The Joy of the Righteous

​Malachi 4:2 ~ “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.”
 
There is a Day coming that will clarify everything. Like the sun shining bright after the darkness, this Day will bring with it a revelation of Christ unlike any other day. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” The limited knowledge we have of the glorious goodness and majestic greatness of the King of kings shows with every step we take. However, soon we shall no longer trip over our own sins nor stumble over the snares and traps set for our feet. Soon, beloved, we shall walk in the full light of the Day of Christ.
 
Before we venture into our text for today, I am compelled to give warning to those who do not fear the name of the LORD. Those who reject and despise the LORD Jesus Christ, who hate His ways and scorn His people, upon the same day they will have a vastly different experience. Malachi 4:1 declares, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” The same sun will rise, but it will bring the scorching heat of the wrath of God Almighty upon those who do not fear His name. If you are reading this and are in that category, I plead with you to repent and believe on the LORD Jesus Christ. Turn from your sins. Fear the LORD and trust in the Savior who took upon Himself the wrath you and I deserve. Soon the day is coming and those who are not born again will do as they did in Revelation 6:15-17, “Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’”
 
But for those who fear the name of the LORD, those who have humbled themselves before Him and received from Him the pardon purchased by Jesus Christ, who by faith have surrendered to Christ Jesus as LORD according to His Word, to them God Almighty has given a very great and precious promise. For all who belong to Christ will stand in that Day and rejoice. The scorching sun that will burn the rebellious is the same sun that will rise with healing in its wings. That day will be a day of restoration. Consider what is promised in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Dear Christian, we have a day coming that will restore us before God and deliver us from the calamity of sin and the decay of mortality. All the elements of life that brings sorrow, pain, suffering and any other tragedy born of our wickedness will be removed forever. Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”
 
And then we consider the great joy with which the redeemed of the LORD shall rejoice! Consider the description of our text: “You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Just imagine for a moment the farmer who goes to the stall where the calves have been locked away, safely sheltered from the elements but still limited by their captivity in the stall. Once released, however, they simply bound with the vigor of their youthfulness, with joy unbridled and the delight of freedom. And such will be every saint of Christ! We shall go out with joy and be led forth in peace (see Isaiah 55:12). In Christ we shall discover a liberty and freedom like we’ve never known while still penned up in this stall of sinful flesh. Once that Day dawns, we shall experience a healing joy unlike any other. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.’” It is waiting for all who believe, my friends.
 
The Day is coming. Let us fix our minds and hearts on that which God has prepared. For soon, dear ones, upon the great sunrise of glory, we shall see it for ourselves.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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