Ambassador for Christ Ministries, Inc. - 9/"PAYING VOWS, GIVING TITHES & OFFERINGS"Weekly Bible Study

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THE PLACE WHERE JESUS CHRIST IS LORD

Ambassador for Christ Ministries, Inc.

janicewilliams@christrescuemission.org

9/"PAYING VOWS, GIVING TITHES

& OFFERINGS"

Weekly Bible Study

PAYING VOWS GIVING TITHES & OFFERINGS

Bible Study written by

Pastor Janice L. Williams

PART 1

MALACHI 3:10 KJV *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 RECEIVE IT.

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Ambassador for Christ Ministries, Inc., gives special thanks to ChristArt.com, fci.crossnet.se, and gospelgifs.com, for the free use of their clipart for this Bible Study.

Bible Study for

May 13th-20th, 2009

& REVIEW FOR DECEMBER 29th, 2010-JAN. 5th, 2011- ALSO

REVIEW FOR DECEMBER 28th, 2011-JANUARY 4th, 2012

scriptures printed in red, are words spoken by JESUS.

THE FOLLOWING BIBLE TRANSLATIONS WERE USED FOR THIS BIBLE STUDY

KJV = KING JAMES VERSION BIBLE

NIV = NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

NLT = NEW LIVING TRANSLATION

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LUKE 6:38 KJV * GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU; GOOD MEASURE, PRESSED DOWN, AND SHAKEN TOGETHER, AND RUNNING OVER, SHALL MEN GIVE INTO YOUR BOSOM. FOR WITH THE SAME MEASURE THAT YE METE WITHAL, IT SHALL BE MEASURED TO YOU AGAIN.

SOME WORD DEFINITIONS TO KEEP IN MIND FOR THIS BIBLE STUDY:

1/tithe

1. individual’s financial support for a church: one tenth of somebody’s income or produce paid voluntarily or as a tax for the support of a church or its clergy
2. assessment or contribution: any voluntary contribution or tax payment, especially when it constitutes one tenth of somebody’s income
3. small part of something: one tenth or a small part of anything

2/vow

solemn pledge: a solemn promise to perform a certain act, carry out an activity, or behave in a given way
1. pledge something: to promise something solemnly and seriously
2. dedicate somebody: to promise somebody to a pledge, task, or to somebody.

3/pledge

1. solemn undertaking: a solemn promise or vow
2. a promise to donate money

4/offering

1. religion - gift for God: something offered as a sacrifice to God [COULD BE PRAISE, SERVICE, MONEY, OR something else.]
2. Christianity - a financial contribution to a church, often made during a church service.

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WE ARE INSTRUCTED AS GOD'S CHILDREN TO SUPPORT OUR CHURCH [HOUSE OF GOD], AND OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS: AS WELL AS TO INDIVIDUALLY GIVE ASSISTANCE TO OTHERS IN NEED, IN WHATEVER CAPACITY WE'RE ABLE TO DO SO.

FATHER GOD SPEAKS TO US CLEARLY IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND IN THE NEW TESTMENT; ABOUT SUPPORTING OUR CHURCH, OR HOUSE OF GOD, NO MATTER WHAT OUR STATION IN LIFE IS.

HAGGAI 1:5-11 NIV * 5/ NOW THIS IS WHAT THE LORD ALMIGHTY SAYS: "GIVE CAREFUL THOUGHT TO YOUR WAYS. 6/ YOU HAVE PLANTED MUCH, BUT HAVE HARVESTED LITTLE. YOU EAT, BUT NEVER HAVE ENOUGH. YOU DRINK, BUT NEVER HAVE YOUR FILL. YOU PUT ON CLOTHES, BUT ARE NOT WARM. YOU EARN WAGES, ONLY TO PUT THEM IN A PURSE WITH HOLES IN IT." 7/ THIS IS WHAT THE LORD ALMIGHTY SAYS: "GIVE CAREFUL THOUGHT TO YOUR WAYS. 8/ GO INTO THE MOUNTAINS AND BRING DOWN TIMBER AND BUILD THE HOUSE, SO THAT I MAY TAKE PLEASURE IN IT AND BE HONORED." SAYS THE LORD. 9/ "YOU EXPECTED MUCH, BUT SEE, IT TURNED OUT TO BE LITTLE. WHAT YOU BROUGHT HOME, I BLEW AWAY. WHY? DECLARES THE ALMIGHTY. "BECAUSE OF MY HOUSE, WHICH REMAINS A RUIN, WHILE EACH OF YOU IS BUSY WITH HIS OWN HOUSE. 10/ THEREFORE, BECAUSE OF YOU THE HEAVENS HAVE WITHHELD THEIR DEW AND THE EARTH ITS CROPS. 11/ I CALLED FOR A DROUGHT ON THE FIELDS AND MOUNTAINS, ON THE GRAIN, THE NEW WINE, THE OIL AND WHATEVER THE GROUND PRODUCES, ON MEN AND CATTLE, AND ON THE LABOR OF YOUR HANDS.

