WEBVTT 00:00:02.509 --> 00:00:04.929 We've been in this gospel for a couple years 00:00:04.929 --> 00:00:09.630 now, and we're about halfway through it, so I 00:00:09.630 --> 00:00:11.070 have no idea when we'll finish it, if that's 00:00:11.070 --> 00:00:13.730 what you're thinking. I don't know. We were going 00:00:13.730 --> 00:00:23.429 to cover verses 47 to 52. Our Lord speaking, 00:00:23.570 --> 00:00:28.250 He says again, the kingdom of heaven, it's like 00:00:28.250 --> 00:00:31.460 a net that was thrown into the sea and it gathered 00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:35.799 fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:38.219 it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:43.340 containers, but threw away the bad. So it will 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:47.200 be at the end of the age. The angels will come 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:52.439 out and separate the evil from the righteous 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:56.759 and throw them, that is the evil, into the fiery 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:00.299 furnace. In that place there will be weeping 00:01:00.299 --> 00:01:03.920 and gnashing of teeth." He turned to his disciples, 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:05.739 he said, have you understood all these things? 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.200 They said to him, yes. And he said to them, therefore, 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:13.739 every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom 00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:17.079 of heaven is like a master of a house who brings 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:19.840 out of his treasure what is new, the new teachings 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:23.540 of the kingdom, and what is old, obviously what 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:26.739 was understood from the old covenant. Would you 00:01:26.739 --> 00:01:29.579 join me as we ask God to help us as we look at 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:34.239 this passage this morning? Let's pray Father 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:37.099 once again would we come to you in the name of 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:40.780 your son Jesus admitting our own weakness and 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:44.939 inability and Asking God for your grace and mercy 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:46.739 Lord that you would meet with your people by 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:49.819 means of your spirit That all glory would be 00:01:49.819 --> 00:01:52.159 given to you the father through Jesus in the 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:54.900 spirit God, that you would illumine the text 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:57.219 and help us to understand, to rightly divide 00:01:57.219 --> 00:02:00.319 it. Lord, that we would not impose our own thoughts 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.400 or opinions upon the text, but Lord, we would 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:05.920 simply, Lord, see what is contained therein and 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.840 proclaim it as you have commanded. Lord, help 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.719 us this morning, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:02:14.300 --> 00:02:17.259 You know, before I had children, I used to go 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:20.460 fishing quite a lot. Oftentimes, instead of buying 00:02:20.460 --> 00:02:23.219 minnows, we would just go sain them. And probably 00:02:23.219 --> 00:02:24.740 most of you have done that at some point in your 00:02:24.740 --> 00:02:26.879 life. If you're going to sane minnows, you can 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.199 do it by yourself or you get a buddy and you 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.340 have a net that's attached to two wooden poles 00:02:32.340 --> 00:02:34.819 and you kind of drag it through shallow water. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.219 You drag it downstream and therefore you're kind 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:41.099 of trapping the minnows. But when you pull it 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:43.280 up, you never really know what you're going to 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:45.919 get. As you pull it up, inevitably there will 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.400 be some minnows present in the net. But many 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.050 times there's some crawl dads in there. some 00:02:52.050 --> 00:02:55.409 small fish. Occasionally you even get snakes 00:02:55.409 --> 00:02:57.889 caught in that net. Since you're going fishing, 00:02:58.009 --> 00:02:59.870 you want the minnows, you'll separate them, you'll 00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:01.610 put them in a bucket, and everything else you'll 00:03:01.610 --> 00:03:05.509 just throw back. And in the text today, our Lord 00:03:05.509 --> 00:03:07.870 tells us something. He gives one final parable 00:03:07.870 --> 00:03:11.449 in this chapter. He describes the kingdom of 00:03:11.449 --> 00:03:14.909 God in this way. He says the kingdom of God, 00:03:15.009 --> 00:03:18.330 it's like a net. It's thrown, it's cast into 00:03:18.330 --> 00:03:22.389 the sea, and it gathers fish of every kind. Now 00:03:22.389 --> 00:03:25.229 in Matthew 13, there are seven parables in this 00:03:25.229 --> 00:03:27.770 one chapter alone, and all of them are about 00:03:27.770 --> 00:03:30.629 the kingdom of God, and this is the seventh and 00:03:30.629 --> 00:03:34.349 final. Now, each of these gives some different 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:38.129 insight into what God's kingdom is like. The 00:03:38.129 --> 00:03:41.469 very fact that Jesus gave seven parables in one 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:45.879 chapter, all relating to the same theme, It means 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:49.300 this is a very important topic. Now we began 00:03:49.300 --> 00:03:51.520 with this parable of the sower and the soils, 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:53.560 or the seed and the sower, you've often heard 00:03:53.560 --> 00:03:56.319 it called. This is the foundational parable. 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.879 It's the basis, if you will. And it explains 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.580 how different people react and receive the gospel. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.719 You have rocky soil. Then you also have hard 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:11.180 soil. You have crowded soil. And you have fertile 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:15.039 soil. And each one of those four soils represents 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:19.540 a heart that receives or rejects the gospel. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:22.139 Then you move on to the wheat and the tares. 00:04:23.100 --> 00:04:25.920 This parable showed us that good and evil will 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:29.379 coexist in this world until separation comes 00:04:29.379 --> 00:04:32.480 at the judgment, which will come at the end of 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:36.410 the age. We moved on to the mustard seed. This 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:38.850 parable reveals how the kingdom of God will start 00:04:38.850 --> 00:04:42.370 small and experience expansive, massive growth. 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:46.250 Then you have the parable of the leaven. This 00:04:46.250 --> 00:04:49.610 demonstrates the quiet, transformative power 00:04:49.610 --> 00:04:52.129 of God's kingdom within the world. It's working 00:04:52.129 --> 00:04:55.850 in the hearts of men and women. And then you 00:04:55.850 --> 00:04:58.329 have the parable of the hidden treasure. This 00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:02.490 shows the supreme value of God's kingdom. Then 00:05:02.490 --> 00:05:04.829 the pearl of great price, the merchant who sold 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:06.750 everything because he wanted this one pearl. 00:05:07.009 --> 00:05:10.410 This further emphasizes the immense worth of 00:05:10.410 --> 00:05:13.730 God's kingdom and one's willingness to give up 00:05:13.730 --> 00:05:17.850 everything just to have it. And then we come 00:05:17.850 --> 00:05:20.389 to the parable of the dragnet or the net this 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:23.350 morning. And it shows the kingdom of God. It's 00:05:23.350 --> 00:05:25.730 highlighting the fact you see a net and it's 00:05:25.730 --> 00:05:28.750 gathering all kinds of people into the net. And 00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:31.550 he says there will be a separation of the wicked, 00:05:31.769 --> 00:05:34.610 and the righteous, and that'll come at the end 00:05:34.610 --> 00:05:37.490 of this age. Now keep in mind the setting in 00:05:37.490 --> 00:05:40.870 Matthew 13. Jesus in chapter 12 had been teaching 00:05:40.870 --> 00:05:43.649 in a house, but it was so crowded. So he left 00:05:43.649 --> 00:05:46.250 the house, he went to the Sea of Galilee. There 00:05:46.250 --> 00:05:48.949 were so many people following the hymn that he 00:05:48.949 --> 00:05:51.949 actually gets in a boat and the people are standing 00:05:51.949 --> 00:05:55.149 on the shore listening to him. And he begins 00:05:55.149 --> 00:05:58.029 to teach the people and he's using parables. 00:05:58.870 --> 00:06:01.689 Now parables are these ordinary things, but they're 00:06:01.689 --> 00:06:07.250 going to communicate spiritual truth. If there 00:06:07.250 --> 00:06:09.050 was ever a master teacher, it's the Lord Jesus 00:06:09.050 --> 00:06:12.310 Christ. And we see him, and he's using the things 00:06:12.310 --> 00:06:15.410 that people were already familiar with. And he 00:06:15.410 --> 00:06:17.949 was going to use those things to teach them what 00:06:17.949 --> 00:06:20.689 they could never know or understand otherwise. 00:06:21.589 --> 00:06:23.069 How are you going to know what the kingdom of 00:06:23.069 --> 00:06:26.069 God's like? The kingdom of God is not of this 00:06:26.069 --> 00:06:27.850 world. The kingdom of God is within, Jesus said. 00:06:28.189 --> 00:06:30.310 So how do we know what it's like? Well, he's 00:06:30.310 --> 00:06:33.649 letting us know. And in this final parable, he's 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:36.569 using very familiar image of a fisherman pulling 00:06:36.569 --> 00:06:40.170 a net full of fish to the shore. Now, I don't 00:06:40.170 --> 00:06:43.350 know. This is speculation. But perhaps, as Jesus 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:47.310 was teaching, you have a boat passing by pulling 00:06:47.310 --> 00:06:51.569 a net, and Jesus sees that, and he uses that, 00:06:51.589 --> 00:06:54.269 and the people are there watching it, to illustrate 00:06:54.269 --> 00:06:57.959 some final truth about God's kingdom. Now in 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:00.579 this parable, there's fishermen. They're pulling 00:07:00.579 --> 00:07:04.199 in a large net. It is filled with all kinds of 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:07.680 fish. And when the day is done, they sit down 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.220 and the fishermen separate the good fish from 00:07:10.220 --> 00:07:12.600 the bad. Now when we're talking about bad in 00:07:12.600 --> 00:07:14.379 the parable, the bad were the fish that would 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:17.920 be inedible or they're unclean according to kosher 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.079 law or they're just too small to eat. Those would 00:07:21.079 --> 00:07:23.379 be bad fish. And then you have the good fish, 00:07:23.800 --> 00:07:26.079 those that could be eaten or sold for a profit. 00:07:26.569 --> 00:07:30.889 Now that's not the point. The good fish are representing 00:07:30.889 --> 00:07:34.290 the people who belonged to the kingdom of God. 00:07:34.930 --> 00:07:37.509 The bad fish are representing those who belong 00:07:37.509 --> 00:07:40.149 to the kingdom of this world, also known as the 00:07:40.149 --> 00:07:42.829 kingdom of darkness. You may hear it referred 00:07:42.829 --> 00:07:45.689 to as the kingdom of man. It's everything that 00:07:45.689 --> 00:07:49.069 is opposite God's kingdom. So in this illustration, 00:07:49.069 --> 00:07:51.769 we see that the kingdom of God contains people 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:56.660 from every background, every nation. every walk 00:07:56.660 --> 00:08:00.639 of life. There are all kinds of fish. So the 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:04.120 kingdom of God is not relegated to a single geopolitical 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:07.959 nation. America is not the kingdom of God. The 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:10.060 nation of Israel is not the kingdom of God. The 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:13.120 kingdom of God is universal for people who believe 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.259 in Christ. But we are also reminded in this parable 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:21.600 that a day of final reckoning is coming where 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.569 God will separate those who truly belong to Him 00:08:25.569 --> 00:08:29.129 from those who do not. Now the implication is 00:08:29.129 --> 00:08:32.289 that the kingdom of God will exist within this 00:08:32.289 --> 00:08:37.169 world until the end of the age. Because God's 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:40.830 kingdom exists in this world, you and I as Christians, 00:08:41.429 --> 00:08:45.210 we can expect to have difficulty. There'll be 00:08:45.210 --> 00:08:48.490 suffering. We're still going to get sick. We 00:08:48.490 --> 00:08:51.370 will still die. Many Christians will experience 00:08:51.370 --> 00:08:54.409 persecution. And the reason we're going to experience 00:08:54.409 --> 00:08:56.610 persecution is because you have two kingdoms 00:08:56.610 --> 00:09:01.110 serving two different kings, and there's two 00:09:01.110 --> 00:09:04.250 different loyalties that are in opposition to 00:09:04.250 --> 00:09:07.370 each other. So the kingdom of God is already 00:09:07.370 --> 00:09:09.190 here. And I've said that throughout this whole 00:09:09.190 --> 00:09:13.490 chapter. It's here. It's present in seed form. 00:09:14.110 --> 00:09:17.470 But it's not yet come in its fullness. It's not 00:09:17.470 --> 00:09:21.389 yet come in fruition. That'll wait a future fulfillment. 