Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true religion, is fundamentally and primarily a thing of the heart. That's why Malachi the prophet begins with the source of the problem, the loss of wonder and gratitude in the hearts of God's people for his amazing grace. Here was the remnant of God's old covenant people, still preserved in spite of their long history of disobedience, restored again to the land of promise, raised up again in their inheritance. And God says, I've loved you, and they say, how have you loved us? They had lost the sense of wonder and gratitude. And you know, when that happens, the first casualty is always the worship of God. When men no longer stand in awe and amazement and wonder at the great goodness of God toward them, there fades right out of their hearts the zeal of the Lord's house and His worship. And so the first thing that the Prophet deals with now as he makes this great indictment against them is the worthless worship of the Church of God in that period of time. You know, when I was a home missionary in New England years ago for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, I found that the Bible is right when it says that every man will try to justify himself and defend his own righteousness. I met people from all walks of life and I found that they would always say, well, I'm not too bad. I try to live by the golden rule. I don't commit adultery. I don't steal. I don't commit acts of violence. But I never heard one of them, so much as mention one of the first four commandments. And you know, God put those first four commandments first for a very good reason. And the reason is that God is more important than anything else. And he has a right to expect the reverence, devotion and worship of his creatures. The first and highest duty of man is to have no other gods before him, not pleasure, not money, not anything. We are to be God-centered beings because God made us in His own image and He made us to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever. And God is jealous for his worship and so he commanded us not to make any graven image, any product of the human imagination with respect to the worship of God and so on. The man doesn't think about that because, you see, he is entirely horizontal in his thinking. But if you want to see that The gratitude of the heart of man has faded away. You always want to watch here first. For if, as a matter of fact, the power of the gospel has departed from the hearts of men, you're going to see it in worthless worship. That's how you'll know it has taken place. Now, is it not true that a son honors his father? If he's a real son, he does, doesn't he? And isn't it true that a servant will honor his master? The answer is obvious. Of course he will. If he is a true son, he will revere his father, and you'll see it in the way he lives. And if he is a real servant, he will do the same to his master. Well, says God, If I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my respect? The very thing that was lacking in Malachi's day was that reverence and respect and honor for God that he requires. And how do we know that there was lacking this honor and respect? Well, it is quite simple. They were bringing God only the leftovers of life. For he says, you despise my name. And they say, how have we despised thy name? And he says, by presenting defiled food upon my altar. And they say, how have we defiled thee? And he says, in that the table of the Lord is despised. For when you present the blind, when you present the lame, when you present the sick, is it not evil? Now, if you know anything about the Law of Moses, you will know that it was very strict on that point. God's old covenant people were required to bring not the worst, but the best. Now, a man might have in his flock several lambs that were blemished, that had faults in them. And God said, don't bring those. And they might have a few that were absolutely without blemish. And even if they were set apart for careful examination by the priest, no blemish was found in them. And God says, that's the one that you bring to me. You bring me the first and the best. That's the way it was. The Law of Moses. And now they weren't doing that anymore. They were bringing him the leftover stuff of life. No man would think of doing that with the governor of North Dakota. If you were going to give the governor a gift, you wouldn't give him junk that you wouldn't keep around the house, would you? If you were going to send a gift to the President of the United States, would you give him junk that you yourself don't want? Nobody would imagine doing such a thing. But these people were doing it all the time in God's worship. And that is why the priests are singled out in this passage preeminently for blame and judgment, for they were the ones who were to watch over the worship of God. That was their primary office. You go back and read the Old Testament again. Why were there priests? What was their task? There were priests to see to it that only the best was offered to God. There were priests to examine the offerings and reject them if they were not worthy of the Lord of hosts. Now we can well imagine the excuses that these priests would give. What can we do when the people bring this kind of thing? After all, we have to eat, don't we? How can we help it if the people are at a low ebb so much that they bring what's left over? What can we do about it? Well, God says, you can do this. Oh, that there were at least one among you who would shut the gates that you might not uselessly kindle fire on my altar. No, I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from you." Now that's what I would call worthless worship. For what good is it to offer to God worship that He does not accept? Is there any difference between a church offering God worthless worship and no church at all? What's the difference? The difference is that the offering up of worthless worship is worse than no church at all. And that's why the prophet goes on to warn these priests that God is about ready to take it away from them and give it to someone else. You must remember, beloved in the Lord, that this is the last book of the Old Testament. It's the last warning of the living God to his old covenant