Faithful in Stewardship | Part 2

Is God interested in how we obtain, save, invest, spend, We all want to be free from the curse of debt, but it is only found when we are faithful in stewardship. If you have your Bible, turn to Malachi chapter 3. We'll begin in verse 7 as Adrian Rogers shows us how to be faithful in stewardship. We'll be finding Malachi chapter 3, if you would. That's the last book in the Old Testament.

We're talking about factors of faithfulness and today how to obtain financial freedom through stewardship. And so listen as we read here beginning in verse 7. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances and have not kept them. Return unto me.

Would you underscore that? Return unto me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, All right, Lord, wherein shall we return?

God answers an honest question. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?

God answers in tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me even this whole nation. Hey, would you like to have a curse lifted off of you?

Well, pay attention. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me even this whole nation. Now here's the command and the promise. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts. If I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts. Now we're going to talk today about the stewardship, and stewardship is really how we obtain money, how we save money, how we invest money, how we spend money, and how we give money.

And when I do that, I want to say that there are at least three that are very interested in what I have to say today. Number one, God is interested. Do you know God over and over and over in the Bible talks about the stewardship? As a matter of fact, one of the great tests of your spirituality and how much you love God and how much you believe the Word of God is stewardship. Now I'll tell you someone else who's interested in your stewardship. Not only is God, but Satan is very interested. Because Satan knows if he can defeat you in this way, if he can keep you in bondage, if he can keep you under a curse, he has you right where he wants you.

Satan is interested in your finances because he wants to keep you in bondage. I'll tell you who else is interested. You are. Now don't tell me you're not. You are.

I'm not talking today about how many angels can dance around on the head of a pen. I'm talking to you about something very vital because it takes money and finances to live. It's a part of our normal life, and God knows it. Okay? Now, how are you going to obtain financial freedom? We're going to look in the Bible, right out of the Bible.

I'm going to give you three principles, and I want you to see them. First of all, you must personally return to God. Look again in verse 7. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, that is, my laws, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, wherein shall we return?

Now, look up again, and let me tell you this. God doesn't want your money. God wants you.

Did you hear that? He is saying to you, come to me. Return unto me. God loves us for ourselves. God wants our fellowship. God does not need our money.

And the gift without the giver is bare. What you do not joyfully, lovingly, freely give, God neither needs nor wants. Again, God is not seeking your money.

He is seeking you. Now, when there is a personal return, there is a financial release. Look, if you will, in verse 10. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat, that literally means food in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Now, there are a lot of ways that people can talk about financial freedom, but you'll never jump over this. You begin by tithing. You begin to tithe. Now, first of all, what is the tithe?

Well, it is a definite proportion, a definite proportion. The word tithe literally means tenth. Genesis 28, verse 22. Jacob said, In this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Now, I know that I know that I know what's happening in the minds of many of you right out there. You're saying, wait a minute, pastor, you're trying to put me back in the Old Testament. You're trying to put me under the Old Testament law. Pastor, don't you understand that tithing is legalistic?

Let me tell you something now. Tithing began far before the Mosaic law. The Bible tells of Abraham giving tithes to Melchizedek, and Melchizedek is a type, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham came centuries before Moses saw the light of day.

And then Jacob, a descendant of Abraham, is the one that I just read to you about. Out there in the wilderness seeking God, made a covenant with God way before the Mosaic law to tithe. Genesis 28 and verse 22. And after the Mosaic law in the New Testament, Jesus said in Matthew 23 verse 23 to the scribes and the Pharisees, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin' and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. These ought ye to have done to tithe and not leave the other undone. There's no competition between tithing and New Testament.

You ought to tithe, but don't leave off judgment, mercy and faith. You see, friend, Abraham commenced it. Jacob continued it. Moses commanded it. Jesus commended it.

Who am I to cancel it? Well, you say, but that's a part of the law. They were commanded under the law to tithe. They were also commanded under the law not to kill. They were also commanded under the law not to commit adultery. Now, since that's Old Testament law, do you think you're free to kill?

Do you think you're free to commit adultery? Listen, listen, Romans 3 verse 31. Put this in your Bible. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid we establish the law.

Hello? Listen, Romans 3 verse 31. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law.

