Christ Prays 4 Our Unity

John 17:13-26

The importance of unity in the body of Christ: cannot be overstated. Our passage today is entirely Jesus the Christ praying to God the Father. If they are one, why does Jesus pray? Mystery of the Incarnation / authority structure. What a lesson on prayer! We would all do well to pray for these exact things. The scene is the garden of Gethsemane… Jesus goes off to pray…

This chapter documents a series of statements / prayers. It starts with the disciples who are with Him and includes all who would be disciples. The prayers of Christ we are going to look at today are mostly about unity. These are the basis of what Jesus’ church has always united around [traditionally] Traditional…what does that word say to you?

Christ prays for the ways that we are to be unified and that we will understand what we are to unite around. If have to be united around important things / The most important things. In this ‘High Priestly’ prayer Christ prays into existence core aspects of His Body.

John 17: 13-26 (NKJV)

13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

  • Christ approaches The Father in prayer to ask that HIS joy be fulfilled in US
  • What makes that happen is God’s Word / Scripture
  • If we accept the truth of God’s world we will be despised by ‘this world’
  • This is good because it unties us with Christ in being otherworldly

15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

  • We are called to stay involved with this world but not to belong to it
  • As we engage culture Christ prays for those who are HIS to be protected
  • Christ asks that we be apart by His truth [Traditional interpretation of Scripture]
  • God’s Word is the source of truth

18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

  • Christ prays for us to be sent just as He was… to show the world who God is
  • To enable this, Christ set Himself apart for us. That same truth can set us apart

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

  • Everything HE prayed previously focused on the 11 also includes all believers
  • All of these prayers include those who believe in Him based on The Apostles
  • That we would believe their testimony… which we call the ‘New Testament’
  • We would be united around Their Gospel the way The Father & Son are united
  • In that unity we become one with The Trinity / God of the Scriptures
  • Our unity with God and each other proves that Jesus is ‘Heaven Sent’

22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

  • The glory of being God incarnate, being Lord and Savior
  • Christ Prays His body will share in the unity of the Trinity!
  • It will be a reflection of the perfect unity found among Spirit, Son & Father
  • Being grown in this unity will be perfecting / sanctifying
  • This refining unity results in our lives being a convincing witness / apologetic
  • Christ prays our unity will make people believe God came & God loves them

24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me, may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

  • Christ prays that those who God makes His possession will go where He is
  • In heaven we will see the glory of the Godhead
  • Love has always existed in The self-existent GODHEAD

25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

  • Praying in recognition of The Father…
  • Acknowledging that this sin infected world cannot know Who God is
  • Christ identifies those God gives Him as knowing God as He does (human)
  • Christ in coming declared exactly who God is…’His Name’ is love! [essence]
  • Christ prays that that God’s pure love would be in HIS surrendered disciples
  • He prays that HE Himself will be in those redeemed people!

Those redeemed people, based on Scripture, are those who have surrendered their life to the Lordship of Jesus the Christ.

And in doing so become one with their Lord, sharing in bits of the perfect unity Christ, The Father and The Spirit have.

SUMMARY

Christ prays that His followers would unite around Traditional Biblical Truth. Traditionally interpreted Scripture stands in opposition to all other worldviews. We unite around different ideals resulting in a different orientation to God / Jesus Christ.

Christ prays that we would unite around a mission of interacting with secular culture under God’s protection. His otherworldliness comes from The Truth of who He is. Our unity around His Truth gives us otherworldliness.
Christ prays we would unite around the belief that HE transforms us to be sent on HIS gospel mission through HIS sacrifice. We unite in the belief that the Biblical Gospel was given through the Apostolic Church.
Christ prays our belief in Scripture creates shared values, standards and principles that we unite around. Our unity around the Biblical Christ proves He is God.
Christ prays that HIS glory comes to us through HIS indwelling Spirit, enabling our unity ‘In Christ’. This unity proves God came as Jesus of Nazareth to bring His unconditional love to us, as one of us.
Christ prays that those who belong to HIM will spend eternity united with the glory of the self-existent Triune Godhead! Christ has revealed who God truly is and His love unites His followers forever!

APPLICATION:

In what specific areas of your life are you tempted to conform to the world around you instead of uniting with Christ’s followers around Biblical truth?

How comfortable are you with being ‘Otherworldly’ to the popular culture? What is your level of confidence that God will protect you if you live fully for Him?

How has God changed you since surrendering your life to Christ that makes you a more Christ-like ambassador?

What level of priority do you place upon being united with the leadership and membership of this Body?

/by

Vision For Biblical Partnership

Partnering 4 What Matters

What really matters? Eternal Things. Spiritual Awakenings…Biblical Salvation. The best thing that can happen in this world is someone receiving Eternal Life in Christ. How does WE get in on as much of what really matters as possible?

WE PARTNER! With organizations and individuals who declare the Biblical Gospel. And we do it in a Biblical way: understanding the need for both going AND Sending. Two sides of the partnership coin: those who go and those who send. It is normative for ALL Biblical Christians to be involved in some level of both.

Going and Sending: Romans 10:13-15 (NLT)

For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” [Joel 2:32] But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” [Isiah 52:7]

  • People truly confessing Christ as Lord is the goal all Biblical Mission
  • In order for that to happen, God uses people to declare the Biblical Gospel
  • People believe / God moves because they are told the truth about Christ
  • God’s plan found in Scripture is for ALL Believers to GO (Matthew 28) & SEND
  • There is nothing more beautiful… NOTHING BETTER
  • You & I get to be a part of it! As individuals & as Christ’s Spirit Indwelt Body

HOW WE GO:

  • Vocational Ministry; Serving a Gospel Declaring Body or Organization
  • Serving & Supporting Your Church; A Gospel Declaring Organization
  • Serving & Supporting Other Gospel Declaring Organizations / People

Normal / Biblical Christian practice seen in Scripture: We are all called to go & send.

Let’s open up God Word and What HE has to say…

Gospel Partnership Is Not Optional: 1 Corinthians 9:7-14 (ESV)

7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” [Deuteronomy 25:4]

  • God’s will and ways are demonstrated in all aspects of life
  • The sustaining of work comes from the work itself / enjoying the ‘fruits of labor’
  • God’s Word points out this principal and God’s creation reinforces the principal

Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does He not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.

