God Will Bring Justice for You

2 Thessalonians 1: 6-9

Pastor Colin addressed a challenging portion of scripture that might seem intimidating for newcomers. However, he embraced the discipline of steadfastly adhering to the Scripture, emphasizing the importance of letting the Bible direct our lives, rather than selectively choosing passages that mirror our preferences.

In his sermon, Pastor Colin explored the idea of idolatry and how modern society often crafts a conception of God that serves and affirms personal biases and lifestyles. He warns against this by posing thought-provoking questions about the nature of God, the consequences of shaping God into our image, and the potential danger of a God who only echoes our thoughts and desires. As Pastor Colin delves into 2 Thessalonians, he highlights the gravity of facing eternal truths, underscoring the compassion and urgency that come from understanding the just and punitive nature of God as revealed in scripture.

1 00:00:00,240 –> 00:00:02,640 Well, when you heard that passage of Scripture 2 00:00:02,640 –> 00:00:04,400 being read just now, 3 00:00:04,400 –> 00:00:05,640 you may have thought to yourself, 4 00:00:05,640 –> 00:00:10,000 my this is a very strange passage of the Bible 5 00:00:10,000 –> 00:00:11,800 for a weekend when we’re planning 6 00:00:11,800 –> 00:00:15,640 to welcome large numbers of first-time visitors 7 00:00:15,640 –> 00:00:19,459 in the public launch of a new campus. 8 00:00:19,459 –> 00:00:24,459 Is he really going to preach this weekend 9 00:00:25,400 –> 00:00:27,780 from these verses in the Bible? 10 00:00:27,780 –> 00:00:30,700 Well, I want you to know the same question occurred to me. 11 00:00:32,580 –> 00:00:35,180 On an occasion like this, you have to make a choice. 12 00:00:36,180 –> 00:00:40,939 You can do something different and say, this is special, 13 00:00:40,939 –> 00:00:45,939 or you can be who you are and you can say, 14 00:00:46,840 –> 00:00:49,840 this is what we’re about, 15 00:00:49,840 –> 00:00:52,160 and I’ve chosen this weekend 16 00:00:52,160 –> 00:00:53,799 which is a great weekend of joy 17 00:00:53,799 –> 00:00:56,939 for all of us to do what we always do 18 00:00:56,939 –> 00:01:00,840 for all of you who are visiting the orchard this weekend. 19 00:01:00,840 –> 00:01:05,320 Our pattern, as you will come to know and see, 20 00:01:05,320 –> 00:01:07,900 and I hope you will come to love and appreciate 21 00:01:07,900 –> 00:01:09,379 is that week by week, what we do 22 00:01:09,379 –> 00:01:12,239 is we simply take a passage from the Bible. 23 00:01:12,239 –> 00:01:15,559 And what we try to do is to place ourselves under it. 24 00:01:15,559 –> 00:01:17,680 We’re not coming as the sort of inspectors 25 00:01:17,680 –> 00:01:19,419 or evaluators of the Bible. 26 00:01:19,419 –> 00:01:24,260 We’re trying to have the Bible evaluate and inspect us. 27 00:01:24,260 –> 00:01:26,320 We want to listen to the Bible 28 00:01:26,580 –> 00:01:28,260 and we want to place ourselves under the Word of God 29 00:01:28,260 –> 00:01:30,820 in such a way that our thinking, 30 00:01:30,820 –> 00:01:33,699 our feeling, our choosing, our believing, 31 00:01:33,699 –> 00:01:38,220 and our behaving all get shaped over time 32 00:01:38,220 –> 00:01:41,540 by the Word of God. 33 00:01:41,540 –> 00:01:43,139 And it would be very easy, you see, 34 00:01:43,139 –> 00:01:45,059 simply for us to come to the Bible, 35 00:01:45,059 –> 00:01:47,099 picking the bits that we like 36 00:01:47,099 –> 00:01:48,900 and ignoring all of the bits 37 00:01:48,900 –> 00:01:51,300 that make us feel uncomfortable. 38 00:01:51,300 –> 00:01:53,139 But you see, if you do that, 39 00:01:53,180 –> 00:01:57,639 you are only hearing a reflection of your own preferences. 40 00:01:57,639 –> 00:01:59,180 What happens over time is that 41 00:01:59,180 –> 00:02:03,779 your pre-existing prejudices end up being reinforced. 42 00:02:03,779 –> 00:02:05,779 You find that you’re always being affirmed 43 00:02:05,779 –> 00:02:07,260 but never challenged. 44 00:02:07,260 –> 00:02:09,419 You find that you’re always being comforted 45 00:02:09,419 –> 00:02:12,360 but never actually changed. 46 00:02:12,360 –> 00:02:14,020 Now, that’s why we use the discipline 47 00:02:14,020 –> 00:02:16,979 of simply working through a book of the Bible 48 00:02:16,979 –> 00:02:19,960 so that we can listen to what God says 49 00:02:19,960 –> 00:02:23,100 on the subject that He wants to speak to us about. 50 00:02:23,100 –> 00:02:25,279 Rather than us simply set the range 51 00:02:25,279 –> 00:02:28,800 of what we’re prepared to listen to Him on. 52 00:02:28,800 –> 00:02:32,779 And last summer, long before we knew anything 53 00:02:32,779 –> 00:02:35,080 about dates of public launches, 54 00:02:35,080 –> 00:02:37,440 it was planned that we would listen to God 55 00:02:37,440 –> 00:02:40,160 through this part of the Scripture. 56 00:02:40,160 –> 00:02:44,240 And so that is what we are going to do this weekend. 57 00:02:44,240 –> 00:02:47,520 You know that it is often tempting for the preacher 58 00:02:47,520 –> 00:02:51,399 to fit the message to what people want to hear. 59 00:02:51,399 –> 00:02:53,500 But you will know this in your own experience 60 00:02:53,500 –> 00:02:55,220 as I know it in mine. 61 00:02:55,220 –> 00:03:00,220 I am not helped by people who only say what I want to hear. 62 00:03:01,380 –> 00:03:05,080 I am helped by people who say it like it is. 63 00:03:05,080 –> 00:03:07,199 And I especially need people in my life 64 00:03:07,199 –> 00:03:10,479 who will confront me with what I may be hiding from 65 00:03:10,479 –> 00:03:14,039 without even knowing that I am hiding from it. 66 00:03:14,039 –> 00:03:16,440 And I need to hear, we all need to hear 67 00:03:16,440 –> 00:03:20,940 what God has to say, especially, especially, 68 00:03:21,880 –> 00:03:25,800 where that makes us feel uncomfortable. 69 00:03:25,800 –> 00:03:28,600 And so I want us to kind of home in on this a little 70 00:03:28,600 –> 00:03:31,460 before we get into what the scripture is saying to us here, 71 00:03:31,460 –> 00:03:32,559 think about it. 72 00:03:32,559 –> 00:03:35,279 You could spend your whole life 73 00:03:35,279 –> 00:03:39,779 shaping a personalized God to your own liking. 74 00:03:39,779 –> 00:03:41,619 Shaping in your mind, tampering it out, 75 00:03:41,619 –> 00:03:43,240 a God who loves what you love, 76 00:03:43,240 –> 00:03:45,100 a God who says what you want to hear. 77 00:03:45,100 –> 00:03:48,559 A God who calls you to live as you’re already living. 78 00:03:48,559 –> 00:03:51,539 That God would only be a projection of yourself. 79 00:03:53,059 –> 00:03:54,279 And at the end of the day, 80 00:03:54,279 –> 00:03:57,380 what good is a God who is designed by you really? 81 00:03:59,000 –> 00:04:04,000 A God who is shaped by you will die with you. 82 00:04:04,080 –> 00:04:07,559 A God who was shaped by me would die with me. 83 00:04:09,059 –> 00:04:11,380 Such a God cannot help us 84 00:04:11,380 –> 00:04:15,240 because he or she has no existence apart from us. 85 00:04:16,019 –> 00:04:19,059 And the Bible has a word for that, 86 00:04:19,059 –> 00:04:21,019 the word is simply idolatry. 87 00:04:22,019 –> 00:04:24,000 In ancient times, the idols, you know, 88 00:04:24,000 –> 00:04:26,119 were made of wood and they were made of stone 89 00:04:26,119 –> 00:04:27,519 and they were made of metal. 90 00:04:27,519 –> 00:04:29,320 In our more sophisticated times, 91 00:04:29,320 –> 00:04:33,119 the idols are not so much metal, they are mental. 92 00:04:33,119 –> 00:04:36,880 We hammer them out in the caverns of our minds, 93 00:04:36,880 –> 00:04:38,959 this is who we think God is, 94 00:04:38,959 –> 00:04:41,440 this is what I want him to be like. 95 00:04:42,299 –> 00:04:44,320 And that is precisely why 96 00:04:44,320 –> 00:04:46,720 so many people in our culture today 97 00:04:46,720 –> 00:04:48,899 are convinced that Christianity 98 00:04:48,899 –> 00:04:52,440 is simply a projection of human thought 99 00:04:53,440 –> 00:04:56,640 mixed in with a power play by the church. 100 00:04:58,279 –> 00:05:00,420 And I want to try and open your mind up 101 00:05:00,420 –> 00:05:02,500 to something else this weekend, 102 00:05:03,720 –> 00:05:07,140 what if God was before us, 103 00:05:08,140 –> 00:05:13,040 what if He is without us, 104 00:05:13,040 –> 00:05:15,959 what if He always will be despite us, 105 00:05:15,959 –> 00:05:18,320 what if we are dependent on Him, 106 00:05:18,320 –> 00:05:21,059 not Him dependent on us? 107 00:05:22,320 –> 00:05:25,660 What if God were abundantly good 108 00:05:25,660 –> 00:05:28,899 and you are part of a world 109 00:05:28,899 –> 00:05:30,660 that is rebelling against him, 110 00:05:32,260 –> 00:05:34,899 what if God is love 111 00:05:34,899 –> 00:05:36,720 and you are spending much of your life 112 00:05:37,559 –> 00:05:38,799 running away from him? 113 00:05:40,000 –> 00:05:42,480 What if God sees a future disaster 114 00:05:42,480 –> 00:05:44,519 that you don’t even know about yet 115 00:05:44,519 –> 00:05:46,320 and is already reaching out 116 00:05:46,320 –> 00:05:49,119 to deliver you from that catastrophe? 117 00:05:50,760 –> 00:05:53,339 Well, folks, I have been studying this book 118 00:05:53,339 –> 00:05:55,279 all of my life, 119 00:05:55,279 –> 00:05:58,200 and that is exactly the message that I find here, 120 00:05:59,619 –> 00:06:04,200 God comes to us and He says I am who I am, 121 00:06:04,200 –> 00:06:06,059 I’m not whoever you want me to be, 122 00:06:07,359 –> 00:06:10,519 and He speaks to us in this book so that we may find Him, 123 00:06:11,600 –> 00:06:13,040 so that you can know Him, 124 00:06:14,119 –> 00:06:16,720 and so that we may be able to enjoy Him forever. 125 00:06:17,779 –> 00:06:20,119 So I hope you’ll open your Bible with me 126 00:06:20,119 –> 00:06:23,519 at the Second Book of Thessalonians. 127 00:06:23,519 –> 00:06:26,359 We saw last week that this letter was written 128 00:06:26,359 –> 00:06:29,920 to encourage Christians who were being persecuted. 129 00:06:29,920 –> 00:06:31,820 Now, let’s pause there for a moment. 130 00:06:31,820 –> 00:06:34,739 Persecution is always a terrible thing, 131 00:06:35,739 –> 00:06:37,700 a particular group of people, 132 00:06:37,700 –> 00:06:40,399 and it varies at different times and different places, 133 00:06:41,579 –> 00:06:43,179 but it is always a terrible thing 134 00:06:43,179 –> 00:06:45,820 when a particular group of people are picked on 135 00:06:46,859 –> 00:06:49,399 and they are singled out 136 00:06:49,399 –> 00:06:53,799 and they are attacked viciously and repeatedly. 137 00:06:55,279 –> 00:06:57,239 And the obvious question for people 138 00:06:57,239 –> 00:07:01,420 who are suffering persecution is, 139 00:07:01,420 –> 00:07:02,959 where is God in this? 140 00:07:03,899 –> 00:07:06,739 How are we supposed to stand up under this 141 00:07:06,739 –> 00:07:08,140 and survive through it? 142 00:07:09,059 –> 00:07:11,359 And this letter that’s open in front of us today 143 00:07:11,359 –> 00:07:14,640 is given to give us the answer. 144 00:07:14,640 –> 00:07:16,839 Now, I’ve asked two questions of these verses 145 00:07:16,839 –> 00:07:18,839 that I hope you have open in front of you. 146 00:07:18,839 –> 00:07:21,559 The first question is simply what does this say. 147 00:07:21,559 –> 00:07:23,040 And the second question is, 148 00:07:23,040 –> 00:07:26,880 how can I use what I learned here in my life? 149 00:07:26,880 –> 00:07:28,600 First of all, then, what does this say? 150 00:07:28,600 –> 00:07:31,760 Simply, I want to show you what you can see for yourself, 151 00:07:31,799 –> 00:07:33,720 if you have a Bible right there in front of you 152 00:07:33,720 –> 00:07:35,839 in these verses, two things. 153 00:07:35,839 –> 00:07:40,440 Number one, it says that God is just, verse six. 154 00:07:40,440 –> 00:07:44,440 God is just, 155 00:07:44,440 –> 00:07:48,899 and he will pay back trouble for those who trouble you. 156 00:07:50,480 –> 00:07:52,059 Now folks, the justice of God 157 00:07:52,059 –> 00:07:54,519 is not always obvious in this world. 158 00:07:55,839 –> 00:07:58,220 People who do good often suffer, 159 00:07:58,220 –> 00:08:00,940 people who do evil often prosper. 160 00:08:02,000 –> 00:08:04,100 But God is just. 161 00:08:04,100 –> 00:08:07,140 And even though his justice may be hidden now, 162 00:08:07,140 –> 00:08:10,100 verse seven tells us it will become obvious 163 00:08:10,100 –> 00:08:13,179 when Jesus Christ is revealed. 164 00:08:14,119 –> 00:08:16,640 This is very important because the justice of God 165 00:08:16,640 –> 00:08:20,019 is a central truth in all of the Bible. 