A Whole-Hearted Worship

This is from Malachi chapter 1 verses six through chapter 2 verse nine. This is the second disputation in the reading of God's word and maybe a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I'm a father, where is my honor if I am a master, where is my fear says the Lord of hosts to use low priests who despise my name you say have a way to stop despise thy name by offering polluted food upon your altar and you say how if we polluted it by thinking that the Lord's table may be despised when you offer blind animals and sacrifices that not evil when you offer those that are lame and sick.

Is that not evil present that to your governor, will he be pleased with you or show you favor, says the Lord of hosts, and now and treat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us with such a gift from your hand will he show favor to you. Any of you, says the Lord of hosts. Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the doors that you might not kindle fire upon my altar in vain. I have no pleasure in use, as the Lord of hosts, I will not accept an offering from your hand for from the rising of the sun to its setting. My name is great among the nations, and every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts, but you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted in the food fort may be despised. What where Unisys is you saying you sniff it me, says the Lord of hosts.

You bring what was taken by violence or is lame or sick can you bring this is your offering shall I accept this from your hand, says the Lord. Cursed should be the cheat who has a male in his flock and vows it yet. Sacrifices to the Lord. What is blemished for I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts in my name is to be feared among the nations own now a priest. This is, this command is for you if you will not listen if you will not lead to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings and deed. I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it heart hold. I will rebuke your offspring and spread dung upon your faces. The dung of your offerings you will be taken away with it. You shall know that I have sent this command to you and that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the Lord of hosts, my covenant with him was a covenant of life and peace, and I gave it to him that he might fear and he feared me the law of truth was in his mouth and no wrong was found on his look no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness. He turned many from iniquity for the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, but you have turned aside from the way you have caused many to stumble by the law you've corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. So I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have you not kept my ways but have shown favoritism in regard to the law. Let us pray Lori's heavenly father we thank you that you've been faithful to give us your word. Your living word. Jesus our Lord, that he is come that we might know the truth, the way in the life Lord Jesus we pray that you would be lifted up, that you might draw all men unto yourself.

Even now, may my words be likened to the Levites who were to proclaim from their mouths. Your peace and your righteousness father that no wrong would be found upon my lips.

I pray that you would guard knowledge and that men would seek instruction from your word as a result, may I be just a messenger and not fear man not tremble, but Mal be faithful come Holy Spirit and work in each one of our hearts that we would be receptive to your word to the movement of your spirit convicting is not only of our sin, but showing us how we might respond to your greatness in our worship in our day-to-day lives as living sacrifices. We pray this in Jesus precious name. Amen.

It's been four months two months ago I got: four months ago I had long sermons are broken down into three sections and I got Cove Road and now here I am again and I told Doug that I'm about to bust. I've been preparing this for four months and I just hope that it comes out smoothly and he prayed for me to be articulate with her just so much here as you look at our text, even from chapter 16229. This is huge and they're just so many rabbit trails that we could run down.

I just pray that the Lord would bless this ministry of his word and that you would be able to take home with you on not only God's greatness, but how we should respond to it.

That's the point of our last sermon because that's what wholehearted worship is supposed to be the appropriate response to the revelation of God. Wholehearted worship is how we respond to his revelation to us as he opens our eyes and softens a heart fills us with the spirit and shows us the work of Christ in his right hand shows as the rainbow behind his throne in the glassy waters at his feet and we see the elders casting their crowns before him enough of the four living creatures and we see this image of God and were reminded of his greatness. That's how we should live our lives every day is hard to do because were hard-pressed from all sides as we can see from the priests and the people at that time. Even here in the 21st century were hard-pressed, but that doesn't matter because God is given us his Spirit that we would not will that we would persevere that we would not fall away, and he's given us a spirit in the church to encourage one another that we might worship him with whole hearts that we would bow down and worship him a couple weeks ago I was going home from church. I live on the other side of 29 that way nose up at 29. I was at the front of the line there and there was a left turning lane that goes to the Parkway house. Some of you like to eat there, and that is always waiting for the light to turn the turnings of the light came on in cars going through and I heard this loud exhaust and I turned my side and looked in there with this really fine corvette.

