SERMON TITLE: The Purifying Fire
TEXT: Malachi 3:1-4 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 12/5-6/20
You can watch the sermon here.
You can find the sermon notes here.
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshipping with us in person at our North Main or Bowling Green campuses — or are worshipping with us online — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.
So Christmas — like everything else about 2020 — is going to look a little different. There are lots of traditions we’ve grown accustomed to that — this year — we’re having to have some unorthodox substitutions for as we navigate what will hopefully be the only Christmas during a pandemic in our lifetime.
And we all have a choice before us. We can complain about these temporary changes — especially the ones we don’t like — or we can have some fun and be joyful even in what will most likely be the strangest of Christmas seasons. And I’m hoping that you’ll join me and choose to have some fun and to be joyful this Christmas season. Because Christmas is a time — pandemic or not — that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. And our Savior’s birth is a reason for us to be filled with joy.
And this year — as we celebrate the birth of Jesus — we’re looking at some Old Testament promises about Jesus that we might not think about when we think of Christmas. But I hope we’ll all have our understanding of who Jesus is — and what his birth means for us — expanded as we look at these promises.
So let’s turn to our passage for today.
If you have your Bible please turn with me to Malachi chapter 3. We’ll be looking at verses 1-4. We’re in the Old Testament book of Malachi — chapter 3. Beginning in verse 1.
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. (Malachi 3:1-4 ESV)
One of the joys of the Christmas season is to drive around and see all of the decorations that people put up. Lights. Christmas trees. Nativity scenes. Some of you go all out and have those big blow up things on your front lawns. It’s fun to see all of the decorations we put up.
But something we should all be aware of is how decorations and lights on the outside of a home can subtly deceive us into believing that things must be good behind the scenes in those homes. But deep down we know this isn’t true.
Now we know that — but it’s easy to convince ourselves that all of the lights, and trees, and gift giving — these things that make the Christmas season special — it’s easy to allow these outward things to cause us to think that things are pretty good — even that we’re pretty good.
Now part of the irony — with this thinking — is that Jesus wouldn’t have needed to be born if things were pretty good here on earth. And he wouldn’t have needed to be born if we were pretty good ourselves. In fact, Jesus’ birth shows us that something not good has happened to us and to the world. So we must be careful to not allow the lights, and trees, and gifts, and holiday cheer to overshadow the reality that the world is in desperate need of the cleansing that only Jesus can provide. That we’re not — on our own — pure and good — but are people who need to be purified — who need to be cleansed by Jesus.
Thus the birth of Jesus points us to our need to be cleansed — to be purified. And — as we’ll see in our text for today — the Christmas story shows us that Jesus came to be a purifying fire that cleanses us of all that keeps us from being the good, holy, and pure people we think we are. And it’s only when we respond — in faith — believing that the child born that first Christmas morning — the One who came to cleanse us of our impurities — is the One who will one day return to cleanse all of his creation and make it pure — it’s only when we respond to Christ in faith — that we’re made pure, holy, and good. So we either respond to him in faith now — and be cleansed of our sins — or we will be removed from his presence for all eternity when he comes to purify all of his creation.
But let’s return to our verses in Malachi and see how this promise is fulfilled in Jesus’ birth.
Back to verse 1.
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. (Malachi 3:1a ESV)
If you’re familiar with the gospels, you probably can’t help but think of John the Baptist when you hear this verse. And the reason why is because three of the gospel writers tell us that John is this messenger.
I won’t take us to all three, but here’s what Matthew’s gospel tells us. “As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? 8 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people with expensive clothes live in palaces. 9 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 10 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’” (Matthew 11:7-10 NLT)
Obviously that’s a quote from our verse in Malachi. Now I bring up this connection between the messenger — in Malachi — and what Matthew tells us about John — so we’re all clear. Our verses in Malachi are connected to Jesus. For if John is one who fulfills the messenger role — then Jesus is the one whom John prepared the way for. And this means we can learn something about Jesus from our verses. So let’s see what our verses in Malachi tell us about Jesus.
Let’s begin in verse 1 again.
“Behold, I send my messenger (who we now know is John...), and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. (Malachi 3:1-4 ESV)
So here are a few things we learn about Jesus. First, we see that he is the Lord. Second, he will come to his temple. Third, he will be the messenger of the covenant. And — fourth — and this is where things take a bit of a turn — we have some questions that reveal something about Jesus: Who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? And why are these questions being asked? Because he will come like a refiner’s fire — he will come to purify God’s people. And what will be the result of this refining — of this purifying? They will bring offerings — in righteousness — to the Lord and these offerings will please him.
