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Malachi. Malachi is the last 
book in the Old Testament. I want to read beginning in chapter 
1 at verse 6 to chapter 2 verse 9, but our focus this morning 
will be on chapter 1 verses 6 to 14. Malachi, the prophet, he was 
a post-exilic prophet. So after the Babylonian captivity, 
when the people of Judah were allowed to return back to their 
land under the decree of Cyrus, the king of Persia. Persia, the 
empire in power at the time that Malachi writes. But Malachi wrote 
a bit later than Haggai and Zechariah, which were also post-exilic prophets. Malachi prophesied probably around 
433 to 425 BC. So I want to read beginning in 
Malachi 1 at verse 6. 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, will 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 on 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, and that 
you say, the table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit, 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, thus you bring an offering. 
Should I accept this from your hand, says the Lord? But curse 
it be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, and takes a 
vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a 
great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared 
among the nations. And now, O priest, this commandment 
is for you. If you will not hear, and if 
you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name, says 
the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will 
curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, 
because you do not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke 
your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of 
your solemn feasts, and one will take you away with it. Then you 
shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant 
with Levi may continue, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant 
was with him, one of life and peace, and I gave them to him 
that he might fear me. So he feared me and was reverent 
before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth 
and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with me in 
peace and equity and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips 
of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law 
from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 
But you have departed from the way. You have caused many to 
stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant 
of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore, I also have made you 
contemptible and base before all the people, because you have 
not kept my ways, but have shown partiality in the law. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for the written Word of the living and true God, and we pray 
now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to help us as we consider 
this passage of Scripture, help us to see its relevance to the 
church today, help us to see its relevance in our local church, 
and may it indeed cause us to reflect and cause us to contemplate 
and cause us to consider our place before a holy God. Again, 
we pray that You would forgive us for all of our sins and our 
transgressions, that You would help us to learn the lesson here 
of this condemnation of heartless worship. May we not enter into 
this sacred place with hearts that are divided or distracted 
or longing for things that are not of God. Help us in this, 
we pray, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, and we pray through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, in recent sermons, 
I know that I have referred to this particular passage. I've 
certainly preached on this passage before. I think it is a most 
relevant passage to the church in the 21st century. Essentially, 
what we have is a condemnation of heartless worship. Now, Malachi, 
the prophet, prophesied, as I said, around 433 to about 425. This 
is almost a hundred years after the second temple had been finished. Remember, under Haggai and Zechariah, 
they preached and the people built the temple. They started 
in 520 BC and they completed it in 516 BC. So, not even a 
hundred years later, Malachi is dealing with the same sorts 
of problems that preceded the Babylonian captivity. In other 
words, bad habits are hard to let go of. And that is simply, 
or obviously, the case with reference to Malachi's contemporaries. 
Now, in chapter 1, at verse 6, all the way to chapter 2, verse 
9, it's a specific condemnation of the priests. He identifies 
that in verses 6 and 7. And he follows all the way through 
to chapter 2, verse 9. He cites the example of Levi 
as being a faithful and a good priest to him, but the people 
at Malachi's time had degenerated and they had engaged in wickedness. 
We could follow all the way up to chapter 2, verse 9, but I 
want to focus on the whole idea of a heartless worship in chapter 
1, verses 6 to 14. Now, there is a particular pattern 
employed by the prophet Malachi. Essentially, what you have is 
accusation by God Then you have question by the people, and then 
you have refutation by God. In other words, the Lord, through 
the prophet, accuses them or indicts them of something in 
particular. And then they essentially say, 
who, us? Us? We did this? And then God 
produces the evidence to show where they have fallen short. For example, notice here in chapter 
1, verse 6, the very end, yet you say, in what way have we 
despised your name? Verse 7, in what way have we 
defiled you? Notice as well in chapter 1 at 
verse 2, I have loved you, says the Lord, yet you say, in what 
way have you loved us? They're constantly questioning 
God. Notice in chapter 2 at verse 
17, you have wearied the Lord with your words, yet you say, 
in what way have we wearied Him? Brethren, we're not supposed 
to question God when He accuses us or indicts us. We're supposed 
to repent. We're not supposed to get into 
some dialogue or debate with Almighty God and say, what do 
you mean when you bring this indictment to us? We need to 
receive the Word of God. We need to be approved and rebuked 
by it. And we, by grace, are to be corrected. Notice in chapter 
3, verse 6. For I am the Lord, I do not change, 
therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the 
days of your fathers you have gone away from my ordinances 
and have not kept them. Return to me and I will return 
to you, says the Lord of Hosts. But you said, in what way shall 
we return? You see that pattern. God accuses 
or indicts them, and then they question God, and then God furnishes 
evidences as to how they have not returned, how they have not 
done what He calls them to do. Notice with reference to tithing 
in chapter 3, verse 8. Will a man rob God? Yet you have 
robbed me. But you say, in what way have 
we robbed you? Brethren, it's really incredulous 
that they would respond in this manner. And I think it's incredulous 
that we respond in this manner. We get convicted by the Word 
of God. The answer is not, Oh, no, that's not me. Or how did 
I offend you, God? We are to take that reproof and 
bless God for it. And by grace, repent. That's 
the response of the godly man, of the godly woman, of the godly 
boy and godly girl. Notice in chapter 3 verse 13, 
your words have been harsh against me, says the Lord, yet you say, 
what have we spoken against you? You see the pattern involved 
in the prophet Malachi. Accusation by God, response by 
the people, and then the Lord furnishes evidences or proofs 
as to how they've fallen short. So let's look at this whole condemnation 
of heartless worship. First, the accusation by God. 