It was black. It had like Carolina blue lines on it and is it went past a look at its license plate and it said how down I hope my goodness is impressive, but there was a second corvette black with matching trim and had a license plate on it and it said & worship is advising these two Corvettes running around town together a rather impressive bow down and worship. I thought to myself oh my goodness. Cars are great but my God is King by misinterpreting this is it is about the cars and I'm supposed to bow down and worship is at the living God. You are the health and wealth gospel obscene people with license plates on the back of their cars that say gift to God as if you are because they are doing everything right, or the giving of God is given them. This card is nice Jaguar. This Mercedes and if the gift of God there in right relationship with Lord, my misunderstanding this had asked myself that question are tonight. Our sermon tonight exposes this question that we have for this response that we have this halfhearted worship of the priests and of the people that it might inspire us to wholehearted worship of our great God and our king great cars don't inspire worship the revelation of himself does. If you want to look at your text right quick.

Let me take a minute and break it up because it's such a huge text. It might be little bit easier if I do compartmentalize it for you to understand it is in the first sermon I spoke about how the book of Malachi is broken down and disputations argument, so to speak in their representative of God's complaint with his people. Well, there's four parts to this disputation. There's an assertion there's an objection, there is a response and there's an implication.

So, for what it's worth, the assertion is in verse 16 this is God speaking and a a says to them, or he's letting them know where is my honor and my fear says the Lord opposed to you. Will priests who despise my name and then Malachi speaking for Israel by the Lord.

The objection is to series of questions how it sounds, like the parable of the sheep and the goats are the people who weren't visiting the people and were giving this is that kind of question, despised by name by offering polluted food upon milder and you say how have we polluted it by thinking that the Lord's table may be despised. So that's their objection to his assertion that asked how women can we not visit you in prison. That kind of response.

The responses verses one through 18 all the way down to the end of chapter 1 verse 14 the Lord our God, the Lord of hosts is telling them what he thinks about their faulty worship. The implication begins in chapter 2 verse one all the way through to nine this is when we see the curse God's response to their faulty worship was to curse them. Those who were the priest who were giving the ironic blessing as people would come up during the three Passover feast and they were continually giving out the ironic blessing to the people, the benediction, so to speak to the people.

Now God is turning their blessings and curses and there the very end makes the point verses two and eight but you have turned aside from the way you have caused many to stumble by law you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I will make you despised in the basement for all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown favoritism and got regard to law that's a result, talk about that. I have three questions and I'm gonna ask still come to help break this down a very simply something that you can take home with you on the talk about God, the great King because when you think of God's great King as he reveals himself in the book of Malachi, and considering their circumstances when we with our eyes open and when you think of Revelation chapter 4.

We think the images of God that he really gave to Isaiah in chapter 6. Did you know he would touch his lips and he says here send me this response to the revelation of God is what inspired Ezekiel to be faithful to the word of God and not to be saying like all the false prophets, peace, peace where there was no speak of peace support number one is gonna be about God, the great King and were gonna look at the second point or second question which is going to be what about the sin of the priests and then the third will be what is the end result. So my first question is if God is the great King. Why don't they give him wholehearted worship. If you look at our text it says it right there in the assertion in chapter 1 verse six it says if I'm a father, where is my honor if I am a master, where is my fear. That's what's missing. That's the answer. Why don't they give him wholehearted worship because they don't fear him, and they don't honor him.

Life circumstances for those people who, after the return from exile. This is 100 years after. If you would think of the setting of the text and the circumstances surrounding Israel, so to speak, who is returned from Babylonian captivity. The circumstances were pressing hard against them. In many ways.

