Bro Gary Sunday Morning 1/1/12
Mal 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Malachi lived about 400 years before Christ was born.
Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
This man was burdened. It is wonderful to be burdened for a soul or for a lesson. There are those in this audience that are burdened. There are things that you feel God would have you do in 2012.
We sang the beautiful song this morning, “Leaning on the everlasting arms.” This song was written because someone had a heartache and they sought for what God could give to one with a heartache and God gave them this song.
Malachi had a burden. God spoke. “A son honors his father, a servant fears his master…” God, the Lord of hosts, God of an untold number of angels, asked the question, “Where is my honor, fear, and reverence?”
We all have experiences in life and come across those that ask, “Who is God the Lord of hosts, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?” I’m happy that beyond a shadow of a doubt the Word of God helps us know who God is.
Genesis 1: In the beginning, God… If you study, this God is not just one of many. He is the single triune God. He has always been. We are not dealing with the thought of new gods or one that someone developed. He is the one true God, the creator. In Genesis 1 you see the creation of God: He caused the earth to form, the waters to come together, and He created light before the sun or moon. He is the all-powerful God. He made the stars also.
The star of Bethlehem God designed way back in eternity. People would like to take the account and make a fairy tale out of it and say this happened or something else.
God created man. He said, “Let us.” It isn’t single: he speaks in the plural form: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils and man became a living soul. Every soul hungers for God. It is sad the substitutes that people use to try to satisfy the deep need they have within. Nothing will satisfy the soul but God.
God is so thorough and complete. God told Adam that you can eat of all the trees. God knew that our physical man would need food, and He supplied for the spiritual man. In the thought of the spiritual man:
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
I believe that God came down in the morning and in the evening to visit with Adam and Eve. What a change communion with God makes. It makes a change in our life when we take Bible, hold it in our hands, and read of the 66 books that God sent for you and me. He sent them for us; this is wonderful!
When we read, there is something that moves within our being to bring us to honor God. When it comes to the thought of honoring God I am still learning. I know it means to reverence and respect God. Yet it seems that there should be other words that would help us in saying “I want to give God the honor that He so rightly deserves.”
Moses’ father and mother honored God. He was born and we appreciate the account of his birth. His parents cared for him and then placed him in the water. Pharaoh’s daughter came and named him Moses: I’ve lifted him out of the water.
It is wonderful to feel reverence and think, “God you are everything to me I want to give you everything for you are God.” When Moses was on the back side of the mountain and God appeared to him in a burning bush and instructed him to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground.
Moses was about 80 when this happened. Forty years later, at 120, Moses had a burden to write some things down. I like what Moses wrote down. He had known God a long time.
You mothers in this audience are blessed when you teach those little children about God. You fathers are blessed when you take those little children and read to them the bible story. It is interesting how the children can learn the scripture.
What do you think took place with Moses’ parents? There were times when the mother, father, sister and maybe Aaron said, “Hush, quiet, let’s pray quietly less they take you out.”
It reminds me of the song, “I was on the back side of a place called nowhere forgotten by humanity.” Moses was on the back side of the mountain and God came down. He knew it was God and God began to tell him that He had seen the difficulty and hardship of His people and was going to send Moses to bring them out.
As Moses was about to die, at 120, he wrote: “Ascribe greatness to our God.” Honoring God will do wonders for children. The bible teaches children to honor their parents. For children to honor God it is a wonderful thing. When children reach the age where they can, it is wonderful for the mother and father to say, “Son or daughter you are old enough to have devotions.”
Moses said, “Ascribe ye greatness to our God.” One of my great grandfathers left the testimony that he’d found Jesus Christ as his savior and wanted to ascribe greatness to Him.
We could write down the miracles that God has done in our life. It is a miracle that I’ve been blessed to see my children born and raised. We could write stories of the miracles that God has done. Ascribe greatness to God!
Moses left this word to the heads of the twelve tribes. He was saying, “I cannot write down enough to show how great God is, so you ascribe greatness to God.”
Caleb and Joshua and a company of twelve spies went into Canaan. Ten of them brought back evil reports. They got so carried away that they had the Canaanites as big as giants and themselves the size of a grasshopper. Caleb and Joshua said, “If God be for us, we are able.”
You are able by the help and grace of God. They said “We.” We don’t want any projects where we are in them as a lone ranger. We can do nothing by our self. We need to make the words, “I really need help today.”, the easiest words to say.
I think of the parents in this audience with children, it is fine for them to say, “We need prayer as a father, as a mother, as a grandparent.”
Joshua and Caleb said, “We are able.”
Elohiym entrance 430 in the Hebrew means a triune God.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
“Unto us.” It is wonderful that this son is interested in every detail of your life. You might be here and wonder, “Does God care about the relationship between me and my son or daughter? Does God care about my challenge physically? Does God care about the burden you have in your heart?” He cares about every one of us.
His name shall be called: Wonderful counselor. He is a wonderful friend, a wonderful savior, and wonderful in decision making.
Joseph was a man that honored God. He was the one chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus. He was espoused to Mary and she was found with child. He thought, “Well I guess I’ll have to put her away.”
I don’t know what you are facing and you might not know either. I’m not going to say that bad is going to happen for we have a lot of blessings in store. This I know if you will honor, reverence, and respect God, He will have a plan for you.
“My flesh and spirit cry out for the living God, I hunger for God”, David.
God spoke to Joseph and said, “Take Mary… that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost… His name shall be called Jesus for He shall save His people from their sin.” God had a plan to deal with sin.
He didn’t stop there, in another place He said, “His name shall be called Immanuel.” God with us is beautiful.
It was a period of time between the shepherds and the wise men and God announced by an angel to the shepherds, “You shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.”
Simeon and Anna:
Luk 2:30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luk 2:31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
Luk 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Luk 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
Luk 2:34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Luk 2:35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Luk 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
Luk 2:37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Luk 2:38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
“Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” As dark as it was when Jesus came, God had a remnant that honored reverenced and respected Him.
Nicodemus asked, “How shall a man be born when he is old?” There are many things that people that lack understanding will do to try to be right with God. Some give their firstborn, others give money, still others join some type of organization to try to be right with God.
Jesus said, “You must be born again.” In the natural it is impossible, but not in the spiritual. We have a natural body and a spiritual body. When we sin the contact we had with God is broken and we must be born again to restore that contact.
“God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Without Jesus there is no being born again; without Jesus there is no savior, no redeemer.
God didn’t send his son to the world to condemn. When I sinned I knew that it was wrong and that I shouldn’t be doing what I was doing. I remember my argument that “God doesn’t care.” Yes, God did care. I remember thinking that maybe I’d be the exception because of this or that. There is no exception. All have sinned.
“For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved.”
I remember going to church with the burden of sin. I had wonderful parents and I had sinned against them and I felt bad about that; but when I realized that I had sinned against God that had never done me wrong, then I had Godly sorrow.
When you sin you hurt God. You hurt Jesus. There could be an orphan where ever they might be and they are just as important to God as any children that are in this audience this morning. Every soul has great worth to God. When that soul sins and doesn’t honor God they sin against God. When we sin we are already condemned.
Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
God sent His son and then told us that we are going to be judged by His son that bore our sins with His stripes. He paid the price so that we could be cleansed from all our sin. He that was without spot became the sin offering for our sin. It is Him to whom the Father has given all the judgment.
Joh 5:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
Suppose these real estate agents had a family that was going to lose their home because of hardship. Suppose someone else, not knowing the family, approached the agents and said I don’t want recognition but I don’t want those children to lose their home and then supplied what was needed. That family would always go to these agents and tell them how thankful they were.
Most of us are not of the literal lineage of the Jews. We were without God and we were without hope. (Think of our family when they came to the United States and the way that they were going.) This Jesus was chosen of God the father so that none of us would have to be homeless.
2Co 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Jesus came that all men should honor the son even as they honor the father.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
“Truly, truly, I say unto you, He that hears my word...” There are many voices. How can I know what I’m hearing is from God when Jesus speaks?” There are always two witnesses, the Old and the New Testament.
1Jn 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
“We are bought with a price so Glorify God in your body and your spirit which are his.” Honor God in your body. Take care of your body and take care of your mind.
Honor God in your body and in your spirit. How is your spiritual man, 1/1/12? How is that relationship between you and God? Is your heart crying out: “I want to give Him honor; I want to give Him respect. Every card I write, every place I go, every business transaction that I’m involved in, I want to give God all honor and respect.”
God offers a changed life. Isn’t it wonderful! Each of us here that has a changed life was bought out of sin. If you are not right with God don’t let another day pass in 2012 without making things right. God is worthy of all your honor and all your respect.
In him we live and move and have our being. We owe everything to Him.
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