What a funny guy, Nnamdi Kanu has just made my day with this comment.

Very unlikely that it will be well with Nigeria. The country is doomed with rulers from hell

May God help Nigeria as a country, lot of people are really passing through hell just to get little money to provide the basic necessities for oneself and one's family.

SUNDAY SERMON: THE TRUTH ABOUT TITHING


I came across this piece on a Whatsapp page and it so represented my views on tithing that I could have written it myself. Please enjoy the read!

The Trial of Pastor Jones (Author unknown)

Judge: Mr. Jones you have been charged with multiple counts of extortion. Your crime spree covers 20 years and thousands of victims. You have defrauded people out of their money with fear and manipulation, telling them they had to tithe 10% of their income as per the LAW to your Regd. organization (called Church) and that God would bless them if they did. You also told them that if they didn't tithe God would curse them.

How do you plead?

Mr. Jones: I plead not guilty your Honor, I have done nothing wrong. I have only preached what the Bible says. In the Bible Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and God blessed him for his faithful giving. The Bible even says he was rich in silver and gold.

Judge: Is it not true, Mr. Jones, that in Genesis Chapter 13 verse 2 the Bible says Abraham was rich with livestock, silver and gold?

Mr. Jones: Yes, you are exactly right, that's what I just told you.

Judge: Ok, we read about Abraham being a rich man in chapter 13 but it is not until Genesis chapter 14 that we read about Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek. So Abraham was already a rich man before he tithed to Melchizedek, wasn't he?

Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose you are right.

Judge: So his riches were not the result of his tithe to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: No.

Judge: Mr. Jones, you also say God blessed him for his faithful giving. How many times is it recorded that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: Well, just once.

Judge: So the Bible never said that he gave week after week?

Mr. Jones: No it does not.

Judge: Where did Abraham get the things that he gave to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: Well the Bible says it was from the plunders of war?

Judge: So you are telling me that he gave from the plunders of war?

Mr. Jones: Yes that's what the Bible says.

Judge: So he basically took things that were not really his in the first place and gave them as the tithe?

Mr. Jones: That is what the scripture seems to indicate.

Judge: Is it recorded that he ever took anything from his own possessions and tithed them to Melchizedek or anyone else?

Mr. Jones: I guess not

Judge: You guess not, you are a teacher and you are only guessing, is it or is it not written that he ever gave any of his own possessions as a tithe to anyone?

Mr. Jones: No it is not written anywhere that I have seen.

Judge: Is it recorded as to what exactly Abraham did give Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: I believe it says plunder?

Judge: So plunder could be any number of things?

Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose

Judge: It could have been food, cattle, sheep, the people's possessions or any number of things. It does not say it was all money correct?

Mr. Jones: Yes you are correct, it does not say just money

Judge: As a matter of fact money is never mentioned in that account at all is that correct Mr. Jones?

Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor, money is never mentioned just goods and food and people.

Judge: So there is no way you can say with any certainty that Abraham in fact gave Melchizedek any money at all?

Mr. Jones: That is right.

Judge: I only have one last question for you
Mr. Jones, did God command Abraham to give this plunder tithe to Melchizedek?

Mr. Jones: No, it appears that he did this voluntarily.

Judge: So are you trying to tell me that because of this voluntary, one time gift by Abraham, that may not have even consisted of money, all Christians everywhere are obligated to bring 10% of their weekly paycheck to a local Regd.Organization-church?
Considering all the evidence I would say you are beyond any shadow of a doubt guilty of deliberately trying to make the scriptures says things they have not said for financial gain.

Mr. Jones: Ok your Honor, I can see how foolish I was to try and use the story of Melchizedeck to try and get the people to tithe money. But there are many other verses that will support my belief on tithing. Jacob said he would give God 10% of everything. I think we should follow his example.

Judge: Let's see what Jacob said. Please read the verse you are talking about for me Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones: In Genesis chapter 28 starting at verse 20 it says. Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."

Judge: You said we should follow Jacobs example, is that right Mr. Jones?

Mr. Jones: Yes that is right, he vowed to give a tenth and we should too.

Judge: Let me point out one thing for you Mr. Jones, Jacob said he would Give God a tenth, ONLY if He blessed him first. So as you said previously, we should follow Jacob's example and tell God that we will only give him a tenth if he blesses us first. Is that right?

Mr. Jones: That is not what I meant.

Judge: What did you mean then?

Mr. Jones: That we should give God a tenth also.

