Oh Happy Day!!

He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Malachi 4:1–6 CSB

“For look, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Armies, “not leaving them root or branches. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Armies. “Remember the instruction of Moses my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

LOOK!

A word that gets your attention to pay attention, usually to something you believe to be supremely important. Look, is an emphatic word that is at times used loudly and boldly as a warning, to awaken someone from their slumber.

Malachi, as he finishes his supremely important, prophetic message from God to the people of Israel, uses such an emphatic word to grab their attention. One of his purposes with this message was to awaken or revive God’s people from a place of complacency in their service to Him.

Chapter 4 is the last chapter in our English Bible, but in the original Hebrew these 6 verses constitute the last 6 verses of chapter 3. In these final 6 verses Malachi declares a warning regarding the coming Great Day of the Lord.

Look or Notice 3 things in his warning: The People, The Promise, and The Purpose

The People

2 Groups

1- The Wicked and Arrogant

Of course Pharoah had been a wicked person. The Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and other persecutors of the Israelites would have been considered wicked persons by the Jews. Malachi was giving a warning to them, however, about the first group of people that included many who would have never been considered as part of it.

Look back in

There are many examples of those who seemed to be amongst the people of the camp of the army, the cause of the people, the church of Jesus Christ, and suddenly these people have turned their backs in the other direction.

Illustration: Recently Joanna and I, being ones who like history, got in to watching a television series called Turn, based on the spies and espionage of the Revolutionary War. One of the story lines had to do with the turning of Benedict Arnold.

Arnold was a true patriot. One of the Sons of Liberty. He fought bravely at the Battle of Sara-toga. He was one of the most confident and ambitious Generals of the Continental Army. He was wounded several times but eager to recover and return to battle. Only there was one problem, Arnold did not feel he was receiving the honor or the reward that he felt he deserved. Pride became the point at which he could be turned from the American side to serve for the British, which the rest is history.

Just like the people Malachi describes in these verses, as ones having turned their backs on God in pride, thinking that their service to God deserved more than they were receiving.

2 - The Righteous

The difference in the wicked and the righteous is not always in actions, but there is a difference in their attitude.

Look in

If you are a true Christ follower, you know you are righteous because of the act of Christ on the cross, not your own.

Here are some ways to examine yourself to see if you have a healthy fear of God:

Do you have a reverential respect and appreciation of God and His grace given to you?

Do you have a respectful obedience of God’s Word lived out in your life?

Do you have repetitive conversations with God the Father and about Jesus Christ.

Those who fear God just do what comes natural to them - talking even to people who are not believers telling of his Goodness, telling about his grace and telling the gospel to all who will listen.

1st remember - the Bible says that there are none of us righteous - no not one.

2nd notice in the warning:

The Promise

- Malachi speaks from God with certainty. “Is coming” - carries with it the sense of reality. It is understood from this first clause that the event is happening, not as a matter of maybe but as a matter of reality.

What makes it a reality? The fact that God promised it and God is the faithful promise keeper. Up until this point God had kept His promises: Abraham had a son, Moses delivered the people, they entered the Promised Land, the people broke the covenant and were sent into captivity, God brought them out of captivity. Now He promises again the coming Great Day of the Lord.

God the faithful promise keeper

Here we need to see the Great Day of the Lord not as an event but more as a period of time between two events.

Here we need to see the Great Day of the Lord not as an event but more as a period of time between two events. The Great Day of the Lord had its first fulfillment

God ended the 1st Testament of His Word with this promise of the coming. It found its first fulfillment at the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus came to bring judgment upon sin through his sacrifice, and freedom from sin for those who faithfully trusted his sacrifice.

Turn over to the last chapter of the entire Bible, . God ended the 2nd Testament of His Word with this promise of the second coming of Christ.

What all of humanity, especially the church, must focus upon is the fact of it will happen, not when it will happen. tells of so many people of faith that did not see the first coming, but faithfully trusted God’s promise of its fulfillment. We must do the same. It will find its 2nd fulfillment when Jesus returns bringing with Him the wrath for the wicked we see promised here in v.1 and v.3 of chapter 4. Jesus also will bring our reward. If you mare wondering why you do not see a reward described like we see the wrath described, it is because Jesus is our reward. Whatever comes after is just icing on the cake.

What all of humanity, especially the church, must focus upon is the fact of it will happen. tells of so many people of faith that did not see the first coming, but faithfully trusted God’s promise of its fulfillment. We must do the same. It will find its 2nd fulfillment when Jesus returns bringing with Him the wrath for the wicked we see promised here in v.1 and v.3 of chapter 4. Jesus also will bring our reward. If you mare wondering why you do not see a reward described like we see the wrath described, it is because Jesus is our reward. Whatever comes after is just icing on the cake.

Promise of that day: 4:1,3 - Wicked removed and 4:2 - the righteous healed (emotionally, physically, and spiritually).

Promise of that day: 3:18 - No doubt on that day of the difference between the wicked and the righteous, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats.

God’s timing is always perfect and with purpose. Why this warning? Why shout look?

The Purpose

The purpose relates back to the people.

Purpose #1 - The warning is to elicit a response of repentance from the wicked facing judgement and wrath on that day.

Ezekiel 33:11 CSB

Tell them, ‘As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?’

Ezekiel 3

When God’s prophet’s predicted destruction, God’s purpose was always for the wicked to turn back to Him away from their sin - to repent.