Secondly, we'll notice the response of the people. And then thirdly, 
we'll draw out some implications concerning unacceptable or heartless 
worship. But note first this lack of honor. Verse 6, God says, a son honors 
his father and a servant his master. Notice how that's an 
axiom. That's a first principle. That's 
the way life is supposed to be. It is the case, kids, that you 
honor your father. It is the case, servants, that 
you honor your master. And God uses that axiom, God 
uses that first principle as an analogy to say, if that's 
the case in the created order, then why don't my sons honor 
me? Why don't my servants honor me? That's the point of verse 6. 
The Lord has, and I say it reverently, an axe to grind with his professing 
people. A son honors his father and a 
servant his master. If then I am the father, where 
is my honor? And if I am a master, where is 
my reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you 
priests who despise my name. You see, brethren, this is axiomatic. We as God's creatures are supposed 
to revere Him. We as God's creatures are supposed 
to honor Him. We as God's creatures are supposed 
to worship Him. So if you're not a believer here 
this morning, you can't tune out and say, well, this has to 
do with worship. I'm not a believer in Jesus Christ, 
so it's really not applicable to me. No, there's something 
called the creator-creature distinction. The creator made you. The Creator 
brought you into being so that you would worship Him, so that 
you would honor Him, so that you would glorify Him, so that 
you would indeed ascribe good things to His great name. But 
with reference to the people of God, those who have been called 
out of darkness into marvelous light, those who are believers 
in Jesus Christ, the same analogy holds true. If God is our Father, 
where is His reference? If God is our Father, where is 
the honor given to His name? You see, in church, reverence 
ought to be a priority. Not frivolity, not jokes, not 
hands in pockets, not slurping gum, not sucking down a latte, 
but reverence before the High King of Heaven. That's what the 
text calls us to. Now, notice he highlights the 
specific sort of characteristic of their heartless worship. It is the perversion of sacrifice. Now, remember, sacrifice was 
stipulated by God. Israel is taught in the book 
of Leviticus that the only way sinful man approaches a holy 
God is through a bloody knife and a smoking altar. That's thanks 
to Michael Morales. I think he summarizes the book 
of Leviticus excellently with that statement. The way of approach 
to holy God by sinful man is through a bloody knife and a 
smoking altar. That's what Leviticus is all 
about. Remember, the book of Leviticus 
is the answer to the problem at the end of the book of Exodus. 
God's tabernacle is built. God's Shekinah glory is in the 
tabernacle. Moses himself, the holiest man 
in Israel, can't enter in because of the glory of God. So how do 
we move from this place where God is to this place where man 
can meet with Him? Hence the book of Leviticus. 
It's the sacrifice. It's the bloody knife. It's the 
smoking altar. This is the means by which God 
and men meet together. So sacrifice is stipulated all 
through the book of Leviticus. In fact, if you read the first 
nine chapters, most Christians today find it tedious. Most Christians 
get to about chapter four and they say, I can't keep track 
of all of these sacrifices. But suffice it to say, God has 
identified the way of approach to him. At the end of chapter 
9, the people offer up a sacrifice that is sanctioned by the God 
of heaven and earth, and they are blessed by Him. Fire falls 
down from heaven, consumes the sacrifice, and the people shout, 
probably for joy. Chapter 10, Nadab and Abihu offer 
up strange fire. Fire comes down again, but it 
doesn't consume the sacrifice, it consumes Nadab and Abihu, 
because they offered up strange fire. But when we get to Leviticus 
chapter 22, Leviticus chapter 22 highlights the acceptableness 
of sacrifice that Israelites were to bring to God. You were 
to bring the best, not the worst. See, that's what sacrifice is 
about. Sacrifice implies, necessarily, 
some pinch to the flesh. Sacrifice implies, necessarily, 
some deprivation to the one who's offering the sacrifice. Or it 
wouldn't be a sacrifice, would it? This is why Jesus commends 
the widow's might. He condemns the rich man's might. There's no pinch, there's no 
hardship, there's no sacrifice involved, but that widow throwing 
in a couple of might, it's not the money, it's not the power, 
the ability to buy, it's rather what it represents. And so God 
stipulates that it must be a male from your flock, it mustn't be 
blind, it mustn't be lame, it mustn't be hindered, it mustn't 
be bad, it must be the best in the flock. Now back to Malachi 
chapter 1, look at what they're doing. Chapter 1, verse 7, 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. I doubt that when these priests 
took the sacrifices, they audibly said the table of the Lord is 
contemptible. It was their actions. It was their activities. Now 
remember, the priests here represent the people. The priests are accepting 
from the people these defective animals. So everybody's guilty. It's not just the priests, it's 
priests and people. See, if you were a believer back 
then, or you were one of the covenant people back then, the 
way you would worship is you'd get up on Saturday morning, you'd 
go out to your flock, you'd find the very best in the flock, and 
you would walk to the tabernacle, or you would walk to the temple. 
You would present yourself and your sacrifice to the priest, 
you would cut the throat of the animal, then you would give it 
to the priest, who would then burn some, and offer it up to 
God, and depending on the sacrifice, he might eat some, and you might 
eat some. You see, that was the way you did it. So I doubt these 
priests are saying, well, the table of the Lord is contemptible. 
I doubt any of us are saying, wow, worship is terrible. But 
our actions evidence otherwise. Our conduct expresses something 
different. If we have to be pulled to the 
worship of God, if we have to be harangued, if we have to be 
nagged, we might just be saying, the table of the Lord is contemptible. 
