PITP #03

2 Timothy 3, verse 1. Let's pray.

Father, as we look into Your Word tonight, I ask that You would speak to us. As we see this passage here in 2 Timothy about perilous times coming in the last days, I ask that You would cause us to be those who walk circumspectly, understanding the times, that the days are evil. Lord, may we be filled with the Spirit. Help us to look around and see the things that You desire us to do, to know where we ought to be and what we ought to be doing.

I pray that as we get ready to step into a new year, You would open before us doors that no man can shut. Close any door that we have been trying to go through that is not of You. I pray that You would minister to Your church here tonight, that You would speak to us by Your Spirit, and that You would continue to teach us Your Word, for what we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

You can be seated.

At the beginning of December, we started a new series on Wednesday nights called "Profiting and the Prophets." How many of you have been with us through this series so far? Many of you have. When I talk about "Profiting and the Prophets," and the prophetic Scriptures of the Bible, oftentimes our minds go to things that are to come. The predictive nature of prophecy, which I believe is one of the divine thumbprints on the Scriptures, shows us that God is revealing Himself through these things that He spoke before they came to pass.

He is there; He is real, and He is able to see the end from the beginning. The Scriptures tell us that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the one who was and is and is to come. He can clearly declare to us the things that have happened in the past, and He can tell us of the things that are going to come to pass in the future.

Anytime someone begins to talk about prophecy, that's where their mind goes. However, I want to take a little detour tonight, because prophecy is not just predictive. Prophecy always reveals things to us, but it doesn't always reveal the future or what is going to come to pass. One of the biggest aspects of prophecy that we find in Scripture deals with revealing things about God that we would not have known any other way.

There are typically two different kinds of prophecy that are discussed. If you take a class at a Bible college on prophecy, they will talk about predictive prophecy, which many of us love to study and look into because it is exciting and interesting. They will also discuss something called didactic prophecy. Now, don't ask me to spell that, because I don't remember the spelling at the moment. Didactic prophecy reveals something to us about the nature and character of God. It reveals things that could not have been known except through revelation.

In the Scriptures, we see a lot of didactic prophecy, not just in the major and minor prophets, but throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. God is revealing Himself, showing us the character and nature of who He is and how He works, and revealing things that we would not have known otherwise. For example, in the book of Genesis, He reveals to us that He is a creator God. That's one of the first things we learn about Him: He is the creator. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is something we would not have known unless God had told us. It is not predictive; it tells us something about who God is and what He has done.

Even though many scientists are trying to figure out ways to disprove it, the truth remains: God is a creator God. He has created the heavens and the earth and the universe in such a way that it is perfectly knit together and synchronized, as we have looked at over the last several weeks here on Wednesday nights. He has also created us with a purpose and desires that we fulfill that purpose.

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about purpose and why we are all here. If there is no purpose, then there is no real reason for anything. We want to know what it is that God desires us to do, and He has very clearly opened this to us in the pages of Scripture. I like the idea of the Bible being our user's manual for life, showing us how we are to live. It truly does guide us on how to live and use the life that God has given us. In fact, we looked at a verse a couple of weeks ago in Peter, where he says that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Everything that we need to live this life in a godly way, in the right way, the proper way that He intended us to use it, has been given to us in the pages of Scripture. He also reveals to us that in the end days, in the last days, certain things are going to come to pass, as we see in 2 Timothy chapter 3. In the last days, perilous and difficult times are going to come. He provides us with a list of some of the things that characterize those last days.

As I read through this list, I want you to think about the things you see in our world. You can tell me if you see any of these things happening. Men shall be lovers of themselves. No, we don't see that. They will be covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heavy, high-minded, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They will have a form of godliness, but they will deny the power thereof. They may appear to be religious in their lives, but they don't really know the true God, and they don't know the power of God. They have completely denied it and turned away from it.

Paul the Apostle, when he wrote this to Timothy, also writes in chapter 4, verse 1, "I charge you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word." Here is one of the exhortations, the charges, that Paul gives to you and me as part of the body of Christ. Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Why? The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own desires, they shall heap up for themselves teachers having itching ears. They shall turn their ears away from the truth and shall be turned to fables. But you, watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and make full proof of your ministry.

Paul gives us a great exhortation here, not just to Timothy, his son in the faith, the man he had discipled and raised up to be a pastor in Ephesus and various places throughout the early church, but also to you and me as we live in the times we are in today. He charges us to be ready in season and out of season to preach the word, to convince, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, so that we are prepared to teach those who do not understand and do not know.

Why? Well, because many people have turned away from the truth of the Word of God. They don't study it like it once was studied. They don't look into these things and consider them as they once did. He says we need to be ready for these days to come, and I believe that we are most definitely living in those days. We are living in the last days.

I believe you could have said that from the time Jesus ascended into heaven, we have been living in the last days. In fact, the author of the Book of Hebrews says that very thing. He states in chapter one, verse one, "In the former times, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son." So, I would say we are living in the last days, but I would argue that we are living even closer to the last days than they were 2,000 years ago when the early church got its start. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first began. Amen?

As we sit at the edge of a new year, 2009, and look forward to all the different things that may happen, I start to think about how the Lord could come at any time. I am looking forward to His soon return. As we finish up one year and it goes down in history, stepping into a new year, I, like many of you, like to consider the things that have happened in the last year and look forward to what God desires to do in the new year.

