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[0:00] I'm looking forward to spending some time in the Word of God with you today, and so glad all of you are visiting. I want to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me, if you would, to Malachi chapter 1. Malachi chapter 1.

[0:12] Malachi chapter 1. The Word of God says in Malachi chapter 1, in verse 1, The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

[0:26] I have loved you, says the Lord, yet you say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother, says the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

[0:44] Whereas Edom said, we are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus said the Lord of hosts, they shall build, but I will throw down. They shall call them the border of wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever.

[1:01] And your eyes shall see, and you shall say, the Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer, if you would. Father, I thank you so very much for who you are and what you do.

[1:17] And today, Lord, as we open this passage of scripture and we look at it, I pray that your people would learn more about you, learn more about your word, and grow.

[1:28] I pray, God, that you'd help us to share truth so that lost people can hear the gospel and be saved. I pray you'd help us to understand you and your character and who you are.

[1:41] I pray you'd help us as your children to fall deeply in love with you. And I pray you'd help us as your children to love lost people like you do. Love people that don't know you like you do.

[1:54] And I will give you praise and honor and glory. In the name of the Lord Jesus, I ask all this. Amen. I want you to look with me, if you would, at Malachi chapter 1 and verse 2. Malachi chapter 1 and verse 2.

[2:06] That's the theme of this book. So I want to ask you to look at it. It says, I have loved you, says the Lord. I have loved you, says the Lord. That's the theme of this book.

[2:17] It hangs over every message that Malachi will deliver in this book. The Hebrew word used in this verse is found in a verb or noun form 27 times in the Old Testament in reference to God loving people, his people, different people.

[2:31] Suffice it to say, God loves people. I want to go with you through some of this passage of Scripture this morning. So go with me, if you would, to Malachi chapter 1 and verse 1.

[2:43] The very first thing that happens in this passage of Scripture is that Malachi says, I have a burden of the word of the Lord. The Bible says it's not easy to preach for him. He said, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

[2:57] If you would, go with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 16. 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 16. I want you to know that what Malachi is about to say rested hard on him.

[3:09] He's the man of God. He's got to share what God has to say. But it's not easy to say what's true. It's not easy to say what's right. This isn't a smiling message. The Scriptures a lot of times aren't that.

[3:22] And a real preacher ought to feel responsibility. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 9 and 16, the Apostle Paul talking, For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid upon me.

[3:36] Underline that. Necessity. He's doing it because God put it on him. God made him do it. God put the need on him, and it laid on him. And then he said, Yea, woe is unto me.

[3:47] Underline the word woe. He said, If I don't do it, judgment, woe, sadness, terrible for me. If I preach not the gospel. For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward.

[3:58] But if against my will, the dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. Even if I do it against my will, God's still got a job for me to do. He was God's man, delivering God's message, and it wasn't an easy thing for him to do.

[4:11] It would be easier to try to smooth things over than it would be to make things right. Preaching a message that includes judgment should never be easy. Calling on people to examine themselves is not an easy thing to do.

[4:24] But that's exactly what Malachi will be doing. And you're going to go through the book of Malachi now here at our church, and you're going to find out that Malachi is going to constantly be calling our attention.

[4:35] He's going to be, as they would say in Peru, pulling your ear. He's going to be snapping his finger. He's going to be saying, Hey, I've got something to say to you, and you need to listen. He is God's messenger, and he comes with a fairly tough and a hard message.

[4:48] Go with me, if you would, to Malachi chapter 1 and verse 2. Malachi chapter 1 and verse 2. God loves his people, the nation of Israel, and he makes that declaration right off the first. Malachi 1 and 2, I have loved you, says the Lord.

[5:03] I have loved you, says the Lord. Yet you say, Where have you loved us? Was it not Esau Jacob's brother, yet saith the Lord, yet I loved Jacob. So here God starts off saying, there's some things we need to realize.

[5:16] He loves his people. He's talking to Israel, and he said, I love you. I love you. He loved them because of who he is. He loves us because of who he is.

[5:27] He doesn't love you this morning because of something you do. He loves you because of who he is. He loves us like a father loves a child or a husband loves a wife. He forgives us and is willing to look beyond our faults.

[5:39] He calls us to himself and his love. He constantly seeks what's best for us. But loving us does mean he hates. The title of the message today is, Who Does God Hate?

[5:51] Who Does God Hate? There's a church that's quite famous for saying God hates fags. And you might say they're just totally out in left field, but what's the Bible say?

