Spring Harvest 2011
"Lack of reality leads to half hearted worship and it's better to have no worship than half hearted worship"
Malachi 1:6-8 (NIV)
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, `How have we shown contempt for your name?' [7] "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, `How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the Lord's table is contemptible. [8] When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty.
1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Malachi 1:9 (NIV)
"Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"---says the Lord Almighty.
Outward signs of worship are meaningless.
Malachi 1:10 (NIV)
"Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.
Better shut the Tempe, no worship is better than insincere worship.
Malachi 1:11 (NIV)
My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty.
God will be worshipped but it won't be in the Temple.
Malachi 1:12 (NIV)
"But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, `It is defiled,' and of its food, `It is contemptible.'
Malachi 1:13 (NIV)
And you say, `What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously, " says the Lord Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the Lord.
Malachi 1:14 (NIV)
"Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king, " says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.
What do we offer to God?
How much room do we leave for God?
Malachi 1:6 (NIV)
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, `How have we shown contempt for your name?'
What is we are living in a way that's wrong. We need to be obedient to the Bible.
What would Jesus say to us about our use of the Bible.
Judgements / outcomes
Malachi 1:10-14 (NIV)
"Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. [11] My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty. [12] "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, `It is defiled,' and of its food, `It is contemptible.' [13] And you say, `What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously, " says the Lord Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the Lord. [14] "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king, " says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.
If places of worship get in the way God will close them. A new perspective that we need to understand.
Revelation 3:16 (NIV)
So, because you are lukewarm---neither hot nor cold---I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
Malachi 2:2-9 (NIV)
If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me. [3] "Because of you I will rebuke your descendants ; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. [4] And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the Lord Almighty. [5] "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. [6] True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. [7] "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction---because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. [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."
Start with the desperation
Malachi 2:2 (NIV)
If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.
Malachi 2:4 (NIV)
And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the Lord Almighty.
God longs for them to repent.
Malachi 2:5-7 (NIV)
"My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. [6] True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. [7] "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction---because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.
We fail when we fail to train rather than generally fail to try.
Lack of reality leads to half hearted worship and it's better to have no worship than half hearted worship.
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