Malachi Part #2 Fire Of God—Dichotomy of the Blessed—World 2-24-08
Malachi Part #2
Going through the Fire—Dichotomy of the Blessed—World
2-24-08
Continue with Malachi
· Bird’s Eye View
· Story
Dichotomy/Distinctive
· Peek at the endgame
o How it works out ultimately if you follow God and if you don’t
· The end of the story
· Brother—20’s watching friends as he is faithful—later he’s the hero—switch roles
· Mal 3 and 4 get a peek at the ENDGAME
Mal 3:18
18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. [1]
‘Distinction’
Prelim
· Chapters 1-2
o Wires crossed/wrong power
o Deadly
· Honor/Dishonor
o Didn’t bring best
o Dishonored Name
§ Cursed Blessings
o Dishonored Marriage
It is because the Lord is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. [2]
Chapter 3
· Begins visitation—God shows up
· Begins with good thing
· Jesus shows up
Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. [3]
· Develop—one we DESIRE—long for
But as He shows up
· Something comes with Him
· The Fire of God
· Fire
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire . . . . . .
We all face fires in life
· Not saying that all fires/challenges are from God
o He will bring his fire in our lives—Malachi
o Bible talks fire of afflictions/trials/testing
o And God can work GOOD in whatever fire we face
· But the question is—what do you want to be like on the other side of the fire
Malachi is an amazing book
· Picture of how GOODNESS of God is in the midst of your fire
o We all face fires
o Malachi about God can use them to advance us/bless/Prosper us if we surrender to Him the midst of the fires
o ALL things work together for good
· He works in the midst of the fires of life
Maybe At first glance
· When you read about the fire of God in Malachi
· Think—is God mad at us? What’s this about?
· But when you look below the surface
· You see that God is at work for GOOD in the midst of the fires of our lives
In fact, there are certain things you can ONLY GET through the fire!
Why is that?
· The Fire Purifies
o Gold/silver
o Dross
How many want the pure gold?
· Have to go through fire
Tests/Reveals
· Fire brings dross/impurities to the surface
· Glibness—I have it together
o God knows there are issues in your heart that need to be dealt with
o Otherwise it will bring death to you
o Brings fire so it can be revealed
How many ever been in pressing situation
· Fire of challenge on you
· Bad attitude
· Words come out of your mouth towards spouse
· Friends/child
· Not pretty
· What’s happening—fires bringing
We get shocked
· God’s not
· But what is His goal???
· To set us FREE?
· We miss it so many times—try to hide the thing
· God says, I have to reveal it—so I can FREE you from it!!
How many know
· Fire reveals bad attitudes
· Weakness/needs
Develop
Fire also Changes Us
· Fine China
· Heated up beyond what it thinks it can bear
· Internet information—upwards of 2,000 DEGREES! ! !
· On the other side—the muddy dirt
· Becomes a priceless heirloom
· Pretty cool—huh?
God does that with Us in the fire
So let’s do an overview of chapters 3 and 4 and see the
· Dichotomy between those who serve God—those who don’t
· How fire works in our lives
So what does the fire do? FIRST:
Fire Purifies/Tests Our Worship
| Those Who Serve God (FIRST) | Those Who Do Not Serve Him (SECOND) |
| “And he shall purify the sons of Levi so they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.”v Levites : who they arev First thing fire does: target our worshipv Why Worship?v Worship is where we ENCOUNTER Him!v Central Battle of all time—who will you bow knee to?v Who do you love?v God targets our HEARTS | 3:5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. |
| Refiner’s Fire—Dross | Judgment of wicked begins |
| He Needs to Deals with Worship (Chapter 1-2)v Couldn’t reach God in worshipv Chapters 3 and 4 fix that | Not a pretty thing |
| Bringing Your Best | God’s desire all come to repentance |
| Honor | But that’s the Consequence of a hard heart |
| Result: Greater Worship | |
| When you let God Refine you—changes you—silver/gold/dross | |
| Deeper INTIMACY! ! ! ! |
OT Means:
NT:
· God wants to bring greater intimacy
· Deeper worship
· When God forgives you—frees you—cleanses you
· Carries you THROUGH a fire time
· You see the yuck
o But He transforms you into the beautiful
o It changes you
o He who’s forgiven much—loves much
o God can turn your fiery trial into a PLATFORM of deeper CLOSENESS to HIM!
He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. 4 Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people[4]
* God says ‘Come in—Get Closer to ME!’
Fire Purifying/Testing Our Finances
God deals with issue of finances
· Reveals heart
o Luke 12:34
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[5]
o What Does God care MOST about?
§ Hearts
§ Worship
§ God’s not broke!!!!
