As we've done an initial overview of the story of the Bible, we've seen God's design in creation, been introduced to several of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Torah, continued God's plan of redemption in the historical books with the lives of several kings of Israel, and through Malachi have been introduced to the prophets. The prophets of Israel were raised up by God for two primary functions, to call the people back to relationship with God through His law and to announce the coming of the Messiah, the savior of the world. After several eras of prosperity, rebellion and judgment, the last prophet to speak in the canonized Old Testament prior to the coming of Jesus would be the prophet Malachi. After him would be 400 years of canonical silence until the appearing of John the Baptist who would prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Malachi declares the things that are imperative for us to pay attention to since it is the last official recording of a Father to His children about the things that are important to Him. Today we will end this series by venturing to see the world clearly, highlighting the truth about where we are headed and finally acknowledging what God identifies as the key to our future.
Seeing the World Clearly
One of our greatest challenges to a walk with Jesus will be to remain faithful while the world prospers.
Malachi 3:13-16 “You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord.“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’ “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’” Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.
We can get discouraged when we see the wicked prospering around us while we try to faithfully serve God. This discouragement can attempt to veer us off course if we don't remember the truth of God's Word.
God's scroll of remembrance is for those who have been faithful. Faithfulness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit where you build your life on something other than your emotions or wants in the moment. This is the zeal Jesus calls His people to maintain daily for Him and His kingdom purposes.
The Reality of Where We're Headed
What would you say to a beloved family member if you were sharing a last piece of communication before a very long separation? You would tell them that you are coming again.
Malachi 3:17-4:4 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
This day marks the beginning of the advent season for 2014. Advent means "coming" in Latin and annually celebrates the first coming of Jesus Christ. It will be followed by His second coming.
What accompanies the coming of the Lord?
For the righteous: Those who are righteous are those who revere God's name, who have responded to the gospel, who at the preaching of God's law given through Moses have responded in repentance and put their faith in what Jesus did for them on the cross. Christ's resurrection brings healing to our bodies physically, our minds psychologically, and our souls emotionally.
Great joy is the result of meeting the Lord, so that we frolic like well-fed calves. There will be an even greater amplification of this when Jesus brings the restoration of all things. This is when we will see the true distinction between the righteous and the wicked as a result of God's judgment and reward. You can also see the distinction today as a fruit of godly living.
True hope for the world is not found in human programs, education or exposure but in the person of Jesus who sets hearts free.
For the wicked: There is a coming judgment of God. There comes a day when the arrogant who thought they were getting away with things will be punished with everlasting destruction. The righteous who have persevered in honoring and serving Jesus will be rewarded with everlasting life.
Revelation 21:1-8 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The Key to our Future
The key to our future is reconciliation with God and one another through the gospel.
Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
The entire Bible is one continuous story chronicling specific instances of God's interaction with humanity throughout history. It also gives us a picture of what is yet to come.
Elijah was of the greatest Jewish prophets of the Old Testament who spoke to the people at a time of great straying from God and apostasy.
John the Baptist was a forerunner to Jesus who came in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah calling people to repentance. He pointed to Jesus as the one who would take away sins and save the world (John 1).
Elijah made an appearance with Moses during Jesus' earthly ministry on the on the Mount of Transfiguration to verify that all of the Law and prophets were pointing to the person of Jesus, having their fulfillment in Him (Matthew 17:1-13).
In announcing the birth of John the Baptist, God's messenger, the angel Gabriel said this:
Luke 1:17 And he (John the Baptist) will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
The restoration of the family unit centered around the gospel and Christ's kingdom is the key to renewing the cities and nations of the earth.
Just as God is restoring the natural family unit, He is building spiritual family within the church. Jesus comes to bring you into a new family and, through it, to create cities within cities, a kingdom culture meant for the redemption of the world.
If you want to walk in real relationship with Christ and His people, it will cost you all you have. Church hopping, coming to fellowship or having devotions with Jesus merely when it's convenient and focusing solely on how your needs are being met rather than looking to serve are killers to genuine faith in Christ and your relationship with others. The power of God's grace is seen when you learn to be a giver rather than a taker, faithfully giving yourself so that the gospel can truly transform you and, thereafter, the city.
Timothy Keller speaks of this great relational cost to God and to us when he says:
“...God's grace and forgiveness, while free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver.... From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was understood that God could not forgive without sacrifice. No one who is seriously wronged can "just forgive" the perpetrator.... But when you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.”
― Timothy Keller
This all leads to the 400 years of canonical silence and the coming of the Messiah, who we will begin to discuss next week with our new series, An Unexpected Journey.
Second City Church- Famous Last Words Sermon Series 2014