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[0:00] Malachi we had in chapter, particularly in chapter 4 and the second verse, Malachi 4 verse 2. But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.

[0:15] You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Martin Luther called John 3, 16 the little gospel, that it was an entire gospel of its own.

[0:27] And some people call this book the little Old Testament because there's just so much compacted into these four chapters.

[0:41] And Malachi seems to be a book that is bridging the Old Testament and the New Testament. And in chapter 3 he talks about the messenger.

[0:52] Chapter 3 verse 1, Behold I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. And of course when we go to the New Testament we know that that messenger was John the Baptist.

[1:08] And he was one who came to prepare the way of the Lord. That's what John said, that he was the messenger who had come to prepare the way of the Lord. Now the name Malachi itself means messenger.

[1:22] And so this messenger, prophet Malachi, delivers a very strong message. When you read it it's one of these messages that comes with a kind of a force and an authority, a power.

[1:36] And yet we don't know very much about the man. We don't know an awful lot about who, about Malachi. And you know there's a, that in itself is a very important thing to stress.

[1:49] Because our messenger is simply that. Messenger is somebody who is bringing the message. And we must always remember that whenever we are engaged in preaching or involved in the service of the Lord.

[2:02] That that's all we are. That it's not about us. But that we're bringing what God wants us to be. That our whole duty is to proclaim God's word.

[2:13] To tell about who God is. What his purposes for us are. What he desires. And we must never try and get in the way of the message.

[2:24] Or in any way think that it's about us. It isn't. In any shape or form. And that's part of the beauty of this man Malachi. We know next to nothing. Very little about him.

[2:35] But as we say in this short book. Or this short four chapters that he gives. It's one of the Old Testament books that really.

[2:45] It impacts very powerfully into people's lives. Once we delve into it. Now he talks here about the appearing.

[2:57] Quite a bit about the coming of the Lord. The day of the Lord. The coming of the Lord. The appearing of the Lord. And that is again a very much.

[3:07] A New Testament concept as well. And very often. Excuse me. The Old Testament prophets. As they delivered their message. There was.

[3:18] Sometimes. They talked about the first coming of the Lord. And sometimes. About the second coming of the Lord. And sometimes. These two comings. Were intertwined.

[3:30] So to speak. And I believe that there is mention. In a sense. We could see both. The first coming. The incarnation. Or the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[3:40] In Malachi's message. But we can also see something. Of the second coming. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Malachi's message. And he talks about the appearing of the Lord.

[3:52] And that's very much. A New Testament. Concept as well. Paul often talked. About the appearing. Or the reappearing. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember in the second Timothy.

[4:04] When Paul was talking about. The crown of righteousness. That he was soon going to receive. From the Lord. When he enters glory. And Paul adds this. Not to me only.

[4:16] But everyone. That loves. His appearing. Every person. That loves the appearing. Of the Lord. The return.

[4:27] Of the Lord Jesus. Will get that crown. And here's a question. What do you think. About the reappearing. Of the Lord Jesus. If you were told.

[4:39] The Lord Jesus. Is going to return. This afternoon. How. How would. You feel. Of course. We don't know. And we'll never know. He will come suddenly.

[4:49] He tells us that. That not even the angels. In heaven know. When he's going to return. But he's going to come suddenly. And even as we look around. In the world today. There are certain things. That when you go to.

[5:01] Matthew's gospel. And such like. He talks about things. Events that will unfold. And indeed. We sometimes are looking around. And we're saying. You know. It's almost. We're seeing the signs. Of the times.

[5:11] And the days. That we're living in. But he's going to come suddenly. He's going to come. Unexpectedly. But if he was to come today. Would your heart be saying.

[5:22] Whoa. That's. You know. I'm really glad. I'm going to be alive. To see this. Amazing moment. Of the return. The heavens opened. And the return of Jesus.

[5:33] And the graves opening. And the dead rising. And me. Alive. Being caught up. To meet the Lord.

