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that you would please just use this chapter in our hearts and lives to bring us closer to you. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Now in Malachi chapter 1, of course this is the last book of the Old Testament and it's actually chronologically the last book that was written of the Old Testament. Some of the books in the Old Testament are not in the order that they were written. For example, the first book, if you were to go back to the oldest written book in the Old Testament it would be the book of Job. Because the book of Job was written between the events that take place in the book of Genesis and the events that take place in the book of Exodus. But the events in the book of Genesis were not written down until Moses penned it down at the mouth of God. And so the book of Job was actually written sooner and a lot of the other books are out of chronological order. They're grouped by topic. You have all the historical books, then you have the poetic books, and then you have the prophets, the major prophets. And then the 12 last books of the Old Testament are called the minor prophets. This is the last of the minor prophets and it actually is chronologically the last book that was written in the Old Testament, written about 400 years before the birth of Christ. Now it says in verse number 1, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord, yea ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? Now isn't that a terrible question? I mean think about for you to say that to God. How have you loved me God? I mean that's what he's saying, wherein hast thou loved us? What have you ever done for me God? How have you loved me? It seems that people sometimes don't realize everything that God has done for them and sometimes we could fall into the same trap. God doesn't love me or God's got it in for me. Think about how much God has done for you in your life. If you're saved, even if God just saved you and that's all he did, that's enough right there. I mean if God saved you and then the whole rest of your life was just horrible. I mean you had no money, you had no food hardly, you struggled, your relationships were bad, everything went terrible for you, your health was bad. If you were just saved and forgiven of all your sins and given eternal life in a perfect place in heaven with no sickness, no sorrow, no pain to be with Jesus Christ for all eternity, God has already loved you greatly. He doesn't owe us anything. He didn't even owe us that and that's such a priceless gift that we received paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ. If that's all we got from God, we got a lot more from him than we ever gave, I'm sorry we got a lot more from him than we ever could give back to him and he doesn't owe us anything. Don't ever get to the place in your life where you, well God's just not fair because I'm serving God and I'm doing this and I love God and I come to church and things are not going the way that I want them to go. You ought to just be thanking and praising God for the good things that you have and not only that, not only are you saved, but God has done a lot for you, I mean good night. You're living in the United States of America, we're living in a land of wealth and prosperity here in the United States and Arizona and Phoenix. We're living in a place where anybody who wants to go out and work and make money and survive and we don't live in dirty huts or poverty or starvation conditions or anything like that, you know God has really been good to us financially and I mean the poorest person in the whole city of Phoenix would be rich in some of these third world countries and you know those people, a lot of them were just born there, it's not like they opted to be born there and they struggle and suffer and try to get by. We're living in a blessed time and in a blessed area, we're saved, we're going to heaven when we die and God's done so much for us, we could go on and on that you know perhaps God's given you family, children, whatever he's given you and you ought to stop and sit down sometime and think about all the things that God's done for you instead of focusing so much on all the negatives in your life. You know sometimes we can be like Haman in the book of Esther where he had everything he wanted, he had all the kids he wanted, he had all the money he wanted, he had the fame and the power that he wanted but this evil wicked Haman didn't get just one little thing his way, one Jew named Mordecai would not bow down to him and that ended up being his downfall, that one thing just ate at him because people that are ungodly, they're never satisfied. All the money, all the power, second in command of the king, one person won't bow down to him, he ended up being killed, all of his ten children ended up being killed, he ended up losing everything, he ended up being a byword and an execration in the land of Babylon where he was. Why? Because he just focused on the one little thing that wasn't going his way. You're never going to have everything go your way in life. There's always going to be one thorn in your flesh, always. You say, well man I just can't wait to turn the corner financially. As soon as you turn the corner financially, something else bad will happen in your life. There's always going to be one thing about your life, maybe two, three, four, five, six things but there's always going to be one thing about your life that's going bad. I promise you that. I mean there's always going to be something that you're struggling with. That's what life is all about. And so don't get this attitude where you're focusing on the one thing that's bad. Sit down and think about all the good things that you have. Sit down and think about your salvation, you're going to heaven, you got the Bible, you got a church to go to, people that love you. Why don't you just get happy about the things that you do have, the way that you have been blessed instead of these wicked people in Malachi chapter one actually have the gall and the guts to look up at God and say wherein have you loved us? What did you ever do for us God? Shame on you if you would ever think about saying such a thing to God. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And think about this for a moment. Wherein has thou loved us? Have you ever heard this statement? I just don't believe that a loving God would send anyone to hell. Put your hand up if you've ever heard anybody say something like that. I just can't believe that a loving God would ever send anybody to hell. Now number one if you ever make any kind of a statement that says well I just can't see a God that would blank. Or I just can't see a God that would not blank you know and you just make up something. That's idolatry. You're creating your own God in your mind where you decide what God does and doesn't do instead of just reading the Bible this is what he does, this is who he is. But see as soon as you step away from the Bible and say well I just think God is this. You're creating an idol and you're forming and fashioning an idol in your mind. But can you imagine what God feels like up in heaven? After he himself God was manifest in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3 16. God himself became a human being, lived a perfect life, was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin he was hungry, he was thirsty, he was tired, he became angry, he became frustrated with people. He went through everything that we went through. Never sinned one time. Allowed himself to be beaten, spat upon, he was hated by his own family. His own family reviled him, his unbelieving four brothers. He went to the cross and died a brutal death on the cross. Undescribable brutality. Then he descended into hell for three days and three nights and was punished for an eternity of sins and damnation that we deserve. Up from the grave he arose and then he says whosoever will let him take the water of life freely. He says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That sounds like a pretty loving God to pay the punishment for our sins that we deserve to pay for. Jesus Christ didn't have to do that for you. He didn't have to pay for all your sins that you commit every day that I commit every day. He did that why? Because he loved us. And so the loving God will send someone to hell who rejects Jesus Christ, who will not believe on Jesus Christ. But that loving God is the one who stood up and cried out in the synagogue and said come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I'll give you rest. He cried out and said whosoever believeth on me is the scripture saved. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water and it shall spring up in him a well of everlasting life. He cried out and begged people to be saved. That's how much he loves you. You live your life for 70, 80 years on this earth. You know just about every person will have somebody at that time come to them and bring them the gospel. Some soul winner might knock on their door. Some friend, I've had somebody knock on my door before that was an independent Baptist. Just in my life a few times from other churches that I was unaware of. Different places that I lived in my life. And so God is a very loving God. Don't ever get this, God is love. God is how we define what love is. And so this is a terrible statement they're making. He said wherein has thou loved us? But look at the next statement it says was not Esau Jacob's brother saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau and I laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith we are impoverished. Impoverished comes from the word like poverty. Impoverished means poor. Whereas Edom saith we are impoverished or poor. But we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, they shall build but I will throw down. And they shall call them the border of wickedness. And watch this next statement. And the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever. Now let me tell you, sorry I remember one time I was 15 years old. I was 15 years old and a teenage girl that I was friends with walked up to me and said to me, and she was 15 as well, she said to me does God love everybody? This is when I was 15. She said does God love everybody? And I said yes, God loves everybody. And she opened the Bible and she handed it to me and said then read this. And she showed me Malachi chapter 1. And she just said well what does this say right here? And I picked it up and I read it and it says was not Esau Jacob's brother saith the Lord, yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau. And you know what I said to her? I don't care what the Bible says, I still think God loves everybody. You think that's what I said? I said you know what, you're right. Apparently God doesn't love everybody. And then I went home and I got out my concordance and I looked up the word hate, hadeth, hadest, hate. I looked up the word abhor, which is another synonym for hate. I looked up the word contem, c-o-n-t-e-m-n, which is a synonym for hate. I looked up loathe, l-o-a-t-h-e, which is another synonym for hatred. And I looked up those words and I found that God does hate many people. Turn if you would quickly, since we're in the minor prophets, keep your finger in Zechariah and flip back if you would to Hosea, which is the first of the minor prophets. It's right after the book of Daniel, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, just a few pages back in your Bible. Look at Hosea, chapter number 9. You see that's how you ought to respond to the word of God. Don't be proud and resist the Holy Ghost when you see something in the Bible or explain it away or go back to some foreign language and try to change what it says. If you see something in the Bible, if somebody shows you in the Bible, you say, oh, so some 15 year old girl is your authority? No, the Bible's my authority. But you know what, if a five year old walked up to me tonight and showed me something out of the Bible where I'm wrong, I ought to receive it. Why? Because it's not coming from a five year old, it's coming from the Bible. People have said to me, well, you're just young, you know, but you know, yes, I am young, but this Bible is not young. And what I'm saying is from the Bible. I didn't make this stuff up off the top of my head. If I made up something off the top of my head, being as young as I am, it probably wouldn't be worth anything. But when I'm reading the Bible, which is eternal past, it doesn't matter how old the messenger is. Jeremiah was told by God, say not I am a child. He said, I'll put my words in your mouth. It doesn't matter how old you are, Jeremiah. But look down if you would at Hosea chapter nine, verse 15, the Bible says all their wickedness is in Gilgal for there I hated them. This is God speaking. Why did God hate them? Well, let's look at the next statement. For there I hated them for the wickedness of their doings. I will drive them out of mine house. I will love them no more. All their princes are revolters. Now let me ask you something. Doesn't it make sense that if God begins to hate someone, he will cease to love that person? I mean, wouldn't that just stand to reason? I love you and I hate you. That doesn't make any sense. I kind of love you, but at the same time I kind of hate you. Does God have a split personality? Does he have bipolar disorder? No he does not. God says here very