WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:07.420 Malika, chapter one is where we are together on a sermon series on leaving a legacy for the Lord and what that 00:00:07.420 --> 00:00:08.610 looks like in our lives. 00:00:08.780 --> 00:00:16.300 And the book of Malakai, you give a little background of where we were last week, last week as a first, point of our message in a series together. 00:00:16.580 --> 00:00:23.860 God, when he speaks through Malakai, which means my messenger and Hebrew, he's sharing a series of messages to the people of Israel. 00:00:23.860 --> 00:00:25.060 In fact, he shares six of them. 00:00:25.900 --> 00:00:33.060 And these messages are particularly important because these are the last messages that God shares with his people before he goes silent for 400 00:00:33.260 --> 00:00:36.220 years at the coming, which leads to the coming of Christ in the gospel. 00:00:36.280 --> 00:00:37.740 So you're looking for the book of Malakai. 00:00:38.020 --> 00:00:41.220 It's actually the last book of the old Testament and it's just before the book of Matthew. 00:00:41.580 --> 00:00:44.760 In the New Testament, we talk about books of the Bible. 00:00:45.680 --> 00:00:52.780 The books of the Bible aren't put together chronologically, but it just so happens the book of Malakai is the last book of the old Testament according to the way 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:55.100 Chrome chronology works itself out. 00:00:55.660 --> 00:00:59.270 The books of the Bible are categorized according to literary genre. 00:00:59.500 --> 00:01:05.810 And so the last books of the old Testament or what's called the minor prophets doesn't mean that they're less significant than the major profits. 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:07.780 But what it means is the books are smaller. 00:01:08.220 --> 00:01:15.140 And so if you're one that likes to read books of the Bible and cross those off like you got that done, minor profits are easier to do than the major profits. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:24.680 But Malakai for us is a book about leaving a legacy and what it looks like to be a difference maker for 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.820 the cause of Christ in your lives and the lives of those around us. 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:36.020 And the foundation for which God shares these messages in chapter one starts in a, in 00:01:36.020 --> 00:01:36.020 a pinnacle point for us and our relationship to God. 00:01:36.020 --> 00:01:37.540 Anyone in their relationship to God. 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:41.900 It is the foundation of which God has called you, which is in fact a relationship to him. 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:46.460 And so chapter one verses one to five, God talks about his love for us. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:53.960 It becomes the foundation to all healthy relationships, understanding what it means to live in light of being loved and what real biblical love 00:01:53.960 --> 00:01:54.740 really is. 00:01:54.740 --> 00:02:00.840 A lot of times we talk about love and it might mean in factuation or you have as strong a liking towards something. 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:06.560 But biblical love is as South self-sacrificial for the benefit of someone else. 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.990 And so God, when he talks about his love for us, the question of Israel is how have you loved us? 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:14.820 And he, and he gives that demonstration to us in the first four verses. 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.580 And then Israel's remark comes in verse five. 00:02:18.600 --> 00:02:25.640 In fact, I would give you the control today and I've got to turn around when I read this is not like trying to be sacrilegious or anything with my 00:02:25.700 --> 00:02:31.420 back to you, but we don't, we've had technical difficulties this morning, so we're operating on plan B. 00:02:31.420 --> 00:02:38.440 And in verse five though, he says this to Israel, your eye, your eyes will see this and you will say the Lord be magnified beyond the border 00:02:38.440 --> 00:02:39.040 of Israel. 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:45.620 And so by their Mouser professing this thought, God, Oh, if you love us like this, may your name be great Lord. 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:51.520 And so God follows that up with let's just say, let's just see if this is really what you believe. 00:02:52.700 --> 00:03:00.060 And that's what I said this week and I'm going to remind us again or said last week, I'm going to remind us again this week that the idea of 00:03:00.140 --> 00:03:04.740 Malakai and the six messages God gives to the people, they are difficult messages. 00:03:04.760 --> 00:03:09.500 They're sorta like a gut check and where you are in your relationship with God. 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:15.170 And so when I, when I talk about this message today, all of these messages moving forward, here's what I don't want you to hear. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:20.640 If there's a place in your life where you've realized that you're not, you're not in line with the Lord, you've gone astray. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.920 I don't want you to hear condemnation, condemnation. 00:03:23.920 --> 00:03:24.380 You're horrible. 00:03:24.380 --> 00:03:25.160 You're horrible, you're horrible. 00:03:25.160 --> 00:03:26.180 Now leave and feel bad. 00:03:26.720 --> 00:03:31.440 That's not what we want to achieve and I don't think that's going to be healthy for us in our walk with the Lord. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:32.940 Rather, this is what I want us to hear. 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:40.960 If there's a place in your life that you have strained from the Lord, know that God loves you because he's declared that in the first chapter and what God desires for 00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:42.460 you is for you to walk with him. 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:48.140 And so Jesus took care of our condemnation on the cross and because of that, we get to turn to him. 00:03:48.540 --> 00:03:51.860 We're going to actually read in revelation chapter two, this word for repentance. 00:03:52.040 --> 00:03:56.400 Every time I read the word repentance in church, I despise reading it. 00:03:56.420 --> 00:04:02.200 Not because the word repentance is wrong, not because it's not biblical, but oftentimes when we hear that word, we hear it in the wrong way. 00:04:02.640 --> 00:04:07.810 We've defined it religiously, not biblically, and often when we say the word repentance, what we mean is penance. 