WEBVTT

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 Keep your Bibles open at Malachi, and it's great to be here on this day with Sam and

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 Sal and Bailey.

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 Let me say it's great to have him on team.

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 For those of you who are part of his family and friends, I'm Steve.

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 I'm on the ministry team.

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 I work with Sam and work with Sal there for a while, and very sad to get Sal's resignation,

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 but certainly joyful in the arrival of Bailey.

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 It's a good reason to resign, I think, here.

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 So keep your Bibles open.

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 We are in the middle, for those who are new here tonight, we're in the middle of a commitment

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 series, or second weekend, in fact, of the commitment series going through Malachi.

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 So that's the context of what we're looking at.

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 We do it every year as a church, and so we're up to number two.

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 So I want to pray, and then I'm going to look at that passage.

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 Father God, help us.

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 We pray to look at this passage, which has got so many difficult bits in it, and even

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 grates against our hearts in it.

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 You are the sovereign ruler of this universe.

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 And so help us now, we pray, so that our heart and our treasures might align with yours.

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 And we ask it for your sake.

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 Amen.

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 Am I on the air?

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 I am.

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 Fantastic.

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 Okay.

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 Last we discovered, as we entered into Malachi, first five verses, the glorious foundation of

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 this relationship between God and his people Israel.

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 It's right there in verse two of chapter one, in four words, I have loved you.

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 And we unpack the implications of that little statement.

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 God's love is an electing love because he chose Israel over Esau.

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 His love for them is an unconditional love because he chose them to be his.

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 He chose to love them before they'd done anything good or evil, before they'd met any conditions,

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 before they were even born.

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 His love for them is a sovereign love because he was under no constraint whatsoever.

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 He didn't have a gun held to his head in order to love his people.

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 He was not forced to do it.

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 He wasn't tricked.

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 He wasn't manipulated in any way.

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 And his love for them is free because it is the abundant overflow of his immeasurable

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 grace that can never be bought.

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 It can't be repaid or earned in any way.

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 And so my first challenge for us last week was for us to make a commitment to know this

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 God.

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 Don't conform God to the size of our finite minds, but to actually know the God, the infinite

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 God has revealed himself so that we can understand something about him.

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 So go deeper than just the size of your head in understanding God.

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 And why do that?

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 Well, because you cannot worship, adore, love what you don't know.

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 You cannot treasure Jesus if in fact you don't know the Jesus who has revealed himself.

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 We also know from the very same verse in verse 2 of chapter 1 that Israel failed to see and

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 feel the greatness of God's love.

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 But that's not the only thing that they failed to see and feel.

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 We actually see here in verse 6, beginning of today's text, that they failed to see and

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 feel the greatness of God's majesty.

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 So have a look at it there.

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 A son honors his father and a slave his master.

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 If I am a father, where is the honor due me?

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 And if I'm a master, where is the respect due me, says the Lord Almighty?

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 And so there are two aspects there of the fatherhood of God.

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 It means that he loves me, that he will care for me, that he will guide me and forgive me

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 and take me home to be with him forever someday.

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 And those things are all wonderfully true.

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 Don't want to dismiss those in any sense.

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 But the fatherhood of God in this text also implies that God is to be honored and revered

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 and venerated.

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 The majestic fatherhood of God implies that his children should honor him and respect him

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 and pay him reverential esteem.

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 And that is Israel's failing in this text.

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 That's their problem.

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 And so what Malachi does for us, he helps us to see and to feel the majesty of the heavenly

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 father by using a special name for God here.

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 Eight times in the verses from verse 6 to verse 14, God is called, he refers himself as the

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 Lord Almighty.

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 Or in old language, you'd call it the Lord of hosts.

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 So what Malachi wants us to see and feel is that our father in heaven has infinite authority

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 in the universe.

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 He can wield any and all armies on the earth to accomplish his purpose among the nations,

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 whether they like it or not, whether they know it or not.

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 He has a myriads of unstoppable angels who do his bidding fallously, who never fail on a

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 single errand that he sends them on.

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 He has appointed every star in the universe in its position.

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 He holds them in place, all trillion upon trillions of them by the power of his very

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 word, and he calls them by name.

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 That is the greatness, if you like, of God, the sheer majesty of God that the Bible reveals.

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 And that is what's missing here for these people of Israel.

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 It's the majesty, the greatness of God that's kind of slipped by them.

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 It's sort of like this.

