An Excellent Life - Part 1

I love the presence I feel in this place here today. I feel like God has something special for someone here. I don't know who it is, but maybe if we all just approach this message and say: "You know what, there's something in this word for me today." No doubt, that true statement: there is something here for all of us today in this place.

Good to see so many guests here today. We're honored that you have chosen to be in service with us here at Center Point. We hope that everybody's made you feel welcome, and then you can feel the presence of God here. Excited that the kids are next door as well. We know that God's going to move over there in the kids' service. And many of you know, but in just — in case you missed it, we've added extra kids' service. So every Sunday, except for the last Sunday of the month, there is kids church during the Worship Hour. We know that God's going to do special things over there in our kids' lives. Loving all the baptisms that's going on lately. I think last couple weeks there's been five or six baptisms. Not, not during service times. I like that we're having Church seven days a week. I love that we're having Church seven days a week. That's the way it was in the Bible. It doesn't have to be Sunday. That had to be Wednesday. It could be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Just, let's just have church. Let's be the church. How about that? Let's just be the church. The church is not the building. We're the church. The building is where the church meets. Where the church — get out there on that.

You know, I, uh, I'm as guilty as anybody about what I'm fixing to say. Isn't it surprising how quickly we can be accustomed to a certain standard, and when that standard is being met, instead of us maintaining our awe of that standard, it quickly becomes something that's common? It just becomes common. And before long, we can end up becoming even critical of something that at one time was, was, was mind-blowing. Now, don't get me wrong: standards tend to change. And it's, it's, it's also amazing to me how quickly that a standard can change, and it becomes something that we just accept. Anybody ever open the menu at a restaurant, and you see the picture representation of a dish, and you see that picture, and you're like: "Oh man, I want that." Or you walk in, and there's, you know, on the window going into the restaurant, there's that, there's that, you know, that, that double cheeseburger that's there. And you're seeing it, and you can, you, you just, you know, going in — Brother Spain — like: "That right there, that's going to make me happy. I'm going to be, I'm going to be satisfied, just looking at the picture." But then it arrives, and it's not quite the way the picture had portrayed it. Anybody ever experienced that before? Been a little disappointed with that? You know, it's one way in the picture, but, but when you get it there, you're just like: "What happened?" Hey, you want to go back up there and say, like: "You see that picture, that I ordered that picture. But what I received is this." And there is a great difference between what I have received and what I've seen. Yeah, that happens to us in life.

You know that the Bible, the Old Testament portion specifically, is, is a story. I'm, I'm gonna summarize it here in just a quick couple of, of minutes, that, that God created Mankind, and he placed them in a garden. And they're in the garden. Everything was available for man to, to live life, in a full life. But even in the middle of what we would, we would call the, the perfect environment, Man became dissatisfied. Isn't that something? I don't know about you, but every time I read the garden account in the Bible, in Genesis 1 and 2, I'm thinking: what is wrong with them? What is wrong with him? Like, it was, it was, it was, it was Perfection. God created Perfection, and placed you in the garden. And somehow, in the middle of perfection, you found a way to be discontent. You found a way to question: is this really as good as it can be? You know, sometimes the answer to that question is yes. This is as good as it gets. Quit looking for something better.

So we know, most of us, how the story goes. As they were convinced that God was withholding something extra special for them, the reality was that, that the serpent in the garden convinced Adam and Eve that they could be like God. And there's, there was something there that was appealing: "I can be God." And that's still a fight that we have today in our world, is us trying to be the god of our world, that everything revolves around me. And then we know that mankind fell. And then, from Genesis all the way through Malachi, is this story of, of God proving that he could be their trusted, he could be their redeemer, he could be the one who could be their savior. He's proven this. In fact, the, the whole book of Exodus is, is God taking them out of an enslavement that they had gotten themselves into. Until we get to the Book of Malachi. Now, obviously, there have been several hundreds and thousands of years that have passed in the history of mankind, till we get to the Book of Malachi. If you don't know, Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. And in the Book of Malachi, I, I've spent some time studying this book out, and a field of preach for the next four Sundays, counting today, out of the Book of Malachi. Because I feel like it's, it's a good book to reach where you and I are right now, in our world. And, and today, I want to kick off a series that I've titled "An Excellent Life." Because we can have an excellent life, because we have an excellent God. Now, don't misunderstand me when I say excellent life. I'm not, I'm not saying it's going to be an easy life, you guys, okay? It can be excellent. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy. It can be really good, but it doesn't mean you're not going to have to work. But there's a difference between these things.

What we're going to see in Malachi is, is a story unfolding, or a prophet who is being led by God's spirit, to talk directly to God's people. I'm going to read here a lengthy passage, but I feel like it's important for us to set the tone, not only for today, but for the rest of this month. Malachi chapter 1, verse number six, says: "The Lord of Heaven's Army says to the priest: 'A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I'm your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name.' But you ask: 'How have we ever shown contempt for your name?' 'You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.' Then you ask : 'How have we defiled the sacrifices?' You defile them by saying: the altar, the Lord, deserves no respect. When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn't that wrong? And isn't it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you. But when you bring that kind of an offering, why should he show you any favor at all, ask the Lord of Heaven's Armies. How I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered. I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of Heaven's Army. I will not accept your offering. But my name is honored by people of other nations, from morning till night. All around the world, they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name, for my name is great among the Nations, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it's all right to defile the Lord's table. You say: 'It's too hard to serve the Lord.' And you turn up your noses that my command, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies. Think of it: animals that are stolen, and crippled, and sick, are being presented as offerings. Should I accept from you such offerings as these, ask the Lord. Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine Ram from his flock, but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king, says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, and my name is feared among the Nations."

