“Living the Good Life”
“The Big Test”
Malachi 3:8-11

God confronts our unwillingness to tithe

Malachi 3:8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.

Malachi 3:9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

“Will a man rob God?”
“How have we robbed you?”
“In your tithes and contributions”

Christ’s parable of the vineyard

Luke 20:9, “And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. “

Luke 20:10, “When the time came, he sent a servantto the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.”

Luke 20:11, “And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.“

Luke 20:12, “And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.”

Luke 20:13, “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ “

Luke 20:14, “But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ “

Luke 20:15, “And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?“

Luke 20:16, “He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’ When they heard this, they said, ‘Surely not’!”


Luke 20:17, “But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone’?”

Luke 20:18, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

God invites us to test him by tithing

Malachi 3:10, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

“Bring the full tithe”

“And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts,”

God invited us to test him, so let’s test him

God tells us what to expect.
“A blessing until there is no more need.”

God promises to bless our life work when we tithe

Malachi 3:11, “I will rebuke the devourerfor you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.”

The lost labor of the past becomes productive labor

The Lord of host’s makes a business promise