166 00:08:20,019 –> 00:08:23,119 God never acts out of vindictiveness, 167 00:08:23,119 –> 00:08:28,119 but we are being reminded here he always acts out of justice. 168 00:08:28,640 –> 00:08:31,019 So you can have absolute confidence 169 00:08:31,040 –> 00:08:33,280 before we go any further, 170 00:08:33,280 –> 00:08:35,760 that not one person will be punished 171 00:08:35,760 –> 00:08:39,140 for a single sin that they did not actually commit. 172 00:08:39,960 –> 00:08:41,700 You can be absolutely confident 173 00:08:41,700 –> 00:08:44,479 that no one will ever be punished by God 174 00:08:44,479 –> 00:08:47,219 in a way that is disproportionate 175 00:08:47,219 –> 00:08:49,940 to the offense that they have committed. 176 00:08:49,940 –> 00:08:52,820 And you can be confident that no one will escape 177 00:08:52,820 –> 00:08:55,219 the judgment or the justice of God 178 00:08:55,219 –> 00:08:58,940 because God knows all things and nothing is hidden from him. 179 00:08:59,919 –> 00:09:02,140 No one intimidates God. 180 00:09:02,140 –> 00:09:04,440 No one has leverage against him. 181 00:09:04,440 –> 00:09:08,659 You can have confidence in the absolute justice of God. 182 00:09:08,659 –> 00:09:09,700 That’s the first thing. 183 00:09:09,700 –> 00:09:12,419 God is just. 184 00:09:13,380 –> 00:09:15,320 Here’s the second thing that follows from it 185 00:09:15,320 –> 00:09:17,020 and it’s in verse eight. 186 00:09:17,020 –> 00:09:19,619 God will punish. 187 00:09:20,340 –> 00:09:24,119 He will punish those who do not know God 188 00:09:24,219 –> 00:09:31,020 and do not obey the gospel of our Lord, Jesus. 189 00:09:31,020 –> 00:09:33,400 Now it’s a plain statement. 190 00:09:33,400 –> 00:09:38,020 And then we are given two descriptions of this punishment. 191 00:09:38,020 –> 00:09:40,119 Notice them in verse nine. 192 00:09:40,119 –> 00:09:42,780 The first is they will be punished 193 00:09:42,780 –> 00:09:47,200 with everlasting destruction. 194 00:09:47,200 –> 00:09:49,840 Now just pause there for a moment, folks. 195 00:09:49,900 –> 00:09:53,520 Everlasting destruction. 196 00:09:54,739 –> 00:09:56,960 Now the combination of these two words, 197 00:09:56,960 –> 00:10:01,960 everlasting destruction is to me absolutely terrifying. 198 00:10:02,539 –> 00:10:03,460 Is it not to you? 199 00:10:04,900 –> 00:10:07,599 But the meaning is absolutely clear. 200 00:10:09,039 –> 00:10:12,739 This is a destruction that is without end. 201 00:10:14,039 –> 00:10:16,200 It is in the words of Matthew Henry 202 00:10:16,260 –> 00:10:20,159 to be always dying and never to die. 203 00:10:22,119 –> 00:10:23,960 Now you may say, now wait a minute. 204 00:10:23,960 –> 00:10:26,859 This sounds disproportionately. 205 00:10:26,859 –> 00:10:31,859 How can any sin deserve an everlasting punishment? 206 00:10:32,419 –> 00:10:36,520 If God is just, how can he punish like this? 207 00:10:36,520 –> 00:10:37,400 And you know what? 208 00:10:37,400 –> 00:10:40,140 The best answer I ever heard to that question, 209 00:10:40,140 –> 00:10:41,619 and it’s a good question, 210 00:10:41,619 –> 00:10:43,039 was given by a friend of mine 211 00:10:43,039 –> 00:10:45,619 who was talking to middle school students. 212 00:10:46,460 –> 00:10:47,520 And he said this, 213 00:10:48,479 –> 00:10:50,859 suppose a middle school student 214 00:10:50,859 –> 00:10:53,280 punches another member of the class. 215 00:10:53,280 –> 00:10:54,119 What happens? 216 00:10:54,119 –> 00:10:55,679 Well, he’s gonna get a detention. 217 00:10:57,080 –> 00:11:00,840 Suppose that in the detention, he punches the teacher. 218 00:11:01,780 –> 00:11:04,719 Oh, he’s gonna get expelled from the school. 219 00:11:04,719 –> 00:11:07,020 Suppose that on the way home from school, 220 00:11:07,020 –> 00:11:08,539 he punches a policeman. 221 00:11:09,440 –> 00:11:10,960 He’s gonna end up in the jail. 222 00:11:11,880 –> 00:11:13,679 Suppose that some years later 223 00:11:13,679 –> 00:11:15,919 he joins a crowd there to see 224 00:11:15,919 –> 00:11:19,159 the visit of the President of the United States. 225 00:11:20,280 –> 00:11:22,219 And as the President walks by, 226 00:11:22,219 –> 00:11:24,599 he lunges forward to punch 227 00:11:24,599 –> 00:11:26,440 the President of the United States, 228 00:11:26,440 –> 00:11:28,460 he’s shot dead by the secret service. 229 00:11:29,440 –> 00:11:30,520 Now think about it. 230 00:11:31,820 –> 00:11:36,460 The offense in every case is exactly the same. 231 00:11:37,919 –> 00:11:40,099 But the gravity of the offense 232 00:11:40,099 –> 00:11:42,020 and the consequences of the offense 233 00:11:42,119 –> 00:11:44,539 is measured by what? 234 00:11:44,539 –> 00:11:47,840 The person against whom it is committed. 235 00:11:49,520 –> 00:11:51,840 Now ask this question, 236 00:11:51,840 –> 00:11:55,520 what comes from sinning against God? 237 00:11:57,599 –> 00:12:00,919 Answer, everlasting destruction. 238 00:12:02,320 –> 00:12:04,539 Then there’s a second description. 239 00:12:04,539 –> 00:12:06,320 Verse nine, do you see it there? 240 00:12:06,320 –> 00:12:10,400 They will be punished with everlasting destruction 241 00:12:10,400 –> 00:12:15,400 and shut out from the presence of the Lord. 242 00:12:16,940 –> 00:12:20,700 Now, to be shut out from the presence of the Lord 243 00:12:20,700 –> 00:12:22,460 means to be without hope, 244 00:12:22,460 –> 00:12:25,380 it means to be without love forever. 245 00:12:26,260 –> 00:12:29,260 James Deney says it like this, 246 00:12:29,260 –> 00:12:32,659 obey the gospel and you will enter into light 247 00:12:32,659 –> 00:12:35,400 in which there is no darkness. 248 00:12:35,400 –> 00:12:39,039 Disobey the gospel, and you will enter into darkness 249 00:12:39,039 –> 00:12:40,820 in which there is no light. 250 00:12:41,780 –> 00:12:46,780 He speaks of this as a night on which no morning ever dawns. 251 00:12:49,299 –> 00:12:51,880 So folks very simply, I’m just saying to you 252 00:12:51,880 –> 00:12:54,099 what you can see for yourself in the Bible. 253 00:12:54,099 –> 00:12:55,700 This is what it says, 254 00:12:56,859 –> 00:13:01,440 God is just and therefore he will punish, 255 00:13:01,440 –> 00:13:05,559 and he will punish through and ever lasting destruction 256 00:13:05,559 –> 00:13:08,419 and those who are so punished will be shut out 257 00:13:08,440 –> 00:13:11,619 from the presence of the Lord forever 258 00:13:11,619 –> 00:13:16,619 and this will happen when Jesus Christ is revealed, 259 00:13:17,900 –> 00:13:19,659 and let’s pause there for a moment. 