Malachi 4

Intro

"My mom is a big sports fan. One time she was shopping and saw a really large, fit-looking man who she didn't immediately recognize but seemed familiar..."

"She thought it must have been a professional football player or something, so she went up to the only other person in the shop, who was this smaller weird-looking guy, and asked him if he knew who the athletic-looking man was. The short guy looked at my mom and said, 'That's my bodyguard. I'm Elton John.'"

once we discover we’re in the presence of some one other, our whole demeanor changes….

and my question as we finish our series tonight is: have you noticed that you’re worshipping even right now in the presence of a holy God?

Background

We have been studying the book of Malachi these past 3 weeks in our series “Does it matter how I worship”

We’ve seen timeline and the structure of Malachi and we’ve seen the major sin of the priests and the people: is that their Disobedience is grounded in their discontentment and then excused by circumstances.

They can’t fathom that God would not bless their sincere efforts, So they look around at their status, they’re not happy with What God has given them, and they start shirking their responsibilities in the temple, and then they blame it on the perceived fact that God isn’t blessing them

So He sends a word through Malachi and he does so through six disputations or six charges that we’ve been reading off.

God indicts their worship, their poor attitutes of enteracting with him, their frivolous divorces, and their marriages to unbelievers, and gives them a call to return to him.

And He even told us what returning would look lie: Pure sacrifices, a changed mind and heart towards God, we have a word for that: repentance. and then restoring their full commitment to the operation and responsibility of the temple.

Because God’s desire is that Israel would return to their covenant fidelity instead of remaining in their religious hypocrisy.

We covered the first 3 disputations in chapter 1 and 2 in Chapter 3, we covered 3, 4, and 5.

and now we’ve come the end. and at the end of the book of Malachi, He gives us a summary of everything

The title of this sermon is:

Because with the last few words that Malachi speaks to the People, or rather the last things that God speaks before going silent, is a summary of the prophecy, and a hope for the future.

and our main point for this sermon is this: it matters how we worship because we worship a holy God

Read the text

Pray

So what we see is one day, two outcomes for two different people.

1st

This day is burning like an oven

have you ever been baking or cooking, and you set the temperature on your oven, you prepare your dish, only to open the oven and then BAM! you get smacked in the face with the heat?

honestly the heat is almost unbearable.

in this first day, it is compared to a burning furnace. now a furnace in Malachi’s time would have been different than ours:

a furnace was a Brick or stone structure varying in size and shape, depending on how it was being used. A typical furnace consisted of a firebox, a flue, a chamber for the material to be heated, and an opening to give the refiner access from the outside. Common uses of the furnace were to smelt ore, melt ore for casting, heat ore for forging, fire ceramic materials, fire bricks, and make lime.

according to Malachi, this first day is a day when evil doers, will be stubble. they’ll be sticks, they’ll be dry kindling in this furnace. and there will be nothing left.

there’s no root, there’s no branch, there’s no sign of life they are completely and utterly burned up.

This is what we call the day of the LORD. but lets also make a distinction. because there’s a difference in-between the day of the lord and the GREAT day of the Lord.

there were times that judgement would come upon people groups, and that would be the day of the LORD the day where God visited his judgement upon something or someone on a small scale.

but it always points or foreshadows to the GREAT day of the lord. which is going to be the FINAL day. the day that the Lord of Hosts visits his FINAL judgement on the wicked, on the evil doers, on the unrighteous. and that’s the day that Malachi is referencing here. The great and final day when the wicked will be nothing but kindling and stubble, in the fiery furnace of the LORD.

But then, there’s the second.

This day, the sun of righteousness rises.

did you notice a commonality between these two days already? Both have some kind of element of fire.

one is a burning oven. flames wicking out

and one has a rising sun.

The picture of what this sun is, can be seen in Isaiah 62:1-2

Isaiah 62:1–2 ESV

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.

There’s more that this Scripture tells about what this day will feel like:

healing in its wings: there’s no more partial healing, there’s no more waiting. full healing and restoration will happen on this day

There’s joy to be had.

There is nothing more joyful and it’s one of my favorite things to witness, than a calf that is playing.

We have a friend that has a hobby farm that does tours so that you can pet and play and frolic with Scottish Highland Cows. and to see them leap and play and skip, it is impossible to look at them and not feel joy by association.

