Malachi 4:1-6/St Luke 21:25-36
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The Day is surely drawing near, and it shall dawn upon everyone on the earth, the living and dead. Just as the sun rises and shines upon both the evil and the good, so shall the Sun of Righteousness arise: with light and warmth and healing for those who fear, love, and trust in Him, and with fiery heat of vengeance upon the arrogant and all perverse and evil men, all workers of wickedness.
The rising of that Sun for the Day of Judgment is more sure and certain than the rising of the sun tomorrow or the turning of the seasons. For the heavens and the earth will pass away, but the Word of the Lord will not.
All that He has spoken and all that has been written by His prophets and apostles, shall be fulfilled. And all those who despise and reject His Word, who shut their ears and harden their hearts to it, will be consumed by fire and trampled underfoot like ashes, so that nothing will be left for them but the utter darkness and death of eternal damnation.
Remember, therefore, the Law of His servant Moses: the threatening and terrifying thunder and lightning, the fire and the smoke of Mt Sinai, the holy and perfect will and Word of God given in the Ten Commandments that lays bare all who dare stand before the Lord in personal pride and self-righteous arrogance. Remember, O people of God, your history. For your ancestors, ancient Israel, were right when they said to Moses, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see His great fire any more, lest I die (Dt 18:16). As the Psalmist says, He was angry; smoke went up from His nostrils and devouring fire from His mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from Him. He rode on a cherub and flew; He came swiftly on the wings of the wind (Ps 18:8, 10).
Repentance is needed, beloved. For the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. For the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved (1 Pt 3:9-10).
Since all this is to happen, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? (1 Pt 3:11-12).
Living lives of repentance, dear ones. Repentance and faith. For remember the Torah of Moses, not only the thundering Law, but also the Covenant the Lord your God established with His people by His grace. A covenant established by His Word and saving work, sealed unto them by the blood of sacrifice.
He has enacted for you His Word as a living testimony. Even before you consider the Ten Commandments, remember the declaration from Sinai: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. What follows are His statues and just decrees, His Word and command that you are to live in faith and worship of the Holy Triune God alone, allowing nothing else and no one else to come before Him or even to stand beside Him. And in such faith you are to love your neighbor as yourself, even those who hurt you and persecute you. Do no harm, but help. For according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Pt 3:13).
In order to prepare you for that Day and for the coming, the Advent, of the Christ, He sends to you His preachers of repentance in the spirit and power of Elijah. For all the Law and the prophets prophesied until St john the Baptizer. And if you are willing to accept the Word of Christ, he is Elijah who is to come. Not merely in apparel or diet, but properly in preaching. Last week you heard from the Song of Zachariah concerning YHWH our Righteousness, tonight you hear of his son, the Lord’s messenger; for He is the Voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, both in the Advent of Christ Jesus and in His coming to you by way of your ear into your heart and life.
For the preaching of the Law, which calls you to repentance, to fear God and love people, must and always precede and accompany the Sun of Righteousness, the Christ, who rises with healing in His wings for you. So was the preparation for His first coming, so is the preparation for His second coming. But where and how does He rise and shine upon you? It is in the preaching of His Cross, beloved, which both crucifies you and puts to death your sin, but also raises you in and with Christ, forgiving your sin and giving you life. The Cross is the Day of the Lord where His wrath is poured out upon His Son and this is the Sign of our deliverance and salvation.
So then, pray that this Word of the Lord, the preaching of His Cross, would spread and be glorified, not only unto the world, but also among you and in you.
For you are ever in need of this preaching, for there is great distress, not only in other, in the world around you, but in yourself, in your heart and mind and body and soul, in your life on earth, and in your dying from this vale of tears. Truth be told, everything is falling apart and perishing. Creation itself is in turmoil and is dying on account of man’s sin. Along with that you may find yourself betrayed by your loved ones, at enmity with your coworkers, divided among your own family.
You long to see the Son of Man, to hasten His coming. But where shall you look? How shall you find Him or even know its Him when you do? For many pretenders come in His Name and they can actually seem far more authentic, more real that even Christ Himself! They can look like the church, like a properly glorious Temple of God on earth, adorned with impressive and beautiful stone, whether in architecture or in flashy performance.