There was no king this week. I was reading in the book of second Kings in it and around chapter 17 or so it says that O'Shea was the last king of Israel. And when you put that together with them via Syria in the attacks of the of the Assyrians coming in and taking them captive and then filling the land up with all these different people and then Judah Judah being taken in the captivity. That's the end of the Kings of the northern kingdom in the southern kingdom they go out and they go into a Syrian or Babylonian captivity under some other King some other Empire and then they return, but they don't return as they left because they have no king over them. Now they are under the providential rule of the local Persian Empire, Judah was an insignificant backwater is Dr. Doug Stewart calls it a backwater is essentially a 15 x 20 mile area with 150,000 people in a sub back corner of some some huge empire that spreads all over the Middle East. What is Judah and I and Israel to the Empire. These people were without sows so to speak. The comfort of of God. If you look at I got text here in chapter 1 verse eight says here when you offer blind animals and sacrifices that not evil, and he goes down present that to your governor is what gives us the hit.

These are the people that they are trying to please the political governor than the king of the Empire, Israel is also experiencing a spiritual destitution turns out after their return, there was a lack of miraculous evidence of God's presence at this point in the book of Malachi. The second Temple had already been built but something was missing in the holy of holies and second Temple. There was no visible manifestation of the glory of God. There was no arc there was no footstool as we understand the purpose of the ark, the footstool of God who reigns above and places his foot on the earth there at the ark who meets with us who condescends there in the holy of holies there was no arc there was no glide of Aaron staff. There was no two copies of the covenant without the presence of God with an empty Temple. The people return is been 100 years, so to speak. Since the temple on since their return. Maybe their attitude is like with God isn't visibly present. What's the difference there's no one to see what we do here that he felt excused their worship and become a joyless drudgery.

It was lukewarm to become a job repetition of just going through the motions, so to speak, they went through the motions without the requisite emotions. They were a hopeless loveless and faithless leadership in their worship.

Not only were they experiencing spiritual destitution. But, as well. They were experiencing physical destitution after the Babylonian captivity was, like the South after Sherman's are raising a path to the ocean there was a harsh reality of an economic privatization was crop failures.

There was prolonged drought and pestilence that it is even affected their animals, like if you're limiting your animals and your trying to make ends meet. They have to ask your question. If you want to have them grow a healthy herd surely is just common sense that you're going to keep the best and maybe because there's no one really looking you're going to give your second-best something that'll do. That's their lack of fear. Why do they give him wholehearted worship because they lost fear. The reality of his presence, even though he might not of been manifesting himself in the temple. Does that mean that God is not there know he still reigns above had a purpose in all this, they and fallen short. They had forgotten who he was and what he had done when we're hard-pressed. We need to remember who God is and what he's done for us. We need to rehearse in our minds the storyline. Remember how he has saved us and many have a dramatic experience. Maybe it's been a gradual experience but you need to remember the miracles that God is done in your life and remind yourself that it he's hearing is with you and he's not can leave you turn your Bibles with me to Psalm 77, read this nose can take a minute to do it, but it's worthwhile the readouts from Psalm 105 as well, so bear with me, but this has to do with remembering the Lord that we would remember how awesome and great he is. Rather than forgetting him becoming complacent. Psalm 77 I'll read through verse 15. I cried out to God for help. I cry out to God to hear me when I was in distress. I sought the Lord and Naida stretched out on tiring hands. My soul refused to become. I remembered you will God and I grown I'm used in my spirit grew faint.

You kept my eyes from closing.

I was to trouble to speak. I thought about the former days, when the years the years of long ago remembered that my songs in the night. My heart mused in my spirit inquired will the Lord reject forever really never show his favor again as his unfailing love vanished forever as his promise failed for all time as God forgot to be merciful as he and anger withheld his compassion than I thought. To this I will appeal the years of the right hand of the most high.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds your ways of God are holy.

What God is so great is our God, you are the God who performs miracles you display your power among the peoples with your mighty arm. You redeem your people.

The descendents of Jacob and Joseph, and remember from the first disputation of chapter 1 verses 1 to 5. We talked about Jacob and Esau here so it's is point that I hear he mentions Jacob now turns me over to Psalm 105. Likewise, this is just powerful is so applicable to our text Psalm 105 Hungary verses one through 10 is great stuff. Great stuff.

