Do You Trust Me? Malachi Pt 4 Series

“Do You Trust Me?” Malachi Chapter 3 – pt. 4

Thesis: Malachi challenges us with the questions from the Lord “Do you trust me?” “Do you really believe that I will do what I say I will do?” If you trust Him then put your faith into action and make a difference with your life for the kingdom of God.

Opening video illustration from Video’s That Teach, page 62, 63: The Empire Strikes Back

The Movie:

This is the second film of the Star Wars trilogy. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) receives his first training as a Jedi knight…

This Clip (over 5 minutes)

Start 1:17:01 – Stop 1: 22:12

Luke Skywalker travels to Dagobah in search of the Jedi master, Yoda (Frank Oz). Luke knows that to become a Jedi knight he must learn to use the force. After his X-Wing fighter sinks in the swamp, Luke is instructed by Yoda to lift it out by using the power of the Force. When Luke tries and fails, he gives up and the fighter sinks deeper into the swamp; however, Yoda is successful, telling Luke the reason for his failure is because he does not believe.

Where to take the movie clip:

What was it that Luke didn’t believe that caused him to fail?

Can you relate to Luke’s lack of faith?

Is there something you lack faith in with God?

Compare the Force from Star Wars to God’s power. Are there similarities?

Is there anything you need to unlearn so your faith can grow and be put into motion?

Scripture Text: Malachi 3:1-18

1“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

2But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

5“So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.

6“I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

8“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’

“In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. 12“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.

13“You have said harsh things against me,” says the LORD.

“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’

14“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’”

16Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.

17“They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

Introduction:

The Book of Malachi has been challenging us over the last couple of weeks to make sure our hearts and lives are in alignment with the things of God. The message of the book of Malachi can be outlined as follows: