Giving
Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
Today we continue our series titled The Doctrine of God.
Today we are talking about The Constancy of God.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Text
Malachi 3:6 AMP
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
Scripture Reading
Malachi 3:1-6 AMP
The Purifier
3 “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
2 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 launderer’s soap [which removes impurities and uncleanness].
3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi [the priests], and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord [grain] offerings in righteousness.
4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.
5 “Then I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and against those who turn away the alien [from his right], and those who do not fear Me [with awe-filled reverence],” says the Lord of hosts.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
Introduction
Everything earthly changes.
I remember visiting my home town, the place where I grew up a few years ago and found that almost everything had changed.
The school was different, the shopping centre was gone and a new one built.
Many of the small family run shops were gone, and cafes and restaurants had gone as well.
Even getting there was different as many small towns had been bypassed and cut off by a new highway.
But the God of the Bible has not changed.
His goodness and mercy have followed me and blessed me all the days of my life.
So said the prophet Malachi, “For I am the Lord, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.”
This prophet of old grasped the truth of the constancy of God.
He sought to show his people its implications from two points of view.
- What does the constancy of God mean from God’s point of view?
- Even though humans have changed their attitude about sin, God has not and will not.
The humanist says, “Sin, There is no such thing, really. A bit of the beast survives in us, traces of selfishness, but not sin! Sin is a Jewish taboo.”
A psychologist has said, “Sin is a psychopathic aspect of adolescent mentality.”
Some who do not agree with the humanist and the psychologist apply the wrong test to their deeds.
They justify their deeds by the test of popularity.
They feel that if everyone is doing a certain thing, it must be all right.
Others justify immoral acts by the test of legality.
But just because something is legal does not make it moral.
For others the eleventh commandment is, “Thou shalt not get caught.”
But sin has not changed, sin is still rebellion against God.
And the person who rebels is God’s enemy.
This is the marvel of the cross.
Romans 5:10 AMP
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].
It is because God does not change His attitude toward sin that Christ went to the cross.
B. God does not change in His love toward all people.
We are valuable in His sight.
God loves every man, woman, boy and girl in this world.
C. God does not change in His evaluation of human souls.
David asked, “What is man, that you are mindful of him?” In psalm 8:4.
Jesus said, in Matthew 12:12, “How much then is a man better than a sheep?”
Both texts, though thousands of years apart, suggest the supreme worth of human personality.
God’s evaluation of human worth does not change.
D. God does not change His plans and purposes.
His methods may change.
His approach may vary.
He may even discard one group because of disobedience and choose another to be used in carrying out His plans, but His program does not change.
What may look like changes are God’s unresting desire to bless men.
God’s goals remain the same.
God’s first goal is the salvation of all who will believe.
Paul said in 1 Timothy that is is God’s will for all people to be saved.
God’s second goal is the indoctrination of the saved.
Paul continued in 1 Timothy by saying that God desires all people to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Part of Jesus’ great commission is “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”
God’s third goal is the consummation of the kingdom.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:24, After that comes the end (completion), when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has made inoperative and abolished every ruler and every authority and power.
E. God does not change His judgements and mercy.
Our passage illustrates this.
Malachi 3: 5 “Then I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, and against those who oppress the laborer in his wages and widows and the fatherless, and against those who turn away the alien [from his right], and those who do not fear Me [with awe-filled reverence],” says the Lord of hosts.
God’s changeless nature guarantees this.
With God, judgement is written into the very nature of things.
Thus God’s judgement is clearly seen in history.
Consider, for example, the Genesis accounts of the flood and of the destruction of the Tower of Babel.
But history also illustrates God’s mercy.
At the crisis in the history of his nation Samual said to his people in 1 Samuel 7:3, Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth (pagan goddesses) from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him only; and He will rescue you from the hand of the Philistines.”
What was the result?
1 Samuel 7:4 says, So the Israelites removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.
When the people repented, God’s mercy broke through.
God’s mercy never fails, for God changes not.
Psalm 103:17 says, But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [reverently] fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
2. What does the constancy of God mean from the human point of view?
What implications does it carry?
- The constancy of God warns us of the certainty of God’s judgement.
His judgement is on the unrepentant, upon those who rebel against Him.
Sin has not changed, nor has its penalty.
Ezekiel 18:4 says
4 Behold (pay close attention), all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
And Romans 6:23,
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The wages of sin is still death, and nothing can unwritten that law.
B. The constancy of God assures us of the dependability of His promises.
He promised to receive us, answer our prayers, sustain us, and protect us.
He has promised relief from our burdens and strength for our trials.
He has promised abiding fellowship, power, and eternal life.
His promises are not empty words.
His changeless nature is their guarantee.
C. The constancy of God guarantees the security of believers.
God’s changeless nature is bound up with His sovereignty.
Sovereignty means security.
The security of believers is predicated on the sovereignty of the God who does not change.
This is the rock on which our faith rests.
The value of faith is in its object, the object of our faith is Christ.
If one who has trusted themselves to God’s care were to be lost, it would be necessary for God to change, and He changes not.
D. The constancy of God provides the incentive for living.
Because God changes not, life has meaning, purpose, and direction.
If we are going in the same direction hand in hand with God, life has incentive.
Otherwise life is meaningless and empty.
Conclusion.
Two questions plague the minds of modern men and women.
What does life mean?
And what in this world can be trusted to stay the same?
Both questions are answered in a changeless Christ.
Outside of Christ individuals are free to choose what kind and how great a sinner they will be.
They are alienated from the ground of their being.
But life takes on new meaning when a person enters a relationship with a changeless God through Jesus Christ.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
Giving
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
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