Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] If you have your Bibles, I'd ask you to find Malachi chapter one. Although I will go ahead and tell you we'll just spend the briefest of moments on tonight's verse, but we'll spend the whole entire time over in God's Word. And so I do hope you'll find your place in your copy of the Scriptures and you'll hang out there as I reference several things.
[00:00:27] Although Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, as our Bibles are arranged in the English translations, it doesn't reflect where it really belongs in the chronological order. It is very likely. Although it's very hard to nail down exactly when Malachi was written. We think it does predate like Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. And we think he ministered about 50 or 60, 70 years after the completion of the temple. So probably he was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. And what Malachi is addressing is something that I think is just as contemporary as oxygen. In other words, although this seems old, it is so relevant to today to just like everybody in that day needed to breathe, we needed this word from Malachi. It was, it was at that time that Malachi was written. It was a tremendous age of, of, of. Of religious disillusionment, as one writer put it. I would have, if somebody would have been asking me to write about it, I would have said people were s. Cynical and seeking self contentment. And, and I'm here to tell you I feel like that's the time we're living in. People are cynical and seeking self contentment. If you were to look at the book of Haggai, Haggai would say, listen, y' all have fallen short of what God has expected of you.
[00:02:09] You know, you know the temple ought to be rebuilt and that you ought to be working on that, but you haven't. I would say the difference then in Malachi is that the people had in their view been obedient and they couldn't see how God was blessing their obedience. And I think this is just as contemporary as oxygen. I think this is where we are. Here we are, Lord, we're doing, we're doing what we ought to be doing. You know, we have, we have churches and we go to church and we're serving the Lord and we're working and we're paying, we're paying taxes and we're doing all that we can. God, when, when are you going to, when are you going to bless the church, revive the church?
[00:02:55] As a matter of fact, I sat down with some local Church leaders this week, and. And that was their lament. We're doing everything the right way. When is God going to make things for our church better? And I thought, wow, I want to walk you guys through the Book of Malachi, but I'm not, because I don't feel like an accusation at this point.
[00:03:13] And so I didn't. And so tonight I want to introduce the Book of Malachi. And I want to start off simply by reading Malachi, chapter one, verse number one, which reads just like this.
[00:03:24] The Oracle of the Word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. More on that in a moment. Would you pray with me, Father? God, we know that you have sent a messenger through the prophet Malachi, and he was sent to that moment, but he also has been sent to everyone whom you have given your word since.
[00:03:47] So just as Israel was charged to receive a word from your messenger, might we receive that word, too?
[00:03:55] I want to go ahead and push through this because I feel like singing that song from Smokey and the Bandit. I got a long ways to go in a short time to get there, so let's dive right in.
[00:04:04] First thing I'd like to say about the Book of Malachi is this. God is not coy. He sends one he calls my messenger. That's literally what Malachi means. And some people believe it's not even a name. It was just, he sent a messenger. He sent Malachi, my messenger. Others believe it is a name if nothing else. God sent a messenger. If something else, his name was Malachi.
[00:04:30] Brothers and sisters, God is not nearly as coy as we give him credit. God is not passive aggressive, you know, he is just fully aggressive. He. He is not hiding. He is speaking through his creation. He is speaking through his word. He has spoken through the prophets. He has spoken through the apostles. And as the book of Hebrews tells us, in these last days, he has given us the clearest word of all. And that word is Jesus.
[00:05:01] Except. Here you go. The people that Malachi were writing to, and this is my choice of words, they were just cynical, man.
[00:05:10] They had lost touch with God. They genuinely had felt like we've done our part. Hey, God, won't you show up? Let me give you a few examples and just bear with me and you'll see how contemporary Malachi was to what was going on then and now. Okay, first is this. To the people, it may have seemed like they had followed through in finishing the temple, but God had not followed through on causing the nations to flock to it. Now, remember, in Haggai, he's going, hey, hey, hey.
[00:05:45] You're laying around, you're not finishing the temple. Malachi. The people might say, hey, hey, hey, we finished the temple.
