1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:07,080 Malachi Chapter 2 And as we have read in Malachi chapter one, we 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:12,840 really read a hard text. This is an indictment. 3 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:18,000 This is a charge against the priest. 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:25,720 So today we read the second discourse of this charge against 5 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:30,040 Israel. Read with me these hard words, 6 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:37,680 these weighty words that also have a different and a hard kind 7 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,520 of language, and I think you'll get a sense as we read this text 8 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:46,000 together. So from verse one, and now all 9 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:47,960 priests, this command is for you. 10 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,040 If you will not listen, if you will not take it too hard to 11 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,960 give honor to my name, says the Lord of Hosts, then I will send 12 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,400 the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. 13 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:03,560 Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it 14 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,640 to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your 15 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,960 offspring and spread dung on your faces. 16 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:14,720 Ouch the dung of of your offerings, and you shall be 17 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,360 taken away with it. So shall you know that I have 18 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:22,960 sent this command to you, and my covenant with Levi may stand, 19 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,280 says the Lord of Host. My covenant with him was one of 20 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,880 life and peace, and I gave them to him. 21 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,560 It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. 22 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,160 He stood in all of my name through instruction was in his 23 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:38,680 mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. 24 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,760 He walked with me in peace and in uprightness. 25 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:46,480 He turned many from iniquity, for the lips of a priest should 26 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,040 guard knowledge and people should seek instruction from his 27 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,200 mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. 28 00:01:55,440 --> 00:02:00,440 But you have turned aside from the way you have caused many to 29 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,800 stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant 30 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:09,560 of Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. And I will make you despised and 31 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:14,120 and abased because of because before all the people in as much 32 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,360 as you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your 33 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:23,640 instruction. These are very hard words. 34 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:27,960 These are very weighty words. And my prayer is that we would 35 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:33,720 feel the weight of his words. And so for this message, we use 36 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,000 the same title, the worship of God, Part 2. 37 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,280 And we're going to look at this under 4 headings, the warning to 38 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:46,080 the priest from verse one to verse 3, God's covenant with 39 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,600 Levi from verse 4 to verse 5, through instruction from verse 6 40 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,360 to verse 7. God's charge against the priest 41 00:02:54,360 --> 00:03:03,000 in verse 8 and verse 9, as we have read the first discourse in 42 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:08,560 two weeks ago and the Lord being displeased by the priest and 43 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,600 being displeased, of course, by the offerings of the priest. 44 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:18,520 And we got that two weeks ago, that what we do in worship and 45 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:24,960 how we worship matters to God. And for those who were not here, 46 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:29,080 perhaps by a way of reminder that Malachi lived about 100 47 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,000 years after the Israelites had returned from return from the 48 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,800 Babylonian exile. And as you know, they were 49 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,480 living in Jerusalem. I think Hillary also touched 50 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,680 that at this point in time they were living in Jerusalem and 51 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,640 they rebuilt the temple. And this temple did not have the 52 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,360 same splendor as the Temple of Solomon. 53 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,480 It was a temple, but perhaps not in the same level as Solomon's 54 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:56,320 temple. And as they came back after 55 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,040 exile, they were they were coming back with a sense of 56 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,920 expectation. They had high expectations about 57 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,240 the promises God had made to them. 58 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:10,120 And it it is was their hope and their prayer that God in his 59 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,520 grace would fulfill all of those promises that indeed they will 60 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,399 see peace, they will see justice, but also they will see 61 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:22,640 the Messiah who would come and set up his Kingdom of peace and 62 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:24,600 justice. So they were hanging on to the 63 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,800 promises of God prophesied by Haggai, but also by Zechariah 64 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,800 and others. For example, in Haggai chapter 2 65 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,560 verse 7, it says, I will shake all nations, and what is desired 66 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,760 by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, 67 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,040 says the Lord Almighty. The glory of this house will be 68 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,720 greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord 69 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:49,960 Almighty. And in this place I will grant 70 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,360 peace, declares the Lord. And so the Israelites are really 71 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,440 waiting for these promises of God. 72 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,760 And they begin to wonder, if God has promised us this, why are we 73 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:06,880 then not receiving or getting what God has promised to us? 74 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,360 And they are going through injustice, but also they are 75 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:13,160 going through poverty. And surely having come out of 76 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,040 exile, they know that they they have expectations that surely 77 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,880 God, we want to see prosperity in our time. 78 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,760 And this seems to be a contradiction to them, that 79 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,600 Lord, you've taken us out and yet we don't see the prosperity 80 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,880 that we have promised. Instead we are seeing violence 81 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:33,480 and poverty and injustice. To the mind of the Israelites at 82 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,440 this point in time, it seems as though God has defaulted on his 83 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:41,160 promises. To them it seems as though God 84 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,720 is not working, or God is not working for their good, or God 85 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,920 is not delivering according to his promises. 86 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:53,800 The Israelites in one sense are saying to God, we have done our 87 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:58,200 part, and now it is time for you, God, to do your part. 88 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:02,240 If you promised us all of these good things, why are we then not 89 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,880 seeing them? It is as though God is not 90 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,320 absent, or God has abandoned his own people. 91 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:14,760 Who has neglected his own people, the people of God. 92 00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:20,800 Perhaps at this point in time, Phil sense of anger, maybe even 93 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,760 bitter, because if God has promised something, why doesn't 94 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:33,480 he fulfill it? And I think us too, we can feel 95 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:38,120 the same way as this Israelites. If God has spoken something has 96 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,360 said something and we don't see it come through, there is a 97 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,920 sense in which we feel angry, we feel bitter and we actually be 98 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:50,840 also be impatient. So when you feel you should be 99 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:56,240 in the advanced stage of your life and advancing in life and 100 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,120 that is not happening, there's a sense in which you feel bitter 101 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,200 when life is not going according to your plan, your schedule, 102 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,000 that the sense in which you get angry as though God, why do why 103 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:12,880 don't I have what I prayed for, what I longed for, what you know 104 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,360 that I need? And yet God, it seems as though 105 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:22,320 your eyes are looking elsewhere. When we feel as though we are 106 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:29,880 not getting what we deserve, God, surely we deserve this God 107 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,480 I have done. I've been a faithful believer. 108 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:37,280 I come to church every Sunday. I serve in the youth, I serve in 109 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:39,840 the worship in the band. I do all of these things. 110 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,160 Surely, God, you should be opening all these doors for me. 111 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,400 And yet it may feel as though the doors are shut. 112 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,360 The Israelites are thinking about the promises of God, and 113 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,640 yet it seems God is not acting according to their schedule and 114 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:59,200 according to their calendar. And we too may feel the same. 115 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,760 The psalmist knows something about this. 116 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,880 For in Psalm 73, verse 2, quite an interesting Psalm, the 117 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:12,440 psalmist recalls a time when his feet almost stumble and he says 118 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,400 my step had nearly slipped. Why? 119 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,960 Because I was envious of the arrogant. 120 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:25,280 His envy was fuelled by the fact that he saw the prosperity of 121 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,440 the wicked. Is that quite interesting that 122 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,560 he sees all of the citizens, though the wicked are 123 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,640 prospering, the wicked are doing so well. 124 00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:37,799 And the question the psalmist is asking, what about me? 125 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,600 How can ungodly people prosper? And I don't prosper. 126 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,600 And he says because of this, my own feet nearly slipped because 127 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,680 the arrogant is prosper, prospering. 128 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:57,960 These are the things in which we also perhaps wrestle with, and I 129 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:01,360 believe the people of Israel we're wrestling with. 130 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:08,760 And I think often we look at what God has not given us 131 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:13,440 instead of looking at what God has given us. 132 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,320 If you were to sit at home after church this morning and start to 133 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:22,080 count your blessings, instead of in terms of what the Lord has 134 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:26,520 given you, how the Lord has been gracious and merciful and kind 135 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:29,960 to you, Can I say to you, you may be surprised of what the 136 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:34,840 Lord has given you? Perhaps we need to shift our way 137 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:39,440 of thinking and look at what God has instead of what God has not 138 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:44,160 done. The Israelites at this point in 139 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,360 time, they is it as though their own expectations have not been 140 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,240 met. And at times when our own 141 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,920 expectations are not met, we can doubt God's love, but also we 142 00:09:54,920 --> 00:10:00,680 can doubt God's shepherding care as though God does not care. 143 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:04,400 And to some extent that may lead to bitterness. 144 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,160 That is why church I I do not like. 145 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:11,200 I'm trying to use a, a, a, a church word here. 146 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:17,120 I do not like the prosperity gospel because it over promises 147 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,320 and it under delivers and it will leave you with so many 148 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,560 disappointments that if you do this, you're going to get this, 149 00:10:24,560 --> 00:10:26,640 you'll be wealthy. God's going to give you all of 150 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,200 this thing. That's not Christianity, that's 151 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,320 paganism. That's not what the text says. 152 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,360 As you look at the life of Jesus and look at the life of the 153 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,400 apostles, he does not always promise health, wealth and 154 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:41,440 happiness doesn't. And sometimes he does promise 155 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:46,160 suffering for those who believe in him. 156 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,880 Therefore, let us not allow temporary circumstances to cloud 157 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:56,440 our judgment or to cloud our view of the sovereignty of God. 158 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:01,880 And so God says to them, guys, if you don't obey, guess what 159 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:03,640 I'm going to do? I'm going to curse you. 160 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:07,360 If you don't obey me, I'm going to curse you. 161 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,840 Here in this text we are not questioning God's love for 162 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:15,520 Israel because we know from verse one to verse 5 God loves 163 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,600 Israel. What is in question here is 164 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:25,480 Israel's love for God. They indeed have forgotten. 165 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,720 Be reminded when we looked at chapter one that at this point 166 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,760 in time they are taking the Lord's name in vain. 167 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:38,200 They are bringing the worst instead of bringing God the 168 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,680 best. They're bringing some kind of 169 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:44,600 cheap worship, half hearted worship, a some form of 170 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:52,800 ritualistic kind of worship with no sense of awe or devotion to 171 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,120 God. The Bible tells us that they 172 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:59,600 kept the best offerings and gave God the cheap ones. 173 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:05,240 They kept the best for a nice bride and BBQ and gave God a 174 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:10,520 lame and diseased and defiled animals that that is the worst 175 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,600 kind of worship they gave to God. 176 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,440 Not only that, they cheated God and deceived God. 177 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,480 In other words, their heart and their attitude was not in the 178 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:25,680 right place. And God says to them, guys, what 179 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:29,600 you give to me, you wouldn't even give to an ordinary Persian 180 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:31,560 ruler. You wouldn't give this to a 181 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:34,240 governor. Why would you give me this kind 182 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:39,640 of defiled, polluted offering? And the Lord says to them in 183 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,200 verse 1, chapter one, verse 6, you are despising my name. 184 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:47,520 And it says in chapter 10 a he says, shut the doors. 185 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:52,320 In other words, let's close the temple because of your defiled 186 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,600 worship. I cannot take it any longer what 187 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:56,720 you are giving me. Let's shut the temple and close 188 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:01,200 shop. That is it, because they failed 189 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:07,600 to meet God's standard for worship, because again, what 190 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:13,680 they were doing was a picture and a shadow of a type of giving 191 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,400 the Father would give as He offers His Son for our 192 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:22,920 salvation. Therefore, they were to do it 193 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:28,520 right, to bring a perfect lamb, an unblemished lamb before the 194 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,200 Lord. Now notice the first indictment, 195 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:36,560 the first warning to the priest, the Lord from verse one to verse 196 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:38,800 three. He, he charges Israel for their 197 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:43,440 failure to administer worship and to teach, excuse me, and to 198 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,520 teach God's law. They have misapplied the laws of 199 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:52,120 God and Jesus, and God announces the consequences for misapplying 200 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:53,280 his laws. Notice what he says. 201 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:54,840 I'm going to curse your blessings. 202 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,160 Even that language is quite difficult to understand. 203 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,440 I'm going to curse your blessings and as you read the 204 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,560 text further from verse 2C, it seems the Lord has already done 205 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:06,960 it that I'm going to curse your blessings. 206 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,040 Now we must remember that one of the role of the priest was to 207 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,720 bless and the priest would say in numbers chapter 6, may the 208 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,880 Lord make his face to what to shine upon you. 209 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,120 It is as though the Lord is shutting the mouth of the priest 210 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,000 that you no longer want to bless anyone. 211 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:29,720 Instead, I'm going to curse your blessing, the privilege of 212 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,280 blessing priest. I have taken it away. 213 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:36,600 You no longer going to bless, I'm rather going to curse. 214 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:44,040 In other words, God's judgment, God's punishment has now begun 215 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,680 because the lives of this priest are marked by failure as they 216 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,880 fail to honor the Lord. And the Lord says, then I'm 217 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:57,120 going to do 2 things. Notice the first one he says I'm 218 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,240 going to it's quite an interesting when you read verse 219 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,160 2, verse 3, depending on the biblical on the translation that 220 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,920 you're reading. So if you read chapter 2, verse 221 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,600 3, the word it was ever saying offspring. 222 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,240 The NSAB will say an offspring. The ESV will say an offspring. 