0:11 Let's turn our Bibles to the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi chapter one verses one through five. Not sure who will be going through the whole five verses or not tonight. We will see. This is the last word, spoken to Israel before a four hundred years silence that was broken by John the Baptist.
0:42 I had an opportunity to preach on the book of Malachi months ago, and I felt burdened, to speak on it tonight. Even though, Malachi message is almost 2,500 years old, it's still very relevant tonight. Who is Malachi? Anyone knows who's Malachi? We don't know who is Malachi.
1:13 Where he is from? We don't know. I've heard some pronouncing his name, Malachi. Have anyone of you read the bible and he thought thought that his name is pronounced Malachi? Anyone?
1:27 Malachi? So he's Italian, I guess. Right? Okay. We knew where he's from then.
1:32 Okay. No. He's not Italian. The word malak mal I'm gonna say Malachi now. The word malakai means my messenger.
1:43 The word malakai, it's bible study. Right? We need to learn some Hebrew here. The word malak in the Hebrew has two meanings. The first meaning is messenger, and the second meaning is an angel.
1:57 How do we know if it's angel or messenger? The context tell us the meaning. For example, take the word ruach. Any Hebrew scholars here? Spirit.
2:12 Right. Correct. What else? There's another meaning for the word ruach. Wind.
2:17 Wind. That is correct. Again, how do we know? The context. The con and I always, by the way, talk about context.
2:24 You know why? Because context is so important. You see, most heresies, false doctrines begin when taking verses and word out of their original context. That's why context is important. What is context?
2:46 The verses before and the verses after. The audience. Who is he speaking to? The whole scripture. So you see everything in the view of the whole scripture.
3:02 That is the context. You cannot ignore con so when you read the scripture, you want to look first at the context, what he's speaking about, whom he's speaking to. Very important in order to understand the scripture. Now remember, it's not just the meaning of the word is important, which is very important, but the the context in which the word is being used is extremely important. Again, as I explained, context means versus before and after, means the audience, and, again, in view of the whole scripture comparing scripture with scripture.
3:42 So I'm going to assume that Malachi is his real name. His meaning again I says my messenger. I that's the word in Hebrew, my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. And the the word malach habrit, messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold he he is coming says the Lord of hosts.
4:11 Now we know whom he is referring to here. Correct? He's referring to John the Baptist. Now I think there is so much in common between John the Baptist, I believe, and Malachi. Now remember when the Jews sent priests and Levites to John the Baptist to ask him who he was?
4:32 Are you the Christ? I'm not the Christ. Are you Elijah? Are you the prophet? Are you Jeremiah?
4:41 He said, I am not. Who are you then so we can go and tell those who sent us who are you? We want to know who are you. Remember what did he say? He said, I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.
4:56 I am a what? The voice. You cannot see a voice, can you? I'm just the voice. Don't look at me.
5:05 Look at the message. The messenger is not important. It is all about the message. It's all about the one I'm going to have come to prepare the way for. All about the lamb of God.
5:15 All about Jesus. When he saw him next, he looked and said, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And next day he saw him again and he said, behold the lamb of God. It's all about Jesus. It's all about the lamb of God.
5:28 It's not about Malachi, it's not about John the Baptist, it's just about it's not about Peter, it's not about Paul, it's not about Daniel or the other Daniel. It's not about us, It's about the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about him. The messenger is not as important. It's all about the message, all about the message.
5:48 I'm a voice, just a voice crying in the word wilderness. Now the book of Malachi is one of 12 books in the Old Testament that's called the minor prophets. Now some of you probably heard about the minor prophets and didn't know what that really means. It does not mean it is not important. It's minor in importance.
6:14 It does not mean it is less important, but minor in regard to size. Isaiah, 66 chapters. Jeremiah, 52 chapters. Ezekiel, 48 chapters. Malachi, four chapters.
6:32 By the way, in the Hebrew, it's not even four. It's three. It's only three chapters. Some of us would think three chapters. What happened to the fourth chapter?
6:44 What do you what do you think happened to the fourth chapter? Anyone has any idea? It's bible study. That's right. Exactly.
6:56 Instead of the third being 18 verses, now it is 26 verses. Remember, division of chapters and verses is not in the original. It was not until, I believe, 12/27 when the bible was divided into chapters, and in 1555, it was divided into verses. So there is a slight difference between the English translation and the Hebrew. Very slight difference.
