1. Introduction

What exactly is a blessing? Brothers and sisters, do you truly understand what a blessing is? Today, we all desire tangible blessings. Let me tell you how to receive blessings: wholeheartedly rely on Jehovah. As I mentioned last week, it is about wholeheartedly relying on Jehovah. Our God is the true God, capable of all things, and the matter of receiving blessings is quite intriguing.

When a person nears death, many issues resolve themselves, such as utility bills, phone bills, rent, and the cost of food and drink. However, if they come back to life, numerous problems arise, even more so than before. In reality, being alive is closely tied to money; life itself is taxing, requiring money for everything – utilities, phone bills, rent, and sustenance. Nowadays, those who lack sufficient funds face numerous problems and anxieties.

When we encounter issues, shouldn't we seek solutions? That's why I joined the church, attended gatherings, and learned that churches typically require offerings. However, my financial situation wasn't ideal, and I felt conflicted about whether to give or not. At the time, my employer shared his testimony about tithing, urging me to wholeheartedly trust in God, to test Him with all my heart. Later, I became a wealthy man. Some people are not sincere when they test God; they do not recognise the treasure that is being offered. Our God deeply desires to bless us, and I can attest to its effectiveness in my own life.

Of course, I weighed the options. If believing in God brings blessings, surely that would be good, resolving many issues. With a monthly salary of 1,500 Singapore dollars, could I part with 150 Singapore dollars for offerings? I would give the 150 Singapore dollars as a trial. If it works, it works; if not, then I would know. Less than two thousand dollars a year—could two thousand dollars bring me blessings? Probably not, but I wanted to try. If giving offerings could bring blessings, why not give?

Today, we all want to live good lives; everyone desires a good life. As I sat on the bus, contemplating, I resolved to give it a try. I would give my offering the following week. And so I began tithing, consistently, every week. I can tell you all that the best decision I have ever made in my life was to give tithes. Once I decided to tithe, I began to receive God's blessings.

In the past, I have experienced many stories. There was a girl who had cancer and was dying. Later, she came to me with a large tumor. After two months of constant service, the tumor shrank. One of my online contacts, feeling pity for the girl, donated 8,000 dollars to her and taught her to give offerings as well, but the girl refused. The spiritual realm is so real. On Saturday, a sister who served her called her, but she did not answer. On Sunday, I called her mother, who said that she had passed away on Sunday night. In matters of offerings, do you want to be blessed? Do you want to be healed?

Giving offerings and receiving blessings are intimately linked, it requires a total commitment. Many Christians are not blessed. Today, I will share about the truly blessed offerings. There are many stories. A sister's sister led me to believe in the Lord. She felt sorry for her sister's hard work, so she brought her sister to me and found her a job as a kindergarten teacher, and financially she was blessed. Then, I said, Sister, give offerings. That sister disagreed and stopped going to church. I wanted her to be blessed; she thought I needed her money. As a result, she lost her job after a few months, returned to her home country, started a business that did not make money, and contracted a troublesome disease. Then, she remembered God and returned to Singapore to find me, and she prayed with us. Three months later, she testified that the previous disease was not fatal and the doctor said she was well. From this point on, she understood giving offerings and started to give.

After returning to her home country, she prayed with us, and three months later, she gave a testimony that she was healed. From then on, she tithed. After passing through the valley of the shadow of death, she knew that money was not so useful. A long time ago, there was an entrepreneur whose wife was paralysed for nine months and was healed through prayer. A few days ago, someone called again because a family member was sick again. Believing in the Lord and receiving blessings is like finding a gold mine; keep digging.

2. Scripture

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. (Malachi 3:10 NIV)

3. Prayer

Lord Jesus, let us know the path of giving offerings and where the way to be blessed lies, and let us love the Lord our God with all our heart and might. Let us live a blessed life.

4. Background of the Scripture

I have read the Book of Malachi many times. This passage speaks of the Israelites not taking their faith seriously and offering lame and blind sacrifices, which God did not accept. Not long before, Haggai wrote the Book of Haggai, which speaks of events shortly before Malachi's time. There was a lack of blessings in various works. Haggai rebuked the Israelites, and they repented and were blessed.

God wrote the Book of Malachi through Malachi. Tithing is one of many requirements. It is the last book of the Old Testament, the only time God says, Test me! Our God is a God of blessing, not just financial blessings. God's strong call to the Israelites: You don't believe? Then test me! Why don't the Israelites understand? Offer sacrifices well, worship God well, and be a professional Christian, a resounding Christian. Be a resounding teacher.

Don't be foolish. Taste the beauty of God, and you will know it is a treasure. I know many people need blessings. God longs for us to live blessed lives. Be wise. True blessing is not just tasting that one thing; it is whether you can make the right decision after tasting it.

