Why We Need Christmas (Part 3)

0:42Second reason why we need Christmas is to remind us that we need a Savior. The message of Malachi is one that spiritual defection leads to social disorder, which leads to societal disintegration. In the book of Malachi, the burden of Malachi is that man needs to be saved from this bent of dishonoring God and not paying proper respect to him. Same message. After everything that has happened in the Old Testament, Israel could not keep the law. That's the bottom-line message. So Israel needs a Savior in order to be a people who love God with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength, as the Torah requires. They need a heart transformation. Something needs to change. And that something is they need a Savior. It's a message not about Israel, it's a message about mankind. Man needs a Savior. We need to be saved from this propensity to constantly go our own way and failing to honor God. We need a Savior. And this is exactly what the angel tells Joseph in Matthew 21. She, Mary, will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. He will save them from the penalty of their sins, but he will also save them from that disposition to sin.

2:14Third thing, or the third reason we need Christmas, is to remind us that we need a refiner. We need a refiner. And that is where our text is going to take us this morning. You see, salvation is not only being saved from sin, but it is also being saved to the Lord. Salvation is being saved from, but it is also being saved to. We sing popular song away in the manger this time of year. At least the historic lyrics went like this, and you're all familiar with it. Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in your tender care and fit us for heaven to live. Live with you there. We need to be made fit for heaven. Look, if you have no desire to worship God and to walk with God now, what in the world are you going to do in eternity? So we need the work of a refiner. It's not enough to just be saved from our sins, but we need to be saved to God. And salvation is an ongoing process. It's once in time we are justified for our sins, but it is also the process of sanctification, being made fit for heaven, being made ready as a people who can walk and live with the Holy God. And so we need the work of a refiner. And this is exactly what the message of Malachi 3 is about. Well, so far we've looked at Malachi 1 and parts of chapter 2 and looked at the cause of spiritual defection. And that cause of spiritual defection is failure to honor God. You look at Malachi 1:6, a son honors his father and a servant his master. And the very problem that God has with Israel at the outset of this book is: look, I am a father, and if I am a father, a father is due honor. But you are not honoring me. If I am a master, a master deserves respect. He uses the word fear a lot, fear throughout. The idea is respect.

4:29So the cause of spirit. Spiritual defection is this failure to honor God, and this shows up in their lame sacrifices. Last week, we looked at Malachi 2, verses 10 through 17, and looked at the result of spiritual defection, the result of spiritual defection, and that is treacherous worship, treacherous relationships within society, and treacherous or corrupt thinking. So, as one fails to honor God in his life, that sets him on a pattern that leads to false worship, sham worship, social disorder, wronging one another, and a corrupt thinking. Well, this week, I want us to look at the portions of Malachi 3 and 4 and look at the cure. So, we've looked at the cause of spiritual defection, we've looked at the result of spiritual defection. This morning, I want us to spend time looking at the cure for spiritual defection. And there are two aspects of this cure, and we'll look at each of these this morning. And my hope is that after we get through all this, that you will desire pure worship to flow from your life to the true King, that you will honor him as God, and that to recognize that this can only happen if you will respond or submit yourself to the work of the refiner. So, that's where we're going this morning.

6:00For our spiritual defection. First of all, I want to look at the work of the refiner. And there are two works that accompany the coming of the refiner, and that is purification and judgment. Purification and judgment. I want you to pick up in chapter 3. Let me just read the first four verses there. Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear 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. 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 a fuller's soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver. And he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, as in former years.

7:09First thing to notice is the location of his work. The location of this purifying work is going to be in the temple. Verse 1. Behold, I am going to send my messenger. This is the herald, the one who goes before, and he will clear the way before me, and the Lord, whom you seek, supposedly seek, is going to appear. This is speaking of Christ. And where is he going to come? What temple is he going to come to? Well, it's not Zerubbabel's temple. Zerubbabel's temple. It's kind of a mouthful, right? It's not Zerubbabel's temple. That's what is there in Malachi's day. And it's not Herod's temple. Now, as he did come into Herod's temple twice on two occasions, he drove the money changers out of the sanctuary or out of the outer court, both at the beginning of his ministry and at the end of his ministry, demonstrating his passion to cleanse the temple. But he certainly did not fulfill this scripture in those settings because the prophecy is that then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing. Well, it has never been pleasing. That is why the expulsion from the land, why the temple desolation.

