““Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. “You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ “The tithe and the offering—that’s how! And now you’re under a curse—the whole lot of you—because you’re robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams!”
Malachi 3:8-10 MSG
We all need to come to a place
In our relationship with God, where we begin to trust God with our finances.
You can’t love somebody without giving to them.
Tithing is the only way to enter into the blessed life.
Tithing is an act of trust in God, and obedience to God.
1.) Count Your Blessings
“When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, And we are glad.”
Psalms 126:1-3 NKJV
We don’t give to God just to get blessed, we give to God because we are blessed!
How can I not give to a God who gave His everything for me.
2.) We are Blessed to Test
“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.”
Malachi 3:10 NIV
It’s a test of my trust in God, it’s also a test of God’s character.
The tithe is the tenth we return to God the offering is what we decide to give to God.
Every time you get paid you are under a test to return to God or to rob God.
““You shall have no other gods before me.”
Exodus 20:3 NIV
Never put the blessings in your life above the Blesser. Seek first the kingdom of God.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33 ESV
“Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.”
Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJV
God didn’t ask for leftovers He asks for you first and your best.
“And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”
Genesis 4:3-5 NKJV
Cain in the process of time offered an offering, Abel gave to God before anything else.
Tithing consistently is the first action that shows you are a steward of God and not an owner of stuff.
3.) My giving goes straight to God
“In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.”
Hebrews 7:8 ESV
My giving goes to the house of God, through the house of God, straight to the hands of God.