In the last year, it was designated as all kinds of different things. If you lived in China, it was the Year of the Rat. I don't know how they came up with that, but it's not a pretty picture to me because I'm not really into rats. In Europe, it was the Year of Intercultural Dialogue. I don't fully know what that means. In fact, most people surveyed in Europe, when asked about what intercultural dialogue is, 36% of them said they don't know what that really means. But the EU declared this the Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

It was also the International Year of the Planet Earth. We heard a lot about the planet Earth this year and a lot about global climate change. Some new buzzwords have emerged; it's not just global warming any longer; it's been changed to global climate change. Additionally, it was the International Year of the Frog. Again, I don't know who comes up with these things. Maybe they flip a coin and decide, "All right, this year is the Year of the Frog."

Let's just hop right along through 2008. It was also the International Year of the Potato. Again, I don't know who comes up with this stuff, but certainly, those are good things to remember. We witnessed in 2008 the highest ever recorded price for a barrel of oil. We all remember how that was in the middle of the year, with prices reaching $4.50 a gallon, whatever it was, as it went up to $150 a barrel.

Not only that, we saw the largest ever stock market drop in 2008. On October 1st, it dropped 777 points, which brought about the largest economic bailout that anyone had ever seen: a $700 billion bailout. That was just the beginning of efforts to secure these failing assets.

We also experienced the most expensive election season ever. The candidates for president raised more money than had ever been raised in a candidacy like this. Specifically, the Obama campaign raised $750 million. I thought maybe they should help with that bailout since they had all that money. There was an abundance of funds, and we witnessed a historic election this year with the first African-American elected president in the United States.

In addition to political events, we cheered for Michael Phelps as he swam to eight gold medals in Beijing. We watched Usain Bolt sprint to the finish line, breaking world records and earning gold medals, inspiring many people in the process.

This year also introduced a variety of new buzzwords, some of which you may not have heard before. Terms like "superdelegates" became significant in 2008, as did "subprime." I learned that there are many subprime mortgages, though I don't fully understand what that means. "Bailouts" was another key term, along with TARP, which some of you may know relates to that bailout. One of the most searched words on Google in 2008 was "change," a term we heard frequently. Many people were anticipating and looking forward to change in the new year.

We faced a major earthquake in May in China, measuring 8.0, which resulted in many casualties and a significant need for help just before the Olympics. Shortly after, a huge cyclone struck Burma, leading to many deaths and highlighting the tragic situation in Myanmar, where the government refused to allow aid workers to assist those in need.

Just last month, we watched as terrorists attacked Mumbai in India, contributing to the unrest in the world. These events are reminiscent of novels written 20 years ago that predicted such occurrences, and now we are witnessing them unfold before our eyes.

One of the notable scientific achievements this year was the mapping of the platypus genome. I don't know who that is important to, but it certainly was a big deal for 2008. NASA also sent another probe to Mars and is discussing the design of new spacecraft capable of taking people to Mars. So, the focus is not just on the moon.

Although China is seeking to put people on the moon by 2020 and America wants to go back to the moon, the only reason we want to go back is to prepare for a mission to Mars. Mars is the place to be this time of year, I hear. We are all trying to figure out how to get there.

Personally, 2008 was a transformative year for me. I became a senior pastor here, my wife and I had our first child, and we bought our first house, which came with our first mortgage. All these different events serve as markers for a year, and we tend to remember a year by the significant things that happened during that time.

In just the last few days, we have seen some very historic events occurring in the world. If you read or watch the news, you know that things in Israel are tense once again. They are always tense, but the situation is a bit more strained than it was two weeks ago. It is likely to continue becoming more tense until the coming of the Lord, as the Scriptures say that Jerusalem and Israel will be a cup of trembling in the last days.

There are many interesting developments happening, and we could discuss the various trends we are observing in the world. Some of these trends align with what I believe the Scriptures predict will come to pass. However, tonight, I want to consider another aspect of prophecy: didactic prophecy, where God speaks to us.

As we step into a new year, many people set resolutions and identify things they want to change or do differently. Peter tells us that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. If you want to live this life successfully, prosperously, and in a godly manner, the Scriptures are the place to look. The prophets have much to say about how God desires us to live.

I want us to look at the last book of the Old Testament tonight, the book of Malachi. Please turn in your Bibles to the book of Malachi. This book was written during the time after the children of Israel were exiled in Babylon. For those of you who have studied the history of the children of Israel in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, you know that during the time of the kings, the children of Israel drifted away from God.

And they did all the things that God told them not to do. If you read through Deuteronomy chapter 27, God gives them a long list of "if you do this, then this is the blessing that you're going to receive." He provides a list of blessings and a list of curses. They followed everything that would result in cursing.

You didn't have to be a really spectacular prophet to look at what God had said and observe how the nation was being run. It was clear that if they were doing these things, and God said that doing these things would lead to curses, then a curse was coming. The children of Israel departed from God, and their kings departed from God as well. The nation was split into two: a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. The northern kingdom was destroyed during the time of Isaiah the prophet. The Assyrians took them away, and they became the lost tribes of the nation of Israel.

A couple of hundred years later, the nation of Judah in the south, the southern tribes of the kingdom of Israel, were also destroyed by the invading armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian. You can read about that especially in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. Consider what was happening in the nation when these events occurred. Nebuchadnezzar came in and took away the children of Israel, leading them into captivity.

While they were there, Daniel realized that they would be in captivity for a specified period of time. Because of the prophecies of God through the prophet Jeremiah, he knew they would be there for seventy years. At the end of those seventy years, another king arose, Cyrus, the king of the Medo-Persian Empire. He gave the children of Israel an opportunity to return to the land of Israel.

About 50,000 people went back to the land of Israel to rebuild after their time in Babylon. A few years later, Daniel died in Babylon, but he watched as his countrymen were allowed to return and rebuild. You would think that those who returned would stand strong, be righteous, and follow the Lord, especially after being in captivity and knowing they had gone into captivity because of their own sin.