7:23 And here in Maqbool Malachi, there is one difference. Only in regard to division. And again, division is not necessarily inspired. It just was made for us, help us to easy, find the scriptures that we we want. Now seven questions seven questions we see in this book.
7:44 The people of Israel are asking God, and if you look carefully at these questions, they are but excuses and complaints. They are not real questions. If they show something, they show unbelief. They show doubt. They show denial of every good things God has done to them.
8:07 In one two, it says, how have we have you loved us? A question of doubt. In one six, how have we despised your name? One seven, how have we polluted you? And it goes on two seventeen, how have we wearied the lord?
8:35 Three seven, how shall we return? We are okay. We don't need to return. How shall we return? Three eight, how have we robbed you?
8:52 Three thirteen, how have we spoken against you? Question after question, questions of doubt and disbelief and lack of faith. Then we have a question in two fourteen. They said, why god does not regard or accept our offering? Two seventeen, another question.
9:17 Where is the God of justice? Questions of doubt, their expression of rebellion against God and unbelief. And God answers every question, reminding them of his faithfulness, rebuking them of their sins. Yes. Pointing to their sins.
9:45 Let's begin with verse one. The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. Now I believe we have on the screen oh, we don't have on the screen. I think. The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
10:11 Any of us here has the King James Bible or a few people only. Now what is the word oracle in the King James? Burden. The burden. And I love that word, by the way, and that is the original.
10:30 In the Hebrew, here, the word used is masah, and masah means burden. It means heavy weight, something you you you carry, weighty object. Malachi is burdened. Malachi heard the word of the Lord. It was burden to him.
10:53 Why? It was so heavy. It was not light. There are words of rebuke coming from the from a wounded and bleeding heart of God. It was a burden.
11:08 At this time, Judah has returned back to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity that lasted how many years? Seventy years. That's correct. Now Zerubbabel came first and he began rebuilding the temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians, but that construction was halted by some pretend friends. They were the Samaritans.
11:46 When they saw the temple being rebuilt, they came to Zerubbabel. We read this in the book of Ezra if you open it with me. Ezra chapter four verses one to five. So they approached him and they asked him, we want to help you. Well, we we are your friends.
12:04 We believe in the same God. Let us this is what they say. Let us build with you for we worship. Worship your God. You know what Zerubbabel told those Samaritans?
12:17 Listen to to his word. He told him, you have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God. We will alone will build to the Lord. The bible tells us these were not friends. They were adversaries.
12:34 They were enemies, but they were pretending to be friends. I want to you I want you to be warned tonight. I want you to be warned tonight. Some might come when we are rebuilding, pretending to be friends. As God gives us the spirit of discernment to know who is a Samaritan at heart and who is a true believers and a follower of Jesus Christ.
13:07 They want to destroy the work of God, those Samaritans, but there's a rubble with the wisdom that was given to him by God. He rejected their help. No way. You are not follower of our God. You are pretend believers.
13:24 You are pretend friends. Keep away from us. We will build alone. God it with us, and we will continue to build alone. Almost eighty years later, Israel returned to Jerusalem, and it was followed by Nehemiah.
13:43 Nehemiah restored the wall of Jerusalem that was completely in ruin, but how was the condition of the people of Israel at that time? As bad as the wall. As bad as the wall. They were completely in ruin. Blind, dead, no life, spiritual life in them.
14:10 That was their condition. And if you read the book of Nehemiah and Israel, you will notice the same sins that were mentioned in the book of Nehemiah and Israel are mentioned, the exact sins in the book of Malachi. You know why? Because Malachi was a contemporary of Israel and Nehemiah. We read of those sins, corruption of the priests, the mixed marriages between the Jews and the enemies of God, ignoring the tithe and offerings, exploiting the weak and the poor and so on.
14:43 And the word of God came to Malachi. It was a burden. It was so heavy. And let me tell you, the word of God is never light. The word of God is never light.
14:53 The word of God is always heavy because it's full of truths and and treasures. It's always heavy. Let me tell you something. When I stand here before you, trust me, I stand with fear and trembling. Each time I stood to preach, I stood with fear and trembling.
15:18 Because knowing I'm not preaching the word of man, I'm preaching the word of God, and it's never light. It is heavy. I often hear preachers preach, unfortunately, that he takes so lightly the word of God as if it is the word of man. Oh, may God forgive them. Oh, may god forgive them.
