I am taking a slight detour from Malachi just because I felt God leading me somewhere else this week.

Have you ever thought you were having a bad day, or things were not going the way you planned?  It seems like I have witnessed that a lot lately.  The discouragement in people comes from all types of different things: relationships, family, church, friends, etc.  You can define discouragement as: to deprive of courage or confidence; to make (someone) less determined, hopeful, or confident; to dissuade or attempt to dissuade from doing something.  Discouragement can be a pretty harmful thing if left unattended.  Not only can it be detrimental to whatever you are trying to do, but it becomes a poison that spreads to others.

In the Bible David definitely knew discouraging times.  He spent many years moving from place to place running from Saul.  In this story tucked away at the end of 1 Samuel David finds himself still running from King Saul. He runs outs of places to hide so he goes to live with the Philistines for a year.  Now in chapter 29 the Philistines are about to go to war, and the King has asked David to join them.  When they were about to leave some Philistines began to protest about David’s presence, and his loyalty. After much debate David was asked to return to Ziklag.  So at first light David and his 600 men return to the camp.

30 Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all[a] who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. 3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. 5 David's two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul,[b] each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Can you imagine as David and his men approach Ziklag, and they see the smoke coming from the city.  I am sure they picked up their pace wondering what they would find.  When they reached their destination every person they had known and loved was gone.  These fierce warriors, who had gone to battle many times, were now reduced to tears.  The Bible says they wept so much they ran out of tears.  Their hearts had literally been ripped out; they were not discouraged they were distraught. They were in such pain and sorrow they began to lash out at David, blaming him and wanting to kill him.  But don’t miss these words in verse 6 “But David found strength in the Lord his God”.  As everything was falling apart around him, David found strength.  He didn’t find it in others opinions, or their sympathy; he found it in the Lord.  How many times do we discuss the problems we have with everyone but God?  There are times there is absolutely no way to fix a problem except through prayer.  We cannot change people, or the way they think, or the things they say and do, but we can choose how we respond.  David could have been so discouraged that he did nothing, which would have resulted in a lot of people being left in captivity.  David could have lashed out, or tried to place the blame somewhere else.  However, David is a perfect model, in this situation, of what a great leader should do- He seeks God.  He doesn’t react and shoot from the hip, instead he ask for specific guidance from the Lord.  “Should I seek out this band? Shall I overtake them?”  The Lord replies, “go after them, and you will over take them.” It’s interesting if you ask God specific questions, he often gives you specific answers.  So why don’t we ask more specific questions, and expect an answer.  I think it is because we have lost our faith. Sure we still believe in God, and that he sent his son to die for us; but we have lost the hope he gives us.  I read today where someone said, “faith starts where your abilities stop”.  The point is that we no longer depend on God to come through for us because we will only operate in box we know we can control.  God does not ask us to control every little detail because as we try to control everything, he is pushed farther away, and we limit his ability to grow our faith. 

 In verse 16 the Egyptians slaves leads them down to where the captives are held, and David fights the enemy from dusk to evening of the next day.  When all was said and done David and his men came back with every person unharmed, and a surplus of goods.  The people were praising the Lord as they were returning.

What is the point of the story?  To take back what the Lord has given us, and reclaim the attitude of victory and not defeat.  The Bible tells us in John 10:10 we are to have abundant life.  David and his men came to a point where they had to choose to get up and fight, or lay down in defeat.  I believe it is Satan’s goal to keep us so discouraged, and disgruntled that we no longer want to fight.  We had rather feel discouraged, and simply walk away. At some point we have to pick our self up from discouragement, and stop allowing Satan to rip us off.  God can restore the fire in your soul, he can restore your marriage, he can cleanup your financial mess, he can heal your body, he can bring revival, and he can help you recover your faith, because he is God.  No one else can do this.  It doesn’t matter how many people we consult, they cannot change our hearts, or rid them of discouragement.  In order to get out from under discouragement we have to find the faith that changes the way we live, talk, and feel.  We have to truly believe once again that God can move mountains.  We have to be willing to move into an area where we are operating in complete faith.  He wants us to stop all the endless chatter, and enter into a time of prayer with him. After all, in the end it matters only what God wants us to do.

Are you discouraged today? Although discouragement can be a part of life, you don’t have to camp out there.  Will you allow Satan to steel what is rightfully yours?  Just like David if we seek God trusting him for an answer he will come through. James says, “5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  I challenge you today if you are discouraged that you ask God specifically what you can do to get out from under your discouragement.  If you are discouraged with your church, what can YOU do to make it better!  What attitude can you bring to encourage?  If your marriage is failing what can YOU do to renew your vows!  Does this mean it will change immediately, not always, but you will know you are doing your part in God’s master plan?  Here is the key- you are praying for God to change you not everyone else around you!  When you start asking God to change you, then you will influence others to get up and fight!  It takes dedication and true godly repentance for God to answer prayers.  Are you willing to be faithful enough for God to bring you through to the other side of discouragement?  

