Return To Me - Part 1 by Kevin Allen February 26, 2026 ยท Centerpointe Apostolic Church (Murfreesboro, TN) Kind: sermon Scripture: Malachi 1:1, Malachi 1:2, Luke 14:26, Romans 9:10-13, Malachi 1, Malachi 1:6-14, 2 Samuel 24:22-25, John 4:21-24 Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kevin-allen--return-to-me-part-1 Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page. Free to copy and share with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------ We are going to be starting a new series tonight and I'm excited about that. We're going to be doing a deep dive into the book of Malachi and I'm hoping to set things up for that. I know sometimes when you say the book of Malachi immediately everybody's like, "Oh, he's going to be talking about tithes and offerings." Well, >> amen. >> Yeah. I I mean, I'm going to get there because it's in the book, but I want you to know there's a whole lot more meat in that book besides that. it's a shame if that's all we know about the book of Malachi is what he talks about in chapter 3 because chapters one and two are really good. And hopefully I can set that up for us tonight. And you'll agree with me as well. So, if you have your copies of the scripture, we're going to be spending most of our time in Malachi tonight and talking about this. So, I want us to kind of go on a journey together. , and what we're going to see here in this is not a program or or a theme, but what I feel like is evident by reading Malachi and studying out is God is asking right there on the very cusp of just begging, "Will you return to me? Will you come back to me?" And I don't know about you, but that kind of kind of gets me when I think about the God of all >> is desiring a relationship with me. >> I mean, if you just sit in that for a minute, it's pretty powerful. Pretty powerful that he loves you and I that much that he's willing to to go to great lengths in it. So, in this new series, as we start this new year, call and return to me. It's rooted here in the book of Malachi, but Malachi wasn't sent to comfort people. And I know that seems a little bit countercultural in the religious world of mainstream Christianity today. It seems like there's so much that's being pushed across about you feeling better about yourself. And God doesn't want you necessarily to feel bad, but he loves you enough to point out a wrong. And that's where we got to take self-inventory and make sure that we are where we need to be. And this is what's going on in Malachi's day is he's coming in not to comfort. He had a very tough job. He was sent to deliver not just good news. And he wasn't there to offer a blessing, but he was there to correct the people of Israel from turning away from God and for mistreating each other. I don't know about you, but kind of sounds like the world we're in today. A lot a lot of people are turning away from God. A lot of people are very self-centered, self-focused. It's it's very much a me feeling world right now. God's still speaking to us. Now, one thing I like about Malachi is he's a sharp guy. If you read the book of Malachi and walk away and not think to yourself, man, this guy, he's pretty he's pretty good. He's he's he's quick on his feet. Then I would encourage you to go back and reread it and go slow. So what I'm going to ask at the very beginning of this tonight is for you to to think with me through this process. Just allow the word of God to settle in your heart and mind and ask yourself, could Malachi still speaking to us today? Because the answer to that question is yes. He's still speaking to us. The word of God is alive and well. So from the opening of the book, Malachi 1:1, it says this to me, to me, he's just setting the tone. Listen to these words, okay? The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. The burden, you can't just skip over that word. Well, if you do, you really need to go back and sit in it for a minute. He didn't come and say, "Hey, I got an opinion." Malachi didn't even show up and say, "Hey, I've noticed." He didn't say, "This is my observation." But he starts the book off by saying the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. That word burden matters because you got to pause and comprehend. It means weight and pressure, something heavy enough to be felt. It's important as we start to understand this wasn't a devotional thought. This wasn't just a casual impression that he had. He is he's eat up with this to the point that he's willing to stick himself out there to be criticized, to be scrutinized, but he can't be quiet for what he feels. This is the weight of heaven pressing into human hearts. When God speaks, center point, it carries gravity. It demands attention and it requires a response. We cannot be passive when we hear the word of God. >> I'm g say that again. We cannot be passive when we hear the word of God. We have to be active. >> Active in hearing it. Active in applying it. Active in searching out what it means for me. That's why we got to be very careful that we're not casual when we make statements like, "Well, God told me." I'm I'm going to say this from from a from a pastor's standpoint. If you come to me and before you've invited me to help you pray about a situation, if you come to me and say, "Well, God told me I needed to move." What do you want me to do with that? Am I supposed to tell you, "No, God didn't tell you that." >> Do you realize what position that puts me in? Now, if God speaks to me in that moment or if you say, "Well, God said this," and what you what you claim God said goes directly against