GIVING FOR LIVING

This Shabbat I want to share something with you that have changed my life and finances forever! It took me years to “catch up” with this revelation, and now that I have finally submitted to it and seen the fruits of it I would like to impart this to you, so you can immediately put it into action!

The Torah has instructions for us in every area of our lives, and when these instructions are followed with the help and anointing of The Holy Spirit, we can see the blessing as described in Deuteronomy 28:12-13

“You shall lend to many nations but you shall not borrow. And Yahveh will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of Yahveh your God, which I command you today and are careful to observe them.”

When it comes to the act of GIVING, we can see that the life of the ancient Israelites was ruled by various giving practices. I have calculated that they gave around 1/3 of all of their income to Yahveh. However they did not give in the way that various preachers are teaching today, they gave in Godly ORDER.

First fruits were to be given to the Priests (Cohanim) (Ezekiel 44:30, Proverbs 3:9,10)
Various Free Will, Vows and Peace offerings were also given to the Priests. (Leviticus 2:3,10, 5:13)
First Tithe was to be given to the Levites and the Levites gave a tithe of the tithe to the High Priest. (Leviticus 18:24)
Second Tithe was a savings account to be spent on themselves and their families during the time of the Holy Feasts in Jerusalem. (Deuteronomy 14:23-27)
Third Tithe to be collected every three years to distribute among the poor, the widow, the orphan and the Levite (minister) (Deuteronomy 14:28,29)

The Priests (Cohanim) are the Five Fold Ministers that OVERSEE and EQUIP the Body. (General Ministries that bless all the Body)
The Levites are all the Kehila (Church) workers, beginning with your PASTORS, musicians, dancers, the worship team, the drama team and the various teachers such as care pastors, missionaries etc…It also includes those that are in charge of cleaning and maintaining the Congregational Hall.
The poor and the needy (including the Levite for he has no other inheritance) are the same today as in ancient times. (This refers to the poor and the needy in the Congregation FIRST and then those outside!)

The lifestyle of GIVING prescribed by YAH (God) to Israel ensured that no one lacked! The Priests and Levites had their portion, as well as the poor, needy, the widow and the orphan. And of course all the people of Israel had their portion through the Second Tithe or the Feast Tithe. That was to be a family “savings account” that would be used only three times a year in order to both pay for the journey to Jerusalem and to rejoice together with their families in the Presence of Adonai. Through this Feast Tithe, families would have plenty of spending money and ALL could make the journey to Jerusalem!

And you shall eat before Yahveh your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear Yahveh your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where Yahveh your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when Yahveh your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which Yahveh your God chooses. And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before Yahveh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. Deuteronomy 14:23-27

This is the time to begin to set aside the Feast Tithe so that when Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot comes, you and your family can fulfill the Commandment of coming up to Zion, coming and rejoicing before The King in Jerusalem!

First Fruits to those ministers that bless you with their equipping and teaching. Calculate how much you earn every month and divide it in 28 portions. Then separate the first portion and give it to your pastor every month at the time of Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) (See Hebrew Calendar).

On top of it make sure that you keep giving special free will offerings throughout the month to others that feed you spiritually.
Then from the top sum of your wages (before you take off money for bills, taxes or first fruits!) separate 10% of your income. This is to be given to your PASTOR and he is in charge of using it and/or distributing it to those that work day and night in the congregation (Co-Pastors, worship leaders etc (For the most part your tithes should be given in your own congregation unless you do not have one)
Then from the same top sum, you separate a Second Tithe, this is a Feast Tithe FOR YOU! This 10% needs to be put in a savings account or in a safe box and every month you keep adding to it. Do not touch it for anything else other than for coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts. This is the prescribed “Holiday Savings!” YAH prescribed Holidays for all of Israel three times a year as long as the holidays were in Jerusalem and centered on Him!
From the same top sum you separate 1/3 of a tithe (which will be equivalent to the Third Year Tithe) and leave it in a separate account to give to those families, people or Levites in need in the congregation or in the mission field.

“But Bishop I cannot pay my monthly bills now and you are asking me to give 1/3 of my income away?”

Dearly beloved, there are times when He also asks us to give everything we have before He can bless us!

However let me encourage you that this system of “GIVING FOR LIVING” worked very well and caused great prosperity in ancient Israel! When you implement God’s way of GIVING, the rest that you have will undergo a TRANSFORMATION and it will become GLORIFIED! That is right, it will become MORE THAN ENOUGH, just try it! On top of it there will be finances coming in from all kinds of “mysterious sources”. One of the most rewarding things that happen is that all of a sudden you have PLENTY of money to GIVE to others (Priests, Ministers and the poor)!

And when the time of the Feast comes and with it the invitation to Tour Israel and Celebrate together with your family, you don’t have to think twice, for the money is there waiting to be used for this very purpose, no loans needed! Now, that is abundance and Holy Worship!

I hope that you are getting as excited as I am. I have tested this and already after one month of doing this, my finances underwent a miraculous transformation. I literally had money for everything and at a time when my expenses tripled! I had money for my family, for my guests, to give away, to bless some Levites, Priests and some needy new immigrants. And after I finished the month I still had plenty of money left for next month! You should have seen our food bill alone as we feed all our team and guests daily!

This year you will be able to come to Israel because of implementing The Feast Tithe, your own Holiday Savings Account to come to Israel.
See you in our upcoming Shavuot Conference and Tour from the 20-30 of May 2007. We will rejoice together in Jerusalem!

For those who would like to celebrate Passover with us, we will have a Passover Seder and Holy Convocations on the Mountains of Jerusalem on the first and last nights of the Feast: On the 2nd and the 9th of April. To register as space is limited, please email ASAP karenmap@netvision.net.il Or by phone to USA-3103590520 and Israel +97252378155. Please notice that during Passover there is no tour organized at this time, however there is a full tour and conference for Shavuot/Pentecost from the 20-30 of May 2007.

Thank you for keeping up your prayers for Israel’s Restoration and Salvation. “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent” Isaiah 62:1

Join us at our Shabbat broadcast every Shabbat (Saturday) at 10 AM, 12, 2 PM and 4 PM and every day as we feed you spiritually on MAP Revolution TV. Thank you for keeping up your financial support and your very needed prayers so we can go on fulfilling the mandate to be LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS!

© Bishop Dr Dominiquae Bierman 2007 - Permission is granted (and we encourage you) to distribute these writings. You may reprint in hard copy form, send to your e-mail lists and post them on your website. You must not alter any writings and you must keep all the author information on the writings, including the following: Kad-Esh MAP Ministries, www.kad-esh.org. This copyright notice must also remain. For all other permissions and enquires including publishing, please contact karenmap@netvision.net.il