Majors In The Minors - Part 8 - Malachi

I have a the privilege of of wrapping up this series tonight. Um it's a I consider it a high honor um to be able to teach here at wonderful congregation. Uh now it is pastor that asked me to teach but I do feel like I have a word from God. Um, I'm going to do something that I don't typically do, and that is, uh, I'm not going to start with a scripture. Gasp. Um, instead, we are going to be talking about scripture. We're going to have an overview of what the book of Malachi is about, the the themes for then and how they translate for now.

We know that the word of God is living, right? >> Amen. So it has its literal meaning and then it has its spiritual meaning that is applicable for us today. So tonight we arrive at the final of the minor prophets. They weren't the minor prophets because they had less to say or they weren't as important. They were just smaller books and had a lot of really important things to say. The book of Malachi closes out the Old Testament canon like the final toll of a bell before silence. settles over the land of Israel. For 400 years after Malachi, there would be no prophetic voice, no new revelation, no thus sayaith the word of the Lord, and there was no open vision.

And so the final message that God gives before silence, I believe, is incredibly important. I I always have taught that the final words of Jesus before he ascends into heaven to his uh disciples and those that were gathered there were the most important words that he could come up with and that was go make disciples of all nations. Now the final word that a prophet spoke before the time of silence between this time and the book of Matthew is the book of Malachi. So there's no final message. This is important. If you knew your words would be the last to a generation, you'd choose them carefully.

If you knew that you were on your last leg or or the words that you were speaking would be the the words that a generation would remember you by, you'd be sure to make sure that they were something remember that that could be remembered. And what does God talk about? He doesn't talk about politics. He doesn't talk about empires. He doesn't talk about military strategy. He talks about hearts. He talks about worship. He talks about covenant. He talks about faithfulness. And he talks about preparation. Because before God does a new thing, he prepares his people. Before God ever does anything new, he prepares the hearts.

He prepares the minds. and he prepares the way for his people. >> The Old Testament closes with God saying, "Get ready. I'm coming." And the tragedy is that Israel had returned from Babylon physically. They had been in captivity for years, and they had returned from that captivity, but spiritually they were still living in ruins. The temple had been rebuilt. Sacrifices were happening again. The routines of religion had resumed, but the fire was gone. They had activity without passion. They had form without reverence. They had religion without relationship. And Malachi, he steps into that atmosphere like an like a divine alarm clock. Malachi speaks to a people who had not completely walked away from God, but had grown careless in their relationship with him.

They were still attending worship. They were offering sacrifices. They were going through motions of religion, but their hearts were no longer fully engaged. Over time, their worship had become routine. The priests were offering God less than their bests. Families were struggling. People were withholding what belonged to God. And many people began questioning whether serving him was even worth it. What makes Malachi so powerful is that the people didn't seem to recognize how far they had drifted. It was just normal for them. They didn't see how far the gap was between them and God. Because they were doing all the right things according to their tradition.

They were going through all the right motions according to what was passed down from them. But they were not honoring God. They had not recognized how far they were from God. What makes Malachi so powerful is that each time God confronted them, they responded with questions like, "Oh, how have we done that?" They were completely oblivious to where they were. They they were disconnected from the reality of a relationship. They they they had no they had no uh gauge. They were disconnected from God. And Malachi reminds us that spiritual decline does not always begin with open rebellion. Sometimes it begins with when we become too familiar with holy things.

When worship becomes common and when we start giving God whatever is left over instead of giving him our best. Even in the middle of their indifference, God continued to call his people back to himself regardless of their indifference. He called them back. That's why he would send prophets. That's why he would send Isaiah. That's why he would send uh u Habacook. That's why he he would send Obadiah. These people that were indifferent, God would continually call them back to him. That's the book of Hosea. Even in the middle of their indifference, God called them back. He reminded them of his love. He confronted their compromise and pointed them toward a coming Messiah.

Malachi's al ultimate call to return to honor God again, to worship him sincerely, to worship him sincerely and to live with expectation for what he was about to do. Do we live with an expectation for what God is about to do? Do we live with a desire to please him? Do we live with a desire to love him? So, first thing in chapter 1, God confronts spiritual apathy. Israel had become casual with holy things. Things that God had set apart for his special purpose had become casual to them. And Malachi reveals priests offering blind sacrifices, sick sacrifices, leftovers. They were offering leftovers to God. And if you have spent any time in in the Old Testament and and understand what the offerings were supposed to be, you know that they were supposed to be the best.

They were supposed to be the purest, the healthiest, the first. And what they were doing was just taking what they had left over and giving that to God. They were giving God what cost them nothing. They still worshiped externally, but internally they were disconnected. The danger of apathy isn't rebellion, but it's routine. Apathy still comes to church. Apathy still sings songs. Apathy still goes through motions. Apathy still does church work. Apathy still does ministry work. Apathy still gets behind a pull pit. Apathy still sings from the platform. Apathy will still get behind a piano. But it doesn't show the heart. >> There is no all.

There is no burden. There is no prayer life and there is no consecration. The most dangerous spiritual condition is not outright wickedness, but it's becoming so comfortable around holy things that it you just become indifferent towards those things. Malachi says, "You have despised my name." And the completely oblivious people like an oblivious husband says, "H how have we despised your name? We're going into the temple. We're we're doing all the things that the law required. Maybe the maybe the offering isn't as good as it should be, but but we're going through the motions of what the law demands of us. What more do you want from us?

We're doing all the things. We're checking all the boxes. >> And that is the frightening part. They were so spiritually numb that they didn't even recognize their condition. You can drift so far that compromise starts to feel normal. >> You can drift so far that that you don't even realize that there's a gulf between you and the plan that God has for you. But God continues to call. God continues to call out, "Come back to me. Hey, I want you to know he he's not telling them you've done this to me so that they are destroyed. He's giving them a a status check on the relationship.

Hey, I want you to know I'm feeling this way. This is what's happening in our relationship. You might not see it that way, but that's how it is. >> Some of us have had those conversations with spouses before, right? or with m maybe or or with co-workers or hey you're being perceived as this way. I know that you're trying to do this but this is how what's actually happening. We've had those types of conversations but they're oblivious. You can get so used to the presence of God that you stop valuing it. You can learn church culture, church culture without maintaining the fire. We have to learn the difference between church culture and kingdom culture.

>> Church culture changes. It it is different. The way that we do church today, our doctrine, it's it's sound. But the way that we do church is not how they did church in the first century. That's church culture. But what we teach is kingdom culture. That is what they taught in the first century. >> So you can get so caught up in church culture that you're that you're completely disconnected and then you jump up in your notes and you lose your spot. So you can learn that without maintaining the fire on the altar. I over the past few years I've started doing a a spiritual check.

It's a personal thing. You know, I I I'm involved in music. I'm involved in teaching and and doing various things in ministry. And a lot of things can become very routine. They can become habitual. It's just what we do. But I started asking myself hard questions. questions like, "Would I still go to church if I wasn't doing this? Would I still read my Bible if I wasn't studying to preach? Would I still pray if I wasn't going through it? Would I would I still pray if I didn't need a word for myself? Would I still maintain that relationship even if I felt like there was nothing in it for me?

God tells Israel, "I deserve honor." They were going through the motions. They were doing all the things, but God says, "This isn't about the motions. It's not about the sacrifice. It's not about the the letter. It's about the honor. It's the purpose. Obedience is better than sacrifice." Saul, I think I think think Samuel's word to the modern church would say, "Hey, obedience is better than your performative excellence." >> You can show up. You can look the part. You can do all the right things. We can have all the right programs. We can check all the right boxes. We can have all the right posts on social media.

But who we are on the inside, is it honoring to God? who we are when no one sees us. That's that's what we call integrity. >> Does that honor God? What motivates us? Does that honor God? Are we motivated by just the habit of doing something or or just to be seen to be doing something? That was Saul's problem. He knew things were wrong. He is confronted by the man of God and and and and he says, "Okay, well, let's pretend. Let's perform like everything's okay. Let's perform in front of everybody and and let's do this sacrifice. And and Saul says, "You don't get it.

You're performance is useless because you were disobedient. >> That's why anointing leads excellence. If our excellence isn't led by anointing, then it's of us." >> That's right. I can get up and there there are people, I promise you, in this church who are better at playing piano than me. But I make it my life's goal to be a worshipper. I want you to play piano. I want you to preach. I want you to do better than me. >> But I don't want you to outworp me. Come on. >> I want who I am on the inside to be right. >> I want to defer and prefer.

And I want who I am on the inside to honor him. >> God doesn't want our leftovers. Cain gave an offering, but Abel gave the firstlings. One was just an offering, but one was a true sacrifice. One was convenient and the other was costly. David said, "I will not offer unto the Lord that which costs me nothing." >> Real worship cost something. I'm not talking about worship service. I'm talking about worship life. >> Worship isn't when you dance. >> Worship isn't when you shout. >> Worship is when you're in your car and you have to make a decision. Am I am I going to have this attitude or that attitude?

Worship is who you are when a thought comes up and and you either let it be captive and you take it captive and you put it at the feet of Jesus or you entertain that thought. >> That's worship. Worship is who you are. It's it's your life. And the outflow of that often comes out in a worship service. Real worship costs something. It costs time. It costs flesh. It costs pride. It costs pride. It costs pride. It costs pride. Pride was the first sin and it casts Lucifer down. I don't want pride in my heart. If our if our performative excellence, if if if our if our sacrifice, if our the way we worship becomes a point of pride for us, then it's not of God, it's of the flesh.

>> And let me tell you, no matter how anointed, no matter how gifted, no matter how excellent we perceive ourselves, if we are in pride, God resists us. God always resists the proud. So he continues talking to his people. Anybody can worship when life is easy. But true worshippers honor God when sacrifice is involved. >> Yes. when it when it costs putting my pride aside, putting my carnality aside, putting my life aside, the surrendered life. Then God, he goes on and he calls his people back to covenant faithfulness. The thing is is about this covenant is that we bring nothing to the table. There's there's nothing that we bring to the table for God, but we have this open covenant where he's just like, "All right, you turned your back on me." We see it time and again with in in the Bible with Israel where his people turn their back on him, but he still has this covenant covenant open to them.

All right. Okay. You're you're steering off course. You've broken the covenant, but you can come back into covenant with me. How lenient. How merciful. How gracious. The book repeat repeatedly uses covenant language because God was not merely correcting behavior. It's never about behavior. We can get caught in the behavior trap where if we just act right then we are right. It's never about behavior. He was confronting broken relationship. Is Israel had become unfaithful. Unfaithful in worship, unfaithful in marriage, unfaithful in giving, unfaithful in obedience. And yet Malachi says in 3:6, "For I am the Lord and I changed not." That verse is not merely theological.

It's relational. He's saying, "You changed. I didn't. The covenant still stands. If you want to come back to it, I'm open to it. You broke it, but I'm willing to bring you back in. My grace, my mercy is allowing you to come back into. You broke the terms of the covenant, but I'm leaving it open for you. Israel fluctuated, but God remained faithful. They broke covenant. God kept covenant. And what the staggering truth of this tells us is that God, his consistency becomes the foundation for our restoration. >> His consist, not my consistency, not what I do, not what I sacrifice, but his consistency becomes the grounds for my restoration.

He made the way so that I could be restored. When I broke covenant, when I broke faith, he remained faithful to me. >> If God changed every time we failed him, none of us would survive. >> That's the harsh reality. But his mercy, God's mercy is steadfast. >> It's immovable. It doesn't change. Covenant always affects our conduct. You cannot separate relationship from responsibility. Modern Christianity wants wants promise without submission. But covenant means loyalty. It means obedience. It means faithfulness. It means consistency. It doesn't mean that you have to be perfect. it. Listen, who who's trying to make it to heaven? That's our destination, right? Who's in heaven right now?

Okay, good. So, we are all still on a journey. >> We are all still in this this this this is still corruptible. Yeah. >> One day this this corruption >> will put on incorruption >> and I will be made like him. You will be made like him. But today >> we're capable of failing. >> But because of the goodness and the mercy of God who always calls us back into covenant with him. >> We God, I'm so sorry. I'm such a I'm such an idiot. You know what? He's faithful. He's just to forgive >> to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. >> That's the God that I serve.

