God Expects His People To Give 

Contributed by Erik Estep on Mar 7, 2016

Scripture: Malachi 3:6-12
Denomination: Baptist

Summary: Sermon Series geared towards a Christian's responsibility to support the

ministry of the church through our tithing.

“God Expects His People to Give”

Malachi 3: 6-12

6 
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

7 
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have
not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But
ye said, Wherein shall we return?

8 
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings.

9 
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and
prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 
And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of
your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith
the LORD of hosts.

12 
And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith
the LORD of hosts.

February 7, 2016

Intro: A homeless man was looking for a handout one day in a picturesque old English
village. He was hungry almost to the point of fainting, when he stopped by a pub called
“The Inn of St. George and the Dragon.” He knocked on the kitchen door of the pub A lady
answered the door and he said, “Please, ma’am, could you spare me a bite to eat?”
-She yelled back at the man, “Why would I give a sorry, smelling beggar a bite to eat? Get
out of here!” She then slammed the door in his face. The man began to leave when he
noticed the sign of the pub again which said “St. George and the Dragon.” He turned
around, went back and knocked on the door again.

-The same lady opened the door and was surprised to see him again. She yelled, “Now
what do you want?” He said, “Well, ma’am, I’d like to try and speak w/St. George this time.”

-When the subject of giving or money is mentioned in church it can sometimes make
people feel like the dragon instead of St. George! As a matter of fact I think most of us
probably get a little more riled up about the subject of giving in the church than we
do about the subject of hell.

-Talking about money isn’t an issue with most people…as long as you’re talking about
someone ELSE’S money. When the richest man in America list comes out every year, we see
names like Bill Gates on the list. And there’s always a conversation about what people like
him should do with HIS money. We like to talk @ what other people should do with their
money.

-But the conversation becomes a little different when the subject turns to OUR money. And
we think, “Is this really a topic to be covered in church?” It’s interesting to see some stats of
giving in the Bible. 1/6th of the Gospels and 1/3 of Jesus’ parables address the subject of
Xian stewardship.

-To be honest w/you, I believe so many Christians get nervous about this subject because
deep down they know they’re not as generous as they should be. And then others get
nervous because they didn’t realize that giving their life to Christ meant you gave Him
everything.

Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see the importance that’s
placed on giving for those who are followers of God. And in our text we’ll see a few facts
given about giving that can be helpful for us as we move forward.

TEXT: MALACHI 3: 7-12

Background: The Jewish people had returned to Israel after spending 70 years in captivity
in Babylon. But after a period of time their zeal for God started to wane and the people got
slack in their obedience to the Lord. They were living as though obedience to God was
optional. But obedience is a requirement. One of the areas where the people had been
disobedient to God was in their tithes and offerings. So Malachi shared with the people
some reasons why giving is a requirement and not optional.

-So what are the reasons? The 1st reason the tithe is required is simply because:
DIV. 1: GOD COMMANDS WE TITHE (vv. 7-9)

Exp: I want you to understand God doesn’t need our money. He’s already the owner of
everything we’ve got. He made this world and it all belongs to Him. So, understand that
tithing isn’t about money. Then what’s it about? It’s about obedience.

A.God calls for His followers to give back to Him a tithe. You know what tithe means? I
always tell our Discovery Class it means 25%. It means 10%. Now contrary to popular belief,
preachers didn’t come up w/this concept!

Oxford:

one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and
clergy.

Taxation is the power by which the sovereign, through its law-making body, raises revenue to defray the
necessary expenses of the government. It is a way of apportioning the cost of government among those
who, in some measure, are privileged to enjoy its benefits and must bear its burdens.

*Ten percent is just the minimum.

 The widow who gave two mites.

 Mark 12:41–44, Luke 21:1–4

Query: Should you give tithes from your Loan?

 Article 1953: A person who receives a loan of money or any other fungible
thing acquires the ownership thereof, and is bound to pay to the creditor an
equal amount of the same kind and quality.

1.I’m not trying to make a sales pitch to you. This isn’t the Jerry Lewis telethon where you’re
being ASKED to give. The tithe is a COMMAND that comes from God. Listen to what we’re
told about it. In Lev. 27: 30,

30 
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is
the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD.

a.You know, in Genesis God called for man to the steward of the earth. This set a precedent
to show us that we’re not owners of the things around us. We’re merely stewards,
caretakers. And that includes our finances.

b.Well, then why does God want us to give Him a tenth of what we have? Because when we
tithe we’re showing that we recognize all things are His. It shows our submission to HIS will
instead of our own. As you can imagine, this is an area where many people struggle.
2.The people in our text were struggling with it as well. Since they’d returned home, Israel
hadn’t been quite as prosperous as they’d hoped she would. And it seemed as though the
people who were ungodly were doing better than the people who were trying to live by the
commands of God.

a.I’ve thought the same things as well. But you know what that is? It’s just me simply
making excuses; making excuses as to why I can’t be obedient to God. When tithing is
discussed it’s real easy to start making excuses as to why you can’t do it. We say things like,
“Hey, I’d love to tithe but I just don’t have enough money to make ends meet. I’ve got to pay
my bills and if I tithe I can’t pay them.

b.I’ve got kids in college and I’ve got to get them thru school.” Believe me! I understand! It’s
scary giving away away when you’re living on a tight budget. Would you agree with that?

