WEBVTT 00:00:04.530 --> 00:00:06.690 Malachi, we're going to finish with him. We're 00:00:06.690 --> 00:00:09.050 going to finish this journey in Chesed, God's 00:00:09.050 --> 00:00:13.589 enduring, everlasting love for us. We are finishing 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:16.629 a sermon series, and again, I love when we finish 00:00:16.629 --> 00:00:19.109 one because we get to look back on where God 00:00:19.109 --> 00:00:21.670 has been with us over the last seven weeks and 00:00:21.670 --> 00:00:24.010 where God is going to take us, especially entering 00:00:24.010 --> 00:00:28.210 the season of Lent. So let's dive in. The intro 00:00:28.210 --> 00:00:30.829 for this is kind of this understanding of when 00:00:30.829 --> 00:00:35.789 faithfulness feels heavy. And again, I wrote 00:00:35.789 --> 00:00:39.170 this more in the beginning of the week before 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:43.810 all of the events have kind of transpired. But 00:00:43.810 --> 00:00:45.770 faith can feel heavy at times. I don't know about 00:00:45.770 --> 00:00:48.250 you, but I'm sitting in that right now. That 00:00:48.250 --> 00:00:50.990 faithfulness is feeling heavy with the weight 00:00:50.990 --> 00:00:53.469 of decisions, conversations, disappointments, 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:56.170 excitements, D all of the above. But there can 00:00:56.170 --> 00:00:58.890 be a heaviness to that. And for a lot of us, 00:00:58.909 --> 00:01:00.609 when it gets heavy, we just don't want to deal 00:01:00.609 --> 00:01:02.740 with it. If we're being honest, we just don't 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:04.280 like to deal with it. Because that heaviness 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:06.540 can mean a lot of things. More times than not, 00:01:06.659 --> 00:01:09.500 that heaviness has to do with us. Either we're 00:01:09.500 --> 00:01:11.319 holding on to something, we're not giving it 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.319 away to God, we're not forgiving, there's something 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.540 looking inward. When we point the finger at other 00:01:17.540 --> 00:01:19.719 people, what do they say? That it's three fingers, 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:22.000 or unless you have a weird thumb, pointing back 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:24.379 at you, it might be four. But understanding that 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:28.480 when faithfulness feels heavy, we probably have 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:31.049 a lot to do with that. And it got me thinking 00:01:31.049 --> 00:01:33.790 about the differences between joining a church 00:01:33.790 --> 00:01:37.109 and staying in a church. Those aren't the same, 00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:39.930 right? It's much like a relationship, right? 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:42.209 When you have a relationship or maybe newly married, 00:01:42.269 --> 00:01:46.510 you go through what kind of period? The honeymoon 00:01:46.510 --> 00:01:48.730 phase, right? We're just going to leave that 00:01:48.730 --> 00:01:50.469 there. I'm not going to ask any questions about 00:01:50.469 --> 00:01:53.129 that. But you can have that when joining a church 00:01:53.129 --> 00:01:57.000 too. You can. You can't. And there's excitement, 00:01:57.159 --> 00:01:59.739 there's something new, getting involved in all 00:01:59.739 --> 00:02:02.540 of the things. Whether that takes a week, a year, 00:02:02.659 --> 00:02:05.359 ten years to finish. I'm at seven and a half 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:07.719 years in some ways. I feel like I'm still in 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:09.800 the honeymoon phase. In a lot of ways, I know 00:02:09.800 --> 00:02:12.900 I'm not. And that is okay, even pastor to church. 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:17.580 But staying in a church is different. Joining 00:02:17.580 --> 00:02:20.259 is exciting. Vision, energy, new faces, fresh 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:23.199 ideas. Babies being born, new families walking 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:26.219 through the doors, but staying is different. 00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:30.919 And a couple, what I'm going to put, stamps of 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:32.979 things you go through when you stay in a church 00:02:32.979 --> 00:02:36.020 is forgiving people when they disappoint you. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:40.599 Not if, when. Serving when no one thanks you. 00:02:40.819 --> 00:02:43.819 We do our best to try to never do that. We always 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:47.759 try to thank. Giving when budgets feel tight 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:51.259 or decisions are made that you don't like. Worshiping 00:02:51.259 --> 00:02:55.020 when your heart feels distracted. Believing when 00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:58.219 the next step isn't totally clear. Insert Jim 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:02.319 there. I feel that a lot right now. And sometimes, 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.199 when we're honest, faithfulness feels like fire, 00:03:05.419 --> 00:03:11.819 or less like fire and more like weight. And think 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:14.460 about a church that is 156 years old. I look 00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:16.379 around and go, none of us were there when it 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:22.009 started. 156 years. Pastors have come and gone. 00:03:22.349 --> 00:03:24.930 Elders have prayed through hard decisions. Families 00:03:24.930 --> 00:03:27.389 have buried loved ones. Babies have been baptized. 00:03:27.750 --> 00:03:30.289 Buildings have been built. Debts have been paid. 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:34.830 Ministries have shifted, started, ended. Communities 00:03:34.830 --> 00:03:38.650 have changed. And through it all, someone kept 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:43.110 showing up. Someone filled the pulpit. Someone 00:03:43.110 --> 00:03:47.449 kept giving. Someone kept seeing. Someone kept 00:03:47.449 --> 00:03:51.259 believing. We stand here today because generation 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:55.860 after generation after generation chose faithfulness 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:59.780 even when it was difficult. Even, I look at that 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:04.319 timeline, even when the fight of the day. You 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:07.960 talk about church wars, and unfortunately that's 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:11.159 a thing. Biggest church war in this church's 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:14.259 history was what? Who's brave enough to say it? 