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 You've got a dog, like Rin Tin Tin and Lassie and Benji or one of those dogs, and the dog

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 saved you a hundred times, and you might feel deep affection for that poor wretched animal,

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 and you may even cry when the animal dies, but you're never tempted to bow down and actually

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 worship the dog.

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 Or it's the same of a true friend.

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 The closest bond of friendship might develop, but you never think, even if you're closest

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 friend, that I need to bow down and worship them.

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 Even though you might love them, you don't actually bow down and worship them.

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 Why?

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 Because one indispensable element in worship is greatness.

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 It's majesty.

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 It's splendor.

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 It's the greatness of God that is missing here for God's people in this text.

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 And it's so evident in two areas as we're going to go through.

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 The greatness of God is missing for them, and it's evident in their worship, and it's evident

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 in their relationships with each other.

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 That's what we're going to look at.

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 So what happens when you don't see or feel the majestic greatness of God?

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 Apathy, carelessness, fickleness, half-hearted devotion.

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 They are the results when you don't see God's greatness.

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 And it's there in verse 8 for us.

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 Have a look at it if you've got your Bibles there.

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 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong?

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 When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong?

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 Try offering them to your governor.

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 Would he be pleased with you?

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 Would he accept you, says the Lord Almighty?

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 Now, Israel knew that the book of Leviticus condemned dodgy sacrifices like that.

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 And the priests, it also condemned the priests who offered those dodgy sacrifices.

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 So why was it so important to God to bring the best animals for sacrifice?

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 The perfect one, the unblemished animals for sacrifice.

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 The primary reason is that God was interested in teaching his people that a sacrifice for sin must be perfect for it to be effective.

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 These sacrifices, in the end, way back then, centuries earlier, were meant to all point forward to the sacrifice of sin that was to come in Jesus Christ,

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 the one who was called the perfect Lamb of God.

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 Hebrews 9 says this about Jesus,

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 that he appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

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 Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.

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 And Hebrews is at pains to point out the greatness and the majesty and the perfection of Jesus.

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 And so these sacrifices that these people were doing were meant to look forward to Jesus and his once for all perfect sacrifice.

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 And so if you offer a dodgy sacrifice, by implication, you were saying that my sin isn't that great.

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 It doesn't matter that much.

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 And it doesn't need anyone or anything perfect to die as a substitute for sin.

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 And so the horror of what these priests were doing here in offering these blemish sacrifices is that God says explicitly that he's turning away.

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 You come to the altar, you bring your blemished animal, your mangy broken legs,

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 you blind sheep and you put them on the altar and God says, I will not accept that.

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 And so what he does is he turns his back to it.

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 And when he turns his back to it, he ignores you, the person who brings the sacrifice.

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 And when you are bringing a sacrifice as a sin offering, what happens if it's rejected?

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 You are still in your sin.

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 And that's the horror.

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 All this religious activity that's happening in the people in Israel is of naught value to God.

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 They arrogantly assumed that they could approach God on their own terms rather than on God's terms.

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 And you only do that when God is small in your mind and you are big in your mind.

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 And so why offer these substandard sacrifices?

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 The origin of this careless worship is seen in verse 11 and 14.

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 So cast your eyes there in chapter 1.

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 Both verses give the reason God rejects this careless worship from his people.

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 Let's just look at verse 11.

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 It's connected, verse 10.

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 Logically, I know, but it's connected to verse 10.

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 It says, I am not pleased with you, says the Lord Almighty,

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 and I will accept no offering from your hands.

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 For, I want to inject a word in there.

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 For, my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty.

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 In other words, careless worship is unacceptable because it utterly fails to come to terms with the greatness of God.

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 And then God, what he does here is he quotes their attitude to worship in verses 12 and 13.

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 You profane it by saying the Lord's table is defiled and its food is contemptible.

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 In verse 13.

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 And you say, what a burden.

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 And you sniff at it contemptuously, says the Lord Almighty.

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 What's their basic attitude to worship?

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 It's a burden.

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 Or quite literally, it's wearisome.

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 It's boring.

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 And so they sniff at it with contempt.

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 When you become so blind that the maker of galaxies, the ruler of nations, the knower of all mysteries, the lover of all souls,

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 becomes boring, then there's only one thing that's left.

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 And that is the love of the things that he's created.

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 Love of the world.

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 When you give away the very best treasure, you will always pick up a lesser treasure.

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 Because our hearts are restless and they must treasure something.

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 And if it's not in heaven, if it's not God, then it will be here in this world.

