Well, grab your Bibles and go back to Malachi. We're in Malachi chapter 3. And what a Incredible journey it has been for me. to study through, to meditate on, to preach through the book of Malachi. What Powerful, plenteous applications for the local church today from this book, and that's going to happen again today.
We've just been through a brief section, verses 13 through 15 of Malachi chapter 3, where. The people again. For I think the sixth time, if not the seventh. have disputed against God. Disputation seems to be their spirit everywhere.
The prophet will tell them what God says, what God is thinking, and they'll fire back disputing with the prophet. Accusing God of being out of line, accusing God of being wrong in effect, and they themselves as being right. Just recently They basically said it's just not worth it to serve Yahweh. It's just not worth it to honor him. It's not worth it to keep his statutes.
Implying that they had been doing that, which was a lie, they had not been. But it's almost like, look. We did the minimal hoop jump. Of what religion is supposed to be.
Now, God ought to be blessing us. That's basically where they are, disputing back with God that He has not been fair to them. He has not been faithful to them. And that's the great majority. In Israel.
But as Paul said in the book of Romans, not all of those who are descended from Israel are true Israel. Really, the people of God. Because you come to our text, verses 16 through 18, and you have this different group. They're in Israel. Verse 16 reads, Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another.
And the Lord gave attention and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before him for those who fear the Lord. And esteem his name. They will be mine, says the Lord of hosts. On the day I prepare my own, you could say, special treasure, my own possession.
And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. Between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him. He says, Right now, it's kind of cloudy. Right now, it's not kind of clear. You have all this big group over here, the great majority, they claim they're servants of God.
They claim they've obeyed God, they claim they did what God requires, but God's let them down. They're claiming to be righteous, but the prophet's implying here, quoting for God. That God doesn't view you as righteous, but there's a day coming when I'm going to make everything crystal clear. You'll know. When that day comes.
Who are the true righteous? Compared to the professors of righteousness who are actually the unrighteous. My challenge to you as individuals this morning, and this is not the theme of my message at all, but my challenge to you is: are you among the elect? righteous remnant of God. Are you?
Are you? One of God's Righteous. Electric. Children Because he said the day's coming.
Well, I'm going to make it very clear whether or not you just were dumped somewhere, raised your hand in a vacation Bible school, attended a Baptist church, which doesn't mean much anymore. Or whether or not you really knew. May.
Now, let's set that aside. There are powerful pictures, types, foreshadows, if you will. of New Testament truth. contained in the Old Testament. As Paul wrote in Romans 15:4.
For whatever was written in earlier times, that's in the old dispensation, the old testament. It was written for our instruction.
So that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.
So, the examples, the instructions of the Old Testament and the Old Testament saints inspire us today in the church age. To hope. And endurance, and we want to follow their example and their spirit. At least those who are True. really faithful.
You know, I thought about this for a while: how the things of the Old Testament are taught in the New. And I thought to myself about, you know, why is it that we love the. Process of anticipation. And then culmination. To anticipate something, and then all of a sudden it culminates.
A young couple gets engaged, and they're plotting forward. Maybe plotting's not the right word. Looking forward to the day of their wedding, and then the anticipation builds, and then there's the culmination, Christmas morning. Waiting and wondering and looking forward to it. And contemplating at dad's, how in the world am I going to pay for it?
Well, that's not a very positive part of it, perhaps. But for the young folks, it's such an anticipation that finally comes to full bloom. In the culmination. It's like a flower. You know, a flower you planted and it's so rewarding.
Our vegetable garden can be the same way, and little sprouts come up, and you get excited and. Then a stem comes up and Then a bud appears, and then finally the flower in full bloom. And it's very rewarding. Why are we geared like that? We like that, brothers and sisters, because we're made in the image of God, and God likes that.
You might say, well, why does God do it that way? I don't know. But if He does it that way, it's the right way to do it.
So throughout the Old Testament, We have what theologians call, well, continuing through the new course. We have what theologians call progressive revelation. Things start out in little bits and pieces and shadows and mirrors and. Unclear but certain concepts, certain truths. And then the further you go, We see more of the stem and finally the bud.
Then you get the New Testament. Christ comes, He's the fulfillment of everything. And you have the full bloom flower. And so that's what we have in our text again today. We have a type, if you will, a foreshadowing.
Of the New Testament church in our texts today. Because here you have what I'm calling the elect remnant of God in Israel. Which is a picture of the true biblically, spiritually healthy local church of the New Testament era.
