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Good morning everyone. Please have a seat. We continue our sermon series in the book of Malachi, so please turn back to the Malachi chapter 3 – it’s on page 802 in the church bibles. Let’s pray.

Father, please speak to each one of us now through this part of your word. Open our eyes to see what you are really like, so that we live lives that point others to you. Amen

Queen Elizabeth learned to drive as a young woman when served with the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service. She gained on-the-job training as a driver and mechanic, capable of repairing the vehicles but she never took a driving test and in fact, as queen, didn’t need a driving licence.

I want to start by telling you all about how I passed my driving test. I started lessons on the day of my 17th birthday – I was so very keen to gain the independence I thought a driving licence would bring me. My parents weren’t able take me out to practise driving, so my only practice were the lessons themselves – which were expensive. And I probably took my test too soon – but in the end it took me 5 attempts to pass.

The first three tests I failed in exactly the same way – as I left the test centre. The exit was up a ramp and led straight onto a main road. So I needed to start with a hill start but I was nervous so test one I lunged straight out into the main road, emergency brakes were activated and I failed immediately. But still we went through the whole test. Test 2 and test 3 were exactly the same, believe it or not! I approached the exit even more nervously each time and the result were two more failures.

In test 4, I actually got out of the centre safely! The test seemed to go well. I was getting excited as we saw the test centre again at the end of the drive and as far as I could see I had a clean sheet with no major failures. There was a bus stopped on the road just 100 metres or so away from the centre. I carefully overtook it, got back to the test centre with a big grin - I was sure I had passed. Alas no – the bus had stopped over a pedestrian crossing and with my eyes firmly on the bus and overtaking It carefully I had failed to notice the traffic lights and had gone through a red light.

Then came test 5. Now something very interesting happened there. At some point in the test, the examiner asked me to pull over to the side and then – when I was ready – drive off safely. I stopped. Did all the mirror checks, indicated and pulled away without stalling. After a few minutes he again – asked me to pull over to the side and then (when I was ready) drive off safely. He emphasised the word ‘safely’. So, I reasoned I must have done it wrong the first time – which was bad news. But I also realised that he must be giving me a second chance otherwise why would we have pulled over again. Which means I hadn’t failed yet! So I did it again and the test continued. When we got back to the test centre he asked me: ‘what must you always do when pulling out when stationary’? Check your mirrors and your blind spots?’ Correct, he said! But you hadn’t done that, so I gave you a second chance. Then came those wonderful words: well, I’m pleased to say you’ve passed. It was a great moment.

Now – Malachi is one of the books pf prophecy written in the history of Israel. As God’s spokesmen they bring God’s words to God’s people. The purpose of these messages (God’s purpose for speaking) is firstly to remind them of what he was like (his character) that he is faithful, that he is all powerful, that he hates sin, that he gracious and so on. And secondly to challenging the behaviour of God’s people. They hold up a mirror and show us that our behaviour reveals our attitude towards God. And the point of that is to give us a chance to put it right. To change our ways. To repent of our sin against God. They may be hard words, but God’s purposes are always loving and gracious and his Word bring life and light. Just like the actions of my driving examiner– God is letting us know we have failed while we still have time to change.

And this wonderful passage reminds us that God is a God of grace. He is generous and faithful. It challenges us to repent of doubting his generosity and it challenges us to obey his call to live as a generous people. Obviously we now live after the coming of Jesus – so we do need to take account of that. But God’s character never changes and neither does the need for God’s people to repent and seek his help to live according to his ways. And their wider context is not that different to ours. It was:
1. A time of significant political, military, economic and social upheaval – with enormous shifts in the balance of power on the international scene.
2. A time where many, if not most, set aside God’s words and his ways

And the message of this passage is that our behaviour reveals our attitude to God. Or to put it the other way round what I believe about God determines how I will act. So what were the Israelites doing wrong? Malachi 3.7:

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

They are not obeying God’s commands. And the specific command they are not keeping is to do with something called the tithes and contributions. When God’s people took possession of the land eleven of the twelve tribes of Israel were allocated land. The 12th tribe (of Levi) were set aside to serve God full-time and so were not given land. They included the Priests who served in the temple. Instead, they were supported by the other eleven tribes each giving 10% of the produce of their land (crops and animals) to support the Levites and also those who were in need – to foreigners, orphans, and widows. (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.