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:22.939 Are you serious? Someone said pews? Someone said 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:28.199 it over here. Well, you got the assist. You didn't 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:30.439 get the score. Someone said it over here. Language, 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:33.319 right? Language. Who said that? Evan? You're 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:34.980 pointing to Kennedy? Well, you're going to be 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:37.100 married soon. Two become one. So understand, 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:41.279 it was when the main service, the morning service, 00:04:41.420 --> 00:04:45.939 went from Dutch to English. Think about that. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:48.860 How do I know? How do we know that that was a 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:52.839 big deal? No other church was started because 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:57.220 of the Pew War. No church was started because 00:04:57.220 --> 00:05:01.519 of the Oregon to Contemporary Worship War. No 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:04.360 church was started when they decided to lower 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:10.879 the height of the stage. Two churches started 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:14.339 because of this church's desire to remain in 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:17.949 Dutch. First Highland, now Faith Highland. First 00:05:17.949 --> 00:05:22.230 Lansing, now New Hope. Two churches started because 00:05:22.230 --> 00:05:25.569 of that war in the church. The English service 00:05:25.569 --> 00:05:28.029 that was happening, it was just done at like 00:05:28.029 --> 00:05:31.050 2 o 'clock. But it wasn't in the prime time. 00:05:32.829 --> 00:05:37.410 Faithfulness can feel heavy. But generation after 00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:40.310 generation after generation of this church, there 00:05:40.310 --> 00:05:44.189 has been... faithful people. How do we know it's 00:05:44.189 --> 00:05:47.410 still going? You still have a church, and quite 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.670 frankly, I still have a job. That's how we know 00:05:50.670 --> 00:05:53.649 faithfulness has happened, even when it wasn't 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:57.459 flashy. One of the things, and I've said this 00:05:57.459 --> 00:05:58.939 before, one of the things I love about this church's 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:02.019 history, on the day that the final ember was 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:04.339 put out from this church burning to the ground 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:08.459 in 1952, was by the end of that day, the next 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:10.980 six months of services were figured out at other 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:15.899 churches. Some, not even Reformed churches. St. 00:06:16.019 --> 00:06:18.939 Paul Lutheran reached out. said, hey, come have 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:21.019 services there. The relationship Munster had 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:22.540 with the other churches and the churches with 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:26.060 Munster was a strong, tight -knit thing. Sometimes 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:28.620 you have to stand on the faithfulness of others 00:06:28.620 --> 00:06:32.500 to get through those heavy seasons. That's why 00:06:32.500 --> 00:06:35.240 I have elders. That's why I have deacons. That's 00:06:35.240 --> 00:06:37.699 why elders and deacons have pastors. We can stand 00:06:37.699 --> 00:06:42.259 on each other's faithfulness and time. And now 00:06:42.259 --> 00:06:45.139 we're here. The end of this sermon series, looking 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:48.079 at Malachi, talking about potential new buildings, 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:50.740 renewed vision and mission, expanding ministries, 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:54.139 growing families, making a bigger connection 00:06:54.139 --> 00:06:57.819 with the community. There's excitement. There's 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.519 momentum. There's hope. But there's also weight. 00:07:01.240 --> 00:07:04.220 There's weight about staffing. There's weight 00:07:04.220 --> 00:07:07.220 about this building. There's weight about enduring 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:11.730 what comes next. And if we're honest, Sometimes 00:07:11.730 --> 00:07:13.730 even in a healthy church, which I do believe 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:17.829 we are, we quietly wonder, is steady obedience 00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:23.430 still worth it? Is it worth it to remain faithful 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:25.949 here? Or I could just probably go to another 00:07:25.949 --> 00:07:28.029 church and get that honeymoon feeling all over 00:07:28.029 --> 00:07:31.250 again. The idea of being a church jumper is a 00:07:31.250 --> 00:07:34.250 thing. You may know somebody like that. You may 00:07:34.250 --> 00:07:38.170 be like that. Or maybe you used to be. But sometimes 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:41.439 it's easy to go. Oh man, staying in this church, 00:07:41.459 --> 00:07:43.560 it's so heavy. I could just go to another church, 00:07:43.579 --> 00:07:45.759 be an unknown, and get that feeling all over 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:50.120 again. That's exactly what Malachi is speaking 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:53.339 into. This isn't about rebellion this time, guys. 00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:56.040 It's not about a collapse, but a faithfulness 00:07:56.040 --> 00:08:00.240 that feels heavy. And a God begins with, the 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:02.680 Yahweh, the God of gods, Lord of lords, begins 00:08:02.680 --> 00:08:10.000 with these four words. I have loved you. I guarantee 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.459 you it's something that Barb would have whispered 00:08:14.459 --> 00:08:17.600 to George if she knew Wednesday was going to 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:22.959 be the day he was called home. I have loved you. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.240 Malachi is written to a people who have not walked 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.500 away from God. They still gather. They still 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:31.100 worship. They still offer sacrifices. They still 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:35.539 claim the covenant. But something shifted. This 00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:37.259 is what makes this one different than the last 00:08:37.259 --> 00:08:42.409 six. It's not rebellion this time. It's fatigue. 