00:09:22.029 --> 00:09:24.330 And when that kingdom does arrive in its fullness, 00:09:24.529 --> 00:09:26.169 and this is why we pray the words of prayer, 00:09:26.450 --> 00:09:29.190 thy kingdom come. We look forward to that day. 00:09:29.210 --> 00:09:32.529 I long for the day when God's kingdom comes in 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:34.269 its fullness because then there will be no more 00:09:34.269 --> 00:09:37.429 pain. There'll be no more suffering. We will 00:09:37.429 --> 00:09:41.289 never get sick. There'll be no more death. But 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:44.149 in the meantime, you and I as believers were 00:09:44.149 --> 00:09:48.909 called to patiently endure. Endure to the end. 00:09:49.389 --> 00:09:52.529 But the emphasis in this final parable is different. 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:57.690 Jesus does not emphasize the fullness of God's 00:09:57.690 --> 00:10:02.029 kingdom. Rather, the emphasis here is on the 00:10:02.029 --> 00:10:06.870 final judgment that is to come. Now the doctrine 00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:11.090 of final judgment is odious to many, but it's 00:10:11.090 --> 00:10:13.950 still true. It's true nonetheless. Just because 00:10:13.950 --> 00:10:16.490 you don't like something doesn't make it untrue. 00:10:17.189 --> 00:10:19.809 Now there are many people who simply ignore the 00:10:19.809 --> 00:10:22.789 doctrine of God's judgment. They know about it, 00:10:22.789 --> 00:10:27.070 but they push it out of mind. Others deny it. 00:10:27.509 --> 00:10:30.850 They scoff at it. They laugh at it. And some, 00:10:31.230 --> 00:10:34.289 well they try to explain it away. God is so loving 00:10:34.289 --> 00:10:37.730 he will never judge anyone. But none of those 00:10:37.730 --> 00:10:40.309 things is capable of preventing the judgment 00:10:40.309 --> 00:10:45.029 to come. Now look at the text with me. At the 00:10:45.029 --> 00:10:50.070 end of this age, It is very clear God will bring 00:10:50.070 --> 00:10:54.370 all people before him in judgment. And that is 00:10:54.370 --> 00:10:58.610 absolutely clear in the scriptures. All people 00:10:58.610 --> 00:11:02.690 will be raised bodily to stand before God and 00:11:02.690 --> 00:11:06.250 give an account of their lives. The London Baptist 00:11:06.250 --> 00:11:10.049 Confession states it this way. God has appointed 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:13.929 a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness 00:11:13.929 --> 00:11:18.909 by Jesus Christ. to whom all power and judgment 00:11:18.909 --> 00:11:23.309 is given of the Father, in which day not only 00:11:23.309 --> 00:11:25.830 the apostate, that's the fallen angels, shall 00:11:25.830 --> 00:11:29.610 be judged, but likewise all persons that have 00:11:29.610 --> 00:11:32.970 lived upon the earth shall appear before the 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:37.210 tribunal of Christ." Why? To give an account 00:11:37.210 --> 00:11:40.090 of their thoughts, their words, and their deeds, 00:11:40.789 --> 00:11:42.490 and to receive according to what they have done 00:11:42.490 --> 00:11:47.159 in the body, whether that be good or evil. Now, 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:50.679 that's a confession. But the doctrine of final 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.340 judgment is taught explicitly throughout all 00:11:53.340 --> 00:11:57.200 the scriptures, both old and new. In Ecclesiastes 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.220 chapter 12, Solomon, he says, let us hear the 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:02.120 conclusion of the whole matter. If you read the 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:04.740 whole book of Ecclesiastes, what's the conclusion? 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.279 He says, fear God and keep His commandments. 00:12:07.340 --> 00:12:09.480 Why? For this is man's all. This is the whole 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.940 duty of man. For God will bring every work into 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:17.840 judgment. including every secret thing, whether 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.960 it's good or evil. In Hebrews chapter 9, the 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:23.460 author says this, for it is appointed unto men 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:27.700 once to die, everyone dies, and after this the 00:12:27.700 --> 00:12:31.179 judgment. In Jude, verse 6, there's no chapters, 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:34.340 just one chapter, verse 6, and the angels who 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:36.240 did not keep their proper domain, that's the 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.039 fallen angels, but they left their own abode, 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.320 he, that is God, has reserved in everlasting 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.379 chains under darkness for the judgment of the 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:50.860 great day." John 5, for the Father judges no 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:53.039 one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:56.700 So Jesus is the judge. Verse 28, do not marvel 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:00.139 at this. Jesus said, for the hour is coming in 00:13:00.139 --> 00:13:03.000 which all who are in the graves will hear his 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.820 voice, everyone, and they will come forth from 00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:11.120 the grave, those who have done good. to the resurrection 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.779 of life, and to those who have done evil, to 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:19.019 the resurrection of condemnation. In Acts 17, 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:22.480 Paul speaking, he says, truly, these times of 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.519 ignorance, and he's talking to unbelievers, God 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:28.980 overlooked, but now he commands, he doesn't invite, 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.460 he commands all men everywhere to repent. Why? 00:13:32.460 --> 00:13:36.789 Why repent? Because he has appointed a day, on 00:13:36.789 --> 00:13:38.610 which he will judge the world in righteousness 00:13:38.610 --> 00:13:41.450 by the man whom he has ordained. What man is 00:13:41.450 --> 00:13:43.929 that? And he is given assurance of this to all 00:13:43.929 --> 00:13:46.529 by raising him from the dead. That man is Jesus. 00:13:47.590 --> 00:13:50.870 He's going to judge the world by Jesus. Matthew 00:13:50.870 --> 00:13:52.990 25, the judgment of the sheep and the goats. 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:56.809 When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all 00:13:56.809 --> 00:13:59.669 the holy angels with him, then he will sit on 00:13:59.669 --> 00:14:03.649 the throne of his glory. Jesus is coming. All 00:14:03.649 --> 00:14:06.789 the nations will be gathered before him. all 00:14:06.789 --> 00:14:09.230 the nations, all the people. And he will separate 00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:11.590 them one from the other as a shepherd divides 00:14:11.590 --> 00:14:14.850 his sheep from the goats. And he will set the 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:17.830 sheep on his right hand and the goats on his 00:14:17.830 --> 00:14:20.490 left. Then the king, that is Jesus, will say 00:14:20.490 --> 00:14:23.789 to those on his right hand, come, you blessed 00:14:23.789 --> 00:14:28.570 of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 00:14:28.570 --> 00:14:31.450 you from the foundation of the world. And these 00:14:31.450 --> 00:14:37.470 will go away, excuse me. Then from verse 34, 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:39.409 I think I just lost my train of thought there. 00:14:39.809 --> 00:14:41.049 Then the king will say to those on his right 00:14:41.049 --> 00:14:42.629 hand, come you blessed of my father and here 00:14:42.629 --> 00:14:44.029 at the kingdom preferred you from the foundation 00:14:44.029 --> 00:14:45.990 of the world. Yeah, I skipped down to verse 46. 00:14:45.990 --> 00:14:47.830 I'm sorry. Then what about those who are on his 00:14:47.830 --> 00:14:51.690 left hand? And these will go away into everlasting 00:14:51.690 --> 00:14:55.730 punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 00:14:56.450 --> 00:15:00.429 One final one. I could, I limited this. In Revelation 00:15:00.429 --> 00:15:02.370 chapter 20, it's known as the great white throne 00:15:02.370 --> 00:15:06.059 judgment. Then I saw a great John writing he 00:15:06.059 --> 00:15:08.100 said I saw a great white throne and him who sat 00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:12.480 on it from whose face The earth and heaven fled 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:16.320 away. This is a scary scene sobering I should 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.940 say and there was found no place for them and 00:15:19.940 --> 00:15:22.080 I saw the dead small and great standing before 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.340 God and books were open and another book was 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:28.600 open which is the book of life and The dead were 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:30.419 judged according to their works by the things 00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:33.600 which were written in the books The sea gave 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:36.399 up the dead who were in it, death in Hades or 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:38.259 death in hell delivered up the dead who were 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:42.340 in them, and they were judged, each one according 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:46.259 to his works. Then death in Hades were cast into 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:50.940 the lake of fire. This is a second death and 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:55.779 anyone not found written in the book of life 00:15:55.779 --> 00:16:00.980 was cast into the lake of fire. Now, Here's a 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.820 little point of emphasis in the scriptures. When 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:06.100 something is repeated often in the scriptures, 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:09.139 it is given emphasis. It's meant to emphasize. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:13.679 You see how many texts I just read. The doctrine 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:18.279 of God's final eschatological judgment is often 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:22.000 repeated in the scriptures to highlight how important 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.600 this doctrine is. It is meant to make an indelible 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:27.779 impression upon our hearts and minds. We ought 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:30.539 to always live with judgment in mind. There's 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:34.100 a day of judgment. And in this final parable, 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:38.919 we see that God's net, it encompasses all people, 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:43.799 but it is His judgment that reveals those who 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.840 really belong to Him. John MacArthur writing 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:50.159 on this passage, he says, the dragnet of God's 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:53.679 judgment moves silently through the sea of mankind 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:57.320 and draws all men to the shores of eternity. 