Now I want us to focus on this fourth observation — that Jesus is a purifying fire — but let’s not skip over the first three. Let’s look at them quickly.
First, is Jesus the Lord? Yes. Paul writes this about Jesus. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:6-11 NLT)
So the New Testament agrees — shows the fulfillment of this promise — Jesus is the Lord.
Second, did he go to the Temple? Yes — many times. He was taken to the Temple — just after his birth — and two people — Simeon and Anna — both recognized the baby Jesus to be the Messiah — the Savior of the world. At the age of twelve, he went to the Temple and amazed the teachers of religious law with his understanding of the things of God. As an adult, he went to the Temple on different occasions — twice — cleansing the Temple of those who’d made a mockery out of the Lord’s house. So the New Testament agrees — shows the fulfillment of this promise — Jesus did go to the Temple.
Third, was he the messenger of the covenant? Yes. And not only was he the messenger of the covenant, but he fulfilled our end of the covenant as well. A covenant is a legal agreement — think of it like a contract — between two parties. And we had failed our end of the covenant between us and God. Thus, in his great love for us, Jesus came to fulfill our end of the covenant. To do what we’ve failed to do. What did he do? Well Jesus lived the perfect life we had promised to live. He died the death we deserve for our failure to uphold our end of the covenant. And he paid for our sins — in full — as he defeated Satan, sin, death, and Hell with his resurrection. So the New Testament agrees — shows the fulfillment of this promise —Jesus was the messenger and fulfiller of the covenant.
And I think an illustration will help us to understand why all of this is important. Last week, I used a globe — the first prop I’ve used in over a year — because the last two times I’ve used a prop — a certain staff member has been a klutz. If you remember the musical illustration — from a year ago — well it was really awkward when I went to press play and nothing happened because Shaun accidentally unplugged the power cable. Or the year before that — when I had a prop up here similar to this whiteboard and — right before I walked out on stage — Shaun — who had set the prop up for me — right before I walked out on stage — said, “I think something’s wrong with the prop. I think it’s broke or something.” And sure enough — the prop fell over in the middle of my sermon. All that to say, I’m a bit hesitant to use props these days. But I’ve been told that there’s no way that Shaun could have messed this one up.
So why do we need to be purified — that’s the question we’re answering. Have you ever been at a special event — maybe a company party or an awards event — and spilled something on your shirt? Maybe it was spaghetti sauce on your white shirt or blouse. Do you know that feeling of panic as you try to wipe it off while knowing the damage has been done and that no wiping away will solve the situation?
So this whiteboard is your shirt — I’m no artist — so play along. And I’ll use this red marker for the spilled spaghetti sauce. So now we’ve got an issue. And our first instinct — even though we know it won’t work — is to try and clean up our own mess. So we grab a napkin — that’s what this eraser represents — maybe you’re an overly prepared for the worst case scenario individual and you were carrying some OxiClean or one of those amazing cleaning products — in your purse — ready for any spill emergency. So you start frantically spraying and wiping.
Now spiritually speaking — we think we can purify ourselves — cleanse ourselves of all of the stains that sin has left on and in us. So we take this eraser and start wiping away at the stains. And — right now — we’ve got a problem. Because it appears that this red marker isn’t a dry erase board marker but a permanent sharpie marker. Looks like Shaun has struck again!
When I was in the Army, some young soldiers taught me a way to remove permanent marker from a whiteboard — young soldiers are great for finding ways to get out of trouble. And their solution is a great picture of our verses, the gospel, this promise, and the Christmas story.
I can try and erase all I want, but this permanent marker won’t come off with this eraser. Similarly, we can try everything in our power to remove the stain of sin from our lives. We try behavior modification. We try self-discipline. We try all kinds of things — but on our own — we accomplish nothing — the stain is still there. Thus Jesus was born as a baby — like us — because our end of the covenant needed to be fulfilled by a human. So Jesus lived the life we were supposed to live, experienced the death we deserve, and defeated the grave when he was raised from the dead — Jesus substituted himself in our place. And when we put our faith in him — we are cleansed from all of our unrighteousness before God — the stain of our sins is permanently removed.
And similarly, to remove the stain of a permanent marker on a whiteboard, you don’t try to erase it away. You use a substitute marker — a marker that when you write over the stain of the permanent marker — well it’s like a purifying fire or a refiner’s soap — and then the eraser can make the whiteboard clean again.
Our sin is like this permanent marker, staining up our lives. And Jesus has come — as the Christmas carol Silent Night tells us — as “love’s pure light” — to cleanse us of our sin and make us pure.
Which leads us to the purifying aspect of Jesus that we find in our verses. On the day when he comes — to purify all of creation from the stain of sin — the question is asked, “Who will be able to endure it?” Which should frighten us because no one will endure that day without God’s help. For this day of the Lord will be a day of fire. A fire of cleansing for those who have put their faith and hope in Christ alone. And a fire of judgment for those who’ve rejected Christ.
You see, for those who’ve put their faith in Christ, Christmas is the initiation of Jesus’ work to satisfy the wrath of God against our sin which he did so on the cross. And Jesus’ resurrection marks the beginning of our new life — of the new creation — that God’s people have been graciously given. A life that is holy and infinitely hopeful because we see Jesus and all that he’s done clearly and respond — as we should’ve always responded — with deep soul satisfying joy in him. Thus the future day of the Lord — though purifying — isn’t terrifying for those who are loved by God and who have responded to his love through faith in Christ.
As one pastor has said, “He [Jesus] is refining us. He is teaching us to trust him. He is drawing us away from our strength to his. He knows exactly how much heat to allow in our lives. He will never scorch us, but if we jump out of one cauldron because it’s too hot, he has others waiting. The [impurities] must be removed.” (Jim Cymbala)
But a warning — said in love to those who don’t have faith in Christ. The day of the Lord should be terrifying to you. For it will be a day of wrath — of judgment — the day when you will bow your knee to Jesus and declare that he is Lord — but will do so because you’ve been defeated — not because you’ve been rescued. Thus today is the day of your salvation. Don’t wait for another day for you to believe in Jesus. Believe in him today.
You see, the Good News for all of us — for the Christian and even for the non-Christian for now — is that Jesus has come as a purifying fire. He could’ve come as a raging forest fire, but he didn’t. A refiner’s fire is used for a specific purpose — not for destruction — but to purify. And the reason why Jesus has come as a purifying fire — instead of the fire of judgement — and the reason why this is Good News for all people — is because it tells us that there’s still time to respond to his love. There’s time — right now — to respond to God’s love for you as displayed in the birth of his Son.
And may we all know that God is so committed to his promises to his people that — today — none of us are consumed by his fiery judgment but are given the opportunity to be purified. But on the day of Jesus’ return — only those who have responded to God’s faithfulness will have the assurance that the fire of his judgment will pass over them because they have been sealed by the blood of the baby who was born on that holy night — bringing the purifying light and power of fire to cleanse them of their sins.
Do you see your need for Jesus to cleanse you of your sins? Him cleansing you is nothing to be feared or ashamed of. He doesn’t reject those who come to him in faith knowing they need his purifying power. Jesus doesn’t deem people unwanted or unloveable because they’re stained by sin. He died to make you clean. He gave his life because he loves you. Thus you can come to him now and trust him to purify you in love.
My hope for all of us — including you — is that you would rest in God’s infinite love for you. And for those who have put your faith in Christ, my prayer is that you would rest in God’s promise to you that nothing can separate you from his love. This is your assurance in a world that’s trembling from uncertainty. Certainty — God loves you. Christ being born shows you God’s love and Christ’s crucifixion shows you the commitment Jesus has in making you holy. Trust him and in his purifying love for you. Receive this promise of God. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, again we’re reminded of — and in awe of — your love for us. Though we’ve made promises to you — and have failed to keep them — you’ve kept all of your promises to us. Thank you for being a promise keeping God.
Holy Spirit, may you call out to those who — right now — the day of Jesus’ return will be a day of defeat. And help them to respond to Christ, to believe in him, so that the day of his return will be the day of their rescue.
Finally, to you — Jesus — we praise you and thank you for purifying us of our sin. You’ve done for us what we could never have done for ourselves — though we tried. We tried to remove the stain of our sin and — sometimes — if we’re honest — we go back to trying to remove our sin without your help. Thank you for loving us and being patient with us and being so committed to us that you gave your life — in our place — so we could be purified and made right and holy before God. May we be amazed by your love for us. And we pray all of these things in your name. Amen.
May you go trusting in Jesus’ power to purify you — resting in his love for you. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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