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The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist
Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us
or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look
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message from God's Word will be a blessing to you.
Let's go ahead and turn. Our Bibles to Malachi chapter #3
No, it's not Malachi. All right, Malachi chapter #3
get. That out of the.
Way right now. OK.
He was not Italian. He was Jewish, as far as I know.
So I don't know where Malachi is.
I'm going to give you a hint. Are you ready?
Go to the book of Matthew. Go back about two pages.
All right, You'll be in the book of Malachi.
It is the last. Book.
Of the Old Testament, and we're going to continue looking at
some of these. Prophecies of Jesus Christ.
Of course we did that last. Week as well and we will be
doing so this morning as well you know we.
In a society today where it seems like.
Truth is subjective, isn't it? You know what I mean by
subjective meaning like you know your truth and my truth.
In fact, I hear that all the time about, well, that's your
truth. And of course, I think what they
mean is that's your opinion, because we can all have opinions
about different things. Last night there was that
dessert table. That Kaylee had laid out.
Like an artist back there, I never seen someone put cookies
and brownies and all these different things in such an
artful way. And then I never saw people just
like, destroy it as quick as it was.
Well, I'm not. I don't have a lot of
compliments. For you that I'm sorry.
About that, no it. Just it was really good.
Wasn't it? But you know we.
Look at all. That and we could say.
You know, what's your favorite dessert?
And you know, I could say it's cheesecake or pecan pie.
You could say brownies, you could say ice cream.
You know, you could say. All kind.
Thankfully didn't have any ice cream on that table last night.
That would have been a little awkward, but could you imagine?
And we? Could all be listen, we could
all be right. About that right I mean, listen,
I love cheesecake and listen, I think it's probably the best
dessert right up there with pecan pie.
But I. Will tell you this that if you
don't agree with. Me.
Well, you're not safe. No, No, that's not what I meant
to say. No, what I meant to say what I'm
that was not in the notes. All right, What I.
Meant to say is this. That's just my opinion, right?
Because you could. Feel that way about cookies.
Or you could feel that way about brownies or ice cream or
whatnot. Listen, we all have an.
Opinion. That's not your truth and my
truth, that's just your opinion and my opinion.
The problem is the world today is taking the idea of truth and
made it like an opinion, like there really is no truth.
Well. That's what you feel about God.
That's your truth. This.
Is what I feel about God this? Is my truth this is?
What you feel about? The Bible, that's your truth.
And this is what I feel about my holy.
Books. And that's my truth.
Well. The fact of the matter.
Is. Well, there certainly are.
Opinions in this? World about certain matters of
things, there is real, substantial truth.
In the world as well, in fact. There is truth that Listen, it's
not my. Truth or your truth?
Listen. It's just God's truth.
And if you don't agree, you don't have to take it up with me
this morning. Sure, I'm the pastor, but you
don't have to take it up with me.
We would have to take it up with God if we had a disagreement
with God's truth. Let me tell you, people have
been trying. To take their disagreements.
To the Lord all these years about how his truth was wrong
and it seems like, well, he's still around and they aren't.
God's truth is well. Truth.
And living in this kind of world, where truth seems to be
so subjective can make us almost like Pontius Pilate.
And I. Don't want to compare ourselves?
To him. But there is.
Something that he said. That reminds me of this
situation where he threw up his hands.
Right as he was in the trial of Jesus Christ and he said this,
What is truth? Not recognizing the truth was
literally standing in front of him, the embodiment of truth,
Jesus Christ. Today we are going to look at
another prophecy of the arrival of.
Jesus Christ upon the scene and the title I message this morning
is this 2 Unchanging Truths. For an ever changing world.
In a world that. Seems to be on shifting.
Sand there are two unchanging truths for this ever changing
world. Would you stand?
Please for the reading of God's Word where Malachi again
chapter. #3 We'll read in verse #1 Behold, I will send my
messenger. And he shall prepare the way
before me. And the Lord whom you.
Seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant whom you delight in.