[5:44] In the air. What a thought. Or would it be. One of absolute apprehension. And dread. And fear. And say. Poor. I'm not ready. To meet the Lord.

[5:55] Well. It'll tell you an awful lot. About where you are. Today. As to. How you feel. Within your own self. At the prospect. Of the return of Jesus. Because as we know.

[6:06] One day. He's going to come. And the thing is. That. It's in this life. In this world. That we're given the opportunity. To get ready. To meet him. Because.

[6:17] We're all. Going to have to meet him. One day. Because we're all. To appear. Before the judgment seat. You and I. We're going to have to appear. Before him. Whatever we have done.

[6:27] With him. Here in this world. That won't change. The fact. That we're going to have to. Have an appearance. Before him. And it's a. It's a solemn. Prospect. And Malachi.

[6:38] In chapter one. Here. Shows us. That. For those. Who remain. Christless. They're called. The arrogant. Here. Arrogant. And evildoers. They're arrogant. Because they won't.

[6:48] Bow down. Before the Lord. That's why. That's what's wrong. With people. Is that they. They believe. That they're. Good enough. Within themselves. They don't. They don't. See their need.

[6:59] Of Jesus. And in fact. It's interesting. Because. We put further back. In chapter 13. The Lord is. Here talking about.

[7:11] Some of God's people. Who are saying. It is vain. To serve God. What is the prophet. Of keeping his charge. Or walking. As in mourning. Before the Lord of hosts. Because.

[7:22] As he looks round. It appears. That the arrogant. Are blessed. And that the evil doers. Are prospering. That's. That's. Not a new concept.

[7:33] Go to Psalm 73. Psalm 37. These are things. That. Sometimes. Baffle the believer. How come. The arrogant. And the evil doers. They're prospering.

[7:44] Their life. Is as smooth. And. Here's me. And I'm following the Lord. And. All I get. Is hassle. And trouble. Then you go to. To. Chapter 4. Verse 1. For behold.

[7:55] The day is coming. Burning. Like an oven. When all the arrogant. And evil doers. That's the ones. Mentioned. In verses. 14. And 15. What's going to happen?

[8:08] They're going to be. Burnt up. Like stubble. The day that is coming. Shall set them ablaze. So that they will leave them. Neither root. Nor branch. In other words. That there's no. There's nothing left.

[8:19] That would. Can grow again. That's the end. So it's a very solemn. And a very challenging thing. But. And I love this. Where the Lord puts in this. Or the prophet puts in.

[8:31] But he says. But for you. Who fear my name. The son of righteousness. Shall rise. With healing. In its wings. So. Who is a promise given to?

[8:42] It's to those who. Who fear. The name of the Lord. So what is it to fear. The name of the Lord. Well. This is not the slavish fear. That.

[8:53] That we can. That we can fear. When we're. We're scared about something. Or scared about someone. Where we. Where we. We cower away. I remember when I was a young boy.

[9:05] When I was. Grew up in Portree. And. Like all young. Fellas. Or young people then. We didn't have. There was no telly. There was nothing. We had to make our own.

[9:15] Our own entertainment. And sometimes we get up to mischief. And. Things that. Looking back now. You're kind of a wee bit ashamed about. And you say. Oh. Shouldn't have done that. There was no malice. There was. Wasn't meaning anything bad in it.

[9:27] But it was just sort of childish fun. I remember one particular night. And there was this man. And. He was a really big. Big man. With a ferocious temper.

[9:40] And. Sometimes we would target his house. Because he always chased. Which added to the. To the excitement. And. And. I still remember this particular night.

[9:50] He nearly caught me. And. He. He was yelling. He said. You're finished. And I'll make sure of that. Well. I was only a young boy.

[10:01] Well. I'm telling you. I was scared. And I still remember. I had to pass that man's house. Going to school. The detours I took. So that I wouldn't pass.

[10:11] I was terrified. That. He would get me. Now. That's what we call. This kind of slavish fear. When you're afraid. Of somebody. When you see them. You're going to dodge out of the way.

