I'm in Malachi chapter three.

Malachi three, most of you will be familiar with that chapter.

We'll get to that just in a moment.

To start off, I've got a bar of steel and I've used this illustration quite a few times because it's one of those illustrations that had a huge impact on me when I was young in ministry.

I was doing ministry in New Zealand and we would go over every year to take part in a leadership summit at a church in Hawaii that was led by Wayne Cadero, great author, great writer, great speaker.

I remember near the end of the message, he had all these young pastors in the audience and he held up a bar of steel similar to this and he said, look, what is something like this worth?

He said, well, it depends on what you do with it.

If you take it down to the local, you know, uh, church.

junk warehouse, they may give you $6 for it because that's about what a bar of steel this size is worth.

But if you take it and you convert it into 16 penny nails, then the worth changes from $6 to, he said, around 60.

And then if you take it and convert it to sewing needles, then it goes to 600 or 6,000.

If you turn it into cutlery or knife, spoons, all of that stuff, then you can actually change its value to somewhere around 8,000 to 10,000.

Then he said, but if you take a bar like this and you convert it into very fine Swiss watch springs, suddenly what was worth $6 becomes worth somewhere around $6 million.

I remember sitting there thinking, okay, I think I know where he's going with this.

Then he said this.

He looked at the young audience and he said, what changed its worth?

He paused and he said that in which it was invested.

What you invest your life in really matters.

Then he gave us this quote, and I want to quote it for you.

It'll be on the screen.

There's got to be a greater purpose to my life than just trying to manipulate the world to revolve around me and my desires and my mandates and my own goals.

From the time Jesus' ministry begins, he continues to confront us with this question again and again and again.

For what are you living your life?

Whose kingdom are you really building?

And does the trajectory of your life, does it move toward that which is eternal or that which is temporary?

And this becomes such a crucial question in Jesus' ministry because he wants us to come to terms with something that most of us deny.

And that is, even if we're Christ followers, the flesh and the spirit.

They're still at enmity with each other.

They're still battling each other.

In fact, we're told, let me read the passage again from Romans 8, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is subject to the law of God.

It is not subject to the law of God, that is, nor can it be.

What he's saying is when you're operating in the flesh, it doesn't conform well.

It's not consistent with the law of God.

It wants, the flesh wants what the flesh wants.

And so, because we know that we're not the owners, this is where we went last week in Luke 20, because we know we're not the owners, that God is the owner and we're the tenants, there's this repressive emotion that each of us has because we're upset that we're not the owners.

Now, we know intuitively that we're not, but we don't like it and we press it down.

Jesus, when he comes into the New Testament, teaches us that...

No area of life is any more evident than the manner in which you relate to your resources.

There's no other area of life that portrays who you really are beyond who you say you are more than the resources he's given you and how you relate to them.

And Jesus uses this analogy more than any other because it's so revealing.

concerning the true nature of a person.

Now that ought to cause you to stand up or sit up and open your eyes and think, wow, this is the telltale sign.

You've heard the passage quoted numerous times where Jesus says in Matthew 6, 21, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

But we never really go on, what does he mean by that?

Well, he means it's an implicit warning.

He's saying that if one places one's treasure in heaven, then that's where one's heart or attention will be.

If your treasure's there, the trajectory of your life is there.

If your treasure, alternatively, is on the earth, your heart and attention will be on earthly matters at the exclusion of God.

That's what Jesus is saying.

If something is of genuine value to you, there's no disguising it.

You can't hide it.

The worth you place on various things in your life is evident by your priorities.

Another way of saying that is that which means the most to you will get the lion's share of your time and attention.

So we could go on and on.

That's just a summary basically of Jesus' New Testament teaching on your stuff.

There's parable after parable, saying after saying.

We looked last week at this parable in Luke 20 where the owner sends some servants to the tenants and he's going to expect some of the first fruits of the vineyard to be given to the owner.

And when the owner's servants show up, they actually invite him in, beat him, and then finally they end up killing his own son.

So the whole point is that how you treat your stuff and how you respond when you've got this intuitive knowledge.

and precept of Scripture that says, the very best of you God gets because your greatest passion is the kingdom of God.

The issue then is how do we respond to that?

So here's what I want to do in this message.

This is the end of all in, at least for this series, and I want to get very practical and take on the method of a teacher more than a proclaimer, okay?