clearly, he says I hated them for the wickedness of their doings and as a result he says I will love them no more. Now, I don't want to spend the whole night on this, but I could read you all kinds of verses like Psalm 11 five, the Lord trieth the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence, his soul hateth. People who love to violate other people, God hates them, nor does he love them. He only hates them. And then it says in Leviticus 20 23, and he shall not walk in the manners of the nation which I cast out before you, for they committed all these things, and he lists some very vile perversions in Leviticus chapter 20, for they committed all these things and therefore I abhorred them. Very strong word for hated them. Deuteronomy 32 19, when the Lord saw it he abhorred them because the provoking of his sons and daughters, he listed many other wicked things that they did before that in Deuteronomy 32. On and on throughout the Bible in Psalm 139 David said, surely thou wilt slay the wicked oh God, depart from me therefore ye bloody men, for they speak against thee, speak against God is what he's saying wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them oh Lord that hate thee? So David hated those who hated God. And am I, am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? Psalm 139 22, I hate them with perfect hatred, I count them mine enemies. Okay, so I don't want to confuse you with the Bible because I know you have it all figured out what you believe and everything, but I'm just trying to give you a small sampling I mean if you do the same thing I did when I was 15 years old, when I was corrected by a teenage girl who showed me some of the Bible, and then I went home and studied it and I found out that she was right, if you do the same study you'll see the same thing that I just told you. But look back if you would at Malachi where we are in chapter number one and the Bible reads at the end of the verse there if you saw that where he's talking about how he hates Esau and he hates these wicked Edomites and at the end of verse four he makes an interesting statement, the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever. Now indignation means anger. He has indignation forever. You see and this goes hand in hand with the fact of God hating someone. Now you say wait a minute, come on, of course God loves everybody. Well can you give me a Bible verse that tells me that God loves everybody because there isn't one. Now there's one verse that sounds like that, it says for God so loved the world. You see every single person who's ever lived, God loved them. But there comes a time when God hates certain people that push him too far and then he says I will love them no more. Now let's think for a second, if he loves them no more doesn't that mean that he used to love them? Because you can't love somebody no more if you never loved them. Is there anyone who God never loved? No, every baby that's born God loves. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are pressed to decide that Jesus loves the little children of the world. Yes that's true but when they grow up and become pedophiles and rapists and monsters and freaks then sometimes they cross a line with God where God says I will love them no more. Now I hate you. I guess we're all supposed to love the devil. I've been in a Baptist church before and the pastor said that God loves everybody, he even loves the devil. I haven't done a Baptist church I couldn't believe it. He said he loves every single person, I think he even loves the devil. Now if you love the devil there's something wrong with you. If you love the devil that's not, I know this is really radical doctrine but if you love the devil that's not right. Kids, kids don't love the devil. Love God. You know the Bible says love the good and hate the evil, Amos 5.15. But he says here the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever, there are people who can push God too far, they can cross certain lines that God draws in the sand where God will have indignation with them forever like there's no hope for them. There's no hope to ever straighten them out. There's no hope for them to be saved anymore. They could have been saved because Jesus died not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world. He died for every single person but when they reject it and go deeper and deeper into depravity and wickedness they can push God too far where he says that's it, I'm through with you. There are certain sins that people can commit that will instantly push God over the edge like Revelation 22, 18 and 19 where he says if you tamper with and change the Bible you've crossed the line, you're done. You're gone. You will not go to heaven, you will go to hell. And on other things for example when we think about the end times when the antichrist comes and gives people the mark of the beast if they worship and serve the antichrist that will damn their souls to hell according to the Bible. They will have pushed God too far and crossed the line with God. Of course we're talking about unsaved people. Once a person is saved they have eternal life but people who are unsaved can push God to a point where they can never become saved because God has indignation with them forever. Just to note on the word indignation it's interesting to see where God uses the same word in different places in the Bible. You don't have to turn there but let me just read this for you. Revelation 14, 10 the Bible says the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God. This is talking about people going to hell. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. So that's where the indignation forever comes in. Eternal hell. Eternal damnation. It's a terrible thing. That's why we need to reach people before it's too late. That's why we need to get the gospel to those that are unsaved before it's too late. When they die it will be too late and sometimes it can be even too late before that if they reject it and go too far and push God too far and so forth. And then let's look at the next verse, verse number 5 it says and your eyes shall see and ye shall say the Lord will be magnified from the board of Israel. Your eyes shall see what? God's judgment on the Edomites. God judging the wicked. This will cause the Lord to be glorified and magnified. That's what it says in verse number 5. Looking at verse number 6 though it says a son on earth is father and a servant is master if then I be a father where is mine honor and if I be a master where is my fear saith the Lord of hosts unto you O priests that despise my name and ye say wherein have we despised thy name. Now look at this it says a son on earth is father and of course a son ought to honor is