Malachi chapter 3 and verse 8. A question he asked of man in
general, a question he asked specifically of those who profess
to be his own. The prophet's question, God's
question to us by the prophet. Will a man rob God? Will a man rob God? Think about that for just a little
bit. Will Adam pillage Elohim? Will frail, weak man attempt
to supplant the great, the mighty God? Dares mortality attempt
to rob immortality? Dares the creature reach and
draw out his dagger and attempt to sneak up on the backside of
the creator and stab him and rob him? Will a man rob God? Impossible as it is for a man
to rob God. Insane as it is for man to attempt
to rob God, this crime is an ancient crime, as old as man
himself. It is a crime at which men are
persistent in every generation and in every age. Malachi 3.8
is one of those verses of scripture that preachers like to use and
abuse to beat folks over the head, try to convince them and
shame them into paying their religious taxes, their tithes. They'll tell you if you don't
pay your tithes, God will get you. God will get you. If you owe 10%, if you don't
pay it, God will get you. One of your children may have
to go to the hospital. Your wife may have to go to the
hospital. You'll have bills pile up so great that you'll have
to file bankruptcy. God might even kill you. He'll
kill your wife. He'll kill your sons or daughters
if you don't pay your taxes. Preachers are worse than the
federal government. They make religious tax evasion a capital
offense. You say, well, Brother Don, you're
stretching that. I've heard every one of those
things said. I've heard preachers stand where I'm preaching now
and give people such nonsense. And then they promise, if you
do tithe, and especially if you'll double tithe, especially if you'll
more than tithe, then God will pour out his blessings upon you.
He will enrich you, and he'll make your life so happy. Needless
to say, that's not Malachi's message. Contrary to popular
opinion You can't bribe God And God Almighty ain't gonna bribe
you You can't bribe God and God won't bribe you All right. Let's read our text Malachi chapter
3 beginning verse 7 May God the Holy Spirit be our teacher and
teach us that which he here speaks of about robbing God. 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? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have
robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for
ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the
tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord, 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, 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. and all nations shall call you
blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts. All right, the first thing spoken
of here is an apostasy. The Lord mentions an apostasy
here, the relentless apostasy of the human race, particularly
the relentless apostasy of the whole house of Israel from the
worship of God. He says, even from the days of
your fathers, Way back in Egypt, they began to depart from the
Lord and they continued all through their history. The Days of the
Judges was a continual repetition of apostasy from the worship
of God. The children of Israel had apostatized
from the ordinances of divine worship and they brought upon
themselves the judgment of God and carried themselves into Babylonian
captivity because they would not hear God would not hear his
prophets, and they departed from God, all the while claiming to
worship him, just as they had learned from Aaron. Back in the
days when Aaron made the golden calf and proclaimed a feast to
Jehovah, just as they had learned from Baal the false prophet,
they attempted to mix the worship of idols and the worship of false
gods with the worship of Jehovah. They'd apostatized from him.
He says, even from the days of your fathers, ye are gone away
from my ordinances and have not kept them. Turn back to Jeremiah
chapter two, verse 13. This is what the Lord says. Hold
your hands here in Malachi, we'll stay right here. But Jeremiah
chapter 2 verse 13, the Lord God says, my people have committed
two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain
of waters, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns that can hold no water. They've forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters, and they've hewed them out cisterns
that can hold no water. Broken, useless cisterns. That's the religion man invents
for himself. But these words of the prophet
were not written for a people who lived 2,500 years ago. They addressed the children of
Israel in that day and the children of Judah in that day. But David
Coleman, these words come from God for you and me today. They are words intended for our
instruction, for our admonition. Always read the word of God as
God's word to you and you will never mistake the intent of the
spirit. This solemn charge is given this
charge given concerning the children of Israel and concerning you
and me. The Lord God says, even from
the days of your fathers you have 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 you said, wherein shall we
return? A people who don't know they've
departed, don't know to return. A people who don't know they're
fallen, don't know to return. The Lord says, return to me and
I will return to you. And men say, well, what's the
big deal? We've never departed from God.
Specifically, this addresses the Pharisees living in the day
when John the Baptist came, announcing the way of the Lord, and when
the Lord Jesus himself appeared in the scene. And the Pharisees
held to their traditions, just as men in our day hold to their
traditions. When God sends his word, and
they say, no, no, no, you're talking to the wrong people.
We've not departed from God. What a solemn charge this is.
You've departed, you've gone away from mine ordinances. The
Lord God in chapter 3 verse 6 calls our attention to the basis, the
only basis of our security. He says, I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore your sons of Jacob
are not consumed. And now he calls our attention
to our fickleness. our shiftedness, our constant
mutability. Our attention is turned away
from His rock steadiness to our shifting sandedness, away from
His mighty strength to our utter inability. There was a time when
the blessed and holy doctrine of the gospel was cherished in
this nation. cherished by the rich and the
poor, cherished in the schoolhouse and in the church house, cherished
in the poor pit, and pleasing in the pew. the distinguishing
truths of the gospel, such as God's everlasting covenant love
for his own, the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus, his justifying
righteousness, the mighty efficacious work of God's Spirit, were things
commonly proclaimed and commonly rejoiced in. Oh, how we've fallen
today. Today, what few there are who
profess to believe the gospel of God's grace. Dare not speak
it boldly, and dare not speak it forthrightly. There are a
few here and there, but by and large, people who even claim
to believe the gospel, talk about it in the pastor's office, or
talk about it in the coffee shop, you won't hear preached in the
pulpit. It won't happen. Several years ago, I had arranged
to go meet Brother George Ella out in Enid, Oklahoma. And I got snowed in just as well. I got snowed in at the airport
all day in Cincinnati. And I had to turn around and
fly back home. So I called George to tell him what had happened.
And George said, oh, I had a great day. I had a great day. He said,
Don, there were 30 Southern Baptist preachers here. All believe the
gospel of God's grace. I said, do what? He said, yeah,
there's 30 Southern Baptist preachers here. All believe the gospel
of God's grace. I said, are you planning to be back tomorrow?
He said, yes. I said, I'll tell you what I'll
do. I'll give you $100 for everyone that you can find who any time
last year preached on limited atonement or predestination or
God's sovereign election in his own pulpit. And you know it didn't
cost me a dime. How come? Because you've departed
from God's ordinances. It doesn't matter what you say
with your lips, I'll write in your creed. We've departed from
the worship of our God. Apostasy from the word and worship
and will of God brings judgment upon men. It brings judgment
upon individuals. And it brings judgment upon nations.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 1. Romans the first chapter. It is this departure from God
A departure to which the nation has been led by will-worshipping
preachers that has led to the moral degeneracy of this nation.
I get aggravated. I get aggravated when I see the
open promotion of homosexuality and adultery and fornication
everywhere you turn around. I get aggravated and mad. Somebody
says, well, you're mad. I am mad. I'm mad. I'm mad at the religion of this
age that has taught men and women to worship themselves as though
they were God. For their worship of man as though
man is God is the very cause of the moral degeneracy that
is the judgment of God upon a nation. Now let's see if I can make good
on that. Romans chapter 1 verse 16. Free will, works, religion is
the apostasy and the ruin of this day. Paul says, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel, the gospel of Christ. It's the power of
God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Verse 17, for
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith. from my faith to your faith.
I have the righteousness of God revealed to me. I proclaim the
righteousness of God to you. God gives you faith. Therein
is the righteousness of God revealed. The just shall live by faith.
Verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Now watch this, who hold. The word skip is suppress. They
suppress it. You've been there. I missed out
on it. I was in Mexico and before that
in St. Croix, but I understand that these scientists have been
suppressing some things about global warming. Is that right?
