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SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE: 

Restitution or reformation does not cancel out sin. It is only a substation sacrifice that can atone for our sins for us to be reconciled to God. Our submission to the Lord in confession and restitution must flow from the acceptability of the sacrifice. At the end of the day, Jesus was our substitute.

Our response to His sacrifice must be complete obedience.

The sinner must render acceptable obedience which is the evidence of a saving relationship with the Lord. Authentic faith is backed up by action. People who do not bring in their tithes and offering cannot back up their faith that God is the Source of everything, because they are not generous with whatever material wealth they have.

Suppose we say that we share life with God  but still walk in the darkness. Then we are lying. We are not living out the truth. 

But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin. (1 John 6-7)

 

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PROTECTION

EVIDENCE OF GOD’S PROTECTION

EVIDENCE OF GOD’S PROTECTION: 

King Hezekiah began his independent reign when he broke the treaty which his father Ahaz made with the Assyrians (2 Kgs. 16:7), probably during the reign of Sargon II (722-705 B.C.). Sargon’s successor Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) decided to bring Judah into line, and he led a campaign against Hezekiah in the king’s 14th year (2 Kgs. 18:13). Hoping to prevent Jerusalem’s capture, Hezekiah hid the city by concealing the outside water supplies (2 Chron. 32:3-4).

He also repaired any weak spots in the wall and built towers around it (1 Kgs. 9:24), and added to the weapon supply. He also mobilized the people under army officers. He encouraged them not to feat, but to trust the Lord — a power far superior to a nation like Assyria. Hezekiah assured the people that the Lord was with them to help them.

What was Hezekiah doing in the previous chapter? (Protection)

He was securing the tithes of the people and also making sure the priests are provided for and encouraging people to be consistent about their giving.

He took care of the priests — God’s workers. As a result, God protected Hezekiah’s reign and gave him victory.

In 2 Chronicles 32:9-15, Sennacherib boasted that no other god had been able to protect his people from the Assyrians. He was mocking the God of the Israelites, saying He was just another God. After his taunting through letters and addresses through his messengers, he would send delegates to speak in Hebrew on the wall to demoralize the people about their God.

Hezekiah took care of the provision for the priest. In return, the Lord protected him and his kingdom.

Hezekiah turned to the Lord with the Prophet Isaiah. With the help of the prophet, they prayed for divine deliverance. God gave the king assurance through the prophet (2 Kgs. 19:20-34). God sent an angel to destroy the Assyrian host forcing Sennacherib to retreat in humility (2 Chron. 32:20-21a). Hezekiah took care of the provision for the priest. In return, the Lord protected him and his kingdom. He upheld Hezekiah’s throne against the Assyrian army. This protection only comes from God.

 

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PROTECTION

COMPENSATION-FOR-PASTORS

GENEROUS COMPENSATION

GENEROUS COMPENSATION: There are many accounts wherein the Bible reveals God’s desire to compensate properly those who labor in the Lord’s vineyard. When Jesus appointed the 72 and sent them out two by two, he gave specific instructions as to their conduct. He was very specific, and it clues us into how ministers must be compensated. Jesus instructed them if anyone was generous enough to offer them lodging and food, they were to accept it.

Jesus instructed them if anyone was generous enough to offer them lodging and food, they were to accept it.

Stay there and eat and drink anything they give you. Workers are worthy of their pay. Do not move around from house to house. (Luke 10:7)

According to Aubrey Malphurs and Steve Strope, authors and seminarians:

People are God’s human agents for ministry effectiveness (1 Cor. 3:5–9). Your ministry will be only as good as the people who serve the Lord and the church. Scripture is clear that the workers deserve their wages.… It’s unbiblical (and shameful) when a church fails to take care of its staff.

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TARUMAH

TÂRUMAH AS A SACRIFICE

The heave-offering or the târumah offering is found in the Old Testament. Practicing the giving of the târumah is a spiritual exercise that trains our hearts and minds to keep an altar for the Lord. We are to set apart the târumah offering and to give it generously. The Lord is a holy God and this practice is our declaration of our obedience and trust in the Lord.

Numbers 5:9

According to Numbers 5:9, “All the sacred gifts the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.”  Exodus 23:19 tells us, “The choice first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God.” The heave-offering belongs to the priest.

In Numbers 5:9, the term “gifts” here is directly translated as the târumah.

Gifts are made “sacred,” not because one brings them to the priest. Instead, the gift is sacred because the giver sets it apart from his income.