223 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:14,360 The NIV, I think will say an offspring. 224 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:17,880 The New King James Version will use a slightly different word in 225 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,280 the Hebrew. They will use the word seed. 226 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,040 Now how we ought to understand this verse, It could be 227 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,880 understand in two ways. Either God in his judgment will 228 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,760 deal with the offspring of the priest, but also he will deal 229 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,280 with their resource, in other words, their seeds and their 230 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,280 resources and their crops because that's how the priest 231 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,320 survives. But I do lean towards the ESV 232 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:45,080 and NSAV that it seems to be in the context that the word 233 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:49,040 offspring because the NSA V uses the word descendants, which is 234 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:51,920 quite close to the word being used by the ESV. 235 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,880 Whatever the case may be, what is clear here, God is going to 236 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,080 deal with the offspring. God is also going to deal with 237 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,160 their resources. And so God seems to say that the 238 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:08,560 disobedience of the priest is not only going to affect them, 239 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:10,800 it is also going to affect their children. 240 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:13,960 Not only their children. If we use the King James 241 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,320 Version, it may affect their resources. 242 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,800 It means their seeds and their crops. 243 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,920 It is quite interesting here that God is not only judging the 244 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,240 the the priest is judging their offspring that will come after. 245 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,800 Now in the language of the New Testament, we know of course 246 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,040 that children don't carry the sins of their fathers. 247 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:34,680 We we know that in New Testament. 248 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,320 However, I do think when we look at the New Testament pattern 249 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,920 that there are certain sins and in which we do that at times 250 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,200 might, might affect our families, but also affected the 251 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,320 community. Now, I thought about when when 252 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:52,960 you read the Bible, you read the New Testament. 253 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,760 For example, in First Corinthians chapter 5, there is 254 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,080 a man who does something that shocks Paul. 255 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:00,960 Here in the writing of his letter. 256 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:05,200 This man is having a relationship with his stepmom. 257 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,640 I mean, think about that. He's taking his father's wife, 258 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:12,560 his stepmother, and he's having a relationship with his 259 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:17,079 stepmother. The Apostle Paul is hard towards 260 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:19,440 this man. He says deliver this guy to 261 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:20,960 Satan. That's what I want you to do, 262 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,000 deliver this man to Satan with the hope that perhaps this kind, 263 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:29,440 this man would repent. Now that kind of sin did not 264 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,520 only affect him as an individual. 265 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,840 It affected probably his father family, but also likely it 266 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,600 affected the congregation hands. The Apostle Paul must deal with 267 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:46,560 it to deliver this man to Satan. There are sins, there are things 268 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:52,160 that we do that do affect those around us in a negative way. 269 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:58,320 Perhaps for some of us it could be gambling when you work and 270 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:02,640 spend your money at a casino somewhere, or whatever the case, 271 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:07,560 it could be an addiction, it could be immorality, it could be 272 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:11,880 abuse, whatever that could be. It will not only affect you, but 273 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,480 it will also affect those around you. 274 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,600 And God says what the priests have done is not only going to 275 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,920 affect them, but it's only going to affect their children. 276 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:30,200 In the order of the Old Covenant, or when the Puritan 277 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:35,040 puts it this way, sin doesn't sit quietly. 278 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:38,160 It is always trying to get you to do wrong. 279 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:43,000 Even when things seem calm, sin is working on the inside. 280 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:49,760 It whispers things like it's not that bad, no one will know just 281 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,640 this once. Sin always wants to be the boss 282 00:18:54,800 --> 00:19:02,120 of your heart Church. The flesh is always hungry. 283 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,400 It never has its feel. It never says it's enough now it 284 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:15,360 always wants more. Not only that, the text says, it 285 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,080 says I will spread dung on your faces. 286 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:19,720 Now that's quite difficult Language. 287 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,960 You think, Oh God, that's quite strong language that the Lord is 288 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,840 using. Yeah, the Lord is using a strong 289 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,080 language because this is a rebuke. 290 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,040 The Lord is not happy and uses a very strong language to show 291 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,880 through the prophet Malachi that I am not happy with my people. 292 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,360 And in the Hebrew it must be understood that often when the 293 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:44,400 priest would sacrifice animals, they would take the inside 294 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,840 organs of the animals they are sacrifices and take all of those 295 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,840 organs out and put them outside of the gate of the city because 296 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,600 they were seen as unclean. So in the Hebrew, that's what in 297 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:56,960 fact that word down means. It is as though the the the 298 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,720 insides of the animals have been taken out because they cannot be 299 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:01,520 in the temple, which is a holy place. 