Sermon Tone Analysis

After thirty years of pastoral ministry, I've learned that there are essentially three kinds of givers in the church.

Some believers are characterized by flint.

To get anything out of them you have to repeatedly strike them with a piece of steel, and then all you get is chips and sparks, and a lot of aggravation.

Some believers are like a sponge.

They give readily, but they have to be squeezed first, and the more you squeeze them the more they give.

But some believers are like the honey comb - they just ooze generosity, and do so with a sweet attitude.

Let's be honest: Some believers are stingy and hard.

They give nothing away if they can help it.

Others are good-natured, and readily give, but only if constantly reminded, squeezed, or pressured.

A few believers delight in giving because it has become a part of their nature to do so.

They've discovered what it means to be cheerful givers.

God has called every believer and every church to be bold in their giving.

Through our giving, our dollars become an instrument though which we touch our community, our nation, and our world with the Gospel message, and Christian ministry.

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I. THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD v. 6

* /"For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."/

(Malachi 3:6, NASB95)

#. immutability is a big theological word, and I know that some Baptists don't like big theological words

#. but immutability is a good and important theological word

#. it means that God does not change - He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow

#. our passage for this morning begins with God's self-proclaimed congruity

#.

He says of His own nature, /For I, the Lord, do not change .../

#.

God is always true to Himself

#. because God is consistent, it means that we can trust Him implicitly

#.

He doesn't change the rules half-way through the game

#. it also means that we can trust the consistency of His Word

#. it also never changes

#. what God said 3,000 years ago to the Prophet Malachi still rings true today 3, what-in-the-world does this have to do with tithing you ask?

!! A. GOD DOES NOT CHANGE AND NEITHER DO HIS PRINCIPLES OR PLANS

#. men are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone - this principle has never changed

#. this is an Old Testament doctrine as well as a New Testament doctrine

#.

God's plan of salvation has never changed

#.

faith has always been the means of coming into a relationship with God

#. the Apostle Paul was a man who was saved by faith in the risen Christ

#. he writes that Abraham - the father of the Jewish nation - was also saved in the same way

* /"For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.

For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,"/ (Romans 4:13-16, NASB95)

#. notice that Abraham is not merely the /Father of the Jewish nation,/ but also the /Father of the faithful/

#. the only difference between my faith, and Abraham's faith is the /direction of that faith/

#.

I looked /backward in faith/ to the Christ- the anointed one - and His redemptive work on my behalf

#.

Abraham looked /forward in faith/ to the Christ - the anointed one - and His redemptive work on his behalf

#. men have always been saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone

#. men are redeemed by the shed blood of the innocent for the guilty - this principle has never changed

#. this is revealed very early in the Old Testament story when God slays one of His own creatures to make cloths for Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness

#. under God's old covenant with Israel, salvation was purchased by the blood of bulls, and goats and sheep

#. under God's new covenant with spiritual Israel, salvation was purchased by the blood of God's own son

#. blood atonement is both an Old Testament and a New Testament principle

#. the First Fruits of our lives still belong to God as a worthy offering that expresses our love and worship for God

#. the principle of First Fruits is another way of saying /'tithing'/

#. now here's where a lot of believers begin to squeal

#. /"Tithing?!!

Why that's an Old Testament principle.

Isn't that getting legalistic?

After all; we're saved by grace - which if free."/

#. but God's principles do not change

#. men have always been saved by faith

#. redemption has always been bought by the blood of the innocent for the guilty

#.

God still deserves the First Fruits of our wealth, our time, and our abilities

#. in the Old Testament God demanded the First Fruits of the labor of His people

#. under the Old Testament religious law, the people were compelled by the covenant to tithe

#. it was a sign of obedience

#. if the people broke their vows, the covenant was negated

#. in the New Testament, the offering of the First Fruits is just as necessary, but the motivation is far different

#. now it is our love for Christ that compels us to be obedient

#. it's easy to give abundantly and joyously to someone you love

!! B. THE NEW BIRTH MAKES US NEW CREATURES

#. everything about us is changed

#.

our minds are made different - we receive the mind of Christ

#. our spirits are made different - they are made alive in Christ

#. our wills are made different - they are conformed to the will of Christ through the Holy Spirit

#. sadly, the last thing to be made different in many believer's lives is their attitude toward wealth

* ILLUS.

Martin Luther, the great 161h-century Reformer once quipped; /"Every man needs two conversions: The first of his heart and the second of his pocket book."/

* ILLUS.

I once heard a story about a new convert.

On the day of his baptism, his wife told him that before they headed down to the river, that he had better remember to take his wallet out of his back pocket, or he might forget and ruin everything in it.

The husband replied, /"No, I plan to keep it with me because I want my pocketbook baptized with the rest of me."/

#. there are too many 'unbaptized' pocketbooks in the church today

* ILLUS.

In a recent survey by the Barna Research Group, some interesting figures were discovered about Christian stewardship.

Fifty percent of church members give nothing, absolutely nothing, to their church.

We have 303 members on the books of this church.

That means that 151.5 of them are spiritual free-loaders.

Twenty percent of church members give eighty percent of the church's annual income.

My guess is that there are approximately one hundred people here this morning.

That means that twenty people - perhaps just ten couples - are supporting the bulk of this congregation's ministry.

Thirty percent of church members make up the remaining twenty percent of the church budget.

The same research also discovered that only 5% of adult Christians give a tithe of their income to the church.

That means that 95% of adult believers - according to the Prophet Malachi - are robbing God.

#.

God has not changed his attitude about the doctrine of First Fruits

#. the principle of tithing is as valid today as it was when God revealed His will to the Prophet Malachi

#.

God is immutable - He does not change nor do his principles

#. so why do 95% of believers fail to trust God in this area of their life?

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II.

THE INCLINATION OF GOD'S PEOPLE TO BACKSLIDE v. 7a

* /"From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them...'"/ (Malachi 3:7, ESV)

#. the Bible warns us to guard our hearts

#. the attitudes of men, even Christian men, are often fickle

#. what we love today, we may suddenly hate tomorrow

#. we like living for Christ as long as all the benefits of the Christian life benefit us