Testing God

“TESTING GOD” Malachi 3:7-10

FBCF – 9/19/21

Jon Daniels

INTRO – What’s most outrageous thing you’d do to win $10k? Chicago radio station contest several years ago. Winner – Guy from Indiana who ate an entire 11-ft birch tree, leaves, roots, bark, & all. Wore a tux, sat @ elegant table w/ candles & a rose & used pruning shears & put French dressing on the birch tree salad. Took him 18 hours over course of 3 days. Money makes people crazy sometimes!

Heads up! We’re talking about money today. Interesting that lots of folks don’t want you to do that in church. Talk about it everywhere else, but don’t talk about it in church. Some make the FALSE claim that every time they go to church, the preacher is always talking about money. Cop-out by folks who just don’t want to go to church & come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Truth is that Jesus taught a lot about money. Several of His parables dealt directly with money. Lots of verse in the NT deal w/ money. It’s clear that it’s a subject that needs to be addressed in our lives. Why? 3 negative reasons & 3 positive reasons:

- It can become our god – Rich young ruler

- It can damage our lives – Greed is a vicious sin – “Greed brings grief to the whole family…” (Proverbs 15:27 NLT)

- It can lead us to make some bad decisions – “The love of $...” – 1 Timothy 6:10

- It can be used to bless & help others.

- It can deepen our faith in the Lord & His provision.

- It can help us spread the Gospel.

So, today, we’re going to talk about $, specifically tithing & giving to the Lord’s work through the local church.

- Mama w/ Rickey Blythe’s notes in her Bible

EXPLANATION – Malachi 3:7-10

Most familiar passage on tithing in Bible. Background:

Malachi – OT prophet – Prophet’s job: Be God’s spokesman to the world. Required to deliver God’s message, no matter what it was – message of hope, judgment, impending disaster, repentance, restoration.

Malachi was used by God to call God’s people to repentance in a variety of areas: The priests had become corrupt; the people’s worship had become routine; divorce had become widespread; vulnerable people being abused & oppressed; & tithing had become neglected.

“tithe” – Root meaning of the Hebrew word means “10” or a “10th part.” No place in OT where it doesn’t mean this. 10th of anything – money, cattle, grain. So to tithe your income is to give 1/10 of it to the Lord.

God’s call on our lives today is the same as it was for His people in the OT: To seek Him w/ all our hearts – to strive to honor & glorify Him in every way - & to live a life of faith.

APPLICATION – Tithing & giving increases our faith in God’s provision in our lives.

Make a statement – Ask a question – Look @ Scriptures – then close by going back to the question.

The Christian life is a life of FAITH – Every aspect of our lives should reflect our faith in God. We are saved by faith…walk by faith…worship in faith…pray in faith…follow Jesus in faith…give by faith – not by compulsion or guilt-trip.

Is tithing a practice for Christians today?

People all over the map on this one – all the way from accusations of it being a false teaching b/c tithing is an OT principle to an absolute command to be obeyed or you’ll go to hell.

Since tithing is an OT teaching, let’s look at what is said about it. Dozens of passages about it throughout OT. Focus on 4:

GENESIS 14:17-20 – This is the 1st place we see tithing practiced. Abraham coming back from a bruising, bloody war. He had come out victorious & was coming home w/ the spoils of war – captured slaves & soldiers, food, wine, grain, livestock. Encountered Melchizedek, King of Salem. We know from NT teaching in Hebrews that Melchizedek in the OT is a type or representation of Jesus Christ in the NT. Don’t know a lot about him, other than when he blesses Abraham & praises God for the victory in battle, Abraham voluntarily gives him a tithe of all the goods he had collected in the victory. No one told him to do it. There was no teaching in the Law about it b/c this was about 400 years before the Law was given. He simply gave it b/c he recognized that it was GOD who had given him the victory in battle & Melchizedek represented God. It’s important for us to note that the first tithe given was not connected to the Law at all. It was simply & profoundly a voluntary response that was willingly & gladly given as a response to the goodness & faithfulness of God.