Sunday, November 18th, 2007
Pastor Lee Copeland
Download sermon audio (MP3) here
How many truthful people do you know? Maybe your doctor hopefully? How
many whose word is trustworthy, and whose life backs up what they say.
God wants us to worship Him in spirit and truth. It is not the outward
external religious things within themselves, but a true heart that
counts. We could say, church life is necessary but not sufficient to
gain salvation and make us right before God. Malachi is a call for the
religion of the heart which issues forth in a holy life filled with the
peace of Christ. This is accompanied by a great humility which enables
us to treat others with the same grace we have experienced from God. he
has forgiven us, so we in turn forgive all others.
Read again Malachi 1, especially verses 9-14. Note the results of a
fake religion which follows truth we have heard about, but not
experienced within our own life. The difference is between hearing
about someone’s wonderful Thanksgiving meal and actually eating one for
yourself. Engage with these 6 verses (Malachi 1:9-14) and see God’s call for
real, authentic Christian living. God wants our heart, mind, strength,
and soul. We belong to Christ, not ourselves. May our faith in Christ
never become “OH – Hum.” May church not become wearisome and our faith
the same old – same old. If that is happening, examine your
understanding of the Gospel. remember, Christ in us, the hope of
glory. May we all have a quiet, genuine trust in the righteousness of
Christ and from that have an intense love for Him so that our worship
will not be in vain. No pretending, no fakery, no hypocrisy, just a
humble determination to please Christ in all we do.
Here are a couple of questions to help your thinking:
1. Why is Malachi 1:9 seen as an ironic call to pray?
2. Outwardly the people worshipped according to the law, so why did God
reject them?
3. Read Hebrews 13:9-16 and understand the true offering, verse 11, the
Lord will have among the Gentiles because His Name will be great around
the world. Hebrews 10:12 and 1 Peter 2:5 speak directly to the question
of the kind of sacrifices we offer now.
4. From this passage, would you agree with the statement “It is better
to be cold rather than lukewarm in our Christian faith.”
See you Sunday,
Lee