Malachi

Malachi, chapter 1.

In Oracle, the word of the lords to Israel through Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord, but you ask. How have you loved us? Was not esau, Jacob's brother? The Lord says.

Yet, I have loved Jacob, but esau, I have hated. And I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to desert Jackals. Eden may say, though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins. But this is what the lord almighty says. They may build, but I will demolish.

They will be called The Wickedland, a people always under the wrath of the lord. You will see it with your own eyes and say, great is the lord. Even beyond the borders of Israel. Thanks, Steve. It's funny actually, I've used the word mini series in the past and been mocked.

So, I thought this time, let's just do part of a series and leave it and see if that works better. So, yes, we're just gonna spend 2 weeks in Malachi chapter 1. Let me pray, and then we'll we'll get going. Father, we thank you for your word. We pray your help us this morning as we look into this last book of the Old Testament that you will speak to us through it.

And, you know, buy your power through your spirit, take it and put it in our hearts and minds that we might leave here wanting to be more like Jesus. In Jesus' name, amen. As Steve said, my name's Philip Cooper. Let me add my welcome to you. It's it's lovely to see you all here and, welcome if you're joining us online.

It's a funny time. Don't you think summer? I mean, Steve said, you know, feels like everyone's coming back, which does a bit, although I didn't really think it dipped, I think going back 20 odd years, bank holiday weekend, you know, there might have been 10 of us sitting here. Not in this building. But, you know, it's busy.

And, summer's 1 of those things where I think if you're, if you're not on holiday or not on a camp, then it, it feels a bit weird. You know, I go to the office. I commute. The commute is much, much better. Because most people are not on the trains.

You get some paperwork done. For others, I think, you know, you haven't got to dress the kids up in hats and jumpers and coats and everything just to go out. So that feels good, but on the other hand, they're with you for weeks And it, you know, you're thinking, isn't it time to go back? Also, what about if, you know, it's I think it's 1 of those periods of time, isn't it, where you might reflect on life a bit perhaps, you decide to change things in your life ready for the new academic year. You've got a chance to think even about how you're doing spiritually.

I think that sparks that in the summer, even if you don't have kids and the academic year is not relevant to you because so much of what we normally do is off. So you've just got time to think. It's always interesting. I find, for example, how many newcomers arrive in August, in the church. Last Sunday, we had at least 12 first time adults, people, and the same number under 11 arrived at Cornerstone Kids for the first time.

That's really exciting. When we start newcomers group up again in September, it's often that usually our biggest intake. So the group can be quite big because over the summer, You've made a decision. People have made a decision to move church, move house, move job, move part of the country, whatever it is. And they want to get settled in before everything, you know, starts up again.

So I thought why not in these 2 Sundays? Today and next Sunday, why not spend some time, you know, as a church, thinking about our own position spiritually? You know, let's do a little bit of reflection on where we are spiritually as well. We've got a vision dinner. On 20 seventh of September.

I hope you signed up. You've had an invite. I think there's, I think there's been an email. It doesn't matter Emma's back. So who, if you haven't signed up, you don't know how to, please see Emma afterwards.

I hope you're excited about it. You know, it's a new year for us. You know, we should be ready and wanting to hear. What is the church's vision for this year? But it might be that you feel worn out even before we get there.

It might be that you are feeling a little bit low, spiritually, a little bit jaded already. See, the book of Malachi is god's treatment plan, for people that belong to him. So he's talking to the church in that sense. But where the spiritually, the health check, if you like, spiritually has come out with some negative results. On the surface, they're doing fine.

They're going through the motions. But you'll see straight away in these these first few verses we're looking at this morning, they've also become a little bit argumentative with God. Now look, I'm not suggesting we are all in that position that we're all like that, but it might be that some of us find that over these 2 weeks, as we look at chapter 1, there is a tension between god's call on us. God's word to us through scripture and the way we've been living for perhaps the last 12 months or or even longer. Malachy is the last book of the Old Testament.

