Sermon: Worship that is Worthy of the Object—the Triune God
Bible Passage: Malachi 1:6–2:9
I. The section1:6–2:9 was addressed to priests—the religious leaders of the community!
1. They needed to exemplify godly living and spiritual worship so that the community would follow them
2. They failed to lead by example; consequently, their people suffered God’s displeasure
3. The people of Israel professed God to be their “Father” and “Master” (1:6)
a. Father – honor / Master – respect
b. But God saw inconsistency between their claim and actions (1:6-14)
i. Their sacrifice should have been of highest quality, best of everything
ii. The sacrificial animals should have been without blemish and defect
iii. Their sacrifices should have reflected their respect and thanksgiving to their God
c. The priests treated God’s worship contemptuously
i. They offered defiled food
ii. They offered to their God blind, crippled, and dead animals (1:7-8, 13b-14)
d. Their actions revealed that their service to God was a kind of liability, obligation, namesake (1:13)
e. God would not accept their service which was insincere and full of defilement (1:10)
f. Their deeds were inconsistent with their profession—dishonor and disrespect (1:7-14)
4. When God brought their inconsistency to their notice, they were in denial of God’s disputation and their indifference (1:6b)
a. Verse 1:7: But you ask, “How have we defiled you?”
b. They continued their meaningless religious practices (verse 9)
i. Such service/worship was an insult to God
ii. Familiarity and failure to recognize the awesomeness of God led them to passionless unacceptable worship
iii. G. K. Chesterton: God was “more a theory than a love affair”
iv. Richard Taylor: A “loss of gratitude and delight in worship is a sign of spiritual decay”
v. Honor, reverence, and fear of God were absent in the people of Judah
5. Despite their attitude towards Him they wanted God to remain gracious to them
6. What are the causes for such a state?
a. Incorrect assessment:
b. Failed priesthood
c. Familiarity
d. Elevation of human leaders and authorities more than their God (1:8)
II. God wanted Judah to know who He is? (1:11, 14)
1. The Great King (verse 14)
2. Great among the nations (verse 11)
3. Feared (revered) by all (verse 14)
4. God reminds the people of Judah that they were elected unconditionally (cf. 1:2)
III. Lessons
1. Worship happens when a person affectively understands who God is
2. Therefore, worship is based on the object of worship
3. Worship cannot happen if the worshipper is not clear of the object of worship—a non-believer cannot be a real worshipper of the Triune God
a. Worship is not repetition of a few jargons
b. Worship is not sensationalization of feelings
c. Worship is not just music and singing a few rehearsed songs
4. Worship is confessional (1:11, 14, cf. Eph 1–3)
a. Blessed be the God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
b. Blessed be the God, who elects sinners to holiness through Jesus the Redeemer, who died, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father
c. Blessed be the God, who marks His ownership over believers with the Holy Spirit
d. Blessed be the God, who transformed sinners (trashes) into His “Handiwork” of God
e. Worship is Trinitarian
5. One’s worship is proportionate to his knowledge of God who is revealed in the Scripture
6. Therefore, worship begins when believers start studying the Scripture and better worship happens when believers become students of God’s Word
7. Worship is validated from a person’s behavior
a. A true worshipper is an ongoing transformed person
b. A person’s understanding of the Trinity transforms his handling of his time, talents, and resources
c. Worship is action, behavior change, etc., not mere words
d. Abraham worshipped God with his obedience; Hannah worshipped God by releasing Samuel
e. In Malachi, worship did not happen because of the disconnect between profession and behavior (Father and Master)
8. Just like the people of Judah, we can also become careless or insensitive to the awesomeness of God
a. We develop cold-shoulder towards God
b. We offer to Him passionless worship
c. We lead a lukewarm relationship towards Him
9. We don’t now offer animal or grain sacrifices to God because He provided the best and once-and-for all sacrifice, Jesus, and thereby provided an uninterrupted access to Him
a. Unblemished (as opposed to the ones in Malachi)
b. The best (as opposed to the ones in Malachi)
IV. As followers of Jesus Christ and born-again Christians, how do we respond to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
1. Paul suggests, “Therefore, I urge you [plural], brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your [plural] bodies [plural] a living and holy sacrifice [SINGULAR], acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” Rom 12:1
a. The Roman Church was divided over racial lines, Jewish and non-Jewish Christians
b. It was not acceptable to God
c. Remaining divided over race and ethnicity is not a reasonable service/worship to God
2. According to Paul, the reasonable/intelligent reciprocation to God is that they remain united (singular word “SACRIFICE”)
a. By not practicing racial division
b. By not ignoring the other person of another race and ethnicity but,
c. By realizing that each one is needed to the other person
d. Acceptable worship is one’s willing service to the local body,
i. It may be diverse in race, ethnicity, and economics
ii. But reasonable worship is one’s desire to contribute towards its oneness
e. After singing songs, raising hands, and listening to sermons, if a person is still slandering, hurting others and local church, it is a disservice to God, unbecoming of a worshipper
Takeaway:
1. Offer worship to the Triune God
a. Study the Scripture
b. Get clarity with the doctrines
2. Contribute towards the oneness of this local church
a. Love fellow believers
b. Avoid slandering
c. Help in their weakness and need