Malachi You want justice?
Series: Commitment series
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 11th November 2012
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 Good morning, friends.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 If you'd like to get your bubbles and turn back to Malachi,
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 we are on our third installment of our commitment series,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 and we're sort of roughly halfway through Malachi.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 Right from the start in Malachi,
00:00:18 --> 00:00:22 we saw the glorious foundation of the relationship between God and his people.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 It was right there, chapter 1, verse 2,
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 I have loved you.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:33 And we unpacked that incredible statement that God's love is an electing love.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:38 His love for them is unconditional love because he chose them before they'd done anything good or evil.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:43 His love for them is a sovereign love because he wasn't tricked, he wasn't forced,
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 he wasn't manipulated to loving them.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:51 His love for them was a free love because it's an abundant overflow of the immeasurable grace
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 that can never be bought, repaid, or earned in any way.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:58 But Israel, as we saw from verse 2 of chapter 1,
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 they failed to see the greatness of God's love.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 They failed to feel the greatness of God's love as well.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:10 We've also seen that they failed to see and feel the greatness of the majesty of God
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 in chapter 1, verse 6.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 The son honors his father and to slave his master.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 If I'm a father, where is the honor due to me?
00:01:17 --> 00:01:25 The fatherhood of God here in the first few verses of Malachi means that he loves me,
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 but it also implies that God is to be honored and revered and venerated.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:37 Malachi wants us to see and feel that our Father in heaven has infinite authority in the universe.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:43 He can wield any and all armies on the earth to accomplish his purposes among the nations.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:49 He has myriads of unstoppable angels who do his bidding fallously and never fail in their errands.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 He has appointed every star in the universe in its place,
00:01:53 --> 00:01:56 and he holds it there by the power of his word,
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 or trillion upon trillion of them,
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 and he calls them by name, each one of them.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:09 And so it is the sheer majesty of the fatherhood of God that Judah's missing.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:17 And the sheer abundance of his mercy and grace that they're missing.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:23 And so the outworking for this is that their view of themselves is big,
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 and their view of God is small,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 and so therefore they are giving God the leftover of their lives
00:02:29 --> 00:02:34 in careless worship and in the way that they treat other people.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:39 Chapter 2, verse 17, where we're up to today,
00:02:40 --> 00:02:44 reveals just how small their view of God is.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 How have we wearied him, you asked?
00:02:50 --> 00:02:54 By saying, all who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 and he is pleased with them.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:00 Or, where is the God of justice?
00:03:00 --> 00:03:05 They want a God of justice.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 No doubt we can identify with that.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:16 When aid money for war-torn countries is redirected towards guns and ammo,
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 we feel the injustice of that.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:24 Or when a billionaire milks money out of poor people with dodgy schemes,
00:03:24 --> 00:03:25 we feel the injustice of that.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:30 When a criminal escapes conviction through illegal technicalities,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 we feel the injustice of that.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:35 And in those moments,
00:03:35 --> 00:03:40 there is a right sense of justice stirred up within us.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 But a sense of futility is often stirred up in those moments as well.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:47 Will the perpetrators ever be brought to justice?
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 Will oppression ever end in this world?
00:03:50 --> 00:03:57 And so, you see the cynical, unbelieving question in verse 17.
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 Where is the God of justice?
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 That question is tantamount to doubting the existence of God.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:13 Their view of God was so diminished
00:04:13 --> 00:04:17 that they were wondering if he even existed.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 You see, the return from exile in Babylon
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 quickly turned to disillusionment for the people of God.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 They had rebuilt the temple as instructed,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 but where was God?
00:04:32 --> 00:04:32 Where was God?
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 Zechariah and Ezekiel both said
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 that the Lord would return in a glorious fashion
00:04:40 --> 00:04:44 and Israel, God's people, would be restored.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:48 They would be on top of the world
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 as they were under David and Solomon.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 And yet, the temple's built
00:04:54 --> 00:04:59 and decade after decade after decade followed
00:04:59 --> 00:05:03 and there was no supernatural event
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 marking the return of the Lord to his temple.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:10 And so, we've done our bit.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 God, you haven't done your bit.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 It's a question of,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:22 is he, in fact,
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 faithless to his covenant promises?
