There is a place that Jesus will be buried. There is a place where sin will be no more. There is a place our prophets will be sharing. That our lives could stand, not turn into the shore. A world to live for, a world that saves our soul. A world to live for, a world that saves our soul. Then you will know the love of Calvary Before I preach, I'm going to sing, and I like my music, so I'm going to come over and do it. A song entitled Unworthy, and if you think about it, we just sung about there's a way, and we're going to heaven, and if we die today, that's where we'll be, and if we're saved. Why me? Why do I have this opportunity? Why doesn't everybody have this opportunity? You understand, we responded to the gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, but I just rejoice tonight that I'm part of those that are redeemed, part of those that are saved, and very unworthy of them. Unworthy am I of the grace that he gave. Unworthy to hold to his hand. Amazed that a king would reach down to a slave. This love I I cannot understand. Unworthy. Unworthy. A beggar. Incompetent. But he made me worthy. And now by his grace. His mercy has made me His own. My sorrow and sickness laid stripes on His back. My sins caused the blood that was shed. My faults and my failures have woven a crown. of thorns that he wore on his head unworthy unworthy a beggar in bondage and woe but he made me worthy and now by his grace may be this unworthy glory to Unworthy with angels to sing I thrill just to know that He loved me so much A hopper I walk with the King Unworthy, unworthy A beggar in bondage and woe, But he made me worthy, and now by his grace His mercy has to make me His own. Amen. I trust you know that. I hope that you are Christ and rejoice in that tonight. And we'll dismiss the kids and go to class with Mrs. Schroer. The rest of us will open up our Bibles. And I should say the adults get to go to the church with the same enthusiasm tonight. I'm glad you're here. Malki chapter three, let's go to the Old Testament. And so if you go to Matthew in your Bible and go back and go to chapter three, that's where we're at tonight. Recently on the journey, and some of you have been following the journey, short videos I've been putting online that are gospel focused, but I shared some personal testimony about God's goodness. My wife and I, I called that one Furnishing God, the God that provides. And I just shared several stories about God's provision. You know, our marriage was a financial step of faith. When my wife and I got married, it was a step taken with God's clear leading. You know, I remember where I was in my car driving across the city of Tucson, Arizona, a very large city. from the church back to the place where I was staying and probably shouldn't be driving when you have tears in your eyes but I think there were tears in my eyes and I remember very specifically saying to God, God please, can Katie and I get married a year before I finish school? Otherwise it was gonna be 2001 before we got married and I was asking God, can it please be 2000? That was still a year away, it was 1999 and I was hoping to get engaged that summer. So I was praying about that and God just, in my heart, it was one of those times where the Spirit of God That was going to work out. And you got provided a ring. And I got back to college. I had been gone there the second semester of my senior year, doing my internship out west. I got back to college. My future in-laws were there. My sister-in-law future was having her graduation recital and speech recital. And so they were there. We went off hiking and stuff. And I kept trying to get along with my future father-in-law so I could ask him the question, can I marry your daughter? It wasn't happening. And then it was Sunday. They were leaving on Sunday. And again, with tears in my eyes, I remember in my dorm room weeping and saying to God, God, I've tried to get along with them. It hasn't worked out. Please, I need an opportunity to speak to them so I can ask to have his daughter's hand in marriage. So I went to where we were meeting back behind the girls dorms that go off campus for church. And I walked behind the dorm, and there was my future father-in-law sitting in the car by himself. So I get in. I don't think we talked about it too much before. I said, by the way, when I was in Tucson, I bought a ring. And he said, any specific kind of ring? I said, yes, an engagement ring. And you know, I'd like to ask, not only can I marry your daughter, but can we get married a year before finishing school? Well, then my wife and future mother-in-law came out. and got in the car, we went out to church, we went out to eat, no answer. I sensed that the answer was yes, and I wasn't really actually that worried about it, but my mother-in-law called that night and said, by the way, the answer is yes on both counts, you can marry her. And with Katie, yes, she can get married a year before finishing school. So God allowed us to do that. And I've shared this story before. We didn't have a lot. We had some, and it was a step of faith, but when it came to our finances and how we decided to use our finances for the Lord, tithing was never an option. A tithe is 10% of your gross income given to the Lord. And that was never a question. Ever since I was in high school, or at 14, income that I received. I gave 10% of all that I received to the Lord. You know, there's a biblical position for that. If we're going to the Old Testament as we look at this trip, because tithing, the basis for it, is found in the Old Testament scriptures. Abraham, who we've studied with today in the book of Genesis, in Hebrews 7 too, it says, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all. Okay, if I were to ask you, did Abraham tie off his gross income or his net income, the answer would be his gross income. 