When I mess up, >> he he he's like, "You know what? Let's make this right. You're not You're not demoted. You haven't lost your seat at the table. Come and Hey, son. Come and eat. In fact, I I've got the feast ready for you. I've killed I've killed the the fatted ox, whatever that is. God's telling Israel, "You cannot claim to belong to me while being disconnected from me." >> This goes back to to to my personal spiritual questions, my gauge, God, am I connected to you? What What is motivating me? And and I'm not I'm not trying to set myself up on a pedestal.

Believe me, I ask myself these questions because I'm carnal. cuz I struggle with flesh. I have to gauge for myself because I know that I can I can lean to pride. I know that I can lean to failure. So like like David was called the man after God's own heart, not because he was perfect, because he lived a life of repentance. Unlike Saul, whenever Saul was confronted with what he did and he wanted to perform and pretend like everything was okay, whenever the man of God confronted David and said, "You are the man." He repented. That should be our example. I know that Jesus is our ultimate example, but he was incorruptible.

So, we look to somebody who did fail sometimes and how they respond to failure. David time and again, I messed up God. Hey, it's me again. Hey, uh remember when I said I wouldn't do that thing? Paul, oh wicked man that I am. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? These things that I want to do, I can't do them. But the things that I don't want to do, those things I do. That's David and Paul, two heroes of the faith. We're in good company. >> We're okay. Then Malachi, he seems to shift focus in verse in chapter 3. It begins pointing forward towards a Messiah.

The Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. But then Mal Malachi asks, "Who may abide the day of his coming?" Because when God comes near, he exposes what's unlike him. He goes through all this. Hey guys, we're out of covenant. We're not honoring God. We're just going through the motions. God's not happy. But the Messiah is coming. Who among us could stand before him? That's meant to be a convicting question. The same type of convicting question that men and brethren, what must we do? They were pricricked. And that should prick you in your heart. Could I stand before you, oh Lord? When God comes near, he exposes what's unlike him.

Then Malachi uses the imagery of the refiner's fire. refiner heats precious metals until impurities rise to the surface. The fire is not meant to destroy the silver. It is not meant to destroy the silver. The fire reveals what doesn't belong in it. Sometimes God allows seasons that feel uncomfortable because he is preparing us for greater purpose. Conviction is not rejection. Conviction is oftenimes God's protection. >> Correction is not abandonment. Again, correction is God's protection. One of the one of the hardest spankings I ever gave Olivia, one of the few. So, when we were living in New York and we're standing in the middle of the city and she takes off running right out into the street.

She was about what? Four. I snatched her up and right in front of Jesus and everybody in New York City because that's danger. You can get turned into a blob on the sidewalk or on the middle of the street like that. Don't. No one cares. No one's slowing down. No one can see you. It was my my reaction as a loving father was you don't do that. We don't do that. Correction is for our protection. >> Refining is proof that God still intends to use you. And don't take that message and report me. It's fine. She's still alive. Preparation always precedes visitation. Before Pentecost, there was an upper room.

Before revival in Acts, there was prayer and unity. Prayer and unity. >> Before the book of Acts, there was prayer and unity. >> Isuza. What happened in Isuza? >> Prayer and unity. Before fire fell on Carmel, Elijah repaired the altar. Sometimes we just got to repair the altar. We seem like we feel like we're far from God and everything's going wrong. Sometimes we just need to repair the altar. That's not a guarantee that everything's automatically going to be right. But we know that we're right with him. If we're right with him, everything is going to be all right. Amen. Amen. >> Malachi reminds us, God prepares people before he pours out promise.

We often pray, "God, send revival. God, send harvest. God, send a a fresh wind of anointing. Send a a fresh wave of your spirit." I think sometimes those prayers are delayed. The answer are the the answer to that prayer is delayed because we are not allowing ourselves to be prepared by him >> by the refiner. I I hate to bring another prophet into this because we're talking about Malachi, but Ezekiel, God brings him. It's pretty familiar story, but he brings them to the valley of dry bones. They were very dry. The Bible says, "And they were scattered." So, there was a leg bone over there, a spine over there, ribbone over there.