  • We are all designed to share in what is accomplished in the work we do
  • Sin alienates people from the fruit of their labor (slavery / Industrialization)
  • In a life connected to God we reconnect with the results of our work

11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

  • Some ‘Goer’ was part of YOU believing in a Biblical relationship with Christ
  • Those who do such ‘spiritual sowing’ should at least be provided for materially
  • Paul is voicing the principal that He and others will do the work no matter what
  • Support from the Body is a right all Gospel workers have, but don’t demand
  • We, the Body of Christ, should demand the provision of Gospel workers!

13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

  • The pattern was put forth in the Old Testament Temple system
  • The means to provide for them came from the thing that served (Temple)
  • Now ‘The Temple’ is US, The Body of Christ, His Spirit making us a temple
  • Those who dedicate their life to Biblically serving God are to be provided for
  • So now ‘The Church’ materially, spiritually and relationally is to Send & Support

Partnership Is Discipleship: Philippians 1:3-6 & 9-11 (NASB)

3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

  • Paul positively reinforces a Biblical orientation regarding Gospel partnerships
  • The Philippians have intentionally and consistently partnered to spread Christ
  • This partnering is God’s work growing in the Philippians church [their maturity]
  • Once this kind of growth as disciples begins it continues until completeness
  • Gospel Partnership = Biblical Discipleship

Context: V 7 & 8: How much Paul personally loves the Philippians

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

  • Interacting with those who propagate Christ’s Gospel grows us as disciples
  • The exposure to sold out followers of Christ shows us what really matters
  • Partnering for the Gospel grows us in the results of our salvation
  • Gospel partnering grows our dependence on Christ, bringing max glory to God

The Reward of Supporting: Philippians 4:15-17 (Mounce)

15 And you Philippians know that in the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no church joined with me in giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in Thessalonica you sent something more than once for my need. 17 Not that I seek the gift; rather, I seek the interest that accrues to your account.

  • Paul sites a specific instance of the Philippine church partnering with him
  • He wants to encourage them (and us) to keep them partnering for the Gospel
  • The gain we get from partnering in spreading Christ is more eternal impact

Jesus @ Matthew 6:19-21

SUMMARY:

It is essential for Jesus Christ’s Body to partner with others to spread the Biblical Gospel. We have a mandate to send and support those who are reaching people that we cannot.

There is a Biblical commission for the Body of Christ to financially support workers called to vocational ministry, locally and overseas. (Acts 1:8)

Through direct participation in Gospel Partnerships, members of Christ’s Body grow to maturity as disciples of Jesus and glorify the Triune God. Gospel Partnership = Biblical Discipleship.

Actively blessing Gospel missionaries and missions outside our local church is a way to ‘store up treasure in heaven’, accruing eternal rewards. The Body doing what matters.

APPLICATION:

In regards to sharing the Biblical Gospel, are you going, are you sending or both? If not, how can you change that?

What are some specific ways YOU can bless those who have sacrificed to serve the Gospel?

Do you see the support of Gospel Ministries outside this church as an essential part of your growth as a biblical follower of Christ?

What really matters in this life? What are you doing to store up treasure in heaven? What might do additionally?

/by

EASTER: Giving Up What You Cannot Keep to Gain What You Cannot Lose

Romans 8:31-38 ‘Eternal Security of Believers’

EASTER SUNDAY! One of the two most significant events in human history! We have so much to celebrate: THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! We have been given the chance to have an eternal relationship with our creator. The glories and riches of such a relationship are being celebrated today.

All other relationships are subject to change…but not the love of God in Christ Jesus! Jim Elliot, an American missionary who was martyred in the 1956, is famous for saying: “No one is a fool for giving up what cannot be kept, to gain what cannot be lost!” I hope one of two things happens for you today:

#1: You’re encouraged by God’s Word recognizing what you have cannot be lost

#2: You give up what you can’t keep (your life) & surrender to what you cannot lose (Eternal Life in Christ)

Romans 8:31-38 (NLT)

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?

  • What are the wonderful things?
  • There are ten just in the first 30 verses of Romans 8

10 Wonderful things we have in ‘The Crucified & Risen Christ’ (Romans 8:1-30)

We are no longer commended by sin if we belong to Christ.

Surrendered to Christ we are freed from the power of sin and death.

God ended sin’s control over us by sacrificing His Son.

When we let God’s Sprit control our minds we have life and peace.

If Christ lives in us, our bodies can die and we will live eternally by God’s Spirit.

If we are led by the Spirit of God we are children of God.

As God’s adopted children we are heirs with Christ; in glory AND suffering.

We have been indwelt with God’s spirit as a foretaste of eternity, giving us hope.

God’s Spirit leads us in prayer and into harmony with His will.

We have been called by Christ and therefore we have right standing with God.

If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

  • Are you convinced that God is for you?
  • The sacrifice of His own Son…what could be more personal, more intense?
  • What more could be offered? What could pay what we could never afford?
  • It is the ultimate act of love [Prefigured by Abraham’s willing to give his son]

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

  • The Devil / Satan is the accuser of the brethren… do not doubt that he dares to!
  • Our position with God is not something we can do, only God can redeem us
  • Through the sacrificial death, victorious Resurrection and ongoing ministry
  • We are beyond the reach of any condemnation or accusation regarding sin!

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) Ps. 44:22

  • There is no doubt it can ‘feel’ like we are somehow separated from God’s love
  • Our lot in sharing everything with Christ in eternity is we share in hard stuff too
  • But our present circumstances do not dictate our eternal destiny!

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

  • The truth is, none of those things, no matter how we may ‘feel’ stop the victory
  • Everything the world, our flesh and the devil can throw at us changes nothing
  • Overwhelming victory! Eternal life with the eternal God…do you realize this?

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.