If we are not a David, in Psalm 122, in one of those songs of 
the saints, when he says, I was glad when they said unto me, 
let us go to the house of the Lord. Now, you may be unhappy 
at a particular church. You may be disillusioned with 
a particular church. Find a church where you can have 
a Psalm 122 experience, where you are glad when they said unto 
me, let us go to the house of the Lord. You see, these people 
were evidencing by their actions a statement that God's table 
was contemptible. And then he highlights, he describes, 
he evidences, he furnishes proof. The sacrifice of blind and lame 
animals, verse 8. When you offer the blind as a 
sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and 
sick, is it not evil? See, brethren, I think this underscores 
something else, and I have this in the notes for later. We're 
just going to put it in right now. I guarantee that if you 
or I went out and committed adultery, we would feel evil. If you or 
I embezzled money from our employers, we would feel evil. If you or 
I told a lie in a courtroom, we would feel evil. How many 
times do we go through the motions on a Sunday and offer up heartless 
worship to God and never feel evil? How is it the case that 
we can come, not sing, not pray, not enter in, be thinking about 
a million other thoughts, and then somehow conduct ourselves 
as if we're just as spotless, holy, and pure as the driven 
snow? I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on you, but I'm trying to 
suggest that we've kind of lost the focus of the church. The 
focus of the church is what? To fix the world? Not necessarily. The focus of the church, is it 
to ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor? Not necessarily. The focus of the church is the 
worship of the triune God. That's what we're about. That's 
what Peter says. He called you out of darkness 
into marvelous light. Why? To proclaim his excellencies. What's Paul say concerning the 
church in Ephesians 3? The way I read Paul is that angels 
are looking at churches like this and scanning in awe of the 
God who saved them. That's what we're about. We're 
to reflect glory. It's not supposed to be about 
us when we come in here. So it's a fundamental problem 
in the church today. It's not what does God get, not 
how do I serve Him, how do I glorify Him, but what's in it for me? 
It's that mercenary attitude, and that's probably what's behind 
the lame and the blind. You send the lame and the blind 
to the priest because the ones that are fit and healthy are 
going to garner more money when you sell them, right? See, what's 
in it for me? What do I get out of my flock? 
Do I get reasonable, acceptable worship that is pleasing to God? 
Or do I get more money? Well, if I can grab the mangy 
one from the back of the flock and pawn him off on the priest, 
and the priesthood is so corrupt that they're going to take it, 
then I'm going to sell the good ones for even more money at market. 
You see, it's all this, what's in it for me? Churches exist 
to answer that question. We have this for you. We have 
that for you. We have this for you. We have 
that for you. Now brethren, I don't wake up 
on a Sunday morning hoping everybody has a miserable day. I really 
don't. I have never in my life woken 
up on a Sunday morning and prayed to God Almighty that everybody 
would be bored, everybody would be miserable, and it would just 
be a terrible experience. Reformed theology is not against 
emotions and experience. Reformed theology is against 
emotions and experience untethered from the truth of God's Word. 
That's the problem. That's the issue. These people 
were mercenary. Their priests were mercenary. 
They were corrupt. They took these mangy animals, 
and they took the worst of the flock, and they said, here you 
go, God. That's what we think of you. 
You see how they didn't need to say the table of the Lord 
is contemptible? They didn't need to audibly convey that because 
their actions demonstrated that. So the Lord God has a controversy 
with that. Notice God's challenge in verse 
eight. Offer it then to your governor. Would he be pleased 
with you? Would he accept you favorably? Says the Lord of hosts. 
Commentators are divided. Is this Zerubbabel, the governor 
of the Jews? Remember, they don't have a king 
anymore. They've been in Babylonian captivity. Now they're basically 
under Persian control. It's a little bit nicer, but 
nevertheless, they don't have a king. So it could have been 
Zerubbabel. Other commentators said, no, it's probably the Persian 
governor. Persian governor demands tribute. Persian governor demands 
taxes. Persian government demands that 
you pony up every year, or maybe every month. I don't know specifically. And what's God's point? You pay 
this kind of stuff to your pagan governor and see if he's going 
to accept it. You go ahead. You just offer that up. In fact, 
do this. This coming, is it April or May? 
I always get mixed up between the US and Canada, but in April 
or May, you got to pay your dues, right? You got to pay the man. 
You got to pay the ferryman. Tell him, you know what? Here's 
all you get. I know I owe a thousand, but 
I'm going to give you 400. Now those are modest calculations 
to be sure, but would he accept that? Would Prime Minister Trudeau 
say, good on you. That's a fantastic job that you've 
done. You've slighted me $600. You 
seek God's point, pay that to your governor and see if he accepts 
it. See if he's pleased. Remember, 
if I'm a father and I'm a master, what does the reverence do for 
my name? Now notice, this is escalated, verse 13. You also 
say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it, says the Lord 
of hosts, and you bring the stolen. If you have the King James, that 
says torn. torn. And some would suggest 
the idea being it was torn in a fight with another animal, 
it was torn in the sort of daily rigors of earth life or farm 
life, but it means rather to seize by force. It means rather to rob. And so 
the new King James, I think, glosses well. You bring the stolen, 
the lame and the sick, thus you bring an offering. So he's already 
dealt with the blind and the lame. He's already dealt with 
those that are mangy. He's already dealt with those 
that are less than optimal. But he's escalating here to the 
point where he says, you bring the stolen. You know my illustration, 
Saturday morning, you're on your way to the tabernacle of the 
temple, and Junior says, Dad, we don't have a sacrifice, and 
we're going to the house of God. Well, that's OK. We'll steal 
one on the way. See, that whole idea is absolutely, utterly, 
positively wrong. You don't do that. You get that, 
right? There's no sacrifice in stealing 
someone else's property and giving it up as your own. We're all 
agreed there. You see what's happening at Malachi's 
day? The priests are indicted, but 
the people are right there alongside of them. They're bringing the 
stolen. They're bringing the lame. They're bringing the blind. 
They're presenting them to the priests, and the corrupt priesthood 
is all too willing to take them. Perhaps there's a quid pro quo 
going on. The priests are getting something in return for accepting 
these mangy beasts. But that's the problem, and the 
Lord God is opposed to them. Now, note the response of the 
people. First of all, how have we dishonored you? Verse 6b. 
