The refiner¡¦s Fire. Malachi 2:17-3:15 WBC 11/7/4pm
WANT THE BLESSING
Find it strange that, at the end of series on minor prophets and Daniel- I am back where I started
- with the fire. In the refining fire
Find it from God that after last Sun pm¡¦s word about the ¡¥refining fire bringing the anointing¡¦- here it is, right before me!
3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Here¡¦s the situation in this passage:
- they weren¡¦t all bad, these guys!
- They were seeking God. They ¡¥wanted the blessing¡¦
o 3:1 ¡¥the Lord you are seeking¡¦
But they were very concerned that it wasn¡¦t happening.
- That the Lord was ¡¥rejecting their offering¡¦, and there was no sign of His blessing
o 1;10 ¡¥I will accept no offerings from your hands¡¦
- that there was no point in serving God¡K it made no difference
o 3:14 ¡¥it is futile to serve God¡¦
Does that sound familiar? Have you ever been at that point?
- you¡¦re not being honest if you say you haven¡¦t
- ¡K or you¡¦ve lived a charmed life¡K or a short one!
You FEEL like you¡¦ve sought God¡K done what is right
- but all it¡¦s done is made it tough for you
- in fact: ¡¥evildoers prosper¡¦, they get the better deal
o 2:17 ¡§all who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and He is pleased with them¡¨
Illustr: couple who ¡¥refrain¡¦ before marriage- but then it¡¦s a real disaster when they do come together.
- person completely honest at work and DOESN¡¦T get promotion because of it
-
This is a problem for the psalmist.
- read ps 73, some time.
o What¡¦s the point, God? The wicked get away with everything and I¡¦m WORSE off for serving you
„X (but in the end God sets the record straight)
That¡¦s how it feels for these guys. And, truth is, it¡¦s not an ace time for them
- about 450BC. About time of Nehemiah¡¦s 2nd trip- so walls still being rebuilt
And they THINK that they¡¦ve done right. They offer sacrifices. They give to God. But no blessing
And so- they feel hard done by and God gets the blame.
- no anointing. No blessing. Evildoers doing fine¡K ¡§so, almighty, eternal, omniscient, creator God- you don¡¦t love us and you¡¦ve got it wrong¡¨
God answers, and He says you:
NEED THE FIRE
God explains- there¡¦s a reason why it¡¦s ¡¥not happening¡¦¡K and you need to be refined to see it
The God you seek (the Messiah, really, here) is going to come- and He¡¦ll come like a refiners fire and launderers soap-
- and bring to light the things that need to be changed¡K so ¡§Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness¡¨
But who can stand the day of His coming (3:2)
- do you, like me, SAY you want the Lord¡K but are you prepared for the consequences of His coming?
o and what he¡¦ll change¡K show up¡K burn away?
Well- the good news is: he¡¦s coming anyway, as we¡¦ve given Him permission to (and He¡¦s said he will)
- and those who¡¦ve been through the fire have nothing else to fear.
Pioneers were making their way across one of the central states to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteading. They travelled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow. One day they were horrified to note a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was evident that the dried grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly. They had crossed a river the day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them. One man only seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when a space was burned over, the whole company moved back upon it.
As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror, "Are you sure we shall not all be burned up?" The leader replied, "My child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has been!"
Illustrations of Bible Truth by H. A. Ironside, Moody Press, 1945, pp. 34-35 on www.sermoncentral.com
The Bible is filled with pictures of fire- and God working through it
- the whole of the minor prophets are the preparation for and picture of the time of the Babylonian exile. (Where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo get thrown in the fire)
- and you know what? Their faith GROWS through it. In fact- it was the best thing for Judaism. The fire purified their faith
And- it can be the same for us. CAN be- if we submit to it
- kneel in the flames (like last Sun pm¡¦s picture)
o refined, purified, Jesus¡¦ face reflected, beauty seen
It¡¦s true: Christians are like tea bags. Don¡¦t know what they¡¦re made of till they¡¦re in hot water
And here¡¦s this picture of the silver & gold refiner
There was group of women in a Bible study group studying the book of
Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse
three, which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement
meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to
find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at
their next Bible study.