[00:05:51] What's up?
[00:05:52] What's up, God?
[00:05:54] You know, And I'm going to bring back one of my 2007 Easter Rock. God is not a vending machine, but sometimes we're very tempted to treat him like that. Let me put some stuff in and I'll get some stuff out.
[00:06:08] Now let's look at a little bit of the scriptural evidence. What did God promise them? Zechariah, chapter 8, verse 20. Thus says the Lord of hosts. Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I myself am going. Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem to entreat the favor of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts. In those days, 10 men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying the let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. They're like, hey, we built a temple. Why isn't this happening?
[00:06:54] Why isn't this happening?
[00:06:57] Secondly, it may have seemed to the people that the greatness they were promised as a nation was going unfulfilled.
[00:07:07] It probably was that they were walking around with mega hats on.
[00:07:14] Make Israel great again.
[00:07:16] It'll take a while for that to catch up with some of y'. All.
[00:07:23] And I would say if there was any sort of civil thinking along those lines, it was because there was a biblical prophetic word that would make them think that way. Consider Haggai. Just a sampling from haggai.
[00:07:40] All right? For thus says the Lord of hosts. Yet once more in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations. I just get the image of anybody. Remember, shake and bake. I just get an image of God, you know, with the countries. And I go, I will shake the nation so that the treasures of how many nations?
[00:08:02] Okay, you see, that's an economic promise.
[00:08:07] It's not stated. This is an economic promise, but it's saying, I'm going to shake everybody and pour the change out of their pockets, and it's going to come into your coffers.
[00:08:16] This is a prophet speaking.
[00:08:18] All the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts. The silver is mine, the gold is mine, declares the LORD of Hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares Lord of Hosts. Pause.
[00:08:35] He is promising a glorious economic system, a glorious religious system, and a glorious, you might say, socio political system. In other words, they're going to have peace. Ain't nobody going to mess with them.
[00:08:54] We put a country boy right. He continues, I skip over some of it. Haggai, chapter 2, verse 20. The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai. On the 24th day of the month, speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I'm about to shake the heavens of the earth and overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I'm about to destroy the strength of kingdoms. Now pause. I I want to read all this. I'm just not he spoke to who? Y', all? Who did he speak to?
[00:09:18] Who?
[00:09:19] I just want to hear y' all try to say it out loud.
[00:09:23] It's a fun name. Some say it's a rubber bowl. Some say it's a rubbable. I like tomato sandwiches with Duke's mayonnaise.
[00:09:31] Listen, doesn't that make it seem like this is imminent?
[00:09:35] He's speaking to the then governor.
[00:09:38] Am I making sense to anybody?
[00:09:41] So it would seem that a greatness had been promised to them, a measurable greatness, immeasurable greatness along several categories, and it seems it had been put to them present tense.
[00:09:55] Thirdly, it seemed like rather than a full and sovereign return to the land, the people were still dispersed under and under Persian domination.
[00:10:09] Part of what? Part of what? I believe that, you know, the biblical evidence shows this. Part of what Malachi seems to be addressing is they're like, what's up, God?
[00:10:20] What's up? Why hadn't everybody come back? Why? You know, the exile is over, the people are free. Why isn't the nation full?
[00:10:29] A. Well, actually, this is C C1, C2. Why are the Persians still ruling us?
[00:10:38] Look at Zechariah, chapter 8. Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country. I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in faithfulness and righteousness. And instead of seeing this great coming back and gathering in and this, this economic prosperity, this national security, this religious freedom, instead of seeing that, look at what Nehemiah says. The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few. And no houses had been rebuilt, Right?
[00:11:16] So what is. What is wrong? They're like, God, God, you're not a promise keeper.
[00:11:23] What's up?
[00:11:25] What's up?
[00:11:26] We're in a mess.
[00:11:28] We're flat out in a mess.
[00:11:30] So, secondly, I just gave you a brief overview. There's so much more, Right. Could you, in lieu of those things, could you see why the people might be cynical?
[00:11:40] Right.