However, they became very religious. In fact, it was from that group of people who returned to the land of Israel that the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees emerged. These were the hyper-religious groups we find in the New Testament.

While they were back in the land, they didn't follow God perfectly. And who does? How many of us have followed God perfectly? By the time we get to the book of Malachi, we find that it is about 400 to 430 years before Jesus comes. God is about to no longer speak to His people; He is about to be silent. So, He speaks one last time to the children of Israel through the prophet Malachi. The name Malachi means "my messenger," and God sends His messenger with a message to the people.

It is a very interesting message, and I want us to consider some of the things that this prophet says to a people who were departing from God in their hearts and turning away from Him. Why is it important for us to study this? Because I believe that as we look at our own nation, we see that similar things are happening. Man has largely turned away from God, and even in the church, many people are drifting away from Him. The Bible says very clearly that in the last days, there will be a great apostasy, a departure where people leave the faith. Yet, there is always a remnant—a small group that continues to follow after the Lord.

God gave a promise through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 7 that a remnant would return. Even within the body of Christ today, I believe that God has a remnant, and I hope that we are part of that remnant. Amen? If we are, then I believe that we should take note of the things that God says to us and the things that He calls us to do.

Look at what God says through His messenger, Malachi. In Malachi chapter 1, verse 1, it says it is God's burden to His people. Now, Israel was a nation, and that is specifically in context who He is talking to. However, Israel also means "governed by God." Therefore, I believe that we can take this as a word of the Lord to us, who are His people, governed by the Lord.

He says to them in verse 2, "I have loved you," says the Lord, "yet you say, wherein have you loved us?" What we will see in this book, in these short four chapters, are seven questions that the children of Israel pose to God. These questions are kind of accusations against Him. They ask, "Wherein have you loved us?" God responds, "I have loved you," just as He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Once again, God reiterates His truth.

To these people, I have loved you. They responded, "Wherein have you loved us?" The first question they have for God pertains to their denial of His love. If you're taking notes, they denied God's love. They said, "The Lord doesn't love us. Wherein have you loved us?"

I believe I've shared this story before, but I remember several years back, right after 2001, after 9/11. Eric, Rick Kierstedt, Mark Cato, and I went to New York. I remember very clearly one of the days we were in New York; we were down at 42nd Street, right near Times Square, where they were having a huge party that night. We were passing out tracts, but most specifically, we were distributing pieces of paper that simply said "Need Prayer" on them, along with a phone number for people to call the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which had set up a prayer line. It was an opportunity for people to receive prayer.

Rick handed one of these papers to a lady who was walking by. She looked like she had just gone shopping, dressed as perfectly as one could be. After she had walked a few feet away, she turned around with tears streaming down her face and told Rick, "God has forsaken us; He doesn't love us." She was a Jew living in New York, and she expressed, "The Lord doesn't love us; God doesn't love us; He has forsaken us." In her mind, considering all the things she had seen or studied about her heritage and the events that have transpired for the Jewish people, especially over the last 2,000 years, she believed that God doesn't love them and has forsaken them.

As we talked with her, all I could think of was that verse in Jeremiah: "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Then here in Malachi chapter 1, it states, "I have loved you." Notice that He doesn't say, "I did love you" or "Maybe one day I'll love you." He says, "I have loved you," yet they deny His love. They said, "No, Lord, you haven't loved us. Wherein have you loved us? How do we see your love?"

God answers them in a very unique way. He says, "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" says the Lord. "Yet I loved Jacob." We see this in the Old Testament in Genesis, and we also see it again in the book of Romans and in Hebrews, where God states, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Many people struggle with the idea of God saying He hates someone, and perhaps you are sitting here tonight thinking, "Wait a minute, how could God say, 'I hated Esau'?"

I don't have a hard time with that because I have studied Esau. I have looked at the book of Genesis and examined what the Bible says about Esau in Hebrews chapter 12, where he is described as a wicked and profane man who refused to repent and turn to God. Therefore, God says...

I have hated Esau, so I don't have a problem with God saying, "I hated Esau." I have more of a problem with saying, "I loved Jacob." Why? Read Genesis. Jacob was a scoundrel; the guy was a deceiver. He was not a perfect person at all. He stole his brother's birthright and ultimately stole from his father-in-law, Laban. He's just not the best character in the Bible.

Now, ultimately, what happened? Well, he repented. Esau refused to repent, but we see repentance in the life of Jacob. So God says, "I have loved Jacob." They came from the same family; they both came from the line of Abraham. Yet God says, "Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated." The people of Israel then ask, "Lord, how have you loved us?" He responds, "Well, this is one of the ways. I loved Jacob and I hated Esau."

In verse 3, God says, "I laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness to be dwelt by just those that are out in the wilderness." Whereas Edom says, "We are impoverished, but we will return and build in the desolate places." Thus says the Lord God of hosts: "They shall build, but I will throw down, and they shall call them the border of wickedness and the people against whom the Lord has indignation forever." God will have indignation forever against Esau and his descendants, the Edomites.

You can look around the world today, and I'm pretty sure you won't find an Edomite. Why? Because God has completely judged them and has completely destroyed them in His wrath because they hated God and refused to repent. God destroyed them, but in doing so, He reveals His love for His people, the children of Israel.

How so? Well, Israel was not perfect, and yet God loved them. Their nation was destroyed by the Babylonians, and yet God allowed them to rebuild. Their nation would again be destroyed after this point by the Romans in A.D. 70, and yet today we see their land being rebuilt again. In this, we see God's love.