God's word, I'll tell you no, you're wrong because God's not going to contradict his word. But if you come up with a with a bold statement or a life change that and you say, "Well, I'm just this is what God is wanting me to do." What what do you want me to say to you? You've taken me out of the equation. And you got to be very careful that it was God telling you that >> because you're putting him out there on the line, too. >> Now, here's one thing I know he's not afraid because I'm I'm quite sure he knows what he does tell you and what he doesn't tell you. But we need to make sure we're not casual. When God speaks, it's not like conversation, ladies and gentlemen. It's holy communication. And here in the book of Malachi, from the very beginning, Malachi is not offering his opinion. And he's coming with a burden that God has placed on his heart for Israel. It's from God. He's delivering God's message to a people who had drifted not in rebellion. Please listen. I got to set this up and if you missed this at the beginning, it's not going to make sense. They had drifted. They were not being rebellious. They had drifted in what were they were familiar with. This is where it gets important for us who've been a part of a church for a while is that we need to be careful. And I hope I can pull this out of the scripture the way I feel like it's in my spirit tonight. that we must be careful because we can we can become so comfortable and familiar with the presence and the and the and the the act of going to church that it can become something that we don't put our whole heart into. And this is what was going on. We're seeing in the book of Malachi a faith that had grown tired. By the time Malachi speaks, the people have returned from exile. the best that I could come up with from my time of study. This is somewhere between 80 and 100 years after they're back. We do know the temple's been rebuilt. More than likely, this is either in the time of Nehemiah or just past the time of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall. We're close in the time period. Now, this is important because they're no longer being held captive. Okay? There was a time of captivity, a time of exile when they crowded out and then God brought them back out. They went back home. They rebuilt the temple. They rebuilt the walls. They They're going back to normal activity. Okay, this is where we got to be careful because it's just as dangerous when there is no storm as it is when there is a storm if we're not being mindful of our spiritual temperature. >> Again, that's our responsibility. I'm not responsible for your spiritual temperature and you're not responsible for mine, but I am responsible for me and you're responsible for you. Now, what we're going to see here is Malachi showing up after they've already come back. God has God has been God. He's kept his word because God always keeps his word. But the problem is they're struggling in the routine every day of life and the routine every day of going to temple and the routine every day of of what life brings. and they still have me remembrance and they still have word that tells him that things in their mind should be different. They're practicing worship without passion. They are obedient, but they're missing the awe. They have faith, but the fire has gone dim. Something's missing. Something doesn't feel right. The promise of restoration spoken by prophets like Hagi and Zachchariah have not unfolded the way they have imagined because life was still hard. I think every one of us in this room, if we're honest with ourselves, have been guilty about expecting our life to be a little bit different with God than it was without God. I think if we're honest with ourselves, it's human nature to think, well, God, I'm no longer doing A, B, C, and D that we're wrong. I'm being committed to you. I'm being faithful. I'm showing up. I'm going to the house of God. I'm giving offerings. I'm sacrificing. I'm being obedient. Why is my life turning out this way? Why am I still struggling? Why have some of these promises not come to pass? The glory that they had expected had yet to arrive. And they're struggling with this. Disappointment settled in quietly. And disappointment, if left unadressed, always erodess devotion. Again, think with me. Think about your walk with God. Think about where you are, where you have been. Has there ever been a moment, be honest with yourself. Has there ever been a moment to when things have not really went the way you wanted them to go and you found yourself being a little less than enthusiastic in your worship? Now, you showed up because you've been raised in church or you've been familiar with church, you've been you've been a part of it for a while. And if you've been here for for, you know, six months or so, maybe a year, you you kind of pick up on the routines that we have. You can kind of feel the emotions that are going on. And if you're not careful, I'm not talking about the spirit, okay? We should be spiritled, but it's amazing how much we're tuned into our emotions. >> And there's an emotional component to worship services because we're emotional people. Emotions are part of who we are. So, when we're not always ramped or tuned, excuse me, tuned in to God the way we need to be, we're not always giving God our best when it comes to the house of God, we can allow our ears to pick up on when it's the right time to say amen. And when it's the right time to go ahead and stand and raise your hands, right? You know what I'm talking about. Don't act like I'm looking at you and saying