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2001
23rd September (am) - MALACHI 1:1-14

I wonder are you a bit fussy about the soft drink you choose to drink. Are you a Pepsi Cola person, and therefore have bought into 'The Choice of New Generation'? Or are you perhaps, a 'Coca Cola' person, and therefore, drink 'The Real Thing'? I am most definitely a 'Coca Cola' person, to the extent of even being reluctanct to drink diet coca cola, except in an emergency. At a restaurant, if all that is specified on the menu, is 'Cola' I will ask if it is Pepsi or Coke, for I believe, I can tell the difference.

This distinction, between Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola, helps us to think about our passage of Scripture this evening. When we engage in the worship of God, are we offering him the real thing or somethng else. This was the issue, which God through the prophet Malachi, wanted to challenge the people of Israel, in the first chapter of this prophecy.

The prophecy of Malachi is a tender, yet hard-hitting oracle of God to the people of Israel. Malachi was a prophet, at the time of Ezra, just prior to Nehemiah, about four hundred and fifty years before Jesus Christ. He was the last prophet before John the Baptist. After Malachi spoke there was over four hundred years of silence. The use of the word 'oracle' at the beginning of the prophecy, indicates that this is a message which should weigh heavily on those to whom it is addressed. This was an age of widespread religious disillusionment and discontentment. The people of Israel were a disobedient lot, who did not acknowledge any wrong-doing. There are similarities to the current generation. It was a time of religious skeptism and Malachi is sent to expose and counter the skeptism and disobedience to be found in Jerusalem.

Malachi is sent to expose the corruption of the priesthood, the reluctance of the people to pay tithes to support the Temple worship, those who were taking advantage of the poor, and the problem of intermarriage with heathens.

The prophecy is oraganised as a series of disputations between God and the people. God makes an accusation, and the people question his judgement. It is appropriate that we begin a series of studies on Malachi, on this particular Sunday, because Malachi is a call to a life of self-examination before the God who is holy. The philosopher Socrates who lived five hundred years before Jesus Christ, once said, The unexamined life is not worth living. How often do we take time to sit quietly in God's presence asking him to show us those areas of our lives that are not quite as they should be?

In this opening chapter of Malachi, we have four messages from God, to the people of Israel and to us here this evening.

AFFIRMATION: I LOVE YOU (VV2-5)

The first message is a message of Affirmation. I have loved you, says the Lord (v1). A prophecy very often begins with a notice of impending judgement. God, through Malachi, wants to remind the people of the reality of their situation. He is the God who has loved them in the past, and continues to love them in the present. This love which brought them out of slavery in Egypt, this love which points to a relationship of intimacy.

But the people questioned God's love for them. The people of Israel were questioning God's love for them and asking questions like, 'If God loves us, where is the evidence to prove it?' In other words the situation of ruin and dispersion in which the people of Israel found themselves was God's fault. They expected God's love to be a blank cheque, that no matter what they got up to, things would never go against them.

So God had to remind them that they were descendents of Jacob, not Esau, Jacob whom God loved, Esau whom God hated. This love of God, is the sort of love which demands a response. God had not stopped loving them. The people of Israel, had wandered from God's loving provision and commands for them, and their lives, and thought too well of themselves to ever question their behaviour. Yet God still loved them.

If God still loves us, where is the evidence to prove it? Is that a question you have ever asked yourself? The evidence is right before us, in the blood and in the body of Jesus Christ. It is an insult to God that we should ever doubt his love for us. The people of Israel had lost any sense of wonder at what God had done for them. I fear that we are in the same predicament. The image of the cross, does not carry the same significance in our society, when it has become a piece of common jewellery.

Commentator John L. Mackey tells us: There can be no doubt about God's love. He has irrefutably demonstrated it by sending his Son. We then wonder why, when we have received the ultimate gift, the church is not vibrant, attracting crowds and being effective in its moral and spiritual impact on our country. Why is there not revival? We must be careful not to fall into the way of thinking that it is because of some deficiency in God's love. Rather we are to question our response to his love. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic reminder of the most wonderful thing God has done for us - I have loved you, says the Lord.

CONFRONTATION: I AM CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR HOLINESS (VV6-14)

Underlying God's words of affirmation, come words of confrontation. If we ever want to see a good example of speaking the truth in love, it is found in this passage. I have loved you, says the Lord, 'therefore that gives me the right to say some things about the way you are living your lives.' The people of Israel were not affording God the respect and honour he was due. Outwardly, God's people were doing the right things, but by bringing unsuitable animals for sacrifice, their attitude was all wrong. There was no concern for the 'name' of God - the honour and glory that are his by right.

And yet the people of Israel still questioned God's judgement on the matter. They never once countenanced that they might be wrong in what they were doing. The animals that they sacrificed, would not be accpetable to the governor, so why should God accept them. A son honours his father and a servant his master, but the people did not give God the honour and respect he deserved. In fact God even said to the people, Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you, and I wll accept no offering from your hands. (V10) God would prefer that there was no temple worship, rather then having shameful temple worship. It is as if the people of Israel and their spiritual leaders had grown weary of honouring God. The worship the people were giving God, was an insult to him, because it was half-hearted, half-baked, second-rated worship to the living God who has loved them. The people gave to God their left-overs. Their worship was a ritual. It was something to be endured, rather than cherished. For the priests, it was a way of making a living, rather than a service and sacrifice to the living God.