00:05:26 --> 00:05:32 You see, the evidence to them on the surface
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 pointed to God forgetting his covenant promises.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 There was famine, there was oppression,
00:05:37 --> 00:05:38 life was really hard.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 In fact, it was better back in Babylon
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 and they were fed up
00:05:42 --> 00:05:44 and they were weary of it all.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 It turns out, however,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:50 that God had a greater reason for weariness.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 2.17 again,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:56 How have we wearied him, you ask?
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 By saying,
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord
00:06:00 --> 00:06:02 and he is pleased with them.
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 Or where is the God of justice?
00:06:05 --> 00:06:07 You see, God isn't wearied
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 by the faithful prayers of the oppressed.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 He is wearied by faithlessness and sin.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 And we saw examples of that last week
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 in their careless worship
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 and their unfaithfulness in their relationships
00:06:20 --> 00:06:21 with one another.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 And so where's God?
00:06:27 --> 00:06:28 Has he forgotten his covenant promises?
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 Is he going to turn up
00:06:32 --> 00:06:33 and come to his temple
00:06:33 --> 00:06:35 as Ezekiel and Zechariah said he would?
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 Verse 1 of chapter 3.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 See, or quite literally,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 listen up.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 I will send my messenger
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 who will prepare the way before me.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 will come to his temple.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 The message of the covenant
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 whom you desire will come,
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 says the Lord Almighty.
00:06:59 --> 00:06:59 He's coming.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 And it says there,
00:07:02 --> 00:07:03 he's coming suddenly.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 That has an ominous feel to it.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 God says,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 The Lord you are seeking
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 whom you desire will come.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 He is committed to his covenant.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 He is coming
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 and he tells his people
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 exactly how it's going to work.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 We are told the Lord
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 will send his messenger ahead of him
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 to get things ready.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 Malachi here is picking up
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 the imagery of the ancient kings
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 who would inform their subjects
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 that they were coming
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 for a state visit
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 and to give them time
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 in order to get things ready for them.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 So they weren't taken by surprise.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 And of particular importance
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 was the need
00:07:43 --> 00:07:44 to prepare the way
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 for the royal procession
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 by removing anything
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 that gets in the way.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:49 All the debris,
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 all the obstacles,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 all the boulders.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 And the messenger here
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 has the same function.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 But they are spiritual
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 rather than physical obstacles
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 to the coming of this king
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 to his temple.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:07 The forerunner
00:08:07 --> 00:08:08 is to come in
00:08:08 --> 00:08:10 and to warn the people
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 that the king is coming.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 Prepare your hearts.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 Prepare your lives.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 And once the forerunner
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 has done his work,
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 then the king will follow.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:25 The Lord,
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 who they are seeking
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 at the beginning of
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 chapter 3 verse 1,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 is also
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 the messenger
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 of the covenant
00:08:33 --> 00:08:34 whom they desire
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 at the end of
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 chapter 3 verse 1.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 It's the same person.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:40 So in these verses,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 there's the messenger
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 preparing the way
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 for the Lord
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 who is also
00:08:45 --> 00:08:45 the messenger
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 of the covenant.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 Two people being referred to here.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 As the messenger
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 of the covenant,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 he will continue
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 the work
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 of the forerunner messenger.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 There will be a synergy
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 between the two.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 The difference is
00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 that because
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 the messenger
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 of the covenant,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:09 the second one,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 is also the Lord,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 that is the Lord of hosts,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 the Lord Almighty,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 he will speak
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 with unparalleled
00:09:20 --> 00:09:20 authority.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 He will not just
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 present the message
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 of the covenant.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 He is the message
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 of the covenant.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 He is the mediator
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 of the covenant.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:32 He's the one
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 who will bring it in
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 to fulfillment
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 amongst the people
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 of God.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 And so the message
00:09:40 --> 00:09:40 here for
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 these cynical
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 people of God
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 is that the Lord
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 has not forgotten
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 his covenant.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 It would have
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 seemed like
00:09:49 --> 00:09:49 he had forgotten
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 it.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 Things weren't
00:09:52 --> 00:09:52 so great
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 in Israel
00:09:53 --> 00:09:54 at that time.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 And it would seem
00:09:56 --> 00:09:56 that he had forgotten
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 it for another
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 400 years
00:09:59 --> 00:10:00 after these words
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 when God
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 never said
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 a word
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 to them.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 There was no message
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 for God,
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 from God
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 for 400 years.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 and then
00:10:13 --> 00:10:13 after four
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 centuries