§ But the nature of LOVE requires expression of sacrifice—trust—love
§ God resource of ALL—He wants to bless
§ He wants HEART—finances reveal heart condition—
· He wants WORSHIP—FIRST Love
· That’s why section starts out with ‘Return to Me’
Mal 3: 6 Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. [6]
· He’s not worried about money
o He wants us to return to HIM
o All about worship
Explain tithe—Israel unfaithful
· ‘Cursed their Blessings’
· God wanting to RESTORE them completely—understood this area was blocking their relationship
| Those Who Serve God(Second) | Those Who Do Not Serve Him(First) |
| 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. | “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. |
| God’s Answer: Bring WHOLE tithe | Robbing God-- DEVELOP |
| Test me—Open the FLOODGATES of Heaven | 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. UNDER CURSE |
| Pour blessing | DEVOURER released |
| Protection from devourerv Personal Testimonyv Parents—help children tithe from beginning | · Fruit dies before it ripens—· ABORTED provision! |
| Am I saying never a problem: No· I am saying blessing long haul—different areas· Finances but one reflection· Relationships/kids· Eternity | |
| Fruit comes full term | |
| All nations CALL YOU BLESSED!12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Changes the LAND! |
SAME FIRE: For one the Curse Destroys—for the other they are ADVANCED into SUSTAINED Multiplied Blessing
Next place that the fire touches:
Fire Purifying/Testing Our Faithfulness
We all get tested/tempted to be frustrated
· Waiting for harvest to ripen
· Where are you God?
· Have you forgotten me?
· Tests/refines our faith
o Waiting for harvest to ripen
Fire Purifying/Testing Our Faithfulness
| Those Who Serve God(Second) | Those Who Do Not Serve Him(First) |
| 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said Fear the Lord (explain) | 13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’14 “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15 From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’ ” |
| ‘Talked with one another’—· Power of FELLOWSHIP· Connection· Working through the FIRE Together! ! ! ! · When you face fire—RUN to brother/sister· (Alone—you are PICKED off! !) | Bitter· Offended· Angry with God |
| Honored His Name· NLT quote· Love to think about Him!· Definition of HONOR!!! | Accuses God’s Character· Develop |
| . In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.[7] Scroll of REMEMBERANCE · As You remember GOD in the midst of your fire· He NEVER FORGETS about YOU! ! ! ! | · The Fire REVEALS wrong God concepts· Reveals Bitterness/anger in our hearts |
| YOUR name is on HIS scroll of remembrance:· Doesn’t that make you LOVE Him? | · |
| 17 “They will be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession.a I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. [8] | · |
| ‘They will be MINE’—· You are His TREASURE· He ‘owns’ what You are going through—· Fathers us· You are not ALONE in the fire· Shadrach/Meshach—there He is right in the fire WITH You! ! ! ! ! | ABANDON Faith· Forfeit Inheritance · Miss out on all the BLESSINGS of those that fear HimHonor Him—Love to Think about HIM! |
| Spares us· I want that, don’t you?· Compassionate Heart of God! ! ! ! | Arrogance· Stubble/destruction |
Final RESULTS of Purifying/Testing Of Fire
| Those Who Serve God(Second) | Those Who Do Not Serve Him(First) |
| 2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings.* Fire Releases HEALINGOn the other side of the fires | 4 1 *The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.[9] |
| And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. 3 On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.Captivity Broken—· FREEDOM!· Leaping | Stubble· Destroyed |
| ‘Trample Wicked’· Authority released· Destroying the DESTROYER in your life!· Develop | |
| ASHES under your feet· The same fire that refined/blessed/purified you· Destroys the very thing sent to destroy you! And Now you are able to take AUTHORITY and TRAMPLE this thing! | |
| 4 “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai* for all Israel.5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”GENERATIONS Turned· Blessing on the land | Generations Divided· Generations Wounded· Pains of generational· Land Cursed |
Is 43:1-3
Blessings/Cursing
· Life/Death
· Malachi WONDERFUL—see Hand of God blessing/advancing His people
· Through the fires
· While dealing with the darkness/enemy
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[1]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mal 3:17-18). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[2]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mal 2:14). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[3]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mal 3:1). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Mal 3:3-4). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[5]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Lk 12:34). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[6]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mal 3:7). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[7]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Mal 3:13-16). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
a Or Almighty, “my treasured possession, in the day when I act
[8]The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.) (Mal 3:17-18). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
* Or the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.
* Verses 4:1-6 are numbered 3:19-24 in Hebrew text.
[9]Tyndale House Publishers. (2004). Holy Bible : New Living Translation. "Text edition"--Spine. (2nd ed.) (Mal 4:1-6). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
* Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.