Now, in a general sense, the nation of Israel is a type. of the local New Testament church. But more than that, the elect remnant that we see throughout the pages of the Old Testament is pointing to or is a type of a true Biblically, spiritually healthy. New Testament local church. My challenge to you is: are you a part of that church?
Are you a part of that fellowship? Are you a part of that congregation? Because the prophet makes it explicitly clear: you have the great host of grumblers and rebellious ones and revilers. Then you get to verse 16: boom, everything changes. But there's another group here.
And I can't help but say the phrase now, even though that's going to be in the next installment. It was one sermon, but it grew to two. And that is that phrase in verse sixteen. And in the follow the context Dr. Sealy just grabs you.
All of this stuff about the great host of arguing, disputing, rebellious, blaming God people. And then the text says, then. Those who feared God spoke to one another. That means they got together. and formed a church.
The text doesn't say that, doesn't it? Said, I said it. No, I don't mean that I'm equal to scripture, please. I'm being silly. They came together.
In fellowship. To be a contrast to the other bunch. That's what a church is. You're here this morning. Hopefully.
Because you say, help me again, Pastor. Let's all agree together again, Pastor, that we're not a part of that great big group out there, many who profess Christianity. We want to be a part of the elect remnant and help each other stay on track in our thinking, in our hearts, and in our doing. If not, we'll slip back into the nonsense of that reviling, rebellious crowd the prophet just talked about in the three earlier verses. I don't know about you, but I want to go to church that helps me stay right.
And but are you listening to me? You've got to listen to me this morning. And I've had so many senior adult ladies say, you've got to quit walking out on the edge of the stage. And now I can't preach without thinking about it. Leave me alone.
I'm getting old fast enough. Don't help me get there. Yeah. I've meditated on this text all through the UK, all through Scotland, all the way home. You know what?
One of the things the prophet is saying here, are you listening to me? Your Binding together with Belonging to and with a true church. is a very high strong evidence that you're truly God's child. The only reason.
So many great folks, good neighbors perhaps. Long for a church that fits them is because they're not about being part of the righteous remnant, they're about being themselves. Have you learned you don't go out here looking for a church that fits you, you look for a church that fits him? Say, God, let me get in there. I need the help.
I like to be a part of a strong church because I'm weak. Not because I'm something, because I'm nothing. I need the help. I gotta get to my notes. Are you going to miss lunch?
Roman number one, what I call the designation of the righteous remnant. We've Tapped all around that, you could add the word the designation of the elect. Righteous. Remnant. Again, the flow is revilers, rebellious ones, they're all blaming God.
And then everything changes in verse 16, a conjunctive word, then. Those who Feared the Lord. And in the last phrase of verse 16, we get another designated item or description, those who esteem his name. We'll talk about those, that rather, in just a moment. But those who fear the Lord is the idea of those who lovingly reverence Him and hold Him in awe.
It's not slavish fear. It's joyous. loving respect. That this word points to. Those who Know him.
and those who love him.
So, when you come to the word then in verse 16, it's a conjunctive. It connects back to the earlier verses. But it also points out a contrast.
So, in the flow of the type of people in Israel, God says there's two types. There's that great big bunch of false professors. Then, that's our word here. There's another group. A group that is The righteous.
An elect remnant. The true people of God. in Israel. When it uses the phrase in verse 16, these are those who fear God, it does not mean. that they never slipped.
It does not mean they never stumbled. Perhaps the majority got to them from time to time, and they fell in a little bit with those attitudes of disputation with God and blaming God and why me kind of nonsense. We can fall into that. Here's the key. They couldn't stay there.
They're repenters. They grabbed hold of their thinking and their heart by the nap of the neck and said, That's not right. I can't stay here. We are to be those who reverence God and love God. And they needed to be together.
And that's what the text means when it said those who fear God spoke. to one another. What are you going to do with that? What does that mean? Isn't that an interesting thing to say?
This elect godly remnant gets together and they speak to one another.
Well, I'll build on that in a moment, but they needed the fellowship of one another, that's for sure. They needed that and they clung to The sanctifying fellowship of a true people of God, a true local church, we would say. They cling to one another and they cling to God. The rebel mob out there was so large and so loud. They needed to assemble together as those who were at least trying to seek God and know God.
So that they could be encouraged in this conquest. Isn't this so powerfully and clearly taught in the New Testament? Hebrews 3.13, for example. Instead of neglecting your local church ministries and meetings, your small group. Encourage one another, he says here.
Put it on the screen, guys. Ephesians 3.13. Or do we have? There it is. Day after day As long as it's still called today.
So that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Here's what you've got to say: I do not trust me. I don't trust me. I need to get my small group and let some brothers look me in the eye and say, hey, man, how's it going? I need him to teach the text and check on me again.
I hate to sit under the pastor's preaching and let it shake me a little bit again. I don't trust me. You get yourself out of a church that leaves you comfortable all the time. I don't care if you're comfortable. I do care if you're holy.
Because if that's the pattern. then you'll be utmost happy. In your life and in your walk. No more deludedness from churches who are mildly biblical. And make church fun and happy.
It is fun at times. I am happy here. I hope you are, but that's not why I'm here. I need the help. So they're called in verse sixteen the The other group who fear his name, and then the other phrase in verse 16 who esteem his name.
That means they highly value who God truly is.
Now, listen to me, not who they would like God to be. They don't value their subjective perception or feelings about what they would like God to be like. As they learn of the true God from the sacred text, they value that over everything else they feel or they think. Are you with me, church? God doesn't want you to make him out to be something you feel like because he already is who he is.
And we're to begin, listen to me, we're to learn to love him for who he is. Brother Tom just led us in that song, and we talked about his name. And how powerful his name is, but it doesn't mean some superstitious nonsense that if you evoke the word, his name, that you have power over things. That's not at all what that means. I don't know what the songwriter meant, but that's not what it means.
His name means the composite of all that he is, all of his characteristics and attributes. In other words, Who you really are is mightier than anything else we can even imagine. And that's who we love, and that's who we want to follow, and that's the God we want to learn more of. And by the way, when you get to heaven, I've said it a million times. You will not have a Infinite mind, but you'll have a perfect mind so that every day in heaven you learn more about this wondrous God and you'll never exhaust Him.
And the more you learn in heaven, the happier you'll be, and the more pleasure you'll have. We're going to have a whole eternity of immense pleasure. Can I chase a little bit of a rabbit? What vile, blasphemous, base, unsound teaching. Is the Islamic faith And even a version of this sun-sound teaching gives in the Mormonism of our day that when you get to heaven, heaven has something to do with great sexual pleasure and activity.
If you're an Islamic martyr, you get seventy virgins for eternity. I praise God for the gift of sexual pleasure. But it's not to be compared to the pleasures of God. And we'll have that forever. How base How ungodly such a notion.
That heaven is about sexual satisfaction. It it makes me It makes me angry. That you would bring my God down to such a level. To say that's what God rewards with. Why would He reward you with that when that's the same thing dogs have?
He's going to give you the pleasures of knowing the triune, infinite, holy God.
Now the goal is you're tasting it right now a little bit. You're seeing through a mirror dimly, but you're tasting a little now. And you come in here and I scream at you for 30 minutes. Say, Pastor, you never end after 30 minutes. And hopefully, you are repented again and you taste of him a little bit more and a little bit more.
And it's worse than cocaine, you just got to have more of that. Hungering. Thirsting. For the one true God. That's what it meant.
They esteemed his name. Oh, they were together encouraging, helping, motivating. They spoke to one another. Saying, let's stay on track here. Don't let me get off track.
Because I can easily fall right in with that big group out there. Who says God's the problem?
Well Jameson Fawcett Brown says in their commentary. When the fire of religion burns low True believers. should draw the nearer together. To keep the holy flame alive. Coals separated, coals that is, of fire separate.
And then they soon go out. You know what that means? We need true local churches. We need true, healthy churches. Because that's what God's designed to keep us realigned every week and on track.
So we see this. Electric Righteous remnant. And let's remind ourselves. that God has always had a remnant. Listen to me, brothers and sisters.
It may days get really, really, really dark. Back before the discovery. Should say the establishment of our country. Back in Western Europe Christian professing Christian religion was going through very. Ungodly dark days.
But God had a remnant. A chunk of that remnant said, We're going to have to find somewhere else to worship God. We can't do it here anymore. They go across the ocean. They established some communities, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Roger Williams leaves there because he didn't believe you ought to be forced to join a certain local church to be a member of the community.
He goes to Providence, Rhode Island, which was just a wilderness, and he starts the first Baptist church in America. Here's what he said: You don't have to be a member of my church to. Be a member of this community, but you do have to discuss doctrine with me in public. Truth matters to us here. And then if God changes your heart, you'll want to be a part of my church.
