Defiling the Unclean
Notes
Transcript
I. Welcome & Opening Prayer
I. Welcome & Opening Prayer
RSVP to VOLUNTEER DINNER
**PITCH READING PLAN**
!! Open in Prayer !!
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II. INTRODUCTION: THE MEANING OF WORSHIP
II. INTRODUCTION: THE MEANING OF WORSHIP
Opening: When you THINK of the WORD “WORSHIP” what is the FIRST THING that COMES to MIND?
PROBABLY THINK:
SINGING
PRAYING
THANKSGIVING
👉👉ALL THINGS YOU DO...
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WORSHIP WASN’T ORIGINALLY a VERB—BUT a NOUN.👀
WORSHIP = “WORTH-SHIP”
First: WORTH-SHIP WAS a QUALITY to HAVE—
Present Definition: — NOW WORSHIP = ASCRIBING WORTH-SHIP to SOMETHING...
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The Core Principle: Worship is inevitably tied to our estimation of the worth of something.💡
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“BEAUTY = in EYES of the BEHOLDER”
“WORTH-SHIP = in EYES of WORSHIPER”
Takeaway: WORSHIP PARALLELS OUR VIEW of SOMETHING/SOMEONE
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Focus: TODAY—WE’LL SEE the IMPORTANCE of RIGHTLY HONORING & ESTEEMING GOD...
…BY LOOKING @ NEGATIVE EXAMPLE in DAYS of MALACHI the PROPHET...📷
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Transition: PASSAGE READING: MAL. CH. 2… V. 1-9
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III. Passage Reading:
III. Passage Reading:
Malachi 2:1–9 (ESV)
1 “And now, O priests, this command is for you.
2 If you will not listen, if you will 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. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.
4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts.
5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.
6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts,
9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”
Church, this is God’s Word for us this morning.
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IV. CONTEXT RECAP: OFFERINGS OF LEFTOVERS
IV. CONTEXT RECAP: OFFERINGS OF LEFTOVERS
Last Week: FIRST CHARGE— HALF-HEARTED OFFERINGS of LEFTOVERS
Background: LEVITICAL LAW—UNBLEMISHED ANIMAL to SACRIFICE
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The Problem: These offerings PROVED a LACK of LOVE for God. 💔
Foundational Truth: GOD WAS CLEAR on HIS LOVE for THEM—THEY DIDN’T RECIPROCATE IT…
Main Thought: God will get the HONOR THAT is DUE His NAME— the ONLY QUESTION IS— WILL HE GET it FROM US?
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Transition: TODAY’S PASSAGE— INITIAL CALL... FOLLOWED BY a WARNING W/ CONDITION…
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 1-3
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V. PASSAGE EXPOSITION
V. PASSAGE EXPOSITION
Thought 1: A Warning & Curse (v. 1-3) ⚠️
Thought 1: A Warning & Curse (v. 1-3) ⚠️
Malachi 2:1–3 (ESV)
1 “And now, O priests, this command is for you.
2 If you will not listen, if you will 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. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.
Outward Problem: LOUSY OFFERINGS
Root Problem: ❤️DISPOSITION of HEART❤️🔥—DISHONORING GOD’S NAME.
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PEOPLE BROUGHT LEFTOVERS for OFFERINGS
PRIEST BROUGHT THEM BEFORE YAHWEH
👉👉 COLLECTIVELY—DIDN’T SEE YAHWEH as WORTHY of HONOR 😬😬
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(v2) Conditional Warning: IF/THEN…
Protatis: IF THEY WILL NOT LISTEN....
GOD’S PEOPLE ALWAYS NEED EARS to HEAR
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Shema:
Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Revelation: “HEAR WHAT the SPIRIT SAYS”
NOT JUST LISTEN—BUT HEED.
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Apodosis: IF—NOT LISTENING— CURSE WILL COME.
CURSED BLESSINGS— (ALL FROM GOD’S HAND!)
