Pure Motives
We are to serve God and one another
out of hearts of love and with pure motives,
not in order to receive material benefits.
Here's Gene to explain:
Now what we read here in Malachi
is an extension of Israel's disobedience
that is described in the previous verses
that we've looked at.
They were robbing God.
And in that particular situation,
the way they were robbing God is
that they were not bringing the
tenth of their produce, of their livestock
in order for the plan to work
within Israel in terms of worship.
And so God is addressing
that issue through Malachi.
And it's amazing because
He has to deal with what I've called
"Sinful Rationalization" on their part.
This is what we read:
"Your words against Me are harsh,"
says the Lord. ...
Now what does He mean by that?
Well he explains it--Malachi explains it.
...Yet you ask:
"What have we spoken against You?"
[Well,] you have said:
"It is useless to serve God. ...
Why in the world would they say
it is useless to serve God?
...What have we gained by keeping His requirements
and walking mournfully
before the Lord of Hosts? ...
In other words, they were crying,
and they were going through
all these different external motions
that really were not from the heart.
Why are you saying? God says to them.
And listen to what they were saying:
...So now we consider the arrogant
to be fortunate. ...
This is the children of Israel speaking to God.
...we consider the arrogant
to be fortunate.
Not only do those who
commit wickedness prosper,
they even test God and escape."
In other words, we're looking around us,
and we're seeing the wicked prospering.
And You're judging us.
So we're just--why should we serve You?
We're going to just live like them.
Because we'll be blessed just like they are.
I mean, can you imagine?
I'd look at that and I'd think: Wow.
How much we can deteriorate.
How much we can walk away from God.
And remember God brought them back
from Babylonian captivity
and provided them with all that He had.
And just remember now what makes this
even more unbelievable is what Malachi said
to them back in chapter 1, verse 12:
But you are profaning it when you say:
"The Lord's table is defiled,
and its product, its food, is contemptible."
You also say:
"Look, what a nuisance!"
"And you scorn it," says the Lord of Hosts. ...
It's a nuisance to even serve You.
It's a nuisance to do what You've asked us to do
in bringing the produce.
And then God says:
..."You bring stolen, lame,
or sick animals.
You bring this as an offering!
Am I to accept that from your hands?"
asks the Lord.
Now do you understand why I
call this Sinful Rationalization?
I mean, that's the depth
of lack of appreciation
and understanding of who God is.
But you know, even in the midst of all that
sinful behavior, we see God's grace.
You see God's grace all the way through
the Old Testament and on into
the New in a special way.
And so we read in verse 16:
At that time those who feared the Lord
spoke to one another. ...
There were people who were
listening to Malachi.
There were those who were convicted
by the Holy Spirit.
There were those who responded.
And what we read is:
...The Lord took notice and [He] listened.
So a book of remembrance
was written before Him for those
who feared Yahweh and had
high regard for His name. ...
A book of remembrance.
God never forgets hearts with true motives.
..."They will be Mine," says the Lord of Hosts,
"a special possession on the day I am preparing.
I will have compassion on them
as a man has compassion on
his son who serves him."
So here even in the Old Testament
we see God's grace on those who respond.
Now they may suffer the results
of the sinful nation because the
judgment came on that sinful nation.
Just as you and I may suffer the results
of our own sinful nation as believers.
Because we're a part of a nation.
And when God's judgment falls,
we're in that nation, even though
we have been obedient to the Lord.
We may suffer some of those consequences.
But God will not forget who we are,
what we have done out of pure hearts
and pure motives.
And so we have here an incredible Principle.
Let me repeat that Principle
that grows out of this passage:
We are to serve God and one another
out of hearts of love and with pure motives,
not in order to receive material benefits.
We give, not expecting anything
in return materially.
We give because we love Jesus Christ.
Now God blesses, He cares.
But our hearts should be pure.
And that's what we see
in the New Testament.
And why? Why should we have that heart?
Well look at what Paul wrote
in 2nd Corinthians 9:15.
This is the end of two chapters on generosity
where he mentions the Macedonians
who gave out of poverty.
He says: Here's our motivation.
Here's our motivation:
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.
And as believers, of course,
we have more than the land.
We have more than being
brought out of Babylonian captivity.
We have been brought out of the
captivity of sin, into a new life in Jesus.
And that should be our motivation.