I don't know about you, but when I read this — those are, those are pretty sobering verses we just read right there. And I, and I don't feel like it's hard to pick up the tone in which God is talking to his people. That anybody else come away from that reading, feeling like God was happy with what was going on? No. I mean, it's, it's pretty apparent that he's, he's upset with what's being done in his house. How, that people are giving half-hearted offerings. They're giving half-hearted worship to him. And God says: "Look, I don't like it. I've got people in other nations who are doing the right thing, and you're doing the wrong thing. And yet you want — you want my benefit. You want me to, to receive this. You want me to be happy with what you're doing."

This, this, this little Book of Malachi — it's such an interesting book. I, I, I dare say, if I was to ask this room today, how many of you today read the book of Malachi, there'd be anybody who raised their hand. It's a short book. It's only four books. 15, 20 minutes, you can read the entire Book of Malachi. It's not a long book. Most of you think about — when you heard that Pastor is going to preach out of the Book of Malachi, you're like: "Here we go. Here's the sermon on tithing." Because, right, that's when we go to the Book of Malachi. We go to chapter 3, chapter 2, chapter 3, what we want to talk about tithing and offerings, and you being cursed for not giving. Some of you are like: "Oh man, it's about that time, him to bring up a money sermon." No, no, I'm not talking about money today. Because there's a lot more in the Book of Malachi than just talking about your finances. There's talking about how you live your life. And is God pleased with the life you live? More specifically, today: is God pleased with the way you worship Him? Is he happy? Because that's what's going on here in chapter one. The verses I read to you, as they're talking about offerings, bringing up — it wasn't talking about the money offering that was coming up. It was, for them, sacrifice was the way that they worshiped. Sacrifice was, was then presenting, uh, something special back to God. But they were not doing it in a way that was pleasing. And God, he's upset.

You see, our God, he's an excellent God. He is an excellent God. You know, if he — if you ever want to fully grasp all that God is, you have to start with the knowledge of, number one: he's a loving God. But number two: he's a good god. Even if bad things are going on, it doesn't negate that there's a good God. Now, I know some people say: "Well, if there's really a God, and God is good, then why does all the bad things happen?" Do you want to know why the bad things happen? Take your index finger. Everybody got an index finger? Everybody should, unless you've lost in some kind of an accident. This isn't trick. I'm not signing you up for something. Got a finger? Just kind of put it up like this. Make sure it's this finger, okay? All right. Now, once you do that, you got your finger, and I'll do this: that's why there's bad in the world. Right here. Has nothing to do with God. Has nothing, nothing to do with God whatsoever. And I can explain that, okay? That's something you may be like: "Well, that doesn't make sense." Okay, let me, let me explain this.

Love is an interesting thing. You know, the people have written songs about it, and, and tried their best to describe it. And, and, and, and, and, and, and if we're not careful, we, we can become very casual with that word "love." Right? Anybody, anybody been guilty about being casual with the word love? I know I have. Because I love my wife. She's right here. She has my heart. She's a beautiful woman. And I love her. But I also love tacos. No, I don't love tacos as much as I love my wife, obviously. So you got to be careful with that, right? I use the same word to describe my wife and tacos. And some of you thinking: "Well, Pastor Kevin, you're in trouble already." That's why I'm carefully moving to this side of the stage. No, we, we do that. We, we can say we love, and then, then we use that word to describe things. But, but love is, is interesting.

God's desire for creating mankind was to have a relationship with us. And relationships are built on a couple things. They're built on trust, and they're built on love. They are. But in order for there to truly be a right relationship, there's, there's another thing that goes in there. And that's this: it's called the freedom to choose. Now go with me for just a second, everybody, okay? All right. God had angels that he had created, that had no option when it come to whether or not they were going to worship him. There was no — there's no option. Because the moment they stopped worshiping him, he kicked him out. That's how the devil came about. He got kicked out. Because it wasn't like: "Well, I feel like worshiping you." They know: "You were created to worship me," without choice. But here's the deal: if I force you to love me, is that really love? It's not. If I had the ability somehow to, to entrap you, and put you in Chains, and say: "You're going to love me, and the only way you're going to get out of here is, is when I know that you love me" — is that really love? No. And, and God knew that. He knew, in order to, to have the kind of relationship that he desired, the only way that relationship worked was to give man the freedom to choose. Now, that's a dangerous thing. Because what his desire is, that you would choose to love him. But you can also choose to not love him. That's the only way it works. And he had — he had no way of knowing what you and I are going to do. And we knew that Adam and Eve, through, through being deceived, they chose to not be obedient. They chose not to love God. They chose to find out if they truly could be God. And because of that, their Disobedience, sin entered the world. And it's because the sin, that we have all the bad stuff that goes on.

