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So, if you've been with us for the last couple of weeks, you might know that we're in a series

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in the book of Malachi. Now, just to get your bearings if you haven't been with us, Malachi

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was a prophet which we saw was like an inspired theological lawyer that was sent to God's

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elect people Israel who had rebelled and had been exiled but was now back in the land that

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God had promised them. As we've seen, they were disheartened people because the promises

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that God had given them by prophets such as Haggai and Zechariah weren't playing out like

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they had thought. They were living in the land, they had a restored temple, they had

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a restored priesthood just like God said would happen but they weren't yet living in the

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golden age of messianic rule. And so you might say that they were disappointed people because

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they felt like God didn't love them anymore, like he'd forgotten them. And we know all

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of this because it was showing in the way that they practiced their worship of God.

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He was half-hearted and hollow. And so God sent his prophet to remind his people that

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they weren't forgotten by any stretch of the imagination. They were his covenant people

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and he was still completely dedicated to them in every way. First, we saw this by God telling

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them that he loved them and that he continues to love them no matter how they felt and that

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he had in no way forgotten all the promises made to them because out of all the people

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of the world he had elected them through their descendant Jacob. Then second, last week God

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rebuked the priests because they weren't leading the people to the truth of God's love because

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though they were giving sacrifice they were showing by example that sacrifice was something

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that didn't really need to be your best, which was preaching to all God's people that half-hearted

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efforts towards God was totally acceptable, something God identified as completely offensive.

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This morning we're continuing with the same theme of God still speaking to the priests

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and we're going to see again that the ministry of the Word is intrinsically connected to

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the health of the people. That's what God wants us to see here in the big picture. If

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the spiritual leadership goes off track there will be ramifications in the community or

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as someone once wisely put it, as goes the pulpit so goes the church. And so in one

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sense like last week we have to hold two things in tension. The priests are being directly

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addressed here, nevertheless because of the subject matter that we're looking at in this

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passage it deals with something that every single Christian has a vital and compelling

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interest to pay attention to. The health of the ministry of the Word is directly connected

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to the health of the people of God. So if you have your Bibles with you there this morning

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we're going to be in Malachi chapter 2 verse 1, in chapter 2 but look with me at verse

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1. These are the words of God and now you priests this warning's for you. Now I want

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to briefly address who God is speaking to here again because like we saw last week the

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priesthood they were the spiritual leaders of the nation and they were failing and that

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was no small matter. For spiritual leaders to go off track there would be serious ramifications

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for those involved. In fact there's an event that occurred earlier this week that I think

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serves as a helpful picture to the message of Malachi and what we're looking at this

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morning. Indian National News has been reporting that a passenger train was travelling from

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Bengal to Kolkata when a goods train hit it from behind resulting in the deaths of nine

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people and seriously injuring 41 others. Now it seems that this happened because when automatic

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systems fail in India their protocol allows written authority to authorise train drivers

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to pass all the red signals that are broken provided they obey stringent safety measures

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in which the drivers must stop for one minute at each broken signal and then proceed at

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a maximum speed of 10 k's per hour. The investigators of the crash site said in this instance the

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driver of the goods train indeed had written authorisation to cross all the signals though

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didn't obey the instructions of stopping at each defective signal and flew right through.

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That's resulting in the tragic events that happened earlier this week. 41 seriously injured,

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nine dead. To put it plainly this all happened as a result of someone not obeying instruction

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and that church it's a useful picture of what Malachi is addressing in our passage. The

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priests their task was to lead God's people and give instruction and they were failing

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to obey the word of God themselves. As we heard last week the result was leading people

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into a spiritual train wreck and so God again points these things out and calls the priesthood

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to repentance by first warning them. You may have noticed as Hannah Lee wrote read our

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passage out this morning that the whole section is bookended with warnings. It's bookended

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with these warnings to the priests verses two and three. If you don't listen, if you

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don't resolve to honour my name says the Lord Almighty I'll send a curse on you and I will

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curse your blessings. Yes I've already cursed them because you've not resolved to honour

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me because of you I will rebuke your descendants. I'll smear on your faces the dung from your

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festival sacrifices and you'll be carried off with it. In other words God warns that

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he was going to shame the priesthood and that they would be taken away and made unclean

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like the filthy things that they were offering to him in the first place if they didn't listen.

