Well, dear church and family, this morning we'll be thinking upon the way in which the Lord, the Lord of hosts here, the one that has founded the heavens and the earth and inhabits all the thinking upon the way in which the Lord describes his people again, verse 17. He describes them as jewels, those which are really precious in God's sight. Jewels, what a wonder that we who by nature, who are rebellious, hell-deserving and through the mouth of Malachi is referring to the faithful remnant of that day and the faithful remnant of every day in which the Lord always has those who truly are truly delighted in the Lord and in his service. They are jewels, they are set very close to his heart, they are exceedingly precious in the sight of the Lord. We see here in the, just to give us some context, in the book of Malachi, we see here how this faithful remnant that would still remain in those days, there were so very few true believers in those days. Many people had grown cold and had departed really from the Lord. We know that Malachi lived around about 100 Israel's return from exile, from Babylon. We know that the temple, because we know with Nehemiah and Ezra, the temple was rebuilt, and things were looking up, things were looking hopeful for the children of Israel, so the Lord is addressing Jerusalem here, primarily, but things were looking up, And they, as we read in Malachi 1, they started to question God's covenant of love to them. And we read in Malachi 1, they said, the Lord says, I have loved you. My love has always been upon you. And they said, well, wherewith have you loved us? And God said, through Jacob, I've set your love upon you. And yet they continued, really, to doubt God's love, And they started to become very impatient. And we see this throughout the book of Malachi, we see this where they started to bring in sacrifices to the Lord, and the sacrifices were sickly, they were lame, they were like, they were the worst of their sacrifices. And they started bringing sacrifices into the temple, and in essence they tried to sacrifice the worst that they had, not the best. And this was a sign of the state of the children of Israel, the state of Jerusalem, of Judah, what they had become. They weren't giving God their best anymore. They came to God's house, as it were, with hearts unprepared. They did not honor the Lord. Their hearts weren't in it, as it were. They weren't trusting in the Lord's salvation and in God's covenant of promises and his word and his love to them through Christ. They had become cold. They offered the Lord their worst, as it were, And the priests really started to tolerate this. They started to tolerate these things. Tolerate this corruption in worship to the Lord. And they actually started to participate in this as well. This corrupt worship. As we see very much nowadays. That the sin and depravity that is tolerated in many churches today. And they went along with it, as it were. And then, of course, we see in the book of Malachi how the men really started to become very covetous and started to marry and intermix with people who were not the children of Israel to foreign women, as it were, who were worldly and ungodly and bring the men, divorce their wives, marry these. And so we see, dear friends, this coldness happening to Judah, to Jerusalem, and to the point that there was literally just a remnant of a very small amount of people who were truly delighting in the Lord, who feared the Lord, who loved the Lord, who held on to God's covenant of promises. They delighted in the Lord. were hated and disdained. Great contempt was poured upon them. And we think upon people like Mary. She was a reproach. Great contempt was poured upon these people who were living peculiar lives, who were dedicated to the Lord. And so God here comes with great consolation to them. You are jewels in my sight. Oh yes, you may be looked upon as stripped and all these things, but you are jewels, you're precious in my sight. And that's why it says in verse 17, and they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts. In that day, when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son, that serveth him. They're mine, said the Lord of hosts. These jewels, these ones which are precious to my heart, these ones which love me and delight in me, they are jewels. Now, of course, it must be said, dear friends, that God's people don't always feel heart and the sense of our mind. And so we don't feel like we're precious at times, we don't feel like we're the cuckoos of our sense. But we see, dear friends, how it witnesses to these faithful few throughout all generations who would truly fear the Lord, who would love His promises, love His salvation, and hold on to Him. And no doubt this is also an expression of God's love to them throughout all ages that fear the Lord, that their labour of love for the Lord is taken into account here. but often maligned, spoken against, because of their faith in the Messiah and in God's Word. And yes, often God's people are unjustly defamed and made to look Yet God says, whatever this world thinks of you, in other words, whatever these people say of you, in other words, whatever disdain is put upon you because of your love for him and his kingdom and your peculiarness and your strictness of life, whatever they say of you, the same is