10 off of all his grandson Jacob did the same thing he decided by conviction that he was going to give 10% of everything to the Lord Genesis 22 verse 12 he said this stone which I set for All that thou shalt give me, okay, is that gross or net? That is gross. You guys understand the difference between gross and net? Gross is the big number, net is kind of the take-home. He says, of everything that you give me, and both times it states this very clearly, I will surely give a tenth unto thee. By the way, was that pre-law or post-law? That was pre-war. That was Abraham saying, God, I want to give you a tenth. That was Jacob saying, God, I want to give you a tenth. And so there are aspects of command that we'll look at in the scriptures tonight, but that was them deciding the part. God, I want to give a tenth back to you. And the message I want to preach this evening is the tithe is the Lord's okay the tithe is the Lord's and our text again Malachi chapter 3 verses 6 through 12 now if I had something that is yours and I were You'd say, you're a robber, you're a thief, and you'd rightly say that because if it's yours and I hold on to it and I refuse to give it to you and I'm taking it from you, I'm taking something that was not my own and act as if it was my own and I'm a thief. The interesting thing, and you've already seen it as we've read Malachi chapter three, is that is exactly what God concludes. As he speaks to Israel, he says this very strong statement that you have robbed me. And so my message tonight is this, you ought to do Okay, and that just makes sense, right? I think everybody here would hopefully agree with that. I ought to give God what is his, and I ought to do that willingly. So the question would be, in my heart tonight, is am I giving God what is rightfully his? And am I doing that willingly? All right? And I trust tonight that you have an open mind, if you don't tie it already, that you have an open mind about it, and see what the Word of God says, and say to God, God, okay, if this is biblical, then let you have your way in this area of finance. Father, I just pray that the Spirit of God would guide us tonight as we come to the Word of God and we look at this area of tithing and what it is. And Father, I thank you that there is a biblical basis for it. And Father, that there are some great and wonderful truths that this scripture gives about it. And I just pray tonight where finances can be a subject that's near and dear to our hearts. And Father, it ought to be something that in our hearts is near and dear to the heart of God. Lord, that we're concerned about what interests you with regard to what we have, because Father, as we'll see tonight, we're just stewards of what you've given to us. And so I pray that the Holy Spirit would work, and I thank God for our church. I'm thankful, Lord, our church is a teachable church, that there's a desire to follow God. And Father, all I want tonight is to present the biblical position about tithing in a way that anybody that hears it could understand the truth of the scripture, Father, to that end, I can't speak without your enablement. So I pray in the Spirit of God to give me liberty tonight to preach the truth of the Word of God. And Father, I pray for the authority that is vested in me, not because of who I am, but by the enablement of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the Word of God. And Father, you touch our hearts and give us grace to obey you. And Father, we'd be a New Testament church even as we looked at tonight already, as we looked at the Baptist instinctives, that a church that is very biblical in what we do, and that we do everything that we do to the glory of God, even in this area of time. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. All right, and so at the start, we're just gonna go through some things about God and some things about men. So we're gonna start with God tonight, because our text does, in verse six, and we start with God's character, all right? It says, God is Jehovah. It says in verse six, for I am the Lord. Okay, when you see Lord in the Bible, it's all caps. It's the name Jehovah. It's what God said to Moses when he made that opportunity for Moses to go and to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. It is the covenant name of God. It is the I am. And so, for I am the Lord. Recently, starting with Romans chapter 13, we talked about taxes, because we talked about the government, how we're gonna honor the government, and how we're to give what is rightfully theirs to them. But you remember that story that Jesus said to the men that came to him, asking him about paying taxes, and he said unto them, Who is this the image in the superscription on the coin? They say it is Caesar's. Then said he unto them, rendered therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. It says, there's a picture of Caesar on it, you ought to make sure that you give back to Caesar. But tonight, as we think about that, the image of Caesar was on that coin, but unto God the things that are God's. Whose image do we bear? Right, it's God's. And so if I had to ask you tonight, how much of this is God's? The answer is everything. You know what that includes? That includes my prayers, right? Everything that I have, I'm all with the price the Bible says, God is worthy of everything. So when we start tonight and we look at the fact that God is Jehovah, we just ask the question, how much is God worthy of? The answer is God's worthy of all, because he is a Jehovah. example the word of God about people that really gave generously to God but what's interesting is the Bible says that they first gave their own selves to the Lord They were great at giving because they were great at giving themselves to God. And I think I can say this tonight, that before you give God a tithe, you've got to give yourself to God. That there has to be a surrender of self that says, okay, I'm not my own, I'm bought with a price, therefore I'm going to put it on the altar like the Bible says, present your bodies to living sacrifice, fully acceptable unto God, which is a reasonable service. And until I do that, that God will not have access to what is in my purse. because I haven't first yielded myself to God, but I remind us tonight He's Jehovah, so He is the Lord. And as such, we're just a steward, not a possessor of money, but a steward of God's money. God is Jehovah. Secondly, God does not change. He says, I change not, okay? I change not. Now, if I ask, has