“I have loved you!”
Malachi Part 1
Thesis: I have loved you so why do you bring defective sacrifices to my altar and think that I don’t mind! Why do you turn your nose at me and say serving me is such a burden and such a hassle? Do you not know that I am the Great and Mighty One?
Video Illustration: From DVD Worship “Growing To Be Like Christ” Track 7 “I’m Amazed” This song and video reminds us about how amazing God’s love is for us. It ties in with what Malachi is saying about what the love of the Lord has done for us.
Introduction:
Malachi’s name means “My Message”. This off course is the last prophetic book in the OT. The message of the book addresses the sinful condition of the priests of God and the people of God. The book paints a picture for us of a people who say they are of God and His children. They believe they are right with God even though they are disrespecting God, in opposition to the ways of God, and living in sin. The book is a call to holiness and repentance so that God’s hand is not forced to pronounce judgment on the remaining tribes of Israel. It is a call from God to remind the people of God that the Day of the Lord is coming and with it comes judgment for unrepentant sin. The message of the book of Malachi can be outlined as follows:
1. Stop – I love you! 1:1-5
2. Look – I see you! 1:6-2:9
3. Listen – I know you! 2:10-4:6
Holman notes this about Malachi: The purpose of Malachi was to assure his people that God still loved them, but He demanded honor, respect, and faithfulness from them. Malachi pointed out religious and social abuses and warned that judgment would come to purge the people of sin unless they repented. The style of the Book of Malachi is that of disputations. This style is not unique to Malachi. Micah and Jeremiah had disputes with false prophets (Mic. 2:6-11; Jer. 27-28). Jeremiah also disputed with God (Jer. 12:1-6). Job disputed with his friends. The Book of Malachi is made up of six disputation passages and two appendices. The disputes follow a regular form: (1) the prophet stated a premise; (2) the hearers challenged the statement; and (3) God and the prophet presented the supporting evidence.
Scripture Text: Malachi 1
1An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
2“I have loved you,” says the LORD.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” the LORD says. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
4Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”
But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. 5You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the LORD—even beyond the borders of Israel!’
6“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7“You place defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the LORD’S table is contemptible. 8When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.
9“Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the LORD Almighty.
10“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.
12“But you profane it by saying of the Lord’s table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food, ‘It is contemptible.’ 13And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty.
“When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD. 14“Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
T.S. – Malachi warns us that the Lord sees their current condition and He is not pleased with their leftovers.
I. I have loved you so why do you bring me rejects and defective sacrifices?
a. Do you not want to honor my love for you?
i. Do you think I am blind and dumb?
ii. I see the condition of your sacrifices.
1. They are your rejects.
2. Would you give them to your governor as a first rate sacrifice?
a. I do not think so because you would know there reaction.
b. Take it back I do not accept rejects and defective things.
3. I bless you with the best and you give me the rejects the imperfect sacrifices the things you really do not want?
iii. When you think about the condition of Israel in this day it is a sad situation. The people of God the ones God did miracles for have decided to cheat the one who loves them. To give him the stuff they do not want. The things that have no real value because they are flawed and broken.
1. The God who supernaturally delivered them out of Egypt and gave them the Promised Land is being ripped off by the people who say they are His people.
2. They say with their mouths but they do not do it in their actions in their worship to God.
3. Something is not right here is it? I say I am a follower of God Almighty but to give him sacrifices that are the best- no way! I want to keep the best for myself.
iv. Biblical stewardship is really what we are focusing on here in our text today.
