FAITHFULNESS IN GIVING
We hope today’s message was encouraging and helpful. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a Bible/sermon group study. Enjoy!
Main Scripture: MALACHI 3:6-12 NLT
In Malachi's day, the people were half hearted in their worship and faithfulness towards God. In our scripture today, God exposes yet again another area where they walked in disobedience, in there lack of tithes and offerings to the Lord. Their lack of obedience and trust wasn't just hurting the ministry at the temple but the entire nation. But God in His mercy, despite their debt, promises blessings, if they repent.
Notes:
Malachi 3:6-12
V. 6-7 God’s faithfulness and the people’s rebellion
V.6-7 God begins by appealing to his unchanging character (Immutable), implying His faithfulness to the covenant he made to Jacob and his descendants (becoming a great nation and bringing about a King who would rule forever, which is Jesus). Meanwhile, the people had not been faithful. God calls them to return, inviting them to repent, but the people fail to recognize their sin; they act ignorant to God’s correction and overlook their wayward ways.
V. 8-9 God confronts them as cheating or robbing Him and the consequences of the offense. (Table Illustration)
V. 8 God has exposed their insulting so-called worship (1:4); their treachery against one another (2:10), especially their wives (2:14); their profaning the Lord’s sanctuary by intermarriage with pagan idolators (2:11); or their toleration or practice of sorcery, adultery, perjury, and economic exploitation of the defenseless (3:5)...Now, God brought to their attention another area in which their rebellion against Him was manifesting itself—the withholding of tithes…C. J. H. Wright calls this “the economic angle.” That is, Israel’s attitude toward and use of their possessions was one indication of the health of their relationship with God. Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 414). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
V. 8 What is a tithe? The tithe was literally a 10th of all produce and livestock which the people possessed (Lev. 27:30, 32). A tithe was to be given to the Levites who in turn were to give a tithe of the tithe to the priests (Num. 18:21–32). The Israelites were also to bring a tithe of their produce and animals and eat it with the Levites before the Lord in Jerusalem as an act of festal worship (Deut. 12:5–18; 14:22–26). Also every third year a tithe was to be stored up in the towns for Levites, strangers, widows, and orphans (Deut. 14:27–29). [This would bring the amount to 20% yearly and 23% every three years] While the word “offerings” may refer to offerings in general, it seems to refer here (Mal. 3:8c) to those portions of the offerings (as well as those portions of the tithes) designated for the priests (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, s.v. “terûmâh,” 2:838). If the Levites and priests would not receive the tithes and offerings, they would have to turn to other means of supporting themselves. As a result, the temple ministry would suffer. Blaising, C. A. (1985). Malachi. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1584–1585). Victor Books.
V. 8 Why was this robbing or cheating God? God considered this robbing or cheating Him because the land and its produce belonged to Him. “Although God gave Israel the land as their inheritance, he made it clear that it was actually a stewardship: ‘The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me’ (Lev 25:23). Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 415). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
V. 9 We can conclude the curse is the devouring of crops by insects and disease and fruit prematurely falling off the branch. The whole nation is guilty of cheating and robbing God. The nation needed to respond corporately by making things right, by repenting. Better to live off 90% that is blessed than 100% that is cursed.
V. 10-12 The remedy is obedience, and the results will be blessings they can’t contain…
V. 10 God clearly communicates how they need to repent: bring all the tithes into the storehouse…Stop holding back…
The reference to the “storehouse” is to “an extended hallway divided into numerous rooms or cubicles … for storage of tithes consisting of grain, wine, and (olive) oil. Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 420). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Specifying “the whole tithe” suggests that many were either withholding part of the tithe or were bringing nothing. Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 420). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
If they do restore their tithing, God is clear about the results: there will be a great blessing, the windows of heaven will be open, and a blessing will be poured out so great it will overflow. God responds to our worship just as we learned last week. Whoever trusts and obeys God will experience the blessings of obedience. This is a fact for any area of our lives.