God dealt differently with different dispensations, The answer is yes, but can I point this out? He's dealt the same also with every dispensation. How is somebody saved? They're saved by the blood, all right? They're saved by the way of the sacrifice that God accepts, and through that mediation, that priest, there is forgiveness of sins, there is cleansing. We've studied in depth this truth from the Old Testament and from the New. It's always been the way of the blood, it's always been the way of faith, and it's a people separated from sin unto God. That's always been the scene. And so God has not changed. It says, again, I change not. Now, some would argue this, that the Lord's day is not as significant as the Sabbath, right? The Sabbath was commanded. We talked a little bit about that this morning. Some would say that that timing was Old Testament, and we lived in the age of grace. In other words, that was then, and this is now. But I would point out this, that God has not changed, and therefore God's expectation has not changed. Why would God say the Old Testament's really important to have one day a week that is set aside for me? But now that we've been given Christ and the Son of God and salvation and the Lord's day aimed after Jesus Christ, why is that less significant than the Old Testament? I would argue that it has greater significance, ought to, to our church than the Sabbath ever had for Israel. Why would God desire the firstfruits of man's increase in the Old Testament But now that God has given to us so much, expect so little. You see what I'm saying? I think we've got to look at the Word of God and say, God has not changed. The third thing I'd point out about God is that God is merciful. Because he hasn't changed, he's emphasizing to them his mercy as he says, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. All right, they were in a good spot with God, they were in a bad spot with God, but God says it's okay because I don't change and I'm merciful, therefore you're okay, you've not been consumed. And sadly, a lot of times we look at Israel We look at their failures, right? I mean, that's just the children of Israel. Many times we see the ways that they disobeyed God and we learn from that. But you know, sometimes they succeeded. They did in giving at times as well. They succeeded in giving when the tabernacle was being built. Exodus 36 verse five says, they spake unto Moses saying, the people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded to me. Moses gave commandment and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp saying let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary so the people were restrained from ringing. Imagine that, I mean stepping out and saying that's it, God's people, you don't have to ring anymore. There's an overabundance, you know, and this happened at different times. We find in the Word of God they actually from giving, and yet as we come to this text in Malachi, they're at a low point, they have merciful God, yet God is seeking to get them to come back to a point of obedience. And it's kind of like this tonight, they can think that they're okay because God didn't destroy them, you know, but they weren't okay. They were in a position of disobedience to God. And somebody can think like this, right, I haven't tithed, I'm not tithing, and everything seems okay. But my point tonight would be don't think that God's mercy is God's approval, right? Don't think just because God hasn't really done something about it that God necessarily agrees with it, which Israel could have thought that, but it just had to do with the character of God. Psalm 50 verse 21 says that in this way, these things have that is altogether such a one as thyself, but I will reprove thee and set thee in order before thine eyes." And that could mean in any aspect of my life, I can think it's okay because God hasn't done something very aggressive about it, and yet His silence doesn't mean that He approves. He's gonna deal with these areas of disobedience. Okay, so we start with God's character. He's Jehovah, He's unchanging, and He's merciful. But secondly tonight, we see man's conviction. Conviction now we use conviction in a couple different settings. We'll use it in a court setting, you know, the judge convicted We'll use it in an individual setting where my conscience bothered me and I was convicted about it Okay, as we come to this text, both of those statements are appropriate. It's God as judge is convicting But they're not getting convicted. All right, they're resisting that conviction, but they should have been convicted because God accused them of of rebellion for not observing his word. Verse seven says, even from the days of your fathers, you are gone away from my ordinances. Okay, God's ordinances are God's law. And they hadn't brought up the standard. They hadn't grabbed a hold of what their fathers believed and understood from the Bible. They had digressed from that. They had gone aside from observing the word of God. Do-it-yourself projects are maybe something that you've been involved in during the COVID-19. I know we've done a lot ourselves. Ikea just opened up and at Ikea you I did that one time and I thought, you know, I'm a guy, I can see the bits that go together and I could just assemble it. And we did pretty well. And I got to the part where you put the cardboard backing on. It's black on one side, it's brown on the other like cardboard. And I looked at the cabinet and I put it up against the back of the cabinet, the sides are black, now the back is black and I thought that looks good. Well, the problem is they put that part against the wall, so you don't see that. So that could be whatever color doesn't matter. What matters is the inside of the cabinet, because now you open up the cabinet, it's got like a cardboard back instead of a black back. You know, I kind of looked at that and I thought, you know, I wish I would have observed the manual, right? Thought about it a little bit longer so that I did it right. God would say to us, the manual is there for a reason. There's a reason that we look at the word of God and see what God says, but I can say this tonight, it wasn't that they were just not observing God's word, but secondly, they were not obeying his word. You don't know these commands, but also he says, and have not kept them. Okay, God's word is not for knowledge, it's for practice. Just like that manual, why do they put a manual there? Is it so that you know how to put a cabinet together? Or is it so that you put a cabinet together? It's so that you put it together. It's the same with the Word of God tonight. God's Word is not just for information. God's Word is for practical instruction so that I can better serve and better please God. And so God says to them, he says, know my word, obey my word, and that's conviction. And that's conviction for us tonight. God's saying, look, know my word, what it says, and then do my word. And then he encourages them to repent. He says in verse seven, return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts. And that's God reaching out to them, saying, hey, I'll come halfway, I'll meet you right there. You come to me, I'll come to you. God says, I want restoration with you. I mentioned I read that biography this past week about Monroe Parker. It's a great biography. It's called My First 72 Years. But you know, he's a preacher, he's at a meeting down south in the United States, and he sent an old Confederate Civil War soldier in his 80s. stood up, and he said, I will just give a testimony. He said, I feel like it's not long before I'm going to cross over that Jordan. And he sat down. And at the end of the service, Monroe Parker said, you know what? That brother said he's getting close, and he was getting close to crossing over. And he said, why did he come up here and shake everybody's hand as everybody exits the building? Well, what he didn't know is there was another civil war soldier Civil War soldier there, also Confederate, but that these men hadn't spoken. They'd gotten in an argument several years ago, and they hadn't spoken for years. He says, those men came up, the one man went to go past this man, but as he did, they both ended up reaching out, and they embraced, and the church just melted, because it had been such a thing for years that they That is convicting, isn't it? If somebody says, I'm willing to get right, and God is saying to them, look, I'm willing to reach out to you if you will come to me. And so conviction tonight is hearing God say that. Conviction is understanding that God is reaching out, saying, look, this is something that needs to be considered and worked at, and I'm willing to reach out to you with that. But sadly, in our text, they're unwilling to accept God's accusation. What he was seeking to convict them about, they wanted none of it. And so the Lord says, but ye said, wherein shall we return? You know, sometimes when you read about the children of Israel, you think the name has to do with the way that they act, right? Sometimes, sadly, it's just like that child as a parent, and you're trying to instruct them, and you're trying to point out that there's a problem, but they'll have none of it. We live across from a play park here, and I heard recently a parent trying to get their child to go back home, and so the parent says, look, let's go get ice cream. Come on, let's go. We're not gonna win, all right? I'm hearing this take place, and they're just, you know, the bribery that's taking place and the hardening of the heart of the child. And the Bible says in Proverbs 29, verse one, he that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed in that without remembering. That tonight, even as the Spirit of God speaks, you're, see, sometimes when, you get to the Word of God, you think, well, I'm not gonna make a decision tonight, right? You think, I'm gonna make that decision in the future, but let me point out to us tonight, when I make that decision, I am deciding against God, right, instead of for God. If I know it's something that God wants me to do, and I say, no, no, no, not tonight, then I have effectively hardened my neck against God and said, God, I'm not gonna yield to you. And so the conviction here comes, but they are not ready to respond yet. And so we see God's character, man's conviction. And then we see man's crime. And so God says, OK, I'll make it very clear. And he's going to delineate the crime that they've committed. Verse 8. He says, Will a man rob God? Yet he hath robbed me. But ye say wherein have we robbed thee? Again, tithe is 10% of gross. Offerings are above that. It's the freewill offerings that the people gave as they brought stuff in for the tabernacle. It's going above and beyond even what God expects. And he says, you have robbed me in tithes and offerings. And we understand tonight that things get stolen, right, on earth. Prince Harry, they say that they've had to call out the police some nine times since they've been living in his neighbor's next to, I guess, Oprah Winfrey or wherever it is that they live, that they've had to call, and that there's this constant awareness that something could be stolen and theft could take place. But you know, the Bible says this in Matthew 6, 19, It says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust doth grow up and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth grow up and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Okay, God says you can't steal in heaven. So I have a question tonight. God said you robbed me, you robbed me of tithes and offerings. Where was that stuff located that was God's? And my point is this, that stuff is God's stuff, right? Because you can't steal from God unless it is possessed by God. There's some examples of that in the Bible. Remember Jericho? That city that God said, all the stuff in that city is mine. Now, later, God's gonna bless, and he's gonna say, you can take the spoil of these different cities as we go there, but that city, Jericho, is mine. Who violated that? Achan? What did he do? What did God do? God called into account, Israel suffered for it, but he had to come with his family. His family also knew it was theirs, so they had participated in that crime against God. And the Bible says that they killed them. Why? Because he took what was