Malachi chapter 3 Malachi chapter
3 The Word of God makes it abundantly
clear and I endeavor always to make it abundantly clear that
in ourselves we are nothing and we can do nothing. We have nothing
to commend ourselves to God, nothing to offer to God, nothing
God needs. We are a mass of corruption and
sin and death. That's all. That's all. I look
you in the face and I want you to understand that I know what
you are, just sin. Just sin. Because I know what
I am and I know what this book teaches. God Almighty saves sinners. Nobody else. People who know
themselves guilty before God obtain his mercy. No one else
ever will. No one else ever will. God uses
sinners saved by his grace for the furtherance of the gospel.
He put this treasure of his grace in earthen vessels. He gave us
the treasure of the gospel, put it in our hands, trusted it to
us. In broken clay pots. empty, worthless pieces of dirt. And he did that so that when
the gospel is made effectual to others, the excellency of
the power may be of God and not of us. He takes that which is
nothing and uses nothings and nobodies, the very offscouring
of the earth, to proclaim the gospel of his grace to other
sinners. And he does that that no flesh should glory in his
presence. You understand the teaching of
scripture. There's nothing about you, nothing
about me that is not evil. Nothing, not a thought, not an
imagination, not a deed, nothing. But God Almighty declares us to be something else. And Merle, what God declares
is the truth. God declares us to be altogether
different than we know ourselves to be. He declares us to be what
we know we could never be, except that before the world began,
Christ stood as our surety, the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, and we are accepted in the beloved. Redeemed and
justified, made perfect and glorified in the person of the Lord Jesus. And when God gets done with us,
he will present us spotless. before the presence of his glory
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing as chaste virgins. In Christ Jesus, our Redeemer. And God declares, in that day
we shall be his jewel. The jewels of the monarch of
the universe. The crown jewels of the king
of glory. His jewels. Malachi chapter 3
verse 17. My subject tonight is Jehovah's
jewels. The Lord God speaks by his prophet
and says. They shall be mine. distinctly,
manifestly, peculiarly mine, saith the Lord of hosts, the
Jehovah, the triune Jehovah of all the hosts of heaven. In that
day, when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man
spareth his own son, as a man spareth his own son
that serveth him. They shall be mine, the Lord
Jehovah says, and that day when I make up my jewels and I will
spare them, I will spare them as a man spares his own son. But more than that, as a man
spares his own son that perpetually serves him. These words were
spoken by God through his prophet Barakai in an age very much like
our own. Spoken to a graceless generation
of religious hypocrites. A day when the worship of Jehovah
was peculiarly and manifestly distasteful to men. Distasteful,
peculiarly and manifestly distasteful to men who claimed to be His. To men and women who claimed
to be worshiping Him. Those who claimed to worship
and serve the Lord God went through religious exercises, ceremonies,
rituals, and activities, but all the while they scoffed at
God's altar and God's sacrifice. Let that sink in. We live in
such an age. Men and women everywhere in Baptist
churches tonight, where Baptist churches still meet on Sunday
night, meet together and scoff God's altar and God's sacrifice
and swap that for entertainment and movies and theatricals and
debates and all the nonsense that goes on in the name of religion.
They said what weariness it is to go listen to a man preach
about Christ crucified. I heard about that a long time
ago. That's been settled long ago.
What profit is it that we have kept his ordinance? It hadn't
done us any good. They scornfully ask, what profit
is it that we've walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? What
profit has it been that we have repented and we've acknowledged
our sins? Let's let's now have a party
and play church and have a good time. What profit is it? Yet,
even in those dark, dark days, As in ours, there were bright
stars shining out of darkness. Though the great majority of
those who claim to worship God only mocked him and blasphemed
him in their religious ceremonies and exercises, there were small
assemblies of devoted worshipers who gathered in God's house.
