Stewarding the Blessings of God
We are in a January, a time of prayer and fasting, and we have talked about fasting contributing primarily not to our health or how good we look in our swimsuit, but about taking things out of our life in order to make more room for God.
Today I want to talk about something that is in someways an ongoing fast. It is honoring the Lord with our finances
I have not taught on this topic in a while. It is not my favorite topic to teach on, primarily because of not wanting to appear that money is all we care about. It certainly is not first and foremost at Radiant. But I also don't want to neglect to teach on it. I want people to understand how God calls us to live.
Some of the church’s misgivings on financial matters make it hard, but let's be clear--another challenge is that our culture is also very sensitive on this topic. Money and the self and the great idols of today, and when when we talk about honoring God with money the world and flesh will rage against that.
But giving is an important part of our walk with God. Do you know what topic Jesus taught about more than any other? Money. Do you find it interesting that the most heavenly-minded teacher the world has ever known would teach so much about giving? I think it’s safe to say Jesus didn’t teach on this because he was interested in a bigger house or faster donkey. Jesus taught that where your treasure is there your heart will be also (Matt 6:21). Jesus was and is far more interested in where your heart is, and he knows that, because our hearts are on possessions and material things, a way to bring people to God is to teach on giving those things up. A fundamental connection exists between a person’s spiritual life and his attitude toward money and possessions.
**Faithfully living for God is not about giving a portion of your income,
but about giving your whole life to God.**
Let me give a couple disclaimers:
- we are a small church, but (pastors/elders) don’t know who gives what. We see the weekly giving amounts and that is it. If you don’t give a dime, we are still here to care for you.
- my goal is to help you know what SCripture says, and give you time to reflect on it and respond to what God calls you to do. You will not feel any pressure from me or others to commit to something today or any day. We are here if you want to talk.
- I view my job as very likely to pave the way for your next church.
We are picking up in a spot where the prophet Malachi is rebuking people for their lack of faithfulness, and in this chapter it is their failure to give to God.
**By faith we give financially to God to further his purposes and see his grace abound. **
My goal in talking about giving is not to convince you to give a portion or a greater portion of your money to the church. It’s far more sinister. My goal is for you to give your whole life to the Lord.
Giving to God
This passage mentions giving to God in the form of tithes and offerings (v8). These are two separate acts that are mentioned throughout the Bible (Deut. 12:6, 11; Neh 10:37, 13:5; Mal. 3:8).
The first mention of tithing was by Abram after a great victory. He gave a tenth to Melchizedek. He gave freely. He wasn’t commanded and didn’t have to. It was an expression of gratitude and thankfulness to God. It became a precedent for the people and was codified in the law.
“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; it is holy to the LORD” (Levitcus 27:30, ESV).
These people were farmers and tithed their crops and animals. If the herd produced ten sheep they would give one to the Lord. We tithe on our money. It means if you make a dollar, you give ten cents. If you make $1,000, you give $100. It is a command for every believer--young or old, rich or poor. Kids, consider your birthday or Christmas presents. It is about honoring God in everything.
God called his people to do this, and in Malachi God shows up to inspect his people. People don't do what you expect, they do what you inspect. As a leader you are not able to inspect everything, but you do inspect the important things. God knows everything, and it is his grace to call us to account rather than let us keep going against his commands.
The problem in Malachi is the people of God were not following God. Malachi is a prophet who comes to rebuke the people in hopes of drawing them back to the Lord. In chapter 1 the priests are rebuked for not honoring God and for despising his name. How were they despising the Lord’s name.
"When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of host" (Malachi 1:8).
They were supposed to offer sacrifices that were without blemish, the best of the flocks, but they cut corners.
- They gave, but they gave God the worst and they kept the best.
- They cared least for God’s approval, and most for man’s.
- They gave God leftovers while they got the first portion.
- They desired pleasing the world rather than pleasing God.
- They honored those who would honor them, and dishonored God.
- They were intimidated by circumstances rather than led by God.
God says they are despising him with the quality of their offerings. They offered sacrifices that cost them very little. The ones with three legs, the blind ones, the sick.
In Chapter 3 Malachi rebukes the people for the quantity of their offering. He says they are robbing God. Now, how do you rob God?
"But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions."
(Malachi 3:8)
Here they are robbing him because they are not bringing the tithe. It’s not that they weren’t bringing anything. They were bringing something, but in the Hebrew there is an emphasis on the word (kol), meaning the whole tithe. They were holding back part of it.
