 We'll begin reading here in the book of Malachi at chapter 4 verse 1. I'll read to verse 3. We'll get into our study Malachi chapter 4 beginning at verse 1 For behold the day is coming burning like an oven and all the proud yes all who do wickedly will be stubble and The day which is coming Shall burn them up says the Lord of hosts That will leave them neither root nor branch But to you who fear my name the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings And you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves You shall trample the wicked For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on that day that I do this Says the Lord of hosts So as we've been going through the book of Malachi the Lord has been rebuking both the people and the priests Now as we began Malachi, we saw that the priests were not teaching the people properly Both their teachings as well as their lives were actually causing the people to enter in to error You know one of the things about teachers is it's not a teacher is not simply somebody who? Who gives information Sometimes we think that ministry pastoral ministry will say is simply giving information It's interesting when you look at the qualifications for an elder a bishop in first Timothy chapter 3 Paul begins in verse 1 by simply saying if you desire the office of a bishop or an overseer a Episcopos if you desire the office of a bishop you desire a good thing So he speaks concerning the desire for leadership and to be in that elder position that pastoral responsibility but he goes on to give a variety of qualifications that Pertain to that office and he speaks concerning the the the elder the bishop is to to be somebody who is is Sober-minded he's not given to to greed and various excesses He's to love his wife as if she's the only woman in the world and all of that and when you look at that you see That the elder the qualification for elder is character He says he's to be apt or able to teach and That means he's able to explain doctrine clearly and precisely. He's apt to teach able to do so But it's interesting that that's just that's the one trait or the one qualification That can have a spiritual gift attached to it but the other things that are said are all character traits and So teaching is more than simply talking and a lot of people don't seem to get it they they they They like somebody who is who is well-spoken eloquent intellectual gives facts new information Whatever they they like that because there's an entertainment value to that in their minds And so it draws them so that they listen and pay attention and and put the notes and in their bibles and all And and there's nothing wrong with that I think that that one of the worst things that a minister can do is make the word of God boring I Mean it's not boring at all. It's alive and out are to be presented with that enthusiasm and all of that but Sometimes we fail to realize that teaching is more than simply dissemination of information Teaching is not simply explaining Teaching is also Sampling and so in the time of Malachi the priests were causing the people to stumble Because they were not giving pure teachings and their lives did not meet the standards that God had established And so from chapter one all the way up to now chapter four Malachi under the anointing and inspiration direction of the spirit has been Rebuking the priests and the people you see as we've gone through Malachi We have seen that the priests were not honoring the Lord. They weren't giving him proper reverence The priests were offering unacceptable sacrifices to God They were offering the blind the lame and the sick and those are improper offerings They wouldn't use those kinds of offerings to pay off their debts to their own governor God said and yet that's what they were offering to God You see during that time none of the priests saw this is wrong and not one of them was willing to put a stop to it in Malachi one we saw it in verse 10 where the question was asked Who is there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain? Who's gonna put a stop to this? So instead of seeing worship as a blessing and the outrageous privilege They became apathetic They saw it as drudgery. They saw offerings as incidentals They said concerning their ministry its weariness and they sneered at it and they accepted offerings of what was stolen They also received the lame as well as the sick. So God gave them a warning He said that he is going to allow the curses of Deuteronomy to come upon them He said that the effect would linger and be experienced by future generations God said I'm going to humiliate you before the world for your lack of reverence and your lack of fear of Me so in their disregard of the Lord They were revealing that they didn't understand who they were they didn't know their role as priests They had ceased being his mouth to the congregation of Israel Here's something you might want to remember chapter 2 verse 7 how that it said there the lips of a priest should keep Knowledge the people should seek the law from his mouth He is the messenger of the Lord of hosts They should go to him to know the ways of God they should go to that man of God so that he might explain God's word to them He says you're to guard God's word guard God's knowledge and that should cause the people to reverence the Lord and to respect that office Well, the priests failed they failed to lead the nation properly and as a result the people began to live on holy life They began to enter into marriages marriages with with heathens with pagans They began to practice idolatry They also began taking marriage itself lightly they entered into an easy divorce mentality He spoke to them considering the fact that they were divorcing their wives and replacing their wives with with newer models if you will newer versions And God said they were dealing with them treacherously Forgetting who these wives actually were he said your wives are your companions They are your wife by covenant Marriage is the Lord's holy institution. He said which he loves but you are becoming adulterers And then God made it clear he said the Lord God of Israel says he hates divorce He said this divorce covers one's garment with violence Now some commentators saw that phrase divorce covers one's garment with violence as something very precious the garment When it says divorce covers one's garment the garment can be an expression that refers to the woman that refers to the wife It has been said wives are a man's attire as he is hers So the garment could be speaking concerning how the the wife is actually the one that that is Much closer than simply That woman but it is someone that is very precious and and the garment is also seen as an External expression of a person's interstate Zechariah said it like this the angel said in chapter 3 verse 4 the angel said to those who are standing before him take off his filthy clothes Said to Joshua see I have taken away your sin and I will put fine garments on you So a garment can be an expression An external expression of a man's internal state and so what God was saying is you have you have looked at the wives as not being precious you don't see their value and The fact that you are moving into such easy such quick divorce Getting rid of the the wife of your youth and replacing her with a different version or new model Only is revealing the wickedness of your own heart I've had how many times I wish I could tell you people say to me well I'm just tired of my wife or my husband. I'm just tired of them. I want a new version I want a new model and You forget that that person that you married was the new model That was what you wanted. That's what you got on your face for that's what you prayed about That's what you sought God all about that's what you stayed up late at night saying oh Lord You know let it be her let it be her let oh let it be her, you know, I want to marry her Oh, she's so beautiful for kids later and You know it's time to turn in the old model right the new ones have come out And what we do is we cover our garments with violence We're revealing the internal quality of our heart which is Disatisfaction with what God has given to us and when we're showing that we don't consider it to be the precious gift that God gave to us at our request Because we wanted her And he's saying you're doing injury You're doing injury to her. You're you're injuring her. You're injuring your own reputation. You're revealing your own sinfulness Remember that God's intent for marriage is godly offspring A marriage that honors God as a greater chance of bringing forth children who honor God and that gives a greater opportunity for an entire society To be God honoring So in the midst of this rebuke Malachi went on to allude to God's day of judgment that was coming This time is also referred to in Scripture as the day of the Lord He already began to introduce this thought in chapter 3 in verses 2 and 3 Where he had said who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears For he's like a refiner's fire and he and like Fuller's soap He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver He will purify the sons of Levi purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord and offering in Righteousness so he's already begun to speak concerning the day of his coming and he's picking up that now And so that's what we're going to do. We're going to consider this subject this day of the Lord Now God has just made a promise To those who feared him he had promised in chapter 3 verse 17 to show them special favor And that he that he would treat them as his special treasure So in the day that he's going to bring his judgment They're going to be treated as his children and they are his children and as his children He's going to show them tenderness It's like again when it says in Psalm 103 verse 13 as a father pities his children So the Lord pities those who fear him as a father pities his children Indeed we we have this this love for our children any father loves his baby and pity shows compassion and mercy to him My granddaughter one of my granddaughters. I've got six granddaughters Yeah, wow estrogen all over the house six baby girls and two boys and My one of my baby girls gotten a little bit of trouble a little while back She actually does every day, but this happened a little while back Few weeks ago. She came into my office while I was there. I was sitting down and She says papa and she came running into my office and right behind her came her mother and As her mom's running behind her the baby runs and jumps on my lap and just puts her arms around my neck and buries her head in my chest and and holds on to me and Here comes mama and mama's not happy because the baby shouldn't have been running away from her etc. etc. etc. and and I held on to the baby and Mama wants to get the baby No, I didn't that doesn't happen in my office and You and you have compassion you do you have compassion and I just hold I said, you know I can't calm down calm down a little bit here. You know, she'll be with you in a second. Calm down. Well, dad You don't understand. I'm sorry. I raised you. Yes, I do I do understand The father pities his children Grandfather pities his grandbabies God loves you You know you run to him God help me and He holds you that doesn't mean he won't spank you by the way Because he chasens you but he does he does have compassion at love for you And and and I need to keep my mind on that a father pities his children the Lord pities those who fear him So as we look in this, you know We're going to be seen in chapter 4 that that Malachi is going to continue a theme and the theme that he's going to continue is one that he had begun in Chapter 3 as it was related to a righteous anger that he's already been speaking about and he continues that and he's going to conclude That here in chapter 4 because there are those who fail to realize that God Has such a thing as as a righteous anger You see as Christians, we're blessed to see how God has been revealed as compassionate as loving as merciful I just mentioned out of Psalm 103 that he he pities us and and we see him that way We know him that way. He is loving. He is merciful. We are his recipe We are recipients of his his grace as well as his mercy when you look in the Old Testament book of Lamentations For example chapter 3 verses 22 and 23 We read through the Lord's mercies. We're not consumed because his Compassions fail not they are new every morning Great is your faithfulness is his compassion is renewed daily Every morning and I am grateful for that because I need his mercy fresh every day And so the Bible teaches me that God's compassion at mercy is renewed on a daily basis for me And that's why we say great is your faithfulness. So the Bible tells us that he is merciful. He's gracious. He's compassionate. He's loving Bible also teaches us that he's just and he's a righteous judge and he's the judge of the world We see that in this passage before us, but you see it in various other scriptures Psalm 7 verse 11 God is a just judge. God is angry with the wicked every day Psalm 96 verse 13 For he is coming. He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with this truth Isaiah 66 verse 16 for by fire and by his sword the Lord will judge all flesh the slain of the Lord shall be many So we have a compassionate loving God We also have a righteous judge and so We have in scripture This picture where God's desires to save everybody but not everybody desires Scott Remember John the Baptist. We just sang a song about or heard a song about him John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, but he came with a warning In Matthew 3 verse 7 when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism. He said to them. Oh It's wonderful to have you here. I know he said brood of vipers Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Who warned you to flee from the what from the wrath to come? So he came in he spoke about repentance because judgment was coming He came to prepare people to meet the Lord and those who repented would be received into fellowship with God those who did not Would receive judgment and John 3 36 he who believes in the Sun has everlasting life And he who does not believe the Sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him So Malachi is sharing concerning what is going to happen When the Lord comes into what is called the day of the Lord Now notice how he says in verse 1 that was your introduction. Let's get into the study He says in verse 1 behold the day is coming burning like an oven all the proud Yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble the day which is coming shall burn them up says the Lord of hosts That will leave them neither root nor branch Behold the day is coming though it may seem like a long time from now It really is closer than you might think and It's a day that will overtake and overwhelm the world a world that has rejected God This day of the Lord this day that is coming is a time of judgment He describes it as a time of judgment that is like a furnace Consuming the wicked like dry weeds We all in here in California, Southern California can understand that picture Because in the drought conditions that we have it only takes a small spark to ignite a fire Those dry weeds are tinder and they just go go up in flames And so it's going to be a picture here a time of judgment That's like a furnace and the wicked our portrayed as being like the dry weeds or the stubble And he says the day which is coming shall burn them up says the Lord of hosts that will leave them neither root nor branch and so God loves us But God is described in scripture in Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 24 in an interesting way You might want to note this scripture. It says there the Lord your God is a consuming fire a Jealous God now how interesting is that? He is a consuming fire a jealous God God loves his children with an exclusive jealous Love an exclusive jealous love. There's the odd Jealousy that some have that is rooted in insecurity You know the man who's constantly looking around to see who may be looking at his girlfriend or wife So that he can go and knock them out, you know, how dare you look at my wife, you know And that possessive thing that's not an not a healthy way of thinking at all and then there's the proper sense of Exclusiveness this is my wife. She belongs to me. I treasure her above all and I protect our love. I Protected because my protection of it has made her feel valuable It's helped her to know that I care and no I don't go get weird and freaky if somebody smiles at her or hugs her No, I don't I don't don't want to cut their arms off or anything like that You know in all the years and I'll just get kind of real for just a moment here with you And then I'll go back to being fake but You know all the years that Marie and I my my my girl Marie my wife Marie has been with me since she was 22 years old She's 64 now. She doesn't mind me saying that by the way you know so she was 22 and I Think I've got a good-looking woman. I do she told me to say that No, I've got a beautiful wife and My brother told me when he was Wanting me to meet her my brother told me if you're possessive don't ever date Marie Because she's the kind of woman who's got friends everywhere and on our second date We were walking by these two guys and she said oh, I know them and she walked over and started talking to these Two guys and that's Marie. She's always been that way and You know and my brother said listen David if you're jealous don't take her out. She's got a lot of friends She's a very friendly woman and I've kept that in mind all the days of our relationship And she's still that way and in all these years that we've been together Marie has only had one person who approached her and made me a little uncomfortable in the way that they hugged her You know and I conducted his funeral and it was beautiful I said good things about you No, I'm not a possessive man at all because she's a big girl she can take care of herself and It's not healthy It would not be healthy and it's never been if I were to have this odd possessive Jealousy over