Before it's too late

Introduction

Southwest airlines commercial?

There are those times when you don’t want to be where you at.

See crazy stuff as a substitute teacher

kid crawled out a window

lit a fire in a desk

girls who had set up a beauty studio

But the worst is when a kid tells me off, sent to the principle and then they come back

Good people

Proverbs 24:24–25 HCSB

Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent” — people will curse him, and tribes will denounce him; but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and a generous blessing will come to them.

Justice demands wrongs get punished

But president’s get away with crimes, world leaders can order innocents murdered, there are rich people who do not live right lives, even church leaders who commit horrible sins against children and take part in corruption

Where is God when there is all this injustice?

what are some specific injustices in the world that really bothers you?

Injustice isn’t a new problem. Even people 2300 years ago wondered why the bad got away with stuff.

Malachi 2:17 HCSB

You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and He is pleased with them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

Malachi 3:17 HCSB

“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.

God responds to the

I have already shared with you that people in the days of Malachi were giving horrible offerings to the Lord, their sacrifices were of wounded animals, left over stuff,

God’s silence

What they were offering God didn’t matter because they didn’t believe God did anything about it.

I hear the same belief today, I heard on the radio a judge proclaim recently when something that was once immoral was claimed as moral well we have learned that the world won’t end. so we can do it.

People gave up on God. Like an employee who keeps behaving badly daring their boss to fire them. One day, they will be shocked because they got fired.

God’s patience should not be mistaken as injustice

How fast should God be to punish you for your sins?

People can quit when they don't think they will get caught and God knows it

I was told this week that as a church we should be helping people grow, which means dealing with people’s wrongs and helping them learn. We should give them opportunities to change, to try again and demonstrate they are different.

In the Bible it is called repentance. to have remorse and ask for forgiveness, to learn from God what is right to do, and then to do it. This is repentance.

This doesn’t sway God

And this is why God is patient.

2 Peter 3:8 HCSB

Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

2 Peter 3:8–9 HCSB

Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

God is patient. Good! Because his judgement is coming.

At the time of Malachi God had not come as a person yet, Jesus had not yet come. In fact Jesus would be over 300 years off so the understanding of who God is to the world came through the Jewish people. And they mistook his patience for not caring about right and wrong.

Here in Malachi, God once again says I am coming

Malachi 3:1 HCSB

“See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts.

Isn’t that awesome, God said He is coming.

These people were telling each other God doesn’t care about evil. So they were cool about God coming!

But my kids just experienced finals, they knew when the end was coming and no matter how much we told

How would you feel if Jesus came back today? If today was the end of all

Ever think your boss doesn’t care about whether something gets done and then you don’t do it. Then the boss finds out your not doing it and wow you learn how much they care about it?

Right here in Malachi, the prophet messenger alerts those who were saying God was showing up and was ok with evil that he was never ok with evil .

Malachi 3:2–3 HCSB

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who will be able to stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire and like cleansing lye. He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.

Malachi 3:2-

The way to make pure metal is to heat it up, metals melt at different temperatures so as the stuff that isn’t the metal goes away a metallurgist can see the purity of the gold or silver emerge because the other stuff is burnt off. It is great for getting pure gold or silver but not great if your the impurity.

IN the days of

The whole purpose of this refining was to make right the offerings to the Lord.

This prophecy has been fulfilled.

Jesus did it. He was the perfect sacrifice .

This prophecy says that God will come through so that the sacrifices are pure like Gold and silver and in the Bible we learn that is exactly what was accomplished.

When God comes, His life

Hebrews 3:10–17 HCSB

for 40 years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore in My anger, “They will not enter My rest.” Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start. As it is said: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. For who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it really all who came out of Egypt under Moses? And who was He provoked with for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

Hebrews 10:10–17 The Message

God’s way—by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this: This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time “I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts.” He concludes, I’ll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.

Heb 3:10

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice as he did for our sins.

The revealing of the perfect sacrifice.

God fulfilled exactly what He said he would do 300 years before He did it.

God will fulfill all his promises in His time.

You and I, if we have a Bible we flip from one page in Malachi and then begin Matthew and get this idea that God fulfills his promises quickly. But God is patient and it was more than 300 years between this prophecy and its fulfillment

300 years ago was 1719 before the United States was formed. Benjamin Franklin was 14. The Authorized King James Version, the King James Bible form that you read was even printed yet.

300 years is long, but God follows through

Ever planned a trip for DIsneyland?

We did and we didn’t tell our kids.

Because we planned it 6 months before we went. for me it was just 6 paychecks to get ready. To my six year old that was 1/12 of his life.

