Advent! Not Yet! Now! Mal 4 1 6

Populus Zion, The Second Sunday In Advent               8-December-2024
Sermon Text: Malachi 4:1-6
Sermon Theme: Advent Not Yet And Now!
I. Judgment Day Is Near For The Idolaters. (Vs.1) II. The Day of Full Restoration Is Near For You Who Fear His Name!(vs.2-3) III. Today Is The Day of Salvation - Remember and Repent!(vs.4-6) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. “Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son,” Last Sunday as the new Church year began we prayed, “Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come,” - Advent among us! Today we are asking the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to make us uncomfortable. “Stir up our hearts” “wake me up inside” to make ready for Your gracious daily advent. Wake me up from sinful selfish slothful sleep to serve our heavenly Father with a renewed and purified mind. “Make me uncomfortable” with my old sinful self, our sin corrupted decaying world, our worldly standards flowing from Satan’s lie.
    Malachi is the prophet we need preaching to us for the Holy Spirit to “stir up our hearts”! He needs to stir up Emmanuel congregation especially as our 75th anniversary is only one year away. Years ago Rev. Richard E. Bauerle published a book called, “I, The Prophet” in which he presents 12 dramatic monologs from the Old Testament prophets. Listen to a few paragraphs as he imagines the prophet speaking to Emmanuel this morning: “I am the last prophet. I am Malachi. For 400 years after I died, God did not speak to any prophet until John the Baptist came to prepare the world for Christ. That made me a prophet of great importance, for my message had to serve God’s people for a long time. Had they heeded the Word that the Lord game me, it would have served them for those 400 years. There wasn’t anything else to be said until our Messiah appeared. As I have come back to your generation, I find it ironic that if I were a prophet in your day, I would have to change very little of my message, for I see in your generation what I saw in mine.
    But before I speak my message again, let me give you some of the background of my ministry. In the year 536B.C. Darius, king of Persia permitted my Jewish ancestors to come back to Jerusalem out of bondage. About 50,000 of them came back with the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Twenty years after the return, they finished building their temple, so they had a place to worship. That was a great day of hope!
    But you know how it is. The generation that built the temple found great satisfaction in the sacrifices they made to build it. They worshiped in that temple every opportunity they had. But that generation of workers died, and the next generation did not have to make the kind of sacrifices for their privilege to worship that the previous generation had to make, so they took their worship for granted. The third generation after the dedication of the temple didn’t even bother to worship, for they paid no price at all for that privilege. When their grandparents would tell them about the satisfaction they had when they built the temple and worshiped in it, the people of this third generation removed just kind of smiled and went their way.
    It was to the third and fourth generation removed from the dedication of the temple that my message was directed, because I was the prophet who preached about 100 years after the temple was finished.”
  The prophet Malachi asks his congregation a series of questions from the Lord. “Why have you despised my love for you?” “Where is My Honor?”“Why profane my worship?” “Why are the priests lazy not holding the congregation to My Law?” “Why do you deal treacherously with one another?” “Why do you divorce treating your marriages with contempt?” “Why do you rob God?” “Why do you offer God your left overs and not your best?” “Why do you despise those who fear My Name and lust after worldly idolaters?” Heed Malachi’s questions as we hear him preach closing his prophecy this morning. Let your hearts be stirred up to make ready for Jesus’ Advent Not Yet And Now! I. Judgment Day Is Near For The Idolaters. (Vs.1) II. The Day of Full Restoration Is Near For You Who Fear His Name!(vs.2-3) III. Today Is The Day of Salvation - Remember and Repent!(vs.4-6)
I. “The Day” is coming. All idolaters in this world talk of the approaching “Day.” Those who bow to manmade idols of scientism talk of the “Day” of “singularity.” The day when manmade machines controlled by artificial intelligence surpass human intelligence and take over control of our world. Those who bow to manmade climate models preach of the “Day” of global climate catastrophe from warming, cooling, or severe storms. They are certain if they sacrifice human population to their idol they can save the world from the “Day.”
      “You shall have no other Gods” the only living and true God speaks to His creatures. “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” Idols are “somethings” made by man.” God is a “Somebody” a personal intelligence powerful loving Creator and Sustainer of all matter. Man made idols, even dressed up in the latest shiny technology and data, can never save. The Psalmist mocks idolaters, “Psa 115:4-8 Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. (5) They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; (6) They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; (7) They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. (8) Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.” Reducing humanity to an cosmological accident called evolution devalues all life. Worshiping monetary profit reduces life to chasing after the wind, sheer vanity, worthlessness - for all die.