people. And he says, if you don't want to honor me, well, okay, for from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations. And in every place incense is going to be offered in my name and a grain offering that is pure. For my name will be great among the nations." And that's true. Because the old covenant Israel lost their privileged position as the people of God. They became what John called a synagogue of Satan. John the Apostle says, they're a synagogue of Satan. And the great gospel went out to all the nations. That's why we're here tonight, because God kept his word. His warning was not an idle threat. It was indeed carried out. And that's why there is a church today that covers the earth. And there are Gentiles today over the whole world that worship God. And so the idea that you could blame it on the people is not good enough. It was the task and duty of the priests to see to it that either God was worshiped as He requires or not worshipped at all. They were supposed to be a light in the world, you see. They were supposed to be a light to the nations. What a witness! When God's people are less faithful than the heathen themselves. What a witness today when some of the churches that are supposed to be reformed are less faithful than some of the cults And that's the way it is today. But wait, says the Lord to these priests, even now it is not too late. This commandment is for you, O priests. If you don't listen and you don't take it to heart, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. The very blessings you have I will curse. And then he says, indeed I have cursed them already because you are not taking it to heart. In other words, even as these words were spoken, the Lord God knew that there was no response from the hearts of these people, and so he says, I am judging you. And then to show the enormity of their sin in chapter 2, he takes them back to the beginning. And he reminds them of what God's covenant with Levi was. See, Levi was the tribe that God chose out of which the priesthood was ordained. And God made a special covenant with that tribe and with that family, the family of Levi. And what a great and marvelous privilege it was. They were the only people on the face of the earth that had charge of the worship of God for hundreds of years. Only the house of Levi. Now that was a great responsibility, but it was also a great privilege, for he says, my covenant with him was of life and peace. And I gave them to him as an object of reverence." In other words, if they realized the weightiness of their privileges and responsibility and stood in a reverent frame of mind toward God, all was well. They had life and they had peace. And it was their task and duty to instruct the people in righteousness. For the lips of the priest should preserve knowledge. and men should seek instruction from his mouth. But it wasn't that way anymore in the day in which this book was written. For, he says, you have turned aside from the way, you have caused many to stumble by the instruction, and you have corrupted the covenant of Levi. Now, I'm sure they would have said, we can't help it. After all, this is what the people want. But you know, the interesting thing is that already the sign of judgment was upon them. For even the people no longer respected the office of the priests. So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people." Every time they made a concession to the people, to please the people, the esteem of the people toward them went down just that much more, until in the end there wasn't a bit of respect left for the priests. in the house of Levi. Well, there you see is the undeniable evidence of the loss of wonder and gratitude. It was gone. And you knew it was gone because of the worthless worship. And isn't that really fundamentally the problem in the church today? Oh, I wish God's people would read a little church history. Because if you went back and read some of the history of the Reformation, you would see how powerful and mighty in the hearts of men was the sense of awe and wonder. I remember reading one of the prayers of John Knox and it breathed with the sense of awe and wonder that God in his great mercy had revived his church again, brought it back out of the bondage of darkness into the glorious light and liberty of the children of God. And their spirit and their thought was like this, oh just think of it, God has had mercy upon us. He has brought us back again to His wonderful word, back to the gospel of the free grace of God unto eternal life. Oh, God has loved us and we praise and magnify His great and holy name. But they didn't stop there. They also went on to show it in the manner of their worship. One of the first orders of business at the time of the Reformation was the purity of worship in the house of God. Out went the images, the pictures, the crosses, the candles, the robes, the ceremonies, all of it, out it went. And they went back to the simplicity and beauty of spiritual worship. putting the pulpit back in the center, the Bible at the very heart. And in the simplicity of spiritual worship, with the Word and the two sacraments of Christ's ordaining and the faithful discipline of God's house, His name was exalted. And if you ever take the time to read the great confessions of the Reformation, you will see that it literally breathes with a holy concern for God's worship. The Heidelberg Catechism says we are not to worship God in any way except as he has commanded us in his word. The Belgic Confession says we believe the Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God And we therefore reject with all our hearts whatever does not agree with this infallible rule. And therefore the ministers and elders of the Church, according to the Belgic Confession, are to be very careful to take care that they do not depart from those things which Christ, our only Master, has instituted. The acceptable way of worshiping God, says our Westminster Confession, is instituted by Himself. He may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or any other way not prescribed in the Scriptures. You may judge me to be wrong, but that is why I cannot sing other than the Psalms of God in his worship. I believe that is what he has commanded. But even if