Here and there was a man, a woman, two or three perhaps, worshiping
God here and there. A few people who called upon
the triune God and gazed upon him with delight. And upon those
two or three, those small assemblies, the Lord God gazed with delight. They're described here as a people
who feared the Lord, who spoke often one to another, They spoke
to one another often of his great goodness, his peerless majesty,
his wondrous grace. They were a people standing on
the tiptoe of faith. Here they are at the close of
the Old Testament age, standing on the tiptoe of faith, expecting
the Messiah to come, to accomplish redemption, to fulfill the prophets
and to fulfill their long expected hope. They were waiting for the
consolation of Israel. And these people who met together
and spake often one to another of their God, the Lord God hearkened
and heard that elect remnant. He so approved of them, so approved
of that which he heard them speak. He so approved of their worship
of him. that he took notes and declared
he would publish it. He said a book of remembrance
was written before him for them. A book of remembrance is written
before God for them that feared the Lord and thought on his name. The triune Jehovah cherished
these hidden ones, faithful among the faithless found, a meek and
holy few they were, kept in all their heavenly armor bright,
and bravely scorned midst error's night. The Lord Jehovah so highly
cherished these people, these few, this elect remnant, that
God calls them His jewels. jewels. Here I'm looking at many women
whom I know to be nothing but sin in themselves. And God has
sent me here to speak to you and tell you that he claims you
as his jewels. Jewels. We use that term sparingly even
today. Even today when we speak of things
that are dear, only those things that are very dear, we say, oh,
now that's a jewel. That's a jewel. He declared that
in the great day when he gathers together his peculiar people,
his special treasure, his distinct emblems of his great royalty
as the monarch of the universe. He will look upon these hidden
ones as being more priceless than emeralds, rubies, pearls,
or diamonds. They shall be mine, he said. And that day when I make up my
jewels, when I gather my choiceless jewels into my royal treasure
house to be my glory and my crown forever. What a declaration of
grace. They shall be mine, saith the
Lord of Hosts. In that day. In that day. Now, that day refers to a specific
day. But certainly that day is not
described in the passage with any distinction. So the specific
day he's talking about is the day that he makes up his jewels. It refers clearly then to the
day of our calling. The day when he makes us his
trophies of grace. It refers certainly to this gospel
day. It refers to the day when we're
taken into glory. Certainly, it refers to the last
day when the Lord God sends his son in the brightness of his
glory to make up his jewels as the king of the universe. In
that day, when I make up my jewels, I will spare them as a man spareth
his own son that serveth him. Now, let's look at the comparison. And then we'll try to look a
little bit at the making up of these jewels. And we will look
for just a minute at the great privilege that is ours being
made his jewels. And then the sparing of these
jewels. First, consider the comparison. The Lord God compares his elect
to jewels. Not just any jewels. His own
peculiar jewels. The word carries with it the
idea of distinctness. Not just a bag full of diamonds. His own peculiar distinct jewels. These jewels are unlike any other. These jewels are the jewels of
the triune Jehovah. Now throughout the ages, men
place great value on precious stones. Unbelievable prices have
been paid for rubies and emeralds and diamonds. It appears that
nothing is valued by men in whose hearts God has set the world
like rare jewels. Those things seem to be priced
in the estimate of men who know nothing of eternal things above
everything. And yet our God compares his
chosen to these jewels. He compares his own sometimes
to gold, the richest of minerals, and sometimes to diamonds, the
most precious of jewels. He compares us to gold and to
diamonds so that we may know and the world may know how highly
he values us. He said you have been loved to
me therefore you're honorable in my sight. Honorable in his
sight before we knew anything about being in his sight. Honorable
and precious to him before we had any idea that we belonged
to him. Honorable and precious because
he accepted us from eternity as one with his son. The very
walls of Zion The walls of God's church are built upon the foundation
of Jesus Christ crucified, built upon that foundation stone. And
the walls, we are told, are made up of gold and silver and precious
stones. The gates of the city of the
New Jerusalem are gates covered with most precious gems, though
God's people are always always have been, are now and always
shall be as long as time shall stand, esteemed by men as something
less than the very offscouring of humanity. Don't ever expect
otherwise. Just don't expect otherwise. That silly old man in Newport
News or wherever it is, Robinson has his place. He made the news
again. Talk about the Haitians making
a pact with the devil. And the media jumps all over
that. I said somebody this morning,
I think Brother Bob, gave him an excuse to ridicule everybody
who has a serious thought about God. But the reality is they
don't need a reason. They don't need a reason. They
don't need a reason. God's people, not religion, not
the religious world. Everybody loves religion. Just
turn on the television. Everybody's got some kind of
religious notion. You can't even listen to the news without hearing
some brilliant scholar who doesn't have a clue about the things
of God giving you religious instruction. Everybody's got some religion
and the world loves the religion. They're drunk with the wine of
Babylon's fornication. But God's people, the worshippers
of the living God, Many women who know there is but one way
of life, and that way is Christ Jesus the Lord, are counted as
less than the offscouring of the earth. But God Almighty,
the great jeweler of heaven, the triune Jehovah, esteems us
precious beyond price. I can't imagine that, can you?
I can't imagine that. God the Father so highly values
His elect that He spared not His own Son but delivered Him
up for us all. Spared Him no anguish, no humiliation,
no horror, no suffering. Spared Him no vengeance, no fury,
but poured out on Him all His wrath to the full satisfaction
of justice. because of his love for you.
God the Spirit so cherishes and highly esteems these jewels of
Jehovah that he makes it his work and his glory as the covenant
spirit of grace to call and convert and comfort and keep these jewels
as only he can. And God the Son So highly values
these centers. He calls his jewels that he gave
himself for us our Savior's life Was as dear to him as your life
is to you It was as dear to him as my life
is to me Yet he gave his life for his chosen. You know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty
might be made rich. He laid down his life for the
sheep. He died in our room instead that
we might live by him. He counted down the price of
his jewels. How much is required for their ransom. And he counted
down the price in the drops of his own blood, sweating, as it
were, great drops of blood falling to the ground in Gethsemane as
his heart broke in anticipation of being made sin for us. And
at last, with a broken heart, he dies at Calvary, pouring out
his last blood for us. Yes, the triune God cherishes
above all things these jewels. These jewels represent all his
glory, all his dominion, all his power, all his wealth as
the king of the universe. His royalty, his regalia is wrapped
up in his jewels. So highly does he value these
jewels that all of providence is but a wheel upon which he
polishes and perfects his jewels. You remember the vision that
Ezekiel had of wheels? Wheels inside wheels. Wheels
moving in one direction, wheels connected with the angels sent
forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of eternal salvation.
Those wheels are but emblems of God's providence, the great
machinery of providence. Everything in God's providence
is designed for the perfecting of these jewels. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose. The Lord God values his people
highly. All of them. Not just the rich,
not just the mighty, not just the gracious, not just the ones
who are known and well known, but the very least among his
people, the most unworthy, the most insignificant of those who
worship him. He cherishes them. As his jewels. Notice how he describes them.
In verse 16. They are a people. That feared
the Lord. And spake often. To one another. They feared the Lord. And they
and in the last part of the verse. Thought upon his name. Sometimes I'm hard-pressed to
convince myself that I believe God. Sometimes I'm hard-pressed to
convince myself that I believe God. That faith so often is so
inoperative, so lifeless. limp so long, so helplessly,
that I'm hard-pressed to convince myself that I believe God. But
these two descriptions of faith help me tremendously. There's never a time when I don't
fear Him. Reverence Him. Never. That I can honestly say I reverence
the God of glory And I think on his name I I do think on his
name even in the greatest spiritual emptiness Coldness apathy and
indifference. I can't think of two more insignificant
expressions of faith than to fear God and think on his name. Do you fear God? Do you think
on his name? The Lord God says, they shall
be mine in that day when I make up my jewels. Oh, he cherishes
you who are his, who fear him, who think on his name as his
jewels, jewels. fake jewels, the gaudy imitations
produced by religious works. Those things made by men are
soon enough made manifest. They're soon tarnished and soon
damaged. The greenness of covetousness
discolors them. The rust of time erodes them.
