Robbing God

Have your bottles open to the last book in the Old Testament, the third chapter, as you've already been directed. But I hope that you'll continue to have that open before you because it is God's in Aaron and in fallible word. There's really a very simple reason why we would preach this sermon this morning, and that is because the finance committee asked me to do it. I'm pretty early in my ministry here to say no, so actually their thinking was, and I think it was very good, that as long as we are preaching some preliminary type sermons on who we are in church and who we hope to be as a church, the things to which we're committed, then why not preach on stewardship, even though it's not stewardship season, and I really agree with them wholeheartedly, it's an excellent time to broke the subject early in our relationship together. While we're in these early stages, and while we're attempting to determine again who we are, and as I was there, that's in which we're committed, and you realize, of course, that they're really vilically speaking is no such thing as stewardship season, understand terminology, and I know those things to which we will talk about in October or November, and the pledge cards and all of that, but for the Christian, for the one who is a disciple of Jesus Christ, and is really sold out to Christ and wants to do everything he can to conform his life to Christ and conform his life to what God says in His Word, then actually stewardship season is every time I get paid. And it's every time I receive any increase in my law, every time there's that financial blessing of yes, or whatever it is, for the Christian at that point stewardship is in season. Now, let me be very clear with you, when I preach on a subject like this, you need to know this about me, and you'll know this, not only this morning, but in the future, years even that when I preach this, my concern is not the budget, okay, and I want you to get that out of your mind, I'm not concerned about the 3,000 budget, but I have others that concern themselves with that. I'm not concerned about pledging and pledge cards. In fact, I'm really not concerned about your generosity. I am concerned about what I believe would be God's concern and God's concern could be summarized in one word, and that is obedience. God is not concerned about a man-made budget. Now, we do it to be prudent, but God is God's decision whether we in in the black or the red, it doesn't matter, that's not His concern. His concern is the obedience of His children, the obedience of disciples of Christ. He's concerned about the faithfulness of His children. Learn this as well. The timing and stewardship is not a matter of pledge cards and budgets. You understand that, oh, that your responsibility and my responsibility to tie my income and to be a steward of my income is not a matter of how much money I put down on a card. It has nothing to do with the amount of the budget, whether we need it or we don't need it. Tiving and stewardship is a matter of being obedient as a Christian. It's a matter of your soul. That's how serious it is. Our interest this morning is what does the text say, as it always is. Not what is the pressure say, but what does the text say? If you go to Sunday lunch this afternoon and you see somebody from another church and they say, well, what is your pressure pressure on this morning and you say, well, we learned a lot about what our new preacher thinks about timing. I'll tell you that. You miss the boat because that's not what this is about. It is about finding what does God say through the prophet Malachi? What does God say about timing? What does he think about your being a faithful steward of that to which God has abundantly given you? And the premise is this, non-tibers are calling down God's judgment and God's curse, while tibers are calling down God's blessings. As simple as that is, I don't want you to miss it. Non-tibers, those who do not tithe their income are calling down God's judgment and his curses not only on you as an individual and you as a family, you heads of households, not only on your children, but you are calling down judgment and curses on this church. On the other hand, tibers are calling down God's blessing upon you, upon your family, upon your children, and thankfully upon this church. The context of our passage, God is saying to the Israelites that just come back from captivity and Babylon, they just reconstructed the temple and they're excited. A lot of great things are happening in their church and they're enjoying their first worship services together and God comes to that group of people and he says there's a curse on the whole nation. He's saying there's a curse on the whole church and they respond a curse

and then they think about it for a minute and they think, well perhaps that explains the lousy economy. Maybe that explains why our marriages are breaking off. Maybe that's why our children are going out from here and they're marrying non-Christians. Maybe that's why there's so much arguing, there's so much bickering, perhaps that's why there's so much violence in the street. I know what it is. It's a curse. God said so. And then it says, if they say, but God, may we ask, what is the curse about? I don't know if you've ever been the victim of a robbery. I have. My family has. In fact, it was only about a year ago and we were camping in the backyard of all places, the five of us in the tent. And that's the wife's me up at two in the morning and says there's somebody in the kitchen and I looked out a little window and there was someone in our home and you talk about adrenaline and I didn't know what to do with the children there and I yelled at the guy as he was right there in the doorway and he had to actually run by us to get out the carport and he's parked at the church. We live next door to the church and he ran across our front yard into his car and if we got the children out of the tent and into their beds, thankfully they never knew. They still don't know. They don't say anything to him and that's the kind of thing which frighten them a lot about people coming into the home. But it's a very strange feeling. It's very scary. The guy we think drove around the house even more and every time we heard a car and we were on the phone with the police. It's scary. It is frightening. You feel you feel invaded. It's just very awkward to have someone uninvited, a stranger come into your home, go through things that are private to you and then take what they want and leave what they don't want. And not only do you feel afraid after that happens, you feel angry, you feel revengeful and you feel violated because why does that person have to come into my home and take what he wants and leave what he doesn't? Well, in this passage through the prophet, God is saying you have run through my house and you have taken all the things that you want to take from me and you've left all these things that you don't walk from me and you have robbed me.

