Let God Have It

Easy to be Angry

I find it a little too easy to get angry.

The situation we’re in. What we have to do to be safe.

What others may or may not be doing, too.

And, there are contradictions.

It wouldn’t be unusual to be a little depressed.

Social distancing. No contact w/ friends.

Less exercise. More eating. Less sleeping. More sitting. Re-runs on TV.

Less money. Salary, or nest egg.

The fear of what might be lurking right outside your door?

Fear of the unknown, being out of control, what the future may hold.

The mixed messages from different states is troubling.

Who is responsible for all this? What should our reactions be?

Is there a unified message for how we should all respond?

One state is encouraging its citizens to turn each other in.

How do you feel about those who won’t distance themselves from other germ carriers?

And, how do you feel about tattle-tails?

Are our decision-makers making the right decisions?

The lockdown is too tight.

Or, it’s too early to open up.

What protest are you joining?

This isn’t fair! Some are paying a much bigger price.

But, which is bigger?

The human cost in the disease or the financial cost of the flattened economy?

So much of this is beyond us. Out of our control.

I may feel like it’s okay to go out to eat but if the restaurants are forced t/b closed there’s nothing I can do.

I may feel like we need to stay closed but if the gov’t opens things up and ppl head out there is nothing I can do about it besides stay home myself.

Will there be a second wave?

Until we have wide-spread testing and effective treatment, how open should we be?

SIL is a family practice doc in Tucson. She’s had 8 test kits total. If you can’t test everybody why test anybody?

What I’m hearing locally is we still don’t have enough test kits. More are on the way but the priority will be first responders and frontline medical personnel.

Appropriately

The pharmaceutical companies can only work so fast.

Some of it is science, some of it is politics.

Who’s got this under control?

Where are we placing our faith?

Are our faith and hope dependent on testing, treatment, and a vaccine?

Pharmaceuticals, doctors, nurses, and scientists?

They are doing the best they can.

I was working on this Wednesday and got the notification that Thursday was supposed t/b my annual golf trip.

That popped up and I felt some disappointment and a little anger.

I’m not going to see those guys for another year, if then.

I miss baseball games. Football in the fall is in question.

Sara and I have plans for a trip to Israel in the fall. We got word that our flight from Dallas to Tel Aviv was canceled.

There’s another flight on United.

Israel is closed now, will they open? Should we still go?

Quarantine for 2 weeks after we get back?

How much has been taken away from me? Us?

Who is responsible for all this? Somebody needs to pay for this.

It’s not just the little tings.

There are some big consequences and ramifications for this virus in our world.

China. Maybe we should be mad at China! Everybody get even!

Maybe we should be mad at God. He’s the one who let China be so powerful and influential.

If God is in control and only allows the ppl He wants to be in influential positions, why does he continue to allow such a godless nation to have such sway in the world?

And, he lets our neighbors decide what they are going to do.

Maybe we need to let God have it!

Tell Him off! Let Him know what you think about having to suffer and make sacrifices that we don’t like.

Or, tell everyone around you, whoever will listen, that the situation seems hopeless and those responsible are getting away w/ it.

God doesn’t seem to care.

Whether you tell God directly or not, He hears what you’re saying.

Or, rather, maybe we need to let God have it by giving Him our anger and frustration and trusting that He will make everything right in the end.

He will do the right things to the right ppl at the right time.

You and me. The president and the Chinese.

Let’s tell everyone who will listen this message.

That way we can relax and deal w/ our own stuff b/c God’s got everyone else’s stuff taken care of.

And, of course, God will help you w/ your stuff, too.

Let’s let God have it. Don’t weary Him with our words that seem to indicate we don’t think He can handle this. Let Him have all your anger and frustration trusting Him to make everything right in the end.

Faith. Hope.

That all the big things and the little things will all work out.

We’re in Malachi, it’s the 4th question the ppl had for God.

Here’s the problem. This is the problem the ppl had w/ God and the problem God had w/ the pp.

