“THE HEART OF A FATHER” Malachi 4:4-6
FBCF – 5/15/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Heart problems – big health risk for many people. Leading cause of death in men & women in US. I’ve seen results of heart disease many times.
- 25 yrs as firefighter – CPR many times – as recently as this past week
- Vicki’s daddy – quad bypass
- Daddy – triple bypass
- Do everything we can to try to keep heart healthy b/c we know that, when the heart stops, life stops.
Today in “HOMEwork” series, talk about our heart, but not our physical heart – our spiritual heart – specifically, “The Heart of a Father.”
Physiologically, men have a higher risk of a “heart event.” Spiritually, I believe men are at greater risk, too, l due to our place of spiritual leadership & responsibility in the family & in the Church. Men are called to lead their biological families & the family of God. If Satan can infiltrate our lives, inflict us w/ spiritual heart disease, & infect our families & the Church, he’s way down the road toward to doing some serious damage to the cause of Christ in our world today.
EXPLANATION – Malachi 4:5-6
Quick overview of book of Malachi since just doing this one sermon. Need to get a feel for what he said way back in about 520 BC.
Come to end of the OT. End of the prophets. Malachi the last one in a long line. Expect him to make a powerful, meaningful statement to conclude the OT before God goes silent for 400 yrs. Something to be said for last words. Usually carry a lot of weight. Love what Dr. David Jeremiah said about the book of Malachi:
“If you imagine the prophetic books of the OT as personal letters from God to His people, the ‘letter’ known as Malachi was the last one to arrive in Israel’s mailbox for a long, long time. Many weary, empty years would pass as those who loved & revered the Lord went to the mailbox again & again, only to find it empty. And it would stay empty for more than 400 years!” (Intro to Malachi, The Jeremiah Study Bible, p. 1269)
The very name, Malachi, means “my messenger” in Hebrew. So, what was the message that this messenger needed to give to God’s people here at the end of the OT? Written in the form of a dialogue between the Lord & His people, there were some things that God needed to speak w/ them about as His people grew more & more spiritually apathetic & distant from Him. Only 55 verses in Malachi, but a lot said in those verses! 6 subjects that God brought up to them:
- God’s consistent love for His people – 1:1-5
- God’s clear rebuke of the priests for dishonoring Him – 1:6-2:9
- God’s critical assessment of their dishonoring His plan for marriage – 2:10-16
- God’s commitment to justice & His weariness w/ their injustices – 2:17-3:6
- God’s covenant promises about tithing & how they’re robbing Him – 3:7-12
- God’s culminating plan to deal w/ the wicked & the righteous – 3:13-4:6
And the msg throughout the book is God’s call to return to Him. That was their only hope, & that’s our only hope today.
- Our only hope for mothers (last week) – Return to God!
- Our only hope for fathers (today) – Return…
- Our only hope for our kids & grandkids – Return…
- Our only hope for our families – Return…
- Our only hope for our nation – Return…
- Our only hope for all of us here today – Return…!
APPLICATION – God has a plan to turn the hearts of fathers back to their kids.
THE STANDARD: GOD’S REVEALED WORD – v. 4
A big part of our ongoing relationship w/ the Lord is to think back & remember all the ways He has worked & all the things He has said.
- Social media fast & Big DOGS – In the Psalms a lot – Been struck w/ how many times David has remembered how God had worked in his life & gave testimony about it:
- Psalm 9:1b – “…I will recount all of your wonderful deeds” “…I will tell of all the wonderful things you have done.” (NLT)
- Psalm 13:6b – “…[God] has been so good to me.” (NIRV)
- Psalm 18:19b – “…He rescued me.”
- Psalm 66:5a – “Come & see what the Lord has done…” v. 16 – “Come & hear, all you who fear the Lord, & I will tell you what He has done for my soul.”
Here in v. 4, we are reminded to remember what God has revealed to us in His Word. Mt. Horeb is another name for Mt. Sinai – “the mountain of God” – where Moses received the 10 Commandments. Those 10 commandments are the eternal standard by which all of our conduct should be measured. We can’t be saved by keeping the 10 Commandments, but we are to live our lives in obedience to the Lord & His commandments given to us.
When we remember the Law & remember what God did on Mt. Horeb, we remember that God is a God of power, a God who loves & delivers His people, a God of holiness. We remember that we are in a war against the powers of Satan who is trying to extinguish the light of truth in our lives & in our world. Our world system says, “There is no right or wrong, no absolute standard of truth. You decide what is true for you & live your life based on YOUR definition of truth.”
But God says, “NO! I am the God of truth. My Word & my commandments are THE standard of truth. There is NO OTHER WAY TO LIVE than by MY truth!” Of ALL people, we, fathers, need to know God’s truth, live by His truth, & set the example for our children & teach them how to live by God’s truth.
THE WARNING: GOD’S REPENTING WORD – v. 5
Elijah was a great prophet in the OT – one of my favorite stories is his duel w/ the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Prophets are God’s spokesmen to tell the people what God has said, what God is going to do, & call us to repentance. In v. 5, it is made abundantly clear that “the Day of the Lord” is coming – the day when it will all be over –– the end of history when His wrath will be poured out on all unbelievers.
We are warned over & over in Scripture that that Day is coming. Right now, the powers of Satan are moving strongly & getting stronger all the time. It can be discouraging, disheartening, & disturbing as sin runs rampant all over the world. None of us is immune to it or shielded from it except by the power of the Spirit of God within us. We need to constantly remind ourselves that “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
But the warnings continue to come through God’s prophets in the Bible, & through God’s preachers in the world today. REPENT b/c there’s a Day coming when it will be too late! Get your life right w/ the Lord! Come to Jesus & be saved if you haven’t done so yet. If you have, quit living like the world says to live & commit your life wholeheartedly to the Lord!
You dads here today who don’t know Jesus, BE SAVED! You dads here today who do know Jesus but aren’t living for Him, REPENT & get your life right w/ Him TODAY!
THE RESULT: GOD’S RESTORATION OF THE HEARTS OF FATHERS – v. 6
The reason that prophets & preachers tell you to repent is not to beat you up & condemn you, but to let you know that God’s mercy & GRACE are available to you today. But to avoid the judgment of God, people must be changed – specifically their hearts must be changed. Not just a change of outward behavior, but an inward change of the heart which will show on the outside. Specifically in this verse, this change is seen in ordinary fathers having their hearts changed toward their children. How does this happen? What does this look like?
- It happens when we dads humble ourselves before the Lord & realize that we desperately need God’s help. James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves before the Lord & He will lift you up.”
- It happens when we dads stop ignoring our kids & just giving them the leftovers of our lives.
- It happens when we dads stop abusing our kids, stop constantly criticizing them, stop putting them down & making them live under the cloud of our disapproval.
- It happens when we dads let go of bitterness toward our kids for never saying thanks, never showing gratitude for all we’ve done for them, & forgive them biblically & completely.
- It happens when we realize that we are loved unconditionally by God, & we show that love to our kids, & TELL them that we love them.
“Never underestimate your role as a father. Remember, Dads, that your children’s view of God will largely be dependent on their view of you.” (Tony Evans)
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Men available to pray w/ other men during invitation.