And I'm telling you, God feels violated and the people are standing there, the Israelites and their mouths are dropped open. You can imagine initially they say who would rob God? Who would do such a thing? And that's what they want to know is how if we don't have it, who would do in their right mind would rob God? I mean, rob me, rob anybody. Don't rob God because God owns the universe and God knows everything. God knows your heart. God knows every penny you make. God is this perfect righteous judge that is exercising this perfect, comprehensive judgment. You don't mess with God and in verse 8 of our text they ask God how is it that we have robbed you and God gives a very 20th century answer and his four word answer he says in times and offerings. So how much is a tie? Let's have a funny question in it. A 10 year old in this sanctuary this morning to tell you what a tie is. A tie is a tent. It's really undevitable. A tie is 10 percent of your increase and the Old Testament principle and the New Testament principle as well is that it was a tent off the top. A tent off the gross. Now you may have business expenses and that's understandable but we're talking about before you pay Uncle Sam God didn't get what's left over. It's 10 percent of the top. Very simple. It's a tie of your first increase. Now we don't have the time and over the years as we preach on the subject perhaps we will that what is the tie go to and the Old Testament they were buying you and trying annual ties and feasts of the weeks and that sort of thing but we'll let it suffice to say this that God's children in the Old Testament and New Testament from the very beginning God's children have always practiced tithing and there have always been three principles that governed God's children tithing they did so sacrificially they did so proportionately and they did so cheerfully and you find that again in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament it was same from just a general reading of scripture that the minimum that God requires from your income it's 10 percent sometimes God requires 20 percent and 30 percent and Zacchaeus when he was saying he gave 50 percent of his income and Jesus affirms that his teaching on tithing through his preaching ministry in Matthew 23 you might jot that down Matthew 23 verse 23 and following but the scriptures are full of examples and laws and guidelines and warnings and rewards with regard to his subject of giving God back what he deserves what he rightfully owns fits his property it's his that's the time it's 10 percent off the top for what is an offering then an offering would be defined as anything over the time it's that which is over and beyond 10 percent of what you make now the proper perspective is very simple and we've alluded to it in our prayers as well as already in the sermon God owns everything God owns all money what a great principle for us to learn affinity criteria church God owns it all God owns all the money have you chapter 2 verse 8 the silver is mine and the gold is mine says the Lord of Husse did ouronomy 8 verse 8 saying and you shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power to get well you have a lot of money God's given you the ability to do that what do you have that you've not received but how much you have God gives it first Corinthians 4 verse 7 what do you have that you did not receive God does that God gives men and women the ability to to make money and produce money money is not evil it's the law of money that is evil the scriptures in fact give a lot of guidelines on how to make money how to work your money has and it's all grounded in work it's grounded in in saving but what you make is his

in an interesting that an American economics that shareable giving is tax deductible but where does that come from where do we find the conception of such an idea that my shareable giving is not taxable it came from our Christian forefathers it came from the Christian foundation of this country that says the tide does not belong to people the tide does not belong to governments the tide belongs to God and you can't tax God you may say amen about the government aspect of that but God for the scriptures say you don't own the tide either the tide is God and when you don't tide when you don't give in the tide you're saying I own it and God is saying no you don't own it I own it it's mine and just as proof as a reminder that you understand that I own it all I'm simply asking a very small portion 10% God is saying you give me 10% as a reminder that you're a Senate farmer and I own the farm you give me that little bit or else you rob me that is why we don't apply to the tide the same principles or the same practices to shareable giving please follow me in this I'm building a case I guess you say a biblical case to what Malachi is saying but you do not treat as far as your principles as far as you're understanding of where to give the tide we don't treat it the same as we do charitable giving there are a lot of good principles as far as where you might give to a cause for example you want it to be a worthy cause you want to find a ministry this is about talking about your offerings you want to find a ministry that's a good work it's evangelical I would I would encourage you to give the ministries that are reformed you want them to have a board to wish they're accountable you want it to be a very highly effective ministry secondly you'd want it to be a needy cause not every good cause needs your money they they're already taking care of they have their support that's not true for all of them but it's true for some that that's just very quickly two principles that govern charitable giving the giving of your offering but it doesn't apply to the tide why because God doesn't ask you where to spend his money the only thing he says about giving the tide is that you give it so the question then is where and there's good news because Malatite tells us where to give it in verse 10 he says bring all the tide into the storehouse that there may be food in my house now what's the storehouse you have to go back second Chronicles 31 where has the tide is telling the people to repent and they need to repent and they need to bring in their tide and boy do they repent they bring so much tide so much tide food they don't even know what to do with it all and there's piles of food over here and piles of food over there and that's when has the guy says we need to build storehouses so that we can store all this generosity and all this obedience from God's people and where do they build the storehouses in the temple and so it's it's