They were just everywhere. It wasn't like a a perfect skeleton laying there. They were just scattered, intermingled. And he says, "Son of man, can these bones live?" He didn't ask that question because he didn't know. >> He was challenging what Ezekiel thought. And Ezekiel, I think, had the right response. He says, "God, you know," and he says, "All right, son of man, prophesy. speak to the bones and tell them to come together. And he prophesied. He spoke and he said bones come together. And basically what he says is every bone that is supposed to go together go together. So those bones that were scattered, that's awesome.

Those bones that were scattered and intermingled, they went to the right body. They connected to the right bone. You didn't have a bunch of deformed things. Notice that there was a there was a a distinct order that God spoke. >> Yes. >> He didn't say, "Well, can these bones live? Then prophesy to the wind and let breath come." No. Prophesy and let the bones come together and let them be in order. >> He didn't say, "Let flesh come up on the bones. and then let the bones come together. The last thing that he said was to prophesy to the wind that the breath would come.

The breath is the spirit. If we aren't connected, if we aren't prepared, if we aren't placed in are the right position, the spirit cannot fill us. Air in an empty lung or a lung that does not exist is useless. It's just it's just wind. But in a body that's perfectly formed and put together, that that breath is power. That breath is life. God is preparing us for something special. And sometimes it's uncomfortable. Sometimes it's dry. And sometimes we just don't know the answers. But if we will trust God that he is preparing us for new life, I'm telling you, greater things than we can imagine.

I'm thankful for Spring Street. But there are greater things ahead. Our best days are ahead of us, not behind us. Our best days are Listen, pastor says it all the time. This is the church's finest hour, not the days of the apostles, not Paul's day. He didn't call Paul to live in the last days. He called you. And he is calling you for such a time as this. He is calling me for such a time as this. And we must allow him to refine us and prepare us so that we can take in that wind. So that we can take in that power of his spirit.

>> Ezekiel prophesied and he spoke. Sometimes we want that to just happen. But God refineses us with a process, a sanctification, uh, whatever we want to call it. Sometimes we want God to move publicly while resisting private refining. Your private world matters. Oh, your private world matters. God is after, longing, seeking a prepared church, >> a prepared people. God, let it let it be me. Not because I want glory, but God, I want to be prepared >> for you. Yes. >> He's looking for a holy church. He's looking for a surrendered church. He's looking for a worshshiping church. Not not a worship service church. I'm I'm I'm glad that we have dynamic worship in this church, but he's looking for people who worship outside.

I'm not talking about performative worship. I am talking about living a life of worship, having integrity, walking right, having clean hands and a pure heart. Who can ascend unto the mountain of the holy God? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. That's who I want to be and that's who God is looking for. People who are spiritually pure, people who are striving, looking ahead. >> That's right. Amen. Then he says, "Return to me." One of the most powerful lines in Malachi is God's invitation. After all this, saying, "You're missing the mark here. You're missing the mark there." Then he brings in an invitation.

Can you imagine going into a performance review at work and them telling you all the things you're doing wrong and then going, we have this offer for you. It doesn't make sense. But that's how our God is. He says, "Return unto me and I'll return unto you." Not not let's let's let's just take it easy and take it slow and see how you do. I've got to heal. I'm telling you what, God doesn't need healing. He doesn't He doesn't. God doesn't have ego like that. >> He's a jealous God. He's jealous for you. But he doesn't have ego like that. You having opinions doesn't hurt God's feelings.

You can talk to him. Don't go, let's meddle. Don't go talking to your friends about all the problems that you have with church and all the problems that you have with life and all those things, but not talk to God about it. >> Don't go don't go take your preacher pie and serve it up to to other people in the church. Especially don't feed it up to your children. >> If you have problems with God or his man, take it up with God. >> That's right. I want my children to think that people in this church are the most wonderful people in the world. >> That the people of God are the most wonderful people in the world.

