Longing for God’s healing intervention 1

The reading is from Malachi 2.17-3.15.

The reading is from Malachi 2.17-17.

As in the days of old and as in former years.

Then I will draw near to you for judgment.

I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely,

against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless,

against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

For I, the Lord, do not change.

Therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.

Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

But you say, how shall we return?

Will man rob God?

Yet you are robbing me.

But you say, how have we robbed you?

In the tithes and contributions.

You are cursed with a curse.

For you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts.

If I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need,

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil,

and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.

Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord.

But you say, how have we spoken against you?

You have said, it is vain to serve God.

What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?

And now we call the arrogant blessed.

Evil doers not only prosper, but they put God to the test and they escape.

Well, good morning, everyone.

The ranks certainly are thinned when you come up and stand and look out this way.

The concept of justice.

It's always been important to people.

Whether we're thinking about justice in our own little family unit,

or thinking about justice in our global village.

People long for justice.

People easily recognize acts of injustice or lack of justice.

And they brand the worst of those as evil.

And rightly so.

But currently in our society,

the longing for justice has become distorted.

Even malicious.

We see that maliciousness in what we call the social media phenomenon of moral outrage.

And it's got a twin that goes with it.

Cancer culture.

Cancer culture, rather.

Cancer culture writes people off completely and viciously.

Writes anyone who's not totally for us off.

Moral outrage is expressed as a longing for justice in pretty well everywhere in our society.

We've got a clamor for wages justice.

Legal justice.

Family justice.

Workplace justice.

Racial justice.

Even climate justice now.

But the thing about it is that almost always when we see and hear moral outrage and longing for justice,

it's distorted and driven by mixed emotions.

For example, we can demand justice, but in part, we're secretly hoping for revenge.

That is, we want the person who has wronged us to suffer as we have suffered.

And we, at times, aggressively demand justice,

but in part, we're also covering our own sense of guilt.

And the way that works is that we feel better about ourselves when we rant most about the failures of others.

In other words, we cancel others, thereby putting ourselves in the right,

and even in our minds, putting ourselves beyond challenge.

Moral outrage, I have to tell you, is not new.

It might feel new in our society, but it's not new.

I would suggest to you that in Malachi's time, God's people were expert in the cult of moral outrage.

That is, in chapter 1, we see God declared his unfailing love for his people.

God cited evidence for proof beyond doubt of his total commitment to blessing them.

And how do God's people respond?

Well, instead of owning their own failure to live in the light of God's love,

what do God's people do?

Well, they ease their guilt by responding in moral outrage.

That is, they blame God for everything that's wrong.

Everything they think is wrong, everything that is actually wrong,

has got to be down to God.

And thereby, they find themselves able to ignore the sin in their own hearts.

Well, through Malachi, God examines their words.

And we have this conversation, as it were, between God and his people.

And God alternates in the conversation between addressing the nation as a whole.

And when he addresses the nation as a whole, it's a big picture.

That is, it reveals how God's people as a whole thought about the Lord and responded to him generally.

And then, at times, the Lord zooms in and focuses on the priests.

And that is a zoom-in picture revealing how people thought about their sin in respect to God.

How they balanced their sin against God's holy character or God's holy name.

How they thought about the basis of relationship with the Lord.

And the impact of sin on that relationship.

And so, constantly, we're going from the big picture to the small zoom-in picture.

As God examines their word.

As God examines and gets behind their moral outrage.

And the tension, as we come into chapter 2, verse 17 this morning, is almost unbearable.

Because there's just this constant diatribe of character assassinating words.

Rubbish words.

Delivered and fired at God by his people.

And if you're looking at the outline, you'll see I've said that.

That was a bracketed thing.

So, we're looking at 2, 17 first.

And then, we'll look at chapter 3, verses 13, 14, and 15.

Chapter 2, verse 17.

You have wearied the Lord.

That is, you become really annoying and tiresome.

Says the Lord.

You've just been bombarding me with this constant stream of rubbish words.

Things that are patently untrue.

You just keep spewing them out.

And those words were more than just words.

They actually mocked God's character.

They were suggesting he was a fraud.

You say, how have we wearied you?

By saying, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord.

Now, that is a big call to take up to the Lord, isn't it?

He delights in evil.

Or by asking, where is the God of justice?

God makes a big thing of justice.

But in the end, they're saying, God's not really interested in justice at all.

The same accusation is in chapter 3, verses 14 and 15.

And that brackets this whole section.

I'll come back in a minute and tell you why I think it's a bracket.