Behold, he shall come say at the Lord of hosts, but who may abide
the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth?
For he is like a refiners fire, and like fuller's soap, And he
shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.
He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and
silver, that they may offer unto the Lord, and offering in
righteousness in those three short verses.
We see 2 unchanging truths. For an ever changing world.
That I want us to look at this morning.
Why don't you go ahead and be seated and let's pray together?
Heavenly Father, I do. Thank you for this morning, and
I just thank you for the wonderful weekend we've been
able to have as a church. And I think of the joy.
That we had yesterday. Last night and just being here
this morning, Lord, even with some of the conditions not being
optimal for driving. And I look at the people who are
here today, Lord, so many of them faithful, happy.
Lord, it just blesses my soul. But Lord, today we're not.
Here just to be able to feel good and leave.
Lord, we want to be changed into your image.
Do we want to be more like Christ and to Lord help us to do
that this morning. Let the unsaved realize their
need for salvation. May those of us.
Who are saved realize our. Need to remove the dross from
our life to be put through the refiners fire and be more the
better for your service. Thank you again for this time
and we ask it all in Jesus name, Amen.
The Book of Malachi is written. As the last of the minor
prophets, and we call them minor prophets not because they
weren't as important as the other prophets.
But they were minor in the sizes of their books.
For instance, Malachi just being. 4 chapters.
And just a few pages in your. Bible Malachi was the last.
Of the minor. Prophets, it is the last.
Book of the Old Testament. And he is the last of the
prophets before the Lord was silent for about 400 to 400.
And 50 years, you say? Well, why was the Lord silent?
Well, as you know. As you've been around Liberty
Baptist Church for a little bit and we've preached on this over
and over again, but. The Lord and His graciousness
kept trying to have the people of Israel return.
To him, in fact, he gave them good kings and bad kings during
their divided reign, and then kept.
Trying to work with them. He sent prophets.
They even went into. Exile.
Then some of them. A remnant came.
Back and tried to rebuild, but even despite all of these
different things, you would have thought that somewhere.
Along the line their. Attention would have turned back
to God, but yet in the book of Malachi, God will try to
lovingly correct the people of Israel and they constantly.
Question the Lord over and. Over again.
In fact, the. Book of Malachi in many ways is
a book of questions, not of the. Prophet questioning the people
or God even questioning the people.
But the people questioning God, it's amazing that they're
questioning him about things they're guilty about.
They're like the child who. Took a.
Cookie from the cookie jar. And the father.
Says hey, did you take that cookie and they have it behind
their? Back and they go no.
Like that? That's what Israel is here in
the book. Of Malachi, listen.
God's got them dead to rights. By the way, God knows you.
That's still true today. He knows you, He knows about
you. He knows you better than you
know yourself. That's why when you're saved,
the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you is able to reveal the
deep things of the heart about you so that you can confess
those and make those right before the Lord and the people
of Israel kept saying, are you talking about me?
You mean me? Did I do anything wrong?
The whole time the cookies hidden behind, they're back.
And so God is trying to correct them.
And over and over through this very short book, He tries to do
that. And they are questioning him and
questioning him and questioning him.
And by the time that the book is done, the final 2 words of the
book of Malachi. In essence, the final 2 words of
the Old Testament. Are this a curse?
And for 400 plus years, God is silent.
Did I say God didn't? Exist.
No. God was very much present.
God was very much still at work. Listen, there's never a time
when God is just in heaven, not knowing, not understanding, like
some sort of a spiritual dementia.
Where God doesn't know what's. Going on, you know.
God is very aware of the affairs of men, but because the people
of Israel stopped listening, He stopped speaking.
For 400 years. But yet even in the midst of
their spiritual. Stubbornness even in the midst
of their rebellion towards him. He still here in chapter #3 in
these 3 verses, gives us this incredible prophecy.
Behold, I will send my messenger.
He shall prepare the way before. Me and the Lord.
Whom he seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the
messenger of the covenant whom you delight in.
