All right, Andrew, thank you very much this morning for leading us in songs. I want to say welcome to our visitors, a lot of new faces this morning, and it's really good. I'm really happy to have you with us. Our pastor, John, and his wife are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this week. They are traveling up in British Columbia, so we wish them the very best. May the grace of the Lord be upon them and give them refreshing and strength. It's a much well-deserved vacation that they're on.

All right, so this morning I want us to look at Malachi chapter 3. He just read those, so I won't read them again at the finish, but I want to give us a little insight into the book. Normally, here at Living Hope Church, we take a book and we go chapter by chapter, verse by verse through the book, but since I'm not the normal preacher, I'm not able to do that. I'm just going to take a portion. 

But the book of Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets, with the exception of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. And I know that some of you will think, Jesus, an Old Testament prophet? But the fact of the matter is, is the New Testament did not start until Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. That was when the New Testament started. So yes, Jesus was also an Old Testament prophet. 

And if you read the writings, the sayings of Jesus, take for instance the Sermon on the Mount, and it's a beautiful sermon, wonderful sermon, but the whole purpose of that sermon is to bring the hearers to the point of understanding that they're lost, that they are in need of a Savior. And that is the whole purpose of the Old Testament law anyway, is to bring each and every person to the understanding that they need a Savior. 

One of the final things that Jesus said in that sermon was, therefore you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. And so when I say that Jesus was an Old Testament prophet, that's what I mean. His message while he was walking the earth was to, he said, I did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill the law. And that not one jot or tittle would pass away until all of it would be fulfilled. 

So now the book of Malachi, though, he is the last in what we call the Old Testament, the last prophet in the Old Testament. He prophesied to the people who would return from the exile and had rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. This is roughly 400 years before the appearance of Christ, before Christ came to earth. 

From the time that Malachi preached until the time that John the Baptist spoke, there was prophetic silence. There was 400 years of prophetic silence. God was not speaking through the prophets during that time. There was nothing more that God had to say until the coming of John the Baptist who prepared the way for the living word, the final word that God had to say, and that final word was his son, Jesus Christ. 

And Jesus is all that the Father has to say. If you think that he has something to say beyond Jesus Christ, you're sadly mistaken. Everything that we have and everything that we need is in Christ and in him alone. Amen.

Okay, now the message of Malachi was a severe rebuke of the religious leaders, the priests and the Levites. Let's look at, just for a little background here, this is mainly who the book is written to, the book of Malachi. It's to the religious leaders, it's to the priests and to the Levites. 

Let's read in chapter 2, beginning at verse 1, it says, "And now this commandment is for you, O priests, if you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of Hosts, then I will send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings, and indeed I have cursed them already because you are not taking it to heart. Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, and refuse of your feasts, and you will be taken away with it." 

Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that my covenant may continue with Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave it to him as an object of reverence, so he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. 

For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by the instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of Hosts. So I also have made you despised and abased before the people, just as you are not keeping my ways, but are showing partiality in the instruction." 

So here we see that the original purpose that God had for the priests and the Levites was to give instruction to the people. That was what their job was to do. They were to be the representative of God to men and the representative of men to God. They were the go-between between God and man. And just by side note here, if you think you don't need a priest today, you are wrong. We have one. He's called the Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the final priest. 

We don't have a sacrificing priesthood anymore like they had in the Old Testament, but there is one, the High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. But here Malachi is giving that severe rebuke to the religious leaders of that time. And remember that there is a 400-year silence between the time of Malachi and the time of John the Baptist when John the Baptist came. 

The generation of the religious climate was so bad at the time of Jesus' coming that Isaiah said in chapter 53, verses 1 and 2, he says, "Who has believed our report, our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground." 

So the religious climate at the time of Jesus' coming was one of great dryness. There was a famine for the word of the Lord. There was nothing that was being spoken at the time when John came. So you can imagine the excitement when John the Baptist showed up on the scene and began to preach, and people were flocking from all over to come and to hear this man preach. Because it was such a dry, the religious leaders had made it such a dry and just a terrible time spiritually. 

And so that's kind of the background. Now the beginning of the section that we are looking at today actually starts in chapter 2 in verse 17, and let's read that. He said, "You have wearied the Lord with your words, yet you say, How have we wearied him? In that you say, Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them. Or, Where is the God of justice?" 

Now we ourselves are living in a day when the wicked seem to prosper, and the righteous are scorned and set aside, almost as though they were living under the blessing of God, and the righteous were under the curse. Where is the justice? Where is God that he is allowing this? Why doesn't he do something? That's kind of the question. That's kind of what's being spoken at this time. 

Everyone who does evil is good, and that's kind of how it is in our world, isn't it? The wicked are doing things, and we're saying they're good. These things are good. Well, the Word of God says contrary. And we wonder, where is the justice of God? Why isn't judgment falling? And I'm reminded of the book of Habakkuk. Remember Habakkuk said the same thing. He said, "Lord, how long before you bring judgment? How long before you correct these wrongs?" 

And the answer to that question in Malachi is in verses 1 through 6. So let's read those again. Malachi chapter 3, verses 1 through 6. "Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver. And he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years. 

Then I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress, the wage earners in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord of Hosts. For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed." 

The answer that the prophet gives to that cry of where is the justice of God, where is he when all of these bad things are going on, and the answer is this. It begins with the house of God. Whenever God, before God brings judgment upon a wicked world, he starts with the house of God and does his cleansing there first. In 1 Peter chapter 4, verses 17 and 18 says this, "For it is time for the judgment to begin with the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man?" 

So he says judgment is to begin with the house of God. And I know that this is kind of a touchy area because I want you to understand, I know and I understand that we who are in Christ Jesus, we have passed out of judgment into life. We are no longer under the condemnation of the law. Our sins have been forgiven. But there is a purging and a cleansing because oftentimes as individuals, I know for myself, how many times I slip into complacency and allow things to come back up into my life that ought not to be there. 

And so God wants to purge and to clean, so he begins with the house of God. And this does remind me of the book of Habakkuk because remember Habakkuk cried out and said, "How long, Lord, are you going to let this wicked stuff happen?" And God's response is, "You're not going to like what I have to say. You're not going to like what I have to say because my judgment is going to start with you. I am bringing all of this upon you for the purpose of cleansing, but then he says afterwards then there will be blessing and there will be grace. So it begins with us first. It begins with the house of God. 

And it's a good thing for us to ask God and to be before the Lord sometimes and ask him, "Lord, what is it in my life that you would like to deal with? What are the things that you're wanting to deal with?" 

Now let's look at the beginning of the fulfillment of these verses. And I say the beginning because all of these things yet have not been fulfilled. But in chapter one, he says, "Behold, I am going to send my messenger and he will clear the way before me." We know that this, the fulfillment of this, is John the Baptist and for reference to that, let's go to Matthew chapter 11, the book of Matthew chapter 11. 

And beginning at verse number 7 says this, remember now, John the Baptist had been taken and been thrown in prison. And just like anybody else, he was getting a little discouraged because he, being the forerunner of Christ, was wondering what's going on now. Here I've been sent as a forerunner, I've been preaching, and now he's thrown into prison and kind of seemingly forgotten there. And so he sends to Jesus, some of his disciples, he sends them to Jesus to ask him what's going on? You know, are you the one that we're looking for? And so Jesus, you know, tells them, you know, they ask, "Are you the expected one?" 

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John the things that you hear, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he who does not take offense at me." So he's giving his encouragement to John, yes, you see the things that are happening, yes. I am the anointed one, I am the one that's coming. It says in verse number 7, as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. "What did you go out into the wilderness to see, a reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see, a man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in king's palaces. But what did you go out to see, a prophet?" 

Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, "Behold, I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you." Truly I say to you, among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

So from this we understand that John the Baptist is the fulfillment of what Malachi said in chapter 1, "Behold, I send my messenger before you." Jesus quotes that as he speaks of John the Baptist. Now let's go to Matthew chapter 3, the book of Matthew chapter 3. We'll read verses 1-12. This is the message of John the Baptist. 

Now understand something about John the Baptist a lot of people don't understand. You know that John the Baptist's ministry only lasted about six months. From the time that he began to preach to the time that he was thrown in prison and killed, it was only about six months. His whole life preparing for this six month's worth of ministry. So take courage. God's not done with you. Amen? 

You say, "God's really not working in my life right now." Well, John the Baptist spent his entire life, the first 30 years of his life, preparing and when he actually came out and fulfilled his ministry, it only lasted for a short time. But listen to the words that he says beginning in chapter 3 verse 1. "Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord. Make his path straight." 

Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist and his food was locusts and wild honey. And Jerusalem was going out to him and all Judea and all the district around Jordan. And they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confess their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children unto Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor, and he will gather up his wheat into the barn. But he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 

I remember when we were talking about in the book of Malachi, the people that he was writing to. Remember? The priests and the Levites, the religious leaders. And I like this in verse number seven. He says, John the Baptist, when he saw the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Now the Pharisees were the self-righteous. They were the ones who thought that they had it all, and they were the teachers of Israel. And the Sadducees were mainly the priestly party. They were the ones from whom the priests came for the most part. 

And notice where John takes up. As he's preaching this baptism of repentance, these religious leaders show up for baptism. And I love his response to them. When he sees them coming, he calls them a brood of vipers. "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruits. Meet with repentance." Now repentance, remember, means simply to turn around. That's basically what the word means. Do an about face. Turn around. You're walking away from God. Now it's time to turn and walk towards God. And so he's telling them, turn around. 

"You brood of vipers, repent. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" And I find that, I just find that interesting, because that was exactly what Malachi was dealing with when he was preaching. Now 400 years later, when this prophetic silence is broken, John the Baptist picks right up where Malachi left off. Amazing. Just absolutely amazing to me. 

There's one more verse that I want us to look at, and that's John the Baptist's final witness. And that's in John chapter 3, the Gospel of John chapter 3. And all of what I'm giving you right now is by way of introduction. I want to give us the exegesis of the first few verses of chapter 3, and we'll bring it back to practical application at the end. 

But in the Gospel of John chapter 3, beginning at verse 22, this is John's last testimony before he dies. "After these things, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, and there he was spending time with them and baptizing. John also was baptizing in Anan near Salem, because there was much water there and people were coming and being baptized, for John had not yet been thrown into prison. For there arose a discussion on the part of John's disciples with the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi, he who is with you beyond the Jordan to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him." 

And this is the heart of John, listen to this. John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him." Think of this. This man just started his ministry, all right? And the whole purpose of his ministry was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. And so he begins his ministry, he begins preaching, and immediately the Messiah comes and everybody's going to him. Can you imagine that? Now my ministry just starting and everybody goes off to somebody else. 

Well, that one that they're going after, of course, is the Messiah. And so that's a good thing. And here's John's heart. "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of him. He who has the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease." 

He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What he has seen and heard of that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives a spirit without measure. 

The father loves the son and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John's final, this is his final testimony to the Messiah, to the Lord Jesus, to the one that he was sent as the forerunner for. This is what he has to say about him. "He must increase, but I must decrease." And when Jesus comes into your life, you're going to find that you're going to decrease and he's going to increase. That's how it ought to be. Amen? 

All right. So this is the beginning. And then in Malachi chapter 3, again, he says, the next thing that he says is, "And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple." The Lord whom you seek, all right, I'm going to send my messenger before you, and the Lord whom you seek is going to suddenly come to his temple. 