And what the power of the brackets are when we look at the intervening bit.

Again, in verse 14 and 15.

The Lord says, your words have been harsh.

But you say, how have we been harsh?

You have said, it is vain to serve God.

What is the profit of our keeping his charge or walking as in mourning?

That is, showing remorse for our sins.

And now we call the arrogant list.

Evil doers not only prosper, but they put God to the test and they escape.

And we'll notice that word, the test.

We'll come back to that in a minute as well.

Now, this is outrageous because arrogantly, God's people are essentially demanding,

God, you need to get your act together because currently, we're telling you,

it is not worthwhile our serving you.

We're doing all the right things by you, but we're not getting any benefit.

On the contrary, nations ignore you and they're thriving.

And God challenges us people.

And again, they manage to sound hurt and surprised, self-defensive.

Which of our words could possibly be tedious and tiresome and hurtful or harsh and accusatory?

It beggars belief that they can claim that innocence before the Lord.

And yet they do.

My friends, I would suggest to you that's moral outrage in full flight.

Angry at God.

Wanting to make him pay for failures to give them the good life of blessing and prosperity.

They believed they were entitled to.

And the truth is that they were covering something in their hearts because in their hearts,

they'd shown themselves actually to be more jealous of the lifestyle of surrounding nations

than horrified by it.

Moral outrage directed at God and the sin of the nations

allowed them to avoid the awful sin in their own hearts.

And so when they thought about God's justice, they thought about something out there

that God needed to do to people out there.

God should take down the nations and deliver us what we want and are entitled to.

A rather distorted concept of justice and judgment.

But then in sharp contrast, and we'll move into chapter 3 verses 1 to 12 now,

in between those two outrageous brackets, once again we have proof of God's steadfast love

for his people.

As we hear, God's, the Lord's healing words to his rubbish people.

Now I put that in inverted commas, so if you trip over that, just ignore it.

It might be too outrageous.

But I just wanted to play on the idea of rubbish.

Rubbish words to God.

And in actual fact, the real issue was that his people were being rubbish before God.

God's response to his people in the accusations is immediate.

Chapter 3 verse 1.

It's immediate, but it's somewhat lost in our English translation.

So chapter 3 verse 1 should begin,

Behold me.

Or, here I am.

So the accusation has been, where is the God of justice?

And immediately God fires back,

Behold me.

Here I am.

And it's got a numinous feel to it, hasn't it, in response.

Be careful what you ask for.

Here I am.

Now, God has already made clear, back in chapter 1 verse 14 and chapter 1 verse 11,

He's already made clear that he is a great king,

and he will act to be seen to be a great king throughout the world.

And now, he says, you're going to see my greatness, and feel my greatness,

and experience my greatness,

my holy character, my holiness, my justice,

because I am already planning to intervene.

I have always been concerned for justice,

and I intend now, even now as you call me out for being,

accusing me of being disinterested in justice,

I am planning on intervening to deliver the justice you demand.

And I think just in passing,

I think that of itself would say to God's people,

Now listen, that of itself,

if you just stopped and considered who I am,

that of itself would expose the emptiness of your moral outrage.

And the Lord continues to say,

Well, you've asked for my justice,

but I'm here to tell you

that my justice will be very painful,

and it will begin at home

with the sin of my own people.

The Lord's saying,

My justice will be very, very different

to what you guys expect

and demand.

You'll not like it

because

it will expose your horrible injustice.

So there's the play again, you see.

They question God's justice,

and God immediately turns the table

and says,

Well, actually,

I'm about to come to you guys,

and we'll have a look and see

some of your commitment to justice

in respect to responding to me.

See, God's people had come to think of God's justice

as a great future judgment event out there.

It would be directed at the nations around about Israel,

and to use modern parlance,

familiar in American politics,

the result of it would be

to make Israel great again.

So judgment was something

that was out there.

But the Lord corrects their thinking.

God's justice

will be experienced by God's people

as well as the nations.

And indeed,

the Lord is saying here in chapter 3,

verses 1 and 2,

that it's already happening in part

through the words of my messenger,

Malachi.

Malachi.

In a sense,

God's saying,

Malachi is an early warning sign,

an early warning system,

saying that I am concerned about justice,

and I will come,

and I will deal seriously

with the sin of my people

in a just,

judgmental way.

But then notice,

ducting in verses 3,

1 and 2,

we start to see something

that will come out

in the subsequent verses

that says something else

is happening here as well.

Because it says,

Behold,

I send my messenger.

That's how Malachi

was introduced.

Behold,

I send my messenger,

and he will prepare

the way before me.

And the Lord whom you seek

will suddenly come

to his temple,

and then the messenger

of the covenant

in whom you delight.

Behold,

he is coming,

says the Lord of hosts.

It seems that there are

two different messengers.

One called my messenger,

which probably refers

to Malachi.

Then we've got to ask,

well,

who is the messenger?

The fact that this person

is called the messenger

suggests it's a future

and final messenger,

the greatest messenger,

perhaps,

of God's judgment.

Who is he?

Well,

we need to look across

to chapter 4,

verse 5.

Behold,

I will send you

Elijah,

the prophet,

before the great

and awesome day

of the Lord comes.

Before the great day

of judgment comes.

So,

who is Elijah,

the prophet?

Why does he pop up here?

Well,

if you go back

to chapter 3,

verse 1,

it talks about

the messenger

of the covenant

in whom you delight.

Behold,

he is coming.

Now,

when you go back

and think about

Elijah for the people

of Israel,

he was,

as it were,

the pin-up prophet

for God's people.

He is the one

they would look back to

as the one

who really took on

the nations

and showed

that God's people

could triumph

over foreign gods

and triumph

over foreign nations

and make Israel

great again.

Now,

that was a very

nationalistic,

narrow way of thinking

about Elijah

because he was primarily

concerned about sin

among God's people.

But no,

they had caricatured

Elijah as being

the champion

of truth

for Israel.

So they would be

delighted

to know that he was

coming

because in their mind

that would be

the very thing

they were going to

expect,

that God would

finally act

to deal with the

nations

and make Israel

great.

God then

follows up

quickly

just as they're

starting to think,

whoa,

looking forward

to this.

Verse 2,

but who can

endure the day

of his coming

and who can

stand

when he appears?

That's giving them

something to sit

back on their heels

and think about.

God's people

will not be able

to bear

that day

of justice

that they're

demanding.

Why not?

Go over to

verse 5.

God's saying

then,

and it's not

chronological,

it's simultaneously,

then,

I will draw near

to you for judgment.

I will be a swift

witness against

the sorcerers,

against the adulterers,

against those

who swear falsely,

against those

who oppress the

hired worker

and his wages,

the widow and

the fatherless,

against those

who thrust aside

the sojourner,

and do not fear

me,

says the Lord.

Ping,

ping,

ping,

ping,

every time

God speaks,

he's hitting

on his people.

You will not

be able to

bear my day

of justice

and judgment,

says the Lord,

because on that

day I will

itemize

your every sin.

And let me

tell you,

says the Lord,

it's a long

list.

God will

itemize their

sin,

proving beyond

doubt

their

faithlessness

and proving

beyond doubt

that they

deserve the

full force

of God's

justice and

judgment upon

them.

God's

The

nation of

Israel

was supposed

to reflect

God's

character to

all the

nations.

But the

reality was

that the

nation of

Israel

reflected more

of the

character of

the nations

back to

God.

God's

God's

And three

pictures then

in these

verses

describe

the

ominous,

the

impending

doom

which will

come with

God's

justice and

judgment,

which these

guys have

blithely and

carelessly

demanded.

Three

pictures.

First one,

verse two,

is a military

one.

Who can

endure the

day of

his coming?

The idea

there is of

an army

formed up

in rank

facing the

onslaught of

an enraged

enemy.

Who could

possibly stand

and hold

rank against

the onslaught

of God's

wrath at

the way

he's been

treated?

Then there's

the refiner's

fire.

God's

justice will

be like

an incredible

crucible,

such a

hot torch

that will

actually

literally

melt down

God's

people

and bring

to the

surface

every impurity

of their

hearts.

That's a

violent

picture.

And then

there would

be like a

launderer's

soap,

a fuller's

soap.

Now,

nobody really

knows what

this is,

but perhaps

the best

guess is

it's a

strong alkaline

solution.

And it was

used,

as Ian said,

to whiten

clothing.

And the

way it

works like a

bleach or

peroxide is,

if you know

bleach or

peroxide,

and we all

do,

it will

burn you.

Burn you

deeply.

So God's

justice

would be like

a bleach or

peroxide,

it will

burn deeply

but transform

God's people

at the same

time making

them distinctive

among the

nations.

These are

scary pictures,

but they have

to go

alongside the

concept of

God's justice

and God's

judgment.

Because God's

justice and

God's judgment

is focused

primarily on

the sin of

his people,

measured against

his holy

and just

character.

So the

clouds of doom

are just

building,

but then we're

in for another

surprise.

So the people

have been

surprised because

they want

God's justice

and that's

not going to

look like

they think

it's going

to look.

And just

as we get

used to the

heaviness of

God's justice,

then another

left field

thing comes

in.

Look at

verse 3,

the second

half of

verse 3.

He will

sit as

refiner and

purifier of

silver and

he will

purify the

sons of

Levi and

refine them

like gold

and silver and

they will bring

offerings and

righteousness to

the Lord.

Then the

offering of

Judah and

Jerusalem will

be pleasing to

the Lord as

in the days of

old and as

in former

years.

what's going

on here?

Given the

awfulness of

experience in

God's judgment

and we've just

seen the

pictures of

that and

given the

guilt of

God's people

deserving the

full force of

God's judgment

and justice,

then we

would expect

destruction.

But in

actual fact,

God is

talking here

about delivering

renewal,

not destruction.

God is

talking here

about his

justice

producing

total renewal

among God's

people.

It would

renew the

priests and

it would

renew God's

people in

generally so

that they

become a

delight to

the Lord

again.

And so

that they

start to

act in

righteousness

again.

So verse

four, the

results of

God's just

judgment on

his priests

and his

people would

be new

righteousness,

new obedience,

new acceptance

before God,

a new desire

to honor the

Lord, who

in turn would

once again

delight in

them, rather

than find them

wearisome and

tiresome and

harsh.

change.

And then

keep going.

Verse six,

for I, the

Lord, do

not change.

Therefore, you,

O children of

Jacob, are not

consumed.

God reminds us

people that

since the

days of

Jacob, a

pattern has

been evident

that they

should have

known.

that is, that

the only

reason since

the days of

Jacob, the

only reason

they have not

been consumed

by God's

just judgment

on their

faithlessness,

their disobedience

and their

betrayal of

his name

before the

nations, the

only reason

those things

haven't led

to their

being totally

consumed, is

because God

has loved his

people.

He has stayed

true to his

covenant promise

to love them

and bless

them.

And so, we're

moving through

this dark

period of

God's

justice, but

there's a light

appearing in

it because we're

saying now that

God has always

exposed the sin

of his people.

Ever since the

days of Jacob,

and Jacob was a

bad lad, God

has always

exposed their

sin in the

context of

renewing them.

not destroying

them.

That is God's

covenant love,

God's covenant

promise at work

throughout history.

That ultimately,

as I've said, is

the only reason

they still exist

as a nation.

So what we

find now is

that God's

justice and

judgment, though

real, though

imminent, will

as always, for

God's people, be

bound by his

grace and

mercy.

And it will

result in

renewal for

God's people, but

also, next step

forward, it will

result in renewed

invitation to

return and to

test the Lord.

Verse 7,

from the days of

your fathers, you

have turned aside

from my

statutes and

have not kept

them.

Here's the

invitation, return

to me, the

promise, and I

will return to

you, says the

Lord of hosts.

Now, this is the

Lord of hosts

speaking.

This is the one

who has the

power to make it

happen.

Return to me, and

I promise, I will

return to you.

And then, he

says in verse,

let me see, verse

10, put me to

the test.

I mean, this is

the Lord saying

to his people,

come on, guys,

put me to the

test.

That's an

incredible offer

from the Lord,

is it not?

when he has

every right to

smash them off

the face of the

earth, he

invites them to

put them to the

test.

Put my

faithfulness to

the test.

Put my love to

the test.

Don't keep

spraying me with

just these empty

rubbish words that

you're whinging in

my ear with.

Actually, treat me

seriously and put

me to the test.

Try my faithfulness,

try my love, and

see if you're

disappointed in

it.

Their unjust,

shameful treatment

of God was

systematic and

habitual over

generations.

And yet, God

continues to

offer immediate

hope of healing

and restoration

for God's

people.

If only they

would repent.

turn back to

God and lean

into his love

and grace and

mercy.

And in that

context, even

more generously,

the Lord invites

his people to test

his faithfulness

properly.

Now, that takes

us into that

section where,

I'll read it

again,

to do with

tithing and

money.

So, let's

just read

through it.

Will man

rob God?

Picking up

with verse

8.

Yet you are

robbing me.

So, they're

taking something

and treating

it as their

own,

which they

have no

right to do,

which belongs

to somebody

else, in

this case,

the Lord.

But you

say, how

have we

robbed you?

Well, here's

the answer.

In your

tithes and

contributions.

You are

cursed with

a curse,

for you are

robbing me,

the whole

nation of

you.

Bring the

full tithes

into the

storehouse,

that there

may be food

in my

house, and

thereby put

me to the

test, says

the Lord

of hosts.

Put me to

the test if

I will not

open the

window of

heaven for

you, and

pour down

for you a

blessing, until

there is no

more need.

I will

rebuke the

devourer for

you, so it

will not

destroy the

fruits of

your soil, and

your vine in

the fields

shall not

fail to

bear, says

the Lord

of hosts.

Then all

nations will

call you

blessed, for

you will be a

land of

delight.

So what's

going on

there?

Well, I

think it's

something like

this.

Because of

the covenant,

God had

committed

to providing

every need

of his

people.

In

response to

that, God's

people were

to acknowledge

that every

single thing

they had and

were was

down to

God, and

it was

actually God's

entrust to

them.

God was

to do his

part, and

they were

to respond,

and the

way they

showed

acknowledgement

of everything

belonging to

the Lord was

to commit to

paying a

tithe, a

percentage of

all their

possessions, all

their income,

all their

worth, all

their assets,

back to the

Lord.

So it

was a

symbolic

thing.

But this

tithe, or

the tenth, was

a symbol that

all that they

had belonged

to the Lord.

Now, how

did God's

people rob

him then?

Well, God's

people robbed

him of the

honour, of

his honour, by

acting as

though the

things they

had were

produced by

themselves, and

were owned by

themselves, and

were therefore

there for

themselves to

dispose of as

they pleased.

And they

failed, therefore,

to give God

what was his.

And we're

told then in

verse 9, that

the result of

that was they

brought a

covenant curse

upon themselves,

whatever that

was, some

sort of disease

through the

crops, or

whatever it

was.

But God

said, there's

a penalty

for that.

I'm making

you guys

realise what's

going on

here.

God says

then, test

me.

Stop

pretending to

be self-reliant.

Stop acting

as though you're

self-reliant and

self-existent.

Stop acting as

though you can

provide for

yourselves and

that everything

you have is

yours to

dispose of as

you please.

rather, says

the Lord,

entrust yourselves

to my faithful

care and

provision and

see that I

will deliver

extravagant,

satisfying

blessings every

day of your

life.

That's it.

God's people

thought, well,

we'll just give

less because,

well, we need

that money over

here for doing

this and this and

this and this.

And if we give

too much here,

then we'll be

short over here.

And so they

just arranged it

for themselves as

if all of that

was theirs to

arrange.

And God is

horrified and

shamed at

their self-reliance.

Now, friends,

how awful, if we

just ponder in

that for a

moment, how

awful that God's

people seem to

have lost any

sense of

indebtedness to

the Lord, have

seemed to have

lost any sense of

God's generosity

and grace.

have seemed to

sort of become

so independent

from the Lord

that they think

that what they

are and what

they've been in

history is all

down to

themselves.

And I think

coming back, I

said I would

come back to the

brackets.

I think that's

why verse 13,

14, 15 are

after what the

Lord says because

2, 17 and

13, 14, 15,

they just bracket

the awfulness of

God's people.

And thereby

throw into

highlight the

graciousness of

God's response.

And again,

through the

graciousness of

God's loving

commitment in

those verses,

once again we

hear the

whisper of

Jesus.

Three or four

questions just as

I tidy up here.

We ask the

question, why

the need for

justice and

judgment?

Well, very

simple.

God has always

demanded

righteousness or

obedience from

his people.

And God knows

that a sinful

people cannot

deliver his

demands.

Their rebellion,

their sin in

their hearts,

meant they could

never deliver.

Even worse, they

would continue to

walk away from

him rather than

have any desire to

return to him.

The Lord just

knows that.

That's been shown

in history.

The history of

God's people.

So why do we

need justice and

judgment?

Because the

awfulness of sin

and rebellion

demands it.

What is their

hope of healing

in the face of

God's judgment?

Well, God's

people need more

than just

reminders or

even threats.

God's people

need God to

intervene and

rebuild them

from the

inside out.

History has

shown that

God's people

will not come

to him.

So what does

God do in

his graciousness?

He has planned

all along that

he will come to

them in the

person of

Jesus.

How amazing

is that?

How amazing

is that?

How amazing

is that

God's

God's

character?

Nothing, I

think, displays

God's character,

God's gracious

character more

clearly than

that.

But then the

big question is

this.

How can God's

people be healed,

cleansed, and

renewed at the

same time as God

says he's going to

apply the full force

of justice and

judgment upon

their sin?

