WEBVTT 00:00:00.540 --> 00:00:05.360 I want to invite you to, 1 Kings 21, and dismiss our 10, 11 year olds for their class. 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:13.680 In 1 Kings 21, and I want to give you a little heads up on this because, we're only going to look at eight verses in 00:00:13.680 --> 00:00:18.080 this chapter, and I'm going to use this really honestly to springboard. 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:25.480 We're going to look at what's stated in this chapter and we're going to springboard off this to talk about a difficult subject because Elijah is a 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:26.330 prophet. 00:00:26.560 --> 00:00:33.340 And when you read about the prophets, especially in the Old Testament, what you see in their lives is, judgment. 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:36.080 And some encouragement usually comes along with that. 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:41.780 But with the judgment, often times God delivers that judgment and we're left with, what do you do with that? 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:46.990 And when you read in 1 Kings 21, this is a challenging passage. 00:00:47.360 --> 00:00:53.530 God's delivering some judgment here, and he's delivering it on some of the wicked people of Israel, but nonetheless, it's still judgment. 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:56.940 If you read chapter 21, you start to see this story. 00:00:56.940 --> 00:01:00.020 This is the last time Elijah has written about in the book of 1 kings. 00:01:00.220 --> 00:01:05.390 We have one more time that we're going to look at Elijah next week in 2 kings, and that will be for Elijah series. 00:01:06.520 --> 00:01:13.740 But when you read this in chapter 21, what you see is Ahab is upset because he wants a vineyard from Naboth. 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:17.980 And, Ahab acts really like a baby in this moment. 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:21.440 He asks Naboth if he could buy this land from him. 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:25.440 And he says, “No”, and Ahab's all distraught over this, he wants this land. 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:30.200 And he's really breaking Israel's laws by trying to acquire this land. 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:38.360 But Naboth says, “No”, he goes back and he just pouts, he refuses to eat, cries like a baby, and he goes and tells his wife, Jezebel, 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.060 but acts more like his mother here. 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:44.860 “I'm not getting what I want, la, la, la...” It's just a weird relationship they've got. 00:01:44.880 --> 00:01:51.940 And so she takes up the torch for him and writes a letter, and has Naboth killed. 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:53.670 And so Ahab had gets his land. 00:01:53.880 --> 00:01:58.010 And so Elijah is given this message from the Lord on what to do about this circumstance. 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:05.680 And in verse 17, this is what it says, “And the word of Lord came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying, arise go down to meet Ahab, King 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:07.380 of Israel, who is in Samaria. 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:11.880 Behold, he's in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. 00:02:11.920 --> 00:02:17.500 You shall speak to him saying, thus says the Lord, have you murdered and also taken possession? 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:20.220 And you shall speak to him saying, thus says the Lord. 00:02:20.220 --> 00:02:27.400 And the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick your blood, even yours.” Ahab 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:34.640 said to Elijah, “Have you found me?” So God tells this to Elijah, then Elijah goes to Ahab, and Ahab says to Elijah, 00:02:34.640 --> 00:02:41.580 “Have you found me oh my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord. 00:02:41.660 --> 00:02:48.920 Behold, I will bring evil upon you and I will utterly sweep you away, and I will cut you off from Ahab, every male, both bond and 00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:49.840 free in Israel. 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:56.940 I'll make your house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house Baasha, the son of Ahijah, because 00:02:56.940 --> 00:03:03.040 of the provocation with which you have provoked me to anger and because you have made Israel sin. 00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:09.220 Jezebel also has the Lord spoken saying, the dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel, the one belonged to Ahab. 00:03:09.260 --> 00:03:10.980 Who dies in the city, the dogs will eat. 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:15.720 And the one who dies in the field, the birds of heaven will eat.” Judgment. 00:03:18.020 --> 00:03:21.960 Seeing this story got particularly pronouncing it on the leadership of Israel. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:30.710 This isn't the only difficult statement, I think, God has given us in the midst of what's happened in the life of Elijah. 00:03:31.160 --> 00:03:38.240 A few weeks ago, we were looking in 1 Kings 18, when Elijah goes to Mount Carmel, and Carmel is the only right way to say the word Carmel, 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:38.820 right? 00:03:39.160 --> 00:03:39.870 We learned that. 00:03:40.100 --> 00:03:45.740 And, God brings fire down on a sacrifice Elijah is bringing on Mount Carmel. 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:50.060 He's in this competition with 850 false prophets of Baal and Asherah. 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:57.700 And then there's just Elijah up on this mountain and these false prophets, 850 of them, tried to call down fire to light their sacrifice, and Elijah 00:03:57.700 --> 00:04:02.630 calls down fire from heaven on behalf of the Lord, and God ignites his sacrifice. 00:04:03.320 --> 00:04:10.720 And after that, in chapter 18, verse 40, Elijah immediately orders all the prophets to be captured, and taken down, and slaughtered. 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:14.520 850 of them. 00:04:15.660 --> 00:04:17.350 What do you do with passages like that? 00:04:19.660 --> 00:04:22.200 And this isn't the first time God's brought judgment on people. 00:04:22.200 --> 00:04:29.220 If you read in Deuteronomy 7:5, versus, Chapter 20, God calls Israel into the land of Canaan. 00:04:30.520 --> 00:04:37.600 He tells them, “Kill them all.” And some people look at passages like that, and they just sort of summarize it with theology like this, 00:04:37.940 --> 00:04:42.880 “I don't like the God of the Old Testament, I sort of like the New Testament God, he's loving and gracious. 00:04:42.900 --> 00:04:49.300 The Old Testament God, I don't really know, don't want that, don't want to deal with that...” But, truthfully it's the same God. 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:52.380 Old and New Testament. 