All right, we're going to finish up our series in Malachi today. And the next two weeks we'll be making, I'm gonna be taking this, so kind of where we're gonna go, the plan is for myself and my family to be here for two more weeks after today. And so where we'll go today is finishing looking at Malachi, and then over the next two weeks, a very sort of practical application of this idea of, from when we have a changed heart, When the Lord has been working in us, where do we go from there? What does that look like for us? But for today, we're going to be finishing up in the book of Malachi. So if you will, turn with me in the scriptures to Malachi chapter 4. And what we're going to see today is that for the one who fears the Lord, his great day of judgment, the day of the Lord, will actually be a day of great rejoicing. of great hope, but for the one who rejects him, for the wicked, the day of the Lord is an awful and fearful day full of sorrow and pain. That is what we will be looking at this morning. So if you will, Malachi chapter four, verses one through six, let me read. For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all of the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall, and you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I command him at Horeb for all of Israel. Behold. I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. Brothers and sisters, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever. If you weren't aware, I think many of you probably know by now, for the last five years, my family had been living in Santiago, Chile, serving at an international church down there. And one of the beautiful, one of the amazing things about Chile is it is one of the most beautiful countries that I have ever seen. There's a joke within Chilean culture that God basically, when he was creating the world, took all the leftovers and crammed it into one country, and it is Chile. Because from the north, you have the Atacama Desert, some of the clearest skies in the world. And then as you work your way down through the desert climates, you get now down towards what they call the south of Chile. It's these beautiful forests and rushing waters coming off of the volcanoes. And then as you get even farther south, you actually get now down towards Antarctica. And you find as you get down there, there's this little place called, well it's not little, it's a fairly large area, but it's called Patagonia. And Patagonia is, you know, I'm assuming we all are at least aware of the Lord of the Rings. Patagonia is where the hobbits would have walked through had Lord of the Rings been an actual place. It is one of the most beautiful and pristine places I've ever been in my life. And I actually had the opportunity to go hiking with a friend of mine. and camping for a week down through Patagonia several years back. And one of the amazing things about Patagonia is during the summertime, there is wind that just comes whipping through there. The wind is incredibly strong because it's coming off of the Arctic waters, and it's just pushing through this part of the southernmost parts of Chile. And as the wind comes through at about 70, 80 miles an hour, it's so strong that there's video of me just leaning forward with the wind holding me up. Right, that's how strong this wind is. But in the summertime, when it gets incredibly hot, it's very easy for forest fires to arise. And with the wind and fire, it's just a lethal combination. And the fires will start raging down there, and they will go through entire sloths of this, the mountainous terrain with the various forests, and they will just wreak destruction. through these forests. And it's amazing as you're hiking through, within the course of a day, at certain moments you'll be hiking through and there's these green, you know, all these green trees around you, waterfalls coming down the sides, and it's just this lush environment, and then all of a sudden within an hour you're walking through just a wasteland. All the forest has just been burnt to the ground. And as you look at that, and then you read this passage of Malachi, you get this sense of the difference in the day of the Lord between the righteous and the wicked. For the righteous, there will be great flourishing. There is a sense of the beauty and the awestruck nature of walking through these green forests with waterfalls. It's a magical place. But for the wicked, It is utter destruction. The forest is burnt. It is taken out to the ground. There is no hope in that place. And this is what we see now. The Lord begins with his messenger Malachi in this first verse. He speaks about the destruction that will come upon the wicked. He says, for behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. when all the arrogant and all the evil doers will be stubble. They will be completely taken out. Joel 2.1 speaks of the day of the Lord and says, be silent for the day is near. This day of the Lord, this term is meant to inspire within our own hearts an understanding of there is great fear to be found there when the Lord comes with his judgment upon the earth. Isaiah 13.6 says, wail for the day of the Lord is near. If your heart is not repentant, if you are not righteous, if you are wicked, The day of the Lord will leave