12-9-18 Grace-Benson/Vail Sermon

Malachi 3:1-4 [Advent 2]

Pastor Ron Koehler

Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ

December 9, 2018

Look! I am sending my messenger! He will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple! The Messenger of the Covenant, in whom you delight, will surely come, says the LORD of Armies. 2But who can endure the day when he comes? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like launderers’ bleach! 3He will be seated like a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and like silver. They will belong to the LORD and bring him an offering in righteousness. 4Judah and Jerusalem’s offerings will be pleasing to the LORD as they were in the days of old, in years long ago. (EHV)

Dear Friends in Christ, I hope what I’m going to ask you to do this morning doesn’t come too easily for you. I hope that the things I will ask you to think about are not thoughts that regularly rattle around in your mind. I hope that you will not be too familiar already with the feelings I’ll ask you to fill your mind with now. But even if these do strike close to home, then the words of God before us today should help.

I’m going to ask you to picture in your minds, not 2018 AD, but 435 BC. You and I are living at the time of the prophet Malachi. We live in the land of Judah; our land is stricken with poverty and we are ruled by people who are not our own. We remember the words of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who told us that Zerubbabel and Joshua would lead our people, but they are now dead. We also recall the prophecy of Ezekiel which told us that God’s glory would fill his temple. Well, we rebuilt the temple but nothing has happened to indicate that God’s presence is there.

There are no more miracles being performed since Elijah and Elisha aren’t around anymore. Many people are losing their faith in God. The priests themselves just go about the business of temple work, but their hearts aren’t in it anymore. You and I are beginning to wonder if it really matters whether we serve God or not. We’ve been waiting and waiting, but it sure doesn’t seem as if God is coming to his people anymore. Everything seems “off” and uncomfortable.

We want to know if God is there, and if he is, does he still care about his people? Listen.

Listen my friends to the words of a prophet sent by God, the prophet Malachi, whose very name means “My Messenger.” He has something to tell us. He has AN ADVENT PROPHECY OF PEACE for us.

The prophecy concerns: 1. JOHN THE BAPTIST 2. JESUS 3. US Malachi is here to bring us hope, to refresh and revive our faith, to hold out to us the gift of PEACE from our Savior. And if you want to know how important his message is, see the first word here: Look! That is a specific Hebrew word that functions kind of like a parent saying to a child, “Pay attention!” or you saying, “Look!” when you see something spectacular and want to share it with others nearby. It is used to get attention, to make ears perk up. The prophet used it here because God had something spectacular to share with his people. The important message that Malachi held out was that PEACE that was on the horizon.

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He begins by telling of another messenger besides himself. This messenger was a very special one who was to come. All Malachi has to do for us to know who he means is say, …my messenger. He will prepare the way… This one would come before the Savior and stir up people’s hearts so that they were prepared and would recognize the Savior when he arrived. You and I may remember the words of Isaiah, A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Is. 40:3-5, NIV84).

This special messenger would speak for the LORD and prepare the way for him. We, who do not really live in 435 BC, but 2018, are fully aware that this man, this voice, was John the Baptist. Not only do we have the prophets who told of him, but all four gospelwriters agree that the voice Isaiah talked about was John. In fact, we heard Luke tell us that very thing in our gospel reading today. Sometimes John is called the second Elijah.

Malachi calls him that in words that come after our lesson and Jesus himself explained to a crowd of people, he is the Elijah who was to come (Matt. 11:15). This ADVENT PROPHECY OF PEACE from Malachi CONCERNING JOHN THE BAPTIST reminds us that he was an integral part of God’s plan. John’s announcement for the people was to pay attention and prepare the way. The people of Malachi’s day were to lift up their heads and get rid of their doom and gloom thinking. A messenger who would usher in the One who brings PEACE between God and people was not far off!

But the second part of Malachi’s ADVENT PROPHECY OF PEACE is the best. He prophesies CONCERNING JESUS, the Savior.

Again, put yourself in the place of those who first heard the prophet. In that situation, what do you want to hear the most? What is about the only thing that is going to cheer you up and make you feel better? You know how it is when a little girl falls down and scrapes her elbow. With eyes full of tears, she runs to daddy. He kisses it and puts a Band-Aid on it and the tears dry up and a smile reappears on the little girl’s face. The people whom Malachi addressed had had their faith scraped up and the wound needed healing. No “band-aid” cure would be good enough. They needed real spiritual healing; they needed someone to bring PEACE with God. And that’s what Malachi brings with this news CONCERNING JESUS. Put yourself in their place once again and hear this: Then suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple! The Messenger of the Covenant, in whom you delight, will surely come. “What fantastic news! That’s just what we need to hear!”, they must have thought. The long awaited Savior, the fulfillment of so many prophecies, would come to his people! God had not forgotten about them after all! There was reason to hope once again!

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They knew this Messenger of the Covenant. That phrase has the same meaning as Angel of the LORD does many times in the Old Testament. They knew him well! He was there to establish all the covenants, or promises, with God’s people. You and I know him well too. When Jesus came, he brought with him a new covenant; one which abolished the Old Testament commands. This new covenant, or agreement, with his people simply asks them to believe in him and they will be saved.

Jesus could make an agreement like that with us because his perfect, sinless life was the sacrifice that smoothed over God’s anger with sin and restored the PEACE that existed when God first created people. Jesus’ death paid the penalty for our sins so that we remain God’s people even after our life on earth is over—so this is an eternal PEACE! The people of Malachi’s day knew that this is what the Savior would come to do. Being on the other side of history, you and I know that he did it.

What effect does that good news have on people? The people of Malachi’s time, remember, had kind of forgotten about God. Even for the people who had held onto their faith, their hearts weren’t really in their worship and service to God anymore. It was more of a going through the motions for many of them. Would they now be ready? Now would they prepare? Would their hope and trust in God be renewed once again?

Malachi talks about the day when he comes and says that when he comes, he will refine and purify both the priests and the people. God will only accept people who are 100% pure and holy. Bad news for us because we are sinners? Not at all. Because God purifies and refines his people. The Old Testament people were purified and refined by trusting in the promises like God makes in our lesson today—that he would send a Savior. You and I, New Testament believers, are purified and refined by believing that Jesus, our Savior did all that is necessary for us to be 100% pure and holy in God’s eyes.

That brings us to the third part of the ADVENT PROPHECY, the part CONCERNING US. The things that Malachi foretells in the last half of our lesson are things which happen to you and me. We have been refined and purified by the blood of our Savior. The result of that is before us. When that happens, Malachi says, They will belong to the LORD and bring him an offering in righteousness. People who are changed into new creatures, people who no longer look to God like dirty, disgusting, repulsive sinners, but instead appear before him pure and clean and righteous, naturally return thanks to their God. Out of love for our Savior and the PEACE he brings us, you and I are filled with love for God and a desire to give back to him. Our offerings consist of many things. We offer our prayers and praise to God. We offer our time to serve God and his people. We offer our wealth in proportion to what God has given to us. We offer to use the things that we’re good at, to be good at them for God. Pure and righteous people, people who believe in their Savior, need nothing more than a reminder of what Jesus has done for them to prompt them to make joyful and generous offerings of many kinds to their Lord. It is the natural response that Malachi speaks of. It is the result of PEACE with God. 3

He says here that Judah and Jerusalem’s offerings (in other words, the offerings of believers) will be pleasing to the LORD as they were in days of old, in years long ago. Malachi holds up the example of the faith of past believers—the Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs, the Miriams and Sarahs and others—in much the same way that the writer to the Hebrews does in chapter 11 when he speaks of the heroes of faith. Malachi says that when people experience PEACE with God and they serve him in love with all their lives, they themselves and the things they do are acceptable to God. This is what a PEACEFUL relationship with God looks like!

You know the promise God gives to those who worship and serve him alone: eternal life with him in heaven. You also know how that was made possible: a small baby born in a manger who grew and brought to earth PEACE with God. Advent is a special time as we wait for the coming of our Savior. Get ready for it. John the Baptist called the people to prepare for Jesus coming to them. Jesus did come to his people, like God promised through men like the prophet Malachi. And Jesus promises to come again. He’s already changed us, purified us from every sin, and brought us PEACE with God. Now, as his people, we serve the Lord as we wait for him.

Wait for the Lord together. Do not become disheartened, disappointed, or distracted with other things. Do not simply go through the motions of faith and leave your heart out of it.

Don’t ever think that God has forgotten you. In other words, don’t relate too closely with the thoughts and feelings of the people whom the prophet Malachi addressed. Learn a lesson from the people of 435 BC and God’s prophet as he gives you his ADVENT PROPHECY OF PEACE. Wait for the Lord joyfully and be prepared! Don’t doubt it, he is coming and he will give you the gift of eternal PEACE! AMEN. Now the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until his second coming. Amen.

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