The apostle John, I think,
stated it beautifully under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit:
This is how we have come to know love: ...
And love should be the basis
of all that we do in our relationships.
And by the way, it's not just the
material things we have.
It's our time and our talents
that God honors in terms of giving.
Time and talent and treasure.
And that reflects love.
...This is how we have come to know love:
He laid down His life for us. ...
That goes back to what he said
in the Corinthian letter.
Thank God for His indescribable gift, Jesus.
...He laid down His life for us.
We should also lay down our lives
for our brothers.
If anyone has this world's goods
and sees his brother in need
but closes his eyes to his need--
how can God's love reside in him? ...
In other words, selfishness.
Selfishness.
Living for ourselves.
...Little children, we must not love
with word or speech, but with truth and action.
Powerful statement from the apostle John.
But here is something that I think
grows out of this passage in
the Old Testament.
Remember that statement about
a book of remembrance?
God has a book of remembrance for all of us.
And I love this passage from Hebrews 6:10:
For God is not unjust;
He will not forget your work...
See, that was true in Israel
among those that listened.
A book of remembrance. God will not forget:
...For God is not unjust;
He will not forget your work
and the love you showed for His name
when you served the saints--
and you continue to serve them.
Why do we serve?
We love Him because He first loved us.
We love others because He
demonstrated what love really is.
And that should impact everything
we do in our lives.
So here's the question for Reflection and Response:
How can we respond to our
obligation to be generous...
And let me say again:
That's time. That's talent. That's treasures.
How can we respond to our
obligation to be generous
and yet do so with pure motives,
joy, and a heart of love?
I think there are two keys to that.
The first one is Romans 12:1 and 2.
This to me says it all because this is
going to impact everything we do.
Paul said this:
Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,
I urge you to present your bodies
as a living sacrifice...
See, we're not bringing sheep and goats.
We're bringing ourselves to serve Him
because He became the sacrifice for our sins.
...I urge you to present your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God;
this is your spiritual worship. ...
See, our worship today is not with lambs
and goats and produce as it
was established there.
It's us--in Christ--presenting our bodies to Him.
...Do not be conformed to this age,
but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may
discern what is the good, pleasing,
and perfect will of God.
Now why did I say there are two keys?
That's the first key which is foundational.
It covers everything we do.
And let me give you an illustration
as it relates back to our material things.
It's in Philippians.
And I want you to notice the correlation.
See, Paul was in prison.
The Philippians, by the way, were Macedonians.
They were a part of the churches
that were going through this
difficult time in terms of poverty.
And yet, out of their poverty
or out of their resources that were minimal,
they sent a gift of money to the apostle Paul.
Epaphroditus was the one
that delivered it. Perhaps the elder there
in the church in Philippi.
And so Paul wrote back to
the Philippians and he says:
But I have received everything in full,
and I have an abundance. ...
I can enjoy food.
And I can enjoy drink.
And I can enjoy--I've got some clothes
on my back here. It's been a little cold.
But it's great.
Thank you for caring for me. He said:
...I am fully supplied...
Even though I'm chained to this Roman guard.
...I am full supplied, having received
from Epaphroditus what you provided-- ...
They were material things that they provided.
Now notice this--Paul calls this:
...a fragrant offering,
an acceptable sacrifice,
pleasing to God. ...
Notice the correlation with
Romans chapter 12:1 and 2.
The first step is to give ourselves to the Lord.
Remember that phrase?
With the Macedonians: they first
gave themselves to the Lord.
And then to us.
And that's the key for being generous.
We will not be generous if we have not given
ourselves to the Lord.
And really understand the gift
that we've received.
...a fragrant offering,
an acceptable sacrifice,
pleasing to God. ...
In other words,
what we do with our material possessions
is an extension of the extent to which
we've presented ourselves to God
as a living sacrifice.
It's a great correlation, isn't it?
And then he said:
...[And] my God will supply all your needs
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
And in the lives of the Macedonians,
what God provided for them was grace.
Grace to endure. And to even be able to
give out of their poverty.
Now it involved, I'm sure,
their physical needs as well.
But the major motivation for generosity,
and the major motivation
for Romans 12:1 and 2,
presenting our bodies to the Lord, is what?
God's mercy and God's grace.
So here's the Principle one more time:
We are to serve God and one another
out of hearts of love and with pure motives,
not in order to receive material benefits.