THE DAY IS COMING - Malachi 4

He is paid it all He is the one that that is worthy of our praise.

So Let's go ahead and open up God's Word. If you have a copy of God's Word We're in the

Old Testament minor prophet of Malachi It's the last book of the Old Testament, you know over the past eight weeks as we've been in this study

We've seen God engaging with the people of Israel through the prophet

Malachi with a series of six Disputations six disputes between God and the people he opened up with with him saying

I have loved you And the people of Israel respond How have you loved us and he points to his covenant that he had made he had loved

Jacob and he had hated Esau and his faithfulness of that He says you have polluted my altar and they say how have we polluted you?

And by bringing sick and lame animals for sacrifice to me giving me your leftovers

He says you have wearied me with your words and and they respond once again How have we wearied you and he says by saying that I find favor in Evildoers and asking the question.

Where is the God of justice? He says you have robbed me and again they say how have we robbed you

He says by not bringing your tithes to the storehouse You've not been giving back to me even a small percentage of what is already mine in the first place

And then lastly your words have been hard against me and they say how have we spoken against you

He says by calling the arrogant blessed and saying evildoers

They don't not only prosper, but they put God to the test and they escape his wrath and justice.

Oh But then as we saw last week there was a faithful remnant within Israel those who it says feared the

Lord and They heard his words they heard his responses to them and God said they those that fear me shall be mine and he says when in the day when

I make up my treasured possessions, I will spare them and Then in verse 18 of chapter 3 right before we get into chapter 4 that we're looking at today

He says then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked

Between one who serves God and one who does not serve him for Behold The day is coming burning like an oven

When all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble

The day that is coming shall set them ablaze says the Lord of hosts so that it will leave them neither root nor branch

No, but for you who fear my name The Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings

You shall go out leaping like cows from the stall and you shall tread down the wicked for they will be

Ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act says the

Lord of hosts Remember the law of my servant Moses the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all

Israel Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the

Lord comes and he will turn the hearts of the Fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction

Says the reading of God's Perfect. Holy word. These are the very last words that God had spoken

Before a period of time when Jesus came on the scene

And so let us bow right now. Once again, let's ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and minds to this great truth

Lord we we come before you once again, you know, we have

We have sung of your faithfulness We have read your word we have prayed to you seeking your wisdom

We have sought to worship and honor you and now as we get ready to Exegete the text to look at your words

May you give us wisdom? May your words penetrate into our hearts renew our minds mold us into the people that you are calling us to be

May those that are here this morning who do not yet know you be awakened by the power of the Holy Spirit To your truth see the beauty of Christ and run to the

Savior and repentance and faith May those that are already yours today be sanctified molded by your word

Give us clarity Christ name we pray all of this. Amen.

I Believe that that faithful remnant that we're discussing that they were amongst those that Who had said or at least had thought

Where is the God of justice? They were guilty right alongside the rest of the nation of Israel, I believe

How are all these? Evildoers escaping your wrath God and how are they flourishing?

much like us today after in one often wondering why evil thrives and prevails when

More often than not. It seems as though righteousness suffers, doesn't it? And They like us

Needed a constant reminder of how God really feels about those evil doers

The psalmist in Psalm 5 declares that God hates the evildoer

We don't like to talk about that much in church That God hates anyone, but he said he hated

Jacob He hates all evildoers So who are the evildoers?

Who is it that God hates? Well, the people of Israel thought that it was anyone who wasn't them the surrounding pagan nations

Yet what we've seen thus far Through this prophet Malachi is that these these

Israelites are no more righteous than any of the other nations They themselves are evildoers they they may look better a little bit on the outside But when you really start to pry into the intent and the heart they had evil hearts just like the rest of the world

However, as I've said there was that faithful remnant amongst them Those who heard the words the

Lord and responded with faith and repentance and God loves them

That is a tremendous. We just sang about the love of God this morning. God has a tremendous love for those who are in faith

Just as with us today you have the evildoers whom God hates and you have the unworthy recipients of grace

Those who have been brought into faith in Christ Jesus and received a repentant heart whom

God loves And as God gets ready to to close out his words to the people of Israel and where he will not speak to them again for roughly 400 years after this

He goes silent. No more words from God. No more speaking through the prophets nothing and he leaves them here with a statement of fact

We don't like to think in terms of fact in our culture We're we like we're relativism has eaten us alive at its core who can know fact who can know truth?

but yet God is truth and whatever he says is certain fact and so he leaves them with this this fact that is interwoven into the promise of his covenant and this promise extends to you and I the true

Israel those who are recipients of grace who are part of the covenant of grace

And he says for behold the day

Fact it is absolute. It is guaranteed. It is unavoidable

This day will come whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not or whether you want it to or not

It is certain God had already told us that he doesn't change and this is another promise from an

Unchanging God and he says for behold the day is coming

Burning like an oven why the imagery of an oven here?

