Preparing for the Day of the Lord

Let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Malachi. Chapter 4. Malachi chapter 4. We're gonna be looking at this chapter today and if you want to give a title to the message, it would be preparing for the day of the Lord.

on election day in 2004, so it would have been November of 2004, my oldest son, Brendan, And I, were in Washington DC with other members of my mom's side of the family. My mom's brother was being buried at Arlington National Cemetery that week. So we got to experience what life is like in Washington DC on the day of a presidential election. And when it was determined that George Bush was the winner of that election over John Kerry, word began to spread throughout Washington DC that George Bush would be giving his victory speech in the Ronald Reagan, Building, which was not too far from the White House.

And my son and I were near the White House when we heard this news. So we hurried over to the Ronald Reagan. Building, hoping to get inside to hear George Bush's victory speech that he would be delivering. It turned out that everyone else had the same idea.

When we got to the Ronald Reagan Building, there were at least 200 people in line in front of us and no one in the line knew whether or not we would succeed in getting into the building. When we learned that we would not be able to get in that way and the line did not move at all. We left that line and went to another entrance into the building where we stood behind another few 100 people, all of whom, like us, were hoping to get into the building. Eventually, we all learned that there was absolutely no way any of us were getting in the building.

Without an official badge that showed that we were part of the Bush campaign team. Or pre-approved to enter. No sooner had we heard this news that out of nowhere, I'll never forget this. Out of nowhere, hundreds of people started converging on the Ronald Reagan building.

And they all had around their necks lanyards holding what looked like very large official badges. And they were immediately allowed into the building. And my son and I were left standing outside feeling like rejects. But we did realize that George Bush is on his way to this building, so we rushed over to the sidewalk that lined the road that led from the White House to the Ronald Reagan Building in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the presidential motorcade as it passed by.

And sure enough, we eventually standing there, we heard sirens screaming and the presidential motorcade came roaring by with George. And Laura Bush in one of the cars. Laura Bush was sitting at the car window facing our side of the street and she actually looked out the window. At us as the motorcade rolled by.

To me, it seemed that our eyes met briefly. But to my dismay, she showed no sign of recognizing me. And in a flash they were gone. And we were left on the outside of the celebration going on inside.

The Ronald Reagan Building. The occasion of George Bush's victory speech proved to be a distinguishing. Moment. It was George Bush's day.

And in that day, a distinction was revealed between those who were approved to join him. In his moment of victory. And the hundreds of other people like us. who were not approved to join him.

When Christ Comes in the glory of His kingdom. It will be much the same. It will be a day where distinctions. become evident.

It will be a day of glory and a day of acceptance for those who are approved members of Christ's team. In a day of exclusion and shame. And judgment For those who are not on his team. And that's what I want to talk to you about today.

Over the next 3 Sundays of Advent, we will be focusing our attention on 3 passages that will prepare us for Christmas. Today, we will look at the last chapter of the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 4, and we will see Malachi's prophecy regarding the coming day of the Lord and the Elijah figure whom God will send to prepare people for that day. Next Sunday, we will look at Luke chapter 1, verses 5 through 25, where Gabriel announces to Zacharias the coming birth of John the Baptist, whom he says will fulfill at least part of the prophecy of Malachi chapter 4.

And then the Sunday of our Christmas service, December 23rd, we will look at Luke chapter 1 verses 26 through 56, where we encounter the story of Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she will be giving birth to the Messiah.

And we will see how this announcement brings her face to face with the mother of John the Baptist, causing John the Baptist Actually to do something in his mother's womb. That's actually prophesized. And Malachi 4. Covering these passages over the next 3 Sundays.

Hopefully will set all of us up to read. On Christmas Eve, the Nativity of John the Baptist in Luke chapter one and then the Nativity of Christ. In Luke 2 on Christmas Day. One of the things that we noticed in Luke chapter one, and you'll see this when we get to this chapter in the coming weeks, is how much the chapter features a reversal of fortunes.