  • He is convinced…How did Paul become convinced of this truth? [He lived it]
  • Living or dying / Non human beings / present or future concerns
  • Hell has power…but not over your surrendered relationship with Christ
  • If you belong to God Satan and his demons cannot change that

39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  • This is really good news! If you give your life up you are Christ’s FOREVER
  • It has been argued that we can separate ourselves from God
  • But are we not included in ‘All Creation’?
  • This means today, tomorrow, FOREVER
  • We go back to the ultimate act of love revealed in the God-man Jesus Christ

I’d gladly lose me to find you. I’d gladly give up all I got. To catch you I’m gonna run and never stop. I’d pay any price just to win you. Surrender my good life for bad. To find you I’m gonna drown an unsung man. I’d call that a bargain. The best I ever had! ~ Bargain by The Who

SUMMARY:

All the wonderful things Christ did by dying in our place and by rising from the dead, give us ample reason to surrender our life to His Lordship.

All who surrender their life to Christ are free of accusation and commendation because of Christ’s sacrificial death, bodily resurrection and heavenly intersession.

In the troubles of this life a believer may feel apart from God’s love, but the truth of Scripture is that none of that effects our position with God, no matter how we feel.

Those who surrender their life to Christ have SO MANY wonderful things…and they are all permanent and irrevocable. This is known as ‘Eternal Security’.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”~ John 10:28-30 NIV

APPLICATION:

Remember to count your blessings ‘In Christ’. Search God’s word for all the things you have as His bought and paid for possession.

Don’t let the Devil accuse or condemn you, if you have surrendered your life to Christ’s Lordship. If you have not…

Apply the promises of God’s Word to your situation when you face adversity. Don’t give in to how you feel, live based on what you know to be true.

Trust Christ Jesus to give you assurance of your salvation by His indwelling Spirit. If you do not have that security, surrender your life to Christ TODAY!

/by

Malachi Pt. 7: The Last Word Before Christ

Malachi 4:1-6

How does the message of Malachi’s prophecy connect to the story of Christ?

The Prophecy of Malachi is part how Scripture reveals what God is all about

He is a God of perfection, purity and holiness who desires a relationship with US!

He is a God who warns US of the consequences for continued rebellion against Him

He is a God who judges US, making distinctions based on His perfect standards.

He is a God who punishes and rewards US based on HIS perfect justice

Most importantly, He is a God who comes to US! (riding on the colt of a donkey)

Last Week: Malachi 3:16-18

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up My treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Malachi 4:1-6

1 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.

  • Day of Judgement is mentioned yet again (3rd time) Repetition…TAKE NOTE!
  • The theme of an impending Judgement is found throughout scripture (28 direct)
  • This imaginary speaks of absolute & total destruction of those opposed to God

2 “But for you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

  • If judged as wicked you face a certain fate, if found to fear God, another
  • Those who fear Yahweh’s Name (If you know Him you fear HIM)
  • This is a clear illusion to the Resurrection of the Messiah (Christ Jesus)
  • The healing is spiritual healing… the return of ‘Shalom’ that was in the Garden
  • The recognition of this healing is an experience of joyful freedom

3 On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • When God brings Judgement, those who fear His name join Him
  • Part of being a child of God is YOU join in the family business
  • That business is now the propagation of the Gospel… then it will be punishment
  • Those who surrender their life to Christ will be part of ‘Heaven’s Army’

4 “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, My servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel.

  • God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai
  • The Ten Commandments are the foundation of a right relationship with God
  • Jesus Christ’s Body has always observed of the Ten Commandments

5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

  • Elijah represents the entirety of God prophetic message to His people
  • That prophetic message has always included a call to repentance
  • That prophetic message has always included a warning about judgment day
  • God is constantly calling all people to turn their hearts to their heavenly Father

Mount of Transfiguration: Jesus meeting with Moses & Elijah represents the unity between Christ and ‘The Law & The Prophets’ (O.T.) Last 3 verses of prophecy before Christ

SUMMARY:

V. 1: Judgement is coming…there are only two results of the judgement. Those judged as the arrogant and wicked will face total annihilation, there is no partial penalty.

V. 2: The fate of those judged to fear God’s name will experience absolute healing (from sin’s effect) resulting in absolute freedom.

V. 3: On judgement day, God’s actions will result in those who fear His name joining Him in the punishment of the wicked.

V. 4: God provides guidance for those who wish to be numbered among those who ‘fear his Name’. Ten Commandments = Basics on how to relate to God and mankind.

V. 5: There will be a return of Elijah before Christ’s second coming. John the Baptist was the figurative Elijah that came before the initial advent of The Messiah, this time is before ‘Final Judgement’.

V. 6: The preaching of this Elijah will turn those who fear God to repentance and restoration of relationships. Those who don’t respond will experience His wrath.

APPLICATION:

In what ways does your life reflect your fearing of God’s name? How might that improve?

Have you experienced ‘Joyful Freedom’ in Christ? If so what does that look like?

How might joining in God’s work now prepare you for joining His work on Judgement Day?

How well do you understand God’s messages found in the law and the prophets / Old Testament?

/by

Malachi Pt. 6: The Lord Remembers HIS People

The Lord’s Ledgers: Malachi 3:13-18

Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, How have we spoken against you?You have said, It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape. (v.13-15)

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. (v.16)

God’s Library & Ledgers (OT)

-David knew about the “book” and the “book of the living” (Ps 56:8; 69:28)

-Moses knew about the “book” (Ex 32:32-34)

-Nehemiah knew about God’s record-keeping (Neh 13:14)

-Daniel knew about the “book” (Dan 12:1)

God’s Library & Ledgers (OT)

The apostles would come to know it too.

-“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:21)

-Paul knew about the “book of life” (Phil 4:3)

-John knew about the “book of life” and the “Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 3:5; 20:12-15; 21:27)

They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. (v.17-18)

Summary Points:

-The Lord cannot and will not forget His people.

-In distress or uncertainty, victory is as near as recounting His goodness. Name His excellencies.

-You belong to Him, dear believer.