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 If you cannot see the greatness of the sun, you'll be impressed by a streetlight.

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 If you've never felt the roar of thunder and seen the brilliance of lightning, you'll take photos of fireworks.

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 If you turn your back on the greatness and majesty of God, you'll fall in love with the world of shadows and short-lived pleasures.

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 And so when it's time to bring your sheep from the flock to sacrifice, what do you bring?

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 You bring the blind one with broken legs and the mange.

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 Or better still, you jump the fence and flog your neighbor's one.

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 Because the good sheep sell better and you love your money more than God.

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 And so this, I think, is what is happening here amongst these people.

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 Careless worship in this text is religious activity that illustrates how little I value God.

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 That's the sense of it there, I think, in verse 10.

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 Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors so that you would not light useless fires on my altar.

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 There's a little word behind the phrase useless fires.

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 And it's probably better translated vain fires.

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 The same word is used in 2 Samuel 24-24 in a very similar way to this passage here.

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 So back to 2 Samuel 24.

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 King David is trying to avert a plague.

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 And to do so, he needs to build an altar in order to make sacrifice on the altar.

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 And the owner of the threshing floor where he wants to build the altar says to him,

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 take it for free and I'll give you some animals to sacrifice on it for free as well when you build your altar.

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 And this is King David's response.

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 No.

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 But I will buy it from you at a price.

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 I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.

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 I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices in vain.

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 And that is the essence of careless worship.

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 What David is saying there in 2 Samuel 24 is,

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 I value God so much.

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 The sovereign freedom, unconditional love and the majesty of his fatherhood are so satisfying to my soul

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 that I cannot bring myself to worship in a way that looks as if I value money than I value him.

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 I won't do it.

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 It must cost me something.

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 It must say that he, the holder of galaxies, is my greatest treasure.

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 And so the essence here of careless worship is empty religious activity.

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 It doesn't express the worth of God.

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 It doesn't cost anything.

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 In fact, what it does is it expresses that our treasure is on earth

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 and that in actual fact I really love this world that he's made rather than him.

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 And so if we worship God when it is convenient

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 or it's the eighth most important thing on the list

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 without bothering to repent of any sin,

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 then we are in the end revealing our view of God.

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 And friends, as I said this morning, I've got to say it here again.

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 I'm concerned because it is so easy for careless worship

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 just to filter in amongst the people of God.

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 And I've seen it filtering here.

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 A carelessness that worships when it's convenient.

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 A carelessness that isn't on time.

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 A carelessness that only sings the songs that I want to sing.

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 A carelessness that fits the worship of the majestic God of this universe

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 around sport and travel and entertainment and family gatherings

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 and school and TV and work and my own sleep patterns

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 and around anything.

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 A carelessness that reveals that some of us are more impressed

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 with the street light than we are with the sun.

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 A carelessness that doesn't treasure the sacrificial, electing, sovereign, free love

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 of this majestic, great Lord Jesus Christ.

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 That he's not in fact the greatest treasure.

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 True worship comes from a heart where the Lord Jesus is treasured above all human property and praise

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 and it aims to inspire the same Christ-centered passion in the hearts of those that are gathered.

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 Now I'm not talking about a particular form of worship here.

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 Don't get me wrong.

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 I'm not batting for Anglicanism or anything nutty like that

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 when I talk about true worship.

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 What I have in mind is worship

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 that really comes from feeling and seeing the greatness of God.

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 It seeks humbly to express and to inspire that same intensity for Jesus

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 without the distractions of theological lightness or errors or superficiality

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 or carelessness or flippancy or pride.

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 So my friends, we need Jesus to open our eyes to his greatness

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 so that we never offer him in the pew or in the pulpit

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 or in the singing or in the prayers or whatever it is,

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 the leftover of our lives.

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 That's the first evidence that they haven't seen the greatness of God.

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 The second evidence they haven't seen the greatness of God

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 is in the way they treated one another.

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 The failure to treat each other correctly

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 was another sign that in actual fact their worship was empty.

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 I'm just going to be really brief.

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 Have a look at chapter 2, verse 10.

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 I'm not going to pick all this apart,

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 but there's a few things I want to show you.

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 Do we not have one Father?

00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.460
 Did not one God create us?

00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:36.819
 Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors

00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:39.500
 by being unfaithful to one another?

00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:41.400
 Judah has been unfaithful.

00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:44.220
 A detestable thing has been committed in Israel in Jerusalem.

00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:47.400
 Judah has desecrated the sanctuary of the Lord,

00:18:47.400 --> 00:18:51.600
 the Lord loves by marrying women who worship a foreign God.

00:18:52.300 --> 00:18:53.519
 As for the man who does this,

00:18:53.580 --> 00:18:54.340
 whoever he may be,

00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:56.640
 may the Lord remove him from the tents of Jacob,

00:18:57.019 --> 00:18:59.259
 even though he brings an offering to the Lord Almighty.

00:18:59.800 --> 00:19:00.780
 Another thing you do,

00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:02.980
 you flood the Lord's altar with tears,

00:19:03.080 --> 00:19:05.880
 you weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor

00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:07.220
 on your offerings,

00:19:07.320 --> 00:19:09.300
 accept them with pleasure from your hands.

00:19:09.300 --> 00:19:10.700
 You ask why?

00:19:11.540 --> 00:19:13.000
 It is because the Lord is the witness

00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:15.400
 between you and the wife of your youth.

00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:17.600
 You have been unfaithful to her,

00:19:18.019 --> 00:19:19.540
 though she is your partner,

00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:21.540
 the wife of your marriage covenant.

00:19:22.560 --> 00:19:24.560
 Has not the one God made you?

00:19:25.100 --> 00:19:27.120
 You belong to him in body and spirit.

00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:28.880
 And what does the one God seek?

00:19:29.620 --> 00:19:30.560
 Godly offspring.

00:19:31.320 --> 00:19:32.280
 So be on your guard

00:19:32.280 --> 00:19:34.840
 and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

00:19:35.300 --> 00:19:39.040
 The man who hates and divorces his wife,

00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:40.240
 says the Lord,

00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.340
 the God of Israel does violence

00:19:42.340 --> 00:19:44.980
 to the one he should protect.

00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:46.279
 says the Lord Almighty.

00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:47.140
 So be on your guard

00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:48.259
 and do not be unfaithful.

00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:51.120
 The will of God in those verses

00:19:51.120 --> 00:19:52.539
 is really plain.

00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:57.779
 He wills that we be faithful to each other.

00:19:58.299 --> 00:20:00.200
 And the word unfaithful there

00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:01.620
 is used three times

00:20:01.620 --> 00:20:03.099
 in the three different sections.

00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.799
 So in verse 10,

00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:08.099
 why do you profane the covenant of our ancestors

00:20:08.099 --> 00:20:09.380
 by being unfaithful to one another?

00:20:09.380 --> 00:20:13.020
 That's referring to a general untrustworthiness

00:20:13.020 --> 00:20:14.060
 in relationships.

00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:15.740
 Verse 11,

00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:17.940
 Judah has been unfaithful

00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:20.180
 by marrying women who worship a foreign God.

00:20:20.260 --> 00:20:23.860
 That's reference to the marrying of unbelievers

00:20:23.860 --> 00:20:25.240
 who don't trust Jesus.

00:20:26.040 --> 00:20:27.580
 In verse 14,

00:20:27.860 --> 00:20:28.780
 the Lord is the witness

00:20:28.780 --> 00:20:30.360
 between you and the wife of your youth.

00:20:30.840 --> 00:20:32.460
 You have been unfaithful to her

00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:33.880
 is in reference to

00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:38.080
 what I would call careless divorce.

00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:40.340
 The sin that runs through

00:20:40.340 --> 00:20:42.500
 each of these areas of life

00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.440
 is the failure to keep a commitment.

00:20:45.040 --> 00:20:47.120
 It's the breaking of an agreement

00:20:47.120 --> 00:20:48.240
 or a covenant

00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:49.140
 or a contract

00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:50.120
 or a promise.

00:20:51.340 --> 00:20:52.880
 It's that they're not true to their words,

00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:54.620
 is what he's saying.

00:20:55.120 --> 00:20:56.360
 And so what Malachi does

00:20:56.360 --> 00:20:57.740
 with this key word

00:20:57.740 --> 00:21:00.120
 is to show that community life

00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:01.239
 of the church

00:21:01.239 --> 00:21:03.219
 is supposed to be ordered

00:21:03.219 --> 00:21:04.699
 by the faithful promise

00:21:04.699 --> 00:21:05.639
 of fulfillment

00:21:05.639 --> 00:21:07.000
 of promises and contracts

00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:08.059
 and oaths and covenants

00:21:08.059 --> 00:21:08.559
 and commitments.

00:21:08.939 --> 00:21:10.139
 We had one of them up here

00:21:10.139 --> 00:21:11.059
 just a moment ago.