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:15.300 Meaning I've got to go out, feel bad and show my worth to be able to be accepted by God by how difficult 00:04:15.380 --> 00:04:20.019 I can make myself feel over the circumstances which I've done, which is not biblical repentance. 00:04:21.440 --> 00:04:26.780 Repentance means you look at where you're going and it's not in line with Jesus and you turn and you walk with Jesus. 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:27.930 That's what it means. 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:35.500 And so Jesus paid for our condemnation on the cross so that we could walk with him in that there may be a place in our lives where we recognize that walking contrary 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:38.650 to Jesus has brought sorrow, guilt, shame to our lives. 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:43.140 May maybe that's true in what we've experienced apart from Jesus. 00:04:43.200 --> 00:04:46.000 But Jesus wants us to walk in joy and newness and life in him. 00:04:46.320 --> 00:04:51.720 And so when we turned to him, we let go of the past walk in the newness of life in Christ being shaped in his image. 00:04:51.960 --> 00:04:55.480 And so that's what our desire is in this passage of scripture. 00:04:55.480 --> 00:05:00.020 And so God in verse five puts him to the test in that and says, okay, let's just examine that. 00:05:00.020 --> 00:05:01.540 This is really what you desire. 00:05:01.780 --> 00:05:08.920 And so then he says this, a son honors his father and we use this last week as an illustration that God, God is pictured in scripture 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:15.960 as that a of a father or a servant, his master, and we talked about this week, that we are the God is Lord 00:05:15.960 --> 00:05:17.700 and we are his servants under him. 00:05:17.700 --> 00:05:21.260 And then if I am father, where is my honor? 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:25.920 And if I am master, where is my respects as the Lord of hosts to you? 00:05:26.260 --> 00:05:29.460 Oh priests, you despise my name. 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:37.580 Now we'll talk about this despising as we move on, but I want to categorize this word for priest. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:44.860 For us in new Testament time, the word priest and old Testament is different than the way the word priest is used in the new Testament old 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:52.180 Testament, there were a particular group of people, the Levi's, you'll see this in chapter two that were selected by God to be the priest operated in the temple. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:57.280 And from that there was even the high priest and in the temple, this is the uniqueness of the temple that was built. 00:05:57.280 --> 00:06:04.300 There were only two rooms in the temple and one of those rooms was only able to be used by the high priest and he was only able to use 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:05.200 at one time a year. 00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:08.140 So it's the equivalent of like going to church by hanging out in the parking lot. 00:06:08.540 --> 00:06:15.840 But this, these priestly physicians were important to Israel because the priest job was to represent the people of Israel before God. 00:06:17.260 --> 00:06:24.360 And so the Old Testament picture of priest is an important picture for us to grasp because it adds meaning into the new Testament 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:26.180 and the identity of who Jesus is. 00:06:27.140 --> 00:06:34.460 Because when we talk about Jesus as we understand him, after Malakai, he comes into the new Testament, Jesus becomes the fulfillment of everything. 00:06:34.570 --> 00:06:39.460 Practice in the old Testament, especially for the nation of Israel, God gave them a law. 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:40.340 Jesus fulfilled the law. 00:06:40.460 --> 00:06:41.240 God gave him a temple. 00:06:41.300 --> 00:06:46.720 Jesus fulfilled the temple, became the temple, tore down the temple, rebuilt the temple and himself and placed the temple within you. 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.140 Jesus became, as they sacrifice lambs in the temple, Jesus became that lamb of God. 00:06:53.320 --> 00:06:54.440 John pronounced them that way. 00:06:54.460 --> 00:06:56.800 The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:06:57.100 --> 00:06:58.480 Jesus fulfilled all of that. 00:06:58.780 --> 00:07:00.820 There are three particular offices in the old Testament. 00:07:00.860 --> 00:07:04.360 If you give me a click that Jesus in his role fulfilled in life. 00:07:04.440 --> 00:07:05.750 And so these are the verses. 00:07:05.760 --> 00:07:13.160 I'm not going to have time to go through all of these with you, but if you look at the book of Hebrews, that is what Hebrews is, all of the aspects of worship in the old Testament, 00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:17.620 the people of Israel and talking about Jesus being the fulfillment of all of those things. 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:24.920 And so when it comes to the prophet, it says in former times they spoke to us through the prophets, but Jesus in this passage it says he is the last 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:25.370 prophet. 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:29.160 Bible talks about F I go to the bottom. 00:07:29.260 --> 00:07:35.320 It talks about a old God, the father talking to Jesus talk saying in chapter one verse eight that you owe God. 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:42.480 Your throne is forever talking about Jesus, his throne, and in Hebrews chapter four verses 14 to 16 and it tells us because we 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:47.460 have such a high priest who is passing the heavens, let us boldly become come before his throne. 00:07:48.520 --> 00:07:51.180 So Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of all of those. 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:52.400 Jesus is the high priest. 00:07:52.400 --> 00:07:53.520 He is the prophet, he is the priest. 00:07:53.780 --> 00:08:01.000 He is the King, and because of Jesus, his work, the 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:02.960 Bible also calls you a prophet. 