Worshiping God through Stewardship

True worship is lacking when we fail in our devotion to God ()

Explanation: The prophet continues in his attempt to restore a sense of True Worship on the part of the people. He has reminded them that God has expressed His love for them by choosing them. He has reminded them that God is the One True God and is worthy of True and Genuine worship.

The response of the people is disbelief. In their minds they are being faithful to God. The prophet then calls them out on their inferior & defective offerings, he slams the spiritual leaders for their defective teaching, reminds them of their wicked marriage & divorce patterns, and then calls them out on their weak attempts to distort God’s sense of justice. Through the entire back and forth the people hold fast to their denials of misdoing. Their response is “who, us?” “we aren’t doing anything wrong, are we?”

At this point, the LORD reminds them of who He is. This is very important because God is telling them that the only reason they are still breathing is due solely to His character trait of Immutability. The word is a theological term that means in His character, God does not change or alter His nature in any way. God made a covenant of faith with Abraham and his descendants and God remains true to His role in that covenant.

By stating that He does not change and by calling them the children of Jacob, God is pointing out the reason for the failure in honoring Him with true and genuine worship. God is highlighting His faithfulness to the covenant; by referring to Jacob, God is reminding them that they have been acting like Jacob - a man who was a trickster and a cheater!

Illustrate: Listening to a radio station while traveling. The signal begins to fade the farther you remove your self from the source. Important to remember who moved

Argument: God had not changed, not even a little. He had entered the covenant and remained faithful. Time and time again God comes to His people and invites and encourages them to return to Him through repentance of their rebellious acts. A commentator named Walter Kaiser states “the message of all the previous prophets could be summarized in the single word ‘return’ (), the OT word for repentance.”

The problem with the people of Malachi’s day is that they really didn’t believe they needed to repent. At the end of v. 7 they ask “how shall we return?” In context, they aren’t really asking about a specific way; instead they are indicating their disbelief. It’s like they are saying, “what are you talking about? why should we repent when we aren’t doing anything wrong?”

They consistently and repeatedly expressed their confusion or ignorance about the lack of true worship. They failed to see that they were not truly honoring God as their Covenant LORD. The same thing can happen to us. It is easier to drift away from God than we realize. ()

Application: Do not be hardened against the repeated appeals from God. He is interested in your heart, not your empty ritual of going through the motions. If you have drifted from genuine worship from a grateful heart repentance is possible. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness () The Good News is that you can have a heart for God that displays itself in genuine, authentic worship.

One important barrier to True Worship is reflected through our stewardship of our God-given resources ()

Explanation: Since the people were claiming ignorance about their lack of worship, God gets to the heart of the matter. He gets their attention by accusing them of robbing Him. He begins with a rhetorical question by asking “will a man rob God?” The question demands a negative answer because of the utter foolishness of a limited human stealing from the All-Mighty Lord of the Universe! Not Smart!!

Yet, God continues by accusing the people of doing just that - stealing from Him! The people immediately deny the charge by asking “HOW.” They are stunned by the accusation and want to know in what way they have been stealing from God. The Divine response is quick and clear: in their tithes & offerings.

These Israelites were living under the Law and were mandated (commanded) to bring certain tithes and sacrifices to the Temple. While the tithe is considered 10% (), the Israelites were actually commanded to give what amounted to at least 20 -25% when the extra tithes were considered.

The charge of robbing God was accurate and was reflected in the people’s willingness to offer “polluted food upon the altar” () and instead of the best, they brought animals “taken by violence or the lame or sick” ().

Argument: Modern Christians are not under the Mosaic Law and we are under Grace. And as biblical scholars note, “Christians are not governed by any law that commands us to give a tenth of our earnings to God; however it must be noted that the practice of tithing antedates any provision of the Law of Moses” (Walter Kaiser, accessed from Preceptaustin.org)

What, then, is the standard for grace living? A quote from pastor Steven Cole may be helpful. “If Christians aren’t held to 10%, then how do you determine what amount to give? The NT principle is that God owns it all; we just manage it for Him. The NT standard is to give generously and cheerfully as ‘God has prospered you’ out of gratitude for His indescribable gift of salvation. “; & 9; )

Application: As has been said, “other than the Bible, no other book reveals our heart like our check book. We can rationalize and justify reasons we can’t or don’t give to the work of the Lord, but the reality is that not giving or giving grudgingly is a heart issue. In essence, we display a lack of trust and gratitude for the blessings which God allows us to enjoy.

True Worship IS possible when we are obedient ()

True Worship IS possible when we are obedient by trusting God()

Explanation: God tells the Israelites to test Him by being obedient. He tells them to bring the tithe into the storehouse like they were supposed to. If they did this, He in turn would bless them in amazing ways. Whereas God had sent them the curse for their disobedience (just like He promised, ), He now promises abundant blessings if they were willing to repent and turn to Him in faith. He actually tells them that He “will open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing.” What an incredible picture of the abundance of God!!

Illustrate: The spillgates at Oxford Dam when they are full open. The water is pouring out and going everywhere!

Explanation: God tells the Israelites to test Him by being obedient. He tells them to bring the tithe into the storehouse like they were supposed to. If they did this, He in turn would bless them in amazing ways. Whereas God had sent them the curse for their disobedience (just like He promised, ), He now promises abundant blessings if they were willing to repent and turn to Him in faith.

Argument: The issue with God is always FAITH. The Israelites were not trusting God for who He said He was. In His law He revealed what He would do for them both in a positive and negative manner. Their entire history was a display of God’s faithfulness and His mercy. He even reminded them of His unchanging nature (v. 6). The issue with the Israelites was a lack of belief. They did not trust God to provide for them.

Application: We CAN trust God. We display our trust when we give generously to the Kingdom. God doesn’t NEED your money! He owns everything; He just allows us to steward it for Him. Some of us are lousy stewards, some of us are good stewards, but all of us CAN become better stewards.

It begins with understanding this is a heart issue - the financial piece is just a symptom of where your heart is. Consider the difference between the response of Zaccheus () with the that of the Rich young ruler (). Jesus did not want or need the man’s money. Jesus used that specific issue to reveal the trust issue: the young man trusted his riches instead of placing his trust in God. Salvation is a free gift, but it can only be received with an empty hand.