Old Testament Scripture Reading: Malachi 1:1 – 3 (KJV)
Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
Mal 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
Mal 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
New Testament Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:20 – 25 (NASB)
1Jn 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.
1Jn 2:21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
1Jn 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
1Jn 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
1Jn 2:24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
1Jn 2:25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
Transforming Power Statements:
1) The overwhelming blessings of God were poured out tremendously toward Israel, who were God’s elect, however, many of them were blinded by the blessings which caused many of them to neglect their relationship with Jehovah, and to indulge themselves in greed which caused neglect toward the things of God rather than cultivating spiritual closeness which was desired by God in the days of Malachi.
2) It is imperative that believers are always mindful of the reality that Jesus (Who is also known as the Only-Begotten Son of God, or The Messiah) is equal with the Father and not in any way ever to be considered “less than” nor “optional”; and to understand that any departure from the position that Jesus is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit as well, can be nothing more than heresy!
3) For this reason, Jesus the Son has always been the focal point of attack by unbelievers who follow the lies of the devil, so as to get people off the track walking in the truth over into a damming system of unbelief which shall end in destruction.