Just make our way through here. Father, we do thank you for this time and I thank you for Al and Cheryl helping us lead the service and singing and we're grateful for the great hymns of the faith and all of the hymns that we picked were about you, God and how we need to acknowledge you and worship you and and submit to you and and be in awe of you Lord and we thank you for hymns that bring that out and remind us and I pray for the message that we're going to look at that you would prepare our hearts. Pray the Holy Spirit would have his way. If there be one here that's never trusted you as their personal savior of the Bible way. I pray this would be the day they'd make that most important decision and I just pray father that all that I say and do would exalt you today and that you would be the most important one in our midst.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen. There's one thing that will help us in our service to the Lord and it's essential. In fact, without it, our service is drudgery and heartless, rewardless service and the the ingredient is love and that's what we're going to talk about a little bit today. You know, God does love us.

Amen. And the issue in Malachi was the people couldn't see it. They'd forgotten it and when we don't understand God's love for us, we can't serve them the way we should. It really throws everything out of whack. Look in Malachi chapter one and it says, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet you say where hand wherein hast thou loved us? God's saying to them he loves them and they're saying, what are you talking about? Where? They're, you know, they're just they're just oblivious to the idea. And I'll stop there in the reading of those verses.

I read a little story about a boy that had a question. And the boy asked his dad what the words Cherubim and Seraphim mean. And the father took time to tell the little questioner that the Cherubim was a Hebrew word meaning knowledge And the word Seraphim stood for flame and he went on to explain that it is commonly supposed that the Cherubim are angels that excel in knowledge. And the Seraphim are those who excel in love for God. And little little boy said, you know, when I die, I I would just as soon be a Seraphim.

I'd rather love God a lot than to know everything and there's some truth there. You know, we need to have knowledge to love and they go together but there is some truth there and the truth is that the really the most important thing there is is for us to love God back because he's demonstrated that he loves us. The folks in Malachi's day doubted God's love for them and as you read about them in Malachi what you'll discover is they became bored in their service they even became belligerent and they were not a people anymore that could express their love to God by faithful, appreciative, obedience. You know, genuine love for God leads to obedience and our love will make a difference when because when we doubt God's love, then our love for him is affected. God is an emotional God and you find that out in the scripture.

He's a personal God and we come to know the Lord through Jesus Christ. He becomes our personal savior and there's a lot in the Bible that describes God and I think we're going find even more things out about God than than that's recorded in the Bible when we go to be with him someday. But there are some things about God that's that come that come forth from the scriptures that are there to bring us great comfort and encouragement. And I want to look at some of those things today. There is an outline tucked into the bulletin so you can see where I'm going with the message today.

But when you look at God, we see not an impersonal God that's not concerned about what takes place on this earth. We see a very emotional God. He loves, he exercises wrath, he pities, he rejoices, he's compassionate, he grieves, he's jealous, and on and on. But his emotions, when you we talk about these things, his emotions are not mixed with human weakness. We have those things in measure, but it's mixed with sin and we're sin cursed people.

His are not mixed with weakness and imperfections but his emotions are exercised perfectly. Look in Hebrews chapter four and we are going look at several scriptures this morning. And I did hit on this theme the last time that this is a completely different message than from the last time we looked at Malachi based on the same verses. Hebrews chapter six or chapter four verses fifteen and sixteen and these are very comforting verses. 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.

Here's the great verse of promise, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. He knows our needs, he knows how we feel, and he can give us perfect and total care based on what he knows about us because he's an emotional God. I'm going to look at four different things about his treatment of us based on his emotion being an emotional God and I want to remind you that today that you today, all these things spring from his unchangeable and constant love for his children. Now, the first one, he's a god of compassion. Many verses in the Bible.

I look at a couple here in in Psalms, maybe just one but there are many. Psalm chapter 25 verse six. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindness for they have been ever of old. That's just one verse in the Psalms. There are others I could read but what we what it was talking about there is mercy.

You know what mercy means? Mercy means that we're not getting something that we deserve. Right. Grace is getting something getting something that we oh my. Yeah.

Mercy is not getting something we deserve. Grace is getting something that we don't deserve. And that's simple but I kind of got mixed up on that for a minute. Anyway, mercy is not getting something we deserve. Now, example, probably a lot of you have experienced this.

If you've been driving for a long time, have you ever been pulled over? For speeding? Have you ever been pulled over for going too slow? You know you can get a ticket for that too. Go 40 on interstate see what happens.

But anyway, I've had that happen a couple of times and the policeman comes up and you're thinking points, money, all this money and he takes your license and stuff and goes back. He comes up and he says, Mr. Volk, I'm going to give you a warning. I deserved it, but he exercises mercy. Can you think back when you were in school and you didn't get your homework done and the teacher excuses it?

God and salvation is like that. We think wrong, we act wrong, we're stubborn at times, prior to salvation we are lost in sin. In Romans five eight, but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's mercy. He didn't have to do it.

We sure did not deserve it. But he exercises mercy and compassion toward us. I have a friend, he's still in a church down in Bradenton. He's a retired pastor. Interesting guy but he kind of rubbed off on me a little bit like Al does.

He rubs off on people. He's leader in the church down there but when someone would ask him how he is doing he'd always say better than I deserve. I heard that a few times and I thought, boy that is right on. Better than I deserve. And we sure don't deserve it but God commends his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ dies died for us.

Why? He loves us. That's the answer. He loves us. He's a compassionate and a merciful God.

He exercises that with perfection. Now, he calls upon us to be Christ like and we can be merciful and compassionate but it's mixed with, you know, the old flesh but we're still be that way. We're to strive to be compassionate and merciful and Christ like like God. So, that's the first thing. Very simple truth in scripture.

It's it's mentioned many many times. And again, it springs from his love for us. That's why it's kind of amazing that you know, he exercised it toward his children throughout the Old Testament and he talks about his love and they they say back to him, What love? What about all the mercy and compassion? He could have wiped the nation of Israel many many years ago.

But they're still here. In fact they're still with us today. The second thing, it's another emotion or characteristic, it's found in two Corinthians one. Two Corinthians one. This is a scripture that perhaps can answer a lot of questions for us when we struggle, when we're going through a hard time.

Two Corinthians chapter one verse three and four it says, Blessed be God even the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and the God of all comfort who comforteth us in all of our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Notice the extent of his comfort. When is it? Look in verse four again, Who comforteth us in all of our tribulation. All of our tribulation when we're under pressure, when we're distressed, when we're troubled, when we're facing tests, when our lives are busy, when we lose loved ones, you know, we've lost in recent days some precious people here from our church.

Think of Judy and Steve and Paul. You know, the recent loss of people here and God is there to comfort loved ones and friends. So when does he comfort us? All the time, no matter what we face in life. And who does he comfort?

All people have troubles. The Christians aren't exempt from trouble and hardship. I won't turn here but when you read second Corinthians eleven twenty two-twenty eight that describes things that the Apostle Paul went through. Paul probably the greatest Christian ever lived, yet he probably suffered more than most people. He was persecuted, he hungered, he was beaten and betrayed, he was imprisoned, and I am burdened in recent days for believers in Ukraine.

I've been at I've been awake at night a couple times and it's come to me. Hey, you gotta be praying for these people. Gotta be praying for this war to stop. I think I think we need to be praying a lot. That this will stop.

This war. And you know that believers are being persecuted and one of the goals of Putin is to make Kyiv a headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church. Right now there are branches of the Orthodox Church and evangelical ministries and a lot of ministries in the Ukraine because you're free to do it now. He wants to shut all that down. That's one of his goals is to make the Russian Orthodox Church the state church of the Ukraine and wipe out all the rest.

So we need to be praying and so believers they're being persecuted and they're being imprisoned and killed right now in the Ukraine and we need to be praying for them. And Paul, you know, he went through all this and yet, he experienced a peace that passeth all understanding. And that can be true of us. No matter how hard life becomes for us, we can still have a peace that passeth all understanding. Philippians four seven, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote that. Why did Paul feel this way? Why can you feel that way? No matter what you face, well, he knew Jesus as his savior. And I'll say this now and I'm going to say it at the end of the message, God's love alone will not save you.

You gotta repent of your sin and trust Jesus as your personal savior. That's the that's the step you have to take. I mean, God can love you but if you don't accept him the Bible way, you're going to perish someday. And so I'll just tell you that but he knew Jesus as his savior. His God is a God of comfort who is there when he is needed.

In fact he's always with us because he's always needed. And here's the key and this is what the people in Malachi's day didn't get. He did not doubt God's love for him. Paul didn't doubt God's love for him. And that's, you know, essential for us too.

If we want to have a peace that passeth all understanding, we can't doubt God's love for us. Why does God let us go through some of these things and bring us comfort? Well, it's mentioned in second Corinthians there. He wants us to grow spiritually, He also wants to prepare us to be a comfort to others. If you go through an experience in life, whether it's the loss of a loved one or maybe loss of a job or maybe an illness and God helps you get through it and then someone comes along and they're going through the same thing.

You know what you can do? You can reach down there and help em up. You can give them the comfort and point em to Jesus Christ and help them through the the problem that they're facing. Help them to see the the comfort of God that's available to the believer and then they will do the same. Yeah, you you just kind of pass it on And that's what we see here.

So we've looked at God is a God of compassion, He's a God of comfort, and now I'm going to look at one of my favorite scriptures He's a God of care. Psalm 23. Some of you could probably almost quote this Psalm. Psalm 23 and I think it's probably the most used portion of scripture in the Bible outside of John three sixteen probably. Psalm 23 and I'll tell you why I like this Psalm.

One of the reasons. It's about a shepherd. The good shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This Psalm pictures a shepherd who cares for his sheep.

Now, we don't know what Jesus looks like. You know, some artists have painted a couple pictures but one of the pictures I like is a shepherd with a little lamb in their arm. And in a very real sense, that is you and me if we're believers in Jesus Christ. If you're going through a hard time and you get that picture in your mind and it really is true that Jesus is carrying us. Just like a shepherd does for the sheep.

You know, a shepherd provides for their every need. He protects them from the enemy. He treats them when they become ill or injured. In fact, in other words, he totally cares for them. And God cares for us too.

Just like a shepherd. In fact John ten eleven says I am the good shepherd and the good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. I noticed Psalm 23 it's personal, it's my shepherd that David writes about. He's my shepherd and he's our shepherd if we know him. If you have accepted Jesus as your savior then you're one of his sheep and he will care for you if you follow him.

Look in John chapter 10 verse 27. John 10 verse 27. And these are familiar verses, but they never get old. John 10 verse 27. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Let me ask you this question, do you hear the voice of Jesus speaking to your heart? I'm not talking about an audible voice out of the clouds. I'm talking about really the scripture. You know, when you read the scripture, that's the word of God to you.

That's the shepherd's message to you. That's God's voice to us and the question is, are we following him? My shepherd. He's a god of compassion. He's a god of comfort.

He's a god of care. Then there's one last one here I want to mention here in our final few minutes that we're together here. Look in Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12 and I know I've been jumping around here. Hebrews chapter 12 verses five and six.

This is a part we don't like as much but it's nevertheless God's love. Hebrews chapter 12 verses five and six it says, and ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, my son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Compassion, comfort, care, I would classify those as tender love. This one I would classify as tough love.

God exercises not only tender love, he exercises tough love toward us. Know, parents, some of you are parents, maybe grandparents by now, but you've raised your kids. Do you know that parents who discipline their kids and train them right growing up? Love them. Do you know parents who do not do that and train their kids and discipline them when they need it.

It's not real love. They might think it's the way to love them, be lenient, and let them do their thing but it's just the opposite of what the Bible teaches. Satan has a plan to get us to think that God doesn't love us when he's chastening us for some reason. For example, Eve. He wanted Eve to think that God didn't love her because he restricted her from eating the forbidden fruit.

Satan wants us to doubt God's love just like the people in Malachi's day just because God may have to deal with us in some way. Sometimes he rebukes us through preaching and bible study. We might read across the verse that really smacks us right in between the eyes and we are confronted with something that maybe we're doing or not doing. And the Bible speaks to us that way as God's children. Sometimes he may allow physical suffering.

He doesn't cause it, but he allows it sometimes. But whatever experience we can always be sure that his chastening hand is controlled by a loving heart and the Bible teaches that. You know sometimes he may remove a person or a thing from our lives as he chastens us. So there's a lot of ways that God can work in our hearts, in our lives using tough love. Tender love?

Sure. We like that. But sometimes tough love is a little harder to take. And God's plan does include tough love. Sometimes he rebukes us.

As I mentioned. You know why he does that? He loves us. You know why else he does that? He does not want his children to remain pampered babies.

He wants us to grow into mature believers who can be trusted with responsibilities and God can be tough on us when we need tough love. And you know what we should do when we get tough love coming from God? We should thank Him for it. That's what we should do. Now God's people in Malachi's day said this, go back to that verse in Malachi, Wherein hast thou loved us?

That's like, you know, as parents having a baby, you know, you raise that child up to 18, 19, 20 years old and through the years you sacrifice for them. You probably changed thousands of diapers, You fed them thousands of meals. You've taken them hundreds of places. You saw them through school and you provided for their every need. Then they get to be 18 and 19 and they say, Well my parents don't love me.

My parents don't love me. That's what Malachi's people were doing to God. He had chosen them to be the medium for his special blessings. He had stood firm with them through a sometimes stormy history. You know they had to deal with a lot of nations that were their enemies, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and Persians, the Greeks and Romans.

We know all about the Holocaust and they still remain today a nation. A separate people. And no other nation or people have ever had that to be true. Other nations are absorbed into other nations through war and things like that. But the Jew, they're still a separate nation.

They still have their culture. They still are a separate people and God has preserved them. He's protected them throughout history. He's exercised compassion. He's exercised comfort.

He's exercised care. And he's chastened them. And that's actually the case in Malachi. He's chastening them. He's chastening them.

Now, was it because he hated them? No, it's because he loved them. Because he loved them with an unchangeable and constant love. Now if you're a believer today in our congregation, say you backslide. You clicked on the church.

You lose your spiritual zeal. And hopefully that's not the case of anybody but the point I want to make is when we do that, his his love remains the same. Right. His love never changes. You could sin against him and if you're his child, he wants you to repent and get right with him as soon as possible but if you don't, he loves you still.

That's that's the amazing thing and almost unbelievable that God works with his children that way. His love will never change. It will always be constant. So let me encourage and remind you that God loves you no matter what. Do not doubt it or you'll be in the same boat as the people in Malachi's day.

Do not doubt it or it'll affect the way you serve him. Do not doubt it or your service will cease or it will become a drudgery or you'll fall for the same trick that he fell for, fell pray for. Again, we like the compassion. We like the comfort. We like the care but sometimes when the chastisement comes, we get the idea, well, God doesn't love us.

He does love us. That's why he's doing it. He's trying to bring us back. To him. So, be careful.

Keep your guard up and this is where I'm going to close. Keep believing the truth that God loves you. And it'll affect the way you serve the Lord. You'll serve him with faithful obedience rather than him him becoming a boar and even us becoming belligerent toward him and that's what the people of Malachi's day had come to. They were belligerent.

They were talking back to God. God said, I I love you and you say, where? Well, just think back through your history, Israel. See all the ways that God helped you. Be careful.

Keep your guard up. But again as I mentioned in the middle of the message, God's love will not save us. God's love alone that is. God's love makes a way but we still have to come to a point in our lives where we acknowledge we are sinners in need of a savior and the Bible says, repent. Repent.

That means turn from your way to God's way. Turn from your sin to God. Turn from your work salvation to God's way of salvation which is by grace through faith and then we call on him to be our personal savior and then we begin to learn about God's care and his compassion and his chastisement and his ways of ministering to and dealing with his people. You got to be saved. That's the starting point.

I'm going to say a word of prayer here in a moment and Cheryl's going to come to play the last hymn. And if you have a need today in the area of salvation, I'd be glad to help you, share you from God's word. Don't delay it. You could leave this place today knowing without a doubt that you belong to the Lord and maybe you are struggling today. Maybe you don't feel like God loves you.

Well, that's just simply not true and I've shown you a scripture here in ways that God does love us. In his exercise of compassion and mercy and comfort and care even chastisement. Let's pray. Our Father, I do thank you today for your word as we've looked at here briefly into your word and people in Malachi's day, how they doubted your love. And Lord, that steel is a problem among your people.

We just don't want to take your word for it. We still doubt sometimes. I pray father as we look into Malachi today that we see the result was that they began to argue with God. They began to question God and they began to be belligerent toward God and I pray that we would not do that here today. So, we get that straightened out and again, Lord, if we if we know you as savior, I I pray that you would help us to grow, help us to believe your word, and just take it for the truth.

And again, Lord, if there's one that needs to be saved today, I pray they would make that decision before it's too late. Lord, in Jesus name I pray. Amen. We're going to take the hymnal. There's going to be one last song here and Al's going to come and lead us.

Hymn number two zero four in our hymnal. If you'd like to turn to two zero four and we'll sing the first verse and the third verse and then we'll sing the chorus. If you don't mind We're going in No light in the the midst darkness you see. There's light for a look at the savior and life more abundant and free. On the third verse, his words are not value he promised.

Believe him and all will be well. Then go to the world that is dying his perfect salvation to tell turn