I have to be honest with you; I don't fully comprehend or understand it because the nation of Israel is not at all a perfect nation. The things that we see going on in Israel today are not righteous. They don't follow God; they have largely rejected Him. There are Jews today who know the Lord and follow Him; they call themselves Messianic Jews. However, largely, the nation of Israel is a secular nation that has departed from God.

The Bible reveals that one day they are going to rebuild a temple, but it's not going to be God's temple. He is not going to inhabit that temple; it's going to be a pagan temple. Now, it's a sign to you and me: if we see that temple being built, look up.

Your redemption draws nigh, but that's not a temple that is going to be inhabited by the Lord. Why? Well, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that you and I are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and so He dwells in you and me. However, God's love for the children of Israel, the nation of Israel, is still there, apart from how good or bad they are. I'm thankful for that because I'm not perfect. You can ask my wife; she'll tell you I'm not perfect, and none of you here tonight are perfect either. Yet, God still loves us with an everlasting love and continues to love us.

One of the sins that God judged His people, the nation of Israel, for was denying His love. I believe that they still have some of that judgment abiding upon them today because they deny His love. How was God's love demonstrated? We see it in the cross of Calvary, and they have denied that, thus denying the Lord's love. He says, "I have loved you," but they respond, "Wherein have you loved us?" He reveals His love in the way that He has tended to them and taken care of them, yet He destroyed those who were not His, the people of Edom.

In verse 5, it says, "And your eyes shall see, and you shall say, the Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel." That is a day I am looking forward to, where God will be magnified from the border of Israel. It's not going to happen until the Lord returns and establishes His kingdom, but it will happen one day.

Now, look at verse 6. He says, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my fear?" says the Lord of hosts to you people, to you, O priests, who despise my name. They respond, "Wherein have we despised your name?"

Here is the second question. God says to them, "You have despised my name," and they ask, "Wherein have we despised your name?" First, they denied God's love. Secondly, they despised God's name, His nature, His character, who He was. They question how they could possibly have despised His name.

He answers their question in verse 7: "You have polluted bread upon my altar," or "offer polluted bread on my altar." They respond, "Wherein have we polluted thee?" In that you say, "The table of the Lord is contemptible." Not only did they deny God's love in verse 2, but we also see that they despised God's name. When they ask, "How have we despised your name?" God responds, "This is how you've despised my name: by, thirdly, defiling my table. You've defiled my table."

He says, "You have denied my love, you've despised my name, you've defiled my table." The people responded, "Well, how have we done that?" He answers their question by stating that they said, "The table of the Lord is contemptible. The table of the Lord is a common thing."

How had they done that? Look at verse 8: "If you offer the blind for a sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to your governor. Will he be pleased and accept your person?" says the Lord of hosts. God tells His people, "You've defiled my table. You've looked at it as just a common and contemptible thing, and you've offered blind sacrifices to me."

What does this mean? The children of Israel were called upon by God to bring a sacrifice to Him at the temple in Jerusalem. Yet, the people had defiled God's table. They would go out among their flocks and look for a sheep that was bumping into a rock or something. It was one that was lame, blind, or falling apart. Maybe it had a runny nose and looked sick. They would think, "Yeah, let's give that one to God. We want that out of the flock. We're going to get rid of that one. We don't want that one breeding; that's not one we want to keep."

So, they would take that which was second best, and not even second best—it was more like the worst. They would take what they would typically just get rid of and offer it to God. In reality, they were to bring their first fruits; they were to bring their best to God. Instead, they came to God with that which was defiled.

He says, "Hey, offer it to your governor, the guy who taxes you. See if he likes that. If you bring him that which is blind and lame, do you think he's going to say, 'Bravo, good job'?" God says, "And yet that's what you've done with me. You've brought these things that are contemptible, and it shows how much you value God's sacrifice. It shows how much you value God's character and who He is."

They had denied God's love, despised His name, and defiled His table. God gives them an exhortation in verse 9 on how they ought to respond to what He was saying: "Now I pray you beseech God that He will be gracious unto us. This has been by your means. Will He regard your person?" says the Lord of hosts. "Who is there among you that would shut the doors? Neither do you kindle fire on my altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you," says the Lord of hosts, "neither will I accept an offering at your hand."

Basically, what God says is clear.

To the people in verse 10, God expresses that if they are going to worship Him in such a manner, He would much rather they close the doors of the temple. There is no point in bringing this kind of worship or sacrifice to Him because He is not pleased with it. This is exactly what God told the children of Israel before they went into captivity in Babylon. In Isaiah chapter 1, He tells them that He no longer wants their offerings. Their incense has become an abomination to Him. He instructs them not to bring these vain oblations any longer.

Why? Their worship had become wickedness. Their hearts were removed from the Lord; they had departed from Him, yet they continued in a show of religion. They had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof, just as we see in 2 Timothy. They approached God with this form of godliness, but God says, "I don't need this; I don't want this," because it comes from a wicked heart and defiled hands. Their hands have been defiled with blood.

In another place in Isaiah, God states that if they come and bring Him a wicked offering, such as a sacrifice of a lamb, it is like sacrificing a dog. It is akin to bringing something putrid before Him. He declares that He does not want this any longer. Through Malachi, He tells these people—who are the good ones, the ones from whom the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees came—that on the outside they appear to be doing everything right. Yet, He tells this group, "I don't want your sacrifice. I wish that one of the priests would just close the doors on the operation because I am not pleased with this. I have no pleasure, saith the Lord, neither will I accept an offering at your hand."