Gifts are made “sacred,” not because one brings them to the priest. Instead, the gift is sacred because the giver sets it apart from his income. The first fruits of the income are set apart as tithes and offerings, as well as târumah or heave offering. The act of separating the first fruits makes the entire income holy because the giver is declaring that God is the source of the entire provision. Even when the giver is sacrificing only a portion of the income, the Lord can bless the whole lot, depending on the attitude of the giver’s heart.

Deuteronomy 12:6: In the passage below, we see that the târumah or the “special gifts” is different from the tithe.

The passage said bring your special gifts and a tenth of everything you produce. If it were the same, it would have said special gifts or a tenth of everything you produce. Thus, they are different offerings that are commanded of the people.

Take your burnt offerings and sacrifices to that place. Bring your special gifts and a tenth of everything you produce. Take with you what you have promised to give. Bring any other offerings you choose to give. And bring the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. (Deuteronomy 12:6, emphasis added)

Where you are right now, if you have peace in your heart about the local church you belong to, then this is the place God chose you to worship, and you must bring the offering here.

Different kinds of offerings are brought to God’s chosen place of worship. The Lord specifically guides the believers as to where they are to bring the offering. Where you are right now, if you have peace in your heart about the local church you belong to, then this is the place God chose you to worship, and you must bring the offering here. The people are called to sacrifice and to offer it unto the Lord as worship.

Deuteronomy 12:6 is followed by verse 7, which is a verse that speaks of joy:

You and your families will eat at the place the Lord your God will choose. He will be with you there. You will find joy in everything you have done. That’s because he has blessed you. (Deuteronomy 12:7)

Giving results in joy, not in sorrow, in the Christian life.

Out of the people’s obedience, there is a joy as a result of blessings. Joy is underlined by the fact that it appeared twice in the chapter accompanying sacrifices and offerings (Dt. 12:12; 18). Giving results in joy, not in sorrow, in the Christian life. We go back to how Paul related generosity with an attitude of cheerfulness:

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You shouldn’t give if you don’t want to. You shouldn’t give because you are forced to. God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

As a people, may we find joy in giving? Our offering to the Lord is not another bill to pay. It is an opportunity to express our true devotion to the Lord. It is a declaration that we treasure our relationship with God more than we treasure our earthly wealth. Moreover, it is an opportunity to experience the blessings and faithfulness of the Lord, as a direct outcome of our obedience.

There is joy when you experience the communal nature of worship life with a local church. It is important to rediscover the joy of community worship, making offerings to the Lord as God’s people. It’s one thing to be called to give individually, but to live together as a church is a whole different experience of communal worship. The early church love feasts. It is after they give their offerings as a community that they also have celebrations as a community.

It’s one thing to be called to give individually, but to live together as a church is a whole different experience of communal worship.

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TARUMAH

Tzedakah

The Tzedakah Spirit

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And, the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. Because of indifference once dies before one actually dies.”

Elie Wiesel

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 NRSV

The distinction of Tzedakah (צְדָקָה)

There is a different kind of giving that emerges from the bible. Târumah can be considered tzedakah, especially when it is in the context of taking care of your leaders — people whose duty does not allow them to make a profit for themselves.

The word tzedakah (tsuh-DOCK-ah) is a Hebrew term that literally means “righteousness”. In the Jewish culture, tzedakah pertains to charitable giving or philanthropy. In Judaism, the weight of this word goes beyond charity. It refers to doing good to ensure that the needs of others are met.

In the context of the târumah, the giver does not only give to fulfill traditions or duties. Instead, there is a spirit that has compassion for the well-being of the priests, as servants of God. They are doing their part to serve their spiritual leaders. The tzedakah offering does not only include the târumah, but it refers to what we now know as a benevolence fund.

Tzedakah is a foundational spiritual practice. Tzedakah was a central obligation of Jewish life, whether the person is rich or poor.

The practice of giving is not according to a person’s economic station or spiritual accomplishments. In the Jewish culture, life begins and ends in tzedakah, and so it must not be an issue or a struggle. When a child is born, the Jewish father pledges a certain amount of money for the distribution of the poor. At the funeral, the mourners contribute coins to the beggars who swarm the burial area.

The tzedakah is practiced in order to remind the individual that at every turn of one’s life, giving is present. Every celebration or holiday is usually accompanied by gifts. In Jewish culture, generosity is a way of life. During holidays, they would pass around a box wherein coins are dropped for the support of different charities.

The well-off home has a series of boxes for different purposes. If something good or bad happens to the family, a coin is dropped in the box. The children are also trained in the habit of giving.