300 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,120 They must be outside of the temple with the other unholy 301 00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:08,400 things. Simply God is saying to the 302 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,720 priest, when I was I was spread down on your faces, is that you 303 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,320 will be unfit for ministry. I have no use for you anymore. 304 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:18,960 That's a strong. Language. 305 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:25,240 In other words, you are unclean. This is judgment. 306 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,640 This is the Lord's judgment. Of course, we know the Lord 307 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:33,760 wants to bless his people. He desires to bless his people 308 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,480 only if they obey. And in this case it is clear 309 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,080 they're not obeying. And God says, well you are 310 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:44,480 unfit. I will spread the number 2 God's 311 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:48,160 covenant with Levi, said I'll make my covenant with Levi. 312 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,440 As you read about Levi and the covenant God had made with Levi 313 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,480 is that the priest were entrusted with a huge 314 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:02,600 responsibility. Even those who will come from 315 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,720 Aaron. We know that the priest were 316 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:08,560 coming from the tribe of Levi's. We know Moses was a Levi, Miriam 317 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,760 was a Levi, and Aaron was also a Levi. 318 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:15,600 We know they had to meet a certain qualifications. 319 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,760 For example, they also had to have certain physique in order 320 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:23,280 to be a priest. When we read #4 advertised 321 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,680 Numbers 8, there is a sense in which they are the the age of 322 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,000 the priest is slightly different. 323 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:29,160 I think there's a reason for that. 324 00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:32,320 One says the age of the priest it should be 25. 325 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,080 I think in Numbers 8 it said it should be 30 and I think that 326 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:37,640 should be seen. It's not a contradiction. 327 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,000 It would seem that the five years you are working as an 328 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,200 apprentice, in other words, you're not ready, you're still 329 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,480 being trained at 30. You are a fully fledged priest. 330 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:49,400 So it's not a contradiction of ages. 331 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:53,240 Others would think it is. And this priest were not to 332 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,360 curse. But also God is reminding them 333 00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:01,960 that I made a covenant of peace and love with Levi and the and 334 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:05,440 the kind of priests there were to be the according to the order 335 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:07,880 of Levi, there were to be men who feared the Lord. 336 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,760 You see the language in from verse 5 to 445. 337 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:12,920 There were men who was to fear the Lord. 338 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:18,200 They were to live in all of the covenant of faithfulness to God. 339 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,840 Their lives were marked by uprightness. 340 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,200 They walked in integrity before the Lord. 341 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:27,520 These were shepherds of Israel. They were to lead God's people 342 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,760 in worship, but also in the sacrificial system. 343 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,320 In other words, according to the order of Levi, they had to be an 344 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,760 example and model to the Israelites what it meant to be 345 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:40,760 faithful. As you can see from verse 6, he 346 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,400 walked in peace and in uprightness. 347 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:50,720 God says this is what is ideally you should be doing because I 348 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,760 this was the kind of covenant I had with Levi. 349 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:55,560 But you guys, I don't know what you're doing. 350 00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:00,480 This is this is what I made with covenant I made with Liva. 351 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:06,280 You're supposed to be this way. And so God is not happy with the 352 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:11,000 priest at all here. He's saying ideally that's how 353 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,760 you should be because when I made this covenant, it was a 354 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:18,400 covenant of peace. It was a covenant of life for 355 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,840 you to work uprightness before my sight. 356 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:28,360 For us who lead people, and you have a responsibility to lead in 357 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:36,040 any area, I want to say to you, our devotion to God as leaders 358 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:41,520 is important. Our faithfulness to God not only 359 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:46,320 in public but also in private is important. 360 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:56,920 Can we feel the weight of that? God tells them the idea who we 361 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:08,160 are as leaders is important because Why is this important? 362 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:13,800 Because in chapter 1 verse 7, it reminds us that they offer 363 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,600 polluted food. In other words, even though the 364 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:21,800 priesthood knew what they were doing was wrong, they did not 365 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:26,680 stop. They kept on offering that which 366 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:36,960 was blind, lame, and sick. The danger is here that often we 367 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:41,960 can do things because we know how to do them and has mastered 368 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:46,440 the art of doing them. And yet our own devotion, our 369 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:51,440 own heart, is far away from God. That's the danger. 370 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,600 You can learn to prepare a sermon in 30 minutes. 371 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,080 That may not mean anything to your own heart. 372 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:07,880 That's the danger for Eric and for you. 373 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:17,440 It may be something else. We can be biblically sound and 374 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:22,400 yet be lukewarm. Our service can be religious 375 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,360 instead of true pursuit of His glory. 376 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:32,640 We are too in danger. I love the words of the old 377 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,040 hymn. Prone to 1. 378 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:39,400 The Lord I feel it. Prone to live the God I love. 379 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,560 Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. 380 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:53,480 Seal it for thy courts above. We too are in danger. 381 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,440 Church, I want you to notice something here. 382 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:01,400 The word of God does not downplay the word fear in verse 383 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,000 five. It was my covenant of fear. 384 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:07,800 And often we, we, we want to downplay the the righteousness 385 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:11,800 of God, the judgment of God. I don't know why the fear of God 386 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,960 and the judgment of God. I know the contradiction to 387 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:18,440 grace by this. There's a sense that sometimes 388 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:23,200 we want to minimize and downplay judgment as though it is a 389 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,760 mistranslation. It is not a mistranslation. 390 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:30,640 It is the fear of the Lord. Someone quoted this morning at 391 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:32,680 the prayer meeting, I think today. 392 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,400 Yeah, someone quoted this verse. The fear of the Lord is the 393 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,600 beginning of wisdom. I think it was purse. 394 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:43,040 In fact, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 395 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:48,160 This is the kind of fear where we are filled with righteous 396 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:49,720 fear. We are filled with awe. 397 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,640 We are filled with respect and honour for the law. 398 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:57,800 That's all it means. We must feel the weight of these 399 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,280 words as we strive to walk in a manner that is worthy of Our 400 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:11,600 Calling. It is a covenant of fear #3 it 401 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,840 is a covenant of true instruction. 402 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:20,040 Notice what God tells them as their task is to give 403 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:22,760 instruction. In other words, the priests were 404 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:28,160 called to teach accurately, impartially and compassionately 405 00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:32,120 to teach the laws of God to God's people in the Toronto me 406 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:35,720 Sabah 33 verse 10, it says he teaches your precept to Jacob 407 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,520 and your Lord to Israel. He offers incest before you and 408 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:43,960 hope and offerings on your outer In other words, the the the the 409 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:46,680 priest where the custodians of doctrine. 410 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,320 They were to guard doctrine. They were to instruct according 411 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:53,560 to the law. They were supposed to teach 412 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,800 Julian diligently and guard the law of God according to verse 2, 413 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,360 verse 7 a they were to preserve the truth of God. 414 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:05,640 These men were the mediators between Israel and God. 415 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:13,600 And notice verse 6 quite hard what we see there in verse 6. 416 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:19,840 Many tend in iniquity. He turned many in iniquity. 417 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:25,320 In other words, the priest, instead of doing what has been 418 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:30,360 described as the ideal in the previous verses, in verse 4 and 419 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:36,200 verse 5, they turned many, many into iniquity. 420 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:42,520 They were unfaithful in leading the people of Israel. 421 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:49,760 Can I remind you and remind myself this morning that yours 422 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:54,200 and my faithfulness is often an encouragement to others. 423 00:28:55,440 --> 00:28:59,200 You may not know that, but there are other people when they look 424 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:03,320 at your life, it becomes a source of encouragement to them 425 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,440 and in their Christian walk. And I want to say to you, 426 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:14,160 continue walking, continue being faithful because the priest, 427 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,400 they turn people away. They they turn them towards 428 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:20,960 other things instead of turning them towards God. 429 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,600 They misused their position of authority. 430 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:33,160 Our faithfulness matters to God. God can use us as instruments to 431 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:38,320 bring others to their faith, but also God can use us to turn 432 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,920 others to their destructive behaviors. 433 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,760 They are given authority to teach that, given authority to 434 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:51,400 instruct church. Let me remind you again, in the 435 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:56,360 New Testament, there is a warning in the New Testament in 436 00:29:56,360 --> 00:30:00,280 James 1/3, it says not many of you should become teachers, my 437 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:04,480 fellow believers, because you know that though we who teach 438 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:12,400 will be judged more strictly, New Testament, I will be judged 439 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:18,960 most strictly. Laura, Hillary, Ryan, Stefan, 440 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:23,200 not sure I'm forgetting. Oh, we're going to get a hiding. 441 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:28,280 We're going to be judged more strictly by the Lord because we 442 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:32,440 have a responsibility to instruct and to teach truth to 443 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:35,280 God's people. And if we don't do that, the 444 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,480 Lord will judge us. It is clear here. 445 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:42,880 It's clear. Therefore it says don't rush to 446 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,000 do this. Don't rush. 447 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,400 Listen, I want to No, no, no. It says, not many of you should 448 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:52,200 do this, many of you, because you will be judged. 449 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:58,240 Why is that the case? Because the high calling of the 450 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:03,600 church depends on the preaching and the proclamation of the Word 451 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,760 of God. These are the words of life. 452 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:13,080 Let's be reminded, church, that the mark of the true church is 453 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:16,440 not similar to read stories on a Sunday, but the true mark of the 454 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,280 church and the centrality of the church is the preaching of the 455 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,200 gospel. It is the preaching of God's 456 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:26,720 Word, verse by verse, exposition after exposition, Sunday after 457 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,920 Sunday. That is the calling of the 458 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:34,280 church, expounding God's Word. And therefore those who are 459 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:38,680 given such a calling, they do not run away from hard texts and 460 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:40,240 say, oh Lord, I can't preach about this. 461 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:44,280 You, this is hard. No, no, no, no. 462 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:50,040 Those who are called by God, they take heed of X20 verse 27. 463 00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:54,800 I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole council of God. 464 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:00,800 We teach everything from the Holy Scriptures, including those 465 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:04,000 that offend us as preachers and those may offend you as a 466 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:09,600 listener because the Lord may be pruning us and dealing with our 467 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,880 own sin and the sin that's in our hearts. 468 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:17,040 Therefore, This is why, again, this is important because they 469 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:19,840 were the messengers. Notice there the seven P. 470 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:22,800 They are the messengers of the Lord of hosts. 471 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,760 In other words, a messenger did not write the script the 472 00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:31,000 messenger delivered. That's all they do. 473 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,560 Therefore, our brothers and sisters, we do not tamper with 474 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:38,280 the message of the scriptures. We do not change the message of 475 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,280 the scripture to appeal to the culture because it will offend. 476 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,920 No, no, we stand upon the Word of God. 477 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,120 We say solar scriptura totas septura. 478 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:52,160 So we do otherwise, then we're not meant to be doing that. 479 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:59,120 We are the messengers. We are sent by the Lord to do 480 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:00,840 this. Therefore we don't misuse it. 481 00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,720 We do our best humbly, so humbly. 482 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:10,000 So with the Lord's help, we're trembling and with fear. 483 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:14,360 I was talking to a group of pastors this this week and and 484 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,000 one guy had said something about preparing as someone and he 485 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,960 says, guys, it's so hard to prepare someone. 486 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:22,680 That's what he says. A good friend says God, it's so 487 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,000 hard to prepare as someone and and I could feel it when he says 488 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,400 that because it's true. It is not easy enough to feel 489 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,520 pastor after pastor commenting guys, this is hard to do. 490 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,880 It is not easy to do it because the Lord deals with you, but 491 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:40,560 also you want to be faithful in delivering. 492 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:42,400 You don't want to tamper with the word. 493 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:46,640 So you're always asking Lord, help me to do this well with all 494 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:51,560 humility and with all wisdom that it may be of good to my 495 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,960 soul, but also of benefit to your people. 496 00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:00,960 We are called to teach the law of God for the sake of God's 497 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,040 people, but also for the fame of His law. 498 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:10,360 Point #4 Our last point, verse 8 and verse 9. 499 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:17,120 Again, this is a a rebuke. It is seems as though these 500 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:21,719 priests have fallen. Notice that indictment, but you 501 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:26,199 have turned from the way and by and your teaching have caused 502 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:29,440 many to stumble. You have violated the covenant 503 00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:32,320 of Levi. You that good covenant in verse 504 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:37,320 4 and verse 5. You priests have violated that 505 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:40,080 covenant. Malachi is pointing out to the 506 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,639 priest you have broken the covenant with God. 507 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:48,560 The word King James uses the word departed instead of turn. 508 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,360 So use the word departed. The NIV sticks to the word turn. 509 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:53,920 But I think they're both goods word other words you have 510 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,280 departed from the way of righteousness or you have turn 511 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,520 from the way of righteousness. In other words, now please, your 512 00:35:00,520 --> 00:35:06,080 life is marked by ungodliness. You did not meet the obligations 513 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:12,480 as prescribed in your office. You I love again the the the ESV 514 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:16,760 and the new King James Version would say you have desecrated 515 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:21,320 you have violated the covenant with God. 516 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:24,920 Why? Because you have not you have 517 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,000 shown partiality in the matters of the law. 518 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,320 In other words, you have perverted justice. 519 00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:34,040 You were selfish. This was a gross violation of 520 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:38,440 Leviticus 19 verse 15. They showed favoritism. 