In verse 11, God proclaims, "For from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles." Notice that; it is an awesome prophecy of the gospel of God coming to you and me. For the most part, sitting in this room tonight, we are probably not Jews; most of us are Gentiles. From the rising of the sun to the setting thereof, which is from east to west around the entire world, God says, "My name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place, incense shall be offered unto my name."

While we do not specifically offer incense here in this church by burning it on an altar and allowing the smoke to fill the room, Revelation tells us that our prayers rise to God as incense. Therefore, we have a great opportunity to bring that incense before the Lord through prayer. In every place, incense shall be offered.

Unto my name, and pure offering, for my name shall be great among the heathens, saith the Lord of hosts. But you have profaned it in that you say, "The table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible." Now, they may not have said that with their words, but they did so with their actions. The way that they offered these things to God revealed that they didn't value who He was or what He had required of them.

You said also, "Behold, what weariness is it?" And you have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts, and you brought that which was torn and lame and sick. Thus, you brought an offering. Should I accept this at your hand, saith the Lord? But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male and vows and sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing, for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

He says, "It's a curse to you if you have that which is good to give to the Lord and you refuse to give it." He says, "If you have in your flock a male goat and you instead bring that which is lame, it's a curse upon you."

Then we read down in chapter 2, verse 1, "And now, O you priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear and if you will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already because you do not lay it to heart. You don't listen to what I'm telling you to do. Behold, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces." That's a pretty picture, even the dung of the solemn feasts.

One shall take you away with it, and you shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace, and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name.

God says, "I called the Levites to be my priests because of the way they revered me, the way they reverenced me back in the book of Exodus." The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and iniquity and did not turn or did turn many away from iniquity.

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have departed out of the way. You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted.

The covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Basically, what God says to this people is that even your priests have departed from the right way. The Levites were that tribe that followed the Lord and reverenced Him in the book of Exodus when all the rest of the nation turned towards worshipping the golden calf. They were the ones who sought the Lord, and they were the ones who turned away the iniquity of the people on that day—the day of Pentecost, really. When they went in with their swords, 3,000 fell that day after Moses had come down off Mount Sinai.

But now God says, "You have departed from me. You have turned away, and instead of causing people to walk after me, you have caused people to turn away." Therefore, I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as you have not kept my ways but have been partial in the law. You've kind of kept the law partially. You've looked at the law of God and said, "I like this one, but I don't really care for this one. This one's good, but I'm not going to keep that one."

Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother by profaning the covenant of our fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord, which He loved, and has married the daughter of a strange God.

The Lord will cut off the man that does this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offers an offering unto the Lord of hosts. God says, "If you do this wickedness that we're going to talk about in just a moment, I'm going to cut you off, and it doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter if you're a scholar, one of the learned, or a master, one of the teachers. It doesn't matter even if you're a priest, one who offers the offering."

And this have you done again: covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that He regards not the offering anymore or receives it with goodwill at your hand. Yet you say, "Wherefore?" Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously. Yet is she your companion and the wife of your covenant? And did not He make one? Yet had He residue of the Spirit, and whereof one that He might seek a godly seed? Therefore, take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously.

Against the wife of his youth, the Lord God of Israel says He hates the putting away. For one covers violence with his garments, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore, take heed to your spirit that you deal not treacherously. You have wearied the Lord with your words, yet you say, "Wherein have we wearied Him?" When you say, "Everyone that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord," and "He delights in them," or "Where is the God of judgment?"

Now, all that to say this: these people, the children of Israel at this time, after the exile, had denied God's love. They were those who had despised His name by offering wicked sacrifices and defiling His table. But here in chapter 2, we see that they distorted God's word. The Levites had left their wives; the Levites had divorced their wives. God says here, "I hate the putting away. I hate divorce."

Why is it that God has called for marriage? We see the very clear picture here if you read carefully. What is it that God was calling for and desiring in marriage? Why did He give to Adam, Eve? Notice what He says in verse 15: "And did not He make one? Yet had He the residue of the Spirit? And wherefore one?" Why did God bring them together and make them one? That He might seek a godly seed or a godly heritage. It's God's desire through marriage to bring forth a godly heritage.

But these Levites, those who were supposed to be the godly people, were chief among the people in departing from their wives. Not only that, they justified their actions by distorting God's word. In verse 17, it says, "You have wearied the Lord with your words, yet you say, 'Wherein have we wearied Him?'" He says, "When you say, 'Everyone that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord,' and 'He, God, delights in them,' where is the God of judgment?"

You see, they distorted the word of God. They said it was okay for them to do this thing when they were divorcing their wives and departing from what the Lord had called them to. They said it was okay when they were taking bribes, the priests there. They said it was okay when the people were bringing offerings that were lame and blind. They called evil good and good evil. They put light for darkness.

For darkness and darkness for light, just as God said, judgment would come upon those who do those things in Isaiah chapter 5. They denied God's love, despised His name, defiled His table, and distorted His word. Furthermore, we find in chapter 3 that they departed from God's law.

Behold, I will send my messenger, says the Lord, and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, says the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and a fuller's soap. He shall sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering of righteousness.

Notice how Malachi, speaking the word of the Lord, starts chapter 3. God says, "Behold, I'm going to send my messenger. He is going to come before and prepare the way before me." Who is this messenger that comes to prepare the way before the Lord? John the Baptist. The messenger prepares the way before the messenger of the covenant. Who is the messenger of the covenant? Jesus. Remember what He said there in John chapter 13 as they partook of communion on that great night that He was betrayed: "This is the blood of the new covenant." So Jesus is the messenger of the covenant in verse 1, and John is the messenger that goes before Him.

