How To Despise God's Name in Worship

This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

Malachi’s Love Letter and the Second Disputation

Well, this afternoon we're continuing our study in Malachi. I think we know that by now. And as we are, we're going to be unpacking the final nine verses that we find in Malachi chapter 1. If you remember back to last week, I appreciated so much the theme of last week that I wanted to highlight it once more, but also to set the stage for what we'll be looking at this afternoon.

So if you can remember back to last week, we considered the perfect and the unchanging and the never-ending love of God toward His people. And we saw how this love was rooted not in the fickle wills and desires of fallen man, nor in man's loveliness or unloveliness for that matter, but we saw how this love of God finds its genesis in the immutable character of God.

We learned how God loves His people through Jesus Christ and how we did not choose Him, but He chose us. How He set His electing love on His own predestined people from before the foundation of the world.

In Malachi we learned as a book is a love letter of sorts, if we can call it that. A love letter written to a contrary and a foolish, often foolish people. And yet if you remember from Malachi chapter 1 and verse 2, we read those unspeakably kind words of God.

I have loved you. And you'll remember I gave us a bit of a language lesson there that that is spoken in the perfect tense. Meaning it's love as a definitive past action and as a present state of being.

And my sincere hope and prayer has been and will be that we would be gripped by that truth at our soul level. That God, dear Christian, really does love you. Every time you preach, inevitably the week that follows you'll be driving and walking and doing whatever happens.

And you think, oh didn't say this, could have, would have, should have said this. And I thought about it, if I could go into the biblical definition of love and then explain to you what it means that God loves you.

But I'm not going to go into it all at length, but suffice it to say that God loves you, dear Christian, not because you are inherently lovely, but in spite actually of the contrary. That we have all marred ourselves with our own wretched sin.

And it's as if, kids maybe you can picture this, God went down into the coal mines of our own depravity, where he found us covered in the black soot of the mine of our own sinfulness. And he saw us as he were, as we were.

And he called us out of that place and he clothed us from head to toe in the loveliness of Christ as a garment, white, spotless, and in its full splendor, the robes of Christ's impeccable righteousness.

God took an unlovely people and he made us lovely. And he has now, since that day, made us the object of his perfect love. He has made you the object of that perfect love, even though you don't deserve it.

And praise be to God because you don't deserve it. And this is foundational then to our understanding of the book of Malachi. As I noted last week, every one of Malachi's six disputations hangs on this great truth concerning God's love to us.

But as we looked at also last week, while God's love is never once called into question in this book, Malachi only continuously casts doubt on man's love to God. And so this afternoon, we're going to look now at the second of the six disputations that Malachi deals with.

These question and answer exchanges. And here in verses 6 -14, we will see very quickly that this inevitable failure to love God, despite God's great love for us, it is still a grievous thing. And in fact, to love God imperfectly in the way that Malachi will show us in a moment is tantamount to despising God.

And so in this second disputation that we're dealing with today, we're going to see how God first addresses His priests. The sons of Aaron who were called to God to minister in the temple on the people's behalf.

And what we find is that even now, shortly after this reconstruction of the nation, and the reconstruction even of the second temple in Jerusalem, this is a second chance from God. With the city now beginning to get back on its feet after 70 years in captivity, the people and the priests, we find again, we're offering all kinds of unacceptable offerings to God.

And we'll see that in just a moment. And in so doing, these priests and these returning exiles, were showing us what it means to abhor the name of the thrice holy God, both in their worship and in their service.

Now if you look at the bulletin, when you preach as often as you do, you have to think of ways to not just do the same thing every single week. And so this week I framed this sermon a little bit differently than I might otherwise.

Maybe on another week I might ask how to worship God pleasingly. But in fact we're going to stick to the theme of what Malachi is dealing with. And you could title this sermon, How to Despise God's Name in Worship.

How, if you want to, do you despise God's name? When you worship Him in the corporate worship of the church, in your private worship at home, in your family worship, for those of you who are married or have children.