her which I don't have never have because I figured something I figured this out with her if she Loves me then nobody else has a chance. So what's the point? What's the point? What do I have to be worried about and if somebody else could take her for me? Then she's not mine anyway. So what am I fighting for right? You're not okay. I'll tell you another story. I'm in a story mood, but I got to get back to the study Yeah, I've told you this before forgive me for repeating the story that I told you three or four years ago but we were dating and She had just come to faith in Christ And I'm not one of these men who restricts if you choose to do something. It's your choice, etc I'm taking her out on a Saturday night and we're driving and I would drive by this This place where the girls used to go to dance and all she says oh, I was there last night. I Said really? She goes. Yeah, I was dancing. I said oh Whatever, okay. She goes. Yeah, she goes and I was dancing with some guy and he asked me for my phone number And I said no I can't give you my number because I have a boyfriend and I looked at her and This is a fact. I said just like this. I looked at I said you got a boyfriend. I Did I just like that. It was real. It was like I was driving. I look you've got a boyfriend That blew me away. I didn't know it. I thought I'm dating a girl with a boyfriend I said you got a boyfriend. She goes. Yeah, I said really? who who I Would I'm I was real. I wasn't messing. I was real. I said who who She said you I Looked at her. I said, I'm not your boyfriend She goes what I Said I'm not your boyfriend If I were your boyfriend, you wouldn't have been there last night dancing She never went again. She never went again I didn't have to tell her not to I just said this is a fact if you're mine. You're mine. I Don't share you with other people. You have to make your choice. I'm not gonna tell you but this is a fact She never went again. She never went again. Listen. I don't think jealousy is a healthy thing at all But yet at the same time there is an exclusive relationship that God claims and he says I'm a jealous God I love you with an exclusive love And I expect you to love me in the same way and so Deuteronomy 4 24 says our God is a consuming fire a Jealous God So he's a righteous God now it's interesting and develop this with you for just a moment The Lord loves his children with this love and because he does he takes unfaithfulness to him very seriously James in the New Testament book of James in chapter 4 verses 4 and 5 said Adulterers and adulteresses. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? enmity means hostility Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God Or do you think that the scripture says in vain the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously Now when he says do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? James was rebuking Christians who are trying to walk the fence by serving both God and the world You see an adulterer or an adulteress is one who stops loving their spouse and begins to love someone else And in this case instead of loving God completely he says you have have misplaced your affection Now when he's speaking concerning adultery and adulteresses adulterer and adulteresses in relation to their relationship with him That's an Old Testament reference Adultery in the Old Testament is speaking about very often is referring to the unfaithfulness of the the nation of Israel to God You see in the Old Testament Israel is referred to as the wife of Jehovah And she has become unfaithful You'll see that for example in the book of isiah in chapter 54 verse 5 Where it simply says your maker is your husband The lord of hosts is his name your redeemer is the holy one of israel He is called the god of the whole earth your maker is your husband Israel is the wife of god In the New Testament the church is the bride of christ In the Old Testament israel is the wife of god So james is saying spiritual adultery exists when believers enjoy a friendship with the world because The world not only rejected jesus messiah, but It openly put him to humiliation and death So to love the world is to reject jesus and believers live in the world But we're not to be of the world what we are called to be a salt and light We don't let the world press us into its mold And so we as believers have made a decision concerning the one whom we will love and serve That's why jesus said in matthew 6 24 No man can serve two masters either he will hate the one love the other or else He will hold to the one and despise the other and he went on to say you cannot serve god And mammon or earthly riches So that's why james in chapter 2 verse 5 said do you think the scripture says in vain the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously God is portrayed as longing for his people and he desires us to be faithful to him So god is pictured as the one Desiring for us to love him Completely which gives you the insight into what he's speaking of in exodus 34 14 Where the command is you shall worship no other god For the lord whose name is jealous is a jealous god You see christians who do not live for the lord and love him with all their hearts Are being referred to as adulterers And he yearns jealously for us that we might love and follow him So this day of the lord time of his pouring out of wrath Is a day described as burning like an oven And all the proud yes all who do wickedly Will be stubble And the day which is coming shall burn them up says the lord oppose That will leave them neither root nor branch So this coming day of the lord is when god punishes those who do evil again the day of the lord That is a prominent theme in the old testament The day of the lord for those who take notes is a period of time when god's wrath is poured out The day of the lord is the time period Between the rapture of the church And the creation of the new heavens and the new earth The new testament refers to the day of the lord as the time of the wrath of the lamb You see that in revelation chapter 6 verses 15 