A Bag With Holes

Let us take a moment to look closer at the historical events surrounding the rebuilding of the temple at the time of prophet Haggai.

Haggai 1:1-4 says, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?”

After 70 years of exile in Babylon, the Jews returned to Jerusalem by King Darius's decree, led by Zerubbabel. Their eagerness to rebuild the temple and do God’s work, as they came together as if one man, was evident as they generously offered gifts to the Lord, marking a time of gratitude, as you can read in Ezra 3. But their revival was short-lived as they faced numerous challenges from their adversary; fear, anxiety, and frustration followed, leading to a sense of discouragement. The building of the Lord's house came to a halt (Ezra 4), leaving the foundation open and unprotected. Before prophet Haggai came on the scene, God's people displayed a rather indifferent or "I don't care" attitude towards the task of rebuilding the temple.

Then Haggai said:

Haggai 1:5-6, 9-11 “Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. 9 Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. 10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.”

The Lord pointed out the problem: why do they have a bag with holes? Because they left the house of God unfinished, they became indifferent about carrying on God’s work, while they were more concerned with themselves, their own houses, selfish interests, and temporal enjoyment. In verses 7-8, He provided a solution to this problem. When He said:

Haggai 1:7-8 "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.

Do we want to glorify God? Of course. Let’s build the house of God. Let’s prioritize the interest of God before anything else.

Many Christians have a good solid foundation in the faith, but are no longer growing Christians, they are not advancing in their faith. They started out with a lot of enthusiasm, but they’re not building any more. Their once solid foundation is now exposed to the degrading effect of the world’s system of values and attitudes. They want to keep up with the standard of the world. As a result, their religious life is falling apart. Many have an “I don’t care” attitude, like how the Jews rebuilt the temple in the past.

And many homes struggle every month because they do not have enough money to pay their regular bills. To cover up the obligations, it is common practice to borrow money from a generous friend or, if you have no choice, from the informal financiers known in the Philippines as “5-6” loan from Bombay. In fact, it is now also common for lenders to accept ATM cards as collateral (only in the Philippines). Next, there's yet another bill to pay, then another loan to take on, and the cycle continues, which seems to be the norm. Until one day you realize you are now enslaved by debt, leading to moral disgrace and despair.

But didn’t God promised to provide for our needs? Of course, He does! But why does money feel so difficult? Why do you never seem to be able to make ends meet? Why do you always struggle to pay your bills. Your bag is full of holes! The Bible gave a reason for this in the story of Haggai.

Putting God First

The reason why you don’t have enough and are not filled is because you put your hard-earned wages into a bag with holes. Meaning that when your priorities are not in line with God’s priorities, when you put yourself first and God last, your bag will definitely have holes, and we get discourage and lose faith.

Well, we must remember that His promises are all conditional. If we are first obedient and faithful to our duties, then we will surely receive the promise. If we faithfully build the house of the Lord first, and prioritize His work, by honoring Him, we may testify that the Lord really cares for us and supplies our necessities all the time, although not always our wants. If we first honor Him, He will pour out the richest blessings from heaven, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
“So long as we are in the world, we must have to do with the things of the world. There will ever be a necessity for the transaction of temporal, secular business; but this should never become all-absorbing. The apostle Paul has given a safe rule: “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.” [Romans 12:11] The humble, common duties of life are all to be performed with fidelity; “heartily,” says the apostle, “as to the Lord.” Whatever our department of labor, be it housework or field work or intellectual pursuits, we may perform it to the glory of God so long as we make Christ first and last and best in everything. But aside from these worldly employments there is given to every follower of Christ a special work for the upbuilding of His kingdom—a work which requires personal effort for the salvation of men. It is not a work to be performed once a week merely, at the place of worship, but at all times and all places.” 5T 459.2

Many people claim to honor God. But are they actually doing it? Or just simply saying it?

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”

When the pharisees and scribes asked Jesus why the disciples do not keep the tradition of the elders or tradition of man, He quoted Isaiah’s text.

Mark 7:6-7 “He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

So, are we honoring our Loving God with our heart by doing faithfully what He commands us to do or merely with our lips? Do we truly love Him with all our hearts, as Jesus told us to do?

Luke 10:27 “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”

Two Ways to Honor God:

Now, there are at least two ways to honour our God:

1. Honor God with our substance.

Proverbs 3:9 "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

The "substance" here refers to the "capital" while the "increase" is to the revenue. In short, it points to the "tithe”, or "tenth" which God claims as His own.

Leviticus 27:30, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD."
Genesis 28:22 "And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."

2. Honor God by keeping the Sabbath holy.

Isaiah 58:13 “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:”

Have you noticed that the tithe and the Sabbath are both holy unto the Lord? Yes, they are sanctified and our God claim them both as His own. They are not ours. Remember that!

Sabbath and Tithe are Holy!

So, we honor God first, by returning to Him the sacred portion of our income, which is the tithe, not because God himself needs the money. No, it’s not! Everything we have belongs to Him!

Haggai 2:8 "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts."
Psalms 50:10-11 "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine."

Yes, the earth belongs to God! He provides all our basic needs, like food, shelter, and clothing, as well as material blessings, and sometimes our wants, because He truly cares for us and knows even the desires of our hearts (Psalm 21:2) . And that includes our holy tithe, and He wanted to see if will honor Him and do His will.

So, why does God needs the sacred tithe, the first fruits of all our increase?

During the time of the Old Testament, the tithes were used to support the Levites who worked in the tabernacle.

Numbers 18:21 “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.”

In the New Testament, the Christian church’s duty is to give the tithe to support the ordained gospel ministers as they work full-time for the Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:11-14 “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? 12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”

Satan's Plan to Hinder God's work

One of Satan’s plan is to keep the money in his rank and to make people covetous in order to hinder God’s work and win more followers.

“Go, make the possessors of lands and money drunk with the cares of this life. Present the world before them in its most attractive light, that they may lay up their treasure here, and fix their affections upon earthly things. We must do our utmost to prevent those who labor in God's cause from obtaining means to use against us. Keep the money in our own ranks. The more means they obtain, the more they will injure our kingdom by taking from us our subjects. Make them care more for money than for the upbuilding of Christ's kingdom and the spread of the truths we hate, and we need not fear their influence; for we know that every selfish, covetous person will fall under our power, and will finally be separated from God's people.” 4SP 339.2

And why Satan wants to control the money:

“Control the money matters if you can, and drive their ministers to want and distress. This will weaken their courage and zeal. Battle every inch of ground. Make covetousness and love of earthly treasures the ruling traits of their character. As long as these traits rule, salvation and grace stand back. Crowd every attraction around them, and they will be surely ours. And not only are we sure of them, but their hateful influence will not be exercised to lead others to heaven. When any shall attempt to give, put within them a grudging disposition, that it may be sparingly." {EW 266.1}

Dear ones, Satan's plan works when you feel reluctant and hesitant to give what the Lord required you to give. He wanted us to be covetous. To focus on self and always get and not give.

“To live for self is to perish. Covetousness, the desire of benefit for self's sake, cuts the soul off from life. It is the spirit of Satan to get, to draw to self. It is the spirit of Christ to give, to sacrifice self for the good of others.” COL 259.1

So, instead of aiding the enemy in carrying out his plan, let us defeat him by totally returning to the Lord our increase.

2 Corinthians 9:6 “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

Let us strive to give cheerfully and willingly, like the poor widow who gave her two mites, giving all she possessed, rather than giving grudgingly and reluctantly.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
Mark 12:42-44 “And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

Are you robbing God?

Malachi 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”

God requires us to return the portion of the blessings He has entrusted us through our tithes and offerings. Think about this, it wasn't your money. You're only a steward. God calls it robbery when you withhold your tithes and offerings. And that's breaking commandment #8, Thou Shalt Not Steal! In fact, not only you rob God by withholding them, but you are also actually robbing yourself of eternal riches and hurting yourself according to Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 5:13 “There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.”

On one hand, the Lord really wants to do amazing things through His people because we are in the last days. You know, when God's people stop giving tithes, the ministers who are called to do God's work face challenges and slow down their work. That's what the enemy wants! Not only that, since the harvest of souls is ripe, but the lack of honest tithe is also another reason for shortage of ministers. Like the unfinished work of the temple, many ministerial projects remain unfinished. But the ministry often prays about it, and we praise the Lord for those who are faithful and cheerful givers so we can do a lot with the money you give because the Lord taught us how to be a good steward. Only the Father, who bestows such blessings, deserves praise. As you know, the ministry never asks or begs for money from the pulpit, just like the apostle Paul, because we don’t make a wrong impression to cheapen the holy work. But this does not give you the freedom to not tithe at all. If this remnant church has blessed you with the present truth, wouldn't it be wise to tithe to our ministers to bless others? This is how the gospel is being spread before and today.

The tithing system is really a blessing. Even if you are not called to preach or teach, you can still work for Christ by tithing to those who are ordained and support a missionary abroad. Right now, we only have a few ordained ministers, and some workers here and abroad. But we pray that the Lord will send more workers to the field because the field is great, and the harvest is ready. We pray to have as many workers as possible we can have on each country to spread the gospel. But not only our prayer is needed, but also your gifts.

Why is the church organized? Why are we here?

The church of Christ on earth was organized for missionary purposes, and the Lord desires to see the entire church devising ways and means whereby high and low, rich and poor, may hear the message of truth. Not all are called to personal labor in foreign fields, but all can do something by their prayers and their gifts to aid the missionary work. { 6T 29.3}
An American businessman who was an earnest Christian, in conversation with a fellow worker remarked that he himself worked for Christ twenty-four hours of the day. “In all my business relations,” he said, “I try to represent my Master. As I have opportunity, I try to win others to Him. All day I am working for Christ. And at night, while I sleep, I have a man working for Him in China.” { 6T 29.4}
In explanation he added: “In my youth I determined to go as a missionary to the heathen. But on the death of my father I had to take up his business in order to provide for the family. Now, instead of going myself, I support a missionary. In such a town of such a province of China, my worker is stationed. And so, even while I sleep, I am, through my representative, still working for Christ.” { 6T 30.1}

But if you refuse to give something for the Lord now, He will pronounce you as "unfaithful servant" in the end.

A Little Testimony to Praise the Lord

Now I'd like to share my family's and my experience as a testimony for those brethren in the remnant movement who are experiencing financial difficulties and do not tithe. As we have learned so far, there is a reason why you cannot make ends meet; your bag is full of holes. Everybody has financial troubles, and my family is not exempted. When I moved to the US, I received no support from the Philippines, even though I was entitled to it as an ordained minister, but life must go on. In fact, I was accused by some of my co-ministers at that time that I abandoned the faith because I migrated to US. But I left my reputation with God. So, I must work a secular job to earn a living while also actively working in the ministry by creating websites to evangelize, generating tracts, composing spiritual songs, and giving Bible studies online/offline, among other things. Eventually, I got married to my lovely wife and was blessed with two beautiful children afterwards. But we sent our tithes regularly and faithfully to our church ministers, we never fail! I stopped sending tithes to my previous home church when they started to preach false doctrine that there is no sanctuary in heaven, and they accused me of withholding my tithes. But no, I will not support a corrupt church with my tithes. And not very long, we separated from them, and we joined a purer faith, the SDR church in 2016, and give our holy tithes to the SDR ministry. By the way, I have known POGM since 2000 but never joined due to prejudice. The Covid pandemic furloughed both my wife and me from our jobs in 2020. I was a manager at that time. But the Lord NEVER failed us. We literally experienced the miracle from the Lord, like the widow in Elijah and Elisha’s time whose bottle of oil never ran out. God provided our oil enough to get us going, but we never doubted for two straight years. On and off, my wife returned to work, but I didn't. I drove for Uber to earn an additional income. We always pray for His guidance on what He wants us to do. Time came, before the year 2021 ends, when we were impressed by the Lord and decided to go back to the Philippines to start a new livelihood with our little savings while working for the Lord full time at the same time. In fact, we already shipped everything home. Surprisingly, the Lord had another plan for us. Brother pastor Nic called me and said that he was impressed by the Holy Spirit to call and ask me if I wanted to work full time and help in the ministry. It’s like a bucket of ice water poured upon my head. And my wife was shaking as well. In short, instead of traveling to the Philippines, we chose to relocate to the mainland to assist with the publishing ministry for six months initially, and then to Philippines. From there, the Lord led the way; we never asked for or expected any support; we just asked our Father, and He provided all our needs… we never lacked anything. But the Lord keeps opening a way for us to do the work. What started as six months has turned into years until now. As my wife and I looked back on our life in the past, we could really say that the Lord blessed us in ways we couldn’t express ourselves. He tested our faith, which until now we always have, and He keeps on training us to always trust in Him no matter what. We knew for sure that the Lord would fulfill His promise to us when we obeyed and gave back our tithe to Him faithfully.

Proving the LORD

Yes, the tithing is one of the times in the Bible when the Lord says it's okay to put Him to the test.

Malachi 3:10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts."

You can see God’s hand move. He truly is alive and real in our lives.

Luke 6:38 "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."

Freewill Offerings

As a Bible rule, tithes are solely for the support of the ordained gospel ministers of the Lord. Freewill and love offerings are used for charity, to help the worthy poor and needy, buy Bibles and SOP books to give away, printing present truth tracts, and other related needs to spread the truth. Yes, love offerings are based on your heart. As we read in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 earlier. If we are generous in our love offerings, the Lord is generous in the blessings.

Psalms 96:8 "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: Bring an offering, and come into His courts."

How can we store up wealth for the future in heaven?

Luke 12:33 "Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.".

Remember our condition when we were born.

1 Timothy 6:7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

What tells us where our hearts are?

Luke 12 :34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

The people showed reverence for the Lord as a result of Haggai’s message. They were stirred up in spirit, and they returned to work in building the temple.

Haggai 1:12-15 “Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the LORD. 13 Then spake Haggai the LORD'S messenger in the LORD'S message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the LORD. 14 And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15 In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.”

What a wonderful change of attitude when the Lord moved the heart and energized by the Spirit of God! The shift from irreverent indifference to reverent action in building up the house of the Lord was truly amazing! And today, we find ourselves inspired in a similar way, as our hearts are stirred and energized by the Holy Spirit as we finish the holy work of the Lord!

Encouragement from the Lord

The next time you feel that your bag is full of holes, think about the words of the Lord thru prophet Haggai seriously. As a result, you will hear the voice of the Lord saying:

Haggai 2:19 “Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.”

I hope and pray that you are blessed!

Ps. If you are impressed by the Lord to send your tithe to this ministry, please get in touch.

Gospel Order