00:04:54.880 --> 00:04:59.640 The difference is, Old Testament covers a span of 1500 years, and New Testament covers a span about 50 years. 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:05.160 But even in the New Testament, when you read some of the stories, God strikes down Ananias and Sapphira. 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:14.300 And when you read the book of Revelation, God comes back with a sword dipped in blood ready 00:05:14.300 --> 00:05:14.780 to make war. 00:05:17.520 --> 00:05:18.390 What do you do with that? 00:05:20.840 --> 00:05:23.600 I can tell you, why would I even talk about judgment, right? 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:25.920 We like to avoid these passages. 00:05:26.940 --> 00:05:29.520 Well, it's because I want to win the popularity contest today. 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:31.560 Let's talk about judgment. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:39.780 But, when it comes to judgment, without an understanding of it as it relates to 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.480 the Bible, truthfully you won't understand the Bible. 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:46.520 It's throughout scripture. 00:05:48.960 --> 00:05:54.680 And so being able to understand what exactly do judgment and how this fits into our understanding of God, becomes important. 00:05:54.740 --> 00:06:01.460 And not only we not understand the Bible, when you think about Jesus, you're just going to look at Jesus as if he does this little nice thing. 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:07.040 All good little Jesus, pat him on his head one day when you meet him, you did some great stuff, Jesus. 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:07.280 Right? 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:16.080 Well, when we understand the significance of judgment and how it fits into scripture and what God wants us to perceive through judgment, and 00:06:16.080 --> 00:06:20.480 then you look at Jesus, you see a much bigger picture than just nice little good Jesus. 00:06:22.640 --> 00:06:23.560 How do you deal with this? 00:06:25.220 --> 00:06:26.180 Is there any comfort? 00:06:27.200 --> 00:06:31.420 Are we just going to talk about bad things all day and walk out just with their heads hanging low? 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:32.840 Who is this God? 00:06:32.840 --> 00:06:33.650 Is he a moral monster? 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:39.120 There was a book written by a guy with the last name, Copan, as Paul Copan. 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.160 And the book is actually titled, Is God a Moral Monster? 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:45.700 He's a theologian and teaches in Florida. 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:47.900 Good book dealing with this issue. 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:55.390 Ever wondered or wrestled with these thoughts as it relates to God? 00:06:57.060 --> 00:07:03.540 Can I tell you, if you ever want to see that play out, the book of Psalms is a beautiful place where you see individuals wrestle with this thought. 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:10.440 Here's a God, holy, just, judging wickedness of the world, batting back and forth in the psalmist minds. 00:07:10.760 --> 00:07:16.160 How you reconcile the judgment of God and the injustice of this world and the goodness of who God is? 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:21.000 And so, if you've even pondered this in your own mind in trying to figure out how this works, you're not alone. 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.410 This has happened throughout the course of scripture. 00:07:23.860 --> 00:07:30.620 And so to understand where this fits and the idea of who God is, I think at first becomes important to understand the nature of this God. 00:07:33.520 --> 00:07:36.220 What kind of God is he that judges? 00:07:37.830 --> 00:07:38.840 Is he good? 00:07:40.260 --> 00:07:42.060 We like a loving and gracious God. 00:07:43.200 --> 00:07:50.980 And then we look at stories like this one with Ahab and Jezebel, or maybe the 850 prophets, 00:07:51.400 --> 00:07:54.300 or maybe God calling Israel into Canaan. 00:07:54.320 --> 00:07:58.440 And we wonder, how does this judgment fit? 00:07:58.900 --> 00:08:01.320 Is there a conflicting interest in who you are? 00:08:01.320 --> 00:08:08.660 But when you think about the character of God, let me just throw up a few popular verses as it relates to our understanding and his connection to 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:11.260 working in this world, and the wickedness around us. 00:08:11.260 --> 00:08:16.910 In Ezekiel 18:23, it says this, "Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked? 00:08:17.700 --> 00:08:18.360 Declares the Lord. 00:08:19.440 --> 00:08:27.420 Rather then that they should turn from his ways and live." So, 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:32.299 what it's saying in this passage of scripture, reveals God's heart's desire for wickedness in this world. 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:35.720 God doesn't create just for the purpose of just destroying. 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:42.860 God doesn't wake up and he's like, "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, who can I crush?" Like that's what Ezekiel was communicating 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:45.280 to us is that, that's not the mentality of God. 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:52.420 God doesn't all of a sudden just blow his living and go crazy, and just decide to off the cuff destroy things. 00:08:52.420 --> 00:08:53.500 That's not what God's about. 00:08:53.540 --> 00:08:55.750 In fact, he tells us he doesn't delight in those things. 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:02.340 Rather his heart is interested even in the heart of the wicked that they should turn. 00:09:02.680 --> 00:09:06.320 In 2 Peter 3:9, from a different perspective. 00:09:06.380 --> 00:09:13.660 So you see God's judgment here and God's saying, "Look, my preference is a heart would change rather than judgment." But in 2 Peter 3:9, the reverse 00:09:13.660 --> 00:09:14.220 of that. 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:14.860 This is kind of interesting. 00:09:15.380 --> 00:09:19.980 As you see in this story, the church is being persecuted and they're asking God, "God, where's the judgment? 00:09:20.020 --> 00:09:25.480 We don't like this persecution." A little different for us in the Western world today, right? 00:09:26.380 --> 00:09:29.130 We like loving, gracious God, let's not deal with judgment. 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:35.340 And here you see in the first century church because of the tremendous persecution that they face, God where is it? 00:09:35.380 --> 00:09:36.230 They see it as a good thing. 00:09:36.920 --> 00:09:41.460 And so in 2 Peter 3:9, it says, "The Lord is not slow about his promises." Like, "God, where are you? 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:46.260 We see you promising great things for your people." But he's saying, "Look, I haven't forgotten. 