something crazy. Yeah, I've seen people half asleep amen me. If I gave them a pop quiz on what I just said, they would fail. They had just learned the moments when it feels right to say amen. They did not stop believing. They just stopped believing deeply. This doubt led them to grow careless in their worship and in their daily lives. They no longer gave God the honor he deserved and their faith had grown cold. But before Malachi addresses these issues because these need to be addressed. They're very important. He starts with a reminder of something that's very important and that was God's love for his people. Because here's a good note to write down. Before God brings correction, he always reassures his love. He is a loving God. And I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for his love. I'm thankful for his faithfulness. Knowing this is important because it sets the tone for the entire message. God's correction is always rooted in love. So we read verse number two. It says this way, I have loved you, says the Lord. So before God confronts their failure, he establishes his heart. I loved you, says the Lord. Now just leave that verse up there for me. Before correction comes confirmation and before discipline comes devotion. God anchors everything he does in love for you and I. But the response is stunning. So I love this about Malachi as he sets it up. He'll say, "This is what needs to be said or this is what God is saying to you." And then he comes over and says, "But your response is this. God is looking for this, but your response is that." So here we see this take place. You can see this is this goes throughout pretty much the entirety of the book. We see it here starting off in in chapter 1 verse number two. You say in what way have you loved us. That's not defi that's not them being or being defi defiant in what they're trying to do. It's their disillusionment disillusionment. They're a little disillusioned by by the process of what's going on because of their discontentment. The voice of the people say if you loved us it sure doesn't feel like it. And what they're doing is they're basing it off of how they feel. in the moment they're in. So Malachi says, "God says, I love you." Well, if he and but you say, "Well, if you love us, it sure doesn't feel like you love us." How many of you have felt that way? You know, we've been like, "Well, God, if if you really love me, why is this happening in my life? And if you love me, why does it feel so heavy? And if you love me, why does it seem like nothing's ever changing?" I don't know how many times in counseling sessions I've dealt with people both one-on-one and in group settings where someone will get up and they've been so heartbroken by some life circumstance that when you bring up the fact that God loves you, they'll say, "I have a hard time with that because if he loved me, why is why am I going through this? Why are my circumstances this way? Why why am I facing hardship and sorrow? If he truly is a God of love, then why why is my body broken? Why is my relationship gone? Why? And they they fill in the blank with all these things. And I feel like if we're honest, many of us at one point or another have at least entertained that thought. God's response, though, I love this, is a reminder of covenant love. He responds with a statement that often is a little unsettling to us. And maybe I can unpack it for us tonight because he says this, continuing in verse number two. Yet Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals in the wilderness. First of all, when you read this, you need to understand, it's important for you. I encourage you to understand this is covenant language. He's talking about covenant language. The first thing that Malachi addresses is not emotional hatred, but he's trying to help Israel grasp the love that God has for them. And it was a topic that remains controversial. The phrase Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated has been difficult for many of us to understand. But that term hate you to put it in context. It should be understood not as a direct expression of God's wrath but instead of grace towards those who trust in him, those who turn back to him. Let me let me go further. God's love for Jacob was so profound that by comparison, his actions towards Esau seemed like hatred. I'm gonna say that again. I'm I'm going to say it again and I'm I'll give you another couple of examples, but let this settle in your mind for just a minute. God's love for Jacob was so profound that by comparison, his actions towards Esau seemed like hatred. Another example in the scriptures is Jacob's love for Rachel versus Jacob's love for Leah. His love for Leah or his love for Rachel was so strong in comparison. The way he he acted towards Leah seemed like hatred. Now again, that's a beautiful story that you should go study out further in the scriptures because at the end it's Leah that he ends up wanting to be buried by. But these comparisons are there. Jesus also instructed his disciples in a very controversial passage in the New Testament to hate their own family in Luke 14:26. He used this term to illustrate that their devotion to him should be so intense that compared to their closest relationships, it would look like hatred. He's not asking you to hate. Oftentimes we think, well, I'm gonna put God in first place and I'm gonna put my family in second place. But you need to understand the gulf between those two has to be so vast. If I if I only love God barely more than I love my wife, then I'm not in the relationship with God the