Stay In The Pot

Text

Mal 3:1-4 ““Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.”

Introduction

Malachi is a post exilic book.

90 years since Hag-Zech message

13 years since the wall was rebuilt

15 years since the exhortations of Ezra

430 BC

The scene is set where God is calling His people to REPENTANCE, COVENANT FAITHFULNESS and RESTORATION OF WORSHIP.

But. . .

God is displeased with their offering, but before He sends a word about the offering He sends a word about the PEOPLE.

If the “offerer” is right, then the offering will be right.

When the life is pure the worship will be pleasing

When the heart is sanctified the worship will satisfy

APPL. If God is to work through this church God needs to work on this church

APPL. If God is to work through you God needs to work on you

For God to do that:

“You Need To Stay In The Pot”

But the problem in Malachi is when God says, “I see the problem” they say, “what problem?”.

When God declares something, they act like they don’t know what God is talking about

Mal 1:2 ““I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob;”

Mal 1:6 ““ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”

Mal 2:17 “You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?””

God rejected the offering (2:13-14) yet they ask, “why?”

God is declaring to this people, “I’m not pleased”

I do not enjoy what I see.

Even though God talks Judgement, He also wants to see something that pleases Him.

Watch This!!!

How does God get this done?

The people are disillusioned, temple is there, but no Messiah

The people wanted to know Where is God

They wanted to know where are the promises

They needed to know if God is still interested

We’ve been around for a while, but things are not happening the way God said it was

Walls 13 years, Ezra 15 years, Hag and Zech 90 years

We are still subjects to the Persian governments

We still haven’t seen the glory

God wants to see something that pleases Him

How does God get this done?

He’s going to need a pot!!!

MAL 3:1-3

Vs. - What’s the immediate meaning???

“I am going to send My Messenger” - God is going to show up!

Someone will come to clear the way [fulfilled in John the baptiser Mt 11:10]

The Lord is coming to do a work, and things need to be moved

Vs. 2 - We see two pictures of God, one in JUDGMENT, the other as a PURIFIER

APPL. God is going to show up - But He will show up and do His will, not yours

As much as they say God things are not looking good on your end, GOD SAYS, it’s your end that’s not looking good

“who can endure?” -

Watch the Refiner

The refiner puts the ore in the pot

Ore has no beauty, but it has potential - the true value is not seen immediately or externally but it is seen after its gone through the process.

i.e I can’t see it now, but just wait until God is finished

The refiner then sits over the put

This tells me He takes his time, He puts in the effort, He’s focused, The work is going to get done. I just need to go through the process.

The refiner’s goal is PURIFICATION

He has tp get the dross out

He gets the dross out with heat

The refiner has an eye on the heat

Too much destroys it

Too little won’t purify it

The refiner’s job is complete when he sees His face in the silver