Because this sermon is about two things.

Where do we begin if we're going to be all in, and what can be accomplished as God's people when we're all in and all about his kingdom, which will automatically happen?

It's cause and effect.

When you've been transformed by the teaching and the spirit of the living God, your attitude toward these things changes.

Now let's read the text and remember what we said, we're going to deal with context first.

Let's go to Isaiah 3, verse 6, and here's what we read.

I the Lord do not change, so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Ever since the time of your ancestors, you've turned away from my decrees and have not kept them.

Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.

But you ask, how are we to return?

God speaks.

Will a mere mortal rob God?

Yet you rob me.

But you ask, how are we robbing you?

In tithes and offerings, you are under a curse, your whole nation, because you are robbing me.

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 enough room to store it.

I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe, says the Lord Almighty.

Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land." Again, says the Lord Almighty.

This is the word of the Lord.

Now, let's do context first.

What's going on in the Old Testament?

What is going on in Malachi before we try to apply it into our lives?

What's happening here?

Well, quite frankly, it's uncanny.

First Israel has a chronic problem.

The problem is that no matter how many times God delivers them, they refuse to trust in his faithfulness to keep his promises.

God has been working on that for a long time with them.

God is trying to teach them there is a direct correlation between your obedience...

and my willingness to bless you.

I'm going to keep throwing you into situations until you learn to trust me because I ultimately want to bless you, but I can't bless you and will not bless you unless you trust me." Second, God has entered into a covenant with Israel.

Part of the covenant is that they are required to manage his resources well, he's the owner, they're the tenants, and demonstrate submissiveness to him with their resources.

And God says if you are responsible in your resources, you're going to get, and I'll show you this later, a mighty response from God, an awesome response.

Third.

Because of affluence, that's where we are Malachi, the people of Israel have removed God from the equation.

They've said, we don't need God, we're doing well on our own.

They're not considering for a moment that all these blessings are coming from God.

They think they're self-sufficient.

Remember what we said last week, there's something in us that represses this idea that God is the owner, we're the tenant.

Most of us live with this idea of self-sufficiency and we don't believe our lives are contingent on anything other than ourselves until the rug is pulled out from under us.

Then suddenly we go before God and ask for his help and his blessing.

Because of affluence, people often run to God during pain, but away from him during pleasure.

By the way, that's another sermon.

God understands that.

Now, look at the text.

Notice what God says.

I love this.

In verse six, he says, "'I, the Lord, do not change, so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.'" That's pretty powerful.

He says, "'You know what?

You guys are a bunch of selfish, entitled, ungrateful little brats.'" Now, he doesn't say that, but his way of saying to them is this, "'I know that you're not obeying me.

You're not doing what you've agreed to do in our covenant, but you know what?

You change, but I don't, and because of that, I haven't destroyed you.'" Your offense toward God is so intense that it deserves judgment, but I've withheld it because I love you, but my patience is growing thin." Verse seven, ever since the time of your ancestors, you've turned away from my decrees and have not kept them.

Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.

Now a couple of things here.

Number one, they haven't been taught well by their parents.

This goes back to when parents make a mistake of not demonstrating for their children.

what a righteous, holy relationship looks like between us and our resources.

That is passed on to the next generation and the next generation which sets them up for curses rather than blessings.

And then he says, return to me, says the Lord Almighty.

You're going to see the Lord Almighty three times in this little section.

Because when God refers to himself as the Lord Almighty, this is a term that reminds the people that I am God and I am able to accomplish whatever it is I want to accomplish and I'm willing to go to war to accomplish my plan, even if I have to go to war with you.

And then the people, to show you how they're living in total denial, say, how are we to return to you?

In their mind, hey, we're good people here.

We've not done anything wrong.

I mean, what do you mean?

We haven't gone away from you.

And then God drops the hammer.

Will a mere mortal rob God?

That's a strong word, man.

That is such strong language in the Hebrew.

It's in plural tense as well, which means you've been robbing me for a long time and you continue to rob me.

You've robbed me.

You're robbing me now.

You're a bunch of thieves." That would be a harsh judgment to hear from God.

And then God gets very specific in verse eight.

"'Will a mere mortal rob God, yet you rob me?

But you ask, how are we robbing you?

In tithes and offerings.

You are under a curse, your whole nation, because you are robbing me.