[10:22] You're going to. Run a mile. Because of guilt. That's. That's what. That was my problem. There's nothing wrong with a man. It was what I had done. And there was this.

[10:33] I had this guilt in myself. That whenever I saw him. I felt guilty. And there's a lot of people. Who live before the Lord. Like that. There's this guilt.

[10:43] Within them. This sense of guilt. And. Because. They've wronged God. Now. I would say that. Every single person. Whether you're a believer.

[10:55] Or not a believer. If you're a believer. You've experienced that. And you still experience it. When we. When we sin. The sense of guilt. Before God. But God. But it's dealt with. And.

[11:06] But. Prior. To becoming a Christian. We harbor this guilt. And often. We don't know. That that's what it is. And we. We run out.

[11:17] That's a natural thing. Is we. We try and run away. From God. Remember when Adam and Eve sinned. What was the first thing they did. When they heard the voice of God. They ran away. They went on the run.

[11:29] And that's what people. Have been doing. Ever since. And people run away. From God. And people run away. By. Trying to make out. God. As somebody. Other than who he says. He is in his word.

[11:40] Or try and deny. That God. The existence of God. If we try and push God. Out of the picture. And pretend he's not there. And if I live. As if God is not. And I make out.

[11:51] He's not. Then. It gives me a sense of. I think. Freedom. But it doesn't. Because. There's a guilt. There is a guilt.

[12:02] A natural guilt. Within the heart. Because we have sinned. Against God. And offended God. And so many people. Even atheists. And agnostics.

[12:13] Are harboring. A guilt. That they have no idea. That is a guilt. And that is why. There is often. So much opposition. To the Christian. Because a Christian.

[12:24] Can be a rebuke. A rebuke. There is something. About the Christian. That is a rebuke. To the non-Christian. That's why. So many people. Want to remove. The impact.

[12:35] Of Christianity. From society. Because Christianity. Has a voice. That troubles people. It gets under their skin. And they don't want.

[12:45] To face up to that. All we do. So they just say. Right. We're going to remove this. Obliterate this. Get the Bible. Out of society. The influence of Christians. If you want to be a Christian. Practice it in your own. In your own home.

[12:56] But don't try and impact. Or influence society. In any shape or form. That is. Very often. Because of the. In built. Guilt. That is lying.

[13:07] So deep down. It's the impact. That made Adam and Eve. Run away from God. And that is why. Society today. Is still. Running away from God.

[13:18] But they don't. Realize. That that's what they're doing. Love. But. What we have here. Is. A different. Kind of fear. This is the fear.

[13:30] That. Is brought about. Because of our knowledge. Of who God is. For the Jew. A name. Really meant something.

[13:41] Because that's what it says here. For you. Who fear. My name. Now. Very often. For ourselves. A name. Is just. It's.

[13:52] It's what we're given. And we're identified. With this particular name. But for the Jew. The name. Often. Revealed something. Of the character. Of that person. That. And. I suppose.

[14:03] To a certain extent. In. In. Our culture. We often give people nicknames. And these nicknames. Will often. Be associated. In some way. With maybe. A trait.

[14:15] Or a character. Or something. A characteristic. That they have. Or maybe their father. Or grandfather. Had. Or something. It continues down. Well. For the Jew. The name.

[14:26] Was important. And it spoke. About the character. And that's. Exactly. What is being said. To those. Who fear. My name. Who know.

[14:37] My character. Who I am. Who have come. To understand. My glory. My. The holiness. Of my name. The majesty. The dominion.

[14:47] The authority. The grace. The mercy. The peace. All that's. Associated to me. This is what is spoken about. Unto you that. Fear. My name.

[15:00] And. This is part of the. The one. The wonderful thing. Here is. That the more. That we come. To know the Lord. The more. That we will fear him. With a sense of reverence.

[15:11] And worship. And adoration. And love. All of that. Is in this fear. It. It. It. Touches our lives. It regulates our lives.

[15:22] And when we sin against God. It hurts. We know we've hurt God. It hurts us. Because we fear his name. And we want to get.

