Famous Last Words: First Things First
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Transforming Truth: Jesus wants your first and your best, not your leftovers.
The narrative of the Bible is a continuous, unbroken story. It begins with creation, God's perfect, grand design. Genesis describes humanity's fall and the beginning of God's restorative plan through the Jewish people. He introduces covenant relationship and the ground rules for redemption through the Torah, the law, found in the first five books of the Bible. The books of wisdom (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) expound on this law giving practical instruction for every day living as you follow God. Joshua through Esther give a historic account of the Israelites living under and perpetually straying from the Law. The prophets are God's messengers throughout that time returning the people to that Law. All of the Old Testament speaks of Jesus who would inevitably come to save the world as He perfectly fulfilled that Law on our behalf. Today as we look at the last of the canonized Old Testament Prophets, we will see how God's last recorded communication to His people before a 400 year period of silence emphasized the love that God had for His people, identified some of the unique obstacles to our returned devotion and, finally, the manner through which we properly honor God.
Knowing the Love of God
The first thing you must know is that God has loved you.
Malachi 1:1-5 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. “I have loved you,” says the Lord.“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’
Why do you have confidence to come to Jesus? Because He has loved you demonstrably.
As someone who is not yet a Christian, God shows you His love today by pursuing you.
As a Christian, God has shown you His love by choosing you.
The wrath and love of God
The gospel tells you the truth about your condition.
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” ― Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
God loved you by sending Jesus to die on the cross for you that the wrath of God might be paid for your wrongdoing through Christ's sacrifice.
God wants you to choose Him with the same type and intensity of love.
The determination to walk in the love and purposes of God can be a losing effort if you don't identify the competition to that commitment.
The Competition
There are several things that will try to keep you out of the foxholes of your life. Some of the more overlooked ones include:
1) As we move into the colder months in the city, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and vitamin D deficiencies will attempt to make you feel alone and force you into hiding. As you remain in God's word, prayer and the community of Christ, you will overcome.
2) Fights with loved ones before the worship service will attempt to convince you it's not worth showing up at the times of worship. As you show up to the life giving church environment, Jesus and His people will arm and fight with you.
3) Self-indulgence, which is the spirit of the age, encourages you to put your desires before God's or anyone else's.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
In the life of every Christian, there must come a transition in thinking from church just being about getting their needs met to our gatherings being a time of worship where we look to honor God and be equipped to serve others for His purposes.
When you understand this, you will submit yourself to learning how to truly honor God.
How to Honor God
Jesus expects to be treated as a great king.
Malachi 1:6-14 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’ “By offering defiled food on my altar.“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty. “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
How many of you have had holiday leftovers that stayed in the fridge too long? Would you serve it to your guests? Why would we give our leftovers to God our king?
God gave you His first and best in Jesus. You honor God by giving Him your first and best in everything, not your leftovers.
You need to begin today to break from the mold and write a different script.
Audi Script Commercial: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq50Ah_-13M
The apostle Paul described the gospel this way, calling people to offer themselves to God in a new way through Jesus:
Romans 6:19-23 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What are the practical ways that you can begin to give Jesus your first and your best in your time? In your relationships? In your finances? With your skills? In your pursuits? In your heart? In your life? Second City Church: Famous Last Words Sermon Series 2014