way it needs to be. My devotion and my commitment to God is paramount in my life. And that's where you and I oftentimes struggle. And again, we're keeping this in the context of the book of Malachi as he's addressing how they have drifted away because of what they were familiar with and the daily routine of life. They felt like, well, if you've loved me, well, then how have you loved me? My life doesn't seem like what the prophets have foretold. The promises doesn't seem to have come to pass or at least if this is the deal, I was oversold a bill of goods that haven't been delivered to me. So, they're struggling with this. Our love for God can lead us to choices that make it appear harsh and even hateful to those we care about. God says, "I choose Jacob. I've set my love upon him." Paul again comes to an explanation in Romans 9:10 through13 that God's choice is rooted in grace and not human effort. The word of God points to history as evidence of his love. Israel was disciplined. They were not destroyed. He didn't destroy his people. He turned them over for a time because they refused to turn towards him. So he's like, "I'm going to give you to your passions. I'm going to get if you want to go after that, then go after it. If that's what you think is going to make you happy, then go after it." He still does that today. He doesn't force himself on us. What he's looking for is for for you and I to say, "You know what? I know that I have a desire for these things, but God, my love for you is greater than these desires." That's where you and I have a choice to make. That's the that's the great fight we have every day. The discipline that we have to work on. But if you think of through through history when it comes to Israel, especially where Malachi was in that moment, they were disciplined, not destroyed, exile refined them. It didn't erase them. It didn't take them away. They were still living. God raised leaders to restore them. God preserved and kept his promises. They were still standing because God had loved them faithfully. There was a proven track record that God had never moved. It was always them who left the situation. They were always leaving the equation. So what do we do when disappointment distorts our view of God? Because I feel like this is the danger for all of humanity. Disappointment has the power to rewrite, listen to me, to rewrite our theology if we're not careful. >> Let me unpack this. Okay. When life doesn't turn out the way we hoped it would, and when there's moments in our life when it feel like I'm praying, but those prayers are going unanswered. When promises feel delayed, something subtle begins to shift inside of us. We don't stop believing in God. But if we're not careful, we begin to reinterpret who God is in our own mind. Now, stay with me. This is where things get dangerous. Okay? When we stop interpreting life through the lens of God's goodness, I want to make sure you're with me. I'm going to say it again. When we stop interpreting life through the lens of God's goodness, we begin to interpret God through the lens of our pain and our disappointment. We begin to tell oursel, does God really love me? If he does, then why am I here? So, it's important is if we're not careful, that'll become our default setting that we go back to. Instead of saying God is good even when life is hard, we quietly begin saying life is hard so maybe God isn't as good as I thought he was. And then it's changing our theology. And this is exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden from the very beginning. Satan didn't walk into the garden and deny God's existence. He didn't go in there to even say there is no God. He did not challenge God's power or authority. What did he do? He caused her to question God's goodness. Did God really say? Is he really for you? Could it be that he's holding something back? Do you see the strategy that's there? because he's trying to erode trust because he knows if he can sew seeds of doubt. He doesn't take God's power away, he takes your perspective and skews it. And in the end, he wins because he didn't have to fight God. Instead, he turned you against him. The enemy painted doubt not about God's ability, but about God's heart. He caused him to question. And once Eve began to question whether God was withholding something good, trust was fractured. And once trust was fractured, obedience collapsed. What did she do? The goodness was questioned. Trust came into play. She began to ask herself, "Well, well, why can't I?" And then he said, 'You can be like God. He's not telling you the whole story. He's withholding something. And because truth collapsed, the obedience was dropped. Now, the same thing's been at play. He hasn't changed his tactic or his strategy. It's still the same as it was in the garden. It's just packed up with new bows tied around it. Obedience is always rooted in trust. And listen to me. And worship is no different. I'm I'm saying this because I've only gotten three verses into Malachi and I got to get through this whole chapter before we get out of here tonight. You guys okay? Some of you like, "Oh my, that's what happens when you fast." I want to talk about worship, but I have to set it up with this foundation. Obedience is always rooted in trust. And worship is too. It's why you worship because you trust in him. Once doubt enters the heart, worship begins to erode. And once trust fade, reverence disappears. And once we begin to suspect God's goodness, devotion becomes conditional. I don't feel like going to church tonight. I've I've already went a couple