The father would encourage this habit by having his son give the alms to the beggar, instead of handing them over directly. Jewish people grow up with the gesture of giving becoming almost a reflex. How blessed is a person whose habit is to give, instead of to take?

Jewish people grow up with the gesture of giving becoming almost a reflex.

If we study the proper context of “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev.19:18), it is not a command to feel as loving toward another as you do toward yourself, but to love your neighbor as part of yourself. Love is an action. It is about taking care of others, as you do yourself. Thus, giving tzedakah leads to the realization that there is no self or other —  giving to the needy is like taking money from your right hand and placing it into your left.

Tzedakah is a practice in which anyone can engage. Unlike the word “charity,” which has its origins in the Latin Caritas, “heart,” tzedakah comes from the Hebrew word tzedek, which means “justice.”

Charity is done by someone whose heart is awakened (Ruach), something not everyone has experienced.

Tzedakah, on the other hand, challenges you to be just. Even the person who has a scarcity-fearing egoic consciousness (Neshamah) can support this principle, since creating a system of just earning and use of finances protects you as well as others.
According to Moses Maimonides, a great medieval philosopher, there are eight degrees of tzedakah (with number 1 being the ultimate and number 8 being the most basic) still followed today:
  1. Seeing to a person’s independence by providing a person with a job, entering into a partnership that allows the person to establish a business, giving an interest-free loan, giving a grant.
  2. Giving tzedakah anonymously through a reputable third party and without knowing who will receive the aid.
  3. Displaying anonymously to a known recipient.
  4. Showing publically to an unknown recipient.
  5. Offering without being asked.
  6. Allowing generously after being asked.
  7. Awarding gladly but not generously.
  8. Giving grudgingly.

The highest form of charity is when you prevent others from ever becoming poor, such as by offering a loan or employment or investing in someone’s business.

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Tzedakah

GROWING YOUR PROPHETIC GIFT

In every area of life, feedback from others is fundamentally needed to help us grow and develop our gifts and skills. There is a saying that goes, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions!” This is also true concerning our spiritual gifts of prophecy and discernment. At the end of the day, if we don’t know how to improve and sharpen our spiritual gifts — and the manner in which we use them — we will not reach our truest potential. It’s not that we are the source of these gifts, but it is that we’re the stewards of these gifts that we seek to grow them.

It’s not that we are the source of these gifts, but it is that we’re the stewards of these gifts that we seek to grow them.

Feedback is important because when we recognize and acknowledge our blind spots, we are able to address them. We can never identify our own blind spots. Moreover, we also learn from the wisdom of others who are already ahead of us on the journey. Our ability to communicate clearly to others what God has spoken to us is sharpened when we receive feedback from elder prophets. Moreover, Godly feedback provides confirmation of our prophetic insight, which benefits us and those to whom we are ministering.

Through feedback, we can assess the degree to which the ministry is helpful. You can also ensure that there is no gap — or misunderstanding — between what you have heard from God (regarding His heart and purposes for a person or for a situation), and what the person has actually received and understood through your prophetic word.

Ministry feedback can come from the following people:

  • A person you share a prophetic insight with;
  • A leader, pastor, or spiritual overseer in the situation you are ministering in;
  • A mentor or fellow team member.

What are the benefits of ministry feedback you’ve personally experienced and how did it help you grow?

Do you have fears or anxieties with regards to receiving feedback or constructive criticism from prophetic leaders, senior pastors, or fellow prophets? What are they?

 

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Saved by Grace

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

We humans are in need of saving. We need to be saved from the darkness of this world and the world of sin that we were born into. This is why Jesus came down on earth to become the perfect example, to teach and guide those who are lost. We all know how the story goes from there, He becomes crucified and dies to save us from sin. The work of Jesus has been done.

Religious organizations still feel however, that we still need to do so many things to go to heaven. They make up traditions and rituals to make them feel like they’re doing good and that they are finding favor in God’s eyes. What they don’t know is that they cannot attain grace on their own. The Master Prophet and his school of prophets declare this message to the world and help those who are in need of prophetic guidance.

Prophecy will teach you that God has given you the gift of grace and what you can do in order to make the most out of this gift. Not only will you be able to deepen your relationship with God, but HE will also show you your undiscovered talents and skills that you can utilize in order to have a prosperous life!

Are you ready to truly know more about the Kingdom of God? Stop whatever you are doing and get your free written prophecy today. Learn more about grace and how you can receive abundant blessings in your life.

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