Revision as of 18:24, 29 June 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. You can imagine how annoyed I was in 2006 when they won the Super Bowl. What I couldn't understand in 1998 was that the Colts were slowly building a Super Bowl team.

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:.

Setting the Stage:

Body

Common Questions: 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.

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 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 Cuppelationa 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)

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! (5a)

God's demands should not be a source of fear. (5b)

Rather, those who are called by God can rest confident in His immutability. (6).

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 tGod will catch you.

MTR: Take some time to praise God for His faithfulness.

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