[6:02] Who does God hate? Go with me, if you would, to Deuteronomy 7 and verse 6. I'm going to have a lot of verses for you. We're going to go through quite a bit of scripture, and so you might just write things down and look them up later if you want.

[6:14] But the Bible says in Deuteronomy 7 and verse 6, God talking about Israel, when he chose him, he says, For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

[6:30] Look at that. For some reason, God chose Israel, and he made them a special people. You can underline that in the verse. He made them a special people, and he chose them to be that special people, and he picked them above everybody else on the planet.

[6:46] Deuteronomy 7 says that he loved them just because he did. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you because you were more in number, or you were bigger. You had a bigger population than any other people.

[6:57] The fact is, y'all were the fewest of all. There really wasn't a good reason for God to love you. You didn't have a big country. You didn't have fancy cities. You didn't have anything. God just loved you.

[7:08] Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 8. But because the Lord loves you, and because he would keep the oath which you had sworn unto your fathers, has the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

[7:23] Know ye therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.

[7:33] You know why God kept his word? You know why God loved him? Because he kept his word, because God doesn't say things he doesn't mean, and God keeps his word when he gives it. So I want to talk to you this morning about who does God hate?

[7:46] I want to talk to you about who does God hate. But then the passage of scripture starts off saying this. It says God loves his people. There's some things about God I want you to look up with me. God, he can be with you. Keep up with this if you would.

[7:57] 1 John chapter 4 and verse 8. You need to know this. God is love. You should write that down somewhere. God is love. It's an interesting study I would challenge all of you to do, to take the Bible and look up God is.

[8:11] Put it in quotation marks and whatever search engine you use and find out every time it says God is and it gives a direct characteristic of him. And in the Bible it says God is love.

[8:21] That's pretty clear. God is love. And so look what it says in 1 John 4, 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.

[8:32] The Bible says in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 16, and we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love. And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.

[8:46] God is love. Love is God. God is love. Love is love. That's a clear scriptural teaching that the apostle John gives us. 1 John chapter 4 verse 7.

[8:57] You have your Bible there? It says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.

[9:09] In 2 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11, the Bible says, Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect. Be of good comfort. Be of one mind. Live in peace. And look at this. And the God of love and peace shall be with you.

[9:22] The God of love. He's the God of love. He is love. Love comes from him. 1 John chapter 4 verse 9, the Bible says, And this was manifested, and this was shown, the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only son into the world that we might live through him.

[9:42] The love of God was shown, declared, made clear, by God sending his son to die on a cross for us. 1 John 4 verse 10. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be propitiation, the payment for our sin.

[10:03] He is the mercy seat. He is the payment for our sin. He loves us. But here's the first truth I want you to see in this passage of scripture. And that is that God is love, and he loved his people.

[10:17] Go with me back to Malachi chapter 1 and verse 2, and make sure you notice this. Malachi starts off, and he said, I got a message to you from God. And here's what God said in Malachi 1, 2.

[10:28] I have loved you. I have loved you, says the Lord. So God loves his people. God loves his people. Before I leave this point to go on further down to these five verses with you, you do know that when God loves you, he does chasten his people.

[10:46] So you might say, well, he loves me, but it seems to me like if he loves me, why do I go through this? If he loves me, why do things go wrong? If he loves me, why does it seem like I suffer so much? And you need to understand that there's a clear Bible teaching that God does love us as his children.

[11:00] But when I walk in my own ways and I do my own thing, I will suffer the consequences. And that's what the prophets usually come along saying. The prophets usually come along saying, y'all did wrong, and because you did wrong, you're suffering.

[11:11] You disobeyed God, and he loves you. But if he loves you, he's going to spank you. You know, when I was a kid, that was back when they used to believe in spankings. And they used to even tell me stuff that I didn't believe.

[11:21] Like, this is going to hurt me worse than it is you. I didn't believe that then. I don't believe that now. I don't think I told that to my kids. But the point is, he loves us.

[11:33] He loves us. And when you stray away from him, and when you walk away from him, and you do wrong, and he disciplines you, that's not because he doesn't love you. That's actually because he does love you. I don't have time to go to all the verses I would, because I want to talk to you about who does God hate.

[11:45] But it starts off saying, I love you. So we're going to get to the hate part in a second. But he starts off saying, I love you. He starts off saying, I love you. I want you to know I love you. I said I love you, and I do love you. I have loved you.

