Trust Me!
Malachi 3:10
This morning I want to begin a short series of messages from Malachi 3. For those of you who attended our recent quarterly ministry update, you will know that the church approved a three-part recommendation by the Finance Committee to address our recent financial need.
One of those recommendations was to receive a Harvest Offering which we did at the first of October. And thanks to your good giving, even though we were short of our goal, we were able to cover all the deficits from the summer and get back in the black in our general account.
Next, we temporarily suspended our Mission percentages to the BGCO, Enon and our Mission Scholarships until we recovered a little. We are now back on track with our mission support and are looking at ways to catch up on the amounts that we missed.
You also approved a recommendation to conduct a Prove the Tithe day and we will be having that day on November 7. And it is with that in mind, I wanted to preach this short series of messages. Many of you may be asking what is a “Prove the Tithe” day? Well it is just that: a day to encourage every one of our church families to give a tithe of their income and see if it works or not.
And the biblical background for that is found in this text in Malachi 3, particularly verse 10.
Notice this text:
Malachi 3:10
There is an old hymn that we used to sing in Baptist churches called, “Trust Me, Try Me, Prove Me”.
The lyrics go like this:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse
All your money, talents, time and love
Consecrate them all upon the altar
While your Savior from above speaks sweetly
CHORUS
Trust Me, try Me, prove Me, says the Lord of hosts and see if a blessing, unmeasured blessing I will not pour out on thee
I want to zero in on three phrases found in that song and bring you three messages on those thoughts. Now obviously, the focus of the verse in Malachi is on the tithe, and next week I’ll say more about the tithe itself, but there is a greater issue here than our tithe and that is our trust. In reality we are not conducting a “Prove the Tithe Day” as much as a “Prove God Day”.
The key to faithful giving is learning to trust God. . The primary question of the day is not, “Do you tithe?”, but rather, “Do you trust?”
It’s easy to say; all of us say we trust God. But I want you to know that it is a lot harder to trust him than it is to say you trust him. It is one thing to say it. It is quite another thing to do it.
And whether we consciously say it or acknowledge it or not, for everyone who struggles with the tithe, they are actually struggling with a trust issue.
Can I trust Him? It’s actually a proof of our spiritual growth. We all come to those times when we decide whether or not we are going to trust God. And by making that conscious, deliberate choice and putting feet to it, we are saying, “I trust God.”
And every child of God is faced with that issue in a myriad of ways. It might be with a family crisis or a financial need or our tithe or teaching a Sunday School class, but we are constantly given opportunities to depend upon God an trust Him or walk away and do it by ourselves.
And when we make that choice to trust God, at that moment, we begin to grow spiritually. We begin to develop our spiritual gifts and we begin to move toward our maximum potential of our Christian life. And we also discover fulfillment and joy. You see the reason many people sit in church pews week after week they are disillusioned and untrusting of the church and its ministry is because they don’t trust God.
They’ve been confronted with that time of decisions, and walked away, and now they are shriveled up in their soul and spirit; unproductive and unfruitful and rotten and no good. And dear friend, you will never meet your maximum potential; you will never experience the joy and fulfillment that comes with walking with God until you decide to trust Him.
If you want fulfillment and joy and productivity and fruitfulness in your life, then you must learn to trust God.
And that is the context of what we see here in Malachi 3. God, in so many words, is saying, Trust Me!
Now to understand what led up to that challenge, we really need to back up and see the events preceding this verse. I’ve preached a lot of times on Malachi 3:10, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever led up to a sermon on the tithe by looking at the history of the statement in verse 10.
So let’s go back this morning and see why God found it necessary to challenge His people to put their trust in Him.
Malachi is the final book in the Old Testament, and in many way Malachi is kind of a transitional book between the Old Testament and the New.
Malachi's name means "my messenger." He seems to hide himself behind the message as he delivers the word that God has to the people in this particular day. After the voice of Malachi goes silent, there are about 400 silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The voice of prophecy is not heard again until a man named John the Baptist, standing on the banks of the River Jordan says, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord."
When the Lord Jesus comes he says, "Behold
the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."