How to despise God's name in worship? What we're going to see here is how to look at a good and gracious God who loves us beyond our own ability to comprehend. And then to see how the Israelites in Malachi spit in His face by offering Him the bare minimum in their worship to Him.

I would venture to say that this passage, as is every passage, perhaps it goes without saying, has tremendous bearing on us as Christians. Both in our daily continuous worship and in our weekly assembled worship.

I wholeheartedly believe, looking out at you brothers and sisters, our small group that we have today, I wholeheartedly believe that it is our hearts desire to learn how to love and honor God more in our day-to-day lives.

In our worship, in the worship that we offer to Him. And yet I believe, I trust, I know that each one of us is probably guilty of some of the points that we will look at today. The ways in which we undercut the efficacy, the genuineness, the sincerity of our worship offered to God.

As Malachi casts his indictment at the priests for their failures in their worship to God. Many of us will find that we are guilty of some of those same things. As Malachi casts his different indictments, we will find that we are hit at least by the edge of some of those charges.

As Matthew Henry said, this is coming from a good Puritan commentator, we may each charge upon ourselves what is here charged upon the priests in this chapter. And so, today we will see that there are ways that we are deficient in our worship to God.

Both in our manner of living in worship to Him and in our assembled worship to Him. And yet today is an invitation to see those errors in our thinking and living. And by God's grace and for God's glory to amend our living, amend our ways so that we can love God more.

And to love Him more and more as He loves each one of us. So that's where we're going today. How do you despise God in your worship? And then conversely, if we can learn from those errors, brethren, how do we then worship God?

And to offer Him our love as a response to His love for us. His love shown to us in Jesus Christ. And so with that in mind, we'll turn our attention to Malachi 1 and verse 6. We're going to look at five ways in which this nation in this time despised God's name in their worship.

And then I want to reframe these so that we can avoid these errors and worship God in a way that brings Him great pleasure. So turning our attention to Malachi 1 and verse 6. Number one, if you want to despise God in your worship, then approach Him, number one, with casual worship.

Approach Him with casual worship. Verse 6 says, As a son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? Says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise my name.

But you say, how have we despised your name? Right away we can see the disputation format that Malachi uses throughout the entirety of the book. This question and answer format. And the priests we see, whose calling it is, whose calling it was at that moment to honor God, have instead despised His name.

But how? But how? Was it a sense of animosity towards Him? Did they intentionally curse Him? What did they do to despise His name? They offered Him, at least what I am calling, casual worship. And what is casual worship?

This is, at least from the example of these priests, worship activities that are happening. That are happening constantly, consistently. But are then devoid of the honor and of the reverence that is due God's name.

It is worship in name only. Because it is a loveless worship. And it is a fearless worship. Isn't that interesting? From the opening words of verse 6, we can see that Malachi is very effective in the way that he engages the reader.

For those of you, brothers and sisters, who were here late last week, you heard me as we were going through the text and I was reading verse 6. And even then I said, this is an amazing text. I didn't know I was going to be sick and choking a little bit as I'm preaching.

But I was looking forward to reading verse 6. It is soul-stirring. And it's because Malachi uses imagery that we can all understand. It is contemporaries understood. It's so relevant, so piercing in fact, that we can picture the scenes ourselves.

Of a father, when he says in verse 6, a son honors his father. We can picture a young son. Picture this with me. Looking up at his dad. And giving him his love. And his trust. And his honor. Number one, as he is commanded to do in the fifth commandment.

But more than that. Because in a sense, he is inclined in his very nature, by the nature of their relationship, to look up to his dad. To love him and to honor him. And to give him his best. At the same time, we can visualize a picture of a bond servant.

Carefully obeying every word from the mouth of his master. There's a sense of honor in his conduct. But also of reverence. Because after all, that servant belongs to his master. And he has no other option but to obey his lord.

In his every word. Now when we see the picture that Malachi paints. We agree that it's only natural for a son to honor his father and enslave his master. But then Malachi turns the tables. Just as we begin to picture this.

A son honoring his father. Enslave his master. He set the trap. Now what? It is so natural. And then he demonstrates how the priests have abandoned this same nature in their relationship with God. There is service, no doubt.