/by

Malachi Pt. 5: Honesty With God About Giving

Body Giving

I hope you can see this passage today as warning rather than judgement. If you are out of alignment with God’s Word there is forgiveness if you repent. As we look at this passage today there are some important principals to keep in mind: Jesus’ church has always read the Old Testament Scriptures and taken the principals of what God commanded for His people, the nation of Israel, to apply today to Christ’s Body, the New Testament Church. Some of the specifics are not always the same but the principals hold true because it is the same relationship.

The Nation of Israel was a united Group that God dealt with as a whole. Jesus’ church is a united group that God deals with as a whole. Pre Christ: God’s people were a body who’s spiritual life centered around the Temple. This was the spiritual infrastructure God provided for them. United Worship. Post Christ: As Christ’s Body our spiritual life is centered around the local church. This is the spiritual infrastructure God provides for us. United Worship. The same principles that applied then apply now. Because God doesn’t change!

As members of a local Body of Christ’s purchased followers, we share in the blessings that come from honest relationship AND in the consequences for unrepentant disobedience.

If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. ~ 1st Corinthians 12:26-27

As members of Christ’s Body we are all called to relational honesty with God. Today’s passage may convict you, my prayer is that you will make changes to align your life with God desires of HIS people. I also know some of you may disagree with what I am going to say. But this is not some ‘new’ interpretation. The application of this passage has been agreed upon by Christ’s followers for 2000 years. If you disagree, I encourage you to search the Scriptures and seek out one of the Elders to talk about it with. I remind you that as a covenant member of Midtown church the traditional application of this scripture is part of our covenant to each other.

Our culture here at Midtown is based on the honest application of ALL scripture. It is based on mutual sacrifice and communal obedience to the revealed will of God. What we are looking at today is an essential aspect of our discipleship and I would say that until you come into alignment with this scripture your discipleship will be stunted and incomplete. Partial obedience is disobedience.

Malachi 3:6-12

6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned My decrees and failed to obey them.

  • Throughout scripture God has revealed Himself to be ‘Immutable’ (unchanging)
  • The interpenetration of this passage begins with this fact: Same God OT & NT
  • Because His love, mercy, grace and compassion are constant…we exist
  • We are no different than the nation of Israel as far as failing to obey God
  • Because of who He is we can still be His people
  • Praise God that we do not get what we deserve from HIM!

Now return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’

  • This command is to be acted on NOW (delayed obedience is disobedience)
  • This is a call to repentance (define repentance)
  • But no one has ever repented when they didn’t think they needed to…
  • What hubris to say to God: ‘I have not strayed’
  • Like the rich religious leader Jesus encounters in Luke 18
  • The opposite is found in David’s prayer psalm 51 (transgression / inequity / sin)
  • Since they (US) seem to need an example, God is going to use tithing as one

8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated Me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat You?’ “You have cheated Me of the tithes and offerings due to Me.

  • God establishes agreement that His people should not cheat Him (we agree?)
  • Everyone can agree that as His people we are to be honest with God
  • HE points out they & we cheat Him…and again there is denial of sin
  • HE then hits them with the truth (and HE knows the truth) God is all knowing
  • Two separate things, tithes & offerings (all together about 23%)
  • The focus here is on the tithe (tenth) that pertains to everyone
  • A percentage makes it equal for people of different incomes
  • There are prescribed offerings that are situational to different people
  • BOTH are due to Him, as in commanded as part of the relationship

9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating Me.

  • Then God declares that His blessings have been withheld from the nation
  • We are to be united in sacrificial giving. If one cheats we all share the guilt
  • As Christ’s body we are interconnected by Christ’s indwelling Spirit
  • We answer to God as individuals and as a Body
  • This Body is only as obedient as the least obedient member of it

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.

  • Obedience to this for Christ’s people has always been giving 10% to the church
  • The specific command is: bring ALL the tithes to the ‘Storehouse’ (not 8%)
  • This provides for the spiritual infrastructure of the community (Temple / Church)
  • The only way to read this: Members of Christ’s body give 10% to the church
  • That shared sacrifice is at the heart of what a ‘Body’ is about
  • This is what provides for the ‘spiritual feeding’ of God’s purchased people
  • Giving of a portion of tithe to other entities is saying ‘I know better than God’

If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!

  • The command comes with a promise if we are obedient
  • God says if you do it…we will get a look into what Heaven is really like
  • If we do this, everyone in the whole Body, God will show ‘The Kingdom Come’
  • It will blow us away! We will have so much [God Stuff] we will have to share it
  • There is no hoarding of Heavenly blessings [spiritual not material]
  • God says ‘I dare you to try it and see what happens!’
  • We are never to test God unless He tells us to…

11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • He lists some examples for the people at that time tied to agriculture
  • We can understand this as a the blessing our means of provision
  • Everyone, of various backgrounds, will recognize God blessing His people
  • Our Body will be a source of delight to the entire community at large

SUMMARY:

Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Part of that unchanging nature is His grace and mercy for His chosen people. His unchanging compassion, patience and love keep Him from giving US what we deserve for our disobedience.

Christ is always there to take us back when we repent. We must be honest with Him about our sin, truly owning it. The example of cheating God specifically referenced is disobedient giving to the spiritual infrastructure He provides for us. (Temple / Church)

Since we are a Body (interconnected), if one part cheats God we are all cheating Him! As Christ Body we are only as obedient as the least obedient members of the that Body. Jesus’ Church shares blessings and curses.

God commands His people, in unity, to give 10% of what they receive to HIS ordained worship structure (Temple / Church). This fully enables HIS people to be fed spiritually. If we do this as a body He promises to bless us beyond what we can imagine.

Christ says to His Body; try not cheating Him, try being obedient to what He has called each of us to do (specific to this passage; tithing to our church Body).

If each member of this Body were to obediently tithe, we will experience unimagined blessings, but more importantly, God will be fully glorified!

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

In what ways can you practice thankfulness for God’s grace in dealing with your sin and disobedience?

How well do you own up to your sin? What specific sins can you own up to with God today during communion?

Do you view giving 10% of your net income to your local church as a Scriptural command or as an optional practice? In either case, what drives your behavior?

Do you believe that giving to other ministries, missionaries or of your time is part of the tithe commanded in this passage? What Scripture backs up such decisions?