So as we left the book of Malachi last week the Lord was not pleased with the sacrifices the people were offering.  He also was not pleased with the priest for taking such poor sacrifices from the people. Both knew what to do, but simply chose no to do it.

There is a big difference between knowledge and execution.  Knowledge simply means you know what you are supposed to do, while execution means you not only know, but also carry out the action.  I was recently reading an excerpt from a book that talked about a minister’s staff retreat. The minister said they were going white water rafting during an annual staff retreat.  They got off the bus to find their guide was a woman.  I am sure that caused them some issues right off the bat. She began giving them the rules.  Number one- hold onto the paddle correctly at all times, number two listen and do what I say, number three sit correctly in the boat.  So then she wanted them to repeat it; they were all annoyed because what were they “stupid or something”?  So she ask each person if they understood, and one by one they shook their head.  Feeling knowledgeable they climbed into the boat.

         “When we were barely wet from the splash of the first rapids, pandemonium broke out among us.          The roar of the rapids came and I looked around and our team was freaking out.  I looked over to my right and saw my friend doing just about everything possible with his paddle but holding it correctly.  Then I heard screaming coming from behind me, which meant he was not listening to the guide at all.  About that time another friend and I fell off our seats into the bottom of the boat.  So now no one was doing what they are suppose to be doing except the guide. 

         I listened to the guide as she asked me, “Do you understand the rules?”  I affirmed yes.  She asked everyone else the same question, and one by one we all had the same response.  Despite that, we all failed to do what had been asked of us.  Despite our understanding of what to do, we didn’t execute what we had committed to do.  We had knowledge of what we were suppose to do, but when it came time for application we fell short.”—Blemished Jason Hayes

It is easy to have knowledge, but can be hard to execute.  As Christians we have all said we understand what God is asking of us, yet fail to do it.  In Malachi it is not a case of little knowledge, but poor execution. It is not a case of God changing, but the people moving away from him.   Chapter 2:3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants [a]; I will smear on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. 4 And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty.

Once again the Lord has pretty harsh words.  Because the priest knew better, but did not follow through on their commitment he said he would “rebuke their descendants, and smear offal on their faces.  He would rebuke their offspring by taking his blessing from them.  They would eventually be taken over by the Greeks, and then the Romans during the 400 plus years of silence. As far as the offal it meant he would take the very dung of the animals being sacrificed and smear it on their face. By doing this, the Lord would expose them to great shame for their sins.  The judgement would not only come to the priest, but the people as well.

Why is this entire situation happening? Could it have been prevented? Yes. It could have easily been prevented. In verse 8 it says, “you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble….”  If only they had taken their knowledge and executed it before the Lord, his blessings would have continued.  If only they had followed the rules he laid out – their descendants would have been blessed.  “If only” are huge words that contain a lot of regret.  I wonder if we have any “if only’s” in our own life?

Are we as a country, a church, a family, an individual hearing only silence from the Lord because we refuse to follow his commandments?  Just like in Malachi’s time, God is always present, but at times we do not hear him speak because we don’t truly seek him. God is not silent because he wants to be, but because our actions grieve him so badly. Will we be like the people of Malachi’s day--Will we possession the knowledge, but lack the execution? Will we be left with the words “if only we had………….. or will we be a people that truly repent like the Corinthians?  

Paul had sent a pretty serious letter to the Corinthians. But it didn’t just make them sad, it made them turn around.(2 Cor 7:8-11 NLT)" I am no longer sorry that I sent that letter to you, though I was sorry for a time, for I know that it was painful to you for a little while. {9} Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. {10} For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. {11} Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish the wrongdoer. You showed that you have done everything you could to make things right."   

I have been studying the book of Malachi.  I love the Old Testament because there is a lot to be learned from others mistakes.  Malachi is a tiny book at the end of the Old Testament.  The book of Malachi was written to confront the people with their sins and to restore their broken relationship with God.  Malachi would be the last of the Old Testament prophets.  This book forms a bridge to the New Testament.  For a little background the Temple had been rebuilt for about 100 years, so sacrificing and rituals had retuned to it.  When one takes a glance at Malachi, they may think it is only about the priest’s sin.  The Book however confronts the sin of the priest, followed by the sin of the people.  For the next couple of weeks I would like to look at a few scriptures at a time in the book of Malachi.  These will be a little longer; because there are so many things I wish I could convey in person, like in a sermon. (sorry I am Baptist, like a lecture)

As you will see in the following verses Malachi uses a dramatic style that uses questions asked by God to his people.

Unworthy Sacrifices
Malachi 1:6 "The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name! “But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?[c]’“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings." 