God says “Test me in this!” The only time in scripture where testing God is allowed is in trusting God with our income. Test me in this means to give God the opportunity to prove His faithfulness in response to our faith…Although it is wrong to test God with complaining, rebellion, and unbelief (Exod 17:2–7; Num 14:22; Deut 6:14–18; Pss 78:17–19, 40–42, 56–58; 95:8–9; 106:6–29), it is not wrong to test him with obedience, especially when he commands it. Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 423). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
V. 11 God will not only pour out, He will also preserve and protect their crops and make their labor and crops fruitful…He will forgive their debt in giving and pour out an overflow of blessings; that’s incredible!
God will rebuke or keep the devourer away, that is the insects and diseases from their crops. Additionally, their fruit will remain on the vine until harvest time. In other words, give the 10% and they’ll thrive in an overflow with the other 90%.
V. 12 This fruitful land would get the attention of surrounding nations and they would call them blessed. This ultimately brings glory and credit to God.
Application:
John Wesley said, “The last part of a man to be converted is his wallet.” Martin Luther said, “Every man needs two conversions: the first, his heart, the second, his wallet!”
In 2020. That was during the pandemic, and people were motivated to give like never before: $471 billion to U.S. charities, a 5.1 percent increase over the previous year…Across the country, those making less than $50,000 a year gave the highest percentage of their income (generous doesn't mean rich), and seven of the ten most generous states were in the South. The giving in 2020 was amazing, but it was a lower percentage than during the Great Depression in the 1930s, and in fact, giving rose 14.9 percent between 1930 and 1931, when the outlook for the economy was particularly bleak.” The Generous Life, pg 44
There are 500 Bible passages about prayer and 618 about faith. 2,350 Bible passages are about money.
If you make $38,000 a year you are in the top one percent of wealth in the world. The richest people in the world are in the top one-tenth of one percent.
Twenty-five percent of the people who attend church give nothing. Five percent are regular givers, and they give an average of 2.5 percent of their income.
Those who start to tithe usually don't stop at ten percent; they often go on a generosity journey and climb up to twenty percent. If everyone who attends church in America tithed, it would provide an additional $165 billion for the cause of Christ each year. With that money, we could alleviate world hunger, provide clean water, eliminate illiteracy, and fund every missionary. The Generous Life, pg 45
Money tends to hold a firm grip on us. Love of money and materialism often go hand in hand and become two vices to contend with. Maybe money and wealth hold such a tight grip on us because it is usually earned with hard work and with that effort and time comes the possessive attitude, “it’s mine”. But we often forget that everything we are and have is because our creator gave us the means and opportunities to do so. If we’re going to love God with all our heart…If we say God can have our hearts, then we need to be willing to let God have our money, too. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Giving to God is a matter of the heart.
God calls us to worship and honor Him in every area of our lives, including our income
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.
2 Corinthians 8:7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
Giving faithfully and generously reflects and glorifies God’s generous nature.
God is a giving and generous God, and since we are being made more and more like Him through our spiritual growth, we, too, should be generous in our giving.
I’ve been compelled by God to ask you to evaluate if you have a giving heart? Giving is like a muscle, and we grow in our giving by giving. God is a giver, and His Spirit lives in you.
Giving faithfully and generously to the Lord promotes spiritual maturity
We grow in our trust in God
We become better stewards and managers of money
We grow in our gratitude. Giving to the Lord and His work is one of the most important ways we can acknowledge and express gratitude for God's generous love toward us.
The sinful human tendency to disconnect the gift from the giver (Deut 6:10–12)... So if they should be tempted pridefully to say, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me,’ they were to remember that it was Yahweh their God ‘who gives you the ability to produce wealth…Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 418). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
We grow in our giving and counter the fleshly propensity to be greedy and stingy
The truth is that we need the discipline of stewardship and giving, not God. We need this discipline to promote gratitude over taking what we have for granted, generosity over greed, trust in God instead of security in wealth and possessions, and stewardship over waste. God owns everything and has heavenly riches we couldn’t fathom.
Our giving goes to the priceless worship of God and work of the gospel
Christian giving gives money an eternal purpose and profit.
In the OT, tithes and offerings above tithes were collected for three primary needs: 1) Temple worship. 2) Provision for the ministers, the Levites, and priests. 3) Lastly, offerings for the poor and needy.
Today, Christians give to the storehouse of the church for worship, providing for the needs of ministers (Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 Cor. 9:14; Heb 13:7) distribution of help for believers (Gal.6:10; Acts 6:2; 2 Cor. 9:12), help for our community and reaching the lost Luke 14:13-14).
