malachi #1 - how have you loved us - ptr. vetty gutierrez - 10am morning service

Malachi 1:1-5

1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

Malachi 1:1-54 Edom may say, “Though we have

been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.” But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

CHAIN OF FAITH

HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

How many of you are not a link in a chain of faith?


How many of you are a strong link in a chain of faith?


Malachi is a strong link in the chain of

faith.HOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

How many of you are the first link in the chain of faith?


How many of you are the first Christian in your family?


How many of you are the weak link in the chain of

faith?HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

In the book of Malachi, God is speaking to, largely, a group of people who are weak links in a chain of weak links.


I AM A FATHER


Malachi 1:66 “A son honors his father, and a slave

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.’ “It is you priests who show

contempt for my name.’ “But you ask,

‘How have we shown contempt for your

name?’


Malachi 2:1010 Do we not all have one Father[a]? Did

not one God create us? Why do we

profane the covenant of our ancestors by

being unfaithful to one another?


This is the last book in the Old Testament.

And there’s going to be about 400 years of silence. When Matthew starts writing in the New Testament, you keep reading your Bible, that’s 400 years after Malachi stopped writing on behalf of the Lord. There’s a 400-year period of silence.HOW HAVE YOU LOVED

US?

God the Father has gathered his children who are weak links in the chain, and some of them not yet links in the chain of faith at all, and he is going to passionately plead with them.


Our Father speaks to us.


Malachi 1:11 A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.


Malachi means, “My messenger.”

God speaks through Malachi.


We will hear Malachi’s voice, but we are hearing God’s words. So, it’s God’s words through Malachi’s voice.


We believe that when the Scripture speaks, God speaks.


Rather than just asking God to speak to you, believe that He

already has and read what he’s already written.


I HAVE LOVED

YOUHOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

We learn that our Father loves us.


Malachi 1:22 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,


Only the God of the Bible says this: “I love you, and because I love you, you’re going to obey

me. Your obedience, rather, does not compel me to love you. My love will compel you

to obey me.”


SLAPPING OUR FATHER IN THE

FACE WHILE SITTING ON HIS

LAPHOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

This leaves us with two options:


We can read it and say, “I can’t believe they did that,” or “I can’t believe I still do that.”


How many of you have been there? How many of you are

there?


Malachi changes perspective.


God the Father wants us to see ourselves as He

sees who we truly are.HOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

And the story of Malachi is like a loving Father who sat in his chair and put his child on his lap, and the child cursed him out and slapped him in the

face.


I HAVE LOVED JACOB, BUT ESAU

I HAVE HATEDHOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

Abraham is a Gentile, not a Jew. He’s saved by faith. He trusts in the promises of the

God of the Bible. He circumcises himself, and the

nation is born. The Jewish people begin.


The promise was given that he would have a son, even

though his wife is barren and they’re elderly. This is going to

take a miracle. But if God needs to pull off a miracle to

give you a legacy, he’s glad to do that.


Here’s Esau, man’s man, tough guy.


His brother, Jacob, tough guy? No, mama’s boy.


Now, if you were to pick one man to be a nation, which guy

would you choose?


Well, from these two boys come two nations, Israel and

Edom, and one God chooses to love and work through, the

other God chooses not to love and work through. Esau was not a great guy. He sold his birthright, his legacy, for a

meal.HOW HAVE YOU LOVED

US?

The people from him grow up to be godless. One of their

descendants is a guy named Herod, who tries to kill Jesus.

This fight between two brothers goes for a long time,

part of that legacy and lineage.


And God decides he’ll work through Jacob to bring Israel to

bring Jesus.


God chose you. Before you ever chose God, God

chose you.HOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

God is a Father. You have been adopted. Children who are

without a father don’t choose their father; the father

chooses them to join his family. Only a father can

adopt.


After the father adopts the child, then the child should

love the father, but the father loves first.


Here’s the big idea: Everybody deserves hell, some people

get saved—that’s grace. Everyone who doesn’t get

grace gets what they deserve.


Esau got what he deserved; Jacob

got grace.


The Edomites got what they

deserved; the Israelites got

grace.HOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

We got adopted and forgiven and

loved by the Father.


TEN BIG IDEAS OF MALACHI


GOD OUR FATHER ABSORBS A LOT OF HURT CAUSED BY

USHOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

WHEN YOU DON’T SEE YOURSELF AS

VERY BAD, YOU CANNOT SEE GOD AS

VERY GOODHOW HAVE YOU

LOVED US?

DISCIPLINE IS ONE WAY THAT GOD

LOVES US


SIN IS A TWO-LANE HIGHWAY


One is Rebellion.The other is Religion.


GOD HAS NOT FAILED YOU, GOD DOES NOT

OWE YOU


WHEN WE ARE UNGRATEFUL FOR

WHAT GOD HAS DONE, WE ARE UNWILLING TO

DO WHAT GOD COMMANDS US TO DO


Everything in their life is God’s provision, and grace, and

blessing.


GOD EXPECTS US TO CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE EVEN IF HE DOES NOT

CHANGE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES


WHEN YOU ARE UNGRATEFUL FOR THE LIFE YOU HAVE, YOU NEED TO HONESTLY CONSIDER THE LIFE YOU SHOULD HAVE


Here’s my question to you:

Apart from Jesus, who would you be? Where would you be?

What would you be? What legacy would you leave? And

would it be better? The answer is no. This is what God does.


WE’RE NOT THERE YET


OUR FATHER IS GREATER THAN WE FEEL, AND WE ARE WORSE THAN WE

FEARHOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

Here are the two big ideas:

God loves you and he wants you to be living for a legacy so that others would come to know of his love and love him

too.HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

malachi #1 - how have you loved us - ptr. vetty gutierrez - 10am morning service

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