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Looking at these books structure and background to preach and teach these books correctly
by Ted Manby
Malachi Introduction
I. WE NEED TO KNOW THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN OLD TESTAMENT
PROPHET.
A. All Old Testament (O.T.) prophets received direct revelation from God.
B. Each O.T. prophet speaks to God’s people only.
C. The content of the prophet’s message is God’s provision for
the needs of God’s people.
D. Each prophet speaks to the needs of his own day.
E. To understand a prophetic book in the Bible, one must first
study the former prophets to discover the crisis and greatest
need of God’s people at the time the prophet spoke.
II. WE NEED TO CONSIDER THE PLAN AND OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF
MALACHI.
A. The purpose of the book is to prove to God’s chosen ones that His love is
unconditional and unchanging
B. The book’s structure: 11 courtroom Debates between God and Judah
A pattern that is used in most of the debates, arguments is:
1. A statement by God to the people.
2. Malachi anticipates and states the people’s objection to God’s truth
3. God refutes their objection
C. Malachi uses the Question and answer method. Most of the instances when
the people question God they begin with the word, “How, what, where or
why.”
D. The outline of Malachi based on the 11 arguments:
1. About denying God’s Love
2. About honoring and glorifying God
3. About defilement of God and His ordinances
4. About covenant unfaithfulness
5. About unanswered prayer
6. About trying God’s patience with accusations
7. About Divine Justice
8. About repentance
9. About worship, giving, robbery
10. About arrogant & unsubmissive charges against God
11. About serving God
III. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND ISRAEL’S HISTORY AND SITUATION IN
MALACHI’S DAY.
A. Abraham about 2000 B.C.
B. Exodus from Egypt 1450 B.C.
C. Kingdom divided 933 B.C.
D. Major crisis # 1 Assyria 721 B.C.
E. Major crisis # 2 Babylon 587 B.C.
F. First Jews return to Jerusalem 541 B.C.
G. Ezra - Nehemiah rebuild walls 445 B.C.
H. Nehemiah leaves for Persia 433 B.C.
I. Malachi speaks and writes 433 B.C. (430 - 480 BC)
J. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem Nehemiah Chpt. 13
K. Reformation begins and prepares for the Messiah’s first coming
Malachi uses the phrase “You say,” 13 times, in 11 questions, and 2 statements in one of God’s indictments of Judah
1:2 But you say, "How have You loved us?"
1:6 But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?'
1:7 But you say, 'How have we defiled You?'
1:12 you say, 'The table of Adonai is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.' (statement)
1:13 You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' (statement)
2:10 Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
2:14 Yet you say, 'For what reason?'
2:17 Yet you say, "How have we wearied Him?"
2:17 you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He delights in them," or, "Where is the God of justice?"
3:7 "But you say, 'How shall we return?'
3:8 But you say, 'How have we robbed You?'
3:13 "Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against You?'
3:14 "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of armies?
These are questions and statements where God anticipates what those in Judah are thinking and expresses these thoughts in words, These objections are key to discovering the author’s intended structure of this Bible book.
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{Text-linguistics language discourse categories are: Motivation, Situation, Command}
Theme: Covenant faithfulness requires a heart of love, belief, commitment, adoration, and obedience
11 Debates with God and the returned remnant in Israel (Judah, Jerusalem)
01. About denying God’s Love
02. About honoring and glorifying God
03. About defilement of God’s name and His worship regulations
04. About covenant unfaithfulness
05. About unanswered prayer
06. About testing God’s patience with false accusations
07. About Divine Justice
08. About repentance
09. About worship, giving, and robbery
10. About arrogant & unsubmissive charges against God
11. About serving God
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Combinations of the Arguments
1. About denying God’s Love
2a. About honoring and glorifying God [General]
2b. About defilement of God’s name and His worship regulations [Specific]
3a. About covenant unfaithfulness [Cause]
3b. About unanswered prayer [Effect]
4a. About testing God’s patience with false accusations [General]
4b. About Divine Justice [Specific]
5a. About repentance [General]
5.b. About worship, giving, and robbery [Specific]
6a. About arrogant & unsubmissive charges against God [General]
6b. About serving God [Specific]
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11 Objections or Questions anticipated by God for Israel {Structural Key}
1:2 But you say, "How have You loved us?"
1:6 But you say, 'How have we despised Your name?
1:7 But you say, 'How have we defiled You?'
2:14 Yet you say, 'For what reason?'
* 2:10 Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
2:17 Yet you say, "How have we wearied Him?"
* 2:17 Yet you say . . . "Where is the God of justice?"
3:7 "But you say, 'How shall we return?'
3:8 But you say, 'How have we robbed You?'
3:13 "Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against You?'
3:14 "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of armies?
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6 Commands (conceptual and grammatical)
Malachi 1:10
Malachi 2:2
Malachi 2:15b, 16c
Malachi 3:7b
Malachi 3:10
Malachi 4:4
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12 Promises
Malachi 1:5
Malachi 1:11
Malachi 3:1
Malachi 3:3
Malachi 3:4
Malachi 3:5
Malachi 3:6
Malachi 3:12
Malachi 3:17
Malachi 4:1
Malachi 4:2-3
Malachi 4:5-6
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The 11 Arguments/Debates in Malachi
Introduction 1:1 The Message to Israel from Yahweh through Malachi
Argument # 1 1:2–5 About God’s love
Statement 1:2 I have loved you
Question/Objection 1:2b How (mah) have you loved us?
Answer/Indictment 1:2c–4
Promise 1:5 You will see My Justice and magnify me
Argument # 2 {General} 1:6–7, 2:1–9 About honoring and glorifying God
Statement 1:6 You are not honoring God
Question/Objection 1:6d How (mah) have we despised Your name?
Answer/Indictment 1:7a, 2:1–9
Command 2:2, 4 Listen to Me and honor My name
Motivation to obey 2:2–3, 9 Reverse blessings, send the curse
Argument # 3 {Specific, see # 2} 1:7-14 About defilement of God and His ordinances
Statement 1:7a You are offering defiled animals on my altar
Question/Objection 1:7b How (mah) have we defiled you?
Answer/Indictment 1:7c–8, 12–14
Command 1:10 Close the temple doors, stop offering vain sacrifices
Motivation to obey 1:9, 14b You forfeited grace, brought on the curse
Promise 1:11 My name will be great among the nations
Argument #4 {Cause} 2:10–12, 14b–16 About covenant unfaithfulness
Statements/Questions 2:10–11 Judah has profaned the holy place, married pagans
Question/Objection 2:10 Why (maddua) do we break covenant with each other?
Answer/Indictment 2:14b–16
Command 2:15c, 16c Do not violate your marriage covenant
Motivation to obey 2:12, 15
Argument # 5 {Effect} 2:13–14 About unanswered prayer
Statement 2:13 You cry on the altar because God ignores your offerings
Question/Objection 2:14a For what (mah) reason?
Answer/Indictment 2:14b Covenant unfaithfulness to your wife
Motivation to obey 2:15–16
Argument # 6 {General} 2:17 About trying God’s patience with accusations
Statement 2:17 You have wearied Yahweh with your words
Question/Objection 2:17b How (mah) have we wearied Him?
Answer/Indictment 2:17c by saying Yahweh blesses evil people
Argument # 7 {Specific, see # 6} 2:17d–3:6 About Divine Justice
Statement None
Question/Objection 2:17d Where (ayyeh) is the God of justice?
Answer/Indictment 3:1–3 The Messenger of the covenant is coming
Promise 3:4, 6 Offerings will be pure, I will not destroy you Motivation to obey 3:5–6
Argument # 8 {General} 3:7 About repentance
Statement 3:7a You have rebelled for generations, return to me
Question/Objection 3:7c How (mah) shall we return (shuv)?
Command 3:7b Return to me
Motivation to obey 3:7b I will return to you
Argument # 9 {Specific, see # 8} 3:8–12 About worship, giving, robbery
Statement 3:8 You are robbing Me
Question/Objection 3:8b How (mah) have we robbed you?
Answer/Indictment 3:8c–9
Command 3:10a bring the whole tithe into my storehouse
Motivation to obey 3:10c–11
Promise 3:12 All nations will call you blessed, a delightful land
Argument # 10 {General} 3:13–15, 4:1–6 About arrogant charges against God
Statement 3:13a You have made harsh accusations against Me
Question/Objection 3:13b What (mah) have we spoken against you?
Answer/Indictment 3:14, 4:1, 3
Motivation to obey 4:1–3
Promise 4:1–2, 5–6
Command 4:4
Argument # 11 {Specific} 3:14–18 About serving God
{see # 10}
Statement None
Question/Objection 3:14b What (mah) large reward (spoils) do we get for worshiping God? It is vain to worship Yahweh
Answer/Indictment 3:16–18
Motivation to obey 3:16–18
Promise 3:17 You belong to Me and I will spare you
Topics in Malachi: God’s love, respect for God, glorifying God, God’s plan for the Gentiles, purity in worship, faithfulness in relations, marriage, covenants, faith in God’s sovereignty and justice, a call for repentance, giving to God, serving God, God’s justice, God’s unchangeableness, the law, the coming messenger of the covenant (the Messiah), his announcer (John the Baptizer).
Recommended Malachi preaching texts divisions are: Malachi 1:1-5, 1:6-7a, 1:7-14, 1:11,14, 2:1-9, 2:4-5, 2:10-12, 2:13-16, 2:17, 2:17c-3:6, 3:7, 3:8-12, 3:13-15, 3:14-17 and 4:1-6, 3:14-18 ending on the 11th argument. Sample sermons will follow.
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Sermon Title: Responding to God’s Love
Sermon Text: Malachi 1:1-5
(Introduction)
Attention: Where is the Father in the prodigal son parable? Is he not waiting and watching for His son. Willing to break culture to welcome His son home. The Father Loves His children.
Fallen Condition Factor (FCF) Do difficult circumstances encourage you to doubt God’s love? How do you resist this temptation?
Textual Idea: Malachi proclaimed to the returned remnant in Jerusalem that God had a special love for them.
Background: This book is a word from the covenant God to His covenant people. Malachi lists 11 arguments the returned remnant has with God. He is in a court room, makes a true statement, anticipates and states the people’s rebellious response, (but you say, How?) and then God’s explanation. This is the 1st argument. This text is not primarily too us, but it is for us. In Judah there was a remnant of real believers, just like there is in the local church today, who are truly God’s people. As Abraham’s spiritual seed we can apply this text too.
Sermon Idea: God has a special love for His people.
Interrogative: What are the evidences of God’s special love for His people?
Transition w/ Key Word: In this text, we will see two evidences of God’s special love for His people.
(Body)
Division 1 Statement: OUR GOD’S SELECTING OF US. vs. 1-3
Explanation: Statement – How? – God’s rebuttal. God says I love you. A wonderful way – start a book. (ILL) Husband with wife, end of the day, I love you. Expected response is not: Prove it. God, in grace gives the proof to Judah. Ok, I chose Jacob, Judah, this land, and allowed you to rebuild. The exile, temple destruction was a result of your sin. God’s love is a sovereign selective love. This is a study in contrast select / pass by, you don’t miss the water until the well fails. Humans learn best by contrast. Otherwise we assume we are due every blessing.
Illustration: The history of this people, exiled by Babylon and allowed to return by Persia. Some returned with Zerubbel and rebuilt the temple, some returned with Ezra & heard the Word of God preached the first time in their generation, others came with Nehemiah and rebuilt the city walls. No king, poor conditions, leaders had
taken the land from the poor, there was great debt, a difficult economy, and high inflation.
Argumentation: Is it reasonable for the remnant to doubt God’s love for them? If God had compassion on the pagan Ninevities in Jonah and animals, how much more would he love His own people? (ILL) A mother may love all the children in her apartment building, but she has a special love for those she has given birth too or adopted. Hosea 11:1, 8 God loves Israel; it was hard to allow them to be chastened. But for us, we have the whole Bible, & Eph. 5:25. We have no excuse for doubting God’s love for us.
Application: Do you doubt God’s Love for you? Doubting leads to unbelief, disobedience, and tunnel vision. God, you can’t love us, look at these circumstances, problems, this pain. Focus, truth, God, and His word, promises & instructions. Trust God in your problems and pain. Get to know the God of the Bible from the Bible. God could have pointed to creation, or the Exodus, but He chose election as proof of His love. We have an advantage after the cross, we should never doubt God’s love for us.
Transition: Not only do we have the evidence of God’s electing love for us, but second,
Division 2 Statement: OUR GOD’S EXACTING JUSTICE FOR OUR PERSECUTORS. vs. 3-5
Explanation: Edom – Mts. – from – Dead Sea – Gulf of Aqaba, 100 X 40 miles, After Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem & deported – people, Edom was also destroyed. Persia comes, Cyrus assists Jacob’s sons – rebuild Jerusalem. vs. 4 Nabtean Arabs tore down make shift reconstruction, drove them by 300 B.C. out Mts. to south of Judah the Greek name for Edom is Idumeans . In 70 A.D. Israel was attacked by the Romans. This was a bad year for the Jews, but worse for Edomites. 95% of the Edomites were eliminated from the earth.
Illustration: Imagine – you have a sister and she has just called you – she is a freshman in College – Spring - & she was asked out by – best, most sought after guy, on campus. After courting he pops he asks for his parents to arrange for her to be his wife. In order to choose your sister, he had to pass-by 500 other girls, rejecting them for her, regardless of her parents answer, she should feel special. The remnant was special, just like this girl. And this young man after the wedding would not stand by while a man stole her purse and struck her. He would defend his bride against her attackers. That is what God is doing with Edom. They attacked His people repeatedly. God brought justice to those harming His people.
Argumentation: In Rom. 9 Paul argues that God made a choice of Jacob over Esau. Edom had 3 choices. To relate to the Messiah through Jacob’s people, to ignore them, or to hate and attack them. They chose the last option. Several of the prophets predict the destruction of Edom as a place and a people. The Romans annihilated the last of the Edomites in 136 A.D. In 2009 Jacob has 18 million descendants, Esau has none, which is even more amazing after Hitler killed 6 million Jews, and Stalin killed millions in Russia. If your cricket team won by 18 million to zero you would feel pretty happy. But even more so, if you were on that team. Jacob I have loved & chosen, allowed to rebuild, Esau I have passed by, justly judging them for their sin. There land is a wilderness, there people are no more. God has set His special love on every believer, and he has passed by those who refuse to believe the gospel.
Application: Accept for the grace of God, I could have been born an Edomite in 50 A.D. and have been slaughtered as a enemy of God at 70 A.D. Know that every nation that rejects God will be judged. After a time His wrath will come. The land of Edom is still unoccupied today and is full of dessert wolves – “jackals of the wilderness”. God always keeps His promises. The prophecies in the Bible are all true. God’s wrath falls on sin and sinners and He justly gives them exactly what they earn, nothing more, nothing less. I don’t want fairness; it was not fair for Jesus to pay for my sin on –cross. For – biblically thinking Christian, the surprise is not that Esau & Edom are judged by a Holy God for sinful choices for 1700 years, but that God would seek such as deceiver and heel grabber like Jacob, and would seek me out, and even you. While we were sinners Christ died for the ungodly. We were not lovely, we loved sin. God’s amazing Grace found us out and drew us to Jesus.
Transition: We have discussed love and justice. God loves you. Being loved by God should make you feel special regardless of your circumstances. Even if you don’t feel it, it true because the Bible declares it.
(Conclusion)
Reiteration: In this text, we saw two evidences of God’s special love for His people. 1st Our God’s selecting of us in love, 2nd Our God’s exacting justice for our persecutors.
Action: Fix your eyes on Jesus, not on the circumstances. God loves Jacob, and God loves you. He really does. Will you believe His Word? Even when bad things happen? Yes, God loves His people with a special, sovereign, selecting love. You are loved, I am loved, I can risk loving you, for the One who knows me best, loves me most.
Appeal: Friend, God loves you with a choosing love. He has proven it at the cross. If you are not sure you belong to Him, He is waiting with open arms for you to leave your sin and come home. Christian, God’s love is to be shared with people around you, even in desperate circumstances like Malachi preached in. Tell them where forgiveness and grace can be found for all who will repent and believe the gospel. Love God back. We love Him because He first loved us. He really loves you. Love Him above all.
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Sermon Title: When Respect for the Father is Missing
Sermon Text: Malachi 1:6-7
(Introduction)
Attention: Today, we are going to see a glimpse of the perfect Father, the Father who never fails. How should we treat Him?
FCF: Why do we resist showing honor to whom honor is due? Our indwelling sin resists this even when it is easy. Sometimes it is hard, but it is still required. Pride, selfishness, and an entitlement spirit work against us honoring others.
Textual Idea: The prophet Malachi exposes the fact that the worship of the returned remnant in Jerusalem was missing honor for God.
Background: This book is a word from the covenant God to His covenant people. Theme: Return to heartfelt covenant obedience. Malachi lists 11 debates the returned remnant has with God. Love, honor, faithfulness, justice, repentance, robbery, service. This is the 2nd debate, formal argument between – people & God. Here we see the Father who deserves honor and respect.
Sermon Idea: Honoring God may be a missing element of our worship.
Interrogative: How may honoring God be a missing element of our worship?
Transition w/ Key Word: Our text gives three ways in which honor for God may be missing from our worship:
(Sermon Body)
Division 1 Statement: PROPER HONOR FOR GOD IS MISSING WHEN WE FOCUS ON PEOPLE, WHILE IGNORING GOD. vs. 6
Explanation: We put people before God. Statement You have shown contempt for My name – How have we shown contempt to you ? – God’s rebuttal. You place defiled food on my altar. The people respond w/ another question. They are not looking for the truth. Look at vs. 6. In that day it was customary for a son – honor father. Proverb about son and a servant. Respect for parents and the boss was part of the culture. See the word, respect? Fear, dread, reverence. Worship is not a game. We are in the special presence of God, and must worship properly.
Illustration: Lets say I have a very nice piece of furniture in my house - If you go near – with a hammer and start damaging it, you are not showing me respect. When you devalue something I highly value, you show disrespect my treasure and dishonor me.
Argumentation: Apostles in Acts 4:17 Commanded to stop preaching in Jesus name, We must obey God rather than men. Daniel 3, these men will not bend, bow, or burn. Daniel 6:10, Daniel went home to pray when it was illegal. Put God first.
Application: We need awe for God. He is sovereign, awesome, and wonderful. Christian you can honor God in your worship. We can become more aware of God’s presence in our lives. It was good that son and slave respected people w/ skin, they could see eyes flesh. God should have been respected all the more. Well, I can’t see Him, so he can’t see me and I can treat God, His Word, and His worship with heartless ritualistic effort and He won’t know the difference. No, He sees hearts, thoughts, and deeds and records them all.
Transition: The second way:
Division 2 Statement: PROPER HONOR FOR GOD IS MISSING WHEN WE IGNORE BIBLICAL STANDARDS AND COMPROMISE. vs. 7
Explanation: Look at verse 7. Accusation, place defiled food on my altar. The word means any kind of food, here it is mainly meat sacrificed to God. The table is altar on which the sacrifice is offered. The worship regulations required the priests to inspect the animals and turn away anything blemished. Only the very best & healthiest were to be accepted for worship for most sacrifices. The only exception was the tithe animals, 10th one passed under the bar. With no back bone, these men compromised and accepted sick, lame, half-dead animals -- so diseased that their meat was not eatable.
Illustration: The priests were ignoring their Bibles. Aaron was the first High Priest. Moses was on the mountain. The people wanted a god they could see, so he took their gold and made a golden calf. This creative sinful worship resulted in the death of thousands in Israel. He compromised the truth in worship to give the people what they wanted. On the other hand, when Pharaoh offered to let the people go w/o – animals, Moses told Pharaoh, not one hoof will remain, and we will take all when we go to worship. He would not compromise the Word of God.
Argumentation: In Lev. 10 Nadab & Abihu and Acts 5 Annanias & Saphira, both beginning times of worship, both show – serious worship is.
Application: Christian, God requires our best in worship, not our worst. If we come to worship w/ this attitude, God only get my leftovers, we are in trouble. I want to worship God creatively, entertain me don’t teach me the Bible. Market driven felt needs worship is not from the Bible. Worship must be regulated by the truth. Now, if you are not saved yet, learning the motions of worship is not what you need. God wants your heart, first. The Gospel comes first, Faith comes first. Then biblical worship. The Gospel: Grace, Man, God, Christ, repentance, faith, embrace by surrender
Transition: The third way:
Division 3 Statement: PROPER HONOR FOR GOD IS MISSING WHEN WE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS OF OUR COMPROMISES. vs. 7
Explanation: Look at vs. 7. The priest murmur about the bad pay, bad food. But it is there fault. They inspected the animals. But many had left their wives and were living with idols set up in their homes - by pagan wife. Because of their sin, they ignored the sin of the people. Ungodly leaders produce more ungodliness. Other leaders did not have the backbone to stand up for God’s truth and reject blind and sick animals. Of course the altar was disgusting; it was full of rotten meat. The people and priest had defiled God’s altar. Offering our worst and left-overs to God is dishonoring Him, like spitting in someone’s face or a backhanded slap. Who will live for God’s glory? Who will please and obey God?
