Malachi God loves us? You've got to be joking!
Series: Commitment series
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 27th October 2012
Passage: Malachi 1:1-5
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 Friends, today we begin our commitment, our annual commitment series since 2009.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:16 We have set aside time to reflect on our individual and corporate commitment to our purpose here at St. Paul's.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:27 Our corporate purpose is there in our mission statement to know Jesus, treasure Jesus, and represent Jesus for God's glory and the joy of all people.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:35 At the heart of that purpose is to make Jesus look great in our world.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 And we do that when Jesus is our greatest treasure.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 He is our joy, our love, our satisfaction, our hope, our life.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:54 And what Malachi will do for us in the next five weeks, it will push us to treasure Jesus in every area of our life.
00:00:54 --> 00:01:00 And so let me pray that that might indeed be our end as we look through this book.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:10 Our Father God, we commit this commitment series to you and ask that by your spirit you would speak through your words so clearly and powerfully to us.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:25 Father, we pray that you would take us from a shallow level of understanding your love of who you are and take us to higher heights of adoration of you.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:33 That we might adore you for who you truly are and treasure you as you have called us to be your treasured possession.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:39 And so Father, we'll do that work in us individually and corporately we pray in the next number of weeks.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 We ask it for your sake. Amen.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:50 God's relationship with his people Israel began when God set his affection on them.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:55 Here is how Deuteronomy 7 describes it.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:25 It says,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:43 And so there in Deuteronomy 7, we are told that Israel is God's treasured possession.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:51 But history tells us that Israel did not make God or relationship with God their treasured possession.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 Israel was God's treasured possession.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:00 He loved them and yet they did not love him back.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:04 How did you answer that question just a moment ago?
00:03:05 --> 00:03:09 Speak about a time when you were loved or felt loved.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:10 I felt loved yesterday.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:18 Natalie sent me this just wonderful text message just affirming me who I was and beautiful, beautiful text message.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:19 It was fantastic.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 And I read it and I just jumped with joy.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:25 And then last night as we went to bed, she said,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 Did you get my text message?
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 Oh, yes.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:33 It was wonderful.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:34 It was wonderful.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:34 It was wonderful.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:35 Sorry.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 I forgot to say thanks.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 And so she didn't feel so loved.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:48 The people of Israel disobeyed God.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 They ignored God.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 They did not love him back.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:58 They eventually ended up in exile in a foreign land as God had warned them.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:03 But God did not forget his covenant of love with them.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 He restored his people to their place after 70 years in Babylon.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:15 And Malachi wrote in the 5th century BC to the Jewish people who had been restored to their land after exile in Babylon.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:20 And on one level, you could say the exiled people are back in their land.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 The temple's being rebuilt and everything's looking good.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:28 Malachi, however, speaks to an inglorious Israel.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 They are a long way from their former glory.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:38 And being an outsider looking in on the returned people of God,
00:04:38 --> 00:04:44 you could easily conclude that the God of Israel was not so impressive.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:51 It appears that the lessons of the exile had not been learned.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:56 The people of God had grown sceptical of God's love for them in chapter 1 verse 2.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 They had become careless in worship in verse 7 of chapter 1.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 Indifferent to the truth in chapter 2 verses 6 and 7.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 Disobedient to the covenant in chapter 2 verse 10.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 Faithless in their marriages in chapter 2 verse 15 through to 3 verse 5.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 And stingy in their offerings in chapter 3 verse 8.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:30 And so Malachi is a passionate prophecy where God confronts his people for their half-hearted devotion and love of him.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:37 God desires for his treasured possessions to treasure him.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:48 And so right at the beginning of Malachi, God takes his people right back to the very foundation of their relationship.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 And in doing this, he reminds them of his character.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 And there are two things here in these first five verses that God says about himself.
00:05:56 --> 00:06:07 The first is a tender reminder that they are God's people because of God's attitude towards them.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:13 I have loved you, says the Lord in verse 2.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:22 And the second is a reminder that this is not just some kind of weak, soft love.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:29 It's a reminder in verse 5 of his universal greatness.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 Great is the Lord, even beyond the borders of Israel.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:40 At the very start, we are taken back to two very essential truths.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 God is a God of mercy and love and grace.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 And he is a God of absolute universal control.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 And both of those things need to be held together in balance.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 The very foundation of their relationship with God is that statement,
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 I have loved you.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 Those four beautiful words.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:08 And this statement actually means that he has loved them in the past with clear action
00:07:08 --> 00:07:12 and that he is still loving them now with clear action.
00:07:12 --> 00:07:19 God's blessing and faithfulness to his people were not the result of their faithfulness to him.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 They are the product of his love.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 It was his initiative to love.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 We heard it a moment ago in Deuteronomy 7.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:35 The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples of the face of the earth to be his people,
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 his treasured possession.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:46 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were numerous than other peoples.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 For you were the fewest of all.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 But it was because the Lord loved you.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:58 You weren't chosen because you were the most impressive of all the nations.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 And God went, well, if I've got to pick someone, I'll go for the good guys.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:09 But the skeptical response of these people reveals a lot about their condition, does it not, in verse 2?
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 But you ask, well, how have you loved us?
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 We don't feel loved by you.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 How would you answer that question?
00:08:20 --> 00:08:31 Is your life in such a shambles right now that you feel skeptical about God's love as Israel did here?
00:08:33 --> 00:08:36 No doubt I would say that there is a little bit of that in all of us.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:44 And so it would do us really good to listen to God's answer to their question.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 It's not the sort of answer I think that we'd give.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 Verse 2 again.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 Was not Esau Jacob's brother?
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 The Lord says.
00:08:55 --> 00:09:00 Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:08 We need to unpack that because in that short answer we get to the very essence of God's love.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:14 Malachi is written to Israel, the descendants of Jacob,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:18 and their next door neighbours Edom are the descendants of Esau.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:23 And Edom have been fairly nasty to Israel.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:29 In the exile, Edom joined brothers instead of with their half-brothers.
00:09:30 --> 00:09:38 They joined forces with the enemies of Israel to cut down anyone who was escaping from the invaders.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 They plotted against their brothers.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 And so the question is, was not Esau Jacob's brother?
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 And the answer is yes.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 Of course he was his brother.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:52 In fact, let me say, he wasn't just his brother.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 He was his twin brother.
00:09:55 --> 00:10:00 And not only were they twins, but Esau was the older brother.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:07 And by customary rights and privileges, Esau would be the main heir of the father's blessing.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:16 That is, Edom ought to be the ones with the promised land and all the blessings.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 Not Israel.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:22 And so why mention this here?
00:10:24 --> 00:10:33 The point is, that based on what Jacob and Esau were in themselves,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 God could have just as easily have chosen Esau.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 Aren't you brothers?
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 Weren't you twins?
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 Weren't you both formed in your mother's womb at the same time?
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Isn't Esau, in fact, your older brother?
00:10:52 --> 00:10:59 But I passed him by and I chose to set my love and affection on you.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:06 And so when these loved people skeptically say, well, how have you loved us?
00:11:07 --> 00:11:14 The answer is, I have loved you with free, sovereign, unconditional, electing love.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 That is how I've loved you.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:22 Straight up, God sets the very foundation, the basis of his relationship with these people.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:30 He says, my love for you is electing love because I chose you for myself above your older brother Esau.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:37 My love for you is unconditional because I chose you before you had done anything good or evil,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 before you had met any conditions,
00:11:39 --> 00:11:44 or had any applause for doing anything impressive and good.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 In fact, I chose you before you were even born.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:55 My love for you is a sovereign love because I was under no constraint whatsoever to love you.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 I wasn't forced to love you.
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 I was not tricked into loving you.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 I wasn't manipulated to love you.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:07 I was totally in charge, totally clear-headed, and I chose to love you.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:15 And my love for you is free because it is the abundant overflow of my immeasurable grace
00:12:15 --> 00:12:20 that can never be bought, it can never be repaid, it can never be earned in any way.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:29 Is that not the glorious center of the Christian faith?
