Malachi: Return to the Lord

In this message from Malachi 3, we explore God's call for His people to return to Him. Discover four powerful promises that motivate repentance and renewed faithfulness: God's permanence, provision, protection, and pronouncement of blessing. No matter how far you've wandered, God's unchanging character assures that He stands ready to receive, restore, and bless those who return to Him through faith and obedience.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Caribbean Grace Chapel Podcast, where we value the expository preaching and teaching of the Word of God for the purpose of life transformation. If you have your Bible, I would encourage you to open it to the Book of Malachi. Book of Malachi, as you know, one of the things that we value here is expository preaching and teaching. That is, we preach verse by verse through books of the Bible. We are currently in the book of Malachi and we are in chapter number three. The book of Malachi is a straightforward book. It is structured around six disputes. So the Lord would bring a charge against his people. The people would dispute the charge, and then God would prove his case. Today we're looking at the fifth dispute between God and His people. And then next week, Lord willing, we'll look at the sixth one. And then chapter four, as we close out the series, is really it kind of serves uh you know it's a chapter four is a nice way to wrap up, wrap up the book, and it and it promises of future events looking forward. But um, so that's kind of how the book is structured. So we're looking at Malachi chapter 3, verses 6 through 12. Our reading from the English Standard Version. For I the Lord do not change. Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return? Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, How have we robbed you? And your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 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 would not open the windows of heaven for you, and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, or for you, so that it would not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. That's the reading of God's word. In that passage, Malachi prompted God's people to return to the Lord. So today, this would apply to us in a very similar fashion. God prompts his people to return to him. Well, what prompts God's people to return to him? Four promises prompt God's people to return to him. The first promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his permanence. The promise of his permanence. Listen to this in Malachi chapter 3, verses 6 and 7. For I the Lord do not change. Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside for my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return? So the Lord prompted his people to return to him by reminding him, or reminding them of his permanence. You see, the people had returned from the exile. Malachi was writing to the Israelite people who had returned from the exile, and the book took place roughly 100 years after that return. And so the people had returned from the exile, they were back in the land, they had rebuilt the temple, and they had reinstituted the worship of Yahweh. However, they had not stayed faithful to the Lord. They had wandered away from Him, they had strayed away from Him. The priests were corrupt. The people were committing the sins of idolatry and adultery. The whole nation had grown cynical in their worship to God, in their service to God, in applying the laws or the word of God in everyday life. And they went away from him. They were there physically, but they were absent spiritually. In other words, they were just going through the motions. And the Lord called them out for their wandering ways. And he informed them that their straying away from him was nothing new. He said, You guys have always been this way. Your forefathers were this way. The people of Israel, Israel, wandering away from God didn't begin after the exile, it began after the exodus. I mean, after the Lord delivered them from Egypt, and as their, you know, almost immediately they began wanting to go back to Egypt. They constantly complained against Moses and the other leadership that God had appointed. They constantly complained against the provision that God had provided for them in their wilderness wanderings. They built the golden calf. They committed the sins of idolatry and adultery with the Moabite women. I mean, we could go on, and all the examples are too numerous for us to even mention here in this particular sermon. But those that I have mentioned were enough to prove what God was saying to his people. You've always wondered for me. You've always left me. You've always strayed away from me. Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. I, the Lord, do not change. In other words, he was saying, I chose Israel of all the nations on the earth, of all the people on the earth, I chose this group, I chose them to be my people. I set my love upon them. Not because they deserved it, not because they're greater than any other nation, not because they're mightier than any other nation, not because they're wealthier than any other nation. Simply because I chose to do so. They are my people and I set my love upon them, and nothing has changed. Just because they wandered in the wilderness, just because they would stray from me, nothing has changed. I, the Lord, do not change. What he declared through the prophet Malachi. Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. The reason the Lord did not wipe them off the face of the earth is simply because he chose to set his love upon them and his affections do not change. He chose them, he set his love on them. Period. The same was true for the people of Malachi's day. They had wandered away from God. They were just going through the motions of worship, but they weren't really worshiping the Lord. Remember, they were bringing sacrifices to the temple that were blemished. They'd engaged in idolatry and adultery and so on. They had wandered away from God. However, they were still God's people. He still loved them. He still had a plan for them. And so he prompted them to return to him. And the people could return to him with the full assurance that they would be received and not destroyed. Why? Because the permanence of God. Since he does not change, he was where they departed him. And that's why he said, Return to me and I will return to you. In other words, they had left God in the areas of worship and service and you know the sacrificial system and applying the laws of God and the land. And if they would return to the Lord, well then the Lord would return to them. Meaning, you're the one that walked away. You come back. Because God is permanent, He doesn't change. So many people today wondering, you know, you don't quote unquote feel the presence of God. You've walked away from the Lord, you're not serving Him, you're trying to figure out what to do. The answer is simple. Go back to where you departed from Him. If you stop and think about it, there is a time in which you begin to delve into sin, not repentant of it, and you continue down that track. And you can return to the Lord with the full assurance that He will receive you and not destroy you. Because God is permanent. Now, the permanence of God is really, man, that's a fascinating truth. It's a wonderful truth. In theology, it's properly called the immutability of God. God does not change, He is immutable. God doesn't mutate, He is immutable. He doesn't learn. He already knows all things. Because He decreed all things. He created all things. He's immutable. He is the same. Second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, decade by decade, century by century, God is the same. He does not change. He is eternal. He's omnipotent, meaning all-powerful. He's omniscient. He knows all things. He's omnipresent. He is everywhere all the time. As H. B. Charles Jr. once said, in some sense, God never shows up because he's already there. We say that in church, don't we? God showed up. No, he didn't. He was already there. You came. God's eternal. He's everywhere at all places. He's omnipresent everywhere at all times. Think about that for a moment. That's the God that we serve. That's the God that's revealed himself in the scripture. He's immutable. He's a rock. He doesn't change. He is constant. And thank God that he is. Because that's what gives us the confidence to approach him. Even when we have sinned and walked away from God, even when we've been living a lifestyle of rebellion, we can come back to God knowing that he will receive us and not destroy us. Because he doesn't change. He's not ruled by his passions. He is constant. He's immutable. His promises, his purposes. The same. Thank God. Again, H.B. Charles Jr. said on this particular text. You know, in our English um way of life, our custom way of life in America, we walk up to people and we say, Hey, how are you doing? How are you? There's some people, rather than asking them, How are you? We should ask them, who are you? Because they change from day to day based on what's going on in their circumstances. One day they're happy go lucky, man. They're like they love everybody. You know what I mean? They're like a golden retriever. They're wagging their tail, just hoping to get a treat. You know what I'm saying? They're just loving life. And then the next day, they're the junkyard dog ready to bite your leg off. Well, God is not like that. You never have to ask, Who are you today, God? Because God has already told us. And he's immutable and he doesn't change. So we can have the full confidence and assurance that when we approach him and we return to him, he returns to us and he receives us. You see, some have wandered away from God. And he is prompting you to return to him. You are living in sinful rebellion against God. You are corrupt in your life and in your worship. And the Lord is prompting you to return to him through the promise of his permanence, his immutability. He is unchanging in his love for you. If you are a child of God, he chose you, you didn't choose him. And he is determined to set his love on you. He adopted you into the family. You are still a child of God. Nothing has changed. He still loves you. You are still his child. And it's prompting you to return to him. And it is exactly where you left him. In other words, repent and return to the Lord. So many people wrestle with the question: why am I still here? Some of you literally have escaped death more times than you can count. You've done more drugs that were humanly possible. You drank more liquor than was humanly possible. You got behind a car and you didn't have a wreck. Or you did and you walked away from it. Some of you have been involved in, you know, probably legal crimes. Many of you have survived different things and you're wrestling with why? Why am I still here? I can answer that question for you. Because the permanence of God. He's unchanging, and he is giving you time to repent and return to him. The reason none of us are consumed is because he doesn't change. Because if you stop and think about your life, there have been times that all of us, all of us, there's not one in this room who has not been in sin, moved away from God in certain areas of their life. And God didn't consume you, even though you deserved it, simply because he is immutable. He doesn't change, he set his love on you, and rather than destroying you, he calls you back home. That's the grace and goodness of God. And so the first promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his permanence. The second promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his provision. Look, if you will, Malachi chapter 3, verses 7 through 10. Malachi 3, verses 7 through 10. From the days of your fathers, you have turned aside. You've turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return? Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, How have we robbed you and your tithes and contributions? You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 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 would not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. And so the second promise that prompts God's people to return to him is a promise of his provision. You see, God here in that passage indicted his people. This is where he brought the charge against them. And so it's important to understand the flow of the passage. Again, before he brought the charge against his people, he assured them of his love for them. That's why he started this particular section with I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Okay? So that it's like a parent who brings correction and discipline to their children. They do so in love. And so to properly correct and discipline your children or your grandchildren is to first assure them of your love for them. So they're secure in that relationship. And then you bring discipline and correction. And of course, there's love and fellowship afterwards. That's the way God operates. He did so in the beginning of chapter one, and he did so right here in the middle of chapter three. He says, I the Lord do not change, therefore, you, O children of Jacob, not consumed. Now, here is the charge. Here's the charge. You've left me. You've wandered away from me. And the people disputed the charge by asking the question, how shall we return to you? Okay. In the English, your English translation of the Bible, it kind of loses the force. The question was sarcastic. They're like, how should we return to you? We still here. In other words, in their mind, they were saying, we ain't gone anywhere. We're still at church. We're still in the temple. We're still showing up to church. We still get our verse of the day on the Bible. What are you talking about? We left you. You know what I mean? Very sarcastic. The Lord answered their question with a question. Will man rob God? And then he could ask the question before the people even got to ask it. Because he knew what they were thinking. Of course he did. It's God. They said, How shall we return? The Lord said, Will a man will man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. And tithes and contributions. Therefore, you are cursed with a curse. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse that you may be blessed. And in that text, he actually called out the whole nation, right? He said, the whole nation has robbed me. Meaning all of God's people. And so the people, here's the thing, guys. Everybody's about to get nervous. The people were guilty of withholding the full tithe and offering. The English Standard Version uses the word contributions. We use it in our church world today, offerings. So they were guilty of withholding the full tithe and offerings. Now, in the Old Testament, in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, the tithes and the offerings were used to support the temple, the priest who ministered in the temple, and also the compassionate care of widows and orphans and the invalid and so on. And according to Leviticus, the people were to tithe. By the way, if you don't know what that word tithe means, it means 10%. And actually, when you break down the law, they gave way more than 10%, but I'm just dealing with the tithe. They were to tithe, they were to give 10% of everything. They tithe the produce, they tithe, you know, the seed, everything. They tithe. Why? What they were demonstrating is that God owns the earth and the fullness thereof. It all belongs to him. And we are merely presenting back to him a tithe, and of course, the contributions that they were laid out in the Old Testament. So they brought the tithe and the contributions to the Lord. And what that was demonstrating was that they were trusting him in every area of their life. Yet the people were withholding a portion of that tithe and offering. Notice, he said, bring your full tithe to the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house. And again, it proves the point that they even tithe produce. Well, we clearly understand God doesn't need our food, right? No, of course not. The scripture tells us this way: God owns the earth and the fullness thereof. He owns the cattle of a thousand heels. I mean, he owns so much cattle that it's easier to count the hills than it is the cattle. You know what I mean? It's like he owns a cattle of a thousand. In other words, it's his way of saying he owns everything. And we should trust him with every area of our life, including our finances. He said, if you will return to me, then that will be demonstrated by you giving the full tithe and contributions to the work of the Lord. It's not that they didn't give, it's not that they didn't give anything, it's that they didn't give the whole thing. They kept a portion of it for themselves. And they said, When you return to