Illustration: Everyone is innocent in prison. Others complain that someone else has less years for the committing the same crime as them. If you do the crime, don’t whine about the time. You asked for it. Some, who loose their jobs for stealing, still cry and ask, “Why was I fired?” It was there own fault. Don’t do the crime, if you don’t want to do the prison time. Cain felt his banishment was to great a punishment for murdering his own brother. Denial, hiding, blame casting, is the opposite of confession and repentance. Where murmuring and griping is present, praise and worship is not.
Argumentation: In Bible – we see we are not to offer that which costs us nothing, First Fruits - not last or worst fruits, 1 Cor 10, - complainers in the wilderness - destroyed by a plague. Complaining about the lack of water or the snakes sent to judge them did the Israelites no good. Wake up, the chastisement is to lead to repentance, not murmuring and griping. That brings more discipline from God.
Application: Why was God so picky about the sacrifice? Not just the health of the Levites. The sacrificial animals were all pictures of the sinless son of God. Behold, the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Jesus came to be offered on the altar of the cross and pay for His people’s sin. Jew, put hand on animal, confessed sin, looked in faith to the Messiah and trusted God to ransom him by the substitute lamb, his sin was atoned for until Jesus came and took it away by His death and resurrection. Jesus was the sinless God-Man, so to offer and animal that pictured the Messiah to come, if it was sick, blind, diseased, was like slapping Jesus on the face while He hung on the cross. Our God is a consuming fire. He sees all. We must treat Him with respect. Christian, you can do this with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Transition: The laws of sacrifice needed to be obeyed in faith, God’s word.
(Conclusion)
Visualization: The Fifth commandment says, Honor your father and mother. Jesus had a problem w/ how the Pharisee’s were dishonoring their parents. Honoring parents includes financial support if they are needy. The Pharisee, saw Dad coming, quickly dedicated his money to the temple. Can’t help you Dad, all my money is dedicated. But, he was allowed by tradition, to use dedicated money for himself, so it was just a loophole to disobey the command to honor his father. Now, let’s reverse that for today. Say your father has a need. You are committed to showing the same respect for your human father – do for Heavenly father. “I have some pretty big bills son. Will you help me?” “Sure Dad, I will do you just like I do God. Every time I see you I will contribute a rupee, but if you don’t see me for five weeks, there is no make up. I will just give you a rupee.” God does not need your money, but your money handling reveals yours treasure, and that is where your heart is. Does the worship of God get your best, or your worst?
Reiteration: In this text, we have seen that honoring God may be a missing element of our worship. Proper honor for God is missing from our worship when we focus on people while ignoring God. God deserves first place. 2nd Proper honor for God is missing from our worship when we ignore biblical standards and compromise on God’s true truth. 3rd Proper honor for God, the heavenly father, is missing from our worship when we complain about the results of our compromises. What a person plants, they will reap.
Action: Honor God. Love God. Trust God. Respect and obey the God who is everywhere and sees everything. You obey God out of a heart of love and gratitude. God is sovereign, the father, the master, the Lord, and He deserves our reverence. When it is missing from worship, then worship becomes a sin.
Appeal: If you have not been honoring God in your worship because you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ, then embrace Him by faith today. Where are your sins today? Are they on you, or on God’s Lamb, Jesus? If you will come to Him in full surrender, repentance and faith you can transfer your sins to God’s lamb, dealing w/ your bad record and bad heart. Christian, have you lost your first love for God? You can honor your Heavenly father in your worship. Put Him first; show God the respect He deserves. Out of your love and gratitude, give Him your best in worship. Do yourbest when you study to teach Sunday School, when you prepare for worship on Saturday night. Seek His kingdom, His righteousness. God must have first place. Will you do business with God?
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Sermon Title: Global Worshipers
Text: Malachi 1:11
Introduction
In Malachi 1:10 God calls for someone to stop - sacrificing in - temple & after - sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, He sent - Romans in 70 A.D. to stop - sacrificing, destroyed - temple, now Moslems have a site on the temple mound. After Christ’s death, the veil of the temple ripped by God, It would be an insult to the blood of Christ to offer another sacrifice, He was the once for all time sacrifice. How can God be worshiped now that the temple has been destroyed? Well, the covenant administration changed, and Jews and Gentiles of the New Covenant worship God. The church body, is the temple of God now, so the Gentile now have a place in the plan of God, But what about in Malachi’s day? Did God just love the Jews only, and us Gentile dogs, we were unlovable? No. Our verse today shows us that the Gentiles were included in the plan of God from eternity past and were included in the old covenant. After the tower of Babel there was a division of the united people into different people groups, clans, families. Why did God do that? Then next He chooses Abram out of one of those 70 clans. A liar and an adulterer. Why? God chose one people group to be the channel to reach all, yes, all the other people groups, little by little. Israel was required to be a missionary nation. (Read Exodus 19:5-6)
A kingdom of priests, mediators between God and men, to bring the pagan godless Gentiles to God. Isa. 42:6, 49:6 both teach that Israel was to be a light to the nations, the source of truth to invade - darkness.
Jesus said, I am the light of the world. You are the light of the world. In Genesis 12: God promises all nations shall be blessed through Abraham’s descendants. You mean Ruth, the Moabite? People formed by incest Rahab the Canaanite call girl? Job the Iranian? Jonah will have to preach to the Assyrians in Nineveh? You do not have to look to far to see that God’s orders for His people was to share the message of repentance & forgiveness to all, Faith in the Messiah. God has always had a people and His eyes are on His people among the nations, the clans. His choice of the Jews was a missionary choice, not a choice of salvation for one race and damnation for all other races. It was NOT on Resurrection Sunday that God all of sudden fell in love with Gentile sinners.
In His rebuke to Israel God says, close the temple. You guys are playing games with your rituals. I don’t want your games, I want your hearts. Hey, do you want to worship me properly? Take this concept on then. I will be reverenced among the pagans. Gentiles will be praying to me. That is you and me today friend. That is the early church. Gentiles in large numbers who believe in God and pray to God. Malachi saw it coming. A day without the temple, a day w/ multitudes of Gentiles worshiping God. That is our day. Let’s looks at this more closely in vs 11
2. (Direction)
Every Christian should know that God has promised:
1. the gospel will spread to every Gentile nation.
2. every people group will have someone praying to God.
3. Jesus will be a pure offering for both Jews & Gentiles.
4. That among every Gentile nation His name will be respected.
I. EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW THAT GOD HAS PROMISED THE GOSPEL WILL SPREAD TO EVERY GENTILE NATION. vs. 11
A. From the rising of the sun even to its going down is a figure of speech used in
the Old Testament
1. Figurative for every land touched by the sun rays, in other words, every
inhabited land in the world, & the people who lived there.
2. God has a global plan.
3. Let me prove to you the O.T. teaches this.
B. From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the
sun, they will revere His glory. Isa. 59:19
C. There is only one God in all the earth. Each nation is not allowed to have a
god.
All road do not lead to the only true God. There is a way that seems right, but
lead to death. The way of trying to be good or doing good to earn God’s favor. The way of works, of false religions. Read Isaiah 45:5-6; Psalms 50:1-3; Psalms 113:1-6; Psalms 72:1-11; Matt 24:14
D. Malachi & the rest of the Bible teaches that God’s reign would extend from the
east to the west. Also, that sacrifices would no longer be offered just at
Jerusalem, but in every place. What do you think the remnant Jews thought about that concept? Even more, the name of God would be “great” among the
Gentiles and the nations of the earth. Mal. 1:5 implied that, vs 11 comes out
and says it. Israel had been called to be a “kingdom or priests (Exod 19:5-6).
And a “light to the nations” Isa. 42:6. She had been told that in her seed all the
nations of the earth would be blessed and that it had been God’s purpose to
bless “all the ends of the earth” Psa. 67:7 God has planned and said that He is
going to have a people in ever land. When the gospel is preached, then men
& women surrender to Jesus and then become worshipers of the true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You see our God is a missionary God. In the O.T. as well as the new. He picked one nation to reach all nations. They refused to obey. They were replaced with an international people. The church now, another nation of priests, is now the ones called to reach the world. To make disciples of the nations.
II. EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW THAT GOD HAS PROMISED EVERY PEOPLE GROUP WILL HAVE SOMEONE PRAYING TO GOD. vs. 11
A. Pure incense will be offered up world wide.
B. Incense is figurative for prayers. Revelation 5:8; Psalms 141:2; Rev 8:3-4
C. The promise is that men will pray through Christ to the true God from every
land on the earth.
1. This is being fulfilled more and more in our day.
2. But are we involved in it? Are we spreading the gospel to the nations?
When we give to foreign missions
3. Are we doing enough? Are we praying to God for missionaries and for Him to send forth laborers? Are we praying for the unbelievers around us?
D. George Muller began praying for two of his friends as a young man, he prayed for them for 52 years to get saved. One of them was saved at his funeral. 52 yrs. later. We must pray for the lost, the nations, and the ones sent to love them. Go, send, pray, and donate funds.
III. EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW THAT GOD HAS PROMISED JESUS WILL BE A PURE OFFERING FOR BOTH JEWS & GENTILES. vs. 11
A. This passage is talking about Jesus. He was God the Father’s sacrifice for us.
Listen to these N.T. Texts and you will see it. Hebrews 9:11-15, 10:8-10
B. Only Jesus was a pure sacrifice. 1 Peter 1:18-19
C. John the Baptist, who we will meet later in Malachi as the messenger who tells us about the messenger of the covenant, Jesus He will first show up in Israel. Then, Malachi Says, The Messenger of the Covenant will come into the Temple
The temple service will be stopped. And a future perfect offering would occur.
Jesus was the only totally perfect offering for He was not under the curse and was without sin. Jesus was and is God, the God man fully God as if He was not man, fully Man as if He was not God, God and Man joined together forever in person of Jesus the Messiah
D. (ILL.) Soap add claims it is 99.8 % pure. Bottled water may be 70% pure, that
means it is 30% impure, 95% poison free, that means 5% poison is in it.
Friends, Jesus is 100% pure He lived a holy life in my place He died in my place, as a sacrifice and offering to God. A totally pure one. It is finished. God is satisfied. His anger against my sin was vented against His son on the cross.
IV. EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW THAT GOD HAS PROMISED THAT AMONG EVERY GENTILE NATION HIS NAME WILL BE RESPECTED. vs. 11
A. God’s name will be great among the nations.
B. God has had the Gentiles in mind all along. Isaiah 11:9-10; Habakkuk 2:14
We are this people, the Christians all over the world we revere God’s name. But we are starting now to act like the Jews did, growing complacent and comfortable with God’s blessings and hoarding them for ourselves only.
Conclusion
Every Christian should know that God has promised
1. the gospel will spread to every Gentile nation.
2. every people group will have someone praying to God.
3. Jesus will be a pure offering for both Jews and Gentiles.
4. That among every Gentile nation His name will be respected.
God has always had a heart for all the nations. Do you? Do I? Are you concerned about God’s glory being stretched into far away lands? Do you long for God’s glory to cover the earth as the water covers the sea? Missions has always been a must for God’s people because the God of the Bible is a missionary God. This God loves you. He hates your sin. He will deliver you - on His terms. He has always had us Gentiles on His mind. o regrets, no returns. Well, I am against missions. You will be until you get saved. It will not make any sense to you until you have made your peace with God. Then, once he has changed you, you are ready to obey. Make disciples of the nations. Preach to every living creature. God loves you. Won’t you come to Him today, Gentile friend? The Gentile’s need of deliverance has always been a concern and part of the plan of God.
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Sermon Title: Confronting Hypocrisy and Unfaithfulness
Sermon Text: Malachi 2:1-4
(Introduction)
Attention: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book called the “Scarlet Letter” has a scene in it. Hester Prynne is standing on a platform, the Rev. Dimmesdale is forced by the town leaders to ask again, “Who is the father” of the child she holds in her arms? She will not tell --- In the story, because of the letter “A” she must wear on her dress, she develops character and compassion. But the one who hid his sin, the baby’s daddy, the preacher, Rev. Dimmesdale himself, added hypocrisy to adultery and is destroyed by his guilt; from the inside out. He was doubly accountable for his sinful lifestyle.
FCF: A lifestyle of hypocrisy is a problem that is noticed by those who walk away from the church. They see a few living a double life, and use that as an excuse. How does God view a lifestyle of hypocrisy and unfaithfulness among professing believers? This is a consistent problem among the leaders in the church.
Textual Idea: God Confronts the hypocrisy and covenant unfaithfulness among the priests of the returned remnant in Judah and Jerusalem
Background: This text addressing the leaders in Israel does have a special application to leaders in the church. But in the New Covenant we together are believer-priests, so this text speaks to every professing Christian. In this book there are 11 objections/ questions and God’s response to them includes 6 commands, 12 promises, and many motivations for the Covenant people to be faithful and obedient to their commitment. They were saved by Grace, but grace that saves is a grace that changes behavior. The 1st debate was about God’s love, the third was about spiritual defilement, which sprang out of the 2nd debate over honoring God. Malachi comes back to the 2nd debate in 2:1 after completing the third debate at the end of chapter one.
Sermon Idea: God confronts the hypocrisy and unfaithfulness of His believer-priests
Interrogative: How does God confront hypocrisy and covenant unfaithfulness among his believer-priests?
Transition w/ Key Word: In this text we will see three ways God confronts hypocrisy and covenant unfaithfulness among his believer-priests:
1. HE DESCRIBES THE CRIME (sin).
2. HE DETAILS THE CONSEQUENCES.
3. HE DISCLOSES THE CORE ISSUE.
(Body) The first way God confronts hypocrisy and unfaithfulness
Division 1 Statement: HE DESCRIBES THE CRIME (sin). vs. 1-2a
Explanation: They were not showing honor to God’s name and person. They were living for their own glory, rather than living for and worshiping the glory of God. They allowed people to offer trash to God, sick cows, with worthless meat. The main goal of every human is to glorify God. Priests would not listen to the Word of God, they would not take the Word to heart (command center, mind, reason, will, the place store knowledge and then determine a course of action). “IF.” God is awesome and wonderful, He deserves the 1st and best. Look at “Commandment” It is for the leaders to honor God’s person, presence, name, authority, word. “Glory” true weight or value. Worship Him correctly. “take to heart” believe the Word of God with all your inner man and choose to obey it. Repent, change your ways. The time is short, hear & obey the word of God or a spanking is coming. Yahveh of armies & the Creator of the stars says so.
Illustration: Samuel confronts Saul in 1 Sam 15. I have carried out the word of the LORD. What is bleating of sheep and lowing of oxen? The sheep and oxen are for a sacrifice to Yahveh. You have not obeyed the Word of God, but are rebellious and insubordinate and are no different that a devil worshiper or an idolater. Samuel called the sin exactly what it was, willful rebellion against the word of God.
Argumentation: The main goal or existence of every human being is to glorify the Creator God of the Bible. 1 Cor 10:31. We are to live, sing, speak all to God’s glory. Repentance and renewed obedience is the condition of God’s blessing on His people. Our knowledge of God’s greatness should help us choose to repent & give God the honor he deserves.
Application: The five OT sacrifices represented the Messiah to come, Jesus. Jesus – Lamb w/o spot or blemish. To offer a sick animal insulted the Messiah and confused the gospel. It was not an act of faith, but meaningless ritual. The Messiah was our blood sacrifice. So we just have spiritual sacrifices to offer: our bodies, our offerings to the church, or words of praise and gratitude offered to God, our good works, a holy life, people we share the gospel with, our service to the church. It is better to not sacrifice at all – then to offer our worse and insult the Lord Jesus Christ. God is to great and awesome to offer a sick cow to. Do you give God your best time, talent, treasure, or your worst, your leftovers? Are you obeying the Word of God? Are you in a relationship with God? This is first, then love fuels obedience. Covenant commitment is rare.
Transition: The second way God confronts the hypocrisy and covenant unfaithfulness among his believer-priests
Division 2 Statement: HE DETAILS THE CONSEQUENCES. vs. 2b-3
Explanation: The priests were not obeying the worship regulations of the Bible, they were living for their own glory, not God’s glory. Details: Formal Priestly blessing will be reversed. All the food, crops, animals, national peace, prosperity will all be gone. Murphy’s law will be multiplied. The covenantal curses are activated. (“The curse”) The people realize God is reversing the priests blessing, and they loose honor. See “Descendants,” a more literal translation is “Seed.” The children, crops, animals – few and sickly. God will defile the priests who defile His altar. They will be removed from office in utter disgrace.
Illustration: A water buffalo was hit by a train. Its inside parts were mixed with its manure. The smell and the flies made it very difficult to be around.No one wants this mixture rubbed on their face. This makes the priest – ceremonially unclean, the blood, dung, and intestines.
Argumentation: God’s point is that when we participate in unbiblical worship we insult God and we become spiritually defiled ourselves. Rev 21 and 22 make it plain that to be carried outside of the city is a very dangerous place to end up. There are severe consequences for rebellion. “The way of the transgressor is hard.” How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Rom 6:1 NASB) We can’t.
Application: Listen to the Word, and appropriate it, take it inside your heart and make it your own. Honor, adore, glorify, treat with respect and awe, the God of the Bible. Treat God name and person with deep respect (1st, 2nd Com.). Once we belong to God, when can then live according to our created design: to glorify him. When we stray from honoring God, we need to repent, and return to proper respect and reverence. “If … then” means there is still time to repent. The consequences of sin for the unbeliever who will not submit to the Lord include punishments here and everlasting punishment. The same thing happens to make-believers, they just have everybody thinking they are saved. They live a life of hypocrisy and unfaithfulness to the vows they have taken. Even for the believer the consequences built in to the sin are not worth it. Besides the everlasting loss of rewards. God details the consequence of sin to deter His people from it. Live for God’s glory, honor His name. It is not all about you, it is all about Jesus!
Transition: The third way God confronts the hypocrisy and covenant unfaithfulness among his believer-priests
Division 3 Statement: HE DISCLOSES THE CORE ISSUE. vs. 4
Explanation: The Messiah has not yet come when Malachi prophecies about 400 B.C. The people and the priests need to last another 433 year for God’s plan of redemption to come about. The Messenger of the Covenant in chapter 3, is Jesus the Messiah. Thus, the priests needed to continue until God ripped the curtain to the holy of hollies at the death of the Messiah, Jesus. Jesus was God’s lamb sacrificed for our sin, and he bore our shame outside of the city. The gospel is at stake, the plan of redemption. “My Covenant” with the tribe of Levi, Levites and priests, must continue until a new priest, in the order of Melchizedek comes and redeems My people. Yahveh of Armies, the LORD Almighty declares it. And Malachi’s preaching was effective, the priests and the people repented, and the people remained in the land for the arrival of the Messiah.
Illustration: Bruce’s friend told him he was leaving his wife and children for a woman at work almost half his age. Bruce talked to him about the consequences and how this would spiritually affect his children. When his daughter is with child at 16 or his son becomes an agnostic, his voice will already be silenced by his lifestyle. Don’t do like you do Dad, just do what you say, right! He saw the price of his sin to all those around him and how it would affect the truth’s flow in his family, and he repented and was restored to his wife and family.
Argumentation: God is concerned about the Gospel. The priesthood must continue until Jesus could be conceived and born of a virgin, live a holy life in our place, and die as a wrath bearing sacrifice for the sins of His people. The sin of the leaders in the Christian community affects the flow of the gospel in the world around them.
Application: Just because you are in a Christian family or spend time in a Christian assembly does not give you favor with God. It increases your responsibility, but w/o a genuine faith and real repentance, you too will perish. And if you are a leader in the church, you can disqualify yourself, but you cannot completely stop the gospel. God is still on the throne. But your unfaithfulness can have a huge negative influence on those whom you should love the most.
Transition: If you are a follower of Christ, it is real important to be a person that keeps their promises. That is faithful to vows, contracts, the commitments you make.
(Conclusion)
Reiteration: We saw three ways God confronts hypocrisy and covenant unfaithfulness among his believer-priests
2. HE DETAILS THE CONSEQUENCES: The Covenantal Curses.
3. HE DISCLOSES THE CORE ISSUE: The redemptive plan of God.
Action: Malachi just gave us three steps to confronting major sinful practices in people you love. 1. Describe the sin 2. Detail the consequences 3. Disclose the core issue; the progress of the gospel is at stake. God gave as a model here.