[00:11:41] I see some of the same promises to the church.
[00:11:46] Right. And I also see in our day that we're tempted to be just as disillusioned and cynical.
[00:11:51] Notice I said tempted because I believe we are.
[00:11:58] So secondly, in the face of this cynicism, the people determined their way to move forward was to ignore God and pursue success and happiness in their own way.
[00:12:12] Now, here's what they do. You ready for this? They keep all their religious trappings.
[00:12:19] You know, they have the temple, they have the services. They observe the Sabbath, they observe the festivals, they wear the garments.
[00:12:27] But they do what they want to on the inside of their outer appearances.
[00:12:35] Now, we're going to see this in the coming weeks. Like, God will use Malachi to confront the people, and he'll say something to them, and it'll be some accurate accusation, and they'll be like, when. When we do that.
[00:12:48] I don't remember doing that. I'm not doing that.
[00:12:52] Because what they're doing is they're saying, we might put it like this. I go to church, I stand up and sing. If they got a work day, I go and I work. If we have some kind of class, I go and go to the class.
[00:13:05] Right? But does that necessarily translate into a heart that is in tune with the living God?
[00:13:13] You see what I mean?
[00:13:15] You know, I. I drove all the way across the county this morning to fill in for a brother who was out of town for his son's wedding. And. And just pleased to report I saw cars in parking lots at churches all over. But, you know, that's awesome, right? Shouldn't we. Shouldn't we celebrate that? I love it. I. I went by, I don't know, 18, 20 churches in my. In my. And it was cars in every lot. And I loved it.
[00:13:42] But I was already thinking about tonight, and I'm wondering, like, we're in the buckle of the Bible Belt and we might be the people most susceptible to this, to go through the religious motions without having the heart of God driving our hearts. This feels very contemporary to me. Now, I'm not judging those people. I'm just thinking about Malachi, and I'm looking at the world I'm living in, so I don't want to belabor this, but look at Malachi, chapter three. If you have your Bible still up, I think I have it on the screen. Verse 13 says, Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, how have we spoken against you? You see this? They don't even realize how they're speaking against the Lord. More on this in a few weeks.
[00:14:25] Says, you have said, it is in vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge? Or walking in the as in mourning before the Lord of hosts. And now we call the arrogant blessed evildoers not only prospered, but they put God to the test and they escape.
[00:14:42] Verse 13b. It just blows my mind. They say, how have we spoken against you? They don't even hear themselves speak.
[00:14:49] They don't even hear the way they're talking about God. They don't even hear how they're thinking about God and how they're relating to God. They're in an echo chamber that reveals hearts that are so distant that their heads can't hear what their mouths are saying.
[00:15:07] And so the people's lagging faith, their lagging faith in God leads them into sins so deep, so deep that they themselves are completely unaware of their offenses before God.
[00:15:21] Does this sound like our culture? I mean, has anybody read Romans 1 in the last year?
[00:15:27] Right?
[00:15:28] What does he say? Like, you know, you're gonna get to the place that you not only don't even know what's bad, you, you. You celebrate bad.
[00:15:41] Anybody read Isaiah lately? Woe to them that call what evil, Good, good, evil.
[00:15:50] Matter of fact, in Isaiah, he tells the people of Israel, he says, yalls religious services make me want to throw up.
[00:15:57] That's Tim Bo's paraphrase.
[00:16:01] So their lagging faith leads them into sin so deep, so deep that they themselves are completely unaware of their offenses before God. Let me show you just a few of those. I'm going to fly through these. Okay, I'm going to leave. I'm not going to read any more verses, but you guys better take notes and look at them. If you're in my life together group, I'm going to question you like it's driver's exam when you're 16 or something.
[00:16:26] All right, look at some of the. Look at some of the problems they have. What Malachi confronts them. First, they are confronted in their corruption of the priesthood. Malachi addresses that. We'll get to that in the coming weeks. Okay?
[00:16:45] All the discussions about valid ministries and ministers these days.
[00:16:52] Right.
[00:16:53] The priesthood was corrupt.
[00:16:56] The priesthood is corrupt.
[00:17:05] This is as contemporary as oxygen.
[00:17:09] Just cause you wear a religious garb don't mean you preach God's good word.
[00:17:15] And just because you open your Bible don't mean you speak inaccurately.
[00:17:19] Not many of us should be called teachers. Why?
[00:17:23] You'll be judged with a harsher or stricter judgment.
[00:17:29] Right. We're going to get into that more. They were confronted with their reluctance to pay tithes to support the temple worship.
[00:17:43] I'm going to say a lot about that come the time.
[00:17:49] Right. Is it simply about tithes? No, it's about what are you rich and generous toward.
[00:17:55] Right. In America? Can we. You don't have to agree with me, but can you nod like you do in America? Isn't it easy in this American system to be generous to yourself?
[00:18:06] Right. We love this television show. I'm not recommending it. I'm just making perhaps a sad confession about my family.
[00:18:14] But we love this television show called Parks and Recs. Parks. Just one wreck, I think. Parks and Rec. What does this. What does Tom and what's her name? What do they do?
[00:18:24] Treat yourself.
[00:18:27] And they. This guy. This is one of my favorite episodes because it's. I don't know, I'm not going to say who I think would do this. John.
[00:18:38] But their coworker is really sad.
[00:18:40] So they're going to take him. They don't want to take him on the treat yourself adventure, right? Because they feel like he's going to be a bummer. But they take him and they're trying to cheer him up, cheer him up. You know, treat yourself. Treat yourself. And at one point he walks out wearing a full blown Hollywood level Batman costume.
[00:18:59] And he's just standing there like.
[00:19:02] And then later on they show him, he's like, you know, I do feel better. And he's wearing the Batman outfit like, that's America.
[00:19:09] Go get you some American therapy, some marketplace therapy. Go shopping. Go get a $75 coffee. You know, get you some gold dust sprinkled in. You know, go get your toenails did by somebody from the other side of the world. So you feel exotic. I mean, you know, go to Harbor Freight and look around like it's outfits and you're going to the prom. I mean, you know, go do your thing.
[00:19:33] Treat yourself.
[00:19:37] Perhaps I should save that sermon for the night that it's actually full.
[00:19:41] Amen. Somebody say amen. Help me out.
[00:19:47] But it's what they're facing.
[00:19:51] The things that God has Commanded and pushed them toward that should be in their heart. Aren't primary in their heart, but it's obvious what is.
[00:20:05] Doesn't that feel contemporary? Like, I didn't put it up here, Will, Don't y' all go looking for it. Because if I'd have put it up here, I'd have started preaching on it. If I go there. What? I gotta go there, right? The Bible says, where.
[00:20:19] Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We often get that backwards.
[00:20:25] We say, I'm going to say I love something and now I'll treasure it. No, whatever you're treasuring, that's what you actually love.
[00:20:36] That's the accusation. That's what they're confronted with. Thirdly here, they're confronted with their mistreatment of the poor.
[00:20:47] There's a lot of talk about the poor, and I agree. Isn't it a complex issue to figure out what to do civically with the poor? Isn't that a very complex issue?
[00:20:59] You know, who qualifies for what benefits, who's responsible for whatever benefits, on and on and on. Am I making sense to anybody? That's complex.
[00:21:10] But is it complex?
[00:21:13] God's heart for the poor, is that complex?
[00:21:16] No. God has a heart for the poor.
[00:21:19] So if. If his heart's beaten in our heart, we might have a difficult time to figure out what is the wise course of action, to actually be helpful. But we'll be working through those complexities. Am I making sense to anybody?
[00:21:33] What is it easier to do?
[00:21:36] Be apathetic, be unengaged, to be selfish? To take care of number one.
[00:21:45] So we'll get to that, too.
[00:21:47] And then Malachi also confronts them with intermarriage with the surrounding heathen people, which is a lot bigger deal than that little sentence I just put on the screen makes it sound. And we'll have to get into that, too. And you guys see these references and you have them in your notes.
[00:22:03] You guys know we're going to get into this more and more.
[00:22:06] I hope some of you have already read Joseph Loons write up in today's Bulletin, his Bulletin article. But I want to quote something there. You might want to find it. I don't remember what number paragraph it was, but it was. It starts with the words between the role of the prophets. Let me. It's a lengthy quote, but it's worth saying from this place.
[00:22:24] Between the role of the prophets in the Old Testament and the instructions in the New Testament, the Scriptures exhibit a recurring theme of accountability.
[00:22:34] All right, hold that quote. But Pause. Hold it.
[00:22:37] Just think about the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation.
[00:22:42] Think about the letters of Peter and Paul, the letters of Jude. Aren't these also letters of accountability? When you say so, Wouldn't it seem that when God redeems a people, he considers them accountable to him so that it is his loving fatherly habit to hold his children accountable?
[00:23:05] This is not just a theme of the prophets. Joe is right on it.
[00:23:10] He continues, quote, what would it look like if we were evaluated honestly against that standard?
[00:23:18] Okay, let's quote the theologian Scooby Doo here. What would he say?
[00:23:23] RH Ro continues. Quote. If Malachi could visit our church, I wonder what kind of message he'd bring from the Lord.
[00:23:37] Do you have a circle of believers who are willing to hold you accountable to the commands revealed in the Word? How do you react when people correct you? Now remember, if you want to be mad, be mad at Joe. He wrote this and he's on vacation. What a time to write it.
[00:23:56] Isn't that a question of how do you react when people correct you?
[00:24:03] How you respond to correction is a mark of character.
[00:24:07] This also works in the other direction. I think we all know of people we feel don't live up to God's standards as they ought. If you're aware of it, do you approach them in love to help them in their walk with God? Are you apathetic or worse, counting on them to figure things out for themselves?
[00:24:24] When I read a book of Malachi, I see a loving father sending a brother messenger to hold a beloved people accountable for his glory and their good.
[00:24:37] So he confronts them.
[00:24:40] Yay.
[00:24:41] This will take us right up to Christmas.
[00:24:45] You're welcome.
[00:24:47] Or something.
[00:24:50] So believe it or not, you say all these blanks, you're a liar. I already know you're a liar. Moving toward a close, God's messenger thirdly reminds his people of the coming Messiah and of God's ultimate justice. Now, again, I was so tempted. I think. I think last night at like 11 o', clock, Karen and I were fading off asleep, and I told her I was just like, I just want to go tomorrow and preach the whole book for two hours.
[00:25:24] And her comment was, but you can't do that. I says, I can. They'll just leave.
[00:25:31] I want you to know I fought that temptation for many weeks now.
[00:25:38] I sort of imagined in the 70s, they used to do these standing competitions. Anybody remember that? You'd stand and touch a car and the last person that could stay standing won the car. I thought about trying that With Malachi. With y'. All.
[00:25:51] You know, whoever stays standing the longest could have the offering when we left or something. You know, this is a little bit lengthy passage for an introduction, but bear with me. It's the last verse of chapter two and five verses into chapter three. It reads like this.
[00:26:09] You have wearied the Lord with your words, but you say, read it with me.
[00:26:16] How have we wearied him? Pause. Don't you see? And you see these over and over again. Don't you see how out of touch they are?
[00:26:25] You've done this. How'd I do that?
[00:26:30] He says, by saying, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delights in them. Or by asking, where is the God of justice? In other words, they're turned around.
[00:26:40] So chapter three, verse one. Behold, I send my messenger. And literally, if you read in Hebrew, I send my Malachi.
[00:26:49] Malachi, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. And the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he has come and says, lord of hosts. I hope you guys are getting total John the Baptist Jesus vibes. The rent of the veil in the temple on the day that Jesus was crucified.
[00:27:10] I hope you get that, because this. This is the problem. God is making promises and they don't like his timeline, so it seems like he's not a promise keeper.
[00:27:23] Now, is this contemporary or not? Church?
[00:27:28] Okay, where did I stop? I'll just pick up wherever I think I did. Verse 2. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? You want God to do something? Are you sure you're ready for God to show up?
[00:27:39] Let me answer for Tim. No.
[00:27:43] In and of myself, am I ready to face the living God, Right?
[00:27:53] Well, he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap.
[00:27:57] Okay.
[00:27:59] Having spilt two sausage things of boiling grease on myself one time.
[00:28:05] True story.
[00:28:07] Anytime somebody's talking about throwing me in a fire, I smell sausage and want to cry.
[00:28:15] Okay, fair enough. That's where I am. Verse 3. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings and righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in the former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the Sorcerers against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker and his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who trust aside the sojourner and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts, judgment's coming.
[00:28:58] As one old preacher said, payday someday.
[00:29:05] A child is speaking in tongues. I translate that as saying, preach, preacher.
[00:29:11] That's a solid translation. Praise the Lord.
[00:29:17] Right?
[00:29:19] Can we go back to the beginning for 20 seconds? If you see this setting that the people found themselves in, doesn't it seem like their cynicism is at least understandable? Doesn't it?
[00:29:35] You can nod. Yes. It's the right answer.
[00:29:38] It's not a trick question.
[00:29:40] If you're the New Testament church and Jesus ascended to the sky with a promise to return, doesn't 2000 years feel like a while?
[00:29:52] If you've had a tough week, doesn't seven days feel like a while?
[00:29:58] Now, let me ask the question again. Can you understand the cynicism they were facing? I think I can.
[00:30:06] So I think this caution, these confrontations are also, to me, in other words, this isn't just a word for those folks, It's a word for these folks.
[00:30:25] Let me pull out my handy dandy mirror and this fellow.
[00:30:30] Right?
[00:30:32] But there's a lot of other promises, and we'll get into these. I just threw them in your notes so you guys could see them. Repentance comes with a reward. God will honor those in their midst who have remained steadfast. Those who oppose them will be punished, and those who walked in righteousness will be blessed. The people are called to heed the demands of the Mosaic covenant. The. In other words, he doesn't give them a timeline of when they will get these rewards, but he says there's a pathway to walk toward my appointed ends.
[00:31:05] So I would say even today, fourthly, finally, quickly, I would say even today, the waiting church is a wrestling church, and she must be a warring church.
[00:31:19] We are the waiting church. What are we waiting on? We're waiting as individuals, either to go home or we're waiting collectively for the Lord Jesus to return. Aren't we waiting on that?
[00:31:31] I mean, isn't that true of every believer? We're either waiting, and I'm not trying to be morbid or morose, but we're all either waiting on the Lord to call us home or we're waiting on him to come back and take us all home. Amen.
[00:31:46] Right? So we're a waiting church.
[00:31:49] I think we should be a wrestling church. And what I mean, is in that spirit of Jacob, wrestle with the Lord and say to him, like, I ain't letting go.
[00:32:00] And you, you guys know we sing more songs about him not letting go of us than we do us not letting go of him.
[00:32:08] Oh, no, you never let go. Through the calm, through the storm, through the he will hold me fast.
[00:32:15] The truth is, if we aren't held by him, we're not even near enough to him to be wrestling.
[00:32:23] I finally, for the first time that I remember, Carson, you can correct me. I don't think I've ever held my Lynn for tonight before tonight. So tonight was the first time she pulled my beard like a billy goat because it was the first time she was near enough.
[00:32:38] All my coochie coo before that was at a distance and her little 12 inch arms couldn't get me.
[00:32:45] But in nearness, in nearness, we wrestled.
[00:32:50] We wrestled with understanding what my beard is for. And at one point she pulled out a handful and tried to put it in hers.
[00:32:58] I told her, it doesn't work like that.
[00:33:01] In this nearness to the Lord, there's a wrestling. Wrestling to know God in truth, that's pretty difficult. In a world full of distractions and lies.
[00:33:12] Wrestling to walk with him in sincerity, that's pretty difficult because we're all just basically hurting people. Broken, hurting people. To know the will of the Lord and the timing to execute it, there's so much wrestling the church should do. Amen.
