Test Me: Trusting God with Your Tithe

Devotional

Day 1: M&Ms and Open Hands

The children clutched candy bags as Pastor Shane demonstrated tithing. Twenty M&Ms became two. Two hundred became twenty. Small hands hesitated before dropping colored candies into the plate. The lesson stung adults more than children—giving grows harder when we have more to lose. Trust shrinks as possessions swell. [28:07]

Jesus watched rich men donate surplus and a widow give two coins. He called her gift greater. God measures sacrifice by surrender, not sums. When we release what we grip, we prove who holds our hearts.

Your wallet reveals your worship. This week, practice releasing something small with joy—a dollar, a snack, five minutes. What tangible item do you clutch tightly that God might be asking you to open your hand over?

“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.”
(2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one thing you’ve withheld from Him this month.

Challenge: Give away 10% of something you enjoy today—coffee, screen time, snacks.

Day 2: No Needy Among Them

Believers sold fields and houses. They laid proceeds at the apostles’ feet. No one claimed possessions as their own. Barnabas surrendered a Levite’s inheritance. Ananias kept back coins—and his life. The church became a living ledger where “mine” became “ours.” [40:28]

The disciples’ radical sharing testified louder than sermons. Pagans marveled—here was resurrection power in wallets and deeds. When resources flow through open hands, the world sees Christ’s hands.

You sit in a pew surrounded by silent needs. What if your surplus became someone’s survival? Inventory your closets and accounts today. What practical abundance could bridge a neighbor’s lack?

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.”
(Acts 4:32, NIV)

Prayer: Confess areas where you’ve prioritized comfort over community.

Challenge: Text one church member today to ask about a specific need you could help meet.

Day 3: Floodgates and Faith

God dares us: “Test me.” Bring the full tithe. See if I won’t flood blessings. Israel hoarded grain and got locusts. The storehouse stayed empty while bellies growled. Heaven’s windows stick when our fists stay clenched. [46:40]

Tithing isn’t fiscal duty—it’s faith calisthenics. Each tenth penny proclaims “Provider” over “provision.” God pledges to outgive givers, but we must prime the pump with obedience.

What financial fear freezes your giving? Calculate your tithe for one month—then give it. Will you let actual numbers expose where trust stops and spreadsheet logic begins?

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven.”
(Malachi 3:10, NIV)

Prayer: Name one financial anxiety blocking your obedience. Surrender it aloud.

Challenge: Write your current income on paper. Circle 10%. Commit to giving that amount this month.

Day 4: Broken Toes and Breakthroughs

John Schaefer’s amputated toe. Keith Woolbert’s stroke. The Maloneys’ grief. Prayer cards filled the altar—each name a life awaiting breakthrough. The early church didn’t just pray; they sold property to fund miracles. [21:14]

Every gift seeds someone’s deliverance. Your tithe buys medication. Your offering funds a camp scholarship. When we give, we don’t lose—we launch Kingdom torpedoes into dark waters.

Who in your circle drowns in medical bills, depression, or debt? How could your withheld resources become their lifeline?

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
(Acts 20:35, NIV)

Prayer: Intercede for three people on your church’s prayer list by name.

Challenge: Donate to a medical fund or meal train for someone facing illness.

Day 5: Cards in the Cedar Chest

Hope chests hold wedding linens and heirlooms. That Sunday, a cedar box swallowed commitment cards. Each inked number declared war on fear. Members walked aisles like disciples walking away from tax booths—hands emptied, hearts light. [59:06]

Jesus still multiplies loaves and trust. The box became an altar where “someday” surrendered to “today.” When we release treasures to Him, He transforms trinkets into testimonies.

What’s your “cedar chest”—the symbolic place you’ve delayed surrendering? When will you finally walk the aisle between your seat and His supply?

“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
(Matthew 6:20, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for three material blessings He’s entrusted to your care.

Challenge: Write “YOURS” on a sticky note and place it on your wallet or refrigerator.

Sermon Summary

Worship begins with gratitude, public prayer, and specific requests lifted for healing, protection, and guidance. The service uses a simple children’s demonstration with M and M’s to teach the principle of the tithe: ten percent represents a posture of trust rather than a fixed formula. A trunk and hope-chest illustration connects treasured things with future generosity, framing giving as sacrificial stewardship intended for others, not hoarding for self. The early church in Acts 4 models radical sharing where needs disappeared because people released possessions and prioritized one another.

Generosity carries both practical consequences and deep spiritual formation. When resources flow toward people in need, lives and futures change in ways that outlast any single gift; those who give also experience transformation as fear loosens and trust grows. Malachi 3:10 issues a surprising invitation to test God with giving, shifting the issue from scarcity to faith. The passage challenges the normal instinct to hold back and insists that obedience, even when it costs, reveals God’s provision and expands communal capacity to meet needs.

A clear, pastoral invitation asks worshipers to prayerfully consider a commitment for the coming months, to place a written pledge into a chest as an act of trust and release. The process honors anonymity and emphasizes that this act engages faith, not public scrutiny. The congregation receives concrete budget details to inform decision-making and is encouraged to move from leftover giving to generous, priority-driven stewardship. Singing, prayer, and communal response frame generosity as worship that testifies to the resurrection life visible when people love and provide for one another.

