Selected passages from Malachi 1 and 3

November 2, 2008

 

The Names of God, Part 7

“Adonai – Master”

Rev. Meagan Boozer

 

            It has never happened before that when I went to the Thesaurus on my computer to find a synonym for a word, that there wasn’t one – but that’s what happened when I searched for a synonym for the word “master.”  Gosh.  There are synonyms for ‘boss’: superior, manager, supervisor, chief.  There are synonyms for president: leader, head.  But there aren’t any synonyms listed on my computer’s thesaurus for ‘master.’  The word ‘master’ is in a category all its own.

            The definition for ‘master’ is “a person in a position of authority, for example, over a business, servants, or an animal.”  Another definition for ‘master’ is “an original copy of something, from which other copies can be made.”

            Today, we are wrapping up this sermon series on the names of God with the name Adonai.  I’m completing the series today not because we’ve run out of new names for God from the Scripture - not at all.  There are many more names for God in both the Old and New Testaments, and I trust that sometime soon we’ll come back and learn more of them.  However, Adonai, the Hebrew word for Master, is a great place to wrap up this particular series.

We first see the name Adonai in Genesis 15 when Abram is still struggling with God (in a sense, arguing) about God not seeming to follow through on his promise to give Abram a true heir.  We see it again in Exodus 4 when Moses is arguing with God about his ability to speak well.  God had called Moses to return to Egypt to set the nation of Israel free from slavery and Moses doesn’t believe he’s up to the job.  We find the name Adonai again in Judges 6 when Gideon is arguing with God about his ability to deliver Israel from the hands of the Midianites.  Gideon said, “O Lord (Adonai), how shall I deliver Israel?  My family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”  Abram, Moses, and Gideon all saw their logical limitations first when God called them; they all saw why they couldn’t do what God was calling them to do, and they argued with God at the same time that they were calling God, “Master.”  There is important teaching for us here today. 

            This is one of my favorite Sundays of the year.  Today is what we call “Stewardship Sunday.”  This is a Sunday when we focus in a very intentional way on God’s call on our lives to be good stewards (managers) of all that has been given to us to manage.  I love Stewardship Sunday, because I love preaching about God’s plan, God’s promises, God’s faithfulness to his promises, God’s abundance, God’s mercy, and God’s grace in allowing us to keep as much as 90% of all he gives us all for ourselves.  We’re talking God here.  Adonai.  THE Master.  Comparatively speaking, the government doesn’t let us keep nearly as much as Adonai lets us keep – and God’s promises to us to pour out his blessings upon us are far more a sure thing than what McCain or Obama promise in return for being responsible tax payers.

            We need leaders in our communities, in our counties, in our states, in our nation.  We need a president and a vice president.  But as followers of Jesus, we must not put our trust in them (we do want to trust them, but we don’t have to put our trust in them); we put our trust in God to work through the leaders to bring forth God’s good and perfect will for the world.

            Psalm 20:7 proclaims, “Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots.  But we trust in the name of the Lord our God!”  So, how can we express our trust in God?  Well, I’ll tell you how we can fail to express our trust by reading from the first chapter of the book of Malachi – the very last book in the Old Testament.

            6The LORD Almighty says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master.  I am your father and master, but where are the honor and respect I deserve?  You have despised my name!  “But you ask, ‘How have we ever despised your name?’  7“You have despised my name by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices ?’”  You defile them by saying the altar of the LORD deserves no respect.  8When 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 Almighty.  9“Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you!  But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the LORD Almighty.  10“I wish that someone among you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered!  I am not at all pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will not accept your offerings.  11But 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 Almighty.  12“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.  13You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the LORD,’ and you turn up your noses at his commands,” says the LORD Almighty.  “Think of it!  Animals that are stolen and mutilated, crippled and sick—presented as offerings!  Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the LORD.  14“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 Almighty, “and my name is feared among the nations!

            All that we have belongs to the Master.  It’s all his – everything we have, everything we see.  In Octavius Winslow’s book, The Lord My Portion, written in the mid-1800’s, he writes, “It is our privilege as believers to have no share in this world.  No portion.  None.  This is our badge of distinction.  It sets us apart from the world.”[1]

What an awesome challenge to use what he has given us in just the way he directs, not giving him second best, or third dibs on the allowance, but giving back to him the first and best that we have to offer.  We have been blessed.  What a thrill it is to watch the overflow in our lives when we choose to follow the Master’s Plan.

