Opening the Windows of Heaven
“‘Test 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 a blessing until it overflows.’”
—Malachi 3:10
This verse in Malachi is a pretty powerful statement from God. Nowhere else in Scripture does God tell us to test Him, except in this one verse. What is it that God says will cause Him to open the windows of heaven, pouring out His blessing on us until it overflows?
“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows’” (Mal. 3:10).
Did you see it? It is through tithing. Tithing will cause God to open the windows of heaven and shower His blessings over your life!
Many Christians shy away from learning as much as they can about this important principle, but please do not miss this! God wants us to be faithful and obedient in all things, and when we neglect or choose to be disobedient in one area of our lives, it spills over into other areas as well.
What exactly is tithing? It is giving back to God the first ten percent of your increase.
Why 10 percent? The word tithe in the Hebrew language is “ma‘asrah,” which actually translates to “a tenth.” So whenever God speaks to us in His Word and says to “tithe,” He means for us to give Him a tenth of whatever and wherever we increase.
Our society as a whole is ignorant of the principle of tithing. Many churches fail their congregation by neglecting to teach the importance of tithing. Why is this so serious? It is because God is angry when we fail to give back to Him what is rightfully His. Malachi 3:8–10 clearly states, “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!”
God wants to bless His people; however, He often cannot because we are ignorant or unwilling to give to His storehouse with tithes and offerings. He tells us in Haggai 1:6–7, “‘You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!’”
There are just too many Christians who either live in poverty, or who are in as much debt as the unbeliever. God wants to bless us, but He wants us to use the money He gives us the way He intended. “‘You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why? The Lord of hosts declares, ‘Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house’” (Hag. 1:9).
We choose to spend our earnings on pleasures while our churches, missionaries, and ministries struggle to make ends meet. Why? It is because we try to hold onto what is not rightfully ours to keep. We ask God to bless us, and then we wonder why we do not receive. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3).
God wants to make every believer “the head and not the tail.” He wants you to be “above” and “not be underneath” debt or anything else that will rule or control your life (Deut. 28:13). We are told to “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another . . .” (Rom. 13:8).
When we take, but we give little, we are setting ourselves up for financial and spiritual ruin. “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6).
Understanding the Powerful Principle of Tithing
It is ironic that so many Christians wrongly believe that they cannot “afford” to tithe and to bless God through offerings. Yet, the truth is that they are simply caught in a vicious cycle downward. They cannot afford to give because they rob God by paying man first, thereby robbing themselves of being blessed! God must always be first in everything or we suffer the consequences. Only obedience and trusting God will break the cycle, which usually begins by giving by faith while in great financial need.
As a matter of fact, it is when we are in deep poverty that God asks us to give. The Christians in Macedonia understood and applied this principle of giving. “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Cor. 8:2).
Jesus also made a point of it when “Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on’” (Mark 12:43–44).
Why should I give my tithe first, before paying my bills?
As I already said, God commands that He be first in our lives as we learned in chapters 1 and 2. Jesus also told us that how we handle or hold onto our finances reflects where our heart is “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21).
Following the Lord in every way except for your finances is what Jesus showed us in this verse from Mark 10:20-22 “And he said to Him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.’ Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.”
So many Christians have heard a message on giving, and instead of following the Lord, they turned away grieved because money and possessions meant more to them than what Jesus had to offer.
God must be first. As Deuteronomy 18:4 tells us, “You shall give Him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep.” Then, in Exodus 34:24 and 26, God says, “For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders . . . You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God. . . .”
This principle of putting the Lord first is also confirmed in the New Testament when Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Ask any Christian you know who lives the principle of tithing and they will tell you story after story of how many times their bank account didn’t look like they would have enough, yet when they gave God the first fruits, His ten percent, they had enough, and how the opposite was also true—myself included! There is no doubt that God rules the universe based on His spiritual laws and no amount of reasoning or rationing can change the way He set it up.
Where should I tithe?
Malachi 3:10 states, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows.’”
Your storehouse is simply where you are spiritually fed. Many Christians make the mistake of giving where they are not spiritually fed but choose to tithe where they see a need, or in a church where they are a member, but are not fed—but this is foolishness. It is like going to a restaurant, ordering a meal, but when the bill comes, telling the cashier that you would rather give to the restaurant down the street that is not making it financially or you are giving to the membership warehouse where you no longer shop!
If you are attending a church where you are being spiritually fed, then you should be tithing at least a tenth of your income to your home church. That means that if you attend church elsewhere and feel led to sow financially there (or any other ministry or missions), then this would be an offering “above and beyond” your tithe. Remember, too, that God told us that we don’t have enough when we don’t give tithes AND offerings. Therefore, any reputable ministry should encourage their followers to be careful not to steal from your church to sow into their ministry “for this would be unprofitable for you” (Heb. 15:17). It is unprofitable for the giver and the receiver.
However, many of our ministry’s members are not attending a church (for a variety of reasons) and are being fed through our ministry; therefore, they tithe to RMI, since this is where they are being spiritually fed.
Again, as I have encouraged you throughout this book, seek God. This goes for everything, including your finances. Then be obedient and faithful to Him!
Remember, tithing is not an option. Malachi 3:8–10 is clear, “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!”
But, I am no longer under the law, and I live by grace, so 10 percent is no longer required. Is it?
God’s grace warrants giving more, not less. When we have experienced His forgiveness, His mercy, His compassion, and His sacrifice of His shed blood whereby we become partakers of His glory, it will increase our willingness to give more, certainly not less.
“. . . Freely you received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8).
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).
However, “. . . he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6).
These three verses are all New Testament, living by grace, principles. God’s desire is to pour His power and His blessings into our lives so much so that they overflow and overwhelm us. When we tithe, we are being obedient; however, when, out of utter gratitude and worship, we freely give offerings beyond what is commanded, we are truly opening the door for God to pour out His blessings and to do His pleasure in our lives.
We know that He “is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20, KJV).
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33, KJV). Are you and I going to take God at His Word or not? Or has fear of not having enough clouded our minds? If we are double-minded, and if we do not really trust that God will provide for us, “let this man expect that he will receive nothing from the Lord” (James 1:7-9). It’s when we hold onto what we have in order to try to take care of ourselves that causes us to never see God’s awesome power poured out on our lives.
Principles of Stewardship
As we have learned, tithing is an important principle in the Bible. God expects us to tithe back to Him the first 10% portion of what He has so generously given to us. Indeed, all that He has given us is still His—we are simply stewards. He has entrusted us to care for the earth and all that is in it. How we handle what He has entrusted to us—our money, our talents, our time—demonstrates our obedience to His Word, our trust in His promise to provide, and, most importantly, our faith in Him.
The way you view and handle your finances forms a foundational base for your growth as a Christian, and understanding God’s principles of stewardship will enable you to mature in your spiritual walk and inherit the blessings that God has intended for your life.
The riches of God are not given in order for us to “get rich” in the same way that the world seeks riches, but instead His blessings are just one part of our heritage. God wants to prosper us (Jer. 29:11) as long as He knows that we will use our inheritance wisely, without allowing prosperity to bring us to ruin. Giving a car to a child who is too young will most certainly end in tragedy. It is not until a parent sees maturity that he is willing to turn over the keys of the car.
God wants us to have a mature attitude toward money, for it has the power to affect our ability to make wise decisions. “Two things I asked of You, do not refuse me before I die: keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Prov. 30:7–9).
It is clear, though, that it is God’s desire to bless His children. Here are more verses that show God’s heart toward you as one of His own and His desire to bless you financially:
“It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it” (Prov. 10:22).
“The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life” (Prov. 22:4).
“And by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches” (Prov. 24:4).
“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished” (Prov. 28:20).
These verses show that there are conditions to financial blessings (spiritual maturity) and that this is truly a “heart” issue (an absence of greed).
All of us want God’s blessings upon our life, but did you know that how you handle your financial blessings has a great deal to do with how you grow in the Lord and to what degree God is able to work in your life?
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever else is trusted in)” (Matt. 6:24, AMP).
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:10–11).
To grow in our ability to be used by God, which is spiritual wealth, and to gain the greater things (having the power and presence of God in our lives) depends in part on how we handle our finances.
To prove this further, there are roughly 500 references in the Bible on “faith” and 500 on “prayer,” but there are over 2,000 verses that refer to our finances! In addition to the spiritual laws that were set in place when God created the universe, God has also established financial laws, which He has shared with us in His Word. We benefit from following the laws or we will suffer the consequences when we don’t. It does not matter if we are ignorant of them or have chosen to reject them; these laws, like gravity, exist and cannot be debated.
