You Are Remembered

Most Memorable Moment

When I was in 6th grade, my dad had this brilliant idea that I could become a great baseball player. I honestly don’t know where he got this idea. We played catch out in the yard a few times a summer, but I’m not sure I’d ever swung a bat outside of goofing off with friends. And while I enjoyed baseball, I didn’t really want to play it.

But let me tell you something about a guy like me, whose love language is words of affirmation. My dad encouraged me, he psyched me up. He affirmed that if I put my mind to it I would be great at baseball. And I believed him. He was wrong, but I believed him.

It was my first year in little league. Most of the other kids had YEARS of experience. I couldn’t run s fast, my batting was just plain bad, and even though my dad was in my corner, so to speak, and I was doing my bestish, I was way behind many of my teamates when it came to playing well.

The rules dictated the a player could not spend more than two innings in one position in a single game and could only sit out of 1 inning. Crucial innings I was in right field and every now and then I would get to play 2nd base or short stop. I really liked 2nd base, because it was in the center of things, but didn’t involve a ton of running like in right field.

Well, there was a game, it was going well. We were ahead, so the coach decided to let me play 2nd base. I went out to the position and got ready. My dad was there, cheering me on. My mom and her friends came to the game that day and, get this, they were filming the game. So, if something exciting happened, we’d get to watch it over and over again.

SO here I was standing at the ready. Waiting for a hit, a pop fly, anything that would get the game moving along. The pitcher threw 2 strikes and 3 balls. I had turned to let the outfielders know we had a full count with bases loaded. If the ball was a hit we’d have to move fast. I turned back just in time to see the pitcher throw the ball. The batter swung and made contact. Time slowed down, I saw the ball heading right for my face. I had two choices. Get out of the way or moved my glove in to catch the ball. What do you think I did? Yep, I got out of the way. But that is not here the story ends.

The ball didn’t fly passed me. It landing right in my right hand, not the hand with the glove, but the hand I threw with. First out.

There was a guy on first and he was booking it. He had no idea I had caught the ball. And to be honest there was a little doubt in my mind at the moment there as well. But, he wasn’t stopping, so I tagged him with the ball. Second out.

There was also a guy on second and third and they were both booking it, because the little chubby kid on 2nd base with no baseball background was no one to worry about. They were running and didn’t know there were two outs already. They were required to return to their base. I didn’t even have to run. It was 3 steps away I stood on 2nd base. third out. Triple play. I was on fire, the team cheered.

I can’t remember how much game was after, but the moment the game was over I ran to my mom and her friend’s. I wanted to see that play from their point of view, because it all happened so fast for me. But, do you know what happened. No, the battery had not died. They filmed the whole game, start to finish. Except one little part. a small 15 second play. Some geese had flown in and landed nearby and the camera had turned to look at the geese while I made the best play of my entire life.

I was bitter for years. But, there is something that I have that most of the people I know today don’t. I remember the play. It is etched in my brain. I replay it in my mind sometimes. I have it recorded and it is there.

God Has a Book of Remembrance

Let’s take a look at what this is, shall we?

Malachi 3:16 ESV

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.

The word “then” implies something doesn’t it. Whenever you hear someone begin a story with the word then, you know that something happened before that lead to the then, right? That is what is happening here. We are mid chapter and mid book, a lot has gone on and while we are not going to review all of it, let’s at least make a few bullet points.

Who Is Malachi?

First, Malachi is the last of the prophets. Of the Old Testament. He was around in the 400’s BC about 100 years after Cyrus let the Israelites go back to Judea. The temple is rebuilt. House have ben reconstructed and the wall was built. But life wasn’t easy. The Israelites did not govern themselves, and wouldn’t, at least not really for approximately 2000 more years.

Malachi, in this text, rebukes the priests for not doing their job correctly. He points out poor moral and spiritual lifestyles and possibly most important he speaks of a coming messenger that will announce the messiah. That would be John who announces Jesus.

