Lessons from Malachi

Now I'd like you to turn with me to the book of Malachi. You all likely know that's the last book in the Old Testament, and we're going to read a few verses here, and we're going to commence with a verse in chapter 3 and verse number 6. Malachi chapter 3 and verse number 6. We're the Lord, I change not. For I am the Lord, I change not.

Now go back to chapter 1 please, and verse number 2. I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountain and his herdage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, we are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, they shall build, but I will throw down, and they shall call them the border of wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever.

Now verse 8. And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto the governor, will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts. And now I pray you, beseech God, that he will be gracious unto us. This has been by your means, will he regard your person, saith the Lord of hosts.

Who is there even among you who would shut the doors for naught? Neither do you kindle fire on mine altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, my name shall be praised among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering.

For my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. Now chapter three please, and verse number three. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Now verse eight says, Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me, but ye say wherein have we robbed thee, in tithes and offerings. Now one final reading in verse number 16. Then they that feared the Lord speak often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought upon his name.

Now we know that God will bless the reading of his word with what we have already heard in this conference so far. Now the verse that I read first of all, for I am the Lord, I change not. I'm not sure if I would say that's maybe the key verse in the chapter.

It could be the other verses that we read that Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. Now I'm sure everyone will know a little bit about Jacob and a little bit about Esau. Esau was a man that sold his birthright.

He came in from the fields and he was starving and he couldn't wait and Jacob bargained with him and for a little bowl of lentils or something similar he sold his birthright. Now the birthright was very important because really that was his link really with the Lord Jesus, but he sold it and then later on he forfeited the blessing and again it was he went out to get venison and so on for his father. The father was going to bless him and Jacob tricked him and anyhow Jacob then he got not only the birthright but he got the blessing.

You say what has that got to do with this? Well it shows us here and what we have read together these people are saying to God wherein hast thou loved us. We've been speaking about how if we love the Lord we keep his commandments, but here they're questioning the love of the Lord and the Lord tells him you know there was Jacob and there was Esau and you're descended from Jacob and even though Jacob was a supplanter there's one thing really he knew what was real and what was important he wanted the birthright and the blessing. But Esau he said these things are really of no account.

These things that were spiritual he said they don't really mean anything to me. I'm willing to give those up for material things and I think maybe there are some among us like that you see but we're Christians. That's right, but I want to suggest here really and this would maybe open up the passage it did for me in a way and that is that here we have God's people, God's earthly people, the descendants of Jacob and they're acting just like the Edomites.

Now the Edomites were descended from Esau and really what he's saying to the Lord's people he said all these great blessings that I have showered upon you you're not really appreciating them as you should. You're just like the Edomites and you're going in for other things that seem to you to be more important but God says I still love you. I change not and I want to apply that in different ways as we go through the chapter.

I change not. God never changes. We've been reminded of that already and God's word never changes.

God hasn't changed. Why should we change? God's word hasn't changed. Why should we change it and think that we can bring in things that aren't according to God's word at all.

He said I loved you. I hated you and you bring in the things of Edom. What does God say about them? He says you Edom says I'm impoverished but I'm going to build up again.

I'm going to enjoy these things. God says no you're not. I'll pull the whole thing down.

So we cannot improve on God's word and we have to ask ourselves today and these things of course you know were written for our admonition and our learning. What does this really mean to me? Am I related to those that God has loved and showered the blessings on or am I going to be like an Edomite? Just go my own way try and improve. I'm going to enjoy things.

They're material things. I'm going to enjoy them now. They're like things that we see but God says no he said you should be acting like we'll say today like Christians.

So we have a little picture first of all of the people. I should have maybe told you this a little outline I have. Yeah first of all you have the people and then in chapter two we have the priests and then in chapter three we have the plea.

God is pleading with them to a return and then we have in verse 16 of three the pious little pious remnant that are waiting for the Lord. So here we have the people and they're not appreciating all that what God has done for them and they're trying to improve on the things of God and he's telling them in verse eight you offer the blind chapter one for sacrifice is it not evil if you offer the lame and the sick is it not evil offer it to your governor will he accept thy person. This has already been touched upon at the conference and I would call this from verse eight poor worship.

How do you think we're getting along in our worship? We've already been told at this conference and we agree that the most important thing isn't our service or even our preaching it's our worship. I would really like to be able to minister the word far like some of the brethren I know far better than I can. I'd like to be able to preach the gospel with more power than I have the ability to do but I'll tell you we should all be saying I'd rather be a better worshiper.

That's what comes first. Everything else comes from that. It's what are we offering to God.

I think sometimes and I don't want to discourage people from taking part in worship. God knows we'd like more to take part but what am I coming to offer? Am I coming to tell God all about myself? He knows that already or what a great sinner I was before I was saved. We appreciate that but am I telling him the things concerning his son? Am I offering something that's real? They were offering the blind.

They didn't realize that these were little pictures of the Lord Jesus. Lame. He was perfect in his walk, perfect in his sight and they're offering something they're holding back like Esau.