Malachi is not talking about your Maytag oven that you're getting ready to cook your Thanksgiving turkey in this week, hopefully

He's speaking of more of an incinerator Because you see an open flame

Does not signify the significance of an all -encompassing Devastating power of what is being illustrated here by God however, a oven encapsulates and magnifies the heat of that flame

Incinerating every impurity within its chambers And he says oh

That day is coming with the heat of an incinerator And this is of course anthropomorphic language human language the imagery

Symbolized here falls short of that which it points to of course for the heat in which is being referred to here is

Infinitely hotter and more destructive than any man -made furnace could ever be no matter how large or how hot we could get it

For it is speaking of the ever -burning All -encompassing fire of the wrath of God look at the text again

He says for behold the day is coming. I was burning like an oven like an incinerator when the arrogant evildoers

Will be stubble you remember the accusation back in chapter 3 verse 15

They they're asking God they're responding to God and now we call the arrogant blessed

The arrogant seem blessed by you God Evildoers not only prosper But they put you to the test and they seem to escape your wrath that you keep talking about and here

God Responds to this evil accusation by the people of Israel you think they escaped you think they're blessed you just wait

Wait for that day not one not a single one will be able to escape the fires of my wrath

You may not be able to see that clearly now, and they certainly don't see it in their time

But I think Paul gives us some insight as to why We are in this this place where we are promised of this burning wrath to come

But we've yet to see it in its fruition in Romans chapter 9 In Romans 9 in verse 22

Paul Paul presents this this this idea this question. He says what if God?

Desiring to show his wrath that unquenchable fire

That is God and to make known his power Has endured with much patience

Why did the wicked prosper as he's telling the people there in Malachi's day?

You don't see what I see You don't see what

I have planned He says he's endured them with much patience these vessels of wrath that are prepared by God For destruction, it's heavy isn't it?

Those aren't my words. I'm just reading the Bible here guys Vessels of wrath that are prepared for destruction

God hates all evildoers and he has created them for wrath his

Perfect righteous wrath to be poured out upon them and they are being prepared for that very

Destruction that is guaranteed to come yet in the meantime.

We do not see this righteous indignation As the psalmist said in Psalm 73 he says for I I was envious of the arrogant when

I saw the prosperity of the wicked Let's just be honest for a second more often than not

I feel like the psalmist in that in this moment when I'm looking in life and I see these

Cults out there these churches that barely proclaim any gospel if any gospel at all flourishing in their big fancy buildings and their fancy events and all that goes on and they're they're defaming the name of Christ in the midst of it

When you look around and you see the evilness of this world and the brokenness of this world Sometimes you go.

Why do I suffer? Why am I suffering in this world when they are thriving yet?

God hates the evildoer It sure doesn't seem like that does it? Forget forgetting completely what we were created for But later that psalmist that very psalm says until I went into the sanctuary of God And then

I discerned their end I Was envious of them until I was reminded of what is to come for them.

This life is all they've got This life is a blip on the radar this life is just a drop in the ocean of Eternity and we put a lot of stock in it, don't we?

I want comfort. I want health. I want money I want all the things and I look around and I see the wicked they're flourishing and all those things.

That's all they got Give them a drop in the ocean when you if you're in faith in Christ you get the ocean right in Eternity the end the guaranteed promise in to all the arrogant evildoers as Malachi said in chapter 3 in verse 5 the sorcerers the adulterers those who swear falsely those who oppress the hired

Worker of his wages the widow and the fatherless those who thrust aside the sojourner and do not fear

God You might read through that and go well, I don't practice sorcery

I'm not committing adultery at least openly, right? I don't swear falsely oppress any of my employees or the widows or the fatherless.

I don't I'm pretty hospitable I don't just thrust aside the sojourner, but do you fear God? They're in this category and these

People Those who are the evildoers that God hates are only good for one thing you get that, right?

That's a hard statement in it. They're one they're good for one thing God says it Stubble to become stubble

Is a similar language to Isaiah back in Isaiah chapter 5 and verse 24 says therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble and as dry grass sinks down in the flame so their root will be as Rottenness and their blossom go up like dust for they have rejected

The law of the Lord of hosts and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel stubble this is

I Had to look into this as to in the in the Hebrew what they're actually referring to it's referring to what blows away after a young immature

Unwanted plant is hit by the lethal wind like a hot wind and it withers them

This term is is often used in in reference to something worthless

No value and look at our passage back in Malachi the second part of verse 1

Says the day that is coming Shall set them ablaze all of the stubble all of the evildoer all of the arrogant

It will set them ablaze says the Lord of hosts so that it will leave them neither root nor branch this worthless stubble will be gathered up and placed in the incinerator

We see this language from John the Baptist in Matthew chapter 3 matter of fact flip over there

It's just the next book over in the New Testament Matthew chapter 3 verses 11 and 12 I want you to see what

John the Baptist refers to as what Christ is coming to do There in chapter 3 of Matthew verses starting in verse 11, but John the

Baptist says I baptize you with water for repentance but he

Jesus is who he's speaking of who comes after me is mightier than I Whose sandals

I'm not worthy to carry he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire

His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn

That's us who are in faith. He will gather us. Oh but the chaff the stubble

He will burn with unquenchable fire You say well,

I don't like the Old Testament God like that was like burn like wrath and all the bad stuff.

This is New Testament guys This is actually referring to Jesus the loving gracious Jesus.

This is what he's coming to do He will gather them and burn with burn them an unquenchable fire the vessels of wrath prepared for Destruction and when

God speaks of this destruction, he is not referring to annihilation

We think of an incinerator we throw the stubble in the incinerator There's nothing left but ashes and that is the imagery that we are given

But this is not the reality of what that imagery is pointing to he is speaking of an everlasting

Torment as Jesus said when referring to hell in Mark 9 48

He said where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched the worm is the arrogant evildoer and the fire is that of his everlasting wrath this judgment

Hell is It's not the absence of God This is sometimes we think of it that way we think well

God created a place and he sends all the bad people there and He just lights it and goes

But that's not the imagery of hell that we're given you see that fire

Is his everlasting hatred for evil and His perfect righteous indignation poured out upon it and the evildoer is

The kindle it's the fuel of that fire of his hatred and unlike the stubble

The kindle and the fire of an earthly analogy this kindle of the evildoer never burns up Though he eternally feels the pains of that flame with mind you absolutely zero chance of Redemption I believe that's what it means in our passage in Malachi The last part of verse 1 that he says so that it will leave them neither root nor branch and this is

All evildoers whether they are of Israel or the pagan nations whether they are a member of a church

Whether they've been baptized or whether they've prayed a prayer and walked an aisle So who is safe?

From this great and awful day Where it is a great and awful day if that is a scary thing

Who's safe look at verse 2? There's good news guys he says but Those the chaff they will be burned

My wrath will be poured out upon them for eternity with no chance. You've asked. Where is the

God of justice? I just told you that day is coming and justice will be enacted Perfect justice because that sin was a sin against an eternal

God and so it deserves eternal punishment right but for you

Who fear my name just as those

Israelites and in chapter 3 verse 16 those who feared the Lord, right? They had the same doubts as the rest of the nation

They fell prey to the same sins as the rest of the nation of Israel as those arrogant evildoers questioning

God profaning his name Robbing him at every turn yet when God confronted them

They feared him and they had reverence for who he is and they responded in Repentance this

Is how a true believer responds to God? You will know them by their fruit a fruit of repentance

We have an easy believism today We're a little bit like the nation of Israel who who thought well as long as I'm Ethnically Israel and I kind of go through the motions of all those

Levitical laws. I'm good We have this idea that you just pray a prayer.

You're good You get your heavenly insurance card. You're good that's that's not the biblical imagery of God's people if you do not love

God's law if you do not desire to obey him

You're a liar The truth isn't in you you get that right?

You can't just go around thinking you're a Christian and and not even be an active member of a church that It just doesn't work like that You might be a

Christian in rebellion in a moment But what I can tell you is just like the people of Israel in that time The faithful remnant is when confronted with God's Word you will repent and turn from that sin.

You cannot blatantly disobey King Jesus and his words and Go on in your life and just think that you're okay

There's nowhere in Scripture that will give you that idea Mind you you're not saved by your obedience.