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But I think all of this is made clear as we look at verses eight and nine. God says you've

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turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble. You violated the covenant

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with Levi says the Lord Almighty so I've caused you to be despised and humiliated before all

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the people because you haven't followed my ways but shown partiality in the matters of

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the law. What are we to make of this church? Well let's put it together. There's four warnings

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that I actually want to bring to your attention this morning. First the priesthood had strayed

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from God's instructions. We see that there in verse eight. They've turned from the way

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of the law. To put it plainly the priests own lives were marked by a failure to obey

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the word of God themselves. And that's so often the root of the failure on the pulpit.

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The truth isn't proclaimed and upheld because the life of the minister has turned from the

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truth itself. We've seen this all throughout the history of the church again and again

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and again. Error and desertion from the word revealed is usually preceded by error and

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a failure to obey the word of God in the life of the minister themselves. To put it plainly

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godliness matters for an effective preaching ministry. And Malachi was warning that they

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were straying from the path. Secondly they were causing many to stumble. Again if we

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go back to our illustration this morning that the driver he had instructions but he simply

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didn't follow them. It was an accident waiting to happen. That's what Malachi is saying here.

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He's saying to the priest because you've turned from the way you're causing others to turn

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from it as well. Which thirdly makes them violators of the covenant with Levi. Which

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is to say, we'll look at this in a moment a little bit more, but this is to say that

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the objective pastoral ministry that was given to the Levitical priesthood in the law was

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being distorted and pushed to the side by these guys. They twisted the word of God to

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justify their rebellion and disobedience which fourth caused them to practice things that

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were unjust and stewiff. Or as God says here in verse 9, they showed partiality in the

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matters of the law. To put it plainly church, the spiritual leaders of Israel were inconsistent

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and they distorted the pattern that God had revealed to them through the law to lead his

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people. And the result of that was that the ministry of the priesthood that was given

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by God was held by the people in low regard. People were going off track. So God says,

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I will cause you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, verse 9. I don't know

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about you brothers and sisters, but this is such a warning in our own time, isn't it?

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I mean with the rise of the internet, with different vlogs and blogs being so accessible,

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there's widespread and worldwide suspicion of preachers and religious teachers. And unfortunately

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much of it is a failure that deserves to be pointed out. I don't know if you've seen

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the extensive work that's been done recently on calling out certain prosperity preachers,

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but it's shameful that so-called Christian teachers have been shown to have been robbing

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God's people on the back of desperately wicked doctrines. It's a horrible thing to see high

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church officials redefining what God has revealed about marriage and what the family is. As

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others have thrown in their high calling for a political soapbox or social agenda, while

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yet others who formally proclaim the truth have publicly come out and said that they

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don't think the Bible's God speaking, but man surmising. Devastatingly, not just unfortunately,

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but devastatingly, people have been made to stumble. And the result, the world sees the

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pulpit and the preaching of the word of our risen Christ in low regard.

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18th century pastor, Matthew Henry once said, nothing profanes the name of God more than

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the misconduct of those whose business it is to honor it. The brother of our Lord James

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comes to mind here. Not many of you should become teachers because you know that we who

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teach will be judged that much more strictly. Church preaching and teaching, it's not just

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public speaking or social influence. It's a divine calling and those who have been called

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to serve the people of God in this way really do affect the health of the people of God.

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And so God warns the spiritual leaders by his prophet of what will happen when there

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is a failure to keep and obey the ministry of the word because his precious people are

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in danger. That warning still stands today. The bride of Christ, the church is in danger

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of spiraling into a moral and spiritual decline if the ministry of the word is twisted, skewiffed

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and abandoned by her ministers. That's why we say a hearty amen to the prayers we heard

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this morning by Ben that, Lord keep the pulpit pure. It's a sobering picture of the failure

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of the ministry of the word that we see here this morning. That's first. There's real warnings

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in our passage here this morning. If the ministers of the word won't listen, the dung of their

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sacrifices, it'll be wiped on their faces and they'll be carried away in like manner

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and they will be publicly shamed. But in the midst of all of this, there's actually a wonderful

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promise given by our Lord. And it comes by way of a covenant promise that he was still

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completely dedicated to. We see it there in verse four. You know that I've sent these

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warnings so that my covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord Almighty. What does

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he mean by that? Well basically, God had committed to act to maintain and give his people a faithful

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priesthood. Faithful ministers that would uphold the biblical revelation that was first

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given in the law. Now just to make things clear, to get a bit of historical perspective,

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Levi or the tribe of Levi or the Levites as they came to be known, was a tribe that

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was specifically segregated and set aside in all Israel to act as mediators between

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God and his people. Now these mediators didn't need to guess what that process looked like

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because God had given it to them in his word. That they were a specific tribe of people