Yet you say, in what way have we despised your name? Now, I 
think there's a point here that we need to appreciate so that 
we don't fall prey to it. I'm going to argue that this 
particular sin is common to sinners, even redeemed sinners. We can 
fall into it and not even really be aware of it, right? What do 
you mean we're not worshiping you properly? We come in, and 
we read a psalm, and we sing a hymn, and we pray, and we read 
the scriptures, and we preach. But are our hearts here? That's 
the fundamental object with reference to worship. If your heart's still 
in the car, or the heart's still in the office, or the heart's 
still even at home, and it's not here, it doesn't matter what 
the former structure is, if it's heartless, it's become external, 
it's become ritualistic, it's become formalistic, and that 
is what's happening here. Well, what do you mean? We brought 
animals to the tabernacle. What do you mean? We brought 
animals to the temple. What do you mean? We've gone 
through the motions. It doesn't matter how good the 
liturgy is if the people of God have no heart. Does that make 
sense? The liturgy is only as good as 
the people of God's hearts. No matter what, we can move things 
around if we wanted. We're inclined to do that, or 
we have the freedom to do that. There's elements of worship, 
those things that are absolutely crucial and commanded by God 
to be done, and then there's circumstances. We can meet at 
11. We can meet at 10.30. We can meet at 10.45. I think 
it's weird to meet at 10.48, the way some churches do, because 
they're being so countercultural. Now, but they're still free to 
do that. You see the point, brother? If we have the ritual, we have 
the form, we have the external, but we haven't got the heart, 
we have fallen prey to what these people have. They don't even 
know it. They're shocked. What do you 
mean? You ever done that with your kids? You ask them, what 
do you mean? That's how they are. Again, petulant children. 
What do you mean? How have we defiled your altar? 
How have we ripped you off? How have we robbed God? Because 
you don't give to God, chapter three. You don't do what you're 
supposed to do based on God's holy law. So that's the point. 
How have we dishonored you? How have we perverted sacrifice? Verse 7b, 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? You see, accusation or indictment, 
questioned by the people, and then proof. See, brethren, if 
you try to act against God in a defensive manner, He'll always 
be able to pony up the proof. Those indictments don't come 
without omniscience. Those indictments don't come 
without absolute knowledge. Those indictments come to us 
by His grace, ultimately. So I think we're messed up in 
that, too. Somebody tells us something we don't want to hear, 
we get mad at them. Praise God, people tell us things we don't 
want to hear. Now there's things we don't want to hear that we 
can't control. Boy, your hair's gray, or you're too short, or 
you're too... We can't control that. But brother, 
sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, you've sinned, 
and the Bible says you need to repent. Why do we get so mad 
at people? What's David say? David was happy when the righteous 
smote him. David was happy when he was rebuked 
by those who loved him. What's one of the purposes of 
holy writ? All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for 
instruction in righteousness. Do we think we're already in 
a place of perfect instruction and performance? That we don't 
need the reproving function of scripture? That we don't need 
the correction of scripture? Have we actually gotten that 
proud where we don't see our need for the Word of God to reprove 
us and to correct us? Instead of getting upset that 
God would reprove us and correct us, we should be thankful. What's 
Jesus say to the worst of the seven churches in Asia Minor? 
As many as I love, I rebuke. He says that to the Laodiceans. 
As many as I love, I rebuke. That's the character of our blessed 
Savior. And brethren, we ought to be 
open to such things. And then notice, this is just 
an incredible sort of escalation. Verses 9 and 10 go a bit of different 
ways in terms of the commentators. Here's what I think is going 
on. In verse 9, they are actually saying, why doesn't God bless 
us? And again, I think this is so typical of us. We, you know, 
half-hearted. in our service to God, divided 
in our devotion to God, lacking completely in our attention to 
God, and then we have the gall to say, why doesn't he bless 
us? Why isn't he just opening the channels of heaven and flowing 
down nuggets upon us? We have that kind of gall, don't 
we? And I think that's what verse nine is all about. But now, entreat 
God's favor, that he may be gracious to us. While this is being done 
by your hands, will he accept you favorably, says the Lord 
of hosts? You think you always bail? You think that just putting 
the animal in the proper place is going to affect the deity 
in such a way that he pours out blessings? You are really thinking 
like bailists, and you are not thinking like those who bow before 
the God of heaven and earth. And then verse 10, I think, is 
God, through the prophet, speaking ironically. Again, it's tough. 
There's at least one other popular interpretation that could be 
the case. But in my understanding, I think 
verse 10 is God, through the prophet, saying, Who is there, 
even among you, who would shut the doors, so that you would 
not kindle fire on my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, 
says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from your 
hands." I think this is consistent theologically with the church 
in Laodicea, that Jesus promises, or threatens rather, to vomit 
out of his mouth. They're neither hot nor cold, 
they're lukewarm. And some say, well, it's better 
to be a rabid atheist. I don't think that's what it 
means. Cold water is pleasant. Hot liquid coffee is pleasant. 
Lukewarm, bad. That's the analogy. That's the 
specifics. That's what's going on. Jesus 
is not saying to the Laodiceans, it's better to be an all-out 
atheist. You please me more. No. Be hot or be cold. But if you're lukewarm, if you've 
got that sort of namby-pamby, in-out sort of a mindset, I'm 
going to vomit you out of my mouth. And that use of irony 
is consistent in scripture, and I think that's what's happening 
here. God, through the prophet, is saying, is there anyone in 
Israel that'll take two-by-fours, that will take nails, that will 
take hammers, and go to the door of the temple and slam it shut 
so that these people will not continue to go through this charade, 
this perversion, this sort of sacrifice, I'm not going to accept 
that. I'm not going to deal with that. 
God says I refuse it and reject it. Now notice verse 11 is an 
interesting statement. For from the rising of the sun 
even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. 
Now, we as Gentiles have come to grips with Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant of grace. We as Gentiles appreciate the 
promise made to Abraham as involving all the nations of the earth. 
