Jesus Christ is Coming to Town
Malachi 2:17-3:4 17You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" 1"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. 2But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3He 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, 4and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
Do you enjoy the things you do to prepare for Christmas? Whether we enjoy it or not most of us realize that this time of preparation is important - important not only so we can enjoy Christmas day, but also important for enjoying the whole Christmas season. In the midst of the preparing that we are doing, I hope we can see that it is also important to remember that God is doing some preparing work as well. As we prepare for Christmas, how well prepared are we to see and experience the work God is doing. Perhaps we can be as prepared for the coming of Jesus as we are for the coming of the Christmas season.
It was rush hour in Jerusalem, 450 B.C. It seemed like the entire nation of Israel had crammed in to the walled city. Now, the crowd pushed, squeezed and jostled one another trying to get home before dark. Shop owners were closing the flaps of their tents. A group of women stood by a well getting the evening news. The homeless began to seek some out of the way spot where they could spend the night.
Things were not good in Israel. The people had returned from Babylon about a hundred years earlier. They had come back with high hopes and great expectations. They had learned their lesson. They rebuilt the wall around the city, built a new Temple, pulled together and built new homes for the people, and then waited for God to bring them prosperity. It did not happen. The economy was in shambles. A few prospered, but most did not, and the few who had prospered made sure they would stay that way. Families were falling apart. Worship was lethargic and routine, and the Priests were more concerned about the size of the offerings than about the needs of the people.
And the people complained, “Where is God…Surely I thought God would…,” And Malachi spoke: “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver...” Get ready, be alert, be prepared. God is coming to burn the dross out of your heart and to wash the linen of your lives completely clean.
Malachi never spoke of repenting. He said, “God is coming to clean up the mess you have made of Israel and of your lives. You can welcome it or you can run from it. But God will do it.” You have heard the descriptions of our current world. Some of it sounds like it came directly out of Malachi: Families falling apart, the historical churches on the decline. “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me.” God will act. God will act to clean up the mess that our world is in. God will clean up the mess our life is in. God began keeping His promise when He sent a small baby to be born as a sign of His immeasurable grace.
Do you believe that? Do you expect that?
From a sermon by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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