Zacharias and Elizabeth are a righteous elderly couple who are barren, living in a state of existence that Elizabeth calls my disgrace among men. Yet God elevates them with a very high honor that and makes them the parents of the very forerunner of the Messiah Himself. Mary speaks of herself as being from a humble state. Yet God exalts her by making her the mother of the Messiah Himself.

Implied in God's choice of Elizabeth and Mary and their husbands are all the people whom God did not choose for these roles and these honors. Mary herself looks at the choices that God has made to honor her and Elizabeth, and she says in Luke chapter 1, verses 51 through 53, He, God has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. And has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty handed.

These divine decisions. Of God Serve as early rays of the coming dawn of the day of the Lord. Which is what Malachi 3 and 4 are all about. The day of the Lord will be a day in which sharp distinctions are revealed.

Between the righteous and the unrighteous. Those who fear God will be exalted. And the arrogant will be humbled to the dust. And in Malachi 4, God is going to take 5 actions to show us how to come forth on the winning side of those distinctions.

That will take place on that day. To help us to get the most out of Our study of Malachi 4 this morning. Let me give you some perspective on the book as a whole. First of all, know that Malachi prophesized during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah in the years after God had restored the Jews from the Babylonian captivity.

As you begin to read the book after the introductory formula that opens the book, the very first words Of God through Malachi to the people of Judah are the words, I have loved you. This is one of the tenderest books in the Bible. I have loved you, God says. That's how the book begins, yet the people of Judah are so dense that their reply in verse two is, how have you loved us?

Can you believe that? Though they claimed that God was their God, they showed that they despise the name of God by offering defiled food on the altar of sacrifice, and by offering blind and lame and sick animals for sacrifice to God. In response, God says to them, I am not pleased with you, nor will I accept an offering from you. Their disrespect of God was offensive to him.

My name will be great among the nations, God says in Malachi 1:11. My name shall be feared among the nations, he says again in Malachi 1:14. Yet his own people. We're disrespecting him.

Even the Levites. The priestly clan were guilty of such things and failing to instruct the people to honor God, as they should have been doing. On the one hand, some of the Levites were polluting the sanctuary of the Lord by marrying foreign women who worship foreign gods. They were defiling the sanctuary.

On the other hand, we learn in Malachi of men who were divorcing their wives and dealing treacherously with the wife of their youth by breaking covenant with The woman that they had pledged themselves to in marriage. Meanwhile, as you read the book of Malachi, you observed that the people of Judah were feeling pretty good about themselves. They were saying, hey, we're good people, they would say to one another, thinking that God is no longer the just God who judges sin. And despises sin, as the Old Testament reveals him to be.

In Malachi chapter 3, God warns his people that the day of the Lord is coming. Look at what he says beginning in verse one. Behold, I am going to send my messenger and he will clear the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming?

And who can stand when he appears, for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver so that they may present to the Lord offerings and righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, as in former years. As for the judgment that will occur on that day, God continues, verse 5, then I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, oh sons of Jacob, are not consumed. I'm still the holy God I always was, and I'm still the merciful God that I've always been, which is the only reason you are not consumed. God goes on to fault the people of Judah for failing to tithe and to give to the Lord as they are called to do in the Old Testament law.

They were stingy with God, afraid that they might end up giving to God more than they would receive from him in return. God calls upon them to put them to the test and to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, and he promises, if you do this, I will open the windows of heaven. Upon you and bless you to overflowing. If you do this Though most of the people of Judah were straying from the Lord.

There was a remnant, a faithful remnant, and the audience of those hearing Malachi's message. In this book were some who feared the Lord and they responded wonderfully to the message of God through Malachi. We're told in Malachi chapter 3, verse 16, then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. And God paid attention to what they were doing as they spoke to one another.

And it seems that God noted what they're doing and had their names written in a book of remembrance identifying them as being on his side. And God speaks kindly of such God-fearers. Look at verse 17, God says, they will be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I prepare my own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. So you will again, listen to this, so you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked.

Between the one who serves God and the one who does not. Serve him. When the day of the Lord comes, it will be a day of distinction. Where a clear distinction will be made between those who fear God and those who don't.

