Malachi asked this question,
Will a man rob God? Have you ever been robbed? Now, I've had some things stolen
from me, and I can remember it outraged me every time I get
so angry. I can remember one time I got
up to go to work and my car wouldn't start, and I opened up the hood
to check why. And the battery was gone. I was
furious. I was outraged. I remember one
time in Mexico, I guess I'd left my watch out, but the maid came
in and I thought they stole my watch. I was so mad. And I remember Walter said, well,
you left it out there. What do you expect? Boy, that
made me even madder. And then Lynn said, wait a minute, let's
look for it. And she started looking around.
They found my watch. And Walter looked at it, and
it was a Timex. He said, you think he might steal that? OK,
but you know, my parents one time, they had their house robbed. Somebody broke in with a weapon. And I mean, they were shook up
for years after that. It's a horrible, terrible thing
to rob somebody. It's a great evil. Malachi asked
the question, Will a man rob God? What an evil thing to do. Now, if a man robs God, it's
a very stupid thing. When men rob other men, they
have some hope that they won't get caught. Or they wouldn't
do it. But there's no hope of not being
caught. When a man robs God, he's omnipresent,
omniscient, and omnipotent. There's no way a man can get
by with this. And how ungrateful it is for
a man to rob God. I think of a beggar asking for
alms, for help. And let's say a man pulls out
his wallet and gives him $50. And the beggar sees a bunch more
money in there, so he takes a club and hits the man in the head.
The beggar hits the man who has given him money in the head. You think, that is evil. What a wicked, abandoned man
would do something like that. Robbing this great benefactor. Robbing him. We rob ourselves
of great blessings. Will a man rob God? Well, yes, in many ways. Is glory due to God? Is it His due? And if I fail
to give Him the glory, I rob Him. Have you ever had someone
take credit for something you've done? Made you mad, didn't it? I've had that happen several
times in work situations where someone took credit for what
I've done and they just pushed me aside. You get angry, don't
you? Is worship due to God? Men ought
to worship the Lord, shouldn't they? He's worthy of all worship. And to fail to worship Him is
to rob Him. Is love due His holy name? Should
all men love Him with all their heart and with all their strength
and with all their might? Is that due God, the love of
my heart? Absolutely. He's God. And to fail to love Him is to
rob Him. Should God be thanked and praised? Everybody ought to praise God,
shouldn't they? He's the God of glory. And to
fail to thank him, to fail to praise him, is to rob him. How many attribute their success
to their hard work or to good luck? That's to rob God. If God uses a man, that man is
in danger of attributing it to his faithfulness and his diligence. But in every case when God uses
a man, it's in spite of that man, not because of him. And
to try to take credit for something like that is to rob God. How many rob God in their doctrine? By making man big and by making
God small. I can give so many examples of
that. You know, if you believe that Jesus Christ died for all
men without exception, And yet some of those men whom he died
for will end up in hell. You're robbing Christ of glory
because you're saying he failed in what he intended to do. And
you're giving man some of the glory and salvation. If the one,
that means if he died for everybody and somebody's lost and somebody's
saved, there's something that somebody that saved did that
made him saved. You're robbing God of glory.
All you got to do is believe in free will in that sense and
you rob God of glory. If you believe that a believer
can earn a higher reward in heaven by what he's done, you rob Christ
of glory. A man can rob God of His glory
in his doctrine. Some rob God of their time, struggling
to fit Him into life's busy schedule. They don't have time for worship.
What an incrimination. Don't have time to worship God. Scripture says, my son, give
me the heart. For out of it are the issues
of life, and to fail to do so is to rob God. Failing to use
your influence in whatever sphere he's put you in for his glory,
that's what you ought to do, isn't it? That's what I ought
to do. And to fail to do so is to rob God. Now, in context,
he's speaking of giving. Look in verse 8. Will a man rob
God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings. You're cursed with a curse. For
you've robbed me, even this whole nation. Now somebody is asking,
does the Bible teach tithing? I like what Brother Mahan said
about tithing. And before him, I think it was
A.D. News that originally made this
statement. If you tithe, you're under law. And if you don't tithe, you're
an outlaw. Therefore, the only safe thing
to do is to give more than a tithe. Now, does the New Testament teach
tithing? I don't think so. I really don't. I think if you look in the scriptures,
give as you feel led, give willingly and so on. If somebody uses that
as a reason to give less than a tithe, I've got a hard time
with that kind of attitude. No, he says you robbed me in
this sense of tithes and offerings. Now, God doesn't need our money. You know, there isn't anything
that irritates me much more than to hear a preacher beg for money
in the name of God. God does not need your money. He says, if I was hungry, I wouldn't
tell you about it. The cattle on a thousand hills
are mine. But thank God, what a privilege
He allows us. to give back a part of that which
He has so abundantly bestowed upon us, and this thing of giving
is a love issue, and it's a trust issue. It's a love issue. God so loved the world that He
gave. And this is what love does. Love
gives. If you love somebody, you want
to give to them. And if you don't want to give,
there's a problem with love, isn't there? Love wants to give. And giving is a trust issue. I trust Him. I give. And I trust Him to take care
of me. I don't worry about, well, what if I can't pay my bills?