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 we have
00:10:16 --> 00:10:16 Mark chapter
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 1 verse 4
00:10:17 --> 00:10:17 saying
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 John
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 came.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 He doesn't
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 fill in all the
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 gaps for us.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:27 He's assumed
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 we've got our
00:10:28 --> 00:10:28 Bibles open
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 at Malachi
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 and at Mark.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 It's not hard
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 to work out.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 In verse 2
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 of Mark
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 chapter 1
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 he quotes
00:10:38 --> 00:10:38 Malachi
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 chapter 3
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 verse 1.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 I will send
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 my messenger
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 ahead of you
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 who will
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 prepare your
00:10:45 --> 00:10:45 way
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 and in the
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 very next
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 verse it
00:10:48 --> 00:10:48 says
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 John
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 came.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 And John
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 is doing
00:10:54 --> 00:10:54 what he's
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 famous for
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 doing.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:57 Baptising
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 people.
00:10:59 --> 00:10:59 Saying
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 wash
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 yourselves
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 before God
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 as a sign
00:11:03 --> 00:11:03 of your
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 change of
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 heart.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 It's time
00:11:05 --> 00:11:05 to clean
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 up and
00:11:06 --> 00:11:06 get ready
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 for the
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 one who's
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 coming after
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 me is
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 hot on
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 my
00:11:10 --> 00:11:10 heels.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:12 And
00:11:12 --> 00:11:12 although
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 the crowds
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 gathered to
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 see the
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 spectacle of
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 John
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 possibly the
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 first time
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 in 400
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 years that
00:11:21 --> 00:11:21 there's a
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 real prophet
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 on the
00:11:23 --> 00:11:23 scene.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:26 John
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 says in
00:11:27 --> 00:11:27 verse 7
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 don't make
00:11:29 --> 00:11:29 a fuss
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 about me
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 I'm the
00:11:31 --> 00:11:31 curtain
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 raiser.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:33 After me
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 will come
00:11:34 --> 00:11:34 one more
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 powerful than
00:11:35 --> 00:11:35 me.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 It's so
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 powerful that
00:11:37 --> 00:11:37 I'm not
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 even able
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 to step
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 down and
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 tie up
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 his
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 shoelaces.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 And then
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 Jesus turns
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 up coming
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 out of
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 Galilee it
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 says to
00:11:48 --> 00:11:48 be baptized
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 by John.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 And you
00:11:53 --> 00:11:53 see in
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 chapter 11
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 sorry verse
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 11 of
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 Mark 1
00:11:57 --> 00:11:57 that God
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 confirms that
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 what John
00:12:00 --> 00:12:00 has said
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 about the
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 greatness of
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 Lord Jesus
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 is true.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 You are my
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 son.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 The message
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 comes from
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 heaven in
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 whom I
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 love with
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 you I
00:12:09 --> 00:12:09 am well
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 pleased.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 And if we
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 are left in
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 any doubt
00:12:13 --> 00:12:13 at all about
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 the sheer
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 majesty of
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 Jesus in
00:12:18 --> 00:12:18 the following
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 chapters in
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 Mark's he
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 heals
00:12:20 --> 00:12:20 paralytics the
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 lepers he
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 tells demons
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 to go and
00:12:23 --> 00:12:23 take a hike
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 he tells the
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 storm to
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 shut up and
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 be quiet
00:12:26 --> 00:12:26 tells the
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 waves don't
00:12:27 --> 00:12:27 move.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:28 He feeds
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 5 with
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 a cut lunch
00:12:30 --> 00:12:30 and then
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 another 4
00:12:32 --> 00:12:32 with another
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 cut lunch
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 after that and
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 it just
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 continues and
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 continues until
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 three days
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 after he's
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 dead he
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 comes out
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 of the
00:12:39 --> 00:12:39 tomb.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 The sheer
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 majesty of
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 Jesus controls
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 everything in
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 the world and
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 beyond the
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 world.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 There is
00:12:48 --> 00:12:48 nothing outside
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 of his
00:12:49 --> 00:12:52 authority but
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 the big lead
00:12:53 --> 00:12:53 up in all the
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 miracles of
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 Jesus displaying
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 his majesty
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 and then in
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 chapter 11 the
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 Lord comes to
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 his temple in
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 spectacular fashion.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 It may have
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 taken four
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 centuries but
00:13:07 --> 00:13:07 the Lord is
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 faithful to