Today Justin begins serving as our interim youth leader while Jennifer Berni is still a licensed pastor but ends almost 10 years of youth ministry. I look at it and thing didn’t she just start?

As children we are told to study for the test because its coming and then we find the results. As teenagers we are told to watch our grades because their will be consequences. and then many days of choices between video games and studying until the consequences arrive. When I was in my 20’s my overweight friend told me, when you hit 40 you’ll have diabetes if you keep going like this. I’m 44 the consequence arrived. I changed, and I don’t. We are warned to quit smoking and then in the future the consequences come.

Future becomes the present and the past decisions become the consequences of today.

We cannot deny it. There are people who wait and wait and wait until the consequence is here

This is true for our spiritual decisions as well. What we do in this life, How we treat others, How we treat God will have consequences.

What consequences have you avoided now because you listened to people in the past?

God told the people in Malachi’s day and it still applies today this promise

Malachi 3:5 HCSB

“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

Sorcery in this context means those who use religion to meet their own needs. Ones who expect to be able to who expect to get a job by writing it done. Get love by having the right rock or even get away with something by saying a prayer. God desires a relationship not to be used.

מְכַשְּׁפִים֙

Adultery is sexual immorality, and God continues with more offenses against other people lying to others, oppressing the poor, oppressing the worker, and oppressing the immigrant. Yes God very much loves those who are society cares nothing about. His prophecies are condemnation not of the poor for being without skills, or responsibility but against the way those with resources are treating the poor.

If you find yourself being beat up in this life because you have less, do know that God’s justice is coming and those who are wronging you will be punished.

Let that give you help as you continue to grow and lean on the Lord. Know that God is close to you and live like it.

Faith means living like the consequence is now

If you do what your boss wants when she isn’t looking then when she is, you have no problems and might be celebrated.

If you practice when the coach isn’t around, you are more likely to win

If you obey your parents all the time, then you don’t need to care about punishment.

But if you think they are lying or you know they can’t know everything, you will attempt to think their is no justice.

God is just and extremely patient. But when he arrives, poor or rich, no matter what race or gender. Judgement will be for us all.

But God is just and extremely patient.

2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 CEV

It is only right for God to punish everyone who is causing you trouble, but he will give you relief from your troubles. He will do the same for us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with his powerful angels and with a flaming fire. Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn’t know God and won’t obey his message. Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed what we said.

There will be a future judgement

The continued judgement

Revelation 20:11–15 The Message

I saw a Great White Throne and the One Enthroned. Nothing could stand before or against the Presence, nothing in Heaven, nothing on earth. And then I saw all the dead, great and small, standing there—before the Throne! And books were opened. Then another book was opened: the Book of Life. The dead were judged by what was written in the books, by the way they had lived. Sea released its dead, Death and Hell turned in their dead. Each man and woman was judged by the way he or she had lived. Then Death and Hell were hurled into Lake Fire. This is the second death—Lake Fire. Anyone whose name was not found inscribed in the Book of Life was hurled into Lake Fire.

Present

I am sometimes asked if I believe once saved, always saved. And the answer is yes, of course. Those who are saved by Jesus Christ, who accept Him as their lord and savior can never be lost.

To Come

Luke 10:20 HCSB

However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Just as no good you can do can make you right with God. God made you right. Then No sin is strong enough to pull you out of the hands of God.

But my friends ask me, what about the person who does this or does that.

In the days of Malachi everyone felt God didn’t care about justice. Today we see no more priests giving sacrifices

My response is, “you do know people lie don’t you?”

I have baptized people who will not enter into heaven.

I am only human. I don’t know everything and people lie. Even Jesus said at the judgement their will be people who say they know Jesus because of miracles they have done.

But those who Jesus knows are those who follow Him.

Matthew 7:21–23 The Message

“Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance—isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.’

If people lie, how do you know if you’re saved, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you are a Christian?

Those who Jesus knows are those who obey Him.

What are you going to do?

Malachi 3:5 The Message

“Yes, I’m on my way to visit you with Judgment. I’ll present compelling evidence against sorcerers, adulterers, liars, those who exploit workers, those who take advantage of widows and orphans, those who are inhospitable to the homeless—anyone and everyone who doesn’t honor me.” A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Mal 3:

In the days of Malachi everyone felt God didn’t care about justice. Today we see no more priests giving sacrifices

Jesus says when he is coming back, it will all be over and their will be a judgement?

God’s length of time can compare to How long kids think an event is when we tell them it is a month away. It

Do you believe that? Say what you want but your life will reveal what you believe and there will be consequences.

Do you need to repent today?