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Bibleline Bibleline, here God’s word on Bibleline, everywhere, every time. Here God’s truth on Bibleline. Welcome to Bibleline with Dr. Ralph Yankee Arnold, pastor of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida. Clearly declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the radio and the Internet. Your regular prayers and monthly support make it possible for Bibleline to continue on the air. You can reach us toll free at 1-800-576-3771. One-line donations may be made through the Bible-lined website at calvaryoftampa.org. We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, and that today’s first part of this two-part message will be a blessing to you and your family.

Take your Bible and turn to the book of Malachi. Let me have y’all read the book of Malachi Very good very good The book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus All those Old Testament books Book of palms job But the book of Malachi the book of Malachi this is the Last lesson that I will do in the book of Malachi It is a very small book book, but it’s a powerful book. The last book before the 400 years of silence, but it’s amazing how this book ends up because it ends with a prophecy that Jesus is coming.

Jesus is coming. Now remember the children of Israel because of their rebellion to the Lord had been sent into captivity. They’d been there for 70 years and then they came back. You have Ezra and Nehemiah that were prophets. We believe that Malachi came a little bit after that time, but they had gone back and rebuilt the temple and it did not have the glory of the former temple Solomon’s. People were discouraged. They had carried with them from Bible on a lot of baggage.

The priest had come back with multiple wives. And the tribal Levi was supposed to keep themselves pure. They were not to do that. But they had broken God’s Word. And so the Lord says, how much I love you, I love you. And they said, we’re in hostile love dust. So in chapter 1, just to look at a couple review before we finish chapter 4, you’ll notice they’re in verse 2 of chapter 1, he said, I have loved you, say, after Lord, yet you say we’re in hostile love dust because you see, they didn’t believe that God loved them anymore.

When you stop believing that God loves you, it will affect your service to the Lord. What they had done is they had looked at the enemy, the other nations round about. They see other people getting away with murder. It seemed like where is the God of judgment, the God of justice. Why doesn’t God do something? And because they didn’t see God working and chasing the other nations, oh God did it for Israel. They come back to the land and they see all the status gone on and it seemed like God’s not interested.

Kind of like, you know, Seeing people do more wicked than what you do, and they get away with it. The book of Habakkah talks about that an awful lot too. He talks off of how long, oh Lord, how long do they have to wait? Now here in the book of Malachi, he says, I have loved you. He does compare where he talks about Jacob. He says, how I loved an esol. But these guys had already been dead for a long time.

But what he refers to is the Edomites who came from esol and the itemarians, they had been chasing also. And the Lord says, look, I brought you back into the land. But when I had taken you out of the land, they laughed and they mocked. And God said, I’ve whooped them. And they’re not coming back. But I love you. And so there’s a problem. Because you see, in our Christian life, if we would only understand all the trials and testings that we go through, it’s all about do we.

Love God do you love it? so God is going to have You tested To see do you love him now God says I love you and you and I are supposed to know that God loves us because of what he did for us he Send his son to down the cross pay for our sins So we could have eternal life and because of his love for us we’re supposed to love him But a lot of people do not love the Lord and because they don’t love him.

Well, they don’t serve him So he makes a statement down here in verse six. He says, a son honored his father, servant his master. So there’s two things mentioned in that one verse that kind of shows you the relationship between God and his people. God says, I am a father. I am your father. Why don’t you give me the honor and the respect that I deserve? And he says, a man who works for somebody and has a master, at least you show them that respect.

He says, but you don’t even do that for me. He says, where is my fear? Where is my respect? So God wasn’t getting from the people what he expected. So God says that he is weary with them, and then in chapter 2, the last part of it, they were weary with God. Well everybody is weary with everybody. God’s not happy with them and they were not happy with God. So now you have where he says, you have despised my name, the last part of verse 6.

You despise my name because you don’t reverence me as a hother and you don’t serve me. You see, God doesn’t want the service without the respect. want you to respect him. And so sometimes people just don’t. I fear God. Means I have a high holy reverential respect for God. And I want to serve him. I love the Lord. Love is a very powerful motivating force in a person’s life. And so he says down in verse seven, he says, we’re in have we pollutedly because now he says my altar is polluted.

So he makes a statement there in verse 10, who is there even among you that would shut the doors for not in kindle of fire? He said, in the temple, he says, you set the thing on fire and you do the altar and you burn the sacrifices. And he says, you’re going through the motions. He says, but you have polluted my altar. And they said, well, why do we do that? You see, they never see it from God’s perspective.

So God’s trying to help them to see, because most people say, you know, it’s not that bad. It’s not that bad. What I’m doing is not that bad, because we compare ourselves with other people who are going or not doing. He says, when you bring the sacrifice, he says, look at what you’re bringing me. He says, they’re defiled. You’re supposed to have a sheep that’s without spot, without blemish, without being sick, without broken bones. He says, and you’re offering me junk.

He says, offered to the governor. He won’t accept it. But God says, you’re offering to me. They were going through the motions, but their heart’s not in it. They’re just playing little games. And so the priests weren’t right, and because the priests weren’t right, because the priests were to be the ones that taught the law. They went to the temple and they were to teach the people. You see that over there in verse 11 in chapter two, where it says, Judah half dealt treacherously and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem for Judah had profaned the holiness of the Lord.

And because of that, they’re supposed to teach. Look up there also in verse nine. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways but have been partial in my law. They were supposed to teach the word of God to the people and that they had not done. Notice those two words in verse 12, where it says, the Lord will cut off the man that doeth the master, this is the teacher, and the scholar, the student, out of the tabernacle of Jacob.

In other words, when the people come, you’re supposed to teach them, and they weren’t teaching the truth. The people were ignorant. They didn’t understand stuff. And because of that, the people would not respond the way they should. And so they would not take and bring the right offerings. They would not give the 10% like it was supposed to the temple because the tribe of Levi, which was the priest, they were to live off of this. Everything’s fallen apart. chaos.

The Lord very, very upset. And so he says they’re in verse 14. Yet you say, wherefore, because the Lord hath been witness, he says now there are another problem that he dealt with them was, he says because you men, you have not been faithful to your wives. And when he talks and uses the word tractorsily over and over again here, you’ll see it up there in verse 10, you’ll see it down there also also in verse 14 and in verse 15, the word treasure, you have been unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

And they had taken otherwise doing things that God told them not to do. They were not to be unequally yoked outside of the nation of Israel. They had done all of this. And then they had children. He says, you have polluted the seed that’s mentioned in chapter two in verse three where he said, Behold, I will corrupt your seed. And so God was very upset with the priest and with the people. Now look there in chapter two and in verse 17.

He says, ye have wearied the Lord with your word, yet ye say, Where in have we wearied him when ye say, everyone that doeth able is good in the sight of the Lord and He delighted to them. Or where is the God of judgment? Whenever you live your Christian life and you get burned out because you don’t see a difference, you can’t discern between righteousness and unrighteousness. When it all looks the same and God’s people don’t live any different than the people in the world.

And it seems like God doesn’t care because God doesn’t do anything to them. And so they think in their mind, well, if God is so good and God is so righteous and God is so fair. Why don’t He punish them? He’s done it to us. Why don’t He do it to them? So they question God. You know it’s hard to serve someone when you don’t really believe that He loves you or that you can trust Him. Or what’s the reason?

What’s the prophet? You’ll see this is when he makes the statement about what prophet is. See there in chapter three, look in verse 14, where it says, ye have said it is vain, vain to serve God. And what profit, what profit? Everybody wants to know, what am I going to get out of this? He says, we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked more and more and more before the Lord of Host. And yet in verse 15, now we call the proud happy.

Yea, that work wickedly are set up and they attempt to God. They’re delivered, talking about the judgment. It doesn’t happen to them. It’s kind of like having children who always want to know why mom and dad are so strict on them and the other kids get away with murder. And the other parents, they let the kids say out all night, do all of whatever they want to do, and they’re not strict. And yet my mom and dad, they make me do this and I got to do this.

They never heard about the child labor law. Yeah, but those aren’t those aren’t your mom and dad’s kids. Mom and dad has a responsibility here. God has a responsibility to his children. And when you trust Christ as your Savior, your God’s child, God is going to give you a lot more personalized attention than the kids that run up down the street. They don’t belong to him. They’re going to get theirs. He said, just be patient. Just wait and you’ll see that their day is coming.

So in chapter 3 and in verse 1, he says, the Lord is going to suddenly come to his temple. And I believe that the messenger who came right before he suddenly comes to his temple is John the Baptist. And if you read Isaiah chapter 40 or 39, you’ll see where he makes the statement, he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness and he is going to make the way straight the mountains and the earth and all that.

So what’s all I talking about? Just preparing people to meet the Lord. Hey the Lord’s coming but he get right but he get ready. Here comes the Lord and John the Baptist came on the scene preaching and getting people ready. He shows. I’m not even worthy to bend down and tie his shoes or latch his sandals on or. He said, but I baptized you with water, but he that cometh after me. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

So that day was coming. Then he also gets on another interesting subject. A subject that nobody likes to talk about because they help with the subject of getting. But you’ll notice there is a word mentioned here. And it kind of reveals what God wants. Okay, God, why are you saying all of this to these people? What do you want? What’s the purpose? There’s always a purpose. You see there in verse seven, even from the days of your fathers, you have gone away from mine ordinances and have not kept them.

See the next word? You ought to underline it in your Bible. Return unto me. And I will return unto you. God says, the reason things are not going good for you is because you haven’t returned to me. You’re not serving me with your whole heart. You’re giving me lip service, but your heart’s far away from me. You know, 400 years passed, and when Christ came, it don’t seem like much has been accomplished in all those 400 years. He dealt with them the same way.

But he says here, but you say, we’re in, shall we return? Well, what should we do? What do you mean? What’s going on? And so he says in verse 8, Will a man rob God? In other words, God had dried up the heavens. God had caused the grain not to grow. God had caused the cattle not to multiply. See, most people don’t know that there’s a God in heaven that affects all of life. Everything. The weather. I believe that the weather is controlled by God, not the weatherman.

I believe God is in control. And God can withhold His blessings because of the rebellion of the people. Or God can open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing. See the people, the Levin tribe was supposed to bring all their product, a tent, whatever they had, and however God bless them, and bring it to the storehouse so that the tribal leave I had what they needed. But because they were rebellious, they didn’t bring what they needed, so they began to sell.

They took bribes. Their judgment wasn’t right. So the people hated the priest, and they had no respect to the priest. When leaders don’t have the respect for the Lord they should have, then people lose respect for their leaders. This is what was going on. So he says in verse 8, will a man rob God? Can you picture a man walking up to God with a 45 and says, stick him up. What are you doing? This is a robbery. I want what you have.

He’s going to rob God. Now, do you think you can rob God and get away with it? And yet there’s people that will rob, rob God. So a lot of people take verses that deal with the nation of Israel and try to apply them to the church. And we don’t mind it as long as all those other things, but the word tied, most people are scared to death of it. We just hear, well, we’re under grace. We’re just under grace.

I may be under grace, but God still says adultery is wrong. I may be under grace, but still in this still wrong. Most of the commandments are still right. There’s nothing wrong with them. It’s just that man is not able to perform and to fulfill the righteousness of the law. But when you You read Romans chapter 8, the Bible says, the Holy Spirit indwells you that you might be able to bring forth the righteousness of the law. God wants us.

I don’t get fed every morning, so I’m not going to break the 10 commandments. I’m not going to break the 10 commandments. I’m not going to break the 10 commandments. I’m going to keep the 10 commandments. But if you love the Lord and you walk with the Lord, the law is fulfilled in one word. You make out of 90 what that one word is. Love. If you love the Lord, you’re going to do right by God. Now shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, body, soul, and strength and so on.

And the first four deals with your relationship to God. And the next six, well that deals with your relationship to people. And so God said, if you love, then you’ll do right by God. And if you love, you’ll do right by people. And so because we do not love the way we should, sin abounds because love wax. Cold. So when people don’t do things the way God wants us to do them, then Christian service becomes nothing more than a ritual.

It’s that we do the right things maybe, but not because we really want to. It’s just that’s the way we’ve been trained. Do you know you can train your flesh how to act, what to do, and the songs the same, the money you give, but not love God at all? but you can go through the motions. This is what they were doing. They didn’t really love the Lord. So he says here, well a man robbed God, yet you have robbed me, but you say, where in have we robbed it?

He says in tithes and offering. So we say, well we believe you ought to give an offering to the Lord. You can’t give the offering to first of all, you’re giving the tithes. I believe it’s a good principle on how to give. It’s a good way to give. This church would not survive if it was not for the people in this church who tithe. Point blank. Most people just want to give a tip to the Lord and say, well, we’re all under grace.

Well, if you’re under grace, don’t you think that under grace would ought to do at least what they did on the law? They did that because they had to. We ought to do it because we want to. It doesn’t mean you don’t do it. It’s but you’re motive is different. You do it because you love the Lord and that you believe because of what you’re doing it’s honoring to the Lord and God’s gonna bless you because see God knows what goes on behind the scene God knows how you think how you feel and I believe there’s a lot of God’s children who robbed the Lord but enough of that I don’t just see this look in verse 9 because now they had done so you are cursed with a what your curse with a curse why is everything going wrong because of what they were doing

They were making unwise decisions and they didn’t think it was that bad. Evidently they didn’t know they were robbing God. They thought that we’re just, you know, I don’t care for those priests and I’m not going to do it. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then they can’t figure out why this doesn’t grow or that doesn’t grow and why this doesn’t work. There’s a God in heaven that knows what’s going on. He knows every individual. He knows every person in this ministry.

And get what he says, you have robbed me even this whole nation. So, evidently, God knows who’s doing what? Now look what else he said, bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse. Now, I do not believe the church is the storehouse. That was under the law. It was what they did. And they were brought to bring the grain, things like that. But there’s a principle here. When you read in the book of Corinthians in chapter 9, 9 it is Paul that refers to the law and that you do not muzzle the ox that treads off the corn.

Here’s the ox that treads off the corn. Well, he has to eat. So you don’t muzzle the ox that’s doing the work. And he’s the one that used the law to establish a point about God’s ministers in God’s people doing what they do. But anyway, so he makes a statement here in verse 10, bring you all the tithe into the storehouse so that there may be meat in my house. God says, get your priorities straight. And look what the next word, prove me now, he would say, after Lord of hosts, if I will not open under you the windows of heaven, that means it’s going to rain.

And he says, you’ll have so much, there won’t be room enough to hold it off. God says, would you put me first? He says, try me. He said, try me. Put me to the test. Since you’ve trusted Christ as your Savior, have you ever put God to the test? Try Him. Or you’re afraid that He’s not going to come through and so you hold back and live in fear. Because you’re afraid to step out of the boat and walk on the water.

Because you’re afraid you’re going to sink. Do what God’s Word says and trust Him and enjoy the walk and you’d be surprised what God will do. And look what he says in verse 11. Now, verse 11, the first part of it anyway, you ought to underline it. God says, this is what I’m going to do. I will devour or I will rebuke the devour for your sake and ye shall not destroy and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground.

Neither shall your vine castor fruit before the time in the field said to the Lord, you know what’s happening is a result of your disobedience. He said, but if you would just obey me, believe me, believe me, try me. He says, and see if I won’t do what I promise that I’ll do. Because see, they had God bound by His word. You go back and you read the book of Deuteronomy where He said, I have laid before you lifeq and death, blessing and cursing.

It’s your choice. And when you get into the of the land. This is what I want you to do. And if you’ll do what I tell you to do, I’ll put none of those diseases upon you. What a health program that he had. And I’ll meet all of your needs and so forth. Social Security program. He had everything set up. God had it all designed his way will work. So then it says up here in verse 13 the last part, he said, what have we spoken so much against the gods?

You’ve been talking about me. God says you’ve been bad-mouthing me. Zah, I wouldn’t do that. God says you’ve been doing that. He said, wow. He says in verse 14, you have said it is vain to serve God. In the words, what’s the profit? Why should I serve God? That’s why you find in the book of Galatians in chapter 6, it says, not to become weary and well doing. Do not become weary and well doing, for you shall reap what you sow just in time.

Be patient. Don’t faint. Don’t stop. Don’t quit. Just always keep serving God and God will bless you. So will they believe that? verse 17 where he says, in that day when I make up my jewels, I will spare them as a man’s spareth his own son that serveth him. To spare his son that serves him. Do you know that God knows which one of his children serve him and which one don’t serve him? And God can bless you and protect you and God can do all kinds of things.

the Lord might just because of pride open up the gates and turn the hounds loose and buddy you be surprised how fast evil can come upon you men in the ministry I’ve seen just about everything that happened but it says the wicked one day is going to get there see their inverse 18 then shall you return and discern because see right now see they haven’t troubled discerning when you’re not close to the Lord, it’s hard to discern the error because the only way you can discern error is to know truth.

And they had gotten so far from the truth. The priests hadn’t taught the people like they should have known, and there was a price to be paid. So he says, and discerned between the righteous and the wicked, between him that servant God and him that serveth him not. So does God know those who serve him and those that do not serve him? God knows. And he says, the day is coming now. In chapter four, I believe the first few verses here actually belong to chapter three, but nevertheless I didn’t break up this.

But look what he says in verse one. He says, Behold the day cometh. Now we’re talking yes into the future. He says, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall burn them up, sayeth the Lord of hosts, and that it shall leave them neither root nor brand. Now, God says, look, I know that you’re saying, where’s the God of judgment? God says, be patient.

You just go ahead and you serve me now with all your heart. And you just go ahead and try me and see if I won’t bless you like I said. He says, and concerning those people, you think getting away with murder? He said, I’ll take care of them. I’ll deal with them. And so don’t you lose heart just because you see, even in America, we see so many people living so wickedly and they look so happy. And wicked people are making money and God’s people seem like they’re starving half the day.

And if they don’t have any trouble and all the God’s people have problems and like David says, it’s like the Lord chasing me. Every time I turn on God’s chasing me. Read the 37 Psalm and the 73rd Psalm together. Those two Psalms go together. You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you were blessed by today’s message. Part 2 of this teaching will conclude with tomorrow’s broadcast.

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The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 1030 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by going to our church website, Calvary of Tampa dot org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound. We will be changed. Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.