Part 7 I Want Financial Security Malachi 3:6-12

Who are you going to trust with your future: yourself or God?Who are you going to trust with your future: yourself or God? God wants us to know He is faithful and we discover that when we give.God wants us to know He is faithful and we discover that when we give.

God does not change… God can be trustedGod can be trusted “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. (Malachi 3:6) So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. (Malachi 3:6)

God does not change… God can be trusted

God does not change… God is patient with rebellious childrenGod is patient with rebellious children Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:7) Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:7)

God does not change… God knows them and invites them back to fellowship.God knows them and invites them back to fellowship. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:7) Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:7)

God does not change… Rebellious people have a hard time owning their junk (7c)Rebellious people have a hard time owning their junk (7c) “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ (v.7) “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ (v.7)

God dependence vs. self-reliance God challenges self-relianceGod challenges self-reliance “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you— because you are robbing me. “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you— because you are robbing me. (Malachi 3:8-9) (Malachi 3:8-9)

God dependence vs. self-reliance God owns stuff.God owns stuff. “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants” (Lev. 24:23). “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants” (Lev. 24:23).

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff. Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills;

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff. a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns the stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns the stuff. then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”

God dependence vs. self-reliance Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff.Tithing is remembering who owns your stuff. But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:6-14; 17-18)

God dependence vs. self-reliance Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. (Deuteronomy 14:23) Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. (Deuteronomy 14:23)

God-dependence produces spiritual blessings 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 you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:10

God-dependence produces spiritual blessings

Self-reliance is the root of trouble I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:11) (Malachi 3:11)

When we trust God… it makes Him famous “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 3:12)

Bottom Line: Test God…don’t challenge Him!

Application Focus on the relationship not the rules.Focus on the relationship not the rules.

Application Take advantage of God gracious offer.Take advantage of God gracious offer.

Application Expect to be blessedExpect to be blessed Give as a pledge to right priorities; His fame not my fortuneGive as a pledge to right priorities; His fame not my fortune Attend the financial forumAttend the financial forum