260 00:13:21,599 –> 00:13:25,679 Friends, this is one of the hardest truths 261 00:13:25,679 –> 00:13:29,719 in all of the Bible, but do you know what I’ve found, 262 00:13:30,979 –> 00:13:35,979 the hardest truths can produce the most tender of hearts 263 00:13:36,539 –> 00:13:39,940 and I’m going to show you how that is the case 264 00:13:39,940 –> 00:13:44,679 in just a moment here and I give you this promise 265 00:13:44,679 –> 00:13:49,039 that if you will grasp this most difficult of truths 266 00:13:49,039 –> 00:13:51,820 that is plainly stated here in the Bible, 267 00:13:51,820 –> 00:13:56,200 it will soften your heart, God will make you 268 00:13:56,200 –> 00:14:00,739 as a result of believing this more tender towards Him 269 00:14:00,739 –> 00:14:03,080 and more tender towards other people as well. 270 00:14:03,140 –> 00:14:06,559 I promise you and I’ll show you how in just a moment. 271 00:14:07,739 –> 00:14:11,059 So let me suggest to you now six ways 272 00:14:11,059 –> 00:14:15,200 in which you can use this truth that is so plainly stated 273 00:14:15,200 –> 00:14:18,219 for us in the Bible today. 274 00:14:18,219 –> 00:14:23,219 Number one, use this truth to sustain your faith 275 00:14:24,500 –> 00:14:26,080 in a suffering world. 276 00:14:27,700 –> 00:14:31,919 Now, if you have suffered at the hand of another person, 277 00:14:33,179 –> 00:14:36,260 or if you have a loved one who has suffered 278 00:14:36,260 –> 00:14:37,979 at the hands of others, 279 00:14:37,979 –> 00:14:41,799 as these early Christians were clearly suffering greatly 280 00:14:41,799 –> 00:14:44,140 at the hands of violent people 281 00:14:44,140 –> 00:14:47,119 who were causing agonies in their lives. 282 00:14:48,359 –> 00:14:52,039 You will ask the question, where is God in this? 283 00:14:52,039 –> 00:14:53,419 Honestly, in a suffering world, 284 00:14:53,419 –> 00:14:55,559 are there any of us in this congregation here 285 00:14:55,559 –> 00:14:57,900 who have not asked the question, where is God in this? 286 00:14:57,900 –> 00:15:00,099 We all ask that question. 287 00:15:00,099 –> 00:15:01,440 Every single one of us. 288 00:15:02,380 –> 00:15:07,440 And I want to say to you that this truth helps 289 00:15:07,440 –> 00:15:10,520 when you are asking that question, and here’s why. 290 00:15:11,359 –> 00:15:14,239 Because it reminds us that when you see 291 00:15:14,239 –> 00:15:18,280 the righteous suffering and the wicked prospering, 292 00:15:18,280 –> 00:15:20,619 you have not yet seen the end of the story. 293 00:15:22,000 –> 00:15:25,320 And God says to suffering believers, 294 00:15:25,320 –> 00:15:26,599 to those who are doing good 295 00:15:26,599 –> 00:15:29,059 and are suffering in it and for it, 296 00:15:29,059 –> 00:15:32,659 there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will be revealed. 297 00:15:32,659 –> 00:15:36,559 This is a word that some of us need to hear today. 298 00:15:36,559 –> 00:15:39,539 You are right in the middle of suffering 299 00:15:39,539 –> 00:15:40,979 as you are doing what is right. 300 00:15:40,979 –> 00:15:43,099 And the Lord Jesus Christ says to you, 301 00:15:43,099 –> 00:15:46,919 you will see on that day when Jesus Christ is revealed. 302 00:15:46,919 –> 00:15:49,780 You will then see the full measure of God’s justice 303 00:15:49,780 –> 00:15:53,260 and you will then see the full measure of God’s love. 304 00:15:53,260 –> 00:15:55,619 So use this in the meantime, 305 00:15:55,619 –> 00:15:58,880 to sustain your faith in a suffering world. 306 00:15:59,900 –> 00:16:02,020 That’s a huge part of the answer 307 00:16:02,020 –> 00:16:04,299 as to how we live in this world 308 00:16:04,299 –> 00:16:06,219 where so often the righteous suffer 309 00:16:06,219 –> 00:16:07,799 and so often the wicked prosper. 310 00:16:07,799 –> 00:16:09,500 You need this truth 311 00:16:09,500 –> 00:16:11,500 and you need to use it to sustain your faith 312 00:16:11,500 –> 00:16:12,940 when sometimes you see things 313 00:16:12,940 –> 00:16:15,859 that you cannot begin to understand 314 00:16:15,859 –> 00:16:17,059 or begin to explain. 315 00:16:18,700 –> 00:16:19,539 Second, 316 00:16:20,440 –> 00:16:22,179 use this truth 317 00:16:23,179 –> 00:16:27,580 to restrain your desire to even the score. 318 00:16:29,219 –> 00:16:33,099 Now, this is just practical stuff in life, folks. 319 00:16:33,099 –> 00:16:34,559 When someone hurts you, 320 00:16:34,559 –> 00:16:36,440 your natural instinct will be 321 00:16:36,440 –> 00:16:39,359 that you want to hurt them back, 322 00:16:39,359 –> 00:16:40,599 that’s in all of us. 323 00:16:41,659 –> 00:16:42,820 They brought you down, 324 00:16:42,820 –> 00:16:44,260 you wanna bring them down. 325 00:16:45,219 –> 00:16:46,700 Now you look into your own heart. 326 00:16:46,700 –> 00:16:48,659 You see something of this ill will 327 00:16:48,659 –> 00:16:50,179 towards another person. 328 00:16:51,159 –> 00:16:55,799 How do you restrain that desire to even the score? 329 00:16:56,780 –> 00:16:58,320 And again, I’m saying to you today 330 00:16:58,320 –> 00:17:01,539 that this truth that we’re learning helps. 331 00:17:01,539 –> 00:17:04,660 Listen to how it’s applied in Romans chapter 12. 332 00:17:04,660 –> 00:17:05,500 Paul says this, 333 00:17:05,500 –> 00:17:09,160 now look if it is possible as far as 334 00:17:09,160 –> 00:17:11,579 it depends on you, he says, 335 00:17:11,579 –> 00:17:13,979 live at peace with everyone. 336 00:17:13,979 –> 00:17:17,780 You say, hey Paul, as your head in the clouds, 337 00:17:17,780 –> 00:17:19,660 you realize what goes on in this world 338 00:17:19,680 –> 00:17:21,400 and you’re saying live at peace with everyone 339 00:17:21,400 –> 00:17:23,020 as far as it’s possible on me, 340 00:17:23,020 –> 00:17:25,119 he says, here’s how. 341 00:17:25,119 –> 00:17:28,380 Do not take revenge, my friends, 342 00:17:28,380 –> 00:17:30,979 but leave room for God’s wrath 343 00:17:30,979 –> 00:17:33,300 because it is written 344 00:17:33,300 –> 00:17:37,300 it is mine to avenge I will repay says the Lord. 345 00:17:38,160 –> 00:17:39,000 And you see the truth 346 00:17:39,000 –> 00:17:41,540 that’s being brought into the picture here, 347 00:17:41,540 –> 00:17:42,699 it’s the truth that we’re looking at 348 00:17:42,699 –> 00:17:44,900 from second Thessalonians. 