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:52.080 I'm not slow about these promises, some call it slowness, but look, this is what I am, I'm patient. 00:09:54.120 --> 00:10:01.460 I'm not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." Even 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:08.660 in Romans 5:8, it's a great verse to Remember, God demonstrates his love toward us and that while we were 00:10:08.660 --> 00:10:09.980 yet sinners, Christ died for us. 00:10:10.400 --> 00:10:16.210 So it puts us in that place of understanding like there is judgment and before God we aren't perfect. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.020 And so what does God think about this? 00:10:18.020 --> 00:10:23.980 Well, God loves us in our sin, and in that sin Jesus still pursues us. 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:30.300 So you see the nature of God just communicated to us, what God is like. 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:34.780 Yes, there is judgment, yes there is a holy God, yes God will come against sin, and God is gracious. 00:10:34.800 --> 00:10:36.270 Now, how does all that fit? 00:10:36.340 --> 00:10:43.620 When you read in Genesis 18:18, it happens multiple times in the beginning of Genesis, 00:10:43.900 --> 00:10:50.780 with the life of Abraham, where he says to us that through Abraham seed, all nations will be blessed. 00:10:53.520 --> 00:10:57.460 God cares about nations, and all nations there're actually ethnicities, ethnic groups. 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:04.760 In fact, God even wrote in Israel's laws in, Leviticus 19:33 and 34, he writes laws on how to treat foreigners. 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:14.020 And when he reminds them how to treat foreigners, he said, "Because you yourself were once in a foreign land, when 00:11:14.020 --> 00:11:19.100 you were in Egypt." God cares about people. 00:11:19.880 --> 00:11:25.020 He's a God of love, and grace, and life, and calling us to him. 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:33.500 And then when you consider his nature, then the question becomes, "Well, if this is God, how 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:35.200 does that fit into the stories of the Bible? 00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:37.740 Do they conflict? 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:45.820 And where does the goodness of this God meet with this judgment that's being talked about?" Does God wake up angry killing people? 00:11:46.740 --> 00:11:47.940 I mean, that's what we do, right? 00:11:48.260 --> 00:11:51.060 We get to a certain boiling point and you just explode. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:54.340 But is that how God handles things? 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:03.200 When you begin to read scripture, if you were to say, "I'll start this year", and you started on the journey, "I'm going to read the whole Bible", and you start with the book 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:03.670 of Genesis. 00:12:05.180 --> 00:12:12.740 You'll see the first catastrophic judgment that happens is the story of Noah, and which is a horrible children's 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:13.340 story by the way. 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.320 We always paint it like a beautiful boat with all these animals. 00:12:17.280 --> 00:12:22.480 It's like, "No, everyone died." I make the focal point about the animals on this book. 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:28.400 But when you think about that story though, you see God's judgment. 00:12:28.800 --> 00:12:36.180 What you see within the context of that story, we tend to tell that story, we tend to tell just the event like, God comes down judgment, 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:37.660 there's this rain, everyone dies. 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:44.300 But on the back of that story, we see he's a gracious, loving, patient, God. 00:12:45.660 --> 00:12:52.720 Because before God brings the flood, what God brings is a man named Enoch, a man named Methuselah, and a man 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:53.290 named Noah. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:55.080 And the Bible doesn't want you to miss these stories. 00:12:56.860 --> 00:13:03.780 Could you imagine growing up in Noah's day and you walk out, and you're like, Noah is out there in the middle of the woods, building a boat. 00:13:05.160 --> 00:13:07.800 How in the world would you ever get a boat like that to water? 00:13:08.880 --> 00:13:10.590 And so you think, "I'm going to go talk to crazy Noah. 00:13:10.660 --> 00:13:16.860 I think he's not using his funds well." And you go to Noah and you're like, "Noah, this is a massive boat in the middle of nowhere near water. 00:13:17.140 --> 00:13:23.110 What are you doing?" And Noah tells you, "God wants this world to turn. 00:13:24.500 --> 00:13:25.640 It's wicked. 00:13:26.180 --> 00:13:30.820 There's only three godly people in this world that follow him, Enoch, Methuselah and Noah. 00:13:31.640 --> 00:13:36.890 I'm building this boat because the flood is coming." Noah built this boat not for a day, but 100 years. 00:13:38.560 --> 00:13:39.960 How long does God need to be patient? 00:13:40.040 --> 00:13:47.180 And then, when you look at the life of Enoch and Methuselah, Enoch has a son named, Methuselah and his name literally means, after him 00:13:47.180 --> 00:13:47.940 comes judgment. 00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:54.620 And Enoch and Methuselah walk around and tell people, "Look, the Lord's being gracious and patient. 00:13:55.800 --> 00:14:00.240 This wickedness is so corrupt." And then all of a sudden, one day you just hear, "Enoch? 00:14:00.260 --> 00:14:03.440 Where's Enoch?" He never died, God just came down and took him. 00:14:04.380 --> 00:14:10.520 "God just came down and took him?" "Yes." But don't be surprised, because he also named his son Methuselah, which means, after this comes judgment. 00:14:10.580 --> 00:14:11.060 And guess what? 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:12.520 The Bible tells you about Methuselah. 00:14:12.760 --> 00:14:14.120 He was the oldest person to live. 00:14:14.340 --> 00:14:18.400 And when God tells you he's the oldest person who lived, God is just not doing that for the Guinness Book of World Records. 00:14:20.520 --> 00:14:23.720 God's doing that to display his infinite patient towards his people. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.920 969 years, God is like, "Oh, here's random trivia." He was the oldest person ever. 00:14:30.160 --> 00:14:37.220 What God's saying is, God is being patient and he's allowing Methuselah to be the oldest person ever, so that hearts have opportunity to turn to him. 00:14:39.900 --> 00:14:45.460 When you look in the life of the Canaanites, God sends Israel into the land of Canaan. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:53.240 And when you see the battles that take place with Joshua, God doesn't just all of a sudden say, "You know what? 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:54.240 I don't like these people any more. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.440 Go and kill them all." That's not how the story works. 00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:03.600 If you just read it in this context, maybe that's how it would be perceived if you just read the story itself, but what you see all the way back to the life 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:10.860 of Abraham is for hundreds of years God has been saying to the Canaanites, "You're wicked." We didn't study 00:15:10.860 --> 00:15:18.020 their wickedness together when we did a series on, A Day On The Sanctity Of Life, talking about how they worshiped 00:15:18.020 --> 00:15:18.760 the god of Moloch. 00:15:20.620 --> 00:15:27.500 They would take children, heat up this false idol and lay children in the hands of Moloch, and let them burn alive. 00:15:27.920 --> 00:15:33.220 And in order to drown out the screams of these children that would burn alive in his arms, they would beat drums louder. 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:42.780 You can find in these ancient regions, graveyards of not just hundreds, but thousands, of kids sacrificed to Moloch. 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:45.100 And what does God do? 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:48.140 He's patient. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:57.450 In fact, in the life of Abraham, he says this, in the fourth generation he tells Abraham, "They will return here for the iniquity 00:15:57.530 --> 00:16:02.200 of the Amorites is not yet complete." And he says to Abraham, "Look, through you, I'm going to bless all nations. 00:16:02.780 --> 00:16:10.180 It's going to be in the land of Canaan, but it's not going to be right now because of the Amorites who were descendants of Canaan, their 00:16:10.180 --> 00:16:15.180 iniquity hasn't reached this point yet." And what God is saying here is like God's not blowing off the cuff. 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:17.520 God's not all of a sudden going to wake up just angry and he's like, "That's it. 00:16:18.880 --> 00:16:24.590 Cant handle it anymore." God's judgment doesn't work like that. 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:28.860 God's not surprised by anything that we do. 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:32.780 God already knows what rests in the mind or the Canaanites. 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:36.200 And so what he says to Abraham and he says, he's giving them time. 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:44.240 Not this generation, but some generations to come we're going to come back here. 00:16:45.760 --> 00:16:53.660 And when Israel goes into the land, in Deuteronomy, this is what God says, "Look guys, I'm not sending you in the land because your great, that's 00:16:53.660 --> 00:16:54.980 not my purpose in sending you to this land. 00:16:56.520 --> 00:17:05.680 I'm sending you to this land because the time of this wickedness needs to end, the Canaanites and their practices have to stop." 00:17:05.780 --> 00:17:12.839 And he says in Deuteronomy 9:5, "It is not for your righteousness or for your uprightness of your heart, that you're going to possess their land." He's telling Israel, "That's 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:13.240 not why. 00:17:13.260 --> 00:17:21.940 It's not because you're great, but rather it's because of the wickedness of these nations, that your Lord your God is driving them out before you." 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:24.650 And so God enters, and sends them into this land. 00:17:25.520 --> 00:17:26.500 Even the story of Jonah. 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:30.720 When God comes to Jonah, and he says, "Go to Babylon and share the story." You know what Jonah does? 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:32.460 "I'm not going to Babylon God. 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:36.800 I'd rather be stuck on a ship or in the belly of a whale, than I would go tell Babylon. 00:17:37.060 --> 00:17:37.980 Because I know who you are. 00:17:38.260 --> 00:17:42.360 I'm going to go to Babylon, I'm going to pronounce judgment, and they're going to find your grace and I'm not doing it. 00:17:45.570 --> 00:17:50.040 And Jonah goes to Babylon in the midst of the wickedness, and what happens? 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:53.460 They turn. 00:17:53.960 --> 00:18:00.040 God just doesn't wake up and destroy, God sends gracious message, after gracious message. 00:18:02.820 --> 00:18:08.740 So when we consider God's judgment in the midst of what takes place in these specific moments, yes, God delivers judgment. 00:18:10.260 --> 00:18:13.140 But on the back end of that, are hundreds of years of his patience. 00:18:14.800 --> 00:18:17.800 Message after message declaring to his people. 00:18:18.540 --> 00:18:25.540 And when God tells the Israelites to go to the land of Canaan and kill all the people in that land, I don't think 00:18:25.540 --> 00:18:28.360 the context of the scripture actually means kill everyone there. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:36.960 I think it's hyperbole in it's language, just like sort of like saying today, "In Superbowl five years ago, the Seahawks 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:44.180 killed the Broncos", which they did, but they didn't literally kill 00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:44.280 them. 00:18:45.860 --> 00:18:46.940 It was just devastating to watch. 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.220 When your first play is safety at the back of the end zone. 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:57.300 I think it's the same thing when God mentioned this in Deuteronomy, and the reason is because, if you read in Deuteronomy 20, when he tells them 00:18:57.300 --> 00:19:03.760 to go into this land, he's not saying kill all people groups, or every person, rather he just wants to pronounce judgment. 00:19:04.040 --> 00:19:11.720 But if you read in Deuteronomy 20, if you flip over the very next chapter, Chapter 21, God talks about what happens if the Israelites marry 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.080 in the land of Canaan, marry Canaanites. 00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:22.660 In fact, when you look at Jesus's lineage, Rahab, Tamar, Ruth, they're 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:23.640 not from the tribe of Israel. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:33.160 God is not about just wiping people off for the sake of wiping people off, in fact, you'll find in the Bible when people turn to the Lord, he relents. 00:19:34.860 --> 00:19:35.770 And so let me just give you this conclusion. 00:19:36.080 --> 00:19:42.840 God's judgment is not this, off the cuff thing, it is sobering, but it's intentional, it's patient, it's purposeful. 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:51.700 When God sends his prophets like Elijah, he was wanting to provide a place for a warning, but also to encourage the faithful. 