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:01.919 for final separation to their ultimate destiny, 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.160 believers to eternal life and non -believers 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:09.700 to eternal damnation. So if I ask, why is the 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.640 doctrine a final judgment? What is it? This is 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:16.859 it. God has appointed a day in which he will 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:20.220 judge angels and all mankind through his son, 00:17:20.259 --> 00:17:24.759 Jesus Christ, everyone. When does it occur? At 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:27.819 the second coming. When Christ returns in glory 00:17:27.819 --> 00:17:30.579 on that day Jesus said there will be a resurrection 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:34.460 of the just and unjust All people will be raised 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:37.099 from the dead and the final judgment will take 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:41.259 place after that resurrection It'll be a glorious 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:46.140 day for believers a day of salvation for all 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:50.440 who belong to King Jesus It'll be a dreadful 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:53.940 day a day of condemnation for all those who don't 00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:59.660 belong to him See, on that day, God will condemn 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:03.400 unbelievers and He will consign them to eternal 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:07.279 damnation because of their sinful thoughts, words, 00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:11.480 and actions. Now, believers, Christ has already 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.420 taken our judgment that we will have to give 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:17.559 an account of our own lives as stewards. This 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:20.240 will result in either gain of reward or loss 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:23.700 of reward. Now, these rewards are in addition 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:27.130 to eternal life. that we've already seen by faith 00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:31.309 in Christ Jesus. You're saying, but when, can 00:18:31.309 --> 00:18:33.569 tell us when is that, when is Christ coming back? 00:18:34.670 --> 00:18:38.289 That day and hour is unknown. Why did God not 00:18:38.289 --> 00:18:41.069 declare that day or hour so that God's people 00:18:41.069 --> 00:18:42.970 will be watchful and prayerful at all times? 00:18:43.730 --> 00:18:47.490 Jesus said in Matthew 25, watch therefore, for 00:18:47.490 --> 00:18:50.950 you need, you know neither the day, not even 00:18:50.950 --> 00:18:55.200 the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. So 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:57.180 when we look at this parable here, the words 00:18:57.180 --> 00:19:00.500 of Jesus are meant to be taken seriously. We 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:03.200 don't trifle with them. He says this. Now listen, 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:05.380 this is the word. This is Matthew 13, verses 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:11.079 47, 48, 49. So it will be at the end of the age, 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:13.220 the angels are going to come forth, and they 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:16.619 will separate the wicked from the just, and he 00:19:16.619 --> 00:19:19.539 will cast them to the furnace of fire, and there 00:19:19.539 --> 00:19:24.049 will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. A day 00:19:24.049 --> 00:19:26.309 of separation is coming, friends. Right now, 00:19:26.369 --> 00:19:28.569 the kingdom of God exists within this world. 00:19:29.369 --> 00:19:31.269 But there'll be a day when there's a distinction. 00:19:31.750 --> 00:19:33.490 God's people will be removed from the world, 00:19:33.670 --> 00:19:36.490 and the world will face eternal judgment. There'll 00:19:36.490 --> 00:19:38.329 be a day of distinction, a day of separation. 00:19:38.650 --> 00:19:40.890 The sheep will be separated from the goats, the 00:19:40.890 --> 00:19:42.990 righteous from the wicked, or as Jesus said in 00:19:42.990 --> 00:19:45.490 Matthew 13, the good fish will be separated from 00:19:45.490 --> 00:19:49.930 the bad fish. Now who are the wicked that Jesus 00:19:49.930 --> 00:19:53.069 is speaking of? When we talk about a separation. 00:19:53.410 --> 00:19:55.710 Now when we talk about wicked people, in our 00:19:55.710 --> 00:19:57.250 own vernacular, if we're talking about wicked 00:19:57.250 --> 00:20:00.890 people, we think of people like Hitler, Lenin, 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:05.250 Stalin, Mao Zedong, men like Dahmer, Ted Bundy. 00:20:05.450 --> 00:20:09.089 We think those men. Or sex traffickers, pedophiles. 00:20:09.390 --> 00:20:11.970 We think of people who have done morally reprehensible 00:20:11.970 --> 00:20:16.569 things. How does the Bible refer to wickedness? 00:20:17.950 --> 00:20:20.069 The wicked are those who have rejected the gospel. 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:26.299 They rejected Christ and His message. The wicked 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:30.279 are they who are lost in their sin and they are 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:34.240 still in Adam. They've never been transferred 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:37.920 out of the kingdom of darkness. Now when we look 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.559 at the Jesus's words and they're strong words, 00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:43.460 I don't believe he's trying to scare people at 00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:47.019 all, nor am I. Rather, I think the words are 00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:50.839 meant to wake us up. to think soberly what is 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:54.279 to come. They're meant to cause people to seek 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:57.880 salvation in Christ, the true Lamb of God, who 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:01.619 takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is letting 00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:05.259 all people know in advance what is going to happen, 00:21:05.299 --> 00:21:09.019 what's going to take place. And to be forewarned 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:12.700 is to be forearmed. So this warning that Jesus 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:14.420 gives when we're reading this, we're hearing 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:17.119 it in church, we are meant to prepare for that 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:21.299 day. Knowing the danger that awaits allows one 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:24.019 to prepare for it. You must prepare to stand 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:27.660 before God one day, because the day of judgment 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:31.640 is coming. How will you fare when you stand before 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:37.079 Him? What will you offer as a defense? What will 00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:41.220 you present to God as a claim to your righteousness? 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:44.839 Or I should better ask it this way, on what basis 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:48.920 do you hope that God will accept you? There's 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:50.640 nothing you can bring in your hand that's going 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:56.640 to do it. No works will suffice. Ask Cain. Remember, 00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:00.559 he brought the best of his garden. He was rejected. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:06.839 You can only come into the kingdom of God based 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:10.160 on the merits of another. I can't claim to be 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:14.039 righteous. I have sinned and fallen short of 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:19.420 God's glory. But Jesus Christ is righteous, and 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:23.960 I am in him. What will you say on that day? You 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:28.799 won't have a defense. You are guilty. Your only 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:32.339 hope, your only defense is this, that Jesus died 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:37.039 and he rose again for me. And I trust that what 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:41.400 he did, his work, was effective in securing my 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:46.650 salvation. You trust. You believe. in what Jesus 00:22:46.650 --> 00:22:48.869 did at the cross, that it was enough to save 00:22:48.869 --> 00:22:53.670 you and you own him as your king. The word said 00:22:53.670 --> 00:22:55.490 that the wicked will be cast in the furnace of 00:22:55.490 --> 00:22:59.509 fire. And he said there's wailing, weeping, wailing, 00:22:59.650 --> 00:23:02.690 gnashing of teeth. Now the doctrine of final 00:23:02.690 --> 00:23:05.190 judgment's hated, but if there's one doctrine 00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:06.869 that is hated more than all, it's the doctrine 00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:10.029 of hell. And there are many preachers today who 00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:13.700 don't believe in it. Hell as defined by the Bible 00:23:13.700 --> 00:23:17.579 is conscious suffering separated from God for 00:23:17.579 --> 00:23:21.980 eternity. It is a horrible thought. We all want 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:25.779 to put it out of our minds, but it's still true. 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:29.720 Our minds cannot even begin to conceive of the 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:33.619 infinite horror and misery that is hell. Can 00:23:33.619 --> 00:23:36.440 you imagine infinite pain? Infinite torture? 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:41.089 I know, but our Lord taught it. And he said, 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:44.309 not Ryan, he said, the wicked will be thrown 00:23:44.309 --> 00:23:49.210 into a furnace of fire. Those who are cast into 00:23:49.210 --> 00:23:52.950 that furnace, he says, are wailing. They're gnashing 00:23:52.950 --> 00:23:57.690 their teeth. Why? They're in torment. This is 00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:02.670 not annihilationism. John Stott taught in annihilationism. 00:24:02.750 --> 00:24:04.589 I like John Stott. I thought he was a great theologian. 00:24:04.750 --> 00:24:07.730 I vehemently disagree with him here. The doctrine 00:24:07.730 --> 00:24:10.279 of annihilationism says after death, the righteous 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:12.440 go into heaven, paradise, forever with the Lord, 00:24:12.619 --> 00:24:14.740 and the wicked cease to exist. They just, they're 00:24:14.740 --> 00:24:18.359 annihilated. It's not what the Bible teaches. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:23.440 It's eternal conscious punishment. The wicked 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:26.740 will stand before God, they're raised, and they 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:29.240 stand before God because they sinned and committed 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:33.519 treason against the living God. And now they 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:36.819 must give an account. And the day's dreadful. 00:24:37.289 --> 00:24:42.569 So how can you or I be spared from this condemnation 00:24:42.569 --> 00:24:47.650 knowing we're guilty? Hear the gospel, my friend. 00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:50.650 Romans chapter 8 verse 1, there is therefore 00:24:50.650 --> 00:24:55.609 now no condemnation to a group of people, to 00:24:55.609 --> 00:24:59.490 those who are in Christ Jesus. For those who 00:24:59.490 --> 00:25:04.049 are savingly united to Christ, you won't be condemned, 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:09.710 but You must be taken out of Adam in which you 00:25:09.710 --> 00:25:14.369 were born and placed in Christ. You must be born 00:25:14.369 --> 00:25:19.789 again. How do you get in Christ? In Galatians 00:25:19.789 --> 00:25:24.269 3, Paul wrote this, For you are all the children 00:25:24.269 --> 00:25:30.450 of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many 00:25:30.450 --> 00:25:33.369 as you have been baptized into Christ have been 00:25:33.369 --> 00:25:37.720 put on Christ. In John 3, we love John 3, 16, 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:39.700 for God so loved the world that he gave his only 00:25:39.700 --> 00:25:41.900 begotten son that whosoever believeth in him 00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:44.819 should not perish but have everlasting life. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.279 I love verse 17 as much. For God did not send 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:51.579 his own son into the world to condemn the world, 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:55.720 rather that the world might be saved through 00:25:55.720 --> 00:26:01.019 him. Verse 18, he who believes in him, in Jesus, 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:06.160 is not condemned. But he who does not believe, 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:09.740 these are the words of Jesus, is condemned already. 00:26:10.740 --> 00:26:13.539 Why is he condemned? Because he has not believed 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:15.900 in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:20.480 See, we're joined to Christ by faith. John 5 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:24.039 verse 24, most assuredly I say to you, he who 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:26.400 hears my word and believes in him who has sent 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:30.000 me has everlasting life. And he shall not come 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:33.809 into judgment. Praise God. but it's passed from 00:26:33.809 --> 00:26:38.349 death into life. The one who believes and calls 00:26:38.349 --> 00:26:41.170 upon Christ has passed from death into life. 00:26:42.289 --> 00:26:45.390 Paul told the Colossian Church, he said believers 00:26:45.390 --> 00:26:49.069 have been delivered from the power of darkness, 00:26:49.230 --> 00:26:55.130 the kingdom of darkness, and conveyed us, transferred 00:26:55.130 --> 00:26:59.009 us into the kingdom, the basileia, the basilica 00:26:59.009 --> 00:27:03.099 of the son of his love. Praise God for His grace. 