After Malachi, there was sort of 400 years of silence, before John the Baptist really, steps onto the stage of history. Malachi is a prophet, and we know very little about him. He isn't mentioned in any other book of the Bible, and there's no actual information, really, about the author in the book itself. Verse 1, which we had read a prophecy, the word of the lord to Israel through Malachi. Now the word for prophecy here means actually literally a burden.

It was interesting because Craig prayed, didn't he about, you know, perhaps we're carrying some burdens. Well, Malachi is carrying the burden of the message. So there's a weight here, the weight of divine authority attaching to the message of Malachi, but just because it's weighty, if you like, doesn't mean it's dull, doesn't mean it's heavy, or stodgy, we might say, rather it indicates that it's substantial. The prophet is feeling the burden of the message that he's giving. The situation when Malachi received this message, or this burden, if you like, is that the people have returned from exile, back to the promised land about a hundred years before Malachi speaks.

Jerusalem has been rebuilt. The temple has been restored. But they were still part of the Persian empire. They weren't independence. Ezran, Naomi, had been the leaders, Haggai and Zechariah had been the prophets, and yet we discover despite all of this blessing, if you like, despite god's mercy on the people, Israel's spiritual temperature is very low at this point.

I thought it was interesting when I was looking at it that Malachi speaks into a situation not really very similar to other prophets. There actually isn't much going on at the time in terms of Israel's history. They weren't being attacked. The people weren't in exile. There wasn't huge political upheaval.

It was quite quiet, actually. It was a period when the people could, albeit under Persian rule, live in relationship with god, worshiping him. But Israel didn't see it like this. They felt isolated. Many had become comfortable in exile and hadn't even returned to the promised land.

Those that had weren't really enjoying it, prosperity hadn't arrived as the earlier profits had promised. Those that had, you know, they they just thought, well, we're just getting by here. It's not great, is it? A recession appeared to be looming. Although if she'd been around at the time, I guess Rachel from accounts would have argued that point, but I'm not gonna go down that line.

I'll get into too much trouble with talking politics, but the, you know, there may have been a recession at the time. Even the rebuilt temple seemed to them to be just a shadow of the former 1. And 1 of the reasons I think Malachi speaks so clearly to us, is that the people of Israel at the time were living a life quite similar in many ways to the church in the UK today. Just think about our situation here. We don't have to meet in secret.

We can just come, rent this building, meet here, we can openly worship god together, we can run a children's camp like we've just seen. We can serve the lord. You can worship him with your heart, and no one's gonna stop you. See, Israel weren't in open rebellion against god. They were offering sacrifices and outwardly following the law and the prescribed rituals.

Aren't we similar? We come here church on a Sunday. We're fairly regular. Our small group. Okay.

We're tired sometimes, but, you know, we still belong to it and we're going. We haven't walked away from the faith. When we compare ourselves with the secular worlds, We'd say, well, we're going pretty well with god. But you see, like Israel, I wonder if we're not as on fire spiritually as we once were. Has our worship become routine?

Do we find sermons feeling too long? Can't be already, but Have we stopped bothering to catch up online when we go away for the weekend and we miss 1? Does the singing feel dull and embarrassing sometimes? Is the lord's supper mechanical to you? Do you find prayer to be forced?

Does our giving feel optional and certainly not sacrificial? You see, I get that. Quite a few of you have come back from authentic. Look terrific, and you won't be feeling this, or I'd be surprised if you're feeling this, because mostly when we go and we do a camp, or we go to, you know, Keswick, or we go to revive, or even the away day, you come back buzzing. So right now, if you've been on that, that this won't be how you're feeling, and I get that.

And I hope it carries on for a long time like that. But it might be that when you're putting the chairs out in November and it's raining here, you begin to feel again what I'm talking about. See, where Israel's hearts were at is revealed in this book of Malachi, and you'll see them arguing with god. You'll see them expressing astonishment as he speaks into their lives. Again and again, god's people protest against everything god is saying, and they do it in a sort of self justifying, feigned innocence, saying in effect to god, come on.

It's not that bad, is it? But the reality at the time was the priests were corrupt. We'll see next week the worship was half hearted. Justice was neglected or ignored completely. Marriage was cheapened.

