Malachi 1:6-14
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master.
Then if I am a father, where is My honor?
And if I am a master, where is My respect?
says the LORD of hosts to you,
O priests who despise My name.
But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?
You are presenting defiled food upon My altar.
But you say, How have we defiled You?
In that you say, The table of the LORD is to be despised.
But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?
And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil?
Why not offer it to your governor?
Would he be pleased with you?
Or would he receive you kindly?”
says the LORD of hosts.
“But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us?
With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly? “
says the LORD of hosts.
“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,”
says the LORD of hosts,
“nor will I accept an offering from you.
For from the rising of the sun even to its setting,
My name will be great among the nations,
and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure;
for My name will be great among the nations,”
says the LORD of hosts.
“But you are profaning it, in that you say,
‘The table of the Lord is defiled,
and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’
You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’
And you disdainfully sniff at it,”
says the LORD of hosts,
“And you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick;
so you bring the offering!
Should I receive that from your hand?”
says the LORD.
“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,”
says the LORD of hosts,
“and My name is feared among the nations.”
{{{{ this morning i was drawn to Malachi, and as i was reading the Holy Spirit showed me something i had not thought about before.
Those of you who have been around this sight for a wall know I believe the Bible both the Old and New Testaments are insight and for the growth of the followers of Christ Jesus.
Malachi 7-14 are words directly from Father God, and it speaks of the nations.
Are there not nations still today?
Do you not live in a nation?
What i saw was a bit disturbing but. let’s get in to it.
Malachi 1:6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master.
Then if I am a father, where is My honor?
And if I am a master, where is My respect?
says the LORD of hosts to you,
O priests who despise My name.
As i read was instantly reminded of:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and wealth.”
And at that time thoughts of pastors and leaders in churches I have attended and been on staff at.
Of how they were more dedicated to the things of the world or self rather than the Lord God.
Lovers of position, wealth and position in life.
Serving themselves or mankind rather than the Lord their GOD.
Whom they clam to serve,
but instead in reality are serving money.
O priests who despise My name.
But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?
You are presenting defiled food upon My altar.
But you say, How have we defiled You?
In that you say,
The table of the LORD is to be despised.
But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?
From what i have come to understand if we are of Christ Jesus, we are priests of GOD.
When a pastor or one who calls them self a Christian speaks of worldly things, are they/we not presenting damaged goods before the Lord our GOD?
Are we not defiling what is the LORD’S?
Am felling i am on the edge of something that if my soil can grasp it fully my life will never be the same aging.
Think about it;
living a life so dedicated to the LORD your GOD that every thing you say and do are a true blessing to HIM.
Living a life of true worship and adoration to the LORD.
A life pleasing and upright to the LORD.
A life totally dependent on Him and Him alone.
We clam to be of Christ Jesus but when we come to Him the majority of the time it is not to bring praise and honor to HIS Name but to ask for something of HIM,
to ask for gain for ourselves.
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world nor the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life,
is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away,
and also its lusts;
but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
John 15:18-19
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
If you were of the world,
the world would love you as its own;
but because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you.
Romans 12:1-11
Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men,
but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For this is contained in Scripture:
“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,
A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION,
so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
for you once were NOT A PEOPLE,
but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD;
you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY,
but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
Galatians 5:13-26
"For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement,
“YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident,
which are:
immorality,
impurity,
sensuality,
idolatry,
sorcery,
enmities,
strife,
jealousy,
outbursts of anger,
disputes,
dissensions,
factions,
envying,
drunkenness,
carousing,
and things like these,
of which I forewarn you,
just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control;
against such things there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Let us not become boastful,
challenging one another,
envying one another.”
{{ ones who clam the name Christians are under the law if they are living by the ways of the world,
Because they have not crucified their flesh, desiring to fallow after their fleshly passions and desires rather than living by the fruit of the Spirit of GOD.
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control;
against such things there is no law. }}
{{ the church in America speaks of honoring and parsing the LORD on Sunday morning but Sunday afternoon are partaking in worldly ways, feeding the flesh, and by Monday back to the same old rat race, trying to survive, and fulfill the lust of the flesh, more, and more, more money, more possessions, more pats on the back, more and more and more.
And the LORD is left on the back burner until the next crises or the next church service to attend.
This brings us back to Malichi 1:1
“But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name? ( un aware or willfully blind to the way they live )
You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. ( presenting a life not circumcised unto the LORD )
But you say,
How have we defiled You?
In that you say, The table of the LORD is to be despised. ( This is said by actions more than words )
But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? ( when you present your self as holly but are still living with fleshly passions and desires directing your path. )
And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? ( when you give unto the LORD an offering but do so with hesitation, regret, or holding a grudge because you could use it somewhere ells, or to be seen. )
Why not offer it to your governor? ( your governor; the one you answer to in this world, that ball game, that person at work, that friend, the boyfriend or girlfriend, your wife or husband, the tax collector, that new whatever whoever it is you are attracted to. )
Would he be pleased with you? ( if a person if you treated them the way you treat the LORD your GOD would they put up with you? )
would he receive you kindly? ( the answer to that is NO and you know it. ) }}
John 15:18-20
“If the world hates you,
you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
If you were of the world, the world would love its own;
but because you are not of the world,
but I chose you out of the world,
because of this the world hates you.
Remember the word that I said to you,
‘A slave is not greater than his master.’
If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you”
Take some time to think about this……..
Have you given your life to Christ Jesus?
If so then who are you living for?
What master are you serving?
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Most translations say:
You cannot serve God and mammon
You cannot serve God and wealth
Mammon in the New Testament is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain.
Mammon is a term for riches, used to describe the wanton influence of material wealth.
The term was used by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount and also appears in the book of Luke.
In days of old it was referred to as an evil demon or god.
mammon has been used to negatively describe the pursuit of wealth and gain of worldly items or personal gain.
You cannot serve both GOD and worldly gain.
Jest is the same
You cannot live by the flesh with its passions and desires, and by the Spirit of GOD.
Stop trying to ride the fence,
chose a side and get off the fence.
Will you choose The LORD GOD?
Or the world and its ways?
The chose is yours.