His Name Feared among the Nations

[0:00] Recall now we have been looking at God's dealing with the priesthood and the fact that they had offered perverted sacrifices to the Lord contrary to the law of God.

[0:28] ! Not only were they doing that, he spoke of some of the things that was going to be the consequences of that. We'll see that more later on.

[0:39] But also, he said, as we kind of closed out last time, in verse 13 of chapter 1, remember what he says here. From the rising of the sun, even until the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles.

[0:55] And in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.

[1:05] And of course, that's where we began looking at Melchizedek. But then in verse 13, if you will, that was verse 11. Verse 13, You're saying to yourself, what a weariness that is.

[1:46] What a burden it is in serving the Lord like this time after time after time. Bringing sacrifices time after time. We looked at that last time.

[1:57] And then he said, you've even snuffed at it. You remember what that was? What the word snuffed there literally means. It has the picture of the horse or the cattle snuffing at their fodder because they didn't want to eat it.

[2:12] They didn't like it. So they'd blow out their nostrils forcefully and let whatever comes out comes out. And cover that fodder so that they wouldn't eat it and nobody else would either.

[2:25] They just didn't like it. What a picture. That is of the priests snuffing at their service to the Lord and offering sacrifices in the house of God.

[2:44] They snuffed at it. It was just something that was no longer, not only not appealing to them, but something very distasteful to them. So that's a picture of the attitude God saw in their lives.

[2:59] Now, it brings us to verse 14. Talking in the same line there. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing.

[3:15] For I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen. Now, cursed be the deceiver. The fraudulent, hypocritical, false, or deceitful dealer is the idea there.

[3:31] It's one that likes to outwardly make a show of things, but he intends and does something quite different, usually the opposite.

[3:42] So he makes a show of doing something, but then ends up doing something different that is always something less than what he professes he's going to do. Not only that, but he doesn't even have the ability to do what he makes a showing of doing.

[3:58] So that's his picture there, and he does that thinking that he could deceive God. Amen. What a picture that is, huh?

[4:09] Anybody here ever thought you could deceive God? That God wouldn't recognize and know and see not only what you did, but what your motive was, and see your heart in the midst of all of that?

[4:23] The entire intent of these men was not to break with God. That wasn't the picture. They didn't really want to break a relationship with God, but they wanted to keep in favor with him, but they wanted to do that on as easy of terms as they could.

[4:38] In other words, they just wanted to barely get by. An old saying of the Jews from that day is this, For as a merchant who offers his goods at a certain price, if he supply them afterwards adulterated and corrupted, is guilty of fraud and is unjust.

[4:58] So he who promised to God a sacrifice worthy of God, and according to the law, perfect and sound, is fraudulent and sins against justice, if he afterwards gives one defective, mutilated, faulty, and is guilty of theft in a sacred thing, and so guilty of sacrilege.

[5:22] Strong words there. But it's true. As human beings, we're so accustomed to dealing with people, right, that are human beings as well.

[5:34] Now, we, of course, as God's people, as Christians, we want to be very honest in everything we do. But you realize there are people that aren't really honest in what they do.

[5:49] Has anybody ever been dealt with deceptively by someone? Yeah, I think we all have down the road a ways. Something comes to mind, but I'm not going to share that with you right now.

[6:02] I'll be kind. So that's what they were doing with God. Now, the priesthood and the people in bringing their offerings and bringing their sacrifices.

[6:14] The thought came to me about all of that today, as I was going back over that, about what does God say to us? How does this apply to us personally?

[6:29] Go into 1 Peter 2 with me, if you will. Now, wherefore, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings.

[6:39] Now, notice that. He's telling the believer, lay those things aside, as if some of those things are still a part of some of their lives. Lay them aside. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.

[6:55] If so be, you've tasted that the Lord is gracious. Now, notice that.

[7:19] As lively stones, you're built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Christ.

[7:30] Wherefore, also, it's contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

[7:43] Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.

[7:55] Even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed. But ye, as for you, you are a chosen generation.

[8:08] That's the word generation. You've got this in your printout tonight. A generation is a body with a common life and a common descent. So, you're a chosen generation.

[8:19] A royal priesthood, a king priesthood, all right, kingly priesthood, and holy nation, peculiar people, that ye may show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

[8:36] Now, he pictures that's what we are in Christ, all right? Not priest after the order of Aaron, like the Levitical law, but we are king priests in our relationship, in our unity with Christ, our association with him, and Christ being a high priest after the order of Melchizedek that we looked at last week.

[9:04] An unending, eternal priesthood, if you will. Now, with that in mind, go down here just a second.