MARK 12:41-44 NIV * 41/ JESUS SAT DOWN OPPOSITE THE PLACE WHERE OFFERINGS WERE PUT AND WATCHED THE CROWD PUTTING THEIR MONEY INTO THE TEMPLE TREASURY. MANY RICH PEOPLE THREW IN LARGE AMOUNTS. 42/ BUT A POOR WIDOW CAME AND PUT IN TWO VERY SMALL COOPER COINS, WORTH ONLY A FRACTION OF A PENNY. 43/ CALLING HIS DISCIPLES TO HIM, JESUS SAID, "I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, THIS POOR WIDOW HAS PUT MORE INTO THE TREASURY THAN ALL THE OTHERS. 44/ THEY ALL GAVE OUT OF THEIR WEALTH; BUT SHE OUT OF HER POVERTY, PUT IN EVERYTHING - ALL SHE HAD TO LIVE ON.

II CORINTHIANS 9:6-9 NIV * 6/ REMEMBER THIS: WHOEVER SOWS SPARINGLY WILL ALSO REAP SPARINGLY, AND WHOEVER SOWS GENEROUSLY WILL ALSO REAP GENEROUSLY. 7/ EACH MAN SHOULD GIVE WHAT HE HAS DECIDED IN HIS HEART TO GIVE, NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR ---------------------- GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.

8/ AND GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND TO YOU, SO THAT IN ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES, HAVING ALL THAT YOU NEED, YOU WILL ABOUND IN EVERY GOOD WORK. 9/ AS IT IS WRITTEN: "HE HAS SCATTERED ABROAD HIS GIFTS TO THE POOR; HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER."

ECCLESTIASTES 11:1 * CAST YOUR BREAD UPON THE WATERS [WISELY INVEST YOUR MONEY IN PRODUCTIVE PLACES], FOR AFTER MANY DAYS YOU WILL FIND IT AGAIN [AFTER A TIME IT WILL COME BACK TO YOU WITH A PROFIT; AS THE SCRIPTURE PRINTED ABOVE TELLS US JESUS SAID IN LUKE 6:38 KJV, "PRESSED DOWN, SHAKEN TOGETHER, AND RUNNING OVER, SHALL MEN GIVE INTO YOUR BOSOM."].

