I have come to think that one of the reasons we find
life so confusing is that, despite our faith in Jesus, we think our
story is a story primarily about, well, us.
In truth, though, if we really have made the decision to follow Jesus
our story has become a story about Him.
As we strained this week to begin to bridge the gap between the greatest
commandment – to love the Lord God with all of our heart, mind, soul and
strength – and the second greatest commandment – to love our neighbor as ourselves
– we needed to be reminded of this reality.
As we talked about last week, God could have through a
spoken word moved the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. Instead, he hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he
would not be moved either by the miracles Moses performed or by the plea to let
his people go. The story was about God’s
glory, and it would not end until the Egyptians and the Israelites feared the
name Adonai.
The reason I raise all of this is because, at the end of the day, our obedience to both the greatest commandment and the second greatest commandment actually have the same ultimate purpose – to bring glory to God. In fact, we were created for God’s glory!!
“But now, thus says the Lord, your
creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I
have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not
overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor
will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I
will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and
gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the
south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from
the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have
created for My glory, whom I have formed even whom I have made."
Isaiah
43:1-7
It’s funny, but one of the verses that in the Bible that people tend to cling to in difficult times is Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” We look at this verse in times of hardship or trouble and think about God improving our circumstances – saving us or lifting us out of our broken relationships, financial setbacks or emotional or physical pain. The point of the verse, though, is that God is going to use any and every situation to make us more like Jesus. The very next sentence says: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29. Interestingly, to better understand the relationship between the two greatest commandments and to drive this point home God took us this week to the Book of Malachi.
We often think about Malachi in the context of
tithing, but the book is far more important than that. In fact, Malachi uses tithing as one symptom of
a much greater problem. Yes, the people
had been bringing God a blemished sacrifice, but the reason was because they
had turned away from him. The priests,
for their part, were no longer teaching the truth and were causing people to
stumble. Malachi 2:7-9. The people had broken the faith, and were engaged in detestable things. Malachi
2:11-16.
In the midst of this chaos, God delivered both a
promise and a warning. The promise was this:
“I will send a messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord will come to his
temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come ….” We are also told that “he will be like a
refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He
will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and
refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring
offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be
acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.” Malachi 3:1-4.
Of course, we now know that, just as Malachi foretold, a
messenger did come to prepare the way for the Lord, and then Jesus came to
earth himself. The Spirit of the Lord
remains with us (and in us) now, refining us with his fire – working all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
Malachi 1:14 says, “For I am a great king,” says the
Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.” The name for God used here that we render in
English as “Lord Almighty” is in Hebrew Adonai Tzva’ot. It means “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord of armies.” And while God is certainly assembling a heavenly
army for the final days, he is also assembling an earthly one.
It is this earthly army that is even now being refined with fire. And, that fire is not only refining the gross sin out of our lives -- it is leaving pure hearts. Hearts that love holiness and righteousness. Hearts that love God. And, hearts that love people with the infinite love of Jesus.
Our love for others is not just obedience to a
command, it is one of the principal means by which God is glorified on earth. His Spirit compels us to love not only our
friends, but our enemies … and His enemies.
It compels us to love those who hate Jesus and who hate the truth. We love for His glory. God's promise given in Malachi is that we are invited to be part of His story and His army.
I mentioned that, through Malachi, God gave us both a promise and a warning. The warning is this: we will all go through fire. And there are two types of fires. One is a refining fire – the fire that makes us more like Jesus. The other is a consuming fire. The choice is ours.
“Surely
the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every
evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,”
says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of
righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and
frolic like well-fed calves. Then you
will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on
the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.
“Remember
the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all
Israel.
“See,
I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the
Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of
the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents;
or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
Malachi
4:1-5
Here is a link to the audio from this week.
https://vimeopro.com/theheartlandchurch/radical
And, you might want to check out this video if you don't have time for the full audio!
Here is a link to the audio from this week.
https://vimeopro.com/theheartlandchurch/radical
And, you might want to check out this video if you don't have time for the full audio!
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