Now this is the reference to the first coming of Jesus. And I want you to see what Jesus does at the beginning of his public ministry. Let's go again to John, the Gospel of John, and chapter 2. Jesus is just beginning his public ministry, all right? He hasn't, the only miracle that he's performed at this point in time was a miracle that he did for his disciples at the wedding of Cana of Galilee where he changed the water into wine. This wasn't public. In fact, Jesus said to Mary when she came to him and said, "You know, they're out of wine." He said, "It's not my time yet." All right? His time hadn't come yet. 

And so after this, a little while after this now, the first Passover comes along and Jesus begins his public ministry. And let's read it beginning at verse number 13. "The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and he found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves and the money changers seated at their tables. And he made a scourge of cords and drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen, and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. And to those who were selling the doves, he said, take these things away. Stop making my father's house a place of business." 

His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." So this is the very first act that Jesus does in his public ministry, is to go and to cleanse the temple. All right? This gentle Jesus, meek and mild, that we hear so much about, God is love, God is love, God is love. Well, what's the first thing that he does? He makes a scourge of cords and drives them out of the temple, drives the money changers and the sellers of the oxen. He's purifying, he purges the temple. That's his first order of business. As he begins his public ministry. 

Now also at the end of his earthly ministry, let's go to Luke chapter 19, gospel of Luke chapter 19, and we're looking at towards the end of Jesus' ministry, and we see this, beginning in verse number 45. 

Now Jesus had just had the triumphal entry. They had gone before him laying out the palm branches and saying, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." The people were rejoicing. They were thinking that the Messiah was coming to set up his kingdom. He's here. He's here. Praise God. He's here. He's going to overthrow the Romans. He's going to get rid of our oppressors. 

And so on the heels of being ushered in to Jerusalem, this is what he does in verse number 45. "Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a robber's den." So beginning of his ministry and towards the end of his ministry, what does he do? He cleanses the temple. 

So the beginning of the fulfillment, I said in Malachi chapter three, the beginning of the fulfillment. And then he says in verse number two of Malachi chapter three, "And the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord." And I think that this is a reference myself, I believe this to be a reference to the second coming. 

All right? The first coming, I mean, he mentions it twice here in Malachi chapter three. The first time he's coming, he says, where am I, there we go. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and Jesus did suddenly come to the temple. And when he did, the first thing he did was to cleanse it and to purgify it. Then he says, "And the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord." That's the second time that he said, he's coming, behold, he's coming. 

Remember from the prophetic perspective, Malachi is looking forward, far forward, to the time of Christ. The prophets didn't always understand what they were seeing. But he sees the first coming of Jesus, and Jesus coming and cleansing the temple. And now he references the second coming of Christ in that same verse. And behold, the messenger of the covenant. Because Jesus is the messenger of the new covenant, all right? He is the messenger of the new covenant. 

When did that new covenant start? It started after his death, burial and resurrection. That was when the new covenant started. He was the messenger, the mediator of the new covenant. He's the one who brought it into existence. It's his blood that ratified it. And so he says, behold, he is coming, a second time, he's coming. Behold, he is coming, the one in whom you delight. You say that you want him, he's coming. 

Listen to what he says in verse number two. And this is how I know that this second part references the second coming of Jesus. "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller soap? He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness." 

One of the things that we believe here is that God is not done with Israel. We don't believe that the church replaces Israel. No, God has set apart Israel for a time, but he's going to take up Israel again. That's what the book of Revelation is about, the great tribulation period, is the time when God takes up the children of Israel again. We believe that there will come a time when the rapture will come, when God will come and snatch up his church, which consists of both Jews and Gentiles, his bride. He will come and snatch her up and take her out of the way before the time of the wrath of God is poured out on the face of the earth. 

During that seven-year period is when God takes up Israel again, and he is going to refine her. He's going to purge and cleanse and deal with Israel until they are brought back again. The end of it, and I want us to look at it in just the book before Malachi is Zechariah, and the end result of it will be this in chapter 8, verses 20 to 23. 

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, it will yet be that the peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will also go. So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord." 