And just as it was in Malachi's day, so it is today. In this room, there are 2 types of people. There are those who fear the Lord and who love Him, and there are those who do not fear the Lord and you do not love Him. And we might get some idea in this life.

As to who is who. But in the day of the Lord, everyone is going to know. Everyone is going to know which of these two categories. Every person in this room is.

How will this revelation of this distinction happen? And how can we come out on the right side of that distinction? Guys, that's what Malachi 4 is all about. And the way we'll break down our study of this passage is we'll observe five actions of Jehovah to prepare his people for the stark distinctions and the reversal of fortunes that will occur in the coming day.

Of the Lord, 5 actions of Jehovah to prepare. People for this day. The first action we find, beginning in verse one, and that is he declares that the day of the Lord is coming. Observe what Jehovah says in verse one.

He says, for behold, the day is coming. The day I've been describing in chapter 3, it is coming, burning like a furnace. Notice that this announcement begins with the word behold. This is designed to capture our attention.

Whatever else you may be thinking about, God is saying, listen to this. Put whatever else aside and listen to this announcement. God is seeking to rouse His people from their spiritual sleep and to take note of the fact that the day is coming and it's not just a day, but the day, the big day, the day of the Lord. We've already seen in Malachi 3:2 that this day is the day of his coming.

Meaning the day when Jehovah comes and actually appears on earth. In Malachi 4:5, this day is called the great and terrible day of the Lord. There have been previous days when God has intervened in human history, but all those days are nothing in comparison to the great and the terrible day of the Lord that God says here is coming. And when this day comes, God says here that it will come burning like a furnace.

In other words, it will feature an intensity that will be powerful in its effect. As one writer says, a fire burns more fiercely in a furnace than in the open air. We know that, don't we? So the fire spoken of here will burn hotter than the recent fires in California.

As awful as those fires were. This blazing furnace of the day of the Lord is coming and it, it's going to lead to two very different outcomes for the righteous and for the unrighteous, and this leads us to the second action of Jehovah as he seeks to prepare his people for the stark distinctions and the reversal of fortunes that will occur in the coming day. Of the Lord. Number 2, he warns, he warns that arrogant evildoers will not survive.

The day of the Lord. It'll be a very bad day. For them, observe what God says in verse one, and all the arrogant, and every evildoer will be chaff. And the day that is coming will set them ablaze.

Says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. The Hebrew word translated chaff could be translated as either chaff or straw or stubble. All of which are highly flammable. The arrogance I think that they're really something impressive.

They're so full of themselves, but when the day of the Lord arrives, they will merely be shown to be chaff. Highly flammable stuff that just burns quickly. They will serve as easy kindling for the great fire of God's holy wrath that will burn in that day, and they will be consumed. They will be left with no root that can spring up later when a better day comes.

The judgment of God will destroy them all the way down to their roots and all the way out to every single branch. Their destruction will be total. Nothing that they achieved. No one who followed their example will survive the day of the Lord.

What they will experience will be a total absolute loss. And it is the day of the Lord that will bring this complete destruction. To pass They will be set ablaze. And if you want to know the full meaning of that, go to the book of Revelation where we're told that on the day of the Lord, when Christ comes at a second coming, he will take those.

Who rebelled against him, the arrogant, the evildoers, and their part will be in the lake of fire that burns forever and ever. That's what will happen to the wicked when the day of the Lord comes, but the outcome will be just the opposite for the righteous. And God wants everyone to know this, and this leads us to the third action of Jehovah as he seeks to prepare his people for the stark distinctions and the reversal of fortunes that will occur in the coming day of the Lord.

Number 3, he promises that God fears will come forth victorious in the day of the Lord.

He promises that God fears will come forth victorious in the day of the Lord. Listen to what God says in verse two. But for you who fear my name, The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. What does it mean to fear the name?

Of Jehovah. first of all, it means to recognize what the name Jehovah reveals about Jehovah. His name is Yahweh. Jehovah, which literally means he is.