/by

Malachi Pt. 4: Are You Ready?

Redemption & Judgement

This passage give us hope and challenges us. As the last prophetic Word God would give to the Israelites it is a combination of the ‘Carrot & The Stick’. While God is chastising His people He is also pointing them to great hope in His Messiah.The part of Malachi message we are looking at today gives us great insight into God’s redemptive plan through Jesus the Messiah.

It begins with the human tendency to doubt God’s justice based on what we can see. We see evil people ‘prosper’ in this world and wonder why God allows the systematic oppression that happens at the hands of those who do not believe in Him. What they, and we, can fail to see is that God has a plan of judgement and redemption…And He has revealed it to us…But His timetable for this plan is not revealed, not meant to be revealed…It is to remain a matter of faith! Jesus made it plain as to when His 2nd advent would occur: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” ~ Jesus @ Matthew 24:36

We know it is coming, we know what is going to happen… we just don’t know when. The challenge is; are we ready for that day? Do we belong to Christ and if so are we living as HE would have us live? This passage guides us as to what we are to DO TODAY as Christ’s ‘Purchased People’, trusting that CHRIST WILL RETURN one day to bring HIS perfect justice to this world.

Malachi 2:17-3:5 (NLT)

17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied Him?” you ask. You have wearied Him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and He is pleased with them. You have wearied Him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

  • Words ultimately reflect attitudes
  • “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” ~ Jesus @ Luke 6:45b
  • God is frustrated, worn out by the attitude of His people at this time
  • 1:2 They don’t believe God has always loved them
  • 1:6 They don’t believe they have shown contempt for His reputation
  • 1:7 They don’t believe they have defiled the sacrifices
  • 2:14 ‘why doesn’t the Lord accept our worship’ while they violate marriage
  • Now they make two false accusations against God and He is getting weary…
  • He wants to partner with His people for His glory and this is what He gets…
  • Faithless hearts and fruitless living: Rebellion!

1 “Look! I am sending My messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to His Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • ‘Look’ or ‘Behold’ often proceeds a prophetic word from The Lord
  • Jesus @ Matthew 3:3: The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!’
  • Then the Christ [The Lord you are seeking] will then be found in HIS Temple
  • Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? ~ 1st Corinthians 6:19
  • The [hoped for] Messiah was to be the ‘Messenger of the Covenant’
  • Jesus @ Matthew 26:28: “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

2 “But who will be able to endure it when He comes? Who will be able to stand and face Him when He appears? For He will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.

  • Are you ready for this, faithless, fruitless Judah?
  • Dual aspect of ‘when He comes’… a prophetic mixing of the two advents
  • In His 1st coming He challenged the religious authority calling for refinement
  • When HE returns it will not be a call to refinement, but a final judgement of evil
  • In His 1st advent He transforms those who will honestly face Him
  • We cannot remain the same and follow Him

3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. 4 Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to Him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as He did in the past.

  • The use of the term ‘sit’ speaks of a patient process [that is happening now]
  • Purifying the Levites: raising up leaders of who model acceptable sacrifice
  • Christ now accepts the offering of a poor spirit and a contrite heart
  • Romans 12:1: And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

5 “At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • A better rendering of initial phrase: Then I will draw near to you for judgment…
  • While Christ is patient in His refinement, He is also swift to bring judgement
  • He details what the Israelites think He is blind to [verse 2:17]
  • It is a summary of the evil that God is being accused of not care about
  • The people at that time were saying: ‘Where is the God of Justice’?
  • God says: ‘I am going to deal with these people who do not fear me’
  • And again He calls Himself ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies’ [Confrontation]

SUMMARY:

After all that God has demonstrated about Himself, it wears Him out that His people do not trust in His justice and believe He is good with those who do evil. God is frustrated by the faithless words and fruitless lives of those He has chosen to be HIS.

God foretold He would send one to prepare the way for Himself, John the Baptist. Then God Himself [Christ] will come and ultimately inhabit His temple,[His people indwelt with His Spirit]. The Messiah is surely coming! This is about His 1st Advent.

We must relinquish our claim on our lives in order to belong to Christ. He comes to refine and redefine those He calls. He is patient to do His work in Us. He will change His new ‘priesthood’ and teach them how to sacrifice in an acceptable way [lay down your life].

The justice Judah was looking for will come with the second advent. But are they ready for it? Rebellion against God that leads to systematic oppression will be put on trial. Those who do not reverence the Lord of Heavens armies will face HIS swift justice.

APPLICATION:

Does the oppression and injustice of our world make you doubt God’s goodness and justice? How do you prevent that attitude from infecting your view of God?

Are you convinced you cannot belong to God without radical change and refinement? Can you see how belonging to Christ means then end of you running your life?

What needs to change to make your life an acceptable sacrifice too God?

How can you follow Christ by witnessing against the systematic oppression that God will surely judge?

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. ~ Ephesians 5:8-11 (NLT)

/by

Malachi Pt. 3: A Call To Renewed Covenant Fidelity

Marriage Mirrors Our Relationship With God

This is the last word that God’s people would receive from a prophet before John the Baptist sets the stage for Jesus. Todd earlier talked about studying the Old Testament in order to better understand the New, to give it context and depth. As we read this, try to let the description enrich your understanding of the people who Jesus came to save.

Israel is out there finding new ways to get it wrong, as well as continuing the old things that God exiled them for in the first place. They are still not holding up their covenant with God, and Malachi is putting them on trial.

Today’s message circles around several different covenants, between God and Man, between Man and Wife, and between believers. The book of Malachi uses the word “covenant” at a higher rate than any other book in the Old Testament, so let’s ask: what is a covenant?

In the Old Testament we see that it’s exclusively a relationship with people not related involving obligations established through an oath.It is a promise or a bond. A binding agreement. Contractual; I’ll do this, and you are going to do that. The difference between a contract and a Covenant is that you do you part whether or not the other party does their part.

Last week we heard about the horrid practices that the people, and even the leaders and priests had fallen in to. Sacrificing ill or deformed animals, neglect of His laws and instructions on how to live.