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, in those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you. We have heard that God is with you." God's dealing with Israel is going to be so potent and so powerful, and they are going to make such a return to the Lord, as it says in Romans chapter nine, that they're going to turn. The Redeemer is going to come from Zion, and all of Israel will be saved at that point. It says they will look upon him whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him. 

The conversion will be so potent and so good, so pure, and the children of Israel will be so refined, that all of the nations during that time, this will be during the millennial reign of Christ, that it says that ten men from the nations will grab one Jew by the garment and say, Let us go with you, take us to the Lord. Now do we see that happening today? No. They're a scorn, they're a scoff, they're kind of a byword among the nations. But this is what God's intention is. 

So what I just gave you all of there is the exegesis of this verse, all right? I want you to understand that what Malachi is writing here, and what he has to say here, is about the children of Israel, first and foremost. This is what this is about. It's about dealing with Israel. 

But there's also a practical application for us in these verses, and I want us to look at that. To me, this is such a beautiful picture of the work of Christ and of the Holy Spirit in the process of sanctification, all right? When he says in verse number three, he says he will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. 

So I want us to take a few minutes and look at the process of refining gold. Once gold is discovered, and they go into the mountains like they did in South Dakota or other places, they find a vein of gold, and so they take it out. And when they bring that out, it's usually in chunks of rock or other materials, and they have to, first of all, the first thing they do with it is to separate out that gold first, immediately, is they take a hammer to it, and they crush that rock. Bam! They crush that rock and break away all of the other stuff from around that gold. 

That's the very first process, because there's all kinds of other materials that are around it and adhering to it. So the hammer is used to break that apart, to break apart the ore. Jeremiah 23, 29 says, "Is not my word like a fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer which shatters rock?" That's what the Word of God says. My word is like a fire and like a hammer that breaks rocks. Amen. 

Matthew, chapter 21, let's go, I want you to go there. Very interesting verse here. In Matthew, chapter 21, beginning at verse number 42, Jesus says to them, "Did you never read," speaking again to the Pharisees and the Sadducees that have gathered together the religious leaders? And he gave them the parable of the landowner and horrified them with this parable. They understood that it was being spoken about them. 

One of the few parables that they actually understood, by the way. They understood this parable was against them. All right. Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? This became the chief cornerstone. This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing the fruit of it. 

And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." That's an interesting statement, isn't it? He who falls upon this stone will be broken to pieces. Have you fallen on the rock? Have you fallen on that chief cornerstone? There will be one thing that will mark your life if you have fallen on that stone, and that is that you will be broken. Your life will be broken, and it will be changed from that moment on. You cannot fall upon the rock without being broken, and Jesus is that rock. He's that chief cornerstone. 

He is that chief cornerstone. Is my word not like fire and like a hammer that breaks rocks? Fall upon the stone. Oh, that's the call today. If you fall upon the stone, if you stumble on that stone, it's not too late. It's not too late until that rock tumbles down and crushes you and grinds you to pieces and you're destroyed. 

So if you haven't given your life to Jesus Christ yet, if you have not yet fallen upon the rock, I call upon you today to do so. Fall upon him. Be broken. Let him break you. Amen? That's the first part of getting that gold out, is getting rid of all the stuff that's around it. That's the first part of the thing. 

Now the next part of this refining process is they take the ore and they place it in a crucible in a furnace, and they heat this up, and I believe that they said the melting temperature of gold is like 1,937 point something degrees. I think that's what it is. I don't know that for sure. I'm not an expert, but they heat it up until the gold melts, and as it melts, the gold being heavier sinks to the bottom of that crucible, and all of the impurities then begin to flow to the top. 

I'm not an expert refiner by any stretch of the imagination. I want you to understand that. But I do have a little bit of experience. When I was in high school, I was not a good student at all. I wasn't a good human being at all. But I had a metal fabrication class, and in that class we had to mold some aluminum into a shape. So I was making a pheasant. It's the one thing in school that I actually enjoyed doing. 

