Sermon Tone Analysis

*Malachi 10**.*

This morning let us pick up the book of Malachi once again.

We are nearing the end of the prophecy, and it has been a pretty bleak picture.

Israel who has been graciously been brought back from exile and back to her God, has once again drifted from Him.

For sure, they are still going through the motions, but יהוה is far from their hearts – they are going their own way and not His.

He keeps trying to bring them back on the right track, but every time He addresses an issue they answer back!

*[P]*

1. [*Malachi 1:2*/ //“I have loved you,” says יהוה.

But you say, “How have You loved us?”/]

2. [*Malachi 1:6*/ says //יהוה// //of armies to you, O priests who despise My name.

But you say, ‘How have we despised Your Name?’/]

3. [*Malachi 1:7*/ //“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar.

But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?/]

4. [*Malachi 1:13*/ //“You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’/]

5. [*Malachi 2:13-14*/ //יהוה// no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favour from your hand.

“Yet you say, ‘For what reason?/]

6. [*Malachi 2:17*/ //You have wearied יהוה with your words.

Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?”/]

7. [*Malachi 2:17*/ “Where is the God of justice?”/]

8. [*Malachi 3:7*/ //Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says יהוה of armies.

“But you say, ‘How shall we return?’/]

9. [*Malachi 3:8*/ //“Will a man rob God?

Yet you are robbing Me!

But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’/]

10. *[**Malachi 3:13* //“Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says יהוה. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’/]

11. [*Malachi 3:14*//“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 יהוה of armies?]

No wonder יהוה said: [*Malachi 2:17*/ //You// have wearied יהוה with your words./]

Every time יהוה pointed out something wrong, they answered back.

Why do we find it so hard to say: *“I am wrong*”?! Some years ago Elton John (not that he is a fount of great wisdom) sang a song “Sorry seems to be the hardest word”.

It is pride, isn’t it?

It takes a humble and contrite heart to say, “/LORD, You are right, I am wrong, I have done wrong and sinned against You./”

We find it hard to admit we are wrong to our fellow humans, and we find it hard with God.

But in order to repent, and that is the prerequisite to coming to God; we must admit that I am wrong and He is right.

But try as He might, יהוה could not bring Israel to repentance.

And it was not just this generation, it had been consistent for hundreds of years!

Israel was religious, but they were apostate!

– and the same is true for much of the church.

This is what יהוה said: *[P]* [*Malachi 3:13-18*/ //“Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says יהוה. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ /(still the answering back) /“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 יהוה of armies?/ (Do you see?

The view is pragmatism and selfishness – “what is in it for me?”

I remember witnessing to a guy who came to the door – he’d tried every religion under the sun.

He said about Christianity: “It didn’t work for me.”

Do you come to God for what He can do for you, to make your life smooth?; or do you worship Him because He is!

And He is worthy?!

They had tried mourning for their sins and it didn’t make any difference – their mourning wasn’t out of remorse but a formula to make things work.

It is utilitarian religion; you serve God to make things go well for you!

Is that why you serve God?

It is selfishness and it is sin!) /‘So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.’

/(They saw that those that ignored God, went their own way, did wickedly; actually prospered, they got away with it.

So you just as well do as you like.

The arrogant are blessed.

It is the watch cry of today –“If you want to get ahead you have to assert yourself”!

It is the arrogant, those that push who prosper, who are blessed!”

Let me tell you plainly: that is not the way of Jesus! [*Matthew 5:5*/ //Blessed// are the meek,// because they will inherit the earth./]

What a depressing picture.

Here is יהוה’s final word to His people and they do not respond!

He is silent for over 400 years.

Sometimes you can look around at what is going on in the church and you can likewise be filled with despair.

But it is not all!

Hallelujah!

There were some who FEARED יהוה!) /Then those who feared יהוה spoke to one another, and יהוה gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear יהוה and who esteem His Name.

“They will be Mine,” says the יהוה of armies, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him./] Do you recall in the dark days of Ahab, Elijah seemed to be the only voice for God?

He said: [*1 Kings 19:10*/ //“I have been very zealous for יהוה the God of armies, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant.

They have demolished Your altars, and they have killed Your prophets with the sword.

I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life./]

But what did יהוה tell him?: [*1 Kings 19:18*/ //I will leave in Israel seven thousand, all of the knees that have not bowed down to Baal and all of the mouths that have not kissed him.”/]

There are always a few who remain true, a few who fear יהוה.

יהוה keeps for Himself a remnant.

And what did they do?

They spoke to one another.

They got together.

They had one thing in common, the thing of the most importance to them: יהוה!

The fear of יהוה!

In the time of apostasy fellowship is all the more sweet and precious.

I remember back along, I was at a fellowship that refused to take a stand on the truth of God’s Word; they had embraced a message of humanism and a cheap grace that tolerated all.

I began to think I was a bit odd (well I knew I was!)

I seemed to be the only one not jumping on the band wagon and rejoicing in what was going on.

You feel isolated and alone.

Then one day this guy came around to my place; he wanted to borrow our piano which I had offered.

I had never met him before, and I never have since.

But he came in, happened to see a book on the table by Andrew Murray and we started talking, maybe for an hour.

It was one of the sweetest times of fellowship I have ever known – probably all the more sweet because I was starved for it.

But it is a wonderful thing to talk together with those with whom you are one spiritually – not the weather, or politics or sport, “how’s your week been?”; but to talk the LORD!

It was the same when I was at the Apostolic church in town, when every time the pastor opened his Bible to preach he dissolved into uncontrollable laughter, he never got to read it!

The meeting would disintegrate into chaos, they would push all the seats back and the congregations would spend the rest of the evening lying on the floor, either laughing, shaking or in a state of unconsciousness.

And this was meant to be the Holy Spirit!

You know?: the Spirit of power, love and self-control!

Again, I thought that I was the only one who thought that something screwy was going on, that I was resisting the Spirit of God.

But again, I found one, then another – there was just a handful – people who feared God and were distressed at the travesty that was going on, grieved at the dishonour that was brought to the Name of the LORD – that esteemed the Name of יהוה.

That was what it was like in Israel at the end of the Old Testament era – there was a remnant, small but they feared יהוה.

And that is what it will be like at the end before Jesus comes.

Some picture an end-time revival; but the Bible speaks of: [*Matthew 24:12*/ //“Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold./

*1 Timothy 4:1*/ //But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,/ *2 Timothy 4:3-4*/ //For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths./]

There will be deception, people will genuinely think that they are serving God, but they will not be.

In fact the deception actually comes from God Himself on those who do not love the truth: [*2 Thessalonians 2:10-12*/ //and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

For this reason *God will send* upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness./]

Religious but apostate.

*[P]* But always there will be a few who remain true.

Look, it is with us now!

Robin was telling me about a professor from Wheaton college – a renowned evangelical protestant college – she stated that the God of Islam is the same as the God of the Bible!