Anything's good enough for for God. I'll just keep the good for myself and occupied with self when worship is telling God the things concerning his son and I'm not the center of all things. I'm just a little part in God's great plan.

The Lord Jesus is in the center of God's thoughts. That's what worship is. It's about him.

Now we're not just talking about the brethren worshiping. The sisters worship as well and we're not just saying that we can worship when we gather together to remember the Lord but surely if we gather together to remember him our hearts would well up in praise and adoration and in worship and what he has accomplished. It's not just about what he did for me.

I like to think of the glory that he brought to the father. Likely we'll touch that in the Bible reading. That's our worship.

What he's done for God. Vindicated the God of heaven. I'm included in the work but you know what about the bride? Not a tremendous truth to think of what lies ahead and it's all because of Calvary.

Because of one who went under the waves and the billows of God's wrath to obtain the pearl of great price. What about the nation of Israel? Are they going to come in for blessing in the future? They certainly are. How can that happen? Because of Calvary.

What about the nations? To Abram all the nations of the earth will be blessed through his seed through Christ. What a triumph that's going to be. Everybody wants to push them off the face of the earth.

Almost everybody at least. They're going to be brought in the blessing be the head of the nations. That little nation that God chose and has brought them right through all the difficulties.

What about the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness? How can that ever take place? All because of Calvary. What a tremendous price was paid and if we were occupied with all these things not just with ourselves I think we'd know more about about worship. Someone has put it this way we could maybe say instead of worship, worthship.

It's all about the worth of the Lord Jesus. Are we really occupied with him or are we like the Edomites? We're saying those things are okay but there's more there's other things we have there's material things we can be taken up with the things of the world and and all its aspects. What about the sports world? I was involved in sports before God saved me.

It's hard in a way maybe to get your mind away from it. I remember Mr. John Abernethy who was up in Alaska and British Columbia when God saved him over in I think maybe it was in Scotland but he came back to Ireland and he's walking down to work in the shipyard and he's reading the sports page. He didn't know he was being watched.

My father was watching him he was walking down to the shipyard too and John says he just tugged my arm and he says you'll not get anything for your soul out of that. What are we involved in? You see we can't worship if we're not occupied with Christ during the week. At all times we should be able to worship stand up and worship it at any time.

And yet there's so many and we never hear them it's not eloquence you know God wants something from the heart. It doesn't have to be a great big long prayer. Solomon's prayer wasn't all that long and if you pray longer than he did I suppose we could say behold a greater than Solomon is here.

But we don't want to we don't need long prayer just something from the heart and that's what God was looking for here. Their worship was contaminated because they weren't really occupied with the Lord himself and then when we went down to verse number 11 what do we have there? Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for not and so on and the kindle fire mine altar for not no pleasure in you to accept that should I accept this offering. But what does he say then in verse number 11 at the end of the verse incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering.

You know we need to be careful what we say when we worship especially in public. I know sometimes we're inclined to say well we come to remember the Lord and we worship and we have something to give. That's right.

We're there to give. We should always come with our hands filled. The old hymn nothing in my hands I bring is for unsafe people coming for salvation.

It's not for believers. We should bring something and we should use strict scriptural expressions. That's what I was always taught.

Then you'll never go you won't go wrong if you go according to scriptural expressions. It has to be a pure offering. Make sure what we offer is correct.

Should be correct. We just don't go haphazardly. It's such an important thing isn't it to worship God to worship the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anyhow what about the priests? Well of course when I talk about the people I'm including us. When I talk about the priests I'm including us as well. And what was it that would characterize the priests? The law of truth was in their mouth.

Two and six. Iniquity was not found in their lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and to turn many away from iniquity.

So we have the words of the priest. Not only do we use words to worship but we use words to help one another. And here they were dependent on these men to explain the word to them and like they have pure worship.

Their word should be pure according to the word of God. To turn many away from iniquity. We've heard already this morning how we should preach the truth and not be afraid to stand for the truth.

We'd have to be careful how we would try to correct people. I remember in a bible reading with Mr. Paisley years ago someone corrected him or tried to correct him. I don't know if it worked but and he knew what he said to him.

The man was letting him down. He says pad the basket. What did he mean by pad the basket? Well he was thinking about Paul.

Mr. Paisley seemed to think in the scriptures. He could bring them out on different occasions and even in secular things he could. Well he said Paul was let down to the wall, to the window on the wall.

Let down the basket. So he said pad the basket. Let me down easy.

So it's good. We're going to stand for the truth. But we need to be kind to people.

We're trying to win them. We're not trying to just correct them. And I'm not saying that the brother saying that this morning.

I'm not talking about that at all. I'm just reinforcing what he said. We need to be, have the law of truth in our lips.

So many things we cannot be occupied with. And then he says in verse six as well, he talks about their walk. What about our walk? He walked with me in peace and equity.

Peace and uprightness. That's important isn't it? None of us are perfect, but if we're going to try and help others, we need to try and walk righteously. Our testimony isn't what we say.

Our testimony is what we are. And that's going to back up what we say. And then he says, not only do we have that in verse nine, he talks about their ways.

So that would be important as well. You have not kept my ways, but have been partial. Sometimes people and even preachers could be a little more lenient with their own children than with some other believers.

God's not like that. We need to have that kindness to all others. And then verse 11 speaks about their worship and so on.

Now we better just keep going. Chapter three is a plea. What is the plea for? Restoration.

We're reminded of this as well, that things come into our lives and God deals with us to remove the dross. It's often been said the refiner, he removes the dross so he can see his image right in the metal, silver, whatever it is. And God is working with us with this in view.

And he said, I want you to return. There's an opportunity for you to repent. They said, where shall we return? Well, a man robbed God.

We're only giving to God, re-giving to God, if that's a good word, what God has given to us. And they were holding back from God. God says, I'll hold back your crops.

Your seed will be contaminated. I'll hold back your crop. And then if that happens, then God's not getting his part.

So God says, you need to return. Put God in his proper place. And for them, it would be to support the priesthood and so on.

Now we come to the last part of this godly remnant. And we love to speak of this verse. You have likely heard this spoken of many times.

They that feared the Lord. Think of departure. It's creeping in among us.

Not just in, we used to always say about Christendom, but it's creeping in among our own assemblies. And amid departure, he said, there's some that feared the Lord. There was reverence.

There's a preacher that used to come here, the Blue River, George Patterson. He was a unique man, I'll tell you. I love George.

His wife used to come to the assembly that my folks were in years ago and where I went to Sunday school. She asked me one time, do you know what I remember most about the assembly in a place called Valley Hackamore? I said, no, but I'm interested. She said the reverence.

There were 300 people in fellowship and they tiptoed into the meeting. There was no talk before. After the meeting, generally, maybe they overdid it.

They just went home. You didn't know all the ins and outs of everybody that was in the assembly, but you enjoyed the fellowship. Reverence.

I think that would help us in our dress as well as other things. It would govern our whole attitude, wouldn't it? They feared the Lord. They speak often one to another.

I wonder what they spoke about. I was in an assembly meeting one time and after the breaking of bread, they had a little snack, which I'm not against that. I like a cup of coffee.

We were talking about the big fight last night. I can't remember who it was, Liston or somebody. It's years ago.

Imagine after the breaking of bread, we come down to earth often quickly enough, don't we? They were talking about the Lord and about the Messiah and the Messiah's coming and we need to live accordingly. They were speaking to one another and the Lord would listen to them and he heard it and a book of remembrance was written. They sought out one another to speak to one another about the things of the Lord and the book of remembrance was written.

When I think of the book of remembrance, I was just reading in the book of Esther this morning. You know the king, I won't mispronounce his name for you, but remember he couldn't sleep one night and he got up out of bed and he got the book of the chronicles, the book of remembrance I'm saying that is, and he read that Haman, Mordecai had saved his life. Nothing was done about it.

Mordecai might have thought, well, they've forgotten all about it, but a book of remembrance was written and he was rewarded. And there's a great reward in the future, isn't there? We enjoy these things now, but in the future, God says these are the ones like David's mighty men, a little picture of the judgment seat of Christ. Some of them did great exploits.

Most of us have done very little maybe. It's not what we have done really that counts, it's what God has done through us. But the majority of them, there's nothing in there but their name, but they were with him in his rejection.

They stood by him in the day of his rejection. And that's what we've been exhorted to do really in a conference. Seems like that theme is running right through, going according to the word of God and enjoying the fellowship.

I remember a lady left the assembly down there in Ohio, I think it was in Toronto, Ohio, and went to see her. Oh, she said, God has really blessed me since I left the assembly. She said, even, you know, I shouldn't tell you this, but you know me anyhow.

She said, even, you know, I went out to the dog house the other day to feed the dog, and I was running out of food, and it was a dozen eggs in the dog house. I said it must have been a bird dog, a dozen eggs in the dog house. And she said, God has really blessed me since I left the assembly.

What would you say to her? I said, that's absolute nonsense. How can God bless someone turning against his word? If you love me, we have all reason in the world to love him. And these little remnant here, this little remnant, they loved him, they thought upon his name.

And we love the place of the name. No place like it, it's not perfect, it never will be perfect, could be better than what it is, but still we love the place of the name. This is the one that suffered and bled and died to save us.

Would we not want to be with him? If we really love a person, you'd like to be with them, don't you? Something wrong, you like to please them. So may the Lord help us to learn from this so that we might act like God's people and not act like the Edomites and count the things that are so important. Let them go, let their value go.

And if we do, we'll never enjoy the things of God, we'll get farther and farther away. So may the Lord preserve us and preserve the assemblies and help us that we might be able to know more of the Lord and to worship in a more intelligent way. And don't be afraid to speak out, holding the truth in love, so that we might be a help to our fellow believers and that we might value the place of the name and have reverence as Christians.

In a world that despises the Lord, it would be very evident that our hearts have been drawn out to him in love.