"Are You Ready?"

Scripture: Malachi 3:1-5

Preparation is such an involved thing. When I’ve had to pack for my seminary classes in Washington, DC, which, praise the Lord is now a thing of the past, I went over the various items that I needed to take several times. It was clothes, and my papers, and books, and computer, and printer, and paper, and my GPS, and a number of other things that would be important to have for those 3 days.
And vacations were even worse! Now there were two of us running through our mental checklists, and regardless of where we were going, or how long we were going to be gone, or even how prepared we thought we were, it seems like we always forgot something! I’ve even tried writing out the checklist, and while it helps, I still seem to miss something that I needed.

Packing our baggage in as complete a fashion as possible is never easy. And preparing for a life in Christ seems to be an even more daunting task - but should it be? The truth is that preparing for Jesus requires a lot more unpacking than it does packing!

Read Malachi 3:1

In Matthew 11:7-15, Jesus quotes this passage as a way to explain John the Baptist’s mission to Israel. He says that John is the long awaited arrival of Elijah, who, in Jewish understanding, is expected to return to usher in the coming of Messiah. But then, does anyone really believe God’s messengers? After all, the Lord uses the most unusual and strangest people to carry his lessons to the world! They just don’t look important enough to be Messiah’s heralds.

But the prophet says that there is a second messenger who is on his way – the “messenger of the covenant”. This, of course, is Jesus – the one who will explain the covenant of God, the one who will confirm the covenant, the one who guarantee the covenant, the one who will be the covenant for all who will accept it.

The Old Testament prophets were messengers of God; the apostles of the New Testament were messengers of God, Jesus is the Messenger of God, and with all of the heaven sent emissaries, only a few people would ever believe any of the words that were offered. I think that most folks believe either that they are good enough, and don’t need Jesus, or that there is still lots of time, and that there will be plenty of warning before Messiah’s arrival, so why worry about it now?
The problem is that the time is getting closer and closer, and the signs, even when they do come, won’t be believed, and yes, Jesus is still necessary! Malachi tells us that the Lord will arrive “suddenly”, in keeping with his parable of the bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13). And when Jesus does return, it will be too late to make any additional preparations.

We want the Lord to come, and come quickly at that, but are we truly ready for that glorious arrival?

Read Malachi 3:2-4

There are several issues associated with this reference to refining and cleansing.
First, refining, in general terms, is the process of removing impurities from various metallic ores. Depending on the metal, the ore is heated to a specific temperature that causes the metal to melt, allowing the impurities to float to the surface of the liquid. The impurities, or slag, can then be skimmed off, leaving the pure metal behind.
The second issue in this passage speaks of refining and cleansing by Messiah, and there are two times when this “refining” process occurs. The first is when we accept Christ as Lord and Savior. By grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8-9) we are purified and made worthy to stand before the Throne of Judgment, but as we sin again and again, which we will all certainly do, and when we seek the Lord’s forgiveness for that sin, which we all must do, we will be refined of this sin, too. Brian Doekson wrote a contemporary song called Refiner’s Fire, and part of the song says:

“Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within”

This is the plea of the repentant sinner – “cleanse me completely of my sin, Lord, and make me holy”.

The second time of refining occurs when the Lord makes his return known to all the world. This is the refining that Malachi is proclaiming. At that time, a final refining will occur, when all sin will be driven from the earth. The difference this time is that all evil and all who don’t believe will be removed from the kingdom, and any residual sin within those who do believe will also become a thing of the past.

The problem, as you can well imagine, is that refining is not a gentle process! The state of the raw material is changed – it becomes molten – and all that is not part of the pure metal separates and is removed. The heat is intense, and when the desired temperature is reached, the pure molten metal is transferred to a mold and is allowed to cool. It becomes something totally different, it is perfectly improved, and it will never be the same again.

When we are “refined” of our sinfulness, we will also experience a drastic change. Those things of life that we have always depended upon; those things that we have always enjoyed; those things that have given us direction for so many years - will no longer have any meaning or purpose for us. And that can be traumatic – or at least it was for me! But once we get through that initial cleansing, it begins to get a little easier each time we come back for refreshing.
And after the refining is complete, the gifts and offerings that are presented to the Lord will, once again, become acceptable in his sight.

Read Malachi 3:5

This is the final judgment, and we read that it is Jesus who will be doing the testifying. Remember that no one else – not us, not our friends, and not even Satan – will have a word to say at the Lord’s Judgment. Laws that have been broken are the Lord’s laws, and only God can properly and perfectly judge any wrong doing. He doesn’t need any help.
The issues listed as those that the Lord will testify against are sins that were most prevalent in the prophet’s day. The ones of our age may be a little different, but please, don’t think for a moment that because you may be clean of these, that you will pass thought unscathed! Personally, I doubt that anyone will get through this second refining without feeling the heat! But the promise is offered that anyone who believes need not fear, for the Refiner’s Fire will not destroy them – only the sin will be burned away.


So what does this have to do with Christmas? What does this have to do with today? When Jesus arrived, he became is the ultimate Messenger of God; he is the ultimate sign of the covenant; he will be the Refiner that verse 3 speaks of, and he will be the one who will judge all the impurities of earth – those things in our lives that will have to be removed if we wish to enter his kingdom. This is the baggage of earth, and it all must be unpacked. We have no eternal need of it, and even in this life, it only serves to weigh us down.

Author James Harnish writes:
I've begun to think that in one sense, the manger is a very small place. There isn't room in there for all the baggage we carry around with us.

There's no room at the manger for our pious pride and self-righteousness.

There's no room in the manger for our human power and prestige.

There's no room at the manger for the baggage of past failure and unforgiven sin.

There's no room at the manger for our prejudice, bigotry and hostile national pride.

There's no room for bitterness and greed.

There is no room at the manger for anything other than the absolute reality of who and what we really are: very human, very real, very fragile, very vulnerable human beings who desperately need the gift of love and grace which God so powerfully desires to give.
--James A. Harnish, "Do You Believe the Angels?" Tampa, Fla., 24 December 1994.

The reality of the manger is that there is only room for our dependency and trust in Jesus, and everything else must fall away. This is our preparation at Christmas, and it must continue every moment of every day of our lives, until the day when we stand before the Refiner and he completes the process of Sanctification for us.
Praise the Lord, for his goodness will prevail.