[15:33] We want to get right with God. You know. When we've done wrong against God. The first thing we want to do. Is get right with him. And you know. That's part of. In the ongoing.

[15:44] Struggle. Within our. Christian faith. Is this. Struggle. Between wrong. And right. Where. You remember. How the apostle Paul. Looks at it. And he says. That there's this.

[15:55] Law. Within my members. That's working against. He's conscious. Of this force. Within him. That's. Pulling him. In one direction. But he's also. Conscious of.

[16:06] The Holy Spirit. Directing him. In another way. And it's. Collision course. And that goes on. In the life of the believer. All the time. And the true believer.

[16:16] Their desire. In that heart. Is Lord. I want to walk. In your spirit. I want to walk. By your spirit. I want to walk. In step with you. I want to become. More and more like you. That's my desire.

[16:26] You know it Lord. But when we go wrong. We can sometimes. Lose the sense of peace. We can lose. These things. But we want to get. Back to it. And the Lord. Will take us back.

[16:38] That's. That's. That's the beauty of it. But. The wonderful thing. Here is that. Unto those who. Fear my name. That. We've.

[16:48] We come to live. For the Lord. To trust the Lord. And we come to serve him. And. The service. Is very. Very important. Because.

[16:59] God. Gives. Every single one of his people. A field of service. For some people. It's lying in a hospital. For years. Now you say to yourself.

[17:10] What kind of service is that? It's a service that God has chosen. For that particular person. Maybe that person. Is spending. All the time that they have.

[17:21] In prayer. It's a. Maybe there's a. Maybe there's a. It's a. It's a wonderful service to the Lord. That we know nothing about. But God has people in the most.

[17:33] Obscure places. In the most difficult places. In the most unattractive places. And they're giving a service. That maybe nobody else knows about. It was John Newton said.

[17:45] That. We should always be satisfied. With the field of service. That we're given. And that we should never covet. Anybody else's service. And he said.

[17:56] If the Lord were to send. Two angels from heaven. One. To govern. And to rule. A whole empire. And the other one.

[18:06] To clean streets. Neither angel. Would covet. The position of the other. And he said. That's how it should be. Even here on earth.

[18:18] As we have come into faith. With the Lord Jesus Christ. Wherever the Lord sets us. Whatever the Lord gives us to do. We should be happy to do it. And be willing. To serve him.

[18:28] Where we are. And all of that. Comes under. This sense of the. The fear. Fear of the Lord. And it says here. Time will move very quickly. Unto you that fear.

[18:39] Fear my name. The sun of righteousness. Shall rise with healing. In its wings. Now you notice that it says here. The sun. S-U-N. Rather than the S-O-N.

[18:50] Now. I believe it's both. I believe it is. The sun of righteousness. S-O-N. Because he is a righteous one. But it is deliberately put here.

[19:01] As the S-U-N. The sun. Like this is a natural sun. Which is at the center of our universe. That this. Is. A great description.

[19:12] Of who Jesus Christ is. And what Jesus Christ does. Because just as the sun. Is at the center of the universe. Everything revolves around the sun.

[19:25] Long ago. People used to think. That the. Everything. That the sun revolved around the world. But everything revolves around the sun. And. Back. Long ago.

[19:36] When people used to think. That the world was at the center of everything. And everything revolved around the world. There are still people who think like that. In the sense that they see themselves. And their world is at the center of the universe.

[19:49] There are a lot of people like that. And they look. And they say. Everything is about me. They can't see beyond themselves. And they are looking at the whole world.

[20:00] Revolving around them. That is not the way it is. And the Bible shows us. That the very center. Is the sun of righteousness. But also we know.

[20:12] That the sun gives life. If there is no sun. There will be no life. And that is equally true. With regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. That he is the source.

[20:24] Of life. He is life in himself. He is everlasting life. But he is also the source of our life. Naturally. And spiritually. Because without him.