What if this happens? What if that happens? No, I trust
Him to take care of me. It's a trust issue. Do you trust
the Lord to take care of you? I can't give this because I'm
afraid I'll need it. No, you give because you love. You give
because you trust Him to take care of you. You know, how is
it that we say we trust him with our immortal soul, and yet we
have a hard time trusting him with our bank account? Give it. What a blessed privilege. It's
a love issue. And it's a trust issue. Now,
look what he says in verse nine, after telling him you've robbed
me in tithes and offerings, he says you are cursed with a curse.
For you've robbed me. Even this whole nation. Now,
this is not talking about eternal damnation when he says you're
cursed with a curse because he calls upon them to give. And he says, see if I'll not
open the windows of heaven for you. Eternal damnation is irreversible. He's not talking about eternal
damnation when he says to these people, you're cursed with a
curse because you're robbing me. But I know this. If I don't give, it'll bring
great trouble in my life. Now it will, every time. And
whenever I see people with certain troubles, financial problems,
marriage problems, Problems in the home, you can just write
this down, those people are having a hard time giving. It's always
like that. That's what he's talking about
when he says, I'll curse you. Now, you don't give in order
to avoid trouble. Well, I better give or God's
going to take it out of the coffin. Don't think that way. That's
not giving. That's trying to pay off a mobster
when you're having that kind of attitude. Don't have that
kind of attitude. Well, if I don't give, I'll be
in trouble. I remember thinking, you know, If I don't give, maybe
I'll wreck my car. That's a terrible attitude. What
do we think about the Lord when we think of something like that?
We shouldn't think of the Lord like that. You give because you
love, not because of the problems you think you'll avoid by giving.
That's mercenary. That's worse. And it's equally
true that the Scripture says giving proves the sincerity of
my love. What I give, how I give, speaks
more powerfully than anything I say. I like what one fellow
is saying. Some people, if you judge by
what they say, they love a lot. If you judge by what they give,
they love very little. Now, which one is the accurate
barometer? What you say or what you give? Now, he says you're cursed with
a curse. Let me show you some scriptures,
turn to Proverbs chapter three. The Bible has a lot to say about
this subject, I remember the first first part of preaching
for many years, I was afraid to say anything about giving
because it's been so abused, seeing preachers begging for
money, and I can't stand that to see that kind of stuff. But
that being said, it's still true that the Bible has a lot to say
about this subject. Look in Proverbs 3, verse 9. Honor the Lord with thy substance
and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. Now, when I give,
I don't wait and see how much I have left over and then give
like that. No, you give the firstfruits,
the firstfruits of your increase. So, look what he says in verse
10, so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses
shall burst out with new wine. Now you can't out give God. You will be blessed in giving. I will be blessed in giving. I tell you where I hurt myself
is when I don't. When I hold back, that's when I hurt myself.
Look in Proverbs chapter 11. Verse 24, there is that scattereth, he
gives and throws his seed out, and yet increaseth, and there
is that withholdeth more than his meat, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made
fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Turn to 2nd Corinthians, chapter
9. Beginning in verse 6. But this I say, he which soweth
sparing shall reap also sparingly. You pour it out just a little
bit, you're going to reap just a little bit. That's a promise.