Specifically, our then in out small passage today refers to verses 6 through 15. If you have your Bible’s open to Malachi 3 you might see a sub heading right before verse 6 that says “Robbing God” This passage tells the reader that God doesn’t change and and the reason Israel hasn’t been destroyed, is because God is faithful in his promise, even though they are not. He calls them to return to him and to stop robbing him. They ask how do they return? By giving back to God a portion of what he has given them. And this is a time where God even says test me in this.

Malachi 3:10 ESV

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

This is not a promise of monetary blessing, lest you think that if you put a twenty in the plate when it goes by, then God will make sure you get 200. No, the promise is that he will pour down blessings from heaven upon you. I’m sure that i’s different for every person, but it is something I encourage every believer to do. Give and you will be blessed. ANd probably not in the way you expect.

So, now we have a little context to get into out 3 verses. Israel is not doing what they are supposed to be doing, but a few are.

Malachi 3:16 (ESV)

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.

So we have people who feared the Lord. Remember that when we use the word fear here, it’s not “I’m afraid in terror” it is a term of respect. It could also be worded Then those who respected the LORD… We need not fear the LORD in terror if we know him as our Savior. But we can fear him or respect him as our savior. So the people who respected God got together and chatted. They had a conversation about something, probably everything that was going on before the the “THEN.”

Malachi 3:16 (ESV)

The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.

We hear a Book God wrote and we might immediately think of the Book of Life. That book was written according to Revelation 13 before the beginning of time and has the names of those who will be in heaven. If your name is in it: Heaven. If your name isn’t: hell.

Here though we are talking about the Book of Remembrance, a very different Book and very likely not a “BOOK” at all. It is much more likely a metaphor for God’s omniscient recall.

I remember that baseball play as if it were yesterday. But, it has also been more that 30 years since that day. I might have, in 30 years forgotten a detail and filled it in with something else. I may have exaggerated one point and missed another. But if I gave you the bullet points: I once did a triple play in little league and my hand hurt afterward, it wouldn’t be that exciting of a story.

And humans do that sort of thing. Even the most honest of people, we do not have a perfect memory, so we fill in the gaps as best we can. And if we are truly honest, we do our very best to fill those gaps as honestly as we can.

God however, does not need to fill in the gaps. He remembers everything perfectly. His whole being is a Book of Remembrance. And what is he remembering? His people who love him.

Malachi 3:17 ESV

“They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

This is one of those verses in the Old Testament that should point us straight to Jesus. They shall be mine … My treasured possession.” Where else do we see people illustration that way?

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are his treasure, his workmanship. We are HIS. We belong to him. And what did he do for us?

Malachi 3:18 ESV

Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

Put all this together and you get the gospel, believe it or not. Here we have people who have given themselves to the Lord. And when they did that God said he would remember them, spare them and call them righteous.

How will he do that?

The people constantly turn away, they do evil. They are never good enough. But these people, here in this text respect God. They don’t obey out of terror, they obey knowing full well that only he can save them.

So what does God do? The book of Malachi and the Old Testament ends with chapter 4 and only 6 verses. He promises that in the future that the ones that do not belong to him will be held accountable. But the promise for the righteous. Not righteous because of what they did, but of what God did for them> The righteous

Malachi 4:2–3 ESV

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

A few hundred years after this was written a little baby was born in the little town of Bethlehem. His name was Jesus and he came to declare those who knew him as righteous. He came to put a stamp on his treasure. To declare what is his treasured possession.

God does not forget anything.

He knows the child where each and every one of these boxes is going to. We opened the lid today and focused on one item in the box. We prayed that one item would go to the child who will need it most. To be a treasure for them. And to hopefully show them that they too are a treasure to God.

Are You Bold?

We live in a world where it is not popular to follow Jesus. Some countries have even made it illegal. Who will boldly step forward and say, I have Jesus? Who will say Jesus remembers me? Who will say that no matter what happens, I will have Victory in Jesus? I don’t know where you stand on all those questions, but I do know one thing. After we pray, we will all stand and declare Victory in Jesus.

Let’s Pray