00:08:43.370 --> 00:08:48.470 It's not defiance. It's disillusionment. They're 00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:51.190 just looking at this relationship going, is this 00:08:51.190 --> 00:08:55.389 all that it is? They're not dealing with idolatry. 00:08:55.389 --> 00:09:01.210 They're just dealing with a wariness. This faith 00:09:01.210 --> 00:09:05.889 thing stinks sometimes. Malachi speaks to a people 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:09.149 who are asking a very quiet question. And maybe, 00:09:09.230 --> 00:09:11.669 just maybe, you're here and you're asking that 00:09:11.669 --> 00:09:13.370 question today. Maybe it's a season you've been 00:09:13.370 --> 00:09:16.250 asking that question. Maybe for years. Or maybe 00:09:16.250 --> 00:09:17.690 this is a question you've never asked. Praise 00:09:17.690 --> 00:09:20.929 the Lord. Write a book. I'll read it. Is faithfulness 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:25.429 still worth it? And that question comes only 00:09:25.429 --> 00:09:29.990 after a long journey. You rarely get this question 00:09:29.990 --> 00:09:32.799 from a new believer. They're excited. They are 00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:36.220 saved. My name is in the book of life. Now I'm 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:38.820 not living for the junk of this world. I'm living 00:09:38.820 --> 00:09:41.980 for glory. All those new realities takes time 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:44.559 to work through. Insert honeymoon period here. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:46.919 It's another reason why Paul says don't put those 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:49.220 folks in leadership. They're not ready for it. 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:51.740 To be a leader in a church, you want a weathered, 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:56.220 tested faith. Because sometimes that excitement 00:09:56.220 --> 00:10:01.230 can wear off. It's exactly where... We are as 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:03.889 a congregation at times. And that is exactly 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:07.429 where we walk through the chesed of the Lord. 00:10:07.509 --> 00:10:10.049 This final look at chesed. Because chesed is 00:10:10.049 --> 00:10:13.590 not most tested in moments of crisis. It's tested 00:10:13.590 --> 00:10:20.090 in the seasons of long obedience. Talk to anybody 00:10:20.090 --> 00:10:21.830 on our call committee right now. They're going 00:10:21.830 --> 00:10:25.929 through that season of long obedience. And it's 00:10:25.929 --> 00:10:29.110 not always easy. So let's break it down. Let's 00:10:29.110 --> 00:10:32.429 jump into Malachi chapter 1. God opens with a 00:10:32.429 --> 00:10:36.090 covenant reality, not emotion. I wrote this. 00:10:36.129 --> 00:10:38.370 You may think about it as a shot. And if you 00:10:38.370 --> 00:10:40.370 do, you're probably a high emotional person. 00:10:40.549 --> 00:10:43.889 Calm down. But God is entering with a covenant 00:10:43.889 --> 00:10:48.190 promise saying, seek the things that are above, 00:10:48.389 --> 00:10:50.250 as Colossians says, not on the things of earth. 00:10:50.789 --> 00:10:53.429 Colossians 3. Set your mind on things above, 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:56.789 not on earthly things. This isn't a Colossians 00:10:56.789 --> 00:10:58.710 sermon series. Evan and I will write that one 00:10:58.710 --> 00:11:01.370 later. But understand that this is a promise 00:11:01.370 --> 00:11:03.950 of the covenant from the Old Testament. Malachi 00:11:03.950 --> 00:11:08.409 1, starting with verse 2. I have loved you, says 00:11:08.409 --> 00:11:13.750 the Lord. But you say, how have you loved us? 00:11:14.190 --> 00:11:17.029 Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord? 00:11:17.190 --> 00:11:20.250 Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. 00:11:20.450 --> 00:11:23.769 I have laid waste his hill country and left his 00:11:23.769 --> 00:11:27.149 heritage to jackals of the desert. If Edom says 00:11:27.149 --> 00:11:29.970 we are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins, 00:11:30.029 --> 00:11:33.929 the Lord of hosts says they may build, but I 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:36.190 will tear it down. And they will be called the 00:11:36.190 --> 00:11:38.830 wicked country and the people with whom the Lord 00:11:38.830 --> 00:11:50.169 is angry forever. God's first words are not a 00:11:50.169 --> 00:11:54.289 command, but a declaration. I have loved you. 00:11:54.649 --> 00:12:00.049 The people respond, how have you loved us? This 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:03.330 is not curiosity. They're not wondering in a 00:12:03.330 --> 00:12:06.509 curious kind of way. This is pressure talking. 00:12:06.809 --> 00:12:09.289 This is them feeling a little bit of a bind. 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:14.159 They are back from exile, but the nation are 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.019 still strong. The nations are still strong. The 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:20.179 glory seems to be muted. The promises feel delayed. 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:24.580 God answers with election, not experience. And 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:27.440 that's huge. A lot of us, we want that call to 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.279 action because we want to do it or we want God 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:32.259 to do it to us. He's not going to enter that 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:36.519 space. He's going to enter with election. Yet 00:12:36.519 --> 00:12:39.860 I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated. Friends, 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:43.080 this is covenant language. This is at times God 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.740 sitting us down, quite frankly, shutting us up 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:52.639 and reminding us of who he is in our lives. We 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:56.419 love to tell God what we mean to him. We love 00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:58.399 you. We honor you. We praise you. We do all these 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.799 things. I'm at church seven days a week, right? 00:13:00.899 --> 00:13:03.360 I do all that. Sometimes God says, time out. 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:09.399 Sit. And let me declare over you who I am. That's 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:13.100 Grace 101. Chesed love is covenant love from 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:16.679 the Canons of Dort. 1 -7. God's love is rooted 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:20.500 in his sovereign choosing, not in the human response. 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:24.200 Right? It's why there is a little bit of a theological 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:27.139 tension. I make this joke every time I go and 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:29.620 preach at Mid -America Reform Seminary. Why didn't 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:32.000 we sing the song, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus? 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:34.940 Because half those guys don't get it, and that's 00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:37.039 okay. It's a terrible joke. That's like a Malachi 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.600 joke. Never mind. Don't worry about it. God proves 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:43.740 his love by keeping covenant, not by removing 00:13:43.740 --> 00:13:46.740 hardship. Leave this one up here, Claire. That's 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:51.460 an important point. Because even the most mature 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:57.659 believer forgets that last piece. God proves 00:13:57.659 --> 00:14:03.120 his chesed for us. By keeping his chesed covenant, 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:08.980 not by making our lives easier. Sit with that 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:13.639 for a couple seconds. If your response to God, 00:14:13.820 --> 00:14:16.220 your love response to God, your action response 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:19.399 to God, the head, heart, hands, as Evan and the 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.500 worship team led us into this morning, if that 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:24.340 is conditional on God moving the hard things 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:28.830 from your life, Pastor Oli, I'm going to lovingly 00:14:28.830 --> 00:14:32.370 say, take a time out and think about your relationship 00:14:32.370 --> 00:14:35.210 with God, but more so God's relationship to you. 00:14:35.970 --> 00:14:38.549 Because if I'm in the mode where I'm really only 00:14:38.549 --> 00:14:41.429 wanting God when he's moving the way I want him 00:14:41.429 --> 00:14:43.549 to, you don't want God. You don't want a sovereign 00:14:43.549 --> 00:14:45.809 Lord. You don't want a Chesed giver. You want 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:48.649 a genie in a bottle. You want a spiritual ATM. 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:53.149 Malachi established something essential here 00:14:53.149 --> 00:14:56.590 about Chesed. Chesed is not God sparing his people 00:14:56.590 --> 00:14:59.830 from difficulty. Chesed is God binding himself 00:14:59.830 --> 00:15:05.669 to his people despite difficulty. Jesus says 00:15:05.669 --> 00:15:07.730 it in a beautiful way. In this world you will 00:15:07.730 --> 00:15:12.289 have troubles, but take heart, I have overcome. 00:15:13.509 --> 00:15:17.769 We'll get there at the end of Lent. Too many 00:15:17.769 --> 00:15:20.470 of us have this transactional relationship with 00:15:20.470 --> 00:15:23.500 God. God, I love you when you bless me. You bless 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:25.679 me, I'll love you. That is not covenant language. 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:30.259 That is actually something the canon was refuting, 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:34.320 speaking against, denouncing. That if I can do 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:36.620 these things, God's going to love me. I go to 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:38.480 church enough, God's going to do this. I put 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.120 enough offering plate, God's going to do this. 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:43.519 I'm going to cover that $400 ,000 gap, so they're 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:46.639 going to put up a statue. Nope. That's never 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.860 it. It's never that kind of transaction. It's 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:54.460 covenant. language. And in our humanness, we 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:57.139 get weary. Then our worship gets weary. Our church 00:15:57.139 --> 00:15:59.539 attendance gets weary. We get kind of indifferent 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:03.120 to our relationship with church. But that's when 00:16:03.120 --> 00:16:06.399 Chesed is treated as common. Malachi 1, 6 through 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:10.120 14. A lot of slides here, okay? Six slides. Let's 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:13.340 go. A son honors his father and a servant his 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:17.240 master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? 00:16:17.769 --> 00:16:20.850 And if I am a master, where is my fear? Says 00:16:20.850 --> 00:16:24.370 the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise 00:16:24.370 --> 00:16:28.690 my name. But you say, how have you despised your 00:16:28.690 --> 00:16:31.870 name? By offering polluted food upon my altar. 00:16:32.049 --> 00:16:36.269 But you say, how have we polluted you? By saying 00:16:36.269 --> 00:16:39.549 that the Lord's table may be despised. When you 00:16:39.549 --> 00:16:42.610 offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not 00:16:42.610 --> 00:16:45.429 evil? And when you offer those who are lame or 00:16:45.429 --> 00:16:48.879 sick, is that not evil? Present that to your 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:52.700 governor. Will he accept you or show you favor, 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:56.019 says the Lord of hosts? And now entreat the favor 00:16:56.019 --> 00:17:00.600 of God that he may be gracious to us with such 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:05.680 a gift from your hand. Will he show favor to 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.819 any of you, says the Lord of hosts? Oh, that 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:13.799 there will be... Oh, that there were one among 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.799 you who would shut the doors, that you might 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:20.819 not kindle fire on my altar in vain. I have no 00:17:20.819 --> 00:17:23.140 pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:25.240 I will not accept an offering from your hand. 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:29.680 For from the rising of the sun to its setting, 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:32.220 my name will be great among the nations. And 00:17:32.220 --> 00:17:34.559 in every place, incense will be offered to my 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:38.000 name and a pure offering. For my name will be 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.079 great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:43.160 But you profane it when you say that the Lord's 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:46.039 table is polluted and its fruit, that is, its 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:50.279 food, may be despised. But you say, what a weariness 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:54.220 this is. And you snort at it, says the Lord of 00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:57.220 hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence 00:17:57.220 --> 00:18:01.059 or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.599 offering? Shall I accept that from your hand, 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.880 says the Lord? Cursed be the cheat who has a 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:12.539 male in his flock and vows it, and yet sacrifices 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:16.059 to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:18.740 king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:23.220 be feared among the nations. It's a lot there. 