There is obedience. There is routine. And how true this is of so many Christians. Service and obedience and routine and form. But no heart. No heart. No true love. God asks more than that. Notice the language with me.

The Lord of hosts. The God who governs the galaxies. Who commands his innumerable angels. The God who is present in this room. And who is present at the same time at the other side of the world. He asks, if I am a father.

Where is my honor? If I am a master. Where is my fear? Already in the priest's worship of God. These two elements have been lost. Honor and fear. And as a result, God's name was being despised in all of their worship activities.

Now I said at the outset that I am certain that when many of us come here each week to worship the Lord. When we worship the Lord at other times and other places. We have every intention to please him.

But let me ask you. And if I were to ask you now. Do you desire to please the Lord? I trust that many of you, most of you, if not all of you would say, yes I do. But let me ask you. How often do you say to yourself.

My aim today is to worship God. By pouring myself out in service to him. With a heart to render unto him. Holy honor and fear. I intend to stand before God in my worship today. And to tremble at his holiness.

What does it mean then to honor and to fear God? In our worship. Just looking at those words in Malachi 1. I want us to do a bit of a word study. And we can ask ourselves as we go along. When I come to worship God.

When I live my life. Before the all seeing eyes of God. Do I intend to do these things? Is this true of my life? Or have I lost this? Is it gone? What does it mean then? When God says, if I am a father.

Why do you not honor me? What does it mean to honor God in our worship? To honor. If we were to look at the Hebrew. Go back a little bit. If you know what the word Ichabod means. The glory has departed.

Well, the word Anarch is the word Kabod. Which means glory or distinction. Or perhaps even more. We could say heaviness. Or weightiness. True worship offered to God. Is not cavalier. It is not like cotton candy for the soul.

It is weighty. It is mighty. It is a workout in the life of the inner man. It is heart and soul work. To honor God is not just to get a Bible verse tattooed on your ankle. It takes all that is within you.

And it pours it inside out. In service to God. Like Paul said to the Philippians. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering. Upon the sacrificial offering of your faith. I am glad and I rejoice with you all.

To honor God is to give all of you. What does it mean to fear God? And this is something I think that most of us. We speak about fearing God. But we don't necessarily appreciate what it means. Or maybe we've lost the category for fearing God in our worship.

Just as honor, we looked at the origin of the word. We'll look at a little bit of the etymology of fear. It comes from the Hebrew word mora. It means to fear. To stand in awe. Or even to experience terror.

And I ask you. When was the last time. As you were reading your Bible. And considering what it says about God. What God says about himself and his word. Or when you considered even the state of your own soul before God.

When was the last time you trembled. At the sense of God's goodness. Of the sense of God's awesomeness. We could say even at the sense of God's awfulness. That it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Make no mistake about it. That when we are to come together here on the Lord's day. Or when you're at home. Sometimes I will. My wife would probably say it's been a little bit too long since I've done this.

But I will sometimes vacuum as an act of worship. And I will put music on. Or I'll put a podcast on. Or nothing on at all. And I will just say in the sight of God I'm going to get every square inch. That's why she likes it so much.

Early in our marriage she would say go worship God again with a vacuum. But how many of us in our worship. In our living before God. Actually wake up at times perhaps. Convicted of sin. And just tremble before him.

That he is a holy God. And a good God. And a just God. And that I have wronged him. Now for others of you in this room. You are not convinced that there is room for fear in the heart of the Christian.

You might think that on this side of Christ and the cross. And as partakers in the new covenant. There is no place for fear. But you're dead wrong. In fact to put the fear of God into the Christian. Is one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit.

One of the works of the Holy Spirit. As part of the new covenant. That when he makes a new covenant with us. It says we're told in the Old Testament. That he will put the fear of God into our hearts. That in a sense it's the grace of God as the hymn goes.

That teaches our heart to fear. And that relieves our fear. Worship must be then. One of the most joyous activities of the human soul. And one of the most sobering. One of the most humbling. One of the most fearful activities of the human soul.