349 00:17:44,900 –> 00:17:48,180 God will repay the wrong, 350 00:17:48,180 –> 00:17:53,180 so leave room Paul says for God’s wrath. 351 00:17:53,280 –> 00:17:56,380 Look, here’s it put simply, as simply as I can. 352 00:17:56,380 –> 00:17:59,119 You don’t need to take it into your hands 353 00:17:59,119 –> 00:18:02,260 if you know that it’s in his, that’s what he’s saying. 354 00:18:03,500 –> 00:18:05,219 You don’t know that you’ll always be taking 355 00:18:05,219 –> 00:18:07,500 putting everything right into your own hands. 356 00:18:08,819 –> 00:18:10,479 God will deal with this, 357 00:18:11,420 –> 00:18:13,239 you can leave it to him, 358 00:18:13,239 –> 00:18:15,099 and so it’s on this foundation 359 00:18:15,099 –> 00:18:17,459 that in Romans, the apostle goes on to say 360 00:18:17,459 –> 00:18:22,060 so if your enemy is hungry, feed him. 361 00:18:23,959 –> 00:18:26,180 And if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. 362 00:18:26,180 –> 00:18:27,239 How can you do that? 363 00:18:27,239 –> 00:18:28,699 Only if you know that justice 364 00:18:28,699 –> 00:18:30,300 can be left in the hands of God. 365 00:18:31,699 –> 00:18:33,839 Otherwise you’ll always be caught up 366 00:18:33,839 –> 00:18:36,939 in evening the score with someone who’s wounded you. 367 00:18:38,339 –> 00:18:41,260 See why I say that the hardest of truth 368 00:18:41,260 –> 00:18:43,380 can produce the most tender of hearts? 369 00:18:45,420 –> 00:18:46,699 Here’s a third application 370 00:18:46,699 –> 00:18:48,119 and it’s along the same lines. 371 00:18:48,119 –> 00:18:53,000 Use this to increase your compassion 372 00:18:53,939 –> 00:18:55,500 for people who harm you. 373 00:18:56,880 –> 00:18:59,280 And some of us in the congregation have known what it is 374 00:18:59,280 –> 00:19:02,079 for another person to do terrible things. 375 00:19:03,979 –> 00:19:05,979 And then you read the Bible and you read, 376 00:19:05,979 –> 00:19:07,520 Jesus says this, 377 00:19:08,780 –> 00:19:10,739 love your enemies. 378 00:19:12,000 –> 00:19:15,160 Pray for those who persecute you, 379 00:19:15,959 –> 00:19:18,280 and here you are, you’re a Christian. 380 00:19:18,280 –> 00:19:20,680 And so you want to take every word that Jesus said 381 00:19:20,680 –> 00:19:22,280 absolutely seriously. 382 00:19:22,280 –> 00:19:24,599 And you think of what someone has done to you, 383 00:19:24,599 –> 00:19:26,819 and you read these words, 384 00:19:26,819 –> 00:19:28,839 love your enemies, 385 00:19:28,839 –> 00:19:31,000 pray for those who persecute you 386 00:19:31,000 –> 00:19:32,079 and you’re saying to yourself, 387 00:19:32,079 –> 00:19:34,359 how in the world do I begin to do that? 388 00:19:34,359 –> 00:19:36,680 Where would I even start? 389 00:19:36,680 –> 00:19:37,839 How is it possible? 390 00:19:39,420 –> 00:19:42,319 Oh, you know, if someone has done something terrible, 391 00:19:42,319 –> 00:19:45,079 and then that person sees what he or she did 392 00:19:45,099 –> 00:19:46,959 and they truly repent. 393 00:19:46,959 –> 00:19:49,959 Well, then you might find it in your heart to forgive them. 394 00:19:51,520 –> 00:19:54,760 But if they go on, as sometimes is the case, 395 00:19:54,760 –> 00:19:58,280 with absolutely no awareness of what they have done for you, 396 00:19:58,280 –> 00:20:00,719 if even worse they continue to do the same thing 397 00:20:00,719 –> 00:20:02,239 in the lives of others, 398 00:20:03,459 –> 00:20:05,239 then how in the world 399 00:20:06,160 –> 00:20:09,119 are you going to have compassion for them? 400 00:20:10,880 –> 00:20:12,920 Now these are deep things in life friends. 401 00:20:12,920 –> 00:20:14,780 But I simply want to say this, 402 00:20:16,079 –> 00:20:17,839 the teaching that we are considering 403 00:20:17,839 –> 00:20:20,979 in the Bible today helps. 404 00:20:20,979 –> 00:20:22,119 Let me show you how. 405 00:20:23,319 –> 00:20:25,199 When you think 406 00:20:26,859 –> 00:20:27,719 about everlasting destruction 407 00:20:31,599 –> 00:20:33,319 in relation to that person, 408 00:20:34,939 –> 00:20:39,119 when you think about what that would mean for them 409 00:20:40,439 –> 00:20:44,780 to be shut out from the presence of the Lord forever. 410 00:20:44,900 –> 00:20:48,319 I tell you, you would not wish that on your worst enemy. 411 00:20:48,319 –> 00:20:49,420 You would not. 412 00:20:51,060 –> 00:20:53,859 And the more clearly you grasp this truth, 413 00:20:53,859 –> 00:20:56,739 the more you will be helped to pray 414 00:20:56,739 –> 00:20:58,599 for those who persecute you. 415 00:20:59,500 –> 00:21:01,160 And here is what you will find. 416 00:21:02,699 –> 00:21:07,439 Bitterness cannot survive long when you begin to pray. 417 00:21:08,500 –> 00:21:11,699 Compassion will sneak in 418 00:21:11,699 –> 00:21:14,339 through the back door of your heart, it really will. 419 00:21:14,359 –> 00:21:15,660 I have proved it my own life, 420 00:21:15,660 –> 00:21:17,300 as countless of you have as well. 421 00:21:18,800 –> 00:21:19,900 That’s why I’m saying to you 422 00:21:19,900 –> 00:21:21,900 that this hardest of truths, 423 00:21:21,900 –> 00:21:25,260 when it is embraced and it is internalized, 424 00:21:25,260 –> 00:21:28,400 can produce the most tender of hearts. 425 00:21:28,400 –> 00:21:33,160 And some of you have discovered freedom precisely here. 426 00:21:33,160 –> 00:21:34,300 It is an amazing thing. 427 00:21:36,219 –> 00:21:40,739 Number four use this truth to help you understand 428 00:21:40,819 –> 00:21:45,280 what happened at the cross? 429 00:21:45,280 –> 00:21:46,300 Now, folks, this takes us 430 00:21:46,300 –> 00:21:48,739 to the very heart of Christianity today. 431 00:21:49,819 –> 00:21:52,280 Jesus Christ came into the world 432 00:21:52,280 –> 00:21:55,280 because there is a future catastrophe 433 00:21:55,280 –> 00:21:57,020 that you need saving from. 434 00:21:57,020 –> 00:21:58,780 That’s true for every one of us. 435 00:22:00,000 –> 00:22:02,380 Now think with me about the Lord Jesus Christ. 436 00:22:02,380 –> 00:22:03,540 He comes into the world. 437 00:22:03,540 –> 00:22:05,839 We’ve celebrated that at Christmas. 438 00:22:05,839 –> 00:22:08,780 Then for three years of ministry, 439 00:22:08,780 –> 00:22:11,500 Jesus does so much good. 440 00:22:11,500 –> 00:22:12,780 Think of what Jesus did 441 00:22:12,780 –> 00:22:14,380 in the three years of his ministry. 