That's a scriptural principle. But he that soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully. Every man, according as he purposes
in his heart, so let him give. How much should you give? However
much you purpose in your heart. That's how much you ought to
give. Not grudgingly. or of necessity, because it's
a duty. For God loveth a cheerful giver. What a, hold on to that. God loveth a cheerful, literally
a hilarious giver. Someone who enjoys giving. It
makes them happy to give. God loveth a cheerful giver and
God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you Always
having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good
work. Look in Galatians chapter six. Verse six. Let him that is taught
in the word. Communicate or give. And to him
that teaches in all good things, this is talking about the support
of the ministry Then he says in verse 7, Be not deceived,
God is not mocked. For whatsoever man soweth, that
shall he also reap. For he that soweth through his
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth
through the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap,
if we think not. We're not to give, I repeat,
in order to avoid trouble. We give because we love. But
if we don't give, what great blessings, what great benefits
we miss out on. Truly, it is more blessed to
give than to receive. Now, look back a few pages in
the book of Haggai, chapter one. We looked at this a few weeks
ago. Verse four. Is it time for you, O ye to dwell
in your sealed houses in this house, talking about the house
of God lying waste? Haggai, that's the third book
from the Latin, there's Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Is it
time for you, O ye to dwell in your sealed houses in this house
lie waste? Now therefore, verse 5, Haggai
1, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways, for you sow
much, and bring in little. You eat, but you have not enough.
You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You plough, but there
is none warm. And he that earneth wages, earneth
wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of
Hosts, Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring
wood, and build the house, and I'll take pleasure in it, and
I'll be glorified, saith the Lord. You looked for much, and,
lo, it came to little. And when you brought it home,
I did blow upon it. Why, saith the Lord of Hosts, because of
mine house that is waste, and you run every man into his own
house, therefore the heaven over you is staid from dew, and the
earth is staid from her fruit. And I called for drought upon
the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the
new wine, and upon the old, and upon that which the ground bringeth
forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor
of the hands." Now let's go back to Malachi. Verse 10. Now he says, you're
cursed with a curse. You've robbed me, even this whole
nation. Now look what he says in verse 10. Bring ye all the
tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
and prove me." Put me to the test. Put me to the test. Now, there are unconditional
promises. And I'm so thankful for those,
the unconditional promises of the gospel, where God says, I
will, and you shall. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. Not I will have mercy if, but
I will. I will be propitious. to your
unrighteousness, your sins and iniquities, I will remember no
more. Those are unconditional promises. And we won't be saved apart from
these unconditional promises of the gospel. Not something
I got to do in order to make it work. Oh, thank God for the
unconditional promises of the gospel. I will be their God. And they shall be my people.
And there are conditional promises. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. If I don't call, if I personally
myself don't call, I will not be saved. If any man thirsts,
let him come to me and drink. If I don't come to him, my thirst
will not be satisfied. Ask and you shall receive. But
what happens if you don't ask? You have not because you ask
not. Call on me in the day of trouble,
and I will receive you. If any man thirsts, let him come
to me and drink. Come to me, all ye that labor,
I'll give you rest. But if I don't come, what's going
to happen? I think of the brazen serpent when that brazen serpent
was lifted up on that pole. What were they called upon to
do? Anybody who looked. What if somebody says, I won't
look at that serpent? What did he do? He died. I don't care if you say, well,
that's ridiculous. I'm not going to look at a stupid brazen serpent. He died. Whoever looked, they lived. Now, the Lord says, you bring
your tithes into the storehouse. You bring your offerings into
the storehouse. You give, listen to me, don't give for a need. Give for Him. Well, there's a
need I'm going to give. No, don't, don't. That's not. You give unto Him. He said, bring
your tithes, your offerings into the storehouse and prove me.
Put me to the test. See if I'm not good to my word. Isn't that glorious that the
Lord would say something like that to us? Isn't it merciful
and gracious? Put me to the test. 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
shall not be room enough to receive it. What is it that causes a believer
to not give as he should? What is behind that kind of thinking? Well, he feels like it's too
much of a risk to give that much. What if I can't pay my bills?
What if I need that money for some unforeseen emergency? What
if I lose my job? I'd be putting myself at risk
in doing that. I'd be living irresponsibly.
What about my family? What about my responsibilities?
I would be putting myself at risk. Now, what is risk? What
is meant by risk? Risk is an action that exposes
you to the possibility of loss, injury, or even death. The reason that we believe risk
is involved is because we don't know what's going to happen.
