Malachi You want justice?

Good morning, friends.

If you'd like to get your bubbles and turn back to Malachi,

we are on our third installment of our commitment series,

and we're sort of roughly halfway through Malachi.

Right from the start in Malachi,

we saw the glorious foundation of the relationship between God and his people.

It was right there, chapter 1, verse 2,

I have loved you.

And we unpacked that incredible statement that God's love is an electing love.

His love for them is unconditional love because he chose them before they'd done anything good or evil.

His love for them is a sovereign love because he wasn't tricked, he wasn't forced,

he wasn't manipulated to loving them.

His love for them was a free love because it's an abundant overflow of the immeasurable grace

that can never be bought, repaid, or earned in any way.

But Israel, as we saw from verse 2 of chapter 1,

they failed to see the greatness of God's love.

They failed to feel the greatness of God's love as well.

We've also seen that they failed to see and feel the greatness of the majesty of God

in chapter 1, verse 6.

The son honors his father and to slave his master.

If I'm a father, where is the honor due to me?

The fatherhood of God here in the first few verses of Malachi means that he loves me,

but it also implies that God is to be honored and revered and venerated.

Malachi wants us to see and feel that our Father in heaven has infinite authority in the universe.

He can wield any and all armies on the earth to accomplish his purposes among the nations.

He has myriads of unstoppable angels who do his bidding fallously and never fail in their errands.

He has appointed every star in the universe in its place,

and he holds it there by the power of his word,

or trillion upon trillion of them,

and he calls them by name, each one of them.

And so it is the sheer majesty of the fatherhood of God that Judah's missing.

And the sheer abundance of his mercy and grace that they're missing.

And so the outworking for this is that their view of themselves is big,

and their view of God is small,

and so therefore they are giving God the leftover of their lives

in careless worship and in the way that they treat other people.

Chapter 2, verse 17, where we're up to today,

reveals just how small their view of God is.

You have wearied the Lord with your words.

How have we wearied him, you asked?

By saying, all who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord,

and he is pleased with them.

Or, where is the God of justice?

They want a God of justice.

No doubt we can identify with that.

When aid money for war-torn countries is redirected towards guns and ammo,

we feel the injustice of that.

Or when a billionaire milks money out of poor people with dodgy schemes,

we feel the injustice of that.

When a criminal escapes conviction through illegal technicalities,

we feel the injustice of that.

And in those moments,

there is a right sense of justice stirred up within us.

But a sense of futility is often stirred up in those moments as well.

Will the perpetrators ever be brought to justice?

Will oppression ever end in this world?

And so, you see the cynical, unbelieving question in verse 17.

Where is the God of justice?

That question is tantamount to doubting the existence of God.

Their view of God was so diminished

that they were wondering if he even existed.

You see, the return from exile in Babylon

quickly turned to disillusionment for the people of God.

They had rebuilt the temple as instructed,

but where was God?

Where was God?

Zechariah and Ezekiel both said

that the Lord would return in a glorious fashion

and Israel, God's people, would be restored.

They would be on top of the world

as they were under David and Solomon.

And yet, the temple's built

and decade after decade after decade followed

and there was no supernatural event

marking the return of the Lord to his temple.

And so, we've done our bit.

God, you haven't done your bit.

It's a question of,

is he, in fact,

faithless to his covenant promises?

You see, the evidence to them on the surface

pointed to God forgetting his covenant promises.

There was famine, there was oppression,

life was really hard.

In fact, it was better back in Babylon

and they were fed up

and they were weary of it all.

It turns out, however,

that God had a greater reason for weariness.

2.17 again,

You have wearied the Lord with your words.

How have we wearied him, you ask?

By saying,

All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord

and he is pleased with them.

Or where is the God of justice?

You see, God isn't wearied

by the faithful prayers of the oppressed.

He is wearied by faithlessness and sin.

And we saw examples of that last week

in their careless worship

and their unfaithfulness in their relationships

with one another.

And so where's God?

