True Theology - Malachi 4:4-6

Good morning church family and guests.

If we have not had a chance to meet my name is Stefan Wilson.

I am the pastor of preaching and teaching here at Harvest Bible Church

Let's all get our eyes on God’s word and open them up to Malachi chapter 4.

If you did not bring a Bible, there should be one under a seat nearby and you can meet us in Malachi 4 in a moment

This is our last week in the book of Malachi.

And this morning's text are the final words of the prophet Malachi. They are also the final words that the people of Israel heard in the Old Testament age.

After they received these words through the prophet Malachi, they did not hear anything more for 400 years.

So these words are the parting words that are intended to sustain God’s people in their waiting until Jesus arrived.

And I can assure you that they are words that will sustain us as we wait for Jesus’ return.

But before we come to the text, I'm sure at some point you have uttered the words, “I'm not a ______; I just ______.”

For example, you could say I am not a mechanic. I just work on cars.

Or I'm not a cook, I just make meals.

What we are really saying when we say things like that is “I don't actually know how to do it right; I just know how to do it my way.”

Right? If I say “I'm not a cook, I just make food for myself” what I'm really saying is “I haven’t been trained in how to cook, I just make things that I think taste good.”

We all have things like this

What were really saying in those moments is I haven't been trained and equipped to do it the way it's meant to be done, so I just do it the way I think it can be done.

And for most of us, we get by just fine.

‌[Hook] And the reality is that far too often this is how we approach issues of theology.

People say, “I am not a theologian; I just follow Jesus.”

Having never been taught how to do theology right, they just follow Jesus how they think they should.

And they think they get by just fine

But theology is the study of God and the truth is that we all have thoughts and ideas about God.

So we are all theologians.

The problem is that we don't live in a time that prioritizes being taught how to do it right, instead we live in a time that prioritizes doing your own way.

So the phrase, “I am not a theologian, I just follow Jesus” feels very normal and comfortable today.

And the result is that we end up doing bad theology because we don’t learn how to do it the right way.

So the question we should answer is not, “Am I a theologian?”

The question we should be asking is “What kind of theologian am I?”

A good one? Or a bad one?

What makes someone a good theologian is that they form their thoughts about God according to what God says.

What makes someone a bad theologian is that they form their ideas about God based on what sounds good to them.

And so the title of this morning's message is “True theology” because these final words of Malachi for God’s people are going to inform them of how to think well about who God is and how they should respond.

And the same is true for us, so we need these at the end of just as much as they did back then.

so let’s give these words our full attention

Malachi 4:4–6 ESV

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

These are God’s words for us

Big idea: True theology trusts God’s word and responds God’s way [7:00]

We could contrast this the negative way saying false theology questions God's word and responds my own way.

But true theology receives what God says, embraces it, submits to it, and responds with a life that reflects what God says.

We started the series by defining true worship from John chapter 4, where Jesus says that true worship is worshiping in spirit and truth, worshiping with all that I am according to all that God has said

So we can build off of that and say the true theology by definition is submitted to God's word

When I embrace false theology, then true worship is impossible - it can only be false worship

And let's just all get on the same page that if God is supreme and authority, and if God is the source of all that is true, and if we are created to reflect him in order to bring him glory, then that means that there is a response that God expects that aligns with who he is and what he says.

If my life does not look the way that God says it should look, hear me friends, it means that there's something wrong with my theology and so it is creating a problem in my worship.

I have formed thoughts about God and his word that enable me to live the way I am living

And when my life does not reflect God’s word, it is my theology that needs to change.

[Bridge] So what is true theology? What does it look like to trust God’s word and respond God’s way?

3 markers of true theology

3 things that must be true of us if we are to have a right view of God and how we should respond to him

Theology that is true:

Humbly reflects on what God has said (4:4) - [10:00]

‌Now he says to “Remember the law of my servant, Moses” that he gave at Horeb.

Now this law was given to Israel after they left Egypt. You can read about this in both Exodus and Leviticus.

During a period of 40 days when the people were assembled at Horeb, at the base of Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses 613 commands that would serve as the laws and statutes of God's people.

But it wasn't as if God just gave a bunch of rules that people needed to follow as if they didn't have any rhyme or reason to them.

Listen to how God opens his giving of the law to Moses in Exodus 20:

Exodus 20:2 ESV

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Before giving Moses a single command about how the people should live, God told Moses who he was.

And this has to be instructive for us.

God does not give commands for the sake of giving commands

His commands are based in who he is

All of the imperatives from God are based on indicatives about God.

All of the commands from God are actually telling us something about who God is.

They don’t just tell us what to do - They tell us how to reflect God through our lives.

We reflect God when we prioritize life because he is a God who gives life and so he says you shall not kill.

We reflect God when we are faithful in marriage because he is a faithful God and so he says you shall not commit adultery

Make sense?

This is why it is such a huge error to say “Oh, God gave that command in the old testament but now love is our ethic, so those commands don't apply anymore.”

Or, “Well my situation is different so God and I are good.”

No!

God is a God who does not change and his word tells us what he is like and what he expects of us.

And so if we as God’s people are to do true theology, to know true things about God and to live lives that reflect those true things about God then what we have to do is reflect on what he has said because we can then know how he has called us to live.

False theology questions what God has said and looks for loopholes.

True theology trusts what God has said and desires to respond.

Which is why God calls them to “remember”

What has been so obvious throughout the book of Malachi is that the people are living lives of unbelief, they are looking for loopholes and exceptions to God’s commands

Their lives look no different than the pagan nations around them.

Because they have allowed themselves to forget what God said

Their distance from God’s word has created a murky understanding of what life should look like.

[Application]

And when I have been distant from God’s word long enough, I don’t remember what it says and so I can’t possibly live according to what it says.

Instead, I will start to depend less on God’s word and more and more on my own thoughts or on the voices I am listening to outside of church, on social media, and things like that.

Have you ever been in a situation where something being brought to your memory completely altered the way that you engaged a situation?

Years ago I was deep in a fitness lifestyle and I wanted brownies, but I didn’t want all of that came with the brownies, if you know what I mean…

So I made protein brownies, mixing protein powder with the brownie mix.

They were inedible - Just awful.

Like any health food “dessert” (Can we stop calling health food “Dessert”? - pudding/avocado mush)

Years later, I was going to try to make some protein cookies and Jeannie said, “You remember those protein brownies?” - Immediately, I changed my mind.

But this is true for serious things too

The former alcoholic who has been sober for 2 years, but the stress of life is making him want to pour a drink

And a friend says, “Do you remember? Do you remember what that did to your life and your family?”

And immediately, he doesn’t want the drink anymore, because he doesn’t want everything that went with it.

Listen: when you remember something, it immediately changes your desires in that moment and your actions that follow.

The memory itself completely adjusts the way that you think about that thing that is before you and what you were planning to do, you don’t do. Or what you were avoiding, the memory causes you to press into it.

And the people of God have forgotten who God is and it's impacting how they are living.

And so God calls them back to his word through Moses, because it is the memory of what God has said and who God is that will change how they live.

[Application]

Where in your life are you prone to fall into old patterns of sin?

How has your life just fallen in line with the pattern of the world, so that you look just like those who don’t know Jesus?

Has it been a long time since you opened your Bible to hear from God?

Has your memory of Scripture become murky and distorted because you are listening to other voices more?

Remember God word - Remember the folly of sin.

Remember the goodness of God’s commands and the emptiness of the promises of the world.

The psalmist wrote, “I hide your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Why? Because by storing up God’s word in our hearts, we can call it to memory when we are tempted to sin.

But we can only do that when we are near to God’s word, allowing it to shape our minds and our hearts and impact our lives.