Behold, he shall come, sayeth the Lord of hosts.
And from this rich and incredible prophecy, we find 2
truths, 2 unchanging. Truths.
About God that are comforting in today's society, in the ever
changing rather world. That we live in.
So the first that I want us to. Look at this morning.
Is this God never forgets? His promises.
Listen to me, you want truth this morning we'll start here.
God never forgets his promises and in.
Verse #1 we see. Two things that are.
Promised to mankind. A messenger and a Messiah.
There were two things that are promised in verse #1A messenger
and a Messiah. Who is this messenger?
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare
the way before me. That would be none other than
John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the one.
Who was? Going to prepare the way of the
Lord, to make the path straight for his appearing.
He was the messenger, a messenger, right?
A herald in old times would go before the King.
He would announce to those who are along the way, the King is
coming, the King is coming. And everybody who was on the way
that heard the voice of the messenger was to stop what they
were doing, to cease all activity.
And they were to be there in the presence of the King when he
passed by. What was John the Baptist job?
What was his mission? What was his ministry, if you
will? It was simply to announce this,
that the Messiah is coming, be ready, and then we see that
Jesus is that. Messiah, who is shown to us to
be God. What I love about this is that
not only is there the Messiah that is being spoken of, but
this Messiah is God. And the fact of the matter is
Jesus wasn't just a good man. He wasn't simply a good teacher.
He wasn't just a model for us to live by.
This verse here tells us of the deity of Jesus Christ.
Behold, I. Who is I?
God, I will send my messenger, John the Baptist.
He shall prepare, Prepare the way before me.
Who is me? Well, Jesus.
Christ, hold on a second. That choked up I God will
prepare the way, and the messenger before me, Jesus
Christ, well, who is me God, who is Jesus Christ, and the Lord
whom he seeks, shall suddenly come to his temple well, when
did Jesus Christ. Come to the temple well, we can
think of when he was an. Infant we can think of when he
was a 12 year old, we can think of during his earthly ministry.
We could see that he went to not just the temple.
Whose temple did he go? To his temple meaning.
What? That Jesus Christ was God and it
says this that. He was going to come suddenly to
his temple, you say? Well, Pastor, Well, hold on a
second. Well, I don't know that he came
suddenly, because it seems. Like this is a 400 year old
prophecy. We looked at even older prophecy
last week. You're telling me that?
That it's sudden but. It seems like it wasn't so
sudden at all. Well, there is a.
Difference between something happened suddenly, suddenly,
suddenly, but with there being warning, meaning this Mount
Saint Helen. Some of you will remember the
eruption of Mount Saint Helen some years ago.
All accounts, it happened suddenly, people happen, people
did not know what was about to take place, did not take heed of
what was going to take place, and many died in the very sudden
eruption. But there were a lot of warning
signs and there were people that ignored those warning signs and
when it happened. It did not happen.
Slowly it happened quite suddenly.
Could I tell you that the quote UN quote warning signs of the
Messiah coming are all over the Old Testament?
You can go from Genesis chapter 3 all.
The way here until the end of the.
Book of Malachi and what do you see?
The warning signs. And what happened when he came?
He didn't come suddenly. They didn't expect him.
They didn't know we saw last. Week that, Herod said.
Who is? This king and that the the the
Pharisees had to look up the prophecies to be able to
understand that would be born in Bethlehem and they just didn't
quite understand but when it happened it happened and so we
see here that there's a messenger that's going to
prepare the way and then there will be a Messiah he is the.
One who is going to go and he is the.
One who is going to preach and is coming in verse #2 and 3 is
going to be unlike anything that has ever been seen before and it
will be like anything. That has never been seen again.
God. Promises and when God promises.
Something he does it, he promises, say well, it seems
like it took a while, but he did it.
By the way, he's promised to come back, so it seems like it's
been a while. He's going to do it.
Say, why is that? Well, because he always keeps.
His promises. That's the first unchanging
truth. God always keeps his promises.
Look at any fool can make a. Promise anybody can make a
problem. Listen, even a well intended.
Person can make a promise. You could.
Promise that you're going to do a certain thing on a certain
day, but perhaps you get ill or perhaps the weather turns bad,
or perhaps you don't have the money that you thought you had.
It could have been anything that you were well-intentioned even
in making your promise, but yet you couldn't fulfill it Because,
listen, there are things that happen that are out of your
control, but God can keep his promises.
And the way that we know that God can keep his promises is
because there's nothing that's out of his control.
And. That's.
That should give comfort to us. At this time of year.
That should give comfort to us for the other. 11 months of the
year. That God always keeps his
promises. Listen because God is always in
control. That Go to Mark chapter 1 very
quick, just a couple pages away. Go to Mark chapter #1.
I want you to see that, you say, well, you're.
Connecting some dots about the John the Baptist and Jesus and I
just. Don't know that that actually
there. Well, let's go to Mark chapter
1, Or Mac Either way, you know, if we can do Malachi, we can do
Mac, right? So come on, Mac.
All right, verse #1 the beginning of the.
Gospel of Jesus. Christ, the Son of God as it is.
Written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy
face, which I'll prepare the way before me.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness Prepare you the way
of the. Lord make.
His path straight. Well, what Prophet spoke of
that? Well, that would have been
Malachi chapter #3 as it. Is written there it is
confirming this isn't just some wild eyed independent Baptist
preacher who's trying to make connections that aren't there.
The very Word of God confirms. To us.
That that messenger was John the Baptist, verse 4.
John did baptize in the. Wilderness and preach the
baptism. Of repentance for the remission
of sins. And look at what it says.
And then verse #5 there went out with him all the land of Judea,
and they have Jerusalem, and we're all baptized.
Of him in the Jordan River confessing their sins, and John
was. Clothed with camel's hair and
with a girdle. Of a skin of those loins.
And he did eat locust and wild honey.
Well, I mean, he wasn't perfect, but anyway, the locust part kind
of kind of weirds me out, but verse 7.
And he preached. Saying there cometh 1.
Mightier than after I after me, the latchet of whose shoes?
I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.
I have indeed baptized you with water, but he shall baptize you
with the holy. Ghost and it.
Came to pass in those days that Jesus came for.
From Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized of John in the Jordan.
What are we saying? There's the messenger and
there's the Messiah. The messenger made prepared the
way and he announced the coming Messiah.
We see in other passages that when he.
Sees Jesus Christ says behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world and Jesus asked to be baptized of
him by the way, showing us the process as well.
Did Jesus quote UN quote need to be baptized?
No, but he was showing us the process of which we go through
after we are saved that we are baptized and then we grow in our
faith. This is what Jesus is showing us
here and then he's submitting himself to this and John says
no, I can't. I'm not even worthy to unbuckle
your shoes. Because he understood who Jesus
was, God never forgets his promises.
Listen, God kept his promises. To Israel.
Despite their unfaithfulness, I think of it the dedication of
the temple. Saul dedicated the temple in
First Kings. Chapter 8.
Verse 50. Six he says this.
Blessed be the Lord that hath given rest unto his people
Israel. According to all that he.
Promised there has not failed. One word of all, His good
promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
God will keep his promises despite listen our own
sinfulness. You ever make a promise to
somebody and they kind of make you mad and they kind of say,
you know what? All bets are off.
You know what? You're not faithful to me.
I. Don't have to be.
Faithful to you Well that's kind of the human condition isn't
that's the flesh that wants to feel that way, but God despite.
The fact that we have. Been very unfaithful to him, has
been very faithful to us. God never forgets his promise.
He promised a Messiah. It looked bleak, but he came by
the way. He's promised salvation through
that Messiah and it is available for you today through his
precious blood. People will fail us.
I wish it wasn't true. People will fail us.
God will never fail you. So I'm tired of.
In fact, I'm tired of church pastor because, you know, I'm
just, I'm just tired of, of the church scene.
