06 The Benefits of Serving the Lord (Mal 3:13-4:3)

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Sermon Outline

1. Have you ever felt
   1. Like being a Christian meant suffering more for doing good while evildoers get away with and are even ‘blessed’?
   2. Godliness should be a means to great gain? (1Tim 6:6-7)
   3. That when you became a Christian, your life actually became more difficult?
   4. I have felt all these things at times
   5. These thoughts/feelings which I have expressed are common to the human condition,
   6. Notice God’s opening charge (Mal 3:13, Ex 18:16, Dt 22:14))
   7. As is typical of the people, notice their response (Mal 3:13)
   8. Application 1: We need to be careful of the words we speak about the situations God places us in!
      1. It is easy to move from expressing a feeling to turning it into an accusation against God
      2. The Bible is not opposed to us expressing our feelings (Ps 130:1, 6:4, 22:3, 13:2, 10:1)
      3. But the Bible is opposed to us accusing the Lord of ignoring evil, or declaring that godly service a waste or that evil is prosperous. (Mal 3:14, Ex 20:7)
      4. Unprofitable Service (Dt 11:1)
2. 3 reasons Why it feels like it doesn’t pay to serve God
   1. Arrogant are blessed (See Mt 5:3, 5:5)
   2. Evildoers prosper
   3. Wicked test God and aren’t punished
   4. All of this reasoning, thinking and worldly perspective is faulty and wrong. (Mal 3:16-17)
3. Why we must serve God anyways
   1. God is watching and listening (Mal 3:16, Gen 21:17, Num 11:1, 2Chr 30:20, Ps 69:33))
   2. God is remembering (Mal 3:16, Rev 3:5, 20:15)
      1. Book of Remembrance
      2. God is keeping a record of his people and their walk with him.
      3. He calls these people, his people ‘my treasured possession’ (1Pt 2:9, Tit 2:14)
   3. God is coming to judge (Mal 3:18-4:3)
      1. God promises to come and judge and clean up and rectify all evil and wrong doing.
      2. Advent isn’t just about the first coming of Christ, but also about his second coming.
   4. God will heal his people fully!
4. Conclusion