15:49 Spurgeon says this, and I quote, you see, a ministry that does not burden the heart and the conscience would be like a millstone about the man's neck in the world to come. Do you feel the heavy weight of the word of God? Do you take the word of God seriously? It was a burden unto Malachi. Do you feel its burden, its weight upon your shoulder?
16:25 For so many preachers, The word of God, as I said, light, they are in the business of entertaining the crowd. And by the way, they are very good at it. They are very good comedians. They are very good entertainers. I suggest I was thinking about today, how would I describe their preaching?
16:54 I think every message you preach and post on TV should have the caption for entertainment purposes only, nothing else. For entertainment purposes only. It wasn't so for Malachi. It wasn't so for Paul when he said woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. The gospel is what we preach.
17:25 The death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is what we preach. We preach the love of God to repentant sinners and hell's fire to those who reject the gospel and despise the blood of Christ. This is what we preach. True man of God is not in the business of entertaining people. He's in the business of calling people to repentance.
17:54 It is a bearing, heavy, but, yes, we carry it willingly. We carry willingly and happily until we see people coming to Christ and coming to the knowledge of our savior and lord. So the word of God is a burden because first, it is a word from God himself. It's not the word of man. It's the word of Lord himself.
18:22 But also the word of God is offensive. That way, it's a word a burden. It's offensive. Speaking about sin is offensive, isn't it? Many modern preachers don't want to talk about sin because, again, it is offensive.
18:41 Be careful. He is a seeker. Be sensitive. Just imagine if there is someone among us tonight who is not saved and this is his first his last night to hear the gospel, his last night ever. Would you speak of sin?
19:04 Would you speak of repentance? Would you speak of salvation? Will you offend him by the word of the cross or you would say no? It's a burden because it is offensive. I think if there's a topic we need to talk about, yes, it is sin and the devastating consequences of it.
19:33 If a preacher does not speak about that, I don't believe he is a minister of the gospel neither he is sent by God. Speaking about repentance is offensive, but Christ says, except you repent, you should likewise perish. This is the word of the Lord. It's speaking about the exclusivity of Christ. Jesus alone is offensive.
20:02 Speaking about sin is offensive. The word of God exposes sin and this is offensive. But also it's burdensome because of the consequences. The consequences if we are not faithful to share it. Just want to remind you of one reference.
20:23 Ezekiel three eighteen. You just open it with me, please. Ezekiel three eighteen. If I say to the wicked, you shall surely die, and you give him no warning nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way in order to save his life, That wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. What responsibility is this?
21:08 We are going to give account to God. God says how can we ignore it? God spoke, How can we not follow it? One more quote that I love by Spurgeon. He says, a time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.
21:44 I think it's very prophetic. Very prophetic. This is what we have today. It's what we have today. But praise God.
21:54 God is faithful, and he has raised even now, even today in this country and everywhere else, faithful shepherds, faithful men of God who are ready to stand up and preach the whole counsel of God, preach the truth in love. Look at verse two. He says, I have loved you, says the Lord. What a beautiful statement. To begin with and really to end the old testament with, I have loved you, says the Lord.
22:37 And God looks at you right now. He looks at me and he says the same thing, I have loved you. Now again remember, this is the last prophetic word to Israel and God ends it with saying I have loved you. You have God's story in the holy scripture from Abraham till the days of Malachi and God would tell them look at your sixteen hundred years of history and I tell you I have loved you. I have loved you says the Lord.
23:12 God's love never fades, never wavers, never grow cold, cannot get stronger. It's perfect. I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have loved you with a perfect love. My love to you has not changed.
23:29 Your love has changed. Your love grew cold. You are dead but my love remains the same. I have loved you. Just look a little bit and you will see how I have loved you.
23:40 I have loved you says the Lord. What kind of love is this? I love the song we sing often in our church. The words of about the love of God that says, could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth aquil and every man ascribed by trade, to ride the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong, it shall forevermore endure the saints and angels song.
24:28 This is the love of God. I have loved you, says the Lord. And what is their response? What is their response? How have you loved us?
24:45 We don't know about it. We don't remember. We don't see it. How have you loved us? They are questioning God's love.
24:54 A rebellious man questions God's love. An unbelieving man questions God's love. How have you loved us? Instead of acknowledging his love, appreciating his love, thanking him for his love, and loving him in return, what they are doing, they are questioning his love and denying his love. They are spiritually blind, spiritually dead.