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Overviewing Roles of Priests
Overviewing Roles of Priests
Problem: PRIESTS = ENTRUSTED W/ SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP in ISRAEL
Leviticus 10:10–11 (ESV)
10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean,
11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”
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Modern Equivalents:
Modern Equivalents:
PEOPLE in LEADERSHIP = ACCOUNTABLE to REPRESENT GOD WELL…
POSITION & INFLUENCE— ⚖️“PRIVILEGE CREATES RESPONSIBILITY” ⚖️
FIRST, ME
OTHER LEADERS HERE
—ALL of US HAVE INFLUENCE SOMEWHERE…
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Charge: Privilege Creates Responsibility— LONGER YOU’VE BEEN AROUND, WORSE it GETS… ⚖️
Iffy Illustration: CHURCH/GYM ILLUSTRATION
Response: PROBLEM ISN’T W/ NEWCOMERS—BUT WITH LONGTIMERS…
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Challenge: YOUR DISPOSITION/ESTEEM for GOD = CONTAGIOUS to THOSE YOU INFLUENCE...
Truth: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER than WORDS
MUCH EASIER to SAY RIGHT THING THAN LIVE RIGHT WAY
HOW MANY HAVE TURNED THEIR BACK on CHURCH—BECAUSE THEY’VE FOUND HYPOCRISY??
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WE’LL ALWAYS BE a COMPANY of SINNER-SAINTS WHO ARE IMPERFECT THIS SIDE of GLORY…
…BUT LET US NEVER MAKE EXCUSES
Takeaway: MOST of ALL: LET US NOT LIGHTLY ESTEEM the THINGS of GOD...💥
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Significance of Leadership:
Significance of Leadership:
LEADERSHIP—GOD CARES ABOUT YOUR ESTEEM for HIM.
1. TODAY’S PASSAGE
2. ⚡NADAB & ABIHU—KILLED⚡ for DOING THINGS “THEIR” WAY
Leviticus 10:3 (ESV)
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” And Aaron held his peace.
3. MOSES—BARRED from PROMISED LAND
Numbers 20:12 (ESV)
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
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Consequences for Priests
Consequences for Priests
Malachi’s Day: PRIESTS DIDN’T CARE AT ALL!
Condition: NOT LISTEN?
CURSE WILL BE COMING.
REBUKE OFFSPRING (POSSIBLY SCATTER SEED/ECONOMIC PROBLEMS)
SPREAD DUNG on THEIR FACES
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Background: Spreading Dung
Background: Spreading Dung
Studying Leviticus: THREE CEREMONIAL STATES:
UNCLEAN
CLEAN
HOLY
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Background: TABERNACLE ** SEE P.P. PIC**
COULDN’T COME to OUTER COURT (WORSHIP) “UNCLEAN”
COULDN’T GO INTO TABERNACLE TENT WITHOUT BEING “MADE HOLY”
SPECIAL CONSECRATION for PRIESTS ONLY
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Dung Burned Outside the Camp:
Dung Burned Outside the Camp:
Exodus 29:14 (ESV)
14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
TRAGIC BACKGROUND— “HOLY” PRIESTS ACTUALLY UNCLEAN (INWARDLY).😱
DRAWING NEAR W/ LIPS—HEARTS FAR from HIM...
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GOD PROMISES to DEFILE THOSE WHO ARE UNCLEAN—THEY’LL THEN BE CARRIED OUT of the CAMP to the MANURE PILE. 💩
Quote: “§ One scholar has put it in these terms: “For this to be spread over the face of the priest rather than to be carried away from the holy precincts and consumed by fire was to constitute the most serious breach of ritual purity imaginable.”[1]
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THEY DISDAINED GOD— HE WOULD DEFILE THEM.
THINK IT’S OVERKILL?
WE LOSE SIGHT of the FACT SOME PRIESTS DIED in THEIR SERVICE for IRREVERENCE!!
GREAT MERCY of GOD...
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Transition: THEIR SIN = BREACH of COVENANT…
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 4-6
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Thought 2: God’s Priestly Covenant (v. 4-6)
Thought 2: God’s Priestly Covenant (v. 4-6)
Malachi 2:4–6 (ESV)
4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts.
5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.
6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
Background: Covenant w/ Levi
NO TRIBAL INHERITANCE
FEW CITIES
🎁LORD = THEIR INHERITANCE🎁
A PRIVILEGE to SERVE GOD in PRIESTLY OFFICE!!
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(v5) ORIGINALLY — COVENANT of LIFE & PEACE— BLESSING!
THEY REVERENCED GOD W/ HOLY AWE/FEAR
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(v5) BEGAN WELL—
TRUE INSTRUCTION
WALKED W/ GOD—PEACE & UPRIGHTNESS
TURNED MANY from INIQUITY
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The Priest’s Role: They were to be INTERMEDIARIES who turned MANY from INIQUITY.
ORIGINALLY— WALKED the WALK & TALKED the TALK…
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Transition: THIS = GOD’S CALL for PRIESTS…
LOOK W/ ME @ VS 7-9
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Thought 3: The Priest’s Failure (v. 7-9)
Thought 3: The Priest’s Failure (v. 7-9)
Malachi 2:7–9 (ESV)
7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
8 But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts,
9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”
COVENANT BEGAN WELL—
Duty of Priests:
GUARDING KNOWLEDGE
PEOPLE SHOULD SEEK INSTRUCTION from HIM…
HE = GOD’S MESSENGER…
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TEACH PEOPLE DISTINGUISH—HOLY & COMMON.... UNCLEAN & CLEAN.
INSTRUCTION (TORAH) to BE FOUND in HIS MOUTH
Conclusion: PRIESTS WOULD BRING GOD’S LAW to BEAR on GOD’S PEOPLE…
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Consider example of Ezra:
Ezra 7:10 (ESV)
10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.
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(v8) THEY’D TURNED ASIDE from RIGHT WAY— CAUSED PEOPLE to STUMBLE BY THEIR INSTRUCTION!
TREATED W/ PARTIALITY (v9)— UNRELIABLE…
Septuagint: “MADE MANY WEAK in the LAW”
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Modern Era:
Modern Era:
WE LIVE in a DAY & AGE—WHEN MANY ARE WEAK in GOD’S WORD…
MOST BIBLICALLY ILLITERATE TIME
ROLE of PASTORS & BIBLE TEACHERS— MAKING GOD’S WORD KNOWN…BRINGING it to BEAR on GOD’S PEOPLE…
**Disclaimer** I’M NOT a PRIEST… HAVE NO SPECIAL CONNECTION to GOD — JESUS ALONE = GREAT HIGH PRIEST…
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BUT MY ROLE = HELPING BRING GOD’S WORD to BEAR on GOD’S PEOPLE
Exhort: YOU SHOULD COME— EAGER to HEAR GOD’S WORD: READ, TAUGHT, EXPLAINED…
COME W/ OPEN EARS—WHAT GOD SAYS
COME W/ OPEN HEART—WHAT GOD WANTS to DO
The Modern Application: The goal of preaching is to turn people to CHRIST & THEN TOWARDS the path of RIGHTEOUSNESS. 🛤️
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WE AREN’T a PERFECT CHURCH—BUT WE ARE a BIBLE-PREACHING & TEACHING CHURCH…
MY GOAL— SAY WHAT GOD SAYS in a PASSAGE
Challenge: I WOULD MUCH RATHER HURT YOUR FEELINGS THAN MISREPRESENT GOD.
“COMFORT AFFLICTED”
“AFFLICT COMFORTED”
WE SHOULD BE EAGER to HEAR GOD SPEAK THROUGH HIS WORD…
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Sad Truth: Modern Decline
Sad Truth: Modern Decline
YOU CAN FIND a CHURCH THAT WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT to HEAR…
**Problem: PEOPLE CLAIM to BE MORE GRACIOUS THAN GOD**
I’LL NEVER CLAIM to BE PERFECT—BUT I WILL NEVER USE KNOWLEDGE of MY IMPERFECTIONS to MOVE GOD’S STANDARDS.
REF: 1 JOHN—MOVING the TARGET—YOU’LL NEVER MISS…
WE MAKE MANY WEAK in the LAW
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COME to HEAR GOD’S WORD—NOT a TED-TALK w/ SCRIPTURE REFERENCE or TWO.
?? IF WE COME JUST to FEEL GOOD ABOUT OURSELVES—WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE???