8:28So it is a future temple. Whether tribulation or millennial temple, it is a temple that is yet to come. In fact, what's interesting is just this past week, or just read an article, lots going on on the Jerusalem Temple Mount. There is a group, and it's actually picking up steam. It's something that is trying to make provisions for a new temple to be built. They are called the This is just one of them, but this is the Temple Institute, made big headlines. And now they're gaining momentum within many of the political leadership within Israel. And they're looking to build up on the Temple Mount. We're looking for a new temple. We're looking for it to be divided between Jews and Muslims. This is one of the Temple Mount organizations. He says, Today, Jews realize that the Western Wall is not enough. They want to go for the real thing. You see those pictures of 10 million people come to the Western Wall, that last remaining wall of the ramparts of the Romans, which desolated the temple. That's the last that is there. And so they come and they wail. What are they wailing for? What do they want? They want a restoration. And the Jewish community, there's a contingency within the community saying it's not enough just to be able to go to the wall where it wants to end. What is the content of their prayers? That God would restore temple worship. Of course, it is, you can imagine, it's met with a lot of controversy. The dome of the rock sits up there where the prophet Muhammad, according to tradition, made his night journey into heaven. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is also up there. It's the oldest in Islam. So those responding to this group, one of the guys said this, this place belongs to. The Muslim people and no other have the right to pray here. And he says, if they try to take it over the mosque, this will be the end of time.

10:39It's considered the most contested real estate on planet earth. But this one rabbi, director of this Temple Institute, he envisions a new temple rising toward the clouds with underground parking, internet connectivity, radiant heating for the sanctified floors. And this is the priest, in according with Jewish law, will be barefoot, and a return of burnt offerings and animal sacrifice. And this is not some fringe contingency. I mean, it used to be, but it is growing. And listen, in April, this group renovated space in the old city in the Jewish quarter overlooking the Western Wall. And they've got a lot of funding by some American billionaires. And inside, what they have done is they have created the silver trumpets, the wooden lyres, three-pronged forks that are going to be used to turn over the burnt offerings. They have sewed a priest robe with a breastplate of golden threads and all the 12 precious stones representing 12 tribes of Israel. They have prepared the golden menorah, and they have prepared the Ark for the Covenants. And there are architectural plans.

11:58And this is what he says. The head of this temple institute. This is not an incitement. Our mission is to kindle the spark of desire for the time when the Jews are a light unto the world, and Muslims will agree it is time to rebuild. And all nations of the world will come to the Jews and ask them to rebuild. So, while many in Christian circles debate whether there is going to be another temple built, there is a contingency within Orthodox Judaism that are making plans to build another temple. And it is to this temple, whether, I mean, maybe not the one they build, or who knows, maybe this thing spins around a thousand years, I don't know, but it is a future temple to which the refiner is going to come. And there are two images, two images that if you look back, in this two images that are given in this section about the purifying work. One is he is in verse 2: who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and a fuller's soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and he will purify them. So, what does a smelter do? Anybody know what a self? I got a good picture of one. A smelting is a form of extracting metal from its ore. Okay, so you've got metal doesn't come out all shiny like this. In nature, you have to pull it out. It comes within rock formations and deposits, and you've got to take the metal, whether it's silver, gold, copper, and you've got to take it out and you've got to heat it up, and you've got to boil out the impurities. Well, here's kind of a modern version. This will give you the idea of the principle. This isn't the way it was done in ancient times, but it'll give you an idea of the work of a refiner. You see the little blower right here in the power cord? That tells you we are not in ancient civilization. There's a lot of fire, a lot of intense heat with refining precious metals. The metals, then the dross and the gases will form at the top, and the metal will be able to be, the pure metal will be extracted. But there's also, you know, think about Rene, right? You've got a, Renee's going to get married today. He's got a ring. She's got a ring.

