Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Malachi. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. We'll be looking at part of the first chapter today. Let us hear God's word. The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. "'I have loved you,' says the Lord. "'Yet you say, in what way have you loved us? "'Was not Esau Jacob's brother?' says the Lord. "'Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, "'and laid waste his mountains and his heritage "'for the jackals of the wilderness. "'Even though Edom has said we have been impoverished, "'but we will return and build the desolate places. "'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "'they may build, but I will throw down. they shall be called the territory of wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever. Your eyes shall see, and you shall say, the Lord has magnified you on the border of Israel. A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my reverence, says the Lord of hosts. to you priests who despise my name. Yet you say, in what way have we despised your name? You offer defiled food on my altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you? By saying, the table of the Lord is contemptible. And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably? Says the Lord of Hosts. But now entreat God's favor that he may be gracious to us while this is being done by your hands. Would he accept you favorably? Says the Lord of Hosts. Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire in my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of Hosts. Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. For from the rising of the sun, Even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of Hosts. But you profane it, in that you say, the table of the Lord is defiled, and its food is contemptible. You also say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it, says the Lord of Hosts. and you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick, lest you bring an offering. Should I accept this from your hand, says the Lord? But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male and takes a vow that sacrifices to the Lord for his blemished. For I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations. Here ends the reading of God's word. Let's pray. Lord, some of your word is stern, but all of your word is gracious. Thank you, Lord, for this passage. Open our eyes to it. Mold our hearts, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. I'd encourage you to keep your Bibles open, referring multiple times to various verses. This is a reworked version of a sermon preached here about 11 years ago as part of a short series of Malachi. Most of you weren't here then, some of you weren't even alive. Those of you who were here have had plenty of time to get that sermon. So we'll look at Malachi chapter 1. Malachi is the 39th and final book in the Old Testament canon, probably also the last Old Testament book to be written. It is addressed to the Israelites whom God had brought back to their land from captivity in Babylon. Some time appears to have elapsed since their return. It is clear that their love for God has diminished. Have you ever had to deal with ingratitude? Everyone who in some way gives care to others has to deal with it at some point. You show kindness to somebody and they give you acknowledgement. And it's worse if it's someone for whom you've done a lot. Perhaps you've given someone hours of your time when you had lots to do. And then they dismissively tell you that you never had any time for them. And the more committed you are to a person, the harder it can be when that person is ungrateful. Well, there's ingratitude, big time ingratitude in Malachi chapter one. that we just read. We will be looking at verses 6-14 chiefly, but looking briefly at the first five verses we see God reminding the Israelites who have returned from exile of his faithful love for them and his intention to continue faithfully to love them through thick and thin. That affirmation of God's continuing love is the context of the dialogue that takes place in verses 6-14. God has wonderfully brought these people back to their land, but they're not at all grateful. In what way have you loved us? They say in verse two. They're displeased with God because he hasn't made them quite as prosperous as they expected to be after their return. They've escaped with their lives, gotten back to their land, gotten reestablished. God has been really good to them. But all they can think about is they're not quite as well off as their forefathers. That's the attitude of these particular returned exiles. In verses 6 through 14, we'll see the ingratitude of the priests, the leaders, and we'll see God rebuking them for their sin. We'll have three main points today. First, the root of the priest's problem. Secondly, the outworkings of the priest's problem, how the problem manifested itself. Thirdly, what God says he's going to do about the problem. We'll set forth those three points and then we'll seek to apply this passage looking at what God desires from those who worship him today. That's us. So first of all, in verse six, the root of the priest's problem. In this verse, God says, a son honors his father, a servant his master, If then I am the father, where is my honor? And if I am the master, where is my reverence, says the Lord of hosts, to you priests who despise my name? Yet you say, in what way have we despised your name? God doesn't beat about the bush. He immediately puts his finger in the problem, as only he can do, for he sees right into the hearts of the priests, the leaders of the people. and he sees in their hearts that they despise it. It's not just that they're unthankful about it, that is. The root of the problem is that they have a fundamental disrespect for God. And so it's little wonder that God is so stern with them. Sons honor their fathers, says God. How much more should these people honor him, the God from whom all fatherhood comes? Servants honor and obey their earthly masters. How much more should God's servants honor his holy name? Where is my reverence? God's words