Sermon Tone Analysis

Announcements

We’ll have a brief special business meeting at the end of this service, it’ll be just a few minutes.

We have one last summer outreach opportunity and that’s during the Sandy Ridge Homecoming Parade on August 13th.

If you’re able to help, please sign up at the front of the room; and if you have any questions, please talk to Natalie about it.

Let me remind you to continue worshiping the LORD through your giving.

To help you with your giving, we have three ways for you to do so: (1) in-person giving can be done at the offering box at the front of the room—if you give cash and you’d like a receipt for your gift, please place it in an envelope with your name on it; if you give a check, please write it to Grace & Peace.

If you’d prefer to give with a debit or credit card or through ACH transfers, you can do that either by (2) texting 84321 with your $[amount] and following the text prompts or (3) by visiting us online at www.giving.gapb.church.

Everything that you give goes to the building up of our local church and the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Repentance and Adoration

Call to Worship (Ps 56)

Our Call to Worship is Psalm 56.

This is a psalm of David written during a time in his life in which he was being pursued by those who sought to harm him.

Though he does write of those who are seeking to harm him, ultimately, he places his complete trust in the Lord.

Congregational Singing

Behold Our God (126)

Immortal, Invisible (36)

Crown Him with Many Crowns (129)

Scripture Reading (1 Chronicles 16:23-34)

Our Scripture Reading this morning is wedged in the middle of a poem of praise.

This is David speaking and he’s calling God’s people to worship the Lord.

Fred, can you read 1 Chronicles 16:23-34 for us?

Sermon

Introduction

If you have your Bibles, please turn it to Malachi 1:6-14.

I don’t have much this morning in way of an introduction; I want us to essentially jump straight into the text; but let me remind you that we’ve started a new series in the book of Malachi and last week I mentioned a handful of times that Malachi will be a book that is extraordinarily applicable to our modern-day world.

You’ll see just how applicable it is this morning.

Let’s read Malachi 1:6-14.

As we study this passage, we’re going to break it into two parts, (1) Improper Worship Condemned (6-10) and (2) God’s Name Profaned by Improper Worship (11-14).

In this particular passage, Malachi is focused primarily on the priests who led the people into improper worship, but I think we can tell that the idea at hand concerning proper worship is applicable to every believer.

This morning’s sermon will challenge our modern-day concepts of worship and it will convict us of when we’ve inappropriately worshiped the Lord.

Ideally, we will walk away this morning with a much better idea of what true worship is and the desire to be sure that we are genuinely worshiping God.

Prayer for Illumination

Improper Worship Condemned (6-10)

The first indictment that the Lord speaks through Malachi in this book is one that he directs specifically at the priests in the temple.

It’s really no wonder that he directs these statements to the priests first because the matter involves one of improper worship within the body of Israel, and who are the ones responsible for directing and leading the worship?

The priests.

The priests were appointed from out of the tribe of Levi to be the ones primarily responsible for the temple and the worship within the temple for Yahweh, which means that they needed to know the Law of God well enough to know how to do the sacrifices, how to lead the musical worship, and what was required to come into the presence of God.

And since they were the ones primarily responsible for leading worship, it’s fairly clear that the ones who receive the indictment or condemnation for improper worship would primarily be the priests.

However, don’t think that this lets everyone else off the hook for improperly worshiping God—He later on confronts all of Israel for profaning the covenant that they had with God—for inappropriate worship.

It just so happens that this first indictment is laid against those who were primarily responsible for leading Israel to worship the Lord because they were the ones responsible for leading Israel to worship the Lord.

Malachi starts this indictment by utilizing two examples that are familiar to everyone who would be reading his book, "a son honors his father, and a servant his master.”

In the two relationships that he mentions, he writes of how a son or a servant is to honor the person who is head over them.

He intentionally chooses two relationships in which one person is subject to another.

Now, of course, he’s making the assumption that the child is a good child who actually does honor his father and the servant is a good servant who actually honors his master, but the point remains the same—in these sorts of relationships, those who are subject to others are to honor the ones that they are subject to.

In this instance, Malachi makes it clear who the priests and who the Israelites are to be subject to; remember that this is God speaking through Malachi, “If then I am a father, where is my honor?

And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name.”

God makes the assertion that he is a father and he is a master over Israel and it isn’t the first or only time that these ideas are present throughout the Old Testament:

For example, Isa 64:8-9 “8 But now, Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter, And all of us are the work of Your hand.

9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord, Nor remember wrongdoing forever.

Behold, please look, all of us are Your people.”

It doesn’t take much digging in the Bible to see the idea of God being a master over his people was prevalent.

Even in the creation account, it’s clear that God was the head that defined their relationship; He decided what was right and what was wrong—just like a father does for a child and just like a master does for his servant.

And the Israelites readily admitted that Yahweh was their Father and that God was their master, but it’s clear that despite their lip service, they didn’t actually live as if God was their Father or their master.

God says, “If then I am a father . . .

and if I am a master, where is my honor and where is my fear?”

Where is the respect that is owed to God for who He is?

Where is the awe that they owe Him?

Where is the glory that they should be giving to Him?

When taken into context with vv.

1-5 of last week, we can rightfully make this statement, that despite the fact that they couldn’t see or wouldn’t see how God loved them, they still, at the very least, owed Him honor, respect, awe, and glory simply because of who He is as their Father and their master.

Or in other words, if you are a parent, hopefully your children can tell that you love them, but regardless of if your child can tell that you love them, you at least want them to honor and respect you because you are their parent.

If you are a manager at work or you’re the owner of a company, regardless of if your employees think you like them, you at least want them to honor and respect you simply because you are their boss.

God’s essentially making the statement that He is their Father and He is their master, but He isn’t receiving the honor, the glory, the respect, and the awe that He is owed for being who He is.

In fact, He makes it clear that instead of respecting Him, instead of honoring Him, instead of them responding to Him in the way that they ought to, they’re despising Him.

He calls out the priests specifically and He calls them the ones who despise His name, which sets up vv.

7-9.

He says that the priests have despised His name, but they say, “how have we despised your name?” and then in vv.

7-9 He explains one of the ways that they’re despising Him, “by offering polluted food upon my altar.

But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’

By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised.

When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil?

And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?"

Despite the priests pushing against God’s statements, that they have despised His name and that they have offered polluted food on His altar, God’s statements remain.

There is a significant problem in the way that the Israelites are claiming to worship Yahweh and it stems from their unwillingness to actually follow what God has commanded them to do.

Yes, they’re offering sacrifices like they were commanded to do and they’re keeping rituals like they were commanded to do, but they’re clearly not doing it the way that they were supposed to do it.

It doesn’t take much study to figure out what exactly they were doing wrong.

Consider the Law in Leviticus—the Law required multiple sacrifices for different purposes—there were burnt offerings, grain offerings, guilt offerings, sin offerings, and peace offerings.

Each one had their own purpose, but one thing was common amongst all of them.

In Leviticus 1, we see the requirements for burnt offerings—regardless of if the offering is from the herd, the flock, or if it is a bird, the offering is to be perfect, without defect.

In Leviticus 2, we see the requirements for grain offerings—they are to be of fine flour, the highest quality and they are to be of the first fruits, the first to be harvested.

In Leviticus 3, we see the requirements for peace offerings—regardless of if the offering is from the herd, the flock, or if it is a goat, the offering is to be perfect, without defect.

In Leviticus 4, we see the laws concerning sin offerings—regardless of if the offering is a bull, goat, lamb or two turtledoves or pigeons, or fine flour the offering is to be perfect, without blemish.

In Leviticus 5, we see the laws concerning guilt offerings—he is to bring a ram without blemish to be sacrificed by the priest and he is to pay restitution to the one who he sinned against.

Did you catch the commonality?

Every offering offered to the Lord is to be of the firstfruits and the offering is supposed to be perfect, without defect, and without blemish.

But what was being offered to the Lord in Malachi?

V. 7, they’re offering polluted food upon God’s altar and when they ask “how have we polluted you?” God explains what exactly they’ve been offering to Him.

They’re offering blind animals, lame animals, and sick animals—they definitely aren’t offering the animals that would be considered perfect and without blemish.

And they definitely aren’t offering the sacrifices that would be considered the firstborn.

They’re offering the animals that they don’t want, that are flawed, that are damaged.

They’re offering not the best that they have to offer but the worst that they can offer—and they think that they’re getting away with it.

But in reality, God knows that they’re offering garbage to Him.

In v. 8b he points out that what they’ve been offering to Him as their sacrifices wouldn’t be acceptable even to human government, but their care for Him is so flippant, so lackadaisical, and so disrespectful that they’re giving Him sacrifices that they would never dare to give a human governor; and yet, they don’t care enough to see how wicked it is to offer garbage or dross to Him.

God says, “Present that [meaning the blind animals, the lame and sick animals]” to your governor [or their human authorities] [would] he accept you or show you favor?”

If they offered what they were offering to God to the human leader, would the human leader be pleased?

The rhetorical question is answered with a resounding “no!” Of course not, and yet in v. 9, the people are still asking for favor from God, “entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us,” but God responds by pointing again at their gifts.

Why would He grant them favor when they offer the worst of the worst to Him?

And in v. 10, we see the statement that makes it abundantly clear as to why we know that despite this being directed specifically at the priests, it really applies to everyone.

“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!

I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.”

God confronts them for their improper and disrespectful sacrifices that really was a hallmark of their profane worship and it’s easy to assume that the priests were purely responsible for the issue at hand, but the last few statements from God in v. 10, makes it clear that he’s expanding the indictment further than just at the level of the priesthood.