TrinityEvangelicalLutheranChurch November 5th and 8th, 2009

Brillion, Wisconsin 2ndSunday of End Time

Malachi 4:1-2

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.

Asaph was upset. What this writer of Psalm 73 saw in his life bugged him. To him it seemed there was no rhyme or reason to pain and prosperity. Hurt and death fell on good Christian people. Meanwhile those who ignored God, the unbelievers, prospered. It didn’t add up. The more he thought about it the more it bugged him and the more it bugged him the more he thought about it. It was a vicious thought cycle. He thought, “Look at the wicked. They’re rich. They have no troubles. Their bodies are healthy and strong. They’re cocky, proud, and arrogant. And what do they get for it? They get more wealth, more health, and more power. They think, ‘I’m the master of my own domain.’ They say, ‘Ah, how can God know about me when I get away with all this evil?’ That’s what the wicked are like. They have no concerns, no troubles, and buckets of money.”

Asaph was not the first Christian to observe this apparent miscarriage of justice, nor was he the last. Does it ever bug you when you look around Brillion and notice that Christians fare just as poorly (and sometimes a lot worse!) than unbelievers? Does it upset you when a Christian losesa loved one or can’t find a job when your crass, sleeping around friend seems to glide through life? Christians felt that way in Malachi’s day. They said, “There’s no point to serving God. Keeping the commandments and confessing our sins every week does us no good.” “Back up the horses,” God says, “you may not have seen it yet. But you will see the difference between unbelievers and believers. You’ll see justice soon.” Because,

The Last Judgment Brings Justice!

You will see justice. God is giving you a 100% money back guarantee. You will see justice. Why? “Behold! (v. 1)” Like the magician who unveils the surprising incredible result of his magic, God unveils the awe-inspiring, shocking justice that is coming. We know it’s going to be big, bold, and incredible because God just said, “Behold.” Here’s what we are to behold: “the day is coming. (v. 1)”A great day of justice is on its way. Christians have called that day a number of different things: Last Judgment, the Last Day, the Great Day, The End of the World, and there are others. We actually talk about that day every week right around the sermon. We say, “He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead.” That’s the great day of justice.

Now we get to hear from Malachi all about that day. God says, “it will burn like an oven. (v. 1)” Everybody back then had a small, portable stove or oven. It was made of clay and shaped like a beehive. It was two or three feet in diameter. You could cook just about anything in them, and let me tell you those ovens could really heat up just like a good campfire can. God says, “That’s how the Last Judgment will be. It’s going burn, torch, and scorch like what happens inside those old fashioned ovens.”

But the fires of those ovens aren’t for everybody. They are hot and tortuous for these people: “‘All the arrogant and all those doing wickedness will be chaff and the coming day will set them ablaze,’ says the Lord of Hosts. (v. 1)”We all know arrogant people. They have big, blimp sized senses of authority. They think they can do whatever they want. “It’s my life,” they think. They unconsciously believe, “I’m above God’s laws.” So they sin on purpose. Then there are those who are doing wickedness. They are the ones who enjoy, embrace, and look forward to sinning. God says about them, “They are chaff.” I’ve seen chaff on windy days around here in the fall. When the combine is working in the field, the wind is blowing, and there’s all this debris hitting your windshield. Chaff is good for nothing, whispy plant material. It’s the stuff nobody can eat or use. There’s only one good place for chaff. You burn it. All the arrogant and all the wicked… they’re good for nothings. They’re stuff that the Lord cannot have with him. There’s only one thing to do with them. You burn them. God is serious about that. Look at what he calls himself. He calls himself the Lord of Hosts, which means the Lord of Armies. God will use all his military strength to burn the wicked in his furnace.

Here’s the result of that fire. “Neither root nor branch will be left for them. (v. 1)”Branches have leaves, which give important food to a plant. Roots take in water and minerals to support the life of a tree. Whack off the branches and take out the roots and what happens to a tree? You killed it. On the other hand, if you leave a stump guess what’s going to happen in the spring? That stump is going to sprout. No hope like that for the wicked. God is ripping out their roots and breaking their branches. He is going to completely, and totally annihilate the unbelievers.

It’s all pretty terrifying so far, isn’t it? Fire, ovens, annihilation, armies, chaff, and destruction. Those are the names of the game on the day of the Last Judgment. It’s terrifying for us to hear about it because it hits all too close to home. We’ve all got consciences that scream at us, “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” That little voice of your conscience that says to you, “You know those wicked people, the ones that live their lives however they want? You know the ones pastor was just talking about? That’s you.” And to be honest we’ve got no defense against our conscience. That little voice speaks the truth. We were born wicked. We loved our sins and enjoyed rebellion against God. Even after God got a hold of our hearts by faith, wickedness didn’t leave. The thoughts we hate sometimes linger, anger flares at the worst times, and selfishness lives in us to fight another day. Our conscience is right on. It says, “Fire, ovens, annihilation, armies, chaff, and destruction. That’s what you deserve.”

But that’s not what we get. “For you, for the fearers of my name. (v. 2)” God wasn’t applying ovens, killing, and fire to us. He was informing us of what is going to happen to unbelievers, but he wasn’t saying, “This is what will happen to you.” Now he is doing that. Now he makes a big point of saying, “This next stuff is for you.” To be clear, we’re talking about believers. And how do you know you’re a believer? Simple. You fear God’s name. The word “fear” doesn’t mean that when I say, “Jesus,” you all hide under the pews because you are afraid. The word “fear” means respect or honor. Its how, in a healthy relationship, kids feel for their parents. Kids love their parents, but they don’t make fun of or play games with their parents either. God addresses, “you, you fearers of God.”

For you, “the sun, righteousness, will shine. (v. 2)” Riddle time. What’s bright, drives away the night, gives light in dark hearts, and gives away righteousness for free? You guessed it. It’sJesus. Jesus is pictured as the sun because his glory is that bright, and his light is that powerful. So what’s in store for you at the Last Judgment? Jesus. The sun, Jesus, will shine on you. But there’s one word that I haven’t mentioned yet from this verse. Righteousness. So why is that mentioned along with the sun? Because Jesus’ righteousness is like the sun. When the sun shines, it lights up dark places and drives away shadows. That’s what Jesus’ righteousness does too. It lights up our lives, and drives away our sins. God will look at us at the Last Judgment and say, “There is no darkness of sin in this person. All I see is the light of Jesus’ righteousness.” There’s another way that Jesus’ righteousness is like the sun too. We didn’t do anything to deserve the sun did we? It doesn’t get up in the morning because you’re such a good person. No, it’s a free gift from God that he won’t take away. Jesus’ righteousness is like that too. It shines on you no matter who you are or what you’ve done. It’s a free gift that shines on the world.

And, this sun, righteousness, has special healing qualities. It has, “healing in its wings. (v. 2)” We don’t think of the sun as having wings. We think of it as being a big round ball of burning gas. But the people of the Old Testament did. They thought of the rays of the sun as being extensions, or wings, of the sun just as the wings of a bird are extensions of the body of a bird. That’s why this verse says that the sun had healing in its wings or healing in its rays. And it’s true. The rays coming from Jesus do heal us. When our consciences yells, “You’re guilty. Guilty. Guilty. You’re lost. Jesus didn’t die for you.” Then the rays of Jesus’ righteousness heal our aching hearts so we can say, “I’m saved. Saved. Saved. Conscience, say what you will about me. I’m saved by Jesus’ righteousness.”

We are saved by Jesus’ righteousness! At the Last Judgment the Father will sit in his throne, gavel in hand. He’ll say, “the court is in session.” And one by one we’ll all be brought in for judgment. Each of us will be judged on the basis of what we have done. The record of the offenses and sins of each person will be read to the court and each person who has committed even one teensy, weensy little sin will burn. So now it’s your turn. The record of your offenses and sins is brought forward to be read. The Father looks down, is about to read, and immediately lifts his gaze to you. The gavel comes down. “Not guilty,” he says. You ask to look at your record. You figure there must be some error somewhere. It’s brought to you and when it gets there you understand. Dripping from your record is the perfect cleansing agent, Jesus’ blood. Your record is clean. There are no offenses counting against you. You’ve been saved.

That’s why we’re joyous, happy people when we think of the Last Judgment. Malachi says about us, “You will frisk about like calves released from a stall. (v. 2)” Interesting picture isn’t it? I’ve never been a farmer, but I know what happens when young kids get cooped up too long. I’ll bet it’s like that for calves too. When they get a moment to run, boy, they go. They frisk when they get free from the stall. That’s what we’re going to do. When God says, “Not guilty” about us, we won’t be able to help it. We’ll run around, jump up and down, frolic, and roll in the green pastures of God’s grace. We’llbe pumped up and full of joy. You will frisk about like calves released from a stall.

I’m guessing there are things about this life that bug you. Stuff that doesn’t quite add up. Christians fear God, weep over their sins, and end up in the hospital dying of cancer. Meanwhile, the wicked roll up the big bucks on Wall Street, break God’s commands, and sometimes live impossibly prosperous lives. Yet it’s all going to make sense soon. The Last Judgment will bring justice. It will be swift, powerful, and sure. You heard God’s threat to the wicked. They will burn. They will be completely annihilated. But for those who fear God’s name, the believers, Jesus will shine on them. You will be healed by his righteousness. When the last gavel falls, when you are finally judged, God’s voice will powerfully proclaim about you, “Not guilty.” Amen.