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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.

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Today we're gonna look at three questions in chapter one of Malachi. And these three questions are often unspoken, but these questions are often very real when we feel disappointed by God. And each complaint or each issue that God addresses in the book begins with, you say, so God knew what he said, but he heard what they were secretly saying in their hearts. Malachi, chapter one and verse one. The prophet says, the burden of the word of the Lord. More contemporary translations say the prophecy of the Lord. But prophecy is at times in the scriptures called a burden in the Old Testament because it was the word used when either a servant or an animal carried something valuable, often heavy, until delivery. Now, every burden is not ours to carry. But if God gives you the burden, he will give you the strength to bear it. I used to pray for God to lighten the load of ministry. Now I pray differently. I pray that the Lord would make my back strong enough to. To bear its weight more calmly and with better humor. You see, when you are the first to laugh at yourself, everyone laughs with you and not at you. The word of the Lord to God's people, Israel, by Malachi. Malachi was the last prophet of the Old Testament, and he preached God's word after the rebuilding of the temple, after the people came back from Babylonian captivity. But you read in books like Haggai and others, due to the cares of life, the disappointments they faced in the land and the conflict and constant attacks that came from. From neighbors, they began to lose their passion for God, and they began to settle for a distant and somewhat mechanical relationship with God. So God responds to this reality and he makes a statement. He says, I have loved you, says the Lord. You see, they thought that after they had rebuilt the city walls and the temple, surely God would return his glory to the land. I mean, after all, they packed up their stuff in Babylon and went back to the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But after they got there, they thought it would be quick work. But there was still no Davidic king. There were no miracles like in the times of their fathers, like when Elijah walked there, when Moses walked the earth. And others, the visible presence or manifestation of the presence of the Lord also had not returned to the temple. So the people began to question whether or not God loved them. But it's in the moments that we feel most abandoned by God that we can worship him in the deepest way, God said, despite your disappointment, despite the fact you thought things would be different by now, I have loved you. And the tense here more literally is, I have loved you. I do love you, and I will always love you. The perfect tense, says the Lord, watch this. Yet you say this was the first of three. Yet you say that God was looking at the hearts of the people and he was diagnosing the things that caused them to walk away and back away from God. Am I the only one in this room that has ever allowed hard times that caused you to back away from your worship? But you know what the years have taught me. Prayer is bringing my wishes and my worries to God. But faith is when I leave them there. How many want to live a life of faith? He said, I have loved you, says the Lord. Yet you say, in what way have you loved us? When God disciplines us, it's easy to forget that the purpose of his discipline is not to punish us, but to transform us. And as it is with most things, we seldom appreciate the transformation until the process is over. A lot like exercise. You don't feel like getting up in the morning, you don't feel like going to the gym. But doing it after a couple months, all of a sudden, hey, this feels good. It looks a little bit better. You see, God is able to give his best to those who leave the choice of what's best to him. And what was best was for them to go through this season. God continued. He begins to reason with his people. He said, was not Esau Jacob's brother? How many you know the story of Esau? And yeah, Jacob. Yet Jacob I have loved. Watch this. But Esau I have hated. Now, that kind of hits us a certain way to read that. But in Bible times, the word here translated hate, is actually used to translate or is translated, or could be translated to love less. Because the Bible said that Jacob hated Leah and loved Rachel, it didn't mean he hated her, but she was his second wife, his second choice. He loved her less. Jesus picks this up in Luke 14:26. He says, if anyone comes after me and does not hate his mother, his father, wife, children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Now, did the one who taught us that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord thy God with all the heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Did he suddenly say that it was okay to start hating people? Of course not. The way the term hate is used here is a Hebraism. Or if it was Said today, it was a colloquialism for loving less or loving second. And what Jesus was warning his followers is that whatever we put before God becomes our God. And even if we let right and honorable things, right and honorable relationships get out of order, they will become miserable masters. If you're really expecting your husband to meet all of your needs, if you're really expecting your wife to make you happy, you done missed some things. Yeah. So