14:30If he brought to her the unrefined gold, it'd be like this block of mess, all right? She probably wouldn't marry him, right? She wants the pure stuff. You know, you know, you take that. All of us have gold and silver. It's been through a refining process. We don't want the metal ore. We don't want that. It's got too many impurities. It's not pretty. But we want it to be refined. And that's the same way. That God wants. He wants his worship to be refined. He wants the pure stuff. He didn't want the messy, gross stuff. But he's also referred to in this section as a fuller's soap. That is a cleansing material. It's alkali used to whiten wool, to remove stains. And the process for making that wool went through a beading process, pretty blistering, and to get all the cleansed and ready for clothing. But the idea in both of these images, it graphically portrayed the removal of impurities, the stains. And that when the Lord, whom they quote, are looking for, you're looking for the Lord, he's going to show up. And let me tell you, he's coming with a lot of fire. Remember John the Baptist, who came as a forerunner before Christ, said, Look, one is coming, and he baptizes you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

16:06Fires of judgment, purifying fire of judgment. But both images speak of the removal of impurities. Look at the objects of his work in verse 3. It is the sons of Levi, the Levitical priesthood. And this is not to be obscured by taking it some figuratively to represent something. Else. No, he's talking about the Levitical order. That's the plain, simple meaning of the text. That's the plain, and that's the people who he has got an issue with in Malachi. The very same group that was supposed to be the spiritual leaders that were offering lame sacrifices, this very same group he is going to purify. The spiritual leadership of the nation, that is who he's interested in. These are the ones that led the nation astray in the first place. So he's got a refining process, aimed, temple, the center of Jewish life, and at the center or at the head of the spiritual leadership. And the result of his work, look at the end of verse 3, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. He is a refiner of worship. That is his nature. That is who Christ is. He is one who refines the worship of his people. And there will be pure worship going up from the creation to the creator because of the work of Christ. Not only his saving work, but also his sanctifying work. You see, he comes. Just as he came to the center of the spiritual leadership and the center of Jewish life, so he comes to the center of our beings and our hearts. For the purpose of refining us, this is the kind of work he does. You want the Lord in your life? This is what he's going to do.

18:08And he removes the impurities and sin and the desire to honor ourselves, to go our own way, to refuse to give God the honor and the respect he is due. So there are two works that accompany the refiner. The first is that of purification. The second is judgment. The second is judgment. 1 Peter 4:17 says that judgment begins with the house of God, begins with the spiritual leadership that God has installed to lead the nations. And certainly in this context, he's talking about the spiritual house of Israel. Once the spiritual house is refined, then the judgment comes upon the general population. Look in verse 5.

18:59Then I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord. Social justice is going to be reality because he's going to correct the spiritual defection from him that causes the Social injustice in the world.

19:34See, when the worship of God is right, then the relationship with men will be right. And he will come and he will remove. When he gets the spiritual house in order, then he'll get society in order. Judgment. Look at it. First, he says it in 3:5, but then also look over in 4:1. You see another picture of this judging aspect. For behold, verse 1, the day is coming burning like a furnace. That's a picture of a purifier. Fires of judgment, clean, burning like a furnace. And all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff. And the day that is coming will set them ablaze, said the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. I don't know about you, but a scorched earth is a pretty grim scene. But to burn up even the roots and the branch, that leaves no future. And that is the future of the arrogant. In verse 13, they're testing God. They're saying, what good is it to serve God? We're going to go our own way. And they test God, and they're testing his patience, his goodness.

20:59And he says, These arrogant, and every evildoer will be burned up. They will have no future. So, the work of the refiner involves purification. It also involves judgment. Next, I want to look at the response of those being refined. So, we've looked at the work of the refiner. This is what he's going to do. He's going to bring a purifying aspect and a judging aspect upon the earth. He's going to get the spiritual house in order so that pure worship will flow from the creation to the creator. This is what he does. But there is a response of those being refined. And this need to pay attention because this is you. This is me. Though there is a context, yet there is an application, and we are certainly fall under that umbrella. Look at verse 6, just as an interesting promise. For I, the Lord, after what he says, he's going to bring judgment, he promises, for I, the Lord, do not change, therefore, O sons of Jacob, you are not consumed. You know, the United States doesn't have this promise, but the Jewish nation does. Interesting, they're still called Jacob here. In other words, they haven't changed. They're still one who grabs the heel. Still, that word Jacob shows their hard-heartedness. And so, he's still referring to them. Jacob, but you're not consumed. You know why you're not consumed? Because God is faithful to His promises. You want one word that proves God. I think it's the word Israel. The very fact that it still has an identity, the fact that it has been dispersed, the fact that it has gone through everything that it has, and yet it is still intact. What's more, that it even has a foothold again in its ancient territory, speaks of one thing: the faithfulness of God. Because there's no other explanation why that people still has even an identity other than the sustaining and gracious, faithful hand of God.

23:15Verse 7, pick it up there. The first thing that the response of those who are being refined is honor, honor. And this honor needs to be expressed in repentance, or is to be expressed in repentance. Look at verse 7. From the days of your father, 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. They have turned aside. First thing of honoring God is a change of heart, a recognition that we have walked away from you, that we do not adhere to your standards, that we have gone our own way, and a desire to change that.

24:00That's the first thing that needs to take place in the heart if you're going to honor God. And this is the work of the response of those who are being refined. Repentance, a change of mind towards your sin, and that results in a change of direction in life. But it's also, so it's to honor God is expressed by repentance, but it is also expressed by paying tribute. Look at verse 7, the end of it. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, How shall we return? Very good question. How shall we return? Verse 8. Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, how have we robbed you? Here's the answer: in tithes and offering.

24:55A, we're not paying him tribute. So to honor God, you've got to repent, but you've got to pay him tribute. And because of this, and this was their specific sin that they needed to turn away from, failing to honor God as God, as reflected in the lame sacrifices that they were bringing. They were failing to bring him the tribute which was required of them. And so, because of this, in verse 9, you are cursed with a curse. That's why all the curses. Deuteronomy and 28 are coming upon you. For you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Here's the evidence of their repentance: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open up for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows, then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes, says the Lord of hosts. All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts. I think there's a truism that if you do not give the Lord your first, you will not give him your all. The requirement of the Torah was that they love the Lord their God with all of their hearts, with all of their soul, with all of their strength, with all of their mind. That was what the requirement of the law was.

26:28And I can assure you that it all belonged to him then, and it all belongs to him now. No difference there. But the problem is, they wouldn't give him the first, and if you won't give them the first, guess what? You're not going to give them the last. They were under a curse because they were not tithing according to the Mosaic custom to which they were required by their law. Of course, this is where I get in trouble because now I've got to apply this to us today, right?

27:01I want to make sure you understand the historical setting. They were under a theocracy. So that meant that their tithe was also their taxes. So the church and state under one umbrella, as they tithed, that also ran the government. But it's important to understand that there's a connection between the first fruits, the proper storing of a proper giving of that and stewarding of that. There's a direct link to the blessing that overflows. And it's interesting, that is, if you'll get this first right, the rest falls in its train.

27:48So the question today is: is our tithes and offerings for us today? Is there an application there to us today? My answer is an emphatic yes. An emphatic yes. Listen, paying tribute to God is never going to go out of style. It predated the Mosaic law. Abraham himself gave tithes to Melchizedek. And I can assure you, if Melchizedek, the shadow of things to come, is worthy of 10%, how much more should we who are living under the reality of these things? Yeah, the tithe predated the Mosaic covenant. He didn't have a law. Abraham didn't have a law. He wasn't trying to, this was an expression of worship to God and gratitude. I can assure you that it's not going to go out of style because after the second coming, nations are going to go up and pay tribute to him. Paying tribute to God is never going to go out of style. So the question is: not if we pay tribute, but what does it look like to us today?

29:02What is the tithe? What are our offerings? And I want to give you a few principles or advice. First of all, you know, we don't take up an offering. We're not pressing anybody for your money. Your money is your money. You do what you want with it. I'm going to give you some principles that I think will promote a clear conscience so that you can go away from here saying, okay, if this is my heart attitude and this is what I'm doing, I'm giving you advice that I believe will give you a clear conscience, and you can say to God, I will test you in this. I will take you up on this. And I want to say also at the outset of this, as elders, we don't know who gives what. Okay, we're not watching, so at ease, okay? You think there's protection for the body under that? So all this advice is with the idea of trying to apply this to us today so that we can meet the spirit and intent and not strap up some kind of law, but that we would fulfill the spirit and intent and take God up on what is an incredible statement. First thing about my advice on giving is it needs to be simple.

