AN UNUSUAL ROBBERY
Mal. 3:8-12
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A pastor of a country church was talking to one of his church members about tithing. He asked him, “Jim, if you had 100 horses, would you give 10 of them to the Lord?” The farmer answered, “Yes Pastor, I’d give 10 of them to the Lord.”
2. “Well, Jim,” said the Pastor, “If you had 100 cows would you give 10 of them to the Lord?” The farmer answered, “Yes Pastor, I’d give 10 of them to the Lord.”
3. Then the Pastor said, “Jim, if you had 10 pigs would you give 1 of them to the Lord?” The farmer said, “Now cut that out, Pastor, you know that I have 10 pigs!”
B. TEXT
8 “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the Lord of armies. 12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of armies.” Mal. 3:8-12 NASB
C. THESIS
1. This morning we’re looking at a very crucial issue in the life of believers: their willingness to give of their money to the Lord.
2. The title of this message is, “An Unusual Robbery.”
I. GIVING: KEY TO REVIVAL!
A. LONGSTANDING DISOBEDIENCE
1. Leonard Ravenhill wrote a book entitled, “Why Revival Tarries” about what is holding back revival in America. God says in Malachi 3 that the Israelites NOT paying tithes was roadblock to their revival.
2. In verse 7 God indicates their unfaithfulness was a longstanding problem, “From the days of your fathers you have gone away from my ordinances.”
3. No place does the position of our hearts speak louder than in our giving. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Mt. 6:21.
4. I heard how, when Roman Emperor Constantine commanded his soldiers to become Christians and be baptized, that many of them held their right hands out of the water so they could continue to fight with that hand. Likewise many Christians, when being baptized, in their hearts hold their wallets out of the water!
5. I maintain that if you REALLY get saved, your money will get saved with you! Someone has said that the most sensitive nerve in the body is the nerve connected to the pocket book.
B. BACKGROUND OF THE TIMES OF MALACHI
1. The Jewish people had just returned from captivity in Babylon, where they’d been prisoners for 70 years.
2. Their land was in ruins; the Temple destroyed; Jerusalem was a wasteland of broken stones; work was scarce; money was in short supply; all of them were in poverty. On top of this there was a drought and the crops were not growing.
3. Into this situation came God’s word through Malachi, saying, “You are robbing Me!” I can imagine the Israelites saying, “Can’t God see that we don’t have anything? We’re scrounging for food! We can’t pay our rent, we can’t buy new sandals for our kid’s, nor do we have enough grain to make a decent loaf of bread!” I’m sure they said, “I can’t afford to give anything!”
4. Have you ever heard that claim? Have you ever made that claim? The truth is, whatever our level of income or wealth, God expects us to give back to Him a tenth of whatever’s coming in.
5. ILLUS. We’re like a little boy named Billy. His mother gave him 2 quarters – one to put in the church offering and one for an ice cream cone. On the way to church Billy was flipping one quarter in the air and catching it. All of a sudden Billy missed the quarter and it rolled down a storm drain. Billy looked skyward and said, “Sorry God, I lost Your quarter!”
II. THE CHARGE: ROBBING GOD
A. HOW CAN “NOT GIVING” BE ROBBERY?
1. What is the tithe? One-tenth of all your income of whatever source. Lev. 27:30,32, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.... the tenth shall be HOLY to the Lord.”
2. WHY DOES GOD ASK US TO TITHE? 4 Reasons:
a. To remind us that we don’t own things, but that GOD IS THE OWNER of all things; Ps. 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Lev. 25:23 says, “...the land is mine and you are but aliens and My tenants.”
b. It recognizes GOD’S LORDSHIP OVER OUR LIVES. Deut. 14:23 says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives” Living Bible.
c. It reminds us of our future accountability to God. In parables Jesus spoke of our need to be “faithful and wise steward[s]” Lk. 12:42 and that you will “give an account of your stewardship” Lk. 16:2.
d. Tithing also serves the purpose of supporting the Church and the spreading of the Gospel.
B. ROBBING GOD? ARE YOU CRAZY?
1. We are weak and He possesses all power! He is omniscient and we can’t conceal anything from Him.
2. ILLUSTRATIONS:
a. Like the purse snatcher who grabbed a purse, rushed through a crowd and darted into the first doorway to hide. That doorway happened to be a police substation and he ran right into the arms of a policeman!
b. Or like the home robbing thief, running from the police, who ran into the woods at night. The problem was he was wearing “Nike Light” tennis shoes that light up with every step. So he could never get away because each step gave away his position!
