Are You Just Going Through The Motions?

Good afternoon from the Panhandle. It is Girl's Camp this week so Gayla has gone and left us alone. But I think we can survive for four days. We have finished our study of the Book of Genesis and are starting on the series “Apathy - Who Cares?” This is a series that Rick Ezell originally wrote a number of years ago.

Do you ever find yourself just going through the motions when it comes to your Christian life? I think the truth be told many of us find ourselves there at least once in our life if not more. Listen to this little story and see if it sounds familiar.

Nate cautiously approached his pastor one day and admitted, "I'm not sure what the problem is. I feel empty inside."

This confession concerned his pastor considerably since Nate was one of his most faithful laypersons. Whenever the pastor called a meeting or needed something done around the church, Nate and Nancy always showed up. "Tell me about it," the pastor said.

"Well, I just feel like I am going through the motions. Doing church work, helping people, and even attending worship do not energize me anymore," moaned Nate. "I'm tired of doing stuff. I'm living a lifeless religion."

The Jews living in Jerusalem were just going through the motions in their worship when Malachi arrived on the scene. Malachi, the man, is shrouded in mystery. Little is known of him, except his name, which means "my messenger." He may be described as a vigorous, clear-cut personality who strongly opposed anyone who treated the Temple and the things of God with indifference. Carelessness in worship offended him. He wanted to restore the genuine worship of God based on a true relationship with Him. He was a fearless reformer who spoke without hesitation or embarrassment.

He addressed the Jews who had returned to their land after living in exile for 70 years. They had rebuilt the Temple and reestablished the worship of God. Externally, everything seemed okay. But inwardly a cancer of complacency ate away at their commitment. As God's final spokesman prior to John the Baptist, Malachi arrived to challenge God's people.

The Book of Malachi is structured as a seven-cycle argument between God and his people. Different from other prophetic books that focus on discourses, the Book of Malachi takes the form of a dialogue or argument in which God speaks and the people answer back. God tells the people how he expects them to live, the people respond with a cynical question, and then God expands on his original concern.

Malachi begins by telling them that God loves them with a tender, affectionate, and unconditional love. In return, our only reasonable response is to worship him with devotion and sacrifice. Anything less would be insincere. Unfortunately their worship had become insincere, they were just going through the motions.

God spoke through Malachi to these apathetic and complacent people, calling them back to serious worship in chapter one. God told them, and us, what he wants in worship. As an antidote to going through the motions in worship, God expects:

Malachi 1:1-14

1:1 An oracle: 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?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."

4 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!'

6 "A son honors his father, and a servant 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, O priests, who show contempt for my name.

"But you ask, `How have we shown contempt for your name?'

7 "You place defiled food on my altar.

"But you ask, `How have we defiled you?'

"By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.

9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty.

10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.

12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, `It is defiled,' and of its food, `It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, `What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty.

"When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. 14 "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.

I. The greatest reverence

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says Yahweh of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name" (Malachi 1:6). In the original Hebrew the word “honor” means literally to be heavy. So when you honor someone it means you treat them as a heavyweight in your life - someone of extreme importance, someone of great significance, someone who is huge.

When God says in the Ten Commandments, "Honor your father and your mother," he's not saying just obey them and respect them, but treat them as if they're truly significant to you.

God says here: I'm a father. I'm a master. I expect honor. I expect reverence. Don't treat Me with contempt.

Far more important than the gifts on the altar is the heart of the worshipper. God wants to find a heartfelt attitude of honor and respect toward Him, an attitude that recognizes who He is and how gracious He has been. It is still the same today. What can we bring to the alter that God does not already have except our hearts.

Years ago, Henry Ward Beecher, was one of the most famous preachers in America. People from all over the nation came to worship at his church. One Sunday he was absent, and a visiting preacher substituted for him. When the visiting minister came to the pulpit the people realized that Henry was gone. Some of the people started for the doors. The minister said, "May I have your attention. All those who came this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church. All who came to worship God may stay."