God's. Ananias and Sapphira, remember them in the New Testament? What did they do? They said, we sold the property for so much, and we're giving all to the Lord. Okay, as soon as they said that, we're giving all to the Lord. Whose was that? Once it's said, it's God's. Now they lied to the Holy Spirit because they said it was all God's. They weren't going to give it all to God. Once they said it was God's, it was God's. They didn't give it all to God. What did God do? They died. Ananias and Sapphira were both killed by God in a judgment against their hypocrisy and their lies. But also, can I point out, it was their theft. against God. I was reading a biography that we're reading as a family, and I hate the fact that I'm gonna do this, but it's a little bit of a spoiler. My kids couldn't plug their ears, I guess, because we're not to this point yet in the story. But Dr. Nelson's starting a church, and he's pastoring one of his first churches, and he realizes he needs to preach on tithing. And so he preaches, and he says the tithe is the Lord's. Afterwards, this man comes up, he pulls him aside, and he says, Pastor, you're gonna scare people away with that. He said, why don't we just start with 1%, and then we'll go to 2%, and then we'll go to 3%, and we'll just kinda slide it in until we get up to 10%. And Dr. Nelson's a wise man. He says, if you want me to tell the church that it's okay to rob God of 9%, then of 8%, then of 7%, then of 6%, Because that's still robbing God. Can I point this out tonight that no thief ever takes everything that somebody possesses? So if you're stealing, you're stealing a portion. of what that person is. So it doesn't matter tonight if I steal 1%, 5%, 10% from God, whatever it is, it's theft against God. And I'm just putting that out there for us to understand the strong statement that God makes when God says, ye have robbed me. The point being that what they've taken is God's possession. It was never theirs. What are the consequences of that, robbing God? Man's consequences. And so, verse nine, it says, he are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Okay, the whole nation had violated this. They weren't tithing and giving God what was God's, and so he says, because of that, he are cursed with a curse. You know, the Bible says in Matthew 6, verse 20, Again, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Can I say tonight, it's not just that they were stealing from God, but that God didn't have their heart. Because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And I can say that backwards. I can say tonight, where your heart is, there will your, It used to be said like this, show me a man's checkbook and I'll show you what that man loves. We would say it this way, today, show me your bank statement and I'll show you what you love. I can look at somebody's bank statement and I can say they love sports, they love holidays, they love wine, they love cigarettes, they love, I mean, you can list any number of things that is their God, that is their thing. How do I know that? Because their checkbook testifies to the fact of what they love. It's the same tonight with us. If we love God, there will be a very generous spirit in our hearts towards God and say, I'll honor God with the tithe, all right? So their sin is not just robbing God. is that they love things rather than loving God, and when that takes place, God is upset, but God is a jealous God, and God is gonna deal with that, as he does here with a curse. In Haggai, another minor prophet in the Old Testament here, he's also preaching to Judah about this area of not giving God what is God's, and he says because of that, there is a curse. In Haggai chapter one, verse four, he says to them, Is it time for you, oh ye, to dwell in your sealed houses, your nice house? In this house, God's house, lie waste. Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your waste. You have so much and bring in little. Okay, you're working so hard, you're not getting ahead. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you're not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there's none more. And he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. It's kind of like, you know, they're putting their money from work in their pockets, and it's just kind of frittering away. It's disappearing somehow, and they don't even realize why that is, but it's because they haven't put God first. Verse seven, thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. much and low it came to little and when you brought it home I did wall upon it why I said the word of hosts because of my house that is ways and you run every man to his own house therefore the heaven over you is stayed from her fruit, and I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of thy hands." Why was it so tough? Wasn't God their God? Yes, He was. But God was no longer honored as God. God's house was neglected. They didn't care about God's things. All they cared about was their own things, and because of that, God touched their things. And so he says, consider grace. Stop and think about it. Why is it not going somehow? Because of your curse. And so again, we're not surprised tonight to think if somebody's robbing God, is God gonna bless them for them? No. And so we need to understand that, man's consequences. But then fifth, I wanna look at God's command. God's command, verse 10, it says, bring ye, next word, all. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house. Okay, God didn't ask for some. Okay, again, I just remind us, God doesn't say half is okay, three quarters is okay. God says that the tithe is the Lord's and that And so in each dispensation, let me put this out for us as well, God has provided for his servants through the faithful giving of his people, always. The Levitical priests, they were provided for by the tithe. That's how God supplied his house, that's how everything functioned and kept going. And Melchizedek, Abraham gave him a tithe, why? Because that's how God provides for his servants. that takes care of them, it takes care of the building and whatever they've got that they're worshiping God. New Testament, the pastor, the missionary, the church, how is that supported? Through God's people. Okay, so that is always how God has done that. And so he says, bringing the tithe into the storehouse that there may be meat in my mouth. Now imagine this, that you're a child, father and he gives you money at a fair and he says go have fun but I want you to know use that generously because just come back and I'll give you everything that you need. Okay, that child runs away and he can either do this, trust his father and say, I'm just gonna be generous and I'm gonna, that kid wants to go on a ride, his dad didn't give him anything, so I wanna help him, be a blessing to him, because my dad said everything that I need, I can have, and I'm gonna go back to my dad, I'm gonna trust my dad and what he said, and my dad's gonna supply my need, or that child could be like this, oh, I'm scared that, you know, my dad's not really gonna give me anything, I'm just gonna hold on to this, I'm not gonna share it. I'm not gonna go back to my dad because I don't really believe that he's gonna meet my need. Do you see it? I mean, people could be like that. I could be that way with regard to God. And God has said, breaking the tide into the storehouse. And I can be somebody that says, I don't really trust the goodness of my father to care for me and meet my needs. So therefore, I'm gonna hold on to what I have, and I'm gonna treat that like that's my God, that that is meeting my needs, and I bow down to that instead of trusting in my Father to meet my needs, because He's good, and He's loving, and He's commanded me to give. Luke 6, 38 says, given it shall be given unto you. Good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you meet with all, it shall be measured to you again. Okay, if I give thimblefuls, I get thimblefuls. If I give cupfuls, I get cupfuls. If I give bowlfuls, I get bowlfuls. You see it, the same measure that you meet with all. God says that. I can't afford to give. There's just no way past. You don't understand. I can't afford to give. Well, the scripture has answers for everything. And there's a widow woman, and we know her because of the widow's money. And she's at the temple, and she's about to give. And Jesus says this in Luke chapter 6. He saw her about to put her two mites into the treasury. And he sees the rich men giving their money as well. And he said, of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God. But she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she hath. Now listen, if she couldn't afford to give, wouldn't Jesus have stepped forward and said, dear lady, you can't afford to give. Put that back in your pocket, you need that. What did he do? He said, this woman hath given more than them all. Now, another question for you. Did the disciples know what she had given? No. Did Jesus? Yes. Is God aware of what we give? Absolutely. And because he's aware, don't you think this, that that woman had her every need taken care of by God, because she had no way to meet her need herself, and Jesus knew that. You see it? That's a step of faith. Every time we give, there's gonna be that step of faith. I was at a financial seminar, and the believers, it was a group of believers, and they were budgeting. And I'll say this, I don't budget. well that's odd but I'll tell you what I do and that is this I give to God and I trust God to meet my needs and I get things that I need and I pray about purchases as a family the kids will tell you we often always pray about our purchases why because we're stewards of what God's given to us but God's promised to meet our needs if I honor God with the time but anyway I meant that Okay, they're budgeting, so you're saying when all your money goes, and I said, aren't you gonna put a box and say, tithe, 10%? And they kind of looked at me like, that's weird. You know, what are you saying? And I'm going, look, I don't do a budget, but if I'm gonna do a budget, in my budget, it's gonna be this. This is God's. Why? because that's what God's word says. And if I'm really gonna say where my money's going, I'm gonna understand that I'm gonna tie off of what God has given to me. You know, again, I say to us, God commanded the Old Testament saints to give. I'll tell you this, God has not commanded us New Testament saints to give, but God's expectation is that we'll give, not because he's commanded us, but because there is a desire in our hearts to give back to God of that which he has given to us. 2 Corinthians 9, seven, every being. so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity for God, mother and children together. God expects us not to be somebody clenched fist, oh I hate to give and now I'm gonna give. But somebody that says, hey, God's been good to me and I just wanna give back to God. You know, you go to those restaurants and they got the gratuity that they put on the bill if you got a big family. You know, and you get that, you're kinda like 15% or whatever. And I give it grudgingly. But I hope that when I give of myself that I'm more generous than what they expect. That's the way it should be, right? If it's commanded, that's one thing. But it's another thing for me to give to God, I might go above and beyond and say, God, you just blessed me this month, and I praise God that I'm able to give even beyond what you expect. But I would point out to us tonight that even though God has not commanded us to, that the tithe is still the Lord's, and that God desires us to obey him and honor him in our giving. But we see here, definitely, God's command. And so it comes down to this, man's considerations. What am I gonna do about that? You know, the tithe is the Lord's, God commands it, he's reaching out and saying, I want you to get right about this, Israel, okay, what do I have to think about now to make this decision? So God says, prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts. Okay, prove me. Again, if I'm gonna start, of my brothers. That's the next step of faith. Okay, so what assurance do I have? What is there that can help me with this? Well, God has said to test me. See, I can fail God, but God will never fail me. I might fall short, but God will never fall short. When you