Worship Worthy, Malachi 2:1-9

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Welcome and Announcements:

(IF VISITORS)

If you are joining us for the first time today, we would like to thank you for joining us. We know you have options, and we are honored that you would choose to be with us today.

We open our Sundays with prayer time at 9 a.m. in the Bryant Center across the street. At 9:30 a.m. we have Sunday school classes, children included. We also typically have a prayer group that meets at 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon to pray for the needs shared on Sunday mornings as well as other requests provided. If you have a special prayer need, I would like to encourage you to put a note in the offering plate and we will include it in our prayer time.

Our current Advent series is from the book of Malachi which is the last book in the Old Testament. It was also the last written book before Jesus was born. We get an idea of where they failed, and we inventory our lives today to prevent doing likewise.

If you enjoy listening to your phone, I highly recommend the ap, “Through the Word.” You can do a one chapter a day Bible study in less than 20 minutes. It is a great way to be in your Bible each day, as it helps us to understand how people came into existence and what our ultimate purpose is and our eventual destination.

Before we jump into today’s worship, allow me to share some quick announcements.

• Christmas Food Boxes distributed today @ 1:30 p.m. @ St. Mary’s

• Christmas Eve Service @ 4 p.m.

Check your mailbox cubbies

Advent Reading:

THE JOY OF HOME Zephaniah 3:14-20 & Luke 3:7-18

Zephaniah 3:14–20 NIV

14 Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. 16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” 18 “I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. 19 At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame. 20 At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.

Luke 3:7–18 NIV

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

Reader One:

It’s a reunion, every time we go home, every time we embrace those we love, no matter how long it has been. It feels like sunrise, like the clouds are parting and the rain has ended. It is joy, nothing less than pure joy to grab hold of those who are home for us, who make home for us. Whether we wake up to them every day, or travel many miles to see them again, it is joy to go home.

Reader Two:

The prophet Zephaniah tells us to rejoice at the thought of going home. The prophet tells us to imagine being set free, being unburdened, being released to live, to fully live in the grace and wonder of life itself, surrounded by those who love us like no one else. And then to live like that was our truth even now, even here. It is joy to go home.

Reader One:

John the Baptist reminds us, however, that it takes choices to live in this joy. It doesn’t just happen; we choose to make life a joy by how we love others, by how we serve and give and care for others, by how we do the job we do and how we impact the world around us. We build joy as we build a home in this world and the next.

Reader Two:

We light these candles, the candle of hope, and of peace, and of joy, as a sign that we are on our way home, and we walk with a skip in our step because we can see the destination, and it is pure joy. It is time to go home.

Light the pink candle.

Prayer

Worship Set

Prayer

Worship Through the Word:

Worship Worthy

How many of you identify with this story. A husband and wife are at home. The husband says to his wife, “I am going out to the range to shoot my pistol.” The wife says, “You cannot do that. We have plans tonight.” “What plans?” he asks. “I told you two days ago, that there is a dinner party at the church. I even told you I was going to make a casserole for it” she responds. “You didn’t tell me that!” he states, to which she responds once again, “I did so. You were watching the football game on television and I told you. I knew you weren’t listening but when I stated that, you assured me you were.”

Okay, the details may have been different but the circumstance is probably something you can all relate to. I wrote this on Tuesday and I heard several similar reports among couples on Wednesday at a luncheon. :-)

Well listening isn’t only important in a marriage, but in any relationship, God included. Listening is the subject of our sermon today.

Malachi 2:1–9 NASB95

1 “And now this commandment is for you, O priests. 2 “If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name,” says the Lord of hosts, “then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart. 3 “Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your 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,” says the Lord of hosts. 5 “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. 6 “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. 7 “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. 8 “But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. 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.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Father, please bless this Word which you have provided and which we now receive. Amen!

I. Learning to Listen to God. Malachi 2:1-9

Malachi may seem like a strange book to preach at Christmas time, but next week you will see how well it fits with Christmas. You see, Malachi was to them what the book of Revelation is to us. As we will see next week, Malachi prophesies of Jesus coming both the first and the second time. Revelation makes references to the first coming and prophesies the second coming. Malachi was the last book written of all the Old Testament books. It was written and then there was silence from God for 400 years. Revelation was the last book written of the New Testament and we have had silence and it will remain so until Jesus second coming.