[00:33:26] And what God was inviting them to in a fresh way is waiting and wrestling.
[00:33:33] And I believe that's what the standing invitation to the church is, waiting and wrestling.
[00:33:40] But we also must be a warring. And if anybody thinks, I mean by that, some sort of crusader like violence.
[00:33:51] I don't.
[00:33:56] When I look around the world today, could I fall for that sort of temptation?
[00:34:02] Yeah, I could.
[00:34:05] I want to be one of the good guys who goes and gets the bad guys.
[00:34:12] You know, I want to look out on situations in the world and say, with all holiness, I'm your huckleberry.
[00:34:21] But our war is a different war. First, it's a war against the flesh, our own, our own sin.
[00:34:28] It's a war against the strategies of the enemy. It's a war against unrighteousness and unholiness. And we don't do that by stamping out the sinner. We do that by pursuing the Savior and loving the sinner.
[00:34:48] There's so many things the Bible would say. James 5, be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Hebrews 9. He's coming back to save those who eagerly wait for him. First Corinthians 4:16, 17. The Lord himself will descend from the heaven with a cry of command, the voice of an archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise. First Corinthians 1:7 so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 22:21 of my favorites.
[00:35:22] Surely I am coming soon. And how does John reply to that?
[00:35:27] Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, 2nd Peter 3:12. Waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord.
[00:35:40] Romans 8:23. Not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit. Got a taste of God in us, y'. All. And we groan inwardly as we wait for the final phase of our adoption as son, the redemption of our bodies.
[00:35:57] I love that part. The final phase of our adoption is not only will be dead to sin, sin will be dead in us.
[00:36:10] And so, just as a point of closing Reference, Titus Chapter 2.
[00:36:15] Highly likely. If you have ever got any kind of note from me or an email, you have at least seen this passage referenced at the bottom of it.
[00:36:25] It's one of my three or four chosen salutary, Whatever, I don't know, whatever. Sign off the end of the letter for the grace of God has appeared. What is this grace, this unmerited favor? Christ has come in the incarnation.
[00:36:41] God the Son took on flesh, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. Does this mean universal salvation? No. Everybody who would be saved can be saved because grace has come.
[00:36:53] And what is this grace doing? It's training us to renounce ungodliness.
[00:36:58] Training us to renounce worldly passions. It's training us to live a self controlled, upright and godly life. When?
[00:37:09] Which is when?
[00:37:10] Right now. And in five minutes it'll be the present age again.
[00:37:15] And tomorrow it'll be the present age again.
[00:37:19] He continues.
[00:37:21] And we're also doing something else. We're waiting for our blessed hope, the return of Christ, which will bring salvation for all people. In other words, the work will be finished.
[00:37:32] That's the glorious appearing, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself to buy us back, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works. What would Malachi say if he had the Book of Titus?
[00:37:59] Get to work, working out your salvation as you wait for the Lord.
[00:38:05] The work is always present tense. The call is always present tense. When will Jesus return.
[00:38:13] I have to go pay a tax bill tomorrow. Be okay with me if it was tonight just so I could go Nana Boo boo one more time, right? I'm with John.
[00:38:26] Even so, even if the shaking of the nations is terrifying, right? Even if the casting down of Satan is mortifying, even if martyrdom is. Is necessary. Even so, what can we say? Church.
[00:38:46] Come, Lord Jesus.
[00:38:49] Malachi wrote to shake those believers out of easygoing believerism.
[00:38:56] And I believe this word is as relevant as oxygen.
[00:39:04] Are you breathing?
[00:39:06] You need this word.
[00:39:10] The believer, the believer who waits with expectation is the believer who works and celebrates is the believer who renounces, discovers ungodliness according to God's definition, renounces it and runs from it. The believer who is working out his salvation in fear and trembling day and night is that believer who is eager for the return of the Lord. And Malachi, it's like, you know, Malachi said, what are y' all doing?
