So we're in Malachi chapter 3
and verse 16. Then they that feared the Lord
spake often one to another. And the Lord hearkened and heard
it. And a book of remembrance was
written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought
upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith
the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels, and
I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the
wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that serveth him
not. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. The closing verse of this little
three-verse passage speaks of discerning between the righteous
and the wicked. And trying to do that, trying
to discern between the righteous and the wicked is not usually
an easy thing or even a useful thing to attempt, it's fraught
with difficulties trying to do that. In fact, in some respects,
it seems from our Lord's parable about the tares and the wheat
that the saviour was more concerned that true believers would be
injured by overzealous disciples trying to rid unbelievers out
of our midst than that the quality of the crop and the field, as
it were, would be diminished. The truth is that none of us
can look within another's heart. And we ought always to remember
that when we are called to make decisions about what is right
and wrong or good and bad or profitable or unprofitable. We, no doubt, will have to make
those decisions. And we often do make them, perhaps
casually, about another person's spiritual condition and standing
in Christ. But let us just be circumspect
about it as we do so. Discerning who are the Lord's
people is a task beyond natural ability. And if we're truthful,
with ourselves, we sometimes even find ourselves struggling
to examine our own heart and discern our attitude towards
the Lord. To the point, perhaps sometimes
even of questioning like John Newton, it is a point I long
to know oft it causes anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or
no? Am I his or am I not? And yet, all of this said, there
are several characteristics supplied here in these verses that do
indicate the leanings of a person's heart and their soul's interest
in the things of the Lord. And I thought that it would be
interesting and perhaps useful to us today just to touch on
what Malachi the messenger was directed by the Holy Spirit to
share with the Lord's people concerning these inclinations
and tendencies of those that know the Lord and know the blessings
of their sins forgiven. And the three things that I want
to just touch on in the first instance are these. They that
feared the Lord speak often one to another. They that feared
the Lord thought upon his name. And they that feared the Lord
served as obedient children. Now, in the scriptures, fearing
the Lord does not generally refer to being afraid of God or being
in terror of him. Though, Having said that, it
may be that those under a sense of conviction do, for a time,
fear the holiness and the judgment of the Lord under a sense of
his anger against our sin. And we would do so with good
cause. because let's assume it was the
Apostle Paul, says to the Hebrews, it is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. But fearing the Lord as
a believer implies something different. It suggests awe. It suggests reverence and admiration
and wonder about the Lord and his dealings with us. And as
we begin to grow in a knowledge of the Lord, and as we begin
to grow in an appreciation of his saving grace, as we are brought
into the experience of his mercy, so that awe and reverence and
admiration and wonder begins to grow. It takes root in our
spirit, in our heart, in our mind, and as we feed upon the
things of the Lord, so these characteristics grow and develop. And this is what it means when
we talk about the fear of the Lord. It is this enlargement
of the glory of God, this increasing apprehension of His majesty. So it's what David is talking
about when he says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. And these experiences of reverence
and wonder coupled with love and gratitude for the mercy and
grace is what creates and motivates true spiritual worship. It is as we learn to know more
about the Lord that our worship of Him deepens. And in this sense,
our fear is a mark of spiritual life and awareness. And that
kind of fear is a truly blessed thing to possess. So it's in
this sense that we understand they that feared the Lord. And
what Malachi tells us here is that they that feared the Lord
speak often one to another. So the prophet is telling us
here that the Lord's people appreciate fellowship with others of the
Lord's people. And I think that we perhaps could
all agree that that is true. There's an ease and comfort in
being in the company of those who know the gospel and can empathise
and understand the troubles and challenges of being one of the
Lord's people in this world. There's a familiarity of spirit
not to be discovered amongst those who do not trust in Jesus
Christ. Now there's a big difference
between being carnally minded and being spiritually minded,
and that is the distinction that is being made here. But the sense,
I think, is not even simply the appreciation that we have for
mutual fellowship with the Lord's people. It's not so much the
act or the physical engagement, but rather I think what the prophet
is alluding to here is the things spoken about. So that when he
says, they that feared the Lord speak often one to another, he's
really thinking about the things that we talk about when we do
meet together. Because we have this familiarity
of spirit, we have this common experience of the Lord, we are
able to share together in matters of our spiritual awareness, for
our mutual encouragement, for our comfort, for our understanding. And when we know something of
God's grace and love and mercy, We delight to share with others
who know the same. We can speak together about the
loveliness of the Lord Jesus, about the preciousness of his
blood and all that he's accomplished on our behalf on the cross. In
short, the whole gospel becomes a topic of discussion among believers
because we're at ease in the company and with the conversation
of the Lord's people. So this is the first thing that
he identifies. He says, they that fear the Lord
speak often one to another. And another thing he draws our
attention to is that they that feared the Lord thought upon
his name. So another feature of fearing
the Lord, that is possessing a living knowledge of the Lord
and enjoying that personal relationship, that growing relationship with
him, is that we think upon his name. We like to talk to one
another about the Lord and we think upon his name. Now the
name of the Lord is shorthand for the glory of the Lord and
the attributes of the character of the Lord. And it may well
be that this thinking about the Lord, this thinking upon his
name is publicly thinking of him as we worship together and
hear the gospel being preached, so that when we pray, we ask
that our minds might be brought to bear upon the Lord Jesus Christ,
that we might think on him. Or when we hear him preached,
when we see him lifted up in the gospel, our minds are directed
to him. When we share communion together,
our the call is to remember the things that the Lord has done. So it may be a public thinking
of him or it may be a private thinking of him. When we read
the scriptures in our own company, when we pray and our minds are
in tune to the lessons that he has taught us of himself, And
then our hearts are drawn out to the Lord and we have reason
and occasion to feel blessed by him. And I'm not suggesting
that every sermon blesses us or that every reading, be it
of the scripture or of some other book or material, brings encouragement
to us. But I do believe that over time,
the Lord speaks to our spirit and reveals more of himself and
his glory and his purpose in our hearts as we think on him. And that leads us to the third
thing that the prophet says here. He says, not only do the people
of God speak often one to another of the Lord, not only do we think
upon his name and all of his glory, but that we serve as obedient
children. And that Obedience is not a legal
box ticking exercise of things that we do and don't do. Rather, it's an awareness, it's
a sensitivity of the needs of others, especially our brothers
and sisters in the Lord. It's a willingness to assist,
born of a desire to do good to one another, because of the good
that the Lord has done for us. To bear witness to one another
of the things that the Lord has taught us, so that the Lord's
people understand that good works have nothing to do with reward,
but everything to do with gratitude. Good works earn us nothing extra,
because in Christ, we already have all things. What they do
is they provide us with an occasion and an opportunity to say thank
you to the Lord for all his kindness to us and an opportunity to exercise
the grace that he has implanted in the new creation. So these
three things, this talking one to another, that they speak often
one with another, they thought upon his name and they served
as obedient children. These three things characterise
the Lord's true children and their evidence in an individual's
life is indicative of the presence of grace. But Malachi hasn't
quite finished yet because he tells us three more things about
those who fear the Lord. He says that the Lord knows his
own, that the Lord remembers his own, and that the Lord is
coming for his own. We may not always know one another's
hearts, but the Lord knows all those who are his own sheep. and the Lord is carefully leading
us through the difficulties of this life. Nahum chapter 1 verse
7 says, That's a lovely verse. And in 2 Timothy 2, verse 19,
the same sentiment is expressed. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them
that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. The Saviour says of the little
flock, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known
of mine. So the Lord knows his own. And we're also told in verse
16 that the Lord remembers his own. A book of remembrance was
written before them. Now, the Lord doesn't need a
book to remind him of things, but he is speaking here after
the manner of men and alluding to the way that we retain a written
record of things. And we learn from this that the
Lord never forgets his people whom he has purchased with his
own blood. He never loses or misplaces us. He never forgets to watch over
us and to keep us safe. He doesn't neglect tenderly to
support us in all our times of trouble. And he has a personalised
provision for all our need. A provision that is tailored
for a specific time and he never misses an appointment. So let
us never think that the Lord has forgotten us or overlooked
us because the Lord remembers his own. And lastly, we're told
that the Lord is coming for his own. We are the jewels in the
estimation of our Saviour. We are precious and valuable
to Him, like diamonds and rubies and emeralds and sapphires might
be to the men and women of this world. And there is a day of
judgment coming. but it will not hurt us, because
he is coming for his own. There is a day of trouble ahead,
but we shall be spared and preserved from it. Maybe we should think
about this day as the last day, or perhaps we might think about
it as the gospel day. when providentially the Lord
sends his gospel first to our ears and then to our heart. But either way, the Lord comes
for his own and he will not lose one jewel from his crown. The
Lord knows his own, he remembers his own and he is coming for
his own. He calleth his own sheep by name,
and he leadeth them out. May the Lord bless these thoughts
to us today. Amen.