The Portrait of Worship-Malachi
Notes
Transcript
Handout
As we begin this morning, would you please turn in your copies of God’s Word to Malachi chapter 1. Mark your place in the first chapter as we are going to attempt to take a world wind trip through this small book this morning. By the way, full disclosure at the very beginning this morning, part of this morning message comes from a message my older brother Mark preached the first Sunday of 2021 at the church he and his wife attend in Oregon. Not knowing we were going through a series on Worship at Liberty Chapel, my mother sent a link to the message to me and my siblings. It fit so well with what we are doing, I asked Mark for a copy of the outline, he sent me the outline and notes.
Many historians believe that Malachi was written close to 433 BC, which was roughly 25 years after the religious reforms of Ezra that we looked at when we studied Ezra in 2019. Who can forget the Nation of Israel weeping while standing before before Ezra as he read from The Law of Moses, weeping at the thought that they were once again violating the very laws that put them into 70 years of captivity!
Well evidently the Israelites in Malachi’s day could, because here they are, just 25 years later, a Nation in disarray having once again turned their collective backs on the God Who miraculously orchestrated their return. The rebuilding of the Walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days. The rebuilding of the Temple of God. Malachi here is God’s spokesman, for one last time before going silent for 400 years, giving them, as it were, a wake up call. A call to Worship that is pleasing to God. The Book of Malachi asks the question, “Does it matter how I worship God.” In this mornings message we are going to look at our worship, both corporately and individually, as if our worship was a portrait to be displayed in the throne-room of God.
In challenging the wayward Nation, Malachi provides at least 8 ways in which they and we can and should worship the Lord. One of the main ways God accomplishes this is by making a declaration of something He has done or given to the people, and in each instance the Nation of Israel responds by questioning the Lord of Hosts. This is stated directly or implied 17 times in this small book. I will do my best to get through all 8 ways Malachi directs us to worship this morning.
Let’s begin with the first one, you will find it in Malachi 1:2. Where we read: Next Slide
“‘I have loved you’, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have You loved us?’” Malachi 1:2
By the way, I know we have all been told that there are no stupid questions, well I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. This was a stupid question. Since the very day the Nation of Israel was birthed, they have been bathed in the Love of the Father. To begin with, they did nothing worthy of becoming God’s chosen people. Nothing worthy of the freedom He provided them from their slavery in Egypt. If anything the opposite was true, which is what landed them into their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. But even then, He miraculously rescued them, only to have them, once again, give Him a half-hearted, lukewarm worship.
In this verse we learn that, our worship paints a proper portrait when we, Next Slide
1. Respond to His Love-Malachi 1:2
You know this was not the first time God had declared His love to the Nation. In Jeremiah 31:3, written at least 100 years earlier, and before their Babylonian captivity, Jeremiah wrote: Next Slide
3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
It was a good thing God was faithful, because had He not been faithful, had he been a God Who changed with the emotion of the moment, with the halfhearted worship of the people, Malachi 3:6 tells us the Nation of Israel would have been consumed! There is little doubt He could write the same thing about me, it is only based on the unchanging faithfulness of God that I, and you for that matter, haven’t been consumed!
Israel had chosen to wear very selective lenses to view their history as a Nation. Lenses that filtered out all of the miraculous He had done, and brought into focus all the hardships they had faced, forgetting that every single hardship they faced, was brought on by their own disobedience, by their own half hearted allegiance and worship of God.
We often times take hold of those same lenses, we focus on the troubles of today, the pandemic, an election that did not end the way many in the church wanted, a divided Nation, loss of income, loss of the ability to spend time with loved ones, having to wear a mask everywhere we go…on and on the list goes…and our lenses focus on these troubles.
Israel was living in the moment and when what was happening in the moment did not feel like love, their assessment was, that God just did not love them.
But God is in both the moment and the big picture. As we reflect on God’s love for us, we must look beyond the moment. Recounting in our minds all that he has done for us, remembering passages like:Next Slide
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Next Slide
1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
How are you responding to His love? Learn to look beyond the “moment”!
Next, our worship paints a proper portrait when we;
Next Slide
2. Honor His Name. Malachi 1:6
The Hebrew word for honor means, “To glorify, esteem” or “to make great or highly respected”. To make God’s Name great!
