FRIDAY, 19 February, 2021 “Disrespect to Praise”

Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends.

Do you find ‘disrespect’ to be one of the most difficult things to watch? Disrespect between a child or teenager and their parents who are trying so hard to raise them right and provide for them on a limited income. Disrespect of spouses for each other in a marriage. Disrespect of a student for a teacher or an athlete for their coach or an apprentice for their mentor. Or disrespect by overly paid athletes for the officials in the match, or disrespect for police trying to keep law and order.

But may I ask you my friends, as shameful as those are, how does your heart respond when you see or hear disrespect for Holy, Almighty God? It’s all around us isn’t it?

The truth is we have two generations of young people and children growing up in many parts of our world where the only way they’ve heard the name Jesus is in the context of vulgarity or cursing! Mr. Malachi had a message for the people of Israel who were disrespecting God and I invite us to take a look. Malachi 1:6-14. God said to the Jewish people in Jerusalem through His prophet Malachi “A son honors his father and a servant his master. If I am a Father, where is the honor due Me? If I am a Master, where is the respect due Me? says the LORD Almighty.”

As the Creator of every human life, God is Father of all mankind, and yet look around, listen to the voices… oh my how God is defiled by the words, the attitudes, the behavior of every living human being whose every breath relies on God to keep them alive! As Sovereign over all, as Sustainer of the Universe, keeping all the planets in perfect rotation, and all of planet earth growing what is needed to sustain life… again look at human behavior and listen to human conversation, and oh how we defame the Great God who Created and holds this whole universe together!

Of course the people in Malachi’s day responded the very same way our world responds… ‘what, me? When, where, how? No… God you couldn’t possibly be talking about me and my family could you?’ But look what God said through Malachi: “It is you priests who show contempt for My name.” (Mal. 1:6) Ouch! God went right at the Spiritual leaders first. Those whose role in society was to help the people, all the people, SEE the evidence of God’s Presence and God at work among them; then REMEMBER the stories of God’s great work in the distant past, and RECALL the great miracles of God in their lifetime.

The Spiritual Leaders were failing badly. As you read through these verses you’ll see God accuses them of making a mockery of worship by offering blind and crippled animals in sacrifice when they had perfectly good animals in their herds. “When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hand?’ says the LORD.”

Now I know what you are thinking… ‘oh we don’t do sacrifices anymore.’ Yes, I know… but it’s not about the animals, it’s about the attitudes, the heart, the intentions. By bringing those kinds of sacrifices they were saying: ‘It’s OK to bring God the leftovers, the broken, the junk. He won’t mind, He’s not paying any attention anyway. It’s no big deal…’ Do we do that my friends with our hearts, our minds, our prayers, our time, our prayers, our attitudes? Does God get the leftovers from us? Do we push God to the side when there are other things more interesting, more important to occupy our time?

Listen to what Malachi proclaimed “Oh that you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on My altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will accept NO offerings from your hands.” (Mal. 1:10) Don’t bother! God is saying…better you close the doors of the churches, better you spend your time at the beach, or the ball game, or anything else than coming into My Presence with such DISRESPECT!

Is that us my friends? This weekend, all around the world, what are your worship options in your city? If you could somehow visit every church in your city, what would you see and hear? Is God pleased? Is God honored, respected, glorified, praised as He alone deserves... by the people to whom He has given life, and if they are Christians, then a people whom He has Redeemed by the blood of His Son? What does worship look like in your city, my friends? What does worship look like in your heart, your life?

Then God said this powerful statement through Malachi: “My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to ME, because My name will be great among the nations,’ says the LORD Almighty.” Oh I love that!! In Asia, in Africa, in South America, in Central Asia and the Middle East, in both East and West Europe, in the Islands and yes even in North America… there are some people who are doing this, not only this weekend but every day! Hallelujah!

Have you ever considered what SUNDAY is like for Jesus as He stands in the throne room of God, with His nail pierced hands, watching the sunrise come to every part of the world, crossing the International date-line, and turning Saturday night to Sunday morning?

As 7.5 Billion people awaken to “Sunday”, and Jesus watches every town and city, every neighborhood, every home, every country. And by the end of Sunday, how many Billions have not even given God a thought? How many have considered worship… but only for a fleeting moment? How many have awakened with great excitement, spent time on their knees in the privacy of their homes, and then traveled to a great assembly, a gathering of people ready to lift instruments and voices, hands and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, King of kings and LORD of lords!?

Listen to Psalm 113 “Praise the LORD! Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forever more. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is exalted over all the nations, His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the earth…?”

Oh my friends, wherever you are in our big world, let’s not DISRESPECT God anymore with word or thought or attitude or our time or our offerings or any other aspect of our lives. Let’s make WORSHIP a lifestyle… this weekend and everyday, for the rest of our lives, and when we arrive in heaven, we’ll be able to continue surrounded by Billions of worshippers from all time and all places, forever and ever.

Oh may the worship of our lives defeat the DISRESPECT in our world this weekend, especially in the church, and begin a new movement of God honoring living!

Here’s a song to help us begin our weekend of worship my friends, and I hope you have a great worship encounter with God this weekend!

Today’s Scripture is Malachi 1.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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