honor thy father and mother which is the first commandment we promised that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live along on the earth. If I be a father where is mine honor God says and if I be a master where is my fear and it reminds me of when Jesus said in the New Testament in Luke chapter 12 he says and why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say. I mean to call God Lord is irritating to him if you don't obey him is what he's saying. He says why are you calling me Lord? It's not like you obey me. It's not like you care what I say. Why are you calling me father when you dishonor me? That's what he's saying. Why you call me master but you don't fear me and we see a day that we live in which is devoid of respect for authority. Let's face it children who do not honor their parents. I remember I was growing up and every once in a while I'd be at a friend's house and they'd have some kind of a fight with their parents when I was a small child and they would say to their parents these words I hate you and I remember saying to myself I would never say that to my parents because if I did I would die in the day that I said it. Like literally if you asked me if I were nine years old right now and you asked me what would happen if I said to my dad I hate you I would have thought he would have killed me with his bare hands and I'm not even kidding. I would have been beaten within an inch of my life. I mean I had some fear some respect and reverence for my dad. I mean I didn't just mouth off to him and especially not utter these horrible words I hate you that's a terrible thing to say. You know the Bible says whosoever hated his brother is a murderer. It's a terrible wicked thing to say to someone that's your father that's a person that loves you I hate you. And yet we see children mouthing off to their parents in the grocery store throwing themselves on the ground disregarding what mom and dad say calling their parents derogatory names yelling at their parents. Yet this is not the way it should be. The Bible says that if a child smites their parent like if a child this is in the Old Testament law in the book of Exodus if a child would actually like shock their dad or mom in the face that child would be put to death because that was just unforgivable to actually beat your parents okay. And so we need to get back to a time where we have respect for authority. Kids you need to talk to your mom and dad with respect. Don't mouth off to them don't call them names. You know you ought to be very careful with the way that you talk to mom and dad kids. You ought to talk to them with respect. Think about what you say have the fear of God in your heart not to just speak freely and just treat them like you know did you know your parents are not your buddy? I'm talking to kids obviously I'm not talking about adults I mean adults are not under the authority of their children I mean adults are not under the authority of their parents is what I meant to say. There are some people that teach that you're supposed to obey your parents even when you're an adult and you're married and that is terrible false doctrine easy to prove wrong from the Bible but as a child I'm talking about children teenagers you ought to obey your parents and you ought to honor your parents and you ought to be very careful how you talk to your parents. Now those of us who are adults we have other authority figures. We have a boss we have a master as it says here at work. You know be careful with the way that you talk to your boss don't mouth off to your boss. You know your boss isn't always going to say things that you like. He's not always going to do things your way but that doesn't give you the right to call him an idiot or mouth off to him because that's against what the Bible teaches. The Bible says to fear your master to honor your boss at work if you're a servant and so on and you know also how about women you know they have an authority too it's called their husband. I know that might be shocking to some of you but did you know that the wife is to be obedient to her husband in all things and did you know that the Bible says and the wife listen to these words carefully let these sink down into your ears and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Reverence. Do you know what reverence means? Reverence means respect it means you're careful. It's kind of like when we reverence God by not taking his name in vain. We reverence God by not saying oh my God and using his name as a curse word. We reverence God by not calling we call him like the Lord Jesus Christ you know we have reverence for him we have respect for him. We have respect for God's house. The Bible says that we ought to know how to behave ourselves in the house of God which is the church of the living God. Kids should be sitting still and listening in church you know they should have respect for God's house and so at the same time women should speak to their husband in a respectful tone of voice. Ladies examine the way that you talk to your husband. Is it the way that you would talk to Jesus Christ? Is it the way that you would want your eight year old child to talk to you? Think about this for a moment. If you as a woman if your child talked to you the way that you talked to your husband would you call that reverence? See think about that for a second because you expect your children to reverence you of course and the wife should reverence her husband and the employee should reverence the boss and we also reverence God. This is called authority. Respect for authority. You know I got pulled over last night in Illinois you know these Illinois cops. I'm driving down the road and it's 45 in Arizona this would have been like 55 ok but it's a 45 zone. I'm going 45 exactly 45. Well it became a 30 zone for about a hundred feet you know there's one building or something. All of a sudden it goes down to 30 and of course they're just sitting right there to nail you. You know I'm just driving along I'm in an unfamiliar area I'm trying to figure out where I'm going. This road in Arizona literally would have been a 55 mile an hour speed limit. It's the middle of nowhere some road but the speed limits are far lower in Illinois just across the board. I mean everything is 10, 15 miles an hour lower than what it is out here. That's why I moved here but anyway that's one of the big reasons. But anyway I'm driving along and you know the guy's just waiting there for me. And I mean he pulls right out pulls me over and by the time he pulled me over and he pulled out and pulled me over right away I was next to the sign that says 45. So when I was going 30 I mean I could see a sign that says 45 because this zone was so tiny this