WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.720 If you have your Bibles, I would ask that you 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:07.219 open to Matthew 13. Normally I would read the 00:00:07.219 --> 00:00:09.220 text first, but I'm not going to do that today. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:22.839 It will be embedded within the text. But before 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:27.980 we would ever begin to preach, we ought to ask 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:30.260 the Lord's blessing and help. It is his word. 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:32.619 So would you go to the Lord with me in asking 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:36.700 him to show us Christ this morning? Father, Lord, 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:39.460 we thank you for your word. We thank you for 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:43.299 this time to worship, to hear from heaven. Lord, 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:46.000 I realize that everything will fall on deaf ears 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:49.140 unless the Spirit of God is pleased to use the 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:52.159 preaching of your word to effect change in our 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:55.520 lives. Lord, open our eyes, open our ears, and 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.509 open our hearts to the truth. Father, would you 00:00:58.509 --> 00:01:01.329 please show us your son, the one in whom you're 00:01:01.329 --> 00:01:03.509 well pleased, and we will thank you for this 00:01:03.509 --> 00:01:08.530 in Jesus' name. Amen. I remember when Sandy and 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:11.670 I were first married. One day I saw her out watering 00:01:11.670 --> 00:01:15.930 weeds in our flower beds, and I was kind of surprised. 00:01:15.989 --> 00:01:17.989 I was expecting her to pull them up, and instead 00:01:17.989 --> 00:01:21.230 she was tenderly caring for them. Now keep in 00:01:21.230 --> 00:01:23.250 mind, Sandy comes from a desert where nothing 00:01:23.250 --> 00:01:26.760 green ever grows. So I was looking at her and 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:29.019 I saw her taking care of the weeds and I asked 00:01:29.019 --> 00:01:31.420 her what she was doing. And she told me, well, 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:33.359 they're green. She said, I just assumed they 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:36.459 were plants or flowers that you had planted there 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:39.500 on purpose. See, at the very beginning, she was 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:43.819 unable to distinguish weeds from flowers. She 00:01:43.819 --> 00:01:47.260 has since grown from that time. Now today in 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:49.920 our text, Jesus tells a parable about that very 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:55.049 issue. An inability to distinguish weeds. From 00:01:55.049 --> 00:01:59.290 wheat. Now let's think about the context. Before 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:02.049 Jesus and John the Baptist came on the scene, 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:04.810 there were 400 what's known as silent years. 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:08.310 400 years where there's no new word from the 00:02:08.310 --> 00:02:12.069 Lord. No prophet like Amos or Isaiah or Jeremiah 00:02:12.069 --> 00:02:16.550 had arisen. And then after four centuries, you 00:02:16.550 --> 00:02:19.129 have two men. You have John the Baptist and the 00:02:19.129 --> 00:02:21.770 Lord Jesus Christ. Both of them burst on the 00:02:21.770 --> 00:02:23.870 scene and they're preaching the same message. 00:02:24.610 --> 00:02:27.870 People needed to repent because the kingdom of 00:02:27.870 --> 00:02:31.710 God was at hand. They were preaching that that 00:02:31.710 --> 00:02:35.569 long -awaited heavenly kingdom was now breaking 00:02:35.569 --> 00:02:39.210 through into the earth. Those are strong claims. 00:02:40.229 --> 00:02:43.389 Was there any proof to back that up? Yes. Then 00:02:43.389 --> 00:02:47.050 we see Jesus' miracles. All his miracles were... 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:50.539 proof of the revealing of the inbreaking of the 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:54.020 kingdom of heaven into the world. Now what do 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:56.259 I mean by that? When heaven, there's no sickness. 00:02:56.939 --> 00:03:00.080 So think about Jesus. In heaven, there's no leprosy. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.479 Think about what he done. There's no defect at 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:06.919 all. So Jesus' miracles were a restoration of 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:10.680 what was broken. He was restoring back to pristine 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:15.139 use what had been broken. Giving us a preview 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:17.340 of life and the fullness of the kingdom when 00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:19.780 none of those things will be there. No blindness, 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:22.960 no deafness, no one missing a limb or lame or 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:26.280 unable to walk. But that was very unsettling 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:29.719 and confusing to the Jewish mind because they 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:31.919 had always been taught that when the kingdom 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:35.639 of God came, God would then eliminate all evil. 00:03:36.379 --> 00:03:39.099 So they expected the fullness of the kingdom 00:03:39.099 --> 00:03:42.840 immediately. They thought when Messiah comes, 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:45.900 He's going to rid the world of idolaters and 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:50.099 pagans, i .e. Gentiles. And he's going to exalt 00:03:50.099 --> 00:03:54.840 Israel in righteousness. So if what John and 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:58.740 Jesus were preaching were true, why was Rome 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:02.860 still occupying the land of Israel? Why were 00:04:02.860 --> 00:04:05.539 God's people, the Jews, still paying a forced 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:11.039 tax to a pagan empire? Moreover... Why was there 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.300 still evil and suffering in the world? Those 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:17.160 are very good questions. If the kingdom of God 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.300 arrived with the arrival of Jesus, why doesn't 00:04:20.300 --> 00:04:23.639 God fix the world now? And people are still asking 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:26.319 that same question. It's a question that often 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:28.180 is posed like this. If your God's in control, 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:30.800 why do we see so much suffering? Why so much 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:34.160 evil in the world? Well, Jesus answered those 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:37.060 questions, but he did so with a parable. It's 