A woman came to a man of God for counselling and prayers. After the appointment, she brought out an envelope; her tithe. Surprised, the man of God asked; “Why this tithe? Who is your pastor and where is your Church?”

Her response further startled the man of God. She said; “You know we are sheep and we’ve been told to go out looking for pastures.” The man of God replied; “You will soon eat poison if you continue that way.”

Friend, there is no wisdom in grazing around. If you see any sheep grazing around on his own, it’s either a goat or a lost sheep. God in His wisdom has provided pastures for the sheep in the leadership of the shepherd (Jeremiah 3:15). The first job of a shepherd is to lead, not to feed. It is the sheep that follows leadership that would be fed (Psalms 23:1).

God so values your safety as His sheep that He locates you in a sheepfold. He sets you in a Church family where your constant feeding and nourishing would be guaranteed (Psalms 68:6). Just as nobody survives naturally by scavenging for food around, a healthily growing individual has a place of feeding. The local Church is your God-ordained place of feeding (1 Timothy 3:15).

Stop grazing around so you won’t eat poison (Hebrews 13:9). You cannot feed right and safely if you have not established a feeding centre in a local Church. You need to listen to your local Church pastor long enough to be able to decipher truths from errors out there (John 10:4-5). There is enough pasture for you in your God-ordained sheepfold; settle there (Psalms 23:1-6).

Your tithes and regular givings should be to where you are constantly receiving feeding, nourishing, care, counseling and covering, to support the work there; not to some random preachers out there (1 Corinthians 9:11, Galatians 6:6). While it is okay to sow seeds to ministers and ministries as led or blessed, your tithes and seeds should be brought to where you are regularly fed. This is why it is called the storehouse (Malachi 3:10).

‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria