Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon this week. It is always the high point of my week to be able to post the sermon. I hope and pray that everyone is doing well and having a good week.
This week was so cold where I live that is was almost like being in Antarctica. I thank God that it has warmed up today, and it is supposed to be warm for the next three days. I was cold for a solid 96 hours.
I have had a good week in writing, and I want to publicly thank the Lord for that. I am grateful that I can work as a writer. Hopefully, the jobs in writing will keep coming in.
In prayer this week, please continue to pray for those affected by the mudslides in California and those affected by the flooding in New England. Also, pray for those affected by the high winds in Europe. Wind scares me the most of anything.
I heard that there was progress being made in helping in Puerto Rico, so I am thankful to the Lord for that. Please continue to pray for these folks.
Continue to pray for peace in Syria. I've heard reports this week on NPR about how bad the situation is in parts of the country. Pray for peace, and pray for the safety of refugees.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let's pray for the nations of Pakistan and Seychelles. Pray that many will hear of the love of Jesus. Pray for the Christians who are in Pakistan who are facing persecution.
For the past few weeks, we've been engaged in a study of the book of Malachi. Last week, we finished up chapter 2, and this week, we will begin with chapter 3.
The first verse of Malachi 3 states, "Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me." This is a prophecy concerning John the Baptist. In this verse, the Lord says that before the Messiah comes to His people, there would be a man who would prepare the hearts of the people to receive the Messiah and to receive His message.
John the Baptist was the one who prepared the way for Jesus the Messiah. John called the people to repentance. He was the one who recognized Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."
This verse, and its fulfillment in the New Testament, is a great example of the reliability of the Bible. Many of the prophecies in the Old Testament have already been fulfilled. When someone wants to debate with you about the validity and reliability of the Word of the Lord, verses like Malachi 3:1 are important to show to people. God's Word is reliable. His Word's have and will be fulfilled.
The portion of Malachi 3 verses 1b through 5 are prophecies about the work of the Messiah at the first and second Advents. In verse 1b, the Lord says that the messenger of the covenant would come into the Temple. The question was, "Who will be able to endure when He comes? Who will stand to face Him when He appears?"
Only those who put their faith and trust in the work of Jesus Christ would be able to stand. However, the Bible says that Jesus came unto His own, but His own did not receive Him. But, those who did receive Him were given the right to be called the children of God.
Malachi said the when the Messiah would come, He would be like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap. What I believe this means is that Jesus in His first coming provided the means through His sinless life and sacrificial death to purify us from sin. Only those who put their faith and trust in the work of Jesus on the cross and in His bodily resurrection can be cleansed from sin . Jesus removes our sin from us, and He replaces our sin with His righteousness. We are washed white as snow, and we are forgiven by the Lord God.
Those of us who are in Christ Jesus also go through a process of sanctification while we are still on this earth. We certainly aren't perfect, and we still commit sins. However, the Lord, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, works in our lives to bring us closer to Him. We are being conformed to the image of Christ day by day. We are to become more like Jesus as we progress in our lives until the day when we stand before Him and see Him face to face.
The second portion of our passage speaks about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. When Jesus returns to this earth, He will return literally in power and great glory. Every eye will see Him, and every knee will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
When Jesus returns, He will judge the people and the nations of this world. Jesus will be the one who establishes justice, righteousness and peace. The people doubted the justice of God as we saw in Malachi chapter 2 last week. Jesus is the answer to whether or not God will bring justice. Jesus will bring justice.
It is very interesting to note in verse 5 what sins God is upset with and the sins and situations that Jesus will address when He returns. It says that the Messiah will judge sorcerers, adulteries and liars. Sorcerers were those who dealt with potions and the occult. I think that in some way, it is like those who deal in drugs today and ruin the lives of millions of people. Jesus will bring judgment on those who do this. However, there is an occult aspect to sorcery as well. Jesus will bring judgment on those who align themselves with the forces of darkness because they are in direct opposition to Him and His order for the universe.
Jesus will judge adulterers and liars. This all has to deal with being truthful. An adulterer has lied to their partner because he or she has broken the marriage vow. The devil is the father of lies. Truth comes from God.
Malachi says that the Messiah will, "speak against those who cheat employees of their wages." Look at how much of this is going on today. Large corporations rake in huge profits and then pay their workers very little and make them work in unsafe conditions. They try to pay people as little as possible while making themselves richer and richer. Jesus will judge this when He comes. These corporate elitists laugh and think that it is funny that they pay people 2 and 3 dollars a day while they live in multi-million dollar mansions. They will not be laughing when they stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nothing makes me more sick than when I see a rich business person trying to cut people's wages and benefits while they are making millions of dollars. Once I saw a program where a wealthy capitalist, corporate exploiter was negotiating a contract for workers at a factory. I can't remember the name of the corporation, or I would gladly say the name. This exploiter was asked by the employees to let them have one bag of rice per week as part of their meager wages. He would only agree to let them have half a bag of rice. The program then showed this man and his family at their California mansion that had seven bathrooms. The man had a collection of sports cars. This is the type of thing that Jesus will judge when He returns.
Malachi goes on to say that the Messiah will judge those who oppress widows and orphans. These were considered the most vulnerable and desperate people in Malachi's day. Anyone who mistreats the poor and those who are just able to make it through will have to answer to Jesus.
Finally, Malachi says that when the Messiah comes again, He will bring justice to those who, "Deprive the foreigners living among you of justice." In my country, I am getting so tired of everyone blaming every bad thing that happens on immigrants. The Bible is clear that we are to treat those who are foreigners among us just as we would treat anyone else. There are so many people in this world that are fleeing from desperate situations. We have two choices. We can help these people have better lives where they are, or we can help them here. I believe that there would be many fewer immigrants if corporate exploitation were brought under control.
The end of verse five says that those who practice these things don't fear the Lord. But, one day they will. Jesus is coming again to bring justice to this world.
I know that I've written some hard things in this sermon. Whenever I do that, I lose a number of readers. However, this is clearly what the Lord Himself has spoken. We either preach and believe the whole counsel of God, or we do not.
Jesus has come to offer life, light and forgiveness. When He returns, He will restore all things to the way they were before sin entered into the world. I pray that you are ready to meet the Lord should He return today. Trust Him today, and make Him the Lord of your life.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Saturday again. We will continue in Malachi. On Monday, I will post the verses. On Wednesday, I will post either a review or a poem. May God bless you all. Amen.
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