Don’t Give God the Leftovers
Associate Pastor Dave Barnes, Discover Church, November 14, 2021
INTRO VIDEO – first 2:30 minutes of “How to Read Malachi” by Bible Project. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/HPGShWZ4Jvk I used a clip from the RightNow Media version because it was 1080p HD resolution.
Text: Malachi 1
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1 This is the message
ILLUS. An oracle
An oracle is actually a “burden.” Webster defines it as something carried that is difficult to bear. It has the idea of something heavy, a load to be lifted up. The words to follow in Malachi are not light or trifling but weighty and substantial. The prophet recognizes that what he is about to communicate to people is not fluffy stuff that will just tickle the ears but will ultimately trouble their souls. … While the Word of the Lord is heavy, notice that it is written not “against” Israel, but “to” them. God wasn’t out to blast them. He wanted to bring them back. - Experiencing God's Love by LeRoy Redding, SermonCentral.com
Picture the heartbroken appeal of the heavy-hearted parent of an ungrateful or wayward child or the pain and weight of heartache carried by someone with an unfaithful spouse or lover
that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.
2 “I have always loved you,” says the Lord.
ILLUS.
The word “love” is in the perfect tense, indicating that God not only loved in the past but loves in the present as well. We could say it this way: “I have loved and do love you.” And the word He chooses for “love” is not the typical Old Testament term that describes “tough love” or “covenant love.” The word God uses here is more relational: “I have embraced you. I have expressed my affection for you,” says the Lord. - Experiencing God's Love by LeRoy Redding, SermonCentral.com
ILLUS.
Israel questioned God’s love because He had allowed the Babylonians to take them captive and permitted the Edomites to add to their sorrow. Psalm 137:7 sums up the feelings of the Israelites toward the Edomites: “Remember, O LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. Tear it down,’ they cried, ‘tear it down to its foundations!’
Here is God’s answer to their complaint: “I have proved my love for you by choosing Jacob over Esau, I returned you to your land and destroyed the Edomites.”
What more evidence do you need? - Experiencing God's Love by LeRoy Redding, SermonCentral.com
ILLUS.
We don’t receive God’s love because we deserve it. He chose to love us even when we were undeserving. God chose Jacob, not because he deserved it (after all, he wasn’t the firstborn, and he was a crafty conniver and scheming deceiver), but because of His grace.
Deuteronomy 7:7-8
7 “The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 8 Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you,… That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery
Ezekiel 16:4-6 – Ezekiel uses a graphic PG-13 or R-related description of how he loved Israel when they were unlovable
4 On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth. 5 No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.
6 “But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’ 7 And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel….
22 In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood.
ILLUS.
Romans 5:
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners…. 10 … our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies,
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”
ILLUS.
When a little boy's mother refused to buy him the toy he had seen as they passed the toy store in the mall, he began to wail. “You don't love me!” he accused. “Of course I do,” his mother replied. The child was not convinced. “If you loved me, you would buy me what I want!”
This seems to have been the attitude of God's people in the time of the prophet Malachi. His ministry took place some time after the Babylonian exile, and the mention of sacrifices being offered indicates that the work of rebuilding the temple was also complete. By this time the initial thrill of returning to the land after decades of exile had worn thin.
…The people of Judah had taken the blessings they had received for granted to such an extent that they questioned whether God had ever loved them. When the Lord declared His love through the prophet, the people responded with a kind of adolescent petulance, asking, “How have you loved us?”
ILLUS.
Before we get too tough on them, let’s remember that we do the same thing, don’t we?
When things get tough, when someone hurts us, when we get sick, when someone close to us dies, when things don’t go as planned, it’s very easy to question God’s love.
When we’re wiped out we wonder if He even cares.
Basically, they were saying, “God, we don’t think you love us because if you did we wouldn’t be struggling so much.”
Do you ever think something like that?
It’s almost as if they were saying, “What have you done for us lately?” They had become so indifferent and so unresponsive to God that they questioned one of His core attributes. - Experiencing God's Love by LeRoy Redding, SermonCentral.com
The example of Judah should be sobering to all who have enjoyed God's blessings. What seemed so remarkable yesterday may today appear ho-hum. An attitude of thanksgiving can all too quickly change to “What have you done for me lately?” The remedy according to Malachi is the same one revealed in the old gospel song that says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” Begin to practice this today by making a list of as many blessings as you can think of and then “name them one by one” as you give thanks to God. (Copyright Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
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6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says…. (Recurring phrase in the passage emphasizing His greatness and power in contrast to how He is being treated by His people.)