not true with me, in essence, is what God is saying. You are precious jewels. He is comforting here the faithful remnant. are of exceedingly great value to me, yours upon my heart, I can, I never stop thinking about you, your precious jewels. The Lord seeks to comfort the remnant of true believers here and those who truly seek him, against those who in their pride and haughtiness speak against God and who doubt and limit God and his word, who speak against is not applied wisdom. Their sacrifices are not sincere sacrifices. Therefore the Lord comforts his people by referring to them as jewels. Now friends, why may you ask, does the Lord of hosts here refer to the faithful remnant as jewels? As jewels? And so that will be our concentration this Lord's Day morning. the Messiah, the Saviour. Why are they referred to as jewels? That will really be our concentration this Lord's Day morning. Well in verse two we are told that the Lord, the Lord, the coming Messiah is, will be as a refiner's fire and as a fuller's soap. Of course we know what a refiner does. A refiner's someone who takes materials as it were, from the earth, and painstakingly separates them from the earth, and he takes that which is precious from the earth. And so, gold, pure gold and silver. But you see, when he takes it from the earth, it's still dirty, it's still mixed in with other metals that are not precious. This lump, as it were, it's still full of earth, it's still filled with things which are not precious, it's just a lump. And you see this refiner, he sees the gold in the lump. He sees the pure silver, as it were, in this lump. And he takes it, he separates it, as it were. And friends, the same is true of all believers who truly put their trust in Christ. They are separated unto the Lord. According to Joshua 24, two and three, Abraham, before his conversion, and Paul before him, He worshipped and served false deities and God. He was a pagan from the land of Ur. God took him and separated him and made a great conquering nation out of him. A great nation from which the saviour of the world would come from. And made a covenant of grace from which the saviour of the world would come. He was a pagan. He was separated for God's purposes, to become a great king, where God would help him overcome his enemies, and fulfill great promises through David. Saul of Tarsus was separated from being a legalistic Jew, unto the gospel of Christ, wasn't he? When Christ visited him on that Damascus road, he was separated, you see. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 10, 34, Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. But a sword. You see, Christ came to sever and separate unto himself a holy people. A people separate, as it were. A peculiar people. A holy people. A people who have dedicated for his kingdom. fitted in the crown, cut and shaped as it were for his glory. And so those who are Israelites indeed, are jewels indeed, are those who have been taken and separated unto the Lord, the great refiner. Now when the Lord of hosts takes unto himself that which is from the earth, our nature, and he intends to use as jewels, and for heavenly use and for holy use, he must not only separate it, he must also refine it with fire. That's very important. He must refine it with fire to prove its worth. You see, all of our faith, and we're true Christians, our faith must be proved by fire. There must be trials. It must prove when the lump's taken out of the earth, He sees the purity of gold there. But all the rubbish, basically, all the mixture of tin and metals which are not precious, they need to be refined, they need to be gotten rid of. And so God must prove that this is indeed pure gold, pure faith and trust in him, a true believing heart in him. This is not fool's gold, this is not reprobate silver, This is not of one's own doing. This is of God. And he must prove it, you see, friends. It must prove to be the integrity to be there. And as with the wheat and the tares, so it is so very true of the jewel. It is gathered from the visible church of Jesus Christ. When a soul is saved and they truly, truly turn from sin and this world in himself, and they put all their hope and trust in Christ as their salvation, and their life, and the faith which they are given, it often starts off as a little mustard seed. It's very small, you see, in this world's eyes, it's often despised, it's like that lump taken from the earth, separated, it's got the gold there in it, in the lump, it's got the silver there, It's got to be refined through fire, you see? It's got to be refined. And so too when the Lord, the great refiner, takes a precious lump, as it were, metal, from the earth, as it were, and it's still, like I said, a raw lump. And so the Lord, by fire and by the wind of the Holy Spirit, proves it, and purges it, and tries it, and tests it, as it were, and beats it, and shapes it, until at length he witnesses that indeed it was pure gold, the pure gold of truth and faith in God, and in his Son, as it were. Dear friends, you see, those who God separates will be tried and tested by fire. Fiery circumstances and trial. There will be a trial of faith, as Peter says. A trial of faith. Faith must be tested to see that indeed it is of God and not of one's own doing. And I'm sad to say, many people now, their faith is of their own doing. Hebrews 11, 6 says, for without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. By faith, Noah being warned of who were despised, who were scoffed at for 120 years, and yet he moved his faith, so moved him with fear, to build that ark, as it were, to hold upon God's covenant and promises. He loved the Lord, and he moved, as it were, with fear, building up the ark, as it were. By faith, Sarah received strength, would give her seed, she believed in it. By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, did he not? And so we see in every true believer's life that there is a progression of trials. Now this may not be a comfort to those who've been walking with the Lord for years, but often our faith, as we go, we get older, in the faith, the more mature in the faith, often God will bring greater trials of faith. Greater things for us to contend with. We're given more responsibilities, more duties, as it were, and with that, he increases our faith. And we see that with Abraham, we see that with all patriarchs. Abraham, right at the end, had to give up his son, his only son, the heir of promise here. You see, his faith had to be tried, you see. that it is of God, that it's pure, it was purified in that furnace of affliction, as it were, the same of Daniel, the same of all of God's people, that this is of God, that this person has truly turned from this world, their sin, and has trusted in Christ. And this is who Malachi is speaking about here, this remnant of people, this faithful remnant, they are precious in God's sight. You see, God, by the mouth of Malachi, calls his people jewels, because they are not only separated unto God, but that their faith has been proven of God as well, to be in Christ, to be their whole, their sanctification, their everything, which, of course, is to the honor and praise of God. Thomas Watson, the Puritan, said, the more the diamond is cut, the more it's on. Those trials which are bespoken, they're custom from the Lord, well they sparkle them all for God's glory. They are, as it were, they are diamonds put within the breastplate, within the crown, they sparkle, they reveal more Christ, don't they? You know, some professors, when they are cut with the trials of life, they shatter. That is not a diamond. It shatters, as it were. It goes back into the world, because their strength and their faith have never been in Christ alone, but in themselves. Some professors, when they're trying in the furnace of affliction, they're wanting to get back out of the furnace. It's too hot for them. They want to go back into the world, as it were. the heat of God's proving. And that's what's happening in Malachi's day. We're with him who loved us. Where is your love? We're a Christian in God, a doubting God, doubting his word, doubting his promises. Well, I'm going to make my own way now. I'm going to do things. I'm still going to go to the temple, still going to worship God and give these meagre offerings. I'm still going to do it. But I'm going to be a Christian my own way. They are jewels. They are those who take me seriously in my work to harm us. They are precious in my sight. You see, friends, the day of the Lord is at hand. The Lord is coming back, friends. Are you ready? Are we ready for his return? He's going to come back like fire. Fire is more of a purifier than water. And I'll tell you, only if you're in Christ will you withstand that fire. Only if you truly have the Word of God in your hearts, and you're trusting in Christ who is the Word become flesh, and nothing of your own, but in the Word of God, because the Word of God is pure, and proved seven times in the furnace of affliction. And if you've got the Word of God in your heart, and you're living for the Word of God, But if you haven't, you're not going to be ready for that great and terrible day of the Lord's return. God is making up his jewels now. Is Malachi describing you? Do you truly delight and love the Lord? Are you as those lively stones built up a spiritual house for the Lord and the Lord is the head, he is the true repentance be made, God will purify your heart and give you the saving faith. But it must be true repentance. It has to be genuine repentance. He will love you freely and He will forgive you fully of all your sins. That's what He came to do, to forgive you. But He did that so you could be wholly His. My jewels, these are mine. He doesn't want part of your life. He doesn't want you to be a Christian who says, well, I still want this world. I still want the things of this world. That's a hate of your own doing. You see? He wants you, completely. You see, that jewel is going to be separated and it's going to be tried and fired. All the earth, all the mixture of useless metals will be cast out of it, will be melted, and then that jewel will be beaten in the providences and trials of life. Then it will be cut many times, Then that jewel will be placed, as it were, on the breastplate of the High Priest, Christ. Very close to his heart, you see, friends. Are you close to God's heart? Are you living close to his heart, friends? Do you love him more than anything? spareth his own son, and serveth him. The word spareth here in the Hebrew signifying a father's pitying upon his children. A disposition here of a father lovingly, lovingly pitying his