this side of the room, we used to sing a song. Jesus, you are the center of my joy. So whether my wife makes me happy or unhappy, whether your husband makes you happy or unhappy, they are not where your joy comes from. Stop putting so much pressure on the people in your lives. But Esau, I have hated and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness. Now, this may not be clear to us because we're 2,000 plus years removed, but both Edom and Israel, and everyone knew this was the case, were conquered by the Babylonians around the same time. But the deal was God only brought back the Israelites to the land and not the Edomites. And the people were like, you know what, God? If you love me, it would be better. But God was like, well, you need to consider your cousin. You need to think about, you know, the things that are going on in your life. You think they're bad, but think about your brother, your sister, in worse situations than you're in. Things were hard for Israel, but as hard as it was, God was gently reminding them, you know, if he didn't love him as much as he loved them, things would have been far worse. A lot of times we don't really realize how bad things could be if God would withdraw his hand. You know, I'd be the first to admit it could get a little bit hard today, but I could have been born in Mississippi in the 1850s when it was even harder. There's always something you can thank God for. Verse 6. A son honors his father. Malachi, like Isaiah last week, appealed to Captain Obvious, and he used what was clear in that time and culture to explain what was a little less clear in people's mind. And you may not realize this, but children talking back to their parents is a very new thing in human history. Kids back then might try what we see some of our kids do today, but they show up to school the next day with some teeth missing. A little cautionary thing. I am not recommending that. I am in my 50s, and I'm still very mindful of how I talk to My parents, when my grandparents were alive, my mothers really never met my grandfathers. I was mindful of how I spoke to them. Why? Hebrews 6:23 says, Honor your mother and father. It's the only one of the Ten Commandments with a promise. And guess what that promise is. Long life. So sometimes it's not even about your parent. It's about you trying to live long. Sometimes you can't even really respect the person. You got to respect the office, if you will. But I want you to keep this in mind. They're not perfect, but you won't be a perfect parent either. And what happens is sometimes us kids get so busy growing up, we forget our parents are growing old and we need to honor them before they're gone. A son honors his father, and a servant is master. For us, this would be our boss. But we recognize on the job, even if we don't like our boss, we respect him or her in order to keep our job. And what Malachi or Malachi is saying here, sometimes when it comes to spiritual things, we don't use enough common sense. So God says, now a son. I was his father serving his master. But he said, now listen, if I am the father, when you pray, you say, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. If, then I am a father, tell me, where is my honor? Parents, how you let your children treat you will impact how they treat every other authority figure in their lives. Protect them by teaching them how to treat you right. My boys were able to get away with a. I don't know if a lot of things, but some things. But one thing they didn't get away with was talking back to their mother. It was vital that I taught those young men how to treat a woman. And it's vital in your household you begin to model what would be healthiest and best for the ones you're raising. He said, if I'm a father, where's my honor? And then he said, if I'm a master, where's my respect? Where is my reverence? If I'm really the head of your life, why are you only thinking about what makes you happy? Talking about why you aren't happy, instead of thinking about what makes me happy. When you go to work, it's about pleasing your boss. And if God's really the head of your life, why isn't there really a lot of conversation about Lord, what will please you, Lord, what makes you happy? All the praying is, lord, I'm not happy about this. I'm not happy about that. And God's like, how about some conversations about what makes me happy? Then he says, says the Lord to you priests, as soon as I say that, you think, well, okay, this was a message just for the priests. But in Revelations chapter one and verse six, in our new covenant, it teaches us that God has made us kings and priests on this side of the cross to our God. So he was actually talking to each one of us today. He said, you priests, a priest was a high role. You brought people before God and you'd pray for people and actually they would teach people. So he was saying, you priest, you have a high role in the kingdom, but who despise, have a low regard for my name. How many know some preachers that have a high role but a low regard for what the scripture says and teaches? So God is leaning in, and a church will never be stronger than its leadership. And what he was saying to the people was, remember when you first fell in love? You took a shower, you put on the freshest clothes, and then only then did you go over to see your girl or your boyfriend. But after a few years of ups and downs, now you barely even brush your teeth. And what had happened was the priests lost their sense of excellence, the priests lost