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All Out With Screen 2 - 4 November 18, 2018

Today we conclude our year-long study of the . We began January 2018 with discussing Biblical characters/heroes of the faith - if you will - who were all in for God, from Adam and Eve, to their son, Abel. In August we flipped this around and began to speak of everyone who is ALL IN will also be ALL OUT for God all the way to the . Today we end with Malachi 3 - 4. I pray you have learned and enjoyed this me this year as much as I have preparing for our me together. Thanksgiving is this Thursday - it seems to come earlier this year for some reason. I am so thankful to God to get to be your pastor - you will never know what a blessing you have been to my family and me. We love you, too.

PRAY especially thanking God for all He has done for each of us . . . salvaon/ marriage/children/family/friends/deliverance from enemies/neighbors/ministry - RBC. May we all be encouraged every me we gather together to worship, minister, etc. Lord, please ready us for your return (second coming). Amen

Thus far, we have discussed Malachi, wrien circa 420 BC, by the contemporary of Screen 3 Ezra/Nehemiah, who addresses the believing, though back-sliden remnant, by rebuking them for:

1. bringing polluted offerings (their second best to God) — the priests for offering them up, though they know they are not supposed to;

2. divorcing their wives of youth and marrying unbelievers/idolators (women). The priests and the people are guilty of great sin.

1 :17 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

The preaching of the priests validates their own personal behavior (sins) as well as the people’s sins! They were both in flagrant violaon of God’s Word, but they did not care. “Where is the God of jusce?” (bold and brazen queson)

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Screen 4 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.

“my messenger” - is a play on Malachi’s name. This messenger is John the Bapst just as prophesied in :3. The reference is to the custom of Eastern kings to send men before them to remove every barrier and obstacle in their path. In this instance it meant the removal of opposion to the Lord by the preaching of repentance and the conversion of sinners to Him.

Note: “messenger of the covenant” - this means the Angel of the Covenant of Exodus 23:20-25; 33:15 and Isaiah 63:9. The Angel is God’s self-revelaon. He is the Lord Himself, really the pre-incarnate Christ of the many Old Testament appearances of God in human form in the Old Testament.

The Lord is on His way. Then and I know again (today) - maybe 420 years from now, maybe 420 minutes, 420 seconds . . .

Malachi 3:2-4 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand Screen 5 when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as

2 a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Screen 6 4 Then the offering of and will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

These verses move from Jesus’ first coming to the second coming and describe the central role will play in that me as well - remember, all of Israel will one day believe and embrace Jesus as Messiah.

Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swi witness Screen 7 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,” Screen 89 says the Lord of hosts.

Judgment - as painful as it sounds and as painful as it is - is so powerful because it makes way for the return of the Lord. John the Bapst’s message was “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mahew 3:2). Luke 3:18 says “So with many other exhortaons he preached good news to the people.” (John did.)

Malachi 3:6-12 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Screen 9

Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Screen Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your thes and contribuons. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole naon of you. 10 Bring the full the into the storehouse, that there may be

3 food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will Screen 11 not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing unl there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says Screen 12 the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all naons will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

The irony of these verses lies in the fact that God is geng ready to be the most selfless, most sacrificing, most giving, most generous He has ever been…

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

…and the people have a problem being sngy, selfish and greedy.

Emphasize that in verse 10 especially, God is saying bring Him the whole/full the. In Judaism the the or “tenth” included: Screen 13

1. the tenth of the remainder aer the first fruits were taken (Levicus 27:30-33);

2. the tenth paid by the Levites to the priests (Numbers 18:26-28);

3. the second tenth paid by the congregaon for the needs of the Levites Screen 14 and their families at the tabernacle (Deuteronomy 12:18);

4. another the every third year for the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).

This total amounted to +23% of the Israelites income. (Stress - they were a theocracy here …)

4 “put me to the test” - see also:

2 Chronicles 31:10 Azariah the chief priest, who was of the house of Zadok, Screen 15 answered him, “Since they began to bring the contribuons into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty le, for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount le.”

In the sacrificial giving is taught. In fact, in every example of giving in the New Testament the person brings everything. (check me on this.) All believers should be generous - why? Because our God is the most generous person in the cosmos.

Tithing was pracced and blessed before the law was given.

Hebrews 7:5-9 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office Screen 16 have a commandment in the law to take thes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man who does not have his descent from them received thes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is

blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case thes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is tesfied that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives thes, paid thes through Abraham,

God meets with blessing the heart wholly devoted to Him! See also 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 9

The tenth in the Old Testament primarily helped support the priests. Some think a paid ministry is an abominaon to God but Paul made it clear that not only do Screen 17

5 ministers deserve to be supported by those they ministers to (1 Timothy 5:18; 2 Corinthians 9:4-14) but also that their support is even more worthy than the poor.

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Malachi 3:13-15 13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But Screen 18 you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 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? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not Screen 19 only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

In these verses, the priests and the people make an enormously troubling statement (verse 14) “It is vain to serve God”. If one statement could be made in Screen 20 the enre that describes perfectly where the naon stood as a whole, spiritually, it would be this statement —> —> i.e. “serving God is useless” (Is this not the atude of our naon in many ways, as a whole?)

“What’s the profit?” (Go slowly through this part.)

“A commentary on verse 15 could be - “bad things happen to good people . . .”

I love how the Lord addresses this atude in verse 16.

Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Screen 21 Lord paid aenon and heard them, and a book of remembrance was wrien before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.

6 Here, the remnant of the believers begin to speak to one another and the Lord pays aenon to them —> this is a heavenly scene of God vindicang Himself to man. This is very much like the scene in Heaven in:

Revelaon 6:10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy Screen 22 and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

Malachi 3:17-18 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I Screen 23 make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the disncon between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

“Book of Remembrance” - In the last book of the Old Testament he menons a book! Persian kings kept a record of the names of those who did service for the king with a statement of that service. There are five different books menoned in Screen 24 the that are in Heaven:

1. The Book of the Living - (could be the same as the Book of Life) this book appears to be a book revealing the desnies of all humans born on earth ( 1:5; Psalm 139:16; Revelaon 3:12).

2. The Book of Life - This book is menoned 12 mes in the Bible. In the Old Testament by (Exodus 32:32-33), David (Psalms 69:28), Daniel (Daniel 12:1); in the New Testament by Paul (Philippians 4:3), John (Revelaon 22:18-19). See also Luke 10:20. This book is also referred to as the Lamb’s Book of Life.

7 3. The Book of Tears (Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have

collected all my tears in your bole. You have recorded each one in your book.)

4. The Rook of Remembrance - here in Malachi 3:16 (see also Acts 10:1-4 - Screen 25 Cornelius) for a person’s name to be recorded in this book, that person must be a giver, must fear God, and must witness of his name.

5. The Book of Rewards (of the believer) - (Daniel 7:10; Revelaon 20:12; Mahew 12:36-37)

It maers that we serve God - it maers that we seek him and love Him wholeheartedly. He’s wring our deeds down in Heaven as we speak.

Malachi 4:1-3 1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all Screen 26 the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise Screen 27 with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

The sun that burns and destroys the unrighteous will heal and nourish the Screen 27 righteous. I love this! “Wings” - beams are spoken of as wings because of the speed with which they spread over the earth. “You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” - believed to have been fulfilled in:

8 Acts 3:8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

Malachi 4:4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules Screen 28 that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.”

Remember the law of Moses, Israel, and obey my words.

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”

This verse speaks of John the Bapst and of the future coming of Elijah even Screen 29 beyond John the Bapst.

Mahew 17:11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things.”

“great and awesome day of the Lord” - speaks of the Romans destroying Jerusalem in 70 AD by Titus (later the emperor).

Again, in Revelaon 11 Moses and Elijah fulfilled this prophecy, specifically. Screen 30 Moses and Elijah met God at Sinai (Exodus 3:1 and 1 Kings 19:8-18). Both met Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguraon (Mahew 17:1-5). So, the believing ancestors and forefathers (like , Levi, Moses, and Elijah in the book of Malachi - see 1:2; 2:4-6; 3:3; 4:4) will finally convince the unbelieving children the truth of Jesus being the Messiah. The Jews repeat verse 5 aer verse 6 (make a big deal out of this;say it out loud), because Malachi ends with a curse. Then Malachi ends - the Revelaon of the Old Testament ends with prophecy about the

9 future coming Messiah. I’m so thankful Jesus Messiah came the first me and I just cannot wait for him to return again. Screen 31 INVITATION

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