Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world.
so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church. Located in Kernersville, North Carolina. By the singing of God's uh word and the principles of it in the songs. And especially that last song, you know, what God promises is what he's going to do.
And he is coming back. Um I don't know how preachers used to preached that when I was in high school and college even And, um I would Even see my own dad. at times in tears. Almost with the burden, how can I get my son? To be mindful that Jesus is coming back.
You know, when you're 50. You see it different than when you're 15. It's hard to get a younger generation sometimes to be mindful. That Jesus could come at any moment. It's so hard, but may I say this, I've found in 2022, it's hard to find any generation.
It's hard to get any of us to really be mindful. that Jesus is going to do exactly what he promised. He's coming back. And when he does. That's it.
This isn't baby Jesus. This isn't, oh God is love coming back. This is judgment. And I believe that if, according to the Bible, judgment must begin at the house of God. Malachi chapter 1.
I've always felt sorry for Malachi in the Bible a little bit. And I say that because he had to deal with some difficult things. If you've ever heard a message or a series on giving and stewardship and offering, you go to the book of Malachi for so much of that and I thought, boy, this poor guy, this prophet. God tasked him with this. And it's just not fun stuff to talk about through the entire book.
But yet the principles are are wonderful. And through the book of Malachi, there is the principles of giving and what we give to the Lord. But it's all based out of chapter one. And these verses that I'm going to read for you today, God's laid this on my heart.
Now, let me just say this. This is Old Testament. context. We are at a different dispensation in Malachi chapter 1 than we are in 2022. You and I are blessed to to be living in the dispensation of grace.
But I'm going to explain this why this Old Testament context and literally an Old Testament principle. applies all the way to the New Testament and to 2022. And I want you to understand why this passage is so important, why God seemed to lay it on my heart as we begin the year. As we kind of cast a vision, not next week, but the week after that, I'll be taking two weeks to do a series on the theme for our ministry for 2023. And that is always abounding.
In the work of the Lord. We're gonna talk about this passage, and we're gonna do a series on this. And our prayer has always been these past two months as we've been casting this vision to you. that as a church I want us to always be abounding. God wouldn't have told us to always abound if we couldn't.
So if we're not always abounding, We're at fault. And so it's something to be mindful of. But I believe even that theme begins here in Malachi chapter 1. A very kind of... not really used a lot book except for certain things.
Let's look if you would at verse 1. of Malachi chapter um one Um Frank, I'm sorry to ask you, will you mind grabbing my bottle of water again? I carried all this other stuff up here and forgot that. I have a feeling I'll probably end up needing it. Malachi chapter 1.
Now, hope you have your Bibles today. If you don't, these verses will be on the screen for you because we don't want you to miss this. Notice number one. The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. Let me just stop right there and say this.
Think about that phrase. The burden. Of the word of the Lord.
Now Maybe you can identify, maybe you can't, but I can. Because I know sometimes the burden that it is to share the Word of God. Because God has to birth that burden in a preacher. for that to come across in the pulpit. In other words, there are times maybe that preachers just say, okay, this is a passage, I'm going to preach it.
But there are other times where that passage has become a burden. And the weight of the truth. Of God's word. And here's Malachi getting ready to proclaim to the people through God and through inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And here he says, literally, the burden.
of the word of the Lord to Israel. That's who we're writing to, to Israel by Malachi. Look at verse 2. This is what God says. I have loved you.
Saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us. You see, everything Malachi is going to cover through the entire book about what we give and what we do and how we serve, and even though that's Old Testament context, here we are in 2023, and literally our Christian walk is still about, in a sense, like what are we doing for the Lord, what are we giving to the Lord, what kind of priority is God in our life. It all starts right here in this second verse where God says this. I've loved you.
I've loved you. And can I stop this morning and say that you and I need to acknowledge God has loved us. Maybe I need to say that again. God has loved us. He not only does love us, he not only will love us.
But as often as you have felt maybe things have been done wrong, maybe you've been overlooked, forgotten, lonely, whatever the case might be, treated unfairly, I want you to understand something. has loved you. But here's the problem. That was all the way back in Malachi's day, that's still right here in 2023. God's loved us, but at times we say God?
I don't think you have. I don't think you have. Now, listen to me. It's going to be very hard for us. to serve God out of love.
if we're not convinced that he has loved us. You see, it's easy to love somebody that loves you. It's easy to return love to somebody that has given love to you, but Satan is on a quest to convince you that God doesn't really love you. And God looks to these people and He says, I've loved you. Wherein Hast thou loved us?