[20:36] Everything that was made. Was made through him. So at a natural level. He is the source of life. As well as the spiritual. But as we know. The sun is also the source of light.

[20:48] Not only life. But light. And that is how it is. With the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he is the one. Who has brought light. Into the darkness. As God.

[20:58] As the Bible says. Of God. God is light. And in him. In him dwells no darkness. At all. Jesus when he came into the world. He said. I am the light of the world.

[21:10] And in this statement. Really we see. We see. You can see first of all. The incarnation. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Into this world. In a.

[21:21] In the sense. Of a rising sun. The coming of the Lord. Because when Jesus came. The first time. He came very differently. To the way that he is going to come. The second time. The second time.

[21:31] When he reappears. Every eye will see him. When he came first time. Nobody. Hardly anybody knew. His arrival was announced. To a few shepherds.

[21:43] And it was. There was a gradual. Awareness. Amongst people. This is somebody special. Through his teachings. Through his miracles. Through his life.

[21:53] Ultimately his death. His resurrection. His ascension. The coming of the spirit. The spread of the gospel. The sun. Grows. And grows. And grows. And the impact.

[22:04] In this world. Is going on. To this very day. Where millions. And millions. And millions. Of people. Are coming to faith. In the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is also.

[22:17] You could put it. Personally. In the way. That the Lord works. In our own soul. Where there is. The gradual. Dawning. Of the day.

[22:28] They often say. And I don't know. Whether that's true or not. That the darkest. Hour of the night. Is the hour before dawn. I'm not sure. Whether that's. True or not. But people often say that.

[22:40] And that is sometimes. Very true spiritually. As well. That sometimes. Before we come to faith. In the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going through. A really difficult time. Where our world.

[22:50] Has kind of been. Pulled. The rug is pulled. From under us. And we've lost. Our sense of direction. We've lost. Our sense of purpose. And we feel. That our world. Is caving in.

[23:01] That can happen. Within a very. It can happen. Just in a day. It can happen. In a week. It can happen. Over a month. It can happen. For a long time. But it often happens. It can happen.

[23:12] It can happen. And that is. Because God. Is preparing. To come in. In the light. And for some people. The light. Will shine in suddenly. And for some people.

[23:22] It is very. Very gradual. It's just like that. If you're out in the night. And you're out all night. Supposing you're out fishing. Or something like that. And you're coming back.

[23:32] Sort of early. And you're coming over the moon. Or whatever. And it's dark. And gradually. You're beginning. Very faintly. To see things. You can make out shadows.

[23:44] And shapes. And as the light. Grows. The darkness. Is gradually. Fading. And you're beginning. To see these shapes. And they're taking.

[23:54] They're taking more than shape. And you say. Oh that's. I'm now seeing what that is. And so it is. Spiritually. Maybe that's who you came to faith. And people will say. When did you become a Christian?

[24:05] You say. Well yeah. I can't really. Tell you. I can't give you a day. Or an hour. But what I can tell you is this. Like the man blind in the scripture. I was once blind. But now I see.

[24:17] Because it was a gradual experience. The son of righteousness. Was rising. In your experience. And sometimes also.

[24:29] This verse can be applied. To the Christian. Who is going on. Day by day. Because sometimes. You and I know. That the days can be dark. You and I know.

[24:39] The climates. Are so changeable. Some days. There's a heavy drizzle. Some days. There's lashing rain. Some days. It's really windy. Some days. There's bright skies. But you know.

[24:50] When we hit up. Which we don't get too often. But sometimes. We get a wee prolonged period. Of sunshine. And you know. When you get that. You forget. All the dark days. And the wet days.

[25:02] The kind of. You say. Oh this is great. And you forget. What it was like. And you know. That's how it is. In the spiritual realm. As well. Because sometimes. We struggle.

[25:12] We go through dark times. And times. Where it's tough going. And the wind. Is blowing against us. We're being buffeted. On all sides. But the Lord. Doesn't leave us there. Because the son of righteousness.