little 30 zone but it's just a speed trap to get you. And so he pulled me over and I jumped out of the car and I said who do you think you are? You've got a lot of nerve buddy. No I didn't okay. Now did I want to do that? No I didn't do that why? Because I'm respecting authority. So I said hi officer how you doing? And he let me off with a verbal warning. Yes! And so that was great. Another time I got pulled over in Indiana and yes there are a lot of stories like this. I got pulled over in Indiana. The guy that pulled me over you know his arms were just cut. This was a policeman and I thought this was unprofessional for a police officer to have visible tattoos. Doesn't that seem unprofessional to you? I mean good night. I mean to have visible tattoos as a police officer. I mean at least you know you should wear. He has tattoos. Wear a long sleeve shirt so I know he's representing the city okay. And so he just has all these visible tattoos. He had bad breath. He needed a haircut. The guy looked like a slob. And he pulled me over and I'm thinking to myself okay you're pulling me over because I'm not going the right speed or whatever you know. But look at you. You need a haircut. You have long hair. You know you have tattoos all over you. God said no to that. You know I'm just thinking to myself but did I but I can't you know what I had to disrespect the uniform is what it is. I have to just bite my tongue and just okay here thanks. Have a good day. You know whatever. And so this is what we're talking about. A respect for authority. Don't be brash with your tongue when it comes to people that are above you on the totem pole so to speak. It doesn't mean they're better than you. It's just a position. You know whether or not that policeman is better than me is not the issue. The issue is that you know he's in a position of authority. He's got a gun and I don't you know. And so that's about it. But anyway that's what I want to say about that. Be careful the way that you talk to authority whatever the authority may be. And you know that the Bible says that if wives are rebellious against their husbands or if they do not reference their husbands the Bible says that will cause the word of God and his doctrine to be blasphemed. And the Bible says in 1 Timothy 6 that if an employee is irreverent to their boss and does not obey their boss at work that will cause the name of God to be blasphemed by the world. Because the world will look at you and they'll say oh wow this is a Christian? Look how they're acting. Look how they treat authority. Look how she treats her husband. Boy he's so henpecked. Look at this henpecked husband. Boy the wife wears the pants in that family. That dishonors God. That gives Jesus and Christianity a bad name. And you being the worst employee on the job will drag Jesus' name in the mud because people know that you're a Christian or at least they ought to know. And so you ought to lift up the name of Jesus Christ by being the best employee on the job, the most obedient, and the most respectful to the boss and to the rules of the company. And so he's saying here can you have respect for me please God is saying? If I'm your father which I am that's a position of authority. Respect God. Fear God he's saying. But these priests had despite for the name of God in verse 6 and he's saying wherein have we despised thy name? Verse 7 you offer polluted bread upon mine altar. And you say wherein have we polluted thee? And that you say the table of the Lord is contemptible. And if you offer the blind for sacrifice is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person sayeth the Lord of hosts? Now keep your finger there and flip over to Romans chapter 12 in the New Testament. Flip over to Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter number 12 the sixth book in the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Look at Romans chapter 12 verse number 1 the Bible reads I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Holy is the adjective to describe the way in which you're to offer yourself to God. Holy acceptable unto God. Of course in Malachi 1 he talked about not accepting a certain offering. Holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now he's saying here we're to offer ourself to God. That's our reasonable service. That's the least we could do after all that he's done for us is to offer ourselves a living sacrifice to God. Well now let's look at Malachi chapter 1. Let's think about that. You know it's kind of a secondary application to what's going on here in Malachi chapter 1. And if you offer the blind for sacrifice is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person save the Lord? What is he talking about? Not giving God your best. Giving God something that's not your best and he's saying you would give better to the world. The governor would not accept this from you as a gift. He's saying do you give better you know to your job than you do to God? Do you give better to the world? Better toward making money? I mean giving your best effort I'm talking about? Your best time? Do you give it to the world and the things of the world that perish? Or do you give your best, your very best to God? Is God kind of an afterthought in your life where if you don't have anything else to do you'll make it to church? Because there's nothing else going on? Or do you put God number one and say I'm going to build my schedule around the things of God? You know church is number one. Is God kind of an afterthought where at the end of the day you get through your whole day? The whole day has gone by and you're tired and you're rubbing your eyes and you're weary and you say oh I didn't read my Bible today I better you know. And you read a chapter half asleep just so that you can have read your Bible. Now if you get to the end of your day and you find yourself in such a case hey read the chapter half asleep but shouldn't you give your best to God like you're most alert? Now personally I think it's good to read the Bible in the morning but some people in the morning are not morning people you know groggy, tired, whatever. You know whatever your best time, your sharpest time should be a time that you sit down and do some reading in the Bible. Give God your best. Give God the best of your week, the best of your time. Give God your best effort in everything because in all things he should have the preeminence the Bible says in Colossians chapter one. You know is it right for you, let's take it a step further. Is it right for you to offer your body, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your body a living sacrifice, holy. Is it right for you to present your body to God lame and sick? That's what it says in verse number eight