Love That Restores
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
One of the most comforting & encouraging scriptures in all of God’s Word can be found in the Book of Romans Chapter 5.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Valentine’s Day. Today, for many, there will be exchanges of cards, candy, flowers, gifts, & other efforts to profess one’s love to another. You can believe that florists, jewelers, & other retail stores love this day because it is a big spending day. According to the marketing analysis of Fortunly, more than 1 3 5 Million Americans went shopping for Valentine’s Day in 2019. That same year United States citizens spent approximately 20 . 7 Billion Dollars on Valentine’s Day. But where did this holiday emerge from?
Approximately 300 years after the Death of Jesus, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great stopped the ban of Christianity. This stopped the persistent persecution of Jesus’ Followers by Rome. Not only did this provide a way for people to worship & share the Gospel freely, but now non Christians were influenced by those in government to become proselytes.
However, when these non Christians began to worship Christ they did not entirely give up all of their pagan practices and observances. The Catholic Church, in an effort to merge a pagan feast with their religious beliefs, chose the day to recognize martyrs.
Now, this morning I am not here to debate if as a Follower of Jesus you should buy your wife or girl friend flowers, or your husband or boyfriend a card. However, what I do want to pass along to you is the fact that the very human idea of love has been manipulated throughout time. If you do the math on the figures I gave you a little bit ago then that means the average person, at least the 135 Million Americans that were recorded, spend approximately $ 153. Is spending money really the way to show love?
If you have your Bibles I will ask that you scroll or turn with me to the Book of Malachi. We will begin reading the 1st verse in the 1st Chapter of Malachi.
Before reading His Word Let’s ask God to speak to our hearts this morning church.
1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2 I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: Yet I loved Jacob, 3 And I hated Esau, And laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. 4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; And they shall call them, The border of wickedness, And, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. 5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.
In our text this morning we see a very common story. In defiance under the covenant of Levi the priests were bringing shame to God. Israel was to be a kingdom for priests and a Holy Nation. The priests were entrusted with bringing God’s Word to His people. However, in the time of Malachi, they had become apathetic toward offerings, their worship was fruitless, and their service was impassive at best.
But Malachi brought forth a message for them to stop this hollow worship and end the charade of offerings for appearance only. God is encouraging the people to be faithful. He starts doing this in our text this morning by expressing His love for them. We will spend a few minutes looking at God’s declaration of love this morning.
The title of the message this morning is, “Love that Restores”.
1.) Who Loves You
1.) Who Loves You
2 I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: Yet I loved Jacob,
The 1st thing Malachi tells you about love is, who loves you. In verse 2 it says it is the Lord that loves you. However, if you look what Lord means it can be used interchangeably with master. According to Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, Lord means someone who significant authority over others. However, if you look at the Hebrew here in this text you will see that it is a euphemism Adonai. Really meaning the name of the one true God, Yahweh.
The one true God loves you. It is important to be specific and informed on who it is that loves you. We live in a society where pluralism has begun to dominate the thought processes of many people when it comes to deity. I spoke to a gentleman about 2 weeks ago who said that he grew up as a child of a member of our armed forces. He moved all of the world and experienced several countries and their cultures. He shared with me that he had see so many quote unquote people of faith that it was difficult for him to say only one can be correct.
This idea of all roads lead to Heaven is nothing but another obstructive tactic of Satan to derail and discourage knowing & following the one true God. In fact when you ask some Christians about the idea of multiple faiths allowing you to live in eternal peace some will tell you that they believe that all of us are worshipping the same God.
Yet there is a growing sentiment amongst our culture that denies His existence and has no relationship with Jesus. I did a poll the other day on Twitter, by no means was it scientific, but the question I asked; How is your relationship with Jesus. There were four options available which were: constantly growing, stagnant, not what it used to be, or non existent. Over 60 % said their relationship with Jesus was non existent. Folks, it is time you recognize & I recognize the God who loves us. If you can not grasp this yourself how can you ever live as if the 1 true living God loves you? If you are not living like God loves you then how can you ever effectively show the love of Jesus to others. You do not have to be a Pastor, Preacher, or Teacher but everyone is called to be a reacher. Reaching to the people who are around you & declaring the truth of God’s Word & love.
You do not have to understand the inner workings of God, because no one knows that. You do not have to memorize every scripture. You do not have to be the most eloquent speaker. You do not have to gifted with the ability to preach or teach. All you have to do is understand that God loves you & those who are around you. Anything past that is virtually unfathomable.
One early Church writer when discussing the complexity of God wrote this:
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Early Church The Incomprehensibility of God
No one has yet breathed the whole air, nor has any mind entirely comprehended, or speech exhaustively contained, the being of God. But we sketch Him by His attributes, and so obtain a certain faint and feeble and partial idea concerning Him. Our best theologian is he who has not, indeed, discovered the whole, for our present chain does not allow of our seeing the whole, but conceived of Him to a greater extent than another, and gathered in himself more of the likeness or sketch of the truth, or whatever we may call it.
A lot of people who Follow Jesus Christ say God Loves Me, or says I know God so loved the World He sent Jesus to save mankind. But it never leaves our mind and penetrates our heart. If all I ever did was say I loved my wife but I never did a single thing to show that love would she believe it? Likely not. Yet that is what most Christians do. They say that God loves them in theory yet still feel as if His actions don’t show it. They feel as if God really loved them He would instantaneously take away pain & hardship and give immediate relief. Odds are several of you this morning feel this way. You say & may even think God loves you yet still have some doubt.
