Gen 2:15-17
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
Gen 3:17.
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
A Kingdom Principle established in the beginning
God wants us to have full & free access
Except the devoted thing – something set aside for Him
Holy, or accursed – if it’s handled
Every place Israel put their feet in the Promised Land would be theirs – except Jericho
Josh 6:17-19
Now [Jericho] shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord."
Defeated by the enemy (Ai), because took what was devoted to God
Josh 7:10-12
So the Lord said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? 11 Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies (ran), because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.
When the holy thing becomes the accursed thing you lose the presence of God
Just before God sends Jesus, the last message in the OT lays out what needs to happen to recover His Presence
Mal 3:1. "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the Lord of hosts.
Mal 3:7. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says the Lord of hosts. But you said, “In what way shall we return?”
He doesn’t answer with prayer, fasting, revival, anointing, gifts…
Question, vs. 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.
Robbery (vs. theft & larceny)
Harm the Body of Christ
9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, this whole nation.
Cursed: to bind; to hem in with obstacles; to render powerless
get in difficulty that can’t get out of, stop productivity and promotion
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," Says the Lord of hosts.
1. Open the windows of heaven – Causing productivity
God is undoing the first curse – making the ground productive
2. Pour out Blessings:
We want the blessing of Abraham – and they are available to us
Gal 3:14. That the blessing of Abraham might come through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Abraham accessed his blessings by faith
Gen 14:29. Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of ALL
There was no laws that told Abraham to tithe
Tithing is about relationship & trust
Tithing didn’t just bless Abraham – it affected his future
Heb 7:9-10. Levi paid tithes through Abraham
God's blessing and favor was transferred to his children and grandchildren:
3. That’s not enough
When I tithe…
I Gain God’s Active Presence and Involvement
I cause what I do to be rained on – to be productive
Stop touching what belongs to God
Stop living under the curse – Restrictions
When I don’t tithe…
I don’t have strength to stand against things
I get in things and can’t get out
“I can’t tithe because I don’t have it”
“You didn’t tithe, so you don’t have it”
You had it. It was not yours, but you used it anyway
Now you’ve cursed all of your other money
Money God wanted you to use “freely”
Faith to Tithe… Trust & relationship
God's Promise - Mal 3:10