All right, everyone, good morning again.
So glad you all are here with us.
My name is Josh. If we have not had the chance to
meet, I'm also one of the pastors here at Vita Springs.
Another warm welcome to you if you're visiting with us for the
first or second or third time. We're very glad you guys are
here with us. We are on our penultimate week
in the book of Malachi, second to last week.
Go ahead and open up your Bibles to page 8, O2.
If you're using one of the Bibles under the seat in front
of you, if you don't have a Bible, please take that one home
with you. It's our gift to you.
We would love for you to have a Bible you can read and enjoy
God's Word. So that is a gift to you.
If you do not have a Bible. We are in Malachi chapter 3 and
we'll be reading verses 13 to 18 here in a moment.
But to give us a little bit of context, particularly for those
who have not been with us so far in the book of Malachi, Book of
Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament.
The Israelites are have had a history of waiting on God by
this point, 400 years in slavery in Egypt.
This is long before the book of Malachi, 70 years in captivity
in Babylon shortly before this. Presently they're waiting for
things to be made right as the Persian Empire now has their
thumb over them or their rule over them.
And little did they know it was it would be another 400 years
until their Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
And I don't know about you, but waiting is difficult.
We've got one light as you leave our, our development, our
neighborhood, some of you know, it well, feels like as you're
approaching it, it's green. And so you know that as you get
to it, it's going to turn red. And it's kind of bumpy on the
way out. And it's, it would be dangerous
to speed right through. But sometimes I gun it because
I, I got to try to make that green light.
Maybe some of you do that when you're leaving the church.
Don't lie. I've seen some of you do it.
Waiting is difficult. Waiting is also revealing, like
a like when you squeeze a sponge and outcomes the contents of the
sponge. When we're squeezed by waiting,
you'll see what the contents of our hearts contain.
We might be surprised at some of the things we think while we
wait. We might be surprised by some of
the things that we say or feel that might be untrue.
We can be tempted to despair or doubt or give up.
Might say things to yourself like is it really worth it to
wait for that promotion? Maybe I'll just change companies
or switch fields entirely. Is it worth it?
Do you think we can we should really wait till we can afford
this or that. Maybe we'll put it on credit,
maybe the raise will come. Is it really worth it to
persevere with God? Heaven feels so far away.
I'm not sure I'm going to have the strength to persevere with
him to the end. Might think things like does God
even care about me or see me or what I'm going through?
Is following God even worth it? My friend, I'm curious, where
are you waiting right now and how is it going?
What is God revealing in you as you wait?
The Israelites, as I mentioned, had a history of waiting and by
this point in their history they had grown tired of waiting.
It LED them to breaking covenant with God, as we've seen through
Malachi in all sorts of ways. The book constructed in the form
of arguments they make with God. God had prescribed how he was to
be worshipped and he's God, he gets to do that.
And they had said, I don't know why bother?
God doesn't love us, we're still poor, our enemies still prosper.
We don't have the things God promised to us.
What difference is it going to make?
I think I'd rather go marry women who worship other gods.
Maybe I'd rather divorce my wife.
Maybe I would rather just bring polluted sacrifices to God or
not give him at all what he deserves.
Or, and as we'll see today, speak distrusting words to God,
we'll see how waiting revealed the contents of their hearts of
a few different groups of people.
The ungodly speak and reveal their distrust.
The godly speak and reveal repentance.
God listens and he pays attention, and then God speaks
and he reveals his mercy. That's our outline for today.
The ungodly speak, the godly speak.
God listens and then God speaks. But before we go to God in His
word and in prayer, it is our practice here to take a moment
of silence, to prepare our hearts, to ask God to give a
softness of heart and readiness to listen to him.
So would you join me in silence for a time and then I'll pray
for us and read from Malachi. God, you said at the beginning
of Malachi that from the rising of the sun to its setting, your
name will be great among the nations, and in every place a
pure offering would be offered to your name.
You said your name would be great among the nations and God,
that is true while we gather here this morning.
God, your name is surely great here.
We want to offer ourselves to you today as a pure offering.
God, we want to offer ourselves to you every day in service to
you, because there's none more worthy than you, God.
And yet, God, we confess that daily we need Your grace to
cover our sins even despite our best efforts, God, we are still
hindered by the sin in our own hearts and in our own minds.
Got some of these sins we've been fighting against for
decades? Some we may continue to fight
against for decades more. God, we thank you that when we
confess our sins, you are faithful, You are just.
You will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. God, what Amazing Grace you have
for us. I thank you, God, for the peace
that we can have with you through Jesus.
God, as challenging as our sufferings can be, just as we
see, we'll see today in this passage, the Israelites, we're
in the middle of so much suffering.
God, we choose today to give you thanks for our suffering and to
rejoice in them. You said that suffering produces
endurance and endurance would produce character and character
would produce hope and hope would not put us to shame
because you've poured your love into our hearts.
And so God, we know and we believe that you are able to
keep us. You are able to keep us.
And you will present us blameless before you one day and
you will fill us with never ending joy in your presence.
So God, give us the endurance and the perseverance we need to
make it to the end. We praise you, we love you.
God, to you be all the glory this morning in Christ's
wonderful name. Amen.
Well, would you join me as I read from Malachi 3 verses 13 to
18, and then we'll take a look at the first few verses.
Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord.
But you say, how have we spoken against you?
You have said it is vain to serve God.
What is the profit of our keeping His charge, or of
walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
And now we call the arrogant blessed evil doers not only
prosper, but they put God to the test, and they escape.
And then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.
The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of
remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord
and esteemed His name. They shall be mine, says the
Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession,
and I will spare them as a man spares his Son who serves him.
Then once more you shall see the distinction between the
righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and
one who does not serve him. The first group we see to speak
up in the midst of their waiting are the ungodly.
They speak up saying things like it's vain to serve God or what a
waste, it's useless. What's the profit of our keeping
his charge or walking in mourning before the Lord of
hosts walking in mourning. Probably just meaning they had
taken up this practice in a somewhat of a ritualistic way.
Or they're kind of like sackcloth and ashes, making
themselves look all distraught. But it was just a show, you
know, there was there was no, there was no substance to it In
this final dispute or argument between the Israelites and God,
It seems the the peak of the argument.
It's reached its climax. God says your words have been
hard against me, literally grew strong.
They were firm, arrogant, bold. They're hardened like like the
peak of an argument that's growing heated and you start to
say ridiculous things. They don't look like godly
people right now. These are God's chosen people,
at least by race or nationality, but they don't look like God's
people right now. They're speaking the words of
ungodly people, saying things like it's it's vain to serve God
or what a waste. Evildoers prosper and they
escape God's wrath. In Job 21, Job would say that
they're speaking like wicked people.
He says of the wicked. The wicked say to God, what is
the Almighty that we should serve him?
What prophet do we get if we pray to him?
Squeezed by their years of waiting, their speeches starting
to reveal some deep beliefs that they had in their own hearts.
First of all, they thought they were doing just fine in their
own obedience. When they say What's the prophet
of keeping God's charge, they're essentially saying, God, we've
kept your charge and what's the benefit?
We're not, we're not getting any of the goodies.
We're not getting the blessings we thought we were going to get.
They clearly thought they were doing just fine.
They were convinced of their own righteousness.
They believe that God owed them blessing for their supposed
righteousness. Now, we don't think you've kept
up your end of the deal. They don't think they're getting
what they're owed. And so they believe as well that
God doesn't show any distinction between the righteous and the
wicked. The end of these first section
we looked at the arrogant are blessed, they say actually it
seems like they're the ones who you prefer God.
The arrogant are blessed. And in the end they conclude
there's no prophet in serving the Lord.
It's vain, it's useless, no reward is coming.
That's a sad conclusion, terribly sad conclusion they
reach. But truthfully, they're only
asking out loud some things that we've all sometimes thought
about in our own minds. They see the quiet part out
loud. You might say, what's the profit
in following God? Is it really worth it?
God, my circumstances sure don't look like you're in control.
He definitely brown nosed his way to that promotion.
She definitely put herself out there a little bit to get that
guy's attention. That company's cutting corners
so they can get higher profits. And I'm just trying to be honest
in my work. It actually looks like the
arrogant are better off and the evil doers prosper.
Why am I still following God? Is it even worth it?
The Israelites answered it's in vain, it's useless.
God has left us. But like we are all prone to do,
they were just fixating on their temporary circumstances.
We do the same. We ask the same questions and we
come to the same conclusions when we look at our own
temporary circumstances. But our lives are much longer
than the 7080 or years that God gives us here or bless us to
give us more. The best things in life always
involve trials, struggles of various kinds.
Think about it. If you failed the test, would
you give up on that major or on that career?
Just because you had one rough go on a test, your child
disobeys. You wouldn't say she's a
hoodlum, she's gone forever. Give up on her.
If you had a conflict with a friend, would you really just
move on from that friendship because it was your first time
having conflict with that friend?
Vita Springs is was particularly slow growing at the beginning.
Was it worth it? Might answer that question, Lee,
if you left after year one versus sticking around till year
10, was it worth it? If I is following God worth it?
We're really asking, well, is following God going to get in
the way of my vision for a comfortable middle class life
where I get most of the things I want with little suffering, and
I get it all at least as fast as my peers, and preferably a
little bit faster. And if God won't get in the way
of that, then great, sign me up. I would like that.
And God. But that's not the life that God
promised for those who follow him.
For valuable things, for priceless things, we endure.
We expect suffering when we're pursuing something worthwhile.
It's the same in our following after God.
Some of the promises in Scripture which are not the ones
we might first go to to quote to ourselves.
Paul writing to Timothy, all who desire to live a godly life in
Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Jesus saying to his disciples in
this life you will have trials, but take heart, I have overcome
the evil one else we're saying through many trials.
The Christian must enter the Kingdom of God through many
trials. And why would he on earth would
he put us through so many trials?
We'll see by the end of this chapter.
It's because He has something glorious in store for those who
fear Him, something even greater than this good world that He has
made with all of its goodness. Right now we just have a little
taste of God's glory and His goodness.
But the full glory is coming, my friend.
What is God revealing in your heart?
And you're waiting. What is He revealing in you?
Is there a part of you that feels like God owes you
something for your obedience? Is there a part of your heart
where you might say you know God?
I think I've done a pretty good job at either going to church or
small group or giving or whatever it may be.
So why am I still struggling to pay my bills or find a spouse or
reconcile with my kids or make new friends here in Gainesville?
Is there waiting? Revealing any sins that you need
to repent of or turn away from? Self righteousness or pride,
impatience, anger, lack of hospitality, unkind speech,
whatever God might be revealing in you, just like we'll see in
verse 16, which we'll get to here in a moment.
If you have oxygen in your lungs, it's never too late to
repent. Confess those things to God.
Ask Him to forgive you. He delights to forgive.
He knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust to
comfort as well. Obedience or obedience to God
doesn't make us right before God.
We look to the finished work of Jesus on the cross, risen from
the and risen from the grave and we say God, I receive your
forgiveness because Jesus said it is finished.
So take comfort. He loves to forgive the
Israelites in their waiting. Some of the godless Israelites
that is spoke and revealed their distrust of God.
God has forgotten us. They said to themselves, it's
not worth it. Whatever. 16 we see that when
the righteous speak, they reveal repentant hearts.
Look at just the first half of verse 16.
Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.
Those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.
Just 10 words, but some pretty important things to note.
First of all, the word, then this point in time where it
seems that even the ones who had feared the Lord had been a part
of all the disputes and arguments against God that we've
looked at so far throughout Malachi.
But then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another so
their hearts did not remain stone cold and hardened to God.
They were softened, they were cut to the heart when they heard
the words of God through the prophet Malachi and they
repented. It would seem that's this is
very good news. And you should know as well, if
you're not a follower of Jesus, you wouldn't call yourself a
Christian. Please know the church is not
full of perfect people. Far from it.
You won't find a single perfect person here at Vita Springs.
It's true. Even Christians can be prone to
forgetfulness or tempted to despair or apathy in the midst
of trials. Even Christians could be tempted
to approach God with entitlement rather than trembling.
If you want a reference for this, just go read Psalm chapter
73 and listen to the kinds of things the psalmist is praying
to God to. Pay special attention to how the
Psalm shifts on its head. In verse 16 of that Psalm, the
attention changes. No, the church is full of
sinners, but by God's grace, the church is full of repentant
sinners, as we saw. It's not.
The second observation I might make from this first part of
verse 16 is that it's not too late to repent.
You can turn to God. People can change.
Thank the Lord for that. That is amazingly good news.
Even with heart and hearts, they, the hearts, our hearts can
be softened. And what is it that
characterizes this group of repentant sinners?
It's this phrase. They feared the Lord.
Those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.
Now that's an interesting phrase we're fleshing out for a little
bit. Maybe you've heard it before.
Fear of the Lord simply means to stand in awe of or be awed by
God. It's a heart posture of
reverence, of honor, of respect towards God.
But you know what else the word fear means?
It means fear. It's wise and it's right to have
a proper fear of God. It's like people who are at the
top of a Cliff or a building without a railing and have No
Fear of falling over the edge have something off in their
noggin. They're missing a right kind of
fear. The fear of the Lord is wise.
Proverbs 910 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is
insight. Because even though our God is
loving, he's not tame. He and His wrath are real and
fearsome. Jesus said do not fear those who
kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather fear him who
can destroy both the soul and the body in hell.
And it's the fear of the Lord that changed everything for this
group of repentant sinners. They're described.
They're described in contrast to all the folks who spoke evil
against God in the first half of this section we've looked at.
So we can presume they gathered with some shared understanding
that they were not essentially good like the first group who
thought God, we're we're in the right, we've obeyed you.
Where's our goodies? Where's the blessings?
This group seems to understand where we've been in the wrong.
They know they're guilty before God.
They see their sin for what it is.
They didn't think little of God's holiness.
They saw him rightly. They had a right fear of him.
They knew he was to be held in honor and reverence.
No, no doubt they're still experiencing the same
sufferings, right, and trials and waiting as all the other
Israelites. So no doubt they still wanted
those comforts that all the others wanted as well.
They wanted the reliefs. But in their estimation, in
their calculus, it was God himself who was more valuable
and all those other things that they were waiting on.
They could continue to wait for as long as they had right
relationship with God. Their humble posture, their
repentant posture prompted them, interestingly, to get together.
It's the final observation I'll make on this verse.
This group of repentant sinners who feared the Lord get together
and they speak with one another. We're not told much.
They just find each other and they gather and they speak with
one another. Probably true words or
encouragements or maybe even confessions or prayers.
I heard one pastor say recently that he could preach on the
importance of church membership from any book in the Bible.
If I were to try to do that, I'd probably start here.
In the book of Malachi. These God fearing folk gather.
They don't. They don't wait to see how God
might respond to their arguments against them.
They just act. They commit to gathering
together. It's wise for us to surround
ourselves with other God fearing people, isn't it?
It's wise we're protected from going astray when we gather
together and when we collectively agree with one
another and proclaim the good news through our singing and
preaching and praying and listening.
God receives a unique kind of honor when hundreds of people
gather together who especially who otherwise wouldn't have
anything in common, just Jesus. That gives a unique kind of
honor to God, and it shows how lovely and glorious our God is.
Vita Springs, to quote an author, Michael Lawrence.
He says we should look radically different from the surrounding
culture, not just because we are each privately following Christ,
but because we take the witness of the whole quite seriously.
We know that we belong to each other because we belong to
Christ. So a couple potential
applications from this idea. If you have been attending
regularly and not pursuing membership, I would strongly
encourage you to pursue membership at Vita Springs if
you've been attending regularly, or another church if you're
still looking for a church in Gainesville.
If you're a follower of Jesus, you need to commit to a local
body of believers. God gave us each other, as
Gordon hinted at earlier, so that we could be built up and so
that we could build others up as well.
If you are a part of Vita Springs, small groups are
another great way to deepen your relationships here where there's
opportunities to build one another up.
It's not the only way to do that, but it's a great way to do
that. It doesn't even have to be
people that you share things in common with, right?
It could be a group of people completely unlike you.
And I would say even if that's the case, all the better.
Gives more glory to Jesus when you surround yourself with
people who you have nothing in common with except you love
Jesus and you want to seek Him together.
We're not perfect, my friends. We certainly don't have
everything in common. But those who fear the Lord are
wise to surround themselves with others who do the same so they
can be built up and encouraged and challenged.
This group of repentant sinners who have a fear of the Lord,
they gather and they speak to one another, and it turns out
that their repentance and their trust in God was well warranted
because God is listening and He takes note.
Look at the second-half of verse 16.
The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of
remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord
and esteemed His name. Look at how much detail is given
to God's attentiveness, described in three different
ways. God paid attention and he heard
them and a book of remembrance was written for them and how
little these repentant ones have even done so far.
They just kind of got together and spoke to one another and God
says, I'm sorry, we got to write this down in real time.
God is ensuring that their names are written down, that it's
documented by name. Who are the ones who will be
blessed? Remember, the ungodly had
believed that God was perhaps absent or uninvolved or
detached, that He preferred the wicked.
But God is not apathetic or disinterested in you or your
lot. God is attentive.
The Lord paid attention and He heard them.
Elsewhere in Scripture, we see God is paying special attention
to the humble. Second Chronicle is 16/9.
An incredibly encouraging verse says that the eyes of the Lord
run to and fro throughout the whole earth to give strong
support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.
He is looking to help and support those who fear Him and
esteem His name. The first group we looked at
believe there's no prophet in obedience.
It's all a sham. God said a book of remembrance
would be written before him of those who feared the Lord and
esteemed his name. God would not forget the ones
who feared him. He would reward them generously.
Maybe you're familiar with Book of Esther in the Old Testament,
who was a queen, who were her cousin?
Mordecai said. Perhaps you've been raised up
for such a time as this to help deliver Israel from another time
where his role was oppressed in their history.
Perhaps he'd been raised up for such a time as this.
There's this gripping subplot about her cousin Mordecai all
throughout the book, and I just want to summarize it a little
bit for us. Mordecai overheard in Chapter 2
overheard a couple guys who were making a plan against the King
Xerxes to kill him. Mordecai takes that news to his
cousin Esther, who is the queen, and informs her.
She takes that to the king, and after it's discovered or sought
out, it's found to be true. Those men were hanged.
And what happens gets written down.
Write that down in the words of the book for the Chronicles in
the presence of the king. What Mordecai did doesn't get
his blessing immediately. But write that down five years
later, still no recognition for Mordecai's life saving work.
It actually looks like Mount Mordecai is going to die because
the antagonist of this story, Haman, can't stand Mordecai.
He's the King's right hand man. He wants him dead because
Mordecai would not honor him. It says he planned to have
Mordecai hung this the very next day on some new gallows that he
had constructed. Wouldn't you know that very
night that Haman is making plans to kill Mordecai?
By God's Providence, the king was an insomniac.
He couldn't sleep. And you know what he asked for?
As he's lying in his bed trying to fall asleep, he says, bring
to me the book of memorable deeds, the Chronicles, and they
were read before him. And he reads Mordecai's story.
He says, has anything done for that guy who saved my life five
years ago? Well, no Sir, the scribes say
nothing's been done for him. What did you know?
Haman walks in to the King's court, all proud of himself,
feeling self-righteous. The king says what should be
done? He says to Haman, what should be
done for the man in whom the king delights to honor.
I'm going to read for us a few verses.
Haman said to himself, Whom would the king delight to honor
more than me? This is chapter 6, verse seven
of the book of Esther. And Haman said to the king,
Haman speaking For the man whom the king delights to honor, let
royal robes be brought which the king has worn, and the horse
that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set,
and let the robes and the horse be handed over to 1.
To the one of the King's most noble officials.
Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let
them lead him on the horse through the square of the city,
proclaiming before him. Thus shall it be done to the one
whom the king delights to honor. And then the king said to Haman,
Hurry, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do
so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the King's gate.
Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.
So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai,
and he led him through the square of the city, proclaiming
before him. Thus shall it be done to whom
the man delights to honor. My Christian friend, you may be
waiting on God for a number of things.
Take heart, God will not forget the ones who fear Him.
He is attentive. He is looking to strengthen
those whose hearts are committed to Him.
He sees, in fact, even the smallest of your faithful acts.
Mark 941. Whoever gives you a cup of water
to drink because you belong to Christ, will by number means
lose his reward. Even the faith, your
faithfulness done in secret, that no one but God will ever
see you will be rewarded for Matthew 6.
Give, pray, fast, do all these things in secret, and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you.
You can trust Him while you wait.
We saw the ungodly speak and they revealed the distrust of
God. The godly spoke.
We saw their repentant hearts. God was listening, poised and
ready to take note to ensure their future reward.
And in verses 17 and 18, we see that when God speaks, we see His
mercy. Look at verse 17.
They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I
make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man
spares his Son who serves him. And then once more you shall see
the distinction between the righteous and the wicked,
between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
Again, we just think about how little these repentant sinners
have done so far. They got together and they spoke
with one another. And God says you're going to be
mine, my treasured possession. I will spare them.
Clearly it's not because anything them that is
impressive, but it's because God is merciful.
God is merciful. He does not give us what we
deserve. He didn't have to speak through
Malachi. As we remember from last week,
their fathers, they had this history of disobedience against
God. They could have been wiped out
long before this book was written.
He didn't have to speak through Malachi.
He could have judged the rebellious people.
He would have been just in doing so, even if he acknowledged the
repentance. He certainly didn't have to make
them his treasure to call them his own treasured possession.
So maybe a couple questions enter your own mind.
How could God be so merciful to them?
And why would God be so merciful to them?
First, how? How could be he be so merciful
to such an obstinate people? God is holy and his sin is
offensive against Him and it deserves punishment.
And they had been racking up this growing list of debts
against him through all their disobedience.
So how did the economics of that even work out?
Someone has to pay for all that faithlessness against him,
right? Yes, someone does, and someone
would. God himself would pay for their
faithlessness against him. God would send one who would pay
for all of their offenses, one who would bear our griefs and
carry our sorrows, One who would be stricken by men, smitten by
God, and afflicted. God sent Jesus, who was pierced
for our transgressions. He was crushed for our
iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement
that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.
Isn't that what forgiveness is? Taking the weight and pain of
someone else's wrongs against you, and taking those weight
upon yourself, relieving them of any debt of repayment?
My Christian friend, rest in that truth.
There's no repayment left to be made for your soul.
He won't. God won't let you take partial
credit. It's finished.
There's nothing left for you to contribute to your own salvation
because of the perfect and merciful love of God and Jesus's
work on the cross and Him being raised from the dead.