            To the reader:  At this point, a video by Rob Bell was shown entitled, “Rich.”  The following is a summary of his teaching:  

            There’s a popular bumper sticker that reads “God Bless America,” but hasn’t America already been blessed?  It’s easy for us to fall into a mindset of viewing “our” world as “the” world, because it’s all we generally see.  We’re constantly bombarded with images of the latest styles and models of everything, and it can easily leave us feeling like what we have isn’t enough because we see people that have even more than us.  But how does what we have compare to what most people in the world have?  Maybe what we have is enough; maybe it’s more than enough.  Maybe God has blessed us with everything we have so we can bless and give to others.

           

            Way back at the time when formal churches were being established in PathValley, the Presbyterian settlers found themselves in a time of decision.  The Presbytery at the time (which would be in a place of authority over the churches) wanted the Presbyterians to build a church where Fannettsburg is today.  Some of the settlers agreed and wanted to build there; others wanted to build further north.  Being of strong, stubborn, passionate Scots-Irish descent, the two groups could not (or would not) agree on a common site (imagine that!).  Some chose to build on the proposed site, and others chose to go against the counsel of the Presbytery and build on this more northern property.  End result: I have inherited the rebel group to pastor!  Or maybe not.

Can we believe that those who chose to build in Fannettsburg and those who chose to build in Spring Run were both following the same Master – which was not the Presbytery – but Adonai? 

Sometimes, quite often in fact, where Adonai calls us to go seems illogical.

Abram having a baby from his own seed at the age of 90?  Illogical.

Moses talking Pharoah into letting the Israelite people go when he wasn’t a very smooth talker?  Illogical.

Gideon defeating the mighty Midianite army with only 300 men, and some trumpets, jars, and torches?  Illogical.

God himself coming to earth in the form of a baby, and choosing to suffer and die to give eternal life to wretched sinners?  Illogical.

This congregation in 2008, in the midst of skyrocketing costs and tough economic times, having nearly completed a $70,000 improvement on this building without incurring debt, having already given away over $22,000 for local, denominational, and world needs, committed to making sure 18 children all over the world through Compassion International have food, clothes, medical care, education, and the opportunity to learn about Jesus, with all that money going out - this congregation’s Profit and Loss Report as of the end of September is showing a $14,000 surplus for the year.  Illogical in the eyes of the world.  Completely logical in the eyes of God and those who trust him.

 

In chapter 3 of Malachi, the following is written: 10Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. 11I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the LORD of hosts. 12Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.

God calls us to be generous – and he calls us to a specific bottom level of generosity: God calls us to trust him to do what seems illogical – to give back to him a minimum of 10% of what he gives to us.  John and I have been doing this for years.  In fact, we are giving at least 13% back to the Lord through the ministries of this church these days.  It is illogical that we would have enough to pay our bills – but we do – and then some! 

Folks, we don’t give because the church needs money; or on the other hand, we don’t refrain from giving because the church doesn’t need money.  We give because God wants our hearts to be free from selfishness and fear.  God calls us to be generous – to copy the Master – and to hold what we have been given not with clenched hands, but with open hands.

I challenge you to make a written commitment on the cards the elders will pass out to you in a few moments.  I challenge you to trust God enough to give more than you are currently giving.  It’s awesome to think about the fact that if you give 7% of your income to the church, and the church gives 15% of our operating costs away in mission (because we tithe as a congregation, too) – then your 7% has more than doubled your individual ability to give to people in need of the love of God and the salvation message of Jesus Christ.  I urge you to pray for your elders, deacons, and trustees as they seek to follow the Master’s Plan as stewards of what we have been given as a church.  We can argue with God all we want, just like Abram and Moses and Gideon argued, telling God all that limits us - but all we’re really doing is cheating ourselves out of the great adventure of watching God do impossible things through his people.

Let’s allow Adonai to truly call the shots – and be the Master of all that we have.

 

Amen.

 

 

           

 

    

 

 

[1] The Lord My Portion, p. 9.