I'm tired of the whole issue. I'm tired of all the different
things. Listen, it wasn't.
Church that failed you as. People.
Because the God of the Church. Is not the one who failed you
Listen. God will never fail.
Why He? Always remembers how he never
forgets his promises #2 Here's the other truth.
First of all. God never forgets his promises,
but #2 God is always willing to forgive.
He is always willing to forgive. Go back to Malachi chapter #3 if
you would. Malachi Chapter 3.
Let's look at verses #2 and 3. One of God's.
Promises to us is that there would always be a means of
forgiveness for our sins. In the Old Testament, that was
the blood of bulls and goats. Hebrews 10, verse 4.
But here's the problem. Hebrews 10/4 is not.
Possible that the blood of. Bulls and goats should take away
sins. The sacrament.
The sacrificial system. Could only cover the sins of the
people, but they can never truly be forgiven.
You say well. How could that possibly?
Be true because if could forgive sins, then Jesus Christ would
never have come there'd be no need for him to come and we.
Would still be having sacrifices.
Today, the closest we have to. Sacrifice our church BBQ.
That we have once a year, all right.
And that has nothing to do with the religious.
Right, that's just the fact that.
You know, we like to eat, you know, that's what I'm saying.
But we don't have that happen today.
Why? Because.
There was a more perfect sacrifice in the New Testament.
Hebrews 10 verses 10 through 12 by the which we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,
and every piece standeth daily, ministering and offering
sometimes or often times the same sacrifices which can never
take away sins. But this man, after he had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat.
Down at the right hand of God. It wasn't a sacrificial system,
that said. Again and again and again and
again and again. And you never will be clean from
your sins, it'll only be covered for a year.
But yet we realize that when Jesus Christ came that He always
forgives those who come to Him in repentance.
What does that mean? That He is the one that
forgives. Sins.
And that's why he came. That's why he lived.
That's why he died, by the way. That's why he rose again.
Because he is the perfect sacrifice.
He lived a life. For 33 years.
Where he never sinned during that time he was tempted.
So I remember he was tempted 3 times in the wilderness.
Well, he was tempted 40 days in the wilderness, not just three
times. And no doubt he was tempted
throughout his entire life. He's tempted all points like we
were, the Bible says, yet without sin.
Why? To be the perfect sacrifice?
Because here's some bad news. You're a Sinner.
Say, who do you? Think I am a Sinner.
I just said it. Why are you asking that?
Why would you ask me that? Just I literally.
Just said it, you are a Sinner. I'm a.
Sinner, everyone. Who's ever walked this Earth?
Has been a Sinner except for Jesus Christ, which is why only
he could be the sacrifice for sins, but he's always willing to
forgive and it says in. Verse #2 look at.
What it says, But who may abide the day of His coming, and who
shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a.
Refiners fire and like fuller soap.
Now let's consider. These things because Jesus.
Is like a refiners fire and he is like Fuller soap.
Now, these are two things that maybe aren't right at the.
Forefront of our minds that are part of our.
Day-to-day life, a refiners fire and a fuller soap, but a
refiners fire. Is in ancient metalworking.
Where a refiner. Would heat silver and gold
until. It melts as it did.
So is that ore was melting in that?
Very high heat, the Imperial. Would rise to the top.
What the refiner would do would then skim all the impurities.
Off allow it to cool. And then go through the process
again and again. Sometimes it was said up to
seven times. That a perfect.
Amount of as the number. 7 is often represented as perfection.
In the word of God. We see that it was.
An amount of. Heat that came that purities
were removed, impurities were. Removed and when.
You were done. You were.
Left with something that was. Pure and that was ready for use.
It was said that the refiner trainer knew that the OR was now
what it needed. To be when he could see his
reflection in what was melted in front of him and isn't that what
Jesus Christ is to us he is the refiners fire listen that he is
the one that purifies us from sin.
By the way, when you're saved, but then that day-to-day sin
that we have in our. Life as well when we don't.