1. You might say “What is Biblical Stewardship?”
a. Biblical Stewardship is described for us by two primary verses in the OT.
i. "To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everthing in it." Deuteronomy 10:14
ii. "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
b. These plus many other Scriptures tell us that the Lord created all things and that He owns all things. But the Lord has given us the honor and responsibility of being a steward of all that belongs to Him.
i. Now a steward is someone who manages another person’s finances, resources, and property. As followers of Jesus Christ, we realize that God owns everything, including our finances, and it is our responsibility to be good managers or stewards of what He has entrusted to us.
c. Everything we possess is a gift from the Lord...our time, our talents, our gifts, our families, our church, our setting and our financial resources.
i. THE STEWARDSHIP OF LIFE:
Elizabeth Dole, former Secretary of Transportation & Presidential candidate said: Life is not just a few years to spend on self-indulgence and career advancement. It is a privilege, a responsibility, and a stewardship to be lived according to a much higher calling.
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Roy Fowler
1. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “It is God who gives us power to make wealth, not we ourselves.”
ii. Definition of Stewardship. "Stewardship is the proper management of one’s resources for the glory of God."
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Jerry Falwell
1. 1 Corinthians 4:7: "And what do you have that you did not receive?"
iii. We must understand that as Christians and as fully devoted followers of Jesus that we really do not own anything in this life.
1. Many people in our world system would argue this point and say they have all that they have because of what they have done or accomplished themselves. But the truth is they are just deceiving themselves.
d. MONEY Written by: MacArthur Jr., John posted 04/01/2003 states this about Biblical Stewardship:
i. Open your Bible, if you will, to Matthew, chapter 6, and I want to read to you three very familiar verses, the setting for our message this Lord’s Day and next. In Matthew 6:19, Jesus said, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Very poignant, very direct, very simple words, easily understood. Jesus said, "Your treasure is to be invested in eternity." The Lord then introduces to us this matter of using our earthly treasure for eternal purposes. To put it simply, I want to show you how you are to use your money consistently with the teaching of our Lord.
ii. He goes on in his message to describe for us what Biblical Stewardship is.
2. Nowery notes this about Stewardship in life: Vision, influence, commitment, time, opportunity, resources and so much more. All of these are assets to manage for his purposes. They are loaned to us to invest in such a way that we gain the greatest return and he gets the greatest glory” (15, The Stewardship of Life).
a. But if we become like the Israelites and mismanage our assets in the sight of the God who loves us there will be a price to pay.
3. Nowery states: The stewardship or resources is a serious business; and God’s will is that we give it serious attention. This demands that we have a right perspective on our resources, and that is possible only if we have the right focus of our source (118).
a. He adds: Our resources actually belong to Him; but He gives us the privilege of using them, enjoying them and managing them for His glory (119).
b. As I was reading our chapter in Malachi I kept hearing this phrase run through my mind, “Give the best or lie like the rest!”
i. This is a good motto isn’t it?
1. This statement sounds harsh doesn’t it! We today don’t want to hear that giving our best is required of us. God doesn’t care if I keep the best for myself. Besides He is a God of love not judgment.
a. He does not mind if I do not follow His teaching here and there. Don’t be so legalistic.
b. Here is another thought, “Give the best or die like the rest!”
i. To rob and try to cheat the Lord is not a wise thing to do! It only leads to death not life!
2. Where is the grace? This question may be running through your mind right now, well I think it has to do with God giving us more time to repent and not just smoking this self-centered selfish world we live in with a lightening bolt.
ii. I think this motto needs some thought and it should be one that the Christian repeats to them selves over and over. Why? Because in the kingdom of God we always want to give what is not the best.
1. The truth is we actually want to keep the best for ourselves.
2. I have been around the church a long time and I have noticed that some people not all always wants to give to the ministry their junk and then get a tax write-off for it.
a. I have seen people give trucks to ministries that just need to be junked.
b. I have seen people give appliances that are broken and not working.
c. I have seen people just want to give God their leftovers and they think God is impressed with their broken sacrifice or defective gift.
iii. We even like to influence others and make it look like we are giving the best when we actually keep the best for ourselves.
1. We like to try to impress people with our ½ hearted sacrifices and make it sound like it is a major sacrifice. But God says he knows our hearts and our intent.
iv. It’s amazing how our self-centered nature wants to keep the best for ourselves.