So, Malachi was an important book to them. They would read it for encouragement of the Messiah’s first coming just like we read Revelation to do the same for Jesus second coming.

The last couple weeks, we have seen that Israel is not honoring God. They are going through the motions of worship, but their hearts are not in it. They are also defiling God’s altar and insulting God by bringing lame, defected, and unworthy animals for sacrifice. They are not tithing as they should and when they do, they do not bring their best.

Last week, God lays the blame for this at the feet of the priests. Why? Because they are the spiritual leaders. They have the right to turn sacrifices away and they do not. They are to blame because typically what we see in the people is a sign of what is happening at the top of the chain of authority, which for Israel is the Spiritual leaders.

In chapter two, the indictment continues to come against the priests. So, you may say, isn’t this sermon better preached to pastors. Yes, and no. Yes, most certainly all church leaders need to take this message to heart, but we saw last week that when Jesus came, He became the High Priest for ever and we are now all appointed to be priests according to Peter. You may not be a pastor at church, but you may be the only pastoral contact for those in your neighborhood, your family, your jobs, etc… It is not appointed that pastors alone evangelize but it is appointed to us all do so. Jesus said to His church, that being his followers, “Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel.” So that means you as well, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

That means, we all need to take this message to heart.

God begins by challenging the priests for not listening, so let’s begin with...

A. Learning the Art of Listening Malachi 2:2a

Malachi 2:2 (NASB95)

2 “If you do not listen...

Listening is a lot more than just hearing. We hear many things and still fail because it never goes beyond the hearing. When we do hear something. We need to make a choice as to what we will do with what we hear. God knows this and wants Israel to understand that there are consequences for not listening. There are some things we need to know about listening.

1. God called the people to “Listen” V 2a

One of the first places we fail in listening is that we do not get quiet enough to listen. In our world, we hate being quiet. It feels uncomfortable. Our brains can conjure up all kinds of thoughts to fill the empty space we call quiet. However, we need to learn to shut down those thoughts and take time to just allow the quiet to sink in. Now this is different than the eastern practice of meditation where you are instructed to open yourself to the universe. When we quiet our hearts, we begin with prayer asking God to fill our quiet space with His Spirit and His presence. We are posturing ourselves to listen to God. If you have been a Christian for a long time, hopefully you have learned to recognize how God speaks to us. If you are a new Christian, you may be trying to figure this out. So, I want to briefly review.

How God Speaks to People

1. Scripture

2. Holy Spirit

3. Wise Counsel

4. Prayer

5. Circumstances

6. Supernatural

One thing that is important to remember with all of these, is that they all need to be tested by scripture. If you have an idea that you think is from the Holy Spirit but it is something that is unbiblical, then it isn’t the Holy Spirit. If someone you respect gives you counsel that is counter to scripture, ignore it. It is not from God. When I was in my early 20’s, I had a pastor counsel me that God did not expect me as a single mom to tithe. This is not biblical and it cost me God’s blessing, but God blesses us when we obey Him and His Word. So, not everything is from God. Satan likes to mislead us. This is why reading and studying your Bible is so foundational to your entire walk as a Christian.

Making room for God to speak to us takes time. I actually believe all the technology and activities of this world are Satan’s doing to try to steal our time so we do not take time with God. When we allow all such things to prevent us from spending quality time with God, Satan has succeeded. We need to continually evaluate the things we have allowed to come into our life and adjust to keep this from happening. That means we need to learn to say “no.” We often understand the importance of having a financial budget, but it is good to have a time budget as well. Decide how many hours you are willing to spend outside of home (Home time including the time you need to keep house, keep yard, and spending time with God and family). When activities present themselves, or you are asked to do something, evaluate if they fit within that allotted time. If not, then say “no.” If there is something you feel God calling you to do, perhaps you need to quit something else.

I hear all the time about how busy families are these days and the struggles they are up against. I do not want to step on any toes, but this is of our own choosing. We are not forced to do all those things. What it comes down to is that we want to do them or we feel compelled by others to do them. Usually we want to do them because they are fun, but if that fun is taking time away from God than it is Satan at work in your life. The only true one we should listen to is God. We can even get too busy doing “church” things. If we have over committed ourselves to church functions and they prevent us from spending time with God, than we are not serving God!