me and you really repent and you return to the Lord, that will be demonstrated in you presenting the tithe and contributions of the offerings to the house of the Lord. And then he even issued a challenge. He said, put me to the test. If I'm not mistaken, this is the one area where God actually said you could test him. Everywhere else it was the opposite. Like, don't test me. You know what I mean? Like, no, don't test God. But right here he says, put me to the test. Present to me the tithe and the offering. Present to me the tithe and the contribution and see if I would not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon you until there's no more need. Now, surely, surely you realize it's not like a warehouse in heaven, right? It's not like God's opening up literal windows and like just pouring out stuff, right? This is metaphorical language here, but what he's saying is God will meet every need. Like you won't even have enough room to contain the way that God will bless you if you follow him in biblical principles. Now, let's make this apply to us today. We must be honest with the text of Scripture. And therefore we say, there is no New Testament command to tithe. However, there is a biblical case for tithing. Think of it with me. Think way back to the book of Genesis, chapter 14. Abraham, who was Abram, rescues his nephew, Lot. Or rescues family members. And on the way back, he stops and he visits a guy in scripture referred to as Mikelzedec. And what does he do? He offers him or presents to him a tithe of all that he had. In Genesis 14, I'm talking centuries before the law was ever given. In Genesis chapter 28, you have Jacob who had an encounter with God, and one of the things that Jacob says is that I will present to you a tithe of all that I have, a tenth of all that I have. Genesis 28, again, centuries before the law was ever given. Of course, the tithe was codified or put into law, in the law of Moses. You come into the New Testament, you get to Matthew chapter 23 and verse number 23. Jesus is having conversation or confrontation with some of the religious leaders, and he says, you know, guys, you tithe, you know, Mint and Kumen and all this. But you forget the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, faithfulness. These you must do without neglecting the other. Okay, in other words, it's not like we come into the New Testament and then Jesus all of a sudden goes, hey, you don't have to tithe anymore. What it was saying was just because you tithe doesn't make you a Christian. Right? Doesn't make you a follower of God. There are other things in the law to pay attention to other than just tithing. But it's interesting to note that he didn't remove that. It was assumed. It was a carryover. What's really interesting to me is if you, those who want to say, well, there's no New Testament, you know, command to tithe in the New Testament, so we shouldn't do it. Well, you know, there's no New Testament command to play the piano and drums and worship either. But we do it. You know why? Because it's a carryover. It was well established in the Old Covenant. Just read the book of Psalms. You know, read the other place in the Old Testament where they dedicated the temples and they brought in the choirs and they brought in all the musicians and everything that has breath. Praise the Lord. So there was no need to repeat what had already been clearly established. So it is coming into the New Testament church. There's no need to clearly, you know, to re-establish what has clearly already been established. It was the default of the church. Some like to point to 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and say, see, there's no tithe, you just give what you want to give. It's called grace giving. And it is true, that's what 2 Corinthians chapter 9 is dealing with. But when you read it in context, it's talking about one church receiving an offering from another church. It doesn't have to do with the tithe. And so determine in your heart what you want to give. One thing we can say, what's clearly detailed in the New Testament, is this. How would we word it? Proportional giving. I guess that'd be a good way to word it. Paul said it this way. He said in 2 Corinthians 9, if you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly. If you sow generously, you will reap generously. Now it just seems to me that if you consider all of Scripture, the tithe, the 10%, is the starting point. But no way am I limiting you. Because if the New Testament and the New Covenant is indeed greater than the old covenant, then of course we should be given more than 10%. Just a thought. And that's why the terminology in Scripture is the way it is: tithes and contributions, tithes and offerings. And it would just seem apparent if God sanctioned, he actually put into law in the Old Testament that his people, ancient Israel, should tithe and give offerings. Well, it just makes good sense that the new Israel of God, which is the church, would have that same operation. And just in case somebody's sitting here thinking, Pastor Jason is about to receive an offering. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not here to twist your arm. I'm just here to present the truth. And in case maybe you're new to church or you don't understand how church works, you think all this money that you give to the church comes to the preacher. Well, it doesn't. I can prove it. You know how I can prove it? I'm working a job. You know why? Because it takes money to operate everything. You know, while we're talking about this, I'll just be candid with you. The utility bill. Just to have lights and to have some air. Over a thousand dollars a month. Think about that for a minute. So I'm saying this with a pastor's heart, and I'm saying this out of love. I hope you understand what I'm about to say. You are not a robot, you are not a machine, you are valuable, but you're not free. You know what I mean? Like just walking in here and sitting down, you cost money. You realize that, right? If you have kids, you can say amen. Right? Think about that. Just to insure all of this. I'm talking thousands of dollars a year. It's well over six thousand dollars a quarter. Just for insurance. Okay. In other words, I'm preaching on tithe and offering, but what I want you to understand is I'm not I'm not trying to get a pay raise. I'm just simply presenting the scripture. And I'm also explaining why God did what He did. He spread it out among all people. So think of it this way: a tithe. If you believe that's a good starting point, 10%. Well, that's equal sacrifice for all people, but it's not equal giving for all people. Right? If somebody makes $500 a week and somebody makes $1,500 a week, well, obviously the person making $1,500 a week is giving more, but they both have the equal sacrifice. And that's the point. It's trusting God with all of their finances, it's trusting God with everything that they have. I can't explain this part of it other than just state it. The way God has set up the system, you can do more with 90% of your income than you can with a hundred percent of your income. And I bet if I had people stand up and testify, you would bear witness with what I'm saying. That's the way God works. That seems strange to us, doesn't it? But that's the way you work. And I love what Warren Wearsby said. He goes, Oh, by the way, um, it's not like the Lord just owns the 10%. He owns the other 92, right? He's still the Lord of that 90%. He also directs what you do with it. So don't think you just come in here and give God, you know, his 10%. It'd be like, okay, I got the rest. I can go, you know, buy whatever I want to buy. That's not that's not being a good steward either. It's really about stewardship and trusting God with every area. And he said, if you will trust me in this, the Lord said, put me to the test in this. He said through the prophet Malachi, see if I will not open the windows of heaven. See if I will not pour out a blessing upon you. It is so, so true. God will bless you. He'll bless you. I mean, when I was thinking about this, we were, and it may not always be money. Okay, so let me let me go ahead and clear that up too. Just like I'm not trying to get a pay raise, I'm also not with these prosperity preachers. Okay? But at the same time, I have to present the truth of the scripture. So I want you to hear me and hear me well. I'm not saying that if you give God $100 today, then you know you're gonna get $500 by tomorrow. There's no such promise whatsoever in Scripture. What it does promise is provision. And provision can come in many different ways. Right? I was thinking about when we started out in our 20s. Kelly looked the same, I was a bit different. I had brown hair. Some of what's down here was up here. And we were pastoring our first church, and it was a struggling church, and um, you know, without boring with all the details. Anyway, we were struggling. And a guest minister that we had. We were gonna bring in a guest, a guest preacher, and he's gonna do some leadership training and he was gonna preach. Man, he came to our house and he his church had put together a basket of like, it was a box, really, it was a big box of food. We had a, I don't even know what it's called. What's that big, like round red cheese? Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Yeah, whatever it was. I don't know, but it was good. All right. We had cheese, we had rice, we had beans, we had peanut butter, I mean, we had all kinds of stuff. And you may be thinking, well, that don't sound like a very good box. Well, when you're struggling to put food on the table and you got two little kids and you're pastoring a small church, that that was like filet mignon. You know what I mean? It was God's provision. Back up even further than that, we got married. I was 21, she was 19, and we were living in what we affectionately call the dungeon. It was literally the basement of someone's house located across the street where I got my undergraduate degree. We walked to campus, we had a window, and when you pulled back the curtains, you saw the dirt. Nashville was kind of hilly, right? So the house was built on a hill, so the basement was like this. So when you open the window, you're looking at the hill. And that's where we live. And I mean, guys, we had nothing. I'm talking for a date night back then. Do you remember this? We would literally pulling up the uh the cushions of the couch looking for change. To scrounge up enough change to get in the car to hope we had enough gas to make it to McDonald's to buy an ice cream coal. And I would eat the ice cream and she would eat the corn. And that was our treat. We had nothing, but we were trusting the Lord. And you know what was interesting? Sometimes we'd pull up to that McDonald's, and I don't know why, but there was a lady that worked there, the window, and for some reason she just took a liking to me. We'd pull up there and we would say, you know, want an ice cream call. Probably the only people that ordered one ice cream call, you know. And she would say, Um, you know, drive around, we'd pay, and she'd say, pull up. And so we'd pull up. And I'm like, that's weird. It's an ice cream call. You know? She would come out with sacks