The Test (tithes And Offerings)


The Test   You might not know, but you take a test every time you get paid. Every time you get paid, you take a test. Let’s just take a little poll here. How many of you get paid every week? How many of you get paid either twice a month or every other week? How many of you get paid monthly? How many of you never get paid? If you ever do, though - if you ever do get paid, you take a test. And the test is: Whom are you going to thank for your income? Whom are you going to worship for your income? And this is how you know whom you’re thanking: and that is, where does the first check go? According to the Bible, where do your first fruits from every paycheck go? Some people thank Visa every month. The problem with that is Visa does not have the power to bless your finances. But God does! Malachi chapter 3:6-7 “For I am the Lord. I do not change.” It’s very clear. God does not change. God did not change between the Old Testament and the New Testament. “Therefore,” - I think this is kind of humorous - “I don’t change, therefore you are not consumed.” In other words, I haven’t killed you because I’m nice. I was nice and I am nice. “…Oh sons of Jacob. Yet, from the days of your fathers, you have gone away from my ordinances.” - Now, I want you to remember this because we’re going to come back to the word “ordinances.” - “You have gone away from my ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you.” By the way, that sentence is the theme of the book of Malachi. “says the Lord of Hosts.” I want you to just notice that because I want you to know this is God talking. All right? God is talking. - “says the Lord of Hosts. But you said, “In what way shall we return?” Now, this is God’s answer, verse 8. A preacher did not make this up. This is God – the God who cannot change, speaking. All right? Verse 8. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me.” “Would you rob God? Would you steal from God?” Your answer would be, “Well, no I wouldn’t do that!” So he said to them, “You have robbed me.” Now, watch their very normal question . “But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed you? How have we stolen from you, God?’” Watch His answer. “…In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” - the storehouse refers to the local church, and I’ll show you that in some other verses - “that there may be food in my house.” (“My house“ always refers to the church.) “…And try me” – or this word “try” could be “test” – “[test] me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts.” Notice again who’s talking - “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” What an amazing promise! “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bare fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of Hosts.” – Once again, this is God talking – “And all nations will call you blessed for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of Hosts.” This is God talking! And let me remind you, this is the God that cannot change. Now, here’s what He says. “You have gone away from my ordinances.” Let me tell you what the word “ordinance” means. It means a principle of ordinary behavior. You have gone away from my principles of ordinary behavior. In other words, it’s ordinary for the people of God to thank God for their harvest. It’s ordinary for the people of God to thank God for their income.   It’s ordinary for the people of God to recognize God even in a time of recession because they know God is the one who can turn that around. God is their source. It’s an ordinary principle. And he said, “You’ve left my ordinary principles and you’ve gone away.” This is such a clear passage. It’s amazing to me! Here is what it says. If I tithe, I am blessed. If I don’t tithe, I’m cursed. And when He says you’re cursed - listen, He doesn’t say, “I am going to curse you.” He says, “ You are cursed with a curse.” He doesn’t want us to be cursed. He says you are voluntarily placing yourself under the curse. We live in a cursed world, and what God wants to do is redeem our finances out from under the curse, but it takes our cooperation. Our cooperation is to give Him the first 10%. The word tithe means “a tenth.” That’s what it means, “a tenth.” I’m a pastor. I want to help people. My whole life is devoted to helping people, and I know what your principles are in the word - your ordinary principles about marriage, family, faith, finances.” Malachi is this book about returning to God. Chapter 1 is about returning to God in your faith. Chapter 2 is about returning to God in your family. Chapter 3 is about returning to God in your finances. Chapter 4 is God returning to us. 1)   Tithing is a test. Every time you get paid. Are you going to believe that God’s Word works? That 90% with God’s blessing goes farther than 100% without?   It is a test of your faith. When you are going through a difficult time, are you going to believe? It is a test. And the number ten…I think I know why He chose a percentage. The reason I think He chose a percentage is it’s the same for everyone; it’s still a penny on every dime. That’s all it is: a penny on every dime. That’s it! And it doesn’t matter if you make $30,000 or $300,000. It’s the same. It’s fair for every person. It’s equal. But the number 10 in the Bible represents testing. When you look at “ten” throughout the scripture, you’ll see that it’s always referring to a time of testing. We’re going to take a test. And I’m going to show you that 10 represents testing in the Bible.   How many times did God test Pharaoh's heart?   