Principle #1: We reap what we sow.
One of the most important principles of stewardship is sowing and reaping. To reap a harvest, we must first sow seed. There are many Scriptures that give us an insight into the subject of sowing and reaping. Here are just a few:
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).
“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting” (Ps. 126:5).
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7).
“For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8).
“And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9).
When we sow with the understanding of this principle and with faith in the Lord and in His Word, we should expect to reap a harvest in and where we have sown! This becomes really exciting!
No farmer would take the time or the money to sow seed if he did not expect to reap a harvest. In addition, if he wanted to reap a harvest of corn, he would sow corn. If he wanted to reap wheat, he would sow wheat.
Therefore, if you want to reap kindness, sow kindness. If you want to reap forgiveness, forgive! If you want to reap love, then sow love. If you want to reap financially, sow financially—then anticipate a harvest, since God’s principles and His promises are true, and He is faithful!!
We can also believe God’s promise that by sowing into His work means we are investing in our eternal future. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19–21). More importantly, what we do with money here on earth is a true indicator of where our hearts are as I said earlier.
“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor. 9:10–11).
In other words, when God gives us a bountiful harvest, it is not so we can keep it selfishly for ourselves but so that we can sow even more into the kingdom of heaven.
The very wealthy Christians of today are the channels that keep ministries going, send missionaries to foreign lands, and keep our churches flourishing so that they can reach the lost for the Lord. They do not use their finances for their own pleasures, but they have found that in sowing into the things of God, they have true joy and contentment, and stay financial secure and blessed.
Principle #2: God owns everything.
Psalm 24:1 (NIV) simply says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it . . .” Everything we have belongs to God.
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours” (1 Chron. 29:11).
“‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty” (Hag. 2:8).
All we have, whether much or little, is on loan to us—we are stewards. Again, it is how we handle what has been entrusted to us (as explained in the parable in Luke 16) that will determine whether He blesses us with more or if He takes away what we already have.
Principle #3: God provides everything.
“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish” (Deut. 8:17–19).
“But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours” (1 Chron. 29:14–16).
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
Whether you earned it in your job or it was given to you, Who really is the Source of everything that you have? God.
Principle #4: God wants the first portion of what He gives you.
Many Christians give to their church and other charitable organizations but are not blessed because they do not understand this very important principle. God is very clear throughout the entire Bible that He wants to be first in every area of your life.
If you pay your bills before returning the first back to Him, God is not first in your life, and you will have missed the blessing. We have learned that God removes from us what we have put ahead of Him.
“Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:9). The principle is clear; we must give to God first.
Often when Christians begin to consider tithing, they cannot see how they can possibly tithe since they are barely making ends meet. This is because they are also ignorant of what has been happening in their finances. Haggai 1:9 says that God “blows away” what you bring home, and He also allows the devourer to come and to take what was rightfully His (Mal. 3:10–11).
“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,’ says the Lord of Hosts” (Mal. 3:10–11).
Every month, non-tithing Christians are met with “unexpected” expenses, things like repairs or other needs that they did not foresee. This is only because they are ignorant of this principle. For if God is first in your life—first in your heart, first in your day, and first in your finances—then (and only then) will God “open for you the windows of heaven, pour out for you a blessing until it overflows,” and faithfully “rebuke the devourer for you.” When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment in the law, He taught that the very first commandment that God gives us is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind (Matt. 22:37). God needs to be first in our lives, before we will receive that which we seek and even more. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Matt. 6:33, RSV).
Those who humble themselves by giving God their tithe and offerings will delight themselves in abundant prosperity! “But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity” (Ps. 37:11). His Word tells us, “Adversity pursues sinners, but the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity” (Prov. 13:21).
Principle #5: What you do with the first portion determines what God does with the rest.
When God asked Abraham for His son, he did not withhold him. As a result, God tells him, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me . . . because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you . . .” (Gen. 22:12, 17).