He is the self-existing one. We require air and water and food to sustain our existence, but God requires nothing outside of Himself to sustain his own existence. He is the great I am. He just is as the self-existing one, and he never changes.

And he is the one who revealed himself to Abraham and to Isaac, and to Jacob and to Moses and to the people of Israel. And we have record of that in our Bibles. Along with all the things that are revealed about him and his will through all of those revelations, which are recorded in the scriptures. Those who fear his name are those who are interested in this, who read about this and believe it.

And those who fear Jehovah's name are also those who fear Him who bears the name Jehovah. As John Piper says, such people tremble at the thought of offending him by unbelief and disobedience. They are possessed by the feeling that God is not to be trifled with. It is these people who have a holy fear of God.

Who are most aware of their own sin and the gravity of their sin. And they're the most amazed people. That God would provide them blood atonement through Jesus, so that they can experience the forgiveness of their sins. Which means that God fears.

are actually the most enthusiastic rejoicers. And his kindness. And grace. They realized they have been forgiven of so much and so they love him much.

In verse 2, God says, for you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness will rise with healing. In its wings. Some of your English translations. have the word sun, S UN, and it's not capitalized and that the new American Standard does not capitalize the word sun, but the King James and the New King James do capitalize son and take it to be referring to the Messiah himself.

And I would be inclined to take it that way as well as a reference. This is a name for Jesus Christ. He's the Son of righteousness. Charles Wesley understood it this way back in 1739.

He wrote the hymn, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. And in the original version of that. Him, he says, hail the heavenly Prince of Peace, hail the sun. of righteousness and he capitalizes that understanding this passage to be referring to Jesus.

Henry Morris agrees and says the Son of righteousness here in this passage is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ returning to his world in its darkest night. And when he rises, when he comes, this passage is telling us that he will send light over all the earth the way that the sun does, and there will be no escaping his light. And when he rises, he will rise with healing in his wings. Bringing healing for every wound.

that the righteous have sustained at the hands of the wicked. Bringing healing for every wound that The righteous have sustained while making their way through this broken world. The mention of wings indicates that this healing will come as swiftly as the sun's light races across the sky, bringing a healing that will be swift and absolute and total. Some of you in this room bear very deep wounds.

From wrongs that have been done against you. Those wounds are with you to this day, though they may have been inflicted decades ago. But in that day, there will be overwhelming healing for every single wound. As to how the righteous will respond in verse two, God says, and you, the God-fears, and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

With the rising sun of righteousness, those who fear the Lord will leap and they will bound for joy like calves that have been confined to a stall during a long night. We have a dog at our house, about 4 years old. right now he has a broken toe, so he's wearing a splint on one of his rear legs, and he normally walks on all three. just are all 3, just 3 legs, but When we open the back door in the morning to let our dog out, he normally just goes leaping.

Out of the house, forgetting that he's wearing a splint. He's so excited to be outside after being cooped up through a long night. That's the way the righteous will be. At the very same time that arrogant evildoers will be cowering in fright and being consumed by the sun that burns like a blazing furnace, God here is saying that those who fear the Lord will respond to Jesus Christ, the Son of righteousness with sheer joy.

And celebration. God continues speaking to the God-fearers. In verse 3 says you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of hosts. Literally the Lord of armies.

These God fears will not wage war in the day of the Lord. God is going to be the one who wages war through his Son Jesus Christ. God through Christ will consume the wicked and reduce them and their kingdoms to ashes, and God is telling the God fears that they will get to walk on those ashes. And notice God's language here.

And be sobered by this. The day of the Lord has not come, but God refers to it as in verse 3, the day which I am preparing. Even as I preach this message to you now. The day of the Lord has not yet come in its fullness of judgment, but it is a day that God is right now preparing.

He was making preparations for this day 400 years before Christ. When Malachi was speaking and he's making preparations even now, 2400 years later, and when this day comes, when the day of the Lord comes, it will be perfect in its execution down to the tiniest detail. And when it comes, God fears will experience light and healing and joy. It is the day in which they will truly come into their own.