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:25.480 There's a lot of heaviness there. There's a lot 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:29.380 of animal talk. But God's word next is directed 00:18:29.380 --> 00:18:32.690 to the priests. So he's talking to the pastors, 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:35.410 talking to the Levitical line first. What are 00:18:35.410 --> 00:18:38.069 they offering? Blind animals, lame sacrifices, 00:18:38.470 --> 00:18:44.369 or to use a common phrase, leftovers. God's question 00:18:44.369 --> 00:18:46.789 cuts through the pretense, cuts through all the 00:18:46.789 --> 00:18:51.930 junk. Try offering that to your governor, the 00:18:51.930 --> 00:18:54.599 Lord of hosts says. This is not about sacrifice 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.000 quantity. This is about worth. This is about 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.759 what Yahweh deserves in those sacrifices. Now, 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:03.579 we may be feeling a little confused because we 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:06.420 don't necessarily do that, right? That Jesus 00:19:06.420 --> 00:19:09.720 fulfilled the sacrificial system. But even more 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.680 so, this is what happens when you offer Jesus 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:16.019 your leftovers. The leftovers of your heart. 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:18.099 The leftovers of your mind. The leftovers of 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:21.980 your love for him. The priests haven't stopped 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:25.980 believing. They've stopped trembling. They've 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:30.119 stopped fearing Yahweh. They've stopped understanding 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:34.400 his greatness. And that's why there should be 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:36.680 renewal, and that's where grace comes in. Grace 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:41.019 201. Canons 3, 4, 9. Outward religion without 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:44.440 renewed hearts remains hollow. We've talked about 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:47.559 that. Two different weeks. This has been a similar 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:50.420 theme in these minor prophets. Casual worship 00:19:50.420 --> 00:19:55.740 flows from casual... theology. Think about that. 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:00.460 Casual worship flows from a casual theology. 00:20:00.859 --> 00:20:02.579 It's one of the things I love about our worship 00:20:02.579 --> 00:20:05.539 committee. They take time to discern the words. 00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:09.539 What is this song saying? Is this song me focused? 00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:13.000 Jim focused? Are you focused? Or is it God focused? 00:20:14.700 --> 00:20:16.799 Evan, how many worship songs are there in the 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:22.500 world? Just take a guess. A few billion. I don't 00:20:22.500 --> 00:20:26.299 know if that's right, but okay, whatever. The 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:29.799 point holds true. More than we can probably count 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:32.599 per se, maybe without the use of AI, but understanding 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:38.019 there are tons. Yet some of the things I hear 00:20:38.019 --> 00:20:40.440 is, why do we sing the same song three times 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:45.279 in one year? Who cares? We're singing it because 00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:48.119 it means something. There's theology there, right? 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.099 We love singing certain songs. How do I know? 00:20:51.180 --> 00:20:53.220 I sit in the front and you're all singing to 00:20:53.220 --> 00:20:56.259 the bald spot in the back of my head. I hear 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:58.019 when you guys know and understand the songs. 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.500 I hear when you're feeling the songs. I also 00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:03.059 hear when you don't. And I hear when certain 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:04.539 people are sitting in the front or the back. 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:08.700 No names. But understand, worship is meant to 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:13.819 focus on three pretty big things. And none of 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:16.460 them are us. None of them is this building. None 00:21:16.460 --> 00:21:19.240 of this is the name on the sign. It's God's love 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:23.039 for us. It's Christ coming for us. It's his sacrifice 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.839 so we could have eternal life. That's what worship 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:29.660 is. When we get casual about that, when we can 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:32.700 just say in the same breath, man, I hope the 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:35.259 Bears win or go at least to the Super Bowl next 00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:38.059 year and Jesus died for my sins. When we can 00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:40.579 say it in the same breath like that, that's a 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:44.700 problem, friends. When our salvation becomes 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:50.519 casual, all is... Not right. This is one of Malachi's 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:55.019 sharpest warnings. Chesed assumed too long becomes 00:21:55.019 --> 00:22:00.039 chesed ignored. What does that look like today? 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:05.259 When your love for your spouse is just, all right, 00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:07.519 babe, I love you. I really love our new car, 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:12.519 but I love you. When it becomes ho -hum, right? 