That week this women called up a silversmith and made an appointment
to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for
her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining
silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over
the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one
needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were
hottest to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding
us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that he sits
as a refiner and purifier of silver.
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in
front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man
answered yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to
keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the
silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith,
"How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that’s easy. When I see my image in
it."
From Tim Harrison on www.sermoncentral.com
What is God allowing in your life to refine you?
- can you see it as refining?
- Can you trust that He has purpose in it? He has PLANS for you
- To make you more like Him¡K to shine¡K be pure¡Kanointed
o That takes faith!
Be assured that his eye is on you
His timing is perfect
He won¡¦t leave you in too long
- but it IS hot!
Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Now- I don¡¦t know with you what kind of attitude the Lord is refining out¡K sitting, watching, until you¡¦re purified
- but we know, here, what the issues/attitudes were
o it tells us!
They are quite likely not the same- so don¡¦t lose what god is saying to you, NOW- but DO just follow the text so we can honour it
CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE
These are the things to be changed¡K the things the fire will reveal
Ch 1:1-6 ¡V they are wrong to say God doesn¡¦t love them!
- He chose them!
o Cf US: ¡§you did not choose me, but I chose you¡¨
1:6-11 They have been sacrificing to the Lord, but it¡¦s been what we call in the trade ¡¥sacrificial offering!¡¦
- you get all the cast-offs that no one else wants!
Mal 1:8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
1:12-14. Moaning. They¡¦ve been saying ¡¥oh that¡¦s useless,¡K defiled! It¡¦s a burden!¡¦ And have been sniffing at God¡¦s holy things contemptuously
2:1-9 The priests. They have not honoured the Lord, His word, or knowledge about the things of God.
- 2:8- as a result ¡V they are causing others to stumble
- in our desire for integrity and study we must not think ourselves above the word of God.
- Huge damage is being done those who deconstruct the Word
o And God doesn¡¦t honour it
o It leaves others directionless.. stumbling
o (Wed pm TV little boy without boundaries. But his parents were like that, as well)
2:10-16 marriage. People breaking covenant with those they have committed to
- we live in a society where ¡¥if it¡¦s hard, or doesn¡¦t seem to fit¡K discard it¡¦
- or ¡¥found a new soul-mate¡¦, so go with them
This stuff is destroying the very fabric of our society- and we will reap what we sow
- but 2:16 also says how God hates violence in the same way. Domestic violence
These things will be shown up by the refiner¡¦s fire. God wants such attitudes to be burnt away
And there¡¦s more: 3:5 spells other things out v clearly
MAL 3:5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.
And there¡¦s the general attitude to giving God His due
3:6 Short-changing God rather than generously and wholeheartedly giving Him 10%
- where in fact it is also short-changing themselves, as the result is pest and rust destroyed what they had, anyway
o refine your attitude on this, the Lord says, and you¡¦ll see the result in floodgates of blessing
And then, there¡¦s the things they¡¦ve said that have hurt God.
MAL 3:13 "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD.
"Yet you ask, `What have we said against you?’
MAL 3:14 "You have said, `It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.’ "
MAL 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
Let¡¦s let God speak in silence, and songs
- purify my heart
He sat by a furnace of sevenfold heat,
As he watched by the precious ore;
And closer he bent, with a searching gaze,
As he heated it more and more.
He knew he had ore that could stand the test;
And he wanted the finest of gold ¡V
To mold as a crown for the King to wear;
Set with gems of a price untold.
So he laid our gold in the burning fire,
Though we fain would have said him nay;
And he watched the dross that we had not seen,
As it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter, and yet more bright;
But our eyes were so dim with tears,
We saw but the fire ¡V not the Master¡¦s hand ¡V
And questioned with anxious fears.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a form above
That bent o¡¦er the fire ¡V though unseen by us ¡V
With looks of ineffable love.
Can we think it pleases his loving heart
To cause us a moment¡¦s pain?
Ah! no, but he saw through the present loss
The bliss of eternal gain.
So he waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure;
And his gold did not suffer a whit more heat,
Than was needed to make it pure
Author unknown
- I will never be the same again
- How firm a foundation