In Malachi 1:6 we read; Next Slide
6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. 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. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
Let’s understand what is taking place here. God has just spoken to the priests of Israel, telling them they had despised His Name. That very moment they should have torn their robes, covered their heads with ashes and fallen on their faces before God in repentance. Instead, they question Him. “How have we despised Your Name?” By the way, the Hebrew word for “despised” is a particularly strong word. Since we’re using a portrait as an example this morning, let me give you a word portrait of another time this word was used.
Do you remember the Biblical account of David & Goliath? When David went out into the valley between the army of Israel and the Philistine army to face Goliath, Goliath looked at this small teenager, no sword, no shield, no spear, no armor-just a boy with a slingshot and 5 smooth stones. The Bible states that Goliath looking on David with disdain said “What am I a dog, that you come against me with sticks?” That word “disdain” in this passage is the same Hebrew word for what God is declaring these priests had been doing in the way they were directing the worship of God. God’s Name is to be lifted high and they were doing the opposite.
When I was in the 8th grade, I was small of frame but big of mouth! One day I said something particularly degrading to my English teacher, Mrs. Sacca. It was so bad that she called my dad. Let’s just say, he was less than thrilled. Surprisingly, I didn’t get the belt! Dad had a better plan. As I was getting ready to go to the bus stop the next morning, Dad told me I wasn’t riding the bus to school that day, he’d be taking me to school, and I would be missing my first class. As we drove to school that morning....well we had a discussion. I would have preferred the belt! My heart broke as I learned how greatly I had disappointed my dad....how greatly I had disappointed God! Dad was taking me to school late for a reason, I was going to do my best to make things right. He would be walking in with me that morning, right through the halls to my 2nd hour class with Mrs. Sacca. Now, we didn’t have actual classrooms, there were dividers between each class room rather than walls, and no doors! Dad’s plan was to walk me to my class about 5 minutes late, stand by the divider to listen to me as I addressed Mrs. Sacca. I had memorized exactly what I was supposed to say. “Mrs. Sacca, I want to apologize for what I said to you yesterday. What I said brought dishonor to you, it brought dishonor to the Canady name, but most importantly, it brought dishonor to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you forgive me?” She did forgive me that day, and not long after that she and her husband were at our church and sometime later she trusted in Jesus as her Savior.
The point of this story is, our lives and our words are to make the Name of our Lord great, to lift high His Holy Name, to bring honor to His Name, anything else is to despise to bring dishonor, to disdain His Name. The question we need to ask ourselves this morning is; Does my life bring honor to the Name of the Lord? Do my words bring honor to the Name of the Lord? In the workplace, in the school, in my home, when I’m with my friends? When I’m driving in bad traffic, shopping...
In what ways are we looking to make God’s name great in the world He has placed us in? What portrait of worship are we painting?
Next, our worship paints a proper portrait when we;
Next Slide
3. Listen to His Voice. Malachi 2:1-2
In Malachi God is speaking one last time to Israel, He is basically saying, “ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?” He speaks to them and THEY ARGUE with God.
Listening to God means we pay attention to His Words that we might, by the help of the Holy Spirit obey what He says.
Are we being transformed by His Words? What type of portrait do our listening ears and our transformed lives paint of our worship to God?
Next, our worship paints a proper portrait when we;
Next Slide
4. Bring an Acceptable Sacrifice. Malachi 1:7-8
I have asked this question twice in the last 2 weeks, I’m going to ask it again; “What was to be the condition of the animals they were to bring for the sacrifice? (Spotless, their very best. Yet look at what Malachi writes in Malachi 1:7-8: Next Slide
7 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.
8 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? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.
Does this look like they were bringing an acceptable sacrifice?
God was so appalled by what they were bringing that he says in verse 10:
10 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 is telling them that if they are not willing to bring their very best, don’t bring anything at all.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not saying that you should stay home from church if you don’t have a properly prepared heart as you come to church on a Sunday morning. Instead, as you walk through these doors, into the sanctuary of the Most High God, you do so with a heart that wants to be transformed. That the words we sing together, might soften your heart, making it pliable to be moved by God’s Word as it is being declared.
That the sacrifice you bring would paint a beautiful portrait of worship.
Next, our worship should paint a proper portrait;
Next Slide
5. In our Marriages. Malachi 2:11 & 14
Malachi writes in Malachi 2:11 Next Slide
11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
While this verse has more to do with worshipping false gods than marriage, Malachi goes on to write in verse 14:
14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
Married couples, our marriage is to paint a beautiful portrait of our worship to God. We should be asking ourselves, what kind of portrait is my marriage painting? To my children, to my neighbors, to the co-worker I talk with in the break-room, to those I hang out with?
