It Really Is (almost) All About Money - Part 2
Written by Ed Allen
Sunday, 28 June 2009 09:00
What does money have to do with relationship? What does it have to do with God? Join us as well look at God’s claim, challenge and consequences.
You can pay now, or you can pay later!
Today’s Passage: Malachi 3:6-12
6“I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
1. The Claim that God makes: God is robbed when we don’t give all the tithe
- God’s command in Numbers regarding offerings (Numbers 15:1-21; 18:8-32; 28)
- Money isn’t about money but about relationship and priority
2. The Collateral Damage: Things do not go well when we don’t give
- Deuteronomy 11:26-28
- Curse = inevitable outcome or God’s “behavioral response,” God’s judgment
| % of givers | % of giving |
|---|---|
| 20% | Approx. 80% |
| 30% | Approx. 20% |
| 50% | -0- |
3. The Challenge: Test God by giving
- Malachi 3:10 “‘Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty...”
4. The Consequences: God will bless you
- God is not a banker. He does not promise us that He will give us everything that we want. But He does promise us that He will give us what we need.
- Malachi 3:10 “...‘and see if I will not throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.’”
What about us?
- What should I give? ... 10% is God’s prescription.
- When should I give? ... Always.
Our giving is an indication of our heart toward God.