People may come to a worship service for many superficial reasons: to hear a certain preacher, to watch their children perform, to visit with their friends, to fulfill an obligation, to enhance their business opportunities, to see what everyone else is wearing. But only one reason is acceptable - to give honor and praise to God. Worship is not an attempt to entertain worshippers or to stir their emotions. Worship is not an attempt to manipulate worshippers' minds and hearts. Worship is not an attempt to indoctrinate persons. Worship is, first of all, an attempt to focus our attention on God, to honor Him.

II. The best response

God made His allegation to the priests, the professional worshippers. They should have known better. They were responsible for the people's obedience. Now the priests reply with a question. "Yet you ask: 'How have we despised Your name?' 'By presenting defiled food on My altar.' You ask: 'How have we defiled You?' When you say: 'The LORD's table is contemptible.' 'When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?' asks the LORD of Hosts" (Malachi 3:6-8). The priests were accepting not just the second-best from the people, but worse than that. They were bringing God sick sheep and gross goats. They were offering worthless animals.

Old Testament law required people to offer God sacrifices from their flocks and herds. If they had an animal that was no good for breeding and wasn't going to fetch much of a price at the butcher shop, they would give it to the Lord. God says: I don't want those tainted sacrifices. We no longer offer God animal sacrifices, because Christ Jesus became our sacrifice. He has borne the penalty of our sin, like the animal sacrifices in Old Testament times bore the penalty of those people's sin. God, however, is quick to tell us that in response to what his Son has done for us the only reasonable response is to give back to God our best.

If you had someone important coming to your house for supper, you would go all out. You would use your best plates, you would get out the fanciest glasses, you would cook all your best dishes. In other words you would give them your best.

God says to us: You can do better than that. You say: Better than what? Better than blemished sacrifices, better than leftovers.

The Bible presents three standards for sacrifices:

A. Give the best

I was with a group of pastors the other day. One of those guys grew up on the mission field. He told about the time his parents paid $100 dollars for a shipment of clothes from the states. When they opened the crate they discovered that all the clothes had the buttons and zippers removed. They spent money on a shipment that was worthless. I wonder how often God must feel the same way. Do you give God your best?

B. Give to God first

God is never to get leftovers. Many years ago a pastor and his wife were called to pastor a small church that gave them a "pounding" - a throwback from the old days. Church members would bring a pound of flour, or sugar, or sausage, to help the pastor's family set up house. When they arrived at the parsonage for their first night in their new home, they opened the cupboards to discover the shelves were filled with canned goods, the refrigerator was stocked to overflowing, and several craft items were lying on the kitchen counter to decorate the new home. They were very thankful and appreciative.

But as they began to place the craft items around the house we noticed that some items had pieces missing and others were broken. When they checked out some of the items in the refrigerator they had already passed their expiration date. Then started started to go through the canned goods in the cupboard. Some were so old that rust was on the cans. While many of the church members donated items that were of good quality others gave items that were destined for the garage sale or the garbage can instead redirected to the pastor and his wife's pounding. They gave leftovers.

The pastor must have had two simultaneous emotions: one was of great joy for the generosity of many of the people and the other was of great sadness for getting unwanted discards. I wonder if God often feels the same way.

C. Give what costs you

Giving should be sacrificial. David wanted to offer a sacrifice to God. He wanted to buy a man's threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord. The man offered to give oxen for the offering and wood for the fire. Instead of looking for a shortcut, David said, "No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing" (2 Samuel 24:24).

What does it mean to give less than the best? What does it look like to give to God last? What does it mean to make gifts that cost us nothing?

• It's when I spend an hour in an evening reading the USA Today cover to cover and then in the five minutes before I fall asleep I read God's Word. That's offering God the leftovers. 
  
  
• It's when we bring to our careers our best energy, our best talent, our best motivation, but when it comes to serving the body of Christ we either sit on the sidelines or look for something that requires the least amount of energy. 
  
  
• It's when we spend a lot of money on ourselves for a summer vacation, but when it comes to giving God an offering we look at the budget and say, "What's left over here?"
  
  
• It's when we watch OU or OSU score a touchdown and leap off the sofa in jubilation, but in worship we sit passively with our hands on our lap. 
  
  
• It's when we love our kids so much there is nothing we wouldn't give them, but if we're honest our heart doesn't beat that fast for God.

Get involved in ministry and service where ever you are. Roll up your sleeves. Use the talents and gifts God's given you. Find a place to serve. Worship God enthusiastically.