Now, here's a guy — here's, here's the deal, guys: we can have all the rules in the world. There's, there's not a country that has more law than, than the United States of America. We have law. But law itself, right, doesn't, doesn't guarantee there's not going to be bad. Have you noticed? Have you noticed what's going on? Right? And then, then some come into questions. We have all this stuff. And I'm still thankful, even though stuff's going on right now that, that, uh, that I don't like. Even though our country is not the country I grew up in, as a kid, and so much stuff is changing. And it does grieve my heart, for my children that are being raised in this, in this country today, the things that are going on. It's still, in my opinion, the best country to live in, because we still do have — even though our freedoms are being challenged, they are — and I'm all for standing for what's right. And, and you've heard me say this enough, that: "If you don't vote, shut up." But after you voted, then you, you, you're really — your best option is to live the life God wants you to live. Because, because here's the deal, okay? And I don't know if this is, this is going to be the earth-shattering news to you, but, but God's coming back. And if you've read the Bible at all, you, you have picked up on the fact that him coming back is because the world's gotten bad. So, in order for him to come back, it's going to get bad. And then, right now, it seems really bad to me. I don't know about you, but it seems kind of crazy. So I want to make sure I'm where I need to be, because I don't want to miss him coming back. Is that okay? That wasn't even my notes. That was free. You got a freebie today.

But God's desire, in a relationship with us, is that, that we live a life that he desires for us to live. And part of the reason God's desire for us, in this, in this example, about bringing a good offering, about bringing a prized lamb in, is because it helps understand the process of him being, being our savior. Now, what I mean by that is, it, it's fully — it is very difficult for you and I to understand God — for, for, for Jesus to die on a cross, it's hard for us to really process what all that means, if you don't understand what was set up from the beginning in the Old Testament. If you don't understand about the Tabernacle. And if you don't understand about the, the Passover Lamb. If you don't understand these things in the Bible — and I'm not, if you don't fully understand it, it's okay. I don't want you to feel bad. But my point for bringing that up is, is: someone dying on a cross doesn't make a whole lot of sense, if you don't understand the process that took place when he was on the cross, that he became the substitution for you and I. That all started way back in Exodus, when Israel was, was enslaved by Egypt, and they begin to cry out, because, because the conditions they were living in were so horrible. And God heard their cry. And he, he spoke to a man named Moses. And, and, and we, we've heard sermons about the burning bush. And, and he was saying: "I've heard my people, and Moses, I want to deliver them out." And through the process of the ten plagues — and if you were in Bible Sunday school at all, as a kid, you probably heard something about those 10 plagues, and maybe even had old flannel graph less than anything. You know what flannel graphs are? Yeah, the old flannel graph lessons were the — you were there, and they'd put the little, you know, they would sometimes stick sideways, and that made my day, when the, you know, Moses was not perfectly up. Now he's like, kind of sideways anyway. You're hearing this lesson that was going on. And then there was, there was a lamb, where the pat, whether — where the death angel was going to come in, and they had to, they had to kill the, the Passover Lamb. That had to take its blood, and put it on the doorpost, and across the mantle. So that when the death angel came, he seen the blood that was there, and he would pass over that house. If you don't know that story, it's okay. It's a little longer story than I have time today. And I would love to tell you that story, so if you'd like to know that story, catch me after church today, and, and I'll, I'll put together a time to tell you that story.

But it's because of that story, about the Passover Lamb, that Jesus died on a cross makes sense. To give you a very small version of that story, is that God instructed Moses to tell the people: "Look, I'm fixing to deliver you out of here. I've been trying to deal with Pharaoh. I purposely hardened his heart, because I wanted to prove to you, and I wanted to prove to the Egyptians, that I am God. I am the god. There are no other gods. The Egyptians had a whole lot of gods. They had gods for the, for all kinds of stuff. And, but, but God said: 'No, there's just one of me. I am the god. And I'm going to prove it tonight. I want you to take a lamb. I want you to go find a lamb. I don't want you just to find any lamb. I want you to find the best lamb. I want you to go into your flock. Because everybody, for the most part, had a flock of lambs, is, I want you to go into that. And I don't want you to find the gimpy one. I don't want you the one that has, you know, the chunk missing out of its ear. I don't want you one that only has three legs. I don't want you one that has three eyes. I don't want you to do all that. I want you to go find the best lamb that you have, without spot, without blemish. And I want you to separate that lamb. You can read about this in Exodus chapter 12. Once you get that lamb, don't you — once you put it to the side, I want you to evaluate that lamb, and make sure it's good. Because there's going to add an appointed time, everybody, every, all, all of, all of Israel, at a point in time, were to take that lamb. And you were to, to, to kill that lamb. And you were to take some of its blood, and you were to put it into a bowl. And you were to apply it to the top of the door, and to the side post of the, of the front door. Because most, most places only had a door then. Because there's — God says: 'I'm going to send a death angel through. I'm going to prove to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, that I am the god. And I'm going to kill the firstborn of all that don't have the blood applied. And I want you, after you've killed it, I want you to roast that lamb. And I want you to, I want you to get dressed like you're going on a trip. And I want you to set the table. And I want you to eat it. This isn't a casual meal. I want you to say that — I want you to eat it, because you're going somewhere. I'm fixing to deliver you out of this bondage that's there.' You were to eat it. You would eat it with a bit of herbs. And, and here's the deal: you had to eat the whole thing. And if your family wasn't big enough to eat the whole thing, then you were to invite a neighbor over. You would invite your, your kin folk over, because you had to eat it all that night. Because that, that lamb that you killed was going to ensure that you survived.