What is God saying to us tonight about our pusuit of holiness, about our worship of him and honouring of his name? Are we going to profess our innocence, or are we going to take a good hard look at ourselves? When we make profession of faith on a Sunday, but not Monday through Saturday, is that not wrong? When we come to Holy Communion just to sustain our membership of the church, is that not wrong? When we take Holy Communion and we are not a Christian, is that not wrong? When we fail in our duties to which we have been elected or ordained, is that not wrong? When we bring weary and ritual filled religion and dress it up as worship to God, is that not wrong? When we exercise half-hearted commitment and faith to God and his ways, is that not wrong? When we cheat God of the very best we have to give, is that not wrong? Worship without genuine love and reverence for God is a sham. I have loved you, says the Lord, and I want to say some things about your holiness.

ANTICIPATION: I WILL BE FEARED AMONG THE NATIONS (VV6-14)

Malachi, in this first chapter, is also looking forward to the future. The Lord has told the people of Israel, that he has loved them, that he is concerned about their holiness. Now he says to them, My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. (V11) For I am a great king, and my name is to be feared among the nations. (v14) It was said that the sun never set on the British empire, such was its global coverage. But, in this prophecy, an empire of greater standing and significance than the British empire will have global coverage, the empire of God himself, the Kingdom of God.

God is saying to the people, that his kingdom, is more than the people of Israel, for it will embrace Gentiles. The King is not depending on Israel for its worship. And I believe God is saying to the people of Israel, that if you want to be part of this global kingdom, then you have to get your house in order.

Look, the same message is for us today. God has assured his love for us - in Christ. Yet we have to confess that we are not the people God wants us to be, and unless we start addressing God's concerns over our holiness we shall miss out on the bigger picture. There is a bigger picture. We are like the people of Israel, because we have been privileged to have a godly heritage in this land, yet we have messed it up, because we have lost a sense of wonder of what God has done for us, we have latched politics on to our Godly heritage, we are replacing our Godly heritage with tradition and ritual. We are a nation that is turning its back on God.

There is a bigger picture, because the church is growing in other places - our denomination is growing in other places - are we part of it or are we hung up on empty ritual and religion? God is calling to himself a great throng from among the nations who fear, honour and glorify God - are we part of it, or are we half-hearted and hypocritical in our commitment to God and his ways? God is not dependent on us for worship of him. There is a bigger picture - Jesus has said that he will build his Church, not our church, but his Church.

We have lived in a privileged position, but we, like the people of Israel in Malachi's day, are in danger of taking God for granted, and assuming that he will see us through, no matter what we do, or what we pretend to do, because after all we are Presbyterians. There is a bigger picture, God's name will be feared among the nations and a day will come when his Son Jesus Christ will be known by everyone. Are we part of the bigger picture?

CHALLENGE: I DESIRE WORSHIP THAT IS WORTHY.

This is the implied message from God in this passage. Stephen Gaukroger indicates that, The point Malachi was trying to get across was that it's genuine worship that God wants, worship from the heart - nothing else and nothing less. A substitute for the real thing won't do. In other words are we the Coca Cola type of worshippers, or the other Cola type of worshippers?

Well, what is worship that is worthy? It is most definitely clear from the opening chapter of Malachi, that worship that is worthy, is not worship that second best, it is not worship that lacks respect and honour, it is not worship that is empty, it is not worship that cheats God.

Worship that is worthy, is not worship that can only happen when we sing certain songs, or pray in a certain manner, or dress even in a certain style. For that is worship which is concerned only with outward appearances, that seeks to look good, or in some way look proper, and that is a sham.

Worship that is worthy is worship that gives God the very best that we can offer, whether it is through what we do on a Sunday, what we give in terms of service and finance to the church, the way we live throughout the week, our commitment to God and his ways, our commtiment to the local and global church. Worship that is worthy, is all about giving the priority and the most important place to God in our lives.

Worship that is worthy has to begin with a sense of wonder and awe at the person, character and nature of God, a sense of wonder and awe, over what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, a sense of awe and wonder over the outrageous way God has loved us. Writer Richard Foster has said, Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father.

We can have the attitude that because we come into the presence of God, we have to look our best outwardly. God is not concerned about outward appearance. God is concerned with the heart, and therefore worship that is worthy is not what we do for an hour or two on a Sunday, it is a lifestyle, a twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year lifestyle. And at the heart of worship that is worthy, is Jesus Christ, for Jesus is the Father's splendour, the Father's joy. Therefore because Jesus is the heart of worship, Jesus desires worship from the heart. Holy Communion is an act of worship, for it honours God, because it honours Jesus, and brings us once again to that place where our minds and our hearts ought to be captured and captivated by the sheer wonder of the love of God for us. I have loved you, says the Lord, I am concerned about your holiness, I will be feared among the nations, therefore worship me worthily.

The Lord's Supper is an act of worship. In preparing ourselves for it, I would like us to reflect on the words of this song by Matt Redman:

When the music fades
All is stripped away, and I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
All about You Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Your's, every single breath
I'll bring you more than a song ...

Matt Redman, Kingsway, 1997