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:54.620 That things aren't always going to be like this. 00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:58.740 As you see it in 2 Peter 3:9, God is long-suffering, God hasn't forgotten you. 00:20:00.280 --> 00:20:02.860 And so it's intended to encourage God's faithful. 00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:09.300 To the unrepentant, God is gracious and he wants your hearts to find his grace into the follower of the Lord. 00:20:09.300 --> 00:20:12.720 God tells you over and over in this world, do not grow weary in doing good. 00:20:14.320 --> 00:20:22.080 So when you look in this passage in 1 Kings 21, or you go back to 1 Kings 18:41, the prophets are destroyed, 00:20:22.080 --> 00:20:23.650 or the false prophets are destroyed. 00:20:24.340 --> 00:20:26.640 Yeah, I think it's important to wrestle with these texts. 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:31.720 If you look at these texts of scripture and you don't wrestle with them, then something's wrong with us, right? 00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:34.400 Life is important. 00:20:35.640 --> 00:20:39.380 We need to look at these and consider what exactly God is doing. 00:20:41.900 --> 00:20:49.300 Despite all the warnings of Canaan, what you find in 1 Kings 21, God tells us, all the Canaanites 00:20:49.300 --> 00:20:49.980 were wicked. 00:20:50.020 --> 00:20:52.400 In Deuteronomy 9:5, you're going into land because of that. 00:20:54.080 --> 00:20:57.340 And despite all these warnings, what happens is Israel becomes corrupt. 00:21:00.060 --> 00:21:06.040 And in the midst of that, God even gives them laws, and in the midst of the laws, he tells them, "Don't worship any other God." But what's Israel do? 00:21:06.060 --> 00:21:07.160 They worship false gods. 00:21:08.580 --> 00:21:10.280 God even gives them laws for the prophets. 00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:17.340 He tells them in Deuteronomy 13, and Deuteronomy 18, if you have someone that claims to be a prophet and they lead you towards false gods or they 00:21:17.340 --> 00:21:20.880 make prophecies that don't come true, they're not real prophets. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.100 You need to take their lives, stone them. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:27.380 God is very clear in protecting his truth for Israel. 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:28.420 And so what happens with Israel? 00:21:28.420 --> 00:21:32.140 Well, they go into the land, they embrace the false teaching, they create these false prophets. 00:21:32.900 --> 00:21:37.930 And the law tells them very clearly that, their lives can end right there because of that. 00:21:39.900 --> 00:21:41.820 It's not a surprise, but what does God do? 00:21:41.820 --> 00:21:42.060 He's patient. 00:21:43.860 --> 00:21:45.760 He brings a drought. 00:21:46.320 --> 00:21:47.060 He sends Elijah. 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:50.080 Three years of a drought. 00:21:51.780 --> 00:21:57.660 Then he calls him on Mount Carmel, he brings down fire, he shows himself who he is. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:59.820 He reveals himself to Israel time and time again. 00:21:59.820 --> 00:22:00.560 And what did they do? 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:06.240 They turn, and God judges. 00:22:08.460 --> 00:22:13.360 The patience of God is seen over and over in these stories. 00:22:15.360 --> 00:22:20.880 Now, when we talk about God's judgment, I think it's important to know, like I said, that's not our position. 00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:26.200 Right now, when you think about judgment, people often say, "Look, judge not, unless you be judged. 00:22:26.200 --> 00:22:28.300 You shouldn't judge other people." That's what Christians will... 00:22:28.520 --> 00:22:29.920 They'll try to quote some Bible verse, like... 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:34.180 Biblically speaking, there are certain ways that it's okay to judge. 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:37.420 And the way it's okay to judge is, God gave you some wisdom to discern. 00:22:37.700 --> 00:22:39.880 Like if you get too close to a cliff, you might fall off. 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:42.840 It's good to judge in the moment, not to be too close to that cliff, right? 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:47.280 Judgment is a healthy thing, but we don't judge in the sense that we put people beneath us. 00:22:49.340 --> 00:22:50.710 Never are people beneath us. 00:22:52.420 --> 00:22:53.260 That's the wrong kind of judgment. 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:55.420 Unless they're Lakers fans, then do whatever you want. 00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:58.100 But, we don't judge people in that way. 00:22:58.100 --> 00:22:59.060 That's God's position. 00:22:59.060 --> 00:23:06.200 In fact, in the book of Jude, the ninth verse, Michael the Archangel, says, even to 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:13.420 Satan, he won't bring judgment against Satan that is God's position because he's holy, he's just. 00:23:15.080 --> 00:23:18.920 When we do things like that our motives aren't pure, only God's motives are pure. 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:21.780 So God's judgment has purpose. 00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:30.720 It's not uncontrollable rage, it's a call really to initially to turn to him, and 00:23:30.780 --> 00:23:32.340 be forgiven in his grace. 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:40.980 So when you think about judgment as it relates to us today, like some people ask the question, "If God is good, how can 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:47.980 there be evil in this world?" And then you'll read a story of God, how he shows up in the Old Testament, and then they ask the 00:23:47.980 --> 00:23:55.140 question, "How can there be a good God if he judges?" It's like, wait a minute, the minute that you are asking, "Whereas this is good God, 00:23:55.220 --> 00:23:58.760 if there's evil in the world?" And then when he shows up you're like, "You're an evil God. 00:23:58.780 --> 00:24:05.940 You can't have it both ways." Irony of humanity sometimes, "How 00:24:05.940 --> 00:24:13.500 do you have a good God in an evil world?" I think it is important for us to be understanding 00:24:13.500 --> 00:24:20.800 with this thought, for God to be good he's got to be a 00:24:20.800 --> 00:24:21.140 just judge. 00:24:23.340 --> 00:24:24.880 Otherwise, he can't protect you. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:30.880 God has to be able to judge in some way at some point. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:34.120 Otherwise, any promise he gives, he has no power to provide it. 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:41.060 If God says he's going to eradicate sin one day for us and make this world new, and all bad things will pass away on. 00:24:41.060 --> 00:24:45.580 There'll be no more pain, no more suffering, at some point, God has to have the ability to judge. 00:24:46.860 --> 00:24:51.740 Without that authority, he can't provide the very things that he promises us. 00:24:52.620 --> 00:24:55.660 And so for God to be good, he has to be able to judge otherwise he cannot protect. 