He will come to His temple, the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in, and He shall come, says the Lord of hosts. But when He comes, notice how He comes. He comes in verse 2 as a refiner's fire and a fuller's soap. He comes to cleanse and restore. He shall sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and He shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver. Why does God purge them? That they may offer to the Lord an offering of righteousness.

You see, right now they were offering a wicked offering to the Lord. But here He says, "You will offer a righteous offering." Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the days of old, as in the former years. I will come near to you for judgment, and I will be...

A swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers, the false swearers, and those who oppress the hireling and his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, says the Lord of hosts. God says, "I will come, I will rule, and I will reign. For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed."

I want you to highlight that verse there, verse six. Put an exclamation point next to your neighbor's Bible in verse six: "I am the Lord and I change not." I love that this is spoken by God in the last book of the Old Testament, just before He doesn't speak for 400 years.

You see, there are a lot of people, especially in the church in America today, who think that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. They think that the God of the Old Testament was kind of like a teenage boy walking around high school, ready to throw down and beat up anybody who gets in His way. They imagine Him getting ready to throw road tar at people from heaven, like He did in Sodom and Gomorrah. They think that the God of the Old Testament is mean and full of indignation, wrath, and anger.

In contrast, they view the God of the New Testament as a nice, sweet figure, with really nice flowing brownish-blonde hair and blue eyes. They see Him as someone who is just really kind of cool, with a sweet goatee, and someone you would love to hang out with. But that's not what the Scriptures declare. God says here, "I am the Lord and I do not change."

Jesus says something very similar in the book of Revelation, chapter one: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the one who was and is and is to come. I don't change. I'm the same yesterday, today, and forever," says the Lord.

So God reminds His people, "I am the Lord and I do not change. That's why you're not consumed." What does He mean by that? Well, you see, sometimes we have a tendency to change our minds or our way of thinking, don't we? Sometimes we may allow someone, maybe your children, to do something, but then one day you change and say, "Nope, I'm going to take you out now and discipline you." Thank God that He is not like that. God doesn't change. He made a covenant with His people, and He will stand strong upon His covenant, even though they break it. He is the Lord.

He changes not, and that's why they are not consumed. That's the same for you and me today as well. God has been gracious to us, hasn't He? But how many of you— you don't have to raise your hand for this— but how many of you sinned this last week? Aren't you thankful that God doesn't change? After He has given you grace, He doesn't say, "You know what? Man, you've done that 20 times this week. That's over." Or like Peter thought, "Shall I forgive my brother seven times?" Aren't you glad that God doesn't just forgive you seven times and then on the eighth time say, "Well, you had your chance"? He is a gracious God, a merciful God, and He delights in those who will turn to Him.

I am the Lord, and I change not; therefore, the sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers, you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. He says, "Even from the very beginning, you've walked contrary to Me; you've rebelled. You've not kept My ordinances, but return unto Me, and I will return unto you."

People are often looking for grace in the Old Testament. You won't see grace in the Old Testament if you never read it. But when you read the Old Testament, you find that God is a gracious and merciful God from Genesis to Revelation. He desires that none should perish. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to what? Repentance. And here, what does He say? "Return unto Me, and I will return unto you."

James says something very similar in the New Testament: "Draw near to God, and He will what? Draw near to you." But notice what the people say to God after He says this: "But you said, wherein shall we return unto you?" This is the fifth question. They had departed from God's law, but they didn't see it. They didn't recognize it. They said, "Wherein shall we return unto you?"

Then God shows them how they had departed from Him. He says to them in verse 8, "Will you rob God? Yet you have robbed Me." But they say, "Wherein have we robbed you?" Not only had they departed from God's law and didn't understand how, but now God answers them and shows them, "This is one of the ways that you've departed from Me." They asked, "How have we departed from you?" And He says, "In your tithes and your offerings."

Not only had they departed from God's law, but they had deprived God's house. This is not something that people typically like to talk about: the tithe and the offering. To be quite honest, it's not something that we discuss very often here at Calvary Chapel. However, it is something that the Scriptures talk about. In fact, God addresses it quite a bit. There are 2,100 verses on giving in the Bible. One in ten of the verses in the New Testament deal with giving. Sixteen of the thirty-eight kingdom parables that Jesus spoke about deal with money or giving.

I don't know if you're noticing, but there is a lot of discussion about tithes, offerings, and giving to the Lord in the Scriptures. It's mentioned quite frequently. Before we delve deeper into this topic, I want you to note something important: giving is not God's way of raising money. Please write that in your notes. Giving is not God's way of raising money; it's God's way of raising children.

How so? Well, God is the supreme giver. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He is the perfect giver. He gives all things liberally and without reproach, as stated in James chapter 1. He gives to those who ask Him. "Ask, seek, and knock," He tells us in the Gospels. Therefore, He is a giver, and giving is not God's way of raising money. God is not poor; I hope you recognize that and know it.

Several years ago, there was a televangelist on TV saying that if you don't give a certain amount of money, then God's ministry will not be able to move forward. That's a lie; it's not true. God's ministry still goes forward without all that money. However, He has given us commands in the Scripture that deal with giving, and here is one of them. He says to these people, "You've denied my love, you've despised my name, you have defiled my table, you've distorted my word, you've departed from my law, and you have deprived my house."

They responded, "How have we deprived your house? How have we robbed you?" He answers, "In your tithes and in your offerings." As a result of this, He says, "You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation." Because you have robbed me, He says, "You are cursed with a curse." He then gives them an exhortation in verse 10: "Bring you all the tithes."

Into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house. He says, "Bring the tithe into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house and prove me herewith," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open a window in heaven and pour out a blessing that you shall not have room enough to receive it."

Now, before we move forward, I want to talk for just a moment about this whole idea of tithes and offerings because there's a big question within the church, especially the New Testament church, about this whole issue. I've heard a lot of different people tell me over the years that tithing was Old Testament but it's not New Testament. They say we are not to do that; we don't do that in the New Testament. We give freewill offerings in the New Testament, yes, I agree. We give charity offerings or love gifts to the Lord in the New Testament, yes, I agree. But they'll say the tithe is not New Testament because that's the law.

I want to take a step back for a moment. The law was given to Moses in Exodus chapter 20. The tithe was given to God by Abraham in Genesis, back when he met Melchizedek in Genesis chapter 14, 400 years before Moses came along. So, the tithe was before the law. It was also reiterated by God in the law that there was a tithe that was given in the nation of Israel, but I want to share something with you that you may not know.

In the Old Testament, under the law, the tithe was more than 10%. There was 10% given to the Levites, 10% given to the temple, and every three years, there was a tenth part given to provide for the poor and the widows. This equaled out to about 3.3% every single year. So, every year, there was 23% that was dedicated to God. But there was a tenth part that we see Abraham give in Genesis chapter 14 to the Lord—a tenth part of all that he had, of his first fruits unto the Lord.

So, it was before the law, but then people will say, "But it's not in the New Testament; Jesus never talked about the tithe." Hold on a second; he did. In Matthew chapter 23, you may want to turn there just briefly. In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus is speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees, the very same people that God was speaking to here in Malachi. As Jesus is speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees, I believe eight times he says to them...

In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces a woe to the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites. Notice what He says in verse 23: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay the tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and you have omitted the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith."

People often say that Jesus talked about the tithe and condemned those who keep it. However, that's not what He said. He said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees," because you tithe on your spices. Imagine that—nine pieces of salt for me, one for the Lord; nine pieces of pepper for me, one for the Lord. They were serious about the tithe, obviously. One-tenth was to the Lord.

Jesus continues, saying, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithe on your spices, but you have omitted the weightier matters of the law. You refuse to keep judgment, mercy, and faith." But notice what Jesus says at the end: "These ought you have done, and not leave the other undone." He emphasizes that you should keep judgment, mercy, and faith, but He also says not to neglect the tithe.

We see that the concept of tithing existed before the law, and Jesus spoke about it. Paul also addresses it in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. He speaks about giving out of love for the Lord because "the earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Have you ever realized that? Everything you have is God's. Everything that I have is the Lord's. That's not just my money; that's every talent, gift, and ability. Everything I have is something that is God's, and He has given it to me, desiring that I would use it for Him.

The tithe involves our finances and the things we earn with our gifts and talents, but it also involves our time. I firmly believe that if you're going to grow in Christ, you have to be willing to give of your energy, your assets, and your time. If anyone wants to grow physically, they have to eat, right? Well, there's a good acronym for you: EAT—Energy, Assets, and Time. If you're giving of your energy, assets, and time to the Lord, you will grow.

This night is kind of an important night for me because ten years ago tonight, I was at a camp.

Our youth camp was a significant moment for me. I had just stepped away from Bible college after attending for one semester. I told you on Sunday that I dropped out of Bible college. I stopped going to Bible college and found myself at this camp up in Big Bear, where our youth are going to go this weekend. It was there at that camp that I was preparing to come on staff here at this church as an intern. That was the beginning of it all—January 1st, 1999.

Now, here we stand on the eve of January 1st, 2009, ten years later. I look back and see all the things that God has done in my life to grow me. For those of you who knew me back then, you know that God has grown me quite a bit. He has changed me significantly. A big part of that growth has to do with the energy, assets, and time I have dedicated to serving the Lord. I have seen how God has grown me in His work as I have given my life to Him, saying, "Lord, take me as You will. Whatever You want to do, it's Yours. Wherever You want to go, however You want to use it."

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it; my life is His, and your life is His. Our interests are revealed by our investments. The interest is in the investment. This past year, as we are about to finish, 750 million dollars was given to a political campaign for a desire for change. That's a lot of money—750 million dollars—because people want change.

Listen, I can tell you very honestly tonight that true, lasting change comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the one who transforms and changes lives. Where the gospel has gone, it has brought transformation. When I say the interest is in the investment, I mean that if you are invested in the stock market—though this year probably wasn't a good one—you will be interested in the stock market. If you have assets in the Dow Jones, you will be interested in the numbers every single day.

If you're invested in the California State Lottery, which is a topic for another day, your interest will be in the numbers. What do the numbers say? Where your investment is, your interest will be.

Invested in the kingdom of God, if you're invested in His work and what He's doing, I guarantee your interest is going to be in the things of God. God speaks to this group of people at this time and says, "You've denied my love, you've despised my name, you've defiled my table, you've distorted my word, you've departed from my law, you've deprived my house."

As we finish up here, He says, "I will rebuke." He continues, "If you bring the tithes and the offerings into the storehouse and you prove me herewith, I will open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon you." Now, I'm not saying, as has been said by many health, wealth, and prosperity teachers, that if you give, God will give back to you. That's not at all what I'm saying. However, God does promise a blessing to those who are invested in His kingdom. There is interest that comes to those who are invested in His kingdom.

One last thing on this before we move on: notice that He said to bring the tithes into the storehouse so that there may be meat in His house. What is the storehouse? It's the place where the sheep eat. Bring the tithe into the storehouse, your local church first, and I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes. He shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

You see, the people during that day were having a problem. They would go out and plant a field, and they would reap hardly anything from it. They got nothing back for all the work of their hands; there were hardly any dividends paid. They would plant a vineyard and hardly get any joy or wine from it. God says that's because the devourer is in your midst. They were going out and reaping everything, and it was as if they put their money in a bag with holes in it, and everything was gone.

Have you ever felt like that? I know a lot of people who say, "Listen, I'm strapped and I'm running on a budget, and if I give, I just can't afford to pay the bills." I've talked with many different people over the years who say that. Might I suggest that the scripture found here in Malachi gives us an indication as to why that is? It's because your focus, your investment, is wrong, and the devourer is taking it away. I've got to be honest with you; it's very clear: money goes into the bank, and all of a sudden, it's gone. It's like the devourer came, it's devoured, and it's gone.

I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, the fruit of your labor. Neither shall the vine cast her fruit before the time, says the Lord of hosts. All the nations shall call you blessed, and you shall be a delightsome land, says the Lord of hosts.

Your words have been stout against me. In verse 13, God says, "Yet you say, wherein have we spoken much against you?" The last thing that we see from these people is that they defamed God's character. Their words had been against the Lord; they had defamed His character. They said, "It is a vain thing to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?"

Now we call the proud happy. Yes, they that work wickedness are set up, and they that tempt God are even delivered. You see, this was the mindset of the people. They said serving God is foolish, it's futile, it's empty. Why? Because it doesn't profit us anything. They said, "I'm not getting anything out of it." They only served God for what they could get; they only gave for what they could get.

As I mentioned on Sunday, that's no different than greed. If the only reason we give is so that I can get something out of it, it's greed. That's how these people were, and as a result of this, they weren't receiving anything from the Lord. They started to say it doesn't pay to serve God; it doesn't pay to follow Him.

"We've kept His ordinances; we've walked mournfully before Him, and yet it's worth nothing to us." They thought it might as well be that they could just be proud and arrogant because the proud are happy, and those that work wickedness are the ones who seem to have everything. They are set up for life.

Sometimes we can get into that mindset, can't we? We see that in Psalm 73. The psalmist looked around the nation and said, "Man, the wicked are the ones that prosper. The ones that do evil are set up for life." His foot almost slipped, and he was pretty much in despair because he looked around, and everybody that seemed to be wicked seemed to be doing just fine.

Until he went to the house of the Lord, it says in Psalm 73 that he saw their end. He recognized that there is an appointed day for all to die, but these people defamed God's character.

By saying there's no sense in serving the Lord, some might wonder why we should serve Him if we don't get anything for it. However, those who feared the Lord spoke often to one another. In verse 16, it says that the Lord heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and thought upon His name.

I want you to notice that verse 16. It states that those who feared the Lord caught God's attention. He listened to them when they spoke about Him and how good He was. How many of your moms kept a baby book? You look through that baby book and find little notes about the first time you smiled, the first time you took a step, your first haircut, and your first lost tooth. All these different things made them so proud of you.

Notice this: our God, our Father in heaven, takes notice when His people fear Him, follow Him, and speak of His name. It says there that a book of remembrance is kept before Him. He keeps a scrapbook of you and me and the way we live for Him. A book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord and thought upon His name. He says, "They shall be mine," saith the Lord of hosts, "in that day when I make my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son that serves him."

Then shall He return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves not. For behold, the day comes that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall be stubble. The day that comes shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Remember, the mindset of the people was that it was vain to serve God. They thought it might as well be better to be proud and wicked because they seemed to be the ones who prospered. But God says, "No, remember there's a day coming when the proud and the wicked shall be burned up, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch; they will be completely consumed."

But unto you that fear My name, the Son of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. What are calves of the stall? They are fat, happy sheep. You shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under your soles.

Of your feet, and in that day, I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send before you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth.

I know the things that are in this passage are not easy to wrestle with. The passage before us here in Malachi shows God speaking openly, honestly, and frankly. I'm so glad He does, though, because it is God's desire that we live eternally with Him and that we walk with Him today. He is not willing that any should perish, and these people during Malachi's time were on a road to ruin. God said, "I don't want to see you be ruined. I'm not willing that any should perish."

So, He was willing to come and speak the difficult words, willing to speak those things that might hurt or offend, so that the people would be right with Him. It is not my intent or desire to get you to give more by teaching this. It is not my intent or desire to shame you by teaching this in any way. My desire is that you and I, as we go into 2009 in just a few hours, would be those that the Lord keeps a record of.

When we stand before the Lord one day, there will be a big book before you and before me because we feared Him and followed Him. There is a great baby book, so to speak, for you in heaven. That is my desire for you: that you and I would grow closer to the Lord in 2009 than ever before, and that there would be a testimony of our church that we are those who serve, follow, and fear the Lord in a time when many are departing from Him.

May He do that work, perfect that work in us, because it is His work. Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. Father, I thank You.

For this passage of Scripture, I pray that you would, by Your Spirit, apply it to our hearts. Lord, I thank You that You are a loving Father who speaks stern words of correction when we're not going in the right way. But, Lord, You also are a gentle Father who tends to us. You're that great Shepherd who seeks us out when we're lost, when we've gone astray. You're the one who binds up our wounds, Lord, and holds us close.

I look forward to the awesome and great things that You are going to do with each and every one of my brothers and sisters here as we step into a new year. Lord, I pray that You would enable us, by Your Spirit, to stand strong and be bright, shining lights in this community, in our homes, in our work environment, wherever we are. That You would shine brightly and be exalted in the things that we say and do. For we ask it in the mighty and precious name of Jesus. Amen, and thank You.