That's not what I'm preaching What I'm saying is that true faith always leads to a repentant heart always leads to fruit of the

Spirit in your life Always leads because you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit himself. We're certainly not talking

About Perfect people here you come to 12 -5 for any amount of time and start spending some time with us

You'll begin to realize that we are most certainly not perfect people. We often sin

Just like the evildoer. We are arrogant and haughty at times yet we when confronted by God's Word there is a fear and a reverence and It's followed with contrition and we seek to turn away from our wicked deeds

And be obedient to King Jesus who is our Lord and Savior look back at verse 2 again

But for you who fear my name The Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings

We have similar imagery over in Psalm 84 11

The psalmist says for God for the Lord God is a son and a shield

The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing. Does he withhold from those who walk uprightly?

But if you're reading from an ESV, which I know many of you are the word son is not

Capitalized some of your translations will have the word son capitalized And I understand why the

ESV translates it and I know I understand their interpretation But I disagree. I think it's unfortunate

I personally have little doubt that this is most certainly a reference to the son

SON Jesus Christ I Get this from Luke chapter 1

As a matter of fact if you want to turn there you want to jot this passage down and you can look at it later in Luke chapter 1 we see

John the Baptist father Zechariah and his prophecy of his son

John the Baptist And in chapter 1 of Luke in verse 76, it says and you child will be called the prophet of the

Most High For you will go before the Lord to prepare his way

To give knowledge of salvation to his people and the forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercies of our

God whereby the sunrise Shall visit us from on high

To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace

We see this all through the New Testament places like Matthew 4 16 when quoting

Isaiah 9 The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light and for those dwelling in the region the shadow of death on them light has dawned

This is the light it is the light of Christ And so when when we see here in Malachi chapter 2

Oh, but for you who fear my name the Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings

And we have further imagery like this play in places like Deuteronomy 32 Referring to an an eagle covering its its young with its wings and and there's a protection there

But with the reference to the Sun here, I believe it's giving the imagery of that Life that comes from the rays of the

Sun You know in ancient times Depictions drawn on on stone carved on stone would if they were a depiction of the

Sun It would be a circle and then wing like patterns depicting the rays of that Sun And I think that's the imagery given to us here

You've heard joy comes in the morning This night may be long

These these Israelites had been awaiting the Messiah in the darkness of night in the midst of Darkness all around them yet.

The Sun will rise The Sun will come with healing

Healing in the rays of his gradient light Revelation 22 verses 3 through 5

We see no longer Will there be anything accursed? That night is long

But there's coming a day the day of the Lord where there will be nothing accursed. No more evil.

No more death. No more destruction But the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it and his servant will servants will worship him

They will see his face whose face the face of our

Savior Christ, right? They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads and night will be no more

There will be no more darkness There will be no more night that we've had to bear in this current present

Darkness that the people of Israel had to bear in the midst of utter darkness It seemed they will need no light of Lamp or Sun for the

Lord God will be their light and they will reign forever and ever this imagery is is

Messianic All the way hundreds of years before Christ is even born.

We see the Sun represented here This light the light of Christ spoken of here in Malachi is referring to total and complete healing spiritual healing physical healing

Emotional healing it's all -encompassing The rays of that light will reach every part of life and every part of the creation

You and I have seen his power We've seen it as a matter of fact jump down to verse 5 of Malachi 4

We see we see a prophecy that we know on this side of the prophecy was most certainly fulfilled

Where he says behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the

Lord comes And what will he do? He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children in the hearts of the children of their fathers

This is speaking of John the Baptist. I was asked that a couple of weeks ago and I held that in my pocket

I didn't want to bring that out But Luke chapter 1 verse 17 tells us this

Who's he speaking of is is Elijah just coming back to life and he's going to be in some future time

No this is actually referring to Elijah or John the Baptist as a Type and a figure of Elijah and Luke chapter 1 it says and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah speaking of John the

Baptist to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children very similar language, right? Turn the hearts of the fathers and children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the

Lord a people prepared You see Jesus first coming

Was inevitable you can't deny it

Nobody can deny it. It is historically unchallenged undeniable fact

Even pagan scholars and historians know that Jesus was born live the life.