442 00:22:14,380 –> 00:22:16,560 He’s feeding the hungry. 443 00:22:16,560 –> 00:22:18,579 He’s healing the sick. 444 00:22:18,579 –> 00:22:21,099 He is giving the greatest teaching 445 00:22:21,099 –> 00:22:24,400 that this world has ever heard at any time in its history. 446 00:22:24,400 –> 00:22:28,079 He did so much good, in just three years. 447 00:22:29,060 –> 00:22:31,660 How much more good could he have done 448 00:22:31,660 –> 00:22:33,520 if he had gone on doing the same things 449 00:22:33,520 –> 00:22:36,020 for 30 years or another 50 years? 450 00:22:36,060 –> 00:22:40,939 And yet he says to his disciples again and again 451 00:22:40,939 –> 00:22:45,939 that he has come into the world in order to die. 452 00:22:47,300 –> 00:22:48,540 Now, if you think about that, 453 00:22:48,540 –> 00:22:50,640 it will produce this obvious question. 454 00:22:50,640 –> 00:22:53,900 What could he then accomplish by dying 455 00:22:53,900 –> 00:22:55,859 that he could not accomplish by living? 456 00:22:57,459 –> 00:22:59,219 And the answer is right here. 457 00:22:59,219 –> 00:23:03,099 He died as a sacrifice 458 00:23:03,819 –> 00:23:06,099 and in the great love and mercy of God. 459 00:23:06,099 –> 00:23:09,199 Our sins were laid on him. 460 00:23:09,199 –> 00:23:10,660 Isaiah says it plainly, 461 00:23:10,660 –> 00:23:15,479 the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all. 462 00:23:15,479 –> 00:23:18,400 He can’t bear our sins and be a sacrifice living. 463 00:23:18,400 –> 00:23:21,640 He has to do it by entering into death, dying. 464 00:23:21,640 –> 00:23:23,859 That’s why he came into the world. 465 00:23:23,859 –> 00:23:26,640 And bearing our sins, our sins being laid on him 466 00:23:26,640 –> 00:23:30,160 inevitably meant him burying the punishment 467 00:23:30,180 –> 00:23:32,239 that is tied to these sins, 468 00:23:32,239 –> 00:23:37,060 and that is precisely what was happening at the cross. 469 00:23:37,540 –> 00:23:39,280 Isaiah says it plainly, 470 00:23:39,280 –> 00:23:44,280 the punishment that brought us peace was upon him. 471 00:23:48,699 –> 00:23:53,699 On the cross, Christ was punished for human sins. 472 00:23:55,640 –> 00:23:58,000 On the cross, think about this with me, 473 00:23:58,000 –> 00:24:02,520 on the cross, he was shut out from the presence 474 00:24:02,520 –> 00:24:05,859 of the father, which is why he cried out in those words, 475 00:24:05,859 –> 00:24:08,900 my God my God why have you forsaken me? 476 00:24:08,900 –> 00:24:10,000 He shut out, 477 00:24:11,900 –> 00:24:13,359 think what that’s telling you, 478 00:24:14,640 –> 00:24:19,339 Jesus Christ endured everything that hell is on the cross, 479 00:24:20,699 –> 00:24:23,699 and he endured everything that hell is on the cross 480 00:24:23,699 –> 00:24:26,300 so that you should never know what it is like, 481 00:24:27,140 –> 00:24:28,119 it’s amazing, 482 00:24:30,339 –> 00:24:31,500 you may have wondered, 483 00:24:33,199 –> 00:24:38,199 how is it that one man can bear the sins of many millions? 484 00:24:43,900 –> 00:24:45,439 Or you may have asked this question, 485 00:24:45,439 –> 00:24:48,800 how can his hell on the cross 486 00:24:50,140 –> 00:24:53,459 remove our everlasting destruction. 487 00:24:53,459 –> 00:24:54,560 You ask that question? 488 00:24:57,160 –> 00:24:59,800 You might like just to ponder this. 489 00:24:59,800 –> 00:25:02,859 See, just as the weight of our sin 490 00:25:02,859 –> 00:25:06,439 is measured by the one we offend against, 491 00:25:07,660 –> 00:25:12,380 so the value of Christ’s sacrifice is measured 492 00:25:12,380 –> 00:25:15,400 by the one who is being offered. 493 00:25:16,900 –> 00:25:19,560 And the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ 494 00:25:19,560 –> 00:25:21,939 is of infinite value, 495 00:25:21,939 –> 00:25:26,719 it is enough to cover all the sins 496 00:25:26,719 –> 00:25:31,839 of all who will come to Him for all of eternity. 497 00:25:32,459 –> 00:25:33,660 It’s enough for you. 498 00:25:35,140 –> 00:25:38,260 So use what we’re learning in the Bible today. 499 00:25:38,260 –> 00:25:39,900 It has multiple uses, 500 00:25:39,900 –> 00:25:44,260 use it to understand what was going on in the cross. 501 00:25:45,939 –> 00:25:47,500 And then here’s the fifth thing. 502 00:25:47,619 –> 00:25:48,459 Here’s the fifth thing. 503 00:25:49,619 –> 00:25:54,140 Use this to motivate your obedience to the gospel. 504 00:25:56,479 –> 00:25:59,020 Now I hope you still have your Bible open in front of you 505 00:25:59,020 –> 00:26:02,099 and will you notice what it says there in verse eight, 506 00:26:02,099 –> 00:26:04,920 describing the ones who are outside, 507 00:26:04,920 –> 00:26:07,660 experiencing the everlasting destruction 508 00:26:07,660 –> 00:26:09,859 shut out from the presence of the Lord. 509 00:26:09,859 –> 00:26:10,719 Who are they? 510 00:26:11,660 –> 00:26:13,900 We’re told in verse eight 511 00:26:13,920 –> 00:26:17,079 that they are those who do not obey 512 00:26:17,079 –> 00:26:21,939 the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 513 00:26:22,959 –> 00:26:24,680 So the ones who are outside, 514 00:26:25,839 –> 00:26:28,959 we read in the scripture are those who do not obey 515 00:26:28,959 –> 00:26:32,520 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 516 00:26:33,959 –> 00:26:35,459 So if I want to be delivered 517 00:26:35,459 –> 00:26:38,819 from that unspeakable eternity, 518 00:26:40,020 –> 00:26:43,479 if I want to be inside with the light and the joy 519 00:26:43,520 –> 00:26:46,680 and the presence of those who are redeemed by Jesus Christ, 520 00:26:46,680 –> 00:26:48,859 what must I do if those who are outside 521 00:26:48,859 –> 00:26:50,760 are those who do not obey the gospel, 522 00:26:50,760 –> 00:26:52,800 what I must do, the one thing I must do, 523 00:26:52,800 –> 00:26:56,040 the thing that will determine your eternity friend, 524 00:26:57,000 –> 00:27:01,760 is you must obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, you must. 525 00:27:01,760 –> 00:27:04,119 This matters more than anything else in your life. 526 00:27:04,119 –> 00:27:06,420 It is more pressing and of more consequence 527 00:27:06,420 –> 00:27:09,520 than anything else you can imagine in this world, 528 00:27:09,520 –> 00:27:13,400 has to be, we’ll see what that means in just a moment, 529 00:27:14,000 –> 00:27:17,880 but first just this, I am so glad 530 00:27:18,859 –> 00:27:23,119 that it speaks about obeying the gospel 531 00:27:24,699 –> 00:27:26,520 because think with me, 532 00:27:26,520 –> 00:27:30,680 if it had said those who do not obey the law are outside 533 00:27:30,680 –> 00:27:32,359 with this everlasting punishment 534 00:27:32,359 –> 00:27:35,319 and are excluded from the presence of the Lord forever. 