True worship leaves no room for a proud and arrogant heart. Because true worship consists of both praise. And of holy reverence. Psalm 96 verse 4 says. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised.

You would say yes amen. Great and greatly to be praised. But there's a semi-colon not a period. And after that semi-colon it says this. He is to be feared above all gods. Isaiah 66 too. But this is the one to whom I will look.

He who is humble and contrite in spirit. And who trembles at my word. The fear of the Lord children is the beginning of knowledge. How many times have your parents told you that? Kids you might remember going through Proverbs.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. And so this is true worship to God. Weighty worship. And trembling worship. And this is the kind of worship. That will both thrill your heart.

And satisfy your soul. And we brothers and sisters must fight tooth and nail. To keep this in our hearts of worship. Because the whole culture. And I fear much of the church. Is going in exactly the opposite direction.

And an example of this is just this week. As we were at one of the children's events in the community. We went to a large seeker sensitive church in our area. Where this event was taking place. And normally when we go here.

The children they do their plays there. Normally we will go to the lower section. And get as close as we can. And get good video of the kids. But this week in particular. The best seats were taken. And so what we did was.

Our son said well let's go sit up on the balcony. On the second tier. And so we said fair enough. We can get into the middle. We'll go up onto the second balcony. As we went up into the second balcony.

At least from the bottom. It looks like there are three different sections in the balcony. But when we got up to the top. I realized that either one section had been omitted or deleted. To allow for a perfectly flat area.

Maybe two, three, four, five times the size of this room. Where there were no pews.

No rows.

But tables and chairs. And along the one side. If you've been to Roger's place. What I might call a drink rail. Where one can sit there. During the worship. And be surrounded by the worship. And have TVs.

At strategic places to watch the worship. To sit on the edge. Imagine to sip on your mocha latte. As the worship is happening. And to consume worship. But not to participate in worship. To sit in this loge.

And take in the worship experience. These are the churches that are being built. These are the churches that will be built. These are the mindsets. This is the theology that is driving. Much of the seeker sensitive.

Mainstream church growth movement. And it will kill true worship. It has killed true worship in the hearts of people. God does not want us worshiping him. In the assembly of the godly. While we sit at our drink rails.

Sipping on our lattes. God doesn't want our words of praise without our hearts. God does not want our casual worship. He wants all of us. Giving him all of our honor. Trembling.

Literally.

If not figuratively. Before him. Giving all that is within us to all that he is. God does not want our casual worship. So if you find that you come here.

Or anywhere else.

Cheap Offerings and Contemptible Worship

And you're giving him casual worship. Do not despise your God in that way. The second disputation we see is. Things begin to advance. We see the question asked. How have we despised your name? And we find the answer in verses 7 and 8.

Malachi says. By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say. How have we polluted you? By saying that the Lord's table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice. Is that not evil?

And when you offer those that are lame or sick. Is that not evil? Present that to your governor. Will he accept you? Or show you favor? Says the Lord of hosts. This brings us to our second point. If you want to despise God's name.

Offer him cheap and contemptible worship. Not only had the priests grown complacent to their own hearts. As they worshiped God. But this began to manifest itself. In the quality of offerings that they were bringing him.

And we see this recounted in verse 7. And then verse 8. And then we'll look at verse 13. But verse 7 tells us that they were offering polluted offerings. And what does that mean? This is a reference to the fact that they were taking offerings.

They were offering up animals that were ritually unclean. Which was a gross violation of the law. Leviticus 22 .22. The priests were told. The Israelites were told. Animals blind or disabled or mutilated.

Or having a discharge or an itch or a scab. You shall not offer to the Lord. Or give to them. Or give them to the Lord. As a food offering on the altar. And so what you had was the Israelites and the priests.

Bringing in those livestock. Those goats. Those lambs. With scabs and with sores. And with diseases that would spread to the other unclean livestock. Instead of bringing them their best. Him their best.

And then in verse 8. We see that they were openly offering. Not just the unclean. But then the worst of their livestock. Well obviously keeping the best for themselves. And we see. Can you imagine for a moment.

Coming before God. The living God. The God who sees all things. And believing that he would accept a lame sacrifice. A sick sacrifice. The beginning of verse 8. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice.

They thought that God could not see when they took their very worst. The leftovers of the livestock as it were. And then gave it to him. Deuteronomy 15 .21. But if it has any blemish God says. If it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish.

Whatever. You shall not sacrifice it to the Lord. But that wasn't all. In verse 13. But you say. It says in verse 13. What a weariness this is. And you snort at it. Says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence.

Or is lame. Or is sick. Now to be taken by violence. Doesn't mean that it was stolen away. Or something like that. But what it means. Is that it was an animal. Imagine you have your sheep on the edge of the field.

And when the shepherd isn't looking. The wolf comes. And devours part of that lamb. And then that shepherd. Rather than putting it out of its misery. Then takes that partially eaten lamb. To the temple.

Where it is then presented as an offering to God. Taking the worst again of the animals. And even then. To take the worst of the animals. In verse 13. We're told. That it was wearying to them. They were growing bored.

Of the task of worshipping God. And that they were snorting at it. And to snort at it. Just means that they're looking down their nose. They're huffing about it. They're treating the worship of God with further contempt.

So that the heart. And the behavior issues of the priests. Were so numerous. There are almost too many to count. But the one issue that I want to highlight. Is that the priests and the people's readiness.

To offer their worst. Rather than their best. To offer that which was cheap. And contemptible. Disposable. Rather than to give God. The very best. The most costly. That which was the most precious. The first fruits of the flock.

So I ask you. Do you want to know if you despise God's name in this way? Well, let me ask you. Are you willing to pay the cost to worship God? Are you willing to. Not give the leftovers of your life. But to give the very best of your time.

To give the first from your earnings. To give the best of your years. As a young man or a young woman. To wholeheartedly serving God with your lives. Or are you going to be the young man or the young woman.

The middle age or the older man or woman. Who says, I will give God my life. When I have about four years left. And I'm in a wheelchair. And I can't speak anymore. Can't walk anymore. Don't get me wrong.

A person is very useful in that time of life. But are you going to give God your best? Or are you going to give God your worst? Let me tell you it matters to the Lord. Whether we are going to give. From the first fruits of our flock.

From the best of our livelihood. Or if we are going to give him whatever else we have to live on. In Genesis chapter 4 and verse 3. We looked at this a few months ago. Looking at the regular principle of worship.

In the course of time. Cain brought to the Lord an offering. Abel brought an offering as well we know. Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the first fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the first born of his flock.

And of their fat portion. And we saw this a few months ago didn't we? And the Lord had regard. Often this is explained that the Lord had regard for the heart. That he could only see the heart. Or that he only wanted to see.

Only took the time to see the heart. But it says the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. And for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was angry and his face fell. Do you find it a weary thing to give God even your second best at this time?

Such is not the call of a true worshipper of God. We see a perfect picture of this. Of being willing to pay the price in the life of David. In 2 Samuel 24. Verses 22 and 24. We read about David when he called the census into being.

And how the Lord sent the angel of death. And the angel of death began going around if you remember this. And David approached Arana about sacrificing oxen. And the king said to Arana. I will buy it from you for a price.

The place and the offering that he was to offer. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God. That cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor. And the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings.

And peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land and the plague was averted from Israel. This is the kind of worship that God desires. Worship that comes at one's own personal expense.

Now salvation we know is always offered. To every man, woman and child at no cost. But make no mistake there is a difference between salvation and pure worship to God. And with respect to this it will cost you something.

If you are going to live faithfully as a Christian. J .C. Ryle said that the cost of living faithfully as a Christian is the cost of self-righteousness. Of your sins. Of your love of ease. Oh how we love ease.

Contrived Repentance and Presuming on God’s Kindness

In your favor. In the favor of the world. The third way that one can despise themselves. Or despise sorry the worship of God. Is accompany your worship with contrived repentance. Accompany your worship with contrived repentance.

In verse 9. And now we entreat the favor of God. That he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand. Will he show favor to any of you? Says the Lord of hosts. This invitation to repentance is offered purely ironically.