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that was set aside for a specific ministry to God's people. And their whole aim in life

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was to be faithful to the revealed word of God. And so by God saying that he's committed

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to the covenant that he had made with Levi, he was saying that he wouldn't leave his people

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in the situation that they found themselves in. That he wouldn't leave them without a

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way to know and be obedient to his words. Or to put it plainly, he wouldn't leave his

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flock without faithful shepherds to lead them in the way that they were to go. Church this

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should give us such incredible comfort. God despite the disobedience and despicable behaviour

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of some ministers past and present, God Almighty is always committed to maintaining and providing

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faithful ministers of the word for his church. Malachi's picture is horrible. The priesthood

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had abandoned and played down and twisted divine revelation and the people were being

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misled. Sacrifices, yeah they're important but they don't really matter. Give what you

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can. But it's also comforting that we see that God saw it and that he reveals that he's

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committed to preserving and advancing his kingdom by always providing for his people

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faithful shepherds. Church our God is a covenant making and keeping Father. He has promised

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his people to never leave nor forsake his church. He will always provide for the body

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ministers who will equip the saints for the work of the ministry and who will build up

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the body of Christ. We heard it before in Ephesians 4. Christ gave his life for you

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and me. He gave his life for the church and he ascended to the right hand of glory and

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his promise is that there would always be faithful ministers, faithful pastors and teachers

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to feed the flock of God with his word. Church our God is radically committed to his people

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by covenant to always provide for his people, to make a way known for them, to them by the

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faithful ministering of his word. So no matter what we see with these celebrity preachers,

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these high church men or liberal lenience, God desperately loves his people and he will

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never leave nor forsake us in this world. He's committed himself to providing faithful ministers

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throughout all generations. That's some good news. It gets better. But first let's ask

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what might these faithful ministers do? What might they say? What does it mean to be a

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faithful minister of the word? Well, faithful ministers will pretty much do the opposite

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of what we're seeing here in our passage this morning. First, they'll listen to what God

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has to say. That's what God was calling these ministers, these priests to do. Listen so

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as to bring honour to my name among the people. We see it there in verse 2. Church is so important

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that those who are in any position of ministering to others in whatever capacity you might find

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yourselves in, that they would first be hearers of the word. That's why the WPC, the denomination

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we're part of, takes great measures in educating our elders and ministers. That's why Matt

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Vanderveld was nominated when he was nominated from Among Us for Eldership, that he's now

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going through serious training to be a student of the word, so that he might be able to lead

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and guide the people of God through their Lord and Saviour. But this isn't just for

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elders. We're all called to listen. And so I might ask, is the word of God having its

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way in you, that it might find its way to the lives of others around you? Faithful ministers,

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they must be hearers of the word. Second, faithful ministers won't just hear the word,

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but they'll live the word out. You might know the famous saying by James, don't be just

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hearers of the words, my brethren, but be doers. Malachi alludes to this in verse 5.

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My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him. This called

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for reverence, and listen to this, he revered me, and he stood in awe of my name. Notice

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that. The blunder of the priesthood in this context of our passage this morning was that

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the priests hadn't stood in awe of God's name. Because yes, they were giving sacrifice,

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but again, it was half-hearted, it was a hollow effort, and as a result, it was preaching

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to the people and they were stumbling. Cyprian of Carthage, a third century pastor, once

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said, there's no advantage in setting forth virtue by our words, but then destroying the

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truth by our deeds. How true that is. The ministers of the word, they have a calling,

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but because they weren't living that calling out, they were becoming a stumbling block

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to those in the church underage. And so, faithful ministers won't just hear the word, but they'll

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obey the word so that when they share with others, it won't just be a theological truth,

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but will come from a life which by grace, with confession, by repentance, from a life

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that is living with God, a life that loves God, a life that is tasted and is ever by

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grace becoming what they are calling others to. To simply put it, they'll practice what

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they preach. So, faithful ministers of the word, they'll hear it, they'll do it. Third,

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they'll share it. Look with me at verse six. Malachi says, true instruction was in his

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mouth and nothing false was found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness

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and turned many from sin. That's what faithful ministers of the word will endeavour to do

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for the people of God. They'll endeavour to be accurate with what God has revealed and

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wants his people to know so that they might turn from sin. A faithful minister of the

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word won't twist what God has to say so that people will end up downplaying sin or abandoning

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holiness altogether. The faithful minister of God will endeavour to communicate the word

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of God as it's given. When sin must be confronted, it will be preached black and white. That's