00:12:32 --> 00:12:39 No other religion in this world dares to speak of God's relationship with his people in that way.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:43 Free, unconditional, sovereign, electing love.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:48 It is the grace of God which sets it apart.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:52 Is that not the glorious center of the Christian faith?
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 Romans 3,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
00:12:56 --> 00:13:01 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 Romans 5, 6,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 At just the right time, when we were still powerless,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:09 Christ died for the ungodly.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 Romans 5, 8,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 God demonstrates his own love for us in this.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:17 That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 Ephesians 1,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:27 He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:32 In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 In accordance with his pleasure and will,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 to the praise of his glorious grace,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:42 which he has freely given us in the one he loves.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 2 Timothy 1,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:48 God who has saved us and called us to a holy life,
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 not because of anything that we have done,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 but because of his own purpose and grace.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:59 And this grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:05 We don't earn acceptance with God.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:10 We don't make ourselves lovable to God.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 He loves the unlovable.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 It is his free choice.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:21 A moment ago,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 we were asked the question,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 when have you ever felt loved?
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 Let me tell you
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 that when I understood that
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 for the very first time
00:14:34 --> 00:14:38 was the first time when I felt loved.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:44 As a man 23 years of age,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:45 questionable you man,
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 I felt loved.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 And for weeks I cried like a baby.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 I still remember it.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:06 The electing, unconditional, sovereign, free love of God
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 just come, bam, into my heart
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 and turned my life upside down and inside out.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:16 I remember trembling with fearful joy
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 that of all the people
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 that on the face of this earth
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 I was not passed by.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 That the sovereign creator God
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 would set his affection
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 on a young punk like me.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:40 before the beginning of time.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 For the first time in my life,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 I saw clearly what it was
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 to be totally loved,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:52 completely, unconditionally loved.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 God in Jesus
00:15:54 --> 00:15:56 embraced me forever
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 and I have never,
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 ever felt so secure.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 Ever felt so secure
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 in any relationship.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 God in Jesus
00:16:07 --> 00:16:13 and no new piece of information
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 somehow making its way to God
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 through the great accuser
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 is going to ever overturn
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 his love for me.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 No one loves like that.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:28 No one.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 Everywhere you turn in this world,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 love is conditional.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 I will love you
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 if you change,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 if you do better,
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 if you put more effort in.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 Expectations wherever you turn.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:51 Do you know what it is
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 to be loved like this
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 unconditionally
00:16:54 --> 00:16:56 in spite of your failings
00:16:56 --> 00:17:00 with all the imperfection,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 the sin?
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 Do you know what it is
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 to still feel secure
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 in a relationship?
00:17:05 --> 00:17:11 It would be great
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 if I could end it just there.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 Of course,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 the brilliance and beauty
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 of God's love
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 in these verses
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 becomes so clear
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 because it's set
00:17:20 --> 00:17:20 against the darkness
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 of Esau.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 What about Esau?
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 Verse 3,
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 God says,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:26 Esau,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 I have hated.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 It would have been
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 so much nicer
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 if that wasn't included.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 What does it mean?
00:17:36 --> 00:17:36 I think it's actually
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 spelled out for us
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 in the rest of verses 3 and 4.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 Follow it with me.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 I have turned his mountains
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 into a wasteland
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 and left his inheritance
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 to the desert jackals.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 Edom,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 remember they're
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 the descendants of Esau.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 Edom may say,
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 though we have been crushed,
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 we will rebuild the ruins.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 But this is what
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 the Lord Almighty says,
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 they may rebuild,
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 but I will demolish.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 They will be called
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 the wicked land
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 of people
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 under the wrath
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 of the Lord.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 Notice in those
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 four very quick words,
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 Esau I have hated,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 there are four aspects
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 in those next few verses,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 aspects of God's
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 rejection of Esau.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:18 Firstly,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 God opposes
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 their prosperity
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 and brings their land
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 under his judgment.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 Secondly,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 it means that God
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 will continue
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 to oppose them
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 when he resists
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 their judgment
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 of his judgment
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 of them.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 He will continue
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 to demolish.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:37 Third,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 they will by and large
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 be given over
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 to wickedness.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 And this is possibly
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 the most devastating
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 of the judgments
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 and the one
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 that makes
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 all the other judgments
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 just.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 You see,
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 they are not
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 an innocent people.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 God is just
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 in all his dealings
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 with people.