So, we need to give space for listening, but there is another step we must take that Israel was not taking.

2. God instructed them to “Take it to heart” V 2a

Once we hear, we need to take it to heart. We need to value it and understand its importance. The husband watching the football game listened with half an ear but did not take it to heart. Therefore, he did not remember it. When we hear something, we choose to take it to heart or to discard it.

I must confess that I get so overrun with details at times, that when someone is telling me something, I am often sorting through what is being said and filing away what I feel is important for me to know and tossing out what I believe are details I do not need to know. The reason is because I cannot retain it all. So, I try to sort through what I believe is relevant to me. If I do not do this, I can get so distracted by all the minute details that I miss the part that I have to be accountable for.

What people do to me, I do to others. We are so focused on what we are doing and we often go into so much details that we overwhelm people. We often share far more than what is needed, and that is okay. Just do not get upset if someone doesn’t remember every little detail. As long as they accomplished their part, you are good!

We have a saying that says, “It went in one ear and right out the other.” Well God is telling Israel, “What I am about to say is important! Do not let it go in one ear and out the other, but instead, take it to heart.”

There are 9 ways we can fail to take something to heart. I am actually quoting another pastor here and he said he was quoting another pastor, so I figure this is pretty good. :-)

Nine Ways We Fail in Listening

Distracted - not focused

Ignoring-don’t want to hear

Interrogating - reversing roles

Switching - change subjects

Interrupting - change flow

Disagreeing - challenging the point

Rationalizing - excusing self

Editing - selective hearing

Disobeying - hearing but doing your own things anyway

When we listen with a true heart, and we take to heart the message, it becomes an action. This involves our ears, our heart, and our hands/feet. We respond in obedience to what we hear and we act on it. And when we listen and obey we...

3. When we listen we “give honor” to God V 2a

Malachi 2:2 NIV

2 If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

The subject of honor comes up repeatedly. We are to give honor to God. We do so through listening, following directions, and taking action swiftly when God calls.

As Christians, we know there are two key factors in this world. Obeying God and Disobeying God. Our world would have us to believe that there are many truths and many means to heaven. Even many different types of heaven. However, we know this is not so. There is only one truth and it comes through God and God’s word. Anything else is a lie from Satan. There is right and there is wrong and it is not decided by us. This is called “Binary thinking,” and it is the Christian way. It flies in the face of our world which talks about each person deciding truth for themselves. There is only one truth and it is found in God. One day our world will realize this when judgment day comes and they find that their “fake truth” has left them nothing but hell, for the other part of binary thinking is that there is only Heaven and hell, there are no other choices. Those who honor God by following Him and being obedient to Him will reside in heaven, while those who do not will reside in hell.

Which brings us to our next subject.

B. Blessings & Cursings Deuteronomy 28; Malachi 2:2b-3

The concept of blessings and cursings were not anything new to Israel. When God established the covenant with Israel, they agreed to these terms. In Deuteronomy 28, these were re-emphasized as they were ready to enter the promised land. People are offended that God would take such a stand, but we do something similar with our children. We say things like, “If you are obedient and do all your chores, I will bless you with a big piece of cherry pie after dinner.” Or, “if you do not obey me, you will not get to eat the cherry pie with the rest of the family after dinner.” We enjoy blessings, but we cringe at cursings. However, it is not like what we think of some sorcerer casting some cursing spell upon someone. God’s curses are a lack of His blessing. They were actions of discipline. We suffer the consequences and weaknesses of having our own way without God’s touch. God supernaturally blessed Israel when they were obedient to Him, but He removed His hand and let things fall as they may when they were not obedient. And sometimes God’s hand was used to withhold good outcomes to get their attention.

In Malachi 2 this is the kind of curse and rebuke that God is talking about.

Malachi 2:2 NIV

2 If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.

1. “I will curse your blessings.” V 2b

Israel began with blessings. It is God’s desire to bless and God only brings on the curses when people are in disobedience. But the curses were discipline, just like when we punish our children for disobedience. Just like when we tell our kids, “You know the rules. Playing your video game is a privilege you get when you have done all your chores.” God is reminding Israel of the rules of the covenant.