So I made this mold of a pheasant, and I had to melt the aluminum that I was going to use. And so I put that in there, and as that began to melt, all kinds of weird stuff as that melted kind of came to the top. And so you kind of scrape that dross off, and you throw it to the side, and let it heat some more, and pretty soon it becomes shiny and clear. And once it reaches that point, you know it's done. So you do that. Well, that's kind of the same process with gold. You heat it up until it melts, and then that dross, the impurities from that gold float to the surface, it's skimmed off and disposed of. 

And this heating process will repeat and continue until all the dross is separated and removed. This process now is complete. Now get this, the process of this refining is complete when the refiner can look into that gold, and it is so clear and pure that he can see his reflection in it. 

Remember Jesus is your refiner, and he's working on you to purify you, and he's going to keep at it. Notice that he says he sits as a smelter and purifier. This is a process. It's not something that takes place overnight. Your salvation is instant. You are saved today. You are no more saved today than you will be a hundred years from now. You are just as saved as you will ever be when you receive Jesus Christ. But there is a process in our lives where God begins that work of removing everything out of our lives that is not like him. 

Because the purpose, the design, the purpose of God in all of this is to make us Christlike. And so he keeps at it. He sits. He's patient. And he sits and he does it until he can see his reflection, until he can see himself like he's looking into a mirror. That's the purpose of God for you in all of this. 

Let's go to 1 Peter chapter 2. In remembering, of course, that Malachi was speaking to the priests and the Levites of the Old Testament, Peter tells us something in 1 Peter chapter 2. And John's been dealing with 1 Peter for a while, so I kind of think this kind of dovetails a little bit with what he's been talking to us about. 

But in 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning at verse 4, he says, "And coming to him, to Jesus, as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God. You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone. And he who believes in him will not be disappointed. 

This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. For they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. Now catch this in verse number 10. But you, you who are in Christ Jesus, you who are in Christ Jesus, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 

For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." The Scriptures tell us that every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest, a part of the royal priesthood, okay? What's the practical application? Okay, I gave you the exegesis. We know that originally this was written about the Jews. 

But there is application to our lives, because we too are priests. God will do this same work that he promised to do in the Levites. He's going to do it in us. He's going to do this process of refining and purging and purifying until he can see the reflection of himself in our lives. Amen. Praise God. 

1 Peter 1, verse 3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and that will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And though you have not seen him, you love him, and though you do not see him now but believe in him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." 

All right? So here he says that you are, your faith is being tried. And I know that there are people here whose faith is being tried. You're being tested. Life has become difficult for some of you. Life has become very difficult and you scratch your head and you wonder if God is in any of this. Why am I suffering the way that I'm suffering? What's going on? Why is this happening to me? 

And he says here that the trying of your faith, which is more precious than gold, even though tried by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the coming of Jesus Christ. All the trials and the temptations in your life, they are working a purpose. Don't buck under it. Don't turn away from God. Don't get angry with God. 

Know that our gracious refiner is watching. He's looking. He's constantly looking. And he will not keep you in that crucible any longer than he has to. It's not his desire at all to keep you there and to make you uncomfortable. His purpose is to make, to form Christ in you, to make you Christ-like. Amen. 

Let's look at 1 Peter chapter 4, since we're there. Verses 12 to 19. I'm actually going to get done at a decent hour today. 

Beginning in verse number 12 in chapter 4, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exaltation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 

Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer or a thief or evildoer or a troublesome meddler. But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? 

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." Now, in this country, come on, we got it pretty easy. You know, I mean, persecution is coming and it's beginning to rise. But I've been reading this week about our brothers and sisters in China who, you know, the missionaries have been kicked out, the foreign workers have all been kicked out, and they're going after the house churches, those that are, you know, the people who are meeting secretly, and they're dragging them out, they're imprisoning them, they're torturing them. 