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.'" Now, in order to apply this, we got to do a little homework here.

What is this idea of tithe?

Because you can read books and listen to lectures and hear sermons, and even though there might be a different application to the word tithe, there's an incredible agreement on what the tithe is, its history in the Old and the New Testament.

So I want to be very strategic here and very direct.

I want to give you definitions.

I want to explain to you.

step-by-step process what God's talking about with Malachi and then apply that into our lives.

Okay, number one, tithe means one-tenth or 10%.

That Hebrew word is used 41 times.

It's not an obscure biblical concept.

It's a common concept with a common understanding.

It means one-tenth or 10%.

Second, tithe describes the immediate gift of 10% of your income at first opportunity.

So insinuated or taken within the definition of tithe means it's an immediate gift of 10% at your first opportunity.

In the Old Testament, they didn't have the monetary system like you and I do today, so they would bring their tithes of grain and cattle and cash into the temple.

In Deuteronomy 14, We're told that if a person lives so far away and it was a major hassle for him to get the ties of cattle and crops all the way to the temple, that would be quite a journey.

He was instructed to do this.

Immediately convert the cattle and the crops to cash and bring the money then to the temple.

That way you're not carrying all the cattle and the goat and the sheep and everything else or the goat and the sheep.

You're just converting that and then you have the coinage, the cash, the monetary gain to bring into the temple.

But associated with all of that was the importance that it not be withheld.

In other words, don't wait.

Say, well, I'll get to it at the end of the year.

No, you sell, you convert the cash immediately, and you make your journey to the temple, and you give it when you're supposed to give it.

And there's great wisdom in that.

Here's why.

Let me give you an example.

This is the way we're wired.

My father, and most of you have heard me tell this, we didn't make a lot of money.

My brothers and I, I had three brothers, we lived in one bedroom, two double bunk beds, but we had as much as we needed.

And my father was a firm believer that we should be in the Lord's house on the weekends, on Sunday.

And so he would put an envelope on the mantle.

And when he got his paycheck converted to cash, that's what they did in those days, he would then put the money, the first fruits, the tithe in that envelope and he would write on the envelope God's money and place it there and wait for the next weekend to give it.

Now you can imagine what we boys did.

Dad, can we all go to eat tonight at McDonald's?

I mean that was the only restaurant we had in Elizabethan at the time.

Can we go to the movies?" My dad would say, no son, we don't have enough money this month.

As soon as he said that, you know what we four boys would do?

Glance over to that envelope on the mantle.

As if to say, well there's money in the envelope.

My dad would always say, no there's not, because that money doesn't belong to us.

If we took that money, that would be robbing God.

That installed something within us very early on in our lives.

He believed that tithe, and he would be accurate, describes the immediate gift of 10%.

of your income at whatever God places into your hand at your first opportunity.

So tithe means one-tenth, 10%.

It describes the immediate gift of 10% at your first opportunity.

Three, it's off the top of what you make.

Not after you pay your bills, not after you do everything else you want to do that week or month.

It's off the top.

Tithe means off the top of what God places into your hand.

And this word tithe begins to become somewhat interchangeable with the idea of first fruits.

In Proverbs 3, honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of your crops, then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.

It's the first tent, it's the first fruits, in other words, the very best of what you have in recognition that everything you have comes from God.

Now, let me go back to G.

Campbell Morgan, one of my favorite authors, who said, basically, this is the telltale sign of a life that's been changed.

When that life understands what true sacrilege is.

You and I, when we think of sacrilege, we define it by taking something that is sacred and using it in a profane way.

The example I've used in the past, when I lived in New Zealand, there was a person who claimed to be an artist.

who took a statue of Jesus and placed a condom over it and called it art.

And the word used to describe what he had done again and again was sacrilege.

Sacrilege, you've taken something that is holy and you've profaned it.

But G.

Campbell Morgan says there's another definition of sacrilege that also reveals the heart of the Christ follower.

And he says that is, sacrilege is the act of taking something that means little or nothing to you and giving that to God as if it is sacred.

Taking something that doesn't mean very much to you and giving it to God.

In other words, this is the antithesis of first fruits.

This is called leftovers.

Four, tithing is a universal principle.

For you Bible scholars out there, let me remind you, tithing does not originate from the law.

It does not stop with the law either.

It is established far before the law.