If we are to be a people who have a true theology, we must humbly reflect on what God has said

Reading his word

Knowing his word

Applying his word

But we don’t just look backward, because God is still working in this world and in our midst and so the second mark of true theology is

Theology that is true:

Expectantly anticipates what God will do (4:5) - [21:00]

Malachi 4:5 ““Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

This is the third time now that this word has shown up in Malachi and just as one final form of review, when you see the word behold in your old testament, it is a Hebrew word that is meant to get your attention because something unexpected is coming.

And God says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah.”

Now that is unexpected. The reason that's unexpected is because Elijah pre-dates this time by 400 years. Elijah lived in the 800s BC and Malachi took place in the 400 BC.

But it wasn't just that Elijah pre-dated Malachi, Elijah also, we are told in 2 Kings 2, never died. He was taken up to heaven, having not tasted death.

So God's words here are some what uncomfortable. You know that guy from centuries ago who didn't die? He's coming.

[I feel like at minimum that would cause you to raise an eyebrow]

Now the prophets in the Old Testament served a very specific purpose - They did not give new commands.

The prophets showed up when the people had become unfaithful to God

And the prophet simply reminded the people of God’s commands in the Law, the commands that were given to Moses, and warned of the judgment that would come if they continued in disobedience.

So every prophet, who minister after Moses was simply a voice on behalf of God who was calling his people back to the commands God gave to Moses.

And Elijah at this time to the people of Israel was the image of what a prophet was

You can read about him in 1 Kings 17-19 and 2 Kings 1-2

He preached in a time of disbelief, calling the people back to him, standing against false worship and calling people to true worship

And if you remember in Malachi 3:1, God said he was sending a messenger who would prepare the way for God himself to arrive.

Here in Malachi 4:5 God is identifying who that messenger will be

So what is God saying? Let’s put it all together

God is saying he is going to show up and it will be great and awesome (literally “fearful” or “terrifying”) but before he comes, he is going to send a messenger who will preach a message of repentance. He is going to send a prophet who is going to call God’s people back to obedience.

Then the Day of the LORD will come

When God shows up, it will be a great day for those who listened to the preaching.

It will be terrifying to those who didn’t.

And we learn in Luke 1 that John the Baptist was this promised messenger - The angel Gabriel said he will have the spirit and power of Elijah, he will be a prophet to God's people who will preach a message of repentance

Jesus affirms this in Matt. 11 - He also says that John was the fulfillment of this v. in Malachi.

John prepared the way for the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God, God in human form who came, just like God promised through Malachi.

God is telling his people through Malachi - “Don’t just look back. Look ahead to what I will do.”

I didn’t just give you commands - I am doing something and history is going somewhere, so expectantly anticipate it - Look for it.

‌So what does this mean for us?

This took place 2000 years ago - Does this mean that we aren’t expectantly anticipating anything more?

When Jesus came as a fulfillment of this prophecy in Malachi, that was the start of something, not the end of something.

Jesus told the pharisees in Matthew 12 that the miracles he performed showed that the kingdom of God had come.

During that time, Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to fulfill the commands God gave to Moses

He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin since we could not fulfill God’s perfect standard

He rose from the grave, proving that he lived a sinless life and proving that his death really did pay for our sins,

And when we follow Jesus by faith, we live in the reality of the Kingdom of God, no longer living for the world and the kingdom of man

Instead living as God’s people, submitted to his reign in his Kingdom.

But while the Kingdom of God has come in our lives, it has not come completely in the world.

We still live in a world that is broken by sin.

We have been set free from the power of sin, but we have not been freed from the presence of sin.

this is what theologians call the “Already, but not yet” of the Kingdom.

God’s kingdom has come through the finished work of Jesus and we live in that reality.

But we await for the completion of that kingdom in the new heavens and new earth.

There is a day when Jesus will come again, and he will bring to consummation what he inaugurated in his first coming.

The second coming of Jesus will bring about final judgment and then we shall be free forever from the presence of sin, not just its power.

The first coming inaugurated the kingdom

The second coming completes it.