there. Is that right for you to do that? Or should you give your God your best health? What do I mean by that? Should you live a destructive life that destroys your body? Do you have the right to destroy the temple of God when the Bible says what? Know ye not that your body is the temple of God? And the Bible says him that dishonors the temple of God, him will God destroy something like that and I'm paraphrasing it's in 1 Corinthians chapter six. But is it right for you to abuse your body when your body belongs to Jesus Christ? Is it evil for you to offer to God a sick decrepit body that you've destroyed and wasted with riot this living? What am I talking about? I'm talking about smoking. I'm talking about drinking. Drinking is very damaging to your body. I don't know if you know. Not only does it alter your mind and the Bible says thy eyes shall behold strange women and thy mouth shall utter perverse things. Not only that, but it also is detrimental to your body. I don't know if you know this, but there are people whose stomachs have been severely damaged by alcohol. There are people who get stomach cancer. There are people who have to have portions of their stomach, portions of their liver removed because of the effects of alcoholism on their body. You see, it's not right for you to destroy your body with alcohol. You don't have the right to destroy your body with cigarettes. You don't have the right to destroy your body with drugs and abusive lifestyle and partying. You don't have the right to pour into your body. You know, and I'm not one of these health nuts, but don't pour a bunch of junk food into your body. Don't sit there and just eat junk, junk, junk, junk, and everything's just soda and junk and everything. You ought to be at your best health that you can possibly be. Offer your best to God. Keep the temple of God in good condition. And you know, I'm not saying to become some extremist and super health freak and work out and all this crazy stuff, but can you not abuse God's body that he gave you? I mean, that seems to almost go without saying that God wants you to be in your best health so you can study the Bible at your best. Your mind will be the sharpest. You can go out soul winning. You know, some of the reason why you're so tired all the time, by the way, is probably because of an unhealthy lifestyle. In many cases, honestly. People are just always tired and dragging. You know, and there are legitimate health problems. That's not what I'm talking about. But I'm saying a lot. I mean, I don't think everybody has a health problem, but I've never heard so many people say, as these days, I'm tired. I mean, everybody. Oh, I'm so tired. Oh, man. Well, okay. You know, maybe sitting in front of the TV for hours is not healthy because then you can't sleep right. That's a fact. That's a scientific fact. The flashing of the screen causes you not to be able to sleep at night. The flickering. You ever go to bed at night and you're still flickering because you watch TV for five hours or something, you know, and you close your eyes and you still see all the flashing. Okay. Why are you so tired? Because if you eat junk food, it makes you tired. Well, why are you so tired? Because you know, you're not being healthy in your lifestyle in many cases. Maybe you're not getting enough sleep. Maybe you should go to bed earlier. Maybe you should eat better food. You know, and I wish that everyone could just learn this one thing. Drink water. Drink lots of water. I mean, you'll find that in the Bible. Get my sermon on proper diet. I showed a few verses. The Bible talks about drinking water like over a hundred times. Okay. Way more than it talks about drinking any other beverage. Drink lots of water. Eat healthy food. Eat fruits and vegetables. What do you think is better for you? Food that God made or food that man made in a factory in a laboratory with chemicals? What do you think is healthier? Something that grows on a tree that God... Didn't God say that everything he made was very good? So that means an apple is very good, an orange is very good, a banana is very good, avocado is very good, pineapple is very good, coconut is very good. All these things that God made are fantastic. Tomatoes, lettuce, onions, whatever. But did God make Red 40 and Lake 50 and phosphoric acid and all these different detrimental things? Parsley hydrogenated soybean oil and parsley hydrogenated coconut oil? No, God didn't make those things and those are the things that are causing a lot of the health problems that we see in our day. The chemicals that we put into our body. And so you've got to take care of your body the best that you can so that you can offer God a healthy body with a sharp mind as much as in you is. We all have different health problems and different things, but should you just damage your body and then offer it to God and say, okay, here I am God, ready to serve you God? Wouldn't God be happier if you took care of yourself? Yes, he would. But look at verse number 9, it says, and now I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us. This has been by your means. Will he regard your persons, saith the Lord of hosts? Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for not? Neither do you kindle fire on my altar for not. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts. Neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun, even under the going down of the shame, my name shall be great among the Gentiles and every place incense shall be offered under my name and a pure offering. For my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. But you profaned it in that you say the table of the Lord is polluted and the fruit thereof, even as meat is contemptible. Watch this in verse 13. He said also, behold, what a weariness is it? And you have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts, and you brought that which was torn and the lame and the sick. Thus she brought an offering. Should I accept this of your hand, saith the Lord? Now, notice that statement in verse 13. Behold, what a weariness is it? Now, if you study the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus and in Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, there were all kinds of rituals that they were to perform. That's what this is talking about. This is talking about the different rituals that they performed in the Old Testament, which were a shadow of things to come. They were done away with with the advent of Jesus Christ on the cross and that they were pictures of Jesus dying on the cross and his atonement for us and so forth. But these elaborate rituals that they went through, the morning and the evening sacrifice, the feast of the end gatherings, and all these different cleansings and purifications and offerings that they were to make. Some of it was a little bit of work. And they were saying, Behold, what a weariness is it? Oh, I'm just so sick of it, just again and again, blah, blah. It's kind of like this, good night, in order to translate it into our day. It just so wears me out. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Again, again, blah, blah, Sunday morning. Now we've got to go to church again, Sunday night. That's a bad attitude. This is the kind of attitude that they have. And you know what God's saying? He's saying, Am I supposed to be glad that you bring your offering? You know, these were not an offering like financial. These are sacrifices that they're doing in the Old Testament. He's saying, Am I supposed to be happy because you came and had your solemn feast or brought your offering when you're sitting there grumbling about it with a bad attitude? He's saying, You know what? Fine, don't even come then. If it's such a weariness to you, if it's such a pain in the neck for you to come to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, go ahead and go be a heathen then. Go out and go party and have fun. Hey, go out to the movies this coming Sunday night instead of being in church. Go ahead and mess up your life. Go ahead and be a fool. Go ahead and go out and do all the fun things. Watch some stupid sporting event on TV instead of being in church. Go ahead. You ought to not have an attitude of saying, Oh, it's such a weariness to go to church. You ought to thank God that you have a church to go to that's teaching you the Bible. You know, many people go to church and they expect to be taught the Bible and they're led astray. Did you know that? They're led down the wrong path. Many people go to church, expect to be taught the Bible and they get there and it's just some kind of a social club. They get there and it's just entertainment session with a bunch of singers and people are swaying and ooh and all this ooh-ing and ah-ing and the backup singers are there and the worship team and the worship leader and the worship session. But we have a church where the Bible's preached. Like love or hate, faithful word about the church. But hey, you will learn the Bible. The Bible will be preached to you. Ah, the pastor doesn't care what anybody thinks. The pastor preaches the Bible straight down the line. The Bible preaches the Bible on Sunday morning when visitors are here. He preaches the same thing. Have you ever known me to tone it down because of a visitor? Sometimes you wish I would tone it down for your visitor. Have I ever toned it down on Sunday morning? Is my Sunday morning service a little lighter? Is it like church light for those that are the Sunday morning glories that only come once a week? Do I tone it down and give them kind of a light version? You know, kind of like a light snack and then you come on Sunday night and it's more the crock pot, the meat and potatoes of the week and Wednesday night is the meat but on Sunday morning I really just tone it down, don't I? I don't tone it down. No, I don't. Ah, I preach it the same thing all the time. Instant, in season, out of season. Now, am I the best preacher in the world? No. Is this the best church in the world? I hope so. I think so. I don't know. But, if you ask me it is. But, you knew that was coming. But the thing is, I'll tell you something, I thank God for faithful word about this church. I praise the Lord for it. And so, to me it's not a weariness to come on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. To me it's something that I look forward to, believe it or not. I don't find it a weariness. How about this? You say, well, you know, church entertains me. You know, the sermon is different every time. We sing a little different songs every time. But how about this? Does soul winning become a weariness to you? Because here's the thing about soul winning. If you go soul winning for a really long time, you're pretty much preaching the same gospel about 10,000 times. You're pretty much showing them Romans 3.23 for like the 5,000th time that you've showed somebody Romans 3.23. I mean, good night. I've showed so many thousands and thousands of people. Romans 3.23 or Romans 5.8, on and on. But let me tell you why soul winning is not a weariness. Because when I go soul winning, and this is why it's not a weariness for me. Because you think, good night, isn't that a little repetitive? You get tired of it and obviously we'd say a little bit different things to each person. I mean, you know, it's not just a mechanical, Romans 3.23 says, we're all saying it comes to the glory of God. You know, obviously, you know, we're actually speaking to people from our heart. Okay. But at the same time, let's face it, it's a little bit repetitive, isn't it? And if you go for three hours, four hours, and it's just again and again, and the next week again and again and again and again and again and again and again. Let me tell you why it's not a weariness. Because every person we talk to is a new person. That's why. That's why it's not a weariness. Okay. Every person we talk to is a brand new person. And every person we talk to is a real human being that has a mom and a dad and brothers and sisters, they have a problem, they have a life. Jesus died for them individually. God thinks about them. God knows who they are. And you know, when you talk to people, maybe you should focus a little bit, you know, having some love in your heart for the person that you're talking to. And then it won't be such a weariness because you'll look at somebody and say, you know, this is a real person. And if this is the last person I ever preached the Gospel to, I'm going to give it my best right now. I'm going to give it my best because this is a real person. And you know, so many times I'll be the silent partner maybe, I'm soul winning. And somebody else presenting the Gospel and I'll just be begging God in my heart, oh God, please help them to get saved. God, please, just stir in their heart. Whatever it is that's hindering them from seeing this or understanding, whatever is in their mind that's, oh God, please just give us the right words to say that this person will be saved. What verse is it that's going to crack through and pierce through and get them saved and convict their heart? That's why I'm begging God. Because sometimes I'll be preaching the Gospel to somebody and I'll be praying, even while I'm saying, because I've said these words so many times when I was giving the Gospel, sometimes I'm praying in my heart while I'm saying to them, this is the plan of salvation, I'm just saying, oh God, please help them to understand this. God, please don't let this