It extends far beyond the law.

Abraham, hundreds of years before Moses, brought ties, for the Mosaic law, brought ties to Melchizedek.

Cain and Abel all the way back in the creation account, Genesis 4, we read, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord, but Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.

The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favor.

And I mentioned this a few months ago because it's something that came to light just recently, that I'd always been led to believe that the reason God looked without favor...

On Cain's offering was because he didn't bring the very best portion of the gospel.

of his first fruits, or of his offering of grain in the field.

The problem with that is, according to the text, we don't read anything that somehow Cain or Abel withheld anything from God.

There's no indication of that at all, and there's no indication that Cain brought what was left over.

Rather, what we learn later is, it's the attitude with which he brought it.

So not only does Ty, their first son, bring it to them, but he also brings it to them in a way that's not just about the fruit, but it's about the attitude.

And so, not only does Ty, their first son, bring it to them, but he also brings it to Fruits represent a number or a percentage, it also represents the attitude of the heart.

I had a grandfather that was a heavy gambler and an alcoholic, and therefore he didn't like spending money on anything but gambling or alcohol.

I remember going to the grocery store when my grandmother would send us to pick up a few things, and my grandfather always resented spending money on something he didn't like spending money on.

I remember, I didn't understand it at the time when I was a little boy, but actually when my...

My grandfather, back then we didn't use debit cards, credit cards.

When my grandfather would pay the cashier or whoever we were paying for the goods, he would always kind of slam the money down.

He would never gently say, hello, how are you?

He was not a very kind man.

He would just throw the money down like, I have to pay this, but I hate doing it.

Part of tithing in first fruits as you move through the New Testament and the Old Testament has as much to do with attitude.

your attitude in bringing it as it does with percentage.

All right, let's keep going.

Five, tithing is a thermometer, we learn, as we move into the New Testament now, it is a thermometer of spiritual vitality.

It reveals who we are.

That's why Jesus said, where your treasure is there, where your heart be also.

Your money is going to go to what you value most.

This is not rocket science, it's logical.

If you value the kingdom of God and Jesus' work in the world, your budget sheet is going to reveal that.

And that which means the most to you will get the lion's share of your time and attention.

Six, tithing is the starting place for New Testament giving.

In both the Old and New Testaments, we see two words to describe what we give to God.

Tithe and offering.

Are those that have the same meaning?

No.

There's a distinction and that's why both words are used.

Growing up in church in East Tennessee, the ushers would come out at some point of the message and they would start, or sorry, some point of the service before the message and they would pass the offering plates.

And I think it felt like the deacon said the same thing every weekend.

He would say, now the ushers are coming forward and we're going to collect the tithes and offerings.

But nobody ever explained to me what the difference between the two really was.

Even the Bible makes this distinction in Malachi 3.

Will a man rob God?

Yet you rob me, but you ask, how do we rob you in tithes and offerings?

It's the double whammy.

So tithe is one-tenth of your total income given at your first opportunity.

What is the offering then?

The offering is what you give above and beyond what is required because you're motivated out of gratitude and out of the opportunity to play a more effective role in the eternal kingdom.

So you're giving from way down here.

It's not enough for you to give what is required.

God almost, not almost, but God communicates to us because he's the owner, he has a legal claim to the first fruits and the tithe, the 10% of everything that we have.

But for those of us who are inspired by the reality that we can live our lives for something greater than ourselves, going back to the steel bar, that we can invest our lives in something that really matters, thus increasing our own personal worth.

In a pragmatic point of view, obviously not with the Spirit of God, we are saved by grace through faith, we get that.

But in enriching and increasing the value of our lives and our value to God as far as His kingdom goes, then we go beyond the tithe into what we call, what is described as the offering.

In 2 Corinthians 9, 6 in the New Testament, Paul says to Christ followers, he knows they have a heart to be part of this kingdom and to play an effective role in it, an important role.

He says, remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Now let me tell you why this is a very difficult passage for some of us to take.

Because Paul is assuming that we have a passion to reap a great harvest.

If we have a passion to reap a great harvest, that means we're going to sow generously.

The very difficult concept here is that some of us, in fact, many of us have never, ever given God an offering in our whole lives.

Because to give God an offering, you first have to give Him the tithe.

It's above and beyond.

If you've never given God the tithe, then you've never given Him an offer.

