Stephen Bailey - Sunday, 11 June 2023
Half-hearted
Scripture References: Malachi 1:6-14, Malachi 2:1-9, Psalms 22:1-31, Leviticus 1:1-10
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CloseHave you ever been half-hearted about something? Have you ever had the attitude of near enough is good enough? Do you ever think like this about your relationship with God? Today, we see God rebuking his people, in particular the priests, for their half-hearted attitude to their worship of Him. God had proved His love for His people. He had chosen Abraham and the line of Jacob to be His people. He made a covenant with them at Mt Sinai. He continued to show grace and mercy to His people. God loved His people. But they were not showing love back. The people’s half-heartedness was demonstrated through their poor, blemished, shoddy, second rate, dodgy offerings for the sacrifices. They didn’t think God loved them, and so didn’t give God their best. The consequences as we will see are quite staggering and shocking, but God’s grace is even greater!!
Scripture References: Malachi 1:6-14, Malachi 2:1-9, Psalms 22:1-31, Leviticus 1:1-10
Related Topics: Minor Prophet, Worship | More Messages from Stephen Bailey | Download Audio
Stephen Bailey
Malachi 1:6-14, Malachi 2:1-9
Stephen Bailey
1 Peter 3:1-7
We love a turning point. Whether it is a story or a football game. Hope dawning at the darkest time. Where is the great turning point in Esther? It could be our memory verse, when Esther is persuaded by Mordecai to act to save her people. It could be when the king looks with favour upon Esther and holds out the golden scepter to her. It could be when Haman is forced to lead Mordecai through the city mounted on the king’s horse and proclaims that he is the man the king delights to honour. They are major events in the story of Esther. They are turning points of a sort. But the writer of Esther points us to another event. That looks so trivial.
Esther is such an exciting story! There are evil plots. There are interesting yet flawed characters. There is risk and sacrifice. There is heroism and villainy. Today, we are introduced to the villain of the plot, and what an evil scheming villain he is! He spins lies and concocts murderous plans to do away with the Jews, God’s covenant people. How will the people respond? Will he get away with his evil plan? Will God, who is not mentioned at all, intervene to protect His people, to live up to the promises He made to Abraham, the people at Mt Sinai, and to David?
There is so much that sounds familiar in these first two chapters of Esther: the world is dominated by loud and brash and imposing and degraded power, the people of God are small and struggling and faced with ambiguous decisions and actions and God seems so far away he is almost absent (at least to our minds and hearts). As we read this book, we will need God’s revelation to help us navigate its strangeness, its ambiguity, and its confrontational narrative. In this, we have the key to the book—the lack of God’s name in letters does not mean the lack of God’s presence.
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