What are the benefits, what is the fruit of what we see as the blessings of the Lord?  It should be eternal.  So, He goes on here and He makes these kinds of statements, “You’ve robbed Me with these tithes and offerings.  You are cursed with a curse.”  You know, it’s pretty easy to see what’s behind this.  We either get blessings or cursings.  Deuteronomy 28; amen?  You want to know how to get blessed?  What does Deuteronomy 28 start with?  "Tells us all these blessings that will come to us."  Bottom line—why?  "Because you’re keeping My commandments.  You’re doing everything I’ve told you to do."  Many of us are twisting the Word of God, as we said earlier, trying to justify where we are doing what we’re doing.  The Word cannot be added to, and it cannot be diminished from; amen?

Here's something we had to share with our pastors in Africa and in India, many of these places where there is a respect of persons.  One of the things God despises the most is respect of persons, yet many Americans have gone over to these other nations and many of their national pastors are letting people give to God whatever they feel they can give in the midst of their poverty.  Malachi speaks of this very clearly.  He said, “Don’t bring me your old scabbed up, beaten up, one-eyed goats.  Give that to your governor; and ask what he thinks about it” (Malachi 1:8).  God makes it very clear, “I want your best.  I want your fear.  I want you by your giving and the purposing of your hearts.”  Deuteronomy 5:29, “O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all commandments.”  It’s a heart issue.

The Scripture makes it very clear that we cannot respect the person of the poor.  The poor tithe ten percent of what God has blessed with at a minimum.  And if not, you’re going to be cursed.  The dung that was used as the fuel many times in fire for certain purposes but not for God’s pure offering, will be rubbed in your face.  Then He says it will also be rubbed in the face of all the preachers who will not demand this of the people.  It’s not just in those who are disobedient, but those who are representing God, His priests, making sure that God is honored, that God is feared in our midst; amen?

I thank God that I’ve had a dung-free ministry.  Some people get mad at you.  Some people will be critical of you, whatever.  Just knock yourselves out, as we’ve said for many decades.  Right now, we’re going to obey the Lord.  I’m going to fear God.  I’m not afraid of any of you.  I’m afraid of God.

I’m not afraid of God because I think that He’s going to punish me and strike me down and terrorize me.  I’m afraid that I might get that same look that Peter got when Jesus looked over at him, after he had denied Him, and just looked at him and then walked away.  I want God’s pleasure.  I want to do what I can do to honor Him, to reverence Him.  Oh, I understand “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).  “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).  Everything that we’ve heard taught on justification is absolute truth, but so is this, “our God is a consuming fire.”  He will be praised.  He will be honored.  He will be obeyed; amen?  So, that’s what we want to do, to understand what it really means to fear the Lord.  Yes, He can be a terror, but yes, He is a worthy, loving Father that we want to respect and honor.

We’re in a day when everything that we see, this day, crumbles.  We will put our trust in God.  We’ll have no confidence in the flesh.  We will reap what we have sown.