MATTHEW 25:14 THRU 30 NLT * 14/ "AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN CAN BE ILLUSTRATED BY THE STORY OF A MAN GOING ON A TRIP. HE CALLED TOGETHER HIS SERVANTS AND GAVE THEM MONEY TO INVEST FOR HIM WHILE HE WAS GONE. 15/ HE GAVE FIVE BAGS OF GOLD TO ONE, TWO BAGS OF GOLD TO ANOTHER, AND ONE BAG OF GOLD TO THE LAST -- DIVIDING IT IN PROPORTION TO THEIR ABILITIES -- AND THEN LEFT ON HIS TRIP. 16/ 'THE SERVANT WHO RECEIVED THE FIVE BAGS OF GOLD BEGAN IMMEDIATELY TO INVEST THE MONEY AND SOON DOUBLED IT. 17/ THE SERVANT WITH TWO BAGS OF GOLD ALSO WENT RIGHT TO WORK AND DOUBLED THE MONEY. 18/ BUT THE SERVANT WHO RECEIVED THE ONE BAG OF GOLD DUG A HOLE IN THE GROUND AND HID THE MASTER'S MONEY FOR SAFEKEEPING. 19/ "AFTER A LONG TIME THEIR MASTER RETURNED FROM HIS TRIP AND CALLED THEM TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF HOW THEY HAD USED HIS MONEY. 20/ THE SERVANT TO WHOM HE HAD ENTRUSTED THE FIVE BAGS OF GOLD SAID, "SIR, YOU GAVE ME FIVE BAGS OF GOLD TO INVEST, AND I HAVE DOUBLED THE AMOUNT.' 21/ THE MASTER WAS FULL OF PRAISE, 'WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL IN HANDLING THIS SMALL AMOUNT, SO NOW I WILL GIVE YOU MANY MORE RESPONSIBILITIES. LET'S CELEBRATE TOGETHER!' 22/ "NEXT CAME THE SERVANT WHO HAD RECEIVED THE TWO BAGS OF GOLD, WITH THE REPORT, 'SIR, YOU GAVE ME TWO BAGS OF GOLD TO INVEST, AND I HAVE DOUBLED THE AMOUNT.' 23/ THE MASTER SAID, 'WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. YOU HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL IN HANDLING THIS SMALL AMOUNT, SO NOW I WILL GIVE YOU MANY MORE RESPONSIBILITIES. LET'S CELEBRATE TOGETHER!' 24/ THEN THE SERVANT WITH THE ONE BAG OF GOLD CAME AND SAID, 'SIR, I KNOW YOU ARE A HARD MAN, HARVESTING CROPS YOU DIDN'T PLANT AND GATHERING CROPS YOU DIDN'T CULTIVATE. 25/ I WAS AFRAID I WOULD LOSE YOUR MONEY, SO I HID IT IN THE EARTH AND HERE IT IS.' 26/ "BUT THE MASTER REPLIED, 'YOU WICKED AND LAZY SERVANT! YOU THINK I'M A HARD MAN, DO YOU, HARVESTING CROPS I DIDN'T PLANT AND GATHERING CROPS I DIDN'T CULTIVATE? 27/ WELL, YOU SHOULD AT LEAST HAVE PUT MY MONEY INTO THE BANK SO I COULD HAVE SOME INTEREST. 28/ TAKE THE MONEY FROM THIS SERVANT AND GIVE IT TO THE ONE WITH THE TEN BAGS OF GOLD. 29/ TO THOSE WHO USE WELL WHAT THEY ARE GIVEN, EVEN MORE WILL BE GIVEN, AND THEY WILL HAVE AN ABUNDANCE. BUT FROM THOSE WHO ARE UNFAITHFUL, EVEN WHAT LITTLE THEY HAVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY. 30/ NOW THROW THIS USELESS SERVANT INTO OUTER DARKNESS, WHERE THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH.

PART 2

"PAYING VOWS;

GIVING TITHES & OFFERINGS"

BY PASTOR JANICE L. WILLIAMS

ECCLESIASTES 5:4, 5 NIV * 4/ WHEN YOU MAKE A VOW TO GOD, DO NOT DELAY IN FULFILLING IT. HE HAS NO PLEASURE IN FOOLS; FULFILL YOUR VOW. 5/ IT IS BETTER NOT TO VOW THAN TO MAKE A VOW AND NOT FULFILL IT.

BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING BY BEING OBEDIENT TO HEAR AND DO GOD'S WORD

DEUTERONOMY 28:1 THRU 14 NKJV*

1/ “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2/ And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: 3/ “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4/ “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5/ “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6/ “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7/ “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8/ “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 9/ “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. 10/ Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11/ And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

[FATHERS: ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB, ARE THE CHRISTIAN'S BIBLICAL FATHERS AS WELL AS THE ISRAELITES FATHERS. THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST MAKES THE CHRISTIAN THE SPIRITUAL SEED OF ABRAHAM [GALATIANS 3:29 KJV * AND IF YE BE CHRIST'S, THEN ARE YE ABRAHAM'S SEED, AND HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE.]. BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, & THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE CHRISTIAN HAS BEEN BIRTHED INTO THE SPIRITUAL FAMILY OF GOD, AND GIVEN ENTITLEMENT TO ALL OF THESE BLESSINGS AND PROMISES OF GOD, WHEN WE ARE OBEDIENT TO DO GOD'S WORD.]

12/The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13/ And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14/ So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

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DISOBEDIENCE AND LAZINESS, BRING POVERTY AND LACK

PROVERBS 6:6 THRU 11 NIV * 6/ GO TO THE ANT, YOU SLUGGARD; CONSIDER ITS WAYS AND BE WISE! 7/ IT HAS NO COMMANDER, NO OVERSEER OR RULER, 8/ YET IT STORES ITS PROVISIONS IN SUMMER AND GATHERS ITS FOOD AT HARVEST. 9/ HOW LONG WILL YOU LIE THERE, YOU SLUGGARD? WHEN WILL YOU GET UP FROM YOUR SLEEP?

10/ A LITTLE SLEEP, A LITTLE SLUMBER, A LITTLE FOLDING OF THE HANDS TO REST--11/ AND POVERTY WILL COME ON YOU LIKE A BANDIT AND SCARCITY LIKE AN ARMED MAN."