+Points to ponder

1. What is your purpose in life? Do you think your idea of that purpose aligns with God’s purpose for you?
2. How do we overcome the frustration and sadness that the world around us fosters?
3. How can we, as God’s people, glorify God?

+Sermon Transcript

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto each of you from God our Father and our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Let us pray: God the Father, help us to hear the call of Christ the King and to follow in His service, whose kingdom has no end; for He reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, one glory. Amen.

Some years ago, there was a movement in the non-denominational world to grasp and live out what was dubbed, ‘The Purpose Driven Life.’ And we can find ourselves still asking, ‘what is my purpose in life?’ ‘What is my life worth?’ and with such a topsy-turvy world, ‘Does God even remember us?”

In short, creation exists to glorify God. We exist to glorify God. The purpose of our life is to glorify God. The purpose of all you do is to glorify God. And the purpose of the Church is to glorify God. Maybe this should give us pause to ponder what we are doing – what is God calling each of us to do – at work, at home, at Church, in our community?

But first, what does it mean to glorify God? To start, God wants to be glorified by your salvation. “For without faith, it is impossible to please God.” To glorify God, you must be saved from sin, death, and the devil. To glorify God, you must be in communion with Christ’s divine nature. The first way we are to glorify God is to receive from Him; and then, we pray, praise, and give thanks.

That’s why the Son of God came down from heaven, became man, suffered, and died. That’s why Jesus rose from the grave, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of the Father. All this was for our salvation.

It is for our salvation that Christ founded His Church and told His apostles to baptize, teach, preach, forgive sins, and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Because it’s through God’s gifts to us in Word and Sacrament that we inherit eternal life and praise His mercy, now and forever. That’s how we glorify God.

Here’s the problem: in our times of unbelief, we don’t believe that. In our unbelief, we think this God thing is just a sham. This is what the Prophet Malachi also experienced with the people of Israel. From this morning’s reading: “Your words have been hard against Me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping His charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts?”

That’s what happens when unbelief takes over your life and shakes its angry fist at God. You’ve been trying to do what is right, but it seems futile. God didn’t meet your expectations. In a world gone haywire, following God looks as if it’s doing nothing for your life.

Yet, Scripture reminds us: “[G]odliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” But, does God mean that life on this mortal coil will be nothing but smooth sailing; that you will always be happy, comfortable, and successful, that everything will always go well for you? If He does, then Bible passages like “blessed are the poor in spirit” would be a lie.

The Lord especially loves the poor. Yet, God doesn’t love them just because they happen to be poor. It’s just that when someone is poor in spirit, when he is humble, he acknowledges his moral bankruptcy, and accepts what God gives him, even if it looks pointless to our eyes.

In the Old Testament, Job was facing a trial from Satan over his health. His wife looked on and said he should just ‘curse God and die.’ Job answered with this rhetorical question: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Your will be done.” We know that what God wills is always for our eternal good. God knows what is helpful for us, even when we don’t know. And so, we should thank God that He has provided all that we need. But we should also thank Him for denying us much of what we would like. For much of what we would like is toxic, poisonous for our souls.

Moses reminded the Israelites to be careful as they were getting ready to inherit the holy land. Moses says why: “[W]hen your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” This is what too often happens when people – when we, have everything we want.

In Malachi’s day, various troubles afflicted the people. They had poor crop yields; their economy was a trainwreck; their political life was vituperative and divisive; their daily lives were hard. (Sound familiar?) They began to grumble and blame God. ‘We’ve struggled to do what is right. We’ve tried to keep the rules and serve God – but it’s gotten us nowhere!’

Maybe, it didn’t occur to the Israelites that their hard times were brought on by their own doing. Maybe, God was disciplining them. Maybe, they should fix their eyes on heaven and on the Messiah to come. They thought only of their own feelings and that they did not have a life of comfort and ease. They didn’t trust God as they should. Instead, they went merely by what they could see and feel. Could there be a warning for us here?

We see that Malachi speaks of more than unbelief. He also speaks of those with a weak faith: “And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test, and they escape.’”

God’s people were confused. They didn’t see His justice. They suffered while the wicked got away with their theft, blasphemy, adultery, and utter ungodliness.

That has often been a hard paradox for Christians to swallow. Why do the ungodly have earthly success? So, we sometimes think, “What does it matter if I follow God?” But that’s only true if we see earthly success as the final word on what is right and wrong. That’s how we get duped. That’s when we walk by sight and not by faith. When we get duped, we are tempted to turn away from God in despair, to stop trusting Him, and to stop praying.

Here, the Psalms are instructive for us to gain the proper attitude. King David opines: “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there… Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever.”

And so, Beloved, do not despair of God and His promises. Be resolute. For in His Word and Sacraments, God spiritually lifts you above the fray. By faith, you can see that Christ, on the cross, has already defeated the forces of evil. By faith, you can take refuge in God, your fortress, and your rock.

Yet, Malachi still has more to teach us. For Malachi didn’t speak only of unbelief or a weak faith. He also spoke of those with a strong faith: “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed His name.” The saints in Malachi’s day encouraged each other and remembered God’s promises. They spoke of the coming Savior and His kingdom, of grace and salvation. That’s what Christians do – we encourage each other. When one is weak or stumbles, we heed the Apostle Paul’s teaching: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” We are not to skulk in silence if our brothers and sisters in Christ speak foolish words, act wickedly, or head for destruction. We are to warn, encourage, and urge them to rejoice in the Gospel of Christ – yet we are to do this with compassion.

For God hears it when we, His people, pray, praise, and give thanks to Him. He has a book of remembrance where He registers our names. Others may forget, but God remembers. He will not forget. He will remember even into eternity.

So, Malachi continues: “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up My treasured possession.” Did you catch that? We, beloved, are His ‘treasured possession”! Yes, we are worth much to God, for He sent His only begotten Son to redeem us. And God says in the words given to Malachi: “I will spare them, just as a man spares his own son who serves him.” God has spared us from eternal damnation, which we deserve because of our sins. Indeed, God will spare us because He did not spare His Son but gave Him up for us all.

Malachi rounds out our reading with a promise from God: “Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”

Our eyes are often deceived because it looks as if the wicked are rewarded.

But wait! On the Last Day, Christ will separate the believers from the unbelievers, the faithful from the unfaithful. All who trust in Christ will enjoy His eternal reward. Indeed, “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Amen.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.