00:21:11.239 --> 00:21:12.439
 I promise

00:21:12.439 --> 00:21:14.859
 to bring Bailey up

00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:16.419
 in the life of the church.

00:21:17.139 --> 00:21:17.759
 To know, to love

00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:18.539
 and to serve the Lord Jesus.

00:21:18.659 --> 00:21:19.839
 That's a covenant.

00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:20.619
 That's an oath

00:21:20.619 --> 00:21:21.500
 that was declared here

00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:22.799
 and promises were made

00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.119
 in full view of us all

00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.599
 and God.

00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:29.099
 But this order

00:21:29.099 --> 00:21:30.259
 has been given way

00:21:30.259 --> 00:21:31.319
 to the disorder

00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:32.740
 that comes when people

00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:33.679
 give in

00:21:33.679 --> 00:21:34.879
 to the power

00:21:34.879 --> 00:21:35.879
 of self-centered

00:21:35.879 --> 00:21:37.219
 emotional impulses.

00:21:37.959 --> 00:21:38.899
 See, what happens?

00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:39.819
 Remember it?

00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:41.419
 What happens when you fail

00:21:41.419 --> 00:21:42.259
 to see and feel

00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:42.799
 the greatness

00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:43.879
 of God's love

00:21:43.879 --> 00:21:44.759
 and the majesty

00:21:44.759 --> 00:21:45.839
 of the Fatherhood of God?

00:21:46.899 --> 00:21:48.059
 You live

00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:50.039
 for disappearing shadows

00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:51.659
 and short-lived pleasures

00:21:51.659 --> 00:21:53.419
 for self-centered

00:21:53.419 --> 00:21:55.179
 emotional impulses.

00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:56.880
 And Malachi reveals

00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:58.440
 two alternative ways

00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:59.000
 here for people

00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:00.680
 to live in a community.

00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:01.900
 One way

00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:03.380
 is what you might call

00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:04.500
 covenantal order.

00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:05.920
 All relationships

00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:06.600
 are made

00:22:06.600 --> 00:22:09.240
 peaceful and pure

00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:10.779
 by the fulfillment

00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:11.820
 of covenants

00:22:11.820 --> 00:22:12.480
 and promises

00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:12.920
 and oaths

00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:13.400
 and contracts

00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:13.980
 and commitments.

00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:15.539
 Children to parents,

00:22:15.620 --> 00:22:16.240
 parents to children,

00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:17.080
 husbands to wives,

00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:17.880
 wives to husbands,

00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:19.740
 employer to employee,

00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:20.740
 employee to employer,

00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:22.180
 state citizen,

00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:22.960
 citizen state.

00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:25.600
 probably other ones

00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:26.039
 as well.

00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:28.440
 The peace

00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:29.340
 and prosperity

00:22:29.340 --> 00:22:30.380
 and joy

00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:31.000
 of the community

00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:31.779
 is held together

00:22:31.779 --> 00:22:33.200
 by the deep,

00:22:33.700 --> 00:22:34.640
 strong spirit

00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:35.759
 of covenant

00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:36.360
 keeping

00:22:36.360 --> 00:22:37.799
 that pervades

00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:38.380
 the community.

00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:40.860
 We are true

00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:41.980
 to each other.

00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:43.799
 The very fabric

00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:44.940
 of the community

00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:46.539
 is the trustworthiness

00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:47.840
 of its people.

00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.539
 that they do

00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.019
 what they say

00:22:51.019 --> 00:22:54.299
 not just because

00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:54.839
 of the person

00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:55.819
 they're eyeballing

00:22:55.819 --> 00:22:57.559
 but because

00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:58.839
 Jesus is true

00:22:58.839 --> 00:22:59.259
 to them.

00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:01.059
 They want to

00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:01.819
 honor him

00:23:01.819 --> 00:23:03.240
 and obey him.

00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:05.359
 And so we

00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:06.399
 follow through

00:23:06.399 --> 00:23:07.720
 with our commitments

00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:08.519
 to each other.

00:23:09.859 --> 00:23:10.959
 And the big one

00:23:10.959 --> 00:23:12.159
 here that he mentions

00:23:12.159 --> 00:23:13.000
 a couple of times

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:13.939
 is marriage.