He said, that's what you've said back. God said, I've loved you, but then you look at me and you say, God, where have you loved us? Look if you would at verse six. A son honoreth his father. and a servant his master, if I then be a father, Where is mine honor?
And if I be a master, Where is my fear? That word is the word respect. Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priest, that despise my name, and ye say, Wherein Have we despised thy name? God says, listen, I've loved you, but yet you look back at me. And the way you live, the way you act, what you're saying in how you live, how you act, you're saying, God, we don't think you have loved us.
Because if we were really convinced God loved us, we would want to love God back. But God says, I have loved you. Where is the love in return? And God says, hey. Fathers get honor.
A master, a boss.
Somebody in charge, somebody in leadership gets respect. And he says, if I'm your father, where's my honor? And if I'm the one, if I'm your leader, where's my respect? Yeah. It's a good question in 2023, isn't it?
Notice what he says in verse 7. Here's the problem. This is how God can tell. Because God sees the heart and it always comes out eventually. Look at verse 7.
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar. And ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say the table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?
Offer it now unto thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee? or accept thy person. Saith the Lord of hosts. Whew, this verse is loaded.
We're going to jump into it this morning, but it's not going to take as long as you think. because I know you're concerned about me.
So I'll be brief this morning. Let's pray. Lord, I love you. Lord, you've said that all Scripture is given by inspiration. And it's all profitable.
Not just for doctrine. But as in the case today for reproof, for correction. And for instruction. and righteousness. Lord, I pray you'd help our time.
while it is limited. Lord, we might not have quantity, but I pray, Lord, that you'd give us quality. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We have here an altar.
that we have put together and This is the sermon that Malachi is giving. Here to the children of Israel. He said, When you've come to the altar, He said, You have brought polluted Bread. And the source of all this is: I've loved you, God says, but you don't think I've loved you. You don't think I've loved you, but I have.
And if I'm your father, there is no honor. And if I'm your leader, there is no respect here. And let me tell you how I can tell. Because when it comes down to my altar, You have offered polluted breath. That's what you brought.
Now what does this mean, this polluted bread? It means it's full of impurity. It means at a sacrifice they might bring bread. They might bring a lamb. They might bring an animal.
And what he's talking about even in verse 7 and in verse 8 is the fact that what I've noticed is that you're bringing polluted bread and you're bringing blind animals and lame animals. And you know that you are defiling my altar. Instead of giving your best like you should, you have decided that it's okay to give God second and third and fourth and fifth best. But I've loved you. With an extreme love.
And you love me back. with polluted bread. What is polluted bread here an illustration of? It's an illustration of sin. It's a picture of the worldly blended in to try to appear godly.
You see, this is what's happening in 2023. We've mixed worldly music with our church music. We've mixed worldly culture with our church culture. We've mixed entertainment with worship. We've mixed immorality in with our morality.
And we have so much of the world that has come into the church. And yet so little of the church has ever gone into the world. And we're okay with it. It's happening every week. It's getting worse and worse.
And you know what, over and over again? We're okay to show up in God's holy house. And we're okay to put our little polluted bread. We got addictions. We got men addicted to pornography.
We got other people that are addicted to gossip and addicted to this and addicted to that. And we show up and we think we're doing God some extreme favor because we put in some polluted bread. And I am just here to say in 2023 Kerwin Baptist Church, that's not enough for God. It's not enough for me to show up. with my polluted bread.
You say, hey, preacher, we're talking to Israel here. We're talking a different dispensation. Absolutely, we are, but the principle is still the same. God has loved you. And what happened to us?
Wanting to give God our best. Why is it that nowadays that teenagers are willing just to give God some sin-down? Half-hearted. Who cares? Who gives a flip?
Polluted bread. It's amazing. We want worship without the word. We want inspirational speeches instead of sermons with the truth. Yeah, yeah.
In 2023, we're okay with polluted bread. At least we've done something. For God. I can live like the devil all week long, but I'm going to show up on Sunday morning, and I'm glad you show up. I'm going to show up.
Listen, I mess up all the time too. But the problem is, we're okay to live like that, but as long as we show up and do our little duty, as long as we give God some bread, it might be polluted, but as long as we do that, we're okay. Yeah. And that's why we're in trouble. I want you to notice secondly here in verse 8, he says, And if ye offer the blind.
for sacrifice. Is it not evil? Notice secondly, here this morning, he says, You have brought to me your apathetic bread. You don't really care. In fact, this whole principle of bringing a blind animal is literally thinking God's not going to see.
God's not going to notice. In fact, I care so little, I'm not going to put out the effort to get a pure lamb and a perfect lamb. And go to the expense of that. Because let's be honest. We don't care like we used to.
Yeah. Apathetic. blind sacrifice. Hey, I gave something. Hey, I showed up.
I put something in the plates. More than some people do. And yet Apathy. is pervasive. in God's house.
In fact, We know we ought to care, but we don't. and we don't know how to make ourselves care. There was a time that you would hear a song and just God would prick your heart and man you'd find an altar. Man, I remember young people used to crowd this altar after an exciting week of camp, but we get apathetic. I've seen some adults get excited and start shouting when it talks about he's returning and he's forgiven my sin, but we get apathetic.
I mean, we wanted the right kind of sacrifice then, but now we're okay.
Well, listen, I've had a busy week, I've had whatever. Hey, just grab what other animals left there, and let's just put him on the altar. Apathetic bread. I want you to notice number three, look at verse eight. He says, and if ye offer the lame...
In sick. Is it not evil? Now look what he says here. Offer it now unto thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee?
Oh, this is good. Look what God says here. I want you to get this, number three. God says you've brought your minimum bread. You did the minimum you could do.
Well, I need to show up and I gotta bring something.
So I'll just get a lame sacrifice. I'll get a broken sacrifice. I mean, I'm not going to give my best to the Lord. I mean, you know, hey, at least I'm showing up. At least I'm doing something.
And this is what God said. You've done the minimum you can do. You got the least that you could possibly do. And sometimes you and I are guilty of that. That when it comes to church, we got to do just enough to keep up our reputation.
Just enough so that we can go to bed at night and not feel so guilty. Our heart is cold. Our heart is distant. We don't really care. We've been given polluted bread and apathetic bread.
And now we've gotten down to we're going to do the minimum that we can do. We'll show up once a week. Hey, I might show up for this or that. I might get involved if I care enough. And we get to that point.
And God literally looks and he says, hey, why don't you go to somebody in the world and treat them like that? See how they like it. In fact, this is what God is saying to us in 2023. Why don't you go to your boss at work and you give him what you've given God? See if he's gonna be pleased with it.
Now, Lord knows we know that, hey, God's people, but half the time we're more faithful to our boss at work than we are to God. I mean we get a sniffle, we're not coming to church. But bless God we lose three legs we're going to work God says, hey, listen, why don't you go to your governor? Why don't you go to your boss? And why don't you give him what you give to me and see how he likes it?
Why don't you go to work and give the absolute minimum you can give and see how your boss likes that? But you don't do that, do you? No, no, no, no, no, no. We wouldn't do that to that. But God says, that's what you've done to me.
I want you to notice number four, look at verse nine. He says and now I pray you Beseech God that he will be gracious unto us. This has been by your means. Will he regard your person and notice this first? Look close.
Beseech God that He will be gracious unto us. Can I show you number four? We are very guilty of this. God says you brought your entitled bread. You bring me polluted, apathetic minimum bread, and then you say, God, would you bless us?
God, would you do for me? God, I have a need now. Would you come through? I mean, all we've been doing is showing up. with minimum bread and polluted bread and apathetic bread and Now we have entitled bread.
Hey, I've given something. God, why don't you meet this need? God, why don't you work this miracle? I've been praying about this. Why don't you do something, God?
And yet we've given him the absolute minimum we could possibly give him. We have not even spent time in Bible and prayer during the week. We think we're doing God a favor because we showed up. maybe once a month at church, but yet we demand his blessing. Come on, Carmen, don't look at me like this now.
I've had two weeks to wind up. I am telling you the truth this morning. because I am telling me the truth this morning. We give God our little blind sacrifice, our little lame sacrifice, but we expect God to come through with a major blessing when we need it. Boy, how pitiful can we be sometimes.
I want you to notice number five, look at verse 10. He says, Who is there? even among you that would shut the doors. For not. He's talking about sacrifice here.
Look at me. Number five, he says, You've brought your distracted bread. You don't even have time. You won't even stop in your schedule to shut the doors. to shut out the world so you can sacrifice to me.
You don't have time for me. You know why? Because you and I, we want to bring God our distracted bread.
Well, we got everything else in our life that's more important. Man, kids' sports are more important than church. Hey, our vacation is more important than church. Hey, our this is more important than church. And you can sit there and say, preacher, listen, you shouldn't be doing this on a Sunday morning.
But I am telling us the truth this morning. And last time I said, I believe a Kirwan's a church that we can handle the truth. And your preacher needs to be preached to by himself. And I am telling you oftentimes, you and I, what we finally bring to God and when we finally show up to church, we are so distracted with all of our stuff and all the things going on in our life that we give God dead last. And when we do show up, we sleep through it.
And God forbid we call for revival. It's like picking teeth to get people to come. Oh, we got other things going. Hey, we got other plans. We got other this, we got other that.
It's amazing to me. This week my heart was broken. Christian College. Kind of fill my life sometimes, in a sense, full circle coming back. I went to college with a man named Greg Bryant.
Years ago down there in All these years went by, we took our kids to Summer youth thing there called teen extreme Five six years ago six seven years ago, whatever it is now Greg Bryant was the one Running that entire event on that campus. It's on staff there at Pensacola now, and we just kind of saw each other, knew each other a little bit. We weren't like bosom buddies, but we were friends. But we caught up with each other in the same age. And like in a year and a half later, he died from heart complications.
in his 40s. Couldn't believe it. I mean, it's not like we saw each other a lot, but it's just we're the same age, went to the same college, connected back, and realized we both want to serve God and we want to do something with our life. Three weeks ago, his son He has a wife. I believe has two other children plus His other son.
Three weeks ago his son got married. Had a special thing for his dad there at the wedding because his dad couldn't be there. three weeks ago and his son died from heart complications. Just a couple days ago. Been married three weeks.
And here's Greg's wife who had to watch this happen to her husband. And now watching this happen to her son. You let stuff like that start happening in your life, you see how important church gets. You let things like that start happening. You see if you get in God's word, and you see if we start praying, and you see if all of a sudden church becomes a priority, and talking to God becomes a priority, and God's blessing, and God's protection becomes a priority.
It's amazing what it'll take. to get us to care. But we're distracted. God says you won't even take time to shut the door. You've got no time for me.
I want you to notice number six, verse 10. He says, Neither do ye kindle fire. on mine altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord. Neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
Do you hear what he said? He says you won't even kindle the fire. at my altar. God says, you know what you're bringing to me? You're bringing to me your lazy bread.
You won't take time to shut the door, you don't have time for me, and you won't even make an effort. to kindle the fire.
Now you're okay warming yourself for someone else's fire. But you won't even kindle A fire for your own sacrifice. You and I have become so lazy. I mean, years ago, preachers overdid it and guilted everybody and set up here to pulpit. And man, lamb, blast them if they're not spending 12 hours visiting on a Saturday and doing this and doing that.
Hey, listen, I understand. Hey, it went, but we have gone to another extreme now.
Now the pastors aren't doing that, but guess what? People aren't doing anything. You can't have a visitation, you can't have an outreach, nobody shows up, nobody cares. We have become so lazy at times. And I'm going to tell you something.
I'm preaching to the choir here because this church, you talk about a working church, and we have people involved in all kinds of areas here. But I am here to tell you that if God's allowed our church to have that, I've got to fight till I drop to keep it here at this church. But I still think we could even do more. Lazy bread. He says you won't even kindle the fire.
You won't even Stoke the fire. Can I ask you something? What have you done lately to stoke the fire here at Curlwood Baptist Church? Number seven. Look at verse 13.
He said, Ye said also, Behold, What a weariness is it. And ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts. Look at what God says here. He says, now you're bringing me your complaining bread. The greatest news that anyone can receive is the news of the free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ.
It is our desire for you to know him personally. Would you take a moment to hear this today? Every man is born with the sin nature. Romans 3.23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No matter how hard we try, We're not good enough to obtain God's glory.
or to get to heaven. Because of that, sin carries the penalty of death. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of our sin, or the payment of our sin, only equals death and separation from God.
But it's only through God's Gift. salvation through Jesus Christ that we can accept him as our Saviour. Jesus Christ paid for your sin debt. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. All you have to do is receive Christ.
by faith as your Saviour. Romans ten nine says That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Verse 13 continues, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's as simple as admitting that you're a sinner believing that Jesus is the only way. and calling upon his name.
Bible says whosoever, that's any one. can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? There is no greater day than today to take care of this. Would you accept Christ as your Savior?
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 336-993-5192 or visit our website at Curlin Baptist Church. Dot com. or visits that person at one of our three service times. We hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless you.
Mm-hmm.
