Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, we return tonight after some time to our study of the great work of the prophet Malachi, which means messenger, God's messenger. And our subject tonight is the importance of words. You might call this God's summary evaluation of the state of the church in that day and it is based upon the importance of words. You know it was our Lord Jesus Christ who once said that men will give account on the day of judgment for every idle word that they have spoken. Now what is an idle word? It is a word that we speak when we are not on our guard, we are not concerned about the effects of our words upon other people, we are not thinking about how we might look in their eyes, but we are just giving free and untrammeled expression in an offhand moment to what is really in us. And it is precisely in such moments, according to the Bible, that the heart of man is revealed. And we can see this clearly here in our text, as the Lord makes his final assessment of the church of that day. Outwardly the people were walking in God's ways, but there was a world of difference between the two classes of people who then constituted the Lord's Church. Some of these people were really God's people, and it showed in the things that they said, but others were not, and their idle words were the criterion of their judgment. Now, let us first of all hear what God says about the ungodly. Your words have been arrogant, stout or strong against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, what have we spoken against you? And God's reply is, you have said it is vain to serve God. And what profit is it that we have kept his charge and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts? So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only are the doers of wickedness build up, but they also test God and escape. Now you can see from that that outwardly they were pious people. For they kept his charge." Now what does that mean? It means that they observed, at least in an outward and formal way, his divine commandments. They walked in mourning. What does that mean? It means that they put on the appearance of great piety and solemnity in religion. When I was in New Zealand working with Dutch immigrants, I heard them tell many things about Holland, and one of the things they talked about was the black stocking people in Holland. And that always fascinated me. They were called black stocking people because they showed their piety even in the dark and somber clothes that they wore. So when I went to Holland I said, I'm going to go see the black stocking people. And I did. And they are. Especially the minister and the elders. They all had dark clothing on. And to them that was the mark of great seriousness and heavy piety in the religion of Almighty God. But you know, that doesn't really prove that the heart is right with God. You can't tell by a man's suit of clothes what really goes on within him. And so even though these people did keep the Lord's charge, yes, and they even walked in mourning before the Lord, God says that their words were arrogant against Him. And the proof of it is found in the off-guard things that came out of their mouths. And you certainly must notice the similarity between the things that they were saying in Malachi's day and the things that sometimes you hear today. What difference does it really make to serve the Lord? Are you people better off because you serve the Lord? Are you? Do you really gain anything by it? Is the man who is really strict in these things any better off than the ungodly? Or is it possible that somebody finally gives up the whole business and they seem to do better than ever? Is it possible that some former member of this church living right in this community who has given up doing better than you are. Is that possible? Well, we all know it's possible. We all know that it actually happens. And we also know from the Bible that even the godly are sometimes troubled by that in their thought. Psalm 73, we went through that as a congregation. You remember what happened to the psalmist who wrote Psalm 73? He was troubled by this. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked, he says, it got me down. But when it came to saying it, that's where the difference lay. For he said, if I should say such a thing, I would offend God's children. He couldn't bring himself to say it. The temptation was there in his mind but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead he went to the house of God and there more light came and he began to see the picture more fully and he had the problem solved. My point is that we all realize these things and at times it comes up in our thought life, but right here is the difference between the godly and the ungodly. The ungodly man doesn't stop by just the thought. It begins to be a hardened pattern in his heart so much so that it comes out in his casual everyday speech. What good is it to serve the Lord? He actually says that with his mouth. Do you really gain anything by serving the Lord Jesus? Now, he doesn't say that in church where other people can hear it, but he does say it. Yes, sir. Those things actually come out of his mouth. And he actually does, with his mouth, call the arrogant blessed. And he says the doers of wickedness are built up. They tempt God and they get by with it. Now there's a world of difference between being tempted and troubled by these things and giving open expression to them. And the fact is that in Malachi's day, many of God's covenant people, who outwardly walked strictly, even mournfully in the things of the Lord, were saying these things out of a heart hardened to that way of thinking. Now what is the real problem with these people? It's quite obvious. that their real problem is that they have a man-centered view of religion. God only comes in insofar as he gives or does not give blessings. That's the only function that God really has in the thinking of the man-centered person. God is valued only for the blessings that he gives. and preeminently the blessings he gives right now and not by and by. Now the simple truth is that these people were blaspheming the living