Class Lesson June 24, 2012

Hey Gang,

This week we will close out this 4 week series on spiritual apathy with, What is your decision going to be? My hope is that we all will confess and repent of any apathy we have toward God and commit to serve Him, honor Him, and live according to His Word.

The people to whom Malachi spoke were skeptics about the justice of God. They asked the Lord why He blessed evil people and assumed that this meant that He was unjust. The Lord denied being unjust and defended His just actions. God emphasized that people who deny His justice are striking at one of God's leading attributes. He made clear distinctions between the righteous and evildoers. He stated that a day is coming in which the righteous will be rewarded and the ungodly will be judged. God will send a blessing like a sun of righteousness with healing in its rays.

Name a way to make each of these decisions in a way that honors God. What instructions from God apply? 

1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 24:14-30; Galatians 5:6; Joshua 1:5-9; James 1:12; Romans 5:3-4; John 5:30; 2 Timothy 1:13
 


We have lived long enough to have developed a few regrets. Most of us would have done some things differently if we could go back in time. Hopefully, we also made some decisions we’re thankful for. This lesson presents the options at the crossroad of honoring God or ignoring Him. We still face these choices each and every day. 

Are you going to honor God or ignore Him in the choices you make each day?

The Prodigal

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I. SERVE GOD – MALACHI 3:13-15

The Righteous and the Wicked

13 “Your words against Me are harsh,” says the Lord. Yet you ask: “What have we spoken against You?” 14 You have said: “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? 15 So now we consider the arrogant to be fortunate. Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God and escape.”


What were God’s people saying about the benefits of serving Him? Why would they say this?

• It is the privilege and responsibility of God’s people to proclaim His goodness and make known the benefits of serving Him. Instead, the people of Judah spoke against Him, declaring they found no value in serving God.
• God’s people saw the wicked prosper and sin without punishment. They may have focused there to keep from seeing their own sin; or maybe they concluded, “it pays to be arrogant and reject God’s authority.”

If the wicked do often prosper and escape punishment, what reasons are there for faithfully serving God? 

• Beyond God’s promises to supply our needs are His blessing of peace, joy, healthy relationships, fellowship with Him, purpose, and ability to sleep without guilt. See Titus 3:8.
• If no blessings or rewards were promised for serving God, it would still be the right thing to do simply because He is God who created us.
• God knows what is right. Even depending on logic alone, it makes sense to follow Him. Those who reject God will not escape punishment forever. A day of judgment and complete justice is coming.

What could bring a person to the point of saying it's USELESS to serve God?

 

Why do people often think that they know better than God?

• No one would come out and say that. But by doing what they want, or by picking and choosing the Bible verses they’ll heed, they demonstrate what they believe. Some say they believe the Bible but it doesn’t apply to their specific circumstances. Others base their decisions on feelings. Then when things don’t go as they want, they blame God. They ask why He abandoned them, or why He won’t fix their problems. Their attitudes towards God become harsh.

• Judah served the Lord, but they were expecting to gain something in return. Their motives were impure and God knew it. We should not serve God with improper expectations. God is not like a job where you work a certain number of hours then receive payment. Serving God is the response to being loved. We do the right thing because it’s the right thing. Period.

II. HONOR GOD – MALACHI 3:16-4:3

16 At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name. 17 “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. 18 So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.


The Day of the Lord
4 “For indeed, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Hosts, “not leaving them root or branches. 2 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. 3 You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Hosts.


What’s the point of God’s book of remembrance now? How about for the future? How about for the past? 

• God doesn’t forget as we do. Malachi spoke symbolically, assuring the faithful that God would not forget them and how they had honored Him. Similarly, see Isaiah 49:13-16.
• The concept of God keeping records appears throughout Scripture (Ex. 32:32; Ps. 69:28; Isa. 4:3; Dan. 12:1; Luke 10:20; Phil. 4:3; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27).
• We can rest assured that God notices and remembers our faithfulness to Him and will ultimately reward it.

Are these verses meant to frighten or reassure; challenge or comfort?

• Malachi reassured the faithful remnant that God would ultimately reward obedience and punish sin; they could trust Him to bring justice. That faithful remnant needed also to keep obeying and not assume they have a pass.
• Throughout the book, Malachi sought to warn the people of Judah as a whole of the coming judgment and call them to repent and turn back to the God who loved them.

 

God reassured His people that despite appearances, He knew and claimed His own. A day will come when God will recognize the righteous and judge the wicked. At that point, the value of fearing God and serving Him will be obvious. What do we do until then? We hold hands and encourage each other along the path.

III. LIVE BY GOD’S INSTRUCTION – MALACHI 4:4-6

A Final Warning

4 “Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”



What two options are presented here? Why is there no third option? How do we choose?

• The choice to submit to God and live His way or go our own way is timeless. Although they claim to believe in God, many people live as practical atheists, going about life as if God did not exist.
• Our decision whether to live for God or live for ourselves has very real consequences both now and on the Day of the Lord that is to come.

What’s involved in remembering? How is the Law of Moses applicable to Christians today?  

• Remembering the instruction of Moses was like saying to our kids remember your homework” (or your chores). It meant to DO them.
• Christians today are no longer bound by the ceremonial or ritual laws of Moses, like offering sacrifices or performing ritual washing. We are however quite bound by the moral laws, which include the Ten Commandments (Matt. 5:17-20).

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help me identify areas where my life needs to change, and help me look to and depend on You for those changes. Amen

As you think back over this entire study, focus on the questions and answers between Malachi and the people. Do you fully appreciate how wonderful it is to be loved by God? Are you bored with your worship experiences? Are you generous in sharing God's gifts with those in need? Are you working to have a Christian marriage? Do you rob God by withholding your tithes? 

In your opinion, what is the most important verse in Malachi? 

Well, we come to another end to a great series on spiritual apathy. Next week we will begin a new 5-week series entitled "Living Beyond Yourself" with a focus on God's presence in our lives through His Holy Spirit. 

See you on Sunday! 

In His Love, 

David & Susan