Introductory Considerations
1. Couple of Sundays ago we began a study of the gift of the spirit - the attitudes or the characteristics which show that we are indeed believers who have the indwelling if the Holy Spirit within us. That we are no longer controlled by sin but by the Holy Spirit.
2. What the fruit is is really the character of God being revealed in us - not what we do but what we are. That which controls the way we think, speak, and act.
3. As we said, we have a role to play. We cannot bear fruit, it is the work of the HS, but we can cooperate with the work of the HS in us. How? (John 15:4-5; Gal 5:25; Phil 4:8)
4. This means that we can show forth the fruit or bear the fruit by being in touch with God - focusing on Him and meditating on Him.
5. As we go thru the individual items included in the fruit of the Spirit, our focus will be on God first - making sure that we understand and consider that we know and believe that God has these characteristics and then how we respond to them.
6. This week we begin to consider the first item - LOVE. We can see how our approach applies. (Phil 1:9-11; 1John 4:19). The knowledge of God and His love enables our love to abound more and more. If we abide in the one who is love, we become more loving.
Teaching
1. This week we begin by looking at the God who loves us. Sometimes we may question if he does.
2. Read Mal 3. Man sat across table from me with a mug of coffee in his hand. "I love my son, but every so often he does something to aggravate me.I get so angry at him that I yell at him. Then one of us leaves the
room in anger and we seem further apart than ever before".
4. Some time later I listened to his son. "My father doesn’t love me. All he wants me to do is to be a good little boy and do what he says".
5. I often here similar words from others. Perhaps as a parent or child you feel this way at times. Parents and children can cause each other more grief than any other person in the world might. Some of us even carry hurts from parents throughout our lives.
6. If I look back over childhood, I see that as a child I often did not see my parents’ love for me. I was too preoccupied with myself, my interest, my own world. I didn’t understand that many of the rules they had made were there to protect me and teach me. I was too rebellious.
7. If I didn’t sense their love, it was mostly my fault - I was not open to it or ready to recognize or receive it.
8. In passage today, we hear a parent say to child "I have loved you" - God tells this to His children, the people of Israel.
9. And just as child may not see parents’ love, the people say to him "How have you loved us?"
10. Setting of passage. People of I. had been carried off to Babylon and after 70 years, they returned to I. They rebuilt the walls of the city and rebuilt the temple. Nehemiah had already governed for about 12 years. About 400 years before the birth of Christ.
11. Would think people happy to be back in their own land again, but soon after return they were disillusioned.
a. They thought God did not keep earlier promises he had made
b. Ezekiel said land would abound with miraculous fruitfulness, instead experienced drought.
c. Isa - population would swell to a might throng, instead the population remained a small fraction of what it had been before
d. Israel. would rise in esteem to the glorious reign of a new David and Isa - that all nations would come and serve them. Instead under power of Persia and its governor.
e. People felt God had deserted them and let them down. How could He now say "I have loved you"?
12. We may feel that with God somehow. Where is He? How can he say "I love you"?
13. In this setting, Malachi gives the word of the Lord. "I have loved you"
14. What does this mean? Norman Snaith gives 3 characteristics of this love.
a. His love is sovereign. God is over all and He is not required to love us, but it is His nature to love - its who He is.
b. Unconditional. We have done nothing to earn His love. Moses said that God did not love or choose the Israelites because of anything that they had done, but because He simply loved them, like a parent to a child yet much more.
c. It is intimately personal. Hosea describes God’s love to a father taking his son by the arms while he is still an infant and teaching him how to walk.
15. As we said already the people are cynical about his love. "How have you loved us?"
16. God’s response - consider Jacob and Esau. Jacob he loved but Esau he hated. Not hate with all the emotional and strong overtones that we associate with love - instead more of a ranking. Jacob was loved first - Esau was not.
17 God’s chosen people, the Israelites are descended from Jacob and the Edomites from Esau.
a. They were often enemies. King of Edom refused I. permission to cross his territory on the way from Egypt to the promised land.
b. When Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, Edomites were on B’s side - acted as informants, looting and cutting off the escape routes.
b. When Judah taken into captivity, Edomites moved into the land that had been Israel.
18. They seemed better off than God’s own people, but God says that even here He shows His love. After these things happened, the Edomites themselves were attacked and forced to live in the desert of Negev.
19. God did punish them for going against His people and their situation was worse . Israel was given back its land but the Edomites will be exiled forever.
20. God gives evidence of His love. We can look at bad things but we can look on good - His grace - focus on to know He loves you - see it on cross.
21. God allows difficulties or judges us to restore us.
22. Passage now focus on the response to His love - response shows whether or not we have grasped greatness and reality of His love.
23. How are we to respond? By being authentic - in our profession (of our faith), in our gifts, in our worship and in our time. Often those who claim to be Christian are not.
24. This was case with people of Israel. Malachi calls for priests and leaders to be authentic but call is for all of us - although stress is on leaders.
25. Be real in our profession - the way we show or reveal our faith. Vs. 6 - Israel said they were His children, servants, but they did not honour Him. Instead they despised His name.
26. Imagine God saying to you - you have despised my name, you have hated me. Our response would be same as Israel - "How have we shown contempt for your name?".
27. Answer in vs. 7 "You place defiled food on my altar." Our offerings to God were to be the best - - means that we give Him what is most NB or valuable to us. Means God not look at what we give but at the giver. We cannot offer acceptable sacrifices to God if we fail to accept His Lordship - shows we don’t really love Him.
28. Same in human terms - if we say we love but spend no time with someone - do we really?
29. Their sacrifices showed they were simply going thru motions. Like coming to church out of habit or for social reasons. Worship him and tomorrow at school we gossip or swear or act unChristian.
30. We are to be authentic by our gifts - not how big or valuable in itself but what it costs the giver. To give unblemished males, but instead they gave crippled or diseased animals that they did not really want. They wanted to get credit with God but not really love Him.
31. Do we give to just get tax credits - if no longer, would we still give?
32. Our worship must be authentic - not going thru motions.
33. People not lived as God’s children, not show love to God.
34. Why - did not see that God loved them.
35. Do you see that God loves you. If not loving, go back to word and to prayer closet. Bath in His love - let it fill you.
36. Phil 1:9-11.