But on this day, when the sun of righteousness rises, this kind of joy will be felt by us. and we will be the ones leaping and jumping and skipping

and theres not going to be any fear of the wicked, or of pain or of sin, because what do they do while they’re skipping like calves? Stepping on ashes.

the previous roots and stubble, that were the wicked, and the unrighteous? in al their strength and with all their threats, are now ashes on the ground on the day the Lord acts.

So this is the summary this is the last point that Malachi makes, after listing off all the charges, we get back to the question: does it matter how I worship. and of course the answer is yes.

it matters how we worship because We are charged to give to God what is good, acceptable, and perfect.

it matters because a betrayal of God in worship leads to also betraying of what God loves.

its matter how we worship because Worship is your affection turned towards God to serve Him and be blessed by receiving more of Him.

but lastly it matters how we worship God because eventually there will be a day where everything is brought to light. and our hearts will be stripped bare before the Lord of all the armies of heaven and our motives in worship, whether or not we’ve placed our trust in Christ and worshipped him will be revealed. like switching on the light scatters the cockroaches. and there will either be a permanent and continual destruction. or a permanent, continual delight.

Thomas Watson said Eternity for the godly is a day that has no sunset. Eternity to the wicked is a night with no sunrise.

So…what do we do?

Malachi tells us. because like every sermon, there’s an application. and Malachi gives us 2

Remember the Law, Remember the coming prophet

Malachi 4:4 ESV

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

So this is a call back to remember what God had commanded them. Specifically The law that he gave at Mt. Horeb - Sinai

Do you remember what that was? The Ten Commandants

And fleshing this thought out the question I had is why did he give them the law?

and that’s summed up with the preamble

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. This is God declaring his Identity and work to the people of Israel. I am your God, I’ve provided you salvation. and so to be in relationship with me, here is the law.

Malachi says to fix your worship, return to this.

So remember the law, but secondly, remember Elijah.

There’s a promise that before Great day of the LORD, Elijah is going to come.

not Elijah the Tishbite, but just “Elijah” the prophet.

and when he comes, there’s going to be a reconciliation.

Not a reconciliation of Jewishness, or temple worship, or political power, or national superiority

which we’ve mentioned is what they wanted.

but a reconciliation of hearts. of spiritual fathers and spiritual children.

Where the true children of Abraham, those with a relationship of faith, are reconciled with the true Father in heaven.

There’s actually a beautiful picture of this in the New Testament.

Matthew 17:1–3 ESV

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

Application

Recognize the Holiness of God

A common issue that Malachi repeats is that Israel has no fear of God.

we’re not talking about fear as in being terrified, but rather fear as a response of awe and respect at God’s holiness.

Holiness is the characteristic of God’s nature that is at the very core of His being. Which is why in order for the Israelites to have a relationship with him, He gives his law.

When we come into this building. or really whenever we approach God at all, what is our posture? Do we casual stroll into his presence like he’s just another guy? some guy in the sky that we say hello to every once in a while.

Or are we ware that when we go to God in worship, we are worshipping the holy, divine, all powerful, all pure, creator.

True worship is not indifference, or carelessness, or casual.

To be indifferent is impossible for the Christian when confronted by the holiness of God.

Recognize the holiness of God in your daily and corporate worship.

Reorient your mind to think on the holiness of God.

in how you sing. in how you read his word. how you come to him in prayer.

The practical life of the Christian flows from seeing of the holiness of God.

Secondly Respond to the true Son of Righteousness

Only as we encounter God in His holiness is it possible for us to see ourselves as we really are

and when we do, we know we’ve broken the law.

we know that we haven’t worshiped him rightly.

we know that we’ve betrayed Him and what he’s loved.

but What does Jesus say to his disciples at the mount after they are confronted with His holiness,

in a posture of surrender to holiness HE touches them, he says rise, and have no fear, and then they walk with him.

In this series, have you been confronted with the holiness of God?

have you seen all the ways that it matters how we worship him?

What’s been your response?

The proper response, after recognizing God’s holiness, is to rise, allow Him to turn your heart to faith in Him, and then follow after him.

I think it’s perfect to end focusing on God’s holiness, Have you seen your sin

have you been moved in a deeper desire to worship him rightly