1. We keep the best time for ourselves. We then give God the leftovers of our time.
2. We keep the best finances for ourselves. We then give God what ever we have leftover after we have spent the best money on our best material possessions.
3. We keep the best things for ourselves. We then give God the items when they have gotten broken or used up and in need of repair.
4. We keep the best cars for ourselves. Then when they are broken and no good we give them to God’s work.
v. The truth that Malachi is revealing by the Holy Spirit is best summarized for us by Nowery:
1. We must not lose sight of the fact that Jesus came for one purpose only: to do the will of the Father. He reminded the disciples of this repeatedly because He wanted them to understand that it was their purpose as well (67).
a. The Lord is telling us today that our responsibility is to do the will of the father!
i. We are not here on earth to get rich and to live the good life of pleasure, leisure and luxury.
ii. This is not the plan of God – If you doubt this read the Gospels again.
c. We must remember that we do have a responsibility to give an account of our lives to God according to Romans 14:12:” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
i. With this realization comes the thought, “How we are going to be held accountable for the way we live our lives?” The truth is we will give an account for certain every area of our lives.
1. One way we are going to be held accountable is in the way we treat others. Relationships do matter to God. One day we will have to answer to God about our relationships.
a. Exodus 20:12 – especially our parents
b. Hebrews 13:7 – to spiritual leaders
c. Romans 13:8 – to the ones we love
d. To strangers and to our neighbors.
2. Truth is we will also be held accountable for the words that come out of our mouths.
a. What you say is important to God. Remember don’t forget this truth. There will come a day when you will hear it all again in heaven- that is if you don’t repent and make it right now.
b. James informs us that we have to tame the tongue.
i. It is a deadly weapon that needs to be disciplined.
ii. Our tongues have hurt and wounded more people than guns!
3. Truth is we are also going to be held accountable for our actions in this life too.
a. The way you act reveals who is in control of your life.
b. You can live by God’s rules or another’s but you will answer to God one day.
c. Everything we do – we do with a certain motive and God knows why you do what you do.
4. Truth is we are also going to be held accountable to the opportunities that come our way.
a. Do we take advantage of open doors for the Lord? Or do we instead lay around in apathy toward the things of God?
b. Do we look at the God opportunities in life as the greatest opportunities? Or do they take backstage to all the self centered opportunities of life?
5. We will also be held accountable for the way we manage the resources that God puts in our hands.
a. But we will talk more about this later.
T.S. – The reality check for us today is that God does love us and He loves us enough to warn us to stop ripping Him off or else. We need to take note time is running out and if we do not repent he will send judgment on us!
II. I have loved you so I have been merciful to you but time is running out.
a. This is a warning from the Lord about His patience and a caution to us all that it only goes so far.
i. Does God have unlimited patience with us or does it have limits?
1. I believe His patience has limits. Here is why.
a. A personal story!
2. Also read the Old Testament and discover that God does have a limit to how long He will give people the time to repent and change their way.
a. If they continue to reject His warnings, His mercy and His grace then He is forced to act in a just and holy way.
ii. God does not like those whose heart is hypocritical. In other words those who play the game with God.
1. But God did I not give you these great sacrifices to you. The Lord responds “Quit living in denial they stuff you gave was broke-defective or one of your leftovers!”
2. Matthew 7:22-29: Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
a. Jesus makes it clear that not everyone who claims to be of God is of God because it really is about the condition of their love relationship with the Lord and how they live their life.
b. Our life should be about Him being first in our heart and actions.
iii. The question we need to ask ourselves is “Do we give Him our leftovers and then become proud of our ½ hearted gift to the Lord and His work?”
1. Problem is if you love someone you give them the best not the rejects or the blemished items.
a. Have you seen the commercials which say give the very best to the one you love?
b. Of course it’s an advertisement for diamonds. They tells us that if we love someone with our whole heart we want to give them the very best. Don’t we?
i. So they say “Buy them diamonds!”