God in the things where they were saved. If you walked up to one of them and said, you know something, you blaspheme the name of the Lord, they would have said, oh, not me. We black stocking people never blaspheme the name of the Lord. But when that kind of statement comes out of your mouth, you are blaspheming the Lord. You are. You might not know that you are, you might not think that you are, but you are blaspheming the Almighty God. For you are saying, in effect, there is no difference between faith and non-faith. For if anything, God prefers the ungodly to the righteous. Now, I get the impression that most of the people, the majority of the people in the church of that day, were only nominal believers. And that this fundamentally describes the condition that was widely prevalent in the church of that era. But thank God there were also some who were radically different, and we know that also by the things that they say. For we read, then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. And the first thing you notice is that they are God-centered people, for that's what the fear of the Lord is. You know, the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That doesn't mean the kind of fear that makes you cower in terror of a certain expectation of the judgment of God. It is that holy awe, reverence, respect, honor, and the giving of glory to God that really does live in the heart of every genuine believer. And wherever that lives in a man's heart, and God is the central thing, then you're going to see this kind of phenomenon in him. You know, when you see the greatness of God, you're going to see your own nothingness before him. And you are going to assess everything in this world and in this life in a profoundly different way from the man who does not fear God. For when you once see the greatness of God, the awesome greatness of God, then this present world cannot be any longer the thing that ultimately matters, and not the blessings of God. They cannot any longer be the thing that preeminently matters. No, the thing that preeminently matters is God Almighty Himself. For you want Him as your shield and your exceeding great reward. And what do you do if you want more than anything else to have God as your eternal portion? Well, I'll tell you what you do. You do just what you people are doing tonight. You seek the fellowship of other godly people. so that you can be built up in your most holy faith, so that you can learn more of Him, who is after all manifesting Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit of God in the body of Christ, which is the Church. And that's why these people were always talking to one another. Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, said Christ, there I will be with them. Where the word of God is faithfully preached, you don't just hear the voice of a man, you actually hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. And the sheep know and recognize that voice. And that's why the Word is the primary and preeminent means of grace. You know, it's an interesting fact in the history of the Church that just exactly when there is a great and massive apostasy from the truth and a lot of purely nominal religion, the real people of God are, because of that very fact, stirred up the more in the intensity of their desire for fellowship with God and with His real people. My Dutch folk down in New Zealand had a wonderful way of picturing this. They said the colder it is, and the more that you want to be burning with the fire of God, the more you'd better stay close to the other glowing embers, because if you go off by yourself, you'll soon be cold, and the fire will go out, and that is certainly the truth. And then after you've been together, what do you do? Well, we read this, those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention And a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem his name, and they will be mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I prepare my own possession. Now that phrase, who esteem his name, in some translations is rendered to think upon his name. And esteem really is a kind of thinking. So when you've heard the word of God and you've been with God's people like you are tonight, and you've had fellowship together, then the one thing remaining is that you meditate upon the word of God. One of the things we used to ask people in our home visitations in the New Zealand church, the elders would go around, they would ask people, can you remember what you heard on Sunday as late as Wednesday of the week? It's a pretty good test. If you can remember anything you heard today as late as Wednesday, then I suspect that you are engaging in some meditation. And that, of course, was what really gave the Word a chance to come and dwell and live and grow and become a power in the hearts of these people. So God was listening and He heard these people as they talked to each other of the things of God. And now what does the Lord say about them? Well, first of all, you'll notice that he gave attention and heard what they said. On the one hand, he saw through the things that they said that the hearts of some men were against him. But on the other hand, he also heard and discerned that the hearts of others were for him. And therefore, we read, that a book of remembrance was written before him in his sight, but not for him, but for them. Notice that, please. It was written for those who fear his name. Why does God have books that are going to be opened? Well, friends, it's not because he has a poor memory. God is omniscient. He's always known everything and he never will forget anything that he's ever known. The books are written for the benefit of the creature. Why is there to be a day of judgment? Not for God's benefit. He doesn't need it at all. It's for our benefit. And that's why you're going to return. That's the statement in verse 18. You'll turn again and then you will see. The difference between the righteous and the wicked. Between the one who serves God and the one who serves Him not. You see what the wicked were saying? There's no difference. There's no difference between the godly and the ungodly. Look