person go to hell. Why? Love for people that I don't know. That's not, that's, work on your love. You know, think about people as real people, not just strangers or a number, but a real human being. And then soul winning is not a weariness. If you were giving the Gospel to your mother that's unsaved or your father that's unsaved or your brother or your sister that's unsaved, would that be a weariness to you? Even if you'd done it 10,000 times, if it was someone that you loved, that would not be tiresome or wearying to you. But see, if you have love for people, it ought not be a weariness to you, soul winning. It can be repetitive. It can be tiring. It seems like it just comes around again so fast. Church. You know, I mean, I don't know about you, but it's not as my time just flies by as just church again, church, soul winning, church, church, soul winning, soul winning. Don't let it become a weariness. Don't let Bible reading become a weariness to you. And if it ever does become a weariness to you, God forbid that as it says in verse 13, He said also, behold what a weariness it is. You know, sometimes it may become a weariness to you because we're all human. You don't want it to become weariness. You have to try to keep a warm heart, a loving heart to people, a warm heart to the things of God, a receptive heart to the Spirit of God when you come to the church. But let's say it becomes a weariness to you. Don't say it. Don't be like these people and say, oh, what a weariness is it? Did you know that you don't have to say everything that you feel? This is a great truth for you to understand. The Bible says the fool uttereth all his heart. He just, everything that comes into his mind, he just says it. Okay. The fool uttereth all his heart, but the wise man keepeth it until afterward. You see, you don't have to say everything you feel. Do you know that every time you're tired, you don't have to say, I'm tired. Every time you're not feeling what you have to say, I don't feel good. You know, every time something, I'm having a bad day. Look, do you have a bad day? Yes. Do you get tired? Yes. Do you not feel well? Yes. Do you have to tell everybody about it all the time? Do you just have to say everything that just enters your mind? So maybe it's a weariness. I'm so sick of soul winning. Okay, what good is that kind of statement going to do? And you know, if you say things like that, it's going to cause you to be, you know, when you start saying it's hot outside, can't believe I live in Phoenix and it's, you know, 115 again. When you say it's hot, everybody gets a little hotter because, you know, some of us just forgot that it's hot, you know, because we're just so used to it. But then as soon as you start saying, it's so hot, and you're like, yeah, it is pretty, man, thanks for reminding me. Now I'm hot, you know. So don't say everything that comes to your mind. See, the biggest sin here was not that it became a weariness to them, which it ought not be a weariness. I mean, God is so exciting. I mean, the things that God, people being saved, boy, we had an exciting day on Sunday, all kinds of visitors, all kinds of people got saved, and soul winning was great and exciting. Hey, it's exciting. It ought not be a weariness to you. Reading the Bible ought not be a weariness. Praying ought not be a weariness. But if it does become a weariness, don't commit the sin that they committed by saying it's a weariness. By just announcing that to everybody that you don't feel like going to church today. So what? Just come to church anyway and suffer, here's a great phrase for you, it's not found in the Bible, suffer in silence. Have you ever heard that? Suffer in silence. This will make your work happier, it'll make us all happy, I'm just kidding. But anyway, suffer in silence. Thus you bring an offering, should I accept this of your hand, say to the Lord, verse 14, but cursed be the deceiver, which happened to squawk a male and boweth in sacrifice, thunder the Lord, a corrupt thing, again not giving God your best. For I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heat. It isn't sad, to me it's sad that God has to keep announcing to us, don't you know that I'm God? Don't you know that I'm a great king? I know you don't think I love you, I know you don't think that my house is worth anything, but did you know that my name is dreadful among the heat? Did you know that there are people out in the world that actually fear me and think highly of me? And he's just begging people to understand that. You know, it's a sad thing if the boss has to always tell you, I'm the boss. You know, and I've heard people say this, I've heard people say this before, I heard a pastor say this one time, and this is what he said, he said, if you have to say that you're the boss, then you're not. Now, I don't agree with that statement, because God is constantly saying I'm the boss. Okay, I mean, if you do a search on this, like if you have e-sort, a computer program where you can search for phrases, which I love to use that, but if you just search for the phrase, I am the Lord, you'll find that phrase many, many, many times. God's saying, listen to me, I'm the Lord, I'm the boss, I'm in charge around here. But, you know, to me it's sad that he would have to say that hundreds and hundreds of times. And to me it's sad when the boss has to keep reminding you, hey, did you know that I run, did you know that I'm the owner of the company, did you know that I'm the boss? Or that dad has to constantly say to the kids, obey me, obey me, obey me! Or whatever. You know, we ought to just know who God is. We ought to just sit down and realize who God is, who mom and dad are, who the boss is, and so on. He says, I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, thank you so much for the Bible. We love you, dear God, that's why we're in church on Wednesday night. And God, I just pray that you would help us all to put these things into practice in our lives, to have a greater respect for authority, to give God our best, not to be tired and wearied of the things of God and sick of the routine that week in, week out, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, soul winning, read the Bible every day. God, help us to love and cherish the routine and to thank God every time we open the Bible that we have a Bible. And thank God every time we walk into Faithful Word Baptist Church that we have a Bible preaching church. And to thank God that we have the authority that we have and to treat it with diligent respect. God, help us to love you and not to question your love for us. And in Jesus' name I pray, amen. I pray that you would please just use this chapter in our hearts and lives to bring us closer to Jesus.