times. It's like if I miss one, it's not such a big deal. Do you see how this happens? Is once we start losing the awe and wonder of God, it becomes something that is burdensome. become something that you feel obligated to. I remember going on first couple of dates. You remember that, right? Did you miss those first dates? Nobody missed the first date, right? I mean, there probably somebody has a story in here. It's probably funny. It's probably a foundational story for your relationship. But most of those first few dates, you don't miss. Why? Because you're excited, right? You fix yourself up. Most people do. I know there's always outliers. Most people bathe. Maybe that's why you don't have a spouse. Something to think about. Most most of the time you you clean yourself up. You know, you you put on some smell good stuff and you know, you you you're checking your breath and you do why why are you doing all this? Because you're so infatuated with what's going on. It's the new, right? And so, how many of you remember the first experiences with God? Those first times you feel his presence. And it's the same way. Nobody had to get you up to go to church the next time. You ready to go? New new people are always early for church. It's the old tired wellworn saints who are like, "Ah, you know, first few minutes is not going to be important. I'll just show up." If I ask you, do you love God? Oh, I love God. Absolutely love God. But you've become so familiar and accustomed that you've lost the awe because you know if I go, I'll feel his presence. You don't find yourself longing and anticipating for it. You don't find yourself being as committed and and as devoted as you once were in your life. And ladies and gentlemen, that's a very scary place to be. This is where Malachi's at addressing the people. And I'm fixing to get into he's addressing what they're doing and what they're allowing to take place with worship is unacceptable. And God is not pleased. It doesn't move God that you showed up at church. He doesn't owe you anything just because you walked into the house of God. Just because you happen to mumble a few words from a worship course and raise your hands and amen the preacher. God's not up there going, "I just love him so much. I'm so happy and pleased what they're doing. Now, if you read the book of Malachi, it paints a pretty vivid picture about what he expects and what he is turned off by. You cannot truly worship God if you don't trust. You may sing, you may serve, you may be committed to to serving opportunities around here. You may show up, but worship will no longer flow from love. It flows from obligation. And this is exactly what Malachi was exposing. Israel wasn't rebelling. They were disappointed. And their disappointment, left unchecked, had quietly turned into distrust. I'll come back to this in just a minute because this is where faith either recovers or collapses. Now, I've asked my lovely wife to read a portion of scripture for me. So, if you have your Bibles, it'll be on the screens. We're going to read Matthew 1, excuse me, Malachi 1:es 6-14. >> A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am the father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise my name. Yet you say, "In what way have we despised your name?" You offer defiled food on my altar, but say, "In what way have we defiled you?" By saying, "The table of the Lord is contemptable. And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?" Offer it then to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably, says the Lord of Hosts? But now entreat God's favor that he may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, will he accept you favorably? Says the Lord of hosts. Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of Hosts, nor will I accept an offering from your hands. For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles. In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of Hosts. But you profane it in that you say, "The table of the Lord is defiled, and its fruit, its food, is contemptable." You also say, "Oh, what a weariness." and you sneer at it, says the Lord of Hosts, and you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick. Thus you bring an offering. Should I accept this from your hand, says the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be feared among the nations." The priest claimed a relationship. So God now turns to the spiritual leaders and he's got something to say to them. If you listen to that, if you read through that, it's hard to walk away with any other feeling other than God is not happy about what's going on. Their actions denied reverence. They're offering blind, sick, and crippled sacrifices. Things they would never dare give a human ruler. God exposes their hypocrisy when he says, "Try offering that to your governor. would he accept you? So God's point out like you have put me in a common place. There's no longer respect and reverence for who I am. You don't care about me. You have grown accustomed to the routine ritualistic form of worship, but there's no devotion there. There's no love being felt through this. They were offering what cost them nothing. We got to be careful, ladies and gentlemen, when worship becomes convenient. Did you pick up on the words there when he says, "Oh, that one of you would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain." God's saying, "I would just soon you not come. Don't even turn the lights on. Don't even practice. If this is all you're going to give me, just don't do anything." God would rather have no worship