10 times. How many commandments are there? Ten! How many times did God test Israel in the wilderness? Ten. How many times were Jacob’s wages changed? Ten. How many days was Daniel tested? Ten. How many virgins were tested in Matthew 25? Ten. How many days of testing are mentioned in Revelation? Ten. How many disciples were there? Ten. No, there were 12, I was just testing you. It is a test! God is testing our hearts. But here’s what’s amazing about this passage. It’s also the only place in the Bible that says we can test God. God says, “Test me. Test me and see if I will not be faithful.” It is a money back guarantee. “Test me and see if I will not be faithful.” And then He says, “Listen -- please understand, please! You’re under a curse.” Now, I want to just clear up something because I’ve had people say, “Well, I can’t be under a curse because Christ bore the curse on the cross. And I’m a believer, so since He bore the curse, I could never be under a curse.” Well, let me ask you something about that. A curse, many times is simply consequence. Really, if you want to remember how to remember a curse, a curse is consequence for behavior. That’s what a curse really is. But please understand this. Are you saying that as a believer you can live any way you want to and not suffer any consequence? See, that’s just crazy thinking. “Well, but He bore the curse so I could never be under a curse!” Okay, well He also bore sin on the cross. 1 Peter 2:24 says He bore our sins on the cross. But let me ask you something: As a believer, have you ever sinned? Sure we have. We’re not perfect once we become believers. But what happens? We can appropriate by faith what Christ did for us on the cross. But we’ve got to repent. We’ve got to turn from that. Otherwise, if we continue walking in that sin, we’ll suffer consequence from that. Another argument people say is that tithing was under the law, and I’m not under the law because I’m a believer. I’m under grace. Okay. I don’t understand that argument either. Are you saying that if it was wrong under the law, it’s right now for believers? “Thou shalt not kill” was under the law. Do you think if you go and kill someone, there are no consequences to that? Sure there are consequences! “Thou shalt not commit adultery” was under the law. Do you think if you go commit adultery, there are no consequences? See, yes we’re believers! We can be forgiven for our sins but there are consequences according to the way that we live our lives. Whether it’s under the law, or if you think, “I’m a believer so I’m under grace and that doesn’t apply to me.” Well, first of all you need to understand that tithing was way before the law. And it was after the law as well. And it’s an ordinary principle in God’s word. All right. Here’s number 2) Tithing is biblical. I think many people don’t tithe because they don’t think it’s biblical. They really don’t. They think there’s only one scripture in the bible and it’s Old Testament. Or they think, “Well, that was under the law and we’re not doing the law anymore.” Well, let me show you a few verses. I’m going to go through a few of the verses on tithing to show you that it is biblical. Genesis 14:18-20: “Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he…” that’s Abraham, “…gave him” that’s Melchizedek, “…a tithe of all.” Think about this, too! This is about 500 years before the law – As a matter of fact, you can go back to Cain and Abel. Cain did not give a tithe. Abel did give a tithe. And God accepted Abel’s offering and He didn’t accept Cain’s offering. And that’s 2500 years before the law -- 2500 years! So this is an ordinary principle that predates the law. Genesis 28:22. This is Jacob. “And this stone which I have set up as a pillar shall be God’s house.” “And of all that you give me, I will surely give a tenth to you.” This is about 400 years before the law. Leviticus 27:30. “And all the tithe of the land…” – “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 to the Lord.” The word holy means “set apart.” Ten percent is set apart for the house of God. Deuteronomy 26:1 “And it shall be when you come into the land, which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, that you shall take some of the first ….” (The word “first” here represents a tithe.) “of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide.” Again, referring to the church. And then look at verses 13-15 of Deuteronomy 26. “Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the holy tithe from my house and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow according to all your commandments which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten any of it when in mourning…” In other words, I didn’t use it during a difficult time. “…Nor have I removed any of it for any unclean use .” In other words, I’m not using it for something sinful. “…Nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God and have done according to all that you have commanded me.” Now here is the prayer you pray after you give the tithe: “Look down from your holy habitation from heaven and bless your people.” It is all through scripture, and it’s an ordinary principle that God’s people give. If Jesus, himself – If Jesus said that you should give 10% to the church, if Jesus said you should tithe, would you do it? Matthew 23:23. “Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you pay tithe” - ten percent - “of mint, anise and cumin,” - these are spices that you put on your food. You even tithe on the spices you put on your food - “and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith.” Watch!   “These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.” Okay, here’s what He said. You give tithes of everything, even the small stuff. Not just the fruit, the firstfruits, but even the spices you’re going to put on the fruit. You give tithe of everything. But you’re neglecting justice, mercy and faith. Now listen to what He says. “You give your tithes, but you neglect this.” Then Jesus said, “This you ought to do.” Please remember, God doesn’t change. God said, “You’re robbing me and you’re under a curse. God - I don’t want you to be under a curse. I would like to open the windows of heaven over you and bless you. And I’d like to rebuke Satan for stealing from you, but that’ll be up to you whether I do that or not.” This is Jesus!” Can I tell you something? If that was the only verse on tithing in the bible, I’d tithe. Because the One that saved me said, “You ought to do this.” That’s enough! That’s enough for me right there. And so here’s number 3: Tithing is a blessing. Tithing is a test, tithing is biblical, and tithing is a blessing. All right, now we’re in 2 Chronicles 31:4: “Moreover, He commanded the people who dwelt in Jerusalem to contribute support For the priests and the Levites, that they might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord.” Now, look at me just for a moment. Hezekiah is reading the Bible. He’s reading the scriptures and he sees tithing. And let me tell you about this time right now. They’re in an economic recession. Anyone relate? The whole nation. And he reads this, “You’re under a curse… the whole nation!” And he says, “We’re under a curse because we’re not tithing!”   