For our scripture reading and text tonight, we look at Malachi chapter four. And this is not an Advent sermon for the coming of, or the first coming of Jesus, nor was it preached as a New Year's Day sermon looking to the future and the second coming of Jesus. This is a sermon that I preached simply in a series of sermons on the prophecy of Malachi. So we consider Malachi chapter four, the six verses. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. And all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be as ashes under the soles of your feet. In the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. The Word of God that we consider tonight is the last prophecy of the Old Testament, of course. In fact, I meant to say, if you want to find the text tonight, turn to Matthew chapter one, and then turn back to Malachi chapter four, and you'll find it right there at the end of the Old Testament. This does not mean that for the Old Testament people of God that the Word of God simply disappeared after Malachi gave this prophecy. They had the Scriptures, that is the written Word of God that they could consult already in the Old Testament. But after this, God would not speak through a prophet for 400 years. The next time that God will speak through. Messengers like Malachi, that's what he was really, a messenger from God. The next time God will speak through messengers will be through angels. And those angels will bring the message of the fulfillment of this text that we have read tonight. First of all, of the coming of Elijah as the forerunner for the Lord. Only, we'll see this especially in the third point tonight, not really Elijah, but John. the Baptist would be born and come to prepare the way for the Lord. And then the angel, the messenger of God will also speak of the coming of the son of righteousness, of Jesus Christ himself. All of this means that the text speaks to the people of Israel of the future. Not all of this in the text for us tonight is in the future. Some of it is in our past. But we have to look at the text as it stands here in the Old Testament pointing ahead, saying to the people of God in the old times, You not only need to think about today, but you need to think about tomorrow and even far into the future. And we need to hear that word of God tonight too. Look to the future. God tells us to look ahead in hope and comfort. We are forced then to ask what is the horizon or the limit of our thinking. Now, some of us fly by the seat of our pants. we don't think ahead at all. Some of us are planners and think a day or a week, some months, some maybe even longer term than that, far ahead into the future. That's not really the question for you tonight. Are you a planner or not a planner thinking a day or a week ahead? The question is, are you a person who is only looking at the here and now? Or are you doing what the Word of God tells you to do, thinking about the life to come? That's the question. Whether you're thinking only about today, or even about next week, next month, saying, I do look to the future, next year. Is it only because you wanna think and plan about, well, today is okay, but I want tomorrow and next year to be better, here and now in this life? Or do you realize that your focus isn't to be upon just the here and now in this life, but upon the coming of the Son of Righteousness and the life to come. The text says that you as the people of God are able to see not necessarily what's going to happen here or tomorrow here in this world, but you're able to see far ahead even to the end of the world and even to see off into eternity and you need to be thinking about eternity This is how we must live today. Not looking only at the present and this world, but at the future and the world to come in the light of the promises that God gives to us. He's promised us things. as David once said, for a long time to come. So let's consider this text under the theme, looking to the future, first of all, about judgment. This is important for all of us as the people of God, including the young people and children. Think about God as the God of judgment. Secondly, we look to the future and think about deliverance. And then finally, we think about the future through preaching. And there we'll look at the coming of John the Baptist and the prophecy about him especially. First of all, tonight we think very soberly. Stop and think about judgment. Verse one, for behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. All the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. Now, this is one of the ways that God shows, or answers rather, things that are said by the people in the time of Malachi. I want you to look at verse 17 of chapter two. Verse 17 says, ye have wearied the Lord with your words, yet ye say, wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he that delighteth in them, Or, where is the God of judgment? Those are the kinds of things the people of Israel are saying. Those who do evil are good in the sight of the Lord, on the one hand. Or, they ask the question, where is the God of judgment? And then chapter 3, Verses 13 through 15, the Lord says, your words have been stout against me. You've spoken against me, saith the Lord. Ye say, what have