Does God Really Want Your Money? | Pastor Ken Claytor | Hope City

Generosity marks a real step on the growth chart because treasure always reveals where the heart has landed. Malachi 3 calls God’s people to return, and God names tithes and offerings as the place where their drift from Him becomes visible. The issue is not just money. The issue is priority, trust, worship, and whether God gets the first or the leftovers.

Malachi speaks into a moment when the temple had been rebuilt but worship was still halfhearted, leadership was compromised, and people had grown cynical toward God. That same condition shows up whenever people can know Bible, quote Scripture, wear the merch, and still hold back what belongs to God. The tithe exposes whether faith is just information or whether it has become obedience.

The Old Testament remains God-breathed, and believers must ask not whether Malachi matters, but how it applies through Jesus. Moral law still reveals God’s unchanging heart. Ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ. Civil and national law belonged to Israel’s national structure. Tithing belongs with honoring God, putting Him first, worshiping Him, and building His house. Abraham tithed before Moses gave the law. Jacob committed to tithe before the law. Jesus affirmed justice, mercy, faith, and tithing without leaving one undone.

Grace does not lower generosity from ten percent to zero. Grace raises the whole thing to surrender because everything belongs to God. The tithe becomes a baseline, while offerings become what is given over and above. Spirit-led giving without a principle can easily become moment-led, convenience-led, and leftover-led. God does not want leftovers from anybody in relationship with Him. First fruits say that He gets the first, not whatever remains after bills, subscriptions, and personal wants.

The windows of heaven blessing is bigger than money. God promises blessing, wisdom, favor, divine connections, witty ideas, protection from the devourer, and grace to do more with anointed ninety percent than can be done with an unblessed hundred percent. The tithe is presented as the key that opens those windows because God Himself says, “Test me in this.”

First Corinthians 16 calls each person to lay something aside consistently according to how God has prospered them. Giving calls believers from being takers to becoming builders. The giving ladder begins with a first-time gift, moves into consistency, grows into tithing, and reaches toward over-and-above kingdom generosity. Salvation remains the beginning of it all, because receiving what Jesus gives comes before giving anything back to Him.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The heart follows the treasure. Generosity is never merely a budget category. Treasure uncovers what receives trust, attention, and first place. Malachi’s call to return shows that withholding from God can reveal a heart that has drifted, even when religious activity remains intact. [09:18]
• 2. Grace raises the standard of surrender. Grace does not make believers less generous because Christ gave everything. The New Testament pattern moves beyond minimum obligation toward sacrificial, whole-life surrender. The question is not how little can be given, but how fully God is trusted with what He already owns. [14:24]
• 3. God deserves first, never leftovers. First fruits establish God as the source before expenses and desires consume the increase. Leftover giving can feel spiritual while still being ruled by convenience and emotion. Planned giving turns honor into a consistent declaration that God comes first. [18:31]
• 4. Blessing is bigger than more money. The windows of heaven include wisdom, favor, divine connections, ideas, and protection that cannot be produced by effort alone. God’s blessing places believers in rooms they could not qualify for by résumé alone. Kingdom trust shifts the eyes from a fearful economy to Jehovah Jireh. [29:51]
• 5. Giving begins after receiving Jesus. Financial obedience cannot replace salvation, because salvation rests on humble faith in Christ. Jesus first receives surrendered lives, forgives sin, and becomes Lord. Generosity becomes a response to grace, not a transaction for earning it. [40:24]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [03:37] - Growth Chart and Generosity
• [06:17] - Malachi 3 and the Windows of Heaven
• [07:46] - The Heart Behind Giving
• [10:15] - Does Tithing Apply Today?
• [11:38] - Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil Law
• [12:49] - Tithing Before the Law and Jesus’ Words
• [14:24] - Grace and Radical Generosity
• [17:56] - First Fruits, Planning, and Consistency
• [20:45] - A Twenty-Five Year Testimony
• [29:22] - What the Windows of Heaven Blessing Means
• [34:27] - New Testament Consistency in Giving
• [36:22] - Taking the Next Step on the Giving Ladder
• [40:24] - Salvation and Surrender to Jesus
• [42:51] - Prayer for Faithful Generosity

Bible Reading

Malachi 3:6-12
“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?' In 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 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. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.” [06:17]

Matthew 23:23
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” [13:37]

1 Corinthians 16:2
“On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” [34:27]

Observation questions

1. In Malachi 3:6-12, what actions does God call His people to take, and what reasons does He give for bringing the full tithe into the storehouse? [06:53]
2. What problems in the spiritual life of Israel are identified around the time of Malachi—both in worship and in the condition of the people’s hearts? [08:50]
3. In Matthew 23:23, which “weightier matters” does Jesus name alongside tithing, and what does that combination show about the kind of obedience He values? [13:37]
4. According to 1 Corinthians 16:2, what patterns are connected to giving: who gives, when they give, and how they decide what to set aside? [34:27]

Interpretation questions

1. Malachi connects returning to God with tithes and offerings. Why might financial obedience reveal whether a person’s heart has drifted from God or is trusting Him? [09:23]
2. Jesus rebukes people who tithe carefully while neglecting justice, mercy, and faith. How can believers avoid treating generosity as a substitute for a life that reflects God’s character?
3. If everything belongs to God, how does grace move generosity beyond simply asking, “What is the minimum required?” and toward whole-life surrender? [14:24]
4. Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 16:2 connects giving with regular planning and with God’s provision. Why is planned giving often a stronger expression of priority than giving only when a person feels emotionally moved? [17:56]

Application questions

1. Looking honestly at spending, saving, and giving patterns, what do they reveal about where trust and first priority are currently placed? What is one area where God may be inviting a change? [09:12]
2. Is giving to God currently first-fruits giving, planned before other expenses, or mostly whatever is left after everything else? What practical step could help make generosity more intentional? [18:34]
3. Where would each person place themselves on the giving ladder: first-time giver, consistent giver, tither, or over-and-above giver? What would a faithful next step look like without comparing themselves to anyone else? [36:31]
4. What fears make generosity difficult—debt, an uncertain economy, past financial pain, lack of margin, or fear of not having enough? How can the group encourage one another to trust God wisely in those places? [30:29]
5. What would it look like this week to become a builder rather than only a consumer in the local church and in God’s kingdom? Consider not only money, but also time, service, prayer, and encouragement. [35:27]
6. Generosity is a response to Jesus’ grace, not a way to earn salvation. How does remembering what Christ has given change the attitude behind giving and surrender? [40:21]