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 his covenant.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 The basis of
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 this covenant are
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 there with those
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 words Jacob I
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 have loved and
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 God has never
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 turned his back on
00:13:20 --> 00:13:20 that covenant
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 promise.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 His commitment to
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 his covenant of
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 love saw the
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 Lord Jesus who is
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 the messenger and
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 the mediator and
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 the fulfiller of
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 the covenant go to
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 the cross for the
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 sin of the world.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 God so loved the
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 world that he
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 gave his one and
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 only son so that
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 whoever believes in
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 him will not perish
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 but have eternal
00:13:43 --> 00:13:43 life.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:44 The great
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 fulfillment of
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 God's sovereign
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 electing unconditional
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 free love is the
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 willing sacrifice of
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 the majestic Lord
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 Jesus on the cross
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 for the world.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 God has never
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 turned his back on
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 his covenant of
00:14:01 --> 00:14:01 love.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 God's sovereign
00:14:03 --> 00:14:07 of course when he
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 came though they
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 weren't looking for
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 him and so God's
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 being a little bit
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 ironic in Malachi 3
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 1 in saying that
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 they are seeking him
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 or that they desire
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 him.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:21 He's being ironic
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 because frankly the
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 people in Malachi's
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 time as they were in
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 Jesus' time thought
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 that they were okay
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 with God and everyone
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 else is going to get
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 it in the neck.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 Things aren't great
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 in Israel but deep
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 down we've got the
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 temple it dominates
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 the skyline.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 Deep down you know
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 you're looking forward
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 to it.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 God's promised it
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 that his kingdom is
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 going to be put back
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 together and his
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 enemies are going to
00:14:51 --> 00:14:51 be judged.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 That God himself is
00:14:53 --> 00:14:53 going to come and he's
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 going to put everything
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 right.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 He's promised it.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:56 He's going to come in
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 judgment and God's
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 enemies are going to
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 get in the neck while
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 we the people of God
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 are going to get a
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 pat on the back.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 Bring it on.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 It's going to be a
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 real treat to finally
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 be on top and
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 everyone else
00:15:14 --> 00:15:14 underneath.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 Malachi 3
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 2 is a wake up
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 call to the people
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 of God who can
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 endure the day of
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 his coming who can
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 stand when he
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 appears for he
00:15:29 --> 00:15:29 will be like a
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 refiner's fire or a
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 launderer's soap.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 So thank you Chris
00:15:35 --> 00:15:37 for bringing out that
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 yellow soap.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 It brings back
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 memories of a teacher
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 who thought that
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 yellow soap can
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 clean on the inside.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:53 And when I see it
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 still I can taste it.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 I can still taste it
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 35 years later and
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 still remember the
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 bubbles coming out of
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 my nose.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 It is awful stuff.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 Don't ever do it.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 You scar people for a
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 long time and it costs
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 a fortune in
00:16:12 --> 00:16:12 counseling.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 Notice that the Lord
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 Almighty is coming to
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 his temple.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 the judgment of God
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 isn't starting out
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 there.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 He's coming to his
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 temple and it says
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 here he's coming as a
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 refining fire.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 He's coming in
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 judgment and no one
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 will be able to stand
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 their ground.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:40 This is referring to
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 the people of God.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 Not one will be able
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 to pass the penetrating
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 test of the Lord.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 What a turn up for the
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 books.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 They had this notion
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 that the Lord was
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 going to come and
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 that it would be a
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 blessing for them
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 rather than judge
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 judgment.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 They were looking out
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 to their neighbors
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 and seeing them all
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 prosper while they
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 suffered and they
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 were asking the same
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 question of Asaph in
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 Psalm 73.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 What good is it being a
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 person of faith?