you like those Patagonian forests that have just been leveled by the forest fires. It is a fearful, fearful day for the wicked. And the thing that we need to recognize in all of this is that truthfully, all of us deserve that punishment. All of us, as a result of our sin, would be counted as one of the wicked. No one is righteous, no, not one. And we're told that the day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. Now, this is where the analogy breaks down. That Patagonian forest, no matter what the fires have done, there are still roots there. There is growth that will eventually happen after the forest fires. But in the day of the Lord, not just the forest has been burned down. The roots have been taken out. They have been utterly destroyed. There is no branch. You see, the idea of the root and the branch carries with it this concept of offspring or lineage. Isaiah 11.1, and you see this at many points within the scriptures, speaks of the root of Jacob. This idea that the offspring will come out of Abraham, that it will go for generation upon generation. The promise of blessing to those that come afterwards. But for the wicked, there is no hope. There is no offspring. There is no going forward. There is utter and complete destruction. There is no root. There is no branch remaining. It has been completed. My hope in describing all of this to you is to convey that the day of the Lord is a fearful, fearful thing for the wicked. And unfortunately, very often, when we talk about God and when we speak of him to others, this is all anyone ever hears about, is the destruction. And the destruction is a very, very real thing. It will come. If you have not turned your heart towards the Lord, the day of the Lord is a very, very fearful thing. You should be scared. And that's why verse two is so powerful. Because verse one of chapter four is trying to set the tone for us here. I have explained to you now, for these last three chapters, Malachi, the messenger is saying, I have explained to you, return to the Lord. Do not walk from him. Do not go any further. Come back to him. And in the first verse of chapter four, there is the sense of, if you will not do that, great destruction will come your way. You should be afraid. This is the power of the Lord. He cannot, he will not tolerate sin in his presence and in his midst. When he comes, those who are wicked will be destroyed. But when we look at verse two, As I mentioned earlier, this is where the hope comes. And there is some beautiful imagery that the messenger Malachi, the prophet, uses here. Beautiful imagery. And this is essentially the crux of the verse, of the chapter here. This is the crux. It hinges on this. healing in his wings. For those of you who are taking seriously the words of the Lord, and you see what I've said here, says Malachi in verse 1, and how you ought to fear what is coming, there is hope. For those of you who might look and say, well, what hope is there? Malachi says here, there is hope. Remember, we talked about this last week. The one who fears the Lord, he knows the power of God. The one who fears, he recognizes what God is able to do, that he is in control of all things, that he will punish the wicked. The one who fears the Lord not only knows his power, but knows his position, that God is creator. I am the created. And the Lord is able to do what he pleases as a result of his position. It is what makes him God is that he can do as he desires, as he sees best fit, as what will glorify him most. The one who fears the Lord knows the position of the Lord. The one who fears the Lord will strive knowledge of God, to draw closer to the heart of God, to love what it is that the Lord loves. This is the one who fears the Lord. And finally, as New Testament believers, we recognize that all of this culminates in the idea that the one who fears the Lord will confess the name of Jesus as the risen Messiah. as the one who has conquered death. This is the one who fears the Lord. Therefore, for that individual, for the one who fears the name of the Lord, the Son of Righteousness, who is the Son of Righteousness that Malachi is speaking of here? The Son of Righteousness is no other than Jesus Christ. The Son of Righteousness shall rise And in order to rise, he had to have been dead and buried. He shall rise with healing in his wings. In order for healing to take place, there must be brokenness. And so we see here the promise of Christ, that for all those who come to Jesus, there is not this idea that you somehow need to perfect yourself before you can come before the Lord, but rather that you are to come to him in all of your frailty and in all of your sinfulness and brokenness, that he will come up around you, that you will call upon him and he will heal you. He will rise with healing in its wings. This imagery, like a bird, like a mother. When I read this, I think of an eagle sitting in her nest, right, with her young ones around her. Those eagles' nests, they are high, high, high, high up. Wind is whipping through there. And she takes her wings and she covers the young ones to protect them. This is what your Savior will do for you. He will provide healing in his wings. He will cover and protect you. Luke 1, 78 says, the whole purpose of Christ is