Malachi was a prophet of God who prophesied in the
last days before the first coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You and I are living in the last days before
the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are striking parallels between Malachi's day and our day. In a day when people were to be ready and prepared for the first coming of the Lord, instead of expectancy there was great complacency and indifference. There is striking similarity between Malachi's day and our day.
We are living in the days before the coming of the
Lord Jesus. We don't know how long it is going to be.
But we do know that we should be ready for the coming of the Lord and should prepare our hearts for His coming. Yet, around us we see conditions very similar to the day of Malachi.
Socially, it was a time when adultery was rampant.
Divorce was very common. Children were being treated with a great deal of abuse. It was a time of crass materialism.
Morally, it was a time when people had seemingly lost their understanding of right and wrong. We are living in a day that is very serious morally.
Also it is a time of great spiritual concern as well.
Instead of being open and responsive to the coming of the Lord, there was a sense of indifference and unconcern. In fact, there was almost a sarcastic attitude.
And it is extremely interesting to see what God says to this setting and situation.
Notice how this prophecy begins in Malachi 1:2
“I have loved you”.
Then notice the response of the people. “In what way have you loved us?” As you read the book of Malachi you will discover that phrase is repeated seven times.
It is a sarcastic word. It is kind of an "oh yeah" word. God makes His affirmations and His appeals to the hearts of the people and they respond with contempt. They respond with indifference and unconcern. They are almost insulting of the Lord. "Oh, yeah! Oh, really!"
And all seven times, the things that are mentioned are God’s ways of demonstrating He can be trusted. And yet, they didn’t trust Him. Instead, they
1. DOUBTED God's love.
God declares His love in verse 2. "I have loved you,
saith the Lord." This is the last word in the Old Testament from God. From Genesis to the book of
Malachi God has sent this message. The message He gives is the message of love. The great message of the Bible is the message of the love of God.
Malachi says in verse 1, "The burden of the word of the Lord." The word, burden, there means to lift a heavy load. It's like a heavy load was on Malachi. He had to deliver the message of the Lord.
He is declaring His love.
Notice the tense of the verb here. God says, "I HAVE loved you." The tense of the verb means -I loved you in the past, I love you in the present, and I will always love you.
In the book of Jeremiah, God says through the prophet, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." It is a word that means from vanishing point to vanishing point.
That means as far as you can look back in the past, God loved you.
It means look at your present life and God says, ”I love you.
As far as the ages can go in the future, God says, I love you.
God is a God of love. God declares His love for us. We read it all through the Bible. The Bible is a book of love. The Bible is God's love letter to us to let us know that though we do not deserve it, He loves us. Though we doubt, God loves us.
The most profound thought ever to entertain the mind of a man is to think that the great God of this universe is a God who condescends to love you and me.
Remember that old hymn we used to sing?
"I am so glad that our father in heaven, tells of His love in the book He has given. Wonderful things in the Bible I see. This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me. I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves even me."
If you will just get hold of the truth that God loves you, it will break your heart and you can never be indifferent to the things of God. It will lead you to trust Him!
But notice the doubt of the people. They respond and say, "Oh, really? Oh, yeah? In what way have you loved us? Isn't it an amazing thing that people don’t recognize the love of God?
They say, "Prove your love to us." Now, God declares His love. The people doubt His love, so now He demonstrates his love.
He says in verse 2 that He loved Jacob and in verse 3 he says He hated Esau. This has caused some people some trouble.
Down in verse 4 he mentions Edom. Esau is the nation of Edom. Someone said to a Bible teacher one time, "I have real trouble with that statement in the Bible where it says I have hated Esau."
The preacher said, "What gives me a greater problem in that passage is where it says I have loved Jacob."
I can understand why we would be unworthy of the love of God and the thing that really grips our heart and amazes our heart is that God loves us.
What is He doing here? You have to keep in mind the
Semitic languages of the Oriental world. They spoke with great emotion. They spoke with hyperbole and used great figures of speech. They are, in hyperbolic language, trying to say that God's love is so great for Jacob that in comparison it would seem that it was hate for Esau.
In fact, the best translation of that is that God has blessed or favored Jacob in a special way and has not blessed or favored Esau in that way.
