An Offertory Devotional video for Sabbath, October 22, 2022, in your @adventistchurch: vimeo.com/741860572. Putting God first can be difficult. What can we learn from this video that will help us put God first in our lives today?
Also available in #Spanish and #Portuguese.
Put #GodFirst
#StewardshipMinistries
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For more information on the Stewardship Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, you can head over to stewardship.adventist.org/ ______________________________________________
We worship God with our tithe and offerings because He has appointed spiritual leaders to minister to His people. The books of Moses mention two special groups of spiritual leaders and how they were sustained. We read in Numbers 18:2: “Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law.” This chapter reviews the tasks assigned to priests and Levites. Priests were assigned to the altar and inside the tabernacle; Levites were to take care of everything else regarding the tabernacle. Each group had specific responsibilities, although Israel as a whole was “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). Their ministry brought spiritual blessings.
How were they sustained in their needs? We read in Numbers 18:8b and 24: “All the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion.” “Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.” God gave the holy offerings that were His to the priests and His holy tithe to the Levites. This transfer of resources was a means used by God to support the spiritual leaders in ancient Israel. This provision was connected to the fact that their important ministries required total dedication. Both Jesus and Paul considered that the same principle should apply to support the appointed spiritual leaders of the church (Matt. 10:9, 10; 1 Cor. 9:3-10; 16:2).
Pastors and other spiritual leaders are a source of blessings. Do my tithe or offerings pay for them? The answer is No. Tithe and offerings once returned become God’s property, which He disposes as He wills. However, one good reason to give is in order to partner with God to support the essential work of ministry. This week, as we worship with our tithe and regular offerings, called Promise, we are enjoying the privilege of participating in God’s saving mission.