Follow him. Hey believer, we don't always
follow after. We get saved like we.
Should And sometimes he puts us through the fire and it's not
because he hates us. Do you know why?
Because he's trying to bring out something better within us.
Christ likeness. He wants to see our his image in
US and the world should see his image in US.
And so sometimes we got to go through.
The fire a little bit say, well, pastor, I've been going through.
Some tough times right now it seems like God hates me.
No, he loves you. He's the refiners.
Fire it may be. Hot for a little bit.
It may be difficult for a bit. It may not be comfortable, but
what? Comes out is something the
better that is useful in the master's hands, far better than
what you could have done on your.
Own he is the refiners fire but he's.
Also the fuller's soap. Now, a fuller back in those days
would be someone that dyed fabrics.
That's what that is today. You want fabric that's dyed
different colors while you buy it at the store.
That's the way it works. But what did they do in those
days? You wanted to?
Get fabric that was a different color.
Well, if. Fuller was the one that would go
put the fabric in the dyes and do that type of thing.
But you know that type of dye would.
Really mess with your hands. It would really get it pretty
pretty messed. Up so they need a special type
of soap. This special soap usually
included. Lye or ash the closest.
That we would have today. Something like this would be.
Lava soap they use. Pumice soap, lava soap.
I mean, that's for people that work with their hands.
So someone like me that types all day, lava soap wouldn't
really help me a whole lot. But you know you're changing the
oil, you know, you know you're, you're working on something down
deep in the dirt. Maybe you're even out in the
garden and you got just stuff everywhere all over your hands
and and the regular soap just isn't cutting it.
You pull out that lava soap, and by the way, it'll take off
probably. A good two or three layers of
your skin. But what's left is clean.
I mean, it's thorough. Nothing gets missed that that
lava soap, that Puma soap. And here he says he's not just
the refiners fire, he's the the, the the soap, the fuller soap as
well. Meaning this that he will clean
you better than anything else can clean you.
Listen, you can try to be cleansed by your works and guess
what, there's still be residue leftover.
You can try to be. Clean by just going to.
Church, there's still be residue leftover.
You can try to be clean by just being a nice person.
There'll be residue leftover. You can try to give money to the
church and there'll be residue leftover.
You can just try to pray and there'll be residue leftover.
You can just try to learn as much as you can about God and
the humanities and all those different things, and there'll
be residue leftover. Whatever you try to do to clean
yourself from your sins. The Bible says this.
It's nothing but a filthy rag. You're smearing that which is
already dirty. You're just readjusting the
dirt. The dirt's not really.
Going anywhere? But if you want to be clean,
it's got to be the fuller soap. Who is that?
That's Jesus Christ. Listen, God never forgets his
promises, but he always forgives.
Those who come to him asking for forgiveness say, well, you don't
know what I've done. I don't know what you've done.
And can I be honest? With you, I don't want to know
what you've done. I got enough to deal with my own
life. I don't need to know what you
got going on in your life. Listen if you need.
To counsel things like I'm glad to you understand what I'm
saying, but I don't need to know specifically what's going on in
your life to know this. God will forgive you.
So you don't know what I did. I'll, I'll, I'll counter that.
I do know what Paul. Did and Paul did.
Some pretty wicked things. In the name of God, no less.
You know this, He was forgiven and became one of the apostles,
and you think you're much more? In a worse shape than he was.
Listen. God could forgive the apostle
Paul. God could forgive you.
I remember giving the Gospel once, several years ago, to a
woman. In fact, it was a day much like
this. Diane and I went into Boston.
She was in the hospital actually with a baby that was there.
It was a snowy day, and I remember that she was in a very,
very bad situation and we were trying to give her the gospel.
We had to make clear to her. We want to make sure she
understood that. Listen, we're here to visit you.
We're here to visit the baby. I'm really concerned, ma'am,
about your salvation. But we don't want you to pray to
be saved just because you think that'll make the baby better.
We want to make clear that it just God doesn't.