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:05.779 Now here's the question I want to pose to you. 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:09.220 What does it mean to believe? Because some people 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:12.259 believe that simple belief is mere knowledge 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:15.680 or a scent. There's so many people like, oh, 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:17.440 I believe. Oh, yeah, Jesus sat on the cross. 00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:20.579 Jesus is a savior. I sent to that. That's not 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:25.019 what the Bible speaks of. The time of the Reformation 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:27.920 in order to... tried to describe saving faith, 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.440 there was three Latin words that were used, notitia, 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:33.200 assensis, fiducia. So the first one's notitia, 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:37.140 and it means knowledge. Knowing, this is knowing 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:39.240 the core information of the gospel. I know that 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:41.660 Jesus was born of the virgin. I know that he 00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:43.880 suffered under Pontius Pilate. I know that he 00:27:43.880 --> 00:27:45.599 died and was raised again on the third day of 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:47.799 the new life. I know that, I understand, I have 00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:51.819 knowledge of the content. Then there's assensis. 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:54.599 You can see the word assent. Not only do I know 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:58.170 that, But I agree with that. I assent to that 00:27:58.170 --> 00:28:02.089 being true. I know that Jesus died. I agree that 00:28:02.089 --> 00:28:05.029 he died and he rose again. I'm persuaded that 00:28:05.029 --> 00:28:09.390 the claims about Christ are true. And the third 00:28:09.390 --> 00:28:14.369 aspect is fiducia. This is trust. This is a personal 00:28:14.369 --> 00:28:18.369 reliance. Confident trust. This is where you 00:28:18.369 --> 00:28:21.670 place your entire being upon Christ and you stand 00:28:21.670 --> 00:28:24.789 in that conviction. So, Notitia and Assensus 00:28:24.789 --> 00:28:29.509 are not enough to define true faith. Why? James 00:28:29.509 --> 00:28:32.710 says, even demons possess the right information. 00:28:32.890 --> 00:28:35.390 Notitia, they know about Jesus, and they mentally 00:28:35.390 --> 00:28:37.769 agree that it's true. They know better than anyone 00:28:37.769 --> 00:28:41.130 that Jesus died and rose again. But they're not 00:28:41.130 --> 00:28:44.470 trusting and submitting to Christ. True saving 00:28:44.470 --> 00:28:48.390 faith requires all three. And Fiducia, that last 00:28:48.390 --> 00:28:52.049 one, trust is what turns mere head knowledge. 00:28:52.849 --> 00:28:59.250 into a life -changing, active commitment. You 00:28:59.250 --> 00:29:02.490 trust Him. All your eggs are in the one basket 00:29:02.490 --> 00:29:06.170 named Jesus. So how can you escape this coming 00:29:06.170 --> 00:29:09.109 judgment? The same way that Noah escaped the 00:29:09.109 --> 00:29:13.309 flood. You got to get in the ark. The ark is 00:29:13.309 --> 00:29:16.849 Jesus. And just as Noah's ark had only one door, 00:29:16.970 --> 00:29:19.710 so the ark of Jesus has one door, and it's the 00:29:19.710 --> 00:29:24.750 door of faith. You must abandon, friends, all 00:29:24.750 --> 00:29:29.509 attempts at self -righteousness. You're not righteous 00:29:29.509 --> 00:29:33.150 before Him on your own. And you flee to Christ, 00:29:33.869 --> 00:29:37.650 who will save you from the wrath to come. In 00:29:37.650 --> 00:29:40.150 the ancient world, when a criminal was crucified 00:29:40.150 --> 00:29:43.210 under Roman law, a list of his crimes would be 00:29:43.210 --> 00:29:45.109 written out and nailed to the criminal's cross. 00:29:45.430 --> 00:29:47.950 Why? So that everyone who was there, they would 00:29:47.950 --> 00:29:51.279 know why that criminal was being crucified. Here 00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:53.480 is a list of his crimes, and here's what Rome 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:57.779 said must happen. In Colossians 2, Paul did something 00:29:57.779 --> 00:29:59.140 extraordinary, and I don't know if you thought 00:29:59.140 --> 00:30:02.400 about it this way. He says, and you, speaking 00:30:02.400 --> 00:30:08.680 of us, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision 00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:12.420 of our flesh, God made alive together with him 00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:16.859 Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses. 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:21.930 Notice verse 14. by canceling the record of debt 00:30:21.930 --> 00:30:24.730 that stood against us with its legal demands. 00:30:24.930 --> 00:30:27.690 The law was here, the law said don't, we did. 00:30:28.289 --> 00:30:30.910 The law said do, and we did. So there's a record 00:30:30.910 --> 00:30:34.410 of debts, a long list of our crimes. This he 00:30:34.410 --> 00:30:39.349 set aside, notice what Paul said, nailing it 00:30:39.349 --> 00:30:43.309 to the cross. Why is that important? Because 00:30:43.309 --> 00:30:45.490 the record of crimes that you and I had committed 00:30:45.490 --> 00:30:48.720 against God, That list was nailed to Christ's 00:30:48.720 --> 00:30:54.500 cross, and Christ bore that punishment. Our debt 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:57.259 was canceled. Our record of wrongs was cleared. 00:30:57.299 --> 00:31:01.640 How? Our sin was placed on Christ. God hath laid 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:04.359 on him the iniquity of us all, Isaiah 53 -6. 00:31:05.079 --> 00:31:08.000 The list of charges against us was nailed to 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:13.180 the cross of Jesus Christ, and he, not we, bore 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:16.660 the punishment for those sins. Praise God. That's 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:19.440 really good news. Peter, writing about this, 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:25.319 he said, who his own self bear our sins in his 00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:29.660 own body on the tree. That you and I, that we 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:33.740 being dead to sins should live unto righteousness 00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:40.380 by whose stripes you were healed. Jesus' sacrifice 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:46.210 satisfied divine judgment or justice. And it 00:31:46.210 --> 00:31:49.630 propitiated divine wrath. Propitiated means it 00:31:49.630 --> 00:31:52.910 satisfied. God was pleased with what Christ has 00:31:52.910 --> 00:31:57.470 done. You wonder how you can be saved? By the 00:31:57.470 --> 00:32:00.769 bloody death of Christ who cried out, it is finished. 