It will be the day in which their faith in Christ is vindicated. It will be the day when it is revealed that they were all along on the right side of history. Don't let anyone tell you that you have to believe what the world believes if you want to be on the right side of history. Cause better that Jesus is coming.

And he's gonna establish his reign upon the earth. And when that day comes, those who feared him and loved him and obeyed him will be shown to be the ones on the right side of history. You might be hearing This message at this point and wondering what you should do to ensure that you will come out on the right side. Of the distinctions that are gonna be revealed in the day of the Lord.

So far, you, you could actually piece a few things together. You can infer that if you want to fare well on the day of the Lord, then you should not be arrogant and you should not be an evil doer. And you would also infer from what we've seen so far that you should fear the Lord, rather than fearing men. This much is clear, but there is some explicit instruction that God gives to us in verse 4 to help us to come out on the right side of things when the day of the Lord actually comes in a future day.

And this leads us to the fourth action of Jehovah as he seeks to prepare his people for the stark distinctions and the reversal of fortunes that will occur in the coming day of the Lord. Number 4, he urges his people to remember his law. He urges his people to remember his law. To be prepared for the coming day of the Lord.

God doesn't tell you, hey, you just, if you wanna be ready for this day, make sure you stock up on food and water and Build an underground shelter. Though there's nothing wrong with doing anything like that. The best thing that a person can do. Right now to ensure the best possible outcome for himself or herself on the day of the Lord is to simply obey God's word.

To remember God's word and live accordingly. Look at God's counsel in verse 4. Remember the law of Moses, my servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. God here is calling on the people of Judah.

To return to a life of obedience. To his word. He says, remember the law of Moses, my servant, and the Hebrew word translated law is the word Torah. Which means teaching or instruction.

God is saying, remember the teaching, the instruction of Moses, my servant. That is enshrined in what you call the law. This speaks of the law in its totality. Every command along with all the teaching about God.

That it entails. Implied in this command is the fact that the people of Judah are forgetting God's law. And God is saying, go back to the book of the law, read and remember what I actually said there and begin to live accordingly. Speaking of what's contained in the law of Moses, look at this, God uses the word statutes.

In verse 4 The Hebrew word translated statutes refers to the decrees of a king. Whenever a king would come to power in ancient times, he would provide a list of laws and regulations for the people telling them, here's how I want you to live under my reign as king. That's what a statute is. And that's what the law of Moses is.

God is king, and all his commands are royal decrees telling his people how to live under his righteous reign as their king. Ordinances speak of justice. Through the law of Moses, God tells us people how to live justly before God. And others.

And this law of Moses with its statutes and ordinances are not suggestions, they are the decrees which God commanded that Moses give to the people of Israel at Horeb. God is calling upon all the people of Judah to remember here the law of Moses and to live accordingly. And if they do this, they will ensure the best possible outcome for themselves when the day of the Lord. Arrives And please know that in giving this instruction, That God is calling upon His people to do far more than just, hey, keep the 10 commandments.

He's calling upon them to remember all of the law, including the parts of his law that contain his requirements regarding the offering of sacrifices by which a person can experience blood atonement. And receive forgiveness for their sins and be rendered acceptable to God. If they are to be right with God, they must offer blameless sacrifices to receive atonement for their sins. And all of this we know pointed them and us to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our sins.

We know from the New Testament that the law of Moses serves as a tutor that brings us To Christ, and God is telling his people in this passage to remember the law. With all of its moral commands and Instructions regarding animal sacrifices, all of which points. To Christ. God is being so merciful here, to speak to his people and to give them these warnings and this counsel.

God does not have to do this. But he does it here. He could have just wiped them out. They just came from the Babylonian captivity some time prior.

Already they're straying again after God has been so good to them. He could have just wiped them out. But he gives them this, these warnings and these promises and this counsel. And he does even more than that.

This leads us to the 5th and final action of Jehovah as he seeks to prepare his people for the sharp distinctions and the reversal of fortunes that will occur in the coming day of the Lord. Number 5, he promises to send Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord comes. He promises to send Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord comes. Look at his promise in verse 5.

Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. Notice again that God refers to the day of the Lord as the great. And terrible day of the Lord. It's a day that will be great.

And a day that will be terrible in the sense of being fear inducing is the idea of this term. It will be a day of shock and awe that will be unsurpassed in human history. And it's a day that will be the Lord's day. It will belong to him and to no one else.

It is the day in which his glory will be revealed, both in the blessing that he gives to the righteous and in the fury that he unleashes on the unrighteous, the judgments. And the victories and achievements of the day of the Lord will be absolute and total and will cover the whole earth. But before this day comes, God says, behold, I'm going to send you Elijah. The prophet before.

This day comes Elijah was the greatest of prophets in Israel's history. No prophet did. The miracles that Elijah did. No prophet lived rent-free inside the heads of Israel's kings.

And people like Elijah did. Elijah was such a compelling figure that he actually never died. But was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire and here God is saying that he will send Elijah back to the people of Israel before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes. As for what this Elijah figure will do, listen to what God says in verse 6.

God says He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. God is saying here, before I come. With unmitigated and final judgment, I'm going to send a messenger of mercy, and this messenger will restore hearts. Literally he will turn the hearts.

He won't just bring about changes in people's external behavior. He will be used by me to actually change and turn hearts. And everyone's hearts will be impacted from the hearts of fathers, all the way down to the hearts of children. Without a doubt, this Elijah figure will restore the hearts of fathers and children to God.

But this will reveal itself in the most basic of ways. Notice the actual language that is used here. God says He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. This is truly one of the most fundamental of miracles in any society and it will serve as the truest of signs that God has done a deep and a true work in the hearts of people.

On top of that, this is literally a fountain head miracle. If this one miracle is accomplished of the hearts of the fathers turned to the children and the hearts of children turned to the fathers, a 1000. Other miracles will begin to flow downstream of this great fountainhead miracle. In Deuteronomy 6, fathers are told to devote themselves to teaching their children the ways of God.

And in the 10 Commandments, children are told to honor their fathers and their mothers. So the turning of hearts that this Elijah figure will accomplish will be directly related to these two things. And a whole universe of good comes about. When these things are in place.

The truth is that it's easy for a father's heart to be turned. Against his children. It's easy for a father's heart to be turned to other distractions, rather than being turned to his children and what God calls him to do and leading and loving his children. The age we live in today, as, is the age of fatherlessness and a whole host of societal ills can be traced back to this breakdown.

Between fathers and their children. Many dads who are in the home are distracted. By sins and by pressures. And even by good things.

Paying no attention to their children and thereby giving Satan a free line of attack on Their sons and daughters. Even while the dad may be physically present in his home, many kids experience nothing but rejection and anger from their fathers. And this leads to many forms. of brokenness.

It's also easy for children to become embittered against their parents and to turn their hearts and their ears away from their parents and instead follow the counsel of fools or follow the counsel. of their own foolish hearts. They take their parents for granted. They're ungrateful.

They're disobedient to their parents. They think they know better. Fathers whose hearts are turned Away from their children and children whose hearts are turned away from their parents give Satan massive footholds. And to families, and into the hearts.

And spawn a whole host of evils that emerge from that brokenness. Generating a society that will be a Target for God's judgment during the great And terrible day of the Lord. But according to Malachi 4, This Elijah figure will travel upstream of all of those societal evils and rectify this breach between fathers and children. And this will redound to a 1000 other benefits.

And blessings, namely, That God won't destroy. At the end of verse 6, God says that the reason he wants to send Elijah to accomplish this miracle is so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. The word curse speaks of something that is marked out for destruction. Something that is condemned.

And God is saying here, I don't want to destroy the land of promise and destroy the people in the land of promise. I would rather send a messenger who can bring about revival in order to generate an outcome in which I can bless rather than destroy. My own people Though the day of the Lord will be terrible, God evidently takes no delight in the death of the wicked. He finds no pleasure in smiting his people, the people of Israel.