Now you think about that.

Think about every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above, and yet you and I have never given Him an offering because we've never been faithful in the tithe.

Second Corinthians 9 says that God loves a cheerful giver.

I've had people say to me, well, you know, Jeff, that's why I don't give because when I give I'm not cheerful.

My response is, hey, give as an act of the will.

If you do something as an act of the will long enough, it will impact the heart and the emotions.

Seven, tithes are to be brought into the storehouse.

Verse 10 says, bring the tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house.

Now again, bring the tithe.

Cash, animals, grains, crops, all of these were brought into the storehouse of the temple.

The reason they were brought into the storehouse in Malachi is because that's where the work of ministry occurred.

It was designed to feed and take care of the priests who were doing the work of God, but also to do the things that touch the heart of God outside the temple of God.

In other words, they brought the tithes and offerings to the place of worship.

And these offerings enable those who are carrying out the work of ministry to work, to live, and to carry out the vision God had given them.

Folks, no matter what kind of scholar you think you are, the modern application has to clearly be the local church because the local church is the modern day temple in many respects.

It's where we don't offer sacrifices or do we?

The sacrifices we offer now is our lives.

And we're told that when we bring the tithes to the storehouse, we're going to be able The place where we worship, where we use our talents, where we play a role in God's vision.

That then and only then is God able to do His work among the people to the degree and with the intensity that He really wants to do it.

So you and I are partners with him in this.

And the beautiful thing about being part of a church like this, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, is that there's a calling on your life.

You've been placed here with an opportunity to go all in.

You're not here because a friend invited you or through a Google map or because you're not here because you're a Christian.

some review that you read, or not even because word of mouth, you're here because God has called you here.

You walked in here one day, or you became part of our online community, wherever you are in the world, you attended this place, and suddenly you said to yourself, I feel at home, this is my home.

But you didn't determine that, God did.

You felt at home because God brought you to this place because it is your home, which means that he brought you here because there's a role you are supposed to play with your talents and abilities and your resources.

because God is a wise investor.

And if everybody gets all in and we are faithful in this, it is amazing what we'll be able to do to change this valley and the world.

But it's also pragmatic.

Do you realize in this whole idea of tithe, God is saying, I am telling you that I have a legal claim.

I have a legal claim to the first fruits of your life.

The tithe belongs to me.

If it didn't, God wouldn't accuse them of robbing from him.

You cannot take something from somebody and it called theft if it doesn't belong to you.

It actually belongs to them.

God is even saying, look, you got to realize that tithe's not even yours to do anything with.

I'm just asking you to bring to me what I've already declared as mine.

The tithe is the only area in life where God says, try me.

I love this.

Try me.

He says, bring the whole tithe in the storehouse so that there may be food in my house.

And test me now in this, says the Lord.

I love this because this phrase in the Hebrew is without parallel in any other part of the Bible.

Let me describe it to you.

I've done it before, but this is one of my favorite illustrations.

If you know anything about warriors and knights, they used to fight sword fights and they would wear these thick, thick gloves to protect their hands during battle.

Those gloves were called gauntlets, okay?

The steel mesh gloves to protect their hands.

When you got into a discussion with somebody or an argument and you were angry, you'd take off that glove, that gauntlet, and you'd throw it down.

And this was you declaring, hey, I know your insult.

I'm challenging you to a duel.

You and me one-on-one, man.

And he would take off the glove, throw down the gauntlet, and he would say, you want some of me?

You don't think I know what you're implying in my life?

You don't think I recognize your insult?

Come on.

And then he would say, try me, and throw down the gauntlet.

God is saying to you and me and to his people, you and me now, one-on-one.

You don't think you can trust me?

You don't think I can make good on my promise?

You don't think I see what you give and what you make?

You don't think I know what my part is and what your part is?

Let's go.

You and me, one on one, let's get it on here right now." But God is not doing it because he wants to punish you.

He's doing it because God wants you to be able to live the fruitful life, the abundant life that he's called you to live.

You can't ask God to pour out his blessings when you're in direct violation.

So God says, trust me, you won't lose in this.

You will not lose.

It's part of God's economic plan.

You obey me in this, there's a direct correlation between your obedience and my willing to bless you.

Nine, tithing positions me to receive blessings from God.

Now he says, test me now in this, and if I will not open the windows of heaven, I love this.