[11:56] I loved you in the past, and I love you now. I have loved you, he said. But in Hebrews chapter 12, if I do wrong, and I'm his child, he will discipline me. He will chastise me if I do wrong.

[12:08] Now go with me to Malachi chapter 1 and verse 3. And we come to a verse that's made me change the order of service and take a tad longer than I would. You probably already noticed that.

[12:20] But Malachi chapter 1 and verse 3, the Bible said, and I hated Esau. I want you to underline that. And I hated Esau. And laid his mountains and his territory to waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

[12:35] So he says, I hated Esau. I think the majority of us are like, whoa. I didn't know God would do that. So does God ever talk about hating people?

[12:49] Does God hate? Does God say he hates? What's that mean? The Presbyterian doctrine, the Reformed doctrine, the Calvinistic doctrine. This is one of their verses. And they would come real quickly to the fact that God does love some people, us.

[13:03] And he does hate other people, not us. And so what would the Bible say? So if you hang out with me just for a few minutes in the book of Malachi, I hope to help you. We're going to go all over the Bible, but I hope to help you.

[13:14] First thing I want you to do, you got your Bible open? Have you got your Bible open? Say amen. All right. So I want you to circle the word Esau. This word Esau here is the name of a person, but it also refers to a people.

[13:26] It also refers to a people. I'm going to show you that, and I think you'll get it clearly. First off, you know that the nation of Israel takes the name of a guy named Jacob, who after he wrestled with an angel all night, his name was changed from Jacob to, what was it changed to?

[13:39] Israel. So Jacob became Israel, and Israel becomes the people. That becomes the people. It would be kind of like calling us Washingtonians, Washington-onians, or whatever you would call us. I don't know.

[13:50] Not patriots. I was talking about being after the, not the Braves game is going to happen tonight, but I was talking about after the president that was the first president. It would be like calling us that. The father of our country, when I was a kid, was George Washington.

[14:05] Go with me, if you would, to Malachi chapter 1 and verse 4. You need to understand that in the Bible, God chose Israel, or Jacob, not the Edomites, not Esau, to be his servant carrying the gospel around the world.

[14:19] Malachi chapter 1 and verse 4, the Bible says, Whereas Edom, put a circle around that, Edom is just another word for Esau. It's the red man, the red earth, Esau, man of the earth.

[14:30] That's who he is. He's Edom. It says, Whereas Edom said, we are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus said the Lord of hosts, they shall build, but I will throw down.

[14:41] They shall call them the border of wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord hath taken a nation forever. And your eyes shall see this, the Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel. So when it says Edom here, it's talking about a country.

[14:54] It's talking about a group of people. It's talking about a nation. And when it says Esau here, it's talking about that group of people. I want you to walk through the Bible with me. Just be patient. You know, if you're a real strong Calvinist, hang on, and then you can argue with me later.

[15:07] But let's walk with me. Let's go to Genesis chapter 12 and verse 2, if you would. Genesis chapter 12 and verse 2. Genesis chapter 12 and verse 2. All the way back in the book of Genesis, God chose a people and a person to carry his gospel to the world.

[15:25] He chose them to carry his gospel to the world. And you're going to see that as clear as day if you'll follow with me. Genesis chapter 12 and verse 2 says, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great.

[15:40] And underline this, and thou shalt be a blessing. You, Abraham, I'm going to make a big nation out of you, Abraham. I'm going to make a great nation out of you, Abraham. And you, that nation, are going to be a blessing.

[15:53] Look, if you would, at verse 3. And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curses thee. And in thee, and in you, Abraham, and in your country, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

[16:04] All the families of the earth will be blessed. So God chose Abraham. Now, you've got to go back in your Bible. All the way back in the very beginning, Adam and Eve sinned against God. And when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they should have died.

[16:16] But God, at the very moment of their sin, gave them a promise. And he said, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to let you, lady, give birth to a seed, to a person who is going to stomp the head of the devil.

[16:27] He's going to destroy Satan. And I'm going to give you your dignity back. And that's when Adam named her the mother of all living. And she becomes the person who can make all that difference. She is going to be the one God uses to bring this person into the world.

[16:40] By the way, when she has her first son, she says, I've gotten a man from the Lord. She has her next son. She says, I've got a seed from the Lord. She was expecting God to do it. But God hasn't yet done that. We get to Genesis chapter 11.