30:30If you need to hire out a bunch of accountants and lawyers to figure out what you're getting beyond, keep it simple. Keep it simple. Second, secrecy. Secrecy. It's going to be impossible for you not to let anybody know what you're giving, but the principle is don't blow a trumpet and make everybody aware of what you're giving. But there are going to be people that are aware. Certainly the one you're giving to, or certainly those receiving funds.

31:02The question is, how much? This is always the question that comes up, right? Do we tie the gross? Do we tie the net? How many of you have heard that? My answer is yes. But the text says the whole tithe. So I think the thing that we have to be careful here is cutting quarters and be careful of a hand that comes in and excuse, beware of the left hand that takes away what the right hand. Hand is doing. There is a desire and attention within us to sometimes cut corners. So the whole tithe, what does this look like? I would say if you're getting a paycheck or you're getting a support check, tithe the gross off that. What is the gross? It should be written on the check, something simple.

31:56But certainly tithe the net. And I understand with withholdings and stuff that may go, you work that out. If there's withholdings that you're going to put into some 401k that you're going to tithe later, okay, fine, just whatever. But certainly net gross. Make it simple. Comes off the check, something you could do quickly. Now, if you happen to own a C Corp, when you start getting into owning a corporation, it gets a little more complicated, right? So if you own a C Corp, some companies, godly companies are run by godly men will tithe the whole corporation. If you remember, we had our shelter finished out. Well, it was by a group who did this very principle.

32:39They tithe a portion of their company. And by the way, the laws are set up, there is C Corp, from what I gather, that you tithe there at the corporate level, that goes out, and then you don't tithe when it comes to you, because unless you want to double tithe, that would be an offering at that point. Corp, which is totally different. Then you, that I would say, you tithe the net distribution that comes to you because much of your money is tied up in the corporation, and you're paying taxes on stuff that hasn't even been made yet, or you haven't been able to pay it yet. But in both cases, you're looking at the adjusted gross. So, what is the gross? You pay the net or the gross, well, the adjusted gross, especially if you have like rental income, for instance. If you make, say, you bring in $10,000 a year because of the rental, but it costs you $8,000 to own that unit, pay on the adjusted gross, which would be the $10,000 minus the $8,000. And that would be, again, a tithe. That's a regular giving. If you have a windfall, I want to talk to you about another category, and that would be like unique giving. So I think it's important that you give regularly of your regular income, a portion of that. Pay tribute with that. The first, the filet mignon, the choice part of that. That is what you give to honor him.

34:10I think then there's the unique giving. You come in to another windfall of cash or something, whether it's $5 or $50,000. You have those periods where you come into some money. I would call that unique giving. You designate that how you want, but I would give it. So, I would say there needs to be a portion of your giving that is giving without expecting to receive back from. It's kind of like the burnt offering. Your unique giving, you designate. And I want to also caution you against lame sacrifices. Lame sacrifices. And this is me trying to give you advice and lay down some principles that will serve you well. But beware of lame sacrifices. If there's anybody in this room that this text applies to, it's me. Okay, I am part of the spiritual leadership of this body. And so I recognize that there is a weight and an importance to the words that I share. And I want to share with you thoughts and principles that I know are going to serve you well.

35:21In fact, the very problem in Malachi is that the spiritual leadership of the nation did not teach the nation what lame sacrifices were. And so I'm going to take a couple of quick moments and explain to you what I think are lame sacrifices. A lame sacrifice in the church setting is something that you benefit from. So if you take some of your regular giving and you're going to give it with some kind of strings attached and you're deriving some benefit from that, that's not a burnt offering. I think there's a portion that needs to go. For instance, let's say your son is in the mission field and you say, well, I'm going to take my tithe. Portion of my regular giving, and I'm going to give that to my son. I think that's a lame sacrifice. And I realize I'm going to probably be doing some explaining to some of you afterwards, but that's okay. String-attached giving is: I will give this to you if you will do this for me, or if you will, my little pet projects over here. No, a portion of your, there's nothing wrong with pet projects, but I think in your regular giving, you need to be able to trust the leadership of the church that you are attending with your regular sacrifice. And if you can't, you may need to find a church where you can trust them because you can't trust the leadership with unrighteous mammon. How in the world are you going to trust us with the true riches?