00:24:58.060 --> 00:24:58.780 He cannot be good. 00:25:00.560 --> 00:25:07.760 But when you think about this God who judges, I think it's also important for us to consider how 00:25:07.760 --> 00:25:11.360 pure and holy, God's judgment will be. 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:19.920 I think sometimes we fail to consider the purity of God's judgment and appreciate the significance of Jesus because we 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:22.140 often consider sin by the comparison game. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:27.830 If you look at the people around you and you're not quite as bad as they are, so you must be in good standing. 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:31.480 God will look at them, I'll just sneak on by. 00:25:31.520 --> 00:25:38.900 That's kind of how we think about, we play the comparison game, but when it comes to sin, God doesn't compare us to 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:39.240 each other. 00:25:41.940 --> 00:25:43.020 His standard is different. 00:25:45.520 --> 00:25:47.700 His standard is himself. 00:25:50.060 --> 00:25:54.780 And the Bible doesn't make sense to us until you see his holiness in comparison to our sin. 00:25:56.620 --> 00:26:00.020 Jesus is coming for us, seems more like a nice idea rather than a necessity. 00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:09.040 But when you understand the significance of sin and you refer to Jesus as a savior in that sense, those words have 00:26:09.040 --> 00:26:11.790 tremendous meaning in the life of the believer. 00:26:11.860 --> 00:26:13.440 And let me give you a couple of examples of why. 00:26:15.620 --> 00:26:21.820 When we sin, the person that we offend and the position of that person, weighs the significance of that sin. 00:26:21.860 --> 00:26:23.200 Let me give you an example. 00:26:25.080 --> 00:26:32.220 If my space of who I am enters into your space and my hand were to come up and violate your space by hitting you across 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:35.880 the face, I could get in trouble for that. 00:26:37.260 --> 00:26:38.040 That's an offense. 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:39.230 I should not do that. 00:26:39.320 --> 00:26:39.420 Right? 00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:41.930 And if I've offended you in that way, that is wrong. 00:26:42.840 --> 00:26:51.720 But suppose that rather than it's just a regular Joe down the street, suppose it's a police officer, the 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:54.640 extent of that punishment becomes higher. 00:26:56.220 --> 00:27:03.240 Now, I suppose rather than a police officer, it's a dignitary or a ruler, maybe even a president, to attack 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:06.500 someone in such a position that's treason. 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:09.500 That's a violation against the country. 00:27:09.580 --> 00:27:12.820 Now suppose it's the king of kings and Lord of Lords. 00:27:16.760 --> 00:27:18.240 It's interesting when you think about sin. 00:27:19.360 --> 00:27:21.080 Oftentimes when we think about sin in our own lives... 00:27:21.080 --> 00:27:28.200 Don't worry, I'm going to get to some encouraging parts of this, but when you think about sin, when we consider sin in 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:29.620 the heart of, say, my life. 00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:35.160 Oftentimes when I think about sin, I really only think about the significance of sin as it affects other people. 00:27:36.860 --> 00:27:39.830 I feel bad about a sin that I do when it hurts other people. 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:42.860 I lied, it hurts someone, I feel bad. 00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:50.520 You read Psalm 51 in verse 3 and 4, David says something interesting in Psalm 51. 00:27:50.580 --> 00:27:57.160 That's the song he wrote after his sin with Bathsheba, he killed Uriah, he has a child with Bathsheba. 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:06.540 And in that song, when he records his heart before the Lord, he says to God, "Lord, against you and you alone have I sinned". 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:08.640 Crazy phrase. 00:28:09.940 --> 00:28:12.340 Because when I sin, I think, "Oh no, look what I did to Uriah. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:13.870 I got to go apologize to the family. 00:28:14.120 --> 00:28:21.440 I'll look what happened with Bathsheba, I need to go apologize to more people." And then I'm apologetic for the effects of sin, but I'm not really ever apologetic 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:24.080 in that sense to sin itself, and what makes sin a sin. 00:28:26.020 --> 00:28:33.260 If we just apologize for the effects of sin, it gives a reason to consider, do we ever really think about what sin truly 00:28:33.260 --> 00:28:33.500 is? 00:28:37.560 --> 00:28:44.780 When David murdered Uriah, what made that a sin is not that it hurt other people, or even took Uriah's 00:28:44.780 --> 00:28:45.020 life? 00:28:45.020 --> 00:28:47.220 What made it a sin is that God is the creator of life. 00:28:49.320 --> 00:28:52.780 And by taking life, he violates the very one who gives life. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:58.280 What makes a sin, a sin, is that it always and first violates against God. 00:29:00.180 --> 00:29:04.960 Now it'll affect our relationships with each other, but it's always first an attack against God. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:06.600 What makes lying wrong? 00:29:06.600 --> 00:29:09.680 It isn't because people are hurt by the lie, is that God is truth. 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:12.120 And he created us in his image. 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:16.680 And so when we don't tell the truth, we violate the one who created us in his image to be truth tellers. 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:23.420 What makes sin a sin, it's always first treason. 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:30.720 It's attack against the very God who created us in his image. 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:35.500 Which makes the significance of sin. 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:40.840 And our position before God, are very important to consider. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:48.380 Because now comes the question, "If God is going to judge, what are you going to bring? 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:58.460 What can you do?" Because the standard beside you is no longer the person, but 00:29:58.460 --> 00:30:00.160 it's now just you and the Lord. 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:06.250 What can you offer to a God who can do everything for himself? 00:30:09.320 --> 00:30:13.220 There is nothing within you other than to cry out for mercy and grace. 00:30:16.720 --> 00:30:23.780 See, when we ask the question, "How can God allow evil?" Maybe what we should rather ask is, "Are you ready for God to 00:30:23.780 --> 00:30:30.820 judge?" When we think about the story of the Canaanites, 00:30:31.260 --> 00:30:36.790 really honestly, their life becomes an illustration of every human's heart. 