[16:51] He starts calling the nation of Israel. He's calling Abraham. In chapter 12, he says, Abraham, I'm going to make you a great people. And you're going to take the gospel to the world. You're going to be a blessing to everybody. And by the way, you know that.

[17:02] You know this. You know that this old book was written by those people that came out of Abraham. The Jewish people, God used to write the Bible. The 39 books we have in the Old Testament, Jewish books. The 27 books we have in the New Testament, Jewish books.

[17:13] God used them. It was through these Jewish people that God sent us Jesus, who was born a Jewish person to bring the gospel to the world. It was those Jewish people, the apostles, that started the church.

[17:24] Everything God said happened through those Jewish people. God chose Abraham to be the one he would use to bless the world. Then Abraham had several children.

[17:36] Now, some of you might think Abraham only had one son. But in the scriptures, Abraham had Ishmael. The Arabic people traced themselves back to him. And he had Isaac. And then he later married a woman named Keturah in Genesis chapter 25, verses 1 and 2.

[17:51] And he had several children with them, with her, his third wife. But God only chose one to carry on the name, to carry on the work, to pick up the baton, to take the next step.

[18:03] Abraham, you will be a blessing. And so when Abraham has all these children, he's got Ishmael, who's his firstborn. He's got Isaac, who's his second. And he's got the sons of Keturah. And he says, I choose you, Isaac.

[18:14] You will be the one that carries on the message. Then Isaac had two sons. Isaac had Esau and Jacob. And God told Isaac that he was going to use Jacob to be the leader of the family, the leader of the nation, the leader of the people that would take the gospel of the world.

[18:31] In them, God would choose who would be his messenger. God would choose. There's a curse that was placed on the nation of Edom in this story. But that is a long time after Esau's dead.

[18:43] So when you read Esau have a hated, that didn't happen while Esau was alive. That didn't even happen while Esau was alive. That happened after Esau was dead. Generations had gone by.

[18:54] And he's hating that nation of Esau, that nation of Edom. Esau, however, had clearly shown that he didn't have any interest in the things of God. When the things of God were placed in front of Esau, he said, I'd rather have a bowl of beans.

[19:07] When he said he was always this world-minded, not that world-minded. And it was pretty clear why the Lord God chose Jacob and used him. Edom's descendants, Esau's descendants, had become wicked people, persecuting the nation of Israel.

[19:22] They had encroached on promised land. They worshipped false gods. They weren't good people. But that was a choice they made. Now I want you to notice that it says in this verse that he hated Esau.

[19:36] So we've got a big decision to make here. Does God hate people? And I'm going to end up saying to you in a little bit something you probably don't want to hear. But you need to understand this word hate.

[19:49] Now Charles Spurgeon said this word hate had to mean that God wanted him to go to hell forever. But I'm going to show you, if you've got your Bible and you'll follow along, I want to help you answer a question. Go with me if you would to Genesis chapter 29 and verse 30.

[20:03] Esau have I hated. And so let's go back and see how that word hated is used in the Bible. One of the principles of Bible study is you go find out how that word's been used in the past.

[20:13] And the Bible says in Genesis chapter 29 and verse 30. And he went in also unto Rachel. And he loved Rachel more than Leah. And served with him yet seven other years.

[20:27] So here's the first time this word's used in this sense. I want you to notice what it says. He loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with him yet another seven years. And verse 31. And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated.

[20:39] When the Lord saw that Leah was hated. He opened her womb. But he let Rachel stay barren. So the first verse said he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah.

[20:50] But the next verse said the Lord saw that he hated Leah. I wonder what that word means. Go with me if you would to Deuteronomy chapter 21 and verse 15.

[21:01] Deuteronomy chapter 21 and verse 15. Let's see what the Bible says. If a man have two wives. One beloved and another hated. And they have born him children.

[21:13] Both the beloved and the hated. And if the firstborn son be of her that was hated. So in verse 15. This guy's got wives. Got two wives.

[21:24] You see that. And he loves one. And he hates the other. Now he doesn't hate her enough not to have children with her. He doesn't hate her enough not to have children with her. He doesn't hate her enough to kick her out. He doesn't hate her enough to kill her.

[21:35] But he has a favorite one. A beloved one. And a hated one. You got that in verse 15. Underline hated. Another hated. And then it says there's a beloved and a hated. And if the firstborn son be of her that was hated.

[21:48] So they had a problem. When it came time to give the inheritance to the children. Their culture was that the oldest kid got two portions for every other male child.