their fire, the priests lost their standards. The caliber or the quality. Your relationship with God is best seen in the standards you set for yourself. He's saying, you preach, talking to the preachers. This is why, you know, I gotta preach this word no matter what you say, what you do, how you look at me, yet you say, this is the yet. The second. Yet you say, in what way? How many of y' all raised some kids? Okay, five cookies on the counter. You say, we don't eat those cookies till after dinner. But then you look on the counter, there's four cookies left, and you say, what happened to the cookies? I don't know. Cookie crumbs all down the side of their face, evidence, screaming, I don't know. He said, yet you say, I don't know. In what way have we despised your name? The reason the priests were not aware of how they were treating the Lord was probably because, like with us, it happened by degrees. It usually happens little by little. We just kind of gradually slip and slide into it. And the problem was not so much that they were bad people. These were people that left Babylon to come back into the land. These were pioneers. These were people that had some love for God. But the problem is, if you're not regularly anchored by teaching like this, you're gonna drift. So what God did is he said, malachi, I need you to make it plain to the people. He said, you offer defile food on my altar. And now we're going to hear the third. But you say cookie crumbs all down the side of their face. But they say, in what way have we defiled you? We may not realize it, but it's hurtful to God when we feel and have an attitude that anything is good enough for God. You see, they had now for a long time stopped giving God their best and started giving God their leftovers. And if God is truly first, if God is truly best, he deserves our first and our best. Anything less than that is not worship. It's an attempt at manipulation. David said it this way. I will not give God anything that doesn't cost me something. When's the last time you gave God something that cost you something? I mean, you in the middle of depression. But you know what? I'm going to push myself. I'm going to drive to church anyway. I'm going to go there. And when Angie sing, I'm going to sing. I can't sing, but I'm going to sing with her. I'm going to clap my hands and I'm going to move around. I know I'm hurting, but, Lord, I come to give you the sacrifice of praise. Lord, it cost me something. I'm going to dig in deep, Lord, I'm going to be with your people and I'm going to celebrate your name. We've gotten away from sacrifice many times. We only do what's convenient and what doesn't cost us, what doesn't hurt, what's easy. But worship really doesn't begin often until it costs you something. Colossians 3:17 in the New Testament says it this way. And whatever you do, whatever it is in word, what you say or deed, what you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Watch this. Giving thanks to God the Father through him. The way we thank God is by doing what he asks of us. Well, the church of Jesus Christ should be the most excellent place on the planet because it is the place people show up weekly to show him their thanks through what they say and what they do. Let's go back to Malachi, chapter one and verse eight. And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice. So what people were doing is before they went to the temple, you know, to offer, you know, an ox, a lamb, a goat, what have you, they look in their flock. For the sickest amongst the flock, it would be the blind sheep It'd be the goat with the broken leg. It would be the ox with three eyes. And this is the way they worship God. God, I'll give you leftovers. I'll give you that which doesn't really cost me. But watch God's opinion. And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? You see, what happens is we compare ourselves with ourselves, showing we're not wise. And we're like, well, I'm giving more, I'm doing more to God than the next guy. And we think that makes it okay. The question is, are you doing what God told you to do? And if you're not doing the best with what you have, according to Malachi, is it not evil? You see, the entire sacrificial system was put in place to point the people to Jesus. So when they killed the lamb, it was pointing to the fact one day, you know, the spotless lamb of God would go to the cross and would suffer and die in their place. You know, the day of atonement, when they messed with the goats and all the rest, all of that was to point to Jesus. And when you realize that God has given you his best, it's only natural for you to likewise give God back your best. But people got hurt by life and circumstance, started feeling, you know what? God's not really giving me his best, so I'm no longer going to give him my best. And you know what? I'm going to go to church sometime. I'm going to listen sometimes, and you know what happens? We slowly begin to drift because we're hurt, because things didn't happen when we thought they should happen in the way we thought they would happen or with the person we thought they would happen with. And we get discouraged and we get down and we start saying, lord, I'm not sure if you love me. And when you're not sure of God's love, you don't respond often in a loving manner. And then God continues. And when you offer the lame, the sick, is it not evil? So in your giving, in your loving, in your serving, when you look for the least and then offer that to God, and you kind of