B.But let me tell you something. God has commanded that His children tithe; that His
children give. No matter how you slice it, not to tithe is offensive to God.

ILLUS: There was a church member having trouble with the concept of tithing. And one day
he revealed his doubts to the pastor. He said, “Pastor, I just don’t see how I can give 10% of
my income to the church when I can’t even keep on top of my bills.” The pastor said, “Well
John, if you promise to make up the difference in your bills if you should fall short, do you
think you could try tithing for just 1 month?”

-After a pause, John said, “I could do that for a month if you promise to make up any
shortage.” The pastor then said, “Isn’t that strange that you’d trust a mere man like me,
who possesses so little materially, but you couldn’t trust your heavenly Father who own the
whole universe?”

1.God’s offended because when we don’t tithe we’re showing that we don’t trust Him to
meet our needs. Phil. 4: 19, “19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus.” How serious of an offense is it not to tithe? Malachi said it’s robbing
God.

a.That’s a pretty serious offense. It’s robbing the Creator of all things; robbing the one who
is greater than all things. Doesn’t sound like He’s one you’d want to steal from. Think about
it like this. How wise would it be for me to walk up to Manny Pacquiao and pick a fight with
him? How many of you feel like I could take him out?

b.None of you would believe that. You’d say, “Erik, that would be a foolish and
embarrassing mistake.” Those of you who follow Jesus, I’m here to tell you it’s a foolish
mistake when we rob God. B/c the Jews weren’t giving God the tithe, their land was going
thru severe drought.

*But I’m sure who can make Manny’s nose bleed. English.

Under Article 294 (5) of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, the imposable penalty for
robbery is prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its medium
period. 

Robbery vs. Theft

 The same have intent to gain.

 Personal property belongs to other
 In robbery:
 1. the taking of the property of another
 2. from his or her person or in their presence
 3. by violence, intimidation or threat
 4. with intent to deprive them of it permanently.

2.Their crops were dying. And I believe the same thing happens today. Some of you are
wondering why your spiritual lives feel dead. When you pray you don’t feel as though your
prayers go any higher than the ceiling. You’re facing difficulties in your life that you don’t
know how to handle.

a.And it very well could be the reason why is because you’re robbing God. Folks, God
commands His people to give. When He tells us to follow Him, it means to follow Him with
every bit of our lives. That’s a part of following Him. Is that easy to do? No. But He never
said it would be.

b.Jesus said in Luke 9: 23, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Reit: The 1st reason Christians are required to tithe is b/c God commands we tithe. The 2nd
reason Christians are required to tithe is because the:

DIV. 2: THE TITHE BLESSES THE RECIPIENT (v. 10)

Exp: A question some of you might have is, “Who’s supposed to receive the tithe?”
Obviously we don’t just hand it directly into God’s hand, so where does it go? Look at v. 10.
It tells us our tithe is to go to the storehouse.
A.What’s the storehouse? The storehouse was the treasury room of the Temple. It was the
place where the offerings and tithes were stored. And the tithes were used to take care of
the priests and to provide important ministries outside of the Temple.

1.Now where would the the storehouse be today? The storehouse would be the church.
And the tithes are to be used to help maintain the church but also to perform ministries
outside of the church building. Do you realize that when a tithe is given at Calvary Baptist
Church, that a percentage of it goes across the world to help missionaries tell other people
about Jesus.

a.Not only does our giving minister to people spiritually, but also physically. A part of our
budget is directed towards the ________________________. This ministry
offers_________________.

b.Another part of our giving goes towards ____________________________________________.

2.Sometimes we just don’t realize the great effect our giving has on the lives of others. I’m
afraid what happens is that we look at giving like it’s another bill we have to pay and miss
seeing the big picture, which is the great blessing that it causes in other peoples lives.

a.When you give…let me encourage you to look at the big picture.

ILLUS: An America shoe salesman went to Africa to sell shoes. When he got there he was
angry for having ever gone there. The reason why was because as he walked around the
villages everyone there was barefooted. He called his boss back in the States and said, “Get
me out of here now! Nobody wears shoes in this part of the world!”

-So they brought him home and hired a new salesman and sent him over. When he got
there he looked around and he also noticed no one was wearing shoes. But his response
was totally different. He ran back to his room and grabbed the phone to call his boss.

-When his boss answered the phone he said, “Send more shoes! Everyone here needs
them!”

b.There are people all around us who are walking around WITHOUT Jesus. As you give,
think of the big picture. Remember lives will be changed for an eternity thru your
faithfulness in giving.

Reit: The 1st reason Christians are to tithe is b/c God commands we tithe. The 2nd reason
is because the tithe blesses the recipient. And the final reason Christians are to tithe is
because the:

DIV. 3: TITHE BLESSES THE GIVER (vv. 10-12)

Exp: Remember in our text that Israel was going thru a drought because they weren’t giving
their tithes and offerings to God. But God told Malachi that if the people would just give,
He’d make the land productive again; that He’d pour out His blessings upon His people.

A.I don’t think there’s anyone here today who doesn’t want to be blessed by God. I covet
God’s blessings on my life and in this church’s life. So how do we go about receiving the
blessings of God?

1.By being obedient to Him. And one of the areas where we’re to be obedient to God is in
the giving of the tithe. Notice that v. 10 says “bring the full tenth.” It doesn’t say, “bring the
full 8% or the full 2%.” It says, “bring the full tenth.” That’s pretty clear. God’s not interested
in a tip. He’s interested in obedience. But God has a promise for us in the midst of our
obedience.

a.What’s the promise? God says that He’ll bless us. Apparently the people in Malachi’s day
weren’t any different than us. They were skeptical about God’s ability to bless them just like
we are. And God basically responds to our skepticism by saying, “Test Me. Be obedient to
Me and see what happens. Before you say you don’t believe it, try it out for yourself and
see what happens.”

b.You know what that tells me? That God’s confident that He will come thru on what He
says. When God makes a promise He keeps it. Josh. 21: 45 tells us, “There failed not ought of
any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.”

2.God doesn't lie. Heb. 6: 18 tells us it’s impossible for God to lie. Simply put, when God
says He’ll bless us, that’s exactly what He’ll do The Jews had trusted in their own abilities
and look where it had got them. It got them into a heap of trouble physically and spiritually.

a.And you might be just like that. You might be placing all of your faith in yourself, in what
you can do; trusting in your own abilities to pull you thru whatever need you might have.
But I want to tell you something. You will never be greatly blessed by God until you let God
reign in your life; until you give God control of everything you’ve got.

b.When Jesus said in Acts 20: 35, “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought
to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more
blessed to give than to receive.,” He knew what He was talking about. There’s no doubt that
one of the most satisfying things to do is give.

ILLUS: Some of you may remember Aesop’s fable about an old crow who was out in the
wilderness looking for something to drink. It was hot outside and he hadn’t had anything to
drink in a long time. As he was flying around he spotted a jug sitting on the ground. He
approached the jug and looked into it and noticed a little water at the bottom of it.
-Excitedly he put his beak in the jug only to realize he couldn’t reach the water. So guess
what he did? He began to pick up pebbles lying all over the ground and one at a time put
them into the jug. One by one the pebbles began to accumulate in the jug until the water in
the bottom rose to the top and the old crow was able to drink the water.

-I think this is a parable of the way God has chosen to work out His plan in our lives. You
see, God calls for us to give to Him what we have. And at 1st our giving might not seem that
significant. It might seem like our giving to God is a waste of time. But I do know that if the
old crow hadn’t been willing to give the pebbles he would’ve died of thirst.

B.So as we give faithfully to God, His blessings will come our way and our thirst for a
meaningful life will be satisfied by the blessings of God. Our part is simply to trust that the
blessings of God will come our way; to trust that God will bless us as we’re obedient to Him.

Conclusion: Christians, this message has been mainly directed towards you. And I hope
you leave here today with a better idea of why we’re called to give. Tithing isn’t an option
for believers. It’s a command. But it’s a good one. There are 3 reasons we’re called to give:
1st, b/c God commands us to give. 2nd, b/c the tithe blesses the recipient. And finally, b/c
the tithe blesses the giver.

-Some of you may be struggling w/finding the purpose of your life. you’re seeking for
purpose but you’re coming up empty every time. Let me share w/you who provides that
purpose and meaning: Jesus. Jesus said in John 10: 10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it
more abundantly.”

-God wants to bless you. The question is, “Will you let Him?” Let’s use this time as a time of
prayer where you tell God you want to follow Him; that you’re willing to trust Him with
every part of your life. This might be the day where you commit to God in your giving.

-For others of you, you need to begin by surrendering your life to Jesus as your Lord and
Savior. If you’d like to do that, then pray this prayer after me: Dear Jesus, I know I’m a
sinner. Forgive me of my sins. I surrender my life to you and ask you to save me.

-If you prayed that prayer, open your bulletin and fill out the contact form. Then tear it out
and place it in the offering basket.