[22:00] So in my family my parents had four children. Two of them are girls. So they get nothing. Amen. And then I'm the oldest. So I get double. So that means I get two-thirds of my daddy's stuff.

[22:10] It didn't work that way. But if we were Jews that would have been real convenient for me. Say amen. If we had been part of Israel. And so a dad might want to say. I don't really like you first wife. And I don't really like your kid as much as I like this woman and her kid.

[22:22] So I'm not going to give it to you. And so God said that's the one you're hating. Look if you would at chapter. Deuteronomy chapter 21 verse 16. It shall be when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath.

[22:33] That he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated. Which is really the firstborn. Verse 17. He shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn.

[22:43] By giving him a double portion of all that he has. For he is the beginning of his strength and the right of his firstborn. So there are two times in the Old Testament. We're going to go to the New Testament right now.

[22:53] The first time is Jacob loves one wife. A whole lot more than he loves the other wife. He really wouldn't have chosen her. But he ends up having a whole bunch of kids with her. And then the next time is the guy's got two wives. And he prefers one over the other one.

[23:05] Now let's go to the New Testament and see how that word hate is used. Look at Luke chapter 14 and verse 26. Look at Luke chapter 14 and verse 26. Esau have I hated.

[23:16] Esau have I hated. In Luke chapter 14 and verse 26 the Bible says if any man come to me. And I would like y'all to say that word out loud with me. If any man come to me and hate not.

[23:28] Look at that. Y'all want to hear the hate not out of you. Ready? If any man come to me and hate not. His father and his mother and his wife and his children and his brothers and his sisters and his own life.

[23:39] He cannot be my disciple. Hmm. So to get saved. To be a follower of Jesus. Jesus. When you walked up to Jesus and said hey I'd like to follow you.

[23:49] You'd like to be one of yours. He turned around and he said something like this. Well. Don't hate your mama. You don't want to hate your mama. You can't come on me. You don't want to hate your daddy. You don't. You can't come on me. Got to hate your brother. Got to hate your sister. And you got to hate your own self.

[24:02] Now that doesn't mean I'm going to go home and kill my wife. Or my children. Or my brother. Or my sister. Or I'm going to cut myself. It is. I will put Jesus first.

[24:13] And everything else will be second. Mama won't have the same position in my life that Jesus has. That's how the word hate is being used in the verse. We're still in the Bible by the way.

[24:24] Now go with me to Matthew chapter 6 and verse 24. That hatred is not absolute hatred. It has a higher choice in mind. In Matthew chapter 6 and verse 24.

[24:36] Matthew 6 24. The Bible says no man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other. Or else he will hold the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

[24:48] Can I tell you what that verse says? It says God wants you to hate money. And houses. And cars. And things. But everybody in this room is like that's not what it means.

[25:00] If you were smarter you'd understand that's not what it means. Of course you understand that. Because it says. It says. If you. If you can't serve two masters. You got to love one. And hate the other. It's kind of like what I had to do with my mama.

[25:13] It's kind of like what I had to do with my mama. You see when I was. When God dealt with my heart about being a missionary. I went to see my parents first. Before I told the church. And I was a pastor of. I've been pastor there for eight years.

[25:24] I went and sat down with my dad. In the living room. And I said dad. I want to tell you before I tell anybody else. Okay. I said daddy. I'm going to resign the church. And I'm going to go to Peru.

[25:35] The mission field. And man. My daddy had given up his farm. He'd given up his life. He'd given up everything to move to Georgia. He left Tennessee. Came to Georgia. Be a part of my church.

[25:46] He loved me. He'd come to be a part of my church. And when I said that to him. This is what he did. He said. Well you might as well. You have never been a good son. You've never been a good pastor. You've never even been a good Christian.

[25:57] You might as well go to the mission field. Which was a tough man's way of saying. You're hurting me. And I'm going to hurt you back. But daddy took it. Kind of like. Hey. Now later on.

[26:07] My daddy would say. That he had never questioned. Am I going to Peru? He had always been for me. But I promise you. That is not the truth. I mean. I sat there going. My dad.

[26:18] The man of God. Teaching me. Telling me. I'm not a good person. Because I'm going to be a mission. But that's what it says in the verse here. No man can serve two masters. You've got to choose. You are supposed to hate money. But that doesn't mean all of y'all going to go home and burn your money today.