25:31 They cannot see God, neither they can see his love. They are ignorant of their history. They are ignorant of their scripture. You know what happened? What happened is they were looking around him.
25:51 They were looking around him, and what could they see? What did they see when they looked around him? Judah came from captivity. That is correct, but where is the glory of the first temple? It's not there.
26:08 Where is the prosperity that was in the days of Solomon? It's not there. We are under Persian occupation. The people are few and scattered. The economy is terrible.
26:21 The government is bad. Everything looks terrible and bad, and you're telling me that you loved us. How can you explain your love to me? I can't see it. I can see what is around me, but I cannot see your love.
26:37 I can't explain it. Where is the promised Messiah? Where is the promised Messiah? Seemed like there is nothing good around us. How would you say you you love us?
26:54 What kind of love is this? Does this happen to us sometime? That you question God's love toward you when you look at your circumstances, when you look at your trials, when you look at your setbacks? You might be praying and praying and praying and seem to be there is no answer. You've been praying for for years for a husband or for a wife, for healing, for a for a broken relation to be restored and things got even worse.
27:27 And you might be in a situation where you question God's love. Where is God in all of that? He tells me he loves me. What where is he in all of that? Things even got worse when I began to pray.
27:42 It can happen. Remember Moses? God told Moses to go when he was still in the wilderness to appear before Pharaoh and to ask him to let his people go. But before he did that, he went and he met with the elders of Israel, with his brother, Aaron. And he told them of the mission that God has sent him to do, to let the people of Israel go.
28:26 And the Bible said that people believed. They bowed down and worshiped. That was spiritual high for Moses and Aaron. It was their spiritual high that people believed. And then Moses went with Aaron to appear before Pharaoh.
28:46 Exodus five six, if you want to open your bibles. Do you know what happened the same day? Remember Moses is there appearing before Pharaoh by the word of the Lord. It says here, the same day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen. You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks as in the past.
29:20 Let them go and gather a straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past, you shall impose on them. You shall by no means reduce it. Things got worse. He is following God's command.
29:39 He's doing just what God has told him to do, and things got just worse. What does Moses do? Look at verse 22. Moses speaks to god says, oh lord, why have you done evil to these people? Moses?
30:04 Moses speaking these words? Moses, the man of God, why have you done this evil to these people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to pharaoh to break to speak in your name, he has done evil to these people and you have not delivered your people at all. What do you make out of that?
30:34 What do you make out of that? Moses says to God, you are responsible for this evil. He's telling God, you should not have sent me. Then you tell him, you failed the promise you made. That's what he's saying telling God.
30:49 And Moses is doing what often we do. We blame God because we don't understand God's plan in full. We don't understand God's sovereign plan in full. Oh, he forgot. He forgot what God has told him.
31:09 He told him, you will go there, but Pharaoh will be hardened. He will not listen to you. He forgot that part. And probably also he thought, oh man, I'm going to appear before pharaoh. I, by my by my power and by Aaron's eloquence, who will be able to let the people go.
31:31 Maybe the people of Israel put all the trust in Moses and Aaron, and God says, no. No. No. It's not going to work this way. It's not going to work this way.
31:42 It's not going to work this way. You put your trust in me first, your whole trust in me. And listen, before the Lord can use us, he must bring us to end to the end of ourselves, and then he can use us. And now let me tell you something with the recent events. We came out with nothing materially, but I hope we have come with a greater faith and a greater reliance on God.
32:20 God sometimes strips you off complete of everything you have, that you can completely trust in him, and then he can start working his plan in your life and our life. This what he was was doing through Moses. He was making Moses to depend completely on him, not on his power, not on his own wisdom, not on Aaron's eloquence of speech, but on God himself. Delay does not mean denial. Only God sees the full picture.
32:52 We must face opposition. Moses had God on a timetable. We do often the same. Moses was wrong when he attributed to God this evil. Few weeks ago, a dear sister called me complaining that she had a very bad day, one of the worst in very long time.
33:23 And this what she wrote to me. She says she put it this way, I have been praying nonstop and nothing has changed. I can't see how or why God would do the worst thing possible to me as soon as I got back. I don't know how else to be seeking God. It hurts so much.
33:52 I came back full of faith than ever, and then this. I'm not going to explain what? Disappointment. Pain. Sit back.