you disagree with me on that, the point I make is that our fathers had a great zeal for the purity and holiness and centrality and primacy of God's worship. They were interested in what God wanted, and in offering Him not second best, but only that which was pure and flawless. And now look at the church today. Over the years, when it has been my privilege to visit the United States, my wife and I have gone to church wherever we have been, and we have been absolutely appalled at the loss of these things in the Christian churches. Time after time we went to hear the Word of God, and instead we were entertained. A film, a choir concert, You name it, everything but the faithful proclamation of God's Holy Word. I went one day to a Christian Reformed church and I was handed a candle. We were going to have a candlelight service. No sermon, just entertainment. All across America, a hundred years ago, you could go into any Protestant church on the Lord's Day, morning or evening, and it would be filled with God's people. And they'd hear the Bible preached. And you can go all across America today, and you can hardly find a church that's open on Sunday night. And even in Orthodox churches like ours, Half or more of the people aren't there. They just aren't that interested in the worship of God. It's time to ask, how much of it is worthless worship? And it is also time to ask who is to blame for it. Isn't it, first of all, the elders of the Church, those who are the office-bearers of the Church of God today? It is fundamentally our task to do everything within our power to see to it that God is not offered what is left over, but the best and the first. We still take vows that we will do everything in our power to keep the church true to its charter. And I believe that this is really one of the great problems today. We can say all we want to. Well, the people just don't want to. They're not interested. That's not good enough. This sermon is for me and the other elders. But we have to hear it. It's our responsibility to see to it that God's people offer Him not what's left over, but the very best. And nothing but the best. And if we don't do it, We are primarily to blame. You know, that's why the Bible says, be not many masters. That's the King James way of putting it. It means, don't many of you aspire to the office of elder or teacher, because our judgment is heavier. You have to stand judgment for yourself, but we have to stand judgment not only for ourselves, but for you. If the church needs anything today, it needs ministers and elders that mean what they say when they take those vows and will go to the people and confront them and tell them what they don't want to hear until there is a change in Zion. Do you really think the people of God today have a high respect for pastors and elders? No, they don't. And the reason is quite simple. We so often have failed in our responsibility. And we haven't had the guts, if you want the truth, to shut the gates John Calvin was in Geneva. There was great pressure on him to have the Lord's Supper, even though things were not according to the Bible. You have the Lord's Supper. Even though there were people half-hearted, lukewarm, living ungodly lives who were going to come to the Lord's table. And John Calvin said, over my dead body. Well, they sent John Calvin Packing right out of Geneva. But there's not a man in Geneva that didn't respect him. And after they tried to get along for a little while without him, then they called him back. They said, please come back, John. We need you. And he came back. And the respect of God's people for the office of pastor and elder went up tremendously. He was not going to allow it that God should be given second-rate stuff. And my brother elders, we have got to do the same. That's our responsibility. Now let's be honest. We can say, well, we're sure happy we're not part of Babylon. Babylon being interpreted as the old liberal church out of which we came. But I ask you in all sincerity, when half of our people live like liberals, what is the difference? The difference is that we are worse than they are. That's what the difference is. And it's time for us as elders to say so to people. For God's sake, for His honor, I am appalled and distressed at the lack of zeal for God's house among the members of this congregation. Not everyone thank God for that. No, not everyone. But far too much. That's the way it is. And part of the reason is because the elders of the church have not done their duty. And brethren, we must do it. For God's sake. You know, in the earlier history of the house of Levi, there was one man that did stand up His name is the only personal name that I can think of right now in the Psalter. Do you know what his name is? Phineas. At Baal Peor they were joined, eight offerings of the dead. Provoked as anger with their deeds, the plague among them spread. Then Phineas arose and judgment wrought, and so the plague was stayed. And this for endless righteousness to his account was late. As we think of ordaining and installing elders in our church, oh, join me in praying that they will be men worthy of the office, willing to confront the half-hearted members of our church to challenge them to give God the best, the first, to the glory and honor of His name. May God help us to do so that we may truly be a church in which the Lord delights. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Father in Heaven, we thank you for what you teach us through the book of the Prophet Malachi. And we know that when the shoe fits, we should wear it. And there's too much in our situation like that in the days in which this was written. But Lord, we know that you are merciful and long-suffering and patient. And you tell us these things that we may take heed. So help us to do so. And we pray especially for the present office bearers and those who have been called to this task, who are to be ordained next week and installed. We pray that your Holy Spirit might descend upon us with power, and that the zeal of your house might so clearly dwell in our hearts. that we will be moved to do these things that need to be done in your church. And Lord, we pray that you will then bless it far beyond our expectation. This we ask in Jesus' holy name. Amen.