here are a stinging rebuke to the priests. He sees their deep disrespect, but instead of repenting and humbly seeking God's forgiveness, they respond with insolent disdain. They say, in what way have you despised your name? Anything but repentant in their response. What we're seeing here is God interacting with the priests by means of what's called a disputational dialogue, a supposed conversation in which God and the priests argue back and forth with each other. In the conversation, God, seeing into the priests' hearts, sets forth accurately what the priests are thinking and saying in response to them with what he is thinking and saying. There are many of these dialogues throughout the book, and the verses that we are looking at today consist entirely of disputational dialogue. So in verse six, the priests respond ungratefully, in what way have we despised your name? And then in verses seven through 14, God describes how they show their disdain. This is the second point where we see the outworking of the priest's problem. how their disdain manifests itself. The problem of the priests is both inward and outward. Inwardly, in their hearts, the priests despise God. Outwardly, they show what is in their hearts by what they say and by what they do. God addresses what they say in verses 7, 12 and 13 and what they do in verses 7, 8 and 13. We look first at what they do. The problem is this, they're presenting defiled offerings. Verse seven, defiled food. Verse eight, blemished animals. The blind, the lame, the sick. Even, verse 13, the stolen. And their guilt is all the worse because they present these defiled offerings with full knowledge of what God has commanded in his law. Leviticus 22 verse 19 and following God says this, you shall offer of your own free will a male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep or from the goats. Whatever is a defect you shall not offer for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. Those that are blind or broken or maimed or have an ulcer or eczema or scabs you shall not offer. nor make an offering by fire of them on the altar of the Lord. The priests are plainly guilty, and God drives his point home by sarcastically urging them to present what they're offering him to their governor, that is, the civil governor appointed by the Persian king. They wouldn't dare to do that, because it would dishonor the governor and they'd surely be in lots of trouble. How much more, then, are these men dishonoring God by what they're offering to Him, dishonoring Him by what they do, showing the disdain that is in their hearts. And they dishonor God also by what they say about His worship. This is in verses 7, 12, and 13. Verse 7, they say, the table of the Lord is contemptible. Verse 12, they say, the table of the Lord is defiled, and its food is contemptible. They also say in verse 13, oh, what a weariness. And God notes, they sneer at it. That is, they sneer at the privilege they have of serving God at the temple. These are the priests of the tribe of Levi. Priests who have the unique privilege of standing before God in the temple, going into the holy place, representing the people before God, Throughout the Old Testament, the work of the priests and Levites is described as a great privilege. For instance, in Deuteronomy 18, Moses tells the people how a priest should be honored and provided for because of the importance of the work that he does. Deuteronomy 18 at verse five, Moses says, breaking into the sentence here, for the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever. So, Moses continues, if a Levite comes from where he dwells among all Israel and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the Lord chooses, then he may serve in the name of the Lord, his God, as all his brothers and Levites do who stand there before the Lord. I think you can see here the sense of privilege that Moses is conveying in Deuteronomy. The priests were very privileged to serve at the temple, but they say, oh, what a wayness, and they sneer at it. Thirdly, what God is going to do about this problem, verses 10, 11, and 14. The words and actions of the priests cry out for rebuke. God tells the priests several things, which he says are going to happen, either at his direct command or through his providential rulership over their lives. First, as we would expect, God says that the offering of these blemished sacrifices has to stop. Verse 10. Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire in my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts. I have no pleasure in you, nor will I accept an offering from your hands. God says, stop, shut the doors, no more blemish sacrifices. He's very plain. But also, in the next verse, verse 11, God states that he will nevertheless be worshiped and worshiped aright, if not at the temple, in other places, and if not by Israel, by other peoples. Verse 11, for from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. This verse is prophetic, richly prophetic. God says here that from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, that is over the whole earth, His name will be great among the Gentiles. Now according to the Old Testament law given by God, incense and offerings were to be presented only at the temple. But here in verse 11, God says that in future, in every place, incense shall be offered to my name. And the offering that will be presented will be a pure offer. not contaminated like the priest's offerings, from the rising of the sun even to its going down, and in every place." This prophecy was fulfilled through the coming of Jesus Christ, through his atoning work on the cross and the great commission he gave the Church to evangelize all nations. This is a great promise here in the middle of some rebukes. God deals with the problem by pronouncing a curse. Verse 14, but cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male and takes a girl, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. Here God addresses an additional problem, one that is in some ways even more serious, the sin of deceit. Verse 14, God calls the person who is addressing a deceiver because he's vowing to God to present