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.799 When your spouse becomes kind of a backseat affection 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:19.220 in your life, Not only do they feel it, but you 00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:22.380 should feel that too. Something's up. Well, Pastor, 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:25.160 we've been together for 50 years, and I just 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:29.579 don't know how to show love for 51 in the same 00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:32.700 way I did at one or two. Ask the Lord to help 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:35.920 you with that. That's your spouse. Through the 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:37.980 highs and the lows, the thicks and the thins, 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:42.380 that is your spouse. Your kids, if they become 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:45.339 indifferent to your love, that's not the kid's 00:22:45.339 --> 00:22:48.240 problem, that's yours. Same thing comes with 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:50.819 our love to God. Faithfulness under pressure 00:22:50.819 --> 00:22:54.940 can drift into minimalism. Good enough obedience. 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:58.680 I'll be just good enough so I'm not going to 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:02.619 hell. Whoa. There's a problem. There's a hard 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:06.200 issue there. What I call functional indifference. 00:23:08.099 --> 00:23:10.420 I'll go to church, but I hate everything about 00:23:10.420 --> 00:23:15.039 it. I'll be involved unless we build that building, 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:18.109 and I'm against it, so I'm out. That's us making 00:23:18.109 --> 00:23:19.809 church about us, not about what it needs to be 00:23:19.809 --> 00:23:23.210 made about. Dutiful religion without reverence? 00:23:23.930 --> 00:23:26.289 When we come and think we can just give God our 00:23:26.289 --> 00:23:29.549 leftovers on a Sunday morning? I guarantee you, 00:23:29.569 --> 00:23:32.630 everybody that's up here singing with us and 00:23:32.630 --> 00:23:35.250 leading us in that, they're not doing it as an 00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:37.150 afterthought. They do it because they love it. 00:23:37.190 --> 00:23:38.470 They do it because the Lord's called them to 00:23:38.470 --> 00:23:40.589 it. They're passionate about it. You can see 00:23:40.589 --> 00:23:44.069 it in their faces when they talk about it, when 00:23:44.069 --> 00:23:48.019 they plan on it. I wish I could play the organ 00:23:48.019 --> 00:23:51.480 like Joe does. It's really hard. But when you 00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:53.180 watch her play, now everyone's going to watch 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:54.559 you for the next couple Sundays when you play 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:56.960 it. I apologize. We'll just put a covering over 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:59.200 that. Don't look at her while she's playing it. 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:01.420 But she does it because she loves it, not just 00:24:01.420 --> 00:24:02.940 because she's the only one here that can do it. 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:07.519 And that's a beautiful thing. When we use our 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.000 gifts and we step into the calling God has for 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:13.180 us, that is supposed to aid our relationship 00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:16.299 with Jesus and grow it. That's supposed to get 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:20.940 us excited and fervor for the Lord. Because the 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:23.839 Lord then comes to refine us. He will reach down 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.279 in those weary moments and lift us up and say, 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:30.240 let me refine, let me readjust, let me recalibrate 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:34.160 your life to focus more on me. Malachi 3, starting 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:38.579 with verse 1. Behold, I send my messenger, and 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:41.359 he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:44.460 whom you seek will suddenly come to this temple 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:47.200 and the messenger of the covenant in whom you 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.000 delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:53.000 of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming? 00:24:53.059 --> 00:24:57.140 And who can stand when he appears? For he is 00:24:57.140 --> 00:25:00.460 like a refiner's fire and like a fuller's soap. 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.700 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:06.619 And he will purify the sons of Levi and refine 00:25:06.619 --> 00:25:09.500 them like gold and silver. And they will bring 00:25:09.500 --> 00:25:12.579 offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then 00:25:12.579 --> 00:25:15.059 the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:19.119 to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:22.670 years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment. 00:25:22.809 --> 00:25:26.089 I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, 00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:28.269 against the adulterers, against those who swear 00:25:28.269 --> 00:25:30.829 falsely, against those who oppress the hired 00:25:30.829 --> 00:25:33.890 worker in his wage, the widow and the fatherless, 00:25:33.950 --> 00:25:38.109 against those who thrust aside the sojourner. 00:25:38.250 --> 00:25:41.710 And do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts, for 00:25:41.710 --> 00:25:45.549 I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore you, O 00:25:45.549 --> 00:25:50.880 children of Jacob, are not consumed. This is 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:55.119 Jesus. This is the Messiah in Malachi. The Lord 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:58.500 whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:02.339 but immediately follows a warning. Who can endure 00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:05.460 the day of his coming? He's coming. Who can stand? 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:08.759 Who can endure? This is not comfort language. 