[00:39:42] Yes, it would seem you have reasons to be cynical, but you have a greater reason to be sanctified.
[00:39:50] You can either spend your life looking at all the horizontal mess or. And then getting the wrong view of God, or you can spend your life looking vertical and receiving the right view of all of this.
[00:40:06] And which filter you pick is really going to determine how sincere your walk with God is.
[00:40:15] So, phew.
[00:40:20] Not quite two hours, but close enough.
[00:40:25] The old hymn writer taught us to sing My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.
[00:40:42] Another hymn writer taught us to sing I need Thee every hour.
[00:40:46] I need thee every hour.
[00:40:49] Another hymn writer taught us to sing the love of God greater far than tongue or pen can tell.
[00:40:57] This is what should be capturing our attention and leaking down into our affections and fueling our waiting. Let me say that again.
[00:41:07] These troops truths. These troops of truths.
[00:41:12] Got my new fake front teeth, y'. All.
[00:41:15] Ain't y' all proud of me? Can't talk.
[00:41:18] These truths should be capturing our minds, leaking down into our affections and fueling.
[00:41:30] Fueling our eager expectation.
[00:41:34] There is nowhere in the scripture that calls for an easygoing faith, but everywhere in the scripture calls for arresting trust.
[00:41:44] God's done it. I am trusting Him.
[00:41:49] And so I'm here. What must I be doing?
[00:41:53] Waiting.
[00:41:55] Amen.
[00:41:56] Wrestling. I should have thrown in another W. Worshiping.
[00:41:59] I'm in.
[00:42:01] And Warren, I can't answer for you as individuals or as households, but I can ask you the question.
[00:42:12] Are you serving the Lord? Are you worshiping the Lord? Are you just going along inside your religious schemes?
[00:42:22] It's a tough question, isn't it?
[00:42:26] It's a question we over the next few weeks need to ponder as a family of faith.
[00:42:33] Are we standing on the laurels of our recent bravery?
[00:42:37] Or are we constantly saying, what next, Lord?
[00:42:41] Amen? And yes, how about it? Do you know the Lord today? Now, the Bible is pretty clear.
[00:42:54] We're justified by faith alone, through grace alone, by Christ alone. He has finished the work and we believe on him. And God counts it to us as righteousness.
[00:43:07] Having believed, we submit to him and we say, you are Lord. You are now the boss of my life.
[00:43:14] Have you believed on the Lord? Now the Bible says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. What's it say, Church?
[00:43:21] You be saved.
[00:43:24] And it's not just saved unto heaven or saved from hell. It's saved from all kinds of stuff. The whole list. Saved from and unto.
[00:43:33] You know what I'm saying? Like, if I was drowning in the shallow end of the pool, I wouldn't want you to save me from the shallow end of the pool and drop me in the deep end.
[00:43:43] So it's always from and unto. Right? Makes sense.
[00:43:47] Have you believed on the Lord today?
[00:43:50] Are you believing on the Lord today?
[00:43:56] Or are we living in a religious shell and trying to suit our own self in our own way?
[00:44:02] Hmm, tough question.
[00:44:05] Let me pray for us is our music team comes King Jesus, you are Lord.
[00:44:14] It's not debatable that you are always Lord of Heaven and it is factual that you have come and took back what Adam gave up and you are Lord of the earth.
[00:44:25] The fact is that the earth is yours and the fullness thereof and everyone who dwells upon it. Jesus, you are Lord.
[00:44:34] I long for you to be Lord of my life.
[00:44:39] And I often want to rescind your lordship long enough for me to do what I want to do.
[00:44:45] So, Lord, I say, be Lord of my life.
[00:44:49] Be Lord of my life. You don't need my permission, but I beg for your help. Be Lord of my life. Be Lord of my household, or be Lord of this household of faith.
[00:45:01] And may we be a people who rest in trust that Christ is necessary and sufficient, but that we don't rest in our pursuit of holiness and service.
[00:45:16] Help us now speak to our hearts as only you can in Jesus. I pray the people of God say amen. Let's stand together and sing.