The Bible talks about Jesus being the lamb that was slain from the foundation. When Adam and Eve messed up, God put a plan together, that he was going to come back and redeem mankind. That he himself would be the lamb. And he, he, he is going to be perfect in what he does. That's why his requests for you to spend time with the lamb was important. Because he wanted you to know: "I'm going to give you my best. I'm not going to give you something this is just half-hearted. I'm not going to give you something that's a substitute. I'm going to give my best. Therefore, I want you to give your best."

You know, when I was a, when I was a teenager, I didn't, I didn't think a lot about My Worship. You know, I lived in the house, and I'm very thankful for the house I was living in. My Mom and Dad are here. I'm very thankful that they, they brought my brother and I — my brothers right back there — they brought my brother and I to church. You know, I didn't always want to go. But living in the household, that was not an option. If you were sick, well then, you know, go throw up, and you'll feel better. You hadn't done that. If you're sick, well, we should carry the house of God, because we'll pray for you. You've heard me say it before: I was drugged as a kid. I was drugged to prayer meeting. I was drugged to church services. I was a drug doctor. We were drugged. We were there. I'm thankful for that now, in my life, that my mom and dad always made sure that my brother and I were in the presence of God. It's important to be there. But I didn't always put a lot of stock into my response in the service. And in fact, there were a lot of times that, if you were raised around church, that you, you knew how to do church. Now, if you've been around church for a little while, even just a few months, you, you know how to do Church. What I mean by that: if you've been here, as a part of Center Point, for, for even two or three services, you, you pick up pretty quick. There are times we stand up. And some of you, like, probably come in like: "Man, you gotta stand up a lot. Like, why do you have these seats? Why are they even here?" We stand — we, we stand for multiple reasons. One of the reasons: we want to honor God when we begin to worship him, because we believe worship's important. But again, if you're raised in church, you figured out how to do it. Like, I know when to stand. I even knew when to say Amen, if it wasn't even half listening to the message. I knew when it was time to raise my hands. I knew when it was time to put on my spiritual looking face. Now, this is to be honest. I believe in being honest. There were plenty of times when I had my spirit — sorry, there was a hair there, if you wanted to — flying across. I knew when I could put my spiritual face on, and put my hands up, to be standing, to be engaged in worship. But I wasn't. I wasn't engaged in worship. My mind was a Million Miles Away. I was thinking about what I was going to eat. I was thinking about the guy preaching, and: "You really hurry up, because I'm starving." I remember thinking a few times: "Does a guy even have a point, that's preaching?" Some of y'all may be thinking that today. Where I'm going, this is — I felt like whatever I gave to God, should just be happy with it. Whatever effort I put into it, whatever half-hearted effort, God should be pleased. It never crossed my mind that God might be offended, because I haven't given my best, when I came to the house of God. Anybody ever think about it? Anybody ever, ever, ever just stopped for a minute, and think: "God, are you pleased that I showed up today?" Because I do feel like, in my own life, early on, there, there was a time when I felt like God should just be happy that I'm here. Right? Why wouldn't he be? Why wouldn't God be — "The, the Kevin Allen has arrived. God, you should be happy with my life. I am here. I have given you a few minutes of my life." The audacity that I would think like that. God should just be happy with whatever meager amount of effort I could put in, towards him. He should just happily receive.

You see, guys, what's going on in Malachi, is Malachi is being moved on by God. And he's speaking, and saying: God's not happy with you bringing in a blemished lamb. God's not happy. His desire is for you to give the best. All right? He didn't say — and this is important — he didn't say for you to go over to your neighbor's herd, and you define your neighbor's best lamb, and you steal that lamb, and you bring it in and present it. No. What he said is: the best that you have. The best that you have. You're not going to be judged based off of your neighbor's talents and abilities. You're not going to be based off of, of their intellect, and what they can do. No, no, no. What, what can you do? What can you bring? What has God put inside of you? That's his expectation. Not somebody else. "But I can't do what so-and-so does. I can't sing like them, and I can't teach like that. And I, I don't have the ability to do these things." Look, God's not gonna — he's not gonna look at you and say: "Why aren't you doing that?" He's going to look and say: "Why aren't you doing something with what I gave you? I put something inside of you. You have the ability to worship me. You have the ability to, to do something for my kingdom. I've given you things that are specific to you. And you come in half-hearted. You come in — whether you are aware or not — with it, with an arrogance of: 'God, you should be happy I'm here today.'" Now, I know if you stop for a minute, you'll be like me. And if you really process that, it's very convicting. It's very sobering, to think that there have been times in my life that I showed up at the house of God, and that was, that was about all the effort I gave, as I actually just showed up. And, and part of me didn't even want to be here. But I felt like God should be pleased, because I gave some effort.

Now, let me ask you — let me, let me, let me, let me turn the script. Let me flip it just a little bit. How happy would you be with God, if that was the god you served? That he gave you half? That he gave you part? That when he paid attention every now and then, that we should be over the moon? But no, that's not what our god did. He has always given his best. He is an excellent God. He's always done all that was needed to fulfill salvation for you and I.