acceptable offerings, but all the while he's planning to present a blemished offering. The person described here is a supposed common man, a representative Israelite, if you will, who comes to the temple and presents a blemished animal for the priest to offer on the altar. So the problem of defiled offerings was not confined to the priests, Some of the common people are also presenting blemished animals, emboldened probably by the bad example and behavior of the priests. People who offer worship deceitfully, says God, are cursed. Having to be rebuked by God for presenting a blemished offering is bad enough, but this is worse. Even as this person is vowing to God, he's planning not to carry out what he vows. This incurs God's weightiest judgment, his curse. Deceivers are judged severely in the Bible. Perhaps the best known example is the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. A husband and wife who attempted to deceive the church about money they donated. They were confronted by the Apostle Peter about their deceit and God struck both of them dead. With the result that Acts 5.11, great fear came upon all the church, upon all who heard these things. And there's one more way in which God responds to the priests in these verses, that is by his self-designation as the Lord of hosts. This is not a direct rebuke, but it's a weighty reminder to the priests and people of who their God is. You see it in verse six. Where is my reverence, says the Lord of hosts. And see how he repeats that all the way down through verse 14. Verse eight, says the Lord of hosts. Verse nine, says the Lord of hosts. Verse 10, verse 11, verse 13, verse 14, says the Lord of hosts. All the way down through the passage. The term Lord of hosts is the name by which God conveys his power. Hosts means armies. The Bible in various places refers to the angels collectively as the heavenly host. You may remember when David confronted Goliath before he did battle with him, he said, I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17. In the context of Malachi chapter 1, God's persistent use of this term conveys powerfully his intention to deal with those who do not honor, fear, or reverence him in worship. The repetition gives extra weight to it. The Lord of Hosts is actually God's main self-designation in this passage and in the prophecy of Malachi as a whole. God calls himself the Lord of Hosts 23 times in the four chapters of this short book. God's making a point here. So putting together God's rebukes to the priests with his self-description as Lord of Hosts, there emerges a sobering picture for the Israelites who have returned from captivity, for both the priests and the common people. There's great need for repentance and humble and heartfelt sorrow before God. Applying this passage to our situation today, we know of the wonderful prophecy that God gave in verse 11 about what would happen in the future, that is, when the Christ would come, though he's not mentioned specifically here in this passage. This passage certainly refers to his coming. When he comes, God said, he will be worshipped, he, God, will be worshipped in every place on the earth. And that, in contrast to the worship of the priests, the worship will be a pure offering, so that his name will be great among the nations. Jesus, our Savior, has come. There are indeed worshippers of God now in every place on the earth. even in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And God desires, he says, a pure offering, not contaminated like the priest's offering. Well, we might ask, what does a pure offering look like today? Does God have further instructions to us about his worship? Part of the reason for considering this is that looking at the church scene today, we can surely do with God's help for the worship practices of churches today are all over the place. There are huge differences in worship practices between churches. There are many reasons for the multiplicity of practices. One important reason being that many if not most churches today are not committed to their worship being guided by a fundamental organizing principle out of the Bible. Reformed churches do recognize such a principle and will look now at what the biblical principle is. So here are four brief points about pleasing God in worship today, which I think lead us to that biblical principle. First, that love for God and desire to honor him should be the primary motivators of his people and his churches when they worship. That's what you don't see with the priests. It has been said and said well that the worship of God is the highest act of the human soul. The worship of God is the highest act of the human soul. So love for God is essential and essential in worship. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Secondly, continuing with that train of thought, we show our love for God with what we do in worship. Because the content of our worship, what we actually say and do, what we offer to God, matters to Him. That's the message of Malachi chapter one. He was displeased for the content of what they were doing in worship. What we do in worship also includes not only the content of what we do, but it includes our attitudes, our demeanor, our attentiveness during worship. If we're inattentive or come with a bad attitude, we're like the priests who presented blemished offerings. I have to acknowledge personally that I have many times been guilty of those sins of attitude, demeanor, attentiveness. Third, continuing the train of thought, the way to please God in worship is to do what He wants. This may seem obvious, but I think it does need to be said. It's all too easy to slip into thinking that if we're happy with what we're doing in church, God must be happy too. But if we offer without knowing if it pleases Him, we slide into presumption. God is the one whom we worship. We should therefore focus upon pleasing him. Fourth point, the way to determine what pleases God in his worship is to heed his word. So let it form our worship, offering only what his word teaches. That's the principle that is now known in the Reformed world as the regulative principle of worship. It is the principle