Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Let us turn to the first chapter of Malachi. What is this chapter about? "Because of Israel's unbelief, God's grace came to the Gentiles." This statement was made by the Apostle Paul, who later became the apostle to the Gentiles. Among those who believe today, Israelites constitute only a very small portion. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, and Malachi was the last prophet in the Old Testament.

Malachi is the Last Prophet in the Old Testament

In what context did Malachi write these words? Let me briefly summarise it for you. At that time, the Israelites were divided into two kingdoms. One was called the Kingdom of Israel, which was later destroyed by the Assyrian Empire. The other was called the Kingdom of Judah, which was later destroyed by the Babylonian Empire.

When Babylon destroyed the Kingdom of Judah, there was a prophet named Jeremiah who prophesied that after seventy years, God would bring these exiled Israelites back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Why was the Kingdom of Judah destroyed? Because these people had a very poor attitude towards God and towards offerings.

Seventy years after the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed, it was during the time of Daniel. Daniel remembered the prophecy of Jeremiah, and he fasted and prayed. God revealed to him the last days, which are described in the Book of Daniel. After the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed for seventy years, Daniel became the prime minister of the Persian Empire. He was very capable.

God chose a man named Zerubbabel, who led a large group of Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. As a result, the attitude of these exiled Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem became problematic. They were each concerned with their own houses, but God's temple remained desolate, so God cursed these Jews.

These Jews forgot that it was an opportunity God had given them! God allowed them to return to live a God-centred life, but they did not do so. They preferred to mess around on their own. As a result, the temple of God remained desolate. Later, Zerubbabel accomplished this, but the attitude in people's hearts was still not quite right. They reluctantly built the temple, feeling that they had to offer sacrifices, which was very troublesome!

Let us Christians also ask ourselves if we have this attitude. We must be especially careful. If we have this attitude inside, we are no different from the exiled Israelites and Jews, and we will end up suffering a very deep curse. God gave them this opportunity, but they did not seize it.

In fact, before that, the Israelites had repeatedly missed the grace God had given them. What caused this? It was because they were living small lives. They were not doing anything that was outrageous, but they were just living small lives.

When they offered sacrifices, they picked and chose, selecting a lamb with a defect to offer to God. Where were the good lambs? They kept them for themselves. Sometimes when friends came to visit, they would choose a better lamb, but when offering to God, they just grabbed one at random.

In the fourth chapter of Genesis, the offerings of Abel and Cain are also described. Their offerings showed their attitude, and a wrong attitude towards offerings can lead to a very deep curse.

In the time of Zerubbabel, about eighty or ninety years later, God raised up another prophet who loved God very much, named Nehemiah. Do not think that the Book of Nehemiah is in a relatively early position in the Bible, and therefore corresponds to an earlier time. In fact, it was during the time of Malachi that Nehemiah was sent back to Jerusalem, because he was concerned that God's temple and the walls of the city were still desolate.

When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, he actually repaired the city walls in just 52 days, but the temple had been desolate for many years. From Zerubbabel to Nehemiah, seventy or eighty years passed in the blink of an eye, but during this period, the attitude of the Israelites was very consistent. They never changed.

In the time of Zerubbabel, the Israelites liked to live small lives. In the time of Malachi, they still liked to live small lives! Throughout the ages, from the Israelites' exodus from Egypt to the time of Malachi, they never repented. God's heart was broken.

As a result, the Israelites lived small lives and destroyed their country, but they continued to live small lives. People's vision is truly deadly! Malachi also became the last prophet in the Old Testament.

In fact, God really had nothing more to say, so God said, "May the Lord be magnified beyond the borders of Israel." We must thank God and thank the Israelites, because they forsook God, so that God's grace came to us Gentiles, but this was also God's will.

The prophet Malachi mentioned one thing called offering. In fact, the attitude towards offering really determines a person's future. The attitude towards offering is critical, and it determines a person's core interests. I must tell you that because of Israel's unbelief in God's grace, God's grace came to us Gentiles.

I have briefly introduced the era in which Malachi lived. Let me summarise this era again: The Israelites left Egypt and had the story of Moses, which was three thousand five hundred years ago. Three thousand years ago, which was 1000 BC, there was the story of David and Solomon.

About two thousand six or seven hundred years ago, when China was still in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire. About two thousand five or six hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed. Again, two thousand four hundred years ago, which was the time of Malachi, these people and eras were such a process.

