Malachi Lesson 9 - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Minor Prophets

Malachi

Lesson 9

Text: Malachi 3:9-18

Intro: Last study we looked at the idea of tithing, and how the Nation was robbing God by not tithing and fulfilling their duty. We also looked at some of the results, God promised to both bless obediance and to punish disobediance. One of the greatest punishments a person can get is to be seperated from God. This is what God had promised would happen, the process of nature took effect on the people, their crops, their income, their freedom dwindeled away because they turned their back on God and abandoned His word and promise. God aslo promised blessings, and as I said, this is not God barging with the Nation and adding blessings to them if they will preform His will, but a reinstatement that God will bless, if we would only trust in Him, and His word. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” II Corinthians 9:6, the principles of sowing and reaping are: You reap what you sow, you reap more than you sow, and you reap later than you sow. And this is true for whatever seed we put in the ground. However the suffering did not stop with the Nation here, there was outreaching effects that also happened. Do you belive our actions affect others around us? We have many biblical examples where one sinned, but ohters suffered for it, David, Uriah and his soliders. The 12 spies and the entire nation, Isarels sons, and Joseph, how many times did the nation as a whole suffer because of the sins of individuals. Even Meriam when she cam against Moses and his wife, she was banashed formt eh camp fo a week, and the bible tells us that the nation did not move while she was. Our lives affect other, and our actions reach father than we sometimes want them to.

Far Reaching Consequences, Vs. 10-12
1. They Were Also Robing Others,
  1. We have already discused how the Nation made the priest to suffer by not providing for them,
    - Jeremiah told us they went back to field work to provide for their family.
    - So the priest, and their family suffered while the Nation made themselves comfrotable. “living in ciled houses”
  2. I am not only talking about the priest, but also the blessings of other nations
    - I wonder what message is sent to the world when they saw the temple of God in ruins while the people lived in nice houses?
    - I wonder what message it sends to the world when the church is run down?
      - People drive by, and see siding missing, the yard not mowed, the place dirty.
      - Or if they come in, and see dirt, grime…
      - I have been in churches, that would not want to live that way, mold growing up the wall, dirty carpet, furniture tore… we can go on.
        
        And I know that these outside things are not at the heart of God, but to the world, what message do they get when they see that?
    - If our Physical house is not taken care of, then what does that say about our Spiritual house, “Now don’t get me wrong, there will always be dirt”
      - and sometimes we don’t have the time to get to some of the projects,
      - but there is a diffrence between being a little dirty and being neglected.
      - But the point here is what others think about God, if we are God’s reprensirives, and our house is in ruins.
  3. What about our personal lives and attitudes
    - has the world ever looked at church people and said, Well I have more joy than them and I don’t go to church, or I have more honor, or I lead a more righteous life…
      - to saying about why most people do not go to church, either they don’t know anyone there, or they do.
      - How many have been put off by the attitude of “Chritians”?
  4. When we fail to live to the standards of God, we send a message to the world about the:
    - Devotion we have to our God, the Strength and power of our God, and the importance of our God.
2. The blessings of God did not stop with the People of God,
  1. the physical blessings,
  2. When the people of God are blessed, then others are blessed.
    - If we struggle to meet our needs, then how much do we give to the poor? To the charities?
  3. Why do we have things? Why has God blessed us with jobs?
    - Ephesians 4:28 “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
    - A lot of the funding for many charities is because of Christians.
      - Think about the Samaritans purse, or the Angel tree,
  4. When we refuse to submit to the leadership of the Lord, then We suffer, and as a result others suffer as well.
  5. So by Israel to stop their giving, the blessings of God stoped, and the giving to others suffered as well.
    - Let me illustrate it this way, What happens to a missionary when a church gets under a finiachel burden?
      - First the funding for his work is cut off, the church there is hit with a burden of a ministre that is in need, perhaps to the point where the missionary has to stop his work, and leave the mission field.
    - When we withold form God we do not take from Him one bit, but what we do, is: We limit for ourselves the blessings of God. We portray God in an unjust way, we cause others to suffer from the lack of blessings as well.

Despised by the People, Vs.13-18,
1. The Complaining, Vs.13-15
  1. Speaking against the Lord,
    1. first this is a dangerous thing to do,
      - If you remember the book of Job, the complaint that God brought against his friends, is that they spoke things that were untrue about God.
        
        Job 42:7 “And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.”
        
        We can even look at this from the point of the Nation of Israel,
        
        they were to be the representatives of God, but because of their hard hearts, God allowed them to be punished.
        
        Because they pretrayed Him the wrong way.
      - Mark 3:22-29 “And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.23And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?24And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.25And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.26And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.27No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.28Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:”
        
        the word Blaspheme means defiaint, ireverant, it is form the two greek words that are, hurt or cause injurery, and to speak gossip.
        
        Never, is the Greek word OU which transltates to no, not, without, and unworthy
        
        We may have many different opinions of what this verse translates to, but one thing is very clear, God does not want to be misinterpret about who He is.
    2. It is vain to serve God,
      - there is no reason, empty, without purpose.
        
        Often we are disapointed with the “idea” of what we think should be,
        
        I read an article the other day about marriage, and it was reasons people split up, and how to strenghten a marriage, one of the reasons was we married because we liked who we thought we could turn them in to. Or Who we hoped they would become.
        
        I think there are people who fall out of church, and stop serving God all together for the same reason. Look at the Jewish people that first heard Malachi…
      - After all, here we are in Jerusalem, we have worked to rebuild the temple, and still there is Persian rule over us.
        
        Sometimes we think as Christians, that life should all of a sudden be blessings and richness after we are saved. That we should never have any problems, and that God should go before us in a blaze destroying any opposition we may encounter.
        
        But, we know the truth to be very different than that.
        
        This is one of the problems with rule based religion as opposed to relationship based.
      - What do we get from going to service?
        
        Remember the story of the pastor who went to a church to preach and they took up an offering, he reached into his wallet to get some money and put in. after the service they said they were going to give him the offering, when they did he told his wife they gave him 20 and that he had put in 20. She said you know you get out of it what you put into it,
        
        often times we get out of services what we are willing to put into them.
      - We go into it and say, bless me Lord. And if that doesn’t happen, then we complain we did not get anything our of service.
  2. Their second complaint,
    1. vs.15 those who are not of this nation seem to be blessed.
      - How many of us have ever thought that?
        
        Psalm 37 & 73 both ask this question.
        
        Psalm 73:2-17 “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.4For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.5They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they (Not) plagued like other men.6Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.7Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.8They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.9They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.10Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.11And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?12Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.13Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.14For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.15If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.16When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;17Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”
        
        When we look at the outside, then it doesn’t make sence,
        
        Hudson Taylor on the boat,
      - It is difficult to be cheerful in life when our focus is on the material things of this world as opposed to God.
        
        When we start to look at homes, cars, jewels, it is easy to be distracted. But when we shift our focus to God, the tings of this world seem to fade away.
    2. Psalm 100: “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.2Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endurethto all generations. ”
      - it is a serious thing to serve the Lord, and He desires us to do it with gladness.
      - It is a sad thing to see Christians people find it a duty to serve God.
    3. Philippians 2:1-12 lays out the example of Christ, and His ideal servant.
      - It would do us all good to refocus on the Lord, and our relationship with Him, and stop looking to the world for our understanding of what blessings are.