Boundless Blessings of God

Malachi 3:7–12 (KJV 1900)

7 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?

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.

But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?

In tithes and offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me,

Even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the 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 you the windows of heaven,

And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 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.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed:

For ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

INTRO: Malachi discusses the restoration of Israel. Judaism was growing. Godlessness, moral corruption, and apostasy were gaining ground continually. Sounds like america doesn't it!

Malachi saw two hopes for Israel: the First Coming and the Second Coming of Christ (verses 1, 18).

His message is addressed to a selfish and worldly church. It is a call to complete surrender and a promise of boundless blessing.

God was calling His people to trust Him completely by giving everything to His ownership.

He promised He would meet them boundless blessings.

# I. GOD CALLS FOR TOTAL SURRENDER.

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse …” (verse 10).

A. In ancient days this did not represent giving of part.

It really expressed God’s ownership of the whole. Firstfruits were given to acknowledge that it all was His.

B. The ancient custom of buying land was different than in today’s world.

When a person made a down payment, he was given a handful of soil as an expression that it was all his in due time.

imagine going into close on a property and receiving a hand full of dirt!

Bringing tithes to God is simply saying to Him He absolute ownership of everything we possess (money, time, talent, even our family and friends).

C. There are 2 ways of holding something: absolute ownership or stewardship.

Actually, the only way we own anything is through stewardship. When we learn this lesson we can trust God with all we have.

D. Everything belongs to God.

1. Psalm 50:10-12

10  For every beast of the forest is mine,

And the cattle upon a thousand hills.

11  I know all the fowls of the mountains:

And the wild beasts of the field are mine.

12  If I were hungry, I would not tell thee:

For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

2. Job 41:11—“Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.”

3. Ezekiel 29:9 —“The river is mine, and I have made it.” ( Nile river)

4. Haggai 2:8 —“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine. saith the Lord”

E. He wants us to do as Abraham did when he offered Isaac.

He wants us to prove everything is yielded to Him.

Then He can restore. And then he can trust us with not just what we have but even more!

God is not a hard taskmaster. He is forever training us to die to ourselves so we can better represent Him as stewards.

F. The reason God wants us to be all His, is because He wants all He has to be ours.

He asked Abraham to give everything in sacrificing Isaac.

But he stopped Abraham and provided a ram in the bush

Then;

1. He gave Abraham a changeless, eternal covenant.

2. He restored Isaac back into Abraham’s arms. Abraham lost nothing!

3. Abraham’s offering of Isaac was done on Mount Moriah—which could be the same mountain that David buried Golaiths head on.

which we call Golgotha. The place of the skull and the hill we call Calvary.

G. What we lay at His feet in complete and loving surrender becomes to Him a memorial of delight.

He ever loves to honor and bless such giving.

1. Leviticus 27:32 —

“And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.”

2. Matthew 23:23 —

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,

and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:

these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone( of equal value in God economy)

3. Have you given Him all the tithe?

God only asks for the tithe 10% of all your increase leaving us 90% to live on!

4. Tithing is a sign that all we have belongs to God!

5. That 10% is an investment only unlike the stock market this investment will never lose money.

I have been investing in a heavenly kingdom for years and one day it will all pay off!

H. There is a day coming when the investment we have made to God shall be returned a millionfold.

1. The Sacrificed pleasures, money we gave, ambitions we laid down and friendships we forsook shall all come back to us.

2. When our teardrops shall be turned into diamonds,

and our blood drops into rubies,

our cup of cold water turned into heavenly wine, He will say, Matthew 25:40

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

3. God will return unto us the harvest of our sowing, and will abundantly repay us for our sorrow and sacrifice.

Then we will not regret our sacrifices or sorrows; the money, time, and talents we have freely given to Him.

For we will then have eternal riches. in heaven.

II. GOD PROMISES THE BOUNDLESS BLESSING!

look at Verse 10 “I will … open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it”.

A. If we surrender all to him , make the investment,

He will give us more blessing than we can contain.

Heaven will be opened, all barriers removed.

God will give us His unrestricted and unrationed fullness.

B. Many times heaven was opened to receive (Elijah and Stephen, even Jesus).

But here heaven is opened and instead of receiving it pours out abundantly.

It is not only opened, but emptied—“poured out,” “emptied out.” God keeps back nothing from us

: He gives us not some blessings, but all blessings; not some of His riches, but Himself and all His riches!

C. Notice! overflowing blessings —“There shall not be room enough to receive it.”

1. He not only gives us His fullness, but more than we can hold … boundless blessing!

2. God wants us full to the overflowing!

D. Sometimes we need resources that we do not have. Shall we quit or shall we say, “I can do all things through Christ …” (Philippians 4:13 ).

1. Elisha, as he shot the arrow with King Joash, said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance …” (2 Kings 13:17 ).

Then Elisha commanded the king to smite the arrows upon the ground.

He smote three times and stopped. The man of God was angry because of Joash’s lack of faith.

2. God is watching us! he is watching to see if we dare to believe of His great precious promises.

E. The blessing only stops with our capacity to believe.

1. Abraham’s prayer for Sodom was answered until he stopped praying.

The widow’s oil kept coming as long as she poured.

2. Abraham stopped … the widow stopped … King Joash stopped … but not God!

F. Why can’t Christians learn to do that which will bring God’s full and boundless blessing?

Nowhere else and for no other thing has God promised so much to His people as He has in Malachi 3:7–12.

The proof of full surrender is when you admit what you bring is not yours and what you keep is not yours, but it all belongs to God.

III. GOD MAKES AN APPEAL TO PROVE HIM!

God challenges His people, “Prove me now herewith …” (verse 10).

A. Prove Him by paying tithes. God is waiting to show us how much He can do for us.

B. Will Gods people accept the challenge to prove Him?

Some pay part; some give the sickly, some the diseased and the crippled, but God wants all of the flock.

C. God lets difficulties come not to discourage, but to challenge us to higher and greater faith.

God said; “Prove Him now” Do not wait until tomorrow. Start proving Him today!

D. If you will trust Him and go forward, the Red Sea will open up;

every mountain will become a ladder to the skies;

the raging winds will only push your vessel forward;

the fires will only burn your chains and fetters;

and the mightiest storms will only make you more secure in His love.

“Jesus, Jesus, How I trust Him,

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er.

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, Oh! For grace to trust Him more.”

CONCLUSION: Do we really want God’s best? Then let us give Him our best. Let’s give Him our all!