2. If you love someone you give them gifts that cost you something right! Why? Because they are worthy of it!
a. So why do we think God should be short changed?
b. So why do people who say they love Jesus not give Him sacrificial gifts?
3. If you love someone don’t you sacrifice for them out of the driving force of that love in your heart?
a. So if you really love God then how come you never give him sacrificial offerings?
4. Love should compel us to give 1st rate sacrifices not our leftovers!
a. But too many in the Kingdom of God today only give their leftovers.
b. Here is God’s reality check to all those people who think that He does not see what they are doing.
i. Wake up – repent- stop your wicked ways and do it right! I see you! Hello!!!!
c. Too many today give their leftovers to God and think He is happy with them. God saying listen to me “I don’t want them!”
i. Truth is: He is not blind and their gift does not matter to Him because their hearts are not in it.
b. Malachi rings with this thought, “Don’t waste your time burning useless fires on the altar and offering up useless sacrifices.” God knows if your sincere or not so if your not don’t waste your time!
i. The Lord knows what a genuine sacrifice looks like and He knows what is not genuine. Remember He is God! He sees all and knows all! You cannot deceive the Lord! Quit trying!
1. Acts 5:1-11 has a case in point:
a. 1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
i. The truth is God knows the heart of any giver and He knows if you give it out of sincerity or contempt.
ii. He knows if you lie or not!
iii. He knows why you gave the gift or did not give the gift.
iv. He knows why you tithe or don’t tithe.
v. He knows if you are trying to impress others or scam others with your sacrifice.
2. Bottom line “He knows!” So quit trying to deceive Him and yourself.
ii. The Lord wants sacrifices that are from the heart not out of duty or even out of guilt.
1. He knows if you give with a cheerful heart or a grudging heart.
2. God will not accept a sacrifice that is defective or blemished so forget about even giving it.
a. If you give out of a wrong motive then your gift is worthless.
b. When you sacrifice do it out of love and the Lord will bless you for it.
c. Give out of the obedience to the greatness of love.
c. Malachi also reminds us that His name is “Great” and He will return soon to hold this world accountable!
i. He is worthy of giving the best too not our leftovers and our blemished sacrifices. Why? Because He is the Creator of the universe and the owner of this real estate!
1. Because He is “Alpha and Omega.”
2. Because He is “The Might Counselor.”
3. Because He is “Mighty God.”
4. Because He is “Jehovah Jireh - My Provider.”
5. Because He is “The Great I am.”
6. Because He is “The Prince of Peace.”
7. Because He is “Abba Father.”
ii. One day the owner will return and expect and explanation as to why you did what you did with His stuff.
1. So how will you answer the Lord in that day?
T.S. – We need to be reminded that the Lord is coming back to hold us and others accountable for our management of His resources. We also need to make sure that as we serve and manage His resources we need to keep a right attitude.
III. I have loved you so why do you say serving me is a burden?
a. Video Illustration: From The Visual Edge
i. Why Church?
1. Felt Need: Move beyond the dullness of organized religion and have a genuine love for Jesus.
2. Desired Outcome: To find new meaning and power through the simple truth of Jesus and break out of our apathy toward the love of Jesus.
3. We need to listen to our own excuses as to why we feel serving the Lord is a burden! We need to step back and take a look at our many lame excuses for not serving the Lord with our whole heart.
b. Is serving the Lord a burden for you?
i. Is it a burden for you to serve the one you love?
ii. Is it a burden for you to honor the Lord’s Day as instructed by the Bible?
iii. Do you sniff with contempt at the things of God?
iv. Do you lift your nose when it comes to serving the Lord and doing things His way?
1. Do you say, “Here goes Pastor Mike again beating the drum of giving to the church again!” - “He must want a raise!”
a. No I don’t but I do want you to understand the spiritual truth about Biblical Stewardship in your life.
b. The truth is I want you to be ready if Christ was to return tomorrow. I want you to hear, ‘Well done good and faithful servant!”
c. The fact is I want you to be blessed and happy in life!
i. Happiness-contentment-riches are not what the world offers but what God offers.
c. Malachi challenges the Israelites and even us about our disrespectful attitudes to giving and asks us a simple question.
i. When you do this disrespectful act toward someone who loves you do you think they will be pleased?
1. I don’t think so do you!
2. Go try this with your spouse and see what the reaction is. Go give your spouse a gift that is defective and broke and see if she or he rejoices over it.
a. Let me know next Sunday how it went.
b. I suspect it will not have enhanced your relationship! As a matter of fact I bet it strains it!
c. Here is another idea go to your boss at work and say I appreciate you Boss and hand then a half eaten candy bar and let me know their reaction.
d. Here is another divinely inspired reality check for people doing disrespectful things toward God and His Love.
i. He reminds us that His name is The Great King! His name is to bring with it a healthy fear.
1. He does have the ability to smote this world and deal with me personally.
2. Holman states: God’s Unique Nature God is the only God. He is not simply the greatest of many gods—He is the only true God. God is the living God. This separates Him from all other gods and idols, which are merely forms humans have created in the image of things God created (Isa. 41:22-24; 44:9-20; 46:1-2, 6-7). “The Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king” (Jer. 10:10; compare 1 Thess. 1:9). Christians see this in Jesus, joining Peter in confessing, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16).
a. Do you have a healthy fear of the Lord? Or do you treat Him with disrespect and contempt?
3. Holman also reminds us the focus of the Bible: God as the Bible’s Primary Subject The Bible and history begin with God (Gen. 1:1). The last chapter of the Bible describes God as the “Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22:13 NRSV). All the way through Scripture God is primary. For Christians the primacy of God is reassuring, liberating, and instructive. It reassures us that God controls all existence. It liberates us to know the loving, redeeming God seeks to set us free. It instructs us to be able to look for signs of God throughout His universe.
a. The Bible makes it clear that we will bow to God not that God will bow to us!
ii. The action point for today is that we need to honor God and not be disrespectful to God.
1. Larry Burkett states, “A verse in Proverbs says that God has asked for our first fruits: the first and best of all that we receive. That means that we should tithe from our total gross income before taxes. Any profit made from the sale of a home ought to be tithed upon, because it is, in fact, part of the first fruits. Other parts of our first fruits would be inheritances, insurance monies, dividends, and interest. These are all parts of our increase. A farmer first sets aside a portion from the harvest for seed to plant the following year. If he didn’t, he would have another crop. As Christians, our tithes are like seeds. Clearly, if we give to God the first part of everything that comes into our possession, we are honoring Him. It is an attitude of giving. And it is only by honoring the Lord from the first part of all we have that God can take control” (196).
Conclusion:
Malachi is revealing to the Body of Christ today the fact that God loves us and therefore because of His great love and His great sacrifice we should love God back with our best sacrifices. We are to give our best not lie like the rest! We are not to return God’s amazing love with defective leftovers and a disrespectful attitude. Instead we need to give the best and be blessed. So let’s honor the Lord with our hearts, our resources and our attitudes.
IS IT WORTH THE PRICE?
Paul J. Meyer wrote in Unlocking Your Legacy:
"Cost and self-sacrifice do not make something hard. Nobody feels sorry for the athlete who wins an Olympic medal, even though the person paid an incredible price through grueling effort behind the scenes, denying himself or herself certain things, probably for several years, all for one hopeful brief moment of glory. The medal, once attained, minimizes every cost and self-sacrifice."
Meyer continues, "Following God is similar in many respects. There are costs and self-sacrifice to be made, but that does not mean it is hard to follow God. Hard is when you compete but never win, invest but lose everything, work but receive nothing for your efforts, and show love but receive hate in return.... When I compare my costs and self-sacrifices with what I have already received and will receive in return, my costs and self-sacrifices are insignificant!"
Contributed to Sermon Central by: Dana Chau