00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:16.120
 we follow

00:23:16.120 --> 00:23:16.860
 through with

00:23:16.860 --> 00:23:17.279
 commitments

00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:17.880
 such as

00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:18.660
 I Steve

00:23:18.660 --> 00:23:19.299
 in the presence

00:23:19.299 --> 00:23:19.960
 of God

00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:21.580
 in the presence

00:23:21.580 --> 00:23:22.799
 of God

00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:24.000
 take you

00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:24.860
 Natalie

00:23:24.860 --> 00:23:25.920
 to be my wife

00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:26.620
 to have and to hold

00:23:26.620 --> 00:23:27.259
 from this day

00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:27.980
 forward

00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:29.240
 for better or for worse

00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:30.460
 for richer for poorer

00:23:30.460 --> 00:23:31.539
 in sickness and in health

00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:32.440
 to love and to cherish

00:23:32.440 --> 00:23:33.940
 as long as we both

00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:34.779
 shall live

00:23:34.779 --> 00:23:36.820
 this is my

00:23:36.820 --> 00:23:38.100
 solemn vow

00:23:38.100 --> 00:23:39.299
 and promise

00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:41.440
 to you Natalie

00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:43.820
 but my solemn

00:23:43.820 --> 00:23:45.140
 vow and promise

00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:46.019
 to God

00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:48.860
 and I stick

00:23:48.860 --> 00:23:49.620
 to that promise.

00:23:51.019 --> 00:23:52.019
 The other way

00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:52.740
 for people to live

00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:53.880
 together in community

00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:54.720
 is the opposite

00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:55.600
 of covenantal order

00:23:55.600 --> 00:23:56.519
 is what you might call

00:23:56.519 --> 00:23:57.480
 the disorder

00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.680
 of self-indulgence

00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:00.340
 and in this community

00:24:00.340 --> 00:24:01.200
 the spirit of

00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:01.980
 commitment making

00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:02.900
 and commitment keeping

00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:03.940
 has been replaced

00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:05.000
 by the spirit

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:05.580
 of emotional

00:24:05.580 --> 00:24:06.340
 and physical

00:24:06.340 --> 00:24:07.140
 impulse

00:24:07.140 --> 00:24:09.160
 and so when my wife

00:24:09.160 --> 00:24:10.320
 doesn't please me

00:24:10.320 --> 00:24:10.940
 anymore

00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:12.539
 I abuse her

00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:13.440
 or I just

00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:14.580
 replace her

00:24:14.580 --> 00:24:16.660
 and that's what

00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:18.340
 the carelessness

00:24:18.340 --> 00:24:19.420
 is what Malachi

00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:20.660
 is speaking about here.

00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:25.059
 He's not talking

00:24:25.059 --> 00:24:26.320
 about a genuine

00:24:26.320 --> 00:24:26.900
 divorce

00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:28.160
 he's talking about

00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:29.519
 careless divorce

00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:32.440
 and the moral

00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:33.840
 fabric of faithfulness

00:24:33.840 --> 00:24:34.420
 to covenants

00:24:34.420 --> 00:24:35.360
 and promise keeping

00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:36.000
 and contracts

00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:37.200
 is unraveled

00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:38.580
 and what's left

00:24:38.580 --> 00:24:39.660
 are individual

00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:41.200
 strands of private

00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:42.160
 gratification.

00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:46.160
 I think friends

00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:47.300
 that Malachi's message

00:24:47.300 --> 00:24:48.380
 to us today

00:24:48.380 --> 00:24:49.360
 could hardly be

00:24:49.360 --> 00:24:49.920
 more relevant.

00:24:50.540 --> 00:24:51.400
 He warns against

00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:52.560
 the pseudo freedom

00:24:52.560 --> 00:24:54.640
 of individualistic

00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.860
 self-indulgence

00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:57.399
 our worship

00:24:57.399 --> 00:24:57.419
 our worship

00:24:57.419 --> 00:24:57.919
 of God

00:24:57.919 --> 00:24:58.779
 is not

00:24:58.779 --> 00:24:59.979
 a deeply

00:24:59.979 --> 00:25:00.919
 private matter

00:25:00.919 --> 00:25:02.839
 it is

00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:03.939
 intimately linked

00:25:03.939 --> 00:25:04.839
 with our relationships

00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:05.799
 with other people

