Shalom,

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland's "From Faith To Faith" for today is another very important message that is not always being taught properly in some churches today.

And it shall be, when you are come in unto the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance...that you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the earth...and shall go unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose to place His Name there. Deuteronomy 26:1-2

Tithing. Most Christians aren't very excited about it. But they should be—and they would be if they understood how to do it properly. Scriptural tithing stirs up faith. It activates the power of God in our lives when we do it in gratitude and joy, expecting our needs to be met abundantly.

In Deuteronomy 26:8-9, God told the Israelites exactly what to say when they brought their tithes. He instructed them to acknowledge the fact that He had brought them out of the bondage of Egypt and to say:

"The Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders: and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, even a 

and that flows with milk and honey."

What does that have to do with you and me? God has done the same thing for us! He's brought us out of a life of bondage and poverty into a life that flows with the abundance of God. So when you bring your tithe to the Lord, follow the example set by the Israelites. Make it a time of rejoicing. Make it a time of realizing anew the wonderful things Jesus Christ has done for you. Thank Him for delivering you from a land of darkness and scarcity and bringing you into His promised land of plenty. Thank Him that it is a land of mercy, a land of joy, a land of peace and a land of prosperity. Tithe in faith, expecting the rich blessings of that land to be multiplied to you. You may soon find it to be one of the most exciting things you can do.

I want to share two portions of Scripture that will show you that the tithe is as much apart of our New Covenant as it was of the Old! First of all, Leviticus 27:30:

30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord.  AMP

The word "holy" here is the Hebrew word "qodesh", which means apartness, separateness. This simply means that God looks at the tithe, the first 10% of our income or increase, as set apart FROM the world and set apart UNTO Himself! In other words, God sees the tithe as HIS! There is nothing in the New Testament that changes this! Remember that Jesus said that He did NOT come to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it! IF the tithe was considered holy under the Old Covenant, it is STILL considered holy under the New Covenant! In fact, Jesus said THIS to the Pharisees:

Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you give a tenth of your mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected and omitted the weightier (more important) matters of the Law — right and justice and mercy and fidelity. These you ought [particularly] to have done, without neglecting the others. AMP

Luke 11:42 But woe to you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every [little] herb, but disregard and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. AMP

Tithing began way before the Law was ever given when Abram paid tithes to Melchizedek in Genesis 14:17. Yes, it was made a part of the Law, but the tithe being holy to the Lord was not just Law, it is TRUTH! When we bring OUR tithes, we are simply agreeing with God, in love and full confidence, and counting on Him to reward us as He said in the Word He will do (Malachi 3:8-10)! This is the ONLY time that I have found where the Lord our God challenges us to put Him to the test to see for ourselves what He will do! AMEN! If you are a tither, keep it up! If you are not, then I challenge you to do so! No, we don't do it because of the Law, but because of the Word and because of the BLESSING! Are you ready to be blessed? AMEN! Here is Hillsong Kids with "My Number One":

Shalom in Him!