My Treasured Possession
Malachi 3:13-18
Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year or as it is sometimes called, Christ the King Sunday. As you have heard in the last couple of weeks, this is the time of the year when our focus is on the end times, the time when Jesus will come again. The whole Pentecost season, which began in May and now comes to an end today, directs you to consider the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life as a Christian. Jesus called His followers to always be ready for the time when He would come again. It will come as a thief in the night when you least expect it. There will be signs that remind us that the end is near but the exact time will be unknown. The signs have been happening all throughout history and they remind us that the Lord wants you to be ready.
As you wait, you may become frustrated by things that happen in the world around you. When you hear about typhoons and tornados and volcanic eruptions like we have recently, you may be tempted to question the will of God. That kind of questioning is not unique to our time. Often in the New Testament Epistles, the writers address the issue of the Lord’s return. In II Peter 3, for example, the Apostle explains that the Lord is not slow in keeping His promises as some understand slowness. Rather He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but to come to repentance.
Our text for today takes us back into the Old Testament. Even there the prophet speaks for the Lord and exposes the frustration and complaint of the people. Their complaint is similar to the complaint of God’s people today. You have probably expressed that same complaint either openly or at least in your thoughts. As we look at this complaint and God’s response today, may you be strengthened in your faith as you continue to wait patiently for the coming of the Lord. May you see how you are a treasured possession of the Lord and may that assurance strengthen you for the tasks that Lord has given you as you wait.
I mentioned earlier the complaints and frustrations of the people. In the Old Testament reading you heard the kind of typical complaints that are still heard today. “It is vain to serve God! What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evil doers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.” It’s not too hard to put that into modern language. The complaint is still the same. “What good is it to try and do the right thing? You only get left behind. Look around in the world. The good guys lose and the bad guys win. If dishonesty gets you what you want, go for it. It just doesn’t pay to be a Christian. There is no profit in that. It’s a lot easier to follow your natural instincts and do whatever feels good. People get away with stuff all the time. Where do Christians fit in all of this? We miss out on all the fun because we try to do God’s will. It just isn’t fair.” Does that sound familiar? It should because it is the voice of your human nature talking, trying to convince you that there is no benefit for you in trying to be prepared for the Lord’s coming. The devil plants the seeds of doubt in your mind just like he did to Eve in the Garden. He tells us to ignore the will of God. “Think for yourself. Don’t worry about the consequences of your actions. Think for today. Take what you want.”
The devil makes it sound so attractive. When you listen to the enticements of the devil, the world and your own human nature, it sounds like it’s all good, all pleasure, and no consequences. But when you compare the temptations to what is actually found in God’s Word, you find that the devil’s way is sadly lacking in any lasting benefit. For example, the world teaches us that if you do the right things, if you try to live a good life, then things will always go your way and you deserve to be rewarded in this life and you surely will have a fine place in heaven. Is that what the Scriptures tell you though? Not quite. In God’s Word you are told that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You are told that you are justified, declared righteous, by God’s grace, not by your good effort. You, therefore, cannot earn your salvation. It is a gift. It was earned for you.
The purpose of your life is not then to try and live to please God so that you can be rewarded in the end for all your good deeds. If you hope to stand before Jesus on the last day with that as your hope for heaven you will be sadly mistaken. That kind of attitude is only an off-shoot of your sinful, selfish nature. It comes from an attitude that is looking out only for yourself. “I’ll do good works but I’d better get rewarded for it. I will help someone else only if I’m going to benefit from the time I had to spend. I’ll volunteer for some job down at the church as long as there is something in it for me.” You end up asking the same questions as the people in our text. “What’s the use of doing good? It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out His requirements?”
One thing that those who asked the questions fail to see is that your life is not lived only for the here and now. You live not just for yourself but you live for God. Life here on earth occupies only a short time in your existence. You have an eternity ahead of you. There are two options for the rest of eternity after this life is over. When Jesus comes to judge, there are two possible verdicts: Righteous by virtue of God’s declaration by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, or Unrighteous in spite of all your persistent efforts at self-righteousness.
When Jesus comes to judge, you will be judged by God’s standard and not by any kind of human standard. Those who have tried to make themselves righteous by their own efforts, by their attempts to appease their own idea of God, or by their delusion that they are good enough, will be found lacking and will be sent to hell for all eternity. All of their earthly gain will have no value in the final judgment. What seemed to be their earthly advantage turned out to be completely useless.
On the other hand, the prophet continues by describing those who fear the Lord and honor His name. “They shall be mine”, says the Lord of hosts, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession.” What an honor! Those who fear the Lord and honor His name are His own treasured possession. A treasure is something that has great value because it was obtained through a great sacrifice. You are the treasured possession of the Lord because your salvation was obtained through a tremendous sacrifice. The Lord sent His only Son into the world to sacrifice His life to rescue His treasured possession from the power of sin, death and the devil. He sent the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of His treasured possession so that you could believe that Jesus Christ is the one who saved you by His blood. The Spirit convinces you through the Law and the Gospel that you are a sinner whose only hope is Jesus. By the Spirit’s power through the Means of Grace, you are free to give up on all your human efforts at saving yourself and you can trust completely in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You are His treasured possession whose eternal future has been assured.
The last verse of the text reminds you that even though in this life the ungodly may seem to get all the breaks, when the last day comes, “You shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. God’s justice will be revealed on the last day. There will be no time for excuses. It will be a simple matter of faith in Jesus or no faith. Those who serve and honor the Lord follow His ways. That includes, first and foremost, faith and trust in God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. The Christian life of response to God’s love follows from that.
It will be a joyous time for the treasured possession of the Lord. There will be praise and gladness for all eternity. You don’t know when that will happen but you are called to be ready. You are ready when your heart is filled with faith and trust in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace, the Word and the Sacraments. By God’s grace you are His treasured possession. With that assurance, you can joyfully pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, take your treasured possession home.” Amen.
Rev. Gerald Matzke
Zion Lutheran Church
Painesville, Ohio
The Last Sunday of the Church Year
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