Another great Hebrew word that refers to pressure.

So you can imagine, let's say there's a window, and on the other side of the window, all these good things, you can describe it however you want to, but all these great things are pressing up against the window, but they can't get in.

But the pressure is immense.

It's amazing.

You know, as soon as you open that window, man, the floodgates would pour in.

That's the word used.

Jesus says, I got all these things ready for you.

God says to his people, I got all this stuff ready for you and it's mounting up, mounting up, but I'm not gonna open the window when you're living in direct disobedience.

But if you'll trust me and bring the first fruits of your life into the storehouse, then I'm gonna open this window and it's gonna pour out so fast and so plentiful that you're not gonna be able to hold it.

Do you see what God is saying?

No tithe, no returning.

The windows of heaven are shut, its poetic license illustrating a barrier.

The adverse is also true.

If we tithe, God opens the windows, releasing free-flowing blessings into our lives.

You with me?

This is the promise of God.

Now, what we usually don't talk about, if those things are true, is the promise of God.

Conversely, there's a negative side to this, and that is one, disobedience in tithes and offerings equals stealing from God.

Man, that is a difficult concept.

If I walk down into the audience right now and I ask somebody to give me a $100 bill, and I've actually done this before, I say, do you have a $100 bill?

They reach in their pocket and they give me a $100 bill, and I say, you know, there's a great illustration I can do with this.

And then I say, oops, I forgot what it is though, and I put the $100 bill in my pocket.

Now I've got their money in my pocket.

And let's say I go home after the weekend message and it's a week now, two weeks, and that person still comes and they're wondering, you know, you still got my $100 bill.

My money's in your pocket.

Do you know that when we're not giving what is rightfully God's, in a very real way, we have his money in our pocket.

Now when I say that to somebody, they say, don't tell me I got God's money in my pocket.

Where is it then?

Some of you have God's money in your car, others in your house.

Some of you are golfing with God's money.

Some of you are constantly entertained with God's money.

You're taking what belongs to Him and using it on your own kingdom.

And that's a harsh reality.

And pastors get very uncomfortable when they talk like this.

Believe me, they do.

But it's something we all battle with and it's our job as the messenger to say to you that the owner comes to the tenants and says, are you going to help me build this vineyard or not?

You're the people of God.

We're moving toward eternity.

Where's your heart?

Now stay with me, I want to give you a little idea of what's happening in our culture, why it makes it tough.

I don't know if you've heard about the book called Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton.

He says that if you come to someone and you give them something the first time, they'll appreciate it.

But if you come back and give them something a second time, they'll anticipate it.

They've gotten it from you twice.

If you go back and give them a third time, they'll start to expect it.

Hey, where is it?

And if you come back and give it a fourth time, they'll start to feel entitled to it.

Hey, where's my stuff?

Even though it's a gift from you with no guarantees.

And if you give it to them a fifth time, they'll become dependent on it.

And he says, that's basically what we've done in our culture.

The reason I use that example is because in our culture, marketers.

You know how much money is spent on trying to reel you in to buy products?

Marketers have made us believe that we have a right to everything that we want, including those things we can't afford.

They'll provide a way where we can go in such debt and have what we have a right to possess.

As a result, you and I start pursuing things in affluence that we think we can't live without at the expense of what we truly can't live without.

But the marketers are brilliant.

God has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.

In other words, you and I cease being rich toward God and we start seeking to be rich toward ourselves.

This is the problem.

And what I began to realize early on in my Christian life and Christian walk is that I'm actually asking God to bless me with things and my family and my children.

and give me a peace of mind financially, while at the same time I'm in direct disobedience to him.

And the reason we are the most affluent we've ever been, and yet the most anxious, depressed, fearful and frustrated, is I keep saying that your flesh doesn't know what your soul knows.

Your flesh wants to have it and to have it now.

Your soul knows if it's not living for something that's eternal, it will die a little bit every day.

See, God's not trying to be the big bad cosmic boss.

When he gives us these precepts of the tithe and the first fruits, it's because he loves you and he knows your best life is investing your life in something that truly matters.

Second, stealing from God has significant consequences.

It's serious.

From God's perspective, we read in Psalms that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

In James, we read that every good gift comes from the Father above.

I want you to think about pragmatically again.

We come into church on the weekends.

We sit, we worship with gratitude for our salvation.