The Problem

Malachi 2:17 NIV

You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”

God never changes. He has always been the same. He has kept every promise He has ever made.

B/C God is stable, our faith should be stable. Even in changing times w/ old and new threats, God hasn’t changed.

Circumstances change.

The ppl were nagging and complaining as if God wasn’t doing what they expected. Their circumstances were changing, and getting worse.

Who’s responsible for the negative move?

And, their complaining was wearying God. Saying they bel’d it should be better for them. They deserved better.

Irony here. God never gets weary.

But their words which indicated they didn’t believe God cared enough or could handle the situation wearyed Him.

The Question;

How have we wearied God?

2 ways. You claim God must believe ppl who do evil are good. Because, second, there doesn’t seem t/b any justice in the world.

No faith that God would make things right and no hope for their future.

The one thing that will weary God is ppl who should know better who don’t have the faith or the hope that God can handle the situation.

He has done so much to prove He is reliable throughout history and blessed Israel beyond measure.

Yet, then, they though God dropped the ball.

For anyone to believe that there is a promise God has made that He is not keeping is disrespectful and insulting.

It seemed to them God did not take justice seriously as ungodly ppl were so prosperous.

They questioned any reason for hope in a future kingdom.

Lack of hope. Lack of faith.

They were caught up thinking this life was meant to be better. And, if the wicked were winning then God must have changed His mind about justice.

It was their ‘new normal’.

We don’t want to think this is our new normal. We want to believe that it’s only temporary. Even if temporary means a year.

They fell into believing that the kingdom God had promised was then. And, it was not going well for them.

If that was heaven and it wasn’t going well then God wasn’t performing.

But, this isn’t heaven. This isn’t the kingdom.

It can seem like ungodly ppl, ungodly nations are winning.

Good and bad seem to be mixed up.

Isaiah 5:20–21 NIV

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

Isaiah wrote before the exile. Malachi wrote after the exile. And, we see some of the same today.

In each case the people who redefined good and evil, who believed they were wise when they weren’t, were headed for trouble.

God wasn’t doing anything at the time to rein godless people. Would he ever?

There didn’t seem t/b any negative consequences for those who release a deadly virus on the world. Will there ever be?

They lived as if there would be no consequence for bad behavior. No justice.

Is this our new normal? Is this the way it’s going to be, forever?

Just wait. In God’s timing, in God’s way.

Promise.

The Promise

Malachi 3:1–5 NIV

“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Malachi was looking forward, we look back.

There will be a messenger who will precede the Messiah.

Isaiah 40:3 NIV

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

God will send a messenger to prepare the way and introduce the Messiah, the Lord, who will also be the Judge.

This statement drips w/ a little sarcasm.

“the Lord you seek” They didn’t really believe He was ever coming and that God had changed His mind and didn’t mean it. No justice, ever.

They really weren’t seeking him or desiring.

They didn’t believe in Malachi’s day. And Jesus didn’t come for another 400 years.

So, when He did come, they weren’t expecting Him like that.

He came on a donkey to die. None of that made sense unless they remembered what the prophets wrote.

This series, the Last 3 Prophets, gives background to understand why Easter happened the way it did.

They weren’t ready for the Messiah. So, when He came, they didn’t recognize Him. So they killed Him.

Malachi used the name, “Adonai”.

Last summer we studied the names of God and Adonai was one of them.

Adonai means, Lord. Master. Owner. God, as Adonai, owns us.

He gives us what we need. He provides, protects, guides, maximizes our potential, and sees that the damage we cause gets paid for.

He is responsible for us. This is what parents do for their children. Or, masters for their slaves.

Adonai fulfills ownership responsibilities before He claims ownership rights.

Israel wanted a Judge to come and do what they would tell Him to do to make others pay for the pain they caused them.

But, they are going to get a Lord. Master. Owner. Not someone they can tell what to do. But, someone who will tell them what to do for their own good.

