14 Then Haggai said, “ ‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled. – Haggai 2:14 (NIV)
I remember many years ago when I was living a life of sin and running away from my relationship with the Lord, I found myself in church on Sunday mornings still going through the motions. I knew all the songs – even liked a lot of them – and sang along with the congregation. I bowed my head when it was time for prayer and often said, “Amen,” at the conclusion. I was even in the sound booth each week serving the Lord by making sure everything sounded as good as possible.
But Monday through Saturday was a different story. I was out drinking with friends, playing dangerous games that could have gotten me in a lot of trouble if I got caught, I was incapable of completing a sentence without using “colorful metaphors,” and suffice it to say, my relationship with my girlfriend at the time fell way short of biblical expectations.
But I was in church on Sunday and told people I was a Christian.
See, I was involved in holy things, but I wasn’t involved with Jesus. He didn’t have my heart or my affections. He was not impressed or honored by my attendance, my singing skills, or my volunteer work in the church. All those things were defiled offerings – filthy rags in His sight – because they came from a sinful and unclean heart.
What if this Sunday your offerings to the Lord were pleasing and honoring to Him because they’re coming from a heart that has been cleansed from all unrighteousness?
What if the worship of your life Monday through Saturday resulted in the blessings of God in all the work of your hands because your cleansed heart is filled to overflowing with desire and passion for Him and Him alone?
What difference would it make in the life of our congregation if the body of Christ that meets in our building was committed to running away from sinful things? What if we came together in worship as a sanctified people, completely devoted to render holiness unto the Lord?
“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.” – John Wesley