we spoken so much against thee? And then here's what the people are saying. Ye have said, it is vain to serve God. It is worthless to serve God. And what prophet is it that we have kept his ordinance and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? So what prophet is there in repenting and seeking to serve God? It's vain. And now ye call the proud happy. Yea, they that walk work wickedness are set up. Yea, they that tempt God are even the The people of Israel basically fall into one of two camps. There's the first camp of the people who are anti-God. They are openly and blatantly evil. They look at the way things work in the world and they think, this is the way it works. The people who are ungodly even in the world, but here in the nation of Israel too, they get away with it. There's nothing wrong with doing evil. There is no God. He's not going to judge us or punish us at all. That seems to have had an effect on other people in Judah. They did not live so wickedly. They thought more about God. but they were troubled. They weren't the kind of people who would say, I'm looking for an excuse to just live an openly wicked life, and they weren't the kind of people who wanted to say there is no God, we don't believe in his existence or that he is the holy judge of what human beings do, but they said, here are these people even in the midst of Israel in this time of apostasy who are openly and blatantly denying God, and when we look at what's happening in their lives, they seem to get away with it. Maybe God is far away. Maybe he doesn't really care about sin. You see, even the more serious people of God are facing a spiritual crisis. They're not at all sure about the holiness of God. and about God's judging a wicked way of life, and they're not sure, is it really important for me in my own life to live in godliness and to forsake sin? This is very serious for us to consider in our day too, isn't it? In our day, many people wickedly live as if there is no God. Other people seem to have a bit more of a conscience, but when they see there's so many people around us who rebel against God and there seems to be no consequence, no judgment, is it maybe, here's the temptation, okay for me, my family, my church family maybe, to live in sin too. This is something we need to think about, beloved, so that we're ready to face that temptation. So that we will not fall into a sinful way of thinking about God and then a sinful way of living. God's, or the text is God's answer to that kind of thinking. Any kind of thinking that says, God isn't really that serious about sin. He doesn't judge. We may live how we want and get away with it. The text says, behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. God points to the future in judgment. I was a history major and received a degree in history for my undergraduate degree and must hasten to say God sometimes deals with sinful thinking, especially this kind of thinking that makes light of sinful behavior by pointing to the past. Don't be so foolish as to think that God hasn't made clear in time and history before that He is God. That He is sitting on the throne. And that He is ruling over the thinking and the doing of men and women here in this world. Don't think that there has never been a manifestation or a demonstration of God's holy hatred and wrath for sin. As a Christian, you need to have a perspective that can look back along ways and say, perhaps, I remember the flood. I remember different judgments God sent in the 10 plagues in Egypt. I remember various ways that God has already in the past said, I am a holy God and I punish sin, iniquity. Think of the Babylonian captivity that hasn't happened all that long before the history of the people of God in Malachi. God said through his prophets and then through Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians destroying Jerusalem and taking the people into captivity, I hate your idolatry and your rebellion against me. Sometimes our problem is we forget the past. But here in the text, God says sometimes your problem is you don't look ahead to the future. God points the people forward. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly shall be stubble. In the faith congregation, I preach this before harvest. That is before September and October. Now the harvest is behind us. And here in this area, when you think of harvest, I don't know what you think of. Maybe you think of the blueberries or other fruit crops. I come from Iowa. I think about corn and soybeans. And when in September, October, and November the corn and the soybeans farmers go out with their combines and harvest the grain, they take all of the grain. and bring it to their bins, bring it to the elevator, the grain elevator, wherever, but then there's the stalks left over, the chaff that is left over of the corn and the soybeans, and there's the stubble that the text is speaking about here in Malachi 4. Now, sometimes that stubble might be gathered for bedding for certain animals, but really, there's one thing that stubble is really, really good for. And that's burning. Just had this experience last week with my father in Iowa, trying to set some logs on fire. It's not so easy sometimes to get logs, especially after it's rained on the wood all day, to catch fire. And one thought I had was it's too bad that we don't have a pile of dry stubble. That stubble is so flammable that the farmers are even afraid oftentimes when they're running their big combines that a spark might set the field on fire. That happens often. Stubble burns. God says this is what you have, you and I have to keep in mind. That there's coming a day of fire. And there will be stubble that is burned so that it is destroyed. It shall leave them neither root nor branch. Only the stubble God is talking about here is not what is left over after a farmer harvests grain. He's talking about people. Sinners. Impenitent sinners. Sinners who will not turn from their sins. Sinners who will not say they're sorry. Will not say that they need and then believe in the Savior that God promises. The Bible says this is really all they're good for. As stubble to be burned. That fire that the text is speaking of is not caused by a match or a lighter or the spark of a combine in a field. This fire is not caused by any human being. The day cometh when God will kindle his wrath against impenitent sinners God says when you look at the proud and Those who do wickedly and you're thinking to yourself and they get away with it I can watch them on the TV screen or the movie screen. I can see their behavior on YouTube, Instagram, wherever you're looking. I can see people in the world around me, and they seem to prosper in the world. They increase and grow in their riches and happiness. God says, look to the future. They're only good for one thing. unless they repent, of course. That is falling under the wrath of God and being destroyed. That doesn't mean put out of existence, you understand. It means that they will be made miserable body and soul for eternity under the wrath of God in hell. That day is coming, says the Lord. And every time they sin, they're not getting away with it. I know the text doesn't put it this way, but you and I ought to think of it this way. Every time these people are walking in rebellion against God, and it looks like nothing is happening, it's all good, it's as if they are pouring gasoline on themselves as stubble, so that they will burn all the more in the day. of judgment. This is the word of God about sin. Sin is never missed. Sin is never overlooked. Judgment is never denied. It may appear to us that judgment is delayed, but it is not denied. God is assuring the people of Israel that there's going to come a day when he's going to deal with all sin and all evil and none of it is going to escape his justice. Every sin Yours and mine too will be consumed by the wrath of God. We must see this also in verses five and six, not only in verse one. Verse five speaks of the coming of Elijah the prophet. And then this, the great and dreadful day of the Lord. There's going to be this great day of judgment. And then verse six, calls for a turning of hearts, repentance, the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, and then here's the warning. Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. There's going to be a day of God's curse. His word of wrath against sinners. Now what does this say to us? Be afraid. of judgment? No. No. Beloved, you and I have a deliverance that we're going to talk about in a moment. So that you and I are to look to the future and never be afraid, but be confident. But this does say to us to think and to live in a way that is not foolish. Not nearsighted, not myopic. Thinking, well, people sin here, and they get away with it, and it doesn't matter. People in the world, or my friends maybe, or my family members, and you know what that means? I can sin and get away with it. God says, don't think that way. The day is coming. when my wrath will burn against all sin. And here's where we also need to take into account verse four, where the Lord says to his people then and today, remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, here's your calling, as you not only think about how you're to live today, but as you think about the future and what the future holds for you, and as you think about the reality that God is coming to judge all sin, Don't live in sin, but how should you live? Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments. Remember especially the Ten Commandments. God is saying to his people, you think you can forget them and it doesn't matter? No. There's coming a day of judgment against those who walk in sin. Don't be like them. walk according to my commandments. Live in wisdom. Or to put it as the Apostle Paul does in New Testament language in Titus 2 verse 12, you are to live denying ungodliness and worldly lusts living soberly, righteously, and godly. Remembering God's commandments in this present world. Look ahead, see judgment coming, today live in godliness. There's also comfort here for us too. there is comfort in thinking about the coming of judgment. You can imagine how difficult it was for the true people of God in Malachi's day to say, we're surrounded by wickedness, not only in the nations around us, but here at Judah. And it bothers us because it seems like they get away with it. Beloved, we live in a world where God's curse is present. where we deal with