36:46Another principle: time is not money. Okay? I mean, one of the lessons, one of the last things they taught me at the seminary before I left, they sat us all down. It's kind of a final, let me give you some final advice. And one of the last things I remember them saying is: don't go down the road of not tithing from your income and giving offerings because you are in the ministry. In other words, there's this thought that, okay, I'm giving everything to God. I'm giving my life. I've surrendered my life. Therefore, that's my offering. I don't need to give of my regular increase. I believe that is a lame offering. And also, another lame offering is something that was going to be given anyway. Some say, well, I'm supporting my son or daughter in college, so therefore, that's my tithe to the Lord. No, that's not a tithe to the Lord. You're going to put your kids through college anyway, right? Or whatever. If you're going to give it anyway, that's a lame sacrifice. Also, don't give things that are broken or no longer useful. There's nothing wrong with giving broken and unuseful things to the church, so to speak, if you ask and you consider that an offering and the church is willing to receive it, but be careful of saying, I got this old couch here. I've used it. I'm going to give it to the church. And Lord, that thing's worth $1,000 new, so therefore that's coming off my tithe. No, that's a lame sacrifice. We could spend all day here, but the idea is give him the choice part. Give him that pure worship, that pure tribute. Get used to it. And if you will get that right, I can tell you at the front, it's easier all the way down the road getting everything else right. And look at this. I want you to look at this in verse 10. Test me now in this. That's an incredible statement. Test me. I'm not sure of anywhere else in the scripture we're told to test God.

39:00But in this way, we are. And there is another group that is testing God. If you look down to verse 15, there are the doers of wickedness, the arrogant, that are saying, it doesn't do any good to serve God. We're going to do our own way. He's going to bless the wicked. They test God. So there's two people, two people groups testing God here. And the arrogant testers are going to be burned up like chaff. Those who will take God up on his request or his challenge, yes, thank you, to test me. He's saying, listen, I will give it. Test me in this. You want to see how far you can go and honor me? I want you to see how far I will go in blessing you.

39:41I know many of you are saying, okay, you're preaching a prosperity gospel. I'm just trying to preach the text. You look at it there, you don't see anything like this coming off the pages. Test me in this. So the response of the refined, first of all, is to honor him. Second is to respect him. Respect him. Look in verse 16, as these people are testing him. The arrogant are testing him. It scared the daylights out of some guys, some folks that were there. Look in verse 16. Then those who feared the Lord, that's a word for respect, spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him to those who feared the Lord and who esteemed his name. They will be mine. Who are going to be his?

40:30Those who fear him, who respect him, says the Lord of hosts. On that day that I prepare my own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Look, if your son is serving you well, and your son, a father loves his son, let me tell you what a father does. He spares his son every headache in life he can, right? That's the heart of a father, especially one who honors his father. And so here is the father heart of God saying, I will remember these, I will spare them. And he says, So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve God. And he goes on to say, For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff, and the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But then look what happens at verse 2. But for you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You ever seen calves pinned up for a long time, and then all of a sudden they're let out and they jump and they kick up their heels. I mean, it's an expression of joy. It just makes you laugh and just smile watching it. And here is a situation when all oppression, all evil, all wickedness is Put down, spiritual house set in order, and the sun of righteousness, the work of Christ shining upon the heart's righteousness bursts forth, and joy dominates the landscape.

42:17Well, there were two things that were missing in Malachi's Day in the people. They failed to honor God, and they failed to respect God. He is a father, he is a master. And the work of the refiner is to purify his people so that they will honor God, so that they will respect his name, so that pure worship will flow from them. That is what he is after. You see, this Christmas season, we need to remember that we have a king to honor.

42:54We need to remember that we need a savior. And we need to remember that we need to be refined. And no matter what else may happen this year, if you remember these things, then your Christmas is going to be a blessed one. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for calling these things to mind. Thank you for the reminder this Christmas season that you are a great king, that you are a great Savior, and that you desire pure worship from your people. We thank you for your loving, refining process, sanctifying work in the lives of your people. We recognize that you are gentle. And Father, we deserve far greater heat. Lord, you are not impatient.

43:50But Father, you are looking at us. And Father, that you are mindful of the things that we are going through. Father, and that you are there in the midst of the fire, purifying us to be your people. And Father, we desire pure worship would flow from our hearts and our lives, from this congregation, and upon this earth. It's in Jesus' name we pray.