than false worship. This should be very sobering to us because it means activity does not equal authenticity. Being around fake people is something that you and I don't like. You've been around somebody that you know the whole time they're talking to you, they don't really want to talk to you. They're just talking to you because there's some nobody else better. Does that make you feel good in those situations? Anybody enjoy that? And what makes us think God enjoys half-hearted devotion and half-hearted worship? You know, I can say this too, that I've been guilty in my life of going through the motions of worship, having my hands up, eyes closed, singing the song, my mind being a million miles away. We've all done it. It's not that you won't do it. It's do you recognize that you're doing it and are you willing to make a change? Because if you just acknowledge that that's where I am, but you don't do anything about it, that's the dangerous place to be. You know, life happens to all of us. We all face things that sometimes cause us to struggle a little bit in our devotion to God. So, it's not that it's something that should be strange from us. It's are you willing to take ownership and responsibility that when you recognize that's what you're doing that you ask God to forgive you and that you do your best to get back in a right frame of worship and praise because he is due our worship and praise. >> Surely we can all agree he is worth our life and all that we can give. I think all of us feel that there is nothing that we could ever do to ever repay what God has already done for us. So let us always be mindful of where we are when we come into the house of God and not do it in a casual manner but understand that as we begin to sing songs of worship and praise here I should activate my thought process so that I am engaged to the God of all who is here that I'm claiming to worship >> at bare minimum I can at least acknowledge in my mind God you are good. >> You can sing and still dishonor God. You can serve and still be spiritually empty. You can preach and still lack reverence. When worship becomes routine, it becomes hallow and worthless to God. The root issue is, and again I'm coming back to this again, I told you I was going to circle back is when we have this diminished view of God. When our theology begins to change because of the lens we're viewing God through, our circumstances have somehow lessened God when we think about him. Faithless worship always flows from a diminished view of God. And when God feels small, worship feels optional. It's not optional. We are called to live a life of worship. When God feels distant, devotion feels like a burden. The people said, "What a weariness this is." They were bored with God. Listen to me. Boredom with God always leads to compromise. Be very careful when you find yourself bored in the house of God. Very careful when you find yourself drifting. Okay? I know. I know. I know. I'm stepping on all of our toes. I'll just speak for me. There have been times when there have been individuals who've been in a lectern who maybe not have been quite as inspirational of other people in their delivery that I have found myself a drift. I'm not asking you to raise your hands and hopefully you're not drifting now but that has happened to me on occasion. I'm not saying it won't happen. I'm saying when you recognize that it's happening, you need to do something about it. You need to do something about it. It's not their fault that you're not gleaning something. If they're teaching you the word of God, they're bringing you good stuff. >> Amen. >> Whether it's me or anybody else that's up here. If they're if they're in the book, that's good stuff. That's why it's important that you always enter in with worship and devotion and you ask God, Lord, help me understand what I can learn tonight from your word. We have better always keep an all and respect of who he is and what he desires from us because there's a cost that comes into play when we truly worship. In 2 Samuel, David makes a mistake. He's he's not in his best. It's not his best moment before God. Yeah. The man after God's own heart. He he made quite a bit of mistakes. That gives me a lot of hope. He decided he's going to take a census. even against good counsel. He had determined this is what I'm going to do. And because of that, God's upset at him. And God ends up taking it out on Israel. David made the mistake. This is one of those moments when I'm like, you know what? I kind of feel bad for them now. Most of the time they get themselves in trouble. I'm like, you you you earned it. You earned that captivity. You earned that frustration. I know in my life I earned a lot of frustrations. I earned them. Maybe you guys didn't. Y'all were good. But in this moment, it was David. Well, David realizes the error of his ways and he realizes he has to make a correction. So, go and read 2 Samuel. He's going to make sure I get the chapter right. Chapter 24 22-2. >> Now, Arana said to David, "Let my lord the king take up and take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burden sacrifice and threshing implements and the yolks of the oxen for wood. All these, oh king, Arana has given to the king. And Arana said to the king, "May the Lord your God accept you." Then the king said to Arana, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land and the plague was withdrawn from Israel. >> David understood something that the priest in Malachi's day had forgotten. True worship cost you something. It costs comfort. It costs pride. It costs control. But