to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace. So from the darkness, the Lord comes provide healing, and part of that healing is to shine light in the darkness, to expose all of the wickedness. This is what the sun ultimately does, is it not? The sun of righteousness, don't be confused, it's not S-O-N, it's S-U-N. The sun of righteousness shines light upon the darkness, upon the wickedness. This is an entire theme throughout the book of John when describing Christ, that he is the light who has come into the darkness. And darkness being exposed brings healing. And we need to stop there for a second. Darkness being exposed brings healing. Why is this so important? Because what do we do? We try to hide our sinfulness. We try to keep it hidden in the darkness. We're ashamed of our sin. We are ashamed of, maybe you call upon the name of Jesus, but you've got that little secret sin you've been holding on to. And you're afraid to let it out, because it would show maybe you're not as good of a Christian as you claim to be. Your darkness needs to be exposed And when that happens, there is healing. When your darkness is exposed, when your sinfulness is being exposed, there is healing. So how does this happen? Practically speaking, you need to get with a couple of brothers and sisters, and you need to confess that sin. This is what I was praying about earlier, bearing one another's burdens, walking with one another, saying, you don't have to go through this alone. I will be with you. We must confess our sin. I think as Western Christians we tend, or Western evangelical Christians, I should say, we tend to have a sort of a gut reaction against confession. Why? Because for so many years, confession was something that the Roman Catholic Church used as a means to hold people down, right? That you go to the priest and you confess. That's not the type of confession I'm talking about. I'm talking about being open with one another about your struggles so that we can love one another and care for one another and help one another so that that sin no longer holds us back. Because those sins that hold us back, those sins which entangle us, prevent the kingdom of God from advancing. The Lord desires to use you, but when you're loving something else more than you love him, cannot be used in the same way you can when your adoration, when your full focus, when everything about you is worshiping the one true God. In this second verse, there is this idea of restoration, that healing comes to the one who exposes the darkness with light. And we're told then that you shall go out leaping like calves from a stall. If you've ever seen, if you've ever had the opportunity to be on a farm, and you've seen a young animal that has been born not long ago, and they're pent up, you know, in their stall, and they get out, and they gotta stretch their legs, they gotta get up, they gotta move. Why? Because there's an excitement, there's a life, there's a freshness, there's a newness. You know, I have this dog that, you know, my COVID dog that we got about a year ago. Everyone was getting dogs when COVID started. So we got a dog when, I call it my therapy animal, because it helped me transition back to living in the United States. And that dog, it's a Rhodesian Ridgeback. It loves to be in the woods. And if she's cooped up in our house for too many hours, she gets all antsy. She gets all antsy. So I'll take her out to the woods and I've got her on leash, and I take that leash off, boom, she's off. Gotta stretch those legs, she's excited. Or when we get home, you know, one of the things we love about her is when we get home today, she'll see us come in the doors and she's, ah, she's going crazy. Why? Because she's excited to see us. There's a freshness, there's a newness, there's a life that explodes from the one who trusts and fears the Lord, who knows the life that the Lord provides. Have you felt that recently? Can you say in your own heart that freshness, that excitement for what it is the Lord is doing in your life is there? Are you like a calf jumping from the stall, stretching your legs, moving about? Every day ought to be like that for us as we contemplate and think about the new life that the Lord has given us. And this is what it'll be like in the day of the Lord, leaping from the stall. We're told then in verse three that we will tread the wicked, this idea that the wicked cannot stand against the righteous There's an interesting thing happening here, in that there's talk of, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet. But if you follow the imagery that has happened there, it was the Lord coming, burning the wickedness first, that allows that to be ashes under our feet. Why is that significant? Because in order for this day of the Lord to occur, it is something that the Lord does. That the Lord acts, that it requires, this day of the Lord requires His movement. It requires His action. And that when that happens, the wicked will be like ashes under our feet, says the prophet. We move and we see here in verse four there's a command now to righteousness. Verse four says, remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded at Horeb for all of Israel. It's a reminder now that this covenant is one which had been established. Horeb is also another