Three Warnings For Steward

Malachi 2: 1-9

Malachi 2:1–9 (NLT)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Introduction:

I. STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S WORD IS A SERIOUS MATTER. (Malachi 2:1-3).

Malachi 2:1–3 (NLT)

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.

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.

A. God's Word is personal. (Malachi 2:1)

Malachi 2:1 (NLT)

1 “Listen, you priests—this command is for you!

1- God deals with people on a personal level.

a- Here, He singles out the priests.

b- Other examples:

1) In The Old Testament:

Enoch

Moses

Elijah

2) In the New Testament:

Matthew

Peter

Paul

2- God deals with sin on a personal level.

a- The priests in this text.

b- Other examples:

(1) In the Old Testament:

Adam & Eve

King David

King Ahab

(2) In the New Testament:

The Woman at the Well (John 4)

Nicodemus (John 3:1-21)

Peter

B. God's word is plain. (Malachi 2:2-3)

Malachi 2:2–3 (NLT)

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.

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.

1- God’s directions are plain.

(a)To the people in the text:

Listen

Make up your minds to honor me.

Involved repentance.

(b) To us today:

Repent and believe the Gospel. (Mark 1:15)

Mark 1:15 (NLT)

15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

Confess our sins and live in yieldedness to Him (1John 1:9 ; Romans 12:1-2)

1 John 1:9 (NLT)

9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)

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.

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

2- God’s discipline is made plain.

(a) For the people in the text:

God’s judgment (I will bring a terrible curse against you)

Blessings will become curses. ( I will curse even the blessings you receive)

Your descendants will suffer (I will punish your descendants)

Humiliation and embarrassment. (<I will> splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile.

(b) For us today:

Eternal condemnation for the lost. (Revelation 20:13-15)

Revelation 20:13–15 (NLT)

13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Loss of rewards for the saved (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

1 Corinthians 3:13–15 (NLT)

13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Includes an open judgment and exposure (2 Corinthians 5:10; Luke 12:2)

2 Corinthians 5:10 (NLT)

10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Luke 12:2 (NLT)

2 The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.

II. STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S COVENANT IS CRUCIAL. (Malachi 2: 4-6)

Malachi 2:4–6 (NLT)

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.

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.

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.

A. God's covenant is continuing. (Malachi 2:4)

Malachi 2:4 (NLT)

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.

1- God’s desire is that His people experience His continuing covenant.

a- This is the reason that God sent His warnings to urge the Levites (and Israel) to repent.

(1) God sent warnings to Israel through His prophets time and time again!

(2) He even sought for someone to stand in the gap to prevent His judgment from falling.

(Ezekiel 22:30)

Ezekiel 22:30 (NLT)

30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

2- God established a new covenant with us through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.

a- Sealed with His blood! (Luke 22:20)

Luke 22:20 (NLT)

20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

b- It is an eternal covenant between God and His people.(Hebrews 9:15)

Hebrews 9:15 (NLT)

15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

B. God's covenant is comforting. (Malachi 2:5)

Malachi 2:5–6 (NLT)

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.

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.

1- The purpose of the covenant:

a- Bring life and peace.

(John 10:10)

John 10:10 (NLT)

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

(Romans 5:1)

Romans 5:1 (NLT)

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

(Philippians 4:7)

Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

2- Our Part in the covenant:

a- A right attitude toward God.

“This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name.”

(1) You and I need to have the right attitude toward God.

b- A righteous lifestyle among others.

“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.”

(1) Pass on God’s truth to others

(2) Walk with God

(3) Live good and righteous lives

(4) Turn many from lives of sin.

III. STEWARDSHIP FAILURE IS SERIOUS. (Malachi 2:7-9)

Malachi 2:7–9 (NLT)

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.

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.”

A. A corrupted covenant. (Malachi 2:7-8)

Malachi 2:7–8 (NLT)

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.

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.

1- What should a priest be like?

Speech should point people to God.

Lives that draw people in for counsel

Be God’s messenger and ambassador.

(2 Corinthians 5:20)

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT)

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

2- In the New Testament, God calls us all priests.

(1 Peter 2:9)

1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

3- When we do not live up to our part, we corrupt the covenant and bring dishonor to God.

(Romans 2:23)

Romans 2:23 (NLT)

23 You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it.

B. Corrupted leaders Judged. (Malachi 2:9)

Malachi 2:9 (NLT)

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.”

1- Rebellion against God and refusing to obey Him will lead to judgment by God.

a- For the Levites, it was humiliation and disgrace.

b- For the believer today, it is destruction of your testimony and the loss of godly influence among other people. It will also result in the loss of rewards in heaven.

(Note: 1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (NLT)

10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.

13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Conclusion: