Storehouse, Tithes and Offerings and The 310 Test

Wednesday, 24th January 2007

Dear Theophili and Theophilae

Anyone of you remember the sermon Rev Wee Boon Hup preached in July 2005 during our Church's 73rd Anniversary, on Malachi 3 about bringing the "whole tithe into the storehouse"?

I really thank the Lord for that sermon because since then, the Lord has given me one financial breakthrough after another. Just last month, I received the biggest bonus ever in my entire career. Today, I received into my bank account a "Spot Award" for spending 4 days in Korea. And this Saturday, I will be collecting the keys to a brand new set of wheels -- a Mitsubishi Grandis. Praise God, for He is indeed Jerovah Jireh, the LORD that provides!

When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, one of the passages He quoted was, "It is written you shall not put the Lord your God to the test." The only exception to this is recorded in Mal 3:10 -- "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

In this passage, God tells us specifically to test Him! If we test Him by giving the entire 10% of our gross salary to my church, then He will bless us exceedingly abundantly! I can testify that this is indeed true. It was tough, especially when I saw my bank balances gradually falling, but God more than restored it in Dec 2005, and then again in Dec 2006.

While looking through my email archive, I came across the following post which I sent to my previous cell, 3L2:

-----Original Message-----
From: Malcolm Loh [mailto:mloh77@starhub.net.sg]
Sent: Saturday, 23 July, 2005 7:58PM
Subject: Storehouse, Tithing and Offerings

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

You may have observed that I suddenly became very pensive towards the end of the session last night. This is because I have been "selecting" the way in which my monthly "tithe" was to be distributed.

Having seen the financial statements of organisations such as MWS and MMS that were running an annual deficit, I rationalised that since our Church was already
so well-off, it was OK for me to give part of my tithe to these organisations instead.

Having spoken to Eugene, Choon Seng and done some research on the Internet, I humbly concede that I have been wrong in my understanding. The WHOLE tithe is to the STOREHOUSE (which Eugene further helped to explain by referring to 1 Chr 26:20). Having searched my heart, I also realise that I had been "judgemental" of the Church leadership, in that I felt more could have been channelled to missions, so I took things into my own hands to give specifically to missions-related work.

Having now understood that the 10% is to go to our own church, my next struggle was what to do with the existing commitments to those organisations (which are arranged via standing order GIRO / credit card each month). Choon Seng told me that it was important to honour the pledge already made. These would be considered "offerings" over and above the tithe. 10% is actually the minimum obligation required of us as Christians to observe toward our local church.

In particular, the following article (from Assemblies of God website) ministered to me
http://www.ag.org/top/beliefs/christian_doctrines/gendoct_06_tithing.cfm
"Christians can miss out on God’s abundant blessing by looking on the tithe as the entire requirement for giving. The tithe is only one aspect of support for the church and its ministry of spreading the gospel. The Bible also mentions voluntary offerings given by God’s people over and above the required tithe. Of course, the attitude with which both tithes and offerings are given is very important. God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). The giving of either tithes or offerings with a grudging spirit loses much of the blessing that can come as we faithfully give out of love rather than obligation. The Assemblies of God is also concerned about people who withhold tithes when they do not like decisions and directions espoused by spiritual leaders. Christians should fellowship with a local body of believers and bring their whole tithes into that storehouse (Malachi 3:10). Though some of the Israelites may not have liked decisions made by Moses and his successors, they were given no alternatives. While we may designate some of our offerings (beyond the tithes) to ministries outside the local church, the tithes rightfully belong in the church with which the Christian identifies. And if one is not identifying with a local body of believers, he or she disregards God’s instruction that we not forsake assembling together with believers (Hebrews 10:25).

Some Christians do not tithe, claiming they cannot afford to give up 10 percent of their income. Simple arithmetic may suggest that 90 percent will not go as far as 100 percent in satisfying essential family needs. But God has built a multiplication factor into our giving of tithes and offerings. Malachi recorded God’s words, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse... Test me in this... and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:10).

Though we do not give to God in order to get more back, as some suggest we
should, God’s promises are still true–if our giving is according to His instruction."

The 310 test

I also chanced upon an SMS conversation I had with a radio DJ friend of mine on 3 March 2006:

M: Hi. I'm meetg Jxxxx Oxx, the S'pore Idol finalist for lunch next wk. Wld u like me to get his autograph?

J: He's going to ask u to join Oxxxxxxxxxx :-). kidding. Eh u should really come to one of our meetings to have a look again. We just added telecoms to our mix.

M: tks so much for the offer, but i recently discovered a surefire way to always hv more than enuff financially, n never b in want. it's called the 310 test.

J: Ah but 310 leaves little room for getting more out of life today. No room for having a good lifestyle in the present AND having one while ur kids r in UNI. But no issue - who do u know might want to build a substantial secondary income so that they can do more of the things they want to do w/o worries re money.

M: This 310 test appears foolish, but those who dare take a step of faith to try it out r amazed at the results. i did last aug, n hv never felt more liberated. Finances arrive when one least expects it. To tell u the truth, my bank bal dropped fr sep to nov, but it was more than restored in dec. It's beyond explanation.

J: the 310 works with an increasing income source as well, yes?

M: not exactly. But as income sources increases, corresp increase in "re-investment" is expected. The author of the book actually ask us to test him in this area. As i said, it sounds foolish to sceptics, but i've tried it n it's workg. i'm on the lookout for worthwhile investments. That's why i'm meeting Jxxxx Oxx next wk. The 310 test says that the more we "invest", the more "returns" we will get. Want to know more? Read Malachi 3:10.

Footnotes:
1. Pastor Wee Boon Hup preached a sermon on Malachi 3 in July 2005.
2. Jxxxx Oxx works for a charity organisation that focuses on helping families

Dear brothers and sisters, my prayer is that you will likewise apply the 310 test in your finances. I know it could be tough, but start somewhere first, with 1%, and then 2%, and then 3%, and so on, and see how God starts to open doors in your life to prosper your business. When you set apart the 10% as a firstfruit to Him, He will make the rest of the 90% holy as well, which means the devil cannot touch it.

Oh ya. By the way, my new car's number is SGR7557L. I chose it because 7 represents perfection (which is also my favourite number), while 5 represents favour/grace, which is the central theme of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Shalom