As we jump in, let’s do a little recap of what’s been going on over the past few weeks as we’ve been studying the OT Minor Prophets.
The nation of Israel was losing its identity as the people of God.
Remember, they had settled in Canaan after a very dramatic rescue from slavery in Egypt. And for over five hundred years they’d been making their home in the new land while grappling with this covenant relationship that God had established with them that they would be his people and he would be their God.
Well, they weren’t doing a very good job
• Wickedness and oppression were everywhere
• Crime was up and violence in the streets became commonplace.
• The justice system was a joke.
• Hunger and poverty were everywhere and nobody was doing anything about it.
• Nobody is taking care of the widows and the orphans.
So as a whole, they just weren’t living up to the intentions of God and they haven’t promoted God’s mission to demonstrate his goodness and greatness to the other nations of the world.
And so God comes with this message that He’s not very happy. In fact, he’s pretty ticked off and he is about to drop the hammer . . . he’s going to crush them like a bug . . . and it’s not going to be pretty.
But in the midst of all of his judgment and devastation, a promise emerges . . . the promise of restoration and redemption. And he tells them, “Yeah, there’s punishment for what you’ve done and it’s really going to hurt but I intend to set things right. I’m going to restore you and redeem you.”
Soon after this, Israel is wiped out, Jerusalem was ransacked and the temple was destroyed and the remnant of people that remained were carried off in exile to live as slaves but they held closely to these promises that someday God would set things right.
Well, after 70 years in captivity, God made good on his promise and they returned to their homeland and they began the daunting task of rebuilding.
And soon . . . homes were built, stores opened, commerce established, fields planted, crops harvested, and after some prodding by God, the church was rebuilt and they reestablished the worship of God.
But what’s happened by the time Haggai shows up on the scene is that people are going to church but it’s gotten a little bit routine. Their hearts weren’t into it.
And they were bringing the required sacrifices but they weren’t bringing their best.
They would get up for church and go out into their yard to find a sheep to offer to God and sure they had some good sheep to offer but they would see that one that keeps running into trees and only has three legs. And say, “Let’s give that one to God and we’ll keep these good ones for ourselves”
And then they’d bring a three legged blind sheep and go, “Hey look everyone; we’re going to sacrifice to the Lord.”
And so Malachi comes with this message from God saying, “Are you kidding me right now? God is a great God and he deserves your best. Are you seriously going to give that to him? I know what you spend on yourself. I know the sheep you kept for yourself and you’re going to give him your leftovers?”
That’s crazy but maybe they aren’t so different from us . . .
I brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with me as an example of what we do, whether it’s our time or our finances. Let’s say this is our finances.
We go, “Oh Lord thank you. Thank for providing me this peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You must know how much I love them. Oh, and look you’ve even put sugar free strawberry preserves on it . . . you really do know me.”
And what do we do?
• Well, I got to pay my mortgage
• I’ve got my car payment and I’ve got to pay for that
• Got to eat
• Got to have insurance
• I’ve got to save for retirement
• Cable TV
• Go to the movies
• I got free tickets to the Bucs game but I still need to eat and you know how expensive that is.
It goes on and on and on with everything you want and you just keep taking bites and then once you’re all done you go, “here Lord”.
Now that’s crazy!
But the crazier part is that many people actually believe that God is in heaven going, “Oh, cool. Good, good, there’s still some jelly on that piece.”
That’s what the priests in Malachi’s day thought.
And God is saying, “Are you kidding me? You wouldn’t bring that before your governor but you’re going to bring that before the almighty God.”
And then he says, “You know what, I wish that someone would just lock the door to the church”
Do you understand the statement God is making?
God is saying that I’d would rather you not show up at all then you show up and give me that. If that’s what you have to offer me, then please don’t bother.
I’m gonna be honest . . . I never knew that growing up.
I thought that God would be happy with my leftovers. He should just be happy that I showed up, I’m a busy man. He should be happy that I prayed. He should be happy that I put a couple of bucks in the offering plate. He should be happy that I give him anything at all; money or time.
But God is saying, “You know what, if your leftovers and spare change is all you’ve got for me . . . then just lock it up, shut down the your church, because I’m a great God and I deserve your best.
And if you guys don’t want to worship me the way that I deserve to be worshipped, I’m cool with that because you know what, there’s going to be people all over this world that will recognize what I’m worth and they’ll worship me with all of their heart and they are going to give me their best.”
Here’s where it get’s crazy . . . I’ve got to read this because you might not believe it. In Malachi 2 he says
“If you don’t change your ways and give glory to my name, then I will send terrible punishment upon you, and instead of giving you blessings as I would like to, I will turn on you with curses. Indeed, I have cursed you already because you haven’t taken seriously the things that are most important to me. Take note that I will rebuke your children; I will spread on your faces the manure of these animals you offer me and throw you out like dung.”
I’ll bet you never heard that in church . . . that’s insane!
God is saying, “Do you understand that I’m a great God. There are people all around this world who are going to see that I’m great and they are going to give me their best and if you don’t want to do it . . . I’m going to curse you and your kids. And do you see the dung that coming out of that sheep right there, I’m gonna grab it and I’m gonna shove it in your face.”
That’s God speaking. Read it for yourself.
God really believes that he deserves the best and that’s why I go, “God I just want to give you my best. I don’t want to give you my left over’s. Whatever is the best I want to give that to you.”
But he wants them to know that He is doing this for their good so he says, “Test me. You guys are giving me your left over’s. Why don’t you give me your best . . . just test me on this . . . when I give you a PB&J sandwich . . . give me the first bite and see if I don’t open the flood gates of heaven and give you everything you need.”
You see, God is always the giver. It’s never about us.
God’s not telling the people in Malachi . . . I’m angry with you because of this in order to ruin their day. He’s saying, “If you’ll give me your best, watch what happens.”
400 hundred years after this God poured out his blessings.
God loved us so much that he didn’t give us his leftovers. He sent his son. He goes, “look, here’s my only son. Here is everything to me and I’m gonna watch him suffer on a cross and I’m gonna watch him die. Why? Because I love you and I want to rescue you.”
And then he says, “I’m going to put his spirit in you now and I want you to have that attitude now of giving your best to me and rescuing others.”
Guys, I don’t ever want to lead a church where God looks at it and says,”You know what, just lock the doors.” I don’t want to be a church that just goes through the motions.
And I don’t care if the rest of the world says; “Oh you’ll never be successful if you do things that way or don’t do things this way” because there’s only one person we’re trying to please and that is God. And I want God to look down on our little church and see people who love Him and give him their best.
That’s what God is asking of us and these people . . .
I’m excited about what God has in store for us as a church. I thank God for our elders and leadership and I ask that you be in constant prayer for them as I believe that they’re going to take us for a ride this coming year as God moves them and directs them to lead us into a new season and I just pray that you are one of those faithful and you start asking God, am I ready to sacrifice? Am I going to live for you? Am I ready to disrupt my life in order to gain something much better?