In Malachi 2:5-6, Malachi compared the Levites of his time with the Levites of old. And today the Lord reminds us of how the first apostles were, how they left everything to follow the Lord. "Compare yourself with them," He says to us. The Lord says, "The purpose of My covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace. This was what I gave them; and this called for reverence from them - and they did greatly revere Me." Notice in verses 5 and 6, seven qualities that characterised those early Levites - characteristics that should be true of every servant of God.
1. They reverenced God.
Reverence for God is the ABC of wisdom.
2. They had a concern for God's name.
Our Lord taught us to pray, "Hallowed be Thy name." We must have a great longing for the name of Jesus to be honoured and respected in our land.
3. They preached all of God's truth.
Many preachers do not preach the whole counsel of God, because that would make them unpopular. So they become compromisers. I was once invited for meetings to a place where I was to be the sole speaker. A week before the meetings were to commence, the organisers wrote to me requesting that I not speak on the topic of water baptism at any of the meetings, lest it offend some of the people. I wrote back saying that in that case they would have to find another preacher. I told them that I could not accept an invitation to speak anywhere, if I was going to be told what to speak and what not to speak. As a servant of the Lord, I would have to speak whatever the Lord laid on my heart.
4. They hated sin.
They did not lie or cheat. There was a hatred for sin in their hearts.
5. They walked with God.
They safeguarded their daily walk with God.
6. They lived uprightly.
In everything in their life - the way they handled money, the way they conducted themselves, etc., - they were upright, without any crookedness.
7. They turned many from sin.
In those two verses, we have a beautiful description of what a true preacher should be like.
"The priests' lips should guard knowledge, and people should go to them for instruction, for the priests are the messengers of the LORD" (Mal 2:7). We must go to the Lord first and receive His Word and only then go to the people and give them His Word. A messenger must have God's word in his mouth. But those Levites, like many today, had left God's paths, corrupted His covenant and caused people to stumble by their preaching (Mal 2:8,9).
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.