We are called to worship the Lord in our marriages
Next, our worship should paint a proper portrait;
Next Slide
6. In (through) Repentance. Malachi 3:6-7
In Malachi 3:6-7 we read; Next Slide
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
How are you doing in the area of genuine repentance? The Nation of Israel talked a good game, but when push came to shove, it was nothing more than words. Which is why God was about to go silent for 400 years. I pray He doesn’t do the same with us, with us as individuals, with His church, with us as a Nation founded on Biblical principals.
Speaking to Solomon and addressing the times like this when the Nation of Israel will fall away from Him, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says;
Next Slide
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
In many ways, repentance is like open heart surgery. In writing about repentance, Haddon Robison once said,
Next Slide
“If you’re going to do open heart surgery, you’ve got to cut the chest open!”
Repentance cuts the chest open and allows God to work!
What kind of portrait of worship is our repentance painting?
Next, our worship should paint a proper portrait;
Next Slide
7. In our Giving. Malachi 3:8
In Malachi 3:8 we read: Next Slide
8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.
How is your worship in this area? Only you can answer that question. You will rarely here me address giving from the pulpit, because so many have a dislike for churches and preachers that are constantly asking for money. But when a passage we are looking at addresses it, I do not have the freedom to ignore it.
I really can’t complain in this area. Even during COVID-19 Liberty Chapel’s giving has been consistent. But I have noticed, we as a church take pride in giving big when we are presented with a big need, which is something we should take some pride in. But I do wonder, if we all faithfully gave with a heart of worship, how much would we be faced with those big needs?
In verse 10 Malachi goes on the record God’s address to the Nation of Israel, when he writes:
10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Could it be that some of those big needs come as a direct result of our withholding from God? Pam and I have “put God to the test” on many occasions, and in each case He has blown us away with how He has provided for our every need! I encourage you to “put God to the test”, in your giving, you won’t be disappointed!
What kind of portrait of worship are you painting in your giving?
Next, our worship should paint a proper portrait;
Next Slide
8. Through Humble Service. Malachi 3:13-14
We have quite a few “humble servants” at Liberty chapel! We average more than 11 volunteers every Wednesday night to assist with our AWANA program. And we have quite a few other areas of ministry with lots of “humble servants”. Children’s church, small group leaders, as well as other areas. But as I go through the church directory each week, I believe we have a higher percentage of people not serving regularly in any area, than we have of those serving.
Malachi writes in Malachi 3:13-14 Next Slide
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
Do you see the picture God is painting through what Malachi is writing here? He is painting a picture of a people who serve only with a “What’s in it for me?” mentality. In other words, if there isn’t some sort of benefit to them personally, then they’re not going to serve. The benefit might be a pat on the back, the admiration of others, to look good in the community or church. But our humble service in the church is to be motivated only by a heart of worship to God, a love for Him and His people and to further His kingdom.
In Galatians 5:13 we read; Next Slide
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
God is pretty clear in both the Old and New Testament, no one is exempt from worshipping Him through service, no one. And the way I see it, the very best opportunities He has provided us to serve, is through the local church and other local ministries. If you are not involved in regular service to the Lord with the church or some other local ministry, then perhaps He is speaking to you when He says in Malachi 3:13;
“Your words have been hard against Me, says the Lord.”
Next Slide
When we refuse to serve the Lord, or serve with the wrong motives, it is as if we are speaking hard against the Lord.
What kind of portrait of worship are you painting through your humble service?
As we close out our time this morning. I want to remind all of us.
Worship is for God and God alone.
And we only get out of worship, what we put into worship. Every day our lives are painting a portrait of worship.
We paint a portrait of worship in the way we, Respond to His Love, the way we Honor His Name, how we Listen to His Voice, in bringing an acceptable sacrifice, In our Marriages. through truly repentant hearts, in our faithful and consistent Giving, and finally, Through Humble Service.
As we finish this series on worship, we all need to ask ourselves two important questions: Next Slide
What Kind or Portrait is my life of Worship Painting? Is it a Portrait I would be Proud to see Hanging in the Throne-room of God.
Let’s close our time this morning in prayer.