Sermon Snippets with Max Taylor

099. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 15: God’s Promises to Us and Israel

Malachi 3:10-12
 
We are challenged here to give God the little bit that we have (rather than trying to keep it for ourselves) and then see how He will bless us. There is nothing more fulfilling than living for the Lord and trusting His promises. This does not mean life will be easy, but we can depend upon God’s promises to meet our needs, just as Israel can trust God’s promises to make them a blessing and cause the land to be fruitful.

098. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 14: Back-to-Back Questions

Malachi 3:7-10
 
We’re covering questions six and seven in our episode today. And we are learning that when we are not close to God, we are often confused, accusatory of God, and stubborn in our ways. Rather than resorting to these reactions, we should return to the Lord, and we will find that in humble and simple obedience to Him, He will richly bless us with spiritual sustaining grace.

097. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 13: Preparing People for the Lord

Malachi 3:1, 4-6
 
This is the first of two times we will look at John the Baptist in our study through the book of Malachi. John is really a near type of messenger of God and Christ is the ultimate messenger sent from the Father. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, John was subordinate to Him in every way, shifting the focus and the attention onto Him. That is exactly how we should be.

096. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 12: Setting the Stage for Hope

Malachi 2:17-3:3
 
After a quick recap of the Lord’s accusations against the Israelites, we zero in on the weariness of God with the people. It is important that we properly understand the indifference and apathy as the backdrop against which God gives hope in the coming prophecy. Jesus shows us God’s faithfulness, justice, and His ultimate desire for restoration. God’s desire is for us to be made righteous so that we can serve Him in a way acceptable to Him. Can’t wait to dig in deeper in the coming weeks!

095. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 11: The Magnitude of Marriage

Malachi 2:14-17
 
We close off the chapter by looking at God’s purpose and the beautiful spiritual picture of marriage to represent our union with God made possible through Christ. There are some good lessons on marriage from these verses that we should glean, as well as a warning about divorce or viewing marriage too loosely. Then Malachi closes out with a description of God’s weariness at the people’s apathy and indifference. Looking forward to starting into chapter 3 next week!

094. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 10: When God Denies Offerings

Malachi 2:10-13
 
We see two sad realities concerning the children of Israel in today’s verses, their callousness towards each other and their lack of commitment to God. They took awful advantage of one another and they arrogantly refused God’s love and instead pursued a strange woman as it were. These acts were not taken lightly by God. He denied their offerings and did not regard their cries to Him because of their insincerity. May these things not be true of us. May we worship God supremely and repent sincerely so that our service to Him would be acceptable in His sight!

093. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 9: …Which He Ought to Have Loved

Malachi 2:10-11
 
Today we are just beginning to look at these verses, and we are seeing that how we treat one another is directly linked to how we treat God, just as New Testament books like 1 John teach. Their cold treatment of their brethren (brethren in a spiritual sense) was connected to their abandonment of God to pursue their own selfish desires. We will continue to unpack these thoughts next episode.

092. Final Words | Studies in Malachi Part 8: The Covenant of Levi

Malachi 2:7-11
 
This rebuke is relevant for us because as New Testament believers, we are all priests. We have been dedicated to God just as the Levites and the firstborn of the Israelites before them. So when we read this indictment, we ought to read it from the viewpoint that it could be addressing us as priests. What are we doing with the covenant of Levi that we have inherited?