“Who May Abide The Day of His Coming?...”

1. “Who May Abide The Day of His Coming?...” Malachi 3:2 Class 5

2. The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. (Isa 17:1) Some 60% of the Old City of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo has been destroyed in fighting between government forces, rebels and IS fighters, while 20% of Iraq's 10,000 archaeological sites now under the control of the IS group.

3. Comparable Problems? Malachi’s Day Our Day (Conf. on Comm.) World’s Influence Apathy Relationships • Ignorance – Mal 1:6 • Indifference – 1:13 • Self-Seeking – 3:8

4. The Key: • Repentance • Mal 2:2 • Mal 2:15 • Mal 3:1

5. Fulfillment: John the Baptist • For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Mat 3:3) • For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. (Mat 11:10) • And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. (Mat 11:14) • And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. (Mat 17:10-13)

6. Repentance • Repentance is not being sorry for the consequences of sin. • Repentance is a change of mind, purpose and specifically turning from sin.

7. Repentance • “…how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;”(1Th 1:9) • 3 elements of repentance: • A turning toward God • A turning away from idols • An intent to serve (worship) God You must have all these elements!

8. Repentance • Our message is repentance. • It unmasks hypocrisy and superficiality and confronts sin. • Rev 2-3 Christ commands repentance. • Act 11:18 God saves through repentance. • Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (Act 5:31)

9. Assessing Ourselves

10. How do I know I have truly repented? • Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isa 55:6-7) • And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. (Jon 3:10) • But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (Mat 3:7-8) • Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. (Act 26:19-20)

11. Faith and Obdience • By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name: (Rom 1:5) • But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: (Rom 16:26) • By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. (Heb 11:8)

12. Why do we hear less of repentance? • Repentance has inherent in it the concept and recognition of sin.

13. The Certainty of Judgment • Mal 2:17; 3:5; 4:1-6 • Compare 2 Peter 3:3-5 • “…willingly ignorant of…” What were they willingly ignorant of? • Verses 5-7

14. The Refiner’s Fire Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. (Mal 3:1-3)

15. The Refiner’s Fire      There burns a fire with sacred heat, white hot with holy flame.  And all who dare pass through its blaze will not emerge the same.  Some is bronze and some is silver, some is gold and with great skill all are hammered by their sufferings on the anvil of His will.  I'm learning now to trust His touch, to crave the fire's embrace.  For though my past with sin was etched, His mercies did erase.  Each time His purging cleanses deeper, I'm not sure that I'll survive.  Yet the strength and growing weaker keeps my hungry spirit alive.  And then this great chorus...The Refiner's fire has now become my sole desire.  Purged and cleansed and purified that the Lord be glorified, He is consuming my soul, refining me, making me whole.  No matter what I lose I choose the Refiner's fire. 

16. “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” Mal 4:5 Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

17. Native global flood stories are documented as history or legend in almost every region on earth. Old world missionaries reported their amazement at finding remote tribes already possessing legends with tremendous similarities to the Bible's accounts of the worldwide flood. H.S. Bellamy in Moons, Myths and Men estimates that altogether there are over 500 Flood legends worldwide. Ancient civilizations such as (China, Babylonia, Wales, Russia, India, America, Hawaii, Scandinavia, Sumatra, Peru, and Polynesia) all have their own versions of a giant flood.

18. These flood tales are frequently linked by common elements that parallel the Biblical account including the warning of the coming flood, the construction of a boat in advance, the storage of animals, the inclusion of family, and the release of birds to determine if the water level had subsided. The overwhelming consistency among flood legends found in distant parts of the globe indicates they were derived from the same origin (the Bible's record), but oral transcription has changed the details through time.

19. Perhaps the second most important historical account of a global flood can be found in a Babylonian flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. When the Biblical and Babylonian accounts are compared, a number of outstanding similarities are found that leave no doubt these stories are rooted in the same event or oral tradition.

22. We do not doubt the Flood account nor the return of Christ… • So, what are we to do? • V 11-12 • A question of introspection: If you knew Christ was going to return on Oct 1, 2015, what would you do between now and then?

23. Another Principle to live By: • Seek to find and uphold the rule rather than the exception. • Examples:

24. Are we bold? • For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:15-16)

25. Confidence • (Job 4:6) Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? • (Psa 65:5) By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: • (Psa 118:8) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. • (Psa 118:9) It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. • (Pro 3:26) For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. • (Pro 14:26) In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.

26. Confidence • (Isa 30:15) For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. • (Act 28:31) Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. • (2Co 2:3) And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. • (2Co 7:16) I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. • (2Co 8:22) And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you. • (Eph 3:12) In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

27. Confidence • (Php 3:3) For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. • (2Th 3:4) And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. • (Heb 3:6) But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. • (Heb 3:14) For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; • (Heb 10:35) Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

28. Confidence • (1Jn 2:28) And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. • (1Jn 3:21) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. • (1Jn 5:14) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

29. Assurance • (Isa 32:17) And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. • (Act 17:31) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. • (Col 2:2) That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; • (1Th 1:5) For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. • (Heb 6:11) And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: • (Heb 10:22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

30. Still bold? Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (1Jn 4:17)

31. Much More… • Romans 5

32. Summary We have seen in these classes the need: • Recognize the love of God • Recognize the need to confidently wait on the Lord to fulfill His promises • Recognize the need to bring our best to God first in service/worship of Him • Recognize our duty to be tools or vessles that God may through us preserve “the way” of life and peace.

33. Summary • Recognize the need to emphasis and practice purity in marriage that God might continue to glorified by godly seed. • Recognize the need to repent. This is a natural product of coming close to the instruction of God’s word and realizing His presence. • Recognize the need to give our first fruits in the service of God. • Recognize the work that needs to be done in service to God.

34. Summary • Recognize the need to encourage the people to maintain hope in the coming Kingdom of God.

35. Closing Reading But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jud 1:17-25)