children, as it were, showing love and mercy. It's talking about the new birth here. When someone becomes a believer, they have their innocence They become humble, and moldable, and shapeable, as it were, so that they can live close to the heart of Christ, and be cut, and molded, and live next to the heart of Christ. The breastplate that the high priest put on, this breastplate that he put over him, Aaron, for instance, the diamonds, and the precious jewels that were cut, Israelites indeed, and all of God's covenant of people. God wants you to live close to his heart. He ever thinks upon his people. They're his jewels to him. They're precious to him, you see, for evidence. And so, those who are truly born again, they become like little children again. They depend upon the Lord. They cry to the Lord. Even in the sense of their heart, they cry, forgive me, Lord. They love the Lord and his salvation. This is what we see here in this passage today. You see, Christ is the only one who has fully served God perfectly. And if we're in Christ, dear friends, we're seen as jewels, aren't we? He's the only one that's kept the Lord perfectly. He's the only one that's pleased the Father perfectly. That cannot be said about us. But if we're in Christ, we're close to his heart, as it were, as those jewels. God's jewels are likened to Levites who were separated to the holy priesthood. And they were to be those who, of course, those cities were to be set up on the hills, weren't they, to be those blazing lights in the darkness where people were to flee from the avenger. They were to be those cities on the hill, blazing in the darkness. Dear friends, do you have this light? of the world. Do you have the light of Christ in your hearts? Are you living for him? God's jewels were meticulously cut and beaten into place out of pure gold and precious stones to appear, like I said, in that breastplate, in the high priest's breastplate. Christ is that high priest who gave himself for us, who intercedes for us, who This was to signify that God's people are as jewels. They're very precious to the Lord Jesus. They're very close to his heart. And like I said, friends, if you have the breastplate of righteousness on, if you're trusting in Christ's righteousness, dear friends, not your own, well then you're seen as jewels of God's sight, precious. And so, friends, if you're truly in Christ, you're not your own anymore. You don't belong to yourself anymore. You belong to God. I will make up my jewels. You belong fully to God. It's not the Christianity you see all around us. Well, I'll do what I want to do. I don't have to listen to God's, the fullness of God's word, God's messages. Those who are faithful, no, I'll just do what I want to do. Live the Christianity I want. A cherry picking Christianity, no. I will make up my jewels. Psalm 12, six says, the words of the Lord are pure. Pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times. You see, the only way in which we will endure the fire, the fiery trials, which we all will endure in this life, and it's very true, all of us, young, old, the only way we can know to endure them is if the word of God is deep within our hearts. Christ, the word come flesh, if he's deep within our hearts, and he's precious to us, he means more than anything in this life, and we are utterly dedicated to him. The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times. There's a picture of completeness there. everything, anything that comes below that, we say, no, I'm not willing to sacrifice, I'm not willing to compromise, because the word of God says. And see, if you have the word of God within you, if your faith is of God, if it is pure faith, pure gold, tried in that furnace, you're completely trusting in Christ, then, dear friends, you are as these jewels, you will make it, you will, as it were, be proven to be of God, as it were. And so I really hope and pray that in this year to come, you know, many people say, happy new year, happy new year to you. And I won't say such a thing, happy new year, because sometimes God must bring us into a situation where we must be proved and tried, our faith must be tried, that it is of God. So I don't say happy new year, but I will say, I pray for a blessed new year, that all of us will know faith that is of God, of God's doing, and that we may know of that peace and that comfort, that we are Christ and we love him more than anything. He sees us all as jewels. He sees us as exceedingly valuable, close to his heart, as it were. Let this be our consolation. Let this be, as we are often despised and ridiculed, as it were, let this be our comfort, dear friends, this year. ♪ So come, my house and rest ♪ ♪ Christ, the spring of hope and joy ♪ ♪ Still in me may I be found ♪ Still for Thee, my heart and mind, Let love, my heart and mind, King of Kings, before God's eyes, King of Kings, by God's name, ♪ Be the sun of my dreams divine ♪ ♪ Fountain of our holy grace ♪ ♪ Free thee from the power of sin ♪ ♪ This day ♪ ♪ Till I close my earthly ways ♪ ♪ May a new day rise today ♪ Firmly trusting in Thy Word, Loving shall Thy partner be. ♪ Shall pass us by ♪ ♪ Stay with me ♪ ♪ Each day when you'll smile ♪ ♪ Close to God's hand ♪ ♪ And true skin ♪ ♪ To the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ ♪ And the home of the brave ♪ Sleep now