Faithfully Alert When Society is Falling Apart

One thing is holy justice will be poured out forever on those who were his enemy is the problem when you run around the people who are on believing who are defying God, and you quickly say that I love you and is a wonderful plan your life for God is what you do and he really loves you as if the church is trying so hard to keep God from becoming to the world. Listen, God is not troubled about the men's fact that our sin can be forgiven and that we can stand before God without fear is a glorious truth. We like to talk about that. But there's another experience altogether. For those who die, having never trusted Christ, they will face God's judgment and wrath that reality is just as true but not as frequently communicated today on wisdom for the heart.

We continue through Stephen Davies series from the book of Psalms entitled the song no matter what you see happening in your society. Don't be fooled into thinking God doesn't care. He does and he's paying attention here Stephen with today's lesson Associated Press ran an article in the editorial section out of Boston office and during the registration process this fall.

It created quite a conundrum.

Harvard University students are allowed indicate which pronoun they will use the belt. They can choose he she CE and the harbor is the first college to do this by the way, are all jumping on this wave of major institutions are widening their policies and obviously the created order of God to set aside and without computer. Cornell University MIT Ohio University started letting their students choose from options related to gender back last week I read that the, the State University of New York, one of the nation's largest public university college systems announce that it is working on the data collection tools can choose among seven gender identity.

Everything from trans man to question advocates for all of these transgender's are plotting the change.

Of course, but one student was interviewed. I read her interview little bit of it Junior class student Delilah Smith building in. They and their on the form which you know grammarians are are having a hard time with worsening part. She said we have figured out that sexuality is fluid. Gender is fluid and I think we are at the beginning of it all.

I really this is old stuff is wrapped in new deceptive packet. Satan has always wanted mankind question God's created order. And God's authority and God's Word and God's moral absolutes in the in the chilling digression of confusion and deception, which argues against the law of God, we are told on her heart, is that there are no moral facts and there can be no moral truth is in there can be no standard of morality, which then opens the door to inconceivable moral behavior, which is why there were no arrests made by the way, in a public outcry would abortionists were discovered and hate discussing the harvesting of the brain of a newborn baby lying on a table that survived the abortion why alcohol abuse and sexual abuse and drug abuse and physical abuse are epidemic, which is why were no longer a society that that allows pornography or or even markets pornography.

We are now a society that is pornographic from the sale of an auto mobile toothpaste is pornographic so we do we do when you're living in a culture where it's just coming apart at the seams when when it's now considering it an opinion that we are all equally created even that fundamental truth is being wiped away what you doing that when the foundations crumble the foundations.

Remember we were with his studies. The settlement order of things we God has ordered what you do when they crumble in a culture that wants to denigrate the very thing that made great what you do with an article that I read this past week where a teacher skipped the chapter in world history on Christianity and instead required all of her students memorize the five pillars of Islam.

The historical impact of Christianity which made the Western world the Western world is skipped over and even mocked me. Isn't that the time that you want to get your passport ready and and you know the picture updated and flies somewhere you know to some accommodating culture. What you do when email is applauded and true is exile. Psalm 11 addresses David's first stanza leaves you hanging in the air with that unsettled, seemingly unanswerable question.

What universe three where we ended last study.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do what you do with David reveals next to nothing less than the secret to our steadfastness is simple, it's so simple and yet it is simply profound when she see and I whittled down this poetic response in the five stanzas. By the way this is such a profound response that Dave is not right. This poem and is handed choral director anything to say to arrange this musically because I want to make sure that the nation sings it for centuries to come. One of these five stanzas beginning the first of the first stanza basically says this God is totally undisturbed in his first four the Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven.

That would first that doesn't sound encouraging all create God's inhabit isn't that like light years away with.

I can do what David isn't telling us to sing about the fact that God is remove these what their somewhere way out there on out there.

This point isn't that God is removed. David is stressing the fact that God forever rules at this point, the Lord's throne. By the way, here it is not a reference to inactivity is a reference to supremacy.

In fact another Psalm. It says that the nations are raging in the bank that their attempts to unseat when you're living in a society or even in some circumstance where it seems like everything is falling apart. Steadfastness has everything to do with our concentration when we concentrating on the crumbling foundations were to find more and more illustration is that all we see or do we see the granite foundation underneath all that is the undisturbed sovereign rule of who is never unsettled he is and will never be seated.

Israel is not up to the majority vote.

It'll never go before court rules so you can look around and you can say it doesn't, I give up.

Or you could look in and say I'm going to stay with as I represent God is totally undisturbed sovereign second, God is totally aware of his creation.

The latter part of verse four. His eyes behold his eyelids test the sons of men, Lord tests, righteous and the wicked. In other words, when the foundations are crumbling, God see God knows God saw David's situation, God saw David's attackers gathering in the moonless night shoot there arrows God sees and let me remind you, and I'm sure you already know this ability just rehearse it for you is because it is on my present is and I to everything he examines everyone. David right here both the righteous and the and the unrighteous.

That is, those rightly related to him by faith and those who define.

Finally, this is both terrifying and its implication for the unbeliever will one day stand before God of the great white throne judgment income to the horrifying discovery that every sin is not only worthy of judgment think God was and I that's every thought, every mode of every deed.

God will say I stole that I was there to the believer whose every sinful deed and motive and thought has already met the wrath of God in the death of Christ. Everything you go through in life that then is worthy of rewarding every thought, every deed God saw all that to he dealt with the sinful part. Now he rewards us when we stand before him. He was an eyewitness to everything you suffered every statement you made for Christ.

Everything you did every effort for his glory.

God is totally aware of his creation third stanza God is totally just in his hatred.

Look at the latter part of verse five start beginning the Lord tests the righteous and the wicked and the one who loves violence his soul hates the powerful statement and here's the here's the wonderful incredible stunning truth about the grace of God.

He sent his son and Sir for us and to die for us and thus we become the eternal object of God's grace. Though our sins are stained like scarlet by this one who came to die as the lamb for us. We have been washed as I David isn't finished talking for six upon the wicked he will reign snares you can render that coals of fire, fire and brimstone and burning wind on the it's as if the very areas on fire. One Biblical archaeologist to study the cities in the plains of Sodom and Gomorrah, which may very well be on the mind of David as he thinks of this kind of judgment which will be unveiled in the future. This archaeologist wrote evidences of literally an eruption of petroleum is there, the record of Scripture is informing us that God actually sent burning showers of ignited gas and oil down on these unrepentant cities and you say well then the same reason he's going to do that to all of mankind forever. The apostle Peter writes know this, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying that this where is the promise of his coming in on what you Christians always talk about the coming judgment of God hasn't come hasn't come. So, since it hasn't happened yet it never will. Peter goes on to say it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth formed out of water by water through which the world was at that time destroyed being flooded with water. It was the universal live destroyed man kind but by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire For the day of judgment.

There's another day of judgment coming and the destruction of ungodly men.

Second three. In other words, the first global outpouring of the wrath of God against unrepentant sinners was flawed. In Genesis 9, following the flood, God gave Noah and and his family assigned and that would be a sign that he would not destroy judgment. Mankind again by water and that sign is a what a rainbow Peter informs us that the next judgment won't be with water but with fire. And that's consistent with the rest of Scripture. Unbelieving mankind will be sent to the lake of fire, earth and the universe will literally explode in a vast firewall God will then and then God will re-create a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 2021. All that's all that's to come, says Pokémon. It'll never happen to me that's not the God I know. He's not like that.

Well, read the book that introduced them to us is that what I find especially ironic. Beloved is that the symbol for the movement promoting gay and lesbian, transgender 2 between community symbol of their movement is none other than a ring. Ironic, very symbol that was to become a reminder that God completely wiped mankind off the face of the earth in judgment because his hatred for sinners and sin was so horrific that would be unleashed in a universal flood the rainbow that promises God judgment will not happen on earth again in that way, but reminds us of the terrible judgment of God and his authority over earth and all of mankind. Now the symbol will morale now.