of food. I'm talking Big Macs, French fries, all kinds of food. Hey, I know it's not healthy, but it's what the Lord provided. So then we're sitting in the car, hey man, we're we're like, woo, you know, like thank you, Lou Marina's. We're like, God, I'm going to Outback tomorrow. And I can give you story after story, and so can you. So please, there's nothing special about me. It's not like I'm super spiritual and you're not, none of that. It's just telling a story of how God provided, and you have your own stories. I'm just calling you to remember. Trust the Lord. He provides for his people. But provision may not always be money. Please keep that in mind. We can go on and on. And so if you have wandered from the Lord in the area of your tithe and offering, the Lord today in his word is calling you back. Return to him. Trust in him. Maybe because you've wandered away from him in this area, you're cursed with a curse. Now that seems strange to think, oh, God curses you. Well, think of it this way: it's lack of resources. The opposite of blessing in scripture is cursing. So when you follow the biblical principles, you're blessed. When you don't, you're cursed. In other words, there are consequences to disobedience. That's what the scripture calls cursing. Consequences to the disobedience. And so maybe you're struggling, you know, in certain areas. And again, maybe it's not financially. Maybe you don't have peace. Maybe you just can't even enjoy what you have. Maybe because you've made God your money your God. You know what I mean? Like you hoarding it. God owns the earth in the fullness thereof. So trust him. See. He would not bless you. And that is pretty simple. I didn't say I did say I'm not going to receive an offering, and I'm not. But we have boxes you sure can give if you want. Might as well start today. The second promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his provision. The third promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his protection. These kind of go together, but look at this in Malachi chapter 3, verse 11. The Lord says, I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it would not destroy the fruits of your soil and your vine and the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of host. So the Lord prompted his people to return to him by giving the promise of provision. If you would do this, I will provide for you. And he gave them the promise of protection. He said, Not only will I provide for you, I will protect what I provided. That's how that works for us today. It goes like this. Your car still gets you from point A to point B. And then it shouldn't. But it does. The lawnmower still cranks and it shouldn't, but it does. Your clothes don't wear out. And then the greatest miracle, it still fits. Right? You think I'm joking. But if you really stop and think about it, some of you that you know you put on a few pounds. Some of you lost a few pounds. Your clothes really shouldn't be fitting, but somehow God makes things work. Protects what he provides. And of course, I'm giving silly examples. But nonetheless, that's how God operates, right? I'm just trying to put something in your mind. God protects what he provides. Every time you look in the pantry, every time you open the fridge, there's something. It may not be what you want, but it's something. He provides. He protects. The fourth promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his pronouncement. I love this. Look at this verse in Malachi chapter 3 and verse 12. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. So the Lord prompted his people to return to him with the promise of his pronouncement. The pronouncement, among other things, was basically this. I'm going to bless you. And you're going to be blessed to the point that your life will have an impact on your pagan neighbors. And they're going to look at you and go, man, that's a land of delight. Talking about the land of Israel, right? The pagan nations that surrounded them are going to look at Israel and go, man, that's a land of delight. God provides for them, God protects them. Look at the laws they operate under, look at the freedom that they have, look at the peace that they have. Man, that's a land of light. That's the blessing of God upon his people. And the same applies to us today. If you will return to the Lord, then he will pronounce a blessing upon you. And among other things, his pronouncement of his blessing will include that your life, your faithfulness, your trust in God will be used by the Lord to impact others for Jesus Christ. Even your pagan neighbors, your pagan friends will look at your life and go, man, that guy's blessed. And it don't have anything to do with being a millionaire, it just has to do with being blessed. Sometimes God's blessing, more times than not, God's blessing isn't about money. It's about peace. It's about favor. It's about contentment. Look at this scripture. Proverbs chapter 10, verses 22. I love this scripture. Proverbs 10, verse 22. The blessing of the Lord makes rich and he adds no sorrow to it. Don't you like that? The blessing of the Lord makes rich and he adds no sorrow to it. There is a lot of rich people in the world and they have no peace. They can't enjoy what they have. You know why? They lied and cheated to get it. But the Lord blesses his people and he adds no sorrow to it. We as God's people can lay our head down on our pillow at night and have peace and have joy because who we are in God. And because he is permanent, he doesn't change, we're not consumed, and we are secure in that relationship with him. Part of the blessing of God is contentment. In 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 6 through 9. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. One of the blessings of God is that you learn to be content with what you have. They start misapplying scripture. They use it as a means to control their people and convince them to rob widows and take all their money. They're fleecing the sheep and fall into a snare. And it caused damage not to their own spiritual lives, but also those who sit under their horrible teaching. That desire to be rich causes problems. There's nothing wrong with being rich, but if you have that desire, there's a problem. But Christians know how to be content. Paul said in Philippians, I know how to abound and I know how to abase. You know? I mean, abounding is a lot more fun than abasing. But nonetheless, as Christians, we know how to do both. Right? Because our peace and our joy doesn't come for how much money we have in the bank account. Our peace and our joy comes in our relationship with our Father. The blessing of God is summarized for us in Numbers chapter 6, verses 22 through 27. In Numbers 6, 22 through 27, we read, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel. You shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them. Notice he didn't list a dollar amount, he just said you'd have favor. You'd have his favors counted as upon you, you'd have peace, protection, keep you, and so on. That's the blessing of God. Not how much money you have in the bank. So the fourth promise that prompts God's people to return to him is the promise of his pronouncement. He will pronounce a blessing over his people. Amen. Will you stand your feet with me this morning? God prompts his people to return to him. Four promises that prompt his people to return to him. The first promise that prompted God's people to return to him is the promise of his permanence. God doesn't change. If you were here today and you are living in sin, you are in rebellion against God, we call it backslidden. Return to the Lord. And you can do so with confidence and assurance that he will not destroy you, but he will receive you and forgive you. So I challenge you. I ask you to repent and return to Christ. The second promise that prompts God's people to return to him is a promise of his provision. You can tell what a person is with Christ by how they trust him or don't trust him with their finances. And it's amazing to me that people will say, I trust Jesus to save my soul, but I can't trust him with this hundred dollars. Think about how ludicrous that is. And so I challenge you, based on the authority of the word of God. If you have left the Lord in that area, return to him by presenting him, presenting your tithe and offering to the Lord. The third promise that prompts his people to return to him is a promise of his protection. If you will trust him, he will bless you and he'll even protect what he provides. I'm not promising you new car, but I promise that you'll get from point A to point B somehow. And the fourth promise that prompts God's people to return to him is a promise of his pronouncement. God will bless his people. You will have peace. His name will be upon you. What more could you possibly want? Money can't provide any of that. But our relationship with God can. So if you have never repented of your sin and place your faith in Christ, I call upon you to do so today. You might be thinking, what does that mean? How do I do that? The scripture makes it clear in Romans chapter 10. But a brief synopsis is this you are born a sinner. In fact, every single person who's ever been born and ever will be born of a man and a woman is born in sin. They are in Adam, Romans chapter 5. And the only thing that Adam can provide is death. Romans 3.23, for all have sinned to fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6.23 and the wages of that sin is death. In essence, we are criminals in God's universe, and he would be absolutely just to pick up his gavel and demand our execution. The second part of Romans 6.23 is fantastic, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord. How does that work? Christ came to this earth, born of a virgin, never committed one sin in thought, action, or speech. And yet he willingly gave his body to be beaten, had to be whipped, had to be nailed to the cross, not for anything that he did, but for everything that you do. And the wrath of God that should have been poured out on you was instead poured about on Christ as he hung on that cross. He died. But on the third day, he rose from the dead. He's alive forevermore. He ascended into heaven, where he's seated at the right hand of the Father, and all those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. If you believe in your heart that simple gospel message and you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you'll be saved. So I call upon you, if you want the blessings of God that I talked about today, peace, joy, contentment, protection, it is only through Jesus Christ that I call upon you, repent of your sin and come to faith in Christ. And now I talk to the Christians briefly, those that are in this room who are indeed saved, you're a child of God. I challenge you to search your heart. And you're guilty of going through the motions of worship, but you're not worshiping in spirit and in truth. You're called upon to return to the Lord. Return to your first love. Christ. Return to the heart of worship. Thank you for listening to the Cairo Grace Chapel podcast. Make sure that you like, share, follow us on socials. I'm Dr. Jason Murphy, proclaiming grace, transforming culture.