Then, two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ came, and Jesus Christ was crucified, resurrected from the dead, and ascended to heaven. Later, the Apostle Paul arose and became the apostle to the Gentiles. This is roughly the history.

The Confusion of the Israelites

What was the first confusion of the Israelites? It was, "In what way have you loved us?" Has God ever loved us? I tell you, the thoughts inside people are very interesting. They receive God's grace, but they do not know it.

Look, people should have had a car accident, but God helped us avoid it, but we thought it was always like this, and we did not feel it was because of God. We were just living small lives and became muddle-headed. People live small lives, and as they live, they live to the point of thinking there is no God. They feel that all their achievements are their own, and every penny is earned by their own hard work, and it has nothing to do with God. Then think about how they would feel inside? They feel there is no God.

I tell you, this is very normal. I often remind everyone to write down every experience you have with God, and then often look at it and review it, lest you forget! Because people's memories can be erased by demons, so before people are messed with by demons, there must be a problem with their memory. They do not know in what way God loves us, and they feel very confused.

However, God did not answer this question, but answered about Esau. God's answer seems unrelated, but I tell you, everything Esau experienced is what we should experience. Originally, we should be like Esau, a case study.

Look, God made Esau's mountains desolate and gave his inheritance to the jackals. Then, when they rebuilt, God said, "They may build, but I will tear down. People will call their land 'the Realm of Wickedness,' and their people 'a people with whom the Lord is angry forever.'" This is the logic.

You should have been Esau. In fact, it is normal for God to treat Esau in this way, or for God to treat anyone in this way! The fact that we have not been treated in this way is God's love. I am especially moved! Recently, I have observed that many of our sisters' husbands do not believe in the Lord. How does God treat them? There are many stories.

There was one sister whose husband did not believe in the Lord, and he was cheated out of two hundred thousand. There was another sister whose husband did not believe in the Lord, and he borrowed one hundred thousand online, but he did not receive anything and was cheated. These are common occurrences. Why is that? If they do not react, then they are Esau.

We must know that we should have been treated that way, but we were not treated that way, which is already God's love for us! As a result, some people do not regard God as God, and they end up in a curse.

People do not know that God loves us, and they feel that every penny is earned by their own hard work. They feel that if we offer the money we have worked so hard to earn, how painful would that be? As a result, they say, "In what way have we defiled God? What is wrong with giving you a defective lamb? Because I have not received your love!" Look, this logic is all connected. In fact, they do not know that all these things are given by God.

As a result, God gave grace to the Israelites in the time of Haggai, but by the time of Malachi, the Israelites had all forgotten. They did not even need to wait until the time of Malachi. After eighty or ninety years, which was the following year, they had all forgotten, and as a result, their attitude towards offering became bad.

So until now, if a person wants to be blessed, they must adjust their attitude towards offering. The reason is that it is all real money, and they feel that it is earned by their own hard work. Brothers and sisters, do not be mistaken. You offer, and it may seem like you have not experienced anything, but you have already experienced a lot, because the disasters that should have come upon us, God has spared you.

Sometimes I am especially moved. A few days ago, one of our sisters' husbands was driving, bang! He hit someone, two children, one dead and one injured. What do you say about this? It sounds exhausting! People just do not know which will come first, disaster or tomorrow? It is hard!

Who knows when the disasters of this world will come upon us? Some people go to the hospital for a check-up and find out they have cancer. What can you do? Before, you were unwilling to give your time to God, and you gave God something defective. It is better not to offer at all! The Israelites were confused: "In what way have we despised God?" This scripture speaks so well:

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty. "It is you, priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'" (Malachi 1:6)

The priests of the Lord God did not even know when they had despised God? I tell you, it is a tragedy for people to live in this state!

"You bring defiled food to my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the Lord's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 1:7-8)

People are so foolish, so brothers and sisters, do not be mistaken. Offering determines a person's most critical attitude. If the attitude is not right, do not offer. But there are too many people whose attitude is not right! Then they feel that serving God, offering sacrifices, keeping the Sabbath, spending time studying the Bible, and spending time praying are all too troublesome! In fact, God does not need our offerings, but we need them.

What is the confusion of the Israelites? They are wrong in their theoretical foundation! People want to live their lives, but if worshipping God affects their lives, then you will definitely have these confusions. Once it conflicts with your core interests, you will have all kinds of confusions.