He said he was gonna live died the death He said he was gonna die Rose from the grave three days later and ascended on high they can't get around it

You cannot avoid this truth of fact that actually happened in History and had way too many eyewitnesses to deny

You can't get around this fact and the prophecy that God would send this Elijah type

Prophet John the Baptist to make the way for him is further evidence of God's Faithfulness to fulfill this and you know what that means since that is

Certain fact that you cannot deny it means his second coming is also undeniable and inevitable if the first one happened as God had prophesied as as the prophets had prophesied and God had told

Then the second coming is certain But we are left here in these last days and and what we like to call the already and not yet Remember I I said a couple of weeks ago we're dealing

I think in chapter 3 the beginning of chapter 3 I talked about how in the Old Testament when you see

Eschatology prophecy meaning in times prophecy the coming of the Messiah. It's almost always

Intertwined with the first advent and the second advent It's always connecting both of them as a single action in a single event.

That's what we're seeing here in Malachi When he's speaking of Elijah, that's John the Baptist That's the first advent and here's why because the first advent

Jesus coming to be born The the the hypostatic union the God -man coming to represent us when that Happened and Jesus died and ascended we were now brought into the already and not yet We may have been here for about 2 ,000 years.

But a day is a thousand years to God. It doesn't matter, right? He's he's gathering his people in that time

And we must remember that but these two things are unmistakably interwoven when the first one

The second one is guaranteed and they're connected And when we have seen the evidence of his healing power his healing relationships of families

Broken lives we've all experienced it We've seen God work in his power and most importantly the the miraculous work of redeeming a people to himself

We were the evildoers, right? We were wicked we were just like the world, but yet we were miraculously

Awakened of the truth and brought and gifted faith and repentance. However, we still don't see it all in its fruition

Just like the people of Israel, but on that day of his certain return

Our rejoicing will be Uncontainable I'm looking forward to it

Look at look at verse 2 again. Oh But for those those who fear my name the

Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings Christ will come and the rays of his radiant light will penetrate and heal every single thing in its path

And when that happens, you shall go out leaping like cows from the stall What is he?

He's comparing us to calves, right? You know, my daughter my oldest daughter just recently got a puppy

Okay, Oogie Boogie is its name. We call him Oogie and whenever she's away

Oogie gets put away in the trailer and Oogie has to bear the loneliness of All of that time where he thinks he's gonna die, but when any of us

Come to that trailer and set him free That puppies joy is inexpressible.

I wish I could be that happy about anything Oh I will be that happy when Christ returns But that dog that little puppy gets to wiggling and its tail goes crazy and it can't control and it gets the zoomies and goes

Everywhere. I think this is the imagery that God is is giving us of what it will be like when he finally comes back, right?

And to make all things new that's what we long for but not only excited joy.

Look at verse 3 and you Shall tread down the wicked

For they will be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day when

I act says the Lord of hosts You and I if we are in Christ, we will join

King Jesus in his victory march He already owns all of this

It's his he's already defeated every power to be He defeated them at the cross.

He said it is finished. I Now have conquered. I am the reigning king over all of creation period

All of creation will either bow its knee to me kiss the Sun or I will

Burn it to ashes in My wrath and in the meantime,

I'm gathering all of my children all of my people all of those that I died for And when the last one is found then

I will return and I will do a victory march and you will be in that parade with me as I march into the defeated kingdom that I now reign over There will be no more sorrow for the wicked

You see we will see Christ in his glory for who he truly is We will finally see with with utmost clarity what a disgusting and vile treason towards the king that even the smallest of sins are and We will trample over the ashes of our unbelieving loved ones and neighbors

Joyously, I can't see that right now.

Can you I Can't comprehend that right now. Can you I? Can't get my brain wrapped around knowing that I have someone that I care for very deeply who has rejected

Christ and that I will Joyously trample over their ashes. I can't fathom that.

I don't have the capacity of that You know why because I don't yet see sin for what it is, and I don't yet see

Christ for who he is But I will that contrast

Will awaken me to the reality of just how evil the evildoer truly is

Rest assured st. That day is coming

Rest assured unbeliever who's sitting under this preaching thinking this man is a lunatic

That day is coming Whether you like it or not

It's certain what I'm saying here is the only truth that you will hear in this world

So what do we do? What do we do until that day Christ hasn't returned yet?

He could return at any moment, but he hasn't returned yet. Well firstly We have no idea who

God has created as vessels for wrath. Do we I? Have no idea I love how

Charles Spurgeon put it He said he said man if the if God's elect had yellow stripes down their back

I'd be running through the streets of London lifting shirttails But they don't so I spread the gospel to all liberally

We're to share the good news of Christ with all who will hear calling them repent and believe before it's too late and I say that to all of you this morning who have maybe gone down the aisle and prayed a prayer

Because you didn't want to go to hell to get your heavenly insurance card But you have not been living for the Lord.

You have not been serving the Lord You are not an active participating member in his body Then I would call you to now repent and believe before it's too late call upon the name of the

Lord and you shall be saved secondly Look at verse 4 of our passage

Remember the law of my servant Moses The statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all

Israel Now this is of course speaking of the laws that were given to the nation of Israel And we however are not under those laws

They have been done away with in Christ. We no longer make animal sacrifices We no longer have to follow any of those judicial laws and ceremonial laws

Yet there is another category of law that most certainly stands

That is eternal Is the moral law and it does apply?

It only applies to believers it applies to all and all will be judged according to that law

And Jesus said and in Matthew 28 go and make disciples Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you theologian by the name of Matthew Henry He says the summary of our duty with reference to the law

We must remember it Forgetfulness of the law is at the bottom of our transgression of it

If we would rightly remember it we could not but conform to it

The office of conscience is to bid us to remember the law

And he is speaking of course of the moral law of God that law the Ten Commandments It cannot save us in our sin the law of God can only condemn us

That's why the people of Israel they could not follow it they couldn't live up to it But now we who are in Christ have been freed to what?

righteousness Right. We've been freed to righteousness by the very righteousness of Christ that is given to us

Look at verse 6 of our passage and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of the children of their fathers

This is this is the goodness that comes from the gospel of righteousness and the law and those who love the law of God Right, but he says lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction

Boy, this is how God ends the Old Testament He ends on a high note, right?

Does it if this doesn't happen I will come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction

What God is saying here is if I had not intervened and I had not sent the

Messiah as I have promised My justice would demand utter destruction of everything

If I did not intervene and that day is not coming and that day did not arrive

Then God is saying you Israel even you haven't lived up to it

If that is not happening You are all doomed and I would just be left to wipe out all of creation and leave it into eternal torment

Because my justice demands that and that's how he leaves the Old Testament Because even you

Israel those who had my law you were incapable of fulfilling it Now as I said those of us who are the recipients of Christ's righteousness that has been given to us

We can declare as David did. Oh how I love your law

As I meditate on it That law has been fulfilled in Christ and we get the privilege of walking in it and one day

We will see retribution Carried out on all violators of that law

And Christ has not paid their debt for the wages of sin the cost of sin the due penalty of sin is

Death as Christ paid those wages for you

Or will you pay them on Judgment Day either way they're getting paid either

Christ took it for you and You rest in him and you believe in him and you trust in his righteousness and he imputes that righteousness to you

You will pay Those wages will come and you will have to pay the cost for those whom

Christ has already purchased Those who already have perfect union with the triune

God through the righteousness of Christ we are going to now prepare as we do each week to go to the table as We see the wine

Representing his blood that was spilled for us that covers our sins that covers us

He took the penalty which is death the the unleavened bread that represents his perfect spotless body is sinless life and flesh the

God -man and as we partake The Apostle Paul gives warning

He says do not do this in an unworthy manner. Don't do it for some of you are sick and some of even died

He's speaking of those who are not in Christ and profaning his covenant by partaking

If you are not in Christ do not do this is not just wine and bread Do not do that and he's also speaking of believers who are walking in Unrepentant sin if you this morning are in Christ, you know

Christ has paid the debt for me But yet you have an element in your life that you know is sin against him

You are at odds with a brother or sister or you refuse to be obedient to him

Let's say you're a Christian You've gone a long extended period of time without being a member of a church like like you're in sin

Like that's disobedience to King Jesus Like you need to repent of that lay that at the foot of the cross turn from it make it right and then come boldly to the table

The Christ has paid for me This is good. This is a wonderful glorious time of accountability but it's a time of worship that we get to be reminded of what our

Savior has done just much like the Baptism this morning the picture of the gospel. We see a beautiful picture of the gospel and there's something even

Deeper about the table than just wine and bread the very Spiritual presence of Christ is with us at this table so We introduced this way of doing it a couple of weeks ago and we're gonna be doing this again pastor

Keith will be on this Side pastor Jeremiah will over here. They will have gloves on what we'll do is we'll split the room

It looks about half and half. We're good As you go around the outside you come this direction and go around the outside that direction

Usually we go back to our seats and partake The the pastors they will hand you the wine and a piece of bread

They'll break a piece of bread for you hand it to you and you can partake right there in that spot

And then you can go back to your seat and then we will come back together. We actually have a new member recognition We'll sing the doxology and continue our service

But I want us to pray right now that God would be honored our time of worship and I want to give us just a

Moment before we open up the table for reflection. I Want you to spend some time?

Evaluating and then being reminded of the goodness of Jesus and what it is that you're doing when you come to this table

I'm gonna pray for us and then in a moment I will open up the table and tell you that you're ready to go

But in the meantime spend spend a moment with the Lord. Oh dear Heavenly Father.

May you be honored What goodness what grace what undeserved kindness?

that your creation would rebel against you and Vilely Despise you and turn from you yet, you would send your own son to pay for us and to redeem a people an

An unworthy recipient as I oh Lord, may we not lose sight of that.

May we not? Just allow that to become white noise in the background May we not just go on with our lives as if that is not the utmost reality search our hearts that we may lay all sin aside and at the foot of the cross knowing that you paid even for that and boldly come to the table and partake of these elements knowing that they are

Symbolizing a beautiful imagery that we have with you and your body and your and your very being and who you are and brought into union with the triune

God Oh Father may we be overwhelmed by your grace and all of this

Search our hearts We pray mold us as a people. May this be a sanctifying time for all of us

Christ's name those who are ready are welcome to come to the table

Slowest come on. Come on up here. I get watch your step there Noah, you might as well make your way up here to an avalanche of introducing to the church potential covenant members

Both who were baptized this morning and we're very excited

Miss Lois and Noah have both gone through all of the membership classes

How was that six weeks too much? But it's better than it's better than a four -hour drinking from a fire hose, right?

Yeah, so Six classes over six weeks y 'all both attended those, you know what it's about They see the significance of being a part of a healthy church to be a part of a true church and then also to be active participating members

As you've gone through the class you've seen We're not just one of those churches you can walk up in front and say you want to move your letter here, right?

We want to make sure that you know the significance of what it means to be in the body of Christ You know, that's that's our name 12 five church comes from Romans 12 five so we though many are one body in Christ and individually members one of another and When we are brought into union in Christ, we're brought into that perfect union.

And then when you're brought into a local ecclesia a local church that is a representation of that life lived out in Christ in perfect unity because we have all types of Passages in Scripture as we talked about in the class that are the one another passages

That it can only practically be lived out within a body of a covenant people both of them have seen the membership covenants and affirmed them and And so we the elders have both two of us different times

I've met with each one of you and Heard their profession of faith. Hence why we baptized them this morning and we would like to present

Miss Lois and Noah both for covenant membership here, so if you're a

Covenant member at 12 5, would you please stand in affirmation of these two new family members?

Amen head and be seated right now as we do every time we have these

ESV study Bibles that that we don't gift we commission you with because this is what we're about everything that we went through in that six -week class had scripture references of exactly where we got it from God's Word and we want to Be obedient to that and we know that you desire to be obedient to this word

And so we want to commission you miss Lois with Bible And Noah, we got you one too.

And and so y 'all's Y 'all's names are in there the date and 12 5 church. So you can always remember the day

I joined 12 5 church So, please everyone stand with me as I pray over miss

Lois and and Noah Almost combined y 'all's names together Let's pray

Laura. We thank you. We thank you for how you are Bringing your

Saints to the body Lord we think of we think of miss Lois and how she's made her way

Here to Arkansas and found her way to 12 5 and that you are using her and her gifts in this body

Lord, I pray that that would flourish I pray that she would be loved well and that she would love well and serve this body as we serve her

Lord I thank you for Noah's as he showed up one Sunday and that just never went away and he has been committed

To this body and loves the people here And he we have seen the fruit of the Spirit in his life and his love for the church his love for your people

God I pray that that would also flourish and that his gifts would flourish Well here as he serves and as we serve him, but we thank you for them

We pray that you bless them and bless this church as we grow together in unity in the body

And we thank you in Christ's name. Amen. Amen Miss Lois, let me help you down the stairs here

Yeah, what the lights are bright guys

Before we go to our time of fellowship and and eating which by the way I've been told we have ordered pizzas for the little kids

They're at the end of the aisle So kids don't pile your plates up with stuff that you don't really want when you really want the pizza

It's at the end of the aisle, I believe but we have plenty of food for guests that are going to We'd love for you to stay that we do this every single week