We as Gentiles praise the God of Israel for having sent his 
son as Messiah, for engaging in that work at Calvary to save 
not only Jews, but Gentiles. But remember, in Malachi's day, 
they weren't quite as advanced in their covenant theology. especially 
the unbelievers. Believers would have been seeing, 
they would have known, they would have had in their mind, there's 
a day coming when the nations of the earth will come to Israel's 
God. But when the Lord says that to 
them in this context, it's probably more indictment upon them. For 
from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, my name shall 
be great among the Gentiles. Now, remember Jonah. What was 
Jonah's problem? We know him as a preacher on 
the run. Jonah was called to go to Nineveh, 
so he goes the other way, right? Don't dare to be a Jonah. Jonah's 
not a great model. I preached this message one time, 
and somebody, this was way back, somebody came up afterwards and 
said, man, I don't know if we should have named our boy Jonah. 
Jonah's a good name. Jonah was a prophet of God. He 
was the real deal. But he was like all of us. He's 
got issues, just like all of us. So God calls Jonah to go 
to Nineveh. Jonah goes the other way. Then 
Jonah actually goes to Nineveh, and he preaches the word of God. 
And the Ninevites repent. It's a massive revival of true 
religion. It's an awakening of true religion. 
Jonah saw glorious things from the hand of a glorious God, and 
at the very end, Jonah's upset. He's angry. He's mad. Why? Because Jonah was a nationalist. Jonah didn't want non-Jews coming 
into the covenant mercies of God. Jonah didn't want men from 
every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. Jonah wanted Jews 
safe. Thank you very much. He didn't want these rotten, 
treacherous Ninevites to come to know Israel's God. That's 
kind of what's happening there at the end of Jonah 4. God teaches 
him a lesson, to be sure. God shows very clearly his mercy, 
should I not pity Nineveh that has this many people and animals 
as well? I mean, of course God should, 
right? See, Jonah's upset. So there was this nationalistic 
spirit within Israel. Oh no, no, you can't come to 
our God. You can't have the mercies of 
Yahweh. Now, again, there were proselytes, 
there were people that did come in, Ruth the Moabitess, we have 
some that did enter in, but by and large, You know, the religion 
of Israel in the Old Covenant wasn't really evangelistic. They 
didn't really go out conquering the nations for King Jesus. They did let some in, but there 
was this nationalism. So perhaps Malachi, when God, 
through Malachi, highlights this, it's a bit of a provocation, 
perhaps. Gentiles are gonna serve me. 
Gentiles are gonna offer up sacrifice. Gentiles are gonna come to Israel's 
God. Gentiles are gonna bow. And you, Jews, are not? See, 
this is a terrible thing. Matthew Henry made this observation. 
This is a plain prediction of that great revolution in the 
kingdom of grace by which the Gentiles, who had been strangers 
and foreigners, came to be fellow citizens with the saints and 
of the household of God and as welcome to the throne of grace 
as ever the Jews had been. So this idea of Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant promises of God are not isolated to Genesis chapter 
12. The rest of the Old Testament amplifies, expands, and expounds 
upon that promise made to Abraham in terms of Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant promises of God. So there's our accusation or 
indictment by God and the response of the people. Let's just draw 
out, as I said, some practical implications concerning heartless 
worship. In the first place, and I touched 
on this previously, but it bears repetition, we need to understand 
this is evil. This is evil. It's just bad. Now, I understand, brethren, 
the tendency. I understand the difficulty. There was a Puritan author that 
wrote either a book or a treatise on the subject of dealing with 
wandering thoughts during the worship of God. I understand 
that. I understand. I understand, you 
know, we come in after a long week and the urge to perhaps 
close our eyes. I get that. And I'm not here 
to upbraid you. I'm not here to say, you terrible 
specimens of human beings. You're just the worst. I can't 
believe it. I'm not saying that at all. But I'm suggesting that 
the common garden variety struggles that we as creatures have is 
one thing. But heartless worship of God. 
I'm not entering in. of putting in the time, but not 
doing so from the heart. That's not just a small thing, 
that's evil. It's identified by God twice 
as evil in our text. Verse 8 says, and when you offer 
the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? This is an evil thing. Verse 
8 continuing, and when you offer the lame and sick, is it not 
evil? So earlier when I said if we 
committed adultery, if we perjured ourselves on the stand, if we 
murdered somebody, we would feel evil. By all means, feel evil. By all means, let that conscience, 
you know, brutalize you, because you deserve to feel evil if you 
commit one of those particular sins. But the same is true with 
heartless worship. It's evil. Getting up on a Sunday 
morning and grabbing the mangiest from the flock and bringing it 
to the house of God and just going through the motions so 
that you can just go through the motions. That's not pleasing 
to God. God's not saying goody on you. 
And I think all of this ought to make us revel in the one who 
said, my meat, my food, is to do the will of him who sent me. 
What's Jesus say? What did the disciples interpret 
in John chapter 2, after Christ drives out the money changers 
from the temple? They think Psalm 69, zeal for your house has eaten 
me up. That's what they saw when they 
saw Christ. Why does Christ have that kind of zeal? Because none 
of us do. I'm not justifying it, I'm not 
saying it's okay, I'm not saying dare to be a better worshiper, 
but I am suggesting that a survey like this ought to make us revel 
in the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, which cleanses us from 
all sin. It is evil. John Calvin made 
the observation, few think that they pollute God and His name 
when they worship Him superstitiously or formally as though they had 
to do with a child. But we see that God Himself declares 
that the whole of religion is profane and that His name is 
shamefully polluted when men thus trifle with Him. It's evil. Secondly, as mentioned before, 
it's common with sinners. You notice that Malachi is not 
bringing new information to them? Oh, let me just re-instruct you 
in the things of the tabernacle, or rather the temple worship. 
Let me just give you some new information. They had this in 
Leviticus. Chapter 22 specifies what animals are acceptable and 
what animals are not. So the problem isn't that we 
need new information in order to achieve this place of the 
worship of God. No, we need to act upon the information 
we already have. We need to sing the Bible. We 
need to pray the Bible. We need to preach the Bible. 
