Apostle Don Meares
“Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.’”
“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.”
When Adam sinned in the garden, Satan received legal authority in this world. A major battle took place in the Garden of Eden. But before this, God had given Adam and Eve the ability to replenish, to produce, to have dominion, and to subdue all that was contained in the world. God had given them this authority as long as they were under His authority. Then, in Genesis, Eve was beguiled by the serpent. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he transferred the ownership of the Kingdoms of this world to the enemy. Before this, Adam and Eve were called to be fruitful and multiply. They were to replenish, subdue, and have dominion over the world. When they sinned, they broke the covenant with God. This is why today, Satan has temporary legal authority in this world.
In Luke 4, Satan tempts Jesus after He was baptized. He spent forty days in the wilderness before He started His ministry. Jesus is the last Adam. So, the enemy tried to tempt Him just as he did with the first man in the garden, but Jesus did not fall for the enemy’s tricks because He was sent to reconcile man and God. There is a gap between man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness. God has to have a man who has no sin in His life. This is why the blood has to come from the Father. Human instrumentality will not work because there is sin in the bloodline. We were all born into sin. Jesus had no sin in His blood, which is why He could make a covenant with God and redeem humanity.
In Luke 4:5-7, the devil took Jesus high up on the mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. The word used for “world” in Greek is kosmos. This word is extremely important because this means order, construction, or edifice. It also carries with it the connotation of décor or decorations, just as you would use props in a play or movie set. So, the enemy shows Jesus the kingdoms of the world, tempting Him to surrender to him. But as we know, Jesus did not do it.
The word kosmos has a connection to our money. In the Old Testament, King David in Psalm 24:1-2 says:
“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the waters.”
A revelation here is that it didn’t say that the “world is the Lord’s.” But, instead, it says, “The earth is the Lord’s.” Everything here on earth belongs to God. King David here separates the earth from the world. These are two separate things. The world is always changeable. It’s kosmos. The enemy rules the world. He constructed the kingdoms and built the props used up to this time. But what we should know is that when it comes to tangible wealth, none of it is in the kingdoms of this world. The real wealth is on the earth. It is not in the kingdoms of this world. God is the possessor of Heaven and earth, not the world and earth. What is the connection with our money? This is because when it comes to real wealth, it’s all in the silver, gold, emeralds, oil, gas, and other riches that are found on the earth.
God did not make the present economic system of this world. They have been constructed by Satan. Therefore, the economic system upon which the world operates cannot be of God. All the different nations of the world have different economic systems. If God made it, it would be one system, and it devalues things. God never devalues anything. He doesn’t change the value of things because He is an unchanging God.
God is the possessor of the earth. He has never given up the deed to the earth. He’s prophesying something to the world because the New Testament says that the world belongs to God because of Jesus’ victory. There will be a day where every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ (Philippians 2:10). The Scripture also says that every kingdom of this world shall be shaken so that which cannot be shaken shall remain (Hebrews 12:27). The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord. They’re going to come back to Him.
God’s system vs. the world’s system
Sadly, many Christians will never prosper or get ahead as a child of God because they operate in the systems of the world. You might have realized that you had done better with your money when you were a sinner than when you did when you got born again and became part of God’s Kingdom. This is because of the law of the first things. You are dealing with tithes and offerings. Whether you like it or not, it is a system of God’s Kingdom.
When you were born again, you switched kingdoms. You changed places. You became part of another nation. You changed your citizenship and culture. It says in Colossians 1:9-13:
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”
You need to understand what happened spiritually. The kingdom of darkness is a spiritual kingdom and a spiritual dimension. The Kingdom of Heaven is also a spiritual dimension. Jesus said in John 18:36:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”
You have to understand that when you came into relationship with God when you came into this new Kingdom, you received an inheritance from God. You need to get what belongs to you. And if you’re not getting what belongs to you, then something is wrong. Yet most people don’t know what their inheritance is. They don’t know what belongs to them. They certainly don’t know how to get it.
We need to deal with financial situations. The question “Can Satan see your money?” is crucial. Money is what works in the system of the world’s kingdoms. People are impressed with money. Many people worship the god of mammon. That’s how the world works. This is one of the props Satan has constructed. So God says we need to learn His system, but the enemy wants to keep you broke and busted. The enemy wants to make sure you can’t pay your bills or that you remain in debt. This will make your testimony look pathetic. He wants to make it look like God can’t take care of you. This is his major deception.
However, Satan won’t be able to pull this off if you will obey and get into God’s system. This is why you need to know how God’s government operates. It doesn’t operate and function on money. If you think everything works with money, you’ve been well-trained in the kingdoms of this world. You need to renew your mind.
Here’s a revelation: you have to exchange your currency. How will you do this? The Church is the only currency exchange spiritually in the entire world. There is no other currency exchange that exists in the world. In the system of God’s Kingdom, He doesn’t want all your money. He just wants you to give Him what is His—that which is holy, the tenth of the whole. The issue is not about money. He doesn’t need it. The issue is your faith, trust, and obedience. So, we must give Him what is His.
You bring the tithe to Jesus, to the Church. This is His system, His plan. When you give Him the tenth, He will bless, anoint, and camouflage the 90 percent where Satan cannot see because you come under a covenant. You are now under God’s covering. When you break the covering, you put a crack in it. You rob God of the tithes, you invoke evil, and you let the enemy see and steal what you have. When this happens, Satan can see not just your money but all your possessions.
Tithing is God’s system
When you don’t give the tithe, your money becomes dead, powerless, and useless because you’ve given the enemy an opening to destroy what is yours. But, when you tithe, there is divine protection. You have been assigned angels. The covenant protects you.
Money doesn’t do anything but make an exchange for you. Tithing is God’s system. This will allow God to expand His Kingdom to get more people saved. God fulfills the vision of a local church through tithes and offerings. When we bring the tithes to Him, there will be enough for the vision. There will be enough for expansion. He will give us the power to get wealth, to establish the covenant greater in our lives. When we give the tithes, we do it by faith.
Since faith comes by hearing God’s Word, you will know some things in the world that will produce faith to operate the blessings of His Kingdom. If you don’t know these things, you’re never going to get the inheritance that you need to get.
Whatever you need to operate in God’s Kingdom to fulfill His purposes, He will give you if you follow His system. He will give you the power to get wealth because the money established is His covenant.
We need to understand that we are called to take the wealth that is in the kingdoms of the world. To do this, we must seek His Kingdom first. We need to go to the house of God, the Church, and make the exchange with our first increase habitually. When we do this, God will give us a revelation of His Word through faith.
Experience God’s abundance in all areas of your life! Discover more about the principles of tithing from Apostle Don Meares.
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