The focus of the text now transitions to the ways in which the laypeople were sinning by breaking their covenant with God. We will see in today’s text how God continues to give opportunities to repent even when his people are ignorant to their mistakes and their sin.As dark as it is, this letter is an encouragement that even though the human condition remains unchanged from 2400 years ago, there is a God who will not stop seeking us, who did what we could not comprehend by taking on flesh, and what is beyond understanding that he would dwell in us through his Spirit.

Malachi 2:10-16

10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem.

• Israel’s unity with each other is based in the common source of life.

o This is still true today. God put the breath in your enemies’ lungs.

• God brought them all out of Egypt, made his promises to their ancestors, and their faithlessness to each other profanes those covenants.

• It was their responsibility, as a community, to keep the promises God made with their ancestors.

o There is one God, who created all of us. This creates a responsibility in us to love and to care for everyone, but especially our community, our church.

• To clarify, vs 11 says Judah. Here this accusation refers to all of God’s people. Post-exile we only see references to Judah but it means everyone.

• Easy to read this and think how far Israel has fallen from the days of Moses, Joshua or David. But I was reading my son’s bible, the story of Joseph and how his brothers throw him in a pit for dead, and then go one further by selling him in to slavery. The kids’ bible doesn’t name them, but those brothers are the actual patriarchs and namesakes of the tribes of Israel. Judah and Levi themselves were murderers who left their kid brother for dead because their dad gave him a coat.

• This sinful behavior has been engrained in their DNA of Israel.

• And yet God calls these actions an “abomination”, something that causes disgust and hatred.

For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts!

• This seems like a very harsh punishment, if all we’ve ever been told is that God is merciful. True! His mercy is very great, however he’s also the sole arbiter of justice. There is no expiration or shortage of his mercy. But there is an end date to the distribution.

• We see Israel again continues to fall short of God’s expectations, this time in a familiar way. Taking foreign wives was one of the chief complaints Ezra had a generation ago.

• Sometimes this old language does not strike me in the way I’m sure it affected the original audience.

• God is calling for the removal of the thing at the absolute center of Jewish life, descendants and family ties.

• God does not want his people entering a marriage covenant with people who do not serve him. This was true then; it is true now.

o 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

• This text gives me an opportunity to ask the question: are you getting serious about marrying someone who isn’t following Christ?

o If getting married means becoming one flesh with someone, how does that work with a nonbeliever?

o Is that kind of union exemplifying faithfulness to God and his community?

13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.

• The retort in vs 14 of “why not”. Why doesn’t he regard their offering?

• God says I’ll tell you exactly why. The people who are supposed to be honoring God are defaming him by making promises in front of him and breaking them.

• In these two verses, I believe the reason God is upset is fairly straight forward. His people are making promises and not keeping them.

• The men in Judah are being faithless to their wives, their covenanted companions.

• Contrast that to God who is always faithful to his promises. It seems every time I preach, I get to circle back to this theme. God desires us to be faithful in the same way.

• In a different way, we are all covenanted together in the New Testament church. As believers we have testified our faith. As members we have covenanted to support each other in our walk with Christ. If we let it slide, we’re a part of it.

• There is ignorance in their response. A lack of awareness as to why or what God might be mad about.

• It’s not like there should be any confusion, its spelled out pretty well what God expects. They have his revealed word and commandments, his law. They have had good leaders and priests over the generations who have continually reformed the nation back towards Gods way. And they certainly have the memory of his anger and punishment through war, exile and pestilence.

• God no longer accepts their prayers and offerings, because of faithlessness in their marriage covenants.

o 1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman… so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.

• God does the joining in a marriage covenant.

• Matthew 19:6 “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

• God is elaborating that the point of marriage is children. We have this idea that today because of science and culture that we can chose if we want to have kids. This is a biblical reminder that God created marriage “for godly offspring”.

• This is a distinct contrast with the wording “daughter of a foreign god” earlier.

• Spiritual union and faithfulness are a prerequisite to produce those spiritual offspring.

• Part of God’s plan is to create a lineage that honors him, so like Psalm 145 says we commend His works to the next generation.

• Divorce has deep-reaching consequences beyond the individual and can affect the whole community and the building up of Godly offspring.

• Notice that the back half of this verse warns us to be on the lookout.

• God is telling us here that we should guard ourselves against unfaithfulness. It is a spiritual attack that convinces us to be justified in our sin.

• We know that God is faithful and commands us clearly to be faithful.

16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

• “who does not love his wife” shows this is talking about divorce based on aversion (feeling of dislike).

• God hates divorce. Different translations say this a bit more explicit.

o NLT: “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty

• Divorce was not good for them and it’s not good for us.

• God has a picture of his people, his relationship. It’s not something to take lightly. He values it. It’s not a promise between two people, or a piece of paper, or a useless holdover from a different time. it’s a spiritual reality.

o There is a slippery slope in our culture, the devaluing of marriage in society has led to increased divorces, and a general disrespect for the covenant.

• There are a couple biblical moral reasons to get divorced, but “the man who does not love his wife” is not among them.

• All the sacraments are depictions of our relationship with God; it’s a big deal.

• To the audience, divorcing your wife is to throw her to the wolves, it is rough.

• NIV says the man who divorces his wife “does violence to the once he should protect”

• I think to cover your garment with violence happens when you do not love your wife. It invites chaos and violence says the LORD!

Humans have a sense of what is right and wrong. Innately we know what it means to be faithless. In Mere Christianity Lewis observes that we humans when we do sin, almost always try to excuse our bad behavior away. If a friend accuses us of breaking a promise, we find reasons why the rules don’t apply.

This quote is talking about people who made a marriage promise without understanding what it meant or willingly ignored the seriousness of it.

“Someone may reply that he regarded the promise made in church as a mere formality and never intended to keep it… They were imposters, they cheated. Who would urge the high and hard duty of chastity on people who have not yet wished to be honest?” CS Lewis

We can’t be faithful unless we are honest first.

SUMMARY

• God spoke a curse that the people would be cut off from his promises because of marriage to women who worshiped foreign gods

• God had stopped accepting the offerings and prayers of the people because the Israelite men were not faithful to their marriage covenants.