I read the words there, in verse number 10, in Malachi 1 and 10. I read it to you from this, from the New King James. It says: "Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not Kindle the 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." I begin to think about that. And I'm thankful. I'm thankful that I live in this dispensation of Grace, that you and I live in. I'm thankful that I'm a part of the New Testament Church. I don't know about you, but I'm thankful. I'm thankful I don't have to go out and get a lamb anymore. First of all, I don't even have room for that at our house. My wife wants chickens, and we don't have room for chickens either, babe. But we don't, much less than lamb. And then, then think with me now — for the most part, there's no kids in here, so I can be maybe a little bit more graphic with this, okay? But here's, here's the process, okay? We, we think sometimes: "Well, let's just drug a lamb in there and sacrifice." No, no. The process went like this, okay? You had to bring that little lamb in. "Jace, come here. You're gonna be my little lamb. Come on up here, a little lamb." He's taller than me. I should have picked somebody shorter. So that — "This is my lamb." Yeah, there you go, William. So he's my good lamb. I, I, I went to my flock, and I investigated. And he, he's not — you know, he's got all his parts and moving. He's got all his limbs. He's got good teeth. He's got — he don't have a missing ear. Like, I, I found my lamb. And I bring my — this Old Testament — I bring my lamb in to sacrifice. But here's the deal: when I got there, I got to put my hand onto my Lamb's head. And in the presence of the priest, I got to confess my faults: "God, forgive me for lust. Forgive me for pride. Forgive me for thinking badly against my neighbor. Forgive me of all, all the dishonor." I had to confess out loud. Put my hand on top of that lamb, knowing this: that the moment I'm doing my confession, this Lamb's gonna die, because of my wrongs. They're going to cut his throats. No, blood's gonna spill out. That blood's gonna be applied to the altar, all to make atonement for my wrongs. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm thankful we don't have to do that anymore. You're really thankful, aren't you? Yes. Yeah, yeah. And thank you, Jace.

We live in — we live in the New Testament, which means Jesus Christ at Calvary, on that cross, took our place. He became our lamb. He was the only perfect one that ever lived. That's why he could die for our sins, to take our place. He, he, he, he, he took on the penalty of sin, which is death, for you and I. Now, we live in this dispensation of Grace. But, but the problem that comes about is, like I said when I kick this message off: isn't it amazing how we can get so used to things, that it doesn't really affect us anymore?

I remember, there's, there's been several, several times in my life, where, where I've been, uh, able to, to be a part of a, of an incredible meal at a restaurant. You know, a nice, you know, where, where it cost you a lot, but it was such a wonderful experience. I didn't think about what it cost me, because of how great it was there. But then I've, I've been privileged to have frequented that, that same place, more than once. And, and even though the thing is still just as good as it ever was, it doesn't quite impress me as it much, as it did the first time I was there. Anybody know what I'm talking about? I also remember the first time that I truly gave myself over to God. And I truly came down to an altar area, like we have down here. And I, and I asked God to forgive me of my sins. And that feeling that came over me, when God forgave me. How much better I felt, because I had not done all the things I was supposed to. And I had lived in a way that I knew wasn't pleasing, wasn't pleasing to God. And I asked him, and he forgave me. I'm so thankful that I have mercy every day of my life. But isn't it scary how, how quickly I can be accustomed to that mercy? And, and what I mean by that is that I end up taking it for granted. And how, if something doesn't go my way — how many of you remember when you first came into God? When you first gave God — when God first saved you, and filled you with this Spirit? Y'all remember that? Do you remember that feeling that was there? I mean, you felt like: "Man, I could tackle the bus for Jesus right now. Like: 'I'll go. I'll be a missionary to Zimbabwe. I'll do whatever it is.' We had all these things. How many of you dismembered thinking like: 'God, I'll do whatever. God, wherever you call me, whatever you want me to do, I'm in.' This isn't a trick question, you guys, okay? Was it only me in Tabitha? Anybody else? Yeah, there we go. What are you afraid of? I'm not signing you up for something. It's okay. I'm not going to make you go to the mission field that you thought you were going to go to. All right? Yeah, you remember that. It was, it was an amazing feeling. Now, how many will be willing to admit that that feeling has waned a little? Yeah. Now, has God changed? Is God any less than he was, the day that he filled you with the spirit? Has God backed up on anything? No. Then what changed? Me and you changed. You got to be careful, because it's very easy to lose the awe and wonder of God, to forget just how good he is.

So I'm asking you very pointed questions today: what are you bringing God today? What kind of worship did you bring to God today? I love Carl Johnson. I love Brother Johnson. He gets down here, man. He just gets Jiggy for Jesus, every service. I love it. He comes down, and I mean, he — when it, when he first started, when you guys first started attending church here, Brother Johnson — I'm gonna be honest with you — convicted me. Not, not the first service. Not the second service. It was about the 17th service that you were here. And I'm like: "That dude is still going at it up here, and worshiping God." Nobody — anybody else had that thought? But I thought: "Man." I'm not trying to put him on a pedestal, all right? He's just a man. He puts his shoes on just like you and I do, unless he jumps in them. I don't think he does. But I loved that he had that exuberance for God. He was bringing worship.