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations.

What he is done singing to him sing praise to him tell of all of his wonderful acts glory in his name.

Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength seek is fake face. Always remember the wonders he has done his miracles and the judgments he pronounced oh descendents of Abraham. That's us. Remember, through Christ and through faith in Christ we become sons of Abraham remember little oh descendents of Abraham's servant of the sons of Jacob is chosen once he is the Lord our God is judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant. That's why he is the great King and the great God and our text because he is faithful, the word he commanded for a thousand generations. The covenant he made with Abraham the oath he swore to Isaac.

He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree to Israel as an everlasting covenant. Praise God praise God he is not forgotten is he is not abandon us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He reigns over all you think about it, the King of the universe, the creator of the universe abides with us now picture this, and we have eyes to see in our hearts are melted and we love God because he first loved us. They had forgotten who he was, time, distance, lack of presence of the God. Sin, if you really want to look back and see what caused them to see him go back to a second Kings chapter 17 and there's a long laundry list of the sins in their idolatry and the things that they did. And it goes on and on and on beginning.

I believe in verse seven is just a long list. Malachi doesn't want us to forget who God is. Know how we know that because first of all 11 turnings in our text, I got this thing right here is what I do for my my sermons whenever I'm doing a text.

This done me is hard to tell. Here, there's lots of color but I have color-coded here, says the Lord of hosts that Yahweh's thought about oath want you to see the counterfeit how the religions of the nations surrounding God's people are providing counterfeits to usurp and take away God's worship there.

Creating a counterfeit by calling themselves the great King says this treaty of Ray much Aisha Ami Amano Doug great King.

The king of the land the valiant with how to silliest the great King of the hottie land his brother for establishing peace good brotherhood worthy of the great King ship between them forever to hear that great King. This is in the ancient near Eastern texts here relating their king in comparison to our God who is the true great King is another one. This is between merciless and to be tested and says these are the words of someone merciless Doug great King King of the hottie land the valiant, the favorite on the storm God think of bail on the son of soupy loop.

You must the great king. The king of the hottie land the via the Valeant and then he goes on and on there so many treaties, from ancient near Eastern. Surrounding this time in the nations that surround Israel that God told his people. Do not be like them and what were they doing when you read in second Kings. That's what they were doing. They were intermarrying and having sexual immorality they were worshiping their God. They are doing everything they were supposed to do.

They sacrifice their children. They worship their gods bail up your currently dumping tenant Scout-like as Corvettes their God or their king is not the great cane. How can you come to this point and forget the Lord our God is with Satan was hoping when Jesus when he was tempted in the desert. There is what he was hoping after Jesus had gone through that period of time out there at the very end when he was at the end of his physical capability news being sustained. Essentially, there 40 days without food and water.

Satan appeared to Jesus and said I will give you all this power, I'll give you all this if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus himself said that in in that day. Speaking of the last days the time of his ministry as well for John refers to that that many will come in my name, claiming to be the Christ back in that day with Israel when there was no king representing representing God's reign, they were tempted to forget God to look to the local governments as their God.

The cry out to those kings as their kings, their great kings. They had to bow down and worship what Daniel knew.

Daniel didn't doing a film in the fire or his friends in the fire and threw him in the lion's den. That's how it is with him go political here I quick.

That's how it is with communism and socialism. When the people are in distress, communism and socialism want you to look to the government rescue for a handout us. While the good of the communist governments hate Christianity because no matter what suffering and trials come the way of believers of Christians. They never submit to the government because you can't change their hearts they been born again. They worship and love the true and living God.

And no matter what they do they can't steal that faith from their heart. The Lord is our God.

He's the only true and living God, and we love him because he first loved us.

We like to bow down to gather together as his people to worship him. The great King this evening is again witnessing the doxology again want to point something out to you that I think is important for us. When you sing the doxology. We typically go through. Look, praise God from whom all blessings flow. The doxology doesn't go back to the early church's recent video newsletter.

