Are you ready to take the limits off your income? I am! And the Lord has been showing me how we can do it. I'm excited about it because this is the day when we as believers need to prosper. We need to have enough not just to meet our own needs, but to see to it that the gospel is preached around the world.

Jesus is coming back soon! We don't have time to sit around wishing we had enough money to go through the doors God is opening before us.

We don't have time to say, "Well, one day when finances aren't so tight, I'll give to this ministry or that one so they can buy television time in Eastern Europe, or print books in Spanish."

We need to increase so we can give - and we need to do it now!

How do we get on that road to increase? I can tell you in two simple words: through tithing. In the plan of God, tithing and wealth are so closely connected that in the Hebrew language, they both come from the same root word.

Tithing is the covenant transaction that opens the door for God to be directly involved in our increase. It is a two-way exchange in which we honor God by giving Him 10 percent of our income and He, in return, provides us with a "surplus of prosperity" (Deut. 28:11 AMP).

You can see how that transaction works:

Bring all the tithes, the whole tenth of your income, into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of Heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer...for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

And all nations shall call you happy and blessed; for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
(Mal. 3:10-12 AMP)

More Than a Religious Routine
"But Gloria," you may say, "I know Christians who have been tithing for years and they're not wealthy!" Actually, you don't.

You just know people who have put 10 percent of their income into the offering bucket. They went through the motions, but they weren't really tithing.

We've all done that at times. You see, tithing isn't just a matter of the pocketbook. It is a matter of the heart. That's the way it is with everything as far as God is concerned.

He always looks on the heart. So when we tithe as a religious routine, not in faith, just because we're supposed to, and not as a genuine expression of our love for God, we miss out on the blessings of it.

That's what happened to the people in Malachi's day. They were bringing sacrifices to the Lord. They were going through the motions of tithing.

But they were not being blessed. In fact, they were living under a financial curse because the attitude of their heart was not right. In Malachi, we can read what the Lord had to say to them:

A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the reverent fear due Me? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name.

You say, How and in what have we despised Your name? By offering polluted food upon My altar. And you ask, How have we polluted it and profaned You? When you priests offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it no evil? And when you offer the lame and the sick, is it no evil?

Present such a thing...now to your governor in payment of your taxes, and see what will happen. Will he be pleased with you? Or will he receive you graciously?
(Mal. 1:6-8 AMP)

What was missing from the tithes and offerings of these people? Honor! They weren't giving God their best. Because they didn't love and reverence God in their hearts, they were offering Him their leftovers.

They were fulfilling religious requirements by keeping a formula with no worship.

As tithers, we should learn a lesson from them. When we find ourselves suffering financial lack and failing to enjoy the supernatural increase God has promised, we should check our attitude - fast!

We should make sure we're giving God our best (not our leftovers) and honoring Him with all our heart.

Stick With God's Plan
If you're not sure whether your heart is right, here is one good way to tell. Check your attitude at offering time. Malachi 1:13 tells us what the Israelites' attitude was. They said, "Behold, what a drudgery and weariness this is!"

Have you ever had that thought when you were writing out your tithe check? Have you ever wanted to hide your pocketbook from God so you wouldn't have to give?

If so, you need to change your attitude or it will prevent you from receiving your financial harvest. It will stop your increase.

Refuse to harbor such dishonorable thoughts toward God in your heart. Rebuke them and say, "No! I will not have that attitude. I love God and I love to give my tithe!"

Actually, we ought to be like little children when it comes to giving. Have you ever noticed how excited children get when their parents give them some money to put in the offering? They can hardly wait to give it.

We ought to be the same way. We ought to look forward to giving our tithes and offerings all week long. God is the One Who gives you everything you have.

He owns everything on this earth because He made it. He will give you possessions if you will honor Him in joy with the first fruits of your increase.

Don't Forget Faith
When you really understand what a great deal tithing is, you'll have a hard time not getting excited about it! You'll want to jump and shout and praise God every time you think about it.

You won't begrudge God His 10 percent, you'll thank Him for letting it flow through your hands. Do you realize what a wonderful privilege it is to have a financial covenant with Almighty God? Do you understand what it means to be connected to His heavenly economy?

If you don't have faith that God will prosper you, then get your Bible and study the promises He has made to you as a tither.

For "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). Meditate the Word so you can tithe believing that God will keep His end of the covenant and bless you abundantly.

God loves it when you tithe with that kind of confidence. He enjoys it when you give with an attitude of reverence and gratitude, trusting Him to take care of you.

We should also say as the Israelites did, "Now, Lord, I have brought the tithe out of my house. I haven't kept it for myself. But I've given it just as You have commanded. So look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless me!"

Does that kind of talk make you nervous? Do you think God will be offended if you tell Him to bless you? He won't! He'll be delighted. After all, blessing us was His idea. It's what He has wanted to do all along.

So don't be shy. Tithe boldly! Tithe gladly! Give God 10 percent of your income and one hundred percent of your heart.

Then rejoice in faith and say continually, "Let the Lord be magnified, Who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant!" Begin to expect!

Take the limits off God and let Him have a good time prospering you!