The Lord’s portion 

 
Malachi 3:10


A visiting preacher finished a stirring sermon on tithing, the practice of giving the first ten percent of our income to the Lord. He stressed how God would faithfully provide for those who honor him by tithing. Afterward the pastor of the small congregation confided that he hadn’t tithed for years. “My wife and I are barely scraping by,” he said.

The visitor listened sympathetically. Then he challenged him: “Try tithing for one year, putting ten percent aside first before you pay any bills. If you’re ever short of money, just call me. I’ll make up the difference.”

A year later the pastor called to say how pleased he was that he’d not had to ask for help. “We did as you instructed and always had enough money for our needs. Somehow it just came in,” he noted.

“That’s great!” the preacher replied. “But why were you able to trust me as a backup and not trust God?

Have you made a decision about tithing? God invites you to put him to the test.

Dig deeper:Lev. 27:30; Luke 6:38; Heb. 7:1-10.

Disciple All Nations Pt. 4 
[Today we conclude Jim Stier's article on Discipling All Nations. Reprinted with permission from the International YWAMer, September 2001.]

Any survey that we might make to analyze where Christian workers are located, where Christian money is spent, or where nations get the most input from the church, will lead us to the conclusion that our present efforts don’t reflect God’s character. Massive amounts of money are spent on media time, money, political action, and church infrastructure in our efforts to saturate western nations with Christian teaching. Only a very small trickle finds it’s way out to those who have had no opportunity to hear.

The “all” in “make disciples of all nations” is the biggest challenge in the Great Commission. It can’t be left out.

Ironically, the unreached peoples are about a million times more responsive to the teachings of the kingdom of God than are westerners, according to statistics based on analytical methods developed by Dr. David Barrett and Dr. Todd Johnson. This means that the unreached represent by far the greatest potential for discipling nations. In the West, Christianity is generally seen as an old, tired ideology that has already failed. In the East and in tribal societies it is often seen as transforming, exciting, and full of promise. Where do you think we have the best chance to have our initial successes? Won’t the new impetus and energy to change the West likely come from places where the gospel is being believed in an energetic and powerful way?

The kingdom is to permeate all aspects of life. It is meant to be present and dynamic through Christians involved in all sectors of society. Through missionaries, it should be actively and purposefully penetrating all tribes and nations.

A few years ago, I was on a long and very boring trip, and picked up a Reader’s Digest magazine on the plane. I was going through and reading everything, when I came across an article entitled something like “America’s Most Compassionate City.” I read with growing excitement as the author described the heritage of Rochester, USA. It has consistently come out on top in surveys of which American cities take best care of their poor and needy. The author traces this characteristic back to the revivals which took place there under the ministry of Charles Finney, about 150 years ago! The gospel does make a great difference in people’s lives. It’s not meant to just be a means to get to heaven, but a transforming power right here on earth. We really can change nations if we will serve the truth, with love, through the power of the Holy Spirit.