[9:16] Verse 10, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Verse 11, dearly beloved, got to believe that what he's saying here is this.

[9:28] As a result of that being what you are, royal priesthood, a kingdom of priests, if you will, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, in other words, some that are just traveling through, not at home, all right, that you abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conversation or manner of behavior honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak evil against you, as evildoers, they may by your good works which they shall behold glorify God in the day of visitation.

[10:08] So you see the picture there. Because of what we are in Christ, our behavior is to be such that we are in Christ.

[10:18] Not like those priests in the day of Malachi. Not like the worshipers in the day of Malachi who bring faulty sacrifices and offerings unto the Lord.

[10:33] Now, Romans chapter 12. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable or rational service.

[10:50] Now, get that. We know under the Levitical law, as we've been seeing in the book of Malachi, that the priests would bring and offer their sacrifices unto the Lord.

[11:03] He said here, we're to present then our bodies. Those, the people of Israel, the Jews, as they brought their sacrifices to the Lord, he would bring those sacrifices, present them literally as an offering unto the offerer, all right, or the high priest, the priest or the high priest, and bringing it before the Lord.

[11:30] He would set it, he would set it, if you will, in such a way that it is as if being presented to the Lord. In other words, at the door of the, of the tabernacle there, if you will, or the temple.

[11:45] To present it, to place beside or near, to present, to offer, to put at one's disposal. Okay. Again, the technical term for presenting the Levitical sacrifices unto the Lord.

[11:59] In that Levitical sacrifice, the offerer placed his offering, so that it faced the most holy place. So in essence, that's, of course, that's where God dwelt among his people.

[12:12] So presenting it before the most holy place then, is the picture of presenting that, bringing it then before the Lord. And so that's the picture that Paul writes to us here about.

[12:24] Present your bodies as if it was that sacrificial animal. Bring it into the presence of the Lord. Face, you know, before the Lord. Present it to him. And bringing it before him.

[12:37] Present your body. The idea there is the physical body of the believer. Now that's to be a living sacrifice, as opposed to the slain sacrifice that was brought in the Old Testament time.

[12:51] Now, there's a quote here, you notice, by John Chrysostom. You see the birth and death date of his life. How can the body, and this is what he writes, how can the body become a sacrifice?

[13:04] That's a good question, isn't it? I've heard, and we've all heard that preached on so many times of what that means. How can the body become a sacrifice? Here's how. Let the eye look on no evil, and it is a sacrifice.

[13:19] Let the tongue utter nothing base, and it's an offering. Let the hand work no sin, and it is a holocaust. Now notice, the definition of holocaust there is given by Webster.

[13:32] It's a sacrifice wholly consumed by fire. All right? So that gives more of a completeness or severity to the sacrifice there. But more, this suffices not, but besides, we must actively exert ourselves for good, the hand-giving alms, the mouth-blessing them that curse us, the ear ever at leisure for listening to God.

[13:55] That's a pretty good picture, I think, of offering the body as a sacrifice before the Lord. Now, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto the Lord.

[14:08] Holy, literally set apart for God. It has a dual meaning here. Set apart for God, and holiness always pictures the idea of purity as well. So it's the idea that the body of the believer is set apart for his use, and being used for pure and righteous purposes, and so then it is free from sinful practices.

[14:30] So it's a picture of the sacrificial animal without spot or without wrinkle, presented to God as the law of Moses declared it was to be.

[14:42] All right? So we have that responsibility. We've got to be very careful, do we not? Here on one hand, we want to serve God. We present ourselves to God.

[14:52] Who is it one time somebody said, somebody said, the problem with us laying our bodies on the altar as a sacrifice is, we always want to jump off. Yeah, yeah. We always want to jump off, but to present that.

[15:06] So, you know, how are we going to do that? We want to do that. We want to be set apart for God's use. But then how careful are we in our life and in our living to be sure that this sacrifice we present to him is a spotless sacrifice, the best that it can be?

[15:24] watching our lives that we are careful about not allowing sin to take its place in our life. Okay. Again, in 1 Peter 2, verse 5, we read a moment ago, you as lively stones are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable unto God.

[15:50] Notice spiritual sacrifices there, not animal sacrifices. Good way to just think about spiritual sacrifices are simply the activities of the human spirit of men that's energized and activated by the Holy Spirit.

[16:07] In other words, it's whatever God directs you to do by his spirit that he, by his spirit, has energized you to do. All right.

[16:17] Those are spiritual sacrifices. I think we do a real disservice when we put everything in a box and say, here's what, here's how you've got to serve God.

[16:29] Here are the things you are to do. When every one of us are unique, realize God has given every one of us the quote unquote spiritual gift.

[16:41] Realize that spiritual gift, according to the scriptures, is unique to every single believer. That's why, you know, I don't know that we need to take a whole lot of time in trying to determine what our spiritual gift is.

[16:56] Because I think when we do that, if we buttonhole something that says, all right, then this is because I've met the things in this formula, then this is my spiritual gift.

[17:07] Then we're working hard to try to fulfill that spiritual gift. When in the first place, don't know that that formula was correct. Amen. We may have missed it. The thing we've got to do is just be sensitive to the spirit of God and let him direct us in what he wants to do and how he wants to use us.

[17:29] And knowing then that he will utilize us in accordance to the gift that he has given to us to be used by him to accomplish those purposes.

[17:40] All right? All right. You can quote me on that if you want to. Or you don't have to. All right. All right. So that's our responsibility under the guise that we are king priests.

[17:56] All right. Now, at the end of that verse, verse 14, my name is dreadful among the pagan. One of the great difficulties and problems that the people of Israel had in the day of Malachi, a major flaw was a lack of awe of who God is.

[18:19] Just a lack of awe of God. They did not recognize who he was. That's why he writes in here and states in here that my name is dreadful among the pagans.

[18:36] Not talking about Israel, but the pagans. They see me as something fearful and frightful. The people of Israel, the Jews were treating him in a way that they wouldn't treat their fellow man.

[18:51] Even somebody they had respect for, maybe some awe for or fear of. They're treating God like they wouldn't treat these folks. Now, Malachi then points to the root of the evil that they're facing here.

[19:05] And that same root is our problem that we have in society today. Amen? It's not just so many reject the idea of there being God.

[19:22] I think most people, even among the unsaved, well, if you ask them, do you believe in God? They say, yeah. And, you know, whatever that means to them.

[19:33] Yeah. Yeah. But a lack of reverence and awe of who he is. It's amazing to me. Of course, generations have passed by.

[19:46] There's hundreds and hundreds of years of time here. But you remember when Israel was at Sinai, and that cloud covered that mountain, the thunders and the lightnings and the rumbles and all of that that went on there, they knew the presence of God was there.

[20:04] And they could get some sense, humanly speaking, of how fearful he was. Moses, go talk to him. We'll do whatever he says.

[20:15] But we don't want to hear from him ourselves because we're afraid. Yeah. We don't see that, especially in Gentiles. All right? Now, there's the real problem that lies before us in our generation.

[20:31] And the farther we get in time, the farther apart we get from standing in awe of who God is. They neither know God themselves or they just want to reject the reality of who he is in their lives.

[20:47] Remember what Job said in chapter 42, verses 5 through 6, as he closes out his book there. Job was a funny guy, wasn't he? He's an amazing guy.

[20:58] He had so many friends. They just loved to encourage him. Yeah. Nothing like a good word of encouragement from a dear friend. To start the day.

[21:09] Then he would banter back and forth with God as if he thought he was able to do that. But then in Job chapter 42. Turn there with me just a moment.

[21:21] Just to get a sense of what that is here. Job 42. I think that's in the Old Testament. Then Job answered. Verse 1. Then Job answered the Lord.

[21:32] Notice it's Jehovah here. The eternal God. But he's the God that reveals himself to man. I love that. Job answered the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything.

[21:44] All right. That's an intellectual acknowledgement there. And that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge?

[21:56] Therefore have I uttered that I understood not. In other words, Job is saying, I finally realized I really didn't know what I was talking about. Amen. When I was dealing with you, Lord.

[22:08] Yeah. Now, things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Here, I beseech thee, I will speak. I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me.

[22:20] I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. Okay. So, I've got an intellectual knowledge of you and who you are.

[22:31] All right. I've heard you with the ear. But now, now, my eye seeth thee.

[22:43] I understand now, Lord. I see you for who you are and what you are. As a result, wherefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.

[23:01] You know, any place in Scripture where you see men having that type of encounter with God.

[23:15] I think of Isaiah. Yeah. The only thing we can do is just get on our knees because we see what we are in comparison to him and fall on our face and confess.

[23:32] That's what Job does here. Having that reverential fear of God and awe of him because of who he is.

[23:43] Now, God from the beginning inscribes upon himself the title by which he is to be known. In Deuteronomy chapter 10, verses 16 through 17, says, He's the God of God.

[24:27] He is the supreme one, the supreme God, the essence of everything that's divine, of all divine power and might. That's who he is.