535 00:27:35,319 –> 00:27:38,040 If it said those who don’t obey the law are outside, 536 00:27:38,040 –> 00:27:39,339 that’s all of us, isn’t it? 537 00:27:39,339 –> 00:27:41,859 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 538 00:27:41,859 –> 00:27:43,819 If I have to keep the law in order to get in, 539 00:27:43,819 –> 00:27:45,060 I don’t get in. 540 00:27:46,339 –> 00:27:47,979 No one has lived a perfect life. 541 00:27:49,959 –> 00:27:52,540 So what we’re learning here, even in this very verse 542 00:27:52,540 –> 00:27:55,439 is that salvation does not come by obeying the law, 543 00:27:55,439 –> 00:27:58,699 which we can’t do, but by obeying the gospel, 544 00:27:58,699 –> 00:28:00,459 which by God’s grace we can do. 545 00:28:01,680 –> 00:28:02,520 You say, okay, tell me, 546 00:28:02,520 –> 00:28:03,739 what does it mean to obey the gospel? 547 00:28:03,739 –> 00:28:06,439 Jesus made it so clear in just three words. 548 00:28:07,380 –> 00:28:09,319 The first word was the word repent. 549 00:28:10,319 –> 00:28:13,500 God commands all people everywhere to repent. 550 00:28:15,000 –> 00:28:17,680 Jesus came preaching, and calling people to repent. 551 00:28:17,680 –> 00:28:19,959 You say, well, now, what does that mean? 552 00:28:19,959 –> 00:28:23,560 Well, repentance is a decisive turning away 553 00:28:23,560 –> 00:28:25,599 from all that God calls sin 554 00:28:25,599 –> 00:28:28,920 in order that I may offer myself and my life, 555 00:28:28,920 –> 00:28:31,040 all that I am to Jesus Christ. 556 00:28:32,040 –> 00:28:36,140 And it begins when I say in the light of the cross, 557 00:28:36,140 –> 00:28:38,959 and in the light of him going into that hill for me, 558 00:28:39,000 –> 00:28:40,439 and bearing my sin, 559 00:28:40,439 –> 00:28:42,540 my life can no longer be about myself, 560 00:28:42,540 –> 00:28:45,040 it has to be for Jesus Christ. 561 00:28:46,719 –> 00:28:49,760 You say, well, now wait a minute, how can I do that? 562 00:28:49,760 –> 00:28:53,760 I know myself, I know my habits, I know my own stubbornness. 563 00:28:53,760 –> 00:28:56,459 I know how difficult it is to change. 564 00:28:56,459 –> 00:28:58,239 How am I going to do this repenting? 565 00:28:58,239 –> 00:29:01,280 Here’s the second thing, and the answer to it. 566 00:29:01,280 –> 00:29:02,680 You must believe. 567 00:29:03,719 –> 00:29:07,599 You must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 568 00:29:07,599 –> 00:29:09,959 And there is a real relationship here 569 00:29:09,959 –> 00:29:11,439 between you and Christ. 570 00:29:11,439 –> 00:29:14,400 That relationship is formed by faith. 571 00:29:14,400 –> 00:29:15,239 What does it mean? 572 00:29:15,239 –> 00:29:18,800 It means you trust that He is the Son of God. 573 00:29:18,800 –> 00:29:21,920 It means that you trust His death for your sins, 574 00:29:21,920 –> 00:29:23,959 and you trust the power of His life 575 00:29:23,959 –> 00:29:26,780 to enable you to change. 576 00:29:26,780 –> 00:29:29,939 You trust that His grace and His power are sufficient 577 00:29:29,939 –> 00:29:32,380 for everything that you will face in your life, 578 00:29:32,380 –> 00:29:33,680 now, and through the future, 579 00:29:33,680 –> 00:29:36,319 and even in death and into eternity. 580 00:29:36,319 –> 00:29:38,099 You trust Christ. 581 00:29:39,020 –> 00:29:40,160 That’s how this life is lived. 582 00:29:40,160 –> 00:29:42,319 That’s how this change is accomplished. 583 00:29:43,500 –> 00:29:46,619 You trust Christ, and you trust Christ 584 00:29:46,619 –> 00:29:50,699 because Christ is altogether worthy of your trust. 585 00:29:51,699 –> 00:29:53,760 No one deserves your trust more than Him. 586 00:29:55,719 –> 00:29:57,459 And here’s the third thing. 587 00:29:57,459 –> 00:29:59,400 You follow, you follow. 588 00:30:01,079 –> 00:30:03,900 James Denny says, and I love this simple statement, 589 00:30:03,900 –> 00:30:08,900 he says, salvation is not only a gift, it is a vocation. 590 00:30:09,380 –> 00:30:10,880 I love that. 591 00:30:10,880 –> 00:30:14,060 Salvation is not only a gift. 592 00:30:15,060 –> 00:30:18,540 It is a vocation, a calling, a life. 593 00:30:20,660 –> 00:30:23,000 And it begins when we respond 594 00:30:23,000 –> 00:30:25,020 to the words of the Lord Jesus who says 595 00:30:25,020 –> 00:30:29,319 to every one of us today, follow me, follow me. 596 00:30:29,319 –> 00:30:34,160 Repent, believe, follow. 597 00:30:35,719 –> 00:30:36,900 Obey the gospel. 598 00:30:39,180 –> 00:30:41,099 And you may have been saying to yourself 599 00:30:41,099 –> 00:30:42,459 for some time, well, you know, 600 00:30:42,459 –> 00:30:45,339 I will think about Christianity someday. 601 00:30:45,339 –> 00:30:47,479 Listen, I have to say to you today, 602 00:30:47,479 –> 00:30:51,119 do not be passive about this, please, please. 603 00:30:53,140 –> 00:30:56,060 Eternity hangs on it, your eternity hangs on it. 604 00:30:57,040 –> 00:30:59,180 God is calling you through his word. 605 00:30:59,180 –> 00:31:00,400 This is how he speaks. 606 00:31:00,400 –> 00:31:03,280 He speaks through his word and you’re hearing his word 607 00:31:03,280 –> 00:31:06,599 and he’s calling you to repent, 608 00:31:06,599 –> 00:31:07,900 to believe in his son 609 00:31:08,800 –> 00:31:11,500 and to become a follower of Jesus Christ. 610 00:31:13,339 –> 00:31:15,280 You say you’re trying to scare me into that. 611 00:31:15,280 –> 00:31:17,300 I’ll do anything to bring you to that. 612 00:31:17,300 –> 00:31:20,280 The Bible says the fear of the Lord 613 00:31:20,280 –> 00:31:21,560 is the beginning of wisdom. 614 00:31:21,560 –> 00:31:23,500 It’s not everything, but at least it’s a beginning. 615 00:31:23,500 –> 00:31:25,140 And if you are moved by thinking 616 00:31:25,839 –> 00:31:28,599 about this reality, towards faith in Jesus Christ, 617 00:31:28,599 –> 00:31:30,219 thank God for it. 618 00:31:30,219 –> 00:31:31,959 Something’s got to get you moving. 