• God hates divorce, not the people who get divorced.

Ask yourself:

What does it mean to be faithful? o Study the real thing, God’s word!

In what ways am I not being faithful? o Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

In what ways am I justifying my faithlessness?

Why should we ponder these questions?

• God has called us to be faithful.

• In order to do that we need to know what that means.

• Second, we need to identify what areas we need to improve

• Thirdly we need to remove the blockers that tell us we don’t need to change

God keeps his promises, and calls us to do the same.

/by

Malachi Pt. 2: Corrupt Worship Destroys Relationship

Sacrifice is at the core of our relationship with our Creator. True sacrifice is the giving away things you value to someone you who is more valuable to you than the thing. Sacrifice is foundational in all intimate relationships. Parents sacrifice for their children, siblings & real friends sacrifice for each other. Where does that come from?

God has modeled how sacrifice maintains & repairs relationship since the beginning.In the Garden, Yahweh sacrificed animals to atone for the 1st sin. Job offered sacrifices for himself and his children as an admission of sin. Noah, 1st thing after letting the animals out of the ark…he sacrificed burn offerings. Abraham offered sacrifices, was ready to sacrifice His son! The temple system that was part of the Law of Moses served to created a regular ‘life rhythm’ of sacrifice, making God’s people deal with their sin.

Yahweh’s people were taught to sacrifice things that really mattered, things that cost. Things that were your means of survival, your livelihood & your chance to advance. God taught His people; our most valuable things are not enough to pay for our sin. The sacrifices happened day after day, year after year…partial atonement.

Then Christ Himself, offered the sacrifice that was of enough value to cover the cost. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross pays for our sin and buys us out out of HELL! Full and complete atonement. Paid in full! We honor HIM / God by laying down our lives, sacrificing our desires and pleasures to do HIS will. The Christian expression of this is that we are called to be ‘Living Sacrifices’…

Hey God: Why all the focus on sacrifice? Why make sacrifice such an important part of the daily life of YOUR people? God’s reason & purpose of lifestyle sacrifice was and still is: SIN AWARENESS. The process of regularly dealing with your sin, having it cost you something, is the gateway to grace. You cannot lay down your life to Christ without truly needing to! It takes sin awareness to fully understand the need for a savior. God wanted to demonstrate to them & us, as HIS people we must live in recognition of our sinfulness and corruption. God has blessed us to be unique: dealing with our sin is a blessing because it is how we truly recognize our need for Christ as Lord & Savior.

Last week we ended with:

9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should He show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Yahweh Tsebaoth)

Malachi 1:10 – 2:9

10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 11 My name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • God is frustrated with the corruption and disobedience of His people
  • All over the world [at this time] other people were honoring God
  • Others Honor God while those He has chosen to be HIS, do not? That is nuts!

12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. 13 You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • Your actions are what matter to God
  • Your actions say everything, they expose what you truly believe
  • The parable of the two sons [Jesus @ Matthew 21:28-31]
  • If difficulty stops you from trying, then you don’t believe in what you are doing

“Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and My name is feared among the nations!”

  • Take a second and recognize what they were doing is what we can be guilty of
  • God says: ‘Should I accept these ‘lame’ offerings? You know the answer
  • Taking about what you’re going to give is never a good thing [Wayne & others]
  • It is like they forget He is watching…that God is paying attention
  • He wants to remind them AND US…
  • He is beyond powerful and His reputation is honored all over the world

1 “Listen, you priests—this command is for you! 2 Listen to Me and make up your minds to honor My name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken My warning to heart.

  • Pay attention those of you in charge [leaders can forget about their obedience]
  • God wants to give us a chance to clean up out act
  • Yahweh is a God of second chances, but there’s a point when His chances end
  • He says He will do it and because He knows their hearts, it’s as good as done
  • They will be cursed going forward but God will also curse past blessings!

3 I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that My covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • For such dishonoring of His reputation He will include descendants is the curse
  • God knows it will take something incredibly harsh to make them realize their sin
  • It will be painfully obvious that God Himself is acting against what they’re doing

5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name.

  • They were supposed to be representatives of God’s peace & life…
  • Those who provide the spiritual infrastructure for God must be extra reverent

6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from Me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with Me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin. 7 The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • Those who minister must be examples, speaking and acting on behalf of God
  • From intimacy with God, they teach His principals and maintain proper doctrine
  • They are to be instruments of God’s will: Messengers [like Malachi]

8 But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed Me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out My instructions.”

  • God pronounces Judgement on the Levitical priesthood [It ends with Christ]
  • They have become ‘blind guides’ as Jesus called them [whitewashed tombs]
  • Their corruption has led others to dishonor God’s name
  • God’s human ‘spiritual infrastructure’ will be judged more strictly [Jame 3:1]
  • This is God speaking in present tense about future things…they are and will be
  • At the core of their disobedience was favoritism
  • This is still an issue amongst God’s people…see James 2:9
  • ‘If you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers’
  • It is like they forget God is watching!

SUMMARY:

V. 1:10-14 God is not in the business of tolerating His people’s dishonest offerings & sacrifices. He cares deeply about His reputation, so should His people. Actions are what matter to God. People act in accordance with what they truly believe, even in difficulty. God’s perfect justice means he will not let falsehoods be considered blessings.

V. 2:1-4 Those who go between Yahweh and His people are commanded to Honor Him wholeheartedly, anything less curses everything they touch. God will humiliate and degrade those who corrupt HIS worship, it will be disgustingly harsh and obvious.

V. 2:5-7 Levitical Priests were Yahweh’s instruments of peace and life for His people. They were to live reverently with Him and speak for Him. They were to instruct and convict God’s people by His Word. They were to be His messengers. All of this holds true for those who minister and lead in Christ’s Body

V. 2:8-9 When those in charge of Yahweh’s ordained spiritual infrastructure become corrupt it is like a cancer throughout the community. Lack of accountability leads to mistreatment of the relationship. The entire relational structure between Yahweh and HIS people is trashed when community wide actions create a culture of dishonoring God. It works the same in Christ’s body.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

How do you view God’s reputation? How do your actions enhance it? What needs to stop that degrades it?

How do you think Christ views your lack of honesty and effort in your acts of worship? How does it impact your ability to relate to Him?

If you minister to God’s people, are you convicted of your accountability to fully honor Christ? How do we strengthen our culture of accountability to honoring Christ for servants and leaders in this body?

What actions [based on Scripture] can you take to honestly support the spiritual infrastructure Christ has placed you into?

/by

Malachi Pt. 1: Unrecognized Love

MALACHI 1:1-9

To be truly Biblical Christians we not only need to be well versed in the New Testament but we also need to understand the Hebrew scriptures in light of Christ.

TEMPLE DESTROYED 586 BC / 1ST EXILES RETURNED 538 BC / TEMPLE REBUILT 516 BC / EZRA ARRIVES 458 BC / NEHEMIAH ARRIVES 444 BC

About Malachi, the man, the book and the context.

Malachi the Man: We don’t know much about him except this message. He lived in the years after the nation of Israel had return from Babylonian exile. A contemporary of Ezra & Nehemiah though probably a generation after (overlap) He lived in Jerusalem aprox. 450 – 400 BC 1st recognition of His prophetic writings is at about 400 BC. Prophetic mostly by speaking from Yahweh’s point of view.

Malachi The Book: It reads like a legal proceeding. Question and answer style. There are a number of exchanges between God and the people. An accusation or statement is made by God (through Malachi) and then the people respond (through Malachi) and ultimately God has the last word. In terms of last word this book is often refereed to as the last word from one of God’s Prophets that He sent to the Jews before going silent for 400 years [J. B. & J. C.]

Malachi The Context: The Israelites had returned from exile,, they rebuilt the temple in 516 BC. 42 years later Ezra arrives in 458 Nehemiah arrives at the beginning the year 444 BC. At the end of Nehemiah chapters 8-13 we see that unified public reading of the Torah, community wide public confession, they sign and seal a covenant to observe of the Law of Moses at the end of 444 BC. Malachi writes just 40 or so years later and whatever obedience was pledged, it seems to be lost in one generation!

Malachi’s message has the overtone of judgement because God’s people had not learned from the consequences of their past sins. The disobedience that had cause God to send them into exile was becoming their way of life again. Corruption was growing amongst their leaders and had infected the priesthood as well.In light of Christ we read this from the perspective of being God’s people, and it is timeless in detailing the human condition regarding our sin and waywardness.

1 This is the message that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.

  • Malachi means ‘My Messenger’ The message is to Israel / God’s People
  • Word message here can translated as Burden or Oracle…not a light message

2 “I have always loved you,” says the Lord. But you retort, “Really? How have You loved us?” And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed My love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, 3 but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”

  • God declares His enduring love for His people [Israel]
  • This first reply of the people starts this pattern of arrogance and self-focus
  • From God’s point of view all humans deserve to be rejected by Him, and yet..
  • God showed His love by bestowing undeserved favor upon Jacob’s family
  • God set apart the family of Abraham, Issac & Jacob by His undeserved love

4 Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.” But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again.

  • Contrast between what people want and the finality of God’s Will
  • This is the ultimate fate of those who don’t know Yahweh

Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’ 5 When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”

  • God explains how it could be for the descendants of Jacob…
  • Knowing and trusting God is the only way to believe in HIS justice
  • You realize HE is in control of EVERYTHING

6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your Father and Master, where are the honor and respect I deserve?

  • After proving His love God turns to how Israel has responded to that love
  • When faced with their actions of disrespect they obfuscate and justify
  • ‘What did we ever do’?
  • God says you want to call me Father without showing me any honor
  • God says you want to call me Master / Lord without showing fear or reverence
  • What do you think God deserves from you?

You have shown contempt for My name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for Your name?’ 7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on My altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?

  • Contempt for God’s name means contempt for all that HE stand for (reputation)
  • Again His people say: ‘How have we mocked and ridiculed your reputation?’
  • The hardened heart cannot even see how it rebells and disrespects God
  • How do we make sure we are not giving God our leftover devotion / sacrifice
  • God tells them they have done it and they are like; ‘how have we done it?’
  • They know better, just like we know better
  • We know we are to give to God in ways that actually cost us (sacrifice)

“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • The offering of ‘lame’ sacrifices is a blatant show of disrespect
  • Giving to God things that don’t have value to you is not really a sacrifice
  • You would not think of blatantly disrespecting your earthly ruler…why God?
  • Notice the title God gives HIMSELF here

9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should He show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

  • This speaks of how relationships work…it’s a two way street
  • We can claim to want God’s mercy but on what basis?

This thread is going to continue in the passage next week… God has more to say!

SUMMARY V.1-5: God has a burden for His people to know His heart. HE has always separated His chosen by His love & Grace. In HIS self-existent wisdom HE chose Jacob for Grace and Esau for destruction. Yahweh’s greatness is proved by HIS righteous, holy, perfect justice AND His overwhelming, everlasting, undeserved mercy.
SUMMARY V.6-8a: Obeying biblical standards is the only way to honor God as Father AND respect Him as Master, otherwise we show contempt for who HE is. It starts with sacrifice.
As people called by Yahweh / Christ we are to sacrifice the most important stuff we have. It was always meant to cost us something to honor & respect God for who He is.
SUMMARY V.8b-9: God’s chosen people are to grow [through teachable failures] in their desire to obey sacrificially, while being real about their shortcomings. In Malachi’s day they were calling something sacrificial that was not. In our lives it’s being real about the cost to follow Christ. HE deserves our honest, sacrificial efforts to obey. When we make excuses and cut corners we damage our relationship with HIM.
APPLICATION QUESTION
In what ways do you personally recognize the loving favor of Christ and display gratitude for it?
APPLICATION QUESTION
If the God of Scripture is your Father & Master, how do you specifically show Him the honor and respect He deserves?
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
What have you sacrificed in your life since becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? What will you sacrifice to become a follower of Christ?
APPLICATION QUESTIONS

How honest are you about what living sacrificially for Christ based on Scripture requires? What impact does a lack of honesty have on your relationship with Christ?

/by