at the situation in the world and you can plainly see that. There is no difference. That's what the ungodly man says. That's what the psalmist was tempted to say, but he didn't say it. But the ungodly man finally comes to that cynical conclusion. He looks at the godly and the ungodly and says, there isn't any difference. It doesn't matter. And the godly man lives his whole life saying there is a difference, and it does matter. And God says, one of these days we're going to all stand there and the books are going to be opened and then they'll all see that there is a difference and that it does matter. Because then they're going to play back all these things and they're going to see the enormous difference between the righteous and the wicked. And then they will plainly distinguish between them. Just as one can tell the difference between one side of the Grand Canyon and the other. It will be plain to all that one was seeking only self and the other was serving the Lord. And then God's people will be vindicated. And even the wicked will be constrained to acknowledge the righteousness of God. And they will stand there as the Lord makes them His, for they shall be mine, He says. The King James Version is so beautiful. In the day when the Lord makes up His jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves Him. And you know what that means, don't you? It means that we're going to be treated exactly like Christ. He's going to treat us exactly like Christ. He will spare us just as he spares his own son who serves him. And then the wicked will say, oh, they were wise. They were right. Oh, I wish I had had that spiritual concern. I wish I'd met together with the godly and talked of the things of God's kingdom. And now let me remind you of one very important thing as we try to apply these things to our own situation. Don't forget, brothers and sisters, it was God who saw these things and revealed them to the Prophet. Our text does not say that these things were clearly visible to men. It was God who heard these things. not man. Our text does not say that any man at that time could infallibly judge between the two. No, I suspect that in our own congregation there are members of both classes of people. There was, even when Jesus was the minister, there was one rascal there in the twelve. But as long as people are keeping the Lord's charge, and I hope walking not too mournfully, but at least seriously in the things of God, we, in the judgment of charity, we're not to try to judge finally between the righteous and the wicked. The disciples wanted to do that, and Christ told them a parable to warn them against it. He said, here's a parable. It's about the wheat and the tares, and they were sown together. And they went out to try to separate the wheat of the tares. Don't do that, said Jesus, because if you do, sure as anything, you're going to pull up some of the wheat. And sure as the world, you're going to leave some of the tares. Sometimes people who are weak are real believers. And sometimes people who look very strong, down deep, really don't have it. So we're not to jump the gun and we're not to make final judgments. We're never to imagine that we can ever have a perfectly pure church on this earth. That is not to be. So these things were revealed, not for that purpose, but that each of us might examine our own hearts. What about your idle words? What comes out of your mouth in daily life? Well, nobody's around. But God. How do you sound then? Do you talk in that cynical way about God? Oh, you don't have to mention His name, but you know when you talk as if God didn't really care, and hadn't really been fair to you, and that God really does favor the wicked over the righteous and so on. Watch your mouth. Listen to your own speech. and find out where you are in the things of God. But if you are one of those who always speaks well of the Almighty, and you love the fellowship of God's people, and you meditate upon the things that you learn from God's people and in their midst, and you lay them up in your heart, And most of all you long for and believe in the day when you will have a portion with God Almighty. Then you have every reason to rejoice even though the ungodly can't see that there's any difference. For assuredly the day will come when God will separate the two And though our text doesn't mention it directly, there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And men will be cast into the lake of fire from which there is no exit. Years ago in New England, in the city of Fall River, there was a place where you could take your rubbish. It was a great underground cavern. with a door that opened and you could put the rubbish in. It never ceased burning. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Didn't matter what you threw in there. It could be wet, could even be metal. It would disappear in the fire. And there was no escape. And I used to look down into that hole as I threw the rubbish in and thought, What an awesome picture of the lake of fire and the judgment of God. What a terrible fate to be separated forever from God. For you see, He is our great reward. So let me simply ask you tonight, do you fear Him? And do you love to talk with God's people? And are you meditating upon the things that He has said in His Word. And have you got your heart set about everything else on a portion with Him who will say, I will spare you as a man spares his own son who serves Him. May God grant that this will be your portion and mine. Amen. We thank you tonight, O God, for this tremendous insight into what goes on in people who are of your covenant. And Lord, we know, every one of us, that we need to take heed lest we fall, that we need to have a good look at ourselves lest these things take hold of our hearts. Dear Lord and Heavenly Father, renew in our hearts the awesome fear of You, the joy and delight of the fellowship of Your people, the love and meditation of Your Word, and the sure faith and confidence of these things which will soon come to pass, and grant, dear Father, that on that day we may have a portion with you, yea, and forever. For we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.