Malachi 3:6-15
Verse 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 there will not be room enough to store it.
As we come to the end of our discussion about moving beyond the basics of faith into the depths of relationship with the God of the universe, we have one more thing we can’t ignore. This is a topic where we as a church have allowed too much of the world’s influence. Pastors don’t preach on this topic very often, maybe because people complain about it if they do. Sadly, it isn’t only those who are fringe believers who complain and from our passage today we can see this lack of talking about it, isn’t a modern day issue.
We would all agree the church building and ministries could not function as well if there were no funds coming in to pay the bills. Sound and media systems have become a very vital part of our services and yet neither could function without electricity. Some may say we could just use the hymnals instead but without lights, we would be hard pressed to read the music and words. While all that is true, we need to remember that this isn’t just about money, it’s about our finances and our faith.
When God was talking through Malachi, He wasn’t simply talking about the people tithing. The Lord knew their hearts, it wasn’t so much that they were not giving enough, they didn’t see the need to share their money with God. Their view of wealth had become based on what they had and what they could hold onto. The focus was solely on the money.
What God was trying to get them to understand is that it isn’t about how much we can amass in this world, in fact it isn’t about us and if we were truthful it isn’t our wealth. That is the thing God is wanting them to understand, everything they had was from Him, they wouldn’t have anything if it wasn’t for Him. All He is requesting is that they give a little bit of what they own back and maybe hoping they will come to see all they have is His and seeing themselves as stewards of what He has given.
The truth is this isn’t just about the things or money we have, this is about us. When we live our lives and don’t seek to grow deeper in our relationship with Him – when we don’t go beyond the basics – we are in essence telling Him, He can only have a percentage of us, when in truth He created us and bought us, so we are all His. We need to learn to live like it, willingly going deeper and deeper in our faith life. We need to truly live out our name as Christian.
Making It Personal
How surrendered are you to God? What does your level of seeking Him reveal about the level of surrender? Are your finances also surrendered?
Making It Personal Kids
What does it mean to you that God owns everything? Do you live like you are His? How can you learn more about how He wants you to live?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess that we can become so consumed with the things of this world that we forget everything we have is Yours. Give us the desire to know You more and to be all in for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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