When the judgment of God comes to sweep men and women into hell for eternity, there is one spot that is safe. Nearly two thousand years ago the wrath of God was poured on Calvary. There the Son of God took the wrath that should have fallen on us. Now, if we take our stand by the cross, we are safe for time and eternity.727[1]

[1] Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 207). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

This passage is intended to produce a change in the heart of the one living pridefully against God, whether He/she is living proudly as a blinded atheist in the world or living as a Benedict Arnold in the church.

Repent and turn back to the

Trying to get into heaven by faking

That change happens only at the cross and by the cross.

Purpose #2 - This warning is to elicit a response of watchfulness from the righteous who will stand before Christ that day. Malachi has spent his time among and preaching to people claiming to follow God yet he gives the warning here.

- The word “remember” here doesn’t just carry the meaning of bringing back to memory what the Bible said. God intended for the Jews to live out His law, but they had become complacent in living for Him.

Jesus took the disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane to watch and pray, and what did they do? They became complacent and fell asleep. The spiritual results of their sleep were realized during Jesus’ trial. They all deserted Jesus.

Jesus gives such warnings to churches in the Book Revelation.

Revelation 2:4–5 CSB

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Revelation 2:4-5

Revelation 3:15–20 CSB

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I’m rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,’ and you don’t realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so that you may be rich, white clothes so that you may be dressed and your shameful nakedness not be exposed, and ointment to spread on your eyes so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent. See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Revelation 3:15-

How many of you like grapefruit? Not me!!

I remember as a teenager, I would ask mom to help me lose a little weight and get healthy before football try outs. So she did, but I did not like her methods.

She would make me eat lots of grapefruit. I could not stand it unless I loaded it with some sugar on top. Then I might could stand to eat most of it, but I still would leave most of it behind. Needless to say I did not receive the benefits of the grapefruit because I could not stomach the tough parts.

Ari

See some of you may take the same approach to what the Bible says about living right before God. You take the parts you do not like and cover it with lots of sugar, and when it is still hard to swallow you still push it aside. The parts about God loving and blessing us, those are gravy on biscuits. The parts we know about murder, adultery, stealing, lying those are easy to swallow cause we know that takes more wickedness than we have, but what about the matters of the heart and the tongue. What about the matters of worship and service. What about the parts of loving others more than self. How often do we need the sugar to swallow God’s Word?

Those letters Jesus sent to the churches are bitter to swallow, but are pertinent warnings to His followers and His churches today.

v.4 - applies to each of us who claim to follow Jesus. The idea and intention God has for you and me is to live out what we read in the Bible. As we remember His law by living it, God remembers our living it by writing it in the book.

Adrian Rogers said it best, “Christians need to live as if Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back tomorrow.”

I like listening to Tony Evans on the radio/podcast, but I found out something interesting.

Dr. Evans said that people who hear his recorded messages over the air do not hear everything from the sermon when it is preached. This Sunday morning messages get edited and things that are not best on the radio and things meant just for the church are cut out. 45-50 minute message is condensed down.

He says that on that Great day of the Lord we are going to sit before the Judge and He’s going to roll the tape or push play. Anything not fit for his glory gets edited out. Some of us just aren’t going to have much on the reel!

Acts of mercy will be left in. Acts of kindness will be left in. Serving others left in. However, unkind words will be edited out. Hateful thoughts will be cut. Taking advantage of others, out. Grumbling and complaining, out. Only the things that are honoring to God will be left recording.

He says you cannot fix yesterday, but you can start making sure you have ample material for the recording to play on judgement day. If you are losing a race, don’t stop. Make up ground that you lost, so that you cross the finish line a winner for Jesus Christ.

The warning of the 2nd coming for the Christian is a matter of living for Christ now, not waiting to live with Christ then. It is about God’s intention of us living with Kingdom mentality now, not waiting until then.

Conclusion: Every single human being can expect to receive something on that coming Great Day of the Lord.

Notice the last verse with me. “otherwise” is a word of decision. It indicates that result of Jesus’ return will be determined by the choice made right here and now.

For everyone deciding to live in their pride and arrogance, opposing God and choosing to live for self - the due result of that decision will mean being consumed by the fiery wrath Jesus brings with Him.

In the days of the pioneers, when men saw that a prairie fire was coming, what would they do? Since not even the fastest of horses could outrun it, the pioneers took a match and burned the grass in a designated area around them. Then they would take their stand in the burned area and be safe from the threatening prairie fire. As the roar of the flames approached, they would not be afraid. Even as the ocean of fire surged around them there was no fear, because fire had already passed over the place where they stood.

[1] Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 207). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

For everyone who has chosen to run to the cross, bowing in humility and repentance, we can look to the coming day of the Lord with great exuberance and joy in our heart. We should look forward to that day with great anticipation because that day means so much. The shepherd will be here for his sheep. The bridegroom will be here to reunite with his bride. Christ will be here to gather his church. Those who are living for him can live with great hope to soon shout, Oh Happy Day!!!

Jesu

Invitation to Respond

Today you can control your destiny, and only right now. “Best time to do something is between yesterday and tomorrow.”

Jesus came to die for you so you could live for Him. You cannot save yourself. Faith in His death and resurrection is salvation for you soul.

Christian, what is the highlight reel of your life going to look like on that day? How much will get edited out and how much will stay. Today the results of eternity lay in your hands and heart. What will you do? Will you seek Jesus today and repent?

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