Not sure melted but it's it's it's not necessarily an old document from the early church. The doxology calls us, encourages us to praise God praise him, all you creatures below within it commands all he heavenly hosts, praise his name was a say praise him above, ye heavenly host, not praise him above that the heavenly host.

Praise him above the heavenly host, nope, praise him, you heavenly hosts.

That's what were doing. We gather together to give God is doxology has praise you look at the book of Romans chapters 1 through 11, you see God's is the manifestation of his election is salvation to his people to the very end. You had this doxology the transitions in the chapter 12 is a great praise to all that God has done that we could do for ourselves that we don't even deserve. God deserves the honor and the praise just like around the throne, which I mentioned earlier in Revelation chapter 4. There the 24 elders.

The four living creatures. The angelic host were all crying out holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. They say you are worthy of the Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being to LinkedIn rehab get tired of giving God praise. Maybe if our bodies are exhausted, but in our hearts, he feels is up to praise him even more.

We can't get enough because as where ideal treasure of the vessel. As we report out he feels is up even more. Israel's hearts were hard though. After the return, God wasn't manifested, but today for the believers in the church we've been given the Holy Spirit. We have the Fellowship of the body, he saved us. He's given us faith. He's given us his word to comfort us and to instruct us is given as encouragement by one another. We are not alone.

So once again I'm still talk about point number one, which is really the main emphasis because once you establish God is the great King over all and is present with us the appropriate response is to worship which contrasts with the priest were doing their unsatisfactory halfhearted worship. What was the sin of the priest's turn to chat with me your text again if it's close look at it 6B through seven. This is the object objection.

You say how if we despise thy name by offering polluted food upon my altar and you say we polluted it by thinking the Lord's table may be despised and then he goes on there to the rest of chapter 1 through verse 14 describing their element. More specifically, these how they have offered up the lame and the sick and blind animals to the Lord rather than the first in the best priests in Hebrew is coming to work for priest that should make it when I thought about that when I was reading it makes me think of the Cohen brothers Joel who the Cohen brothers are well is okay. Probably good that you don't but they're the ones who came up with the movie Fargo. They're the ones you came up with the movie raising Arizona. They're the one who came up with the movie no country for old men. They're the ones who came up with the big Lebowski or or O Brother where Art thou these guys are famous but their native Jewish in their name means priests with everything but I guess Orthodox are people who ordered by Jewish Christians everything but that these people, the priests, their hearts were hard about. As I've mentioned in the compromiser there there calling. Look at chapter 2 verse verse two if you will not listen if you will not lay at the heart to give glory to my name. This is a heart issue. Their hearts were hard.

That's why they were compromising. I felt sorry for the people out there for all the circumstances that they were going to and all the deprivation that they were having to endure so they compromised what happened. Not only did they feel sorry for the people sympathetic for them but they had forgotten their ordination and their calling, which is very important for us here at this point if you would like. I'm a give you a brief explanation or summary of the text is a live-in Exodus chapter 32 the golden calf and right after the golden calf what it happened. Moses was long in coming down from the mountain, the people pressed Aaron to make them God. So Aaron cast a golden calf and said these are your God who brought you up out of Egypt. Speaking of compromise. God saw it and told Moses to go down because they had made themselves a cast idle in the shape of the cast. A calf they had bowed down to it and sacrificed to it than that, turn your stomach does me late.

After all, they got it done here on the mountain with the fire and everything else. Immediately they went back they bow down to and sacrificed people claim these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt I thought maybe to themselves. At least we can see this because Moses and you know we can't see him. We don't know what happened to him he he's gone. Then in verse 25 says this Moses saw that all the people were running wild in that area and let them get out of control sound like the bail worshipers with Elisha and they become an Israel to become a laughing stock to their enemies, because everybody's watching God's people from the outside, the pillar of fire and cloud so we started the interest of the camp and said whoever is for the Lord, come to me all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says each man strapped a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one into the other killing his brother, his friend and his neighbor Levites did as Moses commanded in that day about 3000 of the people died and Moses said you've been set apart to the Lord today for you or against your own sons and brother, and he has blessed you this day that day. The Levites have been set apart ordained, so to speak, by God to be his servants to make sure that the worship of the Lord was performed correctly, they were willing, like Luke chapter 14 verse 26 if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and his wife and children, as brothers and sisters, even his own life he cannot be my priest, but is similar to that be my disciple.

