| Time | Text |
|---|---|
|
Retributive Judgment
00:04:30
|
|
| The five, you want to do the five judgments that you identify in your book now? | |
| There are five kinds of judgment. | |
| First, retributive judgment. | |
| That's getting even in the Old Testament. | |
| An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. | |
| And what is the purpose of eternal punishment? | |
| Why would God send people to hell? | |
| Is it to improve them? | |
| Is it to make them better? | |
| No, it's to punish for our sins. | |
| That's why we go to hell. | |
| I pray that none of us do. | |
| There are two ways God punishes sin: one, through eternal punishment, the other, by the death of his son. | |
| God got even at the cross. | |
| And the blood that Jesus shed cried out for justice. | |
| And God heard the cry. | |
| And Jesus could say, it is finished. | |
| That meant that all that was required for you to go to heaven was done at the cross. | |
| And God got even at the cross. | |
| So nobody needs to go to hell. | |
| Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. | |
| Well, that's the first, retributive judgment, when God punishes. | |
| Second, there is gracious judgment that is partly retributive and partly merciful. | |
| Example: when King David sinned with Bathsheba, committed adultery, and then tried to cover up the sin by killing Uriah, God was very displeased. | |
| And he sent Nathan the prophet, and Nathan the prophet uncovered David's sin, but then said, The good news is, you will not die. | |
| God is showing mercy. | |
| And that's when David wrote the 51st Psalm and the opening words, O Lord, have mercy on me. | |
| And so King David is an example of what I call gracious judgment, partly retributive, partly merciful. | |
| Third, there is redemptive judgment. | |
| That is seen in the wilderness when the children of Israel sinned and they brought God's anger. | |
| So God sent venomous snakes, and the snakes were biting the people, and the people were dropping dead, and they were crying out. | |
| And God said to Moses, erect a serpent of brass and cause people to look at the serpent, and if they do, they'll live. | |
| And those that looked at the serpent lived. | |
| It was redemptive judgment. | |
| By the way, perhaps you've heard of the great English preacher, Charles Spurgeon. | |
| He had a phrase he would use in his preaching: there's life in a look. | |
| And you look to Jesus at the cross. | |
| Spurgeon put it like this: run to the cross. | |
| If you can't run, walk. | |
| If you can't walk, crawl. | |
| And if you can't crawl, look. | |
| And in John 3:14, Jesus said, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. | |
| And those that look to the Son will be saved. | |
| That's redemptive judgment. | |
| Then there's a fourth kind. | |
| I call it natural judgment. | |
| You reap what you sow. | |
| Nothing more to be said. | |
| It says it all. | |
| Natural judgment. | |
| You ask for it. | |
| You reap what you sow. | |
| Fifth, arguably the worst kind of all, silent judgment. | |
| When God doesn't do anything, he doesn't say anything. | |
| You have no idea what he's thinking. | |
| You see, God is unlike us. | |
| When you and I get angry, we show it. | |
| But the angrier God is, the calmer he is. | |
| And are you aware that with Sodom and Gomorrah, we know how much God hated that? | |
| It was not any hint that God was angry, not a hint. | |
| Do you realize God just rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah? | |
|
God's Gracious Judgment
00:03:43
|
|
| No warning. | |
| It was silent judgment, then suddenly it happens. | |
| Worst thing of all, you don't want that. | |
| You want God to say something. | |
| But the good news is, what America is experiencing today is gracious judgment. | |
| God is angry, but he's doing this because he loves us. | |
| And he's trying to get our attention. | |
| And I would say to anybody watching me right now, God is on your case. | |
| And this is what it's all about. | |
| And the eventual result, it may not happen day after tomorrow, but it's a matter of time. | |
| It's going to bring about the greatest awakening ever. | |
| I have to say this, if I'm totally honest, I don't think for many of us, God has our attention. | |
| People only want to know one thing, one thing. | |
| When will it go back to normal? | |
| When will we have football on Sundays? | |
| When can we watch baseball? | |
| Just get back to normal. | |
| Listen, this life is not all there is. | |
| You need to know that. | |
| Hebrews 9, 27, it is appointed unto man wants to die after death the judgment. | |
| Whoever I'm talking to you, you will stand before God at the judgment. | |
| And if in this crisis that we're in, God gets your attention, the best thing that can happen, not getting your old income back, not getting to watch pro football. | |
| No, you get right with God. | |
| You turn to him and say, God, have mercy on me. | |
| That's worth everything. | |
| But not only that, I believe that down the road, something will happen. | |
| Ask me later if you want me to go into it. | |
| I'm so afraid I'm talking too much, but it will bring about the revival we've longed for, prayed for, but I don't think it's going to happen today after tomorrow. | |
| As I said, I don't think we are awake at all. | |
| I think we still just went, when's it over? | |
| When's it going to be over? | |
| Get the vaccinations. | |
| When can we start going back to do the things we have always done? | |
| And while we're still thinking only of that, it means he's not got our attention yet. | |
| The people just wait for the virus as if this is going to cure everything. | |
| I heard yesterday, it'll probably be next summer before even we begin to notice the difference. | |
| So if you think things are going to get back to normal next week, no one thinks that. | |
| In the meantime, he's speaking to you. | |
| And it's just a reminder that this life is not all there is. | |
| This is why God has sent his son into the world to die on a cross. | |
| The Bible in a nutshell, John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish. | |
| That means not go to hell, but have everlasting life. | |
| And if through this double whammy, that's what we're in, by the way, it's not just the coronavirus. | |
| Look at all that's happening. | |
| Violence in the nation, defunding the police, all the things that we've never had before. | |
|
Keep Eyes on the Ark
00:01:57
|
|
| We've never been like this before. | |
| It's God's loving way to say, I care about you. | |
| Look to me. | |
| Look to my son. | |
| And what a great thing if somebody listening right now, you get the message and you find God and you give him your life and you live to please him. | |
| And with that, you know, life just changes. | |
| So the reason Joshua said to the children of Israel, we've never been this way before, he told them what to do. | |
| He says, look at the ark. | |
| You can read it. | |
| Joshua chapter 3, verse 4. | |
| Keep your eyes on the ark. | |
| Because where the ark goes, you go because the ark knows the way. | |
| You don't know the way. | |
| Keep your eyes on the ark because you've never been this way before. | |
| And so transferred into the New Testament. | |
| What's the ark in the New Testament? | |
| It's Jesus Christ. | |
| He is the image of God. | |
| He is the glory of God in person, the ark, Jesus. | |
| And so Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2. | |
| Fix your eyes on Jesus. | |
| And you do that. | |
| You'll find peace. | |
| You know, everybody's afraid. | |
| We were just in New York City a few days ago. | |
| My son and I, on every trash can in New York City, on every trash can are the words, don't be afraid. | |
| Everybody's afraid. | |
| You keep your eyes on Jesus. | |
| He'll give you peace. | |
| He'll show you the way forward. | |