Has he forgotten his covenant promises?

Is he going to turn up

and come to his temple

as Ezekiel and Zechariah said he would?

Verse 1 of chapter 3.

See, or quite literally,

listen up.

I will send my messenger

who will prepare the way before me.

Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking

will come to his temple.

The message of the covenant

whom you desire will come,

says the Lord Almighty.

He's coming.

And it says there,

he's coming suddenly.

That has an ominous feel to it.

God says,

The Lord you are seeking

whom you desire will come.

He is committed to his covenant.

He is coming

and he tells his people

exactly how it's going to work.

We are told the Lord

will send his messenger ahead of him

to get things ready.

Malachi here is picking up

the imagery of the ancient kings

who would inform their subjects

that they were coming

for a state visit

and to give them time

in order to get things ready for them.

So they weren't taken by surprise.

And of particular importance

was the need

to prepare the way

for the royal procession

by removing anything

that gets in the way.

All the debris,

all the obstacles,

all the boulders.

And the messenger here

has the same function.

But they are spiritual

rather than physical obstacles

to the coming of this king

to his temple.

The forerunner

is to come in

and to warn the people

that the king is coming.

Prepare your hearts.

Prepare your lives.

And once the forerunner

has done his work,

then the king will follow.

The Lord,

who they are seeking

at the beginning of

chapter 3 verse 1,

is also

the messenger

of the covenant

whom they desire

at the end of

chapter 3 verse 1.

It's the same person.

So in these verses,

there's the messenger

preparing the way

for the Lord

who is also

the messenger

of the covenant.

Two people being referred to here.

As the messenger

of the covenant,

he will continue

the work

of the forerunner messenger.

There will be a synergy

between the two.

The difference is

that because

the messenger

of the covenant,

the second one,

is also the Lord,

that is the Lord of hosts,

the Lord Almighty,

he will speak

with unparalleled

authority.

He will not just

present the message

of the covenant.

He is the message

of the covenant.

He is the mediator

of the covenant.

He's the one

who will bring it in

to fulfillment

amongst the people

of God.

And so the message

here for

these cynical

people of God

is that the Lord

has not forgotten

his covenant.

It would have

seemed like

he had forgotten

it.

Things weren't

so great

in Israel

at that time.

And it would seem

that he had forgotten

it for another

400 years

after these words

when God

never said

a word

to them.

There was no message

for God,

from God

for 400 years.

and then

after four

centuries

we have

Mark chapter

Mark 1:4

1 verse 4

saying

John

came.

He doesn't

fill in all the

gaps for us.

He's assumed

we've got our

Bibles open

at Malachi

and at Mark.

It's not hard

to work out.

In verse 2

of Mark

Mark 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

he quotes

Malachi

Malachi 3:1

chapter 3

verse 1.

I will send

my messenger

ahead of you

who will

prepare your

way

and in the

very next

verse it

says

John

came.

And John

is doing

what he's

famous for

doing.

Baptising

people.

Saying

wash

yourselves

before God

as a sign

of your

change of

heart.

It's time

to clean

up and

get ready

for the

one who's

coming after

me is

hot on

my

heels.

And

although

the crowds

gathered to

see the

spectacle of

John

possibly the

first time

in 400

years that

there's a

real prophet

on the

scene.

John

says in

verse 7

don't make

a fuss

about me

I'm the

curtain

raiser.

After me

will come

one more

powerful than

me.

It's so

powerful that

I'm not

even able

to step

down and

tie up

his

shoelaces.

And then

Jesus turns

up coming

out of

Galilee it

says to

be baptized

by John.

And you

see in

chapter 11

sorry verse

11 of

Mark 1

that God

confirms that

what John

has said

about the

greatness of

Lord Jesus

is true.

You are my

son.

The message

comes from

heaven in

whom I

love with

you I

am well

pleased.

And if we

are left in

any doubt

at all about

the sheer

majesty of

Jesus in

the following

chapters in

Mark's he

heals

paralytics the

lepers he

tells demons

to go and

take a hike

he tells the

storm to

shut up and

be quiet

tells the

waves don't

move.

