Deleted Scenes: Remnant (Malachi 3:13-4:6)

If you’re even just a little bit of a fan of college basketball, you know that March is a special month. March Madness is the end-of-season NCAA tournament that begins with 68 teams and ends a few weeks later with one team being crowned national champion. There are two things that are especially exciting about March Madness: buzzer beaters (a shot at the very end of the game that wins it) and underdogs (lower ranked teams beating higher ranked ones). If you want to watch an incredible documentary that captures what March Madness is all about, watch “Survive and Advance” about the underdog 1983 North Carolina State team and its incredibly lovable coach, Jim Valvano. I’m not ashamed to admit that the documentary left me in tears (yes, a sports doc about college basketball made me cry, what do you care?).

Famously, God winnowed Gideon’s army down to 300 men to fight against an innumerable force because He wanted them to know that it wasn’t their strength that had saved them (Judges 7:2). When God decides to replace Saul as king of his people, he sends the prophet Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons. Samuel sees these huge, impressive guys, and yet God tells him He hasn’t chosen any of them. Instead, it’s Jesse’s youngest son, David, that God has chosen. He tells Samuel that He doesn’t consider height or appearance, which is what people trust in. Instead, “the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). There are so many examples of this kind of thing, including the disciples that Jesus calls to himself- not the best of the best, but a group of blue-collar fishermen, a questionable tax collector, a revolutionary, and other B-list characters.

Another way we see this underdog-inclination is through the concept of a remnant. We talked about this on Sunday. In Malachi 3:16, after a series of confrontations where Malachi’s audience have mostly defended themselves and stood by their own wisdom and strength, there is a (seemingly) small group that genuinely repents. While everybody else is going one way, this is a group of people whose hearts have become softened towards the Lord. The smallness of their number doesn’t bother the Lord. What delights Him is their heart, and His promises to them in Malachi are magnificent.

Similarly, in the New Testament, Jesus talks about the narrow gate and the broad path. The easiest and most popular way will most often lead to destruction, but those who are willing to swim against the current in the name of Jesus will find life. In Romans, Paul wrestles with the widespread rejection of the Gospel among his fellow Jews. But in chapter 9, he recognizes that this is always how it’s been: “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (9:6). He sees that despite the widespread rejection, there is a remnant within ethnic Israel who have recognized Jesus as Messiah. They've taken the narrow path, as unpopular as it is.

Do not be discouraged by the church’s apparent weakness in Western culture at the moment. Don’t buy the lie that we need political power or social influence to be effective witnesses. Don’t succumb to the temptation to “go with the flow” and take the path of least resistance. Together, as God’s remnant people, let’s go against the flow with humble confidence. Regardless of our numbers, if we are faithful, He will do incredible things through the underdog church.