The heat of trial dissolves them. The weight of opposition crushes
them. But the believer, the true jinn,
the choice of God endures. The fires of time. and the dissolving of the day
of this earth, that day arise, still they shine forth in brilliance
and in beauty as Jehovah's jewels. The jewel is prized for its luster. Colors of a jewel. Now, I can't
say much about jewels, don't know much about them. Never bought
but one and it wasn't real fancy. Never bought but one. I was,
how old was I? 17 years old. I bought that ring
that lady had been wearing for 43 years. And I remember how
the jeweler showed it to me. I remember well. Man, it cost
me $110. I remember it well. He got some
lights, bright, bright lights on black velvet. and held that
thing up and showed me the facets of that diamond and described
it to me. And so be on it. So be on it. The brighter the
light, the more the purity of the jewel shines. Now, hear me,
children of God. The brighter the light of the
sun of righteousness shines upon you, Hold on now, I'm gonna tell you
something you have never thought of. The more the purity of the
diamond shines, because it shines forth but Christ in you. When Christ, the Son of Righteousness,
rises upon your soul, the light shining in you shows Christ crucified
in you, Christ living in you. Jewels are treasured for their
luster and their beauty. I rather doubt that any human
eye has ever seen something made by a man quite so beautiful as
the breastplate God commanded Moses to make for Aaron, the
high priest of Israel, to wear. Do you remember how that breastplate
was made? It was studded with rows, 12
rows of precious stones, 12 rows of jewels, each one having its
own distinct quality, having its own distinct appearance.
But each one mounted together with all the others to make this
one people called the people of God, his treasure, his jewels. And as Aaron wore that robe in
before God, doing business before God, representing all God's elect,
so Aaron represents the Lord Jesus. in whom alone we have
our being, by whom alone we have acceptance with God, who is our
holiness, our righteousness, our redemption, our wisdom, our
sanctification, all our salvation, all our acceptance with God.
There's a beauty, a divine superhuman beauty about God's elect to Him. To Him. to him. It's called, as we meet together
here tonight, Worshipping God in the Beauty of Holiness. In the Beauty of Holiness. Now in our hymn book, there's
a hymn called Take Time to Be Holy, and folks like to sing
it and pretend that they are. The fact is, you can take all
the time you want, you're not going to be holy. Not by anything
you do. But God says you are. Because Christ in you is that
holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. And we come
together here, Larry. God sees you and me here together.
Larry, Chris, and Don Fortner. We'll take just us two. and looks upon us as a gathering
of holiness. His saints, his holy ones gathered
together to worship him and God smiles with delight. Jewels are
precious because jewels are rare. Jewels are the special production
of God. Men have spent their lives trying
to imitate them. They make false diamonds, you
know, false jewelry, false pearls. But they're all false. They're
all false. They won't last long. No one, no one can make a diamond
or a ruby or an emerald except God the Creator, no one. The diamond, these precious stones,
they endure time. Nothing much injures them. The roughness experienced in
making them only magnifies their beauty. Diamond cuts glass, but nothing
cuts it. Little penetrates it. Little
can tarnish these jewels. Little harms them. So it is with
God's elect. Made by God, they endure. The moth of corruption doesn't
corrupt these jewels. The rust of time doesn't dissolve
these jewels. The heat of the day doesn't melt
these jewels. They only grow more brilliant. There are lots of different kinds
of jewels. I'm told that every spectrum,
every color of the spectrum is represented amongst the jewels
of the earth. from the purest white of the
diamond to the ruby red of the ruby, to the bright green of
the emerald, to the blue of the sapphire. And so it is with God's
people. They're not all alike. They never
will be, not on this earth. And we shouldn't attempt to make
them all alike. We have great diversity among us, just in this
congregation. And it's foolish for one to try
to be like the other. We're one in unity, but not in
uniformity. The jewels are themselves different
because God made them different. Each one showing a different
facet of beauty. And so it is with God's elect
in this world. The jewels, God's people, like
jewels are found all over the world. everywhere. And, uh, wherever
they're found, they are God's work. Paul said in Ephesians
two verse 10, speaking of us being saved by God's grace. We
are his workmanship. You remember what the word means?
We are his masterpieces, his masterpieces. created in Christ Jesus. A great
artist has a masterpiece. One masterpiece. He may paint
many paintings or he may make many sculptures, but he has one
masterpiece. One thing that stands out above
all the others. You and I who are gods are his
masterpieces created in Christ Jesus. New creatures in Christ
Jesus. Jewels then must be gathered. That's the second thing. The
Lord Jesus, our God and Savior has some who are his jewels,
his peculiar treasure. Loved by him with an everlasting
love. They've been his from eternity.