So I'm asking you today: what did you bring into the house with you? What worship did you bring into the house today? I know, I know, you're going acquire — I know you're going to say — I've almost wrote in my notes: "They're going to sit on you." It's okay. Because this kind of message, you got to think about: how did you arrive today? Would you, like David, today — "I was glad when they said unto me: let us go into the house of the Lord." Did you wake up today and say: "Yes, it's Sunday. I endured Monday through Saturday. And I put up with a lot of stuff. But it's Sunday. Today is the Lord's day. I have an opportunity now to go to his house, to be in his presence, to be around people of like Precious faith. I get a chance to dance in freedom of worship and praise. I give an opportunity today to worship my Lord and Savior." Did anybody wake up that way today? Did anybody wake up that way today? How did we come in? How did we arrive? Did we arrive with the mindset of: "Boy, I hope Pastor Kevin brings it today. Because if you don't — I'm a little tired. I stayed up, because I was trying to finish that Netflix series. I hope the worship team — hope they sing that song. I hope so-and-so's leading worship, because if they do, man, I know it's going to be..." Now, I'll be honest with you: we all can have a consumer mentality. But how dangerous is it, when that consumer mentality comes into the house of God? Is this what Malachi was addressing? Yeah.

One time, you were all in. At one time, when you were enslaved, and, and God told you, through his Prophet Moses, that: "Hey Dad, you got to get it right. Don't get a Blame It Slam. Because if you get a blameless land, your oldest son's gonna die." And Dad's out there inspecting. He's turning lips up, and he's looking in the ears, and he's making sure every leg is the same leg. He's doing his part, because something's going to die. But as time passed on, worship became commonplace. And then it became something of: "All right, we'll just go pick a lamb out of there. Just get one." And then it got to the point of: "I'll just get that, get the gimpy one over there. Because, I mean, you know, they're not gonna — I don't want that. I don't — just get that one. That's the — well, God will be happy. God, whatever you give, God will be happy with." I don't — I don't read Malachi, and walk away with: "Whatever I give God, he's happy with." What I walk away, when I read this, is: the God who says: "I'm giving my best. And I gave my — I gave my best first. I set an example first, for you. I wanted you to know that I'm willing to go to the greatest length possible for you. And all I'm asking in return is for you just to give me your best. Not your neighbor's best. Not your father's best. Not your grandmother's best. Not your grandmother's religion. Not your father. I want you to give me your — I gave my best for you. You give me your best back. That's all I want. Nothing more, but nothing less. Nothing more, but nothing less than your best."

Never occurred to me that God could be offended by me. He doesn't want my scraps. He doesn't want my bones. He wants my best, or nothing at all. When I think about God, I'm asking a question: what kind of, what kind of grade do you give God, on what he's done? I mean, look at nature, right? You all, you go to Nature, and see out there. How many think God has done an above-average job on nature, right? Yeah. In fact, I think I'd probably give him an Excellence on that, right? You know anybody who's a better Creator than him? No. No. He is excellent in all he does. He's excellent in that. He's excellent with his provision. He's excellent with his, with his protection. He's excellent with his guidance. He, he gave his best for us.

Galatians 4 and 4 says: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under all, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Jesus set the, the standard for excellence, in what he did. He set the standard of Excellence. And when he taught, he set the standard of Excellence, in his wisdom, and in his integrity, and in his love. And in everything he did, it was simply excellent. There's no other way to describe what he did in our English language, other than to say it was excellent. And even when it come time to die, he died in excellent death. Excellent death, in what he did. He was forgiving those who were pounding Stakes into his hands and feet. And when, when he's being nailed to the cross, he demonstrates and manifests love and forgiveness: "Forgive them. They don't know what they're doing." I don't know about you, but if somebody's drilling a stake into my arm, the last thing I want to be thinking about in that moment is forgiving them. Even in his death, he died an excellent death. And then, what an excellent Resurrection, right? Who's done it better? Nobody. Nobody. He — I love the — he didn't even disturb the guards. Didn't bother anybody. He just did it in an excellent way. And then, and then, what about his Ascension? I mean, boom, he's out of here. Ain't nobody else done that. No, I can't. And then he sends his excellent Spirit back. What an excellent idea the Holy Spirit is. That's our God.

First Corinthians 2 and 9: "But as written: I hath not seen, or ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God had prepared for them to love him." And here we are, in Malachi chapter one, where the Prophet is simply asking the question to the people of his day: how is it you should respond to God? To which I asked this church here today: how is it you should respond to God? Did you come in here — and, and I'm not saying you did it on purpose, okay? I'm not saying you, on purpose — I don't think anybody, anybody came into this place with, with the intent of: "All right, God, I'm here. You better do something." No, I don't think — I think you, you came. You're here. You're part of this place. But now that you're here, I feel prompted in my spirit to ask you: how did you come in? Did you come in with your mind made up, that: "God, I'm going to give you my best today. When I come into your house, God, I'm going to give you the very best that I have to offer. I'm going to worship you. My mind's gonna be focused on you." No, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that you should have been running laps, and, and biting the sheetrock, and hanging off the light fixtures up here. I'm not saying that. I mean, sometimes we get kind of crazy in Apostolic church, right? We do. But that's what I'm talking about — I'm not talking about physical effort, all right? I know Brother, Brother Johnson, while ago, in his worship — and I'm not talking about physical. I'm just talking about: when you came in — remember I told you, it's not about how your neighbor does this. Not about how your mama does this. It's about you, about you. Did you come in today with your mind made up: "God, I'm going to give you the best worship that I can give you"? So that's where Malachi's at.