[26:31] Please. Nobody burn your house down after church. I can see y'all now. Y'all say. Well we're supposed to hate all this stuff. I'm just going to burn my house. Burn my car. Burn all my clothes. But the ones I'm wearing. And I'm just. Because I hate that stuff. I hate it. No. You're not supposed to hate it like that.

[26:43] You're supposed to tell your money. God's first. God's first. That's what that word hate means there. How many of you think that. You see that. Another verse. John chapter 12 verse 29.

[26:54] Or 25. You're to love Jesus more than you love your life. John 12. 25. It said. He that loveth his life shall lose it. He that hates his life.

[27:05] In this world. Shall keep it unto life eternal. Well that's a crazy verse. If I want to keep my life to life eternal. I've got to hate my life. Well we don't really want.

[27:17] I mean if you start hating your life. We're going to look for a psychiatrist. Because it doesn't mean there. That I'm going to go home day. See if I can kill myself. It doesn't mean. I've got to commit suicide.

[27:27] It means I choose Jesus over myself. These are my plans. The best laid plans of mice and men. Those are my plans. But I'm going to find out what God's plans are. That's what the verse is talking about.

[27:38] You've got to love. His life. If you love your life. You'll lose it. If you hate your life. You'll save it. That's what the Bible says there. I go with me to Romans chapter 9 and verse 10. Because this is a twisted.

[27:51] This verse is often twisted. All the time twisted. By people that don't understand what I've just shown you. Romans chapter 9 and verse 10. And not only this.

[28:02] But when Rebecca also had conceived by one. Even our father Isaac. Our father George Washington. For the children being not yet born. Neither having done any good or evil.

[28:13] That the purpose of God according to his election might stand. Not of works but of him that calls. It was said unto her. The elders shall serve the younger. As it's written. Jacob have I loved. But Esau have I hated.

[28:26] Now if you were to go back. To Genesis. You won't find the story quite told the same way. But you will find this happening. In Genesis. God chose. Jacob. And he didn't choose.

[28:40] Esau. And throughout history. God's going to use Jacob's family. Not Esau's family. To carry the gospel message. Which they will fail at doing. And God's going to use them.

[28:51] Very simply put. By the grace of God. I have been chosen to be the pastor of this church. Not you. God has let me have this. That means he loves me enough to let me be the pastor of this church.

[29:02] It doesn't mean he hates you. Because he didn't let you be the pastor. It simply means. He let me be the pastor. He chose me. Now I love my wife Betty. Which means I hate all you other women.

[29:16] But it doesn't mean I hate you like that. Come on. It means that I chose Betty. Over. Any other. And you're probably glad about that. But. I hope Betty's glad too. So I want you to understand.

[29:29] When the Bible says. Esau have I hated. You could easily go. Wow. Man I'm glad we're reading Malachi. I didn't know God was like that. I used to pastor in North Georgia.

[29:40] In Cartersville. And I would go out and knock on doors. I'd try to win somebody to Christ. And they would say. I'd say the Bible says God loves you. Jesus died for you. You can be saved. And they would say to me. I'm not chosen. Because somebody went through there.

[29:51] And told them that people. There were people on the planet that God hated. And I would witness to them. And I could not get them to listen. They'd say. Well unless he really works in my life. I just can't believe you. Because I already know I'm not chosen.

[30:02] That's not what the scriptures are teaching here. The scriptures are teaching here. That God chose Jacob to carry the gospel. But God does hate some things. I know that's pretty hard. But by the way.

[30:13] If you love something. You got to hate something else. Because the very nature of love. Is that you would hate. You know. As a boy. I had to work a garden with a hoe.

[30:24] You probably don't even know what that is. Because you think it's a tiller. But it's like this little plow thing on the end of a stick. You know. And my daddy would put me out there. And I had to love the corn. I had to love the corn.

[30:35] And hate the weeds. And buddy. The weeds would figure out I hated them. After I chopped them all up. I used to stack the Johnson grass up on the truck. After you dig the roots out. Or back of a wagon.

[30:45] So that it would dry out. So what does God hate? You need to know God does hate some things. Oh he hates anything that hurts you. He hates for example. Deuteronomy chapter 12 verse 31.

[30:57] He hates idolatry. He hates setting up any other God but him. He hates the very concept of idolatry.

[31:08] And for the sake of time I won't look those verses up with you. He hates child sacrifice. Sometimes in the Old Testament. Some of the people. Some of the different groups of people in the nations. That you will find that God ended up destroying.