just kind of do it to, you know, satisfy ritual, but you didn't dig in deep. It's the heart that makes the difference. The challenge here is when you read the prophets, the prophets start reading you. So as we read Malachi, he's telling us some things about ourselves. So now God's about to get an attitude. The goal, the role of a prophet, is to pull Away the veil so those in the material world can see into the spiritual world. And they thought, you know, with their rituals and their formalities, that God must be pleased. But when Malachi pulled back the veil, God was saying, from the throne, offer then that to your governor. Imagine if you started paying the IRS the amount you wanted. Imagine if you started giving them the amount you felt like giving them that particular day instead of the amount that was due. Would they go away quietly? They say. Would he be pleased with you? No. They will garnish your wages. They don't care if you get a roof over your head or food to eat before you even take your check. They will take their piece of the check because that's the way government is. Would he accept you favorably? No. You're probably going to need a lawyer. And do not pass go. Go directly to jail, says the Lord of hosts. God only confronts us because he loves us. And the first part of coming back to God is admitting that you're straight. So I told you God has an attitude, but now we're going to hear a little sarcasm. Your governor wouldn't take that. But you've been, you know, just focusing on my mercy and grace and forget that I also have some requirements. But now entreat God's favor that he might be gracious to us while this is being done by your hands. Meaning you're doing wrong, but you're still going to ask me for favor. You're doing exactly what I told you not to do. And you're still expecting me to multiply the loaves and the fishes. Will he accept you favorably? Says the Lord of hosts. How is it that we tell God we repent, but then we go back and do the same thing? Repentance is not only when we cry. Repentance is when we change. Repentance is when you change your mind so deeply that. That it starts to change you and your life. Yeah, I know. Stay with me. Verse 10. And now God leans in, and I'm going to end on verse 10. He said, who is there among you? Even who would shut the doors? The prophet was saying, it's better to be hot or cold to get all the way in than to be halfway or all the way out. Forgive me. Than to be halfway in. He was saying it was better to shut down the ministry than for the ministers behind the pulpit to accept the unacceptable. Malachi leaning in not because he's mean, but because God loves us. Find a person willing to tell you the truth, even at the risk of upsetting you and you have found a real friend. So God says, shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain. What he was saying actually was, all of your worship is just a waste of time. I know the band sounded good and the worship leaders were singing, but if you're not going to do it the way God requires, maybe you shouldn't do it at all. I'm learning. If you live for an audience of one, you never lose the right focus. And then he says some painful words. I have no pleasure. You had to get the picture. The temple grounds, the smoke is going up in the air. There are worshipers there, the priests are in robes. I mean, ceremony is happening and people are lined up. But God says, I have no pleasure in you. Says the Lord of hosts. How many of us want to please God in our lives? Yeah, but in the midst of all of their doing, God didn't find pleasure. And God's not telling you, don't do the right thing. Cause sometimes I don't even feel like doing the right thing. I do it and then it kind of feel like it, maybe later, but sometimes you just gotta do it, you know, start where you are and just do it anyway. But the Lord said to these people here, I have no pleasure in you. I mean, you can sacrifice to God, but God not be pleased if it's not the sacrifice he's asking for. It's so much easier for me to say. God said, andre, yeah, you know, it's gonna be a little harder in the church because that marriage mentoring program's gonna have a big old hole in it. Lord, I'm willing to sacrifice that, but he told me to go. And sometimes we try to sacrifice things in place of the right thing, in the thing God's called for. And God has no pleasure. Then he says, nor will I accept an offering from your hands. Now this goes on for five more verses. You're gonna have to go home and read them on your own. But guess what? I want to read a New Testament passage that speaks to this. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And one of the worst things God could do is leave you to your own resources. You say, well, I don't have to do all that. You know, all that's old fashioned. I'm not gonna do it God's way. Go ahead and do it on your own. Be your own protection, be your own provider. And let me let you stew in that. Let me let you feel for a minute what that's like. One of the worst things God can do is give us over to ourselves. He said, I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord, nor will I accept an offering from your hands. But at this point we have to remember how all of this began. In verse six, God said, I have loved you. I do love you and I will love you. God must sometimes get in our faces. But what's amazing about God, as thunderous as he may roar, he always leaves the light on on the porch. You can always come home. Did you get anything out of that message today?