the problem of indifference malachi 2:1-9. the problem of indifference read malachi 2:1-9 let’s...
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The Problem Of IndifferenceMalachi 2:1-9
The Problem Of Indifference Read Malachi 2:1-9 Let’s look at 5 fatal flaws that
caused the spiritual slide of the Levites
They’re in verses 2-3 and verses 8-9 Then we’ll finish with some
leaderships lessons in verses 4-7
5 Fatal Flaws First – they dishonored God’s
Holiness (verses 2-3)
What you think about God is the most important thing about you.
A.W. Tozer
5 Fatal Flaws
In the 1st part of verse 2, “If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My Name…”
“Listen” means “to hear intelligently” with obedience
5 Fatal Flaws “Take it to heart” means that an active
choice of the will has been made We know from chapter 1 that they didn’t
honor God because they were giving Him garbage for sacrifices
We see that God refers to Himself as “Lord of Hosts” 4 times in these 9 verses
He is the “self existent One” with a host of Angelic Armies to do His bidding
5 Fatal Flaws They didn’t care They were bored with it all They yawned in the face of Yahweh Notice the 1st word of verse 2 –”If” God gave them a chance to repent If not – judgment as in Jeremiah
13:16
Give Glory to the Lord your GodBefore He Brings Darkness
And before your feet stumbleOn the dusky mountains
And while you are hoping for lightHe makes it into deep darkness
And turns it into gloomJeremiah 13:16
5 Fatal Flaws Ok – now it gets a little graphic If they don’t get a handle on their
indifference three things will happen 1 – Rebuke 2 – Rejection 3 - Removal
1 - Rebuke 2nd half of verse 2 – they will be
cursed A curse is an inherent power of
doom and destruction “Sent” implies that God will “hurl” or
“let loose” His curse upon them
1 - Rebuke God will curse their blessings Sin and rebellion cannot be washed
away by some benediction or religious service
They can’t bless themselves out of their mess
They need repentance
1 - Rebuke Verse 3 begins with a rebuke against
their children and grandchildren The way they are living – the
example they are setting will affect the future of Israel
They aren’t leaving any kind of legacy
1 - Rebuke Another take on verse 3 is that
“offspring” or “seed” could mean that their ministry will bear no fruit
Their ministry is so useless is corrupts the present and the future
2 - Rejection “I will spread refuse on your faces, the
refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it…”
The Levites were going to get “manure makeovers”
The word “refuse” refers not only to the intestines and the parts of the animal that were thrown away, but the feces that were in them
The yucky parts
2 - Rejection God is going to take the excrement
from the sick and lame animals and smear it all over the priests
As in Nahum 3:6 Indifference is worthy of humiliation
3 - Removal When the Levites cleaned the
animals for sacrifice, they were to throw it over the wall to be burned with all the garbage
They will be discarded just like the entrails and feces and burned with fire
Jesus called this place “Gehenna”
Valley of Gehenna
3 - Removal Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you says
the Lord” God loved them too much to let
them continue living in indifference They needed to come back to a
proper understanding of God’s love
5 – Fatal Flaws 1st Flaw – they dishonored God’s
holiness 2nd Fatal Flaw – they had “turned
aside from the way” (verse 8a) They were following their own path Once a leader stops walking with
God – his ministry is over
5 – Fatal Flaws 3rd Fatal Flaw – They were
destructive to others (verse 8 b) Their half hearted teaching lead the
people astray They grew cold and in turn the
people grew cold 1 Corinthians 15:33 – “Bad company
corrupts good morals”
5 – Fatal Flaws Isaiah 9:16 –”For those who guide
this people are leading them astray; and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion”
5 – Fatal Flaws 4th Fatal Flaw – They had desecrated
the covenant (verse 8c) God had a special rapport with the
family of Levi They were to represent God’s love to
the people They let that relationship decay and
dissipate
5 – Fatal Flaws 5th Fatal Flaw – They were despised
by the people (verse 9) They didn’t take their relationship
with God seriously – neither did the people take them seriously
They accepted substandard sacrifices from the people – they didn’t want to “offend”
5 – Fatal Flaws They paid more attention to the
people than they paid to God With the ironic result that the people
rejected them
At This Point One Might Ask…
SoWhat!
We’re Not Levites!
We Are Under The New Covenant!
Why Would We Be Going Through This?
Levites Set apart to do 2 things 1st – To sacrifice animals 2nd – To serve God Under the New Covenant, Jesus
offered Himself as the Final Sacrifice The sacrificial office has been
fulfilled
Jesus Our High Priest Hebrews 4:14- 16 – Would someone
please read Hebrews 7:23-25 – Volunteer please Hebrews 7:27 – “who does not need daily,
like those High Priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people, because This He did once for all when He offered up Himself”
The Sacrifice Is Finished That leaves the office of serving God 1Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen
race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…”
John put it this way… Revelation 1:9 – “and He has made us to
be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father
We Are Priests Every believer is a priest We are set apart for worship and
service We are to lead others to Christ
Unfortunately… We forget our function as followers
of Christ We end up seeing our service as
drudgery rather than a delight
What were some of the consequences of Jewish indifference?
What are some of the consequencesof our own indifference?
Would you Pray with me?
Prayer Lord, you are a Holy God, help us to
never forget that Lord you are the creator of all
things, You and You alone are worthy of all praise and glory and honor, forever
Lord were we have left your path, please direct our way back
Prayer Lord forgive my indifference, I pray I
have not lead others astray or discouraged anyone from believing in You
Mold us into effective ministers of Your Word
Lord forgive me for violating Your New Covenant
Prayer At times, I have placed myself
before You and others Lord, help me to humble myself
before You and ask for forgiveness Lord fill us with Your Holy Spirit and
guide us as we fulfill our priestly office
Does anyone else want to speak out
Heading For Home
Leadership Lessons 1st Respond to God in obedience
(verse 2a) James 1:22 – Be a doer, not just a
hearer 1 Samuel 3:10 – “Your servant is
listening”
Leadership Lessons 2nd Revere God as awesome (verses
4-5) Just as God longed for His Covenant
with Levi to continue in verse 4, God wants us to revere Him and set our lives apart for Him
Leadership Lessons Let’s be honest Sometimes we play church games,
compromising, disobeying whenever we feel like it, right in the face of a Holy God
If we would revere God as awesome, how our lives would change
Leadership Lessons Understand who God is and you
won’t get bored with Him If we don’t honor Holiness, we risk
losing sight of what’s really important
Leadership Lessons 3rd Resolve to lead yourself (verse
6a) Let God’s word penetrate your
personhood Focus on your walk with Him Unless we are squared away
internally, we have little to offer others
Leadership Lessons 4th Repel people from sin (verse 6b) James 5:19-20 My brethren, if any among you
strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins
How is my example to others
Leadership Lessons 5th Represent God to others (verse 7) Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to
study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel
Do people come to you for answers
Leadership Lessons 1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord
in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence
Let Us Pray!