00:32:01.930 --> 00:32:06.029 His stripes, His bloody stripes healed us. His 00:32:06.029 --> 00:32:09.049 bloody wounds healed us. Why? Because He paid 00:32:09.049 --> 00:32:11.829 the payment and the penalty for our sins so that 00:32:11.829 --> 00:32:16.119 you and I could be reconciled back to God. The 00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:19.900 truth is, it's just one of two ways. Either you 00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:23.039 pay the punishment for your sins, or Christ pays 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:27.140 it for you. Either you suffer for your sins, 00:32:28.059 --> 00:32:31.740 or you trust in the suffering of Christ. For 00:32:31.740 --> 00:32:36.880 believers, our sin was nailed to Christ's cross. 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:42.500 And as the song says, we bear it no more. Praise 00:32:42.500 --> 00:32:48.230 the Lord. So you say, now what? God's net, friends, 00:32:48.450 --> 00:32:50.569 because the day has not yet come, God's net is 00:32:50.569 --> 00:32:53.529 still in the water gathering fish. But at the 00:32:53.529 --> 00:32:55.289 very same time that God's net is in the water, 00:32:55.450 --> 00:32:58.109 the gospel is being preached, it's being proclaimed, 00:32:58.309 --> 00:33:01.269 and Christ invites sinners to still come to him 00:33:01.269 --> 00:33:05.450 and be saved. John 3, I read earlier, for God 00:33:05.450 --> 00:33:07.609 did not send his son into the world to condemn 00:33:07.609 --> 00:33:10.650 the world, but that the world through him, through 00:33:10.650 --> 00:33:14.289 Christ, might be saved. And he who believes in 00:33:14.289 --> 00:33:19.460 him is not condemned. He who believes in Him 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:24.380 is not condemned. But, but, a giant preposition 00:33:24.380 --> 00:33:29.500 here, don't be deceived. Jesus told us a day 00:33:29.500 --> 00:33:33.160 is coming and God's net will be drawn to the 00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:38.539 shore and then King Jesus will separate the fish 00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:43.299 that belong to Him from those who do not. John 00:33:43.299 --> 00:33:48.130 3, 18. but he who does not believe is condemned 00:33:48.130 --> 00:33:51.789 already." See, the question is not whether you're 00:33:51.789 --> 00:33:54.609 in God's net. All people are. All people are 00:33:54.609 --> 00:33:56.430 going to be raised. The question is not, are 00:33:56.430 --> 00:33:58.750 you in the net? The question is, are you in Christ? 00:34:00.410 --> 00:34:03.930 Today, the Lord Jesus, who will one day stand 00:34:03.930 --> 00:34:08.929 over all creation as judge, offers himself in 00:34:08.929 --> 00:34:15.170 grace as your Savior. His mercy His grace are 00:34:15.170 --> 00:34:18.469 available to any and all who will come to Him 00:34:18.469 --> 00:34:21.750 in faith. And if you're here and you know Christ, 00:34:21.789 --> 00:34:24.909 you've been saved to the church. You and I have 00:34:24.909 --> 00:34:27.889 been taken, taken out of the kingdom of darkness. 00:34:28.170 --> 00:34:30.750 We've been placed into God's kingdom of light. 00:34:31.250 --> 00:34:34.309 We are to live as citizens of the light, citizens 00:34:34.309 --> 00:34:37.320 of God's kingdom. The apostle said it this way, 00:34:37.579 --> 00:34:40.559 showing forth the praises, showing forth the 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:43.239 praises of Him who's called us out of darkness 00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:47.900 and into His marvelous light. My friends, our 00:34:47.900 --> 00:34:49.420 lives are not our own. We're bought with the 00:34:49.420 --> 00:34:52.760 price. Let us glorify Him. Let us worship God 00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:56.159 today, humbly, yet joyfully white, for the gift 00:34:56.159 --> 00:35:01.460 of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So let us 00:35:01.460 --> 00:35:05.659 come and feast upon our Savior. at the table 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:08.599 of the Lord as those who have been marked out 00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:13.300 as good fish by God's grace. Let's pray. Father, 00:35:13.320 --> 00:35:15.840 we thank you so very much, Lord, for your word. 00:35:16.780 --> 00:35:19.039 Lord, I'm thankful that you cared enough about 00:35:19.039 --> 00:35:23.000 us, Lord, to tell us, Lord, to proclaim, Lord, 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:25.480 not only salvation, but a judgment that is coming. 00:35:26.119 --> 00:35:28.940 Lord, we do not want to be the proverbial ostrich 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:32.440 who sticks its head in the sand, who is willfully 00:35:32.440 --> 00:35:35.210 ignorant of that which is to come. The Father, 00:35:35.269 --> 00:35:37.730 help us, Lord God, to think soberly about what 00:35:37.730 --> 00:35:43.969 Christ has said. Today is the day of salvation. 00:35:45.530 --> 00:35:49.610 The ark is still open for all who will enter 00:35:49.610 --> 00:35:52.789 in by faith. God, let us, Lord, proclaim that 00:35:52.789 --> 00:35:56.949 beautiful message. But let us warn those who 00:35:56.949 --> 00:36:01.210 would scoff or laugh or mock at the day of judgment. 00:36:01.750 --> 00:36:04.050 Lord, it's sobering. It's a fearful thing to 00:36:04.050 --> 00:36:06.630 fall into the hands of the living God. Lord, 00:36:06.650 --> 00:36:08.530 I pray you'd give me grace to preach. Lord, I 00:36:08.530 --> 00:36:10.789 pray that those who are here this morning, they 00:36:10.789 --> 00:36:12.750 would listen to your word, but they would hear 00:36:12.750 --> 00:36:15.929 the good news of the gospel that Jesus Christ 00:36:15.929 --> 00:36:19.050 came to save sinners. Lord, I pray that now as 00:36:19.050 --> 00:36:21.170 your church, we as your people who've been marked 00:36:21.170 --> 00:36:23.710 out, we come to the table of the Lord and we 00:36:23.710 --> 00:36:26.670 feast upon our Lord. Oh God, we see his broken 00:36:26.670 --> 00:36:29.550 body and we see his shed blood. This is our only 00:36:29.550 --> 00:36:32.829 hope. This is what we offer to you. It is enough 00:36:32.829 --> 00:36:36.130 that Jesus died and that he died for me. Lord, 00:36:36.150 --> 00:36:37.869 we thank you for this. In the blessed name of 00:36:37.869 --> 00:36:41.610 Jesus, we pray, amen. In just a moment, the deacons 00:36:41.610 --> 00:36:43.610 will come and they'll pass out the elements.