Sermon on November 13 by Pastor Roland Eskinazi

Scripture:  Malachi 3:6-12

One of the ways we can measure if our heart is beating in rhythm with God’s is what we do with our wallet and credit-card.
If to love is to give:

1. GIVE – BECAUSE GOD IS WORTH IT! (v6 – 9)

• Tithing shows you treasure the Giver, not simply the gifts
  Is tithing just a matter of law? Abraham tithes before the giving of the law (Gen 14). Tithing is the response of a heart that acknowledges God as the source of all and every gift.
• Tithing reveals you trust God more than your possessions
  To be tight-fisted, or to hold back is more a matter of greed, than need. When we hold back, do we trust God?

“Watch out! Be on our guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Lk 12:15)

2. GIVE GENEROUSLY – BECAUSE IT’S ALL GOD’S, NOT YOURS! (v10)

• Grace giving is always genuine, not grudging
  It is likely that an average Hebrew gave 27% and beyond in tithes and free-will offerings. Can you love sincerely without giving sacrificially?
• Grace giving aims for the most, never the least
  It is never so much what we give but the love behind all we give that shows where our hearts lie. (See Mary, Mk 14:3-9)

3. GIVE EXPECTANTLY – BECAUSE WHAT YOU SOW, YOU REAP! (v11-12)

• ‘Test Me – and you will be hungry for more testing’
  What you do with a little time, a little talent, and a little money says a great deal.

‘No-one yet lost anything by serving God with a whole heart, or gained anything by serving the Lord with half of one’.
(Thomas Moore)

• ‘Test Me – and you leave a legacy that will last’
  Why are you here in Brussels? Or anywhere God sends you? So that through your legacy, many may be made glad in Jesus- here and around the world.

Your wallet is speaking! So PLAN! P – Pray to be generous. L – Lifestyle cap. A – Act now. N – No (to giving any less than a tithe).

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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Why is the way we use our wallets or cards a good gauge of what is going on in the heart?
2. Is tithing for Old Testament believers only? Why? Why not? Now read 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. How regular should our giving be? Is any percentage mentioned? Why not? Are you giving proportionately to what you earn?
3. Motive behind giving matters. Read Mark 14: 3-9. Why does Jesus commend Mary? Now read 2 Corinthians 9: 6-11. How should this impact our giving?
4. Have you been robbing God? See it for the sin it is – and take steps to be a generous giver.

Photo credit FreeImages.com/Marius Largu