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:39.079 a parable about a man who sowed good seed in 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:42.600 his field, wheat. He also had an enemy who sowed 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:46.699 bad seed, weeds, into that same field. Now, by 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:48.639 the way, this was a real problem in first century 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:51.899 Israel. Jesus isn't just making this up. You 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:54.579 would often have competing farmers, and you might 00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:56.920 have a vengeful farmer, and he would secretly 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.759 sow bad seed or even salt the field of his enemy 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:04.199 in order to try to ruin the crops. So now in 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:07.660 this parable, Jesus teaches something very, very 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:12.120 clearly. Evil, evil men, evil women, the problem 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:15.920 of evil, will not be fully eradicated right now. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:19.680 It will be present with us until the end of this 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.379 age. So there's going to be evil. We would expect 00:05:23.379 --> 00:05:26.899 that. But we are not to despair because everything, 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:29.759 including evil, is still under God's control. 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:34.220 It's all part of his plan. As I looked at this, 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:36.019 there's three truths. These are easy truths, 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:39.980 easy takeaways. First of all, this present age 00:05:39.980 --> 00:05:42.439 will always have a mixture of good and evil. 00:05:43.699 --> 00:05:47.300 That's going to happen. Secondly, God is patient. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.379 And thirdly, a day of final judgment is coming. 00:05:52.819 --> 00:05:54.699 Now, if we're going to understand this parable, 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:57.139 we need to understand something about the kingdom 00:05:57.139 --> 00:06:02.050 of God coming in two phases. Two advents, just 00:06:02.050 --> 00:06:04.850 like the coming of Christ did. They're very similar. 00:06:05.069 --> 00:06:07.769 So think about the Lord Jesus Christ. In his 00:06:07.769 --> 00:06:10.850 first advent, he came as the suffering lamb, 00:06:11.129 --> 00:06:14.410 the lamb of God, who offered himself as a sacrifice 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:18.490 to take away the sin of the world. He came and 00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:22.350 he was despised. He was rejected. But at his 00:06:22.350 --> 00:06:25.930 second advent, when he returns in glory, he doesn't 00:06:25.930 --> 00:06:29.879 return as a lamb. He returns as the lion. triumphing 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:34.160 over his enemies and eradicating all evil. At 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:36.839 his second coming, everyone who opposed him will 00:06:36.839 --> 00:06:40.120 then be judged. Now that's why many Jews stumbled 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:44.319 over Jesus. Because they expected the lion, they 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:47.699 never expected the lamb. They could understand 00:06:47.699 --> 00:06:51.579 conquering, but they failed to understand suffering. 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:54.600 And it's the same way, this is how they misunderstood 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:57.959 the kingdom of God. They failed to understand 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.199 that the kingdom of God first comes in inauguration. 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:04.439 That's at the beginning. We might say it comes 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:08.379 in seed form. Then when Jesus returns, the kingdom 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:11.660 of God arrives in its full consummated form. 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.920 It's completed. It's mature, if you will. Now 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:19.259 the kingdom of God began, it broke into history, 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:23.120 and overcame the power of darkness through the 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.759 death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.560 So what that has implications for us today. So 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.000 we're living in the kingdom, which means we are 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.600 already, those who are in Christ, we are already 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:40.560 forgiven of sin, and we already possess eternal 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:48.500 life, but evil is still present. The wicked still 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:53.160 prosper even in this age. But when Christ returns, 00:07:54.220 --> 00:07:56.680 as the kingdom arrives in its full consummated 00:07:56.680 --> 00:08:02.240 form, then evil will be judged and eradicated, 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:05.120 and there will be a new heavens and a new earth 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:08.860 that are established. Now in Matthew 13, there 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:11.879 are seven parables in that one chapter, and every 00:08:11.879 --> 00:08:13.540 single one of them has to do with the kingdom 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:18.579 of God. So if it's so important, and it is, Let's 00:08:18.579 --> 00:08:20.899 define what do we mean when we talk about the 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:23.560 kingdom of God. Now Matthew will use, as a Jew 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:25.519 writing to Jew, he will use the phrase kingdom 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.240 of heaven so as not to take the word in its name 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:31.839 callously. It's the same thing. The kingdom of 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:35.360 God in its simplest, most basic form simply means 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:40.919 God's reign. It's God's sovereign rule. So that 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:43.620 means, now stay with me for just a moment. Stay 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:45.460 with me until the end, but really in just a moment 00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:49.299 here. The kingdom of God is not primarily a realm, 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:54.720 a place. And it's not primarily a people. But 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:57.080 the kingdom of God produces both a realm and 00:08:57.080 --> 00:09:01.379 a people. The church. But it's not limited to 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:02.799 that, and I hope to show you that this morning. 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:05.940 I love how John Piper, he said this well. He 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:09.120 said, Jesus sits, that's current, as king on 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:11.860 his throne of the universe and his kingly rule. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:16.759 His kingdom and his reign govern all things. 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:19.799 The basic meaning of the word kingdom in the 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:24.519 Bible is God's kingly rule. His reign, his action, 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:29.159 his lordship, his sovereign governance. And we 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.779 look at Psalm 103. How do we get this? Psalm 00:09:31.779 --> 00:09:35.559 103, the psalmist writes, The Lord, Yahweh, has 00:09:35.559 --> 00:09:39.980 established his throne in the heavens and his 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:43.789 kingdom. Now notice this next phrase, rules over 00:09:43.789 --> 00:09:46.649 all. Not just the church, although that is true. 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:49.929 His kingdom rules over all. That means right 00:09:49.929 --> 00:09:52.610 now Jesus, seated as the king of the universe, 00:09:52.889 --> 00:09:57.070 he's ruling over all people in all places, particularly 00:09:57.070 --> 00:10:00.529 and especially over his church. He governs us 00:10:00.529 --> 00:10:05.210 by word and sacrament. But he is still sovereign 00:10:05.210 --> 00:10:08.750 over unbelievers. There's nothing outside of 00:10:08.750 --> 00:10:11.740 his control. Now with that working definition 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:13.840 in mind, let's look about this parable of the 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:15.700 kingdom known as the parable of the wheat and 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:20.460 the tares. Beginning in verse 24. Another parable 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:22.580 he, that is Jesus, put forth to them saying, 00:10:22.759 --> 00:10:24.840 now this is to the crowds. He's talking to everyone 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:27.620 here. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:30.740 sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:32.799 his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.019 and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:38.779 and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:41.870 So the servants of the owner came and said to 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:45.610 him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:48.389 Didn't you buy the good stuff? How then does 00:10:48.389 --> 00:10:52.409 it have tares? And he said to them, An enemy 00:10:52.409 --> 00:10:54.970 has done this. The servants said to him, Well, 00:10:54.970 --> 00:10:57.129 do you want us to go then and gather them up, 00:10:57.210 --> 00:11:00.870 the weeds? But he said, No, lest while you gather 00:11:00.870 --> 00:11:03.929 up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:07.169 them. Let both grow together until the harvest. 00:11:07.950 --> 00:11:10.269 And at the time of harvest, I will say to the 00:11:10.269 --> 00:11:14.730 reapers, first gather together the tares, bind 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:19.870 them in bundles to burn them. And then gather 00:11:19.870 --> 00:11:23.490 the wheat into my barn. Now this illustration 00:11:23.490 --> 00:11:26.909 would have made absolute sense to everyone in 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:29.990 the audience that day. But many of us, now some 00:11:29.990 --> 00:11:32.230 of you are, but many of us are not from an agrarian 00:11:32.230 --> 00:11:34.850 background. So we need a little bit of explanation 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:39.419 here. Everywhere I read, they are most likely 00:11:39.419 --> 00:11:42.840 darnel seeds. Darnel seeds, it's a weed that 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:46.879 looks like a wheat early on. So at the beginning, 00:11:46.940 --> 00:11:51.200 you have weed and wheats. They're almost indistinguishable 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:54.580 at the very beginning. But if you let them go 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:57.120 once they're fully grown, well, the difference 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:00.080 becomes obvious. As they grow and they reach 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.929 maturity, the tares will remain upright. and 00:12:03.929 --> 00:12:06.169 the wheat will start to bend over because it's 00:12:06.169 --> 00:12:10.710 heavily loaded down with grain. So wheat provides 00:12:10.710 --> 00:12:13.669 nourishment. The tares, these darnel seeds, actually 00:12:13.669 --> 00:12:16.169 are poisonous weed, and they can actually choke 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:18.690 out the wheat. So this is really important that 00:12:18.690 --> 00:12:21.210 we understand that. So in this parable, we got 00:12:21.210 --> 00:12:24.850 a man. He sowed good seed, wheat, in the field. 00:12:24.909 --> 00:12:28.190 He had an enemy who sowed bad seed, darnel seeds 00:12:28.190 --> 00:12:31.549 or weeds, in that same field. At harvest, there's 00:12:31.549 --> 00:12:34.549 going to be a great separation. The tares, the 00:12:34.549 --> 00:12:36.450 weeds will be gathered and be burned in fire. 00:12:36.610 --> 00:12:38.429 The wheat will be gathered together and put into 00:12:38.429 --> 00:12:41.330 a barn. Now the crowd, everyone heard the parable 00:12:41.330 --> 00:12:45.169 and that's it. The crowds were not given any 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:48.970 explanation. That was reserved only for the disciples 00:12:48.970 --> 00:12:51.690 of Jesus. Now they're not given the meaning. 00:12:51.730 --> 00:12:53.850 So they hear the parable, but if you don't get 00:12:53.850 --> 00:12:57.090 the meaning, the parable remains obscure. Or 00:12:57.090 --> 00:12:59.409 even worse, you can make it fit and mean whatever 00:12:59.409 --> 00:13:02.940 you want it to fit and mean. But thanks be to 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:05.679 God, you and I are not left in the dark this 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:08.860 morning. We are blessed and given the meaning 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:12.919 behind it. Let's look down at verse 36. Then 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:16.019 Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:19.759 house, and his disciples came to him. Just his 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:23.320 disciples saying, explain to us the parables 00:13:23.320 --> 00:13:27.100 of the tares of the field. Okay. He answered 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:29.700 and said to them, he who sows the good seed is 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:33.879 the son of man. The field is the world, the good 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:37.559 seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:40.659 are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who 00:13:40.659 --> 00:13:43.580 sowed them, well, that's the devil. The harvest 00:13:43.580 --> 00:13:45.379 is the end of the age, and the reapers are the 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:48.539 angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered 00:13:48.539 --> 00:13:51.139 and burned in the fire, so it will be at the 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.039 end of this age. The Son of Man will send out 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:57.159 his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom. 00:13:57.240 --> 00:13:59.220 What's his kingdom here? The world, it clearly 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:01.179 tells you that. The field's the world. They're 00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:03.360 going to gather out of the world all that offend 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:06.500 and all those who practice lawlessness and will 00:14:06.500 --> 00:14:08.840 cast them into the furnace of fire. That's hell. 