Think about it slowly. You must know that outside of Mingding Doctrine, there is no blessing. If you are just living for the sake of living, and you feel that it affects your living, then there are all kinds of confusions! You feel that worshipping God and praying are too troublesome!

Some of us have already suffered curses, and they live in fear all day long. When they are afraid, they call the pastor, and the pastor leads them in prayer. After they are no longer afraid, they go back to their old lives. Then you continue to live! I want to say to those of us who serve, is it necessary to serve in this way?

Remember, people are like this. People have their own core demands: going out to play, travelling. I do not know what is so fun, but they feel it is fun. They feel that praying is too troublesome, and they wish there was no fear! Then wait until there is no fear and have fun! But when fear comes, they think of the church again, and when the fear is gone, they start going out to play again. People are like this.

Do you think people are a bit foolish? So if we have confusion in believing in the Lord, the reason is very simple, because this matter affects your core interests. Either it affects your playing, or it affects your making money. But people like us are not interested in playing, and not interested in making money! I tell you, the real solution to the problem is to know that God is in control of everything.

If you observe, you will find that yesterday this person was fine, but tomorrow they are gone. If after a while we also go down his path, what will you do? Some people are still doing well now, but tomorrow they are depressed, have cancer, are uncomfortable, jump off a building, are in debt... Anyway, there are many stories in this world, but we do not know which day it will come upon whom.

As for us, we know that God is the Lord Almighty, the great King, great and awesome, and full of glory. If we do not have a correct attitude to worship our God and trust in Him, then it is troublesome.

The Israelites just did not believe in God. They felt, can He manage this matter? Can He manage so much? As a result, God destroyed the Kingdom of Israel. When the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, the Israelites drank their own urine and ate their own excrement. How hungry were they? That was not an ordinary sight. In fact, it is a tragedy for people not to know God.

People live their lives, and when nothing happens, they feel good. But when something happens, you will know how powerful God is. Do not joke around. Anyway, I know clearly that God controls both disaster and curses, and also controls blessings.

I will live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, forever. I will receive the grace of the Lord God until I see God's face, because I know, what can I control? If you come to the conclusion that you cannot control your own future, then believe in the Lord well and trust in Him well! Living is very simple.

In my early days as a believer, many would ask, "Is tithing based on pre-tax or post-tax income? Should we tithe on our Central Provident Fund (CPF)? Before or after CPF deductions?" I tell you, after experiencing the blessings of tithing, I tithe on my pre-tax income, including the full amount of my CPF, because all of it goes into my account.

Does something so advantageous require persuasion? It is exceedingly beneficial, as God saved my life. Do you know the circumstances under which I came to believe? It was when I was at my lowest point that God showed me grace. After I believed, everything I had was given by God. How good is God! With my poor memory, I will never forget God's grace, because I was on the verge of jumping off a building.

Have you ever experienced the feeling of wanting to jump? You can draw a corner on the floor of your room, imagine it as the rooftop, and look down. Even five or six stories are enough to do the trick. The feeling is terrible; there is no hope left. Later, I came to know God, and from that day on, I knew I must have God.

What I experienced was not a miraculous healing from cancer, nor the resolution of astronomical debts. What I experienced was God granting me a job, a simple, small experience that led me to know God. I will never forsake Him. So why don't I have the same confusion as the Israelites? Because I know that with God, there is only grace.

Sometimes I am thankful that the Israelites did not believe, so that God's grace could come to us Gentiles. This is part of God's wonderful plan. If God gives you life, what are money and daily living in comparison? God bore my sorrows, carried my sins, and removed many calamities. How grateful I am to God! I have walked through life peacefully, living in God's grace every day.

Recently, I was reading Psalms: "The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." How wonderful, it speaks to my heart. I have finally come to know God! I do not understand what the Israelites were thinking. Were their brains filled with dung? Even calling it water is an exaggeration. How much more of God's grace did they need to experience to believe?

Nehemiah came among them, leading them to rebuild God's temple and live a God-centered life, and then their days improved. Later, a decree from the court ordered Nehemiah to return to his duties. When he returned to Jerusalem two or three years later, everything was ruined. The Israelites had returned to their old ways. What were they thinking?

God Uses Esau as an Example of a Curse

Actually, I must tell you that before I knew God, I lived under a curse. After knowing God, I desire nothing more than to offer the best to God. Why? Because God removed my curse. I was a sinner, living a life of unspeakable hardship.