Severe persecution, we don't have that yet, do we? We're not there yet. But I believe it's coming. I do believe it's coming. But it has a purpose. It has a purpose in your life. And when Peter was writing to these people, remember, he's writing to a group of people who are under great distress where they are at. They are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. 

They are being, their families are rejecting them and turning them away. All of these things are taking place. And he's writing to encourage them that in the midst of all of this, remember that God's doing a work. This fiery ordeal that is among you, don't be surprised by it. It's coming upon you for your testing as though something strange were happening to you. 

But to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that at the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exaltation. Young people, you're about to go back to school, some of you. And if you go to a public school, you're going to be laughed at, mocked and ridiculed because you don't buy into the whole world system. You believe in the creation of the world, that God is the creator. You don't believe in, what do they call that, evolution, all of that kind of nonsense. 

It's absolute nonsense. But you will be rocked and you will be ridiculed for that. Rejoice when it happens. Rejoice when it happens. Stand strong because Jesus is working in you. Amen? Rejoice when these things happen. If you go to college, some of you will be going to college. The same thing, you'll have teachers that will mock you and laugh at you for your stance. Be of good courage because God is at work in your life. Amen?

All right, Hebrews chapter 12. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 12. I've got just two more things to do here. Hebrews chapter 12, another book, by the way, that is written to a group of people who have been woefully treated, very badly treated, kicked out of their families, their property taken from them, some of them killed, some of them tortured. 

Listen to what he says in chapter 12. Remember, just before in chapter 11, he gives this, what they call the hall of faith, all of these people who have put their trust in the Lord and believed in him and all the good things and some of the bad things that happened to them. But then he says in chapter 12, he says, "For consider him, Jesus, in verse three, who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor faint when you are reproved by him. For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives. 

It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline in which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much rather be subject to the father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. 

But he disciplines us for our good so that we may share his holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble and make straight paths for your feet so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 

God deals with you as with sons. Now some may be struggling with areas of sin in their life where, gosh, I've been fighting this for so long. Well, understand something. If you're in Christ Jesus, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But he loves you enough not to leave you there. And you feel the pain of that. You feel the pain when you let yourself slip into sin. You feel the pain of it. You desire to be freed from it. Amen? That's what the refiner's fire is for. 

That's what the refining pot is for, is to purge and to cleanse. He is sitting as a smelter and purifier. He is not rushing into this work. He's taking his time because he knows that in the end it will be worth it. One final scripture, and you don't have to turn there, but I'll read it for you. Philippians chapter 1 verse 6 says this, "For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." 

When are you going to be perfected? On the day of Christ Jesus. Right? 1 John chapter 3 says that when we see him, we will be like him, for we'll see him just as he is. That's the day when we will be like Christ. But until that time, there is that process of sanctification. Remember, John said when he comes, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. What's that fire for? 

It's for purging. It's for cleansing. The work of the Holy Spirit is to cleanse us, to purge us, to purify us, and to deal with all of those areas of our lives where we fail. Amen? So don't be discouraged. God's begun a good work in you, and he will bring it to perfection until the day of Christ Jesus. Amen? 

Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we are, again, to you so grateful that you are our great refiner, that you've not only done the work of salvation, Lord, in purchasing our release from sin, but you have also undertaken the work of purifying us and making us like Christ. And Father, I pray for any who this morning would be under trial. I pray, Father God, that you would give them strength, and I pray that you'd give them insight so that they can see that you are working in their life to produce Christ in them until Christ be formed in them. 

And so, Father, I pray that you'd bring encouragement and strength to your people. And Lord, I know that when all is done, then you will turn your attention upon the wicked of this world. But Lord, we want to snatch as many as we can out of that fire. We want to snatch as many as we can, Lord. And so, Father, I ask that you would help us, Lord, as you purify us and cleanse us. I'm asking, Father, that you would give us opportunities to reach into the lives of unbelievers and to show them the glory and the majesty of Jesus. 

And so, Father, as we go from this place, we ask for your blessing and your grace. In Jesus' name. Amen.