34:04 How can we explain it? Encountering difficulties does not mean that all God has abandoned us. Facing trials does not mean God stopped loving us, going through hardships and setbacks. It's only to mold us to be like Christ that we may be able to trust in him fully and rely on him fully. This what he does.
34:32 This what he did with Moses. This was what he was doing with this lady, this woman. Listen to what Paul says in second Corinthians one. Second Corinthians one. If you open, this is an important verse, verses eight and nine.
34:45 What Paul the apostle was going through. One good thing, honestly, I cannot see the clock from here because it's all dark there, which is good. That's mean I can keep going, going, going, and I don't know what the time. So I was looking at it. That's good.
35:12 Of course, I have a watch here, but I'm not looking at my watch. Listen to what Paul is saying. He says, for we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experience in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we feel that we had received the sentence of death, but that was to make us what? Rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.
35:54 What is the purpose? That we may not depend on ourselves no longer but on God, on God who raises the dead. I told the sister that she's wrong by attributing to God wrongdoing. I encouraged her, and I told her, God might take a might take a precious thing from you in order for you not anymore to put your trust, your love in that precious thing anymore. He wants to be your all in all.
36:26 And if he sees something that you hold to so tight that you cannot let go, God might say just take it away. Why? Because he wants to be your all in all. He wants to be your all in all. He wants you to trust in him fully, to rely on him fully, to trust he is going to do everything good for you.
36:45 He has a great plan for you. Remember Lazarus. Oh Martha and Mary, sent to Jesus when he was few hours away to tell him the one you love is sick. What did you expect Jesus to do? I would think Jesus should just hurry up, go to Bethany.
37:08 I love my friend Lazarus. He's sick. But the Bible says Jesus remained where he was two more days. What love is this? Then we know Lazarus died, and he told the disciples Lazarus died.
37:31 They went up to Bethany, and there Martha met him. And she told them, Lord, if you were here, my brother would not have died. I think she was correct. And then later, Mary met him and she told him the same things. She told him, Rabbi, Lord if you were here my brother would not have died.
37:55 You see, they have seen Jesus healing the sick. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands. He healed people he did not even know personally how much more he would have healed their brother if you were here. My brother would not have died. But you see Jesus did not want to heal the one he loves.
38:19 Jesus did not want to heal the one he loves. He wanted to raise him from the dead. There's a difference. There's a difference. The one he loves wants him to experience a greater measure of his power, but not without first coming to the point of losing every earthly hope, every worldly solution, that God may be glorified in him, and there may be no question that God alone has done it himself and no one else.
38:52 God did not want to heal the one he loves. He wanted to raise him from the dead. God might not want to solve your problem now because he's waiting to perform a greater miracle in your life. Just think about it this way. God might want to heal you now to take you out of the trial, the circumstance that you are in because God has a greater plan for you, a greater miracle.
39:24 The one that he loves showed him a greater power of his. The Jews in Malachi days could not see any good around them, so they doubted God's love. They have forgotten their past. Of course, they have neglected their scripture. They were blind, could not see any of these things.
39:50 They forgot the one who brought him back to the promised land, who kept his promises, and the one who keeps his promises is for faithful and a loving God. They forgot all of that. Lack of faith lack of faith was in the center of all this. How does god refute Israel's objection? How have you loved us?
40:20 We are not sure about it. What is God's response? Listen to what he says. Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.
40:39 That seems to be a very strange answer. Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. I expected God to remind them of their history, of his dealings with them through the ages. I expected God to tell them, remember Egypt.
41:10 You were a slave. How I took you out from Egypt. How I split the Red Sea, the pillar of clouds and of fire. I expect God to explain to them and show them, remind them of the wilderness. I fed you for forty years in the wilderness.
41:28 Manna from heaven. I crossed. You crossed the the Jordan River. I brought you to a land of milk and honey. I destroyed all the enemies before you.
41:41 I raised the judges for you to help you. I raised David. He could go ahead and and explain to them and and mentions to them all the major events of their history. I brought them I brought you back here to this land. I I imagine God should have mentioned all of these things to them to to prove to them his love, but he does not do any of these things.
42:05 He says only one thing, wasn't Esau Jacob's brother yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. What is he saying? What God is saying here and what he is saying to us today who question is love. Do you want to know how I loved you, Israel? You forgot, didn't you?
42:37 Oh, it was very easy for you to forget. You have not opened your bible for very, very long time. You forgot how I have loved you. You have not studied your history. You forgot how I have loved you.