Back then, I had to wake up early and walk to the bus stop, drenched in sweat. After getting on the bus, I could finally catch my breath and rest for a while. Just as I was settling down, it was time to get off, and I would be covered in sweat again. Then I would walk to the office, almost collapsing. I am not exaggerating; my legs felt like they were filled with lead. Later, I learned that a cursed person is filled with demons.

If you also feel heavy and unable to walk, go and pray, and drive out the demons, and you will feel lighter. Look at my mother, who is over eighty years old, walking like a young person, walking with the wind. But sometimes when the demons come, she cannot stand up, her whole body feels weak and heavy. I know this feeling all too well. Later, I drove out the demons, and my mother was able to walk easily again.

Some people walk like a black bear, like a gorilla, their legs heavy. But some people walk lightly, how wonderful! God uses Esau as an example to illustrate a curse. What does He say?

"I have loved you," says the Lord. But you ask, "How have you loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins," but this is what the Lord Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, the people always under the wrath of the Lord." (Malachi 1:2-4)

Reading this passage, I am reminded of the days before I believed in the Lord. Could those days be lived? Yes, with three meals a day, enough to eat and sleep, and going to work. But it was tiring and hard! I believe some of us, when in a state of mental chaos, will also have this feeling, which is a curse. Working hard, then suddenly being demolished and reset to zero, working for nothing. Why? How can you prosper if you are against God?

Why Esau? Because Esau was determined to create his own destiny with his own hands, and ended up creating a handful of ashes. Brothers and sisters, never again believe in "man will conquer nature." When have you ever seen "man will conquer nature"? Just when people were celebrating, a tsunami came and wiped everything out! Seeing those seaside houses on the news, being washed away like matchboxes, was terrifying.

When has man ever overcome tsunamis or earthquakes? Do you want to sit on a volcano? Wouldn't that be barbecued? If you sit on a volcano, you will turn to ash.

Man has never overcome anything. Don't be ignorant of the immensity of the heavens and the earth. Esau wanted to rely on his own hands to create his own destiny, but could he create it? He could not.

Sometimes I find it quite interesting. Actually, I am someone with decent intelligence, and I have received the most rigorous engineering training, but do I dare to rely on myself? I once relied on myself, and almost ended up jumping off a building. I might as well give up! If you still want to rely on yourself, thinking you are very capable, then try relying on yourself?

But I have found that many people who are not very bright especially like to rely on themselves. Isn't that strange? The more shallow someone is, the more ignorant they are of the immensity of the heavens and the earth! So what does Esau illustrate? You see, the Israelites' confusion was: Where has God loved us? And God's response was: Look at Esau. Can you understand? If you can understand, you are amazing.

I tell you, the whole earth lives under God's curse, only Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live under God's blessing. The ancestors of the Israelites were chosen because of God's grace, because they wholeheartedly loved God. This comparison reveals that if not for God's grace, we would all live under a curse.

Those who used to have depression, starting with minor depression, growing into major depression, and ending with old-age depression, isn't that a curse? Those who used to be small paupers, growing into big paupers, and ending with old paupers, how can they live? Living and living, calamities come, and they don't know how to deal with it. They can't deal with it.

Later, I gave Esau a name, calling him Old Horse. People who are like Old Horse love the world and indulge in the flesh. Old Horse will not let anyone go. It gives you some sweetness, and you think it will take good care of you? No, it makes you live in pain for the rest of your life.

So if you still have a lot of love for the world, a lot of indulgence in the flesh, plus a bit of discernment of good and evil, having all three, that is Old Horse, that is Edom, that is Esau, working and working, returning to the starting point. Have you seen people in this state? Actually, there are many. God uses Esau as an example to show that God actually loves us.

The Israelites Did Not Believe

The Israelites went to the temple, and they also offered sacrifices, but they specifically offered the rotten and bad ones. What did they not believe? Actually, they did not disbelieve in the land they cultivated, nor in the few cows and sheep they raised. On the contrary, they believed too much in the land they cultivated and in the few cows and sheep they raised.

Although the Israelites did not eat pork, what they believed in was "one acre of land, two cows, a wife, and a warm bed." With this attitude, the Israelites did not believe in God.

So brothers and sisters, we must know what we believe in. We must believe in God, believe in God's words! The Book of Malachi that we read is God's word. If we do not believe in God, nor in God's words, not believing in curses, nor in blessings, not believing that we should carefully keep and follow God's laws, nor believing in all that God has said, having our own set of beliefs, then we are finished.