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 And when God decides
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 to pass by Esau
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 and choose Jacob,
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 there is no decree
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 here anywhere,
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 anywhere in the Bible
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 to say that Esau
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 was innocent
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 and would be judged
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 harshly as an innocent man.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:15 That is,
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 neither Jacob
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 nor Esau
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 actually deserve love.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 Neither of them
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 deserve love.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 Neither of them
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 deserve grace.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 Now, of course,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 there's a great mystery
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 here and I don't claim
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 to solve
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 all the problems
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 that we have
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 in our finite minds
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 in a text like this,
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 but this is sure
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 from this text.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 God passes by
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 the descendants
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 of Esau
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 and withheld
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 his electing love
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 and as a result,
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 Esau gave way
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 to wickedness
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 and deserved
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 the indignation
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 of God.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 And that takes me
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 to the fourth point
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 from the end
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 of verse four
00:19:52 --> 00:19:54 is that God
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 is angry
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 with them
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 forever.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 In verse two,
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 God declares
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 his love
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 and the people
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 of God
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 are skeptical.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 And having heard
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 God describe
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 his love
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 in such a stark
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 way here,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 we might be
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 tempted
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 to be skeptical
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 too.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 We might be tempted
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 just to cut
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 the second four
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 verses off
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 and just keep
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 the first four.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 And what you do
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 at that point
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 is you diminish
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 and demolish
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 the love of God.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 You have a simple
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 view of the love
00:20:35 --> 00:20:35 of God.
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 You see,
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 to our minds,
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 we look at
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 these verses
00:20:42 --> 00:20:42 and we go,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 it seems
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 insufficient,
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 it seems
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 unjust,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 it seems
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 callous.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 Our problem
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 is most likely
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 that, well,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 if one gets
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 love,
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 then why not
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 both?
00:20:55 --> 00:20:59 I suppose,
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 I suppose,
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 but if two
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 criminals were
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 before a judge
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 guilty of
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 exactly the
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 same crime
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 and the judge
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 chooses to
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 let one off
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 and punish
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 the other
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 one justly
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 according to
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 their crimes,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 I don't think
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 either criminal
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 can say to
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 the judge,
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 that's unfair.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 Neither
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 deserves mercy
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 and I think
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 that's one
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 of the points
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 that Paul
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 makes in
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 Romans 9.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 Who are we
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 to question
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 the infinitely
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 wise God
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 with our
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 small minds?
00:21:32 --> 00:21:36 there is a
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 mystery here.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 There is a
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 mystery.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 But at the
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 very least,
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 let me
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 hammer this
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 home.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 It is
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 meant to
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 cause those
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 in Christ
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 to reach
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 to higher
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 levels of
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 gratitude
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 and affection
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 for God
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 that he
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 should set
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 his affection
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 on anyone.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 It ought to
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 take our
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 love of
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 God beyond
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 a shallow
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 confidence
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 to a
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 deep
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 joyful
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 trembling.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 And I
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 want to
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 include the
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 word
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 trembling.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 I think
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 that's why
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 Malachi
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 begins his
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 message in
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 this way
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 to these
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 apathetic
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 Israelites.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 I think
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 that these
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 words are
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 meant to
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 humble them,
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 to take
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 away their
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 presumption,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 to remove
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 every ground
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 of their
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 boasting,
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 to cut
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 the nerve
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 of pride
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 that possibly
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 rejoiced in
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 the downfall
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 of Edom,
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 as if their
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 salvation,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 Israel's salvation,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 were owing to
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 something that
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 they had done.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 To grind
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 away their
00:22:46 --> 00:22:48 cavalier sense
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 of self-reliance
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 that made them
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 think that they
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 were equal
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 partners with
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 their God
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 within this
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 relationship.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 To make
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 their tremble
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 with tears
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 of joy that
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 they belong
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 to God.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 and they
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 don't
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 deserve it.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 And I
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 want to keep
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 throwing the
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 word tremble
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 in there.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 Because as we
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 see, this
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 God is not
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 simply to be
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 admired with
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 joyful songs
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 of praise.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 He is to
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 be feared.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 God's love
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 is not soft
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 and it's not
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 simple.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 So the
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 second purpose
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 of revealing
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 his electing
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 love of Jacob
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 and his
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 judgment of
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 Esau helps
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 us to see
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 that he's
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 to be
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 feared.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 Verse 5,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 you will
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 see it
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 with your
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 own eyes
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 and say
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 great is
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 the Lord
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 even beyond
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 the borders
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 of Israel.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 You see,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 part of what
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 it means to
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 be loved
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 by God
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 is to know
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 that this
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 God
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 sovereignly
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 reigns.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 That he
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 is awesome
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 and mighty
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 over everything
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 above the
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 earth,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 on the
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 earth,
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 and below
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 the earth.
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 And Malachi
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 here is not
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 speaking of
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 some kind
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 of village
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 God or
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 tribal spirit.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 this is the
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 universal
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 sovereign
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 Lord over
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 all that
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 is.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 He is
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 mighty in
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 Israel.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 He is
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 mighty in
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 Edom,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 next door.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 He is
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 mighty in
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 Sudan and
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 the US
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 and in
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 Chatswood.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 He
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 great is
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 the Lord
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 even beyond
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 the walls
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 of this
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 church.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 And so
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 friends,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 right at the
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 very beginning,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 Malachi
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 is calling
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 the people
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 of God
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 back into
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 covenant
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 relationship
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 and devotion
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 with their
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 God who
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 has loved
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 them,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 who has
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 said his
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 affection
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 towards
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 them.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 And the
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 way he
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 does that
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 is by
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 reminding
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 them of
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 this great
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 God.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 And what
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 we discover
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 in the first
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 few verses
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 are deep
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 things that
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 are very
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 hard to
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 get our
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 minds
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 and our
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 hearts
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 around.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 But they
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 are beautiful
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 truths that
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 ought to cause
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 us to
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 tremble.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:55 tears of
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 joy.
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 Let me
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 say that
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 normally
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 these things
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 that I've
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 only touched
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 them very
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 lightly,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 they are so
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 much deeper
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 than what I
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 can give
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 them justice
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 to here.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 We normally
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 only touch
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 these sort
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 of deep
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 truths,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 sort of
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 think,
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 well these
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 are for
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 the mature
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 Christians,
00:25:11 --> 00:25:13 for Bible
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 study classes,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 for the keen
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 ones to dig
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 a little bit
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 deeper and
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 understand some
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 big concepts.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 But that's
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 not Malachi's
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 purpose here.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 Malachi is
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 not speaking
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 to a bunch
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 of mature
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 Christians locked
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 up in some
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 theological
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 college, he
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 is speaking
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 to a
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 bunch, a
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 worldly
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 bunch of
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 half-hearted
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 followers of
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 their God.
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 They are
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 sceptical, they
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 are careless,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 they are
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 indifferent, they
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 are disobedient,
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 they are
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 adulterous, they
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 are stingy.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:49 And these
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 deep and
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 difficult truths
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 are here
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 designed to
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 shock the
00:25:56 --> 00:25:58 presumption and
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 the flippancy of
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 the careless
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 children of
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 God.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 You could say
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 these words are
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 good for
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 Christians whose
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 grasp of the
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 love of God is
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 so shallow that
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 it never makes
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 them tremble but
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 instead it makes
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 them careless and
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 casual and
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 presumptuous in
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 their relationship
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 with God where
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 they take him for
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 granted.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 Where these
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 truths of the
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 sovereign, electing,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 unconditional
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 purposes of God,
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 love of God,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 where it should
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 take us is
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 commitment and
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 zeal and
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 earnestness for the
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 things of God
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 whereas often we
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 take the grace of
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 God and
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 interpret it as
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 I've got a
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 license.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 I'm not under
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 law anymore, I'm
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 free in grace, I
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 can do what I
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 like.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 Hoop-dee-doo-dah.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 And the
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 apostle Paul says
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 in chapter 9 of
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 Romans, how dare
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 you take the love
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 of God that way?
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 Do you think
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 God's an idiot?
00:27:06 --> 00:27:09 That's kind of how
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 I interpret Romans
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 9.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 Unfortunately, when
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 we reduce the love
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 and grace of God
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 down so that it
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 sits so easy with
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 our finite minds,
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 then we, as a
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 result, become
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 careless, apathetic,
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 flippant, followers
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 of the Lord Jesus
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 and God's grace in
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 the Bible never,
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 ever excuses
00:27:32 --> 00:27:35 disobedience and
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 apathy and
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 carelessness.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 It motivates
00:27:39 --> 00:27:41 obedience and
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 zeal.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 And that's what
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 we're going to
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 see as we go
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 through Malachi.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 We'll see that as
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 we go through
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 Malachi, that the
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 love of God is the
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 very foundation of
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 calling his people
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 back to faithfulness
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 in their marriage,
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 faithfulness in
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 their worship,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 faithfulness in
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 their giving,
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 and faithfulness in
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 their treatment of
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 one another.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 And so as we
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 commence our
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 commitment series,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 I want to call you
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 to make a
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 commitment to go
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 deeper in knowing
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 this God.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 We cannot worship
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 and treasure and
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 adore what we do
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 not understand.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 Don't be consent
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 with just a simple
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 view of God.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 God.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 I recall a true story of
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 a minister sitting
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 on a plane.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 Many, many years
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 ago, he was
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 working on his
00:28:32 --> 00:28:35 sermon for the
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 next Sunday when
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 the person sitting
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 beside him was
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 quite interested in
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 what he was doing.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 And so he says to
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 him, you know,
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 what are you doing?
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 And the answer he
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 gets was, I'm
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 working on my
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 sermon.
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 And the guy said
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 to the minister,
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 oh, religion.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 He said, I don't
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 get caught up in
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 all the ins and
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 outs, the
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 complexities of
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 religion.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 He said, I like to
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 keep it real simple.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 Do unto others as
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 you would have
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 them do unto you.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 That's my golden
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 rule and that's my
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 religion.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 And the minister
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 working on his
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 sermon said, I
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 see, what do you
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 do?
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 And he says, I'm
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 an astronomer.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 I teach at
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 university.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 And the minister
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 replied, oh,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 astronomy.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 I don't like to
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 get caught up in
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 all the ins and
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 outs and
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 complexities of
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 astronomy.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 Twinkle, twinkle,
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 little star.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 That's my
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 astronomy.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 My friends, go
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 deeper.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 Go deeper.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 The opening
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 verses of
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 Malachi reveal to
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 us a God much
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 bigger than we can
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 fully grasp.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 And the burden of
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 this text is that
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 the glorious truth
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 about this God
00:29:38 --> 00:29:41 will for some be
00:29:41 --> 00:29:43 dark and foreboding
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 and unapproachable.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 And so this God
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 will be ignored and
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 he'll be ridiculed and
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 he will be scorned.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 But for others
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55 here, the mere
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 glimpse that we've
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 received this morning
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 of an awesome God
00:29:59 --> 00:30:01 will bring a real
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 sense of joyful
00:30:02 --> 00:30:05 trembling and
00:30:05 --> 00:30:08 security in this
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 relationship.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 And so may God
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 give us the grace to
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 see the glory and
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 move us to greater
00:30:15 --> 00:30:17 levels in adoration and
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 love and awe and
00:30:18 --> 00:30:21 joyfully trembling as
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 we seek to commit to
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 this great God.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 Amen.