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Posted: 04/27/2010 at 2:02pm
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Acceptable Offerings
Part 1 – Malachi 1-3
By Ron McGatlin
God is calling for purified, holy, sacrificial love offerings from His people. What offering does God require of us in this emerging kingdom of heaven era? In this season of transformation, it is vitally important to respond to God’s love with fully acceptable love offerings.
Babylonian infected religion has implanted teachings that may be as religious rocks in the otherwise good soil of our hearts. Religious rocks are those strong, hardened, but inaccurate beliefs. Erroneous beliefs can make it difficult if not impossible for the fruit of the seed of the kingdom of heaven to grow to fruition in our hearts.
What are acceptable sacrificial offerings in the kingdom of God?
Most of us have been well-trained in what the church systems taught that acceptable offerings were. It is wise to sincerely seek the Holy Spirit to bring us the powerful ministry of Christ Jesus to purify our hearts from past religious teachings and plant us with truth of His living word to transform us from within.
The book of Malachi is a vital written word that can help us grasp the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament experience of Christ in us. It is the last book of the Old Testament and is loaded with understanding regarding the failures and inadequacies of the Priest-led Temple worship of animal sacrifices and offerings that was passing away. However, it also looked forward with clear presentation of the coming Christ and His work of purification of the people in a way that was not possible in the Old Testament system of sacrifices and offerings. When Malachi was written, the coming of Christ and His purifying works were yet in the future. The book of Malachi is estimated to have been written around 500 years before Christ was born.
The incarnation of Christ Jesus, His crucifixion, resurrection, and subsequent return in the Holy Spirit to indwell His people has provided for the most powerful transformation in the entire history of man. Before Christ came no person experienced the continuous indwelling of the Spirit of God. The Spirit come upon people for a season but did not remain. Intimate relationship with God within man was not possible before the purifying work of Christ. Jesus came to take away sin. He purifies our walk by indwelling those who receive Him and give themselves to Him.
The blood of bulls and goats could not purify man from sin. Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, became the sacrifice to take away the sin of many (Heb 9:22 – 10:23). The old system of sacrificial offerings was only a pattern or type of what was to come. They were taken away that the real could be established. The sacrificial offerings in the pattern had to be perfect in order to picture the Lamb of God that was to come who was perfect and without sin.
In the first chapter of Malachi, God speaks to Israel of how He loves them and has chosen them above others. He goes on to tell them that they had not properly responded to His love and dishonored Him by bringing unacceptable blemished animals as sacrificial offerings.
Mal 1:8: And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil?....
Mal 1:13: You also say, 'Oh, what a weariness!' And you sneer at it," Says the LORD of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?" Says the LORD.
God makes it clear that they are cursed because they bring unacceptable offerings to Holy God the great King and LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:14: "But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished; For I am a great King," Says the LORD of hosts, "And My name is to be feared among the nations.
In chapter 2 of Malachi God goes into detail how the Priest and the people have their blessings cursed and experience great difficulties because of their unacceptable offerings and disobedience.
In Chapter 3 God speaks of the Lord whom they sought coming suddenly to His temple to be a refiner and a purifier “that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.”
Malachi was prophetically writing about the coming of Christ Jesus to the world to cleanse and purify a people for God. He came to take away the sin of the world by becoming the once and for all sacrificial offering for sin. After His ascension He returned in the Holy Spirit to indwell and empower the people of God to live righteous holy lives.
The Lord came at Pentecost to dwell in His temple by His Spirit. The process of purification began as prophesied and continues today. It is now becoming intense even with swift judgment because He is near with us. Individuals, tribes, and nations are now and have been experiencing the corrective cleansing fire of God. His intense love is purifying and preparing a holy people in Christ to facilitate the plan of God for Planet Earth.
Who can endure or turn back what God is doing?
Mal 3:2-4) "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the LORD….”
What is the offering required of God from you and me?
What does His love and word call for in those of us who now have the potential to live and walk in the Spirit and relate to the indwelling Spirit of Christ abiding within us?
Rom 12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Our acceptable offering to God is ourselves - our bodies, a holy living sacrifice.
Are we individually and as the church or nation bringing to the great King, the LORD of hosts an impure sacrifice that is a blemished, sick, lame, blind, or stolen offering?
Is there a measure of the contamination of our yet being conformed to this world? Are we as an individual, church, tribe, or nation proving the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God?
Are we an acceptable offering?
Are we robbing God of the pure, holy, living sacrificial offering of ourselves?
Mal 3:8-9: "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
We are due a great cleansing and destined to become powerful holy sons to effect cleansing and restoration to a world in great need. Our great cleansing must begin with our repentance for robbing God by not bringing the required sacrificial offering to God.
Turn to Him with your whole heart.
Be baptized afresh in the Spirit of God.
Let the life of Christ Jesus be formed in you.
Set your affection upon things above.
A tithe will not do. God’s love requires our whole heart and life.
Keep on pursuing love. It never fails
and His kingdom never ends.
Ron McGatlin
archive.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net
Edited by Ron McGatlin on 04/28/2010 at 7:12pm
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Topic: ACCEPTABLE OFFERINGS