[31:19] They used to sacrifice their children. They would pass them through the fire. They would offer them on an altar to a demon. And God said I hate that. I hate that you're doing that to your kids. He says in other places. I hate sexual depravity.

[31:30] I hate it when you take something beautiful I made. And put it somewhere where it's not supposed to be. He said he hated that. He hated sexual perversion. But here comes a verse.

[31:41] Go ahead and read it with me. Psalm 5.4. He also hates those who do evil. I need you to listen to this. He hates those that do evil. Psalm 5.4.

[31:53] The Bible says. For thou art not a God that has pleasure in wickedness. Neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

[32:05] What a horrible statement. He hates those who do evil. Thou shalt destroy them that speak least. And the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. In Psalm chapter 11 and verse 5.

[32:17] The Bible says. The Lord tries the righteous. But the wicked. And him that loveth violence his soul. Hates. That's why Malachi is feeling a burden. There's no soft way of saying this.

[32:27] But God hates sin. And God hates those who rebel against him in sin. His salvation comes. As you see yourself as this person. Who deserves judgment.

[32:38] And punishment. And wrath. And you trust Christ. When the Bible speaks of God's hatred. The object of his hatred is sin. And wickedness.

[32:49] Those that work that. He does hate the workers of iniquity. Those that are intentionally doing wrong. Because they have rebelled. Psalm 5.10 says.

[33:00] Destroy thou them O God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions. For they have rebelled against thee. But I need you to understand what's going on here.

[33:12] You see God loves his people. And God hates sin. And God hates those who would practice that. So what's that got to say? Here's what the Bible says. In John chapter 3. Verse 17.

[33:24] Go with me to John chapter 3. Verse 17. The Bible says this. God did not send his son into the world. Help me. God did not send his son into the world. To condemn the world.

[33:35] But that the world through him might be saved. In verse 18 he said. He that believes on him is not condemned. But he that believes not is. What's it say? Condemned already.

[33:45] Because he has not believed. Because. Why is he condemned already? Because he has not believed. In the name of the only begotten son of God. And this is the condemnation. That light came into the world. Is coming to the world.

[33:57] And men love darkness rather than light. Because their deeds were evil. So they're saying. I'd rather do wrong. Than love you and follow you. In John chapter 3.

[34:07] In verse 36. The Bible said. He that believeth on the son. Hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the son. Shall not see life. Watch this.

[34:20] The wrath. Of God. Abides. On him. To be blunt honest. This isn't. This isn't a matter of God saying. I hate you. And I made you to be firewood.

[34:31] And I'm going to send you to hell forever. Because you see. We were all enemies of God. Before we were saved. We were all rebels. To God. Before we were saved.

[34:41] And I'm not saying that. I'm going to show you the word of God says that. Okay. I'm going to show you the word of God says that. So you can take this home with you. Colossians chapter 1. And verse 21. I really want you to look at the verses.

[34:53] Colossians chapter 1. And verse 21. And you that were sometime alienated. And enemies. Alienated. Separated. Far away. Enemies. In your mind by wicked works.

[35:04] Yet now hath he reconciled. You that were sometime enemies. Away from God. Alienated from God. In your mind. He's reconciled. In Romans 5.10.

[35:15] Look what it says. For if when we were enemies. When we were enemies. Would you underline that? When we were enemies. Who? The apostle Paul. Who?

[35:26] Who? Me. Who? You. When we were enemies. We were reconciled to God. By the death of his son. Much more being reconciled. We shall be saved. By his life.

[35:37] In Ephesians chapter 1. In verse 3. We were children of wrath. The Bible says. Among whom also. We had our conversation. In times past. In the lust of our flesh. Fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

[35:49] And of the mind. And were by nature. The children of wrath. You're looking at a guy. Who used to be an enemy of God. You're looking at a guy. Who was alienated from God. You're looking at a guy.

[36:00] Who was by nature. A child of God. But while we were still in our sin. Our rebellion. Our being enemies. He loved us. The Bible says in Romans 5.8.

[36:12] But God commended his love toward us. In that while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. We all deserve our wages.

[36:24] Which are death and hell. But you can receive the free gift. And it's all in one verse. Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. With me if you would. For the wages of sin is death.

[36:38] Adam and Eve sinned. And they were going to die. We sinned. And there's a second death. The wages of sin is death. But. But. You earned and you deserve death.