See, there comes a point, you're gonna have to sort this thing out in your life. What do you bring God, when you come to meet him? What do you bring God, when you interact with him? What are you bringing? Do you just bring in your list of things, like: "God, I got to have help of this. Here's the stuff." And here, here's the deal: he's a God who loves to take care of his kids. He loves to take care of his kids. Now, how many of you in the room are a parent? If you're a parent, just raise your hand. Yeah. It doesn't mean, if you don't have your hand up, we're going to give you one or something. Just, you know: "Here's a kid. Not your parent." No. Is there anything more humbling in this world, than parenting? I mean, there's nothing that'll bring you down like that. If nothing else, blow out diaper, and you're questioning all things in life, like: "How do I get here? What's going on? Why is this happening to me?" Yeah. Now, for those of us who have kids — and I don't care how old your kids are, if your kids — I was doing — most of you, many of you know that I used to was — I was a medical sonographer. I did ultrasounds for years, before I got in the ministry. I had this guy come in. He was 98 years old. I was doing an examine. He was sharper's attack. I mean, he was mad, because his doctor told him he had to quit — my quit — push mowing the yard. To which I said: "You're 98. If you want to push mow the yard, push mow the yard. What are they going to do to you?" But I ask him this question. It made me laugh. I said: "Do you have any children?" Which is a normal question while I was doing exams. He said: "No, I got an old man and a woman." I was like: "Oh man." I always said: "Yeah, my son's 72. My daughter's 74." Even if you have an old man — no. There have been times when you would have done anything for them, but because of the way they approached you — anybody ain't messing with — more pastors preaching right now — because of the way they approached you, you're like: "There ain't no way. You have been doing this and that. And I've told you 9,000 two times to do this and this. And then you have the audacity to walk in here and ask me for that. Have you lost your mind?"

Now, let me ask: how many times have we approached God that way? Knowing full well we have not lived in any remote close way, the way we should have lived. But yet we're saying: "God, I need you right now. I need you to do this. I need you to do that." Now, don't — I'm not saying you can't pray if you're not perfect, all right? Because none of us are going to be perfect. If that's the case, none of us would ever pray. Don't miss the point of my sermon today: how are you approaching God? Because if you treat him like he's Santa Claus, do you really expect for him to be happy with your relationship? Let me go back to you being a parent. If all they ever did was ask you for something, but they never, ever, ever, ever, ever manifested love any other way, except when you were given in to whatever their demand was, would you be happy with that kind of relationship? But so many approach their relationship with God that exact same way, and think that God should just be happy. What are you bringing?

See, here's what I know: at some point, you, you, you have to just decide: "God, I give my life to you." Because anything else short of that makes a mockery of what he did at Calvary. Because he gave his life for us. Now, you've heard me say this the last several months, because it's something I feel like is appropriate to say in the culture and day and age we live in: I don't care what you've gotten yourself entangled with. I don't, I don't care who you think you are. There seems to be a lot of confusion in our world. This is the truth I need you to know: God loves you. God loves you. And that's all you need to know, to come to him: is that he loves you. That, that's it. So it doesn't matter who you are. Doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter what you've done. All right? Nobody's disqualified from his love. No matter what you've done, you're not disqualified from his love. But now, I will say this: once you come in, and you say: "All right, I'll receive what you're saying, that God loves me." And, and you start to move forward, and God fills you with this Spirit. From that moment forward, though, you have an obligation. What I mean by that — well, Jesus himself said: "If any man wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross." In fact, Luke says: to take up his cross in order to Die daily, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew leaves the daily part out. But no matter what, you got to take up a cross. What does that mean? There's, there's a — do you have to sacrifice your life, like he sacrificed his life? All right, I'm gonna say this, because it just feel like I have to say this. You probably won't hear that in most churches in the city today, because most churches in the city want to preach you to where you feel good. And I want you to feel good, and go to heaven. There's a commitment part in the process that is there. And here's the thing I know in my own life — and I'm getting close, I'm, I'm just, you know, a few minutes away, which really means nothing — when I finally gave my life to him, this is what I've realized. This is the truth for me. And I know it's not only my truth. It's a truth and a reality for many in this room today. Is that God's done a lot better job of leading my life than I've done by myself. Malachi puts it back — he puts it back on you and I, to ask the question: what are you bringing God? Because it can't be leftovers. It can't be scraps. He gave his best. He wants our best.

