GIVING YOUR BEST IN WORSHIP (Malachi 1:6-14)
1. We talk a lot about giving our best…
a. Whether it is on the job, or in school, or on the athletic field…we emphasize giving our best
b. Did you know that when it comes to worship, God wants you to give your best?
2. Open Bible to Malachi 1:6-14 - in these verses God is telling His people that when you worship I want you to give your very best.
a. He is not talking about what you wear - I don’t dress up to impress God. I dress up to impress you and some of you are not impressed
b. If you want to impress God…have pure hands and a clean heart and give Him your best - I Sam. 16:7 says "God looks on the heart" ….Eccl. 9:10
3. Don’t you want to give your best…
a. I want to preach my best - I am a dying man preaching to dying people…II Tim. 4:2…what we discuss each week is a matter of heaven or hell
b. And what is true of my preaching is true with our praying…when we pour out our hearts to God it should come from the depths of our soul…I Pet. 5:7
c. And what is true of preaching and praying is also true of our singing…when you sing you should give it your very best…focus on the words…sing them in such a way that honors God and encourages those around you…
d. And what it true of preaching and praying and singing should be true of our giving…Ac. 20:35 - we are told that "It is more blessed to give than it is to receive"… II Cor. 9:7 - "God loves a cheerful giver"…
e. And what it true of preaching and praying and singing and giving should be true with our communion...when we stop and focus on the most important event in history - the death of the Son of God on the cross….we should give it our best
4. Here is the question this morning - When it comes to your personal worship, do you give God your best?
5. Look at what the Israelites were giving to God…
a.(vs. 8) - "blind, crippled and diseased animals" - they were bringing God their leftovers…and Malachi says "that is just wrong" - when it comes to worship then or now God does not want our leftovers…God did not want a second class animal and God does not want a second class effort
b.(Deut. 15:21) "If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God."…. (Lev. 22:21) - "When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable to the Lord."
(1) And yet that is exactly what the Jews were doing…that is what they were giving God
(2)Malachi asks an inter. question - vs 8 - "try giving that to your governor, would he accept it?
(3)Look at verse 10 - Why don’t you just close the church doors?…If you are not going to give me your best, why don’t we just shut the doors and forget it…it is useless…I am not pleased…I won’t accept it
(4)Look at verse 12 & 13 - God uses the words "profane, defiled and contempable" - in fact He says in vs 13 that you have made worship a burden rather than a blessing
(5)Look at verse 14 - KJV says you are a deceiver…NIV says you are a cheat…When one fails to give God their best they are cheating themselves and cheating God
6. Now with all of those things in mind again I raise the question: When you worship, do you give God your best?
a.You say, "Preacher, I want to. How do I do it? How do I give God my best?"
b.I am so glad that you asked, because that is what we want to discuss briefly…nine practical suggestions to help us give our God our best in worshipping Him
Number One: I would suggest to you that you make worship a priority in your life.
A.If you were to sit down this week and make a list of the most important things that you must do this week, would number one on that list be - Worship God
1.Where does worship fit in on your list…I know we are busy people…but if we are too busy to assemble with our brothers and sisters in Christ to worship our God, we are too busy
2.Love the attitude of David in Psalm 95…Is that your attitude…Is worship something that you love to be a part of …want to be a part of … is it a priority for your week
B.Have a buddy that says Sunday mornings are "got to"…Sunday and Wednesday nights are "get to" …he is right… Worship is something that we get to do and not something that we have to do…. Truth is - when you take a "got to" approach to worship you wind up doing what the Israelites of Malachi’s day did…you do not offer your best.
Suggestion #2: If you want to give God your best in worship make your worship God centered.
A.We are here for one reason this morning and that is to worship God and please Him.
1.I’m not here to critique who should and should not be taking the Lord’s Supper…Who is or is not giving or how much …the kind of clothes you are wearing…to analyze your singing or lack there of… not here to debate with you…I am here to worship God
2.This is a worship service and it should be God-centered, God-focused, and God-honoring…our preaching, praying, singing, giving, communion…all focused on God
B.Worship is not a time to solve the world’s problems…it is a time to focus on God and in doing so begin to solve some of my own problems…as I look at me and my relationship with Him
Suggestion #3: If you want to give God your best in worship, involve your heart, not just your lips
A.So easy to go through the outward motions when our hearts and minds are someplace else…isn’t it
1.Easy to sing words….pray words…take the communion...go through the motions
2."Examine yourself" - that is unique human quality - the ability to look inside ourselves and examine our very thought processes…our attitude, our heart, our disposition, our commitment or lack thereof...our motives...
B.You know right now where your thoughts are…where your focus is…where your heart is
1.Worship services will do nothing for you if you do not involve your heart
2.Again going back to the Israelites - so often they went through the outward observances of worship without involving the heart and it was worthless.
Suggestion #4: Before coming to worship, make some preparations
A.We do physically - we bathe, dress, put on our deodorant, comb our hair and brush our teeth and I am glad
1.But none of that will help you worship
2.Do you spend any time getting your spirit ready to worship?
B.What would you say if told you I never pray before I preach….
1."Surely you pray. I mean preaching is important." …and do you think worship isn’t?
2.Suggest to you that before you come to worship you spend some time in prayer…you may want to read a Psalm like Psalm 95 or Psalm 104 or Psalm 19 all of which speak of the greatness of God and help to focus on God…you may want to spend some time thinking about what you will be doing and committing to giving your worship your best
3.You may want to make things right with another…Bible teaches that you cannot worship God acceptably when you have problems with your brothers and sisters (Matt. 5 & 18)
4.Oh, how much more meaningful and encouraging our worship would be if we would take the time to prepare….We see the need for preparation in so many areas of our life and then jump up on Sunday mornings and make a mad rush for the building…no wonder we fail to give our best in worship
Suggestion #5: You need to be on time
A. When is the last time that you left the last minute for a ball game
1. When it comes to a ball game we want to be there early...want to get our seat though no one else can get it...we want to be a part of the activities that are going on before the game....we are not going to miss the opening kick off, tip or whatever it might be.
2. But you see preacher, a ball game is... Is what...more important maybe to you than worship?
B.This goes right back to preparing your heart...hard to have a sweet sweet spirit when you have been sprinting, sweating, and speeding to get to the services.
1.Get here early...talk with your brothers and sisters...meet our visitors...find out what is going on in one another’s life...set down and prepare to worship
2. And I would encourage you to to take a few minutes to visit after the final amen...there are some of you sitting here would be hurt if you needed something from this church and this church did not respond, when the truth is you have never given many of the members of this church a
chance to get to know you...worship for years and do not know one another and we all are less because of it
Suggestion #6: Bring your Bible
A. I hope that as we looked at Malachi, you looked with us
1.I hope that when this text was read a few moments ago that you read along
2.I hope that as we took note of certain things in this text you marked them
3. It is hard to have a Bible study without an open Bible
B. I like stories...I like illustrations..but what I want you to take away with you each week is not a neat story that I shared, but rather something that God says...
1. This week, from Malachi 1 - God says "When you worship Me, I want you to give your very
best."...that is what I want you to hear....what I want you to take with you...what I want you to struggle with
2. I did not say it - God did...bring your Bible and find a nugget of truth to challenge you
Suggestion #7: Listen carefully to the sermon
A. I make no claim to being the best or one of the better preachers you will ever hear
1. But this I promise you - I work hard every week to put together some thoughts that will challenge you to be a little bit more of what God would have you be
2. And I know that I do not hit a home run every week....but I try to at least get on base
B. Forget the preacher....forget his ability...what if this were the last sermon that you would ever hear before you left this ol world...
1. Would you try to listen and hear something that would help you draw closer to God
2. Would you find at least a nugget of truth that would help you
C. Plan your week some other time....Play with the kiddo when you get home....when you come to
worship listen to the sermon....
1. You will hear so much from the world the rest of the week
2. Focus for a few minutes on a word from God
Suggestion #8: Be a participant and not a spectator
A. Worship is not a spectator sport
1. We are not here to watch...to observe...critique - we are here to worship
2. Sit up and sing....when we are lead in prayer, listen...during communion focus on the cross...
when scripture is read and sermons are preached, get into it
B. God is your only audience...how are you doing
Suggestion #9: Expect something wonderful to happen in worship
A. Allow me to share a fact that is true in all areas of life and is equally true in worship: One usually gets what one expects...isn’t that right
1. What do you expect this morning...that is probably what you will get
2. If you expect worship to be a challenging, life changing experience it can very well be that
B. "Preacher, it isn’t that for me, what is the problem?"..might want to look in your seat
1. Nobody can keep me from sitting up and singing my heart out...nobody can keep me from humbling my heart and praying to God...nobody can keep me from focusing on the cross as I partake of the Lord’s Supper...nobody can keep me from finding a lifechanging truth as scripture is read and discussed...nobody can keep me from challenging and encouraging my brothers and sisters in Christ as we come together and worship together
2. Nobody that is except me...and I will probably get what I expect
C. What do you expect this morning
1. Do you expect God to be glorified...the lost to be saved...the weak to be strengthened...
the strong to be encouraged....
2. Have you prayed to that end...what do you expect...again you are probably going to get what
you expect.
1. I do not want to be like those in Malichi’s day...I do not want my worship to be second rate leftovers that God rejects...how about you
2. Nine suggestions to keep that from happening
(1) Make your worship of God a priority
(2) Make your worship God centered
(3) Put your heart into it
(4) Prepare before coming to worship
(5) Be on time
(6) Bring your Bible
(7) Listen
(8) Participate
(9) Expect wonderful things to happen - to
you and to those around you