And there is a time when he will make them up. The number is complete,
complete from eternity. You remember John 11, 52, Kaeva
spoke of the death of our Lord Jesus and called it a gathering
together of God's people. The Lord Jesus, by his sacrifice,
gathered all his people together and ransomed them at once. As
they're called and converted by his grace, the jewels are
gathered as his regenerated, sanctified ones. And then at death, the Lord comes to gather
his jewels. Our Lord purchased His church,
he calls it, he describes it this way. He describes himself
as a merchantman who's seeking goodly pearls and he found one
pearl of great price. And he went and sold all that
he had to get that one pearl. Sacrificed everything for you. All his being, all his dignity. All his majesty, all his perfection,
sacrificed everything to get that pearl. And now the time
comes when he comes to gather his jewels. And at the last day
in the resurrection, there will be a collection of all God's
jewels at one time in resurrection glory. Perhaps he's referring
specifically here to this gospel day when the Lord Jesus comes
in his manifest revelation. This is what God's doing throughout
this age in which we live. He's making up his jewels, making
them up. That is, he's gathering them
from the deep mines of the earth. Let us then devote ourselves
to the business of seeking the jewels. Many of them are found,
but they're not yet polished. Precious gems, but they were
just dug recently out of the deep mine. I'm told that when
the diamond is first discovered, it sparkles and glitters a little.
You can tell that it's a precious stone, but before that diamond
is made to show all its rich brilliance as a diamond. Half
of it or more will be chipped and rubbed away. That jeweler
carefully cuts that diamond and he polishes that diamond, wasting
nothing but getting rid of everything that detracts from the beauty
and the purity of the diamond. And so God does with us while
we walk in this world in his grace and mercy, he purifies
his own. He makes us to be conformed to
the image of his dear son. And when he's done with us, He will at last take from us
this body of flesh. Not just this physical body,
Alan, that corrupt inner man that you hate. Children of God, understand your
heavenly father is in the process of polishing his jewels. Now, what a great privilege. It is that we are described here
as his jewels. I have to just make a statement
or two and move on. I hath not seen nor ear heard
Neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him." We are heirs of God
and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, the jewel of the triune God. Oh, how highly honored we are
How highly honored we shall be. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons
of God. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not
yet appear what we shall be. But when we see him, we shall
be like him. For we shall see him as he is,
and we shall be with him forever. in the most intimate, in the most intimate, in the
most intimate communion forever with no interruption. Oh, what
a privilege. And he will present us forever
before wandering worlds as his jewels. a diadem in his hand,
his crown, his glory. And then the last thing here, he says, I will spare them. I will spare them as a man spareth
his own son that serveth him. The Lord God soothed will destroy
this world. And he's going to destroy all
humanity. The earthquake in Haiti, just
a foretaste, just a foretaste. I listened to Mr. Huckabee late
last night and he said, as a good politician would or a good Baptist
preacher either, He said, I didn't see the hand of God in the earthquake.
I saw the hand of God in all the good things people are doing.
God sent the earthquake. And it's just a forewarning.
God's going to split this world and dissolve it like that. And all humanity with it, except,
except that which is perfect. and pure in His sight. That He will spare for Himself. And the Lord God says to you
who fear Him, to you who think on His name, to you who believe
on the Son of God, in that day when I gather up my crown jewels,
my special treasure that shall be my glory forever to wandering
worlds. I will spare you. I'll spare you as my very own
son who serves me perpetually. The Lord Jesus, God's darling
son, our substitute and surety. Served him from everlasting and
in the fullness of time. He said lo I come to do thy will
Oh my God and served him in the days of his humanity and today
sits upon the throne of glory Serving him as his son and I
should have did and the days coming when he will present the
kingdom to the father And he will say lo I in the children
which thou has given me and the Lord God will spare us as his son, one with his son,
for the very reason that he spares his son, because of perfect obedience
and perfect righteousness, perfect purity, holiness, perfection,
and beauty that is ours, given by his free grace in union with
his darling son. Oh, may God spare you. Giving
you faith in Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen.