THE MALACHI REPORT
Scripture
Reading: Malachi 3: 1,2
Turn with me to a passage written by the Apostle Paul concerning the last days that should give us much to think about. The passage is found in 2 Timothy 4:
Paul is exhorting Timothy to:
2 Preach the word! Be
ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all
longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for
themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away
from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
I have noticed this happening in our day. I have seen people exclaim how they have never had a better relationship with the Lord. Yet, in their behavior it is clear that they are moving farther and farther away from His word, into the worldly life.
Paul said we must preach the word to them
before it is too late. We need ourselves to be sure we do not become enmeshed in pleasing fables that lead us to
a false assurance that God is with us even when we are walking away from Him.
Are we really aware of our
own spiritual condition here today?
The children of
Israel did not always realize how far they had wondered from their God.
In an effort to
recall them to Himself
the Lord sent prophets to their midst.
They carried before the people God's words of
rebuke and correction.
They recalled many to the ways of
righteousness.
One such man was
Malachi.
Shortly after Nehemiah
had rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and carried on his reforms there, God found
it necessary to send His prophet to a people already beginning to wander.
Malachi's message is
the Laodicean message of His day.
PS. AS MODERN DAY LAODICEANS, WE CAN PROFIT WELL
FROM THE COUNCIL AND WARNING MALACHI GIVES.
TS. HIS WORDS ARE AS RELEVANT TODAY AS THE DAY THEY WERE FIRST SPOKEN.
I. MALACHI'S FIRST WARNING is to those who abuse worship. chapter 1.
1. The people are dispising God's
Name....unawares
[read verse 7] "You are presenting defiled food upon
my alter", but you say "How have we defiled Thee?" In that you say, "The table of the Lord
is to be despised."
They are downgrading the Lord's Table. How are they doing this, Read verse 8.
But when you present the blind for
sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you
present the lame and sick, is it not evil?"
God is displeased
here-- insulted. For is this not the behavior of those who
would claim to belong to God when their hearts are really far from Him?
And even though they are showing by their actions that God is the last of their priorities, note that they do not realize it.
Their spiritual
condition is "and ye know not that you are poor and
blind and naked." As God says to
Malachi in verse 6.
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say "How have we despised Thy name?"
Isn’t our God
wonderful to seek to enlighten and call back His wayward children?
2.
Tell
me, how do you rank God as an item in your worship?
Will you sacrifice
your time, and your money and your talents upon the alter of His love so that His name will be honored
about you?
Do your actions and
mine show that we put God first, second, third, or last?
It's important to come
to His temple. It is also important HOW
we come to His Temple.
My Brethren- Bring to the Lord praises from hearts
overfilled with gratitude and joy.
Sacrifice upon His alter the best of
your strength and not the least you think you can get away with.
"God is not
mocked".
The full joy of
worship will only come to those who love the Lord with all their hearts.
II. MALACHI NEXT TURNS TO WARN THE MINISTRY FOR IT IS DEALING UNFAITHFULLY WITH HIM AND HIS PEOPLE. Chapter 2
1. He describes what the minister should be:
(vrs 5-7) Speaking of Levi the Lord
declares.
"My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I
gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me, and
stood in awe of My name. True
instruction was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he
walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve
knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the
messenger of the Lord of hosts."
This is what the
ministry should be, but the reality of their condition was different. Note how
the Lord continues.
2. He lists the present sins of the
ministry...
a. accepting false doctrine v. 8
"But as for you, you have turned
aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction(Law);
you have corrupted the covenant of Levi," says the Lord of hosts.
b. Partiality in law. v. 9
"So I also have made you despised and abased before all
the people, just as you are not keeping My ways, but are showing partiality
in the instruction."
And what does the word "partial" mean? what's the little word in the big one?
[part]
These ministers were
taking the part of the law they agreed with, and leaving the parts they found offensive.
You see that today.
Listen as the preacher
talks on the Law of God. What happens
when he comes to the fourth commandment?
Partiality in the Law.
c. Compromise in marriage to unbelievers v. 11
Malachi writes in
v. 11.
"Judah has dealt treacherously, and abomination has
been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the
sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a
foreign god."
Scripture teaches us that it is not good to become unequally yolked together with unbelievers.
Such marriages pull down
even the mightiest of God’s servants who enter into them. Witness Solomon, who the scripture teaches
was lead away by his many wives.
d. Divorce v. 13 to 16
God has always
considered this a plague upon His land.
13. And this is another thing you do: you cover the alter of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.
14. Yet
you say, 'For what reason?' Because the Lord has been a witness between you and
the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she
is your companion and your wife by covenant.
15. But
not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly
offspring? Take heed then, to your
spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth.
16.
For
I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment
with wrong," says the Lord of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit,
that you do not deal treacherously."
Oh that people today would take this word of the
Lord seriously. There are so many
marriages breaking up today because one or both parties have turned their backs
upon each other.
Your wife, or your
husband is to be your closest friend and companion in life. We need to examine those whom we would unite
with carefully to be sure they are able to fulfil this roll for us, and we for
them. If we do not determin them to be
able to life faithfully together with us in such a committement, it is wise to
break the engagements and refrain from marriage.
But if we have a
marriage, and our spouse is disappointing to us, what should we do? Divorce them?
No. Only on grounds of adultery did Christ say
this was permissible.
We should not diverce
them, but love them and do all in our power to find reconciliation. We are to do this, not for our sakes only,
but for that of the children.
Many flee broken
marriages today that could be fixed if the parties in them took their mutual
commitments to each other seriously enough to sacrifice for the relationship.
It may take hard work,
but there is nothing broken that cannot be mended in Christ if both parties
will seek Him and serve Him.
e. Calling evil good and good evil. v. 17
You have wearied the Lord with your
words. yet you say, "How have we
wearied Him?" In that you say,
"Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights
in them,? or, "Where is the God of justice?'
3. God's purpose in sending these rebukes to
His people is made clear in vrs. 3-4
3. "Behold, I am going to rebuke
your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, and refuse on you
feasts; and you will be taken away with it.
4. Then
you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My
covenant may continue with Levi,"...
God's purpose is to save the
ministry, not destroy it.
4. Now you may be saying, "Well, what
has that to do with me. I am not a
minister am I?
Give that a little more thought today!
Asside from the fact
that the ordained ministry has its problems…
Did not God has
instructed us through Peter that All are ministers who profess Jesus as
Lord?
"But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood,"
1Peter 2:9
So, all these things
apply to all of us. Husbands
and fathers; Wives and mothers, Teachers and students. Workers
and management.
As you and I go
out into our
homes or schools or places of work and business, we go there as priests,
and what we allow, and what we do, will bear a witness for or against God.
This is a witness we
are accountable for in the Judgment.
Many have wondered
what the meaning of this life is. What is in it
all for you and me. What
purpose is there to go to church each week. Does it really change anything?
Well, that
depends.
Sometimes I talk to people about their Christian
experience, and the item I desire them to understand most of all is
that we are here for a purpose.
That purpose is to be
God’s man or God’s woman or God’s boy or girl every moment of every day, right where God has put
us.
You don’t have to
stand in a pulpit
to preach a sermon, brother.
You don’t need to be
in spiritual office
to anoint a soul, sister.
God has called all of
you to be His agents
to this lost world. He has sent
us to infiltrate the world about us and demonstrate His love in
the testimony of our actions.
The Church is where
we come to fortify ourselves and gain strength and instruction for this greater
duty, which we are to carry forward
every day of the week in service to our maker.
Does that make
sense?
So When Malachi
speaks to the priests of his day, his words are meant also for each of us, priests of
God, in our day.
Go out from this
place and discover what this means: to Be God’s man
or woman in your world.
That’s the adventure.
III. AND MALACHI DOES POINT TO A JUDGMENT TO COME ON OUR SOCIAL ILLS.
The occult, adultery,
falsehood, cheating, inhospitality...
When we are faithful
in worship,
when we are honest
and obedient in
life and ministry,
God will rebuke
these sins from among us.
But God’s
judgments are for our growth and happiness. He rebukes that which holds us
back from effectiveness in His service.
IV. MALACHI CALLS THE PEOPLE BACK TO FAITHFUL STEWARDSHIP. Ch. 3: 7-12
1. The people have not been paying a faithful
Tithe. v. 8
"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed
thee?" In tithes and contributions."
Question: Why does God count our failure to support
his work on earth with our Tithes and offerings as robbery?
Answer:
Because, he owns us all, and everything we have. He created us, and he further redeemed
us. Without him we would have
nothing.
And yet we consider
it a hardship to be faithful to our agreement to return 10% for the ministry
and another % for the other expenses of the local churches.
That's robbery.
We are taking what is his...His service to us...His
life...His health....His property...and using it to buy campers and
vacations, Adornments and who knows what else.
We do this and
neglect the work He has ordained.
I'm not surprised he gets upset. We've despised his love.
Years ago, when I was
only about 9 or 10, my father took me with him to the grocery store.
Now normally, I drove my folks crazy when at the store, asking for
things, but I must have been on better behavior that day, And so, when we came to the check out counter,
dad let me pick out a present. I chose
a box of chocolate cigarettes.
Well, no sooner did we
get to the car and I wanted those candies. So I dug into the bag and got them out. Opened the pack, and there they were...20 sticks of beautiful,
mouth watering chocolate. They should last for quite a while.
I had them all budgeted
out. One now. One during the Lone Ranger.
A couple before bed. and so forth.
And then dad spoiled all
my plans by saying.
"Bob, could I
have one of your chocolate cigarette's?
Well, how dare he!
I LOOKED AT THE BOX OF
CHOCOLATE CIGARETTES AND SUDDENLY THEY DIDN'T LOOK SO BIG ANYMORE.
That box wasn't big
enough for both of us.
One of us would have to
go, and it wasn' going to be me.
I said "NO!"
After all, ... I'd gone to the store with him
hadn't I? I'd given him the pleasure
of my company and suggestions.
I'd even chosen my own
box of candy.
I'd earned them all
the way...or so I
thought.
And then, dad dropped
a bomb shell, but
I'm glad he did. It helped me realize
something.
He said, "All right then, DON'T EVER ASK ME FOR
ANYTHING ELSE!
DON'T EVER ASK ME FOR
ANYTHING ELSE!!!
That's all it took to
bring me to my senses.
DON'T EVER ASK ME FOR
ANYTHING ELSE!
I'd blown it!!
I'd really done it that
time.
For you see, DAD WAS
THE SOURCE! The one from whom all things came. And I, by my act of selfishness, had
stopped it up forever.
Now I can really
identify with Israel about this.
2. The people of Israel forgot that God is
the Source. Stop up the source and you
have nothing.
They failed to give tithes.
They failed to give contributions.
And God said "You blew it.
The reason why you
have not is you give not."
3. Now How about modern Israel. How about us?
Does God have to say to some of us...
"DON'T EVER ASK ME FOR ANYTHING
ELSE!"
How terrible that would
be.
That's why I am so
grateful today that
Our God is a God of mercy. He is
patient toward us, and will not cut us off until he absolutely has to.
Now it is true,
that because he is not thundering and threatening in nature, many of
us have been prone to put off our obligations to him, and that's sad....
But I am glad for his
attitude of grace today,
How about you??
And let me point out,
that your local church has needs.
It costs money to print those Sabbath School
quarterlies you just had handed to you, and to buy supplies to educate
the children in our divisions.
The services the
church provides
depend upon your faithfulness, you see.
Be faithful to God in your stewardship of money.
But Malachi has more to say to us
today than that.
V. MALACHI POINTS OUT THAT OUR WORDS ARE NOT
USED TO GOD'S GLORY. V. 13 - 15
13, "Your
words have been arrogant against me," says the Lord. "Yet you say, "What have we spoken
against Thee?'
14. "You
have said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept
His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
15. So now we call the arrogant blessed;
not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and
escape.'"
1. Do we sometimes say to others "It is
worthless to serve God?" "What's he done for me?"
2. Let me paraphrase a formula for effective
living from a late president. John Firzgerald
Kennedy
Ask what you can do for your
Lord."
That attitude is what
brings fulfillment in the Christian life.
CONCLUSION
Well, its been somewhat depressing,
this report. So far, we only hear about what's not
right with Israel.
Now that type of message may be a
necessary part of our spiritual diet, but we know also that if we dine only on
the negatives, our spiritual nutrition is not complete.
We need to go on then, for Malachi
does not end on a sour note.
His message to the people was heard
and responded to, and They opened their hearts to the reforms God led them to.
Look now at verse16 and 17 and see
where God wants us all to be.
16. Then
those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and
heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear
the Lord and who esteem His name.
17. "And
they shall be mine," says the Lord of hosts, "on the day that
I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son
who serves him."
How about that!
"They shall be mine on the day
that I prepare My own possession."
What a wonderful thing to have God
speak concerning you and me.
And when is the day that He prepares
his possession??
It's today, friend. Right now.
It has been that day since Christ entered the
sanctuary to perform the atonement for you and me in 1844.
Will you be his today?
God does not overlook anyone who truly seeks after him.
God looks eagerly for
those who are teachable, who will listen to his words and profit by them.
Too often we think
that the hope of the church is in the perfection of it's people. That's wrong.
The hope of the
church is in the perfection of it's Lord!!
If we allow Him, he shall do mighty things for us
in us.
Read Malachi 3: 1-4
1. "Behold,
I am going to send my messenger and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly
come to His temple:...
2. "but
who can endure the day of His coming, And who can stand when He appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like
fuller' soap....
3. and
He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver so
that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.
4. Then
the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord
The
Lord will make us the kind of church and people He desires to be worshiped
by. And this promise is to all you
faithful friends of His...
1. "For
behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and
every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them
ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither
root nor branch."
2. But
for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its
wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.
3. And
you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your
feet on the day which I am preparing," says the Lord of hosts.
Therefore:
4. "Remember
the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded
him in Horeb for all Israel.
5. "Behold
I going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and
terrible day of the Lord.
O how we
need to follow that Elijah message today, calling us back to the side of our heavenly Father from
whatever situation or bypaths into which we may have strayed.
His arms
are always open. Won’t
you come? Today?
Let’s bow
our heads and seek Him now.
Father, we acknowledge before
you that we have not been perfect in your ways. Our hands have held unclean things, and our eyes have beheld
unclean things. And our hearts have not always been generous toward others or
toward You.
Forgive us, and help us to
return to your side, whatever the cost.
Bring forth in us the perfect reflection of your Son, that we may be
healed and claim our place as your true
men and women and boys and girls in this world.
In Jesus Name we ask this.
Amen.