He feeds

5,000 with

a cut lunch

and then

another 4,000

with another

cut lunch

after that and

it just

continues and

continues until

three days

after he's

dead he

comes out

of the

tomb.

The sheer

majesty of

Jesus controls

everything in

the world and

beyond the

world.

There is

nothing outside

of his

authority but

the big lead

up in all the

miracles of

Jesus displaying

his majesty

and then in

chapter 11 the

Lord comes to

his temple in

spectacular fashion.

It may have

taken four

centuries but

the Lord is

faithful to

his covenant.

The basis of

this covenant are

there with those

words Jacob I

have loved and

God has never

turned his back on

that covenant

promise.

His commitment to

his covenant of

love saw the

Lord Jesus who is

the messenger and

the mediator and

the fulfiller of

the covenant go to

the cross for the

sin of the world.

God so loved the

world that he

gave his one and

only son so that

whoever believes in

him will not perish

but have eternal

life.

The great

fulfillment of

God's sovereign

electing unconditional

free love is the

willing sacrifice of

the majestic Lord

Jesus on the cross

for the world.

God has never

turned his back on

his covenant of

love.

God's sovereign

of course when he

came though they

weren't looking for

him and so God's

being a little bit

ironic in Malachi 3

1 in saying that

they are seeking him

or that they desire

him.

He's being ironic

because frankly the

people in Malachi's

time as they were in

Jesus' time thought

that they were okay

with God and everyone

else is going to get

it in the neck.

Things aren't great

in Israel but deep

down we've got the

temple it dominates

the skyline.

Deep down you know

you're looking forward

to it.

God's promised it

that his kingdom is

going to be put back

together and his

enemies are going to

be judged.

That God himself is

going to come and he's

going to put everything

right.

He's promised it.

He's going to come in

judgment and God's

enemies are going to

get in the neck while

we the people of God

are going to get a

pat on the back.

Bring it on.

It's going to be a

real treat to finally

be on top and

everyone else

underneath.

Malachi 3

2 is a wake up

call to the people

of God who can

endure the day of

his coming who can

stand when he

appears for he

will be like a

refiner's fire or a

launderer's soap.

So thank you Chris

for bringing out that

yellow soap.

It brings back

memories of a teacher

who thought that

yellow soap can

clean on the inside.

And when I see it

still I can taste it.

I can still taste it

35 years later and

still remember the

bubbles coming out of

my nose.

It is awful stuff.

Don't ever do it.

You scar people for a

long time and it costs

a fortune in

counseling.

Notice that the Lord

Almighty is coming to

his temple.

the judgment of God

isn't starting out

there.

He's coming to his

temple and it says

here he's coming as a

refining fire.

He's coming in

judgment and no one

will be able to stand

their ground.

This is referring to

the people of God.

Not one will be able

to pass the penetrating

test of the Lord.

What a turn up for the

books.

They had this notion

that the Lord was

going to come and

that it would be a

blessing for them

rather than judge

judgment.

They were looking out

to their neighbors

and seeing them all

prosper while they

suffered and they

were asking the same

question of Asaph in

Psalm 73.

What good is it being a

person of faith?

Where is our God when

the nations prosper and

his people suffer?

God is going to be a

God.

And they want him to

come and they want him

to sort it all out, to

turn it on its head and

to crush them and to

lift us up.

Show the world that we

are your chosen people by

making us prosper and

everyone else suffer.

God is going to be a

God.

But that's not what's

happening here.

Instead they had to

learn that their smug

contentment, their

self-righteousness would

not survive under the

scrutiny of the God of

justice.

Judgment would begin with

the people of God.

But notice how Malachi

describes the judgment

of God's people.

Verse 3.

He will sit as a

refiner and purifier of

silver.

He will purify the

Levites and refine them

like gold and silver.

This judgment is a

refiner's fire.

