NOTE: SEE BELOW FOR REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR JOSH McDOWELL CONFERENCE
“My Personal Journey on Stewardship”
In Malachi 3:6-12, we read what God has to say about the giving of tithes and offerings.
“Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;
12 “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the Lord of hosts.”
“For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. In these verses, God is challenging His people about faithfulness or the lack of it. In verse 8, God asks, “Will a man rob God? Yet, you have robbed me! But, you say, ‘in what way have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.”
The word “tithe” has to do with the tenth part. For example, the tenth part of $100 would be $10.
Do you think God cares about or pays attention to what we give? Well, as I look at these verses and many others, I would certainly say He does.
I graduated from high school when I was seventeen. I went to Edmonton to get a job. I knew God had called me to one day be in the ministry. One Sunday morning, I was sitting in our church and the pastor began teaching on stewardship for life and he explained that a good place to begin giving as worship was the tithe of ten percent of our income. I remember that morning as though it was yesterday. I thought, “Someday, I am going to be a pastor and I will want to teach the people this truth, so I’d better practice what I preach.”
I remember promising the Lord that starting with my next paycheck I would begin giving the tithe. I could hardly wait. I paid my landlady for room and board. I took care of a couple small accounts and discovered I didn’t have a tithe left! I was really discouraged and almost in frustration, I cried out to God, “how can I tithe if I don’t have a tithe left?” I was not prepared for what the Holy Spirit whispered to me next — “Why don’t you give the LORD His first?”
Folks, there was no question but that prompting came from the Holy Spirit and it almost stopped my heart. What would my landlady say when I would tell her I gave God His first and now I don’t have enough to pay for my room and board?
I was seventeen, getting ready to go to Bible College and follow the LORD’S leading for my life and He was putting me to this stewardship test. About that same time, I discovered what has become a life verse for me — Hebrews 11:6, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him, must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” (NLT)
So, there I was – wanting to please God, not hold back what was His and knowing that I could never teach others as gospel what I was not personally doing. Talk about a leap of faith. Well, Jesus did feed close to 20,000 people with five loaves and two small fish — surely, He could stretch my paycheck to cover all the bases.
So, when I get my next pay-check, I took out the LORD’S tithe (10%) first and then paid my landlady and cared for other responsibilities. THERE WAS ENOUGH! That has been my/our practice ever since. I could write a book about how God has provided for us ever since, way beyond what we would have ever imagined. Actually, I did write a book about it many years ago, entitled by one of God’s names, JEHOVAH JIREH, meaning, “God who provides.”
Are you willing to accept God’s challenge found in Malachi 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in My temple? If you do”, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Put me to the test!” In the verses following it talks about all the ways He will bless those who honor Him.
Folks, you can’t out-give God. His shovel is way bigger than your trowel. The choice for me is clear … will I rob God by keeping what is His and using it for myself OR will I honor Him in giving Him tithes and offerings and discover how big His shovel really is. YOUR CHOICE.
For His Glory,
Pastor Leonard
HOW TO REGISTER FOR JOSH McDOWELL CONFERENCE:
(You must register for each event – a different ticket for each event)
Discover the Evidence
Saturday, Jan. 25th – 9 AM – 12:30 PM
1. Go to: EventBrite Registration
2. Tap on “Register” (green tab)
3. Select how many tickets you want
for this event. (drop-down box)
4. Tap on “Register” (red tab)
“check out” (“register” red tab)
IF YOU ALSO PLAN TO ATTEND SUNDAY EVE, REGISTER AGAIN BELOW:
Relationships that Transform
Sunday, Jan. 26th – 5 PM – 6:30 PM
1. Go to: EventBrite Registration
2. Tap on “Register” (green tab)
3. Select how many tickets you want
for this event. (drop-down box)
4. Tap on “Register” (red tab)
. “check out” (“register” red tab)
Your free ticket(s) will be sent to your email.
(You may print or show on your phone at arrival.)