As I wrap this up today: there was a moment in my life where I realize God opened the door, an opportunity for me, and I had to make some decisions. And at that time in my life, it was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. To lay some groundwork on this: it was 2004. Now, for Chastity, now that year was a pretty important year in our life. Because in February of 2004, we, we welcomed our first daughter into the world. And in May of 2004, we, we moved into a house that we had been building. It was a new house for us. And, and things were going really good. The Lord had opened up several opportunities for me, and in my, my job, I had Advanced. And from a, from a monetary standpoint, we were doing pretty good. In fact, we were doing as good, to the point that she and I were having a discussion about the opportunity for her to stay home, and be a stay-at-home mom. And it was during that time that our pastor then — which is Bishop — he, he took us to dinner, at, at Buca di Beppo in Franklin, which is really good food, but to have really weird decor. We're there, and he offers me an opportunity to come on full time with the church. And I'm going to be transparent with you guys in this moment: I didn't see that one coming. I felt like at some point God was going to provide a way for me to, to go full time. But at that time, it was not on my mind. I was 28 years old, and I felt like my career was — had, it was, was really just kind of moving up. And things were going good. And it seemed like all the things that, that I had in mind, and that chassis had in mind for our life — because we were, we were still heavily involved in ministry here — it seemed like everything was coming together. And then Pastor — he's Bishop now — Pastor tells me, he says: "I think it's time for you to come on to church." I mean, if he would have took my spaghetti, and slap me with it, I don't think he could have surprised me more, than in that moment, him offered me this opportunity. And then we talked about compensation. Now, nobody goes into the church world for money. You really shouldn't. So again, again, being transparent: it was a 68,000 pay cut for me. And that was 2004 Monday night 2023 money. So that was a big deal for us. That I mentioned, we just had a kid. Did I mention we just moved into a house? Yeah. Did I mention that I was talking to my wife about her staying home, and not going back to work? Okay. That same week, I got two more job offers. Same week. Monday, we was them. Wednesday, that week, I got a job offer. Friday, that week, I got a job offer. Both of the other job offers were making more. One of them was just — I don't even know how to describe how ridiculously crazy the job offer was. But it was mine. I remember she and I looking at each other, going: "What is going on?" Now, I remember, at that time in my life, it was one of the hardest things. I've had more stuff since then. But at that time, it was one of the hardest moments in my life. As I was, I was wrestling with what to do. Like: "God, why, why this way? Why not just a job offer to go to church? Why did you have to do the other things?" And as I was wrestling, in my time with prayer with God, I felt him speak to me, and say: "Your dreams are mine. I gave you my best. Are you willing to give me yours? Are you willing to give me your best years of vocation? Are you willing to give me the, the, the, the, the time when you could be building your dream? I want to know: are you willing to give me your best? I already gave you my best." I'd love to tell you I jumped up from there, and I'm like: "Yes! All right, this is going to be good to go." I still got up from there crying, talking to my wife about it. But we knew. We knew what the right decision was. And that's why I'm here today.

And I would love to tell you that within a month, God blessed us with a hundred thousand dollars' worth of passive income, off of seven rental properties that God just opened for us, and that was right there. We didn't have to worry about anything. He was just looking for me to Simply say yes, and he came along. Did that happen, baby? No. Years. It was tough. We never went without. We never went without. But it was tough, for years. It was like: "God, I feel like I'm giving you my best, and you could help me out here." Many of you, most of you, are never going to have to wrestle with their vocationally. You're going to leave — many, many of you are going to work in the, work in the marketplace, and you're going to do — God's going to use you to do great things. But there's going to be, there's going to be opportunities, though. There's going to be Crossroads, where you're going to be presented with opportunities. It's going to be a choice: you can give your best to him, or you can choose for, to live for yourself. You're gonna have to choose.

Now, I titled this series in excellent life, because this is what I want you to know: even though there were times that it was hard, with the decision that we made, I wouldn't take anything for what I've been able to experience, knowing that I was obedient to God's call in my life. Because there are blessings that I can't even go into, that he has given me in my life, and assurances that I know that I would have never experienced, had I not been willing to take a risk, and Trust. So I'm asking you, at the end of this sermon today, it's simply this question: are you giving your best to him, in your life, right now? Are you giving your best to him? Is he getting your best time? Is he getting your best talent, your best abilities? Are you coming, and you're simply giving scraps and leftovers? "Well, my pastor, I got to put bread on the table. And I gotta, I gotta keep roof overhead. We got to work. We all got to work." I'm not saying that. I'm not saying you all go quit. Okay, listen to me: I'm not saying you all go quit. But I'm asking you: are you giving your best to him? Or is it your job that gets the best you? Is it your hobbies to get the best of you? What is it? Because when I see what he did, when I read what he did, when he went to Calvary, he didn't give us a leftover. He didn't give us a scrap. But he, he went there, and he laid down, and he gave. Oh, I want to know: where are you? Where are you? Are you giving your best?

As a — as I bring this to the end of this message, in this time, time of altar, time of prayer, I want you to know: if you're not giving your best, it's okay. He's given his best. He's excellent in all he does. But I feel like this service is a time for some recommitment. I hope that you felt some conviction in this message, because I was convicted as I was putting it together. And there were several moments when I had to stop, and I had to pray there in my office: "God, there have been times when I have given you less than, less than. And I don't want to be guilty of bringing a blemish lamb into his house. How do I be guilty? Not when he gave a perfect sacrifice for me."

So, as I say this closing prayer here: if you feel this altars open, I think it'd be good for us all to do a little self-evaluating, to make sure where we're, where we need to be in him. If you're comfortable, would you mind bowing your heads, closing your eyes?

God, I love you so much. I'm so thankful, Lord, that there are still times in my life when I read your word, and it convicts me to my core. Father, forgive me of the times that I arrogantly walked into your house, thinking that you should be pleased, just because I simply showed up. Please forgive me. Please forgive me, Lord. I want to be right with you. I want to appear before you with my best. God, help me see the places inside of me that I need to change. Help me change my thought life. Helped me change my, my way of processing what goes on, so that I can give you my best, every time I come before you. I want you to be pleased with me, Lord, and the life that I live for you. God, I feel your presence so strong right now. I know you're moving in this place. I pray, God, that we would have courage to do some self-evaluation, in this moment, while you were here, to make sure, God, that we come every time before you, bring him our best lamb. Jesus' name, this altar is open. I would encourage you to come. Let us pray with you. Make sure you're where you need to be.