When John the baptist introduced Jesus it was an unpopular message. One they did not want to hear.

It appealed to them on a superficial level. But, once the deeper implications were understood they rejected Him.

They weren’t ready for the Lord.

Another thing they weren’t expecting when the Messiah arrived was that He would deal w/ them.

They expected Him to deal with the other Nations who oppress them. But, here, Malachi says He will deal w/ Israel for their lack of faith.

He came the first time to introduce Himself as the Messiah who would die and pay for the impurities that pollute us.

He’s going to come the second time to clean us up.

None of the wicked will be able to stand up to Him. He will purify everyone.

There is no mention of other nations here. Israelis will be shocked to find out they are among the wicked.

Jesus is a refiner’s fire. To clean up and out silver and gold it is heated to extreme temperatures and the impurities burn up.

Do you know when silver is pure?

When you can see your image in it.

How do you know when you have been made pure by your Lord?

You can see His image in you.

Jesus is the only one who can do this. He took the responsibility on Himself to pay for our impurities. He did this before He ever claimed the right to tell us what to do.

He specializes in stain removal. The stains that are caused when the greasy drippings of our sins fall on our souls.

He is the launderer’s soap that removes the toughest stains.

Once refined and cleaned up, our offerings are acceptable again because they are given with our whole heart.

Those corrupters that occupy part of our heart have been removed leaving all of it for Jesus.

This is not an exhaustive list but these are the kinds of things that stain us that Jesus will remove.

Sorcery. Having idols. Looking to other places, ppl and things to do what only God can do.

looking to pharmaceuticals, doctors, scientists for peace.

Adultery. Jesus returned to bar to its rightful place. Thinking about being intimate w/ anyone you’re not married to. Seeking happiness, not holiness. The false notion of long-term gratification from a short-term relationship.

Perjury. Lying to get ahead and take someone else down. As if there is not enough to go around, say whatever you need to say to get yours.

Taking care of the labor force. All of these can be seen as a problem now when we are facing this virus threat. Especially this on and the next.

Workers need to be taken care of not taken advantage of.

God will make things right w/ Employers to make their employee’s lives miserable.

Caring for widows, orphans, and immigrants. The epitome of grace. If we don’t take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, especially, when our economy is in the shape it’s in right now, God will make things right w/ them and us.

They cannot repay what we may do for them. Just like we cannot repay Jesus for what He has done for ur.

He came the first time to save us.

He’ll come the 2nd time to judge us.

They waited a long time for Him to come the first time. So long so many didn’t believe it would happen. It was over 2000 years from when Abraham first rec’d the promise to when it was fulfilled when Jesus rode into town on the donkey.

It’s been almost 2000 years since then and we haven’t seen His return, yet.

They weren’t ready for Him the first time.

Will we be ready for Him the second time?

Applications

Ready?

They weren’t ready for Jesus to come the first time.

Are you ready for Him to come the second time.

Believe He came the first time to save you.

Accept the gift of His payment for your impurities.

Look forward to when He comes again to give you your eternal assignment.

Be ready. It could happen at any time.

Vengeance

Holding a grudge will kill you. It won’t hurt the person you’re holding it against.

We all have an innate sense of fairness. And, if someone does something wrong to hurt us we feel like there needs to be a corresponding action to make it right.

Let God handle it.

He’ll do it the right way, the right time, and in the right amount.

Let everything else go. Forgive and let God have it.

Hope

Don’t lose hope. It’s been a long time. It may be a long time, yet.

Just b/c Jesus hasn’t returned by now does not mean He isn’t coming at all.

Keep you faith strong.

The light is burning at the end of the tunnel. Hope.

He will return to make everything right.

Let’s let God have it. Don’t weary Him with our words that seem to indicate we don’t think He can handle this. Let Him have all your anger and frustration trusting Him to make everything right in the end.

Faith. Hope.

That all the big things and the little things will all work out.