They've been holding it down. Holding it, that's the very word
right here. They hold down. They suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Everybody knows it. Everybody
knows it. I don't care who they are, everybody
knows it. There are certain things that
cannot be denied by any man honestly because God has stepped it on
your conscience. You may hate it, you may hate
me for pointing it out, but everybody knows it. Watch, read on. Because
that which may be known of God is manifest not to them, in them. It's so obvious they have to
push you out of the way. God's so obvious you got to push
him out of your way to get to hell. God's so obvious in your
life you got to push him out of your face. Manifest in them
for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made. You look out and see the sunshine
and You see the moon and you see the stars and you feel the
wind in your face and you go down to the ocean and you see
the breeze, the sea breeze and the sea splashing against the
rocks and you travel around the country, you fly over and see
the gorges and the mountains and you say, wow, what a marvelous
feat of luck for an explosion to cause things this way. You
folks in the medical community, David said, I'm fearfully and
wondrously made. But there are educated idiots
who would have us believe that just happened. That just happened. Educated idiots. Nobody believes
that. Nobody does. It's manifest in
them. God's eternal power and Godhead. So that they are without excuse.
without excuse because that when they knew God they glorified
him not as God neither were thankful but became vain in their imagination
and the foolish heart was darkened professing themselves to be wise
they became fools now watch this and changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made likened to corruptible man
and to birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things verse
24 wherefore God also gave them up. Oh, what a word. We live in a generation God's
given up. Given up to uncleanness through
the lust of their own hearts. to dishonor their bodies between
themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped
and served the creature more than the creator, who is blessed
forever, amen. For this cause, God gave them
up to vile affections. You can read the rest of the
chapter and read about the vile affections. Yes, you read the
book of God correctly. Homosexuality, like adultery and murder, fornication
and bestiality, is a moral perversity, a degeneracy of man, an act of
divine judgment that brings greater judgment. And the root to which
the moral perversity must be traced is idolatry. Worshipping
the creature rather than the creator. Turn to 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Here
Paul deals with the same sense of apostasy. And it tells us that the manifestation
of Antichrist in this generation is this embracing of a false
gospel which exalts man and demonizes God. A false gospel that lifts
man high and sets God low. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Now we beseech you, brethren,
by the coming of our Lord Jesus, and by our gathering together
unto him, that you be not soon shaken in your mind, or troubled,
neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from us, that
the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any
means, for that day shall not come. That is, Christ isn't coming.
except there come a falling away, an apostasy first. And that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so
that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself
that he is God. I thought that was talking about
the Pope. It's talking about the Pope. By all means it is. But Pope's
not the only Antichrist there is. Oh no, every form of free
will works religion. Every form of religion that sets
man up in the place of God. So that man is exalted to the
place where God alone rules. Man is given power that God alone
possesses. To man is attributed that which
God alone can perform, is antichrist. Read on. Remember ye not that
when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now you
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth
already work. Only he who now letteth will
let. That is, he who now prevents
him will continue preventing him until he be taken out of
the way. And then shall that wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all
power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish. How come? Because they
received not the love of the truth. that they might be saved. God confronted them with the
truth, but they wouldn't receive it. And for this cause, God shall
send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie. And
when God sends a delusion, God sends a delusion. It comes with
power and signs and wonders, speaking in tongues and performing
miracles. In this day, is as clear a mark
of Antichrist as in the apostolic day it was a mark of Christ's
apostles. They come with signs and wonders,
performing great miracles. Oh, look at that! That must be
of God. For this cause God sends them
a strong delusion that they might believe a lie, that they all
might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure
in unrighteousness. Now, That's where you were not so
long ago. That's where you were not so
long ago. And here's the only reason you're not still there.
But we're bound to give thanks all the way to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
11. One more passage in this regard. In the face of all the onslaught
of heresy, of damning heresy, of Antichrist, of free will,
works, religion, all the onslaught of moral degeneracy and return
to paganism in this land and throughout the Western world,
Children of God, there's no reason to be overly disturbed. Let us
never fail to see the seriousness, never fail to know our responsibility
in these days of judgment to proclaim the light of the gospel
wherever God gives opportunity. But all is still well. First
Corinthians 11 verse 19. For there must also be heresies
among you. They got to come, Merle. They
got to come because God's still separating wheat from chaff.