00:25:05.799 --> 00:25:08.299
 our horizontal

00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:08.939
 relationships

00:25:08.939 --> 00:25:10.479
 with one another

00:25:10.479 --> 00:25:11.500
 testify

00:25:11.500 --> 00:25:12.919
 either for

00:25:12.919 --> 00:25:14.379
 or against

00:25:14.379 --> 00:25:15.199
 the reality

00:25:15.199 --> 00:25:16.019
 of our vertical

00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:16.699
 relationship

00:25:16.699 --> 00:25:17.379
 with God

00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:17.880
 God

00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:21.660
 and that is

00:25:21.660 --> 00:25:22.200
 why our

00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:23.160
 core value

00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:23.800
 here as a church

00:25:23.800 --> 00:25:24.700
 treasuring Jesus

00:25:24.700 --> 00:25:25.260
 together

00:25:25.260 --> 00:25:26.600
 is so essential

00:25:26.600 --> 00:25:27.660
 this is what it

00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:28.000
 says

00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.160
 having been led

00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:29.820
 individually

00:25:29.820 --> 00:25:30.540
 by the spirit

00:25:30.540 --> 00:25:30.880
 of God

00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:31.340
 to receive

00:25:31.340 --> 00:25:32.120
 Jesus Christ

00:25:32.120 --> 00:25:32.840
 as the Lord

00:25:32.840 --> 00:25:33.620
 Saviour

00:25:33.620 --> 00:25:34.260
 and supreme

00:25:34.260 --> 00:25:34.600
 treasure

00:25:34.600 --> 00:25:35.420
 of our lives

00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:36.380
 we now

00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:37.380
 most solemnly

00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:38.400
 and joyfully

00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:39.580
 enter into

00:25:39.580 --> 00:25:40.180
 covenant

00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:41.320
 with one another

00:25:41.320 --> 00:25:43.060
 as the one

00:25:43.060 --> 00:25:44.060
 body in Christ

00:25:44.060 --> 00:25:44.920
 in an age

00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:45.820
 of individualism

00:25:45.819 --> 00:25:47.000
 we value vigilance

00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:47.839
 and accountability

00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:49.339
 in treasuring

00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:50.519
 Jesus together

00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:51.879
 and then

00:25:51.879 --> 00:25:52.679
 after that

00:25:52.679 --> 00:25:53.079
 that's the

00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:53.939
 introductory statement

00:25:53.939 --> 00:25:54.460
 there's a few

00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:55.059
 things that come

00:25:55.059 --> 00:25:55.879
 in after that

00:25:55.879 --> 00:25:57.419
 in terms of

00:25:57.419 --> 00:25:57.799
 what it might

00:25:57.799 --> 00:25:58.339
 look like

00:25:58.339 --> 00:25:59.000
 in practice

00:25:59.000 --> 00:25:59.559
 and here's

00:25:59.559 --> 00:25:59.919
 one of the

00:25:59.919 --> 00:26:00.379
 points

00:26:00.379 --> 00:26:02.039
 we are committed

00:26:02.039 --> 00:26:03.720
 to making

00:26:03.720 --> 00:26:04.519
 corporate worship

00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:04.960
 a weekly

00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:05.519
 priority

00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:07.939
 now that's

00:26:07.939 --> 00:26:08.240
 not just

00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:08.740
 because of

00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:09.099
 our relationship

00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:09.779
 with God

00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:10.919
 that's because

00:26:10.919 --> 00:26:11.480
 of our relationship

00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:12.019
 with one another

00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:13.859
 it's treasuring

00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:14.599
 Jesus together

00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.059
 as John 4

00:26:17.059 --> 00:26:17.699
 20 says

00:26:17.699 --> 00:26:18.099
 if anyone

00:26:18.099 --> 00:26:19.019
 says I love

00:26:19.019 --> 00:26:19.639
 God

00:26:19.639 --> 00:26:20.819
 and yet hates

00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:21.480
 his brother

00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:23.119
 he's a liar

00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:24.480
 for anyone

00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:26.219
 who does not

00:26:26.219 --> 00:26:27.179
 love his brother

00:26:27.179 --> 00:26:28.039
 whom he has

00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:28.579
 seen

00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:30.500
 cannot love

00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:30.879
 God

00:26:30.879 --> 00:26:31.659
 whom he has

00:26:31.659 --> 00:26:32.740
 not seen

00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:35.240
 the love of God

00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:36.119
 must show itself

00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:36.819
 in the interaction