[36:50] But God offers a gift. The gift of God. Is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Actually God loved mankind to begin with. You remember? When he first started this whole creation thing.

[37:03] He put him in this wonderful garden. And it was man who rebelled against him. He didn't even make a bunch of rules. It was man who said I'll do what I want to do. Man chose to rebel. And we've done the same thing. We've followed in our parents steps.

[37:14] But it was God who made provision to save us. From ourselves. And our rebellion. And when he extends his hand and we reject it. We can expect punishment. So today is the day of salvation.

[37:26] And God's hand is extended saying. The wages of your sin is death. And you deserve to die and go to hell. But I love you. And I paid the sin debt. And I took. And Jesus went to the cross. And I took all your sin.

[37:37] And I put it on Jesus. And it can be yours. Except this free gift. Of God. In Colossians chapter 1 and verse 13. When we trust Christ. He delivers us from the power of Satan.

[37:48] And places us in the kingdom of his dear son. Colossians 1.13. Who had delivered us. From the power of darkness. And had translated us into the kingdom of his dear son.

[37:59] I was a slave of the devil. I was marked for hell. I was condemned already. I was an enemy. And he saved me. And he took me out of that. And put me on the way to heaven. That's what John 5.24 says.

[38:11] Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that hears my word. And believes on him. That sent me half everlasting life. Shall not come into condemnation. But is passed from death to life. Everything is made new in Christ for us.

[38:24] We have experienced that. And if you're truly saved in this room. You know who you were. Before Jesus. If you're truly saved. You realize. Man, I did not deserve to be saved.

[38:35] I did not deserve for God to love me. There was no reason. God loved me because God is good. And I got saved that way. I was his enemy. But he loved me anyway. God does love the world.

[38:47] And sinners. John 3.16. For God to love the world. Romans 5.8. Starting all the way back in 6. Romans 5.6. For when we were yet without strength.

[38:58] You know when he saved us? When we couldn't. When I was standing there. An enemy of God. And a hard heart of God. And not loving God. And rebelling against God. And I was so wicked. He loved me when I was without strength. Look at the word yet.

[39:10] And in due time Christ died for the ungodly. And in verse 8. God commences his love toward us. He died for ungodly. For the ungodly. The Bible says. And for sinners. In Ezekiel 33.11.

[39:22] The Bible says. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. So God is not up in heaven wanting you to go to hell. Totally the opposite. Can I hear an amen right there?

[39:32] Amen. In 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9. He is not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance. So if you're here today. I want you to know something.

[39:44] Esau have I hated. Doesn't mean he hates you. But your sin and your rebellion. And your working evil works. Yeah he hates that. And he hates you doing it. He hates you that way. You're his enemy.

[39:55] There's no softer way of saying it. You are his enemy right now. If you're lost. If you're lost. You're in rebellion. You're his enemy. His wrath is over you.

[40:07] And you're going to pay the penalty for your sin. But he loves you. He loves you. And he paid all your sin debt. And right now.

[40:18] No matter what you've done. Or where you've been. He stands ready to save. It has all already been done. He will not need to die again. He will not need to do something special to save you.

[40:29] He's already paid the bill. He's already done everything to take you to heaven. And you've got to look at this and say. I want to trust Christ. I'm going to believe him. And believe what he did on the cross of Calvary.

[40:40] It will mean. That you'll hate your own life. It'll mean you'll quit thinking. You're good enough to go to heaven when you die. It'll mean you'll quit thinking. You're so smart. And you're so powerful. You give so much money. And you're such a good person.

[40:50] It means you'll forget all that. And you'll start saying. I can't. I need God. That's what hate yourself means. It means giving up on your pride. And giving up on your arrogance. And trusting God. And some of you have come to church today.

[41:02] And honestly you've been going to church all your life. And you've been baptized. And sprinkled. And Christianized. And homogenized. And everything else they can do to you. But you're not saved. You still live in your own rebellion. And you honestly believe you ought to get to go to heaven.

[41:13] Because you were christened as a baby. Because you took the covenants. Or whatever it is you did. But you can't go to heaven that way. You only go to heaven when you realize who you are. And your condition. Your condition is you're a sinner.

[41:25] Your condition is you are an enemy. Your condition is you are in rebellion. Your condition is it's time to turn from yourself to the Savior. And now is the time for you to do that.

[41:36] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. We'll be right back. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[41:46] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[41:57]  Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. .