ladies and gentlemen, it produces life. >> Amen. >> Worship that costs nothing changes nothing. When we failed on our God, it diminishes our desire to seek his presence. True worship should never be a chore of weariness. It should be genuine. It should be heartfelt. It should come from a place of sincere devotion. Back. so that we can offer something heartfelt to our great king who should be respected and revered. He has always been good. >> Regardless of how you feel and regardless of your current circumstances, he is worthy to be praised. >> And the sooner you can get your mind wrapped around that, it's not just when I feel good I should worship. If there's ever a time for you to worship is when things are not going right. >> When everything seems to be burning down around you. In those moments, raise your hands up and worship God. >> See what will change in your life instead of allowing your worship to be so conditional based off of how you feel. True worship is defined. In John chapter 4, we see Jesus encountering the woman at the well. In this moment, we get a little insight into Jesus beginning to talk about worship in a way that had not been talked about yet. The interaction is there with her. He's talking about living water. She's having dialogue with Jesus and he's instructing her what it is she needs to do and go fetch her husband and she doesn't have a husband. and he said, "You've well said." And he begins to talk about, she says, "Well, I perceive that you're a prophet." And then begins to talk about worship. She basically says, "You know, as Samaritans, we were told to worship here on this mountain. And you you Jews go to that mount in Jerusalem." And then Jesus answers her back and says this in John 4 21- 24. Jesus said to her,"Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. >> Did you catch what he's telling her there? Did you pick up on it? It didn't matter the location. It didn't matter the routine. It didn't matter the performance. What mattered is spirit. Sincere, alive, wholehearted engagement and truth align with who God truly is. When spirit and truth come together, worship becomes transformative. There's a whole lot. Please listen to me. This these are the kind of statements that give me some ugly emails. Doesn't negate the truth. There is a whole lot of churches in our town that will engage you on an emotional level. And I'll tell you this, when God is be being worshiped, he is drawn to worship. But there's difference in just feeling the presence of God. and the transformative power that happens when spirit and truth is combined. Many of you know what I'm talking about. Many of you have experienced several different churches. You've tried this and you've tried that and you've done this, you've done that. Not everybody was raised in the apostolic truth. It's okay. Doesn't make anybody better than anybody else. But you know this, there's a difference when spirit and truth are combined. When there's an understanding of who God is and it's being respected and revered in the house of God, something powerful takes place. Lifech changing transformation takes place when spirit and truth are combined together in worship. That's what sets us apart. You know, there's a lot of things and I know there's a little history lesson I've done several times. You know, it was 100 years ago in the in the 20s, you know, the apostolic movement gets rolling on. It was something happened in Topeka, Kansas, Isuza Street. these outpourings were happening in that we've been a part of in there, but it wasn't received well. You know, when my grandparents were in this during the Brush Arbor days in the tent revival, it was on the other side of the tracks and people threw tomatoes at them. Some of you still alive that remember that it wasn't cool to be Pentecostal. It wasn't the norm to speak in tongues, holy rollers, all those negative things that were said about us. But if you've noticed through the years, all of a sudden things have happened because they couldn't deny the power that was there. They maybe didn't understand it, but they couldn't deny the power. They didn't understand that it was tying back into what Jesus was saying about true worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. So now you get to where we are today where speaking in tongues isn't that taboo. Most denominational churches don't deny speaking in tonesues. Most there's still a few. Now you've gotten to where most of them are embracing Jesus name baptism because I don't know how you read the Bible and come away with any other conclusion. There's no other example about how you were baptized other than Jesus name in the Bible. If you study it out that's the way it's there. >> So they they they know and then now all of a sudden they're embracing our worship style, right? They used to like you guys are too you guys are you guys are cray and now they getting jiggy for Jesus in a lot of places. They've yet to understand me. What' I do? >> My wife just told me I was old. Was that my jiggy for Jesus thing? Whatever. I'm going back over here. Now, now they sing our songs. Now they baptize the biblical way. Now they speak in tongues. But Bishop, there's yet to figure out the mighty God in Christ. >> The truth. But here's what I know. This revival that's been promised us is bigger than we can house >> in this building. >> And what we're already seeing on foreign soil >> is denominal churches on foreign soil. is all of a sudden coming to a revelation of the mighty God in Christ. >> And we're seeing entire congregations and denominations all of a