evil every day, and it may look to us like those who increase in wickedness get away with it. And God comes to his people in this text then and today and comforts us with this message. I will take vengeance. I will deal with all who sin against me and you. Everything, every evil done against you will be dealt with and set right. God promises for our instruction, but also for our comfort, a day of burning. But we must look at the deliverance that God promises, especially in verses 2 and 3. There's joy there. That's not an easy part of the verse to translate, but it seems as if Malachi is saying, when the son of righteousness comes, you're going to be compared to these calves that have been in the stalls in the barn all winter, and then the spring comes. And I've experienced this, maybe not many of you have, but when the spring comes and it's time to let the cows out to pasture, and they are running and leaping, they go forth as calves of the stall, and ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. In the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Now there in verse two, we have a good translation of the Hebrew, the sun there is a capital S, meaning that the translators recognize the prophet is not simply speaking about the sun that rises in the east and that gives us light here upon this earth, but the prophet is speaking about a man, a human being who is coming. And then you also have the reference to his wings, not its wings, but the son of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings, a human being whose wings are like the rays of the sun. That's probably a better picture. So the sun is rising, bringing light, shining brilliantly, and the rays reach us and bring us the healing of this sun. Why doesn't Malachi simply say, the Messiah is coming? Why doesn't he simply say the mediator, the savior is coming? Why does he speak this way of the rising of the son of righteousness? And that's because God through the prophet here wants to tell us something about the work of Jesus Christ. He's the one who comes into a dark world, and now when you think of darkness, don't simply think of a room where the lights are shut off and it's dark. but think spiritually of sin and evil. A world where because all things are dark, you and me included by nature, there's no hope of light. There's no hope of righteousness. We are lost in the darkness of sin and unrighteousness. And now here is the picture of what Jesus does. He comes to this shadow land, this dark and evil world as the one who shines brilliantly, but now don't think of a room that now has lights on, but think spiritually of one who comes with righteousness. the righteousness of a perfect man. But as Paul will go on to say in Romans, it's also the righteousness of God that he brings. Because he's not merely a man, he is also God, so that the healing that he brings is not the righteousness of a mere man to unrighteous people who need righteousness, but the righteousness that he brings is the righteousness of eternal God. that is able to deliver people from the darkness of sin and unrighteousness. He came righteous. He came without any sin. And that's a miracle, isn't it? We do celebrate that at Christmas time. Here comes the one born of a woman in a world full of dark and evil sinners, unrighteous, and he has no sin. He is perfectly righteous. He came to take our unrighteousness upon himself to bring judgment. Remember that. I meant what I said. When a little while ago I said, God will visit his wrath upon all of your and my sins too. Don't say ever, God saved me because he doesn't care about my sins. No, God saved me because while I was lost in darkness, he sent the son of righteousness, that he could take my sins and be burned. Suffer hell, the wrath of God in my place. And then remember this, God's wrath not only falls upon and consumes the wicked, but it fell upon his son. Only he's not stubble. Maybe you've experienced that. burn some dried grass or some dried twigs. At the end, all you have is ashes destroyed. But the Son of God bore the wrath of God not only as a man, but as the one who is, as to his person, eternal God. He suffered the wrath of God and survived it. He did not get consumed by the fire of God's anger, but our sins did, as he suffered in our place for them, so that he could rise again from the dead, and so that he could bring light and righteousness in life to his people. That's the message here. Not only that he's the one who takes away your unrighteousness and sin, But He's the one who, through His perfect service to God, His life of perfect obedience, His perfect sacrifice on the cross, He's earned righteousness that He's able to give to you and to me. So that when God looks at you, He doesn't say, guilty sinner, stubble. He says, not guilty, forgiven, and even more, righteous. beautiful in Jesus Christ. So that you and I can stand before God tonight and say, I see the light. My sin and darkness has been dealt with. I believe in Jesus and because I believe in Jesus, God's not going to burn me. He's not angry with me. I have peace with God. He loves me, and I love Him. This is all, of course, about Jesus and His first coming, but also His second coming. You cannot come to this prophecy here