Welcome to another edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am glad that you took the time to stop by and read the sermon this week. I hope that everyone is having a very good day.
I have been having a good week. Writing has gone well again this week, and I am very thankful to the Lord for the work that He has allowed me to do. I've been feeling fairly well, so I am also grateful for that.
Today, two years ago, one of my best friends passed away of influenza. He was only 49 years old. I would like everyone to pray today that this flu epidemic in the United States would soon pass and that the Lord would help those recover who are sick. I would also recommend that if you are able to take the flu shot that you do so. It is not as effective this year as in other years, but it does provide some protection. I believe that the flu is bad in the UK and Canada as well. I don't know about other countries. Let us pray for all who are sick and in need.
This is also the week eight years ago now that my Dad had the terrible stroke from which he passed away two weeks later. Let us pray that doctors will be able to find better treatments for strokes and find better means of prevention.
Let us continue to pray for those in Puerto Rico who were affected by the hurricane. Many still do not have electricity. Please pray that needs are met.
Please pray for the refugees from Myanmar who are living in Bangladesh. I heard a report from Doctors Without Borders that there is much disease in the refugee camps. Pray for an end to these outbreaks of disease, and pray that the needs of the people will be met.
Continue to pray for peace in the world. Pray for peace in Syria and Yemen, and pray for the safety of all those at the Winter Olympics. I like the Winter Olympics, and I am looking forward to watching the ski jumping and bobsled.
For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for Senegal and Bosnia. Pray that many will hear of the love of Jesus.
These past few weeks, we've been studying the book of Malachi. There have been some controversial topics that we've encountered. Unfortunately, I've had about 30 percent of the people who read the sermon stop reading it because they did not like my interpretation of a couple of the passages we've studied. However, I feel that it is my responsibility to state what I feel is the correct interpretation. I don't want to make anyone upset, and I don't like it when people don't want to read the blog anymore, but I have to do what I believe the Lord would have me to do.
We will be studying Malachi this week and the next week, Lord willing. Today we will be studying some important themes found in the last part of Malachi chapter 3.
As we've noticed as we've gone through Malachi, the book is laid out in a pattern. The Lord through the prophet Malachi states that He is upset with the people. They then reply that they have no idea what the Lord is talking about. Then the Lord explains the way in which the people have not honored Him and how they have disobeyed Him.
We see that pattern once again in chapter 3 verse 13 which states, "You have said terrible things about Me says the Lord."Verse 14, "You have said, "What's the use of serving God? What's the use of obeying His commands?" The people would go on to say that there was no point in being sorry for sins since God allowed the arrogant and sinful to be rich, and God did not punish sinners but let them go free. As God said, these were terrible things that the people were saying about God.
This reminds me of the passage in Jeremiah 44. The people told the prophet Jeremiah that they were not going to listen to him. They were not going to serve the true God, because it wasn't benefiting them. They said that they were going to go back to worshiping the queen of heaven as they were better off when they were making sacrifices to her.
I believe the Lord was angry with the people in Malachi for two reasons. First of all, the people viewed service to God purely from a selfish perspective. They served God because they wanted to get some type of material blessing out of it. They thought that serving the Lord should make them prosper and achieve wealth. They believed that serving God was about getting the good things that they wanted and avoiding the bad in life.
This is not the teaching of the Scriptures. We are not to be materially motivated in our service to the Lord. We are to serve Him because He is the God and King of the Universe. It is a privilege to be called to serve Him. We should be grateful to Him for what we do have, and we should recognize that all that we have is by His grace.
We can't just point the finger at people in Malachi's day. So much of even Christian teaching is similar to what happened then. For instance, the way that we explain the Gospel sometimes makes it sound like obtaining Heaven is what it's all about. If you want to go to Heaven, accept Jesus. It sort of makes Jesus a means to an end. We should come to the Lord to be in right relationship with Him. We should honor Him because of who He is. We don't come to the Lord to obtain some prize.
The same thing holds true with a lot of the prosperity teachings. Give to the Lord so that you will get a return. Serving God means that you will get material prosperity. This is not the right attitude.
Some of the most holy people in the Bible had nothing. Lazarus was homeless, and he went to Abraham's bosom while the rich man went to hell. The Bible says that many of the prophets lived in caves.
Serving God isn't about what can be obtained materially from following Him. Serving God is about honoring Him and serving others.
The second reason that the Lord was upset with what the people said was that they were denying His goodness and justice. They were not keeping an ultimate and eternal perspective in mind. They were focused on the here and now, and they did not recognize the enormity of eternity. God will do what is right. He is good. He will bring justice in His time.
The next part of chapter 3 speaks about the fact that even though the majority of the people were going their own way, and they weren't following the Lord, there was a remnant of people that who did honor God. The Lord says in verse 16 that these people feared Him and loved to think about Him.
Two things I want to point out about this. First of all, the Lord always has a remnant of those who remain faithful. Even when it looks as if the light is about to go out, there is still a candle burning. Even when Ahab and Jezebel had killed most of the followers of God, God still had some who had not bowed their knees to baal.
Our responsibility is to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus. Even as it seems that much of American and European civilization is becoming more and more secular, we are called to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The second thing I want to note is the Lord was pleased with those who loved to think about Him. The Lord is pleased when He is on our minds. He wants us to acknowledge Him and put Him first in our lives. He should be utmost in our thoughts throughout the day. Our thought throughout the day ought to be how that we can please the Lord Most High.
We finish chapter 3 with the Lord stating that He will come one great day. When the Lord Jesus returns in power and great glory, He will judge the living and the dead. Justice will reign. Those who have served the Lord will be honored by Him. Those who have denied the Lord and fallen away, will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
I hope that you have made the choice to follow Jesus as Lord. I hope that you have recognized who He is and what He has done for you. If you've never committed your ways to the Lord Jesus, I hope that you will do so today.
Next week, Lord willing, we will finish our study the book of Malachi. On Wednesday, there will be a dog book review, and I will post the verses on Monday. May God bless you all. Amen.
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