Kenneth Copeland - The Tithing Covenant Is About More Than Finances
— Hello, everybody. I’m Kenneth Copeland. That’s Kellie, and that’s John in the order in which they came. Praise God. So, if the Believer’s Voice of Victory broadcast has helped you develop faith, send me your testimony. Go to kcm.org/BVOVstory. We love to hear from you. Now, listen. One of the steady voices in our home, Kenneth Copeland, my family and I are longtime partners with Kenneth Copeland Ministries well over 30 years. I’d have to say I’m the man today because of the teachings and influence of this ministry. Even now, hearing the opening music brings me back to sitting down and watching the Believer’s Voice of Victory as a young man, it is the constant Word of God being preached, played daily throughout my home as a kid that helped build a solid foundation in my life. I’m forever grateful for your steadfast commitment to the Word of God, Eddie. Praise God. Isn’t good?
— That’s so good. I feel that way.
— When these come in, that’s the tangible evidence that the Word works. Not only that, but the contact is being made. Because if you get one, then there’s many, many more.
— I think we can attest to what it’s like to have the constant voice of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland in our house growing up.
— Well, I should think so.
— But I remember it from when it was Oral Roberts every day. When I was a kid, that was what was streaming into our house all the time. And so the music, everything about it, that was the impression on me back then, as same as your broadcast is having on people.
— And then Brother Hagin and the cassette tapes and all of that. Anyway, the testimonies are just marvelous. Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank You today. And we praise You that the Word of the living God is living on the inside of us. And His name is Jesus by the Spirit of God. Holy Spirit, we humble ourselves before You this morning. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Now, we’re going to be talking about one of my most favorite subjects in all of this book. Because the prosperity of this book depends on it. Tithing the tithe, the tithe covenant that we have with God. Well, Brother Copeland, that’s an Old Testament. Oh yeah, it started in the Garden of Eden. Remember that? And someone said, well, Cain should have brought a lamb. No, no, no, wait a minute. Abel was a shepherd. He was a farmer. Read it. He talked to the Lord and the Lord talked to him and he said, «Why is your faith falling? I would accept your gift as well as the others». But his faith fell and he got mad about it and he killed his brother… over this. We want to take the time to go back. Well, possibly we will before we get through and read the account of that. Now, well, now, Brother Copeland, you know that’s just Old Covenant. Really? You ain’t going to get away with that. The book of Hebrews, would you say that’s new?
— Pretty new.
— So let’s look at the seventh chapter. Now, I want to talk about Melchizedek. Melchizedek is a title. He was called the mayor of Salem, which later became Jerusalem. And the great apostle had a lot to say about Melchizedek. And for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. He what?
— He blessed him. To whom Abraham gave tenth part of all, first being by interpretation king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is the king of peace. Now, verse six. But he whose descent is not accounted from them that received tithes of Abraham and blessed him and had the promises, without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the greater. And here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here. Here, men that die receive tithes. The ministry receives tithes. We tithe into our churches and so forth. We’ll discuss that later. Here are men that die receive tithes, but there he receiveth into whom it is witnessed that he is liveth.
— Is that there? Is that here men receive it, but there it is witnessed. He blesses it.
— What does it mean that here men that die? What does that explain?
— Well, we’re mortal men, but Jesus is our High Priest. Let’s go back over here to the third chapter of the book of Hebrews. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. He’s our High Priest. Now, that’s going to come into… We’re teaching today and studying the joy and power of the tithing covenant. No, no. First of all, let’s go to Malachi. Okay. Now, class, I want you to notice something here. The word Lord of hosts is mentioned 21 times in four chapters. Who is the Lord of hosts? Remember David who killed Goliath. I come at you in the name of the Lord of hosts. The Lord of hosts is Jesus, and that is the angelic armies of God, of whom Michael is the chief archangel. He’s the angel of war. And if you go back to the book of Daniel, he talked about the spirit of Greece and the spirit of Persia. But he said, «I had to call on Michael the prince to help me» because Gabriel is not a fighter, but Michael. So he’s in charge of your tithe, 21 times. And look at 3:6. For I am the Lord. I change not. If he doesn’t change. To put it this way, he’s just not about to change. James put it like this. There’s no shadow of changing in him. -even the days of your fathers. Let’s come on down. Verse 10, Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house, prove me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and… Now, wait a minute. He opened the windows of heaven and the great flood came. That’s the same reference. I’ll open the windows of heaven and pour out… and pour you out… Does that sound like water? Only it’s money. It’s not just money. Deuteronomy 8:18, remember this. Remember the Lord thy God, it is he that gives you the power to get wealth. Well, the first thing somebody said, wealth, money. No, no. Creflo Dollar put it like this. It is a pie. Money is part of it. It includes lands, properties, a wealthy family in your bodies. Nobody’s sick. Nobody’s having any tragic things happen to them. We’re a family without tragedy. I confess that so that every day we pray, first of all, for men, all men in authority. So those are the prosperous things. But of course, it takes money to operate and it takes the proper tithing way in order that you’re without debt, not paying interest. We’ve had no debt in this ministry or the church for many, many, many, many years. And I can tell you right now on the statistics that they give me over or since 19… about 1970, by not borrowing, buildings, construction, the airplanes that it takes to run this ministry correctly, debt free, over $53 million.
— That we’ve saved, not paying interest.
— Yeah, for not paying interest. So here’s the point. We tithe our personal income. And your mother and I have tithed 10 and kept 10 for a long time in our savings.