way that they would have stated Mount Sinai. So this is where Moses receives the law. The covenant was established. And this is sort of the final iteration now that the prophet Malachi is stating here. He's made references at various points to the law which was given, to their fathers it was given. He's now saying it, he's reiterating it now one final time. Remember the law of my servant Moses. And he recalls now there, their first interaction, their first encounter in terms of the law with God. So let's go back to that real quickly. I'm going to turn over. It's up to you if you want to do this, but I'm going to turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 4. Deuteronomy chapter 4, verses 9 and 10. Deuteronomy 4, verses 9 and 10. Only take care and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. So there's the call here that we ought not to forget what it is that the Lord has accomplished. As Christians in this day and age, do not forget the work that the Lord has done in your own heart to transform you, what he has done by sending Christ to the cross. So do not forget this. But also we see here now, make them known to your children and your children's children. That's grandchildren if you're counting. how on that day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, gather the people to me that I may let them hear my words so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth and that they may teach their children so. We have a very specific instruction here. The fear of the Lord is not just something for you, The remembrance of what Christ has done is not just something for you individually, but also for your children and for your children's children. This idea that is to go on from generation to generation. We have a responsibility to instruct and raise up our children and our grandchildren in the fear and instruction and understanding of the Lord. Leaving them to determine this on their own is irresponsible. This is not what the Lord has instructed us to do. Now we need to be careful because the temptation is to try to force feed this as something of, you know, you must believe this. You must believe X, Y, and Z. If you do X, Y, and Z, then you're good. This is the temptation and sadly, a reason why so many people, so many young people have walked away from the church. Because they've learned many of the things of the Bible. They've been instructed many of the things to follow. But because there was no heart, there was no real transformation behind those who had been teaching them. then it's basically what has happened to Israel in the first three chapters. People were playing church. People were doing, saying all the right things. But their hearts were not there. Their hearts were far away from the Lord. And as a result, the image and the understanding of who God is was skewed by human sinfulness. Because at the end of the day, many people who walk away from the church say, It's all a bunch of hypocrites. It's all a bunch of hypocrites. It's people who say to do one thing and do another. And so the question becomes, did we hide in the darkness? Did we hide our sin because we didn't want anybody to see it? Or do we acknowledge, I am a broken and sinful person, and I need Jesus more than anyone else? How you teach the gospel will have an impact upon how your children and your grandchildren receive it. Finally, in verse 5, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. Now this is fascinating, this last verse. Because if you think about this from the perspective of Israel, as they're hearing these words, they're thinking of this day of the Lord coming. And as Christians today, as I talk through all of these things, we're thinking of this day of the Lord coming. And so you may ask yourself at this point, so when is or was this day of the Lord? What exactly was going on? What exactly has and has not happened? And the key to this all is to ask ourselves, who is this Elijah? Who is this Elijah? We see now in two different places this talk of Elijah when we get to the New Testament. So if you will, go with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter one, verse 17. Luke one, verse 17. Speaking of John the Baptist, I'm sorry, actually, we'll go to verse 16. And this is important because, let me read first the wording used in verse six. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. Verse 16, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. This idea of turning hearts. And he will go before them, this is speaking of John the Baptist, and he will go, I'm sorry if I didn't say that, I meant to say that earlier, I apologize if I didn't. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. So we see John the Baptist coming in the spirit of Elijah to turn the hearts of the people John the Baptist, when confronted, says he is not. But then Jesus, in Matthew 17, Matthew 17, verse 11, after the transfiguration, after Jesus is seen with Moses and Elijah at his sides by the disciples, Matthew 17, starting in verse nine, to verse 13. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. And the disciples asked him, then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? This is in reference to Malachi chapter 4. And he answered, Elijah does come. and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist." So we understand here that this day of the Lord that the announcement of its coming happens with John the Baptist as he comes here. And this day of the Lord essentially begins now with Jesus and his resurrection. The similar language we see used between Luke and Malachi, Jesus and what he says here in Matthew 17, and the understanding of the disciples about who is Elijah in this example. However, we must ask ourselves now, if we were to go back and look at Malachi again, all of the language that's used here carries this idea of finality. So if you're keeping score, where does that leave us? Where are we? Because there's this idea that it is over and it is done. The root has been laid bare. But if you look around you, what is happening? If you look around you at the world today, what is going on? The day of the Lord has begun, but there is a day coming when it will be brought to finality. And that will be at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Let me say it again. The day of the Lord has begun. The work was finished upon the cross. But the day is not over. Not in an attempt to over-quote something that is often said in regards to this sort of thing, but 2 Peter 3.8, with God one day is as good as a thousand years, and with a thousand years is as good as one day. Why does Peter say that? Because the people in Peter's time are asking the same question. When is the finality? When does this happen? When does Christ return? When does it all come to culmination? Peter's saying, be patient, be patient. The Lord is patient. He desires that not one of his own be lost. Be patient. The Lord is coming again. And so then we go to 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians. I recognize I'm kind of jumping around a lot of different passages, but it's just so important. And I remember when I do things like this, it's because I want you to have an understanding that these are not just my words, but these are actually coming from Scripture, if you were to look at 2 Thessalonians. There we go, 2 Thessalonians, chapter one, verses seven through 10. Keep in mind, 2 Thessalonians is written after Christ has ascended the first time. But what do we see? Well, we'll start in verse six here. since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to grant relief to those who are afflicted as well as to us. When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels inflaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction. away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. This is this idea that Second Thessalonians is affirming here of the already and the not yet. The Christ has come. The day of the Lord has come already. But it is not yet completed. Christ will come a second time, we are told here in 2 Thessalonians. And it is that point that all will be dealt with. And so we need to ask ourselves in this moment now then, as we live in this period in between both the first and the second coming of Christ, Where will my heart be when the Lord returns? Where is my heart now in this day? Am I seeking to play church? Am I seeking to just do religion because it feels good, it feels like the right thing to do? It's what I've always done. It's the only thing I've ever known. Or is our heart seeking after, this fear and understanding of the Lord. Are we attempting, do we want to draw close to Him because of the recognition of what it is that Christ has done for us? Where will your heart be when the Lord returns? Brothers and sisters, I don't know when He's going to return. I hope it's soon. I hope it is soon. but I await that day because the blood of Jesus, I wait that day not with fear, not with the fear and trembling that the wicked might feel, but I await that day with eagerness and excitement because I know what the blood of Jesus has done for me. And I rest secure in that place to be able to one day gaze upon the face of Jesus. Is that where you're at this morning? And if it isn't, run to Him, come to Him, so that you do not need to fear in that great day of the Lord. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, God, we are in awe of what it is that you have done by sending Christ. That all of us have been like sheep who have gone astray, like the wicked who ought to be burned to the ground and trampled like ashes under your feet, Lord God. And yet, because of the work of Christ, we will be victorious. on that day of the Lord. Because of the blood of Christ upon our lives, we will be able to enter into Your presence, Lord God. We give thanks to You for that this morning, Lord. And Father, I just ask that Your Holy Spirit would cause us to examine our hearts, to examine our own faith, Lord God, and ask ourselves this morning, why is it that I follow after Jesus? And that whatever amount there is of potentially following after other idols, against following after other gods, that we would expose them in the light, that we would not keep them in the darkness, Lord, but rather, We would confess our sin, confess our idols to one another, Lord God, that we would bear one another's burdens, that we might care for one another. So that we might strive together, arm in arm, towards glory, Lord God. Father, we pray all of these things in your precious and holy name. Amen.