Highway Robbery
Malachi 3:6-12
June 11, 206
Morning Service
Introduction
The day the church treasurer resigned the church asked the local grain elevator manager to take the position. He agreed under two conditions.
That no treasurer’s report would be given for the first year.
That no questions be asked about finances during that year.
The people were surprised but finally agreed since most of them did business with him and he was a trusted man.
At the end of the year he gave his report:
* The church indebtedness of $228,000 has been paid.
* The minister’s salary had been increased by 8%.
* The Cooperative Program gifts has been paid 200%.
* There were no outstanding bills.
* And there was a cash balance of $11,252!
Immediately the shocked congregation asked, "How did you do it? Where did the money come from?"
He quietly answered: "Most of you bring your grain to my elevator. Throughout the year I simply withheld ten percent on your behalf and gave it to the church in your name. You didn’t even miss it!"
As we look at the essence of what it means to have a closer walk with Christ, we must begin a careful examination of spiritual disciplines. Disciplines are those actions that draw you into a deeper walk with Christ. The first discipline we are examining is stewardship.
What is a steward? A steward is a person who manages the property of someone else.
Stewardship is God’s resources deployed through His people to mobilize His people to evangelize. – Stan Toler
Stewardship is one of those issues that people get several wrong ideas about. The first is that Jesus said very little about money.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke 1 out of every 6 verses deals with the topic of money. If you look at the parables of Jesus, 16 of 29 parables deal with money or finances. Jesus was very concerned about the topic of money but the question is why? It has been said that money is the root of all evil. Jesus seems to be more concerned about what our money is doing to us than what we do with our money.
The second is that the church shouldn’t talk about money. If jesus talked about money the church most definitely should deal with the issue. The problem is that most people do not understand the issue of stewardship. Stewardship is much more about the state of your heart than it is about the size of your wallet.
If you have your bibles with you this morning, I want to examine the stewardship issue with you. Open them to 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. Malachi 3:6-12
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. C.S. Lewis.
The very first thing that God says to His people echoes through the ages to today. I do not change. We live in asociety that tries to change the Word and character of god to make themselves more comfortable. God does not change. he is the same yesterday, today and forever. The fact is that we don’t want God to change or at least not parts of God’s chartacer. His love never changes, His mercy never changes and His compassion never changes. Why would His expectations for His people change?
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lammentations 3:22-23
II. The Crime against the LORD (8-9)
The Discovery Channel has a show called It Takes a Thief. The program uses the skills of two ex-burglars to help people imporve their home security. A deal is made between the thieves and the homeowners. The homeowners allow their home to be robbed, while they watch on closed circuit television, in exchance for a full security makeover of their home.
The best part of the show is watching the reactions of the homeowners as their house is broken into and robbed right before their eyes. The sheer dismay and distress over being robbed is seen up close and personal. Now if you’re like most people the thought of being robbed is something that you never really want to experience.
What if you were robbed, how would that make you feel? Some might feel angry and want to catch the thieves themselves. Some might feel insecure because their way of living had just been threatened. Some might feel violated because someone had entered your home and stole from you. No matter what you might feel there would definitely be some strong emotions involved.
Now how many of you would think of stealing from someone else. I thought that would get few responses. How many of you think that stealing is an ok practice? Again, not too surprising. How many of you would be willing to rob someone else? I figured the answers would remain the same.
Notice what God says to the people here in verse 8: "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?’ "In tithes and offerings. God is confronting the people with their lack of faith. They are stealing from God what is rightfully His.
How can this be, God doesn’t own that stuff we have, we own them right? Wrong. God is the one who owns everything in all of the universe. There was a special ritual that was performed in Israel called a Redemption ceremony. Every firstborn male child was to be reddemed by a sacrifice.
God owns everything that you have in your life.
• The paycheck that you get
• The house you live in
• The car you drive
• The money in your purse or wallet
• Your entire family
God owns it all you are the steward, the one who manages anothers property. God expects His people to give back to Him tithes and offerings. Tithe is 10% and offerings are above that. Notice that both are required and expected from God. God wants His people to support His work with what He blessed them with. We are blessed by God so that we can be a blessing to others.
God tells the people that they are under a curse. Well that is Old testament teaching and we live by the New testament so it doesn’t count. Look back at verse 6 again with me. God does not change nor do the principles of His Word.
The understanding of curse is simply God removing His blessing frm your life. This is huge. If God were to remove His blessing from your life, what direction would you life be headed. Note that the cure was two fold. The first level was a personal or individual curse and the second was on the community. Why is this? If God removed His blessing from your life, you would no longer be a blessing to others.
III. The Covenant with the LORD (10)
The portion of God’s share
Bring the whole tithe
The word tithe is actually Old English and it literally means one tenth. In other words, God is saying: I own it all. I want you to give back to me and my work 10% of what I bless you with. So, when you give your tithe it is not going to the church it is really going back to God and His Kingdom.
I have heard people say that they cannot afford to tithe. Everything you have flows from the hand of God. The reality is that you can’t afford not to tithe because tithing reveals the inner nature of your heart and it affects your relationship with God. It is a spiritual issue.
The Placement of God’s share
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse
God says to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. What in the world does this mean? The storehouse was the place where the needs of the temple were met. The last time that I checked we don’t have a storehouse here at the church but we do have a place where the needs of the church are met. Our storehouse is the general fund, that is the place where we keep the monies donated through the Sunday morning collections.
God says that tithes belong where? In the storehouse. There are a couple of problems with designating your tithe. The moment that you put a designation on that tithe you start telling God what to do with His money. Remember you are the manager of God’s resources not the owner. You do not have the right to tell God where it goes.
The Promise of God’s share
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
I can see some of you thinking that all of this tithing stuff is Old Testament and old law and we are no longer under the law. You would be absolutely right we are under the grace of Christ Jesus.
The promise of God does not change. Look at what God says near the end of the verse, test me in this. In other words, God is saying try this out and see what happens; see what I will do for you. God promises that if you give your 10% that He will open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing that you will not be able to handle. Not bad for just 10%
God has never broken a promise and He never will. The point is this, God is worthy of your trust and when you place your trust in Him you will never go wrong. Stewardship is not a matter of the wallet but rather it is a mater of trust. Stewardship is not a matter of money but rather is a matter of the heart. Stewardship is not a matter of gaining rights, but rather of doing what is right.
Do you trust God enough to put His 10% back into the storehouse? Do you have the faith to allow God to use you to help build His kingdom?
This morning in your bulletin there is a Storehouse Stewardship commitment sheet. As the praise team comes this morning, take a moment to prayerfully consider what it is that God wants you to do and fill out the sheet, drop it in the basket at the back of the church on your way out.
