We have been looking at how to have a renewed, fresh faith for the new year. Our text that we have been considering is from the prophecy of Malachi. God has making statements about the faith problems of the people. But the people are questioning everything God says because they do not believe they have a spiritual problem. So God continues to work on the people’s hearts by telling them the truth and trying to move them to repentance. You will notice that this is how God starts this next paragraph of teaching. Open your copies of God’s word to Malachi 3:7 and notice what God says to the people.
Time To Return (Malachi 3:7)
God begins by describing the historical rebellion of the people. From the very beginning you have turned away from my commands and decrees. But notice even still what God says in verse 7. “Return to me, and I will return to you.” Even with a history of rebellion, God is holding his hands out to his people, calling for them to return to him. If you will come back to me, I will be with you. But notice the response of the people in verse 7. They ask, “How can we return?” Now this is not a question that comes from understanding the seriousness of their sinning. They are not saying that they see how bad their sins are and they cannot grasp how they could ever return to God. What they are asking is how can they return when they have never left God! God is calling for the people to return to him. But the people are saying that there is no need to return. We aren’t lost! We aren’t far from God! So God must illustrate to the people how they are far from God so that they will return.
The Problem (Malachi 3:8-9)
God responds in verses 8-9 that they are robbing him. Now this is an important truth to consider. God says that there is a way to rob him. God tells these people that they are robbing him. Of course, the people argue with this as we have seen throughout this whole book. They ask, “How have we robbed you?” God responds by saying that the people have been holding back in their offerings. You see this at the end of verse 8. You are holding back in your tithes and contributions. We have seen this problem earlier when God described that the heart of the people for worship was to try to give what they did not want themselves. In their offerings they are giving the lame and broken animals that possessed little value. They were only willing to give their leftovers to God because worship was a weariness. Now we read that they were also holding back in their tithes and contributions. Under the Law of Moses, the people of Israel were required to give 10% of all that they had. This was called the tithe. Verse 10 reveals that they were not giving the full 10% but only a portion of it.
But I want you to notice what God says about this situation in verse 9. God tells them that because they were holding back on God, God was holding back on them. You are robbing God and because of that they were not receiving the blessings of God’s provisions. Instead they were under a curse. To put this another way, God is telling the people that they are robbing themselves by robbing him. Holding back on God means you are holding back on yourself. We think that we are improving our condition by holding back. But God says that you are making things even worse.
Test God (Malachi 3:10-12)
Now it is not too often that God says to his people to put him to the test. But here is an area in life where God says to test him. Look at what he says in verse 10. Stop robbing God and give him the full amount. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Then test God and see if he will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down a blessing for you so that you are without need. What a great test God offers to his people here! Give God what belongs to him and see if God will not pour out a blessing on you without measure. God shows that he will provide for his people when they will show that they truly trust him. Think about how God tried to get his people to understand this very important truth. When they were wandering in the wilderness, they did not have food or water. But God would give them what they needed and cared for them each day. When they came into the land, God asked them to give the first fruits of their harvest. This was a way to trust God because you gave him the beginning harvest believing that God will would provide the rest throughout the harvest season. You see that God did not let you collect 100% of your harvest and then give him 10%. Rather, you gave him the first that came from the ground before you had anything else, trusting that God would give you the rest. But God provided for his people every day and every year so long as they put their trust in him.
So here God says to test him by trusting him. God says if you will, then I will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings to give what you need. Look at verse 11. God says he will protect their crops and fields so that they will have what they need. Notice that God is saying he was in charge of their income. God is saying that he is in control and he will make sure that you are cared for and have the provisions you need. Now look at one of the reasons God would do this for his people. Look at verse 12. God says to test him by trusting him and then the world will see that you are blessed by God. The world will see that your trust in God is not for nothing. They would see that God provides for his people in all circumstances.
You see that the problem was that the people did not trust God’s care. They questioned whether God would take care of them. So they held back what rightfully belonged to the Lord. They held back in their offerings, tithes, and contributions because they thought they were taking care of themselves, not God. They did not trust that their lives were in God’s hands.
Still True Today?
Now it is easy to be dismissive of a scripture like this. It is easy to read this and say that these were promises made to Israel, not to us. It is easy to read this and think that times are difficult, things have changed, and we cannot trust in the Lord like they were supposed to trust in him. Are things different now? Let’s think about what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:33-34 ESV)
Here Jesus made the very same promise. You can trust him to care for you. You can put your life in his hands. Jesus said if you will see him and his kingdom first, everything else will be added to you. Is this not another way that God is telling us to put him to the test? Seek him and see that he will take care of your life, what you will eat, what you will drink, and what you will wear (cf. Matthew 6:25).
The apostle Paul also confirms this teaching when he wrote to the Corinthian Christians. In 2 Corinthians 8 he notes that how the Christians in Macedonia, even though they were experiencing a severe test of affliction and were in extreme poverty still overflowed in generosity, giving beyond their means to help other Christians (2 Corinthians 8:1-5). A few sentences later Paul says that such giving proves the genuineness of our love (2 Corinthians 8:8). Now listen to where Paul goes with this teaching.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV)
This is the very point God was making to the people in Malachi. If you are holding back on God, then God is holding back on you. If you are not trusting him, then God is not going to open the windows of heaven to bless you with your needs. Instead, you are going to reap sparingly.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV)
God wants you to want to trust him. Worship under compulsion is worthless. Worship that is reluctant is vain. God loves when people want to give.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. (2 Corinthians 9:8-10 ESV)
Notice the same truth continues. God is able to make you sufficient in all things at all times so that you will overflow in doing good works. God will overflow to you so that you will overflow to others. We overflow in generous giving trusting that God will continue to overflow in generous giving to us so that we can continue to overflow in generous giving. Notice in verse 9 Paul is saying that God will be faithful to this. His righteousness endures forever. Put him to the test and he will supply your needs so that you can supply the needs of others.
Messages
So what are some important applications for us to have fresh faith as we come into this new year? What can we change to be full of faith in 2024? First, we need to see that reason God wants repentance is that so he can bless us. This makes logical sense. If you have children you understand that if your children are defying and rebelling against you, you cannot continue to support them and bless them. You want to but you must call for them to stop their defiance so that you can shower them with your blessings. God is telling us the same thing. He cannot support us in our rebellion. He cannot open the windows of heaven and bless us if we are fighting against him and not trusting him with our lives.
Second, we are asked to prove God by trusting him. Do we believe that God will take care of us and provide for us? Do we believe we can give to him first and he will take care of the rest? Do we believe we can give him our best and God will take care of everything else? Jesus said that we can trust him with everything if we will put his kingdom first. Paul said that we are proving the genuineness of our faith and love and illustrated with the Macedonian Christians. They were in serious suffering and extreme poverty yet still wanted to overflow with generosity and did. This example is very helpful to us because we often look at life backward. We think, “Me first, then God if I have anything left over.” God is saying, “God first, then you, and I will give you everything else so that you do not need to worry.”
We might ask why God would care about how we use our wealth. God does not want your money. He wants your trust. How we use our wealth shows our love for God and love for others. We are showing that we understand that everything we have is from God. So have we been robbing God? This is how God looks at what we are doing when we do not trust him first and question his care. Return to God by trusting him. God offers you to put him to the test in 2024. See if God will open the windows of heaven if you will seek God and his kingdom first in every area of your life, including your wealth, possessions, and finances. Will you stop holding back and be all in with God? Really live different this year and make this the year where you trust his care like you never have before.