All who have tried to rely on themselves know that they are not very capable. What should they do? Try God's way. Once you try it and it works, you have found a treasure, and you should continue to seek God diligently. But people insist on not doing so, walking and walking, and falling into unbelief. I tell you, Christians are all the same, walking and walking, and falling into unbelief.

Some brothers and sisters, I travel a long way to see them, and after seeing them, have they changed? No, they are still the same Old Horse, nothing works. Later, they find great pleasure in traveling. Are there any among us who like to eat, drink, and have fun? Then I will tell you one thing: don't believe in the Lord, believe in your eating, drinking, and having fun, because that is your core desire.

Let's not delay your desires. If you bring this set of Old Horse's eating, drinking, and having fun, you will not be able to continue believing in the Lord, and believing in the Lord will also affect your eating, drinking, and having fun. Those who do not like eating, drinking, and having fun, and like to do more serious things, let's diligently pursue loving God.

The Israelites did not believe in God, nor in God's words. Actually, the history of the Israelites and the history of Christians clearly prove one thing: God's curses are very real. Ponder this slowly.

I am now more accurate than a fortune teller. You just need to briefly describe your situation and your thoughts, and I will know it is Old Horse, that is the fate of Old Horse, that is the fate of Esau. Then you say, "No, I am Israel." Then you are the Israel of Malachi's time, the Israel of Haggai's time, the Israel of Jeremiah's time. I can only wish you good luck.

People's unbelief is very detestable, only believing in themselves! I repeat, man lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God, not on your work, business, or money. "Man lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God," this is what Jesus said.

God's Grace Comes to the Gentiles

Why did Malachi become the last prophet of the Old Testament? God was speechless! When you say to someone, "3 times 8 equals 24," but they say, "No, 3 times 8 equals 23," and then you bring a calculator and say, "Look, 3 times 8 equals 24," but they say the calculator is broken, what else can you say? You can only tape your mouth shut.

As a result, God's heart was extremely blocked. The Israelites He chose, from the time of the Exodus to Malachi, alas, how could they be like eating dung beetles? Like swallowing a dung ball, very difficult.

Actually, they were not true Israelites. True Israelites are those who have the same faith, the same pursuit, and the same nature as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That nature has steadfast faith, not stopping until the goal is achieved, that is called an Israelite. These Jews and Israelites have nothing to do with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Then God's grace comes to us Gentiles. Are there Gentiles who are like the Israelites of Malachi's time? Many. So God searches and searches in this world, and sadly tells everyone that treasures are few. If you are a treasure, thank God, and encourage everyone to learn a lesson from the unbelief of Israel.

This is what Paul said, that because of the unbelief of Israel, they were cut off, and then we were grafted onto this vine. We are not true vines, but were grafted on later. If we do not believe, will we not be cut off even more? So believing in the Lord is a very serious and earnest matter!

Brothers and sisters must know that we have done a very great experiment and discovered a very miraculous thing, which is that when we dedicate our time to God, we do not suffer a loss. What kind of experiment did I do? At most, a typical church has one Sunday service, one small group, and one prayer meeting a month, and the prayer meeting is sparsely attended.

We started the same way, then added two more Bible studies each week, another prayer meeting, and later added another small group meeting and a pastoral district meeting. Did it delay making money? If it delays making money, go and make money. But I tell you, we have avoided many calamities and many diseases.

If you ask me, does something so good need persuasion? No! Because we believe in God, we believe that we live on every word that comes from the mouth of God. If we live on money, and keep working at it, turning ourselves into "Evergrande," turning ourselves into something that is neither human nor ghost, what is the benefit?

Some of those people jumped off buildings, some were arrested, some turned white overnight, and there were many calamities. Alas, what money promised you cannot be fulfilled, but everything God promised me has been fulfilled, "The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing!"

Do I want to be someone who lacks no good thing, or do I want to be a rich person? No, I want to be someone who has God. My God will watch over me, protect me, until I see His face. May the grace of the Lord God be more manifested among us, because we believe, this is our pursuit, Amen!

Brothers and sisters, I encourage everyone to re-examine our thinking, which is more important and which is less important? Money cannot stop calamities and diseases, but those who trust in God lack no good thing.

This is what God wants to reveal to us through Malachi. If we understand, we will not walk the path of the Israelites. We will imitate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We will overcome, Amen!

We will share this Bible study up to this point. May God bless everyone!

null