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:13.200 This is refining language. And how do things 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:17.740 get refined? By the fire. By the testing. Not 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:20.849 by, you're great. Just keep doing what you're 00:26:20.849 --> 00:26:24.009 doing. No, that is not what the Messiah comes 00:26:24.009 --> 00:26:27.390 to do. The Messiah comes to refine. He will sit 00:26:27.390 --> 00:26:31.410 as a refiner and a purifier. Refining assumes 00:26:31.410 --> 00:26:35.269 a couple things. Heat, pressure, endurance, removal 00:26:35.269 --> 00:26:42.970 of impurities. This is grace. Grace 301. That 00:26:42.970 --> 00:26:47.140 grace is concrete and pastoral. That grace should 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:49.519 be a big part of my job and our job one to another. 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:54.079 Canons head five, five through seven. Believers 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:56.700 are preserved through discipline, not spared 00:26:56.700 --> 00:27:00.480 from it. God's covenant love purifies what it 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:03.779 preserves. God's not looking for you to have 00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:07.700 a participation trophy. God is refining what 00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:12.079 is impure in you. Well, pastor, I don't like 00:27:12.079 --> 00:27:17.019 that. Well, congregation, tough. I don't get 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:19.380 a say in that. That's what the purifier and the 00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:23.180 refiner is doing. Why? Because what has the call 00:27:23.180 --> 00:27:26.740 always been? For lunch and a conversation with 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.400 Pastor Jim, what has the call always been from 00:27:29.400 --> 00:27:38.019 the beginning? Abby will set it up. Be holy as 00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:49.200 I am holy. Not perfect. Not 100 % attendance 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:53.059 in Lighthouse. Not Bible study. All good things. 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:56.920 And those bring us along in our faith. Be holy 00:27:56.920 --> 00:28:02.599 as I am holy. This is what Malachi is teaching 00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:07.839 us. Chesed does not relax holiness. Chesed sustains 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:12.539 holiness under pressure. How are you going to 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:15.380 be more holy than you are today? In the thick 00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:19.440 of it, sit in the hesed of God and watch him 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:22.759 work. Well, he's not doing what I want him to 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:27.279 do. Reset. Different perspective. It's not about 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:29.319 you. It never has been. It never will be. You 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:32.319 don't want it about you. Why? Because that was 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:37.680 our cross. And it's not anymore because of the 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:40.740 love of Jesus. While we were still sinners, Christ 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:44.539 died for us. So where's the encouragement? All 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:47.119 right. Jim, it's the end of the series. We know 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:49.380 you add a lot onto it. You're beating us up. 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:52.660 Well, we have Lent to look forward to. All the 00:28:52.660 --> 00:28:56.700 things. It's easy to become cynical, but I don't 00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:58.599 want you to get there. Why? Because there's a 00:28:58.599 --> 00:29:04.200 quiet, faithful remnant here. Malachi 3, 16 through 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:07.640 18. Then those who feared the Lord spoke with 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:10.880 one another. The Lord paid attention and heard 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.440 them, and a book of remembrances was written 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:15.759 before them of those who feared the Lord and 00:29:15.759 --> 00:29:19.099 esteemed his name. They shall be mine, says the 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:22.700 Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasure 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:26.779 possessions, and I will spare them as a man spares 00:29:26.779 --> 00:29:29.680 his son who serves him. Then once more you shall 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:32.799 see the distinction between the righteous and 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:36.230 the wicked, between the one who serves God. and 00:29:36.230 --> 00:29:41.809 the one who does not serve him. In this heaviness, 00:29:42.029 --> 00:29:45.390 friends, we can become cynical. How do I know? 00:29:45.470 --> 00:29:50.750 I know 90 % of you. We have cynical folks. I 00:29:50.750 --> 00:29:54.890 can be super cynical about a lot of things. I 00:29:54.890 --> 00:29:58.089 draw it back from my sarcasm. Though I sometimes 00:29:58.089 --> 00:30:02.529 think it a spiritual gift, it's not. Right? But 00:30:02.529 --> 00:30:04.890 that cynicism, when life's just not going well, 00:30:05.009 --> 00:30:10.490 when it's just, again, the things, me, usually, 00:30:10.569 --> 00:30:13.890 me, why do I keep doing this? There can be just 00:30:13.890 --> 00:30:16.970 a cynicism. Maybe I'm not saved. Maybe it doesn't 00:30:16.970 --> 00:30:21.849 matter. But not everyone. There's a remnant. 00:30:21.950 --> 00:30:24.630 Even in this time, there's a remnant. And how 00:30:24.630 --> 00:30:26.769 do I know there's a remnant here? Because there's... 00:30:27.069 --> 00:30:29.450 Some of you will randomly then, I'll get the 00:30:29.450 --> 00:30:31.829 text, I'll get the email to stop by, and whether 00:30:31.829 --> 00:30:33.950 you know it or not, you put me right in front 00:30:33.950 --> 00:30:36.970 of the cross. And we need to do that one for 00:30:36.970 --> 00:30:40.250 another, not in a judgment way. Please don't 00:30:40.250 --> 00:30:43.029 think that's your only call in the faith is to 00:30:43.029 --> 00:30:47.509 call other people out. Those who feared the Lord 00:30:47.509 --> 00:30:50.470 spoke with one another. No rebellion, no reform 00:30:50.470 --> 00:30:53.750 movement, just steady faith. And what does God 00:30:53.750 --> 00:31:00.450 do? God listens. He listens. A book of remembrances 00:31:00.450 --> 00:31:03.809 was written before him. This is one of my favorite 00:31:03.809 --> 00:31:07.750 aspects of the canons of Dort or the tulip, the 00:31:07.750 --> 00:31:10.109 P or the faith, as we talked about a couple years 00:31:10.109 --> 00:31:13.970 ago, the H, held by God. Perseverance of the 00:31:13.970 --> 00:31:18.170 saints. God knows his own and preserves him. 00:31:19.049 --> 00:31:22.849 Perseverance is not dramatic faith. It is held 00:31:22.849 --> 00:31:30.359 faith. When life gets real bad, you're held by 00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:34.700 God. When life is real good, remember, you're 