42:52 Remember Israel? You are the descendant of Jacob, is what he's telling him. Do you know who is Jacob? He had a brother. His name was Esau.
43:05 He was a firstborn. Remember Jacob? Read the Bible. Look at the scripture. You would know who is Jacob.
43:18 This Jacob, if you remember, remember his early days, his early years, remember his lies, remember his deception, Remember his divided devotion? Remember doing things in whatever right in his own eyes? Remember lack of trust in God and his promises? This who was Jacob earlier. Jacob, when he stood before Pharaoh, if you remember, in in in the book of Genesis chapter 47 verse seven, his his son, Jace Joseph introduced him to Pharaoh.
44:00 And here, old Jacob, before the king of Egypt, and the king of Egypt asked him this question. He tells him, how many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob said to Pharaoh, the days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. Why your years why your years were evil, Jacob?
44:36 Why your years were evil, Jacob? Is it because of your brother's Esau's treatment of you? Or it is because of your father-in-law, Laban treatment of you, or maybe it's because of your children's misbehavior, children, your children treatment of you lying about your son, Joseph. I would say yes. Yes.
45:06 And yes to all of this. But there's one more thing. What about your own lies? Your own life of deception and dishonesty. Your children have learned from their dad.
45:29 Your children have learned from you. But I believe in the old age, Jacob repented. Jacob repented. Jacob was a true man of God. But do you know when did God love Jacob?
45:51 After his repentance or before his repentance. He said, I have loved Jacob. When did he love him? Listen to the apostle Paul. If you will, please open your bible to Romans chapter nine verses 10 to 13.
46:21 Paul said, for this is what the promise said, about this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son. And not only so but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and has done nothing either good or bad in order God's purpose of election might continue not because of works, but because of him who calls. She was told the older will serve the younger as it is written, Jacob, I loved, but so I have hated. He loved Jacob and elected him before he was born. This is the electing love of God.
47:14 This is grace. This is grace. This is the unconditional election of grace and of the love of God. It's not tied to anything Jacob did. It's not tied to anything I did or I'm going to do.
47:32 It's God's grace. Israel look back at your history and what do you see? You see disobedience. You see lack of faith. You see idolatry.
47:46 You see apostasy. You see all these things from the beginning till this day. In spite of all these things God says I have loved you. Because of what? Because the election of love, the election of grace.
48:04 Then Paul goes ahead and says in Romans eleven one, he asked this question, has God rejected his people? He should. Right? He should if he was not the God of the Bible. If he was not the God that we know, he should have rejected his people because they rejected him.
48:29 But Paul answered this question and he says, by no means. For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. God did not rejected his people whom he foreknew. God promises and he never turns back.
48:52 He is the same. His whatever comes out of his mouth is eternal. As regard Paul says in in in in Romans eleven twenty eight, as regard the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of the forefathers, for the gifts of God and his calling are irrevocable. I have loved you, God says. Why?
49:21 Why? Israel should not have asked how have you loved us. They should have said, why in the world you should love us? A disobedient, rebellious people like us. This what supposed to be the real question.
49:46 Let's read just couple of verses from the book of Deuteronomy chapter seven. Deuteronomy seven verse seven verse six seven six. For you are a people, God says to Israel, holy to the lord your God. The lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured position out of all peoples who are on the face of the earth. And why?
50:23 Honestly, I have no answer but Romans eleven thirty three. You don't have to open your Bibles. I'm just going to read that verse. He says, oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways for he who who has known the mind of the Lord and who has been his counselor. This is the love of God.
50:49 I have loved you. And if God has loved Israel, how much more do you think God loves me and you, his bride, his church? Do you ever doubt his love? Should you ever again doubt his love? There's a lot to say that I'm going to skip.
51:19 God chose Israel. Before he was born, he chose us. Before the foundation of the world, he chose you and me to live for him now and to live for him for eternity. Now today, you might be looking at your life and seeing difficult circumstances, seeing troubles, seeing, sit backs, prayers maybe not answered, problems in life. And you might be like Israel, shortsighted, But just a little thought of the past, it should remind you of God's love.
52:10 Just a little thought of the past. How God has dealt with you. Has God has brought with you even to this day, to this place. You would be reminded of God's love. But let me tell you something, it's not the promises of God in your life.
52:27 It's not the healing that you received. Is not the answered prayer is the proof of God's love to you. God has been so gracious, has been so faithful, has blessed you with so many things, but this is not the proof, the proof of God's love to you. It's enough to tell you. Enough to tell you.
52:54 The greatest proof of God's love to you that he has chosen you, that he has chosen you, and he has elected you before the foundation of the world, and he has a great plan for you. Let me end with this, but Esau, I have hated. Esau, I have hated. Does God hate people? What about for God so loved the world that he has given his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
53:39 How would you say with that? What about Romans five eight? But God shows his love for us in that while we are sinners, Christ died for us. What does he mean when he say I have hated Esau? I think what he is saying is this, if you compare my love toward Jacob and my feeling toward Esau, it would appear as if it is hatred.
54:14 Let me give you couple of examples. Luke fourteen twenty six. Last couple of verses. If anyone, Jesus says, comes to me and does not hate his does not hate his own father and mother and wife I didn't know you need to hate your wife, do you? No.
54:44 And children and brothers and sisters. Yes. And even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. What does Jesus mean when he says, hate your child and father and wife? Didn't he tell me that I'm supposed to love my wife as Christ loved the church?
55:01 Yes. He did. But he says here, to eat. I think Matthew ten thirty seven clarifies what Jesus says. Matthew ten thirty seven.
55:12 Jesus says these words, whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. What you are saying, your love toward God should be greater than any other love in this world. Nothing compared to him. He wants to be all in all, exclusive love.
55:51 God does not want us to hate our parents. He says honor your parents. He does not love want us to hide our wives. He wants us to lay our lives for our for our wives as he did for us. What he means also, I have hated Esau and love Jacob, is I think clarified by Paul the Apostle's comment commentary on this in the in Romans.
56:17 If you don't mind Romans nine eleven, we read I'm going to read again because Paul clearly there clarifies the meaning. And he says, though they were not yet born and has done nothing either good or bad in order that god's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls. She was told, the older will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob, I have loved, but Esau, I have hated. I think Paul's commentary here makes it clear that love is equal election and hatred equals rejection.
56:56 That's all. And at the end, he says, I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. You want to compare my love to the love to to to Jacob's hatred? Just look what I have done with Adam. Look I have done with them and look what I have done with you.
57:21 You are back in your promised land. Look at them. Compare if you want and you can tell that I have loved you, and I still love you. And now God looks at us, and he tells you, you want to know what I love you? I tell you what, you are a child.
57:41 Those who are outside, they are not. You have inheritance. Those who are outside, they are not. You are chosen, but they are not. You rebuild, he tells them, but they will not.
57:55 And that's the promise to us today. You will rebuild. You will rebuild. You are chosen because I have loved you. I have loved you.
58:06 Let us dwell tonight and always on that great love of God toward us. He loved us because this he chose us, and he chose us because he loves us. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we cannot compare your love to anyone else. Your love greater than any human love.
58:59 Oh, God, when we look at you, how who how you loved us, not just by blessing us, but by dying for us on the cross. This is how you displayed your love, your amazing love toward us while we were still sinners. You died for us. How can we ever again question your love? We are chosen.
59:35 We are children. We have inheritance. We will rebuild. We have all the promises and all of that because we are loved. And your love is everlasting.
59:49 Your love does not grow cold. Your love does not fade nor change. Lord, we pray that we will love you in return. We will serve you as a church. We will commit ourselves again to you.
1:00:14 Search our hearts, oh God. Search our heart, oh God. Lord, we don't want our heart to grow cold. Lord, it's easy. It's easy in this world because of sin and the pressure around us, Lord, for our hearts to grow cold, but I pray, God, that you help us.
1:00:44 Continue in your word, continue in prayer, set our hearts on fire for you, Lord God. And as we begin, Lord, now here in this ministry, I pray God that a great revival will take a place. A great revival done by not by man, but by God himself, by the work of the Holy Spirit. Raise people, Lord. Raise people to serve, to preach, to do the things that need to be done with all humility.
1:01:20 Help us do always like John the Baptist did. See, I'm just a voice. I'm just a voice of one crying. I'm nothing. Don't look at me.
1:01:33 It's all about Jesus. It's all about you. It's all about you. You are the lamb of God. You are the lion of Judah.
1:01:47 You are the deliverer. You are the savior and the judge. You are everything. You are all in all. Build your church, Lord Jesus.