You read down in verses 3, 4, and 5 and God points out that anything Esau tried didn't materialize. It seemed to fall flat.
Verse 4
The Lord is saying, I made up my mind I was not going to bless Esau because of their sin. Yet, on the other hand, in spite of their sin, God marvelous blessed Jacob. God demonstrated His love.
And do you know why it was that way? Because that was the choice of a sovereign God. God was demonstrating His love to them. Beyond question,
They should have never, ever doubted His love. But they did. They doubted God's love.
And we do to. Somewhere along the line we’ve become convinced that we deserve God’s blessings and favor. And therefore when we have them, we are ungrateful, and when we don’t we’re mad about it. God doesn’t love us anymore.
They doubted God’s love, and then notice
verse 6
He is saying in this passage they have -
2. DESPISED God's Name.
Look at the figures of speech. It is a normal thing for a son to honor his father. That would be what we would expect a son to do. The Bible teaches that God is our heavenly father. When Jesus came and walked on the earth the title that he used more often than any other was to call God Father.
When you come to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior the Bible says that you are born into the family of God. John 1:12 says, "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." I John 3:1 says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God."
So by means of regeneration, God becomes our heavenly father. God is saying here that a son honors his father. If that is true, then where is His honor?
He is calling out to His people and saying, "Why do you not honor me as your father?"
The point is that children of God who are loved and blessed by God, who can trust God are to be living in such a way that they bring honor to their heavenly Father.
Then he says, "A servant honors his master." Not only is God our father by means of regeneration, but by means of redemption, God is our master.
When you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you also receive Him as your Lord and Master. Your life is not your own anymore. The Bible says you are not your own, for you are bought with a price.
So a servant honors his master, but God's people so many times do not honor their heavenly Father. So, he says, "Where is my honor? You despise my name."
The word, despise, means to consider someone worthless. Can it be that God's people would consider Him worthless? Can it be that people would get to a point in their spiritual lives that they would despise the holy name of God?
Number one, they doubted God's love. Number two, they despised God's name. Number three, they-
3. DEFILED God's Altar.
Look at verse 7
A little background is needed here. In those days they worshipped the Lord in the temple. They would come bringing their sacrifices and their offerings to the temple. They didn't have offering envelopes like we have today. They would just bring whatever they had to the worship of the Lord. They would bring their animals. They would bring their produce. They would bring the crops that they had grown. They would bring it to the house of the Lord.
And God was very specific about how they were to bring it and what kind of sacrifices they were to be.
In Deuteronomy 15 we have some specific instructions about how these offerings are to be brought.
For instance Deuteronomy 15:21
He was saying that there shouldn't be any blemish on the sacrifice. He is saying you ought to bring to my altar that which is the very best that you have to offer.
Now don’t lose sight that we are working under the umbrella of Malachi 3:10, and we are talking about trusting God, and God has issued a challenge by saying, “Bring the tithe, and see if I don’t bless you because of it.
So ultimately we are talking about the matter of giving. And here is a message from the Lord that says, "Do not defile my altar. Bring to me your very best."
But instead here's what the people were doing. They would get ready to go to the house of the Lord and they would look among their animals and their flock. They would see a poor old blind goat and they would say, "Well, we don't need that blind goat, let's take that down to the house of the Lord."
Or they would find a lame lamb. They would say, "We don't need that lame lamb. Let's take that down to the house of the Lord." They would find a sick cow and say, "This cow is going to die anyway, let's take that her to the temple.
And so here they came on the Lord's Day bringing their sacrifices to the Lord. They have a blind goat and a lame lamb and a sick cow. You say, that's awful for people to do that to the Lord. What it means is - they were just giving the Lord the leftovers of their life. People still do that today.
I think about how people use their time. A lot of people say, "Well, if I don't have anything else I want to do and if it's convenient for me, I think I'll go to God's house. I'll give God a little bit of my time this week."
It’s too inconvenient to go to revival. The children will get their schedule off. Or I have to get up early and go to work or school. We do it with our time.
People do that with their talent. "If there's nothing going on in the city that I can use my talent for, then I might use my talent over at God's house."
They do that with their treasure. "If I have all the food I want, if I've bought all the clothes I want, if I have all the cars I want, if I've bought all the conveniences and the gadgets I want, if there's anything left over, I'll give it to God."
Polluted bread on God's altars. Here come God's people on Sunday. They bring in a lame lamb and a sick cow and a blind goat. God says, "You have defiled my altar."
In these verses we learn several things about our sacrifices and our giving unto the Lord.
We learn that the Lord expects us to give correctly.
When people brought their offerings to the Lord it had to be according to God's commandments in the Bible. It had to be done correctly because it taught certain lessons. It taught something about the holiness of God. It taught something about the sinfulness of sin. It taught something about the sacrifice of the Savior.
When the Old Testament saints would bring their offering and lay it on the altar it was a fore picture of when Jesus Christ would come one day and die on the cross for the sins of the world.
And you may be saying, they didn’t know anything about Jesus and His coming. No, they didn’t. But God did, and He was the one who commanded the offering. So it was really a matter of trusting God.
That is the same mentality of folks who want to hold their tithes and offerings because they don’t like the preacher or they’re mad at the church. So they hold it back or designate it around. But God commanded the tithe, and you either trust Him or you don’t, but I’ve got news for youj: You don’t know more than God.
These folks brought defiled offerings because they didn’t trust God. They didn’t understand the holiness of God. They didn’t appreciate the seriousness of sin. They had no anticipation of God's promise to send
a Savior one day.
The same thing is true when we don't give according to God's commandment. We must give correctly to the Lord.
Look at verse 10
Now he is saying you ought to bring your offering sincerely.
Malachi is really saying - I wish somebody would just close the doors of the church and turn the fire off the altar. He is saying that God is tired of insincerity in worship. God wants us to be sincere.
When you sing your songs, you ought to sing it from the sincerity of your heart. When you teach Sunday School, Sunday School teachers, you ought to teach from the sincerity of your heart. When you bring your offerings unto the Lord, you ought to bring it with the sincerity of your heart.
We must give correctly. We must give sincerely.
Then drop down to verse 13.
We also should give unto the Lord joyfully.
The people had come to the point that their offering and their worship of the Lord was boring to them. It was a weariness to them. It was a burden to them.
I've been saved since I was eighteen years old. God called me to preach at 19. I’ve been a pastor since I was 23. I've been in a whole lot of services. I've been to church a whole lot in my life. But I'm here to tell you I am still just as excited, I am more excited about serving the Lord and worshipping the Lord and living for Jesus Christ than I have ever been in all of my life. It's a joy. It's not a weariness to me to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
And yet here were folks who “sneered” at it.
"It's time to go to church." “BOOOriiing!
They just kind of turn their nose up at it. And they they are doing it to the Lord. They are doing it because they are not worshipping the Lord. They are bringing in the torn and the lame and the sick.
Listen: It is a serious matter to serve the Lord. It is a serious matter to give unto the Lord and to sacrifice unto the Lord. It should never be a source of boredom. It should be a source of joy. Give joyfully unto the Lord because you trust Him.
Look at verse 14
As you read through this book of Malachi, you will find several references to God's name.
Verse 6
verse 11
Verse 14
Jesus Christ came into this world and the Bible says that He is the king of kings. He is the Lord of lords. We do not respond to the great king. We do not respond to the king of kings and Lord of lords in indifference and in ridicule and in skepticism.
We do not doubt His love. We know He loves us. We do not despise His name. We bring honor to His name. We do not defile His altar. We bring our very best unto the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a great king and He deserves the very best that we have to offer.
All of us would have to agree that God has generously blessed us. The Bible tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above. Forgiveness, fulfillment, faith, a future, gifts, talents, abilities. It comes from God. His care is constant, his love never fails, his grace is sufficient and His gifts are generous.
God is trustworthy. That means that we can trust him in adversity and we can trust him in prosperity which means that you can trust him period.
But to trust Him, we’re going to have to understand sometimes what He allows just makes no sense to us. And tithing is a lot like that. How in the world can you take 90 cents and make it but more than 100? I don’t know, but it’s not my promise. God just says, “Trust me.”