[25:24] Arises. With healing in his wings. I believe that. That description. Is. Just as the natural. Rays of the sun. Come down with healing. You know. That warmth.

[25:34] That you get. When it's a really. Lovely. Sunny day. And you just say. Whoa. I actually feel good. That's. There's almost a. A refreshing in it. A healing in it.

[25:46] And spiritually. It is so. When the Lord. Works again. Into your soul. And he. He brings his own. Presence. And his own. Peace. And his own.

[25:57] Power. There is real. Healing in it. And then we read. That. The girl. That you. Go out. You shall go out. Leaping like calves. From the stall. Calves are kept in.

[26:08] Here. They're sort of. Being reared inside. They've been born. They're inside. They're being fed inside. And then comes the day. When the doors are open. And they're let out. Do the calves.

[26:19] Just take a little. Trot out. No. They just bolt out. And you can see them. In the sun. And they're. It's just. They're running. It's exciting. That's how it is.

[26:29] Spiritually as well. The sense of liberation. The sense of freedom. And I believe. What this is a picture of. As we say. With the coming of Jesus. Into this world.

[26:40] It's a picture of the Christian. Coming to faith. The Christian. Being restored. And being renewed. It's also a picture. Of what will happen. At the end. With the return. Of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[26:51] Christ. That's where there will be. The ultimate healing. In the wings. That's when we will. Really. Just. Be so. Exuberant. And so euphoric.

[27:03] With the joy of the Lord. As we will enter. Into his presence. Do you today. Know. The son of righteousness. In your own life.

[27:13] In your own experience. Or is it. Is he somebody. You've heard about. But. It's not personal. It's not real to you. We'll ask him today. Lord.

[27:24] Come into my heart. Make. Make yourself. A living. Reality. In my soul. Let's pray. Lord. We pray to bless us. We give thanks that.

[27:36] You hear our cry. You know. Our feebleness. You know Lord. Who we are. And. What we want to be. And we ask Lord. That you will deal graciously.

[27:47] And lovingly. With us. Pray to bless our homes. And our families. Pray for those. Whose hearts are heavy. At this time of year. As they miss loved ones. We pray Lord.

[27:57] For all those. Who have. Experienced bereavement. And loss. Recently. Remember. The Martin family. Just. This week. We had the funeral. On Friday. We commit them.

[28:08] To your care. And remember. All Lord. Whose hearts are heavy. And sore. Because of. Because of bereavement. And loss. Pray for healing. And the ill. And the sick. And ask Lord.

[28:18] That you will. Take us to our home. Safely. Your blessing. We ask. Upon this cup of tea. Coffee. In the hall. Afterwards. Do us all good. And cleanse us from our sin. In Jesus name. We ask it.

[28:28] Amen. We conclude singing. Psalm 84. This is from the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 84. That's on page 339.

[28:40] In the psalm book. Page 339. And we're going to sing from verse 8 to the end. Lord God of hosts.

[28:51] My prayer here. O Jacob's God. Give ear. See God of shield. Look on the face of thine anointed dear. For in thy courts one day excels a thousand.

[29:04] Rather in my God's house will I keep a door. Than dwell in tents of sin. For God the Lord's a sun and shield. He'll grace and glory give. And will withhold no good from them that uprightly do live.

[29:17] O thou that art the Lord of hosts. That man is truly blessed. Who by assured confidence on the alone doth rest. Psalm 84 verses 8 to the end.

[29:28] Lord God of hosts. Lord God of hosts. My prayer here.

[29:43] Say he Royalogue you. Okay.

[30:00] God of hosts. All my man I just hear. For in my door one day excels A virgin valley.

[30:26] My heart has filled my deep adorn That well intends to say.

[30:45] For God the Lord has done and shielded Will praise and glory give.

[31:04] And well with all your good from them. That love rightly to live.

[31:22] Oh, thou that art the Lord of all, That man is truly blessed.

[31:42] I am truly blessed. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[31:53] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Now may the grace, mercy and peace of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of you, Now and forevermore.

[32:06]  and forevermore. Amen.