"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse."
(Malachi 3:10)
Malachi gives a stern rebuke for what they were doing. He calls it robbing God! Have you ever been accused of robbing someone? We would never want to rob someon, yet we justify it with God. And notice that the problem was not that they were not giving anything, but that they were not giving what God commanded them.
Be careful of the excuses you give for not giving. God says their actions are a rejection of him. You can say money isn’t important, and amounts don't matter, but God is calling them out. They have not honored him, they have not trusted him, they have not followed him.
Following Jesus is really easy when you don’t do what he says.
There is more to life than money. Tithing is a way to remember that. Is the Lord really first in your life? Are you giving God the first place in your life or the leftovers? Giving is an issue of Lordship. You can’t please everybody, and you can’t have everything, so who are you going to short change?
“I have never seen a mature Christian who was not also a mature steward.” Randy Alcorn.
The reason a lack of giving is so important is because it reflects who your God really is. Are you serving and worshipping yourself? Who do you sacrifice? Who are you really serving with your money? Do you sacrifice money to serve God or do you sacrifice God to serve yourself? “Giving reflects a person’s passions and what they are really committed to.” This is the biggest issue. It is the core issue.
My goal is not for you to give a portion of your money to the church. My goal is for you to give your whole life to the Lord. What does your giving say of your commitment, your devotion, and your service to God.
Giving ten percent makes you think differently about 100%. It forces you to say no to certain things. Either you are saying no to God or no to other things.
Your finances reflect your priorities. There are few spiritual diagnostics as evident as finances and calendars. Who are you most willing to disappoint in life?
We may not like to talk about money, but money talks a lot about us.
Money is a way to express what we believe in, value, love, where our heart is at, and to what or to whom our lives are oriented.
Giving to the Purposes of God
There are many good causes God’s people can give to, but here they are directed to bring their tithes to the storehouse.
Directed to the local temple. In verse 10 they are directed to bring the full tithe into the storehouse (haotzah). That word is used for the king’s storehouse, where he kept his goods but it is also used for the temple. That word is used in Nehemiah to speak of the house of God and bringing tithes there.
And to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God...And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse...We will not neglect the house of God. (Nehemiah 10:37-39, ESV)
The temple is the center of activities for the people of God. These provisions allowed the priests to minister and for the people to gather. It allowed them to hear the word, connect for discipleship, gather together.
It is similar in the church today. The church is God’s plan for advancing the gospel. Our giving enables ministry to happen. In the New Testament the people were gathering for fellowship, teaching, serving one another, doing ministry. The local church was the center of their faith. The greatest missionaries were the ones most committed to the local church.
We are building a community that is living for and making Christ known. It is not easy. It is not without expenses. Giving to the church enables ministry to happen. The lights, the staff, the electric bills, the activities, the coordination, all of that is made possible by people. We are not soliciting corporations for big donations. We are not looking for the government to subsidize what we do. I do not want to come up with clever business opportunities, because those mean you don’t know how to reach people. We are trying to create a people who are furthering the purposes of God in the world.
I don’t get excited talking about giving just so we can meet our budget. I get really excited talking about giving as a way for us to know God more, walk with him more closely, and make Jesus known in the world.
I want to see other churches built and grow strong. God allows us to participate in what he is doing in the world. I want to see the voice of believers grow louder and go farther. That means serving in the church, being a part of it. It means giving to it. I want to see us reach people, train people, disciple people, plant churches, send out missionaries.
In Acts 13:3 they were praying and fasting and sent Barnabas and Paul out on a missionary journey. That took money.
God gives us wisdom. If people don't give God will lead us in what to do. We may have to meet in a field, and we might not have some of the amenities. But if we believe in the church as the vehicle that God is using to change the world, we should want to invest in it: invest our money, our time, our prayers, our talents.
Today people have sky-high expectations for churches and next to nothing on the commitment. Consider how you can invest in the church, make it stronger, and how you can stir up the people.
Giving by Faith
We give because we realize our lives are not ultimately in our hands. God is the one who protects and provides.
Look at what God says. “Will I not throw open the floodgates of heaven” (v10). God is who blesses. Opening the floodgates, the sluices, is a figure of speech denoting the most copious supply of blessing so that it flows down from heaven like pouring rain.
"Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need" (Malachi 3:10)
Who controls your future: you, your bank account, God? Honor the one who controls all things and holds your life in his hand. God provides and he protects. He pours out blessings. He rebukes things that devour crops-like bugs (v 11), and thieves, and everything else.
Do you realize this is the one place in Scripture that we are told to “test” God (v10)? Now testing is not "God, I’m going to do this so you better do this."
Perhaps you don't have because you do not give, Malachi is saying.
Your financial problems may really be spiritual problems
It's not always, but it sometimes is. If not sure, talk with someone on it. We will not judge you. God is trying to get your attention.
There are things we are not able to do as a family because we prioritize giving. I would have it no other way. I want my kids to know what they most need is not a trip to Disney. Who cares, if we can't be faithful to God? I have something so much better to live for.
Malachi sounds like a prosperity teacher. And I was shocked to read conservative teachers who on this passage say things like “you can’t outgive God.” “You do not have because you have not given enough.” “You should think you can’t afford not to give.” Isn't that amazing! Are you trusting your heavenly father?
He will throw open the floodgates of heaven.
Brings material gain.
Provide work, jobs, give you success left and right. It might mean you get the job, the promotion; God provides for you financially.
Destroyers are kept away.
Destroyers will not come near just like in the Exodus their shoes never wore out. People might see you pull up in your twenty year old minivan, and they will think poor guy with the old car, and your like I'm blessed, baby!
11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.
Contentment.
You begin to see what is important and are ok with where he has you. Accept your boundary lines.
Regardless of how, we should give ourself to God. My life's not about me indulging myself. It is not about primarily about what I can do. It is about walking with God in all things and trusting he has my best in store.
Gospel flood gates. He doesn't just provide for us financially, he provides for us spiritually. He gave his Son Jesus Christ, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. In him we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. If he has done that, what will he now withhold from us? If he gave his life for us, will we now withhold our life from him? Withhold ten percent. It's all yours, God. I'm stewarding every bit for you.
Tithing is less important when God’s purpose captivates your heart, but does he really have our heart if we are not willing to give to his purposes.
This takes us from:
- Servant who has to, to an heir who gets to
- We go from knowing God as an abrasive task master to a Father who loves us.
. Giving is About Returning to Him
And this is a great picture of the grace of God. You have to marinate on this passage a bit. He calls them robbers, and then invites these robbers to taste and experience the blessings of God. To return to him.
How do you treat people who have robbed you? You probably don’t welcome them into your house. You probably don’t want to hang out with them. But God is calling these robbers to come back to him. He is holding out his hands to them. That is grace, and that is what we are all dependent on. No one is going to heaven because of how great their giving is. The only reason anyone is going to heaven is because of how great God’s giving is. He gave his Son for our sin that we can be forgiven. The gospel shakes up worldly thinking.
Generous giving is not about doling out extra amounts of money. It is about reorienting the human heart in the direction of Christ so that we become transmitters of the same affection and care that Christ modeled in his time. (George MacDonald)
Do you want more of God in your life? Then take seriously how you can honor him with your wealth. How can you celebrate him in your life? HOw can you advance his mission and strengthen the church?
God is the one in control of our lives. And he calls us to take control of our lives and let his word reign over us. We take our lives back from the world. We live differently. We teach our kids to live differently. Our hope is not in our money or our ability. It is in him and who he is.
A basic discipline of believers.
Take steps.
Watch what your giving can do. Watch how it ignites people in service.
If we are going to see the gospel advance in our world, nation, community--Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Cumming--it is going to take strong churches. Those churches are only as strong as the people in them. If we want to be used by God it require us being submitted to God. We allow him to reprogram our hearts, minds, and lives.
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his, Letter from a Birmingham Jail
There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." ... So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo…
If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. (emphasis added)
May we be so God-intoxicated that we are unintimidated to live sacrificially. Let's not be content for the church to have a weak and ineffectual voice. Let's make it a loud and powerful. To be different than the status quo. God has so much in store for us, but we need to push aside our love and commitment to the world and embrace his mission right where we are.
Discussion Questions
- What were the people doing wrong in Malachi? Why does Malachi use such strong language to rebuke them?
- What is your understanding of giving? What hindrances and temptations have kept you from giving to the Lord?
- Do you connect giving with the local church? Where does Scripture teach that?
- How does this passage help you trust God? How have you seen God provide for you in the past?