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:13.779 And there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:19.200 But then the righteous will shine forth as the 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:23.320 sun in the kingdom of their father. And as Jesus 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:25.440 ends these parables, he does this familiar phrase. 00:14:26.250 --> 00:14:29.830 He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Listen 00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:32.649 up is what he's saying. Now, the one who sowed 00:14:32.649 --> 00:14:34.490 the good seed, we don't have to guess. It's a 00:14:34.490 --> 00:14:37.190 son of man, so we're Jesus. The good seed, well, 00:14:37.210 --> 00:14:39.090 that's the sons of the kingdom, the sons of the 00:14:39.090 --> 00:14:41.509 righteous. The field, that's going to be the 00:14:41.509 --> 00:14:43.470 key, and I'll talk about that in a moment. It's 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:48.350 the whole world. The enemy, the devil. The tares, 00:14:48.490 --> 00:14:51.509 they're the sons of the wicked one. Harvest, 00:14:51.629 --> 00:14:55.610 end of the age. Reapers are the angels that... 00:14:55.740 --> 00:15:00.220 Jesus will send. The burning of the tares, well, 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.320 that symbolizes the judgment of the wicked. And 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:06.700 the ingathering of the wheat into the barn is 00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:10.059 the righteous entering the kingdom of God. Now, 00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:12.700 I will tell you, I've read many, read a lot here, 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:16.019 many see this parable only in terms of the church. 00:15:17.340 --> 00:15:21.379 But the field, it says, is the whole world. So 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:24.559 it has a broader application. At the end of this 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:27.559 age, God will remove evil not just from his church, 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:29.419 but he's going to remove evil from the entire 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:33.659 planet, from the whole world. So I think there's 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:35.919 a broader application referring to the world 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.720 and a narrower application referring to the church. 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:41.220 My goal when I was putting this together was 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.580 to talk about both of them. I went to Sandy early 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:45.639 on in the week. I said, I've got about, I always 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:49.059 do my sermons about 3 ,500 to 4 ,000 words. And 00:15:49.059 --> 00:15:51.080 I was at 2 ,500 words and hadn't started the 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.450 second one. And I'm like, okay. So next week, 00:15:53.490 --> 00:15:55.350 Lord willing, I want to look at the application 00:15:55.350 --> 00:15:58.950 to the church. Today, the application we want 00:15:58.950 --> 00:16:02.950 to look to is the world at large. How does this 00:16:02.950 --> 00:16:06.490 parable apply to the world? I'm glad you asked, 00:16:06.629 --> 00:16:08.870 because here's what we're going to do. First 00:16:08.870 --> 00:16:11.889 of all, we cannot deny that there is objective 00:16:11.889 --> 00:16:15.210 evil in the world. And that's a manifest reality. 00:16:15.509 --> 00:16:19.190 Look around you. But as Christians, we also affirm 00:16:19.190 --> 00:16:23.720 that Jesus Christ, is king who reigns over all. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:28.220 How do you reconcile those two truths? I mean, 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:30.980 both are true. Evil exists and Jesus reigns. 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:37.299 So how do you reconcile them? The first and obvious 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:41.500 implication is the presence of evil in this world 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:46.200 is not a failure of God's plan. God has chosen 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:50.580 not to immediately rid the world of wickedness. 00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:55.450 Which means there is a purpose behind it. The 00:16:55.450 --> 00:16:59.070 scriptures clearly teach that God temporarily 00:16:59.070 --> 00:17:04.529 allows evil for his own purposes. Now I say it's 00:17:04.529 --> 00:17:07.210 only temporary because as the parable teaches, 00:17:07.369 --> 00:17:12.089 at the end of this age, God will forever judge 00:17:12.089 --> 00:17:15.069 and remove evil. When I say evil, I'm talking 00:17:15.069 --> 00:17:18.589 about evil and evil men and women. But because 00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:21.859 God is sovereign, and rules over all things, 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.359 he is able even to use evil men with evil intentions 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:30.859 to accomplish his good end. And that's a hard 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:34.740 statement. God, being sovereign, rules over evil 00:17:34.740 --> 00:17:38.779 men in such a way that he uses their evil intentions 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:43.099 to accomplish his good end. And we see that clearly 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:46.680 in the life of Joseph. Joseph's brothers sold 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:48.200 him into slavery. And just so you know, that's 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.509 an evil thing. They were going to kill him. And 00:17:52.509 --> 00:17:54.289 one said, hey, let's make some money off of him. 00:17:54.329 --> 00:17:57.410 Let's not kill him. So they sold him into slavery. 00:17:57.470 --> 00:18:01.710 That's evil, what they did. But God had a good 00:18:01.710 --> 00:18:06.170 purpose in allowing it. And Joseph knew that. 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:08.509 In Genesis 50, he wrote this, or he said this. 00:18:08.690 --> 00:18:10.210 But as for you, he's talking to his brothers. 00:18:10.430 --> 00:18:12.410 Joseph's talking to his brothers. As for you, 00:18:12.630 --> 00:18:15.029 you meant evil against me. That's what your intention 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:20.460 was. It was evil. But God. meant it for good 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:24.099 in order to bring it about as at this day to 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:26.960 save many people's lives. Yeah, you would be 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.460 judged. What you did was terrible. But God over, 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.839 he trumped your terrible motive to accomplish 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:38.960 good. Now just because you and I often fail to 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:43.819 discern God's good purpose in allowing evil does 00:18:43.819 --> 00:18:46.440 not mean that there isn't a good purpose that 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:52.180 God is using behind it. Nothing is simply purposeless. 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:55.640 Nothing. I've had people ask, but what do you 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:58.420 mean? What about the sex trafficker or the pornographer? 00:18:58.619 --> 00:19:02.680 Listen, they're evil. And trust me, one day God 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:06.700 will bring terrible judgment upon them. But just 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:09.319 because I, in my limited understanding, cannot 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:12.339 discern the purpose of God behind it, doesn't 00:19:12.339 --> 00:19:15.000 mean there isn't one. The failure never lies 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:17.700 with God. The failure is in my limited understanding. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:20.240 For as the heavens are as high as above the earth, 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:22.400 so are his thoughts above my thoughts, and his 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:24.819 ways are above my ways. Listen, he sees the beginning 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:27.559 from the end. Don't you stand in judgment of 00:19:27.559 --> 00:19:29.539 God just because you failed to understand it. 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:34.059 Now, one reason we know for sure that God's delay 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:37.680 is there, his patience is giving wicked men time 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:43.279 to repent. In Acts 17, verse 30, truly these 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:47.339 times of ignorance God overlooked. But now he 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:52.319 doesn't ask, he doesn't invite, he commands all 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:57.140 men everywhere to repent. Because he has appointed 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:59.720 a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.700 by the man whom he has ordained. Listen, the 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.180 day of judgment is coming, you better repent 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:06.880 is what they're saying here. And he has given 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:10.839 assurance of this judgment to all men by raising 00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:14.769 him, that is Jesus, from the dead. Oh, God's 00:20:14.769 --> 00:20:17.289 being gracious and merciful and patient. So currently, 00:20:17.309 --> 00:20:19.650 right now, you and I live in this age, what is 00:20:19.650 --> 00:20:23.049 known as an age of grace. God is long -suffering 00:20:23.049 --> 00:20:27.109 with evil men and evil women. And his long -suffering 00:20:27.109 --> 00:20:30.650 is meant to lead them to repentance. Romans 2 00:20:30.650 --> 00:20:34.950 .4. Paul writing, Do you despise the riches of 00:20:34.950 --> 00:20:39.869 his goodness? His forbearance, his long -suffering. 00:20:39.890 --> 00:20:45.119 That's patience. Not knowing. That the goodness 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:49.240 of God leads you to repentance. Do you fail to 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:51.000 understand what God is doing by not immediately 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:54.319 judging you for what you've done wrong? He's 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.559 being long -suffering, makrothumia in Greek. 00:20:56.619 --> 00:21:00.599 He's suffering a long time with you so that you 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:03.640 might come to his feet and repent. So the delay 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:06.960 of God's judgment is not weakness, it is divine 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:13.089 patience. 2 Peter 3. Peter writes, and that was 00:21:13.089 --> 00:21:16.529 Paul in Romans. But do not overlook this one 00:21:16.529 --> 00:21:18.670 fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is 00:21:18.670 --> 00:21:20.329 as a thousand years and a thousand years as one 00:21:20.329 --> 00:21:22.730 day. Time does not exist in the transcendent 00:21:22.730 --> 00:21:27.269 God. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, 00:21:27.349 --> 00:21:30.289 as some men count slow as. He's not delaying, 00:21:30.289 --> 00:21:34.289 but he's patient toward you, not wishing that 00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.150 any should perish, but that all should reach 00:21:37.150 --> 00:21:41.440 repentance. Do you see what he's saying? God's 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:45.799 delay is mercy. But don't use his patience to 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:48.119 lure you into thinking that the day of judgment 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:49.859 never will come. Because that's what they're 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:51.519 saying here. Oh, we've been here not forever. 00:21:52.220 --> 00:21:54.039 Since our father fell asleep. I've heard that 00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:56.380 all these years. Yes, Jesus is returning. Yes, 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:58.460 God's going to judge. And Peter says, mark it 00:21:58.460 --> 00:22:01.259 down at will. A thousand years is like a day 00:22:01.259 --> 00:22:04.720 to the Lord. Don't judge him on your time. Verse 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:08.740 10. But the day of the Lord, judgment, will come 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:11.380 like a thief. And then the heavens will pass 00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:14.180 away with a roar. And the heavenly bodies will 00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:17.079 be burned up and dissolved. And the earth and 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:18.859 the works that are done on it will be exposed. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:24.400 It's terrifying. Therefore, because of that, 00:22:24.539 --> 00:22:28.759 we skip down to verse 14. Beloved, looking forward 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:34.180 to these things, be diligent to be found by him 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:38.900 in peace, without spot and blameless. Now notice 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:40.720 this last phrase. This is what I want to focus 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:44.200 on. And consider that the long suffering of our 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:49.940 Lord is salvation. God in his mercy is giving 00:22:49.940 --> 00:22:54.279 wicked men and wicked women an opportunity to 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:56.539 repent. Which means, friends, this is good news, 00:22:56.619 --> 00:22:59.059 because those who currently oppose God are not 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:01.799 beyond hope. I love what John Piper, he said, 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:05.019 we're not God. We can't see the root. What looks 00:23:05.019 --> 00:23:07.819 like a weed today may by God's grace become wheat. 