[24:39] He is Lord of lords, the supreme unrestricted ruler of it all, above all powers in heaven and all powers on the earth.

[24:50] Does that ring a bell? Well, Revelation chapter 17, God said, that's the name that I'm going to be remembered by and called by to be known by forever.

[25:07] He's the God of gods, the Lord of lords. And in Revelation chapter 17, begin in verse 9. And here is the mind which hath wisdom.

[25:22] The seven heads are seven mountains, talking about what he has seen prior, on which the woman sitteth. There are seven kings, five are falling, and one is, and the other is not yet come.

[25:36] And when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

[25:48] And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

[26:02] These shall make war with the lamb, and the lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and king of kings.

[26:16] Yeah, same definition, only this time instead of God of gods, he's king of kings because this is the son, Christ Jesus, in whom those same characteristics and traits are manifest and possess.

[26:31] All right, now, the one we are familiar with is in chapter 19 of the Revelation, verse 11. I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.

[26:42] And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.

[26:55] And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with the vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

[27:05] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.

[27:19] And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

[27:37] That's who he is. King of kings and Lord of lords.

[27:51] That's who he is. That will be manifest during the tribulation, at the end of the tribulation. All right? And, or at the end of the revelation.

[28:07] Yeah. But anyway, that's who he is. Coming on the riding of the white horse. Don't you think we ought to stand in awe of who he is?

[28:18] Amen? I think sometimes we get so, so friendly with God. I understand the relationship we have with him as sons.

[28:30] We stand right at the side of Christ Jesus as such. But we still must have reverential fear and awe of who he is.

[28:45] Yeah. And in that, as we do that, that gives us greater appreciation for the love he's shown for us and making us his and causing us to be in love more and more with him.

[29:05] All right. It's just, it's just hard for me to comprehend after so much God has done throughout the generations for the nation of Israel.

[29:21] How they let different aspects of their life and living get a hold of them to the degree that they abandoned him. Amen? Yeah.

[29:33] Yeah. Oh, we must be careful. Amen? That we don't get so careless and calloused in our relationship with God that we fall into the same rut.

[29:50] I know we're safe and secure in our salvation if we're genuinely saved. But boy, about the fellowship with him. Amen? Yeah.

[30:01] All right. Any thoughts, questions, comments? I've been reading through Leviticus. I'm reading through the Bible. I'm in Leviticus. The intricate pattern of approaching God once a year through a high priest.

[30:18] Had to do it perfectly or he'd die. And while we're under grace, he hasn't compromised that holiness any.

[30:30] No. No. He's still the same. Yeah. Holy God. Yeah. Somewhere along the way, he became the man upstairs or the, you know.

[30:42] Yeah. Our buddy in the sky. Yeah. The good old boy or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think we have, like you say, we have to be careful. But whole denominations have, I mean.

[30:54] Oh, yeah. Yeah. They've walked away from it. Yeah. Yeah. That's why I think it's good for us every once in a while. Just get along with God and say, God, I need you to refresh my mind and my heart as to who you are.

[31:13] And what you are. Yeah. Yeah. Let me see you afresh. So I don't fall away from you.

[31:24] Amen. And read about Nadab and Abihu. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I think that has helped me when I do the Lord's prayer. And how it's like me to, I have a book that has the attributes of that scripture.

[31:39] Very good. Yeah. So it says, for instance, Sovereign, and he talks about the sparrows, that he knows about all the sparrows. That has helped me. Yeah. That's good.

[31:50] That's good. I'll never forget. Was it Kenny McComas that years and years ago wrote a book? And he was telling, he was telling about experience he had on a flight somewhere.

[32:02] And was it a Muslim? Does a Muslim? Do Muslims have prayer beads? Yeah. Yeah. I thought so. Yeah. And Jews. Yeah.

[32:13] He sat on a flight beside a man and he noticed in the flight the guy was, you know, praying over the beads one at a time.

[32:24] And so he had the opportunity at one point to just, you know, encounter him and ask him, what is it you're doing? And he said, I'm praying to my God.

[32:38] He said, he asked, what are the beads? What do those beads signify? He said, every bead signifies a name for my God.

[32:53] And he knew what every one of them were. And he went on to say, we have a hundred and some odd names for our God. How many do you have of your God?

[33:07] Boy, that put him in a corner. And he really got to thinking about that when he came back. He really did a study on the names of God. And so that's a good point for us to consider.

[33:22] Going through the scripture and looking and seeing what the Bible says about the names of God. They're in there. Yeah. And find out what the characteristics of those names are so we can keep those fresh within our heart.

[33:38] Within our memory. Within our memory.