put God first, I'll point out to you, When you honor God with your money, God blesses your money. Matthew 6, 31. Therefore take no thought saying, what shall we eat, what shall we drink, wherewithal shall we be clothed? After all these things do the Gentiles say, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. The tithe could also be called firstfruits. It's saying, first thing I do with my money at the beginning of the month or whenever I get paid is I first give to God, and then I trust God to meet my needs. Now, if I ask you, is there a story in the Bible that teaches if you put God first, God multiplies what you have, the answer is yes. It's a woman in the Old Testament with Elijah. She's also a widow, and it's a famine. They're about ready to starve. They have almost nothing left. And the Bible, interestingly, says to Elijah, God said, I've commanded a woman in this village to sustain you, and she's a widow woman in Zion, or Zarephath. And here, Rose went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman He called to her and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little water and a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, she swearing before God, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruz. And behold, I'm gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said unto her, fear not, go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first. Now it's a faith test, but he makes it as easy as possible. Just make me a little cake, all right, first. And then the first is the key. And bring it unto me, and after make for me and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crucible of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon her. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days. It didn't waste. Why? Because the same God that multiplied the loaves and the fishes is the God that was watching I can't tonight scientifically say, here's the explanation, but I can't biblically say, here's the explanation. God is able to keep your shoes from wearing out, as he did with the children of Israel. God is able to get a coin out of a fish's mouth, as he did in the New Testament. He's the God that is able to provide. So what do I have to do? I've got to prove it. I've got to test it and say, okay, big faith step for me, but God will obey you and give tithes and offers. He said, prove me now herewith, if I will not open you the windows of heaven. Okay, has God allowed himself to be proved in the past? Yes. Gideon, right? Remember Gideon's fleece? I've got a fleece at home, on my chair, in my office. I'd love to get it out, set it out, and say, God, if you want me to do this, let it be wet with dew and dry, and you know, the whole story there. But listen, God hasn't commanded me to do that, correct? There's been other tests in the Bible. King Hezekiah turned the sundial back 15 degrees or whatever it was, and God did that, and that's amazing, and I love to sing. When sun go back, prove to me that what God said is true, but God hasn't told me to do that. But tonight, God has told us to prove it in this area of finance. We have an opportunity to test God and to see if God will keep his word. Now somebody might say, how could God open the windows of heaven? And that might remind you of a story as well, right? Because there was a prophet, again, I think it was Elisha this time, in 2 Kings chapter 7, and they were in a drought in Samaria, and the dung of doves was being sold for big money because they didn't have food. But Elisha said, tomorrow about this time, food's gonna be cheap. There was a man on whom the king leaned upon that said this, if God, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? Does that sound familiar? Because it put me down to earth, if I will not open windows of heaven, right? But he says, if God opens windows of heaven, might this thing be? He was a naysayer. The Bible says that he was trampled in the gate when the people ran out to get the wealth that the spore been killed by that angel, right? Or that fled because they heard the noise. I'm sorry, wrong story. They fled because they heard the noise. Tonight, in your heart, would you say, you know what? I'm gonna just trust God to open those windows of heaven. I gotta prove God and see what God is gonna do. And then God promises there'll be great blessing. It says, I pour you out a blessing, and there shall not be room God in man's debtor, does Jesus expect us to use what we have for him and that he's not gonna take care of us? Think about the disciples as Jesus preached in the boat with Peter. And he stood there, he proclaimed the word of God, take it out a little bit from the land, Peter obeying, and then the Lord knew that Peter had toiled all night and they'd not gotten any fish. What's he saying, Peter? Thrust down a little bit of the land, cast by them on the other side. The Bible says that as they brought it in, that the net began to break because of the great multitude of fishes that were in it. Who did that? God. And that's what the Lord has said here, isn't it? There's not gonna be room enough to receive it. It's not just this that I ought to just say, if I honor God with my tithe, God's gonna meet my needs a little bit. God's gonna meet my needs a lot of it. No, it may be a faith test where it takes time, and it's gonna be a process of over and over again trusting God, and yet God's word promises that God's gonna meet the need. There's gonna be two more things, great protection and evident provision. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast your fruit, but for the time to field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts. They were robbing God, it wasn't going well. But God says, get right, test me, prove me, and see the difference that it makes. You know, back when Katie and I got married, we moved to Michigan about a year after our marriage. I was worried about buying a house. I'd gone to college, and a lot of ministers had a house that was provided by the Church of Parsonage, but when they retired, they didn't have any equity, and retirement was tough. And so I wanted to buy a house, and I was praying a lot about that, really burdened about that. We get to Michigan, I'm an assistant pastor. There's a house that's available, we call it the Yellow House. It's cute, I mean, it's a beautiful ranch house that has a pond behind it. And we get into a contract to buy it, a no deposit contract. All we had to do was pay closing costs. And we had just enough, I think it was like $1,600 that we needed. But our church had a real need, and they took a love offering for the church. And I said to Katie, I believe God wants us to give $1,000 to them. We had $1,600, and that was for closing. I said, I think God wants us to do that. We prayed about it, decided God did. We gave it. God held the sale of that house up. There were some complications. God held it up until we had that money recouped so that we could pay that deposit. You know, in two and a half years, we sold that house, and there's a lot of stories, tons of stories of God's goodness, what we did, adding on to the house, splitting the property. But that property, in two and a half years, we profited when Michigan's economy was bad. $35,000 back then that we paid for our mobile caravan, the way that we traveled, to help support us as we started Devotation, to come over here and do what God's called us to do. that you give to somebody that's getting married, my biggest financial advice would be to them, tithe. Tithe. The tithe is the Lord's. Honor God with your finances. You know, tonight, as you think about this, what is God speaking your heart about? You know, is he reaching out tonight with his conviction saying, the tithe is the Lord's? The tithe is the Lord's. And then the question to us is, am I gonna test God about this? Am I gonna prove God and say, you know, this is the way it's been in the Bible. 10% of gross is given to God. It's a decision of the heart of that person to say, I'm gonna honor God with this. It's a big decision, but am I gonna honor God with it? and do that. And if tonight the Spirit of God spoke to your heart to do that, would you take that faith step and say, okay, I'm going to step into that. Now, I want to say this. God could be speaking to your heart about salvation tonight. God could be speaking to your heart about baptism tonight, or other things. But whatever the Spirit of God is speaking to the heart of God, I just pray tonight that you'll yield What I want to do tonight is just give you a minute just to pray in your heart. If the Spirit of God spoke in your heart about tithing, and you're impressed in your heart that, you know, this is in the Bible, this is what God says, it's a big decision, but I want to honor God. I'm not going to ask for a raise of hands tonight. I have no desire as pastor to know in our church who tithes, who doesn't. That's between you and the Lord. But I just say tonight, Would you make a covenant with God and say, okay, God, I don't know how this is going to work, I don't know how things are going to turn out, but by your grace, I'm going to trust you and I'm going to trust your word, as we saw tonight, and you promised to meet my needs if I will obey you in this area of Thailand. I just want to give you 30 seconds or a minute here, just in quietness, to covenant with God and say, okay, God, I'm going to do that if there's Father, help us to realize tonight who butters our bread, who provides for us, who makes it possible so that we can put food on the table, who pays our bills, who gives us a good job, who directs us, who helps our car to run well. Father, it's not that we won't have problems as a believer. There's gonna be financial tests. There's might be times where things reverse because we're being tested. Are we gonna continue to honor God or not? But Father, if we'll be faithful, Father, I just pray tonight that as a church, you'd have us financially. The reason is, where a treasure is, there will be a heartbeat also. And Father, if you don't have a treasure, you don't have a heart. And so I just pray tonight for surrender, and it might be a decision that somebody has to come to later. But Father, I pray it'll be a definite decision, because if it's not a definite decision, when it comes time to die and things look tight, it's not gonna happen. But if it's a decision, then it's gonna be put in the offering box for God's use, and Lord, that faith step is gonna be taken. And Father, I pray that we'd have a group of people in our church that know the blessing of tithing to encourage younger believers to obey God and honor God and see what God will do. And Father, in missions too, we wanna be very generous in tithes and offerings so that we support our missionaries well, so that as a church we can send The missionary's out giving the gospel. Father, I pray as pastor, for anybody that'll take a step of faith, I don't even have to pray because the promise is true. We don't have to pray because you promised to meet with me. And so I just pray, Spirit of God, may our church realize that and understand that and be blessed by it. is in Christ and you pray, amen. Let's stand and sing, and I think the invitation is I surrender all. I mean, that's part of what we're thinking about tonight, isn't it? That even in areas of finance that we yielded to God. So let's stand and sing, yeah, I surrender all. And I'm gonna be shuffling papers here trying to find it. All right, all to Jesus. All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. I surrender all. I surrender all. think about that fourth verse when I say I surrender myself that's me saying hands off God it's yours and so do with it as you see fit and certainly we want God to do that tonight so first Jesus, I surrender. Lord, I give myself to Thee. Fill me with Thy love and power. Let Thy blessing fall on me. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee, my precious Savior, I surrender all. Amen. Father, we just pray that with your heart tonight, we surrender all. Thank you for our church. Thank you for the good attention to the word of God. Bless us now as we fellowship in the event and put things away and get on our way. May everybody have safety tonight in their travels. And Father, continue the good work that you're doing in our church. It's in Christ that we pray. Amen.