He's Still The Same!
Notes
Transcript
Handout
This Week’s Theme: A God Who is Unwavering
Word for the Week Faithfulness (God’s): God’s perfect loyalty and consistency in being true to his name, his character and his word.
Memory verse: 2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”
Essence of the Text: The prophet Malachi prophesied of the changelessness of God
Proposition: Saints are called to remember the unchanging nature of God
Objective: I want those in attendance to change and not look for God to change.
Sermon Passage: Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
INTRODUCTION:
TRANSITION:
I. The Premise
I. The Premise
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
God’s mercy means God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.
The mercy of God contemplates Him as One who is bearing the consequences of sin, who is in a pitiable condition, and who therefore needs divine help. It may be defined as the goodness or love of God shown to those who are in misery or distress, irrespective of their deserts. In His mercy God reveals Himself as a compassionate God, who pities those who are in misery and is ever ready to relieve their distress. This mercy is bountiful, Deut. 5:10; Ps. 57:10; 86:5, and the poets of Israel delighted to sing of it as enduring forever, 1 Chron. 16:34; 2 Chron. 7:6; Ps. 136; Ezra 3:11.
God’s grace means God’s goodness toward those who deserve only punishment.
God’s patience means God’s goodness in withholding of punishment toward those who sin over a period of time.
A. He Purifies
A. He Purifies
“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 launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.
For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
B. He Punishes
B. He Punishes
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the Lord of hosts.
You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
II. The Problem
II. The Problem
A. You Passed Up
A. You Passed Up
Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’
B. You Profane
B. You Profane
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
III. The Promise
III. The Promise
He will Pardon
Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’
Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.
He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.
Look at the problem at the end of verse 5
And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the Lord of hosts.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
If you bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.
Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts;
He’s Still The Same
He’s Still The Same
“For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
Not consumed Lamentations 3:21-22 “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.”
Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.
**RESPOND TO THE SERMON BY ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES.**
After hearing the sermon, what sinful thoughts, feelings, desires, actions, or inactivity did the Holy Spirit convict you of today?
Write out a plan to get better at living for God based on the sermon or a plan to remove your sinful thoughts, feelings, desires, actions and replace them with scriptural thoughts, feelings, desires, and/or biblical practices:
The Scriptures: Find Bible verses on your sin or issue you will read and meditate on in order to align your thinking with God's
a. Write out those Bible verse references here:
b. When will you meditate on these verses and how often (daily or multiple times daily)?
The Spirit: Praying in the Spirit for God to help you to hate sin and love righteousness and for God through Christ to help you to live out His Will for your life.
a. Write out a prayer using the Scriptures you located above.
Lord, forgive me for . . .
Lord, transform my mind with your Word so that I
Lord, transform my heart to love ________ and hate _________
Lord, transform my desires
Lord, help me to bring forth righteous actions to replace those wicked actions.
I will stop . . .
I will start . . .
b. Select how often will you pray this prayer. 3 times a day / Daily / Every other day / Weekly
c. Select when you will pray this prayer. Mornings / Afternoon / Evenings
The Saints: Those you will look to as a model of strength in your area of wrong. Those who will hold you accountable in this area and will hold you accountable to keep your plan.
a. Name the saints God wants to help you.
b. How often do you need them to contact you?
c. What time should they contact you?