2.) How He Loves You
2.) How He Loves You
2 I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: Yet I loved Jacob, 3 And I hated Esau, And laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
When God communicates His love what is the reply back from the people? How have you loved us? The 2nd thing we can see about God’s love in Malachi is How He Loves You.
When I was in 7th Grade I can remember I had this friend named Jim. Him, his Dad, & another friend had planned this trip to Disney World. Well the friend backed out and he had asked me if I wanted to go. So that day I rushed home after I got off the bus to talk to my Dad & Mom about the possibility of going to Disney World. Jim had given me his Dad’s contact information so my parents could reach out and they could coordinate the trip. I was so excited. Well after very little deliberation my parents told me I could not go.
When they told me know I was crushed. It was unexplainable to me why decided to say no. Though they did not have to they even attempted to share their logic behind the decision with me but I would not have it. Now that I am older I understand there was a financial commitment. Plus they knew almost nothing about Jim’s Dad and they did not trust him to take their son several states away. All which made sense. But to me, I just did not understand & felt as if they were blocking my happiness. Did they not love me enough to let me go. Of course my parents loved me. In fact their reasoning was a form of showing love because they cared for my safety.
As a Follower of Jesus Christ we act like this sometimes with God. The truth of the matter is this, sometimes God demonstrates His love in forms we flat out don’t understand or like. But understand this, if you have surrendered your life to Jesus, His love is focused on you & despite the fact that it may feel at times God doesn’t love you His reasoning is always right.
When the Children of Israel questioned how God loved them look at His reply. Esau is Jacob’s brother yet I loved Jacob but hated Esau. Jacob & Esau were brothers where Esau was born first. Naturally you would assume that God would love the first born yet He showed favor to Jacob. Jacob is representative of Israel. God chose the 2nd born son for the nation of Israel to come from. Jacob found favor with God. God is telling Israel that He chose them from the start when He could have chose otherwise.
What that means is that you are considered a part of God’s people when you put your faith and reliance upon Jesus Christ. God’s love is now directed toward you specifically. The acts of the the sacrificial death at the cross, the burial in the tomb, & Resurrection of Jesus are 3 major acts you can point to when you are looking for how God loves you.
His love is not generic or misplaced. It is not temporary nor fleeting. God’s love is not happenstance or accident. God’s love is plentiful & not withholding from His people, the Church, the Bride of Christ.
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
God’s love is eternal:
3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
God’s love is a covenant love:
9 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
God’s love is copious love:
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
God’s love is Holy & just:
5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
In those times when life is tough. When you have had a rough day. When the doctors report was not as good as you thought it would be. When the IRS says you owe money when you were expecting a return. When some you love offends or hurts you. When someone lets you down. When you are depressed. When you feel like you just can’t go on. Remember that God loves you enough to give you another day. Another day to receive a blessing. Another day to make a difference. Another day to right a wrong. Another day to live. There are plenty of people that did not get that opportunity today.
3.) Why Does He Love You
3.) Why Does He Love You
4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; And they shall call them, The border of wickedness, And, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. 5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.
The 3rd thing we can see about God’s love in Malachi is why He loves you. I don’t know about you, but I know myself well enough to know I am undeserving of favor with God. Yet He still loves me & He still loves you.
He does this so He can be magnified and so that you can glorify Him. Think of one blessing right now in your life. It does not have to be a blessing presently but something good that has happened to you in the recent of distant pass. Something with spiritual or material benefit. Think of that one thing. Now where did that blessing originate from? If you are honest with yourself & you examine the chain of events which led you to that blessing do you know what or rather who is at the root of that blessing? It’s God. He loves you & blesses you so you can bring glory to Him.
How do you bring glory to Him? By recognizing the blessings and declaring they are from God. By loving Him despite the times that seem difficult. By proclaiming the truth of His word to build His kingdom. In verses 4 & 5 you see God’s judgment of Esau/Edom and his restoration of Israel are evidence of his love. God is still about restoration today. Restoration of a relationship with Him that is non-existent, stagnant, or not what it use to be.
Conclusion:
Jason Tuskes was a 17-year-old high school honor student. He was close to his mother, his wheelchair-bound father, and his younger brother. Jason was an expert swimmer who loved to scuba dive.
He left home on a Tuesday morning to explore a spring and underwater cave near his home in west central Florida. His plan was to be home in time to celebrate his mother’s birthday by going out to dinner with his family that night.
Jason became lost in the cave. Then, in his panic, he apparently got wedged into a narrow passageway. When he realized he was trapped, he shed his yellow metal air tank and unsheathed his diver’s knife. With the tank as a tablet and the knife as a pen, he wrote one last message to his family: I LOVE YOU MOM, DAD, AND CHRISTIAN. Then he ran out of air and drowned.
A dying message—something communicated in the last few seconds of life—is something we can’t ignore. God’s final words to us are etched on a Roman cross. They are blood red. They scream to be heard. They, too, say, “I love you.”
Praise Him for that love. Ask Him to reveal that love to you. Thank Him for showing you grace & mercy. Ask for Him to touch your heart & remind you of the love He has for you.
Let’s Pray.
Mangum, D. (Ed.). (2020). Lexham Context Commentary: Old Testament (Mal 1:1–5). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.