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 Where is our God when
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 the nations prosper and
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 his people suffer?
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 God is going to be a
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 God.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 And they want him to
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 come and they want him
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 to sort it all out, to
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 turn it on its head and
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 to crush them and to
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 lift us up.
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 Show the world that we
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 are your chosen people by
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 making us prosper and
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 everyone else suffer.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 God is going to be a
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 God.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 But that's not what's
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 happening here.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 Instead they had to
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 learn that their smug
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 contentment, their
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 self-righteousness would
00:17:47 --> 00:17:50 not survive under the
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 scrutiny of the God of
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 justice.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 Judgment would begin with
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 the people of God.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 But notice how Malachi
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 describes the judgment
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 of God's people.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 Verse 3.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 He will sit as a
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 refiner and purifier of
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 silver.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 He will purify the
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 Levites and refine them
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 like gold and silver.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 This judgment is a
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 refiner's fire.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 It's not described as a
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 forest fire which
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 destroys indiscriminately.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 It's not an incinerator's
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 fire that destroys
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 totally.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 It's refinement.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 It's a refinement at the
00:18:43 --> 00:18:47 initiative of God from
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 his hand.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 And the purpose of this
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 refinement, as we are
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 told there, is purity.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 It melts the gold and the
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56 silver and it separates the
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 impurities that would in
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 the end destroy the value
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 and the purity of the
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 precious metal.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 And the Lord will come to
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 his people until he has,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 that is, come to his
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 people to purify his
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 people in judgment until
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 the end of verse 3.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 Men will bring offerings
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 of righteousness and the
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 offering of Judah and
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 Jerusalem will be
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 acceptable to the Lord.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 The judgment of his
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 people will be for their
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 refinement.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 That is, it is for their
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 holiness so that they can
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 actually come into the
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 presence of God.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 It will result in them
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 loving and honoring and
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 worshiping God as they
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 should.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 The spirit of faith and
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 devotion of the Lord that
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 used to be shown will
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 indeed be recaptured.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 Unfortunately though,
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 verse 6 reveals that not
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 everyone will embrace the
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 refiner's fire.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 there are those who refuse
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 to fear the Lord.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 And so for them, the
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 coming of the Lord in
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 judgment was not a
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 threat, not something to
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 be concerned about.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 They continued to
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 self-righteously pat
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 themselves on their backs
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 to their own detriment.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 And if I can say this, I
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 think Malachi at this point
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 is being a pastor and
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 saying to his people,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 come back, come back,
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 come back, embrace the
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 refining fires.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 Because all that's left is
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 the all-consuming fire.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 If you don't.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 What we know this side of
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 the coming of the Lord
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 Jesus is that the
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 refining process was
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 ultimately done on the
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 cross by Christ.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 God took action to
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 make us holy and
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 presentable to himself
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 through the Lord Jesus
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 atoning for the sin of
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 the world.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 You see that in
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 Ephesians 5, verses
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 25 to 27, which says
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 this about Jesus' death
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 on the cross.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 He loved the church and
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 gave himself up for her
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 to make her holy,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 cleansing her by the
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 washing with water
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 through the word and
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 to present her to
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 himself as a radiant
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 church without staying
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 or wrinkle or any
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 other blemish, but
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 holy and blameless.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 Oh, well, that's good.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 I mean, it is good.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 But don't be mistaken
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 with that verse.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 It's easy to conclude
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 it's all done and
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 dust.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 Thanks for loving me,
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 Jesus.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:36 Now pure, no more
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 refining.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43 Interesting, the cross
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 of Christ 2 years
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 ago, while the
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 decisive moment was
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 in fact not the end of
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 the refinement matter,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 that day of judgment
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 when the Lord will come
00:21:52 --> 00:21:55 happened 2 years
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 ago and it continues
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 this side of eternity.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 We are in the day of the
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 Lord right now.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 The refining day of the
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 Lord.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 1 Peter 4, you've got it
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 there on your sheet.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 Notice it there, it says
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 it's time for judgment to
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 begin with the family of
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 God.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 That's post-cross.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:20 The refining process
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 continues for the
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 people of God.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 And so I want to take
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 you to Hebrews 12.