very clear to me that the old Testament principle was you bring the tide into the temple well then what is the new Testament temple what's the temple today verse 3 and 3 verse 3 and 3 at verse 16 do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you if anyone defies the temple of God God will destroy him for the temple of God is holy which temple you are remember in high school I played basketball in high school I remember that was one of the most thrilling things about the crowd was that chanting in our high school our our initials were J.P. and so there was always this we are on the other side J.P. they were just hundreds of people just walking the south of this we are J.P. it reminds me of the some of the high schoolers here got what's called subwoofers on your play stations I understand that they're very loud and they're neat I know but you just need to put subwoofers on this passage right here because it's saying we are the temple that's who we are we are God's people we are living and breathing and crazy stones every one of you is a stone that is built up making this temple of God this is the temple of God we make up the temple of God and Genesis 14 Abraham goes to rescue his nephew lot and he defeats this king on the way back he has lot and he has this property he's gained from the defeat and then Abraham meets this man but is not mentioned again in the book of Genesis his name is Melchizedek from Jerusalem they sit down they have fellowship they have bread they have wine and then we're told that Abraham gave to Melchizedek 10% he gave him a tie of what he had gained from this king well then by the way at the first time we see the time in scripture and then in Hebrews 7 we have the New Testament understanding of this event and this is it because we had faith in Jesus Christ we are called children of Abraham our praise is Jesus Christ not in the order of the Levi that old passing away tribe of of the priest but our priest is from the order of Melchizedek the eternal priest we that is our priest Jesus Christ and then we're told why Abraham ties to Melchizedek because the lesser ties to the greater my friends if you are Christian I know about you that you desire to be less and God become greater because that's what's in you you walk as a Christian to make sure that you do everything you can to let it be known that you are the lesser and Jesus Christ is the greater and one of the ways that you can do that is by giving your tie to Jesus showing him that I understand you're greater than me and so therefore here's the tie now how are you going to get it to Jesus he's been having right you can't just sit down like with Melchizedek and hand it to him so how do you give it to him you bring it to the body of Christ you bring it to this body right here just as they did in Acts chapter 5 when they lay their offerings at the apostle's feet that was the church they lay their offerings at their feet so it is that we bring our ties and we lay it at the feet of this body right here the bottom line is if I'm not making myself clear if the Christ is the head of the body he's the head of the church and it honors him when you bring your whole time 10% off the top to Trinity Presbyterian Church my new friends let me tell you something so you learned this about me that's not a gimmick I'm not trying to trick you I'm not trying to manipulate you I'm not trying not a televangelist trying to squander your wealth and say you need to bring it to me and bring it to the church that's not the idea at all I'm not concerned about the budget please understand me when I say that it is not my concern it wouldn't be anyone's concern if we had if we exercised the principle that Malachai gives us it wouldn't be such a thing as fleshchords because you give 10% of what you make my concern is obedience my concern is that we be faithful to this God who has been infinitely faithful to us and my concern is that we not bring down the curses of God but the blessings of God on us and on our children Romans 4 and the outline is ties and offering some final instructions and I want to do that by way of answering some comments that some might have for example some might say well I make too much to time and I've heard that you laugh but that is the serious comment that many would make preacher you don't understand if you knew how much I made I couldn't give that much I couldn't give that much to the church you probably heard the story of the man who said that to the preacher I make too much desire that he said can I pray for you he put his arm right into God I pray that you lower Jim's income until he can afford to time so you don't want to be in that light now we could probably find I don't know how many did I don't know you well enough yet you know our adventure against 10 people maybe 10 or 15 families in this church because if they gave 10% it would it would underwrite the budget it very well may be true but I'll say again I'm much more concerned about your soul than how much money you have it's really not my concern my concern again is the burden that non-tiders bring down judgment while tigers bring down God's blessing and you could say to me but you see how much money I made God is blessing me to know in is he are you sure it's a blessing and not his curse and what about your children they walk in with the Lord what about other what about your health what about other you don't know what the curse is you don't know you don't know but you do you can know that non-tiding brings down God's curse what about the person who says well I make too little to time you know you say well pastor you don't understand how much I'll make and if you did know when you did understand tuition and house payments and car loans then you might qualify what you're saying let me say from my heart that I've been tempted to qualify these kind of things many times in the past particularly when a mother one time nailed me to the wall because I told her young son who just recently made him his bride were struggling so much financially I talked to them about tithing and she just wouldn't hear but the thought that I would put that kind of guilt on them that they need to be tithing when they didn't have enough to time it's a total misunderstanding they understanding he is that we're talking about people souls we're not talking about bread on the table we're not talking about clothes on the back obedience is far more important than eating do you believe that can you say that God's blessing is much more important than life I do understand by the way and I have more to say about that infuse your sermons on the subject as well