All too often we have a sentimental grandfatherly view of God. We think He winks at our sins, and no matter what we give Him He says, "Oh, that's great. Thank you so much." But notice what God says about such an attitude: "'And now ask for God's favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?' asks the LORD of Hosts" (Malachi 1:9-10). God says: Shut the temple doors. It's better not to come to church. It's better not to pretend to be spiritual than to bring Me less than your best.

III. The highest regard

The quality of one's worship is in direct proportion to one's concept of God. The higher our view of God the better our worship of God is. God's complaint against the priests was that they "despised" God's "name" (1:6). Then, God makes this grand statement in verse 11 and 14: "For My name will be great among the nations, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name in every place because My name will be great among the nations . . . For I am a great King . . . and My name will be feared among the nations" (Malachi 1:11, 14).

God's name represented His person, His character, His very nature. His name will be great. Why? He is the great King. He is the Lord Almighty. Twenty-three times in Malachi God calls Himself, "The Lord Almighty." Often the word Almighty is translated hosts, meaning a great number of armies. The Lord Almighty has all the hosts of heaven ready to do His work because He has infinite authority in the universe.

We are just going through the motions when we don't recognize God's greatness as we worship. We are going through the motions when we allow the extraordinary to become ordinary. We are going through the motions when the mystery of worship becomes familiar.

When we experience great worship, I ask myself: What moved us? The familiarity of the songs? The number of people participating? Or did the Holy Spirit point us to God who is great?

IV. The warmest response

The Jewish people had become bored with their worship. "You also say: 'Look, what a nuisance!' 'And you scorn it,' says the LORD of Hosts. 'You bring stolen, lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?' asks the LORD" (Malachi 1:13). They brought cheap sacrifices, blemished animals, lambs covered with running sores, blind lambs, lambs that no respectable shopkeeper would accept. Their sacrifices cost them nothing. They gave as little time as they could. They did their duty, nothing more. Their worship became ritualistic, humdrum, mechanical, and familiar.

Would that describe our worship today? Do you come to church and say: "How long is this going to last? Do we have to sing so much? Why is the preaching so long?" Do you come to worship and make a mental list of what you're going to accomplish when you get home?

Ravi Zacharias said, "When man is bored with God even heaven does not have a better alternative."

George Malone tells the story about a big Gothic cathedral in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia. This cathedral has colorful stained-glass windows that were donated after the Second World War in honor of the men and women who gave their lives. The windows illustrate pictures of soldiers. One day he overheard a little boy asking his mother, "Mommy, who are those people?" pointing to the stained-glass windows. And she said, "Those are the people who died in the service." And he said, "Mommy, would that be the Sunday morning or the Sunday evening service?"

I don't want you dying in your service. But it is up to you what kind of worship you bring. You could be tired, feeling low, overwhelmed with anxiety. It may seem like you're being asked to give too much in worship. But it's not about you. It's about God. Worship is about giving God your heart.

V. The grandest result

When our focus is on God in worship, when we honor Him, giving Him our best, exalting His great name, offering Him our warmest worship, our lives will be changed. Malachi stated, "'And now ask for God's favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?' asks the LORD of Hosts" (Malachi 1:9).

With God's favor come great benefits. In worship we not only honor God we help ourselves. We should meet God's command by honoring Him, giving Him our best, exalting His name, and sincerely worshipping Him because He meets our needs. When we experience true worship, certain results occur in the life of the worshipper.

• We receive pardon for our sins. Worship provides the opportunity for worshippers to receive forgiveness for sin.
• We engage power for our weaknesses. Worship provides the opportunity for worshippers to tap God's strength, to come more and more under his control.
• We experience peace for our anxiety. Worship provides the opportunity for people to experience God's comfort.
• We renew purpose for our days. Worship provides stability when life is up and down.

Worship is not the focus of the Christian life. That focus is on day-to-day obedience to God. But worship is the force that helps make the day-by-day life of obedience possible. If you leave church with your faith stronger, your hope brighter, your love deeper, your sympathies broadened, your heart purer, and with your will more resolute to do the will of God, then you have truly have benefited from your worship time and from giving God your best.