C. RESULTS OF ROBBING GOD: A CURSE!
1. Mal. 3:9 says, “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me!”
2. The Spiritual Law of Scarcity kicks in, “He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.” 2 Cor. 9:6
3. EFFECTS OF THIS CURSE IN ISRAEL: famine (no rain), unseasonable weather (earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, excessive heat or cold), insect infestations.
4. A well-known philanthropist was asked, “How is it that you give away so much and still have so much left over?” He answered, “I shovel out and God shovels in and God has a bigger shovel than I do.”
III. REWARDS OF GIVING GOD’S WAY
A. 3 SPECIFICS OF GIVING GOD’S WAY
1. “ALL THE TITHES.” This indicates that they had brought in SOME of the tithes, but not ALL. This is similar to Ananias & Sapphira who “kept back part of the price” (Acts 5:3), pretending they could not spare so much as required.
2. WITHOUT DELAY. [Lev. 27:31 says that if we don’t tithe something then we owe 20% extra!] There was a miserly member of a rural church who pledged to donate a calf when the calves were born in spring, but he didn’t. He also started avoided church. One day he passed by the church and they were singing, “The Half Has Never Yet Been Told” but his guilty conscience heard them singing, “The Calf Has Never Yet Been Sold!” He went and sold the calf and donated the money! [Walter Knight’s Treasury, p. 143]
3. “TO THE STOREHOUSE.” The “storehouse” was a part of the Temple = local Church. The Church is the distribution center. We’re not to give our tithes to charities, Tv preachers, or missionaries. “Offerings” may be given to whoever we like, but the “Tenth” – tithes – belong to the Church. Tithing is the only promise about which God said, “Test Me and see!”
B. ILLUS.: “I CAN’T AFFORD TO TITHE!”
1. A wealthy man spoke to the Pastor after he’d preached about giving 1/10 of income to the Lord. The man said, “I make $100,000 but I can’t afford to give $10,000 to the Lord!” The Pastor said, “How much can you afford to give?” The man said, “$2,000.”
2. The Pastor said, “Let’s pray. ‘Lord I ask you to lower this man’s income to $20,000 so he can pay his tithes. Amen.’” The man said, “Don’t pray the Lord will lower my income! I’d rather make $100,000 and have $90,000 left over than make $20,000 and have $18,000 left over!” Which would YOU rather? Mal. 3 tells of the...
C. SEVENTH-FOLD BLESSING OF TITHING
1. The Church will be provided for; “meat in My House.”
2. Will “Open the Windows of Heaven” – Access.
3. Overflowing blessing: Lk. 6:38, “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over... will be measured back to you.”
4. “Rebuke the Devourer” devouring your health, your car, your money, etc.
5. “Crops protected.”
6. “Your fruit will reach maturity.” John 15:16, “I chose you...that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”
7. “All nations will call you blessed!”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUS. #1: PIGTAIL CHRISTIANS
1. Missionary Fred Paton of the New Hebrides told how the Christians of Matmissa were getting slack in giving. Rev. Weir preached on giving to them, and reminded them of their former practice in heathen worship of sacrificing to Epi, how they cut off a pig’s tail & offered it to the spirits as their share of the feast.
2. Weir referred to the slacking believers as “Pigtail Christians” who kept the best for themselves. He said, “God doesn’t want the offerings of Pigtail Christians!” This saying became a common reference to those who didn’t pay tithes! [Knight’s New Illus., p. 247]
B. ILLUS. # 2: EX. OF GIVING TO GOD FIRST
1. W.L. Douglas, the shoe manufacturer, is nationally known. At one time early in his life, he was down to his last dollar. He was in a church service when the basket was passed. He decided to trust the Lord and gave half of it - $.50 in the collection.
2. The next morning he heard of a job in a nearby town, but the train fare was $1. To all appearances it seemed like it would have been better if he’d kept his other $.50.
3. Nevertheless, he bought a ticket half-way to his desired destination, intending to walk the rest of the way on foot. When he arrived at the halfway town, he heard of a factory that was hiring and within 30 minutes was hired making a lot more money than he would have made it he’d made it to his destination! [Paul Tan, “Encyclo. Of 7,700 Illus.", #1861]
C. THE CALL
1. If Malachi lived during Nehemiah’s time (13:12), they heeded his call and brought all the tithes in and were blessed.
2. The most important thing is to GIVE YOURSELF TO THE LORD. 2 Cor. 8:5, the Macedonians “first gave themselves to the Lord." If you’ve given yourself to the Lord, please stand.
3. Take out your billfold or pocket book (money clip) and hold it in your hand. Let’s pray together, “God, today we dedicate not only our hearts but also our material possessions to You. Be Lord of my money and help me pay my tithes and give offerings as you have commanded, in Jesus name, Amen.”
