3rd Condition

Principle number three, this is also very important. Principle number three. Giving is a scriptural way to show honor. Okay. Money and honor go together. I’ll give you three scriptures. The first is in Proverbs 3:9– 10:

“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

The teaching is bring God first his portion freely and you’ll be prospered and blessed with all the rest. But, in bringing God his portion, the firstfruits, you are honoring the Lord. So, giving according to scripture, honors the Lord and withholding dishonors the Lord. Those of us that do not give according to the principles of God, we are dishonoring the Lord.

Then it says by giving we honor our parents. This is very significant. Matthew 15:4. The Pharisees were criticizing Jesus for not keeping the traditions of the elders. Jesus said, “You keep the traditions of the elders but break the commandments of God.” He gave them one specific example. He said:

“God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift [?korban?, something devoted to God] by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free.”

Notice how we honor our parents. How? By giving them of our substance. Withholding that which they need financially and materially is dishonoring them. This is a very penetrating scripture. If our parents are well provided for we don’t have all that obligation in that area but we do have the obligation to honor father and mother. Which is the first commandment that carries a promise with it. I want to tell you from long experience in the ministry of deliverance, people that do not honor their father and mother never have it well with them. They can be saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit and do all sorts of things but there’s always something missing in their lives. We really cannot talk about honoring our parents if we do not meet their genuine financial and material needs.

Then, along the same line, 1 Timothy 5:17–18:

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine.”

What kind of honor are we talking about that we give to elders? Well, the next verse makes it absolutely clear.

“For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his reward.”

So, we honor elders by showing them financial appreciation for their services. I once remarked that if you double zero you still got zero! This to me proves that basically in the set-up that Paul envisaged there was a regular recognized remuneration for the elders. Because, you can’t double a vague figure. I mean, I’m not forcing a point, I’m just saying to me the implications are clear.

So notice, what we do with out money determines three things. Whether we honor God, whether we honor our parents, and whether we honor our spiritual leaders. In each case money is an essential factor in honoring. I don’t say that to bring anybody under condemnation because I’m convinced that most of you are already doing that. But it’s good to see these scriptural facts.