A PREPARED PLAN FOR LIFE
Malachi 3:1-10
THE REDEEMER
V:1. "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare
the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his
temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says
the Lord Almighty. "
A. The messenger is John the Baptist.
1. This is the
prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ 400 years before time.
2. This is the
also the prophecy of the assignment of John the Baptist as the
forerunner of
Jesus Christ.
B. The job of John
the Baptist was to preach repentance for the coming of Jesus Christ.
1. The prophecy of
the Messiah was long awaited. (Isa 40:3-5)
2. Throughout the
Bible, God makes known to us His plan of redemption.
a. He gives us
the pieces of His plan throughout the Old Testament.
b. He gives us
the order of His plan.
c. He gives us
the opportunity to participate in His plan.
d. He makes
known to us How His plan will end.
e. God has
revealed to us the success of His plan.
C. It is the Father
who sent the Son to redeem His people through His death on the
cross.
1. It is the
Father who made a covenant with Abraham concerning His people
that could
only be fulfilled in His Son. Gen 17:5-7
2. During the
time of Malachi (400 BC), Israel
was under the control of the Persian
empire.
3. They were
looking for a political King to restore control of the Nation to them.
4. However, the
promise Messiah was our Lord and Savior sent to redeem Israel
from their
sins.
THE JUDGE
V:2-3. " But who can endure the day of his coming? Who
can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a
launderer's soap."
3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will
purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will
have men who will bring offerings in righteousness."
A. When you heat up gold or silver, it turns to a liquid and
all the impurities can be
filtered out.
1. We were born in sin shaped in iniquity.
2. It is the blood
of Jesus that atones for our sins and Word of God that cleans us
from all
unrighteousness.
B. Verse 1 speaks of the first coming of Jesus Christ.
1. Verse 2 and 3
speaks of the Age of Grace between the first and second coming of
Christ.
2. During the Age of Grace, the redemptive blood of
Jesus is the atonement for our
sin and makes
us acceptable to God.
3. It is the faith
in Jesus and His Word that makes us acceptable to the Father.
C. The only ones who can stand before the judgment of Jesus
are those who
believe in His
death and resurrection.
1. It is Jesus who
said that we are made clean by His Word.
John 15:3
2. It is faith in
the Word that effects our obedience to God's commands.
3. It is our love
for the Father and the Son that causes us to be doers of the Word.
D. God selected the tribe
of Levi as His priestly line of Israel
after the exodus from
1. Moses and Aaron
were from the tribe of Levi.
2. At the first
coming of Christ, the chief priest were not from the line of Aaron.
3. The Chief Priest
at the first coming of Christ was a political position rather than
a holy,
divine spiritual office. (Ray C Stedman,
Adventure Through The Bible).
4. The refining
process of the Levites will probably not take place until after
rapture of the
Church during the tribulation. Rev 7:14
a. Two thirds of
the nation of Israel
will perish and God will take the remaining
Israelite's
to be His people. Zach 13:8-9
b. It will be
during the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth that Israel
will become
a Nation that
worships the Lord Jesus Christ. Rev 20:6
AN ACCEPTABLE OFFERING
V:4. "And the
offerings of Judah
and Jerusalem will be acceptable to
the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. "
A. When Israel was
delivered from the Egypt ,
God set up His tabernacle among
them to offer
sacrifices for the atonement of sin and to show honor
and gratefulness
to Him.
1. Gradually over
time the offering became just a religious ceremony.
2. Israel
rejected the true and living God and took up the worship of idol gods
in violation
to God's commands.
B. When Israel
worshiped God with their whole heart and were obedient to God's
commands, they
were acceptable to God.
1. We must be
careful not to let our worship become a
formality.
2. Our worship of
the Lord Jesus Christ should be a life changing experience.
3. We should be
able to look in the mirror and see our continual growth in Jesus
Christ.
4. Our lives
outside the four walls of the Church; at home, in the community and on our
jobs should be the image that draws others
to Christ.
V:5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be
quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who
defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and
deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty. "
A. God is not far
from us.
1. He is aware of
all our thoughts and actions.
2. God knows who
is for Him and who is against Him.
3. God knows
whether you are committing spiritual adultery, which is the worship of
anything
other than Him or physical adultery.
4. God knows
whether your are mistreating those around your.
5. He knows
whether your are taking advantage of the weak and defenseless.
6. God knows
where you put your trust.
B. God will judge us
according to our actions, good or bad.
1. Only what we
do for Christ will count.
2. What we do for
Christ stores up treasures in heaven.
3. What we do
against God's commands and against our neighbors blocks
blessings and
causes judgment.
AN UNCHANGEABLE GOD
V:6 "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of
Jacob, are not destroyed."
A. God does not
change.
1. He is the same
today as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.
2. God's commands
for us does not change.
3. God's standard
of judgment is the same for everyone.
B. The reason God has
not executed His judgment against us is because He
is tolerant and
long suffering.
1. We cannot get
away with anything. God has not destroyed us, He is just giving us
time to
repent and turn to Him.
2. We should learn
from the Nation of Israel who suffered greatly because of their
disobedience.
V:7. " Ever since the time of your forefathers you have
turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will
return to you," says the Lord Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to
return?"
A. This is God's
indictment of the Nation of Israel.
1. As I wrote
these comments there was a storm blowing through the area.
2. The wind blew
up suddenly and the trees outside moved violently back and forth.
3. There was
thunder and lightening all at the same time.
4. It was God controlling
His environment.
B. I realized that
God could protect me through His storm or execute judgment.
1. It is only by
the grace of God that we are still here.
2. You never know
when God will call us to give an account of our actions and judge
us on the
spot.
3. At every stage
of our lives, God gives us a chance to repent and return to Him.
THE BLESSINGS OF GIVING
V:8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you
ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings."
A. God said that the love of money is the root of all evil.
1. If the love of
money is in your heart, you will find yourself ignoring the
righteousness
of God to get it.
2. The love of
money can cause you to overlook the basic principles of hard work
and dedication.
3. The love of
money can cause you rob another person of his hard earned gain.
4. The love of
money can cause you to rob God.
B. God gave the nation of Israel
everything they needed to survive in the promise
and.
1. God required Israel
to worship Him with the first fruits of their flocks and
produce, giving
Him a tenth of all their increase.
2. God did not need
what they had because it all belong to Him.
3. Giving from the
heart shows our love for the Lord and our obedience to the Lord's
commands.
4. When we failed
to do what God commands us to do, we rob Him of His glory.
a. When we fail
to do what God commands us to do, we show a lack of respect
for the
Lord.
b. When we fail
to do what God commands us to do, we show a lack of trust
in the Lord.
c. When we fail
to do what God commands us to do, we deny God the opportunity
bless us
beyond our expectations.
DON'T CURSE YOURSELF
V:9. "You are under a curse — the whole nation of you —
because you are robbing me. "
A. Just because it is
popular does not mean you ought to be involved.
1. The crowd is
not always right.
2. The whole
nation of Israel
decided not to pay God His required tithes and offerings.
a. They were
all wrong and disobedient to God's commands.
b. They all
faced the consequences of their actions.
c. They
cursed themselves.
B. Part of the curse
was not having a prophet of God for 400
years.
1. Can you imagine
not having anyone to intercede for you with God.
a. It was the
prophets of God that gave the people a word from God.
b. It was the
prophets of God that informed Israel of God's plans
2. There was no
relief from foreign occupation for 400 years.
3. At the time of
the writing of Malachi. Israel
was under the control of the Persian
government.
4. 400 years later
at the first coming of Christ, Israel
was under the Roman
government.
C. When you disobey
God, you block the answers to your prayers.
1. In every stage
of our lives, trouble will meet us. Job
14:1
2. The key to
living successful with trouble is to obey God's commands.
3. We are either
going into trouble, going through trouble or coming out of trouble.
4. God is there
at every stage to bless us with peace, contentment and joy.
5. Some of God's
blessings depends on our obedience.
TEST GOD
V:10. "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that
there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty,
"and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so
much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. "
A. God gave the Israelite's a command with a purpose.
1. Bring all the
tithes into the storehouse.
2. God does not
want a partial payment, but a full payment of what is due.
B. The purpose of giving is
so that there is food in God's house.
1. The Levite
priest were not given a share of the promise land.
2. The tithes and
the offering was to take care of the priest.
3. The tithes was
also for the maintenance of the temple.
4. The primary
purpose of the tithes was to honor God.
C. God gave us a promise as a result of our giving.
1. God dares us to
test Him to see if He will keep His promise.
2. Just try God
out. You will not be disappointed.
3. God can do
exceedingly abundantly more than you can conceive as
a result of
your obedience.
4. Your faithful,
cheerful giving promotes God to give you more.
Rev M. Mitchell,
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
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