Israel is frustrated because things are not going well in the land. It is because they have not been obeying the rules and they are now experiencing the discipline of a loving parent. If you remember in chapter one they accused God of not loving them because things were not going well, but the truth is God does love them and is discipling them because He does. He wants things to go well for them, but if He continues to bless their wrong behavior, He condemns them literally to hell.

2. “I am going to rebuke your offspring” V 3a

Malachi 2:3 NIV

3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.

This is not God taking action against children for the disobedience of the fathers and mothers. It is a natural consequence of the sins of the parents. It happens in two ways. If food is short because the crops are not growing due to the parents disobedience to God, then the kids will be hungry along with the parents. But even more, the kids will probably continue in the pattern of disobedience of their parents and then they will continue to suffer the consequences due to their own sin by following the example of their parents. It is not some wicked thing God is doing, but it is a consequence of the sinful actions of their parents.

Think of it this way. If you are an alcoholic and you refuse to get help for it. You indulge in it in front of your kids. Then you allow them to drink when you think they are old enough and they become an alcoholic. Whose fault is that, God’s or yours?

As parents our behaviors good or bad will have direct affect upon our children now and in the future.

The next one is a really tough one.

3. “I will spread refuse on your faces” V 3b

Last week we spoke about the poor sacrifices that were being made. They brought the lame and the sick animals to be sacrificed, holding back the healthy ones for themselves. There was more taking place that I didn’t go into. We live in farm country. We know that when you butcher a cow, you clean it out. You take the nasty intestines, (filled with what fills them, I do not think I need to say more), and you remove them. We then take them to the trash. They are not what is kept and eaten. When sacrifices were made at the Tabernacle, they did much the same thing. All that nasty, smelly garbage was carried outside the camp and burned on a refuse pile away from the meat. However, the priests had become lazy. They were just tossing the whole animal on the altar. God is saying He is going to throw that back in their faces, but this is symbolic language. God did not literally through poop filled intestines in their face.

Look at this verse in context.

Malachi 2:3 NIV

3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.

Israel’s behavior is a disgrace and it reflects back on God since they are His people. However, their children’s behavior will reflect back on them. When our children do wrong, it reflects back on us whether we want it to or not. One of the heartbreaks of the Columbine shooting was the parents of the boys who did the shooting. I have no idea what kind of parents they were, but they carried a sense of guilt for what their boys did. Now, I am not saying they did anything bad. I have no idea what kind of parents they were and some good parents have kids that go bad. But I am making a point here. Our children’s behavior always reflects back on us, whether that is fair or not.

Israel is disgracing God by burning unclean animals on God’s altar. Some day, their disrespect will come back on them in disrespect from their children toward them.

People often use these kinds of verses to accuse or blame God but what they fail to see is that cursings are not God’s preference. The real truth is that...

C. God Desires to Bless Us, Malachi 2:4-6

God wants the priests of Israel to understand this. He chose them for this special privilege. It was a gift to them. It is an honor to serve in this way. God does not want to take that away from them. He just wants them to understand the honor that they have and to make the changes necessary that the honor may be restored. Look at what He shares with them in vv 4-6.

Malachi 2:4–6 NASB95

4 “Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. 5 “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. 6 “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.

There are speculations whether this is talking about a man or the full tribe. I suspect it was a bit of both. It is perhaps speaking of the respect that Aaron and Moses had for God. Or perhaps their father, or father’s father. We do not know. However, we see evidence of a family respect for God. We see it in Moses parents when they protected their baby boy and placed him in the river. We see it in Moses and in Aaron and Miriam in their obedience to God. They were not perfect, but they always repented and were restored. Moses may not have been allowed to enter the Promised Land, but Moses is later in Jesus’ presence on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is one of the greatest honors that God bestowed on Moses. There was also Phinehas whose passion was so great for God that when their was sin in the camp, he quickly took action. It was his immediate obedience that finalized the calling of Levi as God’s priests. This seems to indicate that their was some strong faith on behalf of the parental line of Levi.

