Understanding The Wrath Of God Part 1

The rain forest looking to Jesus, founder and perfecter of our view of us would make the wrath of God.

Our first choice for Bible study God's prophets under words of his judgment to the people of Verde God's warnings to the nations, have not changed. If we today God's wrath is all about. Stay with church in Chicago. This is running to win with Dr. Sir was clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Master elixir does God give any warnings before exercising his wrath again before answer that question I need to say that you nailed it. We live in a time when the wrath of God is seldom if ever mentioned.

And yet we find it from the book of Genesis all the way to the book of Revelation. We've accepted views of God that are really demeaning and unworthy of him. Does God always worn a nation yes to some extent he does but we are already being warned. The question is are we listening want you to know today that running to win exists to help people make it across the finish line, to the glory of God. We are in more than 20 different countries and it is because of the investment of people like you, would you consider becoming an endurance partner, someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts. Here's what you can do. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com. Click on the endurance partner button or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337 let me thank you in advance for your continuing support your partners together with us as we share the word of God and now let us open our hearts and minds to what God has to say about judgment homosexual activists speaking to his constituency this past week said welcome sodomites.

It was of course referring to the Supreme Court decision was made to overturn a Texas law which banned homosexual relationships. Whatever we may feel about the right of homosexuals to live together a problem with the Supreme Court decision is that it was not based really on the Constitution appealing once again to the doctrine of privacy which was really the basis upon which abortion was legalized and also we have to face the question of whether or not it indeed opens the door to adult incest, bigamy, and prostitution, and a host of other such sentence is really interesting to live at a time in the United States of America when so many of the fences that have been put up are being torn down and nobody is even pausing to ask why the fences were put up there in the first place. As we begin and continue the dissent into a moral vacuum.

This happens to be the fourth in a series of messages titled God and the nations. We have talked about the origin of the nations.

The providence of God in the nations how that God raises up rulers and takes them down. We've also spoken about sins for which God judges a nation that was the last message and today we come to another topic, namely that different kinds of ways in which God does indeed judge a nation for its sins. In fact, the title of the message is the wrath of God. Understanding the wrath of God. Now, maybe you're here is a visitor and you say to yourself, now that's a strange topic for a sermon. We've come here to Moody church today because we want to hear about the love of God. Well, you'll hear about that to but you know the Bible does talk about the wrath of God. It says in Romans chapter 1 verse 18 that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness and those notice this race who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The imagery there is about that. We would like to use is of a garden hose with all of that pressure.

The water coming through and someone absolutely insisting that he hold his thumb over the spout people suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

I was in Colorado this week and flew back, and God in his providence put me next to a woman who is on her way to this great and wonderful city of Chicago for the gay-rights parade.

She was here for that purpose – he has a partner being part of that lifestyle who is actually the pastor of a church in in Colorado so we had an interesting discussion, but I couldn't help but think, but I couldn't help but think that in her life and in the lives of many. And I don't want to give the impression as if to say homosexuality is the big sin that we should be opposed to but it is sin, but I couldn't help but think that another individual. It became clear to me suppressing the truth, suppressing the truth and you and I may be guilty of that as well so we don't point fingers unless we talk also to ourselves you say oh what's this business about the wrath of God.

God is a loving God. Most assuredly he is, but do you remember dear member in the CS Lewis Lucy as she met Azlan remember Azlan is the lion representing Jesus Christ and if she looked at Azlan's pause is pause. They were as smooth as velvet. In fact, those pauses could have been used to stroke her face. But when Azlan's claws were out they were a sharp as knives and that's the way God is love, but also wrath and judgment.

A few preliminary remarks before we dive into the text. First of all, please keep in mind that all sin has immediate judgment, immediate judgment, as we shall see. Today, people say will someday God is going to judge America. Yeah, there may be some future judgment that we are being judged for sins right now. Just like individuals are being judged for their sins right now when you and I sin it has any immediate incident judgment. It has to be for God to be God. One day God said to Adam.

Do not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden and Adam and Eve a 10 God says in the day that you eat thereof, you will die.

There wasn't an immediate judgment in the sense that Adam did not fall over dead. But the process of death began its laborious journey all the way to the grave. There are immediate consequences dissent.

But secondly we need to keep in mind that sometimes God's full judgment may take centuries.

Remember the case of the Canaanites. God says I am giving them 400 years that I'm not judging them now because the cup up there in the D is not yet full. So God was willing to wait a long time and eventually they were judged by Joshua, whose armies basically for the most part exterminated them and then third. Please keep in mind that God's intention is always loving his intention is to is to bring us a judgment yes, but the intention is that we would be driven to him that we might repent individually and as a nation, God's purposes are always loving and merciful, though they don't appear that way when they first happen. Now what were going to be doing in the next few moments is to look into the Scripture. And I'm going to give you some verses to show how God judge the nation Israel. But as I shall make clear it would be wrong for us to simply look at these judgments and apply them directly to the United States and their reasons why God's judgment of Israel is somewhat at some point different than his judgment would be of other nations. After the coming of Christ. They were a special people chosen by God. They were there in the land. And God says I'm going to use the land to either bless you or curse you, that's different than it is today, but the principles and the secondary applications. As we shall see directly impinge upon us who live in this great and glorious and blessed nation with all of its sins and lost opportunities well enough chitchat, let's get directly to the text. Now you know that that usually what I do is take a passage of Scripture and expounded today we're going to do it topically as I did last time were going to look at the Scripture and it just lists six different ways that God judged Israel and will see its relevance then were going to wind it up at the end with specific applications in world to leave your changed and thinking differently because we been under the authority of God's most holy word. First of all, we have natural disasters, natural disasters, I could have used hundreds of verses from the Old Testament. For this, but I chose only two or three Psalm 107 versus 33 and 34 he turned rivers into a desert blowing springs into thirsty ground and fruitful land into assault waste because of the wickedness of those who live there. God says your guy have drought because of your sin. Jeremiah chapter 3 verse three. Therefore, the showers have been withheld and no spring rains have fallen yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute.

You refused to blush with shame. Notice God says I'm sending you drought and natural disasters to bring you to repentance. But it's having the opposite effect. Dear as hard as ever in your heart you things about natural disasters. First of all, God controls them. God controls them. You say why I think the earth is fallen and that's why that is there this fall in but back behind of the natural disasters you have the immediate cause. Meteorologists know the immediate cause of the storm inhale and so forth, but back of these movements of nature is God you say are you serious I'm very serious. Who is it that caused the plagues of Egypt, natural disasters, but God who is it that because the sun is stay in the heavens during the time of Joshua, but God who is it that because the storm during the time of Jonah, or cause the storm to cease during the time of Jesus. God stands back up natural disasters in my book 10 lies about God I go into this in great detail, but I can convince you that God is back up natural disasters. If I simply ask you a question you are running through a forest and there is a lightning all around you as above you and trees are just splitting here and there because lightning is just decimating them what you pray, or would you not some of you haven't prayed for a long long time would suddenly discover the discipline of prayer will of God's not in control of lightning.

Why bother praying.

Of course you pray, and you'd be wise to pray God controls natural disasters and natural disasters are a picture of coming judgment. Now I need to hurry here, but you need to get this. This does not mean that Africa is a more wicked nation than we are because they have more drought.

This is where the difference comes between the old and the New Testament, but the drought of Africa and the mudslides in Venezuela and the and the earthquake in Turkey.

All of those together as we can show scripturally. We had the time is a picture of judgment that is to come, regardless of which nation must endure it. God says in the Bible in Job and elsewhere that natural disasters are a cameo there a little picture of my coming judgment of the world and that's why the book of Revelation.

You have natural disasters connected with the final final judgment. Second, the deprivation of personal freedoms. I just chose one verse dozens could have been taken from the book of Judges and elsewhere.

But Zechariah chapter 11 verse six for I will no longer have pity on the people of the land, declares the Lord. I will hand everyone over to his neighbor and his king, they will press the land and I will not rescue them from their hands.

God says you're going to be enslaved to others in your personal freedoms will be taken away once again not, let's not think that Russia and China are worse than we were, because their personal freedoms were taken away under communism. Sometimes people must suffer because of their evil rulers but one of the signs.

One of the judgments of God upon a world that has neglected him is the fact that people always end up serving others and their personal freedoms are taken away, we think of America I mentioned last time is needed.

An anomaly that you would have liberal groups that supposedly are the champions of freedom to be the greatest threat to religious freedom here in America so that students can read pornography on the bus as part of their freedom, but according to one principal not a Bible because the bus is public property and you can have religion in public property. Where's all this nonsense going to and anyway because of silly ideas of the separation of church and state and the political correctness which in itself would be a dozen sermons. But we must hurry on third war war. I chose just to passages again. It says in Isaiah chapter 10 verses five and six will to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath. I sent him against a godless nation. I dispatch him against the people who anger me to seize Luton, snatch, plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. Habakkuk chapter 1 verse six.

I am raising up the Babylonians that ruthless and impetuous people who sweep across the whole earth to see his dwelling place is not their own.

I hope you understand how frustrated I am preaching because as I've been going through this. I'm thinking you know if I had the time. This would be a whole sermon added the old sermon that in the old sermon take about a year to say everything that needs to be said. But isn't this interesting.

Do you think that the Assyrians and the Babylonians were better than the people of Israel. They were more wicked. They were pagans they were sacrificing their kids to the fire and what have you. They were evil, but God says I'm going to use a nation that is more evil than you to judge you. And when I continue this series of messages and talk about the United States of America and the such things as terrorism were going to have to come back to this concept again but notice what God says I am raising up the Babylonians against you. I will use a people more evil than you to judge you because of your sins and your violence and your inability to call on God while remember that in war.

It is not always true that the best nation wins is not always true because God uses evil nations to judge those who should know better number for deaf ears deaf ears. Isn't this interesting.

If you are with us last time. You know that I mentioned that one of the sins for which God judges people's ears that will not here and I quoted a verse that says that when the word is preached. They stop up their ears so they do not hear now what we learn in Scripture is that if you're going to close your ears to the truth.

God is going to make sure that your ears are closed as a judgment. Isaiah chapter 6 verses nine and 10. He said go and tell this people is talking to Isaiah be ever hearing but never understanding the ever seeing but never perceiving make the heart of this people calloused to make their ears dull close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed in God says in the New Testament. Satan has blinded the minds of those who believe not last the light of the glorious gospel should shine unto them. God's as you want to hear my word will give you blindness and dull hearing so that you won't hear it. It's a judgment from me. Boy we have to pause there don't way number of years ago, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Nobel laureate famous for Russian literature and his description of life under communism giving a lecture at Harvard University and warned the students about America's pursuit of pleasure, to the neglect of God, and he was booted off the stage, we will not hear it, eyes and ears dull of hearing is that interesting that we as a nation have turned from God. It's also interesting that I have in my hands and testimony from someone in Peru.

Now you must remember that the ministry of running to win is in Spanish. All throughout Central and South America, but this 24-year-old Wrightson says that he is so thankful that he was allowed by God to find our ministry and then he says lies that I have believed in fears that I have had to have been replaced by the truth of God's word whenever I'm tempted to say, God, why your words come to mind. Nothing else matters except the glory of God.

For those of you who support the ministry of running to win. This testimony is your testimony thanks to the many people who stand with us. Would you consider becoming an endurance partner that someone who stands with us regularly with their prayers and their gifts.

Here's what you can do to find out more information go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com and when you're there. By the way, you click on the endurance partner button that will give you the info you need or if you prefer you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 may I thank you in advance for standing with us because together were making a difference in time once again for you to ask Pastor Lewis or a question about the Bible or the Christian life. The end times are they coming soon. Many think they are including this listener who says that the Bible speaks about spiritual famine. The question is this.

Do you think we will see a spiritual famine in our nation before the church is ruptured. If so, how can we prepare our churches for this all that's a big story is in that first of all, what are we to expect before the rapture you know Jesus made that statement when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth. I personally interpret that to mean perhaps not too much faith in other words, there is going to be a time of decline at time of heresy, a time when evil grows and the false spirituality takes the place of Christianity, we can see that happening right now.

If you're talking about a spiritual famine.

We are in it and it is only getting worse.

The question is how can we prepare for it. Excellent question. I think what we need to do is to intentionally as individuals and as churches ask and answer a very critical question, namely, what can we do to remain strong at a time when everything that is been nailed down is being torn up when you have a society that is turning away from God. When you have unjust laws that are encroaching on our freedoms. How can we continue to be strong.

I always tell people that it is not necessary.

By the way, to have freedom to be faithful as martyrs throughout the centuries have certainly proven to answer your question in detail would take a great deal of time, except to say that we need to begin to focus on the gospel on holy living on prayer on witnessing and to know that we can learn to be strong now because I believe the time is coming when it will be absolutely necessary if we intend to survive with our reputation and witness intact. Some wise counsel from Dr. Erwin looks her thank you pastor Luther if you'd like to hear your question answered.

Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor lutes or or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 188 named 218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago line 60614 the blessings of God are bestowed on nations that follow God's commands.

His judgment takes many forms, like natural disasters and the deprivation of personal freedoms. Next time you look at more forms of judgment that are very evident in America now running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church