About this time. Maybe you're wondering why does David spend so much time on the subject of judgment on the wicked in his answer to how we are to respond when the foundations crumble.

Follow this a big part of the do with the foundation fall apart is to look to God for your security and your refuge and remember the defiant unbeliever has not has not their arrogance, defiance, God short lived. So the answer is not so much in doing what do the righteous do. The answer is not so much in doing as much as it is to his throne into the future when the foundations crumble and mankind reject God perhaps persecutes the believer and beloved we we are being persecuted. Just so you understand were not troubled, irritated the nouns ignored. The Lions have enrolled in yet ages not throwing stones yet there are brothers and sisters of ours around the world that are so soft. There are more people being martyred for the faith they have in Jesus Christ. Then ever before. What would David say they would see David would say don't don't forget the foundations crumble in your persecuted for daring to represent him.

The song becomes a reminder that all you will ever suffer is brief lifetime and for the unbeliever.

All glory they will ever experience is in this brief lifetime. The only heaven the unbeliever will ever experience is best of earth. The only hell the believer will ever experience is the worst of her song ends for the Lord is righteous, he love righteousness. The uprights will behold is face. Not the perfect the upright. Those who are rightly related to God through the redemption of his son present circumstances seem dark but the future is magnificently bright in the meantime we trust and we work and we live in light of this coming day, we clarify our vision we make sure their concentration isn't around us. It is first and foremost it up Becky apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, Corinthian church, and in the first century we can imagine the culture and I remind you often of what it was like to remind you how good we have it still, but he wrote to the Corinthian church, and he said this, he said things.

Thanks be to God who always leads us in a triumphal procession in Christ sure that had to be straight and it sure sounds strange.

The oh are being led in a triumphal procession in Christ we are we don't look triumphant. We may not feel triumphant. What is the main see when Paul was writing this to these Roman citizens living in Corinth, they immediately picked up on the analogy when a Roman general was victorious in the major conflict over a foreign army. He returned to Rome in the splendid processional of victory the crowds with alignment streets to celebrate the defeated generals would be March 1 with those soldiers of the defeated armies were still alive behind them would come the victorious general writing in a chariot pulled by traditionally for stallion in the behind him would be his victorious army and all along the road they would be chanting victory, victory, victory, victory McKay is the Greek Nike McKay McKay people would be walking along the streets. Many of them waving sensors filled with special incense in the streets of overgrown with literally be filled with aroma of supply was writing and they would've caught it immediately is what he saying let me read it and I read the full verse thanks be to God always leads us in a triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of what we do in the foundations are destroyed really where you look. God is totally in control of the chaos of culture Stapleton kingdom and nation world events throne in heaven is over all, he inhabits eternity yet sees everything in writing and one day the song effectively closes we will see him face to face and and when we do that that is without even asking that's going to settle every when we when we do that is going to answer without us ever questioning every delay that'll heal everyone when the foundations crumble where you look, you look to the one trusted by faith promises us refuge and you forever saying your gratitude that one day his face and will forever be the object, not of his justice is ran by his use seen that those who die as unbelievers will face God's terrifying judgment. We've also seen that believers are the object of God's delight for the believer. Death is not something to fear. Aren't you thankful for the gospel today. God in his mercy has made it possible for us to be saved and God treats us as his beloved children instead of as his enemies as long as a person lives. It's never too late to respond to God's offer of salvation you're listening to wisdom for the heart with Stephen Devi. If we can help you in any way please call us. You can reach us at 86 648 Bible when you call, be sure and ask about our monthly magazine and devotional guide our staff and volunteers would love the opportunity to tell you about it. That number once again is 86 648 Bible or 866-482-4253. As you are listening today. Maybe you thought of someone who could benefit from hearing the lesson that you just heard. I encourage you to share it with your friends and family members. This lesson is posted on our website and you could share that link with them. Our website is wisdom online.org.

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