Compared to the OT giving for temple worship, the opportunity and need to give today is greater because the gospel has opened the door wide to reaching all people, locally and globally. We build the kingdom of God by investing in ministry schools to equip ministers and workers for ministry, planting new churches, starting community outreaches, and providing for missionaries. This requires more than a few giving believers and more than 10%. To build God’s kingdom here will require sacrificial and generous giving above and beyond. I call this Kingdom Builders.
Joyfully give a portion of your income for the worship and work of the Lord
In the OT, three different tithes were mentioned that totaled approximately 23%.
In the New Testament, we are guided to give proportionately to your income:
1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
2 Corinthians 8:11-12 …Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
The NT says to give proportionately or generously. Determining what is generous is difficult. Some Bible theologians believe that New Testament giving is more than 10% because the church showed radical generosity by selling land and homes (Acts). Jesus praised the widow at the temple who gave all she had, which if calculated today, was $1.88. Zaccheus vowed to give four times what he had cheated people and half of his possessions to the poor. The Macedonians gave above and beyond:
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. 3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
Tithing. I find the tithing principle to be the most practical way of calculating proportionate giving and a great starting point for your journey of generosity. Keep in mind that, before the law, Abraham and Jacob (Gen. 14: 18-20; 28:22) both tithed 10% of their wealth to express gratitude and faithfulness to God. I encourage following their example!
Sir John Templeton is the founder of Templeton Investments. He has a long track record of investment counseling, and he noted, "I have observed 100,000 families over my years of investment counseling. I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn't." The Generous Life, pg 54
I also think we make a mistake if we put a ceiling on giving at 10% and neglect the opportunity to give above and beyond. Jesus addressed this issue in Matthew 23:23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.” We should give a set amount to the Lord’s work on a weekly or monthly basis but steward our finances in a way where we can be extravagant and generous when a need arises in or outside the church.
The Lord promises to bless the obedient and generous giver
This is a promise stated both in the Old and New Testament covenants.
Proverbs 11:24-25 says, " Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
2 Corinthians 9:8-11 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” 10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. 11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.
God doesn’t bless the generous so they will be rich; God blesses the generous because they will be generous!
In his book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn said, “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving.”
“Those who are the most generous usually aren't the ones who give a lot out of their abundance. They're the people who give so much they must make significant adjustments in their lifestyles. They count the cost and conclude it's worth it.” The Generous Life, by Rob Ketterling
Close: Where is your heart on this subject? Are you a giving person? Are you gripping tightly onto money but saying God has your whole heart and life? Does God have your heart or do your material possessions and desires have your heart? Is there a portion of your income going to the Lord for His kingdom and the sake of the gospel? Has God been challenging you to increase? Are you holding back when God has been saying to “trust and test me”?
Action step: Test, trust, and worship God with your giving.
Further notes for study and research:
The motivation of material blessing in the New Testament, therefore, has a different emphasis from that found in Malachi and the Old Testament. God blesses the Christian for giving not because of giving. Also different is the apparent lack of guidance about the amount to be given. Nowhere in the New Testament, even in these two chapters of 2 Corinthians dedicated to the issue, is the Christian instructed to give a “tithe” or “tenth.” Since the giving requirement is no longer an external obligation required as “dues” from every member of the covenant community but rather is to be the expression of love from a regenerated and redeemed heart, the amount is also not specified. How much, then, should the Christian give? Since the New Testament lacks specific instruction on the amount one should give, though on the other hand continuing the principle of giving as one has prospered and according to one’s means, and since the giving of a tenth is the pattern used in the Old Testament, even before the founding of the Mosaic covenant (Gen 14:20), the use of the tenth should be considered an initial guideline for New Testament giving. Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Haggai, Malachi (Vol. 21A, p. 433). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Discussion:
What part of the message resonated with you the most?
Why is it that our wallets are the last thing to “convert" or surrender to God?
In what ways does giving promote spiritual maturity?
Why does giving to the Lord and His work actually bring more value to your money?
What other takeaways stuck out to you during the sermon?
What can we pray for regarding the sermon? Do you have any prayer needs?
The most important decision you will ever make!
If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!
We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!