The two seem

incompatible.

answer?

Because God

had always

intended that

the penalty for

sin would not

fall on his

people but

would fall on

his suffering

servant Jesus.

And we see

something more

of God's

gracious, loving

commitment to

us as people.

God's justice

would be

demonstrated.

His offense at

sin would be

satisfied.

And with

God's plan,

God's people

would not only

survive but

would thrive in

news of life and

relationship with

the Lord.

Wow.

Wow.

Jesus would be,

as we've said

each week here,

Jesus would be

the true priest

who would truly

mediate with God

on behalf of the

people.

He would be a

true priest

offering himself

as the true

sacrifice.

The sacrifice

of righteousness

which would

turn the Lord

to see his

people with

delight

and enable

them to

renew them.

my friends,

as Christians,

we've already

experienced

the reality

of God's

judgment

in full

as we

observe

Christ

destroyed

by the

Lord,

the Father

on the

cross.

That's

God's

justice

unleashed.

But quite

literally,

and this is not a

swear word,

quite literally,

thank God

that it was

unleashed on

Jesus and not

us.

We've already

been healed

from the inside

out,

renewed.

We're not

complete yet,

but it's real

and substantial

that which we

have in fullness

in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

So my friends,

let's respond

to God's

love

wholeheartedly

and indeed

whole of

life.

That's what God

was calling

his people to

come back

and worship

me with

whole hearts

and whole

minds.

It had

particular

form in

Malachi's day,

got very

different form

in our day

under Jesus.

Romans 12,

1 and 2,

come back and

worship me with

the whole of

life,

whole of

heart,

because that's

the appropriate

response to

my loving

kindness to

you.

And what

does whole

of life look

like?

Well, we can

go back and

look at the

tithing there.

Whole of life

means all

are recognizing

that all we

are and all

we have is

God's goodness

and kindness

and provision

to us.

All our

money, all

our assets,

all our

time, all

our energies,

all our

giftedness,

all of it is

down to the

Lord's goodness

in our lives.

What does the

Lord want in

response for

his life?

No longer a

tithe, as per

the old

covenant, but

he does want

acknowledgement of

his goodness.

That acknowledgement

is a whole of

life.

Since we've

been redeemed,

everything is

the Lord's.

God's.

So the

question is

very simple

to you this

morning, brother

and sister, if

you're in

Christ.

Are you

worshipping or

robbing?

And there'll

be some here

this morning

who aren't yet

Christians, which

means that you're

in immediate

danger of

experiencing the

awfulness and the

fullness of God's

justice and

judgment.

my friend, don't

make light of

that.

Our world thinks

little of this

sort of stuff

writes it off as

nonsense.

Well, you've

heard God's

word this

morning.

If you write it

off as nonsense,

well, that's a

dangerous thing to

do without at

least giving it a

good hard think.

I would encourage

you not to just

write it off as

nonsense, but I

would encourage you

to hear these

heavy words of

justice, impending

justice on the

sin of God's

people so that

God will be shown

to be the great

king.

Rather than just

write them off as

nonsense or

fairy tales, think

of it like a

smoke alarm.

You know the

smoke alarms?

Incredibly loud

noise.

Dare I say it,

an annoying noise.

And you just want

to get rid of the

noise.

But when you

stop and think

about it, the

smoke alarm is

there to tell

you there's

danger.

There's danger.

You've heard

God's word.

Consider the

danger you are

in if you're not

yet a believer.

And then look to

what the Lord

says.

The Lord says

to you, as he

said in Malachi

has to say,

return to me

and I will

return to you.

Put it in

layman's language.

God says, I

will if you

will.

So, what

say you?

What say

you?

Pray with me

please.

Lord, we

find it very,

very difficult

to balance and

keep the

tensions of

your word.

For Lord, here

we have the

incredible tensions

between the

heaviness of your

justice and

judgment.

And yet, Lord,

the path of

escape and

renewal you've

provided for

your people.

Lord, so

quickly we

move from

there to

undercutting

your justice

and playing

it down and

playing up our

safety without

realizing the

enormous cost that

our safety as

Christians has

been to you in

the death of

your son.

Lord, help us

to focus on

both and bounce

from one to

the other so

that each might

illuminate the

other and

enrich the

other.

And Lord, that

each might stir

us up to love

and good deeds

as servants of

you.

Help us to

worship you,

Lord, with

whole of life,

whole of heart

commitment.

Lord, that is

exactly what we've

experienced from

you in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Amen.