The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight will come
and sit as a refiner and purifier of silver for the sons of Levi. The priests will be the ones purified, and
they will then serve the Lord and make Him known to the people. The worship will then be in spirit and truth,
righteous offerings will then be made by the people. Jesus is the one who did that and in Acts 6
we see the sentence, "And the word of God continued to
increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and
a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith." The prophecy was fulfilled. The way of returning to the Lord was simple,
the full tithe. If you want a
straightforward application sermon, Malachi is your man.
There are things in my life that I have
prayed for over a long season of time and been frustrated that the Lord has not
seen fit to grant them. Does that mean
that Jesus is a liar? Justice is not
typically the content of my prayer, blessing is the content. Here, Jesus says that justice may be delayed
but the prayer for justice is one that will indeed be answered. He takes for granted that an unrighteous
judge, even one who admits that he fears neither God nor man, will give justice
just so that the woman will not continue pestering him, and asks, a la His
other teachings on prayer, whether God the Father, Who is righteous, will not
do the same. Where is a place you can
test the Lord in this, either on your
own behalf or someone else's?
Patience in suffering is one of the hardest
things we are counseled to do, not taking matters into our own hands. As Christians we are to allow Him to do
justice and there is a simple reason for that, only He knows what justice truly
is. It is easy in this world to be
frustrated and lose our patience and step out to fix things but the truth is
that we have incomplete information on which to act. We don't know outcomes beyond probability
while He knows with certainty. Speaking against
our brothers and sisters, grumbling, is warned against and we need to hear and
heed that warning. Why does James say
"above all" don't swear, speak simply? Why is that so important? We need to be
faithful and honest in all things. His teaching
is in line with Jesus and it is the reason that Anabaptists, from their
beginnings, have refused to take oaths.
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