Dec 16 Malachi 2:17, Malachi 3, Malachi 4 Revelation 7 Psalm 144:1-8

Mal 2:17

You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

You know, it’s hard to read this verse without turning a critical eye to our culture today. How had people wearied God? First by saying, “Everyone who does evil is good and God approves”. Well, that’s the prevailing wisdom today. We have so many people speaking for God and saying that He approves of things He quite clearly does not. We define God by only one characteristic, love and use that as an excuse to get away with any sin we want, claiming love overrides it. And then at the same time, our culture also asks, “where is the God of Justice?” If God was real.. why does this happen?

It’s the same stuff going on all around us today… and I read this and think… God must be very weary with this world today.

What can we do? Live in the opposite way to this. We must call out sin, not cover it up and pretend God approves. We must always point to how He is still working in the world and that He’s gone nowhere. But that the world is the one that needs to turn back to Him.

Mal 3:10

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 

We’ve all heard this verse often. But here’s a problem with the way we look at it, I think we sort of miss the point. Many people teach on it but I believe give the wrong focus.

We often focus on the second part that tells us when we tithe, test God in this – see the floodgates of heaven and blessing open up.

And we get caught up in the floodgates of blessing. Of course we do, that sounds very exciting. And can I just say, it’s true. Ever since I’ve started tithing I’ve never ran out of money. There’s been times I should have ran out, but God has really blessed me. Sure I’ve been short, and had little – you could even say skint – even panicky. But I’ve been ok.

It’s true – it happens. But it’s not the point.

God does not say bring the whole this in, that you might be blessed. The blessing bit is a separate sentence.

No, He says something else here – Bring the whole tithe in… then we get the reason for doing it… 

“that there may be food in my house.”

Interesting.

Now – here’s some quick questions. Does God need food? No.

Does He get hungry? No, of course not. So when it says so that there may be food in His house, he doesn’t mean so His heavenly fridge is full. Clearly.

So what else does He mean by His house – he means His temple – His church – His work here on earth. 

He wants there to be food in the house of God.

He wants there to be provision for His work.

Everything that went on at the temple, everything that goes on in a local church costs money. And it’s naive to think otherwise.

There was something known as the temple Tax – which even Jesus paid. Every male over 20 was to pay it.

This wasn’t “get angry money changing” tax – this was an agreed up sum that paid for the work of the temple and the maintenance. It was the rip off merchants that were the money changers that made Jesus angry, not money in the temple. 

Jesus paid it even though He was actually exempt – as the son of God – but He paid as an example.

It’s always been part of God’s plan and God’s system for God’s people to pay for God’s work.

Why? Because when you put money into something you put part of yourself into it. You are about it more – you literally are more invested in it.

God wants His house to have provision and resource.

Now He could just open the heavens and bless a work – of course He could. But here in Malachi He tells us where He wants the provision to come from. His people.

Vision’s great – but vision needs pro vision to become reality.

Without vision the people perish – but without people, the vision will perish.

Rev 7:9-10

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Who is in this great multitude who are standing in worship before the throne of Jesus? It’s people from every nation tribe and tongue. People from all over the world. Bear in mind, when John saw this the gospel was spreading, but had not yet touches every nation.

It still hasn’t. Not yet. But Jesus said when the Gospel was preached to the whole earth, then the end would come. Why? So that everyone can be represented here. Every nation has a chance to hear. We are closer to completing this great commission today than we ever have been in history.

But it’s not just that the gospel is preached in every nation… no. That would be great in itself, but it’s better than that! There’s people there in front of the throne from every tribe and tongue. That means they didn’t just hear, they accepted and believed. There will be people saved from every corner of the world in the Kingdom of God! What great news that is to hear! And we will be there with them!