>> That had nothing to do with anything. Notice the heart of God here though. Even after their apathy, after their dishonor, after their compromise, God still calls them back. That's the mercy of God. The enemy says you've gone too far or your doubts say, "Do I really have to do all this?" God is okay with your questions. God just says, "Return to me. Just come back to me. Talk to me. Don't just don't just shut me out. Talk to me. If you're having struggles with something, talk to me. I can help you. I can reveal things to you. That's the beauty of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Ghost is our teacher. >> Did you know that the Holy Ghost can teach you? It can lead you and guide you into all truth. So, if you have questions about things, pray about it. Don't go to you for the love of everything holy. Don't go to YouTube. >> Pray about it. >> You can find any You can find anything on YouTube that will affirm anything you want it to affirm. >> Misery loves company and people just blast it out there. Talk to God. >> Talk to God. The enemy says you're disqualified. That's a lie. God says return. Revival always begins with returning. Not merely emotional moments.

I'm not against emotional moments. God made every aspect of human. We are made in the image of God. God gets angry. God gets sad. Jesus wept. He is the God of my mind, body, and my spirit. He's the God of my emotions. >> I'm not led by my emotions. We don't strive to be led by our emotions. We strive to be led by the spirit. Walk in the spirit. Therefore, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we are led by the spirit and not emotion, emotion is healthy. So those emotional moments, they're good. They can be fruitful, but we can't just stop at the emotional moments.

It's not about religious performance. what we do in front of others or or just our ministry activity. I've had to pray over the years. I I remember I came to one point where I looked at pastor and I said, "I don't ever want to do what you do." It it's the stuff that you have to deal with as a lead pastor. And then you have to be a real person cuz I don't know if you guys know that. That's a real person. That's a that's a human being. And and he has his things, too. And sometimes I don't know how he doesn't lose his mind.

It's the grace and mercy of God. How you get to that point, this is why I brought that up. How you get to that point is because you're not per you don't perform. When you perform, you get tired. You grow weary and welloing. But whenever it's just an outflow of relationship, whenever you're connected in with the vine, that's just fruit. >> That's just fruit. You don't You don't produce it. >> He does. >> God is calling us to return to prayer. Passionate prayer. Amen. >> The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous avaleth much. The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous avaleth much. What does that look like?

We don't have time. That's a different topic. He's calling a church to holiness. >> Living a life that's pleasing to him. He's calling us to a life of worship. He's calling us to a life of obedience. He's calling us to our first love. What first brought you to him? If everything else was stripped away, if if the if the stage was cleared, if there wasn't if I didn't have a a UPCI ministry license in my in my wallet, which I just remembered was there the other day when I was changing wallets. If if I had none of that, everything else is stripped away. There's him.

>> Oh, there's something beautiful about that. >> When you strip it down to the root, and it's it's him. It's not my sacrifice. It's It's not what I have to do, but it's it's him. It's the one that saved me. It's the one that redeemed me. It's it's the one that when I was low, he picked me up. It's the one that rescued my life. when I tried to end my life. He's the one that saved me. He's the one that keeps me. >> The Old Testament ends with anticipation. Malachi prophesies that Elijah would come before the great day of the Lord and then silence.

400 years until finally a voice cries in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." John the Baptist arrives carrying the spirit and power of Elijah. Why? Because God keeps his word. The silence was never abandonment. The the silence was preparation. And I can tell the church tonight, just because God seems silent does not mean that he is absent. Sometimes heaven is preparing what earth cannot see. Sometimes God is arranging people. He's arranging circumstances. He's he he's setting the timing up just right. He's preparing hearts because it's him who turns the hearts of men. And when the fullness of time comes, I promise you, God will move suddenly.

God always keeps his word. He doesn't keep our time. He keeps his time. But I promise you, he keeps his word. >> Let's stand. Malachi, it closes with tension. The people are waiting. The Messiah is coming. And the silence is near. And the final prophetic burden is simple. Three things. Honor God, return to God, and prepare for God. Honor God, return to God, and prepare to God. That's why Malachi is still relevant for us today because we are also living in a generation that is waiting for a king who is coming back. We are waiting for a king who is going to return. And the question is not whether he is coming but the question is whether his people are prepared.

Will he find worship or weariness? Will he find consecration or compromise? Will he find fire or formality? The God of Malachi is still preparing people. Tonight, I want to have a moment of prayer for people who want to go deeper, who feel a call to go deeper. I don't I don't know about you, but I felt this in my spirit. Deep calleth deep. I want to go deeper in him. I want more. I want to be involved more, not not in church work, but in his kingdom. I want his kingdom to be more involved in my life. I don't want to just just come to church and have things done for me.

