"Lean not to your own understanding, but in all of your ways acknowledge God, and He will direct your paths."  Hallelujah!  Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honour the Lord with your substance, and with all of your firstfruits of all of your increase.”  We were talking about this the other day, and someone said, “Well, you know, I believe that we don’t have to tithe on that which has already been tithed on.”  Well, try to bring that back in your thoughts to when men first started tithing.  There would be no more after the first offerings.  It had already been tithed on, and therefore nobody else would need to recognize it as increase or income because it was tithed on once.

We interchange enough money in here and it’s a good thing.  We see immigrants doing it very successfully when they come in from other countries.  The Vietnamese will only buy from the Vietnamese, and the Koreans will only buy from the Koreans.  We are a family.  Much of what we do we hire within ourselves is to bless each other; amen?  If I’m going to pay to get it done, I’d rather have you have it than somebody I don’t know, somebody who’s not going to tithe on it and honor God. 

The basic law is this:  if it’s increase, if you didn’t have it before and you’ve got now, that’s increase.  We worship God with offering praise to Him.  The tithe, the recognition of the first fruits, is the Lord’s.  The tithe belongs to the Lord.  As we’re being admonished here by the Holy Spirit, He says, “Honour God with all of your substance, and with the first fruits of all of your increase:  So, shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall burst forth with new wine.”  Praise God!  What an opportunity.  “All I’ve done is return to You that that was Yours.”

In the book of Malachi, the people were being rebuked for not honoring or fearing God.  The message is not about giving; it’s about the fear of God.  But with man being man, there is no greater indicator of people being yielded to God than giving of their substance.  We all want more and we want to hold on to it.  That’s what passes from Adamic generation to Adamic generation.  But, we honor God.  The world thinks we’re fools for tithing.  But God’s Word goes against natural thought and natural wisdom.  “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38).  Do any of you now believe in the fear of God, that it’s more blessed to give than to receive; amen?  When we fear God and He’s our substance, let me tell you, His blessings will overtake you.  Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added unto you.  God’s our source.  He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  His abundance is infinite.  His ability to provide is in no way altered by any circumstances.  If God doesn’t have it on the shelf, He’ll make it.  Amen?  Who are you going to put your trust in?  Who are we going to fear?  Who are we going to look to as our helper in the time of need?

We don’t just “give” to God; it’s called worship.  So, here in Malachi, He begins to point to a few of these issues.  He goes down and continues to say this.  In Malachi 3:8, He says, “Will a man rob me?  Where have we robbed you?”  He said, “You’ve robbed me in your tithes and your offerings.”  There’s tithe, which is the Lord’s, that you don’t have anything to say about.  You just obey and keep His commandment; amen?  But the offerings are things that come out of gratitude.  "I’m giving not because God is commanding it.  I’m giving out of gratitude and thanksgiving, and I truly believe that everything I have is the Lord’s."  When you’re able to walk in that area of the fear of God and realize that He is truly the source, beloved, you never come to that place of thinking you’ve given too much.