The Challenge
I.
THE PLEADING GOD.
1.
Backsliders Plea.
Jeremiah 2:1-13
The Lord gave me
another message. He said, 2 “Go and shout this message to
Jerusalem. This is what the Lord
says: “I remember how eager you were
to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even
through the barren wilderness… 5 This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to
stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless
themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness— a land of deserts and pits, a land of
drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’ 7 “And
when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you
defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you. 8 The
priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the
prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols. 9 Therefore,
I will bring my case against you,” says the Lord.
“I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to
come.
10 “Go west and look in the land of Cyprus; go east and search through
the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this? 11 Has
any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at
all? Yet my people have
exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12 The
heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says
the Lord. 13 “For
my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of
living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold
no water at all!
2.
The Priest Plea.
Malachi 1:6-10
6 The Lord of Heaven’s
Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects
his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I
deserve? You have shown contempt
for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’ 7 “You have shown contempt by offering
defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the
sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as
sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are
crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how
pleased he is!” says the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies 9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to
you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor
at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s
Armies. 10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors
so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with
you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s
Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings
3.
The PGF Plea.
Haggai 1:1-15
On August 29 of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave a message through the prophet
Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of
Jehozadak, the high priest. 2 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people
are saying, ‘The time has not yet
come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’ ”
3 Then the Lord
sent this message through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my
house lies in ruins? 5 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at
what’s happening to you! 6 You have planted much but harvest
little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put
on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were
putting them in pockets filled with holes! 7 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at
what’s happening to you! 8 Now
go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take
pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord.
9 You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you
brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins,
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. 10 It’s
because of you that the heavens withhold the dew and the earth produces no
crops. 11 I have called for a drought on your fields and
hills—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olive trees and all your
other crops, a drought to starve you and your livestock and to ruin everything
you have worked so hard to get.”
12 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the
high priest, and the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message
from the Lord their God. When they
heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord
their God had sent, the people feared the Lord.
13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s
messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: “I am with you, says the Lord!”…They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, 15 on
September 21 of the second year of King Darius’s reign.
II.
THE PROMISE.
1.
God’s Promise to Backsliding Israel.
Jeremiah 3:14-18
14 “Return home, you wayward children,” says the Lord,
“for I am your master. I will
bring you back to the land of Israel— one from this town and two from
that family— from wherever you are scattered. 15 And I will give you shepherds after my
own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. 16 “And
when your land is once more filled with people,” says the Lord, “you will no longer wish for ‘the
good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even
remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. 17 In
that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly
follow their own evil desires. 18 In those days the people of
Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your
ancestors as an inheritance forever.
2.
God’s Promise to Israel through Haggai.
Haggai 2:6-9
6 “For this is what the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake the heavens
and the earth, the oceans and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and the treasures of
all the nations will be brought to this Temple. I will fill this place with
glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s
Armies. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 The
future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this
place I will bring peace. I, the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
3.
God’s Promise to Malachi.
Malachi 3:8-12
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say,’ In what way have we robbed You?’ In
tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you
have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord
of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for
you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the
fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the
field,” Says the Lord of hosts; 12
And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land.”
Facts About Tithing
·
God doesn’t curse you when you don’t tithe but it
opens you up to the negativity (devourer).
·
Tithing is a principal of honor.
·
It was given before the law. (Genesis 14:17-20)
·
It was included in the law. (Malachi 3:8-10; Hebrews 5:6; Matthew 23:23)
·
It was spoken of in the new testament.
Matthew 23:23
23 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, and not to leave
the other undone.
·
It’s the minimum we should do under the new covenant.
·
It’s the only principal in the new testament where God
asks us to test him.
III.
THE CHALLENGE.
Next 3 months. (June 1st to August 31st)
See Card.
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