Judge: There you go again, trying to make the scripture say what you want it to say for your benefit. I would also like you to tell me the scriptures that say that Jacob kept his vow with God. I would also like to know where he gave the tenth to because there was no temple or levites to give it to at that time.

Mr. Jones: I can not think of any scriptures that say where or if he ever tithed after his vow.

Judge: It seems fairly obvious to me that Jacob made a voluntary and conditional vow to God. This in no way can be used as a reason to demand others to bring their income to you or any other place.

Mr. Jones: I do have a few more scriptures that I believe will show that we are supposed to tithe.

Judge: You have not said anything yet to convince me one little bit that people are obligated to tithe money to the local organizational institutions -churches and that you were justified in what you were doing. You have taken scripture and misapplied it to your beliefs and for your gain. But in order to be fair to you I will allow you to present more evidence.

Mr. Jones: In the book of Malachi chapter 3 starting at verse 8 it says, will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, 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. So you see your Honor, we are commanded to bring the tithes into the storehouse or God will curse us.

Judge: Answer me this Mr Jones, Who was God Speaking to here?

Mr Jones: To the People of Israel

Judge: Can you please read Malachi 2: 1 Please Mr Jones

Mr Jones: Now This command is for you O PRIEST !!

Judge: Did God stop talking to the Priest in Chap. 3, Mr Jones?

Mr Jones: No your Honor!

Judge: Answer me this Mr. Jones, were you aware that God never required anyone to tithe money?

Mr. Jones: No I didn't know that.

Judge: The tithe spoken of here was always edible products never money.

Mr. Jones: Well your Honor that is because they didn't have money at the time so God had them tithe food instead.

Judge: Not true, money is first mentioned in Genesis and Malachi was written hundreds of years later. God had them bring food in so that the levites, the fatherless and widows may eat and be satisfied. The tithe was used mainly to take care of people. Also notice it says in the verse you quoted, that there may be food in my house. The food was the tithe. How do you completely overlook the word food in those verses?

Mr. Jones: I don't know

Judge: I also want you to know that these verses speak to nation under the Old Testament law. As you may or may not know Jesus fulfilled the law, it is no longer binding. Once again you have tried to completely take a scripture out of context and apply it to others for your benefit. Can you give me a single scripture where God changed the tithe from food to money?

Mr. Jones: I do not know of any.

Judge: So if God never changed it from food to money who did?

Mr. Jones: Man must have.

Judge: So far all you have done Mr. Jones, is take Old Testament scriptures out of context and try to apply it to believers under the New Covenant. Is this all the proof you have?

Mr. Jones: I do have a New Testament scripture that will show that Jesus told us to tithe.

Judge: Ok let me hear it.

Mr. Jones: Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. See Jesus said we should be tithing.

Judge: Let me ask you a question, who was Jesus talking to?

Mr. Jones: The scripture says the Scribes and Pharisees.

Judge: Are you a scribe or Pharisee?

Mr. Jones: Of course not.

Judge: Jesus also said in that passage, you have left undone the weightier matters of the law. Are we under the law Mr. Jones?

Mr. Jones: No.

Judge: Why not?

Mr. Jones: Because Jesus fulfilled it.

Judge: When did Jesus fulfill the law?

Mr. Jones: When He was crucified.

Judge: So the law was still in effect until Jesus death?

Mr. Jones: That is correct.

Judge: I think you know where I am going with this don't you?

Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor. Since Jesus had not yet been crucified and the law was still binding the Pharisees were required to tithe because it was part of the law. Once the law ended, tithing ended also.

Judge: I want you to take a look at that verse again. Also tell me, what were they tithing?

Mr. Jones: The scripture says it was mint, dill and cumin.

Judge: Is money mentioned?

Mr. Jones: No it was not.

Judge: Once again it was edible products that they were tithing, not money. Do you have anything else you would like to say?

Mr. Jones: If people only tithed edible products like the scripture says, then how would the church survive? We have our mortgage payment, utility bills, staff salary and a host of other things that we have to pay each week. We depend on the money from the people.

Judge: By "church" you mean your organization isn't it Mr Jones ?
-The need does not justify the means. In other words, just because you have all these debts does not give you the right to twist and manipulate scripture and cause people to give under fear of being cursed by God to meet your needs. Does It Mr Jones?
In closing, let me recap a few things for you Mr. Jones.
-The tithe was never money;
-The tithe was an Old Testament law, which is no longer binding. When it was binding the tithe was used to take care of people, not buildings.
- We are under a new covenant now.
Paul instructs the Corinthian believers how they are to give. He says in second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7, Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. So each believer is supposed to give as he or she has determined in his or her heart.
If they determine to Give 10% well and good, If they keep aside some every week to meet this more better.If you are trying to make people give under the threat of being cursed or any other reason even blessing, you are wrong. Someone can not give cheerfully if they are being forced to give. If 'your church can not survive on freewill offerings maybe God is not part of your church at all.
Mr Jones, do you intentionally put your people under a Curse or a Bondage?

Mr Jones: Of Course not !!

Judge: Can you Read in context Gal 3:10-11: For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them ....
AND
Gal 5:1-4 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage....

Mr. Jones: I never realized all these things, I have always been taught that we had to tithe money to the local church and that is what I have always taught. I can see now that I was completely wrong. I did not study the scripture for myself, I only took mans word for it.
Yes ' am guilty. I will not teach this error anymore.
Sentencing....... All Arise .....

People from countries where things work will not stop thinking something is wrong with us. Just imagine, we can't maintain or construct our own roads ourselves unless Lebanese or Chinese take the lead. How come most of these jobs can be done internally as a means of creating jobs? Most roads are reconstructed and maintained by council staff abroad, why do we have to keep awarding contract to get this done?

Even though most naija politicians are criminals, I feel Osinbajo is still a bit better, but how a professor and a pastors became vice to a Fulani terrorist is what I can’t fathom.

Adeboye once said God revealed Osinbajo helicopter crash to him, him and other Nigeria pastorprenuer, should come and tell us what God has said about him being removed and if his political enemies will succeed or not.

He looked away when the innocents people of middlebelt were being killed by this government under the disguise of Fulani herdsmen, hence I do not see any reason why anyone should have pity on him, the political game belong to only the elites, they should do to themselves whatever they like.

The Nigerian military arrested thousands of children it suspected of involvement with Boko Haram, holding them in squalid conditions for years in some cases, according to a new report.

Some of the children detained were as young as five, and others described being crammed into overwhelmingly hot, crowded cells in a notorious military facility in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri called Giwa barracks, said a report released by Human Rights Watch.

The allegations, which the Nigerian military denies, fit into a wider pattern of alleged abuses on the part of the country’s security forces, which have been battling the extremist group Boko Haram for more than a decade.

Thousands of women and girls who believed they were being rescued were allegedly abused in exchange for food and other basics. In 2015, Amnesty International said at least 7,000 people had died in military detention in the north-east. More recently, thousands of displaced people have been sent back to unsafe areas to provide a bulwark against Boko Haram, according to officials in Borno.

More than 3,600 children, including 1,617 girls, were detained by the Nigerian armed forces between 2013 and 2019, according to data collected by the UN, though Human Rights Watch said Nigerian authorities have not allowed the UN access to military detention sites to verify these figures. It is not known how many children are currently in detention.

Before arriving in Giwa barracks, several children described beatings at the hands of security forces, the report said.

Ten-year-old Ibrahim said his family had fled their village after an attack by Boko Haram when he was five and had been arrested several days later by the military.

“We said we escaped from Boko Haram, but the military did not believe us,” he said. “They said that we were part of Boko Haram. They hit us children with a rope of animal skin and slapped our parents with the flat end of a long knife. They beat us every day.”

Saeed, 17, who was initially detained in the town of Banki, said he was beaten by the Civilian Joint Task Force, a vigilante group working with the military, in the presence of soldiers.

“They asked me if I was a member of Boko Haram and beat me up when I said no. They tied my hands and legs and hung me to a tree and continued to flog me. They flogged me and left me tied to the tree from morning till evening … They shot some people and even beat others to death with sticks.”

Once they arrived at the barracks, children said they had to sleep close “like razor blades in a pack”, with up to 300 people in a cell, sharing one toilet. Almost half the children who were spoken to said they had seen the dead bodies of other detainees, who some thought had died because of the heat.

A spokesman for Nigeria’s defence headquarters said the military did arrest children attempting to detonate explosives and “provide tacit support to insurgents”, including information on troop movements, but that children were treated as “victims of war and not as suspects”.

“Apprehended children are kept in secured places, where they are adequately fed, profiled and de-radicalised before their release,” said Onyema Nwachukwu.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/sep/11/nigeria-children-as-young-as-five-boko-haram-links-report

As if he doesn’t know how to get to the national house of assembly where the thieving ex governors reside

Osibaba is just hearing the news.