Appeal: Be a faithful authentic person, if you belong to Jesus the Messiah. You can’t be faithful and authentic in all area without Jesus. Come to Jesus first, then in His strength you can obey His will and Word.
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Sermon Title: How to Respond to God’s Word
Sermon Text: Malachi 2:4-9
(Introduction)
Attention: In 2 Kgs 6 we see David moving the ark – Jerusalem, but he transports it on a cart instead of the biblical method – Levites by polesFCF: We are tempted to respond to God’s instruction with either rebellion or heartless ritualism. Neither way is acceptable.
Textual Idea: The Aaronic priests responded to the Word of God in two contrary ways, faithful obedience and unfaithful disobedience.
Background: Malachi deals with the people in Judah that have returned from captivity with 11 debates where he anticipates their thoughts and gives them God’s answer to their wrong thinking. 1st Love, 3rd Defilement, he has returned to the 2nd legal argument about Honor in the first half of chapter 2.
Sermon Idea: Each person’s right or wrong response to the Word of God brings the corresponding results.Interrogative: How can we respond to the Word of God?
Transition w/ Key Word: In this text we see two ways in which we can respond to the Word of God. One way dishonors and disrespects God, the other way honors and glorifies God.
(Body)Division 1 Statement:
WE CAN RESPOND TO THE WORD OF GOD WITH UNFAITHFUL DISOBEDIENCE. vs. 8-9
Explanation: Context, some priests were like Aaron, some were like Eli’s sons
Corrupting the covenant (Joseph, step father, thought Mary had done this)Illustration: Nadab & Abihu, High priests Jesus day
Argumentation: Way of nature, Eph. 2. Dangerous choice to respond to God’s Word this way.
Application: Results of this choice and life pattern
Transition: Not only can we respond to the Word of God with unfaithful disobedience, but the correct choice is:
(Division 2 Statement:)
WE CAN RESPOND TO THE WORD OF GOD WITH FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE. vs. 4-7
Explanation:
Illustration: Phineas & Aaron
Argumentation: 2 Kgs 23:25 Josiah
Loyalty in keeping – Mosaic covenant
Application: Results of this choice and life pattern
Transition:
(Conclusion)
Visualization: 19 yr.-old female in OH, Jess Duttry, held up a sign in the grocery store parking lot near her house. The day before she admitted her unfaithfulness to her fiancé over the summer, and he took back his ring. Headlines in the papers read, Unfaithful Woman seeks 2nd chance. Unfaithfulness, corrupting a covenant is a big deal. Sin always has consequences. Consider these first, and chose not to do it. Even if sin is glamorized by late night talks show hosts, it still bears consequences. You will reap what you sow.
Reiteration: Today we have looked at two possible ways to respond to God’s word. The wrong way, unfaithful disobedience, and faithful obedience. It is a matter of the mind, heart, and will, as both heartless ritualism and outright rebellion are wrong.
Action: Relational loyalty is the heart of every covenant. We must love and honor both God and His written revelation, the Bible. Choose to obey God’s Word, especially when it is hard to do so.
Appeal: Choose life and peace by a loyal love-driven obedience because of the gift of salvation. J.C. “If you love Me, you will keep my commands.” (John 14:15)
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Sermon Title: The Consequences of Covenant Unfaithfulness
Sermon Text: Malachi 2:10-13
(Introduction)
Attention: It was in October of 1979, the place, Richmond, VA. I had a physical that day and had spent hours filling out paper work. Then the life changing question came. What would I choose? I thought deeply about it, and decided to make the commitment. I was ushered into a room, placed my right hand on a Bible, raised my other hand and took the oath of allegiance to all the officers of the Navy and the commander –in-chief. I entered into a binding covenant contract with the U.S. government and military. In 1979, Jimmy Carter’s failed foreign policy lead to the Iran Hostage crisis while I was in Bootcamp. Poor com., rumors of war, guys crying and whining, “I only came in for the education, not war.” They had not meant their oath. I had resolved that issue back in Richmond, to defend the USA and follow the orders of my leaders all the way up to the President. I was in a covenant contract that had war as an option, so I was at peace because the commitment was already made.
FCF: We are tempted to not love our neighbor as ourselves, to sin against them and to not love God with all our hearts, compromising our integrity, and offering artificial worship as part of our cover-up of our hypocritical lifestyle. Breaking the testimony of the covenant, the Ten Commandments, the 4 towards God, and the 6 towards others.
Textual Idea: The returned remnant to Judah was exhibiting covenant unfaithfulness after their return from exile. (Read Text)
Background: Malachi lists 11 debates between God and His people. Our text is the 4th debate/argument. But this is not the usual debate when the people ask God How. Here Malachi asks the people “Why” they are being unfaithful.
Sermon Idea: A severe warning against covenant unfaithfulness.
Interrogative: How were the Jews displaying covenant unfaithfulness?
Transition w/ Key Word: Malachi cites three ways in which God’s people were displaying covenant unfaithfulness.
(Body)
Division 1 Statement: The covenant people were being unfaithful by sinning against each other. vs. 10
Explanation: Question # 1, Yes, God is the Father of covenant people Q. # 2, Yes, they were created by God. In Adam, in womb, in Abraham, at birth of the nation. Made in the image of God as humans, chosen to be part of the special people, the covenant community by election. Q. # 3 Then, Why did they betray one another? Deal treacherously = betrayal, disloyalty, breaking faith, serious unfaithfulness, disunity, sowing discord. Why did they profane, pollute, and break the covenant made by their ancestors with God? The testimony and sign of the Mosaic Covenant, the Ten commandments. Four showed their loyalty to God, six their loyalty to one another.
Illustration: Cain and Abel, 13 Jamhir Ricks and 16 year old brother Antwan Ricks fought over a video game in Philadelphia in 2007 on a Sunday, Antwan’s heart and lung stabbed by Jamhir w/ a steak knife. He did not survive. Jamhir did not get his turn at the video game, he was charged with 1st degree murder. Another story, son sues for possession of house his common-law step mother lived in with his dad for 5 years, and then his dad lived alone for 12 years without a will. Families fight over inheritance. Some of the satire websites have a story about a church split over the spelling of the word “Hallelujah.” It is believable and funny because we all know of silly things that have divided Christian assemblies and have divided families.
Argumentation: Three love commands. God, neighbor, believer. Was it reasonable for the Jewish remnant to mistreat each other in the covenant community? Is it reasonable for Christians to be unfaithful to each other in the body of Christ? Why don’t we honor – spiritual unity – binds us together as the people of God?
Application: Like Jerusalem was the Mosaic covenant community for the exiles in Malachi’s day, the local church is the covenant community of those who claim to be the people of God today. Salvation has both an individual and corporate aspect. There was to be brotherly loyalty in Israel, there is to be brotherly loyalty in the church. To violate the moral law of God, was to break the covenant, be unfaithful, disloyal, a betrayer. When I worship something other than the invisible God of the Bible, when I use objects and pictures in worship, when I use God’s names when I am not praying or sharing the Bible, when I won’t work, rest, and give God a day of worship, when I dishonor my parents, hate or commit murder, lust or commit adultery, steal from God or others, tell lies to cover up my unfaithfulness, and long for the property and people that belong to my neighbor, I am breaking covenant with God and my neighbor.
Transition: What is the second way God’s people were displaying their covenant unfaithfulness?
Division 2 Statement: The covenant people were being unfaithful by having a wicked private life. vs. 11
Explanation: The returned exiles to Judah had become disloyal, unfaithful, betrayers. Their family life was an abomination- full of unspeakable wickedness. The people had disgraced, compromised, and defiled the things that had been set apart as holy to Yahweh. It would include objects like the candelabra, altar, and the ark of the testimony as well as the newly reconstructed temple. The covenant was w/ all of Israel even though then remnant was all in one area around Jerusalem. Some of the ways of unfaithfulness to each other was committing adultery and abandoning families to whom they had sworn to provide for until death. Some had divorced their wives and married unbelievers. Singles among priest and people were marrying idolatrous women. A daughter – a woman committed to a foreign God.
Illustration: In Numbers 22-25 see Balaam instructs Balak, a prince
& general of Midian that the only way to harm the Jews is to have the Midianite women trick them into worshiping false gods. Balak sent his another leaders daughter among the women used to deceive the Jews into compromising their worship, Cozbi. Zimri took the bait. God sent a plague, which was stopped by the loyalty of Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas, but 24K died. The devil has used the trick of mixed spiritual marriages to weaken the people of God for thousands of years.
Argumentation: Key requirement in all the ancient Hittite covenant treaties, Loyalty. Disloyalty to the requirements of the covenant and the great king of the covenant, Yahweh, had caused the exile. Was it reasonable for the Jews to enter this same path again when they knew the severe consequences? Is it reasonable for us to ignore our private lives and expect God to bless us because we show up for church?
Application: Unfaithfulness to marriage vows is a big issue in this chapter. Adultery that leads to idolatry and further covenant disloyalty. But some of the single priest and men in Judah were also bringing idolatrous women into their homes. To keep peace they were compromising with false gods and became spiritually defiled. 1 Cor 5 addresses this problem in the church. The private life compromises defiles the church. Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God's sanctuary have with idols? For we1 are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said: I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.
(2 Cor 6:14 HCSB) Those closest to you will either pull you up spiritually or pull you down. Be wise picking your closes friends. Be holy in your family and private life. What you are alone shows your real character.
Transition: Not only were the people unfaithful in public relationships and in their private relationships, but the third way they displayed this unfaithfulness was when
Division 3 Statement: The covenant people were being unfaithful by offering deceitful public worship. vs. 12
Explanation: Malachi offers a prayer for God to fulfill the covenant warnings. May Yahweh take action. How? Cut off, remove. This includes a shortened life span, those secretly doing this were only known to God, the nation could not judge the one living this way in secret. It can include the death penalty by the state. It includes the ending of descendants from continuing in the nation Israel, it includes being cut off from the community that enters heaven when they die. They chose private sin knowing it would lead to everlasting punishment. The tents of Jacob = the covenant community. The next idiom, from teacher to student, initiator or follower, one awake and one answers, all attempts to translate this mean the same as our idiom, from the first to the last, everyone who through bad relationships is involved in false worship, while presenting the offering as Priest or worshiper to Yahweh of Armies. Every last one in the community will be removed from the earth and from the promise of heaven. The consequences of sin are severe.
Illustration: King Solomon began well seeking wisdom and following the LORD. But in order to arrange peace treaties, he married many idol worshiping women who set up their idols on the promenade South of the city of Jerusalem. I know of a number of Pastors who after falling into immorality left the ministry to be with a woman who did not love the Lord. I heard an interview of one such man who became an atheist after marrying this woman who was an atheist.
Argumentation: If God want the Jews hearts and love, why should they think that they could participate in false worship and just show up to the temple and give an offering and Yahweh would be happy? God also wants your heart. He does not need your money. If you think He will over look a sinful private life because you give offerings of your time, talents, or treasure, you are only fooling yourself.
Application: Missionary dating is not wise because it leads to missionary marriage. This is not talking about race, as Moses wife, Rahab, Tamar, and Ruth were not from the Jewish race. It is talking about spiritually mixed marriages and ungodly secret practices at home. It is better in the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant to be a consistent pagan than to be a pretend believer offering Christian worship while participating in disloyalty to the community of faith and betraying your family for a life of sin. Living a dual life, one at church and one at home does not pay. You end up on the “cut off list,” which in the church is to include church discipline. But the secret sins can only be judged by God. Just going through the motions of worship is not a good thing. If you don’t belong to God, don’t pretend that you do.
Transition: You can’t be faithful until you surrender to Christ. It is against your nature.
Only Jesus is always faithful. He faithfully lived a holy life in the place of all who would believe on Him, and died in their place. He rose the third day and is reigning as Lord and Messiah, the perfect God –Man. Will you repent of your sins and trust Him today? That is the only way you can become faithful and not be hypocritical in worship.
(Conclusion)
Visualization: Judas was an unfaithful, disloyal, betrayer. Brutus betrayed Caesar. Benedict Arnold was an American General in the Revolutionary war. Out of anger and bitterness over certain decisions he switched to fight with the British against the colonies. Unfaithfulness is a plague in our land and in the American Church.
Reiteration: Malachi lists 3 ways in which God’s people were displaying covenant unfaithfulness. 1. By sinning against each other 2. By having a wicked private life 3. by insincere public worship.
Action: We sing, Bless be the ties that binds, our hearts in Christian love, the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Is it really? Fellowship on earth like that in heaven? Do we even take the time to fellowship with each other?
Appeal: When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain, but we shall still be joined in heart and hope to meet again. Keep your covenant promises to the Lord, to His Church, and to your spouse. Be a loyal, faithful, unifying person of faith. Be real.
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Sermon Title: Reasons for Unanswered Prayer
Sermon Text: Malachi 2:13–15a
(Introduction)
Attention: (ILL) Shipyard Advice, Grandpa, tell me about the good ole days
Vows being trashed, “To honor and cherish till death do us part, in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, Forsaking all others, so help me God.”
FCF: How important is covenant faithfulness? Are there any consequences to breaking covenants? We need to realize that our fallen natures work against being faithful to solemn vows and covenant commitments. Like the people in Judah, we too are tempted to think we can ignore broken horizontal relationships and still expect God to bless our labor and to come to our aid when we are in trouble.
Textual Idea: Malachi reminds the unfaithful covenant breakers in Judah why their worship was rejected and why their prayers were unanswered
Background: Malachi’s book lists 11 debates
1. About denying God’s love; 2. About honoring and glorifying God; 3. About defilement of God and His ordinances; 4. About covenant unfaithfulness
(and in the middle of this debate, he addresses); 5. About unanswered prayer
Sermon Idea: Moral failures that result in a persons prayers being unanswered
Interrogative: Why were the prayers and offerings of those in Judah unanswered?
Transition w/ Key Word: Our text today lists two moral failures that result in unanswered prayer
(Body)
Division 1 Statement: The failure to keep our covenantal vows to God. vs 13
Explanation: Prayer - Look at word “offering,” - grain offering of Lev 2. Minchah It is a required grain offering. First the Jewish man offered a Sin offering, sin separated him from God, then a Burnt offering of dedication, then the grain offering of sanctified labor, then the peace offering of fellowship. Minchah was made of finely ground wheat, with olive oil (presence) and Frankincense (prayer) put on it. This offering – jobs, skills, strength, energy, labor, - from – LORD. Man would bring it steps court of Priests, offering prayers for the crop and his labor, the Priests would take a portion, pray over it and put it on the brazen offering. Incense – in smoke. Remainder was food for the priest’s family. Drought, Curses, two sets of prayers, two sets of tears, both earnestly sorry they were under the drought and curse, not tears of repentance.
Illustration: Two spies promises to Rahab the Canaanite Inn keeper. They kept their vows in spite of any reasons they could think of not to. She entered the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. Sampson did not keep his Nazirite vows. He was captured, blinded, and it cost him his life. Keeping vows is important. Otherwise your word is no good. How can anybody believe a simple promise if you break vows before God?
Argumentation: Prerequisites for answered prayer “The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” (Pro 15:29 ESV) “If I had harbored sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 However, God heard; he listened to my prayer.” (Psa 66:18-19 NET) "Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces, the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows' houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive greater punishment." (Luke 20:46-47 HCSB) “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Pro 28:13 ESV) “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." (Mat 21:22 ESV) “You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” (John 15:16 HCSB) Ernest prayer is not looked down on by God, but rewarded. “Even now-- this is the LORD's declaration-- turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 13 Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster. (Joe 2:12 HCSB) But realize, He is not counting the tears, He is testing them. Are they frustration & anger at Him, or are they deep sorrow for sin?
Application: Do you want your prayers answered for your daily provisions or when you are in a crisis? Make sure you are in a new covenant relationship with God. Deal with the vertical aspect of the relationship, confessing and forsaking your sins quickly to God.
Transition: The second moral failure that result in unanswered prayer
Division 2 Statement: The failure to keep our covenantal vows to our spouse. Vs 14-15a
Explanation: God is a witness to the vows we make. Married when young, divorced when older. “Close companion.” one is bound by friendship, common goals and commitments, kinship, or by the oaths of a covenant The marriage covenant of companionship. Infidelity and adultery are a big deal. Why are we under the curse? Your sin, your betrayal of your covenantal vows. One man and one woman become one flesh. And why one flesh? Because he was seeking for a loyal man and woman over many years to raise godly offspring.
Illustration: Premarital counseling in NY, couples 1-3 did not come back. The 4th couple did. What was in the first session that so many did not come back? The Bible says you must be spiritually – same to get married, 2 unbelievers or 2 believers. Here is what a believer is according to – Bible. This is what they believe. This is the direction of their life. This is how someone becomes a believer. Admit you are a sinner under God’s wrath. Believe in person and work of Christ. Repent of your sins, Surrender to Jesus as Lord, trusting Him as your deliverer from sins power, control, consequences, and your love of sin.
Argumentation: “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” (1Pet 3:7 NIV) “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” (Eph 5:25 ESV) “To the married I give this command– not I, but the Lord– a wife should not divorce a husband” . . . and a husband should not divorce his wife. (1 Cor 7:10-11 NET)
Application: Divorce hurts everyone, children, parents, extended family. Betrayal, disloyalty, covenantal treason and treachery put you in a state of broken fellowship with God. Repair the relationships and make restitution if you are the guilty party of an unbiblical divorce. Keep your promises and your vows with humans because your horizontal relationships affect hour vertical relationship with God. Get pre-martial counseling while to consider things before the vows are made. That is the place to discover irreconcilable differences, before the vows, because that is not a biblical reason after the vows
Transition: Malachi give us practical directions on how to live if we want to be able to call out to God in an emergency and for God to hear our prayers and respond
(Conclusion)
Visualization: Hannah made a vow to the LORD. If you give me a son, I will give him back to you. Easy, no. Did she keep her vow? Yes. Did it result in blessing for her, her husband, Samuel, and Israel? Yes (1 Samuel 1-3)
Reiteration: Our text today lists moral failures that result in unanswered prayer
2. The failure to keep our covenantal vows to our spouse
Action: God does not say He hates divorced people, as you will see in the next message. In a fallen world divorce may be the best of several bad choices.
But not for many of the large number of professing Christians that are doing it.
Appeal: But I can’t stay with this difficult person in my own strength.
That is right. Come to Jesus. Get right with God. Get saved so His power can flow through you and to you. Repent & Believe the gospel - only hope. You can’t do it w/o Jesus. End your days as a make-believer. Come to the Lord Christ. Let’s bring back the good old days in the church for promises to stick and Daddy’s to stay.
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Sermon title: God and Divorce
Text: Malachi 2:15b-16
(Introduction)
1. (ILL.) Sarah was her name for this story, but it has been changed. She told me her story. Her mom had gotten saved after getting married, and she was married to an unbeliever. She saw what her dad was like. Sarah, decided she would not make that mistake. She was a Christian and she would only marry a Christian, just like the Bible said. A man showed interest in her, but she told him she could not get serious with him because he was not a Christian. He asked if he could talk to her pastor, and she said that would be fine. The pastor told him to come to a service and to come down to the front. He was given the easy-believism message, just acknowledge that Jesus died and rose again and you will be saved. So he went to the front, the next week was baptized and joined the church. Sarah then agreed to date him and later accepted his proposal. The week after they returned from their honeymoon he told her that he was not going back to that church, they he had not changed his views on anything, he just played their game so that he could marry her. 1 Cor 7 says, wives, do not leave your husbands, so even though she was disgusted and hurt, she stayed to make the best out of a bad situation. Then she caught him committing adultery, and he said he was sorry and it would not happen again. But it did, again and again. Finally he admitted it was going to keep on happening. Well, based on Matt 19, Sarah left. He remarried and then she remarried, but to a real Christian this time. None of this was her plan, she was the victim, not the perpetrator, the guilty party. There were some in the church we were in that wanted to treat her as a 2nd class Christian, but I said it was not going to happen. She was the innocent party, a victim and that was the end of the story.
In the Civil law of Israel in Deuteronomy that is a section that reflects the grace of God to the innocent victims rather than His holiness that the moral law reflects "If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper (indecency, gross sexual impropriety) about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.1 2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man's wife, 3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he dies, 4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the LORD. You must not bring guilt on the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. (Deu 24:1-4 HCSB)
The theory, no divorce, no remarriage, not exception that I was taught and even adopted for a while does not fit with this passage at all. The man who promoted this view so strongly, Charles Ryrie, is now divorced. He has not been consistent with his former view, as he now teaches pastors. It is not possible to be consistent with this view in a fallen world.
Friends, we need to love and minister to all kinds of sinners and victims. We need to approach them as one beggar showing another beggar where he found bread, not as high and mighty examples of perfection.
