Giving To God: A Revival Is Waiting  

Giving to God: A Revival is Waiting  

Malachi 3:6-12

Watch on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7QXpLPck7A

Now, some of you are thinking, “That’s an ambitious title,” and some, well in fact, most would say that it’s definitely a stretch.

However, the question that’s probably on most people’s mind at this point is, “Why is it important to talk about money in a worship service where we should be talking about spiritual things, and about our relationship with God?”

And I’m not wrong in this assessment.  (my experience)

But the initial question, and while this seems like a rational question, it misses the mark. Giving is a spiritual discipline, and one that is directly tied to both physical and spiritual blessings. (Energized to Engage)

In fact, most people think that talking about giving is done way too much, and there are some who will use these sorts of messages to justify never come to church, or worse, never consider the reality of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, and how belief in Him alone is what gets a person into heaven, and completely dismiss Jesus’s words saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)

But this topic is of extreme importance, and one that should not be dismissed, and should be taken to heart with all reverence.

And that is how I generally approach this subject. As you know, and which I have repeated often, this is the one subject that I do not like to talk about, because of how it has been so misrepresented, misused, and abused that it turns most people off.

So let me begin by saying that any and all teaching upon this topic should be done first for the furtherance of the gospel message, and second it should be for the people’s benefit to reveal God’s blessing when we give God’s way, and finally to see God move in miraculous ways within people’s lives and within the life of the church.

But, it should never be to help the church reach a budget goal to build bigger or better church buildings, or for the benefit of any leader.

In speaking to this very thing, that is, the giving of the tithe and offering, Jesus said to the religious leaders, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” (Matthew 23:23 NKJV)

Nowhere does Jesus make void the giving tithes and offerings, instead he said not to leave it undone, that is, to do it, only let’s make sure that the motives are right, and not neglect, that is, don’t let the weightier matters take a second place to your giving.

Also, we need to realize that the whole idea of giving the tithe, offerings, and alms, is mentioned throughout the Bible and multiple times by either word or concept. And all three ways of giving are to be done, and are a part of God’s law, but also remembering what Jesus said, that not one jot or tittle will pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away and all is completed (Matthew 5:18).

And so, this topic is vital to the life of every Christian, and I’ll show why in our time together.

Now, while I mentioned earlier the benefits of giving to God in how it furthers the gospel message, and how it benefits us when we do. But what I see in our passage from Malachi is what I see as a huge benefit, and that is if we want revival, we cannot leave this topic alone, and we must do it the way God ordained it to be given.

What I find interesting is that we often pray and desire a revival. But are we going about it in the right way? Do we know what is holding it back? Is there something practical that God says in His word that we’re not doing?

And while there are many things as to why we’re not experiencing a revival, there is something that God specifically points to saying, “Return to Me, and I will return to you.” And not knowing how, we like the children of Israel say, “In what way.”

And so, let’s read this section of Scripture, and we’ll actually look at two of the ways that God specifically brings out. The first way is what is often quoted in messages about our giving.

Read Malachi 3:6-12

Now, why do I say that when we give in accordance with God’s way, then revival will happen. It’s because it is directly linked to what the Lord says through Malachi.