He would rather bless in the end, so he will see to it that his forerunner will help to achieve an outcome of blessing for the people of Israel. Rather than an outcome of total cursing and destruction for everyone. Can you not see here the amazing mercy of God? Next week, we're going to be looking at Luke one and we will see the angel Gabriel speaking to Zacharias.

And he will announce the birth of John the Baptist, and here's some of what he's going to say in Luke 1:16 and following. Speaking of John the Baptist, he says he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before him in the spirit and power of whom? Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Notice his wording. According to Gabriel, John the Baptist will minister in the spirit and in the power of Elijah, and one of his aims will be to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, which is specifically foretold in our text for today. And speaking this way, Gabriel is not saying that John the Baptist will actually be Elijah, but merely that he will come in the spirit and the power of Elijah. The same spirit that rested on Elijah will rest upon John the Baptist.

In his ministry. When you read the gospel accounts, you realize that during the ministry of John the Baptist, there were many, many people who repented of their sins and were baptized by John the Baptist, and the hearts of many people were made ready for Jesus. John the Baptist rejoiced in this outcome because he knew he had one job. Which was to prepare the way for the Messiah.

So that through the Messiah, people could find Salvation. Andrew, for example, was one who was a disciple of John the Baptist, and when Andrew heard John the Baptist point to Jesus and say, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, Andrew stopped following John the Baptist and started going after Jesus. And soon thereafter, he went and got his brother and said, follow Jesus with me. And we can be grateful he did that because his brother was Peter.

John the Baptist had readied them. For the Lord But in the end, Jesus did not usher in the great and the terrible day of the Lord during his first coming. Which actually left John the Baptist a little bit confused. Near the end of his life, John the Baptist, while he was in prison, sent messengers to Jesus to ask him, and this is found in Luke 7:19, he sent messengers to Jesus asking him, are you the expected one or do we look for someone else?

Things weren't totally playing out the way that he thought they might. It turns out that the great and terrible day of the Lord spoken of in Malachi 45, and 6 will happen actually in a future day, at the second coming of Christ, when he comes from heaven to earth to judge the wicked and establish his righteous reign. Upon the earth As the commentator Robert Alden says, listen to this, he says the first Christmas was a day of the Lord. So were all the days when God stepped into history and did something extraordinary.

But all these are preparatory for that great and dreadful day when the curtain will drop on world history and the Lord who came the first time as savior and friend will come as King and judge. The second coming of Christ is described in Revelation 19. And in your care groups, if you are taking time to discuss the message. From today, I encourage you to read that passage and that's listed in the discussion questions.

It's in Revelation 19, which comes at the end of the seven-year tribulation period in which God purifies. The Jewish people and has made them ready for Jesus Christ. At his second coming. So there's actually a triple layer of mercy in Malachi's prophecy that does not actually become evident until we begin to read through the New Testament.

Not only will God send John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ and his first coming, but even the first coming of Christ. was designed to prepare the way for his own second coming. And we know from Revelation 11 that God will send two witnesses before the second coming of Christ, who will prophesy for 1260 days before his second coming, and these witnesses will have Elijah-like and Moses-like powers. Which caused many interpreters to believe that they will actually be Elijah and Moses.

Who will be the two witnesses. We're told in Revelation 11:6 that these two witnesses will have the power to shut up the sky in order that rain may not fall during the days of their prophesying. Who's that remind you of? Elijah did that in his day.

And they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with every plague as often as they desire. Who does that remind you of? Moses I'm not dogmatic about this, but after considering the various viewpoints on the identity of these two witnesses, Doctor Robert Thomas of the Masters Seminary says a viewpoint easier to sustain makes the two witnesses, Moses and Elijah. Whatever you may believe about the identity of these two witnesses, what is clear is that God will use their prophesying to prepare the way for Christ's second coming, giving every chance to bring rebels to repentance so that God can show mercy on some when the day of the Lord arrives at Christ's second coming.

This is staggering mercy from God. But for our purposes today, it is worth noting how the New Testament ends. The last word of the Old Testament is the word curse. Imagine that, that's how this Old Testament ends with the word curse.

