May I please God to bless us
together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let's turn to the
last chapter in the Old Testament. That's the fourth chapter in
the prophecy of Malachi and we will read verse two. The fourth
chapter of the prophecy of Malachi and reading verse two. But unto
you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with
healing in his wings and you shall go forth and grow up as
calves of the storm. Malachi is a prophecy which is
searching in many, many ways, and has some very important statements
in it. And we should be thankful the
Lord has granted us this wonderful favour. And as we read together
in that third chapter, those well-known words, at least I
hope they're well-known words, in the sixth verse, for I am
the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. And that clearly means that we
have a very gracious and merciful God, one who does not deal with
us as our sins deserve. Because if the Lord dealt with
us as our sins deserve, we would be cut off. We would not be here,
but we can thank God for his word, for his faithfulness and
the truth that it contains. And this second verse in this
fourth chapter commences with these words, but unto you. There are many buts in the word
of God, and some buts appear to be more important than others,
And here we have in this verse here, but unto you that fear
my name. Well, it's clearly directed then
to the people of God, clearly directed to those who do fear
the Lord. The previous chapter in verse
16 speaks about those that fear the Lord. This is what it says.
then they that fear the Lord spake often one to another. The Lord hearkened and heard
it. And a book of remembrance was written before him for them
that fear the Lord and that thought upon his name. So what do we
conclude from that? Surely we conclude that if we
are those who fear the Lord, those who receive this word,
this word is spoken to, there is this wonderful and blessed
qualification, and it's a qualification which of course is for the honour
and glory of God, and it's something that we should always be concerned
about, especially in the age in which we live. Then they that
fear the Lord spake often one to another. And this is clearly
written for our instruction, that it might be so, that this
should be the pattern of the Church of God. This should be
the pattern of those that fear the Lord. And it should be that
which you and I should be concerned to observe, because there is
a wonderful blessing in so doing. The Lord says, and the Lord hearkened
and heard it. This is not just mere chatter. This is not just mere commenting
on the things of time. This is speaking very clearly
about the blessings that Lord grants to us. I fear the Lord
spoke often one to another. The Lord hearkened and heard
it. and a book of remembrance was written before him for them
that fear the Lord and that thought upon his name. So there is this
double position of those who fear the name of the Lord may
also think upon his name. What a wonderful blessing for
us tonight if we are able to testify before God that by his
grace we do desire and we do think upon his name. We don't
get up in the morning and just think what we're going to do.
We don't pass through the day without any thought of God. We
don't go to bed at night without praying unto him. No, there is
this continual favour, and this continual direction, and this
continual blessing, so that it shows the reality of our religion. It shows that we are amongst
those that fear the Lord, and how important it is that all
of us have the evidence that we do fear the Lord. Then we
read in the Word of God, on several occasions, the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. And this fear of the Lord, you
see, is something which is really special, and it can be explained
like this. It's really a filial fear, that's
a fear to our God, to our Father, and a holy fear, a holy fear
of God. And also, it can be a fearless
one, because if we are the children of God, then we have a heavenly
Father. We have a heavenly Father who
is looking upon us, a heavenly Father who is watching over us. Heavenly Father who is directing
us, Heavenly Father who is always there as a father is to a natural
child, and what a blessing it is. And yet there is this reverential
affection for God. It's a very wonderful thing to
think that you and I are possessed of a Heavenly Father, one who
rules and reigns in heaven and God gives us this affection for
him as by his wonderful grace we know something of his affection
for us and that's a very humbling thing isn't it to think that
we as sinners of the earth not worth any notice receive this
affection from Almighty God and in return we have a reverential
affection for him and are true and sincere worshippers of him. Now this is the evidence really
of the fear of the Lord remembering those that fear the Lord speak
often one to another. So as we come to a statement
like this in the second verse, but unto you that fear my name,
may we indeed be able to find that we are amongst those who
do fear the Lord in this way, and that we desire therefore
to do that which is pleasing to our God. desire to follow
his way and to turn from that which is of the flesh and that
which is just for time and be found serving the Lord but unto
you that fear my name. Now if you and I therefore are
blessed with this glorious and wonderful godly fear there is
a wonderful blessing and this is what we're told. but unto
you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with
healing in his wings. Now, who is this son of righteousness? Without any doubt, it's none
less than the Lord Jesus Christ. and to think of this great truth,
of this Lord Jesus Christ. Will, shall the Son of Righteousness
arise with healing in our wings? Naturally, we've been able to
observe, haven't we, the natural sun for quite a good number of
days during the last couple of months. Of course, it's very
pleasing, isn't it? To see the natural sun. It's encouraging to us. We feel
better, don't we? If we see the sun shining and
we see the blue skies, rather than if it were a cloudy day
and raining or a similar situation. We're very pleased to be able
to see the natural sun. Well, that's good and that relates
of course to our natural life. But it is truly a far more blessing
and wonderful situation if we know something of this Son of
Righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ, arising and looking upon us and being
mindful of us and there is that response from our heart unto
our God. Naturally, the sun warms, doesn't
it? It's pleasant to feel the rise
of the natural sun, but how much more blessed it is to feel the
warmth of the love of God, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ
toward us. and to realise that he loved
us so much that he gave his life in order that we might be delivered
from all our sins. Now, what a mercy then, today,
if we can come and be found amongst those who fear the name of the
Lord, may they fear my name, Shall the son of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings? Well, the church and God need
healing, don't we? We've all sinned against God.
We've all got that wound. We've all got death written upon
us because of our sin. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. The wages of sin is death. This is the condemnation of which
is upon the whole Church of God, indeed the whole of mankind. And yet what a mercy for us today
if we have the evidence of this Son of Righteousness arising
with healing in his wings. What does it do? Well when the
natural sun rises rises from a dark world, it sheds light
into a dark world, and therefore the darkness disappears and the
brightness and the joy of the sunshine occurs. So in a spiritual
way, that is also so very true, because there we are born in
sin, shaped in iniquity. We're born into the darkness
of that condition, without God, without hope. And yet what a
wonderful, wonderful blessing, when the Saviour, the Son of
Righteousness arises, on our behalf. He looks upon us where
we are. He knows the condition. He knows
the situation that we are in. And yet, his love and mercy is
great that he sends his glorious light into our heart. Naturally, what a change from
darkness to light. Spiritually, what a change from
darkness to light, from spiritual darkness to spiritual light. And it's a light, blessed be
God, which will never go out. We pass on, we naturally, from
light to darkness and light to darkness, but when the Holy Spirit
comes and shines into our heart, When the Son of Righteousness
arises with healing in his wings, the Blessed Saviour brings a
light into our heart, which will never go out. And what a mercy
it is. Therefore, if we are blessed
with this wonderful light, you know, in John's Gospel, the third
which is a well-known chapter, we read in 19th verse, and this
is the condemnation, that light has come into the world. Of course,
the Lord Jesus Christ was the light of the world. And this
is the condemnation, that light has come into the world. And
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. Well, it would be a sad thing
for us if we love darkness rather than light. And it would be a
blessing thing for us if the light of the glorious gospel
had shone into our heart. And that light is the light of
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son of Righteousness,
who rises on our behalf and shines into our heart with healing in
his wings. He brings healing to us and that
healing is brought to us as the glorious light of the gospel
shines into our heart and directs us to the Lord Jesus Christ as
our all sufficient saviour. And what do we see in him? We
see in him all that was needed to pay the price, to remove all
our sins, every sin, so that we are washed in the blood of
the Lamb, the Son of Righteousness, healing in his wings. My friends,
what a blessing it is for us tonight to know the power, which
it is, the power of God on our behalf, as we receive this wonderful
light of the gospel, which directs us to the Lord Jesus Christ,
directs us to Calvary. He must always, always bring
us there, to Calvary, to see whether the Lord Jesus Christ
indeed suffered so that you and I might be set free. And if the
Son therefore shall set you free, he shall be free indeed. And as the apostle says, there
is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Yes, what a mercy then to have
these great truths recorded in the word of God for our encouragement. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
spoke about himself being the light to the world. And again,
John's Gospel, the eighth chapter, the 12th verse. Then spake Jesus
again unto them. The Lord speaks many times in
his word. Many times we seem to pass over
it. But here we have a great and
glorious statement. Then spake Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. That's a glorious statement,
isn't it? I know that you and I might have
that grace to be a true follower of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, because he is the light. He is the light. We won't make
mistakes if we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We will make mistakes
if we follow our own way, but here we have the words of the
Saviour, and what glorious words they are. He that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness. May these statements be an encouragement
to us to realise that yes, we do desire to follow the light,
the true light, because the Lord Jesus Christ is the light. He
is the son of righteousness. He does set before us all that
which is rise and light. And there's no darkness in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is light. And may we desire
then to follow this light, this glorious light, because we know
the Lord Jesus Christ now has ascended up into glory. There he sits on the right hand
of the Father on the throne, there to intercede for us this
wonderful Son of Righteousness, who arises with healing in his
wings. Yes, he heals us from all our
sin. He cures us from that terrible
malady with which we were born. in which we carried with us until
the time when the Lord Jesus Christ revealed himself unto
us as our sin and the sin atoning Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, do we rejoice tonight in
this great truth? I hope we do. They that fear
the Lord, that fear his name, shall the son of righteousness
arise with healing in His wings. Well, you and I are the only
ones who know whether this is true in our life, whether the
Son of Righteousness has arisen. And we've seen in Him a glory
and a beauty which far exceeds anything that this poor world
can bring to us. The suffering Saviour, this son
of righteousness arising with healing in his wings. Sometimes
we can think of that wonderful occasion of Stephen when he had
given that wonderful testimony of the grace of God and the favor
of God. And then there was all that enmity
against him. And they rose up to stone him.
And he said he had his eyes to heaven and he saw Jesus standing
in the right hand of God to receive him. The Lord had risen to receive his servant
Stephen. My friends, what a wonderful
thing it is The Lord Jesus Christ arises to receive us unto himself
on that great day when we should have finished with time and enter
into eternity. Arise with healing in his wings. Love, isn't it? Love of the Saviour. So I'm worthy
sinners to arise and to receive them unto himself and to heal
them. Yes, all their illness, all their
sickness, take away all their sins. There is this great and
glorious healing in his wings. And of course that came about.
Let us never forget the cost. The Savior died to atone for
our sins. a Calvary so many years ago.
And he endured all the fathers saw fit to lay upon him, you
and I might be set free. If the sun shall make you free,
you shall be free indeed. And then he says, and he should
go forth and grow up as calves of the storm. There won't be
a stagnation in the things of God. There will be a spiritual
growth, a healthy growth. This is what we have here, ye
shall go forth and grow up as calves in the storm. Spiritual
growth is a wonderful favour of God. Spiritual growth is something
you and I should be concerned about to observe in our little
lives. That we might indeed grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the gift, this is the
favour of God. But to those who fear the name
of God, those who know this son of righteousness, will not be
satisfied with a stationary position. No, they would desire to go forth
and grow up as the calves of the storm. They would desire
to bring forth that evidence of the Lord's work in their hearts
for the honour and glory of God. As I often say, and how true
it is, our lives are for the honor and glory of God. They're not for ourselves. No,
they are for the honor and glory of God. The calves in the stall
really means that they grow up and are fat and flourishing.
Well, what a wonderful thing it is if we are fat and flourishing
in the things of God, that we are spiritually minded, Our hearts
are set upon spiritual blessings. We have that great desire to
live closer to the Saviour and to know more of Him, more of
His grace, more of His love, more of His mercy to unworthy
sinners. Well, says the Lord in this verse,
but unto you, that fear my name and of course the but carries
on from the previous verse which says for behold the day cometh
that shall burn as an oven and all the proud and all that do
wickedly shall be stubble the day that cometh shall burn them
up says the lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root
nor grant. No, I'm sure we don't want to
be numbered among such a people. We don't want to be found proud. We don't want to be found amongst
those who do wickedly and shall just be a stubble and shall be
burnt up. May we indeed truly be concerned
that we are amongst those who desire the honour and glory of
God. previous chapter, the third chapter
that we read, there was this question asked. In the eighth
verse, would a man rob God? Would a man rob God? Yet ye rob
me. But you say where in have we
robbed thee in tithes and offerings? Well, it's the offering of praise
unto our God. How many times Perhaps we failed
in our life to acknowledge his love and mercy and goodness toward
us. And what have we done? We robbed
God of the glory due unto his great and holy name. And then further on in this same
third chapter, He says, your words have been stout against
me, saith the Lord. Yet you say, why don't we spoken
so much against thee? Well, if we are honest, you see
often we've been in that position and we robbed God and we've said
in our heart, we will not have this man to reign over us. We're not going to follow the
despised and crucified man. We're going to do that, which
is pleasing. to us. Well it's a good thing
when the Holy Spirit convinces us of our situation that we're
walking contrary to God and therefore we come then to those who fear
God. Oh it's a great blessing and
all of us need to be found there amongst those who truly fear
the Lord and are blessed with the evidence of his son of righteousness
shining into our hearts, arising with healing in his wings. What
does it do? It shows us something of a preciousness
and the value of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was so willing to
die on our behalf. those sinners unworthy of any
favor. And yet the Lord Jesus Christ
loves with everlasting love and with loving kindness, he's drawn
us. Well, may we know the drawing
power of God, may we know the fear of the Lord, and may we
indeed know this great and glorious son of righteousness, the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the wonderful effect of knowing him been granting
us this healing in his wings that brings us you see to this
position before a holy righteous God of repentance we repent of
all our sins and turn to him seeking for his mercy to be upon
us and to rejoice in his great work of salvation well may the
lord be very gracious to us and bless us indeed and remember
these words but unto you that fear my name Shall the Son of
Righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and ye shall go
forth and grow up as calves in the storm of men.