Direction:
1. We need to know how God feels about divorce and violence.
2. We need to make every effort to be faithful to our covenant commitments.
So firstly,
I. WE NEED TO KNOW HOW GOD FEELS ABOUT DIVORCE AND VIOLENCE. vs 15b-16
Be attentive, then, to your own spirit (or life), for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth. 16 "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and the one who is guilty of violence," says the LORD who rules over all. "Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful (betray each other)." (Mal 2:15b-16 NET)
"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate it when people clothe themselves with injustice," says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. (Mal 2:15 TNIV)
"If he hates and divorces his wife," says the LORD God of Israel, "he covers his garment with injustice," says the LORD of Hosts. (Mal 2:15 HCSB)
“If a man divorces or sends away his wife, he overwhelms her with cruelty.”
A. The LORD God of Israel, Yahweh, the God of the Bible, the covenant God, the faithful, eternally present one, hates covenant breaking.
B. The man who has broken his vows before God, his wife, and witnesses, is the one who did not keep his sacred promise and pledge to his wife to be a husband to her exclusively. If he has broken his vows to pursue another person, he is a covenant breaker. He is untrustworthy. He vowed before God to stop shopping around on his wedding day. If he breaks his vows, as the men in Judah, for someone younger, nicer, more attractive, he is in sin. God hates it when men or women do this.
C. But she is so pretty and she treats me so nice.
That was a legitimate consideration when you were dating or courting, but marriage changes things. No more shopping around. Even Reba MaCentire Got it right, I met you one promise too late. Sorry, no go.
D. In this book, God does not ask the woman who was thrown out of her home, w/ no job, no money, her parents are dead, Why did you get divorced? It happened to her, when God says He hates divorce she understands why and agrees with Him. God hates what divorce does to her and everyone else
She is the innocent party, so God’s word to her is I love you & I will support you. I will hold accountable the one who has wronged you. In our day it is just as easy for a woman to leave her husband for someone who appears to be better, and even if they are butter, you promised to stop looking and be faithful. You made a solemn vow before God and witnesses and God expects you to keep it. God hates all covenant breaking, unfaithfulness, and God hates the scars of divorce on the couple, the children, the extended family, on society, on - church. But God does not say I hate divorced people. Some churches say we hate divorced people so we can nip this in the bud, stop it at all costs. That is not God’s way to deal with this problem. Remember, Forgiveness is available for every sin that is confessed and forsaken. Be careful of your choices before you make your vows.They cannot be broken without serious consequences. When the Bible says the path of the law breaker is hard, it means what it says.
E. Be very careful of your choices and vows. Don’t make promises unless you intend to keep them even when it hard to keep them. Solemn vows, are oaths before God and men. Vows should only be broken in extreme cases, never for convenience or for a feeling.
A Psalm of David. O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. (Psa 15:1-5 ESV)
“Who keeps his oath even when it hurts.”
II. WE NEED TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO BE FAITHFUL TO OUR COVENANT COMMITMENTS. vs 16b
“Respect your own life, therefore, and do not break faith like this.” Do not be disloyal, a covenant breaker
. Jeremiah Chapter 3 ‘During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD. 11 The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”’
(Jer 3:6-11 NIV)
B. It appears that God is figuratively divorced. When He says He hates divorce, he does not mean that he hates divorced people. Nor does the Bible view all divorces the same. God the father in righteousness figuratively married and divorced Israel after she broke the covenant. So the circumstances do matter. This is covenantal language
C. But God says He hates divorce - so my job is to tell that to every divorced person in such a way that they think God hates them. Not so.
Her name was Grace, it really was, and she was an excellent organist. She had met a fellow at a service man’s center during the Korean Conflict. He said he was a Christian. They dated, he offered marriage. On honey-moon, he told her he was a homosexual and would never love her. He went to a liberal school and became a Methodist minster. As far as she knew, he was not practicing his lifestyle of death. Between churches he was working at a nursing home. He got caught abusing one male patients. He was fired, & he started going to the clubs.
He told his wife he was coming out and she would have to live with it. This was the 1980's and AIDS was spreading rapidly, so Grace got a separation in order to save her life. He refused to stop his adultery. He moved several states away. She was working a new job, she got the papers he was suing her for divorce. She did not have any time off or money, so she was unable to do anything about the court case. It happened in her absence. The next day he remarried to keep his cover on his lifestyle. Grace was a Christian, who made every attempt to obey the Bible at every cross road living in a fallen world with wicked people. She is now in heaven. But the Graces in our town need our love, care and support not condemnation and blame.
There are some churches that would not let her play the organ because she was divorced. She did not want to be. It happened to her.
D. God approves of biblical divorces that are necessary in His grace and mercy to protect the innocent.
1. I want to be free. No.
2. I want somebody else. No.3. O.T. Mixed marriages are a major case of allowed divorces
4. In Nehemiah and Ezra, God required divorce of some of the same people that Malachi is speaking and writing too. God says: Turn around now and divorce your pagan idolatrous wives. The Old covenant answer from the word of God for mixed marriages was divorce. They had departed from God’s will, and that was the only way back, because these spouses had not converted like Rahab or Ruth converted. The faith line and godly seed must be preserved. The Messiah is coming, idolatry must be kept out of the land.
5. In the New covenant, after Jesus had come the kingdom was in place, the requirement changed. In the New covenant, the believer is to remain married to pagan spouse as long as they agree to stay with them. 1 Cor 7:15 tells God standard if the pagan wants out of the marriage. This is a command from God.
(1 Cor 7:15 NIV) But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. Not bound to what? The marriage vows. They are free to remarry, no longer being bound. Divorce is like a death in this instance. Why Paul? Because God has called us to live in peace.
6. The counsel - you stay in that home - one that is a hell - earth, one where a man comes home drunk & beats - not disciplines - beats everyone into a bloody pulp - or he rapes - children. To say to a wife in such a home - You stay in that marriage because God hates divorce. That is not good advice. God says: He has called us to peace in - home... & that He hates violence in - home as much as He hates divorce. Divorce is not the unpardonable sin
7. God approves of divorce when one party of the marriage is living in continual unrepentant martial infidelity - all forms of porneia: addiction to pornography, affairs, adultery, voyeurism, child sexual abuse, any perverted sex w/ any thing or person. God says in that type of marriage, w/ that type of partner you do not have to stay & pretend that you still have a marriage. Marriage is a Covenant of Companionship: exclusive relationship / unique unity / continual faithfulness integrity, y, fidelity, honesty, & caring love. When one person becomes a continual covenant breaker, the covenant is no longer valid. Its dead whether you bury it or not. Covenant's are always 2 way streets, when only one person is keeping the vows, the covenant is broken. So when a partner continually violates -covenant by any type of porneia (sexual immorality) and refuse to repent, they become just like Israel did to - God the Father They have broken the covenant contract, it has been violated, so the innocent party has the right to be free, but if the guilty repent they should forgive just like Hosea did Gome.
Mat 19:9 makes it clear, any form of continual martial unfaithfulness severs -marriage covenant & leaves the victim guiltless & free to remarry.
In Love Must Be Tough, Dobson tells the story of a Christian wife that let her husband move his mistress into the home with the two of them. She was trying to be loving. She was not obeying Scripture. What is the Bible’s verdict on this situation? The Bible always tells us to deal with adultery swiftly.
8. Notice the "And" in verse 16.
And I hate a man covering his wife w/ violence as well as w/ his garment. Malachi says God also hates violence. I hate this and this. Divorce and one of the causes of divorce. In this context the violence appears to be domestic violence. God doesn't just hate divorce, He also hates spouse & child abuse. He hates violence to a spouse, He hates it when children are severely beaten or raped.
Domestic violence also breaks your vows to love and protect, to forsake all others. You have broken faith, violated - covenant the marriage has been killed
9. When authority is abused it is lost. Don’t ever disobey the Bible to obey someone with authority.
(Conclusion)
Even when Muriel got to the point she could not remember who he was, she was still very comfortable when he was around and agitated when he was gone. For about 10 years he stayed home most of the time and took care of her before she went to heaven. The vow to Muriel was first, so it was clear what to do.
In sickness and in health, so help me God.
Friends keep your vows, pledges, and duties to God.
Remember when you break your vows and your covenant with your spouse you are being unfaithful to God. Stop dating the church, join, make a commitment, and then keep it. God is your primary relationship, above all others,
obey God first by obeying His Word. His word tells us that He forbids adultery, all sexual immorality before, during, or after marriage, all spouse swapping, all covenant unfaithfulness. If you sign a contract, keep it. If you won’t be faithful to people you can see, you won’t be faithful to the invisible God.
Don’t make vows quickly or lightly. But once you make one, stick it out if at all possible. God’s word includes the possible exceptions
there are not many, just two: continual unrepentant sexual immorality and desertion and a hint in Malachi 2:16 toward violence as another possible one
(Review): We have seen
1. We need to know how God feels about divorce and violence.
2. We need to make every effort to be faithful to our covenant commitments.
It is required of stewards that they be found faithful. Keep your vows. At the same time, as a church, remember, the wounded need our ministry not an attack
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Text: Malachi 3:2-4
Introduction
1. (ILL.) A soap manufacturer and a pastor were walking together down a street in a large city. The soap manufacturer casually said, "The gospel you preach hasn't done much good, has it? Just observe. There is still a lot of wickedness in the world, and a lot of wicked people, too!" The pastor made no reply until they passed a dirty little child making mud pies in the gutter. Seizing the opportunity, the pastor said, "I see that soap hasn't done much good in the world; for there is much dirt, and many dirty people around." The soap manufacturer replied, "Oh, well, soap is only useful when it is applied." And the pastor said, "Exactly, so it is with the gospel."
2. (Review) The God of Justice came to the temple and then He turned his back on the temple. A desolate house, His body was the new temple, His church the new Jerusalem. Jesus cleansed the temple twice and as the silver smith He sat over the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem as Lord and Christ doing away with the obsolete system of worship that He replaced with New Covenant worship. He saved Levites and Priests that came into the New Covenant with great resources and knowledge Trained minds at the disposal of the Lord
3. (Direction) We want to look at two things today:
I. Every Believer should acknowledge the Messiah role as Judge and separator.
II. Every Believer should admit the need for reformation of the Lord’s people’s worship.
I. EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE THE MESSIAH ROLE AS JUDGE AND SEPARATOR. 2-3
A. It is Jesus’ job to separate the wicked from the righteous.
1. The day of the Lord is a day of division.
2. The just & righteous divided from the unjust & wicked.
3. The slag & dross is separated from the pure metal.
4. The dirt is divided from the cloth.
5. The chaff from the wheat, the wheat from the weeds, the sheep from the goats, elect from the non-elect, believer from - unbeliever.
Jesus said I come to bring not peace, But a sword, division will come.
1 Cor 11:18-19
B. It is Jesus’ job to rule over creation
1. He sits to judge
2. He sits to rule
3. He is the King of Kings
4. He is sovereign
C. Jesus uses two tools to accomplish his division
1. Fire: the metal smith gets the metal just to the right temperature
2. Lye soap: the professional launder uses strong chemicals to separate the dirt from the cloth. Some they have to use gloves as it would burn the skin.
3. If you are God’s child, Jesus has you on the rock, along the river side and you in the pot. He will give you a washing and a cooking to get the job done.
Heb. 12 pictures it as a spanking. If he loves you, He spanks you. If you sin and don’t get one then you don’t belong to Him.
II. EVERY BELIEVER SHOULD ADMIT THE NEED FOR REFORMATION OF THE LORD’S PEOPLE’S WORSHIP. 3-4
A. The pure worship predicted is of the N.T. period right up to our day.
B. 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10
C. What are the New Covenant spiritual sacrifices?
1. Our lives - dedicated to God, body - soul - mind, Rom 12:1-2
2. Our praises & thanksgivings offered to God verbally Heb 13:15
3. Our good works done for others Heb. 13:16
4. Our offerings Phil 4:14-18
5. Our proper living of the Christian life. Amy Carmichael called the Christian life A chance to die, to die to self, to live a life of sacrifice & service to others Phil 2:17
6. Our evangelism, the people we share Christ with and the Holy Spirit saves Rom. 15:16
D. The pure worship predicted was also proper worship.
1. Biblical worship must be done a certain way.
2. Worship must be according to the truth firmly regulated by the Bible.
3. Worship must be done with the right heart attitude, in spirit, w/ our inner man engaged in thinking, feeling, speaking, adoring
4. God pleasing worship includes an offering in righteousness, offered from
every place, No longer just in Jerusalem.
5. God pleasing worship includes worshiping the Lord with Reverence.
We must carefully follow the Bible in what we do and don’t do in worship.
To the Law & the prophets.
If it is not in the Bible, don’t do it.
E. Real believers in Jesus become worshipers of God. Malachi says Jerusalem and Judah, Country and Capital to show this will be a complete widespread restoration of biblical worship. And is this not where New Covenant worship started? You shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem & Judea, then Samaria, then the uttermost parts of the earth.
F. Reformation of worship to follow the biblical pattern is pleasing to God.
There is problem with Malachi’s audience, Heartless meaningless rituals that are not up to the standards. When we offer to God our left overs, just go through the motions of worship, but don’t care about what we are saying, doing, and thinking, we are committing this same sin.
Jesus will get the wicked out & the elect right by the silversmiths fire and the launders’ lye soap.
Conclusion
1. Every Believer should acknowledge the Messiah role as Judge and separator.
He has a clean up operation going on. He is going to divide and separate
2. Every Believer should admit the need for reformation of the Lord’s people’s worship.
Many today worship much like the Jews of Malachi’s day, we have different type of sacrifices in the New Covenant, but many still give God their leftovers & not there best. Get right with God. Come to Jesus. Worship begins w/ a relationship.
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Sermon title: A Call to Trust an Unchanging God
Text: Malachi 3:5-7
Read Malachi 2:17 - 3:9
The attitude of Malachi’s day people were guilty - serious sins.The priest were offering blemished animals, insincere religious ritualism. Many were divorcing their wives to marry unbelieving women. Most had been disobedient by withholding their tithes. Some were accusing God of loving them half-hearted & being unjust in His dealings w/ them because God had not prospered them enough.“We have been utterly faithful - fulfilling our responsibilities to God. Never mind - divorces, mixed-marriages, or - tithes. We keep our side of the bargain by what seems important to us. We have been faithful. God is unfaithful. Obedience to God just does not work. God has not blessed us. It is all God’s fault! God is not blessing. It can’t be me that has a problem. It must be God. This was the wrong thinking of many in Judah. God, the Persians don’t offer sacrifices, and we do and it doesn’t pay off. So You approve of evil people. You are not just. You have changed your mind about the covenant. You are not faithful to your promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Israel. God you have let us down.
Malachi is going to teach us 3 things we must believe in these verses:
We must believe
1. That the Lord is coming as judge.
2. That the Lord does not change.
3. That the Lord wants us to change.
I. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT THE LORD IS COMING AS JUDGE. Vs 5
A. Jesus first coming - 4 B.C. began His work - separating Jews, then all peoples
His focus is on the purify of each believer
B. Jesus’ coming in punishment on Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and his Second coming both focus on Judgement & separation. Read Matt. 25
Where is the God of justice? Jesus is coming and you will see - God of justice
Jesus will be an expert witness. He lists seven sins he will testify against you.
Where is - God of justice? He is coming to His temple, but most will not believe Him
or obey Him
II. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT THE LORD DOES NOT CHANGE.
A. The Bible teaches that God does not change.
Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14; James 1:17; Isa 46:9-10
Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
B. God is immutable. Being perfect, God does not and cannot change.
C. The sons of Jacob are not destroyed, just as God promised
D. God is unchanging in His faithfulness. Unfortunately, Israel was always rebelling
III. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT THE LORD WANTS US TO CHANGE.
B. We have turned away from God’s law.
C. God’s calls us to return, to repent
. The Sons of Abraham departed from truth and holiness
God says, Repent and come back to Me
How much of me has to turn around? All of me, mind, will, thoughts,
emotions, strength, body, heart. A total U turn
D. God promises a covenant relationship if we will repent
Will you repent?
E. How will you respond, God is calling you to repentance?
Repent & believe - gospel Repent & obey Christ
F. Church, repent or I’ll put out your candlestick
Will you acknowledge your sin, forsake it, replace it?
Conclusion
We must believe that
1. the Lord is coming as judge.
2. the Lord does not change.
3. the Lord wants us to change.
You must change to grow and to go. Change is scary -
but you must change, you must repent (ILL.) Prodical son
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Sermon Title: Robbers of God
Text: Malachi 3:7-12
Introduction
A biblical Christian performs the duties laid out in Bible because of the relationship between him and God. If he loves God, he obeys God
The Bible says that Jesus is the author of salvation for all who obey Him.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments & I & My Father
will have special fellowship w/ you.
2. (Review) In our study of Malachi - come argument - people - God
"About Robbery" - sprung out of - argument - repentance
The people ask, What on earth should we repent over? How have we departed from Your ordinances? How, an obvious example is your robbery of God.
Who would hold God up by force & take His money? You do whenever you
withhold His tithes & offerings.
3. (Direction) As we study these verses today we shall discover 3 principles:
Every child of God
1. must obey the word of God.
2. should consider the results of disobedience to Biblical duties.
3. should consider the results of obedience to Biblical duties.
I. EVERY CHILD OF GOD MUST OBEY THE WORD OF GOD. vs 7-8, 10a
A. God holds His people responsible for doing what He has told them to do in the Bible. But I want to steal. God will understand. His standards are to high I want to lust to covet. Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice in the word & they obey it and follow Me, I call them and they come. But the goats buck. The sheep obey.
B. God's people were required to give of their resources to the old Covenant channel of redemption - temple.
1. They were forbidden to make offerings or pay tithes anywhere else
only - place God specified - temple - Jerusalem
the one & only old covenant channel of redemption
2. To hold back some - tithe , give less - best, was to take by force
that which belonged to God
C. Will a man rob God? Oh no! No way!
D. You, friend, are robbing Me, says God
E. How have we robbed You, God?
F. You are not paying your tithes & offerings.
1. Tithe means a tenth.
God's old Covenant. people were required to contribute 2 kinds of tithes:
a. Regular tithe - a tenth of produce or prosperity was - go Levities
- Levities gave 10% of - allotment - priests.
b. Fellowship meal - tithe - 2 out of every 3 yrs. men bring - families
to eat 10% of their profits for that year. ( mostly produce - farm)
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Malachi 3 Theme: Return to heartfelt obedience to the covenant
God’s Law
N.T. Principles of Giving
[see David A. Croteau, Perspectives on Tithing: 4 Views
(Nashville, TN: B & H), 2011.]
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Sermon title: The End is Here, Again?
Text: Malachi 4:1-3
Introduction
1. (Ill.) Listen to this quote and tell me if it accurately describes our day:
“Of all the signs described by our Lord as preceding the end of the world, some we see already accomplished. ... For we now see that nation arises against nation and that they press and weigh upon the land in our own times as never before in the annals of the past. Earthquakes overwhelm countless cities, as we often hear from other parts of the world. Pestilence we endure without interruption. It is true that we do not behold signs in the sun and moon and stars but that these are not far off we may infer from the changes of the atmosphere.”
Who said this? A bishop named Gregory around 600 A.D., He was wrong. The end is near. Wrong! 1400 years wrong so far....Many other have thought the same thing in the last 2000 yrs. William Miller, father 7th Day Adventist, & Advent Christian predicted Jesus would return on Oct. 22, 1844. He had a huge following in NY state & - country, but like all date setters & false prophets, he was wrong. Cults set dates.
Don't Forget. God's prophets have to be 100% right every time.
Jesus said no man would know the day or the hour, or the times, season, it is none of our business. If we get hung up on this, we get out of balance.(Mat 24:14) Jesus - "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the ethnic groups, and then the end will come."
Today there are 11,000 people groups w/ no significant gospel witness, and without a greater missions thrust. You will die & be buried, your children will die & be buried, your grandchildren will die & be buried and the task still unfinished at the current rate.
Acts 1 Its none of your business, but be my witnesses...
Plan long range, make attempts to do great things for God. Do things that will last.
2. (Review) We studied in the last verses of Chpt. 3 We saw :
a. that God records and rewards the deeds of the faithful.
b. that God promises to rescue and receive the faithful.
c. that God's coming righteous review will remove the unfaithful from the faithful. The skeptics complained about God. The elect remnant encouraged each other and met together. They belonged to God. They are His jewels. God polishes them w/ trials & testings. The wicked in Jerusalem will soon be removed from the righteous.
3. (Direction) Today as we continue our study:
a. the discriminating retribution on the wicked.
b. The recorded arrival of the Messiah.
c. The restoration of the reverent remnant.
I. EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST LEARN ABOUT THE DISCRIMINATING RETRIBUTION ON THE WICKED. vs 1
A. The wicked appear to get off for years.
God-fearers appear to be the losers. The rejection & punishment of the wicked happens from time to time, Noah & flood, Sodom & Lot, Exile Northern kingdom of Israel’s destruction, and that of Jerusalem. Don't worry, God keeps the books, no one get away with sin.
