There Is no recession in the Kingdom of God

Malachi 3:10 - Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. (Message Bible)

 

The economies of the world can collapse but the treasury of heaven never runs dry. God honours those who honour Him with their resources. 

 

I have experienced this over and over again in my life. When we gave to the Lord in terms of our time and resources, the Lord has poured on us his unmeasurable blessings, too much to contain. He is good and a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him.

 

The scripture guarantees that God will pour His blessings on those who are committed and faithful in their tithes and offerings. This is probably the only place in scripture, where God challenges His people to, “test Him”.    In every other circumstances it will be sin (Matthew 4:7 -  'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.')

 

I believe that the Lord has to make this exception is because the people have forgotten the principle of giving to God. They have all become introspective and neglected the importance of giving and being a faithful steward of the possessions God had entrusted to them. 

 

For us believers under the New Covenant, giving should be a natural response of a sprit filled life. Kindness and goodness are part of the fruit of the Spirit and implicit in these two words is the disposition of giving. 

 

Why do Christians give?

 

We give because God Himself gave and gave His very best. John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have lie and have it abundantly. He sacrificed willingly on the cross and then invited us into fullness of life. 

 

We give because as children of God, His DNA is in us and that makes us givers and not receivers. As His children, we are called to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). Our generosity in giving is a demonstration of God’s character and a response to what He has done for us.

 

We give because Jesus commanded us to give. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).

We give because we want to  declare that our faith does not depend on material possessions. Instead, we show that our faith is in God, who is always faithful to provide (1 Kings 17:7-16).

We give because it's more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35. We can get so much happiness when we see how God is glorified in our giving and when we see Him bless others through our giving.

 

We give because it’s one of the way we worship God. When the wisemen from the east worshipped the baby Jesus, their devotion was manifested in the form of “gifts” (Matthew 2:11). “But to do good and to communicate [be generous] forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:16).

 

We give because by doing so we are telling the world and to ourselves that we are the salt and the light of the world. It is generally conceded that the “fellowship” mentioned in Acts 2:42 (in concert with other items of worship) embraces the act of “giving” (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 9:13). More importantly we are not living for the here and now. We are looking forward to the better glorious Kingdom of God. (Rev 21:1-4)

 

So dear Christian, let’s give our best to the Lord. Let’s not give him our leftovers. God deserves the best and he will never short-change anyone who has given sincerely and sacrificially.