      Idolaters! Repent! (Vs.1) The “Big Bang” wasn’t in the past - it is coming soon! Burning like an oven - a devouring fire if you are stubble. The glory of man is stubble. No matter how man parades himself in pride trumpeting wickedness as freedom - his days are like the grass of the field - brief - here today - fuel for the oven tomorrow. The day is coming - Christ Jesus shall return in power and glory as Judge over all Creation. His day shall cast them body and soul into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. They trusted in false messiahs - idols - with no real root nor branch. They made up a false Jesus who tolerated their evil and puffed them up in their pride, but can’t save. Malachi uses Messianic words here “root nor branch.” Only the Root and Branch of Jesse through David - Jesus of Nazareth saves you hell’s eternal oven. Repent! The Final Advent is coming!
II. Take heart - you who are in this world, but not of this world. The worldly idolaters are in great fear as our creation groans for its redemption. Man’s sin corrupted this once pristine world, not it waits to be made new again, that righteousness flows from all its hills with never ending life and joy. As our universe comes apart at its seams the worldly idolater trembles - not you! Luk 21:28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
    How can you be certain? Listen to Jesus! Luk 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” His final advent will fill our nostrils with the newness of spring, life eternal filling our creation! (Vs.2-3) “Our help is the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth!” Fear the Name - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Apart from His Name there is no salvation. His name is sealed upon you by grace - He advented upon you in baptism making you His own beloved child in Christ Jesus.
    The fire of Christ Jesus’ holiness that burns up the wicked in hell’s eternal oven - for us who cling to His Word the fire, the Light, the Sun of Righteousness that cleanses , heals, restores, and frees us. Jesus crucified for your sin, my sin, the world’s sin - rises from the grave three days later with healing under His nail scared hands, feet, flowing from His spear pierced side. He speaks His healing Word, “Peace, I forgive you all your sins!” “See My wounds -they heal you!”
    The day of Jesus’ final Advent will be the final absolution - all sin is purged away - heaven and earth will be filled only with His perfect righteousness - never again will sin, satan, or death enslave us. We will be like calves being raised for the slaughter. The world prepared to fatten us up to rejoice in our deaths, suddenly our Lord Jesus returns in great glory - we are freed. We run, jump, leap filled with life eternal and the wicked plotting the death of Christianity will be like ashes under our feet.
    Our God has spoken! His Word cannot be broken! He is the Lord of Holy angelic armies - He comes bringing us His eternal victory.“Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son,” Come! Lord Jesus!
III. Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,” Jesus advents among us today! He has since eternity. By Him all things were created. The Word of our God sustains creation. He is present as two or three gather in His Name - around His Word. (Vs.4) Remember - covenant words - echoed in the third commandment. Remember where your rest is found - your sabbath day is made holy by gather to hear and do Christ’s Word.
    Remember Moses’ Torah or Law the first five books of the Bible are all about Jesus. In the Temple, Jesus rebuked those who made an idol of their nationality and knowledge of Moses’ Torah. Joh 5:45-47 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. (46) For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. (47) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" Remember Moses’ writings - search the Scriptures - they testify of Jesus. In Jesus of Nazareth the veil is lifted from the Old Testament and we behold our God and Savior. The greatest Old Testament scholar in the Christian Church teaches, Rom 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. “Remember” is the covenant’s imperative to cling to the promises in Jesus and daily walk in them. Hear and understand Jesus’ Words of the New Covenant/Testament in His body and blood - “do this in remembrance of Me!” “Believe and walk with Me, for I am here present in My Word and Sacrament - adventing into the mouth of your body filling you with real forgiveness, real life, real salvation!”
    Remember! Repent! (Vs5-6) John the Baptist is the last and greatest prophet for he sees and points us to Jesus - our Sacrificial Lamb for our sins! Only under Jesus’ cross are we saved from the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Repent! Cast off your sins by the new life Jesus washed upon you in baptism. Repent! Forgive and be forgiven as Jesus along brings reconciliation of fathers to sons, sons to fathers, mothers to daughters, daughters to mothers - reconciliation now in Jesus alone!
    Daily rise in Christ’s Word! Daily repent! Drown your old sinful selfish adam within - rise in Jesus to joyfully serve one another in His love! He is here! He is the unseen Guest in your homes! Hear Him! Remember Him! Forgive in Him! Love in Him! Live in Him!
    Lord God Holy Spirit, Comforter, stir up my heart - make me uncomfortable with my sin - open my ears to hear Jesus’ voice in His Word and open my lips to cry out to our Father in heaven. Advent is now - open my lips to prepare Your way calling all back into Your Church. Amen.