And so we as people who have placed our faith in Jesus, though we weren’t there at Jesus’ first coming, we are living in the same reality as the people in Malachi’s day - Waiting for the coming of the king.

But while they were waiting for God to come to accomplish what God promised, we are waiting for his return to bring to completion what he has already accomplished.

And just like how John the baptist, in the spirit and power of Elijah, called God’s people back to faithfulness to God’s commands in preparation for the first coming of Jesus…

We in the church are called back to faithfulness through the preaching of God’s word as we seek to live faithful lives in awaiting Jesus’ return.

Throughout Scripture, the arrival of God dwelling with his people is always preceded by the proclamation of God’s word to prepare his people for his coming.

We must not downplay the importance of God’s word in our lives with one another.

Proclaiming the truth of God’s word to one another is the primary way that God’s spirit works in us to change us.

When we declare God’s word to one another, using God’s word to call one another to faithful obedience to God and his word as we await his coming.

Church family, when our lives are not marked by obedience to God’s word, it is often because we are not expecting his return.

We are distracted by present things rather than expectant of future things.

But Jesus is returning and he will call his people to himself for eternity.

And the role of the prophets back then and the role of proclaiming God’s word in the church now are all meant to prepare us, that we would be found at our master’s return to be about our master’s business.

True theology doesn’t just reflect on what God has said

True theology also looks forward to what God will do

He will bring about the consummation of his kingdom.

He will bring sin to an end and judge all unrighteousness.

And so we should live like those things are coming, expectantly anticipating them.

And the final mark of true theology…

Theology that is true:

Diligently examines how it transforms us (4:6) [32:00]

I think a fair question to ask is: how we can know that we have humbly reflected on what God has said, and are expectantly awaiting what God will do?

How can we know that true theology has taken hold of us and that we have taken seriously God's word and that we have heeded the prophetic voice of the preaching of God’s word?

It will transform our lives.

But the truest evidence of a transformed life is not how someone lives out in the marketplace or how someone is with their friends.

The truest evidence of a transformed life is how someone is in their own home with their family.

Paul writes in 2 Tim. that the mark of godlessness in the world is the breakdown of the family and the presence of relational strife in the home.

And when we do not remember God’s word and we value things of the world more, the same mark begins to creep into our homes.

And we live in conflict with one another.

But God says through the prophet that the results of remembering his commands and of responding to his word is that Fathers and children will be restored to one another.

Mal. 4:6 “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers…”

In Hebrew, to be turned toward someone is that they have your affection they have your favor, they are not under your wrath or in opposition to you.

It's the picture of looking at one another with love and affection and acceptance.

God is saying that the result of listening to his word and responding to the call to repent of our rebellion and unbelief will result in our homes being transformed.

But if we're being honest, too often the relationship of a father to his children or a mother to her children is one of enmity and conflict and disapproval.

So often the relationship of a child to his or her parents is one of fear or frustration.

In both situations, the cause is the sin between parents and children that builds and builds and causes more and more division and more and more distance.

This text confronts us with the reality that the only way for things to change in our homes is for the life transforming power of the Gospel to be present in our homes as we trust God’s word and respond God’s way.

If we would, rather than trying to save face or face trying to keep up appearances, if we would humbly reflect on what God has said and if we would look ahead to when all will be restored and renewed, we can ask God to let his Kingdom come in our homes and in our relationships.

We can repent of our own sin that drove a wedge between one another.

Parents, you can pursue reconciliation with you kids.

Those who have been estranged from their parents, you can pursue reconciliation with them.

Why? Because true theology transforms us.

It fundamentally changes what we are and how we relate and how we see ourselves.

It helps us to put away our pride and it helps us to see the truth of who God is, who we are, and how he is changing us as we follow Jesus by faith.

And as we remember what God has said, our values change, our actions change, and our relationships change.

We must see that it is the preceding verses that make v. 6 possible - Relational reconciliation will not happen apart from remembering and listening to God’s word.

But if we will remember God’s word and respond to it, God will transform our lives and our relationships.