God told the army who took Jericho that they were not to take the spoil of the first city, and that God would give them the rest. God always wants to test our hearts first. “The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts” (Prov. 17:3). However, one of the soldiers, Akin, could not resist and took some of the spoil. When they were to take the next city, Ai, in a battle that was much smaller and should have easily been won, they were defeated. (See Joshua 6.)
This principle is not just in your finances, but it is in every area of your life. When we fail to give to God first, we are robbing God. He wants no other gods before Him: not our money, our children, our spouses, our marriages, or our careers. What you do with the first of everything will determine what God will do with the rest—bless it or curse it.
Are You in a Financial Crisis?
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
Have you sought the Lord about your finances? In Philippians 4:19, the Bible clearly teaches that the Lord is the One who will supply all our needs. However, if we go to others with our needs, instead of seeking the Lord—if we fail to “seek Him first”—then “all these things” will not be “added unto” us.
Are you following the principles for financial security as written in Scripture? The Scriptures teach us that we are to tithe in order to be “filled with plenty” and “overflow” (Prov. 3:9–10). We are also encouraged to “sow” if we want to reap (Gal. 6:7, 2 Cor. 9:6). Have you been sowing and faithfully tithing? Take the time to read these passages of Scripture again and again. Then, pray for how the Lord wants you to trust Him as you fulfill His command to all believers. Begin by tithing.
If you are tithing faithfully and are still in a financial crisis, make sure that you are following all of God’s statutes. There are many references in Scripture to actions that lead to poverty, including not asking (James 4:2), asking with wrong motive (James 4:3), adultery (Prov. 6:26), heavy drinking or gluttonous behavior (Prov. 21:17, Prov. 23:21), laziness (Prov. 10:4, Prov. 14:23, Prov. 28:18–20), not accepting rebuke or correction (Prov. 13:18), making hasty decisions (Prov. 21:5), oppressing the poor (Prov. 22:16), and, of course, withholding from God what is rightfully His.
When I was in financial ruin as a single mother of four young children in 1998, I first learned the principle of tithing. Even though I lived close to poverty level, I began tithing for the first time in my life. Not only did I sow by tithing ten percent of the meager amount of the money that I received, I also sowed food to shelters with food I purchased with food stamps.
My giving to the Lord set the standard in our home when my husband was gone. God honored this by leading my husband to tithe soon after he came home without my even telling him! If you are struggling with giving, it will take renewing your mind to the truth. Remember, God owns everything we have, and that it will be through Him that we will be given the “power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant” with us. (Deut. 8:18).
Will You Serve God or Mammon (Money)?
Too many preachers shy away from teaching their followers the principles of tithing and giving because of the many abusers. They do not want to be considered “money seekers,” so they ignore teaching this all-important principle. But abuse does not eliminate the truth in the message. Search for the truth yourself. Test Him to see if He is faithful to His promise. Give to God first, tithe to your storehouse (where you are spiritually fed), and see if your life changes, and if you are blessed in all areas of your life.
God is the One who provides for our ministry and for our family. We sow into the lives of those who are broken-hearted and water the seeds with ongoing support through our fellowship, but it is God who brings the increase. We look to no one to supply our needs, but God alone. Either this verse is true or it’s a lie:
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
Failing to properly teach such an important principle would be to neglect to feed His sheep and to shepherd those who are coming to us for help, support, and direction.
Jesus said to feed His sheep, and God said in Hosea that His people perished for a lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6). Many who come to us are new Christians or have been attending a church where these principles, as well as other principles, are not taught. Our job is to make disciples of the Lord and to give them the tools that they need to transform their lives.
For those of you who have never given God His tithe, may God prove to you that you can do more with 90 percent of your income than with the 100 percent that you control now. It will take a step of faith, but trust me, when you choose to do it God’s way, your life will never be the same.
For those of you who do give (but God is not first), I pray that today you will rearrange your priorities in every area of your life to show God that He has first place.
God is a God who longs to be gracious to us; He longs to bless us! “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you For the LORD is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him” (Isa. 30:18).
“. . . And let them say continually, ‘the Lord be magnified, who delights in the prosperity of His servant’” (Ps. 35:27).
Personal commitment to give. “Based on what I have just learned in Scripture, I surrender my finances to the Lord. It is my desire to trust and bless the Lord with His use of my finances. I will seek the Lord regarding how and where to tithe and where to give additional offerings as God leads and faithfully provides for me.”