B. The Day is coming
1. "The Day" in - Bible is not just one day, but a number of events in successive fulfillment. "The Day of the Lord" is used for all of the historical events displaying both the judgement and salvation of God as He intervenes in human history. It concludes with the Last day (period) of Judgement, but often it is referring to an event about to occur that may be a type of the final judgement.
2. In the text in Zephaniah, the prophet was writing about 630 B.C. Zeph 1:4
3. 60 yrs. after Zephaniah wrote this, Nebuchanezzar & - Nation of Babylon
came and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. This was one of the days of the LORD
4. In Isaiah Chpt. 13, he prophecies about the Medes & Persians under Cyrus are going to destroy Babylon. Isa 13:6 This happened at 539 B.C.
"The Day of the Lord" is used for all of the historical events displaying both the judgement and salvation of God as He intervenes in Human History.
5. Many excellent Bible scholars see the text in Malachi as first referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by - Romans in 70 A.D., and that event being a type of the Last Judgement
6. John the Baptist, who is in Mal. 3 & 4 uses this terminology in Matt 3:10
Separating the righteous from the wicked with oven fire.
C. When is Jesus going to do this separating?
Mat 24:34; Mat 16:27; Mat 26:64; John 21:21
D. The Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and the sparing of the Christians who fled to Pella because they saw Matt. 24 being fulfilled, is the primary application of Malachi 4:1-3. Some of these things will have another fulfillment at the last judgement as well.
E. Burning like an oven for all those who don't fear God.
All the Jews in Jerusalem, the ones who helped murder the Messiah and would not repent were slaughtered, and their ashes were over the ground along with the temple, the buildings,
and the walls.
F. Neither root or branch will be left.None of the wicked will escape, from top to bottom, all will be judged.
Like the dessert heat, everything scorched. Like an furnace, everything get's set on fire. Stubble, chaff, dry weeds burns quickly. Quick will be the start, forever the flame, never put out on both body and soul.
"God's prior judgments are but foretastes of what will come in the final day as the totality of God's wrath will be finally felt. The wicked will be ignited like dry stubble after a hot summer."
G. 70 A.D. was a preview of the end, and that's why Jesus combines them together in Mat. 24
II. EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST LEARN ABOUT THE RECORDED ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIAH. vs 2
A. Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness. This is a figure of speech, sun rising in the sky, the Bright & morning Star (Sun). The light of the world is sun, is Jesus.
No sun or moon for light reigning King of Light in heaven. Isa 60:19; Rev 21:23
B. Healing in His wings, rays. The sun light, the rays bring 'healing', abundant peace, new life. Spiritual healing for the believers. Peace and joy come w/ the salvation, while the curse removed the sinner. The Sun’s rays swoop on earth like a plane. The same rays bring life to one plant, burn another plant.
Mal. 3:1-3, Messiah is Jesus. Jesus, like the sun’s rays brings life, peace,
health to the earth.
III. EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST LEARN ABOUT THE RESTORATION OF THE REVERENT REMNANT. vs 2-3
A. You who fear My name, My elect Jewels, I will protect you. You will go out of
Jerusalem in 67 A.D., You will be spared on the day of judgement too.
B. I will heal your sin sick souls of spiritual death.
Jesus' payment for the Jewels sins gets them out of judgment. The Light of the world, the righteous Sun is Jesus. The Messiah came healing with the power of God to authenticate Himself and His message and to show His compassion. He heals today when it meets His purposes in connection with believing prayer.
C. You will rejoice on that day. The Christians in Pella, will be grateful that God spared their lives. The elect on judgement day will be glad to have their names in the book of life.
D. Like calves pinned up in a barn for a bad winter, just let out on a beautiful
warm day, skip around, so you will dance with joy. Salvation is not welcome to our rules, but welcome to the family and the celebration. Luke 15
Calves jump around in - sun light, we respond to our light, Jesus, on His day.
E. The wicked will be under our feet. Gen 3:15, Rom 16:20
"In the light of the sun, these jewels shall go forth to their daily tasks in this world of sin and temptation and trails, and they shall 'grow up'. They are not like sheep compelled to look for their scanty food on parched desert ground. They are carefully fed in the stalls, special feeding compartments, where they receive the best food. They have the Word of God, the ordinances, their devotional books, the communion with their fellow men so that they can go forth joyfully in exuberant vitality and strength."
Are you growing? Are you joyful? What are you going to do to get there? Are you locked up in the prison house of legalism, so that you can't dance? He will set the captive free.
Conclusion
EVERY CHRISTIAN MUST LEARN ABOUT:
a. the discriminating retribution on the wicked.
b. The recorded arrival of the Messiah.
c. The restoration of the reverent remnant.
The wicked Jews who rejected the Messiah were punished as Jesus and other said they would be in Luke 23:26. Their punishment has been over for thousands of years. Christians should not join Satan in abusing the Jews.
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Text: Malachi 4:4
Introduction
1. When we discuss the subject of the law and mankind, we must remember Rom 2:15 and Gal 3:24. The Antinomian heresy, no law, has showed up many times in church history, on one side of legalism or the other. Balanced Christianity preaches duty to Christ's commands out of fear consequences of sin, reverence for God, love & gratitude for the free gift of forgiveness. This is how I say thank you to God, by keeping the ten words, the Ten Commandments, and all the moral laws of God.
2. (Direction)
We must learn the law of Moses.
We must keep the moral law of Moses.
We must go to the written record alone.
I. WE MUST LEARN THE LAW OF MOSES. vs. 4
A. (ILL.) The lack of knowledge of the Ten Commandments among Christians is
sad and inexcusable. You need to use the moral law to witness for Christ. When someone denies they are a sinner, you pull out the moral law. You must know it to use it.
B. My servant Moses shows God's authority, & God as the source of the law.
Moses as the scribe. Jesus handed Moses the tablets.
C. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai
D. Statutes and judgments used together represent the whole law of Moses
1. The Ceremonial and Purity laws deal with, feasts, circumcision, diets, sacrifices. These were temporary types.
2. The Civil law was specific rules for the nation of Israel that are examples in time and one culture on how to apply the principles of the moral laws behind them. These give the Christian wisdom today, but the Jews were required to keep these as well as the ceremonial laws.
3. The Moral law reflects the holy nature of God and is always binding on the
people of God in every time period.
E. Three types of Laws were given to Israel, all 3 were binding on them.
In the New Covenant only the Moral Law is binding upon the people of God.
In - N.T. free from the law means not under the ceremonial law - diets
circumcision, holy days. We are not free to murder.
In the N.T. free from the curse of the Moral law. The law says to the
unbeliever, “Do this or die. But to the believer, the moral law says,
“Do this.” What are these laws? 10 words?
1. We may worship no one else but the true God of the Bible.
2. We should not have wrong thoughts about God, and should only worship Him as taught in the Bible. We are forbidden to use statues, pictures, or images.
3. We must not claim God’s nature is empty or powerless. God’s name reveals His nature. Words like “Luck, fate, chance, Evolution, atheism deny God greatness. So don’t use God’s name thoughtlessly or commonly.
4. We must work, worship, and rest. Keep one day each week set apart for God,
and work on the other six days.
5. We must respect, love and provide for our mothers and fathers and obey them, and all those whom God places in authority over us.
6. We must not murder or have hateful thoughts about other people.
7. We must not commit adultery with our bodies or in our minds. Sexual acts may only be done with a person of the opposite gender to whom we are currently married.
8. We must not steal any property that belongs to someone else.
9. We must not false accuse someone before others or tell lies.10. We must not be jealous of other people’s possessions, nor to long for them.
F. This is for all Israel
This applied to everyone. The call to the law is not a call to retreat into formalism or ritualistic legalism. The law here deals with main point of the Moses’ instruction Expressed in the holiness of God. Mat 5:17
God’s people and law are inseparable.
If God’s people did not keep the Law, then they must be subject to the judgments warned of in that Law. New Testament believers must be careful to not erect a wall of partition between the Law of God and the promises of God. Paul answers the question if the promises ended God’s Law . He said,
no by faith the Law had been established, not wiped out. Rom. 3:3
Paul did not say 3/4 of God’s word was obsolete and of no value.
The Old Testament is Infallible Scripture.
Jesus also taught the Moral Law was for us. Mat 19:17-26, Luke 16:17
John writes: 1 John 3:4 If their is no law, there is no sin.
1 John 5:3; James 1:25; Heb. 8:5-10
The 1689 Baptist Confession says:
Obedience to the moral law remains for ever binding upon both justified persons and all others. And that in respect of the actual content of the law, and also the authority of God, the creator, who is its author. In the gospel Christ in no way cancels the necessity for this obedience; on the contrary He greatly stresses our obligation to obey the moral law.
(ILL.) What is - law for? Protection, Own Good. We must know it to do it.
My people perish for a lack of knowledge.
II. WE MUST KEEP THE MORAL LAW OF MOSES. vs 4
A. The Hebrew term "Remember" means to keep, observe, do something.
Not just use of memory, action. This is a command. All moral laws 66 books
Bible, Including the 10 commandments are our duty, and our tool. We say
thank you for the great salvation you have given me.
Mat 28:20; What has Jesus commanded us? Mat 5
Eph 4:28; Eph 6:2-3
The closing verses of the O.T. refers to God’s law, an absolute, an inflexible
standard. God is unchanged, His judgement is unchanged. God’s moral law is unchanged. The people are supposed to change. Because God remains
unchanged in His righteousness, so the expression of His righteousness. The obligation to live by God’s standard also remains unchanged.
Remember the law. Observe it, keep it do it. A true relationship with God is
always followed by obedience. Imperfect, yes. But the desire and the direction of a real Christian is always obedience.
Gal 3:24; Rev 12:17
III. WE MUST GO TO THE WRITTEN RECORD ALONE.
Learn to ask the question, where is that in the Bible? Peoples opinions must
surrender to Scripture.
A. Malachi was the last writing prophet of the Old Testament
B. After Malachi words were given, a 400 year period w/o prophecy was
commenced.
C. Elijah, John the Baptist broke the silence in getting the people ready for Jesus, just as Malachi
predicted.
D. We too must go to the written record, because the cannon is closed. Scripture is complete.E. The order from Malachi is to go to the written record. The last prophet mentions two other Scripture writers Moses & Elijah. The LAW & PROPHETS
Go to your Bibles friends for answers in how to live.
(ILL.) Hana went to God alone in prayer. Jesus when He fought the devil, said,
It is written. What does the Bible say? Where is that in the Bible?
Conclusion
We must learn the law of Moses.
We must keep the moral law of Moses.
We must go to the written record Alone.
9 plagues had devastated Egypt. Pharaoh was looking for an easy way out. He was ready to make a deal for relief, not to obey the God of the Hebrews He had offer to just let the men go and worship, but Moses was doing God’s work God’s way so he would not budge Pharaoh is ready for a new deal, compromise. Moses, said, not one hoof, on one of 4 legs of one animal may remain in Egypt. That is the deal. No compromise when God has spoken clearly in His word. Christian, Learn the Law, keep the moral Law. Go to the Bible alone for truth. If you are not a real believer, the law says to you do this perfectly or die. You can’t measure up. You need someone to keep the law perfectly for you. The Messiah who died on a cross is your only hope.
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"Elijah is Coming"
Malachi 4:5-6
Introduction
1. (Illustration) Ahab & Jezebel; Herod & Herodias
Elijah confronted Ahab about his act of murder and theft to get Naboth’s vineyard. His wife Jezebel wanted Elijah dead. Elijah had brought several bad messages to Ahab. He fearlessly exposes sin in his day. Elijah applied the law of God to everyone. He spoke God’s word just the way it was. The wicked woman Jezebel set out to destroy God’s prophet for exposing her sin, and then exposing her god, Baal, on Mt. Carmel. In the same spirit, John the Baptist confronted Herod for his adultery of taking his brother's wife Herodias, and she wanted John the Baptist dead, because he prophetically and clearly exposed their sin, declaring it was not lawful. Adultery. Another powerful woman who refused to hear the truth, and would stop at nothing less than destroying the man of God that spoke the truth. Herodias succeeded where Jezebel failed, but Jezebel did kill many of God's true servants in her day. Both of these prophets had deadly political power against them, and both had a woman seeking to destroy them. Both Elijah and John were old covenant prophets that would confront sin in high places.
The similarities between Elijah and John the Baptist are not accidental.
There is a very strong connection
2. (Direction) We will explore more of the relationship between Elijah and John in our study today.
a. We must believe the promise concerning the forerunner of the Messiah.
b. We must recognize the work of the forerunner.
I. WE MUST BELIEVE THE PROMISE CONCERNING THE FORERUNNER OF THE MESSIAH. vs 5
A. The forerunner was John the Baptist. Remember, Mal 3:1
1. 'My messenger' is John the Baptist.
2. Elijah to come is John the Baptist.
a. Elijah and John were both prophets under the Mosaic covenant.
b. Elijah and John dressed alike. 2 Kings 1:8; Mark 1:6
c. John came in the spirit of Elijah. Luke 1:13-17; Luke 1:76-80
d. John knew he was not Elijah returned from heaven, nor exactly like him.
So when he says he is not Elijah, he is speaking literally.
e. Jesus uses Malachi's book to explain who John the Baptist was. Mat 11:1-15
f. Elijah was the forerunner of Elisha, just as John the Baptist was for Jesus. A forerunner is a messenger sent before to give notice of the approach of others. One who serves to prepare for his replacements work. Elisha did many more miracles than Elijah.
g. Three Apostles learn about two Elijah's at the Mt. of transfiguration. Mat 17:1-13
h. Elijah comes back before the crucifixion and before the destruction of
Jerusalem. But you three, keep that quiet until later, after the resurrection. Elijah himself was on the Mt. with them. John the Baptist also
fulfilled that prophecy.
i. John was a prophetic preparer of the children of Israel to return to the faith of the fathers and prepare their hearts for the Messiah. John 3:22-31 j. Elijah The prophet is coming, says Malachi, not Elijah the Tishbite.
There are possibly 3 Elijah's John, the one on the Mt. transfiguration,
Elijah the Tishbite, and a future Elijah. The two that come before
destruction of Jerusalem, are certain, less certain is the one in the future.
B. The promises of Scripture are to be believed and they encourage us.
2 Cor 1:20 Malachi tells God's people that John is coming and Jesus is
coming, These are promises from God’s word, and guess what? In 400 years both of them did come to Israel. The Bible tells us that this will happen again. Jesus will come back to earth. What should we do w/ these great promise? We must believe them and take our stand upon them. We can say, Amen. That is true. I believe that. The Bible teaches that the Judge will do right. That Jesus will never leave us or drop us. That King Jesus will return and settle all accounts. If we are His, there are many promises for us. We need to believe them and live by them. He never promised the cross would not get heavy or the hill would not be difficult to climb.
But, hold on, victory will come with time.
II. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE WORK OF THE FORERUNNER. vs 6
A. The Jews have expectations of Elijah.
1. An empty chair is left for him at each Passover meal.
2. The Jews believe "Messiah must be anointed by Elijah”
- Baptism by John the baptize did do this, Mat 3:15
3. Yet, some of Elijah's tasks were not done by John.
John realized that he was not a carbon copy of Elijah, who performed
miracles to authenticate his work & office. John 10:41
B. John the Baptist was the Messenger of Messiah in the spirit of Elijah. Luke 7:28
C. John the Baptist was the prophet to proceed the Messiah, Jesus.
Luke 20:3-7; John 1:6-9; John 1:29-36
D. The forerunners job is to turn heart to be converted, to repent.
Hearts are - real issue, not outward performance, not outward change of attitude, heart - mind - inner man, changed hearts are acceptable to God, not mere performance changes for the wrong reason. Fathers to Sons restored -
5th commandment Honor your father and mother
1) Family restoration is one idea in the text.
2) Unbelieving descendants restored to faith and rejoined with the believing ancestors, Abraham, Jacob, Levi, Moses, Elijah. This will involve a covenant renewal, w/ God. We
call this today, getting salvation from sin. Entering a new covenant relationship with Jesus Christ that will leave you changed
E. John the Baptist preached repentance to young and old, fathers and sons. Many came out, considered his strong preaching against sin, and were prepared for the Judgement to come on that land in 70 A.D. Realize that when John called people, the Pharisee’s a group of snakes, He was loving God, the Bible and their souls. To withhold the truth from those headed to Hell is not loving them at all. The truth hurts a lot less than everlasting fire.
F. Malachi says Elijah's work may not succeed. If the people repent they will be blessed. If the people remain stiff necked, they will be cursed.
God’s best follows repentance. God’s chastisement come to believers who will not repent, God’s judgement come to unrepentant unbelievers.
G. The day of the Lord has come and is coming. "The first Christmas was a day of the Lord.
So were all the other days when God stepped into history and did something extraordinary.
But all these are preparatory for "That great and dreadful day" when the curtain will drop on world history and the Lord, who came the first time as Savior and friend, will come
as Judge and King."
In the Old Testament and the 1st Century, there were many fulfillments of the Day of the Lord prophecies, and all a type of the very last Day of the Lord,
still yet to come. Joel list the locusts plague, forest fires, the Assyrian army.
In 70 A.D. that great and terrible day of utter destruction of the Jewish nation
occurred. It is a type of the destruction to come next time, not on the promised Land,
but on the earth.
Conclusion
Malachi’s and Elijah’s message are clear. Be warned. Respond to the God who loves His people or suffer terrible consequences. True repentance, John Baptist taught was a repentance with visible fruit. The other choice is everlasting destruction.
1. We must believe the promise concerning the forerunner of the Messiah.
The God-Man came just like God said.
And God will keep every other promise to His Selected sheep.
2. We must recognize the work of the forerunner.
It’s the work of preaching against sin so that people will repent and be converted.
Is there a cost to those who preach against sin? Yes, Elijah had his Jezebel and
John his Herodias. A daughter of Herod the great, she married two of her uncles for power a and control. She was as blood thirsty as her father.
Herod Antipas listened to her advice to ask the emperor for the title of King as
Herodias’ brother had received. Instead Herod was deposed and banished to Gaul in 39 A.D. and she went with him into exile. Her power, control and wealth was over Jezebel was thrown out a window, and the dogs ate the flesh of her broken body while she was dying.
Yes, there was much grief caused God’s prophets by these two women. But they did not escape the judgement of harming God’s prophet.
Where is your heart? Is it like Moses, or Jacob, or Abraham's? Is it a heart of faith, gratitude, passion and worship? God wants your hearts, the inner man, mind, will, emotions are all to be submitted to His truth and His rule.
The New Testament also has strong warnings. 1 Cor 16:22
Repent & be blessed. Stiff-necked - prideful, obstinate, utter destruction, under the ban, cursed. Repent, trust and obey, blessing. Refuse to believe, obey, repent, suffer being under the curse. Which will you choose today?
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Outline of Leviticus 26
I. The review of basic essentials of a close relationship with Yahweh (vs. 1–2)
A. No idolatry in any form (vs. 1)
B. Observations of all the Sabbaths (vs. 2)
C. Reverence for Yahweh’s sanctuary (vs. 2)
II. The possible future positive results of Israel’s covenant-keeping (vs. 3–13)
A. I will give you (pl.) your seasonal rains and fertility (vs. 4–5)
1. You will have abundant food (vs. 5)
2. You will dwell in security (vs. 5)
B. I will give peace in the land (vs. 6–8)
1. You will lie down in peace (vs. 6)
2. You will not be afraid of anything (vs. 6)
C. I will remove harmful beasts (vs. 6)
D. (I will not allow) the sword to go through your land (vs. 6–8)
1. Your land will not be invaded by enemy armies (vs. 6)
2. You will defeat your enemies (vs. 7)
3. You will defeat large numbers by the efforts of a few (vs. 8)
E. I will (turn to) look on you (pl.) favorably (vs. 9)
F. I will make you (pl.) fruitful (vs. 9)
G. I will multiply you (pl.) (vs. 9)
H. I will maintain My covenant with you (pl.) (vs. 9–10)
1. You will have abundant food (vs. 10)
2. You will have to clear out the stored food to make room for the new (vs. 10)
I. I will set my dwelling place among you (pl.) (vs. 11)
J. I will not reject you (pl.) (vs. 11)
K. I will walk among you (pl.) (vs. 12)
L. I will be your (pl.) God (vs. 12)
You will be my people (vs. 12)
M. Past proof of Yahweh’s intervention for future faith and confidence (vs. 13)
1. I am your (pl.) God
2. I brought you (pl.) out of Egypt (vs. 13)
You will no longer be their slaves (vs. 13)
3. I broke the bands of your (pl.) yoke (vs. 13)
4. I made you (pl.) walk upright (vs. 13)
III. The possible future negative consequences of Israel’s covenant-breaking (vs.14–39)
[Five intensifying levels of judgment]
A. Sudden terror, sickness, crops lost to enemies, and futility (vs. 16–17) B. Military strength lost, no rain, heat, drought, agricultural disaster, futile labor, fruitless land
(vs. 18–20)
C. Harmful beasts cause population and commerce to be in great decline (vs. 21–22)
D. Death by war, the population decimated by contagious plaques, siege, famine, and depleted resources (vs. 23–26)
E. Extreme famine, siege, and then exile with further death and destruction (vs.
27–39)
1. Military siege of cities followed by cannibalism, starvation, the destruction of the false worship centers, the people rejected by God, the destruction of
cities, the ruining of the land, all worship ceases, God’s presence is removed, and their enemies are in the land (vs. 27–32)
2. The people will be expelled out of the land followed by death, dispersion
among the pagan nations, loss of strength, paranoia, perishing, being consumed and rotting away in a foreign land (vs. 33–39)
IV. The future positive consequences for the nation of Israel (vs. 40–45)
A. The future remnant will repent (vs. 40–41)
1. They will confess their generational collective iniquity, unfaithfulness, and
hostility toward Yahweh (vs. 40)
2. Their proud hearts will be humbled (vs. 41)
3. They will make restitution for their corporate sins (vs. 41)
B. Yahweh will restore the nation of Israel (vs. 42–43)
1. He will remember His covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham (vs. 42)
2. He will remember His promises concerning the land (vs. 42)
3. His chastisement was a corrective response to the people’s violations of the covenant stipulations (vs. 43)
C. Yahweh’s nature guarantees the ultimate success of the covenant between
God and Abraham’s descendants (vs. 44–45)
1. He will not completely reject or abhor the exiled remnant (vs. 44)2. He will not completely destroy them as an ethnic entity (vs. 44)
3. He will not break His promises in the covenant (vs. 44)
4. He will be true to His name and nature (vs. 44)
5. He will remember His promises for the sake of the exiled remnant (vs. 45)
6. He will also remember the promises of the Mosaic Covenant (vs. 45)
7. He has a past track record of redeeming Israel from exile and bringing
them to the land of Palestine (vs. 45)
8. He is the covenant God of Israel and this is a testimony to the nations (vs. 45)V. The conclusion and summary of the book of Leviticus (vs. 46)
A. Israel must keep the ordinances in obedience to the Mosaic Covenant (vs. 46)
B. Israel must keep the regulations in obedience to the Mosaic Covenant (vs. 46)
C. Israel must keep the laws in obedience to the Mosaic Covenant (vs. 46)
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Outline of Deuteronomy 30
I. When Israel returns to Yahweh, he will turn back to them (vs. 1–10)
A. The certainty of Israel returning to the land (vs. 1–5)
1. Israel’s returning and restoration (vs. 1–3)
2. The promise of returning from the most distant place (vs. 4)
3. Israel’s re-entering the land and enjoying blessed prosperity (vs. 5)
B. The returning of Israel’s covenantal blessings (vs. 6–10)
1. The gift of a circumcised heart for the returned exiles and their children so
that they may love God with all their hearts (vs. 6)
2. The bestowal of covenant curses on their persecutors (vs. 7)3. Renewed obedience to the covenant with Yahweh (vs. 8)
4. Fourfold-blessing on those being faithful to the covenant (vs. 9)
5. The covenantal blessings are conditioned on complete and full repentance (vs. 10)
II. Israel must obey and practice the Torah from their hearts (vs. 11–14)
A. Excuse # 1 refuted: Obedience is too hard for me (vs. 11a)
B. Excuse # 2 refuted: I can’t access and know God’s will for my life (vs. 11b–13)
C. Memorizing, hearing, and reciting the Torah must be accompanied by a
surrendered heart to the Torah (vs. 14)
III. Israel should choose long life in the land and the covenantal blessings (vs. 15–20)
A. Obeying the commandments will bring long life in the land and blessings (vs. 15)
B. Disobeying the commandments will bring death and distress (vs. 15)
C. Covenant faithfulness requires loving Yahweh and obeying his entire law (vs. 16)
D. Covenant faithfulness brings long life in the Land of Promise, multiplication of
descendants, and all the blessings of the Israelite Covenant (vs. 16)
E. Covenant unfaithfulness begins with turning their hearts from Yahweh, which
is followed by not obeying him and by worshiping and serving other gods (vs. 17)
1. This will result in their premature deaths (vs. 18)2. This will result in being exiled from the land of Canaan (vs. 18)
F. Heaven and earth are witnesses to Israel’s covenant renewal at Moab (vs. 19)
1. The covenant includes the reward of life and the punishment of death (vs. 19)
2. The covenant includes both blessings and curses (vs. 19)
3. The choice to obey and be rewarded with long life affects both a man
and his descendants (vs. 19)
G. Covenant faithfulness involves loving Yahweh their God, obeying, and depending
on him (vs. 20)
1. This results in living long lives (vs. 20)2. This results in remaining in the Land of Promise (vs. 20)
3. This results in the promises to the Patriarchs being fulfilled sooner (vs. 20)
See separate post:
A Comparison of the Covenantal Curses in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28
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I. Judgment on Jerusalem 1:1–2:11
A. The Locusts & Lament 1:1–20
1. Title 1:1
2. Past Locust Plague 1:2–7
3. Call to Lament; Drought, Famine, and Fire 1:8–20
a. General call to Lament; Drought 1:8–12
b. Call for Priests to Lament, Famine, Fire 1:13–20
B. The Northern Army 2:1–11
II. Repentance & Fasting 2:12–17
III. Repentance’s Historical Results & Transition to the Future Promises 2:18–19
IV. Salvation 2:19–3:21
A. Promise of Future Blessing 2:19
B. Northern Army Destroyed 2:20
C. Land Restored 2:21–27
D. Pouring out of the Spirit 2:28–32
E. Judgment on Gentiles 3:1–21
1. Defeat and Judgment of the Nations 3:1–16
2. Peace and abundance in Judah 3:17–21
Recommended Preaching plan
1:1–12 2:21–27
1:13–20 2:28–32
2:1–11 3:1–8
2:12–20 3:9–21
Options for interpreting chapters one and two:
1. The “locusts” are a metaphor for a past Assyrian invasion and the “army” of chapter two is the future Babylonian invasion predicted by this prophet. In this view the “locusts” are metaphorical, not literal locusts, and the “army” is a literal human army and is not metaphorical for something else.
2. The “locusts” are a metaphor for a future judgment by a single human army that is described in both chapters one and two. Both chapters are about the same event, usually seen as a future invasion (or past- Liberals). Some take it to be Assyria, some Babylon, others are not sure. This view holds that Joel is using a literary device of the past tense with a metaphor in chapter one for an event that has not yet happened.
3. The Locusts have come in the past to Jerusalem, and another locust plague will come in the future if the people do not repent. Here we have literal “locusts” (chpt. 1) and a metaphorical army (not human, but locusts) in chapter two. Thus, we have one past event and one possible future event, both being locusts plagues.
4. Joel chapters one and two are describing the same past “locust” plague. Chapter one has literal locusts, chapter two a metaphorical army which is actually made-up of locusts rather than humans. But, this is one event that happened in the past.
5. The “locusts” plaque was an actual historical event with real locusts of different variety that were followed by a literal drought, famine, and forest fires in Judah and Jerusalem. Chapter two reminds the Southern Kingdom of this past destruction detailed in chapter one, and warns of a future similar desolation by a human army (Assyrian or Babylonians). Here we have literal “locusts,” not metaphorical in chapter one and a human army that is a literal army and not metaphorical (in chapter two) for something else. One past event transitions to a possible future one if the people do not repent. Repentance will at least postpone this judgment. The locusts of chapter one transform into soldiers in chapter two as one reads quickly through this book. Both are little “days of Yahveh” pointing to the future “day of Yahveh.” [This one is Ted’s view.]
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The dating of the book of Joel: Preference is about 830 BC, during the reign of the boy-king Josiah.
The 4 types of locus
1. Gazam: 160 - Locusts (coll.) always as devouring, devastating
2. ’arbeh: 916- a kind of locust, locust-swarm, well organized, leaping
3. yaleq: 410 - a kind of locust, symbolic for a multitude of men
4. chasil: 340 - a kind of locust, symbolic of despoiling of Assyria Isa. 33:4
They do appear to be more or less synonymous. Joel seems to be painting a word picture of total destruction, the insect experts say the dessert locusts work in 6 stages, not 4, and the Talmud lists 20 different names for locusts. The appearance and color of theses grasshoppers changes with conditions. Some claim there are at least 8 kinds of locusts, but since we cannot verify which ones were called by which name in Joel’s day, we cannot make too much of the differences today.
The three pairs of occupations in Joel.
1. Drunkards and wine-drinkers are forced into thirst and sobriety when the grape crops are destroyed. They are directly affected by agricultural destruction.
2. Priests and ministers. The priests, who are ministers, relied on the grain offerings and the drink offerings for sustenance along with the certain animal sacrifices. So not only would they have nothing to use in worship, but they would also have nothing to eat. Likewise, the sheep and goats cannot survive if all the foliage is gone.3.The farmer and vinedressers’ livelihood, finances, and food are all tied up in the crop. If the crop is destroyed all their reward for their labor is gone, and their source of income to pay the debts accumulated in the care of the crops. They too may find themselves idle in harvest season if all has been destroyed.
Subject of wail. The city, land, vine, or fig tree (feminine). If one ignores the gender because of the simile with virgin, it could also refer to the drunkards and wine drinkers, or the priests. Since the priests are addressed in a later section, I prefer the vine, fig. for Jerusalem, to be a general call to the inhabitants of Jerusalem to mourn.
2:13 “tear your heart, and not your clothes.” The type of figure for the two clauses is antithetical parallelism. Joel is also using hyperbole, overstating his case. The clause “tear your hearts” means to humbly and deeply repent in the inner man. The next clause, and not your clothes, means do not merely do the outward sign of repentance in a meaningless ritual fashion, but genuinely repent in the inner man, and then it will not matter if you do the torn clothes sign or not, because the issue is the reality and not the sign. The ritual tearing of clothes is not enough. It must be heart felt shuv. Also the figure is a figure of substitution “rending hearts” and is a Synecdoche. The heart is the inner man, or the whole man, “rending” is the sign of repentance used for the essence of repentance in the antithetical expression. Just in the next verse the author gives vindication of the ceremonial law. David also use hyperbole in Psa. 51 “sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but and broken and contrite heart you will not despise” as he does with “against You and You only have I sinned.”
2:12-17 is a call to repentance.I. A call to real repentance 2:12-17
A. Yahveh call his people to genuine repentance 12
B. Yahveh’s nature is why they should truly repent 13
C. Judah’s repentance may turn the curse into blessing 14
D. All of Yahveh’s people are to gather in solemn assembly 15-16
E. The priests are to weep and to pray 17
1. Pray for mercy for the people
2. Pray that they will not become a disgrace
3. Pray that they will not be ruled by pagans
4. Pray that the pagans will not blaspheme God because of His people
Attacks from the north came because of the placement of the mountains, the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Jordon River. From the north the Army could come down through the valley of Megiddo to besiege Jerusalem and not worry about water crossings or mountain crossings with their troops and supplies. The locusts, drought, and wild fires are literal in chapter one and the army is literal in chapter two, and would proceed from the north.
The early rains or autumn rains usually fall in Jerusalem in the fall between the latter part of October and the beginning of December. This assures the germination of the seed that has been sown. The Latter rains come in the spring, March and April – it ensures a good harvest and that the grain will swell and ripen fully.
Some say “righteousness” is a metaphor. Others that it has a double meaning of both the rains for deliverance and the teacher of righteousness. The rains were to restore what the locusts had eaten and the drought and wild fires had consumed. The rain is a reversal of the covenantal curse -- rain and right teaching go together in the Prophets. Rain and obedience to the Word of God both bring a full harvest. The figure of speech of righteousness could be a figurative use, meaning Salvation and deliverance by the rain for the nation, or if the teacher idea is followed, it could be a type (messianic) or symbol (like light).
What is the location of the valley of Jehoshaphat?: Some say it cannot be identified, it means Yahveh has judged, Others that it is a term of symbolic judgment and not geographical, just as is the valley of decision. Yet some have suggested the valley of a) Berachah Valley S. of Bethlehem, b) a small valley near the valley (a broad valley, Joel’s word) of Hinnom (W & S of Jerusalem, c) Kidron valley (a ravine, narrow valley), d) Kings dale, running into the Kidron from the NW. Where is the location of the valley of Shittim: (which means acacias trees)? It is probably the wadi en Nar, that leads from the Kidron Valley to the Dead Sea, and has acacias tree’s in it.
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JONAH 1
Sermon Title:The Sovereignty of God Displayed for All
Text: Jonah 1:1–17
(ILL.) John Mark was afraid and abandoned Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas was able to work with him again and he was restored to the ministry. Paul acknowledged his proven worth and Peter aided Mark in writing his gospel. Today we are going to see stage one of a prophet who rebelled against God and was eventually restored. But this process and story actually teaches us more about God and ourselves than it does this prophet.
FCF: Our indwelling sin and the amount of humanistic thinking we have accepted as correct, along with our pride—all these fight against the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. We want to be independent, autonomous beings, who can sing “I did it my way.” Jonah chapter 1 brings us back to reality.
S.I. The sovereignty of God is displayed in His created and providential order.
How is the sovereignty of God displayed in His created and providential order?
Introduction:
We will review today 14 ways the sovereignty of God is displayed in His creative and providential order.
Background:
Jonah was a minor prophet – 10 Northern tribes
He lived in Galilee, 3 miles north of Nazareth
2 Kings14:25 – prophet during – reign of Jeroboam II, Israel
Book – written about 760 B.C.
The books themes include: the sovereignty of God, the repentance of a believer, reluctant obedience, racism, the will of God for the people of God, and God’s plan and compassion for the world, sending his people on mission with the gospel to the unbelievers
Read Jonah 1:1–9
The first way the sovereignty of God is displayed in His created and providential order in this text is:
I. God reveals truth to His prophet when He chooses to do so. vs. 1–2
God chooses the person and when to instruct him.
Scripture writers received direct revelation from God, now that the Bible
is recorded, God speaks to his people through and in one book only, the Bible
To have the Word of God is a special privilege not all yet have
God tells Jonah to go to a great city, Nineveh
God tells Israel to be a light to all nations
God tells the church to go to all ethnic groups with the gospel
Mumbai is a great city, Delhi, Calcutta, church go.
The Apostle Thomas, William Carey, Henry Martin said yes.
What will you say? Yes or No?
The second way the sovereignty of God is displayed in His created and providential order is:
II. God observes and records the wickedness of all men. vs. 2
He knows and has the power to judge. He hates sin.
God loves sinners in one sense as His creatures and image bearers,
even in the wicked – great city of Nineveh. Delhi too.
The third way the sovereignty of God is displayed in His created and providential order is:
III. God allows Yonah to rebel and does not take his life. vs. 3
Nineveh is in N. Iraq, it is N. E. of Galilee
Joppa, and Tarshish is South West, Joppa was once a Philistine town along
the sea cost, Napoleon landed their, Peter received a vision there
Tarshish is in Spain
Yonah is commanded by God to go to Nineveh, greater city limits 600,000 to 1 million anti-Christians, but instead of obeying the will and word of God,
Yonah goes DOWN
the path of sin and rebellion
Down to Joppa, down into the ship, and in 2:6 down into the sea
from the presence of Yahveh, departing from God’s service and ministry
2 x’s the Assyrians from Nineveh had come to Galilee and robbed them
they were taking yearly bribe money to not come back
These Assyrian people were mean, cruel, evil, wicked
Yonah hated these people more than he loved God
Yahveh has no doubt that He is going to win this battle, so he spares Yonah
(ILL) He doesn’t kill - rebel - Breaks him like a wild horse
The fourth way the sovereignty of God is displayed in His created and providential order is:
IV. God throws / hurls a great wind on the sea. vs. 4
Yonah has said No to the LORD. Will it work?
God creates a huge storm on the sea. vs. 4-6
The ship is in trouble. The pagan sailors each cry out to their false gods.
There are no atheists in a storm this size, and those who worship nature
fear it the most, on a day like this.
All prayed, but not one of the idols could stop the storm.
After prayer, the storm gets worse. Sailors are terrified so
they throw all their treasures, salary, work pay, into the sea,
to keep the ship floating.
Yonah is sleeping in a boat in a storm. Years later, one greater than Yonah,
Yeshua, Jesus, is sleeping in a boat in a storm.
Captain says, “Get up, Arise and pray,” just like vs. 2, Arise and Go to Nineveh
Great city that takes 3 days to walk around
and preach God’s message to the people.
The fifth way the sovereignty of God is displayed in His created and providential order is:
V. God causes the pagan sailors’ dice (lot) to pick Yonah. vs. 7–9
Luck, chance, fate, fortune are anti-Christian terms
The Sovereign LORD controls the dice of pagans.
Jesus is king, not fate. Jesus is sovereign, not chance.
Casting lots is not how a believer gets information. Pagans are doing it here.
Believers’ learn God’s will similar to Yonah.He had the spoken word of God as a prophet, we have the written Word.
The dice picks Yonah, and the questions come quickly.
He has been caught.
VI. God causes Yonah to witness to pagan sailors – Gentile sinners. vs. 10–13
Yonah is a bad example here – the sailors are concerned for his life,
He is not concerned for the sailors lives or those people in Nineveh.
VII. God allows the pagan sailors to rebuke Yonah. Vs. 10–11
The sailors admonish Yonah when he should have been teaching them.
Yonah is a servant of the creator God revealed in the Bible, Yahveh.
He feared God – the one who made the heavens, land, sea—everything.
Idols cannot create the world, land, or sea or a storm
VIII. God causes Yonah to prophesy: “Throw me into the sea.” Vs. 12
Yonah is still a prophet, and he tells the truth w/o deception here.
IX. God increases the storm when the sailors try to save Yonah. Vs. 13
God is sov. over everything, all of creation, Yonah, sailors, sea
Man’s plans don’t intimidate God, He laughs
These sailors showed compassion.
God acts against sin. He is spanking His prophet & he is not going to lose this battle.
Pagans know that to kill humans is sin, the 2nd half of the Ten Commandments are written on their heart as a natural law. This is the Key verse of this chapter.
“You, Oh Yahveh, have done as it pleased you.” Yahveh alone is sovereign.
The pagan sailors understand this truth now.
XI. God causes the sailors to throw the rebellious prophet into the sea. vs. 15
A prophet of Yahveh had told the sailors what to do and they obeyed.
(ILL.) Elijah told Ahab no rain because of the people sin 3 years no rain in Israel the whole nation was given a spanking so they would repent & turn from idolatry
God deals with sin, He is sovereign
XII. God causes the sea to instantly cease from storming. vs. 15
This is a miracle, like when one greater than Yonah, Jesus a sleep in the boat
stands up and stills the storm. The sea become flat like a piece of glass.
God is sovereign and powerful.
Yahveh instantly stills storms. Jesus instantly stills storms. Jesus is God.
God’s power and glory displayed in His chastisement of Yonah increases
God’s fame
XIII. God causes the sailors to repent and trust Him. God saves the sailors physically and spiritually. vs. 16
Yonah fears, worships, serves, reverences God. Now the sailors fear God.
The sailors forsook the false gods and surrendered to the creator God
revealed by the Word of God and confirmed in life. Only Yahweh can answer prayer, which they learned by experience. You can learn this by the written Word of God. The vows the sailors made were a solemn commitment to serve Yahweh.
How does one become a God-fearer, worshiper, servant? Grace is not earned or deserved. Man is a sinner, a lawbreaker, and cannot save himself. God is holy and just, therefore, he must punish every sin and cannot allow sin in his presence. God is also loving and merciful toward his creation man made in his image. Christ is the answer to this problem. Jesus was the God-Man who died on a cross for sinner, rose the third day. He purchased a place in heaven for us which he offers as a free gift. Repent, all I am turns from sin unto God. A U-turn. Faith, deep trust in Jesus person and work only to save me from sin power, control, and penalty. Surrender, calling him Lord and Master, and I am his slave.
XIV. God prepares and causes a great fish to swallow Yonah. vs. 17
God sovereignly prevents Yonah from breathing in water, drowning.
He gets swallowed and gets air. His life is spared by God’s decree, not chance or luck.
Conclusion
God has the rebel believer’s attention. God said go to Nineveh.
Yonah was going to Tarshish. God said “No!”
The great sea creature at the right second opens and closes its mouth.
A providential miracle.
