From: Malachi 3 Selective
Verses…
“God Wants Our Best”
(Things That God Will Not Accept)
Opening:
I want to begin today’s message
with a couple of questions:
- Why would a Christian withhold from God?
- What circumstance could a believer ever experience that would result in them robbing God?
While you are considering your
answers let me offer a few addendums:
1. [Deuteronomy 10:14] says, “Heaven,
the higher heavens, and all that is in the earth belongs to God.”
2. [Psalm 24:1 which follows Psalm 23]
says, “The earth is the Lords, and all that it contains.”
This tells us that it is God who
gives us all things that we have, there is nothing that we have [n-o-t-h-i-n-g], that we can say is not
God’s property. So, again; since it is God who allows us to have the things
that we have, why would we withhold the best of our stuff and give God the
worst or least of our stuff, and expect Him to like it?
We could run those thoughts over
and over in our minds, but the only true conclusion that we could come to, is
if a Christian is robbing God of both quantity and quality; their
concept of God has to be badly warped…
They can’t know Him as [Lord and
Savior] and not offer Him their
best…
Context: [The Book of Malachi is the last O.T. words before God is
silent for 400 plus years…]
For context and clarity of chapter 3, we need to connect chapter 2:17…
Notice that this verse says, “The
people of God had wearied the Lord with their words…”
Stay with me
now, “God” who created supports and sustains the entire universe, God with whom
there is not a bird that falls to the ground without His knowledge of it, God
who keeps the stars, in their sockets, the planets in their solar system, seas
in oceans, brooks in their banks, vegetation for all animal life, God He who
keeps the food change for animals circulating, God who waters the ground with
rain, God who leaves snow on the mountain tops in one season so that there will
be water in the rivers in another season, God who keeps the laws of gravity and
thermodynamics functioning, and all while dealing with the daily disturbances
designed by the devil—and
yet none of these things weary Him. But the one thing that does is the
skeptical and offensive words, which come from His people…
*Have you ever considered that?
Think about that just another
minute: “Making sure that there is enough metal and steel, oil, gas, and
water in/on the earth doesn’t weary God. Making sure that there are enough
organisms, micro-organisms, vegetables, fruits, and plants to sustain both
human life and animal life doesn’t weary God. But what runs God’s patience short is His people’s ungratefulness…
Observation: [Read verses …this is a
continuation of God’s list of complaints…]
Besides the obvious robbing God
of both quantity and quality, this chapter shows us many things that are unacceptable
to God… Now let me put this disclaimer out there for all of the bible scholars
who will scrutinize this message; I am fully aware that we [N.T. believers]
cannot apply these particular promises to every believer today, but there are
certain principles and applications for every believer today, and it is those
things that I want to point out for our consideration.
V. 2:17) tells us that God will not accept us [His
people] changing their views on God’s justice; us [His people] acting and
being oblivious to our sins; us [His people] losing faith in Him and having a
skeptical attitude towards Him. And that God really has a problem when we/us
[His people] confuse our moral distinctions by calling evil—good…
You know why many professed
Christians rename and label what is obviously evil as good? It gives them a way
of excusing and explaining away their sins.
v. 3:7b) tells us that God will not accept us [His
people] pretending to be ignorant of our
waywardness.
v. 3:8-10) tells us that God will not accept us [His
people] thinking that both quantity
[here] and quality [1:7-14] are not important. Many people give and satisfy
themselves or rather quite their own minds by thinking God will accept anything
from them because He knows their hearts. Listen, we the church may accept
anything; your worst and not your best, but as evident by these Scriptures—God
won’t…
God didn’t
accept this in the O.T. and God didn’t
accept it in the N.T. and God will not accept it from us…
God doesn’t
accept us who belongs to the church [body
of Christ] failing to adequately the church…
And neither God
doesn’t accept us who
belong to the body of Christ holding back our best, or misappropriating our
best out of self-interest and He never will… When we put these three verses
together they tell us when we [his people] hold back from giving God our best, we
consequently deprive ourselves of all the good things God would otherwise give
us… In other words, we shut the
windows of heaven…
v. 3:13a) tells us that God will not accept us [His people] in conversation with other believers
speaking harsh things/words that contradict God’s promises, to or about His
people…
v. 3:13b) tells us that God will not accept us [His
people] being spiritually insensitive
and acting as if we are ignorant of our sins…
v. 3:14) tells us that God will not accept us [His
people] functioning as if there are no
benefits for serving God [useless/unprofitable/of no advantage to serve God].
And the reason so many of them felt like this is because they were not immediately
blessed with favor from God…
Listen; don’t become presumptuous
with/about God…
Don’t presume that you’ve been
faithful in carrying out God’s requirements when you’ve been faithless…
Don’t presume you’ve repented of
your sins when you haven’t…
Don’t imply that God hasn’t kept
His word/promises—because He has…
And don’t concern yourself with
things that don’t concern you—[in this text it was the prosperity of the
wicked]…
Summation:
In summation don’t doubt the
justice and mercy of God…
If you are functioning like this,
if any of these points/principles apply to you, then you’re not giving God your
best and what you are giving Him is unacceptable…
The Bible says in 2
Cor. 9:7 that God loves the cheerful giver… But in that same verse
prior to saying this, God says, “Let each one do just as He has purposed in his
heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion… Now this is not an excuse to give
God less happily, it is a reminder that if we’re going to give God our best and
not junk we will need the joy of Jesus operating fully inside
of us…
You do know that Jesus wants you
to have His joy in so that your joy can be made full… Personally I think that
only empty Christians are even half-full Christians are the only ones who
withhold from or rob God…
Conclusion:
Let me close by describing the
joy of Jesus so you’ll know if you have it or not…
Listen, the joy of Jesus is not
in having possessions, or positions it’s found in the Person of Jesus Christ.
The joy of Jesus requires at
least two conditions: submission and
service and when we offer the best of those to Him, Jesus
personally sees to our joy being made full/complete…
Jesus doesn’t offer partial joy;
if you have it you have it all…
The joy of Jesus is not a
passing emotion like happiness… Happiness
depends on happenings…
The joy of Jesus is not effervescent;
it’s not a high emotion that rides on the crest of a fatuous wave…
The joy of Jesus is as real
at the graveside as it is at a fireside… [Do you have it???...] ® …
The joy of Jesus does not
evaporate under the heat of adversity…
The joy of Jesus does not
collapse in the presence of calumny [slander, defamation, false accusations]…
The joy of Jesus does not
wither at the onslaught of calamity [misfortune, fatalities, or catastrophes]…
The joy of Jesus does not
panic in the presence of perfidy [disloyalty, two-facedness, backstabbing,
double-dealing]…
The joy of Jesus does not
sour under the test of poverty…
The joy of Jesus does not die
at the cruel hand of tragedy…
The joy of Jesus does not
misfire in the presence of misery…
The next time you give to God consider
all those things and you will give cheerfully, your best gift…
[Giving to God is not just about
stewardship [us], but it’s about ownership [God]
As always...Now go and do your own homework!
As always...Now go and do your own homework!
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