I do understand what it means to give psychologically when you don't have it I do know that that is very hard that I say the two the the widow with the two might you you give a hint of the two lines what about other ministries you say they depend on individual giving like mine and and I understand that I encourage you to give the other ministries but you just don't give them your time the head for Jews for Jesus one time wrote an appeal to his constituency we really need your help please send in your support immediately but please do not send us your time money we don't like operating on stolen funds he understood what about someone who says our church didn't need I want to give to someone who's median not only that I disagree with its allocations let me say again it's not a matter of the budget being two million or two hundred million God still has his principles by which we are to govern our giving and our spending you think we don't have a needy church you need to open your eyes we have needy families we have some who are working two and three jobs just to keep their house if you don't know that you're not rubbing shoulders with the people in this church you're not here enough you need to come you need to be a part of this family you need to get into people's lives and see where they are we do have needs we have people with needs and we want people who have needs to feel welcome in our church as well we have building needs our building presently has again if you don't see that you need to open your eyes as well there are there there are a lot of things that we need to do to just the existing building some you wouldn't say some things to do with the staple and parking lots and lights and things like that but we also have future needs for the building if we're going to grow we've got to expand that's the bottom we're not going to grow in the present facility that we have and so there's going to be need to grow even physically as well we need pastoral signs they do just some of the needs I throw out to you where we're desperately short pastoral and support staff where where they say by the numbers we have we need about one and a half more people how you get a half but we need about one and a half more pastors we need about one and a half more secretary of health as well there are needs with regard to the fellowship hall if we're going to grow they say once you reach 80 percent you're not going to grow we have probably the most outstanding children's ministry in the PCA I'm not saying that to flatter Becky or Beverly but we have the greatest children's ministry they need room they need more rooms they need a they need we have we have place where there's a stage we need that and I don't mind saying as much to look at if I'm still in the right but I want to first methodist to hear Paul Max saying with the training first grade this we've got an unbelievable building for their youth a gym like building that that makes a statement that we're committed to our youth we need that we need to make we're we're going to grow and we're going to say this is what we're committed to with our children and our hospitals the junior high and high schoolers that's the kind of things that we need to be thinking about if you don't like where the money's allocated there are steps that you can take to let that be known we offer as material and we elect men to make those decisions but we try to make those decisions with regards to God's principles and if we become a church that spends for every dollar we spend on ourselves we spend on others I for one would like to give to an organization like that that would be a tremendous church that you could give to and feel free to give all your time the last one I'm too young to tie you're never too young to tie children you're never too young to tie you you baby said you haven't allowance if you don't begin tithing at the earliest age when you get out of college you have a full time job you're not going to be tithing then either so you need to learn it now let me just make some comments in closing I have sat down with men business men wealthy business men forgotten more about business and making money than I'll ever know in my life who had fallen under the conviction of this passage who began to tie their income it was so freeing there was so much joy for them they didn't realize they had been robbing God you know what our greatest problem in Clark Stale was with regard to the budget what to do with the start was and that's not because of me it was because the spirit moved in people's hearts it was because people began to obey God in their timing and giving you don't have to have business know how to be obedient to give what God asked for I've heard it I should I start with all the times that I've missed well that's something to think about that's between you and the Lord but I will tell you something about God's grace verse 6 and our pastor says for I am the Lord I do not change therefore you are not consumed his law does not change his law does not change we change and we turn our backs on him and so he says in verse 7 return to me and I will return to you says the Lord of us there may be one or more in here this morning who needs to return to the Lord in this area of your life it may be once you give this area you will come back to him in totality repentance begins where you are right now I'm asking every single person in this room right now to repent if you have not been tithing your income then you repent of your sins and you begin tithing today you go home and you figure it out get the calculator out and you begin tithing today I begin praying for you to be tithers long before we came to Montgomery and the reason I do that and I pray it often many times a week for you is because I know how it's connected that again non-tithers bring God's purse and tithers bring God's blessing and I want to say this church blessed and I feel so strongly about the connection that if you do tie the blessings would be much more than just a bigger budget and more benevolent spending we might even see conversions we might say more people than we could ever handle I mean it's just there's the impact the Trinity Church could have is worldwide it's so far reaching and let me say again that I know it's hard I know that it is hard I also know that the joy is far outweighs the pain in writing your check if you can do it cheerfully it's a great thing and I ask you to pray with me that God will give us tithers people who will prove God testing and watch him open up the heavens and bless you more than you ever dreamed he would give to you as we pray together