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why gospel faithful preaching churches take the approach of looking at the whole council

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of scripture and looking at what God has to say so that the sheep are fed with our Lord's

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words. Sometimes the words are going to say hard things to all of us, to all of us. But

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it's our responsibility, particularly here at Grace as your elders, to preach, to give

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you God's words in season and out of season so that you, the people of God, might be reproved,

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rebuked and exhorted with complete patience and teaching as the apostle Paul commanded

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Timothy all those years ago. Fourth, look at verse seven with me. A faithful minister

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will preserve knowledge among the people. Malachi says, for the lips of the priest ought

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to preserve knowledge because he's the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction

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from his mouth. How will they do that? How will we preserve instruction among the people

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of God? By sharing it. Faithful ministers will preserve the knowledge of God among the

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people of God by giving instruction to others. Sixth century pastor and theologian Gregory

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the Great once stated, for it's true that whoever enters the life of ministry undertakes

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the office of a herald. So he's to walk himself crying aloud before the great and coming day

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of our Lord. And verse seven is somewhat tied to what we just looked at before in verse

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six, but it goes to show that faithful ministers will have a burden for others to know and

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follow biblical revelation. This means they won't be obsessed with their own popularity

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or ideology, but will endeavour to have the people of God instructed by any means necessary,

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whether in public or in private so the people of God might become mature in their most holy

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faith. So as Malachi preached to the church under age here, the faithful ministers that

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God will provide will be people that hear and live and preach the word. They'll be people

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that are passionate about the truth and want to share it so that the people of God might

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come to a greater knowledge of our God and thereby walk faithfully in his revelation.

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And this is God's promise. These faithful ministers will come and keep coming because

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God wants his people to have these ministers. So God will keep providing faithful ministers

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and faithful labourers of his word until we heard it before, until we all reach unity

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in the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole

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measure of the fullness of Christ. Now I said before there was good news. There is wonderful,

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amazing news here. And I want to end on that news on these last few verses. I want to end

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by concluding, by bringing your attention to the greatest and final minister of all.

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You see Malachi, he's putting his finger on something here this morning and that's the

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people of God in his time, these priests and ministers, they were failing. It was a serious

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problem. But I don't think the point of the passage is simply to hope for better ministers

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or more faithful priests. But for people to look forward to the perfect priest who wouldn't

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fail his people in his ministry to them. That's what we're meant to see in this passage this

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morning, particularly looking at verses 5 to 7. There would come a day when God would

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ultimately fulfill his covenant promise in a great high priest. And I'm of course talking

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of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And we're meant to look to him and I mention this because

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there's a real danger when the people of God look more to their ministers to be their solution,

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look more to their pastors to get them through and to the teachers to grow their numbers

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and sustain them in their trials. I want to be crystal clear with you this morning brothers

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and sisters, it is a wonderful and God given calling of every minister to walk with their

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congregation through the best of times and through the worst of times. But it's not the

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task of the pastor to be the ultimate answer to all our problems. That's because to be

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honest with you, no pastor in the world can be. No, it's the task of the pastor to lift

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our eyes, your eyes and say behold the Lamb of God who takes the sin away from the world.

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He can wipe away every tear from your eyes. He strengthens the weak knees and the feeble

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hands. He will give you sustaining grace in the darkest valley. He'll satisfy your heart

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with an abundance of good things. One better than Levi has come. He is our great high priest.

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He is the final and perfect minister of the word. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the

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one that we all need. And it's the blessed privilege of God's people and pastor alike

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to look to Jesus, to lean on Jesus, to cling to Jesus, to point people to Jesus and to

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proclaim Him in all we do. So as we've heard Malachi's message here and even his strong

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rebuke on those who are charged with teaching the Bible, let's make sure that all of us,

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all of us fix our eyes on Jesus Christ because it is He and He alone who is all sufficient

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for us in our weaknesses. He is all sufficient for you when your pastor makes mistakes because

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with Him at the helm we can know that we will never be derailed. Let's pray. Father, we

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ask that as we have heard your word this morning, that the gospel would cause us to look to

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your Son, that your Spirit would keep us steadfast and that you would change us, that you would

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make us all faithful heralders and proclaimers of this good news wherever we may find ourselves,

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that Grace Christian Church would be used by you as a place of disciples, making disciples

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for your glory and your glory alone. Lord, we ask that you would keep this pulpit pure,

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that you would guard your people from error and where we do make mistakes and when we

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make mistakes, that we would be quick to listen, quick to hear and repent. We ask for this

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in Jesus' name, Amen.