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 It's a passage which
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 helps us to embrace the
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 refining fire in a way
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 that will cause us to
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 grow in holiness as
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 opposed to in smugness
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 rejected.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 Hebrews 12 verses 5 to
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 9 says this,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 And you have forgotten
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 that word of
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 encouragement that
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 addresses you as
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 sons.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 My son, do not make
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 light of the Lord's
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 discipline and do not
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 lose heart when he
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 rebukes you because the
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 Lord disciplines those
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 he loves and he
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 punishes everyone he
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 accepts as a son.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 Endure hardship as
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 discipline.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 God is treating you as
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 sons.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 For what son is not
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 disciplined by his
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 father?
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 The word discipline
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 here is meant to be
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 taken in the bigger
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 sense of training.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 That's the bigger
00:23:14 --> 00:23:16 overarching sense here.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 It's the idea of
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 training.
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 Under that is subsets of
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 things like punishment.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 But it's all within the
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24 context of training of his
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 people.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 And these verses here
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 encourage us to enter
00:23:28 --> 00:23:30 into the hard times of
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 life by thinking of them
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 in terms of a training
00:23:33 --> 00:23:38 experience given to us by
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 the loving, merciful,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 covenant God.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 God.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 They come from his
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 hand to us.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 He loves you.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:54 He is treating you as
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 one of his children.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 In other words, in your
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 pain, you are not being
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 treated like a slave.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 You are not being treated
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 as an enemy.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:11 In your pain, God is not
00:24:11 --> 00:24:13 removed from it all
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 going, I wish I could do
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 something.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 God is not a surgeon who
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 looks at a bad thing and
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 comes in and fixes it up and
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 makes it good.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 He plans the incision.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:31 He plans the whole lot
00:24:31 --> 00:24:36 because you are his love
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 child.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:39 And the issue is, will
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 you believe it?
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 Will you let the word of
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 God settle the issue for
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 you so that when the
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 suffering comes, you don't
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 turn on God and put him in
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 the dock and prosecute him
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 with accusations like,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 where is the God of
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 justice?
00:24:57 --> 00:25:01 He probably will not tell
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 you why it's your turn.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 Or why it is happening
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 right now.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 Or why there is so much
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 pain.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 Or why it is lasting so
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 long.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 But he has told you what
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 you do need to know.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 It is the love of an
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 all-wise father to his
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 child.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 Who never turns his back
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 on his covenant.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 Will you trust him?
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 In everything that causes
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 pain.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 From health issues, from
00:25:39 --> 00:25:42 death of a relative, to
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 problems with the kids, or
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 your marriage, or I've lost
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 my job, or I've crashed my
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 car, or finances don't reach,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 or that there's changing
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 church.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 Everything.
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 Coming from the merciful hand
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 of God.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:04 And verse 14 helps us to see
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06 that this loving God has a
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 very good reason.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 It says, make every effort to
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 be holy.
00:26:11 --> 00:26:15 The picture in Malachi 3.3
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 of the refiner.
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 You notice it there.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 It says the refiner sits
00:26:20 --> 00:26:24 and concentrates all of his
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 tension.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 That's what they used to do.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27 As the refining process is
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 happening, the fire is
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 happening, the refiner would
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 pull up his chair and he
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 would sit and watch the metal
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 being refined.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 And particularly with silver.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 And he would watch it and
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 watch it and concentrate all
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 of his concern.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 And do you know when he
00:26:45 --> 00:26:47 knows it's been, the fire's
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 over, the refining process
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 is done, and the purity has
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 been achieved?
