" point of your stewardship in the Kingdom. Your thinking should be something like this, "Father, I have only recently discovered that I am not under Law. I desire to become a Steward of Kingdom Finances that You can trust with wealth. I have been tithing as a commandment up until now, but from today forward I declare ten percent to be the beginning point of my stewardship for the Kingdom. I want to show myself faithful in little so You can trust me with much. I will be spending much time in fellowship with Your Holy Spirit in order to become more and more expert at hearing His voice. But for now, consider my giving to be just the starting point of my stewardship for Your Kingdom. I love You, Father, and I want to see people saved, healed and blessed. I appreciate the privilege, and the opportunity, to be involved financially with what You are doing in the earth." That is a very liberating thought process. You will see yourself more and more as a beloved child of God who is co-laboring financially with the Holy Spirit to reap a harvest of souls for the Father.
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