But do not be misled. Do not chase after anyone or anything but Christ and Him crucified who alone is the Cornerstone of the Church, the foundation of God’s City, eternal in the heavens, but established here on earth by His Cross. For the Cross of Christ is the beginning of the end. It is already the resolution and fulfillment. In His voluntary suffering and death, Jesus has become the Desolate One. He has suffered the wrath and vengeance of God. He has redeemed you from sin and death forever. As He is lifted up in death, your Redemption draws near, and as He is now lifted up by the preaching of the Gospel of His Cross, so is the Kingdom of God near to you here!
Therefore do not flee the Cross, but flee to the Cross. That is where Christ is. And that is how He is with you now.
Behold that Tree, and know that its leaves are for your healing, for the clothing of your nakedness and the covering of your shame. And its fruits are for your nourishment and health. Where the leaves and fruits of the Cross are found, there is the summer and the sunshine of God’s love.
Cling to that Cross of Christ by hearing the Word of the Gospel which shall never pass away, and by eating and drinking the fruits of that Tree, the body and blood of Christ Jesus at His Word. No matter what threatens or befalls you, whether surrounded by armies or trampled underfoot, do not be terrified. You don’t need to defend yourself, for the Lord Himself defends you, fights for you, testifies on your behalf, and saves your life.
Whatever you may suffer, He has already suffered for you. Whatever sins you be guilty, He has borne your guilt, atoned for your sins, and redeemed you in both body and soul. As He is risen from the dead and lives and rules to all eternity, so shall He vindicate you from sin and death and every evil.
Not only does He number the hairs of your head, but He will not allow any one of them to perish forever — no matter what may happen to your body in this life on earth. His life of perfect faith and love, His humble obedience, even unto death on the Cross, and His Resurrection from the dead — these are your endurance, by which you shall not perish but live.
All that He has done for you, all that He has accomplished and fulfilled, is now given to you freely by the Ministry of the Gospel. That is what is here set before you, and preached into your ears, and traced upon your forehead and your heart, and put into your hand and mouth, into your body. This is the Apostolic Ministry of Christ, which surpasses even the Prophetic Ministry of Moses and Elijah, for all things have already been fulfilled in Christ Jesus. And it is all for you, and its all for free.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The Day is surely drawing near, and it shall dawn upon everyone on the earth, the living and dead. Just as the sun rises and shines upon both the evil and the good, so shall the Sun of Righteousness arise: with light and warmth and healing for those who fear, love, and trust in Him, and with fiery heat of vengeance upon the arrogant and all perverse and evil men, all workers of wickedness.
The rising of that Sun for the Day of Judgment is more sure and certain than the rising of the sun tomorrow or the turning of the seasons. For the heavens and the earth will pass away, but the Word of the Lord will not.
All that He has spoken and all that has been written by His prophets and apostles, shall be fulfilled. And all those who despise and reject His Word, who shut their ears and harden their hearts to it, will be consumed by fire and trampled underfoot like ashes, so that nothing will be left for them but the utter darkness and death of eternal damnation.
Remember, therefore, the Law of His servant Moses: the threatening and terrifying thunder and lightning, the fire and the smoke of Mt Sinai, the holy and perfect will and Word of God given in the Ten Commandments that lays bare all who dare stand before the Lord in personal pride and self-righteous arrogance. Remember, O people of God, your history. For your ancestors, ancient Israel, were right when they said to Moses, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see His great fire any more, lest I die (Dt 18:16). As the Psalmist says, He was angry; smoke went up from His nostrils and devouring fire from His mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from Him. He rode on a cherub and flew; He came swiftly on the wings of the wind (Ps 18:8, 10).
Repentance is needed, beloved. For the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. For the Day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved (1 Pt 3:9-10).
Since all this is to happen, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? (1 Pt 3:11-12).
Living lives of repentance, dear ones. Repentance and faith. For remember the Torah of Moses, not only the thundering Law, but also the Covenant the Lord your God established with His people by His grace. A covenant established by His Word and saving work, sealed unto them by the blood of sacrifice.
He has enacted for you His Word as a living testimony. Even before you consider the Ten Commandments, remember the declaration from Sinai: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. What follows are His statues and just decrees, His Word and command that you are to live in faith and worship of the Holy Triune God alone, allowing nothing else and no one else to come before Him or even to stand beside Him. And in such faith you are to love your neighbor as yourself, even those who hurt you and persecute you. Do no harm, but help. For according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Pt 3:13).
In order to prepare you for that Day and for the coming, the Advent, of the Christ, He sends to you His preachers of repentance in the spirit and power of Elijah. For all the Law and the prophets prophesied until St john the Baptizer. And if you are willing to accept the Word of Christ, he is Elijah who is to come. Not merely in apparel or diet, but properly in preaching. Last week you heard from the Song of Zachariah concerning YHWH our Righteousness, tonight you hear of his son, the Lord’s messenger; for He is the Voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, both in the Advent of Christ Jesus and in His coming to you by way of your ear into your heart and life.
For the preaching of the Law, which calls you to repentance, to fear God and love people, must and always precede and accompany the Sun of Righteousness, the Christ, who rises with healing in His wings for you. So was the preparation for His first coming, so is the preparation for His second coming. But where and how does He rise and shine upon you? It is in the preaching of His Cross, beloved, which both crucifies you and puts to death your sin, but also raises you in and with Christ, forgiving your sin and giving you life. The Cross is the Day of the Lord where His wrath is poured out upon His Son and this is the Sign of our deliverance and salvation.
So then, pray that this Word of the Lord, the preaching of His Cross, would spread and be glorified, not only unto the world, but also among you and in you.
For you are ever in need of this preaching, for there is great distress, not only in other, in the world around you, but in yourself, in your heart and mind and body and soul, in your life on earth, and in your dying from this vale of tears. Truth be told, everything is falling apart and perishing. Creation itself is in turmoil and is dying on account of man’s sin. Along with that you may find yourself betrayed by your loved ones, at enmity with your coworkers, divided among your own family.
You long to see the Son of Man, to hasten His coming. But where shall you look? How shall you find Him or even know its Him when you do? For many pretenders come in His Name and they can actually seem far more authentic, more real that even Christ Himself! They can look like the church, like a properly glorious Temple of God on earth, adorned with impressive and beautiful stone, whether in architecture or in flashy performance.
But do not be misled. Do not chase after anyone or anything but Christ and Him crucified who alone is the Cornerstone of the Church, the foundation of God’s City, eternal in the heavens, but established here on earth by His Cross. For the Cross of Christ is the beginning of the end. It is already the resolution and fulfillment. In His voluntary suffering and death, Jesus has become the Desolate One. He has suffered the wrath and vengeance of God. He has redeemed you from sin and death forever. As He is lifted up in death, your Redemption draws near, and as He is now lifted up by the preaching of the Gospel of His Cross, so is the Kingdom of God near to you here!
Therefore do not flee the Cross, but flee to the Cross. That is where Christ is. And that is how He is with you now.
Behold that Tree, and know that its leaves are for your healing, for the clothing of your nakedness and the covering of your shame. And its fruits are for your nourishment and health. Where the leaves and fruits of the Cross are found, there is the summer and the sunshine of God’s love.
Cling to that Cross of Christ by hearing the Word of the Gospel which shall never pass away, and by eating and drinking the fruits of that Tree, the body and blood of Christ Jesus at His Word. No matter what threatens or befalls you, whether surrounded by armies or trampled underfoot, do not be terrified. You don’t need to defend yourself, for the Lord Himself defends you, fights for you, testifies on your behalf, and saves your life.
Whatever you may suffer, He has already suffered for you. Whatever sins you be guilty, He has borne your guilt, atoned for your sins, and redeemed you in both body and soul. As He is risen from the dead and lives and rules to all eternity, so shall He vindicate you from sin and death and every evil.
Not only does He number the hairs of your head, but He will not allow any one of them to perish forever — no matter what may happen to your body in this life on earth. His life of perfect faith and love, His humble obedience, even unto death on the Cross, and His Resurrection from the dead — these are your endurance, by which you shall not perish but live.
All that He has done for you, all that He has accomplished and fulfilled, is now given to you freely by the Ministry of the Gospel. That is what is here set before you, and preached into your ears, and traced upon your forehead and your heart, and put into your hand and mouth, into your body. This is the Apostolic Ministry of Christ, which surpasses even the Prophetic Ministry of Moses and Elijah, for all things have already been fulfilled in Christ Jesus. And it is all for you, and its all for free.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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