Everything is under the Sovereign LORD’s control: Revelation,
the Word of God, God’s command to Yonah, Israel, and the church to go,
Yonah’s circumstances and location, the sea, the wind and storm,
the pagan sailors dice, the prophets witness, the sailors’ rebuke, Yonah’s prophecy,
wind and waves stopping, the sailors prayer, repentance, faith, salvation
Yonah’s protection in the sea, and the sea creature.
Everything is under the sovereign control of Yahveh, the God revealed in the 66
Inspired books of the Bible. The sovereignty of God is displayed in His creative and providential order
The LORD God created all, rules all, judges all, and will save all who repent of
their sins and believe the Bible truth of the Gospel, trusting the Covenant God of the Bible. Yonah is a problem, but not for God, but for Yonah, because chastisement follows rebellion. What a person plants, they will harvest.
(ILL.) Nathan rebuked David - covered up sin - repented, restored, but consequences remained. Jonah’s skin may have been bleached and parched for the rest of his life after the ride in the great sea creature (shark or whale)
(Appl.) Obey God’s word as soon as you understand it. Get help if you are persistently returning to the same sinful practice over and over again. James 5, uncovered and repented of sin results in healing, the only purpose for this particular illness was for repentance. Consider the consequences that are built into sinful choices that the Word of God stands to protect you from, but only if you will obey the Word. When going through trails, ask yourself if God is trying to get your attention. Have I given myself over to a sinful practice that is now controlling me? Am I a make believer that does not have the spiritual strength to fight sin because I am still a slave of sin? Get help, repent, embrace Christ by faith.
The sovereign God revealed in the Bible alone is the sovereign One, the most powerful One, the only independent being in the universe and it is He who can save those who repent and believe, trust and turn, there is no other name, no other way.
False gods and demons worshiped by men cannot deliver.
Come to the God of the Bible and trust Him.
(ILL) John Newton’s salvation - sinking ship off coast of Ireland, reading NT
after many years of rebellion, he comes home to God
(ILL) I had been a Christian about 8 months, went back to old ways of sin and rebellion a few months - went riding in four wheel drive trucks in the mud. One truck was stuck, the other was attempting to pull him out. Truck winch cable snapped, missed me by two inches, killed Michael, head injury from the hook
I was the Jonah in the truck in the fall of 1980. I stopped my rebellion.
Jonah is a type of Israel and a type of many churches.
Us four, no more, close the door. Great commission, no way, we are here for ourselves.
Church repent of your rebellion.
Go where he sends you as a church, even to the great cities of the North.
Go make disciples of every ethnic people group.
Don’t be a Yonah church, No we won’t send and we won’t go. We won’t pray and we won’t give.
The commander-in-chief says:
Preach repentance to the nations, every living person.
Church, Arise and go- preach – gospel.
Don’t say no. God is a sovereign King. Say, yes, LORD.
And live under his blessings, rather than receive His spankings. They are delivered in love, but oh how they hurt.
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JONAH 2
Sermon Title: Repentance Prayed
Text: Jonah 1:17-2:10
S.I. Praying in repentant surrender when we have fully acknowledged our sin.
FCF: Our indwelling sin hates to admit we have sinned and that we are wrong. It fights against repentance with every fiber of its existence. But in order to be restored, we must humble ourselves, specifically admit our sin, and repent, turning from the sin unto God as a loving child to his loving parent.
How do we pray in repentant surrender once our sins have been fully acknowledged?
In this text we will see 3 ways to pray in repentant surrender once we have fully acknowledged our sins.
Read 1:17
Now lets take a side road for modern scientific man.
The great sea creature is a problem for some.
This is a miracle – nothing is impossible for God.
There are 10 miracles in the book.
This could have been a shark or a whale, or a sea creature created by God for this one purpose. It does not matter. It is a supernatural miracle. God did it.
3 days and 3 nights in the sea creature. The Bible says Yonah was swallowed by a large sea creature. But every one wants to argue about - sea creature.
That's not what - book is about. But we have several other recorded
historic cases of men being swallowed & surviving w/o any divine intervention.
In our day Sperm whales are not normally in the Mediterranean sea,
but they do go in, like the whale that went in the Thames river in London in 2009.
We don’t know today what was normal in that sea at 780 B.C.
The average sperm whales throat is 20 feet long, 15 feet high, 9' wide.
The temperature in the stomach would be about 104 degrees Fahrenheit
In Feb. 1891 a large sperm whale swallowed James Bartley.
He was on the ship, Star of the East near - Falkland Islands.
The lookout saw the whale, 2 boats were launched.
One boat harpooned the whale, the other boat tried to as well.
The whale’s tail turned it over. 1 man drowned, another man,
James Bartley disappeared.
In a few hours the whale was killed. They pulled it up next ship
took axes & spades to remove the blubber. They worked all day
and part of the night. Next morning they hoisted whales belly on deck
Something moved inside, they cut it open.
There was James. He was inside - whale 1 day & 1 night, he was cut out,
He was doubled over and unconscious.
They laid him on the deck & dumped sea water on him.
He woke up. For two weeks he was a raving lunatic
but by the third week he had regained his senses.
Bartley said he would have probably lived in that house of flesh
until he starved to death. He had plenty of air. He lost his
senses from fear. He remembered being thrown into the sea,
and then surrounded by great darkness.
Something was moving him along a smooth passage, it stopped and
he had plenty of room. His hands felt around, to this slimy stuff
that moved away when he touched it. He realized where he was
and them panicked. He could breathe fine, but the heat was intense.
It opened the pores of his skin and took his energy away.
His skin was exposed to the gastric juices.
His face, neck, & hands were bleached to a deadly whiteness
and looked like parchment.
His skin never recovered from this, but his health was Ok other
than the pigment damage to his skin.
Can you imagine to Iraqi people, brown skinned, how scarey a bleached
white person with rough skin would look?
The Requiem shark - get up 70' long, lives in Mediterranean sea today
It swallows everything it comes near. Seals, tunny fish.
They have caught 3-400 pound sharks w/ tunny fish undigested inside.
A whole horse was found in one shark.
In 1758, Sailor in same sea, Med. Fell off a Frigate ship
He was swallowed by Requiem shark, - crew shot shark w/ canon & he spit sailor out, unharmed - a rescue boat saved him.
No need argue about sea creature...
It may have been a special sea creature made by God for Jonah.
It may have been a whale or a shark.
God’s supernatural intervention was in it no matter what it was.
It could swim and swallow and Jonah was inside.
Those are all facts you can take to the bank.
For the skeptics who have made human reason your authority, you will not like this, but if the Bible said that Yonah swallowed a whale or shark I would believe that as well,
because the Bible is my authority and source of truth, not my intelect, reason, will, or emotions.
Now, lets get back on track in our text
S.I. Praying in repentant surrender when we have fully acknowledged our sin.
In this text we will see 3 ways to pray in repentant surrender once we have fully acknowledged our sins.The 1st way we can pray in repentant surrender once our sin has been fully acknowledged is:
I. We can pray in humility and dependent trust (faith). vs. 1:17-2:3
Yonah prayed. Prayer is a dependant act. 2:1 Yonah prayed to Yahweh.
Yonah admitted his desperate condition. 2:2-3
Yonah admitted God’s sovereignty. This is part of humility. 3In chapter 1, the sailors threw him in, yet Yonah says God did it.
God was in control of the whole scene.
Yonah tells his story and offers his prayer with Hebrew poetry
Yahweh appointed a great fish to be under the boat at the right second
and to swallow Yonah
Yonah now decides to pray to Yahweh his God, who has his full attention
If Yonah would have listened to the Word of God, he would not need the whale of God.
During this three days in the stomach Yonah prays to the sovereign God of - universe
Yonah believes the water belongs to God (3c waves & breakers). He already knows that God answers prayer. He answers and He hears his people when they cry out to Him
(Argumentation) Yonah uses Scripture in his prayers where he saw in his Bible other children of God calling out to Yahweh in times of stress. My God, when I feel so downcast, I remind myself of you from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon, from the hill Mizar. Deep is calling to deep at the thunder of your waterfalls; all your surging rapids and waves are sweeping over me. (Psa 42:6-7 CJB)
Is it reasonable for Yonah to trust God even in this spanking? Yes, Isaiah will one day write
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. (Isa 43:2 NASB)
I called to the LORD in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears. (Psa 18:6 HCSB)
(ILL) Lord commanded a fish to swallow a shekel and then to bite Peter’s hook. The Lord commanded 153 fish to enter Peter’s net after a night of catching nothing. The sovereign Lord moves this sea creature under the boat in a storm. In Yonah’s life, the great fish is a holding tank to produce repentance. It provides air, but ends the rebel’s attempt at running away from God’s presence and word. The sea creature is part of the spanking to lead Yonah to repentance.
(APPL) Rebellion against God brings distress. What should you do? Repent, turn, pray. God is powerful, pray to him, but pray with humility
to the Holy one of Israel.
The 2nd way we can pray in repentant surrender once our sin has been fully acknowledged is:
II. We can pray honestly confessing our sins and turning from them. vs. 4-6
Yonah truly repents of running from God’s will and word. 4
We learn in Chapter 4, he had not yet turned from his attitude of racism and revenge. God will spank Him again to deal with that. But first things first. He must first learn to obey the Word of God when he does not feel like it. Then he can learn to love what God loves. God works with us over time one step at a time. Walking with Him can be baby steps.
Yonah goes Down, down, down, to the pit, then he is brought up by the sea creature to look to the temple – place of sacrifice and the special presence of God. The only place of salvation on all the earth in that day.
The place where God’s Word is stored, the place where God’s sovereignty
is freely acknowledged, where His blazing glory once resided.
Its no longer about my will, its about Your will, Oh, God
Yonah realizes how close he came to death. vs. 5
The Chastisement of God brought him to alertness.
In a storm you can get seaweed in your hair at any level, but when you start to
see underwater hills and valleys, you are sinking down a distance into the sea
Yonah acknowledges God’s right to chastise him.
He prayed using God’s word. You may not have a Bible handy during trials in your life when you desperately need to pray. Only the verses you have memorized will be available to you.
This section of Yonah’s prayer is full of the Psalms
Psalm 65:2 You who answer prayer, to you all people will come. (Psa 65:2 TNIV)
Psalm 88:6 You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into dark places, into the depths. (Psa 88:6{7} CJB)
Psalm 42:7 One deep stream calls to another deep stream at the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. (Psa 42:7)
Psalm 69:1-2 . . . Save me, O God, For the waters have threatened my life. (Psa 69:1 NAU). . . I am in deep water, and the current overpowers me. (Psa 69:2 NET)
Psalm 31:22 I had said in my alarm, "I am cut off from your sight." But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.(Psa 31:22 ESV)
You can never know to much of the Bible
Yonah prayed to God for help and turned from his rebellion.
He thinks he is close to death – the pit, bars = no escape
Yonah’s sacrifice, his heart, his will, You are My God, covenant relationship
He holds on to the promise of God’s forgiveness by faith as he repents
(Argumentation)
In Psa 51 we learn God will never reject a broken and contrite heart-- humility of heart, dependance, surrender, acknowledgment of sin and rebellion works every time it is tried. God wants your heart, this is much more important than formal worship. When you hear someone say,“You have gone to far, God can’t use you now,” it may not be - truth. When an unbeliever or make believer is in a crisis, God does not usually respond to their prayers. But for those who belong, they can come in repentant dependant trust, anytime they are willing to give up the fight and surrender, to wave the white flag of repentance. God sent the storm so you would repent. He waits with open arms when you do.
(ILL) Young boys that run away don’t usually last 24 hours away from home. Norman Rockwell’s painting, the runaway boy, has him in a dinner beside a police officer, he can’t get away from authority, especially the authority that has this boys good in mind. God often directs the circumstances that running away just doesn’t work. Sometimes He also provides protection until we wake up and see things clearly.
(APPL) When you are convicted of your sin, admit it. Call it what it is, be honest. Remember how God views this behavior. Remember that your acts are cosmic rebellion against the Creator of the Universe. He is holy and hates sin wherever He finds it. It is a big deal. Confess your sin by name 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous and will forgive us for our sins and completely purify us from all unrighteousness. Turn, repent, 180 degrees, U-turn, all of you, while fully intending to leave them behind, because they are an offense to the God you love with all your heart. Don’t run from, God, run from your sin to God. Now if you don’t have a new covenant relationship with Him, this is also how you establish one. Repent and believe which is demonstrated by a full surrender to His word, will, and way and authority as Lord and Master of your life. But if you truly belong but have rebelled, the way back is the same as the way in.
The 3rd way we can pray in repentant surrender once our sin has been fully acknowledged is:
III. We can pray with genuine dependence on God alone. vs 7-9
Yonah prayed only to the true God, there is no covenant love or mercy for those who pray to false gods. 8 There are not many paths to God, or many names that provide salvation. Peter said, there is no other name under heaven, than the LORD Jesus through whom men can be physically or spiritually delivered.
Jonah agrees to obey God in repentant prayer.
vs. 9 Salvation is of the LORD (from Psa 3:8)As Charles Feinberg said, “this is salvation of body and soul.” Impossible deliverances of our physical lives may involve providential miracles like the miracle of the new birth for our soul’s salvation. Both come from the LORD. How much of Yonah was in the sea creature? Both body and soul. Yahweh saves them both and only Yahweh can provide deliverance and preservation like this.
I, I am Yahweh, and besides me there is no savior. (Isa 43:11)
(Argumentation) Was it reasonable for Yonah to trust God in faith? Yes, his Bible told him so. David was delivered from Saul, the Judges delivered the people of God, even Goliath was no match for a boy full of the Holy Spirit. He just needed to believe what was written. This is how God speaks to us, from the written record.
(ILL) John Newton wrote of “dangers, toils and snares,” many close calls of near death, after he went to sea with his dad at age 12. God preserved him from them all, and on a sinking ship he embraced Jesus as Lord of his life and savior of his soul, and served the Lord for the rest of his days.
(APPL) Repentance begins with confessions and admission of the specific sins, a full turning of the whole person from those sins to God in faith with godly sorrow, to restoration of fellowship, to appreciation and gratitude for deliverance. A truly repentant person is one who is deeply grateful for salvation by grace. Yonah comes to the end of himself and repented, then he was revived, restored, reinstated, and then reassigned to the same task. God turned His child’s heart back to Himself by chastisement. We can skip this step by staying close and clean before God.
Conclusion
The result of Jonah’s prayer, in repentant surrender was salvation, deliverance, and the removal of the chastisement. vs 10
Rebellion brings chastisement,
Repentance brings deliverance – removal of the chastisement
as in James 5. Some of the consequences may remain
Salvation is only from the LORD – Yahveh
And his son, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah
(ILL) The Israelites were tired of the Midianites taking all their food, the spanking worked, and they cried out to the Lord in fervent prayer asking for deliverance, and He raised up Gideon to deliver them. Once repentance comes, the spanking stops. Are you listening? Sick of the chastisement, repent and forsake that sinful practice.
(Review) 3 ways to pray in repentant surrender once we have fully
acknowledged our sins:
1. We can pray in humility and dependent trust (faith).
2. We can pray honestly confessing our sins and turning from them.
3. We can pray with genuine dependence on God alone.
(ILL) Great fish Acid reflux moves to an upset stomach and out comes the prophet.Christian do you want help? Pray.
Deliverance from Chastisement? – repent, confess, forsake, and replace the evil behavior with God’s better alternative
Friend, if you are not yet a Christian
Do you want Mercy from the burning wrath of a holy God?
Do like Yonah.
Admit, confess, Forsake – while fully intending to obey God
In dependent trust, cry out to God in prayer for salvation
from the wrath to come.
Salvation is from Yahveh, Yeshua, alone.
The sovereign creator God made the heavens, land, sea
and all the created beings on the earth and in the sea.
Including rebellious prophets. Including you.
Salvation is from the LORD.
And Yonah was released to the dry ground. Possibly to Joffa or the cost of Israel.
His ride was over. It was time to make the walk to Assyria in obedience to the Word of God. He learned the hard way and wrote it down so that you can learn the easy way.
By reading and hearing you can avoid his mistake and wrong path of rebellion. As he began his walk, little did he know that he was a type of Israel and a type of Christ and a sign of being locked away for 3 days as the Messiah would be before His resurrection. God brought a number of good things out of this difficult lesson. Repentance prayed.
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JONAH 3
Sermon title: A Believer’s Reluctant Obedience
Text: Jonah 3
Textual Idea: Jonah is reluctantly obedient to the Word and will of God.
Reluctant obedience with the wrong attitude is still not pleasing to God.
We should obey God joyfully rather than reluctantly Yonah is a model of how not to serve God,
attitude wise. Reluctant obedience displays a selfish ungodly inner person in attitude and will.
God wants our hearts first, conversion is from the inside out Mere outward conformity has never been acceptable to God
Loving God and living for His glory starts in the inner man. That is God’s way
But first steps are important, Yonah must first chose to obey God when he does not feel like it to grow to the place where he loves what God loves
FCF We are tempted to serve God with formalism, following a ritual or formula and focus on performance rather than the inner man issues. This is not acceptable to God. Mere obedience is not acceptable as a final stage or place to stay, but it is a decent first step. God wants us to be conformed to the image of His son, so we will love what he loves and hate what he hates. We have a lot of growing to do. Yonah can help us. He tells his story so we can see ourselves in his story and turn to God in repentance.
S.I. Reluctant obedience to God’s Word and will is only a step in the right direction
(Introduction) Yonah is - minor prophet who give us his testimony instead of a formal prophecy. This book deals w/ God's will for His people, & clearly displays to Israel, God's people, their error—their heart attitude was wrong and they can see their wrong attitude in this true story
The two problems in the book Jonah:
2. Getting Yonah, a nationalist, racist, and revenge seeker to accept God's compassion for pagan, wicked, sinners (which he is also one)
God was successful in fixing both - problems. Chapter 3 reveals the sovereign God’s success in getting Yonah to Nineveh, chapter 4 has the lessons about attitude
The whole book is about -futile attempt of God's people trying to sabotage God's plan of salvation for - nations
The book has many providential events & miracles in it
the instant storm on the sea
the storm stopped immediately when Yonah lands in the water
the dice chooses Yonah
the sea creature is at the right spot and swallows Yonah
the pagan sailors get saved
the sea creature vomits Yonah at Yahveh’s command
the repentance & reformation in Nineveh, 100s of thousands
the miracle growing plant
the appointed hungry worm
the scorching east wind
Yonah life recorded here is a warning of how not to think
John 3:16 For God so loved the USA, or NC or Wayne County, but not . . .
How is reluctant obedience to God’s Word and will only a step in the right direction?
In this text we will see three results of reluctant obedience to God Word and will
I. Reluctant obedience gets our body to the right place without our hearts. vs. 1–4
A. Yonah second commission to get up and go [up, not down] He obeys this time
The supernatural word of Yahweh comes to Yonah, get up and go.
Nineveh is a great city, three days walk through this area along the river
Yonah preached what God told him to preach.
Now lets take another look at God’s preacher, Yonah
What does God's Word tell us about Yonah?
1. God gave him - commission - preach - Gentiles
2. Yonah rebelled, ran, resigned - office
3. Got on boat went - sleep
4. God sent - storm
5. God sent a sea creature
6. God spanked Yonah, divine chastisement
7. Yonah prays, repents
8. Yonah is placed back on land
9. Yonah finally obeys God 761 B.C.
B. Yonah did not want - go - Assyrians- they - come - Israel, 2 X's into Galilee
where he lived and in 40 yrs., 721 B.C., they would take away 10 northern tribes
And replace - w/ pagans
Assyria is our enemy, I don't want preach - them...
They might respond and advert judgment
C. What was his message? In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished
Now Jonah is obeying the Word of God
But He has no peace, he is angry. Circumstances look bad
These guys could kill him
God is still working in spite of and around him
D. God is sovereign. Here we see the power of God,
in spite of the weakness of His servant.
Results do not show that God is certifying a man or a ministry.
God uses Yonah to reach the rebellious sailors.
God uses Yonah w/ wrong attitude to reach Nineveh.
Because God - draw straight lines w/ crooked sticks.
E. (ILL.) Paul & Phillipian preachers. I rejoice
F. (Appl) Yonah may have received parched skin while riding in the great fish.
Nineveh worshiped the fish goddess Nanshe and the fish god Dagon, ½ man, ½ fish, like the European false god Neptune. The name Nineveh is related to the Assyrian term for fish, located on the Tigris river. God prepared this people by his method of changing and redirecting Yonah by a great fish. Why does your skin look like that? Yahweh had me swallowed by a great fish and I rode around for 3 days in a great fish. Your God controls the largest fish in the ocean? We better listen to Him. He is greater than Dagon. God got his reluctant prophet to preach to the Assyrians, God saves the pagan’s from destruction like Sodom and Gomorrah in response to their repentance.