The ideas that you need to be willing to lose all things to gain God and these people, the Levites recognized and remembered the true and living God, and they went out with swords and brought a judgment on God's people back here so what was the sin of the priest. Their hearts were hard and now they offered polluted food upon his altar. They despise God the text says when they offered blemished sacrifices, the blonde Elaine the sick animals as sacrifices. God was very clear in the book of Leviticus. If you want to. I was reading in the book of Leviticus and it starts out in chapter 1 verse three right there at the very beginning. Use cane escapement that from the very beginning, and over 40 times in the book of Leviticus, there is reference to the offering up of unblemished sacrifices to the Lord. If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect was presented at the interest of the tent of meeting. He is to lay his hands on the head of the burnt offering and will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him if he turned to Leviticus chapter 22. Here's a long list of unacceptable sacrifices. Beginning in verse 17 of this read a few of them.

If you have you either an Israelite or an alien living in the an Israel presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either afoot to fulfill a vow is a free will offering.

You must present a male without defect from the Sheep or goats in order that it may be acceptable in your behalf.

Do not bring anything with a defect because it, or defect because it will not be accepted on your behalf, and he goes on to do not offer to the Lord, the blind, the injured of the maimed or any other thing with wards or festering or running sores. Do not place any of these on the altar is an offering made to the Lord by fire so is very clear that they were to be doing this and I did warn them and told them that there will be consequences for their actions. Should they do it and went about performing their rituals and cultic rituals of worship. They went through the motions but the emotion was not there their hearts.

It is like Matthew chapter 15 verse eight says these people honor me with their lips, as comes from Isaiah.2913 these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain. Their teachings are but rules taught by men. Does this sound like us, we become complacent. Go through the ritual we go through the motions were doing it, but because we need to do it. Sometimes work becomes a drudgery but we need to be remembering in our worship and what we do and this is that once you let them take a step back from this whole text and say this is applicable to us, not just the leadership in the ministry is applicable to the laypeople because we are the priesthood of believers. In fact, if you go back preceding the calling and ordination of the Levites, the people in Exodus the families. The head of the family was to go out for the family and kill a lamb and spread the blood over the doorpost which we symbolically participate in the communion Passover. We are the priesthood of believers. It's applicable to us, not just the leadership of this building or this commute of this community, this body of Christ as well. They had forgotten the covenant of Levi Mike are going to much detail on this or realize my time is up but number shot 25 should team Israelite mink men began to have sexual immorality with local meant Moabite women. It brought out the anger of the Lord and the Lord commanded that the leaders of the community to be put to death and right when he was having this conversation with Moses, a man took a Moabite woman, and went into the tent and so what we have here in response to that is Phineas Texas spear this this kind of parallels you know the Levites there in the very beginning and going out and being faithful and killing the people with the sword. Phineas takes a spear and he runs it through that man. It goes through him and into the woman kills them both.