00:26:36.819 --> 00:26:37.419
 with one another

00:26:37.419 --> 00:26:39.039
 if we are so

00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:39.980
 self-righteous

00:26:39.980 --> 00:26:40.779
 that we don't

00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:41.379
 allow other

00:26:41.379 --> 00:26:42.219
 Christians to speak

00:26:42.219 --> 00:26:43.000
 into our lives

00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:43.579
 and to correct

00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:44.539
 our injustices

00:26:44.539 --> 00:26:45.859
 we cannot

00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:46.779
 be a church

00:26:46.779 --> 00:26:47.179
 together

00:26:47.179 --> 00:26:49.819
 so reality

00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:50.220
 check

00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:51.579
 God is the

00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:52.179
 one who holds

00:26:52.179 --> 00:26:53.099
 the galaxies

00:26:53.099 --> 00:26:54.119
 in its place

00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:56.119
 that's him

00:26:56.119 --> 00:26:57.079
 perfect

00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:58.119
 all-knowing

00:26:58.119 --> 00:26:58.679
 sovereign

00:26:58.679 --> 00:27:01.039
 you on the

00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:01.500
 other hand

00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:02.099
 are sinners

00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:04.119
 and I

00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:04.819
 am a sinner

00:27:04.819 --> 00:27:06.059
 and it would

00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:07.059
 be really good

00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.720
 if we took

00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:08.519
 ownership of

00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:09.179
 that very

00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:10.119
 basic fact

00:27:10.119 --> 00:27:11.219
 and in

00:27:11.219 --> 00:27:11.779
 humility

00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:13.559
 admit our

00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:14.159
 own sin

00:27:14.159 --> 00:27:15.079
 before God

00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:15.939
 and approach

00:27:15.939 --> 00:27:16.659
 one another

00:27:16.659 --> 00:27:18.199
 in brokenness

00:27:18.199 --> 00:27:22.759
 rather than

00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:23.719
 in self-centeredness

00:27:23.719 --> 00:27:25.819
 rather than

00:27:25.819 --> 00:27:26.919
 in self-righteousness

00:27:26.919 --> 00:27:30.539
 this is the

00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:31.299
 kind of worship

00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:32.219
 that is acceptable

00:27:32.219 --> 00:27:32.739
 to God

00:27:32.739 --> 00:27:33.699
 it's the kind

00:27:33.699 --> 00:27:34.099
 of worship

00:27:34.099 --> 00:27:34.859
 that treasures

00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:36.219
 Jesus by offering

00:27:36.219 --> 00:27:36.679
 him

00:27:36.680 --> 00:27:38.140
 our best

00:27:38.140 --> 00:27:38.700
 and our

00:27:38.700 --> 00:27:39.340
 all

00:27:39.340 --> 00:27:40.220
 and it is

00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:41.000
 faithful

00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:42.560
 to one another

00:27:42.560 --> 00:27:44.240
 where we also

00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:45.500
 offer ourselves

00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:46.779
 to one another

00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:48.840
 our worship of God

00:27:48.840 --> 00:27:49.860
 involves how we

00:27:49.860 --> 00:27:50.360
 treat God

00:27:50.360 --> 00:27:50.799
 and how we

00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:51.299
 treat others

00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:52.120
 if we think

00:27:52.120 --> 00:27:52.820
 that we worship

00:27:52.820 --> 00:27:53.299
 God

00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:54.000
 because we

00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:54.720
 attend church

00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:55.019
 tonight

00:27:55.019 --> 00:27:55.480
 we've sung

00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:55.920
 some hints

00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:56.279
 and we've read

00:27:56.279 --> 00:27:56.720
 the Bible

00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:57.100
 and we've done

00:27:57.100 --> 00:27:57.539
 some praying

00:27:57.539 --> 00:27:58.080
 and stuff like

00:27:58.080 --> 00:27:58.400
 that

00:27:58.400 --> 00:27:59.740
 and yet our

00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:00.779
 lives move

00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:02.019
 out from here

00:28:02.019 --> 00:28:03.200
 and the rest

00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:04.000
 of the week

00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:05.579
 self-indulgent

00:28:05.579 --> 00:28:06.700
 impulse is what

00:28:06.700 --> 00:28:07.579
 I live for

00:28:07.579 --> 00:28:08.940
 then the only

00:28:08.940 --> 00:28:09.619
 person who's

00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:10.339
 being fooled

00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:11.819
 is you

00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:15.660
 the majestic

00:28:15.660 --> 00:28:16.960
 Jesus requires

00:28:16.960 --> 00:28:17.900
 that his

00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:18.500
 treasured

00:28:18.500 --> 00:28:19.319
 possessions

00:28:19.319 --> 00:28:21.099
 treasure him

00:28:21.099 --> 00:28:22.319
 above all

00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:22.779
 else

00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:24.079
 Amen