Two Choices with a Promise
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Introduction:
We all have choices in life.
Two roads - Robert Frost
Speaks of a traveler in the woods that comes to a fork
He cannot take both roads and so he must make a choice
He thinks that he may return one day to travel the other road, but realizes how unlikely that will be
The path he took has made all the difference.
Two choices for Israel.
Continue to abandon the Lord
Renew their commitment to God
These two choices are essentially the same choices every generation has to make. Our generation is in dire straits. There are troubled waters around us and if the ship is not righted, soon we may sink. Already we are seeing the ramifications of a culture in rebellion against God.
We have children that are being transitioned because they show any sign of being a tomboy or a sensitive boy, only later for the child to be horrified at what their parents have done to mutilate their body in the name of progressive ideologies.
We have and increase of sexually transmitted diseases because of unchaste lifestyles.
We have a growing problem with violence and crime directly linked to the breakdown of the family and fatherless homes. We cannot even go to a high school sports event without having shootings and crime.
In our city alone over the past four weeks we have had at least three different shootings.
I was reminiscing with my wife last night how when I was a kid I used to ride my bike around the neighborhood and stop in and visit with several of the older couples and my parents had no idea or even had to worry about me because everyone in the neighborhood looked out for each other. I couldn’t hardly imagine that today.
I say all of this to say that we have a choice to make. What path will we take. The path of the world, the path of man’s wisdom, does not lead to a better life. It does not lead to a better society. It doesn’t “progress” at all, and if anything we de-evolve into an animalistic culture - only the animals are often better behaved than we are!
But there is another path. The path of repentance. The path of following God’s plan and God’s way. This path requires us to humble ourselves and confess our sins to God. It requires that we have faith and trust in His wisdom - that He has structured rules that allow us to really become all that we can be and have the best culture possible. We must come to that path, as Bunyan said in Pilgrim’s Progress, through the wicket gate. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14,
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Today, let’s look a little closer at those two paths and the promise that is associated with them.
Read Mal. 3:13-18
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ”
16 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.
17 “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.
18 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.
Pray.
Remember the time period that this Book was written in. It was after the exile and after the people had been punished by God for their unfaithfulness and after they had been graciously returned to the land.
The list of Israel’s sins were that they were:
Bringing poor sacrifices and offering their leftovers to the Lord
The priests were not faithfully serving God
The people were not faithfully keeping their commitments, especially in the area of their marriage vows and raising their children to love the Lord and follow His commandments
They were claiming that God didn’t care about justice or righteousness and some were even saying that God did not exist at all because He hadn’t judged people for their sins yet
They looked more to a political deliverer than a spiritual Savior
In response to these rebukes by the Lord’s prophet, the people gave one of two responses. Today, as God’s Word is preached, there will be one of two responses here. Some of you will scoff at the Word of the Lord and some of you will be cut to the heart and repent.
First Response: The Scoffer (3:13-15)
First Response: The Scoffer (3:13-15)
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ”
Second Response: The Repentant (3:16-18)
Second Response: The Repentant (3:16-18)
16 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.
17 “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.
18 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.
The Promise (4:1-5)
The Promise (4:1-5)
A Day of Judgment for the Wicked (4:1)
A Day of Judgment for the Wicked (4:1)
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
A Day of Blessing for the Righteous (4:2-6)
A Day of Blessing for the Righteous (4:2-6)
2 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.
3 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.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
6 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.”
Conclusion:
Today, you and I have a choice to make. We know what God has promised. Unlike the traveler in Robert Frost’s poem, we can look down each path and see what lies at the end of each road. God has told us. The only question is, will you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent, placing your faith in His work on the cross to save you from your sins, or will you reject His offer of grace and enter into the judgment that your sins and mine deserve?
Today in just a moment, we will be celebrating a memorial service called the Lord’s Supper to commemorate what Jesus has done for us by giving His life for us. We will celebrate the body that was broken for us and the blood that was shed to cleanse us of our sins. My prayer is that during this time of invitation you will get right with the Lord. Confess your sins to the Lord. Ask for His mercy and grace.
Let’s pray together.
Have deacons make their way down to the front.