We sing songs of the goodness of God and his provision.

We bow our heads in reverence and respect during communion, thanking God for his sacrifice.

We listen to a message in hopes that somehow we'll be encouraged to live life another day.

And then part of the worship service, the offering plate is passed around.

And even though some of us give automatically online and all that stuff, the principle is still the same.

When it comes time to give, each person at that moment makes a choice.

It's my experience in ministry that there are so many wives.

who are wishing that their husbands would honor God in the tithe and offering in order to bring blessings into their home and their family.

But the fact of the matter is, every college student, every single adult, every young person, anybody with any amount of financial blessing has a choice to make.

You will either honor God with the firstfruits of your life or you will not honor God with the firstfruits of your life.

And your reaction to that statement that I just gave you Listen, the way you're feeling right now, whatever it is, is revealing of the degree to which the Spirit of God has changed your heart.

Man, if you've been truly transformed and you've grown, you've been discipled, when you hear a message like this, you're doing this.

Yep, that's right, man.

That's right.

Once I started honoring God in this area, everything changed.

Everything changed.

And others of you are saying, man, all the church wants is your money.

By the way, I went on and did a little research.

I wondered how many times I had talked about money over the last three years.

Just take a guess.

In the last three years, how many sermons dealt with money?

In three years, six.

So if you say all I talk about is money, that means you've only been to church six times the last three years.

No, it goes back to what we said in the parable in Luke 20.

When somebody comes as a messenger to remind you that you're not the owner, you're the tenant, there's this anger that's been repressed that comes out.

Don't tell me what to do.

You're not the boss of me.

But the problem is, it's because you don't understand that God's motivation in this is to protect you.

To protect you.

The absence of God's protection on your finances comes as a serious consequence to disobedience.

In verse 11, he says, I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe, says the Lord Almighty.

So he says, if you decide to obey me in this, not only am I going to bless you, but I'm going to prevent the curse.

I'm going to protect you from the curse of the evil one.

The guilt regarding hypocrisy that comes with violating this tithe principle is overwhelming.

In Genesis 4, remember, so Cain was very angry and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry?

Why is your face downcast?

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?

In other words, Cain, you're depressed, but I don't feel sorry for you.

Do what is right and the depression will leave.

Most people know that it's a pretense, a sham.

It's shameful that you and I think somehow that we're the owners.

We know what the Bible teaches.

I'm convinced of that.

Christ followers know.

And deep down inside, we know even beyond our attempts to justify it.

The first fruits principle is universal, and we either repress it or we embrace it.

But even more than that, here's the beauty of this.

Even I am tithing.

There is a peace that comes in knowing that when hard times come, I am not reaping the whirlwind of my own disobedience to God.

Financial times, hard times still come, but when they come, I know if I'm in direct obedience to God, then I know I can wait for God to deliver.

And God, I'm telling you, tells us in this whole passage that stealing from God means the loss of blessing.

God is a wise investor.

He's not an enabler.

He's wonderfully patient.

And I love it when he says, I, the Lord, don't change, so I've not destroyed you.

So God is going to do whatever he has to do in our lives to get us to that point, but he has great patience.

Great patience.

And then I love how the passage finishes.

It tells us in Malachi 3 in verse 12, all the nations will call you blessed for yours will be a delightful land, says the Lord God Almighty.

So you hear what God said?

God said, you know what?

I actually want to bless you and I'm talking financially as well.

I want to give you, yes, there are other blessings, but I believe God also, there's no guarantee, but I believe God also wants to bless us that our fields will be fruitful when we bring the first fruits in order that he may demonstrate to the world.

that when you live your life for my purposes, the blessings of heaven will come down upon you.

I'm not saying we're all going to get rich.

Please don't put words in my mouth.

I'm simply saying God gives this legal claim to the first fruits of our lives and then says, if you deny me that, why would you expect me to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on you?

You think that by withholding, you're protecting.

In reality, you're destroying the potential of God's blessings to permeate your life.

Okay.

I want to make sure we get this, okay?

So I've listed it out for you quickly.

If we're going to honor God in this, and by the way, if we do, not just 20% of us, 30% of us, 40% of us, if 100% of us honor God in this, what we will be able to do for the kingdom of God.

will be celebrated, I believe, in heaven.

One, tithe means tenth or 10%.

Two, it describes the immediate gift of 10% of your income at your first opportunity, not after you've spent it on what you want to spend, but first and foremost.

Three, tithe is off the top of what you make.

It comes right from the beginning, first fruits.

Tithing for is a universal principle.

It's not just something that God gave Israel, all the way from the old to the new, to the end of the new, into the modern day church.

Five, tithing is a thermometer of spiritual vitality.

You know that you're growing in your faith.

You know the spirit is transforming you when you're working your way toward obeying God in this area.

Six, tithing is the starting place for New Testament.

In other words, once you do the tithe, then you start moving into the area of offering, and then the more you give to God, you create this wider base whereby God can continue to bless you because God wants to move his resources into the lives of people he can trust to build his kingdom.

into people and to churches.

Seven, tithes are to be brought into the storehouse.

I believe your offering can go anywhere.

Your tithe comes to the place of worship, into the place God has called you, so that as God brings us all together, we accomplish the vision that he gives us.

Eight, the tithe is the only area in life where God says, try me.

He throws down the gauntlet and says, stop ignoring me.

I want to be faithful to you, but you've got to obey me.

There's a relationship between obedience and blessing.

Nine, tithing is the only area in life where God says, stop ignoring me.

I want to be faithful to you, but you've got to obey me.

There's a relationship between obedience and blessing.

positions me to receive blessings from God.

This is where we said he will open up the windows of heaven.

Okay, where do we start?

Here's what tends to happen when I give a message like this.

Oh, Pastor Jeff, I'm way too far behind now.

There's no, I can't do anything, so I'm not going to do anything.

Now wait a second.

When you become a Christian, you struggle with your temper.

Does it get healed in one day?

No.

The Holy Spirit starts transforming you from the inside out and you come to a time when you realize I'm dealing better with my temper.

Do you become sexually pure overnight when you become a Christ follower?

Absolutely not.

If you've got addictions you know are not appropriate, it takes time of healing and transformation and discipleship.

Well, guess what?

Giving is no different.

This is a matter of discipleship and a matter of a transformation of your heart.

So when you become a Christian, it's not like day one you're going to be doing this, although that would be incredibly wise, but start somewhere.

Don't just go away.

It's too big.

Jeff said, I've never given God an offering because I'm not giving him a tithe, so I'm already lost.

I'm just going to take my chances.

No.

If everybody just started somewhere, if everybody said, you know what?

I've gotten myself in a position where I am so financially strapped because I pursued things that really don't matter that much that now I don't know if I can do this.

Start somewhere.

Try God in this.

Start at 5%.

Start there and say, God, I know now that my eyes have been opened.

You have a legal claim to 10%.

God, I'm going to give five.

Bless me so that I can give 10 and then give 10.

Don't back out on God.

God bless me so that I can continue to give offerings now.

Start somewhere.

Don't just go out of here and do the same old thing you've been doing forever.

Start somewhere.

All right, because God sees you make that effort.

Man, it touches his heart.

He is a patient and loving God.

You might not be able to get there all at once, but start somewhere.

It's like when you're running a marathon.

I'm not a great long distance runner.

But I trained to run a marathon with my father-in-law once.

And I remember coming and running, you hit a wall and you just can't go one step further.

And I remember my father-in-law running beside me and saying, look, don't try to finish the whole thing.

Pick a spot about a hundred yards in front, run there.

Tell your mind you're only going to run there.

Then pick another spot and run to that.

And that's how I finished the last three miles of the marathon.

One step at a time, hoping to achieve the goal.

Come on folks, you can do this.

We can do this together.

Think about it.

If we all get on board and we go all in with this, think about the life change among our young adults, among our high schoolers, among our children's area.

Think about the workers we can continue to have and the work we continue to do with God's pantry.

Think of what we're doing in post-Christian Europe, in Africa, in Kenya, in Zimbabwe, oh my goodness, in Mexico.

On and on it goes.

When we get all in, this little church in San Dimas is going to change the world.

Father, thank you for your goodness and your mercy, and I pray as hard as a message as this is to take, that it would inspire us, we would see what is required of us while seeing the grace and mercy of God that has been with us for so long, that we would praise God for his mercy and grace and goodness, but equally we would develop an intensity of love.

obey God, realizing that obedience and blessing are inextricably tied together in Christ's name.

Amen.