So it seems risky to us. We do not know what will happen. This may put me in a hardship. I do not know what tomorrow holds. Does God? You see, God never takes risks
because he knows everything that's going to happen. Now, as far
as this attitude about risk taking is actually contrary to faith,
there's a sense in which we're always at risk. You know, while
I'm standing here right now, there's a risk. There's a possibility
that a meteor is going to come down and smash through this roof
and kill me right here before all of you. And if I had stayed
home, it wouldn't happen. I'm taking a risk, aren't I?
But then, I may be taking a risk. If I stay home, it could be that
a tornado will come and tear up the house and kill me. And
I would have been better off coming to church. You see, we're
always taking risks, aren't we? Everything we do is a risk in
that sense, but there's no such thing as a risk. God is in absolute
control. There are no risks with God. Have you ever not had enough? You remember when the Lord said,
when I set you out, did you lack anything? They said nothing, Lord. Turn with me to 2 Samuel chapter
10. And these are the words of Joab,
verse 8. 2 Samuel 10, and the children of
Ammon came out and put battle in array at the entering in of
the gate. And the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and Ishtab
and Meachah were by themselves in the field when Joab saw that
the front of the battle was against him before and behind. He chose
of all the choice men of Israel and put them in array against
the Syrians. And the rest of the people he delivered into
the hand of Abshi, his brother, that he might put them in array
against the children of Ammon. And he said, he said, if the
Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me. But
if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I shall
come and help thee. This is what makes sense. He
says, be of good courage and let us play the men for our people
and for the cities of our God. And the Lord do that which seemeth
Him good. I'm going to do what's right.
I might get killed in doing it. And the Lord do what seemeth
Him good. Isn't that a good place to be?
I think of Esther. She said, well,
I'll go. If I perish, I perish. She didn't
know if the king would hand out the golden scepter toward her.
She said, I'll go though. If I perish, I perish. I'll go. Was that risky? What about the three men in Daniel
chapter 3, where Nebuchadnezzar said, if you don't bow down when
you hear all those instruments, I'm going to put you into a fiery
furnace. Then what God can deliver you
out of my hand? And they replied, our God is
able to deliver you, us, out of your hand. But even if he
doesn't, and if he lets us burn in the furnace, Be it known to
you, we will not bow to your gods." Now, they put themselves
at great risk, didn't they? But did they? What was the true
risk if they would have disobeyed? And you know how the Lord preserved
them in the fiery furnace. It was a risk for John the Baptist.
to tell Harry that he was living in an adulterous relationship.
He was putting himself in danger, wasn't he? And as a matter of
fact, you know what ended up happening to him? He got his
head cut off for it. But wasn't he better off when
he went directly into the presence of the Lord? Was it risky? Well, sure it was, humanly speaking,
but isn't it true that to live is Christ and to die is gain? And being with Christ is far
better. God says, prove me. Put me to the test. Have I ever
given you a reason to doubt or be suspicious of me? Have I ever
given you a reason to think that I won't take care of you? Can
you out give me? You know, Sometimes people are
described as being generous to a fault. Don't use that language
anymore. You can't be generous to a fault.
It's impossible. Turn with me to Acts chapter
20. Acts chapter 20. Here's a life of joy. Verse 22. And now, behold, I go bound in
the Spirit into Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall
befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. I know that when I,
wherever I go, they're going to tie me up. They're going to
beat me with the cat of nine tails. I mean, Paul knew this
ahead of time. Wherever he went, he knew he was going to be beat
to a pulp, perhaps stoned, beaten with rods. He knew it ahead of
time. What does he say? Verse 24, But none of these things
move me, neither count I my life dear
unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy. Now, the only way that I'm going
to finish my course with joy is if I do not count my life,
this worthless life, as dear to myself. Throw it away. Paul, he said, wherever I go,
I know what's going to happen, but I don't count my life dear
to myself. You know, the Lord said, whosoever
will save his life shall what? Lose it. and whosoever loses
his life for my sake and the gospel, the same shall save it." God says, put me to the test. Prove me. Remember, love gives. Now, prove me, he says, now.
Notice how he says this. He says, prove me now. Let me
give you two false refuges. Yesterday and tomorrow. Those
were false refuges. Yesterday, if you're looking
back to something that happened to you yesterday for assurance
of salvation now, that's a false refuge. And if you're looking
to something you're going to do tomorrow, that's a false refuge.