and 16 Where it says the kings of the earth the great men the rich men commanders mighty men Every slave every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks Fall on us hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb This day of the lord is also referred to in the new testament as the tribulation Melaka is describing this time He says notice the day is coming burning like an oven Because god's judgment is likened to fire the day is said to burn like a furnace now When you look at the book of revelation, especially chapter 6 through 19 You get to see the various judgments that are poured out on the earth So i'm not going to take you there. I'm just referring to that portion that gives you detail concerning that But when you look in the old testament You see the day of the lord is spoken of in a very severe way for example Zephaniah chapter 1 verses 14 through 16 Where it says the great day of the lord is near it is near and hastens quickly The noise of the day of the lord is bitter There are mighty men there the mighty men shall cry out That day is the day of wrath a day of trouble and distress a day of devastation and desolation A day of darkness and gloominess a day of clouds and thick darkness A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities against the high towers Isaiah 13 9 and 10 says the day of the lord comes cruel With both wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate he will destroy its centers from it For the stars of heaven in their constellations will not give their light The sun will be darkening it's going forth the moon will not cause its light to shine Jesus in luke 21 25 said there will be signs in the sun in the moon in the stars The earth distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring And peter and second peter 3 10 through 14 said the day of the lord will come as a thief in the night In which the heavens will pass away with a great noise The elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up Therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of person sought you to be In holy conduct and godliness Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of god because of which the heavens will be dissolved Being on fire the elements will melt with fervent heat Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells Therefore beloved looking forward to these things be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless You see the coming of the the lord and the the the prophetic things that are to occur prior to that Meaning the rapture of the church, which is the next Prophecy on the prophetic calendar to be fulfilled where the lord jesus christ calls us to be with him That hope within us ought to cause us or provoke us to live in a certain way I got saved a long time ago and when I got saved That was a current theme that I Was introduced to when I began going to a church in coast of mace called calvary chapel and and I heard that The lord jesus was returning and we were taught to live as if he was going to return that very day and When you believe that jesus and this is one thought in one point that I'll make and I'll move on But when you believe that the lord's going to return How then shall you live your daily life? If you believe that he is returning and listen There are many people who have filled their notebooks with with notes concerning scriptures and In events and all of that, you know knowing that they're living at the last days and all who don't actually Live in anticipation of the return of christ. They have the information, but no transformation You know if the lord jesus is really going to come how then should we be living? Well, we ought to be living as if he is going to come and that's what the question peter had He says that how then should we live if if the end is coming In what manner of living should we and and the problem I see today is unfortunately as we've gotten to that point Where people are saying my lord delays is coming And because they're thinking he's delaying is coming They begin to do like jesus said they begin to drink and beat the the servants and as if the the master isn't returning And he will come in a way that is going to be sudden to them and unexpected because they weren't anticipating his return See so anything that we see in scripture that relates to these kinds of things are intended to provoke us to live properly Because jesus could come at any moment at any moment And that's how we're supposed to live now. He says in verse one. We've only gotten to verse one All the proud And all who do wickedly will be stubble The day which is coming will burn them the wicked will receive judgment They're described as proud The word wicked means To have the disregard for justice To disregard righteousness truth honor or virtue To be wicked is to be evil in thought as well as life It speaks of depravity Even criminality and it describes those who reject god and his forgiveness So he's saying god's judgment will completely consume them Rude and branch is a way of speaking of total judgment It's speaking of all that offends all that offends will be purged from the kingdom It's like what it says in matthew 13 41 through 43 the son of men will send out his angels They'll gather out of his kingdom all things that offend Those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of the father He who has ears to hear let him hear He says in verse two But to you who fear my name the son of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings And you shall go out and grow fat like stall fed calves. So me getting fat is a good thing Those who fear the lord have a portion that's assigned to them They're not going to have what would be called the heat of a smelting furnace They're going to have the gentle warmth of the sun When he speaks concerning the son of righteousness those who fear my name the son of righteousness The son of righteousness is another title for messiah And it's simply saying that his warmth will bring healing to those who've been hurt And those who've been wounded as they serve