God's still gathering his jewels out of the muck and mire of fallen
humanity. Heresies also must come that
they which are approved may be made manifest among you. What
happens? What happens when the heresies
come? What happens when these terrible
departures from the faith come? God's elect shine forth in the
brilliance of his grace because he graciously holds his own and
will not let them go. He calls them out as he will
at the appointed time of his mercy, and he preserves them
in the midst of darkness. Oh, that he who says here, return
unto me, would graciously accompany the invitation with his power,
and calls the hearts of multitudes today to return to him. All right, now let's look at
the robbery. This apostasy from God. is nothing less than the
robbery of God. A robbery of God that holds men
under the curse of the Almighty. Look at verse 8. Will a man rob
God? Yet ye have robbed me, but ye
say wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings God responds. But when God speaks of tithes
and offerings, He's talking about a whole lot more than money.
He says, you are cursed with a curse because you robbed me,
even this whole nation. Now in the Old Testament, as
you well know under Levitical government, In that typical dispensation,
the tithe was a religious tax required by God, a tax that all
of Israel was required to pay. It was collected for the maintenance
of the tabernacle, the maintenance of the priesthood, the maintenance
of the Levitical house, and the maintenance of the poor in Israel.
It was done to maintain the worship of God. You can read about it
in Leviticus 27 and in Numbers 18. But the robbery spoken of here
by Malachi involves something more than money. And the tax
God levied upon the Israelites was a tax not just of money,
but of their goods as well. Malachi's message was specifically
addressed not to the people of Israel and Judah, but to the
priest. Look at chapter 2, Malachi 2.
These priests are the ones to whom this message is specifically
addressed. The priests were the ones who
got the tithes. They were the ones who got the tithes. They
were the ones who were supposed to use the tithes for God's glory. They were the ones who were supposed
to distribute them among the Levites and use them to maintain
the house of God and the worship of God. And now, O ye priests,
this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, if you
will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my name, saith the
Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will
curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already,
because you do not lay it to heart. The tithe is a law, like all
the laws in Israel, which has no bearing whatsoever upon God's
elect in this gospel day. But the things taught by it have
great bearing. The priests of Israel defrauded
God. They defrauded God of his worship. They defrauded God of his worship,
taking the offerings of God's praise and giving them to another. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 7. Again,
hold your hands here in Malachi. Turn back to Jeremiah chapter
7. Let me show you. Just as preachers
and religious leaders today defraud him, so they did in the days
of Jeremiah and in the days of Malachi shortly thereafter. Verse
8, Jeremiah chapter 7. Behold, ye trust in lying words
that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit
adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal? Isn't
it amazing how this throws all those things together? Because
it's all the same thing. And walk after other gods whom
you know not, and come and stand before me in this house. which
is called by my name and say we are delivered to do all these
abominations. Is this house which is called
by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes? You've robbed me,
taken my glory and given it to another and you come into my
house and claim to worship me. And God Almighty speaks here
of robbing him in just that way. Think of this matter of robbing
God spiritually. Apply it as God intends for us
to apply it to our day and our circumstances. How does a man
rob God? A man robs God by robbing him
of his sacrifice. His sacrifice and his praise.