00:30:38.360 --> 00:30:44.180 We've all wondered, we've all violated, we've all sinned. 00:30:46.100 --> 00:30:48.120 So where are you in relationship to God? 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:56.220 2 Peter 3:9, God is not avoiding his promises to you, but 00:30:56.220 --> 00:30:56.920 he's being patient. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:02.800 Not Willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance. 00:31:03.060 --> 00:31:05.940 Are you ready for God to judge? 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:08.920 Where is your heart before the Lord? 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:10.560 I love the way Romans says it. 00:31:10.600 --> 00:31:18.440 I'm must read verse 32, I'll read these other verses in just a minute, but this is where God in the midst of his judgment, also 00:31:18.440 --> 00:31:20.100 shows his patient grace with us. 00:31:20.120 --> 00:31:27.260 Look at this in verse 32, he who did not spare his own son but delivered him over for 00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:27.680 us all. 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:33.300 God is just and he demands that everything will be accounted for. 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:44.020 But God also gives a place for you to experience his grace where he says, "Look, you can pay for it or 00:31:44.020 --> 00:31:47.400 I'm going to become flesh, and I'm willing to pay for it. 00:31:49.260 --> 00:31:49.680 What do you want? 00:31:51.300 --> 00:31:58.700 A kingdom for yourself where you pay, or a kingdom of this gracious God who has continued to pursue you 00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:01.930 to give his life for you, that you can find freedom in him. 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:05.260 God's justice will be paid. 00:32:05.560 --> 00:32:12.620 It'll either be paid on Jesus or me." Romans 8, reminds us that, that's the very reason Jesus 00:32:12.620 --> 00:32:13.060 came. 00:32:13.840 --> 00:32:20.900 And when you consider the magnitude of sin, as David said, "God against you and in you only have I sinned", but in that 00:32:20.900 --> 00:32:24.600 place, God provides a place for your heart to find his grace. 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:33.020 God in those moments say, he says, "I know and I love you, and I paid for this, 00:32:34.260 --> 00:32:40.820 and I forgive you." God's looking for that heart in turning to him. 00:32:42.560 --> 00:32:48.970 And so, God for us in these verses becomes incredibly patient towards us. 00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:56.660 He tells us in Romans 8:28 and 8:31 he says, "For those in the Lord and we know that God causes all things to 00:32:56.660 --> 00:33:00.760 work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. 00:33:01.400 --> 00:33:08.900 What then shall we say of these things, if God is for us, who is against us?" And 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:15.920 all that brokenness, Jesus meets us there and he provides for us to the 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:23.160 extent where we can confidently say because of Jesus's payment in our lives and embracing that payment for my life, 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:25.350 I can confidently say that now I'm in Jesus. 00:33:25.800 --> 00:33:32.820 And everything in this world, if everything in this world goes against me, it's really nothing against me because God is for me what else can stand against me? 00:33:34.860 --> 00:33:36.400 Nothing. 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:40.040 Nothing can overcome the power of this God. 00:33:41.400 --> 00:33:43.420 And that's the theme of Roman chapter 8. 00:33:43.720 --> 00:33:49.780 I don't have the time to read all of that, but that's what the author says to us, is nothing can overcome this in him. 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:56.680 God provides a place to enjoy his presence away from the destruction of sin. 00:33:57.980 --> 00:34:01.220 In my home I have two rules. 00:34:01.220 --> 00:34:07.860 And one of the blessings, I think, of the house where my wife and I live, especially the last few years, we've seen it as a resource for God to use. 00:34:07.900 --> 00:34:10.780 And we've seen a lot of people stay with us over the last few years especially. 00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:18.980 And we love having people over and I still tell the same thing to my kids, as we do have people that stay with us, two things I say, our 00:34:19.060 --> 00:34:22.500 home is always a safe place and you'll always be loved. 00:34:24.830 --> 00:34:26.060 It's always a safe place. 00:34:26.199 --> 00:34:28.340 If you're ever a threat to that, you don't belong here. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:31.719 And when you walk in that door, you're always going to be loved. 00:34:33.679 --> 00:34:34.460 Now why is it like that? 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:36.679 Is it because of the home itself? 00:34:39.699 --> 00:34:40.199 No. 00:34:40.560 --> 00:34:42.840 The home just happens to be where it takes place. 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:48.150 It's not the home, it's the authority for which the parents carry in the home. 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:55.929 If for my kids, if my home doesn't become that place for them, if I just let the world in to attack them, I'm not being a good father. 00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:05.240 But to provide that for them, that authority gives me that opportunity to provide that for him. 00:35:05.420 --> 00:35:10.620 And guys, when it comes to God, I would say the same thing that, what God is saying is this world will pass away. 00:35:10.680 --> 00:35:13.300 If you could go read, 2 Peter 3:9, God is long suffering to us. 00:35:13.560 --> 00:35:15.070 No one will perish, all come to repentance. 00:35:15.080 --> 00:35:17.080 He says, "This world is passing away. 00:35:17.460 --> 00:35:18.580 This world is in sin. 00:35:18.820 --> 00:35:24.100 This world will face judgment." Jesus wants your heart. 00:35:26.620 --> 00:35:28.300 Jesus wants to make all things new. 00:35:30.560 --> 00:35:33.270 He can't be a good God without his ability to judge. 00:35:35.700 --> 00:35:38.340 And when Jesus makes all things new, that place we call Heaven. 00:35:41.040 --> 00:35:44.040 But what makes a Heaven, Heaven? 00:35:46.880 --> 00:35:48.500 It's not the location. 00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:52.670 It's never been about the location. 00:35:55.020 --> 00:35:56.460 It's always been based on his authority. 00:35:59.460 --> 00:36:02.700 Heaven makes Heaven because he is a good God and able to judge. 00:36:03.560 --> 00:36:07.360 Or God makes Heaven because he's a good God, and enable to judge. 00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:09.620 It's him. 00:36:11.300 --> 00:36:14.380 So when you look at judgment, sometimes there's fear related to that. 00:36:14.830 --> 00:36:17.660 Where am I in relationship to God? 00:36:17.680 --> 00:36:24.760 Well, the scripture tells us, "You don't have to doubt, because Jesus came to free you." And what God wants 00:36:24.760 --> 00:36:29.410 in his judgment is for you to be on the side of that judgment, that becomes your place of protection. 