At the very end of his prophecy of doom, gloom, and despair,
Malachi gives an inspiring message of hope: “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” (4:2).
What a wonderful word hope is. It is a fitting finale to a study of Christian
core values. There is a better day coming.
“The Christian hope is not wishful thinking or utopian
fantasy. It is a divinely enabled passion for the possible. And with God,
the possibilities are incredible” (Holiness Today, 25th General Assembly
Edition, p. 15). When life is at its worst, hope is actually the fuel that
feeds our faith to keep on believing. Our hope goes beyond even death. The
great Apostle said, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we
are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
The amazing thing about a Christian hope for the future is that
it results in a power for present living. The reason for confidence in the
midst of the proverbial storm is the hope we have in our God. “‘They
will be mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make
up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man
spares his son who serves him’” (3:17).
When we choose to do the right thing, based on our hope in Christ
Jesus, He will reward us with abundant life here and now, as well as eternal
life in the world to come.
This passage begins the same way many of the previous texts
have. There is a unique dialogue between a long-suffering God and His ambivalent
people: “‘You have said harsh things against me,’ says the
Lord. ‘Yet you ask, “What have we said against you?”’”
(3:13). The need for a strong hope in God is presented by revealing a people
who are lacking in their recognition and respect for God: “You have
said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his
requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?’”
(3:14).
This is where faith and hope cannot be separated. Even when
the circumstances of life are against us and our faith becomes weak, a strong
hope in God for the future compels us to keep on going. As we keep on going
our faith begins to grow. That is why hope is at the very core of our belief
system. Hope serves as the feeder of our faith.
The text reinforces the matter of free will. We always have
a choice to make: “Then those who feared the Lord” (3:16). We
have the opportunity to choose where our hopes will be directed—to this
world, or to God? The implications of our choices result in judgment: “And
you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between
those who serve God and those who do not” (3:18).
This theme of ultimate judgment, based on our choices of that
in which we are hoping and trusting, continues in the final chapter of Malachi’s
prophecy: “‘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’” (4:1). This is the negative
result of “A foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came
down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and
it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26-27).
As is the case so many times in Scripture, the grace of God,
and in this case the positive message of hope, is introduced with a simple
conjunction: “BUT for you who revere my name” (4:2). Now the picture
“is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down,
the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did
not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).
The passage closes with a reminder to “Remember the law
of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel”
(4:4). The emphasis is to the effect that even though one has knowledge of
what is right and required, one still must demonstrate the ability to make
proper decisions. The final word comes from God: “He will turn the hearts
of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their
fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse” (4:6).
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons”)
In preaching the final message of this series, it will be important
to review the context of Malachi’s writing. Application can be made
when understanding the similarities that abound in comparison to our generation.
We are the people of God, and yet in many of our churches we have known better
days spiritually, commitment to God has been compromised, and we are in desperate
need of revival.
The sequence of the core values is fitting. After considering
love, worship, leadership, relationships, faith, and stewardship, the message
of hope enables us to walk away on higher spiritual ground than that on which
we started. Hope unleashes our faith in God for victorious holy living. As
the hymn says so well, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’
blood and righteousness.”
Perhaps one of the most important elements of a core value sermon series is the necessity of repetition. Just as Malachi repeated his call to repentance to the people of God, it will be beneficial to repeat these core values to your congregation often. This can be done in a variety of ways: an annual sermon series highlighting each core value; giving tapes or CDs of the most recent core value sermons to newcomers in a Welcome or Membership Class; posting the core values in a nice, decorative frame in your church foyer or welcome center; distributing the core values on all printed materials the church produces (bulletins, newsletters, business cards, etc.); and posting them on the church’s web site.