We need to see the Bible in the sacraments of the church. We 
need to read the Bible. It's all supposed to be scriptural. So the information is not new 
that the prophet brings to him. In fact, one commentator named 
Stewart says the priests knew these sacrificial laws by heart 
as was required for their job. Be similar to the prophet coming 
to you, and you're a mechanic, and you're supposed to change 
the spark plugs, and the prophet's leaning over your shoulder. Take 
that wrench, and turn that plug, and pull that. You're looking 
at him like, I know this is my job. This is what I do. Well, 
the prophet has come to these priests and said, look, this 
is what you're supposed to do. It's been specified. This is 
the spirit of Micah 6, 8, one of the most popular verses in 
all of the Old Testament. He has shown you, oh man, what's 
the context? Israel's actually saying, would 
God be pleased if we sacrificed our children? Would God be pleased 
if we brought all this oil? And the prophet's response is, 
he's shown you, you know what it is. This makes it even worse. You're culpable, you're responsible, 
you're liable to God's wrath because you know better and you're 
too lazy to do it. Stuart says, the priest knew 
these sacrificial laws by heart as was required for their job. 
Ignorance was not the problem. God was not advising them of 
considerations that were new to their thinking. Malachi, like 
all the Orthodox prophets, was not calling his audience to new 
standards, but back to old ones. That's important for the church 
today. You think maybe we should listen to the Bible to tell us 
how we to worship God? Yeah, I think so. As I've said 
before, brethren, a lot of us have a tough time getting out 
of bed, figuring out what to make for dinner, figuring out 
specific things. Are we such that we can put together 
worship of the living and true God? Or are we better just to 
listen to what He says and do what He says? I opt for the latter. Listen to what He says and do 
what He says. This has been enshrined in the 
Reformed tradition as the regulative principle of worship. Albert 
N. Martin describes it, I think, 
very helpfully when he says, with reference to worship, we 
do nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else than God has 
commanded in His Word. It's a great compendium, a great 
description. Terry Johnson uses that idea 
of pray the Word, preach the Word, read the Word, sing the 
Word, see the Word. The regulative principle of worship. 
God regulates how we are to approach Him. In Hebrews chapter 12, we're 
told that our worship must be acceptable. Acceptable to who? To us? Is that really the emphasis by 
the Apostle of Hebrews 12? Or is it supposed to be acceptable 
to God? See, today it's what's acceptable 
to us, what makes me happy, what tunes my emotions, what caters 
to my experience. That's not the proper way to 
figure out whether worship is successful or not. It's about 
God. Just as I've been pondering this 
passage over the last couple of days, the Southern Baptist 
Convention, one of their, I think the leader of the Southern Baptist 
Convention, told people to stay home today. It's been a busy 
season, you know, it's the, you know, between Christmas and New 
Year's, holidays, you know, these big churches have big production 
teams and, you know, just worship at home today. Are you kidding 
me? You're going to just say no to 
the Sabbath day? You're going to say no to the 
public worship of the living God? Maybe you should say no 
to your production team. Maybe you should say no to having 
more in place than God's ever commanded to begin with. Brethren, 
it is the privilege of the people of God to have that Psalm 122 
experience every Sunday morning. I was glad when they said unto 
me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Again, we may be sluggish. 
We may be tired. We may need some grace to pray 
that. We may say with that man, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. 
But brethren, the root of the matter is in the hearts of the 
people of God. They don't have to be harangued. 
They don't have to be nagged. They don't have to be browbeaten. 
They want to be where God's people are. It's just a fundamental, 
I just praise God that in my Christian life, when my brother 
discipled me, he said, not just my physical brother-in-law, Matthew, 
true, but there was Richard Barcelos. I was a brand new believer, didn't 
know anything. They told me some very good advice. 
Whenever the church is open, go, read your Bible every day 
and pray. Okay. That's just axiomatic, 
that's first principle stuff. When I started to grow as a Christian, 
I became a pastor, I realized everybody didn't get that same 
advice. So I'm gonna give it to you right 
now. Read your Bible every day, pray every day, and never miss 
church, never. I remember the experience of 
Jeff Gilmore, just using a few names here. I remember when he 
was at Trinity Western University. He was an RA. And I remember 
a fellow one time said to him, you know a lot about theology 
in the Bible. Did you go to seminary? He said, no, I go to church. 
Now, I don't say that because it somehow touts Jim Butler. 
No, the truth is there. 1 Timothy 3.15, the church is 
the pillar and ground of the truth. Why don't God's people 
want the truth? Why do people say, if not verbally, 
in their actions, the table of the Lord is contemptible when 
they don't come to where his truth is? You see, brethren, 
it is common with sinners. It is concerned with externals 
only, formalistic, ritualistic. We got the externals in place. 
We read, we prayed, we sang, but our hearts were still in 
the car. Fourthly, it reveals boredom 
with God. I mean, that's what verse 13 
tells us. Notice, you say, you also say, oh, what a weariness. It's just, I can't be bothered. 
I got these good animals to go out and sell, right? I can't 
be bothered with, you know, offering these things up to the Lord. 
I can't be bothered with the time necessary to actually grow 
in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That 
means demands on my time. People will put up with a lot, 
but see, God goes right for the juggler. He says, I want your 
time, I want your money. Wait a minute. We don't like 
that. You can have the worst in my 
flock. You can have that old car, but by time? See, that's what the emphasis 
there is in verse 12. I'm sorry, verse 13. You also 
say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it. I wonder if 
that's why all the innovation exists in churches today. Well, 
people will be bored if we just preach to them. People will be 
bored if we just sing psalms. People will be bored if we just 
sing those old hymns from the Trinity. I mean, brethren, that's 
the complaint I've heard. I haven't heard it so much lately, 
but what do you think was the complaint I would hear when people, 
specifically out of charismatic backgrounds, would visit our 
church? They'd have no problem telling me, your church is boring. 
Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe we can spice it up a bit 
for you. Maybe we can bring in some ponies. 
Maybe we can bring in a trapeze." See, that's what some churches 
are doing. They're responding to the goats, 
trying to entertain and amuse them, rather than obeying the 
God who has said, preach to them. but they won't endure it. Preach 
to them. They don't like sound doctrine. 
Preach to them. They want ponies. Preach to them. They want puppets. Preach to 
them. They want trapeze. Preach to them. They want clowns. Preach to them. You see, that's 
the mandate for the people of God. We are not supra-wise. We are not better than God. We 
are not more knowledgeable than God. And we don't have the right 
to be innovators or creators when it comes to worship. We're 
not marketing a product. We're not selling a thing. We 
are preaching the gospel of the everlasting God. We are calling 
sinners to believe and repent. We're calling men to worship 
God aright through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
Whether their emotions are on the hot rise, whether their experiences 
are completely satisfied, that's not our concern. Again, I hope 
you have good emotional experiences, both emotional experience. I 
hope you have that, but I hope it's driven by the truth. I say 
that a man who goes to the emotions, who goes to the experience without 
going through the brain is a man to be guarded against. Anybody 
can get up and manipulate a crowd. Anybody can get up and say enough 
rah-rah sorts of things. Anybody can be a motivational 
speaker. If it is devoid from the truth 
of God's holy word, I would say run from that place. Run fast 
from that place. But if it's exposition of God's 
Word, you're being instructed in the truth of God's Word, however 
that Word may come, that's what's important. That's what's supposed 
to stir the emotions. That's what's supposed to drive 
the experience. Otherwise, you get the sorts 
of nonsense and madness that we have witnessed pervasively 
within what's called the Church over the last couple of hundred 
years. Stuff that is just full of contempt for the table of 
the Lord. As well, it provokes the judgment 
of God. This is the final implication. 
It provokes the judgment of God. The suggestion in verse 8, offer 
it to your governor. What does that suggest? It suggests 
that God is provoked. It suggests that God is angry. 
It suggests that God is going to visit them with retribution. 
Go ahead and offer it to your governor and see what he does 
with it. He'll probably send a band of troops to gun you down 
because you are stealing from the government. That's how they 
deal. I don't know how bad it is in 
Revenue Canada, but IRS? An agent once told my mother, 
if you hide money in your backyard, the IRS will find it. I've never 
doubted that at all. That's how your governor deals. 
That's what verse eight is. Give it to your governor, see 
if he accepts it. Verse 10, is there one among you that'll board 
the doors closed so that we don't go through this rigmarole anymore? 
And then verse 14, a straight out pronouncement of curse upon 
deceivers. Notice verse 14, cursed be the 
deceiver who has in his flock a male and takes a vow. You see, 
that was the stipulation. It's not saying female animals 
are bad. It doesn't say men are better. None of that stuff that 
would aggravate the snowflakes of our day. The stipulation for 
acceptable worship was a male from the flock. Again, sacrifice. A male at the market would garner 
more money. You need to pinch the flesh. 
You need to feel it. So he says, Cursed be the deceiver 
who has in his flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices to 
the Lord who is blemished. Why? For I'm a great king, says 
the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations. 
I am a great king, and you're going to bring me this pathetic 
offering? I am the God of absolute sovereignty and majesty. I'm 
the God who brought you out of darkness into marvelous light. 
I freed you from Egyptian bondage and captivity, and you're gonna 
deceive? You're gonna swindle? You're 
gonna be that kind of person that takes the mangy and the 
lame and the blind and the stolen and present it up to me? God 
says, no way. This provokes the very wrath 
of God Most High. Well, in conclusion, we need 
first good theology. So you can't have good worship 
without good theology. It's what we believe about God 
that moves us to worship God. Remember, He called you out of 
darkness into His marvelous light so that, purpose clause, you 
may proclaim His praises. You may proclaim His excellencies. You have to understand the system 
of redemption is biblically defined to fuel worship. We need to know 
God. We're going to look at that tonight 
in John 17. Jesus says, this is eternal life, 
that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
whom thou hast sent. If we don't know this God, we're 
not going to revere him. If we don't know this God, we're 
not going to fear him. If we don't know this God, we're 
not going to present ourselves as living sacrifices, which Paul 
says is our reasonable or our rational service unto God. A 
couple of brothers in a book they wrote called With Reverence 
and Awe. It's a book on worship, Daryl 
Hart and John Meather. It says, because of the close 
connection between good theology and appropriate worship, corporate 
acts of praise and devotion that conflict with reformed theology 
must flow from unsound doctrine. In effect, our worship provides 
a barometer of our theology. Now, that may a bit be confusing, 
I kind of took it out of context, but I think their point is this. 
With this sort of resurgence on Calvinism or Reformed theology, 
why don't our churches look like there's a resurgence of Calvinism 
or Reformed theology? Whence the disconnect? We say 
we worship the God of absolute sovereignty, power, majesty, 
and glory, and we dare to cancel services on the Sabbath day? 
We dare to tell people, you don't need to really come to church 
today. We dare to introduce strange fire into the worship of God. 
