STETHOSCOPING THE HEART OF GOD

STETHOSCOPING THE HEART OF GOD Malachi 3:6-12 May 27, 2007 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction An atheist was walking through the forest one day, admiring all the beautiful “accidents” that evolution had brought about—the trees, the river, the animals. He heard a rustling behind him and turned to see a huge grizzly moving in on him. He started to run, but froze in fear and fell to the ground. He looked up to see the bear right over him and in a newfound faith he cried out, “O God!” Time stood still. The bear froze. The forest was completely silent. Even the river stopped flowing. A bright light blazed from the sky and a great voice spoke: “You deny me for all these years, tell others I don’t exist and credit my creation to a cosmic accident. And now you want me to help you? You want me to consider you a believer? The atheist looked into the light. “You’re right, I am a real hypocrite to want to become a Christian after all these years of disbelief, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?” The light disappeared, the river ran again, the sounds of the forest resumed. The bear put his paws together, bowed its head and piously spoke, “Lord for this food I am about to received, I am truly thankful.” The more we learn about God from His revealed Word, the more thankful we are for His goodness toward us. I want us to consider a portion of the Word this morning that I believe will help us know Him better. And that is the purpose of all Bible study, is it not? For the next few moments, let’s place a spiritual stethoscope to the heart of God and listen to the way He thinks and feels, so we can learn to be more thankful and more faithful in our response to Him. Our text this morning is from the book of Malachi and deals with the subject of giving—tithing, to be specific. Tithing was the Old Testament command for God’s people to give back to Him ten percent (a tithe) of all that He gave to them. For those who like the whole story on tithing, the Israelites were actually required to give three kinds of tithes: 10% of everything from the land (grain, fruit, herds and flocks) (Leviticus 27:30-32), secondly, the festival tithe which provided for the community and social needs (Deuteronomy 12:10ff), and a third tithe specifically to help the poor and the widows—equivalent to our welfare programs (Deuteronomy 14:28f). When all these tithes are added up the faithful Israelite would actually be giving somewhere between 23 and 25%, not to mention their first-fruits and freewill offerings (Numbers 18:12f). Of course, for the Jews, living as they did, under a theocratic government, these were also the equivalent of our taxes. They had no real distinction between religion and state. For this reason it is technically complicated to directly connect the Old Testament tithes and offerings to Christian giving. Then there is also the point that the ministry and teaching of Jesus has superseded the Law of the older covenant. How does one determine what is the proper level of giving for the New Testament Christian, since neither Jesus nor the apostles teaching imposes a certain amount, nor do they re-endorse the tithe? Well, there are principles that emerge, some of which will surface this morning. But I want to come back to the idea of listening to the heart of God. When we carefully hear His feelings and thoughts, through the Word He has revealed to us, I think we are in the right place to understand the more practical issues of faith. His Benevolence The book of Malachi is a series of charges issued through the Lord’s prophet to His people. The essence of the message is this: I have loved you and provided for you; I have been kind and merciful to you; I have kept all my covenant promises toward you, but you have not responded faithfully to me. Your offerings are not the best of your crops and herds, but the off scouring, the dregs, the “leftovers”. Your acts of devotion are selfish and not true worship. Even your priests are caught up in partiality and injustice. And you have not been faithful in the one thing I clearly required of you—your tithes. Here we pick up our study at Malachi 3:6-12. The assumption behind all the Lord speaks in judgment against his people is this: His benevolence toward them. He has faith-fully showered them with blessing and been their provider in the most generous fashion. Which makes their stingy response all the more repugnant. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s not be ingrates. But let us continually be reminded of God’s benevolence toward us: He has given us life, and when we sinned against Him he gave us His Son, sacrificed on the cross, that we could be born again! He provides for us what Ephesians 1 describes as “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”, and 1 Timothy 6 says God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” We who have come through faith in Christ to know our heavenly Father in a personal way, who have received salvation and sanctification, who have prospered body, soul and spirit, in ways the world cannot even comprehend, in whom the joy of the Lord is our strength—we have our ears pressed to the heart of God. And what we hear is that He is benevolent toward us. Once we understand that and we deepen our appreciation for His benevolence, we no longer need a Law to tell us to be generous. We are set free from our self-centeredness, our miserliness and our stinginess. We are thrilled with the prospect of sharing generously in anything God says is sacred to Him. We hear His