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:11.940 Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 27 verse 51 as Jesus hung on the cross, he said to tell us, die paid in full the price for your life. 00:08:12.100 --> 00:08:13.270 Jesus took to his account. 00:08:13.700 --> 00:08:14.680 He pays it in full. 00:08:14.980 --> 00:08:22.120 The temple veil is ripped from top to bottom, displaying that the presence of God no longer dwells there, but rather now the 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:25.960 presence of God dwells within his people. 00:08:27.520 --> 00:08:29.940 And the first Peter chapter two verse five this is what it says. 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:36.260 You also as Livingstone's referring to the building of the temple. 00:08:36.260 --> 00:08:37.750 You think the temple is built in stones. 00:08:37.780 --> 00:08:42.980 Now his people are, those stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a Holy priesthood. 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.780 So it's saying to you, it's not this building that sacred. 00:08:45.780 --> 00:08:47.560 It's God's people that are sacred. 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.420 And so you are now a Holy priesthood. 00:08:50.060 --> 00:08:54.240 It's not gender specific, but it's all of God's people possessing this. 00:08:54.400 --> 00:09:01.700 And this is the reason why to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ was because of Jesus that you hold 00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:06.860 this position before the Lord in verse nine but you are a chosen race, a Royal priesthood. 00:09:06.880 --> 00:09:08.380 So you belong to the King. 00:09:08.380 --> 00:09:10.600 You are Royal priesthood, a Holy nation. 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.030 You are God's people for God's own possession. 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:22.500 And so we use this terminology in the old Testament Malakai chapter one verses five and six Jesus is putting the priests, the 00:09:22.500 --> 00:09:26.440 leaders of, of the nation to the test of Israel. 00:09:26.760 --> 00:09:27.460 You are a priest. 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:29.420 You say, you love me, let's test this. 00:09:30.840 --> 00:09:37.200 But for us this morning, I think as believers in Christ, we need to recognize that yes, all of us have leadership positions. 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:40.060 All of us are influencing somewhere for the cause of Christ. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:44.160 But all of us have the ability to connect with God because of what Jesus has done for us. 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:54.760 All of us carry this position of priesthood in Christ because Jesus is crucifixion 00:09:54.760 --> 00:10:05.480 and it's like saying this, you're going to build your life on something and 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:15.560 to use this word priest that is a sacred thought as 00:10:15.560 --> 00:10:23.260 if to sober our minds in the trajectory of life that we're living and saying, for what? 00:10:25.290 --> 00:10:27.290 What am I making it count for? 00:10:29.300 --> 00:10:29.580 Got it. 00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:32.420 I really want your glory to go throughout this world. 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:39.540 Like we sang those songs this morning, the worthiness of God and worship of him, and Jesus is saying, let's, let's just, let's 00:10:39.540 --> 00:10:42.400 just test this and examine and see where you are. 00:10:42.400 --> 00:10:48.140 And he does this for the people of Molokai by calling particular things to their attentions. 00:10:48.280 --> 00:10:55.320 And so he says in Malika chapter six he says, but you say, how have we despised your 00:10:55.320 --> 00:10:55.820 name? 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:02.700 Every one of these sections that God delivers to Israel, they ask a followup question to what he's declaring. 00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:03.600 And so then God gives an answer. 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.500 You are presenting to filed food upon my altar. 00:11:09.740 --> 00:11:15.610 But you say, how have we defiled you and that you say the table of the Lord is to be despised. 00:11:15.920 --> 00:11:18.970 But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? 00:11:19.020 --> 00:11:21.440 And when you present the lame and the sick, is it not evil? 00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:31.240 When the people of Israel would go into to worship in the temple, there was a particular way that they were supposed to bring animals 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:33.580 to the sacrifice and Jesus Assange. 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:35.960 You're not following that. 00:11:36.760 --> 00:11:40.840 That assignment of how sacrifices are supposed to be given to me. 00:11:41.180 --> 00:11:44.460 You're not giving me your best, you're giving me your worst. 00:11:46.260 --> 00:11:53.780 And the reason Jesus qualified what he wanted for sacrifice, the way, the reason the Lord shared this with Israel because the 00:11:53.780 --> 00:11:58.320 sacrifice that they were to give was ultimately a sign of their love for God. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.980 One but two, it was a reflection of the perfection of Jesus. 00:12:04.100 --> 00:12:09.800 Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world without spot or blemish. 00:12:11.140 --> 00:12:12.940 Let me give you an example of why that's so important. 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:21.220 If I were to say to God this morning on behalf of you, Lord, I want to die in their place. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:23.020 I want my life to count for theirs. 00:12:23.020 --> 00:12:26.560 Lord, take my account and attribute it to them. 00:12:26.680 --> 00:12:30.840 I can tell you, if you know anything about my past, we would all get up and run. 00:12:31.020 --> 00:12:34.120 You'd be like, no, I'm better off by myself. 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:38.060 Do not attribute your account to my life, please. 00:12:38.140 --> 00:12:38.260 Right? 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:48.000 But with Jesus, we want every bit of 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:55.700 that account applied to our lives, the perfection of Christ, 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:04.130 that when God sees me, because of what Jesus has done in his perfection, he sees the beauty of Christ in my life. 00:13:04.420 --> 00:13:11.820 My sins are covered in the blood of Jesus, in his sacrifice because of its perfection and the sacrifice 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:15.380 that took place in the temple was the demonstration of this. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:24.120 In fact, Hebrews chapter 10 verse one it just says that the sacrifices in the temple were 00:13:24.120 --> 00:13:25.960 a shadow of what was to come. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:29.980 Substance belongs to Christ. 00:13:31.620 --> 00:13:36.570 In fact, verses 10 to 14 of chapter 10 goes on to explain the detail of that. 00:13:37.780 --> 00:13:44.780 But what you see in this passage is that the priests, the ones that represent the people, to God, the priests are accepting 00:13:44.780 --> 00:13:51.260 really the garbage or lower standards of the nation of Israel from what God has described. 00:13:52.580 --> 00:13:59.320 Why would they sell themselves short? 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:06.480 And the truth that God shares one, I think it's so they could eat. 00:14:08.400 --> 00:14:14.400 And the way the priests ate, we're based on the sacrifices that Israel brought to the temple. 00:14:14.640 --> 00:14:21.890 And so when they would bring the sacrifices, that was what was left and they came to the place where it's like, I can stand for truth or I can eat. 00:14:22.400 --> 00:14:27.060 And so I'm going to lower my standards in order to have a provision for my life. 00:14:27.140 --> 00:14:31.800 And so they sold short for the ability to eat. 00:14:32.020 --> 00:14:34.220 And second, I think they wanted to be accepted by others. 00:14:37.510 --> 00:14:41.610 It's hard to say no, it's not fun to reject. 00:14:44.760 --> 00:14:45.940 You want to look cool, right? 00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:46.330 You want to be accepted. 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:47.890 You want to, you want to be appreciated. 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:55.680 And so in order to keep in good graces of the people rather than the Lord, that they lowered their standards so they can continue 00:14:55.680 --> 00:15:03.240 to provide for whatever it is that they wanted to provide for in their lives and be accepted by others. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:11.820 They lost their stand in truth, meaning based on what God gave them. 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:18.880 They chose to love other things more than they loved standing for the Lord, which leaves us 00:15:18.880 --> 00:15:23.830 with the question, what should we do is true priest in Christ. 00:15:27.580 --> 00:15:34.680 I think when it comes to the stand that they made, the stand would be rather than accepting the F the food is, it's, 00:15:35.060 --> 00:15:42.740 we love people at the point of sacrifice for them, not the sacrificing of animals, but the sacrificing of losing even what the they 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:45.220 come to offer because it's not what God has desired. 00:15:45.760 --> 00:15:53.560 And so we love them to the point that we would sacrifice by not allowing them to bring things that are contrary to the Lord, but encouraging them and 00:15:53.560 --> 00:16:00.660 Jesus, we love Jesus at the expense of sacrificing in 00:16:00.660 --> 00:16:02.880 a practical sense in our lives. 00:16:02.880 --> 00:16:07.560 What it looks like is this, is that we love people where ever they are. 00:16:07.660 --> 00:16:09.840 We love people wherever they are. 00:16:10.040 --> 00:16:18.140 I mean that's what Jesus came for, to transform us in our lives where we are and 00:16:18.140 --> 00:16:19.360 we hold the standard. 00:16:19.400 --> 00:16:20.910 We don't lower the standard. 00:16:21.920 --> 00:16:29.240 We hold the standard and it's not, it's not to position those against one another, but it's to recognize in 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:34.040 the midst of that we love because Jesus loves and we hold the standard because that's what frees us. 00:16:34.060 --> 00:16:39.700 And so in holding that standard, we see the grace and goodness of God that brings himself into our lives. 00:16:39.800 --> 00:16:41.860 That transforms us from the inside out. 00:16:46.400 --> 00:16:53.620 The tendency is when we let go of love or we and we let go of the standard or we lower the standard, we 00:16:53.800 --> 00:16:57.680 compromise in communicating just how much we are in need of Christ. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:08.260 You don't see the perfections of Jesus when you're offering in the temple, less than what Christ has 00:17:08.260 --> 00:17:11.140 required, which is supposed to be a shadow of Jesus and himself. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:20.810 When you become content with less than what God calls us to it calls us to compromise and less, 00:17:21.260 --> 00:17:26.140 from what we need in Christ himself. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:35.800 Like I, I know in our culture, one of the things that we wrestle with is just saying, trying to accept 00:17:35.800 --> 00:17:35.900 people. 00:17:36.820 --> 00:17:40.740 It's uh, as long as you're good, that's all that matters. 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:42.500 Like that's becomes a popular phrase. 00:17:42.580 --> 00:17:50.940 But can I tell you that's contrary to scripture that's contrary 00:17:50.940 --> 00:17:53.080 to the significance of Jesus. 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:58.660 Now listen, let me, let me share how that works within our culture in a way that that's helpful and not hurtful. 00:18:01.820 --> 00:18:06.220 God made everyone precious, special, valuable. 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:07.650 We're made in his image. 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:14.980 We are made in his image, which makes every person in this world beautiful and worthy in the sense because of not 00:18:14.980 --> 00:18:17.520 because of anything that we've done, but because of what Jesus has done. 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:26.520 They're human beings in the image of God and being made in the image of God. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:34.180 We reflect God in our character, whether we acknowledge it or not, we live with characteristics of God, whether we acknowledge 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:35.260 it or not. 00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:44.860 Love, joy, pace, peace, patience, those are God's images and we may not even connect it to God, but that's also, it's 00:18:44.860 --> 00:18:46.780 also the tragedy of humanity. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:55.480 That creature would reject creator, the one who gives you the grace 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.260 to even continue in life and sustain in life and enjoy life. 00:18:59.340 --> 00:19:06.500 And we have separated from the one who is life being made 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:08.320 for his purposes and his glory. 00:19:08.320 --> 00:19:10.380 It only makes sense that we connected that way. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:12.240 And this is the way the Bible describes it to us. 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:14.600 And in Romans five we're enemies of God. 00:19:14.620 --> 00:19:20.400 In Colossians one verses 21 we're hostile, it says, and we're aliens, meaning separated from him. 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:29.900 And even though we might reflect his character in this world, you still need reconciled. 00:19:33.280 --> 00:19:34.540 We need God's forgiveness. 00:19:34.620 --> 00:19:43.480 And here's the joy and the standard as 00:19:43.540 --> 00:19:47.080 you're still alienated apart from him. 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:55.800 And that's why Paul said in Galatians two 21 if righteousness could be achieved through the law, Christ died needlessly. 00:19:57.840 --> 00:20:03.480 I mean, if there was another way, there's no reason for across, not at all who would want that? 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:09.060 And so the sacrifice that's made in the temple, it's a demonstration of the beauty of Christ. 00:20:09.100 --> 00:20:16.520 And so priest, people of God, anything that you do in service to God, it is a demonstration 00:20:16.520 --> 00:20:19.340 of the worth of Christ in our lives. 00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:28.000 Oh, compromise. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:35.080 I love when you read in scripture how Jesus, according to society, he hung out with the people that the religious people hated. 00:20:35.260 --> 00:20:42.360 He knew he loved, and he gave his life for them. 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:52.100 It goes on in the, in the passage, and it says in verse eight and nine, why not offer it 00:20:52.260 --> 00:20:52.880 to your governor? 00:20:53.040 --> 00:20:59.420 Meaning, if you're, you think it's okay to offer these sacrifices to me, why not offer it to someone you think is important, right? 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:01.800 Like a, like a governor or the president or something. 00:21:01.840 --> 00:21:04.380 And then it says, would he be pleased with you? 00:21:06.890 --> 00:21:07.420 Or what do you receive? 00:21:07.780 --> 00:21:14.920 You kindly says the Lord of hosts, but now will you not entreat God's favor 00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:22.180 that he may be gracious to us, which with such an offering on your part, will he receive any of you kindly 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:23.350 says the Lord of hosts. 00:21:28.840 --> 00:21:35.920 What he's saying is this, we take the best from God and we offer them 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:44.540 slop in return is think, how are we content with 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:49.620 giving Jesus our sin, but then keeping the best for us. 00:21:53.690 --> 00:21:58.300 four weeks ago we talked about, we're in the book of Jonah chapter two talking about prayer. 00:22:00.620 --> 00:22:07.620 And I said, when it comes to prayer, one of the foundational things to think about as it relates to prayer is 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.900 that prayer doesn't exist for God, right? 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:13.800 That doesn't need your prayers. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:16.760 He's self sufficient. 00:22:19.560 --> 00:22:25.990 Which means when it comes to the idea of prayer, that the only reason that prayer exists isn't for his benefit, but rather for yours. 00:22:27.560 --> 00:22:28.830 I'm going to elaborate on that. 00:22:31.040 --> 00:22:36.180 Not only does God not need your prayer, he doesn't need it. 00:22:36.280 --> 00:22:42.890 Anything you do, we look at the temple and the sacrifices that are being made there. 00:22:43.460 --> 00:22:47.920 God's not asking them to sacrifice because he's in need of things that he's already created. 00:22:47.980 --> 00:22:51.280 I mean, he's the owner of them regardless of the way any of us see it. 00:22:51.600 --> 00:22:52.440 He's the one that owns it. 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:55.000 So he doesn't need any of that stuff from us. 00:22:55.000 --> 00:23:02.180 Acts 17 verse 24 to 25 tells us, God doesn't dwell in temples made by human hands as though he needed anything, but rather he is the giver 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:03.000 of life himself. 00:23:04.340 --> 00:23:07.420 So the question then becomes, well, why does God want these things from us? 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:19.820 Tell you why it's 00:23:19.820 --> 00:23:19.820 not for his benefit. 00:23:19.820 --> 00:23:19.820 It's for yours. 00:23:19.820 --> 00:23:21.100 It's for mine. 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:30.220 You might've seen this commercial on TV, but there's a new Geico commercial out that's called, uh 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:30.660 Oh. 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:31.780 I call it alligator arm in it. 00:23:31.900 --> 00:23:39.040 I don't know how they describe it, but it's like the group of people sitting around at dinner time and they go to pay the bill and the alligator pretends like 00:23:39.040 --> 00:23:39.480 he's gonna. 00:23:39.760 --> 00:23:40.380 He's gonna pay for it. 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:42.630 He's like, I can't reach a guys. 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:42.880 You know? 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:49.940 He says that's what God's saying in Molokai, chapter one verses eight and nine like, ah, this is 00:23:49.940 --> 00:23:55.840 for your benefit and your alligator in that man, there may be T-Rex. 00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:56.380 How's that work? 00:23:59.460 --> 00:24:00.700 You don't even understand that. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:04.500 The reason that I'm so passionate about what you're giving isn't for me. 00:24:08.580 --> 00:24:09.350 That's for you. 00:24:12.890 --> 00:24:19.770 Why would cut this Abbas if it's for our benefit, what can you let me just keep my stuff, man, all my time. 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:26.760 Whatever I got resources, talents, he didn't think were talking to Malakai about a legacy. 00:24:29.280 --> 00:24:36.360 I think just a few reasons, and this is not conclusive, but when God is calling us to give, not for his benefit, but really ends up being for ours to 00:24:36.360 --> 00:24:37.060 his glory. 00:24:37.500 --> 00:24:40.190 It's this one you learn to grow and trust of him. 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:47.560 Out of all the other things alive you can trust in by the way, that you devote your life to him and your love for him. 00:24:47.560 --> 00:24:54.820 You're growing in your trust for him two, and we're going to add to this later, but the people around you are blessed 00:24:54.820 --> 00:24:58.080 by your gift and your demonstration of his worth in their lives. 00:24:59.820 --> 00:25:01.640 Meaning it goes beyond you. 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:03.520 The effects go beyond you three. 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:11.710 I would say this, it demonstrates that you're not owned by anything else. 00:25:15.280 --> 00:25:21.820 if I just related it in the giving, this is sort of a monetary practice for Israel and the sacrifices that they're giving. 00:25:21.860 --> 00:25:25.340 They want to keep the best because they have more wealth and so they don't want to give God the best. 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:26.370 They give him the worst. 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:34.740 Let me just, let me just break that down for us and just a way to think about what God's doing for us in this passage by calling us to give at 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:41.580 some point in our culture, we recognize in America we are, we are the wealthiest church to exist in history. 00:25:41.620 --> 00:25:47.360 And so what we'd expect from the church is that through the giftedness of the American church, all the world is blessed through. 00:25:48.420 --> 00:25:49.100 That's what it should be. 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:52.800 But somewhere along the lines, sometimes we do. 00:25:53.040 --> 00:26:00.060 We dive into this thought that because I have more, I should possess more, and just think about that for a minute. 00:26:00.360 --> 00:26:08.780 Like says who and why when you 00:26:08.780 --> 00:26:15.980 start to possess for him, there comes a place in life where you aren't really possessing 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:18.670 anything anymore, but rather it is possessing you. 00:26:23.280 --> 00:26:30.380 I think in this passage, by giving God their best, it's 00:26:30.380 --> 00:26:37.520 a demonstration to their lives that God is their worth. 00:26:41.620 --> 00:26:47.760 In fact, when you read verse 10 this is what it says, all of that. 00:26:47.760 --> 00:26:55.120 There were one among you who would shut the Gates that you might not uselessly 00:26:55.180 --> 00:26:56.600 Kindle fire on my altar. 00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:00.940 I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from you. 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:03.670 He's like, just close the temple. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:11.900 Look at some of us may think that we're fulling God and saying with 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:12.400 our mouths. 00:27:12.520 --> 00:27:13.840 Verse five, God, I love you. 00:27:13.840 --> 00:27:20.720 Your glory go everywhere, but now I'm alligator arm in it. 00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:30.860 Got CS that I had a word for that back in my day, my 00:27:30.860 --> 00:27:31.770 street days. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:34.060 It's called a poser. 00:27:39.620 --> 00:27:44.560 God's looking at our hearts in a condition where we're giving to him begrudgingly, whether it be talents or whatever. 00:27:44.560 --> 00:27:51.560 It can be anything, but when you think about your love for the Lord, your response to that, if you're doing out of guilt, out of obligation, God's 00:27:51.560 --> 00:27:52.620 like, man, that's not love. 00:27:55.120 --> 00:27:59.440 I mean, you know in your relationships in life, if you've got that friend like, Oh, you gave me a GIF, I'll guess I'll go on. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:01.280 I'll give you a gift, and you give that back. 00:28:01.300 --> 00:28:02.360 You're like, here it is. 00:28:02.620 --> 00:28:04.180 Like that's not, that's not healthy. 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:04.740 That's not good. 00:28:04.860 --> 00:28:05.430 That's not great. 00:28:05.580 --> 00:28:06.190 That's not love. 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:06.980 That's not life-giving. 00:28:08.620 --> 00:28:11.460 It's like if that's what it's come down to, just shut the Gates. 00:28:16.590 --> 00:28:18.150 I want to know that you love me. 00:28:19.220 --> 00:28:26.580 Like I love you that you weren't possessed by other things, time, whatever resources, gifts 00:28:26.580 --> 00:28:30.170 that I'm, I'm the one that you see as worthy. 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:34.880 This is kind of a scary verse in revelation two. 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:37.420 Uh Oh, that's not right. 00:28:37.420 --> 00:28:38.600 Good, but did I put it in? 00:28:39.060 --> 00:28:39.920 I may not put it in. 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:41.180 I'll read it off scripture. 00:28:42.120 --> 00:28:46.580 Revelation chapter two verses three and three and five. 00:28:48.020 --> 00:28:54.600 Then talking about the church, the church in the, in the new Testament. 00:28:54.600 --> 00:28:57.780 Listen to what God says in this passage re referencing the church of Ephesus. 00:28:57.940 --> 00:29:05.120 I went to this passage last week, but I want to read the full context and you have perseverance and have dirt and dirt for my name's sake and have not grown 00:29:05.120 --> 00:29:09.500 weary, but I have this against you that you have left your first love and then he says this. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:17.980 Therefore, remember from where you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first, which was loving others or 00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:25.740 else I am coming to you and I will remove your lamp stand out of its place unless you repent that 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:32.800 were that lampstand is the representation of the spirit in the church and what God's really saying is, I'm 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:33.440 closing your church. 00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:38.480 You see this say in the old Testament, but it's not just an old Testament phrase. 00:29:38.580 --> 00:29:45.840 It's a new Testament that God would come and remove the from the church, which I have looked at that verse and I am going to be honest and say, man, that 00:29:45.840 --> 00:29:47.220 has, that has scared me sometimes. 00:29:47.220 --> 00:29:49.240 Not, not because I'm afraid that that's going to happen. 00:29:49.340 --> 00:29:56.610 But what I'm afraid of is that throughout America there are people gathering like they're praising Jesus, but God ain't there. 00:30:00.760 --> 00:30:05.120 Statistically in our country right now, 4,000 churches close every year. 00:30:08.040 --> 00:30:10.180 There's 400,000 total right now. 00:30:11.420 --> 00:30:16.820 So if you do the math 100 years, nothing exists if it continues that way. 00:30:18.060 --> 00:30:25.060 But the whole point of Malakai is to share this with us, to awaken our hearts, to recognize beyond ourselves the legacy that 00:30:25.060 --> 00:30:26.900 this leaves and the impact it makes. 00:30:27.120 --> 00:30:31.380 And when God calls us to give towards him, it's not because he needs, it's not because he's beggared God. 00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:36.530 It's not even for his benefit for ours. 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:46.160 And if we really love him and when his glory is spread, the position of a priest isn't one that says, I hold 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:46.460 this position. 00:30:47.640 --> 00:30:54.760 I said, [inaudible] rather hold this position as a sacred place 00:30:54.760 --> 00:30:56.180 for my benefit. 00:30:56.520 --> 00:31:03.980 And the benefit of those around me, not just this generation, but all generations to come, that we have opportunity to even praise God being hostile aliens 00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:08.320 to him, that he has allowed us to recognize and glorify in his name. 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:15.900 Oh, and so he says this in verse 11 I should probably move faster for from the rising of the sun, even 00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:16.540 to the setting. 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:24.220 My name will be great among the nations and in every place incense is going to be offered to my name and a grain offering that is pure for my name will be great. 00:31:24.220 --> 00:31:30.780 Among the nations says the Lord of hosts, but you are profaning it in that you say the table of the Lord is defiled and asked for its fruit. 00:31:30.780 --> 00:31:32.140 It's food is to be despised. 00:31:33.120 --> 00:31:34.730 So let's just say it like this to Israel. 00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:35.720 Israel, you don't want to praise me. 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:36.580 Someone else will. 00:31:37.580 --> 00:31:45.940 You also say my how tiresome it is and 00:31:45.980 --> 00:31:48.020 you'd just gainfully sniff at it. 00:31:48.580 --> 00:31:54.000 It says, the Lord of hosts and you bring back what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick. 00:31:54.160 --> 00:31:55.940 So you bring the offering. 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:57.300 Should I receive that from your hand? 00:31:57.540 --> 00:31:59.420 You're robbing people and giving that to me crispy. 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:06.520 The swindler who is, who was a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemish animal to the Lord. 00:32:06.540 --> 00:32:07.520 For I am the great King. 00:32:07.580 --> 00:32:10.560 This is the Lord of hosts and my name is feared among the nations. 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:18.540 He's saying, remember the phrase Lord of hosts, he's talking about a UN, a warrior King, prepared for battle with his army. 00:32:19.540 --> 00:32:23.220 It's like saying you met Mike Tyson in the back alley and you thought that you would talk trash. 00:32:25.600 --> 00:32:29.000 It's like, if you need some advice on that, let me help you. 00:32:29.820 --> 00:32:30.340 Don't do. 00:32:31.100 --> 00:32:37.160 It's not, it's not what God has called you to do and he's saying this, that you're seeing it not even as a joy, but as tiresome. 00:32:39.860 --> 00:32:44.810 I know sometimes in life you can get weary from ministry, but he's saying it's not good to be weary of ministry. 00:32:48.140 --> 00:32:55.340 One of the things I think that helps us just re remind ourselves why we serve the Lord is just to continue to answer the word the question why 00:32:55.340 --> 00:32:58.980 do anything forgotten on why. 00:33:00.380 --> 00:33:07.480 I mean reminding yourself as we did in verses one to four of the love of God being demonstrated in our lives, the privilege that we 00:33:07.560 --> 00:33:15.000 have in him to magnify his name, however specific you want to make, that becomes the foundation behind anything that you do. 00:33:15.120 --> 00:33:16.820 That's what makes this morning so special. 00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:25.920 The people of God gathering together, whether you've been a part of ABC or not ever sold that walks in our door, how important that is and what Jesus wants to do in 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:33.120 us and how much he loves us, regardless of where we're coming from in this and how much he calls us and there's something greater 00:33:33.120 --> 00:33:33.640 in him. 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:37.860 Alligators. 00:33:40.820 --> 00:33:47.860 And so then he does this in chapter two and I'm only going to read these two verses to us because he really gives two illustrations, and in chapter two 00:33:47.860 --> 00:33:49.800 he says this, Oh, there's revelation. 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:52.760 Go ahead and skip that and we know where to insert that second service. 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:53.740 We'll get it right. 00:33:54.580 --> 00:33:59.030 Malakai chapter two verse three, behold, this is a gross verse. 00:33:59.360 --> 00:34:01.730 Remember I told you the Molokai, it's got some hard verses. 00:34:02.340 --> 00:34:03.700 Here's one. 00:34:03.800 --> 00:34:06.090 Behold, I'm going to rebuke your offspring. 