How do people rob God? You rob God, you who believe
not, when you refuse to believe Him. You make God to be a liar. You who believe not, rob him
continually of his glory. You rob God when you despise
his sovereignty and his dominion as God. You rob God when you
deny his eternal purposes, his eternal accomplishments, the
performances of his love from everlasting. You rob God when
you slight his darling son. Rob him of the merit and efficacy
of his blood and his righteousness. You rob God when you despise
the Spirit's mighty operations of grace in regeneration, in
conviction, in the preservation of his people after his effectual
call in life in Christ Jesus. You rob God when in any way you
attempt to mix the works of man with the works of God for the
saving of your soul. If you be circumcised, Christ
shall profit you nothing. If you're under the law, you've
fallen from grace. You rob God when you make man's
will omnipotent and God's will subservient. We live in a generation
of people. who daily, three times a week,
are ever housed, and the church doors are open, every time they
speak of man and speak of God, set man up as omnipotent, almighty,
and declare that God's will is subservient to man's will, and
thus rob God. You rob God when you put your
hand to the ark. You rob God when you pick up
your tool and go to work on God's altar. You rob God when you break
God's Sabbath and begin to work for God's acceptance, despising
his son. You rob God when you give man
a place to glory before him. The psalmist sang this way. Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, where is now their God? Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. If you rob God of his offering,
he says in verse nine, you're cursed. with a curse. It is written, Cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them. You're cursed with a curse, God
declares, for you robbed me. You see, there's always a reason
for God's judgment. There's always a reason for God's
judgment. God's grace comes freely with
no reason that can be traced to man. But judgment comes always
for a reason. Why on this earth are we dealing
with such darkness and decadence and perversity? Why is it not just our nation,
every nation in the western hemisphere and beyond that is teetering
on destruction. Why? Because man forever loves
God. And the only answer, the only
hope is not in the politicians, liberal or conservative. The
only answer, the only hope is in the gospel of God's grace.
So let us make it known in this generation as God gives opportunity. Well, the man robbed God. You
who are gods, you know well you're not your own. You bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body and in your spirits that are God's. Give
yourselves relentlessly to His glory. Relentlessly to His calls. People say, well, I don't want
to be fanatical. Would to God I could find somebody
fanatical for the glory of God. I just wonder what God might
do with somebody who's absolutely sold out, lock, stock, and barrel
to the will and the glory and the gospel of his grace. Now
look just for a moment at verses 10, 11, and 12. Learn about the storehouse. I'll
come back to this, Lord Willard. Bring all your 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
to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it. I'll 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, and all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall
be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." In Nehemiah
chapter 13, God calls for us to bring us, or here he calls
for us to bring our tithes, all our tithes to the storehouse.
Lots of Baptist folks preach about storehouse tithing. You
ever heard about storehouse tithing? Bring your tithes to the storehouse,
as if the local church is a storehouse. But you can't find that in the
book. And if you can't find it in the book, you've got no right
to press it anywhere else. What's the storehouse? There,
the storehouses were tithe barns. That wasn't where they brought
money. They had a treasury where they brought the tithe money.
The tithe barns, that's where they brought the wheat and the
grain, whereby they fed the priest and the Levites, and whereby
there was meat had in God's house. Bring your wave offerings and
your thank offerings. Bring the first fruit offerings
out of the field. Bring all your offerings to God
Almighty in the hand of faith. Bring Christ Jesus the Lord to
God Almighty and watch Him open the windows of heaven and pull
you out of blessing that you can't hold. Continually bring
to God praise and thanksgiving for Christ Jesus the Lord, who
He is, and what He's accomplished. And the time will soon come when
God Almighty will set you before wandering worlds, and all the
world will call you blessed. Look here. These are the people
of the living God. All nations shall call you blessed,
for they shall be a delightsome land, he says, saith the Lord
of hosts. When God has crushed the devourer,
the God of peace, crushes Satan under your heels, then in those
ages to come, He will show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Turn to Revelation
chapter 19. Let me show you. Revelation 19. After these things, When it's
all over, I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying,
hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the
Lord our God for true and righteous are his judgments. Like some of you, I've I've seen
God's judgment fall upon folks that didn't know God, dear to
me, and crushed them in hell, and I weep. I weep now for them. But there's
a day coming when that weeping will be over, and there will
be no pity, not a thought of pity for them. True and righteous
are his judgments. For he hath judged the great
whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornication. He hath avenged the blood of
his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia.
Praise Jehovah. And her smoke rose up forever
and ever. And the four and twenty elders
and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God, God that
sat on the throne, saying, Alleluia, Amen, Alleluia. And a voice came
out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants,
and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard, as it
were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah. Hallelujah. For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. And that's the way we want it. Is that what you want? Is that
what you want? For God to reign supreme and
be acknowledged as God in His glory. Soon, Bill, we shall have
what we want. Amen.