Latest revision as of 18:30, 13 July 2023

Theological Proposition/Focus: Right living stems from right hope

Homiletical Proposition/Application: There are so many things in which we might hope, we need to make sure we hope in God!

Introduction:

Image: Cheering against the Indianapolis Colts because of a friends false hope.

I need to apologize to any of you who are Colts fans. For decades I have cheered against the Colts. You see back in 97 and 98 there was a girl who started attending Youth Group and every year at the beginning of football season she would make some bold statement like "The Colts will win the Super Bowl this year!" Bear in mind that in 97 and 98 the colts only won 3 of their 16 games. I was so annoyed at her false hope that I vowed to cheer against the Colts. I just did not think It appropriate to put one's hope in the Colts.

Need: As we move forward and finish our project, let us always remember that our hope must be in God

Subject: Hope

Preview: When we talk about hope in God a common question arises, why do good things happen to bad people? Don't worry, there are answers to this question!

Text: Malachi 2:17-3:6

Setting the Stage:

In 539 BC Cyrus gave the decree allowing the Jews to return to Judah and begin rebuilding the temple.

In 520 BC Haggai entered the scene and called upon the Jews to resume building the temple after 16 years of stagnation.

The work on the temple was completed in 515 BC.

Life was not easy, Persia dominated the political scene, hearts were indifferent, even resentful to God, and the people's hope in God had waned.

Sometime between 450 BC and 430 BC a prophet, Malachi appeared on the scene.

In our first week in Malachi we learned that we need to make sure we are honoring God.

Last week we learned of our need to be faithful to God.

This week we will dig into God's justice using the theme Put Your Hope in God

Body (Read all of Malachi 2:17-3:6)

Common Question: Why do good things happen to bad people? (2:17)

Actually, I think that we probably don't care as much as we claim about good things happening to bad people. What we really care about is why great things have not happened to me! Really, we ask,

A Related Question: Why has God not acted on my behalf yet?

In fact, I kind of think this is the question that the people are asking in verse 17 they just frame it in a way that seems more righteous by asking for God's judgement on the wicked.

The failure of the people was a failure to see the big picture. God had blessed them abundantly.

He brought them out of Egypt.

He guided them through the wilderness.

He delivered them during the time of the judges

He prospered them in the united monarchy.

He patiently withheld judgement during the rebellion's of the divided kingdom.

Even in the judgement of exile God preserved a remnant.

God returned the people to the land.

So the Question the people were asking must have really been "What has God done for me lately?"

Anyone paying attention should have realized that God had been faithful in the past and so he would be faithful in the future.

The question actually betrays a deeper, more dangerous question. Is God really just?

This is a dangerous question because the answer is very simply, yes!

If you doubt God's justice then you have a wrong view of something.

Perhaps you don't know the whole story.

Perhaps you don't know the bigger picture.

Perhaps you don't know the true outcome.

Perhaps you have not been patient enough.

Perhaps you don't have the correct definition of justice.

It is okay to ask the question if you are willing to listen to the answer, it is not okay to ask the question in rebellion to God.

God is never the problem, we are always the problem!

Questions are okay, rebellion is not!

The term weary (יגע) can refer to being physically spent but that is not something that can happen to God.

Instead "The term, then, vividly conveys God’s patient and gracious endurance of their rebellious and insulting attitude toward him and that the time for his patience is almost over. ^[1]"

The description of God as weary is not a weakness, it is a statement that "you need to watch out! God is not going to put up with this.

Image: Mark 9:23-24 is one of my favorite passages

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

I cannot tell you the number of times that I have been forced to tell God "I believe you, I trust you, but I don't see how this will work out. Help me to trust you more."

MTR: Determine right now that when doubts arise you will face those doubts by crying out "“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

The Scary Answer: Because God has not chosen to judge them yet. (3:1-3:4)

The Jews were awaiting Messiah but Messiah had not arrived. In fact, the temple had been completed nearly 100 years earlier if Messiah was coming surely it would be now right? In fact, Messiah had not come and the people were becoming discouraged. What Malachi needed for them to realize was that

God's timeline is on a scale we cannot comprehend. (1)

We have the benefit of hindsight and so based on Matthew 11:7-10 we know that the messenger was John the Baptist.

We know the Messiah did come into the temple. The phrase "Messenger of the covenant" only occurs in Malachi but based on the passage we can be confident this is Jesus.

The Messiah defeated sin and the cross. These really marked the beginning of the end.

The people wanted to know why good things were happening to bad people and the answer was really simple. Because it is not time just yet. God operates on a grand timeline and while we have glimpses of the timeline, we really know very little. The task for the Jews here, and for us now is simply to patiently wait for God to take action.

God's actions are the actions of a refiner. (2-3)

Malachi paints a picture of a refiner's fire. God will judge the wicked, but he does so as a refiner.

Image: Refining Silver, cupellation

In the ancient world silver was refined through a process called cupellation. In cuppelation smelter would take lead bullion (silver is often found in lead deposits), heat the bullion in a shallow porous cup and allow the lead to oxidize. Once the lead oxidized the lead oxide could be heated until it vaporized. Ground up pottery and bone could be added to absorb the vaporized lead oxide and what remained was silver.

Image: How does Laundry soap work?

Surfactants are molecules designed so that one end of the molecule is hydrophobic and the other is hydrophilic.

What this means is that one end of the molecule is attracted to oils and grease while the other is attracted to water. When the molecule comes into contact with oil it attaches itself and then the other end attacked itself to water and is rinsed away.

What strikes me is that in both cases time and energy is spent to remove the bad from the desired, it is not an immediate process.

God's goal is acceptable worship. (4)

God had been worshipped properly in the past.

This is a sort of already not yet. Progressively, God is actually refining our ability to acceptably worship God.

Since Christ, we now worship God as those who possess Christ's righteousness.

=We look forward to worshipping God as those who are perfectively sanctified.

MTR: Pray and ask God for patience while also checking your own worship to make sure it is pure.

The Assuring Answer: God's children have no need to fear His judgement. (3:5-3:6)

God demands that people live according to a high moral standard and God will purge! (5a)

We need to understand that ultimately God will pass judgement on sin.

Seven sins describe those who who not properly fear God

Attempting to control the physical and/or physical world through incantations, charms, and rituals.

Witchcraft is a common problem in the Bible and is first mentioned in Exodus 7:11. God's judgement on sorcery was execution. Sorcery has no place in the life of one who has a proper reverence for God.

Failure to uphold one's marital covenant.

Adultery was a capital offense! We need to take this sin much more seriously!

Swearing to a lie.

God is truth, anything outside of truth is an offense to who God is.

Taking advantage of workers.

Oppressing widows.

Oppressing the fatherless.

Denying justice to those who are outside the usual bounds of culture.

The NIV states "deprive foreigners among you of justice." The idea here seems to me to be about denying justice to people outside of "your people."

We all actually know what this looks like, if someone wrongs your family or close friends you want justice, but if it happens to someone who is really not like you do you have the same zeal for justice? In our modern society certainly we should apply this to foreign nationals, but in the world we live in I think we need to recognize that citizens of our own country can actually be foreigners to "our people." We must not deny these individuals justice.

The real problem is not so much a laundry list of sins, but a failure to revere God. (5b)

We could sit here and develop a list of sins. We could add to the sins already listed here and go into all sorts of detail!

But when we focus on the sins, I think we may end up missing the mark. The real problem is a failure to revere, fear God. Not God phobia, but reverence.

Christians have a bad rap for being "legalistic." I think that sometimes we focus too much on a list of what we can and cannot do and don't focus enough on God. If we truly revered God I think we would find ourselves living a much better life.

Image: The solution to struggle with sin is not to think about sin!

You may be struggling with a particular area of sin, maybe an addiction. Alcohol, pornography, gossip, etc. The solution to the addiction is not to think and dwell on the addiction, the solution is to spend more time gazing at God.

Theology matters!

Now, we have talked a lot about sin, but I also want you to realize that even if you have sinned in these areas. Even if you are guilty, there is hope.

Those who have accepted Jesus as Savior have exchanged their unrighteousness of Christ's righteousness!

If you have accepted the payment of Christ on the cross for your sins then you are none of these, you are secure!

Let me restate this. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior then your past sins have been atoned for!

Those who are called by God can rest confident in His immutability. (6).

Yes, God is going to judge sin!

However, Jacob, a reference to those under God's covenant, could rest secure because God would be faithful.

A promise is only as good as the person who made the promise!

God's promise is secure in his unchanging faithfulness!

Image: elusive perfection, moving the goal posts. Multi-engine sim training

When I was an undergraduate student working on my degree in aviation I had to take a multi engine commercial pilot course. The course was one of our pinnacle courses and was really only offered to those who were very far along in their degrees on track to fly for the airlines. I enjoyed the course, especially flying the complex airplanes. I would argue that a small multi-engine airplane is probably the hardest airplane anyone will ever fly. But I also had a teacher who pushed us hard. It was almost as if we could never be good enough. "Oh, you have done a good job landing through the clouds so now do it with an engine failed. Oh, you did that, okay now let me fail several of your instruments. You did that, okay let's do it at night..." What I eventually realized was that the teacher was pushing us to our breaking point to see how we responded when we could not achieve perfection. In situations like these I will admit I have a strong tendency to hedge my bets. To do not as well on the single engine full instrument landing so that I don't have to go do the harder task.

Thankfully, this is not how our God operates. We serve a God who has been faithful in the past and will be faithful in the future. Our position in Christ is what saves us from judgement. We should strive to be like him as if our grade depends on it because it doesn't. No pressure! Strive for perfection because you are free to miss the mark and know tha God will catch you.

MTR: Take some time to praise God for His promise of Salvation as you patiently place your hope in God's timing.

Memory Verse: Colossians 3:23

1. ↑ Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 372