Key Takeaways

1. Generosity changes lives and futures Giving redirects resources toward human flourishing so that education, stability, and hope become realities for families and communities. Generosity multiplies beyond the immediate gift: it opens pathways for people to leave cycles of poverty, and it reshapes the giver into someone who lives for others’ flourishing rather than personal accumulation. This form of giving participates in the kingdom economy where impact compounds across generations. [41:40]
2. Give to test God’s faithfulness The invitation in Malachi reframes giving as an experiment of trust rather than a financial transaction. Stepping into generosity reveals whether trust rests in possessions or in God’s ongoing provision, because faith is discovered in costly obedience. Testing God by giving invites experiential knowledge of divine care instead of theoretical assent. [46:40]
3. Tithe reflects heart not amount The M and M illustration shows that a small gift given gladly expresses trust as much as a large gift does. Ten percent functions as a measurable discipline that trains the heart to prioritize God and neighbor, regardless of the size of the offering. True worship measures devotion, not dollars. [31:29]
4. Obedience rearranges priorities and needs The Acts model shows that when people reorder life around mutual care, unmet needs disappear and gospel witness becomes tangible. Radical obedience requires risk, but it also unleashes community resources to bear burdens others cannot shoulder alone. A culture of sacrificial giving converts private possessions into public hope. [52:13]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[18:18] - Prayer and Praise Forms
[24:15] - Lord’s Prayer
[27:45] - Children’s Message: Tithe with M and M’s
[31:29] - Teaching: Tithe as Trust
[37:33] - Trunk Illustration of Hope
[40:28] - Scripture Reading: Acts 4:32
[41:40] - Generosity Changes Lives
[46:40] - Malachi 3:10: Test God
[52:13] - Living Generosity: Give It All Away
[56:36] - Commitment Cards Explained
[59:06] - Place Cards in the Chest
[62:45] - Closing Song: Give Thanks
[68:05] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Malachi 3:10 (ESV)
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.

Acts 4:32 (ESV)
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.

Observation Questions

What surprising invitation does God give in Malachi 3:10, and what does He promise in return?
According to Acts 4:32, what specific attitude did the early church have about their possessions?
In the children’s message with M&M’s, how did the act of giving 10% illustrate trust rather than a fixed formula? [31:29]
What practical result occurred in the early church when people shared sacrificially (Acts 4:34-35)?

Interpretation Questions

Why might God specifically invite His people to “test” Him in Malachi 3:10 instead of simply commanding obedience?
The sermon connects giving to “changing lives and futures” through redirected resources. How does this align with Jesus’ teaching that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)? [41:51]
Acts 4:32-35 says the early church’s generosity led to a powerful testimony of the resurrection. Why might radical sharing make the gospel more tangible to outsiders?
How does the “trunk and hope-chest” analogy reframe possessions as tools for future generosity rather than personal security? [37:33]

Application Questions

The tithe is described as a “measurable discipline that trains the heart.” What practical step could you take this week to prioritize giving, even in a small way, as an act of trust? [31:29]
Malachi 3:10 challenges believers to test God’s faithfulness through giving. Is there an area of your finances or possessions where you’ve hesitated to obey God? What would it look like to take one step of obedience in that area?
The early church’s generosity eliminated unmet needs. Who in your community (church, neighborhood, workplace) might have a need you could help meet, even if it requires sacrifice?
The sermon contrasts “leftover giving” with “priority-driven stewardship.” How does your current approach to giving reflect your priorities? What might need to shift to align with God’s kingdom values? [54:42]
Reflect on a time when someone’s generosity impacted your life. How could your own giving create similar ripple effects for others?
The commitment cards were described as an “act of trust and release.” If you wrote a pledge, what fears or hopes surfaced as you placed it in the chest? If not, what holds you back from making such a commitment? [59:06]
The early church’s generosity made the resurrection visible. What specific, tangible act of giving could you practice this month to reflect Jesus’ love to someone who doesn’t yet know Him?

Sermon Clips

39s

#GivingIsTrust

“``You know, this is the only place, the only place in scripture where God says, test me. God says, test me. You know, other translations say, try me. Try me or prove me now. You know, everywhere else in scripture, testing God is a sign of doubt. But here, in this passage, God welcomes it because this issue cuts to the core of our hearts. Giving is not about money. Giving is about trust.”

34s

#TrustOverPossessions

“We trust God with our eternity, but not our income. We'll sing about his faithfulness, but we still hold tightly to what's in our hands. We'll pray, Lord, provide, but we resist the very principle he says unlocks provision. I wanna be clear this morning. The issue is not that we don't have enough. The issue is that we don't trust enough because giving forces a question that we can't avoid.”

40s

#GenerosityIsWitness

“The result of that generosity was a testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. People knew the truth of Jesus because the apostles and the first century church were busy giving their money and possessions to one another. It wasn't a service project. It wasn't a homeless shelter. It wasn't a missions program. It was one another. And the testimony was present because they were loving one another. The early church didn't just talk about generosity. They reordered their lives around it.”

35s

#WealthInRelease

“And all of it traces back to one decision, someone who chose to give. That's the power of generosity. You know, it multiplies beyond what you can actually see with your eyes. And here's the truth that we can't help but miss. That man didn't just change their lives. Generosity changed his life too. Because true wealth is not measured by what you keep. It's measured by what you release and the lives that are touched because of it.”

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Test Me: Trusting God with Your Tithe

Devotional

Day 1: M&Ms and Open Hands

Day 2: No Needy Among Them

Day 3: Floodgates and Faith

Day 4: Broken Toes and Breakthroughs

Day 5: Cards in the Cedar Chest

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Test Me: Trusting God with Your Tithe

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