It's not described as a

forest fire which

destroys indiscriminately.

It's not an incinerator's

fire that destroys

totally.

It's refinement.

It's a refinement at the

initiative of God from

his hand.

And the purpose of this

refinement, as we are

told there, is purity.

It melts the gold and the

silver and it separates the

impurities that would in

the end destroy the value

and the purity of the

precious metal.

And the Lord will come to

his people until he has,

that is, come to his

people to purify his

people in judgment until

the end of verse 3.

Men will bring offerings

of righteousness and the

offering of Judah and

Jerusalem will be

acceptable to the Lord.

The judgment of his

people will be for their

refinement.

That is, it is for their

holiness so that they can

actually come into the

presence of God.

It will result in them

loving and honoring and

worshiping God as they

should.

The spirit of faith and

devotion of the Lord that

used to be shown will

indeed be recaptured.

Unfortunately though,

verse 6 reveals that not

everyone will embrace the

refiner's fire.

there are those who refuse

to fear the Lord.

And so for them, the

coming of the Lord in

judgment was not a

threat, not something to

be concerned about.

They continued to

self-righteously pat

themselves on their backs

to their own detriment.

And if I can say this, I

think Malachi at this point

is being a pastor and

saying to his people,

come back, come back,

come back, embrace the

refining fires.

Because all that's left is

the all-consuming fire.

If you don't.

What we know this side of

the coming of the Lord

Jesus is that the

refining process was

ultimately done on the

cross by Christ.

God took action to

make us holy and

presentable to himself

through the Lord Jesus

atoning for the sin of

the world.

You see that in

Ephesians 5, verses

Ephesians 5:25–27

25 to 27, which says

this about Jesus' death

on the cross.

He loved the church and

gave himself up for her

to make her holy,

cleansing her by the

washing with water

through the word and

to present her to

himself as a radiant

church without staying

or wrinkle or any

other blemish, but

holy and blameless.

Oh, well, that's good.

I mean, it is good.

But don't be mistaken

with that verse.

It's easy to conclude

it's all done and

dust.

Thanks for loving me,

Jesus.

Now pure, no more

refining.

Interesting, the cross

of Christ 2,000 years

ago, while the

decisive moment was

in fact not the end of

the refinement matter,

that day of judgment

when the Lord will come

happened 2,000 years

ago and it continues

this side of eternity.

We are in the day of the

Lord right now.

The refining day of the

Lord.

1 Peter 4, you've got it

there on your sheet.

Notice it there, it says

it's time for judgment to

begin with the family of

God.

That's post-cross.

The refining process

continues for the

people of God.

And so I want to take

you to Hebrews 12.

It's a passage which

helps us to embrace the

refining fire in a way

that will cause us to

grow in holiness as

opposed to in smugness

rejected.

Hebrews 12 verses 5 to

Hebrews 12:5–9

9 says this,

And you have forgotten

that word of

encouragement that

addresses you as

sons.

My son, do not make

light of the Lord's

discipline and do not

lose heart when he

rebukes you because the

Lord disciplines those

he loves and he

punishes everyone he

accepts as a son.

Endure hardship as

discipline.

God is treating you as

sons.

For what son is not

disciplined by his

father?

The word discipline

here is meant to be

taken in the bigger

sense of training.

That's the bigger

overarching sense here.

It's the idea of

training.

Under that is subsets of

things like punishment.

But it's all within the

context of training of his

people.

And these verses here

encourage us to enter

into the hard times of

life by thinking of them

in terms of a training

experience given to us by

the loving, merciful,

covenant God.

God.

They come from his

hand to us.

He loves you.

He is treating you as

one of his children.

In other words, in your

pain, you are not being

treated like a slave.

You are not being treated

as an enemy.

In your pain, God is not

removed from it all

going, I wish I could do

something.

God is not a surgeon who

looks at a bad thing and

comes in and fixes it up and

makes it good.

He plans the incision.

He plans the whole lot

because you are his love

child.