in Malachi chapter four and say, well, we have two options. The prophet is speaking about Jesus' first coming and birth, and that's where the Son of Righteousness arose with healing in his wings. Or the prophet is talking about the second coming of Jesus at the end of the age, and that's when he's going to arise again as the Son of Righteousness with healing in his wings. We have one or two options. It's gotta be one or the other. No. This passage is about both. In his first coming, Jesus came in righteousness. He was born as the one who was able to bear our sins and pay for them so that Malachi is not only seeing his birth, but also his death on the cross. But ultimately it is true, Malachi is looking to the second coming of Jesus Christ and the day that he's talking about is the end of the world and the new beginning of the new heavens and the new earth. So that what Malachi is saying to us in the language even that he's using, comparing Jesus to the sun in our solar system, you have to understand the salvation that God promises you today and in the future is not merely this, your own personal salvation from sin. That's beautiful, that's wonderful. God through Jesus forgives me and saves me from judgment and gives me eternal life. But what the prophet is saying is you have to understand the salvation of God through Jesus encompasses the whole universe. It's cosmic in scope. Even the creation is redeemed and will be renewed by God through Jesus Christ. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. Let's remember that as we live in this land of trouble and darkness Every day, God is going to not only remove the darkness in sin through judgment, but he's going to bring in light and glory through deliverance in Jesus Christ. We live in a land where I wonder how many of you have locked your doors in the parking lot. Or how many of you, when you left your homes tonight, locked those doors? Why do we do that? Because as Jesus said, we live in a land where thieves do break in and steal. We've been delivered through the first coming of Jesus Christ, but we look to God to give to us the full deliverance that this text is speaking about. We live in a land where you see doctors. I wonder how many of you are going to have doctor's appointments this week. We live in a land where there are hospitals. I wonder how many of you have visited a hospital recently. Why do we have doctors and medicine and hospitals? Because we live in a land where we still have disease as long as we live in this shadow land. We also live in a land where there are cemeteries and graves. Where death is still a reality for our loved ones and if Jesus tarries for us too. December 30. Just a few days ago, Monday, last week, I was with a family at a funeral, and then at the cemetery at a graveside, dealing with that last dark enemy, death. And maybe worse, I know death is awful. We live in a land where we still deal with our sins. Temptations. a devil who goes about as a roaring lion, seeking to devour us spiritually. And because of our sinful natures, we sin against God. We sin against our family members, our loved ones. We deal with sin and the grief that it causes on a daily basis. Beloved, The sun is shining. The day is dawning. Malachi says the day is going to come when the sun reaches its full height and drives away all the darkness and brings about the new heaven and the new earth. When will we be delivered from this land of darkness? I do want to say, first of all, when we go to Jesus. I'm talking about death now. What gives us hope in death? I think you can say that in a certain sense when we or when a loved one dies, it is Jesus coming with healing in His wings. Our body The body is committed to the ground, of course, to return to the dust from whence it came, but the soul is brought immediately to heaven. And there, that soul is purged from all sin and made whole. And the righteousness of Jesus Christ there to appear before God and Jesus with all the saints. But ultimately the deliverance that the text is speaking of does come in Jesus' second coming. And you and I have to have a long-term mindset here. For 2,000 years he has not come, and as far as we can tell, he's not coming tomorrow, next week, maybe even not at all in 2025. But the point is that you and I as a believer must be able to say, but I know he's coming, and the Bible says he's coming quickly, and that means that today and tomorrow I have to say to myself, I cannot simply live for this life. I can't. I can't say all that life is about is all the money and the possessions and whatever I can get here in this world. This life is not just about today and its joys or its pains. He's coming. You and I need to keep our eye fixed on Jesus. As the Apostle says in Colossians chapter 3, seek those things which are above where Christ Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Remember, your life is not simply here, but it's hid in heaven, the Apostle declares. You and I need to see that He's already shining. And that He will shine more and more until the day there is no Darkness. Live with that perspective. How? As one who is able to say, I have no light in myself. He's the sun. You know what that makes us? Like the moon. We are to reflect the light of the sun in our lives every day. Look up, see the coming of Jesus, live for Him. Now how are you and I kept from evil, kept from thinking only about this life, pointed to Jesus through the word that God is pleased to send through His servants? For 400 years, God didn't send a prophet. Now, the people had the written word of God, but he didn't send a prophet, and we know what that did spiritually in the land of Israel. The people became darker and darker. They had less and less hope about spiritual things. They became more, as the Pharisees, you know, gained power in the nation of Israel, more and more earthly-minded. God promised. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will prepare the way spiritually through turning of hearts, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. And the idea, though that's a bit difficult to understand, seems to be this. Fathers and the children have turned their hearts away from God and from each other, but through the preaching of John the Baptist, they will be turned again spiritually to God and then to each other to love one another. Now, the prophet speaks of the coming of Elijah, and that makes us ask the question, does this mean Elijah's going to come back from the dead to be the forerunner of Jesus Christ actually living in Judea and preaching around Jerusalem and at the Jordan River? The answer is no. But the passage is pointing to the coming of John the Baptist. Now I'm not going to do that tonight. You may do that if you want. Look at all of the parallels between John the Baptist and Elijah. The clothing they wore, the food that they ate, the places where they lived. It's clear that John is, coming again of Elijah. But the most important thing is that John is the one who comes with the spirit of Elijah of prophecy. Or what it all boils down to is the same message as Elijah. Elijah lived in the days of Ahab, the king of Israel, when the people were worshiping Baal. And he preached judgment. Those of you who turn away from God and worship Baal, you will be judged. You need to do what? You need to repent and you need to seek salvation by looking to Jehovah God. Well, now John the Baptist comes to bring that word of judgment and of deliverance. Those of you who live in the land of Israel in wickedness and in impenitent sin against God, The axe is laid to the root of the tree. You're going to be thrown in the fire. Judgment is coming. But what must you do to escape that judgment? Well, one is coming. The Lamb of God. Repent and believe in Him. Jesus teaches us that Malachi is talking about John the Baptist in Matthew 11. when he says, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, and if you will receive it, this is Elias or Elijah, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. You must believe that John the Baptist is the Elijah to come. More importantly, you must believe that Jesus is the one John the Baptist and Malachi were preaching about as the son of righteousness who comes with healing in his wings. Anyone who does not hear John the Baptist or the message of salvation in Jesus Christ, anyone who continues in pride and ungodly deeds, and will not believe in the Son of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, they are under judgment. They live for this life. They want to save their lives. They will lose their lives in that day. But all who fear the Lord, who give up their lives, who turn from their own way of selfishness and sin, who are willing to say, I won't live for myself, but I believe in the Savior and I will live for Him. They save their lives, or really, Jesus saves their lives. Beloved, I ask you this, do you understand that Elijah is here tonight? I'm not going to say that I or any other minister of the gospel in the New Testament can claim to be Elijah. But the message of Elijah is here, and the spirit of Elijah, and the word of prophecy or preaching is here in this pulpit. When Reverend Smidster preaches the gospel, now as I preach the gospel, you and I may say that it was very important for the people of Judah in the days of Malachi to hear this prophecy. They were stubborn, rebellious sinners, In danger of condemnation and judgment, they needed to confess their sins and look to the son of righteousness for salvation. Beloved, so it is important for you and I to listen to the word of God in Malachi, to the preaching of his word. God says, this world is evil, full of darkness. But the light has already come and is coming more and more. Do you hear? Are you listening? Those who continue in sin, they must repent now. The day of wrath approaches quickly. Those who see the light, believe in Jesus. I say today, but also forever, even to eternity, I'm saved and I have healing through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. God has sent his word to you. You see the light. Believe it. Amen. Father in heaven, we thank Thee that Thou wouldst look upon us in mercy, dealing with us in our sin and unbelief, and showing us that we are no better than the people of old. We need Jesus and we need His gospel. Lord, help us to hear that word tonight, to put away our pride, to put away our earthly mindedness, to look to Jesus, and to live for His coming, for His kingdom. Amen.