That's how God made this promise. This covenant of Levi that is mentioned here in our text, I just don't you miss that because it's really important because they are in that covenant note right below it talks about an chapter 2 verse five about the responsibility how they fear the Lord and how their mouth and their feet and their lips were anointed and they were leaders in the community to encourage people to walk with the Lord. But now they're leading the people astray love truth was supposed to be in their mouths. His lips were supposed or their lips were supposed to guard knowledge. They were supposed to be messengers of the Lord, the Lord of hosts. They were supposed to walk in peace and uprightness, turning many from iniquity. They had made vows to offer the mail but after that the blemished animal instead, they offered the blemished animal instead sounds pretty cheap when you have it you don't give it get something else makes me think of the white elephant Christmas parties you know you regift somebody yell or window white elephant party know if there is some I gave you something you don't really like it. Did you hold onto your fund on a shelf was up in the attic and got his white elephant parting exchange it with everybody and then get the best one is how it all works. Also, remind me George Costanza, who George Costanza. He wanted to give Elaine a really cheap gift, and so he found his white cashmere sweater had a red spot on. He was chief George Stan is very cheap and so he gave it to her, and and everybody knows light was that what's that is a red spot news and then it was a poor reflection upon George, not the gift that he gave this cashmere sweater, but you have red spot on sheet offering something up this this not perfect is not the best.

That's what God wants from us. He wants our best when we worship him when we live for him.

It's easy to forget sometimes the women stress and tribulation and financial and political troubles come our way. We come to worship. Do you feel that your heart is far away, you feel like there's a disconnect. Sometimes you going through the motions but there's don't feel it. I'm sure the Levitical priesthood felt that as well they're going through the motions but it wasn't till the very end.

While God was there. The pillar of cloud. Everything was alive. It was electric literally every body was excited about all this bloodletting and sacrifices and everything was going on because they're worshiping the true living God, who was with them, but with his absence, the feeling started to wane. We should rely upon our feelings. God calls us to be obedient.

That's why we have a regular form of worship where we do what the Bible says sometimes you're not gonna feel it. Hopefully you will you get prepared for worship with the intention is that we do what God's word says because just like God spoke to Adam in the very beginning and told him what he was to do and what he was, not to do likewise.

He gives us instructions how to worship him. What was the end result, God Christian says it right there. Then I will send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. These people who were giving out their ironic Blessing and benediction to all the people they would offer up these sacrifices. It Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles when they would come the wealthy people from Doug diaspora and offer up sacrifice for the sins because they were financially able to do that they received a benediction going piece. Lord bless you for us it's a reminder that God placed his curse upon Jesus to save his people from their sins. God curse them but because God is the great King, and is faithful to his promises from the very beginning that he made and he's good to see it through to the very end.

He placed his curse upon Jesus. In fact, that's why Jesus came he condescended.

He came down to this earth which we celebrate here at Christmas to save his people from their sins.

Galatians chapter 3 is a great verse to put into bottom of your cards in your messages of the season Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written curse. It is everyone who is hung on a tree in the book of Hebrews.

The author says that he sent his son Jesus to this earth is the Son of Man to be a faithful high priest. We are the priesthood and he is the priest. He fulfills the time the sign that all the priesthood pointed to all the sacrifices pointed to.

He is our faithful high priest. He was made like this in every way, in order that he might make atonement for the sins of those who trust in him, he became the sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus, the Lamb of God to satisfy God's wrath to purchase our redemption. Praise God because we can't do it ourselves. And we know it we look at our lives in the silence of the moments of our night and when were sad or weird feeling guilty or convicted of our sin. We know we need a Savior. Praise God.

We know that he loves us. Praise God, he was faithful.

Praise the Lord. Therefore, recognizing God is the great King Lord of hosts, who is faithful and true today like the author of Hebrews says today if you hear his voice, do not harden your voice like they did out in the desert but bow down and confess your sins to the living God.

Repent of your sins and offer yourselves up as a living sacrifice of pleasing aroma. As Paul says in, that's right there in Leviticus chapter 1 verse three a pleasing aroma to the Lord made our worship, our lives as living sacrifices be a reflection of God's greatness when spring truly you are God almighty the great King truly, you deserve all worship and praise. Truly, you were faithful to your covenant promises even though we have been unfaithful. Truly, you have put a deposit in our heart and guarantee not only of your love and your faithfulness but hope of a coming day this Christmas. Lord help us to look to Jesus not only what he did 2000 years ago, but his coming again or Jesus, may you be our hope.

May your work be our song may your praise be for ever on her lips. The precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen