If you have been tempted to feel that your work, your service, your labor, your love, your ministry, your faithfulness, if you’ve been tempted to feel that they have been wasted, well, Malachi chapter 3 is the chapter for you. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick, and Colin, there may be some listening today who have felt that way, and it’s intriguing that we’re going all the way back to the book of Malachi. Some people may not know that book right at the end of the Old Testament all that well, so what’s so special about what Malachi has to say to us? Oh, well, Malachi brought the Word of God at a time when God’s people were very discouraged. I mean, the wicked seemed to be winning. God didn’t seem to do much to stop them. His own people were struggling. God didn’t seem to be doing much to help them, and people were really discouraged. Good people were beginning to say, you know, maybe it’s vain to serve the Lord, and, you know, you find that throughout the Bible, that faithful people have come to times when they’ve had real questions, and they’ve been seriously tempted to give up, and Malachi chapter 3 just gives the most marvelous encouragement for a faithful believer when you find yourself in that place of discouragement, and what we’re going to look at today is the way that God remembers. You know, he never forgets what you have done. There may be other people who forget what you have done. You may feel that what you have done is not appreciated, that in some way it’s not recognized, that it’s not seen for what it is, that people don’t know the value of what you’ve given and what it’s cost you to serve the Lord in one way or another, but, you know, the Lord remembers what you have done, and that’s a tremendous encouragement when we come to times of difficulty. We’re going to see today from the scripture that your labor in the Lord is never in vain, so get ready to be encouraged. All right, let’s do that. Malachi chapter 3 is where we’ll be today, so if you have a Bible where you can see it, why don’t you join us for this message, God Remembers. Here’s Colin. We saw last time that this book of Malachi speaks directly to all of us today. Believers in Malachi’s day faced some big challenges. They were disappointed with leaders, they had known disruption to worship, and there was a growing coldness of heart towards God all around them, but through it all we saw that there were some who remained faithful, and Malachi describes them in chapter 3 in verse 16 as those who feared the Lord, and he tells us what they did. Those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. We saw that when the chill winds of skepticism and unbelief begin to blow around us, what faithful believers do is that they move closer to one another. They speak to one another often, and we saw the principle beautifully illustrated in the story of the road to Emmaus that when faithful believers talk together about Jesus, well, Jesus himself draws near and walks with them. You will find the presence of Jesus in the company of other believers. So when we face what believers in Malachi’s day faced, disappointment in leaders, disruption to worship, the coldness of unbelief all around us, when we face what faithful believers in Malachi’s day faced, we must do what faithful believers in Malachi’s day did. They spoke often with one another, and Malachi tells us that when those who feared the Lord spoke with one another, the Lord paid attention and heard them. Now, I’ve called this series Encouragement for Faithful Believers, and the first wonderful encouragement is that when we speak with each other in a way that esteems the Lord, God himself hears us. And today we’re going to look at the second encouragement, which is that God not only hears, but God remembers. Now, we begin today at Malachi and chapter 3 and verse 13, where we read these words. God says to his people, your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. You have said it is vain to serve the Lord. Now, if you extend yourself in living for the Lord and in serving the Lord, you may find that you come to a place in your life where you are discouraged, you feel defeated, and you realize that you are losing the will to carry on. The work that you once counted to be a great privilege now feels like a liability. It’s a weight. It’s a burden. And you say, now why am I carrying this? What am I getting out of it? And in your darker moments, you may even know what it is to think that it is vain to serve the Lord. Asaph, who wrote Psalm 73, was a very godly man, but he tells us very honestly that while he pursued a godly life, there came a point in his own experience when in his private thoughts, this godly man said, in vain, I have kept my heart clean. I’ve tried to live a life that honors the Lord, and what have I gained? Why am I doing this? In vain, I have kept my heart clean. That’s what he thought. Now, if you read the rest of Psalm 73, you will find out how Asaph answered these dark thoughts, but what I want us to notice right now is that he had them. These thoughts went through his mind. This faithful believer knew what it was to feel that pursuing a godly life might be in vain. And Job faced the same struggle. We saw last time that he was commended for speaking well about God, but Job struggled with some very, very dark thoughts indeed. At one point, he said, why do I labor in vain? And then there were times when even the Apostle Paul himself feared that some of his ministry might be in vain. Writing to the Galatians, he says, I am afraid that I may have labored over you in vain. Now, if you have been tempted to feel that your work, your service, your labor, your love, your ministry, your faithfulness, if you’ve been tempted to feel that they have been wasted, well, Malachi chapter three is the chapter for you. Because right here, God answers the charge that serving him might be in vain. Look at what it says in verse 16. Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them. And then the part I want us to focus on today, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. Now, God knows all things, and God does not need a book to remind him of what we have done. But God speaks in Scripture in a way that we can understand. And here Malachi is telling us that God will never forget what those who fear him have done. Now, when we read in the Scripture about a book written before God, our first thought may be the book of life that is spoken of repeatedly in the Bible. Paul speaks in the New Testament of my fellow workers whose names are written in the book of life. Jesus says to his disciples, rejoice that your names are written in heaven. The book of Revelation tells us that nothing unclean will enter God’s marvelous new creation, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Notice that the book of life belongs to Jesus Christ. It’s the Lamb’s book of life. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and what he gives is eternal life. And the names that are written in the Lamb’s book of life are the names of those who believe in the Son of God. It is by believing that you have life in his name. It is a marvelous thing to know as a believer that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. God says to his people, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I know you by name, and you are mine. The Lamb’s book of life was written before the foundation of the world. That’s Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8, which reminds us that God knows who are his. He always has, he always will, and he will never, never, never forget his own. Now the book of life, where the names of all who believe are written, is a marvelous, wonderful theme in the Bible. But I don’t think that that is what Malachi is speaking about here. Notice he says a book of remembrance was written before the Lord. We’re talking about a book in which the acts of those who fear the Lord are recorded, and this is stated in response to the fear that God’s people might serve him in vain. Dr. Walter Kaiser says, and I quote here, here, that’s in Malachi and chapter 3 and verse 16, we see something similar to the Persian custom of entering into a book all acts that should be rewarded in the future. Now there is a fascinating example of this in the Bible itself, in the book of Esther that comes from the same time as the books of Nehemiah and the book of Malachi. You may remember the story. Esther, in God’s providence, had become the queen in the royal court of King Ahasuerus, and she had a cousin by the name of Mordecai. Mordecai was a good friend and a wise counselor to his cousin, Queen Esther, and he made it for that reason, his business, to hang around the king’s courts wherever he could. And one day when he was sitting at the king’s gate, Mordecai overheard two of the king’s security guards plotting to take his life. Mordecai told Esther the queen, and Esther the queen told the king, so the plot on the king’s life was foiled and the king’s life was saved. Now in the book of Esther, we find that sometime later there was a night when the king could not get to sleep. And we read in Esther chapter six in verse one, on that night the king could not sleep and he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. Now when this book was read, it was discovered that Mordecai had given the intelligence that had foiled the plot on the king’s life. And so the king asked what honor has been bestowed on Mordecai for this, and he was told nothing has been done for him. So the king commanded that Mordecai should be honored because what he did was written in the book of memorable deeds. Now the point here is that the king had a book of remembrance, a book where honorable deeds that were to be rewarded were written down. And Malachi tells us that God has a book of remembrance. So when you are tempted to think that perhaps your service for God is in vain, you need to know that God remembers what you have done. A book of remembrance was written before the Lord. You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message God Remembers, and we’ve been looking at how a book of remembrance was written before the Lord, but what does he actually remember? We’ll answer that question in just a moment, so I hope you’ll stay with us. If you joined us late or if you want to go back and listen again, you can always do that by going online. Come to our website, openthebible.org.uk. There you can listen to any of the broadcasts that have already been transmitted. Also, you can find us as a podcast, so just visit your regular podcasting site, search for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe to receive regular updates. Back to the message now, here’s Colin. Now what does God remember? Well, let me just identify a few things. First, God remembers your work. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 10 states this so clearly, God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints as you still do. Now, perhaps you feel that no one sees what you do and that no one cares about what you do. Who knows the love and the care that you are putting into the work that has been trusted to you by Almighty God? And the answer to that question is God sees what you are doing what you are doing, and he will not overlook your work. Now, this theme of God remembering our work is written all over the words of the Lord Jesus Christ to the churches in the book of Revelation. Remember, God knows your work. He says, I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance. And not only does God know your work, he knows the difficulty of your work. He says, I know your tribulation, and I know your poverty. He knows where you dwell. He says, I know where you dwell, I know where you are, and I know how difficult it is there. And he knows all that goes into your work. I know your work, your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. Now, what you are doing for the Lord, faithful brother, sister in Christ, may not attract the attention or the praise of other people. It may be largely hidden from their view, but it is not hidden from Almighty God. God knows your work, and what you do in his name is written in his book of remembrance. And not only does God know and remember your work, God knows and remembers your words. Back to Malachi chapter 3 and verse 16. Remember what we have just learned, that those who feared the Lord spoke, spoke with one another. And the Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before the Lord. The connection is very clear. God is remembering and writing down the words that are spoken, that were words of faith that honored him. God hears us when we speak to him. But what we’re seeing here is something else. God hears when we speak about him. Those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord heard them. God hears what we say to one another. When you speak to a brother or a sister, when you speak even to someone who does not believe, and you speak with faith, and you speak with hope, and you speak with love, and you speak with courage, God hears what you say, and he will never forget it. When they spoke to one another, a book of remembrance was written before the Lord. And then, God remembers your tears. I love this verse in Psalm 56 and verse 8, where David says to God, you have kept count of my tossings, put my tears in your bottle, are they not in your book? In your book. You see what he’s saying? God knows your highest hopes, and God knows your deepest fears. And on a night when you cannot get to sleep, God knows how many times you turn over in your bed. It’s all known to him. If the hairs of your head are numbered by your loving Heavenly Father, you can be very sure that every troubled thought that ever goes through your mind or through your heart is completely known to him. And God knows every tear that has ever rolled down your face. David says, collect my tears in your bottle, are they not written in your book? Perhaps you’ve endured something that nobody else can really understand. Other people, they don’t know the trouble that is in your heart. Your tears are cried in secret, but God knows the pain that you carry, and God remembers your tears. You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible and the message, God Remembers, part of our series, Encouragement for Faithful Believers. And we’ve been looking at what God does remember. He remembers your work, your words, your words, and we’ve started to look at how he remembers your tears. We’ll continue with that in our next broadcast, and we’ll also see that God remembers your desires, but he doesn’t look at your sins. So I hope you’ll be able to join us for that. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or if you want to go back and listen again, you can always do that by going online. Come to our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. There you can listen to any of our messages that have been previously broadcast. And you can also find us as a podcast. Go to your favourite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe to receive regular updates. You’ll also find on our website, and as a podcast, Open the Bible Daily. That’s a series of short two to three minute reflections based on Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching, and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners. That’s people just like you. And this month, if you’re able to begin supporting us with a new donation in the amount of £5 per month or more, we’d love to send you a free gift. It’s an Advent devotional, and it’s called The Coming of the King by J.C. Ryle. Colin, what makes this book so special? Two things. The first would be its theme. It’s all about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, or rather I should say the comings of the Lord Jesus Christ, because it is both about his first coming that we celebrate at Christmas, and about his second coming that we anticipate with hope and with joy. So a book that just focuses us on the coming of Jesus is going to be a blessing. And the second reason that it is a marvellous book is its author, Bishop J.C. Ryle. He was a bishop in the Church of England in the 19th century. He is one of my favourite authors, all-time favourite authors, and especially in regards to the Gospels. He has some marvellous books on the four Gospels, and this little book, The 25 Readings for Advent, The Coming of the King, is selected from Ryle’s writings on the Gospels. They’re simple, they’re clear, they’re beautiful, they shine the light on the Lord Jesus Christ. They’re faith-building, they’re refreshing, and you will enjoy reading this little book during Advent. Well, we’d like to send you this book as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month in setting up a new monthly donation for £5 per month or more. Full details on our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I very much hope you’ll join us again soon. Are you ever tempted to think that your service for God is in vain? Find out why it’s not, next time on Open the Bible.