He said the work is finished. He's purchased us.
He's made us his own. And if you're not yet following
Jesus, what a wonderful gift that God wants to leave you with
this morning and that He wants you to receive.
He wants you to receive eternal life with Him, the cleansing of
your conscience of all of your sins, past, present and future.
Now that doesn't mean that we go on sinning just because our
sins, though covered, are covered.
Oh boy, it gets to carry on in my sin.
No, God loves us too much to let us continue in the deathly grip
of sin. He intends for His people to be
holy and pure. In the book of Titus chapter 2,
it says that God gave himself for us to redeem us or purchase
us back from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people.
Here's that word again. For his own possession, who are
zealous for good works. So while our sins are paid for,
that doesn't mean that there's no cost to following Jesus.
It surely will cost you everything he can.
Only he is the one who can be lured.
We can't have two Lords or two masters at the same time.
But my friends, the exchange is worth it.
We get again. We get to be freed from the sin
that's killing us. The eternal wrath of God in hell
that awaits us if we do, if we refuse to repent.
And instead we get to receive the hope of eternity with God,
an eternal Kingdom that cannot be shaken.
And best of all, we get to receive God himself.
He can be our treasured possession, just as he says that
he will treasure us and we will be His treasured possession.
In the wise words of Jim Elliott, he said he is no fool
who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
The exchange is worth it of those who turn to him.
God says they shall be mine, my treasured possession, not
because they're impressive, but because God is merciful.
How could he do that? He could do that because he sent
his son to pray the price to purchase back for himself a
repentant people. Why on earth would God do that?
Why would he make them his treasured possession?
Admittedly, it's a bit of a funny question to ask and to
answer because if you think about your own treasured
possessions and ask why do you treasure them?
And by the way, I'm not talking about things that you like or
enjoy. Even if you use a strong word
like love to say I love, I love ultimate Frisbee.
It gives me a sort of return on investment.
You might say it's exciting and I enjoy it.
I love coffee, the modest return on investment I get from my
coffee morning routine. But we don't use the same
language for the things that we treasure most.
It's like a different category. Why do I love my wife and my
children? I can't not love them.
Try to make me stop loving them and I can't do it.
Why does God? Or I should say to an infinitely
greater extent, God loves his children.
He loves those who repent and follow him.
He gave his own sons so they could be saved from sin and
hell. Why does he love them those who
turn away from their sins? Perhaps the best answer is that
because it's in the character of God to do so.
He is faithful, He is merciful, He keeps his covenant and his
promises, and he is steadfast in his love.
You might say that he can't not love those who turn to Him in
faith. They shall be mine, My treasured
possession, God says, and I will spare them.
There is great reward waiting for those who fear God.
I know all of us would admit that waiting is difficult.
In our waiting we can distrust God, we can throw in the towel,
we can say it's not worth it. It's vain to serve Him.
Or we can repent of our pride and our waywardness, and we can
receive His mercy. We can do so with the assurance
that God will not forget the ones who fear Him.
He will reward them generously. Kurt will address this in
greater detail next week. But God promises clearly here
that the day is coming, where, as we see in the end of verse
18, you shall see the distinction between the
righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and
one who does not serve Him. On the surface, based on our
circumstances, it may seem that in our days the wicked prosper
and the righteous suffer. But it will not be that way
forever. God will make a distinction
between those who serve Him and those who do not.
Those who reject Him will suffer in eternity apart from Him.
Those who fear Him will be remembered, for He has written
their names down in His book. He will surely reward them and
treasure them and save them. And while we wait, May God give
us assurance. It's not vain to serve Him.
He's worth following. He will remember His people.
So may we say along with the Psalmist from Psalm chapter 27,
verses 13 and 14, I believe that I shall look upon the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage and
wait for the Lord. Let's stand together, continue
to worship our God through our faith, through singing to our
faithful God. Worship team can come on up.