which undergirds the worship of Reformed churches. God, in his law, had told the priests in Malachi what to present to him in worship, but they did not pay attention. They offered him what they wanted and displeased him. They did not follow the regular principle. Of course, public worship today is vastly different from worship in the Old Testament. We don't offer animal sacrifices because Jesus Christ, by his death, has fulfilled the Old Testament sacrificial system in its entirety. The form of our worship is different, but the scriptural principle undergirding it is the same. And that principle does not change. The four points that we noted are equally applicable to worship in the Old Testament and the New. In Deuteronomy chapter 12, which Elder Fisher read earlier, God, through Moses, told his people in summary form what to do and what not to do in worship. It's a complicated chapter, as you may have noticed, and Moses had a lot to say, but in the last verse of the chapter, verse 32, Moses pulls together all that he's been saying in the chapter and summarizes how God wants to do worship with this terse statement. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it, You shall not add to it, nor take away from it. Whenever I command you, be careful to observe it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it. Deuteronomy 12, 32. That verse sets forth the regulative principle in a nutshell. Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 21, defines the principle and the elements of biblical worship today, giving instructions also about attitude and attentiveness in worship. I suggest reading chapter 21 of the Confession again if you haven't read it recently. It's quite a blessing to read. Now, attempting to summarize the Confession's summary of what pleases God in a short paragraph It would sound something like this. This is just an attempt at a concise description of New Testament worship. Humbly bowing before God, confessing our sins to him, and hearing his gracious word of pardon through Christ, we come into God's holy presence, desiring that his glory may be made known in all the earth, bringing to him our thanksgivings and needs, and offering to him praises known to please him. Gratefully, meekly, and joyfully, we receive his grace through the reading and preaching of his word, the celebration of the sacraments, and prayer. That's just an attempt at a concise description. Much more could be said. So once again, the four points about pleasing God in our worship. First, that love for God is central and essential to His worship. Secondly, that our love for God is shown by what we do in worship. Thirdly, that we please God in worship when we do what He wants. Fourth, that the way to determine what He wants is to do what He tells us and only what He tells us in His word. Those four points. Finally, let me I ask you a question for your consideration. Church attendance across the United States has been dropping significantly in the last few years. Thankfully not in this church, but it's happening across the country. It's been reported extensively by the media. Question, why do you continue to come to church? Why are you here today? I can think of many reasons that could have brought you here this morning. Perhaps you've come simply because you always have. It's what you do on Sunday. Or perhaps you've come because you're expected to by family or friends. Or because you feel it's good for you and your loved ones. It instills good values. Or maybe you've come because you want an uplifting spiritual experience. Or perhaps you're lonely and church is a place to meet people and enjoy their company. You're hungry for Christian fellowship. Or maybe you've come primarily because you want to be taught God's word. I would guess that many of us have come for a combination of reasons. Many of the reasons that I've mentioned are good reasons. They're real and they arise out of hearts of love for God. Some of them are very good reasons. but they're all actually secondary reasons. Important secondary reasons, to be sure, good reasons, but nevertheless secondary. Even coming to worship because you want biblical teaching, though a very good reason, is still a secondary reason. For the primary reason, the fundamental reason why Christians should come to church, the chief reason why we gather in this room Each Sunday at 11 a.m. is to bow before God humbly and thankfully, to worship him, to honor, to praise him, to please him. In short, to bring glory to his holy name. Fundamentally, church is not about you or me. of what we can gain from it. Although there is much biblical knowledge, grace, and blessing to be gained, I wouldn't miss being here, particularly through the preaching of the word by our pastor. We can surely experience great blessing through our fellowship with one another. There are many blessings. Nevertheless, above all, coming to church is about coming before God, the triune God, the only true God, the God who in the memorable words of the Westminster Confession said, is God who is good and doeth good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart and with all the soul. and with all the might. That's what coming to church is about. May God grant us hearts to worship him. Let's bow in prayer. Lord, we thank you for your gracious word. And we say right away, our worship doesn't measure up because our hearts are not always towards you. And we have attitudes that we have to repent of. But we thank you, Lord, that we have your word. And we thank you for those saints who have studied your word through the ages and they have come to good conclusions about what should be offered in worship. Thank you that we have that and we can take blessing from the work of previous generations. But Lord, we need you, every one of us, in our hearts, to orient our hearts to worshiping you. And be with us, Lord, through the daily grind, home and work. Lord, all these things can take us away from thinking about you, offering you worship. Forgive us, Lord, increase our love, and may we be an encouragement and help to each other as we walk with you. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.