5. What Does It Mean to Test God?

Tithing is a test of man's deep need for God. This trial is very important. Our good is not apart from God. When reading the Bible, discern the main theme. The theme of Malachi is truly blessed offerings. Originally, few Israelites were like Jacob; more were like Edar, living by the sword. Offerings should learn to give the best, the firstborn, and the first fruits to God, learning the fear of the Lord.

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. (Malachi 3:2-4)

Many unblessed Christians exhibit these three phenomena: First, they dare not give it a try; second, even if they try, they do not understand God's will; third, having tried and received, they do not choose to walk the blessed path.

6. God Is Selecting Jacobs in This Generation

God loved Jacob but hated Esau. All who fear God, after testing, obtain Mingding Destiny, and those who fully offer themselves to God are blessed and pleasing to God.

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his sight concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (Malachi 3:16-18)

“Surely the day is coming when it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty, “that it will not leave them root or branch. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 4:1-3)

Jacob is a blessed man; this is my theological view. Those who serve God and those who do not must be separated. Like Jacob and Esau, they are paradigms. Jacob wanted Mingding Destiny and received blessings; Esau wanted blessings but received curses. After trying, can you know that God is the one who blesses people, and then choose to be Jacob? God clearly said, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. Will you be Jacob or Esau?

Those with Mingding Destiny will not complain about the bitterness or trouble of offering, nor will they offer defective sacrifices.

There was a pastor with hydrocephalus, and someone introduced me to minister to him. I called him, and just by asking a few questions, I understood why he had hydrocephalus. He said, We who serve God only rest one day a week, and we are busy from morning till night, only able to rest on Mondays. No wonder he had hydrocephalus; he treated serving God as a chore. I said, From my twenties to today, I have served God without resting a single day, and I haven't gotten sick. At work, I am extremely busy, and if any student is admitted to a mental hospital, I take the time to visit them. If I can't finish my work, I bring it home and work until two or three in the morning.

I met a pastor on a plane who said, I have finally unloaded this chore. He had switched to being a businessman. Jacob's attitude towards serving God is willing, joyful, and a matter of course because it is Mingding Destiny, the meaning of life. The correct attitude towards offering is very important. If a Christian is unwilling to pay the price in service, is that still Mingding Destiny? Going to church on Sundays and praying occasionally, they think they are doing well. Believing without paying the price is impossible to be blessed! Without Mingding Destiny, how is it possible to be blessed?

7. God Is One Who Loves Jacob and Hates Esau

“And now this admonition is for you, you priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me. (Malachi 2:1-2)

What is the point of believing in Jesus and ending up under a curse? One of our sisters said, If I believed like you, would I even survive? If I don't serve until 2 a.m., can I not stay among you? When this sister was seriously ill, I took the time to minister to her at noon and in the evening, and then worked overtime to finish my work. Later, this sister left.

There was another sister with a terrible demon; I asked her who she was, and she said she was a hydra. Her words were frightening; she almost died when she was two years old, with a lot of curses. As a result, she did not pay the price, and although she was blessed, she did not put in the effort. She went to a church that was more accommodating to the flesh. As a result, her father became seriously ill and died, and she lost her job. When curses come, they cannot be stopped, so believe well.

God said that he will separate the victorious Christians from the non-victorious. Who are you going to be enemies with? Are you going to be enemies with God? Don't live a small life now, start learning to be a person blessed by God, instead of living in your own small world.

If a person only prays, even deliverance prayers are ineffective. Such a person is not a victorious Christian.
You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17)

Many people dislike having problems themselves; they cannot see them, and they think they are very good. Esau did not know he was wrong until he died; he lost Mingding Destiny and will surely receive curses. God wants to bless us, but we must be Jacob. We must be a blessed person. During Chinese New Year, people paste the character 福 (blessing), hoping that blessings will come. Now, serving is no longer perfunctory; start being serious about everything. Don't do it for others to see; it is your own liberation and blessing.

Turn back to God, lest you suffer curses. We live to serve God, turn back to God. Tithes are just a test; complete offering is the whole person, completely new. Dismiss the mentality of just trying; if it works, then you will serve God alone. My good is not apart from you, like Jacob's Mingding Destiny, holding tightly to the Christian identity you have given me. I no longer say that serving is a chore, nor that offering is a precious thing.

We all belong to Jesus Christ, and we must live out God's glory. We not only test God, but after trying, our good is not apart from God. Do not imitate Christians who have lost Mingding Destiny. There is no blessing outside of Mingding Destiny. Offering is loving God with all one's heart, strength, and soul.