00:34:06.800 --> 00:34:08.600 I picked the a cleaner version. 00:34:10.100 --> 00:34:17.260 I'm going to rebuke your offspring and I will spread refuse that's poopoo on your faces 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:21.159 and that refuse of your feast and you will be taken away with it. 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:23.120 That is gross, right? 00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:26.480 I talk about the things the Bible says. 00:34:28.820 --> 00:34:35.820 So God's saying, just so you get the point of what's happening here, you're going to be covered in it and your kids 00:34:35.820 --> 00:34:36.340 are going to suffer. 00:34:39.480 --> 00:34:43.050 I don't think what God's doing is necessarily showing up in just punishing kids. 00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:52.100 But what I'm saying, what I think he's saying is this, when you don't live for the Lord in your life and you're not devoted to him, we 00:34:52.100 --> 00:34:59.120 don't really recognize beyond ourselves how deep that consequence goes in the temple, when 00:34:59.120 --> 00:35:06.360 they would sacrifice animals, part of the sacrifice included taking certain parts of the animal outside of the temple and 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:06.700 burning it. 00:35:07.020 --> 00:35:08.440 It was a representation of sin. 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:13.370 They'd walk out of the temple, burn that and that would be part of the refuse that came out of the animal. 00:35:14.920 --> 00:35:19.120 And God's saying, look, this the stuff that you want to get rid of, how about we just bring it all out? 00:35:19.120 --> 00:35:25.000 I mean, you want to throw your, give me all your bad stuff, but just ignore me and living for my glory in any other way. 00:35:25.060 --> 00:35:25.560 But how about this? 00:35:25.580 --> 00:35:35.960 How about we just leave it all there and let's let you deal with it even in the next generation becomes 00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:43.280 so important us to see just the sacredness of what it means, that the, this idea of being a priest, that Jesus has 00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:50.420 torn the temple veil and given us access to him wherever we are, that is a sacred, not just 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:57.840 for us, Frederick Nietzsche, who was the one who pronounced the phrase century 00:35:57.840 --> 00:35:59.660 ago, that God, God is dead. 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:06.680 He said this, and looking at the 20th century, he told us that it was going to be the bloodiest century in all of human history. 00:36:08.460 --> 00:36:14.500 Because once you lose the framework of God at all, everyone's left to their own interpretation of what's true. 00:36:15.120 --> 00:36:18.780 And so what ends up happening is we all pursue our own ways and we fight over that. 00:36:19.040 --> 00:36:26.760 And not only was he right, but if you add all of the previous 19th centuries together, there 00:36:26.760 --> 00:36:33.940 was still more deaths in the 20th century than any other. 00:36:33.980 --> 00:36:36.700 That to me, that's refuse. 00:36:38.780 --> 00:36:46.040 But then he says this in verse seven, for the lips of a priest should preserve 00:36:46.040 --> 00:36:52.330 knowledge and men should seek instruction from his mouth. 00:36:54.580 --> 00:37:03.880 He is the messenger of the Lord, hosts 00:37:03.880 --> 00:37:11.080 what it's saying for us as a people of God verbally 00:37:11.080 --> 00:37:20.120 proclaim his glory in our worship, that we live for that glory in our hearts and 00:37:20.120 --> 00:37:22.390 we demonstrate that glory with our lives. 00:37:25.720 --> 00:37:32.810 God in this chapter saying, don't fool yourself in the legacy you're leaving saying 00:37:33.110 --> 00:37:35.730 something and doing the opposite is not a legacy. 00:37:40.510 --> 00:37:49.890 May where are the title of priests, but God sees your alligator harms. 00:37:49.890 --> 00:37:54.730 It's like, I know you're familiar with Charlie Brown, right? 00:37:54.790 --> 00:37:58.970 And Charlie Brown would go and say something to his mom and you know what? 00:37:59.010 --> 00:38:00.070 We hear? 00:38:00.090 --> 00:38:02.630 Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. 00:38:05.630 --> 00:38:06.650 Do you think about the Lord? 00:38:09.530 --> 00:38:16.550 If our heart's not aligned with him and it doesn't really desire his glory, that's really all our worship becomes in the morning 00:38:16.550 --> 00:38:20.250 as we lift our voices to God and the reading of his word, there they are. 00:38:28.530 --> 00:38:33.010 [inaudible] rather be a priest. 00:38:36.390 --> 00:38:37.030 Be God's people. 00:38:39.870 --> 00:38:44.450 Be the group that turns the tide for the glory of God for the sake legacy. 00:38:45.290 --> 00:38:45.970 The people around you. 00:38:48.570 --> 00:38:59.250 Look, I don't, I don't think it's on our shoulders, but rather we get to the point to the one who rested on his shoulders serving 00:38:59.250 --> 00:39:02.050 God isn't because he needs it. 00:39:04.380 --> 00:39:05.750 It's because we need it. 00:39:08.630 --> 00:39:09.610 We need it for each other. 00:39:11.850 --> 00:39:14.830 We need it for the way that Gras God grows us in it. 00:39:16.430 --> 00:39:23.530 So you get to the end of this message, and let me just remind us this last thought, I remember the foundation of all 00:39:23.530 --> 00:39:23.830 of them. 00:39:23.890 --> 00:39:32.510 Malakai it doesn't just throw guilt on us, it's 00:39:32.510 --> 00:39:34.950 to remind us, God loves us. 00:39:37.790 --> 00:39:41.930 God loves us, man. 00:39:41.950 --> 00:39:44.970 He has called you to so much in this world. 00:39:47.420 --> 00:39:53.350 [inaudible] and for you to be able in recognizing that, because you know he is a gracious God that loves you. 00:39:53.650 --> 00:39:59.430 Even if your heart's timid, even if you're like, man, God doing that just seems so challenging to me. 00:39:59.630 --> 00:40:01.230 But Lord, I recognize it's not for you. 00:40:01.230 --> 00:40:02.130 It's for my wellbeing. 00:40:02.130 --> 00:40:08.060 And in this is where you grow me and this is where you grow us. 00:40:10.290 --> 00:40:12.290 God, I've given it to you. 00:40:12.970 --> 00:40:20.290 I'm going to give it to you and I'm just going to trust in you in this and watch what you do in us and through us. 00:40:23.680 --> 00:40:29.100 Repentance isn't penance. 00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:37.520 It's a word intended for our delight in God so that we can rejoice in him and 00:40:37.520 --> 00:40:39.140 enjoy him all the days of our lives.