It was a shocking situation, and yet they thought they were doing okay. And this morning, we're gonna see the first argument, the first little back and forth between god and his people. And and god opens with this, and this is the first point. I have loved you. Verse 2, I have loved you, says the lord.

It feels to me when when I read that, I have loved you. It's sort of melancholic almost a bit sad by god. But it is an extraordinary opening. He's dealing with people who are drifting. He's dealing with people who are, you know, jaded.

I would have thought I certainly would have gone with rebukes and warnings about judgement. But the tone from Malachi, the tone from god here, as he tries to bring about a spiritual awakening in the people again, is loving. The burden, the weight carried in the word of the lord to start with is I have loved you. See, our god understands the only way we're gonna change. The only way in which we'll be revitalized is when we wake up from our our self absorption and our pride and our selfishness.

And instead grasp the love of god. And that's what Malachi wants to get into our heads with straight away this morning. Until the love of god takes hold of us, there is no possibility of real change in your life. God's love brothers and sisters is crucial. It gave us saving faith.

It keeps us and sustains us until the day we're taken home to glory. See, in many ways, the whole Christian message actually can be understood in those 4 words I have loved you. But isn't it true though that when we feel spiritually low, we don't often look to his love. Instead, we look at all sorts of the wrong places for a solution. You know, we may have turned over many leaves, many times in our life.

We may have made resolutions, you know, every new year's eve. We'll do better next time. Let's try again we say to ourselves. You may have returned from authentic thinking, I'm really gonna go for it now. The reason you see so much happens, so much change happens in the summer with new people arriving and new starts ahead is because in our hearts, we know we need to start again.

But we often look inwards for that. Our own determination, our own willpower. God is saying this morning to us, and this might be what you need to hear most of all out of everything I'm gonna say this morning. You don't have to do more. You don't have to start again for the twentieth or the 2 hundredth time.

Instead, you need to receive the good news that god loves you. That's what you need to hear this morning. God loves you. You are beloved by him. It's an amazing truth that as a Christian god loved you from before the world began, and he's gonna love you into eternity.

But the astonishing thing really about this opening by god is actually Israel's reaction. And I just wonder whether underneath the surface when we're back at work this week, when we're sitting, not in church, but somewhere else, whether in some ways we respond in our hearts the same way as Israel. I have loved you, says god, and they replied, how have you loved us? I've loved you, says the lord, and they said, really? Can imagine in a way what they're thinking.

We spent all that time in exile. Now we live under the rule of someone else 80 years since we were promised blessing and nothing. Generations have gone, and we remain weak, impoverished, another recession coming, but you've loved us? How? Given our circumstances, god, what does your love even mean?

Aren't we guilty sometimes of feeling the same thing? I know it's amazing how often how quickly I can feel hard done by. We don't feel loved by god. Perhaps we feel forgotten. We only seem to get silence from him.

We feel weighed down by worry and anxiety. And yet you've loved us. Sitting here in Kingston, I can't match that up with my experience and my circumstances, we say. We may even go as far. As saying I'm a bit disappointed with god in the end.

Where were you god when I lost my job? Where were you god when my mom died? Where were you god when I got scammed out of that money? Where were you god when I got sick or was in that accident? Where were you god when I wanted to buy that flat or or that house and it all fell through?

See, whether it's Israel or us, the whole attitude of saying to god, how have you loved us? Just shows how arrogant we've become. There's no humility as they're in talking back to god like that. The god who made the universe and is sovereign over everything, and when he says I love you, we say prove it. It's shocking, really.

Yeah, interestingly, god doesn't rebuke them for asking that question or crush them. Instead with patience, he actually answers it. And the what he says is our third point, god's love is unconditional versus 2 and 3. Was not eesaw, Jacob's brother declares the lord. Yeah.

I have loved Jacob, but eesaw, I have hated. See, given that we've just spent quite a few weeks in the story of of Jacob, an esau, this is, you know, very timely for us to be picking it up again here. You know, it does make you think there's some sort of plan in this church. So it's we know it at the moment. It's in our heads because of Tom's series, but it is a strange response from god, isn't it?

They're asking how have you loved us because we're not feeling it god, And he says, let me give you some history. Let me talk about Jacob and Eesaw. That is not an obvious way to remember. You'd think he might say, sorry, yeah, to talk to them. You'd think he might say, do you remember when, you know, I did that for you last week?

Or last month, I rescued that rescued you from that situation. But no, he says I'm gonna go way back and talk about Jacob and Ethan. He does it because he knows that inherently within this story is the essence of god's love. When god puts that little question in, was not he saw Jacob's brother, he knows that Israel would know that the answer is yes. In fact, they would know as we do because of Tom's series, that Esa was not only Jacob's brother, but he was a twin, both conceived in the womb of Rebecca by their father, Isaac.

So they're not like Abraham's sons who had different mothers, 1 of them wasn't even and Israelite, Jacob and Eso are identical. They're twins with no difference in their parentage in that sense. But we also know that Eso being the first born should have been the 1 to inherit the blessing. The point is, and this is what Malachi is saying, god doesn't choose Jacob, all the people of Israel, all us based on merit, but instead based on his sovereign electing love. That's the answer he gives in Malachi.

When the people ask how have you loved us, god responds, saying I've loved you by choosing you. I chose to love you. Let's just look at Romans's, chapter 9 and verse 11, and hopefully it's gonna come up. Okay. Romans chapter 9 verse 11, yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, In order that god's purpose of election might stand, not by works, but by him who calls, she was told the older shall serve the younger.

Just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but esau, I hate it. It's a covenant love that Malachi and Paul in Romans here are describing. Basically, love in this instance means chosen, hated means not chosen. So we mustn't confuse this with a sort of human hate, meaning animosity, because that's not right. God doesn't operate like that.

God chose Jacob, and it was not for any credit. To hear more anything he'd done. As it says in Romans, he chose him before he was even born. See, so often, I think we struggle with something in the bible because we bring god down to our level. We reduce him in other words.

So in our heads, we have him hating like we hate with an animosity. We have him hating like the the sinners that we are doing it. But what if god's love is so immense, so awesome, so wonderful that everything else just seems like hate. In other words, everything else pales into insignificance in compare in comparison with his great love. Let's look at deuteronomy chapter 7 should also come up.

For you, are a people wholly to the lord your god. The lord your god has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it's because the lord loves you. In other words, he loves you Israel, he loves you cornerstone church just because he chose to, not because we're lovely. That's why this love that god bestows on us is unconditional because it's not based on anything we've done.

It's not based on anything we are. It's an amazing love because we don't instill it in god. He in he, starts it, if you like. So similarly, there's nothing you can do to forfeit his love for you. In Romans's 8, Paul ask, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

And the answer actually is no 1 and nothing. God's love is unconditional. So if you are sitting here this morning, feeling, I don't know, a bit spiritually flat, You've enjoyed the summer because actually you wanted a break from church and from god. So you went to very little. Then the beautiful thing is, if you've never the less trusted in Christ, If he's your savor, savior, then there's no level of disinterest that will cause god to withdraw his love from you.

I'm aware that whilst this is very reassuring to many of us, and lovely to hear, and it does give us great assurance because, you can't mess it up. God loves you. It's actually difficult to hear because you're confronted with the selection through the passage of Jacob over Resource, but you're also confronted with the selection of you over, for example, your friend. So we instinctively start to question whether god is being fair, whether god is being just, but it is the wrong question. Malachi 1 verse 3, but east so I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland, and left his inheritance to desert Jackals.

Eden may say though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins that this is what the lord almighty says. They may build it, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked land, a people always under the wrath of god. When I was, writing this this week, I couldn't get that song out of my head. I can't sing, so I I'd be ashamed because I could do it.

But it's the 1 that goes, you know, I get knocked down, but I get up again. But you see, god says to Eden, no, you won't get up again. The edomites were descended from esau. Eden means red in Hebrew, Hebrew, the red hair of esau, and so on. Israel's descended from Jacob, They're very similar nations in many ways.

Both sinful, both wicked, both had broken the law of god, both deserved his wrath and judgment, and god says eden will get what they deserve. Very important that we get our heads around this. You see, it's not that god is unjust. He just leaves Eden to the consequences of their sins. He's not being unfair.

It's rather that god is extravagantly loving by not treating Israel the same way. So rather than question god's justice, we should ask a much more perplexing question, which is why doesn't he treat us as we deserve to be treated? See, given our guilt and sinfulness, our attitude to god, why choose to save us? That's why this whole history lesson is such a brilliant answer. How have you loved us?

He's loved us by his free unconditional electing love whilst we deserve to be judged and condemned. And instead, we're accepted, and we're forgiven, and we're adopted into the family of God. That's a marvelous thing. And that exalts god, and it gives him all the glory because he chose us, not because of anything we bring to the party, just because he loved us. So god's answer here removes any boasting, any idea that Israel provided something of value.

And it also tackles the idea, which was clearly in their heads when they questioned god, that they deserve more. The idea I'd see in Israel's head was, look, we've been carrying on worshiping and serving for years. What's god ever done for us? They're acting like an entitled people. And we have to be careful not to fall into that trap.

It's easy. It's easy to start thinking like that, you know. Look at how Cornerstone has grown. We must be doing so much right here. You know, our efforts at Welcome and Coffee and music and the hours that people put into the kids' work, the quality of the preaching, usually the leadership.

The leadership I mean, what a genius decision to appoint Tom? You know, we're thinking of this stuff and thinking, we are really good. We have done so much for you god in this town. Surely, you could make our marriages work a bit better. And our work life a bit easier, and our parenting, you know, more successful.

You think you could do that for us. What about this health issue? I've been at this church for years being faithful to you. Now you've given me this. President Trump often big change of subject.

President Trump's often described as transactional. That's how you read about him. He's transactional president. And his his form of transaction appears to be, you do this for me, and I won't do this to you. That's what he's like.

But I wonder if we're a bit transactional ourselves. When we have our relationship with god, we say, why haven't you done this for me? You know, I do all this for you. And god's response is to say, look, despite your arrogance, and your pride and your self absorption, your circumstances, what you're feeling now are not an indication that I don't love you. See, Israel had looked on occasions at Eden with envy.

They were wondering why things seemed to be going so well for them. Remember, the edomites had helped the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem. But we're reminded here, god is sovereign. And in the end, judgment does arrive on Eden. They don't get up again.

So your circumstances right now as you sit here are not a good indication of god's love. So we have to stop with the transactional thinking. We actually have to stop with the comparison thinking. If if, you'd been at the big home group on Wednesday, Gula was interviewed by Steve, and she'd come out of a prosperity gospel, cult, I would call it. And that was exactly the thinking.

I've got to do this. I've got to do that. I need to turn up here more. I need to do more of this. Because only then will god save me, only then will god love me, only then it it was a it was transactional.

And that's not true, is it? It's not what god says. And our fourth and final point is God's love is for all of us. Verse 5 of Malachi. Your own eye shall see this.

The judgment of god on edom, and you shall say great is the lord beyond the border of Israel. The judgment to come on edom says Malachi will generate glory to god. Part of being loved by god is to know that god reigns everywhere. So if we are a bit stale, If we're feeling a bit sigh for ourselves, if we're wondering if god loves us at all. It's worth not only remembering he does because scripture tells us, but look out at the town we're in.

The mass of people that are going on with their lives without him towards a judgment that awaits them, and understand that that too is under the control of an almighty god. The language here in verse 5 is actually repeated in verse 11, which we'll come to you next week. But, god says my name will be great among the nations from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me because my name will be great among the nations, says the lord almighty. Similar language, but not focused on judgment as we've got here with Eden.

His name will be great there because he's also a god of love and of mercy and of redemption. See, Malachi isn't just trying to get us to love god again and to understand that we're chosen as if Just doing that is the goal. He's pointing out, you know, yes, you're saved. Yes, god loves you. But it's for a purpose.

We're saved for a purpose. We're saved into a community called the church for a reason, and it's mission. It's to look as it says in this verse beyond the borders of where we are now. That's what Malachi is saying. Remember, Israel was a group of people chosen by god, and they were to be a light to the gentiles.

That was what they were supposed to be. And at the time Malachi speaking, they're not. They're arguing with god. People would look and think, well, nothing's going well there. Their attitude to their god isn't great.

But we as Christians are the new Israel. And we should expect to see god at work all around us in this town. But we should also expect to see the world watching us, paying attention to what happens. I was talking, I don't know, 2 weeks ago, to a couple of, newcomers, a couple of people who are quite new in the church. I was gonna say they'll remain not anonymous, but I think I'm not even sure Jo and Anna are here.

But, anyway, I was talking to them. And, they said, yeah, they are here. Yeah. Fine. They said they found, they'd found cornerstone when I was asking to be a very warm church when they arrived.

And, and it's interesting, it came out in the authentic thing. A very family feel. Now that's lovely to hear because we wanna draw people in, don't we? Not just for our own happiness, because we like a family feel. Because we want to be a beacon of god's love in a dark world.

So we're to love god with all of our hearts in the knowledge and assurance that he chose us. And he loved us first, and then we're to take that message of salvation out to people of every tongue and tribe beyond the borders. And the wonderful thing when when you're at Cornerstone is you understand with all the nationalities we have that in a sense we can do that right here in Kingston. If you look at Commission, which Cornerstone is part of, which is dealing with London, we can do that right here in London. John's gospel chapter 15, I didn't get this, on a slide.

Sorry about that. John's gospel chapter 15 verse 16, I think really summarizes everything we've been talking about this morning. You did not choose me, but I chose you. And then here comes the reason. And appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.

So we're to preach the gospel to those around us, knowing that it's not about our ability and our communication skills and our talent It's about god's love. And as we preach, those he has chosen to love will come. So in summary, as we reach the end of another summer, Let's give god all the glory for our salvation. Let's rededicate ourselves to living for him. As we head into an autumn term, understand that god chose to love us and rescue us despite the fact that we deserve to be left with others in our sin, but that he's done that for a purpose, that we might bear fruit that will really last into an eternity with Jesus.

So let's just go back to that question asking, are they asking verse 2? How do you love us? We might ask, how do we know god loves us? Sitting here this morning, how do we know god loves us? Well, this is not because of our circumstances.

We've dealt with that this morning. It's not because of our history, actually, as it was for the nation of Israel at that time. So how do we know god loves us? The answer is the cross. The cross shows us god's love.

God's 1 and only son, Jesus Christ suffered and died on that cross for our sin, and that's the proof of his love. So when we're lazy or jaded or stroppy, which we can't be, or perhaps just apathetic and drifting a bit. You know, we're glad that it's been summer. We can largely forget about the church. The shadow of the cross looms over a standing as proof that god loves us.

And it's time now brothers and sisters to return to him as the new term starts. You know, Pete said last week, and I'm gonna quote him. It's almost September. We've got a new start, and we still have this area to reach. So let's return to Jesus Christ in our hearts.

Let's be excited once again that we have a opportunity to spread the gospel And let's go out and show everyone that great is the lord even beyond the borders of Cornerstone Church. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you are a god of love, a god that chose to love us. It's such a wonderful truth that it's not because of anything we've done, or could do. You just chose to love us.

And therefore, you will hold us in the palm of your hand. We will go to eternity to be to be with Jesus. And we can't, caused you to regret that choice. Lord, we thank you for that. We pray that you will help us to, get rid of an attitude that says, how have you loved us?

That is so now fixated. So circumstance fix ated. So transactional fixated that we, only really think about today and this week, help us god to love you, to want to love you, to serve you, to be on fire for you again, that we will be a, a church that is is a beacon in this town for your love. Law, we we pray that you'll help us to talk to people, our neighbors, our friends, people we work with, people we meet in the street, whoever it is, help us to talk to them about you that in the end, everyone will know great is the lord, even beyond the borders of this church. In Jesus' name, amen,