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GOD’S NAME —NOT to BE TRIFLED WITH… NOTHING POLLUTES MORE THAN MISCONDUCT of THOSE ENTRUSTED to HONOR IT…
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(v9) God’s Response: I MAKE YOU DESPISED/ABASED
THEY GAVE the PEOPLE a LOW VIEW of GOD—SO HE WOULD HUMBLE THEM QUICK…
PRIESTS HEADING to MANURE PILE...
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Transition: PASSAGE SHOWS US—IT’S NOT LOVING to MISREPRESENT or LIE ABOUT GOD…
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GOSPEL CONNECTION: THE OUTSIDE CAMP ✝️
GOSPEL CONNECTION: THE OUTSIDE CAMP ✝️
Modern Problem: ONLY THING WRONG... is to SAY SOMETHING is WRONG…
GOD HAS a CLEARLY FIXED, UNMOVABLE TARGET…
& NONE of US HIT IT…
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FEARFUL THING— WE ALL HAVE GONE ASTRAY
GOOD NEWS: BEING a SINNER MAKES YOU a GREAT CANDIDATE for SAVING
1 Timothy 1:15 (ESV)
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
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FIRST STEP—RECOGNIZING YOUR NEED.
REPENTANCE— ACKNOWLEDGING SIN is SINFUL—COMING to TERMS W/ GOD…
YOU WON’T GO to DR UNTIL YOU REALIZE HOW SICK YOU ARE.... 🤒
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HUMAN BEINGS HAVE SPIRITUAL CANCER CALLED SIN—
— REBELLED AGAINST OUR CREATOR—DESERVE to BE “OUTSIDE the CAMP” of HEAVEN for ALL ETERNITY…
Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
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UNLIKE MALACHI’S DAY—SACRIFICES = NO LONGER CONTINUAL
Gospel: GREAT HIGH PRIEST LAID DOWN HIS OWN LIFE—SUFFERED OUTSIDE the CAMP on OUR BEHALF...
The exchange: HE SUFFERED the CONSEQUENCES of OUR SIN:
SHAME
DEATH
SEPARATION
SO WE CAN BE CREDITED W/ HIS RIGHTEOUS & PERFECT LIFE…
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BUT WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR NEED & CALL on the LORD.
Romans 10:13 (ESV)
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
THROUGH FAITH in HIM—WE CAN BE SAVED
Charge: BUT if YOU DON’T FIRST REALIZE YOU’RE LOST—
— YOU WON’T KNOW WHEN YOU’RE FOUND…
Invitation: QUESTIONS—TALK to ME AFTER SERVICE...
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Transition: ALL in ALL—THIS PASSAGE SHOWS US:
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VI. APPLICATION
VI. APPLICATION
Passage Idea: DISHONORING GOD IS COSTLY.
GOD CARES ABOUT the DISPOSITION of the HEART...
Root Problem: NOT HONORING GOD’S NAME
**SACRIFICES WERE a SYMPTOM**
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Challenge: OUTWARD WORSHIP = FAKE if INWARDLY—NOT ASCRIBING “WORTH-SHIP” to GOD...
WORSHIP = MORE THAN an OUTWARD ACT—BUT IT’S an INWARD HEART...
TRULY—WHOLE LIVES = LIVING SACRIFICE of WORSHIP (SEE RM. 12:1)
The Mirror: How HIGHLY do we ESTEEM God in our ACTIONS?
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ESPECIALLY to THOSE in LEADERSHIP…
…BUT LEADERSHIP = INFLUENCE & WE ALL INFLUENCE SOMEONE...
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The Ripple Effect:
If a PASTOR & LEADERS have low esteem for God, it AFFECTS the CONGREGATION.
If PARENTS have low esteem for God, it INFLUENCES the CHILDREN.
NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE—IF GOD DOESN’T REALLY MATTER MUCH to YOU BEYOND an HOUR on SUNDAY—
— THOSE AROUND YOU WILL FEEL IT.
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Conclusion:
Conclusion:
I PRAY the HARD TRUTHS of GOD’S WORD
… CAUSE YOU to SEARCH YOUR HEART THIS MORNING...
!! Close in Prayer !!
