I invite you to find the book of Malachi with me if you will [page 954 in your pew Bibles].
Today’s Scripture
You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 2:17-3:5).
The people were clearly disillusioned and God was taking the blame.
1. Dealing with Disillusionment
“You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ By saying, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.’ Or by asking, ‘Where is the God of justice’” (Malachi 2:17)? The Bible says God is wearied about the complaints of the people. How would you describe our day? We are disillusioned and we are disappointed.
1.1 Reasons to Question God
School shootings, inflation at a 40-year high, Putin tearing apart Ukraine for his ego, and crime is on the rise in many of our major cities. This week, a drunk driver crashed into a gas station, knocked over the pump, and injured eleven children in the process. A New York City teenager was released just three days after he assaulted a police officer on the subway, and his assault was caught on video. It’s been nearly two months since DFW has seen rain, and grassfires are all over our area. When you look where we are, you can understand where they were.
Again, how would you describe our day? We are disillusioned, and we are disappointed. Like our day, the question posed in verse 17 shows you how bad things were.
1.2 Is God Guilty of Evil?
People were so lawless that people wondered if God could be bothered with all the evil in the world. The levels of sin, crime, and corruption were so high that some wondered if God was pleased by it all. The complaint is, “You’re blessing the sinners and not helping the saints.” The complaint is, “You’re being good to the evil people and BAD to Your children.” All this wearied the Lord.
The prophet Isaiah tells us, "The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary…” (Isaiah 40:28). God doesn’t come home from the office worn out in need of a nap. You cannot pray too much that God says, “I cannot take it anymore.” But the Bible says your sins do weary the Lord (Isaiah 43:24).
1.3 Blasphemy
And when you call evil good and good evil, this is blasphemy. To call into question the goodness of God who sends rain on the just and unjust is profane (Matthew 5:45). To question the essence of our Heavenly Father who makes the sun rise upon the evil and the good is perverse (Matthew 5:45). Again, the people’s blasphemy wearied the Lord. Their failure of faith wearied the Lord. It was a failure to believe God was real and He was good. The Lord knows who are His. It was a failure to know God’s character was holy and just. God is wearied by such arrogance.
1. Dealing with Disillusionment
2. I’m On My Way
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). In verse one, it’s as if God says, “You are asking, ‘Where am I?’ Do you want me to do something? Do you want me to come down there? You want me to bring justice?” You can hear the wheels turn when God says, “I’m on my way.” Be careful what you ask for. “You want justice. Wait for the God of justice to walk through those doors.” Nearly all people who want God to show up think God will take their side when He arrives.
2.1 Joshua – Danger Zone
Years before, when Israel was just becoming its own nation, Joshua was the leader. As the nation made its way towards Jericho, Joshua did his reconnaissance when he saw an impregnable wall defending Jericho on all sides. When Joshua was by Jericho, he saw a man standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, “Are you for us or are you for our advisories?” Joshua says, in essence, “Whose side are you on?”
“And he said, ‘No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come’” (Joshua 5:14a). When you call on God to deliver you, you have to pause to ask the question of Joshua, “God, are you for me or are you against me?”
The movie Top Gun made Kenny Loggins’ song, “Danger Zone,” and that’s precisely where the people were headed – the Danger Zone. Again, God says, “I’m on my way to do a spiritual and moral housecleaning.” Be honest with yourself for a moment: if God showed up in your house, would He need to do some housecleaning? If he went through your social media feed, would He need to do some housecleaning?
2.2 Messianic Prophecy
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). Later on, Malachi will tell us this: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5). The situation was a familiar one in the ancient Orient, for whenever a king was about to arrive at a town or village, messengers were sent ahead in order to allow the towns and villages to make the necessary preparations to receive the king. God says, “You are asking for me to come, and before I come, I will send a messenger ahead to prepare the way for my arrival.”
2.3 John the Baptist
About 400 years go by, and Jesus is talking about John the Baptist, whom Jesus called a really great man. John was all kinds of things, including a grasshopper-eating, desert-stalking prophet wearing camel-hair clothing and a leather belt (Matthew 3:4). Needless to say, John, the Baptist was different. Jesus asks a throng of people, “What did you go out to the desert to see?” Then the Son of God quotes Malachi 3:1 from memory as He described His cousin, John the Baptist: “What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you’ (Luke 7:26-27).
So normally, when royalty came to a town in ancient days, messengers went before the king and queen. They would level the roads, fill in ruts, remove boulders in the king’s path, and straighten the way for the royal queen. But John wasn’t worried about roads; He was concerned about hearts. Instead, John morally and spiritually prepared the path for Jesus (Matthew 3:3). Just as Malachi predicted, John did this and more.
Approximately 450 years after Malachi, John met these religious teachers who talked about God coming and how much they were looking forward to God coming and on and on. But we all know that talk is cheap. When those same religious leaders came out to John to put on a show for baptism, John once again prepared the way of the Lord by saying this: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:7b). John did a spiritual housecleaning! Just a Malachi predicted.
2.4 The Messiah
Malachi predicts not only a messenger, a forerunner, but Malachi makes an even larger prediction in verse one: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).
Malachi is quoting God, the Father, in verse one. Notice that in verse one, there’s a transition from “me” to “he.” Notice the words, “he will prepare the way before me,” and then a little later, you read, “and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” Exactly, who is the “me,” and who is the “he?” The first clue is that the one coming is the owner of the Temple: “And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple…” (Malachi 3:1b). Who else owns the Temple but God?
The second clue in verse one is that He is called “the Lord.” And if that’s not enough, we know it is “the LORD of hosts” speaking at the end of verse 1 while at the beginning, the Lord says, “I send my messenger.” So who is this person? Verse one says, “Behold, I send my messenger, [John the Baptist] prepare the way before me …” But then he switches without any difficulty and instead of saying, “And I will suddenly come to my temple,” He says, “And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” It looks as though “me” is virtually interchangeable with this other person called the Lord, who owns the temple of God.
2.5 Superman
Superheroes have captured Americans’ imagination for a long time. We all know the saying, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s Superman!” It’s not an angel coming. It’s not a prophet coming. It’s the Lord Himself coming. “It’s a prophet. It’s an angel. No, it’s the Lord.” The only credible conclusion is this: the messenger of the covenant, the Lord, the owner of the temple of God, is none other than the Son of God, who is with God, the Father and is God, and who came into the world and made himself known to us personally in Jesus Christ.
Malachi 3:1 is an example of Messianic Prophecy. And you’ll find these all over the Old Testament. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Old Testament predicted the Messiah would be born of a virgin, live in the area of Galilee, and be crucified on the cross. Now, 400-plus years before Jesus’ arrival, Malachi says the Messiah is coming. Jesus would come along and say, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). And Jesus would tell His disciples, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9b).
1. Dealing with Disillusionment
2. I’m On My Way
3. The Refiner’s Fire
“But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD” (Malachi 3:2).
3.1 The Names of the Lord
Now, our Lord has been called many things in the Bible. There are many names for Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King. He’s a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, and Everlasting Father. In the New Testament, He’s the Physician, the Vine, and He’s the Good Shepherd. But I’ll tell you something else He is: He is the Refiner. In the same way, a farmer can’t plant until he clears the field; God’s glory cannot bless until He removes the environment from attitudes, actions, sins, and circumstances that keep God’s glory off a distance. “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears” (Malachi 3:2a)? No one can endure the day of His coming. No one can pass the penetrating tests the Lord will impose.
3.2 The Refiner’s Fire
“For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap” (Malachi 3:2b). A refiner’s fire is what a goldsmith would use when he puts the gold in the flame. The refiner, the smelter, sets the gold in the flame in order to burn off the dross. He wants to get rid of stuff that contaminates and devalues the gold, so he puts it in the fire until he can burn off the stuff that doesn’t need to be attached. Then, he has ‘purified’ gold. He is the One who wants to refine your life — that is, to take your life, like you would take gold ore or silver ore, and burn out, take out the dross and the impurities. Now that’s God’s goal for you. God’s goal for you is to make you holy and to purify you. That’s what God is doing in your life if you’re saved. God’s plan for His children from the very beginning of time is to think like Jesus: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).
“The beauty of this picture is that the refiner looks into the open furnace, or pot, and knows that the process of purifying is complete, and the dross all burnt away when he can see his image plainly reflected in the molten metal.” The moment you came to faith in Christ, God began to work in you to purify and make you holy. Moment by moment in this life, God’s plan for you is to act like Jesus: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
So the Bible calls God, a Refiner’s fire. If God were like a forest fire rather than a refiner’s fire, heaven would be empty. If he were only an incinerating fire, heaven would be empty. And if he were no fire, heaven would be empty. No, our God is a Refiner’s Fire to those who know Him.
3.3 Do You Struggle?
Are you free from these things: greed, selfishness, impatience, pride, lust, jealousy, gossip, anger, criticism, and unbelief? Do you have any difficulty with any of those things? Now, I’m looking at you. Would you gently nod your head if you have an issue with any of these? Yes?
3.5 Set of Scales
I’m not talking about the externals of your faith but what is internal. A lot of people want the externals of a faith without its reality. Many of us have scales we don’t stand on. What would you think if you, a fat man, had a set of scales in his house? You know, you have a scale in your bedroom or bathroom, but you won’t stand on it because you don’t want to deal with reality. The scales are in your house, but you never step on the scales because you don’t want to deal with what it shows you. Jesus comes into your life when you deal with reality. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
3.6 Shadow Ball
Before Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball, there was the negro league. Before the game, the players would take the infield as they do in the majors today. Only the players would have some fun with the crowd. Usually, the infield players throw the ball around the infield to warm up. Only the players in the Negro Leagues in the 1930s would play a mock game where they would throw an imaginary ball. They would begin by throwing a real baseball before one of the players would hide the ball. They would pantomime throwing the ball and act like they were catching it. They would go through all the motions to fake the crow out. They became so good at this that many people couldn’t tell there was no baseball. Once the crowd realized there was no ball - they would whistle and cheer as they settled in for the game. The team understood that Shadowball was just for fun - it was a pre-game exhibition to liven up the crowd - the actual game had not started yet. Some of you are playing Shadowball with God; you are simply going through the external religious motions. A faith that can’t be tested is a faith that can’t be trusted. How do you know what you have is real if you haven’t been tested?
3.7 Justice Has Arrived
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:5).
That’s how you know if God is in you. When you are concerned about justice for the oppressed. How do you know God’s heart is inside of you? When are you concerned about the widow and the fatherless? That’s how you’ll know if you are one who fears the Lord.
