LET GOD DO THE LAUNDRY: SHOUT IT OUT

Sermon Notes, December 9, 2012

Pastor Jan Sinozich

 

The second Sunday of Advent, the Bethlehem candle was lit, representing God’s perfect love that is brought to us through Jesus.

Pastor Jan’s sermon was titled “Let God Do the Laundry: Shout it out,” with Malachi 3:1-4 as her text.  Samantha Nolan painted a ‘Christmas Card’ to the church while Pastor Jan preached.  

Prophets are the bearers of God’s news to the world.  God was preparing the world for the promised Messiah.  Malachi was the last prophet, living about 400 years before Christ was to be born, in the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  People were “doing what was right in their own eyes.”  Malachi was looking at the situation in his country with spiritual eyes, seeing the corruption of the people through God’s eyes. 

Verse 2 asks “Who can endure the day of his coming?”  He was asking “Who will be able to compare to God’s cleanliness?”  Who will be able to stand up to the holiness of the Messiah when He comes?   When the Messiah comes, both now in our hearts, and at the end of time, He cleans up His people.

Verse 3 says He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver, cleansing and purifying the people, who will then be able to offer the Lord a proper offering.   Verse 4 says that then their offerings will be pleasing to Him, as in times past.  The people will no longer offer God the leftovers.

Jesus came to clean us up.  When we want to run our own lives, as the Israelites did in Malachi’s time, we forget about all the times we messed up and God rescued us, just as He did them.  He sent His Son to purify us from the stains of our sins and to clean us up, just as if we’d never sinned. 

Jesus came to purify, not to punish; to redeem not to condemn.  How does Jesus purify us?  Not with soap, but with His own blood which he shed on the cross.  We need to let God do our laundry.  We need Jesus’ blood to remove our stains.  We need His presence in our hearts so we can stand before God.  We honor Him by putting our trust in Him.  We thank him because after He purifies our hearts from sin, He continues to purify our faith.

We are God’s chosen people, just as the Israelites of the Old Testament were.  We are purified to be USED by God.  Live for Him.  Give Him your best, which is your proper offering.  Samantha’s ‘Christmas card,’ her painting, is her offering, her worship, her service.  Serve God, and Serve others as He’s called us to do.