And the issue is, will

you believe it?

Will you let the word of

God settle the issue for

you so that when the

suffering comes, you don't

turn on God and put him in

the dock and prosecute him

with accusations like,

where is the God of

justice?

He probably will not tell

you why it's your turn.

Or why it is happening

right now.

Or why there is so much

pain.

Or why it is lasting so

long.

But he has told you what

you do need to know.

It is the love of an

all-wise father to his

child.

Who never turns his back

on his covenant.

Will you trust him?

In everything that causes

pain.

From health issues, from

death of a relative, to

problems with the kids, or

your marriage, or I've lost

my job, or I've crashed my

car, or finances don't reach,

or that there's changing

church.

Everything.

Coming from the merciful hand

of God.

And verse 14 helps us to see

that this loving God has a

very good reason.

It says, make every effort to

be holy.

The picture in Malachi 3.3

of the refiner.

You notice it there.

It says the refiner sits

and concentrates all of his

tension.

That's what they used to do.

As the refining process is

happening, the fire is

happening, the refiner would

pull up his chair and he

would sit and watch the metal

being refined.

And particularly with silver.

And he would watch it and

watch it and concentrate all

of his concern.

And do you know when he

knows it's been, the fire's

over, the refining process

is done, and the purity has

been achieved?

Do you know when he knows?

It's when he's sitting there

and he can see his reflection

in the silver.

And that's the picture of

our God here.

That's the beauty of this

picture.

He sits all of his

attention until he sees his

reflection in his people.

And why is the reflection of

God, the holiness of God, so

essential?

Because at the end of verse

14 of Hebrews 12, without

holiness, no one will see the

Lord.

That's why it's essential.

Because the very foundation of

God's covenant is that he would

spend eternity with his people.

That's the goal.

And these verses assume that the

most important thing in this

life is not to be happy, it's not

to be comfortable, it's not to be

fulfilled.

It is to know God, to become more

dependent upon God, to allow him

to strip every aspect of self-

dependency from us, so that we

throw ourselves at our saviour's

feet and just say, glory, Lord

God Almighty.

My friends, I wish I could come

with a slightly different message,

but there is no painless path to

heaven.

It is no more possible to become

pure painlessly than it is to be

burnt painlessly.

Painlessly.

So my friends, let me just put on my

pastor's heart just for a moment.

If that is you right now, right now,

the temptation is to think that God

has forgotten you, that God doesn't

love you, that he's not committed to

his promises to you, that he doesn't

care about injustice.

Jesus, I just want to say, please do

not despise the Lord's discipline.

Have confidence in God.

The covenant promise is this.

The furnace of affliction that you are

currently going through is for

refinement.

It's not for your destruction.

The refining fires are not evidence

that God has abandoned his covenant.

Do not listen to the good intentioned

person who will say, but you're a good

person, or but you're a believer.

Why is this happening to you?

Do not listen to those good intentioned

people.

I want you to know the promise of

Malachi 3.6, I the Lord do not change,

so you, O descendant of Jacob, are not

destroyed.

That simply means that life in the

refining fire is a life of trust in the

unchanging, purifying love of God.

Secondly, I want you to learn the lesson

of verse 5, and fear God.

Fear that you might dishonor him by not

trusting him.

Fear the impulse to want to jump out

out of the refiner's fire of mercy into the

incinerator fire of judgment because it

looks cooler over there.

When you reject the refiner's fire, all

that is left is the all-consuming fire of

judgment.

And thirdly, take the long view.

Take the long view to the day when there will be no more pain.

Revelation 21 gives us the goal of what we are refined for.

I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men.

He can now be with them, and he will live with them.

They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death, no more mourning, or crying, or pain.

The old order of things has passed away, and the refiner's fire has been extinguished.

The purpose has arrived.

The goal is there.

That's it, my brothers and sisters.

And so if you're in the refining's fire right now, let me point you to that long-term goal.

Revelation 21, verse 7 says,

Revelation 21:7

Amen.