As we explain in Torah Government and other places, Yeshua wants us all to use our saved lives (our minas) to build Him a literal kingdom in His absence. This literal kingdom should look like an organization which everyone joins, and in which everyone has a spirit eager to support the leadership in doing the global work. Unless we all join this organization, and unless everyone does their parts to support it, Yeshua’s kingdom is not built.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, immersing them in My name*
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amein.
[*For why we immerse in the name of Yeshua only, please read “Immersion in Yeshua’s Name Only” in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Three.]
We love helping people learn more about Yeshua and His kingdom. However, time is always in very short supply, as the harvest is great, and the workers are very few. This means we need to spend what limited time we do have, serving and helping those who are already entered in.
Sometimes it happens that we get questions from people who seem to believe that all Yeshua wants is for us to learn (without any real organization, or accountability). However, this cannot be right, because experience shows us that this only leads to a big disorganized mass of students, who are forever learning about Yeshua’s kingdom, but who never enter in, or do the things necessary to bring it to life.
We love helping people learn about Yeshua, but in a world where there is seemingly never enough time, the goal is not for the whole world to be educated about Yeshua–the goal is for the whole world to be educated about Yeshua, and also to build Him an actual global body (which looks like a single unified organization). We must always remember that if our actions do not lead to the building of a single unified organization, then we are not doing what Yeshua wants us to do (and are therefore not the bride).
HOW THE FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY WORKS:
Because the harvest is so great and the workers so few (and so thinly supported), time is always scarce in the priesthood. In order to make sure we are taking care of those who are helping to build the kingdom, we have no choice but to obey the ancient time-honored principle that people should ask questions where they give. When we ask our questions where we give, this puts a demand on the body to edify itself in love (verse 16), because there is a two-way flow of education and support. The teachers educate the students, and the students support the teachers. Without this two-way flow, the body does not build.
Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:11-16
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Messiah —
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Sometimes people know that we know the answer to something, and they just wants us to give them the answer, so they can stay outside of accountability. However, this is not good for them. If we answer questions from people who are not contributing to the body (i.e, who are not entering into relationship with the Vine), in a very real sense we are enabling them to stay outside of relationship with Yeshua. Because that is not good for them, we cannot participate.
Starting from the bottom, here is how the body works. If a child asks his mother a Scripture question and she does not know, she can ask her husband. If he does not know, he can ask his deacon (to whom he brings his tithes). While the deacons bring all tithes to the elders, the principle remains the same: whoever receives our tithes is accountable to get us the correct answers to our Scripture questions.
Many Messianics come out of the Christian Church, and they have fears of being abused. Withholding Yahweh’s tithe seems like a safety blanket for some. However, if it seems burdensome to tithe, we might ask ourselves if we love Elohim as much as we think we do.
Yochanan Aleph (1 John) 5:2-3
2 By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim, and keep His commandments.
3 For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
Yeshua is clear that Elohim’s kingdom is to be more important to us, than our money.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
As we show in other places, the tithe is an entry-level requirement, because if His commandments seem to be burdensome, then we don’t belong in His sanctuary.
The discipline of the system is that if we are not getting our needs met, or if there is no qualified servant or elder near us, we can skip levels. For example, some people have no elder or servant near them, so they tithe directly to Nazarene Israel, as that is where they get fed. They also are able to ask questions and receive counseling. Although I don’t have as much time as a normal deacon to pay attention to their pastoral development, until I am able to provide them with something better, my job is to serve their needs as best I can (as their “deacon”).
If people feel that they are not getting correct answers, they can also seek someone else, who will give them the correct answers. However, the one leaving needs to make sure they are leaving for the right reasons, and not just for “church shopping.”
The wisdom of this principle is that it forces everyone to find the place where they can give their best service (and that is where they should pay their tithes). Because in the end, we are not here only to learn, we are here to learn in order to then serve.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 22:12
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.”
Our forefathers had a question, to help them determine whether or not a man was serious about his faith. “Does he put his money where his mouth is?” If he does, serve him. And if not, help him to come into an accountability relationship with the Master. In this way the Great Commission grows. In this way we please our Husband and King.