That's salvation by works. He says, prove me now. Right
now. Prove me, he says in verse 10. Now, herewith saith the Lord
of hosts, If I will not open the windows of heaven and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive
it. Now, I don't know what form this
blessing takes. I don't know. It may be that
if you give, you'll never recover what you gave. Is that a bad
thing? If you're giving as unto the
Lord, is that a bad thing? Let me ask you this, what if
you gave everything and were left destitute? Would that be
a bad thing? What if you were martyred for
the cause of Christ? What if you were tied to a stake
and beat and killed for the name of Christ? Would that be a bad
thing? I think of what that one martyr said. As they were lighting
the flames and he was tied to a stake, that man said, to die
for Christ? It is an honor I don't deserve. And that's to be our attitude.
What a blessing. Prove me, he says. You see what
kind of blessing I open up? Oh, it may be that in giving,
you're given much more. As a matter of fact, it's quite
often like that. As I said, people who are not generous, they're
always having a hard time. They're always having financial
troubles. People that are generous, it seems like everything just
works out for them. That's just a kind of scriptural principle.
He that sows sparingly shall reap sparingly. He that sows
bountifully shall reap also bountifully. But look what it says in verse
11. God says, I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes. Now, whether or not he devours,
it's up to me. I can let him loose or I can
restrain him. And that's in my hand. I will rebuke, I will restrain
the devourer for your sakes. And he shall not destroy the
fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit
before her time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. I'll
do all of these things. Verse 12, And all nations shall
call you blessed, for you shall be a delightsome land, saith
the Lord of hosts. You're going to be blessed. Now,
materially, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I'll tell
you what, I love to be in a position where I can pay my bills. I don't
want to be in a position where I can't pay my bills. Well, therefore,
I need to rein in and make sure I don't give and use that for
my bills. No, no. You want to talk about a recipe
for disaster. No, I want to give, give the first fruits and you
shall be blessed, blessed of God. Materially, maybe, maybe
I don't know. Spiritually. But what is a greater
blessing than to know that the Lord loves you? What is a greater
blessing than to know that you're in his hand? What is a greater
blessing than to know that you have his favor? and His grace
and His love and His kindness. There is no greater. What if
you had to live in a cave and knew He loved you? It would be
okay, wouldn't it? What if you didn't have a knife
vehicle, but He loved you? It would be all right. What if
you didn't have fine clothes, but you had His grace? That'd
be okay, wouldn't it? Beloved, materialism is way overrated,
isn't it? You think of things. What difference
does it make? God's going to burn it all anyway.
There's just not that much to material things. Oh, but there's
so much to being found in Christ. There's so much to simply resting
in Him. He says you shall be blessed
and you shall be a delightsome land. You'll be blessed in your
home. You'll be blessed in your marriage. You'll be blessed on
your job. And you'll be a delightsome land. The Lord is going to find
pleasure in you. He'll be pleased with you, pleased
in Christ. He has made us accepted in the
beloved. And I want to close by looking
at a passage of scripture, Mark, chapter 12. Mark, chapter 12. Verse 41. And Jesus sat over against the
treasury. That's where people gave their
money. And beheld. What's the next word? How? The people cast money into the
treasure, not how much, but how? How? The attitude of the heart. And Jesus said over against the
treasury and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury
and many that were rich cast in much. I mean, there might
have been somebody put in $100,000. Can you imagine what a blessing
that would be? Or maybe somebody put in a half
a million. If somebody give $350,000, much. But look what our Lord
said. And there came a certain poor
widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. She put
in a couple of dimes. They couldn't do anything to
help the finances. They couldn't pay any bills.
They couldn't do anything. If somebody put twenty cents
or even two dollars In the grand scheme of things, how much is
it going to help us as far as supporting missionaries? I think
we send $6,000 or $6,500, $6,700 out a month to missionaries.
What's $2 going to help? I mean, $2? Keep it. Look what the Lord says. And he called unto him his disciples,
and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow
hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury.
You see, the Lord doesn't look at what you give. He looks at
what you keep. That's what he looks at. Not
what you give. What you keep. And this woman,
what she give, she gave everything, all her living. She was made
to be totally dependent upon the Lord. And this is a gospel
picture, isn't it? I mean, you look at this, this
is what we do when we trust Christ. We trust Him completely for our
living. We don't try to hold back anything.
We totally trust Him only, not Christ and Christ alone. This
woman cast in all her living, and the Lord said, she gave more
than ever one of them. Verse 44, for all they did cast
in of their abundance. that she of her want did cast
in all that she had, even all her living. May God make us ambitious to
be just like this woman. Let's pray.