Malachi 3:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith
the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
Even after all God’s instructions to pay tithes and His
promises to bless them exceedingly abundantly Israel still doesn’t get it. Lest we look down our noses at Israel’s
troubles, I see this attitude right here in America and I’m sure around the
world. Many Christian countries have
stumbled in this way. It’s not a
complement when God says, “Your words have been stout against me.” It shows a level of arrogance and pride to
say that God does not exist and that there is no benefit to serving the creator
of the universe. It is even more
arrogant to say that God exists but we don’t really have to deal with Him as a
person (which He prefers) but as a power we can allude to or appreciate.
God says in His scripture that He prefers that we be HOT or
COLD but not lukewarm. A sinner who says
that all religion is a joke and needs to be eradicated is cold toward God. A saint who believes we must live every
aspect of our lives toward God is hot toward Him. A religious person who says, “It doesn’t take
all that. I’m going to church several
times a year. I believe in God but I don’t
get fanatic about it,” is lukewarm toward God.
What does God say about these three types? Revelation 3:15-16 says:
“I know thy works,
that thou art neither cold nor hot: I prefer thou wert cold or hot. God can work on those two. They have passion! So because thou art lukewarm,
and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” I suggest you read from verse 14-18 for an
even clearer view of God’s opinion of his lukewarm church.
Malachi 3:14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and
what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked
mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
We raise our kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord
but perhaps we have left out the joy or the peace of the Lord. Whatever we did wrong, all too many of our
children have left the Lord or decided it is too hard a life to live. They say, “I enjoy my friends and the
excitement and fire to be found out there in the world.” The beautiful child who sang in children’s
church and danced before the Lord when young now frequents bars and nightclubs
and sings songs about his or her body and how to make the least important part
of what we are happy.
Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that
work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
Pretty soon there is no right or wrong. We begin to be proud of the work God has
equipped us for, proud of our singing voice, proud of our acting skills, proud
of our ability to make money. Pride is a
sin before God. It denies God’s
equipping our lives for His purpose. It
denies seeking His direction in all things.
It denies being thankful for His gifts.
According to scripture, gay pride is an abominable sin. Paul wrote that it comes from removing God
from our remembrance (Romans 1:27-28).
Military pride is a foolish sin.
Soldiers used to go to war and pray before every battle. They prayed for their families back at home,
their comrades in the battle and last of all for their own lives.
Today we rarely seek God and if a soldier struggles with
mortality the psychiatrists tell us to stop talking about religion. I have had a military psychiatrist tell me
that I could not visit a man who came to a crisis of fear over his military
responsibility because religion was his problem. He believed in Hell so the psychiatrists had
to get him to believe there was no Hell.
I suppose that would work until he awoke in Hell. A man whose faith in God is secure and strong
has no such fears. Faith makes us
strong, not weak.
Notice it says that they that work wickedness are set up and
they that tempt God are even delivered.
In America we have raised the level of homosexuality to the point
politically where they can almost ask for sainthood and receive it. You can be cast out of society or arrested
for saying it is a sin. They can curse
Christians and arrest church members for feeding the poor (as happened last
week in Florida), but the gay and lesbian and even more confused community of
trans “I don’t know what I am” people are untouchable. Can you say this isn’t an accurate depiction
of this scripture?
Now let’s not leave ourselves out of this examination. How many ministers have fleeced the flock,
molested the members and scarred the saints.
We have a higher standard as church leaders. As a test, consider other areas where someone
has raised the importance of pride to ridiculous levels. Let me know if you find others that seem to
fit this scripture.
Malachi 3:16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often
one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his
name.
For you who still love God and put Him first in your lives,
He knows. There is a verse that says,
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst (Matthew
18:20).” The next verse shows Peter asking
God how often must we forgive our brothers who sin and God says, “490
times.” There is hope for us who sin if
we repent. There is blessing for us if
we continue to seek God. In this case
God heard that His name was lifted up among certain groups of men and
women. He wished to honor those brave
and faithful souls and had the angels in heaven write a brand new book. In that book he wrote the names of all those
who continued to fear and reverence God and those who thought upon His
name.
Beloved, God sees your trials and knows your fears. He grieves with you over your pain and sorrow
and walks with you during these dark times.
It is both His honor and His self proclaimed responsibility to do
so. He will NEVER leave you nor forsake
you (Hebrews 13:5-6). God abides forever
faithful in your life. His greatest joy
is for His children to live before Him in love while adding daily to their
eternal account.
17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in
that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his
own son that serveth him.
I don’t know about you, but I want to be written in that
book. This is not the Lambs Book of Life
that all who come to accept the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ must
be written in. This is a book of the
Father who looks with love and pride (which only He may walk in) at His
respectful and honorable children and He is overcome by His love. He showers them with riches and honors them
with great wealth as a father honors a son who has served him faithfully.
These are the ones who have been proved in the fires of
adversity. These are they who stand, and
having done all to stand…stand therefore (Ephesians 6:13). They have continued to meet and gather in His
Name through all tribulation, through all trials and continue to call Him
Blessed. Some are mentioned in Hebrews
11:4-13. Such are the ones God chooses
to honor and bedeck in jewels greater than silver and greater than gold. Such are the ones who on that day will return
with their Savior and their Lord to judge the world.
18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the
righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him
not.
How can we discern between the righteous and wicked unless
we have already learned the difference.
If we call evil good and good evil in this life, can we really expect
God to use us in the life to come? …to
judge ALL mankind? I think not.
Do you notice that there are no gray areas in verse 18? There is only the wicked and the righteous,
those who serve God and those who do not.
There is none of this touchy feely mess or those who say, “God is a God
of love. He wouldn’t send anyone to
Hell.” Wrong! God is a God of love and righteousness and
holiness. He will make a way to redeem
you from the curse of sin -Jesus- or YOU will have chosen to burn in Hell. He created us with freedom of choice because
He wanted loving children and not robots.
We who choose to serve God in this life with you cursing us might be
somewhat offended if He decided to send everyone to heaven just because they
were too full of sin to repent.
When God spoke of the man who hired workers throughout the
day and paid everyone a days wages no matter how long they worked that day, He
was referring to those who accepted Christ early in life and those who accepted
Christ at the last moment (Matthew 20:6-16).
He was not referring to those who spit on His Son and refused His
sacrifice. He is not human. Do not ascribe human sentimentality to God. He will send those who spurn Him and His
grace to Hell while at the same time blessing the faithful. In the words of one of our members at Faith
Temple in California, “Don’t get it twisted.”
Choose well beloved.
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