Do you want to get God’s attention ?

There is a question that God loves to hear, and that He responds to.

“What shall we do ?”

Luke 3 – John the Baptist.
Acts 2:37 – after Peter preaches.

Why does God respond so favourably to this question ?
Because it shows what’s inside – there is humility, submission, and a willingness to change.
Jesus said if you love me you will obey my commands – John 14, 15..
Don’t just be hearers of the word but doers of the word (wise man built house upon the rock).
Faith without works is dead – God tells us through James.
Our faith in the Lord needs to effect every part of our lives – to be seen in our actions as well as our words. A total, practical, everyday life, commitment.

Turn to Malachi.

Malachi is in the right place as it is probably the last book of the Old Testament times. Malachi ministered God’s word around 430 - 450 b.c. probably after Nehemiah had retuned to Jerusalem.
Times were hard. It is written to a people who had lost focus, who were disillusioned, and had an increasingly casual attitude towards worship and God’s standards.
How easy it is for Christians to fall into that trap.
Things are tough, we don’t feel God has come through for us, we’re disillusioned and as a result we start to go our own way. We start to give up on God, we backslide and become lukewarm. And because it happens gradually we don’t even recognise it.

So how do we know if we’ve drifted away from God and gone our own way ?
Put your life beside the word of God. Does it match up, or is it contrary to God’s word ?

So let’s look at what God said through Malachi, to His people. It’s very practical and specific.

1:2 ~ God first of all, before the hard things He has to say to them, assures them of His love. And when they question it, points to what He has already done for them. Remembering and celebrating what God has done in the past is very important, and keeps us focussed.

1:7-14 ~ Is Jesus no.1 in your life ? Is He getting your best ? Is your priority His Kingdom and righteousness ? God’s people were giving second best. Their faith was shaky, they resented giving to God in offerings and worship.
Rather than giving God the first-fruits and best of what they had been given, their worship was half-hearted and it showed in what they gave. It’s the principle of the tithe, to give God the first and best, for Him to be first in our minds and hearts. And in case your think this is a legalistic thing to do with law of Moses, it starts with Cane and Abel. The principle goes through Scripture. God first and foremost.

So what are you doing with what God has given you ?
Money.
Possessions.
Time.
Energy.
Experience and skills.
Spiritual gifts.

2:7-9 ~ Partiality was being shown, and people were being caused to stumble.
Partiality, favouritism, prejudice, tempts people to jealousy, as it did with Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers. In church, in our families, in the workplace, we need to be on our guard against it. God loves all His people equally, and so should we.

2:10-16 ~ These verses are about faithlessness, and are crucial to understand if you want to know the heart and mind of God. Keeping faith, faithfulness, is essential in our relationship with God, and with each other.

Mixed marriages – Idolatry (Solomon), 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.
Adultery – Don’t break faith with your life marriage partner.
Divorce – God hates divorce. One of the main reasons God calls us to faithfulness is because He wants Godly offspring. Children have the best chance to become what God wants with a Father and Mother, who are both believers and are faithful to each other.
Of course God in His grace will help us in whatever our situation if we repent of any sin and turn to Him.
Problem is that many who would call themselves Christians believe they have done no wrong in committing adultery or divorcing or marrying an unbeliever, even though God’s word is clear on these things. Without repentance there is no forgiveness received and a person remains in their sin and will pay for their sin.
How do you know if you have backslidden – hold your life up alongside the word of God.
Not to do so is to live in denial, to live a lie.

God could divorce us, He has every right to…but He is faithful to us even when we are faithless….as He demonstrated through the prophet Hosea, and ultimately through Jesus Christ. While we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Faithlessness can of course be a lot more subtle….putting down, humiliating, being negative about our spouse, is a form of faithlessness…..fantasising or wanting someone else.

Violence in a marriage is another thing God hates, and is unfaithfulness.

2:17 – 3:4 ~ God promises to come and when He does to act. And He comes to His people to purify and to judge. Judgement begins with the family of God (1 Peter 4:17).

If you’re praying for God to come to Lostwithiel or your community, and to turn people to Himself, to bring them to know Him as Lord…..then He’ll do that in you first. He goes after the lost sheep that has wondered off. He disciplines those He loves as His children. It’s painful, but necessary.
If we want to see God move in power, the main way God does that is through His body, us.
If we want to see God move in power, He will prepare and refine us.
If you love God, a move of His Spirit will effect you…..you will need to change.
‘Lord send revival, start with me’.
Lord, what do you want me to do ?

3:5 ~ What other things will God judge (go through list).

3:6 ~ God is unchanging – in holiness, in faithfulness, in mercy and grace.

3:7 ~ If you want to feel God close, to know His presence and power at work in your life, return to Him, give Him yourself, all that you are. Stop doing things your way.

3:8-12 ~ Bring God what is His. Monetary tithes and offerings, yes, but they are just an indication of the more important change taking place in your heart.

Read Romans 12:1-2.

The preaching on Sunday is not for entertainment. It’s not there to give marks out of ten, or even to give you anything new necessarily. God will speak to you what you need to hear, whether you want to hear it or not. And because He loves you, God will repeat Himself. I ask God what to speak each week, and sometimes when He tells me, I say ‘what again….’
But God is not just trying to increase your knowledge, God wants a response….Lord what do you want me to do ?
Don’t just be hearers of the word…..be doers of it.
Many of you have heard these things before…..but your not receiving them for yourself and acting on them…..you think it’s for everyone else.
Because God loves you, He calls you again back to Him.
If we repent, God promises abundant blessing. You cannot out give God, He will always give more, He is always more generous, more gracious.

3:13-15 ~ What’s the point in serving God, when the godless and arrogant have such a good time ? We’re miserable doing God’s will. Strike a cord ?
Problem was, they weren’t. They weren’t living God’s way.
They were compromised, doing the bear minimum they thought they could get away with. Saying they were following God, but in reality they weren’t.
Don’t trust your feelings, hold your life up alongside the word of God. ….To put it another way they were luke-warm, thinking they were alright but actually in a lot of trouble.

3:16-18 ~ Then those who fear God get together and God responds for their sakes.
God will judge and their will be a distinction between those who serve Him and those who don’t. The wheat and weeds grow up together, but there comes a time when it’s ready to harvest and the two are separated.

4 ~ Like most Old Testament prophecy, Malachi works on different levels and has more than one fulfilment. It speak of the day of the Lord as something distant and final, the destruction of evildoers….associated with when the Lord returns. But it is also speaking in the immediate to God’s people then.

The Lord comes in judgement and blessing to His people anywhere in any time-period, when they truly repent and call on Him….it’s called revival.
He will come in that same power to you, to us, if we truly repent and call on Him.
But don’t think for a minute, that repentance and revival means just getting upset and emotional. There has to be change – internal change.
There is a sorrow that leads to repentance and a sorry that leads to death. Repentance and revival mean change…..transformation……been wholly the Lord’s with nothing held back, becoming like Jesus in His love and power. Radical discipleship.
If you’re not prepared to change, then you’re in God’s way.

Are you prepared to say now, from the heart, ‘Lord what do you want me to do ?’