— Tithe 10, saved 10.
— Yes. But there’s more to it. There’s tithing to tithe also. And I want to get into that in the book. But I want to show you something here. Verse 17 of 2. You have wearied the Lord with your words, yet you say Wherein have we wearied him? When you say, Every one that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delighteth in them or, Where is the God of judgment? I’ll send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even the messenger of the covenant. I won’t take much time, but there have been those that have taken this out of context. I’m thinking of a man right now that said, «I’m the messenger of the covenant». Well, he had a wonderful and great ministry till he began to preach that. And it just did this. Jesus is the Messenger of the covenant. So anyway, here we go.
— Where are you at, Dad?
— I’m in Malachi 3. And will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to contain. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: So he’s commanding that the nation blessed or tithes, not just the individual, but the nation is made up of individuals. So 16, Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked… I want to deal with the word righteous here this morning.
— With what?
— Righteous. Actually, that’s an old English word. It’s turned into a religious word. It just simply means right standing with God. I had a song one time, I’ve been made the righteousness of God and the Christian disc jockeys wouldn’t play it. Who does he think he is righteous? I can read. He who knew no sin was made to be sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, or that we might be brought into right standing with God. You see that in the Classic Amplified Bible. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him… and so forth. I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: Now, I want to touch on something right here. Verse two. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of… S-U-N. He is the light of the world. The Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. Healing in his wings. Well, what does that mean? Now, the BLB. It is, they don’t charge for it, but we support it because it’s such a fine tool. And, in fact, we’re partners with them $500 a month, I mean, personally.
— That’s the Blue Letter Bible.
— The BLB. So I go to the BLB and healing in his wings, concordance. Healing in his wings. Strongs H-3671. Wing, extremity, edge, winged border, corner, shirt, garment. The woman with the issue of blood. If I can just touch the hem of his garment, I’ll be made whole. I wasn’t smart enough to get that. I got it from Bishop Keith Butler. And I texted him and I said, «You’re going to hear this coming back at you». But that’s it. That’s the reason. That’s where she heard of Jesus. She heard it preached. Where did she hear it? From Malachi. He was there. She heard the prophet Malachi. And that’s the reason tithing is such a part…
— Do you think it’s significant that this is the last, the very last chapter…
— Yes, I do.
— …before the New Covenant starts. It’s the very end of the Old Covenant right before the New Covenant starts.
— And he didn’t say anything else for hundreds of years before Jesus came. I really believe that it’s also significant that for this day that it’s a prophetic word about right now because it says when the day of the Lord, it shall come like an oven. His fire is so here to burn off the things that we’ve not been doing, the things that we’ve allowed to have a place in our lives that we shouldn’t. And he’s here to help clean that. The Sun of righteousness arises. The Amplified says in his wings and his beams, so beams of light, his light, his fire. And then it says you’ll go forth and gamble. You know, if you picture a calf that’s been, John’s had cattle and stuff, and you put a calf in a pen, but then when that calf is released, he can run, he can jump. He’s free from being caged. That’s where he’s… this is the day of the Lord that we’re in.
— There is another scripture that says, and somebody translated it that Moses had horns on his head. Come on. That’s like the scripture that says unicorn. It would have been a bull, or a big animal like a buffalo, but unicorn… But you just have to be careful with the King James. But there’s another scripture that says the beams, the lightning-like flashes coming out of his side through his hand and there in is his healing power. Well, if the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he’ll quicken or make alive your mortal body. And that’s the scripture that I’m standing on right now. Because 2004, right after Southwest, I twisted and ruptured a disc in my back. And then on a third of May, well, just about a year ago, my appendix ruptured. Well, have you ever been in, that’s the first extended hospital stay in my entire life.
— Twenty-four was a hard year for you.
— And I mean, for my whole life, I’ve never been in the hospital over a day or two, which didn’t amount to much. Twisting around in those wonderful hospital beds. May I take your vitals, Mr. Copeland? I said, «What’s wrong with the ones you took about 30 minutes ago»? And I sleep on my side most of the time and I twist around like this and that sciatic pain nerve grabbed me again. Well, praise God. And the things with which the Lord is ministering to me is just a whole lot better than it was. But this is huge. I want to get this right here. This is in Leviticus 27:23. Now we have established that Jesus is our High Priest, right? Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worthy of your estimation, even under the year of the jubile. So they’re making an estimate of their taxes. And you shall give that estimation of that day as a holy thing unto the Lord in the year of jubile. Only the firstlings of the beasts shall be the Lord’s firstling. No man shall sanctify it or the ox or the sheep. It is the Lord’s. And you’ll redeem it according to thy estimation. The tenth part, the fifth part for one, the tenth part for another. So this turns out to be the best financial partner you ever had in your life. He’s going through everything, their cattle, the land. The tenth of it belongs to me. Why? You give it to me and I’ll bless it. You give that calf to me and I’ll bless the whole herd. You give that section of land over there to me and I’ll bless that section of land. Whatever you do, you give me the 10%. Come on, that’s just a dime out of a dollar. I can’t afford the tithe. You’ve got a bomb in your pocket. It says you’re cursed financially and that bomb is going to go off. And it may go off one way or another. I want you to know you can stand before the Almighty God and take your hands off of my baby. I have tithing rights. That baby belongs to you. I have tithing rights. Now you take your hands off of her, Satan. You take your hands off of them. Take your hands off my family. I learned it from my dad. We’ll be back in just a few moments. Give the Lord a praise.