00:36:31.580 --> 00:36:33.040 That's what the whole Bible is. 00:36:34.500 --> 00:36:41.720 This calling to your heart to know that God is getting rid of this world because it's full of sin, and 00:36:41.720 --> 00:36:49.060 your heart wasn't made to belong there, your heart was made to find newness and relationship with him, and he has come and he has given it all, 00:36:49.100 --> 00:36:55.440 that on the other side of his judgment, you could see his judgment as a place of protection in his home by his authority. 00:36:55.540 --> 00:37:03.320 That's why when you read the Psalms, the psalmist say over and over, "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high or rest in the shadow of the almighty, 00:37:03.480 --> 00:37:06.410 he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:11.100 When the psalmist talk about the goodness of God, they don't just describe heaven. 00:37:11.140 --> 00:37:20.840 When they think about the goodness of God, they think about the authority of God himself because it's in that authority that he provides that place. 00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:24.620 Rest in him. 00:37:24.900 --> 00:37:27.740 The whole of scripture communicates this patience of God. 00:37:27.900 --> 00:37:31.330 God is a just judge and he has the right to judge life at anytime. 00:37:31.560 --> 00:37:34.700 God doesn't owe us anything and in that he's gracious. 00:37:35.720 --> 00:37:41.600 From the times of Noah, to the Canaanites, to this very day, over and over the scripture says, "God is patient. 00:37:41.720 --> 00:37:42.860 God is patient." Why? 00:37:44.200 --> 00:37:47.530 He wants you in the richness of his forgiveness and grace. 00:37:50.420 --> 00:37:54.380 We can pay for our sins or Jesus can. 00:37:56.700 --> 00:37:59.910 God won't force you, but he gives you the opportunity. 00:38:02.300 --> 00:38:08.230 As we think about Heaven and Hell and I need to end with this very quickly, but we think about Heaven and Hell so often our minds, we think about location. 00:38:10.220 --> 00:38:11.880 I don't think that's the way scripture paints it. 00:38:12.720 --> 00:38:14.740 I mean, yes, there is a location, but that's secondary. 00:38:16.780 --> 00:38:19.260 What makes Heaven and Hell is the presence of God in your life. 00:38:21.220 --> 00:38:26.900 When you think about the picture of Heaven and Hell in Revelation 21, Jesus says like this about Heaven, "God himself will be among them. 00:38:28.260 --> 00:38:28.720 His presence. 00:38:29.720 --> 00:38:35.580 Wipe away every tear from their eye, no longer any death, no longer any mourning, nor crying, nor pain, the first is gone. 00:38:35.900 --> 00:38:43.240 They've passed away." And here's what makes Hell, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, they'll pay the penalty of eternal destruction 00:38:43.240 --> 00:38:45.840 away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. 00:38:47.900 --> 00:38:50.100 It's the absence of his presence, his gracious presence. 00:38:52.990 --> 00:38:59.420 So I'll say this decision of eternity is really about what kingdom you want to live for. 00:39:01.640 --> 00:39:04.520 You are Jesus. 00:39:07.140 --> 00:39:14.360 He's Good, he loves you, he's provided a place to experience that goodness away from everything that 00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:14.820 tears your soul. 00:39:17.010 --> 00:39:23.820 And as people we wrestle with that because we want control, and we don't want to be near this Jesus. 00:39:25.160 --> 00:39:26.140 We would rather have it the hard way. 00:39:28.100 --> 00:39:32.990 And that's what Thessalonians says, then you can be away from the presence of Jesus. 00:39:33.140 --> 00:39:37.020 And In Luke Chapter 16, God will give it to you. 00:39:38.140 --> 00:39:41.360 Luke Chapter 16, Jesus tells a story there of the rich man and Lazarus. 00:39:43.440 --> 00:39:44.600 Lazarus lived a hard life. 00:39:47.120 --> 00:39:48.900 The rich man lived a lavish life. 00:39:51.620 --> 00:39:56.060 And Luke describes, the lavish life that he led away from the lord making himself a king. 00:39:56.120 --> 00:39:58.280 He describes it as torment in eternity. 00:39:58.480 --> 00:39:58.840 He's in torment. 00:39:59.040 --> 00:40:00.670 Sometimes we think about how people think about torture. 00:40:01.140 --> 00:40:01.940 The Bible never says that. 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:02.960 Go look it up, it never says that. 00:40:03.040 --> 00:40:04.050 What it says is, torment. 00:40:05.920 --> 00:40:06.360 And here's why. 00:40:08.320 --> 00:40:11.880 Have you ever made a stupid decision and you realized it had an impact on people? 00:40:12.840 --> 00:40:14.020 And that night you try to go to bed. 00:40:17.620 --> 00:40:18.440 Why did I do that? 00:40:20.320 --> 00:40:23.320 Why did I turn from a hand that loved me so deeply to hurt it so dearly? 00:40:26.340 --> 00:40:29.260 In my own pride, I brought destruction. 00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:34.160 That's what the Bible refers as to, as Hell, as destruction. 00:40:36.300 --> 00:40:41.460 And what we're destroying is our very soul by the choices that we make and rejection of the one who wants to give us freedom and grace. 00:40:41.880 --> 00:40:42.600 Why do that? 00:40:43.640 --> 00:40:44.580 That's torment. 00:40:46.420 --> 00:40:49.000 That was so loving, so good, he gave every thing. 00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:51.220 Why do that? 00:40:53.110 --> 00:40:54.860 When you study the rich man and Lazarus? 00:40:54.860 --> 00:40:59.280 Here's the interesting thing about the rich man, he never tells us his name. 00:41:00.940 --> 00:41:01.240 Why? 00:41:02.760 --> 00:41:04.400 Oh, he wanted separation from God. 00:41:06.260 --> 00:41:07.060 He chose that. 00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:14.420 But Jesus, even still in the midst of sin, pursues us. 00:41:15.140 --> 00:41:21.380 I want you to know this morning, wherever your heart is, God love you. 00:41:22.680 --> 00:41:29.700 God loves you from the beginning to the end of scripture, it is the proclamation of a king who wants to lavish 00:41:29.700 --> 00:41:31.580 his grace and goodness on you. 00:41:32.360 --> 00:41:33.010 And here's what he asks. 00:41:34.820 --> 00:41:35.300 Give up your kingdom. 00:41:37.500 --> 00:41:46.840 And Jesus tells us, "He who wants to get everything in this world will lose a soul, but he who lays his life down will gain everything in him." Give 00:41:46.940 --> 00:41:47.460 your life. 00:41:50.060 --> 00:41:54.120 Don't believe the goodness of the kingdom that you proclaim for yourself because in the end it's bankrupt. 00:41:56.580 --> 00:41:59.980 The wrath of the goodness of this God who desires to set you free. 00:42:01.560 --> 00:42:05.160 God against you, and you only have I sinned, but Jesus thank you. 00:42:06.820 --> 00:42:13.920 Thank you that your judgment comes, it does come in your perfect righteousness, and God in that 00:42:13.940 --> 00:42:19.900 righteousness you free the soul to find the grace and goodness for which it was created for.