God and Money Malachi 3:7-12 Three Observations: 1. Many people - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

God and Money

Malachi 3:7-12

Three Observations:

• 1. Many people have grown up in a church

environment with a lot of pressure to give financially.

February Giving:

Name Service Amount Peter Jones 5pm $850.00

February Giving:

Name Service Amount Peter Jones 5pm $850.00 Caleb Thompson 7pm $275.00

February Giving:

Name Service Amount Peter Jones 5pm $850.00 Caleb Thompson 7pm $275.00 Luke Hukee (Pastor)

$25.00 & Box of Cheez Its

Three Observations:

• 1. Many people have grown up in a church

environment with a lot of pressure to give financially.

• 2. We love money.

Three Observations:

• 1. Many people have grown up in a church

environment with a lot of pressure to give financially.

• 2. We love money.
• 3. It is hard to preach about money.

Malachi 3:7-12

7 “Since the days of your fathers, you have turned

from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Hosts. But you ask: “How can we return?” “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!” You ask: “How do we rob You?

“By not making the payments of the tenth and the

• contributions. You are suffering under a curse, yet

you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord

• f Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of

heaven and pour out a blessing for you without

• measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that

it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Hosts. “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Hosts.

The Offer: Return to me

• God is unwavering in His pursuit of His people.

Malachi 3:7-12

7 “Since the days of your fathers, you have turned

from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Hosts. But you ask: “How can we return?”

James 4:7-8

7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil,

and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.

The Offer: Return to me

• God is unwavering in His pursuit of His people.
• God is unwilling to compromise.

How can we return?

The Problem: Robbing God

Malachi 3:7b-12

7b But you ask: “How can we return?”

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!” You ask: “How of we rob You? “By not making the payments of the tenth and the

• contributions. You are suffering under a curse, yet

you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.

Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts.

Two Reasons:

• Meet practical needs

Leviticus 27:30

27 One-tenth of the produce of the land, whether

grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy.

Two Reasons:

• Meet practical needs
• Demonstrate dependence on God

Israel’s Attitude:

I can follow God and still be in charge of my money.

Malachi 3:7b

7b But you ask: “How can we return?”

The Solution:

Trust me and obey me with your money.

Key Thought:

Your spending is spiritual.

Matthew 6:19-24

19 Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where

moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also

• be. Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your

• body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled

with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

“If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area of his

• life. Tell me what you think about money, and I can tell

you what you think about God, for these two are closely related. A man’s heart is closer to his wallet than almost anything else.” – Billy Graham

Malachi 3:10-12

10 Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there

may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without

• measure. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it

will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,”

says the Lord of Hosts. “Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Hosts

Do we have to tithe today?

• 1. There must be a clear winner in your heart

when it comes to God and your money.

Matthew 6:24

24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate

• ne and love the other; you will be devoted to one

and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do we have to tithe today?

• 1. There must be a clear winner in your heart

when it comes to God and your money.

• 2. The only way for there to be a clear winner

is to give generously.

2 Corinthians 8:9

9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus

• Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He

became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.

Do we have to tithe today?

• 1. There must be a clear winner in your heart

when it comes to God and your money.

• 2. The only way for there to be a clear winner is

to give generously.

• 3. The tithe serves as a biblical model for giving.

Christians Today: 2.5% Christians During the Great Depression: 3.3%

Do we have to tithe today?

• 1. There must be a clear winner in your heart when it

comes to God and your money.

• 2. The only way for there to be a clear winner is to

give generously.

• 3. The tithe serves as a biblical model for giving.
• 4. The biblical pattern is to give first to the place

where you are being shepherded.