We are Calvinistic or we are reformed. Our worship will evidence 
that fact. There will not be a disconnect 
between the theology and between the worship of God. What is Calvinism 
or reformed theology except the exaltation of God? What should 
our worship be? It should be a rehearsal and 
exaltate the God of heaven and earth. I'm getting what is ours 
and again, I don't wake up saying I hope everybody leaves defeated 
and and unhappy and And let down and that there's nothing for 
them. So I have this zany idea that the Word of God always helps 
the people of God They may not recognize it immediately, but 
they will the Word of God always helps you That's another sort 
of piece of advice I can give you. Always, you'll never be 
let down by knowing more Bible. Oh boy, I spent all that time 
memorizing scripture. My life's a mess. That's not 
typically what people say. I'm so thankful that I spent 
all that time memorizing scripture, because my life's a mess. And 
it's that scripture that's the buoy. It's the scripture that's 
the stabilizer. It's the scripture that's the 
security for me in the mess. See, theology drives worship. Secondly, we need responsible 
leadership. Look at chapter 2. Remember I 
said it's an indictment of the priest that goes from 1.6 to 
2.9. 2.6. The law of truth was in his mouth. This is when Levi is initially 
called as sort of the priestly office in Israel. And injustice 
was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and 
equity and turned many away from iniquity. Verse 7. For the lips 
of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law 
from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 
Helps you to understand the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3 and 
Titus 1. Helps you to understand Peter's 
emphasis in 1 Peter 5. You need a qualified leadership. 
You need men that aren't going to look the other way when somebody 
brings this blind or this mangy beast and says, oh, this is my 
sacrifice for Yahweh. Responsible leadership would 
say, that's not acceptable for Yahweh. Go back home, find the 
best, and bring it to God. You don't sanction this because 
you might get something out of it. You certainly don't need 
CEOs. You don't need the power sort 
of guys. You need faithful preachers of the Word of God. It's another 
lesson I wish the church corporately, not just ours, but the church 
in general, would just get. We don't need celebrities. We 
don't need people fawning over leaders. We just need guys that 
get up in the morning and do what they're supposed to do. 
Is that so hard to act for? Guys that get up and just do 
what they're supposed to do. I think it's getting more and 
more difficult. Guys that just get up. That would be a great 
sort of way to examine a fellow for ministry. Are you going to 
just get up every morning and do what you're supposed to do? 
Yes. All right. Good. Welcome. Welcome to pastoral 
ministry. It'll be a little bit more involved 
than that, but That's it. We don't need celebrities. We 
don't need book tours. We don't need cups. We don't 
need t-shirts. We just need men that will take 
seriously Paul's final admonition to Timothy on the corporate level. 
Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of 
season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. 
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. 
So Timothy, preach the word. Preach sound doctrine to them. 
We need as well biblical worship. The Bible is filled with references 
to biblical worship. Deuteronomy 5, 7 to 10. You all know what Deuteronomy 
5, 7 to 10 is. Deuteronomy 5, 7 to 10 is the 
first and second commandment. Defines the God we are supposed 
to worship and defines the manner in which we're supposed to worship. 
Deuteronomy 12, God says, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing 
else. Do not add to my word. We see 
it in 1 Timothy 3, Paul writes to Timothy, so that you may know 
how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God. I already 
referred to Hebrews chapter 12 in the reference to acceptable 
worship. As I said, this principle is 
enshrined in the great confessions of faith from the 17th century. 
Aaron says, the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is 
instituted by himself and so limited by his own revealed will 
that he may not be worshipped according to the imagination 
and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan under any visible representations 
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. That 
makes perfect sense, doesn't it? If we ask the question of 
the Bible, how do you want us to worship you? The Bible has 
a very clear and candid answer. God doesn't say you need to be 
innovators, you need to be creators, you need to be the most creative 
sorts of people so that you can figure out how to come to God. 
Praise God He didn't leave it to us to figure it out because 
we wouldn't have figured it out. John Calvin makes this observation 
with reference to this principle of worship. two advantages to 
worship regulated in this manner. He says, first, it tends greatly 
to establish God's authority that we do not follow our own 
pleasure, but depend entirely on His sovereignty. And secondly, 
such is our folly that when we are left at liberty, all we are 
able to do is go astray. And when once we have turned 
aside from the right path, there is no end to our wanderings until 
we get buried under a multitude of superstitions. You see, that 
establishes the authority of God and it keeps us in check. We need both of those. We need 
to know and understand the authority of God, and we need to be kept 
in check. Now, if you're not a believer 
here this morning, my encouragement to you is not show up next Sunday 
with brighter disposition. Show up next Sunday earlier. 
Show up Sunday, you know, with more of a desire to sing louder. 
My emphasis to you is to look to the sacrifice provided by 
God for sinners. Get that? I'm not telling you 
this morning to fix your life, to get better at worship, to 
put on better clothes. I think all those things are 
helpful. I think a good night's sleep on Saturday. I think dressing 
up. I think all that. Those are all 
good things. I mean, if we went to visit the Prime Minister, 
we would probably shave, we'd probably do certain things, right? 
The point for unbelievers this morning is not fix up the externals, 
but to look by faith to the sacrifice provided by God. John says, John 
1.29, not John the Apostle who wrote the book, but John the 
Baptist who saw, said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away 
the sin of the world. The answer for unbelievers this 
morning. The answer for sinners this morning. Now that may offend you. You 
may not like being called an unbeliever or a sinner. Guess 
what? I'm a sinner. Everybody in here is a sinner. 
Most everybody in here was an unbeliever at one time. I'm sorry 
if the identifiers of the labels are offensive, but the counsel, 
listen to the counsel. The emphasis is not try to fix 
yourself up, get better at worship. The emphasis is on look to the 
Lamb of God. Believe on him who alone can 
save to the uttermost all who draw nigh to God through faith. 
Well, let us close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you 
for your word, and we thank you for the clarity of the prophets, 
and for this passage in particular. And we pray that you would help 
us as we enter into a new year to be committed to the truth 
of Holy Scripture, to be committed to the things that you've ordained 
for our good. We know these means are calculated 
for our good, for our conformity unto the image of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. I do pray that all over the earth 
today, people would behold the Lamb of God, that all over the 
earth today, people would believe on Him who takes away the sin 
of the world. And I pray specifically for sinners here that they, by 
grace, would look unto Him and find salvation through Christ. 
We bless you and we thank you for this time together, and we 
pray that you would go with us now, and we pray through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.