sudden coming to an understanding of spirit and truth. >> These are the issues that Malachi was dealing with in his day is coming back and saying, "You guys have gotten away. It's become routine. Oh, let us wake up apostolics. Let us not be used." So that it becomes common place what you and I experience. I'm telling you, as I piggyback off of Sunday's message, there is a lost world that is so hungry, desperately dying for what we have. >> And this is what Malachi was addressing these days. He's basically he was saying, "Wake up. God's not pleased. God's upset. You're just going through the routines and motions. You're offering sacrifice that doesn't cost you anything. You're bringing the hauled and the lame. You're giving half-hearted devotions. And God says, "I JUST YOU SHUT THE DOORS. DON'T EVEN LIGHT THE FIRE. Don't let it be said of center point that we got so used to just feeling his presence that we never gave our best when we came into the house of God. To bring this to a close tonight. The first part of this series in Malachi 1 is him saying we needed to return to God in our faith. Not return to activity and not return to routine. not return to religious motions, but return to God, not with noise or ritual or polish sacrifice, but with our hearts. He has never asked for perfection. God's never asked for that because he knew that's something we couldn't give. He didn't ask for perfection. If perfection were a requirement, we wouldn't stand. And what he's asking for is sincerity. He's asking for a heart that's honest before him and faith that is real and a devotion that's not pretending or going through motions. Not obligations, but affections, not performance, but presence. God is not impressed by how much we do for him if our hearts are far from him. And here's the promise that carried us forward. When he when we return to him, he returns to us. He returns to us. He does not meet us with rejection. He does not meet us with shame. He meets us with grace and love and restoration and ladies and gentlemen, dominion. Dominion. Oh, we remain. We were we were created to rule and reign. We lost dominion in the garden. What he did at Calvary was so much more than just salvation process, but it was restoring back what was lost in the garden. for one day for you to be established to rule and reign and have dominion and power with him. >> But it doesn't come unless worship is sincere. That's why every time we come in these doors, we're going to love each other and greet each other. I'm glad we have a warm and welcoming church. I hope everybody feels welcome. There's nothing wrong with that. We we should we should be involved in each other's lives. We should check on each other. But once we start the process of worship in that moment, then we should stop and engage. In that moment, it starts. It begins. It's you and I coming in and saying, "God, I know I've had a good day or I've had a bad day. Things have went well or things have not went well." Like in a room this size with this many people, there there's stories abounding in the room about good and bad. But regardless of the good or bad, he is still worthy. And oh, what a difference it would make if every time we came into this place, the moment they first strike up the key, all of a sudden we're just locked in. God, you're worthy. You're worthy of it all. You're worthy of my life and my devotion. You're worthy of talent and my ability. You're worthy of everything that I can give you. God, you are good and faithful always, regardless of how I feel. Oh God, this is not a call to do more. Listen to me. This is not a call to do more. It's a call to see him clearly again. Because when faith is renewed, worship stops being a burden and becomes a joy. And that's where the journey starts. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord. You know, if you're chasing happy, you're chasing a feeling. I don't want to chase happy. I'm looking for joy. Because I can still be joyous in the worst of days because my God still walks with me. Oh, would you stand with me tonight? He's crying out for us to return back to him. Let's let's bow our heads and close our eyes. Let's let's just pray tonight. God, we come to know before you tonight honestly, not not polished, Lord, not pretending, not trying to impress you, God. Who are we to impress you, God? You know us. You know our faults and our failures. You know our hiccups and hang-ups. We come acknowledging that there have been moments in our faith has grown tired and disappointment has crowded and clouded us and we haven't been able to see clearly. And God, there's been moments when we've questioned whether or not you love us. But I pray I pray tonight, God, we would have a different perspective. God, that we would view you through the lens of your goodness and not our circumstances. Tonight we choose to return. We return not with the noise of performance, but with our hearts, with humility, asking, God, that you would renew our faith and trust in you, God. that you would meet us in the mess of our life like you always do and help us see God. You've never left us. You've never forsaken us. You have been there the entire time. Step by step, you've walked with us. I pray that we could return to that moment, Lord Jesus, every day, knowing full well that you are worthy of our life and all that we have to give. Go with us, Lord, as we leave this place. open a door for us to tell somebody about you and invite them to come be in service with us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. God bless you. You're dismissed in Jesus name.