We were just talking about the cursings we suffer through our children, but what of the blessings when they are faithful to God. If our children follow our example when we live in wrongful ways, there is truth in the opposite as well. There are always hold outs but for the most part, our kids follow our examples. They may diverge for a time, but often return to the way they were brought up. We see this in Exodus 20 and we find that God always blesses far beyond what is cursed.

Exodus 20:4–6 NIV

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

God has no desire to take the priesthood away from the tribe of Levi, He just wants them to live up to their calling. Unlike the other tribes that were responsible for their tribe alone, Levi had a calling of responsibility for all of the Children of Israel. Their influence affected the entire nation. This was a gift, an honor that God gave them, but it was wasted if they did not honor God.

In the following verses of our text we find more specific details regarding blessings and curses. We start with the...

D. Outcomes of Wise Instruction. Malachi 2:7

Malachi 2:7 NIV

7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.

The priests have a very important task.

1. The priests task was to preserve knowledge.

They were to help keep truth on track and not allow others to pervert truth. That is why they could look at a sacrifice being presented and declare it unfit. They were to declare what was fit. They were the guardians of truth.

2. The priests were God’s messengers.

Such a position is always a position of honor when we do it correctly. God gives us the authority and His power and Spirit are with us to back us up. It may not bring rewards from people but God will one day generously reward His faithful servants who keep His word of truth no matter what. Throughout the book of Malachi, God refers to Himself as the Lord of Hosts. This is a military title. A title of authority over all hosts, heaven and hell included. God offers this same authority to His messengers that handle His Word appropriately.

3. The priests will be respected by the right people.

Those who seek to do God’s word will respect the priests for their honest truth and will seek them out as wise counselors. This was what God wanted from His people and His priests. It is a privilege to counsel people in the way of what is right and watch their lives blossom with blessings from the wise counsel given.

Once again, I state that this was a position of honor and it is natural when you experience such an honor, that you in turn honor the one you know placed you in such a privileged position.

When leaders lead in truth, people are blessed and they respect those who have lead them well. Likewise, the wise leader recognizes that it is not their wisdom that has brought the people to this place of blessing, but it is God who is guiding, and they in turn honor God.

But the reverse is just as true and we see the...

E. Outcomes of Unrighteous Instruction. Malachi 2:8-9

Malachi 2:8–9 NIV

8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Instead of being voices for truth, the Levites allowed the people their own truth. They allowed them to continue in the way of sin and when the consequences fell disagreeably, they turned with derision toward the priests.

When we fail to confront wrong, it may be convenient for the moment, but eventually it will cost us a great deal more than it would have if we had dealt with it correctly at the time. This is true for all of us in every situation whether it is an issue with our children, an issue with our spouse, an issue at work.

Conclusion

This is a short passage, but there is a lot that can be learned from it. I would encourage you to take time to re-read it this week and think how it applies to your life. But I want to leave you with these final 8 habits for spiritual heath that we can learn from this passage.

8 Habits for Spiritual Health

Start with ears open and mouth closed.

Get into God’s word to get God’s word into you.

Every day seek to walk in God’s will.

Binary thinking is biblical thinking.

Let the fear of God cast out the fear of men.

Prize your relationship with God above all.

Consider your life, and the lives of those following you.

There’s one way home, so keep going.

If you follow these 8 guidelines, you will be honored by others, at least those who really count. You in turn will worship God and honor Him in the things you do.

The word honor comes up again and again. That is because God deserves honor. If our children do well in life, they bring us honor. Likewise, if they are a disgrace, it reflects on us. When we call ourselves Christian, our behavior reflects back on God, either bringing Him honor or disgrace. We can count on the fact that He will respond to us in kind.

Christmas gives us a wonderful opportunity to honor God. The world may not recognize the truth of what Christmas is, but we do. We need to make an effort to not get so caught up in the materialistic world of Christmas and instead be focused on taking time to worship the God who came to earth as a baby. Who then walked among people teaching them and serving them, bringing honor to them whether they recognized Him or not. Then that same God laid down His life, so that we may each be saved have a blessed eternal life. That is what Christmas is really about. It is time to worship our King!

Prayer

Worship Set

Benediction

Advent