This man will go down as the worst president in history of this nation, the government has got no human feelings. Just to take action on the xenophobia attacks on Nigeria, the man has been dragging feet.

As a matter of urgency, every Nigerian left in South Africa should be assisted in getting out of the country immediately by the Nigeria government, the diplomatic ties between the two nations should also be suspended as advised by Ekweremadu, else history will not be kind to Buhari on this matter.

If the life of an average Nigerian is valued by the Nigeria government, the xenophobia killing should not have gotten to this stage before South Africa government is sanctioned. How many more Nigerians need to be killed before the Nigeria government will say enough is enough

This is the most appropriate way of explaining what giving to God means, you don’t take from people who has none to maintain private jets and live life of luxury. May this priest remain blessed beyond measure.

Oga go and sit down jor, naa now you wan form say you dey responsible, what were you expecting from sleeping with numerous ladies?

Originakalokalo:

It is funny how things play out.

We feed, clothe and nurture our body and it grows, flourishes and remain Strong even though the body is temporal.... It decays in a matter of months with serious offensive smell.

The Human Soul that is eternal is however neglected.

Many souls are weak, naked and miserable because we feed it with poisons.

What are you feeding your souls with? Nude pictures?

Immoralities? hatred? Malice? and all unrighteousness.

If your answer is yes, You are very vulnerable in the spiritual world.... eternity awaits your miserable soul.

The remedy is to allow God, through his son, feed your soul with his righteousness and holiness.

You can be holy no matter how terrible you are now..

Holiness is of God and nothing is impossible with him.

Accept Jesus, he is waiting to cleanse you. Your sins are not bigger than the blood of the lamb.

Accept Jesus as your savior today and he feeds your soul into eternal rest.

Jesus loves you.

May you remain blessed.

The fact that the government has done very little or nothing to end police/SARS brutality is enough for an average Nigerian to know that Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa only exist in the mind of the poor. There are only two classes of Nigerians, the masses and the elites.

Watch out for government reaction the day one of the children of the so called big men will be assaulted.

I leave you with the following quotes from Osinbajo,

When the poor get killed, killing becomes exaggerated.
When the elites are affected, killing is getting out of hands.

I don't even know what to say, this is very very extreme and so sad. Can't we just live a decent life?

Jayslicky:
He doing a good thing and assisting the people he can, I see no reason why people should try to bring him down, this good side of apostle suleman comes once in a blue moon, before we were used to him splashing his money on some Nigerian actress.

You are a wicked somebody

Chelsea should get back Mikel asap

if you were in her position, will you remain in Nigeria? If an ordinary letter was delivered to the Dakolo’s with a bus full of armed men, who knows what Coza,Nigeria police and other evil supporters have got in stock for her, I still don’t know why we support so much evil in this country, yet claim to know God.

OkoYibo:
The Ohaneze needs to be involved in visits like this.

The number of Igbos in Chinese prisons is enough to form 3 local Governments.

That's why SE votes are always low. Na prison all of them dey.

Naa waooo, what a comment.

I know nwamaikpe must have made comment supporting Biodun, never knew the guy has got no conscience and cheap.

phantom:

It's a pity you are one of the "nairaland celebrities" people look up to . And to think you rose to prominence on this site by being caustic and toxic with words.
Sadly your folly is legendary and it is a testament to how this site has depreciated over the years.
In the nairaland of old, no one would give you a minute of their time.
I wonder between you and Amnesty International who one should listen to...smh

I wish i could love this comment a million times.

wengerjay:
COZA members have flooded this forum.

They are paid agents doing their are work.

I fear person wey no fear Nigeria, see how the system is trying so add in making the rapist look like the accused. It shall not be well with all those who had collected money from COZA and those intentionally supporting evil.

There is nothing about COZA or their pastor called Biodun that is Christ like, very corrupt set of people. Shame on Nigeria police and pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria .

The thousands of life that has been lost under this administration is not enough to trigger crisis within the APC folks and make them to come together for a lasting solution? Nigeria is really in trouble.

It's well, so unfortunate that this is where we find ourselves as people, we really do not have a country we can call ours, a country govern and control by a terrorist is no country.

The man himself seems to have hidden agenda.

There should be blood in Buhari's mouth the picture, the man is a vampire, a man who can't stop watching other people being killed.