521 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:47,600 Now this priest, at some point perhaps they did walk upright 522 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:50,400 with the Lord. In this text, it is clear they 523 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:53,840 have now turned away from the Lord. 524 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:59,720 I want to share with you just a quick story of a church I used 525 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:01,880 to be part of before we planted FPC. 526 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:05,840 And about 200 meters from our church, there was a church being 527 00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,840 led by, by a very was, was a good guy, was a nice man, a very 528 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:12,720 charismatic, a very educated guy. 529 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:15,720 I'm a wordsmith, very clever guy. 530 00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:19,080 And he's probably, he's probably now in his late 50s. 531 00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:22,400 I think about, I think about his age about 2016. 532 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:26,560 He, he, he wrote the wrong article in the letter rather on 533 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,480 Facebook. I think it was a Facebook post, 534 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:30,440 but also it sort of attached a letter. 535 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:33,440 He says the following will probably put the quote up. 536 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:38,280 This was his words, Pastors Cosana, he says, I am. 537 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:43,520 I'm not able to continue for another 30 years to that kind of 538 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:47,280 devotion which is Christianity, for I cannot reconcile black 539 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:51,880 pain with Christianity. I apologize for pointing people 540 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:59,240 to the cross. Few years before he wrote a 541 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:00,600 book. You can actually find it on 542 00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:04,160 Amazon. He wrote a book titled Despond 543 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:10,120 the White Church, and I'm talking about his books because 544 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,200 often we don't read only those we agree with. 545 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:16,720 We must read those we don't agree with that that's that's 546 00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:19,960 what we do. Now I'm sharing this story, not 547 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:23,200 to make it out to be a bad guy, but here's the point I'm making. 548 00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:26,280 In one of these other interviews, he says being a 549 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:31,800 pastor was a waste of my life. Leading people for 30 years was 550 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:35,920 the waste of it to such an extent that he apologized to his 551 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,720 congregation for having LED you to God. 552 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,000 He says. I cannot do this ever again. 553 00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:56,320 Completely turn away happens. It happens that at times people 554 00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,280 would walk with God and sometimes will shipwreck their 555 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,200 faith and no longer believe it happens. 556 00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,240 They, they, they have a new way of thinking. 557 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:10,400 There's many other influences, black consciousness, you know, 558 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,480 liberation theology and all of these other influences. 559 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:20,280 So people do turn away and denounce their faith in Christ, 560 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:24,040 just like this priest who once walked and now this priest have 561 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:28,520 turned and turned away from God. Here's the point here, leaders, 562 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:32,000 We must do our best to lead by example. 563 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:38,240 We must do our best to warn God's people of his grace, but 564 00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:40,400 also of his mercy of have his love. 565 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:46,280 But here's where I want to also go is to say to the church as 566 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:52,280 leaders, we need you to pray for us. 567 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:58,800 I beseech you. I, I beg you this morning, pray 568 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:04,960 for us. We too could tend back. 569 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:11,000 Pray for us. When they once asked Charles 570 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:16,000 Spurgeon what was the secret of his influential ministry, 571 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:21,560 Spurgeon responded. My people, pray for me. 572 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:30,680 Leaders need your prayers because leaders fail, but Jesus 573 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:38,160 remains the same. And I'm saying in closing, we 574 00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:43,120 all have to look to Jesus, who is our greatest example. 575 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:47,080 He walked in all. He walked in reverence of the 576 00:39:47,080 --> 00:39:49,760 Father, for He came to do the will of the Father. 577 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:54,120 He gave good instruction to the disciples, but also to everyone 578 00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:57,960 who listened to him. He brought life and peace into 579 00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,840 the soul, even though it was peace that would divide. 580 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,600 But also he led many to repentance. 581 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:09,040 He was the perfect priest. He was the perfect messenger who 582 00:40:09,040 --> 00:40:12,440 did not compromise nor corrupt the word of God. 583 00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:16,920 He did not show partiality. He never once violated the very 584 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:20,160 covenant of God. He walked in integrity and have 585 00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:24,400 righted that He obeyed the will of the Father as the one who 586 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:26,480 would burn the curse on our behalf. 587 00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:30,120 He took our shame and took our ridicule in order for us to 588 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:36,400 experience God's blessing. And so the Westminster showed 589 00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:40,400 the Catechism asking this important question to which I 590 00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,480 want to close. It asked the question, what is 591 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:47,280 the chief end of man? It answers that question. 592 00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:52,120 The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him 593 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:57,640 forever. The purpose of man is to honor 594 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:00,920 God and to delight in Him forever.