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6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!
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“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’
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“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong?
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And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
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9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
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10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings.
Laodicean Church in Revelation 3.
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11 But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Church all over the world today!
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How do we give God the honor and respect He deserves?
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How to Respond to the Love and Greatness of God
ILLUS.
Do we grasp the greatness of God? Ho-hum.
We used to sing “What a mighty God we serve, what a mighty God we serve. Angels bow before Him, Heaven and earth adore Him, What a mighty God we serve!”
Daniel in his vision and John in the Revelation describe God in His glory…
Daniel 7:9-10 9 “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.
10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
Revelation 5
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
…every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
Song: “To Him who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb 2x
Be “Blessing and honor and glory and power, forever!” 2x
When we worship, we have the privilege of joining the majestic creatures and angels of heaven in giving God the honor and respect He deserves!!
ILLUS.
“Here’s the point. Through Malachi — God tells the people that he’s demonstrated his love for them in the past and He still loves them in the present. And how do they respond — what do the people do when God tells them that he’s loved them? They question his love, don’t they? In spite of God having demonstrated over and over and over again — his love for them — the people question his love.
Which makes me wonder how we’re responding to God’s love toward us..
So how are we responding to his love?
• Are we questioning whether or not he loves us?
• Are we presuming upon his love?
• Are we unmoved by his love?
• Are we amazed by the fact that God loves us?”
- Josh Hanson
https://www.gatewayepc.org/the-gate/2021/7/22/malachi-the-greatness-of-gods-love
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And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1
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How to Respond to the Love and Greatness of God.
We should respond with…
• Extravagant Generosity
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“The grace of God is absolutely free, but it costs you everything.”
ILLUS. Steven Cole https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-2-serving-god-leftovers-malachi-16-14
Salvation is a free gift. You cannot earn it or pay for it. You can only accept it freely. But it cost God the life of His beloved Son. Once you accept such a precious gift, it demands everything you have in response. When you recognize that you are not your own, you were bought with a price, and that all that you have has been freely given to you by God, how can you hold back anything from Him?
ILLUS. Why this waste!
Mark 14:1-9 [excerpts]
“It was now two days before Passover…. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him…
3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon,…While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.
4 Some of those at the table were indignant. (“What a waste!” they said. – Matt. 26)
“Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages…
What was your gross income before taxes and withholding this past year? Can you imagine spending that amount for a perfume/cologne to pour on Jesus?!
6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?.... 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.””
“What is waste? Waste means, among other things, giving more than is necessary. If a dime will do and you give a dollar, it is a waste. If two ounces will do and you give a pound, it is a waste. If three days will suffice to finish a task well enough and you lavish five days or a week on it, it is a waste. Waste means that you give something too much for something too little. If someone is receiving more than he is considered to be worth, then that is waste.
But remember, we are dealing here with something which the Lord said had to go out with the gospel, wherever that gospel should be carried. Why? Because He intends that the preaching of the gospel should issue in something along the very lines of the action of Mary here, namely, that people should come to Him and waste themselves on Him.”
… The principle of waste is the principle that He would have govern us. “She is doing this for Me.” Real satisfaction is brought to the heart of the Son of God only when we are really, as people would think, “wasting” ourselves upon Him. It seems as though we are giving too much and getting nothing—and that is the secret of pleasing God.
Nee, Watchman . Why This Waste? (The Vital Series) . CLC Publications. Kindle Edition.
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
by Isaac Watts [timeless words of a song written around 400 years ago]
v.1 When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.
v.4 Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
https://hymnary.org/hymn/OC2013/page/794
ILLUS. The Widow’s Offering – Mark 12:41-44
Extravagant generosity may not look like much to others, but God sees differently than man does.
41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
What’s the principle here? God measures the value of an offering by its worth to the person bringing it.
ILLUS. David in 1Chron. 21: 19 So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him through Gad. 20 Araunah, who was busy threshing wheat at the time, turned and saw the angel there. His four sons, who were with him, ran away and hid. 21 When Araunah saw David approaching, he left his threshing floor and bowed before David with his face to the ground.
22 David said to Araunah, “Let me buy this threshing floor from you at its full price. Then I will build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”
23 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you.”
24 But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” 25 So David gave Araunah 600 pieces of gold in payment for the threshing floor.
ILLUS.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that extravagant generosity is about money! He doesn’t want your money! He wants YOU.
Example of the Macedonian Church in 2Corinthians 8: Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will. 4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem. 5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
IF HE HAS YOU, THEN HE HAS YOUR TIME, YOUR TALENT, YOUR TREASURE! He has, not just your Sunday, but every day of your week.
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How to Respond to the Love and Greatness of God.
We should respond with…
• Heartfelt Sincerity
We just finished a sermon series on the Lord’s prayer. Jesus warned his followers not to be like the hypocrites who did their giving, fasting and prayer to be seen of men.
Matthew 6 Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
“Our need [is] to focus both our “minds’ attention and hearts’ affection on the Lord.” https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/worship-our-response-to-his-greatness
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“I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
Without Your all-consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything
Instead of going through the motions?”
- Matthew West
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How to Respond to the Love and Greatness of God.
We should respond with the…
• Highest Quality
ILLUS: Around Thanksgiving a few years ago, radio commentator Paul Harvey shared a true story of a woman and her frozen Thanksgiving turkey. The Butterball Turkey Company set up a telephone hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in the bottom of her freezer for 23 years. That's right—23 years. The Butterball representative told her the turkey would probably be safe to eat if the freezer had been kept below freezing for the entire 23 years. But the Butterball representative warned her that even if the turkey was safe to eat, the flavor would probably have deteriorated to such a degree that she could not recommend eating it. The caller replied, "That's what I thought. We'll give the turkey to our church."
ILLUS. – “Wearing your Sunday best…” I don’t necessarily advocate a return to coat and tie and fancy dress. Yes, I know God is looking at our hearts, not our clothes, but I hope and pray that our casual dress is not a reflection of a casual attitude about worship.
ILLUS. - Did you ever wonder why the Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday evening at sundown?
Because the preparation for worship begins the night before.
Are you taking time on Saturday night to get yourself ready for Sunday morning?
[I remember when we were growing up, everything was laid out the night before.]
If you find you are continually up late on Saturday evening, that that tells me is that you don’t value God and don’t take Him seriously.
Because if we realized how great God is and took Him seriously, we’d be giving Him our best. And we can’t give Him our best when we are tired and worn out from staying up late the night before. - Giving God Your Best by LeRoy Redding, SermonCentral.com
ILLUS. “When the people came to worship, … what they brought had to pass two important tests, and in many cases only they and God would know if they passed them. What they brought had to be the first and the best. Nothing else mattered. It had to be the first-born animal, or the first fruit of the crops or the orchards. God gets his share first, because he is the most important. But it had to be the best--the best firstborn or first fruit offering. To bring God an inferior gift would say that one did not think much of God, for the quality of the gift indicates the value the giver places on the one receiving the gift. That is true in any human relationship, and it certainly is true in the spiritual relationship we have with the Lord. – Allen Ross https://bible.org/seriespage/2-worship-god-rejects-malachi-16-14
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• First Priority
ILLUS. In her book A Practical Guide to Prayer, Dorothy Haskins talks about a noted concert violinist who was asked the secret of her mastery of the instrument. The woman answered the question with two words: "Planned neglect." Then she explained. "There were many things that used to demand my time. When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted, and did whatever seemed necessary. When I finished my work, I turned to my violin practice. That system prevented me from accomplishing what I should on the violin. So I reversed things. I deliberately planned to neglect everything else until my practice period was complete. And that program of planned neglect is the secret of my success."
Daily Bread.
ILLUS. VIDEO – From a sermon by Francis Chan illustrating this passage using a piece of chicken. View here: https://youtu.be/BzKCf_JPmT4
ILLUS. Leftovers
Leftovers are such humble things,
We would not serve to a guest,
And yet we serve them to our Lord
Who deserves the very best.
We give to Him leftover time,
Stray minutes here and there.
Leftover cash we give to Him,
Such few coins as we can spare.
We give our youth unto the world,
To hatred, lust and strife;
Then in declining years we give
To him the remnant of our life.
Author Unknown
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Don’t give God your leftovers!
Give Him what is right, not what is left!
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CLOSING: Questions for Reflection
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith
Proverbs 16:2 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.
Jeremiah 17:10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
See also 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
Do we offer God less than we would a human dignitary?
Are you bored with worship and serving?
What is your passion in life? Is it God and His glory?
Have you been playing church?
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Video of sermon https://fb.watch/9jXZrjfPk5/