So, he puts out a command for everyone to bring 10%, the tithe, into the house of God – the storehouse. That’s what he does. And he says that the priests might devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. Remember, Malachi said, “Listen, bring the tithe into my storehouse that there may be food in my house.” I want you to think about this. When we come to church, what are we receiving? -- Spiritual food; right? And we enjoy it! Can I ask you a question? Do you like the food that you get at Next Level? I’m going to be real blunt with you. Someone’s paying for it. And I’m not simply talking about my messages, but all the Wednesday night meetings, The Friday night meetings all the men’s meetings, all the counseling, marriages, Kids Church, Montrose…all the things – someone’s paying for the priests to devote themselves to the Word of God. Someone’s paying for that. Now, I have a question for you. Would any of you here go to a nice restaurant, eat a meal and skip out on the check? Is this okay for me to talk like this? You come and you eat a good meal, and someone else paid for it. And here’s the sad thing, there’s food in the house because we’ve got tithers. So, here’s the point though. Those of you who aren’t tithing – here’s the sad part – you’re under the curse. I don’t want you to be under a curse. We’re okay financially. I’m not preaching this because we’re not okay financially. I’m not preaching because we can’t make our rent payments. So, I’m not saying that at all. I’m concerned about you. Please, hear me! Same thing, Hezekiah, he gets concerned about the people as well. Let me show you this. Look at verse 5. “As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits…” Now that refers to tithing, again, the first 10%. “…Of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field, and they brought in abundantly the tithe…” There it is – the 10%, the first 10% of everything. “…And the children of Israel and Judah who dwelt in the cities of Judah brought the tithe of oxen and sheep. Also, the tithe of holy things, which were consecrated to the Lord their God, they laid in heaps. In the third month, they began laying them in heaps and they finished in the seventh month.”   By the way, these correlate with harvest time. “And when Hezekiah and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed the Lord and His people, Israel. Then…” Now, watch this. He got concerned when he saw this. “Then, Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah, the chief priest from the house of Zadok, answered him and said, ‘Since the people began to bring the offering into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people and what is left is this great abundance!’” Now, here’s what happens. He puts the command out. People start bringing the tithe. It actually takes them four months to do this. These four, the third and the seventh month are harvest times. So, Hezekiah goes to the temple and there are heaps -- there are heaps of stuff that people have given! And he says, “Wow, praise the Lord!” And then, all of a sudden, as any leader would do, he gets concerned. And he said, “Well, how are the people doing? If they have given this much, do they have enough?” And the chief priest says, “Hezekiah, since people started – when they began to bring the tithe, to do what God said, as soon as they began - God broke the recession. And God began to bless them. And what you see here is just ten percent. If you want to see heaps, go look at the 90 percent.”   This is absolutely incredible! I promise you- doing it God’s way works! And there are many of you that would stand and testify to that. Many of you would say, “I can testify to that right there - doing it God’s way!” I’ve heard two testimonies from tithers and non-tithers. All tithers give the same testimony; all non-tithers give the same testimony.   Here’s what tithers say: “I am so blessed! I am so blessed!” You can’t get a tither to say anything differently. “I am so blessed!” Here’s what non-tithers say, “I can’t afford to tithe.” Okay, this does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out either. It’s because you’re under a curse. Can I tell you something? You will never be able to afford to tithe until you tithe because tithing is what breaks the curse. Try it! It’s God’s Word. Jesus said, “I am going away.” Right? “I’m going away and coming back. While I’m gone, I want you to take care of my wife.” Is the church the Bride of Christ? I don’t think some of you realize how personal this is to Him. He’s giving you what you get. He can give you more. He can also take what He’s given you and give it to someone else who will steward it better. And if you don’t think that’s scriptural, read the parable of the talents because that’s exactly what He did! Please hear me! There is a way that seems right to men but the end is death. But there is a way that is right. It’s an ordinary principle in God’s kingdom. And if you do it according to the word, He will open the windows of Heaven over you and He will rebuke Satan for you. I am pleading with you! I’ve seen more people’s lives changed by understanding and practicing this principle than any other principle I’ve ever talked about. Will you step out in faith? I’ve heard of testimonies of people that have downsized to be able to tithe. I’m talking about downsized. I’ve heard a couple that sold their home because they couldn’t tithe because of it. And they actually moved in with her parents for a season so they could start tithing. And now that couple has been so blessed by God! They give that testimony. “We saw no way we could do it and we decided we are going to get this right no matter what we have to do.” And God’s blessed them tremendously. Tremendously! It works God does not want you under a curse It’s Biblical It has repercussions good or bad that depend on you. The power is in your hands