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 Do you know when he knows?
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 It's when he's sitting there
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 and he can see his reflection
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 in the silver.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:01 And that's the picture of
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 our God here.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 That's the beauty of this
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 picture.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 He sits all of his
00:27:05 --> 00:27:10 attention until he sees his
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 reflection in his people.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 And why is the reflection of
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 God, the holiness of God, so
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 essential?
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 Because at the end of verse
00:27:20 --> 00:27:23 14 of Hebrews 12, without
00:27:23 --> 00:27:27 holiness, no one will see the
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 Lord.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 That's why it's essential.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:34 Because the very foundation of
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 God's covenant is that he would
00:27:36 --> 00:27:38 spend eternity with his people.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 That's the goal.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 And these verses assume that the
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 most important thing in this
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 life is not to be happy, it's not
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 to be comfortable, it's not to be
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 fulfilled.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:49 It is to know God, to become more
00:27:49 --> 00:27:52 dependent upon God, to allow him
00:27:52 --> 00:27:55 to strip every aspect of self-
00:27:55 --> 00:27:58 dependency from us, so that we
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 throw ourselves at our saviour's
00:27:59 --> 00:28:03 feet and just say, glory, Lord
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 God Almighty.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:10 My friends, I wish I could come
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 with a slightly different message,
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 but there is no painless path to
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 heaven.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 It is no more possible to become
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 pure painlessly than it is to be
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 burnt painlessly.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 Painlessly.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:28 So my friends, let me just put on my
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 pastor's heart just for a moment.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:33 If that is you right now, right now,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:37 the temptation is to think that God
00:28:37 --> 00:28:40 has forgotten you, that God doesn't
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 love you, that he's not committed to
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 his promises to you, that he doesn't
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 care about injustice.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:51 Jesus, I just want to say, please do
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 not despise the Lord's discipline.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 Have confidence in God.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:59 The covenant promise is this.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:01 The furnace of affliction that you are
00:29:01 --> 00:29:04 currently going through is for
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 refinement.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:08 It's not for your destruction.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:14 The refining fires are not evidence
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 that God has abandoned his covenant.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:19 Do not listen to the good intentioned
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 person who will say, but you're a good
00:29:21 --> 00:29:23 person, or but you're a believer.
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 Why is this happening to you?
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 Do not listen to those good intentioned
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 people.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:37 I want you to know the promise of
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 Malachi 3.6, I the Lord do not change,
00:29:40 --> 00:29:43 so you, O descendant of Jacob, are not
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 destroyed.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46 That simply means that life in the
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 refining fire is a life of trust in the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:51 unchanging, purifying love of God.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 Secondly, I want you to learn the lesson
00:29:54 --> 00:29:57 of verse 5, and fear God.
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02 Fear that you might dishonor him by not
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 trusting him.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:07 Fear the impulse to want to jump out
00:30:07 --> 00:30:12 out of the refiner's fire of mercy into the
00:30:12 --> 00:30:14 incinerator fire of judgment because it
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 looks cooler over there.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 When you reject the refiner's fire, all
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 that is left is the all-consuming fire of
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 judgment.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:28 And thirdly, take the long view.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:34 Take the long view to the day when there will be no more pain.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:39 Revelation 21 gives us the goal of what we are refined for.
00:30:39 --> 00:30:44 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men.
00:30:44 --> 00:30:48 He can now be with them, and he will live with them.
00:30:49 --> 00:30:52 They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:57 And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
00:30:57 --> 00:31:01 There will be no more death, no more mourning, or crying, or pain.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:06 The old order of things has passed away, and the refiner's fire has been extinguished.
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 The purpose has arrived.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 The goal is there.
00:31:10 --> 00:31:12 That's it, my brothers and sisters.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:17 And so if you're in the refining's fire right now, let me point you to that long-term goal.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:20 Revelation 21, verse 7 says,
00:31:20 --> 00:31:33 Amen.