"Shall A Man Rob God?"

"America has thousands of churches! There are some in Cathedrals,Small Chapels, Storefronts, Private Homes and Warehouses. Some of these churches are denominational and some are not, some are traditional and some are very unique, and finally some are growing andunfortunately MANY are DYING! There are a lot of churches, ministries,and Christian Centers that are on life support spiritually. Why? I believethe question is on the hearts and minds of many Pastors and church members, and the answer is available... BUT can we handle the TRUTH?The truth is something most Christians avoid like the plague! Why? Ithink we (Christians) would rather blame the devil for things that are really our fault and responsibility. Is the devil our enemy? Of course heis! But WE reap what WE sow. The church preaches a lot about sowing and reaping, especially when it comes to money and wealth. If you read the verses in Malachi 3 about tithes, read carefully! It wasn't the people God was rebuking, IT WAS THE PRIEST! But many churches lay this on the members and yet they don't practice what they preach. The church is SUPPOSED to help the poor... not rob the poor!

Tithes in theOld Testament were not JUST for the priest! The Levites, The Strangers(homeless), The Widows, and the Fatherless ALL benefited from the tithe.Local churches are supposed to make an impact on the communitiesthey are in by GIVING back, (Matt. 5:14-16) Sinners should have to even confess and admit that the Church in their community makes a difference in the neighborhood! I want to give you ten answers to theQUESTION! "Why is my church dying!" Hold on to your hat the answers may shake up your traditional thinking... and make youTHINK!" It is not a sin to think outside of the box of tradition... it is a sin to stay ineffective.There is nothing wrong with having a storefront church! But if after 20 years your storefront church still has the same 12 members, you need to padlock the door and admit your church is dead! Saints should beget saints, we were saved to lead others to salvation in Jesus Christ!

It is not enough to have a nice edifice! Churches HAVE to aggressively share the Gospel of Jesus in their communities AND minister to it's poor.This is the primary reason Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the church, so we could preach the Gospel and make disciples (students). Too often pastors want everyone to embrace and support HIS vision, but he forgets that others vision (purpose) helps support the church as well.Every Pastor NEEDS an EVANGELIST in their church to bring people toChrist so the PASTOR can nurture them, The TEACHER make them disciples and helps them go from milk to meat. The PROPHET inspires people to press into the perfect will of God. It is not a prophet's job to "see" new cars in your future!

No Christian can be cursed for not tithing or claim blessings because of tithing today. It is a contradiction of sound hermeneutics. One cannot be positionally "holy, just, perfect and sinless" in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ while, at the same time, being "cursed" for not tithing! Christian spiritual principles are new covenant based on better promises (2 Cor 3:9-10; Gal 5:18, 22-23).

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

If Malachi 3:10 were the only text in the Bible which discussed the conditions of God's blessings and curses, it would appear to be exactly what God is saying. However, such a singular "test" is out of context (and even out of character) will all of the other conditions required for receiving God's "overflowing blessings" in the Old Testament.