What relationships in your life are in desperate need of hearts being turned toward one another?

It won’t be psychology that transforms that relationship.

It won’t be tactics form social media

It won’t be worldly wisdom that changes it.

It will be the truth of God’s word, applied to your life and applied to their life, that will transform it and turn your hearts toward one another.

But he isn’t done - He offers a warning

Malachi 4:6 “…lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.””

If the truest evidence of a transformed life is how someone is in their own home, then that is also true of a life that hasn’t been transformed.

When you are not submitted to God’s word in your life, it will be evident in your home and while you might be able to fool people outside of your home, your family will see right through it

And God sees right through it.

Neglecting the relational and spiritual health of your family because you are pursuing other things and other priorities is a foolish trade

This is why Paul says to Timothy that someone who does not look after his own family is worse than a nonbeliever - Because the neglect of your own family is proof that you are not listening to God’s word and are not following him.

And God allows his final word to his people in the Old Testament to be that if you don’t humbly reflect on what God has said and if you do not live expectantly awaiting what he will do, you will ultimately be cut off from him.

But it doesn’t have to be that way

Do you want your life to look different?

Do you want the relationships in your home to be transformed?

Do you want your marriage to be healed and your relationship with your kids whether they're young or old to be restored?

Then trust in God's word and respond God’s way.

Know that God’s way is right and good - Confess your sin and your self-reliance.

Embrace God’s design for your life and depend on Jesus Christ by faith.

And see how he will transform your life through the power of the Gospel.

[Conclusion]

God’s final words in the Old Testament are a warning that he is coming.

And he gives the same warning at the end of the New Testament as well.

Turn in your Bibles to Rev. 22, the very last chapter of the Bible.

Revelation 22:20–21 ESV

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

May we be a people who living in his kingdom

Humbly reflecting on what God has said

Expectantly awaiting what God will do

And diligently examining how it transforms us

As we trust God’s word and respond God’s way.

Amen.

Communion

What is communion

“We are now going to move into a time of communion in which we remember the finished work of Christ on our behalf. The bread and the cup represent the body and blood of Christ. They do not transform into anything, nor is there anything special about the elements themselves. Instead, it is the Holy Spirit’s presence in his people that makes this act significant.”

Who is communion for

“This is for those who have trusted in Jesus Christ and follow him by faith. Whether you are a member of our church family or visiting from out of town, if you follow Jesus by faith, you are free to partake in this with us. However, if you do not yet follow Jesus by faith, we would ask that you remain where you are and allow this to happen around you.”

What is the posture of communion

“Take care that you do not mock the cross. We mock the cross in one of two ways: First, living in conflict with God through a continued, unrepentant engagement with sin. Christ died that you would be set free from the power of sin, so if you are living in unrepentant sin, confess that, repent of that, and partake in the elements as a reminder of Christ's work on your behalf.

The second way we mock the cross is by living in conflict with one another. Christ died to reconcile us not only to him, but to one another, so if you are in conflict with a fellow believer, be reconciled to them before you take the elements.”

How to take communion

“We have ushers in front of each section holding trays. There are 2 cups: the bottom cup has the bread and the top cup has the juice. Make sure that you take both.

To allow for flow in the room, we would ask that you exit out the left side of your section, come down to the usher in front of your section, take the elements and return on the right side of your section.

For those in the back sections, you can just go directly to your usher since there is a smaller group back there.

If you are in need of gluten free elements, you will find them on each of the front side tables.

The worship team is going to play over us as we come get the elements, but we will take them all together, so take the elements back to your seat, spend time in prayer as you wait, and then we will take the elements together once everyone has come.”

Execution

Worship team plays the first verse and chorus of the song

Preacher leads in Communion by using 1 Cor. 11:23-26

1 Cor. 11:23-24 - Bread

1 Cor. 11:25 - Cup

1 Cor. 11:26 as an exhortation and a call to worship - For example, “Jesus is not dead, he is alive and is returning one day, So let’s stand and sing together as we hopefully wait his return”