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Finding Jesus in the treasury
Worshipping in truth and spirit makes one favoured before God. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Did you know? What people bring to God represents what is in their hearts.
The church context of the treasury handles resources that believers bring for the cause of God. They may be tithe and offerings as well as donations. In other words, church treasuries keep people’s commitment to God.
Pastor William Bagambe, the stewardship director in the Western Uganda field of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, says :“What people bring to God represents what is in their hearts. That is why it is important for every member of the church. Tithes and offerings are what people bring to God as their worship sacrifice.”
The first mention of the word Treasury of the Lord is first mentioned in the book of Joshua 6:19. The need to have a treasury came in because people at the time were bringing in resources to the temple of God.
The treasury was to receive that which came in from the hearts of the worshipers. In Exodus 25:1-2, God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to bring Him an offering. Moses was to receive from everyone an offering to God according to their heart’s conviction.
God’s emphasis on the offering is on people’s hearts. To return tithe to God is to acknowledge that He is the redeemer and still lives. Tithe is returned as a 10th of your increase but an offering is given. If you return the offertory, it shows how devoted you are to your God.
In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus was in the treasury. He was not only watching, but also counting and auditing all the people who were bringing offerings into the temple.
Pr Bagambe says, “Jesus chose to come into the temple because the only time of true worship is the time when people are giving to God. At the time of giving, only the hearts speak. Remember God is interested in our hearts and motives.”
He adds that giving to Jesus is not about how much we give but the heart in the amount which we give.
The heart of a worshiper is found in the resources and offering to God.
After the counting and auditing, Jesus reports about the poor widow whom he says had given more than the other people. This is because the others gave from their abundance but the widow gave all that she had.
“This was complete surrender because she gave her whole heart. That which is given is a representation of what people’s hearts are towards their God. People who give are usually spiritually stronger and are more connected to God,” Pr Bagambe says.
Jesus is the change agent of life. When people worship God, returning their tithe and giving offerings, it is because Jesus entered their lives. Whenever people met Him, they did not remain the same. Jesus entered Jericho and met Zacchaeus and in Luke 19:8 he willingly offered half of his possessions to the poor and offered to give four times to those whom he had cheated while he collected taxes.
There is no true worship without sacrifice. Our ultimate sacrifice to God is to faithfully return His tithe and offertory and in Malachi 3:8-10, the Bible says, “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”
Young children should also be taught the virtue of returning to God at an early stage so that they get to know that it is more blest to give than to receive.
Giving is returning to God a portion of what is already His. Everything under heaven belongs to God. Giving is an act of worship. Helping others, just as the Bible teaches us, provides us with joy and happiness.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Giving back to God, to bless others, is truly a blessing,” he says.
Giving is the character of heaven and God Himself. In John 3:16, when God loved the world, He gave… giving is a sign that we love and that we have faith in God. Jesus is the owner of the treasury. He honours, audits, counts and gives a report of all the resources that we offer to Him.
Will you today dedicate your resources to the service of the Lord?
There is no true worship without sacrifice. Our ultimate sacrifice to God is to faithfully return His tithes and offertory and in Malachi 3:8-10, the Bible says, “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe...”