And why is that? Why is God then making light of, making fun of their repentance? Because there is no intention to actually repent. But it is only contrived repentance. It is play repentance. It is those times when we think about repenting but don't actually repent.

But we are to worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. As Martin Luther talked about. As he posted on his 95 theses on the castle church door. That repentance is not a one time event. But an event that we do every single day.

Of keeping short accounts with God. Of walking with him in holiness. And in righteousness. Let me ask you. When was the last time seriously and truly that you came to God and said. In sincerity. Oh God I repent.

I don't just, I don't just ask for forgiveness. Yes, I ask for forgiveness. But I repent of this sin. That I need not only forgiveness of sin. But I need freedom from the power of this sin. And I desire to be holy as you are holy.

I desire to live a righteous life. I desire to look up and to see your smile. Not only because I believe in your son. You will find the Lord's smile. And every day good or bad on the days you're looking to his son.

But I desire to please you with my life. To offer myself a living sacrifice. Holy and acceptable to him. To be a worshipper of God not on Sundays. But to be a worshipper of God seven days a week. To give him your best.

To give him your all every day. In spite of who you are and by his grace. But I fear there are many people. Who presume upon God's kindness. And we don't confess our sin. And we don't repent. And therefore when we come to the Lord's assembly.

The assembly of the saints on the Lord's day. We come way down with our own sin. Sin sick in our own consciences. And even if we come with perfect confidence. God himself sees our worship. And he sees the contradiction in our lives.

And it is displeasing to him. To worship God truly is to worship God repentantly. Perhaps for the sake, contrast for the sake of clarity. Just in the course of my studies. Sam would know as you're looking sometimes for how do I illustrate a point.

Sometimes you just stumble upon something. And I stumbled upon this in my studies. But I'm not sure if anyone has ever heard of the German poet Heinrich Heine. German poet Heinrich Heine. He died in 1856.

And he has some of the worst last words I've ever heard. He said, God will forgive me. That's his job. Let me tell you. God will forgive you if you place your faith in his son. If you call upon the name of the Lord Jesus you shall be saved.

I believe that wholeheartedly. But some of us live like Heinrich Heine. That I will do what I want.

When I want.

And when I come to God. He will give me forgiveness. Because that is his job. I'm mindful of something our brother Neil said. Probably a year or a year and a half ago. About repentance. That if you can repent today.

Repent today because at some point the opportunity might expire. That your heart grows too cold. Or something else happens. And I'm doing violence to my brother's sermon here. But to the extent that there will be a day.

When that repentance and that opportunity is gone. Do not harden your hearts. Do not allow your hearts to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. There's a thing I tell my children regularly as we talk about sin.

And I think that maybe they're starting to believe me. Because we see the little sin patterns in our lives. In their lives and in mine. And then the fruit that is born out of that sin pattern. And then we see it.

There's conflict and there are other things. And sometimes I will sit at the table with my children and say. You guys. This is what I mean when I say. The wages of sin is always death.

Always death.

There is the fleeting pleasure of sin. It lasts but for a moment in light of eternity. And when the fleeting pleasure of sin is gone. There is only guilt. And condemnation.

And brothers and sisters.

This point is an opportunity to each of us to say. I will repent. I must repent.

By God's grace.

Worshiping a Small God and the Greatness of the Nations

The fourth way. If you want to despise God's name and worship. Is to believe. This is an interesting point. I almost omitted it. Is to believe that any corporate worship. Is better than no corporate worship.

Isn't that an interesting wording? To believe that any corporate worship. Is better than no corporate worship. Is wrong. What do I mean? In verse 10. I can appreciate any sentence that begins with the word.

Oh. Oh.

That there were one among you. Who would shut the doors. That you might not kindle false fire. Kindle fire. Excuse me on my altar. In vain. I have no pleasure in you. Says the Lord of hosts. And I will not accept.

An offering from your hand.

Now.

I almost removed this. Because some might misunderstand. What I mean to say here. So understand what I'm saying. And what I'm not saying. This is not to discourage you. From praying. When you don't feel worthy of praying.