Prophecy To Our Age
The Remnant
I. God has always called a people to be his witnesses to the truth who would obediently serve as his messengers to a lost world.
A. God doesn’t call the biggest or the best; He doesn’t call the richest or those with the most finesse; he calls those who are willing to listen to His call for service.
1. He has called His faithful few to be His lights in a dark and sinful world. These are to be His lights that are to overcome the darkness, which tramples over the soul of men. To shine on the darkness that seemingly is taking over the earth.
2. The darkness will never extinguish the light of God because it has eternally been shining and could never be covered or touched by evil.
B. This is what we find in the days of Malachi, a fearful dread of darkness has settled upon an entire nation but God has sought out a faithful few, His remnant that stay forever faithful.
1. They are those through which the light of God still shines and who keep the truth of God in their hearts.
It’s upon these few faithful subjects whom God considers His own and upon who he fixes His devoted attention.
II. “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other (Malachi 3:16).”
A. When, it seemed, an entire nation had deserted from the Lord God, there existed a precious few who faithfully carried the torch for God.
1. “Those who feared the Lord and honored His name,” there were still a few who sought after their God; who feared His judgment; and who obeyed his commands.
2. These are the few who had character, integrity, honor and faith. Here were a select few who showed fear of God by faithfully obeying his covenant; who exercised their faith in Godly service.
3. They weren’t like the masses that had lost the fear of their Master because of unconfessed sin in their lives.
a. When you think of the word Master you at once think of servants and the relationship between them.
b. The servant serves the Master through obedience and servant hood, so service is an action not a condition.
4. God detected a small remnant of the masses that crowded the temple square making their sacrifices and giving their gifts that really feared Him. They gave true service to God because they were rich in character.
5. They are the same faithful as described in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
a. They were people not concerned with material things but with God’s traits: truth, honesty, being just, purity and love.
b. These thought on the name of God and met together to commune upon His word.
c. They valued the name of God and counted it as their richest treasure and grew closer to God and all that His name signified, such as:
(1) Jehovah-Jireh = The Lord will provide.
(2) Jehovah-Tsidkenu = The Lord our righteousness.
(3) Jehovah-Shalom = The Lord send peace.
(4) Jehovah-Nissi = The Lord our banner.
(5) Jehovah-Shammah = The Lord is there.
d. These thought upon the name of the Lord, of His provision for them; His righteousness; His banner, the proof of His love and salvation; of His presence and peace.
These were His own who communicated daily with Him; who became His righteous and faithful subjects in a dark sinful world.
III. What is the Divine attitude toward this remnant?
A. “The Lord listened and heard” or in KJ “the Lord hearkened and heard.”
1. The words hearkened and heard are similar in appearance but not identical.
2. From the Hebrew hearkened the meaning of to prick the ears. This shows the divine love of the Father to his obedient servants; when they faithfully communicate to the Father because they love Him unconditionally, He lovingly speaks to them.
3. This marks the extreme sensitivity of the Almighty loving Father that he takes time to speak with his people.
B. The word heard when translated means that he bent over them in order that he might not miss a word of their conversation.
1. This shows the patience that God has for His select remnant. He listened intently as they conversed among themselves and heard their conversations concerning Him.
2. As the word hearkened shows the sensitivity of the Fathers love, the word heard signifies the Fathers strength through His love.
3. These two thoughts on the Fathers ever listening ears are joined together and found together often in regards to the Fatherly traits of God.
a. This is like the love of a parent towards their child but infinitely more of a loving God who affectionately cares for His own; patiently wooing his children, and loving watching after the faithful remnant.
b. These are the elect few where he writes their name in “a scroll of remembrance (Malachi 3:16b).” “Those who feared the Lord and honored his name.”
IV. The most wonderful thing to see here is the determination with which the loving Father seeks those who are his own, “they shall be mine. . .in the day when I make up my treasured possession.”
A. This is a promise from God. One day he will gather together his remnant and they will be his people. They shall be his for all eternity and he shall be their God.
Those who faithfully shine as his light in a dark world have God’s promise of eternal life.
V. Showing Great Commandment Love is shining your light in a lost world.
A. “There is no greater love than giving your life for another.”
1. God is calling us to love all those around us, to place others interests before our own, to faithfully give ourselves to his service. “Love your God with all your heart, mind and soul; also, to love your neighbor as yourself.”
2. In order to carry God’s light to a lost world we are to demonstrate God’s love by passing it on to others, to serve others rather than yourself.
3. God’s love isn’t First National Bank of Heaven where we store up his blessings and promises to keep too ourselves.
4. God’s love is more like Heaven’s Foundation where we willing award his divine affections on who desire it.
B. We love the unlovable and the lost; we unselfishly give of our time, talents and resources unyieldingly to those in need; administering compassion to those in agony, those in pain, those in distress selflessly ignoring our own comforts.
C. God’s love requires action on our part and to obediently serve our Father. We need his heart, his compassion and his love.