We're not doing that. That's not what salvation is
about trying to do. Do well, maybe if I can make God
happy and pray this little prayer that my baby will get
better. So we try to make it clear, but
she said this to me and my wife. She goes, well, you don't know
what I've done. And I knew enough to know it
wasn't good. Like there was a reason they
were at the hospital in the 1st place.
I said this, I don't need to know the exact things that
you've done to know this. God will forgive you.
And that's true of you today.
It doesn't matter if you're a young person.
It doesn't matter if you're in your Middle Ages.
It doesn't matter if you're an older person, say, well, it's
too late for me, are you alive? It's not too late.
It's time to accept Christ. And sure, you say, well.
Wouldn't it would have been? Better if it was earlier.
Listen, don't worry about what? Could have been.
You are here today and what are you going to do with the gospel
is being presented to you today? Listen, He never forgets his
promises, which means this. He's promised that you can be
saved. He'll forgive you.
Just give your life to Christ. Today, Amen.
Why would you try to take this? Is this whole idea of trying?
To to to work your own righteousness out.
Why would you take God's perfect plan and try to?
Improve it. Why do you add baptism?
This plan is perfect it. Doesn't need your baptism.
What? And it requires the Lord's
Supper. His plan is perfect.
Doesn't. Require you taking the Lord's
Supper. Why?
To go through the confirmation. No, no, it's not that I got to
be an altar boy, which, by the way, I was.
And I was still lost as a goose. I don't know what the goose did
to be lost, but I'm just saying that's just I.
I was lost. I didn't know.
Could you imagine someone
looking at the Mona Lisa now they don't let you close to the
Mona Lisa anymore. I've seen as like it's in case
encased in bulletproof glass. And you got to stand like I
think, I think you actually got to look at it with binoculars
from about another about a couple 100 meters away.
But could you imagine someone letting you close to the Mona
Lisa and you say something like this?
I think I can make this better and pull out a magic marker, a
Sharpie, and just start making a little bit of a mark there with
hands that are dirty. Listen, You would have all of
humanity up in arms at you defacing this amazing painting.
At least that's what I've been told that it's amazing painting.
Listen. Why would?
Mankind, try to change the gospel which truly is the
masterpiece of all time. You think you can make it better
with your magic marker in your dirty hands?
Just give your life to Christ today.
Understand you're a Sinner. Understand only Jesus.
Christ can save you because of His.
He said why the Bible says I need to be washed yet not washed
in the baptismal orgy to be washed in the blood of the lamb.
Amen through. Salvation.
That's what salvation is about. First Peter 1 verses. 18 and 19.
For as much as you know that you are not redeemed.
With corruptible things as silver and gold.
From your vain conversation received by tradition.
From your father's. But with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without. Blemish and without spot.
Would you turn just one page over to Malachi chapter?
#4 Remember I said the last two words of the Old Testament were
a curse? Look at verse #5 Despite all of
that, behold, I will. Send you Elijah the Prophet.
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,
you said that Elijah the prophet who was that?
Well, Jesus revealed in Matthew Chapter 11, verses 12 through 14
that Elijah the prophet was John the Baptist, that he was the
one. No, this isn't me saying this
this. Is what?
Jesus Christ, I'm not going to make you turn.
Right now, for the sake of time, write it down and look it up for
yourself later. Matthew Chapter 11, verses 12
and 14. So even in the midst of the.
Very. Darkest moment God is.
Still just telling him. Listen, there's still.
Hope. There's still hope.
Despite everything, go back to verse #1 for behold, the day
cometh. That day shall or that shall.
Burn is then oven and the. Proud.
Yeah, All that do. Wickedly shall be stubble, and
the day that cometh shall burn them up, say at the Lord of
hosts, that is, that shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the sun.
Do you see that word sun there? What's interesting about that
word Sun? Has a capital.
Letter S, doesn't it? It's the SUN, but I'd also.
Tell you it's the SON, the Sun of Righteousness.
Fell arise with. Healing in his wings, and you
shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall.
You know it. Talks about the sun of.
Righteousness arising with healing.
In his wings, it's almost like those wings would be like
sunbeams or rays and there's healing within the sun of
righteousness. It was about couple years ago
Diane and I, for our 20th anniversary, got to go to the
Cayman Islands. I'll tell you, I got a couple
bank accounts there. I got oh, no, nevermind.
No, it's, I just want to check on the balances and it's all
good, you know what I'm saying? But anyway, yeah, so, but
anyway, I I just remember being out there and it's a small
island. It's so small.
I mean, you could drive from one side of it to the other in in an
hour. I remember some of the sunrises
and the sunsets I saw weren't like anything I ever saw.
Diane said one day she goes, we should, we should go see the
sunrise. And I said, you know, we ought
to do, we ought to sleep in. I'm just saying, I mean, it's
sunrise pretty early, you know, and we're on vacation.
Just seems like that's probably not the right thing to do.
But what we went out and we went out.
It was, it was still dark. And I've never seen a sunrise
like this. Before we had our coffee.
And we were sitting down there on the and the on the beach and
our our beach chairs and just watch it slowly come up and it
and it and it and it. All of a sudden the.
Sky starts changing colors and then before you know it, it's
like you. Snap your finger.
And it's morning. The changes happened so slowly
and so subtly, and all of a sudden it's like the Lord just
turns on the light switch. It is morning.
So have you ever seen a sunrise before?
Yes, I've been up that early that I've seen a sunrise before.
I'm just saying all I saw was water and sun.
That that's the idea here. Some of you think, Do you get up
before 7:00 regularly? OK, I have too many children.
To not get up. Before 7:00, all right, But I'm
just saying to be able to see it with that clarity, not a cloud
in the sky, just the water in front of you.
Radiating off the water. The beauty of that was unlike
anything I'd probably ever seen of that type of thing.
But the Bible says the Sun of Righteousness has healing within
his wings. When you think of the beauty of
that sunrise and you've seen probably some very incredible
sunrises and some very incredible sunsets, beautiful,
awe inspiring, jaw-dropping, that the creator of that very
sun is the one who wants to bring forgiveness and healing to
your life today. Life's a mess in this world,
life's a mess. And at this time of year.
Let me tell you, you think everyone got it together.
In fact, I would say things are worse for people this time of
year than the other times of the year because we've been told on
television and on social media and all these things that
everything has to be perfect this time of year.
And most of us are confronted with our imperfect lives and we
feel like we're less than or we feel like we're not enough.
Or if we don't do all the things, we're letting our
families down, we're letting all the people we love down.
If we don't spend enough on gifts and all that, then we're
then, then, then we're losers that what are we even doing?
Why would anybody even care about us?
And listen, there's a lot of discouragement.
There's a lot of depression, there's a lot of anxiety this
time of year. Let me tell you, listen, there
is hope in Jesus Christ. What's the hope for the unsaved?
That you can be saved, That He will.
Purify your soul. And that you can be saved, not
on anything that you've done, but what He's done.
And if you are saved, listen, he'll continue to refine you.
He'll continue to clean you, not so that you can be saved, but
because you are saved. So that you can be more like
Christ in this life and you can reflect Him to a lost and dying
world. So you can be a better
ambassador for. Him to the people.
That need to hear about it. And so you say, well, this time
of year it's got me all worked up.
Hey, remember the Sun of Righteousness?
He's got healing in his wings. Well, that's a beautiful sight.
Well, who created that? And everything else you see
everything you can't see. Listen, God never forgets his
promises. He always forgives his people
when they come to him asking for forgiveness.
Will you take? Care or take?
Heed of these things. If you need to get saved, get
saved the day. And if you are saved, listen,
rejoice and live as a believer, knowing that even in this hectic
time of year, God will help you and God will give you what you
need to be able to be more like Christ.
Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of
Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing
to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us
know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org.
Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton,
MA. May the Lord bless you as you
grow in His Word.