So they were refusing to give God the full tithe - they were half-hearted in their giving. The language here is strong – God says they are robbing him. It was his command they were disobeying. But it was also a matter of social justice – they were neglecting their support of the Levites and those in need – the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Now the nation was facing hard times economically and they were not prospering. So giving away 10% wasn’t easy, but their behaviour revealed that they didn’t believe that God was actually generous or faithful to his promises to bless the people of Israel so that they would show a watching world what life under his rule was a delight and so turn to him. So doubting his generosity led to disobedient behaviour, and that in turn had a result. Just as living God’s way brings blessing, so turning away from his ways brings trouble. In this case, failed harvests. That may seem harsh of God, but he did that to sound a warning and help them see the impact of the ways they were choosing to live. (Malachi 3.9-11):

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 will 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 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.

So that was the challenge, and just as my driving instructor said;Ok, lets try this again. Pull over to the side and then – when I was ready –drive off safely. So God gives us a second chance. He reminds them of what he is like. (Malachi 3.6):

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

His nature and his character do not change and that is why what is revealed through the prophet Malachi is for us as well. But, what specifically about God doesn’t change? After all, God isn’t the only one who doesn’t change – Malachi 3.7 goes on to say:

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

So, we too do not change. Only in our case it’s our sinful turning away from God that is constant. God’s unchanging nature is his grace. It no accident they’re called the children of Jacob in verse 6. Jacob was also called Israel and gave his name to the Israelite people. He was the son of Isaac, who in turn was the son of Abraham. But he didn’t become the father of Israel because of his goodness. In fact, he was a rogue. Rather it was God’s grace that meant instead of receiving the punishment he deserved for disobeying God, he and his descendants became the children of God. God’s unchanging nature is his grace. His generosity in promising to bless Israel and his generosity in holding to that promise despite their repeated and constant turning aside from God and disobedience. And that is the truth about God this part of Malachi reveals to us. And where we have doubted that. And where our behaviour reveals that we don’t believe it, we need to repent. (Malachi 3.7):

Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

For them that meant returning to trusting him as their generous and faithful God. It meant recognising they were wrong to doubt his generosity. And it meant bringing, as it says in Malachi 3.10 the full tithe into the storehouse. But I doesn’t just end with their obedience. The result of doing that is receiving again God’s blessing. But the blessing doesn’t stop there. A watching world would see that God’s way is the good way and would be drawn to come and see that life under his rule was a delight and so turn to him. (Malachi 3.12):

Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

What, then, does it mean for us? Do we need to tithe? Well, tithing in the Old Testament was tied up with the way the nation of Israel was established and with the running of the temple and sacrificial system – all of which looks different after Jesus and as New Testament believers we are not required to tithe in the way they did. But as we saw in our second bible reading (2 Corinthians 9.6-15), Christians are still commanded to give generously. (2 Corinthians 9.7):

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And there is a principle in the New Testament of giving a portion of what we earn to God’s work – so the more we earn the more we give. (1 Corinthians 16.2 NIV):

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income

Jesus upheld the tithing principle and so Christians consider giving 10% a helpful starting point. Some have found that isn’t always possible, just as some have found their circumstances has meant they can give significantly more than that. That is between you and God, and (just like in Malachi) that generosity is to come as a response to God’s grace to us and the abundant blessings we have in Jesus – spiritual and material. And it comes from trusting him. Trusting his promise to meet all our needs. And just as in Malachi, we are to show a watching world that Gods way is great. In a world that can never be satisfied and just can't get enough (people should look at our Christian lives, our priorities, our simplicity of life, our contentment and our generosity) and think: 'Surely this is a better way to live – we want to know more about Jesus.'

Everything you have is a gift from God. And if you have more than you need, it's because he has given you more than you need, so you can use it generously to serve others and spread the gospel. As we pray together in the Lord’s prayer we long to see God’s Kingdom come and his will done – in Tyneside and throughout the world. We want more and more people to hear about and know the God who is so faithful and so gracious. That’s why we lay on things like our autumn events. That’s why we long to be involved in church planting in the region and beyond. That’s why we support so generously world mission. But all of this costs money. So there is a challenge here regarding our giving and what that says about our attitude to God. But there are wider applications too.

Throughout her reign, the Queen’s heart and purpose for serving her people was motivated by a genuine faith and hope in the one true God. We give thanks for her example as a servant-hearted leader always looking to her King and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps, in contrast, we have grown half-hearted in our service. Cynical. Disengaged. Hard-hearted. Fed-up with God. The message of this part of Malachi is that behind those behaviours is our attitude to God. Because what I believe about God determines how I will act. What should I do about it? Malachi 3.7:

Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

Why? Because he is a God of grace (Malachi 3.6):

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

And because he is a generous God (Malachi 3.10):

put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, [and see] if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

So, take a moment now to reflect and respond to God, before I lead us in a prayer of response.