Monday, September 7, 2015

September 5-7, 2015 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Malachi 3:6-18 “MALACHI: GOD’S CLEANUP MAN!



MAJORING IN THE MINORS: MALACHI
September 5-7, 2015
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Malachi 3:6-18

“MALACHI: GOD’S CLEANUP MAN!
                                      In view of Christ’s coming…
1.     Clean up your giving.
2.     Clean up your living.

Malachi 3:6-18 (NIV1984) "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' 8"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12"Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. 13"You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' 14"You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.' " 16Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17"They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

          SILENCE! That’s what was coming. God was going to go silent. Up to this point God had talked in special ways to Adam and Eve, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and all the prophets. Always pointing people to the coming Savior. Exposing sin. Declaring forgiveness. Pointing to Jesus. From our earlier minor prophets you know the history. God’s people had been in exile. They were brought back to Jerusalem. The Temple had finally been rebuilt. God’s people now know that the table is set. All is ready for Messiah to come.  But in God’s plan the time will not fully come for the Savior to be born for another 400 years. Now what do you think is going to happen to God’s people who are anxiously waiting for Jesus to come? They’re going to get tired of course, tired of waiting. And you know what happens when people get tired? They got sloppy. Up to the prophetic plate steps Malachi. He’s batting clean up, the last prophet of the Old Testament. He helps God’s people stay ready. He teaches them to live in view of Christ’s coming.
          In view of Christ’s coming clean up your giving he said. At the time of Malachi God’s people had gotten sloppy in their giving. As part of Old Testament law all people, young and old, rich and poor, gave a tithe or 10% of their income to God. They also brought various different offerings of animals or crops to say “Thank you” to God or “I’m sorry” to Him. This was important for them as a way to show love for God because giving and loving are actually synonyms! God so loved that He gave. He showed love by giving. We show love by giving. Malachi’s people weren’t showing love. Earlier in his book you find that the people were bringing God the crippled sheep, the ones who were diseased or dying. Their leftovers. Now they were lying about the tithe, bringing let’s say 5% of their income but pretending it was 10%. They were robbing God. But it really wasn’t about the money. It was the lack of honor, lack of love. Like a father who tells his sick daughter, “I love you. I will do anything for you.” But then takes the money needed for her medicine and drinks it up at the bar. That’s not love.
          Malachi called on the people to repent and clean up their giving. He showed them how God would make it easy for them. "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' 8"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me. 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12"Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.” God doesn’t change. In view of Christ’s coming He would forgive the people, not destroy them. They didn’t have to be afraid of not having enough for God would bless them with more. Just clean up the giving. Let it be a way of showing love.
          Brothers and sisters, we find ourselves in a similar situation to the people at the time of Malachi. We are waiting for Christ to come. God is silent in that there are no more prophets or Apostles. We can get tired of waiting too. It might show in sloppy giving. Giving is loving. Love gives. First test yourself. Does your giving show love to God? Is it a portion that is served to God first or whatever is left over after other bills are paid? Is it given cheerfully or grudgingly? Does talking about money for God make you feel good or guilty? Test yourself. Then test God. See if He doesn’t keep his word. In view of Christ’s coming we clean up our giving.
          In view of Christ’s coming clean up your living. Remember at Malachi’s time the people were getting tired. When will Messiah come? You can hear it in their voices. "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' 14"You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.' " God’s people were getting tired. It didn’t seem to do any good to follow God. Those who didn’t seemed like they were better off. Sometimes it looks and feels that way to us. What good does it do to carefully follow God’s commands? Cheaters do prosper. The immoral in our country challenge God and escape. When is Jesus coming?
God had an answer. Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17"They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” The Lord listened. A scroll of remembrance about those who feared the Lord and honored His name. “Mine,” said the Lord. A treasured possession. It’s all going to be clear on Judgment Day. You will see the distinction between the righteous in Christ and the wicked. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Do you really think an eternity of glory in heaven is not worth it? In view of Christ’s coming clean up your living.
In view of Christ’s coming. That was the key. It’s all about Jesus. Malachi’s job was to help God’s people stay ready. 400 years later Jesus came the first time. As promised John the Baptist prepared the way for Him. Some were not ready. They had grown sloppy in their use of God’s Word and didn’t want a Savior from sin. But some were. They treasured God’s word. Pondered it in their hearts. They felt awful about their sin and were happy to have a Savior. God’s clean up man had helped them. Christ is coming again. How long will we have to wait? God doesn’t say. Will we be ready? Yes. Malachi helps us. Give as a way to show love to him. Live as His prized possession. Always in view of Christ’s coming. Amen.

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