heart in Malachi that He is benevolent and that He says the appropriate response is to give to His purposes generously. His Disappointment and Disapproval There is another clear symptom we pick up on in the heart of God through this passage: His disappointment with, and disapproval of, the financial stewardship of His people. It is quite clear, isn’t it, that He is not happy with their response. Back in chapter one He says it plainly: I am not pleased with you… because they had brought their thank offering, but they were not the best of their flocks—in fact, they had brought the animals that were lame or unfit in other ways. Even though the Law stipulated that God expected the first and the best. So God brings His legitimate complaint before the people—“you’re bringing me your leftovers? I am the God of Israel, I am your Father—and you bring to my house an offering of crippled animals. I am Jehovah Jireh—I have given you everything you have—all your crops and herds—and you bring me this slag, this off scouring as a thank offering? “’Tell you what,” you take this pitiful offering over to your governor and see if he finds it acceptable! Of course he won’t—and you know it. But you would bring this unacceptable gift to God and pretend to call it a holy offering to the LORD?! You see, what’s wrong, folks, is you’ve blown it, and you’re all under a curse—the whole nation of you!” Time for a special offering. You drag out your wallet and find three twenties, a ten-spot and two ragged one dollar bills. You’re not exactly walking in the Spirit right now and you’re feeling a little put out anyway, so you thumb past the big bills (the best of the flock) and you grab the ones. And just before you encounter the offering tray you fold them over just right so it looks like there’s twice as much. Sometimes it’s easy to say, even about your regular giving, “You know, it’s a little tight right now. After the second car payment, the repair on the boat, the credit cards and last month’s vacation, man, there’s just nothing there! What does God expect of me, anyway!?” When God gets second-best, or, worse, nothing, He is dishonored, disappointed and understandably disapproving. The real question, as always, is “Will this offering I bring before the Lord be a genuine reflection of all that He means to me?” Will what I give—to the church budget, to missions, to the poor, to a current project need—will what I give adequately represent how much I love Him? God says to Israel, “Look, guys, I am God, and I really don’t need your money! I just want to know if you love me, and if you’re at all interested in the things that move my heart. What I most want to know is if you are willing to acknowledge that everything you have is from ME, and I’m craning my neck from heaven to see if you are thankful. I am all-wise, and I know that your giving is the acid test of your devotion to me, and that when you select the best of your earnings—your first ten percent, for example—you demonstrate that I am important to you. Hear the heart of God this morning. Malachi clearly shows us the heart of God in this matter. When we do not give appropriately to the Lord, not only have we done less than we ought and dishonored our benevolent God, we have also short-changed the “storehouse.” He graciously invites us to invest in His kingdom work, to give generously and regularly and sacrificially, as a holy token of our respect and love for Him. His Faithfulness The third attribute we hear in the heart of God is His faithfulness. He longs to bless and prosper His people. He just can’t until they honor Him with their stewardship. He wants things to go well for us. He has plans to do good to us, not to harm us. And He ties this promise to bless to the proper stewardship of His people. In this case, for the Israelites, whether or not they will start bringing the whole tithe. In fact, it’s the only place I know of in scripture where such a blatant “dare” is offered by God. That’s what we have in verse ten, isn’t it? It’s a dare. He invites His people to call Him on His word. If you give faithfully, I will respond by giving you so much you won’t be able to hold it all. What does this word to Israel in 500 BC say to us Christians in 2007 AD? How does the legal demand of the older covenant correspond to the grace response God is looking for in the newer covenant? What are we to hear from God’s heart concerning His will for our giving? First, I believe it is a reminder that He is faithful to His promises, even when we have not been. Notice that though Israel is under His judgment right now, God still is extending to them grace to repent and return to Him. He is not just faithful—He is extremely faithful. His forgiveness is always available to the truly repentant. Secondly, Malachi makes it clear for us that God’s desire is to bless us. He is faithful in two ways, of course. If He promises judgment and discipline for wrong behavior, He will deliver on that promise, because He is faithful. If He promises blessing for right behavior, you can be sure He will deliver on that as well, because He is faithful. Thirdly, His promise is extravagant. You give the ten percent that you promised me, and I will open the floodgates of heaven’s richest blessings toward you. Does that mean if we give generously, regularly and sacrificially (New Testament terms applied to Christian stewardship), or if we will faithfully tithe, He will make us millionaires? I don’t think so—most of us already have about all He can trust us with now. I do know this, though, that you will always do more with nine-tenths and God than you ever will with ten-tenths by yourself! Notice something else. The promise is given to the Jews under the covenant of Law. We are living under the covenant of grace, and we know even better the heart of God in the matter of stewardship. The New Testament call on believers to give sacrificially, regularly and generously. And the New Testament repeatedly reaffirms God’s promise of blessing when we give according to His plan. Luke 6:38, for example, says Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. And 2 Corinthians 9 is another expression of the same promise: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful give. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. I have a nasty habit of frustrating Christians who ask me whether they should give a tithe or not. They say, “Well, tell me straight out: should I tithe?” And I say, “That’s a great idea, if that is what you honestly believe would please God.” But that doesn’t seem to be a good enough answer, because they’ll often come back with “Are you saying I should give MORE than ten percent?” And I answer, “That’s a great idea, if that is what you honestly believe would please God.” “But what if I can only give 7% percent right now—should I give 7%? Predictably, I answer, “That’s a great idea, if that is what you honestly believe would please God.” Are you honestly looking for a real answer to what God desires you to give Him? Go ask Him. One of His favorite expressions of faithfulness is to answer your prayers and to give you wisdom when you ask Him. I share with you again one of my favorite quotes, from Adrian Rogers: “Any Christian who will let a Jew do more under the law than he would under grace is a disgrace to grace!” Conclusion Preacher Bob Russell, in his teaching, "Take the Risk," shares an insightful observation: A handful of our people went on a mission trip to Eastern Europe several weeks ago. When they came back, they told me they were really impressed with the dedication of the Christians in Rumania. Christians there don't have very much, but they believe they should tithe. They think that's God's standard. But the government of Rumania is repressive, and they are allowed to give only 2.5 percent of their income to charitable organizations. They're trying to minimize the opportunity for any anti-government organization. So Rumanians are searching for loopholes in the law, so that they'll be able to give 10 percent. The Rumanian Christians have less, and they're looking for a way to give 10 percent. We have more, and we're free to give as we please. In fact, we get a tax break by doing so, and we're looking for loopholes in the Scripture to avoid doing it. What an indictment. Conclusion #2 For those whose faith is simply not challenged by notions of continuing to give ten percent—you’ve been tithing off your gross for some time, but still feel God may be asking more of you, I will challenge you in this way, because you may have what the Bible identifies as the gift of giving. And God is giving you more and more precisely because He wants to be glorified in you in a greater way than normal. See your opportunity to give generously, even recklessly, as an adventure, a faith adventure. Stretch yourself in the direction of generosity, and you will find the greatest joy. You know, your faith is a lot like a rubber band. A rubber band is totally useless unless it is stretched. When our insecurity keeps us from stretching and growing in our faith, we end up with a life that is as unexciting and limp as a rubber band in a trash can. Stretch - take risks in the safest confines of all: God's promises! Ann Landers’ column once carried this poem: To laugh is to risk appearing a fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk involvement. To expose feelings is to risk rejection. To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure. But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. he may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or love. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave Only a person to takes risks is free. There is a great little story about an old farmer, ragged and barefoot, who sat on the steps of his tumbledown shack chewing on a stem of grass when a passerby stopped and asked for a drink of water. Trying to be sociable he engaged the farmer in conversation. "How is your cotton crop this year?" Ain't got none replied the farmer. "Didn't you plant any cotton?" Nope, said the farmer, 'fraid of boll weevils. "Well," asked the stranger, "How's your corn doing?" Didn't plant none--'fraid there wouldn't be enough rain. "Well," the traveler asked, "just what did you plant?" Nothin' I just played 'er safe! A lot of well-intentioned but disappointed people live by that farmer's philosophy, and they never risk upsetting the apple cart. They prefer to just "play 'er safe." And they will never know the thrill of victory, because to win a victory one must risk failure. C.T. Studd, one of the greatest Christian missionaries in history, made a great statement about stretching and risk-taking when he asked this question, "Are gamblers for gold so many and gamblers for God so few?" This is the missionary who, when cautioned against returning to Africa because he might end up a martyr, replied, "praise God, I've just been looking for a chance to die for Jesus!" A guy like that just can't fail--he's got everything to gain and nothing to lose! One question you must answer if you will stretch yourself out of selfishness - will I trust God to take care of me?     [Back to Top]