Now why would a prophet of Israel tell this unfavorable story on himself? Israel had a Yonah attitude. God forgive us, but not them. Many churches are assemblies with a Yonah attitude. This book still speaks to them and us.
The second result of reluctant obedience to God Word and will
II. Reluctant obedience makes us joyless during a great response to God. vs. 5–9
A. When we have this attitude, we are not joining God where he is working and rejoicing at the fruit and results that God brings God glory
B. There were a number of towns along the eastern bank of the Tigris river under Nineveh’s rule.
And this area was the home of roughly 600K people many believe
C. So Yonah obeys his second commission, Go preach to Nineveh
The response? The men of Nineveh believed God. Faith and repentance.
The Lord also gave the church the command to go and tell 5 times before He left.
The apostles followed his strategy
But will we finish the task? A useful tool is God Plan for Sharing (GPS)
We can chose to obey Jesus and saturate our area w/ - gospel.
D. Nineveh was like Jacksonville, FL, they annexed surrounding areas for city
The walled portion of Nineveh could hold the houses for about 180K, but the inhabited area outside and inside about 600K.
But the area they had built around the walls and the towns along the Tigris river could have easily been this large. It took 3 days to walk around the inhabited area
The Inner walls were 8 miles long, shaped like a rectangle
A man can walk 25 to 36 miles a day, people believed and repented the first 20 miles or so on the very first day and spread the word themselves
E. Now this is the greatest response of recorded history to just one message by one man, and Yonah is as mad as a hornet being swatted by a broom
The Greatest event in this book is not God keeping Yonah alive in the sea creature, or ordering it to spit him out, no.
The greatest event is as many as 480,000 adults out of 600,000 people believing and repenting from one compassion-less man, with one sermon, in just three days
No invitation was given, He just preached the Word
exactly as he was told to do and God did the rest
And his message was only a small portion of the truth, a strong warning for sin
Nineveh responds to the word of God w/ faith & repentance
Self-denial, fasting, prayer, & they change, you can see the fruits of repentance
F. (Appl) For the unsaved, He uses a man of God who will preach - truth and
God brings conviction and repentance
There is no other way for the lost to be saved
If we don’t go, they won’t hear.
If they don’t hear, they can’t repent & believe
If they don’t repent and believe, they go - hell
The God-Man, Christ Jesus died for sinners
Bow to Him as - Lord, give Him - life - all
Surrender your sin and will to Him
He came to pay for sin & remove it.
He can take the terrible wrath of God for you In your place
if you are His, He already has.
Notice the power of the Word of God preached
the people are violent murderous idolaters
the prophet/preacher is hoping the people will not repent
the powerful Word of God worked with the Holy Spirits power in spite of the obstacles
G. (ILL) George Whitefield, as a member of the holiness club read the gospel of John in prison, a lady & a man embraced Christ. Whitefield was not saved yet. He tried to figure out what happened. Revisited them, and both were changed.
John Walker needed a jump for his car from a church member. They invited him to Sunday School. He was on drugs, his marriage was in trouble, deep in dept.
He came and listened and asked questions. Then he visited the pastor.
Anthony gave him the gospel, John kneeled and prayed in the kitchen.
Never discount the powerful word of God.
Pull out your sword and use it. Don’t listen to the sceptics, it is not real. Stick them w/ it, they will find out it is real and powerful.
The third result of reluctant obedience to God Word and will
III. Reluctant obedience makes us unloving rather than demonstrating the compassion of God. vs.9–10
A. Yonah had never been wrong before with a prophecy. He was a true prophet.
100% correct so far. But Yonah knew - Bible.
He knew that God always reserves the right to postpone judgment.
Nineveh was utterly destroyed 150 yrs. later in 612 B.C.
by - Medes, Persians, & Scythians
But God held off His wrath because the people in the area of Nineveh repented
Not yet written in Yonah’s Bible is God’s explanation to another prophet, Jeremiah
5 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 6 "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares Yahweh. "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7 "At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8 but if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will postpone the calamity I declared to bring on it. 9 "Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build it up or to plant it; 10 but if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will withhold the good with which I had promised to bless it. 11 "So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds."' (Jer 18:15-11)
B. God comes to man in grace & judgment throughout human history
Adam, spiritually died when he sinned
God postponed his physical death, he died many years later.
The hell he earned was postponed until the Messiah came and died for Adam
C. God’s holy wrath, justice, holiness & hatred of sin will not let one little sin get by
But His compassion for - lost, love for - world of mankind is why He responds
In mercy & grace, & He relents, which means He postpones His promised
wrath and judgment for a while. But if you are not in Christ, it will fall on you.
Many are on - broad road that leads to destruction
Few find the narrow road - life
D. So 40 days come & go and what Yonah prophecies does not happen
for the first time Because of the mercy of God,
He postponed Nineveh’s destruction after they repented.
And that delay allowed them to come in 40 years and carry off Yonah’s people out of their land.
E. Assyrians - problem, they would not obey - truth they had, rebels,
they loved their sin. Yonah's problem in 1-2, he would not obey truth he had,
- rebelled (sound familiar?) He needed to repent, he needed forgiveness.
He figured it was Ok for God to forgive him, its Ok for you to forgive me,
God just don't forgive those folks, those rebels.
Their skin is different color, they wear funny clothes, they have long hair, ear rings, make-up, tattoos, God you can't love them, they are different.
This is - attitude God changes in Yonah.
This is - attitude God wants to change in you and me.
F. God reserves the right to postpone judgment in mercy or to take a substitute to pay a sinners debt, a perfect Lamb.
This is a great truth about God that is repeated in the OT
God postpones judgment when people repent
On the first day inside the area Jonah stops to preach.
“In 40 days Nineveh will be demolished.”
This may have been only part of his message, but it may have been the whole thing.
He may have been bleached white - stomach acid
G. (Argument) Where did Yonah learn about God’s postponement of judgment? Then the LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed: Yahweh -- Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. (Exod 34:6-7a HCSB)
The LORD is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion (Num 14:18 HCSB)
latter to be written, Joel Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Yahweh your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful covenant love, and He postpones sending disaster.
(Joel 2:13)
But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in faithful love, and You did not abandon them. (Neh 9:17 HCSB)
But He, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them; And He often turned His anger aside and did not unleash all His wrath. (Psa 78:38)
When our attitude is wrong, the very attributes of God that should make us rejoice the most because we are sinners, makes us angry instead. This is backwards thinking.
H. God used natural events to prepare the people of Nineveh
Nineveh had experienced two plagues and an eclipse in the five yrs before Yonah showed up. The plagues get our attention, but God’s plan is to send a human,
once he has our attention. God always sends a person, when it comes to sharing the gospel, both men and women are to share their faith, there are
no biblical restrictions on being a witness for Jesus by gender
I. (ILL.) If you are a Dr. and the USA sends you to Honduras, you travel over 500 miles by Helicopter and then by canoe to a desolate tribe all dying of Typhoid. You are there and the vaccine is with you. There is only one problem,
You forgot the syringe. It is over 500 miles away, & they can not drink the vaccine
No syringe is a big problem. You see God sent Jesus as a Remedy,
to die for sinners, He is the medicine. Humanity is sick and dying.
World A (10/40 Window) has no gospel witness at all worth listing
But the syringe for the medicine IS World Missions, human missionaries, both long term and short term. Human preachers that is still God’s chosen tool.
Not storms, whales, plants, worms, winds, no.
The Bible asks, how can they hear w/o a preacher? They can’t.
2.5 Billion people need to hear for the first time w/ no one to tell them.
2.5 Billion have people who can tell them but won’t or don’t.
Almost 11,000 different people groups - world w/o any gospel witness at all.
Thousands enter an everlasting punishment in Lake of Fire every day w/o ever hearing the name of Jesus one time in their lifetime.
Lottie Moon’s question rings out, On whose charge will God lay this sin?
He says Go, we say No. Jesus is the medicine
World Missions is the syringe.
We are the syringe manufacturers & shippers.
We are responsible to get them on the scene. To even take them ourselves.
J. Chapter 4 shows us that Yonah was a nationalist and racist (John 3:16). He still hates the Assyrians. God changed his attitude and Yonah writes this book in order to help Israel change her attitude.
Both Yonah and Yisrael hated those who were different than them.
Some churches and church members have Yonah’s old attitude toward the pagans rather than that of Yahweh’s compassion.
K. (Note the Father in the prodigal son parable. Are you willing to share the Father’s welcome to big sinners?) Even Yeshua said, Love your enemies.
Conclusion
(Review)
(Visualization) A man whose brother dies in the twin towers in NY goes as a missionary to an al-Qaida area of Pakistan. This is what God asked Yonah to do. To take his message to Yonah’s peoples enemies. Who are the enemies of the USA? Take the gospel to them. No so easy, huh?
Good Samaritan, cared for a Jew. They were enemies.
(Action) Are you willing to give your blessing on your grandchildren carrying the gospel to the dangerous places of the earth? Are you will to pray for unreached peoples? To support missions and missionaries? To go on short term assignments yourself?
(Appeal) Our God is to great to be unknown to 1/3 of the world. God’s glory must cover the earth as the waters cover the bottom of the seas. What is our church going to do about it? Five times the resurrected Messiah gave us His commission. Will we send, pray, give, and go?
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JONAH 4
Sermon Title: A True Story of an Angry Nationalist
Sermon text: Jonah 4
T.I. Yahweh confronts Yonah’s anger and attitude towards pagans
Yonah learns about his hateful heart, his anger over God’s mercy reveals what is really in his heart
FCF: Our natural tendency is to look out for our own at all costs. We will selfishly disobey God or man to help ourselves or the ones we love the best. God confronts these attitudes in this chapter.
S.I. God is pleased when His people have the right attitude towards lost people and earthly possessions (stated positively)
God is not pleased with His peoples unloving nationalistic and racist attitudes, with their hedonism and their materialism. The Sovereign God desires our loving obedience to His world-wide plan of reaching many peoples for His glory
Which attitudes towards lost people and earthly possessions displease God?
In this text we will see two sets of attitudes that displease God and the opposite attitudes that please God.
Introduction
Israel was God’s people
They were supposed to be taking God’s truth to the Gentiles
They hated them instead of reaching them
We also are God's people, & this book shows us our attitude also
We are very similar to Israel in attitude, too similar.
Their Jewish Nationalism & racism blinded them to
God's worldwide purposes & plan of salvation.
God has always intended to save all kinds of peoples, every ethnic
group will have representatives in heaven.
Yonah Chapters 4 shows us God's compassion & love
for Gentile sinners, the worse kinds of pagans, even among them
He has chosen a remnant.
Greatest event is not God keeping Yonah alive
in sea creature, or ordering it to spit him out, no.
The greatest event is 480,000 people repenting
from 1 man, 1 sermon, in one to three days...
This is the largest group that repented that is recorded in human history
Pagans' repenting is the most amazing thing in this book.
Not taking a 3 day ride in a sea creature
The Bible records many more difficult things than Yonah getting swallowed
Many greater supernatural works.
There was nothing, God spoke, light comes out of nothing
by His command, Lazarus who has been dead 4 days, comes
back to life. A body formed of dirt becomes a living man.
It’s a waste of time for little men to try figure out
what might be too hard for God.
For the Christian Jesus settles the issue once & for all.
In the Four Gospels Jesus tells us what to believe about Yonah.
Jesus taught:
Yonah was a real person
Yonah was actually in a sea creatures belly 38 -72 hrs.
Yonah preached after being spit out.
Nineveh repented at his preaching.
We better have same view as Jesus did on the book of Yonah, or we
shouldn't call ourselves Jesus' followers. Because we aren't.
Jesus believed that Yonah was swallowed - preached, Nineveh repented
and so that settles it. It has to be true, now what does it mean?
What lessons are there for us in this book?
In chapter 3 we see that Yonah finally obeys God reluctantly
Now we see his attitude in chapter 4, where we see
God is not pleased with His people’s unloving attitudes that are nationalistic, racist, hedonistic, and materialistic
I. The first set of attitudes that displeases God is angry selfish nationalism and racism. vs. 1-5
A. We must not have a heart full of anger and hate against the lost
Here we meet Yonah: An Angry Nationalist and Racist
Define Nationalism - preference to our clan above all others
opposite world Christian, missionary, missional mind set
Racism - deeming other races as inferior to yours
B. Yonah prays to Yahweh vs. 1–3
Yonah did not want to go to the Assyrians. They had come to Israel, 2 X's
into Galilee were Yonah lived. In 40 yrs. they would take away
10 northern tribes & replace them with pagans.
Assyrians were known for burying - enemies alive.
Skinning them alive, hanging them on poles, stuck through their bodies in the hot sun, one kings - collected skulls as a hobby
Yonah wanted see wicked get their due.
God you judge them first, then I'll go preach to any there are left.
But God supernaturally stepped in and changed Yonah
Yonah reveals what he has been thinking all along
His thoughts reveal what is wrong in his heart
1. The story winds down. 40 days have come and gone
There was no brimstone and sulfur like Sodom
2. God has postponed His wrath and justice
3. Yonah gets angry
An issue of pride, I was made to be wrong and of
Nationalism and Prejudice, You can’t save these guys
they are coming after Israel!
4. Yonah wants to die
In chpt. 2 he is fighting for life,
In chpt. 4 he is ready to give in & die
C. God speaks to directly to Yonah, His prophet (speaking and writing) vs. 4
God’s question, Is it right for you to be angry?
Yonah does not answer God’s question this time
D. Yonah departs and sets up camp vs. 5
1. He builds a shelter
2. God sends a plant - vine - gourd that grows tall overnight
It covers his lean-to shack w/ shade
E. (Argument) Is it reasonable to ask believers to love their enemies? Stephen is being stoned and prays for his murders, Paul was stoned unconscious too,
and eventually had his head chopped off by Nero at Rome, without a fight
F. (ILL) Do you remember the story of the death of Jim Elliot? Elizabeth Elliot continued to work with the natives in Equador, she not only helped with translation work, but helped lead to Christ and disciple some of the same men who had speared her husband and other close friends to death
Yonah is being asked to do something he could not do without the help of
the Holy Spirit to love his enemies, do good to those who persecute you
G. (Appl) A world Christian attitude, being missions-minded, or missional requires one to consider not his or her clan first, but the need to take the light to where it is darkest. The typical American Christian see’s 5 people on one side of a log, and only 1 person on the other side lifting the log. They join the 5 people instead of the one. Us first, our own kind, for God so loved Wayne County,
not the world, mankind, not rocks and trees, people of all kinds.
We have churches on every road, Christian bookstores, Christian radio,
Christian TV, internet, tapes, CD’s, DVD’s, study Bibles, tracts, Christian books, Christian satellites channels, sermons on ipods, ipads, phones, laptops, Christian books in libraries and secular bookstores, church libraries, while there are over 11,000 people groups that do not even have John 3:16
translated into their language and no one to tell them the gospel. We don’t care. Us first. Ok, you had the gospel first, now what? Do we do well?
Is our attitude right?
II. The second set of attitudes that displeases God is angry selfish hedonism and materialism vs. 6-11
A. We must learn to love the lost like God loves the lost rather than pleasure or our
possessions. When we love pleasure or things more than lost souls
we have Yonah’s old attitude, before he wrote this book to expose it as sin
B. Define: hedonism (is love of pleasure) and materialism (is love of earthly things)
C. The Object Lesson for Yonah vs. 6–11
(God’s point here: You should look on humans with compassion)
1. The plant and the worm were appointed by our Sovereign God vs. 6–8a
God sends a worm - appointed - prepared - planned - ordained
To kill God’s plant, not Yonah’s
Then God sends an east wind - this was a dessert storm, a bad wind
This may be the forming of a De Sirocco which develops when a low pressure front above the Mediterranean moves east. This front draws hot air from a large area of the Northern Sahara dessert up north, and then it moves it east to the Mediterranean sea. The hot winds with sand get up to speeds of 50 knots and it is miserable to be out in one of these storms
2. Yonah asks to die vs. 8b
a. He get’s angry again
b. He goes from anger to despondency - great joy to despair
Elijah and Paul do the same thing
It may be more normal than we realize
c. Read vs 8-11
d. Yonah has compassion on the plant
e. God had compassion on - people and even the animals in Nineveh
f. Even the animals were more important than a plant
g. Among the 600K people in this extended area east of the Tigris river
there are 120K children—too young to discern between their right and
left hands. Does your nationalism and racism not even include
compassion for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers Yonah?
3. Yonah was obeying God.
a. He was doing the will of God.
b. That was not enough.
c. Yonah learns through the plant-worm-wind object lesson
That he NEEDS TO DELIGHT TO DO GOD’S WILL.
To glorify God, to be Christ-like, we too need to delight to do
God’s will to have a people of every tribe, tongue, and nation
D. (ILL.) Yonah - like an angry teenager taking out the trash,
Ok, I’ll do it. Yet he kicks the trash can all the way to the street
1. Yahweh and Yonah have a second discussion about illegitimate
anger in vs. 9. This time Yonah answers and reveals his heart.
What is your attitude like?
Christians are to be aliens and strangers on earth.
Have you settled down in this world so that you love all the wrong things?
2. God’s application of the object lesson and final question vs. 10–11
Is it right for you to be angry? Do you have the right attitude? Are you thinking correctly? Do you do well, Yonah?
What is the correct answer?
What is the correct application?
Yahweh’s argument from lesser to greater, from a plant to human
E. (Argument) Jesus does this with sparrows to humans, if my Father provides
for birds, how much more will He for humans, made in His image w/ souls?
If silver quarters are important, how much more are $100 bills? Much
Of course humans are more valuable than plants and cattle
But not when we have the wrong attitude
F. (Appl) Yonah’s writing of this book shows that he wanted Israel to see its national and racial pride as sin and to develop a heart for the nations like Yahweh has. Yonah pictures Israel and the church, both more selfish-minded rather than mission-minded. Both concerned for their nation rather than the world of lost sinners. Being on mission is being like God, who sent His son to seek and to save that which was lost. Being selfish is sinful and the opposite of God’s holiness. Yonah learned his lesson. He tells his story for you to learn it. Will we learn his lesson and join God where He is working among the nations?
Conclusion
(Review) S.I. God is pleased when His people have the right attitude towards lost people and earthly possessions
1. Angry selfish nationalism and racism
2. Angry selfish hedonism and materialism
This prophet of God calls us to a new way of thinking
Being a world-Christian, mission-minded, missional
Being a good steward that values human souls above earthly things,
living sacrificially for the sake of the gospel
What is your plant? What material thing means more to you than - lost world? Do you do well? Are your priorities God’s priorities? Is your attitude right?
Is that plant - thing - really that important? Come on, it is going to melt.
What about the unsaved?
Do you do well? Is your attitude right?
Pride, selfishness, nationalism, lovers of pleasure, and prejudice: These are not acceptable sins. God is going to convict us regarding our thoughts as well as our deeds of rebellion. It is not enough to just show up at the right place.
been stabbed over 8 times and raped by paperboy. She survived the attacked.
There was a man named John Wenzel - working as an intern in - church I grew up in, He had planted a church in Chesapeake, VA, and began working with the
chaplain at the city jail. He went into the cell block w/ the chaplain, There was Ricky, the minor who had done this crime. He wanted a Bible.
the victim or her husband. The question came into Pastor John’s mind,
John, do you do well having no compassion for sinners? Is your attitude right?
Hey Yonah, who was that guy in the sea creature?
that rebel - sinner - deserving wrath, calling out for mercy
How can you expect grace & mercy for yourself, a wretched sinner,
& then want wrath for all - other sinners? Do you do well? right attitude?
Jesus said that the measure you use on others will be used on you.
Israel was given this book by a prophet to call them to covenantal obedience so they would learn Yonah’s lesson.
One of the 70 clans in Gen 11 is chosen and that one family in Gen 12 is picked to reach the other families. Remember Abraham?
Israel did not learn Yonah’s lesson.
So God sent them out as witnesses in chains.
The early church was reluctant to leave Jerusalem
So they were scattered by persecution, then they witnessed for Jesus.
Pride, Nationalism, Prejudice, an “us first” mentality destroyed them.
It also destroyed the German and Great Britain churches
Friend, Your sins put Jesus on the cross.
You crucified Him.
Do you do well?
Do you do well? Is your attitude right? Forgive me, just not the Arabs.
We need to ask God to give us concern & compassion on the heathen nations.
We need to pray, to give, send, and go and long to see every people group
w/ the gospel. We need to do something about it.
Every people group spreading - gospel to their own people,
where it is so dark now. Chop down your plant. Adjust your attitude.
Change - remove the obstacles. Go on mission with God.
send, pray, give, Go.
Lottie Moon, “Will not God hold you Southern Baptists responsible for refusing to obey the great commission? On whose charge will the blood of these lost peoples be laid?