You say, I don't understand what that means. Well, I have raised four wonderful children, and it's been my joy to feed them and care for them. Do you think I fed my children because the law said I had to? No, because I get arrested for child abuse and neglect if I didn't feed my children. Of course not. Why did I feed my children? Why did I clothe my children?

Because I love them. But now suppose I decide, well, I'm not going to do it. Standing in the wings is the law.

Do you understand what I mean? We don't do it because we're under law. I've said this so many times, and see if you don't agree with me. Jesus never revised the law backward, downward and said, now you do less than they did.

He never did that. Any Christian who would let a Jew do more under law than he would do under grace is a disgrace to grace. I'm not trying to put you in bondage.

I'm trying to get you out of bondage. We don't make void the law. We establish the law.

There's a definite proportion, and not only is there a definite proportion, there's a designated place. What do you do with your tithe? Well, according to this verse, look at it in verse 10. Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house.

Well, you say, well, what does that mean? Well, when this verse was written, it was a place in the temple. They had a place in the temple called the storehouse, and people brought their tithes that there would be the necessities to make the sacrifices and so forth in the Old Testament. Well, you say, we don't have a temple today.

Wrong again. We do have a temple today. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 17, God said to the church at Corinth, ye are the temple of God. Ye are the temple of God. He said in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 2 upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store according as God has prospered him. And the word in store is the same word that is translated storehouse in the Septuagint or the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It was a definite proportion, a designated place. God's tithe is to be brought to God's house on God's day that God's work will be done in God's way.

A definite proportion, a designated place and a definite purpose that there may be meat in my house. The work of the temple was to be carried out through the tithe. I believe the Bible says to him be glory through the church.

We'd be faithful to God's family. Breathe the tithe to God's house on God's day that God's work will be done in God's way. Now, you give offerings to other projects, bring your tithe to the church and then bring your love gifts to the church also. You know what somebody came up with these statistics? That if every member of the average church were on welfare and tithed, the offerings in that church would double.

Don't you think that's a disgrace? If every member in the average church were on welfare and they all tithed, the income of those churches would double. We need to be faithful in our finances.

Now, here's the third thing and I must be very quick about this. There must be a personal return. There must be a financial release and then there will be a spiritual renewal. Look again, if you will, in verse 10 and see what God says.

Here's the promise. Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in mine house and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it, and I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts, and all nations shall call you blessed. Here's the threefold blessing. Number one, God will renew your faith. God says, prove me, put me to the test. Your faith will begin to grow. You say, well, pastor, I want faith. Do you want faith? Would you like for God to be real to you? You say, God says, all right, put me to the test. Prove me. Let me give you one of the most insightful scriptures in all the Bible. Put this in the margin. Luke 16, verses 10 and 11.

Listen. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in least in the least is unjust also in much. It doesn't say he could be.

He already is. But then he says in Luke 16, verse 11, if ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon... That's just money. That's another word for money. If ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Well, the true riches, not money. Faith, love, spiritual power, knowledge. I mean, if God can't trust you with 10 cents out of a dollar, what makes you think he can trust you with Holy Spirit power? I mean, if you haven't been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will give to you as a steward the true riches? Number one, God will renew your faith.

Prove me, he says. Number two, God will rebuke your foes. Look, if you will, in verse 11. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake. We all have foes. Many of us have foes.

And we need God to rebuke them. In this day, they were farmers. And so he said, And he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast a fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. Your crops are not going to wither in the field. Well, you say, I'm not a farmer. Yeah, but you've got foes.

Hospital bills, car repairs, the loss of job, recession, depression, all of these things. They're your enemies. God says, I'll come against those enemies with you. I will renew your faith. I'll rebuke your foes. And I will restore your fruitfulness. Look again in verse 11. And he says, Neither shall your vine cast a fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord. And all nations shall call you blessed.

And ye shall be a delightsome land. You say, Pastor, you mean just tell me if I start tithing, I'll get rich? No, I don't mean to tell you that.

And I never will tell you that. It may not be God's plan for you to be rich. But I'll tell you this, and I believe it with all of my heart. When you tithe, you'll do more with nine tents and God as a partner than you will ever do with ten tents by yourself. That I believe.

