Thank you for taking the time to read the Weekend Sermon this week. I hope that everyone has had a very good week and that you are all doing well.
I am thankful to the Lord that there has been quite a bit of writing to do this week. I am hopeful that that will continue. I had a couple of job interviews, but nothing has worked out so far on that front. Please continue to pray that the Lord will bring me the work that I need. I thank you all for your prayers on my behalf.
In prayer this week, please pray for those in New York who were injured in the terrorist incident. Pray that they will recover quickly. Also, please continue to pray for those who were injured in the attack in Las Vegas.
Let us all be in prayer for those in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands who are trying to recover from the hurricane damage. Pray that they will get the aid that they need.
Continue to be in prayer for peace in this world. Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen need our prayers especially at this time.
For our prayer focus countries for the week, let's all pray for the nations of Mongolia and Djibouti. Pray that many in these two countries will hear about the love of Jesus.
Last week, we began a new series of messages. We will be studying the book of Malachi over the next few weeks to see what the Lord would have us learn from this last book of the Old Testament.
We saw last week that the people had questioned the fact that they were loved by the Lord. This was upsetting to the Lord because He had done so many things for the people. He had always been faithful to them even when they had not remained faithful to Him.
Sometimes, when things happen in our lives that are bad, we can question the love of the Lord for us. We need to remember that the Lord Jesus loved us so much that He died on the cross to save us from our sins. He said that He would never leave us and that He would never forsake us. He has gone to prepare a place for us so that we can be with Him for all of eternity.
Today, we turn our attention to the next section in Malachi chapter 1. Verse 6 begins by the Lord saying, "A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master. If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me?" The Lord is once again upset that the people are not acting toward Him in the right way. They are showing honor and respect to other humans that are in a position of authority, but they have not shown the proper respect and honor that belongs to the Lord.
Once again, the people deny that they have done what the Lord is accusing them of. They say, "How have we despised your name?"
The Lord tells the people that they are despising His name when the offer animals for sacrifice that are blind, lame and sick. The Lord reminds them that they wouldn't present blind and sick animals to their human governor, so what makes them think that it is right to bring them as an offering to the sovereign king and Lord of the entire universe?
Just a little background on all of this. In the book of Leviticus, the Lord had clearly instructed the people as to what they were supposed to do when offering a sacrifice on the altar. They were to bring an animal that was the best of the flock. The animal was not to be blind, lame or sick. It was to be a lamb that was without spot or blemish. This was to represent Jesus the Messiah who was the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world. Jesus was without sin. He was perfect and therefore could be the one to take away our sin and guilt.
When the people were offering what was not the best, they were greatly dishonoring the Lord. In essence what they were saying with their actions is that the Lord is just not that important. We will give Him what we can, and that will have to be good enough.
In verse 13 the people even go so far as to say that it is a burden to serve the Lord correctly. The Lord answers in verse 14 by saying, "For a great King am I, says the Lord of Hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations."
It is quite clear that the people were just going through the motions of religious ritual in the most sloppy way they could. They had left behind their love for the Lord and honored men more than they honored the Lord of all creation.
What does this passage of Scripture have to teach us today? I think that there are several applications for us. First of all, I believe that some of the same attitude that the people in Malachi's day were expressing are true in the church today. What I am going to say some won't like, but I'm going to say it.
It used to be when I was younger that when people went to church they had respect for the church as a special place where they were going to meet with God. Those going to church dressed nicely as a sign of respect for the Lord. When they went into the church sanctuary, there was a sense of reverence for the Lord.
Now, things have changed greatly. The last Sunday when I went to church, people were wearing shorts and the most casual clothing that you would wear just lounging around the house. Everyone was talking loudly and laughing in the sanctuary even when the choir started to sing. During the service, many of the people were looking at their phones and checking their emails. There was little sign that people felt that they were entering the presence of the Living God.
I believe that we need to start showing a little more respect to the Lord when we go to church. I'm not saying you have to dress in a tuxedo or anything like that, but there should be a little more respect. We shouldn't have the attitude of one person I talked to who said, "It's just church, God doesn't care."
I guess what bothers me the most is that if many people were going to meet with their boss or the governor or mayor, they would dress respectfully and act respectfully.
I believe that this passage has another lesson for us today. It is about doing our best and giving our best to the Lord. Whatever we do for the Lord, we should do it with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength because we are doing it for Him. The Lord should never get our second best.
The Lord should never be an afterthought in our lives. Our attitude shouldn't be that we will do something for the Lord after we take care of ourselves and everything else that we want to do.
What the Lord says at the end of the chapter really strikes me. He is the King and Lord over all. He is worthy of worship, honor, praise, glory and adoration. If He does not receive the praise and honor that are due to Him, the Lord will find others who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
If we really and truly believe deep down in our hearts that Jesus is who He says that He is, then we need to act that way by putting Him first in every aspect of life. He shouldn't be just a part of our life. He is our life. He is our eternity.
When we truly come to that realization, we will all serve the Lord Jesus with all that we have. We will give Him our best and we will follow Him and obey Him in all of our ways.
I didn't write these things to offend anyone, but these are some things that have been on my heart for a long time. There is something else that has been on my heart for a long time that doesn't have anything to do with this text, but it is relevant, so I want to discuss it for just a moment.
Many times, I hear messages or read books where it seems as if Jesus is presented in a way where He is just someone who we can get something from. For instance, if you want to go to Heaven when you die, come to know Jesus so you won't go to Hell. If you want to be healed from sickness, or if you want prosperity, Jesus is the way.
Sometimes, we don't pray until we need something, and then we go to Jesus and ask Him for things.
Several months ago I had a dream about Jesus. In this dream, I saw Jesus sitting down on a stone, and He looked sad. In the dream, I asked Him what was wrong. He said that He was upset because so many people only wanted to know Him for what they could get out of Him. That was all of the dream. After that I woke up, but I've thought about this for along time. I've tried to analyze my life to see if I was being that way in my relationship with Jesus.
It has made me realize this. The Lord is the sovereign Lord of all. He is my Lord. He is worthy of all praise and honor just because of who He is. He deserves my allegiance and obedience in life if He never does a thing for me. He is worthy just because He is who He is.
I hope that all of us will think about how great the Lord is. There are some passages in the Bible that really display the majesty and power of the Lord. I am going to list them, and I hope that you will be able to read them throughout this week.
Isaiah 6:1-13
Ezekiel 1 and 2
Daniel 7
Revelation 4 and 5
Next week, we will continue with our series in the book of Malachi. I will post the verses on Monday, and there will be review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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