Now that's the way it ought to work. He's the unsung hero of American history, I think. Nobody talks about Roger Williams, but he had it right before anybody had it right. I don't know how I got off on that. But meeting together a remnant.
God had a remnant. 1 Kings 19:18, Elijah was wondering, Is there anybody here left that loves God other than me? And God said, I've got 7,000. who have not bowed the knee to bail. When God wants to, He can just raise up an army out of the woodwork.
Romans 11.5. In the same way, there's also come to be at the present time a remnant. This is concerning the nation of Israel here.
So we're in the New Testament, and the New Testament writer says, not the nation of Israel at large, but there's a remnant within the nation. to love God. Matthew 7, 21 through 23 elaborates on this about so many will proclaim and pronounce they're Christians, but they're really not. God says, Some of you, even in the ministry, but depart from me. I never knew you.
You were not a part of the true remnant. 1 John 2, 19. They, there are some who go out from us. Because they were not really of us. Had they been of us, they would have remained with us.
But they went out from us so that it would be shown that they are not all of us. They're not all of the elect righteous remnants.
Some come through. Spurgeon used to say it this way. He said, You know, there are folks that come into my church for a while, unhumbled. They stay a while unhumbled, then they leave unhumbled. There's only two kinds of people.
Arrogant, proud, unsaved people, and humbled saved people. You if you're saved, you're humbled. You know, it's not all about you. It's not all about your perspective, of your feelings, or your viewpoint. 2 Timothy 2.19.
The Lord knows those who are His. He is remnant. In the book of Revelation, the church at Sardis, one of the individual local churches, addressed. He said, but you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments. A few.
A remnant. It's taught throughout the Bible. In Revelation chapter 13. All will worship the Antichrist, except those whose names were written in the Lamb's book of the life from the foundation of the world. The remnant.
Oh, the whole crowd professed to know Christ. The whole crowd professed to follow Christ. The whole crowd professed, we know him. He's our Lord and Savior. But when the Antichrist came, they followed the Antichrist, proving.
They were not of the elite remnant. Which one do you belong to? Are you a part of this great mass of professing Christians? Are you part of the elect remnant of God? The prophet speaking here, Prophet Malachi says it's very, very important.
They're two different groups.
Now the phrase They spoke to one another. You got the rebellious crowd. You get to verse 16. Then it says, Those who fear God, in effect, get together. Form a congregation.
i.e. a local church. And they spoke. to one another. What does that mean?
Well, in the balance of biblical truth, let me tell you what it means. First of all, it means they met together. You can't speak to one another if you don't get together. By the way, you don't get to be an independent Christian. You don't get to be a long ranger.
You don't get to get your family together and three or four or five others and do your own thing. Call it Christianity. You get in a church. And meet together. Because, you know You can have your little group that meets two, three, four other people or families, and all of you be Alabama fans.
What about us Tennessee and Auburn fans? We not elect? You know what I'm saying? You just have your own subjective thing.
So you're doing your own thing.
Well, that's not the way God works. God puts all of us together. Red and yellow, black and white, they're all precious in his sight. They have to meet together. Hebrews 10, 24 and 25, New Testament.
Affirmation of this truth, and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good works. That's what they were doing, getting together. Stay on track, not forsaking our own assembling together. Would you make a stalwart, manly commitment this morning in this church that I'm going to be faithful to God's small group this year? I don't like some of those guys, but I don't have to like them because God tells me I can just love them.
Have you learned that you don't have to like somebody to love them? You weren't very likable, but Jesus loved you and died for you. And you might get in there. Quit thinking about yourself, thinking about who you can minister to, and find out: well, these guys aren't so weird after all. I'm beginning to like these guys.
Matter of fact, I'm beginning to love these guys. And then the kind of bonding and transparency and fellowship and ministry one to another happens in those small groups, which shows the world we're different, we're not like them. People love, care for, minister, look after one another who don't have anything else in common other than the one thing that really matters, and that is they all belong to Christ. Be a man of God. Be a man of God and say, Our family is making a renewed commitment to God's work in God's church this next year.
And don't blow me down with your amens right there. You want to talk later about it? I'm not going to talk to you about it. You know it's God's will. And the great majority of you are walking this well.
But some of you could do better. And some of you need to start. It's not a big group at all, but some of you need to start. Don't forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Local church, an elect remnant group.
Matthew 28, 18 through 20. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them. You've got to organize some sort of local church setting to baptize people. People can't just be baptizing creeks and streams and people's swimming pools.
A church needs to be there.
So now these two brothers who were baptized this morning are part of the fellowship, and then we can do the rest of this verse, teaching them to observe all things. You've obligated yourself to our fellowship. Therefore, we have the responsibility to teach you now, to disciple you now, to look after you now. Local church. Local church.
I didn't make this stuff up. This is God's stuff, and I love everything about it. You know, in 1 John chapter 2. and I'm circling the field. And I ain't near halfway done.
John, first John chapter two, when John makes that concrete, clear statement. They went out from us.
So that it might be proved or shown that they were not all really of us. Because if they were really of us, they would have doubtlessly stayed with us.
Now, some people leave a church on righteous terms, but if you leave a church on righteous terms, you go meet with your pastors and say, Will you release me from the covenant commitment of service and work I made here that I might go serve God somewhere else? And if you ask us that, 99 times out of 100, we're going to say, Amen. We sure do. But be a man of God enough to not just walk out on us like somebody walks off out on a marriage without even telling their spouse. And can I break this to you?
Are you listening? Your church covenant is more important than your marriage covenant. Even though I'm not saying the marriage covenant is not important, it's highly important. But your marriage may dissolve, one of you may die, but the church will still be here. Amen.
We have people who've been through the heartbreak of divorce here. And by the way, you're not a second-class citizen. You're loved and you're welcome, but you find yourself all of a sudden without a spouse, but you still got a church. Praise God for that. And we're going to try to love you and encourage you and guide you and help you in any way we can.
I just gave a lady a couple of weeks ago who doesn't have a husband. We'd heard she'd been in bad shape. We gave her a large check and said, Pay your bills, pay your car payment, don't worry about it. That's what a church does. She didn't have a husband.
But she's got a church. Praise God for that. So, John says again, getting back to my original point, we're about to close this up for this morning. They went out from us, so they were not really of us. Had they been of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so to be shown that they are not all of us.
Here's what I'm going to say to you. A healthy local church, a true church. is a great Clarifier. Kind of like a catalyst in chemistry. It shows who the real deal is.
You put a person in a solid church. And in time, they'll either love it. or be repelled by it. It clarifies. It clarifies.
Brother Jeff, where'd all these people go? You've been here 45 years. We've been through three major splinter groups that left us. Where'd all these people go?
Well, I think a whole lot more of them than we'd like to admit. went out from us because they were not already of us. They're nice folks. I see many of them every day. I hug a lot of their necks.
I'm not. LIV problem? As a matter of fact, if most of them tried to rejoin, we'd sit down first and say, no, wait a minute, have you changed since you left? Because I haven't. Hopefully we've matured.
Amen. Hopefully we're more balanced. Amen. But my basic convictions have not changed. And we're not going to change to make you happy.
We're going to try to please Jesus. And if all of us love Jesus, then we all can be happy. And can I let you on a little secret? I hate to say this to you. Can I just be transparent, let you on a little secret?
During some of those days When it was ugly and mean and bad and Brother David and a lot of you other men mopped up the blood every week when the people left. It was just awful. Not literally. Please don't go out and say that. People say the craziest things about me.
I tried to leave. I thought I'm getting out of here, man. Probably because some of you were praying. But nobody wanted me. Nobody wanted me.
I went from being quite honestly quite highly sought after.
Some very large churches. To a guy that nobody wanted me. Nobody wanted me. And you know what? I begin to are you hearing me?
It didn't take much time after that. I started becoming, Dr. Seal started becoming happy that that bunch didn't want me. Because if I'd gone out there, they'd got split and been ugly to me too. Do y'all remember Junior Hill, the Southern Baptist evangelists?
Y'all remember Junior Hill? Junior was funny. Do y'all remember back in the days? I hate to even bring this up, but there was a certain number you could call, and somebody on the other end of the line would talk dirty to you and charge you for it. Y'all remember those days?
Okay. Junior Hill said. You don't have to pay for that. You become a Baptist preacher, and the people talk dirty to you for nothing. They'll just do it.
Yeah. I've been called a lot of things. A lot of things.
So as we talk about leaving I would have left if I had anywhere to go. Let me say that with a check. There was always something in my spirit, and I'm just being honest, that knew we were on track and this was the right place. But I mean my human emotions. In weak moments, I could have easily left.
But God had plans for us together, and I'm so glad I didn't. I'll be quite honest with you. Are you listening to me? Are you listening to your pastor? You are irreplaceable.
It would take 25, 30 years somewhere else to get a congregation even close to what you are.