619 00:31:33,540 –> 00:31:34,880 Otherwise you’re going to drift through the rest 620 00:31:34,880 –> 00:31:39,880 of your life and then into an eternity that is outside. 621 00:31:39,900 –> 00:31:44,900 So use this to motivate your obedience 622 00:31:47,359 –> 00:31:48,900 to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 623 00:31:48,900 –> 00:31:50,300 Repent, believe, follow. 624 00:31:51,680 –> 00:31:54,260 And here’s the very last thing 625 00:31:54,260 –> 00:31:59,219 for all of us here today, and you have embraced Christ, 626 00:31:59,219 –> 00:32:03,319 you love Christ, I want you to use this, 627 00:32:03,319 –> 00:32:08,319 the last thing, to deepen your joy in the mercy of God. 628 00:32:10,859 –> 00:32:13,140 Folks, I’ve been thinking about this scripture all week 629 00:32:13,140 –> 00:32:14,579 and this most obvious point 630 00:32:14,579 –> 00:32:16,520 never occurred to me until late on. 631 00:32:18,319 –> 00:32:22,119 But think about the man who’s writing these words. 632 00:32:22,920 –> 00:32:25,079 God is just. 633 00:32:26,359 –> 00:32:30,939 He will repay those who persecute the church 634 00:32:30,939 –> 00:32:33,479 with an everlasting destruction. 635 00:32:33,479 –> 00:32:36,359 Listen, the man who wrote these words 636 00:32:36,359 –> 00:32:39,599 once persecuted the church himself, didn’t he, 637 00:32:39,599 –> 00:32:41,140 of the apostle Paul? 638 00:32:42,119 –> 00:32:44,520 Saul of Tarsus was his name then. 639 00:32:45,439 –> 00:32:48,839 And he was the terror of the early church, 640 00:32:48,839 –> 00:32:50,699 a man of violence, 641 00:32:51,640 –> 00:32:54,400 a man arranging murders. 642 00:32:55,680 –> 00:32:58,020 And the Book of Acts tells us 643 00:32:58,020 –> 00:33:01,459 that he was so intense about all of this 644 00:33:01,459 –> 00:33:06,000 that breathing fire and slaughter, the Book of Acts says, 645 00:33:06,000 –> 00:33:08,939 he was on his way to a place called Damascus. 646 00:33:10,619 –> 00:33:13,859 And there, he was going to carry out a campaign of violence 647 00:33:13,859 –> 00:33:16,219 to persecute Christian believers there. 648 00:33:18,260 –> 00:33:19,380 And some of you know this story, 649 00:33:19,380 –> 00:33:23,339 Jesus Christ stopped him in his tracks. 650 00:33:23,339 –> 00:33:27,459 The ascended Lord, giving a blinding light 651 00:33:27,459 –> 00:33:29,060 and then an audible voice, 652 00:33:29,060 –> 00:33:33,040 “‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 653 00:33:34,420 –> 00:33:36,000 Well, he was persecuting the church, 654 00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:38,560 but you see the point of what the Lord was saying. 655 00:33:39,680 –> 00:33:42,719 “‘Saul, you think that your struggle is with Christians? 656 00:33:43,819 –> 00:33:46,339 You think that your battle is with the church?’ 657 00:33:47,260 –> 00:33:50,780 I’m telling you, Saul, that your real fight, 658 00:33:50,780 –> 00:33:53,680 the fight that’s going on in your soul right now, 659 00:33:55,000 –> 00:33:56,199 it’s a fight against me. 660 00:33:57,780 –> 00:34:00,900 And Saul of Tarsus is down there in the dust of the road 661 00:34:02,420 –> 00:34:05,520 and he repents and he believes. 662 00:34:06,699 –> 00:34:09,820 He becomes a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 663 00:34:09,820 –> 00:34:11,479 He takes a new name 664 00:34:11,479 –> 00:34:14,239 because the change in his life is so radical, 665 00:34:15,100 –> 00:34:19,860 and Saul of Tarsus becomes the Apostle Paul. 666 00:34:21,719 –> 00:34:24,659 And now here he is ,the Apostle and the Spirit of God 667 00:34:24,659 –> 00:34:29,659 is on him and giving him these words to write to the church. 668 00:34:29,879 –> 00:34:31,919 Can you try and put yourself in his skin 669 00:34:31,919 –> 00:34:33,139 in this last moment? 670 00:34:34,959 –> 00:34:37,600 What did he feel when he wrote this? 671 00:34:39,560 –> 00:34:42,540 I was a blasphemer. 672 00:34:42,739 –> 00:34:44,600 I was the persecutor. 673 00:34:46,179 –> 00:34:48,219 I was a violent man. 674 00:34:50,080 –> 00:34:52,500 I deserve this everlasting judgment. 675 00:34:52,500 –> 00:34:56,020 I deserve to be shut out forever and forever 676 00:34:56,020 –> 00:34:58,739 but I have been shown mercy 677 00:34:59,780 –> 00:35:02,379 and it has transformed my life. 678 00:35:04,439 –> 00:35:08,060 Friends that is the power of the gospel, 679 00:35:08,060 –> 00:35:10,260 that is the gospel by which we are saved, 680 00:35:11,179 –> 00:35:13,919 is the gospel on which we take our stand, 681 00:35:15,219 –> 00:35:17,399 it’s the gospel for which we live. 682 00:35:18,260 –> 00:35:19,899 It is the gospel that we believe, 683 00:35:19,899 –> 00:35:21,699 it is the gospel that we proclaim. 684 00:35:21,699 –> 00:35:23,520 It is good news, 685 00:35:24,699 –> 00:35:27,179 not only for all of us who are here today 686 00:35:28,300 –> 00:35:30,040 but for everyone in our community 687 00:35:31,060 –> 00:35:32,800 and for everyone in our great city 688 00:35:33,760 –> 00:35:37,459 and for every person in this world. 689 00:35:38,419 –> 00:35:39,919 Let’s pray together, shall we? 690 00:35:41,219 –> 00:35:42,060 Father, 691 00:35:44,820 –> 00:35:48,040 help us to savor right now more deeply 692 00:35:48,040 –> 00:35:51,100 the breadth and length and height and depth 693 00:35:53,040 –> 00:35:55,139 of what you have done for us 694 00:35:55,139 –> 00:35:57,459 and are doing for us and will do for us 695 00:35:57,459 –> 00:35:59,620 through Jesus Christ, 696 00:36:00,739 –> 00:36:02,320 our savior and our lord. 697 00:36:03,860 –> 00:36:07,439 May no person having glimpsed eternal things today 698 00:36:07,439 –> 00:36:09,580 turn away from Jesus Christ 699 00:36:11,000 –> 00:36:13,260 but grant to us individually and together 700 00:36:14,219 –> 00:36:15,840 to repent and to believe 701 00:36:15,840 –> 00:36:18,320 and to follow hard after the Savior 702 00:36:19,399 –> 00:36:23,399 who went to that cross and entered my hell 703 00:36:25,639 –> 00:36:27,699 so that I should never know 704 00:36:29,260 –> 00:36:30,399 what it is like. 705 00:36:32,860 –> 00:36:36,139 Hear our prayers in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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