I want to actively be the church. I want to be the kingdom. I want to advance the kingdom. I want to be a kingdom mover. Maybe routine has replaced passion. Maybe familiarity has weakened our reverence. And maybe life has distracted our devotion, but the voice of Malachi still echoes. Return to me. Just return TO ME BEFORE GOD DOES THE next thing. Before the promise arrives, before revival breaks loose, he prepares his people. So tonight, I challenge you, restore the altar in your life, renew your covenant with him, and surrender the compromise and begin to consecrate again for him. Let the refiner work in your life and prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Make yourself busy about his work. Make yourself busy about kingdom work. Hallelujah. Because the God who prepared Israel is preparing a church today. Let's lift our hands. Lord, I love you, Jesus. God, there is none like you. I thank you for your word. God, your word is forever settled. God, it is forever settled, Lord. God, it is quick and it is powerful and it is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of sunder of soul and spirit. Lord God, it does surgery on us if we allow it. God, let your word do its work in us. God, let it do its work in our hearts.

Let it do its work in our minds. God, let us not just take your word and say, "Oh, that was nice." But God, let us be kingdom advancers, God. Let us take your word TO HEART. BECAUSE, GOD, IT WAS YOUR WORD THAT WAS SPOKEN. GOD, that established everything. God, your word WAS SPOKEN AND LIGHT WAS CREATED. GOD, YOUR WORD WAS SPOKEN AND THE EARTH WAS CREATED. GOD, YOUR WORD WAS SPOKEN AND THE HEAVENS WERE CREATED. GOD, YOUR WORD WAS SPOKEN AND THE PLANTS WERE CREATED. GOD, YOUR WORD WAS SPOKEN AND THE ANIMALS WERE CREATED, GOD. AND YOU HAVE GIVEN YOUR WORD TO US, YOUR WORD OF POWER.

AND IT IS BY THAT WORD THAT EVERYTHING ESTABLISHED MAINTAINS, LORD. IT IS BY THE POWER OF YOUR WORD THAT EVERYTHING IN THIS KNOWN UNIVERSE IS HANGING ON THE BALANCE OF, LORD JESUS. SO LET US PUT OUR TRUST IN IT, GOD. AND LET IT DO SURGERY ON US, LORD. YOURS IS THE KINGDOM. YOURS IS THE GLORY. YOURS IS THE POWER FOREVER AND EVER, LORD. I THANK YOU, JESUS. I thank you, Lord Jesus. I magnify you, God. Prepare in me, Lord. A person WHO IS WORTHY, GOD. A PERSON WHO HAS clean hands and a pure heart, GOD. LET MY MIND BE RIGHT. LET MY HEART BE RIGHT.

LET MY ATTITUDE BE RIGHT. LET MY ACTIONS BE RIGHT. LET MY MOTIVES BE PURE, LORD GOD. IF MY MOTIVES AREN'T OF YOU, GOD, THEN SET ME DOWN, GOD. IF WHAT MOTIVATES ME IS NOT YOUR KINGDOM, THEN SET ME DOWN, GOD. IF IF WHAT MOTIVATES ME, GOD, HASN'T BEEN ESTABLISHED BY YOUR WORD, THEN SET ME DOWN, LORD JESUS. You do your work in our lives, God. Hallelujah, Jesus. >> Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord Jesus. >> Can we give him love right now? I love you, my Lord Jesus. God, I thank you. I thank you. You are the King of Kings. You are the Lord of Lords.

God, you are the lifter of my head, Lord Jesus. I thank you for your covenant. Thank you, Lord Jesus. God, give us liberty, Lord Jesus. God, tear down strongholds in our lives. Tear down strongholds in our mind. Reshape our culture to be kingdom culture. God, lies of the enemy. I command silence right now in Jesus' name. I take authority over every spirit, human or demonic, that would undermine the working of your kingdom. And I command it to be submitted to you right now in Jesus' name. GOD, YOU DO YOUR WORK. GOD, I RELEASE YOU TO TAKE YOUR LIBERTY. YOU ARE SOVEREIGN, OH LORD.