What did Solomon say in Proverbs 3:5? Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
How do you get there? You’ve got to come to a conscious, volitional choice when you say, “Come what may, we’re going to trust God. Whatever God says do, we’re going to do it.”
Now there will be times when you want to take that back. But I want to remind you: He is trustworthy.
See our tendency is to trust God as long as things are going pretty well and then when things come up, something difficult comes up, something unbelievable happens then we want to bail out and try to work it out ourselves.
What we are saying is God I can't trust you, you don't know how bad our marriage is. I can't trust you. You don't know what a mess I am in financially. God I can't trust you. You don't understand the circumstances. All of a sudden we want to move over and play God.
But what I am telling you this morning is that you can trust God in every circumstance in your life. Big or small, major or minor you can trust God. He is bigger than anything that will ever come in your life. And the key is to trust God in prosperity and adversity, whether you are rich or poor, sick or well, difficult times, or good times, you simply trust God.
Do you realize that most of you trust a doctor more than you trust God? Hello. Are you okay? I mean you go see a doctor and he says this is what you ought to do. For many of them, you can’t even understand what he said. But whatever he said, you take his word for it, and go do exactly what he told you to do.
And you barely know that doctor. You probably have never been out to eat with him. Never been to his home. Have no idea about his relationship with the Lord, and not only will you do exactly what he says, you will give him $65, $70 or $100 for telling you.
And then you come to church on Sunday and God will say, this is what I say. You say, I don't think I ought to do that, and I’m sure not going to give my money to that preacher! And then you will go to the druggist and he will give you a bottle of pills and you don't even have a clue to what is in that pill and take them.
Then something will come up in your life and you won't trust God. We trust a doctor more than you trust God. We trust a druggist more than you trust God. You trust an insurance salesman about the future more than you trust God. You trust your stock broker more than you trust God.
I love black preachers, black preaching. Sometimes I wonder why God didn't let me be a black preacher, especially on revival meeting time. S.M. Lockridge is one of my favorite black preachers. Shadrack, Meshack Lockridge. What a preacher! He was preaching on God and how you can trust him one time when he said:
You Can Trust Him:
...S.M. Lockridge
He’s the one who made us. It is He who made us and not we ourselves. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.
No means of measure can define His limitless love, and no farseeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. I’m telling you today you can trust Him.
"No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing. He’s enduringly strong, and He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast, and He’s immortally graceful. He’s empirically powerful and impartially merciful. He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s Savior. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. I’m trying to tell you, Church, you can trust Him.
"He does not have to call for help, and you can’t confuse Him. He doesn’t need you, and He doesn’t need me. He stands alone in the solitude of Himself. He’s august, and He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s preeminent. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem of higher criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of truthology. He’s the cardinal necessity of the spiritual religion. He’s the miracle of the age; He’s the superlative of everything good that you can call Him. I’m trying to tell you can trust Him.
"He can satisfy all your needs, and He can do it simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak, and He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He’s sympathizes and He sees, He guards and He guides.
He heals the sick, He cleansed the leper. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the people.
He blesses the young. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent. He beautifies the meek. I’m trying to tell you, Church, you can trust Him.
He’s the key to knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the path of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway to glory. You can trust Him.
"He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the capturer of conquerors. He’s the head of heroes. He’s the leader of legislators. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the Governor of the governors.
He’s the Prince of princes. He’s the King of kings. He’s the Lord of lords. You can trust him.
"His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you.
He’s indescribable because He’s incomprehensible. He’s irresistible because He’s invincible. You can’t get Him off your hands. You can’t get off your mind. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him.
Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him, and Herod couldn’t kill Him. And death couldn’t handle Him, and thank God, the grave couldn’t hold Him. There was nobody before Him. There’ll be nobody after Him. He has no predecessor. He’ll have no successor. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. You can trust Him."
"He’s the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end. The first and the last. He’s all things. He’s the giver of life. He’s the joy out of every sorrow. He’s the light of every darkness. He’s the peace that passes all understanding. He’s the giver of every good and perfect gift. You can trust Him. There’s no God before Him. There’ll be none after Him. He is the first. He is the last. He is preeminent. There is no other God."
You can trust him.
Let's pray.