The first question God is saying, “If I am indeed your father and master where is my respect”.  By giving unhealthy sacrifices they were dishonoring God. By the priest excepting the blemished sacrifices they led the people to believe God would accept them.  So in these verses God reprimands the priests because they are sinning by offering blemished sacrifices.  The correct method of sacrifice was to bring your most perfect animal, something that you could have sold for money, but instead sacrificed it to show your dependence on the Lord’s ability to provide.   These priests were not doing this; they were sacrificing blind, sick, and all sorts of blemished animals.  In the Tyndale life application bible it said, “The worship of God was no longer a heartfelt adoration; it was instead simply a job for the priest”.   In other words, the Priests were no longer in awe, and feared his presence in the Temple, it was just a routine of everyday life. Those words caught my eye, and drove a question my way.  As a minister, has God become just a job that I plan and schedule things for?  Have we in fact as a people lost the awe of who God is, and the very power he holds?  I think it is a question for us all.  In the New Testament we are all considered messengers for God.  So has your worship just become a routine, or is it a true heartfelt desire to worship your Savior?

In verse 9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?”  WOW now there is a tough statement. Have you ever been around someone who told you everything you wanted to hear, and you knew they were definitely not a person of their word?  I imagine God feels the same here.  Although these priest were talking about God’s love, and his laws they were turning around and breaking them.  So he was basically saying if you could not offer me a deserving sacrifice, why should I even give you a thought.  If you cannot do what I have asked of you why do you deserve anything at all?   Then he goes a step further and says, “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. God is saying I had rather you board the doors up, go home, forget about the Temple rather than offer me worthless sacrifices.  He is saying don’t give me your second best, don’t bring me what you can afford, don’t bring me your leftovers; I want the best you have.  As New Testament believers Roman 12 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him”. 

The book of Malachi applies to us because even today God is asking the question what kind of sacrifice are you giving?  He is calling us to evaluate our commitment, the sincerity or our worship, and directions of our life.  Would God rather us not come to church, than to bring him what we have been?  Would he say to us I do not except your sacrifice because it is not the best you have to give.  Oh how our churches need  revival!  If we would begin in our own lives and churches, not only asking these questions, but also fixing the problem then how could revival not follow!  How could God’s great love not be poured out to his people because Jeremiah says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you…

 I tell you today, that as I type this to you , I am filled with an overall brokenness that I have not felt in a long time.  A brokenness over my own sacrifices to God.  I have cheated him out of parts of my life that he deeply desires to have.  I so desire a revival in my own life, my church, and my nation.  I believe we are in the days Paul talks of when he says, “3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound[a] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”   I ask you today is your life a living, Holy sacrifice?  Is it enough? Are you giving all you have?  Would God say he finds it acceptable in his sight?

Sometimes life can be rocking along and then all of a sudden something unexpected happens. Webster defines unexpected with the following words "abrupt, sudden, unanticipated, unforeseen, unlooked-for".  Basically you are going along in life expecting one thing to happen, and then suddenly there is a turn of events.  We can easily feel like we are in charge of our life planning, and coordinating our daily routines, when in reality we are not in charge at all.  The very fact is that we cannot give our self another heartbeat, or another breath.  We cannot promise our self another sunrise or sunset.  As I was sitting in an office this week waiting on some information, I was thinking about these things.  Honestly, I had really gotten myself worked up about it.  Instead of an awe of what these thoughts meant God could do, it was a feeling of fear for lack of control on my part.  As I was almost in a fearful tizzy, I looked on the wall and saw this:
JUST THINK
Just think you are not here by chance, but God's choosing.
His hand formed you and made you the person you are.
He compares you to no one else-you are a one of a kind.
You lack nothing that His grace can't give you.
He has allowed you to be here at this time to fulfill 
His special purpose for this generation.

I was reminded of Isaiah 55:8-9English Standard Version (ESV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
 neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
 so are my ways higher than your ways
 and my thoughts than     your thoughts.

I thought at that moment how true that verse was; my thoughts were definitely not his thoughts because they were of fear, and uneasiness.  My thoughts were not claiming God's truth of the Bible; I will never leave or forsake you, I am with you always, Be Strong and Courageous, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my right hand, nothing can separate us from God, do not be anxious about anything, and those were just a drop in the bucket.  All in all we know that God can do any thing, at any time because he is God almighty, but sometimes I think there are reasons for the unexpected.  First, I think it helps reel us back into the very realization that we are such a tiny, but valuable, piece in God's big plan.  We get so caught up in the temporal things of here and now, we loose sight of the eternal part of God's plan.  Secondly, I think we are brought to a crossroad to live out what we teach.  You have all heard the old saying "easier said than done".  It is so easy to provide lip service to God, but it is in those times of trouble when actions speak louder than words.  Lastly, I believe that God sometimes chooses to slow us down.  We get so busy, and have so much to do that we don't put him in his rightful spot.  It literally, at times, takes the unexpected to regain the order of our priorities. 
I pray today as you are rolling through life, and the unexpected comes your way, that Isaiah 43 encourages you as it has me!
 “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,