the lord jesus christ especially In the days of trial and persecution during the tribulation They will he says grow like stall fed calves Now that's an interesting thing when a when a calf is let out of a stall Then it runs and it jumps and it enjoys being free So that's a picture of the joy that is experienced by the righteous as they walk in the freedom they have in christ Verse three you shall trample the wicked They shall be ashes under the souls of your feet on the day that I do this says the lord of hosts So god reverses the usual relationship between good and evil The ungodly are compared to ashes the result of the fire of his judgment Now we'll close by looking at verses four through six remember the law of moses my servant Which I commanded him in orab for all israel with the statutes and judgments Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord For he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children the hearts of the children to their fathers lest I come and strike the earth with a curse No prophet According to verse four remember the law of moses no prophet will be coming to them From malachi's time until the time of john the baptist Israel must then remember to be obedient to what god has already taught them in his law Remember that the law was god's basis of blessing to them if they obeyed his law the nation of israel would be blessed by him And so deuteronomy tells us in chapter four verses 39 and 40 know this day consider it in your heart That the lord himself is god in heaven above and on earth beneath there's no other You shall therefore keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today That it may go well with you and with your children after you That you may prolong your days in the land which the lord your god has given you for all time God's word is intended to do a number of things and that one of the things it does is to put you in a place Where you can be blessed by him You know sometimes people will tell me that they're having it really tough and and and sometimes they'll share with me And indeed they are They're having tough times My heart goes out to them because the heart going through hard times And and sometimes it's a spiritual attack sometimes What's happening is The enemy's after them and he's he's he's working them over and And and they're getting exhausted and so I want to bring a word of comfort to them and encouragement to them to remain steadfast, but sometimes They're reaping what they've been sowing And and the bible is very clear Um, whatever a man sows that shall he also reap He says if you sow to the flesh from the flesh you reap corruption If you sow to the spirit he's from the spirit you reap everlasting life So you're not to be deceived God is not mocked for whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap and there are things that sometimes It's simply the lord allowing the fruit of my decisions and behavior To be exposed in in the joylessness of my life God wants us to obey him sometimes people think that oh You know, that's the problem with god. He's got all these commands, you know, and you can't we just get along You know and well You know the lord's word is not burdensome to those who love him Because we have seen that his commandments are for our blessing And it's simply wise for me to listen to what he says Because in walking in his light Then god is blessing my life. I can't see anything more beautiful than that And so if you walk in his word, he said to these people, I will bless you He goes on to say in verse five I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great dreadful day of the lord Now that prophecy is yet to be fulfilled in the literal sense. We do have john the baptist Who performed ministry similar to that of elisha Like elisha. He was courageous prophetic He was empowered by the spirit. He was a preacher of righteousness and he turned people's hearts back to the lord Luke made it very clear that he preached in the spirit and power of elisha and john made it very clear That he was not the literal elisha because john said in john chapter one verse 21 The baptist said when they asked him are you elisha john the baptist said i'm not So there is a literal time when this is going to happen that elisha will come And his appearance is related to the day of the lord Now jesus indicated something similar revealing this would be literally fulfilled in matthew 17 verse 11 He said elisha is coming first and will restore all things that will take place It says his ministry in verse 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children the hearts of the children to their fathers lest i come and strike the earth with a curse and so the ministry of elisha Is calling the apostate nation of israel back to god And this promise gives israel knowledge that god is rich in mercy and continues calling them back Notice what it says he will come to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers Unbelieving children are to be called back to the god of their fathers. Here's something for you. I'll share something with you That'll take a moment It's conversation that many calvary chapel pastor friends of mine and i have had over the years It's going to take a moment to develop it, but i'll get to the point as quickly as i can Jesus movement in the 60s god pours out his spirit pastor chuck smith Is used by the lord along with others throughout the nation, but chuck was used in a mighty way And as a result of pastor chuck's ministry hippies like myself and violent people like raul and and drug abusers like Drug abusers like mike mackintosh and You know violent men like steve mays and i mean if you looked at the early calvary chapel guys you would see You would see some of the craziest people in society Or models of it. That's a fact. That's that's not i'm that's just a fact I mean steve mays is laying in a gutter. He'd been shot You know he was he was a you know mike mackintosh The way mike mackintosh met steve mays was before they were saved steve mays was selling drugs and mike came to his place to buy drugs from him And steve was laying in a bed with a wound because he'd gotten shot That's how mike mackintosh who was horizon pastor for many years over 40 years Met steve mays who was the pastor of calvary chapel south bay steve mays was living was laying in a gutter when some people were pulling out In order to drive to church and they see this kid. He was 19 laying in the gutter wounded He's his wound is infected. They bring him into the house They make him take a shower because he's stunk so bad And then they put him in the car took him to one of the houses calvary chapel used to have Some guy comes walking up to steve and says you look miserable. You need jesus bow your head. You're getting saved and that's how steve got saved And steve became a tremendous communicator of the gospel of jesus christ. I can multiply that You know we we tease about raw raw was a violent man. He got saved. He's one of the most caring living friends that I have You know I can jeff johnson was running around in hawaii crazia on acid And and now he passes his beautiful church calvary downy And you can go over and over and over again guides that that have been used by god in unbelievable ways To influence not just five to thousands and multiple thousands Guys like greg lory 17 year old cartoonist who is now doing the harvest crusades and and reaching Multiple millions of people with the gospel of jesus christ all of us Outcasts all of us freaks and rejects. That's a fact Only one of us in the movement that I know was a normal guy and that's don mcclure Don was normal the rest were crazy That's that's just true And god saves because god has a way of not only saving but cleaning up and using that's what he does and he does it well He does it well He does well That's a fact But we get amongst ourselves a lot of the guys that you know from Perhaps you know on a personal level some of you do and perhaps some of you have read about them And know the stories or listened to on the radio these guys are my friends and we get together And we get together often enough to talk about these kinds of things and one of the things we have said amongst ourselves Is out of judges where it says in chapter 2 verse 7 The people serve the lord all the days of joshua all the days of the elders who outlive joshua Who had seen all the great works of the lord which he had done for israel But it goes on in verse 10 of judges chapter 2 to say when all that generation had been gathered to their fathers Another generation arose after them who did not know the lord nor the work which he had done for israel That's why we pray that god would visit once again the youth to reach the young people because There are crazies in our churches that were like raw Or like mike macintosh or like steve maize or a greg lori or even a david rossales There are that god wants to use He wants to use them as a transforming agent But there's a whole generation that's arising That is forgetting the word of god and the power of the spirit And what's happening and we're seeing it right now Is people are attracted to things other than the gospel To the show the glitters the lights The noise When we had worship and i'm not saying oh let's go back to the old days if you think that i'm i'm misrepresenting myself I don't think that at all I'm just talking about benchmarks in my life things that helped me to form my understanding of what god is like When we were young and we did worship I think giving praise to god and clapping the scripture clap your hands all you people shout into god with the voice of triumph Yes, yes, thank you jesus for all you've done Amen, there's a joy in worship and praise of course Our worship leaders would remind us though that all praise goes to jesus And what we used to do was just this Because if I started go yeah, that was a great song the musicians were concerned that we might want to sing like them Instead of worshiping the one they were worshiping And see so we need to be aware of that because what is happening in the church today And i'm an observer of it as a participant of the church i can observe it and i've been in the church for a long time Say for a long time i can tell you this Is we're forgetting the power that god showed When he raised up all of these kids out of the gutter You know And put them on a solid rock And use the powerful transformation of their life To influence An entire generation of church What you know today as normal church did not exist before the jesus movement The fact that you can turn on the radio and turn on 24 hour a day christian radio did not exist The fact that you have worship and praise you can buy all these things did not exist None of that did That came through the revival And god wants to do it again He wants to move Amongst us And i want to see him do that i want to be part of that I want to be a participant and god once again moving through this nation And i'm encouraging you all of us from the older to the younger all of us To make sure that we stay close to the lord god wants to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children And the hearts of the children to their fathers He wants to bring revival. He wants to renew families. He wants to bring restoration And he's saying what i'll do is i will i will send to israel elijah. He will turn your hearts to god He says that's what's supposed to take place lest I come and strike the earth with a curse It's interesting how the old testament ends in a warning And the final word of the prophet is a curse Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse But when you open up your new testament and you read the first word of messiah in the sermon on the mount The first word my messiah says is blessed Because blessed is the one who follows the lord He doesn't want to bring the curse He wants to bring blessing You see the remedy of the new testament is simple Jesus died on a cross for us And he has been made a curse for us In order that we might have god's blessing In him And that's why we preach christ and him crucified Died buried resurrected and come in again