But the last sentence. Of the Old Testament involves God's promise to send a messenger who will bring about revival in Israel so that God won't have to smite. The land with a curse. This is a promise of mercy.

I'm going to do something so that I don't have to smite the land with a curse. This is a promise of mercy that leaves the reader begging for more revelation and for more information. But what follows Malachi chapter 4 verse 6 is a very pregnant pause of 400 years. Where there is no scriptural inspired revelation being given.

And next Sunday, we will look at Luke one and see what God begins to do at the end. Of this 400 year silence. As he begins to make good on his promise in this passage. But I ask you in closing this morning, are you ready for The great and the terrible day of the Lord.

Are you ready for the day when Jesus splits the sky? And returns to earth, the day when Christ is going to exalt those who believe in Him. And will execute judgment upon all who were arrogant evildoers and did not believe in him. When Christ comes in the glory of His kingdom, all those who truly fear Him will be allowed entrance into the celebration of his victory in that day, and everyone else is going to be excluded.

And ultimately destroyed. And which will it be for you? Which will it be? If you want to be included in Christ's victory, if you want the sun of righteousness to rise in that day with healing in his wings, then look to Jesus, believe in him, call upon his name.

During this time of mercy before it is too late. I've been freshly reminded this week of what an eager savior Jesus is. He's not just a savior, he's an eager savior. And he's just waiting for People to call on his name and say, help me.

I heard someone this week. Say, help me, Jesus, and he was so swift to their rescue. And I asked myself, why don't I say those words more often? And since then, I have I've been so instructed and I've been just saying in moments of temptation, Jesus, help me.

Jesus, help me, because he's eager. To help. He's eager to save. When you cry out to Jesus, he doesn't say, actually, I'm kinda busy right now.

Go to someone else. If no one else can help you, then maybe I'll help you, or I'll get around to it later. No, he is just waiting. Just say my name and ask me to save and to help, and I'm there.

He's swift and eager. To save and to help, and some of you in this room. Need to look to Jesus and say, help me, Jesus. Save me, Jesus.

And if you do that, I can promise you he is eager to save. For those of us who are Christians, we should be sobered by the teaching of Malachi 4. There is awful judgment that awaits the wicked. Let's be faithful to share the good news of salvation through Christ, to reach out to others.

And to give them the gospel, to tell them the truth from scripture about our God, in the hopes that the truth we share with them might be used of God to lead them to repentance and faith in Christ. Let us be forerunners. whom God is sending into the lives of various people. As we speak truth and call them to faith in Christ.

So that they might truly be prepared for the day of the Lord. Let's take advantage of this Christmas season to be agents of this good news. And to be messengers. Of The gospel to those who need to hear.

Will you join me in doing that? Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Lord, I pray that if there Or any In this room who have not humbled themselves and just seen their bankruptcy, their emptiness, their powerlessness to save. And looked to you and cried out to you for salvation.

I pray, Lord, that you would do a miracle in their heart and bring life where there is death and enable them to cry out to you and say, Jesus, Help me. I am helpless. Help me and save me. I ask you to save people.

In this room, even now, Lord. Enabling them to cry out to you in this way. Help all of us, Lord, to be Just have a similar spirit as John the Baptist, that we would go forth in the power of God Himself. Filled with the Holy Spirit, anointed with power from on high to Engage others with the gospel and to speak of Christ and to call people to faith in Christ and may people be saved through our humble testimony.

There's a lot of power in this room, Lord, the people who know you and fear your name and just imagining them going forth from this room this morning. And how many conversations we can have. With others Use us for your glory in this way. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to give of our offerings to you.

Receive the The money that we give in this offering, Lord, and do much with every penny that is given so that The gospel can be spread. Pastors can be trained. Churches can be strengthened. Souls can be saved.

And your name be glorified. It is a blessing to participate in your work, Lord, in this way through our giving. So we give to you with thanks. And We give ourselves to you.

And full surrender in the name of Jesus. And all God's people said,