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:41.500 held by God. That's deeply personal. That's deeply 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:46.019 pastoral. God records what others overlook. God 00:31:46.019 --> 00:31:50.039 sees faithfulness when it feels unseen. God remembers 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:54.829 what feels forgotten. And here's where Malachi 00:31:54.829 --> 00:31:57.970 lands a final word, right? Final word, Malachi 00:31:57.970 --> 00:32:02.309 4. For behold, the day is coming, burning like 00:32:02.309 --> 00:32:06.589 an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers 00:32:06.589 --> 00:32:09.369 will be stubble. The day that is coming shall 00:32:09.369 --> 00:32:12.109 set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that 00:32:12.109 --> 00:32:16.930 it will leave them neither root nor branch, but 00:32:16.930 --> 00:32:22.390 for who? But for you who fear my name, the son 00:32:22.390 --> 00:32:25.910 of the righteous shall rise with healing in its 00:32:25.910 --> 00:32:29.890 wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from 00:32:29.890 --> 00:32:32.609 the stall and you shall tread down the wicked 00:32:32.609 --> 00:32:35.450 for they will be ashes under the soles of your 00:32:35.450 --> 00:32:38.390 feet on the day when I will act, says the Lord 00:32:38.390 --> 00:32:41.390 of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, 00:32:41.589 --> 00:32:45.170 the statues and rules that I commanded him at 00:32:45.170 --> 00:32:48.650 Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you 00:32:48.650 --> 00:32:50.930 Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome 00:32:50.930 --> 00:32:53.930 day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts 00:32:53.930 --> 00:32:56.710 of fathers to their children and the hearts of 00:32:56.710 --> 00:32:59.049 the children to their fathers, lest I come and 00:32:59.049 --> 00:33:02.029 strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. 00:33:03.769 --> 00:33:07.990 Malachi closes the entire Old Testament with 00:33:07.990 --> 00:33:11.569 tension. Wouldn't it be great if he just landed 00:33:11.569 --> 00:33:14.349 it with Malachi's final thought and then just 00:33:14.349 --> 00:33:16.970 kind of plays off into the sunset? Yeah, it would, 00:33:17.089 --> 00:33:19.029 but that's not where they were. They're going 00:33:19.029 --> 00:33:24.250 to go to centuries of silence, judgment, healing, 00:33:24.569 --> 00:33:30.069 refining, restoration, warning, promise. But 00:33:30.069 --> 00:33:35.849 first comes waiting. I don't know about you, 00:33:35.950 --> 00:33:37.849 but if I knew a bunch of people were getting 00:33:37.849 --> 00:33:40.529 weary and heavy in their faith, I don't know 00:33:40.529 --> 00:33:42.549 if I'd be like, let's make them wait a little 00:33:42.549 --> 00:33:46.390 more. Because I know I would hate that. Waiting 00:33:46.390 --> 00:33:48.230 on the Lord is one of the hardest things for 00:33:48.230 --> 00:33:55.150 me to do. Waiting. Silence. Expectation. Booming. 00:33:55.450 --> 00:34:00.230 But zero explanation. This is how the prophets 00:34:00.230 --> 00:34:06.430 end. Not with a resolution, but hope. Hope anchored 00:34:06.430 --> 00:34:11.269 in God's character. Hope is found in God's hesed. 00:34:12.530 --> 00:34:16.360 And this is it in full circle. The full circle 00:34:16.360 --> 00:34:20.260 Chesed reflection. Here we go. Before we look 00:34:20.260 --> 00:34:23.619 forward, we must look back. Over these weeks, 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:26.920 we have watched Chesed tested in every direction. 00:34:27.239 --> 00:34:30.400 And we may find ourselves that we've been tested 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:34.059 in a lot, if not all of these. Hosea, Chesed 00:34:34.059 --> 00:34:38.039 when God's people are unfaithful. Joel, Chesed 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:43.519 after devastation. Amos, Chesed confronting hypocrisy. 00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:48.239 Obadiah, hesed, defending the wounded. Micah, 00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:52.699 hesed, forming humble obedience. Nahum, hesed, 00:34:52.699 --> 00:34:57.139 standing against oppression. Malachi, hesed, 00:34:57.139 --> 00:35:02.719 enduring when faithfulness grows heavy. But here's 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:06.539 what we learned. And take this with you. Hesed 00:35:06.539 --> 00:35:11.400 is not reactive. Hesed is not fragile. Though 00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:15.929 we are, hesed is not. Chesed does not burn out. 00:35:16.250 --> 00:35:19.369 But what does Chesed do? Receive this today, 00:35:19.510 --> 00:35:23.829 Munster Church. Chesed pursues, restores, confronts, 00:35:23.829 --> 00:35:30.150 defends, humbles, judges evil, and endures. And 00:35:30.150 --> 00:35:34.389 now Malachi leaves us with one final truth. Chesed 00:35:34.389 --> 00:35:39.329 lasts longer than human faithfulness. Chesed 00:35:39.329 --> 00:35:42.809 always has been. All the way since Genesis chapter 00:35:42.809 --> 00:35:47.329 3. All the way to the end of Revelation. Chesed 00:35:47.329 --> 00:35:53.429 never fails. Malachi ends in waiting. And this 00:35:53.429 --> 00:35:57.610 is what Lent becomes. A time of waiting. And 00:35:57.610 --> 00:36:00.369 that waiting leads us not immediately to triumph. 00:36:00.769 --> 00:36:04.489 Ash Wednesday is not Easter Sunday. But it's 00:36:04.489 --> 00:36:08.309 a time of preparation. A time for pressure to 00:36:08.309 --> 00:36:11.460 start to rise. Because when the Messiah finally 00:36:11.460 --> 00:36:15.239 comes, he does not remove pressure. Jesus enters 00:36:15.239 --> 00:36:19.659 the pressure. Temptation, rejection, obedience 00:36:19.659 --> 00:36:23.579 under strain, faithfulness tested in the wilderness. 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:27.380 The prophets end by teaching us how to wait under 00:36:27.380 --> 00:36:30.559 pressure. But what comes next, starting Wednesday, 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:35.780 shows us how Jesus bears the pressure for us. 00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:41.039 Go back to Malachi's first set of words. The 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:44.960 Lord does not change. Friends, that's Chesed. 00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:48.619 Unmoved by circumstance, unaffected by fatigue, 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:53.519 unbroken by delay, faithful yesterday, today, 00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:59.820 under pressure until the end. Do you believe 00:36:59.820 --> 00:37:03.340 that, Munster Church? What do you need to do? 00:37:04.710 --> 00:37:08.030 To push the distraction of your life to enter 00:37:08.030 --> 00:37:12.730 that space. Because that's when God, who knows 00:37:12.730 --> 00:37:16.329 all, leads us forward with these final words. 00:37:17.190 --> 00:37:20.269 The prophets teach us how to live under the weight 00:37:20.269 --> 00:37:25.329 of waiting. But the gospel will now show us how 00:37:25.329 --> 00:37:29.429 Christ carried that weight for us. Let's pray.