That I believe. God will restore your fruitfulness. You say, but Pastor, I'm poor. I know you're talking to the wealthy people, but you're not talking to the poor people today. Would you tell a little widow on a pension that she ought to tithe? Of course. You say, well, you're so hard-hearted. No, I'm not.

I'm sweet. If there's anybody who needs the blessing of God, it's that little widow on a pension. Isn't that right? God doesn't want her money. He wants her. He wants to bless her.

He says, come now. Trust me. Prove me. Listen, tithing is a key. It unlocks the windows of heaven. Offerings are seed.

They bring a crop. You sow bountifully, you reap bountifully. You see, put them together. You rob God in tithes and offerings. You pay the tithe, you give the offering. The tithe is the key.

The offering is the seed. And learn to do it God's way. You're not going to out-give God.

You're not going to get God in debt to you. Oh, I've got to quit, but I wish I had more time to tell you all of these wonderful, wonderful things. I have visited Pompeii. If you ever go to Naples, you need to go to Pompeii. And see the ruins of that magnificent civilization. And it was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted so many years ago back in the biblical times.

And there in Pompeii, you can see the body of a man that had been encased in ashes. He's on the floor of a magnificent home. And just out of his fingertips is a bag. It was a bag of gold.

And he's reaching for that bag. The ashes are falling all around him. And in seeking to gain that gold, he lost his life. Jesus said, what should it profit a man?

If he should gain the whole world and lose his soul. Are you saved? I want to say one more thing to you, and please listen to me.

If you think I wanted you here this morning so I could twist your arm into giving, you missed it by light years. I want you to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. And once you know him, I want you to trust him in such a way that he can open the windows of heaven on your head and bless you. Bow your heads in prayer. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed, if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, no one stirring, no one moving, everyone praying, if you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I want to invite you to pray a prayer like this right now.

Dear God, just speak to him. Dear God, I know that you love me, and I know that you want to save me, and I need to be saved. My sins deserve judgment. I need forgiveness. I need cleansing. I want a place in heaven.

I want power in my life. Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins on the cross. Thank you for paying my sin debt. I now trust you as my Lord and Savior.

Come into my heart, into my life now. You receive me, Lord. Save me, Lord. Just pray that. Save me, Lord Jesus. The Bible says, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Pray it, say it, and mean it. Save me, Lord Jesus. Save me.

Did you ask him? Then by faith, pray this way. Thank you for saving me.

I receive it by faith, and that settles it. Now, my Lord, my Savior, my God, and my friend, and Lord Jesus, if you'll just give me the strength today, I'll make it public. I'll not be ashamed of you.

You died for me. I'll confess you as my Lord and Savior. Just give me the strength, Lord Jesus, to do it. In your name I pray.

Amen. Well, if you prayed just now to receive Jesus Christ, we want to celebrate with you and invite you to our Discover Jesus page on the website. There you'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith.

We have a response section. You can share your testimony. Let us know how this message has affected you today. Go to lwf.org slash radio and click on the tab that says Discover Jesus. Welcome to God's forever family.

We can't wait to hear from you today. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of this message in its entirety, call 1-877-LOVEGOD and mention the title Faithful in Stewardship. This message is also part of the insightful Factors of Faithfulness series where that complete collection, all seven powerful messages, call 1-877-LOVEGOD or order online at lwf.org slash radio.

Or you can write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Well, thanks for studying in God's Word with us today. Maybe you're in financial bondage and you're seeking freedom from an indebted spirit today. Remain faithful in stewardship. Return to God, understanding He wants you first and foremost. Then trust God fully as you give back what He has freely given you. We hope you'll tune in next time for more from Adrian Rogers right here on Love Worth Finding.

A Facebook friend left a note on our wall recently. I'm glad we still have Pastor Rogers' wonderful preaching even though he isn't here anymore. No one makes the gospel plainer or simpler so that anyone can understand God's wonderful love worth finding. It gives us great encouragement to hear how these messages and resources have helped you grow in your faith. And when you give to the ministry this month, we'd love to send you our Tapestry Faith and Forgiveness Journal. Adrian Rogers said your faith is the measure of your victory and success. This tapestry journal reveals that only by faith can we extend forgiveness to others, share God's truth, and leave a godly legacy. Request Tapestry Faith and Forgiveness when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVEGOD. Or you can give online at lwf.org slash radio. And thank you for your generous support of love worth finding.