THE LINC COLLECTIVE

Scriptures: Romans 10:17; Genesis 8:22; Genesis 14:17–20; Hebrews 7:1–3; 1 Timothy 6:10; Proverbs 3:9–10; Romans 11:16; John 15:5; Genesis 24:10–61; Joshua 6:17–19; 1 Corinthians 15:20; John 4:35; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 6:26

Blog Post

Eighteen years is more than a milestone. It is a monument. It is a place in the journey where we pause, look back over the fields of faithfulness, and say, “The Lord has helped us.” Every birthday in the life of a church is not merely a celebration of survival, but a testimony of seed. Seeds sown in prayer. Seeds sown in sacrifice. Seeds sown in tears. Seeds sown in whispered obedience when no one was watching. Seeds sown into children who are now becoming young adults. Seeds sown into families, marriages, callings, and generations.

And yet, as much as we celebrate what has been, faith always leans forward. The language of the kingdom is not, “Look what we have built,” but, “Look what God is still growing.” The best is not behind us. The best is yet to come.

In this message, we were given three powerful constructs for life: the world we live in, the way we live, and the Word we live by. The world is loud. It is full of pressure, headlines, bills, uncertainty, and competing kingdoms. The way we live is personal—our rhythms, choices, habits, values, and family cultures. But above both must stand the Word we live by. The world must bow to the Word. The way we live must be shaped by the Word. Because it is not the world that keeps us steady, and it is not our preferences that keep us fruitful. It is the Word of God that anchors the soul and awakens faith.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. That means a church of faith must continually return to the voice of God. Not to hype. Not to human guarantees. Not to self-made strategies. But to the promises of God accessed by trust.

In the journey of abundance, we have seen that God is the source. We are not our own source. Our work is not our source. Our wisdom is not our source. Our savings, networks, strength, and strategies are not our source. God is the fountain. God is the river. God is the One from whom all provision flows.

We have also seen that seed, time, and harvest is the system. From Genesis onward, God established a rhythm in creation and in the kingdom: what is sown carries the power of what will be reaped. Seeds may look small, but they carry futures. Seeds may disappear beneath the soil, but heaven knows where they are buried. Seeds may require time, but time does not cancel the promise—it cultivates it.

But then comes the deeper question: What is the seed? What part of what is in my hand does God invite me to sow? In this message, that question brought us to the tithe—the tenth, the firstfruits, the seed of abundance.

Now, this is where grace must be loud. Tithing is not a transaction with the church; it is a trust relationship with God. It is not a religious payment. It is not a spiritual tax. It is not the price of God’s affection. If you do not tithe, God still loves you passionately. If you struggle in this area, God is not standing over you with condemnation. The cross has already declared His heart toward you.

But grace does not remove trust; grace empowers it. Grace does not lower the call; it changes the soil from fear to love.

The first picture of the tithe appears in Genesis 14, long before the law. Abram has just experienced victory. Melchizedek, king of righteousness and king of peace, appears with bread and wine—a shadow pointing us toward Christ and communion. Before Abram gives anything, he is blessed. The blessing flows first from the greater to the lesser. Abram does not tithe to earn blessing; he tithes in response to blessing.

This is a revelation that can heal the heart. Tithing is not a requirement for God’s goodness; it is a response to God’s goodness. It is not us proving our love to Him. It is us recognizing His love toward us.

There is something deeply spiritual about the first. Proverbs says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing.” The principle is simple but powerful: when the first is His, the rest is blessed. Romans 11 says that if the first part of the dough is holy, the whole batch is holy. If the root is holy, so are the branches.

The tithe is not about God wanting everything from you. God owns everything, but He does not demand everything. He asks for the first and the best, because when the first is set apart, the rest is brought under His covering. This principle is not only financial. It touches time, energy, marriage, parenting, worship, and calling. Whatever receives the first and best of us will shape the rest of us.

Many people live under pressure, giving God leftovers and feeling guilty that it is not enough. But guilt was never meant to govern generosity. Fear was never meant to lead worship. The invitation is to reorder our trust. To place God first—not because He will stop loving us if we don’t, but because we are learning to live free.

That is what “trading trust” means. We trade trust in mammon for trust in the Father. We trade control for surrender. We trade scarcity for kingdom abundance. We trade the anxious question, “Will there be enough?” for the faithful declaration, “God is my shield and my very great reward.”

And all of this points to Jesus. Christ is called the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. The Father sowed His first and best—His Son—so that a harvest of sons and daughters could be raised to life. God never asks for what He has not already modeled. The cross is the eternal proof that heaven understands seed, sacrifice, and harvest.

So today, the call is not merely to give. The call is to trust. The call is to reorder. The call is to let the Word rise above the world we live in and the way we live. The call is to honor the harvest Jesus has already opened before us.

After eighteen years, the testimony is clear: God wastes no seed. Not one prayer. Not one act of obedience. Not one gift given in faith. Not one generation raised in His house. And if He has been faithful in the years behind us, He will be faithful in the years ahead.

The best is yet to come.