00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:12.759 Amen. That's what we were. We were tares. We 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:16.359 were the weeds that God brought in. God's lay 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:18.599 of judgment shows his mercy toward the wicked. 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:22.059 But that, now listen, so since he's allowing 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:26.359 wicked and wicked men to prosper, that means 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:29.480 it's not going to go easy or smooth sailing for 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:32.359 the righteous. Because Satan, the enemy, has 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:35.900 sown bad seed, which is wicked men and women, 00:23:36.019 --> 00:23:40.359 into the world. Satan hates God, he hates his 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:43.380 people, and he opposes them at every turn. This 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:45.059 means, now friends, what does this mean for us 00:23:45.059 --> 00:23:48.640 as the church, the believers? We ought to expect 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:52.220 opposition. Jesus said, in the world you will 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:54.480 have tribulation. Be of good cheer, I've overcome 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:57.640 the world. The apostles preaching in 2 Timothy, 00:23:57.779 --> 00:24:00.099 Paul talking in Timothy, he said all those that 00:24:00.099 --> 00:24:03.119 desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer 00:24:03.119 --> 00:24:07.480 persecution. Will suffer, not might. As you see 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:09.559 and read through the book of Acts, you notice 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:11.720 the church is just growing by leaps and bounds. 00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:15.440 Remarkable growth. God is blessing the church. 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:18.720 And what's Satan doing? Attacking it. Let me 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:21.819 give you a cursory preview. Chapter 4, verse 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:24.170 1. Peter and John were arrested. What were they 00:24:24.170 --> 00:24:27.230 doing? Preaching about Jesus. Chapter 5, the 00:24:27.230 --> 00:24:29.690 religious leaders put the apostles in prison. 00:24:29.849 --> 00:24:32.789 Why? Preaching about Jesus. Later on, that same 00:24:32.789 --> 00:24:35.089 chapter, and now I'll start to give you the verses. 00:24:35.410 --> 00:24:37.769 When they had called for the apostles and beaten 00:24:37.769 --> 00:24:40.809 them, they command they should not speak in the 00:24:40.809 --> 00:24:44.509 name of Jesus. Chapter 7, Stephen was stoned 00:24:44.509 --> 00:24:47.049 to death for why? Preaching about Jesus, first 00:24:47.049 --> 00:24:49.960 Christian martyr. Chapter 8, at that time, a 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:52.680 great persecution arose against the church, which 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:55.460 was at Jerusalem. And they, the disciples, were 00:24:55.460 --> 00:24:57.400 all scattered throughout the regions of Judea 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:00.759 and Samaria. Chapter 9, then Saul, still breathing 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:04.099 threats and murder against the disciples of the 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:06.960 Lord. Chapter 12, now about that time, Herod 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.559 the king stretched out his hand to harass some 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:12.319 from the church. Then he killed James, the brother 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.490 of John, with the sword. Chapter 14, they stoned 00:25:15.490 --> 00:25:17.869 Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing 00:25:17.869 --> 00:25:20.069 him to be dead. And the last one I could have 00:25:20.069 --> 00:25:23.210 gone on. Then the multitudes rose up together 00:25:23.210 --> 00:25:26.269 against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates tore 00:25:26.269 --> 00:25:28.509 off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten 00:25:28.509 --> 00:25:34.509 with rods. What are they doing? Serving the Lord. 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.539 As the church preaches the gospel and the kingdom 00:25:38.539 --> 00:25:43.980 of God expands, Satan violently opposes the work. 00:25:44.539 --> 00:25:47.819 And we see this in the book of Revelation, chapter 00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:52.380 12. In this chapter, there is a great cosmic 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:57.039 battle between Christ and Satan. Now, let's get 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:58.359 something clear. Let's get our bearings about 00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:02.380 this. Satan was decisively defeated at the cross. 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:06.980 Hebrews 2 .14. Inasmuch as the children, you 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:10.779 and I, have partaken of flesh and blood, he, 00:26:10.920 --> 00:26:14.039 that is Jesus, likewise shared in the same, that 00:26:14.039 --> 00:26:18.240 through death, that's the cross, he might destroy 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:22.460 him who had the power of death, that is the devil. 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:26.039 Satan's destroyed, rendered powerless at the 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:29.380 cross. Destroyed doesn't mean he's eradicated 00:26:29.380 --> 00:26:31.880 yet. But his power's been taken away. He's been 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:35.539 defeated at the cross. So in the death, and resurrection 00:26:35.539 --> 00:26:40.559 of Christ, Satan was dealt that death blow, defanged. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:45.640 Christ disarmed him, and I love this, he humiliated 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:50.700 him. Colossians 2 .15, having disarmed principalities 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:54.079 and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:58.980 triumphing over them in it. He didn't just defeat 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:03.180 him, he disgraced him, humiliated, embarrassed. 00:27:04.490 --> 00:27:09.109 I love that. So, now, because of Christ's victory, 00:27:09.289 --> 00:27:10.849 this is where we're in Revelation chapter 12, 00:27:11.190 --> 00:27:14.269 Satan is cast out of heaven. Look at verses 9 00:27:14.269 --> 00:27:18.009 and 10. So the great dragon was cast out, that 00:27:18.009 --> 00:27:21.210 serpent of old called the devil and Satan, who 00:27:21.210 --> 00:27:24.009 deceives the whole world. He was cast to the 00:27:24.009 --> 00:27:26.529 earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 00:27:27.150 --> 00:27:29.880 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:33.019 salvation and strength and the kingdom of our 00:27:33.019 --> 00:27:35.940 God and the power of his Christ have come for 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:38.579 the accuser of our brethren who accused them 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:41.200 before our God day and night has been cast down. 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.319 What is John, who wrote this letter, saying? 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:50.920 Satan can no longer accuse God's people because 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:55.319 we are justified. We are clothed in the righteous 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:59.200 garments of Christ. In Romans 8. Who shall bring 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:04.539 a charge against God's elect? What's it say? 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:07.480 It is God who justifies. What are you going to 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:09.019 say to God? He's already justified. Are you going 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:11.940 to bring a charge? It's not going to stick. The 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:14.099 Westminster Shorter Catechism says justification 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:18.920 is an act of God's free grace wherein he pardons, 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.819 he forgives all our sins, he accepts us as righteous 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:27.009 in the sight. only for the righteousness of Christ 00:28:27.009 --> 00:28:31.910 imputed that is credited to us and received by 00:28:31.910 --> 00:28:36.970 faith alone. Now, you and I, being imputed with 00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:41.690 the righteousness of Christ, that is why no accusation 00:28:41.690 --> 00:28:45.930 can ever stick that is hurled against us. Because 00:28:45.930 --> 00:28:49.160 God's justified us. We have the righteousness, 00:28:49.380 --> 00:28:51.539 the perfect righteousness of Christ given to 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:54.039 us, so whatever accusation can't stick because 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:57.180 no accusation sticks against Christ. Now you 00:28:57.180 --> 00:28:59.740 say, well, okay, that's Revelation 12. How do 00:28:59.740 --> 00:29:02.839 you know that casting out of Satan is talking 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:06.299 about the cross and not to a future event? It's 00:29:06.299 --> 00:29:08.980 a great question. And Jesus answered that in 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:13.460 my mind in John 12 very clearly. Jesus, this 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:17.029 is Palm Sunday, John 12. Jesus said, the hour 00:29:17.029 --> 00:29:19.950 has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 00:29:19.990 --> 00:29:21.509 The hour in John, that's the hour of the cross. 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:28.089 Now is the judgment of this world. When is now? 00:29:28.230 --> 00:29:33.150 At the cross. Now the ruler of this world, that 00:29:33.150 --> 00:29:38.230 is Satan, the devil, will be what? Cast out. 00:29:39.490 --> 00:29:43.190 John 12 speaks of Christ's death at the cross. 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:47.440 And he says that's the time when Satan will be 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.059 cast out. Now go back and read Revelation 12, 00:29:50.119 --> 00:29:55.420 9 once more. The great dragon was cast out. That 00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:57.660 serpent of old called the devil and Satan. He 00:29:57.660 --> 00:30:00.740 deceives the whole world. He was cast to the 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:04.460 earth and his angels were cast out with him. 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:09.880 Alright. Because of Christ's cross, Satan has 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:12.779 lost his ability to accuse God's people in heaven. 00:30:14.089 --> 00:30:17.529 But the final defeat has not yet come. He's not 00:30:17.529 --> 00:30:20.450 in the lake of fire right now. Where was he cast 00:30:20.450 --> 00:30:26.289 out to? To the earth. Look at verse 12. Therefore 00:30:26.289 --> 00:30:30.309 rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. 00:30:30.369 --> 00:30:33.309 Listen, that's great. Listen, heaven's having 00:30:33.309 --> 00:30:37.809 a party. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth 00:30:37.809 --> 00:30:41.230 and the sea. Here. For the devil has come down 00:30:41.230 --> 00:30:45.940 to you having... great wrath because he knows 00:30:45.940 --> 00:30:48.059 that it's a short time. He looked at the cross 00:30:48.059 --> 00:30:50.339 and was like, I thought I had him. I killed him. 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:52.880 And Christ rose again. He knew he was defeated. 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:56.359 Heaven rejoices because Christ is conquered. 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:59.720 The earth has woe because what? The battle continues 00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:05.119 here as Satan attacks the people of God. Is he 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:07.319 cast out of heaven? Yes. No accusation. What's 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:09.220 he going to do there? Nothing sticks against 00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:12.569 the people. But he's still walking the earth. 00:31:13.089 --> 00:31:17.869 And he's enraged. Christ has humiliated him and 00:31:17.869 --> 00:31:21.230 triumphed over him at the cross. He's been barred 00:31:21.230 --> 00:31:24.369 from heaven. So he turns his attention to those 00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:27.049 living on the earth, God's people right now, 00:31:27.170 --> 00:31:30.130 and he desires to attack the church, persecute 00:31:30.130 --> 00:31:32.829 the church, deceive the church, do whatever he 00:31:32.829 --> 00:31:38.450 can. And as this day goes on, this age, his days 00:31:38.450 --> 00:31:43.279 become fewer. So his wrath becomes greater. Notice 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:48.359 the text. Having great wrath. He's in waged, 00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:52.400 right? Why? He knows it is a short time. He knows 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:55.819 it's a short time. The idea there, he knows that 00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:58.980 his time is limited. He also knows that his ultimate 00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:03.220 defeat is inevitable. There's not a thing in 00:32:03.220 --> 00:32:05.539 this world Satan can do to stop the final judgment 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:10.180 that's coming his way. And he knows it. But he's 00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:13.599 an enraged lunatic who seeks to do as much damage 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:18.400 to God's kingdom as possible while he can. Go 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:21.960 back to the parable. But take heart, because 00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:26.740 a day is coming when God will bring judgment. 00:32:28.299 --> 00:32:31.599 Satan and all those aligned with him, all those 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:34.059 who work iniquity, all those who practice soullessness, 00:32:34.119 --> 00:32:38.980 will be burned in the lake of fire. Not my words. 00:32:39.819 --> 00:32:42.119 So that means you and I as the people, we may 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:46.640 suffer now, but you're going to reign later. 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:52.500 R -E -I -G -N. In this age, God has given his 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:56.220 people a cross to bear, right? Take up your cross, 00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:58.480 Jesus said. You've got a cross to wear, but in 00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:00.700 the age to come, what does God give his people? 00:33:00.819 --> 00:33:05.740 A crown to wear. Right now we bear crosses. What 00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:09.960 does that mean? opposition, suffering, difficulty. 00:33:11.740 --> 00:33:13.759 We tried to sing this song several years ago 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:16.039 in church, and it was a nightmare. It's one of 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:17.480 my favorite songs, but we just don't know it. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:20.880 It's A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Just by the 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:22.440 way of our hands, how many know this, A Mighty 00:33:22.440 --> 00:33:25.059 Fortress Is Our God? And that's why we don't 00:33:25.059 --> 00:33:28.940 sing it. It's written by Martin Luther. It was 00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:31.539 written in the 1500s. I love it. I'm going to 00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:33.180 read you the first stanza and the third stanza. 00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:36.240 Now, Martin Luther is a theologian. Listen to 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:37.880 the theology in it because he sums it up well. 00:33:38.819 --> 00:33:41.140 I want to sing it, but trust me, you don't want 00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:44.400 me to. I want to. It's so good. A mighty fortress 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:48.900 is our God, a bulwark never failing. Our helper, 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:51.960 he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. 00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:56.819 For still our ancient foe does seek to work us 00:33:56.819 --> 00:34:01.480 woe. His craft and power are great and armed 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:05.509 with cruel hate. On earth is not his equal. Look 00:34:05.509 --> 00:34:09.329 at third stanza. And though this world with devils 00:34:09.329 --> 00:34:13.909 filled should threaten to undo us, we will not 00:34:13.909 --> 00:34:18.510 fear for God has willed his truth to triumph 00:34:18.510 --> 00:34:23.710 through us. The prince of darkness, grim, we 00:34:23.710 --> 00:34:27.449 tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, 00:34:27.769 --> 00:34:33.050 for lo, his doom is sure. And the next phrase 00:34:33.050 --> 00:34:37.030 is my favorite. One little word shall fail him. 00:34:37.650 --> 00:34:41.269 It's not a battle, friends. Christ, he's done. 00:34:41.809 --> 00:34:44.829 That's it. So the outcome is never in doubt. 00:34:45.909 --> 00:34:51.090 Christ has already won. What's your job? Trust 00:34:51.090 --> 00:34:54.829 him. So what does all this mean for us as we 00:34:54.829 --> 00:34:58.550 close? Because of the finished work of Christ. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:02.360 Satan has lost his ability to accuse you before 00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:06.019 God. You're like, Pastor, I know my past. I know 00:35:06.019 --> 00:35:08.820 these sins and they're real. They've been washed 00:35:08.820 --> 00:35:11.320 away in the blood of Christ. And you've been 00:35:11.320 --> 00:35:13.960 given his gift of righteousness. They don't stick, 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:17.380 friends. Christ has borne them. The cross of 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:20.039 Christ has removed all condemnation from us, 00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:23.860 which means we're now justified before God. And 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:27.460 Paul said nothing can separate us from his love. 00:35:28.860 --> 00:35:31.159 But know this, even though we are justified, 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:33.119 even though we are sons and daughters of God, 00:35:33.280 --> 00:35:37.840 on earth this conflict continues. Don't be surprised 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:41.519 by it. In Acts 14 .22, the apostles told the 00:35:41.519 --> 00:35:46.940 churches, we must through many tribulations enter 00:35:46.940 --> 00:35:49.739 the kingdom of God. Why are we surprised by it? 00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:53.099 I mean, it's all over the New Testament. So you're 00:35:53.099 --> 00:35:55.099 saying, but then, okay, I get it. What are we 00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:58.119 to do? I go back to Revelation 12, verse 11. 00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:01.960 And they overcame Satan, the enraged lunatic 00:36:01.960 --> 00:36:05.039 who's trying to kill him. They overcame him by 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:07.780 the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:10.280 and they didn't love their lives unto death. 00:36:11.960 --> 00:36:14.260 How do we overcome? We overcome by not in our 00:36:14.260 --> 00:36:17.800 own strength, but through Christ's finished work, 00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:20.260 the blood of the Lamb. That's what we're going 00:36:20.260 --> 00:36:23.900 to celebrate in just a minute. Our faith... is 00:36:23.900 --> 00:36:27.679 expressed, it's given visible testimony in our 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:32.599 words, in our testimony, right? And it's proved 00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:40.019 in our perseverance, even unto death. They may 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:43.500 kill us, but they can't separate us from God. 00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:46.340 And if you're here today and you're apart from 00:36:46.340 --> 00:36:49.099 Christ, let me just say this as I close. The 00:36:49.099 --> 00:36:53.360 door of grace is wide open. Wide open. You are 00:36:53.360 --> 00:36:56.500 called upon, you are commanded, actually, to 00:36:56.500 --> 00:36:59.699 repent of your sin, to bow your knee before Jesus, 00:36:59.860 --> 00:37:03.599 confess him as Lord, and follow him. But I would 00:37:03.599 --> 00:37:05.400 give you one word of caution that our Lord gave 00:37:05.400 --> 00:37:09.639 us. Do not presume upon the grace of God and 00:37:09.639 --> 00:37:12.619 think that judgment will never come because he 00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:15.099 has promised and assured us by raising Jesus 00:37:15.099 --> 00:37:18.739 from the dead that a day of future judgment will 00:37:18.739 --> 00:37:24.400 come. Today. If you hear his voice, call upon 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:27.780 him and be saved. Friends, if you're a Christian 00:37:27.780 --> 00:37:29.719 and you're here and you're in Christ, what a 00:37:29.719 --> 00:37:36.059 blessed person. What an agent of grace. What 00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:39.139 grace God has given to you. We're coming to the 00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:42.019 table. Thank God for what he's done for you and 00:37:42.019 --> 00:37:44.800 his son. Thank God for opening your eyes and 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:47.519 your heart to receive the gospel of his son. 00:37:47.719 --> 00:37:51.860 For lo, the kingdom of God belongs to you. Let's 00:37:51.860 --> 00:37:51.960 pray.